What Are You Reading The Week of February 4th?

Feb. 4
French writer Pierre De Marivaux (1688; d.1763)
English dramatist George Lillo (1693; d.1739)
French poet and screenwriter Jacques Prévert (1900; d.1977)
MacKinlay Kantor (1904; d.1977), Iowa-born writer of Andersonville, 1956 Pulitzer prize winner
Mattheus Uys Krige (1910; d.1987), South African playwright and novelist
Betty Friedan (1921; d.2006), Illinois-born feminist writer
novelist and Brown University professor Robert Coover (1948)

Feb. 5

French letter-writer Marie Sevigne (1626; d.1696)
Finnish poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804; d.1877)
French novelist Joris Karl Huysmans (1848; d.1907), born Charles Marie Georges Huysmans, who wrote A Rebours (1884); transl. as Against the Grain)
William S. Burroughs, St. Louis-born experimental novelist (1914; d.1997)
novelist, writer on religion and sociology, and Catholic priest Andrew Greeley (1928), born illinois
Elizabeth Swados, U.S. novelist, children's book writer, composer and playwright(1951)

Feb. 6

Christopher Marlowe, English poet and dramatist (1564; d.1593)
Italian poet, playwright, journalist, author Ugo Foscolo (1778; d.1827) site in Italian
Hungarian romantic poet Karoly Kisfaludy (1788; d.1830)
Missouri native, African American poet, journalist, and dramatist Melvin Beaunorus Tolson (1898; d.1966), one-time Poet Laureate of Liberia
British-born American lawyer, author, and defender of those blacklisted, Louis Nizer (1902; d. 1994; summary of his book The Implosion Conspiracy)

Feb. 7

Besides Dickens and Sinclair Lewis, above,
Danish romantic poet Frederik Paludan-Muller (1809; d.1876)
Scottish lexicographer, creator of the Oxford English Dictionary, Sir James Augustus Henry Murray (1837; d.1915)
Wisconsin-born children's writer Laura Ingalls Wilder, creator of the 'Little House on the Prairie' series (1867; d.1957)
teleplay writer (Outer Limits, Perry Mason) and director Milton Krims (1904; d.1988)
New Jersey-born author Gay Talese (1932)

Feb. 8

English scholar Robert Burton, aka Democritus Junior, Anglican clergyman and writer (1577; d.1640), who wrote The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621)
English poet and satirist Samuel Butler (1612; d.1680), who wrote the highly autobiographical and satiric novel The Way of All Flesh, published 1903)
writer and art critic John Ruskin (1819; d.1900)
French science fiction pioneer Jules Verne (1828; d.1905; Around the World in 80 Days)
Massachusetts-born poet Elizabeth Bishop (1911; d.1979), who won a Pulitzer in 1956
St. Louis, Missouri-born Kate Chopin, writer of The Awakening (1850; d.1904)
Mississippi-based novelist John Grisham (1955)

Feb. 9

Finnish-Swedish poet, journalist, educator, and bishop Frans Michael Franzén (1772; d.1847)
George Ade, U.S. journalist, playwright, and humorist (1866; d.1944)
Amy Lowell, Massachusetts-born imagist poet and critic (1874; d.1925)
Irish author Brendan Behan (1923; d.1964)
Georgia-born novelist and essayist Alice Walker (1944), who won the Pulitzer Prize for The Color Purple (1982)

Feb. 10

Sir John Suckling, English poet and dramatist (1609; d.1642; 12 of Suckling's poems)
Restoration writer dramatist and poet William Congreve (1670; d. 1729; teaching notes on The Way of the World)
English poet, essayist, critic, and man of letters Charles Lamb aka Elia (1775; d. 1834), who wrote The Adventures of Ulysses, 1808) and the popular children's book Tales from Shakespeare (1807)
Kansas editor and 1942 Pulitzer Prize winner William Allen White (1868; d.1944)
Russian novelist and poet Boris Pasternak (1890; d.1960)
German playwright and poet Berthold Brecht (1898; d.1956), born Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht, whose major plays include Mother Courage and Her Children (1941) and Galileo (1938)
socialite and author Roxanne Pulitzer (1951)

Still reading Night Train to Lisbon....it is hefty and marvelous! Still listening to 11-22-63. Stephen King at his best!

Great start, thanks!

In the middle of The Ice Balloon, a harrowing account of the 19th century quest to reach the North Pole.

Wow, lots of notable birthdays! Happy birthday in particular to Jules Verne :) Thanks for starting the new thread.

Still reading St. Urbain's Horseman, by Mordecai Richler, and very fittingly my lunch to go with it was a Montreal smoked meat sandwich on rye bread. Yum! I am also reading That Is All, by John Hodgman, at the request of the Go Review That Book! group. It's good bedtime reading, a few pages at a time.

Thanks for starting a new thread!

