Hi Harvee, these are just books on my radar so far but I havent read them yet. But Peach Blossom Spring looks good! If you get to it first, I’ll be curious by what you think. Happy reading.

No problem Ti – I’m sure your surgery took awhile to recover from. I hope you are feeling better now? I will stop by your site to see how you’re doing.
And yep I’m flying into P.S. this Sunday so I’m excited but busy here getting ready. I’m glad to be visiting my folks again. I’ll also be also going to the Indian Wells tennis tournament one day, which should be fun. Looking forward to the warm beautiful days there. Have fun with your daughter … that’ll be so great!

I read in one of your comments that you are coming to Ca this weekend. The weather has been really nice. Cold in the morning but really lovely the rest of the day. I hope you have a good visit. My daughter arrives this Sunday. She really needs a break.

Have a great trip! If you are on target with your usual reading plan then don’t worry how you come to it. If I keep this pace I may read more than the last two or three years. Of course, that takes into account that most books are 350 pages or less. No chunksters this time.

Toibin and Galgut are two new favorite authors for me, especially because they are incredibly easy to read and they are very considerate with the page count. Goon Squad is Ok. At 46% I give it 3.5*. It’s different; essays with some threads in common arranged like a vinyl music record. I have good tolerance for different structures if the narrative flows easily, and this one does, but the structure may and did rub some people off the wrong way. I’ll tell you more when I finish.

Thanks Gretchen. Yeah the First Folio book was amazing to behold. & the exhibit was quite eye-opening. I had no idea how all the Bard’s plays were passed down. There seems to be many notable releases of new novels this month. Happy reading!

Hi Stargazer. Too bad about Sarah Moss’s book … but thx for the report. I saw that there were mixed reviews on it. I liked Summerwater as well … especially the boat/rowing scene. I’m cautious about whether to pick up The Fell. I probably could use a reread of The Bell Jar as I read it decades ago. The Sylvia P novel looks to be entertaining. As for Vancouver, it’s a fun city to visit and we like walking or biking around the Sea Wall though part of it is closed currently due to weather damage. Still they have a detour. Now we are back home. I hope all is well where you are. Cheers.

Wow Carmen : your reading is going gangbusters! Way to go. You are certainly my go-to expert on Galgut & Toibin! Unfort my reading has been slow. Too much life & PW that has made me busy. But I’m still on target for 65 books this year if I don’t hit a further slump. We’ll see. I’ve planned to go visit my parents in SoCal starting on Sunday, so that might have me on-the-go. Let me know if you like the Egan book. I have Not read the Goon Squad, but did like Manhattan Beach … Is Goon Squad worth all the hype?

I read one more novel by Galgut, and The Testament of Mary and House of Cards, both by Toibin, in quick succession. I loved them both. Now I’m making my way through Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad before I tackle its sister book The Candy House (TBR in early April) the second half of the month. You’ve been busy lately with lots of travel, so how is your reading going? Given the choice, I would rather travel than sit at home reading. 🙂