I don't know where Greyhead is but it's a day later than he usually posts, so I'm jumping in to post this week's thread.

I'm reading The End of East by Jen Sookfong Lee, an Early Reviewer book, which has improved in the last 50 pages. Also just finishing up Counting My Chickens by The Duchess of Devonshire. Will move onto two other review books and then either The Blind Assassin or Half of a Yellow Sun.

Thanks for that, teelgee.

I am reading Janet Evanovich's One for the Money. I read my first Plum book, Plum Lucky, a few weeks ago and loved it, so I thought I'd start from the start. Pretty good stuff; Stephanie Plum is for me what Junie B. is for my youngest.

After One for the Money, I'm reading Songs for the Missing for the Barnes & Noble First Look club, then either The Gargoyle or The Aviary Gate, which are both ARCs.

Sometime this week, I'll probably read Lisey's Story, too.

I've been reading A Wrinkle in Time... ever so slowly... with my kids. My youngest leaves for her dad's tomorrow, so I'll have to read it a second time with her when she gets back.

edit: Thanks, by the way, teelgee... I've been stalking the "What Are You Reading Now?" group all day waiting for this thread. Hopefully all is well with Greyhead.

Message edited by its author, May 24, 2008, 6:06pm.

Got two WW2 histories;
1. The Battle of the River Plate by Dudley Pope, about the hunt for the German Pocket Battleship Graf Spee.

2. Escape From The Deep by Alex Kershaw. This is about the survivors of the submarine U.S.S. Tang who on it's 5th war patrol was sunk by it's own defective torpeto. Actually started this one about two months ago but got side tracked.
Also got two classic sci fi also;
1. This Island Earth by Raymond F. Jones
2. "No Place on Earth" by LouisCharbonneau
On vacation this week so have extra time to read.

I'm reading Heretic by Bernard Cornwell, which is very good and more engaging than the first two in the Grail Quest trilogy. I've also just started Great Tales from English History, vol. 2 as a side read, since it's done in little short chapters.

Just put aside Wayson Choy's The Jade Peony to read Are You Somebody? by Nuala O'Faolin. I heard her interviewed on CBC (it was an old interview from last year) and decided I had to read everything by her. May also get to Doris Lessing's first novel, The Grass is Singing.

>1 ooh, I think I'll read Half of a Yellow Sun with you.

I am reading an old book from my shelf. I thought I better get going on reading some of the books I have laying around the house.

I am reading the The Choiring Trees by Donald Harington.

jbealy: Looks like we could make quite a duet with the The Grass is Singing and The Choiring Trees!

>7 OK! Thanks for helping me decide!

I'm halfway through Fanon: A Novel by John Edgar Wideman. I'll probably start The Corpse Walker by Liao Yiwu tonight or tomorrow. I'm also reading a book of poems, Behind My Eyes by Li-Young Lee.

I'm just beginning Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

I'm starting How To Be Good today . Should be a fun read !

Just starting Plain Speaking: an Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman by Merle Miller. These are transcriptions of interviews that Miller did with Truman and with many of the people who knew Truman. Miller thought he was preparing for a television series on Truman, but none of the networks would go along. So he turned the interviews into a book, instead. The Preface was quite well written, and I'm looking forward to reading this book quite a lot.

Chapter 7 of Speaks the Nightbird.

I'm still reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. This morning I was on page 130 and I couldn't quite understand why someone I know on another board described it as a "bloody excellent" book. It's good and it is definitely well written.

I just finished page 237. I'm beginning to understand why it might be "bloody excellent."

My edition has 662 pages.

I'm about halfway through Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella. It's utter fluff, but I'm still getting a big kick out of it.

Still in Herodotus and finishing Bless Me, Ultima in the car.

I finished Love Marriage, my early reviewer book which was not good at all. Then I read Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi which was delightful -- kind of a comic book version of Reading Lolita in Tehran.

I am now reading Q is for Quarry, so far one of the better Sue Grafton mysteries, for something light, before I decide for sure whether to tackle The Brothers Karmazov in a second attempt.

teelgee - thanks for starting the thread. Two great choices for your next book. Hope you enjoy.

Finished New and Selected Poems by Larry D. Thomas, which I loved.

Also finished Time Bandit, an Early Reviewer book on one of the boats from the TV show "Deadliest Catch". Friggin lunatics, fun read.

Started A Knock at the Door: A Journey Through the Darkness of the Armenian Genocide by Margaret Ajemian Ahnert. This is a personal account of the author's mother, who was 15 years old when the massacre began and 98 when her daughter started to interview for the book. It's quite powerful so far. I'm tempted to offer it to a Turkish friend who was legitamately surprised when I once mentioned to him that 100's of thousands were killed. He didn't know! (This book gives the number killed as ~ 1 million)...I probably won't. (full disclosure, the author is a family friend)

Message edited by its author, May 24, 2008, 9:41pm.

Nice job teelgee ... you can always be counted on for thread management !!

I finished Andrea Levy's Small Island, which I read because it's an Orange Prize winner and for a theme read about dislocated women in the "Girlybooks" group. I loved this book!!

Meanwhile last week I also started We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be Killed With our Families, a nonfiction book about the Rwandan genocide. It's obviously not a light read, but it's very well written. I'm going to focus on this book but am ready to pick up another one to read in parallel if it gets to be too much.

teelgee thanks for starting the thread. I too agree w/ your 2 books choices.

I am still reading Love Marriage from the Early Reviewers. I actually am enjoying it. My only complaint too many family members to remember. Next up I think will be either Child 44 or Free Food For Millionaires or Skeletons at the Feast--oh the decisions!

I'm reading The Insufficiency of Maps: A Novel by Nora Pierce.

I just started War and Peace.

I finished Admit One by Emmett James...not sure what I think about this one...but wasn't bad. I just started Obedience by Will Lavender, so far is pretty good!!

Reading No 1 Ladies Detective Agency I read a late book of his and enjoyed it, so thought I would start at the beginning of the series.

#13 I read Plain Speaking awhile ago and very much enjoyed it. His sure wasn't an easy presidency (but, then, few of them are, I guess).

I hope you'll share your thoughts on it as you go along or when you've finished it.

Just short of halfway through Fort Sumter to Perryville. Excellent. Good narrative history and Shelby Foote has a novelist's eye for telling detail.

Has anyone read The Landmark Herodotus?

I am just finishing up an ARC of The Aviary Gate, which I wanted to make sure to read and review before it is released on Tuesday. Next up will probably be another book for review, Dolphins Under My Bed, but I'm a bit ahead of schedule, so maybe something random from my TBR pile?

