What are we reading in March 2014?

Thought I'd start this month's thread. I wish more people would post here. There are too many threads to visit every single person's, especially if you have only one or two categories in common. Some of my best Book Bullets last year came from this thread.

I just finished The Sum of All Kisses by Julia Quinn. Good if you like humorous historical romances.

Not sure what to read next. Lately the library due dates have been driving all my reading choices.

OK, reading The Goldfinch for the birds of spring challenge.

Just finished The Real Charlotte, an Irish Victorian era novel that fans of Gaskell, George Eliot, Trollope, or Hardy would enjoy.

Now I'm reading the nonfiction The Brontes by Juliet Barker and starting Bel Canto for the March group read.

I'm reading The Jungle Pyramid for this month's MysteryCAT and GeoCAT, listening to The Hen of the Baskervilles for this month's RandomCAT, and reading The Last Chronicle of Barset for a group read.

@ 4 -- The Real Charlotte sounds interesting!

I'm starting the month with The Raven in the Foregate by Ellis Peters. I love the Brother Cadfael series, and this installment also fits with the RandomCAT!

The book I'm reading today is Lone Survivors by Chris Stringer on 'how we came to be the only humans on earth'.

The Jewel in the Crown , first of the Raj Quartet, and the first of a series set in Venice, Death at La Fenice.

I'm almost finished A Trip to the Stars, which is wonderful, and slowly making my way through More's Utopia. I'm also a little ways into Prayers for the Stolen--partly because I got it through a GR giveaway and partly because it fits in with the GeoCat challenge--and it's also been a wonderful discovery so far.

After these, I'll be reading Bel Canto, Cakes & Ale, and Dark Eden...not sure in what order.

Just finished Death in a White Tie, by Ngaio Marsh. Later I will continue reading The Great Hunger, by Cecil Woodham-Smith.

I finished A Blade of Grass by Lewis DeSoto, which was thought-provoking but not cheerful, being set on the border of South Africa during a time of unrest.

And I've started both Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and The Passage by Justin Cronin.

This is my plan for the month:

- Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw / Bruce Barcott (RandomCAT and AlphaCAT)
- Midnight Omen Deja Vu / Marti Melville (GeoCAT and AlphaCAT)
- Mystery of the Graffiti Ghoul / Marty Chan (MysteryCAT and AlphaCAT)
- Shattered Dreams / Irene Spencer (GeoCAT)
- The Familiars / Adam Jay Epstein (MysteryCAT and RandomCAT)
- Sylvanus Now / Donna Morrissey
- The Unicorn / Iris Murdoch
- Sea Runners / Ivan Doig
- Category 7 / Bill Evans

(Sorry, I know I need to fill in authors. I often just use the touchstone that comes up if I can't remember, but my computer is too slow right now - I should have a new one next week - so the touchstones aren't working!)

12> I think the touchstone problem is with LT, not your computer.

14. Ok, thanks! I'll try again another time.

Looks like they're working again already!

I'm currently working on two Portuguese books: The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa, which isn't the easiest of reads, so I'm also reading the somewhat lighter The Maias by José Maria de Eça de Queirós.

I've finished The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton and started my GEO Cat book In the Time of Butterflies by Jilia Alvarez and am also reading The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny.

I finished The Jungle Pyramid and I'm getting ready to start The First World War by John Keegan.

I'm currently enjoying the adventures of Harry Hole in The Leopard and Blackberry Pie Murder.

I'm currently reading Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke for the RandomCat.

Today on my day off I will try to finish Before the Fact, by Francis Iles. He's really keeping me on my toes with this one.

Right now I'm trying to finish The Dream Thieves and Under the Black Flag, then I hope to movie on to The Goose Girl for the RandomCAT. I've got a huge list of books I want to read in the next few months, so I'm not sure what I'll get to after The Goose Girl...

For the HUB Challenge I'm reading Maggot Moon (totally confused so far) and listening to Dodger in the car.

I'm reading While Beauty Slept by Elizabeth Blackwell.

I finished Maggot Moon and Courage Has No Color. I think I'll pick up Two Boys Kissing next.

I have a couple going at the moment - a reread of Oliver Twist by audiobook, Lorna Doone on my Kindle, and a poetry book by Pablo Neruda in paperback.

I've finished both The Cruellest Month by Lousie Penny and In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. I've started The Wild Girl by Jim Fergus and Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio.

Started the group read, The Three Musketeers.

I'm currently enjoying Flavia's adventures in The Sweetness at The Bottom of the Pie. I wasn't sure how I would like it, but I am loving it!

Once in a while it would be nice not to like a first in the series book wouldn't it? :)

having been in a bit of a book funk (choosing a couple I've been unable to finish) I've started most secret by Nevil Shute because Shute is a bit of a comfort read for me

Once in a while it would be nice not to like a first in the series book wouldn't it?

That usually happens with a long series that everyone says gets better after the third book. ;-)

I'm currently enjoying Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch. I have SantaThing to thank for turning me on to this series. I love the deadpan humor.

I so want to get into that series!!!

An unexpected trip out west gave me ample reading time while on the plane and during some downtime. I finished the following:

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Mrs. Jeffries and the Merry Gentlemen by Emily Brightwell
The Maid's Version by Daniel Woodrell
The Secret of the Mansion by Julie Campbell

Next up are:

James Buchanan by Jean Baker
Peacock Emporium by Jojo Moyes
The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway

I finished Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie for the RandomCat today and I am going to start The Three Musketeers later this evening. I also have a couple of library books waiting to be picked up and will probably start Saving Cascadia by John J. Nance tomorrow.

@ 33 -- LittleTaiko, I'll be interested to see your thoughts on The River of No Return! I like the concept, but I've been waffling on whether to read it.

In between naps I've been dipping into Ten Years in the Tub, by Nick Hornby, which is a collection of his monthly "Stuff I've Been Reading" column in the Believer magazine. Haven't been hit by too many book bullets yet, but I do like how he writes about what he's reading.

I'm currently reading The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. I know many people love it, but it hasn't really grabbed me yet. I don't find it very believable and I keep wanting to scream, "Stop tampering with the evidence!"

Finished The Goldfinch, now on to a mystery for book club, Uncivil Seasons.

I finished a couple of kids' mysteries yesterday - The Mystery of the Third Lucretia and Shakespeare's Secret. I started Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl last night. I'm still working on The First World War and The Last Chronicle of Barset, and I'm listening to The Hen of the Baskervilles. I'm up to chapter 19 and finally got to the murder.

I just finished The Raven Boys which was a pretty good YA paranormal book but nowhere near as good as Oliver Twist, which I had finished listening to right before!

>37 BookLizard: The best way to enjoy the Flavia books is to just suspend belief. Otherwise, you will find all that goes on a tad annoying. ;-)

I've finished The Wild Girl: The Notebooks of Ned Giles, 1932 by Jim Fergus. Still reading Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio and partway through The Shortest Distance Between Two Women by Kris Radish.

41> Yeah, it was a page-turner, but not my cuppa. (Cuppa? I've been reading too many British novels lately.)

Now I'm reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman for the OLOB group.

I'm mainly reading two mysteries: A Fatal Grace and Gods of Gotham at the moment, after I finished Still Life last weekend.
So far, the Feb./March reading period has been good. (Here's hoping it keeps up!)

Finished most secret read born weird in a day and am now returning to WW2 with the blackbirder...

I've just started The Girl Is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines, which also counts for the MysteryCAT since it's YA.

Having read Mrs. Beeton I remembered a book called Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House published in 1999. The local library had it so I'm reading that. In the middle of the section on food and find it reasonably interesting.

I've just finished The Shortest Distance Between Two Women by Kris Radish and think I'm going to start Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg.

I've read all Tournament of Books books so far this month: Life After Life, The Lowland, and The People in the Trees. I'll be filling up my 'New Release' category in no time!

Also, I'm about 3/4 done with The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag. I'm hoping for a grand finale because thus far I'm not enjoying it as much as The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. >41 lkernagh: Good advice!

I'm reading With a Little Luck by Caprice Crane.

I just finished In the Forest, Edna O'Brien's novel about a triple murder that shocked Ireland when it happened. I'm continuing with Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder, which is excellent, but difficult reading because of the subject matter.

