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...