What are you reading the week of August 21, 2010?

Featured author birthday: Dorothy Parker



Some Parkerisms:

I've never been a millionaire but I just know I'd be darling at it.

I don't care what is written about me so long as it isn't true.

I might repeat to myself slowly and soothingly, a list of quotations beautiful from minds profound - if I can remember any of the damn things.

Parkerfest in NYC August 26-29 and in LA August 22nd.

Other author birthdays this week: Ray Bradbury, E. Annie Proulx, Colm Toibin, Jean Rhys, A.S. Byatt, Brett Harte, Barbara Ehrenreich, Theodore Dreiser, William Least Heat Moon, Antonia Fraser.

I've started reading The Devil in Amber by Mark Gatiss - the second of the Lucifer Box novels.

Still reading Prep and enjoying it.

I've always thought that the "Portable" Dorothy Parker should be retitled the "Potable" Dorothy Parker. Sadly, the publisher didn't like my idea.

I'm currently struggling my way through "The Hours" by Michael Cunningham. His writing style can be annoying at times; he seems to enjoy taking five pages to say something that he could easily have said in one! I will persevere and finish it, no matter how long it takes!

>1 teelgee: Terri, I was just thumbing through my copy of The Portable Dorothy Parker last night, not knowing her birthday was coming up.

I'm nearly finished with Mood Matters and will post a review once I'm done. Interesting. I'm also making slow progress through In Europe.

I'm between audios at the moment, having finished Kraken last night. I'll probably start Body Works by Sara Paretsky later today.

In print I've set aside The Rembrandt Affair and American Music temporarily in favor of Dangerous Neighbors by Beth Kephart, which I'm hoping will reinvigorate my reading a bit.

I should be finishing Vaccinated sometime this weekend. I'm really enjoying it.

Finished The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón last night. I have to offer up some serious props for the translator, Lucia Graves. Lyrical read. I only had a couple of quips - woken instead of awakened and I don't remember what the other one was but it was in a like vein. Reading along with the beautiful storytelling to be hit in the face with woken was quite a physical shock. That happened a couple of times.

I've started Dreams of Sex and Stage Diving by Martin Millar. Not overly impressed so far but I'm only 17 pages in. This may not have been a good choice of book coming off The Angel's Game, but, then again, I doubt there is a good choice unless it is Jane Austen or one of the Brontës or Dumas. The difference between the two books is the difference between singing and grunting.

Love the Parkerisms. It seems I'm sadly uneducated about Dorothy Parker, although I have a vague recollection of some short stories read in high school (or is that wrong?). Where in her writings should I start?

This week, reading Faithful Place.

I'm reading The Information Officer a thriller set in Malta during the second world war.

I've got about 70 pages left in Justin Cronin's fantastic The Passage and most of the way through the goofball audio of the goofball Star Island by Carl Hiaasen.

My ARC of The Good Daughters has been sadly neglected (through no fault of its own really) but it just can't compete for my reading time with the Cronin book. I'm sure I'll finish it this week though.

The Stranger Prince by Margaret Irwin

Just finished and reviewed the very disturbing The Mountain Lion by Jean Stafford.

Just beginning The Museum of Inocence and I continue listening to American Gods.

Started The Art of War by San Tzu.

Reading Eat Pray Love. Has anyone seen the movie yet? I've been told it was really bad.

I have been MIA from here for the past month or so. A bit of self-imposed computer hiatus as well as two weeks in Myrtle Beach. I have done a lot of reading during that time although way too much to mention here. I am currently reading Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny my current ER selection. It is very good and has me longing to visit Quebec City.

-.- the books I got for my college classes... oh, and i'm reading The Confessions of an Ugly Step Sister by Gregory Maguire.

>5 sukilou: sukilou: re The Hours = have you read Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf? The Hours is based on that amazing wordy novel. I got a lot out of reading Mrs. D first, then The Hours. Wonderful combination, but not breezy reads.

>13 Copperskye: coppers: I'll be interested in your opinion of The Good Daughters. I just read it.

>11 jbleil: jbiel - if you can get your hands on The Portable Dorothy Parker, it had a great selection of her short stories, essays and poetry. She was really something.

As for me, I'm currently reading All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West.

Repeating yesterday's post on a previous thread, but it will probably be quite different in a few days as I expect to finish the first 3 books

Bernadette Strachan, Handbags and Halos chicklit
Nell leaves her boyfriend and goes to stay with her wealthy grandmother. Her boss at a PR firm blackmails her into posing as a girlfriend for one of his out gay clients, but she's trying to juggle this with volunteer work for an organisation helping homeless people and others in need of assistance. It took me a while to get into this but I'm finding the cast of quirky characters quite charming now.

Daniel Pennac, School Blues
Now a successful French novelist who has also worked as a teacher, Pennac was considered to be a dunce and a failure as a child. This is a non-fiction book about dunces. I'm going to review it for the Bookbag.

Angelica Garnett, Deceived with Kindness
Memoir by Vanessa Bell's daughter - I wanted to read this since I read her short stories a few months ago, which are autobiographical. The memoir is much better.

Catriona McCloud, Growing Up Again
Time travel chicklit. A woman of nearly 40 leaves her husband and then finds herself at 15 again, living with her family in 1981, but with the knowledge of what's going to happen in future. Quite good fun.

Said Sayrafiezadeh, When Skateboards Will be Free
Memoir about growing up as the child of left wing political activists in the US.

Suzannah Dunn, Tenterhooks
Short stories by someone who has since taken a completely different direction writing historical novels about monarchs.

I look forward to hearing what you think of All Passion Spent teelgee

Don't forget the most famous Dorothy Parkerism: "Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses." Married a girl who wears glasses, so I never thought highly of that particular "ism".

I love Dorothy Parker too. Wondering who, amongst today's authors, can come close to her style and personality. Anyone have any suggestions?

#18 (leperdbunny): I am planning to stay away from the movie. The book, Eat, Pray, Love was a fun read (not the top of my fun-reads list) but the movie definitely does not look that much fun.

#21 (teelgee): Completely agree with you that a prior read of and a love for Mrs Dalloway will make The Hours a more enjoyable experience. I'm a huge Virginia Woolf fan. Went through a phase in my mid-20s where I read everything by and about her. Mrs Dalloway has such beautiful parts that I still sometimes go back to bookmarked bits when I find a current read not living up to my expectations.

A S Byatt - another one of the birthday authors this week is my utmost favorite of all living authors. I've read everything by her, including the latest brilliant The Children's Book. This is one of the few authors that I go out and buy every new book as soon as it comes out. Getting antsy as I haven't heard what she's working on now and when it will be out.

Oh.... currently still reading Up in the Air. Enjoying it but not getting into it like some other recent reads. The writing is fine but I'm not finding a whole / complete world to get lost in - maybe that's the issue.

Having trouble settling on anything in the way of fiction, though I'm still working my way through Freeman's Julius Caesar. I've gotten to the part about his earliest experiences in Gaul, which is a bit tedious after having previously read quite a bit about Caesar's military conquests, including Caesar's own commentary on the Gallic Wars. Also, Freeman's book is not as easy a read as Caesar: Life of a Colossus by Goldsworthy, which I thought was outstanding. I'm hoping there will be enough new material in Freeman's book to keep me going; if not, I think I'll bail.

Anyway, for my fiction read, I will be choosing amongst Owl Killers by Karen Maitland (who wrote Company of Liars), Barry Eisler's latest thriller Inside Out, A Corpse at St. Andrew's Chapel by Mel Starr, and an unproofed galley of Roman Games from NetGalley read on my Kindle.

I am reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and really enjoying it. I think it could have been edited down some (into a shorter version - it's very, very detailed), but that said, well written, fascinating "untold" story and if you like the science of cancer research, you'd really enjoy this! I think much of it is the author's promise to the family and to tell the entire life story of Henrietta Lacks, even if that is a bit dull in spots.

>18 leperdbunny: I appreciated this take on Eat Pray Love : Why "Eat, Pray, Love" Makes Me Want to Gag I think the author makes some excellent points about white westerners co-opting culture.

>27 teelgee: Interesting article, teelgee, and I agree.

