As reading weeks go, this past week was not one of great quantity, but I enjoyed what I read and am loving my current reads. I finished
The Oracle of Stamboul (<----link to my review) in record time because it so thoroughly sucked me in. Loved the characters, the setting, the storyline. It was just an all-around great reading experience and I highly recommend it.
Next up was my mystery book, the unpublished manuscript by my friend, Greg Moffatt. I'm trying to make sure I focus on finishing at least one of the books that have been lurking too long in my sidebar, each week, and I was anxious
Since I finished Greg's book, I have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off, running numerous errands, going to the gym, taking pictures with my new camera (I finally got a lens, after several weeks of borrowing) and cleaning like a madwoman. Our house has had a clutter problem for ages and we've been hacking away at it, but this week was one of those weeks that I was in "just let's toss it out, for crying out loud" mode. Sometimes, don't you just wish time would expand to fit all the things you need to accomplish? I felt that way, this week. My reading suffered due to all the cleaning and errands, but I've started two more books. I'm nothing if not an addict.
Learning to Bow by Bruce Feiler has been on my shelf for several years and when I decided now is the time, I didn't actually know quite where to look for it. As it turned out, I'd placed the book on a fairly prominent shelf. Wahoo for that! I thought I'd read two of his books, but after looking at
Bruce Feiler's website, I realize I've only read one:
Abraham. It was excellent and prompted me to collect the two other titles I own:
Walking the Bible and
Looking for Class.
Learning to Bow is about the year Feiler spent teaching in Japan and it is absorbing, so far. Japanese customs are so very far removed from those in America that it's easy to appreciate the author's occasional discomfort and utterly fascinating to read about his conversations with co-workers, internal thoughts, comparisons to life in the U.S. I don't have the book handy, but the publication date was the early Nineties. I can't say what, if anything, may have changed in twenty years, but Learning to Bow is an engrossing read and hopefully still fairly accurate.
To the Moon and Back by Jill Mansell is an ARC from Sourcebooks. I started reading it about 2 days ago and managed 97 pages, during about 80 of which I had tears streaming down my face. As with all of Mansell's books, there is a major change that takes place in the life of the heroine at the beginning of To the Moon and Back. In this case, a woman is widowed after her husband suffers a severe head injury in an automobile accident. The bits where he was in a coma were rough reading for me, simply because they were so authentic and I've been through watching a loved one linger in a coma then having to contribute to the decision to unplug life support when it became clear that brain function was gone.
But, of course, the tragedy is just an opening to yet another fun, romantic storyline. I am crazy about Jill Mansell's books. They're consistently enjoyable and every story is unique. Mansell has a terrific sense of humor and a wonderful way of tugging the heartstrings.
I'm also reading my camera manual. Exciting, no? I'm not sure which of the two remaining lurkers I'll focus on finishing, this week -- probably Jamie Durie's The Outdoor Room, since Haiku Mind is a book from my personal library and The Outdoor Room is one that was sent to me for review.
Incidentally, that last post about my review policy (which seems kind of pointless, since I'm not going to accept any ARCs till I've read or attempted everything I've already received) was awfully fun to write because it gave me a chance to reflect on what it is that I really love to read and the few types of books that don't interest me. Odd timing, though, writing a review policy as I've come to the conclusion that it's not fair to anyone for me to accept any books, eh?
I am slowly returning to some minimal blog-hopping, when I can find a spare moment, plus a bit of twittering. And, I plan to continue working on updating various bits of the blog. Next up, I hope to improve my author links and then update links to other blogs. As always, if you're a regular visitor and I haven't managed to add you to my blog roll, please feel free to ask me to add you. I can use the nudge. Since I've given up using Google Reader, I realize that I didn't transfer some blogs I was reading regularly to my blog roll, so there are probably at least a few people out there who are baffled as to why I suddenly stopped visiting. I need to amend that problem.
How was your reading week?
©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.
I'd never seen spider lilies before I moved to the Deep South and every year I am awed by them. This year, the spider lilies bloomed early. Usually, they don't show up till October, but I'm assuming our very early cool front fooled them into blooming prematurely. Spider lilies don't last long if it warms back up (which it did, after a few blissful days), so I rushed down to my neighbor's yard, walked around and sat on her driveway to snap a few photos. Three days later, her yard service mowed them all down. They're not exactly a precision lawn-care service. 
Haiku Mind by Patricia Donegan - I've been hacking away at this book of "108 Poems to Cultivate Awareness & Open Your Heart" for at least 6 weeks. It's best taken in small doses, actually. From the intro:
The Taste of Salt by Martha Southgate is a book Algonquin Books sent me unsolicited. I tend to love a lot of those Algonquin surprise books, but this one was a little disappointing. Josie is a black marine biologist married to a white man. It's challenging enough being a smart black woman in a white man's world, but she also has her family in Cleveland to deal with. Her alcoholic father has been sober for a decade but her parents' marriage never recovered. And, Josie's brother is following down his father's path, battling addiction.
Learning to Bow by Bruce Feiler is about Feiler's year spent teaching English in a Japanese school. As memoirs go, it's beautifully written, honest, clear and engrossing. He talks about his triumphs and errors, friendships and occasional disastrous social experiences, travels outside of the small town where he taught and the contrast between city and small-town life in Japan. 
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger - I've only read it once and I suspect it wouldn't mean as much to me on a second reading, but when I began collecting classics for my personal library, in my early twenties, The Catcher in the Rye was one of the first I managed to find in our library's perpetual sale corner. I remember being surprised by the style, the informality and the very personal, voyeuristic sensation of reading from Holden Caulfield's point of view. 
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's [Philosopher's] Stone by J. K. Rowling - I recall how my curiosity was piqued when I read about the excitement in Great Britain over this popular fantasy novel, well before it was released in the U.S. I just had to see what the fuss was all about and ended up buying the British version while we were in Scotland. I later purchased the Americanized version (which, frankly, ticked me off -- I think our children are perfectly capable of figuring out British English; if not, a glossary is a very fine addition to any book) for comparison. I was completely blown away by Rowling's wildly imaginative world and, admittedly, stunned when the book began to be challenged. Harry is the good in a good vs. evil plot! I was always impressed with Harry's strength of character. Magic was simply the world, the setting, the fantasy aspect. 
Yep. I'm into variety, all right. 
The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas
Simon was amazing, of course. He is a spectacular speaker, poised and elegant, charming and self-deprecating, witty and insightful. If you haven't read any of his books -- his novel, Everything Beautiful Began After and the two short story collections, The Secret Lives of People in Love and Love Begins in Winter -- you really must. And, if you ever have an opportunity to see him, don't pass it up!!!
The Call by Yannick Murphy (fiction) is about a veterinarian in Vermont whose son gets shot and goes into a coma. The vet thinks he's seeing spaceships, then something happens and he has to make a life-changing decision. That's a vast simplification. The Call is a riot. It's also touching, and an all-around good story, definitely one of the most enjoyable books I've picked up in a while. I highly recommend The Call, especially if you're looking for a quick, light and delightful read with plenty of drama and depth. I left my copy with Carrie because she asked. "Ask and ye shall receive" apparently still works just fine.
So, what does a cat napping in the sink have to do with Billy Collins? Well, if you've read anything by Billy Collins, you know he can take the most mundane experience, overheard conversation or little bit of nature spotted on a walk and turn it into something completely witty, wise and wonderful. Of course, I thought it was totally cute when Isabel curled up in the sink and attacked the drain hole. But, then I needed to wash my hands. And, after washing hands in the kitchen sink, I read a little more Billy Collins and stopped to wonder where I was going to brush my teeth.
