The Books I'm Reading Now
I'm reading Anna Quindlen's upcoming novel about living after a loved one is lost and staying connected to them, After Annie; I'm listening to Nikki Erlick's story about each person in the world being told the length of their lives, The Measure; and I'm reading the first in Tess Gerritsen's Martini Club series about a retired CIA operative in rural Maine whose past comes back to haunt her, The Spy Coast.
What are you reading these days, bookworms?
01 After Annie by Anna Quindlen
In Anna Quindlen's upcoming novel After Annie, the sudden death of a young mother leaves her children, husband, and friends reeling.
But over the course of the next year, what saves each of them from bottomless grief is Annie's constant voice in their heads, reassuring them, loving them, sticking by them.
After Annie is about our lasting impact on those we love, even after we're gone.
If you're interested in books about mortality, you might like the books on my Greedy Reading Lists Six Powerful Memoirs about Facing Mortality and Six More Powerful Books about Facing Mortality.
I'm reading After Annie, scheduled for publication February 27, courtesy of NetGalley and Random House.
02 The Measure by Nikki Erlick
The measure of your life lies within.
In Nikki Erlick's debut novel, one morning, each adult around the world receives a mysterious box with an inscription on the outside reading "The measure of your life lies within" and a string inside it.
The source of the boxes is unknown, but it quickly becomes clear that the string length correlates to the number of years the recipient will be alive.
Some choose not to look into their boxes at all, while others use the knowledge of their short strings as excuses to act without the same consequence as before; some with long strings question the participation of "short stringers" in delicate jobs; some couples break up, or rush to marry, or prematurely mourn the upcoming loss of their love.
The dilemma leads to an examination of morality, judgment, the meaning of a life, and more.
I'm listening to The Measure as an audiobook.
03 The Spy Coast (The Martini Club #1) by Tess Gerritsen
Maggie Bird, a retired CIA operative who has made a home for herself in rural Maine, is visited by someone with knowledge of her past--just before a dead body shows up in her driveway and someone tries to kill Maggie. And it all seems connected to an operation from years earlier.
But Purity, Maine, has drawn multiple former intelligence agents (the "martini club" in the series title), and together, they try to determine who is after Maggie and why.
The story tracks back through Maggie's past, including her missions and her romantic life, and introducing figures who are connected to her present problems.