I finished Loving Graham Greene and now I'm into Maile Meloy's short story collection Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It.

I love Dorothy Parker, too -- if you ever have a chance you should read Joan Acocella's New Yorker profile of Parker, anthologized in Twenty-eight Artists and Two Saints. There was plenty of dark side there -- a tough childhood, unhappy marriages, alcoholism, suicide attempts -- and questions about the quality of her work as a critic. Still, who can resist someone who said of prom time at Yale: "If all the girls attending it were laid end to end, I wouldn't be at all surprised."

Here's my absolute favorite Parkerism:

"This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force."

Loooove it!

Last night and this morning I read Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman.

Robert

I am currently reading King Lear by William Shakespeare Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Julie and Julia by Julie Powell, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.

#30, oooh another excellent choice for a bookcover :)

My favorite Parkerism:

On being told of Calvin Coolidge's death:

How do they know? (Coolidge was well-known for being a man of very few words.)

#27, That's more or less why the book never appealed to me, and the movie is not on my list.

I finished The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas today, which was very good. Tonight I'll start reading The Paper Door and Other Stories by Shiga Naoya, who is described as "the god of the Japanese short story."

I finished and posted a review for Vaccinated.

Tomorrow I'll be starting Children of the Ice Age by Steven M. Stanley. Picked it up at the library on a whim so...we'll see how it goes!

18 & 27: I quit reading Eat, Pray, Love in 2007 partly over the cultural perspective. I had other issues with it too, which surprised me somewhat as I had met the author and generally found her delightful and grounded.

26: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is one of my top reads this year (so far). I also met this author, and after hearing her speak about how deeply her life was affected - even consumed - by the Lacks' story, I understood why the book was so detailed.

I am still reading The Glass Castle, and have also started Girl Meets God. I should finish the former sometime this week, and will then start The Drowning Tree for book club.

I just finished Dreams of Sex and Stage Diving by Martin Millar. I actually wound up enjoying the book after having qualms about it when I first started.

Next up is By Heresies Distressed by David Weber.

Parkerism on being told of Calvin Coolidgeʻs
death . . . (34)

This reminded me of a Coolidge quote which is
hardly Parkerian in its wit, but is unusual in being a Coolidge quote that is quoted for anything except its laconic qualities:

On his cabinet member and eventual successor, Herbert C. Hoover:

"That man has been giving me unsolicited advice for the past six years -- all of it bad." Pretty long winded for a C C quote -- 17 words!
(quoted by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

His most famous quote is a 12-worder:
"If nominated, I will not run; if elected I will not serve." Of subsequent "will-he-wonʻt he" candidates, none has ever spoken that decisively. Some recent historians have said that Coolidge didnʻt, either: They depict the quote as legend, not history.


(C C did, however, reluctantly support Hoover for president in the 1928 election against the first
ever Catholic candidate, Alfred Smith (D, NY). And Hoover won -- with Coolidgeʻs support, or perhaps in spite of it.)

Just had a re-read of the delightful children's classic Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher and am planning to crack open Cutting for Stone about which I've heard so many wonderful things.

#38: Have read many pans of Eat,Pray,Love which I actually enjoyed when I listened to it ages ago. I think most of my enjoyment was tied to Elizabeth Gilbert's reading of her own story. I found the India bits a little heavy handed but even these were improved by her delightful narration.

I'm closing in on the halfway point of Duane's Depressed, the 3rd of Larry McMurtry's 5-book Thalia, TX, series that starts with The Last Picture Show. I'm enjoying this book very much, although there's not much plot. It's better, in my view, than Texasville, the second book in the series, although I doubt any of the latter four will match the sparkling The Last Picture Show.

by the way, I haven't read Eat, Pray, Love, nor seen the movie. Nor do I intend to. But those having trouble with it (or even those who liked it) might enjoy the Lewis Black rant about the movie, and the commercialization of same, during his spot on The Daily Show last week.

http://clatl.com/screengrab/archives/2010/08/19/the-daily-shows-lewis-black-eat-...

I am still reading Kafka on the Shore but I start work (and commuting) again next week so I should finish it soon.

My favorite Parker quote:

When asked to use 'horticulture' in a sentence:
"You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think."

My current reads:
March
1001 Arabian Nights
Rousseau's Confessions
I Promessi Sposi
Le Morte d'Arthur
Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales
James Madison

ETA: divinenanny: I *love* Kafka on the Shore - I hope you're enjoying it too!

I'm almost done with London: the biography by Peter Ackroyd. He has such an interesting way of writing history - instead of "first this happened, then this, then this" he breaks the chapters into topics: vice, fire, plague, flowers, restaurants, prostitution, prisons, etc etc. It wasn't at all what I expected, but really good.

Plus I'm still reading The White Queen, which is entertaining fluff, and will be starting either The Children's Book or The Passage later today.

I've started The Ha-Ha last Friday and it is good. The writing is easy enough and well written and the story also is very thoughtfull. A man who has been badly injured in vietnam war and now can't spek nor write but has to kidsit an nine-year-old boy whs mother is in a drug-addcition-hospital. The character don't care leaving me alone I have problems with doing other things then reading this book!

General Notice: I recently complained that an ARC I received, very late, from smaller publisher Chin Music Press, was in poor condition when I got it. I went on to review Home, Away in terms I hope we can all agree were very favorable, because the book is an important corrective to the one-sided presentations of family dramas now available. I liked the book, and I hope many of us here on LT will give it a chance.

What I didn't expect was the response to my mild bleat of dissatisfaction at the condition issue the book sent to me had...a publicist contacted me here, saying how sorry they were that my copy wasn't pristine, and they'd be sending me another copy of the book that *was* pristine for my library.

**!**

I emailed them, suggesting that they keep the book as I wasn't likely to re-read such an emotionally charged book again; the publicist responded IMMEDIATELY that she'd already sent the book out (!!) and should feel free to share it onwards.

This level of attentiveness cannot be overpraised. Please, bookaholics assembled here, go shopping and supoort a press that deserves support for its brave aesthetic choices and its high-caliber people skills.

I always end up reading tons of books at a time, then wonder why it takes me so long to finish them...
Moving Pictures, Terry Pratchett, a re-read. This one is a bit slower going than the rest of his have been, mostly because it's not a part of an arc (like the witches' books or the city guard's).
Blood Rites, Jim Butcher. Trying to get through all the Dresden Files books without doing myself an injury hitting my head against a wall every time we come up against Harry's chivalrous/misogynist streak.
Around the World in 80 Days, I read a lot of Jules Verne in elementary and middle school, so I'm going back to them and revisiting some old friends. This one I don't remember as well as the others, so it's like reading it for the first time again!
Vulcan!, a Star Trek book. I want to read all the books currently published, but this one is pretty difficult to slog through. I'm just glad I didn't have to pay any money for it.
Les Miserables, another re-read. I spent almost the entire year in 7th grade reading it, and it's great fun to go back to these characters that I spent quite a lot of time with.
The Invisible Actor, by Yoshi Oida, a member of Peter Brooks' company. Having just graduated acting school, I'm feeling a bit lost right now and so it's nice to go back to some mentors and see what they say.

I'm about halfway through all the books except Les Mis. I expect that one will take another month or so to get through - I'm trying to keep to a schedule of reading at least one segment a day, but I usually get distracted by the 140 other books on my to-read list! There's just so much to read, and so little time. If only I didn't have to work, or eat, or sleep...

I'm beginning The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney.

> 45

When asked to use 'horticulture' in a sentence:
"You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think."

that's hilarious... thanks

>#42 rocketjk: I'm about 50 or so pages from the end of The Last Picture Show now. It's amazing to me how much I want to read about bored, small-town high school kids.

>#44 divinenanny: How are you liking Kafka on the Shore, and have you read other Murakami? My boyfriend is currently reading it, and I read it some months back. I didn't like it as much as The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, but Nakata is one of my favorite characters nevertheless.

Made quick work of The Battle of Blair Mountain, a history of the 1920-21 coal strike in southern West Virginia. The book was okay, but left me wanting to find out more about the subject. Curiously, the choice of this book was triggered by my recent reading of Jack London's The Iron Heel and Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games. West Virginia was in District 17 of the United Mine Workers organization.