I've been pulling a book off the shelf here and then one from over there and hope to settle into something new soon. Probably The Dead Women of Juarez by Sam Hawken.

I am enjoying The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd and have just started The Jewel In the Crown by Paul Scott.

RE: Category Challenge tags: 2014CC and 14 in 14

Please excuse my hijacking of the March reading thread, but I couldn't find a general group thread on which to post this.

Back in February, hailelib proposed a tag combination of the two tags most used by members of this group. Her thread is here. I don't tag my category challenge reads myself, but I think it's a good idea to be able to see all tags used in the group together, when you click on one of the tags. Because the "yes" votes are still running behind, I wanted to redirect as many people as I could back to her thread, so you can go to the combination page and vote "yes".

Thanks! And I now return you back to your regularly scheduled chat!

I'm reading By Love Possessed: Stories by Lorna Goodison. The first story in the collection, "The Helpweight," is great, so I'm really excited now!

I'm still working on The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa, which is good but a slow read. I've also started The Hummingbird's Daughter for the GeoCAT and RandomCAT.

I just finished The Leopard and A Land More Kind Than Home. Next up will be The Goldfinch which I had hoped to get to a little earlier and Winter in June.

Reading Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks, by John Curran, and learning some very interesting things about how Agatha plotted her books.

Just finished reading Agamemnon by Aeschylus - my library book had the Richard Lattimore translation, which I found very difficult to read so I ended up resorting to watching the (British) National Theater production on YouTube with one eye while I read with the other. They were using the Tony Harrison translation which I found easier but it made it hard to read while watching!

I've finished Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg, am still in the middle of Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio and In This Rain by S.J. Rozan, and may start my March mystery Cat Book The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart.

Just popping in to say that I am loving The Goldfinch!

Finished The Midnight Mayor, the second book in the Matthew Swift series. Started Redshirts which I'm really enjoying so far.

FINALLY started Broken Homes, by Ben Aaronovitch. Yay!

I have (finally!!) gotten around to starting Young Miles for the group read. I'm a bit more than a quarter of the way into it and enjoying it immensely so far. Space opera turns out to be a good contrast to ancient Greek tragedy :)

I've just finished Gillespie and I by Jane Harris which fit the RandomCAT, and Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh. Both books were excellent.

I'm now reading The Dead Women of Juarez by Sam Hawkin for the GeoCAT.

Reading nexus by Ramez Naam which is pretty good so far 1/4 of the way in

I finished The Goldfinch which was excellent, it was a five star read for me.

Did I read something somewhere about it being made into a movie?

>66 lsh63: I saw this on The Millions:

"We learned earlier this month that Nina Jacobson, a movie producer responsible for the the Hunger Games franchise, among other things, has acquired the rights to Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch and is looking for a director to make it into a film or mini-series."

Of course, anything with a picture of Mark Ruffalo on it tends to catch my attention! But that's not the real cast, just a dream cast.

I recently finished The Signature of All Things (good) and Cat Among the Pigeons (okay) and have started Bel Canto. Bel Canto is a reread, but I am loving it as much as the first time around.

>63 leslie.98: I am discovering that space operas, especially the Vorkosigan series, are a great contrast to all serious reading. I junst finished The Warrior's Apprentice and I enjoyed it tremendously. I am looking to finishing up Daughter of Kura and Death Cure later today.

I'm about to start The Complaint of the Dove by Hannah March.

I finished Redshirts which was very funny. Started The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.

>69 DeltaQueen50: Judy, you're right! Something well-written but not "serious literature" is a great pleasure to read - I usually use mysteries for this 'palate cleansing' between more serious books but sci fi is a refreshing change.

I've just finished The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart for the Mystery Cat this month. Second in the "Benedict Society" series.

I finished Bel Canto this morning in the nick of time for the group read. I would like to start A Tale for the Time Being on my commute home, but my digital app is not cooperating.

I've finished In This Rain by S.J. Rozan. I've started Dandelions in a Jelly Jar by Traci DePree and am still working on Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio.

I am currently reading a great British crime story. Layer Cake by J.J. Connolly is hitting all the right buttons.

