Still writing … it is the long and short wrap up of the three months since I last posted. The dissertation is not done, but hopefully it is much, much closer.

Wow! After three months, you’d think I’d have more to say. Guess I’ve lost my bloggy voice a little. Maybe I just need to take it slowly.

If you haven’t already read Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn, then you need to start it today. Actually, although I’m not generally fond of audiobooks with multiple narrators, I suggest you listen to this book. Broken Harbor by Tana French, and Divergent by Veronica Roth also need to be on your reading lists.

Why should you read these books? I’m not quite up to lengthy reviews these days, but let me see if I can come up with a decent list.

Gone Girl – An author has never yet been able to make me switch allegiances between characters so readily. I’m still not sure it ended as I would have liked it to, but I’m also not sure any other ending was really possible. It might not sound like a big, or good thing, but given the way Flynn tells this story it is essential that she gets you to buy in so completely. After Sharp Objects I would not have guessed she had this in her. By the way, Sharp Objects isn’t bad, just not as well crafted in my opinion.

Broken Harbor – Aside from the fact that I’d read just about anything Tana French wrote, I was pleasantly surprised. Although the characters never did exactly what I’d expected, I was never incredulous about the outcome of events: just deeply, deeply sad. One thing I really love about French is how completely the tone and pace of her books changes from one to another.  Broken Harbor is, for lack of a better term, sedate, but compelling.  Yeah, you read it and try to figure out how that combination works.

Divergent – Finally, a YA novel that doesn’t involve a love triangle.  Do you really need another reason beyond that?