Birthdays this week:

September 5th:
Ward Just (1935)
Paul Fleischman (1952)
Frank (Garvin) Yerby (1916; d.1991)

6th:
Robert Pirsig (1928)
Me :o) (19xx)

7th:
Dame Edith Sitwell (1887; d.1964)
Taylor Caldwell (1900; d.1985)
Martin Booth (1944; d.2004)

8th:
Frédéric Mistral (1830; d.1914)
Marilyn Durham (1930)
Ann Beattie (1947)

9th:
Bhartendu Harishchandra (1850/1849?; d.1885/1882?)
Mary Hunter Austin (1868; d.1934)
Phyllis Whitney (1903; d.2008)
Sonia Sanchez (1934)
Leo Tolstoy (1828 - 1910) (Old Style calendar has his birthday as August 28)

10th:

Hilda Doolittle (H.D.) (1886; d.1961)
Georgia Douglas Johnson (1886; d.1966)
Mary Oliver (1935)
Stephen Jay Gould (1941; d.2002)

Trivia question: Which of these authors lived in Spain and France as an expatriate for many years?

About halfway through I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. Such a delightful read! But taking longer than I expected.

Finished Never Sleep with a Suspect on Gabriola Island, Quite an enjoyable mystery set on the islands off British Columbia and Washington State.

I am now reading The Good Mayor by Andrew Nicoll and captivated by the story.

Craze: Gin and Debauchery in an Age of Reason by Jessica Warner
A interesting social history of the"gin craze" of the early 1700's and the various "Gin Laws" passed by Parliment from 1729 till 1751. Sometime humrous, sometimes sad, sometimes the reading is a bit 'dry' (;D) but on the whole educational and enjoyable. (2 1/2 stars)

About halfway though Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920's. I'm enjoying it alot. I see that Frederick Allen wrote another book about the 30's. Since Yesterday: The 1930's in America, September 3, 1929 to September 3, 1939. Plan on looking into that one also.

Started "Harms Way" by James Basset. Read it many,many years ago. It's the basis for the John Ford movie of the same name staring John Wayne.

Have The Englishman's Boy waiting in the wings, it sounds like it will be good.

Message edited by its author, Sep 5, 2009, 3:25am.

Still reading The Glass Room by Simon Mawer and really enjoying it... and looking forward to seeing the Booker prize shortlist out this week.

Terri - HAPPY BIRTHDAY for tomorrow! Don't think we wouldn't notice that you'd slipped that in there! :-)

I loved I Capture the Castle - so much so that this week I replaced my YA copy with a pretty new one (Vintage, I think). The film's pretty good too, one for a rainy day with a mug of tea and something yummy to eat!

I finished Lucky Jim yesterday - it seems to have been a slow couple of weeks for reading - and last night started Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs. I think I'll fly through this one, and I can't for the life of me understand why it didn't reach the top of Mount TBR earlier! Plus I still have How I Lived a Year on Just a Pound a Day by Kath Kelly hovering in the background. Sadly, like Judith Levine's Not Buying It: My Year without Shopping, the good ideas and inspiring thoughts are being lost somewhere in her own ramblings, so I don't think it'll be a keeper. And I had such high hopes...

Message edited by its author, Sep 5, 2009, 6:17am.

Ellie- I hope you enjoy Running with Scissors. It's an excellent memoir. Funny, quirky and very disturbing. His follow-up Dry is equally as good.

I'm reading Mistress of the Vatican this week, quite good so far.

I finished The Resurrectionist by James Bradley. I liked it a lot, though the ending was odd. It was very sparely written, and didn't have a lot of back story. The book expected you to understand Victorian conventions, which could be a problem. It also had a Victorian distance to the narrative. Still the writing was good.

The story was about Body Snatchers who supplied anatomists with corpses for medical dissection. The whole process was illegal. The POV was an apprentice to a famous anatomist, but he makes bad decisions, falls in with the wrong people and is dismissed. He falls a long way and is lucky to be alive. Eventually he is transported to Australia for other crimes.

I am now reading SF for a RL book group, The Android's Dream by John Scalzi. About a diplomatic interaction between humans and aliens that goes horribly awry, and the only way to save it, is to find a sheep.

Started Star Trek Pantheon last night - have heard this story before - on TOS back in the 60s. The print is small and tight - may be a challenge after a while for my "older" eyes.

I'm currently reading three books:

Blood and Guts: A Short History of Medicine by the late British historian Roy Porter. I bought this at the bookstore at the Wellcome Collection Museum in London last month, but I didn't really start reading it until yesterday.

Coloured Lights, a collection of short stories by Leila Aboulela, who was born and educated in Khartoum, Sudan and emigrated to London, where she received a master's degree at the London School of Economics. She lived in Aberdeen for several years, and now resides in Abu Dhabi. Included in this collection is "The Museum", which won the Caine Prize for African Writing (also known as the "African Booker") in 2000.

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, one of the favorites to win this year's Booker Prize, which is a historical novel about Tudor England focused primarily on William Cromwell, and his relationship with King Henry VIII.

I hope to finish the first two books this weekend, but I probably won't finish Wolf Hall until mid-week, at the earliest.

Finished Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - terrific! Back to the hard to believe and mesmerizing true story in Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder. Great week for reading.

I'm about 2/3 of the way through both Emma by Jane Austen and Cultural Amnesia by Clive James. It's my second time through Emma, and it's just as good as before. I love Cultural Amnesia as well, but I think it's just slightly too long.

A happy xx'th birthday to Terri from one turning 50 in nine days.

The Hummingbird's Daughter has 22 more pages to convince me.

I've nearly finished the Magician by Raymond E. Feist.
To be followed shortly after by Silverthorn, and so on.
I have had this series recommended to me by quite a few fantasy lovers, so I am embarking on the epic journey.
Though I have to agree with some of the review comments about this book-that it lacks some emotional depth and it skims over areas and time. But apart from that I have been enjoying it, and looking forward to the sequels.

I didn't see an answer to your question--so I will venture a guess: Hilda Doolittle lived in Paris, so perhaps it is her?

I am reading Full Dark House, the first Bryant and May mystery. Enjoyable so far. I like books that are set in present day, but use flashback, if it is well done, and this is. Also continuing with Emma. I have read further than ever before--chapter 9!

Oooh, lots of birthdays this month! Happy birthday tomorrow, Terri, and happy birthday in nine days, Richard!

Haven't done much reading this past week. Been a bit tired ~ maybe from the pollution due to the fires? ~ so going to bed early. Still reading Here Be Dragons which I am loving but which seems to be taking a long time to get through. Also started a book that was sitting nearby one evening when I was too tired to get up and go get Here Be Dragons ~ Annie's Ghosts which so far (p. 112) is enthralling.

Finally, my ex-sis-in-law gave me a late birthday present: a book of photography depicting Italy by Martin Hurlimann, originally published in 1953. The images, most in black and white, are amazing ~ no crowds, even at Pisa, the Forum Romanum, the Spanish steps, and other popular tourist destinations ~ some, like one photo of Pisa, with a horse & buggy in front of the leaning tower, some from Venice showing gondoliers transporting produce and other goods on almost empty canals. It is a different Italy than the one I saw in 2003.

Message edited by its author, Sep 5, 2009, 10:45am.

>16, no it's not H.D. Good guess.

Thanks for the BD wishes richard and ellie! I won't hide it, that's silly, I'll be 59 tomorrow.

Message edited by its author, Sep 5, 2009, 11:39am.

Excited to begin John Banville's new novel The Infinities (couldn't wait for the American edition...ordered from England).

Continuing Imperial by William Vollmann

About one-third through The Mighty and The Almighty and even though it's ...with Bob Woodward, this lady is calling it as she sees it. Good for her. In every chapter so far, there are 2 or 3 paragraphs that stand out to make you laugh, re-think, and/or be astonished.

I finished Guernica by Dave Boling a couple of days ago. Well worth the read, despite a few kinks. My review is on my profile page here.

I'm close to finishing my July ER book, Watch Over Me which has just been okay. One of my pet peeves is when publishers try to compare authors to each other that are very dissimilar in writing style. Here, Christa Parrish is compared to Anne Lamott. Now Lamott is one of my favorite authors, and I'm here to tell you that Parrish's writing is nothing like Lamott's. The publisher says, "Oh, she's a liberal Christian and she's a liberal Christian, and they both write about Christian characters, therefore they're the same." Not so much. It has the unfortunate effect of setting your expectations in one place while the reality is in another. I think it does a disservice to the lesser-known author as well, whose book is now being judged against others instead of standing on its own.

*Off my rant now and back to finish the book*

Just finished reading Sinai Tapestry bt Edward Whittemore. Extra ordinary book to read. Combines historical events from all over the world with fantasy. Not easy to find out what actually happened or not. Looking forward to read the other 3 volumes of the "jerusalem quartet".

