Jennifer's comments (member since Jun 05, 2008)

Jennifer's comments from the Books on the Nightstand group.

I have found that if it made it to my TBR pile that its often a matter of timing - some times the book just has to fit the mood I'm in and that can literally take years!! But I do try to decide pretty early once I've started reading. I can usually tell in just a few pages or a chapter if the book and I aren't in synch but then I may pick it up months or years later and it turns out to be perfect for where I'm at. Its my Orson Wells approach - I will read no book before its time.

I was in a bookclub in Boston for about 18 years which disbanded when too many of us started moving farther away from the city. It was a group of very close friends so while I'm still in touch with everyone I really missed our Book club meetings.

I was lucky enough to find a new bookclub where I now live. A mutual friend brought two groups of strangers together and fortunately we clicked. I think one of the keys to making it last is that everyone is committed. We even have a member who drives up and stays overnight from Connecticut every month. We've been together for 4 years now and I'd be a little embarrassed to tell you how many family and work events I have missed because my bookclub took priority. But for me, this time is sacred!!!

I have a great graphic novel recommendation...Tamara Drew by Posey Simmonds. Its a little different from the other graphic novels that have been mentioned (all of which I also recommend) because its not completely structured in the comic book blocks. There is more prose on some pages but the drawings are beautiful and totally enhance the story. Tamara Drew is a modern retelling of Thomas Hardy's Far From the Maddening Crowd. It was my first graphic novel and a really accessible way into the genre since it didn't have that comic book feel.

While I don't think of myself as a big sci-fi reader, The Time Traveler's Wife and To Say Nothing of the Dog are two of my top ten favorite books ever. So I think I'm just partial to time travel.

Ann - I don't know how you put Time Traveler's Wife down after 50 pages. You must pick it up again. (of course, now I've over-hyped it so you will be disappointed...)

Any other titles are out there with great time travel based stories?

Like everyone else on this forum I have a wish list a mile long. But I think the ultimate gift would be a book that I didn't know I wanted...some little known gem that someone picked out for me knowing that I love all things British or mysteries or World War 2 set dramas etc. The best gift would be discovering a new book or author. Of course - that is what is so great about this group and podcast. So many new discoveries!!

All that being said, I do hope someone gets me Doomed Queens or The Fire by Katherine Neville or The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.

Hi Ann. I've been thinking about this question on topics and thought of a few that I'd be interested in.

What about books that make you laugh out loud? Who couldn't use a little light reading when everything around us is so depressing!
I was also thinking of book series that are worth the commitment. If I'm going to invest in a series of books I want them to the really really good.

I love your podcast so I'm sure that whatever topics you pick are going to be interesting and add to the overflowing TBR basket by my bed!

I'm currently reading The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver.

I'm also going to hit Edgar Sawtelle next! I've heard so much buzz about this book that I can't wait to get to it.

Summer, The Book Thief is one of my all time favorites. It's a heart breaker.

I second the motion for Summer to read Mister Pip. I would definitely put it on the top of my First Half of 2008 list. This is a book that had me in tears on an airplane. (Why do they always come by with soda at these crucial moments?) And I have to give credit to Michael and Ann for turning me on to it. Thanks guys!

Other favorite books on my list so far this year would be:
We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver,
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (which finally made it to the top of the pile), and The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

Building off of Stephen's comments above what about disappointments for the year? Mine would be The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta. I expected a much better ending to a great story set up.

Scout and Harriet the Spy are great picks! My favorite childhood character was Annabel Andrews. She is best known from Freaky Friday but one of my all time favorite books was its little known sequel A Billion For Boris. Annabel was smart, funny, and independent but flawed and real in a way that made me feel like she could have been my coolest friend. Many years later I still go back to A Billion for Boris for a comfort read - a literary "mac and cheese".

Adult picks would have to include the one and only Bertie Wooster! How I wish that I had an English country estate where he could come steal my cow creamer while playing the banjolele....

Ann, I'm so excited to hear that Katherine Neville is hard at work on a sequel to The Eight! I didn't enjoy her other two books (The Magic Circle and Calculated Risk) quite as much but I'll keep my fingers crossed that she comes through with a great story.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova and The Thirteen Tale by Diane Setterfield have similar structures to The Eight, combining a story lines in the past and present. Both would make good "mental popcorn".

Like Stephen, my lifestyle doesn't change dramatically in the summer so in general, neither does my reading list. However, I do take pains to ensure that I only bring books I'm really excited about on vacation since there is nothing worse than being on a plane with a book you are not enjoying. I always travel with plenty of back up reading material just in case one of my selections lets me down. I just came back from a weekend in Savannah and thoroughly enjoyed Mister Pip (which had me to tears on the plane!) and Three Men in a Boat (does it get any lighter than Three Men?).

Shadow of the Wind is a great pick for someone looking for traditional "summer reading". And I also recommend The Eight by Katherine Neville. I think I reread that every year around this time.

If it wasn't for all the English classes I took in high school and college I would be sadly low on this list but at least I can honestly say I've read 39 of these (and skimmed a few more but I won't try to claim them!)

To Steve's point above, just because I read them, doesn't mean I enjoyed them. I try to catch myself when I'm feeling like I "should" read something and it becomes a chore. So many books - so little time...

That being said, some of these are definitely favorites and perhaps deserve a re-reading now that I'm long out of high school, to see how they strike me as an adult. I recently reread The Good Soldier and realized I missed so much the first time around.

Hi!

I'm a fan of the podcast and the blog so I'm really excited to see you guys here on Goodreads. I just read my first graphic novel (Tamara Drewe) after hearing your graphic novel podcast and I am a convert. And I just took Mister Pip out of my local library so I'm looking forward to discovering Lloyd Jones as well.

Jennifer