What Are You Reading the Week of 18 June 2011?

I can't find a birthday for today, 18 June. Ideas?


June 19: Salman Rushdie

June 20: Catherine Cookson

Catherine Aird

Annette Curtis Klause

June 21: Ian McEwan
Solstice boy...oh my little Solstice boy...I'll be true to yooooouuuuuu

June 22: Dan Brown

H. Rider Haggard

Octavia Butler


June 23: Michael Shaara

June 24: Mercedes Lackey

Lawrence Block

Fred Hoyle

Pete Hamill

...oh my little Solstice Boy!....good one!

>2 mkboylan: ;->

Light in August & Pirate Latitudes.......

Thanks for getting us off to another good start, Richard!

I'm still reading The Falcon at the Portal by Elizabeth Peters, which I hope to finish up today so I can move on to the next in the oh-so-fun Amelia Peabody series!

They are all so fun, and I love them all, but this one has had some twists and surprises with character developement that have made it extra enjoyable.

I am reading the young-adult Shiver, which I'm not too sure about. Maybe it will mean more to me as I read further into it. I'm also reading a biography of Louisa May Alcott, The Woman Behind Little Women and I'm listening to The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard. I got stuck in weekend traffic and didn't mind so I think it's going pretty well.

Thanks, Richard. Still reading Bismark, A Life, an ER book Very Bad Men by Harry Dolan now one of my favorite authors, and Man's Fate by Andre Malraux.

I'm reading The Magnetic North: Notes from the Arctic Circle by Sara Wheeler. Should I admit that I like to vacation in the Arctic Circle?

I am still reading In the Company of a Courtesan and really enjoying it. I just haven't had a lot of time to read (work, marathon training and such). I did make it to a phenomenal used book sale and picked up a lot of ARCs and some international literature (which I love - Italy, Mexico and a couple African authors). Good times.

Thanks for the kick off Richard.

@3 - Ha! and I was wondering if it is ok on this forum to say roflmao if I left out the second f! Didn't know you were so advanced with emoticons!

Just finished Making the Connection Between Brain and Behavior Coping with Parkinson's Disease by Joseph H. Friedman. One of my favorite Parkinson's books so far. My mom has Parkinson's and I can't wait for her to read this. She continually feels guilty because she thinks she should be handling it better and I hope this book will help. She handles it VERY well, but this book examines the connections between Parkinson's and feelings of guilt, depression, anxiety, indecisivessness (can't decide how to spell that!) and brain issues. That is, does PD itsel fcause the guilt and depression, or are they a reaction to dealing with the physical symptoms. Great book and I hope it will be helpful for many. If you or someone you care about has Parkinson's, check it out. oh wait wait! Especially intersting - it addresses the fact that some people with PD who have been lifelong readers, like my mom, no longer enjoy reading - such a big loss at a time when she can rarely get out. - some associated problems effecting reading - tremors, difficulty turning pages, difficulty staying awake, soft speech that makes it hard to discuss your reading with others (there are book groups where she is living). Now THAT hurts!

and now back to another relaxing little cozy by Cleo Coyle French Pressed, altho I'm getting a little bored with this series - reading too many in a row - need some more substance.

Finished Lost Girls. Started out quite well but ended decidedly ho-hum. I'm now trying to decide what to read for pleasure while struggling through the next study block which includes Genesis, Paradise Lost, Blake, The Art of Biblical Narrative, Heaven, Hell and the Victorians and the odd bit of Inferno. I think it needs to be something light.

Finished a short by Monaldi & Sorti, and am reading The Sparrow next, after all the recommendations it has gotten on here.

I'll be reading Middlemarch for a while. According to kndle, I am 30% of the way done after a week of reading. I am also reading Sister by Rosamund Lupton. If you're looking for a well done thriller this is a good one, so far.

Last night, my daughter and I watched a couple of very action oriented movies(we didn't realize) and afterwards, I was so very glad to get back to the civilized Middlemarch. No bombs, no grenades, no gunfire - thank god!

I'm reading my ARC now, which makes me happy. It's a YA paranormal adventure, verging on horror. Miss Perigrine's Home for Peculiar Children. It's filled with old Victorian photographs. Victorians are scary in their own right, yes?

Still reading Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.

ETA: Katie, I am looking forward to comparing notes with you on Miss Peregrine's! It is creepy......

Good set up Richard. I am starting the week off with The Serialist by David Gordon, nominated for an Edgar Award, it's shaping up to be a fantastic read. And for something light and extremely enjoyable, I am also reading Georgette Heyer's Friday's Child. Looks like it's going to be great reading week!

I'm about halfway through Secretariat by William Nack. This book is overflowing with horse racing information which is preventing me from getting through it quicker.

Currently reading The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck, but haven't made much progress in it today. Not that it's bad, I just can't seem to get myself motivated to do a whole lot right now.

Started Still Life With Crows last night and got about a third of the way in, having read till 1:30 a.m. because it is so good I didn't want to put it down to sleep!

Thanks for the good start, Richard. Octavia Butler and Mercedes Lacky, I feel that I should be reading science fiction/fantasy in their honor. But so far I'm sticking with Blood, Bones & Butter, Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead and listening to Unnatural Death, good reads all.

