What Are You Reading the Week of 19 January 2013?

Judith Merril (21 January 1923 to 12 September 1997) was an American and then Canadian science fiction writer, editor and political activist. Merril was born in Boston to Ethel and Samuel (Shlomo) Grossman. Her father committed suicide in 1929 during her grade-school years. In 1936, her mother found a job at Bronx House and moved them to the borough of the Bronx in New York City. In her mid-teens, Merril pursued Zionism and Marxism. According to Virginia Kidd's introduction to The Best of Judith Merril, Ethel Grossman had been a suffragette and was a founder of the women's Zionist organization, Hadassah, "a liberated female frustrated at every turn by the world in which she found herself."

Merril began editing science fiction short story anthologies in 1950—especially a popular "Year's Best" story-anthology series that ran from 1956 to 1967—and published her last in 1985. In her editorial introductions, talks and other writings, she actively argued that science fiction should no longer be isolated but become part of the literary mainstream.

Early in her editing career, Anthony Boucher described her as "a practically flawless anthologist." She also had an important role as Books Editor for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction from 1965 until 1969.

Science fiction scholar Rob Latham noted in 2005 that "throughout the 1950s, Merril, along with fellow SF authors James Blish and Damon Knight had taken the lead in promoting higher literary standards and a greater sense of professionalism within the field"-- especially by establishing an annual series of writers' conferences in Milford, Pennsylvania, where Merril then lived. Manuscripts were workshopped at these avid gatherings, thus encouraging more care in the planning of stories, and a sense of solidarity was promoted, eventually leading to the formation of the Science Fiction Writers Association." However, "disaffected authors began griping about a 'Milford Mafia' that was endangering SF's unique virtues by imposing literary standards essentially alien to the field."

In the late 1960s, Merril moved to Canada, citing what she called undemocratic suppression of anti-war activities by the U.S. government. She was a founding resident of Rochdale College, an experiment in student-run education and cooperative living, very much part of the zeitgeist of the era. At Rochdale, she was the "Resource Person on Writing and Publishing" with her extensive personal collection of books and unpublished manuscripts.

In 1970 she began an endowment at the Toronto Public Library for the collection of all science fiction published in the English language. She donated all of the books and magazines in her possession to the library, which set up the "Spaced Out Library" (Merril's term), with Merril in a non-administrative role as curator. The library has had its own physical space from the onset. It was renamed in Merril's last decade as the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation, and Fantasy.

Merril became a Canadian citizen in 1976. She became active in the Writers' Union. When the Union debated at its annual meeting whether people could write about other genders and ethnic groups, she exclaimed, "Who will speak for the aliens?" which closed the debate.

From the mid-1970s until her death, Merril spent much time in the Canadian peace movement, including traveling to Ottawa dressed as a witch in order to hex Parliament for allowing American cruise missile testing over Canada. In contemplation of her death, she left a sizable sum of money to hold a celebratory/memorial party at Toronto's Bamboo Club. An organized editor to the end, she prepared detailed lists of who should call whom when she finally died.

She was, in short, a pistol. A huge personality, a huge heart, and a outsized conscience. My kinda gal!

Her own work in collections includes:

Homecalling and Other Stories
Daughters of Earth and Other Stories
Shadow on the Hearth
Gunner Cade

--all text from Wikipedia

Thank you, richard!

I'm hoping to finish my current read and start on Doc!

Interesting woman! Thanks, Richard!

Reading Silent House and listening to Queen of America.

Tommorrow I am starting Queen of Swords and I am half way through the audio of The Drawing of Three which is very different than The Gunslinger which I loved.

I had never heard of Judith Merril. Thanks for the highlight, Richard. I used my Xmas gift card to order a little compilation of stories including hers.
This week I'm reading:
On Nook: still Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and I believe I'm actually going to finish
On paper: Mrs. Woolf and the Servants
On audio: at home Iron Lake and at the dog park Bloodsucking Fiends - I thought I wanted a little sarcastic humor and got way more than appeals. It's like wanting a little hot fudge on your sundae and getting a quart of hot fudge and no ice cream. I won't be reading the rest in the series.

