Still reading The Quest by Wilbur Smith, a swashbuckling adventure with some vague associations to 'real' history and geography. Also startign to dip into Douglas Hofstadter's I am a Strange Loop, his latest exploration of what it means to be conscious.

I'm reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The curiosity finally caught up with me, so I snagged a copy from my nephew. I'm enjoying it so far. I'm also reading two chapters a night of Turn of the Screw. I'm over halfway through each book.

Message edited by its author, Jul 12, 2008, 4:39am.

I've picked up To the lighthouse by Viginia Woolf. So far it's a bit boring in places (she sure uses looooooong sentences) and lovely in others.

I'm still working on The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley which I'm hoping to finish up this weekend.

I'm just starting Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro.

#3 - I recently read To the Lighthouse as well - you're description is right on. I found I enjoyed it most when I read it in long, quiet stretches.

I finished Caesar's Women - quite enjoyable as is the whole series. I have just started The Angle of Repose which has been in the TBR pile for far too long.

Just about to start listening to The Chopin Manuscript: A Serial Thriller by fifteen authors :o

I am reading The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie, and although I don't think of myself as a gusher......this book is phenomenal.....lyrical, humorous, profound, bizarre....in other words a classic Rushdie! And I'm only one third of the way through it!

Still reading Insomnia by Stephen King. Part of me is compelled to keep reading because I have no idea where the story will end up, but another part of me is disappointed because I'm 250 pages in, with another 500 to go, and I'm afraid that the book will really start to drag. I'll hold my opinion until the end when I finish reading, but something tells me that this is a book that he could have pared down a considerable amount.

#2 - TheresaHPIR - Glad to see you're starting the Harry Potter series! It's so cool to read all 7 books and watch how they progress from children's literature to an epic, mature narrative!

Finished The Lady and the Unicorn last night, and started Diary of a Bad Year. Not sure what I feel about the latter yet, though it is interstingly written.

#8 coloradogirl14

I read Insomnia a few years ago and my reaction was that whenever he decides to write longer books he tends to go off on tangents and not stick to his story... I have the 7 Dark Tower books in my TBR pile and am leery of starting them due to the length of the series...

I opted to start Meaning of Night (from the other thread) and am about halfway through. I have been tied up at work, and spending too much time on-line to do a lot of reading, but I am enjoying it.

It has some hallmarks of the older writing style, but the writer has enough skill that the book flows. He has the detachment of the writing of the period, but since the main character is slimy/vile it works.

I began The Lace Reader this morning. It takes place in Salem MA.
I used to live in Swampscott, right down the road from Salem, and love Salem, Danvers, and even Boston ( to visit) . I can't find words to tell you how much I am loving this book.

Just finished Rant by Chuck Palahniuk. Completely bizarre, but I really loved it. It's just the kind of freak show I like. My review is In the Shadow of Mt. TBR.

I'm still about a fourth of the way through The White Mary by Kira Salak. I only meant to start Rant, but mainly read Mary, but I couldn't put Rant down! The White Mary is a good book, too. Right now she's stuck in the jungle with the Tobo and the Anasi, just after the payback is selttled.

I'm wading through The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I'm thinking of abandoning it; it's really not doing much for me, and I've got scads of other things I'd rather be reading.

I'm just about to finish The Glass Castle and can't wait to begin The Lace Reader.

On the Overgrown Path by David Herter has summoned me, and I've heeded the call. Delightful story, though the 19th-century convention of naming characters "J____" and the like isn't a favorite trope of mine. I'm finding it easy to read, and should be done before dusk because it's only 120pp.

reading Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter for a memoir bookgroup. From the scoop on LT...can't wait to begin The Lace Reader.

I just finished Weaving a Way Home last night, and while the writing is gorgeous in some places, I felt like it weaved it's way to nowhere. The pieces just never came together, although some of the disparate parts were good enough that on the whole, I liked it.

I'm halfway through James and the Giant Peach and happy to report that I'm loving it every bit as much as I did as a kid. Tomorrow I'm leaving for a week-long trip to visit family, and I'm taking two books on the lighter side with me - Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster and The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble.

I am reading Hide by Lisa Gardner.

Finished King Leopold's Ghost late last night. I had read this as a follow up to Heart of Darkness (as recommended here on LT, thanks!). It's a history of the Congo, where, under Belgian King Leopold II, the entire country was put into slavery and 10-million died from roughly 1880-1910. It also includes a really nice chapter on Joseph Conrad. It turns out Conrad didn't exaggerate... anything.

Next up, I might reread Heart of Darkness or I might start The Red Tent.

season of the snake by Claire Davis

my review is here:

http://autumnrouse.wordpress.com/2008/07...

I'm still reading Finn, which is good, but in a dark-and-creepy way. When I'm in need of something lighter, I have two of the funniest people ever - Noel Coward and P.G. Wodehouse. Specifically, The Letters of Noel Coward and Thank You, Jeeves.

I picked up Jayne Ann Krentz's Arcane Society Series at the library this week and am currently reading White Lies so far so good. Once I finish this one, I'll probably finish the rest of the series this week.

#10 - kmbooklover

I usually enjoy Stephen King's lengthier novels - The Stand, IT, Dreamcatcher (not one of his longest, but still pretty substantial), but this one is failing to hold my attention. I know that King has often talked about how he likes to be surprised by the path of his various narratives, but in this case, it's almost like he has NO CLUE what's going to happen, so he decided to throw a bunch of random events together and hope for the best.

I can't remember what I said last week (and am too lazy to go look it up), but I think I'm reading completely different books from what I said I was going to!

I finished the entertaining and informative The Drunkard's Walk by Leonard Mlodinow and read What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn, recommended here on LT. I was a little put off at the beginning, but it gradually grew on me, and although I felt the ending pulled the loose strings together a little too neatly, I found the novel both impressive and depressing.

Now I've started The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. I'm always suspicious of highly touted books, and I know some people here were disappointed by it, but so far I'm enjoying it.

I am reading The Meaning of Night and I am enjoying it so far (I am a little under halfway through). I hope to get a lot of reading done this weekend!

I just finished We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. Very well written but it gave me a stomachache. I'm emotionally drained.

Will read something lighter now - A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian by Marina Lewycka.

Chapter 21 of The Fallen Angels & Chapter 4 of Annabella's Diamond.

Don't Pee on My Leg and Tell Me It's Raining and I have to agree with most of what she says about some of today's youth and the direction they are taking. Also just finishedThe Late Showby Helen Gurley Brown and laughed through a lot of it. A must read for anyone over 50.

rebeccanyc: I'm so glad to hear The Drunkard's Walk was good...it's coming up on TBR in the somewhat near future.

I'm still slogging through Wuthering Heights and The Princess of Cleves. The first is taking me a while to get into, and the second is changing my first impressions- that of light and fluffy- which I was warned about. :)

I need something fun and frothy to offset both of these, but can't quite settle on anything. I'm thinking something from my childhood, or something I missed during childhood. Time to check what I can get on Kindle-format for Marius (instant gratification time!).

Well after last week saying I was reading Never Let Me Go, among other things, I got hooked into The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society, which I'd categorize as a light but literate summer read that I quite enjoyed.

And now, truly, I've begun the Ishiguro.

I am getting ready to start Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich. What can I say I have to have my Ranger fix. I also picked up A Rage to Live by John O' Hara and the Friday Night Knitting Club.

I am finishing up Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance then reading Simplexity for Early Reviewers.

Today, among other things, I'm reading the short story "Your Body is a Jewel Box" from Thirty Stories by Kay Boyle.

All Over But the Shouting by Rick Bragg. I began this book last night and think the writing is excellent!

>31 Demiguise, and I wasn't a-lyin' to ya, now was I? But The Princess of Cleves will repay you many times over for the time you spend reading it. Characters and situations that will bound back into your awareness at the strangest times. It's what makes having what someone famous (can't be bothered to Google up who) once called "a well-furnished mind" so interesting!

>34 purplemoonstar, what did you think of the Robert Pirsig book? I read it many long years ago, and recall it only hazily. Refresh my impressions?

edited/stupid typos (preview function! preview function!)

Message edited by its author, Jul 12, 2008, 11:44pm.

I dumped The Host in favour of Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters: And Seymour, An Introduction by J.D. Salinger.

Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman. I started it a couple of days ago, and I'm finding it a gripping read. I wouldn't say that his philosophical insights are very deep, but his portrayal of life in Russia during World War II is mesmerizing.

Completely forgot the purpose of posting in the first place: I finished On the Overgrown Path and was quite pleased with it. I started out thrilled, as I read I got to very very happy and ended up quite pleased.

I will review it tomorrow when I've got nothing to do. Except pack. And decide what to sell. And do laundry. And...

I'm still reading The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin, but I should be starting Great Expectations soon. The former is an interesting book, if a little bit slow in spots.

Finished The Short History of a Prince by Jane Hamilton. It has gotten mixed reviews, but I enoyed it. I laughed; I cried. The story is set in Illinois and Wisconsin, and I grew up in Wisconsin, and it's always fun to read about familiar places. A large part of the book deals with the main character being gay in the '70s (and in the Midwest!) and how he and his family and friends deal with that.

Up next is Unless by Carol Shields and A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson.

I'm in the midst of The Count of Monte Cristo and about to start Source of Magic. Monte Cristo is fantastic; thus far, my only complaint is that the text in my edition is too small to read with tired eyes at night. Everything is so richly described and the dialogue is so realistic that it's almost cinematic and very easy to get into.

Finished Diary of a Bad Year this morning, and have just started The Alchemist, which, so far, seems promising.

finished reading NO HORIZON IS SO FAR - THE STORY OF THE FIRST TWO WOMEN TO CROSS THE CONTINENT OF ANTARCTICA ON FOOT. GOOD AND INFORMATIVE READ. I SURE ADMIRE THOSE TWO WOMEN OR ANYONE WHO CAN LIVE THEIR DREAM OF A LIFE TIME. THEY HAD THEIR CHALLENGES!

NOW READING NO MARGINS - WRITING CANADIAN FICTION IN LESBIAN. SO FAR SOME INTERESTING WRITING STYLES.

Still reading Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. The first 400 pages flew by but now I'm finding myself doing the crossword rather than reading - a bad sign. A good book, admittedly, but ......

#45 No Horizon Is So Far seems to be interesting, i should look that one up. I've always enjoyed accounts of real-life adventure and travel experiences.

I just finished Remains of the Day, what a gem of a book. It was perfect.

