It was a hard decision, but I've picked up Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile to read. It came down to Agatha, Josephine Tey and Susan Hill. Many thanks for all the suggestions--they were very helpful and I almost found myself starting several books rather than just one! I've read very little Agatha Christie, though, so Poirot it is. It looks to be a fast read, so I can pick up one of the others soon enough. It was written in 1937 after spending a winter in Egypt. I'm looking forward to seeing if it is really as exotic as it sounds. And if I get a few of her mysteries under my belt I have a biography of her to read as well.
So while I start a new book I'm contemplating setting another aside. I did set aside my "beach book". While the premise sounded great and I think it is something I will really like given the chance, I just felt like I was struggling with it a little bit to begin with, which isn't a good sign. It wasn't helped by the fact that I spent my gym time trying to read it and had to struggle to concentrate over the loud music that was playing. The building that houses the gym facilities and health classes is being renovated and it is a complete mess. The bikes I ride used to be in a room where there was piped in music set to a local radio station. Nothing too loud, and I could zone the music out most of the time. The cardio machines had to be moved to a room that has a rock climbing wall and I know the students who use the wall love loud music, but I pay to use the facilities, too, and more often than not I hate the music they are playing. Lately it has been really hard rock. I hesitate to call it music since most of the time there is just screaming and no discernible words. It has to be a good book to compete with that. And yesterday the book lost. I'm finding that I increasingly hate to go and work out since the atmosphere is not conducive to a relaxing hour in the gym. I've come close to asking them to either turn down the music or change it, but I hate to be a crabby person and it makes me feel really old, so I just try to grin and bear it. At least I only go three days a week.
That book may not be the only victim of a changing mood. What to do about poor Dickens? I want to read it and love it (as much as I loved the movie), but I'm hitting a rocky part. I even left work early a week or so ago and found a nice quiet place in the library to dedicate a few hours reading time to it to get things moving again. I don't like to admit this, but I almost fell asleep. I guess I shouldn't raise my eyebrows when I spot a student sacked out and asleep. Granted I only felt my eyelids drooping--I didn't actually sleep. I put it down to the soporific effects of just having eaten my sandwich and being all comfortable. Over 300 pages I've read. Do I stop now or press on and figure it will get more exciting once Esther Summerson once more appears? This was supposed to be my winter read (that would be last winter). I've been thinking of what other classics I could be reading, but I really hate abandoning books when I am so far in. Such a dilemma.
I've started rereading Rosamund Pilcher's Coming Home, which I am loving. It is set in Cornwall and there is lots of wonderful description. I read this at least ten years ago, and while I have a vague recollection of the main plot, all the details are faded away and it is like I'm reading it for the first time. Also on my reread list is more Clare Chambers and some Mary Wesley!
I'm also working on Joanna Cannan's Princes in the Land. It's a short book that has been compared to Elizabeth Cambridge's Hostages to Fortune, which I really liked. Domestic novels both, they deal with average everyday lives of average everyday people (but as we're talking about Persephones here, the books anything but average!). Paperback Reader is hosting a Persephone Week Reading Challenge August 24th. How can I pass up something like that? I'm not sure that I can manage to read more than one, but I'll be looking over my list soon and picking one to read during that week.
You probably already heard that the 2009 Booker Longlist was announced. It doesn't often happen, but I've actually read two of the books and am working on a third. I loved both Colm Toibin's Brooklyn and Sarah Waters' The Little Stranger and would be pleased if either won the award. I'm reading A.S. Byatt's The Children's Book right now. I'm not far enough along to make any predictions on that one, but I know I like what I've read so far. I'm not familiar with the rest of the books, but I would like to read the William Trevor novel when it comes out this fall.
Did you know there is now a North American Book Depository website? I discovered this from Cornflower. Although I already order from them often to get UK-published books, I'm excited that there will now be another online bookseller to turn to here in the US. What's nice is the offer of free shipping. Amazon and Barnes & Noble also offer free shipping, but only after you spend $25. Sometimes I just want one book, but don't want to pass up the free shipping so end up buying more than I should. This news made my day and I plan on checking them out very soon...
One more link. I discovered via Simon a fellow Virago lover. I'll be watching her project closely and perhaps finding more book recommendations. I have loads of Viragos and try and squeeze them in whenever I get a chance. At the moment I am getting my Virago fix via Molly Keane's books.
Taking a look at my current reads pile (see books on right sidebar) it seems heavy on British authors, doesn't it? I find that to be the case most of the time lately. That's not a bad thing, since that's what I enjoy reading right now, but it seems like there should be at least one American in there. Maybe even a male author. Wallace Stegner maybe? William Maxwell? Must look through my shelves. Variety is a good thing and I should really try and be more consistent.