What are you reading the week of September 3rd, 2011?

New thread for the week everyone!

China Miéville (6th September 1972) - Award-winning English writer. Some notable works, Perdido Street Station (2000), Un Lun Dun (2007), The City & the City (2009).

Alice Sebold (6th September 1963) - American novelist. Best known for The Lovely Bones (2002).

Jennifer Egan (6th September 1962) - An American novelist and short story writer. She won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her A Visit From the Goon Squad.

Robert M. Pirsig (6th September 1928) - American writer and philosopher. He is the author of the iconic Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974).

James Hilton (9th September 1900) - An English novelist. Best remembered for writing the bestsellers Lost Horizon (1933), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1934), Random Harvest (1941); etc.



Leo Tolstoy (9th September 1828) - Russian author of novels, short stories and essays, often considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His best known novels include the epic War and Peace and Anna Karenina. His The Kingdom of God Is Within You had a profound impact on the movement of nonviolent resistance.

Thanks for setting this up Porua! It's nice having it up this early, just before I head to work. I'm really enjoying The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers.

I'm still reading Paradise Lust by Brook Wilensky-Lanford on my Nook, but it the only thing that is continuing from last week. I haven't started anything new in print yet, just having finished The Book of Life by Stuart Nadler last night. I also finished the audio of The Map of Time and have started the audio of Tom Perrotta's The Leftovers.

Now that I'm taking my fiction writing class (lawyering and the marathon is in two weeks), I don't have quite as much time to read, but am about 200 pages into Don Quixote which I still am enjoying immensely. Amidst that, I've been reading (for class) some really great shorter selections from some of my beloved authors. This week, the short story/novella Cathedral is up, by Raymond Carver, which I read in undergrad, many moons ago, so it will be cool to have a fresh approach now.

I've just started listening to Geraldine Brooks' newest book, Caleb's Crossing. I'm getting to know the narrator, a Puritan girl named Hannah living in the 1600's in what becomes Martha's Vinyard. Ultimately it's the story of the first Native American to graduate from Harvard.

I'm reading Suze Orman's Money Class. So far, I'm finding some really good very practical suggestions on more effective money management. I'm hoping to pass this one along to both my kids (and my brother).

Thanks for the set up Porua! Just started The Chosen King by Helen Hollick. Looks to be like quiet a saga. It's about England before 1066, and then The Battle of Hastings.

I'm ploughing through The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb: and how forecasting is vodoo science

Great set-up Porua! Still juggling Don Juan, Byron in Love, The Invention of Murder and The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales.

The Warmth of Other Suns is breaking my heart while amazing me with the tenacity and resiliency of the human spirit.

I'm reading On Canaan's Side by Sebastian Barry, one of this year's Booker Prize longlisted novels, which is narrated by an 89 year old Irish woman who fled to the United States during the Troubles, and reflects back on her past life after her beloved grandson dies. I'm also reading Colour Me English, a collection of essays and nonfiction writings by Caryl Phillips.

Thank you for setting it up, Porua!

Slogging through Love at Absolute Zero.

Thanks Porua! Lots of 9/6 author birthdays.

I am currently reading Tiger Hill's. So far so good.

Nice to see old Tolstoy! Thanks, Porua. Am working my way through Three houses by Angela Thirkell, which is autobiography rather than one of her novels.

Thanks for gretting us off to a great start, Porua! I'm very happy to see Tolstoy as I've been planning to start War and Peace this week in honor of his birthday just as soon as I've finished Night and Day by Virginia Woolf,which I've been enjoying very much.

Anna Karenina is my favorite book of all-time, so I'm really looking forward to starting W & P om a couple of days!

I've started The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene, after reading an article about him. Time magazine had it on their Top 100 Books You Absolutely Must Read (or whatever the list was called). Interesting time period about which I know nothing, anti-clericalism in Mexico, priests being forced to marry, or sometimes just being shot. One priest trying desperately to escape the state of Tabasco, a police lieutenant hunting him down. Very enjoyable so far.

Priests being forced to marry, evidently there's a lot I don't know about Mexico.
Thanks Porua for setting up the thread.
Regarding Tolstoy at our book club discussion of The Lacuna I kept saying Tolstoy instead of Trotsky. Kind of a slight difference there.
I've started a much anticipated reread of The Crimson Petal and the White and, thanks to a Labor Day readathon I hope to get quite a bit of it read this weekend. Driving around this morning I'll probably finish The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie written years after Dorothy L. Sayers Gaudy Night but unmarried women were still shown to be thought frivolous and less than respectable. Then I'll start the last of the Dublin Murder Squad series A Faithful Place on audio.

Nice new week! I hope to get more reading in this week than last! Hope to finish up Across Many Mountains, a really good memoir about three generations of women and their trek from Tibet, a spiritual, geographic, and cultural trek! Still listening to Can You Forgive Her?. So far, Trollope is a pleasant surprise.....melodrama and all.

Thanks Porua.

Hah! - Pirsig's birthday! I didn't know and just happened to pick up a copy of Mark Richardson's Zen and Now wherein he talks about his retracing of Pirsig's trip and about the effects the book had on Pirsig and his family, at Borders this week. Haven't read either one - more on the pile!

Finished Inside Wikileaks byh Daniel Domscheit-Berg. He's the man who was fired/quit Wikileaks, depending on whose version you believe. I was a fan of Julian Assange both before and after reading this book. I enjoyed the read -rather light, a bit too gossipy, but interesting to read about the organization.

