What are we reading this cold February?

I just finished an early reader copy of Snow Angels by James Thompson that I borrowed from the original recipient. It's a murder mystery set in Finland and I really enjoyed it. I hope it's the start of a long series. I'm now reading Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore, but not far enough into it to have an opinion.

It's a warm February on the west coast, and I'm rereading A Room of One's Own and the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

It's really warm here in Buenos Airies, where I'm on vacation. Still finding a bit of time to read, and am re-reading Generation X by Douglas Coupland. I read The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon on the very long plane ride from Toronto.

Buenos Airies--wow! What a place to go on vacation. I'm envious. What sort of things are you doing? How's your Spanish? Enjoy your trip.

I'm currently at the castle of Hayholt, King John just passed away. People are gathering from all over the nation of Osten Ard to mourn his passing in Tad Williams The Dragonbone Chair. This is my second attempt at getting through this book. I tried reading it many years ago and ended up putting it down 3/4 of the way through. I decided to reread this book to determine whether its time for it to have a new home. Its a slow read so far I hope the story line picks soon.

As of now, I'm in my "classics phase". These things usually last a few months, and I've got quite the stack to sustain me. Current is 'The Woman in White' by Wilkie Collins, absolutely LOVE it.
I can't decide what will be up next. We'll see.

On LynnB's recommendation, I am reading The Unfolding of Language - it definitely introduces an element of fun that was missing in my university linguistics classes!

I have also just started 2666 for Group Reads. It is starting off really well, but I think I should actually take a week's holiday and do nothing but read to really enjoy it!

I am re-reading "The Library at Night" by Albertro Manguel. I learn so much from him and he lets me know how much more that I have to learn. In addition I am reading "Master and Commander" by Patrick O'Brian, "Lustrum" by Robert Harris, "Power and Plenty" by Ronald Findlay and Kevin O'Rourke as well as "The Humans who went Extinct" by Clive Findlayson.

Barton - You have quite a few books on the go! (If you use square brackets on the books you list, the touchstones will work for you and then provide links to the books you mention.)

Shades of Grey and Transition are the two on the go right now. I'll have to finish An Echo in the Bone soon though.

I'm about to start Resurrection by Tucker Malarkey for a book club. Looks interesting; it's a novel about discovering gnostic gospels.

I am in Argentina, speak no spanish, except for the few words I've picked up. Today we have a 2 hour bus ride to gaucho country. How much reading I do will depend on how interesting the scenery is! And whether my husband brings something to read himself.

I have arthritis, so after a day of walking around, I need to rest. After dinner, I usually find a few hours to read, while Hubby goes scouting for interestng cafes and restaurants and sights for the next day's wanderings. We are having a great time -- have seen pretty much the whole city, and done day trips to Tigre and to Uruguay. Have books, will travel!!!

Mmm-travel! sounds great!
I just finished The Sari Shop and Granta 91 -both good!

LynnB - what a fantastic vacation!

I finished The Sad Truth About Happiness by Anne Giardini, at the start of February. I loved the first 2/3 of the book, but the last 1/3 didn't continue to captivate me.

I have been in a reading funk for the last couple of days, picking up and discarding books. I have now settled on There a Petal Silently Falls, a collection of three short stories by Ch'oe Yun.

lkernagh - From what I remember about The Sad Truth about Happiness, I think I'm with you. It takes a really weird turn, doesn't it? I thought she pulled it back by the end of the book, but there was that strange out-of-character bit.

Thanks Joyce - the character shift was rather unusual and a couple of times I had to skim back over the pages to see if I had missed something.... I hadn't. She did try to pull it back together at the end but I still feel it had a rather disjointed end to what started out as a fascinating story.

I'm reading and enjoying The Amazing Absorbing Boy by Rabindranath Maharaj. The views of Toronto through the eyes of the main teenage character are both funny and sad.

On the reading front, I finished There a Petal Silently Falls, a compilation of three previously published short stories by Ch'oe Yun which I found to be strong, insightful and thought-provoking, in a good way. Review posted on the book page http://www.librarything.com/work/book/56280082

I quickly made short work of Purity of Blood, book two in the Captain Alatriste series - a good swashbuckling historical escapism piece that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Continuing my historical fiction jaunt, next up is The Kitchen Boy, a novel about the last Tsar of Russia.

I just started to tackle Middlemarch. I'm a bit wary about it as it has mixed reviews- you either love it, or hate it. We'll see.

It is a very cold February since my return from South America!! I'm reading Nikolski by Nicholas Dickner.

I'm reading The Uses and Abuses of History by Margaret MacMillan for the second time; for a second book club.

I've joined a fourth book club. This one is with colleagues at work and we are going to read books on management. We're starting with The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick M. Lencioni.

I have finished The Kitchen Boy, a historical fiction by Robert Alexander which focuses on the last weeks of the lives of Russia's Tsar Nicholas and his family. The story, told from the POV of the kitchen boy, Leonka, builds on the suspense of the final weeks and weighs in with speculation as to what may have happened to two of the family members.

