What I'm Reading - March 2013

[Carol]

Thought I would scare up another Martha Grimes bookBelle Ruin: A Novel. Don't know about the twelve year old protaganist, it is a bit dicey right now,I am only on page 22. She seems sophisticated for twelve, but Grimes tells you alot in 22 pages.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Jennifer wrote: "Reading Case Histories . This is the first Kate Atkinson I've read. I was a little uncertain about it on page one, but by page three I was hooked. Good book!"

I really love Kate Atkinson, too. Make sure you don't limit yourself to her Jackson Brody mysteries (which are wonderful), but her literary fiction is great, too. I haven't read everything she's written, but I hope to someday.

[Doreen]

Kate Atkinson's "Started Early, Took My Dog" is one of my all time favorites...have read it twice, and a third time is not far away.....

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Wanda wrote: "Kate Atkinson's "Started Early, Took My Dog" is one of my all time favorites...have read it twice, and a third time is not far away....."

I loved that one, too. Has she done the next Jackson Brody one yet? I guess I could look it up.

[Jennifer]

Wow-- I hadn't even heard of her until recently. Such praise! Off to add more of her to my TBR.

[Peggy]

Wanda wrote: "Kate Atkinson's "Started Early, Took My Dog" is one of my all time favorites...have read it twice, and a third time is not far away....."
I want to read that, based on the title alone...

[Joan]

She has a new book forthcoming "Life After Life" is (I think) the title, and it's not a Jackson Brody (alas, because I love that series).

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Joan wrote: "She has a new book forthcoming "Life After Life" is (I think) the title, and it's not a Jackson Brody (alas, because I love that series)."

I've already pre-ordered it, and I have it on my "to nominate" shelf. I've heard great things about it.

[Ruth]

Who recommended The Good House by Ann Leary? Thanks for a good read.

The best thing this book has going for it is the voice. Unique. Hildy is quite a character, enough to hold up the book even without the serious issues at hand. I won’t tell you what the problem is. Part of the joy of this book is having it gradually dawn on you. Another part is the understanding that comes from being inside the mind of Hildy and understanding how and why she does what she does. A book that takes a serious issue and makes it smart and funny. Recommended.

[John]

That was me, Ruth, and I have been waiting for your comments!

[Ruth]

I loved it, John. Couldn't put it down.

[Lyn]

I'm in the middle of Where'd You Go, Bernadette and it's light and fun to read.

[John]

I'm halfway through the first book in a mystery series: Summer of the Big Bachi, featuring an L. A. area gardener, who was a boy in Hiroshima on that day. Can't say as I'm wild about the book's Hiroshima-themed "mystery" as a plot, but I do love the local setting, reminding me, in a way, of a modern Philip Marlowe adventure. The plot of the next one seems much more interesting (set in New York City though), so I can live with the awkwardness of this book as something necessary for setting up the series.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

The Good House is on my wishlist at audible. I'm really looking forward to it.

[Nada]

I just finished reading The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, I even finished writing a review for it. Yesterday I started reading My Lady Mage by Alexis Morgan. It's my first book for her and it has a very good and interesting start so I'll see it where it goes.
I am also reading Poetical Works: Tennyson.

[Ruth]

Metamorphosis is one of my all time favorites.

[Carol]

I found two bargin's at the Friends of the Library this morningPossession and The Sandalwood Tree: A Novel for a grand total of $2.00. I will start one soon after I finish Belle Ruin: A Novel

[John]

Carol -- had you read the first two Emma Graham books before this one? I'm a fan of them.

[Carol]

No I found this for $.10 at the library book store. Emma is something else, reminds me a little of the girl in The Elegance of the Hedgehog.

[John]

HA! I'm re-reading Hedgehog now!

[Katy]

I have just started re-reading Brideshead Revisited which I read some 25 years ago. I loved it then, and my memory being what it is, it will be like reading a new novel.

[John]

I hear you, Katy, although it doesn't take me nearly 25 years for me to forget details of books ... in some cases (say, Middlemarch) 2.5 years is plenty of time for that! It couldn't have been more than a decade ago, at most, that I read BH and the only detail that stuck in my mind from then was the pig named Francis Xavier.

[Bernadette]

The Guard by Peter Terrin is proving to be quite a challenge. I heard him say in person, ‘Nothing much happens in my novel’, but I’ve just arrived at a particular gruesome bit. I’d love to hear your feedback.

[John]

A Japanese-American Goodreads reviewer mentioned that she thought the decision to write the dialogue in "pidgin" when the protagonist and his pals had been in the country for 50 years was annoying, and in her experience, unlikely. I agree on the former point, but it's not a deal breaker.

[Marjorie]

John wrote, "Carol -- had you read the first two Emma Graham books before this one? I'm a fan of them."

I loved Martha Grimes' HOTEL PARADISE, the first Emma Graham mystery. Have been meaning to read COLD FLAT FUNCTION. Happy to hear there's a third one!

Marge

[Marjorie]

Ruth wrote: "Metamorphosis is one of my all time favorites."

Gosh, with that recommendation, I'm going to read it!
Think I tried it once when I was much younger.

Marge

[Ruth]

Hope you like it, Marge. But even if you don't, I guarantee you won't forget it.

[Maryfox]

NOT reading "i Woz", Steve Wozniak's memoir. Got through the first chapter but couldn't take any more of his ego. Too bad because it should have/could have been an interesting book.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Marge, when you finish Metamorphosis you might be interested in reading our discussion of it eons ago. Sorry about the formatting. Some of our old discussions are like that, and I don't know how to fix it:

http://constantreader.com/discussions...

