I'm reading The Colour by Rose Tremain, historical fiction about the gold rush in New Zealand in the 1860s. Great read.

Thanks Teelgee. :)

I finished Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill book 3 in Dr. Siri Paiboun mystery series set in 1970s communist Laos. He is the national coroner. Really enjoyed it and would keep reading in the series, but I have other required reads to complete for the month.

I am now starting The Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer about trying to get out of Iran during the Islamic revolution.

I'm 100 pages into People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. It's historical fiction about an important old Jewish book which has survived the inquisition, Nazi occupation etc and has just been discovered in bomb scarred Sarajevo. I am loving this book!

I am also reading one chapter of Confederates in the Attic a day. I'm up to chapter three and I'm finding it funny and very informative. It will probably help me when I read books set in the South in the future!

I'm halfway through John Adams by David McCullough.

I'm re-reading Pride and Prejudice so that I can properly review The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy by Maya Slater, my May ER book.

And, finally, because I had to have a book to read while eating lunch at work and not wanting to accidentally get food on my hardcover leather-bound P&P, I picked up an ARC I recently received called The Rapture by Liz Jensen. I can hardly stand it - this book is sooooo good.

Agreed The Rapture is a fantastic read~ The end leaves room for a sequel....

The Fountain Overflows. I read The Return of the Soldier a couple of months ago and considered it a near-perfect book, so I'm starting to make my way through the rest of the West oeuvre.

I finally finished my first book of the month last night, Ghosts by César Aira, which was only okay ; I've been in a book rut for the past couple of weeks, as none of the books I've picked up has grabbed my attention.

I'll start reading An African in Greenland by Tété-Michel Kpomassie and Independent People by the Icelandic Nobel Prize winner Halldór Laxness, both for the Reading Globally monthly theme read (Polar Regions).

Ive just started reading The Twilight Herald by Tom Lloyd after finding the first book one of the best I've ever read. Any other Lloyd fans here?

http://www.thetwilightreign.blogspot.com...

I'm still reading Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey, and I'm really enjoying it. Full of interesting facts, data and stories. :)

Finished Gods of Night.

#9 Fantastic book!

Right now, I am reading A Man of His Word which is an Amish book. I am a little over 100 pages in and it has picked up steam. I can't wait to see what happens next. Now I have to write reviews for Deception Point and Maire. It feels like I am never going to be caught up on reviews!

I just finished The Garden Party and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield. Each story is an exquisite portrait of a person and a situation. Issues of class and its impact upon lives were explored. It often portrays the gap between dream and reality. I found the stories most intriguing for their superb portraits and psychological insight. I've also started Collapse. I haven't gotten very far. It seems good but not real zippy going.
Plan to start Bad Boy today.

Message edited by its author, Jul 11, 2009, 10:00am.

I finished crazy little thing called death by Nancy Martin last night.

I'll be starting Grave suprise by Charlaine Harris today.

I finished A Dream in Polar Fog by Yuri Rytkheu for the Reading Globally Polar Regions theme read and had mixed feelings about it. Now I'm back with John le Carré and A Perfect Spy.

I just started The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. It grabbed me right away although I had been reluctant to pick it up in the first place. Something about the title put me off. It was one of the few CDs that was available and looked promising at my library.

Making progress on The Pirate Queen. Once I have a bedside light again, I'll be making progress on Letters to Father again.

Later today I'm going to start Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

Message edited by its author, Jul 11, 2009, 10:26am.

Just started reading Little Bee; unfortunately, I can't say anything about it because there is a "surprise" involved. I hope it's better than the surprise that was touted for the movie "The Crying Game" years ago. I'm still reeling from that one. :-)

>16: I really liked The 19th Wife which I followed up with Under the Banner of Heaven last year.

Yeah. I was just eyeing Under the Banner if Heaven. Same topic, plus I like other books by John Krakauer that I've read. If you've never read Krakauer's Into Thin Air, go for that one.

Ooh, Under the Banner of Heaven is one of my favorite NF. I also suggest Red Water by Freeman, about 3 of John D. Lee's wives. Wish there were more books like that!

I am still slogging through The Night Journal. No characters to like or even sympathize with, so far. And where was the editor? And the added bonus of comma splices galore! Someone on another thread stated that they wished it had been better executed. I agree. Story potential that just never quite does it for me, personally.

So I may stray off and read My Cousin Rachel for fun.

Donna828 - I found Little Bee to be a remarkable book - I hope you enjoy it!

I am still reading and enjoying City of Shadows by Ariana Franklin. It is a crime/ thriller set mainly in Berlin Germany between the two world wars and has a gritty, dare I say a 'film noir' feel about it..... it is quite good!

Took me a while to get into reading A Death in the Family, but now I'm loving it. It made me cry twice yesterday.

Still plugging away at The Iliad - I'm really enjoying it when I'm reading it, but I am not dying to pick it up again when I put it down. Therefore, I am banning myself from reading anything else until I finish it!

From last week's thread, SeanLong post #293:

Thanks for the concise intro to Ward Just! I will start investigating his work.

Against my better judgment, I started Baking Cakes in Kigali last night. As I feared, the contrast from The Lost City of Z did not work in the book's favor, so I have decided to read "Kigali" at the beach this afternoon. That should provide enough decompression time to make a fair assessment possible.

I'm nearly done with Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman, and I really hate to see it end, because I'm loving these stories so much! They're creepy, but not scary, so I can read them before bed. I'm also reading Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross, recommended by my mom and her book club. I'm only 40 pages in, but it's good so far. I want to smack the canon because of way he regards his daughter, but I suppose that might have been typical of holy men in the ninth century.

Starting What Angels Fear.

Finished Man Gone Down last week (and posted a review); and I just finished The Simple Truth : Poems by Philip Levine - a book I borrowed about six years ago and have long lost contact with the person I borrowed it from and don't know how to return it...oh well, at least I finally read it.

Next up - I borrowed The Well and the Mine from the library, thanks to comments on LT, so I'll probably go there next.

Message edited by its author, Jul 11, 2009, 11:54am.

My literary life moves along at its snail pace with the same two books occupying me this week.

War and Peace, I'm now entering the final third and although I'll withhold judgement on my views it has certainly encouraged the choice of my next reading treats.

My non fiction read continues to be Team of Rivals, a book I'm thoroughly enjoying, though once War and Peace has concluded perhaps my consumption of it will increase.

So looking ahead my next reads will be

Fiction - The Karamazov Brothers
Non Fiction - A People's Tragedy: Russian Revolution, 1891-1924

PS - Forgot to mention my 1001 Books to read before you die which arrived and I can't pass without dipping into :-)

Message edited by its author, Jul 11, 2009, 12:06pm.

Just finished Seal Woman by Solveig Eggerz. Excellent book, lots of fascinating detail about 1950s Iceland and post-World War II Berlin and a good story, too. I would definitely recommend it.

Now I'm reading Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg. Pretty good so far. If I'm not mistaken, I think there have been mixed reviews on LT about this book.

I should finish The Lost Weekend today. I plan on watching the movie in the very near future as well. After that, I believe that I will start Sweetsmoke which is an Early Reviewer which I received and completely forgot about until now. I believe I have two other Early Reviewers which came and got stuck in a pile somewhere so I will be reading them shortly as well.

Pride and Prejudice - for the first time, can you believe it? I don't know what I've been doing all these years.

>>> 32

My daughter is older than you and I've only read Pride and Prejudice this year.

Guess I've a great deal of catching up to do :-)

#19 That 'surprise' conceit is rubbish and pointless. However, the book itself is one of the best I've read all year so far - truly remarkable. And if you love it as much as I did you might want to try Cleave's other book, Incendiary which will also knock your socks off.

I loved The 19th Wife too.

Finished Sweeping Up Glass by Carolyn Wall last night... gave it 4 1/2 stars :)

Starting Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay (stupid touchstones) & Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu

Sarah's Key was very good. I had it as an ARC from vine..

Bookmarkme, since you've just gotten 1001 Books to Read Before You Die, you should try to also get your hands on 501 Great Writers. It is by the same publishers and in much the same format. Each writer has a bio and a selection of books listed. It has become my I'm-to-tired-to-really-read-but-I-want-to book.

I am almost done with Grotesque after finishing Out. She does make Japan seem so much bleaker than my beloved Murakami. Next up, I'm going to try some Forster for the first time, perhaps with A Passage to India.

Just finished The Girl Who Stopped Swimming before lunch and am thinking about picking up Ann Patchett's The Patron Saint of Liars.

I'm still rereading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I can't believe all of the things I'd forgotten, so that has been fun.

I finished Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and am starting Oolong Dead by Laura Childs. Thinking about picking up The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell for my non-fiction read.

