What I'm Reading IV

Wow.  It has been a while since I've shared my current reading list.  How much were you missing it?  Be honest.  Probably, you haven't been able to read a single book, not knowing what that one random blogger/runner gal was reading.  Please accept my apologies.  Since my last entry of mid-way through the book reports, I've read a few books, but not nearly as many as I would have liked.  One significant (to me, only, I'm sure) milestone was when I did not finish the chosen one for book club.  I was the only remaining member of our

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group who had completed every selected book for every meeting for nearly 3 years!  This one was interesting, but not in the way that it made me want to get to the end.  I found the topic compelling, and the anecdotes disturbing, but after not very many pages, I got it.  Food giants + Government = Yeah, let's get ourselves some land and grow all our own food.

I'm not technically reading the next book club selection, yet, but I did submit my reservation for a copy from my library.

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I think it's going to be good.  I just found out that the author wrote "High Fidelity" which I didn't even know was a book, I just thought it was a John Cusack film.  I found it when I was at the library, trying my best to be a good book clubber, and instead checking out 3 books that were not chosen for club discussion.  "High Fidelity" was one, but I haven't technically started reading it yet, either.  Nor have I begun The Fire Witness by Lars Kepler.  You may have done this before, too:  I walked up and down the New Releases section in the library, simply looking for something to strike my fancy.  Judging all the books by their covers, basically.  I recognized the author's name (Names?-Lars Kepler is a pseudonym adopted by a married couple, so I never know whether to refer to the author in the singular or plural, masculine or feminine.  Annoying.), and realized that I had read "The Hypnotist" a year or so ago.  I almost remembered what I needed to remember before checking out, but the thought was still just a quiet little buzz.  Finally, after a while, the buzzing grew louder.  "The Hypnotist" had been suspenseful, but really awful, plotwise.  There were like, hundreds of pages about a point which, in the end, didn't matter a single bit.  So, I probably won't be reading "The Fire Witness."  I can't put myself through the worry about whether or not the Pokemon characters are relevant.  (Seriously.  There were Pokemon.)

Um.  So, now, after all that about the books I'm not reading, which could be considered a Lars Kepler-ish way to annoy blog readers...

I love this series of culinary mystery novels.

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Love, love, love.  That might be one too many 'love's, considering all the murders poor Goldy the Caterer has to deal with, and how the timing of the events in each story is way, way, way off.  However, the latest book in this series has been fun, so far, and I don't yet have figured out whodunit.  The best part of these Culinary Mysteries is that the author includes recipes for all the dishes the caterer prepares.  You can bet I'll be baking Crunch Time Cookies soon- they have toasted pecans and toffee chips!

Just tonight, I finished reading:

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Long ago, in my Freshman year of college, I was required to read this book for my World Religions class.  I wish I could remember what 17-years-ago me thought of the story, and compare it to what I think now.  I was surprised (again, I think) at how quick of a read this deep, meaningful, filled-with-ancient-African-names-I-couldn't-pronounce book is.  I definitely recommend it.  If nobody actually requires you to read, these days, consider my recommendation a forceful one.  You know what else?  Take notes, while you read, and afterward.  You'll want to remember the story and how you felt about it.  Psst!  That was the advice for this post.  Don't look for it at the end.

There's something very special, almost sacred, about classic novels.  After a page or two of my eyes glazing over from trying to figure out the unfamiliar words and spellings, I get swept up and start enjoying myself.

Pretty sure "Public Domain" means they're not going to need me to add a link, here.

I don't care for Fanny, the "heroine" of this novel.  She's a whiny, prissy, crybaby, sissypants.  I also don't much care for Edmund, her love interest/cousin.  He's too smart and proper for his own good, and he's one of those who can't see his nose past the end of his face (Confession-I'm not entirely sure I know what that saying means, or that I used it in the right context.)  Despite my annoyance at Fanny's actions and Edmund's silliness, I am enjoying this book.  I'm 3/4 through it, and every time I start reading again, it's like I'm transported to another time and a whole other world.  Plus, the characters frequently use one of my favorite phrases: by the by.  Only, they spell the second 'by' with an 'e', so now I will, too.  I'm proper, like that.


Classic or modern?

Read anything good, lately?