A Work in Progress

Ready to Start: Reading Kristin Lavransdatter

I pulled Sigrid Undset's Kristin Lavransdatter off the shelf last night.  I am still planning on reading it now that I have finished Don Quixote.  I thought I would save it for September and plan to finish by the end of the year (if not sooner).  I think, however, that with two challenges starting September 1st and two book club books up for discussion as well, I might as well start sooner and get a little head start on it.

It will be my new "bus" book (I'll be reading it on my morning ride to work), taking Don Quixote's place.  It's a bit hefty with just over 1,100 pages.  The deluxe edition is really gorgeous, though.  I hope it doesn't get too beat up with my dragging it about.  The cover and pages are heavier than those of DQ.  Actually the pages are nice and have a glossy feel to them, which makes it a pleasure to hold.  And I love the cover design.  The photo really doesn't do it justice.  It has a folkish sort of illustration that you might see on Scandinavian furniture.  Although it might seem a little overwhelming--the sheer size of it, I plan on keeping in mind that it is really three books in one edition.  I can easily take a break in between books if necessary.  They books run between 300-400 pages each.  I'm really looking forward to reading it.

I decided I would read the introduction--something I generally try and avoid.  The first section deals with the plot, and not surprisingly details are given away (so beware if you choose to read it before reading the book).  I really do wish editors would save these spoilers for after the story and put this section in the back of the book or give a warning ahead of time (I should have known better though).  I think it is the small details making up the story that will be more important to me rather than the bigger ones. 

What I was more interested in was reading more about in the introduction was Undset herself, who I know nothing about.  She was born in Denmark in 1882 to a Danish mother and a Norwegian father.  She grew up in Norway, however.  Her father was an archaeologist and her mother was his secretary and illustrator.  Sigrid likely was used to being around antiquities, and it was perhaps there that she picked up her love of writing historical fiction.  She published the first book of Kristin Lavransdatter in 1920 with the other books following shortly thereafter.  She won the Nobel in 1928 at the age of 46.

"...Undset received the Nobel Prize, chiefly for her medieval epics. She surmounted every obstacle.  In sales, number of translations, significant honors and reader loyalty, Sigrid Undset in 1928 was probably the most successful woman writer in the world."

I thought it was interesting to read that she gave all the Nobel Prize money she earned to charity.  Later when the Soviets invaded Finland she sold her Novel medallion to support a relief fund to help Finnish children.  She sounds like an intriguing person and I will have to see what else I can read about and by her that has been translated into English.  I'm not sure what else I'll be able to get my hands on.

Last time I mentioned I would be reading KL, there was some interest in reading along.  I realize there are all sorts of challenges in the works right now (a couple of which I have signed up for as well) and no doubt piles of other books waiting to be read.  Let me know if you are still interested, however. I'd like to start reading on Monday.  Of course is there is enough interest I'm sure we can work out some sort of a schedule or figure out a way to discuss the book online. 

Edited:  It looks like a few people might want to read in a group.  How would you like to approach this?  I'm not sure if there is enough interest to start a separate blog?  Honestly I am not always good at posting other places (rather than here) on a regular basis, though I do like reading the posts (like those on the Don Quixote Tilting at Windmills blog, but I would still be open to it if everyone would like to.  I could post here each Sunday (or whatever day would be easiest) and we could have a discussion via the comment section?  Or we could all choose a day to post and read each other's posts?  I'd like to keep it as simple as possible, so any ideas are welcome.  As there are three books I was thinking it would be nice to read one book a month, though it might read much faster than that.  Mostly I thought it would be nice to have some sort of group to keep everyone reading and be able to ask questions or talk about what we're reading. 

It's Coming...

I knew that laid back feeling was not going to last long in terms of my reading.  First Imani's Outmoded Authors Challenge comes along.  And today Carl has announced his R.I.P. II Challenge.  I knew that I would be joining, however, so it was just a matter of time before my reading plans got a little longer.  I am trying to keep my goals fairly small and obtainable in both instances.  Hopefully by not tying myself down to a set list of books I can enjoy a few for each challenge. 

