What Are You Reading the Week of 9 August 2014?

Jorge Leal Amado de Faria (10 August 1912 – 6 August 2001) was a Brazilian writer of the modernist school. He was the best-known of modern Brazilian writers, his work having been translated into some 49 languages and popularized in film, notably Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands in 1978. His work reflects the image of a mestizo Brazil and is marked by religious syncretism. He depicted a cheerful and optimistic country that was beset, at the same time, with deep social and economic differences.

He occupied the 23rd chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters from 1961 until his death in 2001. He was born in a fazenda ("farm") in the inland of the city of Itabuna, in the southern part of the Brazilian state of Bahia, son of João Amado de Faria and D. Eulália Leal. The farm Amado was born in was precisely located on the village of Ferradas, which though today is a district of Itabuna, at the time was administered by the town of Ilhéus. That is why he considered himself a citizen of Ilhéus. In the large cocoa plantation, Amado knew the misery and the struggles of the people working the earth, living in almost slave conditions, which were to be a theme always present in his later works (for example, the notable The Violent Land of 1944).

When he was only one year old, his family moved to Ilhéus, a coastal city, where he spent his childhood. He attended high school in Salvador, the capital of the state. During that period Amado began to collaborate with several magazines and took part in literary life, as one of the founders of the Modernist "Rebels' Academy."

Amado published his first novel, The Country of Carnival, in 1931, at age 18. He married Matilde Garcia Rosa and had a daughter, Lila, in 1933. The same year he published his second novel, Cacau, which increased his popularity. Amado's leftist activities made his life difficult under the dictatorial regime of Getúlio Vargas. In 1935, he was arrested for the first time, and two years later his books were publicly burned. His works were banned from Portugal, but in the rest of Europe he gained great popularity with the publication of Jubiabá in France. The book had enthusiastic reviews, including that of Nobel Prize Award winner Albert Camus.
In the early 1940s, Amado edited a literary supplement for the Nazi political newspaper "Meio-Dia". Being a communist militant, from 1941 to 1942 Amado was compelled to go into exile to Argentina and Uruguay.

When he returned to Brazil he separated from Matilde Garcia Rosa. In 1945, he was elected to the National Constituent Assembly as a representative of the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB) (he received more votes than any other candidate in the state of São Paulo). He signed a law granting freedom of religious faith. The same year he remarried, this time to the writer Zélia Gattai.

In 1947, he had a son, João Jorge. The same year his party was declared illegal, and its members arrested and persecuted. Amado chose exile once again, this time in France, where he remained until he was expelled in 1950. His first daughter, Lila, had died in 1949. From 1950 to 1952 Amado lived in Czechoslovakia, where another daughter, Paloma, was born. He also traveled to the Soviet Union, winning the Stalin Peace Prize in 1951.

On his return to Brazil in 1954, Amado abandoned active political life, leaving the Communist Party one year later. From that period on he dedicated himself solely to literature. His second creative phase began in 1958 with Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon, which was described by Jean-Paul Sartre as "the best example of a folk novel." Amado abandoned, in part, the realism and the social themes of his early works, producing a series of novels focusing mainly on feminine characters, devoted to a kind of smiling celebration of the traditions and the beauties of Bahia. His depiction of the sexual customs of his land was scandalous to much of 1950s Brazilian society and for several years Amado could not even enter Ilhéus, where the novel was set, due to threats received for the alleged offense to the morality of the city's women.

On 6 April 1961, he was elected to the Brazilian Academy of Letters. He received the title of Doctor honoris causa from several Universities in Brazil, Portugal, Italy, Israel and France, as well as other honors in almost every South American country, including Obá de Xangô (santoon) of the Candomblé, the traditional Afro-Brazilian religion of Bahia.

Amado's popularity as a writer never decreased. His books were translated into 49 languages in 55 countries, were adapted into films, theatrical works and TV programs. They even inspired some samba schools of the Brazilian Carnival.

In 1987, the House of Jorge Amado Foundation was created, in Salvador. It promotes the protection of Amado's estate and the development of culture in Bahia. The recently renovated building on the Pelourinho in Salvador contains a small museum and wall panels with the covers of international editions of his books. Amado died on 6 August 2001. His ashes were spread in the garden of his house four days later.

