What You're Reading the Week of 20 October 2007

I know GreyHead usually does this, but we're well into the 20th, so I thought I'd put up the thread.

I finished Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon this morning. It was my first attempt at Pynchon, and I found it exhausting but rewarding. I ended up spending almost as much time looking things up online and in my dictionary as I did reading the book. It certainly made me want to read more about the lead-up to the American Revolution.

I'm now about to start Ship Fever by Andrea Barrett.

(Touchstones hit and miss today.)

Started Aberystwyth Mon Amour last night and am enjoying it. Mason & Dixon is on my tbr but is too intimidating to make it to the front of the line until I'm less busy at work, unfortunately.

Need to take a break from the really serious reading I've been doing lately, so am re-reading the Brother Caedfel series by Ellis Peters. I'm on One Corpse Too Many now.

I am still reading The Secret of Lost Things and am absolutely loving it. I stayed up way too late last night reading it and am hoping to finish it this weekend. It also has a strange tie in for me with The Ministry of Special Cases which I recently finished reading in that there is a character in The Secrety of Lost Things who has ties to Argentina's "dirty war" which is what The Ministry of Special Cases is about. Before reading both of these books, I really didn't know much about it. Interesting.

Just finished The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier and have now begun Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson. I enjoyed the former and am quite liking the latter. (Even if I am finding it annoying that she seems to claim the baby is baby-shaped and causing nausea right from the moment of fertilization. I appreciate that ascribing sentience to said child at this stage is also unrealistic - I never said I was consistent!)

I'm close to finishing Philippa Gregory's The Boleyn Inheritance.
Still going with Queen Isabella by Alison Weir.

cabegley, thanks for starting the weekly thread!

I am still reading The Book of Lamentations. I really like it, but I am finding it hard to make progress unless I am in a fairly quiet setting. My week has not bee like that. So although only 400 pages, it is taking me longer to get through than I thought.

I was sent a book (freebie) from a PBSer the other day, and it SOUNDED good, but having a heck of time getting into it.
Lucky You, by C Hiaasen (cant remember first name right now)
It really sounded good...a woman named Jolayne Luck wins a lottery (28 million dollars) but two bad guys win the other ticket, so the beat her up and steal her ticket, and she and a reporter are on the hunt for them. I think its the author really....do you notice, a book has a GOOD idea, but if it had been written by someone else, you woul have LOVED the book?
So I am mgoing to start Red River by Lalita Tademy, see how this one goes.

I am reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards and am so far enjoying it. I still have a ways to go in it so I'll probably be reading it all week.

#7 - lindsacl - It can be so hard to find "quiet time" - I hope you get through your book. =)

Last week, I read the good but heart-breaking A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell. This week, it's The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham. I saw the movie, so I am sure I already know the ending, but I am looking forward to it nonetheless.

I just started I Think of You (wrong touchstone), a small collection of short stories by Ahdaf Soueif.

Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir

* touchstones not working for author *

I am reading Peony in Love: A Novel by Lisa See and have enjoyed it so far. I am also listening to Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, David LeDoux, and John Randolph Jones and like the two voices that tell the story. Finished Okla Hannali by R. A. Lafferty which will be our library's Pageturner's book discussion for November.

I'm just finishing up Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch. I'm having a blast with it; too bad the next book in the series won't be out for a while yet. I think I'd have to rush out and buy it RIGHT NOW if it were available.

I'm in the mood for scary stories so I thought I would read Gaslit Nightmares: an Anthology of Victorian Tales of Terror edited by Hugh Lamb.

I tried to get the touchstone to work but I can't. :( I'm not sure if it is the same book as the one that comes up when you just put Gaslit Nightmares.

I finished The Confessions of St. Augustine this morning and I started 50 Questions on the Natural Law by Charles Rice. I guess they are both pretty heavy reading for me, but I finished my fiction book Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte last night. I'm waiting till I can get to the library to pick up The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

I'm reading Twilight by Stephanie Meyer and The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon.

#15 - I'm also in the mood for a spooky book or two. 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill was on backorder. I received an email today saying that it has been shipped. I'm excited!

**edited to try to fix touchstones**

I just finished Katerskills Falls by Allegra Goodman which is next up for my book club. Now I am reading Because It Is Bitter, Because It Is My Heart by Joyce Carol Oates. I also have on my nightstand another of her booksGarden of Earthly Delights. On my list to buy are two she wrote earlier in her career: A Bloodsmoor Romance,Wonderland.
On my trip to Florida next week, I will read Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen. I have heard so many good things about it.

Still reading Lake of Sorrows by Erin Hart. The Devil in the White City is due back to the library this week and I can't seem to start it. Is it worth renewing?

>19 karogers:, karogers, I LOVED Devil in the White City. I read it a while ago, so I don't remember if it is a slow-starting book or not, but it is really worth getting into, IMO.

>19 karogers:. Very worth renewing. I read it a week or so ago and really enjoyed it.

I am reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman and loving it...

I'm reading Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser. It is book club's choice for November. I'm only 75 pages in and am totally lost with all of the family marriages...it is a lot to keep straight.

>20 fannyprice: and >21 nancyewhite:, thanks for the encouragement. I'll renew and move it up on my TBR list. I read and enjoyed Thunderstruck and don't know why I didn't make the connection.

I started Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky yesterday.

