Author birthdays this week:

Nov 14:
-Adam G Oehlenschläger, Danish poet (1779; d.1850)
-Astrid Lindgren, Swedish children's writer and Pippi Longstocking creator (1907; d.2002)
-Harrison Salisbury, non-fiction author and Pulitzer Prize winner for international reporting (1908; d.1993)
-Norman Alexander MacCaig, Scottish poet (1910; d.1996)
-P J O'Rourke, humorist and libertarian (1947)

Nov 15:
-Gerhart Hauptmann, German poet, dramatist, novelist, and 1912 Nobelist (1862; d.1946)
-Marianne Moore, poet and 1951 Pulitzer Prize winner (1887; d.1972)
-Sacheverell Sitwell, English biographer and art critic (1897; d.1988)
-Tim Pears, British novelist (1956)
-Tibor Fischer, British writer of darkly comic novels (1959)
-James Graham Ballard, English novelist and short story writer and a prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction. (1930 – 2009)
-Ted Berrigan, American poet. (1934 –1983)
-Daniel Pinkwater, author of mostly children's books and is an occasional commentator on National Public Radio. (1941)

Nov 16:
-Alexander Alexandrovich Blok, Russian poet and dramatist most famous for The Twelve, which welcomes the Revolution. (1880 d.1921)
-George S. Kaufman, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and journalist (1889; d.1961)
-Michael Arlen Armenian/English writer aka Dikran Kuyumjian, author of An American Verdict (1895; d.1956)
-Colin Thiele, Australian children's book writer and two-time winner of the Australian Children's Book Award. (1920; d.2006)
-José Saramago, Portuguese playwright, novelist, short story writer, Nobel Prize winner in 1998 (1922)
-Julian Thompson, author of young-adult novels (1927).
-Chinua Achebe, Nigerian fiction writer, essayist, and poet whose first novel was Things Fall Apart (1930)



Nov 17:
-Joost van Den Vondel German/Dutch poet and dramatist. (1587; d.1679)
-Shelby Dade Foote, Jr, American novelist and a noted historian of the American Civil War, writing a massive, three-volume history of the war entitled The Civil War: A Narrative. (1916 –2005)

Nov 18:
-Sir William Gilbert British humorist and dramatist, the lyrical half of the Gilbert & Sullivan team (1836; d.1911)
-Clarence Day, NYC writer, author of Life with Father. (1874; d.1935)
-Margaret Atwood, Canadian novelist, poet, and short-story writer (1939)
-Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel, German poet and writer. (1863 - 1920)
-Alan Dean Foster, American author of fantasy and science fiction. (1946)

Nov 19:
-Allen Tate, U.S. poet (1899; d.1979)

Nov 20:
-Don DeLillo, American author whose work paints a detailed portrait of American life in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. (1936 - )
-Thomas Chatterton, English poet who wrote 'Song From Aella' (1752; d.1770).
-Selma Lagerlöf, Swedish novelist and winner of 1909 Nobel in Literature. (1858; d.1940)
-Nadine Gordimer South African novelist, short-story writer, and Nobel Prize winner. Her writing has long dealt with moral and racial issues, particularly apartheid in South Africa. She was active in the anti-apartheid movement, joining the African National Congress during the days when the organization was banned. She has recently been active in HIV/AIDS causes. (1923).



Trivia: which of these authors was a great admirer of Muhammad Ali, and for whose spoken-word album, I Am the Greatest!, wrote liner notes?

Message edited by its author, Nov 15, 2009, 3:58am.

I finished Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron. It was for my RL book group. It is the first of the Deborah Knott aeries.

It is set in NC and about a lawyer who becomes a judge in her county. The mystery was an old murder that was unsolved, and the investigation caused more murders to happen. It wasn't bad, though it had a lot of extraneous people. It gave a feeling of reality, but I couldn't keep straight who was who and how they were related. Now reading Uncommon Clay by Margaret Maron, and number 8 in the same series.

I'm about two chapters into The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. It's a bit slower than I had expected, but it doesn't drag... I'd describe it more as a quiet book so far. I'm finding all the Indian customs fascinating, as well as how they make a new "family" with other immigrants from Calcutta. She's kind of like the big sister for the new brides.

Also reading Fruits Basket volume 5 by Natsuki Takaya with Maggie.. though, I've been cheating and reading ahead. :-)

Message edited by its author, Nov 14, 2009, 1:52am.

Just finished my re-read of To Kill a Mockingbird and I'm wondering what could possibly top it. Could it be Wolf Hall? I'll soon find out...

Just finished my re-read of To Kill a Mockingbird and I'm wondering what could possibly top it. Could it be Wolf Hall? I'll soon find out...

Still cruising through Under the Dome. Can someone tell me a bit more about Wolf Hall? I have absolutley loathed Hilary Mantel's books about those bloody psychic women and their ghosts but I'm still drawn to Wolf Hall. Is it sufficiently different that I might actually like it? Has anybody else hated Vacant Possession/Beyond Black etc yet still loved Wolf Hall?

Message edited by its author, Nov 14, 2009, 5:25am.

The writer of the liner notes for "I Am the Greatest!" were written by one of my favorites, Marianne Moore, who was also a fan of the Dodgers and quite a few things some may not feel are "poetic" enough for an old lady who had won the Pulitzer Prize over a decade before. Those notes ranked as one of her favorite enterprises, along with having been invited to throw out the first ball at a Dodger season opener in 1968.

She wrote fine poems, one of the best (and most famous) of which, "On Poetry", begins "I, too, dislike it...."

This week, reading in the composer Rinsky-Korsakov's great 2-volume work, Principles of Orchestration. Also Jeffrey Archer, A Prisoner of Birth; and Ralph Ellison: A Biography, by Arnold Rampersad, a fine, thorough and much-needed work.

Still reading Omega Sol. I'm having a hard time understanding how it manages to average a 1.8 star rating here on LT. It's not the best book I've ever read, but so far it's been quite enjoyable.

Still in slow reading mode, but the pace is picking up. My "other " life has been busy lately.

I finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time a couple of days ago, having really enjoyed reading Christopher's thoughts on life but not staying so keen on that last third of the novel...

Now I'm reading (and hoping I'll enjoy) Cinnamon City: Falling for the Magical City of Marrakech by Miranda Innes. On the side I picked up Quirkology: The Curious Science of Everyday Lives by Richard Wiseman, which looks like it might be a fun read. Kind of a cross between Watching the English and Freakonomics. Plus, of course, the last week of People of the Book... :-)

I'm starting Sick of Shadows by Sharyn McCrumb, my first of the Elizabeth MacPherson mysteries.

I finally finished The Night Battles....and read The Help as well...reviews will follow but i had dental work done yesterday and am a bit woozy.....'-/

have a nice little stack of books from which to pick my next victim.....

Hi Jude! Books are definitely a good 'recovery plan' for dentistry...

I am currently reading Go With Me by Castle Freeman.

Thanks Ellie!! if i wasn't typing here..i would be going through That Pile...but i haven't been online in three days and have "catching up" to do....do...do

;-}

#13, 14>>
Which brings up the question of the best books for dental recovery. Filling the Void would be a candidate, but perhaps the best listed in LibraryThing is The Plaque by Albert Camus.

Just finished Emma which I thought excellent. I don't have much to compare it with in relation to Austen's other works (I've only read Pride and Prejudice) but I thought it lived up to her reputation. Admittedly, I sometimes thought Emma to be infuriating but it ends up being a huge source of the novel's charm.

Now on to Love in the Time of Cholera which I have mixed hopes for. I wasn't crazy about One Hundred Years of Solitude but so many people I know rave about Marquez that I feel I need to give him one more shot.

Message edited by its author, Nov 14, 2009, 11:14am.

pdqb, you've inspired me to go look up some Marianne Moore!

My reading this week is almost exactly the same as last week: The French Lieutenants Woman, In The Woods (which I can't read before bed because then I can't sleep), The Emperor's Children, and The Return of Depression Economics (which, again, I can't read before bed because then I can't fall asleep).

jfetting, that's great. If those snippets intrigued you, you won't be disappointed. For every name there are a thousand others, of course. But if you don't know Eudora Welty, I'd recommend her novels and stories. Also similar are Flannery O'Connor and Carson McCullers--though they don't have the outwardly humorous edge of Welty and Moore.

Marianne Moore did say that one of the tasks of the poet was to create "imaginary gardens with real toads in them", and that's what she did. Please let us know how you like her work.

>17

*very funny....she snorted*

;-)

I'm reading The Lacuna which I got autographed by Barbara Kingsolver on Thursday! She's so cool.

Read The Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft in one sitting last night and am most of the way through The Daddy Shift : How Stay-at-Home Dads, Breadwinning Moms, and Shared Parenting Are Transforming the Twenty-First-Century Family. (Only way to get the touchstone to work.)

I am currently reading A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson and I am loving it so far. I am only a few chapters in, but I anticipate that this will be a faster read than I originally thought.

pdqb, well done! Thanks for all the extra Marianne Moore info. She was truly an amazing woman.

I've hardly read a word this week. Too much laptop time. Must. Turn. It. Off.

Not as slow as I thought - back in the groove I guess - I finished Log Four - hadn't thought I had actually seen these shows (the animated Star Treks) that often but while reading some of the stories (there are three to a Log) I can actually visualize the show as I read.

Now to get to At First Sight.

Still reading The Man Who Loved Books Too Much which I am really enjoying. I do tend to read non-fiction slower than fiction so I am not sure how long this one will take me. It seems to be moving along at a good pace though.

Two reviews...count 'em two:

http://www.librarything.com/work/6270382

http://www.librarything.com/work/8019757

;-}

I am reading Iceland's Bell by Halldor Laxness, Seven Days in the Art World, and House of Leaves.

I opened Military Inc. by Ayesha Siddiqa last night.

I'm still into The Name of the Rose and Canterbury Tales and tend to read Reality B(ey)ond, which is a book about Joan Barfoot's novel. I'm searching for good material on her book "Gaining Ground" for exam paper this semester.
I can't believe how slow I am with my readings, maybe I should limit my time at LT and instead of reading here I should read more books. :D

Still reading War and Peace (it seems a little slow), Life and Fate (it seems a little fast) and The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rugen (it seems just right).
belva

Continuing with "The Boleyn Inheritance"...OK so far.

I finished The Woman in White on Friday (hurray!) and now for something completely different, I'm reading Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett.

I just started Double Sin and Other Stories...I was reading Death in Five Boxes but left it where I was nannying yesterday, and so can't get my hands on it again until I go back to work there on Wednesday.

Now that is just saaaaaad!~! I would hate if I did that. It would drive me nuts!~!

I'm reading Let It Come Down by Paul Bowles; this after finishing his
Spider's Nest. I love his writing.
And have learned much about the
Moroccan culture.

Big shout out to Jude! Great to see you here and 2 reviews! You go girl!!
...and BTW both reviews are very good! You go.. oh never mind!

Message edited by its author, Nov 14, 2009, 6:21pm.

I've just finished Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. The publishers took the criticism of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, that it was the original story with bits of zombie fights thrown in. S&S&SM has new story lines along with the original.
I'm halfway through Cold Comfort Farm. Oh, the Starkadders are so much fun.

I finished Mansfield Park this afternoon. Don't know what to read next. Maybe a reread of Pride and Prejudice... Also got some Agatha Christie short stories downloaded a little earlier.

Finished Peculiar, Mo and now working on Advantage Disadvantage by Yale R Jaffe. Supporting the smaller authors. Finding some great books out there!!

#36-It is so sad!!! They didn't get home til 1 AM from going out, so I was really groggy and not thinking clearly, otherwise the first thing I would have done would be to grab that book! At least I didn't lose it.

teelgee - I think the dates are off. I see Nov 18 twice, and no Nov 21. But, of course, thanks again for the list, and Happy Birthday to Harrison Salisbury, who was a crafty, if now likely dated, non-fiction writer.