>46 hazelk, oh-oh. Time to put Marge in the "later" pile, sounds like to me. I got about 50pp in and Pearl-ruled the book out. My sister and I have long been an informal BookMooch, so I sent it to her, and she Pearl-ruled it out too. Hmmm.

I picked up The Luminous Depths by David Herter, author of yesterday's good-not-great read On the Overgrown Path, but 15pp in it's back down and here I am at the keyboard. I'm going to leave it down for a week or so to let the previous experience recede from memory.

I'm looking into on of my favourite books on philosophy Thus Spake Zarathustra by Nietschze.

Message edited by its author, Jul 13, 2008, 10:02am.

I am almost done with Alias Grace - I can't wait to see how this thing ends (I have some hunches). =)

I decided to also throw in some The Boys from Brazil to alternate To the Lighthouse for some lighter reading. I'm already halfway through The Boys from Brazil! I love this book... ^^

#42 - I read Unless a few years ago and was thinking about it just a couple of nights ago - it was such a powerful book. My memory is really hazy but I remember the feelings I had when I read it...it probably was more immediate for me since I am familiar with Toronto (I always love whe I can really identify with places the author describes; when I can use my imagination and memory).

I hope that you like the novel!

#8----those really long Stephen King books take a lot of FAITH to, uh, finish...i know i have not been able to do so...with a few of them...keep reading..if it gets to be headache-inducing...stop..and throw the darn thing against the nearest wall..then read something else..okay?

My reading last week slowed down considerably since I started a second part-time job, so all I managed to do was finish listening to The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things and start reading A Princess of Roumania.

The rest is the same as last week (and no further than the last time I posted) -- reading Kitchen Confidential and The Solitary Envoy, and listening to Anne of Avonlea.

#2 TheresaHPIR - HP is wonderful and I envy you reading them for the first time.

#15 bnbooklady - I absolutely loved The Glass Castle and hope you enjoy it too.

I am reading an ARC called The Power Makers by Maury Klein and am finding it fascinating. It's slow going, though, so I'm romping through Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I bought it for my daughter to take to camp. She loved it, so I'm reading it. It's a fun read. I've been in a book slump lately, and I think Twilight will get me out of it.

I also started Stealing Athena by Karen Essex.

i am reading MORTAL LOVE by Elizabeth Hand....artistic inspiration & the myth of the MUSE...so far..i love how she handles the omnipresence of Inspiration..it will try to Kill you....i was an Art Major int the late 60s and i survived!

dchaiken, you might look into In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz as a follow-up to King Leopold's Ghost. I just read it not too long ago, and I thought it was a very good history of the Mobutu years.

# 27 Teelgee

Will read something lighter now - A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian by Marina Lewycka.

I enjoyed that one very much. It is very true about dealing with aging parents, but never gets bogged down in sadness.

Message edited by its author, Jul 13, 2008, 2:30pm.

i know i posted before this but...i never read Reviews to help me read books...i have very good intuition..and am very willing to take chances on books (my 50-page test never fails)..i guess i want to tell anyone who will listen...read what you want..if it doesn't work...there are a million books out there..find another...are you going to shoot me for this comment?

#60 I'm not sure what inspired your post. Were you referring to the posts on this thread, reader reviews on LT, or professional reviews?

Nobody is going to shoot you, because I suspect that's what most of us do. I choose books that sound (or sometimes look) interesting, but I sometimes read professional reviews to find those books. Otherwise, in many cases, how would I even know they existed? Sometimes I take recommendations from others who seem to have similar taste in books. I like to see what people here are reading and sometimes go to a site like amazon to read the publisher's blurb on a book to help me decide if I'd like it. There are some folks here who HAVE to finish a book they start, but I don't think that's necessarily because some reviewer told them they should like it.

Actually, your comments are rather ambiguous. If you don't read reviews, how do you select books? By the cover, title, or a familiar author? And if your intuition is so good, why do you need a 50-page test?

Whew! Finished The Glass Castle and managed not to have an emotional outburst in the process. My review is here: http://readerville.wordpress.com/2008/07...

Now it's on to The Lace Reader, which I'm hoping will be a bit lighter.

#58 gracer - Thanks for the suggestion. I've seen that mentioned elsewhere too, maybe I do need to look into it.

#61....God i love your post...one thing i have to tell..i have a massive Home Library...so i am not anxious to read new books until i read what i already have..my comment about Reviews..i am not a slave to them..i read reviews..then i make up my own mind..and read the damn book anyway...my 50-page test is for those books whose authors i have never read..or any book i am not sure of...if an author's style, etc...does not work after 50 pages..why read it?....how do i kow that books exist???well Amazon.com isn't there just to look pretty...and i have been READING for 53years..my system works for me

#64 Okey-dokey. I still don't know quite what inspired your original post (which sounds like a response to something) or what makes your "system" different from almost everyone else's, aside from those who confess a compulsion to finish a book even if they don't like it. Personally, I agree with you that it's silly to prolong the pain if you're not getting something out of a book.

I just started And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.

#53-twoods9-I started Unless last night and, at first, wasn't sure if I liked it. Decided to push on and am starting to get into it now. Thanks for the positive words about the book.

#60-jdthloue-I do choose some books based on my intuition, how the cover looks, the book blurb, authors I have read previously. On the other hand, I count on reviews in the newspaper, magazines, on-line, LT, word of mouth to help me find books that I wouldn't find on my own with the previously mentioned methods. How narrow my reading life would be if I had not and did not read all the great books I have discovered through various reviews!

Message edited by its author, Jul 13, 2008, 5:22pm.

#66 Cariola, if you read back to #54 & #8 I think you'll find the thread.

Message edited by its author, Jul 13, 2008, 10:16pm.

Currently reading Jean de Florette) by Marcel Pagnol. This is a reading group choice for July/August which I'm really enjoying. Although I live in France, I'm reading this in English as my language skills are not up to reading a whole book in French yet.

Message edited by its author, Jul 13, 2008, 6:27pm.

#39, fredbacon Life and Fate is one of the best books I've read in the past several years; I hope you enjoy it, if "enjoy" is the right word, as much as I did.

So last week I said I was starting Tipping Point, which I did, and was trying to hold off reading Lean Mean Thirteen, which I didn't. Hold off, that is. Plowed through it in one night, of course, annoying my partner, just laughing and shaking the bed.

Back to Tipping Point this week, as well as a book for my local book club, The Man in My Basement by Walter Mosley.

I want to pick up Douglas Hofstader again, and finish Godel, Escher, Bach before starting I Am a Strange Loop.

FWIW, to those who posted last week, Ngaio Marsh stories are terrific. As with all character-series, best read chronologically. (I haven't gotten to that shelf of my library, yet, in entering books on LT.)

ahh, the many books on my bedstand call to me, but there's laundry, office work, house cleaning and errands. Now that's what winning the lottery would be for -- sitting back and reading books.

More African (Nigerian) lit today. I'm hooked. The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutola. Lovably peculiar syntax, reads like an extended fairy tale. Great stuff.

> 37 richardderus, no, you certainly weren't a-lying to me. :D I can see that this will be something that comes back to me over and over; just the bit I've read so far stays with me, and I consider that to be a good thing. :)

>67 GeorgiaDawn, I love that book! I think And Then There Were None is my favorite Agatha Christie book, although I do love Poirot.

>73 highland65, I wish I could lay my hands on all of Ngaio Marsh's books so that I could read them chronologically, but I'm settling for reading them as I hunt them down. It is a bit odd to jump around from Alleyn being married to single to courting Troy, but I manage. ;)

In the interest of something fun to read, I downloaded Five Children And It by Edith Nesbit last night. Cute story so far and I think it will serve admirably to distract me from Wuthering Heights and The Princess of Cleves.

I am intrigued, however, by all the mention of The Lace Reader and may have to look into it. Because my TBR pile really should be fed a bit more often or I might eventually be able to see over the top of it!

I just started After Dark by Haruki Murakami. So far, it's quite interesting. I've never read Murakami before.

#70 Thanks--but I'm still a bit puzzled, since these posts complain about sticking with long books, but #60 and #64 focus on reviews. Oh, well, as a teacher, I've seen quite a few non sequitors in my day.

demiguise: I'm only 50 pages into The Lace Reader and am loving it so far...this bodes very well.

#72 rebbecanyc, I think Life and Fate is probably one of the best books that I've read in a number of years. I stumbled across a mention of it here on LibraryThing and ordered it immediately. Best decision ever! I sat outside on the balcony this afternoon, the dog snoring at my feet, reading it until the light failed and the mosquitoes drove me inside. I just couldn't make myself put it down.

To everyone responding about sticking with long novels:

In most cases, I would agree...however, I really want to read all of Stephen King's novels, just to say that I've read them, so I'm going to continue with Insomnia. It's not that I'm not enjoying the book - I just don't find it as engrossing as, say, The Shining or It.

About 200 pages to go in Fredricksburg to Meridian, the second volume of Shelby Foote's massive history The Civil War: A Narrative.

Excellent and compulsive reading, just long.

Has anyone read Three Cups of Tea? I just finished reading it, and enjoyed it. I'd like to get other readers' opinions.

I finished Clan Novel: Ravnos by Kathleen Ryan last night. Not bad really, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I might have years ago, at the height of my Vampire: the Masquerade craze.

Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
is going to be my read next.

Finished The Alchemist and am about to start reading The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.

All Over But the Shouting by Rick Bragg This is excellently written.

#1 Greyhead.
Hello. I note your reference to a Wilbur Smith book. A friend highly recommended Wilbur Smith and thus I read River God I was captivated!

Finished Stealing Athena by Karen Essex yesterday, just posted a review on my blog!

http://skrishnasbooks.blogspot.com/2008/...

#82 I loved Three Cups of Tea. Because he spent so much time with Afghani and Pakistani people, we get a much better sense from the book about how they live and treat people than we do from the media (what? NOT everyone living in Afghanistan is a terrorist? Who knew?)

I'm glad you liked it, too!

#82 I read Three Cups of Tea a couple of months back and I really enjoyed it. I thought his idea's for schools were excellent and the whole book was very insightful.

Message edited by its author, Jul 14, 2008, 9:44am.

I have just made a start on A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley.

mckait: Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History is on my TBR, and I'll be looking forward to getting your reaction.

redbowlingballruth: I love, love, loved The Thirteenth Tale. I hope you like it! I wrote a mini-review recently that you can read here: http://readerville.wordpress.com/2008/07...