Another great start Richard - thank you!

I'm still reading and enjoying (more than I expected to) The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared. I was expecting something a bit cuddly and cutesy and it isn't like that at all. It has a lot of reviews here calling it 'laugh-out-loud-funny' and I never really get those because I'm just not a laugh-out-loud-at-books person these days but it's certainly keeping me entertained and wanting to know what comes next.

#5 Citizenjoyce - I do hope the time it's taking hasn't put you off Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. I'm one of those people who has to read a book reasonably quickly or not at all or I lose interest and I found this one such a joy.

Working on The Loved one by Evelyn Waugh, which is funny so far.

Thank you for another wonderful start to the reading week, Richard.

I am still reading Billy Gashade by Loren D. Estleman and enjoying it very much, about 100 pages into the 350-ish that it is. I just have not had much time to read due to work, marathon training and also taking a Pen & Ink class towards my Botanical Illustration certification. It is wonderful but suprisingly difficult (and I have a BFA!!). So it is taking a lot of diligence and practice and devotion. But it is joyful ... just have not had the normal hours to read.

Thanks for another great start to the week, Richard! I have to confess that this is another author of whom I've never heard. I feel like you're filling in some gaps in my literary knowledge.

I'm readng A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea by Dina Nayeri, an ER book I recently received. I'm enjoying it, but not reading at my usual pace, since I've started feeling a few of the effects from chemo.

>2 fuzzi:: fuzzi, hope you enjoy Doc!

On my reading plate today is When Christ and His Saints Slept, by Sharon Kay Penman, which I've been reading for a while and want to finish ASAP because it's an interlibrary loan.

I'm still reading The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling. My goal is to finish it over this long weekend.

Enjoying Beautiful Ruins which I'm listening to. The reader speaks Italian beautifully which is essential to the story. It's an interesting, multi-layered story that goes back and forth in time but is intriguing rather than confusing.

About halfway through Rhino Ranch, the last of the Thalia, Texas, series by Larry McMurtry. Enjoyable although less substantial than the other books in the series.

Finished Putting Lipstick on a Pig by Michael Bowen and started Murder by Magic by Lesley Cookman.

I'm now over 130 pages into War and Peace and I feel like one of Napoleon's soldiers in Russia: marching ever onwards, but not really getting anywhere. It's a beautifully written book, though, and each chapter reads like an individual story; but it will take me a long time to finish it.

On the other hand, Jonathan Carr's The Wagner Clan isn't as good as I'd hoped, largely due to Carr's rather grating narrative; more suited to a modern television documentary, perhaps. I'll stick with it, though.

Still reading, and enjoying Never Had It So Good by Dominic Sandbrook.

I finished Ivan Doig's The Bartender's Tale, a coming of age story about a 12 year old boy and his father. Set in the summer of 1960 in Montana, along the banks of English Creek which has played a part in so many of Doig's books, it's a gentle, lovely story told in Doig's clear, economical prose. It's slow-paced and old-fashioned in its way, but the people you meet in the father's saloon are real, shaped by the history and traditions of that region.

Next up: A Death at the White Camellia Orphanage by Marly Youmans.

I'm in the middle of Farewell, Dorothy Parker by Ellen Meister, an ER book from the November batch that just showed up this week. So far, the story itself is only okay, but reading the book is a great way to reminisce about just how witty and wonderful Parker herself was.

I have finished The 39 Steps and am starting Rebus' Scotland

I did promise earlier on to suggest some New Zealand authors, so will do so now and then.
Denniston Rose by Jenny Pattrick is one I enjoyed and her sequel - the title of which just escapes me now. It is set in the 1880's coal-mining town of Denniston.
My great-grandparents lived in Millerton, a nearby town, and I remember visiting them as a child. My great-grandmother worked in the local hotel and her husband, my step great-grandad was a miner.

