It’s the first Monday of fall, which means we are heading into prime curl-up-with-a-book weather. At least for me. There is something about cooler days that makes me want to immerse myself in a book. How about you? Is this the beginning of reading weather or do you have fall activities that keep you busy? If you do have time for reading, what are you reading now?
Our house is largely finished and slowly but surely we’re unpacking and turning empty spaces into a home. For me, this means books coming out of cartons, finding homes for those books and spaces where I can read them. Fall is also the time of year for the biggest new releases from the publishers although that seems to be less so this year. However, I am ¾ of the way through one of those books and it is the reason why I only have one book to share this week—because this chunkster weighs in at 944 pages. 
It’s Garth Hallberg’s debut novel City on Fire. Whether it’s worth the investment of time for readers or the almost 2 million dollars Knopf paid for it in a bidding war remains to be seen. I will say this, from my perspective at 458 pages in, the answer is…doubtful. But who knows maybe there is something right up ahead that will change my mind. If so, it better happen soon because I’m close to setting it aside and moving on to something else.
In other media here’s what I’m up to this week:
Television: Borderline binge watching The Newsroom. If you’re an Aaron Sorkin fan and you have HBO access then you you have no reason not to fall face first into another of his series with crackling-smart, fast paced dialogue and his incisive take on an American institution.
Magazines: I’m including this one this week because it is the month for the fall fashion issue of the major magazines. Also known as the time of year when my postal carrier gets all passive-aggressive about the weight of said magazines by scrunching them up and jamming them into our mailbox even though they fit without being bent in half. This is what I look at when I want to read without having to think about writing a review. What I’ve learned so far is that this fall in fashion feels about as exciting as what’s happening in books. Blahsville.
Such a bummer to hear about City on Fire. I figured I wouldn’t get to it right away with everything going on right now, but now I’m thinking I might push it aside all together. So glad to hear the house is coming together and love that the books get to come out of the boxes!
Oh no! I’m so disappointed to hear that about City on Fire…especially from you since it appears you are my reading twin! I’m still going to give it a go once the e-book comes out…speaking of, how are your biceps looking? Nice and toned?!
Congrats on getting settled in your new house…I know that must be a great feeling!
I love it because I agree- our tastes seem to be really similar! As for my biceps, I’m leaving that to swimming. I tore the ARC in half- it was ridiculous. And now I’m not even sure I’m going to finish it. I need to feel some kind of connection and while he writes well, it’s empty, if that makes sense.
“Blahsville”- I love it! Hopefully City on Fire will pick up. I was denied an ARC and now wondering if I will even pick it up when it comes in at the library. I’m trying to read as many 2015 releases I missed along the way and not sure if I want to invest in 900+ pages. Yay for unpacking! I’m still in packing mode…
Honestly, I wouldn’t Marisa. I may be completely wrong but unlike Fates and Furies which started slow and then exploded this feels clinical- like showing off how well he can write but not creating any sense of connection.
Are you getting ready for a move?
Ouch re: City on Fire. I honestly haven’t heard anything about it, and at nearly 1,000 pages, I probably won’t be consuming it anytime soon. I hope it ends strong for you!
I am reading When The Devil’s Idle for a book tour. It is set in Greece.
944 pages is a chunkster. Yikes!!
Happy unpacking and reading.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
My It’s Monday, What Are You Reading
Okay, so I’ve just started City on Fire; I’m going to try to stay optimistic. 🙂 I love perusing the fall fashion mags, even though I am no style maven and only step out of running gear when required for work. I stopped subscribing to them because they just created more “stuff” around our small apartment; now that we’ve moved (I feel your pain, although it’s been a month now and things are much better!) I have more space and I may need to rethink that decision. There is also a Walgreens within walking distance, so I can just trot down there and pick up the ones I want! I hope things continue to unpack nicely! Congrats!
I will be so interested to see what you think about City on Fire. I bailed for now so will want to know if there’s a reason to push on through!
I hear you about clutter with magazines. I get around this by taking mine to the health club when I finish. I swim but I figure all those women on the ellipticals etc need something good and fun to read!
Where did you land with City on Fire? Did you keep going or did you put it aside?
It feels like summer was really big for new books this year so maybe they’ve lost some steam for the fall? Normally, this is definitely the time of year for the best new titles. Good thing too, since it’s definitely my favourite time of year for reading (although I’m partial to winter reading too since really, what else are you going to do?). I’m always up for summer being over to be honest. It’s just not my favourite.
I hope you find something great to read soon!
I put it aside. I’m waiting for someone to let me know there’s a reason to continue! The fact that I haven’t thought about it since stopping is not a good sign for me.
I’m in an OK book space. A couple of real duds but others that are all right. It will be nice to get swept away again but it may come from something on my TBR pile as opposed to a new release.