So what have I been reading lately? Don Quixote! For a while there I would just read a few pages here and there and while I liked what I was reading I don’t think I was doing the book justice. Too many starts and stops. But this week, I’ve focused more on my Don Quixote reading and I finally feel like I’m really into the story, watching it unfold.

Granted I’m still behind and I don’t think I’ll finish by the end of September which had sort of been my goal but that’s okay. What have I liked best so far? Too many escapades to mention but one scene I really liked is when Sancho Panza tells Don Quixote he knows who the fair Dulcinea is.

“I know her very well,’ said Sancho, ‘and I can say that she can throw a metal bar just as well as the brawniest lad in the village. Praise our Maker, she’s a fine girl in every way, sturdy as a horse, and just the one to pull any knight errant or about to be errant, who has her for his lady, right out of any mudhole he’s fallen into! Damn, but she’s strong!”

Doesn’t he make her sound like the fairest of them all? You’ll have to read the book for even more of Sancho’s description of Dulcinea. Thankfully for Dulcinea’s honor, Don Quixote’s own description of Dulcinea is perfect and just what I expected from the knight errant.

“Sancho, if you do not know already, that two things inspire love more than any other; they are great beauty and a good name, and these two things reach their consummation in Dulcinea, for in beauty, no one is her equal, and as for a good name, few can approach her. And to conclude, I imagine that everything I say is true, no more and no less, and I depict her in my imagination as I wish her to be in beauty and in distinction, and Helen cannot approach her, Lucretia cannot match her,, nor can any of the other famous women of past ages, Greek, Barbarian, or Latin. Let each man say what he chooses; if because of this I am criticized by the ignorant, I shall not be chastised by the learned.”

I know I have a long way to go to catch up to some of the readers over at Tilting at Windmills but I think I’ll continue to have a good time along the way.

In other reading news, I got the latest edition of Yoga Journal. This is one edition I can’t miss because there’s an article on how to take care of sore wrists. I have such a problem doing downward dog and I know it’s because of the pressure I feel in my wrists. I hope the article will help. My other recent read is the BoldType ezine. Great issue especially if you are into graphic novels as there are reviews of new graphic novels.

Aside from reading I also have to figure out which books I’m packing for my vacation. I hope the husband has some spare room in his suitcase. Heh.

Speaking of challenges, it’s time for me to wrap up two challenges. Big thanks go to Maggie at Maggie Reads for hosting the Southern Author Reading Challenge and to Liz at Reviewed by Liz for hosting the Summer Mystery Reading Challenge.

I didn’t do well with the Southern Authors Reading Challenge. I only read one book and I didn’t even have time to write about it. I can tell you though that The Bad Behavior of Belle Cantrell by Loraine Despres was a fun read. I thought Belle was a great character and I got a kick out of all the maxims in the Primer of Propriety and how Belle often adds her own bit of wisdom. As for the other books that I didn’t get to? They go back on the TBR stacks.

Now are you ready to congratulate me? I finally finished a reading challenge! I read all six new to me authors for the Summer Mystery Reading Challenge. The books were: The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz, Volk’s Game by Brent Ghelfi, Fatal Laws by Jim Michael Hansen, The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard, Slipknot by Linda Greenlaw, and Sacred Cows by Karen E. Olson. I didn’t get to write about Fatal Laws and Virgin of Small Plains because I ran out of time so those links take you to Amazon for more info.

My favorite books were Sacred Cows, The Virgin of Small Plains and Slipknot. While I thought Volk’s Game and Fatal Laws were interesting they are really more in the thriller genre and a bit too intense for me. I don’t read just cozies but I think I need something more in the middle. Still, it’s always fun to read a new author.

Anyway it was a lot of fun to join in these challenges and thanks again to Maggie & Liz.