Last night I finished Beowulf on the Beach : What to Love and What to Skip in Literature's 50 Greatest Hits by Jack Murnighan. For a book that seems so irreverent at the beginning, it's actually quite reverent, if that makes sense. In the back he mentions it took 8 years to write - that's about 2 months a classic. It's a serious work of lite criticism. Anyway, it grew on me over time and makes me want to read slower and more carefully. Recommended.

Also, I posted finally posted a review of Home by Marilynne Robinson.

>44 Thanks, dchaikin, I fixed the 18th (copied from different sources, they just didn't get combined). The 21st will be the first date of the next batch, next Saturday.

I started Body of Work: Meditations on Mortality from the Human Anatomy Lab by Christine Montross. It seems a bit morbid but fascinating.

#44 Thanks for that recommendation, dchaikin. It sounds fascinating and I've just ordered it. (You will naturally be held to blame if I don't like it, but I'm sure you don't mind that.)

#7, I am reading Wolf Hall right now, and I am loving it. The writing style is perculiar, but I am loving it because of that. It is the entire mood that is being created. I have never read any other work by Hilary Mantel (never heard of her before the Booker prize, shame shame) so I am sorry, but I can't compare it.

And that is my reading plan for this week. I'll be traveling so I have a couple of hours on planes and trains to read, but not much time in between. I am taking Wolf Hall with me (I'm on page 204 now) and White Tiger as my backup book.

#48 I must admit I'm very drawn to big fat books and Wolk Hall is fat enough to stop me in my tracks every time I pass a copy. I'm sure it'll end up here eventually. And White Tiger is absolutely fantastic!

#34 Did you like The Woman in White? I am thinking about reading it. Right now I am reading When the Falls Stood Still.

#45: teelgee - apparently I can't read my calendar or count to seven, apologies.

#47 booksloth - Somewhere in the LT fine print it says use my comments at your own risk. ;)

Had a fairly 'quiet' reading spell but we'll see how this week goes. Finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time yesterday which I really enjoyed. The ending fizzled out a bit but I found it quite insightful (for a novel!).
Still ploughing on through Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow which I'm enjoying but it's my bedtime read and I've been so tired or late to bed that I've not managed more than 10 minutes in any one go.
Shop read is now John Simpson's Strange Places, Questionable People.

Finished up Go With Me, a gripping novella! I am starting To Siberia by Per Petterson, and I am starting to listen to Catriona by Robert Louis Stevenson.

The month of November has been hard on my reading time. Way too much work to do at the office, and I've been tearing apart my spare bedroom to redecorate it and turn it into an office. Finally an exploding transformer down the street fried the video on my iMac yesterday. But I still managed to find time to finish The Bloody Triangle this week. Now I'm starting Stalin's Reluctant Soldiers and Blindsight. I've put The Year of the Flood on hold for the moment. I'm not up to reading Atwood at this time.

Message edited by its author, Nov 15, 2009, 12:18pm.

I am still reading and enjoying In a Dry Season.

I did put it down for a short time to read David Small's Stitches. Truly a disturbing story of abuse but also ultimately uplifting. The graphic novel format worked well for this memoir as pictures can sometimes convey feelings more deeply and affectly than words.

I have Doctorow's Homer and Langley checked out from the library but after reading a few pages, I'm not sure I'm in the mood for it right now.

>51 - no problem. I won't even tell you that I count the number of days on my fingers every time I do one of these.

I have been reading Margaret Maron's Deborah Knott mystery series for a RL book group. It is set in modern day NC. She is a judge and has 11 brothers. The mysteries are a bit lite, but the characters are great. I also like that there is a subject for each story. I am hooked.

I really liked #8 Uncommon Clay (Potters) and then I read #9 Slow Dollar (Carnies) and # 10 High Country Fall (Gentrification).

I checked and my B&N has the rest of those in the series out in PB, in stock. So I will be picking them up today or tomorrow. Still sick, so I may not go out. A co-worker was sick and we all got it. She had the flu (not Swine), I have a chest cold, not sure what flavors the others got.

Not sure I will go back in time before Uncommon Clay though. I like the Dwight development.

I am now starting My Dead Body by Charlie Huston.

>50 tanya2009, I did enjoy The Woman in White, though I found I liked some elements, like the narrative technique and the ambiance, but was not in love with others, particularly the characterization. Still, it's a good classic to read as the story that kicked off Victorian "sensation" novels, and since I've read it a couple of people have mentioned books that reference it in some ways.

Unseen Academicals is quite enjoyable, though I'm only about a fourth of the way into it right now. I finished listening to The Uncommon Reader and started listening to a BBC full-cast production of Macbeth.

I have put down, My Dead Body for the moment. I bought an ebook version of the next Margaret Maron book in the Deborah Knott series, Rituals of the Season and have started it.

I have an Ipod Touch. This will be the first full length ebook I have ever tried to read. Don't care for reading books on the PC, will see if this is better.

I checked B&N and Amazon. The Amazon Kindle version was cheaper. The Kindle books will work on the Ipod.

I just finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Before that I finished the 6th Sookie Stackhouse novel by Charlaine Harris. Not sure yet what I'll pick up, next..

I have maybe 20 pages left of The Making of the Middle Ages. I hope to drag myself away from the computer long enough to finish it today: I'd like to start something else tomorrow.

I'm just about halfway through The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry. Amazingly good. Sometime over the next few years, I'm sure I'll be working my way through the whole Thalia, TX, series.

Just started with Studio 6 by Liza Marklund. Seems okay, but dont know it yet. A Scandinavian detective is mostly worth reading, only some details seem to be a little too much.

Planning to take The uncommon reader with me in the train tomorrow.

I've not been able to post for over a week due to the flu running through my family. Here's what I've read:

Life After Death by Deepak Chopra - the last time I'll attempt Chopra. It's just not for me.

People of the Book - but I can't say much because there's still one week left to go in the group read. Loved it though!

The Necklace by Cheryl Jarvis - interesting true story about 13 women who go in together to buy a diamond necklace, which becomes MUCH more to them than co-ownership of a piece of luxury jewelry. Many themes - consumerism, friendship, teamwork, the meaning of philanthropy, litigiousness - I could go on.

