In quick order I picked up and finished Thought You Were Dead by Canadian author Terry Griggs - touchstones don't appear to like the title - a humorous (highlight on the word humorous) murder mystery that involves a literary researcher/ slacker/ reluctant detective that finds himself unwittingly and unwillingly drawn into researching a mysterious tombstone, the disappearance of his employer - a fiction crime writer, and the death of a reviewer/ copy editor. A book I thoroughly enjoyed.

Next up is Incendiary by Chris Cleave.

I am very close to finishing Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje. So far, it is very good - just as good as The English Patient, better than Divisadero, but not quite as good as In the Skin of a Lion. Can you tell that I love Ondaatje? LOL

I absolutely loved Anil's Ghost. It's my favourite Ondaatje. Not reading anything Canadian at the moment, but I'm taking two Canadian courses this autumn, so I'll be over here often.

The Withdrawal Method by Pasha Malla -- he is very good.

And The Sentinel by A.F. Moritz.

I have started a fictionalized biography of Zelda Fitzgerald,Alabama Song by Gilles Leroy (French author). Fascinating and heart-wrenching.

I finished Incendiary by Chris Cleave - It was alright but it did not capture my attention in the same way that Little Bee did. I then quickly read Girl in Hyacinth Blue - I enjoyed the book once I made it past the second chapter/short story - that chapter really did seem out of sync with the rest of the book.

I am now reading some short stories - Rhyming Life and Death by Amos Oz, The Reason for Crows by Diane Glancy and then The English Stories by Cynthia Flood.

I'm starting French authors this week: Le métier de lire, interviews of Bernard Pivot about his cultural and literary shows, meeting iconic authors and discussing books

Les gens du Balto by young author Faïza Guène, who at 23 is at her third novel. She describes life in the Paris "ghettos" with insight, and while she talks of street culture, she does not glorify it, quite the contrary.

I just finished Ragged Company by Richard Wagamese. It was an excellent read. Wagamese is a terrific storyteller.

I just started Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden.

I have moved on to much lighter reading Happy Hour at Casa Dracula a hilarious chick lit book with a Gothic twist and Father Brown Stories by GK Chesterton for classic murder mysteries.

I finished The English Stories by Cynthia Flood (loved it!) and The Order of Things by Lynne Hinton (an alright story and a quick read). As it is a cold, overcast day today, I am looking forward to curling up in a chair for the afternoon and reading The Traitor's Wife by Susan Higgonbotham.

- edited to fix touchstones -

Message edited by its author, Aug 8, 2009, 2:53pm.

I've been travelling in Scotland and Russia and getting some reading done on those long flights. Not sure when July ended and August started (great vacation!), but did read: Long Hard Road out of Hell by Marilyn Manson (don't ask!); The Factory Voice by Jeanette Lynes about Canadian women building aircraft during WWII; The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing; The Book of Secrets by M.G. Vassanji (not my favourite) and am now engrossed by The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford. This one is really good so far.

Message edited by its author, Aug 10, 2009, 6:12am.

I'm reading HalfBreed, by Metis author Maria Campbell. It's her memoir of growing up dirt poor in Saskatchewan and spending some years as a young adult down and out in the mean streets of Vancouver. It's pretty interesting for the most part.

Message edited by its author, Aug 10, 2009, 4:42pm.

Nearly finished The Black Book as I work my way through Ian Rankin's Rebus series. Getting ready to start Shakespeare's Wife by Germaine Greer and looking forward to it.

Last night I read the first half of Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King. It won CBC Canada Reads a few years ago, and I can see why. Great book--very clever and lots of fun to read.

I'm reading 13 Things that don't make sense by Michael Brooks

I'm reading the first part of Le poids des secrets, Tsubaki, by Montrealer Aki Shimazaki. There is a very interesting passage on the atomic bomb that fell on Nagasaki and the Japanese perception on its rationale.

I have also started Ritournelle de la faim by Nobel prize winner JMG Le Clézio. Its rhythm is apparently based on Ravel's Boléro - I'm really looking forward to reading more.

Just whipping through my Canadian books here. Finished Green Grass, Running Water (highly recommended) and now I'm on to Sweeter Than All the World by Rudy Wiebe. I think this one will take a bit longer.

I'm reading The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov - I sense it will be an intellectual challenge as I have already spent an hour on Wikipedia polishing up on my Roman and religious history - and I'm only 40 pages into the book! The writing is fabulous and the characters are described with precision you feel you know them. The blur of myth and history is also wonderfully done - this will be a real discovery.

For a complete change, I've also started Casino Royal by Ian Fleming. I'm enjoying it but it's hard to keep the movie from my mind and I can already detect some inconsistencies...

I have finished The Traitor's Wife which I thought was a great historical novel. This morning I started The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway.... so far all I can say is WOW!

I read Hot and Bothered: Sex and Love in the Nineties by Wendy Dennis on the airplane this morning and have now settled back in my favourite chair with The Language of Others by Clare Morrall. I just loved her other book, Astonishing Splashes of Colour.

I finished The Cellist of Sarajevo last night - Galloway held my attention from start to finish. I have now started The Outlander by Gil Adamson.

I'm reading Suicide Blonde by Darcey Steinke

23 Lynn, you find the most interesting books! And I am totally in envy of your holiday trip.
I'm finishing, gladly, the Angel's Game and picking up The Graveyard Book for the weekend.

I'm reading Charlatan by Pope Brock

I just started Aleppo Tales by Haim Sabato.

I am really enjoying Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (although it's difficult to get the green monster out of my head).
I have also been reading a children's book for grown-up by Tom Robbins, one of my favourite authors, B is for Beer.
Finally I've started Papa, Maman, écoutez-moi vraiment by respected child psychologist Jacques Salomé who has a real talent of translating children's need into adult language.

Message edited by its author, Aug 24, 2009, 7:04pm.

Right now I'm reading The Devil's Queen by Jeanne Kalogridis for reviewing, and am going to start My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor Ph.D for our book club - my choice. Hope it's good!

I'm back at work, so my reading time is cut considerably. But, I have managed to get a good start on They Tell Me of a Home by Daniel Black.

#28 I am also just starting My Stroke of Insight.

I'm reading Lives of the Saints by Nino Ricci. I read Where She Has Gone without knowing it was the last of a trilogy, so I've decided to go back to the beginning!

#31 Lives of the Saints was my favourite of the trilogy. Did you know it has been made into a movie, starring I think Raquel Welch.
I'm reading The Graveyard Book today.

I'm about to start Sing Them Home by Stephanie Kallos. I really enjoyed her first novel, Broken for You.

I'm also starting The Discovery of France by Graham Robb

Message edited by its author, Aug 31, 2009, 6:56am.