What Are You Reading the Week of 18 August 2012?

The 18th: Brian W. Aldiss

Alain Robbe-Grillet

Paula Danziger

The 19th: Jonathan Coe

Ogden Nash

Mary Doria Russell

The 20th: H.P. Lovecraft

Austin Tappan Wright

Jacqueline Susann

The 21st: M.M.Kaye

Anthony Boucher

Lucius Shepard

The 22nd: Annie Proulx

Ray Bradbury

Dorothy Parker

The 23rd: Lewis Nordan

Nelson DeMille

Lloyd Birmingham

Edgar Lee Masters

The 24th: John Green

James Tiptree Jr.

Jorge Luis Borges

I finished One Day at a Time yesterday and am beginning to honestly believe that Danielle Steel might be getting to the point where she is all written out in my opinion. I just didn't like this particular book all that much. So, last night I picked up Horror House and it will be a reread for me that I really enjoyed when I originally read it.

I hope you're feeling okay, Richard!

I'm still reading Memoir of a Debulked Woman: Enduring Ovarian Cancer by Susan Gubar. I can identify with much of what she's gone through, although my experience so far, has not been quite as horrid. This is very gritty, and I would not recommend it for the newly diagnosed, who would probably get scared out of their minds, and who might forget that the experience is different for everyone. I am glad, thouigh, that someone is not holding back in telling her story.

I also share the author's frustration that ovarian cancer gets almost no publicity, especially compared to breast cancer. Does anyone here even know what color ribbon is used for ovarian cancer awareness?

Continuing with Any Human Heart and Moby Dick; progress has been made.

>3 bookwoman247: I don't know anything at all about ovarian cancer. What color is the ribbon?

>4 jnwelch: Did someone in particular make the progress, or was it simply made and noted?

>5 richardderus: The ribbon is teal.

Teal! A beautiful color to inspire hope!

>7 richardderus:: Yep, it is! I just wish it would also inspire more donations and research! Even doctors have a very difficult time diagnosing the disease, and treatment rarely cures. Probably because it is rarely discovered until it is the advanced stages. stage III or IV.

Am reading Some do not, which is the first book of Ford Madox Ford's Parade's end and am halfway enchanted and halfway amazed at the writer's gall.

#9 Ooh, interesting. Here in the UK we're about to get Parade's End dramatised on TV. Though I like Ford Madox Ford I haven't read this one and know very little about it but I'm looking forward to watching it. Too bad I don't have time to read the book first.

I'm about halfway through I, Robot by Isaac Asimov. Very entertaining robot short stories, many misinterpreting the 3 laws of robotics, tied together in a timeline through robot history.

On Kindle: Un Lun Dun by China Mieville
On paper: number9dream by David Mitchell
In the car: The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers

Reading and loving The Art of Fielding.

I am a little more than a hundred pages into In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner and I'm not sure there's ever been a more beautiful book written. Ever. The language is just stunning.

(11) That's the only Asimov that I recall rereading. I refused to watch the movie once I heard how they butchered the book.

As I've mentioned before, Pern books are addictive...after reading Dragonsinger, I HAD to read Dragondrums last night!

Now I might just head back in time to visit with F'lar and Lessa, and my favorite, F'nor and his Canth...

Yesterday I started and finished Crooked House, by Agatha Christie, and I can see why it was one of her personal favourites. Today I will reward myself for some very productive housecleaning by having a cup of tea and finishing The Gun, by C.S. Forester.

Finished The Poisonwood Bible yesterday. It's a powerful no holes barred indictment of white man's meddling in Africa. Beyond that it's a psychological study of a family's adjustment to upheaval, death, and immersion in an antithetical culture. Gripping and excellent. I felt the different characters were perhaps an bit over drawn which accounts for a rating of 4.5 instead of 5.0.

Now I'm going to start The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost.

After my last book, I need a bit of light, fun reading, as this promises to be.

I'm off to the cottage with The Song of Achilles and a nice bottle of wine.

I am reading Wichita by Thad Ziolkowski and I am loving it. Very funny novel.

My reading has been slow of late. I'm still enjoying The Odyssey of KP2. On audio, I'm about midway through The Descendants which has been a better book to listen to than read (abandoned).

I did pick up and finish Albert Payson Terhune's Bruce (thanks fuzzi!!) which was a wonderful reread from my childhood.

@coppers, you're welcome. Today I reread The Further Adventures of Lad, another Project Gutenberg e-book (FREE!!) and enjoyed the trip back to Sunnybank.

They might be shelved as "children's" books, but I think they are good reads for any age.

I finished The Autobiography of Malcolm X this week. A facinating man. I wish that I could have met him. He was extrodinarily smart but deeply flawed. Now I'm reading The Don Flows Home to the Sea by Mikhail Sholokhov, which I'll probably still be reading next weekend.