32/33 - I just read Pride and Prejudice in the past six months - not sure how I missed it earlier.

I must say, and did, actually, that I wasn't too taken with it - I preferred Jane Eyre, but I may get to Sense and Sensibility one day.

>37: Thanks for the heads up about 501 Great Writers. I got 1001 Books for Mother's Day and will put out the hints for the companion book for my birthday next month. I am sooo easy to buy for!

rockinrhombus, I don't know anything about how MZB worked. I can tell you that, as a writer myself, I very often become totally absorbed in the writing, the world and characters. I have a vague impression that many writers do. The effect must be far more pronounced with such a long, complex tale.

I didn't like Sense and Sensibility. Greatly prefer Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. Also like Emma. IMO it really shows that Sense and Sensibility was Austen's first book.

Jane Eyre is very good but Villette is better IMO.

Wuthering Heights is one of my favorites, though I know a lot of people don't like it. I enjoyed Agnus Gray but thought The Tennent of Wildfell Hall much better. Again, though, Agnus Gray was Ann Bronte's first novel, and perfectly respectable it is too. The Tennent of Wildfell Hall is just more complex and deep, and thus more interesting. The house, Wildfell Hall, reminds me very much of the house, Wuthering Heights, though the physical descriptions are rather different.

I was going to read Shadow of the Wind but The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl actually fell off the bookshelf, so I have to take that as a sign, right? The weeds are about to grow tall enough to climb in through the windows but do I care? I have a book I need to read, damn it... weed be gone ... hmm... isn't there a product or something out there by that very name? Perhaps I should send the hubster out to buy a can if I can get him to shift out of his comfy position on the couch where he's reading Father Joe by Tony Hendra.

>>37 - Thanks for the heads up on that as well.

>>41 I'm with you, Jane Eyre has been one of my favourites

>>44 I think I've Villette on a shelf, will certainly give it a go, after my Russian phase :-)

I'm reading The Templar Legacy. I don't normally read thrillers, so this has been a present surprise so far. It has some similar themes to Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons, but is better written. Anyway, it's a lot of fun.

I've still got Rant on audiobook. I have to give Palahniuk props for the chapters on boosted peaks and party crashing, which is where the book gets really into its science fiction phase. The concepts may not be entirely original, but the way Palahniuk uses them, especially the way he structures language around them, is simply brilliant.

Still working on The Stories of John Cheever and I've started The Van by Roddy Doyle.

today so far:

Haunted and I was Amelia Earhart

Disliked Kate greatly in Haunted. Not a bad book, but I had figured it out long before the end. three stars

Amelia was fascinating and beautiful. Quite a read. four stars

I've just started The 10th Kingdom which is based on a fantasy mini-series I have yet to see (it is in my Netflix que). It was chosen for me on the Go Review That Book! group, which is good because I had no idea what to read next. Too many choices!

I've been working my way through In the Kitchen by Monica Ali for most of the week and I'm not terribly enjoying it. It isn't bad, but it isn't captivating me at all. I only pick it up when my baby is nursing because then I'm a captive audience and it doesn't call to me to make me pick it up any other time. If it wasn't an ER book I'd probably have abandoned it by now in favor of something that would catch my attention better (In the Kitchen simply can't compete with my adorable 2 week old).

I finished Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer. It was for a RL book group. I enjoyed it. About a Jewish family, not really religious, and their being targeted by the revolution because they are rich and not Muslim. Story of the father's imprisonment and how the mother and daughter and family and friends try to cope and get him out. I enjoyed it, and the writing was very smooth.

I am now starting another RL book group read, Hunters of Dune by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson. Not a happy camper, hate the fake Dune stuff, but will give it a try.

Message edited by its author, Jul 11, 2009, 4:52pm.

Finished reading Wanting by Richard Flanagan and must say I enjoyed it very much.

Not a long novel, but interesting in that it contains parallel stories about Charles Dickens and Sir John Franklin. By coincidence I had recently read The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl, which chronicled Dickens' years as an actor, shortly before his death, and The Terror by Dan Simmons, the novel of the Franklin expedition to the Northwest Passage.

Good human interaction between the famous husbands and their wives came across quite well, so all in all, a satisfying read.

Now I'm into A much Married Man by Nicholas Coleridge. Very amusing story of an Englishman and his ventures into three different relationships with diverse wives and the complications that evolve. I've thoroughly enjoyed the first 200 pages, so read on, Macduff...

Message edited by its author, Jul 11, 2009, 5:27pm.

I just finished Out Stealing Horses which I was very ho hum about (having heard so much) ... and am beginning Week 1 tomorrow of The Artist's Way (which is a 12-week creativity unblocker of sorts).

So I also started, on a HUGELY STRONG recommendation of a friend (who, like me, doesn't even read sci fi), The Gone Away World by Nick Harkaway. I'm only about 20 pages in but it is unlike any other reading experience that comes to mind. So far, it's very captivating and I cannot wait to see what happens. That I'm saying that about any kind of sci fi/futuristic kind of book blows even my own mind LOL

Message edited by its author, Jul 11, 2009, 6:09pm.

I've just started Yellow Dog by Martin Amis and The Hiding Place by Trezza Azzopardi.

#51 Oh, congratulations, Devourer! Two weeks old!?! How can ANYTHING (even books) compete with a beautiful baby? Can't can't can't! Did you have a girl or a boy? Did you say before and I just missed it?

I have started Are Men Necessary? by Maureen Dowd. I bought it on my own initiative, and my book group, mostly women, decided that would be our book for August. Through the fairly long first chapter, she is simplistic but, so far, not vicious.

I am also reading Early India which I expected to read as a narrative, but I have found it dense enough that I have to treat it as a text. It tells me, among other things, about the evolution of Hinduism from Vedic Brahmanism to various devotional sects for individual deities that I think I didn't get from Wendy Doniger's book.

Robert

I am 90 pages into Year of Past Things.

So far its a pretty good read :)

56, Storeetllr

A little boy, he's a sweetheart.

Just finished The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer. I had to google everything about Superman and Jerry Siegel. I had no idea. Starting to read Roadside Crosses by Jeffey Deaver now ...

#44 I also liked Jane Eyre. At my age one would have tought I would have read it by now. I also have Wuthering Heights and Villette. Was at the Library Booksale they had Agnus Gray I don't know why I didn't get it. Maybe it will still be there next time.

Still on The Buried Book by David Damrosch. Good but having some reservations about how far he is streching the parallels with the epic and its rediscovery.

Picked up a good used copy of Tides of War by Steven Pressfield today. Opinions? I read Gates of Fire and enjoyed it.

I haven't read Tides of War, but I also read Gates of Fire, earlier this year, and absolutely loved it. I'll probably be reading Tides of War (or another of his novels) soon hopefully. :)

#52 FicusFan, I just finished Septembers of Shiraz a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. One of those books that maybe should have gotten more attention than it did.

I've got about 30 pages left of The Well and the Mineand I don't want to hurry it too much.

I'm reading Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands by Jorge Amado. I am enjoying it immensely. I'm also reading It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh, less enthusiastically.

I'm finishing The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for book club and The Book Thief. I need to return that on Monday.

Forgot to mention that I started The Portable Jung last night. Well, in my time zone, I guess it would be the night before last now. Finished the introduction by Joseph Campbell, which seemed rather more sober than I remember him being. But, this was 1971, before he became a star in his own right. Very much looking forward to getting into Jung's writings.

Still reading Little Women, which I'm definitely enjoying. When I finish that, I'll have to get back to Man and his Symbols. Also ordered a book from the library by Freud on psychoanalysis. Not exactly looking forward to that one, but plan to grit my teeth and get through it. Jung is much more to my taste, but one needs to have the grounding the Freud book promises. I'll put it out of my mind till it arrives and I have to face and slay the dragon.

>67 Catreona...Jung...while it isn't one of his writings, may I suggest that you read Incest and Human Love? Stein, the author, illuminates a dark and important corner of Jungian thought.

I reviewed The Lost City of Z on my "75-Books Challenge" page http://www.librarything.com/topic/66381 and on the book's reviews page. Short version: No excuses, just read it.

Reading The Strain: Book One of the Strain Trilogy and The Book of Lies have Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Fragment: A Novel on tap.Also have The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet.

I'm half way through Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Spark. Perfect book for such a lovely weather. Though I wouldn't say this is his best book but works fine for me.

Also, goin on with '...then he ate my boy entrancers by Louise Rennison. Funny read!

