In honor of it being October and Halloween on the near horizon there is a ghostly collaboration going on that you really need to check it out. Several bloggers are writing a ghost story (and you know how much I love a good ghost story)--each adding their own twist to the story. It was started by Smithereens, then taken up by Stefanie, added to by Verbivore, and now I am keeping an eye out for Mr. Smithereens' chapter. Emily will be adding to it and Courtney will finish it off. It's very clever and I got caught up in reading it yesterday, but now I am waiting for the next part to be written! I love this idea, and while I could never write something like this (I am very much a reader, but not a writer!), it is very fun to see each person's take on the story.
I'm contemplating rereading Edith Wharton's "The Lady's Maid's Bell" this weekend, which I first encountered a few years ago. I have to admit it left me somewhat perplexed, so I am happy to see Stefanie will be reading it sometime soon, and I'll get a different perspective on it which can be really helpful. I think the story has been collected in a number of anthologies, but my copy comes from The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton. Maybe a second effort will be more fruitful, or maybe it's meant to be totally perplexing. That's the thing with ghost stories--so much can be left open for interpretation. With Edith Wharton, though, I sort of expect there to be more below the surface than what's obvious at first.
I've been caught up in two very good books over the last few days. I just started reading The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid-Banks, which was recommended by a few people here. Many thanks to you all, as I started it on Thursday and have not been able to put it down from the very first page! It was published in 1960 so the story must take place in the late 1950s in London. A twenty-something woman becomes pregnant after a unsatisfying one-night stand. Her own mother died at childbirth and when she tells her father he throws her out, so she moves to a dreary, squalid rooming house inhabited by a group of unusual, bohemian residents. I've yet to actually meet many people yet, though I've gotten an interesting peek at Jane Graham. I'm not sure what I think of her yet--she's on the prickly side, totally unapologetic and not looking for anyone's sympathy or pity. I think I like her, though, but she is going to be a complex character I can already see. This is going to be an absorbing read and one that is going to keep me glued to the pages.
My other recent start is Gillian Galbraith's Dying of the Light, which is a police procedural type mystery set in contemporary Edinburgh. I've jumped in on the series with the third book, though I quickly decided to need to go back and start from the beginning. I requested her first book, Blood in the Water, from interlibrary loan but didn't expect them to be so quick about it--I brought the book home yesterday, so I know already what I'll be reading next. The series revolves around Detective Sergeant Alice Rice. Really I'm not very far in, but I've not gotten a good sense of what she's like yet. She lives in a flat with her partner, Ian, and has an elderly neighbor who has Alzheimer's that she often helps. The story moves quickly--divided by chapters, but also short sections within the chapters. This makes it easy to pick up and set down again, but I've decided it's a book best read as straight through as possible, so I'll be working on it over the weekend.
You probably already have heard that Mario Vargas Llosa is this year's Nobel Prize winner in literature. I've yet to read any of his books, but he is someone I'd like very much to try.
Take a look at Penguin's Essential Classics Survey Redux. If you vote you'll have a chance to win bookish goodies!
If you're looking for something to read this weekend check out the online lit magazine, The Chamber Four Fiction Anthology. They're dedicated to books and reader advocacy. You can read more about Chamber Four here.
And, yay, the glorious weekend is finally here. Is it just me or has this week been a particularly long and trying week? I need serious down time so will be reading my books, watching a movie or two, and maybe finishing my Mystery Sampler (part two that is). And sleeping in, too.
Have a great weekend everyone!