Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Currently Reading...and Other Tales of Woe

Disclaimer: Pictures in this post relate to the books I'm enjoying, no woe entailed. Just FYI. :o) 

My "currently reading" list has gotten out of control. Several are nonfiction, research for whatever book I'm writing at the moment, and that's OK. A few are ones I started a long time ago and for one reason or another lost interest. Will I finish them? Yes. I always do. My reading is more effected by my moods than it should be. If I give up, it's only because I'm not in the mood for that particular novel, author, or genre. Some are ones I've recently started and for whatever reason, I'm not into them. Again, probably my mood.

So what am I reading that I'm enjoying?

Margaret's Rematch by Farida Mastek is entertaining and reminds me so much of Jane Austen that I find myself chuckling as I read. The characters are lively and interesting and the Regency picture Ms. Mastek paints is vivid. Am I attached to the characters? In a way, but not as much as I'd like to be. I do care what happens to them but at the same time, I'm not losing sleep over them.

At this point, about 110 pages in, I have one big complaint. The whole concept of this story is a gentleman who falls in love with and ultimately marries (I assume) his late wife's sister. My own Regency research has shown that this was not possible, as the sister-in-law was, by law, considered immediate family even after the wife's death. Now, these marriages were accepted by most but if someone wanted to cause problems for such a couple, they could easily do so. I've been able to suspend disbelief and enjoy the banter between the two MCs but I was hoping for at least a mention of this Regency "quirk" (for lack of a better word). If the topic is not addressed at some point, it's OK. This is still an enjoyable read and I look forward to how it all ends up.

I'm also reading Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. I'm only 45 pages in so I'm not sure what I think of it. I loved the movie but it's not often a good idea to read the book after viewing the movie. Ms. Funke is good at painting a picture through the eyes of the preteen MC. I like the aunt and can relate to her in a rather frightening way. Other than that... *shrug*

So that's my reading woes for the moment. I've been trying to break into the YA genre (as a reader) but haven't found a book yet that grabs me and whisks me away. Disappointing, but I wonder if my mood is more to blame. Perhaps I'm just picking up the "wrong" YA book. I'm not sure.

What do you think? Which YA book would you recommend? (Preferably not paranormal...)

2 comments:

Bernadette Simpson said...

Have you read Uglies by Scott Westerfeld? One of my favorite recent reads! I'm awaiting the next book in the series now...one I'm actually having mailed to Egypt so you know I must love it! ;-)

I have Inkheart as an audio book but haven't listened to it yet. I have a road trip next weekend so maybe then...

The Heartless Gamer Girl said...

Thanx for the rec, Bernadette! I've looked into the Scott Westerfeld series and it sounds really interesting. I'll add Uglies to my next book order. :o)

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