Well, I had been going to spend this blog post moaning that I was in a bit of a reading slump anticipating all the new releases coming out this month. I felt I couldn’t really get into any of the books I was reading. However twice this week I managed to miss my bus or metro stop because I was reading!  I suppose I was more engrossed in my book than I thought.  For those interested among you the guilty book was Awakened, the eighth book in P.C. and Kirsten Cast’s House of Night series.

One book I have read this week – I borrowed it from the library – was Opera for Dummies by David Pogue and Scott Speck.  Let me give a bit of background here.  A very good friend of mine is a keen opera goer and she normally attends several performances of the New York Metropolitan Opera’s Live in Cinemas season.  She is so passionate about it that this year I decided to accompany her to three operas.  Now, I know very little about opera, so I decided to do some research first of all.  I do enjoy the …For Dummies books.  They are usually excellent at getting across the basic information about a subject in a very a amusing and informative manner.  They are very much geared for beginners though.  If you already have some knowledge of the subject then in my experience the …For Dummies books can be a little superficial.

Being a complete novice to the field of opera I did find the book very useful and very interesting.  It talks about the history of opera, the various styles, the various aspects of an opera and a brief introduction to the major operas.  The book also includes a CD of key opera moments which are very well explained by the authors.  I hope it will be a good start to my opera season.

Added to my library this week

This week I’ve not added much to my library in anticipation of all the good stuff coming my way later this month. 

The only book I’ve added was the free booklet Abriel Haraldsson and the Moors of Iberia by C.J. Adrien.  This is in the same vein of Viking historical saga as his In the Line of His People, which I have not yet read.  While I found the writing style somewhat lacking, it is an interesting tale and Adrien’s passion for the subject clearly comes across.  Worth checking out the short booklet in any case as it’s free.

Oh, and in other news, my Kindle Fire 6” is shipping today!  Yay.  Expect a review at some point.

Have a good week!