Started Harpist in the Wind to finish that trilogy and my penultimate category in the 999. Also almost finished with Inner Reaches of Outer Space and have Murder Most Confederate on my table, which I will most likely read intermittently with others as it is short stories, but maybe not??? and I know I'll be getting some books that I have on hold at the library this week and there's that ER that's on its way to me from somewhere.

Okay rd.. it is on my to buy soon list...
( or otherwise find it in my possession... might take a couple of months.. )

I finished A Year of Past Things and reviewed it. I liked it a lot, it is a good solid fun read. Don't bother if you are trying to impress yourself or others with what you are reading, it is essentially a ghost story, but a darn good one :)

Finished Airframe by Michael Crichton, and I enjoyed it much more than I expected, mainly because I know nothing and have no interest in airplanes. However, I forgot about Crichton's extraordinary talent to take complex, technological subjects and make them interesting and easy to understand. It's such a shame that he passed away - my dad and I were in mourning when we heard the news.

Now working on Little Women (still), and I just started re-reading Skeleton Crew. I also have four other books that I checked out from the library the other day: Lisey's Story (Stephen King), The Gunslinger (Ditto), The Firm (John Grisham), and Deliverance (James Dickey). Looking forward to another busy week of reading!

Over this weekend so far i've gone a little batty with my Harry Potter and read not only books two and three but the two companion schoolbooks as well. I need to start Goblet of Fire today ideally but I've still got Way of the Shadows and Born to be Riled on my set of drawers partially read *and* I need to start Pillars of the Earth for the 50 book challenge group read.
Argh!!! when am i going to find the time?? stuff sleeping i'll live off caffeine for the next week :P

I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo last night, and I loved it. I'm working on a review to give the book justice. The book basically had everything going for it: suspense, intrigue, surprises, good writing, interesting characters, unique relationships. Can you tell I liked it?

I started hyperventilating while looking at my TBR shelf. I am totally overwhelmed by the number of books that I want to read. I need to figure out a good way to prioritize.

In the meantime, I started Shadow of the Wind which I am enjoying so far and Trillion Dollar Meltdown which is a short attempt to explain the current economic crisis in easy-to-understand English.

>Bridget- Glad you are enjoying The Shadow of the Wind and hope it continues.
I finished Fatal Light by Richard Currey. It's an ER reissue. A spare haunting novel about Vietnam. Terrific stuff. I'm starting Olive Kitteridge and hoping to squeeze it in before the group read begins Wednesday. If anyone else is interested we are doing a group read of The Pillars of the Earth beginning the 15th. Our thread is located in the 50 Book Challenge. Come join us!

Into the Beautiful North...good so far~

I just finished Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert by Terry Tempest Williams and have far too many choices waiting for me in the TBR pile.

Right now I'm on Ship Fever by Andrea Barrett.
Haven't been reading much in short stories this year. Glad I picked this one up. These are sharp and crisp and all depend on either the history of scientific ideas or the scientists themselves. But, don't worry, it's not dry scientific writing.

And reading Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. The first in the Sookie Stackhouse series, the basis for the HBO's True Blood. Fun with vampires.

I finished The Colour yesterday and loved it. Now reading Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels - what a poetic writer! I have a feeling this will be a memorable read.

I started Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland last night. It's a pretty fast read so I got almost halfway though it before turning in, but I must say I almost threw it across the room after 30 pages or so. The book tells the story of a 16th century Dutch painting and its owners over the centuries, but goes backwards in time as it does so, through a series of short stories.

The first of those stories was awful, I thought, with clunky, overly obvious characterizations, rancid metaphors and even one glaring (to me, anyway) syntactical sentence error. So I almost stopped, even to the point of selecting another book to read instead.

But I have an illogical aversion to not finishing books I've begun. Emphasis on "illogical", but there you have it. So I took another look at the book cover, surveyed all the blurbs of praise and the awards won, realized that some the stories had been published separately, meaning they'd been written at different times and so might be of differing quality, and decided to give the book another try.

So the second story was quite good and the third story of acceptible quality as well. I'm on the 4th tale now, and it's fairly wretched. Vreeland has an unfortunate tendency toward the miserably molded metaphor and not much control over her characterizations at times, either. For example, in the fourth tale, the narrator is a craven, shrewish status seeker who suddenly pops out with observations like, "I remember it was late spring because the hyacinth on my dressing table had reached that stage of sadder, paler blue when its fragrance was most poignant because it was offering up the last of its zest." No. That's the author talking, not the narrator. Pick a POV and stick to it, Susan. This we learned in my first MA creative writing seminar. I myself have taught this concept to college freshmen and graded them based on their ability to assimilate it. I mean, it's not like we're dealing with John Barth, here.

At any rate, I will now power through. I'm kind of fascinated, in a watching the car crash sort of way, and wondering what the percentage of decent vs. lousy stories will be. At this point it's 2 to 2, so Vreeland's batting .500. There are 8 stories. I'm figuring the half and half formula will hold true throughout.

Message edited by its author, Jul 12, 2009, 1:59pm.

Finished Inner Reaches of Outer Space -short and readable, but I may have to mull it over in my mind awhile to get the full benefit of it. Glad I erad it, though.

I am so impressed with all you "deep" readers out there. Summer season means BEACH READ for me.... And with that this week's embarassing title is Beyond the Blonde by Kathleen Flynn-Hui. This is offering just enough fluff to enjoy a hours on the sand. :) Happy reading!

>79 Hope you enjoy the Southern Vampire series. I read all 9. .I think the 10th is coming out this fall.

Am reading The Earth Hums in B flat by Strachan, a wonderful read so far. And, written by a librarian :-)

Into the Beautiful North was very good 4 good solid stars..

Onward to The Devils Highway, also by Urrea

Thanks, Richard. I've added it to my TBR; now the problem is to remember. 8)

I am still reading Elephants can remember by Agatha Christie. I just don't seem to read that much when I get a chance to read. I will have to start to read the books instead of all the threads on here and other message boards.

I am currently reading Off spring, which is a sequel to Off season, one of the most sickest books anyone will ever read!

#81 rocketjk - Your post regarding Girl in Hyacinth Blue has intrigued me enough to see that LT readers have varied in their rating of the book and LT's "Will You Like It?" thinks I might like it.... suffice to say, I have placed a hold on the book with my local library!

In the meantime, I finished City of Shadows by Ariana Franklin... a solid 'gritty' political crime/ thriller from start to finish.

Next up are two books for my Orange July reads: Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie and The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey.

HavockJunction -- I'm curious why it would interest you to read a sequel if you find it so "sick."

Holy crap! Where did last week go? and where did the weekend go? I'm just now posting and I'm 92nd? Dang... LOL...

Well, not like I've really read much anyway. I did finish Fruits Basket volume 2 today and I've started Fruits Basket volume 3 already. Okay, so who knew I'd be addicted to the fun little things?

Haven't finished or even made much headway with anything else. Maybe this week I'll settle down and read again.

I just started The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Just finished Brave Companions: Portraits in History by David McCullough. I'm also still working on Mayflower.

#90> lkernagh, I hope you like Girl in Hyacinth Blue better then I'm liking it so far. There are a lot of positive reviews on LT for the book, so hopefully you'll be among the crowd that enjoys the book.

>92 manga is really a suprisingly addictive medium! Have you seen the Fruits Basket anime? It was a little slow moving in some places, but pretty enjoyable overall.

Today I finished off The 10th Kingdom and am starting Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz which has been in my TBR pile for a very, very long time.

Jenson: Yes! My daughter and I have watched the whole anime. She likes the show better, but I like the books, personally. I've been reading them to her because she's really having a hard time with the right-to-left thing (probably why she likes the show more). I will be glad when we get past the show's parts, though, so that it'll be 100% new, AND so I won't have to hear "That's not in the show" from the Maglit (my daughter, Maggie)

I'm now beginning First comes Love then Comes Malaria: by Eve Brown-Waite

Decided to start on Deliverance this afternoon, and for some reason, the writing is driving me up a wall. I can't figure it out, but if I can't get into the story within another 20 pages or so, I'm going to put it aside and watch the movie instead.

Listened to Cadillac Desert while driving across country from Boston to LA. It was a very enlightening read and puts the desert scenery into perspective. I may have to visit the site of the Teton Dam collapse on my return trip.

Read The Sparrow yesterday. A quick, easy book about which I have very mixed feelings. As I've said elsewhere, I think an historical novel of 16th century Jesuit missionaries would have been more interesting.

I think that I'll listen to The Moonstone on my drive back to New England.

I just finished Columbine by Dave Cullen. Excellent!!!!!

I will be starting After Etan: The Missing Child Case that Held America Captive by Lisa R. Cohen before I go to bed.

Over the weekend I completed People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks and The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton.