>16 Linaldawen: Linaldawen - I've never read Augustine's Confessions, I'm curious to know how you found it?

Last week I read Dragonfly in Amber by Diana gabaldon and The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett.

I'm still into the Outlander series. Yesterday I read Voyager from start to finish.. went to bed at 4:30am! Today I have started the next one Drums of Autumn still eager to keep reading but not quite as passionate to stay up all night this time *yawn*.

Trinc : praises II by Thomas McGrath, praising beer.

>25 philosojerk: philosojerk - I found it on my dad's bookshelf...haha. It's an old paperback that he read a while back and uses for reference. Although, even if we didn't own it, there are copies of it everywhere. A quick search on my local library's catalogue shows more than 8 copies.

Anyway, it was a VERY good read. Convicting in parts, mind-twisting in others. But a combination of those two things is always good. ;-) It's one of those classics that one shouldn't live their life without reading...

I finished Their eyes were watching God and really really loved it - It took me twelve years to finish this book - I am deeply ashamed. But, I never appreciated it in my youth as I didn't really understand its message. Now, this book spoke volumes to me. What a sad but wonderful book.

I also finished The body artist and I can't really say if I enjoyed it or not. It is a very odd book, sad and touching but puzzling.

I am now three pages into The inheritance of loss and am already enjoying the writing.

this week it's Uglies for the YA list, and Brittle Innings for the next World Champion Colorado Rockies! ...although it should be 65 science books for a huuuuuge test next week, but life is short and there are so many books...

>27 DromJohn: gotta check out that "praising beer" book! cheers!

I'm reading Stewart O'Nan's The Circus Fire.

Finished The Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan. I used The Landmark Thucycdides by Robert B. Strassler to refer back to the original account. Kagan's book was a thrilling, informed and complete read. While I'm a little suspect of a few of the conclusions Kagan reaches using only Thucycdides, Xenophon or Plutarch the writing is first rate and there is no denying his mastery of the material.

I am continuing to read Richmond Lattimore's Iliad for a class, again with another book, A Companion to the Ilaid by Malcolm M. Willcock. Just to stay with the Greeks I started Paul Roche's translation of The Oedipus Plays of Sophocles.

Touchstones not working for some titles.

Just finished The Island of Four Rivers by Christopher Morgan and am about to spend the hour I have before starting dinner with Joyce Carol Oates's I'll Take You There. I don't remember ever reading anything of hers so look forward to something new.

I am reading Family Matters by Cathy Woodman.
Quite good only on chapter 9 though.

Just starting Border fire by Amanda Scott which is a historical romance about the war among the Scots and the Brits. At first it kinda gave me that 'Braveheart' kind of feel to it. Since I'm not very open-minded towards historical romances, I probably won't enjoy this book. I never let a book get the best of me tho....well, maybe once or twice. It may take me a little while to get through this book tho.

#32 Smiley. Outstanding--I've just put it on my Wish List.

#25 philosojerk: If you're interested in Augustine, I would recommend Gary Wills' book, Saint Augustine. I think that The Confessions is a difficult enough book that reading Wills ahead of time might be useful.

Also, there is an outstanding book, Constantine's Sword by James Carroll that has a truly fascinating section early on (Part Three) about Constantine and Augustine.

I know you're not that fond of history books :-) but I recommend this one. It's well written but it's one of the grimmest (in terms of impact) books I've ever read.

Actually that particular section is vital to Carroll's whole thesis and is a big eye-opener.

I finished The Secret of Lost Things last night and loved it - I highly recommend it. I started The Woods by Harlan Coben last night and stayed up too late reading it. I have never read anything by this author but I am really enjoying it.

Reading The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford. Wonderfully witty. Two novels in one book - Love in a Cold Climate follows, but I may fit in a couple other books before I come back to #2.

Started Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer and am continuing to read Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

I can't decide what to start. I'm rereading the Hyperion books by Dan Simmons. I just finished Endymion. I can't decide whether to start The Rise of Endymion and just finish up the series, or if I want to read The Amber Spyglass first and finally finish that series (which is not a reread). Or I could finish The Hobbit which I have been gradually rereading. Too many choices.

I've just started Second Nature by Alice Hoffman. I read another of her books, (Blackbird House), at around this time last year and was very surprised with how much I enjoyed it. Hopefully this one will be in the same vein.

As I said in message #31, I'm reading The Circus Fire. But I'm now half way through it, and I started it on Friday. So unless my early-reviewer book gets here really quick, I'll have to choose a next book. Again.

Boy, do I need to get the rest of my books out of storage.

AnnaClaire, you'd probably be wise to choose another book. The ER books have been notoriously slow to arrive.

I'm working on Diana Gabaldon's Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade. It's much better than her first Lord John novel, imho, but not nearly as awesome as her Outlander books. I think I'm going to read The Halloween Tree next, in honor of the season!

Working on Zadie Smith's On Beauty for school (the third in our series of intertextual novels based on Howards End). Also still working on The Book Thief, which I'm fascinated by.

#19 - Definitely worth renewing!

As for my reading this week - All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris, American Massacre by Sally Denton, An Honest President by H. Paul Jeffers, plus I am dipping into Code Breakers by David Kahn and A River Running West by Donald Worster.

#45 - Let me know how you like Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade. I am a huge fan of Gabaldon's Outlander series, but have not cared for the Lord John stories as much. I have Brotherhood checked out of the library, just haven't started it yet.

