As I am in the middle of several good books, I thought I would share a few links and some other miscellaneous bookish stuff. Thanks to Linda Gillard for the link to this Guardian article about getting first novels published. You can follow the discussion on the Guardian's blog. Why does this article not surprise me? I guess it helps to be young and attractive to get published. A coworker shared a link about a high school with no library (in Australia). Digital libraries? Is this where we're really going?
I don't watch much television and only subscribe to the most basic of cable channels, but I am tempted to try and get Showtime, so I can watch this new series about the Tudors. Then there is this series about Robin Hood that I wouldn't mind seeing either. Why do you have to pay for all the good shows? If I wait long enough I guess they will eventually come out on DVD and I can get them from Netflix, I suppose.
I think I found a book that will fit into the folktale category of Carl's Once Upon a Time Reading Challenge. Thanks to Sycorax Pine for the great reading ideas. I finally managed to come up with one of my own as well, so now I should have a few books to choose from. I have several books by Angela Carter--long in my collection and long unread! Sadly much of her work appears to have gone out of print here in the US. I have decided that Saints and Strangers, which is a collection of folktales she retells, will fit the bill nicely. Her books have always seemed so appeal, if not a bit on the quirky side, I am happy to finally have an excuse (did I need one?) to read some of her work!
I decided to start reading Stardust by Neil Gaiman as my first challenge book. It has been called an "utterly charming fairy tale", and so far I do like it, though I am only a few chapters in. It has been made into a movie (you can see the trailer there), starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes and Sienna Miller. I was going to wait as I have a little queue of books that I am meant to be concentrating on (and finishing soon), but I couldn't help myself.
One of the books I should be concentrating on is Lady Susan by Jane Austen. I decided to go back and read the introduction (which I usually save until after I read the book), and I found it very helpful. It is nice to place Lady Susan in the context of her other writings. This was an earlier novel, and it seems much more a product of the 18th century than the 19th. I have been dragging my feet a bit on reading it as I want to read it in just a couple of sittings, as it is very short. The 31st, though, is just around the corner, so I better get reading.
I have mostly been concentrating on Vanora Bennett's Portrait of an Unknown Woman. This is definitely a cut above the usual historical fiction fare. Once again a story has been built up around real historical figures. The story centers on the adopted daughter of Thomas More and is set against the pageantry (not always beautiful) of 16th century England. I will definitely have more to share about this one!
One last book I am juggling. I was going to hold off on starting this one as well, but I made the mistake of dipping into Deanna Raybourn's Silent in the Grave, and keep finding myself wanting to pick this one up as well. While definitely a bit lighter in style than the Bennett book, this is also a historical novel set in Victorian England. It reminds me quite a lot of And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander. A young, wealthy woman is widowed, and it turns out to be murder. Again our heroine is a bit unconventional (if you read that Guardian article I mentioned....are authors writing the same stories?). I had hoped to finish a couple of these books before the end of the month, but I'm afraid I am cutting it a bit close!
And a question...is it just me, or is Amazon annoying anyone else? It seems every time I do a search the results are not listed in the same way they used to be. I will search for an author and then think most of their books are no longer in print due to the way they list the results. I also can't find specific titles as easily as I used to. What on earth is going on with them there? Has anyone else noticed this?