What Are You Reading Showing 4,451-4,500 of 6,935

[Paul]

Just getting towards the half way point in Way of Kings. I'll have to get a move on as I promised to review World War Moo as quickly as possible anc it arrived on Thursday

[Trelawn]

I started reading Engleby http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/95... a few days ago. It's a slow pace at the mo but it feels like it's building towards something. What with our son turning three this weekend, reading time is thin on the ground so I probably won't get back to it til Monday. I read December Bride in school, I liked it overall but isn't a light read.

[Barbara]

I have finished the Jo Nesbo book The Redeemer (in the DB but cannot find through the add book feature) which has a link to Zagreb, Croatia. I am following that with Girl at War set in Croatia. Unintentionally reading on a theme...

Trelawn - I picked up 3 Sebastian Faulks books a couple of months ago and Engleby is one. Hope to get to one of them this summer. too much work and not enough reading time...

[Trelawn]

I know that feeling Barbara :-) I got three Faulks books a while back too. I've read The Girl at the Lion d'Or, now on Engleby and then I have On Green Dolphin Street. He's a very good writer and has managed to produce some varied types of books. Engleby, for example, is quite diffferent from the other books I've read by him.

[Donna]

I'm reading Finders Keepers, which I have been looking forward to for ages. It's a good read but not a great one, which is a wee bit disappointing. Mr. King has written so many books that he is starting to repeat himself in language used. Still good though!

[Cathleen]

I'm reading Barbara Pym's Jane and Prudence and loving it. It's of a time--1950s London area--and I love the way Pym's observes people. Gentle satirizing of people and likeable characters. A good, leisurely summertime read.

[Frank]

I'm just about finished reading a wonderful book called The Gate by Natsume Soseki. Nothing very much seems to happen - it's just the story of a poor childless couple living quietly in Tokyo - but if one reads between the lines there is really so much going on all the time. It's a gentle nuanced work filled with compassion. The author is something of a national treasure in Japan. His picture used to be on the back of 1,000 yen notes.

[Thomas, Moderator]

From Bruges with Love by Pieter Aspe

Recommended for: Translated mystery fans
Read from June 08 to 14, 2015 — I own a copy, read count: 1

I received this ebook free from NetGalley.com. Bruges Police Inspector Pieter Van In is called to the scene of a skeleton discovered on a farm. It is soon clear that the person was murdered. Pieter is married to Hannnelore, an investigating magistrate, who is charge of the case. She is 3 months pregnant and has tried unsuccessfully to give up smoking. She will not give up wine. All in all, parts of this book read like they were written 30 years ago, so I checked and the Belgian 1st edition was published in 1997. This translation is excellent and flows very well.
Pieter's investigation leads him to some very powerful figures involved in the sex trade. There are several threads in the plot, which merge in the end. I enjoyed it and give it 4 stars out of 5.
According to the book blurb, the book series is a best seller in Belgium, and this book is #33 in the series. It read ok as a stand alone.
Some local food tastes are mentioned: french fries dipped in mayonnaise and beer served ice cold(unlike the UK)

[Susan]

I read this too. I liked it. It was just hard to keep all those V names straight. I ordered the two books before this. I am following Allan's book buying guidelines. :)

[Thomas, Moderator]

Hi Susan, I wasn't aware that Allan had recommended this book. I am planning to read the other 2 books also, eventually.

[Cathleen]

Trelawn has written so warmly about the 44 Scotland Street series that I picked the first one up at my town library. Looking forward to it.

[Allan]

Thomas, I haven't read the book-I think that Susan was referring to my recent book buying habits, in that she bought all the other books by the same author, as I did with an author that Seraphina is reading at the minute.

[Thomas, Moderator]

Allan wrote: "Thomas, I haven't read the book-I think that Susan was referring to my recent book buying habits, in that she bought all the other books by the same author, as I did with an author that Seraphina i..."
Allan, good to clear that up. Your prodigious book buying capabilities are beyond my memory capacity:)

[Susan]

That's because Allan is my role model. Who else can explain what I mean? :)

[Susan]

Cathleen wrote: "Trelawn has written so warmly about the 44 Scotland Street series that I picked the first one up at my town library. Looking forward to it."

Cathleen, have you read hisThe Number One Ladies' Detective Agency series. I love it so much. It's set in Botswana and she's a lady of "traditional" build. It makes me feel good every time I read one of the books in the series.

