What are you reading the week of December 12, 2009?

Once again, just a smattering of author birthdays.

Dec 12:
Gustave Flaubert. French novelist whose first novel, Madame Bovary, is considered his greatest. (1821; d.1880).



Dec 13:
Heinrich Heine, German poet, essayist, and travel writer best known for his ironical lyrics and ballads, many of which are set to music (1797; d.1856).

Dec 14:
Shirley Jackson, U.S. short story writer who wrote the famous short story 'The Lottery' (1916 - 1965)



Dec 15:
Novelist Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1896 – 1972).

Dec 16:
Jane Austen, English novelist (1775; d.1817)

Dec 17:
Ezekiel Mphahlele (aka Es'kia Mphahlele and Bruno Eseki) South African novelist, autobiographer, and literary critic whose novels include The Wanderers and Chirundu (1919 - 2008)

Dec 18:
Ossie Davis, African-American actor, dramatist, screenwriter, and novelist, who wrote the play Purlie Victorious and its musical adaptation Purlie, about a Southern black preacher who hopes to establish a racially integrated church (b 1917 d 2005)

A-HA! I think I'll be the first to post here!

I'm reading the latest Alexander McCall Smith, The Lost Art of Gratitude. I just love it, though I am hopelessly biased towards the author.

Karen

Wee! Second! lol

I'm about a fourth the way through The Glass Castle, and while it's very engrossing, it tends to make me angry if I read too much at a time. Also, I'm about 2/3 the way through Three to Get Deadly, which is very funny and getting down to it. LOL.. How many times can Stephanie get shot at, and how many dead drug dealers can she stumble upon. Just read the whole "orange hair incident." Fun book :-)

edited to say: Er, I'm third... lol

I'm still reading A Pigeon and A Boy by Meir Shalev, and have started A History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr. The pigeon book is due back on Tuesday, and is good but not gripping, but the Andrew Marr is unputdownable. Oh, the dilemma!

I'm about 3/4 through Infinite Jest and sort of glad I'm busy this weekend because 1. I don't want it to end and 2. I don't know what the hell to read next.

Still halfway through Dreams From My Father and also enjoying Stealing Athena - recommended to me on LT about a year ago and finally out in the UK.

Slow reading for me over the past couple of weeks but I finished Bring On the Empty Horses which was very entertaining. Mind you, I think that unless you're a real film buff, it wouldn't hold so much interest if you're younger than 45. Before that I picked up a thin YA book from my daughter's shelf called River Boy by Tim Bowler which was a nice, quick read and quite moving despite it not having time to really flesh out the characters.
Just started Doris Lessing's The Habit of Loving. So far so good but too soon to decide how much (or little) I'm going to get out of it.

I'm reading The Hot Zone and enjoying it immensely. I love Richard Preston's work! :)

I am reading a number of books (as usual): The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich; Heresy, and Occult America which I received from LibraryThing to review.

I will work on The Age of Wonder this week. I love the book, but I think it will be slow going as I have so much work this week that I will probably sleep on the train...

I'm still reading And the hippos boiled in their tanks and have started Change of Heart, also started Heroes Vol. 2 and Swan Bay: A Novel of Destiny, Desire and Death, which I started ages ago and still haven't finished, lastly, I began Tomorrow When the War Began as part of my 1010 challenge. Don't know why I've not read this series before, but I'm enjoying it so far.

Early this morning I finished Karen Joy Fowler's Sarah Canary. I have a feeling I"m going to miss Chin and B.J. - good companions for the journey.

Now I'm going to read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

Today I hope to finish Mark Twain. If not tomorrow, but no other books until I do.

I'm on a non-fiction kick. Reading Inside of a Dog. I like her starting premise, A dog is not a wolf, A dog is not a human. A dog is a dog, considering all the "alpha" dog stuff" off center, and much training for the sake of humans. My second book is Begums, Thugs, and White Mughals, Fanny Parker's account of living in India from 1822 to 1840's. Quite amazing and she's one plucky woman.

This week I'm reading a collection of short stories by E.M. Forster called The Celestial Omnibus and the Eternal Moment. His stories couldn't be less like his novels - the one I'm reading now is a sorta The Matrix-like sci-fi dystopian story. Really. There is another one where a character turns into a tree. Fantastic stories, I highly recommend them.

Other than that, I'm dipping into The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce, and reading C.S. Lewis's The Problem of Pain.

Finished Silk by Alessandro Baricco, a remarkable little book that could be about a lot of things - for me, it was about the allure of the dreams that you can't have vs. the under-appreciated value of what you do have. And a deep, deep, love.

Also finished Scott Pilgrim Volume 1, which was just silly fun.

My daughter loaned me an Agatha Christie I'd never heard of: Why Didn't They Ask Evans? Big surprise - where was it hiding? She says a movie was made of it, too.

>4 cushlareads:

Have you read any other books by Meir Shalev? My favorite was The Blue Mountain. I'm wondering if that is colored (no pun intended) by the fact that I'm so familiar with that rea of Israel. Let us know whether or not you'll be finishing A Pigeon and a Boy.

I'm still reading Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl. I've hit more recipes in this book, but none as good as the New York Cheesecake recipe on page 20. I made another one last night. That's two cheesecakes I've made in two weeks, a new record for me. :)

*tells self it's time to move on to another book*

I've been working my way through Dante's The Divine Comedy and I'm currently in the middle of Purgatorio.

It is finished - The Singular Mark Twain. It was interesting, but long and tedious at times. I like twain's work to a point and I can say the same thing for this biography. I'm glad I read it, but the author could have used fewer words.

Now for something completely different - from the Twain bio, not for me - Star Trek Unworthy - I am also trying to finish up this series, but won't before the end of the year.

And the Twain bio makes 150 books that I have completed in 2009.

I've missed a few weeks here, first with the flu and then with catching up with everything I didn't do while I had the flu, but I've read two more Hilary Mantels: the wickedly funny Fludd and her harrowing but utterly compelling memoir, Giving up the Ghost. And I just finished the strangely modern Dom Casmurro by Machado de Assis.

Earth Under Fire: Humanity's Survival of the Ice Age arrived as an unexpected ggift from an old, old friend I'd thought was lost...so far, it's interesting! I don't know what I'll end up thinking, though, since it's the argument not the writing that's keeping me reading.

Reading A Friend of the Family--great, dark, thorny book. Love it.

Caroline

#7 I read both the David Niven Hollywood books when they were in hard back many years ago and loved them, but would agree that today unless you're older than 45 or a film buff none of it would mean anything to you. Too bad, because he has a great sense of humor and writes very well.

#20 I started the Ron Powers Mark Twain book a couple of years ago, got about 1/4 through and then put it down for a book club read I had to finish. Never went back to it. I've set myself a challenge beginning in January 2010 to finish some of those abandoned books from the last couple or years (or to decide they're definitely not for me and give them away). For me there's a definite difference between those books that I give up on because they're not my cup of tea or totally unworthy of spending my time on, and those that I abandon because I'm not currently in the mood for them but are good books that I should give another chance to.

I am leaving for 2 weeks in southern Spain today. I'll be bringing with me:

Moscow Circles by Benedict Erofeyev, The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lilian Jackson Braun and And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks by Kerouac & Burroughs

Plus I'm sure I'll pick up one or two books during my trip.

Cheers, all!!

>22 richardderus: Richard, you made Earth Under Fire sound interesting until I went to Amazon and read a description. Is it as crazy as the descriptions make it sound? I have an odd fascination with pseudoscience. When it's not outright insane gibberish, it can be the whetstone against which you sharpen your critical thinking.

>25 rocketjk: Have a great, great time, jk! See you in two.

>26 fredbacon: Fred, it's pseudoscience that's got some very interesting things to say. I don't really buy it, but it's not instantly dismissable, either. It's inspiring me to look again at the real science it purports to replace. I think that's the best encomium I can give a fringe wack-job, no?

I started reading Dearest Friend a few days ago. Not bad so far, but I'm still only a few chapters in.

I've just posted another positive review of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe. It's scarcely necessary to say it's a popular book, what with 132 reviews already, but it's also a really, really good read for Y-chromosome-bearing individuals. Honest. If you like history even a little bit, there is something to catch you in this storyteller's work.

Also up on my thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/75718

#16 jnwelch
Yes, Why Didn't They Ask Evans? was made into a movie though I haven't seen it. The book is a really good one and has a clever twist. I guess it just gets overshadowed by her more popular titles like Murder on the Orient Express.
I finished Somebody Owes Me Money, which I had high hopes for but found disappointing. Still, great cover and I love the title so I'll hold on to it for now.
I was in the mood for something different so I'm reading Here's To You, Rachel Robinson. Haven't read a Judy Blume since about 7th grade.

I'm two-third into No country for old men by Cormac McCarthy. A very dark book. I have the movie taped. Guess I will see that in about half a year or so.

I am reading Pope Joan for book club and still working on Malone Dies

I finished Far From Home a few days ago. It was pretty clever. I'll have to write my review later today for Early Reviewers. Now I'm finishing up A Sand County Almanac. I've been reading each month's essay during the calendar month this year, and now I'm finishing off the other essays at the end.

I finished Beautiful Creatures, which was enchanting. Right now I'm perusing Two Histories of England.

>16 jnwelch: Looooove Scott Pilgrim.

Just read Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love and am at a loss for what to read next. Something that doesn't qualify for the 101010 challenge, and probably something pretty quick because I think I have a hold arriving at the library on Monday -- When Everything Changed by Gail Collins.

I finished Outliers last night and turned back to Life and Fate for an hour or so.

Robert

I finished reading Red Partisan, a harrowing tale of life as a POW and Partisan fighter behind the German lines in World War II. Of the Soviet memoirs that I've read so far, this has been the best.

Now, I'm starting on Meltdown Iceland, my ER book. It's rather short, so I hope to make quick work of it.

I am about to start The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas. I have heard so many good things about this mystery series, I am really looking forward to this. I am also planning to read The Wedding Officer by Anthony Capella this week.

I'm about to the halfway point in "A Whisper to the Blood" by Dana Stabenow...#16 in her 'Kate Shugak' series...enjoyable as usual.

#16 jnwelch & #30 mstrust
"Why Didn't The Ask Evans" was adapted as a TV movie for PBS for the most recent Masterpiece Mystery presentations (spring/summer/early fall 2009). It was one of their 4 new Agatha Christie mysteries (with new/different actress as 'Miss Marple').

I'm almost halfway through Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden recommended by spacepotatoes. It's very good.

#38 Please do let us know how you get one with The Chalk Circle Man. I went mad and bought a few of Fred Vargas's books - mainly because the titles were so amazing (in particular Seeking Whom He May Devour) but I was very disappointed with the first one I read (can't remember the title offhand) and have been a bit wary of reading her others so far. I also don't recognise this title; is it a new one or a re-titling of one of her older books?

I finished Quirkology: The Curious Science of Everyday Lives a few days ago, but still have four books on the go:

Trust Me: I'm a (Junior) Doctor by Max Pemberton
'Too Much Anger, Too Many Tears: A Personal Triumph over Psychiatry' by Janet and Paul Gotkin (no touchstone)
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
The Anthology of Popular Verse edited by Christopher Hurford

Two of those are for my ABC challenge; I want to get as much of it completed as possible by the New Year, with some good reads over the Christmas break to boot, so that I can concentrate on getting off to a good start with my 1010 come January...

Pretty much the same as last week. Still reading Pride and Prejudice. I'll pick up the Zombies version when I'm done.

Also, more from The Fireside Book of Christmas Stories.

And we started doing a read-aloud of Cricket on the Hearth as time permits. Never read this one. Christmas Carol is the best know, so giving this lesser-read one a shot.

I'll be interested to get your take on Trust Me: I'm a (Junior) Doctor, Ellie.

I finished two books yesterday, When Harlem Nearly Killed King by Hugh Pearson, an account of Dr. King's near fatal stabbing by a deranged woman in 1958 (4-1/2 stars, reviewed), and A Kid for Two Farthings by Wolf Mankowitz, a novella centered around a young Jewish boy living in mid-20th century Spitalfields (London) who buys a lame and sickly goat, thinking that it is a unicorn (3 stars, not yet reviewed).

I should finish Street of Lost Footsteps by Lyonel Trouillot today, which uses a night of violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti to recall the country's long history of rebellion and oppression. I'm also reading The Jazz Loft Project: Photographs and Tapes of W. Eugene Smith from 821 Sixth Avenue, 1957-1965 by Sam Stephenson.

>Richard- Welcome back sir! You were missed!
>Booksloth- I'm not sure which Fred Vargas you had read but I loved Have Mercy on Us All. I know the books have been translated and published here in the US, out of order, but I will eventually read them all.
I'm deeply immersed in Cutting For Stone and have to say it's simply amazing. I also listened to the bulk of Outliers and I'm starting to get bored with it, after an interesting first half.

I finished reading Secrets by Nuruddin Farah. It is a unique piece of literature which takes the reader into a fascinating culture. I am listening to Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear and about to start readingSaving Faith by David Baldacci.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Just starting Dime Novel Desperadoes by John Hallwas. This is an early reviewers book i won a few months ago and am just now getting around to reading.

I have so many books to read that I am forcing myself to stop buying for a while and TRY to catch up on my "to do" list.

Guns, Germs and Steel - still! and The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea.

#43 Hope Cricket on the Hearth goes well for you. I read it so long ago that I don't remember a thing about it but have recently bought the Christmas stories ready to read just as soon as I get through Dreams From My Father and Stealing Athena. It wouldn't be Xmas without some Xmas stories!

Almost finished with {Princes of Ireland by Rutherfurd}. Really loved the beginning but a tad slow in the middle but still enjoyable.

I'm done with The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. I enjoyed it very well and really love Holmes way of deduction and observation, though I not always like the character. I think I will start The Straw Men today. Apart from that I'm still busy with The Canterbury Tales; I have finished arouns a third by now and still have 6 weeks to finish it.

Finished reading The Celestial Omnibus and Other Stories by E. M. Forster. A strange experience for me. My review at,

http://www.librarything.com/work/3032497/reviews/53581103

Going to start The Innocence of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton today. This book has been on my TBR pile for waaay to long!

