Finished Picturing Will by Ann Beattie, a strange book about the lives of a woman, her son, her lover, and her ex-husband. There was very little of what I would call plot. A great deal occurred over the course of the novel, but it was told in a very blase, matter of fact style. Not exactly a page-turner. It didn't help that the first half of the book was told from the perspective of the woman, a likeable and interesting character, and the second half from the viewpoint of the sleazeball ex-husband. Read the review by T. Coraghessan Boyle.

Also finished an excellent, brief history of Jewish culture, The Story of the Jews by Stan Mack. It's a picture book that contains a great deal of information in a few pages. Highly recommended. Coincidentally, Ann Beattie wrote a cover blurb praising it.
posted by Bruce Wright at 10:13 AM #