*** What are you reading now? (Part 5)

Dette er en fortsættelse af tråden *** What are you reading now? (Part 4).

Denne tråd er fortsat i *** What are you reading now? (Part 6).

SnakClub Read 2015

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*** What are you reading now? (Part 5)

Dette emne er markeret som "i hvile"—det seneste indlæg er mere end 90 dage gammel. Du kan vække emnet til live ved at poste et indlæg.

1lilisin
jun 21, 2015, 9:09 pm

Happy reading to all those in Club Read!

Here is a fresh thread to help you along your reading journey.

2Nickelini
jun 21, 2015, 9:41 pm

Not much into reading these days, but after 3 weeks I finished Fifth Business by Robertson Davies. I've now started The Swimming Pool Library although I'm not sure if it's the right book for my mood right now.

3Polaris-
jun 22, 2015, 12:54 pm

I'm really enjoying the audio version of Arcadia right now, by Lauren Groff.

4ljbwell
jun 22, 2015, 1:45 pm

Summer vacation is growing closer, so it seemed a good time to pick up Min mormor hälsar och säger förlåt. So far it follows a similar formula to Backman's popular En man som heter Ove (A Man Called Ove).

5MsNick
jun 23, 2015, 10:47 am

I finished reading The Remedy for Love by Bill Roorbach and have started The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore, which was a birthday present to myself! I love his work!!!

6RidgewayGirl
Redigeret: jun 23, 2015, 10:57 am

I just finished Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, which was completely outside of my usual fare, being about spaceships and interplanetary relations. It also did interesting things with our conception of gender.

So now I'm reading How to Be Both by Ali Smith, beginning with the half about the Renaissance fresco painter. And I'm reading Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King. It's his detective novel and he's following the rules of the genre, but I keep expecting an outbreak of horror. If it ever gets properly hot out, I'll be able to finish The Hanging Tree by Bryan Gruley, a crime novel set on Michigan's upper peninsula, in mid-winter.

7reva8
jun 23, 2015, 11:11 am

In continuance with my Russian theme, I'm reading Andrey Kurkov's The Case of the General's Thumb. So far, it's a fun, interesting murder mystery.

8japaul22
jun 23, 2015, 12:26 pm

I've just finished Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton which I found different than I expected.

Now I'm reading We Need to Talk About Kevin. This is about a mother trying to deal with the fact that her high school son committed a mass shooting and murdered many people. The recent mass shooting that happened in South Carolina gave me the impetus to pick up this book. I'm only a little way in, but it is already very different than I expected. I was kind of expecting a page turner/train wreck that you can't look away from type of book, but I'm finding it to have a slower, more introspective pace that I think is a lot more respectful of the larger picture. I'm glad I picked it up.

9ljbwell
jun 23, 2015, 2:48 pm

>7 reva8: I've read a few of Kurkov's books, but not that one. I'll have to keep an eye out for it!

10AlisonY
jun 23, 2015, 5:31 pm

>8 japaul22: I thought We Need to Talk About Kevin was fantastic, Jennifer. Glad you're enjoying it.

11timjones
jun 24, 2015, 3:09 am

I'm reading The Conductor by Sarah Quigley, a novel about the creation of Dmitri Shostakovich's Leningrad (Seventh) Symphony during the Siege of Leningrad in World War II; and slowly progressing through short story (actually, long story) collection Autobiography of a Corpse by Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky. I've just finished the excellent Why Translation matters by Edith Grossman.

12MsNick
jun 24, 2015, 9:00 am

>8 japaul22: We Need to Talk About Kevin is on my TBR list. I also wanted to let you know that I've lived in Charleston for around 10 years and the community is as loving and united as it's ever been, if not more so, in the wake of last week's tragedy at Emmanuel AME.

13japaul22
jun 24, 2015, 9:14 am

>12 MsNick: That is good to hear. Thanks for sharing that. We Need to Talk About Kevin is obviously a different situation than what happened in SC (and of course is fictional!), but recent events just reminded me that I've been meaning to read this.

14rebeccanyc
jun 24, 2015, 11:53 am

>11 timjones: I'll be interested in what you think of Autobiography of Corpse. And I've been meaning to read Why Translation Matters for years.

15AlisonY
jun 24, 2015, 6:35 pm

I've finally finished Villages by John Updike, my first attempt at reading a book on my laptop (which totally sucked - I'm definitely a print girl). Currently dithering about what to read next - my library holds aren't coming in quickly enough, and my TBRs at home seem too heavy for my current reading mood.

16reva8
jun 25, 2015, 4:33 am

>9 ljbwell: Oh, which ones have you read? I picked up The Case of the General's Thumb and Penguin Lost - which I'll read next.
>11 timjones: I'm looking forward to your comments on Autobiography of a Corpse too - this is coming up soon on my TBR list.

17AlisonY
jun 25, 2015, 11:17 am

After some successful shelf surfing at the library I now have a pile of new books to cover the next few weeks. First up is The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen.

18kaylaraeintheway
jun 25, 2015, 7:06 pm

Just started Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson and I'm really liking it so far. Also, still making my way through The Best American Short Stories 2007 and Northern Lights: A Selection of New Writing from the American West. I'm getting ready to move in a few days, so my reading will probably be put on hold until next week.

19alphaorder
jun 26, 2015, 9:28 am

I am looking forward to reading Summerlong this weekend!

20MsNick
jun 26, 2015, 11:47 am

>19 alphaorder: Sounds interesting! Let us know what you think!

21mabith
jun 27, 2015, 12:34 am

I just finished a re-read of North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, still love it so much. Now I've started Cat Daddy, a memoir by a cat behaviorist, and I'm hoping to get back to my print book The Beauty and the Sorrow: An Intimate History of the First World War.

22ljbwell
Redigeret: jun 27, 2015, 1:28 am

>16 reva8: Death and the Penguin, Penguin Lost, and The Gardener from Ochakov. If you haven't read Death and the Penguin, I would honestly recommend starting with that before Penguin Lost.

23reva8
jun 27, 2015, 2:14 am

>22 ljbwell: Thank you! I shall have to look for Death and the Penguin!

24dchaikin
jun 27, 2015, 11:48 am

After a lull during a recent family road trip I'm slowly working through Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. And an old book trying to discover the route followed by Ulysses, Ulysses Found by Ernie Bradford.

On Audio I'm struggling with Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. The content is interesting, but the text is not.

25Nickelini
jun 29, 2015, 1:44 pm

Just finished The Swimming Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst, which I liked much more than I expected to.

26mabith
jun 29, 2015, 3:44 pm

I've started The Master and Margarita, but I'm not really enjoying it or finding it interesting. Debating chucking it, but with classics I do try to finish them and it's easier to stick with an audiobook, at least.

27dchaikin
jun 29, 2015, 4:12 pm

Meredith, it does get easier. The beginning is a bit dry. Also, context helps. I would recommend reading up on the author on Wikipedia. Not that I think you need to suffer through the book. Just, if you wanted to keep at it.

28mabith
Redigeret: jun 29, 2015, 4:48 pm

>27 dchaikin: Yeah, I did the Wikipedia author and book search to help me a bit. Not sure it worked! I am not a lover of anything close to magical realism but somehow I keep trying. I'm into part two now and I think I'm enjoying that more? My dad recommended it, so I'll finish it to humor him at least. It has made me decide not to re-read Cards of Identity by Nigel Dennis, another of my dad's favorites which I read late in high school. I thought I should give it another go now that I'm older, but I think I"ll enjoy it less now.

29avidmom
jun 29, 2015, 6:25 pm

>26 mabith: That's another one of those books that intimidates me a bit. From what I've read here on LT from people who have read it, not all translations are created equally. I think there have been some group reads of The Master and Margarita here too. Looking that up may be helpful.