I'm still working on The Corrections by Jonathan Franzan. I just got past the big section with Gary coming to terms with his depression. Yeah, he's an alcoholic and yes he may be depressed, but I still hate Caroline. D:

I received The Rabbit and the Snowman in the mail today. It's a cute, children's book. My review is In the Shadow of Mt. TBR.

Still working on The White Mary by Kira Salak. I'm about 2/3 of the way through. She just met "Mr. Parker", who told her to get out of the village and go stay with the "vampires".

Finished Things Fall Apart so started Loving Frank, only a few pages in, but enjoying it already.

#36/#86 - I'm a huge Rick Bragg fan. Be sure to read Ava's Man when you're done, it's about Charlie, his grandfather. I recently finished The Prince of Frogtown which is his newest about his father, which is good, but not nearly the power (or, for me, the interest) of the other two about his family. I also recommend Somebody Told Me which are some of his articles from the New York Times and Miami Herald--I read it several years ago and some of those stories have never left my head and heart.

Started Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. I was familiar with the cover of the book but never actually read what it was about. When I finally did, I added it to my list of books to read. Not too far into it yet but am enjoying it.

I just started The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan. So far it looks like it's the story of a difficult mother/daughter relationship, told from the perspective of the daughter, with a focus on the meaning of stories and writing in our lives.

I finished The Blue Sword and started the first Blood Brothers book by Nora Roberts. I've never read anything by her before and I'm curious to see just why she is so popular. So far the book is okay, but not spectacular.

Hello, I just joined and I'm reading Breath by Tim Winton. I'm trying to get a bit ahead of myself in case he's nominated for the Booker this year.

Message edited by its author, Jul 14, 2008, 4:07pm.

I finished Alias Grace and now on to my next Atwood book: Oryx and Crake.

>82: flemingt
click on the highlighted book title -- Three Cups of Tea -- to get to the book's main page ... there are lots of reviews and conversations linked there.

oh yeah, wonky touchstones just when you need them... :)

Message edited by its author, Jul 14, 2008, 4:42pm.

mrstreme: you should check out the new Atwood short story collection Moral Disorder. It was wonderful!

#96
I enjoyed Garden Spells. It was a magical book!

#95. Thanks for telling me about Rick Bragg's articles. I'm almost finished with All Over But the Shoutin and I admit that the story haunts me. It is powerfully written.

Currently finishing Leaven of Malice by Davies. A laugh riot! Especially because I can very much identify with the gossip that goes on in a University community.

mrstreme, I am heading on a long trip on Wednesday and intend to get through Oryx, this will be my third try, but I am counting on a 6 hour plane ride to help...unless I have an incredibly interesting seat-mate.

I'm a few chapters into Three Nights in Havana: Pierre Trudeau, Fidel Castro and the Cold War World by Robert Wright. I'm really enjoying it. It's a great read if you're interested in more about Canadian culture and two hugely popular political icons.

Just finished A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray and have started the sequel Rebel Angels...

Welcome to LT, Felix99, and may it become your favorite cyber-haunt.

I think Tim Winton should be nominated for the Booker. What a body of work the man has produced, and what I hear from my brother about Breath makes me believe he's still creating ever-better books instead of plateau-ing. Please make sure to come tell the thread about your impressions!

I am about to start Passage by Connie Willis

>109, brave woman. Reports from the front anticipated.

#108 kmbooklover What did you think of Great and Terrible Beauty? Somebody here, maybe even you, recommended it as Twilight but even better. Its on my list for me and my daughter to read, but I'd love another opinion. Although, if your reading the sequel it must have been good.

I just finished The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski and I miss the characters already. I felt as if I lived in that world for the short time it took me to read this book---and I am a slooooow reader. What an amazing debut. What a gifted writer. I hope he gives up his day job and focuses on writing another book!

Message edited by its author, Jul 14, 2008, 7:28pm.

#102 - bnbooklady - thanks for the recommendation for Moral Disorder. I haven't read that collection yet but will definitely add it to Mount TBR! =)

#106 - autumnc - Good luck conquering Oryx on your plane ride. I can see why people are starting and stopping with this one. For me, the science element of the story is a little hard to wrap my arms around.

>57 I'm glad you're liking Mortal Love; I enjoyed it also.

I'm reading Measuring Time by Helon Habila. The narrative has a wonderful rhythm to it. Still reading out of 2 volumes of short fiction from time to time also.

I'm am starting to assemble my reading for an upcoming 23 hour flight and miscellaneous waiting time. A delicious task.

112 sydamy:

Hi!!!

I saw that post regarding Twilight too: really leery about reading it as I didn't find A Great and Terrible Beauty that great (am reading the sequel tho, and will probably buy the last in the trilogy 'cause I'm a completist...).

Just to be clear - it's not that the book is bad - maybe I'm just going through a bad patch because only one book this year really blew me away (The Tenant by Roland Topor - the book that the Roman Polanski film was made from). I'm finding most of the books I've read this year enjoyable but I'm not enjoying anything lately as much as say The Time Traveler's Wife or The Shadow of the Wind...

Maybe I'm just getting old and crabby... ;)

I'm currently taking a short break from fiction to read a couple more essays from Reading Angel. It's quite interesting so far; definitely more scholarly than the Buffy/Angel crit I've dipped into. I like.

Tomorrow I plan on starting The Bone Key by Sarah Monette. I'm very much looking forward to it.

I think I am going to read The Cairo Diary. I have never heard of it, but it sounds good.

I still need to finish The Island of Dr. Moreau, but it is hard because I am getting tired of the story and the book is only 185 pages! Oh well I am sure I will finish it eventually.

Maybe I haven't heard of it because its French! Yeah, I think that's it!

I finished Little Brother earlier this week - a fantastic book which everybody should read!

I'm now reading Bobbie Faye's Very Bad Day which so far isn't as funny as I'd hoped based on reviews, but it is OK.

My brother gave me a copy of What is the What and I Pearl-ruled it up to p52, the end of chapter 5.

I hate it.

This "TV Boy" narrative device is annoying me to the point of no return. Tonya and Powder should be square, they reek so of deus ex machina. The narrative voice is the only thing that kept me going to p52, and I don't want to read any more.

So I ain't. It's coming out of the library, and off the shelves, consigned to wherever it is that unloved books go.

I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for ER last night and was rapturously delighted with it. Today I started Gertrude and Claudius. I'm not sure about the latter so far. It has some good moments, but also a rather uneven narration that leaves me perplexed in places.

I'm about halfway through The Sex Lives of Cannibals - a travelogey book about a couple of years spent on Kiribati, in the Pacific. It's quite entertaining so long as you don't stop to think about the lives of the indigenous people, whose exploitation is all too plain to reader and writer.

abandoning Bobbie Faye (see >120 above ) and moving on to Remake

Message edited by its author, Jul 14, 2008, 10:22pm.

Just finished Prince of Bagram Prison by Alex Carr. Thought it was very good. Now I'm in to The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst. Good, so far, and I love reading about that period. As a good Jewish boy, I would have hated living in that part of Europe in those times.
#95 - So glad to hear of someone else reading Loving Frank. One of my favorite books. Nancy Horan has written a great story, and even tho' one knows how it will turn out in the end, still worth every page.

Still reading Alexander Hamilton, American.

#51:mrstreme: Ms Atwood let's us make our own minds up (Alias Grace but personally I think dear Grace was as guilty as hell. Her memory is exceedingly good regarding laundry matters however!

I'm in the middle of The Last Embrace, by Denise Hamilton, set in Los Angeles in 1949 and featuring Lily Kessler, former spy for the OSS. This is Hamilton's first historical mystery; she usually writes about crime reporter Eve Diamond, set in present-day L.A. I prefer the Eve Diamond series, but I love reading about post-war Los Angeles.

On the agenda for this week: Escape from the Deep by Alex Kershaw, whose books I really like, If On a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino, The Adrian Mole Diaries by Sue Townsend, Good Omens by Neil Gaiman, Fermat's Enigma by Simon Singh, Cod: a Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky, and The Class of 1846 by John C. Waugh.

# 127 - hazelk - I think Grace was one smart cookie, calculating all of her moves in Alias Grace.

#111 Richard

Have I told you lately that I love you? I love your wry posts and comments and how they make me laugh out loud.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle... I would not read that book if it walked up to my front porch and lay down in front of my with its pages open to the prologue.
I have just seen it suggested too often on B&N and Amazon etc.
Psycho-block LOL. There are a few that affect me that way. ( Pi is another)

I am only 80 pages in to Passageand love it so far. What can I say?

Just posted my review of Beginner's Greek by James Collins

http://skrishnasbooks.blogspot.com/2008/...

The romp through Twilight was successful. It was even better because my daughter and I were talking about it last night. She can't wait for me to read New Moon, book 2 of the series.

So, I started New Moon last night.

#131 mckait - a member of my bookclub mentioned Edward Sawtelle Sunday night. I read a little bit about it on Amazon. What is it about the book that gives you a psycho-block? I admit that it didn't sound like a book I would like to read.

Message edited by its author, Jul 15, 2008, 8:12am.

Drat you all with your gushing about books! I've pre-ordered The Lace Reader and to put in my TBR pile, and now, after looking at the summary of it, it looks like I'll be adding Garden Spells as well.

On top of all that, I was rummaging in the attic yesterday for something and tripped across Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey. In later years, I have joined the bandwagon who say her books are a bit cheesy and silly, but I do remember enjoying that one (maybe because I've always wanted a dragon of my own!), so I spent a cheesy, nostalgic evening with my dusty old paperback.

Tonight it will be back to the moors and Heathcliff!

Message edited by its author, Jul 15, 2008, 9:04am.

>131, La, madame you bring ze blush to my cheek wiz your praises! I make you laugh out loud? I thought I was being amusing, yeah, but laugh out loud? Gee! Back at'cha, cranky ol' cuss. I don't think I'll show Mr. Man *this* post, though...he's starting to worry about my car trip....

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle holds no real appeal for me, but the sheer force of your response leads me to ask: "Why not?"

>134 Demiguise, people here gush? About books? I hadn't noticed....
Wuthering Heights is the perfect polybibliovore book. No matter where one leaves off, or for how long, the narrative reaches out and engulfs one's attention the second it's picked back up. What a lush, lovely book it is.
May I suggest Garden Spells as a library borrow if possible? I loved it at first, then liked it a lot, and ended up wishing the herbal/magical/Southern-lady-of-power parts had been the focus of the book to the exclusion of some less successful subplots. Mr. Man and I read this book aloud to each other over the course of a week. His view of it was more positive than mine, and he even *kept* the book until he gave it to his sister to read. (She hated it, so it's got to be good.)

finished Remake, an enjoyable read which I probably would have appreciated even more if I 'got' more of its film references.

next up: Talk Talk

I'm 44pp in to The Shadow of the Wind and in love with the book, the characters, and the idea. I hope to stay that way....