Carl has various "Perils" that you can choose from.  Although I do enjoy this genre, I think I will go with Peril #4--just choose one book to read.  If in the end I read more--all the better.  I think I can manage one novel, though.  It is actually part of my grander reading plans for the rest of the year anyway.  I have been wanting to read The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe for ages.  Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey is a parody of this Gothic classic, and I hope to read more Austen in the coming year, so the timing of this will be perfect.

As I have been wanting to read more short stories lately, I thought I might also take up Carl's suggestion to read some short stories and post on them each weekend.  I'm open for short story ideas that would fit in this genre, but here are a few I have in mind:

• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
• Don't Look Now by Daphne Du Maurier
• The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe
• The Fall of the House of Usher also by Poe
• The Cask of Amontillado again by Poe (I read this in high school and loved it--I still have fairly vivid recollections of it and have always meant to read it again)
• There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury

I will have to see if I can find some good anthology maybe.  And something a little contemporary would be fun, too.  I realize there are more here than I will likely get to; it is still nice to have a list to choose from.

Although I am not committing myself to more at the moment, on the very, very, off chance I might get in another book or two, here are a few on my shelves that would fit in nicely:

• Armadale by Wilkie Collins (I'm actually already reading this!)
• Coraline by Neil Gaiman
• The Rest Falls Away by Colleen Gleason
• The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
• A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
• Perfume by Patrick Suskind
• Transformation by Mary Shelley
• We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

The challenge runs from September 1st through October 31st.  If nothing else I am looking forward to finally reading The Mysteries of Udolpho!  I hate to wish away time, but I am looking forward to cooler months (hopefully they will be cooler months!), and it will be nice to read something to fit the season.

Sunday Miscellanea

Although I didn't get to go on a proper vacation this summer, my mom did visit my sister and spent a day in DC.  She brought me back some nice things from the museums she visited.  The quote on the top t-shirt is from Henry David Thoreau, "The world is but a canvas to the imagination".  The green t-shirt is from my favorite museum on the Mall, The Freer.  Whenever I go I make a point of visiting The Peacock Room and looking at the galleries with American art (I'm especially fond of their works by James McNeill Whistler and Thomas Dewing).  She also brought back some notecards and bookmarks, which I always find useful--I'm easy to please!

I've spent more time this weekend cleaning and shifting things about than I care to think about.  This means less time reading and even less time on the computer  (I'm behind as usual in blog reading--so nothing new there, really).  I did manage to read more of David Copperfield, which I am greatly enjoying.  I also watched the last two episodes of Our Mutual Friend that was shown on Masterpiece Theater some time ago. I loved it.  I think I may have to watch it again and I have already found my copy of the book.  Not sure when I will read it, but it is close at hand. 

Did I mention already that I finished reading Barbara Pym's Excellent Women?  It is definitely one of my favorite books that I've read all year.  I'm too lazy today to write up a proper post about it, but I think I have probably talked about it enough by now.  I highly recommend it, and I can't wait to read more of her work!

I also finished Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach today.  I'm not entirely sure what I think about it.  I feel like I have read too many reviews and heard too many opinions to give my own and feel like it is in any way balanced.  There were things I liked about it very much.  I liked the forming of the characters and the way they related to each other and their families.  I like how he got into their minds.  You can see how easy it is for people to misunderstand each other, or miscommunicate.  But some of the story was actually quite painful to read.  Or maybe I should say uncomfortable to read.  I've literally just finished it, so I will let it stew in my mind a bit more.  Last time I looked it was the odds on favorite to win the Booker.  It seems sort of predictable if he should win it, but maybe they'll end up choosing something no one expects.  I'll be interested to see how it goes.

I've also started a new book, The House at Riverton, by Kate Morton.  It hasn't yet been published in the US.  My copy is from the last ordering binge I had in July.  Although it is a pretty hefty book, I think I will be working my way through it pretty quickly.  It is another murder mystery type novel set in Edwardian times and told from the perspective of one of the house maids. 

