Hi Jeff. Welcome back to SB and to the group! I have some family up in the Bend/Sunriver area; it's really a beautiful place.

Our next meeting will be at the beginning of December, to discuss "What the Dog Saw and Other Stories."

Check out the "December Meeting" topic on the group page.

-Holly

Hi guys. My name is Jeff. I recently moved from Oregon back into town. My cousin introduced me to this site and I am thrilled to have found you. I just started reading for pleasure about 3 years ago. My interests vary widely from classics to popular fiction. Right now I am reading Infinite Jest and The Time Traveler's wife. I am not sure how this works or if you guys are still active but if so I look forward to meeting you all.

It's such a small world!

I know Whittier! I used to live in Covina/Azusa. :)

I moved from Whittier, CA (it is in South LA county). Yeah, Goleta is absolutely gorgeous. I love the weather! It is sunny but with a cool breeze.

Hi Jessica! Yep, the group is active. I just joined a week or two ago, so I'm glad to see another new person coming in. Where did you move from? Isn't SB/Goleta beautiful? :)

Hello everyone,
I hope you guys are still active. I just moved to Goleta and was looking for a good book group.

As for my taste in books... It varies widely with my mood. I love the classics. Charles Dickens is amazing! I just re-read Dracula recently.

I also enjoy "childish" fantasies from time to time. Harry Potter, for example, is a great way to escape once in a while.

I am open to trying new things in books. My boyfriend got me to read "Ender's Game"recently, which I enjoyed it for the most part.

I'm not sure if you guys are still doing the September book. I've read the Lovely Bones. Like Tabitha, I didn't know it was becoming a movie. I'd like to read the Time Traveler's Wife at some point.

Hey there! I'm new to Goodreads and was so excited to see a Santa Barbara group on here. My name is Tabitha, and I live in Goleta with my husband Joe.

I love reading just about anything, really. Lately I've read a bunch of love-story-type books (The Wednesday Letters, The Choice (Sparks), and I'm currently finishing up The Time Traveler's Wife), but I also enjoy sci-fi/fantasy, psychological thrillers, young adult fiction...you name it.

I'm kind of a fickle reader. I'll read ten books in a matter of a few weeks, then go ten months without reading much of anything. I'm definitely in a reading frenzy lately, though.

Anyway, I'm excited to see what happens here in this group.

Oh, and I've read The Road and Lovely Bones and had no idea they're being made into movies! I will definitely be seeing those.

I'll read one of those

Hi everyone! I'm Whitney and recently moved to Goleta.

I read a lot of realistic contemporary fiction, especially books written for the young adult market (like The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks and Wintergirls). I also like literary graphic novels like Blankets.

Two books I've liked recently have been The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and The Graveyard Book.

As for books turned into movies, there's Time Traveler's Wife (Aug.), The Road (Oct), and Lovely Bones (Dec). I'd be up for a discussion of any of those.

Hi Sean, welcome to the area and the book club. We haven't gotten together yet, but I'd like to. I've been keeping an eye out for books that are being turned into movies. I thought it would be interesting for us to read the novel, see the movie and then have a discussion. All of that could be done separately/online, or we could meet at a coffee shop or where ever. Let me know if you have any book suggestions.

-Holly

Hi everybody,
I'm new in SB and like reading, well everything you all have above and just about anything else. Some of my favorite authors are Rushdie, Vonnegut, I really liked one book by Murikami(sp?), but since I've been disappointed, Marquez is pretty dreamy(espanol version is super-ambitious-goodonya David!), Orson Scott Card for sure. In the middle of Asimov's Foundation series which is my first for him. Sorry this is huge run-on I only have a minute but I'm glad to find six other people here read books and look forward to more correspondence. Do you ever meet? Or have a book you all read and chat about?

Welcome Juliana, great to have you in the group!

I've always thought I should read some of Orson Scott Card's novels, though I guess I've just never gotten around to it. Pastwatch sounds like an interesting Historical-Sci-fi mix.

I looked at some of Stephen Lawhead's books. I bet I'd like his work too.

Hi Everyone,

I'm the one who likes stealing David's books. My name is Juliana and I live in Goleta, too.

I'm with you, Holly, on what makes a good book. I love getting totally sucked in and living in a totally different word for as long as the book lasts.

I like to read Latinamerican novels; my favorite is La Novia Oscura by Laura Restrepo. I also very much enjoy reading sci-fi. My current favorite is the Vorkosigan Saga (like The Vor Game) by Lois McMaster Bujold, which I am about to finish. Finally, I really enjoy sci-fi books that have some sort of historical connotation, like Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card or novels by Stephen R. Lawhead.

Currently on my reading list:
Avalon The Return of King Arthur by Lawhead,
A Civil Campaign by Bujold

Yeah, I was so surprised about our reading overlap that I joined the group--doing so was a bit out of character for me. The group is great so far, though, even with just two members. I've been waffling on whether to read the "Sabriel" trilogy, but now I'll definitely take the plunge.

(A person who REALLY likes the Kage Baker books is my fiance; though I think she started reading them mainly for the humor of stealing my books.)

Hi David. Welcome to the group! Sounds like we read similar types of books.

Nice to see that other people are reading the Kage Baker novels. She actually lives just a few hours north of here, in Grover Beach (or at least she used to).

I haven't read a lot of mystery novels myself, but "Crocodile on the Sandbank" sounds interesting. Maybe I'll give it a try.

(That's a good format, Holly. Thanks for the lead!)

I'm David, and I also live in Goleta.

I enjoy clever writing and love books that teach me something. I hate waiting for the release of the next book in a series...

I read mostly sci-fi. I used to read a lot of fantasy but avoid it now, as I get sucked into series and lose sleep. Some folk in my family are mystery fans, and at their instigation I'm easing into the genre. I read fiction more for enjoyment rather than edification, and I much prefer light-hearted books to somber ones.

Also, I'm always looking for science and economics books that are well-written and/or fun to read--even textbooks. Steven Vogel's Life in Moving Fluids and Martin Kemp's Visualizations: The Nature Book of Art and Science are two of my favorites.

Finally, I hope to someday read (and understand) "Cien años de soledad" by Gabriel García Márquez in the original Spanish.

Recently read:
- Flashforward, by Robert Sawyer (sci-fi)

Currently reading:
- Robin Hobb's "Tawny Man" series (so much for avoiding fantasy...)
- Crocodile on the Sandbank, by Elizabeth Peters (mystery)

Hi! My name is Holly and I live in Goleta.

I love reading books that transport me to new places, and create new worlds to explore. I think a sign of a good book is when you get so wrapped up in its world and characters, you're convinced they must exist, somewhere. Or when you dread reaching the end, because you don't want to leave that story behind.

My favorite books are sci-fi and fantasy. I love Garth Nix's "Sabriel" trilogy, and of course Douglas Adams' books. Although, my favorite by him is the lesser-known "The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul".

I've also recently been getting into travel writing, reading all of Karin Muller's books (Japanland, Along the Inca Trail, and Hitchhiking Vietnam). She has the wonderful ability to make you feel like you're on the journey with her. And any author who can make me laugh out loud gets extra points. :-)

Some of my recent reads include
- Kage Baker's "The Company" series (sci-fi)
- Freakonomics (non-fiction)

I'm currently reading
- Shadowbridge (fantasy)
- The Undercover Economist (non-fiction)