>124 freelunch, how's Remake coming along? I'm on records as no big fan of Ms. Willis's, but the premise of this book makes me grin every time I encounter it. mckait of this board has actually convinced me, through her enthusiasm, to give Willis another go: I've ordered Passage since I find the subject of Near Death Experiences irresistably fascinating. Would you suggest this book to a non-Connie-ite?

I finished Small Favor by Jim Butcher and I'm currently reading The Templar, the Queen and Her Lover by Michael Jecks.

>137 I enjoyed Remake, though some of it went over my head as I'm not familiar with many of the films it references. At only 140 pages this was bearable - it might have grown tiresome in a longer book.

I read Passage a few months ago and thought it was excellent.

jemsw: Wasn't The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society absolutely delightful? I adored it. My review is in Readerville

richardderus: The Shadow of the Wind has to be one of the most perfect books ever written. Luck you!

Message edited by its author, Jul 15, 2008, 10:28am.

>139 freelunch, thanks! I will take Remake onto my birthday gift pile of suggestions. I love old movies, or as we called them when they were new, movies; I get the feeling that would make my experience of the book all the more enjoyable.

Did you read Doomsday Book? That one defeated me. Just couldn't get any traction in it.

>140 booklady, lawsy me! Perfect?! What a lot to live up to....

>140, bnbooklady:

I certainly loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society too--you're spot on about wanting to talk to people about it. My own review is on LT and here.

I only wish I were loving Gertrude and Claudius quite as much. This is my first John Updike novel--can anyone tell me if his books usually have such complicated narration or whether he just swooned over the possibilities of historical fiction?

>135 richardderus, I know, I was amazed to see people in a book forum gushing, as well. But it did happen. :)

Thanks for the advice; I'm heading over toward the library this evening and will peek about to see if I can get Garden Spells. The description sounds like my cup of tea, but you never can tell.

Garden Spells sounds interesting - especially because I live in NC and love it so much.

Another book to add to the ever-growing and expanding wish list.

I finished Twilight this weekend and immediately started on New Moon. They're good books but the list to read keeps growing that I can't wait to get through the series so I can move onto something that doesn't involve vampires.

Also continuing through The Mysteries of Udolpho. It's getting better with every chapter.

Finished The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse, so I'm moving on to Atonement and Great Expectations.

>142 jemsw, Updike loves complex narrative styles, so it could simply be a bad fit between writer and reader. I advocate Pearl-ruling it: If you're past 50pp and not having fun (or enough fun) yet, bin the thing and start afresh in potentially greener fields.

FWIW, Gertrude and Claudius is one of my favorite Updikes and I think it's delightful, with many fascinating asides and excursions into the unknown; I found the recursiveness of the narrative enjoyable. I am, however, weird.

>143 Demiguise, after a solid Pearl-rule 50pp, if you love Garden Spells, then it might be worth investing your precious book budget in. Any time I am the least bit wary of a particular book for any reason, I try the library first. It's saved me oodles of book money!

>144 karenmarie, Garden Spells is certainly worth reading! Buying, well....

Message edited by its author, Jul 15, 2008, 12:25pm.

#102, 114, bnbooklady & mrstreme, I loved Moral Disorder too -- a great collection.

#113, eejjennings, and #130, mckait, et al, about The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. I just finished this book, which I read with some initial trepidation because of all the hype. At the beginning, I was seduced by the wonderful story-telling, the characters, and the terrific sense of place, but I got more uneasy when the supernatural entered, and was very disappointed by the ending, which I felt substituted melodrama for resolution. Now I know perfectly well that books don't have to tie up every loose string but a book like this one, which is (or should be) almost pure story, shouldn't leave you hanging (at least in my opinion).

My hat is off to LouisBranning, who, I recall, had a similar reaction. I'm not sorry I read this book, because I found the first part compelling, but I think the attempt to graft Hamlet onto the story doomed it. Also, in my opinion, it could have been cut by a third or so without losing much.

>145 blondierocket, my mom and my sister are way in to that series. When my mom came to my house and started talking about it, she got as far as "vampire" and my eyes went into that glazed "I can't believe you're saying this to me," look, but she swears by them, so I may have to pick it up.

0bazooka0: don't do it! They're seriously overrated.

Today I'll be reading the essay "Spending Their Deaths on Holiday" from Julian Barnes' collection Something to Declare: Essays on France and French Culture. The piece is about Barnes' love of the French singers Jacques Brel, Leo Ferre and Georges Brassens.

Barnes has that nice wry British humor going on, of course and he's also a very smart guy. I'm not reading this collection straight through, just an essay at a time between other books I read. I'm looking forward to continuing my way through these essays little by little, though.

>150 bnbooklady, I just read this off of amazon,

"the novel burns with the erotic tension of their dangerous and necessarily chaste relationship."

I lol'd so hard.

>134 Demiguise & 144 karenmarie -- I'm almost done with Garden Spells, less than 20 pages to the end and I would definitely recommend reading it. It's a quick read but satisfying at the same time. It's comforting and has interesting characters. I plan to read Sarah Addison Allen's next book The Sugar Queen that was recently part of the Early Reviewer program.

>152 I don't know about the erotic tension part. It's not a trashy romance novel (which I do love every now and again). That's a very interesting way to describe it.

They're not bad books. Definitely overrated but easy to read. And I can't just start a series and not finish.

I just finished The Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer and really enjoyed it. I thought it was beautifully written. Just started this morning on the train, History of Love, so far it seems good.

With regard to Twilight, of course it's not great literature, but the story is captivating, easy to read, and yes, fun! When you can read all three (so far) books in a weekend, not because their short but because you can't put them down, to me it makes them good. And as we know, there are many books that you might love that many others hate. There are entire thread devoted to it!

0bazooka0: that's hysterical! I've read all 3 of the books so far because I have to coordinate the release party and promote a book group for work...I am so tired of hearing about how badly Bella wants to have sex with Edward and how many ways she's tried to convince him. Come on.

I wrote a review of Eclipse last week that also covers material from the first 2 books, but it does have spoilers. You can see it here

I just started in on Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I'm a little skeptical about it so far, but I hate giving up on books, especially so early on.

Garden Spells was a good read. I am glad I read it, but glad I didn't buy it. Sarah Addison Allen has a new book out I think?

As for My response to "Sawtelle"..Sometimes I just feel rebellious, I guess. ( LOL) Some books are just hyped to the point where they annoy me. Twilight comes to mind. Other times, I have read and enjoyed books or authors that I have been warned away from ( cough Willis cough)..

I suspect you know just what I mean..

I ordered Lincoln's Dreams and may look fora others. I am liking this Connie Willis

heatherlynn85: stick with Life of Pi. It's really quite wonderful.

mckait: you know I'm with you on Twilight being overrated and downright craptastic.

How are you liking Lace, bnbooklady?

#159: craptastic - Love it. I will be overusing this word for the next week.

#158 mckait: If you haven't read Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog yet, I recommend it, especially if you like any Victorian literature, or the time period in general. And I thought it was really funny, too.

Currently reading Ben Okri's Starbook. I have mixed feelings.

>medellia12, ooo, I have Starbook somewhere in the TBR mtn range (really just 'mt. TBR' sounds way too tidy...). Will be interested in what you think. Sorry, you are not coming to the convention this weekend; it's right up your alley, methinks.

I just finished Possession by A.S. Byatt, which was a wonderful book, but it took me way too long to read it... probably spending too much time on LT and not enough time actually reading...

Next up I think will be Double Negative by David Carkeet. After that probably Bad Blood: A Memoir by Lorna Sage for my book club.

#162: Sorry, you are not coming to the convention this weekend; it's right up your alley, methinks.
Aaargh, don't mention it. I'm so jealous. ;) Hope all goes smoothly.

I'm reading Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, rivals, and queens by Jane Dunn.

Last night I finished The Borgias by Marion Johnson.

I'm reading Martin Chuzzlewit, page 666 - I'll be damned! - and planning to continue to hit myself on the head with the Dickens stick throughout the year. Bleak House next. Chuzzy is kinda fun after the first few hundred pages or so...especially when Mr. Charles starts to rip into us uh'mericans, but we got the last laugh, we outlived him - Oops, just checked on Fanny and Freddy! - or did we? Loved the list of New York newspapers - The Sewer, The Stabber, The Family Spy, The Private Listener, The Peeper, The Plunderer, The Keyhole Reporter, and The Rowdy Journal. So sad that Rupert Murdoch now owns them all. I ask, to employ a word I first saw in yesterday's Washington Post, who, who I say, is left in the business of that bustling metropolis to pander to us "rubesoisie"? Ah, the New Yorker! :D

>141 Doomsday Book was my first Connie Willis. I found it slow but ultimately rewarding. I preferred Passage.

"Nation" by Terry Pratchett.

I just started Bananas, Bases & Beaches: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics by the brilliant Cynthia Enloe. Bridging the best of both worlds, I'm not sure if I'm reading it for work or for pleasure.

Just finished The Enchantress of Florence:
In my opinion, this is Rushdie's best work yet. What a consummate writer! Using magical realism, Rushdie is able to communicate with his reader on multiple levels......sheer great storytelling, historically wonderfully done, fabulous characters, socio-political commentary which is timeless, and of course, the ever-present tongue in cheek humor. His use of language is unique.

Some characters' names: Lord Hauksland of That Ilk, Dr. Praise-God Hawkins, and Mohiini, the sleepless whore...............gotta love them!

The emperor's contemplation of the royal "we" is hysterically funny, as his relationship with his imaginary wife, Jodha.

Rushdie says it himself: "Witchcraft requires no potions, familiar spirits, or magic wands. Language upon a silvered tongue affords enchantment enough."

I am just starting The Plague of the Doves by Louise Erdrich.

I'm reading The Hostile Hospital (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 8) by Lemony Snicket. I stopped reading the series about a year ago and felt like it was time to see what the Baudelaires were up to.

Currently reading The Garden Of Last Days. My only complaint would be that it's slow-going but I'm still enjoying it.

