Group Reading Log: March 2010

Just realised, it's March!

Currently reading: Nineteen Eighty-Four and Vanity Fair. Will be diverting over to When Will There Be Good News? tonight however, as I realised it's due back at the library this weekend. (Along with several other excellent books I seem to have completely failed to find time to read.)

Well, this is pathetic, but I'm still reading the book I was reading on the 1st Feb... The Brothers Karamazov. But I walked up a waterfall today, so my life is not entirely in vain :)

finished The Dwarves Of Death this morning. my first Jonathan Coe wasn't what I expected - aside from a few moments of violence it put me in mind of a slightly dysfunctional Nick Hornby tale. good fun and I'll be seeking out more from the author.

next up for me: After Dark. I haven't returned to Haruki Murakami since I set aside Norwegian Wood a couple of years ago (wrong book/wrong time, story-of-my-reading-life). this one is off to a promising start...

(edit)
and kudos to Coe for opening every chapter of Dwarves with a Morrissey quote :)
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finished After Dark which was weird and intriguing and all the other things I liked about Sputnik Sweetheart. I won't be waiting another two years before reading more Murakami.

next up for me: The Conqueror Worms

Have just finished The Secret of Killimooin by Enid Blyton - now reading The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes

I have finished reading Marquis de Sade: The Genius of Passion by Ronald Hayman. Like most people, I knew that Marquis de Sade was the inspiration for the word 'sadism'. I also knew that he had written books noted for their explicit descriptions of sex, rape and torture. This was just one aspect of his character, however, and this book exposes us to others. Though he subscribed to and, in many cases, practiced the libertine philosophy, this was by no means unique or even unusual for the nobility of the eighteenth century. Sade spent much of his life in prison, not because of these practices (though this was the excuse given) but rather, due to the political maneuvering of his mother-in-law. Though I find Sade's view of life distasteful, if not sickening, I understand how he came upon it and, at times, I even pity him. Hayman's book is not always a pleasant read, but it is an informative one.

I am now reading a library book, Abhorsen by Garth Nix, before moving on to some book rings.

Oh, I like Garth Nix. I must get back into his "Keys to the Kingdom" series, now that the final book is out! It's not as good as the "Sabriel" series, but it's a bit of fun.

I finished Kate Atkinson's When Will There Be Good News? and enjoyed myself immensely. It's a bit of a sprawling tale, but it somehow all tidied itself up nicely. And it made me laugh, and cry, so that's always a sign of a good read.

Now up, The World Beneath by Cate Kennedy for bookgroup. Not looking to this one so much: it's a book I "have" to read that I didn't choose; and it's coming after a Kate Atkinson so it's always going to be compared to that one. Oh dear, I hope it's a good book and my bias against it doesn't last.

I have finished reading Abhorsen by Garth Nix. This is the riveting conclusion to the Old Kingdom trilogy. As with the previous books, I really love the contrast between Ancelstierre - the world as we know it - and the Old Kingdom - a world of magic and mystery where the dead come to life and modern technology ceases to operate. In this book, the two worlds come closer together than ever before and both face total annihilation. Both Sameth and Lirael come into their inheritance and we finally discover the true natures of Mogget and the Disreputable Dog. This book, like the others, is a thrilling and engrossing read.

I am now moving on to a book ring - Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir.

I've not had lots of time for reading lately, but today I indulged myself by reading R is for Ricochet right through. (Thanks wookiebender) I thought I'd done with that series, but now I'm hooked again.

I read When We Were Orphans during the week, which I had borrowed from a friend while we were in Hobart. I didn't like it as much as other works I've read by Kazuo Ishiguro.

I've got bookrings to catch up on, but once they're read I plan to read Small Island. (Thanks crimson-tide)

Kate Atkinson is one of my favourite authors, and When Will There Be Good News is a book in my permanent collection.