Earlier this week, I found myself at work and finished my book without another one lined up.
But not to worry! I work in a library.
So I picked up The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein which I have been meaning to read for a while now. Very good (and disturbing) stuff so far.

I will be reading The Wishing Year this week by Noelle Oxenhandler. It's my April bonus batch Early Reviewer book. Since today is my birthday, it seems an appropriate time to start a book with this theme. Check back with me this day next year and I'll let you know how it turned out!

#29 heliophobe - whew! you almost had a biblioemergency (a phrase I didn't invent, but wish I had). I've been bookless on occasion but I don't work at a library.

I'm slogging through Shades of Glory, my April ER book. Slow, slow going. I love baseball but don't particularly like the style of this one so far. I'll keep going, but am reading The Woods by Harlan Coben as a reward to myself.

It took me 11 days, but I finally finished Rick Perlstein's epic Nixonland and loved every bit of it. Perlstein's spirited account of American politics between 1965 and 1972 is about as entertaining, and as hilarious at times, as history's gonna get, and this is just a stellar piece of work. (And as a sidebar: This must be Colin Harrison's year. I've read 2 absolutely great novels by him just recently (The Finder & The Havana Room), but I discovered that his day job is non-fiction editor at Scribner, and Perlstein credits him as one of the guiding forces behind Nixonland, so Harrison's really showing up large this year.}

Right now I'm over 200 pages into James Collins's romantic folly of a novel Beginner's Greek, which is definitely NOT the kind of thing I'm normally drawn to, but it's so guilelessly written and so unrelentingly charming, that I've found it nothing short of irresistible. And what's so cool about it is that you can tell immediately whether you'll like it or not: just read the first 2 pages, and you'll either want to puke or you'll be begging for more. Fortunately I cozied-up to Collins' approach at once, and couldn't be more delighted with this wonderful book.

I just started Measuring the World by Daniel Kehlmann, and so far it's really interesting.

Message edited by its author, May 26, 2008, 12:05pm.

Right now, I am reading Music and Silence by Rose Tremain. I've also been trying to catch up on some household projects this long weekend, so have had more audiobook time--I finished the delightful The Enchanted April yesterday, and I'm now listening to Murder on the Orient Express.

Recently finished Theft by Peter Carey: comical and thought-provoking. Also Broken April by Ismail Kadare - dark, compelling, fascinating.

Now reading Love Without Hope by Rodney Hall - enjoying it very much.

#33 Measuring the World was one of my favorite reads of last fall. I hope you enjoy it!

I am starting Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller, and probably If on a Winter's Night a Traveler later in the week.

Message edited by its author, May 25, 2008, 9:32am.

I just finished Up at the Villa. It is hard to believe this is the same man who wrote Of Human Bondage, but I loved them both. Yesterday I started White Noise and I am about a third of the way through. This is my first DeLillo and I am enjoying it. Next up is Slammerkin. I have taken to reading books in the order they are due back at the library. It seems as good a system as any.

I'm fine, just a busy weekend - and I forgot, mea culpa. Mostly I've been carrying on with the Trudi Canavan trilogy, finished Priestess of the White, and I'm a few pages from the end of Last of the Wilds.

GreyHead, glad to hear all is well. As you can tell, everyone was chomping at the bit to post the week's reading! You were missed!

Finished The Given Day by Dennis Lehane, a brawny historical novel set mostly in Boston in 1918/19 (someone will make a great movie out of it. . .). Also finished a collection of poems by Linda Pastan.

I have started The Abandoned Baobab: The Autobiography of a Senegalese Woman by Ken Bugul - which is what it says it is. I also have two poetry collections I'm working through: Leaving Yuba City by Chitra Divakaruni and The Anatomy Threater by Nadine Sabra Meyer.

I've spent the morning tearing through my ER book The 19th Wife, which thus far (about 1/2 way through) is very absorbing.

I finished the audiobook of So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld on Friday, which was better than I expected given the subject matter... Westerfeld's quite good at writing intelligent teen novels that are disguised as action-adventure. Next up is the audiobook of The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon.

#33 jfetting: I found If on a Winter's Night a Traveler bizarre but fascinating. I like Calvino's work a lot. Be interested to hear what you have to say about it when you start reading it.

#33 jfetting, #42 Joycepa: I'm another big admirer of Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, even own a 1st US edition of it too.

Just finished The Devil's Knight by Lucy Blue.

My ongoing read is Other Lives The Story of Reincarnation for the Go Review That Book! group.

Also starting The Geography of Bliss because I thought it would be interesting to try another travellog. So far the only one I've read is Chasing Shadows Across the World which I was suprised to find that I enjoyed.

My current manga are RG Veda Volume 3 and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Volume 17 but those typically don't last longer than a day (or an hour if I'm really into it). The next in line is Death Note Volume 3.

edited because I had forgotten one other manga I'm in the middle of reading

Message edited by its author, May 25, 2008, 12:06pm.

I started Grave Peril by Jim Butcher this morning. It was either this or Mrs. Dalloway,and I just didn't feel like something meaningful right now. I'm kind of in a trashy fantasy mood.

I (finally) finished Middlemarch -- it's a wonderful book and I'm glad I reread it, but I'm equally glad to be able to get to some of the other books that have been piling up.

I read the deservedly well-reviewed Netherland by Joseph O'Neill in just a few days. Beautiful writing, compelling, moving, and funny, perhaps especially so for me as a New Yorker.

Not sure what I'm going to read next fiction-wise, but will finish some nonfiction I started a while ago, including The Horse, the Wheel, and Language.

#43; Oh ye gods, Louis, how to turn a person green with instant envy!! :-)

Due to the vagaries of choices when moving or just plain accident, for some reason I don't have that book but do have a copy of Italian Folk Tales. He, Umberto Eco, and Primo Levi are my favorite modern Italian authors. For no doubt he same reasons, I no longer have Levi's books, either. One of the things I have been doing is slowly, slowly replacing old favorites that somehow disappeared from my bookshelves. Just got a copy of Foucault's Pendulum; now I've got to get at least The Periodic Table on that particular Wish List.

I"ve just finished Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley. This is the second version she wrote of Beauty and the Beast, 20 years after the first one and completely unrelated (except for the Beauty and the Beast theme). I liked the first one so much I didn't think McKinley could change the story and I would like it, but she did. One reason why it took me almost two weeks to finish this book is that everytime McKinley writes about Beauty gardening (which is a major part of this book) I would start thinking about my own neglected garden and start planning in my head to do this or that and before I knew it an hour would have passed. The second reason is that I actually did get into the garden to weed it out and plant some veg. Anyways, I liked this book almost as much as McKinley's first one (called Beauty.)

