Drat!

I left my power cable at work, and I had meant to update a bit over the holiday. Right now I'm sitting in the car with a car adapter so I can get my computer fix (thank goodness for wireless!). So here's a quick update.

I finished The Queen's Fool the other day. I'll write a proper review when I can sit longer, but I loved the book. Can't wait to read more Philippa Gregory!

I started Becky yesterday and am already very much enjoying this book.

I also started Blackthorn Winter, which is the second book of that title I've read this year. It is on the Name that Book list I'm reading from, but there are several books with this title, and I originally checked out the wrong one. I've now got the right one and want to finish it by the end of the year for the novelty of having read 2 books with the same title in one year. Yeah, I'm a dork.

We're almost finished with When Santa Fell to Earth. On that note, I should go inside so I can read to my children...

Happy holidays, in case I don't get to post again soon!

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

This is the first Christopher Moore book I've read, and I can't wait to read more! I love a book that makes me laugh!

When Charlie Asher loses his wife soon after his daughter, Sophie, is born, he's not sure he can go on. But his new jobs as daddy and "Death Merchant" give him something to live for. Who'da thunk death could be so funny. With characters like Minty Fresh, the enormous black man who dresses in mint green suits, Ray Macy, the former cop who can't move his neck due to an injury in the line of duty, and Lilly Severo, the goth store clerk/chef, amusing antics are sure to develop.

Fun read!

Cyrano by Geraldine McCaughrean

Prior to reading this book, my only previous exposure to the story of Cyrano de Bergerac was the 1980s movie adaptation, Roxanne, with Steve Martin. Sad, I know.

I have to say, I quite liked this book. It was a nice, short read, and I really liked McCaughrean's writing style. Obviously, the story is very different from the Steve Martin movie (no lovestruck firefighters :-) ).

I never would have picked this up if it weren't on the list for the Name that Book competition. That's the fun thing about reading from a list like that; you're exposed to different types of books than you might ordinarily pick up.

Overall, I just haven't gotten a lot of reading done lately, so having a quick read like this was great (it was only 116 pages long). I'd like to read another version sometime to see how much like the original this was.

Christine Kringle and other stuff

I received my copy of Christine Kringle in the mail today! Yay! I'm looking forward to reading that.

I got Becky on Friday, but need to finish up a couple of other books before I start a new one. I'm about 2/3 through both The Queen's Fool and A Dirty Job, and I'm almost done with Cyrano (which I don't think I've even mentioned here...). I'm still waiting to receive Dreamers of the Day, but that's ok, since I can't start reading it yet anyway.

My reading has sssslllooowwweeeddd down a bit lately. I'm just too tired to read much before bed. I read a few pages (if I'm lucky) and fall asleep. I have a new "system" going right now to help me get through the books I've started - I (typically) bring one to work with me, which I read while waiting for the shuttle and at lunch, read one while we read silently as a family, and read one before bed. Whichever one I read at bed is usually the one I bring to work the next day, since I've rarely gotten very far before I fall asleep. This way I'm getting a good 45 minutes read of at least one book a day, and by alternating, they're all getting a fair shake. I've really whittled my "currently reading" stack down for now, and I'm hoping to bring it down to only 1 or 2 personal reads (our read-aloud doesn't count, nor does my commute audiobook). Who am I fooling???

Every Past Thing by Pamela Thompson

Every Past Thing is a very complicated book. I can’t say that I liked the book as a whole, but the more I read, the more I became wrapped up in the novel. This is not a novel to curl up with on a rainy day and get lost in. It is a very difficult read, at times painfully boring. Pamela Thompson’s prose is dense and challenging, but altogether beautiful. She is a very talented writer. She needs to be taken in small bites and savored, chewed on for a bit. By the end of the novel I cared very deeply for Mary and Edwin. Their discontent was palpable, so much that it made me uncomfortable at times.

One of the things I loved about this novel was the way Thompson revealed little bits at a time about Mary and Elmer’s past. You really didn’t learn the whole story about the relationship between Mary, Elmer, and Elmer’s brother Samuel until the very end.

I thought she handled Mary’s “search” for Jimmy Roberts, a man she had a brief relationship many years before, artfully. I quote “search” because I don’t feel Mary was really looking for Jimmy as much as hoping she might encounter him. And the near misses were brilliant.

Thompson’s inclusion of Emerson quotes throughout the novel delighted me, although I still find him very difficult to read.

When I first started this book, up until maybe 2/3 of the way through it, I thought I would never recommend it to anyone. So dry, so difficult. But something happened near the end. I now say, pick it up if you’re brave. Be willing to give it some time. Just bury yourself in it, and find Thompson’s rhythm. It might surprise you.

Holy cow, I'm on a roll!

A big thanks to Booklogged, author of the blog A Reader's Journal! I won the copy of Christine Kringle by Lynn Brittney she is giving away! I am really looking forward to reading that when we finish When Santa Fell to Earth by Cornelia Funke.

I received my copy of Becky in the mail today. I love new books so much!

Double the good luck!

I found out today I'm getting one of the Early Review copies from the bonus batch in November, too! And best of all, it's the new Mary Doria Russell!, Dreamers of the Day. I haven't read anything of hers yet, but I have heard such glowing reviews of The Sparrow and Children of God that I just can't wait to read this one! I can't believe my luck!