Yesterday started One Day by David nicholls. i am reading this because when I first heard about flipbacks on LT I became a little obsessed with seeing one. (www.flipbackbooks.com) They originated in Holland and there were only 12 titles available in English at the time, none of which apealled to me, so I chose one I thought my daughter might enjoy. It examines one day a year for twenty years in the lives of two friends. I have ended up very much enjoying it! Had to order it from amazon.uk as they are not available in the U.S., altho negotiations are underway I understand. I'm liking the format a lot.

China Mieville birthday also? I have only read one or two sci-fi's - by Ursula LeGuin - loved The Dispossessed. I'd like to try a Mieville - anyone suggest a good starting place?

Still reading City of Illusions and loving it. After this I will start on my ARC of Neal Asher's The Departure.

#19. I would say, find your favorite genre, and find the Mieville that fits that genre closest. He has steampunk, sci fi... I find his books differ from each other a lot.

Ah thanks #21 divine! I didn't realize he wrote steampunk, just thought he was sci fi.

I would say that Street Station Perdido and the other two books that follow it are a cross between Sci-Fi and steampunk. But I am more of a sci-fi reader, so any steampunk readers out there are more than welcome to correct me.

I'm about (not quite) half way through And Quiet Flows the Don, which I'm enjoying immensely. I'm also reading Germinal by Emile Zola on my Kindle. It's also quite good. It's much better than I expected it to be in fact. I picked it up with some trepidation for an online "class" that I'm taking.

I'm just past the halfway mark of Rules of the Wild by Francesca Marciano. European ex-pats in Kenya. Good but not great.

A little after midnight I started reading my Early Reviewer The Train of Small Mercies. So far I like it but I've only read character development.

Last week I read Room, which completely engrossed and repulsed me at the same time. Now reading The Brutal Telling -- the fifth in the Three Pines series by Louise Penny. Also reading The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig for book club -- I've really been looking forward to that one -- and listening to Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen on audio. Still reading Heidi aloud :)

I finished Heaven to Betsy last night, which was a wonderfully fun, light read. I'm still working on Half the Sky, and hope to finish it soon.

Next up is Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter for my book club's September read, and Professor Mommy: Finding Work-Family Balance in Academia, as that is where my life is these days and I need all the advice/camaraderie I can get!

Thanks for the great start to the week, Porua. I've started The Book of the Dead on audio after having finally finished Dance of Death, its predecessor, last night. My graphic novels are The Rabbi's Cat 2 (which I'm finding difficult to read due to the small print) and Chew Volume 2. On Kindle, I'm still working through The Brothers of Gwynedd, which seems to be taking forever due to it being my commute read. Not sure what my bedtime read will be: maybe I will just toss the pile of books on my bedside table onto the bed, close my eyes, and just pick up one.

Thank you for starting this week's thread, Porua.

I'm still reading The Stone of Farewell, and am almost to the end. Once finished, I'll turn my sights upon the third and last (massive!) book in the series: To Green Angel Tower.

While at the library yesterday, a book on the 'new mysteries' shelf caught my eye, The Brothers of Baker Street by Michael Robertson. As this was a second book in the series, I also borrowed the first book, The Baker Street Letters. I think I'll dip into those tonight, and probably spend some time reading (!!!) over the three day weekend.

Anyone else read either of these?

I'm about 200 pages into the new Louise Penny book A Trick of the Light. She just gets better and better.

Great job Porua....thank you. I'm still wading through The Manticore by Robertson Davies. Not bad and it is keeping my interest but I don't think it will make my list of favorite books of all time....

18, mkboylan, the movie One Day was pretty good, although if you've read the book the great surprise might not be so exquisite.

I am reading UFOs by Leslie Kean. One needn't be competent at writing, apparently, to be a professional writer. I will, however, keep at this at least for awhile.

Robert

I finished The Gift of Stones by Jim Crace. It is beautiful in its way but it left me cold. Too self-conscious somehow -- or maybe I simply missed the point. Anyway, not my cup of tea.

I'm enjoying The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle -- so far, anyway -- I'm about a third of the way through.

Next up: N. John Hall's Correspondence: An Adventure in Letters

24 Fred, I loved Germinal. Where is your online class? Is it a volunteer run one? Is that why the ""s?

& I'm about 200 pages in to Cecilia Valdes or Angel Hill and still loving it. Translation is sometimes a bit clunky, but I doubt I have the patience or skill to read all 500 pages in the original!

#33 - Thanks so much! Believe it or not, I hadn't put it together. I only had the movie on my list to go see because I'm a fan of Jim Sturgess. So glad you pointed that out!

Yesterday I finished and posted a review for Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer. Loved it! I look forward to reading more by this author. :)

This morning I finished ESPN Guide to Psycho Fan Behavior. It was horrible. Really horrible.

I've already started The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell and I'm liking it quite a bit better.

Just started The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin. Very entertaining.

Thanks for starting the new thread, Porua!

I'm still making my way through, Truman, Moneyball, and The Odyssey. One day I will finish a book . . . right?

Thanks for the good start, Porua. I thought divinenanny's "base it on genre" suggestion was a great one for picking your first Mieville. As discussed on another thread, The City and the City is likely to appeal more to mystery fans. Embassytown is great, challenging sci-fi that probably would have extra appeal to those fascinated by languages.

Claude and Camille by Stephanie Covell was an eye-opener for me. It gave me much more of a sense of what Monet and the others went through in defying the conventions of the time. I also had no idea they all were so close - literally so early on, with Pisarro, Bazille, Sisley, Renoir, Monet and others sleeping in each other's apartments depending on finances. The portrait of Camille is heart-breaking - their passion for each other, what she sacrificed to be with him, her lifelong role as his muse. I've always loved Impressionist paintings, but this brought a whole new dimension to it for me, even more than Ross King's Judgment of Paris.

