What are you reading right now?

It's official! We're all off and running (albeit at different speeds) on our Challenges!

What book are you reading now? How did you choose to start your reading year?

I'm beginning with one off my German language category as I think I may need a bit of a running start here. I've begun with Stumme Schreie (The Indian Bride) by Karin Fossum as I've read another of her dark, Scandinavian mysteries in English and really enjoyed it.

(edited to correct egregious error as noted by jebronse (thank you))

#1 Actually, Fossum is Norwegian ;-) But I do agree she's a very good writer.

I'm reading De welwillenden - Les bienveillantes by Jonathan Littell.

I decided that I must start the year with Blessed Unrest--I want to be inspired by all those people who thought they could make a difference--or forged ahead anyway when they weren't sure they could.

I've started Soldier's Heart by Elizabeth Samet because it's an ER book and I need to review it--I saved it for my Books about Books category.

I've also started Doomsday Book by Connie Willis because my grandsons gave it to me for Christmas (they are ages 6 and 3--their Dad picked it out--he's my son that wants me to read more scifi/fantasy) and I can fit it into my 999 Fantasy category.

These two are the only 999 books I have access to because I'm not home yet from my Christmas break.

I'm starting with Emma for my Jane Austen category.

I'm starting with The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen.

I'm almost finished with The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig, and then I'll continue on with the series- the first two go in my "Re-reads" category and the next two in my "Historical Fiction" category. Off and running!

I'm jumping into the deep end with both feet with The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, but since I just woke up, I think some breakfast and coffee is in order before I get started!

It's *possible* I read two of my books before the year officially started -- L.A. Confidential, which I *loved*, and The Eyre Affair, both for my Mysteries category. They were the books I had with me over winter break!

I've just started The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley -- I'm about three chapters in -- for my SciFi/Fantasy category. I'm loving it so far, I'm a real sucker for Arthurian legend and feminist retellings. I'm flying to Dublin today (I've flown five times in the past two weeks, delayed every time, so I'm getting a lot of reading done) so I'll probably get through a fair bit of the book. If I don't fall asleep after last night's festivities.

Oh, and Neverwithoutabook, I adore the Inferno, and am hoping to finish up Paradiso this year.

I wanted to hit the ground running with this challenge and the reading year in general and have chosen to start with Fables of Aesop which I thought would be a simple, quick read. And it sure is quick enough, however, I didn't anticipate how tedious and utterly banal most of these fables are. Seriously, from a historical point of view this is probably quite important, but some of those stories are often mind numbingly dull and utterly forced.

Ah well, one more book to take off my 1001 books list. ;-)

@ Neverwithoutabook; I'm also reading the Divine Comedy! Don't know if I will be able to finish it, since it's quite a big book. I must read all the footnotes, otherwise I won't understand everything. But I find it very interesting!

I have started in another book as well: The Illuminator by Brenda Rickman Vantrease. It's historical fiction. I really enjoy reading it.

I never finished The Inferno last year and I can't wait to get to it this year (I'm a teacher so I'll wait until Spring Break or summer vacation so I can give it my full attention).

Bacchante- The Illuminator is a great book, I just reread it a few weeks ago and gave both that book and it's follow-up The Mercy Seller to a good friend of mine for Christmas. Enjoy!

I am starting with HG Wells The Time Machine. Got through all the helpful Penguin Classics info this morning and am just starting the story proper. Context will really help me work with this too-well-known story line.

I stumbled onto a really good pairing to begin the year (yay, subconscious!!) -- The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister (due out Jan 22; I'm 70 pages in and it's lovely) and Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics by Ina Garten (lush to browse through, can't wait to cook something).

I started and finished The Apple a very quick read of additional Crimson Petal Stories for my Short Story Category. I chose this book because I loved The Crimson Petal.

I've actually got 5 going at once (my adult ADD is showing):

1. Re-read of Pillars of the Earth - I'm actually listening on audio to refresh my memory prior to reading World without End
2. Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson - another audio I'm listening to on my daily drive to the Y to swim.
3. Bestseller by Jane Daniel (wrong touchstone)- a bonus ER book I got last week
4. Re-read of Olive Kitteridge - for a Read Around Maine group read.
5. The Coffee Trader for the Early Winter 2009 Book Group read.

I think they will keep me busy for at least a couple weeks.

I'm one-third through The Book Thief. It's been on my tbr for six months, and after seeing how many people had it on their "best of" lists for 2008 made me think it would be a good place to start.

I too started with The Book Thief this afternoon. 104 pages in & I just cannot take anymore - it is the WORST writing I've ever tried to stumble through. Characters are very dull so far. I've been looking at the unbelievable & endless accolades for this on LT - who ARE these people ??? Should I continue to waste my precious reading time on this, or just skip my Jan. book club meeting? . . . cuz if you can't say ANYTHING nice, best not to alienate beloved folks in my book club - right?
Is there anyone at all out there who agrees with me on this book?

I am starting with Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell. My daughter gave it to me for Christmas, completing my Scarpetta collection.

>18 jhedlund:, I'm envious, would love to be reading it for the first time again!

>19 c_why: I'm one of those people! :))) I remember going to amazon after I'd finished it, KNOWING I'd find nothing but high accolades. I was shocked to see 5 (at that time) 1-star reviews. Goes to show, nothing fits everyone. Better luck with the next on your list :)

I began the new year with Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburo Oe, but I'm just not feeling it at the moment. Switched to How to Read Novels Like a Professor instead, which is quite absorbing. I'm sure I'll want to return to Oe's book sometime--I just hope it's before it's due back at the library!

I'm a few chapters into 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. I'm trying to like it but nothing much has happened yet. The version I'm reading has really interesting notes about the science and translation problems, though.

5 - I really liked Emma. Enjoy that one!

9 - I loved The Eyre Affair, but it is so hard to classify! I stayed up really, really late waiting to stop reading as soon as it made sense. I wound up finishing the book!

14 - It's been a while, but I sort of remember enjoying The Time Machine. maybe it's time for a reread.

I started the year off (after finishing Emma Lathen's East is East) with Airman. It's by the author of Artemis Fowl and it's nothing like that at all. So far it's an adventure story about a boy who was literally born flying - in a hot air balloon. I'm only up to chapter three, but my 14 year old swears that I will love it. She says it's better than Artemis Fowl. We'll see.

Bombay Anna by Susan Morgan. It's a biography of Anna Leonowens (of The King and I), about her real life, not the story she created to pass herself off as a proper lady. She was really a remarkable woman.

I finished Patriarch George Washington which I started a few days early but since it was a fatty I knew I wouldn't finish it before today. I also am doing Benjamin Franklin on audio. Tonight when I head off to bed, I'm starting Crewel World.

I wish I could read faster but, then I wouldn't enjoy the READING as much.

I just started How I Became Stupid by Martin Page, which fits into my category of BookCrossing Books received in 2008 and 2009 (or I could use it for non-English-language authors if I need it in that category).

First thing this morning I read a 36-page children's book that's too short for me to count in either of my challenges: Joseph and Chico by Jeanne Perego. It was so nice! I'll probably reread it several times.

Every month of this year I'm planning to read the corresponding chapter of A Year In Provence by Peter Mayle. I got January's done today, but it took a surprisingly long time (lots of French; and I took just 6 hours of the language decades ago).

I've started with Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen for my classics category, which will be almostly exclusively books by Jane Austen since she wrote 7 and I've read none of them :-) I decided to begin with P and P based on the fact that it seems to be a favourite amongst people who've read several or all of her books, plus I already know the story from seeing various movie versions and I thought that might help me get into the style of writing a little easier. I already knew I'd love it, so I'm not surprised that I do so far (I'm about a hundred pages in). Next up will be Sense and Sensibility.