I'm reading (and loving) The Chalk Girl, a great new mystery in the Mallory series. Also reading on Kindle A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama and am very much enjoying it. As soon as I'm done with The Chalk Girl, I'll get back to 11-22-63.

Reading Fields of Fire by James Webb which has been on my radar for several years due to comparisons to All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

Hemlokgang, thanks for the new thread.

I have been reading and enjoying Great Expectations, along with Soulless by Gail Carriger. I have just started The Peacock Spring by Rumer Godden, my first by this author, but I am sure not my last.

Around the halfway point of Real Grass, Real Heroes: Baseball's Historic 1941 Season by Dom Dimaggio. A pleasant reading experience, although so far long on atmosphere and short on details.

Did anyone else notice that Betty Friedan was both born and died on February 4?

(9) No, I missed that. That's kind of strange.

I read somewhere that both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the exact same day, July 4th!

"Both Adams and Jefferson died on July 4, 1826. The fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration in committee with John Adams (and Benjamin Franklin)."

Thanks, hemlokgang!

I'm finishing The Yellow Room, an old and old-fashioned mystery by Mary Roberts Rinehart...lots of fun!

>5 Storeetllr: I read and enjoyed A Drowned Maiden's Hair a couple of years ago. I don't think I've ever seen it mentioned on LT before. Kid's lit is often the best around.

I'm about half way through The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

I'm reading A Tale of Two Cities and by Charles Dickens in honor of his 200th birthday, which is brilliant, and The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier for Black History Month.

I'm at the mid-point of Bleak House which turns out to be another book that I'm shaking my head and wondering, "Why, why did I wait so long to read this?" On audio I'm listening to Tina Fey read Bossypants. Hysterical.

I am still with Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda, I will dip into The Story of a Non-Marrying Man and other stories by Doris Lessing.

10 - There were two other members of "The Committee of Five": Robert Livingston of New York and Roger Sherman of Connecticut

John Trumbull's famous painting depicts the five of them standing together as they present the Declaration to Congress on June 28, 1776.

Ive started Daughter of smoke and bone by Laini Taylor and im really enjoying it so far

Finished Wuthering Heights today and I'll start reading Great Expectations tomorrow

Posted a review of The Sausage Maker's Daughters....here:

http://www.librarything.com/work/12149063/reviews/82073558

I finished Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. I liked it, but I don't think I formed a long term relationship with it. I enjoyed the story, and the photographs added to the sinister atmosphere, but I didn't feel a strong connection with the characters. I will read the sequel when it comes out, but I'll borrow it from the library. I did recommend it to my son, as I think it is right up his alley.

#13> My entire RL book club loved that book, ellen! So many layers to peel away!

#22 - I love the way she uses language- her descriptions are so vivid.

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. I am enjoying it, but although it is a fictionalized biography I wish she would occasionally add a date so I could place it in the time period. It is well researched and true to the Hemmingway's life.

#12 NarratorLady ~ I don't recall seeing any mentions of it on LT either. I got it because it was a 99 cent Kindle Daily Deal, and I thought it sounded interesting. Plus I've been reading a lot of kids' lit and YA novels these days. (Could it be I'm going into my second childhood?)

Am halfway through The Distant Hours which is an entertaining read. It kept me company when I was sick last week.

#21 (SylviaC) - I felt the same way about Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - I got a little lost at the end and I thought the plot was twisted a little too much to fit the pictures. Very interesting concept though.

#7 (DeltaQueen50) - I remember Soulless being really fun and witty when I read it! How do you like it so far?

I'm about 1/3 of the way through The Bronze Horseman - a romance set during the siege of Leningrad during WWII. It's a page turner for sure, and the dialogue is really good but I want to slap the characters! And it's one of those novels that really makes you appreciate your local grocery store - yeah Wegmans!

#19 - Enjoy your week off from classes. Finishing Wuthering Heights today and starting Great Expectations tomorrow -- it sounds heavenly!

.Fuzzi, thanks for putting up the new thread. Saw you're reading some Francis Schaeffer. I'm working my way through The God who is there by him.

Finished Blandings Castle and read Ender's Game today. It was something of a departure for me. My niece and nephew really like it, so I thought I'd try it.

Thanks for starting the week for us, Hemlokgang.
I'm sadly nearing the end of Waking Dragon: The Emerging Chinese Economy and Its Impact on the World, and I wish it would go on for many more CDs. Bits of life are starting to come in to focus. For one thing, I'd heard all the jokes about the CIA's involvement in the drug trade, and I thought they were either jokes or symptoms of paranoia. Unintended consequences, not always a good thing. On the other hand, in Four Feet Tall and Rising I found many of Shorty Rossi's unintended consequences turned out amazingly well. This guy is the king of luck, both good and bad. Most importantly, when he gets an opportunity he takes it, when he has the opportunity to get an education, he gets it. He's not my (or his own) idea of the ideal husband, but the world is a better place with him in it.
I'm also slowly reading Destiny of the Republic. Evidently John Garfield was quite the man.

