Finished Middlemarch---my grand achievement of the summer, which trumps my survival of mothering these past few months. I had a goal, and I reached it. And I'm thinking it's the longest book I've ever read. Tried War and Peace, and enjoyed what I read---even laughed at parts of it, some of the characters are laugh out loud funny---but put it down. As to whether I enjoyed Middlemarch, yes I did, but George Eliot is very long-winded. She writes in my favorite period, but I became bored with some of her endless chatter. She does have a gift, however, for being very specific in her personality depictions, and she gets into folks' heads very thoroughly. No further explanations necessary, but she is sort of magical that way. I bow to her talent, which is very obvious. I give it five stars since it's stood the test of time, and was definitely worth reading. No higher praise necessary.
And went to a used bookstore last night, and today at the library's bookstore. I'd already downloaded TS Eliot's Four Quartets and put it on my Kindle the other night. Got a real copy of his Murder in the Cathedral, which precedes it. We'll see how intelligent I feel while working on that baby. Not the sharpest knife in the drawer. And last night got Alexandra Stoddard's Gracious Living in the New World ($3) which is about finding quiet and peace in the technological age we live in. Seemed appropriate for me, plus picked up a beautiful paperback copy of Laurel's Kitchen Recipes to go with the bread book of hers I already own. And---the new copy of Romantic Homes magazine, my best treat. It's been a dog's age since I've bought a new magazine. Used to be a favorite past-time, but with so many of my favorites going out of business, this was fun to buy.
On the down side, got library books on Physics and Trigonometry, which youngest son (who graduates next spring) will have to do. Science and math. Huh. Prefer English and Grammar. What I said about the knife in the drawer.
Also in the pile from the library When the Heart Waits by Sue Monk Kidd and The Cloud of Unknowing which is on my Kindle as well, but a hard copy is nice to flip through. Strength for the Moment is another one (about caregiving), and Down the Rabbit Hole, about children's literature. Just trying to get into the school swing of things. Grateful for a holiday weekend, then it's down to work. :)
