What are you reading and why? Jan-Jun 2014 Showing 201-250 of 1,330

[Travis]

Not sure on vampire westerns but Way of the Wolf is a bit of a different read. Kind of vampire western military post apocalyptic blend. I always have trouble shelving this series.

[Marnie]

I was joking about the vampire westerns. I am actually thinking of trying some traditional westerns The Last of the Mohicans comes to mind but both of those books look great so....

[Cherie]

Marnie wrote: "I was joking about the vampire westerns. I am actually thinking of trying some traditional westerns The Last of the Mohicans comes to mind but both of those books look great so...."

TLotM is not a western. Don't even think it. Try The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains

[Travis]

For real westerns try Louis Lamour. I'm still working my way through his series on The Sacketts which take a few books before they become westerns since they begin in England in the 1600's. He has much more to choose from than this series though.

[Marnie]

See I feel my reading boundaries expanding already. I have heard of Louis Lamour ( I think Colonel Potter on M*A*S*H always had his books around- yes I am that old!)

[Cherie]

Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey is one I remember reading too.
Yes, Colonel Potter was a Louis Lamour fanatic. I am that old too! :)

[Travis]

My dad loved MASH I have watched that series repeatedly and now I'm gonna have the theme music stuck in my head

[Travis]

My middle name is Alan after Alan Alda actually

[Dem]

Finished American Rust
This is my review; www.goodreads.com/review/show/744807057

[Cherie]

Marnie - this one came up in my Recommended list:
The Lonesome Gods.

@ Travis - I did not get a boy baby, but I would have considered the same because I liked Mr. Alda so much!

[Tejas Janet]

Travis of NNY wrote: "My dad loved MASH I have watched that series repeatedly and now I'm gonna have the theme music stuck in my head"

MASH was/is a terrific series and Alan Alda was/is the bomb :)

[Tejas Janet]

Travis of NNY wrote: What exactly would be the point of reading stuff you don't like anyway. You know.

Seriously... to learn stuff and see things from another point of view. You know.

[Travis]

Yeah I know. I've slogged through books I shouldn't have just for that reason but sometimes one can find a great book you never would have experienced otherwise .I guess what I've learned is it can pay to take chances you just have to know sometimes to abandon if its just not right.

[[deleted user]]

I'm having trouble containing my excitement, I've just bought home The Wind in the Willows, on CD, narrated by Alan Bennett. When I was a child, the BBC had a series called Jackanory, when a celebrity would read a children's book, in 15 minutes sessions, sometimes over several weeks. This was one of my favourites, and still sits in the memory, some years later. Just wheeeeee.

[Dem]

Helen wrote: "I'm having trouble containing my excitement, I've just bought home The Wind in the Willows, on CD, narrated by Alan Bennett. When I was a child, the BBC had a series called Jackanory, w..."
Enjoy Helen. Isn't it wonderful to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. Every time the postman pops a new book through my door I can't wait to open it for my next read.

[Nancy from NJ]

Finished 3 of my chunksters and need to take a break so I think I will begin reading James Patterson's new romance book, First Love. Should be a fast read.

[Nancy from NJ]

Cherie wrote: "Nancy,
I admit that I had put off reading Sophie's Choice for a long time because of the Holocaust topic. I was avoiding it because I knew that I would have an emotional time with it. Seeing tha..."

I do think that the young Southern writer was definitely patterned after William Styron. Have you read his memoir about his encounter with depression, Darkness Visible. Excellent book about this illness and his recovery.

[Nancy from NJ]

Travis of NNY wrote: "Started listening to my next chunkster Lonesome Dove cuz every now and then I get a hankerin' for a good ole western"

I think the only Western I ever read was Cimarron by Edna Ferber. Not sure why but Lonesome Dove was another book I could never get into. maybe I'll make it one of my chunksters to encourage me to persevere. But wait a minute, I'm doing that with The Poisonwood Bible and not enjoying it too much so what's the point. LOL.

[Nancy from NJ]

Anne (Booklady) wrote: "Travis,

Yes, Battle Cry was Uris' first book =) And it is well written. I've read Exodus and The Haj. He is becoming a favorite author of mine.

In the..."

Exodus is most likely the book that Leon Uris will most be remembered for in the future. I also suggest reading Mila 18 about the Warsaw ghetto uprising as well as QBVII which tells the story of the trial of a Nazi war criminal. I never did read The Haj or Trinity but have them in my book closet. Maybe this year.

[Nancy from NJ]

Marnie wrote: "I am starting The Woman in White for my real life book club and since it is a chunkster I am double dipping.
I am also still listening to Night Film.

Travis I have onl..."

I think I will also need to double dip while reading on for the chunkster challenge. There was a time that I could fly through a chunkster but like my students of old, I need immediate gratification.

[Sarah]

I've just finished reading my chunkster Perdido Street Station which has taken forever to read. Woohoo! Going to go for something MUCH shorter so I'm going to go with Watched: When Road Rage Follows You Home which is only 237 pages long - bliss!

[Janice, Moderator]

Travis of NNY wrote: "My middle name is Alan after Alan Alda actually"

My son's name is Alan. While I wouldn't say that he was named after Alan Alda, we certainly had A.Alda in mind and wanted his name spelled that way.

[Anne (Booklady)]

Nancy wrote: "Anne (Booklady) wrote: "Travis,

Yes, Battle Cry was Uris' first book =)

Exodus is most likely the book that Leon Uris will most be remembered for in the future. I also suggest reading Mila 18 about the Warsaw ghetto uprising as well as QBVII which tells the story of the trial of a Nazi war criminal. I never did read The Haj or Trinity but have them in my book closet. Maybe this year. "

Nancy, they are on my shelves here at home waiting for me to have the time to read them. =)

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Sarah wrote: "I've just finished reading my chunkster Perdido Street Station which has taken forever to read. Woohoo! Going to go for something MUCH shorter so I'm going to go with [book:Watched: Wh..."

ooo doesn't bode well for my reading of it. Did you enjoy it though?

[Cherie]

I waded my way through Exodus in the '80s and have never had any desire to explore any more of Uris's titles since then.

[Anne (Booklady)]

I finished my first chunkster, Battle Cry!

[Sarah]

Rusalka wrote: "ooo doesn't bode well for my reading of it. Did you enjoy it though? "

Yes I did really enjoy it Rusalka - it just took a while to get through. Lots of new animals, alien beings to get my head around. It was worth it though.

[Travis]

Started Casino Royale

[Sarah]

Watched: When Road Rage Follows You Home wasn't doing it for me so I've put it on hold. I will come back to it another time. So I've started Fever.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

I'm a good 100+pp in The Famished Road. I have no clue what is going on, but I am contiuning. It's not bad at all, just so much magical realism I'm not sure which way is up or what the point will be. I am sure I will find out.

[[deleted user]]

Having finally finished Bleak House I'm onto something physically & mentally lighter, The Mysterious Affair at Styles

[Rusalka, Moderator]

I watched a QI episode the other day which talked about the real court case that Bleak House was based on. Apparently it was 50 years old when Dickens wrote the book, and continued for another 50years into the 1910s!

So as tiring/long it was, it didn't take you over 100 years, until your estate completely ran out of the money that everyone was fighting over.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

P.S. all my information is from Stephen Fry, but really, you can't argue with that man.

[Nancy from NJ]

Cherie wrote: "I waded my way through Exodus in the '80s and have never had any desire to explore any more of Uris's titles since then."

Never say never. You may decide to read him again and be pleasantly surprised.

I guess Exodus was very near and dear to my heart when I first read this as a teenager shortly after it was published. Since reading this book I have visited Israel several times and always read it again when I return. I also really enjoyed Uris' other books but saved a couple to read and now that he is gone I still cherish what he has written. Maybe he is an acquired taste or relevant to my life and religion.

[Sarah]

Rusalka wrote: "P.S. all my information is from Stephen Fry, but really, you can't argue with that man."

I agree! I love QI and Stephen Fry is a genius!

[[deleted user]]

Rusalka wrote: "So as tiring/long it was, it didn't take you over 100 years, until your estate completely ran out of the money that everyone was fighting over. "
Good point, well made. 2.5 weeks is certainly less than 100 years.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Just finished The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.

Now starting The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe.

