A hectic period at work and our ongoing flat-hunting has left me without much time to post. A few items to note:
Foxtons are terrible. I’ve yet to meet an estate agent I like, but these guys remind me of old-style used-car salesmen in the States. Not good. Sadly, they have the listing on the flat we’re most interested in, so we have to deal with them. Ick. Stay away if you can.
I managed to get in a bit of book-shopping today. The haul:
Cormac McCarthy, The Road
Alexander McCall Smith, Dream Angus
Irene Nemironsky, Suite Francaise
Richard Ford, The Lay of the Land
Anthony Giddens, Over to you, Mr. Brown
Marisha Pessl, Special Topics in Calamity Physics
The last two were impulse purchases: I remember liking Giddens’s The Consequences of Modernity ages ago, and since I’m living in the UK, I feel I should do what I can to stay abreast of local politics. As to Pessl, I finally got around to reading Donna Tartt’s The Secret History a few weeks ago (ahem, I may be a bit behind in my reading), and this book reminded me of it a bit. I’m also a sucker for mysteries.
First, I have to finish Ackroyd’s London, A Biography. I’ve been meandering through this for a while now, and I’m absolutely amazed. Ackroyd took what might have been a dead dull topic and turned in a stunner. His love of the city and very personal relationship with comes through in way that is difficult to describe–infectious and exhilarating are the best I can do at this late hour. The book has changed the way I think about the parts of London I walk through every day, and has inspired me to visit others. Fountain Court is on my to-do list.
Also ploughed through a Dick Francis mystery on the tube last week: Under Orders. I like a good thriller, but this just seemed stilted to me. Had a hard time sticking with it.
