What Are You Reading in 2010?

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What Are You Reading in 2010?

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1tloeffler
Jan 4, 2010, 10:09 am

Guess it's time to start this thread. Due to an overnighter in the emergency room with my Dad, I've already put away 3 books this year: The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander; Storm Front by Jim Butcher; and The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan. What are YOU reading this year?

2BethyB
Jan 4, 2010, 10:44 am

So far I've finished Storm Front by Jim Butcher and The Drowning World by Alan Dean Foster. I'm starting on Divine Misdemeanors by Laurell K. Hamilton next, followed by who knows what from the pile in the bedroom. Or the pile in the living room. Or that box in the corner, or the box under it, or next to it ... sigh ... I really need to diminish my TBR tag pile, if I'd stop buying books that would help, y'know? sigh ...

3jnwelch
Jan 4, 2010, 12:59 pm

Good to see both of you read Storm Front. Assuming you liked it, you've got some good reading in the Dresden series ahead of you. The series got me through hip surgery a couple of years ago.

I'm reading The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien.

4usnmm2
Editado: Jan 4, 2010, 2:32 pm

tloeffler Hope things turn out alright for your Father.

About 3/4's done with Battle of the Moons of Hell by Graham Sharp Paul. Not bad so far (standard military Sci Fi).
On my literary quest I started Germinal by Emile Zola.

5BethyB
Editado: Jan 4, 2010, 4:14 pm

3 - Actually, it was a reread for the TIOLI challenge for the 75 books challenge. Glad I reread it, the tv episode "based" on it is almost completely different! I've read the entire series, including the prequel Welcome to the Jungle, Backup and all of the anthologies that have Dresden stories in them ... I'm waiting eagerly for the next book, Changes.

6jnwelch
Jan 4, 2010, 5:50 pm

Gotcha, BethyB. Yes, the Dresden Files tv series had significant differences from the books. We liked it, but know people who didn't because they were frustrated by the differences.

Like you, I've looked for Dresden stories in every nook and cranny.

7BethyB
Jan 4, 2010, 7:52 pm

I hear there'll be an anthology coming out of all the stuff that's been published separately, including Backup, and including some new material. Makes me wonder why I spent my money on all those other anthologies with nothing much else in them that I wanted, y'know?

8MmeRose
Jan 4, 2010, 8:38 pm

Re: Dresden, I'm anxiously awaiting Changes in audio. I love the way James Marsters narrates.
I just re-read Mrs. Mike, which I was reminded of on another thread here and started The Murdered House.

9MerryMary
Jan 4, 2010, 9:54 pm

I just finished Washed Up - a book about flotsam and jetsam. Cool book.

10lbradf
Jan 5, 2010, 12:31 am

I'm reading My Father's Hands by Myron Uhlberg. I think I learned about this book via a book club catalog. My brother's wife grew up with deaf parents. I hoped the book might help me understand her better. I don't know if that will be the case, but I am very much enjoying the book, regardless. The description of his acting out the Joe Louis fights for his father is very funny as is the bit about hearing his parents "exercising" at night.

11usnmm2
Jan 7, 2010, 8:35 pm

Was slumming in Barnes and Nobles yesterday and found Orcs: First Blood (Omnibus) by Stan Nicholls (contains first three books in series)

I turn it over and read on the back cover;

"Wall to wall action with undercurrents of dark humor ... The heros are Orcs..."

I'm not normally a big fan of fantasy, but one will catch my eye once and awhile. So when I read that quote from the back cover I figured "What the Hey! Give it a try: Orcs finally get their revenge on JRR Tolkien"

12tloeffler
Jan 7, 2010, 8:40 pm

Beginning my WWI odyssey with The First World War: A Very Short Introduction.

13tloeffler
Editado: Jan 9, 2010, 8:52 pm

I'm FINALLY reading Three Men in a Boat and enjoying it furiously. Also started reading an uncorrected proof that was sent to me: From Away by David Carkeet. Jury's still out on that one.

14Copperskye
Jan 9, 2010, 9:45 pm

>3 jnwelch: jnwelch - I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed The Things They Carried when I read it a year or so ago. It's not what I normally would have considered to be my kind of book.

I'm getting ready to finish The Tenderness of Wolves and I'm stalling. I love it and don't want it to end!

15usnmm2
Editado: Jan 11, 2010, 10:55 am

13: tloeffler
I started reading Three Men in a Boat about three years ago and was enjoying it. My Daughter started to read it and took it back to college with her. I have to ask her for it back.

Finished the first book in the "Orcs" omnibus, Bodyguard of Lightning by Stan Nicholls. Was well written but couldn,t get into or feel for the characters. All they did was go from one battle to the next. There were hints of some sort of change or them making other choices but that never happened. Well I will see what happens in the next book. But for now I'm going with an old science fiction book It Was The Day of The Robot by Frank Bellknap Long that has been lurking on my shelf for a while.

16jnwelch
Jan 11, 2010, 11:12 am

>14 Copperskye: coppers Thanks - yes, it surprised me, too. It was given to me as a gift; otherwise I probably wouldn't have read it. Now it's got me thinking about reading his Going After Cacciato.

I just finished Siege of Macindaw by John Flanagan, a good YA title in the Ranger's Apprentice series. Always fun. I'm in the middle of Once On A Moonless Night, and still wondering whether I'm going to like it. I loved his Balzac and the LIttle Chinese Seamstress.

17arrr
Jan 11, 2010, 5:49 pm

Hello, I'm a newcomer. So far this year I have read:

Engaging the Enemy by Elizabeth Moon, my first for this author and I enjoyed it even though it was about #3 in a series.

Magic to the Bone by Devon Monk. Also a first for me. I thought it was pretty good and a different take on magic use.

Tapestry of Spells by Lynn Kurland. I did not like this one as much as the other two in the series.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I liked this one very much and will read the next in the series.

That's it so far, but this list does not include stuff I've started or started last year but haven't finished!

18usnmm2
Jan 11, 2010, 6:04 pm

17: arrr,
Welcome to the group.
I've read the first Elizabeth Moon Trading in Danger and enjoyed it. Have the next two on the ever growing TBR pile.

19MmeRose
Editado: Jan 12, 2010, 2:00 pm

13: tloeffler: If you're feeling adventurous, after Three Men in a Boat, try Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog. To quote the Amazon review:
"What Connie Willis soon makes clear is that genre can go to the dogs. To Say Nothing of the Dog is a fine, and fun, romance--an amused examination of conceptions and misconceptions about other eras, other people."

17: arrr and 18: usnmm2: I recommend Moon's The Speed of Dark also. Actually, I'd probably recommend all of her writing, way back to the ones she co-authored with Anne McCaffrey back in the 90's..

20tloeffler
Jan 13, 2010, 10:46 am

Cheryl, it's waiting for me at the library!

21arrr
Jan 13, 2010, 1:25 pm

18 Thanks, good to be here.

13 Thanks and I agree on To Say Nothing of the Dog, loved it. Also loved Bellweather.

I had almost decided not to go back to the previous E. Moon, is the Speed of Dark part of the same series?