Free Fire was another good Joe Pickett mystery. It's fun to watch him outwit the bad guys, but the author also manages to give insights into current developments in the environment and the national parks. This time it was Yellowstone, reminding us it's over a super volcano, and the latest in "bio-mining".

40 - Thanks for Mieville comments.

I loved Free Fire especially since I was around Yellowstone when I read it in August!

Just finishing Amazing Disgrace by James Hamilton-Paterson. I understand it has a sequel and I'll probably begin that before too long.

@35 cammykitty, It's part of the Open Yale Course site at http://oyc.yale.edu. The class is "History of France Since 1871". It's a set of 20+ recorded course lectures by John Merriman at Yale University. So it's not really a class as such. Hence the quotes around "class". But I'm listening to all of the lectures and doing the reading to go with it. It just seemed like a fun thing to do to. I'm also following a course on Game Theory as well, which is also a lot of fun.

Yale also has a series of recorded lectures for a class devoted to Don Quixote which could be interesting. I own a copy but have never tackled it. I might try that after I finish the two that I'm following currently. For anyone interested in the Don Quixote course (I've seen several mentions of it here lately), you will find it in the Spanish and Portuguese section.

PS> They're also available for free through iTunes U.

#18 - mkboylan: Regarding your query about The Plain Janes, I really liked both the story and the artwork. But the ending did leave me hanging a bit, so now I will definitely be hunting down the next one Janes In Love.

I finally got a copy of The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt from the library and I was caught up in it right away. I am also starting The Sable Doughboys by Tom Willard, which is the second book in his series that traces Black American Military History through one family. I loved the first one, Buffalo Soldiers.

Thanks for setting up the thread, Porua!

>40 jnwelch: jnwelch - Free Fire sounds good. I've only just picked up the second in the series and so I have a while to go before I get to that one!

I'm currently reading The Janus Stone, the second in the Ruth Galloway series. I have Louise Penny's new A Trick of the Light but I may wait for a better week to start it.

Am currently re-reading my MG win Society of Sinners and starting in on Deceit by Brandilynn Collins (Touchstone not working) which is a Christian Mystery, unknown to me when I bought it. Not sure how I feel about that but will give it a go.

#24 fredbacon: How is And Quite flows the Don? I Have this sitting on my shelf for a couple of years now. My grandfather gave it to me because he wanted me to read it. Unfortunately, I couldn't bring me up to doing so. Your commentary however brought the book back to my mind.

I finished Warum Mathematik glücklich macht by Christian Hesse yesterday evening. It is a book about mathematics in everyday life. In most party it was quite interesting, but for a non-mathematician like me, it was partly hard to follow his formulas and stream of thinking. in greater party, more explanation would have been appreciated!

#30 I read Brothesr of Baker Street and found it clever and amusing. Hope you like the book as much as I did. A friend of mine is also reading it and recommends it.

Finally started something new in print, The Twelfth Enchantment by David Liss.

I'm reading Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King. Toward the end of the first story. It is very, very dark and very, very well-written.

#50 I thought FDNS was a real return to form for the 'Master' - here's hoping he keeps the standard up with his next novel.

The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman for a local book discussion group.

#52 I loved The Dress Lodger and hope you enjoy it. It reminded me that I was privileged to be born in the 20th century.

Almost finished with Blue Latitudes: Going Boldly Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before and thoroughly enjoying it. Have read only the first story in You Are Not a Stranger Here, but that was excellent. Should get to more today. Hoping to start my early reviewer's book Across Many Mountains tomorrow.

Just finished Mozart and Leadbelly, stories and essays by Ernest J. Gaines, includes a few wonderful short stories mixed in with the essays and conversations.

Continuing on Blues & Chaos: The Music Writing of Robert Palmer and about to start Room by Emma Donoghue.

@47 Tallulah_Rose, And Quiet Flows the Don is very good. But having said that, it is not for everyone. It's a story of a rather brutal, violent time: World War I, the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War. The first section is the story of a Cossack village in the years before the war. The remainder of the book is about how the following wars affect the main characters. A good comparison might be All Quiet on the Western Front. If you didn't like that book, then you probably wouldn't like And Quiet Flows the Don.

@40 jnwelch Claude and Camille sounds really good. It's going on the WL!

@43 Thanks Fred. Those do sound interesting. I think I've listened to one of the lectures in their series. It was on CD at the library, and was about religious beliefs of various cultures. I'll have to look into those!

Finished To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee this evening.... what a great classic! Next up is Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson.

#52 and 53, I like the sound of The Dress Lodger I looked in on my local library website and they are holding it, I shall follow it up.

I have started to read House of Mirth it looks promising!!

I will finish The Grapes of Wrath, which I've been listening to for what seems like months this week. Am also making good progress with Sons and Lovers on the Kindle, managed another chapter of Great House for my reading group and am enjoying My Bass and other Animals, the memoirs of session bassist turned stand up Guy Pratt (Pink Floyd/Roxy Music and numerous others).

58 hazeljune -- I'm eager to hear what you think of Wharton's book

#55 fredbacon: Thanks for enlightening me. Since I have not yet read All quiet on the Western Front, I am not able to judge it. But at least I have an idea now, why my grandfather gave those books to me.

Finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Started Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams. Still working on Belle Ruin by Martha Grimes.

>56 cammykitty: cammykitty I hope you enjoy it!

Delta thanks for the follow up. Plain Janes is on its way to me Fm library.

#50 and # 51- I finished Full Dark last night and I agree Booksloth- he did return to form

I started Twilight by Stephanie Meyer last night. Haveb't paid much attention to The Shelters of Stone recently- my husband is in the hospital anad after working all day and visiting him I just don't have the energy to tackle that massive tome

I've just started reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. This is the third of Austen's books that I've tried and I'm always amazed at how she had her finger squarely on the pulse of human emotion!