Now I'm reading The Road to Terror, an analysis of the Yezhovshchina, or Great Terror, and the events which lead up to it.

I finished the slog of The Likeness by Tana French. The last 100 pages were good, but its not worth the other 300+ pages to get there.

I am now reading The Brimstone Papers by David Chacko. Set at the start of the Revolutionary war.

It was sent to me by the publisher for a review.

I'm enjoying the linked short stories in A Visit from the Goon Squad, and the visual design and narrative in the cookbook The Geometry of Pasta.

I can get several books going at one time. Right now I am reading The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb and just started Light in August by William Faulkner

Just finished The Prestige. Just started To Tell the Truth Freely.

>48 richardderus: Richard ~ What a great story, and you're right. You don't find that level of customer service pretty much anywhere these days. I've got them bookmarked for next time I'm in the market for a good book.

For pleasure: continuing Wicked Lovely, maybe starting Dead as a Doornail. Still working on the Persuasion audiobook (gotta love Librivox).

However, with classes starting tomorrow, most of my reading will be cases, statutes, treaties and regulations.

Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in some more pleasure reading. Relatively fast pleasure reading.

44, 52: I am of two minds re: Kafka on the Shore. If it was just Nakata's story, I probably would have liked it a lot more--I agree he is a wonderful character. Unfortunately we had to keep switching back to Kafka's story which managed to both bore me and confuse me at the same time. It's made me wary of trying to read any more Murakami.

>58 Storeetllr: Oh, good! I want people like them to succeed, and they won't if we don't spend our money with them.

I started She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell.

#45 I agree, Scaifea, best Parkerism so far!

I read most of Salvation on Sand Mountain last night after work. Then this morning I resumed Eifelheim which is turning out to remind me of The Sparrow, good and bad.

I am enjoying the Parkerisms as well! I would love to be that clever.

#56 Hope you enjoy LIGHT IN AUGUST. You have in your hands my pick for greatest American novel--by our greatest literary genius!

#52> ursula, That's what good writing will do for you, make just about any set of characters and circumstances interesting. I think the attraction of The Last Picture Show is McMurtry's accurate investigation into human nature and the ways in which people try to cope with living in that sort of claustrophobic society. Also, the book's just plain funny.

I've just started No Country for Old Men and think I might want to see the movie once I'm done. I'm also reading Dragon by Clive Cussler, a book about Fathers and Daughters, The Girl Who Played with Fire and Masquerade. I've always got more than one book on the go at any one point in time.

>59 NocturnalBlue:: It's funny, I told my boyfriend that my feeling while reading it was "blah blah, Kafka ... get back to Nakata!" for much of the book. I read The Wind Up Bird Chronicle first, which might have ruined me for further Murakami. It's just that good.

>65 rocketjk:: Just finished the book. It was indeed often funny. Jacy was quite a piece of work - her thoughts were amusing, but her actions made me want to slap her silly.

I've started When Money Dies, the first couple of chapters, and the chapters are short. I think it may be relevant to today, and I hope it informs my later reading of Wolf Among Wolves.

Robert

I finished Silent in the Grave, book one in the Lady Julia Grey mystery series by Deanna Raybourn this morning. Found the book long winded and a bit of a slog to read but it managed to pick up steam in the last 100 pages. Undecided if I will attempt book two sometime in the future.

I am about to start Only Call Us Faithful, a story about the double life of Elizabeth Van Lew who spied on the Confederates and was part of the Union Army's undercover spy network in Richmond Virginia during the American Civil War.

I'm currently reading my ER-book French Fried by Chris Dolley, in addition to Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift.

This week I will be reading Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia

>Ursula & Jerry- And keep in mind the film adaptation of Last Picture is outstanding! Stellar cast!

#72> Mark, Yes, I've seen that movie a couple of times. I agree that it's excellent. As a matter of fact, in Duane's Depressed, Duane is now 62 years old, and I am, without even thinking about it, picturing the character as a current-day Jeff Bridges.

I just put the movie into my Instant queue on Netflix. Looking forward to it!

I finished The Brimstone Papers by David Chacko. Mulling my review.

Now starting, Under the Poppy by Kathe Koja, my June LT ER book.

I haven't read the books, but I think I saw, .The Last Picture Show as teen (or at least part of it). Didn't make an impression - might have been too young.

I did see and got the DVD of Texasville . It was very quirky.

#75> That's interesting. I had no idea there was a movie version of Texasville. I just looked it up and see they got the whole cast from Last Picture Show back together. I'll have to look into that.

#52, Ursula and #59 NocturnalBlue> I'm about halfway in, and loving it so far. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles was my first Murakami, so I know what you mean, but Kafka isn't half bad. I do like Nakata best, and the WWII mystery, but to tell you the truth, I like Kafka too. So far so good. I cannot wait to read 1q84 despite the so-so reviews. Too bad it is so expensive, I will have to wait till at least my birthday for it....

Right now, I am reading Let Me Eat Cake by Leslie F. Miller. Admittedly, it can get a little self serving in spots, and her strain to make herself sound humorous in spots is downright painful - however, Miller does have some insightful spots, and the occasional "Yes! That is exactly how I feel, too!" moments. Therefore, it's not a horrible read, just not a fave.

Finished the fabulous All Passion Spent and reviewed it here.

Now I'm really enjoying The Art of Racing in the Rain.

I spent the weekend picking up lots of books, reading a few pages and then putting them down again because I didn't fancy them. I'm like those women who protest they have nothing to wear, despite having loads of clothes; I've got shelves of books but nothing to read.

I finally settled on Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood, which I have to keep reading now whatever my mood, as I'm away from home tonight, so no chance to swap it for another.

>80 Ygraine: I feel your pain. I've been having too many days like that. Not sure what my problem is; I used to start a book and just keep on reading it (unless it was just too awful). Now, it's like you said, too many times lately I look at the first few pages of a book, put it down, pick up another book and look at the first few pages, put it down, etc. etc. Hate that.

One possible reason is that I used to stick with a few favorite authors/genres so kind of knew what I was going to be reading. Since LT has broadened my reading horizon with all the tempting recommendations of great reads in all sorts of different genres by authors I'd never heard of before, I am trying all sorts of new types of books, not all of which are my cuppa.

Another possibility is that there are just so many books I want to read and so little time to read them that it is making me anxious, and it's always been hard for me to settle down when I'm having anxiety attacks. :)

I finished Maile Meloy's Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It -- another remarkable short story collection. Now I'm reading Ian McEwan's Solar.

I finished She Walks in Beauty and started on How to be an American Housewife.

Just started Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly. So far so good! It feels like a bit of a departure from his other books.. but good.

I started Wolf Hall and Dexter In The Dark this weekend

Okay, so I finally wrote a review of Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination with the Afterlife that I read for the "H" challenge over in the TIOLI thread. It's in my thread...post #180.

STRONG caution is given to my believing friends...much to offend you in this review. Don't seek it out if you don't expect to be hurt at some level.

#86 I loved the review and am now very tempted to get the book. You do know you just helped to promote an essentially religious writer here, don't you? That's always a problem when you don't believe n religion yet are still interested in the psychology and sociology behind it. Let's hope our money tempts her to sin;-)

Continuing my quest to get through books I've had sitting around, I've started An Ordinary Man. It's the autobiography of Paul Rusesabagina, of Hotel Rwanda fame. I'm about 50 pages in and already improved my knowledge of Rwandan history exponentially.

Currently reading Glen David Gold's Sunnyside. I'm about 200 pages into the book and enjoying it. I enjoyed his first book, Carter Beats the Devil and am reading Sunnyside on the strength of that.

#75 "I haven't read the books, but I think I saw, .The Last Picture Show as teen (or at least part of it). Didn't make an impression - might have been too young."

Same with me. Haven't read The Last Picture Show saw the movie a few years back but was probably too young to get it.

I'm overwhelmed! I'm reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Nightmares from Eberus, and Dawn Of The Shadow by Peter Kelly. That's close to 1,000 pgs worth of reading!! But it's all soooooo good!!!