22MmeRose
Jan 14, 2010, 5:03 pm

tloeffler, hope you enjoy it!

arrr, The Speed of Dark is a standalone, near future story about a man who is a functional autistic. 2003 Nebula Award and 2003 Arthur C Clarke Award finalist.
Willis has a Christmas novella you might like, All Seated on the Ground, same type of humor as Bellwether. And she has a new book coming in February!! Blackout

23usnmm2
Jan 21, 2010, 11:23 pm

Back to my old standby genre of "age of sail" books. Started Stand Into Danger by Alexander Kent.
Ahh! To hear the wind in the sails and feel the gentle roll of a ship at sea. Ok I may be getting a little carried away.

24tymfos
Jan 21, 2010, 11:37 pm

I loved The Speed of Dark! My son has high-functioning autism, and the book made me think on so many levels about him and his possible future, and so many issues that the future may bring as research progresses.

25jnwelch
Jan 25, 2010, 6:12 pm

That's good to hear from someone who has a family member with high-functioning autism. I loved The Speed of Dark, too, and found it very thought-provoking.

26usnmm2
Jan 28, 2010, 11:09 pm

Convoy by Dudley Pope a WW2 Naval Fiction novel. And still have Germinal going also.

27mamzel
Jan 29, 2010, 10:45 am

I wasn't grabbed by The Lacuna and remembered I hadn't finished World without End. I managed to find where I left out without trouble and was re-immersed with no trouble. Why didn't I finish it? I'll try Kingsolver again at another time.

28booketta
Jan 29, 2010, 1:27 pm

I have just finished The Fire People by Alexander Cordell and prior to that I read The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. I wasn't keen on either of those reads. I am now reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen which I know I will enjoy.

29megwaiteclayton
Fev 2, 2010, 6:52 pm

Re the Tim O'Brien reading here, I'd recommend pretty much everything he's written. Amazing writer.

I recently finished Katharine Weber's True Confections, which was very funny.

30tloeffler
Fev 3, 2010, 2:49 pm

I'm reading an advance copy of The Surrendered by Chang-rae Lee. It's good, but very intense, so I'm alternating nights with Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear, which isn't so cheerful itself. I should pull out a fluff book, but my stack from the library has gotten dangerously high, so I need to winnow that down a little first.

31jnwelch
Fev 3, 2010, 4:26 pm

I finished Outlander, which I enjoyed, particularly for the portrayal of 18th century Scotland and the descriptions of medical treatments by the time traveler.

I'm about half-way through The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, and am quite caught up in it.

32lbradf
Fev 3, 2010, 10:54 pm

I've barely started The God of Small Things. I'm listening to Olive Kitteridge. Both came to my attention courtesy of LT. Four hours in the car tomorrow and Friday. Good listening time!

33pollysmith
Fev 9, 2010, 5:01 pm

I've been really into the Amelia Peabody mysteries. I'm waiting for the next one to come in the mail. In the meantime I'm reading "Sizzle and Burn" by Jayne Ann Krentz

34jnwelch
Fev 11, 2010, 10:31 am

The Knife of Never Letting Go was a good page-turner, and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, The Ask and the Answer.

Also finished The Off Season, a very good sequel to Dairy Queen, and started Tomorrow, When the War Began.

I'm reading a lot of YA books right now in hopes of finding ones my mother would enjoy (she likes reading good YAs), as she's laid up with health issues. The Knife of Never Letting Go would not be her cup of tea, but the Catherine Gilbert Murdock books are. I've also picked up Sarah Dessen's Along for the Ride.

35jennieg
Fev 11, 2010, 11:08 am

#33 I'm looking forward to the next Amelia, too, but I think I'll just hit up the library.

I started The Likeness last night. It's a promising beginning.

36sally906
Fev 12, 2010, 4:30 am

I am reading Peony in Love by Lisa See

37usnmm2
Fev 13, 2010, 12:59 am

Scurvy Dogs, Green Water and Gunsmoke:Fifty Years in U.S. Navy Destroyers (Vol. 1) edited by Bob Cohen and Terry Miller

A great book! For anyone who has been in the Navy. Those of you who haven't might find the stories quaint and totally unbelievable. But for those of us who were there will Swear on a stack of bibles that every word is true. It had me laughing out load. I also have Vol. II that I'm going to bump it up on my very tall next to read pile.

A little plug here. The royalties from the sale of this book are being donated to the Navy - Marine Corps Relief Society, in the name of Lance Corporal Shane Lee Goldman.

38Catgwinn
Fev 14, 2010, 7:55 pm

Juggling several books for different book discussion groups/classes:
Finished: "The Good Old Boys" (TX Books,TX Films); "The Once And Future King"; and "The Books Thief" (one of 3 being discussed in Holocaust Literature class).

Started/still reading: "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" and "Travels With Charlie, In Search of America".

Read "The Lover of Horses" by Tess Gallagher, second of six short stories for Short Fiction class.

39jnwelch
Fev 15, 2010, 11:24 am

Finished Tomorrow When the War Began, a good YA story about Australian teens who get their lives turned upside down by a military attack, and When the Game Was Ours, an okay bio about the Magic Johnson-Larry Bird era in the NBA.

Just started Gang Leader for a Day.

40lbradf
Fev 16, 2010, 12:47 am

I'm reading The Moonflower Vine and listening to What Got You Here Won't Get You There. I will be driving a bunch this week, so I will soon be listening to a couple of other books, including The Secret of Lost Things. I'm sure I ordered Lost Things because of something I read on LT, but it certainly is not coming to me.

41jennieg
Fev 16, 2010, 12:07 pm

I finished The Likeness by Tana French last night. I didn't like it as much as In the Woods, but the ending is beautiful. Next up: Deer Hunting with Jesus on my sister's recommendation.

42ShazInNV
Fev 16, 2010, 12:51 pm

I'm new to this site, too, and love lists like this. I'm always looking for reading recommendations and often pass them on to my MIL.

Recently I've read (and recommend) Enchantment, The Help, Her Fearful Symmetry, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, Q&A, aka Slumdog Millionaire, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I'm now finishing The Friday Night Knitting Club and will then read Someone Knows my Name, aka The Book of Negroes.

43Catgwinn
Mar 6, 2010, 2:52 pm

This week, I'm reading 'Phase the Fifth' in "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" for continuing discussion class.
And, for this week's Short Fiction class I read "The Last Leaf" by O'Henry

44tloeffler
Mar 6, 2010, 7:17 pm

We've been kind of quiet over here lately, haven't we? I'm reading The Castle of Llyr for the Prydain series group, To Say Nothing of the Dog because I'm running out of renewals for it at the library, still in the midst of Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920's which keeps getting set aside for other books, and The Zookeeper's Wife is in my car's CD player.

45sally906
Mar 6, 2010, 8:26 pm

I have just finished The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes. Is chick lit with a paranormal thread. Still trying to decide what to read next.

46jnwelch
Mar 7, 2010, 12:31 pm

I finished Wolf Hall, which is very well done but didn't fascinate me as much as it apparently has others.

I started The Ask and the Answer, the sequel to Patrick Ness's The Knife of Never Letting Go, and have Freedom by Daniel Suarez, the sequel to the cyberthriller Daemon, ready for the train ride to work.

47lbradf
Mar 7, 2010, 12:38 pm

I'm listening to Olive Kitteridge. It took me a bit to get the hang of it, but now I am enjoying it very much. As is often the case with audiobooks, a big part of my enjoyment has been listening to the Maine accents used by the reader--something I wouldn't have imagined nearly as well if I were reading the book.

