What are You Reading in NOVEMBER?

I'm about half-way through the wonderful Annabel by Kathleen Winter.

After my successful foray in Coupland's world with Player One, I have started Generation A.

I'm about 80 pages into The Endless Knot by Jill Kilbourne. It's a mystery that takes place in Regina , and I'm pleasantly surprised that is quite enjoyable. It's another book towards my Cross Canada Read.

@1 -Glad that you are enjoying Annabel. I really enjoyed it too. A large part of the plot of the book I am reading deals with a intersex person, so I'm finding it interesting to read about a more current take on that issue.

I'm reading a massive biography: Champlain's Dream by David Hackett Fischer.

I m reading The Elephant's Journey by Jose Saramago - interesting story but not captivating me so far.

I am now 2/3 of the way through Life of Pi and enjoying it very much :)

I've just started Come, Thou Tortoise and it seems good so far.

I am about 75 pages into A Supremely Bad Idea and sometimes it is funny but only sometimes.

I finished reading The Life of Pi today.. I absolutely loved it. I had been putting off reading it until I was in the right mood as I understood it was a very 'philosophical' book. It is not heavy reading. Read at face value it is more of a survival at sea story, with the fact that there is a tiger in the boat added in to make it more interesting. Read at face value I would almost call it a 'Lost in the Barrens on the high seas' with a bit of spirituality added in (3 different spiritualities to be exact). Despite the fact that I had six books going when I started this one (Very unusual for me) I read through this book in almost record time.

There are sad points, but it is an uplifting book and not horribly bleak (Again, it reminded me of Lost in the Barrens, the night closing in on the ocean vs. the blizzard and being stuck in the cabin, survival against the elements, etc). This is the type of book you will want to read again later, and I imagine I will find myself reading it on a deeper level a second time. In fact this is the type of book you find yourself reading for a second time as you are reading it.. you finish a small section and then want to read it again. For some reason I really found fascinating the section about the small island as well. If you have been putting off reading this book there is really no need to.. go read it now!

Room by Emma Donohue just won the Roger's Writer's Trust Award 2010, last night! It's on my wishlist - I guess I will have to get it soon!!! Exciting!

Room is definitely on my wishlist too.

I saw someone post that Room by Donoghue won but I wasn't sure which award it picked up. Awesome! It was a great book and definitely deserved the win.

Although I'm almost a year late in beginning The Bishop's Man I have an excuse! It takes a while for Canadian literature to make its way to Brazil. (Actually, it took all of 5 seconds to download it from Amazon to my Kindle, but that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.)

>4 LynnB: I thought Champlain's Dream was fantastic. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Well, finished up my Saskatchewan book - a mystery set in Regina, Endless Knot by Gail Bowen. Nothing special , but readable. I don't especially recommend Gail Bowen.

The Carnivore by Mark Sinnett -story of a marriage, set in 1950's Toronto in the aftermath of Hurricane Hazel - terrific read.

>9 Bcteagirl:: It's great that you enjoyed Life of Pi so much. I don't even remember what my issue with it was. I can only recollect that i couldn't wait to be done with it. I realize that i'm one of the few dissenters. People love that book.

I enjoyed Life of Pi both times; except for the part on the island -- especially the first time thru. It seemed so long and tedious!

I'm about to start my September ER book, which arrived yesterday: Moonlight in Odessa by Janet Skeslien Charles.

I'm reading Là où les tigres sont chez eux by Jean-Marie Blas de Roblès. I have mixed feelings: it's an 800 page stone which reminds me of 2666. Whereas, I'm glad I read 2666, I'm not sure I'm ready to repeat the experience. On the other hand, some of the characters (a female geologist, her lesbian drugged up daughter and a female smuggler of crocodile skins) are pretty interesting... I think I'll stick it through.

Finished The Elephant's Journey by Jose Saramago late last night/early this morning which I really enjoyed but found it was not up the the strength of powerful writing that I am used to with Saramago's work. It was in keeping with a lighter fable/story-telling narrative, so in all, a good story set in 16th century Europe.

Next up is Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt.

I have been hooked by Pierre Berton's The Arctic Grail. I am not sure I have ever found a history book that is so easy to read.

17: I agree the island part of Life of Pi was just too weird. The rest of it was great.

Enjoy your extra hour of reading today!!

