Still unexciting - I finally finished volume 3 of Trudi Canavan's Age of the Five trilogy Voice of the Gods - at the end it felt like a good long novel rather than a trilogy so perhaps needed a little more editing. Still dipping into Nassim Nicholas Taleb's first book Fooled by Randomness but haven't got a good run at that it yet. And I've picked up A Florentine Death by Michele Giuttari now I have a copy with all the pages, it's not calling to me though.

Chapter 19 of Black Dagger Brotherhood Book 1 by J.R. Ward

I'm currently about 100 pages into The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson and am really enjoying it. I like reading about what life was like way back when, and the way Larson weaves the characters' lives together is interesting.

Message edited by its author, Jun 7, 2008, 7:56pm.

I am on the last 100 pages of Lisey's Story. It's a cool book, and no one but King could have pulled it off, but it does drag on in places.

When I'm finished with Lisey, I should read my ARC copy of Davidson's The Gargoyle, but I'm really wanting to take off on my Jane-a-thon.

I'm a few chapters into Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind. So far so good. I hope to finish it this week; lots more books came home with me today, and I look forward to starting them!

#3 I just picked up Devil in the White City today from a local thrift store, glad to know its interesting.

I still reading Middlemarch, yes still, but enjoying it a lot. I am also just starting The Forgery of Venus by Michael Gruber. I liked The Book of Air and Shadows so I have high hopes.

>3, 6
I remember craving images when I read Devil in the White City. I got a copy of The Chicago World's Fair of 1893: A Photographic Record by Stanley Appelbaum from my library system and highly recommend it.

Finished The Secret of Chimneys and started They Came to Baghdad, both by Agatha Christie.

TheKoolaidMom -
As much as you want to start your Jane-athon, you MUST read The Gargoyle first. It was absolutely fantastic. Somewhat disgusting, but totally amazing.

I'm close to finishing Springtime on Mars and have just begun Dolphins Under My Bed.

I finished Half of a Yellow Sun yesterday, then zipped through Mudbound today - both excellent. on deck: either An Artist of the Floating World or I'll dive into Unaccustomed Earth. Figure I can't go wrong either way.

Well, my non-fiction read is Development as Freedom which is turning out to be a bit more academic (but still quite good!) than I expected. I'm also reading a collection of Irene Nemirovsky tales, and am down to the last one, which is The Courilof Affair. And to vary it up, I'm reading Poe's collected poetry and fiction. (The Unabridged Edgar Allen Poe) That one I'm taking my time on, especially since I find I really have to slow down to appreciate poetry.

I finished Hip: the History by John Leland today, which was quite interesting, but more textbook-y than I had expected, and am now reading Home Land by Sam Lipsyte, which promises to be a quick read.

A I will be departing for Seattle (with an excursion to Vancouver) a week from the date of this thread, I will be doing a bit of reading from Lonely Planet Seattle and Moon Vancouver and Victoria this week.

I just finished reading Twelfth Night this evening, and am looking at a few doorstops so I don't finish a book mid-trip. My next book will probably (but not certainly) be one of the following sizable books:

1) Team of Rivals
2) Nicholas Nickleby
3) Don Quixote
4) Vanity Fair

Stay tuned for details.

just finished The Book of Common Dread by Brent Monahan and about !/2 way though Escape from the Deep: A Legendary Submarine and Her Courageous Crew by Alex Kershaw

#13: AnnaClaire,

If you are coming to our mildewed corner of the country may I suggest The Good Rain by Timothy Egan or Sometimes A Great Notion by Ken Kesey?

Oh, I'm still plowing my way through Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative,

I did finally get my Folio Society copy of Henry Fielding's Tom Jones. One of my favorites.

#3, 6, 7

I had to read Devil in the White City for one of my college courses, and I LOVED it, which really surprised me, since I usually don't go for historical nonfiction. Maybe it's because I've grown up in the Chicago area, so I have a deep love for the city, but I thought it was FASCINATING! What made it even cooler was that my class designed its own DitWC field trip into the city, and we got to see the Osaka Gardens and the building where Burnham and Root worked.

#4 thekoolaidmom - I think your Jane-a-thon is the coolest idea. I may have to do my own Jane-a-thon later this summer, especially since I still haven't read half of them.

#10 teelgee - Read An Artist of the Floating World! Read An Artist of the Floating World. It made it onto my Top 10 Greatest Books Ever list.

I just finished Lord John and the Hand of Devils by Diana Gabaldon. I was really disappointed in this collection - the weakest of all her Lord John books.

I have been organizing my thousand (only a slight exaggeration) to-be-read books and trying to read the oldest books first. (Some of them have been waiting for me for years!) Just finished Beyond Obsession by Richard Hammer, a true crime story from the late '80s, 16-year-old girl convinces boyfriend to murder her mom and then says she didn't know anything about it. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction! Good writing, lays out the facts well, but a little dry. Am going to search on-line for the case right now and find out what happened to all of the real-life characters in the book. Then I am going to return to this century and read One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson.

Started China Road by NPRs Rob Gifford. Intro and first chapter are really interesting, and I think it's going to be a fascinating look at modern China. However, I borrowed Sailing to Sarantium from the library, and it's due back on Tuesday, so I may have to read that one first.

>17 jfetting - OK! OK! that's the one I started. I love his books, I just "discovered" him this year.

Just started Every Dead Thing by John Connolly.

I'm rading Neige by Orhan Pamuk

Just finished The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and was exhausted by it!

So

I picked up a fluffy book Where Are The Children by Mary Higgins Clark to refresh my brain...

#25 Mckait - I'm currently reading The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I hope to finish it over the weekend.

I'm listening to A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.

I really want to read The Terror by Dan Simmons, but I may need a break after Pillars!

Message edited by its author, Jun 7, 2008, 8:12am.

Just finished The World According to Garp and am about to start reading Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. The weather is so hot that I can't really consentrate, so I need something light and amusing to read.

I've just started Bonk: the curious coupling science and sex by Mary Roach. So far I've laughed out loud three times, and I'm still on the first chapter.

Just finished The Year of Living Biblically by A..J. Jacobs. I am now reading The Rabbi's Cat 2 by Joann Sfar , and In Arabian Nights by Tahir Shah.

I am reading Power Of Kindness. It was given to me by my best friend who is also in his 2nd year of teaching at University. He is forcing his students to read it and wanted me to help him come up with stuff for discussion. So far I like it.

I'll be reading Feast of Fools by Rachel Caine next and then a Japanese ghost story called Strangers by Taichi Yamada I have out from the library that sounded very interesting.

I'm reading The Book Boy by Joanna Trolloppe- a quickie, childlike book; and Jefferson Bass's Flesh and Bone, the second of the Body Farm novels. On audio, I have Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry going.

I'm currently reading:
The Songs and Poems of Robert Burns
Oliver Twist
Dark Visions
Faith of the Fallen

>15,
I'm selecting my next book from what I already have on my shelves. I'm saving money to spend it on mildew. :)

#33 scaifea: Bobby Burns is one of my very favorite poets!

I just finished Will in the World a biography of Shakespeare that leans hard on the word perhaps. That is fair enough considering the dearth of written records of the man but sometimes a bit tiresome to read over and over.

Finishing that, I am now started on the evil work Book Lust. It consists of lists of books recommended for reading. Do I need this? I need this like Trump needs pennies.

I'm just coming to the end of Spilling the Beans by Clarissa Dickson Wright. I'm enjoying it. It had mixed reviews but all in all I think its a good read and very interesting. She's got up to a lot of tricks in her day!!!

I just finished The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.. It wasn't great, but it was good enough that I'll read the next two books in the trilogy. If, that is, no one tells me that they aren't any good.

I've got my eye on my copy of Kushiel's Mercy. I want to read it because I adore the entire Kushiel series, but I don't want to because it's the last book in the latest trilogy. *whimpers*

#35 thekoolaidmom: This is my first experience actually reading Burns, although I've often heard his praises sung. I'm not very far into the book, but already really enjoying it. I'm finding that I have to read them aloud to fulling get what's going on, but I think poetry just works well that way anyway.

#39 scaifea: Yes, Burns must be read aloud for full appreciation and understanding, how else are you going to get the Scot in it? Does your book have the "Ode to a Louse" in it? That particular gem is a family favorite. "Address to a Haggis" is recited on Burns night at the Scottish Society dinner, just before the haggis is brought out. My personal favorite has always been "Flow Gently Sweet Afton." AND you know, of course, his words are the first recited every year, "Auld Lang Syne."

:-D

Just finished reading The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone by Tennessee Williams and loved it. He's one of the best at building character and story. Now about to start Whylah Falls by George Elliott Clarke and Li-Young Lee's the winged seed. I appear to be on a jag for short poetic works...

When a book on my wishlist became available at BookMooch, I ran and grabbed some books to post for the point to mooch it. I picked up Understanding the Borderline Mother by Christine Ann Lawson, then changed my mind and decided I wanted to read it instead.

#40 koolaidmom: If 'Ode to a Louse' is in there, I haven't gotten to it yet (I'm not very far along), but I hope it is - sounds interesting. And I had no idea that 'Auld Lang Syne' was his; shows you how much I know! I'm really enjoying them so far, though and I'll look for the ones you've mentioned - thanks!

I polished off The Uncommon Reader this afternoon, and it was every bit as good as everyone says. Next up: The Virgin Suicides and Mansfield Park. I think.

Just finished reading Spilling The Beans by Clarissa Dickson Wright.
Have enjoyed it. She's quite a personality!! Funny, honest, passionate and talented. It was easy to read and I will be recommending it to others.
I am just about to start reading 'The Tin Roof Blowdown' by James Lee Burke.
After that its 'Notes From an Exhibition' by Patrick Gale, Gap Creek by Robert Morgan and Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively.

This morning I started The Fair Folk, a collection of novellas edited by Marvin Kaye. I was really looking forward to it, but I'm finding the first story slow going. I think Tanith Lee's style just isn't for me. Maybe things will even out by the end, though.

I just finished The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More which I really enjoyed. Roald Dahl was a very interesting person and I am looking forward to reading a biography (or autobiography I can't remember which it is) that I also picked up in the library. For this week, though, I am currently Olive Kitteridge which I am absolutely loving. I am only on the 3rd story but I think I will go through this very quickly.

#20 storeetllr I love listening to Rob Gifford on NPR and have China Road. I might have to move it up in the stacks.

I'm in a light-reading mode right now - Shakespeare's Landlord by Charlaine Harris. I just got Zoe's Tale and might read it next.

I really need to finish Beowulf and will start The Far Traveler: Voyages by a Viking Woman by Nancy Marie Brown for July bookclub as soon as it shows up from Amazon.

I'm about halfway through The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I have really been enjoying it.

I'm in the middle of The Dangerous Joy of Dr. Sex and should probably finish that up tonight.

Just finished the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. Since I am lacking something new AND a ride to the library, the question is whether to re-read James Herriot, Tim Myers, Stephen Lawhead, Susan Cooper, or Charlotte MacLeod, since my keeper shelf has series by all. I guess I'll have to see what mood strikes me when I go to the shelves. I have to find a ride to town though because our Summer Reading Program started June 1. My kids are cross to have not signed up yet.

Started both My Bridges of Hope and The Cellist of Sarajevo today. Also still reading Enrique's Journey and The Grapes of Wrath.

I just finished A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell and loved it - definitely one of my top 3 for this year. Apart from being an amazing and very moving story, I loved how she managed to fit so many characters together.

Now for something a bit lighter - Last Seen in Massilia by Steven Saylor. I know it's the 8th in a series, but am just going to jump in here because I found it in a book sale and don't want to wait to find the earlier ones.

I picked up Mitla Pass by Leon Uris (from the same book sale) last night but just couldn't get past the first few pages. The main character was too annoying! I really enjoyed Trinity and Exodus though. Anyone want to convince me to keep going?

scaifea and thekoolaidmom, the city I grew up in (Dunedin) had a big statue of Robert Burns, but the only poem I know of his is Auld Lang Syne. Ode to a Louse sounds funny.

I finished reading The Shipping News by Annie Proulx. I was disappointed by it because I expected a book that had won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction to be better than this. I didn't like the style - too many sentences without nouns or pronouns. Too disjointed. Wooden characters. Don't fancy seeing the film now.

What to read next? (Oh dear, I seem to have caught Proulx's style) I think I'll read The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak.

Message edited by its author, Jun 8, 2008, 1:56am.

#53 cmt: Yes, "Ode to a Louse" is a very tongue-in-cheek as only the Scots can do poem about a very self rightous, sister-sue-better-than-you sitting in the church in front of the poet. The poet notices a little bug crawling on sister-sue, and rebukes the critter for it.

What made it the family poem is, 1) It's Burns, 'nuff said. and 2) Remember who you are, and who others are, is the best way to live your life. Don't go ga-ga over someone just because they're famous, or have a position of authority. And don't think yourself something special if you're well-known or rich. My dad had a saying, "They put their pants on one leg at a time just like me."

