Monday, April 27, 2009

Whatcha Readin' Any-ol'-day

I finally finished the Lord Peter Wimsey books. And it wasn't just my imagination -- any book with Harriet Vane really is better than the ones without her. All of them are good, but Strong Poison, Have His Carcase, Gaudy Night and Busman's Honeymoon are splendid.

After I was done with Wimsey I went on a short Mary Stewart kick. I loved her books when I was younger, and I still like them, especially The Moonspinners and This Rough Magic. But I was a little startled to discover that they have a higher level of suspense than I'm currently comfortable with. A couple of times I found myself putting one down for a bit because I was uncomfortable -- pretty much every time I had forgotten a plot wrinkle. I had a sensation of "Oh, no, this is going to be bad!" even though I knew that the book would have a happy ending. (Spoiler alert -- Mary Stewart books always have a happy ending! :-D )

Right now I'm reading something completely different; chick lit, I guess you could call it. It's by Katherine Center, and is called everyone is beautiful. The gist of the story is a harried mom reconnecting with who she is when no one is demanding her attention. So far I like it, but as with many books of this genre, it has the potential to take a "modern" (read "immoral") turn. Sometimes I just quit reading, but this one makes me think I might have to finish it anyway because of the chance of repentance. Something in the blurb makes me think that might happen. . .

Next in the pile is different again: Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card. I first read Card when I came across Seventh Son years and years ago. I find that I like the first book or two in each of his series, but then they start to pall. The only one I love is Enchantment, --which I did reread during Easter week -- but it's a stand-alone. I read Ender's Game in airports when I flew to Florida to visit Rosie in 2005, and Ender's Shadow when Tommy insisted. I'm going to give this one a try, but not worry about it if I don't like it. Anyway, Tommy would like to read it before it's due back at the library.

I'm still slogging away at the interview (why do I have to type the answers, why can't I just talk?) but probably won't get anything posted from it until we get back from Maggie's graduation in Florida May 10th. But I will try to put something up a few times in between. . .

2 comments:

HereWeGoAJen said...

You should get a webcam and do the interview on video! That would be quite entertaining.

Ted Way said...

I loved Ender's Game! Something about the loneliness of leadership really struck a chord with me in high school.

I actually have Ender in Exile checked out from the library too :-) I didn't even know it was out -- one of those chance books on display on the shelf.