I have finished reading The Pact by Jodi Picoult. How far would you go for the one you love? How well do you know your child? Which is worse - that your child is victim or killer? As always Jodi Picoult has us searching our souls for answers to impossible questions. By alternating between past and present, or between one character and another, Jodi never fails to inspire empathy for both victim and accused, and the outcomes are never what we expect. Best of all, Picoult causes us to explore and expand our own world views, and leaves us changed long after the book is done.

I am now reading The Fungus by Harry Adam Knight.

Do have to say that The World Beneath is quite an excellent read. It did not deserve to be questioned because I was in a grumpy post-Kate Atkinson slump.

But I still managed to get distracted at the library yesterday, and am now also juggling Shah of Shahs, a short non-fiction collection of three essays written by journalist Ryszard Kapuściński who was in Iran during the time of the overthrow of the Shah. It's a period of history I need to know more about, and he's an excellent writer.

ETA: Glad you liked R is for Ricochet, livrecache! I thought it was quite a bit of fun. I'm slowly reading the last few in the series, when they turn up in my life. Not going to a lot of effort to track them down, however. :)

I finished Wolf Hall please,no really, no fan fare is needed :-)
It took me an age. I liked it overall, but OMG it dragged. I never got a sense of Tudor drama. Oh well, just me I guess.

Now reading Red Harvest, thanks to crimsontide, an interesting early detective novel.

I have finished reading Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir. I have always felt sorry for Lady Jane Grey and the author of this novel clearly shares my sentiments. Her story is told with empathy and tact but with an eye to historical accuracy. Alison Weir has plenty of experience writing non-fiction about Britain's royal families, including the book which introduced me to Tudor England - The Six Wives of Henry VIII. Weir utilises her experience and knowledge to bring us an enthralling tale of greed, ambition and political intrigue, and the innocent young woman who became a pawn of history. Fair warning to the ladies - you will end this novel in tears. I did.

Next up for me is another bookring - Addition by Toni Jordan.

I enjoyed Addition :)

just finished The Conqueror Worms, an enjoyable horror/sci-fi tale of apocalypse-by-flood (comparable but different from The Deluge which I read last year)

next up for me: Megan Abbott's "The Song Is You", the second book I'll read this year with that title (Arthur Phillips' "The Song Is You" was excellent)

finished "The Song Is You", historical fiction based on an actual unsolved disappearance from the golden years of Hollywood. It was my second Megan Abbott and I've enjoyed them both.

next up for me is Wanting, a bookring I've been sitting on forever..

I liked Addition too. :)

I finished The World Beneath last night, and thought it was a good solid read. Definitely a page-turning, heart-in-mouth ending. But it's not really my usual read (it was a bookgroup choice) so it'll probably appear in the Oz VBB at some stage because I can't really see myself re-reading it.

Hey, freelunch, the next month read for this bookgroup is Wanting - I've got my own copy of that - so I'll be picking that one up in the next few weeks. I hope it's good!

And have ignored all the serious reads in favour of some fluff: I'm now reading Georgette Heyer's Cotillion. It's my first Heyer!

the problem with bookrings for me is they they don't allow for a book to be set aside and re-tackled at a later date, and the books I receive as 'rings are frequently outside my regular reading comfort zone and therefore likely not to strike a chord with me when I make a start on them.

such is the case with Wanting, which for me has failed the 50 page test dismally. I'm abandoning it in favour of Brother Odd.

I finished reading Addition by Toni Jordan. This book was very different from what I expected which isn't, in itself, a bad thing. It is well-written and has good characters but I just couldn't seem to get into it.

I agree, freelunch, that being unable to re-try a book is one of the downside's of bookrings. On the plus side, rings and rays have led me to read books I might otherwise never have gotten around to (Like Water For Chocolate is one that comes to mind).

Next up for me is a library book I pinched from my daughter lol. It is If I Stay by Gayle Forman.

Everyone seems to be reading Addition. Maybe it's just that I haven't been around so I haven't seen it, but it just sounds like a Maths textbook to me!

I've been able to show my face in this forum again because I have finally finished a book! Exciting news for me - my second Russian novel ever read to completion!