BTW, ran over to Wikepedia and checked up Dunedin. Very pretty place. According to Wikepedia, Thomas Burns, nephew to Bobby, was the spiritual leader of the original Scottish settlers to the area. :-D

Message edited by its author, Jun 8, 2008, 2:19am.

Job - The Bible --> Finished. Now I am going to read Ecclesiastes.
Les Grecs ont ils cru a leurs mythes? - Paul Veyne
The name of the rose - Umberto Eco
Orientalism - Edward Said
The Brother Karamazow - Dostojevski
In de bovenkooi - Maarten Biesheuvel (Dutch short stories)

Message edited by its author, Jun 8, 2008, 2:27pm.

Yesterday I read

Where Are the Children by Mary Higgins Clark

Ghosts Among Us by James Van Praagh

and began

The Foretelling by Alice Hoffman

my excuse for all the reading is that the house is clean, the laundry done and it was hot as hades.

I'm reading Pearl Harbor by Newt Gingrich I've also got Developing the Leader Within You by John C. Maxwell and Hardwiring Excellence by Quint Studer started - the last two are for work. I should finish Pearl Harbor today and will start Bull's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank.

I finished the Australian novel Sorry by Gail Jones. The prose was beautiful and I'm recommending this book to everyone.
Now reading The Painted Veil byW.Somerset Maugham - very good.

amanda, I loved The Painted Veil, one of my favorites from last year.

I continue reading Shame by Salman Rushdie. I have been laughing out loud and forcing various family members to listen to passages I read aloud. What a fabulous writer. This is the precursor to Satanic Verses. No wonder he got himself into trouble. Shame is much less subtle than Satanic Verses.

Still reading Good Omens and enjoying it immensely ! A few days ago I also started reading a fictionstory from a message group I belong to . Which is why its taking me so long to finish Good omens . LOL !

Finished Congo and I'm about halfway through Red Dragon, which I'm enjoying immensely. I'm still debating about which book I should read next: Fahrenheit 451 (which I've already read), The Loch by Steve Alten (which I've also read), or The Terminal Man by Michael Crichton (which I haven't read).

All finished with America America by Ethan Canin - overall, not too impressed but I bet the critics will eat this one up.

Will be starting Property by Valerie Martin today and really looking forward to it.

#59, 60 - amandameale - I have to second LouisBranning's compliment of The Painted Veil - a lovely book. Movie is not too bad either.

I am just starting A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

Also finished America America on Friday; I thought it was bland, predictable, and rather pretentious.

I whipped through a piece of fluff yesterday that was not my usual type of historical novel: The Spanish Bride by Laurien Gardner. I wanted to put it on my swap shelf. For the same reason, I'll be finishing Lorrie Moore's Anagrams later today.

Then I plan to take my time with one I know I will enjoy: Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri.

I have just started The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke, having finished Spilling the Beans by Clarissa Dickson Wright.

I finished Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis and The Homeward Bounders by Diana Wynne Jones today. Word Freak was great -- I don't read a lot of nonfiction, but his narration was entertaining and engaging. The Homeward Bounders was not my favorite of Jones' novels, as it was rather slow going in the beginning, but by the end I could really see the complexity of the story and enjoyed it more when I finished it than when I started.

For manga series, I've read xxxholic vol. 1, and am looking forward to reading more in that series. I have a stack of that and Tsubasa waiting for me to devour this week. To try something different, I also have started Hana-Kimi and Kare Kano, though I'm not sure how long I'll keep going. They're a little more romance/real life type stories than I'd normally choose to read.

Oh, and I just started The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I've really barely begun, but it's started out well, so I'm looking forward to enjoying that this week.

I have a few pgs to go in David Sedaris's new book When You Are Engulfed in Flames.

#67 norderhoull, I loved The Tin Roof Blowdown, and am a big fan of Burke's Robicheaux books.

I finished Oakley Hall's classic, Warlock (New York Review Books Classics) late last week, and could just kick myself for not reading it sooner. And "The Wake at the Lucky Dollar" section as part of Book Three, The Antagonists, is one of the most chilling episodes I've ever read in literature. It was so haunting, so surreal, that I went back and read it again.

I'm 100 pages into Andre Dubus III's The Garden of Last Days: A Novel, and am officially sucked into the story. I have a feeling I'll rip through the next 400 plus pages in lightening-like speed if the story keeps on its current pace.

Message edited by its author, Jun 8, 2008, 2:22pm.

I finished I am Legend by Richard Matheson, just the novella. I didn't like it enough to read the rest of the short stories in the book but I wanted to read this before seeing the movie. I didn't much care for the main character and thought his theories on vampirism were too simplistic. I did like the switch in POV at the end of the story and the revelation that comes with it.

Now mainly reading The Hollow Hills by Mary Stewart.

I'm reading Angela's Ashes.

#47, bookaholicgirl: Olive Kitteridge is just so great, and hope you find it as warmly spectacular as I did.

#70, SeanLong: Sean, the first 200 pages of The Garden of Last Days is pure adrenalin, one of the most exciting set of sequences of any book I've read this year, but it was the ending that really got me, have read it 3 or 4 times and still haven't got it out of my head. What a story!!

I'm well past halfway in Lee Child's latest Jack Reacher novel Nothing to Lose, and though Ii've been a big fan of the Reacher books, this new one's not just blah and deary, but Child manages to jump the shark big-time around page 200, and I think he's taken Reacher about as far as he can go, so he should retire him now and move on.

Today I started The 6th Lamentation by William Broderick

Does "listening to" count? I am currently listening to John Adams and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I am loving them both!

Well, I was reading John Connolly's Every Dead Thing, but I got distracted by Someone Comes to Town Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow. Picked it up today on a trip to B&N and haven't been able to put it down.

I did finish The Brothers Karamazov -- it definately got better, but I didn't love it. Tedious. I am following it up with The Brothers K by David James Duncan, which many LTers have recommended and so far it is emminently more enjoyable.

I've started Children of the New World: A Novel of the Algerian War by Assia Djebar. She seems to be profiling 6 or 7 interrelated characters (women and men) who are involved in the war in various ways.

I'm reading My Life at Rose Red

I just finished The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, and will be starting The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton tonight. I haven't read The Age of Innocence for about 20 years - since college - and I'm really looking forward to it.

#74 - I really enjoyed The 6th lamentation and would be interested to hear your thoughts about it.

