I didn’t read nearly as many books in March as I did in February. Somehow I just didn’t make the time for reading last month. Hopefully I’ll be able to read more in April!
Books that I began reading in previous months and continued to read in March but have yet to complete:
– Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I love this book. It’s fantastic! Surprisingly accessible.
Books that I began and finished reading in March:
– A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle. This book made me long for Europe. I was reading it during some particularly cold days so that just made France seem that much more appealing.
– Grammar Matters by Jila Ghomeshi. Some good stuff in here – I like a lot of what she has to say, but I also feel like there’s a lot missing in this book.
Books that I started to read in March but have yet to complete:
– The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. A very unique style of writing – perhaps it’s just the time period that I’m not used to – and a good story, but I think it’s partly related to my nightmares. Although it doesn’t seem like it upfront, it’s actually a somewhat creepy story.
– Up in the Air by Walter Kirn. A great read! I really enjoyed the film when I saw it last year so I was delighted to find the book equally as compelling.
Can I borrow #1 when you’re done?
It’s the boyfriend’s! You’ll have to speak to him about it. Actually it’s at his house – the reason it’s taking me so long to read it is that I only read it when I’m at his place. So he might put up a fight about allowing it to leave the premises 😉
True that… he would…
A great mix of books! Have never read Crime & Punishment, is after The Brothers Karamazov on my horribly long list of books I’d like to read. Have you read any Alexander Solzhenitsyn? The First Circle and Cancer Ward are both terrific.
I know exactly what you mean about reading a book about somewhere and wanting to head straight off. For me the ultimate book about Provence is Marcel Pagnol’s My Father’s Glory And My Mother’s Castle. Pagnol grew up near Marseille in the first decade of the last century, and the books are his memoirs of childhood. He writes with great affection and warmth, and his books are so evocative you can almost smell the sun on e wild herbs just reading them. He also wrote the novel ‘Jean de Florette’, which you may have seen, and if you haven’t, you have joy awaiting you! It and its sequel, Manon de Source, are wonderful, and the novels are too.
I’m currently reading Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, by Barbara Kingsolver. Have you read this? I’m sure you’d find it interesting. It’s about her family’s attempts to eat only local food for a year, including their home grown stuff. I’m still near the start but it is clearly going to be very entertaining and very informative.
Last month I also read a book by Sarah Brown, the wife of our last Prime Minister, about living at No.10. She has somehow managed to make it a very dull story. She is absolutely Panglossian in her attitude to life to such an extent that she comes across as either extraordinarily naive or deliberately misleading. I can’t imagine you’d ever want to read it anyway, but just in case you find yourself stranded at an airport for a few weeks some time and the only choice is her book or Pollyanna, you will get a much more realistic and mature take on life from the latter :-0
Hope you enjoy the rest of C & P!
I haven’t read any Solzhenitsyn! Putting that name on my list, as well as Pagnol 🙂 Thanks for the recommendations!
I’ve heard SO MUCH about Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, but I haven’t gotten around to picking it up at the bookstore yet. It sounds really great.
Too bad Brown’s book was boring – it has the potential to be such an interesting story, talking about living at No. 10.