It's been quite a while since I have had a 'really good' reading month (meaning I finish a reasonable number of books without endlessly starting new ones), but May was closer to being on track than quite few previous months. Well, at least in terms of finishing books more so than starting them. I seem to have added a number of new reads to my sidebar without shifting many from the sidebar to the finished list. Maybe June will be equally as good and now that I have added a few surely I can remain contented with the current reading pile. The thing is, I could happily pick any of the books from my sidebar lists and settle down into my rocking chair and spend a very pleasing few hours reading. Those empty hours marked for reading seem to be few and far between. My current case of 'start-i-tis' is not due to being in any way unhappy with my reading pile but just your basic greed. So many books appeal at the moment and I have a hard time saying no when it comes to books.
My recent new book additions also happen to be the books I am reaching for most often. First up is Winston Graham's Ross Poldark: A Novel of Cornwall, 1783-1787. The TV adaptation will be airing on PBS in just a few weeks, and I wanted to read the books before watching the series. I read somewhere that this first season is based on the first two books (the second is Demelza: A Novel of Cornwall, 1788-1790). I'm hoping to at least finish the first book. I think the books are going to be a nice juicy family saga filled with lots of adventure and romance and if the first book is anything to go by, the TV adaptation should be good, too. In case you don't already know the premise--Ross Poldark returns from fighting in the war in America to find his father dead, his farm in ruins and his betrothed ready to marry his cousin. A perfect summer drama.
I'm not sure what prompted me to pick up Beatriz Williams's A Hundred Summers, but I wanted something sort of beachy to read with the hints of warm weather soon to arrive. Normally at this time of year I like to put together a list of potential beach reads--and my beach reads are not necessarily books you want to read at the beach but books with seaside settings. I might still work on a new list, but otherwise I am still planning on devoting a good chunk of reading time to mysteries. I started reading the book on Memorial Day, which was especially fitting since the book blurb begins: "Memorial Day, 1938--Lily Dane has returned to Seaview, Rode Island, where her family has summered for generations". The story moves back and forth between Lily's college days at Smith and her summer at Seaview some seven years later. As a student she met and fell in love with a young Jewish man with all indications they would marry (despite her family not being particularly happy with such a match), but years later Lily is single with a daughter (?--passing the little girl off as a sister . . . ) and her best friend from college arrives with her new husband in tow--the love of Lily's life. The setting, the time period--it has all come together in what is proving to be a most engrossing and entertaining read. I like it so much I have ordered two more of Williams's books and there is a new one just out (that I am contemplating buying, but since it is in hardcover I am trying to resist).
One of my current gym books (yes, I have two that I am juggling) is Jo Baker's Longbourn. Have you read it? It is a "reimagining" of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Generally speaking I don't like books that are retellings of classics or that use those characters in different stories, but for this one I am making an exception. It is told from the perspective of the servants and is so good. You get hints of what the Bennets are up to (though you likely will have already read the book and know the story so it is only a backdrop of sorts), but the real drama is what is taking place below stairs. Told mostly from the perspective of Sarah, one of the housemaids, is is really cleverly constructed. If you are a Jane Austen 'purist' and have passed this one up, you might give it a try--halfway through and I will happily recommend it to others.
I am shifting between mysteries every few days, since I have an abundance of stories. Since I finished reading D.A. Mishani (post to follow this week) I allowed myself to choose a new one to take its place. I always think I will press on with a mystery series when I read an installment, but more often than not I tend to pick up something entirely different. The Twenties as a time period was still appealing so I decided to pick up #9, To Davy Jones Below, by Carola Dunn. Yes, more Daisy Dalrymple. She and Alec have married (that happened off stage) and are now sailing to America. How could I say no to a new marriage and an ocean cruise as a setting? It's still early days--Dunn is setting the scene, revealing the potential victims (am guessing it is going to be the flashy and very unclassy showgirl) as well as the line up of possible murderers. Being aboard a ship means this is more or less a locked-door mystery which I love. As next book after this is set in New York City (Flappers and Prohibition), I might even continue on when the time comes! Daisy is always great fun so it's no chore to keep reading her adventures.
By the way, I did pick a book . . . Are you curious which one? It was both really easy, but also harder than I thought. I'll explain later. If you wan to know which one, check back tomorrow and I will share a teaser.