#10, Booksloth, I'm so glad you told me that. I've been casting the book in my head for the last couple days, although, having looked at the cast on the Internet Movie Database, the casting director seems to have done well. It took me two days to finish the first book and it's more like I became obsessed with it than I enjoyed it.

I went on a small book-spree this afternoon, and even though I also got a slew of library books I need to read, I bought Mythology by Edith Hamilton, and it has been calling my name too loudly to be ignored, lol! I've just finished the introduction, but what I've read so far is brilliant. I'm loving it! Hamilton was such a wonderful scholar!

Fuzzi, hope you're feeling better. I love Pern. It's been a very, very long time since I read the Harper Hall trilogy, but I remember it fondly. Like you, though, F'nor and Canth are my favorites...

Continuing my reread of The Host.

Narrator Lady, We'll be reading The Art of Fielding next month for my RL book club. Let us know what you think.

I'm about half way through Gone Girl and so far can't find what makes it so controversial. The writing is witty and the characters believable. Nick, the main male character is a self centered jerk who doesn't seem to have a very high opinion of women - well, we all know that's a realistic character. Amy, the main female character, is judgemental, intelligent, and insecure and also doesn't have a very high opinion of women. Again, not all that unusual. Margo the sister is Nick's best dude, also without much praise for women. All of these characters seem realistic to me, as do the circumstances. Maybe the controversial part comes later. It does keep me reading.

On Audio I'm about half way through Sea of Poppies another book that draws you in and won't let go. I've resisted reading it because the idea of the opium trade just didn't appeal to me. How wrong could I be? Mr. Burnham, the very religious opium entrepreneur says of China's crack down on the British opium trade, "Fair trade is Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ is fair trade." Maybe he could run for political office in the US, he'd have a good chance. He also sees the slave trade as the best example of freedom. Too many characters for this little brain to keep them straight at all times, but they remind me who they are eventually.

On Nook I'm reading some poems and stories of Edgar Alan Poe. The Bells is so wonderful it makes you think opium might have it's good side after all.

I'm currently listening to City of Women by David Gillham and reading The Thief of Time by John Boyne (thanks to Booksloth). Not sure which egalley I'm going to start next on my Nook, maybe The Map of the Sky by Felix J. Palma? I have a hardcover of that as well, but it is so huge I think I might be better off with the ebook version.

I'm still reading and enjoying The Wise Man's Fear.

I finished up Graceling this week. Light & fun, ideal August reading. I also wrapped up An Artist of the Floating World. It's my 3rd Ishiguro and it was a solid read. Next up, is The Red Pony and Devil's Star.

Joyce- I loved the Art of fielding. I wish more LTers had a chance to read it. I also don't see the controversy around Gone Girl. I know the ending has divided readers, the way it was supposed to, other than that, I loved it.
Sea of Poppies is outstanding. Enjoy! River of Smoke is very good too!

Finished the audiobook version of the painfully brutal but brilliant The Book of Night Women at 4:00 this morning. It may take me awhile to completely process it (and longer to get it out of my head), but it was a powerful book and well worth it! Am in the middle of The Princess Bride on the Kindle. I don't have any print books on the reading shelf just now, but tomorrow I'm off to the library to pick up The Girl in the Steel Corset and Anna Dressed in Blood, which I think should be a good change from the dark horrors of the slave plantations of Jamaica.

ETA Happy Birthday! to one of my favorite authors, Mary Doria Russell.

My ordered book didn't come in yet, so still picking at The Black Cat, a collection of short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Don't really see why so many people really like him yet, but maybe it'll come.

And also still working on 166x Youp, a collection of columns by the Dutch cabaret comedian Youp van 't Hek. I enjoy his columns, but only a few at a time. Otherwise it's a bit of an overload. Also, I find the drawback of this collection that most columns are older, say about 15 years old. Since they're mostly about recent events, they miss some of the strength they undoubtedly had when they were written.

Hopefully my ordered book will come in tomorrow so I can sink my teeth into something I'm looking forward to.

I really liked The Art of Fielding too, however, I thought it did suffer from Bad Ending Sydrome. That said, most of the time I could not put it down (and that was on a Caribbean vacation, so that is saying something!).

Bookwoman ~ I was looking forward to what you thought of Memoir of a Debulked Woman. I ultimately could not finish it. It was so hard for me to separate her story, and the deep and profound horror she went through, from my best friend (who I know you know, but for the others - died of ovarian cancer in November 2009). I also had difficulty with the extreme viewpoint that it is almost a conspiracy that medicine is so behind re: ovarian. I never found that, nor did my friend. Ovarian cancer is woefully behind yes, in research, help, risk factors and specifically, diagnostics, but so are many other cancers. And I don't know of another cancer that mimics so many, many other diagnoses - so honestly, even my friend did not realize she had some of the symptoms until she was at 4c. Gubar's writing was truly wonderful and I felt so badly for her, like I wanted to hug her. She really made me re-live my friend's debulking surgery (which was not debilitating as for her - instead, it was the chemos and malnutrition that basically killed her). But it was far too emotional an experience for me to finish the book. Maybe with a bit more distance. I don't fault the author, just life, and all that goes with it.

