Book #36 & #37

Book # 36:  I listened to a book-on-not-tape ("audio book," I know, but book-on-tape is still how I think of it) of a book I found through the Goodreads list of the Funniest Books of 2012.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette, by Maria Semple, read by Kathleen Wilhoite was completely wonderful: weird, interesting, funny, challenging, expansive, bright.  Totally loved it. Wilhoite did a really lovely job narrating and voicing the book.  I was taken aback (in a good way) when she sang "O Holy Night" as part of the novel; she's got a spectacular singing voice.  It's a book I would love to reread with my eyes someday.


Book #37:  Laurie Notaro, in a rant against Fifty Shades of Grey recent column made a list of books we all should be reading; old classics that have been forgotten (or a few that have been, luckily, recently republished).  So, taking her sage advice, I got Nightingale Wood by Stella Gibbons from the library.  It was such a delight!

Set in the late-1930's in pastoral England, it's the story of a Viola, a shopgirl who married up.  After less than a year of marriage, her husband has passed away, and she's been summoned to live with the Withers, her in-laws, at their country estate.  Life is dull, with her spinster sisters-in-law, snobbish mother-in-law, and stingy father-in-law.

Gah, I hate summarizing books.  There's a perfectly serviceable summary on the amazon link above.  The point is, I really loved it.