Books on the Nightstand discussion

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General chat > What are you reading October, 2015

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message 2: by Adore (new)

Adore i've been reading this forever because my life is kind of chaotic right now, but i like it so much:

The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen The Death of the Heart

next up:

Arcadia by Lauren Groff Arcadia


message 3: by Jen (new)

Jen (jenlb) | 51 comments Working my way through the Dune series again- it's probably been 10 years since I read them. I've got a lot things on my TBR list that I'm looking forward to, but I'm enjoying the experience.


message 4: by Esther (new)

Esther (eshchory) After a run of 'meh' books I have started The Alienist which is exciting. I normally only read on my commute so I am glad we have a holiday coming up and I will be able to give it some attention.


message 5: by Kalen (new)

Kalen | 218 comments I'm going to get a lot of reading time this month because I'm traveling a lot. Taking Cynthia Swanson's The Bookseller with me for tomorrow's flight. It seems a little lighter than I normally like but it's set in Denver and should make good airplane reading.


message 6: by Laura (new)

Laura | 90 comments Linda wrote: "I am reading Come Rain or Come Shine" I *loved* that book! For fans of the series, it's highly recommended. :-)


message 7: by Laura (last edited Oct 01, 2015 07:12AM) (new)

Laura | 90 comments I'm about halfway through Fates and Furies and can't wait to find others on this board to chat with about it. I've never read The Little Prince, so I've borrowed it from the library. My parents recommended The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, which I had on my TBR list anyway, so that's on my nightstand as well.


message 8: by Sue (new)

Sue | 415 comments Me, me, me! Chat with me about Fates and Furies! I'm listening to the audiobook and last Thursday, on my way home, I was so utterly riveted I missed my usual exit, took a different highway, and ended up getting rear-ended by a mini-van. My car was totaled, but I'm fine (everyone was fine) and I'll be getting a new car out of the deal.

I'm an hour and a half from the end and I just don't know what to make of it all. It's intense, gorgeously written, but many of the plot points seem really too unbelievable. It's reminding me a bit of A Little Life - they both have a sort of fairy tale quality, an over the top-ness, characters who are fully fleshed out, but, yet, at a distance because of the extraordinary circumstances of their lives. Both books also share rare glimpses into the world of Manhattan privilege, particularly with regard to the arts: visual arts and theater, mainly. Moreover, both books have characters who meet in college, their earlier lives slowly revealed, and who remain together for decades.

I think I enjoyed (if that's the word) the first half more, though the second half is full of surprises. It's a hell of a book, that's for sure! My first Lauren Groff. She's got some serious writing chops.

Laura wrote: "I'm about halfway through Fates and Furies and can't wait to find others on this board to chat with about it. I've never read The Little Prince, so I've borrowed it fr..."


message 9: by Gina (new)

Gina (crazycatlady328) | 65 comments Ooh, that one looks great. I'm bumping that up on my to read list.

Sue wrote: "Me, me, me! Chat with me about Fates and Furies! I'm listening to the audiobook and last Thursday, on my way home, I was so utterly riveted I missed my usual exit, took a different ..."


message 10: by Gina (last edited Oct 01, 2015 08:04AM) (new)

Gina (crazycatlady328) | 65 comments I'm listening to I Married You for Happiness and not liking it as much as I hoped but I will persevere. I just finished Elizabeth Is Missing and really liked it. I just started The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and I think I'm going to really like it. I have Breathing Lessons up as the next audiobook when this one's done, and I've been reading Everly After for months in between other stuff.


message 11: by Laura (new)

Laura | 90 comments Awesome, so glad to find some others who are reading (or will be.) I think I'm going to buy it for my best local bookish friend in the hopes that she'll read it soon, too. :-)

Should we start a book specific thread? That would make it easier for others to find.


message 12: by Gina (last edited Oct 01, 2015 08:21AM) (new)

Gina (crazycatlady328) | 65 comments HAAAAA!!!! I just checked my library and: 92 holds on first copy returned of 20 copies!!!


Laura wrote: "Awesome, so glad to find some others who are reading (or will be.) I think I'm going to buy it for my best local bookish friend in the hopes that she'll read it soon, too. :-)

Should we start a b..."



message 13: by Loretta (new)

Loretta (lorettalucia) | 136 comments I am almost done with Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II, which I'm really enjoying, even if I do cringe (and occasionally cry) at some of the things that have happened to some of the elephants in the story.

