Doesn't look like we have one yet for this month, so here goes...

I'm still working my way through Heat, but I needed a break last weekend so I read The Madonnas of Leningrad. I have now moved on to Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, which I am really enjoying so far, despite not being overly excited about it at first (it was a gift from a close biblioholic friend, so I figured I'd trust her judgment).

I also have Paper Towns and The Book of Lost Things from the library, so they'll be coming up soon...

*edited to fix touchstone*

Message edited by its author, Apr 1, 2009, 8:54pm.

I'm having a short break from The Madonna's of Leningrad, and I've started on Bloodsucking fiends.

I started the month with something quick and poetry related. Hate That Cat, which doesn't seem to touchstone but is the sequel to Love That Dog.

I am in the middle of The Book of Lost Things and I'm really liking it!

I just read The Other Side of the Island in one evening. One of those can't-put-it-down books. I'm working on The Other End of the Leash, but tend to go slowly with non-fiction, so I'll probably pick up something else too.

I just finished the audiobook of These Is My Words. I am still reading Africa Explored.

I have Love that Dog, JP! But I haven't read it yet even though it's been on the shelf for several years now. I'll have to make a point to get to it now!

#5 - Would you say you need some Other book to read? ;)

I finished March with The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde which was overall delightful! Having seen the recent movie version, I couldn't picture Algernon as anyone other than Rupert Everett but that wasn't entirely a bad thing. :)

Now I'm reading Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. A good friend recommended it and so far it's pretty good!

#8 -- I didn't even notice that! Actually, I'm now also reading Sucks To Be Me, another lighthearted, not particularly memorable teen vampire novel (they are myriad).

I've just finished Blood Sucking Fiends and I'm about to start on You Suck.

no, You Suck!

You suck p~ and you're a towel.

Message edited by its author, Apr 2, 2009, 9:05pm.

I'm going to be flying to California at the end of the month. Including my layover, I'm going to be traveling for about 8 hours. I don't like flying and the best way to distract myself is to have a book that I can completely disappear into, get enveloped by the world. Like I do with Harry Potter, but I don't want to bring Harry because I reread those in July. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Bib, have you read Inkheart yet? I dissapeared into that one and it was really good... I also thought the same of te Vampire Academy series...

I am almost finished with inkspell I want to finish it today but I have to go to work. I am going to read it on my break though. But now I will have to go buy Inkdeath lol

13, Bib, I am the same way when I travel. I need an engrossing book. Before I have read the Artemis Fowl books, but this trip I just took I got really into Sea of Monsters, the sequel to The Lightening Thief. If you have read the series, Rick Riordan has a new puzzle series out that is supposed to be good, too.

Good luck!

#13 -- Have you read The Thief, Queen of Attolia, and King of Attolia yet? They are really engrossing, and the series starts out good and actually gets better as it goes along.

#15 -- If you're thinking of "The 39 Clues," I believe Riordan plotted it and wrote the first book, but other authors are writing the rest of the series. I'm hoping this means that he will be working on something more on the level of the Percy Jackson books -- I liked The Maze of Bones, but wasn't blown away by it like I was the Percy Jackson series.

I actually like flying, but I still have to bring more reading material than I will ever need. I'll be looking for ideas in August, when I have a long flight.

#14: I'd forgotten about those, but I do want to read them...good possibility.
#15: I actually read that series last month, and then found out the last one comes out the day after I get back from my trip, which is what made me start thinking about this in the first place!
#16: I haven't read them and as soon as I hit submit on this post I'll go check out the descriptions.

Oh I love packing books for a trip! I always pack books first. Usually about 1 for each day I'll be gone -- just in case.

#17 re #14 Bib did you mean the Inkworld books or the Vampire Academy ones? Just curious because I'd be surprised if you haven't read Inkheart.

have you tried The Name of the Wind yet?

#18: No, I haven't read any of the Inkworld books yet, and that's what I was talking about. I was extremely prejudiced against YA books for a long time and now I'm trying to play catch up.

#19: No, I've heard it's good, but I also know that fans are as rabid for his next one as I am for the next Song of Ice and Fire (because GRRM linked to Rothfuss' site to illustrate how he feels about the constant questions). I'm not sure if I can handle having another series of books where I have to wait to find out what happens!

Well supposedly Rothfuss' series is much more likely to STAY a trilogy. After following Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time closing on 20 years, not much fazes me anymore.

I'll probably wait till they're all available then!

