Summer reading so far

So. Now that school’s out for the summer I’ve found that I’ve been able to devote more of my time to reading. It’s been about a week and a half since I’ve been off of work and I’ve read/finished 4 books.
1. Agatha Christie’s Poirot Investigates a set of short mystery stories involving Christie’s famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. This is Christie’s 3 Poirot novel. I’m trying to read all of the Poirot books in order of publication. I was inspired to do this from the blog The Agatha Project. (Although it hasn’t been updated in a while). It was a quick read but not nearly as satisfying as her full novels usually are. The characters are well flushed out but you don’t get much time to identify with or sympathize with them. Next up for this project is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. This will be a re-read for me as I read this one last year. I still remember who the murderer is so it will be interesting to see all of the clues that I missed the first time around.
2. Starring the Babysitter’s Club by Ann M. Martin. This series was one of my favorites as a kid. I just sort of picked it up for old time sake. The members of the club and some of the kids that they babysit are in the SMS production of Peter Pan and we get to see the production from all of the club members’ points of view. Pretty quick read.
3. Jane Boleyn: The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford by Julia Fox. I loved this non-fiction book. I’ve really been into stories (both fiction and non-fiction) set in 16th century Britain. This book tells the story of Jane Parker, who married George Boleyn, Anne’s brother. I really learned a lot from this book. This woman is often portrayed in history as the jealous wife who’s testimony sent Anne and George to the scaffold. When, in reality, her life depended on those two remaining alive. Just when she is able to pick up the pieces of her life and is accepted back into the King’s favor, becoming a lady in waiting for Henry’s next 3 wives, it all falls apart for her again when she serves the doomed Katherine Howard. Anyway, Jane Boleyn seems extremely unsympathetic (especially if you’ve read or seen The Other Boleyn Girl), but this book really sheds light on the obstacles she had to overcome and I admired her for it.
4. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I’m not sure what I expected when I sat down to read this one. I knew that the movie came out last week and that EVERYONE that I know raved about how amazing this book is. I’m not sure though. I read it. I liked it. But I didn’t cry about it or become incensed about how it ended. I sympathized with the characters, the subject (medical emancipation of a minor) was compelling but I don’t know. I guess I thought that it would be more gripping and touching than it was. Maybe I’ve become a bit more jaded with my reading. I am an extremely sensitive person. I cry pretty easily. But it’s been a while since a book really made me cry. I think after the last month that I had that I needed a good cry and the fact that this book didn’t do it for me made me a little harder on it than it deserves. At least, now I can cross this category off for the What’s in a Name challenge. So it wasn’t a waste.
This is what I’m currently working on:
1. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (just started Tuesday, part of my Fill in the Gaps 100 Project).
2. The Serpent’s Tale by Ariana Franklin (loved Mistress of the Art of Death, this is her second novel).
3. What Happens in London by Julia Quinn (the newest book from my favorite historical romance author).

I’ll try to update more often now that I have more time. And, if anyone knows any good crying novels that aren’t too cheesy please leave some suggestions!

The Moonstone update

Ok so, as much as I really like Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone, it’s really going slowly. Partly because I took a break in the middle to read a different book. I’m a bit over half finished. I’ve reached the narrative of Matthew Bruff. I really like the way the story is divided between different narrators. Getting first hand point of views from different characters really make the story more believable. I hope to be finished by the middle of next week.

Meanwhile, I read Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Links in less than 2 days. I find that every time I read one of her books I’m so sure that I know who the murderer is…and then find out that I wasn’t even close. This time, I made my hypothesis and just when the book seemed to be legitimizing my theory, then the story turned. It lead me to believe that I was right and then dashed all of my hopes. I should have realized I was wrong when Poirot’s friend Hastings was supporting my theory, he rarely gets it right the first time. But I loved that I was wrong. I find now that if I can guess who the culprit in a mystery is, I end up not thinking that the book is not as good. I’m not really in the mood to give a full recap of the novel though. I have a hard time explaining stories without giving away the ending.

Anyway, off to the exciting conclusion of The Moonstone.

No books finished over the weekend.

I’m ashamed to say that I did very little reading last week. Besides my “easy-read” Babysitters’ Club Books, I did start 2 new books. One non-fiction: Alison Weir’s Children of England, a novel about King Henry VIII’s heirs (Edward, Lady Jane Grey, Mary, and Elizabeth). I really enjoy the way Weir writes. It doesn’t really feel like non-fiction at all (maybe that’s why her historical fiction novels are so good).
The other book I started was Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone which, along with being one of my Fill in the Gaps Project books, has been on my TBR pile for at least 3 years. I’ve read his Woman in White about 2 years ago and thought it was really well written so I really don’t know why it’s taken this long for me to start The Moonstone. I’m only about 3 chapters into it but so far, I like what I’m reading. I’ll keep you posted!

Blast from the Past!