I finished Dana Spiotta's Stone Arabia, a fascinating novel about memory and identity and and obsession and family. Another one I'll be thinking about for many days to come.

Now I'm reading Willa Cather's novella, My Mortal Enemy

Next up: Stewart O'Nan's new book, The Odds

#31 Ooh, ooh! A new Stewart O'Nan - I didn't know about that and I'll be waiting for the paperback anyway but it's something to look forward too and another one for the wishlist. (The best thing of all about LT is the inteernational tastes/recommendations. I hadn't heard oof O'Nan before LT as he's a little-known author over here. If that was all I'd ever got out of my membership it would have been worth it.)

Just got started on The Book of Human Skin which, for some reason, looked a bit daunting at first but now has me hooked.

I'm reading The Ghost in the Little House, a biography of Rose Wilder Lane, who was Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter. I absolutely loved those books when I was a little girl, so it is interesting to learn Lane's real story. I'm also planning on starting The Sea and Poison by Shusaku Endo and Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde.

#32 - I've been a fan of Stewart O'Nan several years. My favorite of his novels is still Last Night at the Lobster, though I'm also a big fan of his nonfiction book, The Circus Fire. Anyway, I've read lovely things about this new one, so I'm very excited about it. Yesterday (February 4) was Stewart O'Nan's birthday.

Thank you, hemlokgang, for all the birthdays. Nice to see Elizabeth Swados' name on the list for today. I admired her book about her family and their struggle with mental illness,The Four of Us,

I am still reading East of the Sun and enjoying it.

#27 - Yes, Soulless is a fun read, I find it reminds me of Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series - a period romance with a twist, in this case a supernatural twist. I will certainly be continuing on with this series.

Last night I finished The Poison Tree. Quick entertaining read with a surprise ending.

Almost immediately after I started The Omnivore's Dilemma. (I recommended this to my book club so I figured I need to have it done before the meeting.) I am about halfway through and more than a little bit pissed off. Also, I have no idea what to eat now.

Nice start to the week. THX

I'm still working on Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden. It's a double narrative style with the chapters alternating between bush pilot and Cree native, Will Bird and his niece, Annie Bird. Between the two of them, their story unfolds. I'm enjoying it (especially Will's story).

31, 32 > I am excited about The Odds as well!. It is waiting for me in my audiobook library!

>38 NovaLee---I loved Through Black Spruce and it's predecessor Three Day Road. Boyden can really spin a yarn in beautiful language.

I am still reading Netherland.

Finished The Naked Marquis by Sally MacKenzie last night and am now back to Gilead by Marilynne robinson which I'm quite enjoying.

#42 I have not read Gilead however I read the follow up novel Home by Marilynne, it was a great read, the characters from Gilead are mentioned thru it, I wish I had read it first, I am sure you would enjoy the second as well.

(17) molly, I was quoting from a website, but you're absolutely right!

I was raised in Connecticut, so I should remember Sherman. Tsk, tsk, tsk...

(25) Storeetllr, I've been reading a lot of kids and YA works, too.

In the latest AARP magazine, there's an article about how adults are reading YA books in the droves, mainly because they are fun to read, and don't have excessive sex/violence.

(29) Bjace, I didn't put up the new thread, just linked it, but you're welcome. :)

I finished A Christian Manifesto, and I was really, really impressed. Wow. I'll put up a review later today.

Let me know what you think of The God Who Is There.

#44 fuzzi -- I taught American history for many years and there was an excellent video or filmstrip series on the Revolution that I showed the children each year and consequently I saw it many, many times -- I believe I can still recite huge parts of the narration. In the passage about this committee the narrator refers to "red-haired Roger Sherman of Connecticut", so I'm not likely to forget him. If I'm not mistaken his signature also appears on the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. And he had a whole passel of children, fourteen or fifteen. Jefferson once said of him that Sherman "never said a foolish thing in his life."

See, this is what comes of seeing all those videos multiple times -- I'm going to be babbling on about Roger Sherman to the other folks in the nursing home someday -- long after I've forgotten my own name.

molly, have you ever seen the movie/musical "1776"?

It was inane, terrifically silly, but the songs and the characters are still with me. John Adams was played by William Daniels, who is probably best known for either his portrayal of Dr. Mark Craig on St. Elsewhere, or the voice of KITT on Knight Rider.

I still can recall the scene in which they are trying to decide who will write the Declaration of Independence, and John Adams tries to get Roger Sherman to take up the pen:

Adams:
Mr. Sherman, I say you should write it
You are never controversial as it were

Sherman:
That is true

Adams:
Whereas if I'm the one to do it
They'll run their quill pens through it
I'm obnoxious and disliked, you know that, sir

Sherman:
Yes, I do

Adams:
So I say you should write it, Sherman, yes you

Sherman:
Good heavens, no!