I'm reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society at the moment and hope to finish it tonight. It's an interesting story, but too romantic for me.

Mostly through reading Shakespeare's Kings.

On a more or less unrelated note, it may be a good thing that most of those who would be giving me gifts for my birthday on Monday don't have a lot of money to burn: it means they won't be expanding my tbr pile for me.

-- Message 4: usnmm2
Craze: Gin and Debauchery in an Age of Reason by Jessica Warner
sometimes the reading is a bit 'dry'

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Thank you for that.

I'm still reading my er The Day the Falls Stood Still. I really enjoy the nature conservation undertone of the story.

About halfway through Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett and then I really need to finish Equal Rites by Pratchett as well so I can give the book back.

I plan to use the much-needed three day weekend to read and sleep. So far, so good. This morning I finished Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell. After a short nap, I started The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett.

I'm working on City Of Bones,The Sight, and The Graveyard Book. All of them are are really good. I was reading Wizards First Rule on my Kindle but it needs to be charged!

Just started on Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction by Tom Raabe.
Halfway through East of Eden. Reading volume 2 of my Norwegian edition. I didn't imagine a person could be that evil (Cathy)!!

I think the answer to the quiz is Frank Yerby, a writer I was addicted to in high school. My best friend and I read everything he wrote as fast as humanly possible, passing the books back and forth and arguing over who was going to get to read the next one first. I had no idea he was African American until a few years ago when I saw a bio listed about him in a book store that was doing a table filled with past "mega" sellers.

Currently re-reading The Book Thief and also The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo for a group read.

Message edited by its author, Sep 5, 2009, 1:07pm.

Just read The Book Thief for the first time, and even though I normally don't read WWII stories (too sad for me), I loved loved loved this one. This one is five stars for me, despite the sadness.

I am starting on The Lost City of Z tonight, I have been waiting so long to get and read this book, I hope it won't disapoint.

>30: Right you are maggiemay. He was the first African American to publish a US best seller (1946 - The Foxes of Harrow) and the first to have a book purchased for screen adaptation by a Hollywood studio. He left the US in protest of racial discrimination.

Dealing with gritty eyes this morning after staying up all night to finish Gold of Kings by Davis Bunn, I need something lighter that I can read while watching the US Open matches. I think I'll break open Doctored Evidence by Donna Leon and Sword of Medina an ARC by Sherry Jones.

Happy 59th to Teelgee. Hope you have a great day. I will turning the same age next month.

This week I am going to be reading His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik. My daughter has insisted I read this one, at first I wasn't sure I would like it, but now after just two chapters I am so hooked into the story. This is the first book of a series about the Napoleonic Wars, but with dragons involved.

This week I am also going to start Inspector Huss by Helene Tursten, a police procedural set in Sweden.

Happy Birthday, teelgee!

I am still reading Unlikely Disciple which I normally would have finished by now. My SIL treated me and three of my kids to a last minute trip to NYC for a couple of days this week so I didn't get any reading done those two days. The rest of the week was busy as well. I should finish it by tomorrow though. After that I will probably read the next book in the Echo Falls mystery series by Peter Abrahams which my daughter and I are currently reading.

Many Happy Birthdays Teelgee!!!

Finished The Forever War by Dexter Filkins. Well written but hard to read if you know what I mean. I think all the action depicted happened before the surge. Cold comfort. The comparisons to Michael Herr's Dispatches are apt.

Started The Bridge of Sighs by Olen Steinhauer. A police procedural/political thriller set in an unnamed central european capital city, 1948. No opinion so far.

After puttering around all week, I finally decided to pick up Oryx and Crake last night. Not impressed so far, but I'll give it more time.

I'm reading North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. About 150 pages in so far and enjoying it very much now that the story is unfolding.

*double post*

Message edited by its author, Sep 5, 2009, 4:25pm.

Finished Fallen Dragon, which was okay. Just a bit longwinded.

All that's left now is about 400 pages of The Collected Stories of Arthur C Clarke, then my TBR stack will be empty. Moving to England in about two weeks, so stopped buying books as I can't take many with me anyway.

I'm a little more than half-way through Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Also just starting The Year of the Flood.

Finished up Mort, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I think its time to give Discworld a break though.

Next up, Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski. I hope it's as good as The Last Wish was.

Starting "The Girl in the Green Glass Mirror" by Elizabeth McGregor. Finished "The Ever-Running Man" by Marcia Muller this morning.

>12: jnwelch- I just picked up The Hunger Games and I'm glad the sequel sounds as good. I heard Tracy Kidder on a podcast recently discussing the new book and yes it looks fascinating. I have to wishlist that baby!
Richard- Please don't tell me you are not getting into Hummingbird!! This can't be happening on the eve of me starting it!!
> 31: divinenanny- Those are 2 of my favorites from this year! Hope you enjoy "Z"!

Message edited by its author, Sep 5, 2009, 4:48pm.

I can't seem to get into The Sword of Medina ....I'm pretty sure it's just that I'm tired, so I'm going to put this aside for now and take up something fluffy and promisingly funny... The Sex Lives of Cannibals : Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific by Maarten Troost

Just getting going on Saratoga Trunk by Edna Ferber. Written in 1941, this is a good old-fashion "Novel." Young, beautiful, orphaned woman getting ready to make her way through life on her own terms, (starting in New Orleans society in the early 20th century). Probably nothing too subtle coming up, but it's fun to dig in with a good old-fashioned tale like this from time to time. It's on the list of top 10 selling books for 1941.

>4 usnmmm2 I'm about half way through Only Yesterday as well and am really enjoying it. I'm especially impressed with his ability to convey what it felt like to live during that time.

>14 Oh, Richardderus, surely The Hummingbird's Daughter came through in the end. Even if some parts are unbelievable, I found the character of Thomas particularly powerful. If all else fails, some of the descriptions of the culture, particularly food were enthralling.

>44 msf59 Don't let Richardderus discourage you.

On the home front, I finished Memoirs of a Geisha over three days (extremely fast for me) because I couldn't put it down.

>37 fredbacon -- do give Oryx and Crake some time -- it took me three tries to get into it, but it was well worth the attempts.

I'm currently reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. I'm only a few chapters in, but I'm thoroughly enjoying it. It is the sort of book that is nigh impossible for me to read unless I am in a completely quiet room and, as it is never silent in my house, it's hard for me to get time to read it.

>38 Rach974923 - Once you've read North and South you should try and get hold of the BBC adaptation - oh dear Lord, it's wonderful! It has the most delicious John Thornton in the form of the rather aristocratic-looking, tall, dark and handsome Richard Armitage. Fantastic Sunday afternoon/rainy day viewing...

>49 remusly - I find that too, that certain books can only be read with absolute scope for concentration. When I was little I could read anything, in the car, with music on (even singing along!), at busy busy places with people all around. Now I seem to be losing it and increasingly find that with certain books I just end up reading the same paragraph over and over if there are people around. It's dreadful to have had that ability and to feel it slipping away!

Message edited by its author, Sep 5, 2009, 6:21pm.

I read a big chunk of The Bilderberg Conspiracy last night after midnight LibraryThing time. So far it is not as malicious, as far reaching, or as conspiratorial as I was hoping. It is more like non-fiction.

Robert

#4usnmm2 and #47 snash, I really enjoyed Only Yesterday also; I thought it was fascinating how so many things we consider modern got their start in the 20s, and also interesting to read about the times from someone who lived through them.

#36 smiley, Since I know you're a le Carre fan, I'll be interested in what you think of the Steinhauer. I read his The Tourist and was not impressed.

I finished The Glass Room and am about to start The Cave and the Cathedral by Amir D. Aczel, about prehistoric art.

#52 : What did you think of The Glass Room?

I finished The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem this morning. Excellent writing. Enjoyed the music references.

Then cleaned house for about 5 hours. It could probably use another 5 but I'm over it. Time to be reading again. Started Serena by Ron Rash. Only about 10 pages in, too soon to give an opinion, but I have liked the author's other books so I have high hopes.

I started reading Whitaker Chambers today. I got interested in this person reading Blinded by the Right, Conscience of an Ex-conservative. I have heard about Chambers in many contexts but I didn't really know anything about him. So far his biography by Sam Tanenhaus is quite interesting. He was a Columbia U in the mid 1920s with so many fellow students who later came to dominate American thinking.