I'm reading Swedish thriller Kennedy's Brain by Henning Mankell. Mankell is the author of the Wallander books but I haven't read any of those yet, I've only seen an adaption of one starring Kenneth Branagh. After this it will be The Guernsey literary and potato peel pie society and then The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet or perhaps the other way round depending on how I feel. Playing it fast and loose with the books on the shelf!

14 - Packing Parallel Lives: Five Victorian Marriages by Phyllis Rose along with a million other books for a long vacation. I'll let you know about those scary Victorians!

I just finished A Special Providence which explores two lives, tangled together and damaged by twists of fate; the mother by men who deserted her, the son by war. They each had their coping mechanisms which often seemed to compound their difficulties. They were very well drawn portraits of likable sad people.

I followed a recommendation to read anything by Richard Yates. I'm glad I did. May read another in time.
Right now I plan to attack an ER Indigo: In Search of the Color That Seduced the World and A Visit from the Goon Squad.

RD- Nice job setting things up, as usual!

Kristy- We are currently running a Group Read on The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. There is still time to jump in. Let me know!

I'm reading Not My Daughter, I've only just started but am finding it hard to get into.

Richard is Paul McCartney and author of anything? If so he is 69 today 6/18! I just finished (finally)Cutting For Stone which was excellent and also The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society books, also excellent!! Next I am reading The Winter Sea.

I'm just starting He Shall Thunder in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters. I'm only on about pg. 10, but it;s off to a roaring start!

I just finished The Falcon at the Portal also by Elizabeth Peters.

I'm reading through the second half of the Amelia Peabody series this summer. (My Second Summer of Amelia Peabody), and am enjoying myself tremendously! The Falcon at the Portal is my favorite in the series yet! There were quite a few surprises!

I recently finished The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. Now reading A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny and Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson. Also STILL reading aloud Midnight Magic by Avi. Kind of ready to be done with that one.

Richard, both Gail Godwin and Jerzy Kosinski were born on 6/18.

I have discoverd a wonderful short story writer Alice Munro she specialises in short stories, and has received lots' of awards for them, she is Canadian and is classed as the best ever in this field. I am reading, and so enjoying Lives of Girls and Women. I was so lucky yesterday at my local library to find another of her's Hateship, friendship, courtship, loveship, marrriage.

Question? Do we have a current site for "new book purchases"??

I finished up Bismarck: A Life by Jonathan Steinberg this week. It was a very uneven book. It's strongest chapters dealt with Bismarck's early life, the Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian Wars and the final chapter on Bismarck's fall from power. The remaining chapters on his political career were weak and filled with over generalizations. I never got a feel for the issues and the political wrangling which must have been there.

I then read a short book called On Pain by Ernst Junger. It was interesting as a follow up to The Glass Bees which I read the previous week, but I wasn't overly fond of it.

Now I'm reading Blood Work: A tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution by Holly Tucker. It's a terrific book on the early history of blood transfusion experiments in the 17th century. Tucker is gifted writer who draws you into the world of scientific and medical experiments in London and Paris during the mid 17th century. I would highly recommend the book to others. But a word of warning. The book is unsparing in its descriptions of the vivisection experiments which lead to the unraveling of many of the secrets of anatomy during this time. If you are at all squeamish, you should probably avoid it.

30 hazeljune - Oh, you have so many wonderful Munro stories ahead of you. There's even a collection based on her family history called The View from Castle Rock. Enjoy, hazeljune.

Am reading mysteries by Robert Barnard, Margery Allingham and Douglas Clark. Also The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee.

I just finished watching The Lovely Bones, so now am going to have to read the book. Usually I do it the other way around, but this time the movie was good enough it made me want to read the book! Adding it to my wishlist!

I think this is the week I may finally get around to The Grapes of Wrath.

I finished and reviewed Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton. Reading some of the other reviews I can see that not everyone, possibly my sister for whom I bought the book, will like this woman. She's full of contradictions, she's very brash and unapologetic. If you know chefs or restaurant owners, you'll have an idea of what to expect before you read her book. I haven't read the original Mary Poppins but I've heard she's far from the sugary lady Disney made her out to be. Perhaps Gabrielle Hamilton is the foodie Mary Poppins. I'm very glad I read the book, and if my sister can't make it through, I'll have her give it back to me.

I finally decided on The Other Boy by Yvonne Cassidy. I think I've probably guessed the 'twist' already (50 pages in) but it's an enjoyable read and certainly makes a break form Paradise Lost.

>31 fredbacon: Blood Work sounds fascinating! Thanks for the tip, fredbacon!

I have a new HP computer and key board running Windows 7 and the touchstones don't work. Any suggestions. Thanks, David

I'm enjoying A Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell. It's part of a group read in the 75 books in 2011. What a ride! :)

Still reading Out There, but I'm almost finished. Also reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Once I finish Out There, I've got Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life, and Full Dark, No Stars. It's been a slow reading week for me...I'm hoping things will pick up over the next few days.