I'd started a couple of other books several weeks ago and need to get back to them. So next is either Monster of God by David Quammen, nonfiction about maneating beasts and their relationships with humanity in history and today, or The Hollow Hills by Mary Stewart, second in her books about Merlin.

I'm also listening to Inkspell by Cornelia Funke and reading the first Harry Potter with my 7yo.

Message edited by its author, May 25, 2008, 1:35pm.

Hey, first time posting.

I am in the middle of Master and Margarita. I am a teacher and don't get a whole lot of time to read during the school year; however, summer break begins in 3 days and I can't wait to read a ton over break.

I decided to push Dolphins Under My Bed back a bit and am reading an ARC of Sprit of the Place, as I did say I'd make Literary Ventures Fund's books a priority.

Message edited by its author, May 25, 2008, 2:25pm.

Welcome to LT ilikesundrop! Enjoy yourself, and especially enjoy your break!

#27 Smiley - I'm right now reading David Grene's version of Herodotus. My brother recommended it - the first time I'm reading it. What is Landmark about The Landmark Herodotus?

#48 sandragon - I loved Mary Stewart's Merlin books, especially the first two - The Crystal Cave and The Hollow Hills. Unfortunately, the last two aren't as good.

This week its:

Empire of the Sun by JG Ballard
The Love Secrets of Don Juan by Tim Lott
Dr. Mukti and other Tales of Woe by Will Self
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer

#6 Jbealy: You should read My Dream of You by Nuala O'Faolain. An excellent historical novel.

Message edited by its author, May 25, 2008, 5:31pm.

Still working on The Life of Thomas More. Well-written, mind you, but dense.

Yesterday I finished Towing Jehovah by James Morrow--brilliant satire, and a great book on many levels. Read The Stepford Wives this morning. Now I'm reading The Broken Window, Jeffery Deaver's latest Lincoln Rhyme novel.

I just finished The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton. It was an Early Reviewers book, and it's a perfect one for a book club. I posted my review as well.

I'm also reading Living on the Black by John Feinstein, a terrific baseball book.

15: seitherin -- I read The Name of the Wind last month. I'm curious what you think of it when you finish. I really enjoyed it, though it was a bit of a slow starter.

Currently, I'm reading Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut and Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen. I'm hoping to start Gail Carson Levine's newest book, Ever, this week as well as continue with the Tsubasa series. Volume 5 is next, but I expect to read a few more before the week is through.

I am currently reading The Book of Lost Things which I am thoroughly enjoying. I wasn't so sure I was going to like this for a while but am now loving it and will probably finish it this evening. And, once again, it is a book that I had never heard of before but saw here on LT.

I just started The Overlook by Michael Connelly. It's a fairly thin book compared to his others but so far seems to be a good read. He's my fav author.

#53 RcCarol - This doesn't bode well :o(
I can remember reading Mary Stewart's first two Merlin books aeons ago, though I couldn't remember the actual books, and I know I never got around to finishing the third but I can't remember why. I'll still give The Last Enchantment another go and hope it goes better this time.

I just started Jhumpa Lahiri's new book, Unaccustomed Earth, and I'm on track to finish that and Graham Greene's The End of the Affair this week.

# 55 framboise: I did read My Dream of You and loved it. It was quite awhile ago though so I will probably re-read it now that I'm on my "everything O'Faolain" kick. Have you read The Story of Chicago May? I'm curious about that one...

52: RcCarol,

The Landmark Herodotus to quote from the jacket: "Illustrated, annotated, and filled with maps, this edition includes an introductin...and twenty-one appendices written by scholars at the top of their fields,..."

What that means is all the relevant annotations and maps are alongside the page of the text. Excellent maps and no flipping back and forth trying to figure things out. I read The Landmark Thucydides last year, my third time through his Peloponnesian War and that edition left me with the best understanding yet.

To the Calvino thread:

I enjoyed Mr. Palomar. Invisible Cities was even better but If on a Winter's Night a Traveler just about gagged me. I did finish it.

Message edited by its author, May 25, 2008, 11:35pm.

I'm currently rereading A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, but right now, my attention is mostly focused on the first book in the Twilight series. I wasn't entirely sure about Twilight, since I outgrew most young adult fiction a couple years ago, but I've been completely captivated by it! After I finish Twilight (should happen within the next day or so), I'm going to keep working through Owen Meany, and then try for either 1984 or Something Wicked This Way Comes.

I finished H.P. Lovecraft's Favorite Weird Tales (edited byDouglas A. Anderson last week and am now into Tapping the Dream Tree by Charles de Lint for my bedtime reading. I'm really loving it so far!

I also finished The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood last Saturday. It's now one of my favorite Atwood books!

I'm still reading Legends, starting to see the finish line. I'm enjoying this collection of short fantasy stories very much.

Also still reading Player Piano, which is taking me surprisingly long. It's not drawing me in as I had expected it would.

Then for my e-book, I'm still reading Lady Chatterley's Lover, which I'm enjoying a lot.

Seems that everything is taking me forever to finish somehow. Oh well, I'll probably have finished everything by the time we go on vacation in two weeks. I'm already looking forward to selecting the books I'll take with me! ^^

I finished Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan, which is an ARC (the book is due out in November). This is my first O'Nan book, but it won't be my last. I read this book in one day - a real page turner.

Now, I hope to be immersed into my latest book, Becky: The Life and Loves of Becky Thatcher by Lenore Hart.

I should finish up 2 books today - I've got a 3-hour drive back home from the holiday, and I will finish up The Terror by Dan Simmons on the way (an audiobook). This afternoon, I can finish up the last few chapters of The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais. THEN I can settle in and read a few chapters of The 19th Wife. Big plans for the day!

I was up till 1 am finishing A Knock at the Door by Margaret Ajemian Ahnert. Wow, one of the most powerful books I've read this year.

I finished up Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation by Cokie Roberts and have started The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I find myself engrossed in it. I appreciate all the comments on LT which encouraged me to pick it up. I am still listening to Survival of the Fittest by Jonathan Kellerman.

#65 Smiley
Gagged you? Really? How come? I've never heard anything but praise for If On A Winters Night a Traveler, so I'd be interested in hearing negative reviews. It is gross?

Speaking of gross, you want to know what is a really disgusting book? Tropic of Cancer. I keep feeling bugs crawling on me. I've never read anything like it.

Finished an ARC of Stephanie Kallos's next novel, to be published in January, called Sing Them Home. Liked it a lot.