It's nice of you to read the books your dad recommends. :)

30mabith
jun 29, 2015, 7:30 pm

>29 avidmom: For me I think it's just the fact of magical realism being something I really don't enjoy. Since I'm doing it via audiobook I went with the best reader for me, especially since I think the novel probably does better in print. It's the Michael Karpelson translation which is relatively recent and supposed to be a pretty good balance of readability and Russian idiom. The style is very consistent, in any case.

My dad reads plenty that I recommend to him, so I try to pay back the favor. It gets problematic with fiction because he just recommends what he likes rather than books he actually thinks I'll enjoy. Have to read some of them though, otherwise he might change his library login so I can't my recommended books on hold for him!

31Nickelini
jun 29, 2015, 7:59 pm

>30 mabith: For me I think it's just the fact of magical realism being something I really don't enjoy

I haven't read The Master and Margarita yet (one day!), so I can't comment on that, but I'm interested in what it is about magic realism that you don't like. I tend to really like it in novels, and I don't understand why some readers don't. It would be boring if we all liked and disliked the same things, but as a writer, I'd like to learn what it is about MR that turns readers off. (If you're so in the mood to elaborate).

32dchaikin
jun 29, 2015, 8:09 pm

Master and Margarita is a fun book. Thought I should mention that. I was intimidated before I read it, but there's no need to be.

33mabith
jun 29, 2015, 9:09 pm

>31 Nickelini: Joyce, it's hard for me to totally put my finger on, just when I read books that often have that label I don't enjoy them. Though, I think one can consider Life After Life and Behind the Scenes at the Museum magical realism, and I really loved both of those, but the fantasy elements were integral and personal to the main characters only and both books had a historical setting that I was very familiar with. I'm not a huge fantasy person to begin with, but in some ways it feels like the whole idea of 'magical realism' as a separate genre was a snobby move by people who didn't want to be considered fantasy writers (the way some do with sci-fi). That's not really a reason I don't like them, just something I was thinking about today. I know for some people they find it best and most illustrating to see present-day issues through a lens of fantasy or sci-fi fiction, I'm the opposite, if I'm reading about oppression, war, racism, genocide, etc... I want first and foremost to read non-fiction and then firmly rooted historical fiction. Maybe that's part of it.

I'm a few hours into part two now though, and it's definitely picked up for me. Perhaps that's how long it took truly memorize all the names though! I don't think it's a book anyone needs to be intimidated by, but definitely one to read in print (vs audio, only I knew I'd never read it if I didn't get the audio version).

34StevenTX
jun 29, 2015, 10:43 pm

To me, magical realism has worked on some books but not in others. I just finished Salman Rushdie's Shame, in which it is very effective. The Master and Margarita is one of my all-time favorites.

35rebeccanyc
jun 30, 2015, 11:49 am

I loved The Master and Margarita too. My edition had a lot of helpful notes.

36reva8
jul 1, 2015, 8:01 am

I finished Sangeeta Bandyopadhay's Abandon, and Saeed Jones' Prelude to Bruise and have now moved on, after much gazing-at-the-TBR, to AS Byatt's Ragnarok, The End of the Gods

37japaul22
jul 1, 2015, 8:12 am

I've started three books - Lucia's Progress, the fifth book in the Mapp and Lucia series; Alberta Alone, the third book in a trilogy by Norweigian Cora Sandel; and The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss.

38rebeccanyc
jul 1, 2015, 10:48 am

Oh, I loved The Black Count. It's so readable, and yet so thoroughly researched.

39AlisonY
jul 2, 2015, 5:24 am

Just finished The Corrections, which I really enjoyed. On to Girl with a Pearl Earring.

40alphaorder
jul 2, 2015, 7:36 am

>39 AlisonY:
Loved Girl with a Pearl Earring. Looking forward to hear what you think of it.

Reading Kate Walbert's new novel, The Sunken Cathedral.

41Nickelini
jul 2, 2015, 3:05 pm

Joyce, it's hard for me to totally put my finger on, just when I read books that often have that label I don't enjoy them. Though, I think one can consider Life After Life and Behind the Scenes at the Museum magical realism, and I really loved both of those, but the fantasy elements were integral and personal to the main characters only and both books had a historical setting that I was very familiar with. I'm not a huge fantasy person to begin with, but in some ways it feels like the whole idea of 'magical realism' as a separate genre was a snobby move by people who didn't want to be considered fantasy writers (the way some do with sci-fi). That's not really a reason I don't like them, just something I was thinking about today. I know for some people they find it best and most illustrating to see present-day issues through a lens of fantasy or sci-fi fiction, I'm the opposite, if I'm reading about oppression, war, racism, genocide, etc... I want first and foremost to read non-fiction and then firmly rooted historical fiction. Maybe that's part of it.

Thanks for your thoughts on this. I'm the opposite of you in that I tend to really like books that are labelled magic or magical realism, and when others say "oh, I won't like that because I hate MR," it just puzzles me.

As for fantasy and sci-fi, I can't think of any two genres that I find more boring, so I don't think MR is fantasy for snobs. When I encounter an MR element in a novel (if it's done right), I think "that's so cool," but if I pick up a fantasy or sci-fi, I really struggle to keep my eyes from glazing over. (That said, I'm sure there are some fantasy and some sci-fi novels that I'd like. John Wyndam comes to mind). I've always liked things that were a little off, or what I call the Twilight Zone element. You think it's a normal situation . . . and then something impossible happens. I guess I can see where I think "cool," other readers think "well, that couldn't happen--what's that doing here?".

42RidgewayGirl
jul 2, 2015, 3:19 pm

Magic realism does have to be very carefully done to be successful, I think. But when it works, it really works.

I've just finished Daydreams of Angels by Heather O'Neill, which was an excellent collection of short stories similar in tone to Karen Russell, only set in working class Montreal.

I'm reading Nora Webster, Colm Tóibín's newest novel. I'd forgotten how spellbinding he can make an ordinary life. And I've finally begun my first Trollope, The Warden.

43bragan
jul 3, 2015, 11:30 am

I'm going into the second half of the year with Stephen King's Bag of Bones. Which isn't bad, but it makes me once again wistfully long for the impossible existence of an editor who would actually tell King he needs to cut his books down into something shorter and tauter.

44MsNick
jul 4, 2015, 9:50 pm

Just finished reading The Serpent of Venice, which I liked, but didn't love. Up next: In Wilderness by Diane Thomas for ER.

45Nickelini
jul 5, 2015, 2:09 am

I started John Lanchester's Capital and so far I'm really enjoying it.

46alphaorder
jul 5, 2015, 8:32 am

Enjoying Saint Mazie.

47rebeccanyc
jul 6, 2015, 11:58 am

Although it took me a while, I've just finished and reviewed Phineas Redux, the thoroughly enjoyable fourth novel in Trollope's Palliser series. I continue to be hugely impressed by Trollope's characterization of women.

48bragan
jul 6, 2015, 1:07 pm

I finished the giant Stephen King novel, and am now reading Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle by Daniel L. Everett, which is interesting. Next up: Shovel Ready by Adam Sternbergh.

49NanaCC
jul 6, 2015, 2:45 pm

I am just back after two weeks in Cape Cod, where I only finished two books. Grandchildren and puzzles kept me busy. I finished Pomfret Towers by Angela Thirkell, and The Yard by Alex Gecian. I'm currently reading The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri, and listening to Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope.

50reva8
jul 7, 2015, 12:40 am

I began Jeffrey Eugenides's Middlesex, which is fascinating, so far.

