January 2013 Reads

I finished up The Factory Voice by Jeanette Lynes and quite enjoyed it. An interesting look at WW11 from the perspective of four different women , all of whom work at a war plane factory. One of the " voices" - that of the youngest girl drove me a bit nuts - but other than that , an interesting story and a great sense of time and place.

I've started on The Beauty of Humanity by Camilla Gibb - continuing on in my " Vietnam " book theme.

Wow, Vancouverdeb, you are up early...or late! Happy New Year.

I'm starting the year with Winter in Madrid by C.J. Sansom for a book club.

Today I will probably settle down with two of my larger books: London: The Biography, which I've been reading since October, and Three Bits of Fry and Laurie, which contains scripts from the show.

What We Talk About When We Talk About War, by Noah Richler. So far, not very impressed; he alternates between making sharp observations and simply displaying his own prejudices. A better title might be, "My foundation myth can beat up your foundation myth."

Hah, good one.
I became a slave to our houseguest over the holidays, an extremely sensitive sister in law with a broken hip and wrist and a raw food diet. No amount of family love could lessen my relief at her leaving after eight days. Not much reading took place.

Alice Munro remains the Queen of the Short Story with Dear Life. I read the library book edition but I will go it and buy it for my bookshelf.

Loosha - That sounds like the makings of a novel. Probably not your favourite Christmas ever.

Anyway, I'm about 3/4 of the way through Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China. It's interesting but relentlessly grim.

Loosha: I got a gift certificate for a book store and Munro's Dear Life is at the top of my list. Glad you liked it well enough to buy a personal copy.

Your 2012 holiday season will always be memorable as the year of the SIL - or maybe you will be successful in blocking it out of your mind :)

I am halfway through A Suitable Boy and apart from the political sections I am really enjoying it. I hope it has some sort of conclusion and does not just stop but I will have to wait a while to find out.

VivienneR, is your SIL vegetarian, or does she also eat raw meat or fish? My step-daughter was vegan for a while (wouldn't eat Oreos beceause of beef tallow in the ingredients). It can be such a challenge, especially when others in the family don't follow the same regime.

I finished Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China. I had mixed feelings about this one, but it was definitely very interesting and anyone who reads it is sure to learn a lot. Now off to New Zealand with Rose Tremain and The Colour.

!LYnnB, That's my SIL. No meat or fish either,but she will eat beans, preferably not canned. Very time consuming and I think quite unnecessary. Yes, vegans are tough, too. My daughter did that for a while. Now she's 'just' vegetarian. and my dad won't wear his dentures so you can imagine the challenge that was Xmas dinner!
How fitting....I'm readingCures for Hunger by Deni Béchard.

>9 LynnB:: There's beef tallow in Oreos?! Weird.

Yesterday finished my first book of 2013: Translations, a play by Brian Friel.

I finished Seins et œufs by Japanese Mieko Kawakami, a look at feminism, femininity and the female body. Fascinating!

I just finished The Last of the Crazy People by Timothy Findley; really enjoyed it.

I'm reading The Secret River by Kate Grenville for a book club.

15: That is a good book. A little intense at times but still very good. Over time I have really started to like Kate Grenville's books. The Idea of Perfection was a very good read.

I just read Ian Rankin's Exit Music which I received as a Christmas present several years ago and was holding so that I could read Rebus in sequence. How OC am I?!? I can't believe what a good writer Rankin is - hardly uses any adjectives but creates pictures in my mind of what is going on. I'm looking forward to his next Rebus which hubby got for Christmas - Standing in Another Man's Grave.

17 - probably not as bad as me. My husband and I are watching all the Bond movies in order. We accidently watched one out of order and my first thought was 'I guess we are watching this one again when we get to that spot'. My second thought was much more sane and I returned the movie to the video store.

But I totally get it. Even if the stories are meant to standalone, there is still a back story that only makes sense when read in order.

I read The English Patient and wasn't crazy about it, until I read the previous novel, In the Skin of a Lion. Knowing the backstory of the characters made the second novel so much more interesting!