I'm reading Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison and The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You by S. Bear Bergman

#36 Citizen Joyce - I am stuck in a rut toward the end of the audiobook. The last thing I liked was the contrast between Hamilton's morning appearance on Martha Stewart and her plunging her hand down a fat-clogged drain to begin dinner service. I agree with your description. As you say, being familiar with the food biz, I was not surprised by her personality. What I enjoyed most was her childhood and early years as a cook.

nbsp, I hope you'll continue reading (or rather, listening). As her life is unraveling in Italy it seems her cooking just gets better. What an overpowering woman Hamilton is. Speaking of which, after comparing her to Mary Poppins, I decided I should see if there's really any similarity, so I've started the P. L. Travers book.

Citizenjoyce - Just the encouragement I needed. Thanks.

#32 mollygrace, you are so right, she is a joy to read. I found a great site with "Guardian", she is quoted as being "the greatest short story writer in the world", high praise indeed!!

BTW Have you read Jane Gardam's Old Filth and The Man In The Wooden Hat ? They are companion novels.

Finished Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and have posted a review on the book page. Overall quite good, keeping in mind that I found the first couple of chapters didn't marry up with the prologue that drew me in in the first place. Perseverance is the key to reward in this case ;-)

Next up is a historical fiction piece that grabbed my eye, Lesley Pearse's Belle.

I'm finishing up Cleopatra: a life by Stacy Schiff. She tells a good story, but since her references are so complicated and hard to follow (and not every statement along the lines of "someone said blah blah blah" attributes the blah-blah-blah to anyone), I feel like she is just making things up. But a good story, nonetheless, and Cleopatra is really, really interesting.

After that, I'm re-reading Wuthering Heights and starting a collection of short stories by Katherine Mansfield.

I read the first 60 pages or so of People of the Book last night. I liked March by her, but I so far think the writing in this later novel is awkward.

Robert

#30 NovaLee, Alice Munro is new to me, and to think that my neverending search for a short story writer has come to an end!! Again what joy!!!

I shall check with my local library as to their holdings of Alice's books, if no success I shall shop around online and purchase.

#50
I agree with you about these two Brooks novels. I thought March was better than People of the Book but it wasn't a bad book - just uneven.

I started Handmaid's Tale tonight for my book discussion group. Can't imagine why I haven't read this one before.

#38 Storeetllr, I saw Holly Tucker, the author of Blood Work, give a talk on CSPAN's BookTV a couple of weeks ago. She made the book seem so interesting, that I picked up my Kindle and bought it before she had even finished. I've not been disappointed.

Read The Crooked Hinge by John Dickson Carr, an overall very engaging mystery but the end is rather disappointing. My review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/73152618

Or my 75 Books Challenge thread,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/106099

47 Another friend recommended Jane Gardam's books to me a few months ago, and here you are, doing the same. So I've added them to my wish list -- which, at the rate I seem to be buying books lately, means I'll have them in my hands soon. I only wish I knew how I plan to pay for all these new books -- and, of course, the other problem, the everlasting problem -- where to put them? Shelf space ran out long ago.

50, 53 - March is still my favorite of Brooks' novels, too.

50 benitastrnad - I read The Handmaid's Tale the year it was published, and enjoyed it, though at the time I didn't quite see it as a cautionary tale.
But as the years have passed, I think of it more and more often -- sometimes I think we're almost there. It's chilling.

>54 fredbacon: Oh, nice to know Blood Work is on Kindle, Fred. I'll have to order the Kindle version next time I get a chance.

I'm slowly reading Alice in Wonderland on iBook, just a little bit of the weird and wonderful before I've been going to sleep!

53 - I've been hearing a lot about the Handmaid's Tale and will be adding it to my next to read list.

Finished, loved The Sparrow. Now I am reading The reluctant fundamentalist.

I'm in the middle of The First Husband by Laura Dave and am about to start China Mieville's new book, Embassytown.

#59 divinenanny

The Sparrow is a wonderful book! One of my all-time favorites. There is so much to think about in it. There is a sequel Children of God that sort of wraps up the story. It is as thought provoking in its way as the first and ties up all the lose ends. I recommend it as well.

>56 mollygrace: mollygrace

It's a relief to know someone else has found The Handmaid's Tale on their mind again. I, too, read it when it first came out and thought it was quite good(like most Margaret Atwood) but kind of unlikely.

Unfortunately, I don't find it nearly as surreal now as I did then.

I finished reading A Cafe on the Nile this weekend and can only say oh-my-God! What a ride! If you read White Rhino Hotel you have to read this one. It is more thrilling than the first and manages to throw in a great deal of under used historical material. Who has ever heard of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War let alone the first? I highly recommend this book. It is better than an Indiana Jones or James Bond movie.

I got a good start on Handmaid's Tale on Sunday night, but haven't read enough of it to know how prescient I will find it to be. I know that it has had an impact on just about everybody who has read it and talked to me about it so I am looking forward to reading it. My book discussion group decided on it and from what I hear it will be an interesting discussion coming as it does after Fahrenheit 451 on our roster.

That should be a good discussion - Farenheit 451 followed by The Handmaid's Tale is really intriguing to think about. The forms and effects of oppression come to mind.

Death Comes for the Archbishop was just great. What a writer she is. The passages describing the southwestern landscape are magical; I meant to quote one but forgot to bring the book.

Winterkill was another page-turner in C.J. Box's series featuring Joe Pickett. Yes, I'm hooked.

