What are you Reading and Why Showing 1,201-1,250 of 1,308

[[deleted user]]

Almeta wrote: "I don't think Helen is speaking to me!☺ "

Well I'm certainly not if there are now 27 letters! that puts me one further away from finishing than I was.

[Peggy]

It is confusing! For my job I have to write in either British English or American English. I know the o/ou difference, but I think I use a mixture for many other words.

[Esther]

Peggy wrote: "It is confusing! For my job I have to write in either British English or American English. I know the o/ou difference, but I think I use a mixture for many other words."

I have worked in Canada, in the US and in Europe. I gave up; my English is a cultural melting pot. It makes things interesting, especially after a few glasses of wine.

[Travis]

I've heard they call beer piss in Australia can someone cconfirm yes or no because in the US we use it for a much different meaning a and big foaming glass of piss is not too appetizing

[Kat]

Travis of NNY wrote: "I've heard they call beer piss in Australia can someone cconfirm yes or no because in the US we use it for a much different meaning a and big foaming glass of piss is not too appetizing"

Confirmed. Getting 'on the piss' is an Australianism.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Or "I'm pissed" or "let's get pissed!!". But it does mean both.
You will learn Australianisms usually rely heavily on context.

And you're spelling hasn't gone downhill. You're diversifying!

Almeta, you're never in trouble!

[Travis]

I learn so much on good reads

[Travis]

Words vary so much around the world. Its how I almost got myself killed back in 2000. I was in Tampa during the Elion Gonzolez thing and tensions were high between the US and I think Cuba. Anyway the Latin community which there is quite a bit of in Tampa was causing a lot of trouble in protest. I don't remember how it all worked out but anyway I was in Tampa at the peak of it and while a bunch of us were playing miniature golf something came out of my mouth that was evidently of a negative meaning to all the Latinos around because next thing I know anyone nearby not white was staring me down and looked like some knives or guns were about to come out. I don't think I spoke the rest of the time and we finished our game double time. I don't even know what I said but it was pretty much common northern new York chatter a long way from home where words evidently have different meanings.
This was actually a school trip so the next day a few of us had to walk a few blocks to carry home 20 pizzas. Half way back a gang sees us and chased us to try to I hope just steal the pizza . I don't know apparently a bunch of country farm kids can outrun gang memberswhile carrying pizza. I've never been back to Tampa since.

[Esther]

Well, i still have a document to write this weekend but beside this I am off. So read, read, read....

I am reading El juego del ángel, my Z book. I started The Wise Man's Fear for a buddy read and i am still slowly rereading A Suitable Boy. Of course, as if this was not enough, I got a message from my library that Steelheart was now available for me. Argh.

[Travis]

I liked Steelheart it was diffent type of fantasy.

[Kirila]

I just finished The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and loved it :) I can't wait to read the next ones from the series, but the second book is currently taken... I could also fit them together as one book for the chunkster challenge.

Now I don't really know what to read... I am flying home tomorrow, so I definitely need a book for the plane and waiting area (even though the flight is just 2 hours). But I can't start something too interesting because when I go home my mom will recommend some book for me to read, and I will switch to that one. One option is to finish Anne of Avonlea. I am about half way through and I started it months ago. Goodreads recommended Anne of Green Gables to me and since I really enjoyed it, I started the second book. But somehow it's not as magical. Or maybe it's just too similar to the first one... But it is still nice and I would like to finish it. Another option is The Cuckoo's Calling, which I got from the library this week, and which is requested after me so I have to return it in 4 weeks. I also have The Golem and the Jinni and The Dogs of Riga from the library. And then some books I own...

I will be dwelling on this till the moment I leave...

[Kirila]

Oh, and not to forget, I just got The Bat (I can't find a link for it) in my mail (because of all this talk about Jo Nesbø I decided I need to read something by him). So that's also an option...

[Esther]

Kirila wrote: "Oh, and not to forget, I just got The Bat (I can't find a link for it) in my mail (because of all this talk about Jo Nesbø I decided I need to read something by him). So that's also..."

If you go for The Bat, there is a buddy read for the 2nd one in January...

