*** What are you reading? NOVEMBER 2011

One day early...

I'm working through Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain, along with the le Salon group read.

I'm also reading
- Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion by Dale McGowan (editor)
- A Sea in Flames : The Deepwater Horizon Oil Blowout by Carl Safina
- The People Look Like Flowers at Last : New Poems by Charles Bukowski
- The Rise and Fall of the Bible: The Unexpected History of an Accidental Book by Timothy Beal (based on a review by auntmarge64 last year). This is prep. I'm going to have a (not-exactly religious) go at the actual bible next year, starting Jan 1. This will start as a small group read in le Salon of Robert Alters' translations of The Five Books of Moses.

I've read Visitation by Jenny Erpenbeck and The Silent Angel by Heinrich Böll, both translated from German.

Currently finishing The Shooting Gallery by Tsushima Yūko.

After that: Anna Funder's Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall, winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-fiction, and possibly more German books as I signed in for a readalong, off-LT, German Literature Month.

I've just started Scenes from Village Life, the new collection of short stories by Israeli author Amos Oz. I'm continuing my slow trek through Hackney, A Rose-Red Empire by Iain Sinclair, and I'm dipping in and out of The Half-Finished Heaven: The Best Poems of Tomas Tranströmer.

I'm currently re-reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I blame peer pressure. Next up after that is Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time by Michael Downing, which seemed -- pardon the expression -- timely, what with a clock change coming up. I have serious issues with clock changes.

Now in the middle of Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. Read her first back when and really enjoyed it (and saw a lot of promise in her); this book is even better.

I'm living through the French Revolution with Danton: The Giant of the French Revolution by David Lawday. I'm amazed at Danton's ability to negotiate such dangerous waters. Of course, later he didn't, but I'm not there yet.

Interesting about the Danton book. I meant to read more about the French Revolution after I read Hilary Mantel's A Place of Greater Safety, and bought Simon Schama's Citizens, but it's been sitting on the TBR ever since.

>5 avaland: I bought Salvage the Bones last month, after it was selected as a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction, and I might read it this month.

>6 RidgewayGirl: Thanks for the reminder about the Danton biography. I bought it after I saw the play Danton's Death at the National Theatre in London last year, but I'd completely forgotten about it.

I finished Scenes from Village Life yesterday, and it was superb. Tonight I'll read Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje, a fictionalized account of the life of the jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden.

Finished Salvage the Bones (#5 above) which I thought excellent. Now reading All That I Have by Castle Freeman, Jr. I enjoyed his Go With Me recently, so I picked up another of his novels when I was in the bookstore this week (since we didn't have power and the bookstore did, it seemed a good thing to do). So, I have moved from rural Mississippi to rural Vermont.

Since last posting I finished The Varieties of the Scientific Experience by Carl Sagan, which is a collection of Gifford lectures on religion. Most of the material is rehash of ideas I've red before and a bit of self pat on the back for the non-religious, Q&A chapter was worth reading.

Currently reading: Taiko by Eiji Yoshikawa only when I'm home which won't happen for another two months, have now started Shipwrecks by Akira Yoshimura to many good reviews to keep this one on the reading pile and half way through it hasn't disappointed, and I finally bought a copy of Machine by Peter Adolphsen so far also great, heavy of scientific jargon and I can easily see how this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I really like it we'll see if it can maintain its momentum through the whole book.

I finished Coming Through Slaughter, Michael Ondaatje's debut novel, which was stylistically clever and had some bright spots, but was ultimately too disjointed for me to enjoy it.

I'll probably start The Good Muslim by Tahmima Anam next, though I probably won't read much of it until the weekend. I'm also reading Soul Talk, Song Language: Conversations with Joy Harjo by Joy Harjo and Tanaya Winder, in honor of Native American Heritage Month.

>9 avaland: I will read Salvage the Bones this month.

I'm reading The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann as part of a group read over at the salon

I have just finished The Art of Courtly Love by Andreas Capellanus and have now picked up The Mabinogion

I am also starting Blind Voices by Tom Reamy which is a fantasy novel

>11 kidzdoc:, kidzdoc: Joy Harjo recently visited Wellington, NZ, where I live. I was unfortunately unable to attend her reading, but a fellow poet who did raved about how good she was - so I will be interested to hear what you think about this book.

I have just finished reading Blue Smoke: The Lost Dawn of New Zealand Popular Music 1918-1964, which was excellent, and The Telling by Ursula Le Guin. Le Guin is one of my favourite writers, but this wasn't in the same class as her finest novels; a bit too simplistic and diagrammatic, I felt.

Next up are two rather contrasting books: The Carbon Challenge: New Zealand's Emissions Trading Scheme, and the next novel I'm reviewing for Belletrista, Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente.

