Thought I would start this one up.

I confess that I've sort of put Crime and Punishment and Augustine's Confessions on the backburner for now. I'm a bit weary for such reading and spending my downtime watching Dr. Who. However, at work I can read light and entertaining books, so I just finished 84 Charing Cross Road, which I loved, loved, loved. Also reading my brand new copy of The Graveyard Book, which I've heard online, and Mexico One Plate at a Time by Rick Bayless. That last one is just for torture, since I don't seem to have the time or energy to cook anymore.

ETA: Oh, I almost forgot, I'm almost finished with The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which I am loving the writing, but hating what is happening in the story. I like Edwin Drood!

Message edited by its author, Jul 2, 2009, 2:39pm.

MrsLee, happy to hear you really enjoyed 84 Charing Cross Road which I was hoping to read this summer. And come to think of it, I've just finished listening to The Appeal, (not the best Grisham I've read, did not like the ending at all), and I was thinking of listening to The Graveyard Book next.

For now, I'm going to try and finish the non-fictional Monster of God and the fictional The Memoirs of Cleopatra. I started both of these a long while ago and need to get back to them.

Message edited by its author, Jul 2, 2009, 2:57pm.

I'm indulging in some summer reading and revisiting Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold.

I hope both of you enjoy 84 Charing Cross Road as much as I do; it's been one of my comfort books for years.

I'm halfway through John Adams by David McCullough. It's too hot to read such a complicated book right now, so it's sitting in the library staring reproachfully at me.

I'm also reading The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy by Maya Slater, my May ER book. It's good so far, but not riveting.

And because it was not riveting and I had birthday money to spend, I bought The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson and am about 70 pages in. It's quite good so far.

Message edited by its author, Jul 2, 2009, 4:44pm.

I am in the middle of Cyrano de Bergerac via Daily Lit, and a book by Henry B. Eyring, can't remember the title. I need to start Cry, the Beloved Country for my 999 challenge.

Oh, and I found Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at the library and had to read it right then and there. I love that play. I'm not sure what it is that I enjoy it so much, but I do love it.

I started Extraordinary Engines, ed. by Nick Gevers, last night. I'm about three stories in, and I quite like it so far.

I finished Naamah's Kiss last night. Loved it, even with the dragons (dragons tend to be a fantasy trope I steer clear of).
Today I read Love, Medicine by Louise Erdich. It was good but I didn't love it.

I'm reading Connie Willis's Fire Watch stories.

6 - *adds to wishlist*

Aside from textbooks, I'm reading All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris and Gil's All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez. With all the heavy textbook stuff, I think I deserve to read a little fluff. :)

#5, cmbohn, I saw Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead live in Winnipeg years and years ago with my grandmother and mom. I loved it so much I begged them to let me go back the next night. I saw it four nights in a row. I saw it again in Edmonton many years later and enjoyed it just as much. I've got the book, but haven't read it in ages, thanks for reminding me, that's one I should definitely re-read. I'd dearly love to see the play again.

I have never seen it live, but I really like the film version with Tim Roth.

I've never seen it done, live or on video. I'll have to look for the movie.

We watch it every few years. It's my favorite Gary Oldman movie.

GeorgiaDawn - Charlaine Harris is definitely fun and fluff. I like Sookie too.

warbreaker not completely hooked by this I'm surprised to say, the action doesn't stay with each character for very long, so I dont' really care about any of them at the moment. Totally innovative magic system again though, Brandon really is unequalled when it comes to inventing new ways to manipulate the world.

I enjoyed Warbreaker, but I agree the characters were less engaging. I thought the humour was a little lacking, too, like he was trying too hard.

Magic system again gets an A+, tho.

I actually thought the magic system was a bit lacking, too. The 'breath' thing is interesting, but he makes a big deal about color in the beginning and then it just sort of gets lost.

#14 karenmarie - I agree! Sookie is a great character. Harris, in my opinion, does a wonderful job of letting her personality show through her actions and little parenthetical comments to the reader every now and then.

I have not read Warbreaker, but I love everything else by Brandon Sanderson. I should add that to The List.

I finished Don Quixote (technically in June). This morning I finished The Morning Watch by James Agee which was lovely.

#11, 12, 13 W00T! I didn't know there was a movie!! Wow, that's something I'll be on the lookout for now. I do like Tim Roth and Gary Oldman. Thanks for mentioning it :-D

#2 sandragon - Be sure you listen to The Graveyard Book with Neil Gaiman reading it. Marvelous, enchanting, mesmerizing, all those.

#20 katylit - I didn't know there was a movie either! I added it to my Netflix queue.