51RidgewayGirl
jul 7, 2015, 4:39 am

The Warden by Anthony Trollope hasn't aged well - I suspect that nineteenth century Church of England politics were more interesting in, well, the nineteenth century. Still, the writing was fine and reminded me, once again, of how satisfying a Victorian novel can be. I'll be reading Barchester Towers soon and have high hopes.

I'm going to try and finish The Hanging Tree by Bryan Gruley today, as it's set on Michigan's Upper Peninsula in the dead of winter. Today, it's supposed to hit 95 for the last time for a few weeks at least, so a book set somewhere cold is in order.

52japaul22
Redigeret: jul 7, 2015, 1:11 pm

I'm reading too many books right now. I'm almost done with Lucia's Progress, one of the Mapp and Lucia books. I'm reading The Black Count for nonfiction and have just started Shusaku Endo's Silence with a group read. I'm also listening to a Maisie Dobbs mystery, Pardonable Lies but of course an audiobook that I have on hold at the library just became available, Sixth Extinction which was up for the Pulitzer this year.

And I also really want to get to Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen and a reread of Emma this month.

Yikes. Feeling a bit overwhelmed by good books.

ETA: Also, watching Wimbledon is not helping.

53lilisin
jul 7, 2015, 7:41 pm

>52 japaul22:

I understand about having a sports tournament to watch! With the Women's World Cup now over, perhaps I can at least get back to pretending like I'm reading.

54japaul22
jul 7, 2015, 7:50 pm

>53 lilisin:
I watched the last two games that the US women played in. Very exciting! So who were you rooting for - US or Japan? :-)

55avidmom
jul 7, 2015, 7:51 pm

>52 japaul22: I absolutely loved Endo's Silence. Yikes. Feeling a bit overwhelmed by good books. LOL! Not a bad way to be overwhelmed....

My RL book club (the one that I rarely get a chance to attend) is reading To Kill A Mockingbird. I finished my copy this morning and think I actually came away loving it more than I did the first time I read it. Now I've started reading a book I stumbled across titled Scout, Atticus and Boo by Mary Murphy. Probably the first time I've read a book about a book!

56lilisin
jul 7, 2015, 9:55 pm

>54 japaul22:

I'm actually a perfectly neutral sports watcher; I just want to watch a beautiful game and since I like both teams it would have been hard to choose a side. (Although France should have beaten Germany in the quarters. Argh!)

Wish I could read Silence along with you. Even if I were in a reading mood, that book is back on my shelves in the US.

57ursula
Redigeret: jul 8, 2015, 11:06 am

>52 japaul22: Usually Wimbledon doesn't help my reading either, but this year I'm overall pretty disinterested in those left. I am rooting for Wawrinka, or I suppose Federer.

ETA I guess I should have said something about my reading. I'm enjoying The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and nearly finished with The Good Soldier Schweik, which I picked up in Venice without knowing I'd be going to Prague soon and it would therefore gain in relevance.

58NanaCC
jul 8, 2015, 11:02 am

I finished reading The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri. first in the Inspector Montalbano mystery series.

Later today, I will be starting A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra.

59reva8
jul 8, 2015, 12:18 pm

I finished Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, which I rather enjoyed, and began a translation of Telugu short stories, called, intriguingly, Father May Be An Elephant, and Mother, Only a Small Basket, But... by Gogu Shyamala.

60rebeccanyc
jul 8, 2015, 4:29 pm

>58 NanaCC: Are you going to be as addicted as I was to Camilleri?

61AlisonY
jul 10, 2015, 4:23 pm

>59 reva8: Middlesex is one of my favourite books. Glad you enjoyed it!

Just back from a glorious week away and managed to get through 3 books. Finished On the Night Plain by J. Robert Lennon, Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, and then went off plan when I found 2 bookshelves of books to borrow and got stuck into Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir. Reviews to follow shortly.

62avidmom
jul 10, 2015, 4:28 pm

I finished Scout, Atticus and Boo yesterday and Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey Now by Maya Angelou and will start reading Paul Simon: A Life by Marc Eliot. I don't know anything about him really, so should be interesting.

63alphaorder
jul 12, 2015, 3:33 pm

64MsNick
jul 13, 2015, 9:21 am

>63 alphaorder: - Oh, I hope it's great! Let us know what you think!

65mabith
jul 13, 2015, 10:34 am

>41 Nickelini: Well, magical realism is surely a sub-genre of fantasy, so obviously you like some of it! I'm not a big fantasy or SF reader, but they're both such huge, varied genres. I try not to discount any book solely on genre. Thinking about it more I'd say that most of the magical realism I've read feels neither character nor plot driven, and that may be part of my problem. It often doesn't feel like it serves that much purpose.

I'm nearly done with Gulag: A History which has absolutely flown by. I'm listening to the audiobook and thought I'd want to take a break in the middle (it's 27 hours long), but no. Should be finishing it today after which I'll start All the Birds, Singing. Still reading Pushkin Hills as well.

66Nickelini
jul 13, 2015, 1:04 pm

>65 mabith: Well, magical realism is surely a sub-genre of fantasy, so obviously you like some of it!

The definition of magic realism is notoriously difficult to pin down, but when I studied it as part of my English degree, it certainly wasn't considered a sub-genre of fantasy. Fantasy is escapist, and set in invented worlds; MR reveals the magic in this world and is a subversive critique of social or political situations. Wikipedia has a pretty good article about it and goes into some depth with comparing it to fantasy. I think part of the problem with defining MR is that it uses ways of thinking that are unusual in western culture.

67Nickelini
jul 13, 2015, 8:41 pm

>66 Nickelini: Further to my post above, I was interrupted at home and didn't get to finish. . . . having said all that, because of its slippery definition, I think one could read the Wikipedia article (or any other similar piece on MR) and say "yeah, that's nice. I still think it's fantasy," and others--like me--can say it's its own thing separate from fantasy.

68NanaCC
jul 13, 2015, 10:06 pm

I just finished listening to Framley Parsonage, the fourth book in the Chronicles of Barsetshire by Anthony Trollope. My favorite of the series so far. I'll write up something on my thread tomorrow.

Next up for audio is The End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina.

69StevenTX
jul 13, 2015, 10:08 pm

Recently finished Tomorrow's Eve from my science fiction list and The Female Quixote from the 1001 Books list. I'm still working on Plato, am halfway through Literal Madness by Kathy Acker, and just started The Music of Chance by Paul Auster.

70bragan
jul 13, 2015, 10:22 pm

I've just finished The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, which was just as charming as everybody says it is. Next, I'll be returning to C. J. Cherryh's Foreigner series with Precursor.

71dchaikin
jul 13, 2015, 10:51 pm

Started the recently roughed up Paradise by Toni Morrison. Also reading Ezekiel, listening to What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell, and tinkering with reading an issue of Tin House.

As for Paradise, and review on amazon says, "To the causal reader, the novel is almost completely indiscernible due to the very complex and very confusing plot structure and lack of an active narrative voice." For all my goal obsessions, I'm still very much the casual reader. We'll see how it goes.

72rebeccanyc
jul 14, 2015, 8:05 am

I've been dipping in and out of Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov for about six weeks now, and have finally finished and reviewed it

73MsNick
jul 14, 2015, 8:14 am

Read and reviewed In Wilderness for ER and I'm now in the middle of The Star Side of Bird Hill by Naomi Jackson, which is terrific so far!

74weird_O
jul 14, 2015, 10:27 am

I'm enjoying a re-read of Faulkner's The Unvanquished. Putting off a return to chapter VI of Under the Volcano.

