It's that time of the week ... to begin a new thread. teelgee, invited/reminded me to give this thread a start in her temporary absence. Hope you are doing well, teelgee.

I'm reading Finger Lickin' Fifteen which I picked up today at the library. I think I might be keeping my DH awake with my outbursts of laughter every few minutes. Evanovich's books are very funny and this one is no exception.

My other "currently being read" is The Lost City of Z which is riveting and to which I shall return, probably before the night turns to day.

Good reading to all. If anyone wants to posts some author's birthdays ... feel free.

womansheart

Message edited by its author, Aug 14, 2009, 10:20pm.

1> I completely enjoyed The Lost City of Z and it's led me to 1491:New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus by Charles C. Mann which I'm just about through. A very different history of life in this hemisphere before the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria.

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Today I finished The Glass Room by Simon Mawer, one of the Booker Prize longlisted novels, which was excellent, and the script for the play England People Very Nice by Richard Bean, which I saw at the National Theatre in London on Saturday. I'll start How to Paint a Dead Man by Sarah Hall, another Booker Prize longlisted novel, and Derelict London by Paul Talling, and continue reading Blood and Guts: A Short History of Medicine by Roy Porter.

Today I started my ARC that arrived in today's mail, Audrey Niffenegger's new book Her Fearful Symmetry. Sooo many books preceeded it in Mt. TBR, but I simply cannot help myself.

I'm also listening to The Strain by Guillermo del Toro

#5 DevourerOfBooks

I'am reading The Strain by Guillermo del Toro

how is it listening to it? I have about 100pgs to go and really liking it~
I think it's creepy reading it, can't imagine listening to it

>3

The user, a sock-puppet or another user, has been suspended.

I'm still working on Forbidden Bread and I've started Runaway, a collection of short stories, by Alice Munro. I didn't get into the first story but the second one I kind of liked. I'll have to see how the rest go.

>6,
I'm not that far in, just heard about the kid paid to move the van, but I'm liking it. Guessing it is still going to get much creepier...

Just finished Laura Rider's Masterpiece by Jane Hamilton. It's had good reviews for its humor, and I think it would make a great sitcom on TV. But, I must be too serious a reader because I found the humor a little too far-fetched for my tastes.

I'm starting The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta and have enjoyed it so far.

>7

Thanks for acting so quickly, Tim!

I started Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie today. I'm 50 pages in, so have a lot left, but hopefully it'll stay as good as the first part, which is set in Nagasaki on August 9 1945. I've had a run of spy books and am still bogged down in Nixonland and War & Peace, so it's nice to be reading something different.

#7 Thanks Tim! Let's hope there isn't another reincarnation.

Sigh. Here we go again...

Hi, um, massmurderer. Sorry you didn't like it. I'm loving it so far, but I'm only 23 pages in. I really like Perlstein's writing style as well as his topic. Have you read his book on Barry Goldwater?

kidzdoc, I remember you loved Burnt Shadows earlier this year and it stuck in my brain, so I grabbed it when I saw it at the library.

Jeez #14, enough already. Go dump on someone else's online community. Or hand yourself in at the nearest police station, whichever is more appropriate. Yawn...

Anyway, I finished the funny, slightly mad The World According to Mimi Smartypants and am still reading Daphne du Maurier's Frenchman's Creek and Tom Raabe's Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction which I HIGHLY recommend to all you guys. Read it and sigh - it could have been written about us!

I think I might supplement all this with How I Lived a Year on a Pound a Day by Kath Kelly, which might have a few useful tips given my suddenly dire lack of funds...

Message edited by its author, Aug 15, 2009, 5:30am.

I just read Columbine by David Cullen... Wow. I highly recommend it to those who remember the incident and are interested in reading about it.

Next up for me is A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

I'm reading Confederates in the Attic which I'm finding extremely enlightening and interesting. Also so started Tipping the Velvet which I'm loving, an engaging style, fascinating characters, fun setting.

If the troll got suspended, how is it still posting? Visiting its profile doesn't show it as suspended. And why can't the "Block this member" function be made to block my own personal views of that member's posts? We could employ that shunning technique at will.

This isn't funny anymore.

This is my week for royal biographies. First Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria by Julia P. Gelardi and now Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III by Flora Fraser.

I will finish The Midwife's Tale today and move on to ?
Maybe A Midwife's Tale, or maybe not. Guess I need to log off and read to find out where the day will take me.

I finished Dangerous Liaisons last night. I definitely enjoyed Parts 3 and 4. It was tough to get to through the 1st 2.

I'm reading Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life which I'm enjoying. Queen Noor is led a fascinating life.

I also plan to start The Day the Falls Stood Still today.

Falls is a good one..

Finished the Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth and am more than half way into The Miracle at Speedy Motors- enjoyable as are all the others in this series, by McCall Smith.

Finished Shanghai Girls last night, will resume Outlander today. Shanghai Girls was I have to admit, pretty depressing. It was well written, but still depressing. It did give me some perspective on what was going on with the Chinese around this time, which I had no idea. . Will write my full review later.

Well it looks like I've gone from nothing to read to a tall TBR pile. In the last three days the mailman has shown up with The Girl Who Played with Fire, Jericho's Fall, South of Broad, The Magicians:A Novel & That Old Cape Magic. I started The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson last night & it starts up where The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo left off. I found that one to be a gripping mystery and a hundred pages in, it looks like his new one will not disappoint.

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Well it's Saturday morning & I guess the kids must be home from school.

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I'm really confused right now, but anyway...

Sageboy, I enjoyed The Girl who Played with Fire immensely and can't wait for the next book to come out. That Old Cape Magic is high on my TBR list as Richard Russo is speaking in Atlanta in September.

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Thanks for the heads-up on Russo Bridgett - Do you know here he is speaking. I also see Pat Conroy is speaking next week at the Jimmy Carter Library.

He's speaking at the Maragaret Mitchell museum:

http://www.margaretmitchellhouse.com/cms...

I think the Pat Conroy event is sold out already, but I'm not sure.

I'm going to try to go see Gary Pomerantz at the Jimmy Carter library as well:
http://www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov/events...

Still reading The Blind Assassin

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This is hiLARious! Impersonating li'l ol' me by misspelling one of my names! Couldn't have chosen a worse name, could it? *snort*

*sigh* :(

I'm about to start River Runs Red by Jeffrey J. Marriotte.

Still working my way through Pyramids by Terry Pratchett. Over half way now and enjoying every page.

>40 I was so sad for second until I read down, I'm glad you are still with us. :) This sockpuppeting thing is really annoying. . .

(So I posted a message, but it never showed up, so sorry if this posts twice!)

This one is for the guys!

Tee hee...While (whilst) perusing the new book list at my library, I came across a 'para-normal', 'vampire' sort of novel by Karen Moning. The warden just loves those kinds of books and when I found several more by this author, I reserved a couple for her.

I have easier access to the library on a daily basis than she does so that is why I'm at liberty to borrow something I think she might like.

Anyways, she has become enamoured of this author, loves the books, and is now asking me if I want to watch football or baseball games on the telly, in order for her to avariciously continue reading her books. That's where the tee hees come in.

Whay a crafty old grouch I am, quite proud of myself...

>47 morfam...genius. That's all, just genius.

*genuflects to the northwest*

OOps, forgot she also reads this site, especially as I have become a mini-hero the past week.

Once again, I'm being sent to the bedroom for a time-out. In the old days, being sent to the bedroom usually meant nurses uniforms and skimpy lingerie and other delights...and you should see what the wife was wearing...

Oh, well, see ya soon, I hope...

I'm about a third of the way into Through the Maelstrom, a fascinating autobiography of life in the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. (To the Russians, WWII runs from Sept '39 to Aug '45, but the GPW runs from June 22, 1941 to the German surrender in 1945.) Much of the book is devoted to stories of personal camaraderie and conflict amongst the soldiers, interrupted by short bursts of horrific fighting with the Germans. Western writers put so much emphasis on the internal problems of the Red Army that it distorts their presentation. It's interesting to get a Russian soldier's view of the war, especially from so skilled an observer as Boris Gorbachevsky.

Oh Mrs. Morfam, do be kind to us little urchins who worried that we lost our play-pal to the nasty ol' troll and let him back into the sandbox! Pretty please with a prune on top?

back to business... I am reading Shadow Game..

I haven't gotten very far, since I fell asleep...zzzzzzzzzzz
but, so far I'm liking it :)

I'm still reading The Manuscript Found in Saragossa. For the moment, I'm expecting to have more free time and so should be finishing it up this week.

I'm still reading The Time Traveler's Wife and enjoying it. The previews for the movie look good too.

Captains of Consciousness by Stuart Ewen. As I expected, I finished Privileged by Ross Gregory Douthat in about a day and a half.

