Monday Malarkey

Recent arrivals (top to bottom):

• The Alice Network by Kate Quinn and
• Same Beach, Next Year by Dorothea Benton Frank - both from HarperCollins for review
• Ella Who? by Ashman and Sanchez and
• Dance is for Everyone by Andrea Zuill - both from Sterling Children's Books for review
• The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors by Daywalt and Rex - purchased 

I feel kind of weird about that children's book purchase, but I heard it was funny and there's nothing I like more than an excuse to laugh. Not pictured is another book I bought, a YA called Just Fly Away by Andrew McCarthy, the actor best known for his 80s movies. I enjoyed his travel memoir a couple years ago, so I figured it would be fun to see how his YA turned out. As I recall, he was writing the YA at the time his first book was released.


Books finished since last Malarkey: 

• The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors by Drew Daywalt and Adam Rex - Yes, I thought it was funny. And, I also think my cats need to stay in the room when I read to them. 
• Ella Who? by Linda Ashman and Sara Sanchez 
• Dance is for Everyone by Andrea Zuill
• The Marriage Bureau by Penrose Halson

Last week's posts:

• April Reads in Review, 2017 (One month's reads, in brief)
• Mister Monkey by Francine Prose and a Fiona Friday pic on the Wrong Day (book review; cat photo)
• The Marriage Bureau by Penrose Halson (book review)

I don't normally post on the weekends because the spouse objects to weekend blogging but we had a busy morning and were both beat on Saturday afternoon, so I had a little down time in which to write a blog post on Saturday and then Huzzybuns opened up a second blogging opportunity by leaving town on Sunday. I was pleased to have time to knock out a couple reviews, since I've got such a backlog of books that need reviewing. Fortunately, a good portion of them are children's books, which I can quickly reread, and some are personal reads for which there's no hurry. It's just a matter of sitting down, now and then, and knocking a few out.


Currently reading:

• No Man's Land by Simon Tolkien - After writing that I was reading this book, last week, I picked up The Marriage Bureau by Penrose Halson and couldn't put it down. So, I just returned to No Man's Land, last night, and now I'm completely immersed at about 1/3 of the way in. 
• Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit - Huh, I thought this was a feminist read. Maybe it's because Solnit is known for Men Explain Things To Me? So far, it's all political, with only the occasional remark specifically about women. But, I'm really enjoying it. Hope in the Dark was written during the second George W. Bush administration but it is extremely applicable to what we're experiencing under the Trump administration for reasons I won't go into. Because it's one of the books Isabel spilled my drink on, a couple weeks ago (did I tell you about that?) I'm marking it up wildly with a pen instead of delicately labeling quotations with flags. Solnit's writing comes off as scholarly (maybe she is a scholar; I don't know because I skipped the cover info) but it's accessible, if a bit wordy, and I appreciate her "light at the end of the tunnel" encouragement. 

In other news:

I can't think of any other news. Same old, same old, around here. I'm really enjoying my reading, lately. I'm pretty sure I mentioned that Adam, the protagonist of No Man's Land, had already shown himself to be heroic when I was 18% of the way into the book. He's a terrific character. My only problem with the book, so far, is that the dates are not clear. It almost feels as if Adam has gone through 7 years of growing up in 18 months. So, I would have liked a little bit of clarity - and yet, I set it aside for a while, so maybe I simply blanked on the timing. At this point, I'm guessing it's about 1910. There was recently a scene in which Adam got a ride in a Rolls Royce and the author said his scant possessions were put in the copious trunk. That sounded off to me, somehow, so I looked up Rolls Royces made in 1910. First of all, it's set in Great Britain. A trunk is a boot. So, it's been Americanized for U.S. publication, if the author is British. Second, there doesn't appear to be any such thing as trunk space, unless there's an exterior vessel for carrying possessions, and none of what I'm seeing is "copious". But, whatever. It's a good book. I love the depth of characterization and a lot has happened in roughly 150 pages. This book is definitely going to stick with me, I'm sure of that.

OK, I've babbled enough, now. Happy Monday!


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