Life was surprisingly calm this week. Half of the cast of the children’s opera were out of town on a choir tour. That meant we didn’t have rehearsal. While that was stressful on one hand, it was a most welcome rest that I embraced gladly. Evenings at home, leisure time to lose myself in the pages of a book. Even though I only have one finish this week, I am very pleased with where things stand at the moment.

What I Finished This Week

An Indecent Obsession by Colleen McCullough. I read this book to fulfill the prompt of a book written by an Australian author. What I found was a dark exploration of mental illness and the medical professionals who care for them. Honour is an army nurse who has been assigned to oversee Ward X, a psychiatric ward for soldiers experiencing distress in the waning days of World War II. The patients’ problems range from manic depression and excessive anger to homosexuality and perversion. When Michael arrives in Ward X, everything begins to change. A handsome man, Michael catches the attention of Honour and becomes a trusted confidant of the other patients. As patients vie for their nurse’s attention, situations escalate and tragedy strikes the ward. McCullough looks at unhealthy obsessions in both the sick and their caregivers. Although dated now, it is a loving look at mental health in the early 1980s. 3 stars.

What I’m Currently Reading

Elementary, She Read by Vicki Delany (p. 104 of 308). When the mini-challenge for March dropped, I knew I was going to be in trouble. This month’s challenge is all about mysteries — a genre that I typically don’t read. I don’t really know why either. I normally enjoy puzzles and a level of suspense in my reading. Mysteries just aren’t where it is for me. Since the challenge allows me to choose three prompts from a list of 50, I figured that I should at least give it a chance again and see what I could discover. I’m starting with a “cozy mystery” — Elementary, She Read. Here’s the basic premise of the book. A woman hides a priceless magazine in a Sherlock Holmes tribute bookstore. When the owner decides to track her down and return the forgotten item, she discovers that the woman is now dead. Yup….it’s that simple at this point. There are lots of questions about who would want the magazine so badly to kill for it and if our heroine is in danger now. Not high literature, but definitely something to keep me reading when I’m tired and just want to escape for a bit.

Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy (p. 157 of 573). This novel is about as far away from Elementary as I could possibly get! The final story written by the Russian novelist, Resurrection follows a woman who has been sentenced to Siberia for a crime she did not commit. Since she is a prostitute, the judicial system assumes the worst. Among the men on the jury is the wealthy aristocrat that she fell in love with as a teen….and has never fully gotten over. I’m reading this with the Active Mind Book Club. So far, I’m staying on pace with the reading schedule. I’m enjoying taking this one a little slower than usual as we explore ideas about justice, redemption, the role of women, and the sanctity of marriage.

The Royal Governess by Wendy Holden (p. 63 of 420). As soon as I read the summary of this novel, I was hooked! I was just looking for the right time to dive into it. This week, I decided to start reading a little of it and now I just want to read more. Essentially, it is the story of the woman who became the personal tutor and governess for Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth. I’m still really early in this one, but I’m looking forward to diving in this week and seeing where this story will take me.