I finished Tsotsi by Athol Fugard. Well written, absorbing and quite moving. I have it at 4.5 and may increase it to 5. Have to see how it sits after a bit.

Set during apartheid in the now demolished township of Sophiatown, outside Johannesburg, South Africa. It follows a young man who is nameless and has become one of the criminals (Tsotsi) who prey on others in the township. Very sad. He has a run-in one night that changes his life, and the reader follows along.

I am now reading And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander. It is an historical mystery set in Victorian England. The first in the Lady Emily Ashton series. I actually found it because ER was offering book 4 in the series. I didn't get it, but I put the earlier books on my wishlist and was able to pick them up last week.

I was browsing some of my books to decide what to read next, opened it and couldn't put it down.

Gearing up for Mad Men's return tomorrow night by reading Joshua Ferris's ad-agency satire, Then We Came to the End.

Also finishing up audio of How Doctors Think from a recent road trip.

> detailmuse- I'm a big fan of Mad Men, also! Great show! Then We Came to the End is easily one of my favorite reads from last year. Hope you feel the same way!

What I am reading is not a book, it is a speech, a remarkable commencement address, on the subject of the fragile earth, given by Paul Hawken at the University of Portland in 2009. Here is the link to that address:

http://www.up.edu/commencement/default.a...

Another happy thumbs up for Then We Came to the End!!

I'm reading Blue Shoe by Anne Lamott.

I finished I Love You, Beth Cooper which had a lot of laugh-out-loud lines. (It's by a guy who wrote for the Simpsons, so I'm not surprised.)

And then I read Nobody Does it Better, which is part of the Gossip Girl series. I am 31 years old and I read Gossip Girl - I am not ashamed! ;)

I have Blink by Malcolm Gladwell on hold at the library...

>59, 61
I remember some love-hate discussions here about Then We Came to the End last year, so I decided to wait until I could give it a real shot. I'm loving it! -- the first-person-plural narration might get old but right now it's fresh and absolutely spot-on. The first three words did remind me of those threads last year though: "We were fractious..." :)

I'm still reading The Little Stranger, and still enjoying it very much. I'm hoping to finish it soon.

Reading The Curve of Binding Energy by John McPhee. McPhee is always good but this short book, about physicist Ted Taylor and the nuclear power industry circa 1970, is a little dated. While McPhee is always highly readable, so much has changed in the industry and in security post 9/11 that this is more straight biography.

For my birthday I received:

Sweetness At The Bottom of The Pie by Alan Bradley
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
The Classical World by Robin Lane Fox
The Collector of Worlds by Illiya Troyanov
Prisoner of the State by Zhao Ziyang

So far.....

Message edited by its author, Aug 15, 2009, 6:25pm.

Smiley
A Happy Birthday would be in order. Looks like you've taught others well what you like as a gift.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SMILEY!!
*confetti tossing, horn blowing*
Leos are all so sexy, aren't they?

"Mad Men," "Mad Men" rah-rah-rah! January Jones and Jon Hamm are a beautiful couple, aren't they?

jburg, your post #265 from previous thread:

richardderus-- thanks for the boost towards Genji. I've been on the verge of reading it for a year now. I must know, however, before I take your advice, of other documents you consider "foundation." Do tell! JB

Ooo! I always enjoy answering this...Gilgamesh and The Bible, King James version, for the roots of much Western imaginitive expression. (This does not equate expression with content, so pipe down every literalist.)

The Iliad, The Odyssey and Aristophanes' The Frogs plus Lysistrata for proof that we ain't boo-turkey different from our forebears.

The Republic of Plato; The Laws of Cicero; The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius for the roots of persuasive argument as a discipline (the last because it's a big ol' pack of lies, written to persuade people it's true...I now put Jon Hamm, of "Mad Men," in my mental image gallery when I think of Suetonius).

The Travels of Marco Polo and The Tale of Genji for proof that James Frey's little exaggerations and Danielle Steel's little bagatelles about the rich, famous, and powerful are just the latest in a tradition.

Dangerous Liaisons and Pamela for proof that the French really *are* more sophisticated wordsmiths. Both epistolary novels, one a breathlessly exciting tour of debauchery and cruelty, the other forbidden by the American Constitution's "cruel and unusual punishment" clause from appearing in prison libraries.

From there, you're on your own!

edited/close itals, oops...now the touchstones are wrong, blast it!!!! and they will not stop loading, loading, loading....GAAAH

Message edited by its author, Aug 15, 2009, 7:09pm.

ah so nice to have this thread back to normal...

I started Pat Conroys The Great Santini. So far , so good. I finished Time Travelers Wife and enjoyed it very much.

This week I'm finishing up The Unconsoled, and still dipping into Ahead of all Parting every now and again. Plus, I've started The Pursuit of Love and Austerity Britain. All of which are fantastic.

Another Mad Men fan here. Alas, the husband is working tomorrow night and I will have to wait until the morning to watch it.

Pat Conroy is from around where I live and the book is set in my town. Reading the reviews in our local publications, which are positive, it sounds like the book is an over dramatized version of the types of people living in that area. I'll be interested to hear what those of you who read the book think of it. I've never read anything by Conroy and I'm undecided on whether to read the book.

And Happy Birthday to Smiley!!

Another Mad Men fan here. Alas, the husband is working tomorrow night and I will have to wait until the morning to watch it.

Pat Conroy is from around where I live and the book is set in my town. Reading the reviews in our local publications, which are positive, it sounds like the book is an over dramatized version of the types of people living in that area. I'll be interested to hear what those of you who read the book think of it. I've never read anything by Conroy and I'm undecided on whether to read the book.

And Happy Birthday to Smiley!!

I finished The House at Sugar Beach and have just started From the Fifteenth District by Mavis Gallant.

Momentarily have set aside The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov (which is terrific) to read Dave Eggers' Zeitoun.

I went to the bookstore before a movie today, baaaaad leperdbunny! I sternly told myself no buying books. I did however window shop and came home with about 6 titles to add to my wishlist.

My Book Club announced next month's selection, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, I've never heard of this book, anyone know if its good? Yes, I started attending my library's book club, I'm super excited! Talking about Shanghai Girls with them really helped me appreciate it a lot more.

Today I finished Derelict London by Paul Talling, a photography book with descriptions of abandoned and decaying buildings in London, which was very good, and I started reading Me Cheeta: The Autobiography by James Lever, one of this year's Booker Prize longlist selections, which I stopped reading after 70 pages. I'll put aside How to Paint a Dead Man, another Booker Prize longlisted book, for the moment, and read Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, which is very good so far.

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I'm just finishing It's Kind of A Funny Story by Ned Vizzini, a book about a fifteen year old guy who checks himself into a psychiatric hospital after he has serious thoughts of suicide. It's not actually depressing, though it's all about his depression. It's a really interesting book.

Happy Birthday, Smiley!

>76,

I read The Reluctant Fundamentalist in June, and I thought it was good. It's definitely a serious book, and it should generate some good discussions within your book group.

Just finished A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. A YA / historical novel in one. Kind of reminded me of the Little House on the Prairie, the later ones when she starts courting and gets married, but with a huge wallop of feminism.

Now I am reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer - I've heard great things about this one!

> 66: Smiley: Happy birthday! What a great book haul!! I read People of the Book last month and loved it, gave it five stars. I just got The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie out of the library yesterday and it looks really good too.

I haven't posted to a "What Are You Reading" thread in ages, it seems. However, I have been posting comments elsewhere (my own blog and via reviews here), so here are some books I've just finished reading the past few weeks, most recent first:

The Complete Making of Indiana Jones: The Definitive Story Behind All Four Films by Laurent Bouzereau and J.W. Rinzler (Jonathan Rinzler). Awesome "making of" book for fans of the Indiana Jones series.

Augustus Green in the Lair of the Pye-a-Saw by Thomas G. Lammers. Interesting first novella (a bit of "botanical historical adventure fiction") by Associate Professor at University of Wisconson, Oshkosh.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling. Wonderful ending novel in the series. Sorry to see it over but at the same time satisfied that Rowling finished it off in grand fashion. I especially liked the whole "quest" feeling to this one, in addition to the inevitable final confrontation.

Ooooh, whoever will be next in this RIVETING game of 'LibraryThing Almost-Identity-Theft'? Place your bets now, ladies and gents, before the idiot strikes again...

I'm currently reading the Dutch language book Het grote uitstel by Marc Reugebrink. In the meanwhile I try to read Readings in American History by David Saville Muzzey.