I'm near the end of Matterhorn, and it has been as remarkable as I expected from the raves of people like Mark and Richard.

Continuing to read Ulysses. Like being caught on the autobahn behind a circus caravan...sometimes you wish you could pass it and move on to something a little less challenging, but it's just so damn fascinating!

Currently reading Coraline by Neil Gaiman and The Unremembered by Peter Orullian. Having a hard time getting into The Unremembered. I guess because it's so different from what I typically read. Also trying to make my way through some member giveaway books that I received. Hopefully by the end of the week I will have dived into The Poisonwood Bible.

>59 divinenanny:, 61 Seconding the urging to read Children of God, though with a caveat not to expect the same level of amazing writing. Not that it's in any way *bad*, but it isn't as *inspired*-feeling. Gosh, don't let me put you off....

>64 jnwelch: There is a section in Death Comes... that I've always wanted to make into a movie: "The Bishop at Acoma" would be a beautiful, beautiful film.

It makes me happy that you've enjoyed the remarkable Matterhorn at least in part because I urged it on the world.

>61 benitastrnad:, 67, @benitastrnad & @richardderus I am not put off and I will keep my eye out for it, however, it took me a long while to find The Sparrow (I like finding books in real shops instead of cheating by ordering it online).... But it is on my list....

Went to the library today and picked up The Broken Circle by Shirley Wells and Sudden Genius. The former is a mystery by an author I don't know--I am desperate for a good mystery right now--and the latter looks at the creative periods of ten individuals. After reading some of the comments here, though, I may re-read The Sparrow and A Handmaid's Tale.

62: One of the really creepy things about The Handmaid's Tale is that Atwood set herself a rule when writing it that she would not include anything that had not *already been done to women* at some point in our history. So all of it is possible sadly. It just hasn't happened all at once ;) If you go to the Atwoodians group I think there is a link to an interview in the Handmaids thread.

Right now I am more than halfway through Alas Babylon and partway through To the Lighthouse. In non-fiction I am working through some investing books. Going to try to start reading a few books in French again this summer (Starting with easy to read cartoon books :P).

>70 Bcteagirl: she would not include anything that had not *already been done to women* at some point in our history

If THAT doesn't make you sick at your stomach over being human, don't know what would. Shaming, embarrassing fact.

#64 jnwelch -

Death Comes for the Archbishop is one of my favorite novels. I read it as we drove to New Mexico and finished it while in Santa Fe. What a rich story. I don't know how I only came to Willa Cather after 50 years of reading. My favorite was O Pioneers! Completely different from the Archbishop book in terms of landscape (Nebraska) and people (European immigrants).

I couldn't believe my luck in finding Matterhorn at a library sale recently. Now I can more realistically look forward to reading it.

#67 richardderus - Was Acoma the pueblo on the very high mesa that some folks made rather dramatic exits from? I hadn't thought of a film of that. I have many times wished for a film about Archbishop Lamy. After seeing the recent True Grit I'd love to see the Coens do it.

Citizenjoyce - I'm glad I persevered with Blood Bones and Butter. Hamilton's a speaker at a conference of women chefs and bristles at the panel's taking up the theme of Women are Better/Worse than Men in Doing (fill in the blank). I think I actually like this woman.

#59 Anxious to hear what you think of The Reluctant Fundamentalist. It's sitting on my to read pile of books. Perhaps I'll be motivated to get it out of the pile. The Sparrow was great. You should definitely read the sequel. Russell has since left that genre - I finished her latest novel not to long ago - Doc a novel about Doc Holliday. Am currently reading The Tourist Olen Steinhauer

>72 nbsp: It must have been amazing to read DCTTA while traveling in New Mexico and finishing it in Santa Fe! Makes me want to go there right now.

I'm envious of your inexpensive copy of Matterhorn. I want to own it in hardcover now, and hope I stumble on a similar low price.

>67 richardderus: Richard, I'd love to see a film of the Acoma part of the book. Other parts, too!

P.S. My Antonia remains my favorite of hers. So good! For me it stands out even in the elite company of DCTTA and O, Pioneers.

I finished Island in the Sky by Ernest K. Gann last night. It was really pretty good and stands the test of time, even tho it was written in 1944. I had forgotten about this author over the years and hadn't read anything of his, even tho he had been recommended to me way back in high school! It was a comment on my blog from the author of Wings! A Novel of WWII Flygirls, Karl Friedrich, that sent me looking for anything by Ernest K. Gann and the only thing I could find was Island in the Sky. I really enjoy when an author understands his/her subject so well that their writing puts you in the "scene" and allows you to feel the experience the characters are going through. I especially love when it involves flying! Something I love but never seem to have enough time or the money to pursue. But hey! I can live vicariously! :)

*touchstones not working very well for me today

#28 AMQS...What did you think of The Professor and the Madman? I loved it, and gave it to my uncle, and he loved it too. Trouble is, when you tell people, "It's a great book about the writing of the Oxford English Dictionary!" you tend to get pitying looks from them :-).

I'm still reading Tripwire by Lee Child and listening to Fool by Christopher Moore, which is a sort of parody, I guess, of "King Lear." Very funny, but then I like Moore's sense of humor.