Adams:
Yes you, Roger Sherman, you...

Sherman: But...

Adams: You...

Sherman: But...

Adams: You...

Sherman: But...

Mr. Adams, but, Mr. Adams
I cannot write with any style or proper etiquette
I don't know a participle from a predicate
I am just a simple cobbler from Connecticut

:D

I'm reading The Blue Sapphire by D. E. Stevenson, one of the few of her books that I haven't read before. So far it's not looking like it will be one of my favourites, but the second part is looking much better that the first.

Currently reading the last sections of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward and after that I have a number of indie ebooks to choose between for my next reading marathon.

#48 - fuzzi - I have seen 1776, though it has been many years, so I thank you for the refresher . . . And I have a feeling Mr. Sherman was just being modest, though goodness knows there's probably no higher calling than being a simple cobbler from Connecticut. (And handy, too, when it came time to provide shoes for all those little Shermans). Thanks, fuzzi.

#38 - I really enjoyed Through Black Spruce but i just loved Three Day road by the same author. One of the best books I have ever read. I had the opportunity to hear Joseph Boyden speak and he was impressive.

I am listening to the audio version of Unbroken and finishing up 11/22/63 which I am enjoying but finding overly long.

#53..... Both excellent reads...or listens!

>48 fuzzi: I was reminded of this lyric while reading David McCullough's John Adams. Apparently Adams referred to himself as obnoxious in a letter but McCullough takes pains to point out that there is no record of anyone else calling him that. Despite his feisty personality, apparently his peers found him extremely likeable.

I remember seeing an episode of "St. Elsewhere" shot in location in Philadelphia. William Daniels as Dr. Craig was complaining about the heat and sure enough, broke into his song lyric from "1776":

"It's hot as hell
In Philadel - phia!"

Because of this thread, I dowloaded to Nook The Fault in our Stars by John Green. I almost finished it in one sitting. I have about 30 pages to savor today. Great YA book. Thanks to whomever recommended it!

I am reading Kafka on the Shore and I am enthralled!

Great novel, mynovelreviews! Enjoy!

My non-fiction kick takes me to Why We Buy by Paco Underhill this week. It's very fun so far and quick to read!

I have just started A Universal History of the Destruction of Books by Fernando Baez.

#59
I read Why We Buy many years ago and learned lots of interesting things from it. Underhill has some new books out since then, but I haven't read them.

I am sort of snowed under by books this last week. I have several book deadlines coming up and so must get Left Hand of Darkness read and for work we are reading and discussing Keeping the Faith by Wayne Flynt. Flynt is sort of a state wide hero - a liberal in a state of conservatives, who is well liked and respected by everybody - left and right. Every spring the College of Education has a professional book discussion. One book is picked and the college furnishes the readers a copy of the book. The professors, grad students, and staff, are all welcome to participate. I have to have the first 100 pages of this book read by February 15. So far it is very good. The author can really tell a story. But all I want to read is Clash of Kings.

#58 - Thanks!

(51) & (55) Glad I'm not the only one who is familiar with that musical.

I never did watch "St. Elsewhere", but I can imagine William Daniels pulling that stunt. :)

Currently just over half way through 'It' by Stephen King. Attempting not to buy any new books as I have a fairly large back catalogue of books already purchased and yet to read. I think I'll be on a bit of a Stephen King frenzy for the next few months.

Currently just over half way through 'It' by Stephen King. Attempting not to buy any new books as I have a fairly large back catalogue of books already purchased and yet to read. I think I'll be on a bit of a Stephen King frenzy for the next few months.

Finished up the marvelous 11-22-63 and will start listening to The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. I continue reading Night Train To Lisbon. Great reading lately!

I finished The Fault in the Stars by John Green and give it five stars (a rare event). I loved it.

I am now reading A Heart so White by Javier Marias on the strong recommendation of an (author) friend. She said it was incredible. So far it is a little dense (meaning, lots and lots of prose and scant dialogue packed into each page), but it is definitely intriguing so far ...

I'm sad to say I finshed the audio lectures The Modern Scholar: Waking Dragon: The Emerging Chinese Economy and Its Impact on the World by Professor Peter Navarro. It was excellent, but now it's over. Next up I move to Germany with the audiobook of In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson.

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson was too much. The amount of information and the number of numbers as we bounced from science topic to science topic made me close the book with about 100 pages to go and say enough!

Started Charles Dickens' Dombey and Son began well with all that I like about Dickens but by page 25 I knew I just couldn't wade through another Dickens with those cardboard female characters and put it down. Not sure what to pick up instead. Considering the Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman.

>45 Yes, that's exactly it, fuzzi! Fun to read and virtually no gratuitous sex/violence.

