What You're Reading the Week of 8 September 2007

Still no computer - but busy re-formatting hard drives as I write. I finished The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly and The Rule of Four by Ian Cardwell and Dustin Thomasen this week, neither great works but readable (though in the case of The Tea Rose it took some energy to get past the odd dialogue). Now into Jonathan Kellerman's Gone, pretty much in the same league.

I enjoyed The Tea Rose but thought The Rule of Four particularly dull.

This week I'll be listening to an audio book of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and reading The Graduate by Charles Webb. After that, I plan on reading The Time Machine by H. G. Wells.

will be reading Easy Prey by John Sandford

I enjoyed The Tea Rose too when I read it a few years ago. I now have The Winter Rose to read but couldn't get into it the first time I tried.

Last week I read On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan. This week I will be finishing off The Summer Book by Tove Janssen and then starting on The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

Is it just me or are the touchstones really weird this week?

Had to put down As Meat Loves Salt. I just don't think I can finish it. Picked Birds Without Wings back up. We'll see.

#5vgilder
I tried to read As meat loves salt but didn't get beyond the first chapter.

I'm about two hundred pages into Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb. I'm sort of dreading finishing it; I've enjoyed this series a hell of a lot, and I'll be very sad when it's all over.

I'm almost half-way through The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. And it's not just you, Kiwiflowa. The touchstone for the title doesn't want to work--it's bringing up a completely different book!

Working on Jesus Land and then on to Jean Thompson's Throw like a Girl. Have a Christopher Moore stuck in there also. I refuse to do any heavy reading as I just passed nursing boards and have spent the past four months reviewing medical/surgical nursing crap. And yes, my touchstones aren't working either.

>2 Kell_Smurthwaite:, Kell_Smurthwaite - I hope you enjoy The Time Machine (speaking of wonky touchstones, the first thing that comes up for this book is Treasure Island?!?), I really liked it.

This week, I have just finished The Intellectual Devotional, which I did not read as directed (one page a day for a year). I had a great time with that book and I can't wait until the authors come out with a new one. I learned so many interesting little tidbits.

I'm still puttering along reading an entry or two a week in How Language Works.

I am about 3/4 of the way through Jose Saramago's harrowing novel Blindness. It is really well-written but I can't say I'm 'enjoying' reading it. After this one I'm going to need something light and funny.

Just started a Tess Gerritsen book called The Surgeon.
1st book i've read of this author.

I'm about halfway through Eldest and hope to finish it by the end of the week. I'm really enjoying it so far. I can tell that Christopher Paolini was older when he wrote this book than he was when he wrote Eragon.

Finished Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera Thursday evening and am still digesting it, although overall impression is very favorable. It's definitely slated for a reread, but likely not for some time. Started a reread of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game yesterday, and am actually meeting him this afternoon at a local book festival! I have a good (and slightly dangerous) feeling that I'll be returning from the book festival with lots of new reads!!

I just started Susan Jacoby's Freethinkers. I have bookmarks in a dozen or more other books as usual.

# 10 - fannyprice - Treasure Island seems to be coming up for loads of books in the touchstones lately!

A little more than halfway through Susanne Alleyn's Game of Patience, a mystery set in Paris about 5 years after the Reign of Terror ended. Also still reading (slowly) the following non-fiction: No Plot? No Problem!, Stiff, and What Type Am I? Just started Find Me, the latest (and I hope not the last) Mallory mystery by Carol O'Connell on audiobook, and am very much enjoying it!

I finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and loved it, but now need a slightly lighter read.

Like Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs. LOL!!

I'm also looking for a copy of Me Talk Pretty One Day or another by David Sedaris, which would really be much lighter. :o)

About halfway through Nuclear Weapons and Aircraft Carriers.

It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium by John Ed Bradley.

I've been thinking of joining a local book group even though I prefer to read non-fiction and groups seem to focus on fiction. At any rate, this month's selection is Snow Flower And The Secret Fan by Lisa See. The barbaric practice of foot binding began in China in the 10th century during the Tang Dynasty and continued for 1000 years (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_binding
Imagine it! The pain, the physical limitations, the deaths from horrific infections, the mind set that would allow the mutiliations to continue.............

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I'm also reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. It's a fascinating book which looks at life in 19th century China through the eyes of one girl. I, too, was horrified when reading the chapter about foot binding. I never knew it was such a barbaric practice. In fact, I read the Wikipedia article prior to reading that chapter in Lisa See's book. It was almost painful to work my way through that chapter.

Excellent book, though, for anyone interested in learning about Chinese culture. I'm not a big fan of historical novels, but this book has been so very much alive for me. It's almost as if Lily is telling her story today. It's a very captivating read.

I'm reading A Planet Called Treason by Orson Scott Card and, on a lighter note, The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein is up next.

Still reading Kushiel's Avatar by Jacqueline Carey. For me it's a hefty tome at 700 pages. I may be another week with this one. I also have Smoke and Mirrors still on the side, by Neil Gaiman, which I may pick up again to read another short story and just to get it done. I'm now listening to The Prestige by Christopher Priest.

#20 and 21 - I have Snow Flower and the Secret Fan on audio but I haven't started it yet. I keep hearing about the foot binding chapter and I've started to wonder if I'll be able to make it through that chapter. Not easy skimming over parts when it's being read to you!

#22: Heinlein wrote a lot of great books, but The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is my favorite. Love to hear what you think of it when you're done!

Still working on The Civil Wars by Caesar and Campaigning with Grant. Should be done with those in a few days.

Have just started Kate Wilhelm's Clear and Convincing Proof, one of her later Barbara Holloway mysteries. A little slow starting--I find that in this series, that's usually the case--but it's starting to pick up now that the murder has been committed. The series has always had good courtroom drama, and I'm looking forward to more in this book.

About 40 pages into The Perfect Mile by Neal Bascomb. Great so far. Excellent pace (pun intended?) and a compelling read despite the fact I know who breaks the four minute mile.

I am reading The First Counsel by Brad Meltzer.
This is my first book by him.

#5, #6 Same here. I bought As Meat Loves Salt while in London. I had recently finished Year of Wonders and thought this one might be similar. NOT! I also quit after a few chapters, although I still have it and may get back to it someday.

#5 I got through Birds without Wings but wasn't very impressed with it.

#'s 20, 21 and 23 - I thought Snow Flower and the Secret Fan sounded interesting, but now that I've heard all this talk about the footbinding chapter I'm no longer sure it's something I could read. Even the small, relatively nondescriptive bit about footbinding in Isabel Allende's Daughter of Fortune upset me so much that I had to get off the bus I was riding at the time and lie down on a bench. It's one the few things that can make me feel physically ill.

I've been reading The Pirate's Daughter for a Book Browse review. It's not what the title sounds like. It's set in the 1930s on Jamaica and centers around Hollywood star Errol Flynn's buying a small island there--but mostly on a young Jamaican girl who is fascinated by him. Looks like things may eventually heat up between them.

I had to stop reading Snow Flower And The Secret Fan. As aware of and troubled as I am by present day suffering (Darfur, Afghanistan, Iraq), do I need to be reminded that for 1000 years Chinese children were needlessly and cruelly mutiliated by foot binding? The act of which was carried out by women who were trapped by tradition in this nightmare? No thanks.

Just bought Sight Hound by Pam Houston tonight and will probably start it right away. Had just started The Soloist by Mark Salzman but this sounds better; I'll go back to it.

i'm currently reading the divine secrets of the ya-ya sisterhood

September 9

The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks Goes Hollywood

I've had a book-heavy weekend. I finished Treasure Island, which I wish I had read when I was a kid. It was such fun--I immediately tossed it to my daughter. Then I read Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, which I thought was very effective, and The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper, which was good escapist (albeit dark) fun. I also filled a new bookcase that my husband put together for me. Now I'm starting Up in the Old Hotel, by Joseph Mitchell.

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Not easy skimming over parts when it's being read to you!

If you find it too disagreeable, you can always fast forward.

I recommend learning about the foot binding, though, as it's part of Chinese history. Thank goodness it's no longer practiced.

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I often want to know the reasons for people inflicting pain upon others (as in foot binding and "Darfur, Afghanistan, Iraq"). That helps me question the world around me and take a stand for what I believe is right.

I just finished On Chesil Beach: a novel by Ian McEwan - I can't say it was a favorite but I did enjoy the ending. I am currently reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver which I am really enjoying.