[Janice, Moderator]

Almeta wrote: "Rusalka wrote: "According to Janice, in Canada the alphabet's only 20 letters, so you never know :P"

In Canada, I have heard, there is an extra vowel, "A", between every sentence.☻ eh?"

Ha! ROFL!

In Canada, "I'm pissed" could have two different meanings - to be angry, or to be drunk.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Oh yes. Then there's angry... completely back to context.

On your Tampa experience Travis, when we were in the Uk in Sept, we were at on of the big seaside towns on the North sea for the last warm day of the year. (Whitby, where Dracula is set). My Uncle went to get a towel from the car before we went swimming. Lexx yelled to him "You better come back. No piking!!"

Now in Aus and NZ, that's not offensive at all, just means changing your mind and not doing something you said you would, usually involving doing something with people. But in the UK there are groups of travelling people, like gypsies, which are offensively known as Pikeys (ever seen Snatch with Brad Pitt?). So Lexx's comment yelled across a large seaside pier was incredibly offensive.

Slightly disturbing when a good 100 people top and stare at you. I was thinking "what's everyone's problem??... Oh Shit!!!" Lexx didn't know that pikeys existed. His dopey Aussieness only gets you so far though.

[Almeta]

Rusalka wrote: "My Uncle went to get a towel from the car before we went swimming. Lexx yelled to him "You better come back. No piking!!"..."

Good thing he wasn't going after his Fanny Pack ☻

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Heh that one gets me too. We call them Bum Bags.

[Lilisa]

Hmmm, I'm learning a lot - and not necessarily from books! :-)

[AmyK]

I will remember never to discuss fanny packs outside of the US

[[deleted user]]

I can't hear the phrase fanny pack without sniggering. And a bloke with a fanny pack is just even more amusing.

[Lisa]

I finished We Have Always Lived in the Castle. I enjoyed it a lot and gave it 4 stars.

I am now going to start reading A Christmas Carol. I have seen several film adaptations of this story but have never actually read the book so I figured now was the time to fix that :)

[Travis]

Lisa wrote: "I finished We Have Always Lived in the Castle. I enjoyed it a lot and gave it 4 stars.

I am now going to start reading A Christmas Carol. I have seen several film ad..."

I like the book better than the movie. Pretty similar but slightly different.

[Sarah]

The "I'm pissed" phrase and the other variations are also commonly used in the UK so not just an Aussie thing it would seem. The use of the word fanny I just can't get over as it has such a different meaning her in UK.

Aside from all that, I'm now off work until 7th January so plenty of time for reading and I can't wait!

I have put The Hobbit on hold while I read the buddy read The Wise Man's Fear. I had wanted to finish The Hobbit before going to watch the second part at the cinema but I'll have to do it the other way around instead now. I am also STILL slowly listening to Sister.

I had a minor panic last night as I was unable to post any posts at all on Goodreads - started to have withdrawal! Did anyone else have that problem at all? Thankfully, it's all sorted now.

[Nancy from NJ]

To end the New Year, I decided to read a memoir by Penny Marshall called My Mother Was Nuts and it is laugh out loud funny. For those who remember and loved Marshall in Laverne and Shirley the beginning of this book detailing her growing up years is poignant, funny and also a bit sad.

I highly recommend this book.

BTW - I am new to this group and look forward to finding my way around this group and discussing books with all of you.

[Lilisa]

Started Biting through the Skin: An Indian Kitchen in America's Heartland after being in Zimbabwe with When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa. A sobering but powerful and compelling memoir -- highly recommended read. My review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Helen wrote: "I can't hear the phrase fanny pack without sniggering. And a bloke with a fanny pack is just even more amusing."

Exactly

[Janice, Moderator]

Welcome Nancy - so glad you've joined us!

[Peggy]

I couldn't post anything either yesterday, almost panicked!

I started Wise Man's Fear for the buddy read yesterday, and that should keep me occupied for a while.

[Almeta]

Sarah wrote: "I had a minor panic last night as I was unable to post any posts at all on Goodreads - started to have withdrawal! Did anyone else have that problem at all? Thankfully, it's all sorted now. ..."

Not everything is sorted out, but Goodreads is aware of the issues.

(For instance, when you click on a book title, you can not expand the review page with the "more options" link at the moment.)

