Group Reading Log: April 2009

I'm still going on The Golden Notebook and Red Seas Under Red Skies.

What is everyone else reading?

Dymocks has just sent me the latest Phryne Fisher book, Murder on a Midsummer Night by Kerry Greenwood.

... and I have The Fig Eater by Jody Shields, lent to me by one of my daughters, so that will probably be next on the list unless I can get out and buy some more books - I am not allowed to drive or do anything physical for another two weeks.

and I'm still going on TC Boyles The Women which has so far taught me that Frank Lloyd Wright was a selfish manipulative bastard who had very poor taste in women... but maybe there'll be light at the end of the tunnel (or at the beginning of the tunnel, since it is bio-fiction told in reverse)

Well a day off work today has me kicking off April already - finished up two books which I started during March:
The Cat who played Brahms, and
the sight of the stars

I am about to start The Thieves of Ostia the first in a Young Adult mystery series - have caught the TV show on ABC and it wasn't too bad.

I finally finished How late It Was, How Late. Took me an age, not because it was a difficult read, but 'cos other things got in the way. Despite the stream of consciousness style and the Glaswegian dialect, it's actually not a challenging read at all; in fact it's quite compelling in a strange way. Nothing momentous happens but that's OK. Well, guess I shouldn't really say that . . . if I were to suddenly go blind after a 'going over' and had to cope totally on my own I'd call that pretty momentous! The (very) frequent use of the "f" word may put some people off a tad but it is used appropriately - some people do speak and think like that. It was more commonly used when he was stressed, upset, angry, agitated etc (which was understandably much of the time), but there were other long paragraphs where it hardly featured. Fair enough, I thought.

The writing did let you 'get inside his head' extremely well, showing the diametrically opposed positions and attitudes of someone like Sammy vs anyone in any type of bureaucracy. And despite the fact that no-one did anything to help him he didn't lie down and snivel and lay blame, but just got on with it.

The book did win the Booker prize in 1994 (although apparently was a 'compromise' choice) and is also in the 1001 list. The sort of book I probably never would have picked up otherwise, but glad that I have now read.

Currently I'm reading Dexter #3 Dexter in the Dark, which I ordered from the library, as Dexter #4 Dexter by Design is already on its way as a bookring. And undoubtedly will arrive the same day as another which is on its way, and perhaps one or two others I wasn't even aware were coming . . . . . ;)

Last night I finished re-reading Corridors of Death by Ruth Dudley Edwards. It was her first whodunnit and introduces Robert Amiss and Scotland Yard's Superintendent Jim Milton.

It is a damming and probably true picture of what goes on behind the scenes in Whitehall as the author started her working life as a civil servant.

Ruth Dudley Edwards' fiction always deals with the absurdity of officialdom and the damming effects of political correctness which she presents with humour and a few very un-political correct words and statements.

Her books have recently all been re-published by Poison Pen Press, for anyone who enjoys a good whodunnit and gets annoyed by PC ...

I'm currently reading Etham Frome, and Bryson's Shakespeare. I started EF last night but didn't get very far, as I was tired. Bryson has a knack of making whatever he talks about interesting -- plus it helps that I'm interested in the subject.
Last weekend I read Sorry by Gail Smith, which I was engrossed by. I tried earlier in the year and it didn't grab me, but this time it did. I also read The Road Home, by Rose Tremaine, which I really loved. She manages to evoke such a sense of time and place in all her books, and really gets into the heads of her characters.
I've been meaning to read How Late It Was, How Late for some time, but I've not yet got a copy.
I've got another TC Boyle waiting in the wings - The Road to Welville. Anyone read it?
I tried to read The Golden Notebook many years ago, but I just didn't get through it.

livrecache, I'm not getting into The Golden Notebook either. I'll give it another day or two (it's my commuting read) and then decide whether to continue or not. The opening chapter had far too much dialogue (which I'm not a fan of) and then the first "notebook" chapter is all about what makes art. Again, something I find rather dull to read. (Maybe I'll just flick forward a few pages and see if it continues for much longer...)

I started The Road to Wellville once or twice, but never seem to get past the opening scene. And I loved Tremain's Music and Silence but never got into any of her other books.

Really enjoying Red Seas Under Red Skies, the second in the Gentlemen Bastard series. Again the plots are piling up thick and fast and we have no idea how Locke et al will get out of it, but we know they will. With style, and a quip, and egg on their enemy's faces.

And I picked up Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies yesterday. I've had a copy for yonks, I'm not sure if I've read it (I read a lot of his books many many years ago and now am very fuzzy on the details; apart from the exceptional The Loved One which I studied in school and I want to revisit since I started watching "Six Feet Under" for the first time this week). And now it's cropped up in a few places, so I thought 'what the hey' and I'm enjoying. He's a great writer.

Unfortunately, my copy is an old second hand one and the cover practically fell off in my hands when I opened it! I'm hoping some sticky tape and/or contact will patch it up enough for a ray once I'm done with it...

I have finished re-reading The Saint Valentine's Day Murders by Ruth Dudley Edwards. It is her second whodunnit and introduces Ellis Pooley. It is interesting to see how his character develops over the series. He is pictured in this book as a rather over-enthusiastic wimp. But, of course, he improves immeasurably in later books.

