What Are You Reading the Week of 22 June 2013?

Octavia E. Butler (22 June 22 1947 – 24 February 2006) was an American science fiction writer. A recipient of both the Hugo and Nebula awards, Butler was one of the best-known African-American women in the field. In 1995, she became the first science fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Fellowship (nicknamed the Genius Grant).

Butler was born and raised in Pasadena, California. Since her father Laurice, a shoeshiner, died when she was a baby, Butler was raised by her grandmother and her mother (Octavia M. Butler), who worked as a maid in order to support the family. Butler grew up in a struggling, racially mixed neighborhood. According to the Norton Anthology of African American Literature, Butler was "an introspective, only child in a strict Baptist household" and "was drawn early to {science fiction} magazines such as Amazing, Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Galaxy, and soon began reading all the science fiction classics."

Octavia Jr., nicknamed Junie, was paralytically shy and a daydreamer, and was later diagnosed as being dyslexic. She began writing at the age of 10 "to escape loneliness and boredom"; she was 12 when she began a lifelong interest in science fiction. "I was writing my own little stories and when I was 12, I was watching a bad science fiction movie called Devil Girl from Mars," she told the journal Black Scholar, "and decided that I could write a better story than that. And I turned off the TV and proceeded to try, and I've been writing science fiction ever since."

After getting an associate's degree from Pasadena City College in 1968, she next enrolled at California State University, Los Angeles. She eventually left CalState and took writing classes through UCLA extension.

Butler would later credit two writing workshops for giving her "the most valuable help I received with my writing":

1969–1970: The Open Door Workshop of the Screenwriters' Guild of America, West, a program designed to mentor Latino and African American writers. Through Open Door she met the noted science fiction writer Harlan Ellison.
1970: The Clarion Science Fiction Writers Workshop (introduced to her by Ellison), where she first met Samuel R. Delany.
She remained, throughout her career, a self-identified science fiction fan, an insider who rose from within the ranks of the field.

Butler moved to Seattle, Washington, in November 1999. She described herself as "comfortably asocial—a hermit in the middle of Seattle—a pessimist if I'm not careful, a feminist, a Black, a former Baptist, an oil-and-water combination of ambition, laziness, insecurity, certainty, and drive." Themes of both racial and sexual ambiguity are apparent throughout her work. Her writing has influenced a number of prominent authors. When asked if he could be any author in the world, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Diaz replied that he would be Octavia Butler, who he claimed has written 9 perfect novels.

She died outside of her home in Lake Forest Park, Washington, on February 24, 2006, at the age of 58. Contemporary news accounts were inconsistent as to the cause of her death, with some reporting that she suffered a fatal stroke, while others indicated that she died of head injuries after falling and striking her head on her walkway. Another suggestion, backed by Locus magazine (issue 543; Vol.56 No.4), is that a stroke caused the fall and hence the head injuries.

Career

Butler's first story published was "Crossover" in the 1971 Clarion Workshop anthology. She sold another early short story, "Childfinder", to Harlan Ellison for the anthology The Last Dangerous Visions, which remains unpublished although Locus published its contents in June 1979. "I thought I was on my way as a writer," Butler recalled in her 2005 short fiction collection Bloodchild and Other Stories. "In fact, I had five more years of rejection slips and horrible little jobs ahead of me before I sold another word." ISFDB places her second published speculative fiction story in 1979.

Patternist series
In 1974, she started the novel Patternmaster, reportedly related to the story she started after watching Devil Girl from Mars. It became her first book in print (Doubleday, July 1976), although it is the last of five Patternist novels in narrative sequence (and placed at the end of one omnibus edition). Three prequels followed by 1980 and one in 1984.

Wild Seed, first in the Patternist story line, was published in 1980. In Wild Seed, Butler explores the psychodynamics of power and enslavement.

Kindred
In Kindred (Doubleday, 1979), Dana, an African American woman, is transported from 1976 Los Angeles to early nineteenth century Maryland. She meets her ancestors: Rufus, a white slave holder, and Alice, an African-American woman who was born free but forced into slavery later in life. Butler categorized the novel not as science fiction but rather as a grim fantasy, as she did not use any science to explain the time travel. It became the most popular of all her books, with more than 450,000 copies currently in print. "I think people really need to think what it's like to have all of society arrayed against you," she said of the novel.