Today I went to the library where I picked up a bunch of really amazing books. I haven't finished even one of the books I mentioned in >5 above, but I started reading four more: Elizabeth I: a Novel by Margaret George, The Bones of Avalon by Phil Rickman, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson, and Death in the City of Light by David King. It's just too much! I'm starting to get the jitters. I'm just going to have settle down with one ~ okay, maybe two ~ and finish them before moving on to the others.

Libraries can be dangerous places for the weak-willed.

I finished The End of Eternity and Netherland. The next book will be The Shrinking Man

>70
Mary,

I really enjoyed Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. Hope you do, too. I had assumed that Simonson was English since the setting and writing style were English. Heard in an interview that she has lived in the USA for 20 years. Can't wait for her next book.

#70 & 72 - I enjoyed Major Pettigrew's Last Stand as well, I chuckled a lot while reading it.

Acclaimed Bengali Indian author Amitav Ghosh will be discussing his novel, The Shadow Lines, a moving and thought-provoking meditation on memory, the passing of time and the interconnectedness of life. This edition of the World Book Club will be recorded at The Nehru Centre, the cultural wing of the High Commission of India.

If you would like to come along and put a question to Amitav Ghosh about The Shadow Lines or to send in your question for him please email us at worldbookclub@bbc.co.uk.

Thanks for the heads up, Richard!

Just finished listening to the excellent The Red Badge of Courage. I will be listening to The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender next.

>72, 73 ~ So far, aside from loving the writing, I am disgusted with the way the major's son (and his hideous girlfriend) and sister-in-law and niece treat him. I hope he finds the gumption soon to tell them all to go to he... to jump in the lake!

77> I have to admit, that is why I stopped reading it { the disgust, that is :-) }. I am probably the only person who stopped reading it.

Hard to make a spoiler-free comment, but it's well worth continuing.

Well, I'm not going to stop, because I really like the major and Mrs. A___ (left my copy of the book at home and can't recall the lady's name offhand), but I personally would like to jump into the book and slap Roger and the other idiot relatives of the major. Hard.

I'm currently reading The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson, for a bit of Gothic Provence. I'm also reading Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop.

I'm midway through some mind candy, A Touch of Greek by Tina Folsom. Not reading steadily, but rather picking it up every other day or so, and it's so fluffy that I can do that.

Just started Van Gogh: The Life by Steven Naifeh. At over 800 pages this will take awhile, but it iws very well written and there are beautiful color plates andblack and white sketches.

#70 storeetllr
"Libraries can be dangerous places for the weak willed." I laughed when I read this comment. Libraries are certainly not a place for me because I am so weak willed. I go there to get one specific book and come out with three or four. Then in a few days I take all but one of them back and pick up others. I finally started driving by there late at night and putting books in the drop box so that I would not be tempted to go inside and get another title. I have finally decided that the only good thing about my picking up these extra titles is that doing so keeps the libraries circulation numbers high. This made me feel much better, especially when I found out that my local public library now has to report increases in circulations in order to justify the increase in the library budget that the city council gave to them. Of course in my library (the one where I work) we have long been numbers driven and we are really worried about the precipitous drop in the number of circulations we have. So, please drive by your library and pick up piles of books, just so the libraries can keep buying them and providing this service to the community.

>80 Hah! Me, too, Mary. Smacking them around might do them some good.

>43 - hazeljune - I'm very much enjoying Gilead and will have to keep an eye out for Home now! Thanks! I'm sure you would enjoy Gilead as well.

Okay, I've been absent over here, some catching up to do. I finished Nothing To Envy. It's excellent narrative NF and has quickly become my favorite read of the year. For FF, I started Bitter Seeds and this has been very good.
On audio, I started The Empty Family: Stories and of course I'm reading The Wayward Bus, for the continuing Steinbeckathon. Whew! Been book busy!

(84) benitastrnad, I'll remember that about the circulation numbers.

i'm reading Killer Pizza per request by middle school teen. A clean horror book if you believe that.

Ha, Benitastrnad, I always like a good excuse to do things I kind of think I shouldn't.

I finished Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard which was good but could have benefited from better editing. A warning to all of you who might be present at a shooting, don't put your finger in the bullet hole, no matter how tempting that seems. Now I've started Chasing Goldman Sachs: How the Masters of the Universe Melted Wall Street Down . . . And Why They'll Take Us to the Brink Again by Suzanne McGee which I know is very pertinent to what is going on in the world today. I just hope I can understand it.

I finished The Shrinking Man, pretty freaky. Next up is The Windup Girl. Been on a bit of a SF bend lately :D

Finished the brain-numbing Future of an Illusion by Freud. When he gets on a roll, the crazy really comes out.

I've decided to roll up my sleeves and finally read The Rape of Europa by Lynn H. Nicholas. It's hefty but already interesting (I'm only 12 pages in).

