What You're Reading the Week of 9 Dec 2006

Eclipse Dalton Trumbo
I only found time to complete Terry Pratchett's Thud! this week - must be sleeping better Oh, and just completed Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer a ,multi-threaded and well-written story that none the less felt incomplete..

I'm reading Bad Food Britain, which is depressing but fascinating at the same time. I seem to have had a good year for reading 'food' books, polishing off (PI) Insatiable (Uk title of Horsemen of the Esophagus), Fast Food Nation, and various other similar titles. I might treat myself to a new cookery book after Christmas if no one buys me one, as I fancy the most recent Nigel Slater...

I've finished reading on 0800H GMT of Dec. 8 , 2006 the book A good year by Peter Mayle. The book is good, the story of an Englishman who inherits a vineyard in France from his deceased uncle. I will watch later today the movie version by Ridley Scott.

Next I will read Running with Scissors.

Siege of Darkness by R.A. Salvatore. I haven't read anything with literary merit lately, but I can't recall the last time I smiled so much while I was reading. I loved these books when I was in junior high school, and I'm having a great time rereading them. Unfortunately, this is the last of the series that I actually own right now; I'm eagerly awaiting some future volumes from BookMooch, but it's going to be difficult to wait for them to arrive.

Right now I'm reading Christy by Catherine Marshall and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens for two yahoo groups that I'm really behind in. I hope to finish them both up this week and get caught up on some other reading! I have a stack of over twenty to read that I've acquired this year but haven't had time to read. I also have a library list about twenty books long to go through. So little time......

Listened to A Christmas Carol (as read by Jim Dale) this afternoon - it was really quite good, considering that my previous exposure to the story was of the Mickey Mouse variety. Plan on starting Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro tomorrow.

I'm also currently reading Sea Dragon Heir by Storm Constantine... I picked up the new paperback a few weeks ago for $2.25 at the campus bookstore. I needed a break with some brain-numbing fantasy, and it's doing quite well at that. Plus, it features twincest, which makes me think of the comic every time, which makes me giggle.

As The Crimson Petal and the White is 800+ pages long I'm still reading it. But what a good read. It's by Michael Faber. In this 21st c. novel set in Victorian times in London, prostitution figures more predominantly than in the works of Dickens & Thackeray. You never know perhaps Queen Victoria would have enjoyed it.

hazelk: see last week's messages for more on Michel Faber

Still working through The Meaning of Night; A Confession and have started Talk to the Hand although it doesn't seem to have the same sparkle that Eats, Shoots and Leaves has. Seems more forced. For example she has a summary for each of ther six good reasons to stay home and bolt the door, and that seems enough, she really doesn't need to write more to get her point across. Oh well, I can always put it down and pick up somethng else.

I'm working through Gabor Boritt's new The Gettysburg Gospel, which is not particularly worthwhile so far. I'll also probably read The Iraq Study Group Report today (which does not appear to be touchstoning yet). Now that the semester is finally ending I'll be able to pick up the pace again, which is delightful!

I'm onto A Yellow Lighted Bookstore by Lewis Buzbee, while taking detours into How to choose wine.

#8 amandameale: thanks - I've noted the recommendations re Michael Faber. So, when I finish this one......

Another Vince Flynn book bites the dust. Now onto Memorial Day, starring the great Mitch Rapp.

Recently finished Looking Good by Peter James. It started well, and for a while I found it gripping, but it turned out to be the usual incompetently plotted mish mash that passes for a popular novel these days. Full of red herrings.

Still reading The Letters of Ayn Rand. It's just what is says it is, some of her letters, in mostly chronological sequence; but I'm racing through it because the letters throw light on a fascinating personality and very dramatic life story.

I'm still reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn but since I'm only reading a chapter or two at a time, it may take me awhile.

I'm starting Beyond Religion by David Elkins. The subtitle is "A Personal Program for Building a Spiritual Life Outside the Walls of Traditional Religion."

For fun reading, I'm either going to read the YA book Uglies by Scott Westerfeld or Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.

I just finished up Fiasco, which is a reasonably good survey of events to date in Iraq. Now it's time to return to the "Good War" in the form of Fields of Fire.

