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osprey_archerWhat I’ve Just Finished Reading
A couple more books by Rumer Godden, both of which I enjoyed: The Story of Holly and Ivy, a Christmas book about an orphan girl who finds a doll, and incidentally a home, but mostly a doll - and Great-Grandfather’s House, which is about a Japanese girl who visits her great-grandfather’s house and...I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s not exactly big on plot. She visits her great-grandparents and becomes slightly less spoilt and more thoughtful.
Also An Na’s A Step from Heaven, about a young Korean girl who emigrates from Korea to the United States. I figured that the title was ironic, but I didn’t expect something as relentlessly downbeat as this exploration of the miseries of living under the thumb of an abusive father. There’s a little light at the end of the book, but getting there is exhausting.
Also Jo’s Boys. I think Louisa May Alcott got heartily sick of the whole March family, because at the end of the book she playfully threatens to finish by having a giant earthquake bury Plumfield and all it's inhabitants so no one can ask her to write more about them ever again. Harsh!
What I’m Reading Now
Charles Finch’s The Last Enchantments, which I need to get a move on before it comes due at the library. So far it’s reminding me why I don’t read contemporary realistic adult fiction, because it seems to gravitate toward portraying a petty and unattractive side of humanity.
Oh, and Ivanhoe! I was kind of dreading Ivanhoe because most of the opinions I’ve heard have suggested that Scott hasn’t aged well, but actually it’s going pretty well. I half think the nameless palmer is Ivanhoe himself, but surely if he was, the Lady Rowena would have recognized him - if not Sir Cedric, Ivanhoe’s own father? But maybe going to the holy land left him terribly changed.
I’ve arrived at the tournament! I hope that it’s terribly exciting.
What I Plan to Read Next
The Fall of the House of Walworth: A Tale of Madness and Murder in Gilded Age America. I’m kind of a sucker for historical true crime.
A couple more books by Rumer Godden, both of which I enjoyed: The Story of Holly and Ivy, a Christmas book about an orphan girl who finds a doll, and incidentally a home, but mostly a doll - and Great-Grandfather’s House, which is about a Japanese girl who visits her great-grandfather’s house and...I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s not exactly big on plot. She visits her great-grandparents and becomes slightly less spoilt and more thoughtful.
Also An Na’s A Step from Heaven, about a young Korean girl who emigrates from Korea to the United States. I figured that the title was ironic, but I didn’t expect something as relentlessly downbeat as this exploration of the miseries of living under the thumb of an abusive father. There’s a little light at the end of the book, but getting there is exhausting.
Also Jo’s Boys. I think Louisa May Alcott got heartily sick of the whole March family, because at the end of the book she playfully threatens to finish by having a giant earthquake bury Plumfield and all it's inhabitants so no one can ask her to write more about them ever again. Harsh!
What I’m Reading Now
Charles Finch’s The Last Enchantments, which I need to get a move on before it comes due at the library. So far it’s reminding me why I don’t read contemporary realistic adult fiction, because it seems to gravitate toward portraying a petty and unattractive side of humanity.
Oh, and Ivanhoe! I was kind of dreading Ivanhoe because most of the opinions I’ve heard have suggested that Scott hasn’t aged well, but actually it’s going pretty well. I half think the nameless palmer is Ivanhoe himself, but surely if he was, the Lady Rowena would have recognized him - if not Sir Cedric, Ivanhoe’s own father? But maybe going to the holy land left him terribly changed.
I’ve arrived at the tournament! I hope that it’s terribly exciting.
What I Plan to Read Next
The Fall of the House of Walworth: A Tale of Madness and Murder in Gilded Age America. I’m kind of a sucker for historical true crime.
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Date: 2014-03-07 11:27 am (UTC)