Current Reads

Sorry if I set off a false alarm about more McKinley vampire books...guess it's that I know I didn't care for her last couple of books so in my mind I just lumped them together. But that's just me, I know her book Sunshine does have a lot of fans.

I prefer her earlier fantasy/romance books, which is why her new book has me excited. I hope it lives up to the reviews that I've read.

All of you who recommended The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society are evil! I started reading it on the subway this morning, and I was actually annoyed that I had to get off the train when I got to work. I keep staring at my bag and thinking about trying to sneak in another few pages here at my desk, but I also want it to last forever.
I hate you all. In the very best way, of course.

I'm starting that one, too. I needed another book to get free Amazon shipping, so I, as always, bowed to peer pressure.

I have to pick the book club book for January and I'm going between this and The Glass Castle.

It's so delightful.

I finally finished Stephen King's Under the Dome. DAMN, it's long. It's very King-y, so anyone who enjoys him will probably like it, but I thought it dragged a bit in the middle 500 pages. I suspect his editor is doing less editing than usual.

It is a lovely book.

I want to read the latest King, but my library SUCKS and I am so not buying a book before reading it with my pitiful money. Sob.

I think I'm the last one to read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. I loooooove it. I want to hug it.

YOU GUYS. I am beside myself. The features editor at work here got an advance copy of Shades of Grey, the new Jasper Fforde novel, which doesn't come out until the end of December. I have no idea why they sent us an advance copy, since we don't really do book reviews and NEVER from authors who aren't local, but WHATEV.

The editor was going to throw it on the freebie pile but I pounced on it . Victory is mine!

Geez, between this and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, I have an embarrassment of reading riches waiting for me this week.

ETA: OK, I see Fforde is coming here in January for a book signing. That's probably why they sent us a copy.

ETA2: There's an interview that came with the book. Fforde says he's working on the next Thursday Next book, which will be called One of Our Thursdays is Missing. And I quote:

I am always so happy when other people love that book. That, Wuthering Heights and I Capture the Castle are my three fave books and I get weirdly sad when people don't like them (it usually comes up with Wuthering Heights).

I'm finishing up The Romantics by Galt Neiderhoffer. I had heard good things and they are making a movie version of it, so I was like why not finally read it.

Its pretty good. If you like reading about the romantic entaglements of a bunch of rich 20 somethings (which I do, sometimes) you'll like it.

Just received Pirate Latitudes,the Micheal Crichton novel that was found after his death. The one review I've seen of it wasn't good, which makes me sad.

Read Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France by Robert Darnton. Interesting book about banned books in pre-revolutionary France. The author wants to argue that these books helped bring about the revolution. Pretty interesting, with some boring spots in the middle, but it's interesting to see what was banned and how they transported the books and how they got to the people and how people found out about new banned books. There were three books specifically talked about (also exerts): Therese Philosophe, a young girl's learning process about masturbation and sex (the happy ending consists of her finally giving into her lover's advances, but he compromises by pulling out in time and so yay, they can have sex without her getting pregnant, which was why she held out), The Year 2440, or a Dream if There Ever Was One, which was about a man who fell asleep for 700 years and woke up in a future that must have seemed pretty sweet to him but kinda creepy to us (lots of 'spies of the king' walking around making sure everyone holds up modern morals), and finally Anecdotes about Mme de la comtesse du Barry, which was just a gossipy bio on du Barry. Fun though.

JEALOUS. I love the Thursday Next books, they are so delightfully peculiar (and contain dodos which go "plock", which is possibly the best thing ever).

The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century. Highly entertaining look at how you might cope as a traveller in medieval Britain - where you'd stay, what you'd wear, how you'd avoid the Black Death. Great fun - I hope other people copy the idea.