"Woman Reading" by Leon Kamir (Polish, b. 1872), twentieth century, Musée d'Orsay, Paris
My mom recently visited my sister and they spent a day in Washington DC. She brought me back some Reading Women postcards and it seems a shame for me to hoard them and not share them, so you might see the occasional reading woman pop up here. It also makes for a good excuse to be lazy and not work on any proper book posts (for which I am falling quickly behind--current count is now four that are partially started or at least in the queue--six if I count two classics I read a while ago and didn't feel quite up to writing about). This weekend I'll be playing catch up, so expect a few serious bookish posts next week. There. Now I've committed myself to it and can't back out. It's not as though I am finishing books all that quickly, but they do rack up quickly when you don't have the energy to write about them!
When the announcement was made that Amazon had bought the Book Depository I was stunned and very unhappy. I'd been having problems buying brand new books from TBD that were published by British publishers--they were effectively embargoed for US customers. They still are, but I have discovered a work around. A few people mentioned that TBD is listed as a vendor through ABEbooks--free shipping and reasonable book prices. I assumed that if TBD was showing these new books as 'temporarily out of stock' why ever would I be able to get them through ABE--they'd just cancel my order, I thought. I've just tried it, and it worked. I haven't a clue why I cannot buy a new book directly from TBD but I can get the same exact book from TBD via ABEbooks, which by the way is also owned by Amazon. It even came in a BD mailer complete with one of their new freebie bookmarks. Go figure. I'm not sure I should count this as a relief, but it means I can once again order new books and not worry about exorbitant shipping costs.
I haven't decided yet on a new library book to read--these things take time you know, but I have been taking Truman Capote's In Cold Blood with me to the gym. Am totally engrossed in it. It's getting really good as the detectives are getting closer to catching the two men who perpetrated the crime. It's nonfiction but it reads every inch like a novel, and a page turning one at that! I might even finish it by the weekend, so there's another book to add to my list of books to write about.
And one non-bookish note. The weather has been cooperating (well, more or less--maybe a little less than more in the coming few days--sticky again), so I have gotten very itchy fingers to get back to my needlework. My mom also brought back a couple of new needlework charts for me (by one of my very favorite designers) that I can't wait to work on. You can see them here. And another favorite designer has come out with a very large sampler that is part of a series of samplers about a village called Hawk Run. I've collected all the charts, and I have started two of the designs. I have never finished them. You can see my progress here. The Houses of Hawk Run Hollow is the first of the charts (let's see, I think I am on the third square), and The Village of Hawk Run Hollow has only part of the first square completed. I cringe to think of when I started them and the fact that if I had stitched just a little bit every day I might be finished with maybe both and certainly one of them. As you can see I am just as good at starting needlework projects as I am at books--and not finishing them in a very timely manner. The thing with needlework--I can't stitch while walking on the treadmill or riding the bus. Reading is just so versatile, isn't it?