What are you reading the week of 9 May, 2009?

Welcome to the start of the new reading week.

I am continuing to read Home by Marilynne Robinson.

Robinson is such a compelling writer. I read Gilead soon after it was published and thought it was absolutely stellar. I would give it two Pulitzer prizes myself.

I'm hoping to have more reading time today as the house will be quieter with my husband off with some friends for a local motorcycle trip. He used to surf when we lived in San Diego, CA but no waves around Tallahassee, FL. Hence the shift to "bikes." He ought to start a group for Bikes and Books, eh?

Happy Saturday. Wish you well.

womansheart

I'm still reading The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, but I'm am finishing it today, a chapter at a time, no matter what. I also started Serendipity by Louise Shaffer late last night.

On the audiobook side (which I may get a lot of today, need to clean while my husband is gone this morning), I'm listening to When You Are Engulfed by Flames by David Sedaris.

It seems I’m on a Mother’s Day track -- finished Ayelet Waldman’s memoir, Bad Mother, and started Patti Davis’s The Lives Our Mothers Leave Us, short profiles from her interviews with two dozen women (mostly writers and actresses) about their mother-daughter relationships.

eta bah! had to hyperlink both titles :(

I'm still reading Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk, I'm about 1/3 way through. and I'm still working on Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, which I need to be finishing up as my blog tour date is Monday ... yikes!

I also picked up The Essential Rumi and read a few pages in it.

I am still reading The Clone Republic by Steven L. Kent for a RL SFF book group.

I am about half way through. It is better than expected. I thought it would be some rather mindless bang,bang military SF, and it has a bit of depth.

Still reading Color: A Natural History of the Palette. It's good but slow, not exactly a cliff hanger despite it's personal anecdotes. Have also started my ER book, Lucky Girl which seems quite good. I'm also almost done with The Poetry Home Repair Manual and bought two books of poetry, Delights and Shadows and Repair which I'm looking forward to exploring. All these daily chores including work really get in the way of the reading I'd like to do.

I finished The Known World by Edward P. Jones. I have Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Phillips waiting for me at the library, so that will be next. In the meantime I'm working on Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris.

I need to start Slow Reading by John Miedema for the ER program, but I took a few hours to read I Married An Earthling by Alvin Orloff. Don't make my mistake. I would have snorted derisively at you had you told me, prior to my consumption of this book, that it was possible to plod giddily, or to careen enervatingly.

It is, but it's not a pretty sight.

ETA the review is in my "75-Books Challenge" thread in post 99 for anyone who cares to read the whole thing.

I've finished Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass by Bruno Schulz and am still reading The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross.

I have just begun reading "STILL ALICE."I am loaning my car to my son and I am home bound.TGFBooks!

I am still reading Hijo de hombre (Son of Man) by Agusto Roa Bastos and Nine Lords of the Night, a Member Giveaway book. And I'm listening to Stephen King's Duma Key.

#1 womansheart, I loved Home and Gilead and Housekeeping, too. Robinson is fantastic!

I'm reading Far From the Madding Crowd and Barchester Towers and Winter's Bone this week. Not much reading time last week - I hope this week will be better!

Finaly got Blue Bloods: Revelations and finished it this morning. Now I'm reading Wicked Lovely although I'm just taking a closer look at Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal as I'm trying to figure out whether my mom would like it as a birthday present or not.
Oh, and by the way whenever I'm out for jogging or cycling I listen to Goldman's The Princess Bride.

I'm a few chapters into My Wars are Laid Away in Books, a biography of the poet Emily Dickinson.

I am STILL reading The Meaning of Night: A Confession by Michael Cox. I have a stack of books waiting for me on my nightstand. They're just sitting there staring at me.

># jfetting -

It is a little strange to admit, but, I first learned of Marilynne Robinson through the film made of her novel released in 1987 Housekeeping with Christine Lahti.

It was a long wait for Gilead and I am so pleased to have Home follow this quickly after.

These are books I will re-read and re-read I feel sure of it.

womansheart

I'm about halfway through Envy. I'm not sure if I like it. It follows a therapist (or psychiatrist) who lost his son and is dealing with a change in the relationship with his wife.

I'm still reading The secret life of bees. I really want to read some classics but don't have time.

#2 Devourer ~ Is it worth the effort?

This week's books are The Girls Who Went Away (which I'm about halfway through), Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and How to Suppress Women's Writing. After those, I'll set to finishing some of the books I started in the past few weeks (name The Center of the World and The Night Watch). Those should take me through the rest of the week.

Now, however, I'm going to crochet because I have promised two people scarves by the time we graduate and, well, I haven't made them yet.

>19 Storeetllr: Stroreetllr
If you're pretty interested in the subject and don't mind fiction that reads like nonfiction, yes. Otherwise, no.

>16 womansheart:: womansheart- I also saw the film "Housekeeping", many years ago, it is an excellent movie, with a great performance by Lahti. Unfortunately, I don't think it's available on dvd yet. I never read the book though but I have read Gilead, which was brilliant. I have to get to Home sometime soon!

#21 I was afraid of that. Oh, well, I promised, so I will, but it's hard to resist the other books on the TBR pile. Guess I'll just have to get stern with myself.

Still reading Anna Karenina, only about 200 pages left! Really loving it. Will start in Till We Have Faces on Monday for a group read here on LT. Might also read some more in Graven In De Nijldelta, not sure yet.

Still reading Highland Scandal by Julia London. Am on page 273, Chapter twenty-nine. There has now been some serious romance but nothing bodice ripping. It fits well into the story. I am still recommending this book as it does have plot.

Otherwise, my husband just brought in Cutting For Stone, an ARC from Pantheon a division of Random House. I also have Two other ARCs that came this week after I started Highland Scandal. First nothing...now it pours. I am excited to have my reading planned out, however.

I just finished Land of Marvels by Barry Unsworth. Unsworth is one of my favourite authors and this book is really good. I have started Lucia in the Age of Napoleon , a biography by Andrea Di Robilant.

I finished:

This Just In: What I Couldn't Tell You on TV by Bob Schieffer
& A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert

finally~

Finished "Daisy Miller" this morning. Next up: "The Lace Reader"

Lace Reader was good.

I'm reading The Testament - I'm a latecomer to to John Grisham, so I get them when I go to book sales. After that I have To the Hilt, then it's my latest ER whose title escapes me right now, but it's somewhere on the last thread.

Although I've found that I can't read fiction that in any way revolves around a school shooting, I have started Columbine by Dave Cullen and am finding it to be riveting.

>30 Copperskye: One of my favorite blogs is about book cover design, Columbine was recently featured.

I'm reading an Early Review book, The Last Bridge by Teri Coyne and liking it. I just finished Salty Like Blood by Harry Kraus, another ER book. Got to get my reviews written.... and I have four enticing library books waiting to be read!

>31 detailmuse: Thanks detailmuse, so very interesting. You can't help noticing how very subtle the cover is with the expanse of grey winter sky above the school and the title embossed in white over grey. It's very fitting.