Darn it! I really need to stay off this thread. I picked up 2 more to add to my To Read list. I have been working on Dear Mrs. Lindbergh for a few weeks and am going to finish it by tomorrow so I can sneak to the library for some more.

#84 I smiled the whole time while reading your post because I've tried the same thing myself by going to the library when it's closed to avoid temptation. But, I'm weak, and will be going there today. Fortunately, you have made me feel good about my weakness by telling me I am doing a good deed by taking numerous books out, even if they don't get read (my mom always said your eyes were bigger than your stomach when you took too much food and couldn't finish, what would you say when you take too many books and can't finish???? anyone??)

I am about halfway through The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant, which was tucked into the shelves. It's actually pretty good!

I'm currently reading The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey in print and finding it a bit too close to the original Jane Eyre. I've also got Elizabeth I by Margaret George going on my Nook, and I'm revisiting A Good American by Alex George in audio.

# 95 I'm currently reading The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey in print and finding it a bit too close to the original Jane Eyre.

I've heard about this book and have been very intrigued.

#92 ~ The documentary (same name) is wonderful. It may help bring alive the works discussed and such (if you don't have photos in that book - I was not sure).

#79. I actually own it, perhaps sometime I'll get back to it.

(93) morningwalker, that's my problem, too.

I also have spent a lot of money on books since I discovered LT....

I started The Gathering by Anne Enright and am enjoying it so far

I finished Making Haste from Babylon. I've read several books about the Mayflower and the Pilgrims. This contained lots of information lacking in others. The motivating conditions in England and Europe, the ongoing interaction between the colony and England, and the contribution of economic and political factors in Plymouth's founding and survival all are masterfully fleshed out in this book. I also liked the portraits drawn of several of the major players.

#92: NielsenGW: I narrated The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War for the Library of Congress about 15 years ago and then I went out and bought it. I can't tell you how many times things come up in the news about lost art and I head right back to that book to refresh my memory. It's riveting, beautifully written and researched, and according to the curators at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the best chronicle of the looting and recovery of art during and after World War II.

I just finished The Hare with Amber Eyes and was reminded of that book once again.

>102: Sweet! I hope it was an abridged version, because 444 pages with this typeface would take about 20 hours to listen to (at 3 minutes a page).

I hadn't realized it was that old until you said something and I checked out the copyright page. It reads much better than other history books of that time. The style is much more like the current mode of Simon Winchester or David Starkey.

>95 Devourer ~ How are you liking George's Elizabeth I? I started it but it's one of those books I had to put aside until I am able to finish the ones I started earlier.

>84 Benita ~ The library is my idea of heaven, and taking out more books than I could possibly finish is a way of life. Mainly I do it because I can't resist, but it's also because, if I take out only one or two, I might not like them enough to read, and then what would I do? So I take out 5 or 6 and, if I read 3 or 4 of them, I consider it a good deal. I was wondering, do libraries keep track of the types of books that are most taken out in circulation (i.e., fantasy, mystery, graphic novels) and/or placed on reserve or just the total number in circulation?

>85 Joe :)

Reading the LT reactions to the characters in Helen Simonson's Major Pettigrew's Last Stand confirms one of the reasons I liked it so much. True to my life experience.

There are any number of people you want to tell off or slap to their senses but you don't. Partly by convention but mostly because you still have to live with those people just like the Major and Mrs. Ali.

I've finished A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. It was absolutely, stunningly brilliant! I loved it, and am adding it to my favorites! It was definitely a wow book!

Now I'll be concentrating on The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier. I guess I should say I'll be trying to concentrate on it, since my head will still be with A Tale of Two Cities for a while.

105 - One of the things I liked best about Major Pettigrew's Last Stand was that as the book progressed, the author let us see a bit deeper into the hearts and souls of some of those people (the ones I'd been wanting to slap) so that a few of them became more understandable and even sympathetic. Not all, of course, but, like the Major, I learned something about tolerance and patience and acceptance. And that thought always reminds me of a book I used in my middle school reading classes, Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game. That book has been on my mind lately -- not sure why -- maybe I miss all those books I used to share with my students.

100 - I admire The Gathering so much -- I hope you enjoy it.

>No, it was the unabridged version. (Library of Congress doesn't tolerate anything abridged.) It was about 23 hours of listening time. I still remember in doing the pronunciation research that 18 languages were represented.

It was great fun to read. I've read shorter, badly written books that felt like they took far longer to narrate when they really only took a fraction of the time.

I finished Real Grass, Real Heroes: Baseball's Historic 1941 Season by Dom DiMaggio, which I enjoyed with reservations. It was more straight history than memoir, so there weren't as many real personal anecdotes of life in the big leagues as I was hoping for. My full review is on the book's work page and on my 50-Book Challenge thread.

