Last month I finished nine books (yes, I still need to tell you about some of them) but for some reason this month just seems really slow going. That ever happen to you?
I’m reading some interesting books but I seem to be taking my time with them, and that’s not really bad. I guess it’s just that I see all those piles of books waiting and hear about so many new books that it’s hard not to get a bit overwhelmed but I’m going to keep enjoying my current reads. So what have I been reading?
Well, I finally read some Dorothy Parker. I picked up my 50 Great Short Stories book and read The Standard of Living which is a story about two friends, Annabel and Midge, who often play a game “what would you do if you had a million dollars?” The game is fanciful and allows them to make up a life vastly different from their own but after one afternoon out shopping they reach some conclusions about their game and the reality of their lives. Very good story. I have The Complete Stories on my shelf and I can’t wait.
My other read is Famous Writers School by Steven Carter. I got this thanks to the wonderful folks at Soft Skull Press. This story is about Wendell Newton who runs a correspondence school for writers. He gives them assignments, they send in the writing and he sends back critiques. A very clever book and I just know Wendell is going to be in for some surprises with his three students.
Finally, this weekend I also made a bit more headway into Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende. Last year I read Ines Of My Soul and was really disappointed by it but this book is great so far. It reminds me of earlier Allende books where so much of the story hinged on getting to know the family history. I’m reading this one in Spanish and it counts towards my Latin America Reading Challenge. I haven’t read a book in Spanish in quite some time so when I first started this book I felt like I was reading very slowly but now it’s all back to normal. Good thing but it just reminds me I should read more books in Spanish.
Sounds like a good weekend lineup.
Yay for Dorothy Parker! I read The Complete Stories late last year and really enjoyed it, but I’ve loved her Lord Wimsey novels for far longer. 🙂 And I just finished my first Latin America Challenge book too! Like you, it was my second try of a writer (Jorge Amado) I found disappointing the first time round, and I enjoyed this one much more. I really like Allende’s House of Spirits, and I want to say someone told me Portrait in Sepia is somehow related to that one. I’m not sure though!
The Carter book sounds interesting!
I’m impressed that you can read a book in another language! I love Isabel Allende and all of her strong female characters.
Congrats for reading in Spanish. You’re getting a good brain workout.
Do your thoughts stay in Spanish or do you try to translate the words into English?
Is the weather too warm right now? Or cloudy? Maybe that’s why you don’t get as much reading done.
I read Portrait of Sepia back when it first came out. It is the sequel to Daughter of Fortune, which I loved, but I didn’t love Sepia. It was a good novel, but not fantastic. I can’t remember much more than that, though, it’s been a few years now. I keep planning to reread them, but there are still a couple books I haven’t read yet: Ines of my Soul and Zorro. Started both of them and didn’t get very far…
I’ve been having a slow reading year so far! Hopefully things are starting to pick up now. I’m very impressed that you have read this book in Spanish! I really want to start learning Italian this year and I speak Indonesian a little but I don’t think I could read a whole book in that language.
Nik- I didn’t get that much reading done but it was nice to dip into all of these books 🙂
Eva – I think you are thinking of Dorothy Sayers right? She’s another I’ve been meaning to read more of! I’d only read some of Dorothy Parker’s poems and really liked those but now I’m looking forward to more of her longer fiction.
jenclair – It’s a hoot! Witty and you can just see these characters are going to be up to no good! haha…
Michelle – Spanish is my first language and I do speak it on a daily basis. I just happen to read a lot more in English. But, yes, Allende’s women characters are so strong and interesting. I’ve liked all of them except for Ines for some reason.
Isabel – No, when I read in Spanish my thoughts are all in Spanish. I don’t translate. I’ve heard that’s a true sign of being bilingual. Weather wise it’s muggy! My hair is not liking it 🙂
Kailana – Ah, I didn’t realize it was a sequel. I had sort of stayed away from Allende for a while so I kind of lost track of her newest books. The reviews on Amazon are pretty mixed for this one… So far I do like it but we’ll see.
Karen – Italian is such a beautiful language. I took a year of it in college and thank goodness for my Spanish because I had no time to study for it and still came out with a good grade. Now, Indonesian seems like it’d be a difficult language. But you know, I really think once you’ve learned one foreign language it makes it a bit easier to learn others. I hope you get to take your class!
I studied abroad and had to read in Spanish a few years ago and found it very difficult. Then in 2006 I returned and without classes learned more Spanish sitting on the beach talking to people, now I read spanish all the time! Funny how institutions aren’t always the best way to go, although I probably couldn’t have started at all if I didn’t know the basics. Do you know of any good fantasy books in Spanish??
I read 10 books in January, which is a really high number for me, and so far in February, I’ve just finished one — it’s been going pretty slowly. But the books from January were very short, and now I’m in some longer ones, so I guess it makes sense.
Bookster – I agree, once you start speaking it and hearing it outside of a school setting it just starts to fall into place. I would also recommend watching news shows. Unfortunately I haven’t read any fantasy books in Spanish. Have you tried anything by Carlos Ruiz Zafon? Not quite fantasy but Shadow of the Wind has some supernatural elements to it. It’s a great book.
Dorothy W. – That’s great! Some of mine were kind of short too so I’m sure that’s how my number was a bit higher than normal.
My reading always seems to be that way — stops and spurts. Dorothy Parker is another one of those writers that I haven’t yet read. I need to read something of hers soon.
I have reading “ups & downs” all the time!
You have some really interesting reads going on this month….
Sorry to hear you didn’t like Ines of My Soul. That’s in my TBR pile and I’ll be reading it soon.