75RidgewayGirl
jul 14, 2015, 3:03 pm

I'm reading Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope. So far he's just introducing the new characters, but they are quite colorful.

And I've been utterly sucked into the second book in Elena Ferrante's quartet, The Story of a New Name.

76rebeccanyc
Redigeret: jul 15, 2015, 9:12 am

And now I've finished The Buddha's Return, an inventive, philosophical novella which I liked better than Gazdanov's The Spectre of Alexander Wolf.

77Helenliz
jul 15, 2015, 9:50 am

I'm reading (and trying to complete) property sale forms. Blinking 'eck, it's like reading something very hard and impenetrable. I recognise every word, but feel like I have very little clue what's actually being asked. The box for "not known" is getting a fair deal of use.

For light relief, I have The lost continent on audio and A man lay dead to start as a reading book.

78nrmay
jul 15, 2015, 11:05 am

Just started Divorce Papers by Susan Rieger. Liking it so far. Female lawyer, funny.

79japaul22
jul 16, 2015, 1:13 pm

I'm just about to finish The Black Count by Tom Reiss which has been very enjoyable.

I've recently started Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri and Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris.

On audio I've finished a Maisie Dobbs mystery and started The Sixth Extinction which won the 2015 Pulitzer for general nonfiction and is very interesting so far.

And on my shelf is sitting the new release of Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman. I've had misgivings about reading it because of the possibility that Harper Lee herself may not be fully competent to decide whether or not to publish it, but it was bought for me as a gift and I can't resist reading it. I love To Kill a Mockingbird and am so curious to read this initial attempt to see how it morphed into the book I love. After I finish any of the above non-audio books, I will start it.

80Nickelini
jul 16, 2015, 1:19 pm

Just finished the very long Capital by John Lanchester, which was a fun read. Now starting Irma Voth by Miriam Toews because the title makes me laugh. I also have an armful of various non-fiction books going.

81avidmom
jul 16, 2015, 9:58 pm

I'm reading Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die by Willie Nelson. The best thing about this book is when my son asked me this morning, "What are you reading?" He gave me a funny look.

82rebeccanyc
Redigeret: jul 18, 2015, 10:18 am

I've just finished the strange and disturbing The Invention of Morel, a novella that explores obsession, the nature of reality and image, and sanity and insanity.

And I've started Desert for the Reading Globally theme read on Nobel laureates who didn't write in English.

83ELiz_M
jul 17, 2015, 4:20 pm

I've recently finished World's End by T. C. Boyle and on audio The Uncommon Reader. I've started The Sixth Extinction and am slooowly making my way through The Busconductor Hines.

84alphaorder
jul 17, 2015, 6:33 pm

>83 ELiz_M:
How do you like The Sixth Extinction? It is on mount TBR.

86NanaCC
Redigeret: jul 19, 2015, 7:43 am

I finished reading A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra. This is quite a powerful book which takes place during five days of the war in Chechnya in 2004. I'm still trying to decide whether to change my 4.5 stars to a 5.

For my next book, I've decided to go with The Brutal Telling: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louise Penny.

**Edited to fix the year.

87ELiz_M
jul 19, 2015, 7:40 am

>84 alphaorder: I've only read a a couple of chapters of The Sixth Extinction, but it's good. In some ways it is "preaching to the choir" -- so far the major concepts are not new, but the details are interesting and clearly presented.

88RidgewayGirl
jul 19, 2015, 7:48 am

I've stopped all my other reading because A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler is all I want to read.

I finished The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante, the second in her Neapolitan series. It was fantastic. I immediately grabbed a copy of the third book and will start as soon as I finish the Tyler.

89avidmom
jul 19, 2015, 3:35 pm

I finished Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. about the making of the movie, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" this morning and will concentrate on reading Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie.

90MarcusBastos
jul 19, 2015, 11:36 pm

Just finished: Ancient Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction, by Julia Annas. A well written book. I posted a brief review in my tread. Next: Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction, by Edward Craig. I will begin shortly Frederick Copleston, A History of Philosophy, volume one.

91OscarWilde87
jul 20, 2015, 4:14 am

I'm still reading The Bear and the Dragon which is quite lenghty at over a 1,000 pages but I have to admit that I like it so far (despite the usual padding that Clancy has in his books). I'm rather towards the ending (page 900, that is...) and I hope the ending will not disappoint me.

92japaul22
jul 20, 2015, 9:53 am

I've finished and reviewed Go Set a Watchman and Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen.

I'm still reading Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth and listening to The Sixth Extinction. I've also started The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas.

93Helenliz
jul 20, 2015, 1:39 pm

I've just got The unbearable lightness of being on audiobook or the car. It's all a bit strange so far...

94AnnieMod
jul 20, 2015, 1:56 pm

Just finished Whispering Death (and Disher needs to get around and write some more - I really really like his style).

Started Zakes Mda's Black Diamond - so far I am not sure where the story is going, I really do not like most of the characters (but you do not need to like them all in order to like a story) but I like the style and the picture of post apartheid South Africa is fascinating. And I already learned something I never knew - where the name of Soweto is coming from - wiki would have told me the same but I never had a reason to look it up as I never knew it is actually an abbreviation .

95NanaCC
jul 20, 2015, 10:02 pm

I finished listening to The End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina. I enjoyed this second book in the DS Alex Morrow series.

Next up for audio is Finn by Jon Cinch, a retelling of the Huck Finn story.

96bragan
jul 21, 2015, 3:38 am

Over the weekend, I read an ER book, Godless Grace: How Non-Believers are Making the World Safer, Richer and Kinder by David Orenstein and Linda Ford Blaikie. I feel kind of bad that my main response to it was to want to recommend better books instead.

I then zipped through The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, which I thought was delightful, and am now reading Smarter Than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for the Better by Clive Thompson.

97FlorenceArt
jul 21, 2015, 5:53 am

I am reading Conjectures and Refutations by Karl Popper and liking it very much. Also enjoying Le père Goriot.

98MsNick
jul 21, 2015, 10:01 am

>96 bragan: I always feel a little crummy when I don't love an ARC! I'm glad you liked The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry - it's on my (gargantuan) TBR list!

99PawsforThought
jul 21, 2015, 10:33 am

I'm in the middle of so many books I've had to put myself on lockdown. No TV and no movies until I finish at least one book.

100avidmom
jul 21, 2015, 10:03 pm

>99 PawsforThought: Haha! :)

After reading Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M., I headed for the library and checked out Truman Capote's Breakfast At Tiffany's It is an extremely short story (113 pages total). Am enjoying it so far. I've never read anything by Capote.

101StevenTX
jul 22, 2015, 12:53 am

Just finished The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks.

>99 PawsforThought: If you can give TV up for one book, you can give it up forever!

102reva8
jul 22, 2015, 1:52 am

I'm still reading Shishkin's The Light and the Dark but in the interim, I finished (and reviewed!) three books: Revolutionaries by Hobsbawm, Nammalvar's Hymns for the Drowning and The Revolutionary Art of the Future: Rediscovered Poems by Hugh MacDiarmid.

>99 PawsforThought: I'm in the same position! Too many on the currently-reading list, and too many more on the TBR.

103bragan
jul 22, 2015, 2:41 am

>98 MsNick: I usually don't feel too bad when I don't like an Early Reviewers book, it's just that in this particular case I really appreciated what the authors were trying to do, in terms of raising awareness and showcasing worthwhile stories and getting certain ideas out there. But I couldn't really help them with that, not if I'm committed to giving honest reviews. (Which I am.) Because I thought the book itself was a bit... meh. Not bad. But meh. Ah, well.

Oh, and while I'm here... I've already finished Smarter Than You Think, because it was a surprisingly compulsive read, and am now about to start Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel José Older.

