Despite being so busy this month, I was sitting back the other day, thinking about what I’ve been reading, and am quite amazed to realize that I have actually been reading!
Reading: Spiderwick Chronicles
Over the weekend, I finished reading the Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. I’d seen a review of the books at Brizmus Blogs Books, where Audrey thought the Chronicles would be a much better read if you read all the books back to back. It was a rather serendipitous moment for me, as I’d just seen an omnibus volume of all the books in the series at Costco that day, and as I’d been intending to give the series a try, I ended up going back to purchase the omnibus collection.
I’m very glad I did. Audrey was right – Spiderwick is a great read if you read all the books in the series straight through. I polished the omnibus collection off in one sitting, and enjoyed it as a result. After I finished the first book in the series, I could see how it would have been quite a letdown if I didn’t have the next books in the series on hand.
And the illustrations are absolutely wonderful, of course!
Reading: The Lost Art of Gratitude
I’m also in the middle of The Lost Art of Gratitude, the latest Isabel Dalhousie book by Alexander McCall Smith.
I’ve been taking this one slowly – it’s just so enjoyable getting back into Isabel’s head. I find that it really doesn’t matter very much what the plots of the Dalhousie books are; they’re sometimes dubbed mysteries but they’re not really that mysterious. And even though I love mysteries, a good strong plot, the riveting nature of a story of good against evil, I don’t really care that the Isabel Dalhousie series has none of this.
For me the beauty of this series is the pure enjoyment of being in Isabel Dalhousie’s world once again. I fell in love with Isabel and her Edinburgh very early on, in the first book in this series, The Sunday Philosophy Club, and have looked forward to, and enjoyed, every new book in the series ever since. I love the way she thinks, and the way she goes about her world. I love the gentleness of the books, and the way they make me feel every time I dip in.
Listening: Hamish Macbeth
And finally, on the audiobook front – because I simply can’t get by without having at least one good audiobook on the go.
I had the tough task of choosing an audiobook to follow the last Harry Potter book. I’d just finished listening to the entire Harry Potter series in audio and was really feeling quite sad. It had been quite lovely listening to Harry and his friends every night before bed, and I wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to pick something equally enthralling.
I decided to choose a completely different genre, and ended up listening to M.C. Beaton’s Death of a Poison Pen. This was my very first Hamish Macbeth mystery, and I was in for a surprise. For some reason, I’d always thought these stories were older, set in the 30s and 40s, much like much of Agatha Christie’s mysteries. Well, they’re not. And they are such fun, light reads.
So I’ve been enjoying getting to know Hamish and the village and villagers of Lochdubh. After finishing Death of a Poison Pen, I moved onto Death of a Gentle Lady, which I should be finishing up tonight. There’ve been quite a handful of laugh-out-loud moments, too, which also surprised me.
What’s Up Next
All in all, I’ve been quite enjoying the Hamish Macbeth series. I’m not sure if I’ll go for another Hamish Macbeth novel when I’ve finished up with Death of a Gentle Lady. I recently discovered the audio version of Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers, one of my favorite childhood stories (all the books in the series are so magical, and while the Disney movie version is very sweet, it doesn’t really quite capture this magic); I suspect I might dip into that for a listen when I’m finished with the current Hamish.
And I think I will start Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart series. I have Book One of the trilogy, and since I’m eager to dive into another children’s fantasy series, this seemed like a good bet.
What Are You Reading?
So that’s what I’ve been up to, reading-wise. What have you been reading/listening to lately?
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m reading Spiderwick, The Lost Art of Gratitude and Hamish Macbeth: http://msbookish.com/reading-spiderwick-…
Ah, now you’re making Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious run through my head!
.-= rhapsodyinbooks´s last blog ..Review of “A Morbid Taste for Bones” by Ellis Peters =-.
I remember running around shouting supercalifragilisticexpialidocious at the top of my lungs. And then for some reason I’d insist on spelling Mississippi, just to show that I could. :)
I haven’t tried the Hamish M series yet, although I’ve always thought it sounded good. Have to grab one of those :)
I’ve been reading a few Carla Neggers books lately – good romantic suspense :)
.-= Jemi Fraser´s last blog ..Sideways Solutions! =-.
I haven’t read any Carla Neggers yet, Jemi – will definitely take a look!
I never got into the Spiderwick Chronicles–I’m not sure why. I do want to read Inkheart after seeing the movie, though.
.-= heidenkind´s last blog ..White Tigress =-.
I don’t think I would have continued if I’d only had the first book. I’m really kind of surprised the series did so well. Reading the whole series together makes far more sense – each individual volume reads more like an individual chapter that way.
Ooo, fun stuff there. I’m reading THE SPEED OF DARK (which is a fascinating novel about the downsides of curing autism) and listening to The Percy Jackson series (which is SO GOOD).
.-= Natalie´s last blog ..NaNo Killed My Story =-.
Speed of Dark sounds interesting, Natalie. I’ll definitely have to look into the Percy Jackson series – I’m always on the lookout for good audio!
Your head has been filling up with all sorts of good things. I’m glad to hear it. I’m off to check out the Spiderwick Chronicles.
.-= Margot´s last blog ..Wondrous Words #40 =-.
I think I’m filling up my creative well, Margot :) Make sure you don’t get just the first book of Spiderwick. I know if I’d only had the first book, I’d never have gone on to the others in the series. I’d have been saying, “that’s it? You’re kidding!”. But as a whole, it works. And the drawings are so lovely!
I love the Hamish MacBeth series — there are lots of them and I’ve been listening to them in order (cause I’m crazy that way). I listened to the first Spiderwick, but that was a while a go. I really should get back to that series and do it in print.
I have never gotten in to McCall Smith. I’m just not a fan. But I remember reading Mary Poppins!
.-= Beth F´s last blog ..Thursday Tea: Emma on Film =-.
I just finished a wonderful novel by T. K. Thorne called “Noah’s Wife.” It re-imagines the story of the Biblical flood from a feminine viewpoint.
Malcolm
I felt the same way with The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. It wasn’t about the mystery or the plot but about being Precious and seeing the world her way for a while. I’ll have to check out this other Alexander McCall Smith series now that you’ve pointed it out to me!
Right now I’m finishing James Dashner’s The Maze Runner and I just grabbed three more books I’m excited about from the library yesterday: Laini Taylor’s National Book Award finalist Lips Touch, A. S. Byatt’s The Children’s Book, and Holly Black’s second book in the graphic novel series The Good Neighbors. Haven’t read Spiderwick yet, but I’ve loved all of Holly’s YA books.
.-= Nikki´s last blog ..Movies Explain the World (of Writing), Part I =-.
(Hmm, looks like my attempt at italicizing titles did crazy things to my comment. I’ll skip the html codes next time!)
.-= Nikki´s last blog ..Movies Explain the World (of Writing), Part I =-.