So, what else are you reading now?

We are very fortunate to get the sample readings of books on the Kindle before we actually buy the books. While the Kindle itself was expensive, keeping track of the money saved by reading a sample first and not buying the book does indeed add up over time.

That brings me to my main point: Have any of you read Oprah's selection "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle? I've been reading the sample, and I find that so far the book, imo, is more like Freud Revisited rather than new information.

I had to read lots of Freud when I was an undergrad. at Colorado--many years ago: such books as "Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego" and "Civilization and its Discontents," both of which have long disappeared from my personal library but not from my brain. So as I've been reading "A New Earth" I find myself thinking the cliche "been there, done that."

I know that's a dismissive attitude, but isn't that what reading--and learning--are all about--recalling the content in important past readings?

I see stylistic problems, also. He "speaks" too parenthetically to my taste. I want to shout at him and say "If it's important, say so at the first go, for God sake!"

Course that's MY opinion. Have any of you at least read the sample pages? Tell me what you think, plse.

Ginny

My Dearest Ginny,

I have to tell you that I couldn't even get through the sample of that book. But that's true for me of many of Oprah's suggestions. I don't like her choices at all, but that's just me. I like totally different genres I think. Oh well, that's what is totallly great about samples. No need to buy and you can just delete the sample. My kindle is still full of samples that I find daily that I just may want to read. I pack them in and then read about four at a time and decide to buy four or three, two or one...sometimes none. But I make those my Monday kind of ritual. I like it. It makes me smile on Monday....lol : )

Blessings,
Star*

The other book that had all the hype that I just couldn't see at all was The Secret by Rhonda Byrne which really wasn't full of secret information. It's things that we've been told all along. I swear they just get good reviews because of Miss O's loyal following.

Just my opinion,
Star*

Did you ever read the samples for Her Majesty's Dragon? I knew I wouldn't like that either, but I was wondering about you?

I'm reading a few...but I still need to finish terrO.R. to do a review, but I just can't seem to get through it and that's not me. I'm reading a real UP ALL NIGHT with nightmares book...it's called IM by Rick R. Reed I was nervous about buying it because there is no except to get ahead of time and read as a sample. It's still really good. I think so anyway, it may be offensive to some though, so if you like horror and want to read it, It's a very scary book. I'll fill you in without spoilers and you can decide if you want to read it...just leave me a note on my profile. Thanks.

Blessings,
Star*

PS so are we the only three left in our little kindle club....I don't mind. I just noticed that in our list of people, Brent is gone, as well as Maggie and April, anyone else? I'm just trying to keep track on a paper list to keep our group organized. I'd like to add special things to it like birthdays and favorite genres. It will be fun....I'll put up a thread or two as I think of things I want to add, of course you don't have to add the information if you don't want to. : ) I LOVE to organize

I'm still here. I'm reading Judaism, Physics, and God by Rabbi David W. Nelson. He was a science geek as a kid, then became a Rabbi. He goes through the Big Bang, quantum mechanics, string theory, etc. It's interersting. He says that the Big Bang began in an infinitesimal volume and then expanded rapidly, and that is one way to think about God. I have trouble wrapping my mind around it; I imagine it starting in a broom closet. But the singularity of matter and energy help me understand a central statement of Judaism affirming the Oneness of the Divine. It's a very thought-provoking book; the author will be speaking at my synagogue in a few weeks.

Okay, Miss Libby: I needed that laugh. Started in a broom closet, indeed!!

Ginny

Hi Libby!

I'm glad to see that you are still here. Your posts are a joy to read and you are always friendly and helpful. I hope you enjoy your book.

By the way, I laughed at you closet comment as well. You have a way with words! : )

Blessings,
Star*

Hey everyone,
I am still here, been busy lately so not as much time for here as I would like.
I am reading Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan and I am starting Storm Front by Jim Butcher as well.

I just finished Undertow which was a pretty decent SciFi story, I like a lot of the new Sci-Fi as much of it takes Quantum theories to extreme what if scenarios.

Hi Bill!

It's great to see you around and juggling all of your books! I'm happy to have you around. So, maybe, if you get a little time, we'll see you a *little more?