Finished two short books that will be ending up in my favorites: Machine by Peter Adolphsen and Shipwrecks by Akira Yoshimura.

Next up will be wither The Sea and Poison or nip the buds, shoot the kids

I've just finished The Giant of the French Revolution: Danton by David Lawday, which was excellent. I've picked up a copy of The Waitress was New by Dominique Fabre, but may give in to the lure of A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel.

Death Comes to Pemberley arrived in my mailbox this afternoon, so I'm reading that.

I'm reading Fordlandia, the mind-boggling story of how Henry Ford tried to construct a little bit of Dearborn in the middle of the Amazon rainforest.

I've just finished and reviewed the delightful Arthurian Romances by Chrétien de Troyes and hope to read more medieval literature over the coming year.

And now I've finished and reviewed Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi, a magical exploration of love, creativity, violence against women, courageous and cunning women, European and African folklore, and much more.

Does anyone actually read this thread? Other than the few of us who post here that is? Me thinks not.

In keeping with rebecca's theme in #19, I recently finished The Blue Fox by Iceland author Sjon. I have toyed with several books this week while sick without being able to stick to any of them (except the rather short Sjon novel), but now trying The Pyramid, a Wallander book that has been buried in my pile.

#20 Can't say, because I post here, but sometimes it leads me to a thread I haven't been following because the book sounds interesting.

Starting two books:

Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach

The City and The City by China Mieville

I'm reading, but then, I guess I count as a poster here, even if it is pretty intermittent.

I'm currently reading The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris, and dipping in and out of Idiom Savant: Slang As It Is Slung by Jerry Camarillo Dunn. (The latter is a somewhat dated collection of jargon and slang from various professions, sports, and subcultures.)

20 -
Not currently reading anything. Just studying for an upcoming exam.

I read these threads even if I don't have anything to post. I like them 'cause it reminds me to visit certain member's threads and if I see someone who's read a book I've already read or will be reading, I like to go to their thread to compare thoughts.

I'm reading and posting. Most posts are in the first few days or first week of the month, which means we're largely using these threads as a monthly what-are-you-doing-now, instead of as a daily update.

I read this post regularly, but currently I am too busy with work to update my thread or post very much here.

I'm reading a non-fiction title Dear Zari: Hidden stories from women of Afghanistan by Zarghuna Kargar. It's a compilation of women's RL stories based on a radio BBC radio program that aired stories of women across Afghanistan, much like what Xinran did for Chinese women. Fascinating and gut-wrenching at the same time.

It's been a slow reading month so far, but I am off for the rest of the week. Today I'll resume reading Old Filth by Jane Gardam, and I'll figure out which books I want to bring with me on my flight to Philadelphia tomorrow.

I read this thread. I even have it starred.

I read this thread although I post over in the What Are You Reading Now? group.

Robert

Great month for me so far with Machine and Shipwrecks, and now I've finished the enjoyable The Sea and Poison by Shusaku Endo (is it weird to find such dark and grim novel enjoyable? Maybe that's not the right word). The book is fictionalized account of the events and people who part in the vivisections of B-29 airmen during the twilight days of World War II. A short but deep exploration of the morals and ethics that cause people to commit unspeakable crimes against fellow human beings.

I think I'm going to go with a less heady and lighter read like Earth: an intimate history, a book that has sat on my reading pile for far too long.

So I lied and I did actually read a book. Just finished Seishi Yokomizo's La hache, le koto et le chrysanthème (translated as The Inugami Clan in English). Was a fun Japanese mystery story.

Kevin - I'm curious how you might like Earth.

ETA a missing word ("like")...oops

I've just finished and reviewed Devil on the Cross by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, a satirical indictment of the leaders and businessmen of post-independence Kenya.

I read this thread, too, and then jump to individuals' threads if they are reading something I am interested in.

I read every thread is this group, even though I don't always comment!

I'm reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson, and The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. I'm not particularly engaged in either of them right now.

I'm on two at the moment. Bill Bryson At Home and LEModesitt, Jr. Imager. Both going very nicely but ES:Skyrim is eating into reading time this month.

>37 C4RO: Skyrim swallowing your reading time too, huh? Guess we're in the same boat :-)

I just finished A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, which I enjoyed a lot. Started on another exploration of the 'weird' tale, with Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories by Algernon Blackwood. Creepy stuff, and fairly well-written.

In answer to Lois's question above, I don't have time (except when on holiday) to look at everyone's threads in detail, so I usually come here to see what folks have been reading and then head over to their individual threads if I want to follow up.

I read something completely outside my normal range recently: for our final meeting of the year, our book group decided that everyone would read a book by UK YA author Louise Rennison. I read Luuurve Is A Many Trousered Thing..., essentially a YA equivalent of Bridget Jones' Diary, and although it took a long time to get going, I was really enjoying it by the end.