Oooo thanks for the reminder! Maybe I can finally finish off Firefox 4 :P I made it through The Life of Pi and was going to start on The Birth House since it is on the list of possibles for Canadareads.. However they are announcing the shortlist (10?) soon so I might wait to start another until I know what is on the shortlist.. I have a few books on the go I should be finishing up anyway :P

I took advantage of the extra hour of reading on Sunday - smiles at Cecilturtle's post @ 21 above! - and used the time towards finishing Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - a great non-fiction true crime that was a fascinating page-turner for me! Currently, I am reading the slim novella The Violin of Auschwitz, which I will finish tonight and after that it is on to A Complicated Kindness.

Bcteagirl - I am so glad to hear that you loved Life of Pi because I also just loved it. It's the kind of book that you either love or just don't get the point of, so I'm always happy to hear of other people who enjoyed it. I really think it is one of my all time favourite books.

I agree, it seems to be either a love or hate book. I see we also both enjoyed Annabel. You will have to let me know how you like Good to a Fault, I believe it is set in Saskatchewan?

I'm reading The Ten Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer for a book club.

Good to a Fault was set in Saskatoon, to be precise.

I have a few books on the go, but i like checking into this forum when i'm reading Canadian work. Right now i'm reading the poetry of Émile Nelligan, Québec's best-known poet. He gets compared to Rimbaud a lot because he wrote all of his poetry quite young (between the age of 16 and 19, when schizophrenia took over) and they both deal with the themes of disillusionment, madness, and death a lot, but some of Nelligan's most famous poems focus on winter landscapes and moods ("Ah, comme la neige a neigé!"). I'm not a huge poetry buff but i'm enjoying this.

I'm finally reading What is Stephen Harper Reading?, and enjoying it. I now want to google to find out Harper's response (if any.)

You've got me intrigued by Good to a Fault now, because my family is from Saskatoon. How many references to the Bessborough were in there? ;)

I'm nearly finished Dead Cold by Louise Penny, the second in her series of mysteries set in Quebec. I read the first in the series for my Quebec book for the Cross Canada read - and I decided I need a nice easy brain candy book - so I'm nearly finished Dead Cold. They are enjoyable, easy reads.

I'm reading Louise Penny's first in that series, Still Life and loving it. It's always fun to discover a new series, especially one that's a page turner. Getting time to get back into the Jan Martel list of recommendations to Stephen Harper. None of them so far has been as much fun to read as a good mystery. I was thinking maybe he should have started Stephen on some fun reads to get him hooked on reading.

For those of you who like Louise Penny, there is a contest for her newest book here, just leave a comment to be entered (With a way to contact you). Not affiliated in any way other than I enter these contests :P

http://luanne-abookwormsworld.blogspot.com/2010/10/review-and-giveaway-bury-your...

I've got the new book Bury Your Dead at the top of the pile, saving it for next week. I'm in the middle of Zero History.

Thanks BCtea girl!!! Unfortunately I went out and purchased her newest book, The Brutal Telling and then realized I wanted to start with the first in the series, which I did. Thanks a lot for that info though:)@Arcona - yes, I think Stephen Harper could have used a little mystery AND humour in his life!:P

@Arcona: A good mystery is always fun! I think the second on the list or so is a Poirot ;) I am glad to hear that you are getting back into it! Remind me which book you are on now?

In honour of Remembrance Day, I started The Wars by Timothy Findley. I am embarrassed to say that this is my first Findley. Will I ever get caught up on Canlit must-reads?

Bcteagirl -
Thanks for remembering me. I just ordered #9, Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Marquez from our library. I wanted #8,Short and Sweet: 101 very short poems but they don't have it so will have to request an interlibrary loan and they take quite a while. I'll rejoin you over at the second Stephen Harper thread when my next book comes in.
I interupted Come, Thou Tortoise to read Still Life and am now back to finishing up Tortoise. It's not bad but it's not grabbing me either. I'll be glad to finish it.

Hee... I read #8 through ILL as well :P

I just started The Book of Negroes. I am about 75 pages in and finding it interesting so far.

I'm just finishing up Dead Cold by Louise Penny. I started reading the mystery series as a part of my Quebec portion of my Cross Canada Reading. It turns out I really love the series and one book leads into the other, so I plan to read the series. But, for my New Brunswick read, I just started Mercy Among the Children by David Adams Richards. It's a 2000 Giller prize winner. It seems like it will be a good read, but so far I am having to take notes because there are so many generations involved and different characters.:)

I am excited to say that I purchased Yann Martel's What is Stephen Harper Reading and read the introduction and first chapter. It looks to be a great book. I am a one book at a time reader, so it will go to the TBR pile for now.