So Brave, Young, and Handsome by Leif Enger - Here is my review.

And now I am reading A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole to complete my "1001 Books" category for the 999 challenge.

Whew!

Message edited by its author, Nov 15, 2009, 3:37pm.

Got through At First Sight in good time - wasn't expecting the ending, enjoyed the book.

Will read another Star Trek novel - a newer one - Star Trek Full Circle.

57: I hope you feel better soon.

decided on a reread of Pride and Prejudice. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy it and what an easy read it is.

I'm still working through Stray and also my pile of library manga. So far this weekend I've read Descendants of Darkness volume 2 and Ouran High School Host Club volume 12. Still have four more to go.

>jhedlund- I liked your review of So Brave, Young, and Handsome. I have a new copy sitting in my tbr and btw: also loved Peace Like a River!

I finished The Year That Follows this morning - Not something that I would recommend. I am continuing with The People of the Book for the group read and plan to start the 2009 Orange Prize shortlist for Fiction Molly Fox's Birthday by Deirdre Madden this afternoon.

#68 - Many thanks! So Brave, Young, and Handsome is a very different book than Peace Like a River, but most definitely a worthy follow-up. It packs a good dose of humor as well. I appreciate it when writers take their time with their work rather than trying to capitalize on their best-seller status by writing as much as possible as soon as possible. Nevertheless, I hope it's not another seven years before we hear from him again!

hey! I've been catching up on everybody posts. I was sick with the flu too so I am very late on the group read of People of the Book but I'm loving the book and I think I'll catch up soon.

I finished reading The Book Thief and I am now reading Die Smart by Kathy Lane. I hope to finish this book this week or sooner.

Still on volume one of the unabridged three volume Penguin edition of Edward Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

Slow going. Well written and interesting but small print and a lot of pages. Also, recitation of the acts of those with absolute power makes for difficult reading at times. Gibbon does make one point worth passing along. In the ancient Roman world, unlike his or ours, there was nowhere for an enemy or even a dissident of the emperor to escape to. The Roman Emperor ruled the known world. The disfavored could live under his watchful eye in the senate or on the shores of the Black Sea, as Ovid did, but the emperor could reach each with equal ease.

Message edited by its author, Nov 15, 2009, 8:04pm.

I finished The Creature from Jekyll Island Friday night. I would like to know how much is true and how much is hysterical. So yesterday I bought The Ascent of Money and last night I started reading The Partnership by Charles D. Ellis. The latter may be, despite its thickness, a little light weight, but I'll keep at it.

I need to read some novels.

Robert

I started Hate List today and OH MY GOSH is it engrossing. I'm also listening to the audio of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

I started The Regulators on Friday and am about 100 pages from the end. It's completely fantastic. I will probably finish it tomorrow between my classes. After that, I'm not sure what I want to start. I have plenty to work on. I may start A Great and Terrible Beauty or Feed.

# 66: Catreona, Thank you. I am a little better, but still not clear. Hope the other sick people feel better as well.

I finished Rituals of the Season by Margaret Maron, in ebook format. It wasn't bad reading off my Ipod Touch. Can't get the next book in Kindle format, so I will get the PBs tomorrow after work. Will do the ebook thing again. In fact I bought another one for a book that is hard to get. :)

Will continue with My Dead Body by Charlie Huston

Started In the Woods by Tana French. I know i am late on the LT Bandwagon for this title....but.....it's a good 'un.so far.....love the narrator's utter snarkiness and deep sense of the absurd..the malevolent.....yessir!

I finished Flowers in the Attic during the weekend, and was so intrigued that I will have to order the rest of the books in that series.

I am also halfway through Strange Highways by Dean Koontz, but I can't say I think it's any good so far. I usually like his books, but this one was a disappointment.

I finished Day After Night by Anita Diamant last night and am starting Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna.

Jude- Never too late for bandwagon jumping, here on LT. In the Woods is a terrific read and the follow-up The Likeness is right there too!

I finished The Man Who Loved Books Too Much yesterday. I really enjoyed it and found it was a good, fast read. I am currently reading Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult. I know that some LTers do not care for her but I find her topics very interesting and thought-provoking. I also find her a very easy read and really do enjoy that once in a while. That being said, I do think the subject matter of this one is a little difficult and I do not like the mother very much so far. I should be finished this in a few days.

#82 bookaholicgirl - I like Jodi Picoult too. Her books do make you think about many sides of controversial issues. They are easy to get into and easy to read and yet not pure fluff - a nice combination. My issue with her is that she seems to be writing them so fast that the plot of the story takes over the characters. It seems like her characters become mere instruments of moving the story along the way she wants it to go, and my preference with books is that they be character driven. I find them more authentic that way, but that's just one opinion.

P.S. I read Handle with Care too, and I suspect you'll like it.

Nearly finished with People of the Book for the group read and, my goodness, it's fantastic. Then I imagine I'll be reporting Under the Dome for the next few weeks.

I finished The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver. You can read my review here:

http://www.librarything.com/profile_revi...

I started Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel and it's been engrossing from page one.

Message edited by its author, Nov 16, 2009, 11:12am.

I just finished Omega Sol by Scott MacKay. I was looking for some tremendously bad ending to warrant the bad rating it has here on LT, but it never came. It was a pretty good SF that seems to be quite a bit underrated.

Next up, I look forward to starting Death's Acre later today/tomorrow. I had actually never heard of the Body Farm previously, but this certainly sounds...interesting. :)

I finished Louis Begley's The Man Who Was Late this morning, and though I admire the book, reading it has left me in a bad place -- so I'm looking for something to brighten my spirits a bit, and I've decided to place myself in the tender hands (and words) of an author who seems like an old friend -- Louise Erdrich. I've never read her first novel, Love Medicine, but the title makes me think it is just what I need right now.

I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from reading Begley's book, by the way -- it was just a matter of bad timing for me. Too much going on right now -- and the holiday madness looming.

Message edited by its author, Nov 16, 2009, 1:40pm.

