Is it just me, or do you get a little fidgety the longer you read your (well, in my case stacks of) books and not finish any of them in what feels like a timely manner? I know most of my problem comes from general greediness and the desire to read everything at once. A few pages here, a chapter there . . .
I love what I am reading at the moment and I do feel as though I am making stately progress but I guess it is time now to get them in order and simply work my way through one by one. January was a so-so month, when I normally finish quite a few books. Now February is speeding by and I have a whole slew of books on the reading horizon that I can't wait to get to, but I really do need to finish a few other books first.
Here's where my reading has been taking me for the last month or so (in a few cases longer than the last month, so must really give them my undivided attention I think).
I will be finishing Alison McQueen's Under the Jeweled Sky tomorrow, will write about it Sunday and then Alison will be visiting on Monday to guest post here. Her novel is just out and it set mostly in India in the 1940s and 50s during and after the Partition. I'm quite enjoying it and will be sad to turn the last page, though I am eager to find out what happens to the characters. More about this one soon!
I loved James Joyce's The Dead, and now I am working on my other January Art of the Novella selection, The Lesson of the Master by Henry James. This story is about "the ambiguities of a life devoted to art" and I am finding it not at all scary--sometimes Henry James's work seems a little too erudite for me--he's one of those authors whose books (some more then others) intimidate me just a little bit. I am trying to keep up with my novellas this year (and hope to incorporate as many of last year's books that I didn't get to into my reading this year). February's books have not yet arrived, so maybe I can finish it this weekend and stay ahead of the game.
I've been reading Bob Greene's Once Upon a Town as part of my Western Literature/Nebraska books (very low-key) reading project that I wanted to focus on this year. This is easy reading and quite engaging as it is all anecdotes about a canteen that was formed in North Platte during WWII as trains filled with military troops passed through the city. It's been very enlightening seeing my state through the eyes of someone who is not from here.
Molly Keane and Mad Puppetstown. This book has been nipping at my heels for months and months. It's good, but it's the sort of story that needs long stretches of attention to stay with, and in the story, if you know what I mean. I am determined to finish it this year--this month maybe--and move on to the next book in line. A few years back I set myself the little task of reading her books in the order they were published and have met a snag with this one. (I seem to have the same problem with one of Cynthia Harrod-Eagles's Morland Dynasty books).
The Emperor of Paris by C.S. Richardson is a lovely, magical sort of story and I think I could easily finish it in a weekend, only I have had a few other reading commitments that have nudged this one to the sidelines temporarily. I have done a deplorable job of reading much Canadian fiction. I decided I needed a different book and so picked up the Richardson. I think it was the right move and I already have another book picked out for when I finish this one!
I've been thoroughly enjoying Vienna Blood by Frank Tallis, too, and I look forward to getting back to the story. It is set in 1902 Vienna and I love being in the city once again, even if it is only when I am reading the book. Maybe is it partially the many cups of coffee Detective Rheinhardt and his friend Dr. Liebermann consume. Or those mouth-watering pastries. It feels sinful just reading about them. But I also like hearing about Max's (Liebermann) betrothal with the elegant social climber Clara. Oh, the mystery is pretty good, too.
Things were getting good in Elizabeth Wix's Ruth & Gisela, a story told from alternate perspectives of two friends divided by many miles, a war and two different cultures--but their lives will soon converge once again. This story is set over the course of many years but spanning particularly the years of WWII.
And last but not least I have a dilemma with April Smith's A Star for Mrs. Blake. It is a library book that is due on Saturday. Yes, just two more days with it. It's set during the American Depression but is about the mothers and widows of men killed during WWI. After the war many of them made 'pilgrimages' to visit the graves of their loved ones in France. This was a program funded by the US government. I am just getting into the story and now I have to return it.
There are only four copies circulating and already the line for the book is sixteen people long. So, do I return it and go to the end of the line or be greedy and keep it to finish and return it late and pay the subsequent fines. If I knew I could finish it by the end of the weekend I would keep it, but I am only about a fourth of the way into the story. It reads easily, but I hate the added pressure of knowing the book is overdue. Three weeks is just not long enough for library books (when they can't be renewed that is). I could buy a copy, but I try and avoid buying hardcovers when possible. I expect I will return it and get back in line, but it will certainly break up the momentum I had going. What to do?
Then again, I have other library books at the ready (that don't need to be returned so soon), so could easily fill its place. And there are still a few other books on my sidebar that I am not at the moment actively reading but hope to get back to very soon. And then there is that stack of books on the reading horizon, which I shall share with you tomorrow. There is always a new book at the ready. They just pile themselves up next to my bed demanding attention. Do books do that to you, too?