Friday Fancies

This week I reread Colm Toibin's lovely novel Brooklyn, prompted to pick it up again after seeing ads for what looks to be a very good film adaptation that's just been released. This second reading confirmed that it's as good as I thought it was when I read it the first time, although I cringe a bit when I see what I wrote about it in 2010. That post lacks a bit of depth, to put it kindly, and I literally have no idea what I thought the "small parallel to Pride and Prejudice" was--certainly nothing that I noticed this time around. It's so fascinating how our frame of mind can influence our reading. Now, writing from what I hope is a wiser and more insightful vantage point, I would describe Brooklyn as a quiet but perceptive look at a young Irish woman trying to figure out her place in the world. I highly, highly recommend this novel, especially to any fans of Persephone or Virago Classics. This novel could easily sit among those because of its focus on the minor yet fascinating domestic struggles that make up a life.

A few other things that caught my eye:

If you were a Reading Rainbow fan as a kid, then I'm sure you can understand these book lover problems (starring LeVar Burton!).

A long read about an early visit to Amazon's new bookstore.

A short read about Ali Smith's new project.

This looks like a sweet children's book (discovered via this post).

Jhumpa Lahiri's next book sounds interesting.

And Barnes & Noble is once again doing their Black Friday signed books promotion. I'm not entirely sure what I think about this. I like that it encourages the gifting of books, but I'm hard pressed to think of a current author whose signature I would go out of my way to get.