I am now reading "Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord" by "Louis de Bernières" which was very thoughtfully sent to me by crimson-tide who took pity on my new-bookless state and checked my wishlist. It is a rather strange book and, unlike Captain Corelli's Mandolin I am finding the plot very hard to follow; there was one chapter which I skipped altogether as it seemed to have very little to do with the plot except to highlight how superstitious the main players were, and it was pretty weird into the bargain.

Edited to put in inverted commas since the Touchstones seem to be having a problem with the accents or something ...

livrecache, I thought The Road To Wellville took too long to get going but it was ultimately a worthwhile read. I've found the same thing with Boyle's The Women which I've been reading for about two weeks now - I should finish it tonight or tomorrow and I'm enjoying the second half considerably more than the first. By comparison, I found Boyle's other bio-fiction, The Inner Circle, much more entertaining.

Finally finished The Far Pavilions. An epic read, but worth the effort if you're a historical fiction fan like me, and also enjoy long saga-type reads. :-)

Now onto The Wide Window which I should have sent on long ago for the Oz VBB, but it won't take me long and will be winging it's way away soon.

Hey wookiebender, I have a copy of The Loved One stashed somewhere. Maybe I'll throw it up the TBR stack and see if it will stick!?

And pinkozcat - I think the reason that the touchstones are throwing a wobbly is that it is 'Coca' in the title, rather than 'Coco' . . . give that a try.
:D

Thank you but it didn't work anyway. I think that I might have to take out the accents, although I thought that this was an international site.

I think that I'll leave them in anyway - it is the correct spelling of the author's name.

Wookiebender I read The loved one when at school and thought it incredible. I still remember the passage about the amazing peaches, ready pipped and sprayed with perfume to make them more peachy. Only in America.

My reading slump appears to be continuing, and I only read four pages of Bluebeard's egg yesterday while trying to feed the baby...

At this rate, I should finish the book when he's 6yrs old!

As for T.C. Boyle I find his works greatly researched and insightful, but sometimes a little dry. I never finished The road to Wellville, but I think I dragged myself to the very end with The inner circle. Drop city I enjoyed every work of though. I read all of the above as bookrings (thanks Freelunch) and have just received Shedward's copy of Friend of the Earth. Not that I will be starting it any time soon....

But I take my hat off to you Crimson-tide: Dexter by design! I am a big scaredy cat and hate all things bloody and gore-related. My husband loved the television series (I think he saw two series), but really not for me. give me something more well-heeled.

I have been eyeing my bookshelves for the last few days, and while I have three bookrings that I am going to pass on to Goodthinkingmax unread (all Booker shorties from 2008), I do have two other bookrings to read:
- Westward ho by Samuel Beckett: looks short, but scarily difficult
- Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto: which looks a lot of fun
I also have three promised books to read and post on:
- The bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
- Crying of lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
- The orange girl by Jostein Gaarder

My personal challenge is to read all five and finish the Atwood this month. Wish me luck!

Jubby: luck! :)

pinkozcat: I was impressed by your use of accents, actually! Having also started off with Captain Corelli, I was also a bit taken aback by Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord (yep, it's definitely the accent), which my brother-in-law bought for me as being the "real" Louis de Bernieres (nope, no touchstone there either). I actually ended up quite enjoying the heroic grandeur of it all, although I have to admit, I haven't finished the other two magical realist de Bernieres books he gave me at the same time.

wookiebender, Jubby, crimson-tide: I loved The Loved One too, although I must have been a bit behind. I read it at uni.

As for me, I've been in hiding lately. Embarrassingly, am still reading Anna Karenina! But I *will* finish it, darn it, I will!!!

Jubby: Pynchon?! A double dose of luck! Gravity's Rainbow almost killed me as an undergrad.

Wookiebender, if the cover of a paperback falls right off I have found that laying a strip of double sided mounting tape along the spine of the book sticks the cover back very neatly.

it took a while but I finally finished The Women tonight. As mentioned above the first half was a bit of a chore but it was ultimately a worthwhile read, though why T.C. Boyle would choose to write this particular book about Frank Lloyd Wright is beyond me - he has relatively little to say about FLW's achievements and he writes him as arrogant, manipulative and extremely unlikeable.

next up for me: The Muse Asylum

Freelunch your mention of Frank Lloyd Wright has me interested.

I know that he had a complicated love life, and that this was the centre of a bizarre murder in 1914. There is a fictional book of this event (from an Australian writer) called Careless, which I received/scabbed from the Oz VBB. I've yet to read it, but will definitely move it up the tbr pile after reading about Frank Lloyd Wright on wikipedia just now.

Perhaps T.C.Boyle chose to write about Frank Lloyd Wright as he's a famous American male with a complex and prickly life (much like Kellog and Kinsey)? I am intrigued by The women now, but still feel snowed under.

Miss-Owl: I started reading Crying lot 49. Hard! Makes head hurt. Give me Margaret Atwood any day!

I read The Crying of Lot 49 some years back. Weird shit. But mercifully short weird shit.

Definitely gave up on The Golden Notebook. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't grabbing me at all.

Started The Slap this morning on the bus. It's not going to be an easy read (Tsiolkas is challenging, *and* it's going to be about our attitudes to raising kids, which immediately makes my hackles rise but he's a good enough writer that I don't think he'll be taking sides or anything so I should calm down), but I'm engrossed already.

