nomadreader

Two years ago, I convinced my spouse to create a book club with me. I read more than he does, but he loves to read. I love discussing pretty much anything with him, and I am forever recommending books to him. We fizzled our pretty quickly, at least partially because Hawthorne wasn't even one yet, and finding a routine to anything was hard. Last week, Mr. Nomadreader suggested we start our book club back again in August. Of course, I agreed. Our book club is pretty fun, but we do have a few rules. Each month, we each pick one book, and we both read both books. 1. We're not allowed to pick books we've read before (I am not the creator of this rule, but it is a good one because it's terrible to hand a book to your favorite person and say, "I loved this book. I know you will love it too!" And then they don't. I also have so many books I want to make him read.) 2. No one may pick Infinite Jest  or a similarly long book. Here's what we picked for Augus...

translated by William Weaver  The backstory: Invisible Cities  is one of the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die . It's also Mr. Nomadreader's favorite book of all time and one of the first two selections for The "Darling, but..." Book Club. The basics: Invisible Cities  is mostly a conversation between Marco Polo and Kublai Khan, in which Polo describes the cities he's seen on his journey to and from Venice and the Mongol Empire. My thoughts: There's a lot of pressure when you read your favorite person's favorite book. Mr. Nomadreader and I have been discussing this book for years, as it's themes of cities and travel come up so frequently in our lives. Yet when we started watching "Marco Polo" on Netflix this winter, and I kept pausing to ask questions because I didn't know enough about that historical period to be able to follow (my world history pre-1900 is embarrassingly bad), I discovered that the plot of Invisible Cities  i...

The backstory:  The Ghost Network  is my May pick for  The "Darling, but..." Book Club . Within the first few pages, I knew I had to make Mr. Nomadreader read it. The basics:  Told in a nonfiction style, complete with frequent footnotes,  The Ghost Network  begins with the disappearance of Molly Metropolis, a famous pop singer. Through interviews with Metropolis's inner circle and journals,  The Ghost Network  reads like a mystery, a biography, a history of an anarchist fringe group or mapmaking or the city of Chicago, a work on city planning, and a work of philosophy. It is all of those things, and it is none of those things. My thoughts:  I don't think my description of  The Ghost Network  can do it justice. It's so original, and it has so many fun discoveries in it, that I'd rather keep my description vague. I knew very little going into this novel. I think the notes in my review spreadsheet called it a feminist debut mystery...

 There's no one in the world I love to talk to more than Mr. Nomadreader. And as someone who really likes to talk about books, Mr. Nomadreader and I have battering around the idea of a two-person book club for years. We finally started it last month: The basic logistics 1. We each pick one book a month, so together we'll read two books each month. We are aiming to pick books we haven't read, although I've already sought (and was awarded) two exceptions for books I happened to be reading and thought he would love (and that would be interesting to discuss.) 2. Each year in our birthday month (August for me and September for Mr. Nomadreader), we're allowed to pick a book we've read before. I am already debating which of my favorite books from the last few years to pick in August! 3. I've invited Mr. Nomadreader to contribute to the blog, and we may play around with joint reviews, interviews about the book, and guest posts about our shared reading. It m...

narrated by Orlagh Cassidy The backstory: The Bees  is on the 2015 Baileys Prize short list. The basics: The Bees  is the story of Flora 717 and her hive. Flora 717 is born a lowly sanitation worker, born to clean the hive and remove the dead, but she exhibits traits beyond her social status. My thoughts: When I heard that The Bees  was actually about bees, and that they were the only characters, I didn't quite know what to think. How would Paull bring them to life? Could she make me care about a bee (I am allergic enough to bee stings to not enjoy their presence.) She did. I was utterly enchanted with Flora 717 and cared what happened to her. The Bees  works on two levels. First, the story itself is interesting. I didn't think I knew a lot about bees, but as I listened, I realized how much I do know about bees and their lives. Flora's thoughts, feelings, and journeys kept me listening. What elevates the novel, however, is how perfectly the realities of a ...