My library stack this week is a bit larger than usual as this is two library-visits worth. I don't usually browse the DVD section as I don't seem to have much time to watch movies lately, but there were a few that caught my eye, so I hope to get around to watching them.
I caught part of The Secret Life of Mrs Beeton when it first aired on PBS. Mrs Beeton was the Martha Stewart of the Victorian period. I think her books must have been in every proper household. She was actually not the matronly old woman that her books implied but began quite young and built a strong and long standing reputation.
Tim Curry as Will Shakespeare looks like it could be very interesting--all six episodes!
I was thinking I might read Evelyn Waugh's A Handful of Dust before watching the film only to discover I don't own it. I like reading books before seeing the movie, so I ordered it. The question is, can I get the book read before the movie is due back? May just have to watch it and read later.
As for books, I had requested Amy Patricia Meade's Ghost of a Chance after I first came across this mystery series. I also have her first book, which I've not been able to pick up again since that first little taste.
Bellfield Hall, or the Observations of Miss Dido Kent is another mystery, however this one has a Regency setting. It sounds like it could be a fun read, plus it has the added benefit of being set in a country manor house.
After having my curiosity piqued by Jodie's steampunk posts and then seeing this review, I decided to look for George Mann's The Affinity Bridge and hopefully finally give the genre a try. I like the idea of a mix of sci fi and alternate history which is often set in the Victorian period. Now it's just a matter of getting around to reading one of these books.
I've already mentioned I'm reading The Postmistress by Sarah Blake, which I am finding that I'm really enjoying, though I'm still not entirely sure where the author's going with the story.
Often I'll read about a forthcoming book and immediately see if my library is going to get it and then request a copy when it's released. Sometimes this happens months in advance of the actual release, so when the book finally does come out I've forgotten why I was first drawn to it. I almost took my name off the list for Kelli Stanley's City of Dragons, but I'm glad I didn't. It's a mystery set in 1940s San Francisco. Miranda Corbie is the sleuth, and she not only served as a nurse in the Spanish Civil War but is an ex-escort. Somehow her backstory appeals to me almost more than the mystery aspect of the story.
Last but not least is Jonathan Dee's Privileges. The blurb reads "The Privileges is an odyssey of a couple touched by fortune, changed by time, and guided above all else by their epic love for each other. Lyrical, provocative, and brilliantly imagined, this is a timely meditation on wealth, family, and what it means to leave the world richer than you found it."
By the way, I got my book bag! I finished my last book, Saskia Noort's Back to the Coast (I hope to post something about it very soon) and returned my list. Last year I waited until the very end of the month to turn in my book list and the bags were all gone. I enjoyed the books I read and am now the new owner of a nifty black book bag (and I have not doubts in will come in very handy).