# 10, 12, 13 ---

So far I've managed only 28 pages of Inferno. It's slow going but I'm finding the punctuation very important for understanding and not getting lost in the rhythm! Since it's only 145 pages, including pictures, I'm going to try and push through to the end tonight. It will help that the house is quiet now for the rest of the night! :)

I started Nickel and Dimed late last night and finished today, and then also read She Had Some Horses. Now I'm reading The Book Thief on the Kindle, so I'm not sure what "page" I'm on, but I'm not loving it yet. I bought this book a while back and didn't start it until I saw all of the positive reviews on here. I hope I start to like it soon. =o/

(FYI, I don't normally read this many books in such a short amount of time, but I'm getting a cold and decided to spend today on the couch resting and reading.)

#19 - I suggest you stick with The Book Thief. During the first 100 or so pages I too was wondering what all the fuss was about, but then the story really kicks in and sucks you right in.

I'm curious as to what it is about the writing that you don't like. Even when I wasn't enthralled with the story I thought the writing was terrific. Just curious. I know everyone's taste is different...

Starting Ambassador to the Penguins tonight. I'm in a cold book mood.

I'm reading Names on the Land. It's a nice read because each chapter is a separate thread in the historical narrative, so it's easy to put down and pick up again -- not to mention the fact that it's well-written and about an interesting subject (the history of place names in America).

#28> Enjoy! It's one of my favorite books and definitely my favorite Jane Austen (of the 5 I've read so far). I just gifted it to someone over the holidays :)

I've finished Jenna Starborn for my New Author's category and now I'm going back to finishing Wide Sargasso Sea (it was too depressing to read on New Years Day) for my Non-US/UK authors category (Jean Rhys was Dominican)

I've been on holiday for a week at he beach. So I've read two books in my challenge: Little Women and Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott (counted as one because it's in one book for me) and Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Now I'm reading The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco which is slow going and not as enjoyable as the other two. I'm up to page 70 and tomorrow I'm going to go back and 1) write down the time line as it goes through a lot of medieval catholic church history and I can't keep it straight in my mind. 2) underline all the Latin phrases and figure out what they mean. Finally I might write out a short synopsis as to what the h*ll is happening.. phew!! It feels like homework.

I started with The Private World of Georgette Heyer, and now I'm reading Persuasion. Thanks to all the people with Austen categories, I think my classics category is going to change to an 'Austen & co' category. I have all her books that I don't own out from the library.

35> I usually hate movies made from books, but I could not read The Name of the Rose until I had seen the movie, and if I ever read it again, I will watch the movie first. That gives you the basic idea of what is going on in the book, so you can enjoy the style and fun details without the constant 'what the h*ll is happening'.

The first book I am reading for the challenge is Die Elfen / De Elfen (translated from German to Dutch) by Bernhard Hennen, for my fantasy category. I read 161 (of 670) pages and I absolutely love this book!

My first book I read for the challenge was A Crime in the Neighborhood by Suzanne Berne - I would class this as a coming of age novel rather than a crime novel. It was very good, esoecially for a debut novel.

Next is Lost in Translation by Eva Hoffman which I will start reading today.

I started off with Lost in a Good Book, though I really only read about 30 pages on New Year's. I'm now reading The Shack by William Young, which will fit in either my "Recommendations" or "New to me authors" category depending on which is filling up more quickly.

My 2nd of 81 will be Healer by Peter Dickinson. This is a YA fantasy by one of my family's favorite authors. He is an automatic buy and frequently a collective Christmas present from one of us to the rest of us. He writes YA fantasies and adult mysteries. This specific story is one my sister handed on to me.

I'm starting with a for fun book, Silks by Dick and Felix Francis. So far it is OK but I have the definite impression that it won't make my (mental) list of all time favorites by Dick Francis. Still, it is a change of pace from the last few weeks.

Edited to make better sense.

36 - Did you post your review of the Georgette Heyer book? I'd love to know what you thought. She is such a great writer, and so often overlooked.

I finished three Agatha Christies so far and I'm still reading Airman. It's getting good, but then I got these mysteries from the library book sale, and I um, got distracted....

Started Suicide Squeeze by Victor Gischler. It's pretty quick, I should have it finished tomorrow.

#10, 12, 13, 29 - I've just about finished The Inferno - I'm in the middle of the end notes at present on my 2nd read through and I'm trying to decide whether I want a break or not before going onto Purgatorio - I really want to get them finished this year as well so it's basically just deciding whether to sweep through them at the beginning of the year or not. I'd probably intersperse with lighter stuff anyway - plenty of time to make my mind up though.

Right now, I'm switching off between two books. I'm reading Confessions of a Thug as part of my Thugs, Templars, Illuminati category and Graphic Classics: H.P. Lovecraft as part of my Lighter Fare.

I am reading two on and off also: left over from last library visit The Chimney Sweeper's Boy and my ER book Eclipse, Richard North Patterson. It's back to work tomorrow, which will interfere with my reading time, lol.

I'm on my second book of the challenge - The Secret History. I'm about halfway through, and I'm kind of wondering what the rest of the book will be about. It's taken this long to get to what was foreshadowed in the first pages, and now what...? Well, I shall find out! I'm getting on a long flight shortly and hope to finish it soon (unless I fall asleep - getting up at 3am is painful!).

I finished off one from my Paranormal 999 Challenge list yesterday and started one that is both on this and that challenge, The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter. I hadn't intended to start The Darkest Night but I needed something that would fit in my sweatshirt pocket for easy transportation.

OH - P.S. I had started The Book Thief last week, and finished it late at night on 1/1/09. I really enjoyed it; I have to say that before I started I saw one of the negative reviews, which gave me pause, but so glad I dove in anyway. It's a lovely book.

edited for ytpos...!

# 10, 12, 13, 45 ---

I finished Inferno on Jan. 2/09 and came to the realization that it will be a re-read hopefully with a study guide in the future. I chose not to continue with Purgatorio while I'm working but am saving it for my days off. I found it requires an amount of attention I'm not able to give while at work. My solution was to pick from my other categories, so I've since finished The Shania Twain Story : On Her Way from my movie tie-in category, and also Gabriel's Angel from my contemporary romance category. I plan to catch up my ticker, and post the revues on my blog on my days off. My next book is It Takes A Hero by Elizabeth Boyle.

I am currently on book #4 for my 999 Challenge - The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. So far, I am really liking it - Adiga's prose is easy to read and I love the way the story goes from serious to satirical in an instant. This book is for my "Booker Prize" winners category, and I would love any recommendations for this category! I've read The English Patient and Disgrace, but that's it. Thanks!

48--Definitely keep at The Secret History, despite its somewhat slow pace it's one of my favorite books :) It's been a while since I read it, but from what I remember the action picks up significantly after the main "event" foreshadowed in the first pages. All sorts of bizarre recriminations...

From Category 3 (BookCrossing Books from 2007), I'm reading The Loop by Nicholas Evans. It's a real page-turner!

I'm reading A Complicated Kindness which will be in my Random Picks category. Halfway through it and I am really liking it.

I am reading three books right now.. The Mighty Queens Of Freeville, A Confederacy Of Dunces, and A Dangerous Man by Charlie Huston (touchstones not working). I am enjoying the first two, but am still unsure about the Charlie Huston book... I will reserve judgment on it until it is finished.

I have started with The Tin Flute by Gabrielle Roy - it is in my 1947 prizewinners and is excellent so far. I have read through to chapter 6.

I'm halfway through The Naked God and am also reading one of my children's classics - Coral Island and have just started Oranges are not the only fruit. I like to have a few on the go at the same time.