I just finished Timothy Findley's The Wars, and I have to say it's one of the better books I've read this year. I can't believe it's been sitting around my house, unread, since 2003. The novel is told by a historian who is trying to piece together the story of Robert Ross, a controversial Canadian officer in WWI. It's a sort of historical fiction-post modern hybrid. Very different, very clever, very good. It also won the Governor General's award in 1977. I'm surprised that there are only 591 copies of this book on LT--it really deserves a wider audience.

I'm reading Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo about aid to Africa.

Bcteagirl - I loved The Book of Negroes when I read it last year. Enjoy!

Nickelini - Good to hear The Wars comes with such high praise. I intend to read more of Findley's works next year so you comments are helping me decide which one of his books to pick up next!

As for my reading, I finished A Complicated Kindness yesterday. I really enjoyed the voice that Toews gave to the narrator, 16 year old Nomi, but I can appreciate that this book probably isn't for everyone. I am currently reading The Bells by Richard Harvell, an LTER book. So far, at 50 pages in, it is proving to be quite good.

I liked A Complicated Kindness, but would have liked to know a lot more about Trudy's story! Maybe it's because she's closer to my age than Nomi is.

I finished Bound by Antonya Nelson for the Early Reviewers Program. I was quite disappointed : aimless, it is a rather insipid and populated with characters I disliked. I would not recommend it.

I have started L'assassinat d'Yvon Toussaint by Yvon Toussaint. The writer, a Belgian, is intrigued by his namesake, a Haitian senator assassinated in Port-au-Prince, in 1999. It is a fictionalized biography which looks very promising - a mix of politics and personal history.

LynnB - I agree with your comment. It would have been good if the book had included more details about Trudie. Trudie came across as a complicated character that had a lot of room for examination, even if through a series of revelations for Nomi.

@40 - That sounds like an interesting book. I've wondered if our aid to Africa is useful / not as useful as we would like to believe.

Nickelini - glad to see that you enjoyed The Wars by Findley so much. I confess I've never read a Timothy Findley book.

And BCTeagirl - The only book I have in my favourites on librarything so far is The Book of Negroes - so I hope you love it too! But of course , as we know, tastes do vary. ;) I am one of those who could not get into a Complicated Kindness .

I am enjoying Mercy Among Children By David Adam Richards. A lot of characters to keep track of initially - but I think I am beginning to keep track of them all. I actually have had to make notes to keep track of who is who! Some interesting ideas and characterizations so far...... I'll say more once I'm further into the book.

Sorry for your negative reading experience, CecilTurtle. Thanks for letting us know! I hope you enjoy your next book! Sorry je ne parle en francais much! Grade 12 French, I am sorry to say!;)

To follow-up on #18, Là où les tigres sont chez eux by Jean-Marie Blas de Roblès: I've gotten through all 800-page and it was well worth it. There are some passages that are rather long, but the multitude of stories and the nice cohesive structure allow for the reader to either skip ahead, come back, read excerpts here and there, which makes it a fun reading experience. The final chapters kept me on the edge of seat as the characters all inexorably meet their destinies. Not a happy story, but a marvelous mix of social commentary, politics, anthropology, religion, science and history. English title: Where Tigers Feel at Home

Maybe I'm a lazy reader, but I just gave up on Come, Thou Tortoise. It's witty and has much to recommend it, but halfway through I just got tired of no quotation marks to differentiate thoughts from speech, and too much jumping forward and backward to care how it ended. Now I'm reading Yellowknife by Steve Zipp while I wait for some requests to come in at the library. Interesting so far.

I'm reading the latest from Louise Penny, Bury Your Dead and enjoying it immensely. Mysteries are my first choice lately.
re Timothy Findlay. I remember being very impressed with The Wars when I read it years ago. Another Findlay that comes to mind immediately is The Piano Man's Daughter.

I'm reading my latest ER book, Drive-By Saviours by Chris Benjamin.

I have started Au bon roman by Laurence Cossé. Three murder attempts are made against three authors, all part of a Bookstore Committee that chooses "good novels" - looks like someone doesn't agree on what constitutes a good novel! Witty, full of suspense and a homage to books and authors, the first few pages have me hooked! I'll be hunkering down for this one!