104rebeccanyc
jul 22, 2015, 8:31 am

>100 avidmom: The book is very different from the movie, which lightened everything up.

105AlisonY
jul 22, 2015, 5:32 pm

I've had my second abandonment of the year :( After painfully trying to wade through more cliches and similes than I care to remember, I've given up on Shotgun Lovesongs. On to The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks.

106dchaikin
jul 23, 2015, 10:08 pm

I started A Malaysian Journey by Rehman Rashid. From 1993, it's part memoir, part travel, part history of Malaysia, and so far quite good. I bought it without knowing what is exactly was, so it's been a nice surprise.

And listening to As You Wish, Cary Elwes's newish memoir on the making of The Princess Bride.

107AnnieMod
jul 25, 2015, 3:18 am

I am struggling with The Girl with All the Gifts. The first chapters are wonderful - the way the story is told, the story itself and then it starts dragging. Badly. 1/3rd into the book and I am wondering why I am still reading. I think I will give it 100 more pages to see if that will pass but for now I am taking a break from it. Anyone with any opinions on it?

And while I am letting it sit for a bit, I am off to a meeting with an old friend in Mark Billingham's The Bones Beneath

108rebeccanyc
jul 25, 2015, 8:27 am

I finished Desert by J.M.G. Le Clézio; although I'm a Le Clézio fan, I didn't like this book, which I read for the Reading Globally theme read on Nobel winners who didn't write in English, as much as other books by Le Clézio that I've read.

109Nickelini
jul 25, 2015, 1:04 pm

I've just started Beyond Black, by Hilary Mantel. Despite being nominated for the Orange Prize and the Booker Prize, and also making the Guardian 1000 list, I have my doubts about this one. But I'll give it a go . . .

110japaul22
jul 25, 2015, 1:50 pm

>109 Nickelini: I have that one on my shelf. I bought because I've loved Mantel's historical fiction, but it never sounds appealing when I go to pick out a book. I'll be curious to find out your reaction!

111Nickelini
jul 25, 2015, 2:06 pm

>110 japaul22: but it never sounds appealing

Exactly my thoughts. So far there's some good writing, so I hope I can put aside my skepticism about the subject matter and enjoy it.

112rebeccanyc
jul 25, 2015, 2:07 pm

>109 Nickelini: >110 japaul22: I enjoyed Beyond Black but I can see why some readers wouldn't. It isn't one of my favorites of Mantel's, but it does exemplify one of the things I like about her -- that she isn't afraid to try something new.

113japaul22
jul 25, 2015, 2:42 pm

>112 rebeccanyc: Good to know, Rebecca. I'm sure I'll try it eventually!

I've just finished The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas which was beautiful. Also recently finished listening to The Sixth Extinction and reading Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri.

Now I'm reading The Eustace Diamonds by Trollope and listening to White Tiger on audio at Nickelini/Joyce's recommendation.

114RidgewayGirl
jul 25, 2015, 2:46 pm

I just finished Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante. I'm currently weeping and gnashing my teeth as the next and final book will not be released in English until September.

116bragan
jul 25, 2015, 6:51 pm

I finally got around to reading The Martian after constantly intending to do so for the last year, and am now reading Half Empty by David Rakoff. I think the transition between those two books has given me a weird sort of literary whiplash.

117MsNick
jul 25, 2015, 7:59 pm

>116 bragan: Your literary whiplash comment made me laugh out loud. I think we've all been there at one point. :)

118Nickelini
jul 26, 2015, 6:57 pm

>110 japaul22:, >112 rebeccanyc: Well, I'm only 50 pages in, but so far I'm loving Beyond Black. It's so much better than I expected.

119FlorenceArt
Redigeret: jul 27, 2015, 4:23 am

I tried to start reading In the Woods by Tana French, and found the prose annoyingly pompous. I managed to drag through the short prologue, and now I'm wondering whether I should make an effort to read one or two chapters more. Reading the reviews here and on Amazon didn't help, all the negative reviews seem to be complaining about the plot and the ending. I don't care if the murder is not resolved or the plot is not perfect, what I want is a well-written book that makes me care about the characters. Unfortunately everyone seems to like French's style, except me.

I know several of you have liked this book. Do you think I should give it one more chance?

120rebeccanyc
jul 27, 2015, 7:36 am

I haven't read In the Woods but I'm a big believer in giving up on books you don't like. There are just so many books out there . . .

121RidgewayGirl
jul 27, 2015, 7:37 am

>119 FlorenceArt: I love her novels, but I'd never thought her style was pompous. I think that if you don't like her writing, you should give up - it's not like there aren't plenty of other things to read!

122FlorenceArt
Redigeret: jul 27, 2015, 8:00 am

>120 rebeccanyc: So am I, but in this case I'm a bit puzzled because everyone else seems to like her style. Oh well, I read a few more lines in chapter 1 and confirmed that I'm not going to read this book. One less in the TBR list!

>121 RidgewayGirl: Well, as mentioned I seem to be the only one who thinks that! But this was (I think) her first book. I downloaded an excerpt from the latest, The Secret Place, and got the feeling it was much less "lyrical" and more suited to my taste. I may try to read that one later.

123MsNick
Redigeret: jul 29, 2015, 11:12 am

Finished a dreadful book and am now happily reading Let Me Explain You by Annie Liontas. I couldn't resist this one - I'm half Greek and the blurb I read hit home!

124alphaorder
jul 29, 2015, 7:35 am

Reading Between the World and Me. Powerful, timely book that I highly recommend.

125NanaCC
jul 29, 2015, 9:12 am

I finished The Complaints by Ian Rankin. It is a very solid police procedural by one of my new (since LT) favorite authors.

My next print book is My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.

I am still listening to Bryant & May The Burning Man by Christopher Fowler. After that I will listen to The Merry Misogynist: The Dr. Siri Investigations by Colin Cotterill. I had originally intended to listen to Finn by Jon Clinch, but have young kids in the car quite a bit right now during summer vacation, and I don't want to mistakenly have them hear it. I am pretty sure their parents wouldn't approve. I'll save that one for the fall.

126StevenTX
jul 29, 2015, 3:06 pm

I've just posted my review of Salman Rushdie's forthcoming novel Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights. It's been a long time since they've had an Early Reviewer selection that I really wanted to read, but this was worth the wait.

127Helenliz
jul 29, 2015, 3:21 pm

I've just finished a first for me - a disappointing Pratchett book. I didn't find the adventures of teenage witch, Tiffany Aching, as told in I Shall Wear Midnight to be up to his usual standard. Maybe I'm not the target audience and have an attention span longer than a goldfish, but it felt superficial.

I've nearly finished The Unbearable Lightness of Being and I think if it has meaning, it's passed me by.

128AlisonY
jul 29, 2015, 6:58 pm

I've just finished the macabre but brilliant The Wasp Factory. Now on to Mitch Albom's For One More Day, which for some reason I'm worried I'll hate despite the good reviews.

129baswood
Redigeret: jul 29, 2015, 7:41 pm

I'm reading The Mummy, A tale of the twenty-second century by Mrs Jane Loudon

130MarcusBastos
jul 29, 2015, 10:57 pm

Just finished to listen A Secular Age, by Charles Taylor. Next in the listening list: C. H. Spurgeon, All of Grace. I put a brief review of the former in my tread.

131bragan
jul 30, 2015, 6:19 am

In the last couple of days, I've finished Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson, which I was much less impressed by than most people seem to have been, and The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, which was OK, but also not as great as it was hyped to be. Next up is The Magician King by Lev Grossman. Not sure how I'll feel about this one. It's been a while since I read the first book in the series, but I had kind of mixed feelings about it.