Finished Animals Nobody Loves () and am planning to start Doc next!

#19 Still couldn't read it (though it sounds a lot more palatable now). I'd still be thinking of sad-eyed puppies :(

Reading Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell on the Kindle and Archangel's Storm by Nalini Singh in paperback. Also starting the audio of Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz who wrote A Drowned Maiden's Hair, one of my favorite YAs from last year.

Finished Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton which I found very entertaining. It speaks to the struggle involved in contemplating or actually escaping the family and culture one's born into. It is also an exquisite examination of human emotions and motivations.

Finished Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron by Stephanie Barron and The Italian Woman by Jean Plaidy

#21Storeetllr: I loved the audio of Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!. I bought the book after I listened to it. It's a beautiful book with lovely illustrations.
Laura Amy Schlitz's newest is Splendors and Glooms and it's terrific.

Just finished The Ghosts of Varner Creek by Michael Weems which I rated 3 stars. Now ready to dive headlong into Georgette Heyer's Cotillion.

Richard, I hadn't heard of Judith Merrill. Thanks for introducing me to someone knew.

I'm reading Nothing, Nobody which is certainly a harrowing read in the beginning. It is filled with first hand accounts of the devastating Mexico City earthquake in 1985.

Starting my semi-annual re-read of Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko. Still reading There was a Country and dabbling in Borderland: A Journey through the History of Ukraine by Anna Reid.

I finished Rhino Ranch, the final entry in Larry McMurtry's "Thalia, Texas" series. I'm sorry to have reached the end of this mostly (Texasville was a little hard to get through for me) enjoyable and even inspiring set of novels. My short review is on the book's work page and on my 50-Book Challenge thread.

Today I'm starting The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hemon.

>25 NarratorLady: NarratorLady ~ I have Splendors and Glooms too, but it's a hardback. I'm so looking forward to starting both of them.

Just finished Red Planet Blues by Robert J. Sawyer. Tilting back into Sandman Slim with Richard Kadrey's Kill the Dead. Just can't seem to get into the mood for anything heavy these days.

I finished and REVIEWED David Howarth's gripping story of escape and survival during WWII, We Die Alone.

Now I'm reading The Line by Olga Grushin.

I am about to start The Girl In Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland .

I've reviewed a barely-hanging-on series mystery, Three for a Letter. Set in 539CE Constantinople, this book almost didn't convince me to move on to book four. See why in my thread...post #14.

Finished Under the Mercy Trees late last week; far better than I expected. Started The Snow Child last night, to great promise.

Another nice start, Richard. Thank you!

This should be the last week that I say I'm reading Under the Dome. Less then 200 pages to go and still really, really, good!

>9 bookwoman247: Wishing you strength, Bookwoman!

Am almost through Behind the Beautiful Forevers & also through Father Joe. They both deserve plugging, but Katherine Boo hardly needs it. But Father Joe? My library copy had a hold slip from 2009 tucked inside. And seriously, how many people can talk about 'back when I forced Stephen Hawking to do my math homework'?

#37 I heard the repeat of an interview with Katherine Boo on the radio last week and added Behind the Beautiful Forevers to my TBR list.

#35 The Snow Child ended up being one of my favourite books of last year - a real gem. Hope you enjoy it too.

I started Doc last night, and enjoyed it so much that I read until I'm at the halfway mark! Thanks for the recommendations!

Just got started on The Humorist by Russell Kane.

Finished The Secret Keeper yesterday. Enjoyable, but I remember Kate Morton' s previous books to be better. Now a couple of chapters into my ER read Hikikomori and the Rental Sister. Seems interesting so far.

Yeah, another Doc lover! I am about 2/3 of the way through Billy Gashade and finding it a bit slow. The writing is a bit old-fashioned (?) or something, which suits well for the times, but makes the story a little draggy. At times it feels a little bit forced. Our protagonist is 16 (although educated in NYC), so it's also not super believable at times. Although, it is written from him being an older man, reflecting back. What IS fun is how he happens along all the famous names of that era, e.g., he just met Jess James (also a boy) and his brother Frank, when they were Confederate guerillas. I will finish it as it is for my library reading program. Maybe Zeke and Ned was just too tough of an act to follow in the Western department. I think I need to sparse them out more.

