What Are You Reading the week of 8 January 2011?

Bare bones again, but it's up!

I finished Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier -- lovely book. Now I'm reading Stewart O'Nan's The Circus Fire.

Finishing up Dragonfly in Amber, down to the last 100 pages or so. I'm also reading Inventing George Washington by Edward G. Lengel and The Queen of Last Hopes by Susan Higginbotham.

In addition, today is the first day of my Tale of Two Cities readalong, so I'll reading that every Saturday for the next 7 months.

I'm continuing with Southern Storm by Terri Blackstock,which I started during Ellie's readathon because it was light and quick, but now I'm discovering I'm not all that interested in it. Yawn.

finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and started Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Thanks, Richard. Logging in.

I finished Out of Africa and while I did enjoy it, it was very dated and kind of slow in spots. That said, it is one European woman's experiences of living in Kenya and her stories and reflections of the "Natives," animals, countryside, etc. Interestingly, she had portents about how her Kenya will look very different in the years to come. So she was wise in many ways, quite before her time.

I am now a bit into Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell and am loving it. This is clearly one to savor. I'm a huge geek for lesser known histories, words, cultures and this is satisfying every joy I have as a reader. Plus, it's fun to read. I already have learned an absurd amount about the Chatham Island(s). I do have a dictionary handy though, Mitchell has a love of language and words not oft heard :)

To the Crimson Petal and the White folks. Okay, I made it about 400 pages into that tome and it just pained me to keep picking it back up. I know when I dread sitting down to read, it's time to give up the ghost. I guess I didn't resonate, or even remotely enjoy or care about, those characters. They were all just icky and for a prostitute and heir to a corporate fortune, very dull and repetitive. I do love being enmeshed into worlds and places (and found Faber did that beautifully), but I found it really, really tedious and boring. I knew 500 more pages was not going to happen, not now anyway. But I think it's a lot to ask for any novel to maintain interest in a 900 page novel ... of any kind. So kudos to those who read it, and read it twice!

I finished Marriage and Other Acts of Charity by Kate Braestrup a memoir and examination of love. I very much enjoyed it, but it is relatively religious (Unitarian Universalist so liberal, but religious nonetheless).

I began Crooked Letter Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin last night. It is good but so graphic in its descriptions of racism and bullying in the 1970s that I almost can't bear it. I'll continue though, I think.

Finished this morning:

Cathi Unsworth, Bad Penny Blues
Crime novel set in early 60s London - very atmospheric and I liked it a lot - I've given it its highest rating so far on LT (4.5*)

Still reading

Anna Politkovskaya, Nothing But the Truth: Selected Dispatches
Selected journalistic writing of a murdered Russian journalist, including her reports on the Chechen war and other controversial subjects. Fantastic writing and interesting material so far, but rather grim, I regretted reading it too late at night last night.

Catherine Hall, Days of Grace
An elderly woman looks back to her days as an evacuee during WWII and her friendship with Grace. She befriends a young single mother with a newborn.

Philip Kerr, March Violets
first in series about a PI in Nazi Germany

South Riding by Winifred Holtby, a novel set in 1930s Yorkshire local government, though it was written contemporaneously.

Patti Smith, Just Kids
The rock singer's memoir of her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe and life in New York City in the 1960s, before they both became famous.

Started late last night:

Gianrico Carafiglio, Involuntary Witness
first in series I bought ages ago after hearing the author speak at the Harrogate Crime Festival, so far it looks really promising. I've signed up to an online challenge to read and review a book set in Italy every month, and I have lots of ideas but wanted to read at least some by an Italian author (I could complete the challenge on Donna Leon alone as there are more than 12 books I haven't read in her Brunetti series, but it's not the point, is it?)

Early morning laundromat reading – Barry Hannah's Airships.
Continuing to swim through Atlantic by Simon Winchester. I've read everything Winchester has written with pleasure but I'm not sure this is holding my interest.

I'm in the middle of two book at the momen, Anne of Green Gables and The Elegance of the Hedgehog.

I finished Plain Kate by Erin Bow this morning. I found it an enjoyable fantasy and debut. I'll certainly keep an eye out for future books by this author.

I'm rereading/listening to Magyk by Angie Sage to catch myself up on that series, reading Book Lust To Go by Nancy Pearl to catch up on ER books, and just started Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink.

Still reading Mammoth by John Varley. Just need to force myself to finish.

I love seeing people are enjoying Major Pettigrew. I did, too.

Time Was Soft There by Jeremy Mercer was a solid, interesting memoir of the author's time living with others at the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris. Wish I could be there tomorrow.

I'm now halfway through Fledgling, a sci-fi novel by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.

I'm reading my early reviewer, Sweetie. It's hard to put down so far (I just came to the computer to google Cherokee masks). I just love a good friendship story.

I just finished The Archaeology of Home which is a fascinating history of a house, of a neighborhood. The author has done an amazing amount of research revealing an intriguing cast of characters which she has brought to life within the shifting backdrop of the neighborhood. The picture of each era is well drawn and fleshed out. My problem with the book is that it tried to do too many things, diminishing the impact of each. Besides being a history of the house, it is also a memoir about the author's dealings with the house and, particularly in the beginning, includes way too much filler; the story of man's relationship to property and home from the dawn of history.

Still loving my re-read of Conrad's Lord Jim.