>126 StevenTX: You've put Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights on my wishlist! The only Rushdie I've read so far was Haroun and the Sea of Stories, but I really enjoyed it, and this one sounds likely to be just as good.

132MarcusBastos
jul 30, 2015, 9:36 am

Finished C. H. Spurgeon, All of Grace. Next in the listening adventure: Life of Greece, Will Durant second volume in his History of Civilization.

133kidzdoc
jul 30, 2015, 12:39 pm

This morning I finished In the City of Bikes: The Story of the Amsterdam Cyclist by Pete Jordan, which I enjoyed. I'll start reading Dearest Father by Franz Kafka, and resume reading Project Fatherhood: A Story of Courage and Healing in One of America's Toughest Communities by Jorja Leap, which is set in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts.

134twogerbils
Redigeret: jul 30, 2015, 2:28 pm

>127 Helenliz: lol about The Unbearable Lightness of Being. I read it years ago and remember being very excited about it, but clearly whatever meaning I might have gotten out of it then hasn't stuck with me.

135dchaikin
jul 31, 2015, 4:19 pm

On audio I started I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron. It's only 3 hours long and quite entertaining so far.

I finished As You Wish, also on audio, and Paradise by Toni Morrison, which I actually had to read. I miss the former and i'm still puzzling over the later.

136kidzdoc
jul 31, 2015, 4:23 pm

I'm a bit more than halfway through Grey Souls (US title: By a Slow River) by Philippe Claudel, which is excellent so far.

137AlisonY
jul 31, 2015, 4:29 pm

So much for thinking I'd hate For One More Day - I whizzed through it and loved it. Poignant and easy summer reading. On now to Vanessa and her Sister, which I'm not sure I'll enjoy, but my library were so fantastic in buying it for me I feel I owe it to them to give it a go. God bless our libraries.

138rebeccanyc
aug 1, 2015, 8:29 am

I finished the delightful Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, which I inexplicably hadn't read earlier even though I've been reading a lot of Amado.

139RidgewayGirl
aug 1, 2015, 12:31 pm

I'm reading Disclaimer by Renée Knight, which hasn't grabbed me yet, so I'm considering The Sacrifice by Joyce Carol Oates and The Telling Error by Sophie Hannah.

140avidmom
aug 1, 2015, 1:28 pm

I set aside Stranger In A Strange Land because I managed, to my great surprise, nab a copy of Go Set A Watchman from the library. I'm really liking it too.

141dchaikin
aug 3, 2015, 9:54 pm

Flipping audiobooks. I'm now listening to Creationists: Selected Essays: 1993-2006 by E. L. Doctorow. It gets terrible ratings, but so far has included terrific essays on Genesis and Herman Melville. Makes me want to read Moby Dick again.

142AnnieMod
aug 4, 2015, 1:11 am

Reading Happy are the Happy which is... strange. I do not hate it but I do not love it either and in some places, it seems to be trying too hard to shock. Short enough to finish it though.

Meanwhile long flights in the next few days so will catch up on some reason. Not sure what I am bringing with me yet - anyone wants to recommend anything from my Library collection? :)

143bragan
aug 5, 2015, 12:07 pm

I'm now reading The Road to Wellville by T. Coraghessan Boyle. Which is a decent book based around an interestingly quirky bit of history, but is maybe a bit longer than it should be.

144avidmom
aug 5, 2015, 3:00 pm

I'm back to Stranger In A Strange Land after finishing Go Set A Watchman a few days ago.

145StevenTX
aug 5, 2015, 11:58 pm

I just finished and reviewed Three Science Fiction Novellas: From Prehistory to the End of Mankind by J.-H. Rosny aîné, a Belgian contemporary of H. G. Wells. These are remarkable works by an author who deserves to be better known.

146AnnieMod
aug 7, 2015, 2:17 am

Just finished Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie - and it is a marvelous novel. Finishing Yasmina Reza's Happy are the Happy tonight and next on the list is Toni Morrison's God Help the Child

147AlisonY
aug 8, 2015, 6:02 am

Totally Bloomsbury Group enthralled and fascinated after finishing Vanessa and her Sister. I feel I will have to read some more Woolf or EM Forster very soon, but in the meantime on to the short Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

148ELiz_M
aug 8, 2015, 8:24 am

I'm nearing the end of The Crab-Flower Club by Cao Xueqin which is charming until my modern sensibilities cringe at the treatment of inferiors. Although I should pick up the next volume(s), I am already eying a short-story collection....

149bragan
aug 8, 2015, 11:17 am

I'm now reading String Theory for Dummies by Andrew Zimmerman Jones, because how could I resist that? Next up is White Trash Zombie Apocalypse by Diana Rowland.

150avidmom
aug 8, 2015, 3:29 pm

>149 bragan: When I see String Theory for Dummies all that comes to mind is the Big Bang Theory. LOL!

151bragan
Redigeret: aug 8, 2015, 3:33 pm

>150 avidmom: I'm sure Sheldon would have some very cutting things to say. :)

152kidzdoc
Redigeret: aug 9, 2015, 7:18 am

Now that I'm on vacation I've started on the Booker Prize longlist and the Wellcome Book Prize shortlist. I'm reading A History of Seven Killings by Marlon James and The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma, two of the Booker Dozen, along with The Iceberg by Marion Coutts, this year's Wellcome Book Prize winner.

153timjones
aug 9, 2015, 7:42 am

I'm re-reading A Feast For Crows by George R. R. Martin. I found large stretches of this book very tedious when I first read "A Song of Ice and Fire", mainly because of all the new characters and locations Martin introduces in this volume when all I cared about was the fates of the characters introduced in the first three volumes. On a re-read, that isn't bothering me so much, although I doubt anything will ever persuade me to find the Iron Islands or Dorne very interesting - which is a worry for Season 6 of the TV series since (slight spoiler ahead)...

... apparently both will feature.

I'm also reading Sky Poems by the excellent Australian poet Philip Salom.

154rebeccanyc
aug 9, 2015, 7:47 am

I just finished Don't Look Back, the first novel in the Inspector Sejer series to be translated into English; I was introduced to this series by Colleen (NanaCC). I'm still reading Trollope's The Prime Minister and enjoying it.

155AnnieMod
aug 9, 2015, 10:05 pm

Finished God Help the Child - it is a disturbing book... but readable and important.
Now reading the second novel in the Eternal Sky trilogy: Shattered Pillars

On the comics track, finished Marvel Masterworks: X-Men, volume 1 and now reading All Star Comics Archives, volume 2.

156wandering_star
Redigeret: aug 10, 2015, 2:05 am

After a month-long read of Anna Karenina I have been reading some 'easier' books, but my current read A Nice Change is so gentle and light that I think I'm ready for something meaty again.

On audio, A Brief History of Seven Killings which is wonderfully read, the accents really add to the atmosphere and the fact that it's being read to me helps to understand the sections in patois, for example.

>28 mabith: I recently picked up Cards of Identity which I'd never heard of at all - funny coincidence to see it mentioned here.

157MsNick
Redigeret: aug 11, 2015, 12:14 pm

About to start reading Timbuktu by Paul Auster.

158AnnieMod
aug 10, 2015, 7:07 pm

Weekends either mean a lot of reading for me or none. This time it is a lot - finished Shattered Pillars which was great and I need to pick up the last of the trilogy from the library and started Finding Zero which is part autobiography, part science, part philosophy, part who knows what book that actually works so far (~1/4 in).

159japaul22
aug 10, 2015, 7:41 pm

I'm reading Emma: An Annotated Edition with notes by Bharat Tandon. Emma is my favorite Austen besides Pride and Prejudice and I'm rereading this with a group here.