#80 (Ygraine) and #81 (Storeetllr) - I feel your pain. I finished Up in the Air last night and then could not decide what to read - in spite of shelves full of books.

So, I picked up Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, which I've been dipping into for the past month. Read a few more beautiful pages, then, switched to A Tale of Two Cities because I thought I wanted to go back to Manette and Darnay and the "best of times and worst of times". Could not get into it, so switched to The Philosopher's Pupil, but I always get turned off by the first 5 pages of a major argument between husband and wife (which does not hold a candle to George and Martha, of course, in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf)...... Decisions, decisions.

Finally, settled on The Jewel in the Crown - the 1st book of The Raj Quartet. It's a big story with a big theme - something to settle into and get enveloped by completely. So, that's what I wanted with my next read.....

#86 and others: I am fascinated by cults, particularly the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, and wonder why people choose to believe things that are so obviously harmful to themselves. Matches in the Gas Tank (about the Worldwide Church of God) was great in explaining how anyone can fall victim to the various charlatans that promise salvation.

I finished reading Roads to Santiago which was a good read. I thought it would be a travelogue about the pilgrimage to Santiago De Compostela but it wasn't. It was more about the history of Spain and how Spain's geographical isolation form Europe makes it not really a part of Europe. Only an appendage that often doesn't fit. Very good insight into the culture of the country and lots and lots of art and architectural history.

I started reading The Lemon Tree. This book has been on my TBR list for a long time.

Girl Who Played with Fire I'm months behind everyone else. liked the first book then saw the movie (Swedish with subtitles)--enjoyed it too.

80, 81, 92 I'm the same way lately. Nothing is really hitting me. I have to read Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest for book club and its just not grabbing me one bit. I'm almost ready to give up. I will try to stick with it...I guess I'm in a book slump right now. Hopefully it passes quickly.

I finished the very enlightening The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan. My review is right here.

Up next is A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan.

ETA Hmmm, I wonder if they're related??

>Bonnie- I loved A Visit From the Goon Squad! She's a terrific writer! Hope you enjoy it!

I started The Liars Club. It's a book I've wanted to read forever and it begins very well, reminding me somewhat of Rick Bragg's work. Also plugging away at the audio of The Thirteenth Tale, which has been a good listen.

Just started I am Jane Eyre by Teana Rowland-its off to a good start -can't put it down but need sleep!!

Well, I need a new author to obsess about the way I need a whole in the head. But thanks to everyone here, and most especially the "horticulture" quote, I must now read everything I can by and about Dorothy Parker.

Thanks guys...way to feed an addict.;)

Reading A Fine and Private Place by Morley Callaghan. This is a withdrawn book from the library that I got for free. Really enjoying it.

I've just started The Wall by Sartre. I think i will take a few days to read and then my plan is to start Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse.

Yesterday I finished The Eyes of the Dragon which I thoroughly enjoyed!
Now I'm reading my early reviewer, The Bird Catcher.

>101 retropelocin: Enablers R Us.

Finished and loved The Art of Racing in the Rain. I didn't expect to like it so much.

Now starting The Long Song by Andrea Levy. So far it isn't grabbing me.

Was at the airport today and saw Mockingjay on the shelf. Of course it wasn't supposed to be out until tomorrow, but I took advantage of the fluke and bought one even though I have one on pre-order. (terrible impulse control, ya know)

I loved it and it was a great way to pass the time on my flight! I barely stopped reading the breathe, much less anything else. Definitely satisfying, can't wait until everyone else reads it so I can have people to exclaim and cry with over everything that happened.

I'm reading I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman, and enjoying it very much. Also trying to finish The Likeness which is good, but long.
And the library called me with my book on hold, which I've started Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende, another great one.

caroline123, I loved Island Beneath the Sea - yet another winner by Allende!

I am reading Second Helpings! And I am thinking about starting The Hollow again soon because I found out that the second one, The Haunted, will be coming out at the end of the month!

I'm reading Robert Solé's Birds of Passage (orig. French title Le Tarbouche), a potentially fascinating inter-war family tale set in Alexandria among a Levantine family, but somehow I'm not yet gripped. And I'm not sure why.

I finished and loved Kafka on the Shore, both storylines and the entire book, I am now an official Murakami addict.
I started The Help this morning after all the praise here on LT and by colleagues at work, and I am loving it so far.

#97 I feel for you. I know book clubs have many fans all over the world and good luck to them but I knew the first (and last) time I attended one that I would never get on with having to read what somebody else suggested I should read. Like so many other people here my reading is a case of what grabs me at the time. I have over 300 books here that are still waiting to be read and I have times when I have nothing at all I want to read, interprersed with times when it breaks my heart how much I want to read every single one of them all at once. I know I'd never be in the right mood for the one the club dictated I should read and it would ruin many a good book for me.

#112
While driving into work this morning I was considering starting a thread about the books people read due to the influence of others, i.e. books we feel we have to read. The type of pressures I was thinking of included:
- Christmas/birthday presents
- Books a friend or colleague is enthusiastic and lends you a copy wanting your opinion tomorrow morning
- Friends/relatives who have written a book and want you to tell them what you think of it (a bit like teaching a member of the family how to drive - a definite "no, no")
- People you have invited to be guests at a function/convention and you feel you should at least read some of their work.

I was thinking of how I have been reading books for some of the above reasons, rather than because they were my first choice.

Of course, this is a two-edged sword. What books have others read, because I have put them under similar pressures.

The "book club" pressure had not sprung to mind, but now that you mention it the list would be incomplete without it.

(No, I haven't gotten round to reading The Last Dickens just yet, but it is in "The Pile". (Like yourself, the books in my pile number in their hundreds.)

:-)

#113 Well, don't go breaking your neck to get at that one - there are better books you could be reading.

I have one writer friend who lets me read his stories before they go to publication. He's actually a brilliant writer and I'd be a huge fan even if he wasn't a friend so that one is just sheer privelege and I'll put down almost anything else when one of those arrives. I also don't feel the need (or the skill) to offer criticism on these, they're just pure pleasure. But I do get exactly what you mean about the others. If I ask someone what they thought of a book that's all I want to know - not for them to foist their copy on me and then keep asking whether I've read it. Books I buy (witness the TBR list) can sit there for years before I get round to them. People only ever do this out of kindness and generosity and I feel horrible knowing I'm really not in the mood for whatever they're lending me (plus I just prefer buying my own books, on the whole. If I like theirs I'm not going to want to give it back.) I know I've done the same thing to them, though I do only lend (well, give) books I no longer want so I'm not too fanatical about them or when they get read. In fact, I don't really care and never ask. After all, if they read it and loved it, they're going to be bursting to tell me about it without any prompting from me

#114 I think we think the same on the book lending.

Like yourself, I have been fortunate to have an acquintance who is a great author and has asked me to read a novel in advance of publication. I was really delighted when he mentioned me in the acknowledgements, and also that he made the changes I suggested; really chuffed. I've been boasting about it to all my friends an colleagues. Restoration Game :-)

I too drop everything when I get something from him.

I finished Occupied City by David Peace, a sequel to Tokyo Year Zero, which I had as an Early Reviewer book last year. This one was not a good read, with his quirky style turned loose in almost a self-parody. I gave it a bomb review. I’ve started Lacuna and reading Barbara Kingsolver’s lucid prose is like feeling your sinuses clear.

#112, Booksloth, Have I got an exception for you! During the summer I attend a weekly book club meeting on a little lake in Michigan. Everyone just talks about what they are reading that week and why they like or dislike it and it is so much fun.....and a great way to add to the mammoth TBR pile I have created.....

I am delighted to be in Three Pines this week reading The Brutal Telling. I love this series although I know this one contains bad news about one of the villagers so I've avoided it until now.

Finished Kraken by China Mieville, which for me was just so-so. Not one of his best.

I'm in the middle of Dissolution by C.J. Sansom and waiting for Mockingjay to land.