This has been a busy reading weekend.
Finished Thirteen Reasons Why on Friday. The tape aspect and tape notations sort of reminded me of Nick and Nora's Infininte Playlist.

Saturday read Fade which wasn't as good as the first book in the series Wake. The series is about a girl who falls into other people's dreams and can use them to solve crime.

Picked up Hunger Games at the library on Saturday as well. I haven't seen the movie the Running Man but when I was describing the book to my hubby and he said it reminded him of that. I thought of it as Big Brother (TV Show), plus Running Man, plus Romeo and Juliet. Wasn't as can't put down able as promised, but still a good read and I will pick up the sequel.

Started reading Superfreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance. About halfway through and all I know is that suicide bombers should buy life insurance because banks have an idea of what to look for in suspected terrorists (if you are suspected enough to have your bank account looked at). Most suicide bombers don't have life insurance because they won't be paid out in case of suicide and that is one of many red flags that investigators look for.

>87: "...tender hands and words of an old friend..." Louise Erdrich is a favorite of mine as well, and I feel exactly the same way about her. Nicely put, mollygrace.

I have just finished my No. 1 Book for 2009, Cutting for Stone. Absolutely, unreservedly loved it. My review is here. Now we'll just have to see if it is displaced by The Lacuna which is waiting in the wings. But first, some Thanksgiving reading.

I have November 22, 1963 and Mayflower queued up to read next.

I'm finishing up Karen White's The House On Tradd Street tonight after finishing Gayle Forman's If I Stay yesterday. Next up? Georgette Heyer's The Foundling, followed shortly thereafter by Letters From Pemberley by Jane Dawkins!

#53 hemlok - I am reading To Siberia as well. I am struggling a bit despite it being a short book. It seems to have no beginning or middle right now, we'll see about the ending. But it is very random and fragmented. Not as good as Out Stealing Horses which was good, but not great IMO. What do you think?

#78,81 - I always have to jump in when In the Woods is mentioned. One of the best books I've read, regardless of genre, in the last several years. And The Likeness is right there, too. Can't wait for her next one.

*89, Donna828, Abraham Verghese's Cutting for Stone made my own Favorites' List for 2009 too, just a wonderful novel.

I finished Barbara Kingsolver's new book The Lacuna and was reasonably disappointed with it. The first half was actually quite good, but the second half, particularly toward the end, was a true slog, her protagonist becoming just another beat-down victim of HUAC and unable to come to grips with it, finally proving himself to be a lot more naive than Kingsolver had let you to believe he might be. Not a bad book, just one I'd be hard-pressed to recommend.

Finished Louise Penny's The Brutal Telling, which was excellent, and picked up Barbara Tuchman's Guns of August about WWI.

Finished reading Great Reservations this weekend. It was a good light read. Nothing earth shattering but not boring enough to stop reading either. I started How to Read a French Fry because I needed to find out about creme freiche and got interested in the science of food. Again. So decided to just read the whole book from cover to cover and hope to learn lots about cooking. Am deep into The Help as well.

I got my copy of Death in Five Boxes back, so am about three-quarters of the way through that now.

Finished The Regulators this morning and started Feed right after that. I'm about 100 pages in and it's good so far. The futuristic lingo is a little difficult and sometimes the prose is a little wonky, but it's an easy read and I like the concept and I really, really like Violet. I imagine I'll have it finished within the next couple of days.

Before I went on vacation, I finished The Last Jet-Engine Laugh by Ruchir Joshi, which I read for the Reading Globally India theme read, and while on vacation I finished A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel, and I have now almost finished The War of the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa.

I'm working my way through The Road (Cormac McCarthy) right now, soon to be followed by The Last Tycoon (F Scott Fitzgerald) and Songmaster (Orson Scott Card). I should be through those three, at least, by the end of the week.

#53 and 91 I found To Siberia to be a bit on the confusing side. I felt like I wasn't quite sure what was going on. I loved Out Stealing Horses though.

Today I started Chosen By a Horse by Susan Richards as my carrying around book. I absolutely love it so far!

I finished Cold Comfort Farm and loved it. I've started a non-fiction, Miracle in the Andes, written by one of the survivors of the plane crash.

I've been so busy lately that my only real pleasure reading is Alison Bechdel's The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For. And the only reason I'm reading it is because I can convince myself that a compilation of comic strips isn't actually a book... it's just something to take my mind off of the hundreds of pages of dry psychology experiments I *have* to read.

Dykes to Watch Out For has a sense of humor that may or may not gibe with the LT population at large (somewhat explicit, etc.) but I HIGHLY recommend Bechdel's graphic novel memoir, Fun Home, for something emotional, provocative, and a different kind of read.

Tonight I started The Annunciation by Ellen Gilchrist.

Just finished The Ruins, a really gripping suspense/horror novel and am now starting on Mario Vargas Llosa's The Feast of the Goat.

Hi Teelgee:

Thanks for commemorating the birthdays of
Oehlenschlager, Vondel, Chatterton and Achebe, I had thought the first two were all but forgotten.

I last saw an edition of Oelenschlager in a university library (my longest term employer), back in the 60s it must have been. As it was written in Danish and in Germanic script (which wouldnʻt be the case for later Scandinavian books, I didnʻt read it. I have "little Dutch and less Scandinavian". but I do have a special interest in epic, so I suppose A. G. O. would now be a not very optimistically hoped for wishlist item. That university edition I saw: there is a good chance it has survived all the subsequent weedings of the collecton that there must have been, because it was a very good LOOKING book -- excellent gilding(?)* of the cover, and in that library books definitely WERE at times literally judged by their covers.

On Vondel, do you know why your source calls him "German/Dutch, rather than just Dutch? He wrote in Dutch.
As I remember it, he was born a Protestant, and converted to Catholicism; militant patriotism was just getting started in teh 17th c., and he may well have thought of Amsterdam, rather than the Netherlands as his country.

* Iʻm not an expert on book design, but that cover stuck in my mind.

The somewhat dual nature of claims on Joost van Den Vondel's nationality may have arisen from genuine confusion at the time. He was actually born in Germany (Koln) and didn't live in Dutch territory until his family moved there when he was 10.

