I’ve gone through a kind of unlucky phase with books recently. Now that I’ve entered the last trimester before Baby Smithereens arrives, I’m looking for comfort! Just like cravings for comfort food, I’m craving for good, entertaining books, not particularly the kind of highbrow novels that makes you want to read them in the silence of a serious library, but the kind of books you’re just happy to find on a rainy day, or during a commute, or after a long day at work.

I found some fresh air in John Berendt’s City of Fallen Angels, because I so much enjoyed our trip to Venice last year… Everyone seems to have quirky stories about Venice, but I still love to read about them!

And, oh, I’ve given up on The Man in the High Castle. Yes, I’ve gotten past my abandonment issues and proclaimed that it wasn’t worth wasting more of my limited time on something I didn’t truly enjoy.

I went to one of my favorite bookshops on Friday and I couldn’t resist buying a few paperbacks… Just when I thought I was getting bored with coming-of-age stories, a Norwegian writer and piano player called Ketil Bjornstad wrote a coming-of-age story called The Young Pianists Society… I also found a few short stories by Chinese 20C classic writer Qian Zhongshu. If you’re reading in French and if you visit Paris, don’t miss this network of independent bookshops…

I also went to our local library and took out some books recommended by fellow book-bloggers: Louise Lambrichs’ A ton image, praised by Litlove, Sea Glass by Anita Shreve, because Courtney mentioned it as one of those “novels she’s turned to, and will turn to again, to help craft [her] own”. I also discovered a great mystery from Israel (which was the guest country at the recent Paris International Book Fair): Murder on the Kibbutz, by Batya Gur. Now that is both exotic and entertaining!