I just finished When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin (truly loved it) and The Pilot's Wife (for the 3rd time) by Anita Shreve. I am currently reading Kris
Radish's The Elegant Gathering of White Snows and working my way through The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain. I am greatly enjoying both. I had forgotten that Mark Twain was such a "laugh out loud" writer.

Re Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, as I mentioned here a couple months ago, I did find it a worthwhile and interesting read although I don't think it's the kind of book about which one can say "I enjoyed it." I mean, the subject matter is pretty bleak and not really "enjoyable" even though it's well-written and engaging.

I definitely found it edifying in terms of what life might/must have been like for women in China in that era. I think it's worthwhile for all of us to think about how love is expressed in different cultures and societies (and it's clear that the parents in the story DO love their daughters, even while they do this awful thing to them).

And the footbinding description -- at least the graphic parts -- is fairly short and is done with fairly quickly at the beginning of the book, in case that makes anyone feel better about reading it....

#34-cabegley: I loved Persepolis. If you really enjoyed it, make sure to pick up Persepolis 2. It's about her return to Iran. I think you'll like it. I hear they're making a film of the book, but I'm not quite sure how I feel about that. Guess I'll have to wait and see how the film turns out.

Has everyone heard that The Kite Runner is being is being turned into a film? Does anyone have any thoughts? I'm not sure if a film could capture the hearfelt essence of the words on a page...

I finished up The Yearling by Marjorie Rawlings this weekend, and now I am off to read Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult.

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I have a copy of Persepolis 2 circulating as a BookCrossing bookray. Please contact me if you're interested in participating.

I also have a copy of Embroideries, Satrapi's third and most recent graphic novel circulating as a BookCrossing bookray. That bookray, too, is open for more participants.

Persepolis 2 is a contintuation of Satrapi's memoirs and tells of her young adulthood away from Iran. Embroideries deals with women's issues and is told in a most humorous way.

I just finished reading The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette. It was my beach reading for this past week. I just started The Devil in the White City and The Book Thief. I'm still listening to Water for Elephants during my commute. At this point the jury is still out as I'm early on in this.

I am almost finished Kafka on the shore and am just so puzzled by this book. Its a good read - just odd. Next I will read 1988 and then probably Fingersmith.

BTW - my one year librarything anniversary was on september 6th - and I still love this site as much as the day I joined it.

I'm still reading Tipperary by Frank Delaney - my early review, which is now going to be a late review. I put it aside for awhile while I read another book and had a hard time getting back into it, but now it's picking up half way through and I'm starting to really enjoy it. Also reading The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson and The Curve of time by M. Wylie Blanchet. (Bus book and bedroom book).

Happy LT birthday, keren7!

I just finished Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers, a moving little book about correspondence between a mother and daughter during the year the mother discovers she has breast cancer.

Connie Willis's Doomsday book and wasn't at all happy...I seem to be the only person who reads her stuff with an annoyeed sigh at how many places the editors could have tightened things up without losing any clarity or savor, while smartening things up pacewise quite handily.

Had the same problem with To say nothing of the dog, which I gave up on after 100 pages. Just too irksomely indirect and undirected for me.

THEN there is Ms. Willis's stellar, superb, delightful novella Inside Job, which I adored from beginning to end! You confuse me, talented writer with logorrhea!

Now starting his Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik at long last. It's been on my shelf a year or more. I liked the idea well enough, but find myself far more thrilled with the characters than I expected to be.

#35 - My background is Chinese and if I had the book I would want to read about the foot binding to learn more about it. It's something I've always known about but not more than that. But if I had the book, if I found it too unpleasant, I could read quickly, skim over the unpleasant parts yet still retain some of what Lisa See is trying to impart. So I don't actually want to fast forward the parts about foot binding. I'll either have to grit my teeth and bear it on audio, or get the book from the library (just for that chapter, as there are many other non audio books I've been planning to read).

I'm reading Final Impact, by John Birmingham.

#39--I agree with you about Snow Flower, that the mothers did love their daughters, even though they were doing this horrible thing to them. Tiny feet increased the girls' marriageability, and being married was the only possible life course for the girls. The kind of husband they could attract pretty much dictated what the rest of their lives would be, and mothers were trying to improve their daughters' chances of a good life in the only way they could. But I can see how reading about it would be very upsetting for many people.

I'm trying to get through The Life of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir, but it's taking forever. Not because it's not a good book, although I did get a little tired of reading about Elizabeth's endless fake attempts to get married (though I suppose that's not Weir's fault). But I've been so tired lately, and I haven't been able to concentrate on it, and I find it does require a lot of concentration, to remember all the various players. I think I will tackle The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Weir next. My knowledge of English history is shamefully inadequate.

Just finished The Secret Garden. It was really great - I can't believe I waited so long to read it
I am now reading we need to talk about kevin by lionel shriver which seems really good so far. Very easy to read and hard to put down.

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Sandragon, if you get Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, please don't skip the other chapters. It's a really, really good read that talks about many Chinese customs of that time period with special emphasis on those customs having to do with women. I'm sure it will be my best read of this month.

I think I'll start Sula by Toni Morrisson tomorrow. I feel like something that I can become intellectually rather than emotionally involved in. While I always get something out of Morrisson's work, I find that she rarely resonates with me on a more instinctual level. Perfect. The book is super short, too, so hopefully it'll be a quick read.

I just finshed The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald. It came in at a whopping 811 pages and I have to admit that the first 300 pages were at times numbing, but the different plot lines do come together in a most interesting way. I am just about to begin Bel Canto and I am really looking forward to it!

We read the Shriver novel in our Book Club a year or so ago and it was very controversial. Some of the members came down really hard on the mother. We had quite a heated discussion about it. I liked the book a lot!

I'm reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.

So far, I've struggled through the first hundred or so pages. Someone tell me it gets better?

56 -- I couldn't finish that one either, but I think it was more time constraints than quality, it's on my "try again" list...

Just gave up on Neuromancer, I was lost and confused; so going to read Portrait as Young Dog tonight and start Fortress of Solitude by J. Lethem.

56--I loved Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. I read it in a week because I couldn't put it down. However, I know that it is not a favorite for a lot of people (all the footnotes and "history" etc). I'd say if you don't like it soon it may not be your cup of tea.

I have Wizard's First Rule and Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind from the library after having them recommended to my by a friend...

On a classics kick these days--just started Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. 4 chapters in and I am just entranced by her prose.

Also started Ian Rankin's Hide and Seek after finishing Knots and Crosses yesterday. Some of the best mystery writing I've ever read.

Also starting The March by E.L.Doctorow, a novel about Sherman's march to the sea from Atlanta. So far, really good.

Doing that Anglophile thing and reading White Mischief by James Fox.

#60 Joycepa, Doctorow's The March was one of my favorite books last year. I thought he did a wonderful job with all the characters (not surprisingly).

I am reading The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit (which isn't touchstoning) by Lucette Lagnado, a memoir about the author's family's life as Jews in 1940s-50s Cairo, and their subsequent exile; and The Last Chicken in America, a "novel in stories" about Russian immigrants in Pittsburgh, by Ellen Litman.

#54 -- I loved The Way the Crow Flies -- the only part that dragged for me was the very end --- I really didn't like the woman our protagonist became. But otherwise it had me totally hooked. Creepy!

#50 - I just finished The Six Wives of Henry the VIII -- I liked it alright but a bit tedious as non-fiction tends to be for me.

#56 - Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell does get better. It just takes a while to get sucked into that book, but your patience is rewarded.

I am reading two great books so far. Half of a Yellow Sun which is living up to its' hype. And a little known gem - In the Fall by Jeffery Lent -- a post Civil War fiction set in rural Vermont that is reminding me of a blend of Faulkner, Jane Smiley, and Toni Morrison. If you want good contemporary American fiction, but you don't like post-modernism like me -- this may be it. But its early in the novel yet so we'll see.

I'm engaging in some light and pleasant reading. Finished An Unfinished Life by Mark Spragg and I'm now reading Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos.

Just started in The book of lost things. I love it.

Still reading Death in the Afternoon by Ernest Hemingway. Just started Rosemary's Baby. No touchstone for that one, weird. I might bring another one on my trip, just in case I get bored.

About 100 pages into Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. I'm not finding (making?) much time to read, but I'm enjoying what I've read so far.

#62 rebeccanyc: This is the first Doctorow work I've ever read. I've had the book for some time but have not started it because in general, fiction about the Civil War is a lot less interesting to me than the real thing, as history. But I'm really enjoying The March! I love all the different "voices" and viewpoints in the book. Sherman is one of my favorite Civil War characters; I've read his Memoirs and some other writings. So it's fun to see what Doctorow is doing with Sherman in the novel. Although my favorite character so far is Pearl.

I'm approx 1/2 way through Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell and really enjoying it. I'm going to London on the train on the 14th and am looking forward to being able to have a good long stretch reading it & maybe even finish it off :)

>54 CeeCee56:, 63: Glad to hear good things about The Way the Crow Flies. It's on my shelves and I'm planning to read it soon. I picked it up at a library book sale after having enjoyed one of her other books, Fall on Your Knees. If you haven't read this one, I recommend it.

I've started to read The Woman Between Worlds. Good so far, but I can't tell if it's sci fi or a Victorian vampire story yet.

#52 - Oh I would! I just meant I would maybe get the book to quickly read the chapter on foot binding and then go back to audio for a leisurely listen to the rest of the story :o)

#62 Joycepa, you should give Doctorow's Ragtime a try. It is one of my all-time favorite novels, and he also uses the technique of multiple voices/POVs.

#73 Cariola: Thanks for the recommendation! I'm enjoying The March so much that I knew I wanted to read more of Doctorow, just didn't know what. I'll put Ragtime on my To Be Ordered list.

I am just about finished with Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. I loved this book and don't want it to end, so am putting off the last few pages. It took me all summer to read, but it was worth it! I think I'll read The Edge of the Crazies by Jamie Harrison next.

Just finished After Dark by Haruki Murakami - still processing it, I guess. Also reading Joe Sacco's graphic novel Palestine and tomorrow I'll be picking up The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield from the library.

Having just finished The Bone People by Keri Hulme - a rather disturbing and gruelling read, I needed something a bit lighter so have started A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo. So far it is a fun read.

The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue

I'm now reading 1066 and All That/And Now All This.

I'm reading Suite Francaise -- just started it. Right now, I'm not sure how much I like the continually shifting point of view.

I just finished The Elegant Gathering of White Snows by Kris Radish. I must say I really enjoyed it. I am quite fond of both Radish and Shreve. War and Peace by Tolstoy is going to bed with me shortly and I am still reading a tome of Mark Twain's short stories and loving it.

I'm nearly through The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin. A great book, interesting, amusing and thought-provoking. I'll finish it tomorrow and have no idea what I'll pick after it.

About 1/2 way through Seven Types of Ambiguity which is quite good, but is the kind of book one has to settle into as opposed to read in quick snatches, so I only read it when I can devote my full attention & time to it.

Listening to Talk, Talk which is the first Boyle I've read that actually has a plot. Good, but a bit scattered.

Started Death on the Downs which is another cozy Fethering mystery novel by Simon Brett.

I'm almost finished with The Book of Shadows by James Reese. I'm also reading Lost Boy Lost Girl by Peter Straub and I just started Sir Gregor MacGregor and the Land That Never Was by David Sinclair.

Just finished The March, which I loved--although I was amazed to read that Beauregard lost the Battle of Atlanta rather than Hood! I am at a real loss to figure out how an editor let that one slip by--it's such a glaring error. I don't see how the story is enhanced in this way. Oh, well. Nag, nag, pick, pick. :-) That aside, it's a GREAT book.

Starting Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky today.

Started The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. I approached it with some trepidation after reading a lot of negative reports on LT, but after 50 pages, I'm quite enjoying it.

>85 Joycepa: Joycepa
You hit on one of my concerns with historical fiction. How does the reader know what to take away as fact? I read The March but not being a student of history I did not pick up the error. Grrr...we rely on too many uncertain sources for information. Shame on the editor and a finger wag in the direction of the author.

Wonky touchstones...

I'm almost finished with The Princess Bride by William Goldman. It's cute, and I really like what Goldman is doing with the italicized interjections, but I don't think it's really a keeper.

>#87 CEP I know, it's a real problem. With The March, I assume that Doctorow's purpose was not so much to tell a "history" of Sherman's campaigns as it was to use that particular campaign to do character exploration and perhaps to make certain statements about war--I hate to get into analysis because 95% of the time I don't believe it's worthwhile. It really isn't history per se or historical fiction about the Civil War the way the Shaara novels are. But it's such an egregious error. Granted, the book really starts after Sherman took Atlanta, but it's as if Doctorow never read a single word about that campaign because it would be impossible to make that mistake if he had. As I recall, Beauregard was in the Richmond area at the time of the Atlanta battle--hard to remember because he was shuttled around a lot. Doctorow also makes some minor mistakes earlier in the book about Sherman, but these are trivial. His treatment of Sherman seems hostile to me, but that's an author's privilege.

I just happen to be a serious reader in the Civil War and so I caught the mistake. But I know exactly what you mean. I have always appreciated Colleen McCullough's scholarship in her Masters of Rome series mainly about Julius Caesar. She takes a few liberties but TELLS you about them in the afterword, and why she did so. And she's so much more entertaining than one of the major books published on Caesar recently, which is downright boring.

But as far any other period? Sometimes I check it out in Wikipedia or other sources. But a book like The March really doesn't lend itself easily to that kind of factual checking.

And I really meant it when I said that I thought the book was terrific despite that error, particularly towards the end.

Ye gods, long post, but you did hit on at least two of my main passions! :-)

YA:
Dreamhunter by Elizabeth Knox
&
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Non-fic:
The Atheist's Bible: An Illustrious Collection of Irreverent Thoughts edited by Joan Konner

I finished The Time Machine and am now moving onto Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

I thought Bruce Chatwin's On the Black Hill was good. Not sure if it is available in the US, but I saw a movie of it in London.

#57: TeacherDad - I had to read Neuromancer for a university course years ago and was very confused, myself. :)

I gobbled up the enchanting Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen this week. 5 stars for magic and romance!

I finished Screen Legends (mini-bios of Canadian stage/screen/TV stars) by Bruce Yaccato and with it my Alphabet Challenge (one each of A-Z authors and A-Z titles), hooray!

I'm currently working on Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.

I hope to start The Thirteenth Tale tonight.

I just finished Middlesex by Jeffry Eugenides. Boy it was great! It's a novel about a man born with 5-alpha reductase insufficiency which caused him to be raised as a female when he was really a male. It was full of Greek history too as he tells his family's story. I couldn't put it down. A really fascinating read.

I'm around halfway through The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke. It's entertaining enough, but it's not blowing me out of the water yet.

Been in a real funk lately. Can't settle into anything. Someone recommended The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille, and that seems to have done the trick! For now at least...

Read The Lost Continent and Notes from a Small Island both by Bill Bryson. Nice light reads, just right for my life right now.
Almost finishedThe Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney and will return to Collapse by Jared Diamond soon.

Learner-Centered Astronomy Teaching: Strategies for ASTRO 101

Down River by John Hart (touchstones aren't loading). It is an ARC probably due out in October. But it is a very good suspense/thriller.

Just joined the group and became an LT member about a week ago.
Am halfways through The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Love the beautiful illustrations.

At the Moon's Inn by Andrew Lytle a fiction about Hernando de Soto.

Welcome to LT, Petronella63. Hope you enjoy hanging out here!

I've just started The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley. It's a reread, but I read it so long ago that it's like I'm coming to it for the first time. Thus far I love the style, but I'm not far enough in to comment on the rest of it.

Things got hectic and I didn't get to the library on time to pick up The Thirteenth Tale (cry...), so I finished Joe Sacco's graphic novel Palestine and then borrowed a light mystery novel from my out-of-towners - Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island. I was hoping it would be a little less dark and depressing than everything else I've been reading, but it does not seem to be going that way.

93 -- let us know about Uglies, it's on my "may be interested" list...

all the March readers: keep at it, it's worth it; it would go well with Cold Mountain...

I should finish Anansi Boys tonight, it's a quick and enjoyable read....

Just started A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon. Good so far.

TeacherDad, I finished the Uglies Trilogy recently. I can recommend it.

I am browsing through my Connie Willis novels in anticipation of meeting her at FenCon next Saturday.

#47-Not a fan of Doomsday Book, loved To Say Nothing of the Dog. Haven't read Inside Job. Suggest Lincoln's Dreams. "At the Rialto" is my favorite short story. That and "Ado".

#47 - I agree completely. Doomsday Book is such a great concept ... but where was the editor?? Far too much time is given to building suspense with the 'something's wrong' scenario at the beginning - we get it, there's a mystery illness, now can we get on with the Kivrin's story? I'm further in now and enjoying 1320 - hope the pace picks up now.
Is it just me? I find I put too many books aside because of poor editorial direction - I have been ploughing through Raymond E. Feist's Magician and found it groaningly longwinded - another great story but can we please get on with it!