I have also started Dear Enemy by Jean Webster, the sequel (sort-of) to Daddy Long Legs. I am really enjoying this one, and can see that I will probably prefer it over the original.

Finished off C.S. Forester's Death to the French (also known as Rifleman Dodd). My next at-home book will continue the theme of gore with The Sudden Arrival of Violence, by Malcolm MacKay.

Finished The Hound of the Baskervilles. Now reading Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote.

It's my turn at the library's copy of The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches, so that one will take precedence over the others that are in line. In other news, I'm watching my friends' kids today and we're on the fifth rewatch of Frozen since yesterday - does anyone know how many plays before a DVD breaks...? :)

79> Many, many, many times as long as it doesn't get scratched or something.

I've just started Iron Jackal by Chris Wooding, the third book in the Tales of the Ketty Jay series. I've gotten my friend's husband hooked now, too! Great for fans of Firefly - the books just keep getting funnier.

I'm currently reading Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn, which is quite a page-turner so far!

>80 BookLizard:
Thanks... I think. They're in bed now, thank goodness, but I still have "Do you want to build a snowman?" playing in my head. Wonder how long that'll last... :)

82> I still haven't seen it, but I just threw a copy in my Amazon cart. I'm sure there are much worse things you could have stuck in your head - like the latest Filet-O-Fish commercial.

Just finished Behind the Scenes at the Museum audiobook.

I'm reading American Rose a biography of Gypsy Rose Lee. It's very good, but the jumping around from decade to decade along with the name changes (she and her sister had various names during their careers) is making my head spin just a little. Not only is her life story interesting, I am also enjoying the background information about vaudeville, burlesque, Prohibition, etc.

>83 BookLizard:
It's really pretty good and the songs are "sticky" but not atrociously annoying - better message too than most prince/princess tales.
Oh dear, I just Googled the Filet-O-Fish commercial - ouch!

I like the idea of letting others know what we are reading since there are so many individual threads (post 1).

So far this month I've read (or in some cases finished reading):
From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg for the Mystery CAT challenge
Backstage at the Lincoln assassination : the untold story of the actors and stagehands at Ford's Theatre by Thomas Bogar
These few precious days: the final year of Jack with Jackie by Christopher Andersen (which was mistitled being about much more than the last year and disappointing being gossipy)
Long way from Verona by Jane Gardam for a book discussion group
Tell me a riddle by Tillie Olsen for my OLLI short novels by women class
Idea whose time has come: two presidents, two parties, and the battle for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by Todd S. Purdum which I received through the LT Early Review program
Art of Birds poems by Pablo Neruda for the March Random CAT challenge

I am in the process of reading:
Midnight Assassin by Patricia L. Bryan and Thomas Wolf about a murder which inspired Susan Glaspell's short story, A Jury of Her Peers, which I read for my OLLI short stories class in February. This book was recommended to me by a fellow member of the class.
Caribbean Quakers by Harriet Frorer Durham for the March GeoCAT challenge

I plan to finish GeoCAT challenge this month.

Since reading should be fun and not be a source of undue pressure, I decided not to finish reading The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs. Beeton for the quarterly biography challenge, and will not be finishing Torn from the Nest by Clorinda Matto de Turner whch I was initially planning to read for the March GeoCAT challenge. The first book I found tedious, and the second is a book which I am reading more for edification than for pleasure -- it is an early novel about indigenous people in Peru -- which I do plan to finish sometime.

Last week I spent 5 days going to the Virginia Festival of the Book, one of my favorite annual events, which I discussed in detail in
https://www.librarything.com/topic/171782
Reading books introduced there is part of my personal reading challenge

I'm reading How to Cook a Tapir for the GeoCAT challenge and I'm still working on The First World War. I'm listening to The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

>88 cbl_tn: Based on the title alone, I want to read How to Cook a Tapir. Are you liking it so far?

>89 tophats: It's too soon to say. It's fairly interesting so far, but not as good (yet) as similar books I've read (The Egg and I, My Samoan Chief. Incidents of Travel in Yucatan).