People of the Book was fantastic. I would highly recommend it and I think it's better than her first novel - March. I already knew a lot about medieval Europe and Christian v Muslim v Jewish history, and the Holocaust but next to nothing about the Bosnian war. I was a child at the time and I now really want to know more about it.

The Outsiders I never read as a teenager. I guess because it was about a bunch of guys I wasn't interested in reading it as a teenage girl. Of course it surprised me the S. E. Hinton is a woman! The book was fantastic and I am definitely going to read it again in about a year. Read it slower. I read it so fast this time because it was so exciting! Despite some of the outdated or colloquial language it's still relevant - there is always an in and out crowd.

I'm now reading The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde

While working on my book of John Cheever stories and The Van, I've also started reading Madame Du Barry: The Wages of Beauty and The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie.

Touchstones being surly tonight.

Message edited by its author, Jul 12, 2009, 11:36pm.

Still working on The Immortals quartet by Tamora Pierce. Just finished Wolf-Speaker this evening and I'm probably going to start Emperor Mage tomorrow.

kiwiflowa - I think Brooks' first novel was Year of Wonders about the plague. It was excellent also.

Finished Little Women. The last chapter is perhaps a touch oversweet, but overall a good read. It's also the first book, apart from the Twilight books, that I've finished in a while, so that feels good.

Now back to my JUngian psychology. What fun! *groan*

Just finished Xenocide. Favorite Ender book thus far.

Going on to Oliver Sack's Musicophilia, which is starting off pretty cool.

Message edited by its author, Jul 13, 2009, 12:33am.

Teelgee - yes I have Year of Wonders high up on my wish list now!

I finished The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. Loved it.

Hello gang! How's it going??

I just wanted to tell you, I just finished The Geography of Love: A Memoir by Glenda Burgess and it was outstanding. Truly a powerfully moving book. Very difficult to read in places but an amazing story. If you get a chance, be sure to pick it up. I literally stayed up for the entire night to read it, and finally finished it near dawn. I was blown away by this story.

I decided a change was in order so I am now beginning Person of Interest by Theresa Schwegel and so far it looks pretty good.

Hope everyone is doing well. I didn't go through this whole thread as it is nearing 2am and I need some sleep!!! Just wanted to recommend The Geography of Love. I posted a review for it.

Have a great week! xoxo

PORCHY!!!!!!! flying tackle hug~ missed ya~

99...fred, just curious.. if you were looking for a historical novel why on eath read The Sparrow and then judge it according to what it is not instead of what it is?? I find this baffling.

96 - thekoolaidmom> I read Fruits Basket volumes 6 and 7 so far looking to pick up where the anime left off, but haven't quite gotten to anything new yet. I also tend to drive my hubby mad when I watch something and say "that wasn't in the book!" :-)

Last night we were watching The Goblet of Fire and I mentioned that the graveyard scene was one of my faves from the book. He told me "books don't have scenes." I didn't bother to even try to answer that one!

I'll be finishing The Robber Bride today. I've really enjoyed this book, even more than The Blind Assassin, which I read earlier this year. Next up is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. I finally broke down and bought it due to all of the praise it's received here and from friends who've read it. I think I got it the day it came out in paperback.

Almost finished with Harpist in the Wind and one of my other threads is recommending The Sparrow and it sounds like a good one to get now so I am off to the local library's website to see if its available.

I'm reading Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively and finding it most enjoyable.

Finished Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell last night. Not much sleep for me!! I enjoyed it a lot, but was disappointed in the passive roles of all the female characters.

Still reading Gunpowder: A history of the explosive that changed the world and I'm not starting anything else until Wednesday, when I'll start Pillars of the Earth.

Message edited by its author, Jul 13, 2009, 8:49am.

I have now finished Harpist in the Wind. I am going to the library soon for that book mentioned two posts above!

>99: I envy you that cross-country road trip, Fred. It sounds (pun intended) like you are listening to some great books along the way. Nothing better than that combination.

I finished Little Bee with mixed impressions. I will find that a difficult review to write. Next up is Small Island by Andrea Levy.

I'll finish Rude Awakenings Of A Jane Austen Addict tonight, and then I'm going to wrap up Mr. Darcy, Vampyre tomorrow -- hopefully! After that I'm grabbing Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani or Alyson Noel's Evermore, my June ER book... we'll see. It's a toss-up right now!

>81 rocketjk, you said: I mean, it's not like we're dealing with John Barth, here. and I am still laughing. My dog thinks I'm hurting, she's got her paw on my thigh and is licking me. My aunt and her home health aide came to the door to see what was so funny.

I loathed this Vreelandish codswallop. I made it through the Pearl Rule 50pp and didn't even donate it to the Catholic Church, my usual practice when a book is so bad that it makes me angry to think that trees died to create it. I actually got up, got dressed, and threw it in the garbage on the curb.

BTW, I just returned from the liberry where I procured A Mad Desire to Dance because I couldn't wait one more minute to read it!

I'm reading Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer. Beautiful description, suspenseful.

Just starting two books today, the first I picked up at the library - The Tunnels by Michelle Gagnon, a suspense-thriller. Secondly, from my TBR shelves, Autum Bridge by Takashi Matsuoka, this is the sequel to Cloud of Sparrows that I read and enjoyed last year.

I finished Sweetsmoke last night and absolutely LOVED it! I read it in about two days it was so wonderful. I am about to start The Labors of Hercules by Agatha Christie. It doesn't appear that this will take long to read as it is very short and appears to be a collection of short stories featuring Hercule Poirot.

Finished Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe - the second in Sandra Gullard's Josephine Bonaparte trilogy. Good, light historical fiction which was right on time after the Walden debacle.

Now I am reading Revolutionary Road which has sucked me in rather quickly.

#81> Hey Richard, I'm happy I made you laugh. And for the record, I like John Barth. I took a course in grad school on John Barth and John Hawkes. Both were very cool. Giles Goat Boy: funny stuff.

Regarding A Mad Desire to Dance, don't forget what I said about the opening section. It's somewhat impenatrable (sp?), but you have to just go with it and then things even out very, very well indeed.

I'm reading Big Fish by Daniel Wallace. I love the folktale craft of Edward Bloom's life.

jhowell - I loved Revoluntionary Road! I hope you do too.

#99 fredbacon, I was very impressed by Cadillac Desert when I read it -- probably 20 years ago -- both by the writing and by the information. Glad to hear it's still available and probably more relevant than ever.

I finished A Perfect Spy, another John le Carre, and easily not only the best of his I've read but one of the best books I've read this year -- on the surface a spy story, but really a novel about love, deception, betrayal, history, fathers and sons, and much more.

DL: Books don't have scenes, eh? Well now, as a writer, I find that piece of information most helpful. *sigh* Sometimes ya just wonder, don't you?

I said to heck with it all and started reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Again.

Last night I picked up Watchdog. The background of the dog show world is not interesting, nor have the characters captivated me. But, it's something to read.

Blasted touchstones.

Message edited by its author, Jul 13, 2009, 3:17pm.

Catreona - He's just lucky that I love him and am able to overlook his occasional stupid comment LOL!

We're one of those "opposites attract" couples if you can't tell.

#111 - Jenson_AKA_DL: Maybe he's related to the girl I went to high school with who didn't believe me when I said books could be scary.

I am still slogging away at my insane re-reads of the HP books - read all of Goblet of Fire last night and then slept til noon. Will probably do the same again tonight with Order of the Phoenix so i will be in need of serious quantities of tea to keep me conscious all day. Hopefully I'll have got up to the sixth by the time i go to see the film on wednesday night.

I'm reading the Everyman volume of Richard Ford's Bascombe novels (The Sportswriter, Independence Day and Lay of the Land). Enjoying them thoroughly. Bascombe can be a jerk at times but you can't help liking him. He is stunningly realised as a character - Ford is a very talented writer even though he can be a bit hard going at times. The books can be bitter sweet, sad but funny and, on the whole, life affirming. Reccomended - especially in the single volume Everyman edition.

>124 jk, Giles Goat-Boy lives as one of my very, very favorite shared reads. My daughter and I read it together when she was pregnant the first time. Good fun.

I am mid-domestic-chaos, so I hit the line, "Am I really me? And the other one, who is he when he says I? Is he still me?" on p23 of A Mad Desire to Dance and said, "Oh HELL no," set the book down, and picked up Fool Moon by Jim Butcher and am about eight chapters in. Just can't do that today. I shall return to the thickets of impenetrability tomorrow, agog to conquer syntactical campaigns by the Obfuscatorian Authorial Elite.