In a fit of utter madness, I began Shadow Game, book 1 of the Ghostwalkers series. Mad why? I had a busy day yesterday with little time to read. Cory is still here so I may finish it today when he leaves, but I go back to work tomorrow.
( ouch, it hurts to say that, lol) I have 2 more bboks in the series sitting right next to me. It will drive me crazy to sit through in services all week.. redundant in services that we have every year.. instead of reading.

madness, clearly

I get to travel next week, which is a treat and a trauma all wrapped up together. I have been gathering reading materials, and will be continuing with An Unsuitable Attachment, by Barbara Pym, which isn't as amusing as her others and I can see why it was turned down by her publishers. There is a definite bitterness in this one, which I wasn't expecting. I am also taking Emma and maybe People of the Book if I can get to B&N and use my coupon.

I vow to take more books than shoes this time!

Finished Breath and Bone. Disappointing.
Now reading Red Seas under Red Skies, which is really good so far.

I too love Mad Men. My cigarettes, booze, and male chauvinism are ready to go tonight!

I'm determined to finish a book this week as I'm reading three which is pretty unusual for me. My current LTER book, Gwen Cooper's Homer's Odyssey, is a wonderful memoir and cat story rolled into one. There's nothing sappy about it even though it's mostly about a blind cat.

Think I posted on the wrong what are you reading post. I am almost finished with Sworn To Silence which is a LTER. I love it so much I have put everything else aside...Pride and Prejudice and my other Hatchette thriller. Just finished The Moon Looked Down which is also an interesting take on German prejudice in WWII in America. Now I have to write the review. Not so much fun as reading. The high is knowing I can share with all the kind LT family.

Each year Stockholm has a day dedicated to books during its Culture Week. There is a long book table- about 10 blocks long- and organizations, authors, publishers, and just people in general set up their table and sell. Great prices and a place I shouldn't visit but do. Picked up today among others Paul Doherty's The House of Death and Anne Perry's Half Moon Street. Debating between the two, I decided on the House of Death because the Preface explained that Demosthenes of Athens had dismissed Alexander as a "booby". So this week I'll start reading about Alexander the Great Booby.

Finished http://www.librarything.com/title/The+Mi... which was, as are all of McCall Smith's books, a delight.

Did I do that link thing correct? If not, this will be a very curious message. The Miracle at Speedy Motors should be blue....

Nope, didn't do that link thing correct- maybe I should just put brackets around The Miracle at Speedy Motors. Oh, well.

I'm reading Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens, which will probably take a while to finish.

I'm reading The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick.

Little Dorritt is my second favorite Dickens, after Bleak House. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

I'm still working on The Historian for my book club. I really like it but I have a busy week so it'll probably take me all week to finish it.

Whoa what the hell has been going on with the identity hi-jack? sheesh my bet's he'll go for you Ellie, being the slightly odd *cough* person/puppet he is.

Anywhos back on topic - finished This Lullaby a little while ago which was rather wonderful as most Sarah Dessen books are and I think i will have to acquire some more of her books in due course.
Also been reading l'ecole des sorciers which is basically the first Harry Potter book in french - i can get the gist of most of it although i don't know what all the different varieties of "he shouted", "he whispered" etc. are so i just skip over those words.

I just finished fortunes rocks (I wrote a review). A friend loaned me Smoke Screen which seems to be a lot like Envy which was great.

I finished The Pillars of the Earth for the group read. I know my fellow LTer's are divided on this one but I enjoyed it. I started City of Thieves by David Benioff and based on the 1st 60 pages, this is going to be a crackling good story!

I finally finished The Mysteries of Udolpho today. Parts of it were a lot of fun, but other parts really dragged. The over-use of commas was distracting, and I skipped all the poetry. Now I am going to start Wings of Wrath, the new C.S. Friedman that I was delighted to find at the library the other day.

Reading Sugar House by Laura Lippman. This is the first time I have read anything of hers. So far so good.

I go away for the weekend and come back to 102 messages and it seems that suspension doesn't stop that "person" as he tries to even take our names, including mine. I never did anything to him but be appalled. Are things really back to normal here or shall I just stick to my own personal threads (and hope that "person" doesn't invade them too.

I'm still reading Cat in a Topaz Tango. Not much time for reading this weekend.

After a busy work week I have found time to relax and finish The Traitor's Wife by Susan Higginbotham, which I did enjoy! Not sure what to start next. Guess I will have to pursue the TBR pile.....

Reading Thomas Pynchon's new book, Inherent Vice. His last, Against the Day was brilliant, this is just fun.

I finished And Only to Deceive byTasha Alexander. It was the first of the Lady Emily Ashton series set in Victorian London. I enjoyed it very much. Lady Emily was recently married when her husband Philip died on a safari in Africa.

She didn't know him well, and while sad is not heartbroken at his death. He leaves her with money, social position and the freedom to live her own life. She mainly married to escape her harpy of a mother.

In exploring her freedom, she finds out more about Philip from his friends and journals and finds he was in love with her, and a decent interesting man. She also takes up his interest in ancient Greek culture. While doing so she finds what seems to be evidence that he might have been involved in stolen antiquities.

The mystery comes in trying to decide who is doing the stealing, and commissioning the copies that are used to replace the originals. The story of Emily is interspersed with journal entries of Philip from just before their marriage, until the day before his death.

The characters are well done, and the setting is interesting. There is a bit of a romance in the story, with hints that it will be part of future stories.

Only one big mistake that I can see: Philip writes in his journal while in Africa of the camp being beset with Howler Monkeys. They are new world monkeys, and not in Africa.

Have the next 2 in the series and will read them.

I am now starting A Corpse in the Koryo by James Church, another mystery, and start of the Inspector O series. It is set in modern day North Korea.

I just finished Fool by Christopher Moore and I'm almost finished with Physics Of The Impossible by Michio Kaku.

I recently finished a book called Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah and I really enjoyed it. I'm going to start Little Women by Louisa May Alcott soon.

I read I Still Have It by Rita Rudner last night. The book is not necessary, but it is warm, and I am not sorry that I gave an evening to it.

Robert

#108 I'm a big Christopher Moore fan but haven't read Fool yet. Was it as good as all his other books?

>110 Robert, can you elaborate on the book is not necessary? What does that mean to you? Just curious.

I finished Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger today. Oh. My. Gosh. Best book I've read this year, I can't wait until this comes out at the end of next month so I can talk to more people about it.

Attempting to follow in HFS's footsteps are In the Wake of the Boatman by Jonathon Scott Fuqua and Bundle of Trouble by Diane Orgain.

Still listening to The Strain by Guillermo del Toro. I'm not driving as far or as often now that I'm on maternity leave, so it will probably take awhile.

112> teelgee, not easily. That so far is my best way of putting it.

Nevertheless: I hope to be transformed by any book I read. Rita Rudner has not restructured my life, her comforting me notwithstanding, or provided the prerequisites for some other book or other medium to do it. I have nothing new which I will put into my behavior or emotional repertoire from having read the book. I speak here of anything to a noticeable or significant degree without offering to quibble about what that might mean.

I meant to say, as well, that there are other reasons to read books that I recognize and that the book was successful in a way that I appreciate. That kind of success is just not my usual reason for reading.

Robert

I just finished A canticle for Leibowitz and highly recommend it, even for people who don't like science fiction.

I am now reading The suspicions of Mr. Whicher which is about one of the first real detectives in the Victorian age...

Still reading dial me for murder by Amanda Matetsky. About half way thru it.

Have the historian by Elizabeth Kostova lined up next. I started reading it last year, but put it down for some reason...

I finished Knowledge of Angels by Jill Paton Walsh early yesterday. It was beautifully written and a good concept. It left me feeling sad, though, and I was trying to figure out what to read next, carefully ignoring the fact that I've started 4 books. None of them appealed.

Fortunately, a friend of my husband's loaned a book to me called A Cafe on the Nile by Bartle Bull. So far it's very good.

I finished Zeitoun yesterday, Dave Eggers' fantastic new nonfiction book which chronicles the experiences of one man during and after Hurricane Katrina. I can't recommend this book highly enough!

Message edited by its author, Aug 17, 2009, 7:54am.

Still reading, but almost finished, Drinking for England and Pillars of the Earth for the group.

Well, I woke up to not find another person using my name misspelled, maybe the new will be better. Sorry, if I repeated my anger in several places with the same words. I don't know if that qualified as "identity theft" of a sort but it still irked me.

I managed to finish Cat in a Topaz Tango last night. It was too hot to sleep anyway - no a/c in my house - haven't needed it until now.

I have The Winds of Dune to read next and I have to do it in ten days because that's when my son has to get it back to the library. It'll be too hot again today to much more than sip ice cold lemonade in front of a fan with a good book.

119: QuestingA,
Drinking for England
Thats another one for the TBR pile

Just finished with South To Java by Vice Adm. William P. Mack USN (Ret),a very good read.

Have two in the on deck circle and keeping with my pledge to read more non-fiction they are both histories;

Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920's by Frederick Lewis Allen
and
At 12 Mr. Byng was Shot by Dudley Pope

Message edited by its author, Aug 17, 2009, 8:18am.