Just wanted to add my huzzahs to the chorus of praise for The Sparrow, My Antonia, Death Comes for the Archbishop and The Handmaid's Tale, all amazing, unforgettable novels.

I finished Mary Poppins and definitely see a similarity between her and Gabrielle Hamilton. Mary Poppins is first cousin (once removed) to a king cobra (though the movie didn't show this). I'll bet there are many who would say the same thing about Hamilton. They're both vain extremely competent problem solvers who waste no time trying to be nice and who have little tolerance for laziness or ineptitude. They both leave people either smarting from an encounter with them or wishing with all their heart there could be more.

Now I'm on to Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente which won, I think the 2010, Lambda prize for science fiction. What a beautiful style she has. I can't believe I never heard of her before.

Wow, lots of great book talk! Yah! I finished and loved My Lucky Life. I highly recommend giving this one a try on audio. DVD does a masterful job narrating it.
On audio I finally started Old School by Tobias Wolff and it begins very well. Also read a nice chunk of The Sisters Brothers. I have to report the literary Western is alive & kicking. Hooray!
Back to the thousand Autumns Group Read tomorrow. It's also been excellent.

>80 AlaMich: AlaMich, I thought The Professor and the Madman was a great read! You're right about 'the look.' It's either that, or you can tell they're trying to figure out how not to become trapped in an excruciatingly dull conversation:)

Finished Very Bad Men by Harry Dolan. Love his writing, Will write a review and eventually buy his first novel. Good stuff.

>73 nbsp: nbsp This is Acoma:



>76 jnwelch: I've been mentally casting and shooting this movie for ~20yrs. Other parts, I haven't been able to see other parts as a movie. Elucidate for me which sections you're seeing?

#86 richardderus - Thanks for the photo - I am wondering if that is the place where people were thrown off if they crossed the priest.

I think Archbisop Lamy's entire journey would be interesting. I'll probably screw up lots of details because I'm going by memory. Mine's not the best. His journey to Santa Fe was terribly difficult - by train, then by wagon, I believe, then on horseback with a guide. It was a very rugged trip for a rather refined privileged man. At one point, it seems, they received messages from the east 3 months faster via northern Colorado than via the shorter Santa Fe Trail route. When he arrived he found conditions were primitive, both for him and for his parishioners. Then there were interesting background stories in the areas he oversaw as he visited each one. Remember Kit Carson and his rescue of the woman who was beaten by her...was it her husband. I loved learning how patient the bishop/archbishop was with the indians - how he learned to spend more time finding common areas of belief than condemning. For example, he learned that the indians revered nature as a feminine entity, so he encouraged their love for the virgin Mary. BTW, you can really see the veneration for Mary in the Santa Fe churches. In my memory there was quite an array of personality types in the priests that served under the archbishop. And, among the parishioners, too. And, remember the fundraising for the new church? The wealthy patrones who also helped when he became ill. In the end, it was truly a life fulfilled. And far more interesting (to me anyway) than most religious stories.

>87 nbsp: I spent many years in Texas, and we visited New Mexico a lot. I think the reason the book resonated with me as a young person was that I *knew* the countryside Cather wrote about like I knew my back yard. And the Bishop/Archbishop struck me as a man who, always and ever, did his level best to walk the talk, as we say nowadays.

The Acoma scenes are the ones where the Bishop visits a church in the pueblo that hasn't been used in some time, and through the magical honesty of his faith, draws the backsliding congregation to his worship. Now, I'm in no way shoae form or fashion a Christian, and I don't like the religion (or most of the others) much; but the story is beautiful, because it's about the power of sincerity and clarity and conviction to cross emotional and cultural boundaries. I think that's what'd make this section such a fabOO movie...plus the scenery is stunning.

>88 richardderus: Lucky you, 2 of my favorite places.

I'd watch your movie. I love the way you put this:

"And the Bishop/Archbishop struck me as a man who, always and ever, did his level best to walk the talk, as we say nowadays."

That's exactly how I saw him.

Started Ragtime today. So far, so good.

77, 86, 87 -- Have any of you read Paul Horgan's Pulitzer-Prize winning biography of the archbishop, Lamy of Santa Fe? Horgan was a writer of the southwest -- writing both fiction and nonfiction. His Great River: The Rio Grande in American History is also much admired. I first came to appreciate his work through his novels such as Whitewater and Mexico Bay.

I finished reading Trinity Six by Charles Cumming this weekend and am undecided about its quality. I like to read spy novels from time-to-time and this is a good spy novel. It has twists and turns and characters that I loved to hate. There is a devious old man, a loyal ex-retainer, along with the standard bad guys for a spy novel. The hero was a conceited academic who gets his comeuppance and learns fast enough to stay alive. At times I thought he was really stupid and as the reader it was clear he was out of his league, and his stubbornness caused lots of heartache among his friends and acquaintances. In the end his righteous indignation combined with that stubbornness saved the day and saved the book. It turned out it was a better than average spy novel and an author who can create a character who fails and then redeems himself is a good writer.

I gave up on Promiscuities and moved onto Valley of the Sun by Louis L'Amour.

I've finished and posted a review for John Steinbeck's The Moon is Down.