I finished Behind the Scenes at the Museum today which I very much enjoyed. Not sure what to tackle next, although I'm contemplating starting The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood.

Just bought and read Slam, Nick Hornby's newest book. Liked it so much I am rereading About a Boy this afternoon (ah, got to love a lazy Sunday!) I am also about midway through Dragonfly in Amber, which is good but not as good as Outlander. I've been told that the third book is better, so I'm looking forward to that.

#39, teelgee, I have read these several times but not recently and they are wonderful. The movie, which I think was a BBC show (available from Netflix) is very good too.

I am close to finishing Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong'o, which I am really enjoying -- it grew on me as I went along.

Currently reading Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. So far, so good. I doubt I'll finish it this week, unfortunately.

I devoured The Painted Veil - I enjoyed it so much. Now, I will be starting When The Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka, based on recommendations by fellow LT members, lindsacl and cestovatela.

#53 When the Emperor Was Divine is truly a wonderful, moving book.

Well, I couldn't put The Memory Keeper's Daughter down until I finished it, so now I have to run home and grab another book (I'm housesitting this week). I'm gonna grab Interpreter of Maladies off my shelf to begin reading.

I think I'll grab When the Emperor was Divine as well just in case I finish this book early and seeing how so many people have recommended it. I've had it for awhile, but haven't read it yet.

Reading Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace which I'm pretty sure is going to take a lot more than just this week to complete, considering the novel ends at about page 980 or so and I'm currently at page 146.

I would love to get to page 500 by the end of the week though. Which does in fact sound impossible at this point in time.

Am about to start Kept: a Victorian mystery which has to go back to the library next weekend. It's a very busy time for me at work right now, but I'm still hoping to finish this by midweek.

#44 -- I kinda figured. I think there I read complaints from people who hadn't yet gotten their September book. But I kinda figured Murphy's Law would kick in on the delivery timing: that, since my flight isn't supposed to leave until nearly 6PM, it would arrive the next day. Kinda the downside of visiting friends in other time zones (and of expecting a book the same month as said visit).

I finished Grapes of Wrath which I loved - a very worthy Pulitzer; and started Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler -- which so far is not a worthy Pulitzer (IMHO, of course) Sappy, sappy, sappy.

Just my 2 cents --
#26 kiwiflower and others -- Outlander series is very addicting. I always say its like carbs, or crack -- not good for you, but so good (ostensibly, in regards to the crack, by the way). Drums of Autumn was my fave. When will the next one be out?

#18 -- rubberstamper -- I always try to warn people away from Oates' Wonderland. I could not believe the critical acclaim -- I thought it was abyssmal.

#29 keren -- loved Inheritance of Loss hope you enjoy!

I just finished Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran. Just loved it. Persian recipes are included in this story of three Iranian sisters who set up a Persian restaurant in a small town in Ireland. Next up is The Sojourner by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, then The Perfect Summer - England 1911, Just Before the Storm by Juliet Nicolson.

AllieW (#49)--My book group read Behind the Scenes at the Museum several years ago, and we all really enjoyed it. Have you read any of her other books? I especially enjoyed Case Histories and Emotionally Weird.

I finished Ship Fever by Andrea Barrett today--a lovely book of short stories and a novella, mostly historical fiction and many with a botanical angle.

I'm now starting One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, for aforementioned book group.

59 started Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler -- which so far is not a worthy Pulitzer (IMHO, of course) Sappy, sappy, sappy.

Oh, I agree! My senior year English teacher was really into Ann Tyler for some reason we read three of her books, Breathing Lessons, The Accidental tourist, and Saint Maybe. I hated them all, and sappy is just the word to describe it.

>28 Linaldawen: Linaldawen - LMAO! By "how you found it" I meant to be asking whether you enjoyed it or not, not how you actually located the book!!! Anyway, glad to know it was worth the read, I probably ought to have read it by now.

>37 Joycepa: Joycepa - Thanks for the recommendation. I've actually got another of Wills' books, Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit, and found him to be pretty enjoyable, so I'll add it to the ever-expanding TBR list. As far as reading Augustine, I don't expect too much problem. I actually teach some Augustine to my intro classes, I've just never read his Confessions, mainly because he's not in my area of specialization. You're right about me and history books, but philosophy is (literally) my life.

As far as my reading, I finished C.J. Cherryh's The Morgaine Saga omnibus this morning, and am getting ready to go start the fourth (and final?) installment in the series right now, Exile's Gate. I started off really not enjoying the Morgaine Saga, but it grew on me, so now I'm excited to see how it winds up.

Still reading through Class 11: My Story Inside the CIA's First Post-9/11 Spy Class by T.J. Waters - I'm finding it really interesting, thus far.

Also reading To Pleasure A Prince by Sabrina Jeffries as part of my daily romance fix.

Hope you're all doing well =)

#63 philosojerk: I read Papal Sin when it first came out and found it fascinating. Wills won the Pulitzer but I don't know for which book. I think his writing is really clear, books are really well done. I think you'll like his book on Augustine.

I used to be a really big fan of C.J.Cherryh and it's been fun to see that she's still quite popular.

>55 bunagsbooks:: bunagsbooks ... Coincidentally, I just read When the Emperor was Divine and Interpreter of Maladies concurrently! Whenever I read short stories or essays, I like to have another book going at the same time, so I can set the short stories aside and let them rattle around in my head for a while.