Pinkozcat, the split in Vile Bodies cover is the front part which is torn half way down along the edge of the spine. Much further, and it'll be a book minus its front cover. I think regular sticky tape (and lots of it) will have to be the solution in this case.

Dexter in the Dark is definitely not the best of the series - it goes off on a real tangent as far as the Dark Passenger is concerned, and I'm not sure that it's a particularly successful tangent. And the next Dexter lobbed into the post box today (bookring), though I won't get to it for a while yet.

And while on the Dexter kick . . . WIN television has finallydecided to screen the TV adaptation, beginning tonight (at least I hope it is the beginning).

Next up for me is one for the Book Club: The Warrior Queen by Barbara Else, with the tag line "revenge has never been so sweet". Hmmmm, we'll see I guess.

I have just finished reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft 2E by Denise Zimmerman and Katherine A. Gleason. This is a great basic guide to Wicca. Perfect for the beginner witch, there are some sections that will be helpful to most Pagan paths. Nevertheless, this book is mainly about Wicca (annoyingly, since not all witches are Wiccan), so other Pagans may prefer to find something a little more relevant to their own path.

Finished reading The World's Greatest Secrets by Allan Hall. This is an interesting, basic summary of some of history's biggest secrets. Some (such as Marilyn Monroe and Rock Hudson) are so famous even I had heard of them. Others are not so well-known. All are fascinating. A great starting point for launching into further research.

I have recently finished Three Bedrooms, One Corpse by Charlaine Harris & The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey. Both mysteries but they couldn't be more different & I enjoyed them both the more for their differences.

I'm not sure what's next.

ETA: I did do the double brackets for the authors so I don't know why they aren't working as designed. *shrug*

catsalive, the touchstones for the authors rarely work but we keep on trying anyway.

I have just finished reading Murder on a Midsummer Night by Kerry Greenwood which I enjoyed, but ... I know that the population of Victoria was smaller in 1929 but I can not imagine by what huge leap Phryne guessed the identity of the missing child, now an adult.

I have now started a book which one of my daughter's lent me. We don't share the same taste in books so it will be interesting to read it. It is The Fig Eater by Jodie Shields which is a whodunnit set in 1910 when forensic investigations were in their infancy. Watch this spot ...

Finished Red Seas Under Red Skies - it's usual whirlwind of activity and double-triple-and-quadruple-crossings from (and to) Locke Lamora et al. Very enjoyable, but I think I preferred the first, mainly because it was all so fresh and fun. Second book, you know what to expect. (The unexpected.) But still, lots of laughs, tension, and adventure on the high seas! (Arrrrr!)

And then onto Q is for Quarry the last of the Sue Grafton alphabet series on Mt TBR (although there are a few others I haven't read yet but will source elsewhere another time). And the first for the "Set it Yourself" challenge for this quarter. (Yay me!)

My reading has slowed a bit over the past couple of weeks. I have taken a break from Great Expectations, eventhough I was thoroughly enjoying it and read a short Aus historical novel, Miles McGinty, such a sweet story a bit like a fairytale, similiar style to Eucalyptus.
The Gift of Rain has arrived just in time for my Easter Read. Looking forward to it :-)

Miles McGinty? I was thinking of that book just the other day.

I read it when it first came out, but last weekend I had this wild idea that we would go and have brunch at a particular cafe I'd heard of in Stanmore, and without consulting a map or internet for the address, I got us there and parked in a side street (which is amazing because I am a nervous, p-plater driver), only to discover that they were not open. But, we did a spot of house gazing, and discussed wistfully what the area must have been like when many of the houses were built - just like Miles McGinty.

From memory there is a bit about Bronte-Coogee too, which has a great coastal walk. A great book for Sydney lovers.

Me? I think I've read a grand total of 23 pages of Crying of lot 49. But, at work today we've been reading Sadako and furiously folding paper cranes. Such a moving story, but I suspect I could now actually fold one with my eyes closed!

The Easter holidays have official begun, and I plan to get some *Serious* reading done - and not just of the CBCA short listed books for 2009.

Good luck with The gift of rain Freepages/Kim-B.

My husband is still muddling along with The slap - which I am meant to be reading for the online reading group ANZLITLOVERS. I think I'll poach it from his work bag, and try and finish it on the long weekend. The email discussion has me intrigued.

Happy choc fest everyone - says she who just ate a milk chocolate bunny for dinner...

Finished reading The Gold Coast by Kim Stanley Robinson. Part of Kim Stanley Robinson's 'Three Californias' trilogy, The Gold Coast is an alternative view of life in the 21st century. The writing style is unique and was a little annoying and distracting at first. However, once I got used to it, I found myself totally engrossed in the story. The story is periodically dissected by poetry, which is interesting. The themes of globalisation, corporatisation and conquest are explored thoroughly and well, and the sense that there is something missing from today's fast-paced society is expressed well. This is definitely worth reading.

Miles McGinty is really good for place names isn't it :-)

Also from all round NSW. His travelling actress mum, called him Miles, in consideration of how far she'd carried him around the country.
"In his first year he travelled to Yass and Gulgong and Tamworth and Bathurst....once venturing as far as Albury....."

