Thursday, January 19, 2012

skimming the light fantastic. . .

Do you read? Do you have time to read?

I do. And lately, I’ve had even more time on my hands than I have books to read. I’ve been sicker lately than I’ve been in a loong time: I’ve had the flu, a common cold, then sick again from the antibiotics they saw fit to proscribe me when I’d had enough of the coughing/no sleep/throwing up/headaches etc. that have plagued me since Thanksgiving.

But I digress. I have been reading lately. So much time spent just lying in bed, sitting on the couch, struggling to keep my eyes open through one more chapter.

So, what have I been reading?

I read and enjoyed Mercedes Lackey’s new Beauty and the Werewolf- anything that has a fairy godmother, herb women, stillrooms, invisible servants and heroines who would much rather wear plain-and-sturdy-but-pretty-workclothes than frothy dance dresses is a must read for me. Loved it! and the story had some cool plot twists, too.

Seanan Mcguire’s One Salt Sea was completely devoured in a day and a half, it was so good. Her writing style- that familiar tone, dry humour, and clever twists on stereotypical-noir-archetypes-as-mythological-creatures is still just as fresh as her first October Daye novel. Makes me want to head up to San Francisco to find a knowe for myself!

Tanya Huff’s The Wild Ways however- that’s the first fantasy book I’ve given up on in a long time. I really enjoyed The Enchantment Emporium, but not this one- it is built on too much inside information, too many sly references to what, I still can’t say. I liked the characters, the writing is solid, but the storyline is just too full of references that I can’t follow. I’ll return to it later, after I’ve had a chance to do some research into her other books- maybe it’s an offshoot of some other series? hmm. . .

Then there’s the research I've been doing. A little architecture/design school- basically just two books on the Prairie School, but so far I’m not liking what I see about it.One is a very dry book published in the ‘70’s, and the other one is a coffee table book from 2008. But it’s been enough to make me realize that I’m more an Arts & Crafts, William Morris kind of girl at heart. I’ve also been doing lots of research on gardening, in general and also container gardens, patio and balcony gardens, herb gardens- the local librarians are sure there’s a commercial enterprise starting up in the neighborhood somewhere, I’ve ordered so many books! Nothing too special here so far, I just like looking at the pretty pictures and plot schematics . . .

Speaking of Herbs, I’ve been looking at Herbals like Rosemary Gladstone’s Family Herbal, Lesley Tierra’s Kid’s Herb Book, and Raleigh Briggs’ Make Your Place: Affordable & Sustainable Nesting Skills. All of them are lovely to look at and read, lots of good solid information, and are a wonderful choice if your interested in either medicinal use or gardening info.

Yup, it’s been all books, all the time around the ol’ homestead! Let’s see if I can rustle up some sewing projects for next weeks’ post, shall we?

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