Strangers in the House- Georges Simenon

This book centers on Loursat, a middle aged 'loser' who has become more reclusive and lonely since his wife abandoned him and their infant daughter eighteen years ago. Although he is a successful lawyer, his life essentially revolves around lounging in a chair and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.
One evening he hears a gunshot in his house and discovers a man dead. As he becomes involved in the ensuing investigation, first as a witness of sorts, then as the defendent of the accused, he uncovers what has been going on right under his nose (events that also involve his reserved, distant daughter Nicole). The novel is set in mid 20th century France (when it was published originally) and the writing in this book is wonderful. It truly evokes a sense of the small(ish) town, complete with it's own politics, familial relationships and town characters.
Overall, I truly liked-loved this book; Simenon does a particularly good job of creating and fleshing out the character of Loursat- who even though he is a pathetic kind of guy, also has a deep character to him with many layers. I also liked the fact that there is not a necessarily happy ending; even though Loursat is able to refelct on his life and his vices and gain a sense of perspective, he does not completely change or become reformed in his habits, a choice that in the end makes him that much more human and realistic. A great book- 4.5/5 stars.

Sunday Salon- new car edition

Yesterday we spent much of the afternoon at the car dealership looking at getting a new car. We are in dire need of one, since my husband just got a new job a few weeks ago and we don't have something reliable enough for him to commute in.
Looking at and buying cars is definitely not one of my preferred activities. I am not a car person and honestly I don't know or care enough about cars other than having something that runs and is fuel efficient and not hugely expensive.
Luckily we ended up finding something and are now in the process of buying it, finances etc.

It does look like decent weather all weekend here, with cooler nights. Starting to feel like fall will be here soon enough. Not doing too much today other than hanging around and hopefully biking to the local corn maze/pumpkin patch/farm to check it out!
On the reading front, I am reading several things, notably The Courilof Affair by Irene Nemirovsky, and Shadow Tag by Louise Erdrich. Both are good so far, but only a little into them......
Hope you're having a great weekend and reading some good books!

Review- The Pat Hobby stories- F.Scott Fitzgerald

I am a fan of Fitzgerald in the sense that The Great Gatsby is one of my favorites, and his other short stories are great reads. This edition contains all of the Pat Hobby stories, which he wrote shortly before his death while working in Hollywood. Pat Hobby, a humorous yet also pathetic character, is a middle aged man who is past his prime career-wise. Although successful as a screenwriter for Hollywood's silent films, the new "talkies" era has left him floundering for steady jobs.
All of the stories have the same general premise- Pat is struggling to find some kind of screenwriting work to get much needed income. In his quest for finding renewed success, he makes a fool of himself in his desperateness. His social skills and awareness are sorely lacking, as he essentially does anything that others ask of him for a little cash, no matter how ridiculous (in one story, he is persuaded to dress up like Orson Welles for fun, in another he takes an unsuspecting couple on a "Homes of the Stars" tour as a favor for a friend).
Most of these stories are laugh-out-loud funny, and of course the writing is top-notch. However, within the humor, at the root of the stories is Pat's struggle to find some kind of personal success and importance to those around him. He is presented as someone who is stuck in the past- he is convinced he can still be on top, even though the world has moved on without him. He is a pathetic character who ultimately you can't help but feel sorry for.
I really enjoyed this collection (4/5 stars)

This book came from my TBR pile.

Several (4!) years ago, I had started this blog with the intention of documenting and reviewing the books that I had been reading. Time ended up getting away from me, despite my best intentions, and I did not have the time I needed to commit to it............
But after following so many people's blogs lately, my interest has been renewed!! I am hoping that even with all the business of life and stresses, I can at least occasionally stop in to let you know what I have been up to.
Let me know what you think..........

Current reads

Currently I am in the process of reading:
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
Home, by Marilynne Robinson
Respect, by Sarah Lawrence Lightfoot

As usual, reading more than one at a time! I haven't had much time to read a whole lot lately, so it's taking me a while to get through these. Coming up next week is the announcement of the Booker Prize! Hopefully Frankenstein will be completed by the end of the weekend so I can write a review.

I've been thinking of starting a "book blog" for a while now. Since I love to read and try to read as much as I can, I thought it would be fun to write about what it is that I have read and what it is that I like or dislike about works.
Much of what I read is fiction, though I also like memoirs/autobiography types of books too. Non-fiction is usually difficult for me to focus on and enjoy, so I don't often go for that. I greatly enjoy reading, but also collecting books (my one vice). For some reason I also like to follow the "literary awards" world, and always like to follow Pulitzer prize and Man Booker prize news. I think part of this is that I have really liked any book I have read that has won either prize, so I think of the awards as an indicator of something worth reading. I also love reading classics. My favorite overall authors at this point (for the last few years) are: Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, Willa Cather, Thomas Hardy, and most of the works by the Brontes. Some favorite more recent books I have read are Olive Kitteridge, The White Tiger, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, The Road, Persepolis, and Maus.
One more thing, I am always reading more than one book at a time (at least 2). This has been a habit of mine for as long as I can remember. In 4th or 5th grade I would have a stack of 5 books on my desk- I would read a few chapters of one, then put it on the bottom of the pile and pick up the next one for a few days. I still do this, but keep the numbers to as much of a minimum as I can.