Then there are the stories that follow the Levitator around like the one "at the Gunnedah Hotel, a one-legged prospector reckoned he could disappear by drinking a pint of gin and brought out a mirror to prove it. An old bloke on the verrandah swore he met Moses on the fields at Kiandra."

Just loved it, such a quaint little book. Still fresh in my mind and sitting here beside the lap-top, as you could probably tell ;-)

finished The Muse Asylum, a very entertaining little mystery novel.

next up: Handle With Care

Well I picked upRobert A Heinlein's Farnham's Freehold this morning and have just finished it. Wasn't the best example of Heinlein's work - but was a great distraction for sitting in a doctors surgery for a few hours this afternoon.

I've never heard of Miles McGinty before, but it's going straight onto the wishlist!

I haven't read a Heinlein in years! Mr TQD swears by the small ones as great adventure stories (he still reads Starship Troopers quite regularly), but I read too many of the big chunky 70s ones to ever go back to him.

I finished reading The Way-Paver by Anne Devlin. This is a wonderful collection of stories written with the unique voice of Ireland. My favourite stories in the collection are Five Notes After A Visit and Naming the Names. Both stories are set in the time of the troubles, but both are told from very different points of view. I highly recommend this book.

I'm still on my football (NFL, not soccer) kick and just finished The Draft. It's a bit dated and things have changed a lot since 2005 with the advent of the NFL Network, but it was interesting to see four years later, where some of these players are. Now I'm reading Why Fantasy Football Matters (purse book) and I just picked up Confessions of a She-Fan after a three month wait on the library waiting list so that's my backpack book.

Also recently finished Getting What you Came For, which I'd been reading for months. Was an interesting look at a path down academic grad school.

One of these days I'll get back into fiction.

I have just finished reading The Fig Eater by Jody Shields. It is a very strange book with a mixture of forensic investgation into a murder coupled with witchcraft and superstition.

The murderer is uncovered but he must have been lying about what happened because the ending doesn't match the police findings at the beginning of the book.

Not a book which I would recommend ... it was all rather silly and I wouldn't have bothered to finish it if I'd had a better option.

The Warrior Queen actually turned out to be better than I'd been expecting. A light & quick read about a husband having an affair and the wife's reactions to it and what she does in response.

Next up is The Body Artist by Don DeLillo - a 1001 book which I remember some comment about on this forum not that long ago, but can't for the life of me remember what was said or who said it!!

crimson-tide, it could have been me who mentioned The Body Artist. And not in glowing terms, I really found it a complete wank, to be honest.

Hoping to find time for my Easter ritual: reading Beowulf. It always rains at Easter in Sydney, and is usually cold (not this year, *sigh*) and with the coming of winter it's the perfect book to read while huddling under the doona on a dark wet cold night. (Where's my cold weather???)

Do you read Beowulf in the original? I have the translated Penguin edition and love it. I know that there is a later translation but it doesn't seem to have the same poetry ... a bit like comparing the Authorised Version and the Good News bibles I guess.

When I was at school my English teacher read some of the original to the class and it was amazingly understandable when read properly. I have a book which contains the original and have done a course in reading Old and Middle English, but it is all a bit difficult ...

Finished reading Mummies: Unwrapping the Past by Rosalie David. It is short, but it manages to cover a lot of ground. Punctuated throughout with pictures and photographs, this book explains what mummies are, various mummification processes (and the reasons behind it) and the scientific techniques used to study mummies. Written in language simple enough for the layman to understand, this is the perfect introduction for teaching children about the world of mummies.

My reading list has now been wittled down to more manageable levels lol. I am currently reading five books. These are:
The Waitress by Sinclair Smith
Stone Cold by Robert Swindells
Shadows by John Saul
The Life of Riley by Steve Wright and
Nightbloom by Herbert Lieberman

pinkozcat: I actually have the more recent translation of Beowulf by Seamus Heaney and I think it's spot-on perfect and the Penguin translation is clunky. Just what you're used to, I guess. :) But I never got anywhere with the Penguin edition, but the Heaney translation is a yearly re-read ever since I bought it. (Although I agree with you on the Good News bible. Gimme King James any day.)

I once saw the edition you're talking about in a bookshop, with the original on one side and the modern English translation on the other but resisted. It's one of Those Books That Got Away because it wasn't there when I went back. (And let's not mention the first edition of Fahrenheit 451 that I couldn't afford, but when I went back a week later, it'd been sold. *sob*)

There was a great doco on ABC Sunday Arts last weekend that Mr TQD taped, all on Samuel Johnson and the "first" English dictionary. Great stuff, I must go out and find a copy! (Or borrow my Mum's, I know she has one somewhere...)

Took my hubby out for a "dirty weekend" to celebrate his birthday - and after nearly losing him on Australia Day, followed by a month of major operations, it was a real celebration :)

But seeing as we are both bookworms - our idea of a dirty weekend is reading uninterrupted - LOL!!!