#121 usnmm2 - I absolutely love frederick Lewis Allen! I have several of his books and they are informative, interesting, and really give a sense of the times.

Have fun!

122: karenmarie,

Thank you. Now I know which one I'll start with.

#5/#113: DevourerOfBooks - definitely noting Her Fearful Symmetry...

Finished Aracoeli by Elsa Morante - beautifully written, difficult slow reading - sentiments which are echoed in practically every review. I also read/looked through the wonderful Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shuan Tan - highly recommended.

Now I'm in the middle of My Life as a Fake by Peter Carey. This was sent to me by an LT member, and which otherwise I hadn't heard of, so a nice surpise. Terrific storytelling - it can't be that easy to make a novel on poetry fun.

Message edited by its author, Aug 17, 2009, 8:57am.

#121, 122, Only Yesterday was one of my favorite books so far this year. Not only is it informative and interesting, as karenmarie says, but it is very well written and really showed me that much of what is now taken for granted got its start in the 20s (e.g., mass dissemination of music and other culture, cars and thus the development of highways, sprawl, etc.).

Yesterday I read My Custom Van by Michael Ian Black.

Now I've started Plague of Doves, by Louise Erdrich

I just finished From The Fifteenth District by Mavis Gallant. Superb short stories.

At the moment i am reading Beneath the skin by Nicci French and About a boy by Nick Hornby

I just finished The Weight Of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf and began My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters by Sydney Salter! Big Nose is really fun so far -- and, I'm sorry to say, I can definitely relate to the heroine. :)

Still steadily making my way through Jill Mansell's Millie's Fling, too -- it's good, but very long!

#113- maybe you could open a post and suggest that new Niffenegger book for a book club book? for oct?

I finished The Ghost Road by Pat Barker - definately the best in the trilogy IMO.

I'm now reading A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul and very much enjoying it. All you A Fine Balance and A Suitable Boy lovers (and other such Indian family sagas) should put this oldie but goodie on their lists.

I've just started Satchel: the Life and Times of an American Legend, the new biography of Satchel Paige written by Larry Tye. The first 50 pages are quite good, giving, in addition to a good, brief picture of Paige's childhood, also an overview of Jim Crow conditions in Mobile, Alabama, in the first decades of the 20th century and a quick history of the development of the Negro Leagues. Good stuff.

Does anyone know what's wrong? Every time I try to post here it doesn't work.

Message edited by its author, Aug 17, 2009, 3:24pm.

I am almost done reading 'Lord of the Flies'. Everyone has read it but me and so I decided to buy it and give it a shot. Turns out if is really really good and I much enjoy it.

>133 have you posted before with no trouble?

I know this is kind of a 'duh' question, but are you pressing Submit when you're done typing your post?

OK, as of lunch, I'm officially not reading anything. I just finished The Girl Who Played with Fire and it was a page turner till the very end. I'm torn between starting South of Broad by Conroy or That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo. Any enlightenment would be appreciated.

I can see your post seasonsoflove

I completed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and I have started reading Testimony: A Novel by Anita Shreve.

You have to be more specific about your problem. Also, try posting to the Bug collectors group.

T

Having loved Tigana, I'm now reading The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay and so far, I'm finding it a little convoluted. I'm about a third through and I hope it starts to sort itself out into a more cohesive story before long. After my great experience with Tigana, I'm a little disappointed with this one and wondering if I should continue.

I'm reading my ER, The Lexicographer's Dilemma and enjoying it thoroughly.

>126 SDargusch- let us know what you think of Plague of Doves. Found it so boring I couldn't continue. Maybe it got better later on?

*fingers crossed this works*

I finished Dear Husband and really enjoyed it.

I am currently reading The Riverman-its a bit of slow going, but still really interesting. I'm a mystery/true crime buff.

# 141 Cameling ~ Have you read The Lions of al-Rassan yet? Not a lot of magic, but I liked it even better than Tigana, which I loved.

#144 Well that explains it. You weren't crossing your fingers LOL

>141 cameling, no drop it immediately and run, do not walk, to Borders (closest to you, I think?) to procure Raven Black by Ann Cleeves because unless I've learned nothing at all about you that's right you will *love* this book.

edited/trying to fix recalcitrant touchstone unsuccessfully, blast it!

Message edited by its author, Aug 17, 2009, 7:15pm.

seasonsoflove - I tried to "Post a Message" using the link after one of those messages that were removed from the thread. It may have also removed the link so you could post a message at that point. I just went up a couple of message above to a "live" post and I could my post in. That "person" really messed things up.

Sigh...it's happening again...back to the Bug Collector's group.

Message edited by its author, Aug 17, 2009, 7:36pm.

Just started reading All the Living by C.E. Morgan. I'm also listening to A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick. I'm about halfway through and not loving it - the characters are unlikeable and the story is moving pretty predictably. Looking forward to moving on to The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters.

I started The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway this morning..... good thing I was reading the book in my favorite coffee shop on my way to work. I was so engrossed in what I was reading I wasn't paying attention to the time... thankfully, the conscientious staff were and after asking and taking notes of what book I was reading, they gently shooed me on my way with a fresh coffee in hand.... talk about service!

Seasonsoflove -good luck with whatever technology problem you are encountering!

#66: Happy belated Birthday Smiley! When was your birthday? I am asking because my birthday was last Wednesday August 12th :D so we may share birthdays :D!

Ok I am reading The Titan's Curse and I am liking it so far, I have to say this series (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) are getting better and better, I can't wait to finish all of it...

>145: Storeetllr, I haven't yet read The Lion of Al-Rassan but it's on my wishlist. I've heard good things about it

richard, I shall persevere ... how bad can it be, right? And Black Raven is already on my wishlist and with such a strong recommendation from you, how could i not ensure i rush out to get a copy at the very first chance i get

I finished The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett. I love how his writing lampoons modern society and the absurdities of everyday life without being bitter or angry. I just started The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears. I really enjoyed An Instance of the Fingerpost, so we'll see how this one is.

I read The Historian some time ago and didn't like it much. A little contrived. Especially the ending. I know that is saying a lot for a vampire book. I did like Kostova's descriptions of things she had actually scene, like Istanbul for instance. She has one incredible coincidence as a plot driver that I don't think even Dickens would dare. I hope her next book is nonfiction. That I might read.

reading now: Joris-Karl Huysman's classic 'A rebours' translated by Margaret Mauldon, and the rather scandalous but well-written biographical work by C. David Heymann's 'Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story' (Heymann is the author of 'American Legacy'). And about to start James G. Blight and janet M. Lang's 'The Fog of War: Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara', a book based on the Academy Award winning film by Errol Morris - his films are very good, surpassed only by his NYT blog entries (essays?).

Sageboy
What a quinella you have hit with your three book selections.

I have read The girl who played with fire and That old cape magic. Loved them both.
Of course there is nothing similar about either book, Girl being a terrific thriller by the late Stieg Larsson, the second book in a trilogy. It truly proves the old cliche 'couldn't put it down', but if you haven't already, read the first book before this one.

I profess to being biased about 'Cape' as I love anything by Richard Russo, and this might be his best yet, although Bridge of sighs was also great. This book's about a mid-fiftyish guy going through all the trials and turmoils of a diificult marriage, and dealing with infidelity and loving daughter. We,ve read it all before, but perhaps not as well. No doubt, it will make a fine movie...

I have South of broad on reserve at the library, and, once again, I confess a deep respect for Pat Conroy. Boy, you can sure pick-em, enjoy...

A quarter of the way through The Winds of Dune and it is actually not too bad, but typical Dune.

I finished The Day the Falls Stood Still which I truly loved. Not only is it a great love story, but Niagara Falls and the river are a full-blown character in the novel.

I also finished Leap of Faith: A Memoir of an Unexpected Life. Queen Noor of Jordan has led an interesting life, needless to say. This autobiography is very much a love story, but clearly the Arab-Israeli conflict is a huge factor in her (and her husband's) life. The book included some high-level history about the conflict since 1920 which was helpful as well.

I started "Middle East" (too many touchstones to deal) edited by Deborah Gerner. It's a bit dry but provides good information. I also started Things I have been silent about which is good so far.

I continue to try to find good books about the Middle East. Does The Lion of Al-Rassan fall into that category?

I was not interested in reading South of Broad, but I have heard such good reviews so far. Plus Conroy's reading at the Margaret Mitchell museum is sold out, so that has peaked my interest. But it will have to wait until after my trip.

Message edited by its author, Aug 18, 2009, 10:05am.

#154: rome476 - The Fifth Elephant is one of my favorite Pratchett's. Fun, clever stuff.

