What You're Reading the Week of 19 July 2008

Still dipping into Douglas R Hofstadter's I am a Strange Loop, I love reading him - but find it remarkably hard to stay with it for very long; I now have this and Le Ton Beau de Marot part read. I finished both The Quest by Wilbur Smith great action adventures - a little more mystical than I recall from the others (I've been reading them now for twenty years I guess); and Christopher Brookmyre's Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks which is his idiosyncratic take on things mystic, psychic and dependant on belief. (A lot more entertaining than Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion for example.)

Thanks to dchaikin for a neat graph of the growth here - though my sense is that it's grown more in steps than in a straight line, we seemed to bump around in the 150-250 band for pretty much a year.

FINALLY finished Insomnia by Stephen King, and I must say it definitely qualifies as my least favorite Stephen King novel. I felt that the story was unnecessarily long, and I felt like he kept losing the thread of the main story line, if he ever knew what it was at all. Normally with his novels, even the longer ones, I can sense an underlying backbone that the story always comes back to. With Insomnia, I just felt like the story consisted of a long series of random events linked together by implausible explanations.

Right now, I'm hoping to finish I Am America (And So Can You!) (which is fantastically hilarious), and I'm planning on starting Airframe by Michael Crichton. And then I think I'm going to reread a few of my favorite King novels...I'm debating between It and Dreamcatcher at the moment.

I'm reading two mysteries, but they're totally different so I can keep them straight. The Last Embrace is Denise Hamilton's standalone about Hollywood in 1949. I'm also reading the latest Ceepak mystery, Hell Hole by Chris Grabenstein. I love his Ceepak mysteries.

Got Passage by Connie Willis (all down to mckait, so if it's craptastic...). It's at the top of Mt. TBR (with apologies to koolaidmom) and has dispaced several books that have patiently awaited my always-divided attention.

No guilt or pressure, of course! None!

Insomnia cured mine, in about 20pp. I didin't even give it the Pearl-rule 50pp, coloradogirl. Just too dadburned dull.

Finished: The Savage Detectives, Roberto Bolano. This one goes in my Top Five for the year. I don't mind taking slow trips through books I'm enjoying. I seldom lose the plot lines or the mood of a book over time so I spend a lot more time with some than others. I took 79 days to read TSD. To me, it was perfectly formatted to read in small doses.

Peace, Richard Bausch. By contrast, it took about two and a half hours to read this short, spare, sparse, beautiful WWII novel set in Italy over a period of about 48 hours.

Stoner, John Williams. Damn, who knew sadness could be written of so well?

Still working on: Joseph and His Brothers, Thomas Mann. I am enjoying the journey. I'll be awhile on this one.

Head Cases, Michael Paul Mason. A nonfiction book written by a brain injury case manager. Very interesting and very depressing. I've been patting my brain and telling it it is not allowed to go haywire for any reason. Well, no more haywired than it already is.

Under the Banner of Heaven,Jon Krakauer. Insights on the first truly American-born religion that lasted more than a generation.

The Prefect, Alastair Reynolds. What's life without a little science fiction running in the background? Good stuff so far.

Starting: Books: A Memoir, Larry McMurtry. Somebody that has even more books than I do.

I've begun Tove Jansson's The Summer Book as well as catching up on a pile of Paris Reviews and Tin Houses...

Then thinking I really need to begin Mason Dixon the only Pynchon still waiting to be read.

I'm about a third into Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach....and I am happy to report that it is far from craptastic.

#4 richardderus

The sole reason I made myself finish Insomnia was because I want to say (eventually) that I've read all of Stephen King's novels...I certainly didn't finish it because I was interested, although I suppose a part of me was curious to see if HE ever figured out what the story was about. I also wasn't fond of the references thrown in from It - it just seemed too forced and too...obvious, I guess. Which is interesting, because I didn't feel the same way about the It references in Dreamcatcher.

#2 and #4 - Even though it took a little while to get into, I enjoyed Insomnia very much. I'm sure I'm in the minority in my opinion.

I only have a few chapters to complete The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke. It's a very good book. I've started Exodus by Julie Bertagna. I don't know what's next. My TBR stack is out of control!

>8 coloradogirl14: coloradogirl, forced! That's it exactly! The whole experience of the book, in the measly 20+pp I read, was that of feeling the author forcing himself to honor his contract and turn the #(!*^$)&^ thing in!

>9 GeorgiaDawn: GeorgiaDawn, that's what makes it fun to read and discuss books. I've set up housekeeping with someone who simply can't see the appeal of The Shadow of the Wind and whose reasons for finding it uninteresting I can comprehend and respect, albeit I think he's nuts and his mama dropped him on his head one too many times. (Ouch!)

I am currently reading When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. It is hilarious!

Have a great weekend everybody!

#1 GreyHead - Wow, I scored a first posting reference. I feel so honored :D

#5 VisibleGhost - That's a lot of books in one week, and good ones. Thanks of the comments on Peace. I have it on my list to get from the library because of an NYTimes review, I might bump it up a little. And wasn't Under the Banner of Heaven fascinating?

So, I decided to re-read Heart of Darkness and I'm glad did. It was a little bit of a different book after reading King Leopold's Ghost, the descriptions had a lot more weight. But mostly I think I needed to read it again to get better sense of it.

Now I'm reading The Red Tent, a book my wife's been recommending for years. What a nice book, I'm enjoying it immensely.

I've just started The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett, which I'm very much looking forward to. I've heard good things about it here on LT, and it looks like a quick, entertaining read.

Finished Shining City by Seth Greenland - absolutely loved it. Posted a review on my blog.

Currently reading The Watercooler Effect by Nicholas Difonzo. Some funny anecdotes, but there really isn't anything in this that a reasonably intelligent person couldn't have come up with on their own.

#10 richardderus - The drop on the head must be the answer!

Chapter 1 of Romance of the Rose by Julie Beard & Chapter 2 of After Midnight by Teresa Medeiros.

#12 dchaikin, I was intrigued to find the Mark Hofmann update in Under the Banner of Heaven. I remember reading Salamander years ago which took Hofmann to prison but hadn't heard much since then except some of his forgeries are now worth quite a penny in the rare documents world in their own right.

I just noticed that the touchstone for Salamander that I pulled up has a new afterword by the author. I'll have to track that down because I haven't read the afterward.

I'm still reading Emma, which I'm fully enjoying. I expect to finish it sometime tomorrow, and will then, problably, start The Huncback of Notre Dame.

Listening to a collection of short stories by Henry James and continuing to read The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich.

I'm in the middle of The Gathering, which is so far better than I expected. The narrator is being very mysterious about her brother's problems, which is helping to draw me in. Certain aspects of the author's style are beginning to bug me, however.

I'm also just about finished with Finn, and I think overall it's well worth reading. Dark, disturbing, and creepy, but wow can Jon Clinch write.

My nonfiction read of the week is Barbara Ehrenreich's latest book This Land is Their Land. She has her pet issues, and they appear again in this book, but if you like her style (and her politics) it's a good, quick read.

Still slogging away at Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner, which is worth the effort. Brilliant.
For some lighter reading I finished Tropical Fish: Tales from Entebbe by Doreen Baingana - a rare glimpse of Ugandan culture. Also enjoying Children of the New World by Assia Djebar - a novel set during the Algerian War.
All good stuff.

#20, JFetting. I loved This Land is Their Land, but as you said, you have to agree with her politics.

I've moved on to another mystery, King of the Holly-Hop by Les Roberts.

Passage by Connie Willis has arrived and been opened. I will finish it come hell or high water. It's July in Texas, so Hell is a lot more likely than high water.

>21 amandameale: amandameale, I read and thoroughly enjoyed Vaste est la Prison after 4 Walls 8 Windows brought it out a zillion years ago. I haven't kept up with Djebar since then, do you recommend Children of the New World?

Just reviewed Unpredictable by Eileen Cook. It's about a woman who pretends to be a psychic in order to break up her ex and his new gf (who visits psychics). It's a great summer read, really funny!

My review: http://skrishnasbooks.blogspot.com/2008/07/unpredictable-eileen-cook.html

>299 from last week FicusFan, Bone Song looks like it's fun. The reviews were at all points of the spectrum from best to worst, so that makes me curious. Like I need another book to read, though....

