Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, Chapters 51 - 90







Monday, July 14, 2014

Happy Bastille Day!






Sunday, July 13, 2014

Six in Six

I found this great meme created by The Book Jotter (via Helen's blog, She Reads Novels).  The idea is to look back at the books you've read in the first six months of the year.  Book Jotter created a lot of great categories.  I've tried to choose different books for each category, though some of my authors repeat.  I've read some great books so far this year, and I'm definitely starting to see which books will make my favorites for the year.

Six Books From Authors I Know Will Never Let Me Down:

  1. The Doll: Short Stories by Daphne du Maurier
  2. Less Than Angels by Barbara Pym
  3. The Unrest Cure and Other Stories by Saki
  4. He Knew He Was Right by Anthony Trollope
  5. They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple
  6. The Girl on the Boat by P. G. Wodehouse

Six Trips Abroad:

  2. Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser (France)
  3. The Lost City of Z by David Grann (The Amazon)
  4. Kim by Rudyard Kipling (India)
  5. The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston (Italy)
  6. Untangling My Chopsticks: A Culinary Sojurn in Kyoto by Victoria Abbott Riccardi (Japan)

Six Persephone Classics:

  1. Midsummer Night in the Workhouse by Diana Athill
  2. The Squire by Enid Bagnold
  3. The Runaway by Anna Elizabeth Hart
  4. Few Eggs and No Oranges: The Diaries of Vere Hodgson, 1940-1945
  5. House-Bound by Winifred Peck
  6. Wilfred and Eileen by Jonathan Smith

Six From the Non-Fiction Shelf:

  1. Jane Austen's England by Lesley Atkins
  3. Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson
  4. The Sisters: The Story of the Mitford Family by Mary S. Lovell
  5. Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard
  6. Among the Janeites by Deborah Yaffe

Six Authors I Look Forward to Reading More Of:

  1. Kate Atkinson (Life After Life)
  2. Elizabeth Jane Howard (The Light Years)
  3. Nancy Mitford (The Blessing)
  4. Irene Nemirovsky (Suite Francaise)
  5. Donna Tartt (The Goldfinch)
  6. Stefan Zweig (The Post-Office Girl)

Six Authors I Read Last Year, But Not So Far This Year:

  1. Isabel Allende (The House of the Spirits)
  2. Jane Austen (The Annotated Pride and Prejudice)
  3. A. S. Byatt (The Children's Book)
  4. Charles Dickens (The Old Curiosity Shop)
  5. Neil Gaiman (The Ocean at the End of the Lane)
  6. Penelope Lively (Making it Up)

Bloggers, how were your first six months of reading this year?

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Thief by Maurice Leblanc

What is it about mysteries that makes them such perfect summertime reading?  I was looking for a fun, quick read for the holiday weekend, and I put Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Thief into my carryon bag.  I could not have chosen a better book -- short stories are perfect vacation reads, especially when traveling (since one is so often interrupted by those pesky airport and in-flight announcements); also, this book had the added advantage of being on the TBR shelf and a book translated from French, so I can use it for the Paris in July event.

So.  Arsene Lupin is a dashing, debonair gentleman thief -- he steals from the rich (but doesn't give to the poor); first published in 1907, he's a bit like the French version of Sherlock Holmes -- but if Sherlock were the criminal mastermind, instead of the detective.

Arsene Lupin himself is a mix of James Bond, Robin Hood, and Hercule Poirot.  He's suave and sophisticated, the ladies all swoon over him, and he's so brilliant that he always outsmarts the police, especially his nemesis, the detective Ganimard.

This edition includes thirteen short stories, all of which were delightful, if not always strictly believable.  Lupin is a brilliant master of disguise, despite the fact that his photograph is published in newspapers, he's able to fool even the police; he always manages to escape the worst situations; and he's so brilliant he can steal the unstealable, and break into any building, no matter how impenetrable and well-guarded.  He can also solve the crimes of other perpetrators.  In short, he's rather over the top, but the stories are light-hearted and full of witty banter, so it's hard to take them too seriously and judge them too harshly. They're a really fun alternative to Sherlock Holmes, plus they're French, so what is not to like?

Monday, July 7, 2014

Peking Picnic by Ann Bridge









Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Back to the Classics Giveaway Winner

And the winner of my Back to the Classics Mid-Year Giveaway is. . . . 


She's won her choice of Penguin Clothbound Classics (up to $20).  Congratulations!!  Ruthiella, please send contact me no later than July 7 so I can make arrangements to send you your prize!