I'm not sure what I'll be reading next. I've started and stopped The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way twice, but I'm not that into it. My library had it catalogued in the nonfiction section, even though it's juvenile nonfiction. There are some interesting things in it but the writing screams 'intended for young teenagers.'

>91 mollygrace: mollygrace Lamy of Santa Fe looks very good, and I've never read it. I wondered how historically-based Death Comes for the Archbishop was, and your post helps answer that question.

>91 mollygrace: Oh wow and THANK YOU mollygrace! I'd never heard of the book, and now must possess it or my life will be over! (I get grabby and melodramatic where books are concerned.)

Finished A Feast For Crows by George R. R. Martin. Next up is Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi.

divinenanny, I liked both of those books a lot......

Did I mention Matterhorn was terrific? I finished it last night, and dreamt of scrambling for survival.

Now I'm a ways into a quite different Richard recommendation, The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen. My goodness, the author certainly has the voice right.

>99Like Matterhorn, you feel like you're *right*there*...only it's SO not like Matterhorn....

Hey guys! I've just started a new writers vlog called Dear Muse. Its meant to provide writing tips, story ideas and hopefully be creatively inspiring and entertaining as well. I'd LOVE for you all to check it out and see what you think. Thanks!

Sarah

95,96 - jnwelch and "grabby" -- Glad to be of help. I'm always glad to recommend the writing of Paul Horgan. I, too, tend toward the grabby and melodramatic where books are concerned, richardderus, so I'm especially pleased to have been introduced you to Horgan's biography of the archbishop.

#91 mollygrace - I didn't find Horgan's book when I was in New Mexico and meant to search for it later. Thanks for the reminder. I hadn't known he also wrote fiction. Definitely worth checking out, maybe for my next trip to NM.

Oh, and I finished another book that I (guiltily) liked: Notorious: The Life of Ingrid Bergman, reviewed in my thread...post #123.

Okay, this little marvy is a really amusing way to waste a half-hour. Helps you find your next read. Actually, it just makes wasting time a little more fun!

I finished and reviewed Lola Shoneyin's lovely debut novel The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives. Now I'm reading Helen Humphrey's The Lost Garden.

91 nbsp - Horgan wrote an autobiographical novel, Things as They Are that I'm very fond of. It's episodic -- sometimes you find it listed as an anthology of short stories -- about a boy growing up, becoming a man. Horgan writes beautifully -- lovely prose.

There is also a book of sixty of his watercolors, A Writer's Eye: Field Notes and Watercolors -- all of them done as studies for Great River, Conquistadors in North American History, and the Lamy biography.

I have a start on The Big Short by Michael Lewis. This is more on the folks who bet against the housing bubble. I like it and am informed by it through the first few chapters.

Robert

#107 mollygrace - I found Things as They Are at my library. But I was disappointed that I could find A Writer's Eye there. I'll definitely look out for it when I return to New Mexico. Thanks for the suggestions. I had no idea how prolific he was.

Just started The Ritual by Adam Nevill on a very reliable recommendation. One annoying point I have to mention is the constant changes of viewpoint between the characters. Aside from that, though, it's very creepy with an effective sense of dread that makes the book difficult to put down. Something really horrible's going to happen and I'm not sure I want to know what it is.

I've just started The Silver Blade by Sally Gardner. Enjoyed the first book, so hoping I will enjoy this one as well.

I started Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman today

I am heading into the end of In the Company of the Courtesan and while good and interesting historically, I never really warmed to the characters (the dwarf and the courtesan), so at times it's been a chore to pick back up. But Rome and Venice and its times (1520s-30s) is well worth the read.

I am not sure what is next. I picked up a stack at a recent used book sale and may start The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna.

108 I so enjoyed the big short. Learned a lot. I thought he did a good job of clarifying issues. Say more when you finish it please.

#31 Fred - Since I recently finished an ER on Burke and Hare, your medical murder book sounds interesting... if a bit blood curdling.

I was able to get an audio download of The Uncommon Reader from the library yesterday. What a delightful little book about the dangers of reading - it can lead to thinking you know.

Just finished listening to Coraline! Fabulous!!! read by the author... great listening. Have started Nocturnes by John Connally. I don't usually like short stories.. love epics! But so far so good. =:)

I am almost half way though Carrion Comfort..... mind vampires very satisfying.

> 116 Citizenjoyce,

I'm glad you enjoyed The Uncommon Reader. There is so much charm and wit packed into that little book, isn't there?

116/119 - I enjoyed The Uncommon Reader too, thought it was a wee gem.

I finished Kennedy's Brain by Henning Mankell thriller set in Sweden, Barcelona and Mozambique by the author to the Wallander books. I didn't enjoy it. Now reading The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet this is much more my cup of tea.

A wee gem that's The Uncommon Reader in two words.

#117 sebago...I'm glad you liked the audio of Coraline! Doesn't Gaiman have a great voice? As I said in my other post, if you like fantasy, definitely give the audio of Neverwhere a try.

Finished Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi and just about to start The Unremembered by Peter Orullian. Really enjoyed Fuzzy Nation.

#123 seitherin...I want to read Fuzzy Nation...I keep reading good reviews, and I have recently discovered John Scalzi's blog "Whatever" that I enjoy reading. I know it's a "reboot" of another novel, of which I know nothing, but Scalzi's version sounds intriguing.