#21 - MrsLee - I started listening to The Graveyard Book last night, read by Neil Gaiman. I don't much care for his books for adults, but his youth books are wonderful. It's all that you say, and creepy too!

84 Charing Cross Road is definitely a fun read. I hope you all enjoyed it. Been reading Omnivore's Dilemna, but its slow going. OD is kind of like Supersize Me in that it really makes you think about your eating habits and changes them. I've pretty much sworn off fast food for a while for the second time in my life (the first time being after I saw Supersize Me). Also reading Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. Its a bit slow but I'm enjoying it. He spent three years from age 7-10 on crutches after getting an infection in his leg. No kid should have to suffer that. I don't care what you become as an adult.

I started rereading HP and the Half-Blood Prince last night since the movie is coming up.

I finished The yiddish policemen's union yesterday (fluff, but enjoyable - good characters, I think, and good world building, even if the plot felt X-fileish) and as my quest to polish off Mt TBR continues I'm now reading Century Rain.

I am reading the Anna Strong series by Jeanne C. Stein. So far it is engaging and a very quick read. I am on the third of the 4 books Iown. After this I am going to read White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison.

I finished Extraordinary Engines today. I thought it was a good collection, overall; not everything blew me out of the water, but there were a couple of very good stories.

I figure I'll start Beauty by Robin McKinley next. I feel like I need to read something shorter before I launch int my next chunkster, just so I can feel like I'm actually making some progress with my TBR list.

Finished reading The Mystery of Edwin Drood last night, if one can finish reading an unfinished book.

My current What I'm Reading list sadly looks very much like it did in June. Sigh.

-The Adventures of Augie March
-1001 Arabian Nights
-Wealth of Nations
-His Dark Materials
-The Divine Comedy
-The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales
-John Adams

Well, you've got two fairly big books on that list, Scaifea. Don't feel bad!

Let's see... I'm currently reading Caliber: First Canon of Justice which works far better than I feared it might. In the past two days I've read...
Girl Genius volumes 7, 8 and everything that's up from 9.
The People of the Sea by David Thomson (which you should get if you like Celtic folklore and/or the lives of people on the more remote of the British isles.
Alabaster by Caitlín R. Kiernan

Finished the new-ish Penguin edition of Letter from America by Alistair Cooke this morning.

It seems to me that some people's writing shows no sign of age, and in a sense they die young almost by definition, regardless of what the calendar says. This collection spans almost 60 years, ending only a few weeks before he died at the age of 96. And yet ... I can think of few commentators who would be able to make more sense of the news we see, and put it across so beautifully. A book to be read and savoured slowly, with hat reverently removed.

I just finished To say nothing of the dog by Connie Willis. Um. Weird. That's really about all I have to say.

I'd intended to read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay next, but Beauty, (which I loved), has got me craving more beautifully written fantasy. I've decided to dive into Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey instead.

I started The Yiddish Policeman's Union over the weekend, but am finding it heavy going. Maybe it's not something to be read in little fits and starts. I like the characters, but I'm having trouble tracking the action, what there is of it.

#35 jennieg - I listened to The Yiddish Policeman's Union and thought it quite wonderful. Maybe it's better listened to.

That's a good idea, karenmarie. It wouldn't be the first time I've found it easier to listen to a book.

#35 - I found the first quarter of the book good but not gripping, and it wasn't until the last half that it forces me to read it, if you know what I mean.

That said it's not a revolution of a book - it's a well written trifle, no more no less. At least to me.

I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, a stunning book, and The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy. The Darcy book is my May ER book. I have mixed feelings about it. I started writing a review, then realized that I might be accidentally thinking about the BBC Colin Firth-Jennifer Ehle miniseries instead of the book, so am going to re-read P&P itself then write my review.

Message edited by its author, Jul 7, 2009, 4:57am.

I finished off Forbidden Bread a few days ago. Loved it. It's the kind of book I wouldn't buy without a recommendation, but thoroughly enjoyed. And last night I finished off Edith Wharton's Roman Fever. Damn! I have to make time for a few more of her books.

The short story itself, Roman Fever, is one of my two favorite short stories of all time. I need to pull down my college Literature Textbook and read it again.

#41 - Yeah, it's a doozy. There are a couple of others in that collection that are close to that level of 'whoa!'

Finished off A Song for Arbonne, wonderful, I think I'm finally over my reading jag thankfully. Now I'm reading Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym, delightful.

I'm almost finished City of Bones. It wasn't nearly as bad as it started off. It's still no wunderkind stuff, but it got itself going. Plenty of angst, and a bit of a Mary-Sue complex going, but still readable.

