What Are You Reading the Week of 28 December 2013?

Edward Morgan Forster OM, CH (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society. Forster's humanistic impulse toward understanding and sympathy may be aptly summed up in the epigraph to his 1910 novel Howards End: "Only connect … ". His 1908 novel, A Room with a View, is his most optimistic work, while A Passage to India (1924) brought him his greatest success.

He was born into an Anglo-Irish and Welsh middle-class family. He was the only child of Alice Clara "Lily" (née Whichelo) and Edward Morgan Llewellyn Forster, an architect. His name was officially registered as Henry Morgan Forster, but at his baptism he was accidentally named Edward Morgan Forster. To distinguish him from his father, he was always called Morgan. His father died of tuberculosis on 30 October 1880, before Morgan's second birthday. Among Forster's ancestors were members of the Clapham Sect, a social reform group within the Church of England.

He inherited £8,000 (£753,240 as of 2013) from his paternal great-aunt Marianne Thornton (daughter of the abolitionist Henry Thornton), who died on 5 November 1887. The money was enough to live on and enabled him to become a writer. He attended the notable public school, Tonbridge School in Kent, as a day boy. The theatre at the school has been named in his honour.

At King's College, Cambridge, between 1897 and 1901, he became a member of a discussion society known as the Apostles (formally named the Cambridge Conversazione Society). Many of its members went on to constitute what came to be known as the Bloomsbury Group, of which Forster was a peripheral member in the 1910s and 1920s. There is a famous recreation of Forster's Cambridge at the beginning of The Longest Journey.

After leaving university, he traveled in continental Europe with his mother. In 1914, he visited Egypt, Germany and India with the classicist Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson, by which time he had written all but one of his novels. In the First World War, as a conscientious objector, Forster volunteered for the International Red Cross, and served in Alexandria, Egypt.

Forster spent a second spell in India in the early 1920s as the private secretary to Tukojirao III, the Maharajah of Dewas. The Hill of Devi is his non-fictional account of this period. After returning to London from India, he completed his last novel, A Passage to India (1924), for which he won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. He also edited Eliza Fay's (1756–1816) letters from India, in an edition first published in 1925.

In the 1930s and 1940s Forster became a successful broadcaster on BBC Radio and a public figure associated with the Union of Ethical Societies. He was awarded a Benson Medal in 1937.

Forster was a homosexual (openly to his close friends, but not to the public) and a lifelong bachelor. He developed a long-term, loving relationship with Bob Buckingham, a married policeman. Forster included Buckingham and his wife May in his circle, which included J. R. Ackerley, a writer and literary editor of The Listener, the psychologist W. J. H. Sprott and, for a time, the composer Benjamin Britten. Other writers with whom Forster associated included the poet Siegfried Sassoon and the Belfast-based novelist Forrest Reid.

From 1925 until his mother's death at age 90 on 11 March 1945, Forster lived with her at West Hackhurst, Abinger Hammer, finally leaving on or around 23 September 1946. His London base was 26 Brunswick Square from 1930 to 1939, after which he rented 9 Arlington Park Mansions in Chiswick until at least 1961.

Forster was elected an honorary fellow of King's College, Cambridge, in January 1946, and lived for the most part in the college, doing relatively little. He declined a knighthood in 1949 and was made a Companion of Honour in 1953. In 1969 he was made a member of the Order of Merit. Forster died of a stroke on 7 June 1970 at the age of 91, at the Buckinghams' home in Coventry.

Selected Works

Novels
Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905)
The Longest Journey (1907)
A Room with a View (1908)
Howards End (1910)
A Passage to India (1924)
Maurice (written in 1913–14, published posthumously in 1971)
Arctic Summer (an incomplete fragment, written in 1912–13, published posthumously in 2003)
Book of Love

Short stories
The Celestial Omnibus (and other stories) (1911)
The Eternal Moment and other stories (1928)
Collected Short Stories (1947) a combination of the above two titles
The Life to Come and other stories (1972) (posthumous)

Film script
A Diary for Timothy (1945) (directed by Humphrey Jennings, spoken by Michael Redgrave)

Libretto
Billy Budd (1951) (with Eric Crozier; based on Melville's novel, for the opera by Benjamin Britten)

Collections of essays and broadcasts
Abinger Pageant (1934)
England's Pleasant Land (1940)
Abinger Harvest (1936)
Two Cheers for Democracy (1951)

Literary criticism
Aspects of the Novel (1927)
The Feminine Note in Literature (posthumous) (2001)
The Creator as Critic and Other Writings

Biography
Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson (1934)
Marianne Thornton, A Domestic Biography (1956)

Travel writing
Alexandria: A History and Guide (1922)
Pharos and Pharillon (A Novelist's Sketchbook of Alexandria Through the Ages) (1923)
The Hill of Devi (1953)

Miscellaneous writings
Selected Letters (1983–85)
Commonplace Book (fascimile ed. 1978; edited by Philip Gardner, 1985)
Locked Diary (2007) (held at King's College, Cambridge)

Holy moly! Am I the first? Thanks for the great start, Richard.

