What Are You Reading Showing 3,551-3,600 of 6,935

[Gavin]

i just finished the death cure

[Kevin]

I read that not too long ago Gavin, what did you think of it?

[Gavin]

Kevin wrote: "I read that not too long ago Gavin, what did you think of it?"

it was good but idk the end felt anticlimactic like it could keep going

[Kevin]

Ya I felt like he had a great idea in the first book that he should have maybe complicated a bit more. When it came to The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure they didn't really live up to my expectations. A lot of the characters were so two dimensional that they were almost interchangeable.

[Allan]

Given that I don't receive my new credits until later today, and that I finished my last audiobook yesterday, I made an early start on the way to work with 'A Christmas Carol' this morning. I reckon this is probably about the fifth or sixth time I've listened to the book, but I always enjoy it.

[Barbara]

I am almost finished with an Icelandic mysterySun on Fire. I have to try to finish I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings for my book club tomorrow morning but am finding it hard to get through. I also started listening to Wildwood on audiobook. Reading 3 different genres helps when dealing with multiple books.

Alan - check out the $4.95 sale on Audible which starts today. You may find something. I have 2 or 3 books in my basket. I am waiting to see if I get my $10 credit for buying 4 books in November. It seems my audiobook habit is getting out of control.

[Allan]

I've had a quick look earlier, Barbara, and will be sure to look in more detail later. I've noticed a Philip Roth title, and as he's a writer that I've never read, that may be one for starters.

[Gavin]

The Revenge of Seven just starting this

[Paul]

Let me know what you think Gavin. Did you read any of the Novellas bridging the gaps in the books.

[Gavin]

Paul wrote: "Let me know what you think Gavin. Did you read any of the Novellas bridging the gaps in the books."
i think so can't remember

[Paul]

Theres been 6 so far with another three out next month . Worth getting as you're enjoying the series. A paperback with three costs about a fiver on line

[Barbara]

Funny - I put The Human Stain in my basket and Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man Is Hard To Find. The sale goes through the 2nd so I'll see if I get my $10.

[Barbara]

Barbara wrote: "Funny - I put The Human Stain in my basket and Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man Is Hard To Find. The sale goes through the 2nd so I'll see if I get my $10."

I just found the Flannery O'Connor for $1.99 on Kindle on Book Gorilla and got the whispersync audio for $1.99 :)

[Sara]

So I finished The Thing About December for the in person Irish book group Barbara and I both belong to.

Here's my review:

This was a hard one for me to get into, review, and rate. It was unrelentingly grim. I like my depressing Irish books, but I usually like them with a bit more black humor (like Claire Kilroy's The Devil I Know). The number of bad things that happened to Johnsey made the book almost unbelievable for me. On the other hand, although it took me awhile to get into the dialect (probably not a problem for Irish readers), I found Donal Ryan's prose gorgeous and there were several extremely poignant quotations about the nature of the human conditions. Passages like the one below took my breath away.

"Loneliness covers the earth like a blanket. It flows in the stream down through the Callows to the lake. It's in the muck in the yard and the briars in the haggard and the empty outbuildings are bursting with it. It runs down the walls inside of the house like tears and grows on the walls outside like a poisonous choking weed. It's in the sky and the stones and the clouds and the grass. The air is thick with it: you breath it into your lungs and you feel like it might suffocate you. It runs into hollow places like rainwater. It settles on the grass and on trees and takes their shapes and all the earth is wet with it. It has a smell, like the inside of a saucepan: scrapped metal, cold and sharp. When it hits you, it feels like a rap of a hurl across your knuckles on a frosty winter's morning. in PE: sharp, shocking pain, but inside you, so it can't be seen and no one says sorry for causing it nor asks are you ok, and no kind teacher wants to look at it and tut-tut and tell you you'll be grand, good lad. But you know if another man stood where you're standing and looked at the same things he wouldn't see it or feel it."

[Sara]

Other than that I've read a few graphic novels in the Love and Rockets series, which I'm really getting into. Next up in my reading is a graphic novel in a different series, Locke & Key, Volume 2: Head Games, followed by Sweet Jiminy. I'm also getting back into poetry with From Totems to Hip-Hop: A Multicultural Anthology of Poetry Across America and continuing the Game of Thrones series.

[Gavin]

Emma wrote: "I'm currently reading The Invisible Woman, Claire Tomalin's biography of Nelly Ternan Dickens mistress. Considering she has very little to go on, as there appears to have been wholesale burnings of..."

That was made into a film in 2013 ive been meaning to finish watching it I skimmed to see if is enjoy it which I will just got distracted. Reason I looked it up as Ralph Fiennes directed and stared

[Allan]

Sara, I know that Barbara often gets annoyed when members of your book group complain about depressing Irish novels, but the Ryan definitely fits that mould. I preferred The Spinning Heart, but like yourself, felt that December had a lot of very strong points. I look forward to seeing what he comes up with next.

