What mischief I have gotten myself into!
If I can keep my eyes open tonight (May 31st), I may finish Tess of the D'Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy, before the official start of the new month (as I write, there are four hours left of May); otherwise, it will be added to the rest of my stack for the month of June.
I am still perusing my way through City of God, by Augustine. I read about five chapters a night, unless I fall asleep in the middle of reading. Then I fall behind.
Continuing with The Little House-athon at The Vince Review, I begin The Long Winter, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. This will be my easiest read, obviously.
But then I joined Jillian and a group on Twitter for Testament of Youth, by Vera Brittain, which spans the entire month of June. There is no way I can finish 600+ pages in a month. Even if it was my only book, there are not enough minutes in my days to read.
For the Well-Educated Mind Reading Challenge (Histories), I am moving on to Utopia, by Sir Thomas More. I want to finish this one in the month of June because I prefer to move quickly through the WEM books, though these things are not in my control.
And finally, a friend of mine encouraged me to join her book club. They are reading Bleak House, by Charles Dickens, in June. Again, I know I will never finish this book by the end of June, but if I like it, I will continue on until I finish it. Dickens sometimes exhausts me, and this book is a tome. The sight of it intimidates me.
There are so many other books I want to read for summer, too, and maybe I will get to them come July. But these are my main focus for June, and I am not adding any more.
There, I said it.
Wow, that is quite a stack! But if it helps, I really liked Bleak House. It's a pretty good read, not tedious or dull, and also Utopia is not too hard.
ReplyDeleteI have had the most positive response to Bleak House, so I am greatly encouraged. Thank you. And I cannot wait to begin Utopia.
DeleteThat is a giant stack. :)
ReplyDeleteIt sure is. And I just finished Tess, so I feel better about beginning Testament tonight.
DeleteI would be daunted by City of God alone, nevermind the rest...!
ReplyDeleteCity of God is excellent -- not only intriguing, but you can take it in little chunks b/c the chapters are super short.
DeleteWhat an ambitious reading! If it helps, Bleak House isn't really bleak actually... maybe at first, but when you get through the plot, it's quite interesting.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, I should expect to like it and finish it to the end, even if it takes longer than June. : )
DeleteI LOVE the story of Bleak House... to be honest, I have not read the book all the way through, so my opinion is based on the TV adaptations. But, I know it's great. :) Good luck on all your summer reading!
ReplyDeleteWell, thank you. Again, all my positive feedback is on Bleak House. Thank you.
DeleteIt does look a little crazy, but you never know...a few sleepless nights - I can't do that any more. Bleak House is a great book; Testament of Youth - I skipped the last few chapters as I got tired of her Marxist blethering. The writing otherwise was very good but I was reading it at the same time as All Quiet on the Western Front & in my opinion that was a much more powerful & selfless portrayal of the devastating effects of WWI. I've just finished Kristin Lavransdatter which was quite a long saga although not a hard read.
ReplyDeleteHey, Carol, I've been falling asleep WHILE READING. It's NUTS. : (
DeleteI felt that way about the end of the film version of Testament, and it will be a great challenge for me to read it. I am open to her memoir, but I do not agree with the Marxist ideology. So we'll see how that goes.
Nope...I've got one more you MUST add.
ReplyDeleteJK of course. Impressive list, but you can do it.
Aww, I was almost expecting you to tell me another great book I should start.
DeleteWow, what a huge pile! Yes, I agree The Long Winter looks like the most easy read on that list. I read Bleak House for Uni, but don't remember much about it, except that it was quite enjoyable, but a bit heavy. There was a court case going on all through the story which dragged on. I might read it again some day.
ReplyDeleteOh, no . . . you don't remember BH? LOL.
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