Haven't been to Middle Earth lately, so tonight I'm going to start The Silmarillion, which I've been meaning to read for a long time.

I finished and REVIEWED Charles Dickens' wonderful doorstopper, Bleak House. Can't begin to say how much I loved it.

Now I'm reading The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys. She has quickly risen to the top ranks of my favorite authors. This is my third book by Humphreys.

Im currently reading clockwork prince by cassandra clare.

#104 Storeetllr

the short answer to your question is - yes.

One of the things I do with my job is track how many times certain types of books are checked out. For instance - the Hunger Games. People want more of that type of book, so I am buying those because people want more of those dystopian YA novels. There are lots of really nice gentle people who love those dystopian thrillers. I also take note of what is being talked about here on LT. What is talked about here is going to be hot in the general public soon after, so this keeps me in-the-know enough to make some purchases in advance. For instance, somebody here was talking about Divergent. I purchased it and it didn't even make it onto the shelves before somebody had it checked out, and now has asked me to get the sequel. Same thing happened with Matched and the sequel Crossed.

Zombies are another hot item right now.

Brenzi ~ I read The Frozen Thames last year and really enjoyed it. I'll have to look for others of hers to try.

Oh, I'm so glad to know that, Benita! It seems logical, but ofttimes bureaucracies appear not to act logically. Thanks!

104 - It is good, like all of her work. In the beginning Elizabeth's voice didn't quite ring true, but very good now. Only 200 pages to go!

Wanted to read just a few chapters of something I was familiar with (a reread) so I picked up Alas, Babylon last night. I read until late, way past my bedtime.

Enjoyed it as a teen, still enjoyed it as an adult.

Now I'm reading a book Newman's Guide to a Good Life that I found at the Habitat for Humanity store this afternoon. The book was published about ten years ago, but much of what I'm reading isn't out of date.

#94..Carolyn, The Last Days of Dogtown is one of my favourites.

I've finished and reviewed 11/22/63 in my thread...post #226.

I also stumbled upon The Last Days of Dogtown at the library and picked it up because I knew I loved the author. I found it very powerful, very good.

Well said, Richard!

#91 I hope you enjoy The Windup Girl, i read it last month but wasnt really sure what i thought of it until id finished it. I ended up giving it a 3/5 for various reasons but id like to hear your thoughts on it when you've finished!

#111 I loved Clockwork Prince and i cant wait for the last book! Enjoy :)

Still reading Best Short Novels 2004 edited by jonathan Strahan, The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen, and now I've started A Play of Heresy by Margaret Frazer.

I am almost done with The Stories of Anton Chekhov - they can be a little uneven but I like his writing style quite a bit. I'm about 20 pages into A Terrible Splendor but I'm not quite falling into it yet. I've been doing a lot of reading about Nazis this winter; it may be that I've reached my limit for the moment.
The book I am really loving at the moment is Liz Moore's Heft. All the characters ring true for me and I've become very fond of all of them in a short time. That means it is very hard to go about my business because I really, really want to know how they wind up handling things.

I just finished While I was Gone by Sue Miller. I was home with no voice (not good for a teacher) but my eyes still worked! Now I have to scout around for something else to read...

Thanks CitizenJoyce and hazeljune ~ I finished The Last Days of Dogtown and loved it. That was sure a surprise. I don't even know why/where I acquired it, but I was sure glad to re-find it.

Not sure what is up next!

I finished and REVIEWED Helen Humphrey's spare, haunting little gem The Frozen Thames. Now I'm reading Max Hastings new one Inferno: The World at War 1939-1945.

Finished The Distant Hours by Kate Morton in the middle of the night last night. Will begin my 2nd John Green book, Will Grayson, Will Grayson. If it's anything like The Fault in Our Stars, it will be great. It should be interesting because the 2 characters are written by 2 different writers.

I have moved on to When the Astors Owned New York, finding it a bit meh, but I am also reading the delightful Dorothy Sayers, Unnatural Death and about to pick up Beauty Queens by Libba Bray.

127 > Did you like The Distant Hours? I've had this one on my 'to read' pile for awhile now and just haven't gotten to it.

I've just finished Heft and I can't recommend it highly enough. Really an excellent novel.

>125 I read The Last Days of Dogtown a few years ago and loved it, too. I remember I googled 'Dogtown Mass' to find out more about it.

This week I finished The Odds: A Love Story by Stewart O'Nan, which I loved, and started The Invisible Ones and Behind the Beautiful Forevers. And for lighter fare, When Parents Text.

On audio, I am loving The Sisters Brothers.

Should keep me busy and out of trouble for a few days!

#15: I read Bleak House last year and found it very gripping though also a bit longish at parts. nevertheless, it was worth it! Enjoy yourself! By the way, it's one of those books you have to read at least twice to get every connection and deatil ;)

#129 I loved The Distant Hours and am a great fan of Morton's neo-gothic style. If that is a genre you're fond of then I'd recommend any of her book's very highly indeed.