I'm now 400 pages in to A Man in Love, which is frightening in the way Knausgaard lays the intimacies of his life on the table for all to see, but it's enjoyable, and I'll definitely be reading the third instalment so that I'm caught up for the release of the next volume in March on hardcover. Also, having finished A Christmas Carol, I've gone on to the second of Dickens' Christmas books, The Chimes, which is very different from its predecessor, in that, almost half way through, Christmas has yet to be mentioned!

[Barbara]

Sara - I picked the same segment about loneliness to mark.
Allan - I am relishing our upcoming book club discussion of The Thing About December. Maybe it will convince some to stop attending. Just me, being devilish.

I started The Thing About December. I am continuing The Shetland Bus about covert boat journeys on Norwegian fishing boats between the Shetlands and Norway during WWII. I have An Officer and a Spy waiting for me at my local library. I was there earlier this week to pick up The Nightingale Before Christmas.

[Sara]

@Barbara: It doesn't bother me when people in our book club say the books we read are depressing, but it does bother me when that's all they can seem to articulate about the reading. It feels a bit lazy reading to me and/or that the person saying it is holding the author responsible for their personal tastes in books.

@Allan or anyone else Is The Spinning Heart any more "cheery?"

@Allan I had no idea Dickens had written a second Christmas book. I may have to check that out one of these days...of course after reading A Christmas Carol.

[Paul]

@Sara. He released quite a few Christmas Stories. Five he did as books, Christmas Carol , The Chimes and Cricket on the Hearth being the more famous and the rest in the various magazines like All Year Round. Seemingly there was a lot of excitement when they were released ☺

[Kevin]

For me the group scored an ace with this months choices of The Handmaid's Tale and The Book of Lost Things. I don't think I'd ever have got around to reading them otherwise.

I just finished reading Elizabeth Bowen's The Last September and I see it is on the TBR list of a few members. I'm afraid that I was possibly a bit biased in my analysis of the book so I look forward the reviews of the others who wish to read it!

[Paul]

The Book of Lost Things is just one of those books for me. As you saud in your review its properly dark like a fairy tale should be.

[Allan]

Sara, I wouldn't call The Spinning Heart cheery by any means, given that it deals with post Celtic Tiger Ireland, but it's much more diverse a story, with each chapter taken from the point of view of a different person. There are many issues explored, including those of immigration and LGBT interest. Even though it was published first, it was actually written after 'December'. I'd definitely recommend it!

[Paul]

His Christmas Stories are nearly all ghost stories so its possibly both

[Trelawn]

Let me know how you get on with it Emma. When you're done there is an adaptation with Toby Stephens :-)

[Trelawn]

Yep, he does dark and brooding very well :-)

[Trelawn]

True but some actors could be a bit hammy playing brooding, Toby Stephens does it so well.

[[deleted user]]

Emma wrote: "I'm currently reading The Invisible Woman, Claire Tomalin's biography of Nelly Ternan Dickens mistress. Considering she has very little to go on, as there appears to have been wholesale burnings of..."

Claire Tomalin is my favourite biographer as she handles the material so well and you know that you're in safe hands. It's years since I read it, but don't recall it well now. I'm glad to see from your review that you enjoyed it.

[Colleen]

Paul wrote: "@Sara. He released quite a few Christmas Stories. Five he did as books, Christmas Carol , The Chimes and Cricket on the Hearth being the more famous and the rest in the various magazines like All ..."

My copy of A Christmas Carol also has The Chimes and The Cricket on The Hearth. I'll be reading them after I finish A Christmas Carol

[Barbara]

Sara wrote: "@Barbara: It doesn't bother me when people in our book club say the books we read are depressing, but it does bother me when that's all they can seem to articulate about the reading. It feels a bit..."

Sara - that's a great point. I really am weary of the total lack of imagination of some people.

[[deleted user]]

Why I'm struggling with Independent People by Halldór Laxness I'm not sure. It is set in a remote sheep farm in Iceland, which turns out to be like the Yorkshire Dales but with a lot more snow. Laxness captures the seasons of the countryside and the vissicitudes sheep farming so well. It's a bit slow going in places, which isn't helpful as its over 500 pages and I'm only half way through.

[Gavin]

With exams looming I'm not going to start a new book for a while instead I'm going reread both The Hunger Games and Harry Potter series

[Paul]

Makes sense Gavin. Great way to relax the mind. I used to jump between Harry Potter and Discworld at exam time.

[Gavin]

Discworld has been on my reading lists for so long same with Neil Gaiman I'll get them eventually

[Paul]

Well start with Good Omens then to get a taste for both authors.

[Trelawn]

A reread is always a good idea around exam time. It helps you relax without tying your mind up in new stories and characters.

[Allan]

Theresa, I quite fancied that novel when I saw it in your update feed-it's a shame you're finding it tough going.

[[deleted user]]

Allan, I think it's one of those classic books that you need to read in chunks but unfortunately my reading has been fragmented for the last few weeks. It is a book that I'll read again though, for sure. It is so atmospheric and a second reading will help bring out the themes.