After the Read-a-thon I wanted to read something a bit lighter. Soooooo, I went to my parents’ house and went through some boxes of my old books. I chose 3 of my old Babysitters Club books by Ann M. Martin. It was my favourite book series between the ages of 8 and 11. Sadly, their not available for purchase anymore unless you can find them on Ebay or used on Amazon. Over the last 3 days, I’ve read Super Special#5 California Here We Come!. Where the girls go on a trip to California and stay at Dawn’s father’s house after winning some money. Next Super Special #6 New York, New York, the gang go to..you guessed it, NYC and stay with Stacey’s dad. Yesterday, I finished Super Special #7 Snowbound where a random snowstorm hits the girls’ hometown of Stoneybrook, Conneticut and we learn about the adventures (or misadventures ) that they go through before, during, and after it.

It was nice to have a little break with some of the books that got me so interested in reading in the first place. I think I’m ready now to go back to some adult reading (but not the inappropriate kind).

It’s all over

I had to stop updating for a while because the computer screen was making my eyes too tired. But I did it!
End of read-a-thon meme.

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
- Hour 18 was pretty rough.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
- The Birth of Venus, and anything by Agatha Christie
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
-Can’t think of any at the moment
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
- The cheerleaders really were helpful. It was nice to have encouraging words.
5. How many books did you read?
- 5 books read / 3 books completed / 1 short story completed
6. What were the names of the books you read?
In order:
-The Lady Elizabeth (Alison Weir) – finished
- The House of the Seven Gables (Nathaniel Hawthorne) – gave up for now
- The Birth of Venus (Sarah Dunant) – finished
- The Murders in the Rue Morgue (E.A. Poe) – finished
- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Agatha Christie) – finished
- Shopaholic and Baby (Sophie Kinsella) – half way through
7. Which book did you enjoy most?
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd with The Birth of Venus coming in a close second.
8. Which did you enjoy least?
- The House of the Seven Gables. It was just tiring me out too much so I had to drop it. I should’ve maybe started with that one.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
- I was not. But I really appreciated them!
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
- Very likely. Same role or maybe half and half reader/cheerleader.

Thanks to all the organizers for their hard work! I really had a good time with this. When I’m more awake I’ll have to go visit other blogs and review my reads.
But for now…I sleep!

Birth of Venus completed!

Total number of books read: 3
Total number of books completed: 2
Pages read since last post:93
Total pages:449

Success! I’ve finished the Birth of Venus. Too tired to write a review at the moment. Must. Keep. Reading. Must. Stay. Awake!!! Only 7 and a half hours to go! I can do this…I think.

I’m back!

Pages read since last post: 53 (see previous post for reason why)

Still working on The Birth of Venus. I have returned from my girl’s night dinner and am ready to keep going. It looks like a lot of people are doing far better than I am. But I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to finish strong. We shall see….

Heading toward end of hour 8

Title of book(s) read since last update: The Birth of Venus
Number of books read since you started:3
Pages read since last update:80
Running total of pages read since you started:303 (shameful!!!)
Amount of time spent reading since last update:1 hr

Ok, so….I fell asleep around the beginning of hour 7! But now I’m up, had a shower, and did the dishes all of which took away precious reading time. Chalk it up to a bunch of rookie mistakes. Also, another hitch in the proceedings is that I have to leave the house at 5:30 (Eastern Time) for a minimum of 5 hours. My sewing club, (which does no sewing, mainly just girls hanging out getting a break from the husbands and kids), is getting together today. I knew this going in but thought that I would get a lot more accomplished by now. Oh well. This is all stuff to remember for the next read-a-thon. I’m really enjoying the book though and I’m hopeful that I will finish it. I’ve got one more hour to be productive until I have to get ready to leave. Hopefully, I don’t run into any other distractions!

Read-a-thon: hour 5 complete

Title of book(s) read since last update: The Birth of Venus
Number of books read since you started: still 3
Books completed:1
Pages read since last update:85
Running total of pages read since you started:223
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 75 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 210 minutes

Still working on The Birth of Venus. Although, I think I’m going to move on outside for a little while just for a change of scenery. I’m really enjoying the book so far even though some of the descriptions of death and torture are making me cringe! But..I’m not going to give up!

Read-a-thon: commencing hour 4

Title of book(s) read since last update: The House of the Seven Gables
The Birth of Venus
Number of books read since you started: 3 (not all finished though
Pages read since last update: 80
Running total of pages read since you started: 139
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 75 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 135 minutes
Mini-challenges completed:
Other participants you’ve visited: Becky, Bookworm, A high and hidden place
Prize you’ve won: 0

Still doing well. It’s so hard not to get sidetracked reading other blogs and seeing how others are doing! I had to leave Hawthorne for a bit. It seemed a bit heavy reading for such a beautiful day. I’ve now taken up Sarah Dunant’s Birth of Venus which is going a lot more smoothly. I’m hoping to finish it in a couple of hours. Wish me luck!