What Are you Reading Now: October, 2017

I'm reading Dear Pope Francis: The Pope Answers Letters from Children Around the World by Pope Francis.

I'm also reading The First Bad Man by Miranda July.

Thanks for starting the thread, LynnB!

I'm reading The Devil in Velvet, by John Dickson Carr.

I'm reading The Candidate: Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail by Noah Richler.

Oh, I am so glad that someone started October....Thank you LynnB. I am reading Cold Earth by Anne Cleeves. I have watched the Shetland series and can't get the visual/character images out of my head but that's okay! My SIL suggested it for me as we have had yet again ANOTHER move and it is a good escape read and easy to pick up.

Reading as much as I can of The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern: The Complete History, by David McPherson. It's due back at the library tomorrow and I'm going home for Thanksgiving in the late morning. I can do it!

I just finished reading Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Loved it.

On this Thanksgiving Monday I hope to finish up The Gone-Away World, by Nick Harkaway. My cousin and I were doing a shared read and had a mini book club about it at yesterday's family dinner :)

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

I'm re-reading The Boys in the Trees by Mary Swan.

A World Elsewhere / Wayne Johnston
3 stars

Landish Druken is from Newfoundland and, while attending Princeton, meets George Vanderluyden. They have a falling out, but years later, Vanderluyden has since built a mansion, is married, and has a daughter. He takes in Landish and the boy Landish has taken in, Deacon.

I have to admit to being quite distracted as I read the first 2/3 of the book, so I know I missed some things. For the first 1/3 of the book, I kept reading Landish’s last name as “Drunken”. Oops! It got better (though still wasn’t terribly exciting) for the last 1/3 of the book, when I was able to better focus on it. There were a few twists at the end.

I actually smiled at the dedication and the acknowledgments: I knew his parents and it was dedicated “in loving memory” of them. I was a good friend of his youngest sister so have met some of her siblings, as well (all mentioned in the acknowledgments), though I’ve never met Wayne. Of course, that’s just a personal reaction to those parts of the book that really don’t have to do with the book itself!

I'm reading Let It Rain Coffee by Angie Cruz.

I'm reading The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel, whom I heard interviewed on CBC Radio.

Only two reads this month-been out of town visiting family.
1) Miller's Valley by Anna Quidlen and Cold Earth by one of my favourite crime fiction authors Ann Cleeves.

I am reading and thoroughly enjoying The Etymologicon, by Mark Forsyth.

I'm reading The Evening Chorus by Helen Humphreys for a book club.

I'm reading The Night Stages by Jane Urquhart.

I'm reading Voyage of the Northern Magic: A Family Odyssey by Diane Stuemer for a book club discussion.

Victoria's Castles / Paul G. Chamberlain
3.5 stars

This is a short book describing the castles in Victoria, B.C. It describes the architecture, as well as the history of the castles and the people who lived there.

I bought this book as a souvenir the first time I visited Victoria and have finally gotten around to reading it. I saw two castles while I was there (Craigdarroch Castle and Hatley Castle) and apparently there is one more still standing. I enjoyed the book, particularly the histories of the people who lived in them - some politicians, some businessmen. The book was short, and of course, included photos of the castles.

>18 LibraryCin: Craigdarroch is very nice! Have to go back and see Hatley Castle too.

I just finished My Cousin Rachel. Another great Daphne du Maurier book!

I am reading The Antidote Happiness for People who Can't Stand Postive Thinking. It's interesting and well written and well researched. The author Oliver Burkeman writes the psychology articles for the Guardian.

>19 rabbitprincess: I love castles! Craigdarroch is beautiful!

I just finished Henning Mankel's Before the Frost. Quite good but a bit long and convoluted - Better editing would have made it more enjoyable.

Heading back to Scotland (figuratively) with Nigel Tranter's The Captive Crown, the third in the House of Stewart trilogy.

Plainsong / Nancy Huston.
3 stars

Paula’s grandfather has just died. As she goes through some of his journals/writings, she tries to piece together his life.

I think the story was fine, but I didn’t like the way it was written. No chapters, no dialogue. I don’t think this part really bothered me, but, as an fyi, it was written like Paula was talking to her grandfather in what she wrote, using “you”. It also jumps around in time, constantly back and forth, which is something that normally doesn’t bother me, but there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the jumping around, so I didn’t like the way it was done in this book. I did like the history covered in the book (it was set in Alberta and much of it in my city, Calgary). I did not like the person her grandfather was (or who Paula thought she was or who she wrote him to be) – he was a horrible person!

I'm reading Hostages to Fortune: The United Empire Loyalists and the Making of Canada by Peter C. Newman.