September Reading List
Still no sign of the Green Woman...and as I don't think you want a stitch by stitch description of how I knit basic socks when she's gone I thought I'd go ahead and do the monthly reading report.
Books:
1. Curse of The Wolf Girl, Martin Miller. I'm actually not finished...but thought I'd mention it anyway. I can't decide if I like Miller or not. Some of his books - Lonely Werewolf Girl and The Good Fairies of New York - are just delicious, and wickedly funny! Other's (and I can't remember the title right now) are not at all my cup of tea. This one is somewhere in between. Miller has a very basic subject, verb, predicate style of writing for these books which - when good - lends to the comic nature of his writing. This time, though, it's just tedious and makes the reading a chore. It could take a while to finish it.
2. In The Company of Cheerful Ladies,
3. Blue Shoes & Happiness, and
4. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, Alexander McCall Smith. The clerk at B&N asked me about these books, and in describing them I referred to them as comfort reading with substance. I would consider them light reading if not for two things - the incredible characters and the beautiful way in which the author completely takes the reader into another world. While they are technically 'fast' reads, I refer to them as 'slow' because they make me slow down and savor each word. While technically they are mysteries...nothing much happens except for human nature. It's refreshing...and has been exactly what I needed this month.
Audio:
1. A Little Bit Wicked, Kristin Chenoweth. If you decide to try this book out you really MUST listen to the audio version because it is read by Chenoweth herself. I've been a fan of hers for a long time, and knew it would be interesting to read her autobiography. Besides, it's Kristin Chenoweth...it was bound to be funny! I wasn't prepared for the occasionally profound moments, the lessons along the way and the new respect I would develop for such an amazing woman. It was definitely worth it!
2. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Steig Larson. Yes, I read the book a year ago - thanks to a lovely guild member who couldn't wait and ordered it from Amazon UK and then was generous to share it around the guild. However, I still wanted to listen to this one...in large part because my audio experiences with the first two had been so fantastic! I wasn't at all disappointed...the reader was again phenomenal and really lent a lot to the book. In fact, I stayed up waaayyyyyy too late one night because I had come to the exciting part and just couldn't stop listening!
Podcasts:
1. The Riddle of the Sands (finished!) Erskin Childers, Forgotten Classics. Eh. It's billed as the very first espionage book, and apparently it's release caused all sorts of uproar in the UK. For that, I'm glad I listened....but it just wasn't my cup of tea and I couldn't listen to more than an episode or two at a time because it easily bored me.
2. A Connecticut Yankee In King Arther's Court, Mark Twain, Craftlit. Honestly, it's a slog. I like Twain a lot...but every time I've tried to read this book I find that it's just a bit too much for my taste. The characters just wear on you, and you end up feeling like Twain could have been a lot more concise. I'll keep listening, but I imagine I'll be glad when it's over.
Books:
1. Curse of The Wolf Girl, Martin Miller. I'm actually not finished...but thought I'd mention it anyway. I can't decide if I like Miller or not. Some of his books - Lonely Werewolf Girl and The Good Fairies of New York - are just delicious, and wickedly funny! Other's (and I can't remember the title right now) are not at all my cup of tea. This one is somewhere in between. Miller has a very basic subject, verb, predicate style of writing for these books which - when good - lends to the comic nature of his writing. This time, though, it's just tedious and makes the reading a chore. It could take a while to finish it.
2. In The Company of Cheerful Ladies,
3. Blue Shoes & Happiness, and
4. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, Alexander McCall Smith. The clerk at B&N asked me about these books, and in describing them I referred to them as comfort reading with substance. I would consider them light reading if not for two things - the incredible characters and the beautiful way in which the author completely takes the reader into another world. While they are technically 'fast' reads, I refer to them as 'slow' because they make me slow down and savor each word. While technically they are mysteries...nothing much happens except for human nature. It's refreshing...and has been exactly what I needed this month.
Audio:
1. A Little Bit Wicked, Kristin Chenoweth. If you decide to try this book out you really MUST listen to the audio version because it is read by Chenoweth herself. I've been a fan of hers for a long time, and knew it would be interesting to read her autobiography. Besides, it's Kristin Chenoweth...it was bound to be funny! I wasn't prepared for the occasionally profound moments, the lessons along the way and the new respect I would develop for such an amazing woman. It was definitely worth it!
2. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Steig Larson. Yes, I read the book a year ago - thanks to a lovely guild member who couldn't wait and ordered it from Amazon UK and then was generous to share it around the guild. However, I still wanted to listen to this one...in large part because my audio experiences with the first two had been so fantastic! I wasn't at all disappointed...the reader was again phenomenal and really lent a lot to the book. In fact, I stayed up waaayyyyyy too late one night because I had come to the exciting part and just couldn't stop listening!
Podcasts:
1. The Riddle of the Sands (finished!) Erskin Childers, Forgotten Classics. Eh. It's billed as the very first espionage book, and apparently it's release caused all sorts of uproar in the UK. For that, I'm glad I listened....but it just wasn't my cup of tea and I couldn't listen to more than an episode or two at a time because it easily bored me.
2. A Connecticut Yankee In King Arther's Court, Mark Twain, Craftlit. Honestly, it's a slog. I like Twain a lot...but every time I've tried to read this book I find that it's just a bit too much for my taste. The characters just wear on you, and you end up feeling like Twain could have been a lot more concise. I'll keep listening, but I imagine I'll be glad when it's over.
Comments
Finishing up re-reading To Kill a Mockingbird; also reading Mindset by Carol Dweck - something I think all parents should read....