August 28: Reading Notes

I was going to post about what I'm reading now, but it's been sort of a bad reading month for me so it might be more apropos to tell you what I've not been reading! Or what I wanted to read but didn't finish.  Not that I'm counting or anything, but I always have in mind a few books I'd like to read during an upcoming month, and this month I didn't manage to accomplish very much.  September is just around the corner, so I'll be optimistic that it will be a better reading month for me!  And of course I've already got in mind a number of books I want to read.

Let's see where to start.  Maybe with a finish or two.

I've just finished Linda Gillard's House of Silence, which I quite enjoyed.  Linda has successfully published this recent book in ebook format for the Kindle (she was kind enough to send me an electronic copy for review as it is unfortunately not available from B&N for the Nook).  I'll be writing about it tomorrow.  Linda will also be sharing her experiences as a genre-defying author and the challenges she has had getting published.  Do drop by on Tuesday and Wednesday, particularly if you're interested in the current state of the publishing world and what authors are up against these days.  I've had a peek at her posts (she'll be guest posting here) and it's interesting stuff.

I'm making good progress on Georgette Heyer's Bath Tangle.  It's been a fun read.  The heroine is quite independent and feisty.  The man she jilted is named the trustee of her fortune upon the death of her father.  Serena and Ivo, the Marquis of Rotherham (I don't think I've paid attention but are any of Heyer's heroes regular guys?  They always seem to be Lords or Dukes or titled in some way...) are more often than not quarreling over something, but you know there must be a spark there--if they are such good quarrellers they are probably going to be good lovers, too.  Only it's going to take a few hundred pages to sort it all out, and that's the fun of Heyer's novels.

I'm also moving along at a nice clip in Mary Stewart's My Brother Michael.  Why didn't anyone tell me it's such an entertaining, page turning read?  Oh wait, I think you did, but it always takes a while for books to squeeze themselves into the reading pile (you know how that mental queue works).  This particular story is set in Greece some years after WWII (it was published in 1959).  The story opens with Camilla Haven sitting in a cafe writing a letter to a friend lamenting how nothing ever happens to her.  This is an invitation to fate to cause some trouble.  More about this and the Heyer later.

Now on to my less successful reading attempts.  I'm reading Elsa Morante's History for Caroline's readalong.  She has already written about the book, but I am only a third of the way through.  I'm enjoying it with a few reservations (some of the same ones Caroline writes about in her post).  It's a chunkster of a book and I find that I can only read a bit at a time.  I'm at a point where I have to keep reading to find out what happens, however.  I don't seem to be able to finish anything in a timely manner lately (for readalongs that is), so I'll be writing about this one well after the discussion.  

I also didn't finish my last postal reading group book, which I had to mail on to the next reader.  I am so thankful for libraries, as my library owns a copy and I plan on finishing it as well.  I already have the next book on my pile (there are a dozen or so of us in the reading group and we each choose a book that we want everyone to read--the books move down the list, so every two months we get a new book and mail the next one on--eventually each of us will have read all the books--very fun).  I don't want to get too far behind as the books make their steady way through the list.  The next one is waiting for me and giving me beckoning looks.

And my poor short stories.  They've gone on the back burner temporarily.  I have every intention of finishing them (and have been sorry not to pick the book up of late), but there have been a few obligation-type reads demanding my attention.

Despite feeling a little adrift I am looking forward to next month and hopefully will be able to concentrate a bit more on my books.  July was too hot and August too stressful, but I have a feeling September is going to be a good reading month.  Carl should be announcing RIP VI soon and I've been thinking a little about which books I might choose to read.  The Slaves are reading The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon, the next book up for Caroline's readalong is The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, and my postal book is going to be a reread.

And then a few of the books that are at the top of my TBR pile and I might well start reading very soon: The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton by Elizabeth Speller, something by Agatha Christie (fall is good cozy-mystery reading time in my book), Sun Storm by Asa Larsson (have heard many good things about her new book and think it's time I tried her), and House of the Hanged by Mark Mills.  Since I see once again I'm on a steady mystery/crime/thriller diet I'll add On Canaan's Side, by Sebastian Barry to the list as a token 'serious literature' read.  I just brought it home from the library on Friday.

With such a variety of good books at my fingertips I'm bound to have a good reading month.

Comments

[litlove]

Every so often a blah month comes along, doesn't it? Never mind - it does usually mean much better reading is on the horizon. I did enjoy House of the Hanged, as an easy, pleasurable comfort read (love those). And I'm also planning to join in Carl's challenge this year for the first time in ages. I happen to have quite a few good supernatural/fantasy reads in my TBR and this looks like a great occasion to dig into them.

[Stephanie]

September usually turns out to be a better reading month for me too, also due to RIP! I have been checking Carl's blog daily to see whether he has announced this year's RIP. I already have my reading list selected!