Presently on p310 of The Shadow of the Wind and the narrator just fails to get lucky with his dream girl. Can't this kid catch a break?!

booklady, this isn't a perfect book. Nope, not nohow. No indeedy. But it's a durned near perfect read and I am whistling through it like a bullet in an old two-reeler Western. You and mckait, late of this thread though apparently M.I.A., did not steer me wrong, and Brother Man redeems himself after the What is the What debacle.

>164 like buddah! (usually not, last year one of my book dealer's went into labor early...).

>173 I think Zafon has another book due out this fall (bookstore sources say). When I saw him at BookExpo a few years ago, he said it would also involve the Cemetery of Lost Books..but who knows if that is still true...

mckait: I'm love-love-loving The Lace Reader. I really wasn't sure I wanted to read it, but there was so much praise going around on here, and I'm certainly glad I picked it up. Expect a review later this week.

161: We all have my husband to thank for the lovely addition to the lexicon that is "craptastic." I don't use it very often, but it just seems to fit my feelings about Twilight perfectly

richardderus: You're right, it's not a perfect book, and I think you hit what I really wanted to say by describing it as a perfect read. I completely agree. If someone will point me toward the Cemetery of Lost Books, I will happily hang out there forever.

medallia, I will put it on my wishlist, and thank you for the suggestion!

Sorry for wandering off richard, thelma stopped by to porch. hadda do it.

ETA

LACE! I am so glad you are loving it, I am not surprised. I might have to check your your read richard.... after I fill up on Connie Willis

Message edited by its author, Jul 15, 2008, 9:29pm.

I finished The White Mary by Kira Salak today. I thought it was a really good book.

My review is In the Shadow of Mt. TBR.

I just finished The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, which was sad but wonderful, and now I'm returning to Half of a Yellow Sun.

>174 avaland, I will hunt it down. This guy writes an excellent read-with-benefits.

>175 booklady, stop by my place on the way to the Cemetery of Lost Books and we can drink coffee, lounge on lounging surfaces that Zafon simply forgot to describe in his vision of Paradise, and drink coffee while gossiping about books.

Mr. Booklady gets a big gold star for "craptastic," which has made Mr. Man laugh harder than I've seen him laugh in weeks.

>176, oh good you're back. Go read your email.

Finishing, with sadness, The Shadow of the Wind in the next hour or so. avaland, I so hope your informant is correct about Zafon giving us another book based in the Cemetery of Lost Books.

#179 richardderus - Isn't The Shadow of the Wind wonderful? I loved it!

>180 GeorgiaDawn, it's so lovely...so invilving...just about a perfect read! I plan to hand-sell it to people next time I'm in a bookstore. Work there, whatever, I want this book to keep succeeding!

Just started and am half-way through Lab 257. Pretty scary so far.

I really enjoyed Ava's Man by Rick Bragg....maybe my favorite.

Shadow of the Wind now on my wishlist.

I have not made much progress with Passage, too many interruptions. I will have much more time starting tomorrow, as I have another break. I am loving it though.

Just finished The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt. Different than I expected, but I liked it.

My review: http://skrishnasbooks.blogspot.com/2008/...

Cariola: I wholeheartedly agree about The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox...it was unexpectedly beautiful and rather haunting, and O'Farrell's use of magical realism was very well done.

richardderus: Mr. Booklady and I are packing up the car and will be there shortly for our afternoon of coffee, snacks, and book gossip. A fieldtrip to the Cemetery of Lost Books is in the works...and he's very glad you enjoyed "craptastic." Take it, use it, make it your own :)

I'm still working on The Lace Reader but just posted mini-reviews of When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Look Me in the Eye, and Altared in Readerville

Count me in as a fan of The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell. I highly recommend another of her books After You'd Gone It is also a very moving story.

>186 booklady, I sense a hitch in the works...I finished The Shadow of the Wind with rapturous sighs and much nudging of Mr. Man's ribs to read him snippets...shoved the book into his hands and said read this or die...and his comment this morning was that he thought the writing was a little mannered for his taste. Well, what he SAID was, "Guy's kinda stuffy, huh?" but that's what he meant. The Cemetery might well need to wait.

Also, "craptastic" has been used twice today, only once by me, in my workplace and has elicited knowing snorts from all. Mr. Booklady becomes a famous neologizer. Aren't you proud?

I'm reading Tilfeldigvis - Arial Footlights forhistorie (Accidentally - Arial Footlight's pre-history (my translation)) by Silje E. Fretheim. It is a "biograpical-phantasy" novel, and it is Fretheim's debut work.

It was published in april(?) 2008, and I imagine it isn't translated into English (or any other languages) yet. But it should be, I think.

An exciting and curious story.

Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2008, 1:25pm.

richardderus: there might be something wrong with Mr. Man after all...maybe someone else would like to accompany us on our field trip.

Mr. Booklady will be very pleased to know that his neologism (I just love that word!) is making the rounds and getting laughs.

Last night I determined to leave the problems of Pern behind and devote myself instead to Wuthering Heights. Now that the principal characters are all introduced, I think I might be liking them just a little bit more. Well, still not overly fond of Heathcliff, but he is intriguing me a little more.

Unfortunately, work is being horrid, which leaves me little time for reading (or anything else, for that matter!). I think I might go back to France tonight and visit with the royal court for a bit. And tomorrow I want to know what happens with Ms. Nesbit's adventurers and the Sand Fairy they found.

Oh, and I did get a copy of Garden Spells from the library yesterday, so I will have to dive into that soon, as well.

I think I need a Time Turner or something!!!

Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2008, 1:43pm.

I too just loved Shadow of the Wind. I re-read it again this year for book club and it was just as good if not better the 2nd time around. I heard he has another book out now but in Spanish only. I am hoping English version will be out soon. It is in my top 10 books of all time.

I'm waiting for both Garden Spells and The Shadow of the Wind to arrive from BookMooch, so this thread is making me quite anxious for them.

>191, If you find a working Time Turner, be sure to share with the rest of us where you got it. I could use one, too.

re: The Shadow of the Wind: does anyone know the title of the supposed upcoming novel? I couldn't find it anywhere online.

#194: From Wikipedia: "Ruiz Zafón's eagerly awaited second novel, a prequel to the bestselling The Shadow of the Wind has been acquired by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and the English edition will be published in hardback in late spring of 2009. It will be called The Angel's Game and is set in Barcelona during the 1920s and 1930s. It follows a young writer who is approached by a mysterious figure to write a book. The Spanish edition was published in April 2008 by Planeta. The English edition will be translated by Lucia Graves, daughter of the poet Robert Graves."

Edit: More info on the book here, at Ruiz Zafon's UK site.

Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2008, 5:05pm.

#195 Medellia12 - This immediately goes to the top of my TBR stack when it comes out! Thanks!

#157 heatherlynn85

Be careful with the Life of Pi. Some love it, some hate it. I wished I had given up after my obligatory 50 pages.

Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2008, 6:21pm.

#197 - You make it sound dangerous.

During the past week I've read Tim O'Brien's classic and enduring, The Things They Carried, Larry McMurtry's new memoir, Books and my favorite nonfiction writer of all-time, Joseph Mitchell's, The Bottom of the Harbor, which Pantheon just reissued last week. Mitchell had an unbelievable ear, and writes in that old "New Yorker" style, and if you love reading about NYC in the thirties and forties along with some of its odder citizens, I can't recommend highly enough most of his work contained in the collection Up in the Old Hotel.

Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2008, 7:08pm.

>189 kjellica, not that many Swedish works get translated into American English, comapred to what an old Swedish friend assures me is the number of titles produced that could be translated. Americans aren't a prime market for translations, at least in the big-numbers category, and I still don't know why. Makes me annoyed.

>190 booklady, if he had no faults I'd be very, very scared. He called me at work (a rare occurence) to tell me he'd read 25pp at lunch, and wasn't sure if he could do more. I will chastise him appropriately when he gets home. And Mr. Booklady should feel extra-proud: the doctors I deal with daily have picked up on "craptastic" now!

>191 Demiguise, what do you suppose a "wuther" is that it now has a gerund so famous as "wuthering?" Or am I simply a iggerunt ol backwoods cuss who jes ain't herda no verb "to wuther?" I'd like to wuther that rotter Heathcliff, whatever that means, assuming it's something bad...but the book, oh the sublimity of the book. Don't O.D. and get all turned off, take it slow, let the extra-chilled dirty martini that is Bronte's prose seep into your sponge, errrmmm, brain....

>192 momom >195 Medellia >196 GeorgiaDawn...do you suppose a letter and email campaign begging Weidenfeld and Nicolson to bring it our sooner would work? I'm game if y'all are!

>193 shootingstarr7, I am envious that you get to experience Shadow of the Wind for the first time and I hope it's soon!

I finished up the short fiction collection Howard Who? of local boy made good Howard Waldrop...fun, perfect bus reading, silliness and seriousness in balance and enjoyable writing. It squeaks a three-star reprieve from Half Price, but it's not a recommended book for non-SF readers. SF being one of the last places in the world of letters where short fiction is both taken seriously and consumed avidly by tens of thousands of readers, this makes me a wee bit sad. I'd love to run up to strangers and push this kind of book at them, saying, "Don't care if you HATE science fiction, you GOTTA read this!" Can't. I have yet to find that particular collection of short fiction, in fact; anyone got some ideas for me?

I just finished ( minutes ago) A Paper Life Tatum O`neal`s memoir...

>176 mckait, if you enjoy To Say Nothing of the Dog, you might enjoy Bellwether as well. It's a totally different story, but similar humor. (Quite honestly, those are the only books I've read by Connie Willis, but I really liked both.)

>200 richardderus, I had to look it up to be sure, but "wuthering" refers to a blowing (in this case of the wind) with a roaring sound. Here's Merriam-Webster's full definition if you're so inclined. (Sorry...I'm a bit of a word nerd I like learning new ones and I want the OED if only I could afford it...haha)

I haven't read anything new but Hana-Kimi Volume 5, so I'm just vicariously enjoying everyone else's reads. :-)

#198

Yes, I think the Life of Pi is dangerous. In the end I found it unpleasant and disturbing.

am (still) reading Mortal Love and it can be toughgoing...flipping pages back-and-forth to keep track of these people who tend to-uh-move through time but still Exist..for hundreds of years!of course some of the people are real...but the concept of Artistic Inspiration is timeless...dangerous...deadly...artist as, necessarily, Madman? anyone

Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2008, 8:16pm.

Just finished True Valor by Dee Henderson and Second Time Around by Mary Higgins Clark. Trying to decide how many books to take on vacation with me. Staying at the beach for 9 days. Figure I can get quite a few books read in that time.