RE: Full Dark, No Stars - I felt the same way. I've enjoyed his other recent books, but I felt that FDNS was the first time in a while that we were treated to some classic Stephen King.

Finished Carrie, and the more I read it, the more freaked out I get. Truly a Stephen King classic. And in keeping with my goal of reading all of his works chronologically, I just started 'Salem's Lot, even though I'm pretty sure I read this one recently. Oh well. I also think I'm going to start In the Garden of Beasts, especially since it's a 2 week library rental and I've had it for awhile.

I am just now embarking on the epic War and Peace, which I'd planned to start this week in honor of Leo Tolstoy's birthday even before Porua announced it here in such a fine way!

Don't expect any messages from me about reading anything else until...maybe mid or late October! I'm looking forward to it so much, though, because I finally read Anna Karenina late last year or earlier this year, and fell in love with his writing!

I'll be popping in, though, to keep an eye on what everyone else is reading, and perhaps to give some updates.

Anyone else who's read W&P, please tell me, should I be prepared to take notes? 1400 + pages indicates a lot of action and a lot of characters. I wonder if it might get confusing.

I've read War and Peace two or three times and hope to read it again. I suggest reading an annotated version like the Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky translation or the Norton Critical Edition, but that may have been overtaken by events. Also I would not read it without the Cliffs Notes for it at hand to keep track of the characters and, so far, to review each chapter after I finished it.

I haven't taken notes, but I can't see that that would be a mistake.

Robert

Cdyankeefan, my best thoughts are with you on the recovery of your husband. By the way, while I saw a t-shirt recently with a saying that indicated the Yankees are the spawn of Satan, they're the only team my son and grandson follow. First day of middle school my grandson wore a Derek Jeter shirt.

Finished Man with a Pan edited by John Donahue today and just started Wanderlust: A History of Walking by Rebecca Solnit.

I just finished The Reapers are the Angels and posted a review. I really liked it! A zombie novel with a bit more depth than usual, I really enjoyed it.

Next up, I'm not 100 percent sure, but I think it'll be In Ruins by Christopher Woodward.

Finished The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. You will be missed Lisbeth Salander.

I am about half way through with End of Mr. Y and it is finally gathering some steam. A friend told me it was a steampunk novel, but I think it falls into the fantasy genre. I didn't think it was going to be worth reading but it is getting better. I got lots of reading done this weekend. I thought I was going to do it while reading at the pool enjoying the rest of the summer heat, but instead I have been inside since yesterday afternoon listening to the rain beat down. Tropical Storm Lee has spent the day with us. It is providing us with some much needed wonderful rain.

I am deep into Zoo Station bu David Downing and think that this series is a great series for those who like the Alan Furst books.

Finished One Day by David Nicholls. Not for me. I sometimes think at my age everything is just a re-run. Kind of a When Harry Met Sally for the current generation, as has been said, so just nothing new. The only reason I finished it is because I bought it in flipback format and was determined to read a whole book in that format before I made any judgements about it. and I DO like the format a lot.

and Mr. Durick - guess I'll still go see the movie because as I said I'm a fan of Jim Sturgess, but I wasn't happy with the conclusion. - as you said - "exquisite surprise"? Thanks again for the heads up.

Not sure what's next - need something a little more substantial now. Something to make me think not
saying that all reading doesn't make me think, just that some is purposefully escapism and I just go along for the ride, right?

Might be Rebel Buddha by Dzogchen Ponlop.

I finished reading Cecilia Valdes or El Angel Hill. There's a reason it is a Cuban classic. It is excellent, a very detailed picture of Havana in the 1830s. My review is here: http://www.librarything.com/work/book/77570049 and I'm proud of it.

I'll be starting Beloved tonight or tomorrow. There's a group read just starting up in the 11 11 group. Even if you aren't in the challenge, feel free to join us here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/123246

74, cindysprocket, I know how you feel, but there is the complete film series in Swedish. Also the U.S. series should start someday soon.

Meanwhile the first 30 pages of Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel went down very smoothly. Finishing it for discussion at my church book group in October should be pleasant.

Robert

After finishing Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, I felt the need for something lighter, and so decided on a Nora Roberts trilogy, starting with Morrigan's Cross. Not what I expected, but I'm now on to the second in the series, Dance of the Gods.

Just started The Whisperer which promises to be gripping.

Finally managed to review Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope. It was quite good. My review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/65135353

Or my 75 Books Challenge thread,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/120427

I am reading volume two of Clarissa by Samuel Richardson and The Age of Absurdity: Why Modern Life Makes it Hard to be Happy by Michael Foley and A Faint Cold Fear by Karin Slaughter.

I don't like reading this many books at once, so will have to rush through one of them.

#79 - Ah, yes, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is a writer I didn't expect to see here. As a flight simulator and aircraft fan, I also highly recommend Fate is the Hunter by Ernest K. Gann. It is a chapter by chapter diary of sorts recalling Gann's life in the early days of aviation. It's one of my top 10 books, not philosophically deep or complex, just a great read from an early pioneer who escaped with his life to write another day, unlike "Saint-X."

I put aside Don Quixote for a while (will keep coming back to it) and am reading Hellhound on his Trail by Hampton Sides ... needed to get back to a bit of non fiction for a while. It's excellent.

70 Mr.Durick Thanks, Robert! Good suggestions!

(48) Thank you Travis, I am looking forward to it.

Right now I'm happily slogging through To Green Angel Tower, the third book in The Story that Would Not Die (as author Tad Williams fondly refers to his massive triology!). As soon as I get to the end (second read, first reread in 20 years) I'll pick up the Baker Street books.