[catharina]

I've read good things about On Canaan's Side, it has to wait though, Rules of Civility has arrived and must be returned in three weeks time.

[Kathy]

It makes me feel all warm inside to have a bunch of books to browse through and choose from. Hope you do have a wonderful reading month in Sept. I am flying to CA to visit my family and you know what that means: time in airports and on planes for uninterrupted reading! I'll choose my travel companions carefully!

[Danielle]

Litlove--This one was certainly for me. I did read some very good books--just not very many--but it is quality not quantity, right? I'm really looking forward to the Mills book--I'm very much in the mood for a stylish thriller type story. And can't wait for RIP either. It's always fun seeing which books other people choose to read.
Stephanie--I look forward to RIP all summer--not least because the weather usually cools off and calms down and I love the sort of books that seem to fit in well with fall! I'm still thinking of possible reads--too many to choose from.
Catharina--I hope you like The Rules of Civility--it really clicked with me! On Canaan's Side sounds good, too--I have an ambitious agenda for September--we'll see what I manage.
Kathy--California sounds nice--hopefully you'll have pleasant weather! It is always fun choosing vacation reads--you'll have to share which books are going with you!

[Stefanie]

So many good books to read! In my eagerness to gorge myself on books this summer I began many more than I should have and I have been struggling to get myself caught up. I feel like I am almost there but not quite and it feels a bit stressful which reading should not be. So I completely understand your situation.

[carolinareads]

August has not been a good reading month for me as well.

[Nicola]

All of these Georgette Heyer reviews are really tempting me to start one of her novels. Bath Tangle certainly sounds like fun.

[Danielle]

Stefanie--I'm always eager and always taking on more than I should. This has just been a weird year and a slow reading month--summer wore me out! :) I feel much better about September!
Carolinareads--It must be summer--too many other things to do, too hot and never enough time!
Nicola--I've had a little Heyer binge this summer--this is my third so far this year. She's such a reliable author--it's nice to have a few of her books on hand!

[Caroline]

I could have sworn I commented yesterday because I did already read the post. Yeah well...
Sorry that History isn't such a success for you. I thought it was a book to read in one go and stopping it wasn't good but reading nothing else would have blocked me for to long.
The Things They carried should be very different. I'm looking forward to it. I've read so many good things about it.
I bought The Golden Mean recently. It sounds like a very interesting book.

[Liz F]

I did want to read History but sadly the library only have it in Italian - and my Italian isn't up to that standard I'm afraid, and I can't find a copy at a price I can afford for something that is speculative.
I have The House of the Hanged and I did enjoy his first book so maybe that should be further up my TBR pile.
I'm rather hoping to have a better reading month in September than August but things look like they are getting busy at work with events to attend even at weekends, so I'll just have to wait and see.

[Margaret Powling]

When you said "fall is good cozy-mystery time," I had a mad moment and I thought, "Oh, I hope Danielle hasn't hurt herself, falling ..." and then I realized you meant Autumn! Again, a different word for the same thing, that time of year when summer fades and the colours on the trees change, and apples and blackberries are in season (always thinking of my tum!)
Anyway, I am kicking myself because last week I passed up the opportunity of three Mary Stewart novels that were first editions, with dust jackets and also had been inscribed the author. However, I wasn't certain whether an inscription on a piece of paper, like an ex-libris book plate, dedicated to someone and signed by the author, is actually an inscribed copy, for it's not on the actual paper of the book. However, my instinct told me that the two were contemporary and absolutely correct, and now I shall have to see if one of these days I can return to the place where I saw the and hope they're still there! My Brother Michael was one of them, and Airs Above the Ground was another. But I'm not saying where I saw them!

[Danielle]

Caroline--You may well have left a comment--I noticed that I have left responses only to see they disappeared after it looked like they had been saved. Not sure what's going on--sometimes it happens and sometimes not! Sorry about that. I am actually enjoying History only there a few things that maybe are not working for me in the way she is telling the story. I am still planning on reading to the end--only it may take me a little while. The copy of the O'Brien book is checked out from my library, but I am hoping it gets returned or I will have to go buy a copy!
Liz--Maybe you'll come across History used somewhere. I bought a used copy myself--I think it is worth the read, but it is a slow going story for me. I liked the first Mark Mills book, too! And his new one looks promising. I hope September is better for you, too. It's been a weird summer and a busy one, too. A break would be nice!
Margaret--I tend to interchange those two words. We use both over here. If you find those Mary Stewart novels again you'll have to snap them up! I bought Airs Above the Ground--the newer edition recently and am reading My Brother Michael now and really enjoying it. Very cool the books were inscribed-even if only a bookplate. They sound like great finds!