Just started The Green Berets by Robin Moore.

I finished Herodotus (at last), then ripped through Mudbound by Hillary Jordan today. Despite the fact that I read it so quickly, I feel that I will need to let it all sink it. It is thoroughly enjoyable and recommend it highly.

On the road, I finished The Wonder Spot written and read by Melissa Bank, which was okay. This week I'll start Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. I never read it before. Hopefully it will work hearing it rather than reading it. It's the oldest book I've listened to so far.

Finished Fingersmith, which was great. Now reading The Unfortunates by B.S. Johnson, which is not so great. But not bad enough not to finish, so I plough on.

Still reading Stardust and also reading This I Believe, a collection of essays written by famous and non-famous people about their life philosophies. They're both very good!

>Does "listening to" count?

Absolutely! I get most of my reading time in while driving. Right now I'm listening to The Buried Book: the loss and rediscovery of the great Epic of Gilgamesh by David Damrosch and reading Voodoo River by Rovert Crais.

#84 - I'm glad to hear it. I got a nice hardcover copy of Fingersmith from a coworker - she's usually bringing me paperback romance novels that I would never read, but I noticed this one is on The 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list.

#86: Yep, Fingersmith is proper literature, and the plot is full of surprises that completely blindsided me (and they're all earned, not out of the blue). Hope you enjoy it when you get around to it!

re-reading Tomato Red by Daniel Woodrell

I finally finished both Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut and Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence yesterday. Lady Chatterley's Lover was a bit too philosophical in places for me, but I still enjoyed it a lot. Player Piano was very entertaining too, though it's not the best dystopian I've read.

Now on to Dayworld which I finally managed to get my hands on through BM and which I'm really looking forward to!

Concur re: Fingersmith - thoroughly enjoyable book and not romance or chick lit by any stretch!

I've been on a reading marathon this week - have read Half of a Yellow Sun and Mudbound and An Artist of the Floating World and The Story of Lucy Gault in the last few days. Tonight just started The Blind Assassin. Been able to cross off quite a few from my TBR list!

I also have to add my support for Fingersmith. I finished it last month and loved it more than I ever expected to.

Haven't done as much reading in the last week as I would have liked. I'm still reading Drums of Autumn and A Room with a View. Though I did start The Alcestiad this week since I was asked to review it on the Go Review That Book! thread. I'll finish it before I finish the others, I think.

I'm reading The Book Thief by Markis Kusak. I'm more than half way through - it's really easy reading but compelling.

Yes I would add my support to fingersmith - a brilliant novel and she captures the Victorian sensationalist tone perfectly. Put me very much in mind of the woman in white.
I'm currently reading the book of lost things after reading recommendations on here and have not been able to put it down, the style and the story are brilliantly well crafted and great.

76: bibliophool... those are both books that have called out to me.. and so far have been ignored... but they are both on my Amazon shopping list.

81: hemlokgang I loved it! I admit to holding my breath through the entire last half of the book.. lol, but it was wonderful. It is one of those books where I will wonder what happened to the characters....after... you know what I mean? Lucy, Anselm and Con in particular...

Sarah waters. I have read all of her books, seen the two films from British TV.
My favorite ? Hard to choose... might be Tipping the Velvet.

She is on my "will read anything she ever writes" list.

I really want to read The Book of Lost Things as well.

I started reading The Genizah at the House of Shepher by Tamar Yellin. This was a book (Advance Reader's Copy) I snagged for LT's ER program for May. So far, I'm enjoying the author's writing style although I've just started the book and can't tell you much more about it.

To learn more about this book, see this link to the author's web site, a description of this book, and read the first chapter!

If anyone else would like to read this book, I'll be circulating it as an international Bookcrossing bookray when I'm done. Just private message me for details either here or on Bookcrossing. To participate in this bookray, you must be a Bookcrossing member (free).

Message edited by its author, Jun 9, 2008, 8:54am.

94: Don't wait on the Doctorow. Really quite good. The Connolly I'm not quite so sure of, but it's been decent so far and is starting to pick up speed. I picked it up because I read The Book of Lost Things, which was excellent.

Well bibliophool, I have that gift card.. so I snagged it used ( actually, description said new with remainder) for .99

now... I need to before I am tempted further...

Currently reading a couple of books via Kindle:

The Host by Stephanie Meyer - Pretty decent book about aliens called "souls" that take humans as hosts.
Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali - Memoir.
The Demon Under the Microscope by Thomas Hager - Medical/infectious diseases.
Coronary: A True Story of Medicine Gone Awry Stephen Klaidman

Sadly, I have left the enchantment of The Enchanted April and am now gazing at the TBR pile to see what is calling me next.

#98 outofmymindyo - what do you think of Kindle? You've got 4 books going so it seems like you like it, but how does it compare to actually holding a book in hand?

I'll add my marble to the jar in support of Fingersmith, an excellent read.

I finished Farworld: Water Keep by J. Scott Savage over the weekend, and started Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon, after first reading the books summaries of the first three in An Outlandish Companion - it's been about a month and a half since I was involved in the series, and I'd forgotten a fair bit of the details.

I'm still listening to The Yiddish Policeman's Union, although I'll probably be finishing up today. Next up on the audiobook front is probably Mirrormask by Neil Gaiman, which is short, and then after that I don't know.

I started The Gargolye by Andrew Davidson this weekend. Very good so far. Up next, The Aviary Gate and The Tea Rose for bookclub.

I picked up Dingo by Charles de Lint. I dont think he ever wrote a bad book.
Next will be Green Angel by Alice Hoffman. That should take care of today...I wanted light reading, too hot for heavy.

#95....SqueakyChu...I also snagged The Genizah at the House of Shepher and look forward to starting it when I finish Shame by Salman Rushdie.

Message edited by its author, Jun 9, 2008, 12:44pm.

I've just started The Twelfth of April, a cold war espionage thriller by Roy Doliner published in 1985. I picked this one up recently basically at random at a San Francisco Goodwill Store (the one on Third Street in Bayview for you Bay Area denizens) because sometimes it's just fun to pick a book that way and because, you know, they can't all be classics and weighty histories! At any rate, it seems to be pretty well written, and the first 33 pages are promising indeed.

--> 105

Ha! Then we can both play our silly book game with the same book! :D

Anyway, I like what I've read of "Genizah" so far...

Finished The Host by Stephenie Meyer, which I enjoyed.

This month, I just started a reading plan to force myself to read genres I wouldn't normally choose...this month's is romance, and the book I've been putting off (but am starting today) is Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy. It was in Novelist's list of classic romance, so I'm kind of cheating 'cause I've read & love other books on the list, like Pride and Prejudice.