I finished Wichita and while most of it was funny and smartly written, again, weird and implausible ending. That said, it did really capture how hard it is to live with a family member with manic bipolar disorder (or possibly more) who is this brilliant, brilliant (and magnetic and wonderful) person, but just has a hard time existing and fitting into the world. It made me think ... quite a bit.

I am now reading Bendigo Shafter by Louis L'Amour ... with my Dad. He is on a Western kick and LOVED this one. It's kind of a quieter story about the building of a new frontier town (1850s?) in Wyoming and the hardships the folks faced. The writing is simple, but soothing. Kind of a surprise, so far. Go Dad! This is my first book I borrowed via EPub on my Nook through my library (I had to load, unload, reload, delete and go through various hoops than poof, it worked. Weirdness).

(26) @catreona, go back and visit Pern.

I'm feeling some better, thank you. I'm currently following Lessa as she's about to meet Ramoth for the first time. :)

I feel like a failure for it, but I'm giving up for Sometimes a Great Notion. I put it down to read a quick library book and then never picked it up again. The fact that I made it through the first 100 some pages and I still don't like a single character means that I don't have to read the next 400 pages.

Still reading Real Food by Nina Planck and will probably pick up my first ever P.D. James book later this week. Yay!

@sanja, don't feel bad, I've done that myself...

Catreona,
What do you think of Un Lun Dun? Just got a copy but haven't started it yet.
If you are talking about The Host by Stephanie Meyer I read that about a month or so ago. I was glad she branched out away from the glittery vamps. I liked the Twilight books. I though the stories were good and I wanted her to write some more about what happened with Jacob and Renesme but I'm glad she went in a totally different direction. I'd just finished the 2nd book in the Old Mans War series (forgot author) so it was interesting reading something else that made me think about what it is that makes an individual, a soul, the relevance of a physcial body to who you are, etc.
Anyway, I'm still reading Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy. I love the narrator, Will Mclean and his smart ass mouth.
After I finish I think I'm going to read The Lotus Eaters. I like war stories and I'm excited about finding another book told from a female perspective after liking The Healers War so much.

I finished Gone Girl in 2 days which might not be an accomplishment for many LTers, but I usually don't read 400 pages in 2 days. I couldn't stop reading, even when I thought perhaps things were dragging on a bit long, I still couldn't stop reading. Then I read your review, Richard, and I was amazed. I thought I knew exactly why it was so controversial and why you hated it so much, I was exactly 180 degrees wrong. I have to say, if this had been written by anyone else, I probably would have hated it too, but Gillian Flynn is the consummate manipulator. When she wanted me to think something about someone, I thought it, and when she wanted me to think exactly the opposite, I thought that too. She's just good. There's no way around it. This is a perfect Book Club read, the conversation would never end.

Now for something a little more pleasant, Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy

I've been reading YA books: Ship Breaker and The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi. I've enjoyed them both.

Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli. My grandma bought it for me and I am eager to start reading it.

Just finished #2 in the "Becomes Her" series, Seduction Becomes Her by Shirlee Busbee. This is in preparation for reading the ER book I received which is #6 in the series, Desire Becomes Her. I've got #4, but can't find #3 & #5. Planning on hitting a few bookstores today to try and turn them up or I'll have to go on without. I'm enjoying the little twists the author is adding to the stories. Without them, they would be just same old, same old historical romance.

While I'm searching for the missing books, I've picked up Richard Bach's new one...Hypnotizing Maria. To soon yet to know how I feel about it, but I've always enjoyed his work in the past.

Just started my early reader's copy of The Lincoln Conspiracy by Timothy O'Brien

I enjoyed all the talk about the Dragonriders of Pern series earlier (and last week). I so loved those books!

I finished reading In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin on Saturday. This is a book of connected short stories, all set in Pakistan. The title says it all, as it opened up other rooms filled with lots of things about which I didn't know. It was a window onto a country and culture that is much in the news lately, but whose people and culture are not as well known to the rest of the world. Somebody on LT who read this book earlier said that women didn't fare well in this culture and they were right. But I would like to point out that in particular poor women didn't fare well in this culture. For me it was less a sexism problem as it was a class problem within the culture. I hope to read more of this author's work.

I started reading Thirteen Hours by the South African author Deon Meyer. I enjoyed the first of his Benny Griessell series and this one is a page turner already and I am only fifty pages into it.

I finished and REVIEWED Vaddey Ratner's astonishing debut novel In the Shadow of the Banyan.

Now I'm reading Trollope---The Warden.

