I am DNF-ing War and Peace.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was the final nail in the dwindling enthusiasm I had for War and Peace. Yes, I was enjoying it, but I wasn’t gripped by it. With each passing day I found it harder and harder to pick up. The voices in my TBR piles were growing louder.
This was a buddy read with my friend Colleen who has been been a focused and determined reader of this classic. Practicing good buddy read etiquette, I did reach out to tell Colleen about my decision to DNF War and Peace before writing about it here. And I am writing about it now only because back in January I wrote a blog post about deciding to read W&P. [Update for those who read and remember that post: On my deathbed I will not feel bad about not reading W&P. Trying it once was enough.]
I probably spent more time on my decision to DNF the book than I did on deciding to read it. Not that that matters. But as I was waffling with my decision to let it go, along came Dolly.
Parton, that is.
Dolly and James Patterson wrote a thriller together and this is the story that I want now. Run Rose Run comes out March 7, 2022. Thanks to Libro.fm for the advance listening copy. I’m currently at the 31% mark and enjoying it.
There are two main protagonists. One is a young woman running from something while trying to make it in Nashville and the other is a legendary country music superstar who is struggling with some internal wound. Both are tough and capable women, and I like the peek into Nashville’s country music industry. There are some cliched bits, but they are fading as the story gets deeper into the characters. Dolly performs/narrates the superstar character.
So, that’s my War and Peace story and how Dolly came to my rescue.