I know that I am late to the party. I didn't hear about Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James until one of my coworkers mentioned it to me, and that was after it had already been featured on all the morning chat shows. This book is a giant step to the left of the gentle romances that I've been reading for the past few years. I'm reading the second book of the trilogy now and intend to read the third, but I don't think I would recommend it to anyone. Although I don't hold the same scathing opinion of it that many readers have expressed, I do agree with some of their criticisms. The characters have too many British expressions falling out of their mouths to be convincingly American, and James seems to be in dire need of a thesaurus because the word "smirk" shows up far too often. However, the book did jolt me out of my reading slump. There was just enough plot in it to get me revved up and ready to read a good story. So, I would say to all the Fifty Shades haters out there: at least the book is getting some people to read more.
BOOKS READ: I finished the last of Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series, Timeless. Carriger created such a delightful mix of steampunk and supernatural with this series, and I was sad to come to the end of it. I also read the second book in Rhys Bowen's Her Royal Spyness series, A Royal Pain. With Bowen, as with Carriger, I revel in the language of her books. The English accents ring in my ear as I read her words and her characters seem like people I would want to meet, or at least see on screen.
CURRENTLY READING: As I mentioned above, I am reading the second book in the Fifty Shade trilogy,
Fifty Shades Darker. So far there is less sex and more plot in this book, which leads me to agree with the suggestion made by many that another pass by an editor may have been in order. This second book probably could have been combined with the first book if half the sex scenes in the first book had been cut out. Anyway, I'm pushing ahead because unfinished stories haunt me, even mediocre ones.BOOKS READ: I finished the last of Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series, Timeless. Carriger created such a delightful mix of steampunk and supernatural with this series, and I was sad to come to the end of it. I also read the second book in Rhys Bowen's Her Royal Spyness series, A Royal Pain. With Bowen, as with Carriger, I revel in the language of her books. The English accents ring in my ear as I read her words and her characters seem like people I would want to meet, or at least see on screen.
CURRENTLY READING: As I mentioned above, I am reading the second book in the Fifty Shade trilogy,
ON MY NIGHTSTAND:
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares -- I picked this book up because I had read the authors' previous book Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.
How To Get Things Really Flat -- I picked this book up because I hoped it might aid me in teaching my son a bit of housework! In reading the preface and the first chapter, I quickly realized that it is more of a humorous look at men and housework so I'm keeping it for myself.
Listen To The Warm -- This volume of poetry still has the stamp card from when the library had its old check-out system. The earliest stamp is from May 1979. It is entirely possible that I checked out this exact book in my teens when I was going through my 1960s phase. For some reason, that makes me all warm and fuzzy.
Royal Flush -- This is the third Royal Spyness mystery. I expect this to be another quick read.
ON THE HORIZON: With spring my thoughts tend to turn to gardening, but this year I am focusing more on crafty pursuits. I'm still recovering from my two spills down the stairs in February, so I want to work on projects that can be done while seated. I will be looking for books on sparking creativity, as well as more practical books on mixed media art and such.
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