I have finished reading Drood on this first Sunday of 2010, needless to say I read most of it in December! I feel relief at getting to the end and am looking forward to reading something else. I’ll write about once I’ve had more time to think it over as a whole.
Along with Drood I’ve been reading Be Near Me by Andrew O’Hagan. This is about a English priest in a small Scottish parish; as he makes friends with some of the locals and experiences prejudice from others he reflects on his past life. I’m enjoying it. Hilary Mantel writes:
[O’Hagan] is a fine stylist, a penetrating analyst, a knowledgeable guide to high thinking and squalid living. This is a nuanced, intense and complex treatment of a sad and simple story. Read it twice.
My plan to have a box of books not in storage didn’t work out because there was no room in our car for them, so I’ve only had a few books around until Christmas Day when my husband presented me with this pile.
I think I’ll start with Paul Auster’s Invisible.
And for the rest of today I intend to unpack and sort some books and choose which one to read next.
BooksPlease 
Lots of Agatha-related books there. Nice stack…good for your husband.
On this, my last day of vacation, I am contemplating visiting the bookstore!
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How nice to be presented with a pile of books ove the holidays! Happy reading! Hope you will visit my Sunday Salon at A New Year and a New Name
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That’s a marvelous looking Christmas pile-I love Christie! :)
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what a nice husband! I received the Christie Autobiography for Christmas when it first came out in the seventies. Loved every word of it.
And what a nice task to look forward to today: unpacking books.
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What a lovely pile of books. Happy reading!
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Bless your husband for thinking *books* for you. No better gift. I’ve put the John Curran book on my wish list. I hope it’s good.
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Happy Sunday Margaret! I will be interested in your thoughts on Drood. I’ve been eying that one and keep putting it off for some reason. I hope 2010 is a wonderful reading year for you.
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I thought ‘Be Near Me’ was stunning if very very chilling in it’s psychological realism. I passed it on to a friend of mine who is a Catholic priest and his comment was that he could think of situations that were very near parallels. Not a comforting thought.
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