TSS: Summer!

It actually has begun to feel like summer this weekend.  The last two times I spent the summer in England, it never got there for me.  This is probably because by the time I got here, it had already warmed up at home and it very, very rarely goes above 80 degrees in England.  Today it’s a gorgeous 72.  This time, I’ve been living here since October, so I’m a little more accustomed to English weather.  To me, it’s a beautiful day, and I was motivated enough to get a lot done on my work this morning so that I could sit outside and read.

I’ve been working on a couple of more difficult books.  The first of these, which is actually really fascinating, is The Last Witch of Langenburg by Thomas Robisheaux.  I received this as a review copy an embarrassingly long time ago; I had no idea that I would have such trouble picking up a review copy of a history book.  It feels like all I do is history; I didn’t really want more outside of what I have to do.  This book is what’s called microhistory.  The author focuses on a single witch trial, that of Anna Schmieg and her family in the 17th century Holy Roman Empire, while using it as a base to explore the broader history around the small town, pulling in external facts and creating a much larger picture than it would initially seem.  Witch trials are always out of the ordinary, he says, but I feel like I’ve learned a ton about small town life in Langenburg.  It’s going slowly simply because I have way too many facts bouncing about in my head, but it’s very interesting and I’m sorry I didn’t pick it up sooner.  I love what I called “people history”, history that focuses on a single person to explore wider issues, and it’s what I’m doing in my own work right now, so this book really couldn’t appeal to me more.

My second “difficult” read is Songs My Mother Never Taught Me by Selcuk Altun.  This one should not be as hard as it is.  It’s meant to be a thriller, but I’m not finding it particularly exciting.  It’s only just over 200 pages long and I’m at around 100, so I hope to read 50 pages a day and get it done on Tuesday.

The third book I was reading today, which I have completed, is Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos.  I loved this book.  It went in a completely different direction than I was expecting it to somewhere around the middle and that is around when I fell in love with it.  I spent entirely too long sitting outside to finish it and now my nose is itchy, so I suspect I’ll be blaming the author for a sunburn soon!

I’m not sure what’s next.  Since I’ve read my 50 pages in my difficult books for the day, I’ll probably start another book a little later.  I have to read Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn before Tuesday, when it’s due back at the library, but Lady of the Roses by Sandra Worth has been calling to me.  I guess we will see which book can call the loudest!

This week, I read:

• Shanghai Girls – Lisa See 
• Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict – Laurie Viera Rigler 
• Fugitive Pieces – Anne Michaels
• The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane – Katherine Howe 
• Tethered – Amy MacKinnon
• Simply Love – Mary Balogh
• Beauty – Robin McKinley
• Love Walked In – Marisa de los Santos 

I reviewed:

• Atlas of Unknowns – Tania James
• Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer
• Old Man’s War – John Scalzi
• The Vampire of Ropraz – Jacques Chessex
• Living Dead in Dallas – Charlaine Harris
• Oakleaf Bearers – John Flanagan
• And Only to Deceive – Tasha Alexander

I also participated in Weekly Geeks and posted about my “No BEA?  Books Anyway!” purchases.

For all of those who attended Book Expo America in New York City this weekend, I hope you all had a blast and have a safe trip home.  I’ll be looking forward to your posts!