Small Hour Books: thursday

I was recently in Boston for a visit while the snow-to-end-all-snows was (is!) happening. While I spent most of my time traveling and trudging through snow banks, I also did a lot of reading, inside the airport and out.

It's been a long time since I've spent a day snuggled inside from the cold, just sitting and waiting with time to spare, so I thought about the books that are the best (for me, at least!) to have on hand - you know, the next time a snowstorm comes or you're stuck waiting for a bus/train/airplane.

Fiction:

From Left to Right:

1. Two parallel stories of childhood, survival, myth, and curiosity during wartime. Exquisite descriptions and a suspenseful, page-turner of a plot meant I was reading this one during landing turbulence (and that's saying something!)

2. If you're looking for keen, photographic descriptions of ordinary life (and a peek into Russia), check out Chekhov's short stories - long enough to delve deep into human issues and really make you think, short enough to read while trying to tune out a screaming baby and people smashing into you with their luggage.

3. Lovely, light, melt-in-your-mouth descriptions of food and France PLUS a story about family, sisters, and what it means to uncover secrets you think you know (but really don't).

4. Is there anything not to love about Colette? Badass, controversial, daring. My favorite in college was Les Vrilles de la Vigne, but any of her stories fit the bill for when you want a beautiful, feminist, slightly risque read.

Fantasy:

Any one of these three series is guaranteed to make the next "hour delay that turned into a three hour delay" announcement go by fast.

1. Diana Wynne Jones was a discovery of mine in middle school, but she is still fabulous to read as an adult. Tongue-in-cheek but never cynical, and light enough to read as an escape.

2. The fifth book in the Harry Potter series is both long and one of my all-time favorites. If you're feeling the travel rage and angst, this is one I'd grab and disappear into.

3. Do I even need to say anything?! Time travel, rich character development, history, sweeping Scottish romance...another big book and a great series. Plus, when you make it to your hotel/friend's couch and crash, you can check out the tv adaptation for a re-cap.

Non-fiction and mysteries coming up next week...What do you read when you travel?

I'm declaring January the month of women - nearly all of my reads this month have been written by the ladies. This was completely unplanned and glorious. Looking forward to keeping it up...should 2015 be the year of women writers?!

Not getting carried away. Let's do this: mini-reviews for the first weeks of January, with titles linked to goodreads.

Lila by Marilynne Robinson
My sister gave me this book for the holidays, and it's the first hardcover I've had in a long while, since I usually wait for things to come out in paperback. I could not wait to read it. I had enjoyed Gilead, and I think that's why I couldn't get enough of this book. Robinson's writing is so poetic, almost lyrical, and it stuck with me the whole way through. As with The Lowland, the characters were written in a really intimate way. I know that Home was written in between, but I had not read it before this one. Has anyone read all three of the series in a row? What were your thoughts?

Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
I had such a fun time with this one. I wasn't expecting anything (well, maybe that Miss Marple would be more of the narrator, but other than that, not much) and could not figure out who did it. This was my first Christie, and I loved her writing style, the easy dialogue, and the incredibly natural way her characters all interacted. Thumbs up. I will be reading more Marple this year.

A Mercy by Toni Morrison
If I had to describe how I felt about this book in a word, it would be: disjointed. I wish there had been more passages where all of the characters interacted in some way with each other, rather than the format of a chapter for each person's perspective. The characters were vibrant and engaging, but it seemed as if the book was too short for them to really develop. For the passages that were written in Florens' and Sorrow's voice, I understood the point, but I found it very confusing (and it sort of made me want to put the book down, not delve deeper). I've really enjoyed Morrison's other books, so this one was a little bit of a letdown for me.

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
Beautiful. There was not a single time when I picked up this book that I was disappointed. (Say what?!) The characters each had their quirks and qualms and imperfections, and they felt fleshed out. As in life with the people we love, I didn't fully know them, but I felt like I knew them from the inside-out. Even the "unlikable" parts of each character didn't seem over the top or pushy; they felt natural. I loved it. My only tiny qualm? I might've wanted to hear a bit more from Udayan.

What have you been reading this month? Do you read more male or female authors?