[Thomas, Moderator]

Susan wrote: "Cathleen wrote: "Trelawn has written so warmly about the 44 Scotland Street series that I picked the first one up at my town library. Looking forward to it."

Cathleen, have you read hisThe N..."</i>

Liz and I both read
[book:The Number One Ladies' Detective Agency series. Liz rereads them, but I don't.

[Thomas, Moderator]

The Switch by Elmore Leonard

Elmore Leonard books are always a pleasure to read. This book is a solid 4 stars out of 5. Two minor criminals kidnap the wife of a wealthy developer who has a secret bank account in the Bahamas with a million dollars. They demand that million dollars. But he went to the Bahamas to be with his mistress while his lawyer serves his wife with divorce papers. Leonard has the dialect of the criminals down pat. I read it in about 36 hours.

[[deleted user]]

I am still trying to get throught The Goldfinchby Donna Tartthave to say is hard going alot of detail in the book to be honest could be left out but other then that good story.

I will be reading The Perks of Being a Wallflowerby Stephen Chboskynext.

I also going to read some love-stories as I need a little relxing time.The Heartbreak SheriffbyElle Kennedy

Take Me UnderbyRhyannon Byrd
Make Me YoursbyRhyannon Byrd
Keep Me CloserbyRhyannon Byrd
Blood Wolf DawningbyRhyannon Byrd
2AMbyAvery Phillips

[Marcia]

I listened to the Goldfinch and also read parts of it as well. I really liked it. The descriptions of the works of art I thought were really good. Such a sad story though.

[Barbara]

I am reading The Ghost Fields a Ruth Galloway mystery as it is a library book and have to return it. I also have to start Hold Tight Gently: Michael Callen, Essex Hemphill, and the Battlefield of AIDS by Martin Duberman for my bookclub the last Saturday of this month.

[Allan]

Two very different reads, Barbara-the Duberman sounds particularly interesting.

I'm currently reading The Room by Hubert Selby Jr, having been influenced by Seraphina's latest read, and am listening to George Orwell's Burmese Days, another Audible Daily Deal.

[Barbara]

Allan wrote: "Two very different reads, Barbara-the Duberman sounds particularly interesting.

I'm currently reading The Room by Hubert Selby Jr, having been influenced by Seraphina's latest read, a..."

I should add I just started the audiobook Call the Nurse: True Stories of a Country Nurse on a Scottish Isle. Its 10 hours but I have the kindle book which says it will take me 4 hours to read. So I will be going back and forth. Also reading the ebook The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell.

[Thomas, Moderator]

For those who like Pieter Aspe's books, see

http://www.amazon.com/Square-Revenge-...
Above is book 1 in the series, on sale today at $1.99

[Phantom]

Rereading the Cherub series again. On the third 'Maximum security' right now where James infiltrates a crazy Arizona prison pretending to be a prisoner even to the judges and prison guards who sentence him, no one but the highest up in the intelligence agencies who asign him the mission know that he's not really a monster deserving of life imprisonment he has to face being at the mercy of the other psychopathic inmates all for the chance of getting a lead on the fbi wanted list's second most wanted criminal the notorious mastermind Jane Oxford.
#its really good

[Cathleen]

I'm reading The Diary of a Provincial Lady, and it is very funny. It takes place between the wars, and the provincial lady chronicles her daily disasters and queries to herself. Those queries make the book.

[Emmet]

Kazzy wrote: "I am still trying to get throught The Goldfinchby Donna Tartthave to say is hard going alot of detail in the book to be honest could be left out but other then that go..."

Kazzy I must say that I loved the Goldfinch, possibly one of my favorite reads in recent memory. I will admit I read about 250 pages out of duty to get past that slump but overall it was a wonderful piece of literature!

@Emma, Americanah is on my list of To-Reads, I'm a big big fan of Ngozi so I'm saving it for a time when I can just relax and enjoy it.

I myself am just finished Everything I Never Told You and was thoroughly disappointed, it got a 2 stars from me. Moving onto Candide by Voltaire next thanks to the satiric Opera with Kristin Chenoweth I saw on YouTube a while back.

[Allan]

Kazzy, The Goldfinch is well worth sticking with-I loved it when I read it when it came out-it does seem to divide opinion, though.

Emmet, I wasn't fussed on Everything I Never Told You either-while it was on a lot of 'best of' lists last year, it wasn't anything that I hadn't read before.