Up for this week, if I can find time to read, is:
The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
America, America by Ethan Canin

I am finishing up Hallam's War by Elisabeth Payne Rosen and will prob start Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos bor my book group...will tell my group that she has another coming out...thanks alphaorder.

Reading The 19th Wife, my ARC. I like it so far. I also have other projects that might affect my reading intake this week. Pity.

36# Thanks! Yeah, I'm almost done with it and have enjoyed alot. It most certainly not something I usually read, so I was a bit weary, but it turned out to be a great read!

#65 Smiley, #74 jfetting: It's a weird book. It starts off with a particular narrative thread, then based on some last sentence goes off into a totally different narrative thread and so on and so on. Eventually, they're related. For me, some of those leaps were great and some of them were boring. Overall, I liked the book--found it intriguing. But I most certainly can see why someone would have a hard time with it. For me, I'm glad that I read it, but am not sure I would want to read another like it. These days, I'm sure the format would not seem avant-garde, but it certainly was startling for those days.

Message edited by its author, May 26, 2008, 1:29pm.

As a break from my ongoing nonfiction reads (2 faith/spiritual and 1 professional), I started Anthony Capella's The Food of Love earlier this weekend, which I have thoroughly enjoyed! Next up will be Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz.

74: jfetting & 80: Joycepa,

I think Joycepa says it better than I could, again.

I just did not want to pick it up. A bad sign. Too literary for me.

I just finished Water for Elephants, I really enjoyed it and read it in one day. Next on my list is a light romance, Rogue in a Kilt by Sandy Blair.

I finished The Book of Lost Things last night and absolutely loved it! I started Sickened by Julie Gregory, a memoir about Munchausen by proxy, which I find absolutely fascinating but thoroughly disturbing and kind of like The Glass Castle. So far, this girl's childhood by even be worse than Jeannette Walls'.

Finished Lock and Key and Ever. After really enjoying Fairest, I was a little disappointed in the newest one, but it was still a good read.

I started Word Freak today. Still reading Slaughterhouse-five. Those are my last two library books, so I may get desperate for new reading material if I finish them today!

I am in the middle of reading both Remembering the Bones by Frances Itaniand Homecoming by Bernhard Schlink. Both novels are well written and interesting. I njust finished the best book to date... Geraldine Brooks novel People of the Book. An outstanding read!

Finishing up my Early Reviewer ARC of The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton and then likely to start my ARC of The 19th Wife. I'd like to try Howard's End too if I get the time this week.

Finished Hearts West, True Stories of Mail-Order Brides on the Frontier today and, though I'm also still reading Pretty Birds (which needs to be completed by 5/31), I've convinced myself I can start The Prince of Frogtown by Rick Bragg. Simply couldn't resist. He's a favorite author.

#66. A Prayer For Owen Meany is one of my favorite books. I'd be interested in hearing what you think about this book when you are finished.

I finished After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell (a wonderful book) and started Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich (wanted something light to read) Stephanie Plum books are great escape.

Word Freak is an excellent read. It makes you want to play Scrabble when you're done!

Right now I'm finishing up Megan Whalen Turner's The Thief (which actually is as good as everybody says it is), and going to start my ER copy of The 19th Wife.

I am now starting Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer and so far can't put it down

#64 JBealy: No, I haven't read The Story of Chicago May (it's been on my TBR list for years now!). You'll have to post & let us know how it is.

Right now I'm halfway through my 1st ER title The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. It is excellently written. I had read others of Ebershoff's, such as The Danish Girl and some of the short stories in The Rose City: Stories.

This morning I finished The Insufficiency of Maps: A Novel by Nora Pierce. This evening I finished Gluttony by Francine Prose. And now I'm reading A Summer of Hummingbirds: Love, Art, and Scandal in the Intersecting Worlds of Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, & Martin Johnson Heade by Christopher Benfey.

Started an ARC of The Lace Reader today, and managed to read 150 pages before real life dragged me away. So far, its excellent.

I am slowly reading A Journey to the End of the Millennium by A.B. Yehoshua and have also started a book of short stories All Aunt Hagar's Children by Edward P. Jones.

Still working through Defining Moments in Books. I'm going slower than normal, since I keep stopping to look up the books mentioned.

I'm really having a hard time settling down with a book right now. I thought about and rejected (for now) Dolphins Under My Bed, Spirit of the Place, and Ella Minnow Pea before FINALLY settling on my ARC of The Gargoyle. I think this was a good choice, because the first chapter of this book has been absolutely mesmirizing.

I finished Sickened last night - actually stayed up way too late finishing it. It was very good and extremely disturbing. I am about to begin Interpreter of Maladies which I have been looking forward to for some time now.

Finished Measuring The World by Daniel Kehlmann, and am just about to start Lord Of The Flies.

I’m generally not one for novels with an academic backdrop, but John Williams’ Stoner is such an outstanding, riveting work, that it transcends the nasty rivalries and inflated egos of some of it’s characters, and was a genuine pleasure to read, just an exhilarating piece of fiction. It was one of those rare novels that come along from time to time that move me very deeply, and I found myself thinking about it long after I was finished. I find it baffling that it sold only 2,000 copies when it first appeared in 1965.

After Stoner I picked up Howard Bahr’s latest, Pelican Road. Bahr is well known for his three excellent Civil War era novels, The Black Flower, The Year of Jubilo and The Judas Field, but in Pelican Road Bahr tells a fascinating tale of men who worked on one of the great American railroads in 1940. Pelican Road takes it name from the “207 miles of ballasted heavyweight main line rail between Meridian, Mississippi and New Orleans.” Pelican Road just missed making it on my best of list for 2008, but nonetheless, Bahr’s beautiful prose is still at work, and his vivid descriptions of the passing landscape, railroad processes and the smell and sound of men and trains made for a compelling read.

Next up, Stephen Millhauser’s Dangerous Laughter.

Message edited by its author, May 27, 2008, 8:37am.

I've started Wolf Totem, by Rong Jiang.

Finished The 19th Wife (review here), which in general I though was quite good and very absorbing, although not without a few flaws. I'm currently working on Sexual Selections: What We Can and Can't Learn About Sex from Animals by Marlene Zuk, which is my GRTB pick, but is too close to what I do all day at work to really get me excited about reading it in my free time.

I'm currently listening to The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon, although I'm not particularly far into it. I'm not sure yet how I feel about listening to Chabon's writing vs. reading it.

>81 -- The Thief is one of my all-time favorites as well as its sequel, The Queen of Attolia. I highly recommend that series!

