March 2009: What are you reading?

I see it is time for an up-to-date thread, as we are now in March (where does the time go?)

I am currently reading Ghostwalk which is proving to be an easy, relaxing read.

I'm reading The Ghost by Robert Harris.

Two ghostly choices so far. Spooky, isn't it?

I'm reading Dangerous Laughter: 13 Stories by Steven Millhauser.

Now we have two ghostly books and the dangerous number 13....you'd think it was October.

I just finished burning Down the House-Fighting Fires and Losing Myself, winner of some Cdn non-fiction award and am starting Your Friendly Neighbouthood Criminal, crime fiction, non-typical read for me. So far fast paced and fun.

Do you ever wonder why so many writers come from Winnipeg? Nothing else to do all winter long?

I've finished Gods Behaving Badly - a story about the Greek gods in modern day. Hilarious and a great way to get rid of winter blues.
I've started Pale Fire for the LT Group Read which looks most intriguing.
I'm also enjoying The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton which is about how architecture influences our moods - a historical, social and psychological view. Fascinating indeed!

#6 - CecilTurtle, are you enjoying The Architecture of Happiness? It sounds so interesting, but I didn't care for two other de Botton books I read, so I haven't bothered pursuing this one.

Le Petit Prince for a book club.

Le Petit Prince is such a favorite of mine! Enjoy!

#7 - Nickelini, I really like de Botton so I may not be a reference (I read Consolations of Philosophy and How Proust can change your life). In keeping with his style, The Architecture of Happiness is quite light and de Botton does not go into great depth. The book however is heavily illustrated (albeit in black and white) which makes it really easy to relate to what he is talking about. Each chapter is clearly divided into sections, so the arguments flow well. He touches a little bit on everything (homes, public buildings, religious architecture) - this keeps my otherwise short attention span happy. This is not heavy reading but it does give a good sense of how color, form and accepted beauty standards shape our constructions.

I ended up discarding Ghostwalk when I reached the halfway mark. I just lost interest in the story and couldn't motivate myself to finish it. I am now giving Blindspot a go.

Edited to correct touchstone.

Cecilturtle -- sounds exactly like something I'd like. Back on the TBR list it goes!

I'm reading Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein.

I hope you're liking Plato and a Platypus (quite a change from Le Petit Prince!!) - my only problem - I was too busy laughing at the jokes to really look at the philosophy! A really great intro, however. Curious to see how you enjoyed it...

I agree with Cecilturtle 100%...lots of jokes in Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes, but not much to deepen my understanding of philosophy.

I'm on to J'accuse by Emile Zola

Time for some fiction: A Perfectly Good Family by Lionel Shriver. I know I'll be able to get away from the stress at work in this one.

I'm reading Oscar Wilde as I know so little about him but was intrigued by his statue in Dublin. It's a meticulously detailed book so find I'm scanning it in places as I want to find out about him, but I don't want to know quite as much as the author is telling me. I'm picking up The Book of Negroes at the library today so will be starting that.

I've just finished The Tale-Tellers by Nancy Huston, one of my favorite Canadian authors. It's an essay about how human reality is shaped by fiction. Quick, precise sentences; vivid, current examples; original and creative arguments - I just devoured it.

Next on the list, an LT Group Read: A Man of Property by John Galsworthy

I finished Blindspot this evening and I found the book to be an enjoyable, fun read, with a little bit of everything: mystery, romance, comedy, philosophy... a great fast read for a 500 page book!

Next up is The Only Son by Stephane Audeguy, continuing my current trend for historical fictions.

I'm reading Little Bee by Chris Cleave, which I got from LT's early reviewers program. I was intrigued by the description: "We don't want to tell you too much about this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it...Once you have read it you'll want to tell everyone about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens."

I just finished The Book of Negroes and loved it. I'm still reading Oscar Wilde - it is a big book and as The Book of Negroes was only a 7-day loan I had to stop and read it before I finished Oscar.

Arcona, I just finished Lawrence Hill's Any Known Blood and LOVED it! The Book of Negroes is definitely one that I need to read as well.

Currently reading The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood - my second Atwood of the year. I am really starting to enjoy her writing :)

I'm about to launch into Fatal Shore: The epic of Australia's founding by Robert Hughes.

I'm enjoying Edgar Sawtelle, still waiting for Little Bee to show up in my mailbox.

