Books Read: Spring/Summer Edition.

Oh right:  blogging.  Here's a little one I've been working on for a bit. 

Have left out possible things that might become gifts.  Or are gifts.  And yes, these are a motley crew. And have left out some of the other ones. 

Have finished.

--Aunt Dimity's Death by Nancy Atherton.  I finished it and am irritated by it. I think this one is mixing too many genres for me:  supernatural, cozy, and romance. Like pick one. And gasp, I think I might be too young for its readership. And Lori like irritated me. 
--a bunch of beat poetry.
--Minor Characters: A Beat Memoir by Joyce Johnson. Very good. Bought in SF and was impressed by how much I liked it. I still want pictures. I liked her friends Elise Cowen and Hettie Jones.

--The Adventures of Cavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon.  Good, but intense. Epic. 
--Where are you going, where have you been? Short Stories by Joyce Carol Oates. Liked it, but hers are as stated supremely intense
--Crossing the Border by Joyce Carol Oates.

--A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. Which I liked but is intense.  And some of the Britishisms were even bothering me. And somehow I have read a good chunk of his without trying to. 
--Three Men on a Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome, a follow up to Three Men on a Boat. Best way to describe him is a travel-logue that's just subtle English humor and filled with sly digressions. (Which really is an acquired taste.) He's in Germany in this one which has some fun digs on laws in Germany and other stuff. My sister gave it to me and it's a good just "humour" book.
--Magic by the Lake, Time Garden by Edward Eager. His stuff rocks my world and he's very excellent and comic.

--Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Book, number 4. Sad that it's ending.  Not my fav. 
--Dark Horse by Tami Hoag

Have started:

--The Midas Murders by Margot Arnold. 

--Murder under the Mistletoe.  Christmas murder mysteries. Which okay are odd. 

--The English Reader: What every Literate Person Needs to Know.  Ed. Diane and Michael Ravitch. Am liking the poetry more than the prose. We're stuck in the 18th century. Ugh. 

--Moab is my Washpot by Stephen Fry.  Which I like a lot, because I love his stuff. But it's good in small doses.

--Holy Fools by Joanna Harris

--The Simpsons and Philosophy. Not bad. Some are better than others. 

--Don't you Forget about me:  Writers on the John Hughes movies. Which frankly, I'm torn about.  I want it to be slightly better all around. And like I've gone through the really good ones. 

I don't know.  I think I have high expectations for essays written about pop. cult stuff. Or high-ish. And like I could probably do better. 

Am still reading
--People of the Silence by Kathleen O'Neal Gear which is a historical novel on Native Americans in the Southwest and was a gift. Seems to be her gimmick. It is improving, actually and am enjoying it.  Though am having difficulty keeping track of people.I think I'm in B-list bookland. Whereby some of them might be super good and some may be less than good.  And I think I need an edgier mystery as am in cozy-land.