I'm enjoying Word Freak very much, though it's giving me even more of a complex about my abominable Scrabble playing. I picked it up to vary my reading with a little more nonfiction than usual, and I was rather intrigued by seeing it in a list of books about "sports." Who knew you could be ranked, like in chess, when you play tournament Scrabble? I like how it goes back and forth between game techniques and the players themselves. (I also just enjoy unusual words, so that's another reason this is a fun choice for me.)

104 bell7 - I just recently finished Word Freak: and had much the same reaction as you. On the whole I really prefer "living-room" Scrabble (which I'm pretty darn good at) over the tournament kind, at which I'm sure I would be terrible!

I just finished reading Grammar for the Soul: (touchstone not working -- see http://www.librarything.com/work/5487774...) which I highly recommend (and not just because the author is the father of a childhood friend of mine). I just posted my review on the LT page.

And this morning I started Imaro by Charles Saunders.

geez, these touchstones are really tetchy today.

Message edited by its author, May 27, 2008, 12:05pm.

#104, 105, I enjoyed Word Freak too, but it seemed more like a stretched-out magazine article than a book to me.

Finishing The New Confessions by William Boyd, taking two breaths and beginning Gob's Grief by Chris Adrian.

Have also begun 142 Strand by Rosemary Ashton, a history of English publishing in the mid 19th Century.

I'm about a third of the way through Chuck Palahniuk's Lullaby. I'm still undecided on how I feel about it at this point.

Just started Giving Up On Ordinary by Isla Dewar. Only 10 pages in but I'm enjoying it.

I finished The thirteenth Tale which I read in 2 days and loved. I am now reading The double by Jose Saramgo and it is slow going.

Hello, I'm new. (o:

I'm reading Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, A Doctor Who book, The Slow Empire by Dave Stone, God's Behaving Badly (Marie Phillips) and Climate Change by Robert Henson.

I'm just about to start The Golden Notebook which will be the first Doris Lessing I've read.

#111 Welcome to Library Thing, GillyP! Gods Behaving Badly is on my TBR - what do you think of it? Is it good?

Welcome to LT, GillyP. If you're a book lover (and it looks like you are, according to your post!) you're in the right place! Enjoy! (But beware -- it's addictive!)

#112 - I'm not GillyP, but I read it last week and thought it was fantastic. It's one of the best new books I've read so far this year.

I'm reading Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe.

#86 - I agree with you mmkelley, I also just finished People Of The Book and I loved it too.

I'm currently reading Mother Tongue: English And How It Got That Way by Bill Bryson and The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I'm enjoying both very much!

#89 - Whisper1 - I actually had to read Owen Meany for my English class during my senior year of high school, and I absolutely ADORED it. It's a dense book, but the conversational tone of the narration helped keep me intrigued. This was definitely my favorite novel from my English classes!

I just finished Twilight and I was completely blown away. I can't wait to start in on the rest of the series! One of the best books I've read in a LONG TIME, in terms of pure enjoyment! Right now, I'm starting American Psycho again, so hopefully I'll be able to make it all the way through this time. After American Psycho, I think I'll start in on Meg by Steve Alten (I've read this one before, but not in a long time) and Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury.

I'm a little more than halfway through Black Sun Rising by C.S. Friedman. It's not the best fantasy I've ever read, but it has potential and I'll probably be acquiring the next two in the series fairly soon.

I just started America, America by Ethan Canin. I'm about 1/3 through with my current audiobook, The March by E.L. Doctorow.

finished The Beach earlier today. I was kinda disapointed; too much like Lord of The Flies and it took 400 pgs to build up to a unsatisfying 3 page climax.

Still reading Gravity's Rainbow, its taking longer becasue I take a break every now and then to read somthing else. Thats not to say Im bored by it, actually it is now one of my favorite books.

Deadeye Dick is a book im probably going to pick up soon.

Well, I just started The Hollow Man by Dan Simmons which is a GRTB! book I had been procrastinating on. I've also started an anthology of Irene Nemirovsky novellas, the first of which is David Golder.

For a short story collection, I have Ramsey Campbell's Waking Nightmares. And for nonficiton I have Intuitive Body.

>121: GRTB ??

I just started Run With the Bulls Without Getting Trampled by Tim Irwin and I'm a couple of chapters into Cesar's Way by Cesar Milan.

#111: GillyP

Welcome to LT! Neverwhere is one of my favorite books. I hope you're enjoying it! =)

Everybody's reading such great books! I've written several down for my (ever-growing) wishlist.

I'm STILL slogging through Shades of Glory, my April ER book. Slow going. I'm also stuck on Beowulf. Unfortunately, for me it needs quiet and peace of mind to read, neither of which I've had much of lately.

So for fun I picked up Firefly Rain by a fellow North Carolinian Richard Dansky. I am really enjoying the sense of dread he's evoking.

>122 GRTB is shorthand for the Go Review That Book! group.

Come join us!

#25 I've read the first five books in his series, I hope you enjoy them - I found myself totally transported to Botswana, they are such a pleasure to read.

#47 Let me know how you like Foucault's pendulum - I thought it was well written but a bit mystical for my tastes.

I'm supposed to be reading all this stuff about semiotics for my course, but have decided instead to carry on ploughing through the Victorians as my nonfiction read. As for fiction, I'm trying to decide what to read next - I tried kept but found it awful to read so perhaps a bit of Lessing, although now we have that recommendations widget on LT my tbr pile is getting out of control!

#119, Cariola, I loved The March -- hope you do too.

I finished my mystery kick with Beautiful Lies - pretty good, not great.

And I just started The Brothers Karamazov last night. So far, it is going like it did last time I tried it (~ 15 years ago) I fell asleep almost immediately -- this time I will perservere. Any words of encouragement would be appreciated.

#47 mrsradcliffe; Foucalt's Pendulum will be a reread for me; I read it when it came out many, many years ago. What I remember is that at the end, I felt as if I needed to reread it to understand completely what had gone on and to fully appreciate the intricacies of the plot.

Seems to me that Umberto Eco led the way in several genres: medieval murder mystery (Name of the Rose), Dan Brown type of stuff (Foucault's Pendulum).

#117 - Oooooh I love Something Wicked This Way Comes. Just typing the title gives me a lovely shiver.

I'm still working on an ARC of The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. As much as I'm loving it, I couldn't resist picking up Have I Got a Guy for You, which was sent to me for review. It is all essays/short stories, so it isn't interfering with the flow of The Gargoyle too much.

#110 Keren: I was reading The Double about two years ago, put it aside, and never picked it up again. It's on my 2008 TBR list but I feel your pain.

131: nancyewhite

I read Something Wicked this way comes many years ago and just the thought of it sends chills up my spine. Not so much from the story but the way Bradbury draws us into the hidden fear and lives of the towns people. He draws you in like a moth to a flame.

