What You're Reading the Week of 13 October 2007

I managed to finish two books this week Robert Fisk's The Great War for Civilisation - it has taken nearly a fortnight to get through the 1300 pages. Then I moved on to complete The Broken Shore by Peter Temple in just two evenings. Temple's book was a surprisingly laconic Australian crime story, well written and compelling - but less weighty in every sense that Fisk's.

I just finished Interpreter of Maladies, which was brilliant. I should wrap up When the Emperor was Divine in the next day or so. That, too, is quite good.

I finished For One More Day by Mitch Albom from last week which I enjoyed, but it was a bit like the second book he wrote, The Five people that meet in Heaven. Instead of of 5, this was one persons experience.
I am just starting The Star Garden: A Novel of Sarah Agnes Prine by Nancy Turner. I loved the first two books These Is My Words and Sarah's Quilt of the series and can't wait to read this one!!

This week I will be finishing The Gathering by Anne Enright and re-reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.

Yesterday I finished Angelica which was lovely, and started Ladders to fire. I'll probably finish that tonight or tomorrow but I'm not sure what's next.

I just finished Wheel of Darkness by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I plan to start Killing Pablo by Mark Bowden in a few minutes.

Started reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Also reading A Chosen Faith by John A Buehrens.

Reading Abyssinian Chronicles by Moses Isegawa for the Reading Globally group read.

Also reading The Rest Falls Away: The Gardella Vampire Chronicles by Colleen Gleason because I was hoping for something really light and kinda cheesy after all the serious, depressing stuff I've been reading recently. Having trouble getting into it though, which is pretty funny, since its supposed to be my easy reading.

still reading The English Patient, and thoughly mezmerized by it

Finishing Fortress of Solitude tonight -- 2 thumbs up! -- and then will start Uglies and The Physics of Superheroes ....

and will add English Patient, have seen a lot of good reviews on LT lately. I seem to remember liking the movie....

I'm well into FDR by Jean Edward Smith. So far--and I've just finished the section on Roosevelt's first electoral victory, for New York State Senator--it's fascinating, just fascinating. While Smith is not the world's most exciting writer, he does present the material well--and that's all it needs.

Finally finished Treasure Island, where about ten books have been read inbetween beginning and ending it, and have now moved onto The Virgin Suicides

My brain is currently fried, so no new books for me. I'm rereading Beauty by Robin Mckinley.

This week, I will be reading A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell, based on its favorable reviews here on LT!

After a long period of life interfering with reading, I am back with Wizard of the Crow, by Ngugi wa Thiong'o, which I am enjoying.

Just starting Out by Natsuo Kirino.

I'm also reading The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander which is a humorous look at a serious problem - that of the disappeared Jews in Argentina's "dirty war". I love the book so far, although I know some reviewers disapprove of the light-hearted approach with which this book was written. I think that the black humor only makes this book more readable.

I just started Walden by Henry David Thoreau; it is one of those books I should have read when I was younger. Thankfully, I am reading it now!

I am still reading These Is My Words which I am absolutely loving. I haven't read it as quickly as I would like because it was a very busy week. I hope to finish it this weekend.

#16 - I recently finished The Ministry of Special Cases and really enjoyed it as well. I did not have a problem with the humor. Like you, I thought it made it easier to read and made it seem more realistic - I often think you have to find humor in tragic situations to get through them.

Am almost finished with The Sergeant's Cat, which is a collection of short stories by Janwillem Van De Wetering in which many of the shorts feature Grijpstra and De Gier of the mystery series set in Amsterdam. I don't usually enjoy short stories ~ when it's a good read, I want it to go on a lot longer than that ~ but I've read most if not all the mysteries so am relating to the ones about the detectives sort of as vignettes within the longer novels. Others are mysteries unrelated to Grijpstra and De Gier, and a few are not mysteries at all. One is even a horror story! About a vampire set in 1939. Not really scary in the traditional sense, but horrifying, and amazingly good, I thought.

I finished Specials by Scott Westerfeld and am excited to read the next book of the series Extras when it comes out in paperback.

For now, I'm reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards which I have heard great things about from many friends of mine. I'm only on the third chapter, but it seems interesting so far.

My reading got hijacked for a couple of days by 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, which I finished this morning. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing what was chosen and reading the synopsis of each one I haven’t read. In fact, I found it fun to see what they said about some of those I had read to see if I agreed or disagreed with their review. I was amazed to see so many authors and/or books I’d never heard of. Naturally, I made a list of many I want to find, if possible.

Now I’ll return to Q&A and The Collectors.