Still reading Lords of Disclipline. I don't know why it is taking me so long to read this book! Maybe it's because my son started kindergarten last week. I haven't been on a schedule of getting up at the crack of dawn since I finished high school. I think it's frying my brain. Why oh why does school start so early?! 7:45! So they can hurry up and get there to EAT BREAKFAST! Aaaaarrrggghhh...
I think I'm just going to put Lords down until I adjust. Read something lighter. Like The Percs of Being a Wallflower.
Does anyone else have a hard time adjusting to their kids school schedule? I hate it.

Finally reading again.....finished The Warden by Anthony Trollope and loved it! Now I will read my RL book club selection for August, A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O'Connor and continue listening to The Hummingbird's Daughter.

Read my kids the story of Pandora and the Greek pantheon's version of the flood. Talked about how pretty much all belief systems, modern and ancient, eastern and western, have some sort of flood story. Told him my theory that it's because stories about the end of the Ice Age and the massive resulting floods were passed down in preliterate societies and eventually turned into a part of the societies religion. My son was fascinated. Have to get my mom to break out the Joseph Campbell Meaning of Myth dvds next time he goes over.

I'm still reading A Week in December -- I'm enjoying it but I can see it's going to take me awhile.

ampipsmith, Greek gods and stories are big with kids these days, kind of a mini renaissance. I'm glad because they're all so fascinating.

hemlokgang, I just read 5 Flannery O'Connor stories, and I don't really think I could do more, she's about 5 shades past dark. I'm glad I read them, but I couldn't do a whole book full. I've been reading some Edgar Allan Poe stories. I liked The Black Cat. It showed he had, pretty good insight into his condition; though just because substance abusers know what they're like, that doesn't stop them from progressing along in their disease. I also liked The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar. Now that was unique. I started The Fall of the House of Usher and was looking forward to it because it was referenced in Martian Chronicles, but I just couldn't get past the language.
Minding Frankie is turning out to be just the antidote to Gone Girl that I needed - nice likeable people, like a breath of fresh air.

Just started my ER book, The Lincoln Conspiracy. If it seems a little slow reading at first, it's probably because my life as usual swirls through events and circumstances totally unbelivable in a novel. But might make it in a soap opera.

Working through Dragonflight, a reread.

46, 49 -- Those of you who have read the Flannery O'Connor story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" might be interested in these two letters.

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/08/i-am-in-state-of-shock.html

>52 mollygrace:- Poor guy. He just couldn't believe it was as dark as it was - must not have been from the south.

>38 Citizenjoyce: I think everyone on earth feels that way about Flynn, with the exception of me. She's got a magical touch, and no denying it.

>34 fuzzi: fuzzi: I might just do that. Glad you're feeling better.

>37 ampipsmith: ampipsmith: I mean The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I enjoyed The Twilight Saga. Liked the vampires more than the werewolves; also found them much more interesting. I do not read war books, whether fiction or nonfiction. War frightens and disgusts me. There's enough violence, hatred and senseless killing on the evening news every night. I have no desire to waste my reading time with more of it. But there's no arguing with taste.

Should probably be ashamed to admit it, but I've only read one story by Flannery O'Connor, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," and it totally and permanently turned me off her. On the other hand,I really like Poe, both his poetry and his prose. The language, the atmosphere is what does it for me. He is very much a Romantic writer, in the literary meaning of the term "Romantic." Keep meaning to reread him.

Closing in on the end of The Host. Seems to me I saw something about a second and third book? Does anyone know anything about that? I'd definitely be interested. Haven't decided what's up next.

#52-54 I read a couple of Flannery O'Connor stories when I was just out of my teens and don't remember either (I was heavily into some fairly gruesome horror in those days so probably wasn't easily shocked) and one other at uni (which I've also forgotten). However, for years now I've had the compilation A Good Man is Hard to Find on Mount TBR, possibly because I don't often read short stories. Sounds like it's time I got round to it. In honour of everyone who has mentioned her stories and made them sound so fascinating, when reading time comes around this afternoon I plan to take a short break from Heresy to read at least the title story. I'm now expecting amazing things!

I'm also going to have to snap up Gone Girl the minute it's out in p/b in the UK. I've loved her other books and can't wait to see who I agree with!

Ed for typos

I read A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories a couple months ago. My 1st O'Connor. Despite it's racist leanings, it was a very good collection and I'm looking forward to reading her 2nd collection.

Hmmm, just read AGMIHTF (the title story, not the whole book). Turns out it's one I'd read several times before. I guess it must have seemed very dark at the time when it was written though maybe fairly run of the mill these days. I'm sufficiently interested to read a few more of the stories though.

>47 ampipsmith: ampipsmoyj: My theory is pretty much the same as yours. The Meaning of Myth dvd sounds fabulous!

>49 Citizenjoyce:: I'm so glad to hear that the Greek myths are popular with kids these days! I first read The Odyssey in high school, and I've very often wondered why with all of the monsters, etc. it didn't seem to appeal more to kids. I had a great time reading it then, and am loving Edith Hamilton's Mythology now! It seems to me a perfect book for tweens and parents to read together.

