What are you reading the week of November 18, 2017?

Sorry for being a little late. I seem to have picked up a cold from someone, and I overslept this morning.

Just finished Sing, Unburied, Sing which I really enjoyed and started A Legacy of Spies which so far is good. Rainy today, might finish soon.

Hi Fred, thanks for setting us up. The Chains of Their Sins kept me up all night.

Greetings, all! I'm halfway through Wheelworld, the second novel in Harry Harrison's entertaining science fiction trilogy, "To the Stars."

Still reading Fortress in the Eye of Time, Deathless, and The Boy on the Bridge.

Fred feel better! and Richard so happy to see you back!! I am reading Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand. Just finished the excellent Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck.

I'm reading 'Salems Lot by Stephen King in anticipation of an upcoming stay at a haunted hotel. I'm actually staying there for the view and found out after that it's "haunted." We'll see!

>6 momom248: Hi Maureen! Happy to be seen. Sending hugs northward.

>1 fredbacon: Hope you're feeling better soon, Fred!
>3 richardderus: Richard, I never knew you before you left and came back; I'm Allie in Ontario, Canada, and I'm pleased to meet you.

I just finished reading The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland, a good book by a much-loved author. It was nowhere near as good as his astounding Microserfs or Hey, Nostradamus!, but interesting and intelligent and funny just the same.

Next up is Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier, which I'm reading as John Fowles, an author I admire greaty and who was a student of French literature, once said that it was the book that had affected the most his own writing. I've been curious about it for many years.

Edited to add: I'm reading Le Grand Meaulnes in English. I wouldn't want anyone to mistake me for a scholar of French literature or language. I can just about order coffee in a Montreal cafe, and that's it.

>9 ahef1963: Hello Allie, I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. I've read a good bit of CanLit but never any Coupland after Generation X. It wasn't a conscious decision, and I wonder if I should amend my nondecision. What about his writing makes him a much-loved author for you?

For my part, let me recommend with a hearty shove toward your favorite bookery The Island of Books by Dominique Fortier. A deep but fast read about art and obsession on Mont Saint-Michel.

I have just finished the book Spark by John Ratey. I am currently reading Astrophysics for people in a hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

It's great to see you Richard!! I'm currently reading The Law of Similars by Chris Bohjalian; Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng and FM The Rise and Fall of rock radio by Richard Neer

Hugs to you Richard!!!

I finished Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind. It may sometimes over simplify things, but the book's greatest attribute is that it makes you think, and consider mankind from a distant objective viewpoint. I also appreciate that even at the end, talking of today and the future, the author presents various possibilities without pushing one over another.

Count me as another happy to see Richard back among us.

Reading the fifth installment of Bruce Alexander's John Fielding mysteries: Jack, Knave and Fool. Love stepping back in time (1770s England) with these books!

I finished My Favorite Thing is Monsters, a unique and surprising graphic novel, and now I'm reading Americanah.

Started reading The Pirate Primer. Argh!

Finished The Boy on the Bridge by M. R. Carey. Enjoyed it muchly.

Next into my reading rotation is Tower of Glass by Robert Silverberg.

I finished Wheelworld and look forward to reading Starworld, the third book in Harry Harrison's entertaining "To the Stars" science fiction trilogy, fairly soon.

Next, though, I'll be reading The Quick Red Fox by John D. MacDonald. Like a few others here on LT, it seems, I have been reading through MacDonald's "Travis McGee" detective series. I've just been going more slowly. This is the fourth of the McGee books.

>12 cdyankeefan:, >13 momom248:, >14 snash: Garshk y'all...such kind and lovely welcomes are the best reason I can think of to come "home." I'm so flattered and thankful.

I finished The Chains of Their Sins, the fourth Taking Shield book, and there's only one to go, in my thread post 243. I gave it five stars because there's something special about a space opera that doesn't shy away from real relationship building while declining to make every single moment a Romantic one.

Finished Veronika Decides to Die, which failed to grab me, and started The Country Girls, which I'm enjoying.

Still listening to The Hundred Year Old Man.. and enjoying more than I'd anticipated.

I am up to the year 2001 in David Sedaris's diaries Theft by Finding which go up to 2002. I aim to finish it tonight as I am seeing him perform tomorrow & Wed night. Good motivation!

I've read about 20% of A History of Loneliness by John Boyne but haven't read it in days and am quite bored by it, surprisingly because I loved his recent The Heart's Invisible Furies. I hesitate to quit it since it got such great reviews and I loved the recent one.

Welcome back, Richard!

