What Are You Reading and Why? July 2013

[Janice, Moderator]

Travis of NNY wrote: "Well to catch up the series as far as it is currently written, finally jumped into this one will take a couple days to say the least"

A couple of days? Forty-some hours! An audiobook that long would take me a couple of weeks. LOL! Enjoy, Travis!

[Travis]

With book 6 and 7 still being written I can take some breaks for other books if I don't want to hammer out astraight 40+ hours

[Rusalka, Moderator]

And once you finish it you can sing along to this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7lp3R...

[Almeta]

HILARIOUS!:D

[Betsy]

Just got my book from Goodreads GiveAway called the Sacred and Profane. Can't wait to start.

[Travis]

I wasn't expecting it to be so funny laughed so hard at one point I had to get my inhaler

[Janice, Moderator]

ROFL! That was great, Rusalka.

[Esther]

Rusalka wrote: "And once you finish it you can sing along to this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7lp3R..."

This is hilarious. Thanks for sharing.

[Chrissie]

I finished Cold Sassy Tree.
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Now something with a little substance, something to bite into: Dreams in a Time of War: A Childhood Memoir. A memoir about the Kenyan writer's childhood. I am curious to know more about the Mau Mau Rebellion.

[Agnes]

Reading Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens ... I had read her first book Still Missing and am completely hooked on her. Love thrillers and mysteries..and both these books are fast moving and a page turner.

[Maureen]

Rusalka wrote: "And once you finish it you can sing along to this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7lp3R..."
Thanks, Rusalka, for a great laugh to start the day!

[Chrissie]

Some of you have read a book about a house in Czechoslovakia. It has different occupants and it takes place during WW2. Do any of your remember the title?

[Sarah]

I'm just starting The Windup Girl as a buddy read in another group. If I remember rightly it was a group read for YLTO at some point although a bit before I joined. Looking forward to it.

[Lisa]

I have just finished Rivers of London which I read for the July 'European Tour' challenge. I really enjoyed this book and gave it a 4 star rating. Here is my review:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Tomorrow I will be starting The Bronze Horseman . I have been wanting to read this for a while but have kept putting it off so I am looking forward to finally starting it.

[Roz]

I need to start something for my M book in the alphabet challenge. I'm looking at . If it doesn't go well I'll switch to

[Sarah]

Roz wrote: "I need to start something for my M book in the alphabet challenge. I'm looking at . If it doesn't go well I'll switch to [bookcover:Michelangelo's Notebo..."

I look forward to hearing what you think of The Mongoliad. It keeps coming up on my recommendations on Amazon.

[Roz]

I just started it. I bought it cheap for my kindle last month. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Janice, Moderator]

I finished Fiji: A Novel. I haven't written my review yet, but it's not going to be a favourable one.

Later today, I will start Mrs. Mike for my Cross Canada challenge. It's set in the North West Territories.

[Chrissie]

Janice, well at least it done.

[Janice, Moderator]

Chrissie wrote: "Janice, well at least it done."

Thank goodness, it's done! All I can say is that the book is very amateurish, repetitive and implausible.

[Chrissie]

Janice wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Janice, well at least it done."

Thank goodness, it's done! All I can say is that the book is very amateurish, repetitive and implausible."

Yep, I agree on all accounts.

[Anna]

I bought and read today The World According to Bob: The further adventures of one man and his street-wise cat It was fantastic!

my review http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[[deleted user]]

I finished American Gods today. It was good and odd and somewhat strange.
While it's set in America, was there any rumpus about it? Strikes me as not being something of which the bible belt would approve at all. There the surmise that Gods need belief to survive and that anything that has belief and is worshiped can become a god. Gods that don;t have belief die... and you could argue that the vigil is a play on the crucifixion (but then that is, it could be argued, borrowed from other folk myths as well). There's most the of non christian religions mentioned in there, some of which I didn't always recognise at first introduction.

BTW rusalkas get a mention as well.

now onto The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, which is this month's bookclub read. And conveniently starts with b...

[Anna]

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - the worst book I've read. :(

[[deleted user]]

Anna wrote: "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - the worst book I've read. :("
Part of me is expecting to have my heart strings twanged deliberately. It's not my choice of book, but part of the idea of book club is to read all sorts, so we're reading this one...

