This Reader’s Dilemma

… and Vacation Update

What a whirlwind vacation!  We got to see family and many friends – some of whom  haven’t seen in 15 to 20 years.  It’s hard to believe that I’ve been around long enough to  say that, but it’s true.  I don’t have my pictures downloaded yet, but my best friend Trista took some pictures of our trip to the Frederick Meijer Gardens, which is just beautiful.  It was definitely a highlight of my vacation for me.  Here is a picture of our kids after climbing up a hill they planned on rolling down (Ally had to be coaxed down on her buttocks – her word, not mine – until nearly at the bottom before she would roll. Cute!)

And another of my family with Nina Akamu’s  sculpture The American Horse:

As you can see, the horse is huge and anatomically correct.  I’ll leave out the part about the kids splashing water underneath it…

I was able to read two of my vacation books: Scottsboro and The Shadow of the Wind.  Both were good and I wished that I could have read more, but we seemed to be on the go 24/7.  Most of my reading took place in the car.

On to my dilemma…

I came home to a king’s ransom of wonderful books!  This may not sound like a dilemma, but I want to read them all ~ and NOW!  Which would you pick?

The new Tracy Chevalier novel, Remarkable Creatures, which comes out in January of 2010 (Publisher’s description: “In the year of the 150th anniversary of Origin of Species, set in a town where Jane Austen was a frequent visitor, Tracy Chevalier once again shows her uncanny sense for the topical.”):

or, the latest installment of Lisbeth Salandar by Stieg Larsson, The Girl Who Played With Fire, which came out last week (my review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is coming up this week – quick synopsis – I LOVED IT!):

or, Pope Joan, which Donna Woolfolk Cross sent to me with a delightful inscription (thank you so much!):

or, SQUEE! SQUEE! SQUEE! The White Queen by Philippa Gregory!!!  This novel comes out on August 18th and I can’t believe I got a hold of a copy beforehand.  To me, this says that I’ve arrived.

Every single one of those books is drool worthy.  It’s going to be so hard to decide.  Well, not that hard to decide.  It’s just going to be hard to stop reading until they are all finished.  I wish I could take some more vacation and read for the rest of the week.  That would be bliss.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Best Books of July: “The Girl Who Played with Fire” (omnivoracious.com)