Books Read in June

I have a lot of time to read this summer, between waiting for Mariel to be done with violin lessons, and waiting for Triss to be done volunteering at the library, and waiting for Cornflower to be done getting shots at the doctor's office, and taking the girls swimming a few times per week. So I finished several books in June.

Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel(finished): I just finished this book today and am still absorbing it. I can say right now that I am impressed with his repeated attempts to reconcile the witness of his eyes with the edicts of the group of cardinals who condemned him. And I had no idea of the complexity of the situation. It was really a most excellent book.

Elizabeth The Queen Mother: A Twentieth Century Life by Grania Forbes (finished): I found this at the library while waiting for Triss to be finished volunteering. The story of her early years, right through King George VI's reign is very interesting and well done. Once Elizabeth II comes to the throne, the story part of the book kind of becomes choppy. Lots of neat pictures. She was a remarkable woman.

A Landscape With Dragons by Michael D. O'Brien (finished)

Five of the Series of Unfortunate Events stories by Lemony Snicket (finished): I think I am done with the series too, although there are more books. He is a clever writer, but still, they are formulaic. Also, the books read like a chronicle of all the ways adults can let children down. You have the adult who is too preoccupied with work to see the trouble the kids are in, the adult who is too intimidated by other adults to rescue the children, the adult who is afraid of everything, the egomaniacal adult who only thinks of himself, the adults who mindlessly follow the crowd, etc., etc. The kids not only take care of themselves, they end up taking care of their adult caretakers as well.

The New World by Winston Churchill (in progress)

From Dawn to Decadence by Jacques Barzun (in progress-- I've made it through page 41.)

CM's Volume 3 (in progress)

Writing to Learn by Thomas Zinsser (in progress)

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (in progress)