The rest is x-posted from BX:

I once dated a guy whose only literary opinion was that one should read "Heart of Darkness" every ten years to see how one had changed. (Since this was his one and only literary opinion, I doubt it was really his.) Well, this is a novel that I would consider returning to, in a decade's time. By turns a hysterical family soap opera (everyone speaks in run-on sentences and cumulative clauses, and there is an awful lot of crying), a philosophical-cum-religious tract, and a puzzling murder mystery, this novel reminded me a bit of Russia itself (or at least the way I perceive it, anyway): vast and seemingly insurmountable, with pockets of pathos and lashings of tragedy, swathes of sentimentality and sobering meditations on suffering. Really, it's about a family, the Karamazovs, who, in their physical, emotional and spiritual appetites, might be called to stand in for Russia, but they also stand in, I think, for humanity. There aren't many of us, probably, who could look as deeply into our souls as the three brothers do, and not come to somewhat of the same conclusion about the state of them as they do.

It's sad that this novel has been taken off the latest edition of the 1001 list of books. It's certainly something I'll look forward to returning to, next decade!

I have finished If I Stay by Gayle Forman. This is a young adult book my daughter borrowed from the school library, only to have me pinch it wen she was finished ;-). If I Stay is a heart-wrenching story that will have you in tears. Mia is seventeen years old when a car accident leaves her in a coma. Through her eyes we see glimpses of her life to this point, as she struggles to make the hardest decision of her life - should she stay, or should she go? This is an excellent novel that really pulls at the heart-strings. I read this in one sitting because I simply could not bear to put it down. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Next up for me is Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors by Nicholas Wade

I have finished reading Ocean Road, an Australian novel by Glyn Parry. We all come to a moment in our lives where we suddenly discover that our parents are not the all-powerful, all-knowing gods that we thought they were; a moment when we come to a sudden awareness of our parents' humanity - with all the faults, foibles and weaknesses that that implies. We feel the ground shift beneath our feet as we realise that our parents, our family, our world are fleeting and fragile. For Toby, that moment came in the summer of 1976. The summer his father was called away. The summer his parents marriage disintegrated. The summer of change. This is a powerful coming-of-age story to which we can all relate.

ETA - I am now perusing 1001 Awesome Things to Draw by Robert Ainsworth.

Finished reading my first Georgette Heyer - Cotillion. Took a little while to get into it (one character spoke constantly like Prince George from Blackadder The Third - dash it all! almost made a cake out of me!) but it was a charming read, and most entertaining.

And, because of a sick day today, I also read We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - one of those books that get mentioned several times in various groups here and I actually found a copy! It was quite creepy and a page-turner. Not exceptional plot-wise, but that's because it was originally published in 1962 and the whole "twist" was obvious for a modern reader. But I enjoyed myself immensely.

Not sure what I'll be starting next...

> 22 I have We have always lived in the castle on my wish list ready for my 'spooky' Halloween reading month later in the year - have heard good things about it :)

I am currently reading Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs - A paranormal mystery with vampires, werewolves and other fey folk who have come out of the cupboard and are living among us. It is the second in the series - and I have the third one ready to go after it.

I have finished reading The Fungus by Harry Adam Knight. The plot of this book is certainly an interesting concept, and it would not surprise me in the slightest if something similar were to happen sometime in the future. Scientists proceed on their merry way with little to no thought as to consequences, and disaster is far more likely to originate with some well-meaning scientist eager to save the world, than a malicious renegade. The book itself, however, was mundane at best. The characters were not, in my opinion, believable and, though the author did try, the thrills just simply weren't there. This will not be making it onto my top 10 list, I'm afraid.

I am now reading Mother of God by David Ambrose.

Have toyed with several books, and I'm not quite sure why, because Shades of Grey was threatening to topple over Mt TBR (one should never put the trade paperbacks at the top). It was a no-brainer, really.

