One

I finally finished another book. Yes that's right. It's not that I deserted this blog, I just haven't had time to read in two and a half months. But, after six weeks of faithful slogging, I finally finished The Witness by Dee Henderson. The sad thing is, the book wasn't even fantastic literature, though the story was enough to keep me going through all those weeks.

Let's hope I manage to read a few more books in 2011.

55 & 56

The Language of Secrets by Dianne Dixon - this promised to be a twisting thriller, but it didn't deliver. It was an okay read, but not really what it claimed to be. Plus - I figured out all the "Shocking twists and turns" way ahead. booo.

Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner. Again, an okay read, but not really what I've come to expect from Weiner. Good thing the book I'm on now is satisfying!

54

My next book was Day After Night by Anita Diamant. In some ways this reminded me of the Jerusalem series by Brock and Bodie Thoene, though of course it's only one book, not 13+.

52 & 53

I was thinking a little more about that last book I read: The Shadow of the Wind. It really reminded me of Wuthering Heights. Only the characters were likeable. Now, I haven't read Wuthering Heights, I've only see the movie (this version), but after labouring through it, I really felt kind of dirty. Like I'd wasted two days on despicable characters and that nothing about the story or the characters had any redeeming qualities.

Shadow of the Wind had a lot of elements that would make me hesitate to recommend it to, say my book club, but when it comes to it, I really enjoyed the story.

I started reading The Help, but unfortunately, the library needed it back before I could get through it. This is the trouble with busy months and library books. I'll try and get it back again. So then I turned to The Grave Savers. This one's a book for young adults that deals with all kinds of weighty subjects. But the story was good, and the writing was good. I kinda like young adult books if they're well written.

Then I turned to The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger. I loved this book. I was a bit disappointed by the ending (I do love when everything gets tidied up at the end), but then I kept reading and found out it was based on a true story. So here's what the internet says about it: Lady Duff Gordon is the toast of Victorian London. But when her debilitating tuberculosis means exile, she and her devoted lady's maid, Sally, set sail for Egypt. It is Sally who describes, with a mixture of wonder and trepidation, the odd menage marshalled by the resourceful Omar, which travels down the Nile to a new life in Luxor. When Lady Duff Gordon undoes her stays and takes to native dress, throwing herself into weekly salons; language lessons; excursions to the tombs; Sally too adapts to a new world, affording her heady and heartfelt freedoms never known before. But freedom is a luxury that a maid can ill-afford, and when Sally grasps more than her status entitles her to, she is brutally reminded that she is mistress of nothing.

50 &51

Book number fifty on my list was Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear. This new (to me) mystery series about an enterprising personal investigator (sort of a Hercules Poirot type) sounded like it would be right up my alley. Even better was that the book was set in the midst of the flapper era and was about a girl from humble beginnings who rose above her station.

It was a good read, but I was disappointed with the overly dramatic language the author employed. I felt like I could hear the cinematic music all the way through the story...though maybe she did that on purpose?

Oh well, I still plan on reading more of Maisie's exploits.

Next up was worldwide bestseller The Shadow of the Wind by Spanish writer Carlos Ruiz Zafón. All the praise on the inside jacket was spot on. If you enjoy Gothic stories or even the Three Muskateers, I think you'll love this.

49

Sometimes my library books are busts. I try not to waste too much time on books I'm not interested in. Unfortunately sometimes I keep hoping that they'll improve and they don't. I finally gave up on Sue Miller's The Lake Shore Limited. I just couldn't see that it was going anywhere I cared about. I decided to stick with something I know I love and read Peter Robinson's A Necessary End instead. Gotta love a good mystery.

48

My latest novel was The Spaces Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. This one almost felt like it should be a book club book since it contrasted so well with one of the books we did last year (A Thousand Splendid Suns). This one is set in India (Bombay) and juxtaposes the life stories of two women, one a wealthy house wife (Sera) and the other her housekeeper/maid (Bhima).

Even though Bhima lives in the slums and is a servant, I was surprised by the quality of life these women had - I think I expected women to be treated more like they are in Afghanistan. Though now that I think about it, I'm not sure why I was so surprised.

I loved the author's voice in this book. I've watched a few Indian movies, and always thought that the weird English/Indian they use in the films is a result of poor translation and the funny way non-English speakers use our language. But reading this book was exactly like watching an Indian film and it made the story so much more real for me.

While I really did love this book, I found the ending a little abrupt. Maybe because so much of the book felt like it got right down to the nitty gritty of every day life, and the ending felt very...philosophical. It wasn't truly satisfying.

That said, I think it makes my Top Reads of 2010 list. I'd love to read another book by this author.