Lilith's Brood
The Xenogenesis trilogy (Warner Books, 1987–89) features one Lilith and her genetically altered children. She and the few other surviving humans are saved by extraterrestrials, the Oankali, after a "handful of people (a military group) tried to commit humanicide," leading to a missile war that destroyed much of Earth. The Oankali have a third gender, the ooloi, who have the ability to manipulate genetics, plus the ability of sexually seductive neural-stimulating and consciousness-sharing powers. All of these abilities allow them to unify the other two genders in their species, as well as unifying their species with others that they encounter. The Oankali are biological traders, driven to share genes with other intelligent species, changing both parties.

Parable series
In 1994, her dystopian novel Parable of the Sower was nominated for the "best novel" Nebula Award, which she won in 1999 for a sequel, Parable of the Talents. The two novels provide the origin of the fictional religion Earthseed.

Butler had originally planned to write a third Parable novel, tentatively titled Parable of the Trickster, mentioning her work on it in a number of interviews.

Fledgling
She eventually shifted her creative attention, resulting in the 2005 novel Fledgling, a vampire novel with a science-fiction context. Although Butler herself passed Fledgling off as a lark, the novel is connected to her other works through its exploration of race, sexuality, and what it means to be a member of a community. Moreover, the novel continues the theme, raised explicitly in Parable of the Sower, that diversity is a biological imperative.

Short stories
Butler published one collection of her shorter writings, Bloodchild and Other Stories, in 1996. She states in the preface that she "hate{s} short-story writing" and that she is "essentially a novelist. The ideas that most interest me tend to be big." The collection includes five short stories spanning Butler's career, the first finished in 1971 and the last in 1993. "Bloodchild", the Hugo and Nebula award-winning title story, concerns humans who live on a reservation on an alien planet ruled by insect-like creatures. The aliens breed by implanting eggs in the humans, with whom they share a symbiotic existence. In Butler's afterword to the story, she writes that it is not about slavery as some have suggested, but rather about love and coming-of-age—as well as male pregnancy and the "unusual accommodation{s}" that a group of interstellar colonists might have to make with their adopted planet's prior inhabitants. She also states that writing it was her way of overcoming a fear of bot flies.

In 2005, Seven Stories Press released an expanded edition.

Themes of social criticism
Butler used the hyperbolic reach of speculative fiction to explore modern and ancient social issues. She often represented concepts like race, sexuality, gender, religion, social progress, and social class in metaphoric language. However, these issues were not relegated only to metaphor. For instance, class struggle is an overt topic in the Parable of the Sower series. Her work has been more specifically associated with the genre of Afrofuturism, a theme in contemporary black works in various media (music, art, writing, film). Afrofuturism employs speculative fiction and the trope of space and/or abduction in order to draw parallels with a marginalized, black experience. In Further Considerations on Afrofuturism, Eshun writes, “Most science fiction tales dramatically deal with how the individual is going to contend with these alienating, dislocating societies and circumstances that pretty much sums up the mass experiences of black people in the postslavery twentieth century” (298). Thus, Butler's exploration of the themes of isolation and power struggles in futuristic settings, often with black protagonists, allows her work to fall under this critical category.

Awards

Winner:

2010: Inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame
2000: lifetime achievement award in writing from the PEN American Center
1999: Nebula Award for Best Novel - Parable of the Talents
1995: MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Grant
1985: Hugo Award for Best Novelette - "Bloodchild"
1985: Locus Award for Best Novelette - "Bloodchild"
1985: Science Fiction Chronicle Award for Best Novelette - "Bloodchild"
1984: Nebula Award for Best Novelette - "Bloodchild"
1984: Hugo Award for Best Short Story - "Speech Sounds"
1980: Creative Arts Award, L.A. YWCA

Nominated:

1994: Nebula Award for Best Novel - Parable of the Sower
1987: Nebula Award for Best Novelette - "The Evening and the Morning and the Night"
1967: Fifth Place, Writer's Digest Short Story Contest

#75 from last week

I loved Far Pavilions. I also liked the movie version of this novel. It was an HBO series with Amy Irving in it. It should be available to rent somewhere, so when you get done reading the book you can watch the movie.