I loaned my copy of Gift From My Son to the director of our school ..
she promptly loaned me a pro vaccine , anti think for yourself tome Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure by Dr. Paul A. Offit MD. I managed 160 pages at work today.. There is humor in this if you read the descriptions of both books. I am trying to maintain an open mind, but there is a lot of I am smart and right and they are not and so so wrong...ewwwww. For home, Still reading The Devil's Highway .

Message edited by its author, Jul 13, 2009, 5:29pm.

Finished War and Peace, sticking to Russia at the moment with The Karamazov Brothers and then I've promised myself something lighter

still in The Glister...but my fella has decided to cut firewood now...while we can tell living-from-dead trees...yeah, it's a real fun fest...but he's been here too much lately and my reading time is sadly curtailed..back to the subject at hand..the Book seems like it will be a keeper.....lots more going on beneath the surface than just a Creep-Fest. i hope i am correct and not just sleep-deprived
;-}

Went away to the beach for the day with grand hopes of reading many books. Well, I read a little over 2/3 of Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle by Nan Marino. Alas, the wind and the surf and the birds and the Maglit proved too much of a distraction for my ADD to overcome! lol

I've also gotten about halfway through The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor, which I'm enjoying, but am mixed about... dunno why.

#135> Richard, I know. As I said, that early section would have repelled me had it not been anyone but Wiesel writing. But you know, on the other hand, that quote you cited . . . well . . . if you've ever felt mentally unhinged, really depressed, bad acid trip, whatever . . . well, let's just say the sentiment expressed there is not wholly unfamiliar to me. But, yes, the first 40 or 50 pages could have used editing. I warned ya, though.

I finished up American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. What a strange book. Very brutal and graphic. The book is not for everyone. And yet, its an interesting depiction of a man spiraling down into insanity. The farther along you go, the more bizarre and unreal his madness becomes and you get the feeling that all of this has been in his own mind. Its not a book I could read a second time.

Anyway, still working my way through Mad Ship, about half way through. Haven't decided if I'm going to add a second book or just try to finish this one up.

I am reading "The Cluttered Corpse" by Mary Jane Maffini. I will read her next book in the series.

#111 Hey, J ~ I just have to ask: If they aren't scenes, what does he call them? Just curious.

Bookmarkme: Congratulations onn finishing W&P!

How are you feeling? Is the neck any better?

#141 - Narilka - I agree with you on American Psycho - it's intriguing, but not something I could reread. I had to start the book twice before I was able to finish it. The first time, I was so nauseated that I had to put it down. The movie, however, is a different story - I've watched that one many times!

Just finished Small Island. Great book. Now it's one of my all time favourites.
Next up is The Colour, well written, set in NZ but I came across something that I think a Kiwi would never say and it might have put me off a wee bit.

You might like The Poet and the Murderer by Simon Worrall. Red Water is a favorite of mine, too.

Thank you! I read the book a few months ago and it has stuck with me. I couldn't remember the title -- thanks for mentioning it!

I'm working my way through Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell and just recieved my first Early Reviewer book yesterday Evermore: the immortals by Alyson Noel. I'm excited! Got through two chapters of Evermore: the immortals last night before falling asleep!

Finished A Death in the Family. Just barely started Portnoy's complaint and still reading The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm.

I picked The Sparrow up at the library yesterday after so many here were recommending it. I am already halfway through - almost.

Started the third novel of John Updike's Rabbit Quartet, Rabbit is Rich. These novels by far, have been the highlight of my summer reading.

Re: The Girl in Hyancinth Blue by Susan Vreeland-- another one of my least favorite books. I had to read it for a class. Oh dear.

>134: I just finished Independence Day. I've contemplated reading the other Frank Bascombe books, because Richard Ford really is that gifted a writer, but I found Independence Day to be a difficult and close-hitting emotional read.

I ate up Methland, which I recommend to anybody who wants to read about the rural poor. I loved the author's attention to both the micro-level and macro-level of the meth epidemic, and he weaves the two stories extroadinarily well. Meth use seems to be even more of a pressing issue-- just today the New York Times carried a story about families living in former meth labs and facing health problems.

I'm now reading Ender's Game.

>143 - Stor, My husband is anti-book, so I guess he doesn't call them anything!

It really is amazing that we will have been married 18 years in August.

#154 Oh, my, Jenine! Anti-book, and you not only an avid reader but a writer too! That IS amazing!

Today I started Medical London: City of Diseases, City of Cures by Richard Barnett and Mike Jay, which consists of a book of essays about life and death in London, a guide to sites of medical importance in history in the city by district, and six walking guides to medical London. I'm also reading Independent People by Halldór Laxness for the Reading Globally monthly theme read (Polar Regions), and The Song of False Lovers by Sylvie Germain.

I just finished Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and I really liked it.

Later I'm going to start a book I've had sitting around for awhile, A Scattering of Jades by Alexander C. Irvine.

I am reading An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter by Cesar Aira which I started a month or so ago and then misplaced. I'm also reading Revolution in Mind by George Makari and I think I'm about to give up on The Rest Is Noise because I haven't picked it up in about a month.

Message edited by its author, Jul 14, 2009, 1:00pm.

I am reading Adam Bede by George Eliot and listening to Bones by Jonathan Kellerman.

#150> sanja, I really hope you enjoy Portnoy! Roth is one of my literary heroes. I grew up exactly in the neighborhood of Newark that Roth describes in the book (and in many other of his novels) and I can tell you that the portrayal of that neighborhood is dead on and his portrayal of the attitudes of the Jewish community of that era, while somewhat exaggerated for comic purposes, is spot on as well.

Not everyone will like Roth, as his attitudes about gender issues are abrasive (but, in my opinion, honest, warts and all), to say the least, and his style his not universally admired, either. But his facility with language, his ability to provide a beautiful, heart-rendingly sublime sentence, is unsurpassed in contemporary American fiction, in my opinion.

Anyway, that's just my two cents. I'm always jealous of someone reading any of Roth's prime era novels for the first time. Have fun!

Message edited by its author, Jul 14, 2009, 2:26pm.

#39
I also just reread HP & H-B P. Last spring I also reread 1-5 to get in the mood. I will be going to see the movie on Monday with my daughter and taking lots of hankies. Can't wait.

Well, we're on the HP bandwagon as well. My girlfriend and I are planning to go see it tomorrow. Also, I finished Evermore: the immortals today. Great first novel to what hopes to be an equally great series. I would reccomend this to fantasy fans. If Alyson Noel turns out to be as good of a writer as I feel she is, it will be lovely to watch her stories evolve.

Last night I began Top of the World by Hans Ruesch. Written in 1950, the novel describes the lives of Inuits living close to the North Pole. I raced through the first 50 pages. Very nicely written. This book was made into a movie starring Anthony Quinn in 1960 and released in the U.S. in 1961 as The Savage Innocents. According to wikipedia, "Ironically, Hans Ruesch had never seen an Eskimo. He based his story on the Oscar-winning film Eskimo (1933), directed by W.S. van Dyke." So I don't know how accurate the portrayal is. But it's fun to read, so far.

#161 you wrote I will be going to see the movie on Monday with my daughter and taking lots of hankies.

I was thinking about this the other day. I'm not a fan of the current Dumbledore. If Richard Harris were still playing him, I would definitely need the hankies (as I did for the book where in my mind he's always Richard Harris). But I don't think I'm going to need them for this movie. Time will tell, of course.

Just finished John Lescroart's A PLAGUE OF SECRETS, Jeffery Deaver's ROADSIDE CROSSES, and Patti Callhan Henry's DRIFTWOOD SUMMER. Am now heading for Dorothea Benton Frank's RETURN TO SULLIVAN'S ISLAND.

Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com

Received The Boxer and the Spy in today's mail, and hope to begin listening to it tonight.

Can't remember if I've said, but The Portable Jung is fascinating, maybe even enthralling. I never would have believed Psychology could grab me. Live and learn.

>160: rocketjk

Thanks ever so much! I was hoping it wouldn't turn into one of those things that I should read but cannot get excited about.

#167> You're welcome, sanja. I don't think you'll have a problem getting excited about Portnoy, although some have gotten excited in quite a negative way!

Just finished Sin in the Second City which was an interesting, though somewhat confusing, read (the author tends to jump around a bit). It definitely won't win any Pultizers but is probably worth picking up if you are interested in the history of gender and sexuality or the history of Chicago.

Now starting The Poisonwood Bible which I've heard many, many good things about. I've also had a good laugh at everyone rereading various Potter books. I'm also in the rereading mood, starting with the first one.

#145 - coloradogirl14 - I've not seen the movie and hadn't planned to really. I'm not sure they could accurately translate the book, which is probably a good thing when you think about it.