Novels
The Country of Carnival (O País do Carnaval, 1931)
Cacau (1933)
Sweat (Suor, 1934)
Jubiabá (1935)
Sea of Death (Mar Morto, 1936)
Captains of the Sands (Capitães da Areia, 1937)
The Knight of Hope (Vida de Luis Carlos Prestes or O Cavaleiro da Esperança, 1942)
The Violent Land (Terras do Sem Fim, 1943)
The Golden Harvest (São Jorge dos Ilhéus, 1944)
Red Field (Seara Vermelha, 1946)
The Bowels of Liberty trilogy (Os Subterrâneos da Liberdade, 1954)
Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon (Gabriela, Cravo e Canela, 1958)
The Two Deaths of Quincas Wateryell (A Morte e a Morte de Quincas Berro D'agua, 1959)
Home Is the Sailor (Os Velhos Marinheiros ou o Capitão de Longo Curso, 1961)
Ogum's Compadre (O compadre de Ogum, 1964)
Shepherds of the Night (Os Pastores da Noite, 1964)
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos, 1966)
Tent of Miracles (Tenda dos Milagres, 1969)
Tereza Batista: Home from the Wars (Teresa Batista Cansada da Guerra, 1972)
The Swallow and the Tomcat: A Love Story (O Gato Malhado e a Andorinha Sinhá: uma história de amor, 1976)
Tieta (Tieta do Agreste, 1977)
Pen, Sword, Camisole (Farda Fardão Camisola de Dormir, 1979)
Showdown (Tocaia Grande, 1984)
The War of the Saints (O Sumiço da Santa, 1988)
Coasting (Navegação de Cabotagem, 1992)
The Discovery of America by the Turks (A Descoberta da América pelos Turcos, 1994)

Just bookmooched Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands....thanks, Richard. I love international literature and Brazil has some fabulous authors. Glad to find a new one!

His Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon is also a delight. I read it in the mid-70s and was *shocked* that it came from 1958!

Loved the Dona Flor movie (Sonia Braga is great in it), and have thought about reading the book. Probably should do that. Thanks for the bio, Richard.

I finished and very much liked Orphan Train. Now I'm focused on Personal: A Jack Reacher Novel, the latest in that series.

Started, but could not get into The Orphan Master's Son and now reading The Pilgrimage, by another Brazilian, Paulo Coelho which a friend dropped off for me and said I'd like! So far, it's pretty good!

Great bio Sir Richard. I have to read some of stuff!

Never managed to post in last week's thread, but I finished Rick Bragg's All Over but the Shoutin' early in the week. It was a funny, poignant, painful memoir that hit close to home, as I'm a native Southerner.

I've since started Ron Rash's Serena for my book club, and am *this close* to finishing my LTER book, Jam Today Too by Tod Davies.

Ya know, books like A Conspiracy of Paper remind me that human beings make up markets...and human beings suck. Read my review.

Richard,

Jorge Amado is one of my favorite all time authors. I have read Dona Flor & Her Two Husbands, Gabriela, Clove, and Cinnamon, Tent of Miracles, Tieta, War of the Saints, and Home is the Sailor, my personal favorite.

Here's my review of Home is the Sailor: http://kammbia1.wordpress.com/2011/12/27/book-review-16-home-is-the-sailor-by-jo...

Thanks for showcasing him. He gets overlooked in the pantheon of Latin American Writers.

Marion

Still reading The Little Stranger. I am enjoying it but I'm not engrossed. Maybe it will pick up more for me-I'm halfway through.

>8 Kammbia1: Does truth lie in the everyday events, the daily incidents, in the pettiness and vulgarity most people’s lives are compounded of, or does the truth have its abode in the dream it is given us to dream to flee our sad human condition?

And there it is...clear as crystal, loud as a cathedral carillon.

*happy sigh* I love reading Amado!

I am engrossed in I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes. It's grittier than I like but the writing and the wit are making it well worth it. I've also still got Innocent Blood by PD James on the go. I think it is one of her best. It's nice to have a re-read that stands the test of time.