Oct 13

Make It So: Leadership Lessons from Star Trek - very entertaining!
Aquamarine blue 5 : personal stories of college students with autism

Starting The Courts of Love: The Story of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Jean Plaidy for the Go Reivew That Book! group here on LT.

#16 - Squeaky, please let us know what you think of Out. I just heard of it recently and it sounded interesting.

I just finished Fortune Like the Moon by Alys Clare and I've started To Weave a Web of Magic which contains stories by Patricia A. McKillip, Lynn Kurland, Sharon Shinn, and Claire Delacroix.

I'm crawling through The Hippopotamus Marsh by Pauline Gedge. I've loved her books in the past, but this one's doing nada for me. I think I might abandon it, despite how short it is.

I've just finished The Guru of Love and thought it was brilliant. I'm waiting to continue reading Don Quixote until I'm travelling around later this week - it's big and easy to read so ideal. Instead I'm finally getting into Porterhouse Blue, which is starting to get quite amusing, having spent quite a few chapters setting the situation up for the comedy. It's kind of weird reading about Cambridge 30 years ago, even a satirical Cambridge, seeing how much has changed (30 pence for a haircut?!) and how much really hasn't...

I am reading Eventide by Kent Haruf, the sequel to Plainsong. I am enjoying it. Some of the same characters as are in Plainsong.

I'm almost finished with Brideshead Revisited and am really quite enthralled by it! I'll have a hard time choosing a book to follow this one...

I'm reading The Spanish Bow by Andromeda Romano-Lax. I'm about 1/3 through it and am enjoying it but find it moves slowly.

Currently slogging my way through The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope :)

>7 KathyWoodall: I think Great Expectations is the book that caused me to fall in love with Dickens - I hope you love it as much as I did :D

I just started The Morgaine Saga by C.J. Cherryh a couple of days ago - it's an omnibus of Gate of Ivrel, Well of Shiuan, and Fires of Azeroth. I have to confess that having finished the first third (Gate of Ivrel) tonight, I'm not very impressed, and had I bought that first in the series solo, I probably would not have gone back to buy the rest of it. But I have the rest, so might as well read on. At least it's not horrible. *shrug*

I finished The Namesake and decided that I probably fall into the camp of people who feel indifferent towards it, rather than with the people who enthusiastically recommended it to me. To each his or her own I guess. Now on to The Eyre Affair thanks to several LT reviews.

I just finished Brothel by Alexa Albert. I'm not sure what to start next.

I've been sick, so I'm still working my way through Floater and The Blind Assassin.

I'm going to start The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins on audio later today.

Just finished These Is My Words last night - I really enjoyed it even though it is not the type of story I usually read. I just started Paula Spencer by Roddy Doyle which I believe is a sequel to another book by the author which I haven't read but I don't see it as being a problem so far. So far the book is ok but not great.

I'm re-reading Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett (and liking it even more on this read), and reading The ABCs of Political Economy.

I just finished the audiobook of Scandal of the Season by Sophie Gee. It was an entertaining look at the society and situation that inspired Alexander Pope to write The Rape of the Lock. Have about 20 pages left in Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. It's based on the scandalous and ultimately tragic life of Mamah Borthwick Cheney, a married woman and mother of two who ran off with Frank Lloyd Wrigiht (also married and the father of six).

Yesterday I started the audiobook bio Edith Wharton by Hermione Lee. I'm not certain which print book I'll pick up next; maybe The Accidental by Ali Smith. Or maybe a book of short stories, I Think of You by Ahdaf Soueif.

I recently finished the memory keeper's daughter which I found quite disappointing.. Just started the autograph man, so far so good!

The new poetry book is Notes to Myself by Hugh Prather.

--> 18

I loved The Ministry of Special Cases! I was up until 3:30am last night to finish it. I just had to see what happened!

This is a very powerful book and one that will stay with me a long time. I do have a friend who is an Argentinian Jew whom I met in the 70's. I wonder if his family was adversely affected by the "dirty war".

This is also an enlightening book. One just needs to be able to push a little past the humor to see the terrible truths within.

#37 Hi, ireed ~ Please let me know what you think of The Moonstone on audio. I have it in paperback, and all those pages of tiny typeset is looking pretty daunting to me just now, so, if the audio version is good, I might just trade formats. TIA!

Still listening to an audio book of Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift and am reading The Mystic Masseur by V. S. Naipaul and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte.

I currently have three books going:

Everlost by Neal Shusterman

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez; and

xxxHolic Volume 2, a manga by Clamp.