I have to share with you Conrad's description of that certain sort of traveler everyone hates running into:

An outward bound mail-boat had come in that afternoon, and the big dining-room of the hotel was more than half full of people with a hundred pounds round-the-world tickets in their pockets. There were married couples looking domesticated and bored with each other in the midst of their travels; there were small parties and large parties, and lone individuals dining solemnly or eating boisterously, but all thinking, conversing, joking or scowling as was their wont at home; and just as intelligently receptive of new impressions as their trunks upstairs. Henceforth they would be labeled as having passed through this and that place, and so would be their luggage. They would cherish this distinction of their persons, and preserve the gummed tickets on their portmanteaus as documentary evidence, as the only permanent trace of their improving enterprise.

I finally finished the Norton Critical Edition of The Tempest, and I don't think I got very much out of the stuff in the back that I spent so much time with. I have to pick a new book to start today; I don't know what that'll be, but there's some chance it will be Wallenstein by Friedrich Schiller for brief discussion in Le Salon...

Robert

I'm still reading Life of Pi and loving it. I'm missing all that reading time I had during vacation!

Carolyn> There's a group read of Cloud Atlas starting January 15. Hope to see you there!

I'm reading I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett and still (still!) reading At Home by Bill Bryson. Next, I'll be starting my Orange January read.

I started Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. I've been very excited about reading this one and after 40 pages, I can see why! Good stuff! On audio, I began A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger, which also begins very well. I didn't realize this was about the Boston Strangler.

I just finished, finally, The Girls Who Went Away. Scary.

And now I've started both Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter and A Drink Before the War. I am enjoying them both.

Also, this week I'll be finishing up the audio of Stiff which I like much more than I thought I would although a chapter or two were a little uncomfortable to listen to.

Finished Cutting for Stone - loved it! Now I am reading Cloud Atlas like many others. So far, so good - but its a slow read.

I am currently reading The Lies of Locke LaMora by Scott Lynch and A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. I like both of them, one is a great fantasy read, and the other a light, humorous story.

Currently reading The Heart Specialist. Excellent historical fiction.

Back to the Jane Eyre books. My next one is Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid.

Just finished up Cry Havoc, Joe Maiolo's history of the arms race of the 1930s. It's a good history of the economics of the arms race, but his basic thesis that the arms race was what made WWII inevitable is weak. He seems to miss the point that Hitler was determined to wage war from the start. The book has many flaws, but it's still a good history of the issues that modern war required on both sides.

I'm starting Berlin at War now.

I've stopped reading my library copy of Very Special People because I found a copy at PBS that has been confirmed, so I'll be reading my own.

I'm about halfway through Benchley Beside Himself which is a riot. Giving me my start on the writings of the members of The Algonquin Round Table.

Yesterday I finished up In the Night Garden, which I thought was spectacular.

I'm almost done with More Annotated H.P. Lovecraft. Of course, I've read most of those stories at least a couple of times, but they're always fun, especially with the added notes. Also been reading The Philosophy of Aikido in anticipation of getting back into practice.

I've just started If on a winter's night a traveler and am already getting the impression it's going to be great.

Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon beckons. It's sitting out in full view, but I want to finish 32421::The Deptford Trilogy and 9331::History of Madness first. Then I can read M&D with no distractions.

I finished up The Imperfectionists this morning. Next up is Packing for Mars.

I finished Mammoth by John Varley, and now starting non-fiction A Place of My Own by Michael Pollan for a RL book Group.

#17, Rocketjk, glad to hear that Lord Jim is engaging--it's in my TBR pile sometime in the next couple months. #28, Retropelocin, I'm glad to hear someone else likes Benchley. No one I know seems to have heard of his stuff and I think it's hilarious. Spent the last week visiting family and reading My Man Jeeves aloud while we travelled. Managed to finish Elizabeth von Arnim's Love Finally.

I'm about 1/8 of the way through Anna Karenina. I'm also reading one of my very favorites, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken aloud to my girls.

Currently in the middle of the classic Watership Down by Richard Adams. Never had to read it in school. Thought I would now after reading some good reviews on it. Love it!

Bjace---Have you ever seen any of Benchley's film shorts? The DVD boxset of The Thin Man movies has a number of them. It helps me to hear his voice and timing while I'm reading his work. "Hilarious" is right!

I finished and reviewed The Housekeeper by Melanie Wallace for and Orange Prize read, it was long listed in 2007. It's a stark study of deprivation and evil, not for everyone. I'm planning to start The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood tomorrow. I couldn't read anything else tonight. I need to recover a little from Wallace.

Reading The Shotgun Rule by Charlie Huston.

I'm just starting The Sun in the Morning, the autobiography of M.M. Kaye's childhood. I'm really enjoying it, so far! It's fascinating to see where some of the ideas for The Far Pavillions and her other works of fiction came from.

>>31 BaileysAndBooks:. Did you like the Imperfectionists? It was a pretty big hit around LT. I liked it quite a bit.

I finished Crooked Letter Crooked Letter which I thought was quite good. I'm haunted by the loneliness of the main character.

I started Methland last night. So far it is sad and scary.

