What I've Been Reading! And Watching!

After finishing all 12 novels in the Poldark series, I was convinced there wasn't anything else to read!!  I went to the library and looked under Anne Tyler - who's usually good for a readable novel.  Got The Tin Can Tree.  It was her second novel. It was pretty well-written, but the storyline was not very compelling - or believable for that matter.  Wouldn't necessarily recommend it.

I saw a novel called The Wall on a display at the Arcadia Library.  The premise sounded compelling - one woman left alone as the last human being on earth.  It was translated from the German.  I read maybe half of it - then read the end and called it good.  Wouldn't recommend it either.

Did luck out with the latest John Grisham - bought it at LAX - and it kept me engrossed for the whole 4 1/2 hour plane ride - the best airplane fiction I'd had in a while.

It's great to be able to count on the John Grishams in this world!

For the plane ride home, I bought 4 magazines - they kept me engrossed!

For the trip to Portland, I had The Condition by Jennifer Heigh.  Someone left it in my little free library. It was not great literature - and not really excellent airplane fare.  But it sufficed.  I wouldn't particularly recommend it either.  And I couldn't find a photo of it online either!!

I could do with some recommendations folks!

This Week!

I love the New Yorker magazine. We have subscribed for many years, and I would not be truthful if I said I read it all the time. I do peruse the cartoons each week. Always check out the movie reviews. Often check the book recommendations. Sometimes read the fiction. Don't always get through the very long articles - which at least have the distinction of going "straight through" - you don't have to skip ahead to pages at the end to finish an article.

They had this great cover - but the content was still pre-election. In "The Talk of the Town" there was a blurb on Karen Civil - of whom I had never heard - but then I have never heard of quite a few people - my popular culture score is a low one - and she said "It's really about continuing the legacy that Obama started. I know we still deal with racism and being divided, but he makes you feel like this is one nation, with his demeanor, his swag."

I felt like "Bingo" she said what I have been thinking. I admire President Obama - I am an unabashed fan. I have read his books, I have watched his speeches and his press conferences, and I feel strongly that history will bear me out.

Just wanted to get that out there. If you disagree, I don't want to hear about it. I don't even know if anyone reads this blog.  Thought of going on FB but decided not to.  This isn't a forum for collecting amens, I just wanted to go on record!

The end of the line . . .

The Poldark novels - in order - are:

Ross Poldark

Demelza

Jeremy Poldark

Warleggan

The Black Moon

The Four Swans

The Angry Tide

The Stranger From the Sea

The Miller's Dance

The Loving Cup

The Twisted Sword

Bella Poldark

And last night I finished the last one!  I knew I'd regret it - now what will I read??

A great saga - replete with romance, history, culture, the American Revolution and the War of 1812, Napoleon, the French Revolution, the Cornwall Coast, the history of mining in Great Britain, ad infinitum!!

Not to mention a stunning cast of characters that are fully-formed and who seem like people we wished we had known!!  (Watching the show helps give them shape and form - although I just don't picture George Warleggan the way they show him in the series.)

A friend commented that what she loved about the novels was the way it painted a true picture of familial relationships - the good and the bad, the successes and the failures - and I have to agree with her.

Won't go into details - because that would be full of spoilers - above all else, it is a well-told story!

Go ahead and start!