Dr. Who is cutting into my reading time in a big way, but I'm working on Crime and Punishment while I'm at work during the slow times. Honestly, all this angsty stuff was much easier swallowed and more appreciated in my youth I have very little patience with most of the characters so far. I'm reading it for my daughter because she loved it, and I see what she loved, the writing is so masterful, but that makes it even harder for me to have patience with it for some reason.

#45 - I hear you, MrsLee. As teens and twenty-somethings we are human balls of angst anyway. Is it any wonder we loved that stuff?

I finished Sweeping Up Glass, which was my latest ER book yesterday and I just loved it. I think this one could be going places. I'm not so sure I have the right stuff to pick the bestsellers or the prize-winners, though. I think I only gave Olive Kitteridge (one of my earlier ER books) 3.5 stars, and it went on to win the Pulitzer.

Last night I started Triangle for my Library Book Club.

I just finished Hands of Flame by C.E. Murphy, an LT author. It's the last book in a wonderful urban fantasy trilogy with gargoyles, djinn, selkies, dragons and vampires. A little bit of romance, sex, finance, legal fights, violence, magic, memory and lots of fun.

I just finished Hands of Flame by C.E. Murphy, an LT author. It's the last book in a wonderful urban fantasy trilogy with gargoyles, djinn, selkies, dragons and vampires. A little bit of romance, sex, finance, legal fights, violence, magic, memory and lots of fun.

karenmarie, I've seen so many positive comments on LT about Girl with the Dragon Tattoo I just can't wait to start reading it.
First I have to finish at least one of the books I've been reading for what seems like eons. Not that I'm not enjoying each of them, I just feel as if I'm not progressing.

Currently reading: Pillars of the Earth, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Bleak House, Don't Miss Your Life (an ER I almost finished then put aside for a few days because life interfered. Bit of a paradox, eh? *lol*), and listening to The Sword of Shannara.

Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck stories.It's this darn heat........no energy left.

I've just this last hour started Foreigner. I'll have to dig up the Group-Read thread once I'm done, so I can compare notes.

the worm ouroboros which I've nearly finished. It's decidedly odd. Some of it's quite good, and some of it's badly let down by continuity errors, and some attrocious "letters" authentically reproduced with almost unreadable spelling.

I finally finished The Yiddish Policemen's Union and I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about it. I may have to re-read it.

Started Everybody was So Young, a biography of Gerald and Sara Murphy, monied friends of many Lost Generation writers and artists. Very well done.

I finished Kushiel's Scion at lunch today. I know I'm in the minority here, but I enjoyed it much more than the first three. I do love Phedre, but Imriel resonated with me in a way that she just didn't.

I'd thought I might take a little break in between chunksters, but I don't think that's going to be possible. On to Kushiel's Justice!

Currently I'm reading Elegance of the Hedgehog .

I just started an ARC called The Rapture by Liz Jensen and am enthralled with it so far.

Still re-reading Pride and Prejudice so that I can properly review my May ER book The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy and am halfway through John Adams.

Still reading Monster of God and The Memoirs of Cleopatra but got sucked back into Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Underworld series. Finished Broken last night and got the next book, No Humans Involved, out of the library first thing this morning.

Jane and Prudence was wonderful, some absolutely laugh-out-loud moments, great quotations, lovable characters (I love Jane). This book is a gem. Now I'm going to start Quartet in Autumn. I'm so glad I have three Barbara Pym's, I'll have to get the rest of her books now, how could I have neglected her all these years?

I'm having a love/hate relationship with The Gone-Away World, by Nick Harkaway. There's no question it's brilliant, and most of the time I want to go outside and press the book into a stranger's hands.

I picked up a bunch of mysteries at the library today. I haven't been as interested in reading them in the past few months, reading more fantasy and non-fiction. But I just found a bunch this time that looked good, so I hope that they are as good as they look! I don't remember any titles though. I am still reading Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad for the 999 challenge. It got a little boring, but it's picked up again. I think it's the style more than the plot. And I just finished an older mystery/thriller by E X Ferrars.

Finished Triangle yesterday and started Your Inner Fish which is wonderful, if you're interested in any science at all.

Message edited by its author, Jul 12, 2009, 3:22pm.

I've finished The Bible: A Biography which I found *very* interesting and I also finished Unlikely Disciple which made for a fascinating contrast. I'm considering returning to The Three Musketeers but am feeling a bit saturated with reading for the moment. I also bought Death in the Haymarket a weekend or so ago and that might be interesting, but again, I'm feeling a tad saturated.

(Whoops, does that last sentence mean someone is going to gather together the pitchforks and torches?)

Message edited by its author, Jul 12, 2009, 2:58pm.

Reading Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin, and just got The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry at the library.