Just finished Portland's Greatest Conflagration : The 1866 Fire Disaster by Michael Daicy and Don Whitney. Daicy is an active duty Portland firefighter and the department's historian. Whitney is a retired city firefighter and curator of the Portland Fire Museum. (This is Portland, Maine, not its namesake in Oregon, by the way.) While not Chicago, Peshtigo or San Francisco, our fire was significant in the history and shaping of modern firefighting practice.

Short book, but meticulously researched. Long passages from primary resources. Included are article from all of Portland's papers of the day, fire department logs and records, city council minutes and The Board of Fire Underwriter reports. Also has amazing photographs and drawings of the destruction. Plus fascinating descriptions of the history, practices and equipment up to that date. Local history done right.

So far I'm the only LT member with this book in my library. That should change.
.................

Oh, I'm reading other stuff too. Deep into Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. Love it.

nancy> I'm haunted by the loneliness of the main character. Yes. The characterization was well done, and what a price to pay for being "helpful."

I am still reading The Stone Diaries but should finish it in the next day or so. Parts of it are good but others are just meh. I wish I could say better things about it.

edited to add: Thanks, Richard, for starting the thread this week!

#11: I love Anne of Green Gables. I've read it several times. I read The Elegance of the Hegehog for book club. I'll be curious to see what you think of it. It got many great reviews but I didn't necessarily agree. I do remember a lot of it though, which says to me that it was well written. Enjoy!

Oh, and I'm still reading Roses by Leila Meacham. It's pretty good and I'm moving through it pretty quickly. I just got to a major shift in the plot and I'm excited to see how it plays out.

I started reading in earnest the last of a series about Ireland by Thomas Flannagan titled End of the Hunt. I started reading this series years ago with Year of the French which was good, and then loved Tenants of Time which was very very good and one of my all time favorites. In that book nothing happened but everything happened. I had been wanting to read End of the Hunt for so long and finally am getting around to doing so. It is a very bleak look at the rise of the IRA and eventually the declaration of the Irish Republic. Very good writing.

I am also reading Philosopher Fish. Over Thanksgiving I visited the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga and was intrigued with the sturgeon on exhibit there. I knew I had this book on my shelves at home and immediately got it down and put it on the bedside table. I am just started on it and am so far liking what I am reading about sturgeon in American waters. It might even make me find and read John McPhee Founding Fish even though that is about Shad and not Sturgeon. I have to admit that every time I read about what we have done to the fish in this world it makes me sick. That feeling started when I read Cod by Mark Kurlansky and so far what I have read hasn't changed the way I look at our thoughtless rape of the waters of this world.

I am listening to Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician in the car. Daniel Wallace is an Alabama author and I haven't read anything by him so thought it was time to at give him a listen. So far so good. Very different kind of book for me. It is about small time circuses and the people who people them.

11: I love Anne of Green Gables, and I read (or reread) Emily of New Moon recently which was also excellent. I also enjoyed The Elegance of the Hedgehog a couple of months ago.

44: I thought Roses was quite an enjoyable quick read - I'm on the reviewer list for a magazine and website but you have to list 3 books in preference order and I think 2 of the 3 they've sent me have been my 3rd choice.

I put away Wallenstein's Camp, the first play in Schiller's trio Wallenstein, last night and read the first act off The Piccolomini. We claim to be discussing these in Le Salon...

Robert

I finished Madness: A Bipolar Life. These books on mental illness seem most appropriate after the shooting in Tucson yesterday. Now I start on Flawed Dogs: The Novel: The Shocking Raid on Westminster. Maybe better to read about dogs for now, though it starts with a 3 legged dachshund being placed in a fighting ring with a pit bull. It must get better than that.

After longer than I thought probable, I finally finished Cutting for Stone, which I liked a lot. I'm thinking about picking up The Glass Castle for a reread after having read Half-Broke Horses in November. Or perhaps Laura Lippman's Life Sentences, Kate Morton's The Distant Hours, or Chris Bohjalian's Secrets of Eden. Any recommendations?

I finished Digging to America, 2007 Orange prize shortlist by Anne Tyler. Overall, I was underwhelmed by the book. I have posted my comments on my 11 in 11 and Orange January threads.

Next up is A Murderous Procession, book four in Ariana Franklin's Mistress of the Art of Death series.... I need some historical escapism right now and this should fit the bill perfectly.

#36--No, Retropelocin, I haven't, but I have a friend who might have them. I'll ask him. Right now I'm working on:

Summer by Edith Wharton
Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh
In Pursuit of the proper sinner by Elizabeth George
Saving life of Christ by Ian Thomas
Living is easy by Dorothy West

#40 -- Yes, I did enjoy it. Some chapters/"stories" more than others, but overall I did enjoy it.

#45-benitastrnad,

I loved Thomas Flanagan's series of Irish historical novels: Year of the French, The Tenants of Time and End of the Hunt.

Finished The Big Burn by Timothy Egan.
Didn't live up to the brag. When Egan is writing about the Bitteroot Mountains or the actual fire of 1910 he is spot on. The weakest parts of the book are his attempt @ a capsule biography of Gifford Pinchot and trying to set the fire in a national political context. In addtion, the final chapter is not only a soapbox, but feels like padding. I didn't learn much that I didn't already know as folktales growing up in the area.

The publishing industry's lust for lurid subtitles continues undiminished, "Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America" is completely overblown. The fire may have saved the US Forest Service but even Egan admits in the final chapter that big business returned to the woods with a clear cut vengence less than 25 years later.

