I had this wonderful idea at the beginning of the summer to not take any review copies that might be offered to me and instead get caught up with those I've let accumulate. The good news is that I've been very faithful in politely declining the few that have come my way (I did, however, accept a couple and one came as a surprise--see photo above). The bad news is that I've pretty much been reading at whim all summer and haven't managed to catch up as I had planned. There are so many good new books out there, and there are so many good books on my shelves that it is hard to juggle them in an equitable way.
So rather than reducing my pile I now also have a few to add to it. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to read these (and the others I should have already gotten to), but it would be nice if along with the book came an extra hour of reading time a day to squeeze them all in! Greedy, aren't I? My newest finds: Chandra Prasad's Breathe the Sky. I recently reread her On Borrowed Wings, which I count as one of my favorite comfort reads. Amelia Earhart actually made an appearance in that novel, and now her life story has inspired Chandra's newest book, which is due out in October. I don't really know much about Amelia Earhart, so this should be an interesting introduction.
I've never read anything by Henry Miller, though I've been curious about him in relation to author Anais Nin. I will have an opportunity to give his work a try with Black Spring. This was banned in the English speaking world upon publication in Paris. It's not really a straightforward novel but a series of linked episodes--recollections from his youth in Brooklyn and his life in Paris.
And this past week I received a surprise in the mail. Eugenia Kim's The Calligrapher's Daughter is a novel of Korea during the Japanese occupation. As it's a coming-of-age story it should fit in well with the books I've been spending time with of late. I can't think of another book I've read set in Korea, so I'm looking forward to reading it.
I think I may have to beg a few afternoons off from work this week and try and reorient myself and my reading. As I have a couple of other books that I need to finish before the end of the month it's back to adding a few 'obligation' reads into the mix. By the way, I ended up properly starting Elaine Dundy's The Old Man and Me. It's too soon to comment on the story, but she does write about Soho in the 1950s in an interesting manner. Even her style is sort of hip. I'm hoping it won't take me long to get involved in the story.
Just so you won't think I only talk about (as yet unread) books, I did finish reading Wilkie Collins's The Dead Secret this weekend. While not quite up to standards of some of his later works, you really can't beat a novel by Wilkie Collins. I want to read the introduction before I write about it, so I'll save that for later in the week.
On a side note, over the weekend I also picked up the July/August issue of Victoria Magazine. It's gorgeous to look at, and at one time I subscribed to it (may have to consider doing so again). Aside from it being their summer issue with their "favorite beach finds" (I'll be looking longingly at those photos), there is also an article on Edith Wharton's home, The Mount.
Another place to add to my list of 'must-sees' (someday perhaps). Their next issue (probably due out very soon now) is their "British Issue", which I'll be watching for as they will be featuring "vistas and views from coastal English villages" amongst other locales. Until then I'll be perusing the pages of my new goodies (books and magazines alike).