Thanks Bill
Star*

Vis-a-vis the Big Bang:
Can't you just see a tiny broom closet, the only thing in the universe, and maybe some protons and neutrinos mix in the utility sink and BAM! The universe bursts out and expands, and brooms and mops and half-full bottles of furniture polish and cans of Bon Ami go flying out. My mind can't get the universe into a smaller space than that.

Libby Cone

Oh my Goodness Libby,

I nearly lost my morning tea! (and not in a good way) Well it was good because I was laughing, other than that....I'll have to think about it!!

LOL Thank you for making my mornig!

xoxo
Star*

Wait till I get to string theory.

I will definitely be patiently waiting!! : )

You crack me up!

XOXO
Star*

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. It's a novel about a terrorist group that takes over an embassy. They wanted to kidnap the president of the country, but the president wasn't there. Instead, they capture a group of party goers and an opera singer. The book explores the dynamics between the captors, the captives, and the negotiator in a standoff that lasts for months. The singer is the central character of the story. Her music transcends the power dynamics and language barriers, and a number of unexpected relationships evolve. It's a fascinating book. You don't have to be an opera buff to enjoy the story. But if you know Renee Fleming (she's the model for the character in the book) and you enjoy her music, it will add a special zest to the feeling of the story.

Bel Canto: beautiful singing. I'm half Italian so that title reaches right out to me. I'll see if it's on Kindle, and I'll order it if it is. interesting, Garry, that you found a book like this that meets so many of your interests. You describe it well. I've read your other reviews, too, in the past, and they just seem to flow.

Ginny

Ginny,

Yes, Bel Canto is available on the Kindle. I've decided to only post things here that are available in an ebook format that works on the Kindle.

Thank you for the nice compliment, I've never considered myself much of a writer.

Garry

Just finished Sometimes the magic works: lessons from a writing life by Terry Brooks and finished Undertow by Elizabeth Bear so if anyone wants to talk about those I am game!

I am now reading Omnivore's Dilemma : a natural history of four meals by Michael Pollan

and I have started

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

I will often read one non-fiction and one fiction book at the same time, anyone else do that?

Bill

Yeh, Bill: I usually read both types at the same time. Have done so for years, and it's gotten even worse now that it's so easy with the Kindle.

Richard, hi: I left a comment on your profile. I was looking at your profile because I wanted to look at that photo in the upper right again: I had to have my pupils dilated again today and knew I would be able to see photos better while I'm still bug eyed.
Ginny

I'll alternate between fiction and non-fiction, but I don't read multiple things at the same time. I'm afraid my head would explode! I'm definitely not a multi-tasker.

Well, Richard, when I first saw the photo sans dilated pupils, it was definitely a van Goghish type photo. With my current bug- eyed look I was able to see the various layers.
One photograph equaled two different visualizations.Either way, the photo is fine, and I would love to see additional ones as well.
Ginny

I do it all the time. Except, it doesn't have to be two different genres and most of the time I have up to three going at once....lol : )

Hi, thanks for all the recommendations. I am new here. I just ordered "IM" from the above post. sounds interesting!

I'm reading 7th Heaven by James Patterson.

Hi Kally and welcome!

It's a really scary book. I'm not done with it yet, but it is terrifying. I may never answer another Instant message again...thank you Rick R. Reed...

Hope you enjoy it!

I've also read that whole series of Patterson books that you're talking about .... I believe the first one is 1st to die, then 2nd chance um... 3rd Degree, 4th of July, The 5th Horseman, The 6th target and last so far is 7th Heaven great series and I think they are all on kindle! I do love Patterson.

Hope you like it around here we have so many nice and very sweet people in this group...

Right now, I'm finishing up One For The Road, the free travel book that was discussed in another thread, 'Interesting Free Book.' I'm enjoying it, the author has a lot of interesting experiences as he backpacks through Fiji, Africa and Russia. I like his dry sense of humor.

I haven't had a chance to start that one yet Garry, but I'm glad it was worth the effort! I'll probably start it soon...when I'm in the hospital, that's really all I have to do is read so I go through books like water...

Honestly.