I am in the middle of Atonement which I will put aside once my greatly anticipated Season 2 of Mad Men arrives!

#sanja, I second rocketjk's recommendation for Portnoy's complaint. I stared with Goodbye,Columbus many years ago and then proceeded to read through my local library's collection of Roth. It's one of my fondest memories of a reading life. I love the Zuckerman books too.

aliay- I just listened to a podcast featuring the author of Methland and it sounds both fascinating and harrowing. Please share your opinion.
I'm 2/3rds done with Olive Kitteridge and it will easily make my best of the year list. What an incredible writer!
Once again, we are having a group read on Pillars of the Earth, starting tomorrow and it's not to late to jump aboard. Find us here... http://www.librarything.com/topic/67664

I finished The Kingdom on the Waves yesterday, a really good, thoughtful historical fiction. Now I'm reading Necropolis and hoping it will do the trick of keeping me up tonight before I go to see the midnight showing of Harry Potter...

I don't have much time for reading these days, but in whatever little snippets of time I can steal I'm reading A Woman of Independent Means by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey.

#170 - Narilka - I think the movie is worth watching. It's not as intense as the book, but it's a good representation of Patrick Bates' narcissism and madness...just on a slightly less gruesome scale. I love horror novels and horror movies, so you'd think that I'd be able to stand a fair amount of gore, but there were parts in that book that really sickened me, especially towards the end.

I'm reading Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull, the second book of the Fablehaven series. So far, an interesting read.

I lust finished reading the Foretelling today. It is a great book. I highly recommend this book!

Among other books I'm reading, my current Orange July book is The Gathering by Anne Enright.

*Sigh* Once again, I find myself reading more books at one time than any person ought to. Well, this week I am reading...

"The Unbearable Lightness of Being"- Milan Kundera
"Of Love and Demons"- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
"Pulp"- Charles Bukowski
"The Collected Stories of Ernest Hemingway" (49 of them, to be precise)
"Flowers for Hitler"- Leonard Cohen
"The Ground Beneath Her Feet"- Salman Rushdie
"Swann's Way"- Marcel Proust

(and these are not including a few poetry and short story collections that I am continually reading)

Hmm....I may need to cut back a bit. I probably should focus on my library books that have to go back eventually.

Finished The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad who lived for a certain amount of time close with the Kan family and portraied the daily life of this family soon after the flight of the Taliban. The book , written in a literaly form , has not a broad view on the Afghan culture, because the Kan’s or better kan’s clan, are well off compared to the majority of the other clans and families in general.
At first the author meet a remarkably liberated Afghan man, whose name was Sultan whom parents sent him to school so to allow him to achieve a good culture. He was an ardent bibliophile who love books and modern ideas; spent time in jail for anti-Islamic behavior, and despised Taliban who burned his books. He used also derid the burkas as a symbol of his beloved country’s backwardeness and oppression. But at home he was quite different , femal were little more that slaves, they couldn’t express any wish or sentiment, in short he was a tyrant toward everyone, in his family his words were laws; he committed every one , his younger brothers and sons have to work in his bookshop or stall, selling bbooks and postcards twelve hours a day seven days a week.

Also read Chess Story a short story by Stefan Zweig . The novel is set on steamer sailing from New York to Buenos Aires where among the passenger there are the world champion chess Mr Czentovic which mind is only focused on the game and such Dr. B. Who is even more addicted by the game. But why the later can easily beat the champion if no one has never heard of him? Can’t add anything else witout spoiling the story.

Now just started Birth of the Chess Queen a History by Marilyn Yalom, who examines the development of this piece , since when the game was invented , India and Persia there was not such a piece, in her place there was an advisor’s king called “vizier” once that the game was brought to the Europe through the Arab invasion in the southern Europe in the eight century, the vizier was replaced by the Queen. At first it was not a powerful piece like is nowadays, but its power follows the ascent of female sovereigns in Europe . So the book is also a fascinating history of medieval courts and internal struggles for power. At least so blurb claims

Message edited by its author, Jul 15, 2009, 6:20am.

Last night started in on The Invention of Everything Else :)

Currently reading Columbine. It is so compelling and real. Dave Cullen is not only an excellent storyteller and writer, but an author who has his library listings here on LT, and, had an interesting and lively thread here a couple of weeks ago. Link to topic thread below:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/65902#...

I will also be re-reading Pillars of the Earth for the group read that began at midnight this morning, July 15th. Go Mark and Company!!! It will be so great to share this book with the group, although it was an amazing solo read also.

WH aka Ruth

Ag i was too tired to get on the computer last night since i'd stayed up until past 6am reading the whole of Order of the Phoenix in prep for seeing Half-Blood Prince at the cinema today. Unfortunately i still haven't got through the book yet and i have work that *must* be done before i got out so i'm trying to race through it so i have the most possible reading time.
Tomorrow i will start re-reading Pillars for the group read but no way am i gonna speed through all 1000 pages of it in one go lol

>173 msf59: Methland is a quick read, and I almost plowed through it too fast to let it all sink in. Overall, the book was less graphic than I anticipated (thankfully, I had to skip paragraphs here and there). Reding's MFA from NYU in creative writing shows.

What the book did lack, at least from my point of view, was an academic and analytical rigor that I am used to reading when I read sociology. Certainly he's writing to a non-academic audience instead of an academic one, but I think the book could have been made better if he put more of an academic than a journalistic lens on the subject. But then, of course, he would be sacrificing the flow.

So even if the book doesn't argue itself rigorously, it still serves as an excellent wakeup call, of sorts. I think our country is still obsessed with this idea that the countryside is somehow morally superior and spiritually rejuvenating, and it is exactly those kinds of views that can fan the flames of some of the issues he treats in his book.

Ender's Game got off to a fast start, but I ultimately decided to put it down. I was confused about the universe that Ender lived in, I couldn't understand how months had lapsed in a matter of pages, I didn't find Ender's character compelling, and I felt that it was written for a different kind of reader than me. I would totally pull the "It's not you, it's me" line on Ender.

I instead picked up The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner. One of my former profs said that everybody who read it enjoyed it, and it was on the 1001 list. 15 pages in, it's much more my speed.

Almost done with The Sparrow and the library emails me that two of my holds have come in, so I am off to pick them up and will return all three at the same time.

>181 grelobe, what an interesting selection of books you're reading! I can see the appeal of a book whose main character derides burqas as backward and then treats women as slaves...which is the real man?

I don't find chess at all pleasurable to play, but I now want to read The Birth of the Chess Queen after your synopsis of it. Another book I would never have heard of if not for LibraryThing!

Listened to The Boxer and the Spy last night, it's only four discs. Excellent, suspenseful read.

Finished both my audiobook and my print book from last week yesterday.
Started a new audiobook The Thin Man, but have yet to decide on my next print book.. Assassination Vacation or Julie and Julia?

I was also missing from part of the conversation last week where people were talking about pets and reading. There's a non-profit here in Austin that takes dogs into public libraries and schools to have kids read to them. The idea is that dogs aren't going to tell kids they are reading "wrong" and dogs will make it fun. When we got our first dachshund I wanted to get involved with this group, but Linus was not cooperative and wouldn't sit still to be read to. Our second dachshund could probably handle it, but he's a rescue and I don't like to stress him out too much.

For those reading Birth of the Chess Queen You might want to take a look into The Immortal Game by David Shenk. A good, brief, overview of the history of the game.

>190 Smiley, thanks for the tip!

I just posted reviews of Fool Moon by Jim Butcher and Silas Marner on my new "75-Books Challenge" thread. Can't believe I'm up to four threads over there!

http://www.librarything.com/topic/68941/

Message edited by its author, Jul 15, 2009, 1:08pm.

I didn't like The Girl in Hyacinth Blue at all. I didn't like the backwards chronology and found the stories shallow.

It didn't help that I had just finished listening to The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, which I absolutely adored. The comparison did not help Vreeland.

#180 twistontheclassic - I have finally acquired all 7 books in Remembrance of Things Past (or also called In Search of Lost Time) series by Proust, Swann's Way being first. I might tackle it for a fall read.

I'm still reading John Adams and Pride and Prejudice, but the book that came to work with me today to read at lunchtime is Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin. It keeps getting better and better.

To my fellow Girl in Hyacinth Blue despisers, you'll find my short review of the book, which I finished a few days ago, at the (current) end my 50-Book Challenge thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/54150.

I'm thinking of taking my girls to see the HP movie tonight. I want to laugh at them if they cry at the end. I told them a main ch. dies, and they're hoping it's Draco... mwah ha ha ha!