>52 Cait86:, Well I loved White Tiger too, so maybe we have similar enough sensibilities for me to say, I wouldn't make The Sea by John Banville one of your choices. I still can't figure out how it got any award, much less the Man-Booker! My favorites: Paddy Clarke Ha! Ha! Ha!, True History of the Kelly Gang, The Inheritance of Loss, Life of Pi, and God of Small Things.

LisaMorr - I read The Secret History last year in my 1001 category. I really enjoyed the first two thirds of it but found the conclusion disappointing, but I would still say it is worth continuing with.

Cait86 - I would recommend Last Orders by Graham Swift for your Booker Prize winners and would second Bonniebooks' recommendation of Life of Pi and God of Small Things. I have White Tiger to read soon, but it is in hardback so I will probably have to read it at home over a weekend as it is too heavy to carry about with me.

I've just started Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg this morning for my Crime with a global theme category.

Another case of adult ADD. Am currently reading:
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron

About to start reading Nation and Novel by Patrick Parrinder - non-fiction about the development of the English novel.

Thanks Sanddancer and Bonniebooks for your recommendations - I will give them a go!

9 > Tadhali - if you like Arthurian, may I recommend a "twist" on the legend (though not a feminist one): The Forever King by Molly Cochran & Warren Murphy. REALLY enjoyed it. It has a sequel The Broken Sword, but I haven't got to that one yet.

34 > Ambrosia4 - so are you reading "Eyre-esque" books deliberately? I know Wide Sargasso Sea and Jenna Starborn (I've read the first, I own the second) are both related to Jane Eyre. Curiouser and curiouser.

For my part, I'm currently reading
* The Glory Cloak: A Novel of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton by Patricia O'Brien (for historical fiction book group for February),
* Delights and Shadows by Ted Kooser,
* Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell (I was expecting something more Sharpe-ish, but this is fairly grim and depressing so far),
* Creating Characters by Dwight Swain, and
* _The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg_ by Rodman Philbrick (children's historical fiction set during the Civil War; ironic/humorous voice)

From 2008 I'm also working on an LT ER title, I've picked up To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis again, and I'm debating whether or not to keep going in Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen, since it was supposed to be for classics book group for January -- which I couldn't get to as I'm vehicularly challenged at the moment -- and it wasn't a title I'd pick myself.

I also need to get going in Gilpin Faust's This Republic of Suffering (museum book group) and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (classics book group - classic loosely defined) which I need to have completed for February.

Happy reading, Renee

I am starting Monster Love.

I'm reading A fraction of the whole as starter.

I'm reading Monster Love too.

I'm starting One Month to Live.

I've already read Napoleon's Pyramids by William Dietrichfor my first 999 challenge book and am about 1/3 into The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn by Colin Dexter.

#36 MarthaJeanne - you would think that since I've read every romance book by Georgette Heyer at least twice (except Friday's Child which I'm not that fond of) that I would know of her biography, but The Private World of Georgette Heyer was new to me. Off to Amazon!!

Finished The Great Gatsby in classics and started Moll Flanders (both are re-reads, but from high school - amazing what you miss then . . . )

In serials I'm reading The Great Hunt - I have 4 or 5 of the WoT, and great familiarity from roleplaying, of course, but FINALLY found the 1st in the series just the other day.

Started Brat Farrar too, for my mystery authors I have never read; happened on that one too at the used book store!

And reading Grimm's Fairy Tales with my grandson - classics, I guess.

69> I really enjoyed 'The PrivateWorld' so I hope you do, too. Several others in the challenge have also read it. I think I heard about it here. For one thing, it will help you appreciate the deep knowledge of the period that Georgette Heyer had.

I'm reading Trunk Music and eagerly anticipating the start of Middlesex any day now.

I'm currently in the middle of three books.

Mornings on Horseback as part of my Presidential bio list, The Body in the Bouillon as part of the books in my nightstand that have been there forever series, and The Grapes of Wrath as part of the classics list.

Just started Brave New World for my Dystopia category (which I think a few others have a similar category). So my thoughts on it should be in my thread in the next couple of days.

#64> To be totally honest, I didn't set out to just read Jane Eyre-esque books, but it just kind of worked out that way. Jane Eyre was one of the last books I read in 2009, and Wide Sargasso Sea was nudged by the BookNudgers group because many thought it would be an interesting followup. Then I decided to read Jenna Starborn because WSS was depressing me. I'm also planning on rereading the Eyre Affair and associates sometime soon, as I love those and haven't read them in a couple years.

It's actually a lot of fun, I like retellings! But for now, I'm reading Watchmen by Alan Moore and then moving on to Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides.

I am reading 3 books at the moment:

Nation and Novel by Patrick Parrinder (lit criticism & essays)

Arlington Park by Rachel Cusk ( Orange Prizewinners and Shortlist)

Bruno's Dream (Iris Murdoch)

Reading Shattered by Dick Francis and listening to The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton

I'm having trouble focusing: I am trying to get through Eclipse, Richard North Patterson, which is my ER book, that I am throwing into my Misc category and am also reading The Big Sea a so far so good autobiography by Langston Hughes.

#67 fleurfisher, what do think of it? I like it so far (almost halfway through).

ETA Should have looked at your thread first!

I'm just about finished It Takes a Hero and feeling like there's not enough hours in the day for all the books I want to read! The past two days have each brought another book that I can't wait to start! Yesterday was a biography of Lawrence of Arabia andtoday my SantaThing book arrived, Bitter Sweets.

So many books! So little time..... :(

1 book down, 80 to go! Yeah!

Finished Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen this morning and have begun Sense and Sensibility. I will post my thoughts on P & P on my thread sometime soon.

I am desperately trying to convince myself not to start The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson which I got just a couple of days ago, because if I start I know that I won't be able to read anything else until it is finished and I really want to get through at least 2 Jane Austen's before I start anything else. I had to hide it and begin Sense and Sensibility very quickly!

Does anybody else find that reading these posts makes them want to wander from the challenge? I've started with The Oxford Book of Modern Women's Stories, but now I want to go back and read some Jane Austen (read them all already), and some Dick Francis. I'm also intrigued by the differing opinions on The Book Thief, maybe it will have to go in my impulse reads category.

aviance - I want to read nearly everything I see! But I will try to stick to my planned agenda, with the occasional wander, maybe.

#82,83> When I read these I end going to look at a lot of these and wanting to add those...it's excruciating, but amazing to have such a great TBR pile at the same time. I wish I could just read everything all at once!

60>sanddancer, thanks, I stuck with it (I suppose I wasn't that close to actually dropping it...), and it was worthwhile reading. In the end, a good book (The Secret History).

Now reading Watchmen, first selection from my Graphic Novel category.

Can't wait to find out how you liked Watchmen I have it in my Graphic Novel cat also.

Hi LA12Hernandez - I'm enjoying it so far, although it's not quite what I expected!

Really? What did you expect?

Well, it has these regular prose sections in between each chapter. And it seems a little bit soap opera-ish. It's the first graphic novel I've ever read (yeah I read comic books as a kid, don't think that counts...), so my expectations are not based on any experience.

Hi um i have a book im reading right now new moon??

>89 LisaMorr: LisaMorr

I read a little about it but wasn't sure what to expect either. My kids got me into Mangas and Graphic Novels so everything is new to me also.

I'm reading A Shark out of Water. I put The wooden overcoat in my purse to read, but I never got started on it.

I was trying to read Ice Child, but couldn't get into it. Then I picked up In a Sunburned Country because my son had it in the car. That got finished quickly.