I just finished Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn which was absolutely fantastic, I can't wait until I can get to the bookstore to buy the rest of the series.
Now, I'm beginning to read Rules of Ascension by David B. Coe, it is interesting so far.

Kissing In Manhattan by David Schickler. A little different, but interesting.

got behind in messages and only just catching up so haven't added my reads in a while.

currently I'm reading
Trickster's Queen
Natural History
Dragonbone Chair

Trickster's Queen is my primary read.

Just finished Paula Fox's The Coldest Winter and went to the bookstore to get her earlier memoir, Borrowed Finery.

Still reading and loving Paris Stories by Mavis Gallant and The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright, readable and fascinating.

Having just finished entering all my mystery books into LT, I think I may start reading one now.

I've just started The Blood of Ten Chiefs, an Elfquest prose story anthology. I'd planned on getting into The Name of the Rose next, but I don't want to get into anything too long and involved as I'm waiting for a couple of higher priority things to come in for me at the library.

Still reading London by Rutherfurd, an extremely long novel that started out (in prehistoric times) a bit tedious but which has now (as of 1078 A.D.) become a real page-turner.

#6 and #15 - I read Never Let Me Go for a book club earlier this year. It received mixed reviews from members of the club, but it's one of the best books I've read all year ~ maybe in the past 5 years ~ and I've started reading others by Kazuo Ishiguro as a result. I'll be interested in your opinions.

#17- I love Sharon Shinn's Archangel series, but wasn't quite as thrilled with Mystic and Rider. Still, I really like her writing, so will probably read the rest of that series. Sedelia ~ have you read Shape-Changer's Wife yet?

Also, forgot to mention above that I just finished Jennifer Egan's The Keep, a strange but compelling story.

I just started A great and terrible beauty by Libba Bray and am enjoying it so far. I haven't read anything set in Victorian Britain for a while, so it's a nice visit.

I just picked up Haunted: a tale of the Mediator and Hero with a thousand faces from the library this afternoon, and I hope to get going on those in the next couple of days. They both sound intriguing!

Started The Penelopiad a few days ago. I'm taking it in nibbles (because this is the last week of the semester and I still have quite a bit of grading to do), but I loved it from the start. Looking back at the Odyssey from Penelope's perspective? A Greek chorus of the hanged handmaidens? What's not to love?!

I'm reading Weatherwitch by Cecilia Dart Thornton; Shoot the Puppy by Tony Thorne; and What Came Before He Shot Her by Elizabeth George, and a pile of boring reports for work...*sigh*

Just started Is there anything you want? by Margaret Forster, which was acquired through the Christmas exchange at one of my reading groups. Then planning on continuing the trawl through one that has been sitting by the side of the bed for some few weeks - 1599 by James Shapiro in tandem with an excursion into The remains of an altar by Phil Rickman. All of which is dependent on workload, alas...

Finished Trickster's Queen now concentrating on Natural History

It's My Party and I'll Knit If I Want To snuck in last night in favour of the last chapter or two of Bad Food Britain (which is worthy reading but not great bedtime relaxation. Leads to literary indigestion and guilt.)

>30 BoPeep:

I read It's my party and I'll knit if I want to a while ago and really enjoyed it. It's a fun read sometimes the books about knitting are almost more fun than the pattern books.

Yes - I'm on the lookout for a genuinely good 'knitting novel' (the examples I've found so far have been rather unimpressive). Perhaps I should write one. :)

BoPeep: I haven't been to a McDonald's or a Burger King since I read Fast Food Nation when it came out. A parallel fiction book that complements it perfectly is My Year of Meats by Ruth L. Ozeki. I highly recommend it.

beckbart: I don't know if it's urban legend, but Hero with a Thousand Faces is supposed to be the book that inspired George Lucas to write the first Star Wars (episode IV).

This week, I've started Death on the Nile and will move on to either Eventide by Kent Haruf or Bloodsucking Fiends (a reread) by Christopher Moore.

Thank God for my Public Library.

#28: 1599: A Year in the life of William shakespeare was one of my top 5 for 2006. Marvellous.

#22: Ishiguro is a really good writer. When you've finished Never Let me Go try his Remains of the Day - excellent.

