Tuesday 6 April 2010

It's Tuesday...Where are you?


It's Tuesday...Where are you? is held each week here by Raidergirl3.

Physically this week I'm at my Mum's house in Suffolk. Offically here to surport my sister for the week through her pregnancy problems - mainly male related! But also to get looked after whilst I tackle the stacks of coursework marking which I need to tackle. I'm taking a break at the moment to create a rivision booklet (I'll always opt for the more creative element of teaching over the boring marking side of it).
My sister is coming up in a few hours and if her back pains have subsided we're all of to sob at Blind Side (I cried at the trailer so not sure how I'll cope!).

In my reading I'm both in France and Canada. In France I am trailing around after Gertrude Stein and her brother at the moment. They are busy buying up bits of art - mainly Cezanne and Matisse at the moment. We have been to Pablo Picasso's atillier, joined Matisse and his wife for dinner and trailed around many famous Cubist paintings with our friends the artists of these paintings. (Gertrude Steins, The Autobiography of Alice B. Tolkas)
So far I'm getting on okay with this book, which is a disguised autobiography of Gertrude Stein, although it does grate on me everytime she declares herself a genius - she's obviously not intelligent in ways of getting the reader to like and admire a character.

I'm also in Canada in the 18th century. Accused murderess Grace Marks flits between playing maid to the wife of the owner of the prison; she sews and knits for the lady whilst being an object of fascination, to being exaimined by our other main character. Dr Jordan is a psychologist seeking a new method of understanding prisoners in the hope of opening his own establishment. His story is told through a third person narrative and also a series of letters between him and his family and friends. I'm waiting to find out if Grace Marks is guilty of the crime or an innocent bystander (I'm going for all out guilty and the perpetrator - she seems capable).

Where are you in your reading travels?
Have you read either of these books? Do you have any questions for me about them?

2 comments:

Eva said...

I'm at Midway Atoll checking out the seabirds w/ Eye of the Albatross, in the thick of things in revolutionary Mexico with Here's to You, Jesusa!, and in medieval Canterbury with The Needle in the Blood. :)

katrina said...

Sounds great Eva, still mean to really go to Canterbury