[Esther]

Sarah, i am glad you liked Perdido Street Station. i have a feeling The Scar will take us on another path altogether.

I am still reading The Luminaries, and as i am not insane enough to use my ipad in my bath, i started on another chunkster, Red Seas Under Red Skies, the second of the Locke Lamora series which has been screaming "pick me, pick me" for a while.

I am listening to The Light in the Ruins for the goodreads award theme.

[Nancy from NJ]

Esther- how are you enjoying The Light in the Ruins. I have read several of Bohjalian's other books and was wondering how you are enjoying this title.

[Esther]

Nancy wrote: "Esther- how are you enjoying The Light in the Ruins. I have read several of Bohjalian's other books and was wondering how you are enjoying this title."

It is my 1st from him so I cannot compare. I like it so far. I will let you know.

[Nancy from NJ]

I am almost finished with my fourth chunkster although I did read two shorter books to make one chunkster. I'm afraid as I end The Posionwood Bible, I can say unequivocally it wasn't my cup of tea. And now I think I need a small book to revive me since my last two were longer than I've been reading recently. I am reading First Love by James Patterson which is rather predictable and listening to This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett.

[Nancy from NJ]

I just realized something that I wanted to share with this group. As I looked over my Chunkster list, I realized that many of the titles have been hanging out on my shelves for a very long time. And many of them like The Poisonwood Bible I have tried to read before and not just once. And in the past I couldn't get into them either so what made me think I would like them now. But then I also realize that this is the point of a challenge - to try and do something outside of one's comfort level. Yeah, last year I read 154 books but they were small ones and most weren't anything that noteworthy and while I've complained about The Poisonwood Bible, I do think it was an important book to read even if I didn't necessarily enjoy it. And if there is a lesson to be learned from this, it may very well be that maybe the next time I do persevere with a book, I will love it and wonder why this time around it appealed to me.

On a personal level, our daughter recently revealed to me that the man she married 3 years ago, she most likely wouldn't have married 10 years ago. Maybe a different time and a bit more maturity found her eager to marry this man. Is it possible that this also happens to us as readers?

[Sarah]

@ Nancy - I think that some books can only be enjoyed at certain stages of ones life (or a different day of the week). I know I have tried many books in the past and given up on them and then later given them another go and couldn't believe why I had a problem the first time round. I think we have to be in the right frame of mind for a book. A book that springs to mind that I had problems with first time round was The Alchemist - just a period of 6 months went by between first attempt and second successful attempt. I've since read a number of the author's works.

@Esther - I had a quick look at the synopsis for The Scar and it looks like a very different tale to the first one - new characters and setting (and it's shorter).

[Travis]

Moving on to restarting Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World I just couldn't get into it several months ago but different aspects of Khan and the Mogul empire frequently appear in books I read and hopefully I get through this time.

[Travis]

Mongol I should say

[Janice, Moderator]

@Nancy. I find that circumstances in my life may interfere with a book I'm trying to read. If I'm going through a stressful time, a difficult book may end up getting abandoned. If I come back to it at another time, I may have more success with it.

[Theresa~OctoberLace]

Currently reading

Will finish today for another group's challenge:
In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner

This week's plans:

Finish my 2nd Chunkster:
Within a Budding Grove by Marcel Proust

Start my 3rd Chunkster:
The Gulag Archipelago, Volume l: The Prison Industry and Perpetual Motion by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Read for another group's challenge:
Empress Orchid by Anchee Min
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

[Janice, Moderator]

I started The Absent One which is the second half of a chunkster combo. It's on my iPad so I could read in bed without the light on and not disturb my hotel roommate. I may have waited to start it, but circumstances were right.

[Nancy from NJ]

Thanks to those who wrote to also shed some light on why some books appeal at times and then others don't. I usually do try other books by authors whose books I have abandoned in the past and much to my surprise love them. And I also have a two book rule. If I finish a book by an author I didn't like I generally read another book by that author to be totally convinced I don't like the author.

BTW - The Alchemist is another book I could never finish. maybe I'll give it another try this winter.

[Janice, Moderator]

Don't out pressure on yourself to read or not read a book, Nancy. Some books may not appeal and it's okay to move on. I have way too many books that I want to read to get bogged down in a snoozefest. LOL