I just started Bud, not buddy, gone half way through and so far it's an okay read. I'm also reading Olivia Joules and the overactive imagination, nothing special about this book.

richardderus, in #69:

Thank you for the post of (some of) your "foundation" works. 'Nuff said. You have been down that particular road I was adverting to with my inquiry . . . I'll ask you more questions about those works in time. You did not mention Proust . . . Also, when I get a moment, I will post my list thus far of "desert island" books, those books I would read over and over, (or for the first time because I have always wanted to), if I had all the time in the world and could cling only to survival and the contemplation of the best thoughts of Man. (The criteria for this list, of course, need to be developed further). Would you make a distinction between your "foundation" books and, using my term, your "desert island" books? JB

>163 jburg, I'm slowed to a crawl by some allergic reaction, so if I sound dimwitted in the following, please be kind and attribute it to that.

For foundations, I stop at the eighteenth century, arbitrarily. I assume that 19th-century lit forward is pretty well explored by most well-read English speakers, and you're clearly one of those.

Desert island reads, for me, would be those things I find amusing and entertaining and shiny and fluffy. If I get to pick, I want a fully loaded Kindle and a generator on my desert island. Everything, please, as my moods are ever-changing.

If I, myownself, am clinging to survival, that's what I want: distraction. If, on the other hand, I'm relieved of the necessity to do boo-turkey like cook, clean (which I don't do much of anyway), ferry people from pillar to post, go on errands to procure needed supplies, etc...I have a strong desire to educate myself in French and Spanish and Swedish and Dutch and Danish and Mexican and Brazilian and Argentine literature never translated, while possessing only enough French to slug through Germinal and enough Spanish to churn up the topsoil of Los de abajo back in high school. That would be a huge thrill for me, possessing the language and cultural knowledge to really *get* the literature of another people.

Any vampires out there willing to make me immortal?

I am currently reading Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward. I do have to finish it soon as I borrowed it from the library and there are 32 holds on the 5 copies the library has. I also have to start reading Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell. I borrowed that from the library as well and it has holds on it as well - 50 holds on 29 copies the library has. Guess I've got my work cut out for me. Just as well I really love reading and can usually read fairly quickly though not always.

I'm currently engaged with Dune again by Frank Herbert. I already made a jumpstart a couple of months ago, but went with other books and studies in between. So now I enjoy remarks like "You'd think he was made of oak...". I hope to finish it before my birthday next month, so I can read The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.

Message edited by its author, Aug 18, 2009, 3:34pm.

Currently reading One Scream Away by Kate Brady. Am on page 228 out of 423. Very good so far but the romantic banter leaves a bit to be desired.

Still making my through Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. I'm more than half way done and it's a real page turner. LOVE IT!

I finished Encountering God last night. Windy as it was at the beginning it turned out to provide some substance in its discussion of how we can learn from a faith outside our own. It also made a clear pitch for plurality, as opposed to exclusiveness and to inclusiveness, in religious thinking.

I turned back to House of Leaves and am now more than half way through. I am waiting to see whether there is more to it than a performance to be applauded. And I am growing wearier of the performance (I saw some text in two columns and wondered whether I really wanted to bother with it, for example). I hope the experience does not entirely pall before I get to the end of the story.

Robert

Well last night i read Airhead for purely fluff reading and it turned out to be a fairly interesting read although it was incredibly quick and could have ended in a less dangling fashion but methinks that since Cabot has finished the whole Princess Diaries series now that this story may become her new mega series as it has the potential to go on for a while...
Considering picking up Audrey, Wait! now as i've heard good things about it and i think it's all my brain can handle right now with how sleepy i feel. Dang i need some caffeine!

"Night Watch" by Sarah waters. i found it excellent and compelling.

sherzig - I highly recommend ALL of Sarah Waters' novels.

I've just reviewed the gritty, grim thriller "Raven Black" on my "75-Books Challenge" thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/68941

Short version: Not for the sensitive, but recommended. Note to FicusFan: You get the considerable credit of bringing this to my TBR pile, and thanks!

Touchstone loads endlessly, so I gave up. The one in my thread is correct.

Thank you Richard. I am glad it was worthwhile. I also enjoyed book 2 White Nights, but don't think it would be as wrenching for you.

In book 2, I hated that the guilty character, was the guilty one (having a real hard time saying this). But it didn't dim my enjoyment of the book.

Just finished The girl with the dragon tattoo and I'm not all that picky about endings, but this ending made me sad. What I wrote before didn't give the real ending or any big plot points away, I don't think it was that big a deal. you'll understand when you read it ;)

I thought everyone had read this and I was behind the times!

Message edited by its author, Aug 18, 2009, 9:31pm.

174 & 175> Is it me, or did both of you give away endings to the books you mentioned?

Especially #175!! I haven't read it yet (I'm on the wait list at the library...)

My reaction, too!

Stop giving away endings guys. Based on Richard's recommendation, I have reserved Raven Black at the library. I did not know there were sequels, but thanks to Ficus, I may have also discovered the ending of book one and the plot for book two.

Play fair people of the books...

Reading The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

cindysprocket - I love that book!!! Here's how it ends...jk.

Saying a reluctant goodbye to Nova Scotia and the swans of Howard Norman's Devotion, I'm off to 19th Century Boston to meet Henry and William's sister, Alice, in Alice James: A Biography by Jean Strouse.

What are you all talking about ? The series is a mystery, every book has victims and a guilty party. I would have to say which character to give anything away.

They aren't sequels there are 4 books in the series, hence the title Shetland Islands Quartet . Same setting, many of the same characters, different stories in each book.

The third book in the Shetland Island series comes out next month - Red Bones. I loved Raven Black and was a little disappointed by White Nights but I adore the setting and the main characters and can't wait for the next one - I'm first on the hold list at the library.

I finished my ER book, Gwen Cooper's Homer's Odyssey and wholeheartly recommend it to anyone who likes cats or pets in general. It's a witty and warm memoir of a woman and the kitten she adopted who just happens to be blind. Nothing sappy about it and a better read, frankly, then Dewey.

This afternoon I started Joyce Maynard's Labor Day and am halfway done and don't want to put down. Excellent read so far!

Message edited by its author, Aug 18, 2009, 11:34pm.

I have just finished reading The Titan's Curse and I couldn't put it down near the ending, thank god I have all the books in the series so I can continue reading the next book :The Battle of the Labyrinth.

Finished The suspicions of Mr. Whicher in the train home yesterday, and started on Consider Phlebas by Iain Banks in bed last night.

Hi teelgee, hope you're feeling better.

Keep forgetting to say that I finished Death Is A Lonely Business and read I Sing The Body Electric And Other Stories over the weekend. Last night I finished The Martian Chronicles. Amazed at how much I remembered from first reading it some thirty years ago, and enjoyed the bits not remembered. Bradbury is a wonderful writer!

Now back to The Interpretation of Dreams. From the sublime to the turgid...

Message edited by its author, Aug 19, 2009, 1:46am.

Reading Gridlinked by Neal Asher - just came across few Polity-series novels in the local bookstore so I have quite a list for the coming days :)

Rogue by Rachel Vincent- I'm in the mood for an urban fantasy, and this series is a great one.
Strange Brew- Reading Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden short story.
Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches Guide to Romance Novels. I've been a fan of the blog for a while now, and so far the book is just as smart, funny and smutty as the blog- maybe even more so!
House Dick by E. Howard Hunt. I was in the mood for a pulp crime novel. I've been collecting the Hard Case Crime ones like crazy lately, so I need to start chipping away at my TBR pile of them. I chose this one because I'm kind of obsessed with the whole Watergate scandal, and the fact that one of the main "players" in it wrote a mystery about a burglary in a Washington, D.C. hotel before that happened kind of blows my mind.

174/175 FicusFan/dancingstarfish - I don't think you gave anything away! Mystery thrillery books often have a big wrenching finale, nothing ruined for anybody there, surely? I could read either of those books now and wouldn't have a clue what was going to happen, to who, or why...

I want to finish The Winds of Dune today so I can take it back to the library because my copy of My Life in France has come in and I only have a few more days before they will send it on to the next person. Poor Lord Jim, sitting on my table and being left for yet another library book! And my son is waiting for another from the library himself that I will also want to read and the new Kathy Reichs book 206 Bones is due out soon and I am pretty close to the top on the holds list for that. But it is getting me very close to 100 books for that challenge of mine.

Message edited by its author, Aug 19, 2009, 7:13am.

>183 coppers - ooh, I just finished Labor Day last night and loved it! Let me know what you think when you're done. :-)

I also finished Rebecca a few days ago. Now I'm reading You Just Don't Understand, listening to Born to Run and thinking about starting another read to give me a break from all the nonfiction.

184:: I'm so glad you've discovered the Percy Jackson books!! I love this series.

I have easier access to the library on a daily basis than she does so that is why I'm at liberty to borrow something.

I'm reading the Time Traveler's Wife again. I started it (as a re-read) the day before seeing the movie. The movie was okay. There was great potential to muck up the story and they didn't do that, but they didn't turn the book into a great movie either.