I'm afraid the past few days have seen precious little reading in my home. Between working every blessed day and the heat and humidity, my reading ADD is off the charts. I'm bouncing between 5 different books right now (someone should take Marius away so I don't totally drain his battery!) and can't manage to settle on anything for more than a few pages.

I'll try to get back in the groove after the weekend when the weather is supposed to cool off a bit and reach a balmy 82 degrees!

Finished Rebel Angels by Libba Bray and am on to the final volume in the trilogy The Sweet Far Thing...

The Cider House Rules by John Irving ...

I finished The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich. Frankly, I was a little disappointed in this book. It started out very well, with moving, poignant characters and some semblance of a plot. Set on the edge of the Ojibwe reservation it is, I suppose, a book about two peoples and the history in one little town, and about the history of that town and how it comes full circle. For me, the whole thing was too circuitous and by the last 100 pages I was a bit bored and frustrated. I usually like Erdrich more than this.

I am about to start Swann's Way by Marcel Proust.

I have put Passage down and picked up Pax Dakota by Ken Rand for the next 20min, which is pretty much all the reading time I'll have today! I have to sort stuff into "sell" "take" "donate" piles in my brother's garage. And it's 100F today. Ewww.

The Lace Reader because of all the hype on LT.

I'm only about half way through Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman. It's a big book, give me a break! It's taking longer than it should because I'm simultaneously reading Non-LTE Radiative Transfer in the Atmosphere for work, which is itself quite a slog. I'm finally nearing the end of cataloging my library. I think I have five more boxes to go. Finishing that task will free up some time for reading as well.

>21 amandameale: amandameale Absalom, Absalom! is one of my favorite books. I read it 20+ years ago while on a bear hunting trip with my father in the woods of northwest Arkansas. (Really! I've never been a hunter, but when Arkansas reopened bear season in the early 1980's I convinced my father to go with me. I had just finished reading "The Bear" and was strangely drawn to the idea even though I've never been fond of guns.) Reading Faulkner in the woods around a camp fire is a completely different experience, and one I would highly recommend.

I finished A Thousand Splendid Suns yesterday morning. I was surprised that I thought it was even better than The Kite Runner. My review is In the Shadow of Mt. TBR.

Currently about 1/4 the way through One More Year by Sana Krasikov. The first story was horrible, but the second and current one is better. Still, not really caring much for it.

next I'm reading Tan Lines by J. J. Salem. If the rest of the book is like the first sentence, then it ought to be a lot of fun!

I've got a growing ARC pile, but I'm thinking of getting back to the Janes, Emma is next on that list.

1/3rd of the way through Everything is Illuminated and loving it. It's made me laugh out loud more than once.

On the shelves I have Austerlitz, The Colour, Don't Move and What I Loved

I am reading Cruel Summer for Early Reviewers. And I am still on The Cairo Diary as well as Fly by Night at the same time.

Cruel Summer is sort of dumb and The Cairo Diary is a little slow. I can't say about Fly by Night because I have read so little of it.

Still working on reading Alexander Hamilton, American -- but making progress.

I just finished Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd about her life with George Harrison and Eric Clapton. Interesting since I'm fascinated in both musicians and their lives. No huge revelations, more of an account of who she knew and where she traveled to.

I'm reading three books - each differently. I'm reading The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe start to finish. It's a gothic classic from 1794 and very escapist and quaint, like taking acid and staring at an antique teapot, until you meld into the decorative, bucolic imagery and start looking about for Marie Antoinette petite garden palace. I'm reading Laura Warholic - the Sexual Intellectual by Alexander Theroux randomly - a chapter here, a chapter there. Chapter XXXIII, by the way is worth the price of admission, being a fascinating compendium of sexual factoids and ironies - pages and pages of stuff like "mistletoe is a symbol of love, and poisonous", and delicate intimacies about Dali, Auden, E.M.Forster and many many more. Finally, I'm "reading" Finnegan's Wake, one word by one wierd at a time, like an aborigine who has just been taught the alphabet and handed a clock repair manual translated to English from Korean. I have no clue what James Joyce is talking about but I love to try to pronounce the words he produces with a flowery flourish - like pigeons flapping from a tophat.

am finally going to finish Mortal Love today...it's taken a while, not because it's a lousy book or anything...but i have been busy with my house....

#38- i love The Mysteries of Udolpho...read it many years ago in my Gothic phase...back in the 60s...as for Finnegan's Wake..a lot of whiskey helps with the understanding...though you won't be standing after a bit...at least that's how i got through the bloody thing

am thinking of reading The Lace Reader if i can find a used copy somwhere...

enough of this for now...

I've put Atonement aside for a while, so I picked up Watchmen. The trailer I saw before The Dark Knight prompted me to read it, and even though I know I've read it before, I can't remember when, and all the details are hazy, so I'm having a great time rediscovering it. I'm not sure if I'll finish Atonement; it's very slow going, and I'm not crazy about McEwan's writing style. I'll probably move on to Great Expectations soon.

#28. John Irving is a great writer. If you haven't read A Prayer for Owen Meany I highly recommend it!

Sorely disappointed is me...
rd has put Passage down for another book. You couldn't give it twenty minutes?
Well... he has only himself to blame if he miss out on a really good read..
I just finished Passage and loved it.

I am now reading Lincoln's Dreams by guess who richardear?

I will then read The Wild Wood by Charles de Lint yummy!

Not sure what will come after. I tend to read only one book at a time most of the time.

#14, LisaLynne - I couldn't agree more abouth Seth Greenland's Shining City, funny from beginning to end, and it's almost as good as his 2005 novel The Bones, which shouldn't be missed either.

{The Deadly Double Post}

There's already been a host of glowing reviews for Australian novelist Tim Winton's new book Breath, but after finishing it the other day, I've decided the reviews were mostly hype, and Winton's book, while not totally uninteresting, is mostly a bore, qualifying it as only a minor disappointment. I just don't care about mentally deficient surfing freaks on Oz's west coast, all creeps.

Since I just posted this yesterday on last week's thread, I'm going to take the liberty of just pasting the whole thing anew over here:

My wonderful wife knows that I love reading old histories (that is, histories and biographies written several decades ago). So for our anniversary in May, she bought me (along with a cool The Wire sweatshirt) this book:

John Paul Jones: Father of the American Navy by Valentine Thomson.

The book has a copyright date of 1939 and a publishing date of 1942. I can't wait to dig in. Not only am I the only LTer with this book, but I have the only listing for this author. I ran a google search and couldn't find any biographical info, although Amazon does list several other books by him(?).

I'm now about 40 pages in and enjoying it very much.

#11 burnett > I also just started When you are Engulfed in Flames. That guy can make a trip to the post office funny. So far the book is great.

#40- I had a really hard time finishing Atonement I had heard such wonderful things about it that I really wanted to finish it, but it took at least 100 pages to get into it.

Good luck.

Maggie and I finished Gooney Bird Greene by Lois Lowry. It's a very cute book, and one that's as captivating as Junie B.. Great book for ages 6-10, and I liked it, too so parents of those in that age group. :-D It's a great classroom read, I know because I'd sat in on it when Mags was in 2nd grade.

My review for it is In the Shadow of Mt. TBR.

#48 -- My girls and I really enjoyed Gooney Bird Greene also. I read it to my kids after hearing their school librarian being moved to tears reading Gooney Bird and the Room Mother aloud to a class.

I just finished (and really enjoyed) Double Negative by David Carkeet. It's a quick, funny mystery that should appeal to all the linguists out there.

I just finished The Angle of Repose, by Wallace Stegner. My God, who says modern (well, relatively modern) American fiction isn't any good? Fabulous novel - it needs to move up several notches on the TBR stack, those of you who haven't read it. Definately best book of the year so far.

Not sure what to read now - I think I'll forge onward with Robertson Davies' Deptford trilogy with The Manticore as several LT'ers raves have inspired a renewed inerest for me.

I finished 2 ARC's I got from RebeccasRead.com one called Eclipsed by Shadow by John Allen Royce which I really loved. It was book 1 of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy. The other was called Did I Expect Angels? by Kathryn Maughan

I've started to read The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton.

#47 - I'm about 120 pages into Atonement, but it seems like nothing is happening. Does the action pick up after this section, or is the whole book slow?

Should finish Fredricksburg to Meridian, volume II of Shelby Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative tonight or tommorw. Then it will be on to all 1,060 pages of volume III, Red River to Appomattox.