(67) Browner, I recently reread Sense and Sensibility, and while I enjoyed it, the characters did not appeal to me as much as those in Pride and Prejudice, which remains my favorite Jane Austen so far. :)

I finished The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle which I loved. Then for a complete change-of-pace I read Correspondence: An Adventure in Letters which I didn't care for so much at first -- it seemed a bit too much like I'd wandered into a lecture on Victorian novelists -- but somewhere along the way, I fell into the rhythm of the correspondence and the subject of buying and selling valuable letters and I rather enjoyed the book after that. In any case, it was a quick read for me, something I haven't experienced much lately.

Now I'm reading Amy Frykholm's Julian of Norwich: A Contemplative Biography.

#71- thank you citizenjoyce- they've started him on dialysis and i'm hoping he comes homes soon- that tshirt is very funny and i'm assuming the weare is a member of red sox nation--yeah to your son and grandson especially for recognizing one of the greates Yankees of all time!

I'm currently reading A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. Funny--I'd read The Invisible Circus by her several years ago but had forgotten all about it and didn't recognize her name on this book until I read the list of other books she's written. I guess I didn't fall in love with that earlier book, but I do like this one.

Wow, I'm really behind talking about what I'm reading. Since Sunday I started and finished Never the Hope Itself by Gerry Hadden. I'm in the middle of The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta in audio, reading It's Hard Not to Hate You by Valerie Frankel in print, and reading The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin on my Nook.

I finished and reviewed Louise Penny's latest installment in the Three pines mystery challenge, A Trick of the Light. What can I say? She hit another home run.

Now I'm reading Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome.

#92 brenzi, I am sure that you will enjoy Ethan Frome, it is a gem!!

mollygrace,

I am part way in with The House of Mirth (page 78) I am finding that our Lily is being a little fickle at the moment, however I am still very interested to see what the future holds for our lady.

93 hazeljune - I suppose the thing I loved most about The House of Mirth was Edith Wharton's writing, her wit and all that she reveals about New York society. She'd grown up in that world and knew it very well. I imagine she'd seen a few Lily Barts over the years. The book became a best seller and was a topic of intense conversation in New York and throughout the nation. People not in the more privileged classes swearing such behavior was what they'd suspected all along, many of those in the upper classes quite offended by such a betrayal from one of their own. In the book I read yesterday about the Victorian novelists, someone remarked that in Britain the upper classes were more about society, in America more about money. I'm sure I'm misquoting that -- I'll track down the source and the exact quote, but it made me think of Wharton's book.

#83 - mldavis2 - I've only been able to get my hands on one Ernest K. Gann book...Island in the Sky, and quite enjoyed it. I found Antoine de Saint-Exupery to be quite introspective and his book Wind, Sand and Stars will bear a re-read at a later time. One of my other favorite authors on the subject of flight is Richard Bach. I loved his books Stranger to the Ground, Nothing by Chance and Biplane for his descriptions of flying, and Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah for it's philosophy.

83, 95 I'm no expert on flight, and this book is fiction, but I loved Paul Watkins' In the Blue Light of African Dreams . . . it begins with the French Foreign Legion and winds up among the pilots vying to be the first to fly the Atlantic. I'd never heard of Paul Watkins -- I've since read most of his books -- but I bought the this one solely on the basis of that beautiful title.

# 83,95,96 > There are several "Saint-X" books on my to-read list. Richard Bach is best known for his Johnathan Livingston Seagull which was a great book. I have Biplane, Nothing by Chance, A Gift of Wings, and Stranger to the Ground all by Bach, each of them little short paperbacks criticized only for their brevity. Another Ernest Gann book I've wanted to read is his Flying Circus which is a listing of the planes he flew during the war and his experiences with them. And, thanks, mollygrace. I'll check out In the Blue Light of African Dreams.

# 96 - mollygrace - Thanks for the suggestion! I also will be looking for In the Blue Light of African Dreams! It is a beautiful title!

# 97 - mldavis2 - I agree....Jonathan Livingston Seagull was a simple, but great book. I am looking for more Ernest Gann books, but they're hard to find, and have added "Saint-X"(like that!) to my list of ones to watch out for.

#94 molly, I am now hooked on The House Of Mirth, so many twists and turns!!! the writing reminds me some of Oscar Wildes plotting, only Edith is sooo much better. Have you read The Age Of Innocence byEdith ? I have a copy on my TBR mountain, she won a Pulitzer for this one.

I finished and loved The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers. I started Ship Fever. She is an author I've been meaning to re-visit for years.
On audio, I'll be FINALLY wrapping up Doomsday Book.

100 msf59 -- I enjoyed Ship Fever -- the author's Servants of the Map is good, too -- and, if I'm not mistaken (a big "if" lately -- there are some characters or situations that crossover between the two -- not so that you have to read them together, but in a way so that if you do they are richer somehow. And I believe she carries some of this into The Air We Breathe though it had been so long between books that I may have missed some of the subtleties. There's a family tree included in The Air We Breathe -- but it all begins with Ship Fever.

99 hazeljune - Oh, I'm so glad you're enjoying the book . . . Edith's wit and compassion are so in evidence. I love the tender way she reminds us of our foolishness, our tendency to back away -- out of pride or fear or ignorance or misunderstanding -- just when a tiny step forward might have made all the difference. Such complex characters -- and you feel the love she has for them, despite -- or, more likely, because of -- their childishness, their pride, their missteps. But even as she holds them in her loving gaze, she skewers the society, the system, the hypocrisy that helped shape them.

I'm reading Time Regained by Marcel Proust, the last volume of In Search of Lost Time. It only took me about 7 months, but I'm almost done!

