More reading for me...

I just joined a reading group at live journal- mandc_read. They're going through the entire Patrick O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin series. I missed Master and Commander, but they've just started Post Captain, so I'll be reading the first chapter tonight. I've been wanting to re-read the series for a while, so this is as good a time as any! I loved those books, and the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is one of my all-time favorites now.

I won't be neglecting the rest of my reading list! I still have Mansfield Park and The Wings of the Dove to read this month.

I watched the new adaptation of Sense and Sensibility on PBS over the last two Sundays. I may just have to re-read that one, too! I skipped the new version of A Room with a View, though. I heard some bad things about it...S&S was wonderful, though.

Very behind in my reading...

I've started The Wings of the Dove, but haven't gotten very far yet. I hope I'll have time to read in the next few weeks.

Still waiting for the three new Torchwood novels- my local store doesn't have them.

I count craft/cookbooks in my reading lists, so I have read two books recently- a new cross stitch book, and a book about Asian-inspired desserts. I'll write them up later.

Book number 12!

This was a bit of fun reading: Read it and Eat by Sarah Gardner. It's full of fun suggestions for book club discussions and meals to go with them. It's by month, with themes for each month (Christmas, Banned Books, June Brides, etc.) and there are four bonus sections. Every month has four books, with a brief summary, a discussion guide, and menus to go with it. Gardner is very clever, even downright funny, with some of her menus: For example, a discussion of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle features an all-vegetarian menu! For Jane Eyre, there are tea sandwiches: The Rochester (slightly toasted), The Bertha (a bit nutty), and The Jane (plain, strong, and very good). This is a terrific guide for those planning future book club meetings.

Update March 18...

Two more books, bringing my total to eleven:

A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

Classic romance with a good deal of humor. Forster really knew how to expose the absurdities of class differences. I love this novel! I read it through knowing how it would end, and loving every bit of it.

Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter

This falls under the love or hate category- I happened to love it. It's a strange story about a winged circus performer and the American journalist who follows her to get her story. "Is she fact or is she fiction?" The story is in three parts- London, St. Petersburg, and Siberia. It is a vivid portrait of the sideshow lives at the turn of the 19th/20th century. It's part fairy tale, part freak show. And it's an enjoyable ride. I need to find some of Carter's other works. It's a shame she died so young (back in 1992).

Up next, Mansfield Park (finally). And three new Torchwood novels will be out before the end of the month!

Reading log update...

I finished Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict in two nights. It was an amusing story about a 21st century woman who wakes up in the body of an Austen-era woman. I loved the idea, and it worked really well.

Next, I finished the last of the Torchwood novels that I had- Another Life. It was better than Border Princes, not as good as Slow Decay. It was the first novel published, so the characters weren't quite in tune with how they are on television.

My dad signed me up for a church Lenten study, and we had to read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. I'm really not into books like these- I think they are designed for people who don't go to church regularly. It's not so bad, it's just stuff I've heard before, because I've been a churchgoer my entire life.

I'm finally reading Nights at the Circus. I'm really enjoying it so far. It's weird and wonderful.

I had to take The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen back to the library before I could finish it. I'll check it out later...much later, because I have so much else to read. Next up, A Room With A View, and Mansfield Park at last. I've put it off for too long! I have both on audio cassette.

So my total for the year so far is nine books. I'm pretty sure I'll make my goal. I've picked out a few books I want to re-read this year- Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky by Patrick Hamilton, a lost classic from the 1930's- being re-published in the U.S. this year (I have the U.K. edition); and Jane Austen's Emma. Nothing wrong with going back to a favorite every now and then!

More easy reading!

I read Torchwood: Slow Decay in one night! It was much better than Border Princes. It was a rather gruesome story about a weight-loss clinic that uses alien eggs as diet pills. This was more like a Torchwood episode than the last book. There was a clear story, where Border had multiple plots going on at once. And all the characters got to do interesting stuff. The author had a good idea about the personalities they have on the show- especially Captain Jack Harkness and his somewhat bitter sense of humor. Torchwood: Another Life is next. And I plan to buy Something in the Water when it comes out next month:



It looks like it's Owen-centric, which is fine, because he's my favorite character on the series.

Back to more "serious reading", I've started Nights at the Circus. I may have to put it aside, because I have two new novels from the library that I can't renew. Both are Jane Austen-related: Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler, and The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James.



I am a bit of a Jane Austen addict, so I'm sure I'll enjoy both books. They look like quick reads. I think I'm all set for my February/March reading!

Long time, no post...

I've made a good start on my goal of reading 50 books this year. In January, I read five: Atonement, Kite Runner, Wide Sargasso Sea, 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, and a Torchwood novel, Border Princes.

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die: Yes, I actually read it all. In fact, I've based part of my 2008 reading list on the recommendations! About 100 experts and critics give detailed descriptions on the books they chose and why they are "must reads". It is a little bit British-centric, though there are plenty of American and foreign language novels to chose from. Some choices had me scratching my head, such as American Psycho, but no novels by Cormac McCarthy, Amy Tan, or Anne Tyler were included. Other choices were totally expected, like all six of Jane Austen's finished novels, and nearly everything Charles Dickens wrote.

I loved Atonement and Kite Runner. Both had the similar theme of lies destroying lives, and the hope for redemption through later acts. Kite Runner gave a vivid picture of pre-Soviet/Taliban Afghanistan, and what the people went through.

I didn't like Wide Sargasso Sea as much as I hoped. I loved the idea- the whole back story of Mr. Rochester's first wife and how she went mad. I didn't have enough background about post-colonial Jamaica to understand some of the plot.

Just for fun, I've started reading novels based on the Torchwood television series. I read Border Princes first- it was entertaining, but not brilliant. Most movie/TV tie-ins are just forgettable time killers, and this one qualifies. Next in the series, if I can find it, will be Another Life. There's one more out now, and three new ones arriving in March.