I like the 39 Clues series, but that's the homeschooling mom in me. They are good for geography. I think they are a bit too fast a read for a plane trip. Only the first is by Rick Riordan. Different authors have been doing the other books.

Right now I'm reading another book from the series A Wicked History. This one is about Tomas de Torquemada. Again, reading this with the kids as part of history (we're doing the Middle Ages).

>#13: It's hard to say, bib. LotR would probably do it for me. Some folks feel that way about the Jasper Fford books.

I'm giving The Secret Agent a break and have started Bloodsucking Fiends.

Bib, maybe you could bring a mystery (a favorite Amelia Peabody, perhaps?). When I went on my plane trip, I brought The Moving Finger, by Agatha Christie, and a collection of short stories, Unexpected Magic, by Diana Wynne Jones. I liked the short stories that she wrote.
I think if you just bring a thick book (or a couple of medium-ish books) that you really really like, you should be OK.

Oh! I also recommend The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, and The King of Attolia, like foggi wrote in #16. If you bring all three, you might even have enough reading material for the trip back.

I'm almost done with The Women by Boyle, but I'm not sure what I'll read next. Perhaps I should go back to Jasper Fforde. I have the 4th book on my TBR.

Re: Bel Canto, I LOVED that book. It's so weird, with great characters.

LG, Bel Canto is on of my all time favorites. I am glad you liked it.

Now that I have finally seen the movie for Twilight I am breaking down and reading the online version of Midnight Sun. I like it so far.

I once took The Brothers Karamazov on a plane ride. Talk about rowdy!

I just finished Ptolemy's Gate. Again. Such a wonderful book!

Compski, I find Midnight Sun far more engaging than Twilight. If I'm feeling super-nerdy, I'll compare grimaces and glances in Twilight to their meanings in Midnight Sun. Pathetic, I know. But nonetheless entertaining.

lefty, I'm with you on liking Edward's POV better/more compelling than Bella's. I really hope Stephanie decides to finish it!

I am still thoroughly enjoying Snow Flower and the Secret Fan!

#31 - I loved Snowflower and the Secret Fan. I'm so glad you're enjoying it too.

My reading slup seems to be over, and I am now powering through Garp, as well as reading the lonely planet guide to Cambodia, Vietnam and the Lower Mekong Valley, and Footprint on Borneo. Hurrah!

I did like Edward's point of view better, but even his self-righteous denial got kind of old. I liked that we saw more of his siblings, especially Alice and Emmett.

I finished rereading CoS this morning. When I had finished Sea of Monsters on my trip I picked up my backup book Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I will finish that now. It will be a fast read!

I finished Inkspell last night and loved it but then end made me cry. I can't wait to get Inkdeath to find out what happens but unfortunately I have to wait until this weekend hen I get paid. So until then I am planning on reading a comfort book probably Hp or one of my other recent favorites.

#33 Compski, I loved seeing more of Alice and Emmett.

#34 Bella, I know what you mean with the ending of Inkspell! But it was wonderful! I know I've said this before, but Dustfinger is one of my favorite characters ever. Enjoy Inkdeath!

ETA: Oh yeah! And I am currently rereading His Majesty's Dragon. I just put Wolf Brother on hold at the library to hopefully kick me out of this rereading phase. I'm going on 5 rereads in a row.

Message edited by its author, Apr 6, 2009, 8:01am.

I just finished with Barchester Towers. Now I have to do some actual work before I figure out what my next gutenberg book will be.

What did you think of it, biblioholic?

yeah, bib, did you like it? What did you think of old Mrs. Proudie? And Slope! And Maddy!

I started Something Rotten last night. I love Evade the Question Time.

I liked it quite a bit. I find that the person I consistently wanted to strangle was the archdeacon. While I wouldn't say that I "liked" any of the antagonists, they certainly did their jobs, and I enjoyed them while they did it. Madeline in particular managed to be simultaneously lovable and onerous! Mr. Slope was described so well that any time anyone touched him or he touched anyone, I cringed in sympathy for the victim. As for Mrs. Proudie, well, she's quite interesting, isn't she? If she lived today, I can't decide if she would do well for herself, or manage to alienate herself into oblivion!

You know, the BBC did a production and Alan Rickman played Slope. So, there you are. I have to rent that some day.

Mrs. Proudie is the quintessential Church Lady, I'm thinking.

Oh, I didn't know about the BBC version! Now I have to see if the library has it.

I just checked and found it, but it's called Barchester Chronicles.