I'm reading two books Les cafards by Jo Nesbo and The Day of the Triffids for some fun, classic horror.

I just read The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, a very little book but a most enjoyable read. I may never again eat these fascinating creatures!

I just read the 4th in the Simon Serrailler crime novel series: The Vows of Silence by Susan Hill.

I'm reading February by Lisa Moore

Lynn - I hope you like February as much as I did.

I'm reading the Canadian classic, Deep Hollow Creek, by Sheila Watson. I like the Cariboo setting.

My secret santa got me February - I loved Alligator so hopefully this one is as good.

Does Lisa Moore have a new book? I think I heard her on CBC lately

I just finished The Blondes. very strange novel, I'm not sure what it Is all about. Starting Arcadia, great so far. Stirs my old hippie soul.

That little corner of my soul, I mean.

I just read Ian Rankin's latest Standing in Another Man's Grave and it's vintage Rebus, as good as ever. My Christmas books are all read now and I have 11 holds at the library - I'm scared to request anything else in case they all start coming at once. I hope my Canada Reads ones come in soon.

arcona, didn't Rebus retire in Exit Music? Guess he retired like my husband did...he's working harder than ever now!

Anyway, I'm reading The Age of Hope by David Bergen.

I finished my Beauty of Humanity book several days ago, but have not had time to get onto LT. 3.7 stars! I'll definitely read Sweetness in the Belly by the same author later this year.

Currently I'm about 125 pages into Speaking From Among the Bones by Alan Bradley. So much fun visiting Bishops Lacy back in 1951 with Flavia de Luce's great mysteries!

@29 Lynn, yes Rebus did retire and in this book he's working as a civilian in a cold case unit. Everyone in it is a retired detective except for their boss who's an active officer.

Yesterday I started A History of Scotland, by Neil Oliver.

17 Standing in Another Man's Grave is great and I'm so glad Rebus is back. I think Rankin will keep bringing him back from time to time. I don't think it is OC to read them in sequence. However, I haven't done that. The first one I read was The Falls and I pretty much read the ones after that as they came out but I haven't been able to get Let It Bleed so I've read some before and after that. Plus I have the first four sitting on my TBR shelf for when I need a dose of Rebus and Rankin hasn't obliged. Have you watched the TV series? Rankin apparently wasn't happy with it but I thought it was good (you might be upset because they did them out of order).

@33 - Yes, I did see the DVDs of Rebus and really enjoyed them. I suppose when you're an author and it's your people being shown, they might not be as you imagined but I thought they did a good job of it.

I'm re-reading Away by Jane Urquhart for Canada Reads.

I'm also reading Away by Jane Urquart. Hope to get through all the Canada Reads Finalists by the end if the month.

I saw the Canada Reads contenders in a drugstore yesterday! London Drugs, for those of you who live in BC or perhaps Alberta. They must be popular.

I'm fitting in my January Orange Prize Challenge - Long List, or short list or actual prize with Sorry by Gail Jones. Just began it today.

I've read Ru by Kim Thuy and am nearly finished Cahokia by Timothy R. Pauketat. It's about a 11th century city on the Mississippi river.

I was in Victoria so I had to go to Munro's. I spent my Christmas money on 8 wonderful books!

Lynn - I'm going to Munro's either this afternoon or tomorrow for sure. Also, Russell Books. Did Munro's have anything on their sales tables that I should look for?

They had lots! I stuck to buying things on my wish list. Sounds like you should buy Indian Horse!

I finished an early-reviewer The Eleven by Pierre Michon which I found insufferably pretentious despite the strong literary value (very vieille France).
I'm enjoying Sutton much more.

My book club recently read The Secret River by Kate Grenville and LT informed me that it is part one of a trilogy. So, I've just started part two: The Lieutenant.

42: Both great book. It is a very loose trilogy and I have yet to read the third one Sarah Thornhill which I think links more closely with the first.