Everyone seems to either have just got back from vacation or is on vacation.  A coworker is in Oregon and one of the places she was staying is literally on the coast.  I saw pictures of her hotel room, which has huge windows and looks down from a rocky crag onto the Pacific Ocean.  Long sigh.  That's where I want to be now.  I may be scanning my shelves looking for something with just that sort of a setting.  I want to hear the surf pounding against the rocky coast.  The only way that is going to happen is in the pages of a book it seems.  (Sorry...more whining, but at least I didn't say anything about the humid weather, which I am not enjoying in the least).  Maybe I better go look for that book now... 

Greatest Literary Romances Meme

As today is one of those dreaded organizing and cleaning** sorts of days, I thought I would grab Sylvia's meme.  Personally I don't mind a good romance now and then.  Here are my answers:

I've read it
I want to read it
I've seen the movie*
I have it on DVD
I want to marry the leading man/lady!

The list:

1 Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë, 1847 -- I loved this book.  I know Cathy and Heathcliff get on some people's nerves, but there was something about those windswept moors!  It's due for a reread soon!

2 Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, 1813 -- Oh yes, Mr. Darcy.  Colin Firth.  Yummy.  Nothing more needs said.

3 Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare, 1597 -- I just read and watched this earlier this year.  Very sad, but very good!

4 Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë, 1847 -- Good old Jane. The first time I read this I liked it well enough.  Not sure about Jane.  The second time I loved it.

5 Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell, 1936 -- I know I should at least see the movie, but I just haven't the inclination.

6 The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje, 1992 -- I never did get around to seeing the movie.  Is it worthwhile?

7 Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier, 1938 --  Love Daphne Du Maurier.  Rebecca is great!

8 Doctor Zhivago, Boris Pasternak, 1957 -- I did see the recent remake of this film, but not the original.  It's another case of I want to read the book and then see the movie (the Julie Christie verion).

9 Lady Chatterley's Lover, DH Lawrence, 1928 -- I plan on reading Lawrence soon. 

10 Far from The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy, 1874  -- Loved Tess, and I want to read more Hardy now.

11 = My Fair Lady, Alan Jay Lerner, 1956

The African Queen, CS Forester, 1935

13 The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald, 1925* -- I've read this one several times and saw the recent remake of it.  I want to read more of his work as well, as this is the only work of his I've gotten to so far.

14 Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen, 1811 -- I haven't read this one, but I plan on reading all of Austen in the coming year.  Of course I've managed to see all the films...

15 = The Way We Were, Arthur Laurents, 1972* -- Oh, yeah.  Saw this one when I was younger. 

War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy, 1865 -- Yes!  Is there a worthwhile movie adaptation?  Not sure how it could be done.

17 Frenchman's Creek, Daphne du Maurier, 1942* -- This was another great Du Maurier book and the film was pretty good, too. 

18 Persuasion, Jane Austen, 1818 -- My favorite Austen novel.  The movie is very good, too!

19 Take a Girl Like You, Kingsley Amis, 1960 --Not familiar with this one, must look it up.

20 Daniel Deronda, George Eliot, 1876* -- I'd love to read this, I've seen the movie within the last year.

Addition:

Maurice, E.M. Forester, 1971 (posth.) -- Another one I want to read.  I've even heard it has a happy ending!!

**I've been working on cleaning and organizing.  Blah.  So far it has meant shifting things from one place to another.  So while my bedroom is starting to look quite nice, I will now have to clean the areas where odds and ends have been shifted to.  Do you ever feel like you have "too much stuff"?  I am feeling that way.  I wish (at least for the moment) that I had one of those nice, neat Scandinavian homes with the light colored wood, and all simple lines.  And it was quite empty of stuff (only my books of course).  I hate to admit that I am some sort of packrat, but I have come to the conclusion that I am indeed just that--at least on a small scale.  I am trying to get rid off loose papers and magazines (remember that nasty silverfish problem?  Actually I haven't seen any, but I am still weary there are more hiding).  It is just so hard to get rid of things people might have given you or letters or cards that people sent.  But I am working to find some sort of happy balance.  It's weird to think you come into the world with absolutely nothing and you leave...well, like I said, too much stuff.