I just finished Bel Canto and I did like it a lot. Without spoiling anything, the ending was weird for me. I pretty much knew what would happen but it was so quick with so little denouement that I think I stared at the final page for a full minute before I realized the book was over. Definitely a great character book, though - and a wonderful opening sentence too: "When the lights went off the accompanist kissed her."

I'm reading Wolf-Speaker right now, and I finished Wild Magic 2 night ago. I think I'll go to the library on Wednesday to get out Emperor Mage.

Finished Snow Flower and the Secret Fan yesterday over breakfast. Wonderful, thought-provoking, at times disturbing read - highly recommend.

Yesterday afternoon I started The Book of Lost Things, thanks to the multiple references by LT/HE folks. So far, so good!

#40-42: I watched the BBC Barchester Chronicles last spring and really enjoyed it. It's funny to see such a young Rickman, after watching a lot of his more recent stuff.

Finished Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It was funny, but I really am not a big fan of middle school.

Someone mentioned Something Rotten and I thought some Thursday Next sounded pretty good. I just checked it out of the library.

I just started The Sweet Far Thing and it's really good so far, I can't wait to finish it. =)

I had been planning to reread the Thursday Next series this year until I found out book six won't come out until summer of 2010. :( I think I will still reread First Among Sequels this year.

I figured out why I'm not getting any reading done: My sister who moved in and is a reader is only reading from 1-5am after tiring me out during the day. This means war. Or an evil plan to get her anxious to read during the day. ;)

Well, I ended my reading slump by reading Watchmen. I really don't know about it. It was supposed to be one of the greatest graphic novels ever made, but I enjoyed the characters in V for Vendetta much much more than any of the characters in Watchmen. I think the book was just overhyped to me because it was still good, it's just that I almost felt let down.

Next up I'm going to be reading Naruto and Knights of the Old Republic as soon as my hold on the second one comes in. I might be reading them as early as tomorrow. I've just been on a graphic novel/Manga kick lately. Any suggestions?

I just finished The Dragon of Trelian and really enjoyed it. It was an ER book, the first in a series, apparently, and I'm looking forward to reading more.

#45 Grk, yay! another Book of Lost Things reader! :D I just have to celebrate every time someone else picks that one up.

#50 Espy, I loved the movie V for Vendetta and ignorant me didn't realize there was any book attached. I'll have to get that one!

#51 I had that one too, CM! I loved it.

My current gutenberg read is A Study in Scarlet.

I'm reading The Angry Hills because a friend from my mom lent it to me and I should give it back :S. So far the book is not my thing but it's fairly short so I may finish it today.Then I may read Chocolat and PoA.

I'm having trouble getting in to anything at the moment. I started Jellicoe Road . . . and then put it aside, started Cat Among the Pigeons: A Cat Royal Adventure . . . and put it aside, then I started The Good Neighbors: Kin . . . but I don't really feel compelled to read any more of it. I think I'm in a reading slump.

#55 I hate when that happens. Perhaps a reread is in order?

#55: Maybe a reread of HP may help? I was on a reading slump and a rereading of SS took me right out of it.

ETA: #56: Lg Jinx! :D

Message edited by its author, Apr 7, 2009, 11:29am.

It's a thought. . . . I may try that this evening, if I'm still not feeling like reading any of the things I've started.

foggi: That's the way I've been lately.
lg & Ron: I was thinking the same thing last night.

Ah that's hard foggi, I had a similar slump. I think it is broken now I am finding Miss Mole engaging enough to read when I should be reading research.

#50 - I had similar thoughts about Watchmen. Definitely overhyped for me. The only other graphic novel I've read lately is Neil Gaiman's Eternals. It's a very cool reimagining of Jack Kirby's original. The story is sort of weird but the art was great. I've also heard nothing but applause for George R. R. Martin's The Hedge Knight. I keep meaning to buy it but haven't done so yet.

I read The Hedge Knight ages ago and really enjoyed it. A bonus is that all the standards from the major houses in Song of Ice and Fire are in it, so you can see them as they're described...the Lion of Lannister, the Wolf of Stark, the Trout of Tulley, the Stag or Baratheon, etc.

I'm reading The Man from Krypton right now. It's a series of essays on Superman.

I just finished Animal Farm and now I'm reading The Girl With No Shadow (which is the sequel to Chocolat).

I did manage to finish off Cat Among the Pigeons this evening, so guess I have shaken off my slump. Oddly, I'm not in the mood for an HP reread, so I don't really know what I'll read next. I think I'm going to give up on Jellicoe Road, though -- I wanted to read it because it won the Printz award, but I'm just not making any headway; I can't keep the characters straight and I have no idea what's going on in the story.