Finally got The Battle of the Labyrinth from the library. I dropped in a couple of weeks ago and every book by Rick Riordan had been checked out! I guess Percy Jackson is a big hit here.

Last night I started reading Odd Thomas and I am still listening to Artemis Fowl on CD in the car with my son.

DL: How are you and your son enjoying Artemis Fowl? My 8yo and I loved listening to the Artemis Fowl books on audio. Except for the 6th book, which had a different reader. 8yo actually just finished reading the first book on his own, his first big chapter book. I caught him up late one night, after it was supposed to be lights out, sneaking in extra reading. I was so proud :oD.

I can imagine you'd be proud of him, Sandragon! I'd be too if he were my son. ^-^

I've read two more graphic novels since my last post, but actual novels just don't seem to be holding my interest at the moment.

I read a graphic novel version of The Weird of the White Wolf by Michael Moorcock and The Wizard's Tale by Kurt Busiek. (I'm so sad the latter is out of print, but the author dropped a note on my review blog and said it'd be reprinted next year! Yay! It's such a sweet little thing.)

As for novels... I'm still areading A Song for Arbonne. *sigh* I told you, novels just don't hold my interest right now. You'd think a book filled with "Oh, I remember that!" would be just what I need, but no...

>66 I like the reader very much, I love all the different accents. I'm not really very fond of Artemis as a character, but I'm keeping an open mind :-) My son is really enjoying the story...he keeps telling me I can't listen to it without him (which I wouldn't do anyway).

I can imagine you're proud of your son as well! It's lovely to discover that they actually "enjoy" reading.

DL: Artemis grows and changes over the next several books. I put off reading the Artemis Fowl books because he just didn't seem like a very appealing character, but he's become a very remarkable person. I'm glad I picked up that first one.

And Nathaniel Parker is a wonderful narrator. I was really missing listening to him read so I've picked up a couple more from the library that are read by him, books that I wouldn't normally try: Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz and SilverFin, a Young Bond novel by Charlie Higson. They're both young adult spy novels, not normally my books of choice.

Stormbreaker was fun. I quite enjoyed it, but I don't recommend the movie. It was just mediocre.

I finished reading Chuck Palahniuk's Pygmy and Nick Hornby's Slam.

Chuck Palahniuk and Nick Hornby are in completely different territory in terms of what they write about, but their explorations of human flaws overlap sometimes. Only difference is Hornby doesn't make you feel guilty about laughing at his jokes, but Palahniuk makes you wince as you laugh out of discomfort as much as some people DO like Palahniuk's mode of humor.

If you've got teenagers I'd recommend Slam over Pygmy, specifically if you've got a boy teenager. Pygmy isn't recommended for teenagers, not just because it's got some particularly dark content (I know plenty of people my age who would love Palahniuk, but that's between you and your child), but because Pygmy is written in a broken English dialect which is intended to express the thoughts of a Chinese exchange student who doesn't know English very well, and it's hard to read unless you're committed.

Doesn't mean Pygmy's not an excellent book though. It's just that Slam is easier for a young person to read, if you have a son who likes reading but isn't ready for deconstruction of language yet.

65>> Let me know what you think of Odd Thomas I got a kick out of it, and I've been meaning to get back to Koontz for a while now and read more of that series. I can certainly see how it might not be everyone's cup of tea though.

I've been reading a variety of things, although my main focus has been Omnivore's Dilemma. This is probably one of the best and most thought provoking food books I've ever read. Pollan does an excellent job of making you think about where the food you eat actually comes from, whether you like it or not. Unless you already eat better than most of the American population, I have no doubt you will end up changing your eating habits after reading this book.

Message edited by its author, Jul 14, 2009, 10:35am.

I thought the Odd Thomas series kept getting better and better. Brother Odd is probably my favorite.

I started The Curse of the Spellmans last night and am thoroughly enjoying it.

#61 clamairy - I loved Your Inner Fish.

#63 jnwelch - I'm on page of 68 of Mistress of the Art of Death and, although I struggled through the first 30 pages or so, I am now firmly hooked.

Finished listening to The Graveyard Book (wonderful!) and started listening to Stormbreaker. Felt like listening to Nathaniel Parker read again. I was a little worried that Jack (an American female housekeeper in Stormbreaker) would sound too much like Root (an American-accented-fungus-cigar-sucking LEP Recon elf in Artemis Fowl) but so far no confusions!

#70, Will - I watched Stormbreaker last year and can't remember much more than thinking it was okay. I'm going to watch it again when I finish the book.

I've just read a swedish language only book about the political use of violence, in a global an d historical perspective. At the moment I'm struggling with getting into Century Rain. I'm sure it will be OK once I get going, but real life is interrupting big time.

