I've been feeling really absent from here for a while now, or at least a little neglectful and distracted. It's amazing how time can get away from you sometimes.
I am still reading lots and reading some really really good books, though I feel like I am reading at an even slower pace than usual, which means a snail could outread me at the moment. I want to get back to a regular (and maybe even really boring--sometimes boring is good) routine with my books and with writing about them. I'm not sure exactly how I will manage to catch up now, but maybe I will do some mini reviews.
While I consider that, I can at least mention a few books I have been reading, or books I am planning on reading.
I've finished a reread of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which was just as entertaining as it was the first time around. My plan is to read the whole set of books again this year and then watch the movie adaptation as I go. It was also a perfect choice for my summer reading project, Other Worlds & Alternate Realities. I have been contemplating what to read next and while I will pick up the next Harry Potter book soon, I want something a little different. Maybe less fantasy but still something not quite everyday reality--in keeping with my theme. I think Alice Hoffman's The Rules of Magic is just what I need. It's just a little shy of everyday ordinariness yet promises an unusual story. There is all sorts of magic, right? I have read very little of Hoffman's work--maybe only one collection of interlinked stories, so I am looking forward to cracking open the book in the next couple of days.
July is quickly running down, which I am actually happy about. July is not a favorite month--too hot and sticky. I like the idea of August and new beginnings even as the year slips by. There is something about the start of the new school year just around the corner that I like. I should manage to finish my July prompt book, The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje by month's end. I hadn't even thought about the August prompt, which is "a month in the country" which should be a lot of fun to plan for and think about. I'm not quite sure how I will approach the theme, but it will be nice to think about books to match it--I have been acquiring new books and new library books at an almost alarming rate.
I was really interested to see the Booker Prize longlist and happy that they included not only a book of poetry, a novel of suspense but also a graphic novel. I have already requested a couple of books from the library. I don't expect any of the three to actually make the shortlist, but I like that their inclusion will inspire people to pick them up. I already had Michael Ondaatje's Warlight on my reading pile, so I (without hesitation!) picked it up to start reading--even though I am in the middle of another of his books. I do like the way he writes, so no problem there.
I am nearly finished with Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You, which has been such a very rich and good read for me. I knew it was going to be good, but I had no idea how much it would keep me glued to the pages.
I have more catching up to do, but maybe I will save the rest for tomorrow, as I get back into the groove of things. What have you been reading lately? Or watching, or seeing, or traveling to?