Anyway, both books are wonderful and I hope you enjoy them.

#59 Jhowell on her website in August Gabaldon said she didn't even have a working title for book seven… So that leads me to believe it will be a while, late 2008 at the earliest? According to her wikipedia page there will be a few more Lord John books released this year, I haven't read the spin off series yet. The page on wikipedia also says there might even be an 8th Outlander book - woo hoo!

I know what you mean by it being like crack or carbohydrates (not that I've tried crack). I was just thinking yesterday that books like that regenerate my love for reading. Sometimes books become a struggle or a disappointment to read for whatever reason and to become immersed in a good story makes me wish I could read all day everyday.

It may also be that I'm studying the French Revolution this semester and at this particular point am also focusing on gender studies and compared to the stuff I have to read for that Gabaldon is quite refreshing! lol.

>65 Joycepa: Joycepa - I had actually never heard of C.J. Cherryh until I started using LT. I'm not certain one series is enough to base an opinion of her on, especially since my opinion is sort of wavering through this one. I'm sure to try more of her when I see her at Half Price Books again, though.

#59, 67... Yes, there will be at least one more Lord John novel after Brotherhood of the Blade, called Lord John and the Hand of Devils. According to the ARC of it I got at work, it's due out around Thanksgiving, but I'm not sure.

Does anyone know when A Breath of Snow and Ashes will come out in mass market size?

#68 philosojerk: Cherryh's "later" stuff--and here we are in 2007 and I'm talking maybe 20 years ago?--isn't as good as the earlier. I liked the Morgaine series but she started getting repetitive. There is a very good series by her--best I can describe it is the Chanur series--a trilogy with Chanur in all the titles--that is among her best. There is another trilogy--I think called The Faded Sun or else that's one of the titles--that is excellent.

#69 - According to Amazon.com, A Breath of Snow and Ashes will be out in mass market paperback 11/27.

On another note, I finished the latest Sookie Stackhouse book All Together Dead and have now thrown Born on a Blue Day into this week's reading mix.

Finished reading The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte.

This week I will be reading:

Howards End by E. M. Forster (audio book)
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon

#72 Kell_Smurthwaite

The Yellow Wallpaper is highly amusing yet oddly messed up. Hope you enjoy it!

I'm trying to finish Gould's Book of Fish by Richard Flanagan but am finding it hard going.
Think I'll start my new non-fiction buy- Thames:Sacred River by a favourite author of mine, Peter Ackroyd and give fiction a bit of rest for a week or so. Too many good books haunting my mind. What an affliction!

>46 erelsi183:(erelsi183):-regarding intertextuality (Howards End and On Beauty) could you let me know what the other related books are as I've read the two just mentioned but couldn't think of any others picking up on that theme and I'd be interested. Thanks in advance.

Still reading Blood Meridian By Cormac McCarthy who is my all time favorite writer, it is a book to read very slowly, meditating on its depth and importnace and getting lost in it

#74 hazel: I don't think I finished Gould's Book of Fish but I did like his other book The Sound of One Hand Clapping.

>73 trinah: trinah - I never thought of The Yellow Wallpaper as amusing. It's a classic feminist chronicle of how women of creativity and independence were "managed" and kept subdued. Enlightening and horrific but not so amusing, imo.

#75 hazelk: we also read Nice Work by David Lodge for the same class. It's also loosely based on Howards End. That's all we've done for that set, but we also did another on a Henry James theme, if you're interested!

#72, Kell_Smurthwaite, I love Howard's End-- hope you do too.

#46, erelsi193 and #75, hazelk, Since you've read both Howard's End and On Beauty, as I have, I wonder what you thought of On Beauty in comparison. I have to say I read it because I love Howard's End, although with trepidation but, I hoped, also with an open mind -- but ended up really disliking it.

#80, rebeccanyc: I was surprised to find that I enjoyed On Beauty more than I thought I would- being rather curmudgeonly in advance about Zadie Smith ,I suppose, in thinking 'oh, one of literature's bright new things ...'. I particularly liked the zip and flow of the dialogue. I enjoyed Forster's novel more - what a surprise.
#79, erelsi183: I saw a BBC dramatisation of Nice Work quite a few years ago. I must remind myself to get the paperback.
And yes, what did you read on the Henry James theme besides the 'master' himself?

#56, good luck. Infinite Jest is, far and away, my favorite novel. What a big, beautiful mess. DO NOT skip the footnotes. At the beginning, I think they're pretty 'eh', but there are a couple of multi-page doozies in there that are every bit as good as the best parts of the text.

Over the weekend I started reading The Dreamthief's Daughter by Michael Moorcock and could not get into it at all. Poorly written and (as I discovered from belatedly reading some reviews) it's part of a larger fantasy series by the same author, none of which I have read, which explains why I felt a bit lost with all the exposition. So I'm putting this sucker up on bookmooch and moving on.

Probably will start on Troll, a love story next. From what I hear about this book, it sounds appropriate for the season. :)

After that I must move on to The Sparrow which is my bookclub selection for November -- it's long and my reading time is limited so I better start it soon.

> 1 : cabegley : Oops sorry, I left for a trip on Friday morning and forgot to start the new thread (have only just got to get online again today). Thank you for picking up the baton. I'm currently reading A Perfect Mess which sounds entirely appropriate.