A whole stack o' New Yorker mags... very American - gritty

>9 bookwoman247: Holding you in my prayers, Bookwoman.

>25 NarratorLady: Finished the audio of Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! last night in one sitting (well, how could I not, it was only two CDs), and loved it! On your recommendation, I'm going to buy the hardcover for the illustrations, as I have a new little niece who someday may enjoy reading it.

#9 hugs coming your way bookwoman. I started my ER book All This Talk Of Love by Christopher Castellani last night

(((BookWoman))) - sending love.

I've got two going: The Yellow Birds for my meetup group and High Country at lunch time.

I spent two days of sick leave from my job listening to the recorded version of Philippa Gregory's The Red Queen. This is the second title in her Cousins War series. I thought that Gregory wrote high class romance novels. I was wrong. She is an author of historical fiction and probably can hold her own with any of the well know authors of the genre. She manages to create an essentially unsympathetic character and make the reader interested in that persons life and motivations. That isn't an easy trick of writing to preform. That Gregory succeeds is a measure of her talent. I will be reading the other titles in this series in the future and will expect them to be just as good.

45: That's exactly why I bought it ... to read to a child in our family.

Finished Father Joe and am rescinding my evangelism, check out my review to find out why. Also finished Behind the Beautiful Forevers and am already impatient for Boo's next book - wow! You're in for a treat, Fiona.

Next up: Good Citizens by Thich Nhat Hanh, as well as some goal reading: The Taming of the Shrew (this time with modern English translation!) and The Nature of Things.

Bookwoman, my thoughts and best healing wishes are with you.
Booksloth, I agree Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell would be better read in a shorter time span, but I'm liking it very much and, unlike some books I've read recently, gets better as it goes along. Speaking of which, I just finished the first of 2 series and will not be continuing on with either. Iron Lake has the beginnings of a good idea, but the Indian concept of the wendigo is treated so much better in The Round House this kind of falls flat. Even worse, I believe Blooksucking Fiends should be banned and no one should be allowed to read it who is older than 15 or a big fan of the Jackass movies. The characters are just too obnoxious for the rest of us.
Continuing on with my month's reading of Indians and crime, I've started my first Loren D. Estleman, The Branch and the Scaffold. It's a fiction account of the hanging Judge Isaac Parker that reads like straight history. In the way he charges into Fort Smith Arkansas and is determined to clean all the bad guys out of the border territories he's reminding me of Rudy Giuliani and his war on crime in New York City.

#49 I read Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl and another one of hers I just can't recall at the moment, but I too was impressed, throroughly enjoyed them and felt I was learning history at the same time - which for me is the whole point.

I am almost finished Rebus' Scotland, not gripping, but an interesting read, and have therefore just started the audio book Knots and Crosses

and ......... I am very excited, I have just bought an E-Reader, can't wait to get that up and running. Once I have something to listen to audio books to while I walk my life will be complete :o)

Bookwoman......been there......sending prayers for courage, peace, and determination......let us know how you are doing!

I listened to two good recorded books while convalescing and now I found a clinker. Painter of Battles by Arturo Perez-Reverte "Pearl Ruled."I had read Fencing Master several years ago and found that lyrical novel to be an excellent read. This one was lyrical but it was so boring that I gave up on it after the first disc. My life is just too short to bother with all the philosophizing. Why do authors think that they have to write about art in a novel form? Please, leave that to the essayists. I suffered through Swan Thieves because I thought it was a valuable subject to explore but and that was enough on this subject. I am sorry that I paid money for this recorded book. Why can't the publishers spend production money on doing this author's back list? He is such a good writer that I am sure that there are much better books in his back list. It is possible that books are for a certain time in a readers life and then not. Perhaps this book falls into that category, but I think not. I doubt I will ever pick this one up and give it another chance. Due to the quality of the language I gave this one two-and-a-half stars. End of story.