#9: The Little Stranger is probably my least favorite by Sarah Waters but I liked it nonetheless. So bummed I did not win her newest yet to be released novel from ER.

Halfway through Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. The second half will have to wait. I leave for Norway & Iceland tonight!

I finished an LTER book Riveted. In an effort to understand human behavior the author examines five principles from our subconscious or biology that compel humans to respond and suggests these "compellingness foundations" make something riveting. The information is well presented and researched, even including studies that do not support a given point.

I've reviewed the second Benjamin Weaver historical thriller, A SPECTACLE OF CORRUPTION, in my thread...post #243.

I finished The Little Stranger. I enjoyed it overall, but found that some parts definitely lagged for me, and I wasn't thrilled with the narrator, Dr. Faraday. This was only my second Sarah Waters book - I think that the first I read - Fingersmith will be hard to beat.

Next up is Baker Towers.

>15 mynovelthoughts: Please be sure to include Tipping the Velvet in your Waters-reading. I loved it immoderately.

Finished The Beekeeper's Apprentice, which I liked, although I didn't care much for the emotional relationship developing between Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes. I know that this relationship becomes romantic over the course of the series, so I don't know that I'll be reading any of the others. This book, however, was quite entertaining.

Also finished The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco. I knew it was based on the old Japanese ghost story that spawned movies like The Ring & The Grudge, but I didn't realize how unbelievably creepy it would be. All I can say is that this novel would make one heck of a horror movie. The only thing I didn't care for was that the dead girl from the well narrated the story (hence the title). Normally, that would be a big detractor for me, but the story itself and the imagery was so creepy that it didn't bother me as much.

Also finished The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff. One of my coworkers raved about this book and told me how much I'd like it, but I was underwhelmed. Decent writing, but the story had too much angsty-YA-fantasy-paranormal stuff in it. Not my to my tastes.

I finished Larry McMurtry's The Last Kind Words Saloon which I really enjoyed. He calls it a "ballad in prose" and I think that's a good description. Whatever it is, I liked it and was sorry to see it end, though I admired the spareness of the storytelling which is one of the best things about the book. If you're looking for history and facts, you might want to look elsewhere, but I think he captured other, more subtle, truths and he certainly honored the spirit of the old legendary figures of the wild west.

I also read Roald Dahl's The BFG which was lots of fun.

Now I'm reading Janwillem van de Wetering's Amsterdam Cops. I read the fourteen Amsterdam Cops mystery novels a decade or so ago and truly admired them, but I had no idea there existed this collection of 13 stories about them, too. It's like discovering a secret treasure.

>16 richardderus: Great! Thanks for the tip! (haha)

Richard,

That quote had to be a part of my review. Home Is The Sailor deals with truth, lies, and gossip in a realistic way and having the colorfulness of Brazil adds an extra dimension to Amado's work.

I love reading him as well.

I'm still reading and enjoying The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.

Greetings! It's been a while since I've been able to post on this thread. My wife and I went on vacation for two weeks (one week in Switzerland, mostly in Bellinzona in the Italian-speaking east, and one week in Turin, Italy). Then I had some family issues to deal with, plus work's kept me busy. I've finally gotten my 50-Book Challenge thread caught up and thought I'd step in here to say hello. Here are the books I've read since my last report.

Hong Kong, China by Ralph Arnote: a lousy thriller

The Prophet of Tenth Street by Tsipi Keller: an enjoyable reverie about the writing life and the author's relationship with his/her characters

Malone Dies by Samuel Beckett: Beckett's fascinating narrative (and deconstruction of the idea of narrative) about a dying man examining his surroundings and telling himself stories.

Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano di Torino - Pocket Guide by Daniela Orta: the guidebook to a wonderful Italian history museum in Turin

More details on all of these on my aforementioned 50-Book Challenge thread.

I've just started The Ides of May: The Defeat of France, May-June, 1940 by John Williams.

Caught up. Cool!

