Happy Sunday! It's been a few weeks since my last Salon. Actually, I've become quite busy lately. I am too tired and fatigued to read on the weekdays, and I must run errands or have social engagements on the weekends. I have managed to read at least one book per week, but just barely. Today, I am reading Marsha Altman's P&P sequel The Darcys & the Bingleys. I really should be reading my Classics Spin…
Month: September 2013
Are “best” and “favorite” the same thing? If someone asked you “What’s the best book you ever read?” would the answer be the same as for “What’s your favorite?” - BTT I try to tailor my recommendations to whomever is asking. Bests and Favourites are very subjective. If someone asks me the best book on travelling to certain places, I may offer a travel guide, but my favourite would probably be a memoirs of the…
Well, this was a bit of an annoying read. I started this novel a awhile ago, but then it languished. I always have a problem finishing a book if I don't consistently work on it in a couple of sittings. In a rare Heyer situation, I did not like the female protagonist of this novel and I grew to dislike the hero too.I found her impertinent, proud, and arrogant. Even when she was shown a…
Connected to last week’s—it’s one of the ways writing has changed. Books from a century or two ago spent huge swaths of text describing locations and character traits, but modern writing does all of this in shorthand. You might know a character is short with blond hair and blue eyes, but the author leaves the rest for you to figure out on your own. The writer might tell you the story takes place at a…
Just an update on one of the two leftover sock yarn blankets I've been working on. I've been working on this current square on and off the last week as I've been too busy to knit much. I started working on this quilt from the book Knitalong in January 2010 with the thought of doing 72 squares which would cover a twin bed. This my 49th square and this month, I've decided to stop at…
It's finally here. This was a first for me in many ways. My first A5, my first unboxing post, and the most expensive thing I've ordered from the internet yet. I've wanted to buy an A5 for awhile now and have been checking the Filofax USA website every few days for a good one. I've been happy with my Personal Malden so far even though I'm not completely in love with the colour. I wanted…
I prefer listening to Sedaris, but I could not track down the audiobook for this at the library. Now that I've read most of his collected works, I do think I prefer the later ones. This one was still good and it made me fascinated again with the character of Sedaris's mother Sharon. A lot of Sedaris's stories are really strange, but I feel they are stranger than fiction. It's hard to make some of…
How much do you visualize when you read? Do you imagine faces for the characters? Can you see the locations in your mind’s eye? Or do you just plunge ahead with the story, letting the imagery fall to the wayside? - BTT I don't know how one let's imagery fall at the wayside. Isn't it natural to be immersed in the world of the books especially when it is fiction? Imagining these things is my…
I enjoyed Rubin's first book The Happiness Project. I've taken this book out more than a couple of times this year, but have been able to find time to read it before it's due by at the library. Finally, I sat down to read it this past weekend and nicely, I find out she started her new project in September. Rubin uses a lot of quotations in her writing which I like: "The true secret…
It took me a long time to finish this mainly because I got distracted by real life. This is another of Heyer's novels which less romance and more historical mystery and characters. The romance is established early on, and in a rare bit, I was satisfied with it that I didn't care to know more. The tone of the book is interesting, and none of the characters are particularly wealthy. They are all interesting though.…
This weekend, I finished reading Georgette Heyer's The Toll-Gate and am now going through Gretchen Rubin's Happier at Home. Sadly, I have a cold. I've been fighting to get one for the last couple of weeks now, and it finally landed with a strong cough, sore throat and sneezing. It's only gotten worse with the weekend so I've been cooped up at home with the books. I also watched Star Trek: Into the Darkness. It…
Rereading a favourite classic at different stages of your life gives you different insights with each reading. Is there one classic you’ve read several times that also tells a story about you? CC Hmm, I've only recently started rereading things. When I was younger, I never reread books, but now I've hit my mid to late twenties, I've begun to rewatch my favourite childhood TV shows. I've reread the Harry Potter and the His Dark…