It's JUNE and I'm reading . . .

Just setting this up . . .

Off Book by Mark Sampson, which I almost finished on a flight out to Edmonton today.

I'm just finishing up Tony Hillerman's Hunting Badger which is a reread for me but still enjoyable. I'm also halfway through The Illustrated Pirate Diaries, originally published in 1678 and editted (sp?) to make it more readable. It's augmented with historical paintings, maps and documents to illustrate references in the text. Next up is Animal Farm for the "What is Stephen Harper Reading? Challenge."

This evening I finished the historical fiction ER book The Doctor and the Diva by Adrienne McDonnell and have posed my review on the book page here: http://www.librarything.com/work/9764484/reviews/60408646

Next up is Cool Water by Dianne Warren.

I`m reading non-fiction: The Cannibal Queen by Stephne Coonts. It`s about a man and his 14 year old son flying a small plane across America. My pilot husband chose it for our daily commute -- he drives, I read aloud.

Just finished Quickening by Terry Griggs.

I'm reading Flash House by Aimee Liu which my Mom gave me.

I finished Cool Water, the debut novel for Canadian author Dianne Warren, earlier today. I loved this book and highly recommend it. It is written as a series of connected stories about some of the residents of the fictitious small prairie township of Juliet Saskatchewan and reminded me at times of Olive Kitteridge, which I read at the start of the year. I have posted a review which can be found on the book page here: http://www.librarything.com/work/9771760/reviews/60684783

Next up is The War Memoir of (HRH) Wallis Duchess of Windsor, an ER book.

(Humm, touchstones having issues with some of the books).

I have gotten hooked on the Millenium series (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire) so I will be reading The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

I just got The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest from the library so I will be starting that one as soon as I finish The Sunday Wife by King.

Today's (delayed) flight dealt with Nine Men Who Laughed by Austin Clarke, What is a Canadian Literature? by John Metcalf, and took me about halfway through a review copy of Kathleen Winter's new novel, Annabel (House of Anansi Press), which title seems to defeat the touchstones.

Quite the delayed flight! I bet you are glad you packed more than one book!

Just starting The Coffee Trader by David Liss.

Finally read manufacturing consent. Started The Book of the New Sun and hope to work in something by John Pilger before July.

I'm reading my latest Early Reviewers book, The Middle Ground by Zoe Whittall. It's a new series called "Rapid Reads" and is 128 pages.

I put in a request for that but didn't get it. I was interested to see what the Rapid Reads series (conceived as an adult literacy exercise) would be like.

Zoe Whittall's novel, Holding Still for As Long as Possible, has attracted a fair amount of buzz, but unfortunately, she seems determined to fit into a "queer writer" pigeonhole at times.

Right now I'm being decidedly unliterary (having finished Kathleen Winter's Annabel, which I recommend, on my also-delayed flight home) by reading How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend.

I once visited a man who had a sign on his wall saying his goal was to be "the kind of person my dog thinks I am." ajsomerset, you current book reminded me of that!

Just finished A Dead Man in Trieste by Michael Pearce and starting Shakespeare's Trollop by Charlaine Harris. Then on to Agatha Christie's Murder of Roger Ackroyd for the What is Stephen Harper Reading? challenge. Lots of murder these days.

Yes, you do seem to be on a theme :P

I'm reading This Side of Brightness by Colum McCann, which has been on the TBR shelves for a very long time.

I have finished reading Six characters in search of an author by Luigi Pirandello, a remarkable play which is just as clever today.

I also discovered a series of short stories Le rêve du philologue by Swedish Björn Larsson who cleverly mixes literature and science.

Will mull over tonight what I shall start, but first I'm going to watch My sister's keeper (probably with a box of kleenex).

I just finished Every Lost Country by Heighton and I really enjoyed it. Canadian author but the story takes place in Tibet with a doomed-from-the-start climbing expediton into the Himalayas.

As much as I'd love to post that I'm reading some unknown masterpiece, especially a Canadian one, I have to admit that I'm reading The Girl Who Played With Fire along with millions of others. Oh well, it IS beach reading season, isn't it?

Don't feel bad.. I am reading How to Tame a Modern Rogue.. won it in a blog contest :P

24/25 - That's okay. I followed Every Lost Country up with Men and Dogs (a weird chicklity kind of book). And will probably start the new James Rollins book soon. What can I say? I am a little fickle with my reading :)

I'm restarting Song Over Quiet Lake, by Sarah Felix Burns. It is set in BC and the Yukon. I only got to page 30 when I started it a few months ago, but then I got distracted by higher priorities.

Hummm.... just realized i have been neglecting posting here. As a catch up, I finished the ER book The War Memoir of (HRH) Wallis Duchess of Windsor (it was alright). I have posted the required review on the book page here: http://www.librarything.com/work/9053319/reviews/60817385

I made quick work of Canadian Helen Humphreys remarkable book of vignettes in The Frozen Thames (loved it!), bounced through the Victorian mystery To Kingdom Come, book two in the Barker and Lleweyln series by Will Thomas (great Victorian espionage story), and finished Hotel Iris by Yoko Ogawa last night (good story but a subject matter can be disturbing for some readers).