Only a few pages in, am completely confused, but mightily entertained. I'm sure it'll all make sense in the long run. :)

I've been inching my way through Brother Odd for a week now. I enjoyed the first two book in the series but it occurred to me today that I was only persevering with this one to get it finished, and that's not a good use of time so I'm giving up on it.

next up for me is I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, a biography of Warren Zevon. I've just flipped it open and it is written as hundreds of quotes from famous names about WZ which means I'm more likely to dip in and out of it than plow through it, so I imagine I'll be starting something else later today..

I've just been to the movies to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which I read compulsively, months ago, along with its sequels. I don't know whether I commented on TGwtDT when I read it, but I thought it was an awfully edited translation, but a reasonably interesting story. It was a long book, and I've found it's one of those instances where the film is superior to the book. It told the same story much more succinctly, which the author and a good editor should have done.

Good news about the movie adaptation of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo! I though the Europeans would probably make a better fist of it than the Americans (I believe an American remake is also on the cards). I've been half-tempted to see Burton's adaptation of Alice in Wonderland but I'm such a sad fan of the books, and this looks like such a reworking that I doubt I'll be happy (Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter not withstanding).

I did see the recent movie adaptation of A Single Man and it made me want to read some more books by Christopher Isherwood (I've only read Goodbye to Berlin - the basis of "Cabaret"). Beautiful movie, but fairly heavy on lots of lingering shots of gorgeous young men. I appreciated that, others may not. :) And Colin Firth was robbed at the Oscars! (Only, it was so good seeing The Dude win.)

Still reading Shades of Grey - still confused, but still enjoying it. And almost finished Shah of Shahs which is an excellent background read for the Iranian revolution, which I never really knew much about. Excellent background for such books as Persepolis and House of Sand and Fog.

I have finished reading 1001 Awesome Things to Draw by Robert Ainsworth. This is a compilation of four Robert Ainsworth Awesome Things to Draw books - Crazy Creatures, Cartoon Faces, Jokes and Animal Cartoons. I am great at photos but not so hot on the drawing front, but even I was able to draw a decent cartoon with the help of this book. The kids love to sit and copy from it, coming up with all kinds of weird and wonderful creatures. If your children enjoy drawing, this is a great book to have in your collection.

I am now reading Homeless by David Brandon.

I have finished reading Mother of God by David Ambrose. This book is a scary glimpse of what could happen if AI ever becoming mainstream. The ability to learn implies the ability to make choices; and the ability to make choices implies the ability to make the wrong choices. I believe AI will be like humanity - most people are inherently good and make inherently good choices, but there are a few bad apples. Unfortunately, our ability to deal with a renegade AI could be limited at best, as demonstrated by this book. Having said that, the book itself is, in my opinion, not well written, though there were a couple of twists I didn't see coming. My overall view is that this book is worth reading, but not good enough for a re-reading.

Next up for me is The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

I have finished with Homeless by David Brandon. I gave up on it after the first chapter. I dislike the writing style of this book, the way the author keeps whining about his life instead of talking about homelessness. Also, the book was boring.

I am now reading The Form Guide: The Customs of the Contemporary World by James Valentine.

I'm still reading I'll Sleep When I'm Dead and I'm loving it. I've never been into bios but they seem to be working for me lately..

over the last couple of days I've read Hellboy: Right Hand Of Doom (good) and Fables: The Mean Seasons (brilliant, as has been the entire series to date.) I also finished reading The Wishing Chair Again to Mr 6 (we'd been going on it forever) and we've now started on Charmed Life (the first volume in Diana Wynne Jones' Chrestomanci series)

tomorrow I'll start on Magic For Beginners, a short story collection I can pick away at one-story-per-day while continuing with the Dirty Life & Times of Warren Zevon.

Finished Shades of Grey and it was fun, if not as cleverly amusing as the Thursday Next series. Still, hanging out for book #2. (No cliffhangers, but an ongoing overarching plot.)

Have picked up A World of Love by Elizabeth Bowen, for the Monthly Author Reads group. Some great bits, but my mind isn't really concentrating on it because it's a bit of a difficult read (lots of emotion, and I'm a plot girl). But it's short :) and a "1001" book, and I haven't got long to go now. It'll appear on a bookcrossing ray sometime later, when I'm finished. And organised. (Hah!)

