This is the sort of thing that throws off my reading planning. I decided to cancel just about all my library holds so that I can concentrate on my current reading stack. But then what happens?....New Moon, Stephanie Meyer's sequel to Twilight pops up as being available when I look at my account online. I did say there would be a couple exceptions to my little challenge and this is one of them! If it is anything like the first book, I think I should be able to read it in just a few days! Apparently there is going to be a third, but it hasn't yet been published. I had another surprise when I checked my library account. I returned a DVD and book on CD recently and they are still showing as being checked out to me! This has happened before, and I called circulation about it. They kindly took them off my account--well, sort of. They are now showing as "claimed returned". It makes me feel sort of guilty, like I am some awful liar and they are still somewhere at home. Honestly and truly, I did return them! I may just take a little glance around these sections and see if I spot either of them on the shelves when I go and pick up my book. (Edited: I managed to find the CD I returned on the shelf at the library...still checked out to me. That would be the Shakespeare I wanted to read and listen to, but there was no sign of the DVD--Under the Tuscan Sun. At least I found one and I hope the other one will turn up!).
My other distractions are new books. The thing with new books is that they can sit and wait for you to read them, unlike library books that have to be returned in three weeks. So, while these all look incredibly enticing to me at the moment, they are just going to have to wait. Maybe since I will be reading what I already have, I won't be so tempted to buy new books? Well, that's just a thought. I bought a few new ones over the weekend. Only four. Which is good for me! I was meant to be buying a birthday gift for my dad, but I couldn't just walk by the bookstore without going in, could I? My new temptations? Knight of the Maison Rouge by Alexandre Dumas. The blurb reads:
"Paris, 1793, the onset of the terror. Brave Republican Maurice rescues a mysterious and beautiful woman from an angry mob and is unknowingly drawn into a secret Royalist plot - a plot revolving around the imprisoned Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, and her enigmatic and fearless champion, the Knight of Maison-Rouge. Full of surprising twists, breakneck adventure, conspiracies, swordplay, romance, and heroism, The Knight of Maison-Rouge is an exhilarating tale of selflessness, love, and honor under the shadow of the guillotine."
How could I possibly walk past this? Besides I loved The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Three Musketeers is sitting on my reading pile. I foresee a Dumas fix somewhere in my future!
I also bought Patrick O'Brian's The Golden Ocean (a pre-Aubrey/Maturin novel), I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe--Litlove's recent post about this book piqued my curiosity, and when I saw it I thought I might give it a try (Wolfe is one of the iconic authors that I know of but have never considered reading---I know I need to expand my literary horizons and occasionally read something set in contemporary America...well, 1960s America...the last century at least). Lastly I have been in the mood for a really good mystery. I wandered the mystery section and finally came across And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander. Yes, a historical mystery. The cover had a quote that this is a cross between The Da Vinci Code and Jane Austen! Sometimes I think publishers try and ride on the coattails of The Da Vinci Code a tad too often, but really I think it is only the "thriller" aspect of the novel that this applies to. Booklist's description:
"Emily Bromley, a Victorian beauty, doesn't really want to marry, but her mother's persistent pressure forces her to accept wealthy Viscount Philip Ashton's proposal. When Philip dies on safari in Africa a few months after the wedding, Emily feels relief more than grief. Now the wealthy widow of a man she hardly knew, she is free to pursue her heart's real passion--reading! Yet once Emily begins to hear stories about Philip's interest in Greek literature and his exquisite collection of antiquities, Emily begins to feel herself falling in love with her mysterious, now-dead husband. But the more she discovers about Philip's extraordinary life, the more she fears that his death may not have been an accident. Compounding her concern are some very mixed messages from Philip's two best friends and the mounting evidence that he may have engaged in some backdoor business dealings. Who can Emily trust? This engaging, witty mix of Victorian cozy and suspense thriller draws its dramatic spark from the endearingly headstrong heroine's growth in life and love."
I think I like Emily already--she's happy to pursue her reading! It may be hard not to start any new books, but I can already tell that once I complete a book there will already be one lined up to take its place. The trick, of course, will be to not have so many on the go next time around!