I just finished Kushiel's Justice, which I found to be a mix of wickedmadawesome, reallyreally good and just plain ol' okay. Still, I'm excited to move along to Kushiel's Mercy tonight or tomorrow. On the whole, I'm loving these books.

I'm reading It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet - wonderful, as are all of Herriot's books. I'm also reading, in fits and starts, Cryptonomicon. It's quite a book! I read a bit, read something else, read a bit more, read something else. It's a good book, but it's so darn big!

Message edited by its author, Jul 14, 2009, 7:04pm.

#75 karenmarie - glad to hear you're now hooked on The Mistress of the Art of Death. What a good character Adelia is! I'm near the end now and have thoroughly enjoyed it.

#75 karenmarie - What a great book Your Inner Fish is. I hope Neil Shubin keeps writing.

I started The World is Flat last night. I'm enjoying this immensely, too. I wish all the info in these non-fiction books would stick in my brain longer. Sadly, much of it trickles away over time.

I read Shubin's book recently, too, and enjoyed it. I think he also is an occasional contributor to Natural History Magazine (I kinda miss my subscription which I gave up years ago, but still enjoy picking up a copy from the newsstand on occasion).

I'm reading Julie Czerneda's Stratification series right now, just starting the 2nd book in the trilogy, Riders of the Storm. I'm enjoying this series and have all the books now, so hopefully can read the 2nd and 3rd books back-to-back. These should appeal to anyone who enjoys anthropological SF.

Finished Mother of demons which was almost as odd as Ouroboros, but better written. Somehow the giant airbreathing cuttlefish/aliens didn't quite work. But the rest of it was surprisingly good - for a free novel on Baen anyway.

I'm now reading the sequel to King Solomon's Mines - alan quatermain apparently there are several more which I don't intend to read. It appears to be the same story- stalwart english explorers travel through africa having adventures and meet unusal african natives who've never met a white man before. I suspect they'll turn out to be more intelligent than the white's originally assumed and have lots of pretty women living with them - though I haven't got that far yet.

#77- CR is complicated to start with, but I think you'll like it when you manage to find a few moments peace and quiet to relax and enjoy it.

Over the last week I have read all 7 Harry Potter books plus the two schoolbooks printed for Comic relief *and* The Tales of Beedle the Bard - and i'm bloody shattered because of it. Lord knows how I'll get my sleeping pattern back straight after at least three nights where i've still been awake when my mum gets up for work at half 5. I'm mightily surprised no one has attempted to stake me or something cos frankly i *look* like the undead and i feel like it as well :S
Next on deck: Pillars of the Earth at a *very* leisurely pace, and the two library books i shunted to the side in favour of HP

#82 - There is such a thing as 'anthropological SciFi?' Why didn't I know this? Those books sound like great fun, ludmillalotaria. I think I'll see if my library has them.

Finally read Brandon Sanderson's delightful Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians.

So now I've read Elantris, his first Mistborn novel, and this. I am struck by how much true originality, in approach, content, characterization and thought, that Brandon displays in each of these offerings. I look forward to reading the rest of the Mistborn and Alcatraz stories. Brandon is an author whose entire body of work I am compelled to read!

#86 - Yeah, the thing I loved best about Alcatraz, besides the originality, was the humor.

The narrative voice was SO refreshing in Alcatraz, it just sucked me right in! Brandon has such a unique approach to magic in this book. It's all that much more amazing when you consider the incredibly unique magic systems he created for Elantris and Mistborn, neither anything like the other as well!

IMO, Alcatraz #2 was even better. It had me LOL several times.

Quite agree his magic systems are great, and I'm looking forward to find Well and Last hero too. warbreaker isn't as good though.

I love Sanderson. He's really original.

I just started Cry, the Beloved Country, but I haven't got past the introductory stuff at the beginning. A lot of stuff about the history of South Africa there, which is probably going to be helpful, as I don't know much about it at all.

#91 - That's a eye-opener. Loved it, though.

#89 - There a Alcatraz #2 already? 0.0 Where have I been?

92 > ha! Alcatraz #3 will be out this fall. #2 is Alcatraz versus the Scrivener's Bones

Wishlisted!!!

The tone of the Alcatraz books didn't agree with me, but they're such a quick read and the magic system and adventures are fun that I'm going to read the 3rd book when it comes out.

I was so disappointed in Hero of ages I had no wish to even try the Alcatraz books, despite loving both the two first of the Mistborn books and Elantris. I might try Warbreaker, though.

#82/85 - Le Guin is usually considered to write in that genre, and I kind of like what I've read of Czerneda so have one of hers on my "immediate TBR list". I'd say she's kind of related to Cherryh, too.

