THE RED LEATHER DIARY * THE ART OF HEARING HEARTBEATS * MY BRILLIANT FRIEND

Summer is finally here with the sunshine and promise of endless good times and completions. I hope this is the summer that I really make it happen. Getting these last five books recorded to blog and Pinterest helps.

The Red Leather Diary Reclaiming a Life Through the Pages of a Lost Journal by Lily Koppel - Lily's book is wonderful to read notwithstanding that the secondary title is unnecessary and a bit self serving. The author found an old diary and other belongings on the street and was able to track down their owner, 90 year old Florence Wolfson. The resulting book is a fascinating look into what life was like for a well-to-do intelligent young woman in New York City in the 1930s. What a life.

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker - This is the one to read next. The story of Tin Win and Mi Mi is unforgettable. Although because I didn't write about it right away, I forgot some of it. My love of the story lingers, though. It mostly takes place in Burma and describes a star-crossed love that never died. Beautiful.

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante - I'd been hearing about the four Neopolitan novels, specifically the fourth novel which is said to be the best. I was putting them off because a series of four novels is somewhat daunting, and why does it take 4 books to write one story? Book one is narrated by Elena Greco and it's up to the reader to decide whether Elena or her friend Lila is really the brilliant friend. Elena is unusually obsessed with Lila. By the end of the book I was a little done with them, so I hope it takes a few weeks before book two is ready for me at the library. But book four is supposed to be so good that I've got to do this, right?

INTO THE WILD * INTO THE WILD * PERSEPOLIS * THE INTERN

The Intern - Robert DeNiro is really something. He nailed it as an intern in a Brooklyn internet clothing business owned and led by Anne Hathaway. Usually she's not my favorite (Fantine in Les Mis) but here she backs off somewhat and it's really watchable and the story is fun. 

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer - Finally. I'm reading the books that Peter read in high school english. This book was so much better than I thought it would be. It's the biography of the life of a young man who was a thinker and adventurer. I think he was a thinker first, but I'm sure he thought he was an adventurer first. The wild in question is the Stampede Trail in Alaska. It's fast to read and you'll feel like you know him as well as anyone could. Krakauer draws conclusions but we learn that he has a special expertise for the job. His passion for this true story is genuine, and it's always refreshing to read about an original thinker.

Into the Wild - And then we watched the movie. It was really good, and Steve, who didn't know the story, is still thinking about it. The actor who plays Chris McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp was amazing as were the supporting cast. Book, movie or both, the story is probably all too common, but doesn't always end the same.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi - It's also taken me ages to get to this book. Over time, I'd leafed through and read a bit here and there and didn't like it. Now I know why! This graphic novel, which is one of the only ones I've read, is just that, a novel, and must be read from beginning to end. The fact that it looks like a comic strip just changes the voice and pace, but all in a good way. Persepolis is the Greek name for Persia, now Iran, and the story is one young woman's experience and perspective of what can happen to a society and country if the wrong people are in charge. It's excellent and I want to read Marjane's next books.