#50: jhowell:

Wallace Stegner is a favorite author of mine. You might be interested in The Big Rock Candy Mountain or some of his nonfiction like Beyond The Hundreth Meridian.

I finished Strong Motion this morning and started Bright Shiny Morning.

#52, SpiraledStar No, not really. That's pretty much the speed of the entire book. My favorite part was the whole play thing and the cousins. But really, it's just like watching paint dry... no, not really... It's more like reading a report about the minutia of watching paint dry.

#55 and 52 -- Atonement can be hard to slog through -- I personally found the first part (inner thoughts of Briony) to be tedious, and after that it got easier. I read it for a book club, and it was one of our least popular books, but it did spark one of our best discussions ever. I also found myself thinking about the book for a long time after I had read it -- after finishing it and reflecting upon it I found I appreciated it more.

Finishing off The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse. Yuck.

Went ahead and started The Beautiful Cigar Girl. So far, so good.

On the agenda for this week: Continuing with The Class of 1846: from West Point to Appomattox from last week, which is very good, but lengthy, ditto for Good Omens, and then adding one from my personal TBR mountain, The Lost Men: The Harrowing Saga of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party, as well as a couple of library books, Incompleteness and Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy.

My Touchstones are wonky for some reason, and do not seem to want to work with any consistency. Sorry.

I am reading Escape byCarolyn Jessop and also Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio.

#50 jhowell - I personally found The Manitcore the weak volume in the trilogy; it was good, but nowhere near as wonderful as Fifth Business. World of Wonders, however, blew me straight out of the water. It's one of my very favourite books.

#52- Atonement did start to pick up for me after the dinner party, so I say keep at it for a few more pages. That being said I must admit it is one of my least favorite books this year. I did finish it, but it was a bit of a chore.

#23 richard: I've read about 70 pages of Children of the New World and, so far, I would recommend it.
ETA: This novel was first published in 1962.

#32 fred: I should imagine reading Absalom, Absalom! in the woods at night would add to the darkness of the novel itself.

I'm nearly through Lord Jim. It's my first Joseph Conrad.

Rather than trying to force myself back into any of the books I've started, I decided to do something very light and easy. Grabbed my copy of fairy tales by Hans Christian Anderson and read a few stories. I'd forgotten how much I love "The Snow Queen"! Even though it's a short piece, I read it very slowly, in order to prolong the pleasure of it.

I may go back to that tonight, or I might spend some time with Ovid or the Brothers Grimm.

Then again, it might be a good time for reorganization. I just got an SD card and want to transfer some of the books on Marius over to it. It might keep me more on the straight and narrow to only have a few books "checked out" on the screen at any one time. :)

>63 amandameale: amandameale, check that touchstone...I got to a Captain Marryatt book...it was a wee bit surreal at this hour of a Sunday. I have put Children of the New World on my Amazon wish list, since you've more than Pearl-ruled the book.

>65 Demiguise: Demiguise, Marius=Satan. Now you're telling me that, instead of being able to keep 200-300 books on the dratted thing, you can get another memory card and and and...(pause for hyperventilation) this might be worth looking into after all...wicked child, to tempt grumpy old men with shiny new technology.

mckait my angel, I have NOT abandoned Passage merely put it aside while I was screamingly busy! It's not fair to the book or the book-pusher to try a Pearl-rule on something I'm already inclined to chuck while I am in a tis-was. You recommended the book, therefore I will finish it; your opinion carries that kind of weight. Never would I be so callous as to simply abandon a book recommended by someone whose opinions I respect! Madam, what kind of Southern gentleman do you take me for? Hmmmph. ;-)

All re: Atonement, the pace is stately, the storytelling voice might not be to everyone's taste, but by gum this is a tale worth the time it takes to appreciate and absorb it. I venture to say that, even if the book ends up not being exactly to a reader's taste, the story will remain with them. I think that's a hallmark of a Very Good Story.

YMMV, of course.

Change in plans for me. I brought the wrong volume of Remembrance of Things Past on vacation, so I am diving into Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

Just started The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski.

In response to everyone discussing Atonement:

I actually found the book extremely easy to get through, but most of that was because I had seen the movie before I had read the book. I agree with richardderus: even if it's hard to make your way through the book, you will probably find that the story sticks with you for a LONG time. Something about that story really spoke to me, and I found myself becoming extremely involved with the characters. Although I did find that the middle section of the book went slowly for me, but that might have been because I thought that section of the movie was slow.

Just thought I'd throw in my .02 regarding Atonement. All I heard was how fantastic the book was, I couldn't wait to read it. It did start slow, then something exciting happened, then, well, sort of slow again. I thought the book was ok, definitely a let down from what I was expecting. I never liked the lead character, don't really feel she 'atoned'. I do think about the book, mostly I wonder why others liked it so much.

>66 richardderus: Richardderus re: Atonement, you said it exactly right. I found myself thinking about it long after I'd read it. Not until it was all said and done could I really appreciate how well-crafted it was.

>70 sydamy: sydamy, if you're still thinking about it, then the book succeeded! ;-0

All last week I was craving a pirate story. Guess the beach does that to you. Anyway, I'm starting Treasure Island and hopefully getting further along in The Elegant Universe.

rdearus...

I was joking of course!

I have more faith in you than that...
Please do not plod along if you do truly hate it, but perhaps 75 pages?

LOL

ATONEMENT takes awhile to Get Going and it never really Goes..that's not the point..the resolution of the story is all in hindsight...like it or not

as to the book of the hour, Atonement... IMHO, the movie was a great deal better.

>66 richardderus: richardderus, me? A wicked child? Tempting you with shiny technology? *bats eyes innocently* Why, you are the one who will be "sitting on the porch, a-reading an old-fashioned paper book", won't you? You wouldn't have any interest in a new-fangled techno-gizmo like my Marius. *grins*

But, yes, he can hold approximately 200 titles on his own. The 2GB card I have would hold.... *tries to calculate*... more books than I'll probably have time to read. So much for keeping my TBR pile neat and orderly!!

Started The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani last night and am really enjoying it so far. Set in Iran (I think) sometime in the not-too-distant past, it is the story of a young woman and her struggles to survive the patriarchical class system when she and her mother are left unprotected and and in poverty after her father dies when she is about 14 and just about ready to be married off.

# 25 Richard

Sorry wasn't ignoring you, but was still in the older thread. Didn't realize we had moved on.

Bone Song has some problems, but overall I just loved the setting that he made up. It is not just dark, but interesting. He has done a good job of making it seem thought out and connected to other things, rather than just a thin back drop for the story. He also works the details in well, and they don't impede the story. Of course I am sucker for 'dark' so it could just be me.

The writing was good, and flows along. It is not a long book, though if it had more pages there might be more depth.

I liked the characters, though because it is a hardboiled type of story he relies on stereotypes. Some are all stereotype and some just start out that way. His tough guy main character has a softer and thoughtful side that took me by surprise.

I didn't care for what he did at the end, in terms of killing off the love interest who was also the boss, and a superior is every way. He has some references to 'limp-wristedness' as a description of background characters that aren't cool (but may be an attempt to keep up the hardboiled theme, rather than personal prejudice). I would have hoped that he would have the courage and artistic chops to expand the theme and abandon the cliches.

Still I enjoyed it, and will import the next book in the series when it goes into mmppb.

I have a standalone of his, and his SF series, the Nulapeiron Sequence , but this is the first one of his I have read. The bad stuff I have heard about his other books is that he is too dark and nasty; which to me can be a plus not a minus.

I'm working my way through Lauren Willig's books (I'm currently on The Deception of the Emerald Ring) after reading The Scarlet Pimpernel. I'm also reading The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian for book club

>79 FicusFan: Ficus, not to worry about ignoring. It's easy to lose track of where one is in responding to stuff on the threads, and some things don't really need responses (see the demonic Demiguise above in 77, for example, all that eyelash-batting to cover wickedness, shame!).

I think your precis of Bone Song made it sound more interesting rather than less. Just how dark is too dark, and if a reader buys a book that clearly states it's dark, is there a reasonable cut-off between "what I expected" and "that's too much"?