So he of course was fluent also in German; he later made several noted translations to and from German. Also his own work was quite influential in the romantic drama/poetry movements of the next century or two. You're no doubt right that it'd be hard to find his work readily today. My guess for the West would be a place like Yale, or the Firestone Library at Princeton, and possibly the Huntingdon in California.

This weekend, on a virtual reading light-holiday: Elmore Leonard, Road Dogs; Lauren Willig, The Secret Histgory of the Pink Carnation. Also will dip into a new edition of John Milton and would like to reread Turgenev's Fathers and Sons. The bizarre collection may also inspire a short Charles Bukowski excursion.

Sorry, but I'm not yet used to how to "edit" here--clicking the icon brings strange results.

I meant to make clear on the previopus post that Joost van Den Vondel's influence on subsequent literary movements was specifically in Germany. So that's probably why historically they also claim him.

#105
It made me very curious that you mentioned Vondel is just difficult to find nowadays, I had to look into our library in Greifswald and I was very proud to find actually 3 books of him, one eve in original dutch, two in German translation. Unfortunately they do not have some of Oehlenschläger...
But I love our library, it's great.

I am half way through Star Trek Full Circle. I am holding major books until after the first of the year so I can 1) start the year right, 2) have some good stuff for the 1010 and 3) finish 14 more books so I'll make the fifty mark since the beginning of September (see my after the 100 thread).

To pdqb and Tallulah__Rose:

Thanks for the explanations on Vondel; I didnʻt know his birthplace (I visited Koln very briefly about 1973) or that he did any translating into and
from German.

The library I worked in: to find Oelenschlager there was exceptional. NOT to find Vondel was "following the Rule". It was at the nearby Harvard Widener Library that I discovered him.

I finished Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger last evening and am still trying to shake off the bizarre and sticky last third of the book. I liked the book as a whole well enough to give it three and a half stars, but be warned, it is not like The Time Traveler's Wife except that it deals somewhat with being out of body. I would be interested in hearing other opinions.

So, wanting something absorbing but a little easier (on the nerves) to read, I picked up The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny.

Having finished the fantastic Hate List I've started Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.

Started Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, which I expect to be the last of my personal finance kick for quite a while. I'd solicited recommendations from friends and coworkers and this is the last one on the list.

rolandperkins--

It's pleasing and almost surprising to find someone who remembers or is interested in Oehlenschlager or Vondel. It's been a while since I've even thought of either. It's fun to track down, sometimes for hours, or days, something that may be comparatively obscure anymore--but to do it just for the love of the hunt and eventual discovery. I'm sure you know the feeling. This is probably one of a very few places on the INet where that thought can be freely expressed and not greeted with hoots. Well, after all, we are a bunch of book nuts, eh?

It sounds as though you've had some very interesting, varied experiences and continue to draw on them. I always enjoy your posts.

Tallulah_Rose--

That's great that you were able to find some Vondel. Is that part of your work, or studies, or natural curiosity? It seems you've done some careful and thorough work. Best wishes for your pursuits. You are apparently in Germany? I love Europe, and Germany in particular.

Message edited by its author, Nov 17, 2009, 9:32am.

I forgot to mention when I posted about Peculiar, MO that it is also available on Kindle (that's the version I bought). In my opinion, definately worth the $1.29, so if you're looking for a fiction thriller, this is a good one.

>94 benitastrnad - How to Read a French Fry... one of the most brilliant titles I've seen in ages!

With the tragic demise of my laptop I've had plenty of distraction-free time on my hands, so last night I finished People of the Book for the group read. I've added a review but I'm putting off joining the week 3 discussion until Thursday when a few more people might have finished it too - don't want to spoil it for anyone! So now I can sink back into the more cheery pink warmth of Marrakech with Miranda Innes' Cinnamon City...

Message edited by its author, Nov 17, 2009, 9:52am.

Finished The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon.

Half-way through Drop City by T.C. Boyle.

Message edited by its author, Nov 19, 2009, 8:26pm.

How to Read a French Fry is a combination of food science and recipe book. It was written by the food critic of the Los Angeles Times. I have just finished the section on frying, which according to the author is really high speed drying. This morning I was reading the recipes following that section.

>114: Peculiar, MO sounds like a good choice for our Missouri Group to read. Any other readers out there with a Missouri connection that want to join us? I think we are considering a Daniel Woodrell book for December, but anything goes in 2010!

I'm reading Blaze by Richard Bachman and The Year I first Believed by Wally Lamb

I finished To Siberia, a magnificent novel! I am starting The Means of Escape by Penelope Fitzgerald, and continue listening to Catriona.

#113 pdqb
I looked for him just out of curiosity because I couldn't believe that it's so hard to find some books of him. (I'm just learning that some authors are difficult to find or some critical essays on books are just not there) In fact I never heard of him before. Though the library of Greifswald has the reputation to be one of the best in Germany I just tried to find him there. Now he can probably turn part of my studies for he did a book on "Minnesang"" which might be interesting for the medival part of my studies.
As you noticed right I am in Germany, I am born here (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) and live here and now study in Greifswald. I'm happy you like Germany, it has some beautiful places and the people aren't too bad ;)

Message edited by its author, Nov 17, 2009, 12:57pm.

Tomorrow I am going to hear a lecture by Stephen Pinker. He wrote Blank Slate. Although I have not read any of his books I have heard him on BookTV and find him an interesting speaker with very exciting ideas about language and the human brain.

Finished Feed and I have to say, it was not what I expected. I really, really disliked Titus for a large portion of the book and the ending was unexpected. I really enjoyed it, though, and flew through it a lot faster than I thought I would.

I'm ready to start A Great and Terrible Beauty but I have a couple of papers and some actual school reading to do before I can. It's going to be difficult...the book is sitting on my desk staring at me. I might have to read a couple of chapters before I actually finish my homework...:D

I'm about 100 pages into Orson Scott Card's Songmaster right now--it's good, though I think I still prefer his Ender/Shadow novels.

Like last week I am still reading Rousseau's Confessions and George Eliot's Mill on the Floss only this time I am a little further in.

