What I Do to Keep Busy: Reading

I'm glad to have more time to read, although I find myself too antsy at home to just sit and read unless I'm close to going to bed or I'm ill. Once spring arrives, I plan on heading out with a book to read under the fruit trees at the Orchard at Grantchester or along the banks of the River Cam.

Some books I bought on sale, some were given by friends, some I thought it was about time I read. My reading thus far:

Biographies
Catherine de Medici: A Biography, Leonie Frieda—Taught me the meaning of fistula. Also, I didn't realize how divided France was over religion. It also set-up the weakness of the French monarchy for my reading of ...
Marie Antoinette: The Journey, Antonia Fraser—Marie Antoinette is more sympathetic than I had imagined. Plus, I realized that I knew little about her before this book. Still, after two books about the French court, I couldn't take any more Duc d'Orleans or Duc de Liancourts or Comte de Provences or Duc de Coignys.
Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar—Betrayal, torture, murder, murder, murder, murder, murder, murder, murder, torture, murder, murder, betrayal torture, murder, and Stalin had a good singing voice.

Fiction
On Beauty, Zadie Smith—Such a relief to read this after Stalin. Finished this in one day while sick. Writing was smart. Enjoyed it, although wished I had a bit more insight into a few of the characters.
Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath—Well written. Funnier than I expected a book for a book about a mental breakdown. Not any longer than it needed to be.
The Years, Virginia Wolfe—Read back in Sep. Dense in its scene setting detail, and characters well formed. Story of a family that is not overly memorable but most families aren't.
Miss American Pie: A Diary, Margaret Sartor—My sister passed this on after reading it on a trip. It's a semi-fictionalized diary of an American girl growing up in the 1970s. A quick and enjoyable read. Although she's older than I am, I could relate to some aspects of the world she grew up in.
The Constant Gardener, John Le Carre—Our landlords suggested M* read this as a warning about pharmaceutical companies. He has no extra time, so I took over the assignment. It was a totally fine book, but it was hard to get passed a line that described the protagonists wife as "much murdered." As I'm refreshing my grammar/writing skills with Strunk & White's Elements of Style, my 10th read I'm sure, this stood out as a frightening example of not omitting needless words.

Misc.
Granta Quarterly Journal of New Writing
New Yorker, magazine
MOJO, magazine
Clash, magazine
Elements of Style, Strunk & White