What Are You Reading Showing 4,001-4,050 of 6,935

[Susan]

The Bell Jar is a blast from the past for me. I must have read it at about 19 as a freshman in college. Of course it was very impactful to me especially at that age.

[pauline_nlp]

I finished The Book Thief 3 days ago, so I began Pride and Prejudice( in French this time). I tried last year too read it in English but it was to tough. I'm at the 80th pages. It seems very good !

[Kevin]

After just finishing the Bell Jar I thought I would continue my trend of bright, cheery and uplifting reads by starting The Thing About December that Allan got for me for Christmas. I'll definitely be reading something nice and sweet after this one though, maybe some Stephen King :)

[Allan]

I hope you enjoy the book, or appreciate it anyway-it is quite a dark read.

Talking of depressing reads, I'm still working my way through Northern Protestants: An Unsettled People, cringeing while reading nearly every page at the ignorance and bigotry so many interviewees showed in 1998. I've been tempted to abandon the book, but have forced myself to continue with it.

I'm also listening to The Narrow Road to the Deep North, which isn't exactly a stroll in the park itself...

[Kevin]

I'm sure I will appreciate it Allan and I'm confident I'll enjoy it as I did the Spinning Heart. Ryan is the writer in residence at my college and he at most literary events in Limerick as well though I'm always afraid I'd annoy him if I were to approach him.

[Barbara]

Kevin wrote: "I'm sure I will appreciate it Allan and I'm confident I'll enjoy it as I did the Spinning Heart. Ryan is the writer in residence at my college and he at most literary events in Limerick as well tho..."

Kevin- he was very approachable when he was here in DC. But it is tricky to know what to say to a writer even at a signing.

[Kevin]

Some can be tricky alright, Barbara, especially when they adopt the "you can appreciate my work from but stop annoying me so I can write more" attitude which to me is understandable but also arrogant.

[Barbara]

Kevin wrote: "Some can be tricky alright, Barbara, especially when they adopt the "you can appreciate my work from but stop annoying me so I can write more" attitude which to me is understandable but also arrogant."

Wow. I have been pretty lucky I guess. I know if I was an author I'd be annoyed at people who bring in a stack of 20 books for me to sign. I think that's on the venue - book shop or wherever - to stop. I think it's obnoxious. I must admit that once when I went to see the author Julia Alvarez in addition to buying one or two of her books, I brought her first book to sign. She asked me where on earth I had gotten it as it was the edition that came out before she was known. I bought it at a feminist bookstore and bought it because she's Dominican (part of my family through marriage:) - it may be worth something now as it is probably her best known book.

[Susan]

All the book signings I've been to require that you've bought the copies there. You must have a sales slip in the book to get it autographed. I've never been to one where you can bring other copies in.

[Gavin]

Barbara
"I know if I was an author I'd be annoyed at people who bring in a stack of 20 books for me to sign. I think that's on the venue - book shop or wherever - to stop. I think it's obnoxious."

Some authors do not mind signing more than one i have brought 18 once, and 12 to another..

Sarah, never been to one of those.

[Barbara]

If it's a book festival I'd say it's fine, but in a bookstore, not really. It makes the wait much much longer for people in the line. I can't recall my bookstore asking people to only bring books they bought in the store, but I've seen that before. Now they keep the books for the evening's reading behind the desk. I suppose folks were picking them up to be signed before they paid, and maybe some left the store without being purchased. They don't have any fancy gimmicks in the books that set off alarms. The book business is tricky ...

[Gavin]

Wasn't at a book festival one was after a film premire private screening other two were in bookstores, it was expected them as authors say they will sign as much is brought...

[Colleen]

I just finished The Hand That First Held Mine and loved it .Thank you Emma .It was a great Secret Santa gift.
I will be finishing Nora Websterthis week and I'm still enjoying it.I will also be reading The Undertaking as well as The Chronicles of Narnia

[Barbara]

Colleen wrote: "I just finished The Hand That First Held Mine and loved it .Thank you Emma .It was a great Secret Santa gift.
I will be finishing Nora Websterthis week and I'm still ..."

I really liked The Hand That First Held Mine AND Maggie O'Farrell is a Northern Ireland writer:)

[Colleen]

Barbara I had no idea she is a Northern Ireland Writer.I really liked The Hand That First Held Mine and plan to read more of her novels soon.

[Sara]

Barbara it had somehow escaped my notice/knowledge that Maggie O'Farrell is a Northern Ireland writer. I'll be bumping up The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox to higher on the TBR mountain.

I just finished a most peculiar book for next week's science fiction book club. The Inverted World definitely will be one of the top contender's for my annual "Oddest book read" contest. I can't really explain why without spoiling a key bit of what makes it marvelous though. Definitely one for Paul and Kevin to check out. I'm looking forward to a snow day here. While I won't get paid for the day (since I'm a temp employee), it does come at a very good time as I still have 3 book club books to read for next week. I plan to devote tomorrow to All That Is Solid Melts into Air for Barbara and I's Irish book club.

