Sunday, October 11, 2009

About those tears of joy....

I know I am supposed to be a patient reader by now, but John Irving's latest book is a test. The incessant details, the parenthesis riddled asides, the meandering plot have just about bored me or frustrated me to tears and I'm struggling to resume at page 78, knowing there are almost 500 more to go. I find myself drifting off on Irving's laborious history of river logging in New England to Jeffrey Lent's masterful depiction of harsh American history in Lost Nation or After the Fall, wishing to be swept away like that again. I need a story to carry me along this twisted river, and I need it soon. I will dig in, I will finish, no matter what Irving has in store for me, I owe him that much. I'm sure there is drama waiting to unfold, words waiting to pierce my heart, if I will just be more patient.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Currently Reading....


The LibraryThing Early Reviewer program has gifted me with my most prized new book. I cried actual tears of joy when I got the email telling me I was one of 30 out of 1508 who requested a copy. I cried again when I went to Amazon's page and heard John Irving himself read this excerpt:

We don't always have a choice how we get to know one another. Sometimes people fall into our lives cleanly - as if out of the sky, or as if there were a direct flight from heaven to earth -the same sudden way we lose people who once seemed they would always be part of our lives.

I cried a few more tears of joy when it arrived at my door three days later. Yes, I'm a bit moody lately. No excuses.

I've been holding out, waiting for a day when I have some uninterrupted time to read it. Today is the day. I'll keep you posted.