Last week was very mellow and uneventful. December is the slowest time of the year in the library business. We’ll have a flurry of activity as local high school students come in to study for finals, but other than that the library is quite calm. It is nice to have work so quiet when the rest of the world is not. All of the hustle and bustle of the holidays is here in full force. There’s lots more traffic on the roads, the shops are bursting and I have to stand in long lines just to buy cat food and toothpaste. Ah, Christmas.
Books finished this week:
Euphoria by Lily King – After seeing this book on multiple ‘Best Books of 2014’ lists I decided to give it a try. I brought it home from work last Sunday and almost immediately started reading it. I didn’t stop until I went to bed several hours later. It is one of those stories that you fall into very easily because the writing is so vivid and intense. It is set in the thirties in New Guinea and centers on the love triangle between three anthropologists. Two of them, Nell and Fen, are married. When their rival anthropologist, Bankson, helps them out of a rough spot a tense and invigorating relationship forms among the three of them that can only end badly. King used an incident in the life of Margaret Meade as her inspiration for this tale and the anthropological aspects of the novel are fascinating. Unfortunately, about 3/4 of the way through the book I started to lose interest as the characters melted into caricature and melodrama set in. The ending was incredibly disappointing, as well, and I can only say that this book was just mediocre, though I wanted to like it so much more.
I hope to have more luck with my reading this week as I am joining in the Willa Cather Reading Week and you usually can’t go wrong with her. Is anyone else planning to read Cather this week?
Have a lovely Sunday!
A Certain Fondness 
I’m reading a Cather short story at the moment – and enjoying it very much!
LikeLike
Isn’t she great? I haven’t read any of her short stories – I must remedy that!
LikeLike
I picked Euphoria up at the library, but I put in down again because I wasn’t sure it was going to be my sort of book, but maybe it was. At least I have Willa Cather books to re-read, and I have it in mind to work through them chronologically.
LikeLike
Euphoria is well-written and has that fevered, dreamlike quality that is so appealing sometimes – it just fell apart at the end, unfortunately. I’d give it a try if you’re at all still interested.
LikeLike
Euphoria is on my audio wish list because it’s read by two favorite narrators. Sounds like I might enjoy it more that way, but am not sure when I’ll get to it.
LikeLike
I think it would be wonderful on audio – the writing is lovely. I just had a disappointed reaction to the resolution.
LikeLike
Yours is the first mention of Euphoria that I’ve seen, but I haven’t been checking the “Best Of” lists yet – it feels too early!
LikeLike
I meant to add that my library had a copy of Old Firth on their sale carts – I’d seen it there several weeks ago & debated about buying it. After you posted your review, I decided to get it if it was still there – which fortunately it was.
LikeLike
Yay! I’m so glad. Old Filth is a great, great book – one of my favorites of the year. I really hope you like it.
LikeLike
I can’t seem to avoid them! The lists are everywhere and our patrons are asking about books they’ve seen mentioned on them so I have to be alert.
LikeLike
Eh, I have been on an emotional roller coaster with Euphoria. I wasn’t interested in it AT ALL for the longest time, and then Shannon from River City Reading praised it to the skies and made me want to read it after all, and now I am down on it again. Aaaaaaaaaa this book.
LikeLike
It is not a bad book, but it is not a great book. So it just depends on your mood – like all reading, I guess!
LikeLike
Mellow and uneventful weeks are sometimes the best kind. Hope you pick up a book you really enjoy this week 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks, Sam! I’ve just finished a Cather and it was wonderful.
LikeLike
Mellow and uneventful sounds nice, don’t tend to get much of that working with children 😉 I can totally sympathise about the queues and busyness of this time year it is the same here in the UK. I hope you had a nice Sunday. I spent mine at the beautiful cathedral city of Lincoln. I wish you happy reading this week.
LikeLike
Oh how lovely to spend your Sunday in Lincoln. I hope you had a great time. I can’t imagine working with children full-time – I think my brain would be fried!
LikeLike
Glad you’re joining in with Willa Cather.
( incidentally realised that your blog has dropped off my reader which is why I haven’t seen or been commenting on your posts. So sorry)
LikeLike
I forgive you 🙂 I finished A Lost Lady and really enjoyed it – I’ll post about it hopefully Thursday.
LikeLike
A Willa Cather reading event sounds wonderful. I haven’t read her for so long. I am wondering which book you will read.
LikeLike
Sunday, I read A Lost Lady. I’ll post about it soon, but it was lovely.
LikeLike