It's going to be a wet, cold and dreary weekend so all the better to spend as much time with some good books, and indeed I am close to finishing a few books that I am at the point of no return in. You know when you get to that moment of the story where you just want to keep reading and don't bug me, please, can't you see I'm busy . . .
As a matter of fact I think I am going to bypass a small social gathering in favor of my books (sometimes social gatherings are more painful than enjoyable when you are an introvert no matter how nice the people attending).
I am 'thisclose' to finishing the third book in Cynthia Harrod-Eagles's War at Home series, The Land of My Dreams, 1916. It's an upstairs/downstairs story akin to Downtown Abbey and this month's prompt book (getting it in just under the gun as you see). I really enjoyed the first two books and I see the stories are getting better (more dramatic and engaging) the further in we go. Of course I have gotten to know the Hunter family and their friends and relations and the servants who work for them. The war is getting intense and there is tragedy to contend with.
This installment is something of a game changer for the family as you would expect a war story to be. I am not sure how many books are projected for this series, but I have 1917 and 1918 on my TBR pile. I meant this particular book to be a one-off for the moment, but I am sure it is going to be a cliffhanger of an ending so I suspect I am going to want to reach for the next book right away rather than waiting!
I am also just a chapter away from finishing Red Princess by Sofka Zinovieff, which I wrote about yesterday. I had been spending so much time with the book that she had been in my mind for days--you know how easy it can be to lose yourself in a story-even a true story (and maybe those more so than fictional ones).
So, a guilty pleasure . . . I don't often read a true romance genre novel, but I saw an ad for Lisa Kleypas in Bookpages and her newest book piqued my curiosity so I will admit that I have been reading Devil's Daughter off and on for a little escapism. I like a bit of romance in my stories now and then but for some reason I am always a little skeptical of 'romance' novels. Am I too old for romance? Am I too jaded? Real life is just not like that. Or it has never been so for me apparently. But every once in a while I am willing to suspend disbelief in the pursuit of entertainment and a happy ending. And who doesn't like the idea of being swept off your feet by a 'devilishly wicked rake' and a most handsome one, too. Like I said--fictional escapism.
I have also been reading Mary Hocking's third Fairley Family novel, Welcome Strangers, which I think I like best of the three (and I hope to write about the trilogy at some point). And I have finally returned to Anthony Quinn's wonderful novel, Freya. It was not hard at all to return to and immerse myself back into the book and I had no problem getting the threads of the story straight in my mind once again. Although not one in a series per se, the characters overlap slightly with a previous book by Quinn and some of them return to a novel that follows. This is the third book by him I have read and I have enjoyed them all! (And I have two more on my TBR as a matter of fact).
I will spend most of my reading time trying to finish the three books above (saving the Hocking and Quinn to finish in April), but I will pick up Stillmeadow Calendar--must catch up with March's adventures before the month runs out!
What will you be reading this weekend?