I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I was away enjoying the warm weather and the great hospitality of North Carolina. Which brought to mind today's Sunday Salon- traveling and destination. When we travel, we always have a destination, so I've got a couple of great "Travel" books and a true crime book written about where my destination was this week!
Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck... In the 1960's, 58-year-old John Steinbeck gets in his truck and goes off in an adventure with his standard poodle, Charley. He wanted to explore the American landscape he had written about for so long. This has been on my "to read" list for some time, and when thinking about my recent travels I decided it was high time to crack the spine and see what Steinbeck discovered.
As he talked with all kinds of people, he sadly noted the passing of region speech, fell in love with Montana, and was appalled by racism in New Orleans.
Were there any similarities as I left Connecticut for the great unknown? I did learn that Y'all is a word!
The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger... I fell in love with this novel the moment I started reading it! If you are a true romantic, there is nothing more special that the love story between Henry and Claire.
When Henry meets Clare, he is twenty-eight and she is twenty. Henry has never met Clare before; Clare has known Henry since she was six. Impossible but true, because Henry finds himself periodically displaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. Henry and Clare's attempts to live normal lives are threatened by a force they can neither prevent nor control, making their passionate love story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable. The Time Traveler's Wife is a story of fate, hope and belief, and more than that, it's about the power of love to endure beyond the bounds of time.
A love story that isn't bound by the rigors of time, and wonderful heartfelt writing, make this a great read! If you haven't read it, DO IT NOW! Definitely part of my travels this past week.
Bitter Blood: : A True Story of Southern Family Pride, Madness, and Multiple Murder by Jerry Bledsoe... Now we come to my destination - Greensboro, North Carolina, and my last book pick of today. Bitter Blood still evokes a response from people living in Greensboro, who unwittingly became part of a bizarre and horrifying series of murders.
The first bodies found were those of a feisty millionaire widow and her beautiful daughter in their posh Louisville, Kentucky, home. Months later, another wealthy widow and her prominent son and daughter-in-law were found savagely slain in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Mystified police first suspected a professional in the bizarre gangland-style killings that shattered the quiet tranquility of two well-to-do southern communities. But soon a suspicion grew that turned their focus to family. The Sharps. The Newsoms. The Lynches. The only link between the three families was a beautiful and aristocratic young mother named Susie Sharp Newsom Lynch. Could this former child "princess" and fraternity sweetheart have committed such barbarous crimes? And what about her gun-loving first cousin and lover, Fritz Klenner, son of a nationally renowned doctor?
Everyone who I have talked to about this book says it is an amazing page turner and not to be missed by any true crime reader! Mesmerizing, haunting and riveting are some of the comments I have heard about Bitter Blood and the writing of Jerry Bledsoe. I'm toting this one around in my pocketbook with a fast moving bookmark!
What have you been reading this week? Did you have any bookish travels for Thanksgiving? Although I didn't have time to read too much while flying down to North Carolina, I did discover some great reads!
Happy reading... Suzanne
7 comments:
I enjoyed reading the Time travelers wife as much as you did. A real love story. I think I'll put Bitte Blood on my list. Looks like a mustread.
I just finished reading Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. I sure can recommend reading it.
Bitter Blood looks so good! I've read several books set in either North or South Carolina this year.
I feel almost as if I've been there.
I started watching The Time Traveler's Wife (movie), and didn't finish it. But I was intrigued. I think I'll pick up the book some time this next year.
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Books with a traveling theme are one of my favorite genres. Thank you for the suggestions!
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I haven't read any of these, but I've obviously heard of Time Traveller's Wife and the Steinbeck is on my shelves somewhere. I went to the Steinbeck museum in Salinas (which I would recommend if you're a fan) and they had the car that he traveled with Charley in. It was fun.
Hi Suzanne, I have read the Time Traveller's Wife but not the Steinbeck. I love travel books - one of my favourite writers is Eric Newby.
No bookish Thanksgiving travels here as I'm in England. I'm currently reading the first Flashman book on my Kindle - it features a cowardly, despicable but very engaging "hero" and is set during the time of the first Afghan War. The historical details are accurate and I'm find it interesting.
I wonder if the Time Traveler's Wife is better than the movie. I found the movie confusing.
Ann
Planning on reading more Steinbeck in 2012, and Travels with Charley is one of them:)
Hope you have a great holiday season Suzanne.
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