A Snapshot of My Reading #15

This month’s snapshot includes one for ardent David Bowie fans, a pandemic novel but don’t let that put you off, and a collection of short stories which begins with a brief novella set in Manhattan.

The short story collection I’m reading is Lore Segal’s Ladies’ Lunch and Other Stories of which I’ve only read the titular piece about a group of friends in their 80s and 90s who meet for lunch every week, setting an agenda for discussion after airing their decrepitude. A dryly witty, poignant account of ageing and decline, it’s empathetic and funny, raising hopes for the shorter pieces.

The non-fiction book I’m reading is Peter Carpenter’s Bowieland which sees the author, a longtime David Bowie fan, deciding to explore on foot the many places his hero lived after receiving a ‘get out and walk’ prescription when a heart condition lands him in hospital. I’m about halfway through what is really a labour of love, stuffed full of Bowie anecdotes and trivia. Definitely one for the tbr for hardcore Bowie fans, although it’s bit too long for me.

The novel I’m reading is Regina Porter’s The Rich People Have Gone Away in which a couple in a complicated marriage leaves Brooklyn during lockdown, heading to the Catskills. After they row on a hike, Darla stomps off while Theo makes desultory attempts to find her, leaving her behind, pregnant, on a freezing cold day. Told through a variety of characters linked to the couple, who all have stories to tell, it felt a little disjointed at first but clicked for me after a few chapters. Porter’s take on race, class and privilege is interesting,

What about you? What are you reading?