Also continuing on with the Outlander series with Drums of Autumn.


message 14: by Loretta (new)

Loretta (lorettalucia) | 136 comments Sue, that's both a great recommendation for the book and a terrifying story. Sorry to hear about the accident but glad that everyone is okay!


message 15: by Sue (new)

Sue | 415 comments Done. Fates & Furies discussion here:

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

Gina wrote: "HAAAAA!!!! I just checked my library and: 92 holds on first copy returned of 20 copies!!!


Laura wrote: "Awesome, so glad to find some others who are reading (or will be.) I think I'm going to buy..."



message 16: by Linda (new)

Linda | 3098 comments Mod
Laura wrote: "Linda wrote: "I am reading Come Rain or Come Shine" I *loved* that book! For fans of the series, it's highly recommended. :-)"

That's good to hear, Laura. I was not enamored with the last book, but thought I'd give Jan Karon one more try.


message 17: by Linda (new)


message 18: by Janet (new)

Janet (justjanet) | 791 comments Audio in the car My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
Audio at home The Book of Strange New Things....I think I should have read this one in paper....the aliens are a little hard to understand.


message 19: by Gerald (last edited Oct 01, 2015 08:02PM) (new)

Gerald Miller | 821 comments Im a lousy reader but a decent listener. Finished The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman . Good story, nice narration. Now listening to A Red Herring Without Mustard (Flavia de Luce, #3) by Alan Bradley . Good old Flavia! Reading The Coup by John Updike on paper. Reading The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds on the kindle.


message 20: by Sue (new)

Sue | 415 comments Ha! I'd love to hear how the aliens sound on audio. I read it in print.

Janet wrote: "Audio in the car My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
Audio at home The Book of Strange New Things....I think I should have read this one in paper....the ..."



message 21: by Anna (new)

Anna (ferritalelibrarian) | 8 comments I'm floating 3 main reads: 1 non-fiction print, 1 fiction print, and 1 audiobook (usually non-fiction).

1) I'm finishing up Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, & the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright (fascinating & horrifying & a gripping read).

2) Also in the first few chapters of City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett.

3) Just started listening today to The American Way of Eating by Tracie McMillan.

Next up is The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi (because it's due back at the library soon).

Not certain what else. That will depend on what is picked at my next book club meeting on Sunday.


message 22: by Anna (new)

Anna (ferritalelibrarian) | 8 comments Esther wrote: "After a run of 'meh' books I have started The Alienist which is exciting. I normally only read on my commute so I am glad we have a holiday coming up and I will be able to give it some..."

Oh! I read The Alienist probably 15 years ago or more and really enjoyed it. In fact it's sitting on my active TBR shelf right now wishing that I could find the time to fit in a re-read.


message 23: by Janet (new)

Janet (justjanet) | 791 comments Sue wrote: "Ha! I'd love to hear how the aliens sound on audio. I read it in print.

They sound like they're spitting...lol.



message 24: by Susanne (new)

Susanne (heysus74) | 97 comments I'll be getting Fates and Furies from the library sometime this month ... I'm next in line :)

I'm finishing up Sorcerer to the Crown, and them I'm going to start on Zer0es.


message 25: by Shona (new)

Shona (anovelobsession) | 178 comments I just had a very long road trip and had a lot of time for audiobooks. I finished Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship, Notorious, The Wright Brothers and I started The Martian as I wanted to reacquaint myself with the story before I saw the movie.


Jenny (Reading Envy) (readingenvy) | 200 comments I'm in the middle of two heavy books - A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James (Man Booker Prize shortlist) and This Earth of Mankind so I picked back up The Chimes by Anna Smaill, which seems light in comparison.


message 27: by Kalen (new)

Kalen | 218 comments Okay, you guys. Make a note of The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner. It's due out in January from Macmillan. I read the galley over the last 24 hours and it is fantastic. It is a memoir about being raised in a polygamist family. It reads like fiction because you can't believe how horrifying it is. The Sound of Gravel: A Memoir


message 28: by Sue (new)

Sue | 415 comments I just started Case Histories on audio. Totally random, spontaneous download.

I'm about halfway through Everything, Everything and have my eye on a few more of my kids' books: All the Bright Places, The Thing About Jellyfish, and the new Rebecca Stead, Goodbye Stranger, but I'll wait until the kids are finished before borrowing them.

I had a great mini book haul over the weekend, and picked up Gold Fame Citrus, Everybody's Irish, and Last Night in Montreal.

I'm also hoping to get to Thirteen Ways of Looking (I'm seeing Colum McAnn on the 15th), City on Fire, and The Tsar of Love and Techno: Stories.