Started Ivan Doig's latest novel, Work Song.

Lucy was just a quickie, unlike my next one The Man Who Loved Children. I can't believe it's taken me so long to get round to this one but I'm 80% enjoying it so far. The other 20% is the parts where the father talks that stupid baby talk, which is driving me round the bend. If it's supposed to make me dislike him it's working but I'm not completely sure I'm going to be able to stand another 500 pages of it - encouragement needed please!

I am still reading The Fall by Guillermo del Toro. I started work again this morning, so my reading is picking up again. And I am so enjoying planning my reading year. I love thinking about the wonderful books I will read...

54: I don't know if I can offer encouragement - I'd like to reread The Man Who Loved Children - for some reason last time I read it incredibly slowly - other books on the go - and it took months and months and I have such a poor memory I'd probably already forgotten the first chapters by the time I got to the last. Sam is one of the most loathsome characters in fiction and the title is deeply ironic, in case you haven't noticed yet.

#56 It's nice of you to try anyway, thanks. It may take a bit more than that to keep me going the way things are looking at the moment. I have heard great things about this book so I hope someone who loved it will come and give me lots of good reasons to keep going.

I finished The Black Prism by Brent Weeks and started Cartomancy by Mary Gentle.

I finished Roses by Leila Meacham late last night. It's a pretty good read. It's a hefty 600+ page book, but it reads quickly and just as you start to slow down something happens that picks up the pace again. It's a multi-generational story with secrets and romance. I rated it 4 stars. I am now going to jump on the Hunger Games bandwagon and start that tonight

Still reading The Three Musketeers, but will probably finish it tonight. Someone in last week's thread mentioned that they loved this book. I'm enjoying it a lot.

Still reading Life by Keith Richards. I love the chatting sort of style of writing. It feels like he is right there and chatting with you.

I have started The call of the wild by Jack London today.

I started The Distant Hours by Kate Morton and got sucked right in by a mysterious letter, twin sisters, a jilted lover, and an old, decaying castle. Could there be anything more gothic? So far it's delicious!

# 44: So far, I really like Anne of Green gables. Too bad I never read it as a child; I would've loved it. I quite enjoyed The Elegance of the Hedgehog, but not nearly as much as some reviews I've seen.

Fledgling was good sci-fi, and I've moved on to its sequel Saltation.

I'm also reading Machine of Death edited by Ryan North, an interesting collection of stories premised on a machine that gives accurate but Delphic predictions of how death will happen to the user.

I am still reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel Slowly reading this book. Hopefully by next week I will be reading a new book.

I'm rereading Pippi Longstocking, as I've wanted to do for a long time, but this time in French as Fifi Brindacier, which is fun.

Just finished THE RAZORS EDGE - W. SOMERSET MAUGHA.
1/8/11 Loved this book have been meaning to read it for sometime glad I finially did!
Am now currently reading THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN-GARTH STIEN. So far I am enjoying reading from the dogs point of view.

I'm reading The Vampire Chronicles (leatherbound classics) by Anne Rice. I'm nearing the end of Interview with the Vampire and will soon begin The Vampire Lestat. After that, Queen of the Damned.

#67 RAZOR'S EDGE--a great book indeed. One of the few books I read decades ago yet recall as if I finished it last week. Check out our "friends of Maugham" group, Cheryl, if you want to comment or learn more about this great writer.

#68 Savor INTERVIEW and LESTAT--it's as good as this series gets--fortunately, that's pretty good.

I finished The Fall and have now started on The Picture of Dorian Gray

#70 Oooo, I love The Picture of Dorian Gray!

#70, 71 Ditto. DORIAN GRAY was great. Makes you regret Wilde didn't write more novels and novellas.

Just finished The Heart Specialist and very much enjoyed it - historical fiction about one of the first female physicians in Canada. I've now started into a non- fiction historical book
Digging for Gold :Striking it Rich in the Klondike.It seems to be lively reading so far. Opps - touchstones don't appear to be working for my second book right now.

I finished The Picture of Dorian Gray and really liked it. Very nice :D On my way home I will start Norwegian Wood. I love reading a lot again (I can only to it while commuting)...

I am 160 pages into Cloud Atlas and really enjoying it! What a master of language(s) Mitchell is. I will try to make the discussion group before I leave out of the country for a couple weeks!

Anyone have any "have to read" suggestions for Nook download for an absurdly long plane ride(s)? I was thinking of Just Kids, The Invisible Bridge, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and The Warmth of Other Suns for a nice mix. Could use another novel though (for reference, Freedom was my favorite novel of the year ... unfortunately, a surprising amount is NOT available on the Nook, namely from my two favorite publishers - NYRB and Europa Editions, sniff sniff.

If it's something longish you're after (I loved Cloud Atlas too so I'm hoping that says something about shared tastes) one of my favourite doorstops in the past few years has been Shantaram - a well-written page turner about life in the seedy bits of India. I don't know the other books you mention but I hope this one would fit in well with almost anything -it's depressing and heart-warming in turns and I couldn't put it down. It would also be quite handy to bring down any hijacker you happen to encounter if you decided to take the hard copy version (ah, the disadvantages of e-readers!)