This morning I collected a whole bunch of books that had to come with me to work (stuff to work on reviews, stuff for work, stuff to send out for BM, and stuff to read). I was sure that I packed both the book I'm currently reading, Dolphins Under My Bed, and another book I wanted to intersperse with it.

Evidently I forgot Dolphins Under My Bed, as I discovered when I got to lunch. Luckily, I was able to start When the Emperor Was Divine. I got nearly 1/2 way through that when a whole bunch of books came with the mail.

I went ahead and started one of the books, Victor Kugler, since I have to return it to kegsoccer in a reasonable amount of time and I need to send her another book when I do it.

Finished Imaro and started Troll: A Love Story which wasn't quite what I was expecting (but am enjoying it immensely anyway). After Imaro, I feel like I need to read about a half-dozen chick-lit novels to counteract all that testosterone ;)

I finished The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd on the 7th and started Rebel Angels by Libba Bray yesterday. Mermaid was okay and I think Rebel Angels is going to be really good and so far it is!

Message edited by its author, Jun 9, 2008, 2:59pm.

Finished Spilling The Beans by Clarissa Dickson Wright.
Now reading The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke.

I'm reading the Books of Blood Vol. 1 by Clive Barker and couldn't help but start The Codex by Douglas Preston.

Finished Dingo and Green Angel and started The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney

Finished Red Dragon, which I REALLY, REALLY enjoyed. Now on to New Moon, the second book in the Twilight series, which just came in on interlibrary loan.

Reading The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay. She has some colorful characters, but I'm 86 pages into the book and am not sure when or if she's going to develop a story. Right now it's just vignettes about how each of the characters behaves. Any encouragement about this book?

Finishing up The Age of Innocence and The Wishing Year.

I received my third ER book, Between Here and April, so I will probably start that next along with another 1,001 Book on dailylit.com.

In a "light" reading mood: finished Chances by Jackie Collins so onto book 2 of the series Lucky...

mrsradcliffe - I absolutely loved the book of lost things - I couldn't put it down either and neither could my son when I passed it along to him. A wonderful book.

#116 - I read The Secret of Lost Things last year. I think I may have though it was The Book of Lost Things. I wouldn't say it was great but I did enjoy it even though it was a little slow going. I would say continue on and see if it grows on you a little bit more.

I just finished Olive Kitteridge - oh my! I loved it and didn't want it to end. I need to know more about what happened to the characters! Absolutely one of my all time favorites. I am about to start I Am Legend although I believe someone on this thread stated that they only read this story and didn't finish the book so I am not too encouraged right now. We shall see.

#107> Absolutely!

Hurricane Katrina CNN Reports: State of Emergency by CNN News

While attending a publication conference in New Orleans, I toured the areas most impacted by Katrina. This book is very insightful.

Just started The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov and I am seriously in love with it already.

I am reading Turning Angel by Greg Iles.

#102 How did you enjoy The Yiddish Policeman's Union on audio? I found it difficult to read as a book so gave it up after about 50 pages. Was it better on audio?

Just started The Monsters of Templeton.

121 - I don't think you should let me discourage you bookaholic girl. I didn't like I am Legend enough to read the rest of the book, but I seem to be the only one. I just took a look at its reviews on LT and everyone else liked it a lot more than I did. Please let me know what you think when you're done.

After finishing Book Lust which lists books in various genres to read which I need like I need leprosy, I read The Last Colony whch is good science fiction.

Then I read When China Ruled the Seas a history of China's sea exploration. It was good but not great.

Early this morning I finished The Vampire of New York (Touchstone didn't work for this one) by Lee Hunt. It was in with a bunch of romance novels at the library and I almost didn't pick it up. I am glad I did as it was very good and well-researched. If you like horror I can recommend this one.

Lee Child's Jack Reacher series has been a cash cow for Child and his publishers on both sides of the Atlantic for several years now, but the strain of producing a new Jack Reacher novel every summer is clearly showing in Nothing to Lose, Child's 12th installment of this once-engaging series, and one of the most boring books I've read this year. Its dull prose and uninspired plotting make it all too obvious that the whole thing's just run out of gas, so I'm bidding the Reacher books a fond farewell, no more for me please.

Right now I'm 50 pages into Jonathan Miles' Dear American Airlines, a book that not only lives up to its hype, but is as engaging and as entertaining as anything I've found this year. Miles has been somewhat of a local literary celebrity for the last few years, but this is his first novel, and a great one it's turning out to be. He dedicates it all to the late, great Larry Brown, which by itself is not so surprising, but what is fairly amazing is that this is the 2nd book I've read this month that's been dedicated to Brown, the other being Andre Dubus's tour-de-force The Garden of Last days, and I love it that Brown's finally getting the props he always richly deserved.

sandragon - It wasn't just you who made me think I might not want to read all of the stories. I had heard before that I Am Legend was the best of the bunch. I was mainly interested in reading that one because I wanted to see the movies. I am loving the story so far but am actually questioning whether I will be able to watch the movie being as I am so scared by the story! My boys want to see the movie too and I keep telling them that I don't know if we will make it through the whole thing.

I will definitely give the rest of the stories a try but I don't know if this will be one of those books that is truly for me. I will let you know.

>126 Storeetllr

I did enjoy The Yiddish Policeman's Union on audio. The narrator's voice took me a while to adjust to (it's kind of low and gruff and not really "typical narrator"), but after a CD or two, I couldn't imagine anyone else reading it. I also think I would have got hung up on all of the Jewish names and Yiddish words had I been reading it myself, but in the audio version they just blended right into the story (although it's weird looking at reviews and stuff and seeing it written Landsman, because the narrator pronounces it Lonsman). If you like Chabon's other stuff but just couldn't get into this one, you might give it a try on audio and see if that helps.

I am really enjoying Louise Erdrich's The Plague of Doves. I haven't read anything by her (except short stories in "The New Yorker") in 10 or more years, but this is better than any of her books that I remember.

#130, LouisBranning:
You know of my affinity, or hell, my obsession for Larry Brown. I still can’t believe he’s gone. What a coincidence that two recently published books have been dedicated to him, and I, too, am glad to see him getting the props he so well deserves. Whenever his name comes up I always think about what Charlie Parker said when asked why he liked country music: "Listen to the stories."

And speaking of great stories, The Garden of Last Days has been taking away from things I need to get done, but the story is so compelling, moves so fast, that I just hate to stop reading. In an author of lesser hands it could tip over the line quite easily, but Dubus has kept me deeply entrenched in the story with his strong, simple prose, and damn, he makes it look so easy.

