I did not cross anything off my to-do list today. Is that why it was a perfect day?
Since it was gorgeous, I rode my bike and then sat in in an urban park. I attempted to read a library book, a light comic novel by Elizabeth Cadell, which turned out, alas, not to be my thing. And I was distracted by the leaves falling. Eventually I just watched the leaves.
SIGHT OF THE DAY: the toppled No Smoking sign in the park. Was it deliberately toppled? “Power to the people–smash the state!” A motley crowd of people hang out here, from Kum and Go corporate executives to secretaries on breaks to the homeless. So, yes, there are smokers in the park. I hate the smell of cigarette smoke but honestly–are smokers criminals? Where are they supposed to smoke?
CURRENTLY READING: A Winter’s Promise: Book One of The Mirror Visitor Quartet by Christelle Dabos. This French fantasy novel, just published by Europa Editions, is one of the most absorbing books of the year. The heroine is a museum curator who reads the history of objects by touching them. She can also travel through mirrors. When her family arranges a marriage for her to a chilly man in an alien sexist country at the Pole, she is horrified. And her explorations of the city prove dangerous: a flirtatious ambassador picks her up (literally) when she wanders into a masked ball. She has no more sexual interest in him than she does in her fiance. Dabos writes, “She’d once read a romantic novel lent by her sister. All those amorous outpourings had done nothing for her and the book had bored her to death. Was this abnormal? Would her body and heart be forever deaf to that call?”
Now how am I going to wait til April for Book 2? Should I just learn French?
More on this remarkable book later!
CURRENTLY WONDERING: how the organizers of Victober, a charming event that entails reading Victorian novels in October, can keep up with their busy schedules. They are devoted to reading multiple Victorian book, have group reads, buddy reads, a Goodreads group, and cross off the number of pages read per day on spreadsheets. It’s a lot of work. I do think private schools would happily recruit them to teach English.
CROSSED OFF ON MY TBR TODAY: cooking dinner!
Sorry, my previous comment somehow was published in the middle of my writing it.
October 17, 2018 at 11:23 am
I am glad to hear that you are having good days. It is fall here but the weather has been very nice. Winters Promise sounds very good. I tend to really like fantasy when it is imaginative and differect. I might read this book.
No problem! I just deleted the first one.
Fall is my favorite season. Thank God for some nice days, because it rained for two weeks! A Winter’s Promise is very intriguing and imaginative. I like Europa books, and my expectations are more than met with this one. It’s so much fun!