More Reading Plans

It didn't take long for me to break down and join the Outmoded Authors challenge, which Imani has kindly organized.  The idea behind the challenge is to read authors and their works, which have fallen out of popularity.  Along with the help of other readers she came up with a list of 30-ish authors that we can choose from.  This sounded intriguing--especially as there were several authors on the list whose books I own and have not yet cracked open to read.  What convinced me that I might actually be able to take on this challenge are the easy-going rules.  The challenge runs from September 1, 2007 through February 28, 2008, and we can read as many (or few) books we choose.  Surely I can fit in a few books in that time span? 

Although I love making lists, I am not always good at sticking to them (particularly when it comes to challenges).  I thought it might be better to be general in what I would like to read and then choose serendipitously as I go.  I do have a few interests and ideas, however.  I am trying to only pick books I already own or can easily get from the library, by the way.  I have a feeling that as I learn about what others are reading I will be induced to add more names/titles to my list.  Here's my starting list:

The Rainbow and Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence.  I have never read anything by him and have wanted to read something for a good part of this year.  I've heard some curious things about him, and now he ends up on this list, so I think I am destined to read him soon!

The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy.  Do you know I own the BBC adaptation of this, which I have put off watching as I want to read the book first?!  Silly, I know.  I have a feeling I will like this book very much, but the sheer size of it has put me off just picking it up and reading it on whim. 

The Country of the Pointed Firs or A Country Doctor by Sarah Orne Jewett.  I also have another book of short stories by her.  A German friend received her degree in American Lit., and she gave me The Country of Pointed Firs to read ages ago. It's very bad of me not to have read her sooner.  There is the added bonus that her books are set in Maine (one of my fantasy vacation spots).

A Favourite of the Gods by Sybille Bedford.  I own all four of Bedford's novels.  I'm not entirely sure where to start with her work as I think some of the novels are sequels.  It sounds as though her books were somewhat autobiographical.

The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham. I read my first Maugham novel earlier this year and really liked it.  I'd like to read more!

Dance Night by Dawn Powell.  I had heard of this author but never considered reading her.  When I started reading about her from the link on Imani's list, she sounded really interesting, however.  Dance Night is one of her earlier Ohio novels.  I don't own any of her work, but my public library owns the Library of America editions, which contain all her novels.

I don't expect to read all the titles or authors on this (above) list.  I'll choose one to start with and then see where I feel like going next.  Some of the authors on Imani's list I have never heard of, but I am looking foward to learning more about them.  Elizabeth Bowen I have read (a few of her novels) and would like to read more of.  And then there are authors like Anna Kavan and Christina Stead that I have heard very good things about, but I have never got around to searching out their books.  This should be a fun challenge and I expect to discover some new authors along the way.

My reading plans don't stop there.  I recently joined an Angela Thirkell discussion group.  I still belong to Dovegreybooks as well and look forward to reading my daily email digests (this is a Yahoo Group).  Actually some members were talking about Thirkell, which made me look her up.  I have never read her work, but she seems like she would be right up my alley.  She wrote about English country life in the 1930s through the War years.  I find that I have a very large soft spot for this type of book (something Persephone Books might publish or perhaps like the Barbara Pym novel I just finished).  While I like and read all sorts of novels, I keep coming back to this type.  I plan to read the whole series, which is something like 30 novels.  Obviously this is a long term sort of project.  Has anyone read these?  I'm looking forward to getting into the first book, High Rising, soon.  I'd love to find copies of all the books to own, but as I am still in my 'no new books' mode, I had to settle for getting the book through ILL (thank heavens for ILL!). 

I do have a few other plans in the works, but I will save those for another day!   

Should I, or Shouldn't I?

A couple of days ago I received an email from Art-e-Zine about an upcoming paper arts swap.  I used to spend quite a lot of time doing a variety of paper arts, but mostly making Artist Trading Cards (ATCs).  You can see some of my things in the photo albums on my side bar towards the bottom.  I have even had a few of my cards published in books and shown on websites.  The hobby got a bit obsessive, however, and I found myself having to make schedules of swaps that I was participating in.  Not only was I making art for swaps, but I was even organizing them (which can be a headache all its own!).  And you have no idea how much money you can spend on a hobby like this (there are so many cool things out there to buy you can use for collages these days).  Things got a little crazy, so I put away my glue and paints (and all the other paraphernalia making these might entail), and for about year and a half I have not done anything creative like this. 