Finished listening to Are you there, vodka? It's Me Chelsea and started listening to The Maze of Bones in the 39 Clues series.

I posted this yesterday but for some reason, it never showed up. Oh well.

While we were on vacation the first two weeks of August, I read Middlesex and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I am now reading Await Your Reply which I haven't quite figured out yet. I like it but I have yet to see how the different stories are connected. Hopefully, it will become apparent soon.

Though I'm only a third done with The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears it hasn't hooked me. I will eventually finish it.
My reading has shifted gears to non-fiction. I'm reading Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World by Roger Crowley. Christendom trembles as the Ottoman Turks have just taken Rhodes!

Message edited by its author, Aug 19, 2009, 11:24am.

I started My Life in France by Julia Child last night. My mom gave me the book after we went to see the movie together. It is every bit as delightful as the movie - even more!

I finished The Winds of Dune and just got it back to the library and picked up My Life in France while I was there. sounds like it may be better than Julie and Julia. I am anxious to read it.

I should finish up The Return of the King today. I'm working a bit at a time through Selected Poetry and Prose of Shelley mostly at work (during lunch, thank you very much). I'm trying to decide what to open up at home. Maybe finish/read further through The Trivium?

Finished Dave Eggers' Zeitoun late last night, and it’s is going on my best of list for 2009, not because there’s anything dazzling about the writing, but because it’s just pure, perfect, straight-ahead storytelling that’s never cluttered. Abdulrahman Zeitoun’s story is impecably structured in day by day / minute to minute detail of how he paddled around New Orelans in a canoe saving Hurricane Katrina victims, even feeding dogs in flooded, abandoned houses, that is, until he vanishes. 335 pages never went by so fast because the suspense kept me turning pages well after I should have turned in for the night. A classic American tale that should be required reading for high school students, if not just to teach how history will show that post 9-11 security went waaaaay beyond the pale in some cases.

SeanLong

I'm midway through Zeitoun and agree with every thing you wrote. Powerful story told by great storyteller who knows when to get out of the way.

Oops, there goes another book onto the wishlist - Zeitoun.

Please- just tell me if everything comes out OK in Zeitoun. Newspapers these days are so full of the heartbreak in the American society that I need to read something upstanding about the country.

koalamom : My Life in France is way better than Julie and Julia. I got a little bored with the latter after I was about three quarters of the way through. I haven't watched the movie yet, but I might get it when it's out on Netflix.

I'm just about to finish The Last Light of the Sun and I still think this is definitely not one of the better ones written by Guy Gavriel Kay. Will be very glad to be done with this one. Having said that, it's not the worst that I've read either. I'm just finding it really disjointed....all this bouncing back and forth is making me dizzy

Add me to the list for Zeitoun - just ordered from Amazon - #200 - You should get a commision from them - Good review

Read all of Audrey, Wait! last night and had all my expectations exceeded by how brilliant a book it was. Anyone who's read and loved the Jessica Darling books would love this too.
Going to start That Summer shortly as it's not too long so i won't be up til 3am reading it

#204 Ditto about My Life in France, although I haven't read (and have no intention of reading) Julie and Julia -- and even more so now that I've seen the movie. Julia Child was an amazing woman and had a fascinating life, all too little of which is in the book (and the movie for that matter).

After seeing Perfume last weekend, I remember how much I loves Patrick Süskind. Received The pigeon from Bookmooch this week and enjoy it. Might finish it tonight.

The next read will be The girl with the dragon tattoo, I couldn'r resist its being in the stores no longer...

Anyone? How can any translations be trusted?? How can one translation be "recommended" over another? Maybe I didn't really read "Remembrance of Things Past," ie., what the author meant to write, because I read an "inaccurate" translation. On the other hand, Moncrieff's translation -- his version of the ROTP (does that make him an original author of sorts?) -- was wonderful. And I plan to read ROTP again; maybe in a different translation. Perhaps I'll have both translations open in front of me. Arrrggghhh! (I am aware, BTW, that I have exceeded permissible use of the word "translation" within this limited space. Also, I should stop whining in public. It's not pretty.) But I am trying to read One Hundred Years of Solitude in spanish, and I do have an english version (!) with me, rather than a dictionary, and the english is a bit annoying. I find myself saying,"That's not what he meant!" Any other intrepid readers-in-the-original out there? Any encouragement for me? richardderus?

I'm a big read the original or at least direct translation. I think for me its not only the "fear" that the true message of the book is lost but the music of the words, the jokes, with the idiomatic translations.

One of my biggest regrets was to read The Shadow of the Wind in English (it was cheaper...;)), even tough it was a good translation I could hear the whisper of the music of the castellano (even tough you could argue that the original being in catalan some was always lost) and it got in the way of my enjoyment. So The Angel's Game I'm reading in castellano and I bought it in Barcelona!
jburg I also read One Hundred Years of Solitude in castellano and it was magic I think you could smell the places in the music of his writing. I'm glad to know I'm not alone. What are you reading in the original next? What languages do you read?

>209 jburg...translations are just that, translations. They have made a journey (transfer, transit from same root) and can't be expected to be the same as when they embarked on the journey.

I consulted a French person I know about this regarding Muriel Barbery's Elegance of the Hedgehog. We had quite a spirited discussion as I was working on writing a review of Alison Anderson's translation of the book. She made me read Barbery's original, which was not easy for my rusty, rusty French (god bless Larousse!), but which gave me a moment of pause.

My friend had advocated the position that a translation has a very lucky place in literature. A good translation can make a good book available to a different audience that might never have known it didn't know the writer existed. And, here's the place I hadn't gone before, *a translation can be updated to reflect its times* while keeping the story intact.

Barbery probably won't be retranslated by the pod-dwelling armless sprogs of the 23rd century, but it *could be* where Alison Anderson's own Amelia Earhart novel *can't* be, at least not in the author's own English. (And, pace Ms. Anderson's partisans, isn't likely to be needed, either.)

So Proust, a text I think of as central to understanding 19th-century literature's transition into 20th-century literature, gets a new translation, and new audiences read it; would the author himself recognize either one, without help? Hmmm. Maybe not.

Some translations are too awful to endure willingly, at least not more than once (the Archer and Scott translation of Kristin Lavransdatter leaps forcefully to mind); the same story retranslated by Tiina Nunnally is a completely different, and vastly more pleasurable, experience. *FOR ME.* Others, they feel opposite to me.

Trust a translation to be the same book? No, never. Trust it to tell me the same story? Sort of, within limits. Ask it to entertain me, educate me, give me something *new*? Yeup. And that's how I review 'em. See my Barbery review for proof.

/rant

Today started The Healer's Heart

>195: bookaholicgirl- I will be starting Await Your Reply tomorrow. It's an ER book. Let me know what you think, hope it's in the positive!
>200: SeanLong- Zeitoun sounds so good. It looks like a must read! Thanks!

salutes mark with an iced tea...

204/207 - I think the hype for Julie and Julia, the movie prompted me to get the book. It was OK, but I am 100 pages into My Life in France and am enjoying it a lot more. I do see where Julie Powell "copied" the format of Julia's book. Haven't seen the movie yet and it may be Netflix (if we ever get around to getting that) or a TV premiere before I do.

mckait- I salute you back with a Spotted Cow ( it's a Wisconsin brew!)

*pours Ice tea into plant, and wishes for a spotted cow*

I just started reading This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff. I'm less than 100 pages in and liking it a lot so far. I just finished listening to Lisa See's Peony in Love, which I thought was excellent. It contains a lot of information about old Chinese customs, such as the binding of feet, and much about superstitions and beliefs about life after death, which I found fascinating.

#200 SeanLong - Zeitoun has made it to my TBR pile as well based on your post.

I finished The Cellist of Sarajevo last night - what a vividly descriptive, captivating book. I have just started The Outlander by Gil Adamson - currently on page 6 and already looking forward to a night of reading.

> BebeDee I just finished Shanghai Girls, which was quite interesting as well.

Finished Outlander finally! The last 100 pages took me a while to get through for some reason. Posted a review. Starting Time Traveler's Wife- I did initially request this through the library and was 94 in queue. So, my mother bought it for my birthday, I hope to finish it by Saturday, I want to go see it in the theater.

I finished The Last Light of the Sun with a big sigh of relief .. it's over and done with... and I can safely say that this book is not making it to my shelf of re-readable books. I was so disappointed because I loved Tigana and was expecting similar brilliance to transport me into a wondrous world. Instead, I was left wandering around in a haze of confusion, because he was moving between timeframes too often, and I couldn't make out which characters I was supposed to sympathize with, which to hate and which to cheer loudly for until I was past the halfway mark of the book. But I'm done, I wash my hands off this book with a loud 'Whoof!'.

