What are you currently reading?

[M.]

What book are you currently reading? What do you think of it?

[M.]

I'm reading "Tales From The Sidewalks Of New York," by Ron Ross. It's a book of stories that I'm finding to be interesting, especially since some of the stories take place in the Brooklyn neighborhood in which I grew up.

[Judy]

Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson....about his trek on the Appalachian Trail. Laugh out loud funny in spots...brilliant writing.

[Susana]

Elizabeth Ironside, Death in the Garden, a mystery set in both the present and the past and perfect for curling up with at the end of the year.

[Susana]

Just finished Leonardo Sciascia, Il Contesto. This was my review: I found this difficult to read in the Italian version, but think I would have found it difficult to read in the English version as well. There are a number of characters. Many get killed. I like the cynical tone of Sciascia's work, but I also believe that if you are writing what he calls at the beginning "a parody," then you have an obligation to provide some clarity for your readers and this was too obscure, at least for me. I would normally enjoy a book about the collusion among government and economy and crime. But the writing is not accessible enough, sadly. Perhaps if I were more knowledgeable about the political situation in Italy in the 1970s, I would have gotten more from reading this. But he never even explicitly says that he is writing about Sicily, although, of course, he is. As he suggests in the note at the end, everything is about Sicily--even if I paint an apple, it is about Sicily.
Is this thread still active? I seem to be the only one occasionally posting these past few weeks....

[M.]

"Destiny of the Republic" by Candice Millard, is a fascinating account of the assassination of James Garfield by a deranged office seeker. Garfield, a reluctant candidate, was swept into office on a surge of popular demand. He'd have liked nothing better than to continue on as a congressman, intellectual and family man. Sadly, he didn't need to die. His wounds were not really life threatening He was killed by the ignorance and incompetence of his physicians, who refused to give credence to the work of Joseph Lister who developed the practice of antisepsis, basically, sterilization and the elimination of germs.

[Susana]

Glad to see this is still active. Thanks for posting!

[M.]

I recently finished reading "The Murder of the Century" by Paul Collins. It was a very interesting true crime book which dealt with the discovery, in 1897 in NYC's East River, by two young boys, of a headless and limbless human torso. Police investigation ultimately revealed that the deceased was the hapless victim in a sensational love triangle. What followed was an even more sensational trial, fueled by the newly emerging tabloid wars, principally fought between Joseph Pulitzer and Randolph Hearst. The book presents a portrait of America during the Gilded Age and a fascinating re-creation of of the newspaper wars that forever changed journalism.

[M.]

"Team Of Rivals," by Doris Kearns Goodwin

This is a magnificent, well-researched book which not only illustrates Abraham Lincoln's greatness and winning personality but also provides pretty extensive biographies of such political giants of the era as William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates and Edwin Stanton.
Grossly underestimated by most observers, including his own cabinet members, Lincoln gradually earned the respect of all and grew to be perhaps the best loved and most esteemed President in the history of the nation.

[M.]

I'm currently reading Stephen King's "Rose Madder." I'm a Stephen King fan; I consider him my "guilty pleasure."

[T]

As a lover of Historical Romance I must admit I am loving Vampires In Devil Town by Wayne Hixon. Just enough drama and excitement to make you keep reading. Once I finish reading I will give a better review.

[M.]

This is the best book I've read this year; a very well-researched historical novel about a small town in England that is decimated by the Bubonic Plague. The characters were strong and interesting, particularly Anna Frith, the narrator, an intelligent and quick-witted young lady, whose growth during that horrible year of death is heartwarming. The novel illustrates how desperate times can bring out the best in some folks and the worst in others.
Although the ending may have been a bit contrived, it did not take away from the overall excellence of this work.

It is June 27 and I am editing this post. I just noticed that I foolishly neglected to include the name of the book that I raved about in my review. It is "Year of Wonders" by Geraldine Brooks. Sorry.

[T]

M. wrote: "This is the best book I've read this year; a very well-researched historical novel about a small town in England that is decimated by the Bubonic Plague. The characters were strong and interesting,..."

Sounds very interesting. Thanks

[M.]

Just finished reading Geraldine Brooks' "March." It was
another great one by Ms. Brooks. This Pulititzer Prize-winning novel of the Civil War imagines the experiences of the character Mr. March, the absent father in Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women," when he goes off to war as a chaplain for the Union troops. March struggles to live up to the man he thinks he should be.
Despite having loved all of the author's other novels, I had resisted reading this one, having never read "Little Women" and so feeing that I would be missing some important previous knowledge. I soon found that one needn't have read Alcott's book to fall under the spell of this well-researched and beautifully written masterpiece.

[M.]

T.V. wrote: "M. wrote: "This is the best book I've read this year; a very well-researched historical novel about a small town in England that is decimated by the Bubonic Plague. The characters were strong and i..."

Oops. I just noticed that I never said what book this is: "Year of Wonders" by Geraldine Brooks.

[V.]

Bills....

[V.]

Blood Borne Connections- and it's a real page-turner!

[V.]

- I paused, but have picked it back up