Booksloth, I LOVED Shantaram ... it is in my top ten of all time, for sure. So you are absolutely on the right path. I would love something longish as I'm a fairly fast reader. Thanks so much for taking the time - great suggestion.

Ooh, now you've got me going - how about some Robertson Davies? My favourite is The Deptford Trilogy but I'm afraid it's one of those books that is almost impossile to describe. I'm going to sneak into your library and take a look at what you already have. Back in a minute.

ETA - Oh boy, don't we share some great books! How about some more Joyce Carol Oates? My own favourites are We Were the Mulvaneys, though that one's pretty upsetting so might not be ideal but I'd also recommend Blonde and My Sister, My Love if you fancy something based on true events.

I see you have also enjoyed The Hour I First Believed and I'd highly recommend either She's Come Undone or I Know This Much is True by the same author as pretty un-put-downable.

And you gave 4 stars to The Pillars of the Earth so you'd have to enjoy its equally great sequel, World Without End.

Something slightly out of left field (and based mainly on the fact that you have The Quincunx - how about The Name of the Rose by Eco or An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears, both terrific historical crime stories that require a couple of quiet hours on a plane to really appreciate them.

And one final suggestion, simply because I think we have fairly similar tastes and this book is long and also one of my all-time favourites for snuggling into, have you ever tried The Madness of a Seduced Woman by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer? Another historical one and one I return to every few years for sheer pleasure.

Thanks for giving me the chance to do what I love best - how I wish 'recommending books' was a job you could get paid for doing! And have a great flight - anywhere nice?

Finished Yucatan before and after the conquest, by Diego de Landa, which completes my pre-travel study before taking off for Mexico next week. De Landa’s book is a really interesting account of the Mayan culture at the time of the Spanish conquest. Unfortunately, he’s the same friar who organized the burning of all the written records of that culture.

Before heading to the Yucatan beaches, we’re taking three days in Mexico City. Tuesday will be for touring the Museo Nacional de Antropologia; Wednesday a day tour to Teotihuacán. We’ve got one more day, does anyone have any must-see recommendations in Mexico City?

Finished Benchley Beside Himself, wonderful! Started The Talmadge Girls by Anita Loos. I need a few more pages before deciding whether I should stick with it.

I finished Wallenstein last night for discussion at Le Salon... Then I started Feast of the Goat for a translated book challenge in Club Read (but Wallenstein should count equally) and for discussion at my church book group in February.

Robert

I finished and reviewed Kate Atkinson's fabulous detective novel Case Histories. Now I'm reading The White Family by Maggie Gee.

>78 Booksloth: Booksloth: I loved The Deptford Trilogy.

I've finished and posted a review for Southern Storm by Terri Blackstock. BLECH! See review for details.

I've already started and am greatly enjoying The Ten Thousand by Michael Curtis Ford. Ah, so much better.

I finished Stewart O'Nan's The Circus Fire -- a book that made me admire the author even more than I did before.

Now I'm into Alan Furst's The Spies of Warsaw.

Just finished Green Mansions and am in the middle of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Thought it would be good after finishing 84 Charing Cross Road.

#75: CarolynSchroeder, How about Lonesome Dove? It's long, it's available on Nook and it's a wonderful, involving book. I bet you'd like it.
Or, going in another direction, The Blind Assassin, Atwood at her best - why oh why hasn't she won a Nobel Prize?

Finished The Shotgun Rule by Charlie Huston. Intense and dark, was really good. Wouldn't want to read to may of these at one time though.Reading Arctic Circle by Arnaldur Indridason. I may be up for awhile this evening. A real great read.

#82 And I loved The White Family - what great taste we have!

Finished Tinkers by Paul Harding and am now halfway through Ian McEwan's Saturday. Quite a change of pace!

Thank you SO MUCH for the suggestions friends! Most of them I have read and loved, but a few I am not familiar with! So I will explore those! My non fiction is loaded and ready to go, but always like a nice fiction escape, especially on the way back to reality. Yes, going somewhere fun - two week safari in Tanzania (from Chicago, so it's like 16 air hours each way - Chicago to Amsterdam; Amsterdam to Arusha)! It's a trip of a lifetime ... going with my Dad (Kindle guy, lol) and my Sister (purist - no e-reader).

Carolyn- Sounds like a blast! When are you leaving?

I'm still deeply immersed in Unbroken. I'm no soothsayer but this will be somewhere at the top of my best reads of the year.

Another reminder, we are doing a Group Read of Cloud Atlas, which begins on Saturday. Anyone else interested, stop by: right here

I finished The Hunger Games, which was excellent. It definitely met my expectations. I am going to start The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton today for my book club.

MSF59 I just started Unbroken glad to read your note, have been looking forward to this read!

Working on Ilium by Dan Simmons.

Just finished Matterhorn...WOW! I am still reading Fingersmith and I am about to start reading A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami, one of my favorite authors!

I am currently reading Hungry Planet and Death Instinct by Jed Rubenfeld which is my ER book for November. Liking both.

Hello there!
Still reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and Musik (nor touchstone) by Thomas Meinecke.
Can anyone suggest me a good book to start with when reading Murakami? I heard so many good things about him and just thought I could add one to my wishlist at BookMooch to try him out one day.

#78 The Name of the Rose is one of my all time favorites!. I am still reading Lady Audley's Secret feels like a breath of fresh air after the suffocating Wuthering Heights. Whew!