On to something more interesting ... A Secret Alchemy by Emma Darwin sounds promising.

Finally finished The Glister last night...nearly 6 weeks for such a skinny book....but LIFE intervened in all It's glory...anyway, it's one of my Favorites..one of the best books i have read in quite a while.....disturbing...lots to think about. now, to write a review that doesn't suck...and to catch up with The Night Battles...which i started...oh, a while ago.....god, i have been lazy

;-}

I finished Marilyn and Me: Sisters, Rivals, Friends and was surprised at how dependant on them the Strasbergs allowed Marilyn Monroe to become. I've started Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge, which was well-received in the This Is Halloween group.

**big wave to Jude** The Glister sounds interesting! I've taken note!

I just finished {Prayers for Sale}. It was very light, but an enjoyable read. I have started {The Help} and love it already.

>226 suesche if you use the square brackets instead of the curly ones, you'll get the touchstones to work.

I much preferred the movie Julie and Julia to the movie of The Time Traveler's Wife, but I preferred the book The Time Traveler's Wife. In fact I stayed up too late re-reading it last night.

And my audiobook for the week was a bust and isn't really holding my attention, so I'm bailing on Maze of Bones.

Finished Consider Phlebas while listening to a small storm. I was planning on starting in What on earth happened? but as I have the hardcover illustrated version, which is quite large, I think I will take Bonk on the train with me tomorrow, I'll probably finish it in one day ;).

New Moon - Stephenie Meyer

Abandoned Dark Harvest after about 30 pages because of the painfully bad writing. I've started Behind the Scenes at the Museum instead. It has to be better.

Test, sorry having some issues. . .

mstrust - BtSatM is a great book, but nothing like her others. I loved it.

Message edited by its author, Aug 20, 2009, 2:01pm.

I loved Behind the Scenes at the Museum. Let us know what you think!

I am still listening to Isabelle Allende's book Zorro. It amazes me that Allende can go on and on about all kinds of things and take the reader down so many rabbit trails, and yet the whole is so intriguing.

There was a discussion in a different group about translations and what is lost and what is gained in a translation. Sorry to say that I can't read any other language but English and so am very thankful that at least some books written in other languages get translated. Allende's work is one of those translated books I really appreciate. The reader of this recorded version is also very good so it makes getting into the car a pleasant experience.

I finished House of Leaves. I was sort of fascinated by it even though I didn't think it was especially good. It was a little like a dancing bear but with more craft. That is to say the performance called to me, not the characters or, especially, the story. I don't know whether to pick up his other book despite that it is on the remainder shelves.

I picked up The Last Days of Europe and got about a quarter of the way into it. He is establishing that Moslems are moving massively into Europe, refusing to assimilate, and bringing violence to otherwise peaceful communities. It remains to be seen whether he has a viable and humane solution.

Robert

Finished one of my best read for 2009. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly.

msf59 - I just finished Await Your Reply and I loved it! I received it as an ER book as well. I can't wait to hear what you think of it.

After finishing Await Your Reply, I started Speak which is a book my son had to read for school over the summer. It is an easy read and enjoyable so far although it does cover a violent incident in the life of the teenage girl narrator.

teelgee #233--Behind the Scenes at the Museum is her first book, and the first of hers I read, so I always think of it that BtSatM is the standard to judge the others by.:) I also liked Human Croquet, but I don't particularly care for her more recent books--the mystery books.

bookaholicgirl #238--I had Await Your Reply as an ER book too, and also loved it. I also loved his first book You Remind Me of Me--different story but written in a similar style.

I'm continuing to read Little Dorrit. In between I read A Carnivore's Inquiry (not so good), and have started In the Kitchen, another ER book.

OK, I just finished part 1 (130 pages) of Conroy's South of Broad. Something's got to be done. His fans shouldn't have to wait 14 years between novels. I'm not counting the Boo or his cook book - I'm thinking Beach Music. To me he is the greatest living American storyteller. Can you tell that I'm enjoying the book?

>Cindy- I have The Book of Lost Things sitting in my tbr. I need to bump it up!
>bookaholicgirl- I read the first 50 pages of Await Your Reply and I'm already sold. I like his style. I also read Speak, along with one of my kids. It was a strong novel.
I finished City of Thieves by David Benioff and I cannot praise it enough! Excellent book!

Will be starting Rashi's Daughters BookI:Joheved by Maggie Anton A novel of love and the Talmud in Medieval France.

Message edited by its author, Aug 20, 2009, 10:18pm.

#236 rdurick

A friend of mine gave me Hosue of Leaves many years ago. She thought the book was fascinating and wanted me to read it so we could discuss it. I confess that it has been sitting on my beside table for years. Every time I pick it up and try to start it I end up putting it down because I just can't get interested in it. I keep thinking I should like it because she did, but it just doesn't appeal. While I long ago got accustomed to the fact that not every reader likes the same books, it is nice to know that I am not alone in my indifference. It may be the "post-modernist" novel but it is just too far out there for me. At least at this point in my life. Maybe someday it won't be, but not right now. I will tell my friend that I have seen other LTers who have read the book and maybe can encourage her to join LT so she can discuss the book with others, but at this point in time it will be a discussion that won't involve my input.

I'm part way through Whose Body?, the first Lord Peter mystery, for my library's mystery group. I have read several others but not this one. It seems significantly less polished than some of the later ones, but some of Lord Peter's endearing qualities are already apparent.

Enjoying Time Traveler's Wife, mostly posting to see if my issue is fixed.

msf59: I loved The Book of Lost Things, you definitely need to bump this up to a position of prominence. In fact ..make it your next book to read now that you've finished City of Thieves.

Finally managed to start A Secret Alchemy by Emma Darwin .. it's amazing how many little interruptions one gets in an evening. I've switched off my phone, put my feet up and managed to get 2 pages in before my neighbor pounds on my door asking if i've seen their pet lizard! What's with people keeping lizards as pets? And ruining my reading moment to boot .. because you know now I'm just paranoid that I'll flip the page and find it sandwiched between the pages.

I just finished Joyce Maynard's Labor Day and absolutely loved it. A poignant tale of sex, love, betrayal and forgiveness told in the voice of a 14 year old boy, circa 1987. It's a very fast read and a real page-turner - not in the sense that it's suspenseful (although it is) but rather the way the narration just pulled me along. It was hard to put down and I'll be looking for more of Maynard's books!

>241 msf59 - So glad to see you enjoyed City of Thieves!

I finished The Blind Assassin tonight and am beginning Money

Ooh, I second/third/fourth The Book of Lost Things as a novel worth one's attention. One of my more successful impulse purchases of the last few years.

I just started on Cortazar's Hopscotch. Flipping back and forth between chapters per the preface's reading instructions keeps reminding me of those "Choose Your Own Adventure" novels...

Wow, good to know that Behind the Scenes at the Museum has such loyal fans. It seems to be quite quirky, which I like. I've also started Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things.

libraryrobin-I've had Money on my TBR shelf for a good two years. Let us know what you think.

Message 247 Coppers: I also read Labor Day and second what you said. The ending for me was what made the whole book have a special place in my heart. Glad you liked it as well.

>cameling- ooohhhh the pressure!! Now I have to decide who get's bumped. Someone won't be happy!!

I know that I said that I would read all the Agatha Christie books in chronological order, but I now I want to break it up. So, I'm reading The Black Tulip next.

I'm reading Tipping the Velvet and quite enjoying it although I'm in a seedier part of the book now. Also reading Servants of the Map. It's not exactly as I expected and somehow doesn't seem true to my experience. I don't find scientific enquiry and deep personal reflection and sex in my consciousness at the same time. It's very well written and I will finish it, just not my favorite

While travelling, finished First Family by David Baldacci and The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. I am currently reading The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway, listening to Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult, and "Kindling" Beowulf by Seamus Heaney.

#255: How was First Family? I generally don't like Baldacci, but my husband keeps encouraging me to read it.

I finished My Life in France last night and liked it a lot better than Julia and Julia. I think Julia Child lived a much more interesting life than Julie Powell. My husband wants to read it too.

I finished Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier over lunch today - highly recommended! It's not as thrilling as Rebecca but it's more lyrical and romantic.

Now, according to my strict new 'Alphabetical-Reading' plan to tackle my TBR pile, I can carry on reading Raabe's Biblioholism but for my fiction read have to choose between:

The Sugar Queen (Allen)
Poppy Shakespeare (Allan)
Lucky Jim (Amis)
City of the Beasts (Allende)
Alentejo Blue (Ali)

I'll have a look and decide when I get home from work...

Message edited by its author, Aug 21, 2009, 11:47am.

#256 - I really liked First Family, but it is definitely typical Baldacci.

