One of my Goals...

So I think I have mentioned that one of my goals this year is to meet new people and read more. I may also have mentioned that I found and joined a book club that meets every other week near our place. It's called Bookleaves and everyone is really friendly. We've been to two meetings so far and have another this Sunday. Unfortunately they haven't been great about keeping the blog or the Facebook group updated but they do email everyone about the meetings and books so that's okay.

We decided not to get cable tv this year and therefore we have had a lot more time to read. As a result, here is a list of the books I've read since returning to Korea.

Cunt by Ingrid Muscio
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
You Suck by Christopher Moore
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

All of these books were pretty good, although wildly different. I'd have to say my favorite was The Lovely Bones even if the second half of the book wasn't as stellar as the beginning. It had a really interesting concept, great characters and was extremely moving. I think this is a book my friend Cindy could finish, which says something since she has finished approximately 3 books in her entire life and hates reading. You Suck was hilarious and crude (it's a vampire love story, do I really need to say more?). Suite Francaise was all right but honestly the author's personal story was more interesting to me than the book. Irene Nemirovsky was an acclaimed writer of Jewish descent, living in France, during WWII. She was writing this book about the war (with fictional characters) and wanted it to have five parts, like a musical 'suite'. Unfortunately she was arrested, sent to Aushwitz and murdered shortly after finishing part two. This novel was discovered and published about six decades after her death.

Currently I am reading Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami and really enjoying it so far. It's another translation (Suite Francaise was also translated) but they did a great job and seem to have retained the author's quirky writing style.

Anyway, I realize compared to some people, I haven't read that much in two months but for me I'm doing pretty good. It's hard to get back in the saddle after a long hiatus from reading. Being in the book club is nice since I am reading books that I probably wouldn't have tried otherwise.