I still think they could've done something like Weekend at Bernies and just kept using the same Dumbledore. Hey, Zombie Dumbledore would be a lot harder to kill, I bet. Of course, the side effect of zombie-ism is a severe loss of intelligence, so he might just be nothing more than a shield.

Oh, I almost forgot whiy I was posting... lol. I finished Neil Armstrong is My Uncle by Nan Marino (review here). I enjoyed it and waxed a bit nostalgic reading it. I started The Inconvenient Adventures of Uncle Chestnut by Paul Nowak this morning, another that's making me reminisce about my childhood, and finding it not quite what I expected but quite enjoyable.

reading Julie and Julia won over Assassination Vacation because of the line of people behind me waiting for it at the library. It already makes me want to putter in the kitchen.. and watch endless episodes of Ace of Cakes.

> 195 I love Ace of Cakes, a talented bunch they are.

I started The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane last night, acquired because of all the comment on LT.

I'm reading Old Filth by Jane Gardam. (Filth = Failed in London, Try Hong Kong). Too early to tell...seems like a typical story of British manners, in contemporary times.

I'm still going with the Fred Hollows Autobiography and War and Peace, but they have had to take a back seat to my book club book: The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I'm reading it quickly, but am finding it quite harrowing. The writing matches the sparseness and bleakness of the story.

I think I can honestly say I've never been more sad than I was at the end of Half-Blood Prince.

Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2009, 9:12am.

I have finished the very short and very strange An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter by César Aira and have started the charming and I hope not too sappy Wesley the Owl by Stacey O'Brien.

Started Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin. Starting out pretty good.

I finished The Templar Legacy a couple of days ago. It was a lot of fun, and I imagine it as the sort of book Dan Brown would write if he had respect for the English language, facts or his readers.

I picked up an odd little book at a library book sale last year: Fantasmas: Supernatural Stories by Mexican American Writers. Started it today. So far, none of the stories have really grabbed me, but it's still early. I also borrowed Amberes from the library. It's one of Bolaño's earliest works. So far, it seems really disjointed. Don't know if it'll add up to anything, but it has had its moments.

I finished The Sparrow inn time to pickup THREE books that had been on hold for me at the library Loitering with Intent, Finger Lickin Fifteen and Strawberry Shortcake Murder.

Oh, and I also read Champagne Cocktails just for fun!

Message edited by its author, Jul 15, 2009, 9:48pm.

I just finished The Strain by Guillermo del Toro in two days. It isn't pretending to be great literature, but is a quick read. At times it feels like a screenplay. The ending sets up the next book in this trilogy.

Just finishedd The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison and then immediately picked upThe Bialy Eaters - the Story of a Bread and a Lost World by Mimi Sheraton. One for escape and one to learn something I guess.

#200> Original message deleted because the original reason for the message was revised making my message therefore confusing, and because mckait told me I was wrong, anyway.

Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2009, 4:59pm.

I sidelined The Winner Stands Alone for a while (aka bring to work read in between surgeries...).
I'm so disappointed with this book! Its like I'm reading a collections of cliches that people say about show biz, true, but dated. Where are the fundamental truths that we can't always define that paulo coelho does for us? *sigh* I hope at least the serial killer will be interesting because so far, its only variations of the same "people do everything for fame/power, power/fame don't make you happy"

And started of course Pillars of the Earth, it was so great to trip over the notice for the group read I was hoping to bump PotE soon on my tbr pile, it'll be much more fun to read with all of you!

Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2009, 4:38am.

Although i didn't manage to finish Half-Blood Prince before i saw the movie (i was actually still reading as the lights went down :P) I carried on reading after i got home and finished the 6th book and then for some insane reason started reading Deathly Hallows straight afterwards. I finished that around half 5 this morning and now i've "woken up" (I am in no way awake- merely conscious) I am reading Tales of Beedle the Bard so i'll have read the entire works of JKR in less than a week. Perhaps then i can actually get some sleep

207.. no spoilers.. common knowledge...JKR herself told that a character dies.

I finished The Road this afternoon when I got home from work (yay for hubby cooking. This is one of the times when a non-reading spouse is good). A very bleak, sparse book. It falls into the category of good, well-written, but not enjoyable books. Blindness by Jose Saramago is much the same for me. I admire the writing but they are so harrowing to read. I felt detached from the Road, partly the writing style, and partly I knew I would cry like a baby if I got too emotionally involved.

hated The Road ick.

I gave up on The Invention of Everything Else because Crow Lake started jumping up and down and calling out to me instead. . will have a go at Invention another time....

Finished Looking for JJ this morning, and am now a few pages in to Vilette.

Animal Farm by George Orwell.

>211: Couldn't finish Blindness. Too depressing.

I also could not get into The Book Thief, as much as I want to read it. I found the voice too choppy and I want something smooth for the train. I did pick up Sin and the Second City at the library, and maybe I'll start that soon. I love books about Chicago.

Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2009, 9:03am.

#207: I reworded it.

Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2009, 9:13am.

I'm reading Ask Again Later by Jill A. Davis. It's okay. I'm having trouble getting really into it because the chapters are really, really short (a page or 2 at most), giving the book a very episodic feel. It's probably a good book to read if you don't have a lot of time and are trying to squeeze in some reading into very short periods, but I'm finding it very choppy.

I finished Bad Boy: A Memoir last night. It's an interesting memoir recounting the difficulties of growing up smart and black, both adding to his sense of alienation. Writing simple and straightforward which nonetheless left me anxiously anticipating what would happen next. Includes good depictions of Harlem in the 1940's and 50's.

I finished Medical London: City of Diseases, City of Cures last night, and submitted a review. Today I'll read Chess Story, then get back to An African in Greenland and Independent People.

>212, mckait, I hope you love Crow Lake as much as I did. She wrote another called The Other Side of the Bridge. Not a sequel, but another story set in that same Northern Ontario town.

>212 Loved Crow Lake (as you know!) -- I do hope you get back to The Invention of Everything Else - I thought it was excellent.

207.. no spoilers there, Ape could just be sad the series is over. I'm sad the series is over. Tales of Beedle the Bard did not fill my Harry Potter fix. .

Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2009, 11:05am.

I also enjoyed The Invention of Everything Else.

... another big Crow Lake fan. It had been sitting in my library for years, then I heard it raved about here ... very glad I did. I loved it.

#195 and #196-Ace of Cakes is one of my favorite shows- they are absolutely amazing people and what they create are out of this world

I started reading The Girl With The Pearl Earring by Steig Larsson yesterday.. so far so good

Finally finished The Buried Book by David Damrosch.
About the recovery of the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Odd book. Part archaeolocigal adventure story, revisionist biography, literary criticism, cultural survey and topical essay. Works best when dealing with archaeology/biography. The other parts are a bit much. Read it with an open mind, but critical mind.

Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2009, 5:12pm.

Got three books from the library so I will be reading this weekend and knowing me they may all be done by early next week - this'll start my new challenge!

And I just got notified that my nephew, David Sakmyster's new book Silver and Gold is on it's way from Amazon and I am still awaiting the ER that I won for June.

Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2009, 4:52pm.

Loved The Road by Cormac McCarthy (not by Jack Kerouac, foolish touchstone) and The Book Thief, both among the best I've ever read. Always surprised when some others don't like them.

Started The Manual of Detection byJedediah Berry and Sailing Home: Using Homer's Odyssey to Navigate Life's Perils and Pitfalls by Norman Fischer.

Still working on What Angels Fear. Started The Complete Idiot's Guide to Speed Reading that I got from the library. I am thoroughly enjoying this book. I might have to go pick up a copy from the bookstore to keep. It has a lot of exercises in it! My wpm went from 250 (average) to 495 (well above average). (700+ is like supersonic I guess.)

Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2009, 5:15pm.

#195

I know it is late in the thread but for-what-its worth, I didn't think that Julie and Julia was all that good. However, My Life in France was one of the best autobiographies that I have ever read. In fact I think it should be used as a template for writing an autobiography. It was one of the best books I read two years ago. Julia Child was such a character full of the love of living and that comes through in the book. I will say that the author of Julie and Julia started writing a blog and perhaps the blog is better than the book, or maybe the book doesn't tell all of the story and you have to look at the blog in order to get Julie's full story. It wasn't a bad book, (I finished reading it and didn't throw it at the wall ... give it to the Catholic church ... or throw it in the garbage ...) I just have to wonder why it was a best seller? If you only have time to read one book about Julia Child I would recommend reading My Life in France.

I do want to see the movie because I wonder how they are going to work the two books together. Should be interesting.

I loved Manual of Detection! It was one of the best books I have read this year. The author does a superb job of atmospheric writing. You can really feel and touch the dreamlike city he describes. Also likes the plot twists and turns. It kept me reading long into the night. For the discovery of this wonderful book I have to thank the people at Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi. Kudos to that great bookstore and their table of recommended reads! What would we do without independent bookstores.

