An Echo in the Bone - STILL

Yes....I'm still reading it. Bits and pieces..bits and pieces!
I was a bit underwhelmed with the beginning and the middle parts of this book. Now, towards the end, it's picking up speed and really starting to "wow" me.
But something happened in the book last night that made me put it down.
I don't want to spoil it for Gabaldon lovers but it really has tested my faith in the whole Jamie and Claire saga.
I kept thinking, "You have GOT to be kidding me! Please don't let this happen."
The pages are dwindling so I know I'm nearing the end which means a major MAJOR cliffhanger for another three years or so.

Funny how emotionally involved we get. I guess that's the work of good fiction.

An Echo in the Bone

I'm almost done with this book. I have been taking my time with it because Diana Gabaldon needs so much time between books. Also, because I have been so busy, keeping me from reading as much as I'd like. This is kind of depressing to me; I am afraid I won't live long enough to read all the books I want to read.

An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon (in progress)

I was sick with the flu the day this came out but as soon as the doctor said it was ok for me to be around other humans, I ran to Barnes and Noble to grab my copy!

I became hooked on the Outlander series several years ago.  I read Outlander and never looked back.  I read the first four of these giant tomes in just two or three weeks.
I've actually reread the first three books more than twice.  It's that good!

The last two books have seemed a little tedious and exhausting.  I know Diana Gabaldon puts a lot of work and research into her books and that's why it takes so long but with each book, more and more characters are introduced and it seems like the focus is slowly starting to leave Jamie and Claire and even Brianna and Roger. 
I didn't even care for Brianna and Roger at first but they started to grow on me. 
However, in An Echo in the Bone, so much time is given to Lord John and William and not nearly enough on those we've become hooked on.

I'm sure Gabaldon has her vision and far be it for me to complain.  I'll still keep reading because I just HAVE to know how this will end even if we don't want it to ever end.

Sookie Stackhouse...

In the last week, I read #4 and #5 in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris.

I won't even bother with a big write up because this isn't exactly Nobel Prize winning literature but they are sure tons of fun!
I was having a hard time getting back into the swing of reading.  It was like I couldn't focus (blame the iPhone!) but this was just the fluff I needed!

I was sick with the flu all this week and on Tuesday, Diana Gabaldon's newest in the Outlander series was released.  I was stuck in bed so I couldn't run out and buy it but the moment I was well enough to go back to work, I was in Barnes and Noble grabbing my copy!

Can't wait to get started!

Distractions

This is why I haven't been blogging or reading.
I'm completely and utterly obsessed with my new iPhone.
Instead of reading, I just sit and play with it; the settings, ringtones, internet, apps...oh my God the apps!
Plus, I have Stanza, the awesome book reader app.
I realize I probably need an intervention but I'm hoping I can get back to reading before iPhone rehab is necessary.

Somerset Maugham was a perv?

Not long after I posted about my year-long obsession with Maugham, I found this article linked on another blog.
Apparently, W. Somerset Maugham was a depraved individual.

The most louche of all the expatriates who congregated on the beautiful stretch of coast between Nice and Monaco before World War II, the prolific writer held court at his fabulous mansion, the Villa Mauresque, in glamorous Cap Ferrat.

Nude bathing parties, drugs, lashings of champagne and nightly seductions of the local lads . . . Almost everyone who visited was shocked by his decadence.

Frankly, who's surprised? Aren't all brilliant writers somewhat insane?

Show me a normal writer and I'll show you a very bored reader.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Dammit. I guess I'll have to stop reading Swann's Way because I was on reserve at the library for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and it just came in.

I've heard nothing but good things about this book and the sequel so I definitely need to get caught up.

So...down goes Proust (temporarily) and I'll start the new book today.