Now Reading ...
Mar. 19th, 2011 08:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
texchanKivrin crossed herself and then folded her hands in prayer, bringing her steepled fingers close to her face. "Well, Mr. Dunworthy, I'm here. I seem to be in the right place, more or less. I'm not right on the Oxford-Bath road. I'm about five hundred yards south of it on a side road. I can see Oxford. It looks like it's ten miles away."
~Doomsday Book, Connie Willis
"But it could be anybody in Farnden, not just one of your people," objected Derek, when he came in for lunch. He'd looked stunned at the news about Gloria Hathaway, but collected himself quickly. "Could've bin' me, or you ..." he'd said with a weak smile.
"Or the Pope!" said Lois crossly. "I've got to start somewhere," she added, and resolved not to tell Derek any more about it. He was clearly not taking her seriously. And anyway, where had he been when Gloria snuffed it?
"Right here with you and the kids, you dope. For God's sake, Lois, this is getting ridiculous." Lois thought otherwise, but decided to drop the subject.
~Murder on Monday, Ann Purser
People aim for the stars, and they end up like goldfish in a bowl. I wonder if it wouldn't be simpler just to teach children right from the start that life is absurd. That might deprive you of a few good moments in your childhood but it would save you a considerable amount of time as an adult -- not to mention the fact that you'd be spared at least one traumatic experience, i.e., the goldfish bowl.
~ The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery
Yep ... reading three books at the moment. Nope ... not an overachiever. Not even close. Just finding it difficult to sit and concentrate on any one thing at a time. Hence, the skipping around. Thanks so much, Depression. Like I needed more challenges in my life. Bleh. >.O
The nice thing is that there are things I love about each book. And they are so different that skipping around isn't detrimental to my enjoyment of them. It's easy to keep the story lines in mind and pick up where I left off. In particular, I already love Elegance, although I have not yet read very far into it. It's beautifully written -- in that so-gorgeous-it-makes-me-want-to-cry way that some books have of grabbing onto me, heart and soul. Oh how I wish I could write like that. At the same time, the subject matter tends toward the depressing, even in the beginning of the book. It's hard to like the protagonists, which I hope changes as the book moves along. I'm going to stick with it, but I couldn't leave it as my sole source of reading material for now. I'm already depressed; this one could just make things worse. Murder on Monday is a typical "cozy" mystery, so nothing to dislike there. I love that it's so very English, and I am slowly growing to like the heroine. At any rate, it's an easy read and nice to pick up at bedtime. And Doomsday Book ... zOMG! I was so, so, so excited when I found that one at my local library. I had read this book several years ago, but I couldn't remember the name of it or the author. Even so, the story itself was indelibly etched into my memory. I noticed it because it was next to another book by the same author, which I read not that long ago (and which I own). Once I skimmed the blurb on the jacket, I realized that this was the long-lost book I had been searching for for, probably, a good 4-5 years now. Yay!
~Doomsday Book, Connie Willis
"But it could be anybody in Farnden, not just one of your people," objected Derek, when he came in for lunch. He'd looked stunned at the news about Gloria Hathaway, but collected himself quickly. "Could've bin' me, or you ..." he'd said with a weak smile.
"Or the Pope!" said Lois crossly. "I've got to start somewhere," she added, and resolved not to tell Derek any more about it. He was clearly not taking her seriously. And anyway, where had he been when Gloria snuffed it?
"Right here with you and the kids, you dope. For God's sake, Lois, this is getting ridiculous." Lois thought otherwise, but decided to drop the subject.
~Murder on Monday, Ann Purser
People aim for the stars, and they end up like goldfish in a bowl. I wonder if it wouldn't be simpler just to teach children right from the start that life is absurd. That might deprive you of a few good moments in your childhood but it would save you a considerable amount of time as an adult -- not to mention the fact that you'd be spared at least one traumatic experience, i.e., the goldfish bowl.
~ The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery
Yep ... reading three books at the moment. Nope ... not an overachiever. Not even close. Just finding it difficult to sit and concentrate on any one thing at a time. Hence, the skipping around. Thanks so much, Depression. Like I needed more challenges in my life. Bleh. >.O
The nice thing is that there are things I love about each book. And they are so different that skipping around isn't detrimental to my enjoyment of them. It's easy to keep the story lines in mind and pick up where I left off. In particular, I already love Elegance, although I have not yet read very far into it. It's beautifully written -- in that so-gorgeous-it-makes-me-want-to-cry way that some books have of grabbing onto me, heart and soul. Oh how I wish I could write like that. At the same time, the subject matter tends toward the depressing, even in the beginning of the book. It's hard to like the protagonists, which I hope changes as the book moves along. I'm going to stick with it, but I couldn't leave it as my sole source of reading material for now. I'm already depressed; this one could just make things worse. Murder on Monday is a typical "cozy" mystery, so nothing to dislike there. I love that it's so very English, and I am slowly growing to like the heroine. At any rate, it's an easy read and nice to pick up at bedtime. And Doomsday Book ... zOMG! I was so, so, so excited when I found that one at my local library. I had read this book several years ago, but I couldn't remember the name of it or the author. Even so, the story itself was indelibly etched into my memory. I noticed it because it was next to another book by the same author, which I read not that long ago (and which I own). Once I skimmed the blurb on the jacket, I realized that this was the long-lost book I had been searching for for, probably, a good 4-5 years now. Yay!
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(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-20 01:40 am (UTC)As for the other books, I hope they are not too depressing--I am a total wimp and usually screen my material pretty good. I hate sad stories (I like adventures, SOME romance, stories for teens, Elizabeth Peters, etc). I read a really funny book a few years ago called Jubilation Gap--it's a spoof on westerns; if you like that sort of thing ^_~
Take Care
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-21 02:04 am (UTC)The mystery won't be depressing. Well, no more depressing than any mystery. That's the nice thing about those: they always follow a certain formula, so it's easy to know what to expect. ^.~
The Hedgehog book ... makes me hesitate a bit. It might be depressing. But the writing is so pretty that I want to continue reading it. So, hopefully my fears will end up being unfounded. *crossing fingers* =D