I'm still working on A Distant Mirror on audio, and I just picked up a bunch of books from the library ~ a couple of them are gardening books.

Thanks for the new year kick off, Sir Richard! Wonderful, as per usual.

I finished the decidedly ick Early Reviewer book No Experience Necessary by Norman Van Aken. I SO SO SO wanted to like him and this book, but he made it hard.

Now onto another NF selection for my Winter Reading Program: Gaining Ground: A Story of Farmers' Markets, Local Food, and Saving the Family Farm by Forrest Pritchard. So another food book!

I am enjoying The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West.

Starting the year with The Complete Lord Peter Wimsey Stories.

Trying to finish Innocence by Dean Koontz. Hate when life and work gets in the way of reading

Thanks, once again, for an interesting start to the week, Richard! I've read a couple of Forster's works, and definitely intend to read more. Thanks for the nudge!

Right now, I'm reading Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley, my October ER book. It is a Flavia de Luce book, and as usual, Flavia is delightful!

Just finished Rage for Fame the ascent of Clare Booth Luce, very informative. Reading The Bones Of Paris by Laurie R King. Read several of Forster's books in college and still am a fan. Thanks, Richard for reminding me.

I managed to get in some reading on my flight to visit family for the holidays. I've made it almost halfway through The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914. It will probably be a couple of weeks before I get a chance to finish it. *sigh*

I am reading The Count of Monte Cristo. I'm going through my classics period. There are so many classic books that I never had a chance to read, or was forced to read as a child. I love it, I'm a quarter of the way in.

I finished up Myrta Lockett Avary's entirely subjective but still fascinating 1906 account of Reconstruction, Dixie After the War and started John Reed's The War in Eastern Europe ("the war" being World War One). My review of the former can be found on the book's work page and on my 50-Book Challenge thread.

Thanks for starting us off with the great E. M. Forster, Richard. Makes me want to read Howard's End again.

I finished Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan -- an excellent follow-up to his earlier Wish You Were Here. I'm now reading Enon by Paul Harding.

I am still reading un Lun Dun and like it. I am also really into the biography of Coco Chanel Coco Chanel: An intimate Life. I could sit there and read this book all day long and I am not sure why. I think it is because her life is so interesting and the people she knew were such characters. However, there is very little about her work and I would like to know more about that. I started reading The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs. Beaton for the biography group read, but only have started it so can't make a judgement about it at this point.

I started Water Witches by Chris Bohjalian today

Finished Moon Flights by Elizabeth Moon and started The Poisoned Pilgrim by Oliver Pötzsch. Still reading The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart.

I finished the brilliant debut novel, and Early Reviewer selection, The Ballad of Barnabas Pierkiel by Magdalena Zyzak.

I am going to read Everything Happens As It Does by Bulgarian author, Albena Stambolova. I am listening to The Cuckoo's Calling in my car and to Woe To Live On by Daniel Woodrell at home.

Just finished The Translator By Nina Schuyler. The second half was much slower than the first, but interesting.

Now onto Winter's tale, a 700-something page novel that Librarything predicts I won't like, but I am looking forward to it.

My fast read at present is the third of the Preston-Child "Diogenes trilogy" in the Agent Pendergast series: The Book of the Dead.

My medium read, which I'll probably finish in a couple of days, is The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century, by Ian Mortimer.

And my slow read, in weekly 90-minute installments, is Malcom Gladwell's David and Goliath.

I seldom plan ahead by more than a book at a time, even when I have something on request at the library, so I have no idea what's next.

I'm currently reading Captive in the dark by CJ Roberts. It's about a girl who gets kidnapped to be trained as a sex slave. So far it's very compelling.

Starting Wild From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

I am vexed beyond endurance. The terrible people at Amazon have put on sale the Kindle edition of a book I finally broke down and bought. Nos4A2 is $1.99 today. Some evil-hearted bureaucrat, no doubt on loan to Amazon from the IRS or the DEA, saw the "Shipped" message in my account and clicked the "Super One-Day Deal" button to make me gnash my teeth.

