Hi there!

Welcome to my second little blog! This one's just about books - what I've been reading, what looks good, but I haven't got to yet, what's really bad and I never even finished - that kind of stuff. As a librarian (and why, yes, even before that) books and reading are a very important part of my life, so fully integrated that it only makes sense to devote a little blog time to literary things. I'll read anything - fiction, non-fiction, kids, teen and adult.



That being said, I'm just about 20 pages away from the end of Edna Ferber's Giant, which I have loved. I don't know why I haven't read more of Ferber - I read So Big back in high school, when I was obsessed with all things western historical American. Her style is plain but very readable, and I identify very much very Leslie, the main character of the story.



Marrying into Texas in the 20's she faces monumental culture shock in her new marriage and surroundings. What's hooked me in the plot is seeing how her curiosity, love of her husband and unwillingness to back down,drive her to acclimate to a Texas of racism, misogyny and misuse of land. I can see myself in her when she has a freak out about being told not to take part in men's talk. I can see myself in her when she rails against the way things are, when no one wants to acknowledge them, much less change them. She's a wonderful, complex, strong female character and very fun to read about.



Not sure what I'm going to pick up when I'm finished, though. On deck I've got Jill Conner Brown's American Thighs (the latest Sweet Potato Queens type book), The Oxford Project book or a collection of short stories that came in with new books at work this weekend. I'll let you know what comes up to bat!