October's readings........

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October's readings........

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1LynnB
Edited: Oct 1, 2012, 11:24 am

I've just started Civilization: The West and the Rest by Niall Ferguson for a book club.

2gypsysmom
Oct 1, 2012, 9:34 pm

I'm reading The Speckled People by Hugo Hamilton. My sister gave me the book for Christmas last year after seeing a play based upon it in Dublin. It's a memoir about a boy whose mother is German and whose father is Irish. They live in Dublin in the 1950s. The kids are allowed to speak German and Irish at home but not English.

3torontoc
Oct 3, 2012, 9:37 am

I just finished Why Men Lie by Linden MacIntyre

4rabbitprincess
Oct 3, 2012, 5:34 pm

Planning to finish off Angelmaker, by Nick Harkaway, tonight. So close to the end!

5ted74ca
Oct 4, 2012, 1:34 am

I recently read Watching the Dark by Peter Robinson

6torontoc
Oct 4, 2012, 2:42 pm

I'm reading The Blondes by Emily Schultz and enjoying.

7loosha
Oct 4, 2012, 5:34 pm

8arcona
Oct 5, 2012, 11:14 am

Finally finished The Arctic Grail. It was a thick book but really interesting for the most part. Particularly enjoyed reading about the stubborness of the British admiralty who tried the same things over and over again, even when they clearly did not work. The first 3/4 of the book, relating to the British and ending with the loss of Franklin, was excellent. The section involving the Americans trying to find the North Pole were less interesting and it was a revelation to discover that Peary didn't really make it to the Pole, even though he said he did. I did like Roald Amundsen finally making it through the passage. It was fitting that the Scandinavians were the most successful as they were so experienced with dealing with the cold. Glad I read it.

9LynnB
Oct 5, 2012, 11:33 am

I"m reading April and Oliver by Tess Callahan. It's been on the TBR shelves for a while.

10Nickelini
Oct 5, 2012, 12:31 pm

Arcona - good to hear about the Arctic Grail because I have that in my TBR pile.

11Cecilturtle
Oct 5, 2012, 1:32 pm

I've just discovered Australian Kerry Greenwood with Murder on a Midsummer's Night. I love the spunky characters and sense of humour. Reminiscent of Naigo Marsh or Agatha Christie's cozy mysteries since Greenwood's are set in 1920s.

12gypsysmom
Oct 5, 2012, 4:32 pm

I finished The Speckled People this morning and since I am home with a cold I started A Mind of Winter right away. It's certainly a contrast to go from Dublin in the 1950s to Shanghai in the 1950s, from the cold Irish (well what they think is cold) winter to the warm opium dens in the tropics. Don't you just love where reading takes you?

13harrietgate
Oct 6, 2012, 8:05 am

Natural Order by Brian Francis. I am thoroughly enjoying it.

14LynnB
Oct 6, 2012, 8:59 am

#12: yes, I love all the places reading takes me -- both in terms of geographic places and in terms of ideas. When I settle down with a book, I often tell my family "I'm going to France....or to the 18th century....or..."

I am about to start Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner

15Nickelini
Oct 6, 2012, 10:32 am

Lynn - I just read Hotel du Lac a couple of weeks ago. It's good, in a quiet way. BTW, my teenage daughter and two of her friends saw Perks of Being a Wallflower last night and loved it.

16arcona
Oct 8, 2012, 8:44 am

Read Deon Meyer's Dead before Dying set in S. Africa. I'd previously tried his Trackers and abandoned it, but loved this one.

17LynnB
Oct 8, 2012, 8:57 am

Nickelini, I read Hotel du Lac after reading your comments on it!

18Cecilturtle
Oct 8, 2012, 11:25 am

I've started The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Gregory. I like the style and descriptions. It's an interesting exercise for me because I've read many similar novels on French history and so it's hard to get my head around the French being the bad guys! History really is a question of perspective!

19gypsysmom
Oct 8, 2012, 12:37 pm

And now I'm back in Canada but also in Nigeria. I'm reading 419 by Will Ferguson. It very gripping.

20arcona
Oct 9, 2012, 10:14 am

Struggled with The Autobiography of Malcolm X but ended up just finishing the prologue and epilogue, both of which were quite lengthy. It was on my TBR list but I don't remember why I put it there. My biggest problem was I really didn't care much for Malcolm X the person although I really enjoyed reading Alex Haley's epilogue about him. He was tough and survived a childhood that many wouldn't, but his anger defined him and he was just too macho and thoughtless for my taste.

21rabbitprincess
Oct 9, 2012, 11:03 am

This afternoon I'll be on the train back home from Thanksgiving and plan to spend that time with The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins -- I started it a while ago but lost momentum and want to get back into it.

22LynnB
Oct 9, 2012, 3:22 pm

I've read Where's My Wand by Eric Poole and am now really into Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire -- the last book in the Wicked series.

2319anne44
Oct 9, 2012, 9:08 pm

I've just finished The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny. I have enjoyed all her books and liked this one especially because of the context. I sing in a church choir and we sometimes use Gregorian chant.