I'm currently reading Glenn Patterson's latest collection, Here's Me Here: Further Reflections of a Lapsed Protestant, which I believe there's an event for in Dublin tonight, and have just started the audiobook of For Whom the Bell Tolls, which should be interesting, given that I really didn't like the previous book by Hemmingway that I read.

[Susan]

Allan, good luck on Hemmingway. I can't stand him. We just read The Sun Also Rises for my in person book club and it featured one of the stupidest females I ever read. Between that and The Old Man and the Sea, I am done with him.

[Trelawn]

I really liked Silas Marner but everyone differs. But as you say it's not long no major damage if it's not to your liking.

[Paul]

Silas Mariner is one of the books I studied in school and I really enjoyed it. A decent story and some really good characters. The development of the title character is brilliant to read

[Cathleen]

Susan wrote: "Allan, good luck on Hemmingway. I can't stand him. We just read The Sun Also Rises for my in person book club and it featured one of the stupidest females I ever read. Between that and ..."

Susan, Hemingway's not a favorite of mine, either. Just catch the stupid fish, already :)

[Allan]

Susan, one of the reasons that I started the Hemingway was because I had seen that you had rated it 5 stars! Was that a mistake? Theresa gave it 4 stars as well, so I took those ratings as thinking I might like the book. I am interested in the Spanish Civil War anyway, and having read Homage to Catalonia and Winter in Madrid in recent times, I'm hoping that the subject matter will grab my interest.

[[deleted user]]

Allan wrote: "Susan, one of the reasons that I started the Hemingway was because I had seen that you had rated it 5 stars! Was that a mistake? Theresa gave it 4 stars as well, so I took those ratings as thinking..."

Allan, I would treat my reviews on my 'before 2014' shelf with a little caution. Some, like the Hemmingway, were read rather a long time ago and I may not find them as satisfying now.

[Susan]

Theresa, me too. I think I rated on memory and liked it when I read it 30-40 years ago. It's reading Hemmingway now that I have a problem with. When it was 1970 something, stupid women might have not been such a red flag to me. I just don't think he stands the test of time the way Steinbeck does.

[[deleted user]]

This year I am not doing any rereads but next year I think I will revisit Steinbeck - The Grapes of Wrath has been glaring at me from my bedside table since before Christmas, LOL.

[Barbara]

Susan wrote: "Allan, good luck on Hemmingway. I can't stand him. We just read The Sun Also Rises for my in person book club and it featured one of the stupidest females I ever read. Between that and ..."

I'm with you Susan. And there are so many great books to read it's easy for me to skip this misogynistic egotist.

[Barbara]

Allan wrote: "Susan, one of the reasons that I started the Hemingway was because I had seen that you had rated it 5 stars! Was that a mistake? Theresa gave it 4 stars as well, so I took those ratings as thinking..."

this is a reminder i just got Homage to Catalonia on kindle and also have the paperback. just too much to read, sigh, and a too busy summer (and life).

[Barbara]

Theresa wrote: "This year I am not doing any rereads but next year I think I will revisit Steinbeck - The Grapes of Wrath has been glaring at me from my bedside table since before Christmas, LOL."

Jeez Theresa. I have no excuse as I have the ebook and paperback of Grapes of Wrath.

I started the audiobook of The Invisible Woman but after 3 hours gave it up. I really am not interested in endless details about the lives of actors in 19th century England. I then started the 27 hour long audiobook A Prayer for Owen Meany but also decided to put it aside after an hour for a Swedish mystery Until Thy Wrath Be Past.
I am still reading Hold Tight Gently: Michael Callen, Essex Hemphill, and the Battlefield of AIDS which is a fascinating read.

[Allan]

Barbara, I hope Owen Meany's voice doesn't grate on you too much while driving, otherwise it'll be a long 27 hours, but I have to say I enjoyed the book last year.

I'm on a roll reading wise at present, and am currently flying through Close to the Knives: A Memoir of Disintegration, which is a book of its time, very angry, but a compelling read.

I have to say that 5 hours into For Whom the Bell Tolls, I'm not that fussed, but I'll stick with it in the meantime anyway.

[Barbara]

Allan wrote: "Barbara, I hope Owen Meany's voice doesn't grate on you too much while driving, otherwise it'll be a long 27 hours, but I have to say I enjoyed the book last year.

I'm on a roll reading wise at pr..."

Owen's voice may be why I put it aside for now. I do want to get through it though at some point.