With a sprained knee, I am looking forward to spending the day on the couch with what the world will look like when all the water leaves us, a collection of short stories by Laura van den Berg and the TV tuned to the Olympic coverage.

Between happily cheering the Canadian team on, I have had a great weekend for reading. I finished what the world will look like when all the water leaves us, a collection of short stories by Luara van den Berg that blew me away. I have posted a review on the book page here: http://www.librarything.com/work/book/56621203 I then made short work of another excellent book, The Incident Report by Canadian author Martha Baillie. Review posted here: http://www.librarything.com/work/book/56639420

I am now reading The Perfect Circle by Pascale Quiviger.

I'm reading Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby.

I'm reading The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil.

I've got The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore, and Early Reviewers book, and one by Paul Quarrington, The Ravine.

I just finished The Siege by Helen Dunmore. I read it ( and did like it a lot) as I am supposed to be getting The Betrayal from Early Reviewers as well.

I am reading Lisey's Story by Stephen King and Lamb by Christopher Moore. I joined the Critical Monkey Challenge on Corey Redekop's website so I haven't been able to read as many Canadian novels as I usually do -- although I have just finished The Disappeared by Kim Echlin which was disturbing but really good as well as Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel which was absolutely fascinating.

I finished The Perfect Circle by Pascale Quiviger - it was an interesting journey of self-examination of the main character and while I enjoyed it, I find it a bit difficult to describe. I am now reading Finishing School by Newfoundland author Helen Fogwill Porter which I am finding to be an easy, entertaining read.

I'm reading Scar Tissue by Michael Ignatieff because someone (?) on CBC said that his fiction revealed more of this thinking than his nonfiction.

I have started The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood and am in the middle of Adjusting Sights by Haim Sabato.

I just started The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King. I just finished Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler. I noticed that I'm reading a lot of female authors lately.

I just finished reading Lamb by Christopher Moore. Surprisingly good; quite witty while still respectful.

I finished Finishing School by Helen Fogwill Porter. I really enjoyed it and have posted a review on the book page. I am now reading A Beautiful Blue Death, a Victorian murder mystery by Charles Finch and the first book in his Charles Lenox series.

I don't know if Tintin is as popular in English circles as he is in French, but if so, I highly recommend Tintin et le secret d'Hergé, a psychological analysis on how a therapist discovered a secret in Hergé's family by studying Tintin. Easy to read and absolutely fascinating, this book is well worthwhile and a must for every Tintin fan!

Cecilturtle - In some English circles, and for sure the one I was raised in, Tintin and Astrix were, and are still, strong favorites. I will now be on the hunt for an English copy of this Tintin book!

I'm reading The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard.

I too just finished Lamb and agree with arcona's assessment. It was good but at times a little too over the top -- especially when Biff and Josh go to India.

Tintin and Asterix! I remember reading them when I was little. I wasn't in French immersion, but my school was French and English, so the books were plentiful in our library.

Did you guys know there is a Tintin movie in the works? English, probably with Josh Duhamel or some such in the lead. *shudder*

On topic, I finished How I Became a Famous Novelist. Mostly funny, sometimes silly. Now, I'm back to The Age of Innocence.

I just discovered this:

http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/afterword/default.aspx

the website for NP's bookclub, the Afterword. AAAARGh. I've added three more books to my reserve list at the library. Too many books to read! Too many Olympics to watch! I can't keep up!

I had to return Galore unread due to the Olympics, but I'll tackle it again later. I'm reading The Last Shot from the Canada Also Reads list.

I'm reading The Lost City of Z by David Grann. It's snowing/raining here, but it's warm in the jungle.

I finished reading My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I enjoyed the emotional development but I'm always rather annoyed at Picoult's pusillanimity: she chooses subversive topics without ever taking sides.

I have started Être heureux n'est pas nécessairement confortable by Thomas d'Ansembourg, about non-violent communication.

I'm also delighted because it was my birthday today and I got a Sony Reader which I've wanted for a while: I'm all loaded up on books for months now!

Happy Birthday!

I'm not sure if I want to enter the world of e-books. I don't even have an Ipod yet! So, let me know how you like it.

Happy Belated Birthday, Cecilturtle!!!!!

I have been too wrapped up in Olympic fever to pay attention to my postings so I have a couple of books that I finished in February to report here. A Beautiful Blue Death is the first in the Charles Lenox Victorian detective series and a great cozy murder mystery. I finished help me, jacques cousteau the debut novel by Gil Adamson. I love quircky, offbeat novels and Adamson provides a fun examination of an eccentric family through the eyes of Hazel, as she manovers her way through her childhood and teenage years. The last book for the month of February was The Sun over Breda, book three in the Captain Alatriste historical adventure series. Book three had more of a military strategies approach and while still good, I thought it lacked the Romanticism of the Spanish Court, political intrigues and duals over honor in dark alleyways.

February finished, now on to March ;-)