Four more books, plus one I forgot!

Now I'm up to 26 books for the year. During my vacation last week, I managed to read four books! I'm completely hooked on the Hamish Macbeth stories. I read Death of a Gossip, Death of a Snob, and Death of a Cad. Cad was the best of the three. I actually had no clue about the murderer's identity until almost the very end!

I also picked up the Torchwood novel The Twilight Streets. It was okay. A very interesting premise, with glimpses into possible futures- but the dark vs. light aliens plot was a bit hokey. I'm still looking for the other two recent novels.

Finally, I had another book that I'd read earlier this year and forgot to list! Weird Virginia- part of the "Weird" travel guide series about odd and forgotten places in the world. There's a lot of stuff in Virginia I've never heard of...and it might be fun to take day trips to find them. I hope to read Weird USA, Weird New York, and Weird Kentucky sometime. I also hope there will be a Weird Colorado! Weird New Jersey has two volumes. Wow. I always knew New Jersey had a lot of weirdness in it...



I should be up to thirty books by the end of next week! I have four more M.C. Beaton Hamish stories to read, plus I'm almost done with Post Captain.

Another distraction!

My stack of to-read books keeps getting larger. My mom brought me Mr. Darcy's Daughters by Elizabeth Aston. I read it in a few hours. It was cute, but a little too much like the original Pride and Prejudice. The daughters are almost exactly like Lizzie and her sisters...especially the twins, who are even worse than Lydia! It's all the same story, daughters looking for suitable husbands- though the Darcy girls have an advantage their mother and aunts did not- they have money. Plenty of characters from P&P make an appearance, including Lydia, the horrible Caroline Bingley (now the Lady Warren), and Darcy's cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam, now married with children of his own. He and his wife take charge of the young ladies while Mr. and Mrs. Darcy are away. It would have been nice to see Darcy and Lizzie themselves twenty-plus years after P&P, but they are barely mentioned! Not one of my favorite reads of the year. This is just one of Aston's series of novels about the Darcy family...I probably won't bother with the rest. Well written, but a little boring. We've heard it all before.

20!

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day was wonderful. Very funny and sweet. Better than the movie (which was also wonderful)! I loved the style it was written in. It was a quick read, but filled with memorable characters finding themselves in tight (but hilarious) jams. When I was done reading, I was almost as exhausted as Miss Pettigrew was in the story's end! The only real difference between the book and the movie was a few character changes and omissions.

Winifred Watson was one of those authors who sort of disappeared after writing a few novels- I don't think any of her other works are available anywhere. Too bad. I've heard that they're all similar in theme- women getting second chances in life- but Miss Pettigrew was the only one with a light tone.

So that's twenty books for 2008. Thirty to go! I'll have two weeks almost to myself this summer, so I'll have plenty of time to read.

I'm picking up more Hamish Macbeth stories. Death of a Gossip is next, then Death of a Cad and Death of a Snob.

I'm up to chapter seven of Post Captain. I'm behind the rest of the reading group! I'll finish that one this week, just so I can get ahead!

18 and 19!

I finished Bloodsucking Fiends last night. I really should have read it before I read You Suck, but I couldn't get it. Oh, well, now You Suck makes more sense. Both books were hilarious and oddly touching. I hope there will be a third book- but there was a ten year gap between them, so I won't hold my breath. I just love Christopher Moore's characters!

I also finished Death of a Hussy, and will start Death of a Gossip tonight. I love the Hamish Macbeth stories, even though the killers are usually pretty obvious early on!

I'll also read Miss Pettigrew this week, and maybe finally get to The Wings of the Dove.

Book number 17!

I finished Howards End last night. It was wonderful. Another great E. M. Forster tale about class differences- from the wealthy (the Wilcox family) to the well-off middle class (Margaret and Helen Schlegel) to the desperately poor (the Basts), and how they connect. Forster, as usual, points out the prejudicial behavior in every class- such as Mr. Wilcox's refusal to see that the lower classes have worth and need help. Some of Forster's best characters are in this novel- Helen in particular is amusing (with her umbrella snatching) and passionate about her beliefs. All is centered on the home of the late Mrs. Wilcox, Howards End. She wills it to Margaret but her husband tears up the notice...only to fall in love with and marry Margaret years later. Margaret has to deal with Wilcox's horrible son Charles, her sister Helen's wild fancies, and Helen's friend Leonard Bast- which sets up the novel's final tragedy and scandal. Margaret believes in charity and compassion towards the less fortunate, and tries to make the Wilcox family believe as she does.

I love the themes of the novel- mainly that the classes are starting to blend together whether the rich want them to or not. In a way, the house called Howards End is a bit of a catalyst for change- it is there that Henry Wilcox begins to realize that he needs to connect with others both in and out of his class ("only connect..." as Margaret tells him). Also, there is the connection between Margaret and Mrs. Wilcox- Margaret's kindness leads to Mrs. Wilcox wanting to leave the house to her.

More reading to do this week! I'm almost finished with Death of a Hussy, and I have Death of a Gossip next. Plus, my mother gave me a copy of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, so I'll read that soon! I loved the movie. The book looks like a fast read. I also have a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel (Terok Nor- Night of the Wolves) that I can't wait to read. So by the end of May, I will have read 20 books. Still waiting for the three new Torchwood novels...and I just read that three more will be published in October!

Another finish!

I finished reading The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove the other night. It was funny! Any novel that has a giant, prehistoric sea beast trying to mate with a fuel truck (which then goes BOOM!) is going to be hilarious. The book is set in the same town as several other Christopher Moore novels, with some of the same characters. I think I liked this better than The Stupidest Angel.

I'm almost done with Howards End, and I'm listening to Death of a Hussy by M.C. Beaton. I love the Hamish Macbeth stories.



I'm almost half-way to making my reading goal already!

A cool site I found...

http://librivox.org/

Many public domain books read, unabridged, available for download for free!! They're read by volunteers, and many books are read by more than one person. That's a little confusing, but it's still nice to have a source for audio books I haven't been able to find at the library (or don't want to buy).

Speaking of audio books, I've got Howards End to listen to. I'm reading the actual book as well.

My online reading group is up to chapter four of Post Captain, one of the more amusing parts of the entire Aubrey/Maturin series.

I picked up another Christopher Moore novel- The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove. I just started it- it's just as weird as You Suck. I'm also waiting for Bloodsucking Fiends, which came before You Suck!