I'm reading Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink. I'll be lucky to get this finished as it is due at the library on Wednesday. In theory I am still working on The Moonflower Vine but not really making much progress.

48jennieg
Mar 8, 2010, 10:07 am

I'm still working on The Civil War: Fredericksburg to Meridian by Shelby Foote.

49mamzel
Mar 8, 2010, 11:10 am

I'm working on The Anubis Gates, something totally different from what I've been reading lately and I'm loving it.

50WordMaven
Mar 11, 2010, 4:41 pm

I gave up on Anubis Gates and picked up Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman in anticipation of her newest read, Arcadia Falls. I won this one on LT and I'm so excited to get it. I want to compare these two books, as many others have already stated that Arcadia Falls is a return to Goodman's first novel.

This is the first time I've read a book twice.

51sally906
Mar 12, 2010, 3:13 am

I have just finished Two Old Women by Velma Wallis - a retelling of an Alaskan legend. is a very short book but packs some powerful messages - one to elderly people (be as active as you can) the other to the young (value the elderly) a very good read.

52rjmoren
Mar 12, 2010, 3:04 pm

I am reading the Twilight series and am now on Eclipse. Being prodded along by my daughter and daughter-in-law. These would not be the types of books I would pick myself but I have to admit they are intriguing. The girls are insisting I must read the books before I see the movies. I am also reading Clutter Busting by Brooks Palmer.

53mamzel
Mar 12, 2010, 4:13 pm

>52 rjmoren: - rj - You might never have read the books if you watched the movies first. 8-)

54rjmoren
Mar 12, 2010, 10:40 pm

>53 mamzel: probably true!

55sally906
Mar 12, 2010, 11:16 pm

>52 rjmoren:
>53 mamzel:
I absolutely LOVED the books - but the movie had me yawning - and didn't bother to watch the second one when it came out - if i had seen the movie first i doubt i would have bothered to pick the books up

56sally906
Mar 15, 2010, 4:45 pm

I am currently reading Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs - A paranormal mystery with vampires, werewolves and other fey folk who have come out of the cupboard and are living among us.

57Gingersnap000
Mar 18, 2010, 10:05 am

I am currently reading the second in a trilogy, The Girl who Played with Fire by Stieg Larrson which is a mystery thriller. I started with the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornest Nest will be the final in the trilogy. Another recommendation of a book which I have read this year is Olive Kitteredge which is an entirely different read. My reading choices are varied and must are recommendations from friends and my Librarything buddies.

58WordMaven
Mar 19, 2010, 7:25 pm

Esta mensagem foi removida pelo seu autor.

59shesinplainview
Mar 20, 2010, 9:55 pm

Hi, new here. Regarding the Twilight series, I read them all on the recommendation of my son's girlfriend, and enjoyed them much. I've seen the first movie, and though I liked it, I feel the books are better, not surprising.

60lbradf
Mar 21, 2010, 12:54 pm

I just started listening to Stones into Schools by Greg Mortenson, the same guy who wrote Three Cups of Tea, which I have not read. I got the book for Christmas. I was happy to find that it was available as a digital download, which should make it easier for me to get this "book off the shelf" "read." In hardcover, I also just started reading Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. This book came to my attention via LT.

61Copperskye
Mar 21, 2010, 5:25 pm

>60 lbradf: Mudbound is wonderful and like you, I found it through LT! :)

My current read is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. So far, it's fascinating.

62mamzel
Mar 21, 2010, 5:28 pm

I just finished The Edith Wharton Murders. It was fun and I will be on the look out for more books in this series.

63usnmm2
Editado: Mar 26, 2010, 12:12 pm

Agincourt: A Novel by Bernard Cornwell

A good retelling of Henery V, told from the point of view of an archer in the Kings' army named Nick Hook (a real archer who's name can be found on the rolls of the army from the 15th century).
What makes BC books so good is he stays close to the actual history and he always tells you were he changed it for the story.

Next up is Steven Saylors Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome

Also have To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis on my E-Reader. which I'm enjoying also.

64jennieg
Editado: Mar 26, 2010, 12:22 pm

I'm just starting The Civil War: Red River to Appomatox by Shelby Foote. Getting the touchstones right for the trilogy has greatly improved my spelling of several major battles.

Edited for spelling . . .

65tloeffler
Mar 26, 2010, 3:01 pm

>63 usnmm2: I gave Agincourt to my brother for his birthday last week. He was thrilled!

66usnmm2
Mar 26, 2010, 7:39 pm

65: tloeffler,

I'm sure he will enjoy it. I've read a few B.C. books and I have yet to be disappointed with any of them.

67jnwelch
Mar 29, 2010, 12:03 pm

I liked Agincourt a lot - what a story! Like usnmm2, I've yet to be disappointed by B.C. His Richard Sharpe series is my favorite.

I'm reading The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill and The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly.

68usnmm2
Mar 30, 2010, 10:55 pm

I enjoyed Agincourt so much I decided to read another B.C. book. The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Chronicles Series #1)

69tloeffler
Mar 31, 2010, 3:34 pm

Hmmm. Maybe I should borrow it from him?

"Happy Birthday Tom! Here's a book--can I borrow it when you're done?"

Not that I've never done that before. There is a book sitting on my desk waiting to be read that I gave my sister for her birthday last year...

70usnmm2
Mar 31, 2010, 3:46 pm

What a great idea!
Buy books for people that you want to read, then borrow them, read them, return them and then they don't take up that much needed room on your own shelf.

71Copperskye
Mar 31, 2010, 8:58 pm

>67 jnwelch: jnwelch - I just finished The Various Haunts of Men and loved it. I hope you're enjoying it as much as I did.

72jnwelch
Abr 1, 2010, 2:39 pm

I'm nearing the end and very much enjoying it, coppers.

73sally906
Abr 1, 2010, 11:14 pm

I have got a few 'brain candy' books lined up for the Easter break I am starting with the final in the 'Study' series Fire Study by Maria V Snyder. There's a lot going on as it slowly works it way to the finale taking me with it :)

74Gingersnap000
Abr 2, 2010, 9:11 am

Enjoy postings of fellow boomers and what books are catching their fancy. I commute to work via train which allows me the pleasure of reading at least 3 books a month.
The most recent books that I have completely enjoyed are:
The Girl Who Played with Fire and can not wait to read the third in the trilogy. I love thillers and this series has kept me on the edge of my seat and creating some long evenings because I can not put the book down.
If you love Savannah, GA and coming of age books, pick-up The Saving of Cee Cee Honeycutt, sweet but you will cry. I enjoyed Olive Kitteredge for the descriptive story-telling where the character's pain became yours and was extremely fortunate to be awarded a book for an early review which Olive Kitteredge fans will love. Mrs. Somebody's Somebody is a series of short stories with the common thread being Lowell, Massachusetts (a once thriving mill town in the 1800's).

A Irish Country Girl by Patrick Taylor is the lastest novel in the Irish Country series but this story takes the reader from Northern Ireland to County Cork. Loved the book for the history of Irish folk lore and County Cork.

Keep those recommendations coming our way.