Oddly enough, I fnally read The Iliad this year, and it did not have the same appeal. Perhaps it was the translator . I read the Rouse translation. I've also finally read some Greek drama this year, and I wondered how the heck I've missed it all my life! It should be required reading in HS before kids are introduced to Shakespeare, IMO. Obviously they are the foundation of all Western lit., and so many Shakespearian plots seem based on Greek plays.

Just finished listening to Weird Sisters on my commute into work this morning. I think this is my favorite audio so far this year! Hated for it to end. Looking for a new book to load for my ride home.. any suggestions? :) Started reading Comfort & Joy- sounded like a good "comfort read". =:) Happy Tuesday all!

Any Human Heart by William Boyd was excellent, and my review is on the book page.

>59 bookwoman247: Bookwoman, Rick Riordan got kids re-hooked on Greek myths with his Percy Jackson series. I read that he started writing them to interest his son, a committed anti-reader, to the joys of reading. It worked for his son and kids all over, enough that they have been made into movies, which rather bypasses his reason for writing them in the first place. It worked on my grandson, also an anti-reader who would never open a book if he didn't have to for school. So far he's read all the Percy Jackson stories and another one of his myth based series. Yea for Rick Riordan.

I read A Modern Witch by Debora Geary over the weekend. It was a pleasant way to spend some time, but now I'm drifting around LibraryThing, looking for a meatier novel.

I stayed up until past midnight reading Thirteen Hours by Deon Meyers. This book is certainly a thrill ride. I can't wait to read the next one, but will have to do an Inter-library loan as my nearest libraries don't have the third in the series. Meyers can certainly write a book full of tension. Love this series.

I am also listening to The Physik Book of Deliverance Dane and am liking that one. It is nicely done. If you like historical novels with a hint of mystery this book could work for you.

#60
I have Weird Sisters in the recorded version as well and am looking forward to listening to it. Glad to hear that somebody else liked it.

#59-We read a lot of Greek play in high school- the Oedipus cycle, Antigone, Medea, and we had a Greek mythology section in 3rd grade too. I went to private school though. Public schools don't seem to have time, guess they are too busy not leaving any child behind. Why teach mythology when you have to make sure the stupidest kid in the class gets an "A" so you can get funding next year? I mean actually teaching something of value isn't half so important as getting high SOL scores! How else would the administration justify paying themselves so much money? Sorry. Pet peeve there. Our educational system is going down the crapper.
I don't neccesarily like military fiction because of the violence. I think that the nature of war brings out aspects of human nature that can't be explored elsewhere. As much as violence may be apalling, war is a part of who we are as a species. It's interesting to me to see what goes on inside people who experience war. I think books about regular people doing regular things are boring. To each his own.
I also have had some personal experience with violence. I have been held at gunpoint, twice, and have been able to work through a lot of the trauma following that by reading about people going through far worse.
At any rate, I read The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It was quick and good and set in the 90s so I was pleasantly suprised to find the kids easy to relate to as I was in high school in the 90s too. I don't think I will see the movie. From what I saw of the preview MTV really screwed this one up.
If I offended anyone with my rant about school policies up there I'm sorry. Maybe it is different elsewhere but in my town I am really worried about the quality of the education available to my children.
All this Pern talk..I think I'm going to rea Dragonsdawn. Or soemthing by EE Knight. I feel like reading about David Valentine be a bad ass.

All of a sudden, I've discovered the erotic novel. I started with Fifty shades of grey, thanks to people mentioning it (though not favorably) here on LT. Hadn't heard about it at all before. It's one of my first erotic novels and even though I'm not into the whole BDSM thing myself, I loved it. The sex scenes are hot and steamy and especially the male lead is intriguing. The relationship is interesting and I'm curious to find out what happens in the sequel so I'm trying to find a second hand copy somewhere.

As it's undiscovered terrain for me, and it has suddenly got my attention, I decided to see what else is out there. A lot of Vampires/Werewolves and a LOT of BDSM, not really what I was aiming for. But as always, LT has come through and I found some books that sound really good. I ordered Menage by Emma Holly (makes you wonder what that could possibly be about...). Another book of her, Fairyville, also got my attention. Apparently a fantasy meets erotic novel (no vampires or werewolves though), sounds good, but I'll first see if I like Menage.

Yay for newly discovered areas of reading!

#67
Try the works of Anais Nin.

#67
Try some books by Jacqueline Carey, specifically the 1st 3 of the Kushiel books. It's got the erotica of 50 Shades (though not quite so much of it) plus a great plot, complex multi dimensional characters and a fascinating Renaissance-era alternate Europe.

>66 ampipsmith: ampipsmith: I did read The Oddysey in HS, but not the plays. that was in public school in the 1970's. I went to a private Jr. High, and it was far, far, far worse. My brother went to private school all the way through, and I would not recommend his education, either. These were Christian schools, though. No offense to Christians, but the education was completely abysmal.