#124 AlaMich: You don't need to know anything about the original Fuzzy novels to enjoy the Scalzi book. If you enjoy his other works, this one should suit you as well. I became a died in the wool Scalzi fan after reading Old Man's War.

I finished Janet Malcolm's In The Freud Archives over the weekend. This morning I finished Jennifer Johnston's The Christmas Tree -- thank you, hazeljune, for recommending it to me. I enjoyed it and will be thinking about it for a long time.

I finished In the Company of the Courtesan last night and found it to be a bit of a let down. I loved the history and such, but the characters (and their stories) never worked for me. I did finish it though. I think maybe I expected it to be on a par with Birth of Venus, which was such a great, wild story, with much better character development, but this one was a little plodding and weird.

I started an ARC of The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna, which I picked up at a used book sale (which gets a TON of old ARCs for some reason) and it hooked me. But I love most novels Africa and this one takes place in Sierra Leone, after the civil war. That said, I'm a big skeptic when authors attempt to write first person in the opposite gender. However, it seems Forna is VERY good at it. So far ... very, very good (I think it was short listed for the Orange maybe).

I finished and liked The reluctant fundamentalist and started on the Oran-trilogy with New Moon by Midori Snyder.

I finished Mr. Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt. This was a delightful book. A quick-read with very interesting characters. Mr. Chartwell is an unwelcome visitor to Sir Winston Churchill and a young librarian. Oh, and he's a big black dog who can walk and talk. You have to suspend reality to enjoy it! 4 stars

I'm now reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman for book club.

I finished The Reader just two days ago. I actually cried when I finished reading it. It's a short-tale which love haunts and lingers long. The struggling of Michael was all very true in the book. And I am starting with Wuthering Heights this week.

Am starting Pat Jordan's Suitors of spring today.

>>127 CarolynSchroeder:. I finished The Memory of Love recently and really loved it although I generally prefer 'smaller' more interior books for character depth. It was shortlisted for the Orange Prize.

I've finished and posted a review for Aristotle Leads the Way. I wish I had known it was intended for a younger audience before starting it. I also wish it would have been more poorly written, so I could have just put it down. Instead, it was somewhere in the middle.

Next up will be Tribes by Arthur Slade.

122AlaMich

YES! Fantastic voice! Hated to have it end. Will go see if Neverwhere is available on Netlibrary. Thanks so much for the recommendation! :)

122AlaMich
Yesterday, 6:14pm
#117 sebago...I'm glad you liked the audio of Coraline! Doesn't Gaiman have a great voice? As I said in my other post, if you like fantasy, definitely give the audio of Neverwhere a try.

I finished listening to Pirates & Latitudes by Michael Crichton. Frankly, I much prefer his chronologically contemporary plots. I am about to start listening to Ape House by Sara Gruen. I continue absolutely melting to the prose of William Faulkner in Light in August.

Having finished The Big Short I got a start in Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm.

The former is another book on the great crash and robbery of the American public of 2008. There were people who bet against the financiers and complicit government agents and won big. One was John Paulson about whom there is a good enough book in which some of the others are mentioned. In this book a number of others are characterized; it isn't just a recounting of what they did (buy credit default swaps), but a look at who they were. It is not deep, but it is clearly written and informative.

The latter is one of Modern Library's best 100 novels. In the first three chapters the writer shows an entertaining facility with words. I am hopeful of finding that it lives up to its reputation as a novel.

Robert

CitizenJoyce - I finished Blood Bones & Butter. You were right - I'd hate to have missed that last vacation to Italy. And your review was excellent. I did appreciate her ability to ferret out her own inconsistencies and bare them to the world. I came to admire her a lot.

Just started A Secret Alchemy by Emma Darwin.

But you wouldn't want her mad at you, would you?

136 Thanks for the update on The Big Short. Maybe the fact that it wasn't deep is what made it work for me. I managed to get through college and grad school with NO economics or biology somehow, both of which I regret now of course. And still, The Big Short was very easily understood.

After reading my first sci-fi last week The Dispossessed I ran to Borders and bought The Left Hand of Darkness also by Ursula Le Guin. I thought I HATED sci-fi but decided to give it a shot and LOVED The Dispossessed. I was sorely disappointed in The Left Hand of Darkness and almost put it down - plain bored. It almost felt as if I were reading the same book with a different title. Very glad I stuck with it - now I can't stop thinking about it. It got better and better (for me anyway). Today I stood in Escalante national Monument in Utah looking at this extremely desolate altho beautiful landscape, thinking about the planets in the book. The gender issues were fun and lots to think about. I also stood looking around today at a bunch of lizards, thinking about, as Left Hand acknowledged, what it would feel like to be the only mammal onl your planet, how that would effect your thinking about your place in a system, etc.

On to Kate Atkinson's Case Histories which I picked up for $1 a year ago and decided to give it a read after reading comments on LT about it. I'm not big on books where children die or disappear, but I'm planning on sticking with it awhile anyway.

Any thoughts on either of these reads?

No, I don't suppose I would. I wonder if she and her husband divorced.

