I love Maisie Dobbs. If you are at all interested in mysteries I highly recommend this series. I have followed her from the very first, when she appeared in Maisie Dobbs. The series is written by Jacqueline Winspear. Winspear is originally from Britain, but she now lives here in the U.S. Her mysteries are set in post-WWI London. And Maisie is an unusual sleuth. Like so many other women of this period, she lost her fiance to the War. She herself was a nurse in France. When she returns to London she sets up her own practice as an investigator, but the twist is that she is also a psychologist. Messenger of Truth is the fourth installment and I can't wait to get started on this book (I do need to finish my Muriel Spark books and maybe something else, but I hope to begin reading next week!). I was approached by a marketing/publicity company to read and review this book. I have done this on a couple of occasions before. While I don't make it a habit of reviewing books on my blog like this (I know there are bloggers who do like to do so, but I would start to feel like all my reading was 'obligation' reading), there was no way I could pass up a new Maisie Dobbs book! If the book appeals to me and I would likely read it anyway, I am open to reviewing it on my blog. The book came in the mail today--yay. (Edited: this book will be released August 22 by the way. I was sent an advance reader's copy to read)
I also picked up the current issue of O-The Oprah Magazine. Thanks to Lotus Reads and So Many Books for the heads up on this Summer Reading issue! Stefanie you are right--too many perfume ads, and that reading room has too many expensive accoutrements!! I have started on the article "How to Read a Hard Book". This is good timing as I prepare to begin War and Peace. The first part of the article discusses Moby Dick, and the author is a professor at Bard College. I like what he says:
"(But) Moby-Dick wasn't meant to be a rigorous, depleting experience, a triathalon for the housebound. It was meant to be a stimulant to thought and feeling; it was meant to make your mind a more interesting and enjoyable place. So if the prospect of reading Moby-Dick makes you feel even a little but daunted, try to get as close to that earlier reading experience (a shadowy anticipation of strangeness, wildness, and sadness) you can. Get an unannotated edition with no introduction and no essays in the back. Clear your mind of exectations and open it to chapter one. Listen with nothing more than ordinary human curiosity to the voice that begins speaking to you.
It's not as easy as it sounds. Most Americans have been trained to revere the 'classics' and to think that the right way to read such books is to seek out their cleverly hidden meanings. It can be surprisingly difficult to come to Moby-Dick with the kind of idle, flexible interest that you bring to most of the other things you read. But the secret to Moby-Dick is that there is no secret. Everything that matters is on the surface."
I think I am exactly the sort of person trying to find those "cleverly hidden meanings." I probably avoided the "classics" for so long thinking I wouldn't be able to figure them out. Of course no more, I am willing now to tackle (just about) anything. Anyway, I am looking forward to reading all the other articles pertaining to books and reading. Maybe I will find a few new titles to add to my list!