#79 - I know I'm crazy - who isn't?! - but I lugged my hardback of Cryptonomicon around, reading while commuting. But even on the first read I skipped some parts. I think you'll know which one's, if you've encountered them... But if you like this book you might enjoy Battle of wits, which is a nonfic describing the events that forms the background to the wwII-parts of Cryptonomicon.

Alcatraz is way better than Warbreaker imo, but you have to enjoy snotty adolescent humor (which I do).

ETA: Actually, Warbreaker has snotty adolescent humor, too, but I guess I enjoy it more from a character who is an actual adolescent and not from a "god."

Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2009, 3:49pm.

Finally finished Crime and Punishment. 'Nuf said.

What was that, punishment enough?

Oooh, congrats, MrsLee!

My latest finished read is

Thanks Shanra, and mrgroo, yes! As my OH said, I've completed my sentence. ;)

ETA:
A little story for all you Catholic school kids. My OH was taught by nuns. The nun who taught Literature had taken a disliking to my dear darling and told him he reminded her of Rashkolnikov. He was a straight A student with no murderous tendencies, or even rebellious thoughts! What a thing to tell a child! It made him give up on trying in her class and hate literature for years. Way to go, teacher. Wish I could meet that nun, I'd show her Rashkolnikov. Grumble.

Message edited by its author, Jul 18, 2009, 5:15pm.

I started The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, Thirteenth Annual Collection this morning. So far so good.

I finished The Sinister Pig by Tony Hillerman. Not one of his best, not even a mystery, really. It's more of a rant against the ineffectiveness of the drug war and such, but it furthers events in Jim Chee's life. I still enjoyed the read, just not up to Hillerman snuff.

I wrote above, in #75 that I was firmly looked by Mistress of the Art of Death, but I unhooked myself and abandoned it on page 246. It really started irritating me for some reason and I just didn't care anymore about the mystery or Adelia. And I was not going to read another sentence that her full name in it. Sheesh.

The final blow was the sentence, spoken by Adelia, "Oh, dear God, she thought with shock,I am attracted to him.

For some reason, when authors use the phrase Oh, dear God I usually want to throw up. It's almost always a show stopper for me.

So instead I read a wonderful mystery, A Test of Wills by Charles Todd about Inspector Ian Rutledge, just out of hospital after the end of WWI with a case of shell shock. He's sent to the countryside by a jealous colleague to solve a murder. The colleague is hoping he will fail. Very well done.

I checked on BookMooch for books 2-6 and 8-11 of the series, but none are available. I've wishlisted them.

Message edited by its author, Jul 20, 2009, 5:14am.

>72 I did enjoy Odd Thomas but there were a few things I didn't like. I did do a short review on the book page if you're interested.

Yesterday I started Lord of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson which is another one that has been in my tbr pile for a really long time. I also started re-reading Traitor's Moon by Lynn Flewelling. I was asked to do a guest blog about the author and had the book out to help me along. Then I just started reading it again and didn't want to stop.

Still listening to Artemis Fowl in the car with my son. We're on the last disc. You were right in saying that I'd grow to like Artemis more as time went on. When I first started I wasn't sure I'd want to continue listening to it, now I'm looking forward to getting the second book of the series when this is done.

Message edited by its author, Jul 20, 2009, 9:23am.

I picked up Middlesex last night as I climbed into bed and read the first few pages. I think I may have already gotten the "hook".

Finished reading The Graveyard Book, the read was just as good/better than the listen. Love it.

I'm making myself finish my other books I've started before I get to read more fun ones. I must move along or I'll never get to that next one on my shelf!

Moved on to Halting state ironically in pbook instead of on my ereader. I've a few pbooks to get trhough befroe I can return, cureently on furies of calderon to see if it's any better in re-read, I've the next academ's fury ready as well.

I enjoyed Halting State quite a bit, but if you aren't into the whole gaming culture a lot of it might leave you even more confused.

I finished The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley on my bus ride yesterday - a nice quick fun read to pass the 5 hrs.

I finished A Song for Arbonne yesterday (way after the discussion ran its course, I know! But I did learn group discussions aren't for me. ^-^; ) as well as Keltische sagen en legenden in een notendop which continues to fill me with squee and doesn't Do touchstones, apparently. (If you're thinking it's about Celtic tales, you'd be right, by the by.) Then, today, I finished Crank by Ellen Hopkins. It's been a long time since I read a chunkster in a day, even if it's a chunkster in poetry. ^-~

I'm feeling mighty proud of myself, if I do say so.