Just finished This Island Earth by Raymond F. Jones which I enjoyed very much.
I've now started The Battle of the River Plate : The Hunt for the German Pocket Battleship Graf Spee by Dudley Pope

#133

Its agonizingly slow - but I will finish it - it could get better :) (Im always the optimist).

Since I finally finished War and Peace and also The Green Mile, I wanted to take on some lighter reading for a bit. I'm working on the Wednesday Sisters and The Age of Innocence.

A little bit of diversity.

Working my way through The 19th Wife - only 300 pages to go! Also listening to after the quake on audio for my commute book.

#137 - I'm assuming you mean The Green Mile by Stephen King, since I don't know of any other books by that name...what did you think of it? I just bought it a few weeks ago, and I'm trying to decide where to put it in my reading list.

#129> jhowell, here are my words of encouragement for you . . . I read The Brothers Karamazov a year or so ago. Although I found sections of it slow going, I ultimately found the book very satisfying indeed. A lot of great insights into human nature. Worth sticking with, to put it mildly!

Just finished Chronicle in Stone - my first Kadare, and i'm happily hooked! Now in the middle of Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture and enjoying it. Can't wait to return to The War of the End of the World this week. Will start Stardust tonight for my bedside reading.

#138 How do u like After the Quake? I read it recently and found it more interesting than his other short story collection Blind Woman, Sleeping Willow.

139. The Green Mile is a very good book, one of my favorites by King.

#139 & 142 - I enjoyed it as well. I thought it was better than the movie only because the character descriptions were much more than a movie can do, plus the internal feelings. It was a pretty easy read as well. I almost wished I hadn't seen the movie and then it would have been more surprising.

Just began Michael Chabon's "The Yiddish Policeman's Union." (It came in with "Kavalier & Clay" and "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh," which we ordered after hearing him on the radio.

I'm new to the message boards on LT and stumbled across this one, which is GREAT for new ideas. - Thanks guys!

Current Read: The Kiss: A Memoir by Kathryn Harrison.

I'm about eighty pages into Operation Shylock by Philip Roth. I'm liking it a lot, but I heard it was really funny and I haven't laughed aloud yet or anything. But even if that never happens, it's good. I just finished Boy's Life by Robert McCammon. It was all right, light and fun to read.

#117
Hi Coloradogirl14. You and I seem to have similiar reading selections. Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite authors. In a few short sentences, he captures images that are incredible. Something Wicked This Way Comes is a wonderful story.

I'm finishing up America, America by Ethan Canin and loving it! It's an ER book and the author crafts his story gently with wonderful prose. There's the family that is the economic engine fo the townspeople, the beloved Senator running for President, and the narrator, a journalist who grew up in the town. Oh, yes, and the Senator's dead girlfriend. Thank you LT!

Several LT firsts for me today...I just posted my first review of my first ER book (America, America by Ethan Canin) and this is my first post to a group.

I'm about half way through the 950 pages of Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra, which I had to interrupt for the ER book (and will again for another one coming). I'm enjoying it tremendously -- I love a big, sprawling, multi-character story occasionally -- and this one has the additional interest of the Mumbai setting but I'm afraid it will keep me from others on my to-be-read shelves for months to come.

I'm among those who were completely charmed by If on a winter's night a traveler; it's on my long list of favorites as is The Golden Notebook. Over many years I've replaced my original copy of the Doris Lessing book twice. I'm also a fan of Nuala O'Faolain although I never talk about her -- I've never been confident that I can pronounce her name correctly.

Message edited by its author, May 28, 2008, 10:35pm.

#149 alpin

Uh-Oh..... Did you miss the warning sign - Abandon all hope ye who enter here - on your way in? Too late now I suppose. Here's hoping you are immune to the 'ever-growing TBR' syndrome that is rampant around here.

I'm working on The Secret Bride: In the Court of Henry VIII by Diane Haeger until Hallam's War by Elisabeth Payne Rosen arrives as my LTER.

I may also start Horns and Wrinkles by Joseph Helgerson and/or The Shadow Thieves by Anne Ursu.

Oh, and I'm also reading May Bird and the Ever After by Jodi Lynn Anderson.

YIKES! That's more than I thought...

#84...I also loved The Book of Lost Things...have you read anything else by John Connolly?

#146 careyi: Boy's Life is my favorite McCammon novel and have recommended it many times over the years.

#149 alpin: I thought Sacred Games was terrific too, but you'll probably be finished with it much sooner than you expect. And if you like Chandra's book, then you'll have to read Gregory David Roberts' epic Shantaram, which is even better in my very humble opinion.

bettyjo: I haven't read anything else by John Connolly YET. I am definitely going to look into his other books now though. I think The Book of Lost Things is one of my favorites for the year so far.

LouisBranning, Thanks for the Shantaram recommendation. Since I really enjoyed Sacred Games (although I felt it didn't quite achieve all it set out to do), I'll look out for it.

So far this week, I have read The Greener Shore: A Novel of the Druids of Hibernia and Isles of the Blest by Morgan Llywelyn and I started
The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christby
Lynn Pickett and Clive Prince

I'm just finishing up the third in the Twilight series. I read Twilight on Monday, New Moon on Tuesday, and I have about 50 pages of Eclipse to finish up today.

I'm hoping The 19th Wife comes today - I could do with some heavier reading.

#157 While you're waiting for Breaking Dawn to come out you should read The Host. (While not "heavy" reading The Host is more involved than the Twilight Saga.)

At the moment I'm reading Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

Message edited by its author, May 29, 2008, 11:34am.

>139. The Green Mile is a very good book, one of my favorites by King.

I read this waaaaaay back when it was released as a serial and you had to wait a week for the next installment. Good stuff.

I abandoned after the quake - just not my style. I'll be starting Creepers on audio on the way home tonight.

LisaLynne: I read The Green Mile in installments when it came out too - my then-boyfriend and I took turns reading it aloud to each other, which was a lot of fun.

I'm reading 1984 by George Orwell...it's pretty good so far

# 146> careyi, I am a huge Roth fan and Operation Shylock is one of my favorites. I grew up in the same area of Newark that Roth writes about. Somewhere along the line in that book, Roth mentions my second grade teacher, Hanna Duchin! That woman taught me the seemingly lost art of phonics, for which I will be ever grateful. Anyway, while Operation Shylock may not be laugh out loud funny in many places, it is overall a wry and funny commentary, at least in my own humble opinion. Enjoy!

