Making it Up As I Go

May I just say that I love the library? I love the library. I summoned up my strength to take the long walk across the street this afternoon, and upon entering found 3 books on the new arrivals shelf that I’ve been interested in reading and would probably have bought at some point, further breaking my goal to buy less books this year. Instead I was able to borrow them from my darling library and spend not a penny. Unless of course I turn them in late, but that hasn’t happened once so far this year. AMAZING!

Anyway, I suppose the statement above is partially false, since one of the books I checked out I swore I would never pay for again. Those of you who have been keeping up on this log for awhile may remember a debacle that happened about a year ago wherein I bought a hardcover book on impulse, got partway into it, and then tragically left said hardcover at a trolley stop by accident. I refused at that time to buy another copy, no matter how much I wanted to continue the story, because it was a hardcover, and hardcovers are expensive darnit! Well, that book was Inamorata by Joseph Gangemi, and thanks to my friendly neighborhood library, I was finally able to finish it, albeit a year or so later.

The story is based in Philadelphia in the 1920s, (has anyone else noticed that I seem to be stuck in this time period? I drifted for a moment or two into the ’30s, but I just keep coming back) where spiritualism is all the rage. The Scientific American has offered a large cash prize to anyone who can provide proof of an actual spiritual encounter, and mediums are coming out of the woodwork. Our hero, Martin, is sent to debunk them, and does, until he comes across Mina Crawley; a beautiful, fragile woman, who seems completely legit. But is it his mind or his heart that thinks so? The book becomes a mystery of sorts as Martin tries to determine the truth behind Mina’s convincing seances, and it’s intriguing, if a little frustrating. The ending is vague in a trying not to be vague kind of way, and I wish it had been a little more concrete. I’m just glad I finally got to finish it.

I’ve been doing really well with alternating fiction and non-fiction, but I’m tempted to go with fiction again, since I found such good books today. But, I still have two books out that are non-fiction, so I should be good and go with one of them. I think I’ll tackle the autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt.

Current Total: 21
Just Finished: Inamorata by Joseph Gangemi
Next Up: The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt