What Are You Reading the Week of 2 February 2013?

Darn it! Busy week with annoying stuff. Next week will be better.

Thank you for starting us off, Richard! Please don't sweat it! I'd rather you do whatever is less stressful!

I am reading Maya Angelou's powerful Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now. This woman is simply amazing!

Marking the thread.

I started The Hunger Angel by Herta Muller last night and will be starting Driving Mr Yogi by Harvey Araton today

Still working on The Silmarillion and The Dark Monk.

Reading Barchester Towers which is more interesting than expected.

Will be starting Stormchild by Bernard Cornwell this weekend. I enjoy his historical fiction but I have never tried his work in other genres, so we'll see how it goes. I'm not a big reader of thrillers but I like to step out of my comfort zone once in awhile and try other things.

Still working on Torch by Cheryl Strayed. Not a lot of reading time this week.....also started thumbing though In Praise of Messy Lives by Katie Roiphe, I like the occasional essay to break things up

Just finished the fabulous Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon. He is one of the few, if not the only, writer whose books have each received my 5 star rating. Truly a magnificent writer!

Now on to The Fall by Albert Camus. I continue listening to 22 Britannia Road.

BTW, Richard, you deserve a break!

Thanks Richard, for the kick-off.

I am about to finish Flagrant Conduct which (along with "Wallace" recently and Sheepish Prior to the that) sure does set the bar high for my NF reading this year! I will put up a review as not only is this an important case, but it sure does shed light on how the judicial system works. Dale Carpenter is a very observant guy and a wonderful NF writer.

Finishing Daemon Prism by Carol Berg
#3 and final installment of her "Collegia Magica" trilogy

I'm about halfway through The Abolitionists: the Growth of a Dissenting Minority by Merton Lynn Dillon. I'm finding it very interesting and clearly written.

Reading a book I bought yesterday, Betsy-Tacy.

I'm just starting My Life as a Fake by Peter Carey. I'm not far in yet, so I don't know how it's going to go.

That means I've already finished Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now by the great Dr. Maya Angelou. So much is packed into this little volume. There's not a superfluous word in the entire book.

I loved Divisadero by Michael Ondaatjie. My latest is The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland, it is a follow on from her writing after Girl in the Hyacinth Blue which I adored!!!

I finished and REVIEWED Anthony Trollope's fabulous Barchester Towers. How is it possible I'm just discovering his work? *sigh*

Next up: River of Doubt by Candice Millard

A little over halfway through the audiobook version of Gone Tomorrow, a Jack Reacher thriller performed by Dick Hill. Also reading some soft-porn historical romance thriller on the Kindle for my commute and finding I'm having to shield the page from onlookers standing next to me. I may have to switch to something less steamy for my commute and finish it at home.

Next up on audio: Telegraph Days by Larry McMurtry.

On a separate note, I just read that The Sparrow (one of my all-time favorite novels) may be produced as a TV series on AMC, and Doc may be produced by HBO! Not sure how I feel about it. One the one hand, I would love to see them made into films or, in this case, TV serials, if done right, but that so seldom happens with adaptations. And it is only a possibility. As Russell said in her blog post, "...nothing is real in Hollywood until the cinematographer is on the set eating a breakfast burrito." http://www.marydoriarussell.net/2013/02/01/the-sparrow-will-the-third-time-be-th....

Based on a friend's recommendation, I just bought Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. I'm always up for a good "Books About Books" book!

More than halfway through with Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy O. Frost. Some interesting stories in it. I can't wait to be done though, so I can delve into Behind the Beautiful Forevers. The last couple of weeks have been slow-going for me, reading-wise.

Put up a short review for the excellent 5-star Flagrant Conduct and am embarking on the already-awesome The Love Song of A. Jerome Minkoff by Joseph Epstein for our short story thread/read-a-long for February.

Eeek ... Doc a movie? Well, gosh, I hope it is done right. HBO usually does a good job.

Thanks, hemlokgang, for the break wishes! I hope the break I want...from climbing stairs to reset the boiler's firing mechanism...has finally, two service calls later, happened. So far, so good.

I've put aside all else to read Speaking from Among the Bones, the lastest Flavia de Luce book, because it's due back in a week.

>16 brenzi: Oh yay! Another satisfied Barcastrian!

>20 CarolynSchroeder: What a book, Carolyn. What a book!

#17 Storeetllr -- I share your trepidations (and the author's) about Hollywood making a movie of Doc. Hemingway said when you sell the film rights of your book to Hollywood you should agree to meet the studio execs on the California-Nevada border. You throw your book across to them and they toss the money back and then you get out of there and try to forget about your book.

I'm currently reading You Will See Fire: A Search for Justice in Kenya about what happens after an American missionary falls afoul of Daniel arap Moi's regime in Kenya and winds up dead in the bush.

On a different continent, I'm also slowly trudging through the ice of The Frozen Thames. It's hard not to speed up, but the stories all seem to run together if I don't keep a steady pace. At one century a day, I should be done by the end of the week.

Today I finished and reviewed Betsy-Tacy, then read and reviewed The Vengeance Trail of Josey Wales. :)

Ungh. Two more books wishlisted that looked too interesting to ignore - The Frozen Thames (#24) and Stuff (#19).

I took a short break from The Gravedigger's Daughter to read The Wisdom of Psychopaths. There's always a risk when I do that, that I'll lose interest in the novel before I return to it but that hasn't happened this time. Still engrossed as ever.

Started Andrew Shaffer's new book out this week, Literary Rogues. My current audiobook is Eighty Days by Matthew Goodman which is wonderful and fascinating and SO LONG.

Today, I'm finishing up Behind the Facade of Stalin's Command Economy. Exciting stuff, huh? Sometimes I feel embarrassed to mention what I'm actually reading.

Next up is a more interesting read, The Noble Revolt: The Overthrow of Charles I. I wish I could find a good biography of Oliver Cromwell. There must be some out there. Does anyone have a good recommendation?

I finished The End of Your Life Book Club and will spend a lot of time evangelizing for it: a book about books, a book about an inspiring woman, and last but not least, a book about the kind of family we wish we had. It is beautiful.

On to a lighter read: Miss Buncle's Book, which is cheerful and has enough interesting characters to create a bridge between EOYLBC and my next read, Thread of Grace. It is the only Mary Doria Russell title I have not read.

Arg, nothing but MS Office 365 reviews.

#29, What about Antonia Frasier's Cromwell, our chief of men I haven't read it, but I liked her Mary, Queen of Scots biography very much. I have God's Englishman by Christopher Hill on my TBR list, but I don't know anything about it.

>23 mollygrace: mollygrace ~ LOL! I think one of the only good adaptations is Pride and Prejudice (the BBC version, with Colin Firth and Elizabeth Ehle). There may be others, but, since I'm not a movie buff, I probably missed them.

$16 & #21, another satisfied Barsetian here. Finished Barchester towers today and seriously enjoyed it.

Trying really hard to not add a zillion more books to my TBR list after reading through this thread!! but can't wait to read SOMETHING by Mary Doria Russell.

Busy week at work and having computer problems (at home) so best get that sorted first, especially as I work from home much of the time.....annoying but essential.
Oh and need to get to the online study as that isn't a happening thing either :o(

I've abandoned My Life as a Fake by Peter Carey for now, because I've just made a trip to the library, and checked out The Princess Bride by William Goldman, which is already all kinds of fun!! I haven't even gotten to Princess Buttercup's adventures yet, and I've already chuckled out loud a few times.

Finishing up with The Whisper by Carla Neggers and then will continue with Healthy for Life and a biography of Mahatma Ghandi that I've just barely started. Can't remember the title at the moment but it's LOTS of pages!!! Will probably pick up something lighter to carry around for odd moments of reading.

I'm reading fiction for once: Moloka'i by Alan Brennert. I also have to finish Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer.

#38: Thanks for mentioning the Jon Krakauer book. Added it to my TBR list. I loved Into the Wild.

Wow, both good ones #38/eo206 ~ Liked them both, very much! Under the Banner of Heaven is incredibly intense, but a very good read.

#38: eo206, I'll be reading Moloka'i soon for my book club's March read. I'd not heard of it until my friend's suggestion, but lately it's been popping up repeatedly!

I'm reading Gift from the Sea and Restoration (can't get the right touchstone).

My book club is also reading Moloka'i for March!

I'm reading a story a day from Everything's Eventual by Stephen King. It's been pretty scary so far!

If there's still time to read after reading a short story, then I also read The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips. It's been harder for me to get through because it's written in letter format, but I still like it.

Finishing up Nightmares & Dreamscapes by Stephen King. Started it a long time ago, but never got around finishing it. The last couple of short stories have some real gems among them, for example one about Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson with a little King-like twist. I've really come to value King as a great short story author over the last few years.

I am reading House of Cards Trilogy. Barbra Metzger. Almost finished. I like it but it slow.
I am new to this site, and would love a good twisted recommendation for a novel about Richard III.

I'm reading a lot at the moment, can't seem to keep my focus. The Broken Kingdoms, The Colour of Tea, The Double Blind and Time and Again

Welcome to the site @njclt! Can't help with that recommendation, I'm afraid, but I bet somebody will. If it exists, somebody here will know about it.

Read and reviewed Redwall as both a Fantasy February and a ROOT book. :)

The Hunger Angel - a great pick! There was some controversy as to whether or not Muller deserved her 2009 Novel Prize for Literature. I was surprised by this. I am curious what you think. I hope you get as much out of it as I did.

Cousin Bette, by Honore de Balzac.

>45 njclt: njcit: Welcome! You might be interested in Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. It is a mystery with a Scotland Yard inspector attempting to answer the question of whether or not Richard III murdered the two princes in the tower.

Well, I finished reading As Max Saw It on Friday and despite being very well-written, the book just didn't grab my attention as well as other books have. However, Louis Begley seems to be quite the award winner, so I felt that I needed to finish As Max Saw It.

On Saturday, Mareena and I went to our local library's book sale to replenish our TBR piles - 62 books for $20 - quite a haul! And I had to bargain with the librarian's assistant up from $18! :)

I immediately started The Woman in Black: A Ghost Story by Susan Hill as soon as we returned from the library and finished reading it a 12:30 A. M. Sunday morning! Yes, the book was so good that I couldn't go to sleep until I'd finished it. My type of story, it was excellent! :)

So, I'm currently reading Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult - which is turning out to be another good book. :)

Nearing the end of the 900+ page A Memory of Light, that wraps up the Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson Wheel of Time fantasy series.

# 45. njclt Hi and welcome , just Google in -novels about richard third- you will be pleasantly surprised!!

I love Google!!

BTW..Richard III is really in the world news at the moment, his skeleton has been exhumed from a proposed car park in England's East Midlands, 500 years after his death!!! Lots of interesting reading on NEWS Google.

I just finished a novel by an old college friend of mine and was very pleasantly surprised. At the Mother of Waters explores the meeting of three men of differing cultures, backgrounds, and temperaments, and the impact they have upon each other. The backdrop for this meeting is a sailing vessel sailing Boston to Rio and back in 1842. The characters are compelling and descriptions rich; a joy to read.

51, bookwoman 247: Did you hear? They just verified that King Richard III's bones were found under a parking lot in Leicester. What a great time to read Daughter of Time!

>56 NarratorLady: narratorlady: I did hear that. What a very cool discovery!

I am kind of up for an enmeshing literary challenge. So. On Mount TBR are Savage Detectives, 2666 and Ulysses ... do my esteemed voracious reader friends suggest any of these?

Wow, I missed a whole week somehow, and in that time I finished some good reads: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (finally) which I loved until the ending which was appropriate to the book but rather emotionally unsatisfying. Mrs. Woolf and the Servants a very complex treatment of Virginia Woolf's antipathy to servants due to her rather snobbish upbringing and her abhorrence of her body due to the sexual repression of the day and her own sexual assault by her half brothers. She hated being dependant on servants who represented to her the physical side of life, also she and her husband were quite tight with the penny. Mothers & Daughters: An Exploration in Photographs with great photographs and poetry and a wonderful essay by Tillie Olsen and her daughter. The Rocky Mountain Moving Picture Association a fascinating book by Loren D. Estleman about the early days of Hollywood and independent movie producers in which Thomas Edison comes off as the bully I've read elsewhere he was. A Brief History of Montmaray Ya with a good story and a very abrupt and unsatisfying ending. And just today The Bonobo Handshake: A Memoir of Love and Adventure in the Congo a 5 star exploration of sex, war, violence, marriage, Africa and academia. A wonderful book which I was surprised to find to be the source of most of the human and animal characters for Endangered.
Now I'm reading:
On Nook: Bad Blood by Lorna Sage an unpleasant autobiography of her life growing up in a small English village on the border with Wales in which most of the people are miserable and want nothing more than to make themselves and/or others as miserable as possible. I can't wait to finish so that I can start Ape House which Vanessa Woods speaks highly of.
On paper: I'm just about to start Cutting for Stone.
On audio I'm doing a month of family sagas from different cultures so
I'm about 3/4 of the way through Roots and 1/3 of the way through Call It Sleep. Thank god for Aunt Bertha, I was beginning to despair of the fate and submissive personalities of all the women in family sagas.

Wow! Great stuff in there CitizenJoyce! Whatta week!

Carolyn, I really liked 2666. Maybe you will be able to tell me what the title means?

I just finished The Unspeakable by Tessa Stockton and posted my review on LT. I'm starting Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. This will be my second chance with Morrison. Hopefully, I will like Song of Solomon better than I did with Jazz.

Marion

#62.. I loved Song of Solomon it reminded me lots of another favorite of mine The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter by Carson McCuller, enjoy. I found Home by Toni very special.

My latest is The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham, I have also been dipping into a wonderful collection of short stories by Bobbie Ann Mason , Shiloh and Other Stories.

#59> I read Call it Sleep in college and loved it. Hope you're enjoying it.

Borrowed from Libraries:
Fiction: 4 Non fiction: 6

Purchased from Ongoing Pub. Lib. sale:
Non fiction: 3

Topics of the non-fictions:
Religion: 4 History/Politics: 2#
Poetry: 1 Art: 1*

# The best of this group appear to be
Tony Horwitzʻs Midnight Raid, of which
John Brown (1800-1859) is the protagonist; and peter R.** ackroydʻs
Exile and Return": the Jews, Persians,
and other Near Easterners of the
6th-5th centuries B. C.

*doubt that Iʻll do more than scan this one: itʻs G. Steinʻs Picasso, and
her style irritates me.

** giving the "R" special emphasis, because, judging from a listing of his other books, he evidently isnʻt THE
Peter Ackroyd.

#54/56 Here in the UK we watched the TV programme last night all about the finding of the bones and the verification of Richard's identity - fascinating stuff and a great story in itself. One of the most moving moments was the sight of Richard's face, as reconstructed by scientists from the skull - http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/richard-iii-facial-reconstruction-shows-158...

Another major point of interest is that historians have believed for many years that the picture we have of Richard as a hunchback was just Tudor propaganda intended to malign the deposed king and yet the skeleton shows dramatic signs of a marked scoliosis. Several people interviewed in the documentary simply refused to believe this could be the case (many pointed to the idea that he would not have been able to get armour to fit but, of course, his armour would have been hand-made to fit him rather than the other way around). Extraordinarily, they seemed to think the fact of this disability was some kind of slur on Richard's character (as it would have been seen in those days) whereas to me it suggests a far greater strength of character since there is a strong likelihood that he would have been in constant pain (some mornings when my back is particularly bad I could easily murder a couple of young princes before breakfast). I do hope we can expect a book soon on the discovery

Wow, fascinating stuff re: Richard III.

I finished The Love Song of A. Jerome Minkoff by Joseph Epstein for my February short story collection. Now I am about halfway through the first of two books I need to get back to the library, the first being a YA selection (for my library reading program topic) No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Micheaux by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. It is really good, and writtin in a very different but engaging way - from various characters' perspectives, but also infused with newsclips, photographs of the family, etc.

Next up is an adult re-reading of The Great Gatsby ... then on to, I believe 2666 ... or some other hearty literary challenge. I have been reading a blue streak and actually want something to slow down to (as funny as that probably sounds).

>66 Booksloth: Booksloth: Thanks for sharing that fascinating information. When I saw the skeleton in the ground, I did notic4 that the spine was very misaligned, and I wondered if it was true that he'd had back problems, or if, somehow, the bones had shifted.

I'm sorry to hear that you have painful back issues.

Carolyn, if you haven't scaled Ulysses, I recommend it very very strongly over either Bolano. It's head and shoulders above the competition there.

I've finally reviewed the very ~meh~ A Killing in the Hills over in my thread...post #293.

I have finished Underworld London; Crime and Punishment in the Capital City (which of course included a mention of Richard III and the two young princes). It was really good and easy to follow, although full of facts and figures, but because of the extensive records kept over the years the author brought the condemned to life with small details about their lives and crimes - or not, as hundreds of thousands of innocent people were executed. The book covers a thousand years of crime and executions in London, but doesn't drag at all.
On to Every Last One by Anna Quindlen

I finished The Abolitionists: The Growth of a Dissenting Minority by Merton L. Dillon. My review is on the book's work page and my own 50-Book Challenge thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/148694.

Briefly, I found the book to be a readable, interesting introduction to the subject. I recommend it for anyone new to the topic, as I was.

Today I began Officers and Gentlemen by Evelyn Waugh, the second in his Sword of Honor trilogy. I was laughing already on the second page.

Thanks, Booksloth, for the information about Richard III. I'm glad that evidence was found of the spinal curvature (though not the withered arm). Sometimes a physical disability is just a fact of life not some metaphor for emotional or spiritual inadequacies. That's a hard one for humans to accept.

More on Richard III:
"In a Channel 4 documentary last night Richard III Society member Philippa Langley, originator of the search, said: "It doesn't look like the face of a tyrant. I'm sorry but it doesn't."

I wonder if Philippa read Daughter of Time? Josephine Tey makes a pretty good case for her impression.

69/Richard ~ I haven't yet tried Ulysses. I got it fairly recently at a used book sale, so it has just been sitting here. Okay, I will consider that first then. I just want to read something that is societally important and both have been touted as "best" of century, etc. - just to give it my own views/thoughts.

I'm reading Palace Walk. It is very evocative....I'm enjoying it, but I'm getting tired of the male domination of this book's Cairo setting.

Regarding Richard III being a tyrant, consider reading The Sunne in Splendor by Sharon Kay Penman. She did an excellent job with the War of the Roses while doing a bio on Richard III at the same time. You might enjoy it.

I just finished YA book No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and it was awesome. One of the best YA books I have read - a really unique combination of fiction, non fiction, newspaper clippings, FBI files and illustrations about this very fascinating (and relatively unknown, sadly), Harlem bookseller, who was very ahead of his time ... and never doubted that he could.

I have been lurking here for ages and have finally decided to join in. What a great list of books is being read here this week. So many to add to the list. I am currently reading The Headmaster's Wager set in 1960s Vietnam which I am finding quite fascinating; my e-book is Three Sisters which I have just started; on audio is Peaches for Monsieur le Cure andI am also dipping into a book of poetry called Limited Cities and a book on the history of Canberra called Canberry Tales. I don't usually have so many on the go at once!

I'm reading A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addison. I'm barely into it and I already know it is going to be MOVING!

I finished and REVIEWED Candice Millard's presidential bio of TR The River of Doubt. A real page turner.

Now I'm reading Barbara Pym's Excellent Women.

I am currently reading When Christ and His Saints Slept and find it a literary coincidence that Richard III's body was found. I consider him the last Yorkist king, but the news says he was the last Plantagenet king. The book I am reading now is about how the Plantagenet's became the ruling family of England.

I am also reading Life of Pi for my book club. I just finished Glass Castle and wonder if this really is a memoir, or is it a fairy tale? Oh well, I have read it and the book is moving out of my house.

Funny, I recently read Elizabeth George's short story collection, I, Richard, in which the title story is all about the Richard III story (and, of course, a murder).

#36 I really enjoyed The Princess Bride. The philosophical discussions were delightfully surprising coming from those characters.

ETA I forgot to add that I've just finished The Silvered, I had a great time with the characters and the story moved along so well that there was no time for boredom! .)

(I hope this comes out in the right order, for some reason my letters are bouncing all over the place, very annoying

For those interested in Richard III, I've posted a link to the Channel 4 documentary at #20 here - http://www.librarything.com/topic/149385. I think it will be there for a week but I have no idea is it will play in other countries - hope so.

Finished The Gravedigger's Daughter which, though gripping, should have been about 100 pages shorter IMO. I'm now reading Rupture by Simon Lelic.

>83 nhlsecord: nhlsecond: I'm over halfway through now, and have been laughing myself silly! I just love this book.

#84> " . . . . The Gravedigger's Daughter which, though gripping, should have been about 100 pages shorter IMO."

So you're saying the book loses its grip?

dianahaler.....He does write well, though, doesn't he?

Hi judylou, nice to have someone else on board from down our way :o)
Having just invested in an E-Reader and an Mp3 I too now have more on the go than usual - it's great aye !!!

Just started Far From The Tree: Parents, Children and the Search For Identity by Andrew Solomon

#86 So you're saying the book loses its grip?

No, not at all. Oates always has the ability to sweep me up and carry me along (all but one book) but I'd just rather she's wound things up a bit sooner because life is short, I have too many books and there's not a great deal more to say that couldn't have been said in 500 pages rather than 600. Perhaps a little paradoxically, though, I did enjoy it a lot and didn't get bored - just keen to get on to other things. (And 'gripping' probably wasn't the best choice of word - I don't mean it was gripping in the way a thriller might be: 'absorbing' would probably be better.)

#88 Hi FionaWh, nice to meet you ;o) Isn't it wonderful to have more than one way to read all those books that need reading!

Finished listening to the poignant 22 Britannia Road, and am moving on to The Sixth Man by David Baldacci.

Finished Great Expectations on audio this afternoon while working my way through a huge pile of ironing :o)

I had to do a double take at the first page of Every Last One today as the mother describes her routine of every weekday morning starting at 5.30......especially the last comment on the page....."It is the only time I can be alone, slightly less than an hour each weekday when no one makes demands."

Is she watching me? Or just another mother of teenagers!

I've reviewed the newest Flavia de Luce cozy mystery, Speaking from Among the Bones, over in my thread...post #26.

It's the fifth one, and the series continues to charm.

Finished Sweetness at the bottom of the pie last night--wasn't as impressed as I thought I might be--and am going to pick up The collector for a Fowles February group read.

#95 The Collector is probably my favourite 'nasty' book of all time. Have you read it before? If not, I promise you a wonderful experience.

No, I haven't. I read The French Lieutenant's woman and The ebony tower years ago. I remember thinking that The Collector looked creepy, but I'm curious to see how I like it.

I am a little over half way in Gone Girl and all I can say is......HOLY CRAP!! Picking up Act of Treason from the library today and just downloaded Dime Store Magic in anticipation of Boston finally getting pummeled with a snow storm Friday and Saturday.

Started the rather robust Judgment of Paris by Ross King. It's a beast, but I hope to finish it by the weekend.

John Fowles knows a thing or two about writing to make the skin crawl. Let us know how you like it. I sorta had my fill after The Magus a couple of years ago, but he is definitely, well ... interesting to read!

I put up a short review of No Crystal Stair because it's such a wonderful YA book (or really, for any age) and I felt it could use more good reviews! I am now reading The Great Gatsby (a re-read, but last read was in high school and I am now 45). So far, it's good, it makes one realize how much we have changed, and how much we have not. This could almost be today if you threw in the requisite technology.

Starting The Whisperer in Darkness today, a collection of short stories by H.P. Lovecraft - can't wait!

Started reading The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin, and am finding it interesting: her style reminds me somewhat of Asimov, but maybe it's just the era it which it was written.

It's my first LeGuin, part of a Green Dragon reading challenge. :)

I'm in the middle of the bizarre and refreshing The Miniature Wife and Other Stories by Manuel Gonzalez.

Read two books today....lovely lazy day listening to Keith Jarrett, stretched out on my comfy chaise, with my sweet corgi, Bella, across my legs.....bliss.....oh yeah...the books.

I finished The Fall by Albert Camus, an author whose writing and thoughts humble me. Notes and review: http://my2013readingjournal.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-fall-by-albert-camus.html

On a lighter note I read the hysterically funny How To Be A Jewish Mother, (I am one) by Dan Greenberg.

About to start reading The Moon Is Down by the incomparable John Steinbeck. Looking forward to it!

#84 booksloth

I felt the same way about Gravedigger's Daughter. It could have used an editor. The story got sloppy and I am not sure at all what the last part of the book was getting at. It seemed to take the book in a very different direction than the rest of the book indicated it was going and I thought it just didn't fit with the rest of the story. I think the message she was trying to convey was about being the "Other" and the outsider, but I think the last part was superfluous. Overall, I liked the book, but it just went on and on without connections to the main story line.

Agree with the assessment of Gravedigger's Daughter, although I recall liking it a lot, just an "uncomfortable" book.

I finished The Headmaster's Wager last night - it was a stinking hot night and I couldn't get to sleep! I liked it a lot. I think I will have to read The Buffalo Hunter next. It is only very short and it is due back at the library.

Working my way slowly through The Life and Death of Mahatma Gandhi as well as Healthy for Life and in between reading lighter stories like Friendship Bread which I am thoroughly enjoying. I might just have to try this out!

Wow, been gone a week - time flies! NovaLee: I wouldn't dare compete with a Manitoban for harsh winters! (Especially not this week :)

Richard, thank you for starting us off this week, and all these weeks for so long! But perhaps the rest of us could pitch in a birthday here and there? & there's a juicy one to start us off: Mark Twain was 150 on Saturday (or Sunday, historians aren't entirely sure). His body was wandering around under the name Samuel Clemens for quite some time before that, but Saturday marked 150 years of the famous name. (And I just finished my first Twain about a month ago - yay!)

Turns out I wasn't so much in an overall book funk last week: I was just sick of reconstructing ancient Roman physics from epic poetry. Took a few days off from Lucretius to finish up The Emotional Life of Your Brain and Good Citizens and to start Where'd You Go Bernadette? (which is quite fun so far, and I love how sane Bernadette is compared to all the 'normal' people). Now back to Lucretius on The Nature of Things, and also, perhaps, The Secret Book of Sacred Things which has to go back quite soon.

And, of course, I just caught up on reading the thread, so there's another half-dozen books on my TBR list. Our library system has a way to keep track of my list online, and if there's a limit to how many items a person can add, I'm sure I'll find it (and probably soon).

>81 benitastrnad: Benita, Life of Pi was definitely fiction (tempting to think of, though, isn't it?), but actually yes, Glass Castle was a memoir. I've heard some wonderful interviews with Jeannette Walls; she had spent a long time hiding her past, thinking everyone would judge her for it, that she'd lose her job and friends, and it was really inspiring to hear her talk about daring to trust people with the story.

#107 judylou, The Headmaster's Wager sounds like a great read - on to my TBR list it goes!

#109 Heduanna, perfect timing I am reading Mark Twain's $30,000 Bequest on ER

#105/106 Another reason why it could have used a good editor was that there are a number of silly but annoying 'continuity' mistakes. For example, at the start of the book Rebecca is carrying a piece of metal with which she thinks about defending herself. Once the danger has passed she takes it home at looks at it and decides it isn't all that sharp after all and she would have had to stab very hard indeed to have caused any damage. Later in the book she comes across the metal again and we are told 'it was as sharp as an ice-pick'. A tiny point (pun unintended), admittedly, but an irritating one because these things jump out at me and I always wonder if it was obvious to me, why wasn't it obvious to the person whose job it is to spot it? There are a couple of others as well. Still a very readable book though, for all my criticisms.

Rupture is proving a very uncomforatble yet un-put-down-able read. Highly recommended to anyone who has the stomach for some highly emotional issues.

I think you are right Booksloth, from what I remember. That is when I thought, well, I would be more selective on choosing to read books she wrote. That said, I do find her a great writer (and teacher of writing). I happened along her journals one at Border's (of old, ha) and they were MASSIVE. I think she is just a very, very prolific writer and writing is her life.

I finished The Great Gatsby and wow, I liked it a whole lot more than I recall (from high school). I aim to infuse old classics into my reading this year, including some I read as a teenager. I did not realize how intricate that plot was in such a short amount of space. Another thing I was really surprised at was the 20s. The 60s/70s gets the stage for free love, art, drugs and drink, but I rather thing the 20s beat them to it in many ways.

I am now embarking on 2666 for my personal "literary challenge" and I'm already surprised how accessible it is. I tried Infinte Jest last year and while I liked, very much, some of his writing, some of it just left me absolutely lost on what was going on (that future/corporate part - not the part with the tennis guy, which was great). So I lost interest at less than 100 pages and never picked it back up. I would love a reading club for that one, to help me get through it and maybe see if someone else gets that early on stuff more than I did. I expect(ed) 2666 to be like that, but so far, it's very different. I also think Roberto Bolano's writing is very funny (albeity academically/dryly so). I always heard how full of himself he was, and that it ruined a lot of the writing, but I just don't see that yet. However, it is VERY early! I shall leave room to amend all of this ;)

Wow! Just finished Rupture - what a fabulous book. It'll be a very long time before I forget that one. Now I have the problem of trying to find something to follow it.

ETA - for a complete change I think it's going to be the 3rd Flavia de Luce mystery, A Red Herring Without Mustard.

Doc by Mary Doria Russell just arrived in the mail. It is the first book I have read by this author - I have to say I like her style of writing so far and will look for more of her books!
(I am hoping to be blizzard bound for a day or so for some much needed reading time) :) Stay safe all in New England.

Today, a dismal dank miserable lightless awful day, is appropriately enough the 201st birthday of Chuckles the Dick. As my personal contribution to the crape-hanging and mirror-covering miseries, I'd remind all who enter here that 'What the Dickens' predates the man by a few centuries. Its first recorded use is in Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor - "Dickens" was a euphemism for "devil."

LOL...or more appropriately...sob, sob, sob!

So, I finished reading Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult last night - incredibly moving and thought-provoking book, and I have three more books by this author waiting in the wings! :) I immediately picked up and started reading The Naked Face by Sidney Sheldon last night. It is a very quick and interesting read for me so far and it looks like I will be finished with the book today! :) Despite having two copies of this book on my bookshelves, I've never read it before, although it did seem familiar to me at first. :)

A couple of chapters into Behind the Beautiful Forevers, but can't seem to get past many pages before falling asleep. Hope it gets better for me. Downloaded and started The Autobiography of Foudini M. Cat (which I found out about on another thread here). Enjoying it.

Luckily The Buffalo Hunter was a very quick read, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered to finish it. I think I will have a look at Behind the Beautiful Forevers next. It will be interesting to see if I have the same reaction to it as you framboise!

I finished the wonderful, delightful The Princess Bride by William Goldman.

Now I'll be starting Temple of a Thousand Faces by John Shors. It is historical fiction set in 12th Century Cambodia, not long after the building of Angkor Wat. The Khmer king and his wife must go hide in the jungles after the Cham king takes his land by force.

I am still plugging away at When Christ and His Saints Slept. I am 250 pages into the 900 page monster and had to renew it from ILL for another three weeks. I am putting all other reading on hold till I finish this one. Since I am now without a TV you would think that I would get lots of reading done. However, my knitting and the accompanying listening to the classic symphonies on the radio do consume some time. Very interesting. Maybe I don't need that TV?

>116 richardderus: Happy Birthday Mr. Dickens. Oh how lucky we were to have you. Too bad you couldn't have cranked out a few more books. Oh hi Richard, did you say something;-)

>113 CarolynSchroeder: Carolyn, I had the exact same reaction when I read The Great Gatsby a few months ago after`reading it eons ago as a college sophomore.

Hemlokgang, yes, Mahfouz writes very well. He makes it so easy to slip into the life of this family.....though I am glad I don't have to live with them permanently!

I posted this on the Historical Fiction thread too so I may get more opinions here. I picked up some Sharpe series books from a bookstore closeout. Should they be read in order?

>122 benitastrnad:: You can renew ILLs? Lucky! We have ours for four weeks, but no renewals. (The standard loan period for items from our library system is three weeks.) I dropped everything in order to read When Christ and His Saints Slept.

On the reading front, I finished the thought-provoking play Copenhagen, by Michael Frayn, and I will be spending a train ride tomorrow trying to make more progress in A Bridge Too Far, by Cornelius Ryan.

I am really enjoying Merivel A man Of His Time by Rose Tremain, I have read most of Tremain's novels, all have been very special. She has won some very special awards for most of her novels.

>123 brenzi: *beepbeepboopblattblatt*

Hello, Upstate New York Home for the Criminally Insane? I have a pick-up for you...yes, a Dickens fancier...right, flak jackets and anti-tank weapons....

#125 corgiiman - I have only read 2 of the Sharpe books so there may be someone else that has more experience with the series but in my opinion, I believe they can be read out of order. As with any series, you would probably get more out of the stories if you follow them along in the proper order, but the stories do seem to stand on their own well enough. The two titles I read were spaced several years apart from eachother and I didn't remember much detail from the first one but I still enjoyed the second book.

Richard.....better send two men in white coats....I love Dickens!

>130 hemlokgang: Oh you poor lamb! I am so sorry to learn of your affliction.

I've reviewed the 4.5-star short story collection Widow: Stories by Michelle Latiolais in my thread...post #16. Simply put, excellent stuff.

Speaking of Lambs, I've put up the new thread very early in case Snowmageddon hits and I lose power.

Stay safe, all New Englanders! I've been there (1978 back to back storms) so you have my sympathy.

Still reading The Lathe of Heaven and am hooked!

It's taking longer to read because I'm not cruising through like I often do with books, plus my allergies have been awful and I go to sleep earlier in the evening, leaving less time for reading...!!!!!

@benitastrnad, I've not yet read When Christ and His Saints Slept, but I love other books Sharon K Penman has written. I do have a copy of WCaHSS and will read it, probably sometime this year.

(I like Dickens, too)

Another Dickens fan here. Just watch out the shade of the great man doesn't curse you with consumption, hanging or spontaneous combustion, Richard. If he could do it for his characters he can still do it for you.

Be safe dear New Englanders (and nearby environs). We just got a full day of rain followed by a half day of snow (hear in the Chicago area) and it really added up quickly. Take 'er slow, hunker down and GET SUPPLIES (i.e., books and like whatever groovy thing you enjoy to eat/drink).

I am 80 pages into 2666 and enjoying a whole lot more than I thought I would. Bolano was a fascinating writer, in his way. I just read about his life, wow, different and interesting. Some of the interplay amongst the professors has me laughing out loud. I know it will henceforth plummet into darkness, but he had an incredible range. You don't see that too much these days.

I love Dickens. In fact, to celebrate his birthday, I reading A Tale of Two Cities. It's a wonderful story!

I vote we all go round to Richard's house, tie him down and force him to listen to the death of little Nell repeatedly until he gives in.

I second that emotion!

And by the way, I finished reading The Moon Is Down. Great! Now on to Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain.

My thoughts are with everyone in the path of the coming Nor'easter. Batten down the hatches and stay safe!

Also, another Dickens fan here! my favorites are A Tale of Two Cities, The Old Curiosity Shop, and David Copperfield.

Richard, be careful that you aren'tr cursed with such villians as Uriah Heep, Daniel Quilp, Fagan, or Bill Sykes!

Just reading all the luuuuv for Chuckles makes me want to weep...so much undiagnosed head trauma! What did y'all's teachers *do* to you, beat you daily with a knout or something?

Poor poor misguided souls. I'm with Oscar Wilde. "Anyone who can read the death of Little Nell without laughing has a heart of stone."

Ah, poor, poor Richard. I'll bet you've never wept over the death of Beth in Little Women, either. Allowing sentiment into your reading is so freeing for the soul.

Ah, poor Little Nell! *Sob* Sob* (Yes, I do konw that Dickens drips with senitmentality, especially in The Old Curiosity Shop, but I axmit to loving it unabashadly, with all the sentiment dripping from my bleeding heart. ;-)

You're right, I never read Little Women. My sentimentometer went off too loudly.