I am trying to finish The science of Harry Potter before I read anything else. I take out a lot of books from the library during my lunch breaks. I'm given an hour for lunch, but it doesn't take me an hour to eat, so I end up with a dangerously large amount of time to browse.

Hi guys, I'm sorta new but I noticed the group talk. I just finished reading Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell and now I've begun reading aexander - Child Of A Dream. I wanted to read it because it looked like an interesting book and also it won some award, not sure whch one though but it is really quite neat.

Hi, SupaMaori! Welcome! Ninteen Eighty-Four, that's another one that I keep planning to read! I have too many books for so little time. :)

Welcome, SupaMaori! Feel free to jump in on our other threads, too. :-)

Hello SupaMaori! (hmm...that will need to be shortened)
Alexander-Child of a Dream looks interesting. I can't believe I missed that one when we were doing the ancients last year. I'll have to stick it in the ol' TBR pile.

*flings book to the top of a large pile, causing the pile to teeter precariously*

#67: Hello SupaMaori! Welcome to the Hogwarts Express! I read 1984 and really liked it and it freaked me out a little bit coz I could relate the situation in my country to the things happenning in the book :S. And what did you think of it?

Welcome SupaMaori! I don't think we have any New Zealanders yet, it's great to have you join us!

I finished Study in Scarlet yesterday, so I'll read Sign of Four today, I expect to finish it today as well. (Sherlock Holmes is really good for downtime at work!)

Welcome to the HE, SupaMaori! Would you prefer to be called "Supa" or "Maori" for short? We are all abbreviated since the group is unable to type names that are more than 5 letters. ;)

We can too.
See:
lefty
bib
Ron
jp
cat
Espy
Kirby
foggi
K
....oh Maybe you're right.

#73: Na-ah we can sure type names longer than 5 letters Leftyahsdjausiasd oops forget it :P

See? At first I put 5 just arbitrarily. Then I ran through names like you just did and realized it was true! :P~~

73- Or perhaps SupaM?

74- LOL

It's true! Remember for about two days people called me biblio, but that was 6 letters and it was quickly shortened to bib. Early on, MrA was even calling me "b".

So what does that say about me? You've always referred to me as 'readafew'...

of course my whole handle can be 'correctly' typed with one hand...

We could start calling you raf.

Well, we could call you raf, read, dafew, reada....

That's true. It's much easier to type a longer name when all the letters are grouped close together.

ETA: KIK! You read my mind, kirby.

Message edited by its author, Apr 8, 2009, 3:28pm.

hhmmmm
I guess I'm happy with 'readafew'...

I kind of like dafew.

So dafew, how's it going.

You know, dafew said the other day......

It kind of has a nice ring to it. ;)

Bless you

lol!

Readafew, you're right to be happy with your full name.

#67 SupaMaori:
Welcome to the Hogwarts Express!

#70 jp:
You'll want to be very careful! TBR piles are dangerous. Trust me. ;)

#73-78 kik

#79 readafew:
I think it goes without saying that we all love your username. Not even just your LT one. Your flickr and etsy accounts have perfect names, too!

I've decided it's time to read The Strain and go back to Persuasion later. I have a review due date coming up.

8)

Welcome to HE, SupaMaori! Your screen name reminds me of Super Mario.

No one's posted here since Wednesday?! Was everyone too busy this weekend to read?

My ER is here, so I'll probably start that this evening.

Ha, bib, those were my thoughts as well!

I finished Something Rotten, which I liked much better than the last Thursday Next novel, and started The Manual of Detection, which is a surrealistic noir whodunnit. Kind of fun so far.

I read Breaking Dawn and finished it on Saturday. I'm starting The Strain today and am bringing The City of Ember to work.

Edited for a dead touchstone.
Edited for unreviveable (invented a word, says spell check) dead touchstone.

Message edited by its author, Apr 13, 2009, 1:07pm.

Started Ender in Exile this weekend and am about halfway done.

>#79: phew?

>#78: That reminds me of what Faith used to call Buffy.

#93: Five by five

I finished Girl With No Shadow this weekend and just read a collection of short stories called Krik? Krak! by an author from Haiti. Both were pretty good reads!

Now I'm going to copy Kerian (#91) and start The Strain - which I wanted to get but missed out on from the ER program but happily found in a bag of ARCs that my librarian Aunt thought I might enjoy. :)

#94 I never understood what the HECK that was supposed to mean. Annoying.

