Can't Quite Face Joyce Yet...

So I am reading the latest Kathy Reichs, 206 Bones. When Sweeney is done and I can read more than 3 pages before falling asleep I will attempt something more challenging!

Gah!

I am reading The Tenth Gift by Jane Johnson right now, but the GAH is really because I bought Ulysses (James Joyce) as recommended by my drama prof and it is scaring me just by existing. I might not be able to start it for a little while and it is no doubt going to sit on the shelf and glare at me!

Junk Food for My Brain...

I have a confession to make. I really liked The Da Vinci Code. I know, I know, Dan Brown and John Grisham and about 50% of what I read is really junk food for my brain, but I like Smarties and salt and vinegar chips, too. Anyhow, on that note, I just finished The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. It was part of my birthday present from Mark and I got it early because he went to COSCO last week. It was okay - not as action packed as Da Vinci, and I figured out the 'big twist' really early on (like within the first 1/7 of the book) so that was not the shocker it should have been (too many clues, Dan!). I also kind of knew what the lost symbol was going to be and the reveal was a let down. However, it was a good way to shut the brain down over the last week and I needed that! The discussions of religion and spirituality are in line with my own views and I appreciated that, however, one wonders if he needed to write that big of a book to communicate his agenda (he has a sizable hammer).

Read a few more...

I read The Virgin's Lover by Phillipa Gregory. She is good reading when I am busy because it's interesting and doesn't require a massive amount of brain power. I also had to read The Seagull by Chekhov for Drama 407. Over the next few weeks I will be reading the entries for the From Cradle to Stage competition so my book reading may suffer. After Saturday I am no longer Secretary for Walterdale so I may have a bit more time, but until Sweeney is done I am not counting on it.

Right now I am reading Malice by Lisa Jackson (second attempt) and I am making my way through it a little fast.

Looking for recommendations...

Got any suggestions? I love finding new good authors so let me know who or what to read.

I Usually do more reading in the Summer but Fringe has eaten up a lot of my time...

I have three books on the go

1. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (I bought the DVD and now am re-reading the book to figure out what was the same and what was different in the movie)

2. Malice by Lisa Jackson (I am finding it very hard to get into. I thought it would be good summer junk food reading, but I am reconsidering)

3. The Book of General Ignorance by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson (I like this one. Everything you think you know is wrong! I actually bought it for Mark on my trip, but started reading it because I couldn't get into Malice)

More Kings and Queens....

I read The Other Boleyn Girl and then The Boleyn Inheritance by Phillipa Gregory. These are prequels to The Queen's Fool. I may or may not get The Virgin's Lover to round out that series, but I like the historical fiction. All the books have sent me to wikipedia to look up facts and dates, because I want to know what is true and what is fiction.

I am now reading Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos. It is really good. You know the cover, 4 pairs of rubber boots on a hardwood floor against a soft green wall. I highly recommend, even though I suspect I will cry at least once before the end of the book. It is a very thoughtful look at some real people who might appear to be superficial or unreal to begin with, but once you get underneath they are so much more.