Once again I got myself into a book I knew nothing about, The Heretic Queen, thinking it was about some random Egyptian queen and was delighted to see it a fictionalized tale of Ramesses II and Nefertari. What a great read. Throw in some stragglers from the Trojan war and a few visits from Ahmoses who is trying to get Nefertari to "let his people go", the Habiru that is, a love triangle with Iset, scheming priests and priestesses, a good childbirth scene (which makes any book complete for me), ancient mores and I couldn't stop reading. Michelle Moran has a page where she explains part of the history http://www.michellemoran.com/books/heretic/qanda.html (including the fact that if you want to actually go into the tomb it'll cost you $5000)
So she had to invent things, a true archeologist probably wouldn't approve, but I loved it.
Now on to Why My Third Husband Will Be A Dog: The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman, a collection of essays by Lisa Scottoline.
In the car I'm still listening to Espresso Tales and wondering why I liked 44 Scotland Street so much. Aside from the unfortunate Bertie his characters aren't doing much for me right now.
On paper I'm about half way thorough The Hundred-Foot Journey in preparation for seeing the movie soon.
Oh, and I just finished Tuesday's Gone by Nicci French which is my definition of a good mystery, lots of psychological insight and no random murdering of inconsequential women. I guess now I'm committed to picking up Waiting for Wednesday.

Raced through and enjoyed Personal: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child, and now I'm reading If I Stay.

Reading The Undertaking: Life Studies From The Dismal Trade by Thomas Lynch, listening to The Phantom by Jo Nesbo at home, and listening to The Storied Life of A J Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin in the car.

Actually....just finished The Undertaking: Life Studies From the Dismal Trade.....interesting.

Next up to read is Travesty by John Hawkes.

I've read and reviewed the deeply beautiful and immensely satisfying short Great War novel, A Month in the Country. See why I love it in my thread...post #103.

I just finished reading The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child - it was wonderful and a nice spur to get me back on track with my personal reading. I am not sure precisely what to blame - probably my iPhone and Netflix - but my reading has plummeted over the past two years. Time to get back into the groove! And encourage my students to do the same. I plan to read LOTS of young adult fiction this year.

I do my good-literary-netizen duty with a review of Notes from the Internet Apocalypse in my thread...post #185.

I'm about halfway through The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. In my opinion, this book was quite deserving of the Pulitzer Prize. It is very well written and a compelling story.

#14
I read Coffee Trader a few years ago (before 2008) and liked it. Later I tried to explain to people how the markets could be manipulated and how they started out being manipulated and folks didn't believe me. Since 2008 some of my friends believe me. I like David Liss work and wish there was more of it. He is a great writer about topics that are relevant and he makes them exciting.

I finished reading/listening to Cress by Marissa Meyer yesterday. The Lunar Chronicles by this author may be young adult fiction but it is darn good reading. I can't wait for the last book in this series.

I started listening to Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherine Valente and am glad that I have the book with me as the whole disc 2 was not usable. I spent last night reading to catch up where disc 3 starts. So far this is a good one and that is good since there are three more in this series.

Finished Hidden by Catherine McKenzie (meh) and The Care and Management of Lies (well written and at times wonderful, but I hated one of the major characters - I see a sequel in the works since the book ends in 1915). Started The Longest Day in both print and audio and A Tale for the Time Being in print.

I read Dark Voyage by Alan Furst this last week. It has been on my currently reading list for over a year so decided it was time to get it off and read. This book is part of the author's Night Soldiers series about espionage in pre-World War II and World War II. Furst's forte is creating atmosphere and this book is no different than previous books in the Night Soldiers series. This one is about a tramp freighter in the merchant marine. The merchant marine is a vital part of World War II that often gets short shrift. Furst remedies that with this novel. The hero of the story is a Dutch sea captain on a Dutch merchant ship. When Holland is overrun in the fall of 1940 he is suddenly a ship without a country. The British make use of this fact and turn the ship into a dark freighter. This makes for some exciting adventures for the intrepid captain and his crew.

I finished Lisa Scottoline's Why My Third Husband Will Be A Dog and fear she's been reading too much Dave Barry - some good ideas drowning in cutsey. That's a pity because I liked the one mystery novel of hers I read, Look Again, but that was a novel and these are essays. Her last essay written for Valentine's Day was good. It was about the celebration of love in no matter what form - of a sexual partner, a parent, a friend, an animal or a book. Very thoughtful and I guess she thought important enough that she withheld the chocolate coating.

