Pulitzer Prize Winner is a Winner

Normally, I'm not a big fan of short stories, but I am a huge fan of this year's Pulitzer Prize winner, Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, a novel told in thirteen short stories.

The novel tells the story of Olive, a retired school teacher, and the people who surround her in a small coastal Maine town. Her story along with the stories of her husband, a lounge singer haunted by a past love, her Olive's own resentful son.

Kirkus Reviews (February 1, 2008) said it is:

A perfectly balanced portrait of the human condition, encompassing plenty of anger, cruelty and loss without ever losing sight of the equally powerful presences of tenderness, shared pursuits and lifelong loyalty.

I listened to the book and enjoyed the narrator, Sandra Burr, tremendously. She really made Olive's character come alive. I will remember Olive's voice for a long time.

Summer Reading

Well it's June 5 and it's raining outside. I even am wearing a sweater (and shoes and socks!) However, after having read "A Book Lover's Summer" in the Wall Street Journal, my mind is on summer...summer reading, that is.

Here's what I'm thinking about reading this summer:

• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. (A Newbery Award winner I've been meaning to get to for about 9 months now.)
  
• Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson. (I really enjoyed his earlier novel Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and seem to have developed a real taste for dark Swedish/Scandinavian thrillers)
• The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman (I've always got to read her latest. Hoffman's blend of psychological fiction with magical elements can be hypnotic.)
• The Leisure Seekers by Michael Zahoorian (About an elderly married couple who venture off on one last road trip...the reviews made me think it might be funny and I need a laugh)
• A Devil to Play by Jason Rees (About one man's year long quest to perform a Mozart Horn Concerto - in public - after a 22-year lapse in ever having touched the instrument. As a former horn player, I think this'll also be funny.)
• In the Woods by Tana French (I've always heard it was good.)
• Something from Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas series. (I have to confess I've never read any of his books and he's from Mechanicsburg! Shame on me!)

What are you reading?