# 102 - I'd love to hear what you think of Wolf Totem! It's on my wishlist after I heard a segment about it on NPR. Plus, the translator is coming to my local bookstore in July, and I might go buy it then and get it signed.

I just finished Firefly Rain - devoured it actually - and will start From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris tonight. Two light books in a row to reward myself for continuing with Shades of Glory.

I'm still working on the 19th Wife which I'm enjoying, and I'm also rereading Waiting For Godot, because I think it's appropriate for my life right now.

#162 It took me three tries to read 1984, but I'm so glad I did - it's worth it.

Bonk by Mary Roach.

I'm beginning Tatiana and Alexander by Paullina Simons. I loved her first book in this series, The Bronze Horseman.

Welcome to Library Thing Sveta222. This is the best book lover website. Hope you enjoy it!

I am almost done w/ Love Marriage which I have enjoyed. Next up is either Child 44 or Skeletons At the Feast. Any recommendations on which one next from anyone out there?

#145 and #139 - Sveta222 and Alpin - welcome to the website that will suck up all your reading time!!

#168 ktleyed - I really enjoyed both those Paullina Simons books, although I had to suspend belief at some of the...er... action in T&A. You might see what I mean later on. I don't want to give anything away!

I've finished Outlander and have mixed feelings. I couldn't put it down , I liked Claire and though the historical setting was well done (not that I know anything about Scotland and the Jacobites), but I just couldn't believe how many scrapes they got themselves out of. But I want to read the next one soon.

Now I've started A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell and loving it so far.

Joycepa, are you out there in the ether? I'm still reading Battlecry of Freedom and one day I'm going to finish it...

I finished Interpret of Maladies yesterday and absolutely loved it. Two amazing books in one week! I started Pictures of Hollis Woods last night and am enjoying that as well. All three of these books are part of my 888 Challenge which is a good thing because I am really lagging behind on that.

#170 cmt: Yep, I'm still around, lurking away. One of these weeks I'm going to reread that and another favorite, The Impending Crisis by David Morris Potter. The latter is an utterly absorbing account of the years 1848-1861, and is a remarkable account of the roots of the Civil War in the American political process during the 13 years preceding.

I never like warning people, because I'm always rubbing my hands together, lurking in the shadows, hoping for yet another Civil War convert, but the whole period is addictive. If Mcpherson's book has pricked your curiosity, Potter's is equally as brilliant, talking about a period of time in American history that is not well known. I suppose most people have heard, at least, the phrase "Dred Scott decision", but how many people know about the Kansas/Nebraska Act that was largely responsible for Lincoln's rise to prominence and the formation of the Republican party? Or the Wilmot Proviso--there's an everyday topic of conversation! :-) Yet those three were probably the main players in producing the carnage of the Civil War. Potter makes all of it fascinating as well as heart-breaking. Think war is bad? It is. But so are the decisions leading up to war. Sound familiar? I think the correct quotation is "Those who do not read history are doomed to repeat it."

So...if you're feeling just the least bit curious...come in to my lair, said the spider to the fly.

I finished an ARC of The Gargoyle which was fantastic (review up later today) and am starting an ARC of Alive in Necropolis, which seems very interesting so far. I'm still working on Have I Got A Guy For You, but it really isn't the kind of book you can read all at once, because all of the stories are too similar if you do that.

Two Australian novels to report. Finished Love Without Hope by Rodney Hall which I recommend even though I found it slightly pretentious at times. Now reading Sorry by Gail Jones which is BEAUTIFULLY written.

I've finished The Abandoned Baobab by Ken Bugul, something between a memoir and an autobiographical novel. Apparently, it was one of the earliest memoirs by an African woman who was frank about all aspects of her life. It was interesting.

I am now reading a collection of short stories titled The Cricket Beneath the Waterfall by Miroslav Krleza - slowly; this is for the Reading Globally theme read for May (well, better late than never!). I'm also reading Socialism is Great! A Worker's Memoir of the New China by Lijia Zhang. Her narrative engages one very quickly!

avaland - just checked the Socialism is Great! cover on your profile page. Not only a great title, but a great cover too.

My new book is The World Turned Upside Down about the Diggers, Levellers, Ranters and like groups that flourished during the English civil war. I am also dipping into two old second hand books:

Soldier and Sailor Words & Phrases written just after WW1, and Stars who made the halls about the British music hall, written just after WW2, when many of the 'stars' were either still alive, or at least their performances were within living memory.

Message edited by its author, May 30, 2008, 9:35am.

The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar

I'm reading So Big by Edna Ferber. This book would have been perfect for the "Dislocated Woman" reading challenge. The protagonist, Selina leaves a private school in Chicago to become a schoolteacher in rural Illinois. This book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1925.

I'm also reading Blood and Vengeance, an account of the war in Bosnia. The beginning was a little slow, like reading a history textbook. It's become much more interesting though, and also incredibly sad.

>176, Yes the cover is terrific! Here it is for those unfamiliar:

I heard an interview with the author on NPR - although I can't remember if it was a local or national interview. It certainly intrigued me.

Thanks, avaland, for adding to my evergrowing wishlist. :p

I'm almost finished with Flora Segunda by Ysabeau S. Wilce, which I'm enjoying very much. I absolutely love the worldbuilding here.

you're very welcome, koolaidmom! (might you be related to poptartdad? just kiddin').

I don’t know how or where to begin to sing the praises of Stephen Millhauser’s superb collection of three groups of interconnected short stories, Dangerous Laughter, other than to say that I was so mesmerized that I damn near finished the book in one afternoon. Short of torture there was nothing that could pull me away from reading since I felt like I was transported to a magical world I never wanted to leave. It’s been a couple of days since I’ve finished and some of these stories are still lingering with me. It’s a book that will definitely go on my best of 2008.

Currently I’m almost finished with a second reading of Howard Bahr’s superb Civil War novel, The Judas Field, and since it’s scheduled to arrive from Amazon in the mail tomorrow I’ll be starting a book I’m really looking forward to, the NYRB edition of Oakley Hall’s circa 1950 classic, Warlock (New York Review Books Classics)

Message edited by its author, May 30, 2008, 2:56pm.

I had an almost identical reaction to Dangerous Laughter, Sean, one of those fellings you get when you know you're reading something awfully special, and it made my Favorites of the year list instantly.

Message edited by its author, May 30, 2008, 3:42pm.

I'm reading Growing up Haunted by Jennifer Finney Boylan Library Thing is so darn addicting. Each time I finish a book and read the posts, I get new ideas. My to be read pile is grower higher each day!

I just started Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, a history of Lincoln's War Cabinet. So far it is very good.