Now I'm working on Emma and a very funny book I picked up in the zoology section of the library; Dr. Tatiana's Sex advice to all Creation.

I'm reading 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die and Krakatoa, and listening to Bird by Bird on digital audio. For a non-999 challenge book, I'm reading Castle Roogna (I may change my categories sometime later in the year if I keep reading too many that don't fit...)

I have only a few pages to go on my first book of the year, which, being in German, has been slow going, but riveting at the same time. So I read a book in English partway through called The Dead of Summer by Camilla Way. I thought I could try just reading one book at a time, but I am clearly not capable of this.

Just finished The Secret Pilgrim for Spy vs. Spy category. Flashes of the old charm here and there, but not, certainly, his best book. Depressing as hell.

Currently on Testament of Youth for memoirs and Queen Victoria for biographies. I'm so relieved to see other adult ADD sufferers here. I thought I was alone with this sometimes dreadful, sometimes fun, disorder.

I just started What Did Jesus Do? A Crash Course in His Life and Times by Michael Lindvall for my Religion category.

I'm in a bunch of books:

The Autobiography of Henry VIII
What Jane Austen ate and Charles Dickens Knew
The Coffee Trader
The Prince
The Trial
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Thrumpton Hall

-eventually I'll actually finish one of these!

I started reading One Month to Live but I'm floundering with it. So I started reading all the threads about Georgette Heyer and I picked up Venetia, which is not in my challenge. And my husband just this morning handed me Neil Gaiman's Graveyard Book. Which also isn't in my challenge. So right now I'm not reading anything because I can't choose!

I'm splitting my time between The Sound of the Waves by Yukio Mishima and The Solitary Summer by Elizabeth von Arnim, which I am savoring in particular because the weather here in Massachusetts is so completely icky and unsummerlike.

I'm currently between books and I really hate that. Maybe that's why I always (except now!) have a few books going at any one time.

Off to look at my lists to see what I should read next!

I just started The Name of the Rose. Courtesy of some early advice from MusicMom, I also have a reading guide for it. (Thank you, thank you.) I think, in spite of how learned the author is, how complicated the story, and how long the book, that this will be a fun read. For me, this is an instance when I just can't believe how beautifully written a translation is. And it is a hoot imagining Sherlock Holmes as a medieval monk. It is sort of overwriting the Sean Connery effect.

I have started The Tsarina's Daughter and I already want to find other books about the Romanovs and Queen Victoria.

Still trying to read my ER book The Eclipse: Richard North Patterson also.

Started Harbor by Lorraine Adams.

For my category Books On My TBR List for More Than One Year - *Sigh*, I'm reading When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka.

It's probably not a book I'd have chosen on my own, but it had been given to me by a fellow bookcrosser and had been on my TBR list for, er, quite a while (since 1994)! Thank goodness for The 999 Challenge! :)

Has anyone else reached back in time on Mount Toobie just because of The 999 Challenge?

Squeaky, all my books are from Mount Toobie (love that name, lol). I do challenges to reduce the pile, but I'm only ever half-successful.

I just started A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews. It's one of my books by Canadians.

--> 106

Yeah. Just about all of mine are on Mt. Toobie as well, but the question for me is - How long have they been there? :)

I remember joining BookCrossing a few years ago to decrease my TBR pile. That didn't work. It grew as I registered more and more books.

Then I joined LT's many challenges to decrease that pile. That didn't work either. Actually, I only had about 70-some books in my library when I joined LT.

I just keep learning about more and more new-to-me books that I just *have* to read!

Oh, yes. I joined BookMooch to move some of those already-read books off my shelf. Unfortunately, they are traded one-for-one so this plan did not decrease the height of Mt. Toobie!

..and the LT ER program... Well, you get the idea! :)

Squeaky, many, er, most of my 999 books are from Mt. Toobie. Unfortunately, I chose a couple of the categories specifically to expand my interests, so that I have to go to the library, or--gasp!--purchase a new book(s).

Testament of Youth has been on Mt. Toobie for about 5 years. Some biographies are waiting there as well, moaning "Read me!" No--Read ME!" as I survey the shelves.

Sigh. A never-ending task. And LT is going to destroy me; I can feel it coming on.

Most of my 999 challenge books are from the TBR pile, some of them have been there 20 years (a bunch of Easton and Franklin Press books and others bought in high school). I think I have 15 or less not from the TBR pile. I don't think this means that the TBR pile will not grow in 2009 though....wry smile.

I agree. I'm already collecting books for next year's challenge!

--> 111

LOL!

I have 631 books on my tbr list - they are all books here at the house and cataloged in LT - with about 15 due from BookMooch and 1 due from Amazon. Plus I'm trying to finagle a quick visit to the thrift store tonight just before I meet my husband and daughter for dinner..... just in case there are any wonderful books that are calling my name.

I have finished 3 books this year so far, and they are all, miraculously, 999 challenge books. I am also reading 2 challenge books:

Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart by Gordon Livingston - this really irritates me. I'm so bored with self-help and inspirational books and this one was chosen by one our book club members who is in crisis right now..... ah well, it's short and I can have it done by Sunday night.

China Road by Rob Gifford - one of my favorite NPR folks. It's a great book about his 2998 mile journey along Route 312 from Shanghai China to Korgaz at the Chinese-Kazakhstan border. Just started it, but am enthralled. I just finished Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah, so it seemed natural to read something else about China.

edited to fix # of tbr books

Finished Persuasion, so I am now moving onto A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Just finished Caught Stealing and I am starting Waiting for Gertrude.
I too thought this challenge would help to diminish Mt Toobie, but today when I got home, there was a postcard from my favorite used bookstore... They are having a half-price sale this weekend!
Looks like there will be more books coming in this weekend! (Maybe I have a problem???? Nahhh.. couldn't be!)

Cait86 - I have A Thousand Splendid Suns on my pile to read. I must read it soon as a colleague loaned it to me, but I'm trying to read something in each of my categories first. I hope to get round to it by the end of January.

I've just started Shakespeare by Bill Bryson, which is my first non-fiction book of the year.

>113 karenmarie:, I know what you mean about self-help books. For both personal and professional reasons (getting my psych. degree), it seemed like I was reading every self-help book there was about 30 years ago; and, of course, there are even more now! They definitely have their uses, but I, myself, finally OD'd on them, so felt you pain! :-)

Thanks for reminding me about China Road; I had forgotten that I wanted to read this. And, oops! Forgot to say that I just finished The Secret River because I couldn't find The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville which was my official 999 challenge book by her. Still reading Outliers and Proust and the Squid which are both very good, but I have to admit I keep getting diverted by my other 999 books.

Don Quixote and The Wit and Wisdom of Don Quixote both are very good.

Currently reading The Good Mayor - one of my family & friends books.

The library had both of Erwin Plachutta's newest cookbooks on the 'bestseller' shelf, so I decided to bring them both home and read and compare them. I'll probably buy one of them eventually. We bought the boys the English language version of an earlier one, and I have ever since felt that I ought to own one myself.

I'm also working on both Emma and Dreams from my Father. Those are from the other library.

I am reading WHITE TEETH by ZADIE SMITH. The blurb on the cover shows that it won the 2000 whitbread fiorst novel award and it is supposed to be funny, clever... and and a rollicking good read according to INDEPENDENT. The book started off well and I found the first 60 pages interesting but the interest has been waning gradually. I am now 70 pages closer to the end. I'm waiting for it to finish. It is taxing my patience and challenging my knowledge of certain facts. I however give credit to the author for her writing skills. She didn't know some subjects she handled in the book.
Ramarao Garimella.