Some on the list will be: Kite Runner The Jesus I never knew Honeymoon Before I awake Sense & Sensibility A walk to remember

Any other suggestions are welcome!!

medellia12: thanks for the info...I'll be adding that to TBR and will be anxiously awaiting any opportunity to get an ARC...oh how amazing that would be.

SeanLong: I, too, love Tim O'Brien and was astonished by the power of The Things They Carried when I read it a few months ago. Wow!

richardderus: you're right--the flaws make it that much better. Mr. Booklady is now very excited that you've begun proselytizing your coworkers to "craptastic." Yay for contributing to the advancement of the English language :)

ETA: I just finished The Lace Reader, and it was breathtaking. Need a night to recover...review coming tomorrow. WOW!

Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2008, 11:12pm.

I finished Gertrude and Claudius today (still not enamored), and am beginning The Long Week-End: A Social History of Great Britain 1918-1939.

I've Just begun A Summer of Hummingbirds: Love, Art, and Scandal in the Intersecting Worlds of Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Martin Johnson Heade. Set aside Winter in Madrid for now. About 80 pages in and wasn't into it.

Re: Connie Willis. Loved Passage and Doomsday Book, but had a rougher time with Lincoln's Dreams. Will eventually read the rest of Willis' work, I think.

Thought Shadow of the Wind was terrific. Glad to hear of prequel.

>200 richardderus

I have to correct you:
Very often Sweden is mixed up with Norway, so you are hereby forgiven for your mistake :-)
(Some foreigners think Norway is the capital of Sweden!!)

Silje E. Fretheim is a Norwegian author and I am Norwegian as well.

Fretheim is a Librarything member and her LT name is Svada. You'll find a link to her author page at Svada's profile.

I have just started Jamaica Inn.

I am on the Shadow of the Wind boat too! I read it a couple of months ago and it made my list of best books of the year.

This has been a weird week for me. My evenings seem to have slipped by me. I am still reading Passage. Frankly, I am so happy that this one did not get read too quickly. I wanted to have it to read today. I am looking at a sort of stressful
day, and it will be good to fall into the book after its over.

I think I'm going to have to bump The Shadow of the Wind up on the TBR list. It sounds like exactly my sort of thing.

For the time being, though, I'm reading Blood Debt by Tanya Huff and am still making periodic dips into Reading Angel.

Finished The Lace Reader last night, and WOW was it good. Just started Bonk by Mary Roach, and it's pretty fantastic (which is the opposite of craptastic, for those in the know) so far.

214. I enjoyed all of the Blood Series by Tanya Huff. Have you seen the TV series?

I finished reading Killer Heat by Linda Fairstein
Memories are Murder by Lou Allin
Big Money by Jack Getze
Pandemic by Daniel Kalla
The Monarchs are Flying by Marion Foster

I am currently reading Whack A Mole by Chris Grabenstein.
Post Colonial Imagination & Feminist Theology

Other books I am planning to read are
Chanukah Guilt by Ilene Schneider
Written in Blood by Sheila Lowe
Murder's Madness by Alex Matthews
(I like mysteries and thrillers can't you tell :)

You can see my reviews at
http://bloodstainedbookreviews.blogspot....

Finished The Thirteenth Tale last night and loved it! This morning I started reading Emma by Jane Austen, and so far it seems like a very good read.

yay for The Thireenth Tale. The Lace Reader, which I just finished, was amazing and had a somewhat simliar feel, with its major theme of uncovering family secrets.

My review is now in Readerville , and all I can say is WOW!

Read this week: George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia (fantastic) and Christopher Hill's God's Englishman (bordering on the sublime)

Currently reading through: Early Modern Europe 1500-1789 by H.G Koenigsberger (very concise and easy to get into)

Still to read: The Aenied, Crisis of Parliaments, The Byzantine Commonwealth, Eastern Approaches, Among the Believers, The Qu'ran

After giving up on my first ER book, Requiem, Mass, I blew through Murphy's Law and am now happily jousting and flirting with the Plantagenets in The First Princess of Wales.

I'm actually pleasantly surprised by this one, it's definitely one of those "reading while walking down the hallway to my desk because I don't want to stop" numbers.

My husband was given The Thirteenth Tale as a Chirstmas presant from his brother. I started reading it December 27, 2007. The cover was what caught my eye at first. Although, it was a busy time of year I finished the book in a week. I insisted my husband read this book and he was glad that he did.
We both enjoyed it. It wasn't my most favorite book of the year but still a good read.
Just wondering now, if Deane Setterfield has other books. I will have to check that out, won't I?

Jacqueline

>210...NORWAY not Sweden, got it! Got it! I'm all over apologies. To me, as I guess to most Murrikins, it's all just "Vikingland" and we don't errrmmm discriminate very well...?

Thanks for the cultural absolution, truly, and substitute "Norway" and "Norwegian" for "Sweden" and "Swedish" in the previous post...it's still true, sadly.

221: Diane Setterfield does not have any other books out. The Thirteenth Tale was her first novel. We can only hope there will be more.

Ok, this is random. I noticed the number of posting here have increase quite a bit recently, so, I went a little crazy and made a graph. The graph shows the number of posting for each "What You're Reading the Week of" post, in date order. It begins with the first post, the week of August 5, 2006. The black line is a trend line.

WOW! How neat! Thanks for taking the time to do this!

>224: dchaikin, I hope you know you've made many of us anal-retentive geeks oh so happy with that analysis! I love graphs.

After finishing All Over But the Shoutin by Rick Bragg, I decided to read another of his well-written books and started Ava's Man this morning. This guy can write! It is wonderful to see page after page of vivid, clear, crisp images!

#224- methinks you are a bit obsessive :)...given that is IS Summer...and TV is pretty much Shot (i do not have Cable or Dish) people are reading more...it's a cheap fix, right....love your graph anyway

anal-retentive geeks? Obsessive? - I have no idea what you're talking about.

jdthloue - Sadly my summer breaks are long past, that was my lunch... ;)

I finished The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox. It was OK. Not great, not bad. There was a lot of period detail (Victorian) and the writing flowed, so the fact it was too long and slow in patches didn't turn me off. Would read the author again, but not a long book of his. Thought the ending was a bit of a fizzle.

I am now reading Climbing the Mango Trees by Mahur Jaffrey. A non-fiction about growing up in India with food as a means of memory. It too is for a RL book group.

I liked Life of Pi very much, but didn't care for Passage, but loved Doomsday Book, and my favorite To Say Nothing of the Dog.

oh I would love to see Zafon's new one out earlier--but alas don't think a couple of letters would do it--but we could try.

dchaikin--great graph--I am very impressed.

And all you Lace Reader readers--I am envious--I have to wait til 7/29 to get it--its gotten great reviews so far. I've sworn off purchasing hardcovers but may have to break the rule on this one.

Mom248. I never buy new hardcovers... never. Except I will buy this one. I am sending the ARC to my daughter and will buy the hardcover because I want it that badly.
crazy.

ditto, mckait...it's definitely worth buying in hardcover. I'm keeping the ARC with my notes in it but will probably buy it as well...it's just that good.

oh-wow..no Summer..Bummer..no heat/humidity/Sinus Trouble..lucky you #224...i am going to check you(r Library) out...be warned...Graphaholics, Unite!

re: the graph

So does each point represent a week? I'm curious as to what was going on around 20 January 07 to cause that outlier. Big fight? No one purchased or read any books? Everyone too busy cataloging their Christmas gifts?

#235- Was that week one of the LT outage weeks? Some of the lows came from weeks when the site was down for extended periods.

I love summer... so many daylight hours... so much time for reading.

I just finished Hit Me With a Rainbow by James Kirkwood. I stumbled over him in high school in the early '80s. No one then had gay characters or themes in mainstream fiction. So I read a few, but not this one. Oh well, I didn't miss much. I finished it just for the nostalgia. (Kirkwood shared the Pulitzer Prize for drama with the co-authors of A Chorus Line, so I'll forgive him this one.)

I'm also just finishing of the last couple of stories in Bad Dirt: Wyoming Stories 2 by Annie Proulx.

I've slowly started Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown. I've heard about it and thought about reading it for years and finally picked it up. I have to take it slow and do some much lighter reading along with it.

Last night I started Everything is Miscellaneous by David Weinberger. Too funny to see quotes from a "foremost alphabetization historian". This is good stuff and library geekdom on parade. One of my old library school professors was interviewd for the chapter on Melvil Dewey.

>206 I'm glad to see The Kite Runner is on your list. I just finished it and I am so glad I read it.

As to what I'm reading, I just started The Murderers Among Us. A little slow so far, but we'll see.

#235 jfetting - Yes, each dot on the graph is a one week. The low on the week of Jan 20, 2007 was "The Big LT Outage" that I believe lasted almost that whole week.

I finished The Assassin's Accomplice, an account of Mary Surratt's involvement in the Lincoln assassination. She was the first woman to be executed by the US government.

I'm about to start The Lodger Shakespeare by Charles Nicholl.

Hey everybody

Sorry Ive been gone for a while

I am half way into Glamorama and am enjoying it - been about ten years since I last read any Ellis book.

Hi,

I just finished and reviewed The Meaning of Night and I am starting Joseph and his Brothers based on VisibleGhosts's recommendation (see Long Novel topic in the Book Talk forum).

Message edited by its author, Jul 17, 2008, 8:19pm.

I'm now beginning Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd. I've always wondered what it was like to be married to George Harrison and then Eric Clapton.

I just finished the audiobook, The Chopin Manuscript: A Serial Thriller by multiple authors. I liked the concept, and for the most part the transition from author to author was smooth. One of the authors tried introducing a pedophile into the plot. Pointless, meaningless, and I have to wonder why he did so? It was mediocre.

I am about to start listening to a collection of short stories by Henry James.

I am reading Bad Times, Good Friends by: Ilse-Margaret Vogel. A great memoir from a Nazi hater in the last two years of WWII.

>200,
I hope I get to read The Shadow of the Wind soon, too, but it's taking it's sweet time getting here. It's coming from Massachusetts to California, so it might be a little longer yet.

Thank God I have 300 other books to read in the meantime.

I finished A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby earlier in the week.

I'm reading The Magician's Assistant and it is my *somewhat embarrassed to say* very first Ann Patchett read.

There has been such a build up of expectations about her writing, that I just dipped my toe into the water. Read a few pages and set it down. Took a breath. Sat and looked out at the morning. Picked it back up and read a little more. And quite honestly? This is how I've been reading all day long. It's true. There is a richness to her prose that if I just dive in deeply and don't stop to take a breath, I'm quite afraid I'll miss.

