Today was my day for shopping and the library. I picked up EIGHT books on hold for me. I am desperate to read them all! From a reading perspective only, I am glad that we are sweltering in the mid-80s with dewpoints that are sky-high. That means we are forced to stay indoors with the air-conditioning. I do actually hate being cooped up in summer, but with fantastic books, especially the ones I have on hand, I don't care.
Gosh--I've started Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark, which is very good. (I purchased this one.) I'm also reading a bio of Rumer Godden, which I was motivated to do after finishing In This House of Brede. (So many questions about Godden's amazing life in India and England and Kashmir.)
But then all these wonderful books tumbled out of my book bag today when I got home. The first I'm reading is The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley. The research Pulley did for this new book amazes me. Set in the Soviet Union, and highly acclaimed. Please follow the link. I don't have access to the book bag at the moment, but I will post on the rest of my Library Loot very soon.
AND SIGH! I finished The Disinvited Guest by Carol Goodman as my 14th read for the 20 Books of Summer, and it was, for me, just mediocre. I've read several of Goodman's books, of which there are many, including her debut of years ago, The Lake of Dead Languages. I like her characterizations. I like her writing. But this one, an "And Then There Were None" tale, set on a very remote northern Maine island, was just not up to par, due to a flaw with the plotting, I believe. Oh, well. I've read lots of great books this summer, so it's okay, I suppose, that this one was a disappointment.
I'm with you, Judith... the heat I can tolerate, but the dew points make it miserable! I did not leave the house today, even skipped my walk.
ReplyDeleteEight library holds coming in at the same time is a nightmare. My strategy would be to preview and prioritize... then put more holds on the ones I can't get to.
I'm interested in Fellowship Point, so will keep an eye out for your thoughts. Try to stay cool... hope this humidity breaks in a few days.
Hi JoAnn,
DeleteI feel flustered when 8 books come in on my once-a-week library visit, but it's so interesting to browse through them, make decisions, and, as you say strategize the future!
I'm now halfway through Fellowship Point--definitely four thumb's up!
The humidity today was higher than ever and we hit our record high temperature for the summer--90 degrees at the house. All last summer and the one before, we did not hit 90 degrees. In the valley 12 miles away they get even hotter, but here at our elevation it is at least 5 degrees cooler.
I am having troubles getting through my list of 20 books, because of being distracted by other available reads (although not in my case from the library). Or even non-reading activities. The books you are reading are mostly new to me and sound very interesting.
ReplyDeleteHi Tracy,
ReplyDeleteI've been very lucky this summer to have read so many books that I really liked so much. It's been great. My writing course slowed my reading a bit, but I'm still managing to find some time.