three women, three books

July 7th, 2010

I take it as a very good sign that three women have given me three books already this summer.

One, a recommendation, and the other two: paperbacks placed in my hands with trust and pleas of safe return, as if these broken-spine books were something really special—and they are.

The set is stacked in a pyramid on my nightstand, arranged big to small. I’m reading them all together, flipping in and out a chapter or section at a time. It’s like diving into three distinct worlds, three different writers’, three unique women.

Mary Jane generously handed over Tinkers, by Paul Harding, a recent small press Pulitzer Prize winner which reads like poetry and air-conditioning—thanks to those New England winters.

And also, from KP, Drop City by T.C. Boyle—clever commune research for the screenplay I’m supposed to be drafting.

And finally, Special Topics in Calamity Physics, by Marisha Pessl, which reads like an erudite Veronica Mars episode but with annotations. I would not have even picked this book up—it has the word ‘Physics’ in the title—but for librarian goddess Heather’s encouragement.

One book I’d like to lend to you is The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, by Heidi Durrows, which is gentle and brutal at once.
Take care of it. Pass it on.
Wonder what it says about me,
About you.
Enjoy.

What books would you like to pass on this summer?

Photo ( at top of post) by Billy

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3 Responses to “three women, three books”

  1. Marta on July 9, 2010 1:13 am

    Love the new theme Jocelyn! Looks awesome.

    I’d like to pass on “From Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her Island.” A beautifully written book filled with strong characters. I read it while pregnant, and far away from home. By the end I felt adopted by Lorna Goodison’s family. They are excellent company.

  2. Jocelyn Johnson on July 13, 2010 4:09 pm

    Thank you, Marta! Hope you and your new little one are well!

  3. Jenny on July 15, 2010 9:48 am

    The Girl Who Fell From The Sky looks wonderful, …
    So far this summer I’ve picked up Krishnamurti fresh, and been revisiting Susie Bright and Laurie Colwin (old), and just devoured a novel by C.S. Lewis that I adored called Till We Have Faces.

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