I finally got sick of Naamah's Kiss right before the end and started Stone's Fall last night. I'll probably go back and finish off the Carey, but it was sooooooo overlong that I just didn't care anymore about the stupid dragon. Just free the damn thing so I can get outta here! What is it with these fantasy novelists and their cojones-less editors?

So anyway, I love Iain Pears and I'm loving the book so far.

They're too well-known to be balked at?

I finished Fables: Legends in Exile today. Not quite the book I was expecting to read, but hey who's complaining? ^-~ (Better yet, I have time left today with which to read even more! Or watch a movie. I might watch a movie instead. Do something different.)

#111 - I think the correct answer is "they /the editors/ got rationalised away". Sadly.

I'm thinking half the reason fantasy gets no respect as a genre is the editing problem.

I agree, and would say that's a problem for SF as well. Just look at some of the books, they're not even proof-read (or so it seems).

I have to agree with the general lack of editing. But I also get tired of the plot recycling too. If you don't have something original to say, why bother? Oh, right. The money.

I'm devouring the complete (well, all the ones that I have) works of Cordwainer Smith. It's been a few years since I've read them and they are fantastic! I have pretty much everything he wrote as Cordwainer Smith, but none of the things he wrote under other names.

I just finished a nice little book for Charlie's library, The Book of Nature Myths. Myths from various cultures, but mostly Native American.

#111 - littlegeek, thanks for the warning. I'd been considering getting Naamah's Kiss in hardcover, I really enjoy Carey's Kushiel books. But maybe I'll try it out from the library first.

#119 I still enjoyed it mostly, it's just too ding dang long.

I started The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon this morning, and this morning, and I'm not sure about it yet. I can't quite manage to care about David.

I finished Paper Towns last night. It was kind of sad, but it does surprise me how much YA authors get away with nowadays. So many swears, wouldn't pass the censors in Salinger's day, but it's a great, funny book with a kind of Tezuka spiritual ending (as in, secular moving ending).

I finished Quartet in Autumn which was good, but I didn't enjoy it as much as Jane and Prudence, Excellent Women will be my next Barbara Pym. But for a change of pace I read A Test of Wills too karenmarie (#104) and really enjoyed it. Luckily I have two more in the series, numbers 10 and 11 I think. I'll be on the prowl for the rest now. Such a completest I am.

But first I feel I must plow through my ARC The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire. I'd set it aside for awhile and now I'm hoping I'm in a better frame of mind and will like it better.

I just finished The Oath by Frank Peretti and loved it. It kept me awake long into a couple of nights.

I'm wading through Don Quixote. Has anyone here read it? I'd love to be able to discuss it with someone. Lots going on.

#123 katylit - I'm glad you liked A Test of Wills. I've decided I'm going to try to read the series in order - something I very rarely do - so will have to wait a while for other Inspector Rutledge books.

I finished two books since I've posted here, both quite good in very different ways. The first is The Forge of God, is SF about aliens and the end of the world. It was written in 1987 and the technology is very dated, but the aliens and the actual story are quite good.

The second is Case Histories by Kate Atkinson, about a private investigator hired to solve old, unresolved cases of the disappearance of a 3-year old girl, the murder of an 18-year old woman, and the disappearance of another girl - a baby whose mother was convicted of killing the baby's father. Only it's so much more than that, it's hard to describe. There are crazy old ladies, cats, dogs, divorces, and attempted murder. An excellent book. I finished it yeterday.

Now I'm on the prowl for a new book to read. Time to check out my tbr tag and see what sounds good.

Message edited by its author, Jul 27, 2009, 6:45am.

Both Furies were quite good, but suffer from the same problems that Harry Dresden does - really really inflated enemies too easily overcome, and an annoying written for TV ad breaks, cliffhanger every chapter ending, writing style. The later HD books avoided this so I hope the later Furies do too.

Currently reading sam Gunn omnibus which is just fun. - capitalists in space.

125 - cmbohn - I just finished Don Quixote after months! I feel like I should get a reading guide and go through it again.

I finished reading At Large and at Small which I loved! Actually, more so than Ex Libris. I preferred the variety of topics in At Large.

I went to see Half Blood Prince over the weekend, and dang-it if I hadn't forgotten all about RAB and I still can't remember who he is. I was going to do a reread GGK's Sarantine duology but after the movie I couldn't help picking up an HP for a reread. I don't want to reread the whole series, but I'm a few chapters into The Goblet of Fire and will read the rest of the series after it.

Message edited by its author, Jul 27, 2009, 11:53am.

cmbohn, I slogged through Don Quixote a few years ago. My kids all know how I felt about it at the time (I was very verbal about it at the time *grin*), and it's become a standing joke that I threaten to make them read it too.
Which translation are you reading?