I love Octavia Butler and have read most of her work, but she's not for the faint at heart. She said that she was a pessimist if she wasn't careful. Well, for the most part, I have to say she wasn't too careful.

I finished the damn pirate book, Birds of Prey. I think that'll do me for my lifetime quota of torture and swashbuckling. Now back to Skirt Steak on Nook.
On audio I'm almost finished with Life After Life, well worth reading. Is it quantum physics that's the basis of the idea of alternative universes where all the roads not taken are taken and different lives ensue? I really like the way she handles the concept.
I'm also about to start The Vet's Daughter by Barbara Comyns

About halfway through Michael Chabon's most recent novel, Telegraph Avenue. Very enjoyable.

Reading a series of essays from one of my favorite authors, Elinor Lipman: I Can't Complain.

I'm not much into SF, but I've read Kindred and was very impressed. How awful that she died so young. She was a real talent. Thank you, as always, for starting the week with another fascinating bio.

I'm now very much enjoying Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh.

Having computer problems so I'm posting from my iPad but I finished and enjoyed an oldie but goodie, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith.

Now I'm reading A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra.

Thanks, Richard! New author to me.

Reading Miss MacIntosh, My Darling and listening to The Forgotten.

Just finished Troy Denning's "Ogre's Pact", the first in a fantasy trilogy set in the Forgotten Realms. Also just finished David Gaughran's "Let's Get Digital: How To Self-Publish, And Why You Should".

I'm mostly a fan of scifi and fantasy. I very much like post-apocalyptic fiction.

Only read one of Butler's works (Dawn, the first in the Xenogenesis series) and enjoyed it so much! I meant to read the rest but got side-tracked. Retiring soon and hoping that will give me the chance to read all the books I've been meaning to read but haven't had time for.

Just finished Under Heaven and, though the writing was good and the history and culture interesting, this alternate historical fantasy was no Lions of al Rassan. For one thing, although there were moments where I started to like one or another of the characters, I never really connected with any of them.

I started The Borgias by G. J. Meyer that I got through the Early Reviewer program, and not sure what I think of it yet. I'm also going to be starting to listen to The Ides of April, the latest by Lindsey Davis, featuring the daughter of Marcus Didius Falco.

#2 Thanks to point that out to me. I'm quite sure I saw that movie available once somewhere, so with a bit of luck I'll get my hands on it :-) I'm reading this book, because my husband really loves it and if he loves a book I should really read it. So far it's good but I am really not far into!

After a very special read of The Patience Stone by Atiq Rahime I have just started Earth and Ashes by the same author, I then intend following it up with A Thousand Rooms of Dream and Fear also by Atiq Rahami wonderous reading!!!

I finished up A Clash of Kings and started Stalin's General: The Life of Georgy Zhukov. Then I discovered that I read Stalin's General a year ago. I have no recollection of doing so, but it's in my 2012 reading list. I even posted here about it. I guess this is how the end starts. So I've switched to reading King Leopold's Ghost which I'm enjoying. Perhaps I'll be able to remember this one for more than a couple of weeks.

Rereading Faithful Place by Tana French and looking for another book to read...possibly something YA and creepy. Any suggestions?

I'm reading World War Z by Max Brooks and it's sort of creepy.

I am also reading A Constellation of Vital Phenomena. I am enjoying the character development as the story goes along and I'm also picking up a bit of a history lesson.

>5 NarratorLady:. Loved this collection of essays. I take it you've already read her most recent novel, The View from Penthouse B?

Still reading Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted. Just starting, really, but enjoying it. Hope to also start Songs of Willow Frost this week.

>5 NarratorLady: Yes, alphaorder, I'm loving the essays. I have read The View from Penthouse B and it was charming but the essays make me laugh out loud. And I've ordered Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted from the library, so we must have the same book taste!

I finished reading A Glass of Blessing yesterday. It was like sitting, listening to a friend who's chatting away, telling you everything, oblivious of what she's revealing. Wilmet would assuredly not be your favorite friend but tolerable. By the end one wonders if anything that happened would make any impact on her at all. Quite possibly not.
Anyway, I quite enjoyed it and will be reading some more Barbara Pym. Thanks to Richard and LT for putting her on my radar.

I just finished A Natural History of Dragons. I wasn't quite as bowled over by the whole book as I was by the opening chapters, but I'm intrigued enough to read any future volumes.

Next up for me is Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs. I enjoyed his Year of Living Biblically, so I expect this one to be fun as well.

#11
Keep reading. The book is a long one, but it really gets going when Ash comes back from the Northwest Frontier. I never saw the movie version because it was on HBO but people who have seen it say that it is very good.

It is high summer here in Tuscaloosa and so while setting out in the sun beside the swimming pool today I started Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig and am loving it. This was a special Christmas title and like all of the Secret History of the Pink Carnation books it is so much fun. Very witty. This author really write comedy and parodies. As many of these books ass she has written they don't flag. I keep thinking that soon they will get jaded, but somehow she keeps them fresh. I am also listening to The Garden Intrigue and thought that maybe two of these together would be to much. Happily that is not the case. Willig has written ten of these books and each one is a winner. Glen Duncan couldn't even write two without beating both of them to death

Does anybody know why this thread is not listed in the "What are you reading now? group list. I have starred it several times and it won't star. Then when I go to hunt for it in the group list it won't show up. I want to participate but if I can't find it on the list then it makes it hard to participate.

#22
I love that series! I have to confess to skipping the modern interludes, though--they just don't hold my interest as much as the history.

Also, I'm originally from Alabama myself--Shelby County, so not too far from you. I'm in Seattle now and don't miss the Southern summers AT ALL. I've been griping because it's been weirdly muggy here of late--for all our rainy reputation, generally when the weather warms up, it also dries out. But it's muggy and *in the 70's*. Hopefully we'll have our normal July and August--bone dry, sunny as can be, and in the 70's with a few days of 80's here and there--to give us good memories for when the rainy season returns. :-)

I'm reading The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. Only about 70 pages in, but I enjoy it a lot. I have been reading on/off because I have a lot of things to do at work and privately, but I really hope to find some coherent reading-time this week.

Working my way through Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry.

19> I read Jane and Prudence a year or two ago and really enjoyed it; so when we chose A Glass of Blessings for the reading group a few months back I really looked forward to it. Sadly, I thought that the storyline meandered and the book didn't really take me with it, despite some delicious shafts of wit. Perhaps one Barbara Pym novel was enough.

Speaking of the reading group, I'm not sure that I'll get through The Fat Years in time for Thursday's meeting. It faded after a promising start and doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

Now reading Man Walks into a Pub by Pete Brown which is amusing so long as I don't read too much at once.

My latest is Sacred Country by Rose Tremain, Rose is one of my favorite writers, I am sure that I shall enjoy.

Richard Matheson has died at 87. Author of I Am Legend, What Dreams May Come, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, and so many more...a large and important figure in SF and horror for more than 40 years.

>11 Tallulah_Rose:. Snash: if you follow up A Glass of Blessings with No Fond Return of Love you will be in for a nice surprise:-)

(23) It is showing up in the "What Are You Reading Now" group for me. Could you have hit the 'ignore x' instead of a star?

About 150 pgs into May We Be Forgiven. It's good, but not a page-turner.

I was having trouble getting into any book, some sort of book slump I suppose, so I decided to start listening to Beautiful Ruins and am totally hooked! I am enjoying the story itself very much, and Edoardo Ballerini makes a perfect reader, being bilingual in Italian and English as he is.

>30 brenzi: brenzi Alright. I'll try that when I get back to Barbara Pym. Right now I'm reading The Burgess Boys which I'm enjoying.

31. I have certainly done that with threads I wanted to follow!

I picked up Lucky Jim last night to see if it held my interest. I'm about 30 pages in and am really, really liking it!

Finished Oath of Fealty by Elizabeth Moon. Pretty standard, rather dull fantasy fare. Started Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon. Still working on Tanglewreck by Jeanette Winterson.

Quickly read the short Cooking Solves Everything by Mark Bittman while traveling over the weekend. Now home again, and back to Salt Sugar Fat, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, The Cloister Walk (will finish tonight), and Grace, Fallen from. Shall be starting Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking sometime today.