I have been busy with computer problems (been on the phone to India (Microsoft) for about 8 hours on different days). But now have them fixed. Also had hardware problems I had to fix. So have done very little reading this month.

I was reading The Last of the Angels by Fadhil al-Azzawi for a RL book group. It wasn't bad but, very scattered. Every new sentence went off on a different tangent. It was interesting to read about 1950s Iraq, but I just didn't care about the people or events. So I have put it down.

Then I started reading Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement, on my Itouch.
It is also for a RL book group. SF, set on a weird planet, oddly shaped, lots of weight, poisonous air/fluids, small insect people. It is both interesting and boring. Interesting about the setting and the how things work there. Boring in that it goes into too much detail and then it becomes an insect adventure story. That is a standard adventure trek, other than the insects. I am still reading but haven't finished,

I have also started my next book due for a RL group On Hitler's Mountain by Irmgard Hunt. A non-fiction about growing up in Berchtesgaden while Hitler was in power, and just after. So far so good.

I've finally finished Dirt: The Quirks, Habits, and Passions of Keeping House (an anthology) and have started Personal Days by Ed Park.

I knew it was along the same lines of Then We Came to the End, which I loved, but I didn't realize it was even also told in the second person. Makes me even gladder I took an inadvertently long break between the two by misplacing this one.

I enjoyed Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book and now I'm reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.

Those are two books I really enjoyed, mollygrace. Hope you do, too.

>39 Catgwinn: Catgwinn: Thanks for the tip on the Masterpiece Theater movie of Why Didn't They Ask Evans. My daughter wasn't pleased with the older version she found at our public library, so I've alerted her to this newer one.

#41 Booksloth - as msf59 said, the books have been translated out of order. The Chalk Circle Man is, I believe, the first one in the series. I found the style of writing took a bit of getting used to, seemingly jumping around alot. But I am now up to chapter six and have gotten used to the writing syle, and now I am sinking into the story which I am finding very good and I am enjoying this quirkly mystery.

#45/57 Thank you both for clarifying that. I think the one I read was The Three Evangelists and, while I didn't think it was a bad book it just didn't especially grab me. That doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to eventually trying the others though.

I've started Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. I will likely have time for just one more after that before starting on my 1010 Challenge books for next year.

I finished The Glass Castle this morning, but haven't written the review yet... still letting it all sink in. I'm sure there's a Lifetime Movie Network production in that book, but not sure I'd want to see it done. It could be so Daytime TV without much effort.

I've got about 1/4 of the way to go in Three to Get Deadly... had to put it down this afternoon because I had a hunger headache. This one isn't one of the best books, but "Old Penis Nose" is a nickname that just doesn't get old... lol.

I started over reading Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism today. I figure it won't take too long to read. I had set it aside last spring when Mags, with whom I was reading it, went to her dad's. It's a cute book, but not near as much fun reading it right after Glass Castle.

59: mstrust

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, a fantastic book. I just re-read it here recently.
Also just saw the movie with Albert Finny. which was also very good.

I read The Virgin Suicides and Perfume: Story of a Murderer over the past two days, and now I'm actually going to try my hardest not to start anything new until Tuesday night, once I'm done with final exams and on my way back to my family for the holidays.

I have absolutely no self-control, however, so I'll probably get into one of the Chuck Palahniuk pdfs I have on my desktop before tomorrow morning. Any suggestions? I'm deciding between Choke, Lullaby, and Survivor.

I'm reading Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry.

I'm still going with The Fellowship of the Ring which I'm enjoying immensely and I'm still terribly bewildered as to why I didn't re-read it sooner although I will admit that everything seems rather new to me so perhaps I skimmed through it much too fast the first time round in my hurry to see the films. I think I will possibly come to love the books as much as I love the films as I'm finding it terribly amusing when i recognise lines that were used in the films (in my worryingly nerdy way). I'm hoping to finish Fellowship in the next two days before I pack up my stuff to go home for christmas.

I finished Saving Faith, a nice one day weekend read. I am about to start reading The Last Summer of Reason by Tahar Djaout.

I finally finished a book ! I completed On Hitler's Mountain by Irmgard Hunt. It was good, if light on the atrocities, a charge the author makes about how her parent's generation won't discuss it.

Oh, oh. I've diverged from Life and Fate again to take up The Brethren by Bob Woodward. I bet I'll get back to Life and Fate before long.

Robert

I picked up True Compass at the library over the weekend. I haven't had time to read much more than a few pages but hopefully that'll change soon.

I finished A Perfect Divorce by Avery Corman (author of Kramer vs. Kramer) and found it very good, but different than I expected. It seemed to have less to do with divorce and more to do with the son of the divorced couple and how he made his own way in the world.

I'm about one third of the way through Good Family by Terry Gamble, whose writing reminds me of the style of Anita Shreve or Jacquelyn Mitchard. It's beautifully written.

I finished The Night Watch on Saturday while at a wrestling tournament for my son. It was very different from The Little Stranger but I really enjoyed it. I absolutely love her writing.

I have started The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and am really enjoying it so far. It is a nice, light read which I really need right now. I have so much to do between Christmas and wrestling season that it is nice to have this little diversion.

65, LadyViolet: I admit I read the books after seeing the movies, but I remember feeling the same way when I recognized certain lines from the movie that I didn't expect to be in the book. My favorite scene in the movies was the "Rabbit stew" scene where Sam wishes he had some PO-TAY-TOES and Gollum's hilarious reaction to it. I was elated to read it and see that it was actually a part of the book, instead of something the movie makers added. :)

I just fniished listening to Dreamcatcher by Stephen King. Whew. Amazing. Torturous.

I'm reading the third book in Bartle Bull's African Trilogy - The Devil's Oasis. Good story, interesting characters, great prose and dialogue. I love these books!

I'm reading The Monters of Templetonl. I'm enjoying it as the setting is Cooperstown which is near my home town. I just started it, but am hopeful that it is going to be a good read.

I spent the weekend on the couch with a nasty cold. The upside to this is that it allowed me to finish The Book Thief - a very good book. This is the first book I've bought because LT people loved it, so thanks to everyone !

Now I'm finishing a book of Mongolian Folk Tales.

For book 151, I just finished Star Trek Unworthy.

Now I am going to read a book appropriate for the season called A Wallflower Christmas.

Just about to start on my Christmas reading. For kick-off it's Wally Lamb's Wishin' and Hopin'.

I decided to let The Straw Men on my TBR pile a while longer and therefore took Gaining Ground for a re-read.

Just finished War and Peace. Read Life and Fate whilst reading War and Peace and also Vanity Fair so I am rather "tomed" out at the moment and have changed my reading plan of Les Miserables now and am putting it off until after the holidays.
I am currently reading Clarel and Mrs Dalloway and just finished a couple of Debbie Macomber cozy Christmas reads and think that I will stick with Christmas reads and lighter fare throughout the holidays. I just need to chill and relax.
Happy holidays everyone.
belva

I finished First Lord's Fury this morning, and loved it. A great end to the Codex Alera series.

I'm now reading The Wives of Henry Oades for Early Reviewers.

>45 msf59: msf59, in answer to your question from last week's thread, I'm not sure yet how permanent my setting aside of Cutting for Stone will be, as my weak stomach just couldn't take the rather vivid surgical descriptions. Guess we'll see where my reading takes me over the next few months and years, I may wind my way back to it eventually.