I just started Hitler Victorious for my anthology category, a collection of 11 stories about what if Hitler won. Thought it would go well with The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and The Book Thief. There were a number of situations discussed in Rise and Fall that if things had gone slightly differently, Hitler may well have won. It will be interesting to see if any of these situations are developed further in the anthology.

edited for ytpos...

Just starting One of Ours by Willa Cather from my Pulitzer Prize category.

#122 I am reading Farthing for my group read category, and it has a similar theme. Hitler has negotiated peace with Great Britain, but keeping the entire continent of Europe. It is a murder mystery with that premise.
--BJ

I started girlbomb last night. So far, it's a quick read. Hard to call enjoyable because of the subject, but it's a good book. This is one my daughter recommended.

I am switching back and forth between The Whore's Child for my short story category and The Golden Girls of MGM for my biography category. The lighter one gets carried back and forth to work, the tome stays here at home.

I was prepared to start Wuthering Heights yesterday but since it was too big for easy transportation around the gym during my son's wrestling meet I opted instead to start Lover Unbound. From what I've heard this is the book where J.R. Ward decided to transition from paranormal romance to strictly urban fantasy without a HEA guaranteed (although I'm not prescisely sure how the book ends) which is part of the reason why it has been in my TBR pile for the last 2 years.

Just finished 20000 Leagues under the Sea for my ocean adventure category. I can't believe I had never read it before. Ocean adventures is turning out to be my most interesting category to fill.

I'm still reading Confessions of a Thug which is enjoyable but a little slow. I also started La muerte y su traje (Death and its suit) by Santiago Dabove. They are some interesting stories sort of in the mold of Poe or Kafka.

well after a lot of changing, moving, taking out and putting back in again I've almost got a full list of books i plan for this year and now the problem is in which order do I start them? i've put this dilemma on hold for the time being and have been listenign to the excellent audio version of jonathan strange and mr norrell but I'm onto the last disc now and have to decide soon ...

I am also looking for suggestions for books in my 'travel' category if anyone has any recommendations. at the moment the travel books I tend to read are mainly about families moving abroad to europe and the hilarious consequences that ensue but I'm hoping for some more adventurous reads of far off and distant lands ...

# 128 - HannaJo -

I remember reading a school library copy of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea when I was in about Grade 9! I have fond memories of it and should probably find a copy for my own library. I enjoyed it tremendously and think of it as kind of a turning point that opened up my world to many more adventures in reading! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

I am SO happy that I am finally on 3rd book, The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse Robert Rankin and am finding it totally amusing. I finished my first book, A Writer's Tale, in no time (Russell T Davies is fantastic! And not just because I am a Whovian!) but then really struggled to finish my second The Assasins, which was so disappointing and thankfully short.

yosarian - one of the best fiction travel books - Travels with my Aunt by Graham Greene. Ghosts of Spain by Giles Tremlett is an interesting book that combines travel around Spain with a look at the legacy of the Spanish Civil War. I've always enjoyed Paul Theroux's travel books such as The Great Railway Bazaar and The Old Patagonian Express but perhaps they're a bit dated now. Tap Taps to Trinidad by Zenga Longmore is worth looking out for - it's about travelling through the Caribbean.

I'm currently reading Magician of Hoad by Margaret Mahy, a teen fantasy and thinking about starting Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino.

#132> I had a blast reading Hollow Chocolate Bunnies last year. Such an original novel and very funny!

Currently, I am reading Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by Joyce, Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay by Wilder-Taylor, and am nearly finished with Plagued by the Nightingale by Boyle. And I am enjoying them all, lucky me.

For the category "Autors I've never read", I am reading Dansen met Eva / Dancing with Eva - Alan Judd

I'm ploughing my way through Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg. I've about another 150 left to read. I've not enjoyed it as much as I hoped I would so I'm looking forward to moving onto my next book.

>115 TheBoltChick:. I'm reading Caught Stealing for my challenge as well. I haven't started it yet though.

From my Category #8 (American authors who began writing before 1960), I'm reading The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac. I love the descriptions of gondola-car-hopping and mountain climbing in borrowed tennis shoes. That Princess scene is just plain nasty, though!

I'm also reading White Teeth for my classics/1001 catagory and to double list it in my girlybooks catagory--as part of the girlybooks Orange January read.

>>Message 121: RamaraoGarimella I'd be very interested in learning what you feel are errors in the book. I'm not knowlegedable enough to pick them out. I'm guessing it was when great great grandpa started the rebellion?

I am reading The boy in the striped pyjamas by John Boyne for the category "books that have been filmed".

The premiere of the movie in the Netherlands was last week.

Message 141: Carolien70 - I read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas last year for a similar category. I haven't seen the film yet but I think I heard that they gave it a happier ending than the book.

I've started reading East is East by T C Boyle, for my category where I'm going to read all of the work of that author. After this book, I will have one book in each of my nine categories.

I'm starting my 999 challenge this week with Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote. So far it's wonderful!

I'm reading Het duivenritueel by Finnish author Matti Y. Joensuu

I had Ich bin der weisse Clown and one of my newer theology books all ready to read, but Mercedes Lackey's Oathbound arrived this morning, and my son wants to read it as soon as possible, so I read that today instead.

Of course I would have read the others first if it weren't for Steven, right?

I spent the day glued to Chelsea Cain's Sweetheart and feel a little like I've eaten an entire box of chocolates. Fun at the time, but I feel kinda icky now. This will not prevent me reading the next one, however.

I'll have to go read something a little more substantial tonight.

I just finished a rather good romance The Deed by Lynsay Sands, and am now on Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston. I'm reading lots, but am quite behind in writing my reviews.

I am starting Sweetheart tonight. Got to catch up with RidgewayGirl so we can compare notes!

I am reading a book in my "Chicago Books" category. It's called Remembrances of the Angels and it's about the 1958 Our Lady of the Angels School fire in Chicago.

I'm reading The Reader :)

Just started A Thousand Splendid Suns this morning. I may be the only person who hasn't already read this. I'm not sure it is going to be my sort of thing as I can see it being endless misery, but a colleague gave me it to read so I feel I should.

For category "chick lit" (the hardest one for me, I rarely read chick lits), I am going te read Heftig! / Starter for ten by David Nicholls

Just found out that it's also possible to read the book for categorie filmed books. Is there anabody who has seen the movie "Starter for ten"?

#122 LisaMoor - for another book that goes on the assumption that Hitler won, you might want to read Fatherland by Robert Harris. I love "What if... books" and I remember really enjoying this one.

#130 yosarian - if you haven't read any of Bill Bryson's travel books, I'd recommend In a Sunburned Country and, although it's not travel exactly it's still about traveling the Appalachian Trail, A Walk in the Woods. Both are hilarious and very informative.

I am still enjoying China Road by Rob Gifford - he's the kind of guy you'd love to invite over to dinner and let him share his adventures for hours and hours. It feels as though he's just sitting in the same room with me talking.

In the meantime, I read my February Bookclub book - The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett. It's a hilarious novella about what would happen if the Queen of England became an avid reader. It starts off with her accidental encounter with a bookmobile while chasing down her corgis and goes from there. Short, witty, pungent, fun.

Now for a dilemma - so many 999 books to read, but I just got 7 Inspector Morse novels by Colin Dexter through BookMooch..... can I hold off and continue 999'ing it or am I going to fall off the wagon mid-January?

Karenmarie - Fatherland sounds good, thanks, I'll put it on the pile.

153> Sounds as if you need a new category.

I think the cold weather has inspired me to start in on Alone by Admiral Byrd.

