Whatcha Readin' Wednesday

 7 Posts in 7 Days part 3

First off, I should probably give what really would have been better as an update to yesterday's post:  for those of you who are not "foodies," the "Mole" in the title is pronounced mow-luh, not mowl, and refers to a Mexican sauce made with chocolate and chilis, not to those half-blind creatures who ruin your lawn.   I realized that I have known this since elementary school, which is sort of funny because at that point I had eaten exactly no "ethnic" food except the Pennsylvania-German cooking of my upbringing.  (Oh, and "Italian spaghetti," which involved pasta and tomato sauce but no herbs that I'm aware of.  My mother's idea of seasonings was limited to salt, pepper, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg, the last three used only for sweets.)

Despite such deprivation I knew about mole, because of a book, of course!  Trixie Belden and the Mystery in Arizona, to be precise.  The link shows a cover like the very-beat-up version I now own, but the date on it is 1970, by which time I was in college.  I probably first read a copy belonging to my older cousins, from whom I "inherited" a whole library of children's books they were done with.

Right now I have three books in progress, which is one more than my usual.  Roger and I are re-reading C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner series, since one of my Christmas gifts was all the currently-in-print titles we didn't already own.  I'm just starting Precursor (the middle book in the third trilogy,) and I think he is about four books behind me, since he has to work for a living.  Some of you might remember that I've reread these before; well, a new one is due out in April, and we want to be ready! 

I'm also reading Deed Without a Name, by Dorothy Bowers.  My friend Julia lent me two of the five books by this relatively unknown author, who was a contemporary of Dorothy L. Sayers.  I found them interesting enough to get the other three by inter-library loan.  Unfortunately I'm so caught up in the Foreigner universe that I may not get around to finishing them before they're due, which is a shame, because they are excellent examples of the classic Golden Age Mystery genre.  :-(

My third book is the standard non-fiction I'm rarely without. This one is The Business of Baby, by Jennifer Margulis.  I spotted it on my library's new book shelf, and am finding it to be yet another version of the "be informed and then do what YOU want" genre of baby/pregnancy books.  I've read a lot of them, especially back in the days when I considered training as a midwife, and find that they all rely more on anecdotes than on science/studies/facts.  This one strikes a fairly decent balance, and I'd recommend that anyone interested read it, but don't stop there!  I really am a believer in "be informed and then do what YOU want," as long as you are truly informed about all the options and opinions on what is best.  That's a lot more reading than just one book!

Well, I've upheld my end of the "I'll post if you will" for today, so now I'm going to go and read!