I Am America (And So Can You!)
Life With Jeeves

I've been reading very slowly lately, because I've been busy. I suck.

Just started The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor. Whenever I manage to finish that, I'm going to read Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.

#44, Storeetllr--I listened to The Moonstone on audio, and thought it was excellent. The version I have was on Audible, unabridged, narrated by Patrick Tull.

I finished To Weave a Web of Magic and I've started Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley.

#49 Hi, cabegley ~ Thanks for your feedback. I'll look for that version. My eyesight isn't what it used to be, so whenever an audiobook is excellent, I prefer it, esp. to paperbacks with their tiny little print. :)

I just started The Book of Lamentations last night. This book by a Mexican author is translated from the original Spanish, but the writing is quite beautiful so far.

I've finished The River Between by Ngugi wa Thiong'o and have started Desertion by Abdulrazak Gurnah. It appears after a visit to Nigeria with Buchi Emecheta and Ben Okri, I'm spending time now on the east coast of the continent (perhaps I will go south next:-).

I've started reading the Gunslinger novels by Stephen King. I've just started The Dark Tower.

Also working on The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and Maigret and the Burglar's Wife.

Just finished Ladders to Fire and started Moon Tiger, which at page 41 I am enjoying immensely. This is my first Penelope Lively and though it's still early I think I will probably be sampling more of her work.

I noticed similarities of the recent 2 books of Mitch Albom, The Five People you Meet in Heaven and For One More Day, the later which I finished last weekend. Love them both.
I am starting Cecilia Ahern's A Place Called Here.

#18 - bookaholicgirl...If you love These is My Words, you will love the the second one Sarah's Quilt..I am just starting the 3rd one The Star Garden: A Novel of Sarah Agnes Prine

I am now reading Member of the family and am already pretty engrossed in the book. Its well written and has an interesting theme. I wil report back when I'm done and let people know if it stays this good.

I am reading a really interesting education policy book, The Children in Room E4 by Susan Eaton. She writes about segregation in schools and some of the history behind it. It is a very accessible book and a must read for anyone interested in education policy.

I finished The Omnivore's Dilemma (Michael Pollan) and Stiff:The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (Mary Roach) this weekend, so I'm on to two new books.

1. The Inheritance of Loss (Kiran Desai) -- fiction -- I've read mixed reviews of this book here on LT, but I have high hopes.
2. Whipping Girl (Julia Serano) -- non-fiction -- for a project this week.

Have just started Gould's Book of Fish by Richard Flanagan which is already transfixing me. It's so exuberant and 'allo over the place' in an interesting way.l

calvarez - I am one who liked The Inheritance of Loss, hope you do too.

I finished John Banville's The Sea but didn't really enjoy it. I am about to start The Island of Four Rivers by Christopher Morgan. Reviews have been good so I am hopeful.

Just finished Darkly dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay which was great. Am now 24 pages into the rather daunting looking The wind-up bird chronicle by Haruki Murakami - the first of his I've tried ...

>62 judylou: judylou

Shame to hear you didn't enjoy The Sea- I really liked it and think I'm going to get my dad a copy for Xmas.

I'm currently re-reading Kingsley Amis' Lucky Jim, which is a hoot. The Margaret character unfortunatley reminds me of one of my friends...

For those of you reading/ interested in Out, the UK Metro paper is doing a book-club on it this month, where you can get a copy for £1.00 & P+P I think.

Allie54 - I wasn't aware that there were more books featuring this character. I can't wait to check them out! Thanks!

#61, hazelk--I read Gould's Book of Fish several years ago and thought it was brilliant. I hope it continues to transfix you!

Now reading When we were orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro.

#67: Kromes, I loved that book.

#38 bookaholicgirl: I read the pre-quel The Woman Who Walked Into Doors this year and thought it was fabulous. Paula Spencer was not reviewed so well so I gave it a miss. Hope you enjoy it.

Finished The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany. Very enjoyable and an insight into modern Egyptian culture. Now reading Winterton Blue by Trezza Azzopardi which is only OK so far. Another of her books, Remember Me was A LITTLE GEM.

The Girls who Went Away by Ann Fessler...great, thought provoking book.

Finally finished The Godfather. Started Sophie's World late Saturday. Like it so far.

I've just finished Tom Holt's The portable door and am starting Angel underground, so far so good.

I'm half-way through Byron's Don Juan and starting Victory by Joseph Conrad.

#63 - I've just finished The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, but it'll be on my mind for a while yet. Probably my favourite Murakami of the three I've read.

Finished Q&A yesterday, so picked up Dead Man Walking which I'd begun earlier this year and abandoned in favor of something else. I think I'll finish it now. Also began Sold this morning as a perfect companion to Q&A as both show views of child prostitution in India.

Still reading Undead and Unpopular by Mary Janice Davidson. I'm having a hard time getting into it. Betsy's self-centeredness just isn't as funny as it used to be. I was also listening to Anne Rice's The Witching Hour. I just have a little bit more on that to go.

I'm a little more than a hundred pages into The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, and I absolutely love it.

In theory, Richard williams aka Stephen frances aka Hank Jansen`s Somebody Wants Me Dead, a Sexton Blake adventure.

In practise I`ve been sidetracked by The exploits of Sherlock Holmes by Adrian Conan doyle and John Dickson Carr, which I actually only picked up as a present for my father. I started to leaf through it in an idle moment and am near the end now !

Ghost Map by Steven Johnson, a fascinating look at London's cholera outbreak in the mid-1800s.

Also, on audio, Dark Guardian by Christine Feehan, which I think is one of her better Carpathian novels.

Last night I finished The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue. A very neat story about changelings, meant for adults, not kids. Told from the points of view of the changeling who took over a boys life and the boy whose life he took over.

Now reading Polar City Blues by Katharine Kerr (a reread to refresh my memory before reading Polar City Nightmare) and still listening to The Time Traveler's Wife which I'm enjoying very much.

#78 I keep picking up Ghost Map but ultimately deciding on something else. Do come back and let us know what you think when you finish it.

34: Jthierer - well, sometimes you just have to read a book to find out whether or not you will like it.

In the middle of Sophie's World which I haven't picked up since Thursday - family vacations with a one and three year-old are not conducive to reading! So, instead of reading, I spent the weekend pondering Immanuel Kant, the last philosopher covered.

Finished The English Patient and now im starting The Fox by D.H. Lawrence

#78 storeetllr(and #80 Cariola): Yes, pleaase do let us know. it sounds really fascinating.

Half-way through FDR--just to his nomination for President in 1932. A wonderful, well-written, absorbing book. I'm reading far too late at night with this--can barely stand to put it down.

I've just finished William Gay's Provinces of Night and am now starting his collection of short stories,
I Hate To See That Evening Sun Go Down. Gay, although critically acclaimed, for some reason writes in relative obscurity, but he's one of the finest Southern novelists I've ever read. Gay is nothing if not a darkly humorous, supremely engaging storyteller, very much in the same vein as Cormac McCarthy's early work, albeit a unique, distinct voice all his own. Excellent stuff.

I loved Lonesome Dove - just finished last night ( I can't believe that it's not on the 1001 Novels . . . list). I just started Grapes of Wrath which I have never read before.

#85 jhowell: It seems as if there have been some others who have recently decided to read Grapes of Wrath. I love Steinbeck's writing, and consider Grapes of Wrath, which won him the Pulitzer, and East of Eden gripping works. I've read Upton sinclair's The Jungle which, like Grapes of Wrath has a social theme to it, but Steinbeck seemed to be able to document a social situation without preaching; Sinclair sometimes got a little too obvious.

It's a wonderful book--enjoy.

##85 & 86: I too loved both Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden. I grew up (and still am) a poor farmer's daughter and am proud of it (and him), so I guess I felt a kind of kinship with some of the characters and situations. They were both particularly emotionally draining for me for some reason, but I still enjoyed them very much.

I'm listening to Book Thiefby Markus Zusak on audio. The book made top ten on so many LT lists that it seemed like something I should try. Thanks to you, I am enthralled. The audio is amazing.

>85 jhowell: I also read G of W for the first time this summer. I loved it. Such a poignant story and really, quite relevant today. It's an experience.

Just reading Killing Ground by Jack Higgins well worth the wait for the latest Sean Dillon adventure long may he continue

#87 scaifea: I don't think either of those books are "easy reads". The stories are powerful and I don't think you realize what a cumulative impact they have until the end--when, as you say, you're drained. I can't remember the first time I read Grapes of Wrath--probably nearly 50 years ago--but from that very first day, the image of Ma picking peaches into her apron has stayed with me. My parents (immigrant Italian) were not farmers but it is no great jump to find the similarities.

I'm about 50 pages into Heartsick by Chelsea Cain. So far, it is really intriguing, and I consider myself a fairly jaded thriller reader.

I'm reading Dracula and 2001, as well as listening to Dune on CD, quite a mix.

Finished reading What-the-Dickens The Story of a Rogue Fairy by Gregory Maguire, A Partisan's Memoir Woman of the Holocaust by Faye Schulman and the graphic novel Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan. It was a good reading week. Have just started reading The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander.

Reading this week includes The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon, A Life of James Boswell by Peter Martin, Obsession by Karen Robards and Lanterns on the Levee by William Alexander Percy. Somewhat of an eclectic week, which pretty much describes the way I read!

Finished The Collectors early this morning. Best read if, as I was, suffering from insomnia. When the brain is engaged it's a book which makes you ask "What??? How would that happen?"

Going back to Sold and Dead Man Walking. I know I'll like them much more.

Add me to the Grapes of Wrath / East of Eden fan club! Hope you enjoy GofW, jhowell.

Still working on Marina Warner's Joan of Arc: The Image of Female Heroism. Making good progress on it, though. I'll probably have it done by the weekend.

---

And the author touchstone isn't working. It's getting to be a problem, really, especially since the problem moves around periodically and we never know where to. But Marina Warner's author page is here.

Manifesto on the Future of Food and Seed edited by Vandana Shiva with essays by Michael Pollan, Carlo Petrini, Jamey Lionette, and Prince Charles.

> 83 Joycepa - just want to make sure, is your touchstone correct? You're reading the "FDR" by Jean Edward Smith? I just finished The Winds of War and War and Remembrance; I could go for a good bio of FDR after that, especially one engrossing enough to keep me up nights.

#101 philosojerk: That's it, FDR by Jean Edward Smith. I have several other books going and have put them aside until I finish FDR. The book reads like a thriller, as far as I'm concerned. Not only is it an outstanding portrait of FDR, but all the names come alive--Louis Howe, Jim Farley, Frances Perkins, Harry Hopkins, and of course, Eleanor, Lucy Mercer. I grew up in a household where Roosevelt was not confused with God, of course--my father thought Roosevelt clearly superior--so it has been fascinating to read about the real human being. Who ever thought that the attempted packing of the Supreme Court and the resulting political battle would be a page turner? :-)

Right now I'm in 1941, navigating the intricacies of Lend/Lease. Roosevelt and Chruchill have just met for the first time. And it's 1:50 am and I've GOT to get some sleep!

Smith is a very good writer, and shows really nice flashes of humor. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has even a faint interest in American history of the era.

I just finished Peter Straub's in the night room the other night.

I just finished Paula Spencer by Roddy Doyle. #68 - I don't recommend it myself but I didn't read the prequel. I didn't like the writing style and find it really jumpy and difficult to read. I am about to start The Secret of Lost Things. I haven't begun it yet so I don't have an opinion. I hope it is better than the last book.

In order of priority:
Nice Work by David Lodge (for school)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (from the public library)
The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov (from my own library)

#105 erelsi183: I'm just finishing a David Lodge book (my first - Small World) and loving it. I'd be interested in what you have to say about Nice Work when you've finished...

I liked Nice Work, but Small World is still my favorite by David Lodge. I have Author, Author on my TBR shelf. I believe that's his most recent--based on Henry James. It came out about the same time as The Master by Colm Toibin, which overwhelmed it with the reviewers.

I finished Member of the family and really enjoyed the book. The book was written well and the author does a great job of showing how the parents have a good point as well as a bad point in the dilemma they are dealing with.

Next, I will read The body artist followed by Their eyes were watching God. I am also reading The Pilgrims progress in my email.

Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch. I was so impressed with The Lies of Locke Lamora that I had to make a special detour to the library after work.

Finished Obsession by Karen Robards, so I have now thrown A Match to the Heart by Gretel Ehrlich on to this week's reading pile. I am almost finished with A Life of James Boswell by Peter Martin.

I finished (The Laser Book) - not that it's designed to be a straight through read- and have just started (Great Expectations). I read (Oliver Twist) some time ago and thought it was about time I read (Great Expectations) as it was in the bookshelf

Finished FDR and Open Season by C.J. Box and am determined to finish Suite Française by the end of the weekend. However, couldn't resist starting Savage Run, also by C.J. Box.

I never realised that David Lodge wrote fiction - must check that out, especially after reading nothing but Tom Holt and Mike Ripley for about 2 weeks now oops!

I just finished Sundown, Yellow Moon by Larry Watson. I highly recommend this novel that takes place in North Dakota in the early '60s. You may remember his book Montana 1948, which blew me away when I read it in the early '90s. This one is every bit as good.

Now onto Charles Baxter's novel, The Soul Thief, which will be out early next year.

My reading's really slowed down this past week because I was away for the weekend and because I'm quite tired atm. However, I've managed to complete Captain Corelli's Mandolin and Regeneration (which last was so fabulous I was being deliberately slow because I didn't want it to end - something which hasn't happened for ages). Currently I'm just over half way through Blow Your House Down by Pat Barker which is good, but not quite as fab as Regeneration. I'm going to have to get hold of more of her books, though, because I've enjoyed every single one I've read so far (Border Crossing is also superb).

alphaorder, I love Larry Watson. I read Montana 1948 some years ago and then read the prequel (Justice) and sequel (sorry don't know the name). I also read White Crosses which was excellent. I'll look for Sundown, Yellow Moon.

Note, the Touchstones are wonky today. If I put Justice in parens it came up correctly. If I put it in brackets, it didn't.

#106 scaifea: I just finished Nice Work last night. I read it for a class on intertextual fiction, and it's the middle of a series of 3 related works (the first being Howards End by E.M. Forster and the third being On Beauty by Zadie Smith). It's hard for me to separate it from the others and evaluate it as a book on its own. However, I did enjoy it. Lodge does a really nice job of developing characters and then letting them be changed through their interactions with each other. I liked it!

#107 Cariola: Nice Work is my first by Lodge, though I, too, have Author, Author in my TBR pile. We read The Master for the same intertextual fiction class (see my comment to scaifea above), which piqued my interest in Author, Author. If you read it first, you'll have to let me know how it is!

#113 mrsradcliffe: He does! It's good, too. There are a bunch of them. Happy reading!

I just finished Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko. I think I'd recommend the films--Day Watch and Night Watch--before I'd recommend the book. Could be the translation, could be how I perceived its very Russian-ness.

Now I'm thoroughly enjoying Barrow's Boys by Fergus Fleming. Dense but so very interesting. His description of Ross meeting the "Arctic Highlanders" is outstanding.

Still plodding through Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson. Yesterday I started The Slave Ship: A Human History by Marcus Rediker which is excellent so far. My current commute-book is Bookmark Now!, a collection of essays by young writers which I'm enjoying.

{Some touchstones are twitchy}

I really am enjoying The Grapes of Wrath, ~ 1/2 way through -- I agree with others re (#87,92) -- a visceral, painful read in that you just know that it is going to get so much worse for these folks despite their hopes -- you can just feel tragedy waiting to happen on every page.

#120--Jhowell: I love The Grapes of Wrath. Pick up East of Eden next if you love it too.

#120 jhowell: glad to hear you're enjoying Grapes of Wrath.

#121 bunagsbooks: I've always thought that East of Eden was a more sophisticated book than Grapes of Wrath. Loved them both, but thought East of Eden the more powerful.

#117 erelsi183: That sounds like a fascinating class! I've often thought of teaching something like that. I'm hoping to get approved my request to teach a Special Topics course based on Hamlet, which would include other works that "borrow" from or build on the play.

I read Breathing Underwater - billed as a YA book, but it packs a punch (so to speak) to adult readers, too. Especially parents of teenagers.

#123 Cariola: That sounds awesome! My class has three sections, each with a foundational text and two or three others somehow related to it. I'm really enjoying it. I'd definitely take a similar one on Hamlet!

>121 bunagsbooks:, 122: I thought both books were great, in different ways. They were written several years apart, which provides an opportunity to consider how Steinbeck's writing evolved over his career. EofE is more sophisticated in its themes, I think. GofW is pretty obvious in that respect. But for some reason I can't put a finger on right now, I liked it better.

Got Dexter in the Dark from the library yesterday and started it last night. Also picked up This Year You Write Your Novel by Walter Mosley (in honor of next month's NaNoWriMo) and plan to start that tonight. It's a pretty short book with short sections within short chapters, and I think I'll just read a section a day and let the wisdom of it sink in before I move on to the next section. Oh, yeah, and I'm still listening to Dark Guardian on audio when I take walks or exercise or clean the house.

I finally finished The Man Who Cast Two Shadows by Carol O'Connell. It took me TOO long; didn't grab me like her first in the series but I will continue with it.

I am now reading Thunderstruck by Erik Larson and when I have time/am in the mood, I'll pick up Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. Slowly and thoughtfully making my way through it.

Oh, how funny, thatbooksmell! The Man Who Cast Two Shadows was one of my favorites! But I am in the minority, I think ~ I recommended it to a friend who was horrified by the ending and swore she'd never read another, even though I promised her that sort of thing never happens again in any of the other Mallory mysteries. lol

Anyway, I read something about Thunderstruck yesterday ~ a news story that may force Erik Larson to do some major rewriting due to recently discovered DNA evidence about the case. I haven't read the book yet, so I don't know how important it is, but here's the link (I hope) to that news story:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/17/ncrippen117.xml

So in a previous thread I swore not to pick up another book until I finished Les Miserables buuuut......I'd left it at home one day and needed something to read on my lunch hour! So I grabbed Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich and got through it in about 2 days. Really a great read, and was eye-opening even though I thought I knew a lot about the subject.

