And the world didn't end.... so... what's up with you?
Anyway....
A couple weeks ago, I was reading my friend, Valerie's, blog on books she has read this fall/winter.
Which got me thinking about the books I'm reading and Goodreads.
Goodreads is an online book... thing that I sign into via Facebook. I think someone asked me to be their friend, and like many an online dating site, I figured it wouldn't hurt.
I'm also a member of Shelfari, which I forget until I get the occasional email.
Maybe I should do something about that.
Anyway, I logged onto Goodreads the other day to look at the winners of their 2012 best books and this little window popped up reminding me that I was reading... The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan.
Hmm, that was four books ago.
So I'm not sure I'm going to stick with either Shelfari or Goodreads.
I just read too many books to keep up.
For example: Right now I'm rereading Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge. An excellent book about Mosca Mae who gets involved with Eponymous Clent and some courtly intrigue. Mosca can read, which is very dangerous in the Realm. It's brilliant and I actually am rereading it because it is so well crafted. And I need to look up half the words she uses because I'm not sure what they mean. Mendacity. Mellifluous. Fly By Night is bliss for a word lover. And it contains a very smart goose. Named Saracen. Enough said.
AND it's one of the first books in a long time that I did not skip to the end! That's rather rare, for me.
At the same time, I'm also reading Hardinge's second book The Lost Conspiracy. Which is very different from Fly By Night. Hardinge is one of those writers I read and think "Why can't I write like that?" She's a very good author.
I just finished A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, because that's a Christmas tradition. I love Dickens, even if I have to reread entire paragraphs to understand what's happening. I forget how many scary parts there are in the story. The edition I bought also has a couple of Dickens' Christmas writings, such as "What Christmas is as We Grow Older" and, a new fave, a short story about goblins kidnapping a sexton. It's like a pre-Scrooge short story. It's also the book we're reading for my book club. I'm also reading Jeffrey R. Holland's book Shepherd's Why This Jubilee? which is three chapters on Christmas and Christ. Beautiful.
I've also read Jacob T Marley, which is the life of Jacob Marley and, basically, A Christmas Carol from his point of view. The jacket claims it is written in Dickens' style and, if this is the case, then only Dickens can write in the Dickens' style. The book also has a rather obvious twist, in that (spoiler alert!) Marley evicts Scrooge's sister, who is poor and homeless (which makes no sense!). I realized that Marley doesn't need a backstory, especially not a cheesy and corny one. I also read Anne Perry's A Christmas Beginning, which was a nice little Victorian murder mystery on an isle off the coast of Wales, during Christmas. In hindsight, I shouldn't have read it because it's somewhat spoiled a case for me in her William Monk series that I'm trying to catch up on.
I also finished up Treasure Island in honor of RL Stevenson's birthday. I really enjoyed it. Stevenson writes so well and I was caught up in the action. It was a lovely read.
And a couple nights ago I read Christmas in Camelot by Mary... something. It's part of the Magic Tree House series, unread by me. It's cute and I might have enjoyed it more, but Lancelot was the star AGAIN and I'm a Gawain girl. :) The writing was definitely for younger children.
To be truthful, I really don't relish having to go on to Goodreads and update my profile with all these books.
So I'm thinking I might just cancel my Shelfari and Goodreads accounts.
I'm rather excited, because after Christmas I read Marcus Sedgwick's The Book of Dead Days and The Dark Flight Down, which is a new tradition, since the book is set in the "dead" days before the New Year. Very spooky. Dickens would love it.
Amid the five other books I've got on my list/nightstand:
Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper ( I read in one night, so I need to review it)
Dark Assassin by Anne Perry (she's still writing William Monk novels and I did not know this, so I need to catch up!)
Arthur: The Seeing Stone by Kevin Crossley-Holland (he must be English). It's a take on the legend of King Arthur set in Medieval Wales. Rather excited. I grew to love early Medieval Wales, thanks to Ellis Peters and her fabulous Brother Cadfael series.
The 39 Steps (I got this book for free from my publishing programme and have yet to read it). It's set in Scotland, so guess why I'm reading it.
I might blog about these... watch this space.
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