#112, 113, etc.: Regarding book clubs: Until recently, I would have agreed with you; however, last September I was asked to attend a meeting of a book club because I had raved to one of its members about The Thirteenth Tale, they subsequently read it, and invited me to the meeting where it was going to be discussed. I enjoyed the group of women so much that when they asked me to join I trepidatiously accepted. Since then, despite only enjoying less than half the books while reading them, I've come to appreciate many of them after participating in the discussions. I always, always hear redeeming qualities that never occurred to me, and just being in this group of intellectually stimulating women is a huge treat. Yes, once a month I'm reading something I did not necessarily pick; but hey, we don't always get our way and I am one of twelve who makes suggestions. I'm exploring books I never would have seen otherwise. Now, that being said, I have lots and lots of reading time and might not have felt the same way if I had joined the group while still working.

#120 Getting exposure to new books and authors would be a great benefit from a group. I also think your point on reading time is relevant. On weekdays I get about an hour to read in the evening, which means I take a long time to get through a book.

#117 That sounds like an interesting book club approach.

Finished The Devil in Amber by Mark Gatiss and started Reclaiming the F word by Catherine Redfern and Kristin Aune.

Re: borrowing books . . . When somebody offers to lend me a book, I have trained myself to say something along the lines of, "I'm sure it's a great book, but I have about 2,000 books at home waiting to be read, and so I made a rule for myself to never borrow books." Some people are taken aback, but somehow when most people hear "rule" and "never," that makes it easier, because then they're not tempted to take it personally. If someone wants to give me a book and doesn't care if/when I read/return it, then I always graciously accept. I have one friend who constitutes an exception to this rule. He has been my friend for 44 years, and so knows my taste very well. When I borrow books from him, I always put them on my short TBR list, as opposed to my "one of these days" TBR list (the 2,000+ supply mentioned above).

#112> booksloth, I feel 100% the same as you about reading groups, but (#117) hemlokgang, that sounds like fun.

Finished off Faithful Place on Sunday. I like Tana French's works but I do think she over-writes a bit. As usual, I was not particularly fond of the main character. The end was satisfying even though it took much too long to get there. Now I'm reading The Wet Nurse's Tale for a complete and total change of pace.

(Edited by me to chop up horrifyingly long run-on sentence.)

#123 I always put them on my short TBR list

"Short TBR list"? Can you explain this to me please? It's a concept I'm not familiar with.

:-)

#125> "Short TBR list"? Can you explain this to me please? It's a concept I'm not familiar with.

Ha! OK, but remember, you asked for it . . .

My "system" for choosing books to read goes as follows.

1) Go to a bookstore, new or used, or a thrift store or a garage sale, buy a book. Read it. This is my "Infinite TBR list." My goal is to read every interesting book ever written (obviously, I am a firm believer that one's grasp should exceed one's reach, or is it the other way around?). When somebody asks me why I am reading a particular book, I usually simply answer, "It was on the list.")

2) Read any book already sitting on my shelves. At last count, that's around 2,000 books that I own but haven't read yet. That's the "Long TBR list."

3) Read a book off the "Short TBR list." The short TBR list is comprised of a) books I have been given as gifts, which I believe deserve more (relatively speaking) immediate attention out of respect to the gift giver (especially if the give giver is my wife!), b) the next book in one of the series I am currently engaged in, c) a book a allow myself to borrow, or d) the occasional book I purchase with the intention of putting it on this shorter list (Gwen Ifill's book The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama is an example of a book I purchased not to read immediately but to put on to this "read it sooner rather than later" Short TBR list.)

4) Repeat 1-3 . . .

Hope that makes sense.

Of course, the "Long TBR list" is always growing, because I love buying books.

I decided to give up on Ian McEwan's Solar -- I tried, I read 100 pages (actually skimming the last 20 or so), but it just wasn't working for me. I looked up the Washington Post review by Ron Charles (one of my favorite reviewers) and even he advised skipping this McEwan and waiting for the next one. "Flaccid", he called it.

So it's on to Nicholson Baker's The Anthologist.

#117 Now, that sounds like my kind of book club! My only problem now is getting from here (SW England) to Michigan once a week;-)

>111 divinenanny: Glad to hear you loved Kafka on the Shore. I did end up enjoying Kafka's story, too, it just took me a while to warm up to it. We have one more Murakami in the house that I haven't read (Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World), but I'll get around to it eventually.

>126 rocketjk: Well at least you have a plan in place. My books are neatly shelved, added to at breakneck speed, read in no particular order, with no real plan in place. I need a plan I guess. My husband (not a great reader) laughingly says to me on a regular basis, "Don't buy any more books until you read the ones you already have." Hahahahaha. He just doesn't get it.

I have a pretty good plan. On my Kindle, my TBR books are downloaded as samples and kept in my Sample Collection until I'm ready to try them out and possibly buy. Books (whole books) are kept in my Books to Read Collection and they are up next (sort of my Next TBR). Books I am currently reading are kept on the Home page. Books I have completed are Archived.

Physical books that I own are only kept if they are greatly loved and never ever to be gotten rid of, so the collection is manageable. Once they have been read, are kept in my glorious, large, built-in bookshelves in my living room, alphabetically by genre and author. In my nearby hallway, I have two smaller built-ins, one of which is devoted to my TBRs, and the other to books I have read and that are up for grabs to family and friends and, eventually, to our library book sale.

Where I run into trouble, is deciding whether to read a physical book next or a book on my Kindle. Like most on LT, I always have too many choices.

I am currently reading Wolves the Elite Deltas, a story of U.S. soldiers' lives in the Middle East ten years from now. It combines drama, action, and valor into a small, but action-packed story.

>111 divinenanny:, 129 I've read all of Murakami's novels (and his book on the Tokyo Gas Attack). Kafka on the Shore is my favorite (and I also love Nakata), with The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle second.

But they're all weird and wonderful in different ways, and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is no exception. I've read that Norwegian Wood, which is more traditional in some ways, is the favorite in Japan.

I've finished and reviewed Larry McMurtry's Duane's Depressed, which I loved.

#126 rocketjk

Thank you for the explanation. I wish I was so organised.

There are a few authors I will read as soon as their books come out. These would be Iain Banks, Ken MaLeod, Wu Ming, and, I think that's it. Others that I will buy to read soon, would be Glen David Gold of Carter Beats the Devil fame (and Sunnyside that I am currently reading), Iain Pears, Arturo Perez Reverte, except for his Captain Alatriste novels, etc... (See my author cloud to get the general idea).

I also have a lot of dead authors I am trying to catch up with, in terms of what they've written, I mean.

I have a strick "Read a book" the "buy" policy. Everytime I read a book I go out and buy ten more.

Books from my friends do get attention in a similar fashion to how you treat gifts from your friends. They get more immediate attention as I say, "Oh! I must read that book." more often about those books than I do about the other books in my library.

Books from my wife are read immediately. There is a logical reason as well as a romantic reason for this. She only buys me books that I have suggested I want, and I only tell her the books I want to read immediately. Hey, it works!

:-)

Thank you for explaining your system to me. I must go now and progress the reading of Sunnyside.

Nice to have exchanged comments. Good reading!

#126 rocketjk

One thing I forgot to mention is how I use Librarything to pick books to read.

I sort my "to read" collection in order of number of members who have the books. Then I pick a book from either end, i.e. one of the most commonly owned books and one of the books only I have on LT. I then read each of them.

I had the idea that if I was the only person with a particular book I should read it. Also, if I have one of the most commonly owned books, and by flawed logic, one of the most read books, I should read that too.

It is just a method to make sure I keep up with the world and manage to read the more esoteric books I have collected.

:-)

Even though my to-be-read pile continues to grow it surprises me how many books I actually get read. In my case, once I read a book it leaves my house never to return. That means that everything in my house is on my TBR pile.

In Librarything my read-but-not-owned category is where I put the books that I have read and sent on to other green pastures. By-the-way, somebody here suggested a web site that was for tracking the books that you give away. You register them on this web site and then get to find out where they end up. Does anybody remember the name of that web site?

#136> Very interesting. I love seeing how other "system" people do things. Those are great criteria.

#106 I'm so jealous. I've been fighting with myself all day over whether I was going to stop at B&N or Borders on the way home to get my copy. I know the minute it's in my hands I'll begin reading it and I'm already reading Chasing Hepburn and The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop (touchstone not working) by Lewis Buzbee.

