Goodbye July. Happy to See You Go.

July has been a rough month for someone who is as weather wimpy as I am, so I am not sorry to see it end.  As the saying goes don't let the door hit you on the way out.  Bring on August and hopefully more bearable temperatures.  In happy anticipation I thought I'd contemplate the books I have lined up to read and write about (that writing about them part sort of went down the tubes this month so will try and do a little catching up and will try to stay on top of things a little better next month).

I have all sorts of exciting things to read.  In order (sort of anyway) of my own self-imposed due dates:

Bath Tangle by Georgette Heyer.  Sylvester, or the Wicked Uncle helped take my mind off being so hot and generally cranky (I'll be writing about it this week).  Heyer is always good for a little escapism, and I enjoyed Sylvester a lot--it was my gym book last week, so now I must decide on which book will take its place.  Hopefully Bath Tangle will be an equally enjoyable read.  Both came courtesy of Sourcebooks.

Library books always nose their way into my piles.  The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles is due back in less than three weeks and as there is a nice long line of readers waiting for it, I will try and finish on time (I've become very good at racking up fines).  The story is set in New York in the late 1930s--perfect setting and so far both the characters and writing are very engaging.  And not that I ever judge a book by its cover--I love its cover.

History: A Novel by Elsa Morante is for Caroline's Literature and War Readalong.  This is quite a chunky book that I had hoped to get a good start on in July, but am still only at the beginning.  I believe this was Morante's best known work about an average woman living in Rome during the war.  I get the feeling it caused a little controversy in Italy when it came out.  I'm not sure yet what I think of the writing style, but it seems to have received good reviews otherwise.

Linda Gillard will be dropping by later this month with a guest post--more details about that soon.  I'm looking forward to finally reading her most recent novel, House of Silence, which has been published in eBook format at a very economical price.  I enjoyed both Emotional Geology and Stargazing, the latter was shortlisted for one award and won another.  House of Silence sounds like a perfect sort of read to get into the mood for fall--a ramshackle Tudor manor, mysterious letters sewn into an old quilt and a young woman who's taken not only with the man whose family lives in the house, but the house itself.  (Yes, I'm ready for fall).

Along with a crime novel I'm reading at the moment and the Morante novel, I seem to be drawn to Italian authors these days.  The Break by Pietro Grossi recently came my way from Pushkin Press.  The story is about an average man whose only passion is billiards.  His life is about to be shaken up when his wife falls pregnant--the first of a series of events in his otherwise orderly life.  Isn't this a great cover, too?

Let's see.  I've still got a few hang overs to finish, too, like Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, and Stella Gibbons's Westwood.  (By the way Westwood just got a write up in the Guardian).  I'm still enjoying Nicolas Le Floch's company and will be meeting up again with Annika Bengtzon soon, too.  Okay there might be a few other books, too, but I'll save those to talk about another day.

And if this isn't enough to keep busy with, there is a new list of books to vote on at the Slaves of Golconda blog.  As always everyone is welcome to join in.

Comments

[Stephanie]

In Cold Blood is one of my favorites. I finished Rules of Civility earlier today and thought it was quite good.

[Caroline]

I think I know what you mean when you say you're not sure about Morante's writing. It has a Latin American quality to it but withouth the magic realism. It has nothing in common with any other Italian book I have ever read. I find it highly fascinating and there are elemenst and characters I like but not Ida... She isn't very bright and therefore it isn't an introspective book, if you know what I mean.
I have Stragazing here and am looking forward to her guest post.
I don't like the cover of her new one. I have a feeling I've seen it many times before. Too bad because from what I read her writing isn't trite at all.

[Margaret Powling]

That cover on The Rules of Civility would sell that book to me; I'm a sucker for an attractive cover! Oh, the power of a good cover!

[Liz F]

I will have to see if the library has the Elsa Morante book and The Rules of Civility - not that I need any more library books but equally I can't justify buying any more until I have made some headway in getting through what is already there. Which won't happen while I keep borrowing so many library books! Here we go again!
Having said that, I did pre-order Westwood and another of Stella Gibbons' books, with gorgeous 30's-inspired covers which should be arriving in the next few days.
Hopefully either I or junior daughter will get to the post first when they arrive or I could be in trouble!

[Stefanie]

House of Silence sounds like it might be creepy. Fall is just around the corner. Thanks goodness!

[Liz F]

Just checked the library and while they have the Elsa Morante book, it is only in Italian! Drat!

[litlove]

I just got the Rules of Civility - it looks delightful! I'm really hoping to get to it soon, as it seems a good book for the weather (it's come out all sweltering hot today and I feel very droop!)

[nomadreader]

I join you in dislike for summer and heat. I'm thrilled it's August and home it flies by too and brings on fall quickly. Happy reading!

[Danielle]

Stephanie--After a little hiatus I am back to reading In Cold Blood--an excellent read. I'm very much enjoying The Rules of Civility, too. I think it will be my gym book this week. :)
Caroline--I'm so glad you mentioned Ida and your response to her--that is what I was thinking--just a little disappointed that she was not a stronger character, though I guess I am still too close to the beginning to make too many judgments. It's really sort of different than I expected it to be, but I don't really have a lot of other books I can compare it to since I've not read a lot of Italian literature. I sort of like the cover of House of Silence, but I know what you mean by its not being as creative as her other books. Since this book is self-published I suspect she was limited to what she could do with the cover. Since I have it on my ereader I don't really see the cover anyway--just go straight into the story.
Margaret--Isn't that a great cover? I love the elegant 1930s look about it.
Liz--It's a vicious cycle, isn't it? I keep telling myself to stop buying and borrowing and just read the books on my piles, but then I see something new I have to have and that's that. I try and balance things out, but those due dates mess me up every time. Too bad about the Elsa Morante--I'm not quite sure what I think of it so far, but it's a long book and I have quite a ways to go--it's still early days. I am tempted by those new reissues of Stella Gibbons as well and won't be surprised to see if one or two of them land on my pile at some point as well. Good luck staying out of trouble1 :)
Stefanie--Yay. It's hotter than Hades out there right now, but I know now it can't last. Well, not too long anyway. And yes, doesn't House of Silence sound good--sort of foreboding...have just barely started it today.
Litlove--I'm very much enjoying The Rules of Civility and look forward to hearing what you think, too. I love that period, so it is right up my alley. I'm sorry you are now partaking of droopy weather, too. It's miserable feeling hot and sticky, isn't it?! I can only say how happy I am to be once again at the start of a workweek with lots of cold air conditioning to keep me happy!
Nomadreader--I am just not a summer person I am sorry to say. It seems like it is easier to get warm than to cool off. I just like a nice temperate day--sunny, a little warm in the day and cool in the evening. After the heat of July 60-70 is going to feel great! Well, I'm being optimistic anyway.

[Dorothy W.]

I hope you have a marvelously cool August! I'm looking forward to your thoughts on In Cold Blood. Litlove's review was very interesting, and I'm curious what you think. I love innovative nonfiction, so I'm guessing I'll enjoy it.

[Danielle]

Dorothy--Today has been a very nice day--the first in a long time!! When I was walking home from work it was sunny and warm, but the humidity has gone away and it felt like a nice summer day! Finally! I am saving Litlove's post to read until I finish the book, which I think is really well done. It reads like fiction almost but you know it's all real (or as close as it could be through his interviews gathering material for his writing).