Slow going...

So, I SAVED the latest Stephen Carter novel, New England White, for WEEKS, thinking that once I got into it I would not want to put it down. Well, no. It hasn't turned out that way. I am LABORING through this mighty tome. Love the characters, love the writer, great plot, etc. But why is this thing so slow? Why does he bog us down in so many minute details of irrelevant happenings and characters. Do I really need to know the deepest, innermost thoughts of the security chief? And, as an aside: Would a woman like Julia Carlyle really wear Ugg boots? I mean, this is a middle-aged woman of a certain standing... Oh well. I WILL finish it within the week. That is my goal.
In other notes on what I'm reading or have read: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert was great. It was incredibly self-indulgent and a little too cute in some places but I think the narrator was so likeable she got away with it. She's a great writer -- able to connect and impress the reader without coming off as too above-it-all. Plus, this book made me want to get on a plane to Rome, pronto!

I re-read Tender is the Night and This Side of Paradise because I was feeling down about my writing career. And they did the trick! They truly inspired me to try to write well -- every time. You have to recognize Francis Scott Key as the master of the beautiful sentence. I imagine him being one of those crazy people who spends hours and hours agonizing over three words. Someday I'll have such a luxury...

I also read some Patricia Cornwell and Greg Iles this summer because, well, I was busy working and I needed something quick and easy... And I LOVED them. I understand why these books sell so well. They're like very attractive one-night stands or short-term relationships with good sex but no long-term potential. Fun while they last -- but two weeks later you can't remember the characters' names. But I'm okay with that. When it comes to books, I'm a slut so no worries here. :0

Next up is Unburnable by Marie-Elena John, which I'm really looking forward to because it's about, gasp, Dominica! Lord, give me the strength to barrel through New England White so I can move on to Unburnable by Sunday!

I ordered Confessions of a Wall Street Shoeshine Boy today -- which should get me through the first few weeks of the semester. It shouldn't be too mentally demanding, which is very important since I don't know what my reading load for school is going to look like yet.