Well, I decided that instead of reading creepy YA next month I'd read some of the books that have been collecting dust on my shelves. I had my boyfriend pick since the choices are too overwhelming for me, and he picked The Passage by Justin Cronin, Offspring by Jack Ketchum, Breed by Chase Novak and The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. And I might work in an eBook or two along the way...haven't decided yet.

Am in the homestretch of Louise de la Valliere which is sometimes referred to as book 4 of the d'Artagnan Romances by Alexandre Dumas. This one was a slog in comparison to the first 3, especially The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After which are fast-moving, especially Twenty. But I didn't want to miss any nuances, which can be really important in Dumas's books. I'm looking forward to The Man in the Iron Mask, but will probably give myself a bit of a break between. Phew.

Speaking of Under the Dome, my review is posted at Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud now, and the book's page here. Over 4 stars of King-love. Plus the actor who plays Barbie now follows me on Twitter. Flattered.

re: 23benitastrnad
Jun 23, 9:08pm
Does anybody know why this thread is not listed in the "What are you reading now? group list. I have starred it several times and it won't star. Then when I go to hunt for it in the group list it won't show up. I want to participate but if I can't find it on the list then it makes it hard to participate.

It is not showing up for me either.. very strange. I found it only by going from Richard's link from the previous week. :(

Did you accidentally click "Ignore"? That is easy to do. Ask me how I know. :-D

Currently reading The House of Special Purpose and am intrigued. I have wrecked my knee and it helped me in the Dr.'s office yesterday.

Richard was kind enough to send me a PM and give me some hints about what was wrong. I finally got it to work. I was going from the previous weeks posts, using Richard's links, and then would star the new weeks thread. However, just starring it, doesn't, or didn't, remove the x for ignore the this thread. You have to click both the star and the red x when going to the new link from the old link. That fixed it for me and Richard gave me the directions.

I will be seeing the Librarything Gods this next week so will mention that this might be confusing to users and perhaps they should make it so that when a thread is starred that the red x automatically goes away. Or perhaps, they know some trick that fixes it permanently.

Hello everyone! Well, I've been reading some really good books so far. I finished reading Guilt by Association by Susan R. Sloan on Sunday, June 23rd! It really was an excellent book with a very satisfying twist to the ending. :)

I immediately began reading Moon Shell Beach: A Novel by Nancy Thayer on Sunday, and I just finished the book tonight. It started off quite strongly and was very enjoyable, but somewhere near the end the plot began to derail slightly and I ended up not enjoying the book as much as I did in the beginning.

Anyway, right now I'm reading A Rose For Virtue by Norah Lofts. It's a reread for me from many years ago, but I'm enjoying it all over again. :)

Just finished Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowolf,
and 1,000,000% Men by Olafur Gunnarsson.

Almost done with Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin. Have lost count of how many times I've read this and all of the series.

I'm supposed to be reading my ER book but got sidetracked somehow by Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. I can't believe I'm just now getting to this book. It's been on my list forever.

I'm now reading and enjoying Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie. He has a wonderful imagination, and it seems he gave it free rein with this book.

I finished and loved Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh. I'll be seeking the other installments of that trilogy for sure.

#48
I also really enjoyed Sea of Poppies and the sequel River of Smoke. The second is a much more complex novel but I thought it was the better of the two. I know that some people disagree with my opinion. I can't wait for the third novel to be published. I want him to finish it - right now - but I also want it to be good so will wait until he gets done with it.

>49 benitastrnad: The third in the trilogy isn't published, yet? Oh, the torture of having to wait!

>48 bookwoman247: and 49 I loved both books but Sea of Poppies is my favorite. One of the thrills of my life was about a year ago when I met and talked with Amitav Ghosh in a very casual setting. He is a fascinating man.

I finished and REVIEWED Anthony Marra's stunning debut novel A Constellation of Vital Phenomena.

Now I'm reading Barbara Pym's Quartet in Autumn.

I am trying to find time to read The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud

Finished Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted.

Now starting instructions for a heatwave.

I am almost finished with the audio version of Me before You. It is an emotional engaging story but overall it did not make the same impact on me that it has on so many others.