I am about 2/3rd's of the way through Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates....I just love it. I love this guy's writing. For some reason, it reminds me of the style of The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx. I wouldn't be unhappy if this book never ended.

I also received a PDF version of the book Everything twitter - From Novice To Expert,
The Unofficial Guide To Everything twitter - THE BLUE BOOK
First Edition, 2009 (no touchstone for this) co-authored by Monica Jones, from the Early Reviewers Member Giveaway. I'm excited about reading this since I am a new "twittee". :o) If only I can find time to sit down long enough to read it. I've been crazy busy lately.

I also have Michael Palmer's new book The Second Opinion downloaded & ready to go onto my Palm device, but I haven't even had time to open it up at all! :o( (I love this author) I only have 12 days left to finish it before it will disappear into cyber space. I got it through my library system.

Oh well.... I will do the best I can. Sometimes you just can't do it all....

>32 caroline123: caroline123 - I breezed through The Last Bridge in about 2 days (which is really, really fast for me) - quite a harrowing read but very good!

I, too, loved The Last Bridge. I had lots of time to read this week, which is extremely rare. I took advantage of it and read Fortune's Daughter by Alice Hoffman, which I loved. I then read Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips. It was hilarious, intelligent and just pure fun. Tonight I will finish The Pirate's Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson, which is good, but not what I was expecting and a bit of a let down after the previous two.

Next up is my April ER book, The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, which I am SOOOO excited about. The Shadow of the Wind is one of my all-time favorite books, and I feel like I've been waiting for him to write another one forever!!

I started Raven by Allison Van Diepen which is a young adult urban fantasy with breakdancing.

Done with The Sisters Mallone. I think I'll read something else completely fluffy. Yay summer reading! Are The Mermaid Chair and Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist fluffy?

*waves* to porchy...

I still have The Shipping News and The Shadow of the Wind sitting on the shelf next to me. I started Shadow, but it was a hectic time so I put it aside for better days. I look forward to both of these...

koalamom said

"Lace Reader was good." I loved that book... if you liked it, you should read
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane.. also good.

The Mermaid Chair is fluffy.. and not as good as The Secret Life of Bees..not half as good imo.

Hello everyone. Love this site. Been getting into books kind of late in my life. They are my replacement for movies. And I must agree, reading a book is alot better than most movies out there.

I am currently reading, "Deception Point" by Dan Brown, after finishing "Angels & Demons" which i LOVED.

So far, I am really enjoying Deception Point.

I just finished City of Shadows by Ariana Franklin. What a great read, I highly recommend it! It is history; Germany between the wars and Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia, who is said to have been the only member od her family to escaped assassination by the Bolsheviks, a murder mystery set in Berlin and a love story. Well written and very enjoyable.

welcome borri~

Just finished The Indifferent Stars Above: the harrowing saga of a Donner Party Bride by Daniel James Brown.

Good solid history.

i can finally post on this thread...i am reading Baltimore Blues by Laura Lippman....a fine writer...a neat plot.....hey, i know it's not High Literature..but it ain't Low Brow either.....;-p

jhedlund I am so jealous--I entered a couple sites to get a free ARC of The Angel's Game but nothing. Oh well guess I have to buy it. Shadow of the Wind is also one of my favorite reads.

Happy Sunday, Getting round to posting to my first thread; what better place to start than here.

This week I'm reading An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears paperback just short of 700 pages, small text

An historical detective story, with all the political intrigues of Restoration England. So far marvelous.

EmmaLadyHamilton

Have just finished The Night Manager by John le Carre and about to start Two Caravans by Marina Levycka.

Just finished Odd Hours by Dean Koontz. Started Elsie and the Raymonds by Martha Finley. This is the 15th in a series of 28 Elsie books. I will finish this series someday! I need to take a break from them from time to time because I start to become cynical of them!

Thanks for including my book, Columbine, Coopers. I hope you continue to like it.

I just signed up to do an author chat soon.

I've put aside my Rumpole for now to read travel guides- The Rough Guide to New York City and The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. We're leaning towards NYC, as we've been offered a friend's apartment in the fall.

I just started Light in August. So far, it's wonderful.

#34 Porchsitter: I loved Revolutionary Road as well. I would also highly recommend the collected short stories of Richard Yates, which I may like even better. I need to read more of his novels.

I just finished Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead, his "autobiographical fourth novel". Benji is fifteen, his brother a year younger, and the book chronicles one summer spent in Sag Harbor, a summer beach community for African American professionals. There's not much plot, but it's such a wonderful little slice-of-life about negotiating first jobs, first kisses, learning the new handshakes and styles and profanity, and the overall awkwardness of adolescence.

Whitehead riffs on frozen dinners, the travesty of New Coke, and roller-disco bat mitzvahs (in his other world, in New York, Benji attends an elite Manhattan private school) in exuberant prose. The prose can sometimes be a little too show-offy, but every other page or so, I'd hit a line or paragraph that was so good, I was forgiving of the excesses. It's also very funny.

I started The Shipping News today. I'm about 65 pages into it, and a lot happens in those first pages, yet the story seems slow. I'm not loving it yet, but I do see potential.

I forgot to pack a book last week, so I picked up The Kite Runner at the airport. I've been meaning to see what all the fuss is about.

I only read a few pages, because I could not bear it so far. Seems awfully precious. Maybe it gets better. I couldn't drag myself back to it yet, so I picked up Faulkner instead.

Is it worth giving it more time?

NO!!!!

ahem

I mean, maybe. Get an Rx for prozac before continuing...

hmmm interesting~ adding Columbine to my list.

I am almost finished with The Testament and I only started it yesterday. It reads fast and I am actually not doing any other work today, so I have time o read.

That'll give me time for the Mother's Day gift A Cat is Watching that I got from one of my kids.

Tomorrow we paint the room we are redoing.

I am trying to read Finding An Unseen God by Alicia Britt Chole. This is hard because my mother's day present was a one year old female german shepard mix puppy. It keep whining because my husband and son left to go to the pet store for supplies. I miss my other dog who died of old age and did not need to be constantly comforted.

I finished The Clone Republic by Steven L. Kent. It was a book for RL SFF book group. It was better than expected. Often military SF is mindless, but this had depth, and an interesting main character.

I am now reading The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva, a mystery thriller for another RL book group (Mystery). It is the first book of the Gabriel Allon series.

It is written well so far, though the author did something at the start that annoys me. It is slick, and tells the story of Gabriel who is a retired spy/killer for the Israeli government and an art restorer. He is trying to concentrate on art, and he gets sucked back in because of the messy public assassination of the Israeli ambassador to France.

I couldn't even read more than a few pages of The Secret Life of Bees, The Shipping News was terminally boring, and The Kite Runner was odd and schmaltzy. Did enjoy An Instance of the Fingerpost and The Shadow of the Wind. But thats what makes the world go round - everyone likes different things for different reasons.

