#bestreads2011 Blog Hop. Kindleriffic!

Thanks to John Wiswell for hosting this blog hop! Please go visit his blog for more #bestreads2011.

Here are mine :-)

A Classic

Portrait of a Lady. One of the great things about my Kindle is that there are so many free classics. This book, considered by some to be Henry James’ masterpiece, is definitely “slow hand lit.” James takes his time; the book’s pleasures are subtle ones meant to be lingered over, not swallowed in chunks. Definitely worth reading if you’re inclined to literary fare.

An Indie

As an indie author myself, I’m meeting other indies on a daily basis. There’s no way I could read all of the new books I’m finding out about as a result, but I am trying to at least sample and if something grabs me, read on. The Movie by Bosley Gravel is one that did. Said it before and will say it again, Bos is a writer to watch.

Where have you been all my life

This one sort of falls into the indie author category as well. Julie Harris is a midlister who has started bringing titles out as ebooks. I read An Absence of Angels and really enjoyed it. It’s historical fiction, great story telling, memorable characters.

And one print book

My dad lent me this one. Gregory Orr spent part of his childhood in Germantown, New York, where my father also grew up. The Blessing is his memoir. It opens on the day that Orr accidentally shot and killed his younger brother, but this is not a maudlin book. It’s a beautifully realized meditation on pain, grace, and art.

Friday Find. The Blessing, by Gregory Orr.

I have my dad to thank for this one. He grew up in the same town as the author (Germantown, NY), bought the book, and lent it to me.

The Blessing is a memoir about a tragic family that opens on begins at the bottom: on the first day of deer hunting season in 1959, Orr accidentally shot and killed his little brother.

Today Orr is a poet, so no surprise: The Blessing is not only beautifully written, but also richly felt — Orr has lived a life examined and as dreadful as it has been, at times, he’s somehow found a way to bear it.

Highly recommend.

Read more Friday Finds here.