75Catgwinn
Abr 2, 2010, 5:56 pm

Finished reading Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" the final book for "read-n-discuss" classes/groups.
Now, rereading "Pride and Prejudice", before choosing a title from my TBR list.
#57...You mentioned "The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo"...a movie adaptation, recently out in limited release; I think it's won/been nominated for awards on the film festival circuit, so should be worth seeing.

76MerryMary
Abr 3, 2010, 12:52 am

I just started Columbine. As I said on another thread, it is horrifying. I'm riveted. But I'm not reading it at bedtime. I feel when I'm reading that it's all happening again, only this time I can see it.

77jnwelch
Abr 3, 2010, 12:02 pm

The Various Haunts of Men was well done and I enjoyed it. One development toward the end was quite a surprise. I'll be reading the sequels.

Right now I've started Walter Mosley's Known to Evil, the second in his new Leonid McGill series. So far it's hard not to be reading it (off to do errands shortly).

Also started The Plain Janes, a well-regarded graphic novel, and I'm liking it.

78Catgwinn
Abr 4, 2010, 6:03 pm

Finished my re-read of "Pride and Prejudice", and am now a couple of chapters into "Prepared for Rage" by Dana Stabenow.

79usnmm2
Abr 18, 2010, 1:23 pm

Started Crush Depth by Joe Buff a tale of a future war.

Finished The Last Kingdom by Berbard Cornwell was a good read. (It's the first in a five book series also read Steven Saylor's Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome, was a little disapointed in that one.

80jnwelch
Editado: Abr 18, 2010, 1:37 pm

Finished Zen and the Art of Faking It, a YA title which I liked a lot, and started the next-to-most-recent Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes, Language of Bees.

81usnmm2
Abr 20, 2010, 2:58 pm

Crush Depth by Joe Buff
Fairly standard Techno thriller in the vain of David Poyer's 'Dan Lenson Novels' The Circle, The Med etc. or
Patrick Robinson's 'Arnold Morgan' series Nimitz Class, Kilo Class etc.. If you are a fan of these authors or Clancy or Larry Bond, Dan Brown you won't be disappointed.

82jennieg
Abr 20, 2010, 3:09 pm

I'm still working my way through The Civil War: Red River to Appomatox by Shelby Foote. But I'm up to March 1865, the end is near.

83usnmm2
Abr 21, 2010, 7:42 am

Next book is Ken Follett's World Without End. It has been on the self for three years.

84Catgwinn
Abr 24, 2010, 5:02 pm

Recently finished "The Dante Club" by Matthew Pearl

85sally906
Abr 25, 2010, 3:18 am

I am reading The Postmistress by Sarah Blake - only a little way into it - but the writing just blows me away - so descriptive it takes your breath away - and not long-winded either. Can say enough in a couple of sentences that tell you way more than documentry would. It is set in WWII - and is really, really good :)

86jnwelch
Abr 25, 2010, 11:43 am

Finished Agatha Christie's The Pale Horse, which had a clever twist, and The Spellmans Strike Again, another funny one in that series and the best one yet, and Runaways Volume 1, a good beginning to a graphic novel series.

I'm a good ways through the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes story The Language of Bees, and about to start Kingdom of the Golden Dragon, plus the second Runaways book.

87jennieg
Abr 26, 2010, 11:07 am

I started The Cradle Robbers by Ayelet Waldman over the weekend; I need a little break after Shelby Foote's Civil War trilogy.

88mamzel
Abr 29, 2010, 4:46 pm

I've jumped onto the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo wagon and I am loving it. I loaned a friend the second book and I'm trying hard not to rush her so I can read it. I have the third on order.

89jennieg
Abr 29, 2010, 4:48 pm

I just started The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. I think I've had this since 1986. It is not the oldest denizen of my TBR shelves.

90sally906
Abr 30, 2010, 6:18 am

I have just finished The Postmistress by Sarah Blake.

wow Wow WOW!!!!! Great book and I have now written my review - although very hard to do justice to it :)

91tloeffler
Abr 30, 2010, 4:07 pm

I just finished an Early Reviewer book, Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden (very good!), am almost finished with The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (guarded), and will start Pearl of China by Anchee Min this weekend!

92jnwelch
Maio 1, 2010, 2:32 pm

I finished The Language of Bees, which looks to be a good set-up for the next Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes, God of the Hive, and The Kingdom of the Golden Dragon, which was quite charming.

Next is I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak, and Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie.

93usnmm2
Maio 2, 2010, 9:36 am

Got my pre-ordered copy of Victorious (The Lost Fleet, Book 6 of 6) by Jack Campbell. So everything else is on hold for a few days. Was a little disapionted in book 5 so will see if book six redeems the series any.

94jennieg
Maio 3, 2010, 12:39 pm

I'm reading The Radical and the Republican by James Oakes, about Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Very good.

95Rowntree
Maio 3, 2010, 1:10 pm

Just finished The Time of Terror, with which I was underwhelmed; too much of a political thriller with social commentary, not nearly enough snap of the sails. My review will be along in a day or two. (It was an ER book, else I might not have finished it.)

I've just been notified that a requested ILL came in: Archaeological Textiles in Northern Europe : Report from the 4th NESAT Symposium

Right, that's my notion of relaxing. :-)

96Catgwinn
Maio 3, 2010, 4:06 pm

Finished Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw" today. I liked it more than "The Aspern Papers", but not as much as I liked "Portrait of a Lady".

97mamzel
Maio 5, 2010, 2:31 pm

I'm reading The Girl Who Played with Fire and just received The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. They are fast reading and addicting!

98tloeffler
Maio 5, 2010, 2:51 pm

I need to start on that series. They just keep getting pushed back!

99jennieg
Maio 5, 2010, 3:08 pm

I just discovered my library has them as e-audiobooks. That list is much shorter than my TBR list.

I'm reading Flashman by George MacDonald Fraser and having a fine time with him, the cad.

100usnmm2
Maio 6, 2010, 8:29 pm

Victorious (The Lost Fleet, Book 6 of 6) 2 stars

This book was predictable and long winded. At times I was getting frutrated with the long convaluted conversations about what was happening and what might be happening and why it was happening (I guess I've read to many of these type of books. I know what happening.)
One of the things that attracted me to this series of books was it was supposed to be a six book series (meaning there would be and end). But the author is going to do two spin off series. One about the fall of the syndac. worlds and to continue with the story of "Black Jack" Geary

Overall I enjoyed the series. I'm a sucker for these type books .

101jennieg
Maio 7, 2010, 9:48 am

I've moved on to Are We Rome? by Cullen Murphy. It's been a slow week.

102megwaiteclayton
Maio 8, 2010, 11:09 am

Just emerging from an intense period or writing (the new novel is done!) and have time to read and post about what I'm reading again. I keep setting aside Postmistress for other things for one reason or another. I read in manuscript some time ago two WONDERFUL novels, both historical, both just out last month, that everyone should read:

The Heretic's Wife by Brenda Rickman Vantrease
The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli

I've just started the new Jane Smiley, Private Life. I'm introducing her at a reading at Kepler's in Menlo Park - lucky me!

103Catgwinn
Maio 8, 2010, 3:48 pm

Currently enjoying re-reading "Life Sentences" by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey.