>DaveCullen- Welcome to LT! I thought The Kite Runner was an excellent book. Highly recommended, hang in there! I've read a couple reviews on Columbine and they were very favorable. It sounds like you did a great job. Have you read the latest Wally Lamb, a fictional account of Columbine? I also felt that was a terrific book. Hope to see you on the threads!

I am reading Finding An Unseen God by Alicia Britt Chole. It is hard because my mother's day present was a one-year-old German Shepard mix female puppy. She chases everything and misses everybody. She pulls on her leash and jumps up. She needs obediance school but that does not start for several more days. Yes, she has taken over our bed. I miss my old dog who slept on his dog bed on the floor.

Oh, sorry. Did not realize I already posted. I think I'll blame it on the dog.

#32, 35 & 36 - Your posting regarding The Last Bridge has sent me on the hunt for a copy to read!

The same goes for all the good reports so far regarding The Angel's Game. I loved Shadow of the Wind so this week's postings have helped add books to my TBR pile.

I have finished Interred With Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell this morning. It was good suspense read along the likes of Dan Brown, et al, with the whole Shakespearean angle of a missing play that may, or may not have been written by the Bard.

Next up is Still Alice by Lisa Genova. The premise of a first person POV of early-onset Alzheimer's is what drew me to the book. #10 alove4books - I would be interested to learn what you think of the book.

Thanks, msf59. I've been really happy with the reviews. They definitely exceeded my fantasies.

I've been meaning to check out Wally Lamb's book, and the one by Jodi Picoult and others, but I had very little time for fiction the past couple years, as deadlines flew by and I got two one-year extensions.

I'm really looking forward to plunging back into some great fiction now. I just started Light in August because I needed a good book to take on my Dublin/UK tour and searched my stacks for something I'd been meaning to start and that jumped out at me.

(I loved As I Lay Dying, but then tried another The Sound and the Fury, I think, but it was so difficult and coming back to it once a week was not working.

Now I kind of wish I'd picked up Absalom, Absalom!, because there is a related event in my book. But I'm in now, and loving it, so off I go.

I am reading Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo

Now I have to go back up and read all of the posts to see what everyone is reading.

I just finished The Door Through Space by Marion Zimmer Bradley, which I didn't really like very much. Later I will start Year Zero by Jeff Long.

I will finish The hanging valley by Peter Robinson tonight, and after having a look through my pile of library books, I will start reading Revolutionary road by Richard Yates. To this I must add, the first I am reading in Dutch, it is called Zondeval. The second however I will be reading in English.

Have a happy reading week...

Finished The Testament. Now on to To The Hilt and maybe A Cat is Watching, too. That way I can give it to Sarah when she comes at the end of the week.

I'm currently reading C.L.R. James: Cricket's Philosopher King by Dave Renton. After that I plan to read The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey, which is on the shortlist for this year's Orange Prize for Fiction, and W, or the Memory of Childhood by Georges Perec.

I'm currently reading Inkheart by Cornelia Funke after just finishing Lover Avenged by J.R.Ward.

#7 I finished Lark and Termite on Thursday night by staying up way late because I couldn't bear to let the book go until I was finished. Needless to say, I loved it.

#54 I heartily agree with mckait.

Decided not to wait and started my guilty pleasure read, The Last Olympian. Half done. Just have to find out how Percy and friends save Olympus. Also reading A Spot of Bother (amusing, but also a bit annoying; not sure I'll finish it, though it reads quickly), and A Crime So Monstrous which I'm also half way through (good, but sad).

>49 DaveCullen: Hi DaveCullen - Welcome! I'd love to join in on the author chat - please let me know when it is. And thank you for the book - I'm finding Columbine to be very cathartic.

Also, I loved The Kite Runner. My husband hated it.

Started my ER book last evening. Gold of Kings Am now 3/4 of the way through. Fast moving and cannot wait to see what happens next.

I finished Storm Front by Jim Butcher. It was good little fantasy novel, about a wizard P.I. Clever & fast-paced. I'll probably read the next book in the series. I started The Lost City of Z by David Grann. This was given to me by an LT friend and it looked very compelling. Based on the first 30 pages, I feel I'm in for a treat.

I'm all over the place this week. Finishing The Painter of Signs by R.K.Narayan. Also half way through The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry, a surreal very entertaining cross between Alice in Wonderland and The Maltese Falcon...
Then I've also picked up J.R.R.Tolkein's newly published The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun, a book-length poem based on the Old Norse Elder Edda with a surfeit of commentary by his son Christopher...

finished Baltimore Blues and fear i am on a Laura Lippman kick...something to read while watching my HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREETS DVDs....ah, well...too much "Bawlmer" can only be a good thing,,right? but i a READING...finally

>73 msf59: ;-)

I am reading Careless In Red by Elizabeth George and The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery. I am listening to Bleak House by Charles Dickens on Librivox and watching the second season of The Tudors on dvd. But not all at once. I knit while I listen to Bleak House on the bus and I also knit while I watch dvds.

>75 jdthloue: jdthloue - Have you tried Laura Lippman's two stand-alones What the Dead Know and Every Secret Thing? They are pretty entertaining. Also she published a book of short stories recently - Hardly Knew Her and they were just great (and I don't really like short stories)!

Finished Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and posted the review In the Shadow of Mt. TBR. I really enjoyed this book and thought of my own parents as well as my youngest daughter who is half-Vietnamese. I knew a bit about the Japanese internment, but I learned a lot reading this book. It definitely makes you think, if the gov't could treat its own citizens thusly, what makes us think we're any safer?

#71 coppers and
#59 sf59,
I also liked "The Kite Runner". I read the book and watched the film at about the same time and found that the film enhanced the book and visa- versa.

I started and finished The Shipping News today. I was underwhlemed to say the least.

I also started White Tiger today, and I love it so far.

I really need to start The Plague of Doves as well.

I loved The Kite Runner and am honestly surprised that there are people who don't enjoy it! Sigh...Live and learn. This week, I am reading fluff and thoroughly enjoying it: Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich. Sometimes, I get a little overburdened by job, life etc and the Stephanie Plum books make me laugh out loud. Voila! Burdens are gone. It's great.

I am about halfway through The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy and I am listening to The Associate by John Grisham.

Just finished: Brideshead Revisited by Waugh, The Moon is Down by Steinbeck and The Holidayby Stevie Smith and have begun The Razor's Edge by Maugham.

>77 Copperskye: coppers...no, i haven't read Lippman's stand-alones...but now they are on my list for Better World Books (ahem...book junkie that i be)..nor have i read the book of Shorts..thank you much for the recommends. my overloaded bookshelves thank you, too...but they're laughing like idiots!
J

#76: friartuck1 - I read The Weather Makers last year and it really got me attention. It's very well done. IMO we all should read something on global warming.

I finished As a Palm Tree in the Desert : Part One by Zvi Ankori - an Early Reviewer book. As I've mentioned elsewhere, and in my review, it's a difficult read, but still fascinating in it's own way. I recommend to anyone interested in Jewish life in Poland and Ukraine before WWII.

Now I'm reading The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. An ARC copy was was passed on to me through LT. So far I'm really enjoying it. momom248 - psst - if your willing to wait a couple weeks, I'd be happy to pass my copy on to you. Let me know on my profile.

The Kite Runner -- good but there are too many just as good or better books out there I'd rather read.

Also finished Green Dolphin Street by Sebastian Faulks and was disappointed. Loved his other books, this one had so-so characters and didn't go anywhere. Very readable, though.

Next up is Into the Woods by Tara French for my book club. They'll be so excited that I actually read the book!

I get so many good ideas for books from this thread; I always look forward to reading it.

I just started reading Notes of a Dirty Old Man - Charles Bukowski. I'm also reading Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy.

I'm now reading Oryx and Crake, which is taking me a long time. Not that I'm not enjoying it, I am, but I just haven't had much time lately. Busy preparing the nursery, which is at least just as much fun! ^^
Also reading Ethan Frome through DailyLit, which is really good. I think I'm becoming an Edith Wharton fan!

As I'm going on maternity leave in 7 weeks (yay!), I'm hoping to catch up a bit on my reading (at least, till the baby gets here) :-)

I've just started The Tenderess of Wolves, by Stef Penney.

>> 83
How did you like Brideshead Revisited? It has been one of my favourites so far this year :)

>majorbabs -

In the Woods by Tara French is an excellent read, IMHO. (Touchstones not working) I loved the characters and the sense of place in this Irish novel. The story is intriguing and mysterious. I am looking forward to reading Ms. French's newer book because this one was so good. Hope you enjoy it, too.

womansheart

I finished Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson which was a wonderful read and I'm now reading Deaf Sentence by David Lodge.

I've finally started my most recent Go Review That Book! group pick, In a Wild Wood by Sasha Lord.

#90 - her next book The Likeness is just as good!

I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which is also a pretty darn good mystery. Not as good as French's work though, IMO.

I have just started the last of the Sharon Kay Penman's Welsh Trilogy The Reckoning which I have been looking forward to for awhile and it has sucked me in quickly. Great historical fiction!

Finished my ER Gold of Kings this morning. Still have to write my review.

Last night, just because I was bored, I started The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz and to my utter surprise I am enjoying it a lot, which just goes to show that sometimes it's not the book, it's the mood I'm in at the time. Last time I tried to read it, I loathed it!

I am reading The Last Days of the Romanovs: Tragedy at Ekaterinburg by Helen Rappaport and finding it engaging. I thought I had had enough Russian tragedy for a while, but apparently not. Touchstones wonky?ETA: No, just my spelling!

Also re-reading Pride and Prejudice. Can't get enough Austen, I suppose. Then there are the books for work: Google Apps: the missing manual, and Everything is Miscellaneous. Busy.

I agree with others re Tana French. Her books are great, and I can't wait for her next one.

Hello everyone! I'm currently reading Kathy Reichs Break No Bones . Just love all her books and tv show.
Took a break from my Faye Kellerman read-athon!

started Charm City by Laura Lippman...the second of the series....

Count me in too, as a Tana French fan. The Likeness is sitting on my shelf, just waiting to be opened and enjoyed.

#26 torontoc - I love Land of Marvels too and plan on reading more of Bary Unsworth.

#39 mckait - I listened to and absolutely despised The Mermaid Chair. I thought it was pretentious shmaltzy drek. Unfortunately I listened to it first and now can't bear the thought of dealing with anything else by Sue Monk Kidd.

My current brand of fluff books are the Myron Bolitar books by Harlan Coben. I just read The Final Detail, then had to back up to read One False Move. Then I decided to start at the beginning again, and re-read Deal Breaker. This is a great series about a sports agent who also solves crimes. His psychopathic friend Win is one of my favorite characters.

My current ER book, which is not thrilling me yet, is The Tory Widow by Christine Blevins. I'm hoping it picks up as I really enjoyed Midwife of the Blue Ridge.

And, finally, my RL bookclub book for June is People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks which I just started at lunch and am really pleased with so far.

#88, Vonini, congratulations! I hope you can relax and get a lot of reading done now!

I just have to echo all of the comments about The Mermaid Chair. That book was unbelievably bad, especially after a debut like The Secret Life of Bees. "Bees" was such a wonderful book, though, I would ask anyone who read The Mermaid Chair first to please give it a go. Those two books are a universe apart. It's almost as if some alien being (who was a bad writer) occupied her body and mind while she was writing The Mermaid Chair.

Hmmm... not sure where the space analogies came from.

I finished The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (good but not great, I have trouble finding books that don't do more than narrate an adventure story "great"). I'd be interested in reading the sequels to see how they compare.
I'm starting The Monk by Matthew Lewis.

I finished Serendipity this morning and found it lovely, if perhaps a bit light. I'm now not quite 100 pages into Palace Circle, my ER book from the March bonus batch. It is enjoyable enough, but certainly not great literature. Perhaps it will pick up when the main character goes to Egypt.

>101 jhedlund: jhedlund, I didn't enjoy the Mermaid Chair either and was very disappointed with the book because I absolutely adored The Secret Life of Bees. Perhaps Ms Kidd was under the influence of some extremely strong antibiotics or painkillers when she wrote the Mermaid Chair because I cannot fathom either how one book could be so good and another so trite.

I've just finished reading Bangkok 8 by John Burdett. I think I've fallen in love with his books. I've only just discovered his Bangkok series this year, and this is the 2nd that I've read and I'm so pleased to say that while different, they are both equally excellent and I love that there is so much rich detail into the Thai culture that I find very fascinating, being so very different from what I know. I think I have to go look for more of his books.

I'm going to swing off into non-fiction after this, and am going to read The Age of the Unthinkable by Joshua Cooper Ramo

cameling.. maybe Bees was so good because it was inspired.. and Mermaid so bad because it was forced???

It is like they were written by two different people.

80: It's good to know that I'm not the only one who was disappointed by The Shipping News. I have White Tiger on my To Buy list.

Started "The Lace Reader" by Brunonia Barry this morning..liking it so far.

I'm reading soulful strut by Lynn Emery. This is the third book I've read by Emery. There are some compelling moments in the book, but to me it was quite predictable. I like the protagonist and the struggle she’s going through trying to readjust to life after prison.

I had to put The Shipping News down. It was just far too bleak for me. I did end up liking the movie though, which is strange. That almost never happens.

After a slow start, Captain Corelli's Mandolin is picking up quite nicely, although Corelli himself has yet to make a showing.

For my book club I am about halfway through Dream stuff by David Malouf. It is a collection of short stories.

Years ago (1960's) I read Grapes of Wrath and Tortilla Flat. Cannot believe I had never heard of Travels with Charley all by John Steinbeck until I joined LT. I am having such a good time, this book is timeless. It reminds me of my better half. He has traveled a lot on his bicycle, including cross country

I'm starting Through a Glass Darkly by Karleen Koen.