I got Little Bee last week, so yours should be on the way.

YAY, just got the mail and there it was! Little Bee. Now, where's my Do Not Disturb sign...

I just finished The Lies of Locke Lamora and really enjoyed it.
I have Edgar Sawtelle on the TBR table so maybe I will try that next.

My husband has chosen the latest books that we are reading aloud on our commute. The Rideau Club, A Short History: The First Hundred Years by C.H. Little, and Up From the Ashes: The Rideau Club Story by Charles Lynch.

I've just finished reading La Frousse autour du monde by journalist Bruno Blanchet - a hilarious, yet intimate look at the world. It definitely gives a whole new meaning to backpacking (especially to the 40+ crowd...)

Hilarious intimate sounds great to me. I am looking for books to break the cycle of important, and therefore it seems necessarily depressing, books.

I need to quote Little Bee's sister, from the book Little Bee of course....as she turns the music on.....

And now I saw she was so right because life is extremely short and you cannot dance to current affairs. No one likes each other, but everyone likes U2.

I'm reading Common Wealth by Jeffrey D. Sachs for a book club.

I agree, Loosha. I seem to have read a lot of good but dreary books lately too. I finally finished Oscar Wilde and while it was very well researched and written, Wilde was just a wreck waiting to happen. I found I dreaded the ending - he was so brilliant and generous, but also so thoughtless and egotistical that the ending was obvious to everyone but him. I'm glad I read it but now it's time for lighter reading for a while.
I'm just starting Because of Winn-Dixie. It's required reading for the one book club I belong to which consists of my adult daughter, her nine-year old daughter and me. This is our sixth book and I'm so impressed with my granddaughter - she really "gets" books and can carry on a good discussion about the books we take turns choosing. Sometimes we all read different versions of the same book, i.e., a junior version or an abridged version. When I finish Winn-Dixie tonight, I'm going to read Strip Jack by Ian Rankin. I need more light things for a while too.

What a great book club! multi-generational. And you've chosen a wonderful book, too.
I've just finished the Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Today I'll pick up Fruit and The Women by TC Boyle from the library. It's a sunny day, I think I'll walk there.

I love that quote from Little Bee loosha.

I finished The Terror by Dan Simmons last week, roaming around in the Arctic with the remnants of Franklin's expedition. It felt very chilly after that and I wanted to warm up so I'm reading Seer of Egypt now by Pauline Gedge. I love her books, her descriptions of the heat, the foods, the people, they're great escapist reading.

Next up will be Mutiny on the Bounty by John Boyne - more British navy!

I'm reading Amazing Grace by Eric Metaxas for a book club.

I've finished In Chancery, the second book in the Forsyte Saga and I've started To Let, the third of the first trilogy (I can't believe Galsworthy had the stamina for that many thick books - he almost gives Balzac a run for his money!)
I've also finished Men of the Otherworld - not at all my usual reading but I quite enjoyed the change!

I'm slowly digesting The Women by TC Boyle. Love his writing. I'll be looking after Dad this week and he has very high needs, so the reading will have to depend on stolen moments for a while.

I'm reading Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup

I've finished Where Serpents Sleep, a great Regency period murder mystery by C.S. Harris. I am now reading The Miss Hereford Stories by Canadian author Gail Anderson-Dargatz. It is a thin 143 page volume so I will probably finish it this weekend.

I'm reading The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke, a crime novel that takes place during hurricane Katrina. Should be finished by tomorrow.

I just finished reading two good mysteries: Voices by Arnaldur Indridason and Strip Jack by Ian Rankin. I enjoyed the Icelandic setting of Voices and the quiet methodical tone of the book, but I roared right through Ian Rankin's Strip Jack, demolishing it in one sitting. Nothing like a couple of good mysteries as a break from weightier stuff. Now I'm starting Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, a Christmas present that I've been putting off starting for a while.

I've just finished Ou on va papa? by Jean-Louis Fournier a very tough and emotional memoir about a father and his two severely handicapped children. It's about the father's inability to accept his children as they are, having to deal with the social stigma and burying deep-felt feelings of anger, injustice, disappointment, powerlessness... and love. It won the 2008 Prix Femina. I recommend it, but hold on to your emotions - it's brutal.

I'm reading Astonishing Splashes of Colour by Clare Morrall. The main character has synaesthesia, which intrigues me.