What? What do you mean it's not all about me? Of course it is, don't be ridiculous.

On the good side, Richard, now you can lend it out, which is hard to do with a Kindle.

Ain't that the truth. And, after all, I recycle my books to other readers and libraries unless they're deathless perfect gems (maybe two or three a year), which is impossible with a Kindle.

But that device does make arthritic reading a whale of a lot easier.

I reviewed both Barbara Pym's Civil to Strangers and Albert Cossery's The Colors of Infamy. This concludes a year of reading a Pym book every month and it was a wonderful experience.

Now I'm reading Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink.

>1 richardderus: It took me until the mention of Howards End to realize that Edward Morgan Forster was E.M. Forster. How embarrassing.

I'm having a wonderful time reading The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland.

Oops! I'm embarrassed about the same thing, Joanne. I better go back and read the first post more carefully!

>24 brenzi: Both thumbs-upped, Bonnie, with one rueful sigh (Pym) and one sulphrous mutter (Cossey, Ammy'd).

I am reading Orkney by Amy Sackville and while not being enamored with the plot and characters, her writing and site choice/descriptions are out of this world. So I will likely finish. She just needs the complete package and she would be amazing.

I am just starting Family Money, by Nina Bawden, who wrote fiction for adults, but who was one of my favorite childhood authors in the 1960's. When I discovered one of the books she'd written for adults, I was so excited! It is she who taught me to read British English, through works like On the Run, (which I knew as Three on the Run), and Carrie's War.

Anyone feeling Enlightenment-y? Today's all-platforms ebook steal is Benjamin Franklin's Bastard for $1.99! It's based on facts of Franklin's life...he really did have a bastard son that his (common-law) wife agreed to raise with him...and told from the womens' points of view. I read the first few pages at Amazon and was pleasantly taken by the narrative voice.

I have started on Sadler's Birthday by Rose Tremain. I love Rose's writings' I have read most of her novels.

Finished Inkheart today. I think it makes a good children's book and there is essentialy all you need to have a young reader hanging on every word, but it just din't really grip me. It was a pleasant read and captured my attention oce in a while and I was interested on how the story went on, but it didn't hrough me of the rocker. Mabe because I read the HP-series last months and I just adore them, so it was probably hard to keep up with my expectations. Still a good read.
Don't know what's up next. Have seeral books started months ago that definitely need finishing, but am unsure on how to start the new year. I think I'd had enoigh fantasy for the next weeks...

Finished a couple of books, The Cuckoo's Calling and Everything Happens As It Does, to hit my 100 books in 2013 goal...in the nick of time! One more goal.....one more author born outside the USA in a country I have not ventured to yet this year.....fingers crossed! Love the pressure to read...life is good!

The Fish Can Sing by Halldor Laxness.......Iceland!!

This morning I finished A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby, my 50th book of the year!

Next up is my Early Reviewer, The Second-Chance Dog: A Love Story by Jon Katz.

Happy New Year!

I will start The Orenda this week. I have planned this to be my first finished book of 2014 and also predict it might just be my best book of 2014.

I'm about a chapter into Confessions of a Sociopath by M.E. Thomas. Not sure how interesting it will be as a whole, but we'll see.

Just finished The Never List by Koethi Zan which was one heck of a hair-raising suspense novel. Not perfect & the ending felt a little too contrived to be believable, but my heart has rarely pounded so hard while reading a book!

Also finished My Life as a Rhombus by Varian Johnson which was an impromptu library eBook download...I was at a concert with my family and instead of making small talk, I pulled out an eBook. It's moments like that make me grateful for eReading. Anyway, it's a YA novel about teen pregnancy, and I didn't expect much from it, so I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Not too convoluted, realistic characters, believable romance. A very solid novel.

Also also finished All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release - I had an ARC digital edition from NetGalley, but I ended up getting the actual book for Christmas, so I was able to graduate from digital to print. My wrists are sore from holding up that mammoth book, but it was worth it. Tons of Beatles trivia & photos that I had never seen before.

I began the year rereading Pat Barker's Life Class to reacquaint myself with its story and characters so that I could read her new book, Toby's Room. Later in the year I read Virginia Woolf's Jacob's Room a book that is echoed in the Barker book. I wanted to read Paul Harding's novel Enon to end the year, but found I needed to go back to his Tinkers to remind myself of the history of the Crosby family depicted in both. I've enjoyed going back to Tinkers -- I love that book and I'm sure I will read it again. I'm still hoping to finish Enon tomorrow.