AnnaClaire, I should read Circus Fire as I work in Hartford not far from where the fire actually happened. In fact one guy who used to work at my company had a lot to do w/ finding out who Little Miss (can't remember the # so I'm guessing) 1354 was. I bet its a fascinating book. Let me know how you like it once you are finished.

So far (about two-thirds), it's pretty good. As I think I said somewhere or other, it really goes more into the "who" and "why" more than just the "what" of the fire itself.

I'm still sludging my way through Border Fire but also researching through Fiction Writer's Brainstormer.

#78 (and #73) I had the same reaction when I read that post. I also wondered about "oddly messed up". The main character is certainly "messed up," but it's pretty easy to undersatnd why, and the story itself follows a very tightly woven structure.

BTW, Gilman's own life makes for pretty fascinating reading.

#46, 75, 80 I plan to reread The Golden Bowl and Atonement. I never realized that the former was supposedly a structural part of the latter.

#80 rebeccanyc: I'm only half way through On Beauty, so I'll hold my judgment until I'm done. I can say that the beginning didn't interest me at all, though I finally got into it. More to follow (it's due Thursday, so I have to finish it by then!)...

#81 hazelk: for our James section, we did (in order):
The Aspern Papers by Henry James
Felony by Emma Tennant, which tells the story of James while he's writing The Aspern Papers, alongside Tennant's telling of the "real" story on which The Aspern Papers are based
The Master by Colm Toibin, which I adored (ficitionalized biography of James's life, beautifully written)
We also read excerpts from David Lodge's Author, Author, which I have but have not read in its entirety

If you read any of those books, I'd be interested to hear what you think (of the intertextual aspect especially)! Enjoy!

>88 Cariola: and >73 trinah: I wonder trinah if you were thinking of Novel on Yellow Paper by Stevie Smith. Sounds like that might be amusing and messed up!

Now reading William Trevor's
Cheating at Canasta and Larry Brown's On Fire.

I just started The Golem's Eye by Jonathon Shroud. anybody read it?

Ok... On Fire, Border Fire, Circus Fire ... jeez gang, let up, we're already surrounded by it!

"Smokin' in San Diego"

#94 TeacherDad - stay safe! We are watching those fires because my husband's entire family is in SD area - from Spring Valley to Point Loma!

I just finished another wonderful book, When The Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka. It was a beautiful and lyrical read. I had a good reading weekend.

Now, I have to decide what to read next...perhaps Snow Flower and the Secret Fan or The Hours. Decisions! Decisions!

Yesterday I finished Animal's People by Indra Sinha, which was shortlisted for this year's Man Booker Prize. I picked it up during a trip to London last month; it won't be published here until February. I also finished Night Haunts: A Journey Through the London Night by Sukhdev Sandhu. Today I started The European Tribe by Caryl Phillips.

#94 TeacherDad: Are you in any immediate danger? Or faced with the posssibility of evacuation? The news looks really grim and the statements from the SD Fire Dept about being out of resources like fire trucks is not reassuring. I hope you're ok.

Thank you... We're ok now, but sort of in the middle of the claw's pinchers... if the north fire and the south fire decide to get together for a bbq -- we're cooked. Cat, fish and lizards (the essentials) are ready to roll if need be...

I am reading Dead`Run by Erica Spindler.

#94 I am so sorry to hear about the fires in California. I hope you will not be threatened by them and you and your family stay safe.

Here in Mississippi we are getting flash flooding and tornadoes which is something we need to send Georgia's way!

Yeah, kind of ironic that everyone is reading something about fire. LOL

I finished Book of Lamentations, which was hard work and a bit of a downer. I'm now reading True History of the Kelly Gang.

I keep about 5 books going at once on different subjects. Right now I am reading the Zookeeper by Diane Ackerman, who I was fortunate to have sign it at the National Book Festival in DC this past Sept. Also reading Soul Survivor by Philip Yancey - great author. Reading a Soldier's Promise, regardless of your feeling on the war still think our soldiers deserve our respect. Just finished The Choice by Nicholas Sparks. Reading 1776 by David McCullough.

right now I'm about halfway though Cmdr. Prince, USN by James Bassett the same author of Harm's way which was made into a John wayne movie of the same title.
It covers the same time frame the first year of the war in the Pacific but in the Malay Barrier.

I just finished reading The Orc King by R. A. Salvatore (wow, what a read!, I really enjoyed it). Also, in the aticipation of finishing The Orc King, I picked up Swords of Eveningstar by Ed Greenwood.

Along with my regular dose of fantasy, I'm reading Lifehacker by Gina Trapani.

I'm just getting ready to start Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson. This one has been on my TBR list since I first heard about earlier this year. If it disappoints me I'm not going to take it hard I'm just going to blow a hole in it with a shotgun. Expectations and all that.

I'm still working on The Blind Assassin, which I'm really enjoying.

I'm reading Rebecca, and like reptiliancandy, so far so good. I saw the movie long ago, so I know what happens, but that's not diminishing my general enjoyment of the novel.

I'm also reading The Bog People by P.V. Glob (which is excellent, despite being an older publication), and Heian Japan: Centers and Peripheries.

mrstreme: One vote for Snow Flower and the Secret Fan! (Though I must admit, I have not read The Hours.)

