Did I mention that last Friday when I was at the public library there was a fight? The police were called. It wasn't pretty. Last night when I went it was back to its quiet normal activity, thankfully. Since I am trying hard to steer clear from bookstores, I suspect I will be making a weekly visit to the library instead. As a matter of fact I have gotten into the habit of checking their new books lists online and adding books rather indiscriminately to my queue. I will have to stop that--or learn to be more selective, because this is what happens when you just pick out whatever sounds in the least interesting. You end up with far too many to carry home (or read before their due dates for that matter). How I managed these walking (and in the heat and humidity, with a plastic bag that broke halfway home) is beyond me! Three were totally impulse choices, but I do plan on reading the others. The impulses:
The Verneys: A True Story of Love, War, and Madness in Seventeenth-Century England, Adrian Tinniswood. This sounds so interesting--three generations of this British family. I am very interested in this period, but I will probably have to wait until it comes out in paper to read it. It is over 500 pages and I am the slowest NF reader, still you never know, maybe I will pick it up and not be able to set it down!
Their Other Side: Six American Women and the Lure of Italy, Helen Barolini. What's interesting about this book is the women Barolini writes about. I'm particularly interested in reading about Emily Dickinson (I had no idea she traveled to Italy) and Margaret Fuller. Perhaps I will just read those sections.
- Grace Kelly: A Life in Pictures. This is a gorgeous coffee-table book. Had I just seen it on the shelves I would have flipped through it and put it back. It was on the hold shelf for me, though, so I was too embarrassed to ask the clerk to put it back. It is nearly all photos, though, so I will enjoy looking at it leisurely. Grace Kelly is another woman who I have always thought was lovely and elegant.
The books I want to read:
- Among Other Things, I've Taken Up Smoking, Aoibheann Sweeney. I've already started this one. It looks like a good (and fast) read. Dorothy recently read this and enjoyed it. It's based partially in Maine and NYC--two places I want to visit.
- The Island, Victoria Hislop. This is about four generations of Greek women. It is set in the Mediterranean, and partially in a leper colony. It sounds different, but I have heard good things about it.
- The Blood of Flowers, Anita Amirrezvani. This is set in 17th-century Persia about a young woman who is a weaver. This sounds very exotic!
- Angelica, Arthur Phillips. The return of Angelica! I had this one checked out before. Maybe I will have better luck this time around as I really want to read it--a Victorian ghost story of sorts--right up my alley.
Although I really would love to curl up with the Sweeney book, or with my Barbara Pym read (it's so good!), I have decided it is time to try and finish Don Quixote. As much as I am enjoying my daily reads, I feel a bit like I have been dragging it out a little too long now (almost four months of near daily reading!). I only have about 75 pages left. Surely I can read that much in a weekend? With any other book, I am sure I could finish it this afternoon, but for some reason DQ goes really slowly for me. I had to tape the front and back covers on as they were threatening to come off (that's what I get for reading it while walking on the treadmill--it's too big to hold easily and everything gets damp from the humidity and perspiration--yuck, I know). It's actually an exciting thought that on Monday when I take the bus I may actually be able to read an entirely different book...