>153 karenmarie: Karen, maybe you could read a Morse, read a 999, read a Morse, read a 999, etc. One thing I've noticed now that I'm pretty much of an old lady is that reading a lot of books by one author, particularly a mystery author, right in a row can be a bit of a turn-off on that author. Even the great Sayers and my modern favorite, Ruth Dudley Edwards, begin to be just too much of a good thing if read all together.

Now, in my youth I didn't feel that way; quite the opposite, in fact. Your thoughts?

bohemima
I agree with you. When I was young I would read everything I could get my hands on by a author I liked. Then I would find other books and authors in that genre. But now several years later I get bored if I read too many of the same type of book. That's what I like about the 999 challenge. It lets me mix up the types if books I read.

I think I am the opposite, when I find an author that is new to I go slightly beserk. For example, I have been having a Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine obsession for a couple of months now. Of course now that the challenge is underway, I find myself wanting to read all of her books, and there are a lot of them! I added Crocodile Bird and her short stories to my Challenge, but somehow, I don't think that will be enough to hold me!

I am going to start Chalice next and I'm still listening to Fer de Lance.

Half-way through All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque for my Cat 9, Other Books. Also for 1929 Group. This is a very harrowing account of trench warfare during WWI as told by a young German called Paul.

Hey Judylou, I am reading The Reader as well!

I've just started Het vuurevangelie (The Fire Gospel) by Michel Faber.

I'm reading Dead Until Dark for my Made into a Movie/TV Series category.

I normally wouldn't follow up one vampire book with another, but the library wants it back on the 23rd, along with Berlin, so that will be next!

I'm pleasantly surprised to see a character I felt was always sort of "dropped in" isn't in the book. I didn't hate them in the TV show, I just always kind of felt like they were a square peg being jammed into a round hole, you know?

>158 LA12Hernandez: LA12Hernandez, I completely agree about the variety in the 999 challenge, that's certainly why I've done it this year to try and read some authors / types of books I wouldn't normally and now I havemy list finished I'm looking forward to them all.
having said that I'm currently reading red mars which is pretty much the type of book I would normally be reading but >161 englishrose60: englishrose I do have all quiet on the western front on my list too and I'd be interested to see what you think.
>167 MarthaJeanne:, thanks marthajeanne, I've tried to start again from scratch, something didn't like me on LT forums yesterday

It looks empty to me. I noticed it a little while ago.

I'm reading Between A Rock And A Hard Place and finding it interesting, although not captivating as yet.

Just finished The Inn at Lake Devine, which was really good. The only book I'm reading now is Bird by Bird, and I'm probably going to start a second fiction title soon to mix it up a little.

#153 karenmarie - The Uncommon Reader was one of my favourites last year.

#162 cait86 - are you liking it?

I started Dear American Airlines thinking it would be clever, but after 50 pages, it feels like an overlong rant. I had to read more interesting complaints than this when I worked in the call centre! I'm finding it boring, so I'm going to send it back to the library.

I'm sure I'll find another book to replace it without any trouble.

I'm starting The Magic Toyshop, a new VMC from my Virago Secret Santa, that fits nicely into my fantasy category.

#170: judylou - yes! I finished it in two sittings, it was so difficult to put down! Michael was an engaging narrator with really complex emotional reactions. Did you enjoy it too?

Have since moved on to The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart, which is quite good so far :)

I'm reading The Declaration by my Dystopia category. 100 pages in and liking it so far. Its a Young Adult book so pretty easy reading.

I'm also dipping into 1968: The Year that Rocked the World by Mark Kurlansky for my Retro/1960s category. It is very interesting but not the sort of thing I can read a lot of in one go. I don't read much non-fiction and this is a lot more serious than non-fiction I normally pick. I read the first section over the weekend and aim to read at least a chapter of it each day over the coming weeks.

I've started Berlin: City of Stones and I'm guess my CK OCD is a good thing - I discovered that someone had combined all editions - that's City of Stones, City of Smoke and all of the single editions that make up each of those books into ONE WORK.

BLECH. I decombo'd and recombined - hopefully it's all been set as right as it can be...I just wish I knew what the person was thinking! Oh, and I know I need to keep track of items for CK entry later. :)

>169 bell7:: I loved Bird by Bird. How are you liking it?

Started and couldn't finish Shelby Foote, which was just a bust. How could someone so interesting have such a dull biography? Never mind.

Currently reading Anna Karenina, Macbeth, and The Sittaford Mystery. I like to keep my reading intersting and different, so that I don't get books confused with each other.

Reading Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel - did not think I was going to like this story of a medium, Alison and her business partner, Colette but I am about halfway through and really enjoying it. Witty and entertaining.

I started Holiday in Death by J.D. Robb today but have only read just a few pages so far. It will be a light read after a book club selection for my 2nd book club that I didn't enjoy.

I finished Chalice and the Eat This, Not That: Supermarket books. Next I think I'll start Barchester Towers.

178> I just mooched a copy of Eat This, Not That! Looking forward to your review.

>178 cmbohn:, 179 I liked* Eat This Not That and was wondering about the supermarket version -- does it have info that isn't available via food labels, etc?

*eta: although sometimes they did focus on just one aspect of a food at a time. For example they recommended one over another because of fat content, but overlooked salt or the benefit of an antioxidant.

I haven't really made much of a dent in my 999 Challenge yet, with the exception of the manga catagory.

Once I work through my current spate of library reads (most of them I requested for my Paranormal 999 Challenge which I am making relatively good progress on) I have decided that I will work my way down my catagory lists by reading the first in each, then the second and so on. That way I know I'll make some progress.

I've been reading The Deceivers, which covers some of the same material as Confessions of a Thug but was written over a hundred years afterwards. The most interesting difference so far is that the name of the deity in question has changed from Bhowanee (Bhavani) to Kali.

I'm also reading Bruno Schulz' Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass.

My take on the Eat This, Not That is that they are helpful - up to a point. The supermarket one is geared toward smart grocery shopping and meal planning, but that wound up only being a small section. There wasn't enough explanation of WHY this, and not that.

Still, I found several of the groceries in my cupboard on the NOT THAT section. So maybe I will do better next time.

And no, detailmuse, most of the stuff is on the label, just explaining what those numbers mean more. There's also a section on food additives and which ones are okay and which to avoid.

About to start Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson. This should be a treat.

I am reading a book that will not be part of the challenge, it's a library book that is on its third and final renewal The Lady in The Lake. Other books kept getting in the way saying read me! I also can't stop reading Ruth Rendell. If I had known I was going to like her so much I would have made her books one of my categories.

I'm reading Sally Wright's mystery, Watches of the Night. Her sleuth is Ben Reese, a university archivist, though that doesn't seem to figure into this story all that much (so far).

The twist with this one is that the action takes place in 1961-1962 (though it's a 2008 release) with a lot of scenes taking place during World War 2.

I am definitely enjoying it but discovering LT and all the stuff here is cutting into my reading time!! Not that I mind...

Jonesli - don't forget that you can always change your categories. I've already changed two of mine.

I seem to have three books on the go at once. I'm a third of the way through 1968: The Year that Rocked the World, have read four chapters of Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby by Tom Wolfe and have this morning started The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien. I am enjoying the 1968 book but I fancied some fiction for my journey today. The Tom Wolfe book is very variable and I'll probably read that chapter at a time in between other things.

I am now doing some reading for my Reading Globally Challenge until the end of the month, then I shall return to my 999 Challenge.

#187 Thanks cmbohn. I think I will do this now while I am thinking of it.

Whew!! Just finished The Name of the Rose and my brain hurts. I definitely worked hard on that one. So now I am coasting through Georgette Heyer's first, The Black Moth. My brain will feel better soon and I can take up Great Books by David Denby. I will be posting TNOTR comments to my 999 thread in a day or two, after I recover.

