What I Am Reading

BOOKS I’M CURRENTLY READING

I always read multiple books at one time. Doesn’t everyone? Ok, maybe not. I think the reason I read more than one story at a time might be because I love to read so much that I don’t like to tie myself down to just one story. This way, I’m following several enjoyable narratives at once. As well, I’ve made a new rule for myself since I accumulate books much faster than I can read them. The new rule is that I must always be reading at least one book that has been languishing around my house for years and begging for my attention.

I am currently reading a YA dystopian novel, a Madeleine L’Engle saga that details the lives of two women from different time-periods, a fluffy old-fashioned gothic romance that starts out in China and ends in England, and, finally, a vintage book published in 1919 about a woman who becomes a Land Girl in England during the Great War (WWI).

You are welcome to read along with me. Your best bet is to get the books at the library or even a used bookstore. However, if you’re interested in reading more about the books I mention, or in buying the book(s) outright, I have included the Amazon links below.

Dan Wells has set his book Partials (Partials Sequence) in the future. Since it’s YA and set in the future, it’s dystopian because apparently those are the new rules now when you are writing fiction: if it’s YA and in the future, it must also be dystopian because a story that starts out with “It’s fifty years from now and everyone is deliriously happy” is boring. Let’s be honest. You need to keep this in mind in case you ever decide to become an author. Partials tells the story of earth having been invaded by hostile aliens over 10 years ago. They afflicted humans with a terrible disease which prevents any baby born from living longer than a few days. The main character is Kira. She is 17 and is training to be a medic. In the opening of the book, she is working in the maternity ward where they are desperately trying to find a cure to this disease.

The novel I am reading by Madeleine L’Engle is called The Love Letters. It tells about a modern-day woman who is having marital troubles and juxtaposes this with the heartbreak a seventeenth century nun experiences when she goes against her vows and falls in love with a Frenchman. L’Engle is one of my all-time favorite authors. She’s most well known for writing A Wrinkle in Time, but she’s written many other books as well. She’s a good writer and I’m enjoying learning about the 17th century nun, Mariana Alcoforado, as well as some of the customs of the time in which she lived.

I have been reading Moonraker’s Bride by Madeleine Brent (another author named Madeleine) on the recommendation of a friend and, I must confess, I’m enjoying this least of all of the four books that I’m reading. It’s a kind of gothic romance wherein I suppose the reader is supposed to wonder who is good and who is bad in the narrative. I’m finding myself wondering more about when something is actually going to happen and why this book gets such great reviews on Amazon. Are they reading the same book I am?

Finally, I’m reading this little gem called A Land Girl’s Love Story by Berta Ruck. It was published in 1919 in England. It opens with our heroine Joan having been unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend of one year. She’s tired of her London life and decides to join Britain’s Land Girl organization which was formed to make up for the lack of male labor available for farming. I love reading older novels because you get a real feel for what life was like during the time the book was published and this one is no exception. I also like that the main character in this book is likable, yet flawed. Aren’t we all? Ok, maybe not. After all, we’re all flawed, but not all likable.