My first book of 2008 is The Kite Runner (I can't believe this touchstone isn't working), which I'm enjoying so far.
I'm reading Erskine Caldwell's
Tobacco Road for the Deep South Group.
Still not quite finished the other two, but I've also picked up a third one (naughty of me, I know, but I wanted to make a start on it!):
The Truth About Fairy Tales by K T Casha (reviewing for author)
Think passion is all over once you hit forty? Well, think again. Jaded after a series of failed relationships, Cate McCormack's channeling her "inner romantic" into her very successful books. Author of a series of contemporary takes on traditional fables and legends, Cate's surprised tofind herself caught up in her own fairytale as two "princes", one young and handsome and the other rich and powerful, vie for her affections. Head battles with heart as Cate slys the twin dragons of public perception and dented self-esteem to assert her right to her very own happy ending.
Far from the Madding Crowd by
Thomas Hardy (audio book)
'I shall do one thing in this life - one thing for certain - that is, love you, and long for you, and keep wanting you till I die.' Gabriel Oak is only one of three suitors for the hand of the beautiful and spirited Bathsheba Everdene. He must compete with the dashing young soldier Sergeant Troy and respectable, middle-aged Farmer Boldwood. And while their fates depend upon the choice Bathsheba makes, she discovers the terrible consequences of an inconstant heart. Far from the Madding Crowd was the first of Hardy's novels to give the name of Wessex to the landscape of south-west England, and the first to gain him widespread popularity as a novelist. Set against the backdrop of the unchanging natural cycle of the year, the story both upholds and questions rural values with a startlingly modern sensibility.
Out by
Natsuo Kirino (reading circle choice)
In the Tokyo suburbs four women work the draining graveyard shift at a boxed-lunch factory. Burdened with chores and heavy debts and isolated from husbands and children, they all secretly dream of a way out of their dead-end lives. A young mother among them finally cracks and strangles her philandering, gambling husband then confesses her crime to Masako, the closest of her colleagues. For reasons of her own, Masako agrees to assist her friend and seeks the help of the other co-workers to dismember and dispose of the body. The body parts are discovered, the police start asking questions, but the women have far more dangerous enemies -a yakuza connected loan shark who discovers their secret and has a business proposition, and a ruthless nightclub owner the police are convinced is guilty of the murder. He has lost everything as a result of their crime and he is out for revenge. Out is a psychologically taut and unflinching foray into the darkest recesses of the human soul, an unsettling reminder that the desperate desire for freedom can make the most ordinary person do the unimaginable.
So, three very different books on the go at the moment. I'm enjoying them all so far!
Oh man Kell,
Out was an incredible book! Hope you enjoy it!
#7 jseger9000 - I'm enjoying it so far (I'm about 200 pages in), but I'm not really connecting with any of the characters as yet. I'll keep going and see how things pan out.
Also read a quickie last night:
The Wit and Wisdom of the Discworld by Terry Pratchett (compiled by Stephen Briggs
‘A marriage is always made up of two people who are prepared to swear that only the other one snores.’ from The Fifth Elephant. ‘Inside every old person is a young person wondering what happened.’ from Moving Pictures. The Discworld is filled with a vast and diverse population - from witches to vampires and from the fiendish to the foolish, it is a world in which magical books can devour the unsuspecting, and Death can escape to the country for some time off. The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld is a collection of the wittiest, pithiest and wisest quotations from this extraordinary universe, dealing one-by-one with each book in the canon. Guaranteed to transport you back to your favourite or forgotten Discworld moments it is the perfect book for die-hard Pratchett fans, as well as anyone coming to the Discworld for the first time.
It was excellent and a must-have for the collection of any Pratchett fan!
Finished
Out and
Far from the Madding Crowd, both of which were enjoyable, but also finished my first 10/10 for the year with
The Book Club Bible, which is an excellent guide - I highly recommend it to anyone who goes to a book group. Or, indeed, anyone who is on any kind of book discussion forum!
Now listening to an audio book of
The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley, which I downloaded from Librivox, and reading
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux.
Well, my goodness Kell, got too close to your fella, ey?
Congratulations to both you and your hubby! Is this the first?
Kell: I'm having the same problem! I haven't been reading much at all because I don't want to associate reading with feeling sick. But I really miss reading!
PS: I've recently discovered that ginger cookies (or anything ginger, really, but why not eat cookies when you can, eh?) really help my morning sickness (which lasts all day for me).
Ooooooooook, so this place is kind of dead right now, but no matter, I'll post anyway.
Just got my Early Reviewers book today -> Owning the Olympics: Narratives of the New China by
Monroe E. Price and
Daniel Dayan. Looking forward to it as it means I can read solely for enjoyment now instead of having to study, or do readings, or plan trips, etc. so I'm going to get on it ASAP.
FINALS! I'm writing my finals right now, whiiiiiiiich means I've pretty much finished up all my texts from the past few months (and also explains why I've been doing nil posting here over the last few months).
Soooooo,
Basics of American Politics by
Gary Wasserman = Done
Canadian Government in Transition by
Robert J. Jackson and Doreen Jackson = Done
Cañar: A Year in the Highlands of Ecuador by Judy Bankenship = Done
Cultural Anthropology: Adaptations, Structures, Meanings by
David W. Haines = Done the required readings
And I'm pretty much done my Critical Thinking and Argument booklet.
So yeah, just kinda reading my Early Reviewers book, my
Lonely Planet: Great Britain book while planning my trip, and studying for finals.
Message edited by its author, Apr 11, 2008, 4:35pm.
I'm still new-ish to Library Thing and am slowly exploring the groups. This group intrigues me a bit. Here are some of the books I've read so far this year. I've read a bit of an McEwan, but not Atonement. I thought in his most recent one,
On Chesil Beach the author was really coasting on recent successes. It was finely and beautifully observed, but felt incomplete to me.
Other books I've read so far this year (below). I thought the Ha Jim was rather weak but finished it anyway. Does anyone know of any novels written about Tienenmen Square (sic) by writers who were actually there for the events?
Iris Murdoch, The Sacred and Profane Love Machine
Graham Swift, The Light of Day
Ha Jin, The Crazed
Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior
Elie Wiesel, Night
Zadie Smith, On Beauty
Gwendolyn Brooks, Maud Martha
Pat Barker, Life Study
Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake
Alice Munro, Friend of My Youth
(back to top)
