Recent Reading Part 3

The book I'm reading right now is Connie Willis's Doomsday Book. This is a fantasy or science fiction story, depending on whether you think time travel is possible. The novel is set in 2054 England and treats time travel as a science, so I guess for me that would categorize it as SF. In the novel, the Medieval Department sends a woman historian back to 1320 without many precautions, and then a bout of influenza or something breaks out, quarantining Oxford, where the time travel is taking place. So, the historian is living in 1320 not sure if she'll get back, and because of the quarantine, the scientists haven't been able to check on her in preparation for bringing her back in a couple weeks. The narrative moves back and forth between the time periods and makes me wonder what will happen. I am enjoying reading it and looking forward to my half hour before bed when I can find out about the next events.

Recent Reading Part 2

The book I finished most recently is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, which my sister sent me years ago. Because she doesn't send me many books, I assume this was one she really enjoyed. It tells the story of a 90-something man in a retirement home when a circus comes to town, and he remembers his youth as a circus vet. The book begins with a violent moment that actually occurs toward the end of the main story and spends much of the narrative moving between the man's present and past. It's a good story with complex characters, and I kept wondering what was going to happen.

Recent Reading

I do quite a bit of reading for relaxation before I go to bed, and I've been trying to alternate between reading I do for total immersion (fantasy and SF especially) and reading that would be "good for me" or that others have recommended. I just finished Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin and Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, both recommended by family members, and am now reading Connie Willis's The Doomsday Book, fantasy/SF. I think I'll talk about each in the next postings, with Three Cups of Tea first.



My dad recommended Three Cups of Tea, and of course I heard about it, as it seemed as if every book group in the country was reading it. I was kind of worried about starting it because I was afraid it would depict a nice white guy going to save the third world. Although I suppose that's what happened, the tone was humble and built on Greg Mortenson's interest in Pakistan and the people of Pakistan more than the cause. It was a slow read for me. I think it took almost a month. I don't read non-fiction quickly, probably because there's no plot to draw me along. There's just this set of events and then that set of events and then some more events, so I don't tend to wonder what is going to happen. I'm glad I read it because I can talk with my dad about it. As he is caring for my mom now, who has Alzheimer's, talking about books is one way for me to try to support him at a distance.

(All of the book images come from Amazon.)