I'm also reading What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt. Last year I read and loved The Blazing World and I've been meaning to get back to Hustvedt since the moment I completed that book.

160weird_O
Redigeret: aug 10, 2015, 8:56 pm

>157 MsNick: Oooh. I really enjoyed Timbuktu, a book one of my kids left me upon his/her departure for an independent life. That suckered me into The New York Trilogy, which left me baffled.

What I am reading now is Winter's Tale, and I think I just may be baffled by it, too. Well, I be keepin' on truckin'.

ETA that I believe Paul Auster is married to Siri Hustvedt (>159 japaul22:)

161nrmay
aug 11, 2015, 12:09 pm

I finished A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson.
Liked that one and now I want to read his Notes from a Small Island and In a Sunburned Country!

I am currently reading What Dies in Summer by Tom Wright.

162MsNick
aug 11, 2015, 3:20 pm

>160 weird_O: I FINALLY got to start reading it on my lunch break today. We're in the middle of prepping to move, which led to my needing to remind the husband that I'm not downsizing my library! Please do share your thoughts about The New York Trilogy.

163avidmom
aug 12, 2015, 2:09 pm

I finally finished Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert Heinlein and am looking forward to starting The Universal Tone: Bringing My Story to Light, Carlos Santana's autobiography.

164twogerbils
aug 12, 2015, 7:00 pm

>163 avidmom: I've always wanted to read Stranger in a Strange Land, but may never get around to it at this point with my current reading interests. Did read Starship Troopers a couple of years ago.

165weird_O
aug 12, 2015, 7:03 pm

>162 MsNick: My recollection is of three unresolved mysteries, leaving me wondering what the hell was THAT all about. Not fulfilling for me. Which book is the anomaly? Timbuktu or New York Trilogy?

166avidmom
aug 12, 2015, 8:07 pm

>164 twogerbils: I have mixed feelings about Stranger In A Strange Land.

167StevenTX
aug 12, 2015, 8:36 pm

Finished She by H. Rider Haggard. My next speculative fiction book will be Looking Backward: 2000-1887 by Edward Bellamy, but I need to go back to Plato for a while.

168MsNick
aug 13, 2015, 9:58 am

>165 weird_O: Oh no! Now I've got to add New York Trilogy to my never-ending TBR list! ;)

169FlorenceArt
aug 13, 2015, 10:50 am

I believe I've been meaning to read She for at least 25 years...

170rebeccanyc
aug 14, 2015, 11:44 am

I've finished The Prime Minister, the fifth in Trollope's Palliser series, which mixes Plantagenet Palliser as prime minister with a story of speculation and love won and lost.

171MsNick
aug 15, 2015, 2:01 pm

Reading the ARC of Food Whore that I won through ER.

172Helenliz
aug 15, 2015, 2:07 pm

I have 2 on the go. The captive Queen in the car, and Toby's room for this month's book club selection. So far they are bot historical fiction and both have had some somewhat unexpected and slightly disconcerting sex scenes. That between Eleanor & Henry was, um, energetic and described in detail; in the other it is not described, but is hanging over the book like a black cloud.

173bragan
aug 15, 2015, 5:59 pm

I've recently finished The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout, which I liked (although not quite as much as the excellent Olive Kitteridge). I'm now reading Who-ology, which bills itself as the official Doctor Who "miscellany", and which is pleasing my geeky little fannish heart. Next up is The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon, which looks interesting.

174RidgewayGirl
aug 15, 2015, 7:13 pm

I'm reading Go Set a Watchman. I hadn't planned to, but there you go. Maybe because I'd heard such dire things about it (it's a poor first draft, it's a racist screed, etc...) I find that I'm enjoying it quite a bit. She had Scout's voice down, even then, I like the older Jean Louise, and as the possessor of relatives who got more and more racist and hateful as they aged, I'm interested in this version of Atticus and Henry. I'm only halfway, however, so my opinion may change.

I've been on vacation and have added substantial weight to my luggage in added books.

175ELiz_M
aug 16, 2015, 8:01 am

I've recently finished The Dorothy Parker Audio Collection and Seize the Day. I am attempting to read Oblomov, but its a very stressful work month and I am too irritated with his laziness to continue.

176Cait86
aug 16, 2015, 8:11 am

I am so, so close to finishing Marilynne Robinson's Gilead, and then I'll move on to her Home and Lila. I'm not really loving Gilead, but not because I don't enjoy Robinson's writing; I just find the main character, John Ames, horribly boring. I'm hoping that the next two books, which center around different people, will be more interesting.

177AlisonY
aug 16, 2015, 9:29 am

>175 ELiz_M: I bet the Dorothy Parker audio book was fun - I really want to read more of her quips and quotes.

I've ditched The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which is not a reflection on the book - I'm just really busy with work and not in the right mood to enjoy it at the moment. I picked up instead yet another Mitch Albom book, as I knew it would be thought-provoking yet a light read at the same time. So I'm halfway through Have a Little Faith just now.

178StevenTX
aug 16, 2015, 11:30 am

Yesterday I finished two short novels from the "1001 Books" list: The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna, and The Body Artist by Don Delillo. I have two more in progress: August Is a Wicked Month by Edna O'Brien, and Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell.

179alphaorder
aug 16, 2015, 5:59 pm

I recently finished Everything I Never Told You, which I loved. I am now reading Days of Awe, which takes place in Milwaukee. According a review in our local paper, it features a scene at my work place, Schlitz Audubon Nature Center. I haven't reach that part yet. It's a good read.

180MsNick
Redigeret: aug 17, 2015, 8:16 am

>179 alphaorder: Another one on my list! I just started Big Little Lies.

181rebeccanyc
aug 17, 2015, 8:05 am

I've reviewed the somewhat disappointing new collection of much of Shirley Jackson's unpublished work, Let Me Tell You: New Stories, Essays, and Other Writings and the first of the Inspector Sejer mysteries, Eva's Eye.

182AlisonY
aug 18, 2015, 12:44 pm

Finished Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom. Enjoyable but a bit lacking. Now onto The Death of Bunny Munro by Nick Cave.

183Helenliz
aug 19, 2015, 4:41 am

Finished Toby's Room which was really very good. Need to review it now.
Started Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott, a random pick from the library.

184FlorenceArt
aug 19, 2015, 5:47 am

>182 AlisonY: I didn't know Nick Cave wrote books! I'll be interested in your review.

185RidgewayGirl
aug 19, 2015, 7:34 am

I've just started The Green Road by Anne Enright. The first two chapters are excellent.

186AlisonY
aug 19, 2015, 8:08 am

>184 FlorenceArt: either did I! I think this is his second - will see how it goes.

187alphaorder
aug 19, 2015, 8:49 am

Recently read and enjoyed Everything I Never Told You and Days of Awe.

188AlisonY
aug 20, 2015, 8:31 am

Surprised how much I enjoyed The Death of Bunny Munro. On now to The Murder of Halland by Pia Juul. Not my usual genre, but sounds appealing.

189NanaCC
aug 20, 2015, 11:08 am

I finished a few books while in Maine this past week. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, No Fond Return of Love: A Novel by Barbara Pym, and In the Mountains by Elizabeth von Arnim. I just started Some Tame Gazelle by Barbara Pym

For audio, I finished Bryant & May The Burning Man by Christopher Fowler, Narrated by Tim Goodman. This has been one of my favorite quirky mystery series, and I thought that this might be the last book, but Penny tells me there is another in the works. My next audio is The Merry Misogynist: The Dr. Siri Investigations by Colin Cotterill, Narrated by Clive Chafer

190AlisonY
aug 21, 2015, 6:00 pm

Finished the intriguing literary crime novella The Murder of Halland. On now to The Girl on the Train.