Next up is The Bishop's Man. I hope to find some time in the next few days to get started on this one!

I'm done going to the dogs and back to fiction: The Surf Guru, by Doug Dorst, my ER book.

Still reading Song Over Quiet Lake, but I have to put it aside to read Exit Lines for my book club meeting next week.

I have started an Early Review book The book of Human Skin, which I am loving; lots of crazy kooky characters with nefarious intentions.

Olivia's Luck by Catherine Alliott. A friend gave it to me; it's thick and I have 3 days off next week, so now's the time.

I'm reading Bill Gaston's early novel, The Cameraman. Today's flight was not delayed. ;)

#31 - I just received The book of Human Skin today! Glad to see you are already enjoying it!

#33 - nice to hear no flight delays!

Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into The Bishop's Man and abandoned it after 48 pages as just not my cup of tea. I finished the short stories collection Landscape with Dog - it was alright but confusing as I was never sure if it was supposed to be a collection of interconnected stories or if the odd character name would just appear in a different story for no reason. I finished and loved Mister Pip and have posted my review on the book page.

Next up, and for a change of pace is Anne Perry's The Cater Street Hangman, book one in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Victorian murder mystery series.

Well we've moved from Vancouver Island to Ottawa and I did a bit of reading on the drive across. Finished The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt which I really enjoyed, then moved on to The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold for a bit of fantasy escapism, another great read. After that I read The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, a wonderful story that left you wondering whether it was a ghost story or not. Excellent. Now I'm reading Race to the End: Amundsen, Scott, and the Attainment of the South Pole by Ross D.E. MacPhee as well as one of my ER books The Holly Tree Inn by Charles Dickens.

The house is mostly unpacked and now I'm getting my books sorted and organized. I have two extra bookcases now...delightful! What's the name of that wonderful bookstore in downtown Ottawa again? Nicholas Hoare? Yeah, I think I might be there a time or two ;-)

I just started Gertrude and Alice by Diana Souhami because I was curious about Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. I had heard their names so many times and knew nothing at all about them. Seems good so far.

I started Paul Auster's Invisible on Monday and am likely to finish it tonight. It is slight, like most of Auster's novels, but it's also an incredible page turner (also like most of Auster's novels).

Flying a Red Kite by Hugh Hood. Published in 1962, this was one of the great Canadian story collections of the 1960s, but Hood seems to have faded from the public consciousness. (If, indeed, he was ever there; the problem with the first wave of Canlit is that nobody was paying attention.)

I've finally taken Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell off the TBR shelves. I'm enjoying his discussion of "genius".

Also reading Fish of the Seto Inland Sea by Ruri Pilgrim, which is fiction based on her mother's life.

I also received, read and reviewed The Middle Ground by Zoe Whittall. I hated it. I like the concept of the Rapid Reads but was disgusted by the weak writing and the stupidity of the protagonist. After the review I just posted, I wouldn't be surprised if Early Reviewers doesn't send me any more books to review. "To thy own self be true!"

I have finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy, a harsh but mesmerizing novel about survival.

I read a good chunk of Sorry, I don't Speak French by Canadian journalist Graham Faser. I'm not usually one for politics and history, but this has me discovering so much about our country!

I will also be starting Through Black Spruce to discover yet another facet of Canada.

I have had a good weekend of reading so far, and look forward to some time off later this week for more of my favorite pastime ;-)

I finished Anne Perry's The Cater Street Hangman, first book in the Victorian murder mystery series featuring Charlotte and Thomas Pitt. I loved the murder mystery plot but found the character building one-sided and slightly lacking, but not enough to deter me from reading the next book in the series, just not sure when I will get around to that.

Next was the unusual little book by Luis Fernando Verissimo, The Club of Angels. An intriguing literary murder mystery about the sins of gluttony. Overall a good tale and as there were only two reviews to date I have added my review of the book on the book page here: http://www.librarything.com/work/480360/reviews/61536511

I am currently reading Eden Springs, a fictitious account of a historical scandal involving the House of David community, a religious sect founded in 1903 in Benton Harbour, Michigan and its founder Benjamin Purnell. So far, it is really good!

Ikernaugh:
I read nearly all Anne Perry's books years ago and enjoyed them, but preferred her series with Monk and Hester. When I was reading the Charlotte and Thomas series, I was getting ready for my first trip to London and it did set the scene beautifully. All the time we walked the streets of London, we kept imagining ourselves back in the time of Thomas and Charlotte. I do agree with your assessment about the character development, and there is much more in the series with Monk. I liked the Charlotte and Thomas series because of the wealth of information they provided on London and the Victorian ideals of society and manners.

Purchased and started reading Evening Snow Will Bring Such Peace by David Adam Richards at a local store on my trip... so far I am enjoying it although I have some trouble keeping track of names :P

> 43: Thanks arcona - I will give book two of the Pitt series a go and I will see if I can track down the first of the Monk series. I love the Victorian era for murder mysteries and may find myself settling in to one or both series.

In light of the potentially regressive political climate today.. I may start reading Obasan earlier than I anticipated. Lest we forget.