As far as military fiction, you're right that I did not like the violence. I expected that, though. what bothered me about The Iliad was how the Greeks, Trojans, and gods all acted like whiny children, or children taunting each other out in the schoolyard. The humor about Hera and Zeus was terrific, though.

I finished Bendigo Shafter by Louis L'Amour and loved it.

I am beginning Obedience by Jacqueline Yallop.

#52 mollygrace- Thanks for the link to Flannery O'Connor's letter with regard to "A Good Man is Hard To Find." Very interesting.

"Everything that Rises Must Converge" and "The River" are other favorites of mine.

(71) @CarolynSchroeder: Woo! Glad you loved that book. Louis L'Amour remains a favorite author of mine.

Bookwoman,
Have you read/heard of Ilium and Olympos by Dan Simmons? A truly strange, original and (I think) brilliant twist on the Trojan war. The Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley is also good. It is told from the point of view of Kassandra, the seer that no one believes. There is another book called Daughter of Troy that I read and liked several years ago but I can't remember who wrote it.

I haven't heard of those. They sound interesting. Thanks for the recommendations!

I've just been reading about Kassandra in Mythology by Edith Hamilton. I love Hamilton's overview The Iliad. the Trojan War. Another problem I had with The Iliad was that I kept waiting to read about more well-known legend from the Trojan War, like Achilles' heel, or the Trojan Horse. Thanks to Hamilton, I finally got to read those tales, since she went beyond The Iliad.

>59 bookwoman247: bookwoman247: Could only force myself about halfway through The Iliad before finally giving up. Just too much violence and gore. Never have tried The Odyssey. Curiously, The Aeneas was pretty good, despite also being largely about war. Maybe it was the difference of several centuries plus the difference between Greek and Roman culture/sensibilities. Maybe it was the translations. In any case, I was pleasantly surprised at The Aeneas.

A few years ago I decided that, in order to be an educated person, I needed to read some Greek drama. Got through a handful of plays, but I must be very shallow, because they were tough going. You could be right that HS age would be the time to tackle them. Certainly you are right about their importance,, especially for an appreciation of Shakespeare. Boccaccio is important in that regard too, as well as for understanding Chaucer.

Finished The Host and started They Came to Baghdad, a thriller by Agatha Christie.

#68 benitastrnad and #69 ampipsmith
Thank you for the suggestions. I will check those out.

#74 This one, maybe? - Daughter of Troy http://www.amazon.co.uk/Daughter-Troy-Magnificent-Betrayal-Devotion/dp/038081830...

Obedience did not grab me (but books focusing on religion often do not), so I started The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill and okay, loving this one. I'm a little early for ghost stories, but the slight chill in the air made me pick that off the oldy/moldy shelves at the library. She is a wonderful writer.

Thanks, mollygrace! Thank goodness, our book group did better than that absurd literature class!

Finished Hypnotizing Maria by Richard Bach last night. His work is so easy to read and yet lingers in your thoughts long after the last page is turned. This one is a keeper.

I can't believe I'm typing this sentence: I gave a three-star review, a sincere one, to Day by Day Armageddon. It's a zombie novel and I still gave it a three-star review. And meant it!

I wouldn't blame anyone who's ever heard me go on and on about zombie novels if they didn't believe me, but the evidence is in my new thread...post #49.

Wonders never cease, Richard. 8) All the same, I shan't be trying zombie novels anytime soon.

My new reading machine, http://www.freedomscientific.com/products/lv/sara-product-page.asp, has been ordered! Whahoo!!! Soon now I'll be able to read print books again! I can't wait!!! Got Engelbert: What's in a Name and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Arranging and Orchestration as well as a couple of books on songwriting jostling to be first. Think I'll go with Engelbert.

Oh, after all these months, I can't tell you how fabulous it is to know that in just a few short days books, real, live, paper and ink books will be back in my life! Audiobooks are marvelous, and I would never drream of putting them down. The NLS is a lifesaver. But to hold a book in my hands and turn the pages... Ecstasy!

Not even sure I know what a "zombie novel" is!

For those of you interested in books about Troy and the Trojan War there is a terrific young adult version of those events written by Adele Geras. I think that there are 2 or 3 books in this series.

I finished Thirteen Hours by Deon Meyer. I literally couldn't put this book down and had to find out how this mystery was resolved. Third night in a row that I stayed up late to read. I am sold on this author and now just have to read the third in this series.

Usually the second book in a series isn't as strong as the first book, but Thirteen Hours runs against the grain as this book is better than the first in this series. This is the way a mystery/thriller should be written - tight, action packed, and moves at a fast pace. The plot centers around South African police detective Benny Griessel and 13 hours out of one day in his life. The day starts with the murder of an American tourist and the escape of her companion from the assailants. That is murder number 1. Murder number 2 is the shooting of a high profile South African music mogul. From there the whodunit takes off and it never stops for the rest of the novel. It is the second in the Benny Griessel series. Number 3 will have to be Inter-Library Loaned so now I will have to wait to finish this series.

