Recently and Currently

• Currently Listening To: various Sarah Harmer tunes

• Recently Read and Almost/Sort of Enjoyed:  Mnemonic: A Book of Trees by Theresa Kishkan.  While a memoir organized around significant moments connected to particular trees sounded like a good idea, it failed to make itself feel significant to this reader.  There were sections where the obvious love of language and nature made it transcend itself.  I liked the all too brief section on memories of Greece, and I did enjoy the various references to music, singers, and other writers who had inspired the author, but overall it didn't really come together for me.

• Currently Reading:  I'm still making my way through Northrup Frye's The Great Code: The Bible & Literature.  Loving it, of course.  How can one not love a book with quotables like this:  "But history itself is a period of listening in the dark for guidance through the ear."  And I've started in on Henry Miller's travel memoir The Colossus of Maroussi (not having read any Miller before, I'm not sure what to expect) as well as Umberto Eco's lauded mystery The Name of the Rose.  I'm only in the very early pages of both the Miller and the Eco so I can't say whether I'll stick with them and enjoy them, but it's looking good so far.

• Currently Considering:  Signing up for the library service on Kindle.  Anyone have any thoughts on the value of getting involved in this?  Does it pay for itself? Are the selections worth it?  There is a free trial available, so I suppose I should give it a go and see . . . but my book addiction makes me reticent to jump into new obligations. 

• Recently Watched and Enjoyed:  I actually found myself liking Cowboys and Aliens.  Mr. Inkslinger and I rented it for an evening of light entertainment and found ourselves warming to the odd mix of western and sci-fi. It has a few narrative flow issues (in case you haven't seen it -- and actually want to -- I won't mention details about a particular resurrection scene), but I have to say that Daniel Craig is pretty reliable when it comes to making a character compelling and ultimately believable.  I'm not sure I can say the same for all the cast members, but it was a fun film.

• Currently Anticipating:  I've ordered a clutch of books from BookCloseOuts.ca and am eagerly anticipating their arrival:

Once On A Moonless Night by Dai Sijie


Charlotte and Emily: A Novel of the Brontes by Jude Morgan


The Last Days of the Romanovs: Tragedy at Ekaterinburg by Helen Rappaport


The Secret Plot To Save the Tsar by Shay McNeal