#53, cameling, This is the review of The Glass Room I posted on my Club Read 2009 and 75 Books Challenge threads:

Darryl's (kidzdoc) enthusiastic review of this book led me to read it. It is a lovely moving portrait of a family, a time of war and turmoil, and a very special building, a totally modern home with an amazing glass room built by a noted architect for the family. The story begins at a time of hope, in 1929, when, in the aftermath of the first world war, Czechoslovakia has become an independent country, and modern ideas of art, architecture, and politics are thriving. Then, the world they know falls apart, both politically and emotionally, and the openness of the glass room contrasts with secrets within the family and between members of the family and the people around them. We see what happens to the family and to the house through the war, German occupation, and Soviet occupation and control. I thought it was a beautiful book but it was marred for me by one very hard-to-believe coincidence that was an essential plot point, and by a smaller one at the end.

I finished off Briar Rose this morning and think I'll start Smoke and Shadows by Tanya Huff next as it is a library book. In addition, I'm still working my way through Bio of an Ogre and have made it about one-third of the way in over the last month reading a chapter here and there.

Also listening to Artemis Fowl The Opal Deception in the car with my son.

Reading The River At The Center Of The World by Simon Winchester.History a little laughing.

I just finished It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life by Lance Armstrong. I am going to soon start his other book Every Second Counts.

Message edited by its author, Sep 5, 2009, 8:47pm.

Happy birthday, teelgee!

I'm reading not much different from last week, except Olive Kitteridge which I'm most of the way through (just two stories left). I'm really enjoying it - fantastic characters, bittersweet tales, and wonderful writing. I expect I'll finish it up before I go to bed tonight.

Yes, Happy Birthday teelgee!! And thank you for adding the birthdays to the start of the thread each week - it's a nice touch.

This week I thought I'd try Darling Jim. I'm also listening to Olive Kitteridge while I walk the dog. I read it when it first came out so it's a reread of sorts.

I finished The Android's Dream by John Scalzi. It was for my RL SFF book group. It was a quick, fun read with interesting twists. It starts with a murder by fart and gets stranger from then on.

I am now reading The Cruel Night of the Stars by Kjell Eriksson a mystery for another RL book group. It is the 2nd in the Ann Lindell Swedish mystery series (at least that has been translated into English).

Trivia Question:

I would have made HD my first choice, too, so starting with my 2nd, which is really a wild guess:
Robert Pirsig ?

>63 Nope. See #30 and 32.

Happy Birthday, teelgee!
My youngest sister (we are six siblings, and we all live in Bodø) is 45 today.

Are most of the authors in message 1 American (not Tolstoy, I know; not Harishchandra, I assume)?

Finished a quick read From Hue and Cry to Humble Pie by Judy Parkinson. Thought it would be more interesting than it turned out. Ended up skip-reading it as there were a lot of modern sayings which I didn't really feel merited an explanation of their origins.
Just started A Mad World, My Masters: Tales from a Traveller's Life by John Simpson as my shop read. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is my home read. Might take a while as my main reading time is just before bed which can be anything from 2 minutes to an hour, depending on how shattered I am. Still, not read it since I was a teenager when it was my favourite book so I'll see if my tastes have changed over the years!

Finished reading The Picture of Dorian Gray yesterday. I liked this except for one chapter when I became increasingly frustrated every few words; wondering when the subject would change.

Then I read Susan Cooper's Greenwitch. A very quick easy and satisfying read. Back on track for the series. I have no idea why I had trouble reading The Dark is Rising (this time) but something irritated me.

I have now started Strands of Starlight by Gael Baudino. Only just started but I like it so far.

>60: bell7- So glad you enjoying Olive. It's an amazing book and easily one of my favorite reads of the year!

I have just started Digging to America by Anne Tyler and enjoying it very much so far.

I'm about halfway through Un Lun Dun by China Mieville. I'm also reading Green Rider by Kristen Britain (will probably finish it today or tomorrow) and I just started Body Dump by Fred Rosen.

>50. Thanks, elliepotten. I saw the adaptation recently and loved it too. It's the TV adaptation that made me want to read the book so much. I'm in complete agreement with you about Richard Armitage as John Thornton. I love the brooding, Darcy-like characteristics of John and Richard is a very astute (not to mention incredibly handsome!) actor.

>#38 and #50 - Rach974923 and Ellen - Absolutely, BBC, North and South, Richard Armitage - stellar cast, screenplay and of course derived from the book. Well worth anyone's time to watch this compelling drama.

Armitage also plays in The Impressionists that can be rented through Netflix in the USA. Yes, it is about the group of young artists/painters who changed how light appears and works in paintings forever, Monet, Cezanne, Degas, et al. Very well done.

Finished Lark and Termite late last night. Posted a review here:

http://www.librarything.com/work/7248280

I began reading Brooklyn: A Novel by Colm Toibin. Barely into it but I believe it has real promise.

Happy, Happy Birthday to your, Dear Terri. Thank you as always for the great kick-off post of the week and the trivia question. You make a real contribution ot me and to LT.

womansheart

Message edited by its author, Sep 6, 2009, 12:26pm.

I finished Blood and Guts: A History of Modern Medicine by Roy Porter this morning, and reviewed it here.

Happy Birthday, teelgee!

Thank you all for the BD greetings! womansheart-- I'll be starting Brooklyn sometime today, as soon as I finish I Capture the Castle, so we can compare notes!

>65 kjellika -- probably most of them are American or European. I will seek out a more global list next time!

>74 - Terri - birthday woman ...

You bet we can! And, I loved Capture the Castle, which I read BLT (Before LibraryThing).

womansheart/Ruth

Finished reading Tatiana and Alexander rather early this morning *ahem* and wow what a book! God i was glad i found that copy in a second-hand shop

Gonna grab Wake to read now as it's rather small so won't take me long and I really want to have by TBR to under 50 by the time I go to Uni

Im reading The Fold. Its really good!

torontoc (from last weeks thread)

Last week you said you have finished reading Un Lun Dun and I wondered how did you like that book? I have a copy of the new one. I have been wanting to read them but haven't found the where-with-all to move them up on the TBR pile. I understand that the new one City and the City is really good.

#36 Smiley

I read Bridge of Sighs when it first came out. The reviews were really good but the Emil Brod series never took off for some reason. Steinhauer now has a new book titled The Tourist. This one too has had really good reviews. I hope that Steinhauer finally makes it into the big time with this one.

Now that summer is winding down. The days are getting shorter. I will now start, my trying to read once a month Civil War book. Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara. So far so good.

#79, benitastrnad, I had never read any Steinhauer befre I read The Tourist, and I was seduced by the good review I read and then sorely disappointed; I found it confused and overly overtly political. But that could just be me . . .

Cindy- Good luck with the Civil War reading! I wish I could pull it off! I recently acquired Shiloh by Shelby Foote, maybe that could get me going!
I finished The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and have to say it was a smart fast-paced Swedish crime-thriller, which I highly recommend. I've also been reading The Big Con:Crackpot Economics and the Fleecing of America by Jonathan Chait. It's both fascinating and very disturbing. I will be starting The Hummingbird's Daughter very soon!

I just finished The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery which I couldn't put down. The luxury of the 3-day weekend has allowed me to read 3 books (so far) but I really do need to vacuum before I pick up a next book.

#82: msf59, Oh goody ... glad to hear you're highly recommending The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It's on my TBR and according to my (non)system, I should be reading it later this month.

#83 : sisaruus, I loved Elegance of a Hedgehog and I'm glad she didn't feel the need to give it a fairy-tale ending because I felt the way she ended it was in keeping with the tone of the whole story. Why vacuum? Let the dust bunnies have their long weekend to party too! ;-)

I finished Doctored Evidence by Donna Leon early this morning and my current read of The Sex Lives of Cannibals is perfect given the distraction of watching the US Open at the same time. I might even send out for pizza so that I don't have to think of making dinner this evening.

#52-rebeccanyc & #79-benitastrnad,

About 90 pages into Steinhauer's Bridge of Sighs and I like the atmosphere of the story. Jury is still out on the mystery, and the book as a read. The obsevation I have about mysteries in general is that if an author has a hit with his first book he is expected to crank out a whole series using the same character, regardless of the quality of the individual novels because, the marketing department assumes, people will continue to buy the author based on the reputation of the first book. Le Carre wrote three Smiley books because there was enough narrative for three novels, not because Smiley was the franchise.

Teelgee, Happy Birthday!!!

Recently it seems that most books I try take longer than i expected. Donno what it is...

9: I just saw that reviewed. Sounds good. Let us know how you end up liking it.

66: I loved Wuthering Heights both on first read at thirteen or so and when I read it again as an adult. I hope you have a similarly happy experience with it.

Making good progress with HP and the Chamber of secrets. I'll probably finish it tonight and start the Prisoner of Azkaban, or maybe not. Very tired for some unknown reason...

>86 Catreona, hope you keep going! It starts to get really good at Book 4 and I think just keeps getting better from book 4 through 7, better writing, more complicated. Love those books!