I am reading The Hundred-Year House and quite happy with it so far.

#11 Enaid...I also really enjoyed I am Pilgrim. I was pleasantly surprised because I don't read much in that genre and I wasn't sure if I would like it. I thought it was captivating.

Finished the dark and intense Travesty by John Hawkes.

Next up to read is a selection for my RL book club, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard.

>37 hemlokgang: I found the Millard a fascinating read and gave it 4.5 stars. It's also evidence enough, all by itself, that people can't travel back in time and fix some terrible mishap in history, or this one would not have been left to stand.

I just finished a short graphic novel, Aya about the Ivory Coast in better days. It's obviously meant to be the first of a few and is a good introduction to people in the village, their society and the machinations of the teenagers. I'm hoping Aya makes it out of the sexist society and that her protege Herve manages to make something of himself too.

#37
Strange - my real life book group is reading that one next month. Sounds like it should be fodder for much discussion.

Finished the absolutely delightful The Storied Life of AJ Fikry.

Next up for car listening is Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy.

Reading Elizabeth Gilbert's The Signature of All Things and enjoying it immensely. Also enjoyed being entertained by the author on the last leg or her book tour last month. Three years of research and one year of writing has produced an intricate, compelling story about the natural world and a woman devoted to its study.

Sound boring? It's not!

I am savoring A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick not far in however and I am hooked, two mysterious devious characters meeting for the first time!! lots of disturbed reading time!! today is the day to attack!!

#37 & 40> I read a lot of John Hawkes for a grad school course on the novels of Hawkes and John Barth. The Hawkes in particular was a rough go at times, but rewarding.

>42 NarratorLady: I read and absolutely loved The Signature of All Things last year when I read it. After hating Eat, Pray, Love I never thought I'd read another one of her books but her fiction is amazing.

>27 richardderus: A Month in the Country is a real gem, Richard!

I finished Amy Bloom's Lucky Us and thought it was just wonderful. I liked it way more than some of the recent reviewers here on LT.

#27, I also loved A month In The Country.

I could NOT hang with The Pilgrimage, no matter how I tried, I dreaded picking it back up. The funny thing is generally I enjoy spiritual journeys, but boy, that was not my cuppa. Now to tell my friend whom I borrowed the book from ... well what are friends if not differing of opinions without getting bent out of shape.

Now back to Collected Stories of Raymond Carver and thinking of delving into one of the following bios: Frida or Portrait of an Artist - anyone read either of them?

Oh, and just a cool link a friend sent me: 10 Books that Must be Re-Read ...

http://www.businessinsider.com/best-books-to-reread-2014-8

I have yet to hear someone say something disparaging about A Month in the Country. This is fascinating. Usually a contrarian (often enough me) has some cavil to air. Not one for this book!

I'm so pleased I read it. Still hear it in my mental ear.

#36 Iudita - I Am Pilgrim was a solid gripping read, wasn't it? It was exactly the book I needed at that moment. Now, I need another book like it; engrossing but not a life changer. I've got enough life changes going on at the moment.

I'm almost done with Innocent Blood, even if I didn't think this re-read was one of James's best, I'd love it for the wonderful author photo on the back. Such an interesting and somewhat mysterious looking woman!

Finished Jam Today Too Saturday night. It was delightful! I also finished Serena last night. Disturbing tale, but fascinating, and beautifully written.

Started Best Food Writing 2013 night before last. Will start The Last Summer of the Camperdowns later today...

I'm reading Playing for Keeps, David Halberstam's book about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.

I finished Jericho Season 4 at the end of last week and The Kin: Mana's Story by Peter Dickinson at the weekend. I'm now making my way through Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawks, Araroon by Kay Crist and listening to The False Friend by Myla Goldberg (also read by the author) - so far each of these is interesting me in its own way. They're all very different though.

>49 richardderus: I'm another one who loved A Month in the Country Richard:-)

I finished and REVIEWED Helen Zenna Smith's searing WWI novel, Not So Quiet...Stepdaughters of War.