Hi Xenchu
Doris Kearns Goodwin is so very knowledgeable re. American presidents. I've seen her interviewed a number of times. She deeply admires Lincoln and thinks he is one of the best Presidents ever!

I'd be interested in learning of your impressions after you finish the book.

I actually finished American Psycho for the first time, and I'm not entirely sure what my impressions are. I thought that Ellis did a nice job exploring the concepts of materialism, conformity, and identity, but the graphic violence and pornographic sex were sometimes a bit much for me, and this is coming from a self-proclaimed horror/slasher movie addict. I understood their purpose in the novel, but towards the end, I just skimmed over some of those parts...my stomach can only handle so much. I'm glad I finished it, though.

I'm about 30 pages into Something Wicked This Way Comes right now, and I have absolutely fallen in love with it! Ray Bradbury is a certified MASTER. And in conjunction with SWTWC, I'm also rereading Pet Sematary for the billionth time. I had loaned it to one of my college friends, and I only got it back a few weeks ago, so I'm dying to read it again.

Reading The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly and enjoying it a lot. At first I despised the lawyer of the title ~ he engages in some pretty sleazy practices ~ but somehow I'm beginning to find him kind of likeable as he does have some redeeming qualities.

Currently I'm reading Atonement, and I'm really enjoying it. So well written!

#190 - RedBowlingBallRuth
I just read Atonement about a week ago, and I loved it! Glad to see someone else enjoying it as well!

Still trying to get interested in America, America, my Early Review book. I'm about 150 pages in, and it's just not grabbing me. Yes, it's a good description of lower middle class v. upper class life in the 1970s. Yes, Canin moves back and forth between the present and the past very smoothly. Yes, there's a bit of a hook in knowing that some "secret" will come out. But it moves SO slowly. Others have encouraged me to keep going, but there are so many other books calling my name . . . I'll give it to the halway point, which will be another 70 pages or so.

I am on to Aaron's Crossing by Linda Alice Dewey..
touchstone is incorrect...

It is a story about a man who dies, but does not cross over.. and he is befriended by a woman who is still alve.....

#192 Cariola: I read America America as well, and read it less to find out "what really happened" but as a commentary on the politic process, especially as we watch the battle for the Democratic nomination. I really enjoyed the story itself, and having made it through the whole thing was impressed by Canin's tight, deliberate, and mostly-controlled structure. The story does build slowly; I hope the next 70 pages draw you in enough to make it worthwhile to see it through.

#187-Whisper1 I just finished Team of Rivals and it was wonderful. I can't say enough good things about it. I thought I knew a little about Lincoln and the Civil War but the political side of things was a whole new realm.

I unreservedly recommend it.

thanks Xenchu
I'll add this book to my growing pile of to be read books. After reading this, did you come away with admiration of Lincoln? When asked about the current political election in USA, said that they all (but in particular Hillary) needed to learn more of what Lincoln did, ie compile a team of learned people all who may have had vast and varying views than his and in this way a balanced judgement could be made.

ah, I must be very tired. please note that I meant to write that Doris Kearns Goodwin said that the current politicians needed to be more embracive of varying opinions.

#195,#196: I am a huge admirer of Lincoln and am convinced, along with I think most historians, that he was the best President the US ever had. Those who read in Civil War history know of the rivalries in Lincoln's cabinet and the way he handled them, particularly Chase. About the only one I know of in modern US history who comes close to Lincoln in political genius was FDR.

I haven't read Team of Rivals yet, but intend to get the book sometime. I'm interested in reading about Lincoln's manipulation of Chase, in particular, in more detail.

If you're interested in learning more about Lincoln, I can recommend the biography I'm reading now, Lincoln by David Herbert Donald. It's not the fastest reading. Donald's style is more on the scholarly side than is, say, Smith's, who wrote FDR's biography, which reads like a thriller.

There's nothing really new in this book, except to fill in the details of his early life and document Lincoln's aggressive political ambition (the humility about not seeking office was fake--he wanted it). Much of his early married life, financial circumstances, and legal career was new to me. There is a wonderfully revealing section on how his reverence for the Supreme Court was shaken by the Dred Scott decision, and how he never trusted the Supreme Court again.

I always wind up in tears at the "house divided" speech, which came at the Illinois state Republican convention of 1858 when he accepted the nomination for Senator. Lincoln always had flashes of oratorical brilliance but he just improved after that time. I have a two volume set of his speeches and letters, and they are well worth reading. They are gems of American political literature at its best. No one is ever going to remember McKinley's inaugural address or those of either of the Bush family or any of Clinton's speeches or Carter's but the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln's second inaugural address will live on until the planet is destroyed. The only thing that even comes close is "We have nothing to fear but fear itself" by FDR, a message of hope and a call to courage, not slaughter.

Of course, one has to know how to read at a time when literacy and education are now accomplishments to be scorned, illiteracy and ignorance pandered to, the worst aspects of the American psyche exploited, demagoguery admired, and "hope" a dirty, four-letter word. But then this is nothing new in American politics. We've always had a grand tradition of gutter tactics, because they've always worked, just as they have been working today. All you have to do is read about the election of 1860, for one example. If you think the media is bad now, you should read what was published then! Makes today's media look like paragons of objectivity and responsible reporting.

There are many, many other examples. Again, "Those that don't read history..." (I'm still trying, Louis, I'm still trying).

I'm now at the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, and the book is picking up speed.

I can recommend this book wholeheartedly the only possible reservation being that it's a little on the dry side.

Message edited by its author, Jun 2, 2008, 8:17am.

JoycePA, thanks for your post. Now I have another book to add to the pile. Our current "leaders" seem so small in comparison to the greatness of Lincoln. If you are interested in history, you might want to pop on over the the historicalfiction.org site. I tell you this with the warning that, like librarything, you will also find many recommendations of interest and your house may be taken over with stacks of books.

#199 Whisper1: Oh dear heavens, yet another source to feed my addiction, empty my bank account, and fill my shelves. We've already had to move & consolidate the dog beds to make way for the massive new bookcase that's coming. I'm not sure I should thank you for your recommendation! But you can bet I'll pop over there any way. :-)

hi just wanted to know if you wanted to be my friend on here.... well see ya!!!!

Hi, Jenster ~ Welcome to LT! I'd love to be your LT friend! :)

You'll find lots of friends on LT ~ most everyone is really nice and friendly. But you have to be careful because people are always talking about great books and, if you are like me, before long you will have a list longer than your arm of books you want to read!

Anyway, every week on Friday a new thread gets started for this group; the most recent thread is here http://www.librarything.com/topic/70517. Please stop by to say hi and share what you are reading now.