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| I finally finish The Thirteenth Tale
by Diane Setterfield. It was a really good book. The main
character, Margaret Lea, is asked to do to biography of Vida Winter, a
famous, reclusive author. In all the interviews Vida Winter has
given (hundreds over her lifetime), she always lied about her
past. She gives fantastic stories of her life: the daughter of a
priest and a schoolmistress, the runaway child of a Parisian courtesan,
an orphan raised in a Swiss convent, and so on. With every book
published and every story told to reporters, Vida Winter gets more
famous and more mysterious, but Margaret isn't interested in a story,
she wants the truth. Vida Winter, old and ill, is finally ready
to tell her past on one condition, she starts from the beginning and
ends with the end--no skipping around. Her past is even more
mysterious than the story she creates. It centers around the
Angelfield family and a fire in the family's house.
I enjoyed the book a lot. It was gothic in
nature (seems like a theme to the books I have read recently), and even
had a mystery to it.
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| I am still Reading Thirteenth Tale (and enjoying it), but I took some time in that book to read a couple others:
1) Firewalk by Anne Logstone
This was a book Jing gave
me to read while she was gone. Despite what the main title might
sound like, it isn't a romance book. It is fantasy. I am
not really into the genre, but the book was ok (I was able to finish
it). I don't think I would ever read it again, but I am glad to
have broaden my horizons. The main character is able to
manipulate fire. She has to marry a man from another country (for
an alliance between the two countries). And, uh, stuff
happens.
2) Lucky by Alice Sebold
It is the author's memoir.
The
book starts with the author getting raped and beat in a park when she
was a college freshman. The cops told her she was lucky in comparison
because a girl was killed there. The book chronicles the time
after (how other people reacted to what happened to her and how she
dealt with the rape, school and the trial of her rapist). It
isn't a happy book, but still a good book.
3) Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
I thought I should read a
classic novel, too (Laurie warned me that this book was bad).
Laurie was right. I didn't like this book. I didn't like
the characters. And it was SO slow moving. It is a gothic
novel about a bunch of English country bumpkins. Catherine and
Heathcliff like each other but marry others. Supposedly, it is a
"tragic" story. What is truly tragic, is the time I spent
reading it.
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| I did something that I haven't done in forever. I ran during the
day! It is so nice when it gets cooler in Austin, and I can
actually run when the sun is out. Of course, I don't expect these
temperature to last, and even if they did, the novelty of cold weather
runs out really quickly for me. So, I will enjoy this while I
can. 
Jing, Thursday was my first day doing iron palm without you. It
just isn't the same with Sean. I can't complain (how do you
complain about doing so few rolls on a lighter bar?). He also
doesn't believe in wasting time waiting for his shin to get
harder, like I do. While I was trying to get going, Master Joe
walked in a saw what I was doing. So, he takes this Hello Kitty
doll wearing a tutu, and sets it up in front of me. She was just
sitting there mocking me. It was a terrible feeling. 
And now Sean says that I should be doing it more than just once a week. I am adding Sunday. We'll see how that goes.
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| Here is another list of books I have read somewhat recently:
1) Twilight by Stephenie Meyer:
The first book in a trilogy (though I
believe there might be more--the author seems to want to milk this for
all it is worth). First of all, this is a young adult book.
I did enjoy reading it, but I had some problems with the story and some
of the characters. It is about a girl (who is too weak for me to
really like) and her relationship with a vampire. Yeah, it is a
bit lame, but keep in mind that it is a teen book.
2) New Moon by Stephenie Meyer:
Second book in the trilogy. This
one wasn't as good as the first. It was way to angsty for me--a
let down, really. The main characters relationship with the
vampire hits a few snags. Go figure!
3) Vindication for the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft:
I like it for the feminist ideas, but
cringe at her ideas about love and marriage (she says that a neglected
or abused wife makes for the best mother). Still worth reading
and ahead of its time. Wollstonecraft should be required reading.
4) Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen:
Not one of Austen's better novels, but
certainly not of of her worst either. It is a gothic-satire,
coming of age novel about a country bumpkin girl going to Bath for the
first time. Nice because the main character is anything but
perfect (even embarrassing at times), and her best friend is someone
easily related to (the serial bestfriend).
5) City of Ladies by Christina de Pizan:
One of the original feminists (born
1365-died 1430). I really loved this book. Pizan defends
her sex beautifully against the stereotypes of that time period and
male authors looking to put women down.
6) Darcy's Story by Janet Aylmer:
I really love Pride and Prejudice, and
figured that, since this book was one sale, it might be worth
reading. The book tells P&P in Darcy's point of view.
It stays faithful to the original storyline, but damn is
Darcy boring. It isn't a bad read, but everything it says on
Darcy's point of view can be inferred from the original work.
7) Deception Point by Dan Brown:
I have read three Brown books now, and
I have enjoyed them. My problem with them is that they are all
the same. It is like romance novels for men. It does,
however, make for a quick, fun read.
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It
was a good game, but the lady in front of us was weird. She brought 2
good luck gnomes to the game ("Nick" and "Nack"). She wanted everyone
to rub them for good luck. I am not kidding. The also spent most of
the game yelling on a cell phone (or singing to the person on the other
end). She even put the cell phone up to the gnomes so it could talk. 
I wish I were making this up...
