Summer Talking Meme #8

[lost_spook]

I really should get on with these because a) they were lovely questions and b) it is really not summer now. It's not even 2015. *cough*

For persiflage_1: What's the best new-to-you book you've read so far this year?

Well, it has been a while since July 2015 when Pers asked me this, but I think it is fair to say that the answer is still undoubtedly The

Comments

[singeaddams]

Runaway lesbians? I read it when I was a teen and, apparently, some aspects of the plot whooshed right over my head. I'll have to look at it again.

[lost_spook]

Well, I only read it last year and my memory is already dodgy, but Eugenie Danglars runs off with her music teacher, Louise. Eugenie is not interested in men at all. Neither is Louise. I'm sure they did run away together, I'm sure I didn't make that up now... mostly. ;-)

[singeaddams]

Hee! Thanks for the explanation!

[a_phoenixdragon]

I really need to read 'The Count'...always said I would, have never gotten around to it. But your rec definitely makes me think I need to find that time!

*HUGS*

[lost_spook]

It's one of those books, isn't it? And it's so long that unless you find yourself stuck home for years on end or someone makes you, you kind of don't, but it really is charmingly random and entertaining & engaging, I found. But I'm a lot more fond of rambling 19th C novels than most people! Still, Dumas is rarely not fun...

[lost_spook]

:lol: That is actually impressive. One chapter? The mind boggles. (Mind, I think until this latest translation even the adult English versions have been missing some of the more, er, random bits.)

[persiflage_1]

Thanks for the recs! I've read none of them but am interested in all of them so will see if the library has them. I'm trying to read more non-fiction again this year. I think I managed 12 last year and am aiming for at least 15 this year! So far I'm on book 1 of the NFs - 1606: The Year of Lear by the wonderfully readable Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro. (It's also making me want to re-watch the BBC Lear production with Michael Kitchen and Penelope Wilton and Anton Lesser and other marvellous actors!)

[lost_spook]

Glad to be of service! And all of those are pretty great and not my sometimes weirder stuff! :-)

1606 sounds cool too - and nothing wrong with BBC Shakespeare rewatches.

[persiflage_1]

The library has both the NF books, so I've put in requests for them both. I've shoved the Kindle ed of Monte Cristo on my Amazon wishlist because I am no interested in toting around hefty paperbacks - every ounce I carry makes a difference to my knee, so ebooks are the first choice for me 9 times out of 10.

No, definitely nothing wrong. I just can't recall whether I bought the DVD or borrowed it. I'll have to have a dig through the stack of DVDs atop the TV!

[astrogirl2]

I have had The Count of Monte Cristo on my To-Read shelves foreeeeeeever. I keep looking at it and somehow getting intimidated by its massiveness and not reading it, even though I very much enjoyed The Three Musketeers. I really, really should actually read the thing one of these days, because there is nothing about it that does not sound hugely entertaining.

[lost_spook]

It is massive, I know. Somehow lately I seem to have ironically more luck with very long books than shorter ones and I don't know how that works at all. But basically, it is just as entertaining as The Three Musketeers, but twice as long and in many ways, probably objectively better.

But obviously you may need it to prop something up instead.