Running through the Robert Asprin novels, starting with Another Fine Myth.

#136, pgmcc This is probably a stupid question, but how do you sort by the number of members who have the books? I used to know how to do this, but I can't figure it out now.

Reading about all y'alls' systems, I feel so inadequate. And disorganized. I have no system, no organization, I just see a book I want, I put it on a list and someday borrow or buy it. I've got a number of different lists of books I want: my LT list, my LT wishlist, a physical list, and any number of pieces of paper where I've jotted down titles and/or authors. *sigh*

>131 jbleil: jbleil ~ I love the way you keep your eBooks organized. I think I may be able to handle using your plan. *making a note to rearrange Kindle content*

re: Choosing books. Does anyone else take practical considerations into account? For example, a large portion of my reading time is on the subway. I was given a hardcover copy of Year of the Flood, and that book is both too big to carry in my purse, and too unwieldy to hold with one hand if I have to stand. So, off to the nightstand it goes and will probably take 9 years to read because I don't get much before-bed reading done.

Similarly, I had to stop reading Good in Bed on the subway after a smelly guy leaned over and said "So... are you? Good in bed? Heh, heh!"

And don't get me started on the pressure of choosing books to take on vacation!

Topic: I'm reading The Happiness Project, which I'm not entirely loving. It's a good idea in concept, so maybe it's the fact that it's written by an Upper East Side wife that irks me. (Yes, I know, meeee-yow studio1!)

>143 studio1: I solved all those problems by getting an eReader. I can carry around as many hefty doorstop books as I feel like reading on a lightweight gadget that's small enough to fit in my pocket (the bigger of my pockets anyway) and no one knows if I'm reading Good in Bed or War and Peace.

As I've said on other threads, though, I also still love paper books and audiobooks.

Yeah, even though I love the feel, smell and look of a real book, I can see myself getting an eReader just so I can finally read The Count of Monte Cristo without pulling a shoulder muscle. ;)

#137 - I think the site you're thinking of is Bookcrossing. I was lucky enough to come across a Bookcrossing book a few years ago while I was in New Orleans. The book had been left at the Cafe du Monde by someone visiting from Mississippi, I believe. It then travelled with me back to Canada and I passed it on to my Aunt. That book has been around!

#130 Brenzi, I think we're on the same plan--it's called Chaos.

#143 Studio 1, subway story: at least this isn't the age of the salacious paperback when even ROBINSON CRUSOE got a cover with half-naked breasts (whose? you ask me--the guy could dream, couldn't he?). I remember visiting relatives at fourteen while reading John Wyndham's MIDWICH CUCKOOS (source for the VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED movies) and being terribly embarrassed. The cover proclaimed in boldface, "All the women in Midwich were pregnant. What had happened in Midwich?" I skulked around, terrified someone would ask me that question.

I just finished The Help and found it bitter sweet. Very glad I read it. My next book will be Making History by the wonderful Stephen Fry.

With regards to TBR systems, I always read what I just bought first. And with regards to what to buy (I never use the library, shame on me), I look to here, mostly on the forums for recommendations, and sometimes just find something interesting while browsing. And I have a short list of favorite authors (I know I mostly love whatever they write) and some series I follow and collect.

#141 rebeccanyc
Hi. Firstly, there is no such thing as a stupid question.

Secondly, to sort your books by number members:
Go into "your books"
You should see an icon on the tool bar (third from the right on my screen) that has two arrows, one pointing up and the other down.
Click on this icon and a dialogue window will appear that will let you select up to two sort keys from drop down menus.
Go into the "sort by" drop down menu and select "total members".
Then click "sort" and your books will be sorted by the number of LT members with the book.
I hope this helps.

Peter

#143, I do this too. I always have at least two books on the go: a portable book for reading during the daily commute and a book for reading at home so that the larger books and hardback books get a chance to be read too.

is the passage advisable?

I really enjoyed Prep - a kind of Malory Towers for grown-ups - despite the fact that nothing much happens. I've now moved on to The Vicar of Wakefield which I can't believe I've never read before.

#153, Guetsy, I would say yes! But, keep in mind that: The Passage is book one of a trilogy and the rest won't be released for a long while, it is dystopian with some hypernatural stuff thrown in (trying not to spoil here), it is long. But I loved it a whole lot, and so did lots of people on here, so go for it!

Yes, The Passage is very advisable! Go for it!

#154 Booksloth, what a transition! Good luck. THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD is probably the oldest untouched novel in my library, a real spinster on a shelf.

Finished up Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury on Sunday. Now I'm working on Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes by Stephen Jay Gould. After that, I'm planning on Exuberance: The Passion for Life by Kay Redfield Jameson. A wide variety of stuff this week.

>136 pgmcc:: pgmcc
joining in the love for your TBR sorting method :) Up next for me would be an issue of the terrific Bellevue Literary Review (short stories, essays, poems on the continuum of wellness/illness) and (omg the shame) Pride and Prejudice!

Regarding salacious book covers: Way back in the day when I was a freshman at a Catholic high school and reading Gone with the Wind in a mass market paperback, the cover featured Rhett Butler carrying Scarlett O'Hara up that grand staircase with her bosoms almost falling out of her dress. I bought a St. Benedict Academy book cover and covered the book, trying to make it look like a textbook to fool both the nuns and my parents. I think I was successful as I don't remember having to explain myself. I did the same with Forever Amber.

#137 benitastrnad and #146 neverwithoutabook

I've also come across bookcrossing. A pub in London, I think on Whitehall, has a small nook where you can add or take books. We had a brief look through it but didn't like any of the books there. The website is: www.bookcrossing.com

#159 detailmuse

You shoudln't be ashamed of Pride and Prejudice.

Of course, if you are reading it in public you should follow the advice from jbleil in #160

:-)

I listened to two great books on my recent road trip...Montana 1948 and The Prince of Frogtown.

I almost skipped this thread with its 162 posts, but I'm glad I read each and every one. A few comments...
>64 sholofsky:: Sholofsky, I agree with you on the greatness of Faulkner and Light in August. It is one of my few 5-star books for this year.
>95 drdawnffl:: I'll be reading The Girl Who Played With Fire as it was waiting for me at the library upon my return home.
>118 nancyewhite:: Nancy, I'm also a Three Pines sort of girl (woman!). I'm about to finish The Cruelest Month. I'm determined to catch up to everyone by the end of September.
>124 jbleil:: I'm in agreement that Tana French is guilty of over-writing, so I wonder why I am in such anticipation of reading Faithful Place. One of those book mysteries I guess.
>126 rocketjk:: Great reading plan! I loved hearing about others' organization or lack of it. I'm kind of in that controlled chaos group with Bonnie in Post 130!

Next up in my reading world is The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet and Madame Bovary (for the dreaded book club!). I also liked the idea upthread of just getting together and talking about what we're reading....sort of like on this thread but face-to-face.

I finished a book set in another country...New Zealand...called How to Watch a Bird by Steve Braunias, a columnist in their national Sunday paper's magazine. It's a sparkly, fun look at the birders of the country. The book is distributed in the USA, so it can be had!

#151, Peter, Thanks. I never realized there was a sort icon. I thought I would have to have field for total members and couldn't find one when I was looking at the different styles for viewing my book -- i.e., total members isn't a separate field for viewing. I could swear I used to be able to sort that way, but maybe I'm losing my mind! In any case, live and learn and many thanks.

I finished Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny which was my ER book for July. I really enjoyed it even though I have never read any of the other books in the series. It does appear, however, that this book continues a myster found in The Brutal Telling. I did plan on reading the other books in the series because I liked this one so much but think I may skip that one.

I am currently reading The Kite Runner. I know, I am probably one of the few people left on the planet who has not read this yet. My oldest had to read it for school so I thought I would read it before we return it. I am enjoying it but I do not think it will become one of my all time favorites.

I just finished A Curtain of Green and Other Stories by Eudora Welty - I love her zany brand of regionalism! Her characters remind me of certain people in my own family, who, although not southerners, come from equally colourful places, as I was reflecting in my blog last night.... (www.the-reading-list.com)

#142> Your way of choosing and noting books sounds like the more "sane" one to me, anyway. :)

Last night I started Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham.

