April Reads.
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig
Grad student goes to England to work on her thesis about the Pink Carnation -- a spy from the days of the Scarlet Pimpernel whose identity has never been revealed. Meets kindly old biddy with chest full of family papers about Pinkie. Clashes with hunky man who doesn't want her snooping in family histories. Discovers identity of Pinkie. Discovers attraction for hunky man. All lovey, lovey romance novel pretending to be a work of historic fiction. I mean, what's the problem with calling a spade a spade?
Okay ... so I knew who the Pink Carnation was from the get-go. Despite this, the novel was still pretty fun and I've been recommending it to everybody. That means you, too.
The Surrender: An Erotic Memoir by Toni Bentley
Bentley makes anal sex seem like an act of masochism or fetishism and yet also considers it a gateway to paradise? Dude, this book confused me. I expected something more profound, more moving, more smutty. Not the book to read if you're looking for something even vaguely arousing or are just curious about why "normal people" like anal sex.
Weight Loss that Lasts: Break Through the 10 Big Diet Myths by James M. Rippe & Weight Watchers
Was a little leery of this book at first, because I expected it to be all "Weight Watchers! Weight Watchers! Rah! Rah! Rah!," but it turned out to be a pretty straight forward look at the stupid diet myths people (mostly women are discussed in this book) succumb to and how to create a healthy lifestyle by eating more mindfully and getting some exercise.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
The monstrous as the mundane. Creepy as all get out and impossible to put down.
Alchemy by Margaret Mahy
Roland has a recurring nightmare about being locked in a magician's box, his teacher wants him to spy on a classmate, and said classmate is one freaky chick. Essentially, a novel about the battle between good and evil with teenage angst thrown in for good measure.
Orlando by Virginia Woolf (read by Barbara Rosenblat)
I had tried, several times, to read this book, but found it near impossible to get into. Happily, the audio book was much more approachable.
Pride and Prescience, Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged by Carrie Bebris
I selected this book specifically because I was looking for Jane Lite and this novel promised to fit the bill. The novel started out well enough -- there were a few linguistic and cultural anachronisms that irked me, but the book was, at the very least, in keeping with the spirit of Austen. Then, of course, it all went pear-shaped as the bizarre occult nonsense became the driving force of the novel. Gah.