I'm working my way through Rant by Chuck Palahniuk, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and good ol' Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. That last one is for a class.

After a rocky start, I finished and enjoyed Baseball in the Garden of Eden. Next up is something a bit meatier, The Birth and Death of Meaning.

Just finished Across Many Mountains, a testament to heritage and the human spirit. Very good memoir!

I am starting The Slum by Aluisio Azevedo and continue listening to Can You Forgive Her?

Just completed The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid which I picked up on a bargain table at BAM.

Hemlok wasn't Across Many Mountains a great read? Just read your review which inspired me to get mine posted also, which I just did. I also won Waiting for the Dalai Lamawhich I understand has multiple views on this subject of China and Tibet and just started that one. Did you read it?

So mldavis, did you like The Reluctant Fundamentalist? I sure did.

Molly- Thanks for your comments on Ship Fever. I am really enjoying it so far. I guess I would call it brainy beauty! Good news, I have The Air We Breathe waiting in the stacks.

I am reading Pictures of You by Caroline Leavitt and just finished One Good Dog by Susan Wilson.

Dear Sweet - So have you read Totally Corn Cookbook by Helene Siegel? ;) Sorry - I couldn't resist. I do love that book!

(103) I've never read Robinson Crusoe, I should put that on my list along with Kim by Rudyard Kipling.

So many books, so little time...

#108

I read Air We Breathe when it first came out and liked it. It did a very good job of illustrating the fear of Eastern European and German immigrants and the subsequent repressive governmental policies that were prevalent during WWI and the years immediately following. And then there are those mysterious rays and the pictures they produced! I passed it on to somebody else and they didn't like it. Neither one of us had read any of the author's previous work so didn't have anything with which to compare it. I will be interested to learn what you think about it.

I finished reading Zoo Station the first in the John Russell series by David Downing and really enjoyed it so much that I immediately started reading the next in the series Silesian Station. It reminded me of the Alan Furst books in that the action was understated but the tension and suspense level was high. I recommend this series to anybody who likes the Furst books.

I have only about 200 more pages of The Crimson Petal and the White and am already starting to feel withdrawal. I know it'll be as bad as when I finished Essential Dykes to Watch Out For. I found that Faber wrote The Apple : New Crimson Petal Stories, but I think that's follow up stories only for Clara and Sophie. Sugar's story is a prequel. Has anyone read it?

>87 fuzzi:: Fuzzi, I'm about half-way through Sense and Sensibility and I agree with your ranking completely. To be fair, though, Pride and Predjudice is one of the best books I've ever read, so placing anything else in second place is not faint praise.

#87 and #114

Fuzzi and Browner, I just recently reread Sense and Sensibility for our book club. We all agreed that Pride and Prejudice is the superior book. We think Sense and Sensibility is missing a Mr. Darcy character.

#107 - mkboylan - Yes, enjoyed The Reluctant Fundamentalist very much. I made a comment in my review that it wouldn't sit well with those who lack compassion or don't try to understand alternate viewpoints, but it is a book that almost anyone would do well to read. I do so often enjoy the authors for whom English is not a native language because they phrase things in unusual ways at times.

>115 BBleil:: BBleil, that's a good point and I agree that no character in Sense and Sensibility rises to the level of either Darcy or Elizabeth. Still, Austen is just so perceptive about human nature and gentle in her satire that her work is an absolute pleasure to read.

On Monday, I finished Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot.

Havering over what to read next, I saw Porua’s post at the start of this thread, with its list of anniversaries – and that spurred me to pick up Robert Persig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance which has been sitting on my shelf for a couple of years. I’m now halfway through it.

When you read different types of books and authors, contrasts and parallels often come across quite strikingly. Both these books are essentially about ideas - but how very different! Asimov’s left me cold, I’m afraid, though it was light and entertaining enough, and I recognised its historical significance, its influence on future writers and film-makers. But just 20 or 30 pages into Persig, I could put my finger on just exactly what was wrong with Asimov. Robert Persig gives us a story set in a rich texture of time and place and personality. Persig’s people come across as real people, set in a real landscape of late 60’s America (and, no doubt, late 50’s/early 60’s in the flashbacks). It’s like reading in three dimensions after being restricted to just two in Asimov.

Having said that, I’m not yet sure how good ‘Zen’ will turn out to be. At the moment (I'm at the end of part 2), Persig seems like a juggler who’s tossed too many balls into the air at once. There seem to be just too many threads to his story. We’ve got:
- a light, enjoyable road novel, a father and son’s journey through America on a motor bike;
- a much darker story of a man who’s been through serious mental illness, whose original personality has been deliberately killed off by electro-convulsive therapy, now trying to come to terms with, and re-connect to, his past;
- a philosophy primer, cantering through Aristotle, Plato, Hume, Kant (how many novelists would dare throw a commentary on Kant’s dense, impenetrable Critique of Pure Reason into their plot?), with a rambling lecture on the philosophy of science;
- and I believe (page 187) we’re now about to get a discourse on the metaphysics of quality.
Can he keep all these balls in the air for another 200+ pages? Can he successfully bring them together meaningfully by the end? It’s already beginning to feel fragmented and episodic, but I’m rather enjoying it.

‘Zen’ is certainly unique, an inner journey into the mind as well as a geographical journey across America and an intellectual journey into the meaning of life, the universe and everything.

Hey Highland - Look what I brought home from Borders last week:

Zen and Now on the traill of Robert Pirsig and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Mark Richardson. I haven't read either book but will have to move them to the top perhaps. Richardson's book is supposed to be about the effects that Pirsig's book had on Pirsig and his family. Let us know more when you finish Pirsig's.

