Do you ever feel like you have been reading the same books forever and you are never going to finish anything? That's what I feel like right now. It's my own fault for reading too many things at once and too many long books at the same time (not that I should be complaining really as they have been very enjoyable). Actually I am close to finishing Georgette Heyer's The Infamous Army. Hopefully tonight I will find out how things end. I'll write more about the novel later, but I have to say it has been quite a ride, so to speak. I'm contemplating reading something short next to get that feeling of instant gratification, however. Maybe that's why I've been enjoying reading short stories lately.
Speaking of which...I liked Guy de Maupassant's "The Horla" so much that I've added the story collection to my reading pile. As these are just short stories, I can pick the book up and read it at whim. I've been really appreciating the short story form--there can be so much to them that I never really expected. I'm starting to look at the short story collections I own in a completely different light now.
The new Bookmarks Magazine came in the mail yesterday. It's strange to already be thinking of the "year in review" when it comes to books, but they have listed their favorites. I've read two, but only finished one of them. I thought Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson was wonderful and am happy to see it on their list. I'm afraid I didn't get through The Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin, however. I fizzled halfway through. Perhaps I need to give it another try as I have heard such good things about it from other readers. I read one of their crime picks, Benjamin Black's Christine Falls, which I thought was very good. I'll be looking for his next mystery, The Silver Swan, which is being released next March. As for the rest of the books they chose as favorites--I've not read any of them. I'll have to look them over a bit closer now.
The Dovegreyreaders group that I belong to has been discussing their next serial read. They've chosen Margaret Oliphant's Miss Marjoribanks (pronounced Marchbanks). I have an old Virago edition of it, and I am looking forward to reading it. The group is reading it in December and January. It sounds like fun:
"The novel's heroine, Lucilla Marjoribanks, returns home to tend her widowed father and soon launches herself into Carlingford society, aiming to raise the tone with her select Thursday evening parties. Optimistic, resourceful, and blithely unimpeded by self-doubt, Lucilla is a superior being in every way, not least in relation to men."
Over the weekend I watched the first two episodes of the miniseries, Island at War. It is a BBC production made a couple of years ago. It seems to be quite well done, but it is somewhat graphic. I should have expected that, as it is about the German occupation of the Channel Islands during WWII. I'm intrigued by the story, but it can be somewhat painful to watch at the same time. I think I'll take it in small doses, since I only get one disc at a time from Netflix. The only bad thing is the series was left unfinished from what I've read. I hate those dangling ends, but it still seems worthy of watching.
Now I'm off to see how Wellington is faring against Boney. Poor Lady Barbara threw over Colonel Charles Audley, and is now regretting it. I do expect the ends to be tied up neatly in this story, however.