191wandering_star
aug 22, 2015, 7:40 am

Just finished Adventures in Human Being, a book of essays by a practicing doctor. Each essay takes one part of the body - starting with the head and working its way down to the feet - and looks at it through the perspective of everything from anatomy and medicine to folklore and literature. Recommended.

Need to decide what's up next!

192AlisonY
aug 22, 2015, 8:30 am

>191 wandering_star: so thrilled to see a review of this book. I've been hankering after it since reading a review of it in The Times a few months ago. Glad you enjoyed it - need to persuade my library to buy a copy now!

193alphaorder
aug 22, 2015, 9:30 am

Finally reading Station Eleven.

194rebeccanyc
aug 22, 2015, 10:49 am

I've finished and reviewed the very impressive The Harp and the Shadow, a look at Columbus by one of my favorite authors, Alejo Carpentier and a book early short stories by another of my favorite authors, Anton Chekhov, The Prank: The Best of Young Chekhov.

195ELiz_M
Redigeret: aug 22, 2015, 11:53 am

I'm reading Oblomov, a book that is too lazy to touchstone correctly.

Incidentally, can anyone help me force the correct touchstone?

{96749276:Oblomov} (using the square brackets) still does not link to http://www.librarything.com/work/2214/workdetails/96749276

Am I using the wrong work id? If not, where is the correct work id?

196rebeccanyc
aug 22, 2015, 11:54 am

The work ID is the one after work, 2214, but you also need two colons between the work ID and the title (2214::Oblomov).

197baswood
aug 22, 2015, 12:03 pm

I am reading Go set a Watchman I am trying to stay positive - it is a bookclub choice.

198FlorenceArt
aug 22, 2015, 12:08 pm

>195 ELiz_M: I just put the title between square brackets, and if the default touchstone is wrong, I click on others in the touchstone list on the right if the input box, and I select the correct one.

199kidzdoc
aug 22, 2015, 12:30 pm

I'm now reading my third book from this year's Booker Prize longlist, The Green Road by Anne Enright.

200ELiz_M
Redigeret: aug 22, 2015, 12:32 pm

>>198 FlorenceArt: I tried that first, but none of the touchstones offered under "others" appears to be correct, hence needing to "force" the touchstone.

>196 rebeccanyc: Thanks! That does the trick: Oblomov

201bragan
aug 22, 2015, 9:11 pm

I've recently finished Already Dead by Charlie Huston, which wasn't perfect, but scratched my urban fantasy itch pretty well. I'm now reading an ER book, Faith Ed: Teaching About Religion in an Age of Intolerance by Linda K. Wertheimer, which so far seems to be doing a good job of exploring the importance, difficulties, and controversy of educating kids about others' religions.

202alphaorder
aug 23, 2015, 9:11 am

Finished Station Eleven. Loved it. Now starting Faith versus Fact.

203Nickelini
aug 24, 2015, 11:44 am

I have several books going, but at the moment am focused on Sanditon and Other Stories, which is a collection of all of Jane Austen's minor works.

204RidgewayGirl
aug 24, 2015, 11:54 am

I've returned to Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope. I'm enjoying it so far, but I haven't fallen for it, yet. I'm also happily reading The Fever by Megan Abbott.

205japaul22
aug 24, 2015, 12:41 pm

I finished Siri Hustvedt's What I Loved which I had very mixed emotions about. Now I'm reading George, Nicholas, and Wilhelm: Three royal cousins and the road to World War I which is fascinating and readable. I'm listening to Love and Louis the XIV by Antonia Fraser which works really well on audio. I think I'll start If on a Winter's NIght a traveler for fiction.

206dchaikin
aug 24, 2015, 4:04 pm

Reading The Interrogation, J. M. G. Le Clezio's first novel. and I'm trying another Toni Morrison in audio - A Mercy. Not sure if that will work.

207AnnieMod
aug 24, 2015, 11:37 pm

I am back from Worldcon (which was a lot of fun but also meant 6 days of not reading at all) and 2 books from the library are due in Saturday and cannot be renewed -- Claire North's Touch and The Girl with all the gifts. So this is what I am reading this week :)

208alphaorder
aug 26, 2015, 10:02 am

Read How to Sit. Still reading Faith versus Fact and added Mrs. Queen Takes the Train for a levity.

209AlisonY
aug 26, 2015, 11:11 am

Had an enjoyable few days reading The Girl on the Train. Perfect easy reading after a hard day at work. Now on to Mrs Dalloway.

210MsNick
aug 26, 2015, 11:59 am

I've just started Eight Hundred Grapes. So far, so good! I finished Heroic Measures the other night. A good novel that hit close to home - the same thing that happened to Dorothy was what we went through with our dachshund last year. I haven't been reading as much as I would like lately... lots of family visiting and an impending move have me busy.

211bragan
aug 26, 2015, 8:09 pm

I've just finished Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck, since Of Mice and Men made me want to read all the Steinbeck, but it seemed easier to start with something short. And I'm now reading Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, fourth in their series of Peter Pan-inspired kids' novels.

212dchaikin
aug 26, 2015, 9:54 pm

Started All the Pretty Horses today.

213Nickelini
aug 26, 2015, 11:46 pm

I've just finished Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck, since Of Mice and Men made me want to read all the Steinbeck

I read Of Mice and Men in high school and didn't utterly despise it, which is high praise. Read East of Eden in my early 20s and really liked it, and then didn't read him for 25 years, when I went on vacation to Steinbeck territory and so read the very short Cannery Row. I loved it, and my reaction was the same as yours--I want to read all of his books. I was surprised by this, as American male mid-20th century authors are near the bottom of my list of books to explore.

214bragan
aug 27, 2015, 12:00 am

>213 Nickelini: I hated a lot of what I read in high school, too, often just because I was forced to read it. Stuff form class that I actually kind of liked, I knew must be really good. I've made a point of re-reading those later in life, free from teacherly influence. But Steinbeck, I missed out on entirely. Part of me thinks that's almost a pity; I imagine his writing would have stood out even among the horrible ordeal of being quizzed on it.

215Helenliz
aug 27, 2015, 3:38 am

I read a Steinbeck in school as well - but have no idea which one. I seem to have blanked the details entirely. I hated English, which is daft, as I loved reading. Didn't try Hardy again for 25 years as it was soooo dull. The teacher almost made Shakespeare dull - and that was Hamlet, which isn't the least eventful of his efforts.
After retrying Hardy (he's not as dull as I thought, but it wasn't cheery) I'm thinking I ought to revisit Steinbeck as well. Just to see.

216bragan
aug 27, 2015, 6:15 pm

>214 bragan: I hated English, which is daft, as I loved reading.

Doesn't seem all that daft to me. I remember really resenting having to put aside what I wanted to be reading for what I had to be reading. I will never forget the year we moved, and I went to the shiny, awesome new library in my new town and took out a big stack of books I was super excited about... and then started the new school year and was handed a book I was told I was supposed to have read for class over the summer and that I had three days to finish it. Poor All Quiet on the Western Front. It was never going to get a fair shake from me under those circumstances. One day, I will re-read it under better conditions.

I actually really enjoyed Hamlet at school, though, despite having it taught at me (as a friend of mine likes to put it). And a good thing that was, too. A terrible experience the previous year with King Lear and a terrible teacher came very close to putting me off Shakespeare for life.

Anyway, I heartily recommend the voluntary reading of Steinbeck.
Denne tråd er fortsat i *** What are you reading now? (Part 6).