10 Things Between The Covers

I have had a great windfall of literature in the past week or so. Enough, I think, to warrant its very own 10 Things post.

1. The Road by Cormac McCarthy - This is perhaps not the correct go-to book on a week when one is to attend a funeral. It was the right size to fit in my bag on the day I finished the previous book so...reading it I am.

2. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson - This is a perk of hanging out with rich folks. My boss fell in love with this trilogy and when I found out we could get a paperback copy from the UK before it would be released in the US he told me to order it. It arrived yesterday and he is in the middle of a few books and some traveling so he's lent it to me to read first! I'm thrilled to be able to devour it and sad that this will be the end of the line for anything from Larsson. (Larsson died shortly after delivering the manuscripts for his trilogy to his publishers.)

3. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon - This is the 3rd book in the Outlander series. I decided to treat myself to second hand copies of this and one other book and I got a super deal on it from Powell's. I plan to read this series thoroughly but not to gobble it. If I read too much of Gabaldon in one go I get critical. If I go easy then I enjoy.

4. The Unicorn Hunt by Dorothy Dunnett - This is the other treat from Powell's. It's the 5th book in the House of Niccolo series. It isn't nearly as delectable as the Lymond series but it's a good dose of Dunnett and I love her. I'm going to have to really work to get back up to speed because I read book four probably over a year ago.

5. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell - I have trouble trusting my instincts but know that in a lot of cases my instincts are very good. For instance that time I waited to see if I could get into NYU and didn't go to Brown. That was a good instinct. Brown would not have been good for me.

6. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell - The same people who recommended Blink liked this one. I'm interested in what he has to say. As with most self-help kinds of books, I assume I'll find some things that speak to me but it won't change my life. We shall see.

7. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells - It's a terribly slim volume. I've never read anything by Wells before so I'm kind of excited. If nothing else I feel certain it will be better than the movie based upon it.

8. The Secret History by Donna Tartt - This was very big a while ago, wasn't it? I read review after review of it and kept thinking, "I'll probably like that." If someone hadn't been giving it away for free on the sidewalk I don't think I'd ever have gotten around to it.

9. Fodor's Guide to Italy (2005) - I turned in my passport documents last week. In 4 - 6 weeks I fully expect not to be trapped in America any longer. Phew! I'm ready to start planning the Italy trip. I'm thinking, hoping, for something this fall, even. October hopefully. Finding this book on the street was like the universe saying, "Yup, it's time to go."

10. Speaking With The Angel edited by Nick Hornby - This is a collection of short stories by all manner of fun people like Dave Eggers, Helen Fielding, Colin Firth, Roddy Doyle and Zadie Smith. It's sometimes hard for me to handle short stories. They ought to be perfect for my short attention span but I think the swift change of pace can be hard for me to keep up with. I'm looking forward to these, though.

What are you reading?