I just finished From Hell by Alan Moore, which was amazing. I enjoyed the appendix at least as much as the actual book.
Since From Hell was a little too big to carry around, I started reading Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day at the same time. I only recently read Never let me go, which easily was one of the best books I've read in years, and I'm already loving The Remains of the Day as well.

Hello all. I just joined LT this week and know I'm in trouble already. I spent only a few minutes browsing today and already added 4 books to my "to buy" list. Anyway, I'm just finishing Sixpence House by Paul Collins. I've got about 30 pages to go and while I haven't been wowed, it has had some interesting bits about England and the history of books. If you haven't heard of it, it's about a writer (Collins) who goes to a town in England to live for a time. The town only has about 1,500 residents, but 40 bookstores and the story is about his family's search for a house and what it's like to be surrounded by books and book lovers.

Hazelk - Looking forward to seeing if it reminds me of Elizabethan World picture by Tillyard - a book I last handled 30 years ago.

Boccaccio: The Decameron
Ezra Pound: Selected Prose 1909-1965
Herodotus: The Histories
Francoise Malet-Joris: Signs & Wonders
Thomas Wolfe: Look Homeward Angel
Southern Comfort: The Garden District of New Orleans
St Augustine: Confessions
The Catholic Comparative New Testament (8 different translations)....it is Christmas after all.

I have too short an attention span to read books sequentially so that's what I have on the go right now.

re: 36 >> I just finished From Hell by Alan Moore, which was amazing. I enjoyed the appendix at least as much as the actual book.

Same here. I almost never read endnotes, but Moore's sucked me in. I loved how you could tell that he knows most people read endnotes, too; some of his little comments were priceless.

I just finished Rabbit Redux by John Updike. I'll probably start The Emperor's Children next, time permitting.

Just started reading Natasha And Other Short Stories by David Bezmozgis

>32 BoPeep: I know I'd read it!

Had a couple of bus trips today and finished natural history started on Shadowmancer

I have started, and abandoned we need to talk about kevin by lionel shriver this week, and am now reading the Earthsea books by Ursula K. Le Guin and thoroughly enjoying myself.

I'm currently reading The Cider House Rules by John Irving and Kill Me First by Kate Morgenroth.

> 32: I'll read it too! Maybe you should plan to participate in National Novel Writing Month next year. What better way to make yourself sit down and write a book?

>37 fmcgraw:: I thoroughly enjoyed Sixpence House and with all its flaws and omissions, felt it was one of the more worthwhile books of my 2006 reading time.

Having finished up my own novel during November, I passed to reading Death at La Fenice, thus fulfilling a promise I made my sister in 1993 to read the darn thing. Donna Leon truly does evoke the smells and feelings of Venice, a place I've only been in the off season. I don't think the writing's the tippy-tippy-top, my ownself, but I love the careful layering of Leon's characteristics. We're not smacked with tics, we're allowed to experience behaviors as Commissario Brunetti, our hero, does. Highly recommended for mystery fans, with the caveat that the true crime in the book will distress the delicate of sensibility far, far more than the murder does.

Also finished Time Patrol by Poul Anderson this weekend. Time travel is one of my sucker points, and this is a really well-crafted series if stories in one fat volume.

I need a bus read now...maybe Booked to Die by John Dunning, if I can find the darn thing.

I am currently reading The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving and Fast Food Nation. I am also trying to slug through Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Next up will be Special Topics in Calamity Physics.

I'm reading The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks, after my bf recommended it to me. I previously was appalled by The Business, but am enjoying TWF although a little stomach churning to read on lunchbreaks.
I'm trying to track down a (cheap eBay) copy of Never Let Me Go for my dad's Xmas present after enjoying reading it earlier this year.

Started and finished Down and out in London and Paris by George Orwell over the weekend ... pretty fascinating stuff ... then, toward the end, Orwell includes a small chapter on then-current swear words ... and all of the swear words are edited out! ... It's stuff like, "Nowadays, most people say things like ----, ----- or ------." ... with actual "lines" in place of the words! This is a semi-recent reprint, so I have to wonder if the text was edited this way orignially ... it was pretty funny in a way ... anyway, just started The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe ... quite the sense of menace in this one.

Although I'm still reading Saturday by Ian McEwan, I have been seduced away from it by Vampire Loves (touchstone linking to the wrong work), by Joann Sfar. This is a graphic novel that caught my eye when I was staying at a friend's flat over the weekend, and she very kindly loaned it to me. A cute and amusing collection of stories about Ferdinand the Vampire's love life, I love the illustrations and the colours. I haven't read many graphic novels before, but on the strength of Sfar's work, I'll definitely consider it if I can find any as good.

--> 51

Oh, I love the work of Joann Sfar!

I by chance happened upon a copy of The Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar in an independent book store. I found this book to be just fantastic with its amusing story, rich cultural material, and excellent artwork. I'd highly recommend that book. It was my favorite graphic novel of 2006. Do look for it.

Persuasion by Jane Austen.

I picked up My Best Friend's Girl on the way out this morning, to read on the bus, and regretted it. I nearly burst into tears twice on the bus, and again in the (looooong) queue in the post office... but it's a good page-turning read, just a bit too emotional - for me, at least.

Finished Broken English: An Ohio Amish Mystery.

Now reading Marie Antoinette: The Journey and listening to The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.

Reading The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh set in the Sundarbans, a place of many islands and waterways in the Bay of Bengal. Fascinating setting.

>52 SqueakyChu:

Ah, recommendations! Thanks, SqueakyChu. I'm completely captivated by this book, and would love to read more of his (?) work.

It’s rare that I read every short story in a published collection, usually choosing a story here and there, but I deviated from this habit when I finished John McGahern’s The Collected Stories.

As with most short story collections whereby you can see the author’s writing skill develop, McGahern’s style and vision seem to have been already formed when he started to write. The early stories have the same confidence, humor and grace as the last. One of things I like about his writing is that he avoids any stylistic flashiness in favor of a modest fluid prose, and avoids any pastoral vision casting a sentimental eye over his subjects (it’s more of a dark vision). It’s only when he makes an occasional pitch into philosophizing that his writing becomes shockingly laborious and dull, which in a lesser writer would be no more than a fleeting wrong note sounds like a whole sustained chord gone out of tune. Maybe they’re so startling because, fortunately, they’re so rare.

I’m admittedly a tainted witness when it comes to giving an opinion of McGahern’s work, but some of these stories hold their own with any of the masters of the form.

Just started to re-read The Secret History for a discussion group. I think the last time I picked it up was in 1998.

mdbenoit: I had heard that about Hero with a Thousand Faces as well but, like you, am unsure of its authenticity. Have you read it? I am enjoying it so far, but I'm only a chapter in.

I just picked up Catch-22 from the library today and am eager to start it. It's been on my "future reads" list for years!

I finished A Great and Terrible Beauty over the weekend and was largely unimpressed. It wasn't awful but it wasn't great either. I also read Haunted: a tale of the Mediator yesterday and quite enjoyed it! I picked it up because it was a "Special Sauce" recommendation for Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and it was bang-on.

Shadowmancer wasn't my cup of tea, way too much christian allegory for me
since then finished Greenstone Grail which was a much better YA fantasy; Mercy which was so-so; Jodi Picoult is a tad predictable, her twists are a bit too huge problem in front of protagonist and The Thirteenth Tale

Currently reading The Blanchland Secret as a palete refresher. I'm only about a half hour from finishing that one.

Just started One Good Knight by Mercedes Lackey while I'm waiting for some other stuff to arrive. I found The Fairy Godmother a lot of fun, so I'm hoping this one is up to snuff.

I just now finished Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. I didn't like it. It was too long by, oh, 800 pages, and it was full of dreary postmodern cliches. If you would like to see postmodernism done correctly, read Thomas Pynchon.

I'm 100 pages into the sloppy but emotionally warm Operation Wandering Soul by Richard Powers. It's not the best book I have ever read, but it has pulled me out of my brief but intense David Foster Wallace-induced depression.

becbart 61-

i think you'll love Catch 22 - one of my all-time favorites, hilarious with a cutting biting take on warfare.

I have been reading Lobster by Guillaum Lescasble--a story that combines lobsters, the Titanic, Paris, New York opium dens,and sex into one slim weird volume. I'm rereading Persepolis which is a great graphic novel for my book discussion Thursday night and am just about finished with The Thirteen Tale.

Found, read, loved Booked to Die by John Dunning and now next up is The Bookman's Wake by the same. HEartily recommended for mystery readers.