[Anna]

Helen wrote: "Anna wrote: "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - the worst book I've read. :("
Part of me is expecting to have my heart strings twanged deliberately. It's not my choice of book, but part of the idea o..."

Yeah, be ready to read about a German boy whose father is a Nazi yet the boy doesn't knows who Hitler is and hasn't heard a word against the Jews.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

We pop up everywhere us Rusalkii.

I read Small Gods a while ago that plays with the same premise that gods need followers to be gods. I wonder if that's something Pratchett and Gaiman had discussed together, or it just popped up independently. I love the idea though.

I'm not sure how many people in the Bible Belt had heard of him, especially at the time. He's only really started being more of a feature in mainstream culture now. Although I am sure when the HBO show comes out it will become a thing.

My mum just read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and really liked it, but she raised the exact same things you did Anna. She couldn't find that believable at all.

[Chrissie]

I have enjoyed Dreams in a Time of War: A Childhood Memoir
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/67...
This is about growing up in a polygamous family in Kenya during the 40s and 50s, i.e. during the Mau Mau Rebellion.

On to Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain. About Japan, the Akita breed and choices. What kind of life do you want to live? Money and prestige or something else....

[Ann]

I recently finished and I am about 1/2 way through for amonthly read for a mystery, thriller group.

[Almeta]

I was supposed to be reading World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War so that Sis and I could go to the movies. I never cracked the cover!

Started Smoke and Mirrors for the Short Story Challenge, and am reading it in between other things.

Finished The Shapes Of Midnight, another Short Story collection, with an introduction and praises by Stephen King. I did enjoy it, although I found some more Horror-able than others! It appears that Joseph Payne Brennan was best know for shorts and poetry.

What kept me most busy was NOS4A2 as a group read for another club. Author Joe Hill keeps you occupied on a thrill ride. It is also a "must read" Stephen King fans, since homage references abound. In fact I would say Hill deliberately wrote in King's style as well. Other readers listened to the book and said it was fabulous. Fun to read, but Hill has his own talented style. I hope his next book is back to being Hill-yen.

Back to World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War!

[Janice, Moderator]

Almeta wrote: "
What kept me most busy was NOS4A2 as a group read for another club. Author Joe Hill keeps you occupied on a thrill ride. It is also a "must read" Stephen King fans, since homage references abound. In fact I would say Hill deliberately wrote in King's style as well. Other readers listened to the book and said it was fabulous. Fun to read, but Hill has his own talented style. I hope his next book is back to being Hill-yen.
.."

I even had to wonder a couple of times if it was written by Stephen King. LOL! It's a fabulous thrill ride, Kate Mulgrew was fabulous as the narrator. I really hope they make this into a movie!

[[deleted user]]

Finished The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and I agree with the points raised above. It would work if he were 4, but he's far too naive to be 9. And as a book for youngsters, I think it might raise a load of questions - which is probably no bad thing.

Listening to Continental Drifter and reading Death Comes to Pemberley, which are C & D in the alphabet.

[Shannon]

Janice wrote: "Shannon wrote: "Am reading . I had picked this up at a library sale and had not heard of it before but often enjoy these Chinese historical novels. So far I am enj..."

I finished it. It was OK. The beginning was much better than the end but I hadn't realized its one of series. Once I realized that it made more sense. The ending seemed rushed and unfinished. In the beginning there was also more description than later in the book.

I will probably read the next one too but honestly, I won't rush out for it. It was good but not brilliant imho.

My review is here http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Chrissie]

I really enjoyed Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain.
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Don' think this is just about the Akita breed.

Now I will begin Einstein: His Life and Universe, because I like the author and am curious about the man. I am not sure I will understand all the science though.

[Lisa]

I finished Life of Pi earlier today which was my 'L' read for the alphabet challenge. I gave it 4 stars because I thought it was really well-written, it held my interest throughout and it definitely got me thinking. I also read it within 3 days which is pretty quick for me.

I am now going to continue with The Bronze Horseman which is certainly going to take me a lot longer to read but I am really enjoying it so far.

[[deleted user]]

Finished Death Comes to Pemberley, which I thought was different enough from Pride & Prejudice to work, while making an attenpt (not entirely sucessfully throughout) to sound like a Regency novel.

