What Are You Reading - December 2012

[Kim]

I'm starting to finally get in to my new life so reading properly can commence again :)

This month I plan to start getting back in to group reads so I'll be reading On the Road, The Diamond Age and No Orchids For Miss Blandish.

I need to finish my currently reading books of A Confederacy of Dunces and A Canticle for Leibowitz.

That will do for now, we'll see how this busy month will go.

[Michael, Mod Prometheus]

I've completed my reading challenge for the year (150 books) so I'm going to spend this month reading some larger books. So a part from On the Road, I will be reading Joseph Anton, Les Misérables and maybe Infinite Jest. Apart from that, I don't think I'll have time to read much more.

[[deleted user]]

Michael wrote: "I've completed my reading challenge for the year (150 books) so I'm going to spend this month reading some larger books. So a part from On the Road, I will be reading Joseph Anton, Les Misérables a..."

I'll be interested to read your take on Joseph Anton. I read it last week, and was left with conflicting feelings about it.

I will be reading and reviewing children's and young adult books from now through Mid-January, so I won't have time for much pleasure reading. I am thankful for a long commute to work and audiobooks from the library, which will get me through December. I look forward to re-reading The Shadow of the Wind with the group in January.

[Kim]

I've moved on to On the Road. Not sure how it will go yet.

[M.L.]

I'm reading On the Road: The Original Scroll.

This is funny - Publisher's Weekly - person of the year - the author of Shades of Gray (which I haven't read and not planning to but interesting to hear what their thinking is/was!)

http://www.latimes.com/features/books...

[Aoibhínn]

I finished reading by S.E. Hinton last night. This was my first time reading The Outsiders. I never managed to get around to reading it as a teenager but I've heard so many people say it is one of their favourite books so I thought it was about time that I read it finally. And now that I've finished the book I can't believe I waited so long! The Outsiders is a gripping and compelling read which is full of suspense. It was also extremely heart-breaking and touching at times. The novel is very well-written, considering S.E. Hinton was just seventeen years old when she wrote it. I was amazed with the amount of depth and layers in this book. It really is wonderful. Five stars!
My full review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Today I've started reading by Charlotte Rogan.

[Franky]

The first half of the month it will be difficult to find time to read, but I plan to read more on Christmas break. I just finished House of Leaves and am currently rereading The Brothers Karamazov. This month I plan on reading On the Road and The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War. After that, not sure yet.

[Aoibhínn]

I've finished reading by Charlotte Rogan yesterday. The Lifeboat is the debut novel of author Charlotte Rogan. It is a compelling, gripping and extremely thought-provoking tale. This novel tells the story of survival at its most basic level. It explores human nature and morality. It shows what happens to people while they are fighting to stay alive. The novel is a psychological thriller really. The book is very well-written. I really loved the author's writing style. I was completely engrossed in this novel from the very first page. The way in which Charlotte Rogan describes the moral decisions the characters have to make is quiet chilling.
My full review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Now I'm halfway through by Sophie Kinsella.

[Jenny]

I read and loved Catch-22 and am now in the middle of Sovereign and Ordinary Thunderstorms: A Novel as an audio book . Next up: The Turn of the Screw, Vanishing Point by Markson and Dombey and Son by Dickens.

[M.L.]

I'm reading A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Stories.

[Franky]

Flash Beagle wrote: "I'm reading A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Stories."

December is a great time to read Dickens :)

[Lawyer]

I've just finished Their Eyes Were Watching God for my Southern Lit group. For anyone interested, here is my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Now, I'm well into The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War by Howard Bahr, who was curator of Faulkner's home Rowan Oak for over twenty years.

I've got my copy of No Orchids For Miss Blandish for Pulp Fiction and am really looking forward to reading On the Road for Literary Exploration.

[M.L.]

Franky wrote: "Flash Beagle wrote: "I'm reading A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Stories."

December is a great time to read Dickens :)"

It truly is, one of my first favorite authors - almost like going home :)

[Aoibhínn]

I've finished reading by Sophie Kinsella yesterday. The first half of the book was quite good but I got a bit bored with it during the second half. The book was well-written and it had a lot of extremely funny scenes in it. However, the plot was very predictable. I made a guess when I was at 5% of the way in about how this book would end and I figured it out exactly! The author is not very good at adding "twists and turns" into her plots, which is the main reason I haven't picked up a book by this author for ten years. I thought the author would have learned something in all that time but apparently not!
My full review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...


Now I'm a few chapters into by Christopher Moore.

[Janet]

Mike wrote: "I've just finished Their Eyes Were Watching God for my Southern Lit group. For anyone interested, here is my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Now, I'm well into The Black F..."

Thank you for posting your review. This book has been on my TBR list and I have nominated it for a group read. After reading your review I am sure that I want to read it soon. Sounds wonderful.

[Aoibhínn]

I've finished by Christopher Moore earlier today. The plot was quite thin but there were tons of funny scenes that made me giggle and snicker (it wasn't funny enough to make me laugh out loud). However I got bored with this book pretty quickly. The humour was just so repetitive that it started to get on my nerves after a while and the jokes just stopped being funny. I didn't like the second half of the book as it just got too far-fetched and stupid. I really struggled to finish it.
My full review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...


Now I'm a couple of chapters into by Diane Chamberlain.

[Leonard]

I'm reading and so far enjoying it. I love Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude.

[Jenny]

Reading The Year of the Flood by Atwood, and can't wait to start my Christmas read: Dombey and Son by Dickens which has nothing to do with Christmas but I hear "Dickens" and Christmas bells go off in my ear.How come everybody is reading Dickens in Winter??!

[Janice]

I am just finishing up On the Road, afterwards I will read A Tale of Two Citiesand A Christmas Carolby Dickens :)

[Pam]

Reading ON THE ROAD; THE INVISIBLE MURDER by Danish authors Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis and THE CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS by Persian poet, Farid Attar.

[Aoibhínn]

I finished by Diane Chamberlain yesterday morning. The Good Father is a gripping, touching and thought-provoking read. The three main characters are Travis, Robin and Erin and each of the chapters in the novel is narrated by one of these characters. Some of the chapters do jump from the present to the past but I thought the story was still easy to follow. Some parts of the story were very unrealistic and far-fetched and the ending of the novel was a bit of a letdown as I thought it was very predictable. It really seemed like the author had rushed out an ending just to make a deadline. I gave this one 3 stars.
My full review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...


Now I'm about to start by Sanjay Gupta. I heard this novel is going to be turned into a TV series similar to ER. It sounded like a TV show I'm be interested in watching so I decided to read the book.