Reading List: The Goldfinch

What are you guys reading lately?

I've gone through a bunch of books this summer, including Tell the Wolves I'm Home, Bittersweet, The Vacationers, The Fixed Trilogy (bad romance a la 50 Shades of Grey), This is Where I Leave You, and currently The Goldfinch.

I feel like The Goldfinch is one of the 'novels of the summer'. Everyone I speak to is reading it. Clocking in at over 700 pages, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't daunted by it, especially since it centers around a piece of art, something that I'm not really so into. Lots of you chimed in on Instagram that I should just go for it. Once I started the book and got through the first few pages, I was hooked. A Pulitzer Prize-winner, The Goldfinch is a bit overly descriptive (which is the only time the story lulls), but I adore the way that the author portrays the acuteness of Theo's loss as he tries to rebuild his life following his mother's death. I also adore that the story is set in New York City.

I'm still early on, but am already trying to sneak in time to read a few pages here and there. If you're interested in reading, here's a synopsis:

Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his longing for his mother, he clings to the one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.

As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love--and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch is a mesmerizing, stay-up-all-night and tell-all-your-friends triumph, an old-fashioned story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention, and the ruthless machinations of fate.

I think that following this, I may start The Outlander...have any of you guys read that one? I know it's a long series and a new TV drama on Starz, so I find it appealing, yet also daunting.

What are you reading lately?

Tell the Wolves I'm Home

I'm back from a whirlwind 5 days in Las Vegas, followed by a weekend of camping. I'm not going to lie...it's been a long couple of weeks. Life was crazy leading up to Las Vegas, I didn't sleep much in Las Vegas, I went straight to sleeping outside in a tent for 2 nights, and then came back to some work craziness as well. Let's just say that coffee has been in full effect this week. I'm thrilled to be settling back into some sense of normalcy, but also really looking forward to our annual Aruban vacation in just a couple of weeks. It is so needed and I couldn't be more ready to be on a beach sipping a cocktail. 

While on the plane, I started reading Tell the Wolves I'm Home for book club. My sister Christine suggested that we start a book club of us, our sister Kimberly and our mom since we are all always looking for new books to read and usually end up reading the same stuff anyway. She chose this to kick things off and I'm really enjoying it. I was in such a rut with reading, so I was eager to pick up the book and dive in, even without any knowledge of the story or plot. Our first 'meeting' is during our Aruba trip, so I'm in a crunch to finish it before then. I'm about 2/3 of the way through and really loving this book!

If you are interested in joining in, I'll be posting a review and some of the questions we discuss during the week of July 13th. And to get you excited, here's the book synopsis from Amazon.com:

1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life—someone who will help her to heal, and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.
 
At Finn’s funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn’s apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs the most.
 
An emotionally charged coming-of-age novel, Tell the Wolves I’m Home is a tender story of love lost and found, an unforgettable portrait of the way compassion can make us whole again.
 

I hope you'll join in!

I'll be back tomorrow with an update on how I'm hanging in on the Dukan diet over the last 2 weeks, with travel and camping thrown into the mix. I also have a great giveaway that I hope you'll enter to win!

Have you read Tell the Wolves I'm Home?

What are you reading lately?

What I'm Reading Now

Recently I've been in a bit of a book rut. I tend to go through spurts where I can't get through books fast enough, and then will take long lulls of not being inspired by any to read. When I saw that Khaled Housseini had come out with a new book, And The Mountains Echoed, I downloaded it onto my Kindle without even reading the synopsis. After being totally obsessed with A Thousand Splendid Suns and liking The Kite Runner (not as much as Suns, though), I knew that this would be a book to add to my list. At just 50 pages in, I've already cried twice. Sigh.

On a happier note, I also just finished Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling. I blew right through this one. I was actually quite indifferent towards her prior to reading her book and only picked it up as a nice, easy read and hoping for a few laughs. Well, I ended up laughing out loud through the whole thing. Defnitely recommend!

What are you reading lately?