Got a Christmas gift of Eric Flint's The Rivers of War and since it's alternate history about Sam Houston, what good Texan like me could keep that on hold?!

I'm reading A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby and really enjoying it. Next on my list is The Yellow House by Martin Gayford about Van Gogh and Gauguin when they shared a house...anyone read this? Quick review for me? :o) I'm trying to decide if I should give it as a Christmas gift.

This is a busy month. I'm finding that I have spent more time looking at and buying books than I have reading them!

Abandoned Remains of an altar. Far too many ley lines for my taste.
However, while waiting for a meeting to start in a Library, I was beguiled and subsequently seduced by The evening of the holiday by Shirley Hazard. A perfect, golden, peach of a book.

I just have to come to the (somewhat half-hearted) defense of Infinite Jest ... does it live up to its hype as some kind of masterpiece? Not exactly, but it's a very good book if you enjoy post-modernism (and/or tennis) ... IMHOPynchon is the one who is over-rated ... like Vonnegut or Tom Robbins, that kind of disingenous writing drives me crazy. Of course, I can't stand Richard Powers either ... to each his/her own!

I finished reading The Lambs of London by Peter Ackroyd, and while the book was good and interesting in and of itself, I have a major quibble with the title. I expected it to be about Charles and Mary Lamb, who have a fascinating story. While they were part of the book, and the huge crisis in their lives and the way they live with it after is squeezed into the last chapter, it's primarily about another historical figure, William Ireland, who claims to have discovered a sizeable cache of Shakespeare papers. So, while I enjoyed the book for itself, now I really want something that focuses on the Lambs.

I started listening to The Hungry Tide yesterday, mostly on SqueakyChu's enthusiasm for it. I'm still reading The Big Rock Candy Mountain, which is excellent thus far.

About to start Solaris by Stanislaw Lem ... I've seen the original movie a number of times and loved it, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the book.

becbart: I found that, for a book of non-fiction, Hero with a Thousand Faces is eminently readable. I really liked the connections he made between the different cultures, as well as his take on "the quest". The latter part of the book is a bit more difficult read.

Yesterday I started Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I've not given it quite my full attention yet, which I find a problem when starting a book - I like to read at length the first time I pick up a book.
And I know it's a cliche but I hope it's as lucious a read as its cover suggests!

I'm still reading Beauty by Robin McKinley. Unfortunately it's not holding my attention too well, but I'm expecting/hoping it will get better :-)

I finished up Fields of Fire (see my review) and am now moving on to Imperial Life in the Emerald City.

Hi, DL ~ after you finish McKinley's Beauty, try Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper, another retelling of old fairy tales. I've read it a couple of times and enjoyed it both times. It's really quite different than one would imagine, kind of macabre and even a little sad at the end. Not a happily-ever-after romance.

-->71 KromesTomes:

I hope you have the audio version I had. The reader was terrific.

The Comedians by Graham Greene - brilliant so far. Also finished Cyclops last night (scary stuff before bed) and started Medea in Greek. She's not so sympathetic out of translation, but Jason is still a PIG.

I finally finished Dracula by Bram Stoker which I really thoroughly enjoyed. I think it must have been so imaginative and scary and shocking for the readers during that time. I always thought it would be written very dramatically and sensationalisticaly (is that a word? lol) and it really wasn't.

I also finished A year and a day-a novel by Leslie Pietrzyk. This book was okay but she her wrting about inner thoughts was a little too obvious for my liking and the story was okay but not great.

I am now reading Disgrace by J.M Coetzee. I am excited for this book as I am South African and enjoy books set there. I am also reading The Dubliners by James Joyce and I will let you know how that goes

eday6: Cloud Altlas is unusual but worth the effort.
keren7: loved Disgrace and Dubliners

I finished Chris Adrian's new novel The Children's Hospital yesterday and thought it could easily have been a hundred pages shorter. I found it exceedingly longwinded at times, and to compound my occasional frustration, there were several unnecessarily distracting point-of-view shifts now and then as well. But even with these acknowledged flaws, warts and all, I still thought it was just a brilliant book, and easily one of my favorites of the year. That being said, I'm reluctant to give it any sort of blanket recommendation, because it's certainly not a book for everyone: an example of magical realism taken to the max, an allegorical fairy tale for adults partially narrated by an angel; but still, I think that for a few of the more undauntable readers out there, it's probably a book that shouldn't be missed.