This week, I am reading The Fool's Tale by Nicole Galland. I'm almost halfway through, and so far, it is an interesting study of three strong-willed people who share a complicated history.

>95 mrstreme: mrstreme: I read both of them quite recently and loved both, you can't go wrong. I do suggest reading Mrs. Dalloway before you read The Hours though. You'll appreciate the latter so much more for its brilliance.

I'm just about to finish All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West. I'm really enjoying it. The caricatures of Lady Slane's odious children are very amusing. And I like the idea that at 88 years old, you can still surprise people and be surprised.

Next on the list: probably something by Paul Auster.

Picked up and read Barbra Taylor Bradfords latest installment about the Ravenscar dynasty I hope she will be writing more about them there was alot crammed in and as usual alot of loose ends need finishing but it was a good read.
I am waiting for my parcels from amazon to be delivered having gone a stray with the local postal strikes happy reading everybody
Iam also reading Karen Rose I'M Watching You hope ot lives up to the last two Ive read especialy Die For Me what a gripping read

#109, teelgee: I agree. The hours can stand on its own, of course, but you're right on that you appreciate it so much more after Mrs. Dalloway which is a brilliant book in itself. I sometimes think Mrs. Dalloway is Woolf's most accessible book.

#109 teelgee and #112 Joycepa - always wonderful to hear from you both. I have already started The Hours before reading your advice about reading Mrs. Dalloway first. I may have to study up on Woolf a little if I am not getting the connections. I did see The Hours movie when it released to DVD and enjoyed it very much.

I just finished The Woods by Harlan Coben which was excellent. I finished it in about two days and stayed up past 11:00 last night to finish it. Not too late until you consider that I get up at 4:45 every morning. But being tired is definitely worth it. I think I am going to start Without a Map by Meredith Hall which is a memoir. I have about 7 books from the library that I have to read so I might change my mind depending on what is due first. I also went to the local library book sale yesterday and got 3 bags full of books at $5 a bag. I think I got something like 45 books. Oh, yeah me!

I just went to the library website and looked at the due dates for my books. I will be reading Going back to Bisbee by Richard Shelton because it is due first. I will probably be reading Deconstructing the Twinkie (touchstone won't work for this) at the same time because it is due on the same day. This one is a non-fiction work on the chemicals in our food today.

#90:erelsi183: thanks for the info.

I've read Toibin's book which is, as you say, excellent - very fine writing.

I'll certainly follow up now (or rather when I've finished The Raj Quartet) on the other two: many thanks - it will be interesting for me. Bear with me re feedback.

Just finished Sophie's World : A Novel About the History of Philosophy by Jostein Gaarder. It took some time, but fun stuff. It got me excited about philosophy.

Next will be A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

edited to fix a missing word I just noticed.

I recently whipped through He kills coppers by Jake Arnott ... it was so-so ... just started Trance by Christopher Sorrentino.

>113 mrstreme: mrstreme -- it is still a wonderful novel without the connections. There are amazing parallels to Mrs. D throughout the novel, but you don't have to read it that way. I saw the movie years ago before reading Mrs. D and I still managed to enjoy it a lot.

TeacherDad, I hope you are all ok and they get these fires under control soon. Stay safe!

Finished An Honest President by H. Paul Jeffers and have now moved on to Crippen, who was not so honest, in Thunderstruck by Erik Larson.

Having finally finished Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky, I'm starting on--are you there, scaifea?--Letters to Atticus by Marcus Tullius Cicero. This should be a hoot!

>121 momom248: momom248 (and many others)... Thank you! We're still anxious here, don't know if the stress is more from the fires or the fact that the kids are out of school and trapped inside all week long!!!!

Good luck TeacherDad, that sounds like a handful.

I'm currently reading Xenocide, one of the last few Enders books I haven't read. I love being reintroduced to old characters I love.

I'm also still reading East of Eden and Bel Canto. The former has been one I've really been savoring because I love how it's written. I'm nearing the end, but am kind of dreading being done with it.

I just finished I Think of You, a collection of interwoven short stories by Ahdaf Soueif (wrong touchstone). Very disappointing, I'm afraid. The writing was fine, but, as a reader, I felt like I was deliberately frozen out of what was happening, which was all the worse because the connecting story was very personal. It was hard even to figure out the relationships among the characters. The narrator just dropped in names as if the reader should know who they were. I found this style extremely irritating.

I'm not sure which of the 300+ TBRs stacked around the house I will pick up next, but after the last one, I need a change of pace.

I'm thinking about making The Accidental by Ali Smith my next read. Comments, anybody?

I finished Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones earlier today. I really disliked it at first, but it grew on me. I think I'll probably look for the rest of the series.

Now I'm about to start Master & Commander by Patrick O'Brian. I've been looking forward to it; here's hoping it's as good as everyone says it is.

#128 xicanti: Are you in for a treat! That is a terrific series and Master and Commander is a great leadoff. Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are two of my very favorite characters. i think I've read the entire series--all 20 books--3-4 times.

If you get hooked on the series, I would recommend two other books: A Sea of Words by Dean King and Harbors and High Seas also by Dean King.

The first is a "lexicon and companion" for the series, explaining everything from the Articles of War to wardroom--seaman's knots, places, terms used during the era, all sorts of stuff. Everything you wanted to know about early 19th century medicine. Explanation of ranks. The lyrics to "Farewell and Adieu". The books are filled with nautical terms, jargon, and interesting sidelights, and the lexicon explains almost all of them.

