73 posts tagged “reading”
This month I gave up on a lot of books I started, and only finished these:
Among the 14 books (!) I read this month, I had a good number of favorites: The Condition, No One You Know, The Help, The Rose of Sebastopol and The Last Bachelor. I found Kristin Chenoweth's book quite enjoyable, but I wish it had more details in parts.
Well, April was another month where I had some stops and starts. I started reading these two and gave up on them:
I finished 14 books this month! That could be the most I've read in one month . . . I'm not absolutely sure. It's certainly the most books I've read in one month since I started keeping track of my reading on Vox.
My theory is that books which take place in Austin are best written by authors who live in Austin (at least part of the time). Sarah Bird is probably the best example of this. Her fiction captures the essence of the city. In The Boyfriend School, I am able to perfectly imagine the world of her main character because I've been to the places mentioned, or have met people like those in the novel. True, that is more of a late 80's view of the town, but I think it still holds up.
And now I'm really worried. Well, more intrigued, and worried at the same time.Ella Varner has it all–a successful career as an advice columnist, a handsome boyfriend, and a circle of friends in Austin.
I am so glad I happened upon The Serpent Garden at a local library months ago.
Since reading that, I've been trying to get my hands on every other novel by Judith Merkle Riley. Just today I finished A Vision of Light, and now I've been sucked into the world of Margaret of Ashbury, a woman (unfortunately for her) before her times. The character is a bright midwife in the Middle Ages who receives a gift of healing. A lot of other stuff happens, as well, and she decides to have a book written about her life. My only complaint is that A Vision of Light seems too long at times -- I admit that I skimmed some of Brother Gregory's passages. Still, I greatly enjoyed it, and can't wait to read the next book of the trilogy.
Willig even had me not caring at all about the "contemporary" section, which I think only takes place in two days. I could be wrong, because after a couple of these passages I just gave up and starting skipping these parts entirely.
I give up! And perhaps Willig should too. . . no matter how attractive I find the covers for her books, I'm not reading anything else she writes.
Favorites of the month: The Oracle Glass, Enchanting Pleasures, Dogs & Goddesses, The Abstinence Teacher
I'm including The Far Pavilions in this month, even though I haven't completed it yet. I read 282 pages out of 960 during January.
So, I've gotten a lot more lax about posting here since I use my tumblog for most of the cool links, news items, and photos I want to post or remember. But I do still love vox!