Now I'm reading Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time.

I'm currently reading Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday. A good read and very informative.

I've reviewed autobiographies of two opium addicts (Martin, De Quincey) and moved on to my third Gillian Flynn, Dark Places. There was a brief but cheery interval with Brother Cadfael, though.

>56 Meredy: I loved the Cadfael series, too. In fact, I've been thinking of reading it all again -- those "cheery intervals" sound inviting. It's been almost 20 years since I read them and I'm sure they would be almost like new to me by now what with all the brain cells I've lost in the interim.

I finished listening to Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making yesterday evening. This book is full of fairy and folk tale, as well as literary puns, but since I listened to the recorded version of the book I am sure that I missed half of them. My recorded version was narrated by the author and I don't think she did anything to enhance the telling of this tale. She just didn't make the story come alive for me. I may read the other books in this series at some point but I am not going to jump right out and get the next in the series. That can wait awhile.

Upon complition of the above novel I popped into the car's CD player Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children. I read the reviews of this book and so I have the hardcopy of it with me as well so I can look at the pictures while I am reading. This one is Gothic/Horror and that is not usually what I read so this could be interesting.

I started reading the book Eleanor and Park yesterday and I am already 2/3 through it. It is a beautiful book, and if you haven't read it yet, I recommend that you do so.

>57 mollygrace: Qualified cheeriness, of course. You have to make a little allowance for murder.

I've given the books away as fast as I've read them, thinking they were one-time reads, and now I'm wondering if I'll regret that.

>55 BurlingtonReader: I'd be interested to know how you get on when you finished with Jung Chang's Mao: The Unknown Story as it's on my wishlist of books to try and track down.

Have read (and very much enjoyed) Jung Chang's Wild Swans, but haven't found myself motivated enough to try her book on Mao. I think it's because I read Mao by Philip Short, which was 800+ pages and didn't want to read ANYTHING more on the topic in a long time.

Right now I'm in the desert Southwest with The blessing way by Tony Hillerman and trying to drag my way through Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. I wish her books had chapters; it's hard to read them over a period of time if you can't figure out where you stopped last.

>59 Jasmyne_ann98: I loved Eleanor and Park, too, and agree with your recommendation.

I loved Eleanor and Park too!

I am reading the Biography of Frida Kahlo and it is great so far.

#62
I haven't read a Tony Hillerman book in years, but I really liked them. The PBS mystery series done from them was also good. Maybe I should Netflix them and watch them again?

>62 Bjace: I recently finished Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, found it fascinating and that was the reason for my interest in the Mao book but as yet I haven't located a copy (in a way a good thing - the TBR pile is too big already!)

Finished the excellent Phantom by Jo Nesbo.

Next up for litening is The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.

On audio I've just started Big Brother by Lionel Shriver because I've so liked the other 2 books of hers I've read, We Need To Talk About Kevin and So Much for That. She's far from a lovable author, but she always makes me think. This book is about eating and not eating, fame and lack of fame, various kinds of snobbery and family interaction.

I've got The Great War For Civilization by Robert Fisk, out from the library. Was surprised when I went to check it out as it was so heavy it was hard to pick it up with one hand. 1105 pages in all of small font ...so I'm thinking I will be reading this one for quite a while and lucky if I don't go blind in the process. But the good thing is that it's reading like a novel, practically.

To richardderus (#27) Am a fan of WWI novels, too, and have read Carr's elegiac novella with pleasure. Not to be missed is The Absolutist by John Boyne, which presents the harsh reality of trench warfare and shifting personal morals that the brutal conditions cause in soldiers. What makes this novel unique is that the protagonist is gay. But unlike A Month in the Country it's not a gentle or easy tale to read.

The Great War seems to have inspired so much great writing.

Sheepish by Catherine Friend arrived yesterday! It should come with a warning label... If you read in bed please forewarn your partner that if the bed trembles it is not an earthquake it is the reader have a severe case of the giggles! =:)

>70 Limelite: Thank you for the heads-up re: The Absolutist. I'll push it up the TBR Himalaya.

>69 mhmr: just edit your message and put an [ in front and a ] at the end. In this case, the book you want to link to shows up. Sometime you have to click on others and choose the correct work. To do this for an author, use double of each character, [[ & ]]. These handy things are called Touchstones.

To do even more with your posts, check out this thread:
The New How To Do Fancy Things In Your Posts Thread

Happy posting!

Thanks much. I'll give it a try.

So, I've had a pretty good reading week for myself and I hope that you all did as well! :) Starting on Thursday, August 7th, I picked up Sandcastles by Luanne Rice; which I finished reading on Saturday, August 9th! :) The book was pretty good, although in my opinion, this story could have been about one hundred pages less and still have been told well.

I started reading Sleeping Tiger by Rosamunde Pilcher on Sunday, August 10th! :) I really enjoyed this book. The story was sweet and gentle; nothing earth-shattering. Ms. Pilcher is such a talented story-teller, but this book seemed slightly different than most of her other works - somehow lighter and frothier than I was expecting. I finished this book on Monday, August 11th! :)

I immediately started reading Prized Possessions by Avery Corman on Monday, August 11th! It only took me three days to read this book and I finished it early this morning, Thursday, August 14th! Such a great book - I have no idea why I waited so long to read it. :)

Currently, I'm reading Behind Closed Doors by Susan R. Sloan, which I just started today. I'm not that far into the story yet.

Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made was most excellent (my review is on the book page), and now I'm enjoying Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage.

>73 MDGentleReader: Thanks for that post. So many clever things to do.
>75 moonshineandrosefire: You're such a fast and varied reader. I envy your speed. One of my book clubs is going to be reading a Rosamunde Pilcher next month, and I can't say I'm looking forward to it. Ach, romance. The Poor Relations series is Regency Era romance, but the romance takes a back seat to plot and history so I love it. Straight romance though does not appeal.

I finished I Am Pilgrim. I really found the first part interesting, but then I got tired of the changing viewpoint, and also I was tired of what seemed to be a dull perfection in the main character. Other people thought it was an exciting page turner, so I must have missed something while I was skipping through.

I also finished The House of Dolls by David Hewson. I liked this one very much, the characters were all interesting as was the city of Amsterdam. My only complaint was not knowing how to pronounce the Dutch words. I tried to find the pronunciation of "privehuis" and I got a lot of interesting advertisements, but no pronunciations. The ending was a surprise (which is nice) and unusual, one I had to think about for a few minutes and then re-read. I hope Hewson writes more about Vos and Bakker.

Jane Austen's First Love by Syrie James
James's new novel about young Jane Austen

I have started on Heading Out To Wonderful by Robert Goolrick, he is the author of my last great book A reliable Wife, this one shows great promise!!

Finished Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, and Women of the Left Bank by Shari Benstock. Just started Sum of All Fears by Tom Clancy.

>77 Citizenjoyce: You are quite welcome, I have that thread favorited and refer to it regularly.

I do like many of Marion Chesney's Regency romance series.

What Rosamunde Pilcher is your book club reading? I really like Winter Solstice and Coming Home. I don't consider either one to be straight romance. Her shorter books on the other hand....

>82 MDGentleReader: We'll be reading The Shell Seekers. I hope I can make it. Hey, I made it through A Confederacy of Dunces, I should be able to take anything.

83> Not a favorite of mine, but it's definitely not all romance. I think she portrays people very well. It should be a pretty quick read, at least.

I am way too moody a reader to be part of a book club. Good for you for sticking it out with books you don't want to read.

I'm reading now is Rules of the Game by Neil Strauss and Duma Key by Stephen King. their ok.

#77 - Citizenjoyce, I totally agree with you - I can't read just straight romance, myself :) Yes, Rosamunde Pilcher does write light romance, but her romantic scenes aren't too explicit. It takes a back seat to the story. :) I really enjoyed The Shell Seekers myself. It's a long time since I read it, actually, but I'll definitely be reading this book again, at some point! :)

So, as I said earlier, I started reading Behind Closed Doors by Susan R. Sloan on Thursday, August 14th! It was a really excellent book, and I finished reading this book on Friday, August 15th :)