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"The plot of an Alafair Burke thriller doesn't just rip from the headlines. She's one step ahead of them. 212 scares you and keeps you turning the pages into the wee hours."
— Harlan Coben
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What Are You Reading?
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
 Like most (all?) writers, I'm also an avid reader. Ironically, the biggest sacrifice I've had to make since I published my first novel has been my leisure reading. On too many airplane flights, rainy Sundays, and sunny summer weekends, the novel that would have once occupied my hands has been replaced by a MacBook Air on my lap.
But lately I feel like I'm back in the thick of it as a reader. Usually a late-summer author, I am waiting until spring for my next book, 212. That has made this summer a longer one for me -- more time at home, less on the road, and making a good dent in that big ol' to-be-read pile.
Hopefully I'm not the only person reading more. The fact that Newsweek devoted an entire (wonderful) cover feature to ... books (gasp!) gives me hope. (Be sure to check out the roundtable with authors Lawrence Block, Susan Orlean, Kurt Andersen, Annette Gordon-Reed, Robert Caro, and Elizabeth Strout. Great stuff!)
I thought I'd share with you some of my recent favorite reads, as well as all-time-faves. Have you read these? What do you think? And what are you reading ... both now and always?
Summer Reads:
Lisa Unger's DIE FOR ME - Lisa adds such a unique voice to the thriller genre, taking her time to establish character but still delivering the requisite thrills.
Lee Child's GONE TOMORROW - One of my new favorites in the Jack Reacher series, this one you'll want to read in one big gulp.
Michael Connelly's THE SCARECROW - A different kind of book for Connelly, there's no whodunit here, but I still couldn't put it down. This former reporter's take on the dying newspaper industry is an added bonus.
Philip Margolin's FUGITIVE- This one took me right back to the courtroom hallways of Portland. Margolin's always a pro about pace and plot.
Garth Stein's THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN - I wouldn't have thought that a book written from the perspective of a dog (and a dying one at that) would be my cup of tea, but consider me charmed.
Books I'd Pack for a Desert Island:
Toni Morrison's Beloved, Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint, John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, and Michael Cunningham's The Hours. Labels: books, garth stein, Lee Child, lisa unger, Michael Connelly, phillip margolin, writing
posted by Alafair Burke at 5:36 AM
 
3 Comments:
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Hi Alafair - Have you tried the Kate Atkinson? I really enjoyed her Jackson Brodie series. I tend to read more geeky fiction and non-fiction. Just read "The Irregulars" about Roald Dahl's days as a British spy. Currently reading Neal Stephenson's "Quicksilver" - epic tome of historical fiction good times, good times. By the way my word verification is "merse". WTF?
Let's see...
I'm reading Six Geese A Slaying by Donna Andrews and will read the rest of her series back list.
I just finished Lust, Loathing and a Little Lip Gloss by Kyra Davis and her series backlist.
Recently finished Beneath Bone Lake by Colleen Thompson, Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas and Deep Down by Karen Harper, Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver, Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
What's next to read are: The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly, Borderline by Nevada Barr, Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child, Cherry Bomb by J.A. Konrath, The Missing Ink by Karen E Olson to name a few
pps...I loved, loved Die For Me.
Michele Martinez is a great author. Having worked in the legal arena she writes realistic fiction. The bad guys are bad. The good guys work hard and just cause you get a fingerprint it doesn’t mean it leads you to the bad guy.