XoXo

In the past week, I've been on a bit of book binge. (Though I can't say if these are available on the Kindle, as I'm currently without said device). I've finished:

Two Caravans (known as Strawberry Fields in the US, I think) by Marina Lewycka which was pretty good. I finished Ghostwritten by David Mitchell which was quite good, but not as good as Cloud Atlas and I just finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy which was fine, good even, but not my cup of tea.

I've now started The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander

I just finished The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food by Jennifer 8 Lee. No, that's not a typo, her middle name really is 8.

I've written a review in my library. It's a fun and fascinating book.

I am relieved to see that the McCarthy book wasn't your "cup of tea." I am beginning to think that Cormac McCarthy is the John Coltrane of literature; some people think he is God, and others don't see what all the fuss is about. Someone on the Jewish Fiction list suggested I read Blood Meridian, and, like All the Pretty Horses, I just don't think I can finish it.

You'll love the Englander!

Libby Cone aka reademwritem

Garry, that's so funny, I was just looking at that book the other day and wondering if I would want to read it. I'll have to go and read your review.

Thanks again. You always help me with book choices!

xoxo

I am now reading IM by Rick R. Reed. This book is awesome! It is not for people who are easily offended though :) Great story, thanks for the recommendation!

You're welcome Kally....it gets SO much better and SO much scarier and So much more well....Not for those easily offendeder....lol

Glad you like it. I bought his others because of this one. I picked this just because it looked good one day. I was mad because it had no "sample" I thought I might not like it because of that ... I wondered why no sample. But I LOVE it. I'm almost done. It's been a really scary book for me. I haven't read one like it in my life.

blessings,

I've just started Grand Obsession: A Piano Odyssey by Perri Knize. It's about an amateur pianist's obsession to acquire the perfect piano.

Water for Elephants was a good story. It was a good lever pusher on the Kindle.

I am reading Summer Knight book 4 in the Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher. They are pretty good. They had a very short lived series on Sci-Fi based on these books, but unfortunately for the show I really liked it and so they canceled it. It always seems the shows I really like never last long.

Right now I'm reading Three Men In A Boat by Jerome K. Jerome. It was written in the 1880's, the subject is a boat trip down the Thames. It was originally intended as a serious travelogue, but the author's goofy hypochondriac travel-mates turned the trip into a series of comic misadventures. I never realized that our Victorian forbears were such goofballs. It's a fun, light and easy read.

It's a Feedbooks ebook, so the price is right too.

Bill,

I have to agree with you on that. They always cancel the shows I really like too...I must be in some kind of minority-liking tv-show-watch'n group...LOL

I seriously miss my HBO shows...and it was you Bill that liked Deadwood as well, right? *I hope I didn't get you confused. I'm pretty sure though.

Love,
Star*

Oh Hi Garry (waving madly) I didn't see you there...

Love ya,
Star*

Star,
Yeah it was me that loved Deadwood, Rome was pretty good as well. I like the "offbeat" kind of shows. I also like Dexter on Showtime, he is a serial killer who only kills bad guys. That way he can satisfy his needs but not be a "bad" guy, very interesting.

Bill

Bill,

I guess we could watch TV all night together...those are and were some of my very favorites. Well, we could've watched TV all night...but they cancelled them. : ( I guess that's why I have so much "Kindling Time" now... : )

XO
Star*

Star. www.hula.com has a whole huge list of shows you can watch over the internet. Check it out sometime!

Oh that's GREAT Tracey, I definitely will! Thank you!

XO
Star*

I just started a book for young adults at work that the YA librarian was raving about: "Book of a Thousand Days" by Shannon Hale.

For non-work related reading, I just started a science fiction novel called "Starstrike: Operation Orion" by Douglas Niles and Kevin Dockery. And 5 pages into it I HAD TO STOP when something a character said made me realize it is the second book of a series. Well, spit! Put in a call to my favorite bookstore and had them hold a copy fo the first book for me so I can go pick it up. I HATE to read a series unless I have at least read the first book in it.

And when I get my Kindle, this will be an easy thing to resolve! :cD The first book is available in a Kindle edition (but I'm not willing to wait the 2-4 weeks I have left before delivery to read it). And, in that funny Kindle edition way, the second book, which I just started, is NOT available in a Kindle edition...