not sure what serious reading might be for you – big books? lots of reading hours?
I read a review saying that the first book in Jane Smiley’s 100 year trilogy was great for book groups so when I was at the library and saw a new book by her on the new book shelf I immediately picked it up. Started reading it and discovered that I was in book 2 and the cast of characters is so large that I decided I really needed to start at the beginning so went back and got the first book – Some Luck – and read it before coming back to Early Warning which is the latest out.
I liked them both – Early Warning more because I think I was more familiar with the characters – and this is a book where you need to refer frequently to the genealogy list at the beginning – and because she had hit the era that was more familiar to me. So my serious reading is nearly 1000 pages of Jane Smiley but enjoyable and recommended.
Now I have to wait until she finishes writing the last one to see where she takes this large family that starts on a farm in Iowa.
I just read Ashley’s War by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon. It is non-fiction. An inspiring story of a special forces group of women in Afghanistan. The heroics of this group caused the military to change their policy about women in combat. Earlier I read Girl at War by Sara Novic. This is her first book and she is very talented. In between , I have done some light summer reading- good mysteries. I will admit I tried Jane Smiley’s Some Luck and it just was not for me. I was disappointed. But that’s why it is wonderful that there are so many choices!
I forgot to say that Orhan’s Inheritance is worth reading. It is about the Armenian genocide, but is also a love story.