In the High Peaks
















Thursday, June 6, 2019

June Reading and Other Books!

I must face facts. I am a person who cannot read 20 books between June 3 and September 3. For  some reason, during the summer I find myself  gravitating toward chunksters. I'm so interested in other people's plans, but I'd  never make the boat. 

Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott was a delight from start to finish. And for those considering reading it in the near future, I will caution you that Alcott wrote it in 1874 and gender norms of the Victorian period are adhered to, despite Uncle Alec's revolutionary departures. I'm waiting for A Rose in Bloom, the sequel, to arrive. I think I might devour it upon its arrival, but I do have other literary fish to fry.

I'm also waiting for The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper  a Barnes and Noble paperback edition, which I'm reading for the Back to the Classics Challenge, which is hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate. I very much like these low-priced classics from Barnes and Noble. The type is legible, the books have an intro, a chronology of the author's life, and reviews from the time the book was published. I have the Barnes and Noble e-book edition of this title, but for a book that's 445 pages, I really want a hand-held, hard copy. I feel I get lost in e-books that are over 400 pages.

And, in the meantime, while I wait, I'm thoroughly enjoying Elizabeth George's third Lynley/Havers mystery novel, Well-Schooled in Murder (1990). If there is one cardinal strength in George's Lynley/Havers series, it is her superlative creation of scenes. Each scene is meticulously crafted. I can picture each telling detail in each and every scene with such clarity. George is a marvel, in this respect. I know that these were BBC mysteries years ago, but I wouldn't want to see them now. The book, the text, is so extraordinary.

We are supposed to have three days in a row of sunny days starting tomorrow. Everyone is holding their breath, scarcely daring to believe it. We have had a very DIM, rainy spring. Think DARK.
Just leaves us wondering--what will our summer be like? Since last November, our weather has been out of the ordinary, so can't help trying to guess what's up next?

10 comments:

  1. I can't read 20 books during that time period either, and will not even try. Eight Cousins sounds marvelous, but it will be a while before I can get to it. Library holds have started coming in faster than I can read them... always seems to happen that way!

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    1. Hi JoAnn,
      I am so eager to learn the titles of all your library holds. Help! I'm in suspense. Will wait to see, though. Happy reading!

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  2. I read no where near the number of books that I want to. I also tend to read long ones. I am currently making my way through The Magic Mountain. I am loving it but it is taking forever.

    I have wanted to read Last of the Mohicans for a while. Have fun with it and happy reading.

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    1. Hi Brian,
      I fully understand the time of life when it's impossible to read as much as one wants.
      And how wonderful that you're in the midst of The Magic Mountain. I once made my way two-fifths of the way through and, to my detriment, stopped reading. If I were reading it now, that would not be the case because I now have the time and space to let a book sit just for a bit if I need to, but back when I tried to tackle it, my life was very different. I wish you the very best with it and look forward to your thoughts!
      I am looking forward to The Last of the Mohicans and realize that I will need to have another, lighter read to turn to alongside of it.

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  3. LOVE THE SOUND OF EIGHT COUSINS; SO HAPPY YOU MENTIONED IT. HOPE THE WEATHER HELD OUT AND YOU HAD A LOVELY W/END.

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    1. Hi Diane,
      Spectacular weekend here. Warm, three days of cloudless skies, and low humidity--who could ask for more? I do think you will get a kick out of Eight Cousins--such a lark, such a fun book for these trying times we seem to be enduring.

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  4. 20 books is a lot in three months, especially if you are gravitating towards longer works! :D

    I loved the Elizabeth George Lynley mysteries up to number 16 or 17. I still read them, but they aren't as good as her early stuff IMO.

    I hear you on useful and affordable classics. I am more partial to Penguin or Modern Library, but I appreciate them for the same reason: the forward and the notes. I know some readers like to skip all that but generally like the extra layer the annotations, etc. give to my reader.

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    1. Hi Ruthiella,
      I totally agree with you about Elizabeth George--I read a number of her later books first, then decided to start over again with the first, and now that I'm on the third I must say that the first three at least are such magnificent mysteries.
      I've had trouble with Penguins lately--fuzzy, fuzzy text with almost no leading between the lines. Quality control, please, Penguin. However, that said, I've found a great deal of inconsistency in the legibility of text in paperbacks just in the past couple of years.

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  5. I have been meaning to read Eight Cousins for years--maybe I will finally get it on next year's classic challenge. Your caution is well-founded, though. I can't take too much LMA, but spread out, I like her stories.

    I've never read Elizabeth George, but she keeps popping up so maybe I should try.

    I've also not read Last of the Mohicans--hope you find it enjoyable. Legible new editions are definitely a must for me!

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    1. As for Elizabeth George, her earlier books are the best, so I suggest you start off with a whopper--the first--A Great Deliverance. The second and third are equally good. How I wish there were more books as well-written as these.
      I'm coming along with Last of the Mohicans and will do a first report on my progress soon.
      Yes, I found Eight Cousins included a few "eye bumps" of LMA morality and gender norms, but other than that it was perfect. And it won't be long before I read it again.

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