Books in pairs -- I recently read Stewart O'Nan's book Wish You Were Here and followed it with his Emily, Alone which continues the story. So many books on my list for the year are books that recalled me in some way to books I'd read previously -- or, as books so often do, sent me looking for books suggested by the author or the book itself -- Howard Norman's I Hate to Leave this Beautiful Place and Eavan Boland's A Journey with Two Maps were especially valuable in that regard, but there were others, too -- books by Lisa Cohen and Janet Malcolm for instance.

I've been writing thank-you letters to family and friends for Christmas gifts, and I'm wondering if I shouldn't write thank-you notes to some of the authors whose books sent me in such rich and evocative directions in 2013. Which reminds me that I need to thank all my friends here for your suggestions -- hazeljune led me to Olga Masters and several of you sent me to Murakami's Norwegian Wood -- and there have been so many others. And richard's marvelous weekly introductions to writers known and unknown to me have added plenty of titles to my wish lists and to the good old tbr pile -- maybe next year I'll use it for a Christmas tree -- thanks so much for the book tree photo, Meredy.

Thank you all, dear friends.

Happy New Year to each and every one.

>35 PaperbackPirate: Pirate - Yay! Congrats on reading 50 books this year!!

>38 mollygrace: mollygrace - I loved both Wish You Were Here and Emily, Alone. I love when authors go back and revisit a favorite character.

Happy New Year all!!

Happy New Year! I just finished Amy Tan's marvelous The Valley of Amazement and am starting an advance copy of Rabih Alameddine's soon-to-be-published An Unnecessary Woman.

Hi , I just finished "me before you"...Meh it was ok

Decided on Four To Score by Janet Evanovich to listen to in the car. Stephanie Plum is an enjoyable character!

>37 coloradogirl14: coloradogirl14, I am also currently reading Confessions of a Sociopath. I think I'm about 1/3 of the way through. It's interesting, but I'm not sure it is/is going to be compelling. I have put it down for a few days now (on the other hand, I've been very busy, so it's not entirely the fault of the book).

In addition to that one, I'm still working my way through The Children's Book. I'd hoped to finish it by the end of the year, but that is quite obviously not going to happen.

Happiest of 2014s to all who come here!

Perfect, Richard! I will now admit to you that I am going to post that on Facebook.....really....perfect!

I got it from Facebook, and have reposted it everywhere, because it really truly is perfect!

#43 - ursula
- The last few chapters have been more interesting, but I'm not sure I'm going to receive the "insight" that the author wants her audience to have. Quite frankly, I'm still a little repulsed by the author's behavior and I can't quite wrap my head around her claim that her behavior is distasteful but not dangerous. She dismisses her story about driving with worn out brakes because it did not kill her, but I can't help wondering about all the pedestrians she endangers by getting into her car. I'll see what my final judgment is at the end of the book.

I love that, Richard. Especially the concept of "good madness." May you all have a glorious and peace-filled 2014.

Just finished my ER book, Kids These Days by Drew Perry. I'm now torn between starting Warhol by Victor Bockris or some sci fi.

>44 richardderus:: What wonderful thoughts to carry into the new year! I wish you the same, along with just enough belly laughs until you ache.

Thank you Richard. All the best to you in 2014!!!

Wow, I loved that Richard! Thank you so much for posting it. Happy New Year to all my awesome reading friends. This remains one of the kindest, most interesting, fun, little pockets of the internet. I am grateful for it.

I did finish Enon before the clock struck midnight (in this time zone anyway). I didn't love it the way I loved Tinkers but I did admire it for many of the same qualities that I found in the earlier book.

Next up: Levels of Life by Julian Barnes

I'm reading The Alchemist and totally loving it.

Happy New Year everyone! Hope your year will be filled with lots of reading hours and mountains of books that blow your socks off.

As my last book from the year, I finished Captive in the dark. I read through it in no time, but in retrospect, it was really not that good. The story definitely got weird in some places and it was badly edited. A big no-no in my opinion. I won't be following up with the next book in the series, there are a lot of better books out there.

I finished Family Money by Nina Bawden in time to count it as my 91st book of 2013.

I'm not sure what I'm settling on as my first book of 2014 just yet.

I finished The Book Thief today. I'm going to cheat and call it my 50th book of 2013 rather than the first of 2014.