Finished up The Manticore by Robertson Davies this evening. On to On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan.

#113 If you've fallen in love with The Crimson Petal then I have to warn you now that nothing else will ever come close so don't get too excited about The Apple but it is still a good book and works well as a way of weening yourself slowly off the novel. Someone (presumably me) has mis-shelved my copy of The Apple so I'm writing now completely from memory but I'm sure you're right about the only 'Sugar story' being a prequel but other stories touch on a number of the CP characters. It's not enough to diminish your hunger for more about Sugar but there are one or two tiny clues there as to her future. I'd certainly recommend the book very highly and I could go on reading more of the same for a very long time but it won't stop you feeling bereft, I'm afraid.

Isn't The Crimson Petal at 800+ pages one of the shortest books you ever read? I can't think of anything else that has ever flown by so quickly (and the first time I read it I got to the end and turned right back to the first page again). If you are still hungry for more you might like to try and track down the DVD made by the BBC and starring the gorgeous Romola Garai as Sugar, which actually did a really good job of transferring the story to the screen.

(115) BBleil, besides, the main male character in Sense and Sensibility that should be a Mr. Darcy is a whiny baby imho. But that is imho.

I do like strong male and female characters in the books I read.

(118) Re: I Robot, that is the only Asimov that I have ever enjoyed. My older sister was a fan of his, so I did read other works, but they left me cold.

Maybe I enjoy that particular book more because I remember a world without personal computers and electronic gadgetry?

106> I thought The Reluctant Fundamentalist was great!

Two of my favorites, The Crisom Petal, and The Age of Innocence. Just Finished I am The Chosen King by Helen Hollick. Almost 600 pages, everytime it was about to slow done it lunged forward with a quick action or plot turn. Reading Red Wolf by Liza Marklund. It's been on my TBR list for a while. So far, so good.

>>118 HighlandLad:, 119 Thanks for reminding me about Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and the more recent Mark Richardson book. I loved Zen and the Art way back when, and now I plan to pick up MR's.

I too liked The Reluctant Fundamentalist but sadly, am probably the sole The Crimson Petal and the White LT dissenter (I know, eek). God, how I tried though. And I had all the right elements, fireplace, cat, soft blanket, snow falling ... I slogged through about 350-400 pages and just could NOT keep going. I looked for every excuse not to pick that book back up. I just found it really repetitive, boring (and how can prostitition and such be boring?) and those characters, I just did not like them nor care one whit what happened to them. It sort of reminded me, in scope or something, of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell which I finished out of sheer spite (someone said I couldn't do it, all my friends tried to do it and failed). And while I won the bet, I said to myself ... don't ever do that again. It had moments of greatness, like Crimson, but just ... I dunno, blech. But both of them did certainly put you "there" as a reader; and as I learn to write more, I get the draw.

Maybe I'll watch that Beeb show and see if I like it any better.

I am still reading Hellhound on his Trail and am a little stunned by some of the factoids unearthed. I did not know MLK was such a womanizer, drinker, etc. I guess I'm a little saddened by the bursting of the illusion I had of him, but alas, such is the life of non fiction. Other than being too real, it's a phenomenal read ... every page is interesting and most, educational.

#118

I have never read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance but may have to put it on my wishlist. I think that this year is a major anniversary of that book but not sure which one. It sure has had quite an influence on people world wide, so for no other reason, aside from your excellent discussion of it, I should read that book. At some point in my life ...

I have Crimson Petal and the White on my nightstand and want to get it read before the BBC production is broadcast here in the U. S. But first I have to get Sarah's Key read before that movie comes out!

#126 Maybe I'll watch that Beeb show and see if I like it any better. Sadly, I don't think you will, Carolyn. Of the people I've discussed it with, those who loved the book also loved the TV drama but those who didn't love the book couldn't make head or tail of it! (And I love Jonathan Strange too so maybe that explains something.)

I've been picking up and putting down books all week. I just finished The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry. It was kind of/ sort of good. Cooking is a major theme and I enjoyed that. I've spent a lot of time waiting for appointments and waiting in general and The Kitchen Daughter was perfect for that. It held my interest in a way that made the time pass. Re-reading that it made me thing of the phrase: damned with faint praise.
After reading the graphic novel Buddha 1: Kapilavastu, I ordered Buddha 2: The Four Encounters and I just picked it up at the library. I've been exploring Buddhism and its roots. These books by Osamu Tezuka have been an excellent introduction.

I still have Lady Jane Grey A Tudor Mystery on the go. It is beginning to feel like I will never finish. According to kindle I am now 52% through it. It is actually a pretty good read just sooooo much detail that I have to leave it alone and come back to it.

Alas, I just finished The Crimson Petal and the White, 900 pages and I was willing to read 900 more, but that's not to be. My library has neither The Apple : New Crimson Petal Stories nor the BBC production of Crimson. I know, life will go on, but I'm feeling a little empty.
Benita, the BBC production is going to be shown in the US? Do you know when?
Carolyn, isn't it amazing how a much loved book can just not be to our taste? Regarding MLK, it seems great charismatic people frequently enjoy a great amount of sex, also frequently with a variety of partners. I can't remember what book I recently read that asked if it was the power that gave such people a taste for sex or was it that powerful people have powerful tastes that lead them on the way to power.

#126 - Carolyn - I'm looking forward to reading A First-rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness by Nassir Ghaemi. So often manic behavior drives success I have noticed, e.g. Ted Turner and others, and one of the symptoms of mania is hyper-sexuality. I just keep seeing this repeated over and over. Wondering what the research shows. Not that that excuses bad behavior, but does help explain, then move to more understanding, SELF-understanding, and maybe even -SELF-control? Hellhound is on my list.