Finished and was impressed by Methland and began The Magicians by Lev Grossman which I know has caused varied reactions among readers. So far, I'm enjoying it. I am neither a Rowling nor Lewis purist, however. I think the riffing on those books is clever and fun. Remains to be seen if I like it the rest of the way through as I understand that is where many people's troubles began.

I have started another two books to close out the week, Rise To Victory by R. Cameron Cooke and Pretty Birds by Scott Simon. I don't know where I got the idea that Rise To Victory was a continuation of his WW II submarine story, imagine my surprise when I started reading and found myself on a nuclear sub. He writes good, thrilling stories so I think I will enjoy this one anyway.

Pretty Birds is about the Bosnian war and tells the story of a young, female sniper in Sarajevo.

I finished Norwegian Wood, very nice. I will start Matter tomorrow morning.

I am reading The Clockwork Angel

#97 Tallulah_Rose

I loved Kafka on the Shore. If you like magical realism or books that make you think in weird ways try this one. I also read Norwegian Wood but didn't like that one as well. It is much more sedate than is Kafka. But the really neat thing about Murakami is the way he integrates music (and symbolism) into all of his books. Check out his official web site. There are some great links to his books and you can find play lists of all the music mentioned in his books. Maybe something you see on the web site about one or more of his books will speak to you and you will know which book to read.

Just picked up Pretend You Don't See Her by Mary Higgins Clark to listen to in the car.

I just finished A Three Dog Life. I think people who have had someone close to them deal with brain injury would like it best.

I think now I'll read Luncheon of the Boating Party.

I finished Private by James Patterson on Monday (first read for 2011).

Now I've started The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

Mr Cricket-Driven to Succeed by Michael Hussey. So far, so good.

There was some discussion in Feminist Theory about Murakami's being misogynist and that his female characters are either absent or exist only to yearn after and reflect the males. Can't say from personal experience as I have not read him.

I find Murakami's females to be very androgynous. Very interesting but distant. However, there was a very strong female lead in Norwegian Wood who was also very independent minded. In that book I thought it was the male lead who existed only to yearn. She was the only character I liked in that book. Kafka was a totally different kind of book. I really liked that one. If I had read Norwegian Wood first I am not sure that I would have liked Murakami as much as I do.

Carolyn> Have a fantastic journey! I'm jealous.

Divinenanny> I'm glad you liked Norwegian Wood. I loved that book.

As for Murakami being a misogynist, sometimes I think feminist critics are looking for bones to pick. And I say that as a feminist. Murakami is male, so I'm sure he feels more comfortable writing from the male perspective, but his short story collection, After the Quake had some beautifully drawn female characters in it.

I finished Life of Pi yesterday and am now 18 pages into Cloud Atlas. Seems like my reading is dovetailing oddly - cannibals, human teeth... & yes, I'll be joining the group read.

HI everyone, I'm reading Oogy, a story about a dog and The Lost Dogs, story about Michael Vick's dogs and their rescue.

I haven't read A Three Dog Life yet but I have it on my bookshelf and am looking forward to reading it.

Just starting The Colony of Unrequitted Dreams.

Don't forget the classic The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle as a good starter Murakami. It was my first and I am hooked (I even liked Norwegian Wood without the magical realism). LT people even said to me that Murakami doesn't get much better than Wind-Up, but I loved Kafka and Norwegian Wood also.

#103, 110, 114: Thank you for you suggestions. I will definitely have a go to Murakami's website. As Kafka on the Shore and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle are the most familiar to me I will probably start with one of these.

I just finished Lord Jim. It's been 20 years since I last read this book, and I still find it stunning.

I am reading several books at the moment The Witch of Blackbird Pond which is a young adult book.The Forever Queen by Helen Hollick, Stupid American History and Stupid History by Leland Gregory, The Scarlet Pimpernel. I have Room on hold at the library but there are about 190 people ahead of me. So it will be a bit before I get to it. I think I have enough on my plate now anyway.

This morning I picked up Collected Stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I have read a couple of his novels so know I will enjoy these.

I read Kafka on the Shore and have to say, it had wonderful moments and horrid moments, but enough of a balance that I would pick another up by Murakami. You ran read my review if you care to, I tried to be really honest about how bizarre that book is, yet let the uniqueness and richness of parts of it show.

NOOK PEEPS: I'm not sure if this happens a lot or what, but there is a free novella today by David Vann that looks kind of interesting called "Sukkwan Island" (no touchstones) - takes place on an island off the Bering Sea ~ about a man who goes back 30 years to confront his father's suicide/legacy. Might be interesting. Free is good :)

Okay, crossing over halfway into Cloud Atlas and still loving it. Not as entranced by the future stories but I'm not a big sci fi fan, so that stands to reason. But the great writing and intrique is carrying me through. SHOULD get done by Sat. for discussion, maybe.

I was distracted by other things for awhile, so I'm still reading Inventing George Washington, although I hope to finish that soon. The other things I'm working on are Freedom, for a month-long readalong and Under the Mercy Trees by Heather Newton on my Nook.

So far of the three, I'm definitely preferring Under the Mercy Trees. I'm only 50 pages into Freedom so far and, while I can admire Franzen's writing, I sort of hate the book. Inventing George Washington is fairly good, but there's something a little unsophisticated about the writing.