This is an ATC that I made for a swap (it is posted in the ArtChix gallery) to give you an idea of what they look like.  ATCs are the size of a standard playing card, and that was what I always used as my "canvas".  They are fun to make, but as I've said, somewhat addictive.  The thing is, this swap sounds so tempting, I'm wondering if I can join in, but without the fear of me going over the edge once again.  Just when I have finally gotten my book buying habit under some kind of control, have not been buying hardly any needlework supplies, it would not be a good thing to start ordering collage materials again!

The swap is "An Artful Christmas Swap" and the idea is to have a group of twelve--each person makes a small artsy gift (twelve of the same).  The person organizing everything will receive all the artwork in the mail and redistribute the artwork and mail it all back out.  Each player will end up with 12 "gifts"--one to open on each of the Twelve Days of Christmas.  The idea has been done before.  There is an Artful Christmas blog set up for this new swap.  I even have an idea of what I would make if I joined.  I would have two full months to work on my artwork, and really I only need one good idea (only I would duplicate it twelve times).  I am going to make myself think it over for a few days.  If I am still as excited about doing it over the weekend I might just have to sign up.  Even if I don't join a swap like this, I wouldn't mind working on a creative art journal--something just for myself.  You can see what my other hobbies are besides reading, what are yours?

Oh, I Wish! -- National Book Festival

I received an email yesterday announcing the National Book Festival being held in Washington DC next month.  It seems I have heard of this before, and in reading the press release (which I have cut and pasted below), I would love to go to it!  And surely by the end of September the worst of the heat (and DC can get disgustingly hot, too) will probably have passed.  I have visited DC several times and it is a fun town.  Can you imagine living there...working in the Library of Congress...all those free museums...Well, that would be one of my dream jobs anyway.  In any case, if you are lucky enough to live close, this would be wonderful to go to!  And check out this list of authors who will be attending!  I guess the next best thing to being there will be watching Book TV and listening to podcasts. 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ANNOUNCES AWARD-WINNING AUTHORS
TO PARTICIPATE IN SEVENTH ANNUAL NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL

The Librarian of Congress and Laura Bush Invite Book Lovers of All Ages
To Celebrate the Joy of Reading and Lifelong Literacy on the National Mall on Sept. 29

The 2007 National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress and hosted by Mrs. Laura Bush, will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., between 7th and 14th streets (rain or shine). The festival is free and open to the public.

“This will be the seventh year of this extraordinary celebration of the joy of reading and the creativity of America’s writers and illustrators,” said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. “The National Book Festival brings authors and readers together to share the stories that touch their minds and hearts. Tens of thousands of book lovers see firsthand how reading changes lives and how our country, its citizens and its libraries promote reading in imaginative and inspiring ways.”

“The National Book Festival welcomes all Americans to the National Mall to celebrate reading and meet with some of America’s most-loved authors from across the country,” said Mrs. Bush. “Readers of all ages can discover the joys of new books and fall in love again with old favorites.”

The 2007 National Book Festival is made possible with generous support from Distinguished Benefactor Target; Charter Sponsors AT&T, The Amend Group and The Washington Post; Patrons the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the James Madison Council and the National Endowment for the Arts; and Contributors Barnes & Noble, the Library of Congress Federal Credit Union, Marshall and Dee Ann Payne, NBA/WNBA, PBS, Penguin Group (USA) and Scholastic Inc.

This year about 70 well-known authors, illustrators and poets will talk about their books in the following pavilions: Children; Teens & Children; Fiction & Fantasy; Mysteries & Thrillers; History & Biography; Home & Family; and Poetry. Festivalgoers can have books signed by their favorite authors, and children can meet ever-popular storybook and television characters and NBA/WNBA players appearing on the festival grounds throughout the day.

The Pavilion of the States, sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), will highlight reading, literacy and library promotion activities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and several American trusts and territories. Representatives from the states and territories will welcome families and children interested in learning about writers and reading programs nationwide. IMLS representatives will also be providing information about its library initiatives, including the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program to recruit and educate the next generation of librarians. The Big Read programs in the states, sponsored by IMLS and the National Endowment for the Arts, will be featured in the pavilion.