I'm reading Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym and enjoying it very much as I'm in the mood for proper English ladies and cups of tea and sandwiches with the crusts cut off(although there's so much more to Pym than that).

I'm also about four chapters into Bruno's Dream by Iris Murdoch which is very good.The first chapter was just fantastic.

On Saturday and Sunday I read: A Short Walk In The Hindu Kush
By
Eric Newby

Over Christmas I had picked up this book of Eric Newby’s in a charity shop in Boston, Lincolnshire because his ‘The Last Grain Race” had held me captivated for days and I yearned for more adventure. ASWITHK served up the goods. It begins in London with Eric telegraphing his friend Hugh to inquire as to whether he is up for a trip to the Hindu Kush (an expedition they had discussed along time previously), from this almost casual ‘why don’t we…’ the adventure grows, first with the two explorers taking a four day climbing class in North Wales and then with the obvious amateur technique of packing everything ‘just in case we need it’. Actually the whole stumbling progression in a car across Europe and the Middle East is a ‘duct tape and make do’ operation, I can only think that both Eric and Hugh were in fact highly talented individuals who could manage on a whim and a pray because they were quietly brilliant and very determined. The pair arrives in Afghanistan hire three horses and three local men and head off towards the mountain ‘Mir Samir’. Once again I am convinced that they must surely kill themselves in attempting this climb but of course I know that they don’t; as it turns out in reading Eric’s account of their attempt on this 20,000 foot mountain I am convinced that they were extraordinarily lucky not to meet a cold and gruesome end in tackling the gullies on this mountain in particular. I was as relieved as anyone when the pair finally stagger back into the civilized world, I felt like I had been holding my breath for much of the book. This is one expedition I would not have been signing up for but the reading of it made for the best armchair masochism I have experienced in quite some time.

On Sunday evening and Monday I read Ian Rankin's "Knots and Crosses" which is the first in the Inspector Rebus series and a cracking good tale. I'd post a brief review but perhaps this is not the place to do that!? I am presently enjoying 'The Poor Mouth' by Flann O'Brien a wonderfully muddy tale full of potatoes and downpours.

112

Through a Glass Darkly ... I loved it! I read it ages and ages ago..I loaned it out and it never came home. Let us know what you think, okay?

>114 BeesleSR:: BeesleSR- Nice review on the Eric Newby book. I added to my wishlist.

112 and 116 - ditto, mckait! I remember loving it too. Hope you enjoy it, ktleyed.

I'm about midway through A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick and, so far, it is crackling. I hear it disappoints eventually, but the first half is so good that I'd be surprised if I didn't find it has merit just for that alone.

Just finished Dracula by Bram Stoker, melodramatic but good fun, and Samurai Legend by Furuyama and Jiro Taniguchi, a well-drawn graphic novel with a clunky storyline. Just started Wake by Lisa McMann, a YA tltle about a girl who finds herself participating in other people's dreams, which so far is very good, and Vagabond Volume 29 by Inoue Takehiko, an exceptionally well-drawn graphic novel with a good storyline based on the life of famed swordsman Miyamoto Musashi.

>99 karenmarie:, 101, 104: I totally agree with you on The Mermaid Chair, but I must also say that I felt pretty much the same way about The Secret Life of Bees, which I found way too contrived and overly sweet. I think Sue Monk Kidd should stick with nonfiction. She writes on spiritual transformation for women with a feminist slant.

Started Company of Strangers by Robert Wilson last night. I liked Small Death in Lisbon by him and decided that another spy novel about Portugal in World War II was just the ticket for that plane ride I will be taking this week.

After reading all the reports about Land of Marvels I am going to have to move it way up on my TBR list. Maybe I should have started it and taken it along on the plane trip? Oh well, so many books and so little time.

Wow, this is kind of intimidating. I can't believe how quickly you guys race through these books. I crawl through them. I was planning to report back on Light in August in a month or two.

But then I underline all sorts of phrases, write responses in the margins, start finding elements that interest me and going back to circle instances . . . I friend told me I don't read books, I study them. Sometimes I should just stop that. I made myself set down my pen on the plane for about ten pages and just read straight through. Otherwise it's a slow slog. But I do enjoy savoring every word, and learning from every line or two.

I would read a lot more if I could just make myself plow through it, but I'm not sure I'm designed that way.

>124 DaveCullen: Dave, may I suggest you get a copy of Slow Reading by John Miedema? I've just finished it, and will post a review today; but as it's a 65pp essay on reflective, or deep, or slow, whatever label suits you, reading's purposes and uses, I think it would help take the "sting" out of being a Tortoise among Hares.

I hope all y'all moms had lovely days.

#124 - It's really easy to get the idea that we're all racing through stuff as fast as possible. Don't let this get to you, Dave. This is not a contest after all.

>124 DaveCullen: Dave: Apart from mckait, ficusfan and porchy who read read multiple books at the same time at lightning speed, I think everyone else in LT is a normal reader. ;-) Besides, the goal of reading is to enjoy being transported into another world and making the most of your visit there. Be it fast or slow.... don't feel intimidated ... some books I can zip through, and some I make a little nest and hibernate in. Whatever your speed, you're a reader and that's what's important.

#116 and #118 mckait and karenmarie - thanks for the input, I know almost nothing about it, glad to hear it's so good! I'll be sure to review it when I'm done with it.

>124 DaveCullen: DaveCullen - enjoy your reading the way you like it, man. There's a whole movement around SlowFood world wide. Now we can also have one around SlowReading, eh? I'll join.

>125 richardderus: richardderus - Thanks for the hopes that we Moms had lovely days. Very thoughtful of you. I will seek out your review of Slow Reading later today, or whenever, no rush.

With love, womansheart

>124 DaveCullen: You might want to check out Bob & Ray's routine "Slow Talkers of America" while you're at it . . . :)

On being a tortoise among hares.

I am most definitely a tortoise, mainly because I am an old codger who would love to read during those long and sometimes dreary afternoons, sitting in my rocker. Trouble is, I always fall asleep.

If not actually entering droolsville, I find my concentration wavering somewhat, and instead of perusing pages I'm studying patterns on the armchair opposite. Or I have read the same paragraph eight times in a row.

Night time is the best time for my reading, and I can sometimes go into the wee small hours of the morning (ah, Frankie). But then, of course, I cannot stay awake in the afternoons to read a book, and so the circle continues...

Some books are also better read slowly because they're so brilliantly written that you find you do want to take the time to savor the words.

I took a detour from my planned reading and have just finished Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. What a good book! The characters are wonderful, all of them. I had a tough time getting into it but around page 50, I was like a trout to the bait. I have stayed up way too late every night because it was so hard to put down. I feel a bit wrung out from the experience.
After dinner I will, at last, begin The Believers by Zoe Heller.