Now onto my challenge book this month, The Hunger Angel.

[Anna]

Started The Lullaby of Polish Girls . I picked up it from a library

[Chrissie]

Finished Strumpet City
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I thought I would move on from the 1913 lockout to the 1916 Easter Rebellion. 1916: A Novel of the Irish Rebellion starts with the sinking of the Titanic. This is the first of a series about Irish Independence.

[Cherie]

Chrissie - LOL. You really did not mean to say that the sinking of the Titanic is what caused the Irish Rebellion did you?

[Kimberly]

Roz wrote: "I need to start something for my M book in the alphabet challenge. I'm looking at . If it doesn't go well I'll switch to [bookcover:Michelangelo's Notebo..."

I borrowed the Mongoliad not to long ago. I'm looking forward to seeing what you think of it Roz.

[Kimberly]

I finished and really enjoyed it.

I've started and and I'm still reading

[Dem]

Just finished The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope This is my review; www.goodreads.com/review/show/632457980

[Chrissie]

Cherie wrote: "Chrissie - LOL. You really did not mean to say that the sinking of the Titanic is what caused the Irish Rebellion did you?"

Absolutely not! The book starts there. The central character is on the Titanic and then returns to Ireland.

I can add here that there seems to be a lot of history in the book. At the front there is a short list of the fictional characters and then a long list of the historical figures, with the ones executed for their part in the Rising in bold print.

I didn't think to give anyone that impression! Did you really take it that way? I wanted to let other readers know that the sinking of the Titanic is also covered, that history in general it woven into the book. There are also street maps of Dublin and the environs.

The book just completed was much more fictional in character, but it drew an accurate description of the time and place!

[Travis]

Started fellow YLTO member Mark Chisnell The Defector. Also taking a break from A Dance with Dragons to listen to the lotta hype book Hounded although urban fantasy is not my favorite genre so we'll see

[Sarah]

I decided to abandon Smoke and Mirrors and now I've started the other group read Full Dark, No Stars instead.

[Kimberly]

Travis of NNY wrote: "Started fellow YLTO member Mark Chisnell The Defector. Also taking a break from A Dance with Dragons to listen to the lotta hype book Hounded although urban fantasy is not my favorite genre so we'l..."

Hounded is hilarious and a lighter take on the urban fantasy genre.

[Shannon]

Have started Cold Mountainbecause I have not seen the movie and it was at hand when I wanted to start a new book. :) Am also listening to Flower Net when I am driving and Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen when I am running. So far all three are pretty good. Should be a good month.

[Almeta]

Travis of NNY wrote: " listen to the lotta hype book Hounded although urban fantasy is not my favorite genre so we'll see ..."

I enjoyed Hounded because (for me)it was very unique. I remember grabbing the next book in the series pretty quickly. By the third, the novelty was wearing off and the myths/legends seemed either obscure or completely not in the realm of known human superstition.

I liked throwing all the god myths into one big melting pot, but I wanted to recognized them or at least believe that I could research them and find a few, if ancient, followers. (view spoiler)[You lost me at giant squirrel that runs between earth and heaven realms! (hide spoiler)]

Almeta's Review of Hounded

[Cherie]

Chrissie wrote: "Cherie wrote: "Chrissie - LOL. You really did not mean to say that the sinking of the Titanic is what caused the Irish Rebellion did you?"

Absolutely not! The book starts there. The central chara..."

No, Chrissie, I was teasing. Don't be upset, but I could not resist. I just struck me, the way you wrote the comment about the Titanic.

I am interested in the Irish history, so I hope I can get to it some time soon. I am listening to May the Road Rise Up to Meet You and the Irish parts of the story are facinating.

[Cherie]

Shannon wrote: "Have started Cold Mountainbecause I have not seen the movie and it was at hand when I wanted to start a new book. :) Am also listening to Flower Net when I am driving and Born to Run: A Hidden Tri..."

Wow, Shannon, way to work books into your every minute. The running book sounds interesting. I used to work with a guy who did Ultra cross country marathons. I used to run when I was much younger and loved it. Didn't have an iPOD or MP3 player to listen to so I had to enjoy the solitude and scenery. It was my "me" time.