I started listening to Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson for a total change of pace.

Just finished my ER book, Black Irish and really enjoyed it. The main character, Absalom Kearney, is one I want to see more of.

I'm another Philippa Gregory fan. I also recently read Wolf Hall which I really enjoyed.

I've added Doc and The Snow Child to my reading list, thanks for the recommendations!

This week I'm finishing up How to be a Woman, which I LOVED, and starting If Walls Could Talk.

#57 sarahbird The Snow Child was a favorite of mine for last year - hope you enjoy it! Started a guilty pleasure Cold Days yesterday. Bound to please as I have loved this series from the start. :)

I finished Doc last night, and highly recommend it!

With everyone talking about Doc I have moved it up the list, looking forward to it. Just started Call the Midwife.

I've had to put aside my ER book for now, for something easier. Thank you for all the thoughts, prayers, and good wishes!

I've now started Greenmantle by John Buchan, which is a bit easier going.

#53: I got my kindle at Thanksgiving and I was so excited. I am now reading about twice as many books as before!

I am almost done with Crash Into Me by Liz Seccuro (on my kindle). Fast read. I downloaded it last night and read about 3/4 of it due to waking up at 5AM. It is a harrowing true tale of what happened when the author received a letter in the mail from her rapist of 20 years earlier and the nightmare she has to relive.

(The touchstone is not directing to the right book. Don't know how to change this.)

I have got to get my hands on Snow Child all this talk about it has me drooling over that title. Also have to put Doc on the get list.

I am reading The Pretty Girl: Novella and Stories by Debra Spark (on my new Kindle Paperwhite :) and also reading some stories here and there in The Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by John Updike (a MASSIVE tome from the library).

I just started The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera, which continues the trend of aboriginal magical realism begun with Ceremony. More slowly, I'm still working my way through Ukraine with Borderland by Anna Reid.

Needed an 'easier' read today as I'm home sick, so I picked up Desert Dog by Jim Kjelgaard. It counts not only as a book toward my 2013 challenges, but as a ROOT book as well, woo!

Touchstone: Crash Into Me

I too liked Doc, but reading it in flu season (cough, cough) might not have been a good idea! Just about finished The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe. Wonderful, wonderful book....Inspiring, thoughtful and lots of layers to keep me warm in chilly January.

>63 benitastrnad:. All this buzz about Doc, I just had to add it to my Wishlist too. Surprising since I never read many western historicals before, but they're appealing to me now.

Picked up The Psychopath Test last night and am already halfway through - brainiac popcorn!

>66 fuzzi:: What's a ROOT book, fuzzi?

Read Our Own Tomes. A group here on LT dedicated to encouraging members of the group to make room on their shelves.

Heh. Love that name.

Oh! So I'm not the only one who needs to be reminded to read books I actually own? :) Off I go to join this wonderful group!

#65 Great to hear our Maori writers are being read around the world :o) I love Witi Ihimaera's work, it is very real, especially his depiction of the 1950s, 60s and 70s for many Maori families.

When we saw the movie here we were amazed to see a pre-school friend of my daughters' playing the part of Hemi (Paikea's childhood friend).

Beautifully moving book and film.

Finished the lovely Queen of America by Luis Alberto Urrea, and strongly recommend the audio version with the author as narrator! Next up is Last Man in Tower by Aravind Adiga.

#66-feel better fuzzi!

I finished How Children Succeed by Paul Tough on the train yesterday (and have been talking to everyone I meet about it since), and am actively working through Diplomatic Immunity (continuing my way rapidly through the Vorkosigan Saga) and a little more lackadaisically through Push by Sapphire. I've been meaning to read it for years, and now it is providing my very dark lunchtime reading.

(76) Thank you. The doc phoned in a prescription for antibiotics yesterday, and I'm starting to feel better this afternoon. I even washed up the dishes that have been collecting in the sink the last few days. :)

>78 fuzzi: Fuzzi: Glad you're feeling better! The worst about being sick is losing your reading mojo, isn't it?