I'm currently reading Saints in Limbo and, because it is starting off being emotionally difficult for me to read right now, I am also reading Grave Goods which is an easier book to deal with, and more of a distraction, while I'm feeling somewhat vulnerable. (Anybody want to edit that sentence for me?) I'm glad that I know what I mean! tee hee.

Grave Goods is the most recent offering from Ariana Franklin in her series "Mistress of the Art of Death". It is based on the experiences of a female physician schooled in Salerno, Italy. She learns to *read the body* through autopsy, which was forbidden by the religion of the day and age and has been involved in helping solve some murders in what later became Great Britain, during the reign of Henry II and the struggles for establishing his undisputed right to the throne. The earlier books are Mistress of the Art of Death and The Serpent's Tale. Many friends here on LT have also enjoyed these books as Franklin is an excellent writer and the tales are interesting as the history of this period hums along in counterpoint to the story and characters.
(Where is that editor when I need her/him?) I too tired to write.

WH

>260 WH, apart from needing a few more periods, you did a great job conveying the sense of Grave Goods! Being tired will do that to you...make everything seem a widge too hard...go rest, please, I worry about you doing too much and then feeling rotten for a long time after. It deprives me of my buddy here on LT! Do it for MEMEME! ;-P

Just started Marked by P.C. Cast - YA novel still in the beginning but so far Im sucked in :)

#258: ellie, I have read City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende, and I must warn you that that one isn't my favorite one in the trilogy, but the second and the third one are really good, hope you like it enough for you to finish the whole series and I would love to hear your comments on it :D!

Ron

Shows my naivety - I didn't even know it WAS a series - I picked it up years ago, before I even knew who Allende was, just because it sounded pretty good! I haven't decided yet (the washing has to come first, alas)...

Without giving anything away, I second Renald128 on his comments about the trilogy ... I too thought the 2nd and 3rd were way better than City of the Beasts. In fact this trilogy got me reading all the other Allende books.

I finished Speak last night and was very moved by it and couldn't put it down until it was finished. I am now reading Things Not Seen which is a book on my daughter's reading list for school. She needs to do a write up on it and I thought it would be a good idea to read it in case she has any problems with it.

I picked up C'est La Vie at the library yesterday, but really didn't care for it. I'm probably just jealous, but I did not want to read about the trials and tribulations of moving to Paris. Instead I'm reading The Yellow House about Van Gogh and Gaugin in Arles, which is off to a promising start.

I have absolutely no money so I settled for public domain stories - I'm currently reading A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle. I've just read a wonderful crossover fanfic (Harry Potter/Sherlock Holmes) and it has inspired me to start reading Conan Doyle's books.

Message edited by its author, Aug 21, 2009, 4:19pm.

Wow whats going on with the negative spamming on this thread? how sad, people have nothing better to do than hate on a reading community? seems ridiculous.

Reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.. liking it so far!!

I've decided to read Lucky Jim next... It's possibly been on my TBR pile the longest out of the five choices I'd picked for myself, so here goes!

I started Lord Jim and so far I am not impressed and I am not sure what I am reading - but then I get this when I read "classics". I am thinking I'll take a break and read Second Wind also.

I finished The Last Days of Europe last night. He seems to believe that if the governments of Europe can get the Moslem immigrants interested in serious education, the future will be brighter.

I then picked up Patrick Buchanan's book on the lack of necessity for World Wars I and II. I'm only a little way into it and realize that it could turn to absurdity, but it hasn't yet.

Robert

Has everyone seen elliepotten's fresh new review of Du Maurier's Frenchman's Creek? She's made it impossible for me not to read this book now, drat her. I could even understand the cruelty of doing that if I lived close enough to go buy it at her new shop! But I live 4,000 miles away, and she has no website! Can someone explain why this woman chooses to torture me by writing good reviews?

>210, VivianoftheLake, first, what a pretty moniker you've chosen. I have several books with the original language on one side and the English translation on the opposing page. I keep a dictionary by my side and try to slog through the original, doing my best to perform the mental exercise of comprehending what I'm reading to some extent before I uncover the English on the opposite page to see how someone else has interpreted the words. I've done this with Goethe's Faust (German) and with Cicero's De Oratore (Latin). I was at one time fluent in Spanish (lo perdio con los anos) and so can read Garcia Marquez fairly easily. I can also read a little Hebrew. How about you? (I'm having a blast on this blog!) :)

Still no computer at the office (though we ordered one a week ago), which is part of why I'm home today. I've been using the time at the office I would have spent on LT, Ravelry, and Facebook to knit and read. In the last week and a half, I've knit most of a shawl and read 90% of New Worlds, Lost Worlds.

>211- richard, thank you. Because your comments sound so, well, professional, I -- I admit it -- I googled your name. I did it briefly, and I didn't look at every entry -- that would be creepy -- but I found this in your Amazon profile, about reading: "Reading is the direct communication of one person's mind to another's, age, time, distance, all rendered nugatory by the miracle of the printing press." Well said. I would add, from Robert Hutchins, that all Great Books, as the products of writers who themselves have read the Great Books of the past (Aristotle read Plato; Machiavelli read Aristotle; Shakespeare read Machiavelli; Proust read Shakespeare; Barbery(?) read Proust . . .), are simply carrying on a Great Conversation through the centuries, and you and I are, in our own day, taking part in that Conversation.

#276 *%^! I nearly always forget to Google! Richard, You lost me at Proust ! *shudder*

#271> koalamom, Lord Jim starts out slow but it gets better--a lot better--as you go. The first section is in straight third person and gives you the introduction to the character. And there is a key event toward the end of that first section that provides an important key to Jim's make up. Beginning with the second section, however, the story switches to a first person narration as the story of Jim is told by Marlow (yes, the same Marlow who narrates Heart of Darkness). As to your comment that you're not sure what you're reading, if you stick with the book, you'll be reading an in-depth exploration of human nature. In particular, you'll be reading an exploration of the value of personal and societal codes of conduct and more specifically of the question, when do such codes help us and when do they, in fact, become a hindrance to a common sense living of our lives. To what extent is personal redemption for failure possible? To what extent is such redemption necessary? And how far should a person go to earn it?

As you can tell, Conrad is more than a favorite of mine. He's my one, single favorite author and I have studied him in depth in graduate school. He's not for everyone. His writing can at times be somewhat long on philosophy and short on actions. But his characters are extremely memorable and his insights into human nature acute.

"but then I get this when I read 'classics'.": It all depends on why one reads, certainly, and where one finds the most pleasure. "Classics" are, obviously, considered such because they have stood the test of time, because people have continued over the years to find in them valuable insights and reading enjoyment. But the built in traps of books having been around a long time are that they are often written in styles long since considered out of date, and sometimes with cultural points of view similarly outdated. So one must bring a certain tolerance to the experience, I guess. Not everybody wants to do that, and I'm not saying that anybody should want to. But quite often, in my personal experience, the rewards of doing so are great. That's just one person's take on the question, of course.

Happy reading!

Message edited by its author, Aug 21, 2009, 6:26pm.

#270-elliepotten,

I think you'll find Lucky Jim a hoot. It has aged a bit since I first read it 30 years ago, but still fun. I liked it so much that went on a Kingsley Amis tear. The only one I really liked was The Old Devils. The Green Man and The Alteration were interesting.

>276 *!!*...I've never Googled myself! What on earth have I said over the years that is now preserved for posterity and *shiver* my grandchildren to find? And it would seem I have a knack for repeating myself, though the profile quote sounds more polished. It really is a miracle, though, this whole reading/writing/printing wheeze.

>277 calm...oh-oh...now *all* my friends are gonna start Googling me...OMG ONOZ OMG ONOZ

*has vapors*

273, richardderus: Can someone explain why this woman chooses to torture me by writing good reviews?

For the same reason you decided to extend her torture by directing the rest of us to its source? :)

Message edited by its author, Aug 22, 2009, 7:07am.

I am reading The Devil's Punchbowl by Greg Iles. I have enjoyed all of the books in this series and I like this one also.

#279 smiley

I had quite forgotten that I had read The Green Man probably 15 years ago. Or more. :-) I saw it done as a PBS production and liked the story. That lead me to the book. Perhaps, I should add a Kingsley Amis book or two to my TBR pile as I recall that Green Man was quite good. A bit spooky in places, but very suspenseful and well done.

Message edited by its author, Aug 24, 2009, 7:05pm.

thanks, rocketjk - I had been told that Lord Jim was hard to get into but you are rewarded for sticking with it.

I just discovered that Second Wind is a book I have already read and although I am not totally adverse to rereading a book, I have a lot on my shelves that I haven't read once yet, so I will put this one back into the box for the Friends' sale in October. I guess I'll try Under Orders then.

Awww, Richard - after a slightly troubled start this morning you have just put the BIGGEST smile on my face... It's nice to know that someone's getting something (no matter how torturous it may be) from my reviews! :-)

New thread for this week at:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/71573