50: Ooooo.. that sounds good!

@51 and 50 - yes that does sound very good!

I'm about 3/4 of the way through Mercy Among Children. Initially it seemed like there were so many characters and generations -but now I can hardly put it done. So many themes, such an intriguing book. I wish I had a book club to discuss this one with!

I'm very slowly making my way through The Picture of Dorian Gray. Don't rush me. It's that and my three textbooks and lecture notes. Finals are soon.

I hope you do very well on finals Supermoon :)

Last night I finished The Book of Negroes. It came very highly recommended from a variety of friends, and they were right! Obviously with the subject matter it can be difficult to read at times, but it is a very quickly moving book told from the point of view of a young girl. Quite a bit of the story is told as she is writing her life story in old age. It reminds me a bit of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society in that the author has a way of taking a difficult subject matter and making it interesting.. not trivializing it by any means, but softening the blow enough that the book while it teaches you a lot about the negative things that went on (Even in Canada!) is not an utterly depressing hopeless tome of negativity, which would have been an easy way to write it. It is a book that even people like me (who cannot really get into sad/negative books) can read. I think that is a good thing as it will reach a larger audience this way and educate more people.

I would have loved to have heard more about what happened to her daughter after NS, but I understand the book is about Ameena and not the daughter.

A very good book, I urge everyone to at least get it from the library and give it a go. Are any teachers using this book in high school now?

I just finished Thomas More's Utopia. I was excited about it given this book's place in literary and philosophical history. (For those of you who don't know, More coined the term "Utopia" - it's the name he gives to his fictional island in which resources are equally distributed, everyone has work, and harmony reigns.) Well, it was pretty bad. Obviously such a book must be read while keeping in mind its historical context, and a 16th century take on what would constitute the ideal society is bound to seem a bit silly today. I was prepared for that, and it didn't surprise me much that his Utopia is very patriarchal, makes liberal use of capital punishment, and depends on slaves for a good chunk of its labour. I was still fascinated by the exercise of describing an "ideal" society. It appeals to the policy wonk in me.

Anyway, the first third of the book took the form of a conversation between three people, and it was entertaining enough. Then came the description of Utopia - just page upon page of wretchedly detailed minutiae, e.g. the kind of fabric they use for clothes and just how little use they have for jewellery. I found some passages about their economic system interesting, but that's about it. Just dreadfully boring. His tone seemed so sarcastic at times that i did a quick search into whether it may have been meant this work as a satire. It seems that A) yes, that is a theory about this book, and B) Thomas More was quite a jerk. Honestly, i can't think of any reason you should bother to read it. A book about it, perhaps exploring the circumstances or context in which it was written, would be infinitely more engaging.

Thanks for the heads up jfThing

BCTeagirl - I'm not sure if Highschools are reading The Book of Negroes, which is one of my favourites, but it was part of my sons 1st year English at UBC. Perhaps then it is more standard in 1st year? But of course, schools do vary. I think my son was talking a CanLit course English course in 1st year.

If you enjoyed that, I really think you will love The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom. It's different in many ways, but once again, it's tragic material mainly presented with an indomitable spirited bunch of people. It involves a young white girl whose parents die on the way to the US from Ireland , and she ends up a white indentured slave - kind of between both worlds. It was a fascinating book that I could not put down. It's not Canadian though.:Fair warning!;)

I had not realized that that white people were indentured slaves back in the day.

I would be surprised to see The Book of Negroes on a high school reading list just because it's so long. I have several friends who teach high school English and they never seem to teach anything over 200 pages. This is only a personal observation and may have no bearing on reality.

I would tend to agree. However I was forced to read Anna Karenina in highschool, so results may vary :P

May I ask a question of any of you. I've got both The Wars by Timothy Findley and Three Day Road by Thomas Boyden. For those who have read both - or even one - is one better than the other at giving a good picture of life in WW1 than the other?

I can see that they are totally different books, but I wondered if anyone had an opinion on that. Thanks! Touchstones do not appear to be working.

Fixed my touchstones.

I haven't read both, just The Wars. It's pretty good about depicting WWI, although it's about some other stuff too. I was under the impression that Three Day Road was set mostly in Canada after the war, but I could be wrong. If you're looking for the best depiction of WWI, I suggest Good-bye to All That by Robert Graves. But it's British. And All Quiet On the Western Front is also excellent, though again, not Canadian either (but German). Sorry, touchstones aren't cooperating.