Well maybe not only - but that would be telling ;)

Still yesterday afternoon was spent sitting side by side on a balcony overlooking the sea - each with book in one hand and wine in the other - and I got to finish specials and make a good innings into Be still my vampire heart

Happy Easter everyone

Yes, sally906, having the kids out of the house for the weekend with me is always seen as the perfect opportunity to catch up on sleep and books. For Mr TQD it's a chance to hang out at his favourite cafe, drinking coffee slowly and reading the paper without interruptions. Not about S-E-*covers eyes and waves other hand around in a cross-shaped fashion*. Having kids changed priorities in my life all over the place, and in quite unexpected fashions sometimes. :)

Personally, I'm looking forward to the kids' bedtimes tonight so I can pick up and continue with Q is for Quarry. Mr Bear read the title to me last night (with help for the "quarry" bit, obviously) after reading half of Parsley Rabbit's Book about Books out loud to me. He's suddenly got the idea of reading and spelling-out and we're awfully proud. (Yay him!)

I finished my latest essay yesterday so today I'm reading the first in Nancy Pickard's Jenny Cain series, Generous Death. I've managed to gather all 10 of the series so I'll be reading them in order, although not all at once.

Mid-term break is coming up though, so once I get myself all caught up on work I'll be able to read a few novels in a row. Bliss!

Finished reading The Waitress by Sinclair Smith. This was fairly average and predictable, even for a teen novel. The characters were shallow and textbook, the plot done to death, the twists weren't the least bit surprising and the thrills were entirely absent. Definitely not on my recommended reading list.

#43 The only Nancy Pickard book I have read was The Virgin of Small Plains which I thought was one of the best mystery stories I have ever read.

I'd be really interested in your opinion of the rest of her books. If they are up to the standard of The Virgin I might pay a visit to Amazon.co.uk . I never see her books in the local bookstores.

Ah, Easter came and went with no fit opportunity to read Beowulf. I shall wait for some more winter-y weather, I think.

I did however finish Q is for Quarry. Another good romp, although I'm not entirely convinced a story arc across the last dozen or so books (since about "L" I think) is required. But at least it stays in the background - I think I'm just worried it's going to take over the plot and leave the sleuthing to one side, and I read these for the sleuthing, dammit! This is the last book of the series I have on Mt TBR, so hurrah! They've been gathering dust for far too long, it's great getting them moving again.

And I picked up The Diary of a Nobody, which is another bookray (at least this one's only been on my Mt TBR for a few weeks). Amusing start, although I am hoping for some more belly-laughs or depths as I proceed. (Other people's comments have been encouraging, however.)

Both books are being read as part of the "Set it Yourself Challenge", I'm working my way through ALL the bookrings/rays that have set up permanent camp next to my bed in the Mt TBR ranges... (And I'm cheating, doing all the short/fluff ones first. The really big chunky ones are still there...)

I have finished reading Stone Cold by Robert Swindells. This isn't overly great in the thrills department. However, it is well-written with very realistic descriptions of what it is like to live on the streets. The plight of homeless young people and the callous, uncaring attitude shown them by many in society is highlighted by this story and, while it is set in London, it is relevant to us all. More should definitely be done to keep these kids safe, sheltered and fed. This is a good book for tweens and teens.

I have also added to the list of books I am currently reading. As well as those already stated earlier, I am reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.

I'm enjoying Nancy Pickard's Jenny Cain series so much I'm up to the 3rd, No Body (1986), after Generous Death (1984) & Say No to Murder (1985). Jenny is a likeable character without the silliness of so many cozy mystery sleuths. The interaction between Jenny and her love interest, copper Geof Bushfield, is amusing & doesn't make me cringe from excessive sweetness or graphic sex scenes.

I read the 8th book, But I Wouldn't Want to Die There, over 10 years ago & enjoyed it so much I decided I wanted to get to know Jenny from the beginning. I love to see characters develop over a series of books.

#45 minnie, you might like these - not the best ever written perhaps but very likeable

I have finished reading Shadows by John Saul. The concept of true artificial intelligence is always scary, especially when that intelligence wakes up and realises the total power and control it can wield. I quite liked the ending of this book as well. Having said that, however, I come to the book's main handicap - it's forgettable. It is just one day since I finished reading Shadows and I've already forgotten my feelings and impressions while reading it. In my opinion, an enjoyable read, but not worth a second look.

I have just begun reading The Black Death by Philip Ziegler. It's quite interesting so far, but he has an annoying habit of including foreign language phrases without translations.

I have finished re-reading all but one of Ruth Dudley Edwards' books: The English School of Murder, Ten Lords A-Leaping and my favourite, The Anglo-Irish Murders.

I have now begun reading Venus in Copper by Lindsey Davis, the third of the Falco series and the only one which I didn't have. I think that it had to be re-printed because Amazon.co.uk hasn't been able to get it for me. I ended up getting it online from Dymock's and even then it had to be wait listed.

#40 Wookiebender, as a lover of Beowulf, you might enjoy reading a short poem by Beocat, AKA Henry Beard, entitled Grendel's Dog.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~ploke/Pinkbutnotb/Cartland15.html

I hope that the link works ...

Ha! Feller of fleas & bane of barrow-bunnies... Brave Beocat! I like it.

I finished The Life of Riley by Steve Wright. This has a great Australian flavour to it for those who, like me, love Aussie Lit. According to the cover, it is "A family story about the quest for happiness...and sex, greed, gluttony and revenge." This is true, but this story is also about learning to know oneself. It is about knowing what you want from life and having the courage to reach for it.

In the beginning of this book, none of the Riley's are truly happy. Why? Because they are shuffling along, leading the lives they've landed in without ever once stopping to take note of whether it is what they truly want. When Maude Acacia, the Matriarch of the family gives them a financial incentive to do so, most of them find the courage to follow their hearts.