I am deep into the blood and guts of Antony Beevor's book on D-Day. It is amazing. Full of stories about what happened to the French civilian population who got caught in the middle of the invasion. Seems there was no collateral damage back in 1945. As he did with Fall of Berlin- 1945 he is one historian very willing to take on the ugly truth of Battle. He documents accounts of atrocities committed by all sides - French, German, American, British, and Canadian regarding the shooting of prisoners.

#16 jnwelch

I loved Silk. I read it many years ago. I heard that at some point in time it was being made into a movie. I believe a French movie. Does anybody else remember hearing about that? I wonder what a movie made out this book would be like because, as you say, there are so many layers of meaning to be found in it.

Finished Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism this morning and reviewed it. Cute, but not as much fun without my little reader to share it with.

I think I'm going to pick up Northanger Abbey next. I wanted to finish my Austens before the end of the year, and there's not much year left ;-)

I am still reading Look Great, Live Green, Highland Hearts by Virginia Brown and I am now starting my ER book Truly, Madly: A Novel by Heather Webber. I wonder which book I will finish first...

I'm reading Thug: The True Story of India's Murderous Cult about the Thuggee in 19th century India. Fascinating stuff. I'm also reading La puta de Babilonia, an attack on the Catholic Church from the author of Our Lady of the Assassins.

Playing catch up here and posting one that I finished recently ...

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. I can't recall if I mentioned that I finished reading The Cellist of Sarajevo on this thread. Oh, well. I did finish reading it! Four Stars, too.

Well into (actually about to finish up) Amy and Isabelle: A novel written by Elizabeth Strout who also wrote Olive Kitteridge and Abide With Me.

Tired, but, hanging in there. No, Stasia, the drugs I'm on right now don't make my thinking fuzzy, but the constant stress of being ill certainly takes its toll on my ability to think.

womansheart ~ I just finished Dewey last week and loved it. I hope you enjoy it as much, if not more, than I did :-)

The subzero temperatures call for something cozy to read, so I'm setting aside Personal Days (on page 6) in favor of I Capture the Castle. I've never read it before.

Not sure if this is the best place to ask but can someone spare a word of reading advice? In my pre-xmas haul is Drood by Dan Simmons. Now one of the few Dickens books I haven't read is The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Do I need to read that first? So many people on the site seem to have read Drood, I'm hoping one or two of them might be one this thread and can tell me. Thanks.

#89 Funny you should ask about Drood; I was just about to post the fact that I am currently reading it. I'm just past page 400.

I would suggest reading The Mystery of Edwin Drood first. I bought Drood and Matthew Pearl's The Last Dickens to see how the two authors deal with the same period in Dickens life. I then bought and read The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

There is a lot in Drood that refers to the real Dickens novel, and I benefitted from reading a few notes on the discussion about how Dickens would have finished the book before his death. Having read the novel was a big advantage when reading Drood.

Wilkie Collins is an author whose books I have but have not managed to read to date. It would be an advantage to have read The Lady in White and Moonstone before Drood, but I am not finding it too much of a handicap.

I approached Drood with some misgivings about the whole concept of creating a fiction around the lives of Dickens and Collins. There are many things that annoy me about the book, in terms of liberties taken with characthers and scenes from the original novel; yet I wish to continue. I have read Dan Simons Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion (most impressive) and like his writing. He has not made glaring errors in Drood that I have spotted. (There is one crucial fact that I must check up that would undermine a big element of the story, but I might apply poetic licence to that.)

I would suggest the serious Dickens scholar would find it difficult to finish Drood. I think I will get to the end. I will definitely be writing a review stating the positives and negatives.

Some of the positives include the fact that Drood has created a need for me to read about Dickens' and Collins' lives. I have already purchased a book on Dickens' work as a result.

By the way, William Makepeace Thackery makes an appearance. I have read his Vanity Fair and consider it one of the best books I've ever read. I must look into his biography too.

I hope this has addressed your query.

Thank you very much for that, pgmcc. I've read the Wilkie Collins ones (and Thackery) and most of Dickens's other books but never got round to Edwin Drood - I guess it's time I did. I do get rather touchy about authors taking liberties with real lives but the older I get, the better I seem to be about separating fiction from reality (a bit like the fact that I'm now also able to watch films of favourite books without taking it personally every time they get something wrong). I've heard lots of good things about Drood so I am rather looking forward to it and I do love books that make me rush off and buy other books - this certainly seems to be one of those!

ETA - Okay, I've ordered it!

#82 benitastrnad
I remember seing Silk but Keira Knightley was in it and they spoke English.

I finished The Last Summer of Reason by Tahar Djaout....fantastic! I also finished Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear, and thoroughly enjoyed it!

I have started listening to Paco's Story by Larry Heinemann and will start reading The Shadow Catcher by Marianne Wiggins, which is my RL book club selection for January.

>benitastrnad Turns out they made a movie of Silk in 2007, with Keira Knightly as Helene, as laura_88 remembers:

http://www.amazon.com/Silk-Carlo-Cecchi/dp/B00104J4IO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=d...

Seems like a tough one to successfully adapt for a feature length film!

I recently finished Michael and Elizabeth Norman’s Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and It’s Aftermath, a superb book about the tragedy of war and the triumph of the human spirit. The book is not for the faint of heart and is harrowing in many places, but it's written with a kind of simplicity and grace that shows above all, the ambiguity of war. Tremendous. One of the best non-fiction books I’ve read this year.

I finished reading Amy and Isabelle: A Novel and began, for the second time, to read Black Swan Green.

Amy and Isabelle was a very interesting read, though the topic might be difficult for some readers who eschew reading about sexuality and human beings. The novel contains so many compelling elements, but, the element that stands out for me is the redemption of the older female protagonist in the novel, the Mother, Isabelle. As did her other most recent female "force of nature", Olive Kitteridge she came to trust and know herself. Excellent book. Five stars.

See review: http://www.librarything.com/work/5217

Happy reading during all of the Holiday Season.

I'm just not settled enough to read a character study like Off Keck Road by Mona Simpson. So I set it aside in favor of an LT recommendation Mind the Gap an urban fantasy which requires no contemplation whatsoever but does roll along.

Thanks everybody for all the info about Silk. I really liked the book. As I remember it was sensuous and sexy, but not overt in any way. In fact it was rather demure. But still very sexy. All about the idea that the hidden can become an obsession. It was a short book and very tight. I thought it was very good.

It seems from the reviews you guys forwarded that the movie never lived up to the book. Seems that is the way for many books into movies. And then sometimes I am completely surprised by a movie like Atonement that makes the book come alive. I won't even go into my opinion about the acting ability of Knightly. She does look lovely in most anything she does. ;-)

I just finished How to Paint a Dead Man by Sarah Hall. Excellent novel. Am thinking about what to read next- I have started my ER book by Elif Shafak- The Forty Rules of Love: a novel of Rumi. I think that I might want a mystery first.

You're welcome, benitastrnad. Yes, I often won't see a so-so movie adapted from a book I like because I'd rather just have my memories of the book. A River Runs Through It comes to mind.

