New books (one), used books (two--still waiting on one more), mooched books (two), and library books (three). Not a bad week at all! Most of these books are actually books I have seen other book bloggers read or others have suggested, which compelled me to buy or borrow them! My one new book is Louisa May Alcott's Behind a Mask: The Unknown Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott (The Hobgoblin recomended this), which are short stories for adults. These are her racier stories! I thought it would be fun to read them after having read Little Women! I read about the two used books I bought on other blogs. The Wyvern Mystery by Sheridan Le Fanu (the book says it is pronounced "Leff-anew" by the way) was a RIP read Jenclair mentioned on her blog. He is supposed to have been the Stephen King of his day---this is set in rural England of the 1820s. Stefanie recently finished The Monk by Matthew Lewis. Another gothic tale, it is set in a sinister monastery of the Capuchins in Madrid. The blurb on the back cover says it is a violent tale of ambition, murder and incest. Too weird to pass up, I think. This RIP business has gotten me into a bit of trouble with wanting books everyone else is reading.
My mooched books are: Lauren Willig's The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. I have looked at this at the bookstore, but could never bring myself to buy it. I know it is not highbrow literature. More like historical chicklit, but it looks like fun. A blurb calls it a "merry romp with never a dull moment." So mooching it was a nice way to get it without feeling too guilty about buying it. If it ends up being horrible, I can just put it up to be mooched off me! But I think it looks like it might be entertaining. Dorothy has been reading some of Elizabeth Taylor's works (I think this might be the second one?), and her recent post about The Sleeping Beauty sounded really good--and it is even set in a seaside town! She kindly let me mooch it off her!
I had to take all but one of my library books back yesterday. I wasn't joking when I said three weeks isn't long enough! All my agonizing over which book to start! And they all went back unread (well, except the Buzbee book!). They were all long books that demanded to be read on their own (no other distractions from other books!). So I will wait until the RIP Challenge is over and get back on the list for them. Or maybe I will put them on my Christmas wishlist. Hmm. I did have two books waiting for me though, and found another one that I want to read. Four library books at once is much more manageable than ten!! And two can be renewed. Another book blogger suggestion (sorry, I don't remember where I saw it--though I think it was on more than one blog) is Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. This is a YA book, but it sounded good. Yes, it is a vampire book. I have to read a vampire book in October. I just started it, and even at nearly 500 pages, I think it should be fast reading (which neither the Cox or the Faulks seemed to be--not that there is anything wrong with that!!--it is all a matter of timing!). Dark Angels by Karleen Koen. This is a prequel to her Through a Glass Darkly. I read this book when I was in middle school. I remember being so completely sucked into the book that I lay on my parent's bed one holiday vacation and did nothing but read all day. It is a historical novel with, I am sure, a fair amount of romance thrown in for good measure. But it is set in Restoration England. I can't help myself. I wonder if it will live up to the experience I had as a young adult with her previous book? This last book is one I had seen before...but do I write things down? Not always. I always think I am going to remember this title for sure. Ha. I must have spent half an hour searching on Amazon, Google and Barnes and Noble for the title. I was almost to a point where I just hoped to wander around the older fiction shelves in the library and would happen upon it. But I did find it (part of the title was somewhere in my brain, but I had to do a lot of digging to get it!). Christine Balint's Salt Letters is about a young woman's voyage in 1854 from England to the wilds of Australia--another seafaring tale--see why I had to find it!
This weekend I plan on finishing Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde! I have also been enjoying immensely C.S. Forester's Mr Midshipman Hornblower! I am not rushing through, though it is fast reading. The writing is good--clean and crisp. The story is very similar (though of course the A&E adaptation has made changes) to the movie. Hornblower is a young man when he starts out--only 17, but he is very likeable. He is sort of shy, and when he gets nervous he tends to stutter. I don't know anything at all about sailing, but it all seems very real to me. I am going to have to find a book on nautical terms, though. He says he was a "Grecian" at school (guessing that is some program he followed--the classics?--or level he attained). I haven't a clue what a coxswain is, or many of the other terms, though I have heard them. I am hoping to find a child's book (like those great illustrated ones) to help me! Of course I can always look everything up in a dictionary, but visuals are good, too. I might just be heading to the bookstore later....