The second is a book of maps with summaries of the plots and fascinating details about the places mentioned. There is one map and accompanying text for each book.

You certainly can enjoy the books without their companions--O'Brian was a great writer of the genre-- but they make the experience so much richer.

Have fun!

>127 Cariola: Cariola: I read The Accidental earlier in the year and found it a bit mixed. I really enjoyed the middle third of the book, and the narrative devices used, but the first and last third were a little disappointing. I would definitely give it a go though.

Still reading Falling sideways - it's quite good but the plot is starting to lose pace about 3/4 through.

I started Going back to Bisbee by Richard Shelton yesterday. I am only on about page 50 but am enjoying it so far. It is non-fiction which I have been reading much more of since joining LibraryThing. There is a lot of wonderful descriptions of plants indigenous (sp?) to Arizona and I find myself writing down notes to go and look up later.

bookaholicgirl--I'm going to add Going back to Bisbee to my TBR list. I grew up very close to there in Sierra Vista. Sometimes I miss the mountains and the open sky. It will be a good book to read as I experience my first Minnesota winter!

>133 strandbooks: Welcome to Minnesnowta! My first winter it hit 25 below zero on Christmas. Hope yours is more mild!

I just began Inkspell by Cornelia Funke. I enjoyed the first book of this series, Inkheart, so I'm looking forward to finding out more about the characters.

#123 Joycepa: Yes, I'm here, and yeah! I get overly-excited when people read Cicero - enjoy! Did you know that his contemporaries called him Tulli...?

xicanti #128: O'Brian's stories are a great trip. You'll also want the CD called "Musical Evenings with the Captain" to play in the background.

City of Dreams by Beverly Swerling for "Go Review That Book!" on LT

* author touchstones don't appear to be working correctly *

Although I'm very supportive of many environmental causes, I had never read Rachel Carson's Silent Spring...but now I have...and I also just finished her book The Edge of the Sea yesterday. Today I've switched gears to jump back into the theology camp and have just started Martin Marty's The Public Church.

#130 I started The Accidental last night, and I'm not sure yet what to think. I'm not a big fan of novels narrated in adolescents' voices, for one thing, so perhaps when it shifts, I'll enjoy it a bit more. Thanks for your comments. I plan to stick with the book for now.

I finished Thunderstruck by Erik Larson after an all-nighter of reading, and have started on Arthur & George by Julian Barnes as well as Evanly Choirs by Rhys Bowen for something light.

Don't know why the touchstone for Arthur & George does not appear to be working correctly or the one for Erik Larson for that matter?

Arthur and George ....alcottacre: try it with "and" instead of the ampersand. Author touchstones have been wonky for quite some time now.

#136 scaifea--After reading even just a few pages--why am I not surprised? Tulli--yep, fits the gossip side, all right.

I wish he'd quite interfering in his brother's marriage--he's practically taking credit for the baby!

#143 Joycepa: Well, his friendship with Atticus in some part hangs on that marriage too, since his brother is married to the latter's sister...

#144 scaifea: I know, but--STILL ( I hate being so 21st century but there it is).

Having finally finished Move Over, Mountain by John Ehle, I'm onto Crow Lake by Mary Lawson for book club.

#93, pumpkintealover - I read The Golem's Eye a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it! At times the footnotes became tedious, but there's a wealth of information in there, so don't skip them!!

Just started Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung. An autobiographical account of a family's migration from Vietnam to Australia after the war. So far lots of humour in the family's encounters with so many new things like escalators and cans of dog food.

I just finihed Lord Vishnu's Love Handles by Will Clarke, it was crazy. It was an Amazon Notable Book. I'm currently re-reading Chuck Palahniuk's Haunted. It is a good book, especially the stories: Cassandra, The Nightmare Box and Obsolete.

Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary by Ruby Ferguson. I've been neglecting my Persephone TBR pile for far too many months! I only started it last night, having just finished Mrs Harris Goes to New York by Paul Gallico. Loved it!

Stayed up till stupid o' clock last night to finish The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood which I loved. I'm now about 50 pages into The Blind Assassin (also by Margaret Atwood) at which point it seems to have just about got going (having been quite bitty before that). I like it so far.

I'm well into The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw. It's about a family, its secrets and power struggles in Malaysia during the 1930s and 40s. I'm really enjoying it.

Finished Life With Jeeves, which was amazing.

Am partially through The Crimson Petal and the White, which is obscene and funny and beautiful, getting hungry from Food: A Culinary History, and laughing my ass off at Good Omens.

#152: Love love love love Jeeves!

#80 rebeccanyc: Finally, I've finished On Beauty! Overall I liked it, though I fluctuated between loving it and kind of not really being impressed throughout. There were a few parts that seemed absolutely real to me, and others that seemed boring or unnecessary. The dialogue was very well written--I thought Smith did a really good job capturing how each of her characters would speak and then remaining consistent all the way through.

As for how it compared with Howards End: I liked them both for different reasons. Howards End had a cleaner storyline, though I never felt like I knew the characters. Everything that happened surprised me but also seemed plausible. On Beauty, in contrast, seemed jumbled--though probably that's how it is supposed to seem. The characters are what stood out for me in this one. They came alive more than the ones in Howards End, even if the plot seemed a little elaborate.