And now it's back to Les Miz...*rolls up her sleeves*

Finished Winterton Blue by Trezza Azzopardi and was disappointed. Now reading Away by Amy Bloom, immediately better-written and interesting, thank goodness.

Finished Heartsick by Chelsea Cain. Most compelling thriller I've read in quite a while. Started American Gods by Neil Gaiman, I've resisted this for a long time and now I have no idea why as I am enjoying it immensely.

#123 cariola: That does sound like a great class on Hamlet! If you ever want to try out the content on some willing readers, I'd be in!

Currently reading:

Dragonne's Eg by Mary Brown
The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl
Riptide by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

I loved East of Eden and Grapes of Wrath when I first read them 30 or so years ago (yikes!). All the wonderful feedback here reminds me it's time for a reread--especially East of Eden as I can recall so little from it. And, I can't believe I don't own either one.

Slogging through The Emperor's Children for a book group. It has neither the crisp dialog of lively chic lit nor great narration.

#135, CEP: don't feel bad--believe me, you're not alone in not owning the books and wanting to reread them. Gave mine up two or three libraries ago, and now am waiting impatiently for two collections of Steinbeck's writings to get here. Might as well put in a plug for Cannery Row and Tortilla Flat while we're at it--lighter weight but still excellent. What's nice about these 2 (Library of America) editions is that they have other works that I haven't read yet plus all my old favorites.

To all of the Steinbeck fans, I'm currently reading East of Eden I'm a little more than 1/3 of the way thruogh it. It's really interesting. I've read The Pearl and Of Mice and Men but this is my first big Steinbeck undertaking.

>96 alcottacre:: alcottacre
I'd love to hear what you think of The Yiddish Policemen's Union I had mixed feelings. I thought it was beautiful written and I really enjoy Michael Chabon's work, but I never got into the same way I did with The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

>114 alphaorder:: alphaorder
I was recently part of a One Book One Town committee and we chose Montana 1948 as our town's book.

#137 I tried to read MIchael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union and had to quit. The first book I haven't finished in a while. Chabon's writing and I are not copacetic.

Finished The Fox and now have started Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy which already from the first sentance, its obvious that it is a monster of a book.

I never finished Yiddish Policemen either, and I'm a huge Chabon fan... just didn't grab me quickly, but I will try it again....

much love to all the Steinbeck readers -- Grapes is important and a classic, and Cannery Row is a favorite i've read several times....

I highly recommend The Road by McCarthy....

Just finished The Last Great Dance on Earth and just started Fingersmith...no idea what to expect! Love Last Great Dance though...what an epic romance.

Just finished Critical by Robin Cook and have begun to read Deception by Randy Alcorn.

#126 lindsacl: been thinking about what you said--you liked Grapes better than EofE. Just a thought and I would love to have your reply--could it be because the characters in Grapes are more likeable? After all, Cain is usually not anyone's favorite son. I'm very interested in what you think.

I just started 2001 A Space Odyssey.

#129...wow! That is very interesting. Thank you for the link. I think Larson did a good job of leaving the case somewhat "unsolved" and states all the ways in which Crippen doesn't fit as the killer. I felt BAD for the guy and wondered why he didn't speak up more about his innocence! lol I am definintely not convinced that Crippen did it. And boy, there wasn't much time on death row back then! They sure got to carrying out the sentence quickly!

As far as the Mallory series goes, I really enjoy O'Connell's writing and the bits of Mallory's life that seem to be revealed little by little in each subsequent book. I'm sure that my disjointed reading process over the last couple of weeks did not contribute to the best experience with The Man Who Cast Two Shadows. lol But I am buying the whole series, 1 or 2 at a time, and will get back to it in a few years I'm sure.

(And I love to see the different tastes here at LT! They give me a new appreciation for works both read and unread and sometimes encourage me to attempt a book again. ;o)

#122 -- Joycepa: I completely agree!

#146 bunagsbooks--and what's your thinking on the reason why?

I spent most of the week reading Joan of Arc: The Image of Female Heroism. I finished it on the way home from work yesterday.

So now I'm reading The Circus Fire.