>85 benitastrnad: benitastrnad: Thanks for the recommendation.

Flannery goes for the throat. Her stories are a shock to the system.

>83 Catreona: CATREONA! How extremely wonderful! real books again at last! I am so happy for you, even though you won't even try a zombie book shame shame shame.

Thank you, Richard. Counting the days...

I am really enjoying Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner.

#78,
Yep, that's the one. All this mythology talk, I've been reading Oh My Gods by Phillip Freeman. It's written simply enough that my five year old gets it (mostly) but does a really good job of telling the stories in a way that isn't just easy to understand but also keeps me interested. I actually like it better tham Edith Hamilton.
Anybody got any suggestions for books on Norse or Eastern or African pantheons? I feel like we spend so much time on the Greco-Romans we forget, you know, the rest of the world? I know I'm guilty of it. I've got a couple of Bulfinch's mythology books on the Norse gods and a Chinese mythology book but I can't seem to get into either of them. And what about African or Native American beliefs? I want some books about that! I just don't want to be bored. I want to learn something without feeling like I'm learning something, know what I mean?
I have some paperback books coming myself and I am also excited about reading an honest to goodness BOOK again. My android just doesn't smell half as good as paper and book glue.

And there is nothing wrong with liking a zombie book. I liked World War Z by Max Brooks quite a bit. It broguht up issues arising from the "zombie apocolypse" that would never have occured to me. Like the extinction of whales because everybody tried to escape to the sea and ate pretty much everything. Or the nuclear sub full of survivors. Or the blind Hiroshima survivor who takes to the Japanese mountains and becomes one bad mofo of a zombie killing ninja, with nothing but a gardening tool for a weapon. Zombies and zombie aftermath on a truly global scale. Very well researched and thoroughly thought out book.

After reading the title story I've decided to continue with A Good Man is Hard to Find. At the moment, I'm reading one story a day before giving the rest of the time to my original reading, Heresy. However, I should finish that one today so I'll no doubt read at least a handful of the stories before I pick up my next novel.

Finished Crossed by Ally Condie and started The Last Stormlord by Glenda Larke. Still working on Exodus by Leon Uris.

And the next one wil be . . . (drum roll) . . . Nights at the Circus.

Okay, just got Menage in and the cover should have warned me off. It's not good... Not even attempting a plot or character building, it just goes straight for the sex, which as a result isn't nearly as hot as it could be. Disappointing, but it helps my selection process.

I finished The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill and it fizzled a bit there near the end, sorta predicable and not really that scary. But overall, she's a good writer and it was a nice little ghost story to hunker down with.

I am now reading my Early Reviewer book (which I received on the doorstep yesterday), Bright Lights, No City: An African Adventure on Bad Roads with a Brother and a Very Weird Business Plan by Max Alexander ... very psyched for this one, love Africa books!

I finished Sea of Poppies which was a 5 star book as far as I'm concerned. Loved the character, the plot and the history. My library has the second in the series River of Smoke in print only, so I'm going to hold out a while hoping they get it in audiobook. Reading words in other languages is always grating to me, but listening to them spoken feels just right.
I also finished the pleasant Minding Frankie, the usual enjoyable Maeve Binchy family and community love novel. I need one of those every once in a while.
I've started Blow Your House Down by Pat Barker which is proving to be her usual complete opposite of Maeve Binchy and is about prostitutes and a serial killer. I know it was considered a big step up for her when she stopped writing about women and started writing about men and war. And I did love her Regeneration series, but I think it's important that someone who writes as well and honestly as she does continues to write about women.
On audio I'll start Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry which was nominated for a Booker Prize, but I know nothing else about it.

#94
I read Exodus a long time ago, but really liked it. It gave me lots of historical background on the creation of Israel.

I started reading IQ84 last night. This one is a "big boy" (1200 pages) so I may get bored with it, but I usually finish Murakami books so am not worried that I will quit.

I finished and REVIEWED Anthony Trollope's delightful little novel The Warden.

Now I'm reading the third book in The Cairo Trilogy, Sugar Street. I have read the books over the last two months and this is a great way to read them because it's like getting together with an old friend. By spacing them out rather than reading them one after another, I think I enjoyed them even more. The last trilogy I read The Balkan Trilogy, I read one after the other and I don't think I got the full enjoyment out of them.

Vonini,
You have got to get a hold of Kushiel's Dart. The erotica stuff is actually pretty essential to the plot. The narrator, Phedra, is a courtesan who's an "anguisette", as in gets off on pain. She's also a spy so she's using sex and the appearance of weakness to gather information. She is one of my favorite characters of all time. Christian Grey would have been in over his head with her. She would have had him completely besotted and the contents of his hard drive in her purse while he was still fooling around with his stupid tie.
There are so many bad erotica and romance novels out today. Just look at the nook or kindle best sellers sometime, it's ridiculous. I know there have to be some with subtance but how to cull that herd of crap is beyond me.

