Summer Reading

Something about spending a lot of time out in the sun and gardening makes me so tired. When I finally sit down in the evenings in the comfort of the air conditioning and think I'll do a bit of reading, I find myself nodding off or feeling it's easier to catch up on some TV shows than hold up a book. (How lazy sounding is that!!!) However, I have recently read London in Chains: An English Civil War Novel and Alchemy of Fire and a young adult book called Beyond the North Wind, all by Gillian Bradshaw. Her books are always so good I can't put them down. Her characters seem so real I miss them when I finish the books and I have to remind myself they are fictional!

I have recently ordered some more historical fiction by Bradshaw, Dark North, The Sun's Bride, Imperial Purple and a couple more of her books for young people called The Dragon and the Thief and The Land of Gold. I have copies of and have read (sometimes more than once) most of her other books. Her science fiction is excellent as well. In that genre, I particularly liked The Wrong Reflection. I am going to try to track down the remaining sci-fi ones I haven't read yet.

Also in the reading queue, I have a copy of Faceless Killers: The First Kurt Wallander Mystery by Henning Mankell. I love the Wallander dvd so much, I now want to try the books!

I am greatly anticipating the next Inspector Banks Novel by Peter Robinson, Bad Boy, due to be released on August 24th. I plan to go to the bookstore for that one the day it comes out!

I have yet to do any reading outside, even on my chaise in the shade. It has just been SO hot for much of the summer that I have preferred to be in the cool air conditioning. It does seem a shame not to read out in the garden though!

This is a faintly surreal image of some blooms back in June. I did a little editing to saturate the colors a bit, but it was an evening shot, so the colors were already deep and intense seeming anyway.