Recent Reads, Etc.

I still like to read a little before sleep, so I finished some books during my job in spite of going to bed so early.

Our book group had read and enjoyed A Change of Climate, so I was happy to see that Ms. Mantel's Wolf Hall was awarded the 2009 Man Booker Prize. I like historical fiction and have been intrigued by Tudor England ever since watching the BBC miniseries "The Six Wives of Henry the VIII", so I rushed out to buy it. Well, I just couldn't get into it and after several tries I put it aside. What initially put me off was the writing style--after 3 or 4 characters are speaking in the first person, I'd suddenly read something like "he left the room" and get confused as to who actually left. This happened so often that I lost patience.

When I picked up the book again recently, I persisted and really became engaged with the story of Thomas Cromwell's rise to power under Henry VIII and his continued successes under Henry's favor.  The political machinations are quite interesting to read about during our current election year!

As soon as I finished Wolf Hall, I read its sequel, Bring Up the Bodies.  With tighter editing and 150 fewer pages, I flew through this story of Anne Boleyn's downfall.  Now I can't wait for the last book in the trilogy to be published!

Our book group's selection this month was John Irving's latest novel, In One Person. I didn't like it--I never cared about the main character or his life as a bisexual man. It's supposed to be autobiographical but I think it suffers from TMI and oversharing.  Perhaps a LGBTQ person would read this book and shout, "Yes! Finally a book for me!" I don't consider myself a prude, but I do think some things should be private--graphic sex scenes just don't make a story for me. And graphic gay, bi, or transgendered sex scenes just make me think of pedophiles.

On a happier note, one rainy day when Adria was here we drove past these beautiful gardens. The homeowner puts umbrellas over her fragile annuals when it rains--what a colorful sight!

Yesterday while I was guiding during Hill-Stead's First Sunday Open House, our governor and his entourage breezed through!  Apparently they had stopped at the Farmers' Market which is held on the grounds during the summer months and decided to come inside.  Gov. Malloy has a good memory--apparently the museum's director has taken him around a couple of times, and he was able to provide lots of information to his guests!