24fmgee
Oct 9, 2012, 9:38 pm

I thought being in position 59 at the library meant I had some time but The Casual Vacancy was waiting for me today so I might as well read it. Middlemarch has become my ground hog day... I could swear some one keeps adding pages because the end is not getting closer.

25vancouverdeb
Oct 12, 2012, 10:24 pm

I"ve been away from LT for a bit, but I read Light Between the Oceans by ML Stedman and really loved it! 4.5 stars. The setting in Australia shortly after the WW1, and a lighthouse on Janus rock made for fascinating reading, but so much so the story. I found myself very invested in the characters.

Currently I am reading a Bobcat and other Stories by Rebecca Lee. A Canadian author and I'm very much enjoying the stories. Interesting writer.

26rabbitprincess
Edited: Oct 13, 2012, 10:15 am

Finished The Hobbit yesterday. Now I'm all set for the movie! And strangely now I feel like trying Lord of the Rings again, even though I haven't been able to read them after the movies came out.

27Nickelini
Oct 13, 2012, 1:52 pm

I recently finished Soucouyant: a Novel of Forgetting, by David Chariandy. Set in the Scarborough Bluffs area of Toronto, it is the story of a second generation Trinidadian son and his mother who has dementia. It's a beautiful, but sad, novel full of symbolism and layers. I read it as part of a bookclub for SFU English majors. The first session was with a prof of World Literature, and the next meeting will be with the author, who is a prof at SFU.

Soucouyant was nominated for the Giller prize, the Commonwealth prize, the IMPAC Dublin Literary award, and many others.

28arcona
Oct 13, 2012, 8:34 pm

I just read Seven Days by Deon Meyer and loved it - probably the best police procedural I've read this year. Good characters, lots of suspense, excellent story and good writing. What more can you ask for? And I learned a lot about South Africa at the same time.

I've just started Burma Chronicles, a graphic novel, which is excellent so far. It's the story of a man accompanying his wife who's been assigned to Burma with Doctors Without Borders. It's reminds me of the comic strip "For Better or For Worse" as it deals with serious things in a light-hearted manner. I never thought I would enjoy graphic novels as much as I am so I guess you're never too old to try something different.

29gypsysmom
Oct 13, 2012, 10:04 pm

I just finished up 419 this morning. I sat in my jammies and read the last 75 pages as I couldn't think of doing anything until I knew what happened. Fortunately the dogs and the husband stayed out of my way and allowed me to do that.

Now I'm going to head back a couple of centuries to Thomas Hardy's Wessex with A Laodicean.

30Cecilturtle
Oct 14, 2012, 3:28 pm

I found the steamy Peyton's Place at the library yesterday; discovering the underbelly of New England.

31vancouverdeb
Oct 15, 2012, 4:51 am

Finished off Bobcat and other Stories by Rebecca Lee - short stories by a Canadian author and quite enjoyed it. I just stared another CanLit book called Mister Roger and Me here is the link - touchstones not working http://www.librarything.com/work/book/90667515. It seems to be very excellent so far. It is translated from French by a Quebec author and won a a couple of prices. Touching book so far and a bit of humour too.

32fmgee
Oct 15, 2012, 3:29 pm

I just finished The Casual Vacancy and really enjoyed it. Not what I was expecting at all.

33LynnB
Oct 16, 2012, 9:40 am

I'm reading Chronic Condition: Why Canada's Health-Care System Needs tobe Dragged into the 21st Century by Jeffrey Simpson

34rabbitprincess
Oct 16, 2012, 5:08 pm

I must miss London, since I'm reading two books about it at the moment: The Great Crown Jewels Robbery of 1303, by Paul Doherty, and London: The Biography, by Peter Ackroyd (which I think I'll be reading for a while, since it's over 800 pages). Of the two, I prefer the Ackroyd.

35Nickelini
Oct 18, 2012, 9:05 pm

I don't work for any of the companies involved, but I just want to point out a new series I found today. I go into a Chapters store about 3-4 times a year, and I was lucky that I happened to be there just after these were released.

http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/2012/10/18/random-house-of-canada-ta...

"Each title in the series has been given a text-only, single-colour cover treatment, with matching spines and sprayed edges. Alone, the books are bricks of solid colour. Together, they look something like a Pantone sample book."

Vintage UK did this last year with different titles, and I bought a couple. Now there's a whole new series to select from. Both the Canadian and UK books came from their backlists. This latest bunch includes both Canadian and international literature.

36loosha
Oct 20, 2012, 4:45 pm

#35, Beautiful, I want them all! Just for home decor, you understand.
I just finished Tana French's whodunnit Broken Harbour, slurped it up in a few days. Over 500 pages but they turned themselves.
Now on to One Good Hustleby Billie Livingston.

37LynnB
Oct 20, 2012, 5:10 pm

I'm reading The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes, which has been called the first novel. It was written in 1500.