In The Forests of Serre by Patricia A. McKillip. Funny thing, I read Deerskin recently, and now this one... I realized ugly and kind princes keep showing in the books I choose lately...

Today is the birthday of Howard Dean.

Went to a talk given by Kathy Reichs last night. She's very good and quite funny. she talked about how she comes up with her ideas - trying to find something new in forensic science to use a a plot line each time. Had a good time.

I finished Chowringhee, a novel about the guests and staff of a mid-20th century hotel by Sankar, for the Reading Globally monthly theme read (India). I'll start Heliopolis by James Scudamore tonight, which made this year's Booker Prize longlist. I'm also reading Small Memories, a new memoir by José Saramago, and I'm still reading the new Thelonious Monk biography.

Keep reading The Namesake - it is a great book

Finishing the final chapter of Tree of Smoke. Johnson does a nice job of providing the feel for the strange and disturbing things that happened during this moment in time. I wish there was more about the brothers in Arizona; there experiences were so realistic and discouraging.

You Better Not Cry by Augusten Burroughs.. which was funny. I read it in one sitting in borders and was giggling to myself through most of it.

Tombs of Atuan by Ursula k LeGuin, re-reading her books that I loved when I was younger.

Now I am reading Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris

Ooh, I love Augusten Burroughs! Have you read Running With Scissors? That book was fantastic.

Message edited by its author, Nov 18, 2009, 1:47am.

I had to leave Stephen King's Under the Dome for a coupla days because I've been away and it was just too darn bulky to take with me. In the meantime I've been dipping in and out of The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Good to get back to King even so. I also arrived back to find my much longed for copy of Love Songs for the Shy and Cynical (Rob Shearman) had arrived so I'll also be dipping through that one. Something of a miracle to have three such fantastic books on the go all at once!

ET try and fix touchstones. Under the Dome stil not showing, though.

Message edited by its author, Nov 18, 2009, 8:06am.

Has been a crazy month at work. Way, way behind in my reading.
Finished and enjoyed Jackass Frigate, and about halfway through The White Rhino Hotel which I am also enjoying. (Got the next two in the trilogy to read)
Started reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It has been on my radar for awhile and I want to read it before the movie comes out next week.

Just finished The Reader and am now starting The cup of ghosts which are both amazing but in obviously very different ways!

Last weekend saw former poet laureate Billy Collins and current one Kay Ryan together at the Chicago Humanities festival, which had "Laughter" as its theme this year. They were hilarious! It isn't common for poetry these days to contain humor, but both are good at it. She read one poem called "The Fourth Wise Man", which began, "The fourth wise man did not like to travel". :-)

Another contemporary American poet who tends to be very funny is Tony Hoagland. The collection What Narcissism Means to Me is particularly good.

British poet Wendy Cope is also hilarious.

I had more pages than I thought left in The Making of the Middle Ages, but I finished it today. Perfect timing, too, since I got a notice from the library this morning that The Day Wall Street Exploded (written before the financial collapse, mind you) would be available for me to pick up.

Happy Birthday, Margaret Atwood!

Just about finished with Chaucer: Ackroyd's Brief Lives by Peter Ackroyd. This is part of a small series of "brief" biographies (including Newton and J.M.W Turner and Poe) and they're all quite wonderful.

Message edited by its author, Nov 18, 2009, 1:46pm.

I finally got a bit of reading done earlier (although i was procrastinating a rather important essay whilst doing so- heck i'm *still* doing it!) I'm perhaps halfway through Montmorency and the Assassins which I'm reading for my ABC challenge and because I want to - I read the first two books in this series several years back and I've always like them I do quite fancy a re-read at some point. Luckily they weren't mooched back when i had them in my inventory.

Finished the very enjoyable Shiver (it is amazing how much more I like werewolves when they aren't passive-aggressively fighting with vampires), and have moved on to something completely different, The Madness of Queen Maria by Jenifer Roberts.

I finished The Means of Escape by Penelope Fitzgerald, and I am starting the November selection for my RL book club, So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell. I continue listening to Catriona.

I just finished Sick of Shadows by Sharon McCrumb which was just okay, I had higher hopes for this first of the Elizabeth MacPherson mysteries, I don't think I'll continue with them.

Yesterday I finished Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones and started reading Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett instantly.

I have roughly 60 pages to go on Memoirs of a Geisha. I hope to finish it tonight or tomorrow.

I finished Wolf Hall last night while almost falling asleep, but I didn't want it in my carry-on luggage today. I am reading White Tiger now (I am on a Booker roll ;)).

I am finishing Empires of the sea. Roger Crowley is such a great writer, entire book reads like a novel ... pure gem :) highly recommended.

Message edited by its author, Nov 19, 2009, 3:28am.

Finished Songmaster, moved on to The Last Tycoon (F Scott Fitzgerald). I'm about 30 pages in, and it's a short book so I'll probably be done by tomorrow evening. I'm not sure I like it as much as his other work, but I'm enjoying it thus far.

I finished Die Smart late last night and moved on to Testimony by Anita Shreve for my library book club. I am also reading Sylvia, Rachel, Meredith, Anna by Robert Slentz-Kesler

Almost finished with Star Trek Full Circle and will do so soon as I am going to the library this morning to pick up Cat Striking Back which I have had on hold and possibly one other Blueberry Muffin Murder. I'm trying to reach 50 before the end of the year and I have 14 to go, so I am looking at fast reads!

Good Luck koalamom!! I too am trying to read 50 by the end of the year and have 11 to go. I need easy reads too.

>152- gosh, now even the titles of Joanne Fluke's books are making me hungry! Luckily my grandma arrived bearing muffins last night so I'll be just fine when I get home from work!

ETA: Good luck with finishing your 50, guys! I think the bookshop/my laptop dying has given me a boost so my ticker's on 47... I can't wait to start the new year and make a new list!

Message edited by its author, Nov 19, 2009, 10:21am.

Well, I just finished one more and did indeed go to the library and got the two I mentioned.