WOO! Just finished When Christ and His Saints Slept! It's a very big book so I was happy to spend most of today finishing it :)

I just read a historical mystery that I quite enjoyed: A Dark Anatomy by Robin Blake.

A quick read, but still great. I love this series. Bad Intentions by Karin Fossum.

Sorry by Gail Jones was a wonderful but heartbreaking read!

Currently nearly finished my 1st Sherlock Holmes A Study in Scarlet.

@46 ted74 Enjoy Bad Intentions! I really love the series too!

Tonight I hope to finish Small Island, by Andrea Levy.

Just began How It All Began by Penelope Lively.

Reading: Broken Kingdoms, Out for Blood, On Chesil Beach, Lolita and looking to start Two Solitudes tonight

I'm reading The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat.

I'm reading On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan.

I finally get to start a new book - In the Forest, by Edna O'Brien.

I just read Honour Due - it was a gift from a friend. Before Norman Bethune in China, there was Dr. Leonora Howard King but no one had heard about her so the Canadian Medical Association commissioned this book. It's interesting but quite scholarly. Now I'm starting Away - hope I can finish it by Monday as it's a 7 day loan from the library.

I finally finished A Suitable Boy and am not reading Walking the Amazon.

I just finished a real dud with Tout a commencé à Monte-Carlo by Elizabeth Adler who usually writes cute romances.

I'm reading a much better book with my daughter Ma vie en dix-sept pieds, a thoughtful piece about a young boy using haikus as a means of expressing emotion after the death of his younger bother.

Just finished Bones are Forever by Kathy Reichs and was a bit disappointed-I find her writing quality is deteriorating somehow...

I finally finished an LT Early Readers book, My Pilgrim's Heart, that disappointed me a great deal. It was poorly written and poorly edited but the descriptions of the former Yugoslavia and Istanbul intrigued me.

I'm now reading Away which I'm liking but I still think Indian Horse is my favourite for Canada Reads.

I just finished Away - beautifully written but not a story I particularly enjoyed. I'm married into an Irish family and their romaticism has always frustrated me - I can't help if it I'm Scottish/German without a speck of that in me!

I'm now starting Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery which my daughter tells me is the best book Maude ever wrote.

Rebus is back! I stayed up half the night to finish Standing in Another Man's Grave by Ian Rankin.

Finished How it All Began by Penelope Lively which I loved -and wrote a review, if you are interested.

Currently 25 % into Alys, Always by Harriet Lane...an interestingly creepy book so far, recommended to me by someone else here on LT. I think it's a psychological thriller - too early to say - slyly told so far!

I'm completing Kate Grenville's trilogy with Sarah Thornhill. The first book, The Secret River was very good. The second, The Lieutenant had a similar theme, but no characters in common. This final book is mostly a simple love story, with none of the complexities of the first.

I just finished Away - beautifully written but not a story I particularly enjoyed. I'm married into an Irish family and their romaticism has always frustrated me

I guess I don't know any Irish people that well, because I didn't know that Irish romaticism was a real thing--I thought it was just a literary device. I learn something every day. I probably liked Away more than you did--the Irish bits were my favourite--but, as I've said elsewhere, I don't see it being a novel that every Canadian needs to read.

#61 - Deborah - I have a couple of Livelys in my TBR pile that I definitely plan to get to this year. Moon Tiger will be first.

I finished Walking the Amazon and was not very impressed. I am now trying Small Island.

I'm reading the Swimming Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst; quite crude and raw but very powerful.

I'm reading a memoir, My Life, Deleted by Scott Bolzan

Just finished The Blue Castle and enjoyed it but it wasn't too challenging. Now I'm starting The Bat by Jo Nesbo and looking forward to it.

On a last minute holiday week in Mexico. I read Dr Brinkley's Tower and Tigers in Red Weather, both very enjoyable.

I'm reading the compelling Eating Dirt: Deep forests, big timber, and life with the tree-planting tribe, by Charlotte Gill. Fascinating memoir.