I had a very lazy but still (sort of) productive long weekend. I may as well get used to the fact that are simply not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I want to, and try and be happy with what I can manage. So many pages (of books and magazines and blogs) to read that go unread, and so many stitches left unstitched. Sigh. Maybe I'll win the lottery and become a lady of luxury, but as that is unlikely, and the fact that I like my job, I guess I will continue to juggle things as best I can.
So, I finished three books over the weekend and wrote about two of them. I loved The Three Musketeers (could you tell?), and thoroughly enjoyed a mystery novel, which I'll be posting about tomorrow. I also finished Willa Cather's My Mortal Enemy for the upcoming Slaves read. It's a novella and a very quick read. I read it in two short sittings, and I am generally a slow reader, so do consider joining in if you've had an inkling to read Cather (or read more of her). We'll be discussing the book this weekend, so there is still time. I love Willa Cather and this just confirms that I want to read yet more of her work.
I had hoped to finish To the Slaughterhouse by Jean Giono, but I did make good progress. It's unlike most of the books I've read so far for Caroline's Literature and War readalong. It's quite descriptive, and while the imagery is unpleasant, I feel like I am at arm's length somehow so it has been easier to read than I was expecting despite the sometimes graphic visuals.
I read two more short stories from Colm Toíbín's collection The Empty Family. I'm not sure what I think of this collection. The nice thing about short stories is being able to dip into a collection and read the stories spread out or even at random, but I somehow still feel a little bit disjointed in the way that I am approaching the book. His writing is marvelous and I have enjoyed the stories (well, more or less) that I've read, but I have to admit that my mind has been wandering a little to other collections I'd very much like to work on. So th dilemma as always--continue on, or set aside in favor of something else I really want to read? Of course I can come back to it at any time if I do pick up something else. Or maybe I should try and read a story a day until I finish. Or maybe I'll just read something else while I decide.
I've been reading Elizabeth Buchan's Light of the Moon and am very caught up in the story. I have Liz to thank for recommending this book. Although I have one of two of Buchan's more recent books I'm not sure I would have picked this one up otherwise. It was published in 1991 and appears to be out of print now. She apparently she writes stories with more contemporary settings now. Light of the Moon is about a British woman with a French mother who parachutes into France during WWII to work with the French Resistance. There is a love story wrapped up in the telling, though so far it has been more suspense than romance.
I also came across a book that I only meant to 'dip into' and not actually start reading, but I am finding it fascinating going. A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome by Alberto Angela is a history book about one day in the life of Romans in 115 CE. Sounds like it could be pretty dry going, don't you think? It's not, which is the problem as I really wasn't meaning to start reading it. We'll see how it goes considering how slow I am normally with nonfiction books--particularly those with lots of detail and information.
One more mention. I've started reading The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers. Why didn't you tell me the Lord Peter Wimsey books were so good? Okay, okay, I know you did tell me. Why did I wait so long to start reading one of her books. I've actually read and loved Gaudy Night but when I tried the first Lord Wimsey mystery I had a hard time sticking with it. A case of it's better to start with one of her better stories than starting at the beginning I suspect.
Will anyone else be watching the second season of The Killing? I was wondering if the show had been dropped, and after they left everyone hanging. I'm looking forward to watching it next weekend.
And the image above? I was in the mood for something a little different. This is one of the postcards I've received via Postcrossing. Although people can send whatever they like, each person lists in their profile their interests in order to give the person sending a card some ideas. You'll never guess what theme I list? Yes, books. I love this card. It is a shot of the Paris booksellers--Bouquinistes. I'm envious. Imagine walking down the street and being able to look at books and magazines.