#100 karenmarie - I really do prefer it over books. I found a way to hold it that doesn't smash the buttons and accidentally turn the pages. There are two issues I have with it. I need to get a new cover for it since I don't like the one that came with it due to lack of access to the power/wireless switch. I also wish there were more "out there" books available from Amazon instead of mostly newer releases and whatnot. I somehow doubt I'm going to find books like Plague by Jean Ure and such for it. It IS amazing for having a good number of different books available and only having to carry the one device, since I have a newborn and a two year old to chase down whenever I go somewhere.

#111 cyellow30 - Let me know how that comes along. I was planning on diving in for the Trilogy so that I could read them all.

Just finished In Arabian Nights by Tahir Shah and have just started The Genizah at the House of Shepher by Tamar Yellin. I had read Yellin's first book of short stories and was impressed by them, so I was glad to get this ER book.

#130, #134: Isn't that just the pits, Sean--the really good ones make it look like any one of us duffers and wannabes could do it! Just like the really great athletes--remember Willie Mays?

And what is it with these guys from Mississippi? Faulkner, Foote, Brown?

Message edited by its author, Jun 10, 2008, 9:40am.

#138: So true, Joyce, so true. And yes, I am old enough to remember Willie Mays, and still have a boy's biography of him written in the 60s that I purchased at the book fair at the grade school I attended in Pennsylvania.

In the middle of Raymond Queneau's The Last Days, to be quickly followed by Zazie In The Metro.

#138, Joycepa: Besides the couple you mentioned, Joyce, here's just a few more: Stephen Ambrose, Howard Bahr, Nevada Barr, Frederick Barthelme, Rick Bass, Jack Butler, Ellen Douglas, Richard Ford, Ellen Gilchrist, John Grisham, David Halberstam, Thomas Harris, Beth Henley, Willie Morris, Walker Percy, Donna Tartt, Alice Walker, Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams, Richard Wright, and Oprah Winfrey.

Message edited by its author, Jun 10, 2008, 10:09am.

>128 sanddragon: My husband just finished reading I Am Legend. We haven't seen the movie yet, and when I asked if I should read the story first he told me, "Maybe the movie's better." So, you're not alone in not liking the book all that much.

#121 bookahoicgirl: I absolutely loved the entire book I Am Legend, except the second story (I forget the title of it). The story "I Am Legend" is nothing like the movie, nothing, and there are a couple others that were made into movies as well. Matheson is one of Stephen King's inspirations, and you really see that reading this book. I happened to be reading Skeleton Crew at the same time, and that made Matheson's influence all the more obvious. Go ahead, it's well worth it!

#128 Talbin: I think the movie I Am Legend was better than the short story. But part of that is because it's more current, and I like Will Smith.

Message edited by its author, Jun 10, 2008, 10:47am.

#141 Louis: Whoa, do I stand corrected or what! My hero, David Halberstam? Why have I always thought Walker Percy was from Louisiana? Alice Walker? Eudora Welty? Again, I put those two in the southeast, like the Carolinas or somewhere similar. Tennessee Williams? Well, I suppose a first name like "Tennesee" is easier to say than "Mississippi". but it sure fooled me into thinking he was from Tennessee! Maybe he just liked lots of doubled consonants and vowels in his name. :-)

Later: OK, I have one thing cleared up--I'm positive I was confusing Welty with Flannery O'Connor who was born in Georgia.

Message edited by its author, Jun 10, 2008, 11:57am.

Finished Understanding the Borderline Mother, and learned a lot about my family. Shoot, I think the author's been to my family reunions. I was like, "That's Grandma... that's Aunt Fanny... that's my dad..." Old home week, I tell ya!

I'm torn between starting The Gargoyle, an ARC I keep swearing I'm gonna start, and something fun... like Two for the Dough by Evanovich. I suppose it's Gargoyle... groans... I'm told it's good, but I'm not really in the mood. mnyeh...

I'm telling you, you won't be groaning once you start The Gargoyle.

I have two books going at the moment: Isabel Allende's Ines of my Soul, and Women of Algiers in Their Apartment, by Assia Djebar. I've only just started both of them, so not much to report yet ...

Finished Bridget Jones: the Edge of Reason, which was hilarious, and started The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

#148 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is great! Enjoy! I finished A Glass Castle a few days ago, and it was absolutely incredible. Then I got some nasty virus and caught up on three months worth of O magazines. Today I'm going to start my May ER book, Stone Creek by Victoria Lustbader. Has anyone read this yet? I hope it's fast, because I have a business trip combined with a beach weekend with the kids coming up, and I want to take some light, easy reads with me.

I am also reading Power of Kindness. It is required college freshman reading in my college. Some of my colleagues don't like it because it is too sappy or Euro-centric. However, I like it. I would be interested in what kind of discussion questions would be good for my students.

I just want to add my two cents to the Mississippi chatter...if you have not read Mudbound by Hillary Jordan...go get it...if I did not know she lived in New York...I would bet she lived in the Delta...as a child of the Louisiana Delta...she pegs it. I think about her book all the time....and my own childhood.

What I pretty much did with those authors that I've read (in Louis' list) is place them as "Southern" and with a few exceptions, didn't think much more about locale. Why I decided "the South" was limited to the Carolinas and Georgia is a little beyond me, but that's what I did. I mean I do realize that the US has 34 states after all. I'm aware that locale is hugely important--I know that growing up in the anthracite coal region of northeastern PA means that I have quite a different perspective on life than, say, someone who grew up in Carlisle during the same period of time. I just never bothered to ask where in the South all those people came from.

And Louis--no wonder Walker Percy and Shelby Foote were such fast friends despite very different characters!

Mudbound sounds interesting.

OK--just checked it out--it's on The List to get it here some year.

Message edited by its author, Jun 10, 2008, 3:01pm.

#152: I do realize that the US has 34 states after all.

So you moved to Panama c.1861? :-)

#153 lindsacl: A smidgeon later than that. At the outset of the Civil War, the US had 31 states. So--1870 or thereabouts? Time does sort of stop here! :-)

I'm reading several books simultaneously and enjoying all of them so far:

Anagrams by Lorrie Moore
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
Mothers and Sons by Colm Toibin
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

#132 Fyrefly ~ Thanks! I'll try it on audio. It'll be my first Chabon.