[Cherie]

Nancy wrote: "To end the New Year, I decided to read a memoir by Penny Marshall called My Mother Was Nuts and it is laugh out loud funny. For those who remember and loved Marshall in Laverne and..."

Hi Nancy - I just added your book to my TBR list. I have about 10 biographies I need to read but have not been able to fit them in yet. Maybe I can fit them in next year beetween the 2014 chunkster books. I loved L & S and have so much respect for Penny and her father. I can imagine that her mother/wife must have been an exceptional person.

[[deleted user]]

Assuming we've still only got 26 letters of the alphabet, I'm done. Finished Zulu Hart and it was pretty good.. It's his first work of fiction, being better known as a military historian, and it wasn't brilliant, but it was pretty engaging.

And I started Snuff. I suspect I'm going to get the latest TP for Christmas, so thought I'd better read this one before carrying on.

[Nancy from NJ]

Cherie wrote: "Nancy wrote: "To end the New Year, I decided to read a memoir by Penny Marshall called My Mother Was Nuts and it is laugh out loud funny. For those who remember and loved Marshall ..."

Cherie - yes, Penny Marshall's mother was most exceptional if not rather unusual but you'll need to read the book to find out how different she really was especially when it came to raising her children.

Another recent memoir I also read was Billy Crystal's newest book. Still Foolin' 'Em which again found me LOL.

[Sarah]

Congratulations Helen on finishing your alphabet. Enjoy your TP Christmas!

[Janice, Moderator]

I finished The Silence of Trees yesterday. I really enjoyed this story of a woman who lost everything in Ukraine when German soldiers invaded her village. She fought those demons all her life in silence. It's a story of renewed life as she slowly faced those demons.

I started Bloodlist yesterday. It was a recommendation from the audiobook group. It's about a gumshoe detective who discovers, after bullets don't kill him, that he's a vampire. Should be fun!

I hope Goodreads has resolved their glitches so I can update my reviews on these books.

[Roz]

I finished my Cozy Mystery book and and decided to borrow some books from the library on my kindle. So I got The Godwulf Manuscript, The Paris Wife, and. Sharp Objects. My daughter-in-law was telling me about Robert Parker's Spenser series, so I thought I'd check it out. Pretty good so far.

I was having some trouble with Goodreads yesterday. I was going through my chunkster shelf looking to see what appealed the most and I saw a lot of my books were showing up twice on the list. But when I went to check for duplicates, there weren't any. Strange. Has that happened to anyone else?

[Janice, Moderator]

Roz wrote: "I was having some trouble with Goodreads yesterday. I was going through my chunkster shelf looking to see what appealed the most and I saw a lot of my books were showing up twice on the list. But when I went to check for duplicates, there weren't any. Strange. Has that happened to anyone else?"

Yes. This morning I did a search of The Silence of Trees and it came up with 4 listings. I know Goodreads was having issues yesterday and that may be a part of it.

I had a thought that perhaps it was listed in the search result for each shelf I had it on, except I have it on 5 shelves, not 4.

[Roz]

I thought about the multiple shelving angle too, since I tend to do that with my books. I tried removing the surplus listings for one of the books, but it removed all of them and I had to put it back. At least I know I'm not alone.

[Roz]

I finished . I'm going to have to read the rest of the Spenser books. The guy makes me laugh.

Here's my review.

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

[Theresa~OctoberLace]

After reading Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death this morning for the November challenge, I had a tough time deciding what I wanted to read next. I started Allegiant, but I wasn't in the mood and am afraid I will, like many others, find this third and final book a let down. I read a bit more of The Emperor of All Maladies, but I can only read such sad tales of cancer for a limited time. Neither The Golem and the Jinni nor Interview with the Vampire fit my mood, either.

Finally I decided to read Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck, which I'm really enjoying. I'm over halfway through that, so I'll probably settle on one of the others tomorrow.

[Ann]

I gave up on The Finkler Question after many attempts to get into it. It just want my cup of tea. I got about halfway thru but it took almost a month to get that far and finally just had to ask myself "Why are you bothering??" I hate quitting once I've invested that much time but, really, I needed to cut my losses and move on. I have now started The Good House by Bonnie Burnard. Hope it goes better.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

I finished The Finkler Question Ann, and I can confirm. It definitely was NOT worth the bother.