Posted a review of CS Lewis's unjustly underknown classic Till We Have Faces over in my thread...post #90. Really, go read it soon!

RE: organization.................My TBRs are on multiple shelves, unsorted. Books I have read are shelved by author....I like the sorting idea on Kindle. I had not contemplated that. Note to self! My biggest problem is what books to pass on....I tend to hoard.....Looking at my shelves stimulates not only book memories, but memories of times and places I read them. I have a huge collection of coffee table books I inherited from my parents. I rarely look at them, but they are all really cool....what to do with those?

This whole conversation should probably move to its own thread!

I must alert one and all: Big in Japan and Buddy Zooka in the French Quarter and Beyond, both published by Chin Music Press, arrived today; they are so scrumptiously beautifully produced, despite being paperbacks *ptui ptui*, that I am still, two hours later, sitting alone in a dark room fondling them.

Who cares if they're good reads! They're *beautiful* books!

>169 rocketjk: Well, at least no one will ever be able to accuse me of being a control freak.

#157 Well, shame on you, Sholofsky (I can say that now I've finally opened my copy.) Semi-seriously, it is only a short book so shouldn't be all that intimidating - in fact, I'm enjoying it a lot so far. I wouldn't say I have a real preference between new books and classics, I just like good books. One day, I may even get round to The Female Quixote which is my oldest unread novel.

#166 rebeccanyc. You are more than welcome, and I'm sure you are not losing your mind. I know that when one doesn't use a function on any computer system for a while it can almost be like they never used it.

Happy sorting!

Okay, back to the topic of this thread (btw, good idea about a separate thread for the fascinating subject of organizing TBR piles, etc., hemlock), I started Dead in the Family, the latest Sookie Stackhouse, last night and zoomed through 138 pages already. Yes, I know, reading it won't add points to my IQ, but it's so much fun.

I finished The Gendarme last week and have been reading What is the What since. It's such a wonderful book -- I don't know what I'll do once I'm finished!

#174 Booksloth, I expect a full report. Maybe there's gold in Goldsmith, afterall (though THE FEMALE QUIXOTE would have stood a better chance of being on my dance card).

I finished the audio of The Thirteenth Tale and liked it! I started the audio of Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas. It's light and enjoyable. What hasn't been light but very enjoyable, is The Liar's Club. Love those memoirs!

>159 detailmuse: detailmuse - I recently finished reading Pride and Prejudice so you need not be alone in your shame. It is a worthwhile read, no matter when you read it.

Just finished Year of Wonder by Geraldine Brooks. I really enjoyed the book. I just haven't figured out how they knew about mouth to mouth and chest compressions, in the 15th century.

:) yes my shame is in not having yet read P&P; I would be proud to be seen reading it ... and a whole lot more classics that haven't even gotten into the tbrs!

Zipped right through The Wet Nurse's Tale by Erica Eisdorfer, which was pretty good historical fiction and moved right on to Affinity by Sarah Waters.

>179 msf59: - Hope you enjoy Tallgrass. I thought it was pretty interesting.

>182 detailmuse: - I recently hung my head in shame on another thread when I admitted to having never read Jane Austen...

>183 jbleil: - I thought The Wet Nurse's Tale was a great story. And I still need to get to Affinity.

I just finished an ER book, The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard. I was somewhat disappointed by it.

This afternoon I started The Meadow by James Galvin which was recommended to me by an LT friend. I'm so glad I picked it up!

Cindy- I have a copy of Year of Wonders in the tbr! I love Brooks!

Joanne- I also have my copy of The Meadow waiting nearby! Maybe your nudge will do it!

#176, Storeetllr .. hahaah those books never add to your IQ.. but they are SO much fun to read and it requires no effort or thinking at all. I think of them as nap books, a nice rest for your mind and you finish (usually) feeling happy and carefree.

I was having a hard time picking anything else up after Mockingjay, even though I didn't absolutely love it, but it seems that Numb by Sean Ferrell broke that malaise.

Also finishing off Body Works by Sara Paretsky.

I've just started A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. It's incredibly unpleasant (although admittedly rather clever) so I'm glad that it's quite short and I should have it over and done with today.

As predicted in post #22, I finished all the books mentioned above. A range of stuff, but I quite enjoyed all of them.

I've also just finished Annabel Davis-Goff, The Fox's Walk

Now reading:

Joe Treasure, The Male Gaze
An English man in LA, not as good as his second novel Besotted

Winifred Watson, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Persephone reprint

Aita Ighodaro, Sin Tropez
Review book sent to me by WH Smith - I read chicklit sometimes but this looks so trashy I'm embarrassed to be seen reading it. Two glamorous young girls somehow wangle their way to stay in a glam hotel. The back cover says "Louise Bagshawe meets Jackie Collins" - that at least is fairly accurate but it's as clunkily written as Bagshawe's earliest books and Colllins' more recent ones.

Angela Carter, Friends and Heroes

Kate Ellis, Playing With Bones

>DevourerOfBooks- Glad to hear you liked Mockingjay! Also Numb sounds very interesting!

I finished The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny and think that it may be my favorite in the series so far. Or perhaps I was just delighted ot be back in Three Pines.

Last night I began Montana, 1948 by Larry Watson which is absolutely an LT discovery led by richardderus.

I am currently reading a Scattered Life received from the Author, on my next reading list I am going to be reading Earth is not alone by John Knapp II Pretty eclectic reading I know, but I really enjoy a variety of genres. I just finished the Onyx Sun as well. Happy reading.

Mockingjay was terrific. What a series!

I finished Adam Fergusson's economic history When Money Dies and picked up the related novel by Hans Fallada, Wolf Among Wolves.

Robert

It might be hard to read but I happen to love the book, do finish i can assure you that you will not be dissapointed.

Wolf Among Wolves has been tempting me in the bookshop next to my work for the past two weeks. I feel myself weakening.

I own a quarter of Carol's current catalog (Maggie is a favorite), and I was led to the Astronomy and Astrophysics group by pgmcc. Let me extol the wonders of coincidence.

Wolf Among Wolves does look long. If it proves troublesomely long, I can read some light non-fiction to take breaks.

Robert

:-) Synchronicity. Gets them every time!

I've been reviewing all the books I've sent out via Operation Paperback in my Books off the Shelf thread. Inching up there! Come by and read a few.

Hey I'm reading JTHM at the moment... again! I'll review it as soon as I'm done.

Robert- I have not read Wolf Among Wolves yet, but I did read Fallada's Every Man Dies Alone. It was outstanding and one of my top reads of last year!

I just finished The Kite Runner and am about to begin Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I really feel like I may need something light-hearted after this but believe my next choice will be The Hunger Games which I am thinking is definitely not that!

I finished and reviewed Jennifer Egan's fascinating A Visit From the Goon Squad.

Next up is Louise Penny's The Brutal Telling.

>183 jbleil: I very much enjoyed The Wet Nurse's Tale too, jbleil, and am really looking forward to Eisdorfer's next offering.

>186 dancingstarfish: dancingstarfish ~ lol Yes, good analogy. Mine is, you can't live on ice cream and cake and cream puffs and dark chocolate (Really? says my evil inner child. Whyever not?), and need your veggies and meat and such to stay healthy, I sure do love to indulge in a sugary treat every now and then!

I am reading Wolf Hall by Mantel. It is excellent but slow-going. I have until the middle of September to finish for book club. I would recommend it to someone who has a lot of time.

There's an excellent interview with Barbara Ehrenreich on BookTV about her book Bright-Sided:

http://www.booktv.org/Watch/11687/2010+Chicago+Tribune+Printers+Row+Lit+Fest+Bar...

>204 Storeetllr:, Storeetllr, sooo true! mmm you just made me want to raid a candy shop. They are great indulgences! (the candy AND the books)

I am reading Up the Down Staircase and really enjoying it. I admire teachers in underfunded schools a lot for what they go through!

