So it's June 1 and Book Binge is at an end. First of all, thanks to Mary P. for hosting. Book Binge is a great idea.Well, I'm not sure you could call my reading achievements in May a "binge" exactly. That is, not unless you compare them to the reading I did in May of last year. In May 2007 I read exactly 0 books. That's zero, none, nada, nil, not a one.
Shameful, I know. But book blogging has saved me from a life of mental degeneration. This month I've read six books – ten, if you count re-reads and the books I've started but haven't finished yet. OK, let's count those, too.
I fully intended to get a couple more read in May, but real life intervened a bit, earlier in the month. It has a nasty little way of doing that from time to time.
Haven't had time yet to do reviews of all of them – I'm still working on that. I've put up reviews of Practical Magic, by Alice Hoffman [see review]; The Lace Reader, by Brunonia Barry [see review]; and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling [see review].
My review of Practical Magic was included in the 11th edition of the Bookworms Carnival. The Lace Reader was a book I received through the Early Reviewer program at LibraryThing. And Harry Potter is one of the books I'm reading for the Once Upon a Time Challenge II which is being hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings, and which has been a lot of fun.
Books I read in May, but haven't yet reviewed:
The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper. This is the second book in Cooper's five-volume sequence of the same name, and continues the tale of the fight between good and evil begun in the first book in the series, Over Sea, Under Stone [see review] – but is a very different sort of story. It was a Newbery Honor Book in 1974.
Mrs. Malory and the Delay of Execution, by Hazel Holt. One of Holt's cozy mysteries set in the fictional English village of Taviscombe, and featuring her fiftyish amateur sleuth, Sheila Malory.
The Bookman's Wake, by John Dunning. Another mystery, but definitely not a cozy. This is the second book in the Cliff Janeway series, about a former Denver cop turned rare book dealer. This one involves a search for a priceless limited edition of Poe's "The Raven."
Granny's Wonderful Chair, by Frances Browne (the re-read). One of my childhood favorites.
Books I started in May, but haven't finished:
Wish You Were Here, by Rita Mae Brown (57 pages read)
Eva Moves the Furniture, by Margot Livesey (50 pages read)
Flowers for His Funeral, by Ann Granger (only two chapters read, 22 pages)
So, if I could read at least six books per month for the rest of the year, seven months, that would be forty-two more books. Ah, forty-two – the ultimate answer to the question of Life, the Universe and Everything. (Sorry – I was watching "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" last night.) Well, maybe not the ultimate answer, but at least it's better than zero.
Oh .. I hope you like Eva Moves the Furniture. I blogged about how that was the first book in a while whose ending made me cry. I recently reviewed Livesey's newest book and read in her bio that her mother, Eva, died when she was 2 and this book took many, many years to write.
ReplyDeleteSee you on Tuesday!
I read the Dark is Rising series in high school, and recall enjoying it quite a bit -- but I can't remember a thing beyond that any more. Perhaps a re-read is in order?
ReplyDeleteThanks for participating in the Book Binge!
karenvanuska--
ReplyDeleteI've got about half of "Eva" still to go, but so far I'm really liking it. Strange book, though - like a modern fairy tale.
maryp--
Book Binge was great fun - I need something like that every month to keep me plugging away at my TBR pile!