I've started reading my first book (optimistically thinking there will be several this month) for Iris's Dutch Lit Month. As it turns out it is not one of the books I shared the other day. Iris mentioned several books that she will be writing about soon, one of them being Julia by Otto de Kat. Doesn't this sound good?
"One summer's afternoon in 1981, a factory owner, Christiaan Dudok, is found dead in his study having taken his own life. He has left no suicide note, but on his desk is a newspaper from 2 April 1942, reporting on the bombing of the north German town of Lubeck. The list of the dead includes the highlighted name of Julia Bender. As a young man finishing his studies in Lubeck in 1938, Christiaan is irresistibly drawn to Julia, a courageous German who has emphatically rejected the Nazi regime. But that same year he is forced to leave both Germany and the woman he loves, even though he suspects that he is making the greatest mistake of his life."
It's not been published here in the US (always a problem it seems--the books I want to read lagging behind the rest of the world in being published) and it didn't appear to be a book I could request via ILL, but I discovered that there is a Kindle book for it available. The library where I work loans out Kindles and will buy inexpensive books that patrons request. I don't make use of the library's Kindle program very often, but I was hoping to read a contemporary Dutch novel, so the constellations have aligned just right to enable me to do so (or, where there's a will there's a way when it comes to books I really wanto read and don't have easy access to).
I don't really have any other reading plans for this month, other than picking up a few books by Dutch authors and reading Len Deighton's Bomber to discuss at the end of the month. For once I think I have not overcommitted myself and can read more or less at whim, which is a good thing as I have a number of books out from the library I want to read as well as books from my own shelves that I've been thinking about and looking at longingly and then there are all those books that are currently underway.
That said I have been spending what weekend reading time I have with Sadie Jones's The Uninvited Guests, which I am finding a very intriguing (and quirky) read. It was due at the library three days ago, so I am racking up the fines and hope to finish it very soon. It's actually a quick read if you have the time to devote to it. I'm not entirely sure what I expected but it's different than what I had in mind. An Edwardian comedy of manners? A biting satire of Edwardian sensibilities? Not sure how to explain it, but I'll save that for when I've finished. In any case, I'm enjoying it but am waiting for something unexpected to happen to throw the story on its head.
I've also been spending time with Demeter and Dionysus in Edith Hamilton's Mythology, which I hope to write about tomorrow. I was looking for a book on my own shelves and came across Barry Unsworth's The Songs of the Kings. Has anyone read it? I've not yet read Unsworth, though I have several of his books including Songs. It's a retelling of one of the scenes from The Iliad, a scene that I still remember vividly from Madeline Miller's book. I was going to pull it out from my shelves, but I hesitated. Since I loved the Miller novel so much maybe it is better to let time and a little distance pass before reading another similar story. Besides, I need to stay focused on rereading the myths themselves.
I've not had much time this weekend for my usual book grazing (had hoped to read the introduction to the Jarrell anthology, and one of the stories but that will save for this coming week). And Eudora Welty has found herself at the top of my reading pile as I plan on reading The Optimist's Daughter this month, so she'll be going to work with me as well. A little shuffling again of my classic book choice (I don't seem to be doing very well reading the classics again this year, can't seem to find one to settle into properly). I've just accepted the fact that this year if I feel like reading something other than what is sitting on my night table, I'm going to read it and try not to feel guilty if another book is bumped out of my pile (lately it seems the stack of half read books that get relegated to the floor at my bedside is almost taller than my current reads (sigh).
I'll mention one other book I've been enjoying recently--pure comfort reading, Judith Lennox's The Winter House (published in 1996). I read one of her more recent novels last year, which I very much enjoyed, too. I've got several of her books handy on my shelves for when the mood arises as she has become part of my escapist reading repertoire. This story is set in the 1930s and threads the lives of three very different young women together. As it's a mass market paperback I was able to slip it into my purse when I was out doing errands yesterday. It's always handy to have a book when you have to wait in line! I seem to need at least one comfort read on my book pile at all times this year.
What about you? What are your reading plans this month? Are you involved in a really good story at the moment, too? Are you feeling overwhelmed by your reading? Are you choosing books guided by your own whims or are being tempted by readalongs? There is so much variety out there these days, I know I am never at a loss to find something interesting to read either on my own or with a group of other readers.