I finished The Helen Keller Story on Sunday and now I'm reading The Book of Lost Things. Really good so far!

>#96: I researched that at one time, because they said it in Aliens II as well. It's supposedly in relation to radio signals, where the strength & clarity of the signal is measured from 1-5. So a 5 (strength) x 5 (clarity) signal is basically "loud and clear". If that is true, the way Faith used it still doesn't make much sense. But then, Whedon does like to create his own slang anyway.

...what was this thread about again?

oh yeah. I'm still reading The Secret Agent, i've almost finished but i'm kinda stalled. I also started Bloodsucking Fiends, so i guess that and You Suck will be my next two reads. When i'm not reading Twilight out loud, of course. *rolls eyes*

#96/98: Blargh, I meant to look it up in Slayer Slang last night, but I forgot. I'll email myself tonight...see if there's a different reasoning in there.

Yeah, sometimes the Whedonisms work and sometimes they just lay flat. Still, at least he's original.

Not loving Dollhouse, tho. I'm trying, but it's missing something for me.

Yeah, I watched about the first 3 episodes of Dollhouse and it just didn't feel like Joss. I've always found Eliza Dushku a bit grating, so that might be part of it. I should try to watch a bit more, I didn't really give it a fair shake with only 3 episodes...

I'm really liking Dollhouse. Things are starting to unfold a little and i'm starting to see where they're going and I'm really getting into it.

Hooray! I remembered to look. Here's what Slayer Slang has to say about the term 5X5:

...David Greenwalt undoubtedly borrowed five-by-five, in the sense, 'good, satisfied' (metaphorically the dimensions of square 'fine, in agreement, in accord', as in "Everything's square" or "It's all right, we're square"), from well-established American slang: the Historical Dictionary of American Slang records the term from the 1940s, as an item of U.S. military slang, and the dictionary's most recent citation for the word is dated 1983, suggesting that, though infrequently, speakers continue to use it.

On a side note, for those as geeky as me, this book is awesome! It's pretty academic but also very readable.

Message edited by its author, Apr 15, 2009, 5:58pm.

Grumble, grumble Doll House isn't playing here yet.

Thanks, bib, I think. ;-)

Hey, message me, we need to plan!

Note to MsD re: Dollhouse: the first 5-6 episodes are formulaic and non-Whedon-y. Don't judge Dollhouse by them. It gets better, but the jury's still out for me. There are a lot of pretty people in it, tho, which helps.

Do you get Hulu MsD? That's how my husband has been watching Dollhouse.

Hulu is blocked to Australia still. I'll have to see if I can buy it.

I agree that "square" is a well-established slang term, usually used in the sense of "even". But i'm struggling to accept the leap from "five-by-five" to "square". I'm going to petulantly stick by my explanation :P~

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_by_fiv...

i am currently readin The Kent Family Chronicles by John jakes it is an amazing series and i recommend it to everyone oveer the age of 16 of course

Just finished my ER book, Press Pause Before You Eat and began a reread of the book. Listening to Deathly Hallows, as well.

Bought two new books today. The Reader and Company of Liars. Not gonna read either yet though. Just nice to have new ones!

I'm reading The boy in the striped pyjamas .
So sutil,i'm liking it... :)

I finished Man's Search for Meaning and I'm just about done with The Sea for Breakfast.

I'm rereading Just Listen for a book group. I'm almost finished with it, so the next thing I'll probably be reading is The Truth About Forever, also for the book group.

I finished The Manual of Detection which was ok I guess, and started The Eustace Diamonds. I love Trollope!

Cat I loved The Truth about Forever when i read it I hope you enjoy!

I am still working on Kiss the Girls but I Have also decided to read Living Wicca

I started Wolf Brother but I'm not sure if I want to finish it. I've been reading Midnight is a Place, which just caught my eye in the library because of the title and I really like it so far.

I finished reading My ER book, The Strain and am going to read The History of Now next.

K, so you're reading History of Now now?

and was The Strain a strain?

Just because people kept losing The Book of Lost Things!

That reminds me, our local bookseller has a monthly evening book group. My core exercise class meets those nights, but I can't exercise this week because of my leg. Guess what book they are going to talk about Tuesday. Now if I can just find it.

I had a hard time reading The Invisible Man because it kept disappearing.

ROFL!

#120 lefty:
Not exactly now now, but yes, I am reading The History of Now now. Now isn't that something. ;)

#121 MrA:
Of my sense of safety, yes! It was quite a scary book - chilling and the very food of nightmares. :P

#122 compski:
Good luck finding it!

