As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’ve been trying to make a dent in the pile of books I have–both physically and electronically–waiting for my attention (reading, that is, not writing, alas).  When the internet repairman was at the house last week, he asked if I was a teacher or maybe a librarian, which should give you some indication of how much reading still remains.

Still, I have made good progress though, sadly, I haven’t encountered many keepers.  I plowed through half-a-dozen Golden Age, Roaring Twenties, and pre/post WWII mysteries that had been residing on my Kindle since who knows when, and promptly deleted them.  I have, it seems, become a very picky reader over the years.   Or maybe I just know what I like.  That sounds more positive, doesn’t it?

The stories were all set in and around London, and one even used British spelling for an authentic feel (I love that), but there were inadvertent Americanisms scattered about, which was distracting.  One of the Goodreads reviews that I read was very put out about the inaccuracies and boldly exclaimed that Americans should stick to their own settings and stop trying to pretend to be British.  The comment was a bit harsh, but I sympathized.

The failed mysteries shone by comparison to my most recent reading, which was pages and pages of legalese relating to our upcoming election.  I always do my best to wade through the actual text of initiatives that we are being asked to vote on, but seriously, whoever writes those things could use a good editor, and maybe a creative writing class or two.  No plot, questionable cohesion, and appalling lack of clarity.  It’s as if they don’t want anybody to understand them.  Oh, wait.

Once that was all done, I definitely needed a treat but, since the corner bakery is not open late at night, I consoled myself with a re-read of a favorite story.  Tomorrow it will be time to pull another random new book off the pile, but tonight it’s a Ngaio Marsh story that not only has a mystery, but also a good dose of human interest with the inclusion of the wife and son of the clever handsome Scotland Yard Inspector (they’re so endearing together).

As always, my  recent reading has included more news than is probably good for me, a lot of metrics and analysis, and a nice helping of #DadJokes and other related humor.  One of the new books waiting for my attention is Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh, author of Hyperbole and a Half.  It is her first book in about seven years, but at over 500 pages she was obviously busy during that time.  One reviewer called it both “giggle-snort funny” and “painfully perceptive.”  I can’t wait to dig in.

Just as I was about to log out of Facebook for the day, I saw a post from Loretta Chase about a romance panel she will be participating in along with Caroline Linden, Sarah MacLean, Falguni Kothari, and Lucia Macro (Vice-President and Executive Editor at Wm Morrow/Avon Books).  Here’s a description of the event:

Do you have good memories of reading Kathleen Woodiwiss, Rosemary Rogers, Johanna Lindsey, Catherine Coulter or so many others? Would you still read them now? Our panel, including some of today’s best historical romance authors, will discuss why we read the books, what were the redeeming values, and lessons to take away given our current times.

The virtual event–https://www.carylibrary.org/events–is put on by the Cary Library in Lexington, MA and you can view the livestream by visiting any of the author’s or the library’s Facebook pages at 7:00pm (EST) on October 14th.  Sounds like an excellent distraction.

So, how’s everything going in your world?  Have you been reading?  Writing?  Searching for distraction?