smatterings

Ten on Tuesday

Summer Reading..

hmmmmm.. I don't usually do the Ten on Tuesday lists.  I enjoy reading them, just never signed on.  However, today I find myself on the slowest dial up connection probably left in this country (at least the third world has wireless), plus I really like the topic.  ahh.. Summer Reading.  The first four on my summer list are finished.  I enjoyed them and wish that I could start fresh and do it again.  The next group are on order from the library.  It is convenient to go online, even with the dial up from hell and order the books I want to read.   Generally these aren't the kind of books I need to keep on my shelf after I've enjoyed them.  Easy come, easy go.  

1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,  Steig Larrson

2. The Girl Who Played With Fire, Stieg Larsson

3. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Stieg Larsson 

4. Mistress of the Art of Death, Ariana Franklin

5. City of Shadows, Ariana Franklin

6. The Serpent's Tale, Ariana Franklin

(there are more in this series.. I'll see if I want to go on from there.)

7. Tales of the City, Armistead Maupin

8. The Night Listener, Armistead Maupin

9. In Search of Fatima, Ghada Karmi

10. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Seth Graham-Smith

Not a heavy one in the bunch.  This is summer entertainment, easy to pick up, and hopefully, not so easy to put down.  I tend to read all the books in a series when I can.  Then on to the next.  Both Franklin and Maupin have at least five books in the series.  I'll give them the first two to see if I'm interested.  What are you reading??

change in the weather

Thanks for your comments.  Sounds like spinners are a pack of whackers, or a whack of thwackers or...

After weeks of clear blue skies, the grey days are beginning in Northern New England.  Freezing rain and snow are forecast for the next couple days, a nor'easter.  The thought sends a  shiver down my spine. I guess I'm never ready for this change in the seasons.  This year in particular.  Don't get me wrong.  I love winter and I love snow.  Not yet.  Lots of trees still have their leaves.  Snow on top means bent trees, snapping limbs and, please no, power outages possible.  The change in the weather signals that the time has come to gather up my projects for the dark days ahead.  Let them circle my chair, a wagon train rounding the campfire. 

I'm taking note of books that other bloggers are reading.  Stocking up.  With both us at home waiting for our feet to repair and the television blaring the financial news, I've had some time to read.  It has been a relief to plop myself down somewhere else and lose myself in a book.  Here are some I'd recommend:

Finding Nouf 
- Zoë Ferraris
I heard a review of this book early in the summer on NPR.  It was in the library system with a short wait.  Good mystery set in contemporary Saudi Arabia.  Wonderful depiction of family and in particular, life for women in the Middle East.

The Sparrow
-Maria Doria Russell
Carole sent me this recommendation.  Thank you.  Science fiction rolled in with religious philosophy as are many of this gender.  Wonderful character studies.  I found myself waking up thinking about some of the descriptions and ideas in this book.

The Red Tent
-Anita Diamant
I may have been the last person I know to read (I listened to this one) The Red Tent.  If you haven't, do so. 

The Fire
-Katherine Neville
Twenty years ago I read The Eight, twice.  This is the sequel.  So far, just as good.  Historical mystery, mysticism, chess.

a good read

More than a decade ago, I read Ken Follett's book, " The Pillars of the Earth".  The story line follows the building of a cathedral.  It has stuck with me all these years and caused me to look with amazement at the near miracle that are these still standing monuments to human strength and endurance.  A week ago, I came across the sequel.  It is hard to put down.  There are over 1000 pages competing with my knitting time.  Good thing that C has the TV on for a time each evening to distract me away from my reading.  I'm a sucker for Follett's books.  I think I've read all of them.  This one's a winner.
World Without End