104usnmm2
Editado: Maio 14, 2010, 8:26 pm

On a Military Sci-Fi kick. Reading Europa Strike: (Book Three of the Heritage Trilogy).
Finished the first two Luna Marine (The Heritage Trilogy, Book 2) and Semper Mars: Book One of the Heritage Trilogy by Ian Douglas.
So far the books have been fairly good, Above average for this sub-genre of science fiction.

105jnwelch
Maio 15, 2010, 9:45 am

Shadow of the Wind was good, as was Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict, the reciprocal to her body-switching first one.

I also finished Gothic Classics Volume 14, which treats stories like Mysteries of Udolpho and Northanger Abbey in graphic form. Good gothic fun.

I've started The Razor's Edge and Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak, and the graphic version of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I had no interest in reading the parody novel, but the graphic version had me laughing.

106lbradf
Maio 15, 2010, 9:52 am

I am about to finish Secret Daughter by by Shilpi Somaya Gowda. I would like to sit and read it straight thru, but I keep getting distracte

107jnwelch
Maio 15, 2010, 10:53 am

. . . d. LOL - I can see the problem.

108usnmm2
Maio 18, 2010, 11:26 pm

Started the The Serialist: A Novel by David Gordon. Seems like it will be interesting

109jennieg
Maio 19, 2010, 10:03 am

I'm reading Wolf Hall and enjoying it, although I can see how her style would irritate people.

110mamzel
Maio 21, 2010, 6:25 pm

I've read the first two of the Millenium trilogy and I am looking forward the starting the third this weekend. Steig Larsson really hit home runs with these. Fast action, short sentences, fancinating characters, different locale, and endless cups of coffee (drunk by the characters) make these fast reads. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, here I come!!

111jennieg
Maio 24, 2010, 10:11 am

I'm reading Bellfield Hall aka A Moment of Silence by Anna Dean. I think Silence is the British title, but I'm not sure since I bought it used. Anyway, it's a blast. I think fans of Jane Austen would like it, too.

112bballew
Jun 3, 2010, 5:42 pm

I'm reading The Lancashire Witches A Romance of Pendle Forest by William Harrison Ainsworth (Kindle Edition - Mar. 17, 2006) - Kindle Book. Lots of claptrap, in the tradition of the gothic novel, though it has too many author's comments inserted to be a great gothic novel.

113Sundry
Jun 4, 2010, 8:54 am

I'm in comfort mode, with a desire to re-read many of my books. I recently finished re-reading the five books of The Belgariad by David Eddings. Now I'm re-reading Burning Water by Mercedes Lackey. It's interesting when I gauge my current reaction to books, especially the ones I haven't read in years.

114carptrash
Jun 4, 2010, 4:27 pm

Reading?

Is that the same as looking at the pictures or not? eek

115sally906
Jun 5, 2010, 7:57 pm

I am reading, well re-reading really, The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham - didn't like the movie version, but I do enjoy the book :)

116CWestover
Jun 5, 2010, 9:58 pm

The Girl Who Chased the Moon is what I'm trying to get from the library right now. Has anyone read it? Just finished The Last Theorem (sci fi).

117CH84
Jun 6, 2010, 8:00 pm

Hello,

Just finished "The Good Soldiers" by David Finkel, starting "A Star Called Henry", by Roddy Doyle.

118jennieg
Jun 7, 2010, 12:20 pm

I'm reading The Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution by Caroline Weber, my current candidate for Best Subtitle. And since that doesn't work as a bathroom book (too many long, chatty footnotes), I've got A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters going on the side.

119celtic
Jun 7, 2010, 2:13 pm

> 118

I looked at that title and thought, whaaat!

Anyway, I've looked at some reviews and you've alerted me to a book I didn't know existed, with a title that would have made me dismiss it - that actually looks an interesting and illuminating read.

(You are right - that is quite a subtitle)

Thankyou!

120jennieg
Jun 7, 2010, 2:40 pm

My notes indicate I read about it in an issue of Piecework a couple of years ago. I've just started it, but it seems well done so far.

121theaelizabet
Editado: Jun 10, 2010, 9:54 am

I'm reading Moby Dick and thoroughly enjoying it. Also reading White Heat: The Friendship of Emily Dickinson and Thomas Wentworth Higginson, which is also quite good.

ETA Also reading Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder for a RL book group.

122jnwelch
Jun 10, 2010, 12:46 pm

Mountains Beyond Mountains is a great book, theaelizabet. Hope you enjoy it.

I'm currently reading The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault, her first, and Agatha Christie's Poirot Investigates, and I picked up Paper Towns by John Green.

My favorite read so far this year was Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. Hard to believe it's her first.

123jennieg
Jun 10, 2010, 12:52 pm

I'm about to abandon The Special Mission: Hitler's Secret Plot to Seize the Vatican and Kidnap Pope Pius XII by Dan Kurzman. The writing is adequate at best and the topic could be dealt with in a magazine article.

124theaelizabet
Jun 10, 2010, 1:23 pm

122, Thanks! We're reading slowly, about 40-50 pages a week, then meeting early Saturday mornings to discuss it. And it's prompting some terrific talk.

125carptrash
Editado: Jun 10, 2010, 6:24 pm

I just finished From chalk to bronze : a biography of Waldine Tauch - a biography of sculptor Waldine Tauch and was surprised and delighted to find a few pages on the infamous 1936 Texas Centennial "Pioneer Woman Statue" scandal. Life is good. eek

Help how do I make a link to the title?

126theaelizabet
Jun 10, 2010, 2:39 pm

125, Hi carptrash. Just place brackets around the title ..... The book title should then appear to the right of the message you are creating. You might have to select from a list of similar titles. then post your message and the book title should appear in blue and be linked to its page on Librarything. Hope this helps.

127carptrash
Editado: Jun 10, 2010, 6:39 pm

It did not seem to work as an edit, so let me try again. From chalk to bronze : a biography of Waldine Tauch. Yes, now I see it. Thanks Thea, you ROCK. eek

Whoooops. spoke to soon.

128theaelizabet
Jun 10, 2010, 6:41 pm

127, Hmm, carptrash, I can't see that the title is blue and therefore a link. Make sure that you submit the message with the brackets still around the title. If not, the title will appear as normal text.

129staffordcastle
Editado: Jun 10, 2010, 7:47 pm

That's square brackets, not curly ones, btw.

130theaelizabet
Jun 10, 2010, 7:51 pm

Oh, thanks, staffordcastle. I had thought I had bracketed the ellipses in my post, but now see that they don't appear! Yes, square brackets, indeed, carptrash.

131jennieg
Jun 11, 2010, 9:35 am

I've moved on to A Voyager Out: The Life of Mary Kingsley, an intrepid Victorian explorer of West Africa. Very interesting.

132carptrash
Editado: Jun 11, 2010, 12:56 pm

No problem, I've been a square bracket all my life. Just one on each side? Or two? So here is the last book I uploaded, with brackets Ancient monuments of the Mississippi Valley. eek

Life is good. Thanks everyone for hangin' in there with this old (well, we're all over 50, but I'm even more than that) coot.

133staffordcastle
Jun 11, 2010, 4:58 pm

Hi, carptrash - two square brackets around a character string will cause the system to look for an author name. They are rather more unreliable than the title touchstones, though.