This book is easy to read. It is amusing and the characters are people we can relate to because, despite their riches, they face the same everyday problems as us. As with most families there is jealousy, envy and rivalry, but in essence what this book is really about is happiness and the journey we take to get there.

I highly recommend it. Thanks, freelunch for hosting the OzVBB, which gave me the opportunity to read this (and froggirlwendy for offering it up).

I finished reading Nightbloom by Herbert Lieberman. This book started out well and the story has great potential. Unfortunately, the author failed to live up to the promise. This was a very boring book with loads of unnecessary digressions (did we really need a blow-blow account of the races?) from the main story. I wouldn't read it again.

I have just finished be still my vampire heart a nice vampire romance. Am currently reading Beware false Profits the third in a very nice little cozy mystery series. Next up is Nation by Terry Prachett.

On Friday I am flying down to the Gold Coast for a week to bond with my almost 2 year old grandson. Have packed 5 books for the trip - if I run out my daughter lives close to Pacific Fair and I am sure there will be a book shop or two there :)

Sally906>>>Enjoy your trip. I hope you have a nice flight and that you and your grandson have fun :-)

Finished The Slap - a very powerful, not always easy but always compelling read. It's been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin this year. I also finished The Diary of a Nobody which is a "1001" book, and I do have to say it left me slightly cold. I could see the humour, but I think it was much more appreciated by British readers (please note the "1001" list is a British book originally). Humour is one of those very personal things though, so of course, feel free to differ. :)

Pinkozcat, Beocat is awesome. "Short-haired Hrodent-slayer, greatest of the pussy-Geats". One of our kittens (now six months, so hardly a kitten any more) caught a mouse the other day. I might rename him Beocat for the next week or so...

I have just finished reading Venus in Copper by Lindsey Davis ... the only one of the Falco books which I had not read.

I see that there is another in the series being released in June. I'll probably put in an order for it next week.

The next book on my Mt TBR is Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote.

Beocat ... Noble Battle-Kitten??? :)

Finished reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.

The beginning of this book is a bit boring, but it is worth persisting. Unlike typical fantasies which are either set in a whole other world entirely, or in which a her is catapulted back into the past, this is set in the present day. In this book there are two levels of existence - London Above (where all us boring people live) and London Below which contains all the people who have slipped through the cracks, including angels and mythical beasts. And it is to London Below that our hero finds himself drawn after an act of chivalry leaves him unable to live his normal life Above.

This is an engrossing tale with well-developed characters and twists around every corner. It was definitely better than I expected and I would recommend it to all fantasy fans.

#55 - Sally, I really enjoyed the 1st in Emilie Richard's series, Blessed is the Busybody, so I must read the next 2 soon (both on MtTBR)..

I'm continuing with the Jenny Cain series... Currently reading the 5th book, Dead Crazy. The 4th book, Marriage is Murder, was excellent.

Nation, Murder on a Midsummer Night, Neverwhere, & the Lindsey Davis Falco series are also awaiting my attention on said Mountain.

#53 - I was glad to read this review as The Life of Riley is also languishing on the pile.

I gave up on Kinsey Milhone after O because they'd lost their zing after L or M. I see that U is now out. I do have Q & R so maybe I'll catch up with them one day.

fairy-whispers, I haven't read Neverwhere, but I do have a copy of it on VHS (alas and alack, my old VCR is toast however, so I do have to upgrade this to the newfangled DVD technology post haste). It's an interesting one, as he wrote the screenplay first, and then adapted it for a book (along with all the stuff he originally wanted, but proved to be unfilmable - I believe there is a boar in the book, but they were so fat & tame that they had to upgrade to a highland bull or something - it looks shaggy and mean, but apparently was completely docile as well!).

I did finally borrow a friend's copy of the book some months ago, so I must get around to reading it.

Dammit!! the next Falco book is still 14 months away - I misread the date. At this stage it will be called Nemesis by Lindsey Davis.

There are about a dozen books by that name so I have put in the author's name so that the new book will not be attributed to Isaac Asimov. :)

I've read several of Jodi Picoult's books, more than enough to see the obvious patterns emerge in her plots. I usually enjoy the voices she gives her characters even if the stories themselves can feel uncomfortably voyeuristic at times.

So I thought I knew what to expect from Handle With Care, and I was right up to a point, that point being that the legal battle on which this book focuses is just plain wrong, a fact every character seems to be well aware of. Maybe the author's purpose was to write about unjust law suits and not osteogenesis imperfecta.

And the ending sucks. I didn't mind My Sister's Keeper's downbeat conclusion but the final chapter here is just miserable.

next up for me is Chickenfeed, a "Quick Read" novella I'll probably finish tonight (to help boost my ready-to-release books so I can tackle a couple of bookrings which arrived in today's post)

I have finished reading Breakfast at Tiffany's and I must admit that I found it a bit disappointing but I still have vague memories of the film, with Audrey Hepburn perfect for the part of Holly Golightly, but there was no Hollywood happy ending and Cat was never given a name; in fact, Holly abandoned Cat but he fortunately found himself a good home. There were three shorter stories as well and I enjoyed them more - probably because I had no expectations regarding them.