I just finished my Cross Canada read for New Brunswick, Mercy Among Children by David Adams Richards. It was a complex but compelling , interesting read. I wrote up a bit of blather about it on my Cross Canada thread. I did rate it 4 1/2 stars. It was a long read, and there was certainly no mercy among the children. Hmmm -not sure what my next book will be as yet.

I've read both The Wars and Three Day Road. I think the latter was more about the actual life of soldiers in battle. At least I can say that, after several years, I remember more of the war aspects of it than I do of Timothy Findlay's book.

Thanks for that, LynnB. I think I will read Three Day Road rather than The wars. So many books about WW1 look intriguing - like All Quiet On the Western Front. I'd like to better understand the horror of the war.

If you're interested in WW I recommend Un long dimanche de fiançailles by Sébastien Japrisot (A very long engagement in English). It's about a young woman looking for fiancé who has disappeared in the trenches. During her quest, she discovers the horrors of war. It's been made into a very moving film as well with Audrey Tautou (actress from Amélie Poulin).

Thanks Cecilturtle.I'll look into the book that you've recommended. It sounds intriguing.

For now, I've decided to read a nice easy Canadian Mystery, set in Quebec. It is The Cruellest Month by Louise Penny. This is my third book in her series of mysteries set in the fictional village of Three Pines in Quebec. I discovered her when I read her first book in the series in my Cross Canada Quest. She has won several awards, and I do enjoy her books.

Just finished Yellowknife by Steve Zipp. Strange read - reminded me of Nikolski with lots of characters but not much plot. Well written and pleasant to read, it is a fascinating look at the Northwest Territories in an Alice in Wonderland sort of way. Next up is Jane Austen and Pursuasion where things are always straight forward.

vancouverdeb - Glad to here you enjoyed Mercy Among Children, I plan to pick that book up to read later this week to finish off on of my categories for my 1010 Challenge.

I finished The Bells by Richard Harvell this afternoon. I found it to be an interesting, lyrical story set in 18th century Europe. It was an LTER book. Review is posted on the book page.

Next up is A Tangled Web by L. M. Montgomery.

Thanks, lkernagh, I really did enjoy Mercy Among Children . I may yet write a bit of a review.

I just had to tell you Canadian Bookworms ( hangs head in shame ) that instead of reading The Cruellest Month by Louise Penny as I had said, I have been seduced by a Swedish mystery entitled Faceless Murder: A Mystery by Henning Mankell, who is apparently a very good writer, having won the the UK's Golden Dagger for mystery/ crime writing in 2000. It's proving to be most enthralling. I always think that if an author's works have been translated to several languages, that's proof that the author must be quite good.

That's Faceless Murder - touchstones don't seem to be working for that book right now.

I've read several by Mankell and loved two out of three (pretty good ratio). I particularly loved Depths (didn't like Kennedy's Brain); next on my list The Dogs of Riga. I'll be curious to know how you enjoy Faceless Murder: A mystery.

After a marathon flu session for the family along with a computer malware thingo LT fell from my radar. Then again so did reading. I finally finished A Supremely Bad Idea last night. I am currently part way through The Arctic Grail and almost done The Way of the Superior Man.

72: Oh no! Sorry to hear about both illnesses, and glad to hear that all are on the mend.

I finished A Tangled Web by L.M. Montgomery this evening. I did enjoy this one - what a delightful romp! - and have posted a review on the book page.

I was going to start Mercy Among the Children by David Richard Adams next but discovered The Matter with Morris by David Bergen - touchstones cannot find it - was ready for pick up at the library so that will be my next book.

@74 I think you will enjoy Mercy Among Children. I found it to be a complex read, and one thing that helped me understand the book was the mention several times The Forged Coupon by Leo Tolstoy. I wrote a bit of a review on my Cross Canada reads about it. It seems to me that one one level, you can read it literally, but on the other hand, Sidney, the father of Lyle, is more or less a Saint. One could say that the characters in the books are carictures - but I think David Adams Richards writes a moral tale within a story that can also be taken quite literally. I'm no literary expert like yourself, but I think you will enjoy David Adams Richards.

