Spring Reading Thing

It's that time again.  When we head to the garden, do a little planting, then enjoy a comfy chair on the patio, enjoying the sun and a good book.  Unless you live further north than I do; and, in that case, you may still be shoveling the snow ... I'm sorry.

It has been a reading bonanza around here.  The past few Reading Things I found myself bemoaning my lost of reading mojo.  Well, I found my mojo.  Then again, it helped that Hubby and I took a Caribbean cruise in February, no children, and I read some most excellent books.  Which, I plan on sharing below.

But first, here is my reading list for the Spring Reading Thing.

I am, or was, reading Brad Metzler's Inner Circle.  The day it was released I heard an interview of Brad and a review of the book, so I ordered a copy that day.  It sounded like a book both Hubby and I would enjoy, and he needed some books for the cruise.  His review: Overall the book is good, but the first 100 pages makes it hard to get into the story.  And, he was correct.  Those first few chapters are awkward, but when you make it past them you will be rewarded.

Unfortunately, I had to set this book aside, for the moment, which is sad since it is just getting good, to read The Daughter's Walk, by Jane Kirkpatrick.  This is for a book review, so it needs to be completed ASAP.  I'm 50 pages in, and enjoying the book.  It is historical fiction, adapted from a true story, and written in the daughter's voice.  Immediately, when I began the book, I could hear the daughter's voice.  No, I'm not hearing voices, just imagining how the daughter would sound as she tells the story, this is what I consider a sign of a good book.

When these two books are completed I will follow through on 1 of the 2 trends I have seen during past Reading Things.  The first is noticing that many of you are reading youth fiction, that which our children are reading.  This trend I have already followed, and enjoyed many of the books my children are reading, which is fun since we can then talk about them.  The second trend is many like to reread old books.

I have this thing about rereading books.  It is the same with using recipes more than once; I'm always looking for new recipes to try; and I'm always looking for new books to read.  However, Hubby and I love to collect books, so it is a little funny that I keep books I only read once.  The same with cookbooks.

Anyone is open to analyze this little bit of my psyche, I would love to hear your view.

Anywho.  I plan on rereading some favorites, and I will start with Edith Wharton's Age of Innocence and The Buccanears.  I fell in love with these stories after watching the movies.  I'm a period piece junkie.  And, as with all book to movie adaptations, the books are WAY better.  Especially The Buccanears, much more sensational then the movie; which is odd since movies tend to be more sensational to draw people in.

After these, and if there is time (I'm a slow reader, and these books are slightly long) I plan on moving to E.M. Forster.  Room with a View, Howards End, Maurice, Where Angels Fear to Tread, and maybe I'll finish A Passage to India.  The later I began several years ago, when tiny children were running around the house, and I had no time to sit and read.  Trying to read the book began to feel like my own passage through India, in the heat, trudging along, and nowhere fast.  This did not make for a fun book to read, so on my bookshelf it sits.

Then, at the end of the challenge, I will celebrate with a big movie fest, watching all the movie adaptations of Wharton's and Forster's books.

Now, for my completed cruise list.  Oh my, you should have seen the growing pile of books, all waiting for our cruise.  I couldn't keep my hands off of them, and I did read one or two before the cruise, which was a good thing since I didn't finish all the books I did take with me.


The School of Essential Ingredients, by Erica Bauermeister
I'm thinking I found this book on someone else's reading list, and I'm so glad I did.  Loved.  Loved.  Loved this book!  It tells the stories of several students of a monthly cooking class, how their lives came to this point, where they are taking a cooking courses, and how cooking helped them to heal old wounds during the course of the class.

Nanny Returns, by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
If you read The Nanny Diaries, which came out 10 years ago, then you need to read this follow up.  The antics of the X Family, and their Park Avenue counterparts made me want to scream, as did the first book.  Really, do people live like this, and treat people like this?  At times the book is like a horror movie, where you are yelling at the heroine not to walk down that hallway.  You will find yourself yelling at Nanny, "don't answer the door, the phone, or talk to the crazy rich people".  Isn't that a sterling endorsement of the book?

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, by Dorothy Gilman
Mrs. Pollifax is a widow, a grandmother, a garden club member, and a spy for the CIA.  Well, not so much a spy, but she is looking for some adventure in her life.  One day she walks into CIA Headquarters, and volunteers to serve her country.  This is the first book in the series, and I am hooked.  The next two are on their way, and I will be reading them this summer. 

There are my lists, past and present.  Have you read any of these books?  What is your reading MO?  Do you find yourself reading the same thing, or also looking for new books?  I can't wait to read your list.

And, for more lists visit Callapidder Days, and see what other people are reading this spring.