Just started Suddenly The Cider Didn't Taste So Good Author John Ford was on a local news show "207" - he was interesting and funny! so far so good. :)

Reading Blackout by Connie Willis. So good, she writes in a way that almost makes me feel I'm right there with the characters in the book. I actually found out about her from reading this thread, when someone mentioned Doomsday book, so thanks for that!

Finished Verbatim: From the bawdy to the sublime, the best writing on language for word lovers, grammar mavens, and armchair linguists today by Erin McKean-- review to come soon. Moving my way on to The Drunken Botanist, an ER that I've been meaning to get around to.

#56
I need to get back to reading Connie Willis. I have had Blackout and All Clear on my lists forever. I had checked out Doomsday Book from our library several times, but always ended up putting back on the stack. When I finally wanted to read it, somebody had decided that they wanted that book and took it out of the library. Now I have to buy a used copy of it, or do an ILL to get it. Silly me. I should have read it when I had the chance.

I am doing some traveling this weekend and after a quick perusal of my paperback book shelf I decided to take Nobody's Angel and Guns of August along with me. All of the books I am currently reading are library books and I don't really want to take them with me in case I were to leave it somewhere, so I keep a few cheap paperbacks on the shelf just for that purpose. These two books should keep me busy over the weekend.

I am about halfway into May We Be Forgiven and I am losing interest fast. The beginning was faster paced than the middle. I want to see why it won the Women's Prize for Fiction this year, but my instincts are telling me to ditch it. I usually ditch books about 60 pages in if it doesn't resonate with me, so I'm torn.

Y'all probably know SF writer Jay Lake is dying. I've decided to review a book a week by him, up to the Jay Wake on 27 July. Read my review of Rocket Science at Shelf Inflicted, and who knows, maybe even pick up a book of his. Hurry on up, though, since he's "on the last plane out." He said that himself, made me laugh.

I've just started The Opium Clerk by Kunal Basu. Iyt's hard not to vcompare it to Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh. It's okay, so far, but not great. I may be getgting burned out on reading about India, (it's my third book in a row set in India).

Hopefully, I'll at least be able to settle with this one.

Finished The Forgotten and starting to listen to Nemesis by Jo Nesbo.

Knowing I was going to be very busy the last couple of weeks -- not much chance for long periods of sustained reading -- I chose several books that consisted of stories, articles, or essays. I've enjoyed Joseph Mitchell's McSorley's Wonderful Saloon with his terrific profiles from the 30s and 40s.
I've also been reading Edward Thomas' beautiful book of essays, One Green Field, and I just started Saints and Sinners, a collection of stories by Edna O'Brien. I've also taken up a book I set aside a couple of years ago and hadn't returned to (certainly not the book's fault -- it's delightful) -- Eudra Welty and William Maxwell's letters to one another, What There Is To Say We Have Said -- their correspondence is such a gift, always inspiring and funny and touching. What a lovely friendship -- you get such a sense of their daily lives and their work as writers in their letters.

Reading and loving Instructions for a Heatwave. Surprised I haven't seen more buzz about it. Perfect family drama summer read. Beautiful dust jacket too.

I'm now about 40 pages into The Africa House: The True Story of an English Gentleman and His African Dream by Christina Lamb. LOL! I knew I was getting buened out on India! I think I'll be able to settle with this one just fine.

Finished Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon and started Side Jobs by Jim Butcher.

Ditched May We Be Forgiven for now and started Gone Girl. I'm surprised I like it as much as I do already because I couldn't get into Sharp Objects.

M. F. K. Fisher's Alphabet for gourmets Almost everything I've read this month has made me cranky for one reason or another and I decided I needed a palate cleanser.

Yet another change of plan. Now I'm reading Mexico by James Michener

The new thread is up!

Something a little different this time. Hope y'all like it.

I'm currently reading about 10 different books, but my priority is to finish the last book in Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

#48/49 Ditto!! I loved Sea of Poppies and River of Smoke, can't decide which one I liked better, but River of Smoke is definitely more involved. I too can't wait for number 3!!!!!

I finished up King Leopold's Ghost which was a chilling read. Now I'm reading The Defense of Moscow 1941: The Northern Flank.

I am currently reading Burial Rites by Hannah Kent, so far fascinating.