#142 - Thanks!

erelsil83/hazelk/rebeccanyc; thanks for the discussion re: James and related books. It's most interesting. I do wish I had some time to explore the subject.

I finished Abdulrazak Gurnah's Desertion last night and liked it very much. The structure of the novel might infuriate some readers - the author seems to 'desert' the first storyline just as it gets interesting, inserts an 'interruption' and then begins a new storyline seemingly unconnected. It is set on the coast of Tanzania in 1899 and Zanzibar in the 1950s. So much more to it than that but I can't talk about it without spoilers. I do think his By the Sea is a better book, generally.

Will begin Nadine Gordimer's Burgher's Daughter next (meanwhile I am accumulating quite a pile of non-class related reading which sits on a literal precipice awaiting the first free moment...).

I finished The inheritance of loss and was left with an overall feeling of melancholy - I loved the book and was impressed with the writing - but I am very sensitive in the first place to the loss of pets and that part alone was just heartbreaking. I really enjoyed the themes of the book, but did not really like the story - I guess I'm a happy ending kind of girl.

#157 keren -

I really liked The Inheritence of loss but I know exactly what part you are talking about and it nearly killed me too. Mutty-mutt!

:( You are making me sadder. Overall I did really like the book, but poor muty-mutt :(

#154, erelsi183, I"m glad you enjoyed On Beauty a lot more than I did. Basically, I thought the characters were poorly developed and that there was a lot of very self-indulgent writing, including subplots and characters who only seemed to be there so Smith could make some topical points. But maybe I would have liked it better if it hadn't been designed as an homage to Howards End, which I truly loved.

I've just started Lay back the darkness : poems by Edward Hirsch which I purchased at his reading.

#161 I love Hirsch's work--and he's a wonderful, generous man on top of it. I met him in a class I took many years ago at the Detroit Institute of Arts; he was one of the peole who inspired me to go on to grad school. I have a personally signed copy of his first collection, For the Sleepwalkers. I'll be putting this book on my wish list.

I usually have at least one print book and an audiobook going at the same time. I just finished an abysmal bio, Edith Wharton by Hermione Lee. I wanted to know more about Wharton, whose work I enjoy; but after reading Lee's book, I don't like her very much! I knew that she came from New York society, but I didn't know that she was such a snob, a Francophiliac, a racist, and an antisemite. There were also many flaws, I think, in the book itself. (See my review on LT, if interested.)

So I've moved on to something I can get more lost in for my driving to work listen: The Alchemist's Daughter by Katharine McMahon.

#153 Me too! But poor Bertie. Everyone thinks he's a psychotic moron. And he's really just a nice, slightly dim chap.

I've just given up on two books - Fatland: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World - which I don't really feel bad about because it was kind of boring and not really any new or interesting information since I've read a few other books about food and nutrition and marketing - and Abyssinian Chronicles, which I feel really bad about giving up since it was a group read for the 'Reading Globally' group and I really wanted to enjoy it. But I just couldn't get into it - I tried and tried and it just wasn't any good.

So now I am not reading anything, which is a really weird position for me to be in. I NEED something good to read!

#153 & 164: I too am completely and blissfully in love with Jeeves. Bertie's pretty OK in my book too, though. His social status as 'psychotic moron' gives him a certain amount of social freedoms, about which I could chatter on for hours, so I won't burden you with more details except to say that Wodehouse takes some of his character traits for both Wooster and Jeeves from ancient Roman comedy, in which the clever slave character nearly completely runs the society of the play and he can do so only because he is a slave and therefore stands outside of normal societal rules. Sorry, I do go on a bit about these sorts of things; in fact, I'm at a conference just at the moment to give a paper on how 'Pirates of the Caribbean' is a modern version of the Roman comedy and Jack Sparrow is the clever slave...

In addition to everything else I'm in the middle of reading, I started Good Omens (Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett) last night. As I mentioned in the previous comment, I'm off at a conference and need something small enough to sneak into conference panels and surreptitiously read during not-so-engaging papers. Perhaps not the best choice for stealthy reading, though, since I'm only a few pages in and it's already made me giggle more than once...

I just finished Ruins, The by Scott B. Smith.

This story of a group of college students vacationing in Mexico, who decide on a whim to visit the site of ruins being excavated, so they've been told, by a team of archeologists, is mesmerizing. The plot builds so effectively and with such originality, that I am at a loss to understand why it wasn't a massive best seller. A book about survival and human nature. Highly recommended if you're looking for a great pageturner.

I'm going to second vivienbrenda's comments on Ruins ... an amazing read... and so was A simple plan by Smith ... I just hope we don't have to wait another 10+ years for his next book.

I finished The Circus Fire yesterday on the way home from work.

In the absence of my early reviewer book and impeding (temporary) departure, I thought about reading Letters to Father before settling on the lighter Founding Brothers. (Both books are hardcovers, but my copy of Letters to Father contains the original Italian letters as well as the English translations. I think this edition was on sale or something; I don't read Italian.)

I stayed up far too late last night finishing Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary and have now moved on to Patricia Highsmith's The Tremor of Forgery.

Just starting The hound of the baskervilles and never realised before how good Conan Doyle's fiction is!

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mamajoan, I thought Troll: A love Story was such a fun read. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

October 26

Make Your Dream Come True
Six Attitudes for Winners