Medellia's 2009 Books

I'm going to be logging my reading in two threads this year, here and in another group, Club Read:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/50280

Here I'll be logging only books that I have read in their entirety; there I'll also be talking about books that I've read in part (I do this with lots of non-fiction books, particularly literary criticism), as well as possibly talking about articles and things that I'm reading for school, not just pleasure reading. Friends and well-wishers are welcome to join me here, there, and everywhere.

I fell off the wagon in terms of finishing books and journaling about them here somewhere in mid-October of last year. But I finished a couple of books on vacation in December, and then fell ill for the first couple of weeks of January and read a lot, so here's what I finished during that time:

#1: The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault by Angela Carter (a translation of Perrault's Mother Goose tales by Carter)
#2: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
...Followed by the rest of the series:
#3: Tears of the Giraffe
#4: Morality for Beautiful Girls
#5: The Kalahari Typing School for Men
#6: The Full Cupboard of Life
#7: In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
#8: Blue Shoes and Happiness
#9: The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
#10: Miracle at Speedy Motors

They're great fluff. I'm picky about my fluff, but sometimes I need it (like when I'm stricken with flu), so this worked out well.

#11: The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith was not as good. Perhaps I was disappointed because the Edinburgh he wrote about seemed a bit "everyplace" and didn't match up with my impression of the city (I've spent a grand total of a couple of weeks there, split into two different trips, but it happens to be my favorite city on earth). I've heard the second book is better, and I'm willing to give it a try, as long as I'm not looking for some serious reading (which I probably won't be until February or so).

Still working on Proust, third volume, The Guermantes Way. I'll finish and move on one of these days. I'm enjoying it, I just don't have the energy for it most of the time.

Hi,
Just wanted to stop by and say "Welcome Back!" I think my girls have one or two of those Alexander McCall Smith books. I will have to check them out. Are they funny?
--BJ

Thanks for stopping by! I did think the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books were funny--not rolling-on-the-floor funny, but chuckling-and-smiling funny. They're gentle and heartwarming, so when you're in the mood for that kind of read, go at it!

Medellia-Sorry you were sick. Apparently you need to build up an immunity to Texas-I feel fine!

Hi--Just cruising threads here while I test my daughter on her social studies and saw the Texas mention. Egads, there are a lot of Texans/former Texans here. I grew up in Plano, though I haven't lived there since 1978. ALL of my relatives are still there, however, so we make it back once about twice a year for visits. My best to everyone.

I lived in the DFW area 'til '05, and all of my family (and most of my husband's family) still does. No family in Plano, though. Barring any family emergencies that I need to attend to, I visit once in the summer and then again at Christmas--wish I could see my family more, though.

You're right, Paula, my immunity is gone. I seem to be susceptible to all those crazy Texas superbugs. :) My family, bless their hearts--when they get sick, they really get sick.

#12: Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith
#13: The Right Attitude to Rain, ditto
#14: The Careful Use of Compliments, ditto
#15: The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday, ditto

Finished the Isabel Dalhousie series, or what we have of it right now. As I sad in another thread, I swear I don't usually read quite this much fluff. :) But I'm tired and stressed out and zonked by a big project I'm working on, so these have been good for relaxation time in the evenings.

I thought that the second book was a marked improvement on the first. I got a better sense of the characters, a more interesting plot (I thought), and this was the Edinburgh I remembered. And so I was hooked on the series and read on. The third dropped the mystery category altogether, really, focusing on personal issues (fine by me); I thought the fourth book was the weakest in the series, with a mystery that didn't particularly interest me and a lot of focus on domestic issues, and Isabel acting quite a bit out of character; the fifth book was better, and I think the characters are starting to grow a bit more toward the end, though I'd like to see more of Grace and I'm desperate for the author to make Cat likeable, or at least advance her character a bit. Overall, the second and third books are my favorites. I want my own personal garden fox now, though I suppose I'd have to acquire a garden first.

I may not read anything for a week--I occasionally have to give myself a full-stop ban when I need to finish a project. If not, I may stick to something light. I bought Wodehouse's Leave It to Psmith, so that may be this week's entertainment.

In between listening to Mein Kampf on audiobook and working on a paper about Pinter's theatre (which means I have to read a LOT of non-fiction - mostly literary criticism - books), I am looking for some "fluff" myself! I just mooched Enter Jeeves, my first Wodehouse book ever and I'm very excited; everyone seems to love the Wooster and Jeeves series :)

Oy, sounds like you could use some light reading. :) I read my first Wodehouse last year, Right Ho, Jeeves, followed by The Code of the Woosters. Both were quite funny. When I was in the bookstore, I read the first sentence of Psmith and knew I had to have it: "At the open window of the great library of Blandings Castle, drooping like a wet sock, as was his habit when he had nothing to prop his spine against, the Earl of Emsworth, that amiable and boneheaded peer, stood gazing out over his domain." I don't know how that man did it, but something about the wet sock imagery had me in stitches immediately.

Leave it to Psmith is my all time favourite Wodehouse. You are in for a major treat. Once you've read it, I recommend that you find the Jonathan Cecil audio book (Chivers). Sheer magic.

Have you read references elsewhere to Baxter in lemon-coloured pyjamas and the flowerpots? This is the book in which this happened. I will say no more for fear of spoilers.

I too fell off the wagon sometime last year, but am back now, spitting on my hands and ready to roll. I look forward to tracking your thread again this year, and I hope life gets better for you soon.