38gypsysmom
Oct 21, 2012, 10:15 am

I'm still reading A Laodicean but since I like to take my time with Hardy I interspersed it with Ru which my work book club chose for November long before we knew it was going to be on the Giller shortlist. I just finished it. I loved how it was written and the setting but I felt a little cheated by the slimness of the book. I wanted more details. I can only hope that Kim Thuy is working on another book. Another thing I loved about the book was the book design and I was not surprised to find that C. S. Richardson was the designer. I think he's a genius at book design and he's also a pretty decent writer.

40Cecilturtle
Oct 22, 2012, 7:31 pm

I've finished This is how you lose her by Junot Diaz - I love his brassy Latino style. Next up is something totally different Le voyage fantastique by Isaac Asimov. I figure it's high time I read an Asimov novel...

41Yells
Oct 22, 2012, 8:26 pm

40 - I just finished that one. I love the way he writes but man, those are definitely ways to lose her!

42vancouverdeb
Oct 23, 2012, 6:38 am

Finished off http://www.librarything.com/work/book/90667515 a few days ago and loved it! On the back cover, some author/ reviewer said that
http://www.librarything.com/work/book/90667515 aka Mr Roger and Me was a bit of a combination between Lullabies for Little Criminals, which I really enjoyed, and The History of Love by Nicole Krauss - so now I'm just about finished The History of Love. I don't see to much in common with The History of Love, but I'm glad I've nearly finished it, since it's been on my TBR pile for several years.

43vancouverdeb
Oct 24, 2012, 8:09 am

Just started Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler. It's on the Giller Shortlist and so far I'm really enjoying it.

44loosha
Oct 24, 2012, 9:21 pm

I am reading (0ne Good Hustle). does anyone know how to activate touchstones on an iPad? We are off to Arizona for a month, yes, with the iPad.

45Nickelini
Oct 25, 2012, 12:23 am

I recently read Soucouyant, by David Chariandy, which was rather fabulous. Here are some of my comments (full comments at my thread, http://www.librarything.com/topic/141913#3658850):

"This is a thoughtfully written novel about the struggle between forgetting about trauma and moving on to a new life on one hand, and making the story of your trauma known, on the other. In Soucouyant, this theme is explored within the context of the immigrant, post-colonial experience.

After several years away from home, the unnamed narrator returns to the house where he grew up in Scarborough, Ontario, to care for his mother who is suffering from early onset dementia. Through their fragments of memories, he tries to piece together her early life in the Trinidad. The writing is powerful, and full of symbolism, which makes it a rewarding read for the careful reader. There is a lot going on in this short novel. "

Now I'm reading The Virgin Cure, which so far seems like a standard piece of historical fiction. I'm still hoping to fit in something spooky before October 31st.

46Nickelini
Oct 25, 2012, 12:30 am

does anyone know how to activate touchstones on an iPad?

Loosha, yes I do. However, we haven't plugged our iPad in for a few days, and my kids who use it all the time couldn't possibly take the 3 seconds out of their day to do it, so it's dead and I can't walk you through it. Not sure how charging the iPad became my job. Anyway....

From what I remember, from the keyboard area, you change levels. The square brackets are in--I think--the third level. It's a pain in the butt, so if I don't have access to a proper keyboard (often happens when we're traveling), I don't post much on LT.

47ted74ca
Oct 26, 2012, 4:23 am

Haven't had much time at all for reading lately, but I finally finished a great book: Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende.

48arcona
Oct 28, 2012, 2:11 pm

Thoroughly enjoyed Win Blevins' Stone Song: A novel of the Life of Crazy Horse. Such a powerful story about such a fascinating person. Described as a biographical novel, it explains why the Natives of South Dakota are blasting a huge monument to him in the Black Hills near Mount Rushmore. He was a hero to the Lakotas for good reason as he always put his people ahead of himself.

49fmgee
Oct 28, 2012, 2:13 pm

I recently finished Middlemarch which was a slow read but one I am glad that I did. It seemed to get better as it went along. I also finished a baseball autobiography Wherever I wind up. Now it is time for an LTER book A Poet and Bin Laden.

50Cecilturtle
Edited: Oct 28, 2012, 7:32 pm

I'm really enjoying Quiet about introversion by Susan Cain - it has all sorts of nuggets I'm sure I'll be able to apply at work, especially.

51fmgee
Oct 28, 2012, 8:02 pm

Cecilturtle: I have heard nothing but good things about that book. I am planning on reading it next year.

52rabbitprincess
Edited: Oct 28, 2012, 8:21 pm

>50 Cecilturtle:: Yay! That was a good one :)

This weekend I've spent part of my time At Bertram's Hotel, in between chunks of Parade's End, which will be taking up a lot of my reading at home.

53LynnB
Oct 29, 2012, 9:58 am

I've read, and enjoyed, The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter and have started Jerusalem: The Biography by Simon Sebag Montefiore

54ted74ca
Oct 30, 2012, 8:20 pm

I just finished The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny. I really enjoyed this one, more than I have the ones based at Three Pines.

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