[Lisa]

I finished A Christmas Carol which I really enjoyed. I am so glad that I finally got around to reading it, it didn't disappoint at all. 5 stars from me.

I am now starting The Ghost Hunters which is based upon a real-life ghost hunter's investigations at Borley Rectory, supposedly the most haunted house in England. I am really looking forward to this as I love a good ghost story.

[Lynn G.]

Just finished Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. This was a poignant and touching book. This is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Almeta]

Happy Holidays


The month of December has been about READING FOR CHALLENGES. Gee why didn't I think of that earlier?

Girl With a Pearl Earring
Chevalier, Tracy

Love Songs From A Shallow Grave (Dr. Siri Paiboun, #7)
Cotterill, Colin

The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa
Smith, Alexander McCall

A Case of Exploding Mangoes
Hanif, Mohammed

The Scent of Rain and Lightning
Pickard, Nancy

The Saturday Morning Murder: A Psychoanalytic Case (Michael Ohayon Mysteries, No. 1)
Gur, Batya

Dead Men's Hearts (Gideon Oliver Mystery, #8)
Elkins, Aaron

You Bet Your Life
Kaminsky, Stuart M.

Curse Of The Pogo Stick (Dr. Siri Paiboun, #5)
Cotterill, Colin

The Empty Mirror
Jones, J. Sydney

The Xibalba Murders: An Archeological Mystery (An Archaeological Mystery, #1)
Hamilton, Lyn

The Weight of Water
Shreve, Anita

Grinning in His Mashed Potatoes
Moseley, Margaret

Varjak Paw
Said, S.F.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Kundera, Milan

The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Gaiman, Neil

The Terra-Cotta Dog (Salvú Montalbano #2)
Camilleri, Andrea

Speaking from Among the Bones (Flavia de Luce, #5 )
Bradley, Alan

The Ruins
Smith, Scott B.

Quarry (aka The Broker) (Quarry, #1)
Collins, Max Allan

STILL TO READ Five more challenge books

The Woman Who Wouldn't Die (Dr. Siri Paiboun, #9)
Cotterill, Colin

Zero Cool (Hard Case Crime #41) or whatever Zee book shows up first at the library!
Lange, John

The Black Mountain (Nero Wolfe, #24)
Stout, Rex

Killed At The Whim Of A Hat (Jimm Juree, #1)
Cotterill, Colin

The Fallen Angel (Gabriel Allon, #12)
Silva, Daniel

AND FOR THE GROUP READ
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
See, Lisa

See you at the End of 2013 Panic Read-a-long

[Nancy from NJ]

I am currently reading The Far Side of the Sky by Daniel Kalla for my f2f book group which meets in January and listening to My Mother Was Nuts by Penny Marshall of Laverne and Shirley fame. I am enjoying both books but must add that Penny Marshall's memoir is a funny title to end the new year with by audio. I am laughing so hard at points that the tears are falling down my face.

[Sarah]

Wow Almeta you have done some serious reading this month (and some still to go)! I know what you'll be doing over Christmas then!

[Janice, Moderator]

Wow! No wonder we haven't seen much of Almeta on the boards this month! She's had her nose in a book. :)

I'll be leaving for my parents' shortly. I will finish Bloodlist (which I am not enjoying) on the way there and will start Gone With a Handsomer Man. Audiobooks sure make a long trip more enjoyable.

[Almeta]

Janice wrote: "Wow! No wonder we haven't seen much of Almeta on the boards this month! She's had her nose in a book. :)..."

Sarah wrote: "Wow Almeta you have done some serious reading this month (and some still to go)! I know what you'll be doing over Christmas then!"

I'm starting to panic. Two of these books have not arrived at the library yet. I don't want to miss my deadline, just because the library could not come through for me!

Notice how I can blame the library, instead of poor planning on my part?☺

[Janice, Moderator]

I hope the books come in, Almeta! Dang library. :)

[Shirley]

kindle


The Xibalba Murders

and audible


You Don't Want To Know

and then


Zero Separation: A Novel

Hurrah!!
I will make my alphabet and 150 books for 2013.