Happy New Year to all.

Okay everybody...brace yourselves...on all ereaders, Morrow is offering Neil Gaiman's book Stardust for $1.99!!

*scampers aside to avoid being trampled*

Happy reading today, non-football fans!

# 58 -thanks Richard-just grabbed a copy!!!
Happy New Year everyone!!'

>59 cdyankeefan: Happy 2014!

Kindle people in the USA!! Terry Pratchett's NEW Discworld book, Snuff, is $1.99 today!

Also Brandon Sanderson's Steelheart, which I didn't fancy but many love immoderately.

Thank you richard!! And the same to you!!!

Richard and all the contributors, I just love this thread. Thank you all, and best wishes for a wonderful 2014.

Happy New Year! Spent the lovely winter new Year's day reading...of course! I read The Fish Can Sing by Halldor Laxness......a brilliantly written coming of age tale as only Laxness can tell it!

Two short reads coming up....The Communist Manifesto, which was given to me and I think it is worth a read. The second is The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin.

I started a re-read of Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children in anticipation of the second volume coming out in a couple of weeks and Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

#64 Thanks for the reminder about the sequel coming out. Just added it to my list!

Just finished my ER read What Makes Olga Run, an inspiring story of a 93-year old woman who holds over 20 world records in track and field. She didn't begin the sport until she was well into her 70s. Olga is an extraordinary athlete, and more important, person. A good read to begin the new year with.

Happy New Year! I am Currently listening to A Cure to Die For which is a member giveaway - It's like listening to bad "B" movie ehhhh... it might be a better read, but I doubt it. Also reading The Fairest of Them All, a novel which is a re-telling of the fairy tale - I loved Godmother: the Secret Cinderella Story so this is my second read from this author; I figure its more like eye candy - you know the story, but Carolyn Turgeon gives you the never before scoop (the untold stories of the other characters)! Very enjoyable. Also moved to the bottom of the pile is another Member giveaway Queer's Progress, not so sure about this one, still trying to decide if it is written for shock value, or if there is going to be a point to all the vulgarity?

Starting the new year off by finishing (just a little bit ago!) A Dance with Dragons, and then finishing off the Hunger Games series (currently on Catching Fire, but it's been a blazing fast read so far). And I have a couple Early Reviewers books to get a start on, too.

Heading off to PRK (laser eye correction surgery) and I many of the audiobooks you wonderful people have recommended at the ready. Thank you again for your time and suggestions.

The experimental structure used for The October List was so distracting that I gave up on this one. The book begins in the middle of the plot and moves backwards. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out when I was.....interesting effort, but a very dissatisfying reading experience.

I am about to start listening to South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami.

I've started the new year with one of those books I have been willing myself to wait for a little while longer, because I loved the first 2 so much. It's Kushiel's Avatar by Jacqueline Carey. I'm not sure what this one is exactly about, but I have complete faith in the writer. So much even that I already have the next one lined up ^_^

Yesterday I started reading Soy Sauce for Beginners, and while I liked the opening line, the first few pages are promising that the book will turn into a typical romance, and I don't like the protagonist. We'll see.

I finished Levels of Life by Julian Barnes -- very moving, unique, thought-provoking -- a book about his grief following the death of his wife of thirty years, about life, about art, about what happens when two things (or people) are put together who have never been together before -- what comes of that, the way it changes the world forever. He approaches the discussion of his grief in a very unique, typically Barnesian way, I think -- it worked for me, and I think will continue to work on my imagination for a long time to come.

I've started reading P. S. Duffy's The Cartographer of No Man's Land.

After several false starts with other books, I've finally settled comfortably with Arthur & George by Julian Barnes. He is a gifted storyteller, no doubt about it.

It's a snow day for me and poochie. We're tucked up and looking smugly at the flakes drifting down.

Picked up a wishlist item, Southern Cross the Dog, about the 1927 floods that did so much to influence the course of life in the USA. It's $2.99 on all ereaders.

Hope everyone had a very Happy New Year's Eve and Day!

I'm still slogging through the chunkster A Distant Mirror on audio, interspersed with lighter fare: Archangel's Legion, an urban fantasy by Nalini Singh, and Black Sheep, a Georgette Heyer romance.

Working very slowly on Allegiant because I don't want the series to be over, and gobbling up the small stories she keeps releasing like Free Four and the like.

I was reading Emma to keep up with the web series Emma Approved, but now that the web series is on hold, so is the book (I only realized this yesterday)

I finished A Night of Cake and Puppets and really loved seeing that storyline play out.