I finally managed to read through the "Knight's Tale" in The Canterbury Tales, which was the biggest one with round 100 pages. The other one will be smaller and therefor I will make better progress (I hope).
I'm still in The Name of the Rose, didn't read a page in it this week. Maybe I'll take it tonight as a little reward.

I am just a few pages in Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf. I'm hoping to make some progress on it on the train this evening.

I'm trying to finish Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson tonight. Only one (small) chapter left....

Also started with The uncommon reader this morning in the train.

I finished People of the Book for the group read, (which went exceptionally well, I must say!) and really enjoyed it! I also just wrapped up Jar City by Arnaldur Indridason. It's an excellent police procedural based in Iceland and I can not praise it higher. Next up is The Cellist of Sarajevo, which has been given much LT love!

I finished a debut novel/thriller Sworn to Silence back on November fifteenth. It was well done, suspenseful and had vivid characters. Very graphic aftermath of violent murder(s). Enough humor to keep the boat floating along. Pennsylvania Dutch dialogue and vignettes of an Amish way of life added an interesting twist. The Cheif of police grew up in an Amish family. Four shining stars. Will read number two in the series when I find both the book and the time to read it.

Next, I dove head first into Julia Child's memoir, written with her nephew Paul Prud'homme's assistance, My Life in France.

What an absolute delight to read about her life with her husband Paul, the places that they lived in France, their apartments together, her kitchens, adventures she had in classes at the famed Cordon Bleu Culinary School and all about her relationships with friends and family. Wow! Another giant in the world of bringing knowledge and skills to the American cook through her books and TV show "The French Chef" on PBS out of Boston. Highly recommended if you love a slower pace of life, great food/wine and like travel/sense of place type books. If not give it a try anyway, you might get hooked and be surprised at how many are absolutely passionate about preparing and enjoying good food. Five stars.

I have started Still Alice, Hillary Mantel's, Wolf Hall and Black Swan Green. Now here I am, in the middle of a dilemma. All of them will be read and savored, but which one will whisper seductively to me in the middle of the night and then keep me company until daybreak?

Ruth/womansheart

Cannot get the touchstones to work for Mantel or Wolf Hall either!

Message edited by its author, Nov 19, 2009, 9:57pm.

I'm trying to finish Under the Dome.

Night Camp by LC Evans. Good reviews so I picked it up tonight. Hope it's good!

Finished White Tiger even before my plane took off, but luckily I had to get rid of some currency at the airport and got Julie & Julia to read.

Ruth/womansheart: I read Sworn to Silence and loved it. I can't wait for the second book in the series either.

I am slowly moving along in my two books. Finding them very entertaining.

I'm reading When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson. Jackson Brodie is one of my favorite fictional detectives!

Books I've finished this week:
Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Chosen by Ted Dekker

Currently reading:
Powers by John Olson (for Early Reviewers) and
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

I just started The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger- it just won the Canadian Governor General's Award for Fiction 2009 . I must admit that while the novel is good, ( first chapters) I think that another nominee was better-Galore by Michael Crummey.

Oh smack and toots! I had no idea that Sworn To Silence would have a sequel! How delightful! Now I'll have to find some money to squirel away so I can have my own copy!

"Smack and toots!"??

>169 I was just thinking the same thing. Must be some obscure regional slang. xD

After writing my review for Confessions of a Shopaholic and running it through the spell-checker, I discovered why I could never get a touchstone for the book: it's "Shopahoplic," not "Shopoholic"... lol. All that time, I was baffled why they didn't have a TS for such a popular book.

I finished up The Namesake and loved it even more than the movie. Then watched the movie, and realized how completely inept the genre is for telling such a story. Oh, gawd! please don't let them make a Middlesex movie! There's just NO WAY that could come out right.

I'm kinda floundering on what to read next. I think I will pick up BoneMan's Daughters by Ted Dekker... the website, alone, scared the bejesus out of me when the book came out, so I'm expecting it to be one I can't put down. But, I also picked up the next Steph Plum book for me, Three to Get Deadly, and discovered I'd started it before, but only made it a few pages. I'm kinda missing Stephanie, or rather... Gramma Mazur. "I shot him right in the gumpy" lol.

edited to add: Oh yeah, and going to see New Moon with Maggie and her bestie at the movies tonight. Go team Edward :-D Mags and her friend are both in Camp Jacob, though.

Message edited by its author, Nov 20, 2009, 1:47pm.

I just finished My Mortal Enemy Wila Cather and Silas Marner by George Eliot. Will start House Made of Dawn later tonight. Will be a short reading weekend. Real life is getting in the way. Brother and sister-in-law in from out of town and working in the our Friends of the Public Library used book store tomorrow. Should be a big day. It is a bag sale, all the books you can fit in a paper bag we provide for $5 dollars. We should be mobbed. Hope so. Hope to sneak in some reading over the holiday.

Finished Cat Striking Back and will read Blueberry Muffin Murder next and I got my ER book which is about the Harlem Gospel Choir and I'll get to that second. I have also decided to try and read The Singular Mark Twain now instead of after the first of the year in case my daughter needs it for her upcoming dissertation where she plans to compare Twain with Machado de Assis, who is a Brasilian author of the same time period and thought of as the Brasilian Twain.

Message edited by its author, Nov 20, 2009, 7:13pm.

I finished Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult last night. I enjoyed the book but really felt manipulated by the ending and kind of feel that perhaps her writing is becoming formulaic. Still, overall though, a good book.

I am now reading Parallel Play by Tim Page which is a non-fiction selection by an author who was diagnosed in his 40s with Aspergers. Just started it so no opinion yet.

174 bookaholicgirl: I read what I guess was an excerpt from Tim Page's book in The New Yorker. It was very affecting -- quite amazing really. I will be interested in your opinion of the book so please remember to post a review or commments when you're finished. The wish list is too long now, but of course I can always make room for one more.

Message edited by its author, Nov 20, 2009, 8:28pm.

Post is up for the new week. Happy Thanksgiving week to those of you celebrating it.

The movie with Gregory Peck is also fantastic!

OK, so Night Camp is for kids. That doesn't mean I can't enjoy it, right?