[Susan]

Barbara, I had no idea that Maggie O'Farrell was a Northern Ireland writer. I first heard of her in 2010 when I was in a small town in Scotland, Biggers, and she was doing a reading at their adorable bookstore. I went to the reading and thought she was great. I wish she was a bigger success in America. And what's the matter with Allan not sharing that with us earlier? Shame on you, Allan.

[Rosalinda]

I just joined this group. :) With St. Patrick's Day coming up,I'm in the mood to read a really good Irish author/book. I've read a lot of Maeve Binchy's novels. Any other recommendations?

[Rosalinda]

Thank you, Emma. I will check those out & introduce myself.

[Susan]

I know it's not in Allan warehouse, Emma. I just like giving him a hard time.

[Allan]

I had a look there, and apparently, while she was born here, she grew up in Wales and England, so I can maybe be excused my ignorance in this regard... :)

[Sara]

I took advantage of the snow day to (1)Sleep in until noon for the first time in ages, and (2) Watch one of my favorite childhood movies (The Journey of Natty Gann (3) More pertinent to this thread...Get started reading All That Is Solid Melts into Air by Irish writer Darragh McKeon. It's one of those books that starts slowly, but once Chernobyl happens things pick up, and I'm hooked. It was really appalling the lack of safety precautions that were in place.

[Barbara]

Allan wrote: "I had a look there, and apparently, while she was born here, she grew up in Wales and England, so I can maybe be excused my ignorance in this regard... :)"

I still like to claim her for NI :)
Sara - It's after 7 pm and I have been working since about 9 am. But I quit at 7 PM.
I read the first chapter of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in honor of all the snow we are getting today.
I will probably finish A History of Loneliness: A Novel tonight and have to also get into All That Is Solid Melts into Air.

[Susan]

I am jealous you are having a snow day. It was 75 here and I was in sandals and a T-shirt. Sounds nice but does not help our drought.

[Barbara]

Susan wrote: "I am jealous you are having a snow day. It was 75 here and I was in sandals and a T-shirt. Sounds nice but does not help our drought."

Today, Friday, my university is closed again! I may get some reading done.

[Allan]

Barbara, I think your review of the Boyne book will result in me buying it in the short term.

In addition to listening to The Narrow Road to the Deep North, I'll be hoping to make big inroads into Us this weekend. I know group reaction has been indifferent to the book so far, but having enjoyed his previous three, and having bought this on release, I'm hoping I'll enjoy it more. Does anyone who has read it think that my gender will make a difference to how I find the book? I'm surprised that Nicholls would've gone off the boil so suddenly. I'll soon find out...

[Mara]

SURRENDER TO THE DEVIL by Lorraine Heath

[Paul]

I just finished A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs . Simple enough book and an enjoyable read. Dated in some ways but still a good adventure. I started reading Dragons of Crumbling Castle a book of short stories for children that Terry Paratchett wrote when he was younger but only released last year.
I will start Patrick Rothfuss' Wise Mans Fear for my fantasy group monthly read , then on to An Officer and a Spy

[Trelawn]

I may be holding Paul up on An Officer and a Spy. I am reading it 10days now and am only slightly more than halfway through. This is no reflection on the book, life just keeps getting in the way. grrrrr

[Kevin]

Good luck with The Poor Mouth Emma. Looking forward to your thoughts on it.

[Allan]

So, in the end, I absolutely loved Us, which I know most others in the group who have read it so far haven't. The main character really is hapless, but at the same time the reader can understand why as the novel progresses. So much of the father son stuff really resonated with me, and while at times the book was serious and poignant, and other times cringeworthy, there were many laugh out loud moments as well. I really couldn't put the book down-it has really made my weekend! But then I've been a big fan of all of Nicholls' previous novels, so...

Next up for me, Gil Scott-Heron: Pieces of a Man, my birthday gift from Barbara, which I'm also really looking forward to reading.

[Barbara]

Allan wrote: "So, in the end, I absolutely loved Us, which I know most others in the group who have read it so far haven't. The main character really is hapless, but at the same time the reader c..."

Glad to hear you enjoyed Us so much. And glad I got it for only $2.99:)

[Kevin]

Having finished The Bell Jar (after which I've decided that I will read all of Plath's work in the coming months), I've been working my way through The Thing About December. I'm not sure if entertaining is the right word to describe my experience of the book so far but rather educational and insightful. It is a terribly bleak book but this being the latest in a string of depressing and dark reads, I'm practically immune at this stage. A lax in motivation caused a slump in my reading this weekend but I hope to get round to finishing it soon.

[Sara]

So I finished two very different books this weekend. All That Is Solid Melts into Air is a sublime work of fiction centered around Chernobyl and the collapse of the Soviet UnionYes Please. It's beautiful language contrasts sharply with the harsh subject matter. What happened at Chernobyl was simply criminal. Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living kept me laughing out loud while commuting and working last week, despite its lack of "literary quality." I rated both 4 stars. Next up for me in the audiobook department is Yes Please..in a continuing tribute to one of my favorite (now sadly defunct for reasons surpassing understanding) series, Parks and Recreation. In dead tree department, I'll be reading Adam for my Lez Reads book club. It's by an author who penned a few excellent graphic novels, but I've also read some reviews of it, that make me approach it with trepidation.

