I know I have no right to be cranky about the weather when the east coast has just been slammed with a foot or more of snow, but I am sincerely tired of winter. I'm tired of the frigid cold, of the incremental amounts of snow we've been getting (on top of the two feet we received before and on Christmas) that pretty much is assured to hang around into spring (since it's so cold). I'm tired of icy sidewalks and of finding alternative routes to walk home (because some people have failed to clean their sidewalks a single time this season meaning there is a lot of snow still in some places). I'm tired of fog and grey days and especially of the freezing drizzle we seem to get about once a week. It's been a really crappy winter and all I can think of, fantasize about, is sandy beaches and sunny blue skies. I fantasize about these things as I put on my snow boots, wrap my heavy wool scarf around me so it covers most of my face and then force myself out the door to stand on a cold, dark, depressing bus stop. So even though I might not have a reason to be cranky, apparently I still am.
Now that I've got that off my chest, let me tell you about the books I came away with from the library this week! (A much happier note, don't you think).
Venetia, Georgette Heyer - I told myself that when I finished with my current Heyer read, Beauvallet, I was going to take a little break from her books. Why is it so easy to pick them up and just start reading? Beauvallet is an earlier novel, so very different really than her usual sort of story, but I've been in the mood to read about one of her older heroines, which Venetia is. It seems that Georgette Heyer's novels are sometimes like potato chips--it's very hard to stop at just one.
Three Men in a Boat, Jerome K. Jerome - After mentioning Connie Willis's novels (particularly To Say Nothing of the Dog) and reading everyone's comments I decided it might be worthwhile to read the Jerome book first. It's turning out to be yet another humorous novel, which I really need as you can see (...refer to first two paragraphs please...).
The Kingdom of Ohio, Matthew Flaming - I seem to be in the mood for fantasy-ish sorts of stories (no doubt a desire for lots of escapism). "Flaming's debut mixes time travel, historical grit and an alternate
history of the American frontier in a romance with a fantastic bent." This reminds me that I need to catch up with Jodie's Steampunk posts. (I read that this book has steampunk elements in it). I have only recently heard this term, but I'm sort of fascinated and interested by this genre and I'll be catching up on what she has to say about it all.
As a matter of fact I have lots of catching up to do this weekend on blog reading. And email answering. If I've not dropped by lately I no doubt have multiple posts marked in Google Reader that I have every intention of getting to. And I've had some new visitors here (thanks very much for your comments--they are always appreciated), and I plan on reciprocating those visits. And thanks to everyone who visits regularly, it makes these dreary winter days much much more bearable.