In the popular Let’s Read America pavilion, there will be a wide variety of fun-filled reading promotion activities developed by festival sponsors for children.

The Library of Congress Pavilion will feature a variety of interactive family-centered activities illustrating the depth and breadth of the Library’s extraordinary collections available online. Computers will be available for both children and adults to explore the Library’s acclaimed Web site at www.loc.gov. Information about conserving photographs and valuable documents as well as the Library’s digital preservation program will be provided. The Library will share the latest technologies in film and audio preservation developed for its new Packard Campus in Culpeper, Va. A group of veterans who appeared in the Ken Burns film “The War” will be interviewed by Veterans History Project (VHP) historian Tom Wiener. Other VHP programs in the pavilion will feature editors of the upcoming publication “The Library of Congress Companion to World War II”; veterans whose stories are told in the 2008 Veterans History Project Wall Calendar; and veterans interviewed for the last published book by celebrated journalist David Halberstam (“The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War”). The use of VHP materials in the classroom will be showcased in a program where a teacher and students will demonstrate how to interview a veteran.

In addition to planning a range of activities for this year’s festival on the National Mall, the Library is offering a variety of ways for people around the country to participate in the event online. This summer, the Library will launch the National Book Festival Young Readers’ Online Toolkit (www.loc.gov/bookfest) to bring the festival into libraries, schools and homes across the country.

The Toolkit will feature information about National Book Festival authors who write for children and teens, podcasts of their readings and teaching tools and activities for kids. This interactive resource also shows educators, parents and children how they can host their own book festivals.

Available again this year will be downloadable podcasts of interviews with popular participating authors. The Library will also present same-day coverage of the morning presentations on its Web site. All of the authors’ presentations will be available on the Library’s site the week following the festival.

In addition to the same-day webcasts, the Library will again collaborate with Book TV on C-SPAN2 to televise events taking place at the festival. The C-SPAN2 Book TV Bus, a mobile television studio with a multimedia demonstration center for the public, will also be on the National Mall.

Leading up to the festival, washingtonpost.com will host a series of online chats with authors appearing at the National Book Festival. These text-based discussions can be viewed daily, starting on Monday, Sept. 24, on the site at www.washingtonpost.com. The schedule of chats and authors’ names will be posted on the site and the Library’s site at www.loc.gov/bookfest. Participants can submit questions in advance or during the live discussion. Authors’ responses will be posted while the program is airing or at a later date on washingtonpost.com’s online discussion archives. Washington Post Radio will also be interviewing authors prior to the festival day.

The artist for this year’s festival is Mercer Mayer, whose work brings a magical quality to the 2007 National Book Festival poster. Mayer will be among the authors and illustrators speaking in the Children’s Pavilion. Posters featuring his digital painting will be available free of charge at the festival.

The Junior League of Washington will again have hundreds of volunteers to help with the National Book Festival.

For more information about the festival, a preliminary list of participating authors, illustrators and poets, their books, and other activities in each presentation pavilion, visit www.loc.gov/bookfest.

Reading Update

I'm feeling very laid back in my reading all of a sudden.  With a few reader's copies read, reviewed and out of the way, and my long term Don Quixote reading finished I feel like I can read whatever I want now.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy getting the occasional advance reader's copy and I love reading challenging sorts of books (especially when read in a group setting), but they still have that faint tinge of obligation to them.  I know I need to concentrate on those just a bit more than my other books.  I'm sure I will end up with more "obligation" reading before too long, but for the next few weeks anyway, I hope to make some headway in a few other books that have been waiting for me to get back to them.

I am completely and absolutely loving Barbara Pym's Excellent Women.  When the book blurb described Pym's writing as comedic, I wasn't entirely convinced that a book set in the 50s about a spinster-ish sort of woman who is a clergyman's daughter could possibly be funny.  I was wrong.  This isn't exactly a roll in the aisles sort of humor, but Mildred is so perceptive about people and situations that I find myself laughing inwardly and sometimes out loud as well.  When a married couple move into the flat above Mildred's, her life goes a bit topsy turvy.  This is quickly turning into one of my favorite books I've read all year.  I'm rationing out the chapters, but happily I have the rest of her novels yet ahead of me to read.  I've already started collecting them.

