Sleepy... few pages read...

I finished The Vagabond King last night. It was hanging on for a few days there because I would only get one or two pages read before I found myself asleep. I have picked up Odalisque, which is the next in the Baroque Cycle (Neal Stephenson). I think I would be going through these faster if it weren't Spring Break. I don't have the 1/2 hour in the car waiting for Oliver after school, so that's a lot of my reading time gone right there.

I forgot to mention I read Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. My sister lent it to me. It is the same author who wrote Remains of the Day but is nothing like that one (I am assuming based on my recollection of the movie). It was very interesting and sad in a way. I wanted an uprising and that was lacking. I do recommend the read. The concept was brilliant and the writing is really good.

Getting Through a Bit...

I whipped through the rest of the Artemis Fowl series. Don't know why I wanted to re-visit them, but I was glad I did. They are good. For anyone out there who likes a bit of kid-lit these are pretty good (think Narnia, Harry Potter, and that kind of reading level). I am now onto the 2nd book of Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle 1 series (the book is in the car so I can't currently check the title). I think it is called King of the Vagabonds or something like that. It is totally independent of the first book. I think the only thing it has in common is the time period and world. Perhaps characters will cross over but I don't know yet. So far so good. I also read something else in there, but I can't remember what it was... silly me.

On to the next...

I am reading Lee Child's Echo Burning. I hope to be done in a couple of days. Shouldn't be a problem.

Travel is good for reading...

On my trip to Toronto I finished Water Like a Stone and on the way back I read and finished J.A. Jance's Hand of Evil. Both we fine for the series they come from. I am now reading Lee Child's Persuader. It was given to me by my sister in an attempt to get some of her already read paperbacks out of her house and into mine. Cool. I like reading books I didn't necessarily have to buy, especially since I know I will read it and then never pick it up again.

Lightweight for travel...

I finished Not in the Flesh. Typical Rendell, except I figured it all out way before Wexford so I started to wonder how smart he really is... Hmmmm....

I know have to sort through my stuff to decide what to take on my TRIP TO TORONTO! Woot! Woot! I want it to be light enough to carry well, but I also want it to be a good read and I don't want to run out of words on my travels. I picked up the Deborah Crombie book, Water Like a Stone. Mom lent me it and it is a paperback. I also have Wicked (yeah, yeah, I know I am late on picking that up) and it is a paperback as well. I can always put extras in my suitcase for the trip home and shuffle. I just read so quickly when I have uninterrupted time. I pray that I do not have chatty seat companions! I am not good at anti-social so if they talk to me I will talk to them and I will be wishing I were reading!

Continuing in the same Vein...

I finished Artemis Fowl and then re-read the second book in the series, the Arctic Incident. They were good and quick. I shall likely plow through the rest of the series just as fast. I have now started Ruth Rendell's Not in the Flesh. It is the latest Inspector Wexford book. I am not sure what will be next. Now that Crimes is done I intend to get some serious reading done. I have a huge stack from the last trip to Chapters. I started a Kim Stanley Robinson book and then realised I had missed the second book in the series and this was a third book, so I need to get the middle book first. It may also mean re-reading the first book. There may be something to Mark's habit of waiting until the whole series is out (or at least a sizeable chunk of it) before starting the reading. I cant' always do that - some authors must be read immediately!

Okay - Time for an update...

I finished the first John Harvey book my mother leant me. It was good. I then read Gone to Ground - also by Harvey. It was good, but it was more difficult to get "into" the two detectives in that series. I then read Ruth Rendell's The Water's Lovely. I quite liked it because Rendell has a real knack for writing flawed characters and she is not afraid to make then internally ugly and at the same time they always seem to feel quite justified in their ugliness. I am now re-reading Artemis Fowl (Eion Colfer) because it is a fun quick read and my brain is acting funny lately. I think it is the diet coke withdrawl or the stress of the show (which you should all come and see - it's wonderful!). For young readers I highly recommend the Artemis Fowl series. They are clever and well-written and they don't take themselves too seriously like that series about Wizards... you know what I mean...