I’ve been trying to read a lot, especially by using the library as much as possible. I have a routine at the library lately.* I tend to gravitate toward the new releases shelves, picking out women’s and other commercial fiction. I have to ration myself on these new books, though, because they’re limited to a week’s loan and I spend too much time working and taking care of Fecklet to read several books in one week. If I don’t find anything there that appeals, I check out the general fiction, then maybe the graphic novels and fantasy (DH and I are on a Neil Gaiman glom), or maybe the thrillers (I’ve got a couple of Val McDermids to catch up on).
The last book I picked up though was a historical—Sophia’s Secret by Susanna Kearsley. I had dinner with Susanna back in February, though I didn’t know who she was, or that she’d been one of the finalists for the Romantic Novel of the Year award. (And I was, er, drunk. Sorry, Susanna.)
I don’t normally read historicals, that is, unless they’re written by someone I know. I just never think to read them. My own knowledge of history is sketchy and I just don’t feel like I’m bringing much to the table, I guess.
But every time I read one, I find myself enjoying it—not in spite of the historical aspect, but because of it. Especially if the characters are caught up in big historical events where the stakes are much higher. In a contemporary novel, a heroine might run the risk of not getting the job and life she wants, or finding love, or getting herself out of some mess or another. In a historical, the heroine might run the risk of being killed for treason, of ruining her reputation forever, of having her loved ones taken from her. And running behind this lies the fate of the country and the course of history. Excellent stuff.
Habits are hard to break, so I’m not certain I’ll gravitate toward the historical fiction aisle as a habit, but I’m glad I’m dipping in.
Have you discovered, or re-discovered, any reading that’s outside your habit recently?
*It goes without saying that the first thing we do at the library is go to the children’s section so that Fecklet can run around, look at the books, talk about the fish painted on the wall, play with the computer and generally be much noisier than one is supposed to be in a library. After that I have roughly eight minutes to select the books I’d like to read before he gets bored.
Have you read ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’? I haven’t really taken a book to my heart like that in a long while…I’m recommending it to everyone at the moment.
I never used to read any crime fiction but I was in a reading group when I was still working in London & one month we did a Sue Grafton novel. I felt v superior about it & felt I wouldn’t like it at all but I found I just couldn’t put it down! I was then frantic over how many years I had spent avoiding crime fiction!
(Btw, we missed u yesterday, hope u & fecklet were ok. You missed all the excitement of L falling in the fountain in the Lion Park!)
Jane Green and Sophie Kinsella are recent discoveries and I’m loving their books.
Ahhh, yes I can remember those days. And I doubt the Fecklet is any worse than my lot were.
It all depends on my mood. Sometimes I read far more non fiction, and at others, it is fiction. Recently I have been reading some paranormal — Bram Stoker’s Dracula was far better than I thought it would be.
I would never look at a book with that title and cover these days, Ruth, so I’m glad you recommended it. I’ll get it out of the library.
Janet, can you believe I’ve never read Sophie Kinsella!?
I loved Dracula, Michelle. It’s a proper Gothic romp with quite modern storytelling techniques. And of course it’s all about sex. Nice.
Only a week’s loan? Yikes! I get three weeks from Herts libraries, and I can renew online too (because even three weeks isn’t always enough).
I don’t read a lot of historicals either, but once I start it’s hard to stop, and I kind of binge on them. I’m still recommending Joanna Bourne to everybody, especially The Spymaster’s Lady.
I can’t believe you’ve never read Sophie Kinsella! I prefer her single titles to the Shopaholic series (after a certain while, I just wanted to tell Becky to Stop Bloody Spending). Her latest, Remember Me, is very good and quite a twist on the amnesiac heroine story.
As for reading outside my habit, I’ve been book-swapping recently with a friend, and have rediscovered hard sci-fi and fantasy (as opposed to the girlie versions that feature romance more heavily). I’m still deciding whether I’ll read more, or stop at this!
How about a mystery set in Australia 1920′s with a female Vamp detective named Phryne Fisher? The author is Kerry Greenwood.
The books are light but addictive. I’m nearing the end of the series so I ration them between more serious reading.
My library (where you worked in your teen years) gets them for me through inter library loans.