I continue to dip into The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps, which continues to be delightful.

So, I finished Horror House yesterday and truly enjoyed my reread of it - even though most people might consider a horror book written in 1981 to be somewhat cheesy or campy. It is at least partially based on historical events. The house that is central to this book's plot did exist in Pittsburgh; it became known as the most haunted house in America. The first owners did meet their deaths in the way described, the second owner was an apparently murderous and truly demented doctor who experimented in the reanimation of the dead. Thomas Edison did in fact visit the house in 1920, and according to legend, his interest in the house's dark history, led to him attempting to invent an apparatus to communicate with the spirit world.

The house was completely destroyed in a gas main explosion that took place in November, 1927 and although nothing remains on that specific plot of land, (I believe that a road goes through where the house once stood) many unexplained occurrences and ghostly visions have been reported.

Anyway, I immediately picked up A Village Affair and began reading that. So far, I'm really enjoying it.

Reread Hunger Games trilogy. Actually better the second time around. I wasn't expecting that. Those books made me think more than I thought they would. Proves a complex writing style is not necessary for a complex set of ideas.

Greetings, all! Got back a couple of days ago from a wonderful 2 1/2 weeks in Finland. I read several books while I was there, which I'll report on one at a time as I get a chance. First up was the book I had in progress when we left on the trip, Mitch Cullin's dark but wonderful Tideland. You can read my brief review on the book's work page or on my 50-Book Challenge thread.

>ampipsmith, CitizenJoyce, Bookwoman247: Very glad to hear that Greek myth is becoming popular nowadays - when I was in school, it just marked me as 'weird' (not that I was othewise considered 'normal', admittedly). Though I'll put in a vote for starting kids out with Plautus to put the lie to the "classics are dry and boring" claim right away. (And a showing of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum should help with truancy!)

Mockingjay: I was about 2/3 the way through it at the coffee shop after work today, and rather disenchanted, but wanted to finish the series. Am now done, and avoided causing an electrical fire in my distraction, so that's a good thing (though I'll have to make amends tomorrow for the text conversation that I dropped). I was expecting a cliché, triumphalist ending, and I sure didn't get it. Agree with you, ampipsmith: very thought provoking.

Now back to some nice, interesting, definitely-won't-bring-me-to-tears material, like Future Babble. Have also started reading Pepys (along with Taming of the Shrew), and his no-trace-of-irony mention of visiting one "Dr. Whores" certainly caught my attention.

And Catreona: glad to hear about your new darling Sara (reader)! and thank you for the reminder of the simple joys of real, physical books: For smell alone, my copy of Walden is irreplaceable.

#101 ampipsmith
LOL! I'll be sure to move that one up on my wish list!

Oh, while I look forward to catching up on posting the books I read over my recent vacation, thought I'd check in to mention that I'm currently reading Paul Auster's luminous The Invention of Solitude.

Finished Moby Dick, or the Whale (yay!), and my comments are on the book page. In as contrasting a juxtaposition as I could think of, I'm now reading 420 Characters, a collection of miniature short stories.

Great review, Joe. I'm glad you now have the certainty of where you'll spend eternity.

Hah! Thanks, CJ. My odds are improved, but I'm thinking it's not yet a certainty. If the celestial librarian thinks to ask me about Tolstoy, I'm still in trouble. I'm in better shape on Doestoevsky, for example, but I'm trying to be as prepared as possible.

My thrilled and delighted review of Whispers in Dust and Bone, a South Texas-set (for the most part) debut story collection, is in my thread...post #95.

Finished Exodus by Leon Uris and started The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien. Still working on The Last Stormlord by Glenda Larke.

I got a couple of reading obligations out of the way and now I return to finish The Samurai by Shusaku Endo. I haven't had much listening time so I am still listening to The Hummingbird's Daughter.

Just started The Ghost in Love by Jonathan Carroll.

Started Black Sun Rising by C.S. Friedman. It's ok, I'm not really far enough in to make a call yet. I like the whole lost colony of Earth thing ( Darkover, Pern) so it is showing promise. And I like the mix of science and magic and the Fae. Characters seem interesting.
The paperback copy of Summer of Night by Dan Simmons. I might just read it instead. I got my husband Batman and Psychology. He has a hard time sticking to non fiction books (as do I) but this one seems to have captures his attention. Maybe because he wants to be Batman. :)
Ordered a copy of The Blue Sword by Robin Mckinley. It was one of my favorite books as a kid so I'm eage6rly awaiting its arrival.
My kids are driving me INSANE! Aaaaggggghhhhh! I don't know why I think I'm going to be able to read anything.

I just finished A Village Affair tonight and am now reading The House of the Seven Gables, one of my daughter's books. I'm looking forward to reading this book.