25. & 26. A book set in a high school and a book in my hometown.The summer has come and gone and as usual I lost a lot of my interest in reading as the sun shone brightly and beckoned me to other pursuits. I may not finish this challenge by years end but it has been interesting for me.
The book set in a high school is only mentioned as it is a manuscript that someone has trusted me to read before it was published. I loved reading it, but am not at liberty to review it because it still belongs to the heart and mind of the writer, but I make note of its presence in my reading life. It is always a good and fine thing to put your stuff out there. Risky and human and beautiful. I admire any writer who does that.
The book set in my hometown was somewhat trickier for me to find and write about. My true home town is a suburb east of Cleveland, Ohio. A good place to grow up but not particularly noteworthy for literary achievements although the 20th president of the US is from there and I used to work as a tour guide at his house. This is probably the subject of another blog.
Instead, I choose my hometown to be the place I live now and have lived for 22 years: Bloomington, Indiana. I have lived here longer than the place I grew up, so we are calling this my home town and here is a memoir by a fellow writer that was published in the thick of this fallow reading summer and has inspired me to be creative and live that life I want to live. Ms Arbogast's memoir is set in my hometown and takes place in and around the IU campus where I work and where my husband and I have gotten 3 degrees between us.
Here is a story of a woman coming to terms with her husband and partner's death. It is moving and poignant and filled with life. I am glad to know the writer and know the town it was set in. The title is perfect.
So this entry is dedicated to the writers I know. The writer in me and the writer in you. Go forth and create!
