I’m back to work after 7 months and my day routine has some resemblance to what it was, so I’m finally feeling grounded enough to re-start blogging (and commenting as well).
During my hiatus I’ve actually read much more than I expected (26 books – uuUUUuuu), but I’m going for a clean slate and talk only talk about books I’ll read from now on. No pressure that way.
Still, for posterity, here are some random thoughts about the past reading period:
- Hurrah, I’ve discovery Shel Silverstein!
- What Mothers Do: especially when it looks like nothing took a chuck of weight off my shoulders when I read it two months into my maternity leave. It should be required reading, but there’s a conundrum: at the time when it would be a real life-saver (a few weeks after birth) most mothers don’t have the brain power to pick up a book and if they’d read it before the baby was born or long afterwards it would lose part of the impact. The solution might be to condense it into a 5-minute video.
- Confession: The Lightning Thief was the first book I’ve read after seeing the movie and though it was better than the movie (e.g. I’d vote for The Painted Veil’s movie over the book anytime).
- I’ve already had proof that being a new mom will change how books affect me. The first was with Dan Simmons’ Hyperion. I don’t want to spoil it, but just to say that “The River Lethe’s Taste is Bitter” part of the book haunted me for weeks. Another example was while listening to The Moral Landscape. At some point Sam Harris reads a quote from a psychopath describing how he tortured his stepson. I think something that horrible would always affect me, but not with the violence it did, physically. Still, it was such an interesting book, and one I’ll need to re-read soon.
- The Enchanted April was a disappointment (not bad, just meh) after the amazing Elizabeth and Her German Garden, but I’m determined to persevere with von Arnim. Christopher and Columbus is up next.
- How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm: And Other Adventures in Parenting (from Argentina to Tanzania and everywhere in between) by Mei-Ling Hopgood is my favorite parenting book so far. I’m fascinated by parenting across cultures.
- Maria Dulce Cardoso’s O Retono, was the best Portuguese book I’ve read in a long, long time. I need to recommend it to everyone there. Reminded me of Jorge Amado at its best.
- I’m afraid I’m not as enthusiastic about Code Name Verity as some (most?) book bloggers. A bit predictable, very contrived.
- To Lie with Lions (The House of Niccolo, #6) by Dorothy Dunnett is the highlight the year so far. Please stop me when you’re tired of hearing me
pray at her altarpraise her.
- Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom was also fantastic. Such a page-turner.
- Oh The Master and Margarita, I tried, swear I did. Oh The Historian, I also tried… although not very hard. Sorry it didn’t work out between us.
- The Pleasant Surprise Award is a tie between Where’d You Go, Bernadette and We Have Always Lived in the Castle (should have saved it for Halloween!).
16 comments
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October 7, 2013 at 3:47 pm
readingwithtea
Great to see you back – and some good quick round-ups there – we must talk more about Code Name Verity, Where’d You Go, Bernadette, and How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm…
October 7, 2013 at 4:05 pm
Sunday Salon and blogging re-boot x.0 | Reading With Tea
[…] Alex is back from maternity leave on her blog, looking forward to seeing more of her thoughts on reading (as we have quite similar tastes) […]
October 7, 2013 at 4:09 pm
Andre
Yeahhhh!! You are back!!
October 7, 2013 at 4:20 pm
sakura
Welcome back! Hyperion is one my favourite books – it is very haunting…
October 7, 2013 at 4:36 pm
Kinna
Welcome back! The Master and Margarita is one of my favorite books but no matter, better luck next time!
October 7, 2013 at 5:42 pm
Patricia
Welcome back! Looking forward to your blogs
October 7, 2013 at 8:43 pm
Bettina @ Books, Bikes, and Food
Welcome back! Great to be reading you again, the book blogging world has missed you :).
I’m currently looking for a Portuguese-language book to kickstart my reading in Portuguese, but I feel like my language skills aren’t up to anything too taxing (if the language is very complex the subtleties would be lost on me, I think). Would I be able to read/enjoy “O retorno” or could you recommend something else? Thanks!
October 7, 2013 at 9:24 pm
Helen
It’s good to see you back! I’m glad (but not surprised) to see you enjoyed To Lie with Lions – it was one of my favourites in the Niccolo series.
October 8, 2013 at 3:50 am
Jay
Hooray! Alex is back! Best news I’ve heard all day. Look forward to reading vicariously through you again. 🙂
October 8, 2013 at 7:09 am
Patty
Welcome back – I’m so glad I’m not the only one with problems on the Master and Margarita…
October 8, 2013 at 7:52 am
heidenkind
Welcome back! I should try Where’d You Go Bernadette? I wasn’t that into The Historian, either. I started laughing and I don’t think I was supposed to.
October 8, 2013 at 1:18 pm
The Literary Stew
It’s great to see you blogging again and if I haven’t already then Congratulations on the new baby! I’m surprised to see we agree on so many books you mentioned. I couldn’t get through Code Name Verity and surprised how loved it is. Ditto for a The Master and the Margarita. Loved a Where’d you Go Bernadette, definitely a breath of fresh air.
October 9, 2013 at 6:22 pm
Charlie
Welcome back, glad to hear you’re well and congratulations. I think this ” at the time when it would be a real life-saver (a few weeks after birth) most mothers don’t have the brain power to pick up a book” is incredibly ironic and telling – what do mothers do? a whole lot!
October 9, 2013 at 8:11 pm
Ti
Shel Silverstein! Love. Nice to see you back. Take it slow. All this blogging can be overwhelming upon return.
October 10, 2013 at 2:18 am
Claire (The Captive Reader)
Welcome back! How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm sounds really interesting and I love how cute the cover is. I am a devoted von Arnim fan but have no interest whatsoever in The Enchanted April, so you’re not alone in feeling underwhelmed by it.
October 20, 2013 at 3:49 pm
Camilla P.
I’m so glad to see someone else reading and loving Dulce Maria Cardoso! I’ve read “O chao dos pardais” and I really, really liked it.