Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Spending Time with Elizabeth

I've been reading Olive Kitteridge for a few days, and am really enjoying it. I like the structure of the linked short stories because if you put the book down, and can't remember where you were, it doesn't matter because there is no full length plot. You just pick up and read. Convenient.

So, I was skimming the Washington Post online today and saw this article about the author, Elizabeth Strout, with whom I feel I could be best friends. I also learned that the super prize she received was in fact the Pulitzer Prize. I then followed a link to a Jonathan Yardley review of Pride and Prejudice, and then on to a retrospective ode to my own beloved Laurie Colwin.

The point of all this article reading is that I like to read in units, like in high school history-- so I will watch a version of P&P and then re-read the book and then drink some tea. Now I have learned a little about Strout; and I want to go to the library and check out her other works so I can be absorbed into her imagination for a few days. It's like a mini-vacation, you can immerse yourself in someone else's world while conveniently living your own life.

I hope to report back from Stroutland soon.


2 comments:

Melissa said...

I saw that article in the Post and then remember you said you had picked up her book. It sounds like it's good, I think that I'll try to pick it up. (Sadly I think I've given up on War and Peace for now...maybe I'll try again in the winter!)

Elizabeth said...

I just found your blog...I really like it! Olive is on my "to read" list. I read Abide with Me (also by Strout) a few years ago and really enjoyed it...except the end was sort of dissatisfying I remember. But I'm not a big stickler for satisfying endings. I enjoyed the world of the book so much it didn't matter how it ended.

Elizabeth