Monday, December 1, 2008

What Did You Read Over Thanksgiving Weekend?

I don't know about you, but beginning Friday morning, my long weekend was all about curling up on the couch with a mug of coffee and a stack of good reads! I stayed there pretty much straight through to Sunday night, surfacing occasionally for a plate of leftovers or to switch out the coffee for a glass of wine once it got dark outside.

Here's what I was reading:

• Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons - I've had this in my pile forever and I'm determined to finish it before the movie comes out. I'm liking it, yes, but am also finding it a little slow. I skip ahead a lot and scan the pictures to find out what happens. Still, there's good subtly in the plot and some really interesting thoughts on what it means to be human and a part of human society. Stay posted...

• Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund - This is a re-read for me. I stumbled upon it a few years back and fell in love with the lyrical prose and the intensity of the story. For those who aren't familiar, this is the story of Ahab's wife, who Ahab mentions in a few of his more mournful meditations in Moby Dick. It's just a gorgeous book and a perfect read for the wintry mix weather we've been getting in Boston.

• A Mercy by Toni Morrison - This just came into the bookstore last week and I'm only a little ways into it. The story is compelling: a 17th century trader accepts a slave girl as partial payment for a debt and he ends up taking the girl into his household instead of trading her away. I'm curious to see where the story goes, but so far, so good. 

Plus my backlog of cooking magazines. I can never seem to keep up with those cooking magazines...

What were you reading this weekend?

(Image: Cafemama via Flickr Creative Commons)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was reading Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao for bookgroup. Great read!
-Rebekah

Anonymous said...

I was reading "Slaves in the Family," a fabulous account by Edward Ball of his ancestors' slave-owning ways. Ball traces descendants of some of the slaves his family owned. It was an amazing piece of research.

Anonymous said...

Oddly enough, I was also reading about a writer's attempt to confront her family's slave-owning history, in the form of poetry: J.P. writer Catherine Sasanov, who recently appeared at a JP Forum event featuring local writers, has written a chapbook called "Tara," and is now seeking a publisher for a full-length collection of poems entitled "Had Slaves." Her poetry is powerful and unflinching--highly recommended.