I think she might make a pretty good friend, if you weren't too needy. She was more thoughtful of her mother-in-law than the woman's sons. Of course, we only heard one side.

#130 Jennifer-Austin, The Reader left me stunned, I have seen the movie, and can recommend, it does not stray far from the novel, plus great acting.

Another little novel that left me stunned was The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne this novel will stay with me forever. I choose not to see the movie.

>141 mkboylan: I adored Case Histories. I hope you stick with it, despite your reservations.

This week, I've been laughing all the way to work and back while listening to Tina Fey read her Bossypants. And I'm just about finished reading Sarah Vowell's Unfamiliar Fishes.

Yesterday I picked up Comedy in a Minor Key from the library. I had requested it several weeks ago but now I don't remember where I heard about it.

I finished listening to my latest LPW, Unnatural Death, and it's another of Dorothy Sayers' thoughtful mysteries. LPW does a little interesting moral agonizing, by chasing the murderer she ends up killing witnesses. Would things have been better if he'd just let her get away with the one murder? Now I'm starting on the Harriet Vine I should have read before Gaudy Night, Have His Carcase. It starts out well. Interestingly enough, I think Lord Wimsey said aint only one time in this book. That's quite a departure for him.

Just starting The House of Dust and Dreams - the perfect summer read and going well so far.

I'm reading Ann Patchett's State of Wonder.

I am very close to finally finishing Adventures of a Simpleton. I've read that one for about two month. It is/was entertaining and I liked the satire in it, becuase it's still true some 400 years later. Also it gives quite a good insight into the habits and living standards in the 1600s. So it will not be a favorite of mine, but it was not bad either.

also started The Elements of Style which is quite useful for me.

I finished part of the Oran trilogy, New Moon and started the latest Thomas Thiemeyer (a German writer in the style of Michael Chrichton and Douglas Preston), Corona.

144 Coppers You're right about Case Histories. I'm halfway through and really liking the characters!

As I said before, I finished Adventures of a Simpleton. the book was quite good, the afterword was not that great actually. it was not really relevant or maybe I just didn't caught it.

I think I am going to finish of some of the other books I have going before I start another one.

I'm not getting far in my reading, so have it down to only two books I'm switching between this week. Scent of Jasmine by Jude Deveraux, about halfway through this one, and The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion, a bit of a slow mover and I'm still trying to figure out where it's going.

I'm reading Patrick O'Brian's The Reverse of the Medal for the second time. O'Brian's prose is magnificent.

Reading The Sisters Brothers by Patrick Dewitt. What a crazy fun read, but not for the faint of heart.

I am in the middle of 2 books currently. Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich and City of Glass by Cassandra Clare. Picking up my copy of Game of Thrones (1st book in the series) tomorrow. I really need to stop requesting books for a while............it's getting scary! ;)

Finally finished Good Enough is the New Perfect earlier this week and am about half-way through Charlie Wilson's War. I picked it up because it was on the bookshelf of our beach rental and now I've ended up buying it for the kindle so I can finished it!

I finished Alexandra Fuller's Scribbling the Cat this afternoon and look forward to reading more by this author. I am now reading A Far Cry From Kensington by Muriel Spark.

>157 nzurisana: nzurisana A Far Cry From Kensington is one of my all time favorite books! I hope you like it.

I'm still readingMiddlemarch and loving it(40% read according to the kindle!). As my secondary lighter reading, I've started Churchills In Love and War by Mary Lovell. I've been a loyal fan of Mary Lovell's ever since I read The Sisters about the Mitford Sisters.

I've been enjoying a really good run of excellent reading!

Cindy- I'm reading The Sisters Brothers too! About 200 pages in. I love it but it's not for the faint of heart.

I'm reading A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell

I finished Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children which is a fun, quirky read filled with Victorian pictures. Great character sketches, but the end rushes into... the set up for the next novel! I hate that. Novels that end with a full chapter that gets you to exactly where the next book needs to start.

Now I'm onto Gandhi: A Pictorial Biography by Gerald Gold.

Finished Suitors of spring by Pat Jordan, which is a series of long pieces about baseball. Enjoyed it, but the tone was a little snarky for my taste. Am now reading Wild fire

I am reading A Song Of Sixpence by A.J.Cronin .

#158 - enaid - If you still love Middlemarch once you get to the end I can highly recommend the BBC DVD starring the gorgeous Rufus Sewell as Will Ladislaw. Droooooooool.

Bare bones, but the 25 June thread's up!

#130, #143. I haven't read The Reader but thought that Kate Winslet turned in an outstanding performance in the film and deserved her oscar. I watched Winslet last night in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. A week or two back I heard someone say that Kate Winslet plays Kate Winslet in every film she makes. What utter tosh. She was very good in Revolutionary Road, a pretty decent film adaptation of a good novel.

I haven't read The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas either, but the film was only average.

Still, enough about my cinematic likes and dislikes. I finished Borrowed Time: The Story of Britain Between the Wars and wrote a review. I also finished Catch a Wave about Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. Good books both, especially the latter.

I also came to the end of Sleight of Hand, a generally satisfying collection of fantasy stories by Peter S Beagle. I particularly enjoyed Sleight of Hand, The Rabbi's Hobby and The Bridge Partner.