Sunday Salon: an assortment of bookish fun

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2011 is off to a fantastic reading start for me. I'm certainly enjoying the respite for full-time, post-graduate school work begins next week and using the time to read. I'm making fantastic progress on my January reading goals, and I've loved all three books I've read this year (The Lotus Eaters, Larry's Party--review coming tomorrow, and Small Wars--review coming January 18). I know I won't be able to keep up this reading pace when I start work next week, but I'm enjoying the life of leisure while I can!


I, too, am mad for Maisie...
When Book Club Girl announced her Maisie Dobbs Read-Along, I decided to finally get around to reading the first book in the series. I've been meaning to for years, but I never made it a priority. I adore the Bess Crawford series, and many people have recommended Maisie to me too. I read Maisie Dobbs in the last days of 2010 (review coming Friday) and adored it. I'm going with optimistic ambition and hoping to stay on pace with this frenetic read-along.  I hope to read a little ahead and post my reviews on the days of discussion. First up: Maisie Dobbs this Friday followed by Birds of Feather (which I hope to read this week) on January 31. 


...And Other Historical Mysteries
After discovering how much I loved Maisie (and realizing how many years she languished on my TBR shelf), I'm also determined to finally read The Beekeeper's Apprentice this year. I adored Laurie R. King's Kate Martinelli series but have never jumped into her Mary Russell series. Given my new enthusiasm for historical mysteries, I think it's high time. Ideally, I'll adore the series and read all ten before the publication of the eleventh in September.


Reading & Reviewing: Karen E. Lips
Have you discovered Karen's fantastic blog, Reading and Reviewing yet? She does something amazing I haven't seen any other blogger do. She creates a photograph of herself reading the book that has something to do with the book. It's ingenious, and her photograph for Room is absolutely astonishing:


I'm a huge fan of her blog, and I hope you'll check out her photo reviews soon too!


Coming up on the blog this week:
  • a much-anticipated spring novel for Waiting on Wednesday
  • my picks and hopes for the Golden Globe Awards next Sunday (get the sparkling wine ready!)
Plus, reviews of:
  • Larry's Party by Carol Shields
  • The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
  • The Fighter, the new David O. Russell film
  • Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
  • In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin
There's still time to enter to win a copy of The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli too!

Happy reading (and go Chiefs!)

Comments

  1. JennyJanuary 10, 2011 at 11:47 AM

    Thanks so much for the link to that blog. That's so cool!

    ReplyDelete
  2. raidergirl3January 10, 2011 at 6:48 PM

    I discovered Maisie last year too! I'm going to push the third book and try and get done for this read along - nice incentive. I also want to read The Beekeeper's Apprentice this year. I did a Historical Mysteries Challenge last year, and really liked, realizing it was sub genre of mysteries that I enjoyed.

    (Have added your blog to my google reader.)

    ReplyDelete
  3. AmusedJanuary 10, 2011 at 10:28 PM

    I am looking forward to seeing what you think of the Maisie Dobbs books as I've been seeing them everywhere all of a sudden and want to know if I should read them soon too know :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. HeidenkindJanuary 11, 2011 at 2:16 AM

    Oh, I loved The Beekeeper's Apprentice. And the books in the series only keep getting better. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJanuary 11, 2011 at 7:59 AM

    That pictures is almost breathtaking! What a great depiction of how "Ma" felt!

    ReplyDelete

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