The next two books on Mt TBR are I'll be Seeing You by Mary Higgins Clark and Dark Paradise by Tami Hoag.

I'll probably read Hoag first - 'There's a Killer Loose in Paradise ...' before Clark - 'Clark can Prickle Scalps with Shivery Skill'. I suspect that I may have read that one before, in the high and far off times ...

true to its series, Chickenfeed was a quick read, and an enjoyable one - A fictionalised retelling of a murder which occurred in 1924. I have a bunch of unread Minette Walters books sitting in my 'W' crate and after this I think I need to pull a couple out.

next up for me is Weapon X, a Wolverine novel (not a comic) which covers much the same ground as the forthcoming movie so I'll probably enjoy the book more if I read it first.

Had a great time reading The Gift of Rain and yes we did get a gift of a little rain while I was reading it. Almost my favourite from the 2007 booker challenge. But Mister Pip still holds that place :-)
Just Darkmans to go now and I've finished the challenge!

Badly needed some light relief after work yesterday and The List: A love story in 781 chapters arrived, it's such a hoot, Bridget Jones in fast forward. It only takes about an hour to read the whole thing.

About to start Asleep which just arrived. Thanks Jubby :-)

I cant believe how civilised the bookrings' behaviour is at the moment, read one and another one just turns up....it can't last- I signed up for so many they are bound to start arriving in droves and bury me under mount TBR soon.

catsalive >>>> I'm glad you liked my review. I hope it was helpful.

wookiebender >>>> I didn't know there was a screenplay at all, let alone that it was first. I'll have to look it up.

My reading often goes in "fits and spurts", and over the last week or so there have been very few "spurts" I'm afraid. I did finally get back to The Body Artist . . . it's such a small book too! I agree that it's a weird one wookiebender, although I wouldn't be quite as scathing as was your assessment. I'm sure there was some point he was trying to make! ;)

I have *finally* finished Anna Karenina! I think it was worth the wait (and the weight too, come to think of it). Once I realised that it wasn't all about Madame Karenina herself, but about the world she lives in & such universal questions as happiness, authenticity and God, I settled into it and really enjoyed it.

Next up: How Proust Can Change Your Life by Alain de Botton, who is currently in Sydney, I believe. Sounds scary but not as scary as the idea of actually reading Proust!

Ah, Miss-Owl, I was just wondering where you were. Just read an email from a friend who isn't at all literary who read and *enjoyed* A Clockwork Orange and was a bit startled by the fact. And I remembered you hadn't liked it, and then realised I hadn't heard from you here for a while, and then thought "oh yes, Ms Karenina". :) I'm glad you liked the Tolstoy, and yay for finishing it!

I finished Vile Bodies and it was a great satirical romp with the Bright Young Things of Mayfair between the wars. Well worth reading.

Am currently pottering through Julie and Julia which has had some scathing comments made about it on a LT forum somewhere (GirlyBooks??), but I'm rather enjoying her sense of humour. And The Player of Games, one of Iain M. Banks' "Culture" series. Good meaty sci-fi.

I am in the middle of reading Dark Paradise by Tami Hoag. For those of us who read Comanche by Fabio - and for those of us who didn't:

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/2874179

... this is the cowboy version where Comanche was the Indian version. It gives rather more graphic details than I would prefer, particularly since it is not humorous like Comanche, whether that one was intentionally humorous or not.

It IS a murder mystery but mostly it is of the bodice ripper genre with the heroine and the cowboy "discovering" each other.

I have read other books by Tami Hoag and she has, to my knowledge, never before descended into bodice rippers but maybe I haven't read enough of them yet. :)

Maybe I'll offer it up as a bookring ...

#71 "For those of us who read Comanche by Fabio"

GUILTY! *blush* It was a laugh :0)

#69 well done with Anna Karenina miss-owl - I was fascinated and saddened by it when I read it in my teens

I've read some mighty trash in my time, but never anything written by Fabio. Those journal entries are priceless! Thanks for posting the link, pinkozcat!

I didn't know Fabio could write.

...Turns out he couldn't! Thanks for the post, pinkozcat :)

#72 - thanks, catsalive - I've finally finished my first Russian novel!

#70 - wookiebender: for no apparent reason I am struck by the oddity of the first name "Leo" for Tolstoy. I actually read Julie and Julia a little while back, but being a survival cook at best, didn't really get into it. I did enjoy A Clockwork Orange after a while, though - after I'd got my head around the intricacies of nadsat and then desensitised myself to the horrific violence. (Hmm... doesn't *really* sound like I enjoyed it, does it?)

Well I am off to the airport in an hour or so to catch a plane to the Gold Coast to play with my grandson (almost 2). I have got Silent on the Moor and Death Masks to keep me entertained for around 6 hours.

Hope it will be enough :) Also have my Nintendo and i-Pod as back up - so should be ok.

There are 4 more books packed to read while there (is only a week) and then will just have to get more books for my return journey (oh no - not more books - what a horrible thought - LOL)

Miss-Owl, one of my best mates has a nephew called "Leo". After a while you get positively used to it (the first few times it always sounded very strange to my ears). There are some strange names floating around with this generation of kids - Miss Boo had a friend called "Queenie" which always made me giggle (very old-fashioned!), and there's at least one kid with an pronounceable/unspellable celtic name at her daycare.

sally906, I love packing for holidays. The book part of it, that is. Don't get nearly enough holidays any more! Enjoy your trip, enjoy your grandson! (Cute age!)

