I was going to post about what I'm reading now, but it's been sort of a bad reading month for me so it might be more apropos to tell you what I've not been reading! Or what I wanted to read but didn't finish. Not that I'm counting or anything, but I always have in mind a few books I'd like to read during an upcoming month, and this month I didn't manage to accomplish very much. September is just around the corner, so I'll be optimistic that it will be a better reading month for me! And of course I've already got in mind a number of books I want to read.
Let's see where to start. Maybe with a finish or two.
I've just finished Linda Gillard's House of Silence, which I quite enjoyed. Linda has successfully published this recent book in ebook format for the Kindle (she was kind enough to send me an electronic copy for review as it is unfortunately not available from B&N for the Nook). I'll be writing about it tomorrow. Linda will also be sharing her experiences as a genre-defying author and the challenges she has had getting published. Do drop by on Tuesday and Wednesday, particularly if you're interested in the current state of the publishing world and what authors are up against these days. I've had a peek at her posts (she'll be guest posting here) and it's interesting stuff.
I'm making good progress on Georgette Heyer's Bath Tangle. It's been a fun read. The heroine is quite independent and feisty. The man she jilted is named the trustee of her fortune upon the death of her father. Serena and Ivo, the Marquis of Rotherham (I don't think I've paid attention but are any of Heyer's heroes regular guys? They always seem to be Lords or Dukes or titled in some way...) are more often than not quarreling over something, but you know there must be a spark there--if they are such good quarrellers they are probably going to be good lovers, too. Only it's going to take a few hundred pages to sort it all out, and that's the fun of Heyer's novels.
I'm also moving along at a nice clip in Mary Stewart's My Brother Michael. Why didn't anyone tell me it's such an entertaining, page turning read? Oh wait, I think you did, but it always takes a while for books to squeeze themselves into the reading pile (you know how that mental queue works). This particular story is set in Greece some years after WWII (it was published in 1959). The story opens with Camilla Haven sitting in a cafe writing a letter to a friend lamenting how nothing ever happens to her. This is an invitation to fate to cause some trouble. More about this and the Heyer later.
Now on to my less successful reading attempts. I'm reading Elsa Morante's History for Caroline's readalong. She has already written about the book, but I am only a third of the way through. I'm enjoying it with a few reservations (some of the same ones Caroline writes about in her post). It's a chunkster of a book and I find that I can only read a bit at a time. I'm at a point where I have to keep reading to find out what happens, however. I don't seem to be able to finish anything in a timely manner lately (for readalongs that is), so I'll be writing about this one well after the discussion.
I also didn't finish my last postal reading group book, which I had to mail on to the next reader. I am so thankful for libraries, as my library owns a copy and I plan on finishing it as well. I already have the next book on my pile (there are a dozen or so of us in the reading group and we each choose a book that we want everyone to read--the books move down the list, so every two months we get a new book and mail the next one on--eventually each of us will have read all the books--very fun). I don't want to get too far behind as the books make their steady way through the list. The next one is waiting for me and giving me beckoning looks.
And my poor short stories. They've gone on the back burner temporarily. I have every intention of finishing them (and have been sorry not to pick the book up of late), but there have been a few obligation-type reads demanding my attention.
Despite feeling a little adrift I am looking forward to next month and hopefully will be able to concentrate a bit more on my books. July was too hot and August too stressful, but I have a feeling September is going to be a good reading month. Carl should be announcing RIP VI soon and I've been thinking a little about which books I might choose to read. The Slaves are reading The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon, the next book up for Caroline's readalong is The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, and my postal book is going to be a reread.
And then a few of the books that are at the top of my TBR pile and I might well start reading very soon: The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton by Elizabeth Speller, something by Agatha Christie (fall is good cozy-mystery reading time in my book), Sun Storm by Asa Larsson (have heard many good things about her new book and think it's time I tried her), and House of the Hanged by Mark Mills. Since I see once again I'm on a steady mystery/crime/thriller diet I'll add On Canaan's Side, by Sebastian Barry to the list as a token 'serious literature' read. I just brought it home from the library on Friday.
With such a variety of good books at my fingertips I'm bound to have a good reading month.