Finished Reading:
- Laura Childs – Shades of Earl Grey
- Philip Levine – The Simple Truth
- Allan Nevins – Grover Cleveland: A Study in Courage
Currently Reading:
- Paul F Boller, Jr. – Presidential Campaigns
- Herman Melville – Moby-Dick
- Griffith John McRee – Life and Correspondence of James Iredell Vol. I
- Julia Stuart – The Pigeon Pie Mystery: A Novel
- Frank Van Der Linden – The Turning Point: Jefferson’s Battle for the Presidency
So I’m a day late in making my weekly post mainly because I was trying to finish up the Grover Cleveland biography. It also didn’t help that it was a much-needed lazy day around our household due to a quite busy week. However, a day later, I am happy to report that I finished the Cleveland biography and was quite pleased with it. Since it was written in the 1930s, the author, Allan Nevins, was able to interview numerous people who actually knew Cleveland, both professionally and personally, which adds a nice dimension beyond the cut and dry facts of his life. Nevins did have a tendency at times to get too wrapped up in minute details and at times stepped out of an air of objectivity that I believe is important for a biographer to maintain. Overall, though, it was a good read with a great deal of informative insight into our 22nd and 24th president.
Also this week, I finished a book of fiction and a book of poetry. Childs’s Shades of Earl Grey was a fun read like the others in the Tea Shop Mysteries series. I have to admit that I didn’t like the plot quite as much as I have the other books in the series, but the characters and setting were delightful to romp around in for a bit. Philip Levine’s Pulitzer Prize winning book of poetry, The Simple Truth, takes the reader on a journey through the ins and outs of life, death and everything in between. Some of the poems had such a haunting lyricism that one at times felt entangled within the words.
As can be seen, I have numerous other works that I’m making my way through now. Thus, now that I’ve gotten chores done around the house, I’m going to get around to enjoying this lazy Sunday afternoon while moving forward with my list. Hope your Sunday has good times and good reads in store for you!
Jerry Landry 