134carptrash
Jun 11, 2010, 6:33 pm

l can not but be amazed that there are so many wonderful, helpful folks out there with whom I share no books. eek

135lbradf
Jun 12, 2010, 4:37 pm

I am finally reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I bought it as soon as it was published, but it has been roaming about the house unread ever since. I just finished listening to A Beautiful Mind, the biography of mathematical genius John Nash. I really loved the movie--and almost none of it was in the book, even though they have the same title. However, both convey the amazing fact of Nash's genius, the depth of his mental illness, and the amazing fact of his recovery.

136jnwelch
Jun 14, 2010, 9:56 am

Interesting to hear the book differs from the movie. I read a Sylvia Nasar math-based article in the New Yorker and was impressed.

I finished three over the weekend: The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault, a good lexicographical mystery and her first book,

Paper Towns by John Green, a young adult book which had a great beginning and thoughtful conclusion, but dragged a bit for me in between, and

Jane Austen for Dummies by Joan Elizabeth Klingel Ray, which has been a lengthy project of periodic reading but well worth it.

I've started The Man in the Iron Mask, a Dumas featuring the Musketeers which I have never read. Fun so far.

137celtic
Editado: Jun 21, 2010, 2:11 am

After reading a lot of recommendations over on the Folio Devotee Forum (who haven't even published it themselves yet!), I read The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov.

One of the strangest plot lines I've come across involving (mentioning a few) the Devil, a 6ft smoking and drinking Cat, an Author, Pontius Pilate, a Poet, all set in Communist era Russia, when it's not in Biblical era Jerusalem!

It was a fantastic read - Tragic, Funny, Clever and evocative. Definitely a book I will read again in the future.

138carptrash
Jun 21, 2010, 10:12 am

I read the Master and Margarita in 1977 and all that I remember about it now is that it was one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read. The mind stuff is gone but the feeling stuff remains. eeek

139jnwelch
Jun 21, 2010, 10:18 am

Another thumbs up for The Master and Margarita.

The Man in the Iron Mask was good, although more melancholy than I expected.

Poirot Investigates was a collection of clever short mysteries from Dame Agatha.

I've started The Three Weissmanns of Westport and grabbed The Thirteen Problems, this time short mysteries featuring Miss Marple.

140jnwelch
Jun 30, 2010, 3:34 pm

The Three Weissmanns of Westport was quite good, and I recommend it. Loosely based on Sense and Sensibility, it's clever, and the departures from S & S work well.

141AlanPoulter
Jun 30, 2010, 4:44 pm


Just finished Adam Robert's Yellow blue tibia, which was very funny, am now reading Jay Lake's Escapement.

142Catgwinn
Editado: Jul 1, 2010, 6:04 pm

Since mid-May, and my last post on this thread, I've read the following books from my local library: "Necessary as Blood" by Deborah Crombie, "Trial by Fire" and "Fire and Ice" by J.A.Jance, "The Secret River" and "The Lieutenant" by Kate Grenville, "Katheryn's Secret" by Linda Hall, "Borderline" and "13 1/2" by Nevada Barr.

I'm currently reading "Borrowed Time" by Robert Goddard (previous Robert Goddard titles I've read: "Into the Blue" and "In Pale Battalions")

143tloeffler
Jul 3, 2010, 12:11 am

I'm currently reading Chasing Goldman Sachs, Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920's, and The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War: 1890-1914. What I find fascinating is the parallels between the time periods. It's true: "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."

144carptrash
Jul 3, 2010, 10:24 am

"What has been will be again...." This has got me thinking again about the oft quoted phrase, "Those who forget history are condemned to relive it." I have become more and more convinced that it is those who remember the past, who keep it alive that are condemned to relive it. Perhaps you'll pick up some clues in your reading? eek

145megwaiteclayton
Jul 3, 2010, 2:41 pm

Laughing at the bracket discussion.

I'm reading Men and Dogs and The Passage. Also, more a peruse than a front-to-back read, American Resting Place, which is a lovely book with lovely photos (following up on carptrash's "does looking at pictures count?")

146tloeffler
Jul 3, 2010, 3:09 pm

Gasp! I must read that book! I love cemeteries and cemetery books! Off to the library I go!

147carptrash
Jul 3, 2010, 8:00 pm

Gasp indeed. I too am a cemetery bookophile and am about to order a used copy of this tome. Not only that but I think I'll jump over to the cemetery (and churches) section of my library and enter a few titles. Life is good. So much better than the alternatives (see "cemetery"). eeek

148jennieg
Jul 6, 2010, 10:00 am

I'm reading The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant and enjoying it thoroughly.

149jnwelch
Jul 6, 2010, 12:13 pm

Finished The Double Comfort Safari Club and The Children of Green Knowe and liked them both. Easy on the psyche.

150usnmm2
Jul 6, 2010, 1:29 pm

Space Captain Smith (Chronicles of Isambard Smith) by Toby Frost

About 60 pages into this and in has me laughing out loud.

Example, sign on shop window reads ,
"...Rediscover your spirituality and detach yourself from materialism.
We accept all major credit cards...."

If it stays as good till the end I'll have to try book 2.

151staffordcastle
Jul 6, 2010, 7:51 pm

I finished that one recently and enjoyed it very much - looking to get #2 as well, and there's a 3rd one!

152usnmm2
Jul 6, 2010, 7:58 pm

151: staffordcastle

It was your post on another thread that tweaked my interest in the book.
So Thank You!

153staffordcastle
Jul 6, 2010, 8:08 pm

My pleasure!

154Neverwithoutabook
Editado: Jul 9, 2010, 10:02 pm

Lately I've been reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson which I enjoyed very much, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert which was ok but not a fave, The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, another that I thoroughly enjoyed, and currently reading Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It's holding my attention, so that's a good thing. Next up is The Girl Who Played With Fire another of Stieg Larsson's trilogy. Expectations are high for this one.

155AlanPoulter
Jul 10, 2010, 5:45 am


I have just finished Adam Robert's Yellow blue tibia which I thought was a very innovative book, trying to mix humour with serious science fiction (see my review), I have just started Jay Lake's Escapement which is the second in a trilogy set on an alternate Earth which is split by giant walls around the equator and runs on a track in a 'clockwork universe'.

156shearon
Jul 10, 2010, 10:05 am

I just finished The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks which is a great combination of science, human interest, culture, morality and ethics. It is fascinating that one person, Henrietta Lacks, was unkowingly the backbone for many of the medical developments since the early 1950's. (Her cells, HeLa, were significant in the progress of cellular biology and the development of numerous vaccines and other medical advancements.) The author, Rebecca Skloot, describes the facts surrounding the taking of Lacks' cells without her knowledge or consent and the struggle of her family to get meaningful information for years afterword. I am not sure I see the issues quite as racially motivated as Skloot suggests. To me they are more a matter of the medical community not appropriately sensitive to the personal rights and interests of patients. This was not necessarily malicious (although there are certainly instances where it was) but rather an organizational culture where these things were just not considered. As a book I think there was a little too much emphasis on the troubles and dysfunction of the Lacks family, but particularly in the Afterword, Skloot sets forth the continuing ethical dilemma posed by human research.

157megwaiteclayton
Jul 10, 2010, 10:28 am

>Gasp! I must read that book! I love cemeteries and cemetery books! Off to the library I go!