I'm one of those who did like Keira Knightly in Pride and Prejudice, and you're right, she looks lovely in most anything she does.

I finished Why Didn't They Ask Evans, an okay Agatha Christie but not one of my favorites, and started Death in the Stocks, the first Georgette Heyer mystery I've ever read.

#54 - If I remember right, Personal Days and Then We Came To The End, came out right around the same time, so it's really striking how similar they are - especially the 2nd person. Still, I think PD stands very well on its own, and I say that with Ferris's book being one of my favorites ever. PD is very good indeed; I hope fans of Ferris take note. :)

Finished The Midnight Band of Mercy .......and my review is here:
http://www.librarything.com/work/45129/book/53808898

.......am now reading A Place of Hiding by Elizabeth George...because that's where i left off the Lynley/Havers series...a right corking good series it is, too...

;-}

I abandoned The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and am working on Clouds of Witness, On Hitler's Mountain, and Northanger Abbey by turns. I hated giving up on the Larsson but just couldn't bring myself to care about Blomkvist. I may return to it when my cold is better.

Oh thank you rockinrhombus! I've been rather ashamed to admit I gave up on it too! I've heard so many people rave about this book yet, like you, I just couldn't have cared less. I know the fact that there are two of us doesn't necessarily make us right, but it does make me feel a bit less of an oddity.

#103 rockinrhombus Yay! another Northanger reader :-) I'm finding that I'm liking it the best of all the Austens, which is surprising. I love Austen's satirical wit and commentary on the customs of the day.

finished quickly A Wallflower Christmas and started Murder Most Medieval and borrowed from the library, after the volunteer Christmas lunch, Death Walked In - light reading for now till the end of the year

Well I finished The Fellowship of the Ring around midnight this morning and started to read The Professor by Charlotte Bronte since it's pretty short so I'm gonna swap it into my ABC challenge.

>104 Booksloth:--I was almost afraid to post that, expecting bricks through my window, but it just didn't click with me. And all those Vangers with no redeeming qualities. Grr.

>105 thekoolaidmom:--Yes, we read it for a RL book group and I am still working on it. I enjoy Tilney and his teasing manners. And I went to high school with many Isabellas.

>105 thekoolaidmom: the koolaidmom: I remember when I first read Northanger Abbey, having read her other ones first, I was surprised by how outright funny it was. Totally unexpected.

103: rockinrhombus
104: Booksloth

This is too funny. There are at least three of us who have dropped the reading of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, because I just quit after only about 30 pages--and I hate quitting a book. I just couldn't get into it and found myself...annoyed at the book.

I brought it back to the library, so now the next person in line can have a crack at it. I hope they like it better than I did.

Karen

I love Northanger Abbey best too!

>103 rockinrhombus:, 104, 110: I did NOT like Steig Larsson's books. I read the Pearl Rule 50pp of Dragon Tattoo and abandoned it. The one about girls on fire, I gave two paragraphs...no dice. I am not alone! Others don't fit his aetheric band either! *sigh of relief*

I just started The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen and I think I am going to be blown away! Very exciting feeling.

I've finished The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo and it was a disappointment since I have so enjoyed her other books. Too depressing and too much imagery for children, I think. I think adults who like atmospheric novels will appreciate this one.

I finished Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz this week. I is set in 1940's and was a re-read in honor of his birthday last Friday. I originally read it so long ago, I only remembered it was good. My memory served me right. I also finished The Thief And the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz a very short novel basically about revenge. Both take place in Cairo Egypt.
I will start Our Simple Gifts by Owen Parry tomorrow. It is a collection of Civil War Christmas Tales. I had it on my TBR pile for a couple of Christmas and it got itself buried. I just rediscovered it and it suits my mood.

Jo

I feel so relieved! I thought there was something wrong with me for not loving the Larsson. Not that there isn't a lot wrong with me, but still nice to have company. Now I must go roll Christmas candy into hundreds of little balls.

I read both of the Larsson books this year. Although I still don't understand why everyone loved them so much, I did manage to finish both of them. You see I have this compulsion to finish even the most horrid books (only twice in my life have I abandoned a book).

I love Northanger Abbey too! It is my third favorite Austen novel after Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion.

Uh oh..i have yet to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo..and i have had an ARC forever...someone gave me The Girl who Played with Fire for/on my Kindle for Christmas (*should i use it for Kindling?* she asked)...i have problems, anyway, with Widely Popular books..they tend to disappoint me....oh well, i'll check these two out eventually...but it's good to know we have discerning readers here who aren't afraid to rock the boat a bit...

;-}

I just finished The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes and really liked it. Now I have started in The Magicians by Lev Grossman and so far I am pleasantly surprised and loving it :D

Catch-22. Back to books I read in high school and enjoying it.

Jude- Don't give up on it! Dragon Tattoo is not perfect but I still found it highly enjoyable! I think when books like this become polarizing, you have to go with your gut! You hate to miss out just because a few people disliked it!

I'm about to start Panic in Level 4, having just finished The Hot Zone a couple days ago and greatly enjoying it! :)

I'm still reading The Professor which I'm actually really enjoying which surprised me since it's only the second Bronte book I've read (I don't count my failed attempt at Wuthering Heights). I will probably get it finished tonight as I've only got 50 pages left. Not sure what I'll read next... probably The Montmartre Investigation for my ABC challenge.

Started rereading Dickens's Christmas Books in honour of the season before remembering that I don't actually like them very much. Now I've moved on to Lottery which is rather charming and a lot more fun.

Re the discussion of the Larsson books (which I loved, by the way). It's mysterious why some adore and others abhor the same book, or just like/dislike. Just human nature. As I struggled through The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and before that The Widows of Eastwick, both of which most everyone else in my RL book club loved, I did wonder if there was something wrong with me. And, of course, it was completely and utterly inexplicable to me why some (maybe we shouldn't go there) didn't appreciate The Thirteenth Tale to the same extent I did. As msf59 said in message #121, don't give up! What matters is that we form our own opinions. I try not to be too terrribly influenced by reviews, only reading enough to get a sense of whether it's the kind of book I usually enjoy. Time enough to see if I agree or disagree after I give it a chance.

I am reading Lacuna. I am loving it! At first I thought, "Oh, no! Another Prodigal Summer... what is this crazy book about?" But then... I couldn't put it down. It is nothing like anything you have ever read! Thanks Barbara Kingsolver!

msf59 - Thanks for that info! I wasn't going to read it either! Now, I will look at it and see... Thanks.

RE the Larsson books. I recently recommended the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to a reader of mysteries. I hope she likes it, because I think it is a good book, but over the years I have come to realize that not every book I recommend will be loved by others as much as I did. I think that the individuality of reading is so much a part of why we do it. Also the individuality of interpretation is at play.

It always makes me curious as to why somebody didn't like the book. ON-the-other-hand, there are times that I don't like a book that others rave about. Right now I am struggling with Wicked. My book discussion group is reading it and my sister and niece are absolutely in love with it. (They collect Wicked stuff) I just don't understand why anybody would like the book. I find it exceedingly dull and full of lifeless characters. After some encouragement from fellow LTer's I put the book aside and started reading something that absolutely intrigues me. Perhaps one day I will finish it.