LOL sandragon! I can't remember who RAB is either!! If I didn't have to finish this darn ARC I would be reading HP to find out. Believe me, he's waiting anxiously in the wings to tell me *chuckle*. I'm so glad I'm not the only one. After the movie I was ranting to my poor suffering husband (as I always do after a HP movie) about all the stuff they cut out and he asked who RAB was. Hmmmmm. That shut me up very effectively. LOL.

(I'm so looking forward to September and Sidney)

#126, karenmarie, this will be one of the very few times that I'll have read a series out of order. I ordered A False Mirror ages ago, thinking it was the first in the series. I was very disappointed when I found out it wasn't and have held out for ages to get A Test of Wills so I could start at the beginning, but now I want to read the other two I've got. I'll fill in the rest later.

BritAnnia - I'm reading the Tobias Smollett translation. I found some reading guides as sparknotes.com, which have helped quite a bit. I'm almost done with Volume 1.

I'm not familiar with that translation, I read Oxford Classics' Charles Jarvis translation. I've heard the Edith Grossman translation is another good choice.
I didn't mind the overall story or the length of the book itself. The interminable skirmishes really wore on my nerves with just a rare few of them being engaging or amusing enough to draw me back in to the tale.
As a text from it's place in history and all that, I get it. Good stuff, glad I read it. Hope I never have to again though!

I hope I'm not putting you off?! There are many who simply love the book, I hope you'll enjoy reading it.

I agree that it's kind of uneven, with parts I enjoy and parts that are just tedious. Right now, it's bugging me that everyone is sort of conspiring against Don Quixote. It's like they think he's mad, but wouldn't it be funny to act like you agree with him and then laugh at him behind his back.

Don Q is one of the funniest books ever written, imo. But it's been decades since I read it. I had more patience when I was younger.

131, katylit - I really liked the movie, although I was dreading the end and I wish we could have seen more of Ginny, Ron and Hermione. Tam was devastated by the ending. I'm thinking we should have prepared him better for it :o(

I put aside Every Book Its Reader for the weekend, taking The Ghost Writer on the train downtown. It was so compelling, I finished it. This was our romantic weekend get away, you understand. Then I bought Fearless Fourteen for the train ride home. I discovered I had listened to it when I got to the scene with Ranger in a tux. I found myself blushing when I told KB about it.

I polished off The Angel's Game this afternoon. It was... decent. I really liked some parts and was indifferent to others.

I'm pretty sure I'll start Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier tomorrow morning. I've been looking forward to it for a long, long time, and I just found a copy a couple of days ago. Horray!

I finally managed to finish Century Rain last night. I know I shouldn't say this about Alastair Reynolds - he have landed a nice contract - but my verdict is he's promising but in dire need of a professional editor. I will give him a second chance, but not before shaving more layers of my TBR stack.

Next up, I think, will be Halting State, which has waited almost as long as Century Rain.

My son saw The Goblet of Fire sitting out and ran off with it. Who am I to refuse him a a book if he really wants to read it? At least not until he's older and is a confirmed book addict. I picked up Looking for China: Reflections on a Silk Road to reread for the times I can't get my hands on Harry.

#30

If you want to get inspired to attack the Divine Comedy, here's an essay by one of its translators that reveals some of its true power:

http://payingattentiontothesky.com/2009/...

regards

jayd

I plan to focus on Jane Boleyn by Julia Fox over the next little while. It's quite interesting so far, but it has yet to prove itself as a biography of Jane. It's mostly about Anne, but she's referred to as 'Jane's sister-in-law.'

I'm having one of those "I'm a chapter in and bored" days.

Name of the Rose yawn
Ghost Story yawn
I Thought It Was Just Me yawn

Maybe Seven Up will keep my interest.

#1 and #2 -- I love, love, love Charing Cross Road -- my mom (jennieg) turned me on to it at an age that I can't remember and I have loved it ever since. The rest of her stuff (can't remember titles -- something about reading through Q's work, and something about touring New York) are almost as wonderful as that first one.

I've been in an even more hard-core ya fantasy kick than normal. I'm working my way through The Wolves of Willoughby Chase series and am re-reading some of Patricia Wrede's stuff as well -- and following the controversy around the book Thirteenth Child on some of the groups on-line that I am involved with as well.

I've become slightly obsessed with Christopher Moore (he's best known for Lamb (for some reason, this is putting it as Fluke, which is not the same book at at all), who is my new favorite author. I just got The Lost Lizard of Melancholy Cove by him, and have read almost all his others. You Suck is one of my favorites, as well as the one about the man who finds out he's Death.

I'm reading Leon and the Spitting Image to my seven year old, and we are both enjoying it a lot.