Otherwise, I'm flipping through some writing books, like How to Write a Novel using Scrivener, Character Traits, & The Writer's Compass. I'm thinking I should pick up The 90-Day Novel & 90 Days to your novel again, but neither gripped me.

Out of my list, I'd recommend A Night of Cake and Puppets for YA/fantasy, and The Writer's Compass for a well rounded, smart writing book. It doesn't pamper to your ego, but it also isn't a book of bullet points, saying "do this to get published."

Finished The Crystal Cave and started The Hollow Hills.

Finished Confessions of a Sociopath - it wasn't as mind blowing as I expected, nor did it fully change my perception of sociopaths, but it was still fairly interesting. Also just started Shutter Island, which will hopefully be a change of pace from all the nonfiction I've been reading.

Snow day today! I am a few pages into The Stranger's Child By Alan Hollinghurst and hopefully will get immersed in it later.

I just finished and reviewed the early release of One Hundred Names by Cecelia Ahern. I really enjoyed this book even though the story line is a bit of a deviation for her. :)

Finished The Fire Next Time. Wow! I am not the first, nor will I be the last to exhort the writing of James Baldwin. His prose is profound and passionate at the same time. As a white woman, I, of course, felt uncomfortable and unsettled as well I should, as I read this. There is a solid thread of hope in the letter and the essay in this collection, which is what kept me reading. I can only hope that if he were writing to his nephew today, Baldwin would be able to see some change.

About to begin reading (what else is there to do when the wind chill is -20.....certainly not housework) Stoner by John Williams which is the January selection for my RL book club.

I am reading Nelson Mandela's autobiography Long walk to freedom. I am a slow reader and don't have a lot of time to read so will be on this book for a while. I also have the habit of reading a lot of books at once

After reading the Kindle preview addition of Bringing Ararat, I ordered the paperback. The book is a collection of short stories about Armenian immigrants dealing with new cultures and past demons. They're excellent.

Heavens, I'm late! The new thread is up!

Well, hello again everyone! :) I'm late as well, Richard, but I'll just post about the books that I read this past week. First of all, I hope everyone had a safe and happy Christmas and New Year's, and I wish you all well in 2014! :)

So, last week, I posted about starting The Summer I Dared: A Novel by Barbara Delinsky on Christmas day - Wednesday, December 25th. I still enjoyed this book, even though the plot was slightly predictable. I finished reading the book on Saturday, December 28th! :)

I immediately started reading Heartwood: A Novel by Belva Plain on Saturday afternoon, December 28th. This was Belva Plain's last published book, and it was really good. I was completely drawn into the story and engrossed in it until the very end. I finished this book on Monday, December 30th and will definitely be keeping it! :)

I rounded out my reading year, by starting The Island: A Novel of Terror by Will Overby on Monday evening, December 30th. It was certainly fast-paced and thrilling; although I've never been a fan of zombies, myself. I finished reading this book in one day - on Tuesday, December 31st.

I immediately picked up White Widow by Jim Lehrer on Tuesday evening, December 31st. This book was an unusual premise to start with, which is what drew me into the story in the first place. To be perfectly honest, I'm not entirely sure if I would have chosen this book to read for myself; it was my daughter who brought it to my attention. The story was extremely well-written and poignant, and held my attention until the very end.

Definitely an interesting book, and one that I enjoyed reading overall. I finished reading this book on Thursday afternoon, January 2nd! :)

Mareena (my daughter) and I went off to Barnes and Noble, on Wednesday afternoon, January 1st. She had three giftcards from Barnes and Noble that she had accumulated throughout the year, and she really needed to redeem them.

Because the first major snowstorm of 2014 was forecast to hit over the weekend, we changed our plans slightly - going to the bookstore on Wednesday, instead of Saturday afternoon like we had originally wanted. Good thing we went when we did, because the snowstorm came a day early - at least to Albany, New York! :) It has also been freezing for the past two or three days - so, not the type of weather that you'd want to go out in; even with the promise of new books to spur you on - LOL! :)

We ended up buying six books and three CDs between us, and had a thoroughly wonderful time!

Anyway, I'm currently reading 204 Rosewood Lane by Debbie Macomber. I started reading this book on Thursday evening, January 2nd, and even though I haven't read that many books by Debbie Macomber in the past; this one is really very good, in my opinion.

#82 susanjoy,

I join your club re reading a lots of books at once, never thought that I could, however it has really become a habit with me.