(and now the touchstones are going to give me fits...)

Message edited by its author, Jul 17, 2008, 9:34pm.

started The Lace Reader tonight.

#216 - I haven't seen the show yet. I'm usually kind of leery of film or television adaptations of things I've enjoyed, I think I might seek out a couple of episodes once I'm done the series. I'm curious!

I just started reading The Gathering by Anne Enright since it's due back at the library soon and I can't renew. It's not bad so far. I've seen a lot of negative reviews, but I'm interested enough in Liam's secret to keep reading.

Just finished Kids Say the Darndest Things by Art Linkletter. A reprint, and still as fresh and funny.
Listening to the audiobook The Masterharper of Pern by Anne McCaffery; makes me want to re-read all the Pern books.
Also reading The Crass Menagerie by Stephen Pastis, the latest Pearls Before Swine collection.
Still trying to read Hawaii by James Michenerbut get distracted too easily.

>246 shootingstarr, patience will be rewarded. At least, I hope that's what you'll think when you get The Shadow of the Wind at last.

dchaikin...the graph...a thing of beauty and a fascinating informational demonstration that *conversation lives* in cyberworld! More posts, it seems to me (based on some delving into the dormant threads), are now chats about books and not simply announcements of acquisitions or the like. Particularly in this series of "What you're reading the week of" threads, it seems, we tend to go back and forth a good bit. A good many other fora have requests for advice or opinions, then someone responds with the required info/opinion, then the whole thing just winds down. The week-of threads seem to attract a lot of familiar faces and still entice new commentators on the passing scene.

It's a wonderful thing. Thanks for making the upward trend visible. It heartens this viewer.

>241 keren, welcome back! Go anywhere fun?

*waves hidy* at momom, mckait (who should read her email), booklady, and Cariola (who should put a compress on her eyes after what she's been through)

I had dinner with a friend this evening, and she asked me an interesting question: How many books have you read in your lifetime? (She gave me one, too, but that's in a different thread.)

I pondered. I guess I've averaged a book a week since I got my first very-own book in September 1966. Le's be tidy and say that's 42 years at a book a week. That's 2184 books. That simply cannot be right! So, since I am not an anal-retentive geek, what I wonder aloud is: What method should one use to guesstimate the approximate lifetime intake of reading material? Reading speeds vary over time and with available hours, some periods of life (early childhood of one's children) are inimical to readiing, I just don't have the patience to figure out a reasonably accurate formula for this.

Help, please?

Teresa, I'll bet you love Jamaica Inn--I sure did. Meant to go on and read more of hers, but have not. Promises to myself not always kept.

bettyjo: enjoy The Lace Reader...it's simply magical.

Started the Amazing Adventures of Cavalier & Clay a day or two ago. Great book, fast read, loving it. The book combines comics, WWII history, and stage magic, all things I love.

I'm also working on Patience and Fortitude the second book in a trilogy about bibliophilia and books. This one has a focus on libraries and librarians.

I've got less than 100 pages to go in A History of God and its been an enligteninng read. Armstrong is probably one of my favorite comparative religion authors, and this is one of her most well known books, which, having read a few of her other works I hadn't read yet, so kind of felt I was required to. Everyone should read this book, for many reasons. One being that reading the bible literally is a fairly recent historical developement. When Jesus was around, and even before then, the bible and Koran weren't read as literal history. They were never meant to be literal history from waht we can tell.

I just finished The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror #13 edited by Stephen Jones. Another enjoyable horror anthology!

I just finished The Corrections which, while very good needed to be about 150 pages shorter than it was. Now I'm starting on Everything is Illuminated and I really hope it lives up to the hype.

#253 I'm loving Jamaica Inn, find it difficult to put down to feed the kids. You should read Rebecca, it's fantastic.

*waiting to see what bettyjo says about Lace*

richard...I cannot even imagine figuring that out. There have been weekends I have read 5 books. Weeks I have read 10. Other weeks I have read one or (gasp) none. I would have to answer "lots" to that question.

0bazooka0-hope you enjoy Everything is Illuminated. I thought it was good, but I was underwhelmed...probably because of all the hype.

Reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon....enjoying it very much so far

>247: KinnicChick
imo, Ann Patchett's reputation was earned with Bel Canto, though I haven't been disappointed in anything else of hers.

>257: 0bazooka0
haha, if you had the fortitude to get through The Corrections, you'll have no problem with Everything is Illuminated, which has just one aspect (the Trachimbrod narrative) that I thought required some readerly elbow grease. Otherwise, it's hilarious and heartbreaking and absolutely original, enjoy.

I finished Nora Roberts' Blood Brothers, read Gorgeous Carat Volume 4 and started Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey last night.

Just finished and reviewed Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

http://skrishnasbooks.blogspot.com/2008/...

What a great graph you have made dchaikin!!
Very interesting.
I am new here and there is so many many interesting things here. I am having trouble finding time to read now.

Jacqueline

What a great first novel for Diane Setterfield I do hope that she decides to write more. Lots more would be nice.

Jacqueline

#265 welcome callmejacx! That's the bizarre thing about LT - the more addicted one gets, the less time one actually has to read books.

#253 I agree with Teresa40. If you are enjoying Jamaica Inn, you will love Rebecca. It's her masterpiece.

The Handmaid's Tale and The Complete Science Fiction Treasurey of H. G. Wells. I don't know if I'll ever finish the first book as it is so depressing for me, I had to stop midway in.

I am still working on Savage Detectives. I really like it, but I have so many other library books that are due back sooner. I may end up buying this one. Is it just me, or does this book remind anyone else of Kerouac con salsa?

I have also started another - Darkmans. I am about 130 pages in, still have no real idea what it is about, and I love this one. Some of these characters are frighteningly familiar. One scene rankled me especially. The son is going through a stack of his father's books and tossing them aside willy nilly. He even took a bookmark out and kept it. The whole time I'm thinking to myself, dude, you better put those back the way they were or your dad is going to be really pissed. At that point, I knew you all would understand.

I'm indecisive on my reading today and yesterday. Finished Starbook and A Wild Haruki Chase. Read a couple of short stories by Isak Dinesen, from Winter's Tales. I read part of Alan Lightman's Einstein's Dreams. And I'm staring at Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon, The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe, and A Pale View of the Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro, but not committing to any of them yet. My concentration is a little shot this week.

So far I'm about 50 pages into Everything is Illuminated, the "officious bitch" part made me laugh out loud on the bus. I'm enjoying it so far.

Many years ago, I bought Boy's Life by Robert McCammon but never read it. I either ended up giving it away or misplaced it. I was in Borders this past weekend and saw it in the "Summer Reading" section where they have the books that students have to read over the summer. I thought to myself, "they are making the high school students read that book?...hmmm maybe I missed out on something," so I grabbed a copy of it. Now I cannot put it down! Hands down, one of the best books I have ever read. I could kick myself now for not having read it years ago when I had my original copy.

Loved, loved, loved Remains of the Day! Currently reading When we were Orphans by the same author.
-sadiedesimone

Started The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini this morning. I'm looking forward to getting into the story. I plan to read the books that follow. Anyone a fan of the series? Have a favorite book within the series?

#273 sadiesimone I just read Remains of the Day and loved it too. I'll be reading Never Let me Go in a few days!

#272 - Oh, I just picked up Boy's Life this month in the used book bargain bin! I just shoved it in with the other "someday" TBR paperbacks but now it is moving up. Thanks for the enthusiasm.

#273> I enjoyed Remains of the Day and thought Never Let Me Go was fantastic! Enjoy!

From the "most popular books", it seems that lots of the LibraryThingers are quite young -- that is, reading Harry Potter and other YA books. I'm in my late 60s and mostly read lierary works or classics as well as recent best sellers, but no Danielle Steele and other formula writers of that ilk. Wish books could be weighted on LT so we could find like-minded people to share thoughts, reviews, and book recommendations.

Happy reading, whatever turns your pages!
sadiedesimone

>278 sadiedesimone, welcome to LibraryThing! If your experience is at all like mine, after some time spent in groups like this one, you will begin to identify LT members whose interests seem similar to yours. You might have a look at the profiles of those members, and see what other groups they participate in. There are many, many groups on LT, and there's bound to be some that are focused on areas of interest to you, with "like-minded" members. From there your TBR (to-be-read) stack will become a pile, and then a mountain!

Message edited by its author, Jul 18, 2008, 1:13pm.

My wonderful wife knows that I love reading old histories (that is, histories and biographies written several decades ago). So for our anniversary in May, she bought me (along with a cool The Wire sweatshirt) this book:

John Paul Jones: Father of the American Navy by Valentine Thomson.

The book has a copyright date of 1939 and a publishing date of 1942. I can't wait to dig in. Not only am I the only LTer with this book, but I have the only listing for this author. I ran a google search and couldn't find any biographical info, although Amazon does list several other books by him(?).

Oh lord. I tried (really I did!) to stay out of the Kazuo Ishiguro lovefest going on, but I can't. Medellia12, A Pale View of Hills is one of my favorite Ishiguro novels, but really every single book he wrote is fantastic. Remains of the Day and An Artist of the Floating World are my two favorites (I can't pick). Everyone mentions Remains and Never Let Me Go, and I feel that Artist is neglected. So all you who loved Remains, go put Artist on your TBR pile right now!

I just finished The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan. Not the best book I've read this year, not the worst. Next up, Love by Toni Morrison.

And I've officially jumped on the The Shadow of the Wind bandwagon and have added it to my wishlist. You guys are hard on the old pocketbook!

#281 jfetting: ...And now I'm being dragged into the lovefest as well. :) I agree re: An Artist. It's my second favorite, very closely behind The Remains of the Day. Never Let Me Go is third on my list of three, but still good, methinks.

Has anyone here read The Unconsoled? I realize it's a stylistic departure for him. I've been putting off reading it for a while (a year? two?), because I never feel like I have the time & energy necessary to tackle it.

I've actually been putting off reading The Unconsoled because it's the only one I haven't read, and I am resisting the idea of having no Ishiguro novels left to read. I like knowing that if all else fails, if I just can't find a book to get into, I still have The Unconsoled out there waiting for me.

