A complete lack of swordfights

Which applies both to these books as well as most of the theatre I've been seeing. I watched Slings & Arrows (Canadian TV series about a theatre company, excellent) earlier this year and have since then desperately wanted to see a good production of Macbeth, or failing that a decent ensemble cast piece heavy on character interactions. Sadly, almost everything I've been to is either heavy on the monologuing to audience or directed in such a way as to inhibit all character interactions. And they almost all either finish with a fairly contrived death (Niu Sila was particularly annoying in this respect, as I'd really liked it until then) or in media res (True West, whatever the backwards Pinter one was where he justified his adultery and last night's Blackbird), both of which, to me, indicate a problem with endings. I have tickets for a few more things, tho', and will continue to live in hope (or read about Robert Lepage's latest play, now premiering in London, and think pining thoughts).

( Arturo Pérez-Reverte, The painter of battles. )

( Star-crossed, Linda Collison. My overentitled sociopath book. )

Pending, or my addiction to narrative

This is (somehow) tacithydra's fault. All the books I am currently reading, where "currently" is defined as at least 50 pages through and the book is on site, which enables me to cut out anything I've put down after reading the first chapter as well as the vast unfinished and uncountable hordes lurking in storage, where 90% of my books are (offhand, I feel most guilty about Stephen King's Lisey's Story, where I stalled 3 chapters from the end 2 years ago, John Berger's G, where I stopped in admiration at the amazing flight over the alps sequence 3 years ago and have yet to re-attempt, and Mary Gentle's 1610, which I have started three times, gotten half as far each time (100 pages, 50, 25...) and am now avoiding for fear of being trapped in a fictional version of Zeno's paradox). These are all books where the main thing stopping me reading them is just that I'm not doing it, although other contributing themes identified below include annoyance with main characters, moving house at a crucial point in the narrative (by me, not the characters) or just plain incompetence (again, usually me). These are, therefore, all books I intend to finish, but you know what they say about good intentions.

( cut to protect the guilty. )