Summer’s here!
While my summers as a kid were the most book-soaked parts of my year, this summer will be less book-soaked than my 2010 has been to date. In fact, even some of the regular monthly features here will be on vacation. I might wander through some short stories and magazines, memoirs and poetry, but no regimented reading plans!
Oh, well, that’s a lie. Just less regimented! And alongside my planned reads, I’m planning not to plan. That doesn’t sound too obsessive, does it?
I’m especially looking forward to some mysteries, some more pocketbooks (i.e. drop in a bag, take off and read), and dallying in the children’s sections of local library branches to re-discover old favourites and scope out some new ones.
June was a busy reading month, but all to the good:
* 2 Challenges Finished (I achieved my Igloo status in the Canadian Reading Challenge 3, by reading 10 books by/about Ethel Wilson, who is now officially residing on my Favourite Author list, AND I read six books towards the Once Upon a Time Challenge which originally I’d planned to approach just as a Journey by reading a single book)
* 7 Challenges influenced the month’s choices, and of those I’ve been steadily ignoring, I’ve already started to read for two of them and am especially pleased to have started the year’s non-fiction Must Reads with Raj Patel’s The Value of Nothing, of which I’ll have more to say in a few days
* My classic plans kicked off at the end of June with Trollope’s The Warden, inspired by summer reading lists: the kids are out of school and I’m in. Next up is Thomas Hardy (which of his is *your* favourite?) along with more Trollope (I started Barchester Towers) and some Forster before I settle into some Canlit classics in August
* This will be my first Orange July and though I kinda overdid the whole Orange longlist thing before the winner was announced on June 9th, so the thought of a lot of backlist Orange reading next month made my reading schedule quiver, but I still plan to read two books: Andrea Levy’s Small Island (because I just loved The Long Song) and Zadie Smith’s On Beauty (following a read of E.M. Forster’s Howard’s End)
Favourite Reads for June:
Nalo Hopkinson’s The New Moon’s Arms (2007),
Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu’s The Shadow Speaker (Hyperion, 2007),
Sam Savage’s The Cry of the Sloth (2009).
Most anticipated July read: Leonie Swann’s Three Bags Full (2005)
Favourite Spam Comment for June:
This one appeared on my page devoted to New Canadian Classics, which made it doubly amusing for some reason: “A few years ago I remember watching a TV show that said that the guy who played “Rick” on Magnum P.I. owns the Ferrari from the show.”
Thanks, Kat. The only reason I read as much as I do for challenges is that I choose ones that align with books I wanted to read anyway. Maybe that’s cheating, cuz it’s not as challenging that way, but it works.
I read The Mayor of Casterbridge at school, but must have rushed because I don’t remember anything at all, let alone liking it. I’ve started Tess, but only tentatively.
BTW, my copy finally arrived and I did peek into The Death of Virgil. I was expecting it to be a bit too heavy for me, but I was definitely intrigued by the Arendt quote on the cover (a 1945 edition, IIRC), and I liked the opening pages; it’s something I would definitely be interested in reading sometime, so thanks very much for the recommendation. A bit more notice and I would gladly join in something like that!
I really admire the way you keep up with challenges. This is a good way to find out about good books and socialize online with book people and why, oh why, can’t I read the same book others are reading at the right time? I note them down but don’t get around to them…for two years or so!
As for Thomas Hardy, my favorites are The Mayor of Casterbridge and Far from the Madding Crowd, but they’re all good.