#132 'Very gripping though longish in parts' pretty much sums up Dickens for me and I do mean that in a good way. Often, though, it is the parts that just seemed like 'filler' at the time that I later remember most fondly. I couldn't agree more than any Dickens novel benefits from more than one read and that may be what made them so popular at the time. In an age when many households had perhaps four or five books it must have been really important that they were the kind that could be read over and over again, each new read revealing something you hadn't noticed the last time around. They make me wish I still lived in a world where everyone settled for the evening doing their sewing, cobbling etc and one person (that would have been me!) read aloud to the whole family.

My friend got me hooked on the sookie stackhouse books. I have been reading them back to back.

133 Booksloth - I long for that world, too. In The Call of Stories Robert Coles writes about having being read to as a child, but also about hearing the sound of his parents' voices as they read to one another from classic novels. He would wonder about that -- he knew his friends' parents didn't do this and yet there was something so compelling about it, something he felt protective of. He tried reading some of the books they read and found them difficult, and asked his father why they read them. He said, "Your mother and I feel rescued by these books," and he spoke of how grateful they were to the authors for the "reservoirs of wisdom" contained in the books, reservoirs from which readers could drink freely.

I have just finished reading the novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret by author Brian Selznick .

I am about 60 pages into Brooklyn by Colm Toibin and really enjoying it.

I started Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids last night and am already halfway through it. Really liking it.

#134 purplemoonstar

They are addictive, aren't they?

I am reading The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau now as I work my way through the YA section of my TBR pile. It is aimed at a younger age level than I expected. I'm enjoying it, and have the second book in the series, so I'll probably read that next.

Just finished the incredible Night Train to Lisbon. Frankly, this is likely going into my list of all-time favorites! About to start my second Shusaku Endo novel, Deep River as part of the year long author read here on LT. I am also just getting into The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.

Nice to see someone else who enjoyed Night Train to Lisbon, hemlock. My wife loved The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.

Just finished The Borgia Betrayal by Sara Poole. I enjoy thinking about this book a lot now that I finished reading it. At times it seemed to bog down, and perhaps could have succeeded a bit shorter. But, yes, I liked and will write a review. Reading The Quest for Anna Klein by Thomas H. Cook about World War II suspense. This book that alternates time changes in each chapter seems to speed along. And, I can't wait to get back to it to see what is going to happen.

Started and finished The House I Loved by Tatiana de Rosnay, still reading Elizabeth I by Margaret George and The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey.

I am deep into reading Clash of Kings for the Fantasy February group and as is common with George R. R. Martin enjoying it very much. I am also reading Keeping the Faith by local hero Wayne Flynt. This memoir is suprisingly good. Or at least, I should say that I didn't expect to enjoy it so much. Flynt is a local history teacher and well known in Alabama for his radical politics and compassionate religious beliefs. I expected him to breath fire, but the kind of fire is a surprise.

Altho I am still traveling, and having lousy internet service, and therefore posting very sporadically, wanted to say that I have just posted my review of one of my ER books, Beyond Religion Ethics for a Whole World by H.H. Dalai Lama. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it has joined my top ten all time favorites, my desert island list.

I hit used book stores while traveling of course, and stumbled across a copy of The Army of the Republic by Stuart Archer Cohen for $1.00. It is another of my all time favs now. I just couldn't put it down, altho I think the average review for this book was only 3 stars or so. Definitely 5 from me. It's about political dissidents in the U.S., civil disobedience, guerrilla warfare. It is a novel describing the complex emotions and life experiences that draw people into these actions, and their relationships with each other. The main characters include revolutionaries from both the left and the right, as well as corporate executives and some Blackwater types. I found it fascinating. I am following up with Gene Sharp's From Dictatorship to Democracy and the analysis and comparisons are right on target. Fascinating. Wrong touchstone for Sharp's book. As you can imagine, this novel, written in 2008, appears very realistic, especially in this time of Occupy Wall Street.

and yes a few light mysteries thrown in, but that's another post!

Last Sunday I finished Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints by Sam Brower, my Early Reviewer, which was pretty horrifying.

Last night I finished a reread, The Green Mile Part 2: Mouse on the Mile, part of a series I'm reading with the Stephen King group on here. It is as good as I remembered.

#121, shelley.s, I loved The Windup Girl, check out my review at the book or through my profile page...

129: Yes I did like it. I had read her other 2 books so I knew what type of story to expect. It's long (500+ pages) but the story moves at a good pace. Plot is interesting.

#149, divinenanny, I'm gald you enjoyed The Windup Girl and your review was very good! It wasnt really my cup of tea but i'll certainly give any new books by Paolo Bacigalupi another try