I finished Shame by Salman Rushdie. As always, Rushdie's use of language and unique plot are absolutely amazing. I am sorry to say that it dragged a bit in the second third, hence, only four stars. I continue to listen to Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.

>151 I second the recommendation for Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. I got it through the LT Early Reviewer program and really enjoyed it.

I'm working on two books right now - The Serpent Never Sleeps for the Go Review That Book! group, and Sense And Sensibility, which I'm loving.

I finished They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie and I've started The Sixth Lamentation by William Brodrick.

Just finished New Moon, which I BLAZED through! I can't WAIT to get my hands on the third book in the series! But in the meantime, I'm either going to start Fahrenheit 451, The Loch, or State of Fear.

I started The Blind Assassin last night - finally got past the point where I was scratching my head and wrinkling my nose. Now I'm intrigued!

>151, 158, etc. Concur on Mudbound, I read it last week, it's remarkable.

Finshed Weight by Jeanette Winterson - a clever, and lovely, re-telling of the myth of Atlas and Heracles.
Now re-starting, at p.75, The Double by Jose Saramago.

#135 Outofmymindyo Thanks for the feedback! I don't have plans on getting one anytime soon, but you just never know. It's the kind of present my husband would get me and I just might enjoy it.

I was mildly disappointed with Shakespeare's Landlord by Charlaine Harris because I adore her Sookie Stackhouse and Harper Connelly books so much. I think I'll pass on the rest of the series.

I'm close to finishing Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi. This book is a great read so far, told from the viewpoint of a teenage girl. Since I have one of those strange and exotic creatures living in the house with my husband and me, this has benefits for old-fogey mother. Although mine doesn't have alien bodyguards and live on other planets. Really, she doesn't.

I will be starting The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman by Nancy Marie Brown next for bookclub. Feedback from a bookclub member who I ran into at the food store Sunday make me think it might be a tad dry, but we'll see.

What I want to start is The Aviary Gate by Katie Hickman but patience is a virtue.

For some reason this year I'm finding it difficult to read more than one book at a time. Unusual for me.

Message edited by its author, Jun 11, 2008, 9:48am.

I finished Strangers which I thought was very good and started Sabriel by Garth Nix as my next Go Review That Book! book.

I'm also picking some books from the library today, one of which is At Swim, Two Boys that I am anxious to start. I'll probably wind up switching off between Sabriel and that one.

I'm reading Saturday by Ian McEwan, after finishing The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, of which I really enjoyed.

Finished Enrique's Journey, my first 5 star book in awhile. That made me want to read Ex Mex: From Migrants to Immigrants, which I'd heard about through the LA Times Book Festival. So far its both an interesting read and more statistics than I need/want.

I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns. I feel like I need a little time to digest this book, a very sad and depressing tale of women and refugess in war torn Afghanistan.

Finished The Devil in the White City (yay! I really liked it. Also, one of the libraries on my campus has a copy of a World's Columbian Exposition GUIDE! From 1892 and everything! I desperately want to see it, but unfortunately it's somewhere in the archives that I can't get to. :( Aw.). I think I'm going to try and find more books about the Fair, too.

Anyway, I immediately afterward started Miles From Nowhere by Barbara Savage. I'm 107 pages in and it's marvelous so far. It makes me want to get off my bum and go travelling myself (just maybe not on a bicycle),.

#170 Hi, doc ~ Devil in the White City is brilliant, isn't it!?! It tied with Team of Rivals as my favorite nonfiction (and maybe of any books, including fiction) in 2007. It really is one of my all-time favorite nonfictions, and this from someone who doesn't usually read true crime books.

#170 I agree with your assessment of Enrique's Journey, what a powerful book. I recently read and would recommend Dying to Cross if you're interested in something similar. I would love to hear about Ex-Mex: From Migrants to Immigrants once you're done reading it.

>169 I know what you mean, I heard Khaled Hussani speak about the kite runner on the world book club recently and I don't know if I can bring myself to read it, even though I do think he writes beautifully. Some novels need to be read, although often we'd rather close our eyes to things. Difficult.

#173 mrsradclife - Do read The Kite Runner - it's one of the best books I've ever read! It was a much easier read than A Thousand Splendid Suns not nearly as depressing. I was able to relate to it much better, though both are very good.

Message edited by its author, Jun 12, 2008, 6:38am.

I am reading Between Here and April byDeborah Copaken Kogan an ARC from Algonquin. I absolutely love it!

Message edited by its author, Jun 12, 2008, 7:25am.

YES, mrsradcliffe, The Kite Runner is one of the best books I've read this year. Yes, it's emotionaly exhausting and graphic at points, but it's also beautiful and it's a journey of self discovery and forgiveness. It's amazing. I'm dying to read A Thousand Splendid Suns, but after Kite Runner, I know I have to wait until I refill my antidepressant prescription.

The Kite Runner truly is a book you must read before you die, even if it isn't on that list.

>176 I shall give it a try then, I think I may read something more light first though. Just started the poisoner of ptah so I'll see how that one works out! Thanks.

I finished Troll: A Love Story which was extremely bizarre but in a really good way. Definitely one of the most "different" books I've read in a long time.

Starting on The Dress Lodger now for a slight change of pace! ;)

Just finished The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. I was a little disappointed, I think because the movie preview looked so exciting (and told so much of the story!), but the way the book was written is much more descriptive and carefully constructed. Good in its own way, but not the story I was expecting. Still reading Under the Greenwood Tree -- at least since it's a classic, I was expecting a slower story. I'm not quite halfway through, and I love the way the polite, long-winded sort of narration can be used to enhance comical scenes.

Debating which book to start next (because I never read just one book at a time): 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson, Playing with Fire by Derek Landy, The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan, or The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart...

Another bit of fun after reading Devil in the White City is to go to eBay and search for Chicago World's Fair post cards. Lots of great views, especially of the ferris wheel. No, I didn't buy any, but I really enjoyed the visuals.

#172 mcna217 Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check it out. I'll let you know about Ex Mex when I'm farther along.

Despite all my earlier talk of doorstops, I picked up The Man in the Iron Mask, and got going on it in the hope of finishing it before my departure. (I though better of hauling around a doorstop, surcharge or no surcharge.) I'm about 15 pages from finishing it, so I'll probably get it finished while waiting for my train home to show up. If not sooner.

I did, fortunately, pick up a few more books on lunch hour. If I get my current reading finished as soon as I think I will, I'll probably get started on Judge Sewall's Apology. Depending on just how soon I finish (and whether or not the MTA can get their act together for this half of the commute), I should start reading it somewhere around Chambers Street.