I agree with Mr. Dickens. Richard is write. Seen in today's world Dickens stinks. However, to give the devil his due, when I stop to consider that what Dickens did, when he did it, (back in 1832) I have to admit that he was a revolutionary. Even so, not even in the same league with Shakespeare. Just put Dickens and Defoe in the same box, and put them out to sea. Pick up the Bronte's or Austen instead.

>138 hemlokgang: I liked The Moon is Down a lot, hemlockgang, and enjoyed Pudd'nhead Wilson when I was a kid. Look forward to your reaction to the latter.

I finished the weird and good A Miniature Wife and Other Stories, and now am reading Volt: Stories.

@richardderus, I never read Dickens in school, we read a lot of modern so-called classics. I discovered and appreciated David Copperfield at age 20, riding the bus into the city to work. I followed it with Great Expectations and Oliver Twist.

I have A Tale of Two Cities on my TBR shelf, to attempt to read this year!

Did anyone ever read the Elsie Dinsmore books? My sister loved them but I didn't. I wonder if anyone has an Elsie book now???/

I just checked it out and learned from the reviewer exactly why I couldn't stand Elsie. First time I've ever been glad that I DIDN't read a book.

I am just finishing Bring up the Bodies by Mantel. I thought I never needed to read another book about Henry but seeing these times from Thomas Cromwell's point of view changes the picture.

#141 I'll bet you've never wept over the death of Beth in Little Women, either.

Watch out there bookwoman, I once mentioned on another site that Beth died and nearly had my head metaphorically ripped off but some crazy person who had managed to get to her middle age without knowing that and was terribly upset at the 'spoiler'. I hope no-one's broken the news to her about Romeo and Juliet.

Although I'm a Dickens fan, I admit that I couldn't wait for Little Nell's last breath when listening to The Old Curiosity Shop. However, it was all worth it due to Anton Lesser's delicious rendition of the evil Quilp. Had me laughing out loud!

The current wild-eyed fury many on the Internet work themselves into over "spoilers" is a crock. Don't want to know what happens in a book a movie a video game? Stay away from people. All people. Living ones, specifically, though dead ones *might* be able to communicate...otherwise grow up and get over it.

Adolescence is barely barely barely cute, in small doses, from teenagers. In adults it's tiresome.

All this talk about liking Dickens and not liking Dickens reminds me of a Groucho Marx line about Rudyard Kipling. Well, just about everything reminds me of one Groucho Marx line or other:

Person to Groucho: Do you like Kipling?

Groucho: I don't know. I've never kippled.

All the talk about Dickens is making me laugh my ass off. You guys are very, very funny. I am in the super minority who cannot even recall reading anything by him ... and while I'm kind of on a "best novels" of the ____ (I dunno, world) binge, somehow the draw to read his stuff is not strong. I think after 2666 (which so far, I am really enjoying), I will read Tree of Smoke which is on Mount TBR.

I've got some Dickens-reading in my future with the 1001 Books list, and I admit that I'm really dragging my feet over it. I had to read Hard Times in college, about which I remember nothing except that I hated it. And now I see people saying it's a short and easy one of his books. I despair, but I'll go in with my mind as open as I can manage. Much has changed about me in the 20-cough years since then. Although now as then, I'll punch anyone who calls me sentimental!

I finished The Fortunate Ones 18th Century Philadelphia as Seen without Sight. The book explores the impact of political events as well as the nature of life for a blind person during this time. It's not great literature but not all the characters are admirable, and the main character is not gung ho anti-English so it seems believable and is interesting reading.

I am in ct and 18 to 24 " forecast..UGH! Winds have really picked up. Be safe everyone in New England. Reading Night Circus and loving it.

#155 where in ct are you mommom? I'll be moving to milford in the spring

Well Richard it appears I have a few, wait no, many, many people who agree with me about mr. Dickens and only a couple of naysayers. I rest my case. On another subject, I hope you stay safe and warm as the storm barrels down on the east coast. We're only going to get a few inches out of it.

In the meantime, I finished and REVIEWED Barbara Pym's lovely novel Excellent Women. Now I'm reading a novel I've had on my shelf for a few years now and since it came up recently on a couple of different threads I decided it had to be my spontaneous read of the month. The book is Galore by Michael Crummey and 60 pages in it has completely grabbed me.

Sorry Richard, I too am joining the queue for Dickens, and don't you dare pick on Beth Little Women was another childhood favourite - and just as happy to read Bronte and Austen as well.

#147 Cyss - I am literally on my way out the door to the library hoping to get Bring up the Bodies among others.

I haven't read Dickens in a while. I did try Little Dorrit when the BBC version was on, but I couldn't keep ahead of the series.

Having said that, I do like Wilkie Collins, who I think is much overlooked. I particularly like No Name despite its absurdities.

Little Women? Dickens? One might mistake this for a therapist's worst nightmare! All sorts of PTSD waiting to uncork.

Bonnie, wonderful review of Excellent Women and an uptilted digital extremity was applied.

New thread is up and running!

I'd just like to mention that I cried when Ole' Yeller died. Can I get a pill?

I'm slowly getting through The Broken Kingdoms, Time and Again and The Earth Hums in B Flat. I'll probably start Lady Oracle or something else by Margaret Atwood today just to get some good reading in.