> cameling -

Hear. Hear. I am still reading Home. Marilynne Robinson has some of the most wondrous passages of prose in it, that I absolutely refuse to speed up in any way. Savor is right!

womansheart

Hey, thanks for all that encouragement.

I love that there is actually a book called Slow Reading. I'll check it out.

I finished Haunted by Chuck Palaniuk this afternoon, my review is In the Shadow of Mt. TBR. Completely fascinating from an abnormal psych perspective, thoroughly unfit for dinner conversation. Pure Palahniuk.

I started reading They Plotted Revenge Against America by Abe March this morning. I'm part of the blog tour on it, and May 20th is my review date. It's big print and 244 pages... shouldn't take too long. :-)

I've seen the book Slow Reading, but I just haven't had time to pick it up... lol.

Hellooooooooooooooooo the house!

I just posted my review of Slow Reading on the book's page, as well as my "75-Books Challenge" thread (which I encourage all to star, so as to be the first to know when I've said something deathless) in post 107. Short version: Very interesting book, short and concise; not everyone's cuppa when it comes to style.

Speaking of naps... I just started An Edible History of Humanity.

It's a bit text-booky without the footnotes. Both of these distress me.

#134, womansheart, I finished Home earlier today and loved every page of it, certainly one of the best books I've read this year.

#133, enaid, I was a big fan of Half A Yellow Sun too, and Zoe Heller's The Believers is absolutely fantastic, even better than What Was She Thinking.

Finished Travels with Charlie by John Steinbeck this morning. This book was entertaining so I read it pretty fast. Next up is A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

# 134, womansheart, #133, Louis, my friend, have you read Robinson's Gilead? As much as I loved Home, Gilead is one of my top ten books of all-time. And IMOHO, there is not a better trio of books by an author as Robinson's Housekeeping, Gilead and Home.

I am a little late to the discussion above regarding reading speed, vis a vis the tortoise or the hare, but I would like to second (or is it third?) cameling comments that with some books I deliberately read them slowly to savor and prolong the experience. Others, I will fly through because the style allows for speed of reading and enjoyment. Each to their own pleasure!

As tortoises have been previously mentioned, I did start reading Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant on Sunday evening. Ended up discarding it on Monday evening, possibly to revisit it in the summer months. It was probably too much of a change from Still Alice which I had just finished (or more like devoured, I was so enthralled with it!) and I was not adjusting to the quirkiness of Grant's writing style.

I have decide to give Tim Winton a try and have now picked up Breath.

Happy reading All!

re# 141 Sean - I agree. It's almost worth having to wait such a long time for her books when they are so beautifully crafted.

>124 DaveCullen: DaveCullen - I was pretty intimidated when I first starting hanging out here a year ago. People seemed to be reading a book a day! I've gotten used to it though and I don't let it bother me - the problem is more that the TBR pile just seems to grow and grow. And there is such a variety in what and how much everyone reads - anything goes. I may regret joining up on the 50 book challenge thread though!

Decided I'd read as much of A Spot of Bother as I could stand. Wasn't a bad book, per se, just pretty much hated the character of George (and his hypochrondria) and since most of the book hinges on that (ugh) I decided I had better things to do with my time.

Started The Kommandant's Girl and so far am enjoying it.

I'm reading an ARC of Bad Things by Michael Marshall.

I'll add another vote for The Mermaid Chair being a disappointment.

And someone asked if the Emily Windsnap books are fluffy. Yep. They are a big hit with fourth graders. :-)

I think I am not so much Tortoise or Hare as Hedgehog because there are times when I scuttle through my reading and other periods when I curl up with a good book and just fall asleep. That is what happened yesterday evening I curled up with 'The Poor Mouth' and just fell asleep.

>147 BeesleSR: Beesle, what is it about The Poor Mouth that made you so sleepy? Flann O'Brien's writing, the rain, or just some alchemy between the two? I picked up a book someone I adore recommended to me, Skeletons at the Feast, and first time through HATED IT. This second time? It pissed me off so much that I made a special trip to the Catholic cathedral's donation box to hurl it in with fervor and fury. I wonder if my earlier lackadaisical tolerance wasn't simply a biochemical imbalance.

#145 A Spot of Bother is definitely not The Curious Case of the Dog in the Nighttime (no touchstone? or have I got the title wrong?), but I really enjoyed it, at least while I was reading it. Afterwards, it didn't stick with me like the other did/has.

Hi DaveCullen - Congratulations on the success of your book. I work in a bookstore and it has been selling very well.

I'm currently reading Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story by Christopher Moore. I loved Fluke and decided to stick with Moore for now.

For some reason Christopher Moore's touchstones never work.

Hi everyone...I love hearing about what people are reading....i have been inspired to read so many books I had never heard of before, but this week I am reading Atonement.

I am not reading very quickly the last two or three weeks.. losts of distractions.. hopefully the weekend will see it all sorted.. as I am partway into a good read.
Then a break from work.. yay!!!

eta

rd, the picture that comes to mind with your description is highly amusing.. lol

Borrowed Slippery Slope yesterday from the library. I had been alerted that my card was due to expire, so I took care of that and, of course, had to also take out a book. My husband renewed his card, too.

#152 - thought it was me!. I guess you just have to stop and smell the roses once in a while and some books deserve a slow read; some are just slow to read, however.

I currently am reading three separate novels:

At work during lunch, it's The Mask of Atreus by A.J. Hartley, a thriller based on history and myth regarding ancient artifacts.

By coincidence, my home book is in the same mode, it's The Lost Tomb by David Gibbins.

My third book is my, ahem, "library" reading book and that is Cold Kill by Stephen Leather, a British novel about an undercover cop and part-time special forces operative named Dan Shepard. This is the 3rd or 4th of a series.

I just finished Megan McCafferty's Second Helpings last night -- I'm hopelessly addicted to the Jessica Darling books! I can't believe I just discovered them. What kind of a bibliophile do I think I am?!

Megan Crane's Frenemies is next up on the list... about 10 pages in and liking it so far. It's funny that I'm unintentionally reading back-to-back books by Megans... especially since I'm Megan, too! :)

Hey everybody...since the "Highly Rated Book Group" decided to discuss Mistress of the Art of Death in JUNE and since I read it last night and since I now CAN'T review it, I finally-at-last wrote my review of the splendiferous The Ladies of Grace Adieu. It's in my "75-Books Challenge" thread in post 127 for those wanting to add a book to their TBR piles.

I just finished Trainspotting which was an enjoyable and challenging read.

I started Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell and I am loving it so far. This as an extremely fast paced book and I anticipate wrapping it up in the next day or two.

Finally, I am working my way through the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan on Audio CD... currently listening to The Dragon Reborn.

I'm reading Maps of Time by David Christian, with Some Danger Involved on the side. This is in addition to listening to A Letter of Mary. Tried listening to New Orleans Mourning but the reader sounded like she'd just been raised from the dead. Way too lugubrious for my taste.

Yesterday I started I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith and I love it. I can't believe I missed finding this one over the years (thank you LT).