#2 Teelgee - I read I Capture the Castle first when I was a teen and loved it. It wasn't until many years later that I learned it was considered by some to be a classic and quite renowned. I just bought a copy to keep permanently this year (along with To Kill a Mockingbird). I'm glad you like it so far! (And Happy B'day!)

This is my second week off work. First week off work I didn't actually read much I just let the pain meds to their thing and watched the entire seasons 3 - 5 of 7th Heaven in bed *blush*

I finished reading The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing Traitor to the Nation Part 1: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson. I had no idea what I the book was about when I started it and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
I also read John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth by Elizabeth Partridge. A biography with lots of photos. It was a good length as it was in-depth yet at the same time not too detailed. I never got bored, skimmed, or skipped pages.

I am now in the middle of The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by Emily Lockhart definitely entertaining and light.

I finished The Cruel Stars of the Night by Kjell Eriksson. I enjoyed it, but it was a bit slow and of course bleak. I am now taking a break with a fantasy Jhegaala by Steven Brust, before finishing the last book in the series by Eriksson (that is published in English).

I just finished The Magicians by Lev Grossman. The second two thirds of the book were redeemed by the LAST SENTENCE. Kind of Potter meets Narnia meets Catcher in the Rye. Now I found my original cuecat and this website and have been bookshelf diving and found In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead so I will be playing with Zombies and vamps in New Orleans for a day or two. I also have that new zombies eat Jane Eyre thing that should be interesting.

I just finished The Hunter by Richard Stark. One major logic loophole that disappointed me, but still a good read.

Last night, I started Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.

Reading "Melmoth the Wanderer" after having owned it for years and years. Lots of gothic fun. Probably be buried in there for a while.

Still working on Star Trek Pantheon. This should have been an easy read but my other life took over (the one where I don't read) and now I either don't have the time or the inclination to read, i.e., I am too tired. It will get done though.

As good as Mistress of the Vatican is, I was waaay too tired for nonfiction last night, so I'm now also reading The Marriage Bureau for Rich People.

I am currently reading The Six Wives of Henry VIII. I'm 194 pages in where Henry is trying to "divorce" his first wife Katherine of Aragon so he can marry Anne Boleyn. I'm hoping to get through it this week, but with my 3 classes starting tomorrow, I'm not sure how much free reading time I shall have.

So far I am thoroughly enjoying the book as I love historical fiction. I believe the author, Alison Weir, has done a fantastic job so far in staying as close to the actual historical story and line that she can.

Is it me or is War and Peace, er, . . . nothing . . . that . . . special? After glorying through Proust, where every other sentence is a marvel, I am not seeing any fireworks in Tolstoy. It's good, but not great, like I'd always heard. I was afraid Proust would ruin me for other authors. I'm in W & P around 400 pages so far, so I will keep an open mind with a long way to go, but, as I say, it's a big ho-hum at this point.

#93, jbratcheriii, I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it. I read Melmoth last year, and it's one of my favorite classic gothics.

Speaking of gothic, I'm reading Titus Groan. There's something wonderfully off-kilter about it, both in its sense of humor and in the descriptiveness of the prose.

#96: That's interesting; I'm reading about the same thing in Wolf Hall.

Message edited by its author, Sep 7, 2009, 9:20am.

>96,
Isn't that actual history, not historical fiction? I think Weir only recently started writing fiction with The Innocent Traitor and The Lady Elizabeth

I've taken a week off. Nothing was calling my name and I was entirely too busy at work. But then, last night, Ragtime called my name. I've already read it, but it's so good, I just have to read it again.

#100 - you are right, I believe.

I finished Restless by William Boyd and very much enjoyed it. IMO, much better written and crafted that a supposed classic of the espionage genre The Spy who Came in from the Cold which I read recently and was underwhelmed by.

Now I am reading Corelli's Mandolin. I found it hard to get into, but it is ultimately proving enjoyable and rewarding. Berniere's style reminds me of a more sane version of Gabriel Garcia Marquez - it is not really magical realism but just has that feel to it.

#80, 82 - I am planning soon to try and finish my 'summer' of Civil War reading by tackling the third volume of Shelby Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative. I enjoyed the others this summer but they are just so long and daunting to get started with.

Just finished listening to The Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer, a very moving novel. I am about to start istening to Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch by Dai Sijie, and I continue reading The Insulted and Humiliated by Fyodor Dostoevsky and kindling Beowulf.

I'm into Too Much Happiness by that master of the short story, Alice Munro.

Just finished Equal Rites and seriously considering taking a break from Pratchett so I can finally read The Book Thief

Finished The Good Mayor last night - I was happily enthralled with the prose and the weaving of the tale... but I have to admit that the ending left me... well.... a little deflated. Still, overall it is a good story.

I am now reading Richard Flanagan's Wanting, which is turning out to be a quick read.

Finished Oryx and Crake last night. I'm going to have to give it some thought before I write a review. The skill of the author was readily apparent, but I didn't come away with a high regard for her thinking. The satire was too banal, the philosophy was too cynical, and the science was too inept. All in all, another fuzzy headed liberal arts Luddite substituting sentimentality for genuine thought and decrying the spoliation of the world by science while ignoring the realities of history.

Now, I think that I'm going to pick up Hitler's Preemptive War: The Battle for Norway, 1940 and give that a try. It's an under appreciated aspect of the war in Europe.

Currently trying to get Specials out of the way as it's a library book that has been loitering on my reading pile for a month and I need to get it read.
Not enjoying that much as I've lost my liking of this series as Tally gets more and more shallow and annoying, luckily i'm getting through it at a decent speed so she won't be annoying me for long and I can get back to books i really want to read.

> jhowell- I admire your discipline on the Civil War books. I still have Foote's Volume 1 sitting on my shelf,which I know I need to get to, but the SIZE!! I just received his much smaller novel Shiloh, so that might be the next C.W. I tackle.

87: LOL This isn't my first time reading Harry. It is, though, my first attempt at reading the entire series in, esentially, one go. My fav is The Prisoner of Azkaban. Don't like the later books quite as much, though I agree that the writing improves markedly starting with The Goblet of Fire and that the stories become deeper and more complex. Would probably have finished The Chamber of secrets last night, except that, on finishing Man And His Symbols I returned to The Portable Jung instead. On track to finish The Chamber of Secrets tonight though.

Just finished Nigel Slater's Toast which is subtitled "The Story of a Boy's Hunger" and is a memoir by a well known British food writer. Very enjoyable and moving; his boyhood is told via reminiscences about foods he loved and despised. I'm on a foodie binge now, having enjoyed Julie and Julia so much.

My mom read Loving Frank in a day and a half-- she's not a reader, but if you're looking for a quick read, I recommend it from her testimony.

I haven't been able to pick up a book this weekend, but I have Birds of America, Assassination Vacation, and The Abstinence Teacher waiting for me when I have a moment.

100/102 - I was about to say the same thing - The Six Wives of Henry VIII is a historical biography so you would hope it stayed true to reality! :-)

111 AnneH - I enjoyed Toast too - it's such a quirky way of writing a foodie book yet also a really personal autobiographical journey. I have his Eating for England on my TBR pile, which I think uses a similar style but covering British food in general rather than just his autobiographical memories.

I finished my 'shop book' (lighter read, in other words) How I Lived a Year on Just a Pound a Day by Kath Kelly. Bit of a mixed bag, that one. Not sure yet whether to keep it or get it on the shop shelves to sell on. I started The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency to read alongside Running with Scissors. I was going to read this evening but there's an incredible documentary tribute on about September 11th, made up entirely of news footage, personal recordings and phone conversations, which is proving to be as hideously gripping and utterly heartbreaking as the day it happened. My heart's going out to New York all over again...

Message edited by its author, Sep 7, 2009, 4:19pm.

I read most of The Way West by A.B. Guthrie, Jr., last night. The country, the world of the west, is the chief character, but there is insight into the human characters that I am finding valuable. I'll likely finish this tonight and order the third in the series promptly.

Robert

I just finished First Comes Love then Comes Malaria which I found very entertaining and enjoyed very much. Memoirs of a Peace Corps volunteer in S. America and Uganda. Her take on life in the bush, very readable and I could totally relate to her.

I finished Mistborn and started The Well of Ascension, both the Brandon Sanderson.

After finishing Seeing Me Naked by Liza Palmer this morning, I decided it was time to mix it up a bit and read a classic (considering how much I love classics, I haven't read many at all this year). So I'm starting The Woman in White this afternoon.

I just finished reading Seabiscuit which I absolutely loved. I have always loved reading about racehorses. Now I'm reading Gifts of War by Mackenzie Ford.

Finished "The Girl In the Green Glass Mirror" by Elizabeth McGregor, an interesting, slightly bizarre story within a story.

Starting "Silent Thunder" by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen

Happy Birthday teelgee!! Happy Birthday (soon to be) richard!! and anyone else coming up!!

Finished Wanting by Richard Flanagan - it was a quick read and while I found the sections about Charles Dickens and Sir John Franklin interesting, it was really the story of Mathinna and life on Van Diemen's Land and Flinder's Island that kept me riveted, wishing the book would just continue....

Next up, thanks to all the posts here on LT, is Alan Bradley's Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.

I finished The Hour I First Believed last night. I liked it very much, although I was a bit disappointed in the ending as concerns the wife. I thought it was a trifle contrived and didn't fit the rest of the book. Now I am rereading The Thirteenth Tale which I just read earlier this year. It's for a RL book group and I want to have my facts straight. Not to mention I loved the book so it's no chore to read it again.

I am about to start Catching Fire and I cannot wait!! I literally could not put down Hunger Games and have heard that this book will have the same result.

Finished The Sex Lives of Cannibals by Maarten Troost and Father Joe by Tony Hendra today. Not sure what I'll read next .... if I follow my TBR roster, it should be Miracle at St Anna by James McBride, but maybe I'll restart my ARC The Sword of Medina by Sherry Jones. Then again, there's Stain of the Berry by Anthony Bidulka and my hero Russell Quant. hmm...choices, choices....

>68 msf59, I can see why! It's one of my favorite reads of the year so far.

I just started The Magicians by Lev Grossman this evening, and it's a promising beginning.

Still working on You Just Don't Understand (I'm slower on books that have no due date) and rereading/listening to Johnny Tremain.

Today I finished The Day the Falls Stood Still. Beautiful story! I'll be looking up a few things on Wikipedia as a result.
My book club is about to read a sad story, so before I start it I'm reading Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination to build myself up a little.

On Friday I had begun The Neon Rain and had every intention of finishing it this weekend. However, a trip to Dawson City, Yukon Territory over the weekend has sidetracked me to Klondike. This book is enthralling. Any time that I insist on reading out loud to my hub, you know it has to be good.

Finally finished The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Maybe I just had too high of expectations, but I could never really get into it. I absolutely loved portions of it, but then there were other chapters where it would take me a week just to get through a couple of pages.

Now on to my Early Reviewer book from July, The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan. A lot of people seem to love it, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Just finished The Lost City of Z and what a wonderful book, it really captures the age of the gentlemen explorer's. I highly recommend it!

Now I've moved on to State of the Art by Iain M. Banks...

Oh, and Z was my 50th book of this year, ha! I can move one group over!

Just finished The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. You can see my review on the book's page.

I'm already about halfway through The Picture of Dorian Gray and I imagine I'll finish it before tomorrow. Then, I'll start on Willful Creatures by Aimee Bender.

> divinenanny- Congrats on reaching 50 and welcome aboard on the "Z" bandwagon!

I finished Unlikely Disciple last night. It was interesting but I don't think I would call it fabulous or anything like that. I started the next book in the Echo Falls mystery series by Peter Abrahams which is sort of a modern day Nancy Drew series. My daughter and I are reading them. So far there are only three but hopefully there will be more soon.

Finished up The Other Queen.
Working my way through two ARCs - The Year of the Flood and The Man Who Loved Books Too Much. Also reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for an online blogging challenge.

I've just finished John Banville's wonderful new novel The Infinities and have begun E.L.Doctorow's Homer and Langley.

I just finished (and reviewed) Gael Baudino's Strands of Starlight. For me a near perfect book!
Continuing with the old fantasy/sci-fi theme I have now started Rite of Passage by Alexis Panshin.

I finished Smoke and Shadows which I enjoyed a lot, much better than this author's Blood series books I read a couple years ago.

I'm now reading a fantasy, From Dream to Dream by Arlene Golds, got through another chapter of Bio of an Ogre and am almost finished with a murder/mystery/gay lit book called L.A. Heat by P.A. Brown.

I finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and started A Wind in the Door, a sequel to A Wrinkle in Time.

I don't generally go out of my way to call attention to negative reviews that I write. I gave a predictably negative review to Ivy: The Life of I. Compton-Burnett, on the book's page and in my thread http://www.librarything.com/topic/72353 but it's not a negative review of Icky Crumpet-Burnoose, it's a negative review of Hilary Spurling's book about her. Go see why.

121-Ikernagh,

Have you read The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes?

I finished The Beet Queen by Louise Erdrich and now I'm reading Chasing the Devil's Tail by David Fulmer.

I'm halfway through Jen Lancaster's Bitter Is The New Black and really enjoying it! Usually I'm not so big on non-fiction, but I'm getting into contemporary memoirs lately.

After I finish up that one, it's back to Sue Miller's The Senator's Wife -- I'm about 50 pages in and intrigued, but not totally captivated just yet.

I am rather old fashioned in taste. I mostly read classic books. The few newer books I've read I haven't enjoyed that much. But after joining LT and reading about what everyone else is reading and seeing their wishlists, I've decided to read at least a few new books (books that were published in THIS millennium). I've started with The Book Thief; seeing how it was the top wishlisted book (I was curious about why so many people wanted to read this book). I'm about 225 pages into it. I'll post my thoughts after finishing it.

Reading Stories in Stone : Travels Through Urban Geology by David B. Williams.

A mixture of history and geology, this is trivia candy for the geologically curious. It's also for those interested in the historical architectural trends in the US - things like the New York brownstone, the Boston Granite or the ubiquitous Indiana Limestone have a lot history mixed with them. Personally I'm interested in how so many geological oddities are so critical in making a stone useful in as a building stone.

I'm still trudging through Specials but i may ignore that tonight as I rather fancy taking a crack at Charmed Thirds although I'll have to remember to go to sleep *before* 1am due to my need to be up at 6am for work tomorrow ugh

>118 Lamplight- Since you're in to racehorses, just wondering if you have read the children's book King of the Wind. As a child, I cried and cried and as an adult, re-read it with trepidation. And because of this, didn't read Sea Bisquit, but got up enough gumption to see the acclaimed movie. In general, I have a lot of trouble with animal stories and also passed up on the Marley book. Don't seem to have any trouble with crime however....

Finished my July ER book Watch Over Me by Christa Parrish, and all I have to say about that is, "Thank God that's over!" My review is on my profile page for anyone who's interested.

Now I'm on to High Tide in Tucson by Barbara Kingsolver. I know I can count on Barbara to deliver me from the after-effects of bad bookdom.

Just finished The Insulted and Humiliated by Fyodor Dostoevsky for an LT Group Read. Wonderful read! I am about to start The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, for my RL book group. I continue a wonderful romp with Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch.

I finished The Way West last night. It was not enough; I will be looking for the sequel later today. The Big Sky series has plenty of women in them. They are not fully developed but they are nearly all strong and all are of good character. Nevertheless I think these are men's novels. They might illustrate to a woman what certain, many, men are like inside, although these were not demonstrative men. I think, though, that the resonant reading would be by men.

Having finished that I went on to finish The Bilderberg Conspiracy. The transition was rough, but I made it. I had hoped for a really crazed denunciation of one world cabalists. This was much more like reportage by someone who could make his living writing, but not writing well. I suspect that if evil is done it is done by conspirators and not by the conspiracy.

Then I turned to finish a chapter in Krakatoa. I don't think I'll have a hard time finishing this book for my church book group. And I don't think I would have missed much not reading it. It is an entertainment with considerable interesting facts.

Robert

Hope to have Star Trek Pantheon finished in an hour or so, then I have to read The Butlerian Jihad as my son needs to get it back to the library by the 17th.

Decided to go with Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon as my next read. I've put it off for quite some time ... not sure why though because every time I thought to pick it up, something else popped up and enticed me to read, but last night as my fingers roamed over the spines on my TBR pile, it stopped at Shadow of the Wind, stopped and pulled it out.

Finished, as I figured I would, Star Trek Pantheon and now onto the Jihad.

Message edited by its author, Sep 8, 2009, 8:35pm.

Yesterday I read American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld. I stayed up to 3am to finish it and I'm thinking about it today at odd moments - all good signs of a good read!

Today I have picked up a YA novel: Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen before I turn to something a bit heavier: Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

> cameling- I think your probing fingers made a very good choice! I enjoyed it quite a bit... I mean reading The Shadow of the Wind, if that wasn't clear!

I am three quarters of the way through Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. It's very good and I'm learning a lot about Ethiopa and its history since 1954.

I think I've finally chosen Sarah Waters' The Night Watch to read next. Its been on the tbr pile for too long now and I've heard good things.

About halfway through The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler. Taut & terse & terrific.

Bit disappointed by The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin. I think I was seduced by the natty Penguin Classic Crime cover when it caught my eye in Oxfam.

The book that has most challenged my worldview lately has been Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo. Very thought provoking and controversial. Causing a big stir in the world of development aid and non-governmental organisations. She makes a fairly good argument for scrapping development aid, almost altogether... which surprised me.

Oooh cameling, I'm envious! I loved Shadow of the Wind. Truly great book. Enjoy!

149: I've read the trilogy? sequence of three books? that includes The Butlerian Jihad. Believe it or not, these are the only Dune books I've ever read, though I do intend to read more...eventually.

Picked up Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman earlier this evening. After having read five stories, I am not particularly impressed.

Finished HP and the Chamber of Secrets last night and got started with HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

>37

I'm trudging my way through Oryx and Crake as well. I'm at the point where the Oryx character is introduced and I'm really hoping that I finally start to like something, anything about this book. This is my first Atwood and now I'm thinking that I should've started with some of her other work.

I finished The State of the Art and as I thought, I mainly liked the Culture stories and novella.

I am now reading about World War Z. A fascinating concept, to have an oral history book looking back on an fictitious event... I am liking it so far!

>159: petersonvl, I agree, it's not the best Atwood to start with.

Finished Colm Toibin's Brooklyn and have to say I was a bit underwhelmed. It's a good story but writing is SO understated as to feel plodding.

Not sure what's next -- I have a stack of three books in front of me, plan to read a page or two from each to see which grabs me. Stay tuned.

I'm enjoying In Cheap We Trust by Lauren Weber -- a history of American frugality (and the lack of it) from the Puritans, through wars and depression and industrial expansion, to today's economic crisis.

Message edited by its author, Sep 9, 2009, 7:22am.

I'm still working through my other two current reads (Running with Scissors and The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency), but this morning I came across Of Mice and Men while I was sorting through some books and decided on a whim to reread it this morning. I finished it a couple of hours later, having enjoyed it almost as much second time around!

158 - I read the original Dune trilogy years ago - when it was relatively new. I guess trilogy is a misnomer as it expanded many times over. I am now just reading as I get them form my son who is determined to re-read the entire series from start to finish. Well, he's starting with the prequels and going toward the end of the sequel if there is an ending??? and they keep adding prequels, too! I'd never read this one and I still have Paul of Dune on my shelf to read.

#4 usnmm2 - Allen also wrote The Big Change: America Transforms Itself 1900-1950. It's good too.

I just checked on BookMooch and found another book called The Great Pierpont Morgan about J.P. Morgan. I just mooched it - his writing style is so fantastic that I'll be surprised if this book isn't good too.

I'm reading Handling Sin by Michael Malone - enjoyable fiction about the South.

Message edited by its author, Sep 9, 2009, 10:25am.

I decided on Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama. I loved The Samurai's Garden and have two more of hers on the shelf after this one.

What a privilege to come out to my studio and have so many choices of books to read!

Finished The Bridge of Sighs by Olen Steinhauer. Good milieu for a mystery, a 1948 capital city in Soviet liberated Eastern Europe. The mystery itself was more of a why done it instead of a who. Main character was a little slightly drawn and Steinhauer relied on some hackneyed plot drivers, main character falls for widow of the victim and that starts a torrid relationship, culmanating in the widow's rescue from the bad guy by the hero. Might read another in the series, might not.

Starting The Classical World by Robin Lane Fox once I finish this week's Economist.

I'm working on an Isaac Asimov omnibus edition with Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, The Stars, Like Dust, The Naked Sun, and I, Robot. As busy as I am at work, it'll probably still be the answer to next week's "What are you reading the week of..."

arrrggghhh...... I'm really liking Shadow of the Wind ...why did nobody warn me that it's a compelling read? I have to go to an office each morning, attend (far too many) meetings and try to mindfully be productive so I receive a salary to feed my literary habits. This is really difficult unless I get at least 6 hours of sleep at night. My husband's had to literally pry my fingers away from my book and put it under his side of the bed just so I'm forced to stop reading and get some sleep. I'm trying to think if there's a way I can bring the book to work and sneak reads for a few minutes now and again at work.

cameling - lol! I hate to tell you this, but if you pick up The Angel's Game, his second novel, you'll have the same experience. I totally relate: Shadow of the Wind is one of my all-time favorites. Good luck getting sleep over the next few days!

This just isn't fair, cameling. Another for the TBR list. How can I get my revenge?

OK, Shadow of the Wind is moving rapidly toward the top of Mt. TBR. Maybe after my current read.

*does the Muttley laugh at cameling*

Go back and read our comments about this book, cameling dearest, and you'll see...ignorance of the law of compulsion is no excuse. *smug smirk*

Tough I won't be reading these for awhile - partly because my son got them first and partly because I have so much else to read - but two Star Wars novels - Omen and Abyss came into my house today as well as Shades of Gray.. They should have arrived a few days ago, but they came USPS and I guess what with the holiday things got delayed.

I just got started with The Butlerian Jihad and that being a 600 page book will take a couple of days - I have it until the 17th.

I finished Shakespeare's Kings on the subway to work this morning -- conveniently enough, right before my station. The only way it could be more convenient is if I had finished it on the commute home.

I did plan ahead and bring another book for lunch and said return commute: Feminism and Suffrage by Ellen Carol DuBois.

I'm reading Nothing But Ghosts tonight, seems to be quite a lovely YA novel.

I really liked The Shadow of the Wind when I read it, but the final plot twist left me feeling a little disappointed. I think it's because I had just seen two television shows and a movie with the same twist just before reading it.

To me, The Angel's Game was better. A lot of people don't like the ending to that novel, but I found it intriguing. It makes you go back over the story and search for alternate interpretations for all of the events in the story. I think it will hold up to multiple readings because of it.

As I understand it, Zafón is planning two more novels in the same series. I can't wait for them to come out.

I don't feel well today, so it's been hard to read; keep falling asleep. But, I got through a couple more stories in Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, and continue to be less than impressed.

Got out Dune: The Butlerian Jihad last night to listen to while getting ready for bed. I'd forgotten. It's eighteen cassettes!!! I only listened to cassette 1, side 1 then returned to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Drat these touchstones!

Message edited by its author, Sep 9, 2009, 10:24pm.

I've just started the big old fat reissue of God is an Englishman by R. F. Delderfield and I could really use a pep talk, as I'm scared it is going to be a bit of a slog. Anyone a Delderfield fan and want to talk him up?

Half-way through Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Adern.

Also, slowly progressing with The World is Flat and The Hungry Tide.

Wow! I hit the jackpot with my first-ever graphic novel (graphic memoir, actually), Stitches by David Small. Outstanding story of a child's illness in a home of parental neglect.

Just finished Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder. I don't think these really are SPOILERS but just in case, you may not want to read further if you're already interested in this book.

Some people suffer greatly because of where they grow up and the circumstances there, but survive to go elsewhere and do their part to make the world a better place. Others who suffer like that and survive somehow manage to go back to where they suffered so much, and to dedicate themselves to making that part of the world better. Because of one unlocked door, Deogratias narrowly escapes a genocide in Burundi (located next to Rwanda), somehow makes it to New York City where he is homeless and speaks no English - but ends up graduating from Columbia, getting his healthcare credentials, connecting up with Dr. Paul Farmer of Partners in Health (described in Mountains Beyond Mountains, and returning to Burundi to establish a desperately-needed medical clinic there.

Beautifully written, as always with this author, and an unforgettable and inspiring story.

>182 detail - I just read about Stitches the other day and it immediately went on my wish list.

Finished Kafka on the shore and moved on to Dogs of God.

I gave up on Delderfield and have moved instead to my ARC of Elizabeth Kostova's The Swan Thieves. I know it isn't out forever, but I can't help myself.

#180/186 DevourerOfBooks - IMO probably a good decision. I read the Delderfield book years ago and didn't care for it - although reviews/ratings are fairly strong. If you want to learn details about UK geography and the history of the UK transport, it's maybe worth reading. It's really long, but there is a lot of detail that seemed very carefully researched. But the too perfect characters who always make the right decision can drive you crazy.

#182: detailmuse - might have to check Stitches out...on the wishlist.

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

I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy within 2 days this week. Now I'm starting The Bourne Sanction.

I finished Jhegaala by Steven Brust. It is a fantasy in the Vlad Taltos series. I enjoyed it very much, but he is jumping around in the story line (#7) and this one is a bit far back (latest published #11), so I am having trouble remembering all the connecting details.

In this one he has just broken up with his wife, is just being hunted by the Jhereg mob, and he travels to home of the Easterners (humans). It seemed an idea in search of a story, but I still enjoyed time with Vlad and Loiosh.

I am now reading the non-fiction Lost on Planet China by J. Maarten Troost. It is a book for a RL book group. It is about a clueless person traveling to modern China, and it is very funny.

I've reviewed White Nights by Ann Cleeves on my thread (http:///www.librarything.com/topic/72353)and on the book's page. Short version: Very good, recommended, but still slightly disappointing.

Devourer, "R.F. Delderfield" is Britspeak for "James Michener." Judge from there whether this should be a donation or not.

Message edited by its author, Sep 10, 2009, 12:29pm.

Richard, your link brings me to a white empty page, I think part of the address got cut off ?

Message edited by its author, Sep 10, 2009, 12:26pm.

>192 Ficus, thanks for letting me know. I think I fixed the problem by just making it a link to my thread.

I've now started Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast by Bill Richardson based on an LTers' recommendation.

I finished listening to Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am about to begin listening to The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson, and I continue reading The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.

hemlok isn't kidding, she enjoyed it...she gave it five stars in her review! Mr. Muo's Traveling Couch is now on my wishlist because that was such a persuasive review.

Today from my TBR shelves I am going to start And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander, and from the library, Shanghai Station by Bartle Bull. Looking forward to both.

I finished Corelli's Mandolin and loved it!

I am reading The Last Great Dance on Earth, which is the last in a rather fluffy trilogy about the Empress Josephine Bonaparte. Just OK.

I've just started The Black Flower: a Novel of the Civil War by Howard Bahr. I've seen some good notices here on LT, but mostly the book's been looking down at me from it's top shelf ever since my wife gave it to me for Hannukah this past December. I'm looking forward to it.

I just finished World War Z and gave it four stars, a very good book... now, what to read next....

>185: QuestingA- What did you think of Kafka on the Shore? It was my first Murakami and I loved it!

richard : you should run out and get a copy of Mr Muo's Traveling Couch first thing in the morning. It's a wonderful book ...I think my favorite bit was the train journey. You'll see when you read it... I'm not giving out spoilers here.

mark : Murakami is a genius. I haven't yet read anything of his that I didn't like. I think the only book I have yet to read is Norwegian Wood and that's on my TBR pile so I will get to it at some point.

Halfway through The Shadow of the Wind despite interruptions of tennis, dinner, some sleep and that all too annoying disruption - work!

#200 divinenanny, have you read I am Legend yet? If you liked World War Z I think you would like that one. It's a pretty quick read. You will want something else to go on to within a day or two.

Finished A Canticle for Leibowitz. I just started The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

Two great books, rhansen55.

I just received an ER from LT - Have a Little Faith, which I will read right after i finish with The Butlerian Jihad, which I ave mentioned reading several times this thread - hey, it's a big book!

Hi

Between moving, ikea shopping, traveling and working (ah and tennis too,Rafa will you marry me!!;)) I still manage to read some books, but not read last and this week's thread until today. So happy (belated) birthday Teelgee!

and yes there is nothing like the envy you feel of someone whose reading a great book like Shadow of the Wind for the first time, because you know its a moment you can never take back...

So last week I finished Shadows and Light, another great anne bishop novel and a great fantasy fix and started The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo or Men Who Hate Women as is in the portuguese and the Swedish. I'm really loving it. It has some of the cliches of the genre, but so far they are not bugging me.

#159 petersonvl & #161 teelgee

My book discussion group read Oryx and Crake. About half of us liked it and half of us didn't. It was my first Atwood book and for me it wasn't that good. I did manage to finish the book but think that there has got to be a better Atwood book. Some people have told me I should have read Blind Assassin as they consider it the best Atwood book ever. Since I have never picked up another Atwood book I wouldn't know. I do have Blind Assassin, Cat's Eye, and Penelopiad on my TBR list, but because of Oryx and Crake they aren't moving up on the list.

#191 richard - I enjoyed your review of White Nights. I had a similar reaction to the book but of course you were able to articulate your thoughts much better than me! I'm still looking forward to Red Bones as I love the characters and the unusual setting.

> 207

Thank you. After Oryx and Crake, I'll give Blind Assassin a try. I've read good reviews of The Handmaid's Tale so I'll give it a chance as well.

#139 Smiley - No, I haven't read The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes. A quick search of my local library's on-line catalog shows not one but two copies in the library near my work so I will be making a stop at the library tomorrow to check the book out... Thank you for the bringing it to my attention!

Loved Shadow of the Wind.... haven't found time to pick up The Angel's Game .....

Finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie this evening.... what a fun, interesting mystery! I look forward to further adventures with Flavia.

Next up is Black Water Rising by Attica Locke - thank you morfam for posting raves regarding the book :) - which I am looking forward to and LT "will you like it" oracle thinks I will love it!

I've also struggled with Oryx and Crake. I've tried to read it several times and can't seem to get very far into it. I won't give my copy away though - I know someday it'll click. I've read a lot of Atwood's other books and thoroughly enjoyed them. The Handmaid's Tale is my favorite. I own two copies and have read it three times now.

#210 lkernagh, I loved The Fatal Shore too.

Just starting The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indridason... diversifying my Scandinavian crime reading away from Henning Mankell!

#203 rhansen55, Yeah, I read I am Legend a while back, when the movie came out (didn't see the movie though, not my sort of thing). I do want to buy it and do a reread now... As well as some other zombie books...

I am now reading The Romanov Prophesy by Steve Berry, just some quick and mindless entertainment. I am travelling next week, and I don't want to take a half-read book with me, so I need a quick read to last me to tuesday...

Still reading The Book Thief, I’m afraid. I still have some 60-70 pages to go. I usually read at the speed of lightning. Earlier this month I finished two books back to back. I finished The Pillars of the Earth, some 1088 pages long, in just four days. That’s some 272 pages a day (but then it wasn’t the love of the book that made me read it at such a speed. I had an exam coming up). Then I finished A House to Let by Dickens, Collins, Gaskell and Procter (this one I actually did enjoy). That book took just a day to finish. (You can read my reviews to know exactly how I feel about both books)

But The Book Thief is taking forever! I don’t know what’s wrong with me this time. Well, hope I can finish it today.

Message edited by its author, Sep 11, 2009, 5:42am.

Viviane - are you willing to share Rafa or do I have to fight you for him? There's just something about such a sweet polite young man with such deliciously strong arms...

Nicely articulated point about The Shadow of the Wind by the way - I was completely blown away by it and although many of the plot twists may have been forgotten by the time I read it again, it'll never be QUITE as thrilling as it was first time around. Still, I have The Angel's Game to look forward to, so all is not lost!

Finished Charmed Thirds around the half 1 mark this morning (as i always seem to do) Once again Megan McCafferty has written another cracking book although it didn't seem to have me giggling quite as much as the first two did but maybe that's because Jessica is growing up and therefore not wisecracking *quite* as much. Will have to patient and hold off buying the forth book until i've read a large chunk of the 80+ TBR pile that has accumulated rapidly over the last month. It's given me a sudden urge to re-read at least the first book *twitch*

I finished Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin not bad as a "coming of age" SF story but a bit too heavy handed with the moral/ethical/philosophical message for my liking.

I have now started Songs of Earth and Power an omnibus edition of Greg Bear's The Infinity Concerto and The Serpent Mage.

Edit for touchstones!

Message edited by its author, Sep 11, 2009, 6:42am.

This has been a strange week. I re-read Slaughterhouse Five so I could talk about it with CharlesBoyd - we had an unusual challenge. Here's the link to the I'll Read Yours if You'll Read Mine Group if you're interested in learning about it.

I'll Read Yours if You'll Read Mine

I'm officially reading Handling Sin by Michael Malone and it's lots of fun but I just don't seem to be able to read it for more than 5-10 pages at a time.

And, I didn't read AT ALL yesterday or last Sunday. Very unusual for me.

I bought books yesterday at the Friends of the Library sale, and just grabbed The Key to Rebecca by Ken Follett out of the stack this morning on the way out the door. Maybe that will get me started again.

Message edited by its author, Sep 11, 2009, 8:42am.

With the theme of reading about the history of the everyday man, I'm reading Sex and the Eighteenth-Century Man. It has it's points but is written with so many extra repeats of those points that it's a slog. I'll finish it, but I need to grab a more enthralling book off of the TBR pile to go with it. (touchstones just staring at me "loading" but not)

Reading Guns, Germs and Steel right now when I'm on the bus/subway....
The Magicians when I'm home at night
and this weekend when I'm hiking I'll read Bartleby the Scrivener

Just started the Magicians... GGS is a little dull. I understand what he's doing with explaining the food sources and all that but I hope it gets more interesting. I'm about 160 or so pages in.

Finished my reread of The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield for an RL book club on Monday and I'm glad I took the time. I flew through it the first time in April and missed some fine points, which made much more sense this time around. I'll start Tana French's The Likeness at lunchtime today.

>201 msf59/Mark - I really enjoyed Kafka on the Shore. I’m a big fan of fairy tales and the whole ‘questing’ genre. (That’s partly how I chose my tag). There were bits that didn’t make sense, but as we were continually told not to worry about things hard to understand, I thought that was OK. There was one bit I really liked, where he described the forest as ‘written without words’, or something to that effect, as if the forest was something that couldn’t be interpreted.
It was my first Murakami too.

elliepotten

I'm procrastinating reading the Angel Game because I know its going to be great and I want to read it at a time that I can really savor it.

(...and yes you will have to fight me for him!!!)

>208 coppers, thanks very much! I've finished Red Bones and will post a review on Sunday, since tomorrow is all taken up with my birthday party. Cleeves is a very interesting writer. She sets an evocative scene and deftly derives character richness from their responses to the scene. It's a nice technique that kills several birds with one stone.

Which reminds me, I need to buy chicken.

Oh Viviane, you are ON! In the spirit of womanly competition over athletic gorgeousness, the gloves are on... Then afterwards, in the spirit of LT, we'll sit our bruised selves down together with a cup of tea and discuss our mutual appreciation of Zafon! :-)

Message edited by its author, Sep 11, 2009, 12:01pm.

Sorry girls, Rafa just left and he got a big charge out of your competition...reassured me it wasn't a problem for *us*.

Poor lassies.

A big charge, huh? OK, enough of that...

P.S. Hello Richard!

Hi Ellie! Liked your review of Of Mice and Men on the Hot Reviews this morning!

Sean191- Bartelby is such a weird and haunting book. I always thought of Melville as a "classic" writer until I read this, which is so surprisingly modern in tone. If you have Netflix I recommend two film versions, one from the seventies starring the great Paul Scofield and a recent version with Crispin Glover as Bartleby. They changed the ending in that one but Glover is perfect for the character.
I finished Mental Floss presents: Forbidden Knowledge which is great for those of us who love history trivia. I've started Jane Austen and the Unpleasantness of Scargrove Manor and 30 Days of Night: Scriptbook, which is the working script of the movie combined with much of the original graphic novel and some "making of" info.

Reading Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. Lovely, so far, in a quiet sort of way.

Finally! I managed to finish The Book Thief about five hours ago. I know it is blasphemous what I'm saying and a lot of people will probably hate me for saying this but here it goes. For some reason the book left me strangely untouched. But maybe the problem is that the narrator is death. Anyway overall the book was interesting but nothing great for me (If you are interested you may read my review of The Book Thief).

In keeping with my resolution to read books that were published in this millennium, I have already started on another book that I'm curious about. It is, like The Book Thief, among the top three wishlisted books. My next read is The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Hope this one doesn't take too long!

Where does one find the top wishlisted books?

jbleil, I know where I find them. When I log in to my LT account it leads me straight to my homepage for LT. The lists such as top wishlisted books, what books the members are reading now, popular this month, are posted at the right hand side of that page. Hope this helps.

Message edited by its author, Sep 11, 2009, 1:53pm.

Excellent! There it is, towards the bottom of the right hand side, along with other interesting information. Thanks so much.

You are welcome, jbleil!

Liking very much the new covers-in-the-hot-reviews feature! Quite spiffy.

Me too.

Started reading A Study in Scarlet before work - I've recently acquired nearly all of the Sherlock Holmes books and thought I'd make a dent in the first few before I start Uni. Anyone know what order the books go in because I'm a weensy bit confused about that?

I have The Complete Sherlock Holmes (from Bantam Books) with all 56 short stories and the 4 novels in two volumes, so I read it as it was in the book, chronologically or not I don't know. But I think you could check out Wikipedia for further info. That's where I go when I'm lost!

>239 Thanks Wikipedia sounds like a good idea

I finished Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel today, the bookies' favorite to win this year's Booker Prize, which is possibly the best book I've read this year. I'll finish Coloured Lights, a collection of short stories by the Sudanese writer Leila Aboulela this afternoon, and start The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt afterward.

>240 You are welcome!

Message edited by its author, Sep 11, 2009, 4:05pm.

LadyViolet:- here is a link to the LT series page

http://www.librarything.com/series/Sherl...

The order is slightly different from my omnibus editions.

The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Return of ... have exchanged places.

Cheers for that Calm. I had looked at my stats page for the series order and it's probably the same as shown on the link (i've already forgotten what the order is :P) All i know is that I've started with the right book hehe and also that I *do* have all of the Sherlock Holmes stories because one of the books i have was published posthumously by a different guy.

I finished William Trevor's fine little novel, Love and Summer, and thought it to be a just as good as The Story of Lucy Gault and Felicia’s Journey, but maybe not quite on the level as Fools of Fortune since that book explored more complex issues and was much longer in page. Nonetheless, it's my new favorite Trevor novel. The writing is very dream-like, elegiac and kept me so entranced I finished it rather quickly. I don’t know how Trevor managed to create such a flawless little novel when he really doesn’t cover any new ground. Maybe it’s the way he skillfully manages to pack in family tragedy, sexual scandal, a repressed spinster and a half-crazed tramp in only 200 unblemished pages. And there’s one scene where he describes the death of Florian's dog with such beauty, compassion, dignity and understanding that I guarantee it will bring a tear to any animal lover’s eye (and it is, in fact, the scene I think of most after having finished the book). Highly recommended.

Message edited by its author, Sep 11, 2009, 4:59pm.

Last night after I pored over the recent Oxford University Press Philosophy catalog, I finished Krakatoa. I was not very excited by it, but it was really well done. I have new knowledge that I am glad to have, and it was pleasant acquiring it. I am wondering whether my lack of engagement is because I don't have much new understanding despite the new facts. Oh well, reading it would probably be profitable for almost anybody.

After that I read the the Cults section of Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies by Arthur Goldwag. Once again I am disappointed that there isn't more doom. Furthermore, not one of the cults seemed attractive to me. I hope to read at least the Conspiracies section tonight. I like to be up to date with crypto-imperialism.

Robert

Reading Never Let Me Go. I'm having a little trouble with the first 30 pages or so, but I applaud Ishiguro-- he really knows how to write.

Hang in there, aliay. I thought Kafka on the Shore was brilliant!

Quick, quick ... before the clock strikes twelve midnight ... must post now.

Okay. I finished Gone Tomorrow by P.F. Kluge and posted it on my 75/2009 Challenge page. I posted a review here, if you would like to check it out for yourself:

http://www.librarything.com/work/5707047

This is a terrific book, and cliched though the phrase may be, a real page turner. I would love to see more LT members read this one. I do not believe you will be disappointed.

Picking up Murder with Peacocks for some continuing entertainment, great humor and fresh characters, eccentric, but lots of fun. Donna Andrews has followed this first outing with a continuing mystery series featuring her character, Meg Langslow. Oh, boy. *rubs hands together in anticipation and gets out the eye drops*

TGIF

Happy trails, WH

>248 - Ferris -

Totally agree on the Ishiguro book(s). What a writer.

Kafka tops NLMG on my personal list at the present time, though.

I see (on your Profile page) that you also have a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. If you would like to stop by and read a short tale about our tailless dog, Arthur, please find it in message #246, response (b). You may find it here:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/55208

No picture as yet, but, you are inspiring me to post one of His Majesty, the King.

WH/Ruth

Message edited by its author, Sep 11, 2009, 10:14pm.

#246: rdurick - I'm always hesitant to complain about popular history/science books because you generally get what they advertise - entertaining with lots of great trivia. However, they don't add anything of real substance to my knowledge base; they simply lack any meat. So, I read them, find some fascinating stuff, but, as a reading experience only find them mildly entertaining - an then I feel bad for not appreciating them for what they are. I went through this with Stories in Stone, which I just finished. It's a great book, interesting, well done. I learned a little bit about a lot of interesting topics. There's really nothing to complain about. But...

Message edited by its author, Sep 11, 2009, 10:48pm.

229: mstrust - I'm looking forward to it...I only got about 10 pages into it so far- we started late and added an extra 4 miles to our first day hiking before camp...so I was having trouble staying awake to read. I'll get to it before the month's over though!

I'm reading People of the Book which has been highly praised on this site and rightly so. I'm listening to the audio book on my drive to and from work and the narration by an Australian actress is wonderful. I loved March and Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.

What a genius she is. The level of detail in her descriptions puts the reader right into the middle of each story. She's taken me to England during the plague, into the middle of the fighting during the Civil War, and with this book, into WWII Sarajevo. I can tell that this is going to continue to be quite the ride!