I've also been reading Among Other Things I've Taken Up Smoking by Aoibheann Sweeney.  What a title--it certainly makes you look twice.  The story begins in Crab Island Maine, where young Miranda lives alone with her father (her mother having drowned in a boating accident).  Miranda's father spends his days working on a new translation of Ovid's Metamorphosis.  If not for a family friend you might wonder if Miranda would be taken care of very well.  So far I have lots of questions, but I'm not terribly far into the story.  This is another book that I am finding it easy to get into and find myself not wanting to put it down.

Hostages to Fortune by Elizabeth Cambridge is the other book I've been dragging around with me lately.  This was the last group read for the Dovegreyreaders group I've mentioned before.  I am a bit behind--I think most people have finished it and have been discussing it.  I've finally had a chance to get into it properly and am enjoying it as well.  It begins at the tail end of WWI, and it details the life of an ordinary family.  It seems I've heard this type book described as domestic fiction.  It seems as though something like this would not be terribly exciting, but I am thoroughly enjoying reading about this family.  It's set in a small country town.  Catherine, the narrator, is also an aspiring writer but finds it difficult to juggle children, home and all the work they entail as well as being able to write.  This is a Persephone book--have I mentioned lately how much I love their books?  I have only read a few of them now, but I have enjoyed all of them!

I thought it was time to get going again on Katherine Mansfield's Journal.  This is an easy book to pick up and read a handful of pages daily.  As it is literally journal entries you don't lose any continuity by just reading a bit at a time.  Many of the entries are fragments, and I wonder how many made it into her short stories?  I still want to read more of her work and her biography.  Still, must finish her Journal first.  I've finally picked up David Copperfield again.  I'm now anxious to finish it so I can start reading Our Mutual Friend.  I watched the first two episodes of the Masterpiece Theater adaptation over the weekend.  I thought I would be confused by the many characters and would have a hard time following the story, so I was just feeling so-so about watching it, but it was so good that now I am not sure whether it is better to wait to watch the rest and try and read the book first, or just finish watching (which at this point is what I want to do).  I know Dickens is not everyone's favorite--but I have to say I am so easily sucked into his novels.  I have them lined up to be read.  I also broke down and started Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach.  My grand plan is to not start any new books until I have finished two (thereby whittling down the pile, right?--finish two only start one).  Well, I didn't finish two, but my rationalization is that it is a short book and can easily squeeze it in amongst the others.  Also it is a library book with a fast approaching due date.  It's too early to tell, whether I'll love it or not.  I feel like I've read so many opinions about it I won't be able to have an objective one myself. 

One last thing.  The new Bookmarks Magazine came in the mail yesterday.  Yay.  New Fall books--I hope I find something new and good.  They tend to review the popular titles that I've already read about, but I still can't help getting excited seeing a new one in my mail box.

Gifted

Purely by chance was I able to get a copy of Nikita Lalwani's Gifted, which is due to be published here in the US in September.  Library Thing is now offering advanced reader's editions of some of Random House's upcoming releases. Gifted sounded like the most promising of the bunch, so I put in my name and by chance received one of the copies on offer.  Lalwani's novel also happens to be one of the 13 that has been longlisted for the Booker.

Although the story was a bit of a slow starter for me, I am not surprised that this first novel is bing considered for the prestigious Booker award.  Lalwani's writing is clear and concise, and once the story gets going you easily lose yourself in the not so easy world of Rumika Vasi and her family.  At the age of five Rumi is identified as being gifted in mathematics.  From that moment on Rumi's life becomes one of scheduled study sessions planned out by her controlling father, Mahesh, himself a professor of mathematics.

What slowed me down initially was the story being told from the perspective not only of Rumi, but from that of her parents as well.  At first I thought I didn't really care about their stories as much as about Rumi's, but in the end they were at least as interesting.  Immigrants from India, Mahesh and Shreene are the result of an arranged marriage.  Family dynamics will have a lot to do with what happens in the story.  One of the things Lalwani is so good at is characterization.  These are not cardboard characters--they are fully realized three-dimensional people.  Mahesh is driven to succeed in his adopted culture.  Shreene feels a bit duped.  She had not wanted to emigrate and thought this foreign life would only be temporary. 