As for L.M Montgomery - I think I nearly read each and everyone of her books when I was young. They just never get old. :)

Lately I read that L.M Montgomery committed suicide by an overdose of tranquilizers, and that she suffered with depression and anxiety throughout her life. I was surprised, as her books always seem so cheerful.

vancouverdeb - I still have Mercy Among the Children patiently waiting for me on the side table. I will probably get to it this weekend. It looks great and your comments are encouraging me!

On the topic of Lucy Maud Montgomery, I had read about the recent revelation that she had battled with depression. That is sad... maybe her writing was a way for her to help hold the depression at bay by focusing on her characters. I know I will be reading more of her books, especially the ones that I didn't read while I was growing up.

Certainty by Madeline Thien

I'm starting What Happened Later, by Ray Robertson.

The Collected Stories of Isaac Babel and Roots Schmoots by Howard Jacobson.-the latter because I have to return it to a friend who lives out of town.

I'm still reading Faceless Murder, but I just had to post this link that I found in the newspaper.

http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Golden+Mean+finalist+award...

The Golden Mean is up for the bad sex award along with several other books. I have not read it - and touchstones do not seem to be working right now - but The Golden Mean is by a Canadian author - New Westminster BC , and it simply cracked me up with laughter when I read of the possible award. :)

Here is the article that I linked above - I find it so humourous, I just had to share it ;)

Annabel Lyon may have missed winning Canada's three major literary prizes for The Golden Mean, but a very different honour could await her.

The New Westminster author has been named one of eight finalists for the Bad Sex in Fiction Award from the London-based Literary Review.

The Golden Mean is a 2009 novel that explores the relationship between Aristotle and a young Alexander the Great. Lyon's competitors on the Bad Sex short list include Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas, Maya by Alastair Campbell, A Life Apart by Neel Mukherjee, Heartbreak by Craig Raine, The Shape of Her by Rowan Somerville, and Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross.

Annabel Lyon did win one of the " big three" awards last year. She won The Writers' Trust Award for Fiction in 2009 for The Golden Mean.
I read it-hmm- bad sex?

Did a quick read through Whispers of War: The war of 1812 diary of Susanna Merritt. I had a copy given to me and a friend wants it :P Mean for the school aged crowd, but a light and fun Canadian read.

@82 - I don't know what it takes to qualify for the bad sex in fiction award , and I've not read the The Golden Mean but it did give me a chuckle! :)

While I am a little late to this party, I am squeaking in a Canadian read for the month, just under the wire! I started the novel Drive-By Saviours by Chris Benjamin.

I'm reading Mme Proust and the Kosher Kitchen by Kate Taylor for one book club, and Krakatoa by Simon Winchester for another one.

I finished, reviewed and cannot recommend The Matter With Morris by David Bergen. In one word: Ugh. Heading back into more enjoyable reading, next up is A Mortal Curiosity, book two in the Lizzie Martin mystery series by Ann Granger.

I had barely started reading Jane Austen's Pursuasion which I own, when books I had previously ordered started coming in from the library. Just finished Louise Penny's Dead Cold which I enjoyed, and now am starting my first Anne Granger book, Call the Dead Again.

Why is it when you don't have anything to read, the library requests take forever to arrive. When you have books to read, they start arriving in bunches. I'll have to read like a maniac to stay ahead of the library books I had ordered a while ago, and now the Canada Reads books are out and I want to read them too. I may have to postpone Christmas:)

arcona - I totally understand.... I encounter the same thing with my local library ;-) Right now I am in a lull for the library books I have on hold.... that will probably change next week!

I have finished Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad for a Group Read. Remarkably difficult to get through the 100 pages - it's so dense! I had a hard time getting into it.

I also finished A Tiny Bit Marvellous by Dawn French for the Early Reviewers Programs. That book is just that: marvellous. Feeling neglected, unloved and a little bit rejected? This book will make your spirit soar.

I will be starting The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett tonight. Been looking forward to it for ages.

I'm going to California for a couple of weeks of warmer weather and taking two mysteries/crime novels with me, Denis Lehane's Moonlight Mile and the Vancouver abducted realtor story Still Missing by Chevy Stevens.

@ 91 Ohhh I loved Still Missing by Chevy Stevens. I suspect you will too!! It was one great story!! Enjoy!

I have the novel Still Missing so I am glad to see your enthusiasm for it, Deb! I have been looking forward to the read too!