This summer not many of my books have had much in common with each other, with the except of "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien which tied back into the books I read this spring that dealt with Vietnam. But it wasn't a coincidence, as were so many of the other commonalities I've come across. I knew it was about Vietnam going in.
More of the things that have made me go "wow, I was just reading about this" happened while I was listening to the radio. Not long after I featured Kim Stanley Robinson's book "The Years of Rice and Salt" in Mama Shepp's Family Recommends. I'd never heard of Robinson before this book was recommended to me. Imagine my surprise to hear that name come up again while I was listening to "All Things Considered" on NPR. Alan Cheuse reviewed Robinson's latest book, a collection of his short stories titled "The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson." Cheuse has never steered me wrong so getting that second recommendation for this author's work really makes me think I need to get to "The Years of Rice and Salt" sooner rather than later.
That same day I was listening to APR's The Story and Dick Gordon was talking to Dennis Reed, who was an amateur photographer 30 years ago when he came across the work of Japanese American art photographers who had been forced to hid their work when they were sent to Japanese internment camps (a subject I'd discovered had recently come up in several reads). Some of these photographers managed to make cameras out of materials they were allowed to have in the camps. As stark and barren as the other photographs I've seen of these camps are, these make them look so much worse.
Have you discovered any themes recurring in your reading?
I didnt think of it quite like this until your post but yes, if I read cozies I seem to cling to them, then if its Victoriana or Regency I tend to read only them for a couple of books so maybe its like calling to like for a bit.
ReplyDeleteNot especially....but heck, I have a hard time remembering what I read last month!!
ReplyDeleteLisa, I was trying to post a comment on your new post. But there is no comments tab. I am ALSO stuck with Intensedebate, I mean it ate away half of my comments, and I am not sure what to do about it :(
ReplyDeleteIf you find something, lemme know. It is so scary to lose comments.
Spicy, southwestern foods. Reading The Secret to Happiness, and then being in the southwest and watching an incredibly talented chef cook mexican food, and finally, coming home to discover I can suddenly eat spicy foods after a lifetime of being unable to do so. I know that's not a recurring them in the books, but it's definitely a thread running from the book through my life.
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