We are given glimpses into Rumi's life at 10, 14 and finally at 15.  Not only is she dealing with the problems any normal child must face, she has the added circumstance of being gifted, and further she must straddle two cultures.  Twice she goes to India with her family.  India is sacred to her.  It's the place where a girl can excel in math and be entirely normal.  In Cardiff, however, she's always different--always trying to fit in.

Rumi is being groomed by her parents to finish school early and be accepted into Oxford at the very young age of 14.  While she wants this to happen, she also struggles against it.  She rebels against the family pressures in small ways.  She almost seems to want to jeopardize her own success at times, but always in the end she presses on towards her goal.  Eventually she'll want things other teenagers want--fashionable clothes and romance.  So much time and effort is spent in preparation--the getting there.  It's what happens after the exams that none of them seemed prepared for. 

The ending had a slightly rushed feeling to it, though it was not unexpected. You could feel things building up all along, so I expected some sort of boiling point.  I thought it was a fairly impressive first novel.  Impressive enough to win the Booker is another question altogether. 

A Little Fanfare Please

"'God save me!' said Don Quixote.  'What a life we shall lead, Sancho my friend!  What flageolets will reach our ears, what Zamoran pipes, what timbrels, what tambourines, and what rebecs!'"

Oh, I know the feeling--bring out the musicians...I've finished Don Quixote!  When I turned that last page I felt like a hundred balloons should have been released in celebration.  Three months and 11 days.  That's all it took. Actually the last 20 pages or so really should be reread. I was so happy to be nearing the end, I'm not sure I took it all in.  But you'll be happy to know (those of you who are reading it, too) that loose ends are more or less all tied up and Don Quixote (the novel) comes to a definitive end.  I'll be curious to know what others think of the ending. 

This isn't a proper DQ post, as I still have some essays I would like to read.  There is so much material in this book, I'm not even sure how to process it all in my mind, let alone summarize it in any decent way here.  I really did like Don Quixote, though I have to say this is a long book.  There were times it felt like it just went on and on---one long, epic adventure.  Victoria did an excellent job discussing the first half of the novel.  I take for granted all the elements that might make up a novel, but Cervantes came up with all the "tricks" first, and it was hard trying to keep that in mind while reading.  I think what surprised me most when I started this was how modern it felt.  I had expected a book written in the 17th century to be sort of labyrinthine and hard to read.  I really didn't expect it to be as accessible as it was.  Although it was not something I could read quickly, it wasn't particularly difficult either.  Perhaps the ease of reading the language was due to Edith Grossman's excellent translation.  In the introduction she writes:

"I believe that my primary obligation as a literary translator is to recreate for the reader in English the experience of the reader in Spanish.  When Cervantes wrote Don Quixote, it was not yet a seminal masterpiece of European literature, the book that crystallized forever the making of literature out of life and literature, that explored in typically ironic fashion, and for the first time, the blurred and shifting frontiers between fact and fiction, imagination and history, perception and physical reality, or that set the stage for all Hispanic studies and all serious discussions of the history and nature of the novel.  When Cervantes wrote Don Quixote, his language was not archaic or quaint.  He wrote in a crackling, up-to-date Spanish that was an intrinsic part of his time, a modern language that both reflected and helped to shape the way people experienced the world.  This meant that I did not need to find a special, anachronistic, somehow-seventeenth-century voice, but I could translate his astonishingly fine writing into contemporary English." 

Although she says she wanted the reading experience to be the same for English readers as for Spanish readers, I wonder what it must be like to read this in the original Spanish and get all the intricate word play or literary references that couldn't really be translated into English?  I found Grossman's footnotes to be very helpful but not too intrusive.

So.  Here it is.  The Father of the Modern Novel.  Literary masterpiece aside, it was still an entertaining read at its most basic level.  I have a feeling that there is going to be a ripple effect now in my other readings.  It will be interesting seeing him pop up as a reference in places I probably won't expect him (and now I'll know what all the fuss is about!).