[Barbara]

In the Heaney thread, I mentioned pretending I'm Canadian when my fellow Americans do embarrassing things when I am in another country. This reminded me of a hilarious chapter I just read in a book I am currently reading The Partly Cloudy Patriot. The chapter Cowboys vs. Mounties is probably my favorite in the book. Vowell affectionately portrays Canadians as unflappable, oblivious to sarcasm, and just plain nice. I wonder how a nice Canadian would do if he/she came head to head with a Dub out to have a laugh at the "tourists" expense*. I expect the Canadian would do just fine:)
* I have seen Dubs talk circles around tourists who don't know what hit them, and that their legs are being pulled out from under them.

[Thomas, Moderator]

The Doctor's Daughter: Journey to Justice by Belle Blackburn

I received this ebook free from the author in return for an honest review. The first third of the book was very slow while the author introduced the characters. The main character is Kate Seaver, who is present at her father's death from a gunshot wound. He emerged from a house with a gunshot wound in his chest and tells his daughter:"He shot me."
She is dismayed when the police and coroner declare it a suicide and sets out to prove he was murdered by James Rayburn. The rest of the book shows how she finds out the truth and also how the civil war affects her and her family. The book starts in Nashville, Tennessee in 1860 and ends in 1862 after the Union army has captured Nashville.

The author did quite a bit of research into how people lived their lives during this period, using such words as "sockdolager" and "snood".
I found snood in the kindle dictionary but had to ask the author what sockdolager meant--a forceful blow.

There are some laugh out lines early on in the book when she is called to a wake and the corpse is still alive.
I give the book 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.

[[deleted user]]

Socdolager sounds like a made up word, And autocorrect preferred 'sock dowager'...LOL

[Thomas, Moderator]

I have started Jar City by Arnaldur Indriðason

Theresa, according to Belle Blackburn, sockdolager was in common use during this period. She is a GR author and a member of another GR group that I joined after being invited by the moderator. She invited me to read her book in a group discussion. This is the first book that I have read after a direct author invitation.

[[deleted user]]

Interesting, Thomas.

[Sara]

So it's been 9 whole days since I finished a book. The last one was a graphic novel, Nimona. It was a super fun read and plays with a lot of the standard fantasy/hero tropes. It would also be a great read for kids of the age 9-12 or so. Today I should finish (especially since it's overdue at the library) The Just City. It's premise is that the goddess Athene decides to set up The Just City modeled after the one Plato discusses in the The Republic. Of course eventually Socrates shows up and starts causing trouble. It's got a lot to say about the nature of justice, equality, etc. It's certainly thought provoking, but the thinkyness of it is adequately balanced by character development in my mind. It will probably wind up being a 3 star not 4 star read for me. I'm also listening The Good House in the car and on my daily walks. It reminds me a lot of Stephen King's work. The creepiness of the Tananarive Due's small town setting in Washington State could certainly give King's Maine small towns a run for their money. It will, however, probably be a 3 star read not 4 due to it feeling a bit long in places.

Finally I'm off to Seattle in a few days. With me I'll be taking as physical books The Picture of Dorian Gray, Metatropolis, and (if it wins) Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. I'll also be downloading some e-books to my e-reader. These will include Lightspeed Magazine, June 2014: Women Destroy Science Fiction! Special Issue and (if it wins) A Sport and a Pastime.

[Kevin]

Well I'm a decent bit into The Rosie Project and I'm surprised at how much I am enjoying it. Although I sort of expected the Sheldon Cooper-like main character to get tedious I think I have been won over by his sheer earnestness. It is proving to be a very enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to seeing how it ends.

[Cathleen]

I'm reading What Was Lost. I picked it up at Mr. B's Emporium of Reading Delights in Bath when I was there this spring. I liked the description (and the cover) and it's been a good read so far, but not exactly what I expected. Much of the novel takes place in a shopping mall, and that gives the novel a sort of melancholy tone.

[Cathleen]

Kevin wrote: "Well I'm a decent bit into The Rosie Project and I'm surprised at how much I am enjoying it. Although I sort of expected the Sheldon Cooper-like main character to get tedious I thin..."

I just saw that at my local library, Kevin, and it was between that and one other book. Since it was on the "speed read" shelf, I put it back, but I'll be interested to see what you think of it. So many people have said good things about it.

[Susan]

Emma wrote: "I've been reading First Impressions by Charlie Lovett. It's not the best Jane Austen adaptation I've read but I'm enjoying it. It's good summer reading."

I know what you mean, Emma. It wasn't the best but yet it was enjoyable. I guess I'm just a sucker for Jane.