And I got distracted by Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. 70 pages, it's knocked off already (and a good re-read), and I'm reading the two short stories in the collection as well. It's making me want to read Frankenstein and The Portrait of Dorian Grey, both of which are languishing on my shelves...

Well, I finished A World of Love. Only took a couple of days, probably because it was short, not because it was easy. Chock full of atmosphere (an oppressively hot summer in Ireland), and emotional angst. Not the sort of thing I'd normally read - I'm just not fond of angst, especially if the characters are unlikeable, as they are here. It also had a lot of unspoken emotion, which I'm just not good at picking up on (in reality, as well as in books, just a failing of mine).

But the turning point of the plot was good - old love letters discovered which were written by a young man (fianceed to one woman in the book; cousin to another) who died in the Great War. This blows up a whole lot of unresolved angst between the two women. And had a lot of interesting things to say about those taken from us before their time was up, and how they are *still* there.

And a glimmer of hope at the end of the book, which was a relief.

Glad I read it, but don't think I'll be rushing out for more Bowen. :)

This copy has been registered, and I'll be sending it out on an international ray when I'm organised (don't hold your breath!). Drop me a line if you want to join in.

I've moved on to Charlie Huston's Sleepless. And feeling very tired, myself...

I have finished reading The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. This book was very different from what I expected. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, however. There were parts where I laughed. There were parts where I cried. Overall, I came away with a feeling of having spent my time well. This is not a book I stayed up all night to read, but it is a book I would recommend to a friend.

Next up for me is The Haunting of Hillside School by Kristiana Gregory.

I'm done reading The Form Guide: The Customs of the Contemporary World by James Valentine. The style was a little bit perturbing at first, but I soon got used to it. This book actually consists of snippets from the author's radio program. Listeners call in with a social dilemma, and other callers call in to say what they would do in that situation. I actually found some of the answers quite fascinating because they were dilemmas I had experienced for myself. Then there were other situations I am glad to have avoided. I was appalled, for example, to read about a person who threw a dinner party and, at the end of the night, demanded $50 a head to pay for the meal!

Each chapter is opened with a humorous 'then and now' type description by the author, breaking up the potential for monotony. I would say this is an amusing book and well worth reading.

I am now reading Hour Game by David Baldacci.

My reading mojo appears to have returned. Not sure now what was the last book i said I was reading here....after much thought and deliberation...Addition maybe or that might have been someone else ;-)
Recent reads have been The Life of Pi which I think will be available for a bookray that needs to end up in New York. Pi was great, I couldn't believe that I was taken in by the premise and still think about it, in terms of what was revealed at the end. Fascinating book and my favourite booker winner.
I've also read a few other quickies Wide Sargasso Sea, Modern Love by Paul Magrs and Along Came the Sky, all interesting reads, however Modern Love was not really my thing but did remind me quite a bit of The northern clemency. Also, the touchstone for Modern Love was never going to work, was it, oh dear - So I've left the wrong link there ;-)

I'm tossing up next between The Secret Scriptures, Vineland, The White Queen and Shadow of the wind.
After that I am definately going to read Silas Marner, I can't believe how long I've had that one here!!

KimB, if you're a fan of Yann Martel (I too loved Life of Pi, but was far less impressed with Self) - do check out his blog: http://www.whatisstephenharperreading.ca/

He's sending a book every fortnight to the current PM of Canada (apparently not a fan of the arts), and it makes for great reading, even if it is a one-sided conversation. Be warned: your wishlist will explode.

And I do have an ARC copy of his new book - Beatrice and Virgil - winging its way over to me from the lovely Teelgee (who ended up with a duplicate ARC). Let me know if you want to read it, and I'll ring/ray it out.

Finished Sleepless on the bus home last night - fab stuff, Charlie Huston can do no wrong in my books. And it's not the start of a series, phew!

And now I think it's April...