Just finished listening to interesting and stark Admissions: Life as a Brain Surgeon by Henry Marsh.

Next up for listening is Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks.

I continue reading Remembrance of Things Past Volume I.

>23 hemlokgang: Hiya Ferris! How's it wheelin'?

I've wanted to say that for years. You may unfriend me, but it was worth it.
:P

I'm reading 3 books right now: Unfuck Your Habitat , Exit West, and Fast Food Genocide

The Bone Clocks
David Mitchell
2.5/5 stars
This dark, epic story of Mitchell’s surrounds a young English girl, Holly Sykes, who has run away after learning her boyfriend has cheated on her. She returns when she finds out her brother, Jacko has disappeared but not before encountering a mysterious character named Marinus who is a horologist (beings who are reincarnated) and who she will encounter off and on throughout the book in different time periods. I loved the first chapter and loved the main character, Holly but after that first chapter I just got mired in all the characters (most of them very despicable and unlikable) and the different story lines, wondering when this was all going to end and in the end was just disappointed with the outcome of the story line and the book. However, I have not given up on Mitchell. Cloud Atlas is one of my favorite books and I look forward to reading more of him.

Reading Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke, a mystery/crime novel set in a small East Texas town. Title refers to lyrics of a blues song which obliquely plays a role in the story.

I finished The Quick Red Fox, the fourth in John D. MacDonald's excellent and iconic Travis McGee series, and I think the most entertaining so far. The book has its flaws, but overall is very well written and entertaining. I read it in three ravenous sittings, in fact.

Next up is Starworld, the third novel in Harry Harrison's "To the Stars" trilogy.

Happy Thanksgiving, my fellow Americans. And happy reading to all citizens of the world.

Haven't picked up a book in 5 days, but this first weekend w/o a swim meet may allow me to plunge into a good read. Now to figure out which book that might be. Hmmmm.......

Limelite same to you and all my Library Thing friends!!

I just finished Eric Larson's Devil in the White City which was 4.5* for me. Moving on to starting the 1972 Pulitzer Prize winner Angle of Repose which has often been recommended to me.

>31 Zumbanista: Angle of Repose is one of my all time favorites. Hope you enjoy it.

I finished a LTER book, The Angry Chef. As one who is not apt to get caught up in food fads, liking it in all of its diversity too much, what I found interesting in this book was a better understanding of how people get involved in various restrictive diets. I was a little disappointed that he didn't directly confront the Vegan myth.

>30 momom248: Thank you!
>31 Zumbanista: and >32 snash: Another Wallace Stegner fan here. "AoR" is a great novel.

The Making of the President 1960 – Theodore H White
3***

Subtitle: A Narrative History of American Politics in Action.

About a year before the November 1960 election, Theodore H White began studying the likely candidates. He focused on a handful of men with aspirations and/or apparent qualifications: Humphrey, Kennedy, Stevenson, Johnson, Nixon, Rockefeller. He travelled from state to state reporting on the primaries or state caucuses / conventions. (In that era, there were only sixteen states that held primaries!) He attended the Democratic and Republican national conventions. And he closely followed the candidates as they campaigned for the presidency.

I was fascinated to learn some of this history, and the first-hand look at the “political machines” that produced these two candidates, and ultimately President John F Kennedy. I also found this a surprisingly nostalgic book … It was published in 1961, shortly after Kennedy’s inauguration, so there is no hint of what is to come in November 1963.

It’s somewhat dated – the process is different more than half a century later. And yet, there is something timeless about this story. Serious issues of race, the economy, potential for nuclear war, etc still plague our country. Good men and women still struggle to find solutions. My face-to-face book club had a fascinating and spirited discussion of this work.

I hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving had a lovely day!

>31 Zumbanista:, >32 snash:, >34 Limelite: Another Angle of Repose/Wallace Stegner fan here. AoR is on my all-time favorite list, too.

I picked up a copy of Roz Chast's latest at the library a few days ago. Going into Town: A Love Letter to New York, is, so far, just as charming as I was expecting. I grew up across the river and 12 miles down the road from the city and never thought I'd actually miss it. It's especially acute this time of year.

The new thread is up over here.

>32 snash: >34 Limelite: >36 Copperskye: Wow, a whole fan club! I'm just a few chapters in, but I can see how fab the writing is, and am ready to get lost in the story! Thanks for your input!

>35 BookConcierge: What a wonderful blast from the past. Thanks for reminding me of it. I read it in 1972, when I was a foolishly conservative child emulating my parents' ideals, and it was part of what turned me around. The portrayal of Nixon was just ghastly. Thank goodness for reportage.