I've finished Dandelions in a Jelly Jar by Traci DePree, the second in the Lake Emily series.

Because of the weather forecast, I've decided my next book will be The Girl Who Remembered Snow by Charles Mathes.

I finished Louise Welsh's The Girl on the Stairs and am reading Kind of Cruel by Sophie Hannah. Feeling a little anxious, since that is my last book (I'm back in the US for ten days) -- I had expected to use my kindle, which then died in the permanent sense -- I may have to buy something or go to the library or go by the storage unit and see if any of the book boxes are in the front layer. I'm sad the kindle died (it had been on its last legs for some time) but I'm glad it happened where there are plentiful sources of reading material, in English even.

Can we all stop and admire how I have not yet run to a bookstore in desperation?

Hmm I've just finished Nexus which keeps getting nominated for awards (and is very good but I seemed to take a long time to read it!) and spent about an hour last night reading the first pages of many books and then going "nah don't fancy that" - am hoping I can find something to appeal tonight, problem of large TBR is too much choice...

I'm plugging away at the very interesting Life and Fate by Vassily Grossman about life in Russia during WWII, specifically the siege of Stalingrad.

Also reading The Brontes by Juliet Barker and on a lighter note, Queen Lucia by E.F. Benson which is really funny!

>93 RidgewayGirl: I'll admire your fortitude, RG! But I also think this is the perfect excuse for you to buy more books. :-D

I'm still trying to make my way through The Life and Opinions of Tristan Shandy, Gentleman. I started it in January. And as it turns out, he has a lot of opinions...

>96 christina_reads: I beat you there, Christina. Three books purchased because I had twenty minutes and the bookstore was right there.

>98 RidgewayGirl: Good for you! :)

I'm about to start Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker.

Finished my March MysteryCAT, The Clue of the Broken Blade, and will start one of my many library books tomorrow: The Secret Rooms, by Catherine Bailey.

>93 RidgewayGirl: Hi Kay, I remember last year when my Nook died, and I had no book with me to read. I felt lost!

I'm reading W is for Wasted. I lost track of where I am in this series, so I am working backward. In my pre LT days I think my mother and I donated a ton of books to a hospital and now we do not remember where we left off with them.

I downloaded a few when they were on sale a while back and at worst, I guess I will re-read them.

You could do worse than rereading Kinsey Milhone, Lisa.

>99 christina_reads: I'll be watching to see what you think of Miss Hargreaves. I have it on my list to read, but I need another nudge to actually get to it!

I finished She, A Tale for the Time Being, and The Dinner in the last few days and have started on The Luminaries and Sexing the Cherry (I'm a third through and still can't figure out what the meaning of this title is).

I've been reading a whole slew of haunted/haunting house novels--full reviews on my thread if you're interested, with the trend still going :) I'm also slogging through a horrid romance called After the Storm by M. Stratton, and recently finished Bel Canto. I'm also reading a couple of poetry collections, one of which is a collected edition of Muriel Rukeyser's poetry, and will probably take me into April. I'll be finishing up Poets Against the War sooner than later, and that's a collection I'd certainly recommend--readable, powerful, and varied.

I have a couple of books for my challenges going right now: on my Kindle, Bouvard and Pecuchet by Flaubert and in paperback, a reread of Queens' Play by Dorothy Dunnett… so for light relief, on audiobook I am listening to Little Men, which I haven't read since I was a child.

On this last day of the month, I've started reading Children of the Revolution, the latest installment in the Inspector Alan Banks series.

I have started The Hangman's Daughter for my 'mysteries not originally written in English' category...

I've just started The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman...it's YA and just over 300 pages, so I'm hoping to finish it today!

I hope you enjoy Shulman's book.

I'm reading another one or two stories from the Arabian Nights today.

I've been reading children's books all month. It's been a trip down memory lane for a lot of it and a few new (and welcome) acquaintances. As my theme of the month was Nordic children's classics, I've been hanging out with the Moomins and gotten to know the book version of private detective Ture Sventon after only knowing him from TV. I also dove into the fairy tale world of H.C. Andersen and the often mysterious one of Maria Gripe.

It's been a great month, and I'll be reading more books by all the authors I read in March.