Here’s what I’ve been reading the past few weeks, starting with the most recent:

I chose The Long Run, a book I’ve had on my shelf for several months, as my first selection for the Canadian Book Challenge, Eh? The novel takes place in the 1960s, in a fictional Roman Catholic orphanage in Newfoundland. It’s a coming-of-age story for a group of boys, who are fiercely loyal to one another, devising schemes such as stealing sacristy wine and bread from the bakery, coming to the rescue of one, helping another through a case of ‘the spells,’ and training for the annual St. John’s marathon, a ruse for escape and a means of giving them something to focus on besides the abuse and cruelty they encounter on a daily basis. I actually started this book before any of the others in this post, but then got distracted and only picked it up again yesterday to read the second half. The majority of the story was compelling, both terrible and funny, and I liked reading the various mentions of Newfoundland-isms, like toutons, sooky-babies, Bowring Park, etc. There were times, though, when my interest waned, and I wished more attention was given to some characters/situations and less to others. Still, it was an impressive effort and one I’d heartily recommend. And since Newfoundland is its setting, a place I’m homesick to visit again, I’m also counting The Long Run as an Armchair Traveler Reading Challenge book.

I found out about The Year of Living Biblically, A.J. Jacob’s follow-up to The Know-It-All (another book I have but haven’t read) via Bibliolatry – who, incidentally, has one of the most entertaining book blogs out there – and knew I had to have it. I also knew I couldn’t wait to read it. So, within hours of having the book in my hot little hands, I was laughing and shaking my head in disbelief (sometimes at the same time) at the exploits that Jacobs subjects himself to in the name of research – or more accurately, a book deal. Focusing mainly on the Hebrew Bible (aka the Old Testament), he spends a year of his life trying to take everything literally, such as not wearing any clothing of mixed fibers, avoiding his wife during her menstrual cycle, letting his beard grow, telling the truth at all costs, wearing white, stoning adulterers, and not least, praying to God. Jewish by ethnicity and agnostic by belief, Jacobs has a difficult time adjusting to the multitude of rules, but it’s the leap of faith that’s his biggest dilemma. Still, amid the silliness and the strange, the arguments and the one-liners, he has moments of grace – and comes through the year with an appreciation for the sacred. My favorite line: “I thought religion would make me live with my head in the clouds, but as often as not, it grounds me in this world.” It’s a special treat to be both entertained and enlightened by a single book, so this comes out as one of my favorite reads of 2007.

For those of you familiar with Jennifer Donnelly via A Northern Light, be prepared for a surprise. The Tea Rose is a raunchy historical romance that takes its inspiration from such classics as The Thorn Birds. Young Fiona, a worker in a tea factory, is in love with her childhood sweetheart, the costermonger, Joe. But a fateful act of betrayal – as well as the nefarious deeds of Jack the Ripper – will take her far from her home in Whitechapel, to the dizzying heights of New York society. She’s a feisty, likable heroine and just as Donnelly planned, I found myself entranced by the tale, even though it held few real surprises. A perfect little escape of a book. I had slated it as one of my choices for the What’s in a Name? Challenge, but since that challenge doesn’t start until January 1, it won’t count. Luckily, I have an ARC (thanks to LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program) of The Winter Rose, so I’ll use that one instead when I read it sometime in the next few weeks. Still, since we travel to both London and New York City in The Tea Rose, two cities I have visited and would love to travel to again, I’m counting it towards my Armchair Traveler challenge, which means I have officially completed the challenge, the first I think I’ve actually managed to finish this year. Interestingly, I only read two books from my original list, including one of my alternates, which just goes to show how mercurial I am in my reading moods.

Katharine Weber’s novel, Triangle, was my choice for one of my book clubs. I hadn’t heard of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire before discovering this book, but up until September 11, 2001, it was the worst workplace disaster in New York history, killing 146 workers, mostly young women. Weber takes this terrible event and wraps it in a mystery in the form of Esther Gottesfeld, the last living survivor of the fire, whose death presents her granddaughter Rebecca with a decades-old puzzle. Just who was her grandmother, and what role did she play in the tragic fire? Throw in a musical genius, a harping feminist scholar, and the events of 9/11, and what we’re given is an provocative story, one that lingers on after the last page is turned. One of the most poignant scenes is when Esther describes watching women jump from the burning building to their deaths. My mind went back to those television clips of people jumping out of the twin towers. In both instances, the people knew they wouldn’t survive, but as the Esther comments, the human drive to live, to escape death as long as possible, or at least a fiery one, compels them to jump. This book provided ample discussion material for our group, so I’m glad I chose and read it. And since Triangle was the winner of the 2007 Connecticut Book Award for Fiction, was a finalist for the 2007 John Gardner Fiction Book Award, and is on the long-list for the 2008 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, I’m putting it towards my tally for the Book Awards Challenge.

I’ve enjoyed reading Carol Goodman’s ‘literary mysteries’ since she first came on the scene a few years ago. The Ghost Orchid was familiar territory, like settling down into a comfy, well-worn chair. Her mysteries typically take place in upstate New York, and typically involve erudite women who find themselves in deadly situations, usually in settings surrounded by other learned individuals. The Ghost Orchid is no different. She doesn’t veer into uncharted waters, and sometimes in a book, that’s OK. Sometimes you want to sit in the comfy chair, not the sleek leather sofa. Ellis Brooks is trying to write a historical novel while staying at a secluded artist’s retreat. Unfortunately, her fellow artists – not to mention the retreat’s more ethereal inhabitants – aren’t making it easy. Instead, she finds herself embroiled in a decades-old murder mystery, one that she must solve to survive. Reading this book is an easy, enjoyable way to spend a rainy afternoon, curled up in the comfy chair.