By the by, something I found interesting a while back is a book my mother was reading, Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants. The cover reveals part of what I immediately knew to be New York. I picked out Central Park where some of us were together and thought this book cover a little creepy/funny. This book happens to be highly recommended by the authors of The Strain! I haven't told my mother yet but am about it. The coincidence!

Edited to end the crazy italics.

Message edited by its author, Apr 19, 2009, 9:32pm.

I read The Ruby Key over the weekend, and it was wonderful! It's been sitting on my shelf for a year, and I tossed it in my bag when I left for the weekend. I'm glad I did! It's juvenile fantasy, with some really interesting world-building and good, believable young characters. It's the first in a trilogy . . . must go look to see if the next book is out yet. . . .

I also started Dingo by Charles de Lint, which I am enjoying (and will probably finish tonight, if I ever manage to get away from LT), and I listened to most of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (the Jim Dale version) while driving. I still prefer the voices in my head to the ones he does, but listening to someone else read it slows it down enough that I find myself thinking more about it than I usually do as I read it, if that makes sense. Unfortunately, I usually forget my "deep thoughts" before I get back to the computer to add them to the discussion threads.

I've finished reading Love and Other Natural Disasters, which was very interesting given the probable increase in this type of relationship because of the internet etc...

I'm tossing up between reading The Book Thief or Ender in Exile, but I was kind of holding onto Ender for a rainy day so to speak.

Edited to correct i b4 e

Message edited by its author, Apr 20, 2009, 7:56am.

I predict that she will read something completely different. My booky sense is tingling.

Finished The Book of Lost Things yesterday afternoon, and am still processing it. I enjoyed it, but in a disturbing, creepy way.

Next up is Paper Towns...

#125 foggi:
Ohh, please let us know what you think of Dingo! I haven't read it yet. :)

#124 - I finished The Strain and I was thinking that the book about Rats might actually be an interesting read. I tend to enjoy random nonfictional stuff like that. :)

Now I'm reading Gorillas in the Mist.

I finished The Old Man and Me and now I am reading Novel on Yellow Paper

I've FINALLY finished The World According to Garp! I feel the need for fanfares, confetti and perhaps a small parade.

I'm now reading Jason Donovan's autobiography becuase I know it won't take long or be too taxing on my brain. I'll then read a proper book. Sorry Jason, if you're reading...

I still haven't read it Nai!

Aw, thanks Maren! I did very much enjoy it, but my top Irvings are still The Cider House Rules and A Prayer for Owen Meany.

Here's your parade:


I had fully intended to finish The Sea of Monsters last night, but ended up with a really bad headache and couldn't concentrate. Hopefully mom will tag along tonight and decide to drive so I can read!

Message edited by its author, Apr 21, 2009, 2:20pm.

Wow! That's some parade! And I'm not ungrateful or anything, but I did only ask for a small one!! ;-)

kik! It did turn out a little large. You know how these things go. You invite your friends and the whole town shows up.

Kirby, if you want to make it smaller (please) at the end tack on "height="###"width="###" and then close off the command with the >. Try not to go over 500X500.

Adding to #138 -- even if you just add width="500" at the end of the command, it will automatically keep the correct proportions. Thanks!

Yay for LadyN!

I'm reading The Truth About Forever right now, which is pretty good. It reminds me a lot of Just Listen.
I've managed to let a whole lot of library books pile up that I need to read (surprising, I know!). I'm going to have plenty to read for quite a while. ;)

I don't know. I think it was more impressive the other way. Oh well. LadyN you can always remember that size. ;)

I'm now on page 216 of The History of Now and by the end of today should be able to say that I am now finished reading it. ;)

I finished One False Note, the 2nd in the 39 clues series. Now I'm reading Dune. It's another big book! I'm a little lost, but I'm hoping it will make more sense as I get into it.

141 - I do, I do! I remember it with great (in all senses) fondness!

I'm reading Chocolat.

#129 -- I liked Dingo -- didn't love it, but liked it. I thought it was a little predictable in spots. It was (this isn't a criticism, per se) pretty low-key for a De Lint book. It was a quick read, too; more of a novella than a novel.

Speaking of quick reads, I read Debbie Harry Sings in French yesterday. Another book that I liked, but didn't love. It's an interesting plot, but as one of the LT reviewers said, the voice isn't great -- the protagonist is a guy, but the author is a woman, and it isn't always convincing that the guy is speaking.