Oh, YES!

And losing pay, too...

#80 glad you're feeling better fuzzi-something's going around. I'm supposed to see the magnificent Barry Manilow tomorrow night but he has bronchitis so I'm not sure this is going to happen

I finished and REVIEWED Olga Grushin's beautiful novel The Line. I urge anyone who loves beautiful writing and moving stories to pick this book up.

Next up is Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. I know.....I'm the last one to read it.

I am reading the hypnotist by lars kepler I am enjoying each of the story lines but they end so abruptly and shift to another for such long stretches it's hard to remember how all the details tie together. Also plodding my way through poland by james michener

(81) Sorry to hear that you won't be able to see/hear Barry, but I'm more sorry to hear of his illness. He's getting on in years.

#84-hi fuzzi-I follow barry on Facebook and he sent out a posting saying come hell or high water hel'll open tomorrow night but I really doubt it-bronchitis isn't something you can get over in a few days and he's not a spring chicken anymore-he's either69 or 71 depending on which sour e you look at

Bookwoman sending healing wishes your way so that the side effects are minimal. Fuzzi feel better soon. And cdyankeefan enjoy Barry Manilow if he performs. I had the pleasure of seeing him up close and personal about 27+ yrs ago at a press conf. in NY. He happened to be having it near the room our meeting was in. I've been a fan of his for many years. If he does perform you can sing "Looks Like He Made It!! (I know corny joke).

Just finished two books, The Humorist by Russell Kaye and Higgs Discovery by Lisa Randall. Now getting started on The White Devil by Justin Evans

Thanks, @momom248. :)

I have finished reading Girl In Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland, it was a fascinating book, it opens with the present day showing to one person a hidden Vermeer by its owner. The following interlocking short stories go backwards from 1940 to the late 1700, each story, eight in all are of the owners thru the centuries. Quite fascinating, as it is all set in Holland.

I have now started Tasting Salt by Stephanie Dowrick, so far very interesting.

I am starting Consent To Kill by Vince Flynn tonight. I have had this book sitting around the house for almost 2 years. Once I finish this book I will have gotten rid of 3 books this month. Now if I can just keep my resolve in this matter. :)

Finished Murder by Magic by Lesley Cookman and started Dying to Get Published by Judy Fitzwater.

>70 Heduanna:: Psychopath Test is a GREAT book! I'm really looking forward to reading Lost at Sea.

I finished Marly Youmans' A Death at the White Camellia Orphanage and I heartily recommend it. It is the story of a boy's lonely journey through America in the Depression years, his life as a hobo, a rider of the rails -- a journey that began soon after that death at the orphanage. The story is beautifully written -- I first came to love Youmans' writing when I read Catherwood and later Little Jordan.

Next up: When I Was a Child I Read Books -- essays by Marilynne Robinson

#86 hi mommom- barry cancelled all of his performances this week due to bronchitis-they've been rescheduled so I will see him on2/7 with my best friends and 2/9 and 2/28 by myself.ive been playing his CDs on my iPad just to try to get the feeling again-love him !

>SarahBird - no kidding! Devoured in two days flat - so much fun!

>cdyankeefan: Three times? Superfan in the house!

As for me, still plugging away on Taming of the Shrew, and continuing my non-fiction binge with The Emotional Life of the Brain.

#96 - yes three times- I've never done that before on an extended run. Now I just have to wait until 2/7 to see the magnificent Manilow!

I finished The Pretty Girl: Novella and Stories by Debra Spark and really enjoyed this quirky look as slices of Jewish life, artistry, loss and love. I put up a short review.

Now onto my "Animal Story" selection for round three of my library's Winter reading program with "Wallace, The Underdog Who Conquered a Sport, Saved a Marriage, and Championed Pit Bulls - One Flying Disc at a Time" by Jim Gorant. Having trouble with the Touchstone, so gave up!