[[deleted user]]

Read in October/November:

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Books to Read in December

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[Thomas, Moderator]

I just finished

The Honest Folk of Guadeloupe
by Timothy Williams

I received this book free from the publisher through the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway program. I gave this book 3.5 stars rounded up to 4, for believable characters, good dialogue and a well constructed plot. I could not figure out what happened until near the end.

This book takes place on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, now a French departement, but formerly a French colony. The central character is Anne Marie Laveaud, a juge d'instruction(examining magistrate), a position in the French legal system, denoting a person in charge of a criminal investigation. She is a single mother of 2 children, juggling her job with demands of motherhood. She is already investigating 1 death when she is called to the scene of a second suspicious death, a young female tourist, found dead on a beach.


There are some interesting insights into leftover traces of French colonialist racism and tension between Anne Marie Laveaud and her boss, anxious to solve a murder that could cause a loss of tourist money.

There are 2 mistakes in this "Advance uncopyedited edition"(prominent label on the front of the book).

P70 "For some reason(he) took offense."

p.99 a conversation between Madame Vaton and Monsieur Trousseauis repeated almost verbatim, lines 6-17. It looks like a bad cut and paste mistake.

[Barbara]

IanieB wrote: "I'm currently reading David Wright's translation of The Canterbury Tales. It's pure filth and I love it! Hysterical! For example, and apologies if it offends, I quote The Miller's Tale:

"Now Nicho..."
Ian- it may be time for me to try The Canterbury Tales. Today I met with a visitor from Venezuela by way of Colombia and then Barcelona. Somehow we got on a topic of children's books about "pooping" after she told me in Barcelona the nativity scenes always have a small figure of a man defecating. I had no idea! and people look for them like we look for Where's Waldo.
http://www.latinpost.com/articles/497...
The kids' books are Everyone Poops which is out of print. I gave 3 copies to a school in Chile where it is the most popular book they have.
the other is The Story of the Little Mole Who Went in Search of Whodunit (I have it in Portuguese).

[Susan]

Barbara, that's so interesting. I learn so much from you. Where do you think that tradition started?

[Thomas, Moderator]

IanieB wrote: "@Barbara I agree with Susan: that is fascinating. I love the traditions people develop and share over time. Reminds me of a story my mother tells my twin brother and I each Christmas.

According t..."
Funny story.

[Susan]

IanieB, I am LMAO. It sounds something like what my boys would have done.

[Thomas, Moderator]

Last year at this time, our granddaughter Julia sang a solo in a school concert, which was held in a local church because the school does not have an auditorium. Pat, her then 6 yr old brother, yelled out during her solo: "I see Jesus." The school filmed the concert and Julia's teacher played the DVD for her class. Pat was heard very clearly saying"I see Jesus!"(evidently on a curtain at the back of the stage). Julia said "Even when he is not here he embarrasses me!!'

Pat is now 7 and during a recent visit(they live an 11 hr drive away), he showed me how he could climb to the top of a door frame and hang from it.

I sent the quote to our daughter and asked "Remind you of anyone?" She said that is Pat for sure.

[Sara]

I have my science fiction/fantasy book group on Thursday. Usually we read a book in each genre, but due to the business of the season this month we're only reading one, the cross-genre The Six-Gun Tarot Upon reading the back cover, I was initially skeptical, but 50 pages or so in, it's proving to be quite a fun book with well written prose.

[Barbara]

I am reading a cozy mystery Fleece Navidad which is Christmas themed. I have to finish The Thing About December by Monday which should be easy to accomplish. I continue to read The Shetland Bus: A WWII Epic of Escape, Survival and Adventure which I think Thomas ia also reading. It's easy to pick up and read a chapter at a time. I also have been dipping into Dog on It a mystery narrated by a dog which is light.
I got The Nightingale Before Christmas by Donna Andrews after requesting it at the library. I read one chapter and discarded it. Annoying premise and characters. I thought it might be a fun holiday read. I had ordered another Donna Andrews Christmas theme read from Paperback Swap but cancelled my request after disliking the other book.
I want to finish Fleece Navidad and The Thing About December so I can get my teeth into something heartier.

[Thomas, Moderator]

Barbara wrote: "I am reading a cozy mystery Fleece Navidad which is Christmas themed. I have to finish The Thing About December by Monday which should be easy to accomplish. I continue to read [book..."

I persuaded my local library to buy a copy of The Shetland Bus after a trip to Norway in 2009. Our guide, Inger, recommended this book . I read it and enjoyed it, also in 2009 . Our cruise started and ended in Bergen, Norway, base of the boats in the book

[Barbara]

Thomas wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I am reading a cozy mystery Fleece Navidad which is Christmas themed. I have to finish The Thing About December by Monday which should be easy to accomplish. I contin..."

I am finding it interesting primarily because of my interest in Shetland and also being a New Englander, boats. I can't imagine the courage it took for the men involved to sail that water in wintertime. I didn't know how rugged the Norwegian coast was, and imagine they did this with just the most basic of navigation instruments.

[Mara]

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith.