Apparently, very few women authors were born this October week:

Oct 10:
Finnish playwright, novelist, and poet Aleksis Kivi (1834; d.1972)
Yugoslavian novelist and 1961 Nobelist Ivo Andric (1892)
English playwright and 2005 Nobel Prize winner Harold Pinter (1930 - 2008)

Oct 11:
Danish poet and short-story writer Steen Steensen Blicher (1782; d.1848)
François Mauriac (1885; d.1970), French novelist, poet and playwright, and 1952 Nobelist
Elmore Leonard (1925), American crime writer

Oct 12:
George Washington Cable (1844; d.1924), who wrote short stories and novels of Creole and Negro life as well as books about antebellum Louisiana
Italian poet and translator Eugenio Montale (1896; d.1981)
Connecticut native, African American novelist, short story writer, and children's author Ann Lane Petry, the first black woman in America with book sales of more than one million copies
South Carolina-born, Harlem-raised playwright, novelist and actress Alice Childress (1920; d. 1994), well-known for her children's book A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich (1973)
Cleveland-born playwright, actor and director Charles Gordone (1925; d.1995), who won the Pulitzer for No Place to Be Somebody
Massachusetts author and 1973 Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Coles (1929)
African American newspaper columnist William J Raspberry (1935), longtime syndicated columnist for the Washington Post

Oct 13:
Pennsylvania-born novelist and Pulitzer Prize winner Conrad Richter (1890; d.1968)
Louisiana-born African-American poet, novelist, anthologist, children's author, and librarian Arna Bontemps born Arnauld Wendell Bontemps (1902; d.1973; wrote 100 Years of Negro Freedom)
American writer Frank Gilroy (1925)

Oct 14:
Masaoka Shiki (1867; 1902), Japanese haiku and tanka poet and diarist
New Zealand short story writer Katherine Mansfield (1888; d.1923)
Massachusetts-born poet, playwright, and painter e. e. cummings (1894; d.1962), known for his individual style and his satirical indictment of modern materialism

Oct 15:
Roman poet Virgil (70 B.C.; d.19 B.C.)
Massachusetts-born novelist Helen Hunt Jackson (1830; d.1885; also listed as born on Oct. 18 and Oct. 14)
comedic British novelist (Sir) P G Wodehouse (1881; d.1975), who wrote the Jeeves and Wooster series
(Baron) C P Snow (1905; d.1980), British novelist and scientist
Ontario native (naturalised U.S. citizen) and American economist and political writer John Kenneth Galbraith (1908; d.2006)
Arthur Schlesinger Jr. (1917; d.2007), historian and winner of the 1946 Pulitzer
Mario Puzo (1921; d.1999) of Godfather fame
Italian novelist (born Cuba) Italo Calvino (1923; d.1985), author of Italian Folktales
Evan Hunter (1926), who is also crime writer Ed McBain
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900)

Oct 16:
Compiler of the first American language dictionary, Noah Webster (1758; d.1843)
U.S. playwright Eugene O'Neill (1888; d.1953)
Günter Grass (1927), German novelist and playwright
Oscar Wilde (1854; d.1900), Irish wit and author

Finishing Already Dead by Charlie Huston.

What, I'm here early and no trivia?! Drat!

It's a wet weekend in NZ and there are no buses running in Auckland because the bus drivers have been locked out by the company (getting to work has been awful) so all I've done today is read read read seeing as I'm marooned at home.

I've read In Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford. Thoroughly enjoyed it the characters and the 'U' attitudes were wonderful. I was impressed with Mitford's writing style - so concise.

Then I read Dreamland by Sarah Dessen a YA novel. This one was about abusive relationships and well worth reading.

Next up is another YA novel: The white darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean. It's about a teen girl who goes to Antarctica with her uncle.

Just beginning Dracula the Un-Dead by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt (that two author thing is rarely a good sign). I've heard bad things. We'll see.

Just started reading But inside im screaming by Elizabeth Flock. I really like Me and Emma when i read it a few years back so im looking forward to a good read!

I just read the first two pages of Her Fearful Symmetry, my 47th book of the year. Plenty of time to reach my goal of 50 books in 2009.

Reading Keeping The Dead by Tess Gerritsen

I've been on waaaaaay too much of a DVD box set kick and the reading has definitely suffered - but I settled down yesterday and really pushed forward with Like Water for Chocolate. It's so beautiful, I think I'll be much more inclined to sit down with it of an evening now and finish it in the next day or two! Not sure what will be next yet...

Reading Haunted Ground by Erin Hart and liking it very much!

A life examined IS worth living.

Last night, or early this morning ... I finished reading Olive Kitteridge. I have had one of Elizabeth Strout's books in my TBR cyber stack for quite some time. I read so many positive comments about Olive that I leap-frogged over to this one, which won the Pulitzer Prize.

This book has an unusual presentation style or template, if you will. Each chapter is almost able to present itself as a free standing short story and at the same time also serves as a larger part of the theme of the entire book, which is the redemption of the main character, Olive Kitteridge.

This novel has some of the most wonderful moments of self-realization that I have ever read and they left me slightly stunned with admiration for both the character and the author, Ms. Strout.

I give this book four stars and recommend it very highly. I will give those of you who don't go in for quirky/strange characters a heads-up ... you will find them in this fictional town in Maine. (That is the reason for four not five stars).

This book is well worth owning and reading and re-reading in whole or in part.

Connecting with one's humanity is redemptive and humbling as well as a rewarding process for the one redeemed.

Enjoy, or ??? Worth the time and slight effort to stick it out.

Ruth/womansheart

I've been such the hardcover best-seller reader this week. Unusual for me. I finished Echo in the Bone - just OK, really - bit of a disappoinment; and just last night finished Her Fearful Symmetry - which is definately a fun little page-turner but lacked the emotional impact of The Time-Traveller's Wife.

Don't know where I'll go from here. Maybe my Sept. ER book To Siberia or maybe I'll have to go back to my usual battered up used copies of books by dead people - I have Trollope's The Eucstache Diamonds (?spelling) and Eliot's The Mill on the Floss on my shelf.

In the middle of Emily of New Moon and there's a book sale today for our library - and they can use the money as the legislature cut the library's budget by 20% statewide - well at least they finally passed a budget - we were 101 days here in PA without one -last state to get one, too.

Had a very pleasant surprise when I finished 84, Charing Cross Road, by Helen Hanff, only to find that the other half of the book was The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street. No indication that it was there on the book cover or the blurb on the back but what a bonus!

Very little reading time this week. Less than halfway through Byatt's The Children's Book. Hope to have a good reading weekend.

I finished The Lost Symbol which was good but the ending for me came before the ending if that makes sense. Parts of the book might be better on the big screen but definitely an enjoyable read. I'm not sorry I read it but it was not as controversial as The Shack and not as emotionally riviting as The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. I'd probably give it six out of ten stars.

Now I'm reading Green Darkness and so far I'm in 1968 and getting impatient for Celia to realize she is connected to a horrible past.

I am about 80 pages into Independent People. It's next to the last book on my table. No comments to make yet.

#15 scarpettajunkie ~ I loved Green Darkness when I read it aeons ago. I wonder if it will have held up for me if I were to read it again now. I just finished The Shack and am still processing it, but I will say that, while the substance was intriguing, the writing wasn't anything to write home about (haha, pun intended).

I'm in the middle of Black Ships by Jo Graham and am enchanted and enthralled by it and can scarcely bear to put it down to do anything else. Fortunately, I'm on vacation visiting a sister who also loves books, so there's been plenty of time for reading.

I'm about three-quarters of the way through The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey and really enjoying it. My dad recommended it to me after I became interested in other fictional books about the Princes in the Tower since reading the most recent Phillippa Gregory.

I think it was this morning that i started reading Dark Visions which is a omnibus of three of L.J. Smith's books that's been recently re-printed. So far it's proving to be just as enjoyable and interesting as her Nightworld books and i think if i motor through some more tonight i shall get it finished before i head back to Uni tomorrow night :)

#12 koalamom

Can't wait to hear what gems you bought at the library sale. I have been trying to tone down my book buying as my house is full and my bank account isnt' - but last week I purchased a used copy of The Floating Book, Forger's Spell: a True Story of Vermeer Nazi's and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century, and a brand new copy of The Book of Murder at a local book store. I love these book stores that combine used book sales with new book sales, but again my bank account doesn't. I always walk out of there with something. Poor me.

#15 Scarpettajunkie & #17 storeetllr

I read Kathryn by Anya Seton and loved it so much that I read Green Darkness. I think that Green Darkness is my favorite Seton novel. I ran across a copy of it in a used book store this last year and just had to have it in my collection. I have thought about re-reading it but just haven't done so, partly because I am afraid that it won't be a wonderful as it was the first time I read it. At the time I just couldn't put the book down. Even so I wonder if it would hold my interest as much today.

I'm just starting This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper.

I also finished the The Lost Symbol this past week which I enjoyed but I think my favorite book by Dan Brown is still Angels and Demons.

Books for this week are Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier and Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. I've had Cold Mountain on my bookshelf for a couple of years and my fiance read it awhile ago and picked it out for me to read this week.

Message edited by its author, Oct 10, 2009, 2:37pm.

#18 seasonsoflove

Daughter of Time is an outstanding novel. It was named as one of the top five best mystery novels of the 20th century by the Mystery Writers Association. I also think it is one of the more historically accurate novels I have read. The way the author uses the known historical facts to reconstruct the events is very well done. I highly recommend this book to anybody who likes mysteries.

I listened to it during a long drive one time and the recorded version is excellent.

#15 scarpettajunkie

I know what you mean by having the ending come before the ending. I felt that same way about Angels and Demons especially.

Still reading "Age of Innocence"...have read about 1/3 of the book so far. I look forward to discussing the book in the class that begins Oct. 15. Included in later discussion will be comparisons with "The Portrait of a Lady" which we read last spring.

#24-I couldn't agree with you more. I had to stop doing my homework to finish the book because I kept thinking about it and how much I wanted to know the ending. It's a really fascinating, unique work.

I'm now going to be reading Still Life by Louise Penny, another recommendation by my dad.

>10 Ruth- I'm so glad you enjoyed Olive! It was an absolute knock-out for me and will be right there battling for the top spot for the year!
>23: jessuncw- I hope you love Interpreter of Maladies as much as I do. She is an amazing writer! Let us know!

I finished Leaving Paradise like Friday. I thought it was ok, but the author's portrayal of high school teenagers was pretty hollow. The story was fabulous and engaging but I just got so thrown off by preppy teenagers pulling out cliched 80's slang and actions.
I'm like in the middle of Slumdog Millionaire and it's AMAZING. It's so engaging and soul sucking (temporarily obviously and in a good way). My boyfriend gets annoyed cuz he wants to hang out and watch TV and I'm shushing him so I can stay in Indian slums.
I'm also still reading Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Collins is in the middle of proposing to and getting rejected by Elizabeth.
I took another hiatus on The Magicians but I'm technically still reading it.

Next up is The Stepford Wives and Wildwood Dancing (again for the latter)

Got a few books at the book sale today and fewer than I usually walk out with - one of the big ones (and I say that literally) was Pillars of the Earth. Haven't decided if I'll join that book group here that's going to read it, but seeing it mentioned here intrigued me and $2 is nothing to sneeze at

I like the additional information in the first post, but all the extra text makes it a bit less convenient to see whose birthday it is unless you read through the whole thing. I think you should format it so the author is posted at the beginning of each line, and then the additional information after, like...

Oct 12:
George Washington Cable - (1844; d.1924), who wrote short stories and novels of Creole and Negro life as well as books about antebellum Louisiana

Eugenio Montale - Italian poet and translator (1896; d.1981)

Ann Lane Petry - Connecticut native, African American novelist, short story writer, and children's author, the first black woman in America with book sales of more than one million copies

Alice Childress - South Carolina-born, Harlem-raised playwright, novelist and actress (1920; d. 1994), well-known for her children's book A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich (1973)

Charles Gordone - (1925; d.1995), Cleveland-born playwright, actor and director who won the Pulitzer for No Place to Be Somebody

Robert Coles - Massachusetts author and 1973 Pulitzer Prize winner (1929)

William J Raspberry - African American newspaper columnist (1935), longtime syndicated columnist for the Washington Post

Makes it easier to quickly scroll through if you're in a hurry. *shrug*

Anyways, I'm still reading Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. Won't be reading much over the next couple days but I should finish it by midweek.

I should be done with string theory (The Elegant Universe) within the next few days -- certainly before I catch a bus at an absurdly early hour for some yarn theory (in Rhinebeck).

>31 Well, I wasn't crazy about the way it looked but it was late and I was tired and I just copied and pasted from some websites. I'll improve on it next week.

eta I'm about 80 pp into Life and Fate (that's not quite 10%).

Message edited by its author, Oct 10, 2009, 8:27pm.

Reading A Lower Deep by Tom Piccirilli, which is about a demon summoner. It's sort fun in a trashy way.

I finished The King's Rifle by Biyi Bandele this afternoon... I really enjoyed the book, especially the personal interactions between the members of D-Section. A highly readable World War II story for even non-military genre readers.

Next up is Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery...... I loved The Elegance of the Hedgehog and cannot wait to dive into this one!

Currently reading three books, although I know myself, and soon one will hook me and the other two may have to languish on the floor by my side of the bed.

The Buzz about Bees: Biology of a Superorganism written by Jurgen Tautz and translated from the German by David C. Sandeman.

Check this one out for its content, text and the amazing photography by Helga R. Heilman.

I visited a Bee Yard in nearby Monticello, FL yesterday with a class from Florida State University. Amazing and beautiful little beings. NO STINGS for anyone attending. We were safely suited up and had trained EMT types as well as a person qualified to administer/use an EPI pen.

BTW, bees are where the musician Sting got his name. He used to wear a yellow and black striped jumper (sweater) all the time and another musician started calling him --- Sting, 'cause he looked like a bee!

A Far Better Rest, author Susanne Alleyn's debut novel that spins off of Charles Dickens' classic novel A Tale of Two Cities. It has captured my attention already.

The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists one of the books that I feel will take me someplace I may never, ever have the privilege of visiting. All caves are so fragile and cannot maintain themselves with humans trooping in and out, as many of you already know. Thank goodness for Gregory Curtis and his research and writing ability. (www.gregorycurtis.com)

So, toddling off to brush teeth and read, read, read. Oh, joy!

Ruthie

Message edited by its author, Oct 10, 2009, 9:41pm.

This morning I finished The Hound of the Baskervilles. Great mystery! Now I've started Coraline. So far I like it.

#33: teelgee - I really like the extra info in the OP.

Finished Stonehenge by Rosemary Hill today — A random selection that caught my attention at the library. It's a little book that is not precisely about Stonehenge itself, but a history of the various interpretations of and responses to Stonehenge. It felt kind of like an oblique, and lite history of the British intellect over the last roughly 400 years. For a capricious selection, it was rather fulfilling.

Finally opened up Home by Marilynne Robinson - this year's Orange Prize winner.

Also, today I finally posted a review of Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin.

Thanks dchaikin. I'll give myself more time next time to make it more readable.

I have Home standing by, will try to get to it this month. Will be curious to hear what you think of it.

Finally managed to finish The Hollow Man. It was quite a hectic week for me. Finding time to read is getting harder and harder.

My review here,

http://www.librarything.com/work/90205/r...

or, my 50 Book Challenge page,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/72408

A few weeks ago I had decided to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo before I got derailed by other books. But now that The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is out it’s high time that I start on the first one of the series pronto.

Message edited by its author, Oct 11, 2009, 4:49am.

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#30 Don't be put off by the size of Pillars of the Earth. It's a great book and more the kind you sink into than anything else. It doesn't seem half so long when you're reading it. A real treat.

I have no problem with size - it's quality that counts - you can have a bad book of 100 pages and and one that captivates you at 1000.

> 39 - Terri -

I thought that Home was another amazing accomplishment by Marilynne Robinson that succeeded completely. I hope that both you and Daniel enjoy reading it at the same moment in time and enjoy comparing reviews.

I know that with your varied years of work experience you have written articles ahead of time in a word processing type application, edited them, revised them and then done a copy/paste when the time was right for publication. I feel hesitant to even mention this as a possibility for you, since every week you have spent your time and energy preparing the terrific opening to each new week of WAYRTWO ... it's grand and very much appreciated by me. Just saying both thank you and you are appreciated.

I subscribe to "The Writer's Almanac" which is put together by Garrison Keillor and that I find in my Inbox each morning for a spot of poetry to begin my day. He does a similar birthday type thingy about authors that you have been doing for us here at LT.

The link is here: http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/

With love,

Ruthie

Message edited by its author, Oct 11, 2009, 9:25am.

After spending 2 weeks on a boat and reading most of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, I've decided to rest and read something quicker. So Murder of Roger Ackroyd it is.

>44: Thank you for this link, Ruth. I have been getting NPR book updates and Prairie Home Companion for years, but didn't know about this feature. Maybe this will bring a little poetry to my life. :-)

> Donna, Dear Woman -

De nada, as they say in many parts of the world. It is my pleasure to spread good stuff around to other avid, ardent readers.

Ruthie

Message edited by its author, Oct 11, 2009, 12:04pm.

>44 Thank you Ruth for your kind words. I enjoy doing the weekly post but often I do wait till the last minute as I did this week and then wanted to include all the extra info. I will take your suggestion to heart!

I've been picking at Hitler's Preemptive War for several weeks now, but now I'm almost finished. I simply wasn't in the mood to read for the last couple of weeks. After the conquest of Norway by the Nazis, I'm picking up Generosity: An Enhancement by Richard Powers.

Looking for a quick read as I know some library books I ordered will be in by Tuesday, so I picked Heartsick by Chelsea Cain off the TBR stacks. It's a serial killer crime story and looks like it's going to be pretty good.

Finished the wonderful Sarantine Mosaic (Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors by Guy Gavriel Kay).

After seeing a recommendation of this in a thread on LT (and it actually being in the library) I am now reading The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor.

I haven't been reading much, or on LT much, as I've been busy with school, but I did manage to read The Help by Kathryn Stockett last week. This week I'm rereading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn in short little snatches for book club.

I'm currently working my way through The Player Of Games by Iain M. Banks.

I find I like the Culture as a concept, so I enjoy the books, but sometimes wish it would get on with it!

A. S. Byatt "The Children's Book." (Amazon lowered price when it did not win Booker Prize. Refunded us the difference.)

Just started The Blue Zone by Andrew Gross. I read an ARC by this author and liked it very much.

To Booksloth from previous link. Thanks for the heads up on Incendiary My library has it, so next time around.

#36, Ruth, I am so glad you enjoyed The Cave Painters so much -- one of my favorite books of last year.

I am deeply enmeshed in both Wolf Hall and (still) Joseph and His Brothers.

I am thoroughly enjoying my first read (believe it or not) of Jane Eyre on a cold, cloudy weekend with a dusting of early snow. Perfect!

Right now I'm reading Helen Hollick's The Kingmaking in preparation for Pendragon's Banner which I have for review later this month.

#56 That's great news. Take a couple days off work - you won't want to put it down.

>46

At least a third of my poetry purchases were inspired by something on Writer's Almanac. It's a lovely service.

Right now I'm reading Perfidia and I was hooked right away. I'm trying to get in the Halloween spirit with books.

I'm reading Robin McKinley's Deerskin, it's beautiful and haunting, so far.

Finished The Rapture by Liz Jensen and The Savage Garden by Mark Mills...enjoyed both

starting The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Finished The Earth Hums in B Flat yesterday which I loved and started Zeitoun by Dave Eggers today.

curlysue--hope you enjoy The Glass Castle. I loved it!! Am looking forward to reading Jeanette Walls' latest book.

Message edited by its author, Oct 11, 2009, 7:10pm.

I finished Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery. I loved the book (all the mouthwatering descriptions of gastronomic delight... Yumm!), just not quite as much as I enjoyed The Elegance of the Hedgehog,but still an excellent feat of descriptive prose from Barbery.

Next up is The Visibles by Sara Shepard.

I'm finishing The Likeness by Tana French and will move on to Double Cross by James Jordan. I got it in an early reviewers giveaway. I'll post a review when I'm done with that. I recently finished The Memory Keeper's Daughter. I highly recommend it.

I'm reading Zeitoun by Dave Eggers and it's been quite excellent. I am also on the last stretch of a crime novel called Falling Angel. Gritty and exciting.
>DMO- Hope you enjoyed The Likeness! I just finished it and loved it!

Its getting to that time of year where I start to pick up books that I started to read and for some reason didn't finish. So next up is, The Englishman's Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe. I started this a few months ago and seemed fairly good. Don't know why I put it down. But we'll give it another try.

Just finished His Majesty's Ship by Alaric Bond

This is book #1 in Alaric Bond's "Fighting Sail Series". As an 'age of sail' story the action, tone and progression of the tale is on par with many other 'Age of Sail' books.
What makes this book different is the use of many characters and shifting point of views. You have the young boy that volunteers for service and is on a great adventure. The older men who were pressed into service and haven't been off the ship or see home in many years. Even some sailor's who belong to a clandestine group that is dedicated to the overthrow of England. A full gambit of officers from the older Midshipman who has almost no chance of making Lt.. To the Peer who has friends in high places, and one who has worked his way up from between decks.
With the many characters and shifting point views tends to make the ship and the sea going life the main characters in this story. This change in points of view is refreshing in a well worn age of sail genre.
After all there is only so many times you can follow Midshipman _________ to his rise to Admiral _______________.
Don't get me wrong I've enjoyed every one of these series I've read (Hornblower, Bolitho, Ramage etc.). It's my feel good and safe genre. My 'comfort food' of literature so to speak. But they can be a little repetitive. Anyway it's nice to see them handled in a little different and fresh way.
I have bought the 2nd book Jackass Frigate, which has met with good reviews. I hope Bond can keep it up

Finished Emily of New Moon. Picked out Eliade's Guide to the World Religions, which will be read little by little I suspect and in between chapters of that I'll read The Broker and possibly Star Trek Log Two and maybe Three.

Still working on Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente, Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson and The Republic by Plato.

Just got back from my book discussion group. We talked about Blue Highways. This title was our "travel book" for the year. As old of a book as it is we were all positive about it. Some of us were downright enthusiastic! Very few quibbles about this book. We did decide that it was more of a cultural insight book than a travel book, but all in all thought it was very well done and deserving of being a best seller. Not to mention a travel classic. Next up for our discussion group is Well and the Mine. The group has high hopes for it because this book won the "Discover New Authors" award from Barnes & Noble for its author. We'll see how the group likes it next month.

I surprised myself and finished This Is Where I Leave You in just a day and a half - I usually don't get through books that fast. It was so good I couldn't put it down. Now I'm starting One for the Money by Janet Evanovich. I have several friends who love her so I want to see what she's all about.

Message edited by its author, Oct 12, 2009, 1:43am.

I am on school holidays so I have had some time to catch up on reading for work. I am a TL. I am therfore reading some excellent adolescent fiction - I really enjoy this genre. It is great to say I worked all throught my holidays - reading is my kind of work. The books I have read include: "Mama's Song" Ben Beaton, "Confessions of a Liar, Thief and Failed Sex God" Bill Condon, "Kampung Boy" Lat, "Swerve" Phillip Gwynne. All engaging and powerful representations of the issues facing young people today.

>75 TL?

I finished The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan just before the weekend, and was very disappointed. I read Atonement not long ago and loved it, so maybe my expectations were too high, but i just found it to be too... disturbing...

Now I simply can't decide which book to start next, as I have too many in my TBR pile to choose from. The Haunting of Hill House seems to be the most tempting right now.

TL teacher librarian

Today I am reading (and probably finishing) Nineteen Eighty-Four. Now what to read next... something from my 1010 challenge, I think a nice non-fiction about the Middle Ages... :D

I just finished Blood Memory by Greg Iles and started Amagansett by Mark Mills.

Reading Lanark:A Life in Four Books by Alasdair Gary, which is just recently translated into Turkish. It's been great until now. After that, I'll start The Illuminations by Arthur Rimbaud.

Message edited by its author, Oct 12, 2009, 6:03am.

I finished Like Water for Chocolate last night, in a flood of tears every bit as impressive as Tita's in the novel...

Now I'm trying to choose between Madame Bovary and Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. I read a bit of both over breakfast this morning and I still can't decide, so I might have to take them BOTH on for the time being!

Just finished The Delighted States. Truly delightful. Next up is Tu rostro mañana by Javier Marias.

>73: William Least Heat-Moon is a terrific author from Missouri. I got to meet him several years ago. If you liked Blue Highways, you will probably also enjoy River-Horse, the same type of book, but think oars instead of wheels. For those who need convincing to read a "travel" book:

"The sea is the wind made visible, but a river is the land turned liquid." (Page 117)

#84 Donna828

I have River-Horse on my shelves but just haven't gotten around to reading it. Since I am from Kansas, and from the area around Chase County, I had read Prairyerth when it first came out. Even though the local people didn't like that book I thought it was well written and insightful. Now that I have read two if his books and so have something with which to make comparisons, I think William Least Heat-Moon is a good author. All of the book group was impressed with his ability to approach strangers and get them to talk about themselves and the place in which they live. I suspect that there will be some of the group who will read more of his work.

I've posted my ONE HUNDREDTH review today! It's of an LT group read title, "The Octopus" by Frank Norris, and it's in post #136.

Message edited by its author, Oct 12, 2009, 12:38pm.

Congratumalations RD! I want to be just like you when I grow up.

I finished The Island of Dr. Moreau and tried really hard to finish The House of the Seven Gables before I leave for vacation but I only got about halfway through. I'm off to NYC to, as my husband puts it, "buy about 900 books."

>87 thanks, Ellie!

>88 So, you're NOT going to the Strand, then...? ;-)

I finished The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean. It's a YA novel about a 14 y/o Sym who goes to Antarctica with her Uncle. Sym is partially deaf and is in love with Titus Oates, an explorer who died on Antarctica in 1912. But before she even gets to Antarctica deception is revealed and that is really th theme of the book. Deception of others and of yourself. It sounds like a weird book but it was great, no wonder it won the Printz winner award for 2008!

Now I'm going to start Marcelo in the Real World By Francisco X. Stork (love the name!). It's also a YA novel and is supposed to be similar to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

DMO I loved Memory Keeper's Daughter as well. It is a top 10 favorite of mine for fiction.

So richard when you typed in that 100th review did the bells, whistles & sirens go off as well as confetti fall from the ceiling? :-) Congrats! Your reviews are always very very good. You have a way with words--have you thought about becoming an author?

>91 Maureen is a funny, funny lady! Oh ha ha! As if she didn't know I was shopping a gay-vampire series and a gay-cozy-sleuth series around!

Oh wait...you mean I *haven't* told you that? Yes I have!

I just finished Tender is the Night and a collection by Edgar Allen Poe. I'm now about 50 pages into Jane Eyre. I've also started The Best Ghost Stories and Why We Suck. Sometimes you need something light and funny.

Just finished Covenant with the Vampire by Jeanne Kalogridis for some fun, non-serious reading.

Now I'm onto my first fantasy novel in a long time - Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia A. McKillip

#89 Richard- you've got that right! And St. Mark's bookstore, Partners in Crime bookstore, the Biography store, Argosy...

I just finished Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. It could have been really good but I had a lot of problems with it. Trying to write a full review now. (For someone who reads so much, I'm dreadful at articulating what I want to say.)

Tomorrow I'm going to start Manga Shakespeare: Julius Caesar. I've been experimenting with graphic novels a bit. So far I've read two Alien/Preadator omnibus' and a Hulk omnibus. This is Shakespeare's Julius Ceasar, modernized (people wearing futuristic armor and whatnot) and in comic book format. It seemed strange, but I just couldn't prevent myself from throwing into my pile of library books last week. I figure I'll finish it in a day anyways so how bad can it be? :)

Message edited by its author, Oct 12, 2009, 8:02pm.

Today I finished The Hour I First Believed. Truth be told, I almost thought Wally Lamb was a pseudonym for a woman, though I'm not really sure why. Here he really does capture the thoughts of the male character. Many twists in this book. I kept thinking the end was near - even though there were many pages left - and then someone/something else drops in.

I had a few rough moments when reading the emails and video transcripts of the kids at Columbine. Friday I learned that a student of mine from last year had just shot his girlfriend while she was holding their three month old child. I knew this kid was teetering and, though he and I had a good relationship, I wonder what could have been done to prevent this happening. I guess every teacher has these moments at some time or another. We hope that we are doing some good or we would not be there. This book just hit me hard this week.

richard--seriously you do have a way with words--put it to use my dear boy!!! :-)

I'm reading Reilly's Luck by Louis L' Amour.
I have over 100 of his works in my library

Finished The Visibles by Sara Shepard- a quick, coming of age novel.

Next up is Border Songs by Jim Lynch.

>100 I'll be curious what you think of Border Songs. I enjoyed his first book, The Highest Tide - partly because I grew up right in the neighborhoods he wrote about, plus I love his descriptions of sea life.

I'm about 1/3 through Life and Fate. It is a tough read, so brutally honest, so heartbreaking. I will probably take a break in a day or two and read The Housekeeper and the Professor which just came in at the library. It's had great reviews.

I bought a used book from Amazon.com and when I received it, I discovered that the book under the cover was a completely different book from the one I had ordered and paid for. How annoying! I've sent an email to the seller and didn't even receive a response. I know it only cost me $2 but I do think I should at least get what I had ordered.



Only reading The Most Beautiful Book in the World by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt saved me from going off into the deep end today.

I've got to get back to One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson now.

I'm reading Red Bones, the third installment of Ann Cleeves' Shetland Island mysteries/thrillers. I haven't had a lot of time to read in the last few days so I need to get back to it.

>101 teelgee - I hope you like The Housekeeper and the Professor. I loved it!

#88, I'm very jealous here. Sometimes when looking at Librarything Local, my map view zooms to Manhattan. I love how you can't even see the streets through the dots of shops and libraries. It would be very bad if I ever get to shop there again, and 900 books would be about right ;)

Meanwhile, I finished Nineteen Eighty-Four and was really impressed. I am glad I read it.

I am now reading A History of Histories by John Burrow.

#97 That book grabbed me pretty hard anyway, without my having been through anything like what happened with your student. What a dreadful story. We've talked lately, on another thread, about suicides and attempted suicides (which are things I have some closer experience of) and the guilt of those left behind who will always wonder if they could have done more. I'm guessing that guilt also applies in your situation, especially as this young man's teacher. As I've said to others - that guilt is natural but almost always misplaced. I can imagine that it must have been a terrible thing to have happened for everyone close to that poor family and you (and they) have my sincere condolences.

I've started reading Sisters Of Isis #3 Enchantress.
I've also Started reading Hannibal Rising.

Last night i was a bit naughty and neglected my uni work in favour of starting reading The Summoning which so far i am really enjoying and should finish soon (i may go grab it now and read some more over a cup of tea in the kitchen). Hopefully that should leave my evening free to do some uni stuff.

I've finished the Julius Caesar comic already. It was certainly interesting, and I read it in 1 sitting, so it wasn't so bad.

In a little bit I'm going to start The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston. I read the Cobra Event earlier this year and found it quite frightening, and that one was wrapped around a fictional story. Can't imagine how this will be...

I'm reading The Other Side of the Story by Marian Keyes.

Started March Violets on a whim Sunday, and think I may have a bit of a crush on Bernie. 2009 seems to be my year of 1930s Berlin/Russia/Romanovs. It has been a recurrent theme.

Finished King of the Confessors by Thomas Hoving. Nonfiction account of Hoving's pursuit, and acquisition of the late 12th century, two foot tall, walrus ivory, Bury St. Edmonds cross for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the late 50's-early 60's.

Hoving can be erudite and write with pace, a rare combination.

Not exactly Indiana Jones but pretty close to the real thing and a peek behind the scenes of the museum trade to boot. Now I just need to go see the Cross in New York.

Starting John Hersey's A Bell for Adano soon.

Finished reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo just now. My review here,

http://www.librarything.com/work/1541442...

Or my 50 Book Challenge Thread,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/72408

I have borrowed the first two parts of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy from a friend. I’ve already started reading the second part, The Girl who Played with Fire. Not because I loved the first book but because I’m trying to return these books as early as possible so that I can start on something else.

This morning I finished reading The Constant Gardener -- it was good being back in Le Carre's world again, even if it isn't Smiley's world. Now I'm reading Gary Paulsen's Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass which includes paintings by his wife, Ruth Wright Paulsen.

#66 momom248

you mean Half Broke Horses I have that on my TBR stack...
Iam at the half way mark in the Glass Castle and liking it so far

I have been on a real memoir kick this year. Currently reading my 10th for the year.. The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University. It's about a student from Brown who goes to "study abroad" at Liberty University, one of the most conservative colleges in the country. The premise of looking at a very conservative school from a liberal point of view is making for an interesting read.

Message edited by its author, Oct 13, 2009, 4:51pm.

#115 : ShannonMDE - I'd be interested in reading your review of the book once you've finished it, so do please post it.

Booksloth, thanks for your comments.

I finished Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg. It's a gritty fast-paced crime novel, with some nice twists. I have also been reading Zeitoun by Dave Eggers and it has been amazing. I have also started A Dangerous Man by the incomparable Charlie Huston. He's easily one of the best American crime writers, working today. IMHO

I finished Acceleration yesterday and i am currently reading Flirting With The Monster and No Such Thing As The Real World and One Fat Summer

I started Concubine From Shanghai this morning. Not very far into it yet, but I think I am going to really like it.

Finishing up Wicked this week. I have less than 50 pages to go and work is keeping me too busy.

Just finished Homer & Langley by E.L. Doctrow. What a sad and fascinating story. Having read the story from one brother's point of view Doctrow makes me very curious about the story that would come from the other brother.
Right before that finished the Brutal Telling Loved this book. Hadn't read anything else by Louise Penny I may be becoming a mystery reader.

I'm determined to go finish The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick before bed. Then (probably tomorrow, actually), I'll be starting Midnight Guardian by Sarah Jane Stratford as it was released today and i want to get a review up ASAP, particularly since it seems like a good Halloween read.

I have been on a non-fiction kick lately. I just started Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer. I believe I will have read everything he has written except his latest book.

I read Muriel Barbery's Gourmet Rhapsody which is a prequel to "The Elegance of the Hedgehog". I can't think what made me want to read it since I wasn't such a big fan of Hedgehog, but I'm certainly glad I did. I liked it so much better; it tells the story of Pierre Arthens, famed writer of French cuisine, whose dying wish is for an elusive final taste of something that lies deep in his memory. Every other chapter deals with the people who have touched his life and his flaws and pomposity are revealed.
Lots of luscious food writing and great character studies.

This week, I'm well into a re-read of Lev Grossman's The Magicians, a book I've enjoyed immensely (even if I want to repeatedly smack Quentin, the protagonist, for being such a self-absorbed, self-pitying baby).

This morning, I got sucked into Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games. I bought it at Costco on impulse over the weekend, after hearing good things about it from friends. I am definitely not well-disposed toward fiction written in the present tense, and groaned a little when I saw that such was the case here. But I liked the premise, I'm always willing to make exceptions, and two chapters in Collins has me hooked.

My current nonfiction read is Mircea Eliade's The Forge and the Crucible: The Origins and Structures of Alchemy, which is fascinating, but I can only take it in small doses. I'm about halfway through.

And while it doesn't exactly count as reading, I've been listening to the audiobooks of The Chronicles of Narnia while I work (and yes, I decided to do this after reading The Magicians). I haven't read any of the books since I was a kid (I'm 42 now), and I don't think I finished any of them beyond Prince Caspian, so it's like encountering them for the very first time. I'm enjoying them immensely, and Michael York's reading is excellent.

I'm about 60 pages into The White Hotel by D.M. Thomas - Wow.

Real life has gotten in the way of reading recently, so I'm still reading The Woman in White. However, I've made more progress in the last two days than I have in weeks, so I think I'm back on the right path.

>128 - you mean you don't consider reading "real life??"

129: I guess it depends on what you read. A fantasy fan would argue that books are away to escape real life and explore another world. :)

Message edited by its author, Oct 14, 2009, 6:57am.

Finished Fire by Kristin Cashore, which was nicely done, and started Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher at the recommendation of my daughter.

Just starting Then by Morris Gleitzman. If it's half as good as Once I'll be a very happy girl.

>131 I finished Fire as well last night . Thirteen Reasons Why is really good even if it is about a rather emotional subject I hope you enjoy it :)

I've been thinking about taking a crack at The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society soonish and if i go do some laundry now methinks i'll truck it along with me.

I'm starting my first ever "cozy" mystery, Snobbery with Violence by Marion Chesney. Since I rarely ever read mysteries it will certainly be a change of pace.

WooHoo! Got a hot review for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. My 2nd one in fact (the first one was for The Time Traveler's Wife). Right now, I'm about half way through The Girl who Played with Fire.

>129

Well, reading is real life. I guess I should have said family life, as that is really at the heart of my lack of reading the last few weeks.

I'm almost done with Gary Paulsen's Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass which is beautiful -- especially meaningful for those of us who grew up in the country. I have a feeling I'll be coming back to this book again and again.

Next up: Stewart O'Nan's A World Away.

I'm abandoning all three or four of the books that I have started reading over the past few days to read a book that just came in the media mail delivery yesterday, thanks to a very dear friend's generosity. The book that calls my name like a Dallas cheerleader when "the team" is two yards from the goal line??? The Likeness by Tana French. Go figure. Her first was In the Woods which I enjoyed completely for the writing, the characters and the sense of place she creates.

Now, a delightful character returns in Likeness to enthrall me once again with her courage and spirit.

Toodles, she says as she toddles off to read about one of her many (s)heroes (pronounced "she - rows).

Ruth

Cave Paintings*, The French Revolution**, the bees*** and ****Palestinian/Israeli relations will be required to mutter quietly until I return to them.

*The Cave Painters **A Far Better Rest ***Plan:Bee ****Exile

I've started Journey To The River Sea by Eva Ibbotson. I've heard many good things about this author and this will be my first book by her. So far - very good.

>138: Oh, Ruth, you do make me laugh. And sometimes you just gotta let everything else go and answer your heart, right?

I am nearing the end of my ARC by the wonderful John Irving. I am liking his latest -- Last Night in Twisted River. I have a meeting to attend tonight, so I will be burning the midnight oil. Review day tomorrow; then I will get started on Daisy Miller for the Monthly Author Group Read of Henry James for October.

I read the appendices and notes to the first volume of Niall Ferguson's The House of Rothschild thereby finishing it. It is good enough that I would not have felt guilty going on to the second volume, but I felt a duty to Marilynne Robinson so on the way to her I read The Coming Insurrection.

The Coming Insurrection is a finally silly depiction of the hollowness of modern society and a solution to that hollowness with a lot of very smart takes on specific features of that society. I liked the notion, for example, that the environment should not be the environment; it should be the world.

Finishing that, I turned to Home and read a big chunk of it; I'm a little over 70 pages from the back end. This book seems to me to lack the deep range of reflection of Gilead and the verve of Housekeeping but still bears reading. It took awhile for me to get back to it, but I'm not sorry that I am back.

Robert

I got a fair chunk of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society read while i was waiting for my laundry (i realised i've been missing the Pie bit out of the title !) I think before i go to sleep i'm going to listen to a bit of the Pride and Prejudice audiobook i downloaded off Itunes, it may not have been the cheapest but it had the best ratings.
Night chaps!

Finally finished One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It was this month's book club read--we meet tonight. It was also my 100th book of the 1001 Books list. I had set myself to hit the 100 mark this year, so I'm pretty happy.
The book itself--I'm glad to have read it, but it got a little hard to slog through at times.

Now I get to focus on Scarecrow by Michael Connelly. I've never read any of his books, and I rarely read genre these days, so this will be a treat, I'm sure.

I've also got Three Musketeers and Les Miserables on my ebook reader, but those will take some time to come.

Karen

I finished The Ballad of West Tenth Street by Marjorie Kernan over the weekend while visiting my mom and my sister in Las Vegas. I finished it mainly out of stubbornness, a stubbornness I can't rightfully explain, as this book was dreadful. I will explain more fully later today in my 50 Book Challenge thread.

I have since started The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which I'm enjoying very much. The sharp, unadorned prose is like a cool shower of fresh water after feeling slimed by the wretchedly written Ballad.

#110> I read March Violets quite a while ago and somehow let my copy get away. I recently bought The One from the Other by Kerr, realized this was the 4th in the series, and then ordered a volume containing the first three. So I'll be rereading March Violets soon and then going through the rest little by little.

Taking a short vacation, was hoping to do it before the snow flew, but it seems I missed that chance - we are going anyway! Headint o Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

Hopefully I'll have finished The Broker and Star Trek Log Two by the time I get back and may Log Three

Finished Jane Eyre last night and heaved a heavy, contented sigh. First five star rating in a while. Not sure what is next up.

I'll finally get back to serious reading this week. I'm currently reading My Men by Malika Mokeddem for the next issue of Belletrista. After that I'll resume reading Désert by Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio.

Message edited by its author, Oct 14, 2009, 8:07pm.

hey, 90/kiwiflowa - McCaughrean is a one of my fave authors, but i've never read the white darkness so i might pick it up sometime.

I'm reading the poet of baghdad which is fabulous so far, but i am only a couple chapters through. Like McCaughrean, Tatchell is a gifted storyteller.

I am still reading The Poisonwood Bible but only have about 80 pages to go. Unfortunately, I also seem to have caught a monster cold somewhere and my head is feeling a bit foggy and woozy today. I have the weekly slog to the grocery stores today so I may not finish it until tomorrow.

Koalamom - I am also in PA and our local library has been informing us that the ability to have books sent from one library to your library may end with the passing of this budget. They also say that many of their other programs may end as well. Very sad!

Koalamom and Bookaholicgirl, I am also in PA, in Erie, so Koalamom we are equidistant from Cleveland and Pittsburgh. We have Borders, Barnes & Noble, the Erie Book Store, and Books Galore. Plus a gorgeous state park with beaches. I'm just saying--worth a stop here.

Another one from PA, near the Philadelphia area. I haven't been to my library lately. I am hoping to get there this weekend because there is a book I had out for 3 weeks and was unable to finish and I really want to finish it. That book was The Outlander by Gil Adamson. I don't know if anything has been said about cut backs at our libraries. I have a total of 3 small libraries that I can hit up for books. Two of them are actually state run libraries the other one is more of a community effort of volunteers and such.

I am currently reading The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. I am almost finish so I think I will read Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris or if I do pick up the book from the library I will try to figure out where I was at and continue that book.

Happy Reading all!!
Monic'a

Wow, folks from the Keystone State and Erie. Grew up outside of Meadville. Yes, have fond memories of Presque Isle or "the peninsula" as we called it. My wife and I are going through the Jan Karon Mitford series right now. I've been reading "new West" authors lately and about finished with that genre for a spell. Looking over my library, I might try Cuba Libre by Elmore Leonard again.

I finished Home last night. I was moved by it. Any new self understanding will come on reflection, which coincidentally seems to describe my understanding of how it moved me. It was a mirror of much that was within me, even though there was very much in it that I have never experienced. We still don't know how the Reverend Ames ends up; perhaps there's another novel in that.

I looked around a bit when I finished Home at the stacks of books by me bed and picked up Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke. A little over halfway through it I find it entertaining but so far not very provocative. I hope to finish it tonight.

Robert

I read The Broken Teaglass yesterday, a quick read that had a lot of dialogue and not a lot of pace, but still a pretty fun read.

Now I'm reading Sarah's Key and Made in America and listening to When You Are Engulfed in Flames (also hoping to finish those last two soon, I feel like I'm repeating myself...).

ReadingBlue Highways by William Least Heat Moon. What Fun ;-)

During my lunch hour I read The Children's Story. It didn't take the whole hour - more like 15 minutes. Clavell really packed a punch into a few pages and I highly recommend it.

I finished Midnight Guardian last night and although it is not my normal kind of read at all, I really, really enjoyed it. Now I'm starting Bad Mother by Ayelet Waldman. I'm not very far in, but I can tell I'm going to be fascinated by this, no matter how I end up feeling about it.

#153: Mr.Durick - I'm inspired by your response. I'm moving along, but, I'm only picking when I'm in the right mood. I've found my self reading Albion : The Origins of the English Imagination by Peter Ackroyd - which consists of a terrible confusion of names and carelessly under-explained points. I'm not sure I will finish, but it's something else to read.

Last night I went on a reading spree and re-read the whole of Princess Academy and finished off The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Absolutely loved the latter and I'm soo glad i read it. Thanks to the numerous LT members who reccommended it.
Currently listening to an audiobook of Pride and Prejudice tis very agreeable with an excellent narrator and i've been plugged into my ipod for most of today and yesterday.

I just started The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center and am still working on Stories by TC Boyle

I'm reading The Battle of Waterloo by J. Christopher Herold. Don't know why, but I'm really enjoying it. It's got lots of pictures and maps too.

The title of this second portion of the message is "karenmarie eats crow"

I've always said I'd never read any Stephen King. Never interested me, don't like horror so much. But quite a few people on LT said how good Duma Key was. I tried to Bookmooch it but haven't been successful, but saw the audiobook at the library and grabbed it on a whim.

So although I'm not reading it, I'm listening to it and can't wait for an excuse to get in the car! (I only listen to audiobooks in the car). It's very good and the reader is excellent.

>157 There were parts of Bad Mother that I loved and parts that I loathed. So it's an interesting reading experience regardless.

I finished listening to The Amateur Marriage. It was my first Anne Tyler novel and perhaps not her best effort. However, I did like this domestic approach to analyzing the "Greatest Generation." I also liked it for it description of the decline and fall of the inner city neighborhoods. It wasn't great literature but in some ways it did remind me of The Assistant by Malamud. I am in no way comparing the quality of Amateur Marriage to Assistant as the later was an example of great literature, but both books document many of the things that led to the demise of whole neighborhoods. My short analysis of Amateur Marriage is that is a fictionalized version of The Old Neighborhood by Ray Suarez with the domestic struggles of a badly matched couple thrown in for dramatic effect.

It was an easy book to listen to in the car because the content wasn't that difficult.

I am now starting to listen to Mimus in my car. This is a YA novel translated from the German, and am curious to hear how this sounds.

>153: Mr.Durick, I recommend that you read Gilead if you haven't already done so. Marilynne Robinson does an outstanding job of telling Rev. Ames's story with a little historical background and much sensitivity for this gentle man. I have read it several times and take away new meaning from it each time.

I finished and reviewed Last Night in Twisted River, the long-awaited (by me anyway) new book by John Irving which will be released Oct. 27. I am enjoying Daisy Miller by Henry James. It is a delightful, easy story to read. My guess is that it would be considered "James-Lite."

Message edited by its author, Oct 16, 2009, 11:07am.

I'm reading The Best of Men by Claire Letemendia - it's a very good (so far!) historical fiction book. Well researched and very enjoyable. There's a competition being run at the moment by CompletelyNovel.com and Random House to win the book and chat to the author online.
Here’s the link if you fancy a look– http://www.completelynovel.com/reader_co...

Cheers,

x

Finished The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff which was as much of a treat as 84, Charing Cross Road. It even made me think that maybe London was somewhere I might enjoy rather than want get out of as fast as possible (I'm not a fan of cities).
Started Twilight by Stephanie Meyer when I went to bed last night after being persuaded to read it by my two daughters. Finished it at 5am this morning!! Unexpectedly, it gripped me from the start and wouldn't let me go until I'd turned the last page. Forget literary snobbery - anything that holds your attention for 5 hours straight in the middle of the night has got to be worth a go...!! New Moon here I come, although I might wait until my day off - at my age, I can't take too many all-nighters!

Just started Ella Minnow Pea on the train this morning. So far I'm finding it to be a charming description of a dystopian society - I'm really wondering where the author is going to take this premise!

Message edited by its author, Oct 16, 2009, 12:24pm.

Just started Columbine. Looks like being a fascinating read.

Finished The Demon in the Freezer earlier today. Definitely scary. Biological weapons are terrifying. Yet I find myself strangely addicted to the topic. While I was reading this I wound up adding atleast 10-15+ books about smallpox/ebola and other potentially vaccine-resistant viruses to my already huge wishlist. A library trip for me usually results in me lugging around 5-7 bulky hardcover books out the door, and my next trip might be excusively nonficton (616).

In the meantime though, I'm going to start In the Courts of the Crimson King by S.M. Stirling

I started reading Kerouac's The Dharma Bums today.

Message edited by its author, Oct 16, 2009, 12:44pm.

I have had a busy week. So far I have completed Frank Beddor's Looking Glass Wars and Margaret Atwood's Wilderness Tips (both mentioned previously as started).

I also read Runemarks a YA fantasy by Joanne Harris; Song of Sorcery another YA fantasy this time by Elizabeth Scarborough and a 1960's SF The Einstein Intersection by Samuel R Delaney.

I have now started Quest for the Faradawn by Richard Ford.

Just finished A History of Histories by John Burrow and as we say in Holland, it was quite the delivery (it seemed to take forever). A good read, but it takes time and dedication.

Now I am moving on to a lighter read: The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry.

#168 booksloth, Well I can't say "enjoy" Columbine, but it certainly is a fascinating, yet disturbing read. Well worth it.

>167 sarahbird - I though Ella Minnow Pea was a good book - a fun read sliding into disturbing - and quite a statement on censorship.

I finished Childhood's End last night. It was fun to read, but I don't feel like I'm taking away anything much from it.

Then I turned, slowly, to Life and Fate. I read through all of the introductory material, and tonight I will face the first page of chapter one unless I accidentally pick up a piece of non-fiction.

164. Donna, I have read Gilead, and I will wonder where his heart takes the Reverend Ames until I read a book by Marilynne Robinson telling me. I much preferred it to Home but will not deny Home its due.

Robert

173 Thanks for the recommendation, coppers. I know what you mean about the 'enjoyment' factor, but I am pretty gripped so far.

I've finished Bad Mother and am moving on to The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart which I've been meaning to read for awhile as the author teaches at the local community college.

Finished Home today, which I did enjoy quite a bit. Now I've picked up Gilead for a re-read.

Just about finished with Still Alice by Lisa Genova and it's turned out to be a pretty depressing read.

I am spellbound by The Thirteenth Tale...

#161 karenmarie ~ If you don't like horror but do like King, you might try The Green Mile and Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. They're both very good, with only a bit of the fantastic in The Green Mile. I also enjoyed his On Writing: a Memoir of the Craft. BTW, I listened to all three of them.