Books

Now that I am no longer studying for the CPA exam (pending a passing exam score), I have had much more time to read. I love reading and I am so glad I have time for it now. I thought I'd keep a bit of a record here and there of what I'm reading.

Since I took my exam, I have read:

>I Capture The Castle, by Dodie Smith
This is a story in the form of the main character's journal. Cassandra Mortmain write about her eclectic family's life in their home which is an old castle in England's countryside. Father is a once famous and wealthy write who has suffered from 12 years of writer's block. Stepmother Topaz is a former painter's model who "communes with nature" by standing in the rain naked. Older sister Rose is longing for a man and nice things when really they are poor as dirt and hardly ever see a soul. Little brother Thomas attends to his studies mostly. Handsome Stephen has lived with them since his now deceased mother came to work for them as a maid years ago. He works hard and cares for Cassandra deeply, though she does not know how to respond to him. Their life is rather dull and boring until two rich brothers from America inherit the estate nextdoor and effectively become their landlords and possible lovers. Rose determines to capture one of them, and Cassandra determines to capture it all in her sixpence exercise book which she uses as her journal. I love this book. I read it when I was in highschool and picked it up again this time. Though I remembered the huge twist at the end, I still enjoyed re-reading it.

>The Great Gatsby, by I can't remember who...
I read this for a class in highschool and don't recall liking it very much then, but I thought I'd give it another try...I still didn't like it and don't really care to give a synopsis. At least it was short.

>Summer at Tiffany, by Marjorie Hart
I found this book on the free bookshelf at the Starbucks by my office, right before I left for my beach weekend with my sisters. I was looking for a fun book to reaad on the beach and this was perfect! Marjorie and Marty, college roomates, venture to New York City in the summer of 1945 and land jobs at Tiffany as the first women to work there. Marjorie describes the best summer of her life. It was a very fun, quick, lighthearted read and it is now back on the free bookshelf at Starbucks for the next person to enjoy.

Currently reading: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
This is such a classic and I have picked it back up after many years. I have the large, illustrated copy that mom read aloud to us girls long ago. She used to call me and my sisters her "little women". I am only a few chapters in, just past the Christmas where they give their breakfast to a poor family down the street and determine to be good girls, then put on a play for their friends and talk about the lonely looking Laurence boy nextdoor.