a ripping good read

I just finished Caroline the Second by Elinor Brent-Dyer. I hadn't been impressed by the first book in the pair (A Thrilling Term at Janeways), but I thought Caroline was astonishingly good, given the author. The characters were believable, there weren't any OTT events, and it was well-told. Brent-Dyer even managed a trick that is hard to pull off: she alluded to events that had happened in the five years between the two books without making them feel forced or unnecessary. They came across as ordinary conversation. Carolinewould have read oddly if the characters never alluded to past events, unless they'd been covered in the first book, so I'm glad this worked. Caroline didn't feature any scenes with the slang-using vicar of the first book (who would have described it as "a ripping good read", no doubt).
The frustrating flip-side to this is that Brent-Dyer proved in Caroline that she could create a compelling plot without resorting to girls falling off cliffsides, and could talk about characters in pervious books without being really obvious about it. Apparently, she could do subtle work - she just didn't bother, for whatever reason.
I've been reading Howard's End for a bookclub, too. It's such a lovely book. I haven't read it for about 15 years or so, and I daresay my perspective has changed a lot since then. So I look forward to discussing it, and assessing my reaction to the book now. I'm supposed to read Number the Stars for a kids' book club, too, but I'm not as enthusiastic about that. ell, I don't mind reading the book, but I don't feel prepared to discuss the Holocaust with children. Maybe if time permits, I'll re-read Darkness over Denmark, as extra preparation.

Lady Simpson

Still tired. Last Tuesday I was at work (at a library, let me remind you) until 1:45 in the morning, finishing a report. Seriously, that's crazy. And not due to bad time management, either - I've been working hard, and working late, and working a few hours on the weekend. I'll be glad when we get a replacement for the person on maternity leave! Right now I'm trying to do about 65 hours of work in a 40-hour work week.
So I've been reading more Regencies, as well as bits of Anna Karenina (I'm almost done - I'm in part 7 of 8) and children's books to review for the local association of children's librarians. I've been enjoying Regencies by Donna Simpson - I even checked some out that have plots I usually skip (such as: rakish gentleman gets injured and stranded alone in some poor village, and must be taken care of by the poor but worthy heroine). Of course, if the author were a Regency character, she'd be Lady Simpson. At least half of the heroes in these books are Earls. Why? I suppose baronets aren't impressive enough, and marquesses and dukes are too unlikely. But it's all ridiculous.
I recently redecorated my desk at work - not, I stress, on work time. As I said, I'm busy! But I have a nice little poetry wall now, with some of my favorites ("One Art", by Elizabeth Bishop; "Dover Beach"; "Ozymandias") to read when I'm searching for a word. I have a Rochester poem up - and yes, I'm a big Rochester fan (owning and having read at least two biographies and his letters, as well as verse), and no, I won't see that dratted movie coming out about him.

seriously tired

Oh, Lordy, I don't have much to say about books. That's because I'm tired from working too much. I helped a friend move over the weekend, and between the blisters on my feet and the sore calves, I can barely walk. You'd think this would allow a lot of good reading time, but I'm too tired to read anything more than Regencies. New ones, mind - I haven't quite gotten to the stage where I re-read them, I'm not that tired - but close. Heaven only knows what my co-workers (who put requested books on my desk) are thinking about all these books like "Susan's Second Season" and "The Vicar's Lovely Daughter". They're all Zebras. This whole Regency-reading kick was started because I read in a trade magazine that Zebra willno longer be publishing Regencies. This irritated me, because Zebras are the only ones I'll read. They're more what I like (I'm carefully avoiding the word "better" here).
I even read a Betts (A Winter Love Story) last week - a romance (not a Regency) by Betty Neels, for those who don't hear me chatter about books very often. It had this hilarious, and all-too-typical of Betts, bit of dialogue:
"'Yes, thank you, I should like to marry you.' She laughed suddenly. 'I don't know your name...'
He came round the table and put gentle hands on her shoulders. 'Thomas,' he said, and bent to kiss her."
Anyway, i quite like my life, and apologise for complaining. I'm very lucky, after all. But I wish I could think of more scintillating things to write tonight!