Stor-Thanks for the suggestion :-) I read a bit more of Beauty last night and it is getting a bit better.

I'm also going to check out another book I heard about called Golden based on the tale of Rupunzel. It looks interesting. Have you read it?

New Selected Poems 1966-1987 by Seamus Heaney this afternoon.

Gesley Kirkland's autobiography. I actually don't like it all that much; it's poorly written and really self-absorbed, but I'm a sucker for dance books.

Dirty Magic: by Carol Hughes

DL ~ No, I haven't read Golden. Who wrote it?

BoPeep, I've been carrying Heaney's District and Circle around with me for the past few weeks. There's none better than Seamus.

I am currently working on The Mists of Avalon. When I finish I will start on my 2007 Reading Challenge (http://www.listsofbests.com/list/20621/compare/cjacklen), which is all classic literature.

BTW, if anyone has any suggestions for my list, please let me know. I was aiming for a good sampling of all types of classic lit, but I know I have missed some very important works.

CJacklen ~ So, I was just wondering: what's on your list of important works now? One of my resolutions (in general, not only for the new year) is to read more classic literature between & amongst all the lighter fare. This year I read Pride and Prejudice, Of Mice and Men (a reread), and The Great Gatsby.

Finished The Blanchland Secret; Nightingale's Lament; Temptation Calls and The Big Over Easy now onto Deadlines and D**kheads by Anne Gildea which is an example of how to make a book un-touchstoneable, though the problem may be that the system hasn't refreshed yet.

The Silent Blade by R.A. Salvatore. This is the first of these books that I haven't read before, so I'm looking forward to it... but at the same time, I'm worried I won't enjoy it as much as the rest of the series. I guess we'll see.

As the days grow too short and the clouds too dense up in northern Minnesota it is time to reach for laughter. Jasper Fforde is usually good for that so time to reach for The Well of Lost Plots. stockpiled for emergency use some time ago. For the more serious moments, The Little Ice Age by Brian Fagan may help me think about why it is a tropical 40 degrees in Duluth in mid-December. Just finished Baited and Switched.

Just finishing Hundred Dollar Baby by Robert B. Parker. Hey, it's a Spenser novel, so take it as it comes. Wish I could write like that. The man understands sentences.

My current literary endeavor is Justine by Lawrence Durell. It's far more elusive than I was led to believe.

edub, I just reread Justine last year, and 'elusive' is quite an apt description I think, but truly a terrific book. I recall the first time I read the Alexandria Quartet, that it was only after I read Mountolive, the third book, that I finally understood everything that went on in Justine.

Finished deadlines and d**kheads now onto Living next-door to the god of love which is very interesting and a sequel to Natural history which I'm not long after finishing.

Justina Robson is proving to be one of this years interesting fiction writers. I found her by accident while getting some books back from a borrower.

Just started Further Under The Duvet, a useful 'bus book' for dipping into and out of on journeys.

I zipped through Imperial Life in the Emerald City and am now moving on to something completely different: Sea Dragons.

Stor-Golden is by Cameron Dokey

living next-door to the god of love was interesting, followed up by Night Watch and Hex and the City by Simon R Green, of course I read these in the wrong order but that happens, they're still an engaging series of books with great characters.

Now onto Agents of Light and Darkness and the Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder the latter is for a reading group.

Louis,
I just finished this book. I agree with your opinion as to the parts that seemed longwinded but I also agree that this was an outstanding book. I finished last night and the story refuses to go away. I keep thinking that I missed something. I would not recommend this book for any of my face2face groups as I do think would not be for everyone's taste but it would make a wonderful discussion book none the less !

Jeannie

Louis,
I've never posted here before and I see that the way the messages are coming up that "this book" could mean just about anything. I am referring to The Children's Hospital by Chris Adrian

Hi Jeannie, and I'm really glad you liked The Children's Hospital. As wonderful a book as it was, and as much as I loved it, you can easily understand why I've been somewhat hesitant about making a blanket recommendation on it so far, but wow, it's still a knockout, and I won't be forgetting it soon either.