This morning while at the doctors I started a smaller paperback, Carved in Bone by Jefferson Bass. After 3 chapters I definitely want to read more. This will do nicely for my 2 hour ferry ride tomorrow.

#159 DeltaQueen50 - we read I Capture the Castle for our bookclub meeting in 1999 and I thought it a very good read.

richard ... so you hated the book and you donated it to the church?!! And with fury and fervor attached? I'd walk around with rubber soled shoes for a while if I were you incase a lightning bolt 'happens' to come your way. ;-)

With the warm weather, I just can't get into The Age of the Unthinkable, and I felt the strong call of The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl just pleading me to pick it up and thumb through the pages. I could have sworn that book was physically inching its way over to me on the couch. What can I say ... i'm weak, so weak ... and so I succumbed.

Mais oui, cameling, what better place for une livre infernal than the church? As to rubber-soled shoes, they's alls I ever wears, sweet thing, just for that very reason. If the Christian concept of God is accurate, I am looong overdue for a lightnin' bolt.

As to books getting fresh with you...heck, happens to me all the time! They actually shove themselves into my back while I am in bed sleeping. Go fight them odds.

Just be sure to duck if you smell ozone, Richard.

I'm currently reading The History of Rome Hanks and Kindred Matters by Joseph Stanley Pennell. This is an excellently researched and very well written Civil War novel that made a sensation when it came out in 1944, making the NYTimes best seller list, for example. The book can be confusing reading at times, as it is told from multiple points of view covering several generations, but overall extremely good. I am just shy of halfway through.

finished Charm City and wandered into Butchers Hill....but, i fear this Laura Lippman fixation will soon be done..... too many other books tugging at my sleeves.....pinchy little buggers!

I just finished Robbing the Bees: A Biography of Honey - The Sweet Liquid Gold that Seduced the World by Holley Bishop, which was absolutely delicious and has made me want to eat honey with everything. I will never look at a humble honeybee the same way again now I know how incredible they are.

I'm still reading The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole which has been providing light respite during tired evenings and snatched lunch breaks, so I think I'll finish that now, before I start anything else...

ellie, the Bee book sounds good!

jude... I feel your pain... I too am being tugged this way and that by books..

I confess that I am reading all of these comments at the end of a long day at work and loving every minute of your comments. Several of them made me laugh out loud. I have been looking forward to reading Skeletons at the Feast which has been on my TBR pile for a long time. The honest comments by #148 have really piqued my interest and I may have to see if I have the same reaction to it.

In regards to fast readers - I don't worry about reading very fast because I assume the reason my TBR pile keeps growing is because there are too many books I want to read out there and so little time to read them. It is a very sad state of affairs so like somebody else in this discussion I read books in tandem. One at work and one at home. I don't think that makes me read twice as fast. I hope it means that I can read twice as much.

And to those of you who haven't read Gilead that is your loss. And I have Home on my TBR list. I love Robinson's style. Spare but evocative. Steady and solid writing that leaves you knowing you can depend on the people in her books. I love the Iowa setting for Gilead. Wonderful people in those books who lived a quiet life of service and love.

Reading Jack Maggs and enjoying it.

I just finished re-reading Thomas Harris' Red Dragon, which is always an enjoyable thriller. Currently working on two books: Atonement, which is one of my absolute favorite books, and The Other Side: The True Story of the Boy Who Sees Ghosts by Denise Jones. The Other Side used to be one of my favorite books when I was younger, although re-reading it several years later has been a bit of a disappointment. The story is fascinating and terrifying, particularly if you believe in ghosts, hauntings, and all things spooky like I do, but the execution of the story leaves a lot to be desired. I appreciate Jones' desire to share her story with the world, but I can only hope that writing is not her main job.

Coming up next: Stephen King's Bag of Bones, King's novella, The Mist, and Saturday by Ian McEwan. I hope to read a lot more of McEwan this summer.

Bag of Bones is my favorite Stephen King book.

Hubby's been reading Bag of Bones, and seems to be enjoying it.

#136, interesting review of Haunted. I have to kind of agree on the boring angle. I read it several years ago, and thought it goes to show that Spinal Tap was right: there is a fine line between stupid and clever. If Palahniuk wasn't such a sloppy writer, I might consider him clever.

I finished Palace Circle at lunch today and it was better than I thought it would be. I stupidly started Bad Girls Don't Die tonight. I say stupidly because it is MUCH creepier than I thought it would be and reading it late on a dark and stormy night doesn't seem the best idea. Thank goodness it is a young adult book and a quick read, because I think I need to finish it before I go to sleep to get closure and avoid nightmares.

Hi Coloradogirl. I loved Bag of Bones. It's my favorite Stephen King after The Stand. I think I've only read about 5 of his books, though, and none of his "classics". Anyone read Gerald's Game? Loved it.

I finished and reviewed In a Wild Wood by Sasha Lord for the Go Review That Book! group and have moved on to Blood Rites by Jim Butcher which I am really looking forward to.

Thankfully I did finish Bad Girls Don't Die last night before I fell conked out, and i made myself start the first few chapters of Mating Rituals of the North American WASP before I went to sleep to have something other than a possession in my head. Seems good so far.

I finished People of the Book last night. It was a good read, but I was expecting a GREAT read, and so was mildly disappointed.

Here's my review: People of the Book

On the way out the door this morning I grabbed The 351 Books of Irma Arcuri.

I'm still finishing The Obesity Myth - it's a great book, well written and the arguments are clearly and simply presented and explained. I've been reading it for far longer than usual, and I think it's because I find the subject matter so upsetting and disheartening (i.e., how extremely wrong the media and common sense can be about things). I plan on posting a review when I'm done. I'm rereading The Lord of the Rings - I love the trilogy, and every other spring or so, I reread the whole set. And I'm just starting Nickel and Dimed.

>175 JolieLouise: JolieLouise

regarding Gerald's Game...i love it....the way King can write from inside a woman's head...as it were...just knocked me out on the first read...this is the book i tell people to start with if they've never read any of his books...and oddly enough..most of the women have loved it as well...i also like The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon...for the insight into the mind of an adolescent girl....

>167 mckait: mckait

;-)......those books Can be awfully pesky. no?

I somehow got started on Almost Paradise by Susan Isaacs. I think she does a beautiful job of describing a marriage - the man becomes a Tom Cruise type movie star although unlike TC he starts as a stage actor. The woman, his wife, develops agoraphobia (the one where she can't leave the house) as a result of his increasing fame as well as previous events in her life. It is very well written and interesting. I can't wait to get home to finish it.

I'm reading The Looming Tower (finally!) which is excellent; and Tea Time for the Traditionally Built, another fine Alexander McCall Smith #1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels. I'm also just starting, on the Bible study side, Interpretation: Acts by William Willimon, after our interim pastor, John Harris, led us so ably from Easter through ascension, into Pentecost and I wanted to know more. William Willimon being the writer is a plus, and I notice it gets a 5 star rating on LT, which is no small potatoes!
Martha Huntley

Re People of the Book: same here. I really like the author, though.