Dunno. But it's clear that sometimes lines are crossed by authors doing their thing; I don't know if that's just hard cheese for the reader or simply a warning against buying the next book. In a comment you left somewhere, can't think where right now because I'm tired and need to go to bed, you mentioned that you weren't a huge fan of David Weber's because the different series appealed to you either a lot or not at all. I put the question to Mr. Man, who likes Weber, and he unfroze the Silent Treatment to gush about the Prince Roger stuff and wave rather limp-wristedly (ouch!) about Honor Harrington. Off Armageddon Reef, with its Church Militant and Ignorant themes, appeals to me in a completely different way than either of those would (sounds to me like I'd dislike both series, I sure as hell won't be trying Honor Harrington!). One day if it crosses your path, I'd say don't resist too hard.

>77 Demiguise: Demiguise, I am Not Speaking to You or Marius. I do not want to want this device of the devil. But 200 books in that amount of space...NO! NO! Retro me, Satanas!

>74 mckait: mckait, really?! You mean it?! Only 75pp and I can quit if I hate it?!? Oooo thank you thank you because I'm 83pp in and I just loathe this woman's writing. I love the story! Really a lot! But Ms. Willis and I occupy aesthetic universes not in contact with each other. I see that people of good faith and good taste could like this stuff, I mean these books, but I am not among them. *hangs head guiltily* I am defective, and sorry to have disappointed you. Out it goes! Off to Half Price, and toodle-oo tootsie.

At least it isn't like Lord of the Rings and all pompous and self-important and just plain boring.

Thanks Richard. My problem with Weber and Honor Harrington is that it was either mindlessly boring space battle vectors or pompous and boring politics.

Normally I love books with political dimensions, but Weber just bores me in those books. So the ...Reef.... book would depend on whether he is the pompous, boring, pedantic Weber or the I can tell a story in spite of myself Weber.

Actually I spent a weekend with him at a small con, very few fans, it was mostly academic. They had him, Yolen, and Cherryh and then didn't program anything for them. On top of that it was back in the expensive labor days, so the hotel didn't serve food on the weekends (wouldn't pay for the help). So there were few of us, and were constantly trying to find food. Anyway in person he is quite the story teller, very funny, and charming.

On Connie Willis:

I thought Passage was just a bad book. The ideas aren't thought through and the characters were lifeless and pale, and to me the story was a bore.

I say don't give up on her until you have tried To Say Nothing of The Dog. sounds iffy, and the book blurb isn't much better. I had to read it for a SF book group. Glad I did, because I never would have found it otherwise.

It is one of my top 4 all time favorite SF books, a solid 9 out of 10. Could probably be a 10, but I don't really use them because then you have no where to go.

Top 4
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
Starfish Peter Watts - Very Dark
(follow up was meh, and haven't yet read the 2 volume final book (evil
publisher))
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Faded Sun by C.J. Cherryh (Omnibus)

In terms of Meaney's darkness: The complaints I have heard were about the SF series, where I don't think people were expecting it.

But I think that if you buy something that is described as dark, you can't fault the author for it if its too much for you. Still everyone has their own personal limits so if you get something that is past your limit, then you have a right to stop. I suppose the problem comes when it isn't either marked well or at all, and you get people and books that don't match.

Hi fellow book lovers! I began reading NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN by Cormac McCarthy. Wow! Can't seem to put it down. Interesting writing style. Having a little challenge figuring out who the charters are and were they all fit in the story. I read ALL THE PRETTY HORSES a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I have seen the movie made of ALL THE PRETTY HORSES after reading the book and enjoyed it. Will be interesting to see the movie of NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. Have heard some several people it is good but none of them had read the book.
I also read ATTONEMENT last month. I did have a hard time getting into the story but I do remember it. Must say it took some inagination to develope the story line. Happy Reading everyone!

sighs at richardear and ficus..

I am so sorry that you didn't enjoy this book...
CLEARLY you both missed something.. ( LOL)

off to Half Price Books eh? I love Half price books.
I would love to work there.. the "local" one is hiring. It is way too far
for me to actually consider applying, and besides I am old and have no unusual piercings and only one small teeny tattoo... so I don't imagine they would hire me anyway.

I read Lincoln's Dreams by Connie Willis and didn't like it.
To top it off, it was a really nice used copy, but my kitty Morgan
pierced it with her little teeth when I slept past 5 am the other day..

( not a single word from you richardear!)

so, It will go to the humane society donation boxes instead of being mooched or traded.

I am reading the Wild Wood by Charles de Lint which is , of course, lovely..he is a favorite of mine..

Then on to?

I have a book I promised to mooch out to someone, so I think I will read that one.

I'm moving between Excellent Women by Barbara Pym and Half of a Yellow Sun. My current audiobook is The Lodger Shakespeare by Charles Nicholl.

I am reading The Man who made Lists by Joshua Kendall, a biography of Peter Roget, the guy who wrote Roget's Thesaurus. I've been on a biography kick lately...
I love Cormac McCarthy's style of writing, for me he is not only emotional but highly visual. The Road is heartbreaking but I highly recommend it if you enjoy 'what-if' scenarios.

I'm almost finished The Innocent Man by John Grisham. I'm not a fan of this author's novels, but my husband got me interested in reading this book of non-fiction. It's about a former professional baseball player who was sentenced to death in OKlahoma for a murder he did not commit.

I'll never quite think about the justice system in the same way again. This is an excellent, but very disturbing, book.

I'm reading Stealing Athena by Karen Essex, an ARC, which is turning out to be quite good. It's the story of Mary Nesbit, Countess Elgin, wife of Lord Elgin who took the marbles from the Acropolis in Greece to England. It's also the story of Aspasia, the concubine of Pericles, and the story of the marbles during their creation and installation. Both stories have some interesting hypotheses.

I'm also reading The Power Makers: Steam, Electricity and the Men Who Invented Modern America by Maury Klein about the advent of steam power and the electrification of America. It's very interesting but I can't read too much at once.

Following Cariola's lead, I'll also list my audiobook - To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian by Stephen E. Ambrose. It is excellent and I'm going to try to persuade my almost-15-year old daughter to listen to it.

I finished One Wish, a historical romance by Linda Lael Miller and the manga Gorgeous Carat Galaxy yesterday, tried to start The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley and couldn't get into that so I then started The Hollow by Nora Roberts, which is going along well.

Still working on Everything is Illuminated. I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I was afraid of being disappointed because of all the hype, but I think the book does a fine job of living up to it's buzz.

SqueakyChu, I truly enjoyed The Innocent Man and saw on bookTV a month or so ago that the guy who was convicted with him wrote a book of his experience. I haven't read it yet (have forgotten the title) but plan to as the story of this episode is riviting!

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray. Eventually I would like to have a copy with Thackeray's own illustrations, but for the first read I'm happy to go without.

I just finished Bonk by Mary Roach. It was thoroughly enjoyable, and my review is in Readerville

I've just started All We Ever Wanted Was Everything, which I received as an ARC but didn't get to until now...it's OK so far. Has anyone else read it?

Just finished A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand. I was especially looking forward to it because of all the great reviews, but it turns out I didn't like it so much.

Reviewed here: http://skrishnasbooks.blogspot.com/2008/07/summer-affair-elin-hilderbrand.html

In the process of reading Airframe by Michael Crichton, although I think I might start rereading It as well...after Insomnia, I need a dose of good King fiction.

Still reading Three Nights in Havana and still really enjoying it. Have just been distracted by summer visitors and visitors and more visitors... Also read a Zora Neale Hurston bio/scrapbook/reader gift book kind of thing called Speak, So You Can Speak Again by Lucy Hurston.

#12: dchaikin - I loved The Red Tent.

Currently reading Bad Blood: A Memoir by Lorna Sage, about growing up in post-war Wales. It's been on my TBR pile for awhile, so I was happy my book club selected it -- now I'll read it for sure! I like it so far.

>85 Cariola:: Cariola, those two (paper) books are quite a contrast! I suppose the Pym is a nice antidote with the Adichie gets too intense? Both books are excellent, in very different ways.

I just finished The Septembers of Shiraz yesterday and really loved it. Tonight I'll start Brother, I'm Dying.

Just finished the Portofino Deception by Jeffrey Stephens. I really enjoyed it and I like how the author is very good at character development. I hope to see more of this character in future books.

>82 FicusFan: Ficus...read To Say Nothing of the Dog and, following my own rules that I frequently break, I say nothing since I can say nothing positive. I'm of the opinion that Off Armageddon Reef is one of the "good-storyteller-in-spite-of-himself" books since I don't find it at all ponderous. Library, perhaps?

Top 4 SF for me, I fear, is pretty old school: Stranger in a Strange Land Dune the first, none of the sequels Forerunner Foray an Andre Norton that's stood the test of time and Pavane by Keith Roberts a real favorite!

>84 mckait: mckait, so if I understand the post correctly, Morgan is going into the Humane Society donation box...? That seems out of character.... As for Lincoln's Dreams, I can think of nothing on the planet that could induce me to Pearl-rule another Willis book. Have a peaceful first-weekday-in-solitude. Chat later?

>93 bnbooklady: yo booklady! would you leave the code for making hyperlinks in my profile? I have it written down somewhere and I can't dig anything up right now.

LOVE Mary Roach books! Ever since Stiff I have been a fan. I truly wonder what criteria are used to create touchstones for authors; I see no consistency in what kind of writer gets a touchstone, so I'm guessing it's ad hoc? Maybe I'm too impatient, but the FAQ gives me the vapors, so I avoid it.

Mr. Man finished Novel: A Novel last night at 11:50p. He wanted to laugh and giggle over it. I wanted to sleep since I have to be up at 5:45a to be at work on time. Anyone want a slightly used spousal equivalent who likes to read and hates to clean bathtubs? I got one for ya! Cheap! Heck, free! Just come get him.

I am 60pp into The Right Attitude to Rain and loving Isabel Dalhousie more than ever. I do want to warn her about those decade-and-a-half younger men, though...they tend to talk when you want to sleep. (She's in love with a man 14 years younger than she is in this book.)

#84 - I always see de Lint well-represented in the fantasy/sci-fi section of bookstores, but I almost NEVER see him on people's 'favorite author' lists. Why? Does he lean too far toward realism, or what? Curious...

Finally finished The Knight by Gene Wolfe. Boy and howdy did that take me longer than it should have. I was really looking forward to my first Wolfe, and I can tell he's good, but it was hard to appreciate the complexities of the world he built through his very simplistic prose. At times, Wolfe is ruthlessly efficient with language, and at times this seems to work against him. Or maybe I'm overthinking it. Anyway, I'll read The Wizard in a bit. Need a break.

Started the first few pages of Blindness by Jose Saramago. Yeah, this won't be a 'lite' read...

Oh richard.... the book, not Morgan and you know it!
As for trying to give away a man who doesn't clean bathtubs.. good luck with that. Most people that I know already have one of those...

Friends of mine.. the woman is 14 or so years older than the man.. She does mention not sleeping well...

I am about to read Amy Tan Saving Fish From Drowning, having just finished
The Wild Wood by Charles deLint. He has never written a bad book.. this one was way too short and way hard on the heart...so potentially sad, but as always filled with magic.

richardderus: Mr. Man likes to clean bathtubs? How quickly can you send him to Richmond? I'm sure Mr. Booklady would welcome any addition to our family who is willing to clean...if he's a good cook, too, he'll be a shoo-in.

A reading update: after finishing the second chapter of All We Ever Wanted Was Everything over lunch, I decided to invoke The Rule of 50--known around these parts as the Pearl Rule--because I just couldn't get into it....this inspired a new blog post about abandoned books in Readerville

Not sure what I'll move on to now.

#64 > Oklahoma, you've made me jealous. Imagine having all of Conrad to read for the first time again! I hope you're enjoying Lord Jim. I know Conrad doesn't resonate with everyone, but for me he stands with those authors who represent the peak of the reading experience.

I just posted my review for One More Year by Sana Krasikov In the Shadow of Mt. TBR. Overall, I was disappointed with the book. It was mostly just mneh

On to Tan Lines by J. J. Salem, whose first line is better than most of One More Year.

What's with all the Atonement hating, guys? I, personally, absolutely loved this book!

I finished reading Emma last night, and started The Hunchback of Notre Dame this morning.

Finished The Magician's Assistant Saturday and began Kafka on the Shore yesterday. My second read from Murakami and enjoying it immensely.

(LOVED my first Ann Patchett read, btw.)

Editing to add, will be reading an Ian McEwan novel in the course of my 888 challenge myself. With all of the back and forth on Atonement I don't know if that is the choice or not... lol. BUT the one I had decided on was going to come from 1001 Books you must read before you die. There are eight of his works contained on this list:
Saturday
Atonement
Amsterdam
Enduring Love
Black Dogs
The Comfort of Strangers
The Child in Time
The Cement Garden

Keeping in mind that I've read nothing by McEwan thus far... What do all of YOU think I should make my first from this list?

About 60 pages into The Watercooler Effect. It moves quickly, but unfortunately I think it owes most of its quickness to a lack of real substance.

#107 KinnicChick, I've only read Saturday. The writing was good, but I could not relate to the protagonist at all.

I have a bunch of books going. Fiction-wise, I've started the hefty, because it's all in one volume, Cornish Trilogy by Robertson Davies, with the first novel, The Rebel Angels. This is doubly thanks to LT recommendations, first encouraging me to read Fifth Business and then, when I immediately ran out and got the other novels in The Deptford Trilogy, telling me that this one was even better! It's just too large to take on the subway, though.

In the nonfiction department, I'm still working on Who Owns Antiquity? by James Cuno, Making Mountains: New York City and the Catskills by David Stradling, and Names on the Land by George R. Stewart.

After starting out a little shaky with Life of Pi, I decided to stick with it. So far I'm a little more than halfway through and am finding myself pleasantly surprised. I hope to finish it up in the next few days.

I doubt I will ever read an Ian McEwan . I have often been this * close to buying one, but just never got there. What I have read here has made me assume that my instincts were right for me..

Briefly started A Thousand Splendid Suns and I'm balancing it out with Eleven On Top. I figure if it's anything like The Kite Runner I'll need something light to go along with it.

For my read-at-work-when-we're-slow book I'm reading Wuthering Heights, a classic that I've never read or seen any film adaptations of, and I'm enjoying it very much so far.

#98 Yes, I AM enjoying both of them (though not in the same ways).

I managed to fit in a delightful little (121 pp.) book, The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett, this afternoon while waiting for minor work on my car.

#112 Oh, I love Ian McEwan's work--more his later novels, however, than the somewhat kinky earlier ones.

(But I did have to laugh when reading The Uncommon Reader this afternoon when Queen Elizabeth's jealous corgis steal a McEwan, drag it to the back quarters, and rip it apart.)

>112 mckait: mckait, leave McEwan for a time in your life where you have no other reads around. (snort) So surprised to hear you're giving Morgan away to the Humane Society! Are you at last coming to my understanding of Felis cattus as "Felis cattus Satanicus?"

>107 KinnicChick: KinnicChick, Saturday would be my first choice for a McEwanian deflowerment. I felt it was a deliciously inhabitable read. bazooka differs, I know, but that's what I like about the thread!

>103 bnbooklady: booklady, cuddle punkin, if Mr. Man would so much as lift the hair out of the drain-trap every other January I would fight off all and sundry (especially Sundry, nasty shifty little eyes that she has) to keep him nearby! To borrow a phrase from mckait, I'd resort to duct tape and staple guns to get him into the moving van. Alas and alack, he views the bathtub as a mini-cesspit that requires an EPA license to clean. Or so it seems to me.

Just began Foucault's Pendulum which is exciting because I've wanted to read this for forever.

I've finally gotten around to reading Hard Rain by Barry Eisler. If I'm not mistaken, they're making a film based on this book in the series.

I've just finished reading Power Play by Joseph Finder which was a wonderfully fast-paced book.

#107 - in order to read McEwan (and love him) you must be a true fan of character studies. Not a lot of action, but you'll find out everything about the major character(s). I've only read two Amsterdam and Saturday and would recommend Saturday as the better of the two. I have Atonement on the "short stack" (as opposed to the VERY big stack) of Mt. TBR.

#78 - I bought that book recently. Glad to hear you are liking it so far.

#86 - I agree that McCarthy is very visual. Try Blood Meridian for one that will definitely live with you for years.

Why don't I post here more? You guys are fun people!

#92 - I'm also reading Vanity Fair! However, I'm alternating it with On Beauty by Zadie Smith, so it's taking a while. I'm quite enjoying it though. I like Thackeray's light, slightly tongue-in-cheek tone.

#113 - I love Wuthering Heights. Glad to see you're enjoying it.

I'm about one-third of the way through John Dies at the End by David Wong. Really crazy, but I like it...so far.

