In order of interest:
West by Carys Davies
When widowed mule breeder Cy Bellman reads in the newspaper that colossal ancient bones have been discovered in the salty Kentucky mud, he sets out from his small Pennsylvania farm to see for himself if the rumors are true: that the giant monsters are still alive and roam the uncharted wilderness beyond the Mississippi River. Promising to write and to return in two years, he leaves behind his only daughter, Bess, to the tender mercies of his taciturn sister and heads west.
I’ve passed this book by in bookshops and libraries a dozen times. I’ve never once felt inclined to pick it up, let alone read the blurb. Until now. This book could have gone unnoticed and untouched, which is a real shame because it sounds like such a pleasant read. It reminds me of Albert Bierdstadt and his sublime landscape paintings, of manifest destiny, and cabinets of curiosities. Needless to say it conjures up some beautiful and promising imagery and that alone is enough to peak my interest.
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.
It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.
I’ve heard some great things about this series and all of the sudden I’m in the mood for some fantasy. It’s got to be the promise of colder weather that makes series like this so appealing to me. As a matter of fact, I have a feeling this won’t be the only series I start this month.
Idaho by Emily Ruskovich
One hot August day a family drives to a mountain clearing to collect birch wood. Jenny, the mother, is in charge of lopping any small limbs off the logs with a hatchet. Wade, the father, does the stacking. The two daughters, June and May, aged nine and six, drink lemonade, swat away horseflies, bicker, and sing snatches of songs as they while away the time.
But then something unimaginably shocking happens, an act so extreme it will scatter the family in every different direction.
I’ve been thinking about this book a lot after finishing Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon. They’re not comparable books by any means. If anything this will undoubtedly be more solemn and twisted than Three Things About Elsie. That’s really not the point. Ever since I’ve been aching to read another book centered around a mystery and I just so happened to own the perfect one.
Gun Love by Jennifer Clement
Fourteen-year-old Pearl France lives in the front seat of a broken down car and her mother Margot lives in the back. Together they survive on a diet of powdered milk and bug spray, love songs and stolen cigarettes.
Life on the edge of a Florida trailer park is strange enough, but when Pastor Rex’s ‘Guns for God’ programme brings Eli Redmond to town Pearl’s world is upended. Eli pays regular visits to Margot in the back seat, forcing Pearl to find a world beyond the car. Margot is given a gift by Eli, a gun of her own, just like he’s given her flowers. It sits under the driver’s seat, a dark presence…
I don’t know what it is about this book, maybe it’s that drop dead gorgeous cover or maybe it’s that drop dead gorgeous cover. If it wasn’t the cover than it most certainly can’t be the plot. Believe me. This sounds like the kind of book you’ll have to let sit for a while before you feel you’re ready to return to it. I just don’t know if that’s what I want right now. I’ve certainly been thinking about this book a lot and I think I’m the kind of person who’d really enjoy it.
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