No new title on the Top Ten at the Library this week; the only news is that Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo has moved into the top slot ahead of second place Away:a novel by Amy Bloom.
(Amy Bloom will be speaking here on Wednesday December 12 at noon. You still have time to place a reserve and read Away before you hear her talk.)
Here is the rest of the list:
Run by Ann Patchett, Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin, Playing for Pizza by John Grisham, Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, Songs without Words by Ann Packer, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, Choice by Nicholas Sparks and Age of Turbulence by Alan Greenspan.
Here 's what I've been reading this week:
Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta. I skipped his last novel, Little Children- book & movie- but I am impressed by how Perrotta nails the suburban life style. This one is about sex ed, fundamentalist religion, single parenthood, soccer competitions and how life in the suburbs is not quite as homogeneous as it seems. The writing is not beautiful, but he manages to switch points of view with relatively few bumps.
Microtrends: the small forces behind tomorrow's big changes by Mark J Penn. Hillary's advisor & an advertising guru, Penn has very short chapters on interesting trends, like tattoos among the "upper class," the older age of kindergartners (especially boys), and the increase in reading! of books & literary magazines, like Atlantic Monthly. He draws a prediction from each trend.
PS: Are you a fan of forensic mysteries? Come to hear Jerry Labriola on his new novel The Strange Death of Napoleon Bonaparte on Tuesday October 30 at noon. A mysterious commission from a secret society drives a search for the hidden history of Napoleon's death.