Friday, July 17, 2009

JULY READING LIST


Do you ever re-read a book? If so, why? I do not but I'm always intrigued why others do. Sometimes I will re-read a favorite passage but never do I start from page one and read on until the end.

Kind of sort of finished Richard and John: Kings at War. A bit too detailed even for me. And since I'm partial to Queen Eleanor I naturally always take the side of Richard, the Lionheart. So I read the first 100 pages and the conclusion and I'm done.

Listened to Striding Folly on CD, a Lord Peter Wimsey grouping of short stories. I want to be his wife, Harriet Vane, who is a smart writter with an excellent vocabulary and married to Peter who loves her madly. Of course, having the title Lord and Lady is also a plus (I do love his wit but he would need to be a tad more masculine to be the perfect mate).

My French Life is the dreamiest book. Just lovely to look at and the writing really reflects Vicki Archer's personality (although I haven't met her I'm assuming her writing reflects her, if not she is a mighty good fake.)

Seven Pleasures: Essays on Ordinary Happiness wasn't as enjoyable as I anticipated. The writer, Willard Spiegelman, shares seven favorite activities that bring simple happiness: reading, walking, looking, swimming, listening, dancing, and writing. I skipped the swimming and dancing chapters. For some reason I didn't connect with this book although I do agree that happiness can come from very simple activities. I was a bit irritated by his comment about viewing artwork--that it seemed to him most people just raced through museums not stopping long enough to look at the paintings. I am one who sometimes zips through a museum to get to the one painting I want to immerse myself in. How do any of us know, based on the art patrons we see in a museum room, just how art is viewed and absorbed? But I did enjoy his chapters on reading, walking, and listening.

The Wildwater Walking Club is an easy read. A cute premise of three neighborhood women who become friends by forming a walking club. No huge plot or mystery, so far just a nice little story (haven't finished yet). This referral came from Mary's Library--a good book blog.

The next two are books that have been sitting on my nightstand for a while, Dorothy Dunnett's The Game of Kings and The Brothers Karamazov. But, first, I need to finish Middlemarch.


Are you reading anything interesting?

1 comment:

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