Some weeks I’m itching for a good mystery. Others I’m craving an emotional roller coaster. Or fantasy. Or historical fiction. Or goodness knows what. It might be brand new or something ancient or anywhere in between. In any case, it’s nice to share, so …

What’s Your Read?

“We can’t keep up with the suffering of others. We have to close ourselves off. How else can we survive?”

Lena met Arlene Lebow only once. She didn’t even know her name, but when Arlene’s picture shows up in the Record, the newspaper for which Lena is the sole remaining transcriptionist, she recognizes the blind court reporter from the strange conversation on a midtown bus. But why would Arlene have broken into the zoo to commit suicide by lion? Day after day in an office only a handful of people know exist, Lena is haunted by the story of Arlene’s death and her oddly deep warning about listening too closely.

I’m flying through Amy Rowland’s The Transcriptionist. From the awkward interactions with a reporter named Russell who has always called her Carol to the humorously pathetic and understandable companionship of a neurotic pigeon, it’s incredibly difficult to put it down. As befits a book whose protagonist admits to near worship of language, the writing sucks me in and stays in my brain until I pick the book up again.

The Transcriptionist by Amy Rowland

  Have a suggestion for my next read? What’s yours?