I started Carmilla and 12 Other Classic Tales of Mystery by J. Sheridan Le Fanu over the weekend, for my takeout reading. It turns out I've read a few of the stories already from a previous collection, but what I'm really looking forward to is Carmilla! (The whole reason I bought the book in the first place.)

Last night, I brought out The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2006: Nineteenth Annual Collection edited by Ellen Datlow and Kelly Link & Gavin J. Grant for my bedtime reading. Eager to get into this... the YBFH books are always a special pleasure for me!

# 107 KinnicChick - I'm going to contradict the advice from upthread and suggest not reading Saturday first. It was my first Ian McEwannovel. I practically had to be browbeat to try another, and I'm really glad I did. I actually liked Amsterdam a lot, and I'm one of the people who did like Atonement. Just my two cents... or ooh! Another suggestion - pick one of the ones that are on both 1001 lists (the original version AND the revised version).

Myself, I've been reading several books at once for a couple of weeks and finished them all this weekend, so now I'm reading Justine by Lawrence Durrell and The Magus by John Fowles. I like them both so far, but Justine is fantastic. I can't put it down.

I'm still in the process of finishing After Dark, but as soon as I do, it's on to The Shadow of the Wind, which just arrived today.

#124 shootingstar - There is a brief conversation above about The Shadow of the Wind. It's an amazing book!

After reading a few YA books, it's time to turn toward something a little more adult. I'm just beginning Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick. I've been told it's great; I've been told is very boring. I guess I'll finally find out for myself.

**edited to correct wording**

#107KinnicChick: I am a McEwan fan. Start with Enduring Love. You might find Saturday a bit of a slog, and I don't want you to be put off.

I'm reading Write it When I'm Gone by Thomas DeFrank, off the record conversations of Gerald Ford. So interesting and an easy read.

Just finished The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler and started Small Island by Andrea Levy. So far so good.

And I have to agree with georgiadawn - Shadow of the Wind is one of those *special* books.

just finished Talk Talk which was excellent, though I thought the ending was a bit of a let-down.

next up: The Stars' Tennis Balls

#117 Foucault's pendulum is brillinat, I have the name of the rose waiting for me on my tbr shelf!

I love the mysteries of udolpho very much, despite the dodgy poetry!

I'm currently reading brick lane which is wonderful in its balance of tragedy with comedy. Although I think it's all about to turn ugly!

Currently finishing...

Nation by Terry Pratchett

Simplexity by Jeffrey Kluger

=======

Starting ...

Hunter's Oath by Michelle West

argh! richard! do not even suggest such a horrible thing!!!!!!! it makes me crazy...
and I hope I never get to a point where I have nothing but McEwan to read!!

Loved Name of The Rose

Have not yet read Pendulum. I do have the book.

I also have an actual pendulum. I have six or so in fact. I use it all the time.
Anyone else carry one?

No, but I loved Foucault's Pendulum and a must read, in my opinion, is The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana.

#123, jfetting, I read Justine and the rest of the Alexandria Quartet more than 30 years ago, but I remember loving it too.

Just finished The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo about an hour ago. I think I'm going to start reading Rebecca later today.

Today I'm started The Colour by Rose Tremain, a book about the New Zealand gold rush.

After invoking the Pearl Rule on All We Ever Wanted Was Everything, I started Love Is A Mix Tape and got through about half of it yesterday. I'm loving it so far!

#107KinnicChick - just adding my two cents. I read Saturday a few years ago, and I enjoyed it but found most of it very slow to get through. I'm hesitant to try another McEwan.

A side note about Saturday, someone posted on LT way back that it's a veiled criticism of Tony Blair. I'm not sure that is true, but thinking about that book that way made it more interesting to me.

I started reading the first few pages of Glimmer Palace this morning. So far so good, although a bit too early to tell. I'm hoping to finish it and review it at least somewhere NEAR the release date (Thursday).

#130: mrsradcliffe,

When you read The Name of The Rose you might find the companion book, Key to the Name of The Rose by Adele J. Haft helpful. Key provides translations of all the Latin in Rose and helps clarify some medieval theological points discussed by the characters in the novel. Don't let this put you off though, Rose is excellent.

#136 - 0bazooka0 - What do you think of The Colour? I am almost done with it. The first half was a little slow, but the second half really takes off. Great writing!

#141 CatieN, haven't started it yet, I was going to begin on my lunch break today. I'll let you know what I think :D

There wasn't anyone handing out freebie papers at the subway station this morning -- and therefore I didn't have a crossword to do on the train -- so I finished reading Alexander Hamilton, American. (Conveniently enough, right after I put my book away, we passed what on the local is the 28th Street stop. It's right before my stop, 34th Street.)

Fortunately, I'd planned ahead and brought another book. I started Conquering Gotham at lunch.

I've just started reading Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. I'm reading my Norwegian edition Midnattsbarn, and will participate in a group read and discussion at the LT group 'Group Reads - Literature'. I hope to receive an English edition in a couple of weeks.

#143, Anna Claire, How appropriate to need to start Conquering Gotham as you roll into Penn Station!

#128
What did you think of Anne Tyler's Amateur Marriage? Tyler was one of my favorite author's, but I thought her latest books lacked the magic her writing once held. For this reason, I didn't read Digging to America or The Amateur Marriage.

I noticed the book The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde is noted on quite a few LT libraries so I thought I'd give this one a try. Thus, far, I'm enjoying it. After this, I'm going to read Half a Yellow Sun..another book highly recommended by many LT folk.

I was feeling too lazy to to browse my shelves...Dreamside by Graham Joyce
Showed up today. I finished The Photograph so picked up Dreamside.

I'm reading Nefertiti by Michelle Moran. I've been waiting to read this book for a long time, it seems, ever since I saw it in hardcover. So far, it hasn't disappointed me.

#146, I've read both Digging to America and The Amateur Marriage, and loved them both. I think The Amateur Marriage is Tyler's best (of those I've read {9}), but it's not exactly a "feel good" book. She wrote Digging to America after the death of her husband, and I think it was a bit of an homage to him and his family. I thought it was wonderful. If you lived in my area I'd lend you my copies, but their "keepers" so don't go beyond the confines of San Diego County.

Thanks whymaggiemay! Your comments regarding Anne Tyler give me renewed hope.

Dinner at the Homesick Restuarant is a book I highly recommend to people. She writes of such poignant struggles to belong to..each other..a family..a significant other...

I'll be sure to read both Digging to America and The Amateur Marriage.

If I can make a suggestion....I'd like to recommend Alice Hoffman's books. If you like Tyler, you might enjoy Hoffman as well.

Going way back to comments by #12 and #17, I was interested in your comments re: Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer. I am finding this a little scary. I know this is a true story. Also, someone mentioned Wallace Stegner as being a favorite. He was a wonderful writer. You all might enjoy Mormon Country in addition to Angle of repose Agree with comments re:Ann Tyler.

Glad you brought up Stegner again. Crossing to Safety is one of my all time favorite books - I reread it every few years.

#151: I completely agree with whymaggiemay's comments about Tyler's books.

Well, this is a lively thread this week! I just finished Bitter is the New Black, which was fun and the perfect read for a week at the lake. It did run on though. She wasn't kidding when she said she liked to write about herself. A bit more editing would have been helpful. Still, you've gotta love a girl who can pull herself out of financial ruin by writing about her own vain self!

I went on to another chick-lit delight - The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble. It's a snap to get into, I'm more than halfway through and really liking it. After all that decadence, I think I'll need something deeper next. I'm thinking maybe Everything is Illuminated or Revolutionary Road.

#146 whisper, I have read only three Tyler's. The Amateur Marriage, Digging to America and Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant. I have a couple of others in my TBR pile which I look forward to reading. I agree with whymaggiemay and amandameale, but would rate Marriage and Restaurant above America!

I just finished Stealing Athena by Karen Essex, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I'll write a review at lunchtime.

I'm going to start One More Year by Sana Krasikov because it's an ARC and the pressure's on (I really need to stop requesting ARCs).

I'm also going to start Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet for my August bookclub meeting even though I won't get to go because that's my daughter's 15th birthday.

And, I'm still working on The Power Makers by Maury Klein which, when I'm in a nonfiction mood is quite satisfactory.

Yesterday I started Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. I've finished 2 chapters. The idea of the separate chapters to tell the story is interesting.

Olive Kitteridge has been one of my favorite books this year, recommended to everyone.

