This Week in Books is a feature hosted by Lipsy at Lipsyy Lost and Found that allows bloggers to share:
- What they’ve recently finished reading
- What they are currently reading
- What they are planning to read next
A similar meme is run by Taking on a World of Words.
I’ve been terrible at blogging this month, but I have been reading! The last book I read was The Outsider by Albert Camus and translated by Sandra Smith.
My mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know.
In The Outsider, his classic existentialist novel, Camus explores the alienation of an individual who refuses to conform to social norms. Meursault, his anti-hero, will not lie. When his mother dies, he refuses to show his emotions simply to satisfy the expectations of others. And when he commits a random act of violence on a sun-drenched beach near Algiers, his lack of remorse compounds his guilt in the eyes of society and the law. Yet he is as much a victim as a criminal.
Albert Camus’ portrayal of a man confronting the absurd, and revolting against the injustice of society, depicts the paradox of man’s joy in life when faced with the ‘tender indifference’ of the world.
I’m currently reading Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
They looked into darkness. The darkness looked back…
An expedition to a distant star system discovers a pitch-black moon alive with radio activity. Its high-gravity, high-pressure, zero-oxygen environment is deadly to human life, but ripe for exploitation.
They name the moon Shroud. But they never mean to go there… until a catastrophic accident forces Juna Ceelander and Mai Ste Etienne to crash-land on its inhospitable surface in a barely adequate escape vehicle. Alone, and fighting to survive, the two women embark on a gruelling journey in search of salvation. But Juna and Mai’s tenuous existence is threatened by Shroud’s extraordinary alien species. If they can escape, they’ll have to explain the impossible and translate the incredible…
My next read might be Wild Animal by Joël Dicker and translated by Robert Bononno.
On July 2, 2022, two criminals set out to rob a jewelry shop in Geneva. But even with a foolproof plan, their “perfect” heist will prove far from uneventful…
Twenty days earlier, on a luxurious estate along the shores of Lake Geneva, Sophie Braun prepares to celebrate her fortieth birthday. Her life seems perfect: she has a fairytale marriage, two perfect children, and lives in a stylish modern mansion surrounded by lush forest. But her idyllic world is about to crumble. Her husband is becoming embroiled in petty schemes. Her neighbor, a policeman with a spotless reputation, is obsessed with her and spies on the most intimate moments of her life. Then, on her birthday, she receives a gift from a mysterious prowler that endangers her life.
It will take many journeys into the past, far from Geneva, to unravel the origins of this diabolical plot from which no one will emerge unscathed, including readers. Told at a breathtaking pace, filled with nerve-jangling suspense, Wild Animal demonstrates once again why Joël Dicker – since the publication of The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair – reigns supreme as one of the most beloved contemporary mystery writers in the world today.
And that’s my week in books! What are you reading this week? Let me know in the comments! 😎
Jo's Book Blog 
Fab selection, Jo. My husband has enjoyed some Adrian Tchaikovsky books in the past. Is this a new one? x