Finished A Call by Ford Madox Ford just in time for the end of the week - and neither the title nor the author will touchstone! No wonder Ford is so underappreciated.

I want to start Aberystwyth Mon Amour because it took me a while to get my hands on it, but I'm starting working on this LC classification challenge thing and feel like I need to read nonfiction because of that...too many lists of books!!

AnnaClaire (#148), I thought The Circus Fire was excellent. I would be interested to hear what you think of it. Others on LT directed me afterwards to Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean, which was also fascinating.

Looks interesting. For lack of a wishlist on LT, I'll bookmark it. (Isn't it great how things take on extra meaning depending on the peculiarities of context?)

Actually, a couple of minutes ago I commented to Mom that this is the third disaster book I've read. I read Triangle: The Fire That Changed America last year and Curse of the Narrows early this year. Now I'm back to fires, and I've got another explosion (Krakatoa) on the tbr pile.

The two I've finished are very good books, though I certainly wouldn't recommend to read over lunch or before bed. (Curse of the Narrows was a bit better, as there was a lot of other stuff in there besides the disaster itself. There was a lot about the recovery, for example, and biographical stuff about the people followed. Some science, too.)

AnnaClaire ~ So you've been reading about disasters, and I've been reading about epidemics (Justinian's Flea about the bubonic plague that struck Constantinople in the late 500s and The Ghost Map about the cholera epidemic that struck a small poor neighborhood in London in the mid-1800s). Fascinating stuff, really, not only about the history of the epidemics themselves but about science, sociology, biology, microbiology, epidemiology, disease detecting, engineering, war, & politics.

Have you read John Kelly's The Great Mortality? Same disease as in Justinian's Plague, according to smart people's best guesses, but more recent by about 800 years. (One of my areas of historical reading interest is the later half of the Middle Ages.) There's a good chapter -- hang on, a well-written chapter -- about it in Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror, too.

I read A Distant Mirror a lifetime ago, but intervening events/years have dimmed the memory of it. I'll have to reread it. And no, I haven't read Kelly's book but it sounds really interesting; I'll look for it. Thanks!

#118 - If you enjoy Barrow's Boys, a book I thoroughly enjoyed (so much that I bought my own copy) you might want to give Across the Top of the World by James P. Delgado a try. I am a sucker for all those men against the elements and exploration books.

#137 - I haven't given The Yiddish Policemen's Union enough of a try yet to give it a say one way or another having only reached page 62, but so far the feelings are mixed. I also checked on The Adventures of Kavalier and Carr but haven't even started on that one yet.

In the meantime, I finished A Match to the Heart and have now thrown Will's Boy by Wright Morris into the mix. It goes well in tandem with Lanterns on the Levee by William Alexander Percy which I am still reading.

#122 Joycepa: Hmm I guess it's because East of Eden is transferrable to more relevant events. I mean Grapes of Wrath is heartwrenching and powerful...but East of Eden feels timeless.

#132: nancyewhite

I'm glad you're enjoying American Gods; I loved that one!

#156 bunagsbooks: I agree. As for me, I tend to think of it as the difference between a documentary and a morality tale. To put it in your terms, the documentary is a heart-wrenching but the morality tale is forever.

143: Joycepa, I agree with you that the characters in Grapes of Wrath are more likeable than those in East of Eden. And to add to that thought, in Grapes of Wrath the family has a close relationship and weathers adversity together, whereas in East of Eden the relationships are more fractious. This doesn't inherently make one a better book than the other, but yes, identifying with the characters and caring about the characters can make a difference in how much I enjoy reading a book.

Finished Small World by David Lodge last night, and I was very happy with it - very funny and clever. Now on to Before You Conceive: The Complete Pregnancy Guide...

Nothing, I`m too tired - but yesterday I re-read Soul Music by Terry Pratchett.

#160 sciafea, are you trying to tell us something . . . ?

Yes, I suppose so, even though I hesitated to announce my new reading project - my husband and I are trying for our first and I'm convinced that these sorts of things can be jinxed - but my neurotic side won out. I simply *must* keep my reading lists up to date on LT!

I'm reading Arrowsmith which is the 1926 Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction and the 56th Pulitzer fiction winner I have read. My goal is to read them all.

I'm happy with it - despite its age, the premise is still relevant to current day society.

Congrats scaifea and good luck!

My husband and I will be trying in about a year...I hope all goes well for you.

#165 bunagsbooks: Thanks - I'm sure that if all does go well, I'll be too excited not to announce it to the group, like it or not!

#163 sciafea, enjoy the process! ;) I understand your feelings and won't mention this again until we hear some news. What an exciting time in your life!