My Winter Break Reading List

Yesterday I posted my top picks for my lovely readers- who I assume are in my general age group- to read over Winter Break, a time when many people try to read (and some fail, lured by television).  I promised to post my own reading list, composed of books I've never read (or attempted to read and failed).

1. "Lucrezia Borgia" by Sarah Bradford.

If it isn't apparent by now (and since none of you live with me, and have to put up with my obsession-of-the-moment, it probably isn't), I'm more than a little obsessed with the Borgia family and the Renaissance.  Instead of being historical fiction, like I usually read, this is non-fiction (and surprisingly good, at that!).  I'm a quarter of the way through and I started tonight.  It's very good, although it focuses more on the family as a whole than on the specific person (Lucrezia) that I expected when I started to read.  Nevertheless, it's pretty good.

2. "Rain and Other South Sea Stories" by W. Somerset Maugham

I'm a HUGE fan of "Rain" and was so thrilled to find a copy of it and more short stories, so I added it to my Amazon Wishlist for Christmas.  Unfortunately, I opened a box that I wasn't supposed to open et voila....saw that this is one of my presents.  This is one that I won't get to read until 25 December or later, but I'm still looking forward to it.

3. Bede's "Ecclesiastical History of England"

Another non-fiction book?  How dull!  Surprisingly not.  I received this last year for Christmas and never got around to reading it (although my depressingly sedentary summer allowed for a lot of reading, very little of which I actually did), so I made it a resolution to definitely read it before I go back to school.

4. "Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll

Since two of the other three books are such serious, non-fiction books, I thought I would include something more fun.  I never read this when I was little, even though it's supposed to be a children's book.

5. BONUS "Ada or Ardor" by Vladimir Nabokov

I've tried four times to read this book, and I just don't know if it's ever going to really happen.  It doesn't make much sense, and too many people have the same name (more than one person named Demon is just way too much for me).  Ugh.  I usually love Nabokov's work, but this is just a definite miss for me.  I'll give it another try-if I feel like it and if I have time- and if I can't get through it again, I'll dust it off and set it on the book shelf.

And maybe try again in another year.

Until Next Time,

Ashley