Now I'm reading I Know It's Over. It hasn't really grabbed me yet, but I'm only a couple chapters in so far.

I'm listening to A Wrinkle in Time in the car right now, since I finished SS and wanted something else to listen to. It's read by the author, which is really neat. Next up, I think I will listen to CoS, since SS put me in a Harry Potter mood.

I picked up 100 Cupboards at the library today. I've only read the first chapter, so I haven't formed an opinion yet. It looks interesting though! Great cover!

I finished Kiss the Girls. I am going to start reading Jack and Jill.

I finished The Truth About Forever (I loved it!) a couple of days before the book club meeting, so yesterday I had time to read The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets. I love the Enola Holmes mysteries, they are so much fun!

I just finished Across the Nightingale Floor, the first of the Tales of the Otori series. I kept running across a paperback copy of the prequel in the library and it sounded intriguing. However, I prefer to read things in publication order, and I was too lazy to put the first book on hold (yes, I was too lazy to type my library card number into the computer and click o.k.!). Finally I was at a different branch the other day and found the actual first book while browsing. I enjoyed it, and I'm glad I found another series to get into.

#150 - I read the whole Otori series in publication order (Across the Nightingale Floor was printed first) and I think the prequel (Heaven's Net is Wide) actually works best as the final book in the series. But whatever order you read them in hope you're enjoying them!

#146 - I'm reading I Know It's Over....but I'm only a couple chapters in so far. Did anyone else think that's a pretty funny statement?

I'm still reading Gorillas in the Mist but I might have to read another book simultaneously because it's making me kind of sad.

Message edited by its author, Apr 23, 2009, 11:18pm.

#151 -- LOL! I guess that was kinda funny. But now it really is over . . . meh, teenage angst. For those who like that sort of thing, that is the sort of thing they like. I think I need to read some nice juvenile fantasy for a while -- all of these teen problem novels are making me a bit depressed.

Foggi, have you heard of 100 Cupboards? I'm a bit farther in now and I think you would probably like it.

#153 -- I will have to take a look at that!

I finished up The Sea of Monsters yesterday afternoon. I liked it. Not as much as the 1st one, but it was still good. I really liked the last chapter. Opens up so many possibilities. I have the next book, but I made myself promise that I would read several other books that I have already started before I picked up a new book or a reread.

I set The Paradise War in my book basket. I stopped last time about chapter 5, so hopefully I can pick it back up tonight.

149 - I like that series too! It's a fun twist on the original.

I just finished The Warrior Heir last night. I loved it! I can't wait to read the next one.

Now I'm reading Lectures on Faith.

Cm, I loved Warrior Heir too! It's a fun series, though I didn't like the last one as much as the first two.

I finished 100 Cupboards tonight and it was really great! The only negative thing I have to say about it is that the main character's name was "Henry" and I kept reading it as "Harry." But that's my own fault for saturating my brain with HP. Probably doesn't help that I'm rereading SS right now too. ;)

Kirby, good luck not starting book 3! Titan's Curse is awesome! Though I need to make myself a little pact like that. I have 12 books started and, theoretically, still slowly going.

I picked up Ringside 1925, which at least is historical and therefore a change from all of the teenage angst, angst, angst. (I think I need an "Angst! Angst! Angst!" tag in LT, by the way.) I have lots of potentially good books waiting, but I keep picking up random things to read instead. Oh, well. I plan to hunker down and read this evening, and probably a good bit of tomorrow, as well.

Message edited by its author, Apr 25, 2009, 11:49pm.

I reread The Thief today, and next I will probably read Framed since it is due at the library very soon. After that I will reread The Queen of Attolia before it also has to go back to the library. I am slowly making my way through all the books I have piled up.

I finished Something Rotten and really liked it, but like most Thursday Next books I felt like everything was going in many directions. So many plots! I will have to read the next one during the summer, so I get through it faster and be less confused.

Last night I started my reread of Prisoner of Azkaban.

I finished my ER yesterday, though I haven't written my review yet. I started a reread of The Crocodile on the Sandbank this morning. Although Sherlock Holmes I've been reading on gutenberg has put me in a mood for the Emersons.

I read The Season last night -- it was like a very slow-moving regency romance novel. I liked it well enough, but it had a few odd anachronisms in the characters' speech that bugged me. For example, one character referred to something as being "more highly evolved" than something else . . . but, as the book was set in 1815, it seems a bit off for a character to make such a comment. It was a fun light read, but somebody needed to do a bit more fact-checking.