#207 Starfish, when you're done, check out the movie with Sandy Dennis--it was pretty good and true to the spirit of the book. Glad you're enjoying it.

i am reading "OH, JERUSALEN" It is an incredible book about the eraly starts of the arab-israeli conflict. it sounds borring, but it is really not at all. the authors wrote it in a way that makes you want to keep reading and learn more. it is a novel, not a hystory book, but it is absolutely accurete, like if they had been there in the mittle of it all. they even quote and know the exact dialoge of the liders and people on each "band...(i am not sure if that is the correct term, english is my secundary language)

i recommend it

This week I finished The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley and started The Lying Days by Nadine Gordimer and Persuasion by Jane Austen.

I picked up The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve as I thought that gentle romance would be a good thing after finishing A Clockwork Orange. Sadly, it replaces character building with emotional manipulation and as I'm refusing to be manipulated I'm just finding it dull.

#209 wordseeker - if we could all speak Spanish half as well as you speak English I'm sure we'd all be very happy people!

#184, etc. Robert and #201, Mark

I read Wolf among Wolves a few months ago and it was excellent and well worth reading, but not quite up to Every Man Dies Alone.

#203, Bonnie, I am glad you enjoyed A Visit from the Goon Squad as much as I did.

> Storeetllr, dancingstarfish
really good analogies! I've been hitting the sweets too much, maybe because it's summer; but maybe some literary sugar will help!

I read Quacks: Fakers and Charlatans in English Medicine by Roy Porter last night, and reviewed it this morning. Today I'll read De verwondering (Wonder) by Hugo Claus and Ill Fares the Land by Tony Judt.

I'm reading an advanced reader copy of Sara Henry's LEARNING TO SWIM - which opens wonderfully! If it holds up, mystery readers will be in for a treat come February! (And I'll have something nice to say for the back of the book!)

Well, being sorta meh on Outlander by Diana Gabaldon a year or so ago, I had not really planned on joining the Cult of Outlander. However, my reader buds were RELENTLESS that I try the next one, THEN decide.

So okay, reading Dragonfly in Amber and it's pretty darn good so far. Engaging and well, escapism at its best ... thus far.

>203 brenzi: Bonnie, keep a chin-strap handy to keep you jaw from falling off, and a few hankies around to sop up the tears of outrage.

>209 wordseeker: Wordseeker, your English is excellent and I appreciate the recommendation for the book!

Just finished Nightmares from Eberus! It's a good read! Check out my review on my profile or the by clicking on the maybe it will get you interested!! mmmuuhhhahahhaha... Anywho, onward to the next great adventure! I'm still reading the The Memory Keeper's Daughter which is a love/hate for me. I really enjoy this one character (I'm having a brain fart right now) but when the book flashes back to "the Henry's" I need to put the book down. Maybe it's a subconscious disgust against Dr. Henry's character, but I need to know what happens to Pheobe! I'm still waiting on Distemper by James Nulick which I believe is his 1st book, so yay for him! And finally I'm working on Dawn of the Shadow by Peter Kelly. Did I happen to mention I'm start to work on my thesis again! geez, all this reading and writing.. WHY do I torment myself!? No I actually enjoy it! :) Bring it on!!

>218 richardderus: I know you've hinted at some terrible doings in this one Richard so I started it last night with much trepidation but I already have the next book so it won't take me long for validation, if she does so (or if it's possible, since I don't know yet what the shocking occurence is).

>221 brenzi: Remember, I'm here to comfort you when you get to the end.

I've just finished and reviewed Flights of Fancy, which the Turkish Delight got for me at a library sale we went to together...best seventy-five cents he's ever spent, I loved the book! My review is in my thread...post #14.

Enjoying The Lacuna right now- will switch back to Eat,Pray,Love As well. :)

I should be finishing John Fowles' The Magus tonight or tomorrow. Fantastic, maddening, can't-put-it-down book.

#225 Couldn't agree more - a really wonderful book!

Just finished Silks by Dick Francis. Prior to that - Lisa Jardine's The Curious Life of Robert Hooke; I'm about to start her Going Dutch.

#225 Ditto with 226! (somehow I knew LenientProcess would hear from you, Booksloth :)

Finished The Anthologist -- wonderful book. Now I'm reading John McPhee's The Headmaster: Frank L. Boyden of Deerfield.

#211 Ygraine

I agree with you about Last Time They Met. I had high hopes for it and it bombed. If you are the kind of person who can abandon a book do so. This one won't get any better.

Finished both the audio of Body Work by Sara Paretsky in audio and Numb by Sean Ferrell in print. Not sure what's coming next in either format, I'm still feeling restless in my reading.

An Unquiet Mind, Lord of the Flies, and Middlesex I usually don't read multiple books at once, but this week I am!

I am picking up My Life As A Boy: A Woman's Story by Kim Chernin and Sex At Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality by Christopher Ryan sometime tomorrow from my library. Looking for ward to these reads as they are not my usual forte. I am still reading Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal.

#228 Ditto! (and I'll be reporting back on The Vicar of Wakefield, as promised - hopefully later today).

#225 Do please let us know what you think of the ending. I know some people found it disappointing, though I wasn't one of them.

Just beginning Last Night at the Lobster kindly donated by dancingstarfish. Isn't it funny how sometimes you just fall in love with a book because of the title? Sometimes, of course, you get it completely wrong and sometimes you get it dead right; I think this is one of the 'dead right' ones. I'll certainly be on the lookout for more of O'Nan's work in the future.

There wasn't one yet, so I put up the thread for this week.

>234 Booksloth: Booksloth
If you enjoy Last Night at the Lobster (I did!) you'll also like The Waitress Was New by Dominique Fabre (it's translated from the French and available in the US, not sure about the UK).

#236 Stop it. Just STOP IT!! Have you any idea how many books I've bought lately because somebody on LT thought I might like them? My 'to read' pile now stands at 313 and there are still several more on their way. Since I started doing the Books Off the Shelf Challenge (in which I was going to read 50 of the books I'd already bought without touching a single new one) the pile has shot up like a thirteen year old boy watching Baywatch and since posting #234 this afternoon, I've already ordered three further O'Nan books. It's official, I have no will power at all and every single person on this site is to blame.

Now, where can I get that book, I wonder?

ETA - Dammit! I just checked and not only is 'The Waitress' available here, it's also in paperback and with a rather wonderful cover. (Stupid price but that won't stop me adding it to the second-hand books list.)

Thank you for mentioning Mood Matters. It's relevant to my current area of research but I hadn't heard of it. Neither my county nor University library systems have a copy, so I've gambled a $20 and the latest 33% off Borders coupon on it.

>237 Booksloth: Booksloth I share your pain.

> Booksloth...I know exactly what you mean, My pile of TBR books keeps getting bigger no matter how many books I read. What is up with that!!!

#237 I love being amongst people with the same failings as myself.

:-)

I have become interested in the writings of Hans Fallada (Wolf among wolves etc...) having read LT threads and reviews by LT members. I went to four bookshops yesterday looking for his works. Two only had Alone in Berlin, which I want to leave for a while. The other stores had his novels at 15 euros and above. I had expected 10 euros, and was thinking of picking up three books. The price scared me off. I escaped until next month when the urge hits me again. (For some reason I really feel myself drawn to the cover of Wolf Among Wolves.)

Yesterday I finished
Joe Treasure, The Male Gaze
An English man in LA, gets involved with a group of rather eccentric people, not as good as his second novel Besotted but picked up and got a lot better later in the book

At the end of this week (on Friday) was reading:

Winifred Watson, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Persephone reprint

Aita Ighodaro, Sin Tropez
Review book sent to me by WH Smith - I read chicklit sometimes but this looks so trashy I'm embarrassed to be seen reading it. Two glamorous young girls somehow wangle their way to stay in a glam hotel. The back cover says "Louise Bagshawe meets Jackie Collins" - that at least is fairly accurate but it's as clunkily written as Bagshawe's earliest books and Colllins' more recent ones.

Angela Carter, Friends and Heroes

Kate Ellis, Playing With Bones

Mollie Panter-Downes, One Fine Day

We're on a new thread now elkiedee - http://www.librarything.com/topic/97513. Sorry if the ongoing conversation confused things.