Hello Fall!

Today is the first day of Fall (it begins at 4:44pm EDT to be precise). So, it seems like a good day to report on how I did on my summer reading. I don't usually commit myself to lists of specific books to read in a given timeframe, but the Top Ten Tuesday meme inspired me.
Here is what happened with my summer reading list:

1. A Farewell to Arms by E. Hemingway
   It was my Classics Club spin book and I finished it on time. I gave it one star. I think I was generous.
2. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
   I committed to reading this for the 18th Century English Literature event but I couldn't get through it. It was officially abandoned.
3. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
   Read this for Austen in August with Classics Club.
4. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
   Another Austen in August book -- I didn't get to this one. I did read some other Austen stuff though.
5. A Few Green Leaves by Barabara Pym
   I read it, I liked it (3 stars), but didn't have much to say about it so didn't write a review. Same deal with Excellent Women (4 stars).
6. Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger
   Excellent start to a new series from the creator of the Parasol Protectorate.
7. Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
   This remains on my to-be-read (TBR) list.
8. Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World by Janet E. Cameron
   This remains on my TBR list and I'm looking forward to it based on Lisa's review. 
9. The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorthy Sayers
   I finished this one and am still working on my Sayers re-read project.
10. Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore
    This one belongs to my husband, and is still in his to read pile so I am still waiting for my turn.

I did read a bunch of other books over the summer, but they weren't the ones that I thought I would read when I made the list. Planned reading lists are not my thing. My quilting friends tease me for being unable to follow a pattern without totally changing the design/technique/etc. This may be a related issue.

Review: Etiquette and Espionage

Etiquette and Espionage
by Gail Carriger

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think my life would be improved by a more stylish reticule -- esp. one shaped like a weiner dog. I also think this was a fabulously fun book! I loved the Parasol Protectorate series and this is the start of series that is something of a prequel. PP was definitely for an adult audience, but this was written for a YA audience. It had the same irreverent attitude and excellent steampunk technology and a couple of vampires and werewolves thrown in for good measure. Highly recommended.

10 Books I Recommend

The Book Blogger Recommendation Survey is being conducted at Reading with Tequila. 

Strictly speaking the survey asks for your favorite books of all time, ranked 1-10. I cannot even begin to say what that list would look like, for one thing there are the billions of books I haven't read yet.

I have compiled (and added to the survey) a list of mostly recent books that I really liked and can wholeheartedly recommend (the order is random).

• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
• Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
• Stardust by Neil Gaiman (the audio book version with Gaiman reading is fantastic!)
• Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1) by Gail Carriger
• The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer (kleenex may be required)
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
• Julie & Julia by Julie Powell 
• Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Teaser Tuesdays Meme

"When Prudence got older and more reasonable, Alexia intended to subject her daughter to some controlled analytical tests, but right now everone in the household was simply trying to survive. The toddler couldn't be less interested in the importance of scientific discoveries, for all her mother tried to explain them." from Timeless by Gail Carriger.

This is the 5th (and apparently last) novel in the Parasol Protectorate series. If you haven't read the others, don't add Timeless to your TBR list, start with the 1st one, Soulless.






 Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (MAKE SURE THAT WHAT YOU SHARE DOESN'T GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY! YOU DON'T WANT TO RUIN THE BOOK FOR OTHERS!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!