long day.

Posted on October 30, 2010 by pagesofjulia

So I’m pretty tired but also really pumped at the excellent, exciting, educational trail building clinic I attended today. (Need to sleep soon because we start early tomorrow and do the REALLY hard work.) But I have two pieces of book news: 1, I purchased a copy of IMBA’s Trail Solutions manual which is pretty cool (that’s the International Mountain Biking Association). 2, the classroom portion of our class took place in a local library, so I had the chance to stop in and buy a complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica from 1981!! So cool. I bought it with this awesome project in mind, but I confess, they’re such nice books, and in such mint condition, that I might have to finger them a bit first. We shall see.

That’s all for tonight – no time to read this weekend – catch up later. Go find some trail!

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instead of reading…

Posted on October 11, 2010 by pagesofjulia

This weekend, I traveled with my mother to go look at some art in Galveston, which I highly recommend – we saw the tree sculptures, which local artists have carved out of the stumps left behind by Hurricane Ike’s carnage, and also attended the Galveston Art Walk. My friend Lisa Jeane’s artwork was the best stuff we saw! The big event of the weekend was my car breaking down 70 miles from home 😦 but we’re getting that worked out, too.

I did manage to read up on Lizzie Borden and the Lindbergh baby, continuing on through The Cases That Haunt Us. I find the case of the Lindbergh baby the most disturbing and intriguing one yet. Well, maybe not the most disturbing; the things done to the Ripper’s victims are pretty nightmarish. But I’m most interesting in the Lindbergh baby so far. It has the most sense of mystery, the most unanswered questions.

I’m also steadily picking up more books, and digging myself a deeper hole! I’ve come across Margaret Truman’s Murder at the Library of Congress and that just begs to be added to my book-mystery-book stack; I’m also intrigued by Whatever You Say I Am: the life and times of Eminem. He’s a pretty fascinating character. Wish me luck making some progress, and hope that my next post is about more  reading and less not-reading!! Oh, and reading Murder Past Due is making me want a Maine coon cat like the one the hero-amateur-detective has. 🙂

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Upcoming! Readalong.

Posted on October 7, 2010 by pagesofjulia

As you might expect, I’m pretty excited about the release of Michael Connelly’s latest, The Reversal. This one involves both Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch. I have it on order and will be reading and commenting here; if you’d like to join me, I welcome your comments! but I tell you now, go out and get your copy immediately!

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TV tie-in

Posted on October 6, 2010 by pagesofjulia

I hate to do it! I was not brought up to be a television person, but I guess I’ve become one, in a manner of speaking. (Like most of us who weren’t brought up on television, I have a hard time ignoring one that’s been turned on.) One of my favorite television shows recently is Criminal Minds – I have a penchant for crime drama (CSI, NCIS, Law and Order SVU), which I guess matches up with my liking for murder mystery novels. Anyway. Criminal Minds is about the FBI’s criminal profiling unit, the BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit). Well, somehow I got drawn to a book called The Cases That Haunt Us, by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker. John Douglas founded the original incarnation of what is now the BAU, and just about invented the field of criminal profiling. This is a compilation of his analyses of unsolved crimes including those of Jack the Ripper, JonBenet Ramsey, and the Lindbergh baby, among others.

So I’m a little ashamed to admit that this book interest was piqued by television, but so be it.

I’m well into Jack the Ripper, and scared myself proper last night and had to be comforted by the Husband. (The Husband is responsible for my newfound ability to, gasp, read with the television on.) All I can say so far is that I’m hoping to be a more well-educated watcher of Criminal Minds, which may be the wrong reason to read, except that there’s never a wrong reason to read.

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Phillippa Gregory

Posted on October 6, 2010 by pagesofjulia

Just wanted to mention that I’ve recently discovered this author… and I’ve really enjoyed everything I’ve found so far (three titles: The Other Boleyn Girl, The Boleyn Inheritance, and The Other Queen). They’re historical fiction, and she’s got them set in the 15th-20th centuries, but all 3 that I’ve read come from the 15th; I enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl the most, if you’re looking for a place to start. I’ll be finishing her 15th century series before branching out. As you might guess from the titles, these books deal with the Tudor monarchy, and they have everything: intrigue, suspense, drama, romance (of a fairly cynical sort, what do you expect at the royal court?) and some medium-steamy sex, too. They’re fairly long and engrossing; great to keep me for a whole weekend (not too many books can do that). I recommend.

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Hello world!

Posted on October 4, 2010 by pagesofjulia

Hello everyone. My name is Julia and I’m here to share what I’m reading and how I’m feeling about it. I love to read, and it’s also part of my job as a librarian. I figured this was a fair-to-middling way to share what I was up to, and also track my reading history. Someday maybe I’ll create a personal readers’ advisory database of book recommendations, but not today. This is it for now. Please feel free to share with me what you’re reading or your reactions to my reactions. I’m glad to be here!

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