This is my first posting here - I too read literary fiction, other fiction, memoirs (not usually of famous people) - This week I just finished "All Saints" by Liam Callanhan for a monthly reading group. I didn't love it - neither did 8 of the 9 women there, but it did provide for some interesting discussions. I am currently reading "A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers" by a Chinese writer whose name I don't have on hand at the moment. It is not really a dictionary, but a novel set as journal entries by a Chinese student in London who is trying to learn the language. It's different, but enjoyable.

jfetting: I have a few minutes in my day and usually I go and read a page or two. Not now... here I am checking to see if I have any messages on my library thing. I don't believe it. I just might be addicted already. At least, this addiction don't touch my wallet.

#285: Welcome! A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers was written by Xiaolu Guo. I read it last year and thought it was pretty good.

# 286 Jacqueline: if this addiction doesn't touch your wallet you are one lucky girl.

>288,

True that. I have spent more money on books since joining LT than I ever have before.

jfetting; I could be spending useless time playing free online poker or spend time here learning about what is out there.

I have so many books that I have gotten over the years. I will never be able to read them all in my life time but it sure is fun trying.

It is nice to find out who has read your books and what their views on the book were. It is great meeting new people and exchanging thoughts.

I love this place.

Jacqueline

#290, Indeed, Jacqueline. I have a lot of really odd or obscure books that I have picked up over the years and it's so fun to see how many other people on this site have them.

FicusFan, #230, I found Climbing the Mango Trees charming.

I finished A Thousand Splendid Suns this morning, and loved it! I thought it was even better than The Kite Runner. My review is In the Shadow of Mt. TBR.

well, back to One More Year by Sana Krasikov

I just finished Passage by Connie Willis *****

I am going to read Lincoln's Dreams by the same author next.

0bazooka0: I haven't been on the computer for this amount of time for years and years. Not only do I have lots of books that I have picked up over the ,but I just met up with an old friend that I haven't seen in over 25 years and guess what she has been doing? Lending me her books. I will never ever get to my books. lol

Jacqueline

I just finished up The Long Week-End: A Social History of Great Britain, 1918-1939 by Robert Graves and Alan Hodge. I found it quite good and filled with some wonderfully odd tidbits. I'm now going to finish My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier. It's my first Du Maurier, which is rather fun.

I finished my Tanya Huff earlier this evening and am gearing up to start The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett.

#292: rebeccanyc:

Climbing the Mango Trees

It was charming, but rather pointless as far as I can tell. I finished it, and I had never heard of Madhur Jaffrey before, and still know nothing about her. I have no idea why she wrote this book, and why anyone would care ?

Her description of growing up, her family, food and the short history of India and her family were interesting, but it wasn't enough. As she grows the stories and details become less and less. She was fine talking about childhood things, but she seemed not to want to talk about the young adult she was, or the grown up she has become. She also alludes to the dire influences of the happy-go-lucky uncle, and after his death the consequences between their two families, but there are no examples or details.

The book ends with her in her early 20s, with a scholarship to drama school in the UK. It tells nothing about her adulthood, her education or adventures in the west, who she is in terms of being famous enough to get this book published, her marriage (how they met, who he is), and why she is living in the west, and not India.

On top of that I have a horror of foreign food (I was forced to eat it growing up overseas) and so have no interest in the recipes. So the final chapter was a waste of time as far as I was concerned.

This was a book that I read for a RL book group, obviously not my choice. The writing was good, and the style chatty, but to me it was empty. Her childhood was a good start, but its like 1/3 of a book and the other 2/3 (young adulthood, current day) are missing.

Not sure what I will read next.

I have decided to start Bone Song by John Meaney. I got the PB from the UK, and its been a while since I read SF/Horror. I still have a mystery to read for another RL book group, but I had to order it, and it hasn't come in yet.

0bazooka0: Just finished Sleep Tight by Anne Frasier minutes ago. My friend had lent this book to me. Every book that she has given me has been really good.
This book was hard to put down. In places it was unbelievable but still grabbed your attention. You weren't left wondering once you closed the book. You were left with the answers.
This might have been the first book I have read by Anne Frasier. I would certainly read on of hers again.

Going to start, a book I have had for years, A Stranger in the House by Gloria Murphy.

Jacqueline

#274 lasperschlager
I loved the Quilters of Elm Creek series...it does have a few books that aren't in line with the main story line, but they are interesting 'historical' based ones..I don't have a favorite...but love them all. Very easy to read and I have to have the next one ready to read after I finish one! I think I still need to read the last 2 still...

Enjoy!!

I finished Bone Song. It was very good, and very dark. Set on an alternate world where the bones of the dead are used to fuel society. And the bones have memories ....

The main character is a police detective Donal Riordan who has been assigned to keep a famous diva alive, while she visits the city of Tristopolis. There is a wave of crime where famous artists are killed and their bodies stolen for the bones, and the artistic visions they contain.

Only issue is the ending where Meaney chickens out and kills off Riordan's love interest who is also his boss. Very old fashioned.

This book is the start of a series, and I am looking forward to the next book going into mmpb.

I think I will now read Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich.

Message edited by its author, Jul 19, 2008, 10:56pm.

#293 Very much looking forward to A Thousand Splendid Suns after reading this. (Have been anyway because I loved The Kite Runner too, but this gives me a new kick in the pants...) Have been wondering 'what next' since finishing The Magician's Assistant this afternoon (LOVED it). So I guess that's next.

#298, FicusFan, Sorry you didn't enjoy Climbing the Mango Trees. I'm a little surprised you read it at all if you didn't know who Madhur Jaffrey is (noted Indian cookbook writer and film star) and don't like food from other countries, but I guess you had to for your book group. I've read a lot of Indian novels, love Indian food, and have one of her cookbooks, so I'm sure that made the book intrinsically more interesting for me. As far as only dealing with her childhood, it's a memoir of a world that no longer exists, not a full autobiography.

Just started The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski.

Message edited by its author, Jul 20, 2008, 10:58am.

sadiedesimone, I think Remains of the Day is brilliant. When we were Orphans is a huge disappointment by comparison. I hadn't a clue what the author was on about in this confusing book. Nevetheless, I hope you find something to enjoy in it. I would rather re-read Remains of the Day than read anything else by Kazuo Ishiguro.

I am currently reading (The First Rumpole Omnibus) by John Mortimer. "A fruity, foxy masterpiece, defender of our wilting faith in mankind." Absolutely brilliant, hugely enjoyable. The other book I am currently reading is (Prayer) Finding the Hearts True Home by Richard Foster.
Everything you need to know about prayer. A brilliant exposition by someone who has lived it. I have learnt a lot from this book and this author. An extremely helpful guide to an important, (to me!) necessary way of living.

#304 Rebeccanyc

None of the worlds of our childhood exist anymore. Time marches on everywhere.

I realize that it said it was childhood memoir, but it had no ending, it just stopped rather awkwardly and if you don't know who she is, the book never explains. Also, if you become involved you want to know more, and since she is older than 20, there is more, but she isn't telling. For me it was a very poor concept.

Have no idea why the person who picked it for the group, did so. Will be interesting to hear when the group meets.

I have lots of books set in India but they are almost all set during/about the Raj.

I finished Lean Mean Thirteen. Very funny. Evanovich provides comfy fun. Not a lot changes with the characters and the overall story arc. That bothers some, but for me she keeps it fresh enough so that I keep coming back for more. Can't wait for #14 to go into paper.

Trying to decide what to read next.

304: rebeccanyc, I read Brick Lane by Monica Ali and that got me started on Indian writers. I've been enjoying many books by Kiran Desai, Marsha Mehran, Jhumpa Lahiri, V.S. Naipal and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.

The book that I enjoyed most that was written about India was Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts.

I just finished reading The Mermaid's Chair by Sue Monk Kidd and am just starting on My Father's Secret War by Lucinda Franks.

I got a bunch of books that had recently piqued my interest, and did a little test reading to decide what to start next. I also looked at the cover and the print inside in trying to pick the next book. One of the luxuries of having an actual library in the house. :)

my possible options:

Ovid by David Wishart, poor cover but I like the Felony & Mayhem book style. Unfortunately, I am very tired today and couldn't bear the thought of trying to keep Augustus and Livia's family straight.

The Horse Coin by David Wishart, love the cover, but inside the type is tiny, not good on my tired eyes.

Love and Other Near Death Experiences by Mil Millington, cover is so-so. I just finished a humorous book, and I am afraid it won't live up to his first book
Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About, so I decided to defer.

The Ottoman Cage by Barbara Nadel, good cover, and has the Felony & Mayhem style. Started test reading and it was one of the finalists.

Ratking by Michael Dibdin, poor cover, but I did a test read and it too was one of the finalists.

The Gentle Axe by R.N. Morris, interesting cover. Did a test read, but was not thrilled about another book set in 1860s (Russia) after The Meaning of Night. Too much work for my tired brain.

Bangkok Haunts by John Burdett, good cover, but just wasn't in the mood for this book, and didn't want to force it and end up disliking the book.

Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea, cover was OK, but inside the book was odd. It starts in email format, with terminal hipness, then it goes into short story format.

Lucifer's Shadow by David Hewson, loved the cover, and it was set in Venice (another love), and it has a modern/historical thread. Did a test read, and have just kept going. So Lucifer's Shadow is the winner. It is not in his Nic Costa series.

Message edited by its author, Jul 20, 2008, 9:06pm.

I'm reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to understanding Islam, nice work in a nice serie.

I just finished The Boys from Brazil, an excellent thriller by Ira Levin. Highly under-appreciated I think. I don't usually go for thrillers, but this book is really a one of a kind, as I feel most of the work of Ira Levin is (he wrote Sliver, Rosemary's Baby and The Stepford Wives among other things). A short excerpt:

The man in white put his brandy snifter aside. 'Let's get down to business now, boys.' Tipping his head, he lowered his glasses and looked at the men. They faced him attentively, cigars poised. Silence took the room. 'You know what you're going to do, ' the man in white said. 'Ninety-four men have to die on or near certain dates in the next two and a half years... Their deaths are the final step in an operation to which I and the leaders of the Organization have devoted many years...The hope and destiny of the Aryan race lie in the balance.

I am reading The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn. I started it last night. I would have finished it tonight at work... but I grabbed the wrong one on the way out of the house.

I'm now reading Spanish Dagger by Susan Wittig Albert.... and I'm learning alot about the yucca plant in the process. It's not as riveting as some of other SWA books I've read in the past ... not sure if it's just the mood I'm in today (rather stressed because I'm leaving for Tokyo on Sunday for a week) or if maybe I've just been reading more mysteries than usual of late, and am a little tired of the genre, and need to move on to something else.