Common Sense - Thomas Paine

Common Sense

It feels as though lately every post begins with an apology for the length of time which has passed since the previous post.  We are just beginning to come through the busy season at work and we're down to 8 weeks until the wedding.  Also, I have moved into the house that Kevin and I will be living in after the wedding.  It has been a crazy month, and I have yet to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I hate that I have only one post so far in August.  My blog silence, however, should not be taken as a sign that I am not reading.  I am, in fact, in the midst of four good-sized volumes and have no doubt that there will be a barrage of blog posts in September as I begin to wrap them up.  You can look forward to some classic literature, the continuation of a series, and a return to some high school required reading.  Oh, and I am picking up one of summer's best sellers at the library this weekend.  Obviously, I don't really know how to slow down.

Thanks to a lovely little website called DailyLit, I will not leave Jenny Lawson standing alone as the only author whose work I completed in August.  (I must have unconsciously gone in search of the most extreme opposite to her memoir as I could find.  I find it very hard to imagine Thomas Paine and the Bloggess would run in the same social circles.)  For those of you who are unfamiliar with their service, DailyLit is a website that helps busy people like me read more.  In a world where checking email is the first thing most of us do in the morning - or any time we have a free moment - DailyLit is helping to make reading a part of that routine. You sign up, choose your book, and set up when and how often you would like installments emailed to you.  You can also make them part of an RSS feed.  They have a wide range of work on their website.  There isn't a lot of current stuff; it is mostly public domain works and poetry.  However, if you want to tackle a big classic novel you have always meant to read but never quite find the time to pick up, DailyLit will be happy to deliver it to you one manageable bite at a time.  Best part: it's free.

Let's Pretend This Never Happened - Jenny Lawson

Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)

First off, let me apologize for my absence.  It's the Olympics, folks.  They suck me in and I can't do anything but watch them.  So, while two weeks ago when I wrote my last post, I was a week ahead of schedule in my 52 Book Challenge.  However, then the London 2012 Olympics started and I forgot about books and reading and anything that does not involve gold medals or crying gymnasts who apparently bathe in glitter.  What makes these Games of the XXX Olympiad even better (if that is even possible), is that some of my favourite (note the British spelling) people keep popping up: British royals.

Ok, I am completely sidetracked.  But, I kind of did that intentionally in honor of Jenny Lawson, author of my latest read.  Lawson, known online as The Bloggess writes a, you guessed it, blog about her life and all the crazy things that happen to her.  Forewarning: her blog, like her book, will be viewed as highly inappropriate to anyone with an aversion to profanity or socially awkward situations.  If you can get past those things, though, I promise you will find Lawson genuinely hilarious.

The Big Fall Books Preview

For those of you out there who are looking for recommendations from a more official source than my blog, your day has come.  Amazon has released their annual list of the biggest books for fall.  The Big Fall Books Preview includes selections from every genre, so you are sure to find something that will catch your interest.  I've added a few things to my On Reserve list, mostly novels, but there truly is something for everyone.

The Company - K.J. Parker

The Company

I read this book by accident.  I thought I was picking up the novel about the CIA, also titled The Company; but I wasn't paying attention to the author name and I grabbed this one instead.  Once I realized my mistake, I was already far enough into the book that I was intrigued by where it was heading.  

The story is about 5 men who served together as "linebreakers" in war and are now setting off to start their own colony.  It is set in a fictional world that somehow simultaneously gives the feel of the modern era, while the details include farms and Greek-era warfare.  The narrative bounces back and forth from the present time to stories of their wartime heroics.  

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus

I just turned the final page of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and feel a bit as though I have woken from a dream.  The book is nothing short of, well, magical.  

Celia and Marco are unwittingly bound together in a mysterious competition while both very young.  They each are trained, Celia by her magician father and Marco by a phlegmatic man in a gray suit.  As the grow older, each becomes intricately involved with Le Cirque des Rêves.  The Circus of Dreams, which begins as the eccentric dream of a wealthy dreamer, becomes the stage for their contest.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake - Aimee Bender

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

Not even a month ago, I read an article suggesting written word replacements for cancelled television shows.  In addition to being an avid reader, I have to admit that I love a good television show as well.  At least, one that has the same qualities of the books I enjoy: an unpredictable plot and multi-dimensional characters.  One such show, Pushing Daisies, fell victim to the writer's strike a few years back.  This show was a brilliant, colorful fantasy about a pie baker with a supernatural gift.  The characters were delightful, the writing was witty, the visuals were stunning.  Seriously, if you have not seen it, find a copy immediately.

My child-like adoration of Pushing Daisies of course meant that when the article suggested The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender as a fix for those missing Daisies, I had a library copy of the book in my possession within a week.  I read it in one day.

Four Kitchens - Lauren Shockey

Four Kitchens:

My Life Behind the Burner in New York, Tel Aviv, and Paris

It has been a while since I have revisited one of my favorite genres: chef memoirs.  Back in February, I read Gabrielle Hamilton's masterpiece Blood, Bones, and Butter. I have serious doubts that anyone else could reach the standard Hamilton set, at least by my observation.  In her attempt, Lauren Shockey adds an international element and the young voice of someone eager to learn and still unsure about her path.