Book without end

This weekend I had time to do a big chunk of reading and finally finished "World Without End," by Ken Follett. All 1,015 pages of it. I was very eager to read this because it's the sequel to "Pillars of the Earth," which I read in high school and really loved. The sequel was pretty good, but not as good as the original. It's set in England during the 1300s, about 200 years (I think) after "Pillars." Lots of scandal, death and disaster, as you would expect from that time period. Once this comes out in paperback, it will make a good beach read (the hardcover is so darn heavy!).

I also read a few other books during my mini blogging hiatus. The best one was "The Great Man," by Kate Christensen, which I read for my book group. Among the group it has now become known as "the book about old ladies having sex" (not with each other), but it's really much more than that :) The book explores the lives of four women with connections to a famous painter (including his wife, mistress and sister), five years after his death. I really liked the book, and it provoked a really good discussion in our book group meeting about the characters' decisions and their relationships with each other.

Another good read was "The Lobster Chronicles," by Linda Greenlaw, an Atlantic fishing boat captain who decides to see if she can make a living fishing for lobsters. I liked her descriptions of life on a (very, very) small island in Maine, especially since my grandmother lives in Maine on a (rather large) island, and I have a relative who is a lobsterfisherman. On a side note, Greenlaw also makes an appearance as a character in "The Perfect Storm" - her fishing boat was nearly caught in the storm, but she managed to get back to shore in time.

I also recently read "A Natural History of the Senses," by Diane Ackerman. That one was OK but not great. It's full of interesting bits of trivia, such as the fact that women usually have a better sense of smell than men, but it seemed a little disjointed. I tend to prefer books with more of a narrative structure.

Phew. That was a long post. It sounds like I have been reading a lot but I feel like I haven't. I always think that I should have tons of extra time to read in the summer, but it doesn't seem to be happening this year, with so much travel and other events... I have a vacation coming up next week though, and I will be bringing lots of books with me!