Jul 11, 2024
Dock sitting for the July 4 extended weekend means we've got
books to talk about! Hannah pulled Peter Heller's "The Guide" off
the camp shelves and found herself thinking, "the writing is so
insanely beautiful." Pretty high praise. Heller even makes
fly-fishing enthralling — she read it in a day. Meanwhile, Sam was
consumed for multiple days with Lev Grossman's brand-new "The
Bright Sword," a new take on the Arthurian legend that runs a
thousand pages or so, but still reads quick. If you're a
"Magicians" fan, you'll love this — even if things are getting more
and more earnest nowadays.
Next up is "Trust Her," a follow up to Flynn Berry's "Northern
Spy," a domestic story of the IRA in the 1980s. Hannah loved the
first book; this one could have gotten started a little quicker.
Sam had no such qualms about "Banal Nightmare," an early candidate
for his favorite book of the year. Dang, it's funny. Halle Butler
can bring it. Hannah is less enthused by "One of Our Kind," by
Nicola Yoon, which just was too predictable and familiar to land,
despite great sentence-level work. Hanif Abdurraqib's "There's
Always This Year," on the other hand, is an important work you
probably need to read right now if you're interested in
explorations of Black culture. Sam loves it. So much to chew on
this week!