Started Rebecca yesterday, and I'm really enjoing it so far!

Just finished Love Is a Mix Tape, and my review is in Readerville

Getting ready to begin The Inheritance of Loss...I'm really looking forward to this one.

Wow! I go to the doc one day and look what happens! Place blows up, and y'all get chatty. Guess I'm a bad influence.

It's interesting how many people have strong ideas about Ian McEwan's books. To me that suggests he's doing something right! >107 KinnicChick: KinnicChick, whichever one you choose, just remember to give him a full Pearl-rule 50; if it's no go on whichever one you start with, try another one!

I'm still working on Deception of the Emerald Ring (nursing that one until I receive Seduction of the Crimson Rose from Amazon) and Glimmer Palace, but today I added Great Peacemakers, which I need to review for ReaderViews. It will be an easy one to fit in here and there, it consists of basically 4-page bios.

Last night after a drama-filled day, Mr. Man started reading The First Verse by Barry McCrea to me. Lovely prose, like the subject, generally a fun book in its first 25pp. My nod-off line (imagine this delivered in a Texan drawl): "But I was drunk and sick and sad and nervous; I would go inside, climb the four flights of stairs to my room and sleep all of this off, leaving Pablo Virgomare, like John, Sarah, Fionnuala, and everyone else as just another dark shape among countless others here in the Trinity night, lying invisibly in wait for the day to come again and divide them off legibly from one another."

And on to chapter 2 with my living audiobook. Side note: Do other couples among the biblioholics here read to each other? I was a little iffy on the whole prospect at first, but am a convert. Cuddling, being read to by, and then reading to Mr. Man has become something I really enjoy. Y'all have similar habits?

edited/typo

>164 richardderus: I read Imajica and The Lord of the Rings aloud to my wife (many) years ago as it was the only way I could get her to read them.

these days she reads for herself... and she listens in to whatever I'm reading aloud to our kids (currently Flush)

>164 richardderus: Richard, It's rare that my husband and I can sit and enjoy a book at the same time, but we will share favorite/funny/poignant, etc. excerpts of what we're each reading. We also read aloud to the kids, usually at the dinner table or just before bed.

We have a long tradition of my husband reading the Sunday paper out loud to me. I read all 7 Harry Potter books to my children, they liked some of my character voices more than the CD version......I love reading out loud and being read to. y sister and I used to lay toe to toe on a couch reading....fond memory!

I'm just starting Hornblower during the Crisis, time to read another one in the Hornblower series, I watched the Gregory Peck movie the other day and it got me in the mood!

Regarding reading aloud, I used to read aloud to my husband on long driving trips, I remember reading Communion aloud to him back in the '80's and frankly we were so spooked by it, it almost ruined our whole vacation! I think that was the last time I read aloud to him, though I have read tons and tons of books aloud to my son when he was little - he too loved my voices and accents -especially the Harry Potters!

I kinda suspected that it was mostly the kids who got the readings-to. Mr. Man has never had kids (to his intense relief) and so is, I think, getting those ya-yas out by reading to me. His parents weren't the readin'-to kinda folks, either, so I think it's just living an alternate past.

>165 anxovert: freelunch, It would seem you're one of the only husbands who's read to his wife in our limited sample. The idea of reading Imajica aloud has fried me up to re-read it with Mr. Man someday, the language in that book would really lend itself to such treatment. You can keep Tolkien, though. I'm far more hostile than your wife, if you'd tried to read those to me I'd've biffed you one. ;-)

Just finishing up The Mighty Walzer, by Howard Jacobson, and then hope to jump into Fault Lines, by Nancy Huston, and afterwards, Coetzee's Disgrace.

I am reading Gerard Donovan's first novel, Schopenhauer's Telescope. I'm about half-way through, interesting, thought-provoking, some information can be a bit mundane and go on and on as the main character uses knowledge as a route to power. However, I'm a big fan of Donovan, whose second novel - Julius Winsome - I read at the end of last year and which I couldn't fault at all. Just an amazing story with great psychological insight. Who knew you could ever feel sorry for a serial killer?

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. Just finished The Soul Thief by Charles Baxter. And before that The Sorrows of an American for a reading group.

I'm actually getting re-fascinated with fairy tales at the moment XD. I'm doing my own little study of some of the origins of our most favorite stories - and even their companionable remakes. Right now I'm reading: East of the Sun and West of the Moon by Ingri and Edgar Partin d Aulaire (Edith Pattou's remake of one of the stories in here is what lead me to reading this, her story called East), Beauty - A Retelling of the Story of Beauty & The Beast by Robin McKinley, and Shannon Hale's story The Goose Girl. They're all very childish, but I think they exemplify a lot of what we read today - and no doubt show the graduation of the imagination throughout time =8-).
If anyone else has any good suggestions of something that might be good for my study - do tell :), I'd be delighted.

I'm actually getting re-fascinated with fairy tales at the moment XD. I'm doing my own little study of some of the origins of our most favorite stories - and even their companionable remakes. Right now I'm reading: East of the Sun and West of the Moon by Ingri and Edgar Partin d Aulaire (Edith Pattou's remake of one of the stories in here is what lead me to reading this, her story called East), Beauty - A Retelling of the Story of Beauty & The Beast by Robin McKinley, and Shannon Hale's story The Goose Girl. They're all very childish, but I think they exemplify a lot of what we read today - and no doubt show the graduation of the imagination throughout time =8-).
If anyone else has any good suggestions of something that might be good for my study - do tell :), I'd be delighted.

I am loving The Colour, the writing is great without being pretentious. I love Harriet, what a great female lead!

Touchstones aren't working for me D:

richardderus: I wish we were one of those couples who read to each other...it's always sounded so romantic to me. We do share funny or powerful passages with each other--this drives him crazy when I'm reading David Sedaris or Bill Bryson, but we've never had dedicated time set aside to read to each other....probably because our taste is pretty different.

I've been reading Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales by the Grimm brothers and The Magician by Michael Scott. It's eventually going to be a fantasy series called The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, but right now Mr. Scott just has the first book, The Alchemyst, and The Magician written as part of his series.

I am reading War and Peace in Three Novels (The Cossacks, War and Peace, Anna Karenina) Complete and Unabridged.

I'm well into The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville and loving it.

>176 bnbooklady: booklady...I think that's sort of a point in favor of reading to each other! We pick books that aren't instantly obvious to one of us as a good read. We neither one would have picked The First Verse as a read-to book, but it's working out really well. Limit is 45 min or one chapter, whichever comes first. Veto power rests with the read-to, as in "this is giving me the pip, pack it in for tonight" and we can (and have) agree to abandon some books (*cough*The Kite Runner*cough*). Most often we're good about finishing what we start together, though it can be a chore if one hates the book (*cough*Lord of the Rings*cough*) the other wants him to love.

I don't remember reading anything last night, and today's bus read was The Right Attitude to Rain which is very appropriate for a city that's experiencing hurricane Dolly's feeder bands.

#104 I didn't enjoy Lord Jim until the last part of the book. Then it all came together and made all the of the first part interesting as well. I can't wait to get hold of Heart of Darkness now. I cannot believe I overlooked Conrad all these years!

I stated The Shadow of the Wind this morning, having bumped it up on the TBR list due to all the love it's gotten in here these past couple of weeks. I'm about a hundred pages in, and while I'm enjoying it I'm still awaiting that wonderful, magical point where the whole thing just clicks for me.

Just finished The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale and am trying to decide what to read next.

#183 ~ That's on my TBR list. How did you like it?

I'm reading A Tabernacle for the Sun by Linda Proud. Fabulous novel, set mostly in Florence at the very beginning of the Renaissance, when Lorenzo de Medici was in his twenties. Proud has a beautiful prose style, blended with wonderful insight - I keep marking passages. It's hard to find in the U.S., which is a shame.

#180 richardderus "which is very appropriate for a city that's experiencing hurricane Dolly's feeder bands" -- In Hempstead, NY (per your profile)? Or have you joined us in Texas for a bit?

179: teelgee - I've got a Grenville staring at me right now. I'll probably start The Secret River this weekend.

>182 xicanti: xicanti, while I hope it clicks soon, I suspect it's "merely" going to be a good read for you at this point. Maybe, though, when you get to about p300 or so, it will happen...I hope so!

