It's Monday! What Are You Reading #31

Share what you (are, have been, are about to, hope to be) reading or reviewing this week. Sign Mr Linky at Book Journey and visit other Monday reading roundups.

I haven't participated in this for several months. I hadn't been reading much since Xmas and it was a stark reminder of that failing every time I put together one of these posts which meant looking at what I'd posted the previous week and comparing that to what I actually did.

For the last six months or so I've been crocheting while watching DVD or streaming. The videos gave me my story fix while I wove with my hook row after row on an afghan, bookmarks, shawls and etc.

But in the last week I've read close to 200 pages if not a bit more. I'm hoping this is the beginning of a new trend.

A thousand sisters : my journey of hope into the worst place on earth to be a woman / Lisa J. Shannon ; foreword by Zainab Salbi.

I believe this is the current Word Shaker's Bookclub selection over at Book Journey. I was lucky to get a copy at the library without too long of a wait.

I haven't made much cover-to-cover progress as yet. Only dipped in here and there. A combination of the disturbing subject and difficulty in reading the font deters me from really settling in with it.

Face to face : women writers on faith, mysticism, and awakening / edited by Linda Hogan and Brenda Peterson.

This is one of those books that features excerpts from other works and makes you want to tap out your library (or bank) account acquiring all of them and possibly all of the works by all of the represented writers.

I've only browsed a bit so far.

The Soul is here for its own joy : sacred poems from many cultures / edited by Robert Bly.

I can say pretty much the same for this one which is poems on spiritual themes and from sacred texts of a number of world religions and spiritual traditions.

This and the book above were both one of those serendipitous finds while searching the library catalog for something else.

Lift / Kelly Corrigan

This one I found on the library shelf while looking for something else. I opened it and read the first couple pages and when I found myself laughing out loud--in the library mind you--I knew I needed to just take it home.

It is a kind of letter written by a mother to her young children for them to read once they are much older--possibly not until they are grown with children of their own.

The bit that had me laughing out loud? The young daughter had gone after a bug on the windshield of the family car by stomping on it--from the wrong side of the glass.

The Civilized World: A Novel in Stories by Susi Wyss

In a collection of nine intertwined short stories, each in one of several locals spanning the globe and with a different female point of view character, Wyss weaves a mesmerizing tale illustrating the way in which our lives are as interconnected as the ripples on the lake made by a shower of hail. Or the hair in a woman's braid.

I've read only four of the nine stories so far. I like to read only one in any one day in order to savor the story and let it stand on its own. Wyss uses language and image like a poet so every paragraph needs savoring. After finishing the last story I may turn back to the first and read them all one after the other more like reading a novel in order to catch more of the connections that I don't pick up on the first time through.

I very rarely re-read and even more rarely re-read real soon after finishing a book so my even contemplating this is saying something about this book.

This is a review copy



Chocolat by Joanne Harris

This is a re-read. At least I believe it is. I know I saw the movie made from it years ago and I usually read the book a movie is based on either before or as soon as possible after watching it.

I am re-reading it because a few weeks ago I found its sequel while browsing the library's large print shelves. I'd had no idea it had a sequel and after bringing it home I knew I wanted to re-read Chocolat first.

I've also sent for the movie DVD from Netflix.

I read over a hundred pages in the last several days.

The Girl With No Shadow by Joanee Harris

This is the sequel to Chocolat. I doubt I'll get to it before next Monday though.