I will check out The Other Side of The Bridge. I am liking what I have read of Crow Lake. I will certainly get back to The Invention of Everything Else, and probably soon. I was needing something/.."else" you know:)

Finished up The Time Traveler's Wife the beginning of this week and am now reading Olive Kitteridge.

I finished The Labors of Hercules by Agatha Christie (seriously, touchstones doesn't recognize Agatha Christie?) which was quick and enjoyable. I am now reading an Early Reviewer, Annie's Ghosts, which is very enjoyable so far. It is a memoir and I always have a bit of trouble reading them - I seem to always wonder how much is actually true and how much is made up which, for some reason, interferes with my enjoyment of the book. Stupid, I know but it is what it is.

I am about 120 pages into East of the Sun. It is an interesting book, a little slow going so far.

Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2009, 6:31pm.

Getting on pretty well with The Portable Jung. No doubt I'll have to read it again, but I'm amazed at how interesting it is. I've also decided that, since dreams and their interpretation was one of the early and major things over which Jung differed with Freud, it would be a good idea to read The Interpretation of Dreams so as to gain a better idea of exactly where Jung is coming from by seeing exactly where he and Freud disagree. I must say, despite the inherently airy fairy nature of Psychology, Jung strikes me as very solidly grounded and sensible, a touch excentric perhaps, but sincerely committed to his work and, well, a shrink I wouldn't mind so very much talking to. Perhaps I'm totally off, but my impression of Jung is of a centered, kind man.

Oh dear. I allowed myself to get drawn into an argument on another group discussion thread about faith/religion with someone who has extremely strong anti faith/religion views. Now I suppose I'll get a reputation on LT as a troublemaker and narrowminded religious fanatic. *sigh*

Having just finished with Hare Today Dead Tomorrow by Cynthia Baxter, and had a good lighthearted read with more than a few chuckles, I'm going to tackle some historic fiction in Stealing Athena Karen Essex

I join , sorry I don't remember who was and can't track she/he down, in thanking msg190 Smiley, for the indication about The Immortal Game (touchstone goes on a wrong book) by David Shenk

Message edited by its author, Jul 17, 2009, 5:32am.

cantreona... not to worry... we are all grown up people here and if somone can not deal with an opposing opinion... it is seriously THEIR problem and not yours...Lively discussion is great fun!

>228 jnwelch: I read a little bit more of The Book Thief and I am warming up to it. At the recommendation of my local book dealer, I started Bobos in Paradise and it's exactly my kind of book. Maybe I will return to the The Book Thief.

I'm reading The Good Mayor by Andrew Nicoll (Scotland). I knew nothing about this book and it turns out to be a very nicely written love story with a sense of humour.

Just finished Finger Lickin Fifteen and now onto either Loitering with Intent or Strawberry Shortcake Murder or the book I picked to finish my 999.

Just started reading The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett. Needed a short and amusing read for a busy day ahead.

I'm reading A Field Guide to Buying Organic which I bought for reference but am finding to be a surprisingly interesting read! Will wonders never cease?!

> SqueakyChu, I have that book & found it quite informative. It wasn't dry as some guide books are

Hi Jess,

Yeah. When I brought the book home, I registered it at BookCrossing and here at LT. I always check the LT ratings for a new purchase. I found that it was rated 3.83 which is a pretty good rating for an LT-listed book, especially a mass market paperback I bought full price in my (conventional) grocery store. That is something I don't remember ever doing before!

Message edited by its author, Jul 17, 2009, 11:22am.

aliay #241 I'm glad you're warming up to The Book Thief and hope you do return to it. It's a remarkable book.

#230 - I find sometimes that the "blog-to-book" genre doesn't work very well. I think they require very talented editors in order to create a story out of what is often daily stream of consciousness.

I started A Gull On the Roof by Derek Tangye this morning. This is one of a series of books about an English couple that chucked their careers and lives in London, moved to Cornwall, started a daffodil farm, and tried to live a simple, rural life. A lot of the books focus on the animals that were in their life. Good books.

I'm trudging my way through Ulysses after telling a friend that I'd read it this summer (he gave me a copy as a gift for Christmas and basically wants someone he can talk with about his favorite book). I'm enjoying it, but at the same time I can only manage ten or so pages at a time. There's such a thing as being too much IN a character's mind. After awhile I start to feel suffocated.

To break up the density, I'm also reading The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint. I love spending time in his little world where fairies exist and anything is possible. I'm not much for the fantasy genre, but he's very good at making suspension of disbelief easy.

mckait, thanks for the reassurance. Fortunately, I was worried needlessly. The person responded in a civil manner and all is well.

People here sure are nice.

Rereading my copy of Lockheed SR-71: The Secret Missions Exposed (Osprey Modern Military) by Paul F. Crickmore

Dense and technical, but interspersed with interesting personal anecdotes.

I've finally started reading The Pillars of the Earth for the group read i'm participating in. Since i've got until next wednesday to read the first part I can be more leisurely about my reading speed so I don't need to stay up until the crack of dawn reading like a maniac as i've done for the last week .

Larry, the SR-71 has fascinated me for a very long time. I've put Crickmore's books on my wishlist, although they are not available new from Barnes and Noble now.

There was a book called something like Sled (it may be the book at this touchstone) about the SR-71 available for around $400 that I would like to find at a yard sale for a quarter.

Thank you for your reference.

Robert

So far, so good. I'm enjoying Julie and Julia. I think I recall trying to read it when it came out and couldn't really get into it, but as mentioned earlier I am a Food Network junkie now and I wasn't when I tried to read this earlier. I was more of the set the kitchen on fire making toasted ravioli from the freezer section. Now I can follow basic recipes.

Finished "Winter Study" by Nevada Barr, and started "Water Like A Stone" by Deborah Crombie.

#181..."Birth of the Chess Queen" is on my "Find & Read" list.

#175...If you like "Woman of Independent Means", you might also enjoy "Life Sentences" and "Joanna's Husband and David's Wife" (both) by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey.

Yesterday I stuck a bookmark in The Big Over Easy by Jasper FForde and moved on to something else. It's not that I don't like it it's just really slow reading for me. I think the mock articles at the beginning of each chapter (which is every 5 or so pages and there are 40 something chapters!) while funny are interrupting the flow.

So yesterday I read Looking for Alaska by John Green. It's a YA novel and I thought it was a great read. I can understand it's popularity.

Then I started The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. It's going well at the moment but it's just starting to drag a bit I hope something happens soon!

#252, Catreona: People here sure are nice.

I agree. I've been a member of a lot of forums but I've never been in place filled with so many nice people. :)

I finished The Patron Saint of Liars at lunchtime today. Can't believe I missed it when it came out in 1992. I really enjoyed this book. I'm liking Ann Patchett more and more. While there were basically three main characters in this story, Sister Evangeline, who was sort of a second-tier character, was brilliantly written. She brought life to every page she was on. Rose, the main main character, was the type who made me squirm. I pretty much disliked her all the way through.

>258 kiwiflowa: I'm starting The Forgotten Garden, too. I loved The House at Riverton by the same author.

> 260: jbleil - I have The House at Riverton too! And I may read it straight after The Forgotten Garden :)

Finished What Angels Fear. You can read my review here:
http://www.librarything.com/work/1616325....

Hmm wondering what to pick up next? I guess I'll update tomorrow on what I decide. ;)

>257, Catgwinn, thank you for the recommendation!

I got two library books for my lighteners while reading Pillars of the Earth for the group read, and A Mad Desire to Dance so I won't feel all dumb and goofy in front of rocktjk.

Way of the Wolf by E.E. Knight, because the author was featured on my LT home page as an LT author, and he has dimples, muscles, and a receding hairline. Yum.

Sherman Alexie's long, long titled tome, because Berly thought it was good, and even a stopped clock is right twice a day, so I thought I'd see if this was one of her times.

Finished Ender's Shadow today. Great book. Not as good as Xenocide though.

Going on to Shadow of the Hegemon now.

It's a new week! Here's your new thread.

I am posting here because I technically finished it last nite. The Weight of Heaven what a wonderful book. Umrigar is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I also loved her The Space Between Us as well. I highly recommend both books but especially The Weight of Heaven. It will be one of those books that stays with me for a while.

# 64 Coppers. Sorry I haven't been on the thread for a while. I did enjoy Septembers of Shiraz , but thought it was lacking something. I can't quite put my finger on it. It just seemed to need a bit more suspense or drama or something. Still it was interesting and well written.