Next up I may read The Luxe, effectively saturating myself in frothy historical teen romance. I have a lot of things that I'd like to reread, too, so we'll see what wins out.

#151 el:
RE 146 What a title! :)

#156 cmbohn:
I'm glad you liked The Warrior Heir. Like lefty I really enjoyed it.

I'm still reading Chocolat and thought I would add that my 20-year-old sister made me pinky swear that I would read Dead Until Dark next.

Message edited by its author, Apr 26, 2009, 2:21pm.

My little pact didn't last too long. I am now about 3/5 of the way into City of Glass. Oh well. Maybe for the next book.

Now reading The Pluto Files and finding it really funny.

I did read The Luxe (all 433 pages of it, in one evening) and liked it a lot better than I thought I would. It gets pitched as "Gossip Girls meets historical fiction," but I found at least some of the characters likable, and I thought the writing was actually decent, so I'll probably continue the series.

I finished Framed and I'm reading Here Lies the Librarian. Both are set in family owned garages in small towns. Interesting.

I just finished Cocktails For Three (pretty standard fun British Chick Lit) and next up will either be The Red Tent or Tears of the Giraffe.

JP - Ellis Peters' book The Knocker on Death's Door also has a family owned garage in a small town. It's out of print, but a good story. Very suspenseful.

I decided to start The Red Tent because tons of people recommended it to me. I just started it last night and I'm already captivated. Very beautifully written so far!

Thanks cmbohn! I'll have to look for it. LT thinks I will love it. :o)

I'm still slogging my way through The Eustace Diamonds. It's the first time I can say that Trollope is boring me.

I'm listening to Chamber of Secrets in the car, and reading Pop Princess, which I'm finding not nearly as engaging as some of the stuff I've read lately. Right now it seems like I have a huge pile of things I want to read, a huge list of things I need or want to do, and not nearly enough time for everything.

Foggi, I so understand! And it makes me sad, for myself and for you!

I finished my reread of PS. Now I'm mostly reading History of Now and Secret Holocaust Diaries. I plan to start rereading HBP soon because I've been wanting to -- and hopefully I'll still have time to forget everything before the movie!

#170 - el, a great choice. I loved The Red Tent.

I have been reading a lot more lately than I was in the begining of the month. I just finished Jack and Jill which i thought was wonderful. I never saw the ending coming. I am starting Cat and Mouse as soon as I finish writing this lol...

I am reading The White Dragon by Anne McCaffery which i am told is very very good and i decided to try The Subtle Knife of the his dark materials series

Message edited by its author, Apr 30, 2009, 9:35pm.

I enjoyed that one (TWD), DK.

Have you read The Golden Compass yet? The Subtle Knife is the second book in the series, it will make a lot more sense if you read Compass first.

I finished Framed, which I really liked, and The Queen of Attolia. Isn't it amazing how you can reread a book, and it's still just as gripping as the first time you read it? Chapter 3 in The Queen of Attolia still leaves me out of breath when I finish it.

I have a few minutes before my mom comes for lunch, so I'm doing a little thread reading. I managed to make it through two books on my trip, Something Borrowed and Something Blue. I also read about 50 pages each of Outlander and He Knew He was Right, both of which I'm enjoying. However, either today (if I'm not completely knackered) or tomorrow I'll be buying The Last Olympian and everything else will go on hole until I get that read!

I finished Tears of the Giraffe this morning and I really need to pick up the rest of the series (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency) because McCall Smith's writing is truly delightful!

Next up is Forget About It and so far it's a really funny book.

I'm also beginning to think that I need to check out the Percy Jackson series... :)

ETA: (Oops! This was supposed to go in the May thread...)

Message edited by its author, May 5, 2009, 2:29pm.

I'm waiting for The Last Olympian. B&N just sent me an email that it shipped.

And now to figure out how to read it before the kids. Mwahahahahaha.

Ooooh, I got it today! Already finished! And it was SO DANG GOOD! But I won't say anything else. Except that it was SO DANG GOOD!

NO FAIR!!!!

Sorry. That was the four year old in me.

BTW, we're on the wrong What are you reading thread again. Unless...

cmbohn, did you post here on purpose thinking I wouldn't check and discover you read the book before me? :o)

I WANT MY BOOK!!!! *SCREAM*

Sorry. *pushes four year old self back into subconscious*

I'm going to join JP in a four-year-old tantrum now.

I want my book, too!!!!!

Hee hee hee!