New Books

So a couple of new books I've been reading - going through a collected essays/letters/literary criticism phase:

The Fame Lunches by Daphne Merkin. Very well written - only just started but its hard to put down. Her essay on Marilyn Monroe was excellent.

The Mad Woman in The Volvo : My Year of Raging Hormones by Sandra Tsing Loh. Because she makes it funny. Laugh at Loud at some parts. Mr. C has been given highlighted pages to read and learn from (especially on the thermostat).

Discontent and Its Civilizations: Dispatches from Lahore, New York and London by Mohsin Hamid. Incredible writing from a Pakistan native who lived in the west and has returned home. The 3rd section especially on Politics is outstanding. The love for his complex country comes through but with good back history and the ability to see where it has gone wrong. He also wrote The Reluctant Fundamentalist which, for me, is a great novel.

The Viceroy's Daughters by Anne de Courcy. Not newly published but a fascinating look at the lives and times of Lord Curzon's daughters - one of whom was the first wife of Sir Oswald Moseley and one who was married to the best friend of the former Edward VIII. A good history with lots of high society gossip.

next up is The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs and the Perverse Pleasures of the Obituaries by Marikyn Johnson. Says what is. Great human interest story.

and The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming. Probably wont tell me anything new but always willing to give it a whirl when it comes to them.