I also failed to really think that Pillars of the Earth was outstanding. It was a good story, but not that exceptional while others just raved about it. In this case I think that prior knowledge and study of the Middle Ages contributed to my ennui about the book. I agree that it could be an eye-opener for those new to the Middle Ages I merely found it a rather amusing and sometimes trite treatment of the subject of church/state relations and culture and history in the English Medieval period.

I do think that books are more likeable at different times in our lives. A book that I might like now, perhaps during a reread I will wonder why it was so enamoring. My sister, the High School English teacher, says that Hamlet is wasted on the young, while she rereads it every ten years and always find something new to relate to. Perhaps the old saw about there is a season is very applicable to books as well as life?

#125 jbleil

I agree! What matters it that we form our own opinions about books. Reviews and recommendations should always be viewed as what they are - another opinion. They aren't orthodox gospel. And for me that includes classics as well as popular trade literature. I don't have to like Jane Austen and I am free to think that Ivanhoe is the greatest piece of literature ever written!

I loved both Larrson books (and I don't read very many crime novels) and The Lacuna.

>127 twylah: I have loved all of Barbara Kingsolver's fiction except Prodigal Summer.

And I love Prodigal Summer!

Despite my intention not to read The Straw Men I started it Monday evening and it seems to go quite well. It's a bit confusing for it starts with 4 different point of views, all telling a different story, but it got me with the dead parents leaving a message saying they aren't dead. So I'm curious how it will go on

I finished The Elegance of the Hedgehog this morning. Thank goodness for all the favorable comments I read here plus a New York Times review that I'd saved -- or I would never have stayed with it long enough to see what all the raves were about. Lovely book, and a very meaningful one for me.

Now I'm into The Terrorists by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, the final book in their Martin Beck series.

Oh, and let me say that I loved Prodigal Summer -- maybe my favorite of Kingsolver's books, though I haven't read them all.

>128 benitastrnad:

I started my mother's copy of Wicked in January, set it aside after about an hour's reading, and have yet to care to pick it back up.

Last night I finished Brave New World. I read this one slowly over a week as I wanted to give it it's due and not rush, skim and miss parts which I tend to do inadvertantly when I'm enjoying a book and want to find out what happens next. Each morning on my walk to work I would think about what I'd read. It was a good process and I really enjoyed the book - a first for the dystopian genre!!

I am now reading The White Queen the newest by Philippa Gregory. Something light and fun before I start the Grapes of Wrath.

I finished Begums, Thugs, and White Mughals today. It is a fascinating glimpse into an exotic world of early 19th Century India. The author makes a yeoman's effort to describe what she sees and in so doing provides detail that is sometimes overwhelming. Of course, that sense of being overwhelmed is exactly what the scene invokes and so gives the reader a sense of being there. Along the way there are characters that she meets and describes but the most alluring character is Fanny Parkes herself.

I finished listening to Paco's Story.....extremely intense! I will start listening to That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo on the way home tonight. I continue with The Shadow Catcher by Marianne Wiggins.

Tossed aside Preternatural. Now reading Death's Jest-book by Reginald Hill.

I'm over 2/3rds done with Cutting For Stone and it's been an absolute joy! I also started Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby, which is my first fictional audiobook (downloaded to my Ipod) and it has been amazing! I have not seen this book mentioned here before but Hornby fans, rejoice! It's wonderful!

>134 kristenn:, I'm a huge Wicked fan but the beginning......its so random. All that time clock stuff, just ignore it and enjoy the rest. (At least thats what I did).

I'm currently half way through Basket Case by Hiaasen. So far, super funny. Although I've recently started a vocab journal for any words I don't know. Hiaasen's had forced me to put down the book every page to look up words in the dictionary! Occasionally he even invents his own words. But the book is so enjoyable its worth all the interuptions.

I finished Mission of Gravity by Hal Clements for a RL book group. I got an ebook and read it on my Itouch through Kindle. It was interesting and boring. It ended up being an insect adventure story, ho hum.

I am in a bit of a reading slump now. I have lost the will to read. Still have to finish or quit The Last of the Angels. Its just not grabbing me.

Mark, I've seen Juliet Naked at B&N. Let us know what you think. I thought it looked interesting.

Mollygrace: If you liked Elegance of the Hedgehog I recommend its prequel Gourmet Rhapsody. Much of the story takes place in the same Paris apartment building and some of Hedgehog's main characters are minor characters in Rhapsody. I actually thought it was the better book!

Finished Good Family by Terry Gamble today. It was good.

Just getting ready to start Black Fly Season by Giles Blunt. I love his writing so this should be a good one.

Just finished Frank Beddor's ArchEnemy, the third volume in his "Looking Glass Wars" trilogy. I'd read the first volume, The Looking Glass Wars`, when it came out, then started on Seeing Redd when it was first published but really couldn't get into it.

I think it was probably the "Alice" two-nighter on the SyFy channel that got me back into the Wonderland thing, so I re-read The Looking Glass Wars last week to refresh my memory and then finished the other two books.

Also, a couple weeks ago I started James Hilton's Random Harvest on my Kindle and put it down for the time being about a quarter of the way through. I'll get back to my Kindle and finish Hilton up now that I've finished Beddor's trilogy.

Started Like Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen last night. I think I'm going to like it. I'm reading it for the Books Off the Shelf Challenge.

Well I finished The Professor last night and really liked it and then I picked up The Montmartre Investigation by Claude Izner again. I'm trying to get my ABC challenge done before New Year and I now only have 3 or 4 left methinks.

Too much to do yesterday to read and the daughter comes today - YES!

I loved the Larsson books, hated and put down The Mistress of the Art of Death and can't even imagine picking up Wicked although it's on my shelves. Plus I really disliked my November ER book, The Silent Governess. Everybody else will probably love it. To each her/his own.

Meanwhile, I'm still really enjoying The Devil's Oasis by Bartle Bull.

Next up will be Loving Frank for my January book club meeting.

just started Torch by Cheryl Strayed

We get our son back from college on Saturday, koalamom, so we're also feeling - YES! Hope you have a good time with your daughter.

133 mollygrace - Elegance of the Hedgehog seems like a good example of books you have to stay with to the end, even if at the beginning you wonder why you're reading them. Great book.

I finished Endless Nights by Agatha Christie, a creepy one, and Death in the Stocks by Georgette Heyer, which was pretty good - the heedlessly frank Verekers are a hoot.

I finished The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff day before yesterday and started right in on What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman. However, I don't expect to get too, too far in the book because you can count me in as someone whose children and grandchildren will be trickling in over the next week or so. What is reading when kids are around??

>153 jnwelch:,
Oh, I loved Death in the Stocks. I would have thought the Verekers would drive me insane, but I loved them.

I finished the short book of Mongolian Folktales and Legends and started Firewall. Only 2 chapters in and I recognise it as one that was turned into a TV show with Kenneth Brannagh. Luckily, I don't remember how it turns out.

# 153 Err, jnwelch, I think it is Endless Night, not Endless Nights.

CarlosMcReye@85--If you liked Thug: The True Story of India's Murderous Cult, you might like Confessions of a Thug written by Philip Meadows Taylor, who was a British police commissioner in India in the mid-1800's, and is based on his first-hand experiences.

