october reads

these are the books i read in October, before embarking on an ambitious quest to read books about each major city we would visit on our epic European road trip from October 28 - November 5. i didn't manage to finish any of those other books before the month of October ended, so suffice it to say, November's book post will be a sight to behold. (p.s. the following links are affiliate - meaning if you click through to purchase on Amazon, i will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you!)




1) An Italian in Italy, by Beppe Severgnini. essentially a collection of essays on various phenomena of Italian life, this book made me howl with laughter. i found myself underlining multiple passages that so perfectly captured what i've already observed of life in this beautiful, maddening country. however, i felt that the book lost some of its vigor after the first half. still enjoyable as the reflection of a man who can poke fun at his own heritage. 


 


2) I am Pilgrim, by Terry Hayes. Kira finished this book a few days before she flew back to New York, so she left it here for me. at the time, i assumed she was just trying to finish it so she could pass it along, but once i started it, i realized why she couldn't put it down! it starts off a little slower but still enjoyable, tying together threads from all corners of the world, and then about one-third of the way through, the action races forward until its dramatic conclusion. highly recommend! 


 


3) The Story of a New Name (Neapolitan Novels #2), by Elena Ferrante. i read the first Neapolitan novel, My Brilliant Friend, a year ago and enjoyed immersing myself in the world of 1950s Naples. the second book was even more gripping, now that i've spent some time in Naples myself and can more vividly picture the setting of the book. the series tells the story of two girls who forge a friendship in elementary school and follows them through their life journey. the second book takes them up to their teen years (including marriage and pregnancy for one of them). told in the first person, the novels focus on the drama of everyday life in Naples (which is a lot more dramatic than everyday life in Pittsburgh). 


 


4) Aggiornamento on the Hill of Janus: The American College in Rome, 1955-1979, by Stephen Michael DiGiovanni. full disclosure: i only picked up this book because it's set here at the college where we live, and it provides a fascinating overview of the culture and customs of the college fifty years ago. it also describes some of the notable events in the college's history, such as when President Dwight Eisenhower landed on our sports field in a helicopter for a visit in 1959! (more about that here.) for anyone who does happen to be interested in the history of a seminary, it's quite well-written and engaging. 



 


5) Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson. this has been on my to-read list for years, and it was so good. the storyline follows two young girls who are cared for by various family members after their mother dies. Robinson's prose is precise and evocative, and she chooses her words with care. i can already tell this will be a book i read over and over again. 

here's what's on my november bookshelf. these are all the books i planned to read as we traveled from Munich to Prague to Budapest to Vienna to Slovenia to Salzburg and back to Bavaria. i'm halfway through with most of them, as i'd start reading about one city as we began driving towards it but couldn't finish the book before we were on to our next destination. 

-FatelessnessImre Kertész
-Between the Woods and the Water, Patrick Leigh Fermor
-The Prague Cemetery, Umberto Eco
-A Nervous Splendor: Vienna 1888-1889, Frederic Morton
-Memories Before and After the Sound of Music, Agathe von Trapp
-Journey to Munich, Jacqueline Winspear
-The Balkan Trilogy, Olivia Manning
-Where Eagles Dare, Alistair MacLean
-Waiting for Sunrise, William Boyd
-Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, Rebecca West
-Veronika Decides to Die, Paulo Coelho

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