[Mara]

Midnight Pleasures with a Scoundrel by Lorraine Heath

[Colleen]

I just finished Nora Webster and really enjoyed it.It ended a bit abrupt but I don't think it took away from the novel.I'm moving on to Atonement

[Emmet]

Sara, let us know how Yes Please goes. I am currently getting through Parks and Rec and loving it, so I'm excited to read Amy Poehler's book.

I myself am midways through Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus. It's definitely not a 'light' read, but well worth a look. Especially for all the Catholic guilt us Irish are all too well accustomed to!

[Barbara]

I also finishedAll That Is Solid Melts into Air for the book club Sara and I attend. Despite being 400 pages, it is a fast read and amazing.

I have so many books I want to read, I am not sure what to read next!

[Susan]

I am reading a great book Allan recommended to me, Amsterdam, in preparation of my trip. It's very good.

[Sara]

@Susan I think almost everyone is indebted to Allan for one book selection or another. He has very good taste.

Like Barbara said, All That Is Solid Melts Into Air is very good. I thought the ending was a bit abrupt, but that was a small ding on an otherwise very good novel. I was particularly struck by the contrast between such a grim subject matter and gorgeous language. Sometimes such a contrast is jarring, but in this particular case Darragh McKeon's skill makes it work.. I can't believe it's a first novel.

@Emmet I'm halfway through Amy Poehler's book. I should finish it tomorrow. While I enjoyed Offerman's more, Amy Pohler's is certainly worth a read. I can particularly recommend both as audiobooks. I'm so upset that Parks and Recreation has finished its run.

@Allan You'll be interested to know that my next audiobook read will be And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic. I'll be alternating reading and listening (depending on my location) due to the audiobook being 31.5 hours long.

[Barbara]

With so many books in my TBR pile, I picked up one that I just bought on Sunday - The Transcriptionist: A Novel by Amy Rowland. I love it so far. It is a peculiar but enchanting story so far - the last transcriptionist left working at a New York newspaper. This is a person who transcribes phoned in news stories and interviews. For reasons I can't articulate, it reminds me of The Night Circus. It creates a similar mood for me.

[Sylwia]

Hi all :) I'm new and just getting the hang of it all, hope I'm posting in the right place..? :)
Has anyone read 'The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes' by Anna McPartlin? I've just finished it, and I'm stuck for what to read next. It was such a wonderful book, whatever I try to read is just not good enough. Has anybody else read it? Have you got any suggestions? :)

[Sylwia]

Contemporary Fiction mostly, but not romance. I'm just looking to find an Irish author whose books I haven't read yet. Maybe similar to works of Anna McPartlin, Caroline Finnerty, Colette Caddle or Clare Dowling. If anyone could recommend someone I would be super grateful :)

[Sylwia]

Great! Thanks a lot Emma! :)

[Allan]

I remember hearing about the Darragh McKeown novel, and now that I know it's a good one, will put it on my wishlist for Audible.

Susan, the Reyes anthologies are excellent-I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Sara, the Shilts book is a marathon listen / read, and isn't the most joyous of titles, but tells a very important story-if you felt frustrated after Harvey Milk, wait until you see the ineptitude shown by authority in this one.

[Paul]

Well I'm a decent bit into Patrick Rothfuss Wise Mans Fear and loving it. Great sequel so far

[Thomas, Moderator]

I have just finished The Irish Americans: A History by Jay P. Dolan

I borrowed this book from a family member. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. It is a very readable history of the Irish in the US. The author, an emeritus professor of history at Notre Dame University, starts out with the forgotten era of Irish emigration to the US--pre 1840. During this period, there was no differentiation between Protestant and Catholic Irish. After the famine migration started, the Protestant Irish began to call themselves "Scotch Irish" a term still used today in the US, but not in Ireland, where the preferred term is Ulster Irish.

In subsequent chapters, he explores Irish contributions in three main areas--the Catholic Church, politics and labor. The Irish came to dominate the church and labor across the US, and politics in many big cities along the East coast of the US.
The final chapter shows that Irish American support for the peace process in Northern Ireland was crucial, both financially and politically.

[Barbara]

Thomas wrote: "I have just finished The Irish Americans: A History by Jay P. Dolan

I borrowed this book from a family member. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. It is a very readab..."

Thomas - I believe I have this in my library or did at some point:)

[Thomas, Moderator]

Barbara wrote: "Thomas wrote: "I have just finished The Irish Americans: A History by Jay P. Dolan

I borrowed this book from a family member. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. It i..."

You will enjoy it

[Barbara]

I am almost finished with The Transcriptionist: A Novel and LOVE this book. It's hard to explain why, so I will have to think about that for my review.

I may read Grapes of Wrath next - reminded of the book yesterday in my social studies class....