#151 Judging by the general similarity of our reading tastes (aside from the Larsson books), you may well have a treat in store. Loving Frank was one of my top books of 2008.

Good to know, Booksloth! Your recommendation is good with me.

Yes, thanks, Porua (>157 Porua:), I belatedly realized I got plural-itis; maybe I caught it from Death in the Stocks. Endless Night it is, which actually is very important in the book.

ETA for some reason your touchstone goes to the right one, Agatha Christie's, and mine apparently goes to one by another author.

# 161 You are welcome! :-)

And as for the touchstone, I clicked that (Others) thingy on the touchstones, Agatha Christie's book's name came and I clicked on it.

#141 margaux said: "I'm a huge Wicked fan but the beginning......its so random. All that time clock stuff, just ignore it and enjoy the rest. (At least thats what I did)" EXACTLY how I felt. Wicked is one of my all-time favorites, but where the book really takes off is when Elphaba and Glinda are at university.

I, too, loved Prodigal Summer. However, I think I might be the only person that didn't love Olive Kitteridge. I thought it was okay, but was certainly not rapturous about it, although I would read another book by her. Amy and Isabelle, which someone mentioned earlier, sounds interesting.

I finished up a guilty pleasure book yesterday - The White Queen by Philippa Gregory. Although the end dragged on a bit, it was really enjoyable, and I think Gregory is back on form after a couple of duds. It makes me want to read more real history about the War of the Roses. Anyone who reads The White Queen should know that Gregory stretches the distance between fact and fiction to its max. Taken as what it is though - fiction - it's a good book and a fun read.

Count me as another first time reader for Jane Austen. I'm reading Pride and Prejudice. It seems Austen has been very sneakily following me for the past month. From watching Jane Austen Book Club on TV to reading many reviews of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, to just various articles that I've come across lately, but haven't actually read anything by her.

I've also got Her Fearful Symmetry going. There's a line of people waiting for me to finish this one and get it back to the library. It's good, but no Time Traveller's Wife.

#163 jhedlund - have you read The Sunne in Splendor by Sharon Penman? It's the same story as The White Queen but told with Richard the third York brother (or 4th if you count the eldest that died) as the main character (who will become Richard II). It's a FANTASTIC book. I am enjoying The White Queen and agree it's better than the last few Gregory books but doesn't beat Penman's version.

just to add my thoughts on the Wicked scush... I think Maguire really lost me when they all went to that fetish club. I just never did recover after that.

#164 ShannonMDE Welcome to the Austen Club :-) I've read Pride and Prejudice a few times in my life, but have been working my way through her books in order of publication, which allowed me to read her work in a different, and with a couple of the books 1st time, view and appreciation.

I just finished Northanger Abbey this afternoon (I haven't wrote the review yet, though), and I can't imagine how or why I hadn't read it before. P & P had always been my favorite, but I think it's supplanted by NA now. It's so much fun! It's got the social interplay and romantic expectations that Austen is known for, but also has a satirical wit and parody that had me laughing out loud and held me in suspense as much, if not more, than a modern novel. The odious John Thorpe is very familiar to me, and did NOT die out with Victorian England. And Isabella was shameful for any era... I think someone commented in this thread they had known several Isabellas in high school, and I second that. I'll add that I could name a couple in my acquaintance even now, so age doesn't cure it. I've said it before, and I say it again: A classic is one that can be just as current in whatever time period it's read as it was in it's initial publication, and Austen always meets that requirement :-)

Dunno whether to hit Persuasion next, or leave it for after the kids go back to school. Maybe grab a non-fiction next... Plato and Platypus Walk Into a Bar or An Inconvenient Book perhaps?

Chocolate, Please by Lisa Lampanelli. Hardly sophisticated literature but super funny and un-put-down-able!

koolaidmom, Plato and Platypus Walk Into a Bar lacks humor, doing a disservice to both philosophy and jokes.

Last night I finished The Brethren and was still in a Supreme Court frame of mind, so I, barely, started Supreme Conflict.

Robert

Sarah arrived safely and will be here until just after the first. It's nice having everyone here for awhile.

And I have managed to get halfway through Death Walked In.

I finished The Death of Sweet Mister for the Missouri Readers group. Great writing, unpleasant story. Now for something more uplifting...my annual read of Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

Quickly bouncing through to comment that I have finished Haiku by Andrew Vachss - which was quite good - and I am now reading the thriller The Intelligencer by Leslie Silbert.

#165 kiwaflowa - The Sunne in Splendor is now at the tippy top of my wishlist! I'm glad to hear you liked it.

Does anyone know where I can get a copy of Pomegranate Sky by Louise Soraya Black?

on Mr.Durick's dis-recommendation (saying it's NOT funny) I went ahead and picked up Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar... lol, I'm the type of person who'll do what they're told NOT to as fast as I possibly can :-D .

Personally, I find a lot of the jokes funny, but I think they rush the explanations of some of the schools of philosophy. It's a bit of a Cliff Notes-style intro to philosophy.

I stayed up late to finish When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, a thoroughly enjoyable YA mystery. If you have a middle-schooler, especially a girl who's into A Wrinkle in Time, find a copy and wrap it up and put it under the tree (or on the kitchen table, whatever). You can't go wrong here.

I'm coming towards the end of An Empty Death by Laura Wilson. I'm very impressed, I've read several of her other books, and I read Stratton's War about the same character last year, which was quite good, but this is excellent. It's a crime novel set during the Second World War. There are several plot lines and points of view in the story.

#175 coppers -- I heartily concur. But why stop with middle-schoolers -- why should they have all the fun? I'm an old lady who for thirty years used L'Engle's books in my reading and English classes (yes--more middle schoolers!) and then walked down the hall and shared them with my colleagues in the faculty workroom. At a recent retired-teachers' "reunion" (the best kind -- the eight of us met in a bar), I recommended When You Reach Me to the group. It was our first gathering since L'Engle's passing -- we offered up a toast in her honor -- and everyone was delighted to know about Ms. Stead and her book and the promise of more time travel.

Finished The Magicians by Lev Grossman and although it wasn't at all what I expected (I expected something like The Codex) I absolutely loved it!

Started Nurtureshock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman last night. Quick, interesting stuff. A lot like Malcolm Gladwell, with fewer charming tangents. So far I've read four chapters -- telling your kids that they're smart is bad for them, kids don't get enough sleep and it's doing a lot of damage, avoiding discussions of race will not make your kids color-blind, and why kids lie.

>178 divinenanny: I read The Magicians a couple months ago and have Codex on my 101010 challenge. Good to know they're fairly different.

Actually managed to finish Death Walked In. Now back to Murder Most Medieval.

I'm re-reading A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey.

I'm off tomorrow morning for my three week Christmas break. That break also means I will be doing things like making saurkraut, popcorn balls, baking, and sewing a monumental 4-H project with my niece (and since it got cold - ice skating) and I hope that I won't be anywhere near a computer during that time. Although, I confess I will be curious to hear what wonderful Christmas reading all of you are doing, so I might cheat and make use of a computer from time-to-time just so I can keep track of who is reading what.