You're going to want to buy it so you can keep going back to the beautiful - and often very haunting - photos!

I'm reading The Passage - not something I'd usually pick up (need to keep up my weight routine just to open it!), but the head of marketing at Ballantine sent me a copy, and I'm quite enjoying it.

158jnwelch
Editado: Jul 10, 2010, 10:41 am

I've got The Passage on order at the library, as it is getting high marks from so many folks.

I raced through The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest and loved it. Great conclusion to the series.

Now reading Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman, on my son's recommendation, which so far is a fun, concise analysis of why we do so many things that are not actually sensible or in our best interest.

159Copperskye
Jul 19, 2010, 8:08 pm

I keep forgetting to post on this thread. I'm reading my first Ivan Doig, The Whistling Season, and am enjoying it greatly.

I've got a nice signed copy of The Passage just waiting for me to get up the energy to start it. I have a hard time committing to large books.

160usnmm2
Jul 26, 2010, 2:13 am

My reading has been all over the place this year. Also I'm way behind on most of my challenges.
Anyway I'm now reading A Tournament of Murders by P. C. Doherty.

161jnwelch
Jul 27, 2010, 11:20 am

The Maze Runner was a good start to a YA series,

Tinkers had some wonderful sections and a memorable conclusion, but also was bit uneven,

The Thirteen Problems is right up there with Dame Agatha's best, and

I started The Windup Girl, which so far is strange and interesting.

162usnmm2
Editado: Ago 2, 2010, 6:18 pm

Finished A Tournament of Murders by P. C. Doherty. Light reading in the vane of Ellis Peters Brother Cadfael tales. Doherty has used Chaucer's Canterbury Tales as the template for this series of historical mysteries. Good bedside book. Have bought a few more of the series.

Next up is a book that Caught my interest for three reasons;
1- it's science fiction
2- it starts by saying "don't read this book" and
3- The author has the same first initial and last name as me.
The Book by M. Clifford

163staffordcastle
Ago 2, 2010, 1:55 pm

The Book

Touchstone fairy

164usnmm2
Ago 2, 2010, 6:21 pm

I think the touchstone fairy has it in for me.

165staffordcastle
Ago 2, 2010, 7:00 pm

Actually, I can recommend The Book on the Bookshelf, it was quite interesting!

And I had to go get the number for your book, because it wasn't in the first hundred choices offered under (others)!

Cheers!

166MissDowntownNYC
Ago 2, 2010, 7:32 pm

Esta mensagem foi removida pelo seu autor.

167jnwelch
Ago 3, 2010, 1:13 pm

In an eclectic grouping, I finished The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi, full of intriguing ideas with an appealing central character, but not greater than the sum of its parts, Janes in Love by Cecil Castellucci, a good YA graphic novel sequel to Plain Janes, and Buddha for Beginners, from which I learned a lot and once again realized how little I know.

All helped by a long trip to Ann Arbor and back.

Still working on what to read next.

168lbradf
Ago 8, 2010, 9:07 pm

I just started reading The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore. It's a two-week library book, so I'm going to need to get cracking on it if I'm too finish it by the due date. One Wes Moore is writing about the parallel and divergent paths of his life and another Wes Moore from the same time.

I'm about to finish Snoop by Sam Gosling. It's not been as interesting as I thought it would be. However it is a book off the shelf, so I will be glad to finish it.

I'm also sort of reading Ruby Ridge by Jess Walter. At the time this was occurring, even though I lived sort of in the area, I didn't pay much attention to it. I'm curious to learn more about it now in hindsight.

169megwaiteclayton
Editado: Ago 14, 2010, 4:05 pm

I just finished A Stranger Like You by Elizabeth Brundage - one of the best books I've read in some time. Wonderful story for anyone - women's fiction, book clubs, thriller lovers, mystery fans - but writers in particular will admire the invisible seams. (I so so so admire the way this one is written!) My review at http://www.librarything.com/profile_reviews.php?view=megwaiteclayton

170AlanPoulter
Ago 15, 2010, 1:26 am


I am halfway through through Ian McDonald's The Dervish house which is set in a near future Turkey and weaves together an odd bunch of characters in a plot that reaches back into myth and forward into nanotechnology.

171Neverwithoutabook
Ago 17, 2010, 9:52 pm

It took me awhile to get through Love in the Time of Cholera. The pace was slow and although the writing was good, I didn't enjoy the story as much as I thought I would. Since then I've flown through Always by Jude Deveraux, am in the middle of Dragon by Clive Cussler, and just started The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson. I didn't realize Always was the third of a trilogy so now have to find the first two to get the background. I've always enjoyed a good Clive Cussler story and Dragon is no exception, and I'm told The Girl Who Played with Fire is even better than the first one. I've also just received Masquerade by Nancy Moser for review. Love having lots to read!

172lbradf
Ago 19, 2010, 1:02 am

I have to share with you my story about Love in the Time of Cholera. There is a movie--I can never remember the title--in which a male and female character meet and have a marvelous day. Then, instead of exchanging phone numbers, he grabs up a book from a table in front of bookstore and writes his number in the book. They agree that if she comes across that copy of the book in the future, she will call him and they will know that their relationship was meant to be. The book he grabbed up was Love in the Time of Cholera. I remember laughing aloud when he read the title because I thought it was such a silly title for a book, incorrectly assuming it was a made up title for the movie. I was so surprised months or years later when I saw the book in the library or a bookstore and realized that not only was it a real book, it was a famous, award-winning book. Now I can't see the title without thinking of this whole story!

173Neverwithoutabook
Ago 19, 2010, 2:47 pm

Thanks for sharing! I've seen that movie, too. It was great, but I don't remember the name of it either! LOL I didn't realize the book was Love in the Time of Cholera, tho.

174lbradf
Ago 20, 2010, 11:11 am

I'm listening to Kingdom Come: The Final Victory by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye. I think this truly might be the last book in the series. Although the franchise continues to expand--I have on request at the library the graphic novel version of the first book in the series, Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days. If that sells, they'll have 13 more book selling opportunities as they illustrate the rest of the series.

I'm reading Deer Hunting with Jesus by Joe Bageant. Published in 2007, it is quite prescient in its predictions of the present economic state. I also just started reading Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana. I didn't get to finish The Other Wes Moore before I had to return it to the library and I gave up on Ruby Ridge.

175alco261
Ago 20, 2010, 9:21 pm

Esta mensagem foi removida pelo seu autor.

176usnmm2
Ago 21, 2010, 4:56 pm

My reading has been all over the place this year. Have several books going and can't seem to finish them. But that usually happens to me in summer. Anyway! have added another to the finished pile.

"The Horizon" by Douglas Reeman

The third book in the Blackwood - Royal Marines saga, takes Jonathan Blackwood into WW1 (1914-1918). It's really two novellas in one book. The first, the Gallipoli campaign offers a horrifying initiation into war and the second half concerns the Naval Division in Flanders and trench warfare.

Fairly standard war story which I enjoyed reading. The interesting part was referring to the top edge of the trenches as the horizon. Which sets up all the romantic illusions of adventure and travel as in ,
"..What's over the next horizon.."
Only in this case it's not adventure or riches, only death and mayhem.

