Summer Reads: What are you reading and what do you think?

[Jamie]

For July and August we are going to finish up books we've laid aside, finally get to those books that have been on our to-read list for far too long and/or do some light & fun summer reading. Let the group know what you're reading this summer (even if it doesn't meet group requirements) and tell us what you think of the book (without giving anything away)! Happy reading!

[Andrew]

Just finished Hemingway's 'To Have and Have Not.' Currently working on Stephen King's 'Mr Mercedes' and 'Finders Keepers.'

[Jamie]

Marie wrote: "My own group is currently reading The Age of Innocence. It's a reread for me, but I love it just as much as I did the first time.

I'm also rereading Jude the Obscure with another group, which is ..."

I need to get to Jude the Obscure. I love Hardy. :)

[Casceil]

Last month I read The House of Mirth. It was very good, though not my favorite Wharton by any means. The heroine, Lily Bart, is an interesting character study of a conflicted woman. She was raised with money but then her father lost it all. She has been groomed to be a rich man's wife, and that is the goal she is pursuing, but when push comes to shove she always sabotages herself somehow, probably because subconsciously she knows she would be miserable in the resulting marriage. I did not like her much in the beginning of the book, but she grows on you, and becomes a better person by the end.

[Tony]

Room with a view. Oh this was such a good book, with lots to provoke discussion. For example, could it have been possible for the Cecil character to really change?

[Andrew]

Started 'The Stand' with another group, Deborah Harkness' 'Discovery of Witches' and finally got my copy of 'Finders Keepers.'

[Jamie]

Finally finished The Doctors Wife. I didn't really get into it. The end was got better but was a little dramatic and rushed, which wasn't a bad thing since I was ready to be done with it. I just started Auntie Mame and am enjoying it. I keep picturing the movie which actually helps add life to the characters.

[Jamie]

I loved Far From the Madding Crowd but did not enjoy Villette so much. I love Wharton so I need to check out The Touchstone.

[Casceil]

I had mixed feelings about Villette while I was reading it, but by the end I came to really like it and think it was brilliant. You just have to be a little patient in the beginning. And it is a great book to discuss.

[Jamie]

Casceil wrote: "I had mixed feelings about Villette while I was reading it, but by the end I came to really like it and think it was brilliant. You just have to be a little patient in the beginning. And it is a ..."

I think my big problem was the mood I was in while reading. I was working nights and not so happy with life so I found it rather depressing to read.

[Jamie]

Marie wrote: "I've read Villette before, but it was in high school after reading Jane Eyre a little over ten years ago. I don't remember a great deal about it other than the basic storyline. But I'm one of the o..."

I also liked Tenant of Wildfell Farm.

[Jamie]

I've finished Auntie Mama and The Four Graces by D.E. Stevenson. Both were 4 stars for me :)

I'm going to start Death in the Floating City by Tasha Alexander next. Maybe I'll finish Middlemarch at some point!

[Andrew]

Ian Caldwell's 'The Fifth Gospel' was a good one.

[Omaid]

The man who was Thursday by C K Chesterton. At the fifth chapter. amazing so far!

[Jamie]

I finished Death in the Floating City and Behind the Shattered Glass by Tasha Alexander and am about half way through The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir.

[Tony]

Spent the summer visiting Bath and re-reading Jane Austen novels after many years abstinence. Currently reaching the climax of Mansfield Park, still finding so many truthful human feelings a surprise for those times.