Currently Reading...

I am currently reading a few books. I am determined to finish Dracula this month. I also picked up "blood red horse" by K. M. Grant. It is book one of the de Granville trilogy for young adults. It historical fiction set in the beginning of the crusades. So far it is turning out to be a good read. The last book is still "The Neverending Story." It is the book I keep in my car for reading. Consequently I'm only half way; but I really do like the story. If I sat down and really read I could finish these books and move on to more. I'm catching up on classics and young adult fiction.

Weeding out my Collection

I finally did it! A couple months ago I went through my books and brought about two boxes to Half Price. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. A lot of them were books from classes that I read and won't pick up again. They were good - but I have a different direction in mind for my collection. There are also certain editions of my favorites that I want so I weeded out those too. I still have quite a bit; and I also didn't update my excel worksheet. Oops. I'll have to go back and do that.

That project is done. Now to make the six (possibly nine) drawer card catalog. I have the design in my mind. I just have to actually construct. Too many projects!

A Discovery of Witches

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

This book was recommended by two coworkers. I really enjoyed it. The main characters are a witch and a vampire. Then of course there are also daemons and humans. Harkness brings in a few different story lines and moves the story along quickly so you don't have a lull. There is of course the forbidden love between a vampire and a witch but that seems to be the theme in many teen romances. Now I'm waiting for book two to come out. I think I have a few more months. So if you want a quick fun read I would pick this up.

"Shane"

I'm not sure why, but ever since I read Lonesome Dove I've been wanting to read another western. Of course I picked up the other books in the series. But they are very long and I have been needing to read shorter books of late. So recently I picked up Shane by Jack Schaefer. It is a quick read that keeps you turning the page. Told in the viewpoint of the boy Bob (who is named Joey in the movie!!) the book takes you into the lives of a homesteading family. The importance and influence the man Shane has on this young kid is profound. It is this emotion along with the need to know more about who 'Shane' is that has you feeling sad in the end. I of course believe he rides off into the sunset to conquer more bad men. Schaefer just leaves you hanging. This book doesn't have a lot of dialogue and there is only a hint of a romance between the wife and Shane. but the simplicity of the story and the crisp descriptions of the settings is what makes the book great.

New Books Network

I have added a new literary site. It is another finding from LibraryThing; a site I need to visit often. New Books Network is a site I will be spending some quality time at.

http://newbooksnetwork.com/