I will be taking with me Beevor's D-Day to finish reading and Roads to Santiago. Because of all of the positive talk about Elizabeth in Rugen and her summer garden I have checked those books out of the library to take with me. I also found White Rhino Hotel and will try to read that. But after I finish Beevor I am going to start on End of the Hunt. I have been wanting to finish this trio for some years and this Christmas is going to be the time to do so. I am thinking of long morning with hot tea or coffee and a couple of hours of reading.

Merry Christmas everybody and Happy Holiday reading!

Oh! And thanks for making me not feel bad about Wicked. I honestly wanted to like that book, but it just ain't happening. At least for me.

Merry Christmas, Benitastrnad, sounds like you are going to have a perfectly lovely time.

Edited: I should have posted the books brought home to another thread so will move them there.

I am reading The Sugar Queen by Sarah Allen Addison and Bundori by Laura Joh Rowland

Currently reading Personal Foul by Tim Donaghy (will likely finish today or tomorrow).

Not 100% sure what I'll read next. It will likely be either Memorial Day by Vince Flynn (Kinda the wrong time of year to be reading that, but hey, it's next up for me in the Mitch Rapp series, and I'm kinda picky about reading a series in order), Map of Bones by James Rollins, Event by David Lynn Golemon, or else one of the 2 books I got last night from my Secret Santa, either The Lions of Lucerne or The Camel Club. Could be something else, but doubtful. Kinda have to be "in the mood" for horror or true crime, so will likely fill those categories in my 1010 Challenge later in the year.

#175 - Thanks for the recommendation. I passed it along to my boss who has a middle-school daughter, who reads very little, but who loved A Wrinkle in Time. He's going to follow your suggestion.

177 -- I haven't read When You Reach Me Yet but it is on tap for the coming year. I love your hearty enthusiasm for YA lit. I don't think YA lit gets enough credit for how far it has come in the past 20 years. Perhaps you might like Elsewhere. It was one of my favorites last year. Not so much time travel, but sort of other worldly.

Having finished Mrs. Dalloway and having loved it, I am now half way through Dina's Book by H. Wassmo which is soooooo good that I have set Clarel aside until I finish this one.

EVERYBODY NEEDS TO READ DINA'S BOOK!!!!

Perhaps the best book I have read all year!~!
belva

#189

Correction!!! Everyone that is into the following needs to read Dina's Book:

Marriage
Historical Fiction
Drama
Feminism

Yuck, Yuck, YUCK, and SUPER YUCK!!!!

If this is you, and want something more exciting to read, YOU SHOULD READ:

Vince Flynn
Brad Thor
Tom Clancy
James Rollins

and many other great authors that will keep you up all night wondering what happens next!

"EVERYBODY" is too strong a word to be using here! :-)

ShannonMDE I am also one of the few who has not read a Jane Austen book. I just purchases Pride and Prejudice and will read next.

I'm another When You Reach Me fan, as is my daughter in her twenties.

Just finished The Three Musketeers (it is quite the tome) and I just loved it, as I did The Count of Monte Cristo. Lots of adventure and swashbuckling.

Just got The Children's Book A.S. Byatt from the library, and I'll only have it for two weeks, so I think I'll start it up.

Karen

Finished reading "A Risk Worth Taking" by Robin Pilcher (Rosamude Pilcher's eldest son)...a pleasant read; I'll be looking for his other novels

Currently reading "A Portrait in Sepia" by Isabel Allende....interesting, so far.

I just finished Lost in a Good Book, really enjoyed it, so clever and amusing, any literary lover would love these books and appreciate it. I listened to it on audiobook and it made it all that much better, I will listen to all the rest of the Thursday Next books on audio.

I just got done reading one of my early Christmas presents to myself, Stephen King's Cell. It was sufficiently creepy in that I am still thinking of the ending from time to time. I feel this book is much scarier if you are a parent reading the book. I am now reading The Little Giant of Aberdeen County. It is a good read so far with some gripping moments and I am enjoying it.

Dear ThrillerFan;

re: "Marriage
Historical Fiction
Drama
Feminism

Yuck, Yuck, YUCK, and SUPER YUCK!!!!"

I will agree that perhaps we are both using too strong of language. How's that? Does that work for you? I just get excited; that's all. Sometimes the fingers work faster than the brain. I apologize if I have offended anyone, especially you. It was not my intention.
Please forgive.
Wishing you the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of new years in 2010.
belva

You are not offensive Belva.

I am reading By Night in Chile by Roberto Bolano. I am in a bit of a reading funk, so I am hoping this will get me out of it.

into Murder Most Medieval and also Star Trek Log Six - both short stories that I can pick up and read and put down at will - maybe be needed at this time of year rather than a full novel

I have my fingers crossed for you Ficus!~! I hat when I get in one of those. Sometimes I just have to wait it out and sometimes it just takes the right book to do it. Let's hope it's the latter in your case.
belva

I am now reading Year of Wonders :A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks. I've been keeping my eyes open for a copy of this ever since The People of the Book group read and finally got lucky at the library last week.

Anyone know if Teelgee is okay? Usually she has started the next week's thread by now.

197

Nannybebette,

No offense taken at all...was simply making a point, and demonstrating that I could just as easily press everybody to read what I read.

I'll be honest, some of the books I've read I got from the advice on here. (Obviously more from the Crime/Mystery/Thriller area, not general talk)

Saying "Everyone should read this" is not helpful at all. That's all I was getting at.

Notice in my post (190) that I added in the "If you want something more exciting to read" (and the handle also ought to give the genre I'm referring to), read those authors mentioned.

If you are a Danielle Steel or Nora Roberts fan, I sure wouldn't recommend someone like Vince Flynn. There is no love in his books, just shooting and bombing!

Hope you enjoy your Christmas as well. Mine will be in the brutal cold of Chicago (my Wife's turn to see family...mine's in NC...we go up Wednesday)

I started reading Lit but was able to give it the attention it needed, so I was happy to receive an ARC of Joanna Trollope's The Other Family. Perfect for my distracted state - but should provide for a number of enjoyable reading hours this Saturday.

#197 - You're effusively praising a book you just finished and loved and want to share with the world and you're apologizing for it?? I thought that was a big part of why we're even on LT!!

This week's post is up and can be found here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/79621#1661687

> nannybebette

.......Dina's Book has been on my Wish List for too long..thank you for your enthusiastic recommendation (no matter what others say)

#195

How does the audiobook handle all the footnoter phone conversations? That's a medium conundrum that has always perplexed me and kept me away from the audio. I love the footnoter phone so much--it got me to read Tolstoy to find out about Anna Karenina.

#208 - the footnoter phone conversations were a very small part of the book overall and just because you couldn't "see" they were footnotes didn't change things, it just sounded llike they were talking to each other, and probably if you were unaware that in the written form it was in footnotes you wouldn't have realized anything was different.

Finished my Christmas books, Our Simple Gifts Owen Perry, Civil War era short Christmas stories. Laterns Across the Snow Susan Hill, A charming account of a young girls Christmas from the perspective of her 80 yr old self.
and One Christmas Truman Capote His account of a Christmas spent in New Orleans with this dad.

I also finished two Sandra Dallas books The Diary of Mattie Spenser and Alice's Tulips, both Civil War era fiction from a women's point of view. All good easy reads for this holiday season, with so much else to do.

I'll start No Great Mischief by Alistair Macleod tomorrow.