177usnmm2
Editado: Ago 31, 2010, 8:23 pm

Just finished The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I enjoyed it for the most part, but it got a little confusing in the middle third of the story. You needed a score card to keep track of who's who's.
You could have a good group discusion on comparing it to Dickens Great Expectations by Dickens (it's mentioned about 30 times in the story.)

178usnmm2
Set 1, 2010, 5:38 am

Time for a no brainer, a little Indiana Jones type story. So next book up to bat is The Lost Temple by Tom Harper

179arrr
Set 1, 2010, 6:41 pm

I read Blackout by Connie Willis. Loved the book but was a surprised and a little disappointed by the "cliffhanger." However, I will read the sequel as soon as I can get my hands on it. I also read Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, but I'm not sure I'll go on to the sequel.

180megwaiteclayton
Set 7, 2010, 11:04 am

Just started The Road from Coorain, my neighborhood book group read this month.

181Neverwithoutabook
Set 7, 2010, 1:16 pm

Just finished Dragon by Clive Cussler and now am focusing on my ER book Masquerade by Nancy Moser as well as The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson.

182megwaiteclayton
Set 8, 2010, 2:19 pm

Setting aside The Road from Coorain long enough to gobble up Julia Glass's The Widower's Tale. I have the most amazing guest post from Julia on my author blog this morning, "The Not Quite Yes" - about her "overnight success." One of the most inspiring posts I've gotten, and I've had posts from many amazing authors. It's at http://megwaiteclayton.com/1stbooks/?p=2007

183AlanPoulter
Editado: Set 8, 2010, 3:18 pm

Ian McDonald's The Dervish House was superb science fiction, and well-written. It deserves to win awards. The latest in the Laundry series, The Fuller Memorandum, by Charles Stross, was very cartoonish in comparison: the premise of black magic meets computing, in a setting of a spy story with humour, is getting rather predictable. Am half-way through Julian Comstock by Robert Charles Wilson. A diary set in a future regressed America, it lacks the sense of wonder that was a trademark of his.

184jnwelch
Set 8, 2010, 3:25 pm

I finished one that I recommend, The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, a short novel about an unlikely friendship with a memory-impaired man.

I'm now reading something quite different, a page-turning thriller, The Killer by Tom Hinshelwood.

185usnmm2
Set 8, 2010, 3:36 pm

megwaiteclayton

Thanks for the post. It's a good lesson in work hard at what you what and good things may happen. I always find it fascinating how many 10 and 15 year overnight successes there are.

186Neverwithoutabook
Set 8, 2010, 8:08 pm

Still working on The Girl Who Played With Fire, Masquerade, and No Country for Old Men and yet today I added Audition by Barbara Walters to my list of currently reading! Just couldn't resist after reading the first few pages of the Prologue!

187usnmm2
Set 12, 2010, 10:40 am

Time to go back to my old stand by "Age of sail" genre with True Colours (The Third Book in the Fighting Sail Series) by Alaric Bond. The first two books in the series were enjoyable, so I'll get it a go.

188usnmm2
Editado: Set 15, 2010, 12:25 pm

True Colours (The Third Book in the Fighting Sail Series) by Alaric Bond. Still a good read even after three books. Looking forward to his next one. I would recommend it to all who enjoy this genre.

Time for a change in pace with A. B. Guthrie Jr.'s The Big Sky , which is book 1 in a 6 book series. Has been on my radar for several years.

189BarbN
Set 19, 2010, 6:01 pm

Just read The Hunger Games and sequelae; enjoyed them very much (contrary to what the Library Thing will you like this book? predicted). Inhaled them in a couple of nights.

190jnwelch
Set 28, 2010, 3:13 pm

Just finished a fun one, Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster. It's a light and charming old-timer from 1912 that had been recommended by LTers, and I join their recommendation.

191dfmorgan
Set 30, 2010, 4:52 pm

Not long finished The Invention of Hugo Cabret. A strange but very enjoyable read, the author used drawings as well as text so it was half graphic novel and half novel. I must (re)start Wintersmith and get that out of the way to get to read I Shall Wear Midnight asap.

Dave

192usnmm2
Out 4, 2010, 3:38 pm

Been on a historical fiction and sci-fi kick for awhile. So it's time to get back to my own on going "mini" challenge of reading Emile Zola's epic 20 book "Les Rougon-Macquart"series with Pot Bouille (Pot Luck) which is the third one I'm reading but is the tenth one in the series.

193dfmorgan
Out 9, 2010, 3:04 pm

I've just started Let the Right One In. I enjoyed the film, if one can really enjoy that type of film, and wanted to read the book for some time now.

Dave

194usnmm2
Editado: Out 12, 2010, 10:59 pm

interesting lines from Pot Luck (Oxford World's Classics) by Émile Zola (otherwise under Émile Zola)

The landlord is showing octave to his new apartment and telling him who is living on each floor as they walk up.

"..... Then, as he went past the second floor without mentioning the occupants, Octave asked:
' And who lives there? pointing to the door of the main suite.
'Oh, there?' he said. 'People we never see, whom no one knows. The house could well do without them. But nowhere's perfect, I suppose.' He sniffed disdainfully.
'The Gentleman writes books, I believe.' ..."

Zola poking fun at himself?

195Neverwithoutabook
Out 14, 2010, 12:23 am

I've recently finished two books by Linda Castillo and loved both! they are the first two in a series she's working on. Sworn to Silence and Pray for Silence. you can check out my reviews on my blog or the books pages here. :)

I'm still working on the following.

Flourish by Catherine Hart Weber PhD

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

Audition by Barbara Walters

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich and

Daddies and Daughters by Carmen Renee Berry

196usnmm2
Editado: Nov 3, 2010, 8:15 am

Time for an update:

The Eagle and the Wolves by Simon Scrarrow
(The invation of Briton and the adventures of Marcos and Cato continue in this book #3 in the series)

The Sea Devil's Fo'cle by Lowell Thomas
( A collection of sea stories and rememberences of Count Luckner)

Star Corps (The legacy Trilogy, Book 1) by Ian Douglas
( the space Marines continue to battle their wat accroos the universe)

197lbradf
Dez 24, 2010, 5:16 pm

Listening to The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell--have been for quite awhile actually. Hope to finish before 12/31 so I can count it in my 50 book challenge.

Reading Driven to Distraction by Edward M. Hallowell on my Nook.

Reading Under a Maui Moon by Robin Jones Gunn from the library. We went to Maui in November and I thought it would be fun to read a book set there. It's due 12/28, so it will be another for my 50 book challenge if I finish it before it's due.

Reading The Walk: Clear Direction and Spiritual Power for Your Life by Shaun Alexander in the bathroom. It was an ER book that I am trying to finish and review.

198Neverwithoutabook
Dez 25, 2010, 3:11 pm

I'm thoroughly enjoying Where We Know: New Orleans As Home by David Rutledge. So much to learn, combined with so many memories.

I'm also reading Audition by Barbara Walters and quite enjoying that one as well.

I found myself without either of my current active reads a couple of days ago, so picked up yet another...Reba. Although I've only just started it, I think it's going to be a very interesting and entertaining read, but then it's Reba!

199dfmorgan
Dez 26, 2010, 6:19 pm

OK completed Let the Right One In. A quite enjoyable read. Now moving on to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to complete that series.

Dave