I am reading Little Women, sadly for the very first time. *Falling in love*!!!!

I've already read Star Trek 3 by James Blish and Sherlock Holmes: Ten Literary Studies by Trevor Hall this week, and now I'm reading Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance by Gyles Brandreth. I can't say I'm terribly impressed with its treatment of Oscar Wilde's sexuality so far (although I had been warned about this ahead of time) and I kind of regret buying the whole series, but it's going very quickly so I'll probably finish it anyway.

#90-CarolynSchroeder,

Of course, I have to throw in my fiction recommendations:

The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson

City of Theives by David Benioff

Sigrid Undset's Kirstin Lavransdatter trilogy.

The short stories of V.S. Pritchett.

If you are going to read The Name of the Rose, you will profit by having The Key to The Name of The Rose by Adele J. Haft at hand. It translates all of the latin phrases and gives historical bacground not provided in the novel.

I'm finally reading Tolkein's Fellowship of the Rings. It's a good week for reading--everything is shut down from snow and ice. I'm thinking of downloading Matterhorn to my ipad--has anyone read that?

I love Murakami's books and, other than the newish one on running, have now read all of them (except the two(?) early ones not published in English). Can't see any misogyny at all in his work, and I'm married to a feminist and raised one. Surrealism, yes.

I'm about to start a Walter Mosley I haven't read featuring one of his best characters, Socrates Fortlow, called The Right Mistake.

Finished a couple books earlier this week:
-Crimes and Punishment: A Pictorial Encyclopedia of Aberrant Behavior Vol II (Touchstone not available)
Its an old book I picked up at a library sale and has been collecting dust for awhile. I'm sorting through all my books now and this is one I wanted to read and get rid of.

Then read Dawn over Doomsday. It was enjoyable, for some reason I have been into "End of the World" fiction recently.

Started reading The Forgotten Garden last night. Its actually pretty good! It's one of a handful I got at Books A Million that were buy 2 get 1 free.

Also reading The Walking Drum which is one of my alltime favorite books. I think this is like...my seventh reread of it.

#124, Matterhorn was my best read for 2010. I gave it 5 Stars. I haven't heard of anyone that has disliked it.

I'm reading Empire Falls by Richard Russo for my real-life book group. I kind of hate it (the book, not the group). It is one of those "decline of an American town" books and it isn't at all interesting.

#126: Mellysw

I have just started the The Forgotten Garden as well! It is pretty good. I'm getting drawn into it very easily. Happy reading!

>DMO- I second Cindy! Matterhorn was also my favorite book of last year.

I finished Unbroken. This is a great book! Read immediately! I also started the audio of Angelology and it begins very well.

I'll join in with Cindy and Mark - Matterhorn was the best book I read in 2010 as well.

I finished and reviewed Maggie Gee's The White Family. Excellent. Not sure what I'll read next but I do have Unbroken on my shelf. Or possibly Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. Or maybe The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker which seems to be calling my name.

#126 mellysw & #129 bbleil

Forgotten Garden was one of my top reading picks of last year. Enjoy it and if you like it read Possession by A. S. Byatt because it has stories in it that are much the same in flavor as those in Forgotten Garden. You could also read American Gods by Neill Gaiman because it has the same type of stories in it. And of course you can then read or reread The Secret Garden because it is so relevant to Forgotten Garden.

#128 jfetting

I liked Empire Falls, keep reading and give it a chance to grow on you. The main character in it is a honey and I ended up liking him very much before the book was done.

#133 brenzi

Unbroken is the first book I finished in 2011 and I absolutely fell in love with the life of the incredible Louie Zamperini...I highly recommend it.

At the beginning of the week I finished up Ann Fortier's Juliet and now I am thoroughly enjoying Inside of a Dog:What Dogs See, Smell and Know, by Alexandra Horowitz. As a dog owner/lover, this is right up my alley.

Finished The Talmadge Girls by Anita Loos. Don't bother, it has very little about the Talmadges. But it was only 135 pages long and I was mostly interested in the silent film script at the end of the book anyways.

About one quarter of the way into Parnassus on Wheels and really enjoying it.

I finished The Blind Assassin and am glad I finally got around to reading this winner, though the reader just wants to shake the narrator of the story at times, a situation the narrator acknowledges.

I've finished all but one of the books I was reading at the start of the week, so here's what I'm now reading:

Gianrico Carafiglio, Involuntary Witness
A crime novel I bought some years ago, although I'm reading a library copy because its easier than finding my own. Southern Italy - a defence lawyer takes on what seems like a hopeless case - a Senegalese man has been arrested for the murder of a child he'd befriended. Guido believes in his innocence but doesn't believe that, with the system and prejudice as it is, he can save his client.

Kate Harrison, The Secret Shopper's Revenge
Chicklit, and a really fun read so far. Bookmooch acquisition. I've been sent the sequel to this (and another free book) with forms to fill on with my ratings for a project. 3 women from very different backgrounds find themselves working as a team for a mystery shopping firm to assess the behaviour of shop workers towards them.

Denis Mackail, Greenery Street
Persephone reprint of a 1925 novel about a young couple's first year of married life. Witty but the author tells enough that you can draw your own conclusions and then decides that you might have missed the point so tells you anyway, a bit irksome at times.