It's been so cold (20 below last week) and so snowy here in the Chicago area that I really NEED to read a baseball book or two.

I am starting Charles C. Alexander's book Breaking the Slump: Baseball in the Depression Era. With our economy in shambles, I was wondering how this would affect my favorite sport and so this book seems especially appropriate right now.

I've started Bitter Sweets. The Divine Comedy is on hold for awhile until things settle down in this household!

>191 NeverStopTrying: You're braver than I! I've had that book 4EVAH! I keep saying I'll read it one of these days...I think I even got 30 pages in one day...someday!

I've finally started Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano - if the first chapter is any indication, I should be through this one in short order, although I may need to sneak in Palestine quickly because of a pressing library deadline (due dates!).

> 194

Some day you want to get serious about TNOTR, get your mitts on a copy of The Key to the Name of the Rose. It was recommended to me by another LTer in the 999 Challenge group, MusicMom, and it saved my life. Also, I had no idea what I was getting into when I started. Like getting married or pregnant. Many people are glad they did but ... ;-)

I finished The Magic Toyshop this week and decided it didn't really fit into my fantasy category, but definitely enjoyed it! Then I read Blown Coverage, an ARC that doesn't fit into any of my categories. And started The Time Traveler's Wife, which so far doesn't seem to fit into my Science Fiction category - but we'll see. So, making progress on my 75 Book Challenge, but not so much on the 999. The NEXT book will fit!

I started Life's Handicap last night when I couldn't find the other book I was reading. I didn't realize it was a collection of short stories, so I moved it to a different category in my challenge.

I'm reading The Haunting aka The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, and The Man Who Was Thursday by GK Chesterton.
Also got a couple of fluff reads on the go but have not picked them up much recently: Dead as a Scone by Ron Benrey, and The Darling Buds of May by HE Bates

I keep getting sidetracked from this challenge, I must focus. I just discovered daily lit and I am reading The Mysterious Affair at Styles. I want to see if I can fit these in before the group read of the Brothers K :March, In Cold Blood, and Twisted.

I'm still working on Mists of Avalon, but finding it... frustrating at times, and, besides, am quite busy with school. What I'm working my way through speedily is Sense and Sensibility. I helps that it's for class.

#169- I read The Inn at Lake Devine right before Christmas- I really enjoyed it too. I am currently in the middle of three 999 books. I'm almost through The Clever Woman of the Family for my Virago Modern Classics category. I'm about 1/3 in to Unless by Carol Shields for my Canadian authors category, and I'm nearly done with Tea Bliss for my tea category. I have much enjoyed The Clever Woman of the Family, though I can only take too much Victoriana before I go batty (if there's any more fainting over mismatched teacups...). The story line for Unless is great, but I find the writing incrediably flowery. As for Tea Bliss, well, let's just say that it's a self help book masquerading as a tea book, and approximately half the information on tea is wrong. So, two good ones and a loser.

I'm reading The Elements of Style for one of my history classes. The prof asked us to do an outline of the first two chapters, which isn't a big deal because they only amount to about 30 pages, but now I have writer's block because it's basically just a list of grammar/punctuation rules. Any advice?

I'm reading All Elevations Unknown by Sam Lightner about mountain climbing in Borneo and Lost History: the Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers, and Artists by Michael Morgan. My just-for-entertainment book that isn't included in my challenge is The Blighted Cliffs by Edwin Thomas, a mystery/sea adventure set in England in 1806.

I have some different advice on Name of the Rose.

I couldn't get into it until I had seen the movie. Then I basically knew what was going on, so could concentrate on the details, and could enjoy it. I'm not sure I'm up to reading it again this year, but it really is worth reading. There's a lot more to the book than what's in the movie, but without understanding the skeleton of the story, I couldn't follow the details.

(I'm the sort of person who hates movies based on books I've read in general.)

I''ve just finshed a book which isn't in my challenge, although I guess it would fit it the 'impulse reads' category, although I'm going to have to limit myself on that or I'll fill it by Easter! The book was Dogsmart, very interesting and thought provoking, particularly since my family has just been joined by a 12 month old Labrador, in addition to the older cross bred dog we already have.
I've also listened to a book of short stories by Darcy Niland on CD in the car, not sure what I'm going on to next at this stage. Maybe one of my biographies.

Ahh, Aviance, what a pleasant thing to call your dog a cross bred dog. Ours is very much a mutt and keeps people guessing what on earth she's composed of, breed-wise.

I began Honeymoon to Nowhere by Akimitsu Takagi yesterday because as soon as I liberated it from its envelope, I had to read it. I can fit it into my International Noir category by just kicking out some other country. In any case, it's fantastic so far, the translation is excellent (or at least not wretchedly bad, since I don't read Japanese!) and I am having a hard time believing that it was written in 1965.

--> 206

Oooh! This sounds perfect for our Japanese author theme discussion on LT's Reading Globally group!

Just finished The Time Traveler's Wife, and while I had debated whether or not it fit into my Science Fiction category, there was some science in it, so I'm counting it.

Next is Obama: From Promise to Power from my Books Bought in Airport Shops category.

I just started the short story The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald (no touchstone).
I've not seen the movie version but the book is not quite what I was expecting.

Today I finished reading Mortal Danger and other True Cases Ann Rule's Crime Files: Vol. 13- Ann Rule.

I started An American Childhood and I'm not enjoying it as much as I expected. One of my friends just loves it, but I find it only mildly interesting. Has anyone else read it? does it get better?

I just joined and first on my list is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to be started tonight for my Harry Potter group. I'm also reading The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams for my how to/instructional/manuals category. I'm shameless, I've worked school into my categories for here and the 75 book challenge 2009.

TOM

I've just started Diary of a Blues Goddess by Erica Orloff.

>212 TheOnlyMe: - It's called Multi-Tasking! And it's a valuable life-skill! :) (It's all about the marketing spin.)

I've found that I need to juggle Palestine with Gamorrah - the due date snuck up on me and it's not renewable at the moment (it's a plot against me, I say!). So far, so good!

#155 MarthaJeanne - aack! Another category. What I'll probably do is read one occasionally just to break away from the challenge, then read another challenge book. It will probably work - I read 94 books in 2008, so have a few to play with and still read my 81 for the 999.

#157 bohemima - definitely yes. I have to have a break between books by an author, even one I dearly love, or they just blend together too much. And, for me too, I think it's a factor of age. I used to devour an author. Now I am more cautious so I can enjoy them better. I need to check into Ruth Dudley Edwards - never heard of her.

#159 jonesli - I agree with cmbohn. I changed 888 categories in September last year and didn't feel guilty at all - and it's only January! Make one a Rendell/Vine category and indulge yourself.

I'm reading The Perfect Scent by Chandler Burr, my December ER book. It's fabulous, and I'm over halfway through.

I am reading Loretta LaRoche's book, Kick Up Your Heels...Before You're Too Short to Wear Them.

The dustjacket calls it a "mental health spa" and I could really use some of that right now. It seems like every day is either bitterly cold or snowy.

I'm reading His Excellency by Joseph Ellis for my Biography category and the Presidents Challenge, and I've got The Best Poems of the English Language by Harold Bloom that I read a little of sometimes before bed for my Poetry/Plays category. Both are kind of slow reading, plus I'm spending way too much time on here reading about the other books I want to read to get much actual reading done.

I'm in the same boat as you ShanM. I'm spending WAY too much time on here reading about everything everyone else is reading and growing Mt TBR in the process.

The review of your poems book there is pretty amusing. Good luck with that!

