Looming Due Dates. Off Readin'.

Tick tock.  The clock is ticking.  I have two library books due on Monday.  One (this one) I am nearly finished with and the other I have barely started.  Of course I only check out/read the library books I'm really interested in, but those due dates always throw me in a tizzy when I can't renew, and I am determined not to be late this time around.  So, my regularly scheduled post (I am finally writing about Captain John Emmett) will have to wait a few days.  I'm off to try and get in some rare reading time in the evening in tonight.  I'll be back tomorrow with a lost in the stacks post tomorrow.  I'll leave you with a little teaser from The Rules of Civility, though.  One of the things I really love about this book is reading about New York in the Thirties.  Amor Towles has a keen eye for description.

"On the Thursday after Wallace left, I wandered over to Fifth Avenue after work to see the windows at Bergdorf's.  A few days before, I'd noticed that they'd been curtained for the installation of the new displays."

"Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, I always looked forward to the unveiling of the new seasons at Bergdorf's.  Standing before windows, you felt like a tsarina receiving one of those jeweled eggs in which an elaborate scene in miniature has been painstakingly assembled.  With one eye closed you spy inside, losing all sense of time as you marvel at every transporting detail."

"And transporting was the right word.  For the Bergdorf's windows weren't advertising unsold inventory at 30% off.  They were designed to change the lives of women up and down the avenue--offering envy to some, self-satisfaction to others, but a glimpse of possibility to all.  And for the Fall season of 1938, my Fifth Avenue Fabergé did not disappoint."

"The them of the windows was fairy tales, drawing on the well-known works of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen; but in each set piece the "princess" had been replaced with the figure of a man, and the "prince" was one of us."

Comments

[Amanda]

I loved The Rules of Civility! It was truly delightful-- and I met the author at a reading yesterday, and he was also delightful. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

[Dorothy W.]

New York in the 30s sounds great. I hope you get some good reading in this evening -- enjoy!

[Penny]

The sounds like something I would enjoy. TBR list!

I'm chuckling. I hurried over to the library yesterday to return and overdue one week book and two others, not yet due, that I knew I just wasn't going to get read in the next week. This afternoon, straightening the piles, I found two others, past due, that I'd overlooked yesterday. sigh. I try. I returned the overdues and, with steely determination, walked out, determined to finish the few that were still "legal".

[Danielle]

Amanda--I'm enjoying it as well and trying not to rush to the ending. I love the setting especially. Lucky you to have met the author--he's very clever (in a good way!).
Dorothy--I don't often get to read at night during the work week, so it's always a treat when I can. This makes me want to visit NYC right now. :)
Penny--I hate it when I return books only to realize I didn't return the right ones or all of them! I am trying to keep on top of due dates as I have been very bad lately. It means reading the books in a certain order (as some can't be renewed), so I might not always be in the mood, but luckily this one hit the spot!

[Caroline]

I will put it on my wish list, I like the teaser a lot.

[catharina]

What a great cover. I like pictures in black and white and the teaser too!

[sherry]

I'm on the waiting list for this, it seems like forever!

[Kailana]

I really want to read this. I must look and see if the library has it yet. :)

[Stephanie]

I hope you enjoy Rules of Civility as much as I did! Happy reading.

[Stefanie]

Nothing like a deadline for reorganizing one's prioties but in this case, where you are giving extra time to reading, well, that's a priority and deadline I can only support :)

[Judith]

Danielle,
I'm in such a reading funk at the moment, with nothing appealing to me. But I've researched this book a bit and I am going to read it immediately!! I'm downloading it onto my Nook tonight.

Thanks for discussing it!

Judith (Reader in the Wilderness)

[Danielle]

Caroline--It seems to be popular at the moment--I wouldn't mind owning it if it was out in paper.
Catharina--Isn't it an elegant picture. I love B&W, too!
Sherry--I lucked out and got it in the first round. Have to finish it, though, as the long is way too long to get in again!
Kailana--It's definitely worth looking for. If my library had it already, hopefully yours will, too.
Stephanie--I am enjoying it--love the descriptions especially. I was looking forward to this as soon as I read about it earlier in the summer.
Stefanie--Deadlines aren't much fun, I agree--unless they include books, of course. Fingers crossed I'll finish both the books I need to this weekend.
Judith--I'm not sure what my problem has been. I'm enjoying what I'm reading, but I am experiencing a serious case of book grazing--moving from one to another and finishing nothing. I hope you enjoy it--the wonders of a Nook--getting it immediately! :)

[litlove]

Don't! - today I have to get to the library to return books and pay my fines...sigh. I've also had these two biographies (of Rilke and Cather) for about four months without managing to get near them. How does that happen?????

[Danielle]

Litlove--I'm becoming very good at racking up the fines and my public library has gotten very strict on no late returns. They start charging right away! I have had more than a few books sitting in a pile for months as well! I have good intentions, but you know what that's like! :) Now I had better go read as I am still hundreds of pages away from finishing...

[iliana]

I get the feeling my last batch of books from the library will have to be returned all unread. Somehow the three weeks just zooms by!

So glad to hear you're really liking this one. I started it this weekend and so far I'm enjoying it a lot too.

[Danielle]

Iliana--Yes, indeed they do! I always am so happy and optimistic when I bring the books home and then the days just speed by....I have until Tuesday to finish, which shouldn't be a problem--I didn't get to read it over the weekend. I'm really looking forward to getting back to it, though.