I'm working on my May ER book My Father's Paradise and I'm extremely pleased so far (100 pages or so in). Very nice mix of family memoir and social history of the people and the region and quite well written.

I took DevourerOfBooks... ahem, advice? and started reading The Gargoyle. I'm about 1/4 of the way through it, and it is really weird and gruesome, and it is definately NOT my usual fair, but it's cool, in a gothic new-age-y sort of way. I think I might like it.

Advice, coercion, badgering you until you're worn down...same difference. =)

Finished Lucky by Jackie Collins and have started book 3 in the series, Lady Boss...

Just started re-reading The Loch, which is an unusual blend of history, courtroom drama, and cryptozoology. An extremely interesting read if you're intrigued by the legend of the Loch Ness Monster. And I just picked up The Ruins by Scott Smith - I was intrigued by the trailers for the movie, so I decided to give the book a try.

I am reading Magyk and Fablehaven Grip of the shadow plague! They are both great! Everyone should read them deffinitly

#187, coloradogirl14: The Ruins is great fun, like eating a huge Snickers bar and just knowing you're wolfing down a bunch of empty calories, but so what??

#176 & 177 It just struck me that the books with titles about splendid suns and kites are depressing, while a book with a title about poison is not. I just thought that was kind of amusing.

Message edited by its author, Jun 12, 2008, 9:05pm.

#189 - I love books like that! I can appreciate books like To Kill a Mockingbird and A Clockwork Orange, but most of the time when I read, I'm looking to be entertained!

I have started Conceit by Mary Novik. Historical fiction about John Donne's family. I am enjoying it so far.

I've just started Sight Hound by Pam Houston - 60 pages in and I love it.

I've read all of Pam Houston's books-love them all!

#194 - I read one of her stories in Dog is My Copilot and liked it so much I had to read more. I don't know how I've missed her so long!

#173, 174, 176 - It's interesting because I was able to relate to A Thousand Splendid Suns more than The Kite Runner and enjoyed it more. I think maybe it was easier for me to get drawn into the story because it was told from the female perspective. It was depressing in lots of places, but I also felt it had quite a bit of hope in it - more so than The Kite Runner.

Nonetheless, they're both must-read books, and in 10 years from now when they update that book, at least one of these two will be on it (that's the trouble with lists like that!).

Was The Pillars of the Earth good? I am looking for another good read.

I just finished Scavenger. I enjoyed it, but was a bit more bloody than I had hoped. I am trying to find something that will exercise my brain more. I have picked up Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and have started it, but that is about all. I would welcome any suggestions.

I'm reading The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee. I'm really enjoying it. It has reminded me why I love bookshops so much and made me realise I haven't been reading very much lately. It has brought me back to LT and made me want to start anew.

Message edited by its author, Jun 13, 2008, 4:55am.

It turns out The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman by Nancy Marie Brown is rather dry but I'll persevere. Sigh.

To reward myself, I'm reading Search for a Soul by Rosemarie E. Bishop.

For me? I read The Kite Runner and loved it. I also hated it. It was so sad... right up there with Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt.

I refused to read A Thousand Splendid Suns. I am sure it IS good.. but I am just not up another sad read.

The Pillars of the Earth was good, in my opinion.
I loved the ending.

I am in need of fluff at the minute and I am reading The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks

I am currently reading The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani.

I finished The Battle of the Labyrinth this morning, after just starting it yesterday. I enjoy the Percy Jackson series so much. It's much more humorous than the new covers indicate, and in my opinion really portray some of the Greek myths in the way a middle school boy would describe them.

Started Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire today.
Still reading Under the Greenwood Tree, and enjoying it but because it's older writing, with longer sentences/words, I'm forced to slow down and read that much slower.

#197: I loved The Pillars of the Earth!

I just finished Saturday by Ian McEwan, and am bout to start reading 1984.

I started The Beggar Queen by Lloyd Alexander this morning. I wasn't sure I wanted to launch into it so soon after finishing the previous book in the trilogy, but I'm glad I did. So far, it's excellent.

Finally finished A Short History Of Nearly Everything, which is probably the best science book I've ever read, although now I'm convinced that a meteor is going to hit Earth like... now.

Reading Sourcery, even though I told myself I'd wait for my next Pratchett fix.

>197 I'm in the minority opinion about The Pillars of the Earth - I found it okay. I think I gave it 3 or 3.5 stars. A solid read, but not great.

Today I'm reading the short story "Major Alshuster" from the collection Thirty Stories by Kay Boyle.

Marshall Hollenzer is Driving is up for me. The author is a local celebrity in Austin, TX. He is in the Master Pancake Theatre (i.e. faux Mystery Science theatre) shows at the Drafthouse movie theatre. I saw him at a local bookstore talking about how his book was just signed to be turned into a movie, so I started reading... so far, so good. I'm enjoying it. Especially the character Walter, the failed do-gooder.

Message edited by its author, Jun 13, 2008, 1:47pm.

Renewing America's Food Tradition. This book describes foods indigenous to the U.S. and are relatively rare although once they were common. Interesting historical information on what happened to our birthright. Also has recipes. Can't wait to try some out.

I'm in a Chinese restaurant in the mid-West coercing the owner to give up an instrument called a sheng in The Geographer's Library.

I am reading Sol's Story by Richard Chardkoff...the memoir of Sol Rosenberg and his experiences in the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII and how he survived...it is remarkable. I enjoyed Pillars of the Earth and Blood of Flowers.

>199 I just finished The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop and agree with you. It's very enjoyable.

Next up is You Said What?: Lies and Propaganda Throughout History for my Dewey Challenge.

Message edited by its author, Jun 14, 2008, 9:52am.

I read Patience and Sarah by Isabel Miller last night, and loved it!

Read & finished Beginner's Irish by Gabriel Rosenstock.

#214 I loved that book too. I might have to pull it back out one of these here days...

This is in regard to the Kite Runner. I read the book several years ago in a book group and came away with thinking it was a good book but not a great book and i could not figure out what all the fuss was about. I did here the author speak a few times and I really enjoyed listening to him speak.

THen the other night I watched the movie version. Watching the movie i realized something that i had missed before. Its the seen in the movie where he learns that his father "slept with the help" so to speak. The adult son gets angry upon learning this he says his father lied to him. It is after this point in the film that he finally gets a backbone. The point that I got from this was that as long as he saw his father as a "god" or perfect he was doomed to remain a boy but once he came to realize that his father was just a flawed human being like the rest of us he could then take on the responsiblities of being a man.

does anyone else have a thought on this?