Completely ignoring what I said in my last post I was oddly drawn to start Wuthering Heights yesterday. It is much more interesting than I thought it would be.

I've just started Distant Star by Roberto Bolano this morning on my journey into work. Just two chapters in, but so far I'm enjoying it.

Started The Remedy by Michelle Lovric - quite good so far.

Right now I'm finishing up the last few pages of Gray Zone Wanderers, a book of Norwegian ghost stories. I've also started the first four chapters of The Secret Life and Brutal Death of Mamie Thurman.

I'm about halfway through The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and am thoroughly enjoying it! I love epistolaries and WW2 fiction so it's a fantastic combination as far as I'm concerned. :)

becbart, Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was one of my favorite books from last year. I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it.

It took me a bit to get used to the "letters format" but once I did, I could not put it down.

I'm reading De sneeuwman (The Snowman) by Jo Nesbø, one of my favourite Scandinavian authors.

I finished Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass yesterday. It's a great book. I can see why some critics say it's not as good as his first book, The Street of Crocodiles, but it definitely achieves some of the same moments of lyrical and surreal beauty.

Yesterday, I started two books. I'm about a quarter of the way through Del amor y otros demonios so far, which has been interesting, but hasn't captivated me quite as much as the other two works of his I've read.

And continuing with my Thuggee theme, I'm reading Children of Kali. It's a re-read, but somehow I'd forgotten how engrossing a read it is. It's an interesting look at an India in transition and the way the various divisions within Indian society play out.

I'm reading Julie and Julia and enjoying lots more than I thought I would. Julie is a wannabe actress who decides to cook all of Julia Child's recipes in her tiny NYC apartment. I am a vegetarian (just think it is healthier for me and the planet) and some of the discussion about meat preparation makes me so glad I don't have to deal with it... marrow-bone search was quite cringe-worthy. But, the bit about poaching eggs had me giggling, even though I am feeling quite punk at the moment.

Oh, I loved Julie and Julia and kinda regret giving it away. There is a discovery at the end that beats any strange meats preparation hands down.

I have just started The Worst Hard Time as it is the most exciting of the books in my history category. It's good so far...

My current serious book is David Denby's Great Books, which I am definitely enjoying; I will be starting Powder and Patch by Georgette Heyer for my R&R book this evening.

Powder and Patch is the short story collection, right? I loved that one.

I woke up early this morning to finish The Great Arch and haven't decided yet on what I will read next.

230> No, Pistols for Two is the short stories. Powder and Patch is a cute one that takes place earlier than the others. Country bumpkin turns social butterfly to please the lady of his dreams. Hmmmm. Haven't read that recently.

On the other hand I had to drive Steven to school this morning, as my husband is down with bronchitis. The librarian always has really interesting choises on a rack near the door. Today's included "Our famous Guest" : Mark Twain in Vienna and Vienna : Views for my Austria category (Cheating, too bacause they are both in English). Also Perfect Hostage about Aung San Suu Kyi for biographies. I also borrowed The Brothers Karamozov (Classics) and a Danielle Steel.

So I'm all set for the next week or two if I can just finish Vermessung der Welt and Austrian Fantasy, both of which are going very slowly.

Might just pull out Powder and Patch, though.

I began The Worst Hard Time last night and am having trouble putting it down. Who would have thought that a book about the Dust Bowl would be a page turner? A lot reflects forward to now and my earlier view of Hoover as affable but unequal to the task of managing the Depression (based entirely on a photo of him beaming like a little kid who's won the spelling bee) is taking a beating. But now Roosevelt's in and things are more hopeful. The more things change...

At lunch, I started a book by jazz great Wynton Marsalis called Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life. I think this has the potential to be one of the best books I've read in a long time.

Even so, I have a long (80 minutes each way) train ride into the city tomorrow so I think I want something lighter and fluffier. I'll probably take the new Janet Evanovich "between the numbers book that just came out. Plum Spooky.

I took a break from my 999 books and read The Way to Dusty Death last night. I love that one.

Then today I started The Language Instinct, and even though I'm only 1 chapter in, it's already capturing my interest better than the other two books I'm struggling with!

I like the Kipling book, but it's told with lots of dialect and footnotes. I hate that! It doesn't feel like reading for fun. It feels like homework, and I'm not in the mood.

233-- That description of Hoover makes me giggle, because I always felt more or less the same way about him. Maybe I should add The Worst Hard Time to my own History category, I read too much about other countries' history and not enough about my own.

I spent the afternoon harrumphing my way through the abominable MacGregor Brides (a class assignment! I swear!) And this evening I must start The French Revolution and Human Rights, but hopefully that will be informative at the very least. As an antidote, I will soon begin Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, the first book in my "Books I'm ashamed to be seen with" category. Tony's snotty attitude sounds like just the ticket right about now.

I finished The Perfect Scent today and am debating between Justinian's Flea and And the Band Played On for my Epidemiology category.

Decisions, decisions! I might sneak in a "Mysteries By Authors I've Never Read Before" book - perhaps A Clue for the Puzzle Lady or The 39 Steps.

I started reading Duma Key. Its a long book and its starting rather slowly . . .

I'm still trying to finish American Sphinx the biography of Thomas Jefferson.

I finished An American Childhood - finally! and started The Language Instinct. I'm enjoying it so far, but I've barely started.

I finished Holiday in Death by J.D. Robb this weekend. It was a pretty good book for the In Death series. I get them in the mail as part of a book chain with members of my main (SIGR) book club.

I started The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy. Both are side reads with some of the SIGR book club. I'm through Part One of The Book Thief and am liking it so far. It's fast easy reading and I'm trying not to fly through it. So I started The Crossing, which I know will take me awhile to read. That group of SIGR members is reading several works of Cormac McCarthy.

Finished Julie and Julia last night and I'm reading Better Off by Eric Brende now. I'll post a review of Julie and Julia this evening. I liked it, with reservations.

#241 I think I'm one of the only people who was underwhelmed by The Book Thief. Or am I? I agree it's easy reading and enjoyable, but I wasn't really touched.

I'm reading A Fine Balance and really enjoying it, though I agree with others in that it's far from light reading.

Finished The Remedy by Michelle Lovric. Enjoyable romp through Venice and London. Love, murder and intrigue in the 18th Century.

Just started Wild Swans by Jung Chang.

Are we going to start a new 'What are You Reading' thread for each month, or just let this one go on? Just curious.

The Russians are coming! I'll be diving in to The Brothers Karamazov tomorrow. I've started two discussion threads so we should be in good shape for our group read.

This thread is getting pretty big, so I vote for starting a new one Sunday.

I just started The Spellman Files. Good story so far.

The Russians are at my place too. =) I brought The Brothers Karamazov tonight and The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver.

I vote for a new thread Sunday as well.

I'm reading The Shadow in the Wind and so far it's quite interesting.

I started on Chicken Skin, a book of ghost stories from Hawaii. Its not super long, so I'm hoping to wrap it up before the end of the month.

These e-mail reminders from the Library - and my need to check out things! I'm finishing up Swamp Thing: Dark Genesis and will likely have to read Epileptic before finishing my last two chapters of Gamorrah (which now has me paranoid about my groceries!).

#246, I started March and I am enjoying it so far. A new thread sound good to me.

#245, Victoria, I have my Brothers K all set for tomorrow.

At this moment I am reading : Alcatraz versus the evil librarians by Brandon Sanderson. It is nr. 4/81

Yes, Let's start a new one tomorrow. This is getting much too long.

I started The Brothers Karamazov tonight. I'm also reading an ebook, The Alexander Cipher by Will Adams.

I am reading 3 books now

1. Word Fugitives
2. Just After Sunset
3. Imperial life in emerald city