Hosted by Kathryn from Book Date, this is a weekly event to share what we’ve read in the past week and what we hope to read, plus whatever else comes to mind. To learn more about each book, just click on the book cover!
I am so tired. Last week was unbelievably busy, and this weekend was a lost cause for reading.
FINISHED SINCE THE LAST UPDATE:
Boo.
CURRENT READ:
I know that this is not going to be as good as The Historian, but I have a soft spot for Ms. Kostova because she wrote what is one of my all-time favorite books.
CURRENT LISTEN:
If ever I needed to re-read this horrifying tale, now is that time.
UP NEXT:
So, what are you reading?
I can’t believe I hadn’t read The Handmaid’s Tale before this year. I had been afraid of it for all the wrong reasons–I had been for some reason intimidated by Atwood. Of course, I found it was incredibly readable and compelling, but utterly scary for its insight. I just read Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents–every bit that same feeling of this-is-way-too-effing-close-to-being-our-world-right-now.
I loved the novel the first time I read it, but I am so more more appreciative of Atwood’s world and her characters this time around. I am reading it as a great way to learn what to watch for in our current administration should they start restricting civil rights under the guise of citizen protection.
Good for you for rereading Handmaid’s Tale! I read it years ago, which is great because I’m not sure I could read it now. IT IS WAY TOO REAL, and I’m saying that as someone who thought it was too real when I read it during the Bush presidency.
I was terrified the first time I read the novel. Perhaps because I am all about the resistance these days, I find it a bit easier to stomach. The ease with which the government makes the changes and the quick capitulation of the citizens still horrifies me, but it feels more like a blueprint of what to watch for in government policy changes and rhetoric. When I read that last sentence, I guess this means that I have reconciled myself to the idea that our current administration will try to pull something like that on us in the next four years, so I want to be ready for when it comes. How depressing is that?
I’m on the waiting list for The Handmaid’s Tale at my local library. Have never read it but everyone I know who has says it’s horrifying because they can see how easily it could happen.
Atwood does a tremendous job portraying how subtly governments can revoke rights all while making it sound like it is for the benefit of the citizens. The ease with which the changes occur and the rapid submission to the new regime are terrifying. You are going to love the novel!
Is this your first time reading Handmaid or a re-read? I read it for the first time about 2 years ago and loved it…kept forgetting it was written so long ago as I was reading.
This is a re-read. I felt it was time, and the newly updated audio was enticing.
I just listened to the original Claire Danes audio and loved it. What was updated for the re-release?
Margaret Atwood added an extra chapter, and there is an essay at the end. Plus, there is music between the sections that I don’t remember from the original audio version.
I just downloaded The Handmaid’s Tale over the weekend. The book I’m currently reading mentioned it, so I went out to Amazon and found out it was a free Prime book. It sounds like a really difficult read, but one I need to read.
It is a wonderful book and a bit to prescient for comfort since it was written in the 1980s. Difficult, yes, but completely worth it.