Weekend Books

Finished Gone by Mo Hayder. What strikes me about Hayder's books and other contemporary police procedurals from the British Isles is how much the characters spend in self-absorbed introspection. Flea Marley is haunted by her cover-up of her brother's hit and run accident. Jack Caffery is attracted to Flea but believes she is the hit-and-run driver. Lots of soulful introspection, but very little communication with other human beings. Oh, and the mystery is complex and twisted.

Presently, I am re-reading The Time Traveler's Wife for a library book club discussion this coming week.

The next book coming up is In the Blink of an Eye by Michael Waltrip. It is mainly about the death of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. in the last lap of the Daytona 500 ten years ago in the last lap of the Daytona 500. Michael was Dale's teammate, and the winner that year.

I've also been reading Charles Chesnutt, a North Carolinian who wrote/compiled traditional folk tales from the area.  Lee Smith uses his writings as source material for her books.  She and Reynolds Price tell some powerful stories of strong women based in NC or southwestern VA.