Finished A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny this morning. Really enjoyed having the french words she threw in every so often. Remembered some from high school french. May end up buying a french-english dictionary for the fun.

Martha.. have you seen the TV show, Number One Ladies' Detective Agency? It's on HBO and it is so cute. I'm now waiting on the first book to come into the library so I can start on reading the series.

Haven't read any Stephen King since junior high.. might have to give him a try again.

Currently I'm reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.. I've read all three books within the course of two days (more due to my schedule than the length of the books, too busy to sit down for more than a few minutes here and there). I also finished Eclipse this week. It seems I have been reading a lot of YA / children's books lately.

#177 Devourer ~ Not sure I'd want wasps on the brain either... :)

Didn't have a lot of energy last night and wanted something a bit lighter than Oscar Wao, so I started (and almost finished) A Wallflower Christmas. Light, breezy, and so far relatively predictable. Just what I needed!

About 40 pages into Angels of Destruction by Keith Donohue. Completely confused (as I think I'm supposed to be) and really enjoying the writing. Still early, but it's showing promise to be the first ARC I've had in a long time that will get a pretty favorable review!

Despite my normal resolution to read one book at a time, I'm currently working on three King James VI of Scotland, I of England, Physics of the Impossible and Child 44. I keep hoping one will draw me in to finish it before returning to the others, but I'm enjoying all three at about the same level.

I'm still reading The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan, I'm really getting into the story! I'm glad I found another good fantasy author.

Speaking about the TBR piles, today I went to the Lisbon Book Fair and bought an obscene amount of books... I was getting on a good rhythm with my books, but getting back to work and shifts ruined it. Hope tomorrow with the house all to myself I'll finish it.

I finished Dream Stuff by David Malouf this morning, for my book club, which was also this morning. Phew!

Sometimes with short story collections I find it quite hard to get into the stories or relate to the characters. And sometimes the stories are so similar they all blend into one. Neither is the case with this book. Each of the stories are very different, although all deal with dreams in some form or another. Some of the stories are quite gentle and thoughtful, whereas others are brutal and violent. In all the stories, though, you care about the characters. David Malouf's writing is beautiful & descriptive and makes you feel & think.

I finished The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva the other day. I was so happy to be done with it. It was almost 500 pages and slick, superficial and smarmy. Hated the whole thing. It was written well though. More a thriller that a mystery. Would have probably dumped it, but it was a book for a RL book group.

I am now reading Black Ships by Jo Graham. It is listed as fantasy, but it is really historical fiction. The fantasy part is that the gods are real, and the main character is a Pythia.

It is about the remnants of Troy looking for a home. A retelling of the Aeneid. So far its good, though the writing is a bit awkward. It is her first book. I have already read her book 2, and the writing does improve.

I'm halfway into the YA book Feed by M.T. Anderson, and enjoying it, which surprises me a bit because, unlike a lot of other people, I am not a fan of his Octavian Nothing books.

I also just started Here Be Dragons by Sarah Kay Penman, a historical novel set in 12th century Wales and England, which has been recommended by LTers and looks to be a good one.

Almost done with A Cat Is Watching and I have had one watching us as we remade our music room this past week and I am ecstatic to say that it is finished!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The cat is sure what we have been up to, but he has checked out the room.

I finished The Trials of Rumpole and really enjoyed it. I have another Rumpole on the way.
Still working on Desperate Passage and I'll pick out some fiction to read. I like to have at least one fiction and one non-fiction going at the same time.

Finished The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole first thing this morning, in a snatched half hour with coffee and a pain au chocolat (bliss) before we headed off for YET ANOTHER DAY painting in the shop (slowly driving me into an insane haze of Forest Green).

Now I'm heading off to bed with a drink and my mum's library book - it needs to be read next and comes highly recommended - Under the Paw: Confessions of a Cat Man by Tom Cox.

I love that you swiped your mom's library book. Sounds like something my girls woud do.

Actually had time today to finish A Cat is Watching and mine is still wondering what in the heck we are up to - but we are done, so he can now reacquaint himself with the room.

Now I will be reading Slippery Slope.

Has anyone read The Secret of Lost Things ? I like the concept of the book, but the characters were a little too unique for me. Would like to hear others opinion if you have read it.

Koalamom, whenever we renovate, make new garden beds, or even just have a big clean or weed (basically anything that involves lots of effort), my cat sits and watches us with an amused look that says "you guys are nuts".

Finished In The Woods by Tana French and disappointed. She is a very good writer but I was disappointed in the police work, the plotting and the finish.

Next up is The Art of Detection by Laurie R. King and While My Pretty One Knits.

I finished W, or The Memory of Childhood by Georges Perec yesterday and Voice Over by Céline Curiol this evening, which were both very good.

Thanks for all the nice welcomes here.

I signed up to do the author chat June 1-12. That should be fun.

I'm in a dither right now - I'm not enjoying my ER book as much as I would like to be and right now, to tell the truth, I don't even know what room it's in!

I tried starting The 351 Books of Irma Arcuri but it's not holding my interest either. That's a real disappointment, because it's one of the few books I've bought retail full price in the last 6 months.

I've gone back to Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond and that seems to be working.

I'll need to find a fiction book to read also - perhaps The Iron Hunt by Marjorie Liu, which I got via BookMooch.

I am reading Nine Lives: Life and Death in New Orleans by Dan Baum and My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor. I had no intentions of reading the Taylor book, but she was interviewed by Terri Gross on NPR yesterday and the library had the book so I really had no choice.

FYI- There❜s a new thread posted for the week beginning today ... Saturday, May 16.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/64800

WH

199 - I got a "What are you doing to my room?" kind of look. But it's done now and he'll just have to find new things that will annoy him. Sarah comes home tomorrow for a couple of weeks so he'll have her to bother. She will too because she likes to stay up late and maybe swing on the porch and we go to bed at 10 and he feels EVERYONE in the house should do that. He got our son (who is staying with us for a while job hunting) to go up to his room at 10, but Sarah will defy him!!!

Oh, ad I got into that Slippery Slope last night but NUMB3RS got in the way but the season is over so I can read in bed again at night! This book will be done fast (the last one took a couple of hours) and not just because it's a "kid's" book.

#198: I read The Secret of Lost Things last summer and couldn't get into it. I thought Hay was trying too hard when it came to making all of her characters eccentric. The worst part was that I simply didn't care about the main character. I'm not sure why. Apathy doesn't make for an enjoyable read. I was rather disappointed -- it had all of the components of a book that I would usually enjoy.

I have The Secret of Lost Things to read for a RL book group in August. Ugh !

Finished Slippery Slope. Now I can get to a book I picked out before three others arrived at my house - A Cat is Watching, Slippery Slope and Assegai, as ER from LT.

My next book is To the Hilt, then I'll read the ER one.