Fell asleep with the kids at about 8:30 last night, so no reading done. Mr TQD came in from work at about 9:30 to discover us all sprawled over the bed, snoring gently. I generally try to read when they're going to sleep in our bed, but Miss Boo was being all wriggly so I thought I'd just show her how it's done, so I put my book down, closed my eyes and then woke up 11 hours later.

tqd "so I put my book down, closed my eyes and then woke up 11 hours later"

Oh, how lovely!

#77> Cats, it was definitely needed. :)

Working back late again tonight, but this means I don't have to come in tomorrow (Saturday). When I rang Mr TQD with the news he said "so you're happy you won't have to work on your day off?". When he puts it *that* way...

Once this project is done and dusted, I'm having a whole day off on time in lieu.

#78 wookiebender - a whole day off... to read!!

#76 wookiebender again - it's not the name Leo per se; it's that it's just "Leo" next to names like "Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky" and "Stephan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky"!

Greetings everyone.

I am most pleased with myself. I've read all the books that I set out to read for this month, and posted them all on (well, except for The slap - which someone left on their desk at work for a couple of weeks).

Hurrah!
My bedside table is feeling much lighter, and I don't feel so bogged down with bookrings. I have even considered reading something from my own bookshelves..! But, unlike Wookiebender and Miss-Owl, I won't be reading any of the classic Russians for a while yet.

Currently I am reading Geek love by Katherine Dunn. Weird, yet strangely compelling. A struggling American circus operator decides to create his own freak show with the help of 'Crystal Lil', a run away aristocrat who joined the circus to become a aerial acrobat, but is crippled after a fall.

I didn't attempt The book with no name though. I nabbed it from Freelunch, but only for a challenge. I had a quick flick, and it really is not my sort of thing. I've since posted it on.

I also have All our worldly goods by Irene Nemirovsky as a bookring, waiting on the bedside. Fingers crossed that I can get to that this month too.

Happy reading.

Finished Summer Knight late last night (or, rather, early this morning). Exhausting books, Harry just jumps from one disaster to another, somehow keeping his head above water and finding out whodunnit and narrowly escaping death (yet again). By the end of the book he hasn't slept in days, the last shower was even longer before, and he's completely stressed out, but Evil has been (momentarily) vanquished and the good guys (ie, Harry) get to walk off into the sunset. And I always feel rather exhausted too! Good fun, still recommended, hasn't fallen into self-parody at all as yet. (And you've got to love a tough black-leather-wearing emotionally scarred hero, who just happens to have a fairy godmother. Cracks me up, every time.)

I was doing good on my challenge to read all my bookrings, and then another two turned up in the mailbox on Friday. Eep.

Weapon X was an entertaining take on an origin story for Wolverine (of the X-Men), and if the trailer is anything to go by it was nothing like the forthcoming film.

also, I've just read Zero Girl, a comic trade paperback which I've seen described as part Lolita and part Carrie which I think is partly accurate, it also has fabulous artwork and an appealing heroine. highly recommended.

next up I'm reading The Lambing Flat

Yesterday I finished Venus Envy by Rita Mae Brown. Definitely not one of her better books! Both the premise and the start of the book showed promise but it went downhill from there.

Next up is Embers by Sandor Marai - a 1001 bookring.

I've just finished The Lambing Flat and I think I need to get over my irrational fear of historical fiction as when I force myself to read it I usually enjoy it. As I did this time :)

next up for me is Conjugal Rites

I have just not bothered to finish The 13th Apostle by Richard and Rachael Heller.

I managed to struggle through 120 pages of bad grammer and cardboard cut-out characters before I had a quick look at the ending which convinced me that the book got progressively worse and finally had our hero dressed, at sunrise, in a white robe and singing words which he didn't understand but content in the knowledge that he was merely a channel to higher things.

Ye gods !!!!!!!!!

"Ye gods !!!!!!!!!"

Indeed!

One less for the wishlist, anyway.

LOL. Want it?? I am just about to dump it on an unsuspecting public.

freelunch, I've been tempted by Conjugal Rites in the bookshops, it does look interesting. I look forward to your comments.

I had only 60 pages left in my reading of The Player of Games when I managed to leave it on my desk at work. I thought "oh well, I can finish it tomorrow night" so didn't insist on being let back in (we were the last out, and had locked up the building) and then realised far too late that I'd been using my weekly TravelPass as a bookmark in guess which book? Gah.

So I'm almost finished The Player of Games (excellent stuff), made decent headway in Julie and Julia (love the food and the descriptions, although the author can grate a bit, and I *do* wish she'd stop talking about her sex life), and started At Large and At Small, "familiar" essays by the wonderful Anne Fadiman.

Conjugal Rites is great fun so far, more-of-the-same for Brenda & Effie but its a *good* more-of-the-same. there's a bit of continuity though so I'd suggest reading Never The Bride and Something Borrowed first if you haven't already.

freelunch, I didn't even know it was part of a series! Thanks for the heads up, I would have been disappointed jumping in at #3 unknowingly.

20 pages to go on The Player of Games! Still don't know how it's going to end, how exciting!