I Should've Put This Up Months Ago...

[valiantarcher]

So, at the beginning of the summer I wrote up a reading list of books I needed to read before school started again. I pretty promptly got to work on it, and then got stuck around the end of June. *coughs*NexttimeIhateabookIshouldprobablyjustputitdownnotignoreitandhopeit'llgetfinishedeventuallyanyway*coughs* Also, I got caught up in some other

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[proverbsun]

You know, it's funny because I started reading Venetia by Georgette Heyer and I got stuck on it and I feel bad about it too. Mayhaps you and I and Georgette are just not meant to be?

Also, I started reading War & Peace recently (just after finishing Les Mis because apparently I am trying to drown myself in long-winded books this summer) and I've actually found it pretty easy to read, it's just hard to keep all the characters straight at first.

My reading list this summer included precisely 3 things - Les Mis, War & Peace, and rereading To Kill A Mockingbird, so I don't know if can help you with suggestions. Although... have you read Kat, Incorrigible (I think the author's name is Stephanie Burgis or something similar)? It reminds me of Diana Wynne Jones a bit, and it's set in regency times. I thought it was pretty cute, so you might like it. :)

[valiantarcher]

;)) Yeah, that might be. And it makes me feel a bit better. I've actually read two other books by her and while I didn't love them, I didn't have near as much trouble with them. One of them was also a regency-era book too and it was kind of annoying, but the other was a mystery and it wasn't too bad. Just the main characters in Lady of Quality are so annoying! Especially the main-main one; she's very modern and "witty" and basically she acts like she's the smartest one around and has no real charity for anyone else---even her poor brother is treated like he's a jerk when he's really trying to be a good brother and warn her about the rude womaniser who she falls in love with. GAAAAAH!!! /end rant Oh, well. I'm down to like two chapters left, so hopefully the agony will be over soon. :P Except she just caught the flu, so there'll be tons more drama before the villain romantic interest comes back and she gets to accept his proposal. :P

[meltintall3]

Let's see... which Sayers? If it's not a Lord Peter, it'll lack zest. Or so I found with The Documents in the Case and the few short stories about the travelling salesman that were in something or another... On the OTHER hand! The Whimsey Papers pt. 1

Lady of Quality is not on my list of books by Heyer that I've read, so I'd say try The Grand Sophy or Friday's Child instead. Cotillion is supposed to be one of her best, but I don't actually remember characters/situations, so!

Gaskell is easier to read than Dickens. The Arkadians should take less than four hours to read but is a smidge formulaic though amusing. And I love The Outlaws of Sherwood despite (because of?) its heavy angsting.

Mostly, I think it's a very nice list full of books I would be happy to read. :)

[valiantarcher]

Em, whichever is next in the Wimsey series! XD I'm thinking it's Murder Must Advertise, but I'm not positive. Ooh, yay, the Papers! :D

Well, there are only a few Heyers around here, and I found A Lady of Quality at a booksale, so... I'll keep the others in mind, though, thanks. :)

True, she is! :) I've only read one book by her---I got stuck on Wives and Daughters and really busy during that semester, so I haven't tried her in years. :">
Oh, good! I thought it looked easy to get through, so I'll keep that in mind. :)
Haha, yeah. I'm not a huge fan of McKinley in general, but hopefully I'll enjoy it. :) Or, rather, I guess only Beauty stands out positively to me, and maybe The Blue Sword stands out negatively, and the rest I've read didn't stand out that much. ;))

Yay! :D So it's not a complete loss. ;))

[valiantarcher]

Oh, yes, I thought I'd heard good things about Murder Must Advertise before, so I'm glad to hear it's one of your favourites! :) I think the last one I read was Five Red Herrings, so...well, it looks like Have His Carcase is actually next. Oops. :"> Ack, well, Murder Must Advertise would be the one after that. :D

I love North and South! :D That's the only Gaskell I've actually read---I didn't get far enough in Wives and Daughters for it to count. Have you read Cranford? That's the one I have out from the uni library to read, so I'm hoping I'll enjoy it. (Or, rather, the one my sister has out for me to read---it's nice to have a sister who took a summer class. ;) )

[ladyadeone]

Ooh - The Outlaws of Sherwood is rather good. War and Peace, Crime and Punishment? Impressive goals! Re- Dorothy Sayers, have you read The Twelve Tailors? That's one of my favorites.

[valiantarcher]

Glad to hear it! :) I hope to enjoy it then.

Haha, well, the two impressive goals are more guilt than anything. ;)) The former I tried to read with a few NWebbers and never made it very far, the latter a friend read this summer and was trying to convince me to read it too. :">

No, I haven't read that Sayers! I've kind of been reading them in order, so I should get to it eventually, though. :)

[ladyadeone]

Good to hear that they're so good as to be recommended by friends... I should get around to them myself sometime...

Got it. : ) And I totally second Aravis_A's rec of Murder Must Advertise, in the meantime.

[valiantarcher]

To be honest, I can't remember if they were recommended or just "Hey, you want to suffer along with me in this?" ;)) I'm pretty sure War and Peace was recommended, but less sure about Crime and Punishment.

Seconds on recommendations are always good! :D