Binnie Kirschenbaum's The Scenic Route is one of the most adult books I've read in a long time. It's the story of a man and woman who meet in Europe while on vacation and begin a love affair. Henry is in a marriage of convenience - his wife needed a husband to access a trust fund - and he travels at will until she requires his presence. Sylvia is recently divorced and unemployed and thought "why not go on an adventure?". Along the way the two share bits of their lives with each other and a full portrait emerges of who these very ordinary people are. It sounds dull but it's not - it's gripping in fact. You have to be old enough to have experience regret however, to have lost people who mattered most, to be able to see your own faults. I said the other day that it was a bit Sebaldian in that Sylvia will be talking about something deeply personal and the jump off from a point there into a more general history. She pulls it all together blindingly well though - writers should take note of the impressive talent at work. I know I'll be looking for all of her previous books now and I'm very grateful to Richard Nash (who has never steered me wrong) for sending this one my way. (Review to follow - maybe in Bookslut although as Jessa loved the book as well I would expect her review to appear there. We'll see.)

The publicist from Coach House Books got in touch with me after a rec from Soft Skull and after some back and forthing over their books a package was sent my way. I read Cara Hedley's Twenty Miles in a rush, so delighted to have found a book about girls who play hockey that I couldn't get into it fast enough. I can't remember the last time I read a book about girls and sports that is all about that - not about any additional coming-of-age drama. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) Isabel has been playing since she was old enough to skate, always on teams with boys because that was the only option. Now she's in college though and on a girl's team and learning how to cope with the locker room banter, rookie hazing and over-the-top behavior of a group of young women who live, eat and breathe the sport. The book gets a little slow in parts as the narrative shifts sometimes to her grandmother (who raised her) but mostly it is with Isabel who has a crush, takes some classes and wonders if she really cares about hockey enough to make it the thing she does. I keep thinking about this one and how it made me think about a lot of other things. Mostly as obnoxious as some of these girls are, I still found them all very appealing and Isabel is great. The fact that it's set in Canada is icing on the cake for me. Should be in my December column.

I finished the last book for my upcoming feature on bird books, Falconer on the Edge by Rachel Dickinson. It's a bit of a biography of a specific falconer but also a broader look at falconry in the US and the kind of people who bond with these birds. It's not something a lot of people know about but for the people who are involved in it, this is a huge and sometimes over riding passion. There's also a long chapter on Wyoming and the impact of natural gas drilling on the sage brush habitat and the grouse who live in it which is affecting falconry. It's an interesting mix of people who are passionate about the outdoors - but also firmly committed to training and launching carnivorous birds into the air. I wanted to give as broad a look at birding as I could in the piece - or at least let folks know about some diverse books on birding - and this will be a surprise for many, I'm sure.

I've also finished The Living Shore for Booklist which is about oysters and several places I'm somewhat familiar with. More on this after the review is published. And my obsession with Frida Kahlo was fed quite well by Finding Frida Kahlo which will put over the edge everyone who thinks there is buried treasure to be found in unlikely places. I think I will have this in my December feature on titles for curious readers - it's not a book for teens in particular but for certain older teens it is going to feed artistic angst in a way that few books could. I wish I had known about Kahlo when I was young as her story is so damn compelling especially for young women. She was so torn up and yet still so passionate about life. A fascinating woman, that's for sure.

And finally, I purchased the latest issue of Teen Vogue - for research purposes in a future What a Girl Wants post. It was funny and distressing and sweet (Emma Watson is too cute). It also made me feel very old but in a good way. I must confess the bright and shiny pages were fun though; you never outgrow the bright and shiny!

[All books were from pubs, except Living Shore from Booklist.]