Just finished my second ER about Tibet in a row - Waiting for the Dalai Lama by Annelie Rozeboom. It was a great read and I thought pretty balanced, altho a couple of other reviewers did not agree. There was mention that Tibetan warriors also tortured and murdered and that Tibetans had slaves so that wasn't left out. I was left feeling pretty uncomfortable after having spent a few hours at Little Bighorn this summer and having a mind full of that. The parallels were amazing. My review is posted.

I'm going to go grab a mystery and relax my brain!

>113 Citizenjoyce: I'm reading Essential Dykes now too, Joyce, and am just loving it!

I'm currently reading (as mentioned) Essential Dykes to Watch Out For (graphic), Artemis Fowl and The Atlantis Complex (audio), Watership Down (audio), I, Lucifer (print), and continuing on with The Brothers of Gwynedd (Kindle).

CarolynSchroeder- I am so glad you are enjoying Hellhound. I learned a lot from this book and Sides has quickly become one of my favorite nonfiction writers. Plus I own his book on Kit Carson, which sounds incredible. As far as MLK, I knew about the womanizing but I did not realize he was in such a depressed and frail state of mind, before the assassination.

Carolyn and msf59 - There has been some interesting work about civil rights workers and post traumatic stress, which many of them surely had. Also I picked up a great book in Memphis at the museum in the Lorraine Motel about the children of the civil rights workers. Fascinating read about the effects of being raised by someone with PTSD, many similarities with returning military personnel. Think about having a parent who is often either depressed, emotionally numb, or reactive. I'll try to dig up that title tomorrow.

I read Sold today. If you're looking for a book to make you feel better about life, this might not be the one. At least Crimson Petal is historical fiction. Sexual slavery is happening now all around us. So, I think I'll leave prostitution for a bit and read People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks for my RL book club.

#136 I think I'll leave prostitution for a bit It comes to us all in the end, Joyce!

I don't have any info about when the BBC version will be shown in the US but the one clunky bit of casting was Gillian Anderson as Mrs Castaway so I'm guessing there was an American audience in mind when it was made. It'll be worth waiting for. (I loved People of the Book too.)

MKboylan, MSf59, et al. ~ I definitely agree that PTSD has to be rampant re: civil rights. I am too surprised how fragile MLK was. But it seemed he had many portents about his death, and how it would happen. And while I'm saddened by the sexual control and such involved in power, I guess it doesn't surprise me all that much. But still, I (ignorantly) thought he was a bit different ~ or that is what was taught in school.

Hampton Sides is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors of any genre too. I love the way he writes, but also, he has a way of capturing the emotional states of the characters - he's very straightfoward, but still, there is this underlying sympathy or ... understanding? I'm not sure what it is, but it feels like reading a novel sometimes. You can tell he lives with his research subjects, in his head, when he writes. I hope Paris Review does an interview with him soon!

In my fiction writing class, I've been introduced to some great authors (via short stories we are assigned), including ZZ Packer, Kate Chopin and a few lesser known works from Mark Twain.

I just love this thread and how we can appreciate and discuss books, yet not agree on them! In that vein, I've noticed that my reading tastes change quite dramatically as I age.

I just got a note from the public library that my reserve for The Dog Who Knew Too Much is waiting for me! For those not in the know, it's the fourth in a series by Spencer Quinn about a detective and his dog, from the dog's perspective.

Guess where I'm headed after work? :D

Since my last post I abandoned It's Hard Not to Hate You and picked up The Women of the Cousins' War by Philippa Gregory instead. I also finished the audio of The Leftovers and started Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, narrated by Wil Wheaton, which is amazing.

Carolyn & mkboylan- Funny, I was just listening to a podcast and they were discussing a new book that deals with depression in leaders and they mentioned that MLK & Churchill both had tried to commit suicide at younger age. Wow, did not know this.

Jen- How was the audio of The Leftovers? It sounds great. I'll also be watching for your thoughts on Ready Player One. I've heard excellent stuff on that one too!

I started listening to Inkspell by Cornelia Funke yesterday and am enjoying it. Brendan Fraser is the narrator (he has done others for this author's work) and he does a very nice job. I am participating in the September sequels and series group read and decided to just get this book out of the way. This is the second in the series and I have the third one waiting for me when I finish this one.

Yippee! Not only did the library have my reserved copy of The Dog Who Knew Too Much but they also had Laurie King's new Russell/Holmes book, "The Pirate King"!

My weekend is going to be full...

Finished Belle Ruin by Martha Grimes. Not a fan. Reads like the middle book of a series. Next up is The Magicians by Lev Grossman.

Just started The Story of Charlotte's Web: The Eccentric Life in Nature and the Birth of an American Classic by Michael Sims. This is another example of a book I learned about on this website. An interesting and detailed look at the life of E.B. White who wrote one of my favorite books of all time- Charlotte's Web.

correcction- the title is actually The Story of Charlotte's Web: E.B. White's Eccentic Life in Nature and the Birth os an American Classic

Booksloth, this American would love Gillian Anderson in anything, but as Mrs. Castaway? Well, I wouldn't have seen that coming.

# 122 "...besides, the main male character in Sense and Sensibility that should be a Mr. Darcy is a whiny baby imho. But that is imho."

LOL!

#147 I know. I have nothing against Ms Anderson whatsoever but she's not the obvious person who springs to mind. (Come to think of it, Mrs Fox was nothing like I imagined her either but that's just the price you pay for reading the book first).

The new thread is here,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/123448

Hi Sisarus! How did you like Man with a Pan? My wife brought it back for me from her latest trip to Canada and I very much enjoyed reading it. Cheers!