Ellie Levenson, 50 Campaigns to Shout About
ARC for review for New Books Mag - the book gives reasons for a campaign existing and why people should join it, how to get in touch with the campaign, and talks to existing workers and volunteers in the campaigns, including being nice to refugees, the living wage. I'm reading it the way I am because I need to review it, it's the sort of book you'd normally browse/use for reference/read selectively rather than straight through.

Veronica Henry, The Beach Hut
Another chicklit novel, freebie sent to me with The Secret Shopper Unwrapped to comment on/rate.

ed Tim McLoughlin, Brooklyn Noir
Akashic anthology

> 121 Ohdani.

Isn't Little Women wonderful? Be sure, though, to keep some Kleenex nearby!

I finished Book Lust to Go by Nancy Pearl and The Problem Child by Michael Buckley on audio, both completed yesterday. I also squeezed in Duty and Desire by Pamela Aidan earlier this week.

Still listening to Magyk and reading A Whole New Mind, as mentioned above.

I'm about ready to start a new fiction read, but can't quite decide between The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, Mudbound, or The Knife of Never Letting Go. (I'm leaning towards the first since it's due back at the library on Tuesday, but hoping to fit in all three this month.)

Finished Lady Audley's Secret somewhat surprising and enjoyable. I will be posting a review. Just started Recollections of Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

I finished Cloud Atlas and hope to join the discussion.

Now reading (on Nook) Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly and loving it. In fact, I'm not getting anything else done.

I'm reading Left Neglected by Lisa Genova and enjoying it very much. It is easy to read and good thing, as my mother is in surgery for a broken hip!

Just finished Heat Wave by Richard Castle and Turnabout by Margaret Peterson Haddix. I am now reading my SantaThing book, Soul of Iran by Afshin Molavi, as well as Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Well, I finished The Man Who Loved Children. Can't say it'll be one of my books of the year. I don't usually have to like the characters in order to enjoy a book but I do need enough common ground to make it apparent that we are at least of the same species and I didn't find that here. On the other hand, if Stead's intention was the perfect portrayal of the most utterly selfish, manipulative and emotionally stunted man I've ever read about then she did a very fine job indeed. It could still benefit from being a coupla hundred pages shorter, though.

I should be getting back to study books now but I'm just squeezing in what looks like a quick and easy read, Dark Matter by Michelle Paver.

Thanks, all! I am downloading Matterhorn now.

Last night I started Haunch, Paunch and Jowl. Published in 1923, originally as "An Anonymous Autobiography," this stream-of-consciousness novel of the immigrant Jewish experience in the sweatshops of New York's Lower East Side was actually written by Samuel Ornitz. In doing an internet search about this book, I found a fascinating column on Ornitz by none other than Harvey Pekar, published on the website Metroactive.com in 1997.

Pekar's column begins thusly:

"IF ANYONE remembers Samuel Ornitz at all today, it's as a screenwriter who was one of the Hollywood 10; his reputation as a novelist didn't survive the 1920s. Despite the neglect, Ornitz is a significant literary figure whose work deserves to be kept in print and read by anyone who cares about the evolution of the American novel.

Born in 1890, Ornitz is a link between Yiddish-speaking, foreign-born American novelists such as Anzia Yezierska and Abraham Cahan, who were mainstream stylists, and the daring Jewish fiction writers of the 1930s: Daniel Fuchs, Nathanael West and Henry Roth.

Ornitz belonged to a forgotten avant-garde movement that employed stream-of-consciousness techniques before the 1922 publication of James Joyce's Ulysses brought the method to general attention."

The rest of the column in here: http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/08.14.97/cover/lit6-9733.html
It's quite interesting!

#147 Fascinating article, Jerry, thanks for bringing it to our attention. I had heard of many of the authors in Pekar's article--Fuchs, West, Roth, Gold, etc.--but not Ornitz. Sheds new light on AMERICAN SPLENDOR's Pekar also.

Yes, I am putting Matterhorn on my reading list too!

Dark Matter has kept me reading all afternoon. It must be incredibly hard to write a ghost story that isn't predictable, the formula is so tight, but this one did produce some very creepy moments and there were parts that will stick with me for a long time.

I'm going for a reread next, of the book that's been behind a lot of conversations here lately - The Crimson Petal and the White. Not only is it one of my all-time favourite books but it has definite echoes of Jane Eyre and I think it's going to be the ideal choice for comparisons in my next assignment, due in a couple of weeks.

#150 A little push was all it took, B. How many times have read CRIMSON so far?

#150 Please let us know what you think of the reread of Crimson. Does it still hold up? I was enthralled with it when I read it a while back.

New thread is up here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/107511

#150 and 152: A well-liked novel that hints of Jane Eyre? I'm adding The Crimson Petal and the White to my list. Thanks Booksloth!

#151/152 I think this is probably the 6th time. It's still great!

#154 It doesn't latch on to the JE themes until around 300 pages in but it's a wonderful journey getting there.

ETA - I wonder if Michel Faber has the slightest idea how much commission he owes me? And Tim Minchin. (I mean Tim owes me commission too, not that MF owes me and Tim.)

I'm sure both checks are in the mail.

Oh no, that'll mean more books!

I've finished Saturday. I'm about to start G. by John Berger which won the Booker in '72. Based on the many reviews I've read, should be an interesting read!