only finished a second book this month

Between moving the business one town over and cleaning up the old place, I'm exhausted! Both my sis and I ended up with terrible chest colds! So I have no time yet.

I did read Joyce Carol Oates book Beasts.

Although it was a short novel and easy to read, it just was not my cup of tea. It was definitely a character driven narrative and all done from a first person POV. One of the reviews said something about a gothic novel feel--but it never once felt like a gothic novel to me. Drug induced insanity.

I usually like JCO's writing. However, I won't be recommending this one.

changing times

MOON REPORT: waxing crescent. 30% full.

I can't believe spring is almost here. I'm still unused to this whole time change thing--Indiana just adopted the whole daylight savings time two years ago. So I grew up with never worrying about "fall back" "spring forward" mumbo jumbo. Let me tell you grad school on the west coast was an eye opener--I missed a class because I didn't think about time changes.

And not only has Indiana jumped in on the DST, but now it lasts longer than ever!

Oh, well.

Novel #1 March (somewhat unexpected)

MOON REPORT: waxing crescent. 7% full (ish. I just glanced.)


I spent today in rare luxury: I read a book cover to cover! Barring the interruptions by the hyper-barking dogs, I flumped all over the house with a book in my hand and forgot about the world. The book: The Elementals by Morgan Llewellyn. First published in 1993, it is now out of print--although you can find several used copies from Amazon.

I don't remember ever having read this book until today--but somehow I must have done because as I read along I seemed to know where the stories were headed. Not like "predictable" plot kinds of knowing, but like I had dreamed them. So, unless I am somehow gleaning novels from the ether without having read them, I think I must have read this book a long time ago.

I have seen some reviews for this book say it was fabulous and others say skip the last two stories. I'll just say it is an easy afternoon read. Although I agree the first two stories (water, fire) were stronger than the last two (earth, air), I think the driving ideas behind them are worth the read.

I'd call these stories character driven. Though sometimes I feel jerked around by the POV--it should be third person limited but the POV shifts to other characters in a sporadic and unnecessary manner making the omnicient POV impossible. Someone may comment and tell me I've got the terms backwards or wrong or whatever so I'll make it simple: it should read like Harry Potter (being in the protagonist POV at all times). The internal dialog from several characters in each story jars a reader out of the harmony of the narrative. I wish each story would have stuck to the protagonist POV without trying to encompass the whole.

Each story could have been (and most likely should have been) explored in a full novel rather than as a quarter piece. It would also have allowed a full exploration of the element in a smooth and polished way rather than making a reader feel bludgeoned by the implications. The first story especially should have been given free reign to see where it could have taken the writer (and us as readers).

All in all: good lazy afternoon. Read on!

booking

MOON REPORT: waning crescent. 25% full.


Ok. I need to start making better headway into my piles of unread books...they've started to take over. My book buying is on temporary hiatus until such time as my reading pile has been consumed. My new goal is three new books for March.

I thought about giving these three a go:


Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon
Almanac of the Dead by Leslie Marmon Silko
Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs

If I read three books a month I should be done with my stacks before Christmas! Keep your fingers crossed...