>186 dchaikin: dchaikin, I live in Austin (as I have for the past 9 years) for now and am moving to Hempstead in *eep* two weeks OMIGOD I have a lot to do.

I put Hempstead on the profile because Mr. Man takes me seriously when I put things on LT. He wasn't sure I was really going until that day.

I am reading Olive Kitteridge from the library, and also Black by Ted Dekker.

#187 richardderus - I apologize, I'm too nosy. But I like finding out which lters are in my area. Good luck with your move!

I finished Tan Lines by J. J. Salem today... quite the sizzler, let me tell you! My review is In the Shadow of Mt. TBR.

Now I'm starting The Richest Season by Maryann McFadden. It looks to be a heartwarming story. I kind of need sweet, nice people to read about after these last two "brood of vipers".

I'm also reading Conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar :-\ for Penguin Classics. Feels like school on that one.

Working my way through Empress Orchid. I bought it after my 1st year university exams and I'm a graduate now so I thought I should get round to finishing it. I've been reading The beauty myth too. Trying to get them done since I'm off around the country on a series of long train and bus journeys next week so I want to start a couple of new books to take XD

#144

I'm reading 'Forføreren'. Erobreren. Oppdageren. (three novels in one volume, about 1,500 pages) by the contemporary Norwegian author Jan Kjærstad.

(And still reading Midnight's Children)

Still reading brick lane and not really enjoying the second half. I also keep getting distracted by the guardian.

I finished Hornblower During the Crisis by C.S. Forester and I must have been the only person reading this series who didn't know this book was unfinished due to Forester's death when he was writing it! It's 4th chronologically in the series. I enjoyed it, but was very disappointed that it was unfinished, since it was a good plot and it was just getting even better! But since there are many more book chronologically after this one, and Forester had left notes on this one, at least we know what happens to Horatio!

Finished Reecca by Daphne Du Maurier yesterday, and also started The War at the End of the World. Not quite sure if lhe latter is my cup of tea just yet.

Have started reading Veronika Decides To Die by Paul Cohelo.

#195 > I think you do need to have a big block of reading time to get into {The War at the End of the World}, then it can be a wonderful reading experience, dense, but wonderful.

#196> Look forward to your comments as Veronika is pretty close to the top of my TBR pile.

#181 > Oklahoma, I'm glad Lord Jim came together for you. It may well be my favorite single novel ever, although I am a particularly passionate Conrad fan, and I studied his work in depth during my graduate school days. You will be fascinated by Heart of Darkness, I think, if the last part of Lord Jim appealed to you. Some other Conrad recommendations (personal favorites), in case you're interested:

Secret Agent: brilliant use of shifting timeframes and a very penetrating look at human nature.

Victory: harrowing, with one of the most purely evil characters since Iago, but entirely compelling.

The Nigger of the Narcissis: a title that wouldn't pass muster nowadays, for good reason, and slow in parts, but again a great human nature study. If you've come to enjoy Conrad's style, you will like this.

Typhoon: a novella about a ship going through a typhoon. Short, and a thrilling ride.

Youth: another novella about a middle-aged man looking back at past glories through a growing haze of alcohol ("Pass the bottle.")

To be avoided: Nostromo. Overlong, with the first 150-200 pages nothing put exposition and dry as dust, I'm afraid. The second half of the book is exciting, I think, but don't know if it's really worth the work to get there.

Obviously, these are all based on personal tastes. I've read some opposite opinions about some of these works here on LT, so take everything with the knowledge that, again, I'm a particularly fervent Conrad exponent. Also, I had the benefit of a particularly excellent graduate seminar professor to guide me through most of these. Looking back on the list I just made, I suddenly remember that I read these all, and more, in a single semester! Ah, the good old days!

I finished John Paul Jones: Father of the American Navy by Valentine Thomson last night, and will spend some time with a few of my "Between Books" (anthologies and short story collections, mostly, that I read one entry at a time between the full-length books I read cover to cover).

Today it will be the chapter on John Coltrane in Gary Giddins' excellent collection, Visions of Jazz: the First Century.

After a few such, I will start Pope Joan, which I stumbled upon in Booksmith on Haight Street a few days ago. I'd never heard of it, but it looked interesting, and I've since spotted some positive comments about it here on LT, so now I'm very much looking forward to it.

My entire book club raved about Pope Joan. I thought it was thought provoking as well as a good read. We were able to set up a conference call during a club meeting with the author and she was delightful. I hope you enjoy it as much as all of us did.

I concure with hemlokgang regarding Pope Joan, my mother gave it to me to read some years ago and I loved it. I've re-read it twice since!

I forgot to mention that during the conference call with the author, she challenged us to guess the historical figure she would write about next, only hinting that it would be a famous French person. We all did a fair amount of guessing and have watched for years for a new book from her, but to my knowledge it never came out. If anyone knows otherwise I would love to hear about it.

#200 > rocketjk Not to mention that Youth is one of the funniest things that Conrad ever wrote. Disaster after disaster befalls the ship and the youthful protagonist just can't get enough of the excitement. Ah, the irrepressible exuberance of youth! You just know that all the older men on the ship wanted to tie him up in a sack full of bricks and drop him overboard.

>201 rocketjk: rocketjk, can't join the chorus of praise of Pope Joan since I loathed it, but DID enjoy John Paul Jones: Father of the American Navy a good bit. It was a brother-borrow, and was most reluctant to give it back.

Cataloging and packing my books. It's a task! I really hadn't processed just how *many* books make up a thousand, if that makes sense.

>189 dchaikin: dchaikin, no offense taken, and no sense of being invaded on my part. I have, I suppose you've noticed, been pretty forthcoming here. Perhaps a little more reticence on my part would help! But truly I took no sense of affront away from your comment.

Wish my arthritic hands luck in these next few weeks.
edited/stupid typo (preview function, please)

I finished The Templar, the Queen and Her Lover by Michael Jecks and I've started Bloodheir by Brian Ruckley.

T. R . The Last Romantic byH.W. Brandsand I finnished YA The Time Travelers by Linda Buckley -Archer.

#190 - Read Caesar's Conquest of Gaul earlier this year and found it fascinating, but I think I enjoyed The Civil Wars more. The version I read of it had Latin on the left and English on the right, and I kept going back and forth trying to see what, if anything, I remembered from my two years of high school Latin classes. Sadly, not much, but it was fun anyway.

I feel a wee bit like a bartender at an AA convention mentioning this, but have y'all been to Overbooked?

http://www.overbooked.org/

I find ever so many good reviews and tempting titles there.

Noooooo! What have you done? I can't even see the top of my own personal Mt. TBR, and you've gone and given me a tool to add more books to it. Bad, bad richardderus!

>211 Storeetllr: Storeetllr, Mr. Man promises to chastise me severely. He's already activated parental controls on our shared computer and blocked that site.

Lucky for me I have a laptop he can't get to.

#205 > Fred, true enough! But don't forget that Conrad loved to play around with narrative perspective, too. What I mean is, that story is told by someone looking back over many years and getting more and more inebriated as the telling proceeds (note the many demands during the story to "pass the bottle." So who knows how much of Youth we are supposed to believe as "true," as opposed to whether we're to see the tale as a humorous (absolutely!) look at how, as we get older, we tend to exaggerate and glorify our own past.

#206 > Richard, cool to find someone else who has read that particular John Paul Jones book, especially since my copy is the only one listed on LT. I found it a somewhat frustrating read, to be honest, because I thought Thomson spent quite a bit too much time describing the intricacies of French society. I get that Jones spent a lot of time there, but I thought the narrative bogged down in those spots. Overall, I was glad to have read the book, but I may go looking for another John Paul Jones biography (I have the Samuel Eliot Morison bio on Jones around here somewhere, in fact) just to get another perspective. I hope I like Pope Joan better than you did, but I'm definitely happy to be armed with varied perspectives.

Pope Joan is a recent read of my book club and we all really enjoyed it. It was just one of those books that kept my interest the entire way through.

I'm currently listening to Bonk by Mary Roach and am enjoying it so far. This is my first book of hers, so was pleasantly surprised by the little bits of sarcasm and humor she manages to fit in.

I'm reading Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult (finally!) and, of course, I'm loving it. Then again, it IS Jodi Picoult.

I just finished "This Boy's Life" by Tobias Wolff. It's an excellent memoir! I'm getting started on "In the Woods" by Tana French. I've heard so many great things about this book and I'm really looking forward to it!