Mooching

I got all caught up today at the Book Mooch site. It’s a site where you can trade old books you’ve read for new ones you want. Or new ones you’ve read for old ones you haven’t. Or something like that. I collected up a bunch of books that have been laying around here. Duplicate books. Books procured at shows that we’ll never read. That sort of thing. And I entered a few books that I want. So far I’ve promised to send one book off, and have confirmation that another will be sent to me next week. Two more are awaiting notifica­tion from their current owners. Fingers crossed.

Book Mooch is nearly as addictive as Ravelry, but with books instead of knitting.

Fantasy

I’ve been happily reading one Harry Potter book per week, starting each Saturday morning. Dave still doesn’t get it. I read one of these per week. I finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on Monday, and he wanted to know why I didn’t start the next one. Doh. Waiting for Saturday. I’ve explained this to him every week so far, and so far it just hasn’t clicked for some reason. Silly hubby.

It is difficult, though. Waiting to start the next book when I want to pick it up right away. It’ll be worth it in the end, though, as everything will be very fresh in my mind when book seven is released late next month.

Block

In his latest newsletter, Lawrence Block announced that all of his Evan Tanner stories will be re-released this summer by HarperCollins. The only Tanner book I’ve read so far is Tanner on Ice. Now I need to go back and read the earlier stories. That one was quite fun. Tanner has certain personality traits that are similar to Bernie Rhodenbarr (the Burglar Who… series), which isn’t a huge surprise, since Block wrote them. There are certain definite differences, though.

Mystery

Between reading Harry Potter stories, I am, among other things, fitting in a mystery here and there by an author I haven’t read yet for the Summer Mystery Challenge.

So far I’ve read two authors previously unknown to me: Mary Roberts Rinehart (The Door), and Mignon G. Eberhart (The Cases of Susan Dare). Rinehart’s The Door was fabulous. Very nicely written story, and it had me wondering, completely baffled actually, until the very last page of the book. Fun! The Susan Dare book was actually a number of short stories. They were all quite good, well written, but Dare solved the mysteries so quickly it was rather unbelievable. I may have to try one of the other books—we have several of them—just to see… I hope she doesn’t always solve things so readily. Takes some of the fun out of it for me.

Non book stuff

I didn’t make it to the yarn store today. Too caught up in the whole Book Mooch thing. Tomorrow. I need to get over there tomorrow. A number of you commented concern (and hope) that I’d be able to wind my yarn there. I think I have a fairly good chance of it… I hope. I’m on good terms with the owners, and have spent a fair amount of money over there in the last year. So, odds are better than at a store that where my face is unknown. All the same. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I really want to get that yarn balled up so I can start my Mystery Stole!