[John]

Yesterday, I read (listened to) the first couple of hours of A Confederacy of Dunces - love the setting and characters, EXCEPT the protagonist, Ignatius, who's light years beyond insufferable!

[Ruth]

John wrote: "Yesterday, I read (listened to) the first couple of hours of A Confederacy of Dunces - love the setting and characters, EXCEPT the protagonist, Ignatius, who's light years beyond insufferable!"

Read this quite a few years ago, but I loved it.

[Ruth]

Sherry wrote: "Marge, when you finish Metamorphosis you might be interested in reading our discussion of it eons ago. Sorry about the formatting. Some of our old discussions are like that, and I don't know how to..."

Thanks, Sherry. How could I have forgotten that discussion? It was a good one.

[Carol]

John wrote: "Yesterday, I read (listened to) the first couple of hours of A Confederacy of Dunces - love the setting and characters, EXCEPT the protagonist, Ignatius, who's light years beyond insufferable!"

Yes he was insufferable.

[Joan]

Rereading
The Killings At Badger's Drifta terrific mystery—the first of the Inspector Barnaby series which gave rise to the Midsomer Mysteries on PBS.
I wish Caroline Graham had written more of these!

[John]

I'm working my way through the series on DVD these days -- they're a hoot if one takes them as campy entertainment.

[Joan]

Exactly. That's what the books are like too, but she didn't write very many--looks like the PBS series is loosely based on her characters, Barnaby and Troy.

[John]

Troy leaves partway through the TV series, with two subsequent assistants for Barnaby.

Fun fact about books vs. TV shows: Colin Dexter wrote Morse as being younger than Lewis.

[Joan]

I miss Morse!

[Ruth]

Joan wrote: "I miss Morse!"

Me, too.

Just startedThe Given Day by Dennis Lehane. Egad, baseball and cops. Not sure I'll be able to stick it.

[Barbara]

Just finished reading Geoff Wyss' collection of short stories, How. I highly recommend them and am not just saying that because he is a contributor here. He has a unique writing voice, insightful, often funny, but with a feel for the essence of his characters.

I also listened to an audiobook production of The King's Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy. It is about King George VI and Lionel Logue, his speech therapist, like the movie, and is written by Logue's grandson. He provided far more detail that I wanted but I still found it interesting and Simon Vance does his usual excellent narration.

[Carol]

Barbara wrote: "Just finished reading Geoff Wyss' collection of short stories, How. I highly recommend them and am not just saying that because he is a contributor here. He has a unique writing voice, insightful..."

I found them to be funny. I enjoyed them .

[Susan_T.]

I really like what I'm reading now: This Is Running for Your Life: Essays, by Michelle Orange, a young Canadian writer who lives in NYC. Her work has been in The Rumpus, among other places. Among her topics is how the Internet intersects with and shapes the culture we live in--Orange is also a film critic. Other subjects are obsessive running, Beirut, and her elderly grandmother. Marshall McLuhan is mentioned more than once. There's lots about movies in here for movie buffs.

I was intrigued by the following passage in a piece on celebrity (and Michael Jackson and James Dean):

"The internet is the ultimate realist medium--real people, real time, real messy--yet everything about the way we use it to perform our lives (and to a certain extent our culture) for one another confirms the manufactured terms of our beloved reality entertainment. It's all about the edit."

Ouch.

Anyway. She's kind of a smarty pants, and I can't say I completely follow everything she's saying, but I'm finding her ideas interesting.

[Marjorie]

Thanks so much, Sherry, for the link to the discussion of Metamorphosis. I'm sure It will be helpful and interesting as I read the story.

Marge

[John]

Sara wrote: "John wrote: "Yesterday, I read (listened to) the first couple of hours of A Confederacy of Dunces - love the setting and characters, EXCEPT the protagonist, Ignatius, who's light years beyond insuf..."

I made the decision to bail on the book last night. Ignatius is just too abusive and delusional for me.

[John]

They say that Ignatius was based on someone Toole met later in life, but I see it as being about himself. He's just so thoroughly narcissistic that it's painful to watch him abuse everyone he comes in contact with, especially his mother (though she does try to confront him).
I've moved on to something completely different: Wave - author lost her entire family in the Sri Lankan tsunami a few years back.

[Mary Anne]

I'm reading The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis. This was an Oprah selection, and was recommended by a friend. I'll report back when I get further along.

[Lyn]

Just read Rules of Crime, even though the writing was really pretty bad, so much so that I'm thinking about how bad it is while reading. But there's something about a mystery that once you start, you want to get to the punchline. (It may also have something to do with just enjoying reading in my nice, cozy bed.) I am, however, still actively irritated that part of the ending was nonsensical and apparently just added for dramatic effect, which was really just over the top and stoopid. It did amuse me that the setting was the little town I live in, though, and most events took place within 10-15 minutes from my home.

[Barbara]

I'm listening to an audiobook production of Brideshead Revisited, for our discussion, read by Jeremy Irons. He does a magnificent job with the voices.

[John]

Seconded, Barbara!

[Book Concierge]

Barbara wrote: "Just finished reading Geoff Wyss' collection of short stories, How. I highly recommend them and am not just saying that because he is a contributor here. He has a unique writing voice, insightful..."

Totally agree re Simon Vance's skill with audio books.