Reading 2 concurrently on kindle: Heads in Beds by Jacob Tomsky and Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy O. Frost. Halfway through with Message From an Unknown Chinese Mother by Xinran, which I've put down for a couple of weeks now. I never used to read multiple books at the same time, but ever since getting my kindle...

I can't believe it! I usually jot down something about each book that I read every week, and have just realized that I completely missed out on posting about two books that I've read recently. Not that I'm forcing myself to post at all, I just love interacting with this group and was a little miffed with myself for forgetting to post something here this week. :)

Anyway, I finished reading Rose by Martin Cruz Smith on Tuesday evening and immediately started reading Tell me Your Dreams by Sidney Sheldon which I just finished this afternoon. Now, I'm reading The Wicked Wives: A Novel Based on a True Story by Gus Pelagatti - which was an ebook sent to me by the author for review.

98 CarolynSchroeder

I got Wallace: The Underdog Who Conquered a Sport, Saved a Marriage, and Championed Pit Bulls--One Flying Disc at a Time as an Early Reviewer last year and loved it! Hope you like it too!

Finished The Snow Child on my flight this afternoon. Magical and beautifully raw!

Not quite sure what to start next...

Reading Agnes Grey.

Just started My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor. Her memoir is an inspiring story of overcoming poverty, chronic health issues, an alcoholic father and many other adversities to fulfill her dream of becoming a judge. Quite a story!

#98..Carolyn, Re your comments on Pretty Girl I read your review and was impressed, and seeing as my library chain do not have it I have ordered it from Amazon.

I just finished reading Nothing, Nobody: The voices of the Mexico City Earthquake which happened in 1985. This is a harrowing collection of first hand accounts of the struggle to survive or the struggle to rescue people during the aftermath of the earthquakes. There were actually two of them, not just one. My review is far more detailed and you'll find it here if you're interested: http://www.librarything.com/work/book/92872378
I'll be starting Pedro Paramo next, and I'm going to try to brave it in the original Spanish.

>104 ellenflorman: Ellen, I'm looking forward to My Beloved World. Did you hear her interviews on NPR? The book sounds fascinating!

I finished a new debut novel, The Drowning House, which started out strong, had a little too much thrown in the middle and then finished up pretty well. Lovely prose, though, and interesting descriptions of Galveston Island.

Back now to The Paris Wife.

~ 101 - PaperbackPirate ~ I am loving Wallace! I stayed up late and just read and read (after a week of heavy legal/lawyer reading, this was a super nice change)! I have fostered dogs/cats for over 15 years (and do all the adoption screening, home visits, contracts for my guys) and have, at times, sat on the board of my humane association. So I am REALLY reluctant to ever read any "rescue" type books, but this one is awesome ... and a much needed reality and educational check about a wonderful (and horribly maligned) breed of dog. The disc stuff is awesome! That is one powerfully amazing animal (that ha, the owner had to learn and develop more to keep up with him!). I live right in IL, where they compete later in the book, I see. I will definitely go check that out!

In addition to the essays in When I Was a Child I Read Books, I'm reading Astray, stories by Emma Donoghue.

107 Coppers, I actually heard her interviewed on, I believe it wa,s the Today show. She was so amazing that I downloaded the book that day!

I finished and REVIEWED Tim O'Brien's iconic Viet Nam book The Things They Carried. Powerful.

Now I'm reading Barchester Towers and early on I'm loving it:-)

Finished The Taming of the Shrew. Next up: Bloom's essay on same from The Invention of the Human. (And then? Good riddance! I liked Shrew better when I didn't understand it!)

@112 I can't really see Shrew as funny either.

What's difficult to understand, or dislike, about the Shrew?! It's still the world we live in, and how wo/men negotiate relationships; think about it. *wink*
(There IS comedy in the play.)

This weekend I'm diving into The Long Song, by Andrea Levy, for my local library's book club next week.

For myself, I will then relish The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things, by Paula Byrne, which was book of the week on BBC Radio 4 last week.