Perhaps a bit too ambitious this month, but we shall see.


message 29: by Dawn (new)

Dawn | 2 comments I Just finished reading The Art of Hearing Heartbeats. It was really a wonderful story....left me with a great feeling.


message 30: by Jumana (new)

Jumana I am reading: The Outlander by Gil Adamson The Outlander

Listening in the car: The Girl in the Spider's Web (Millennium, #4) by David Lagercrantz The Girl in the Spider's Web

And listening on my phone: A Darker Shade of Magic (A Darker Shade of Magic, #1) by V.E. Schwab A Darker Shade of Magic


message 31: by Linda (new)

Linda | 3098 comments Mod
I'm into hyper read because so much has arrived at both the physical library and the "e" library. Started listening to Big Stone Gap and reading Come Rain or Come Shine. Both what I need right now - something light, slightly humorous and not brain taxing.


message 32: by Alex (new)


message 33: by Julie (new)

Julie M (woolyjooly) | 314 comments Alex wrote: "currently reading Fates and Furies and Fortune Smiles. Hoping to get to Kitchens of the Great Midwest and A Spool of Blue Thread"

Oh, I'm reading A Spool of Blue Thread now. Love Anne Tyler! Next up is Per Pettersen's Ashes in My Mouth, Sand in My Shoes and Dennis Lehane's World Gone By. No one can say I don't have eclectic reading habits . . .


message 34: by Jillian (new)

Jillian | 42 comments Misery by Stephen King, and The Cartel as recommended by Ann


message 35: by Linda (new)

Linda | 3098 comments Mod
Started listening to Go Set a Watchman


message 36: by Vickie (new)

Vickie Booth | 8 comments I am currently reading castles, kilts, and kisses. It is a book bundle on Amazon. I have finished the first book and am now starting the second. There are six books in the series. I am only 14% through the book. This is fun. The books are actually buy individual authors. So it is a book bundle not a series. However, the books are from the Medievil time through Victorian England. The books take place in Scotland.


message 37: by SibylM (last edited Oct 11, 2015 06:09AM) (new)

SibylM (sibyldiane) | 12 comments Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "I'm in the middle of two heavy books - A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James (Man Booker Prize shortlist) and This Earth of Mankind so I picked back up [bo..."

I loved A Brief History of Seven Killings soooo much! My favorite book of the year, even more than [book:A Little Life|22822858] or Fates and Furies. I will be butthurt if it doesn't win the Man Booker.
My reading agenda for October includes: The Fishermen (trying to be as knowledgeable as possible for the Man Booker announcement), Bitch Planet, Vol 1: Extraordinary Machine (speeding its way to me from Amazon as I type), Vengeance Road, and whatever of the eight books I have on hold at the library where I have one person in line ahead of me comes in first, second, etc. Could be one or more of these:
Saga, Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan Purge by Sofi Oksanen Talking to Ourselves by Andrés Neuman Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal
The Martian by Andy Weir The Likeness (Dublin Murder Squad, #2) by Tana French Uprooted by Naomi Novik Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica

eta: I have no idea why this post is refusing to do the links to ABHOSK or A Little Life - the coding looks correct to me :(


message 38: by Janet (new)

Janet (justjanet) | 791 comments I'm reading for the Man Booker also. I'm listening to A Spool of Blue Thread and I've read a few pages of The Year of the Runaways. Obviously I'm not going to finish before the announcement. So far I've read A Little Life, A Brief History of Seven Killings and The Fishermen. I read a couple of pages of Satin Island and it didn't appeal to me. A Little Life is the favorite to win but I'm hoping that A Brief History of Seven Killings will win it....it was such a big ambitious book and I'd love to see Marlon James rewarded for taking that risk.


message 39: by Rebecca (new)

Rebecca (booknester) I just finished Red Queen, reading Inspector of the Dead and going to read y'alls suggestion of The Winter People.


message 40: by Janet (new)

Janet (justjanet) | 791 comments Marlon James won the Booker!


message 41: by Linda (new)

Linda | 3098 comments Mod
Today I started Between the World and Me. I think I'm responsible for my library getting a copy.


message 42: by Tricia (new)

Tricia (psalese) | 4 comments I'm reading The Martian by Andy Weir


message 43: by Victoria (last edited Oct 14, 2015 05:36PM) (new)

Victoria (vicki_c) | 367 comments So I guess it's time to pick A Brief History of Seven Killings back up. Not sure I'm ready. I have it on audio and have listened to quite a bit that way and I have also had it out from the library at least once. I found it very hard going.

In general, I have WAY too many books started. Maybe I need to take a cue from Michael and start a resolution of finishing before starting another.


message 44: by Victoria (new)

Victoria (vicki_c) | 367 comments And as I'm typing, the library notice comes in... After You (Me Before You, #2) by Jojo Moyes is available through the elibrary. Hmmm. That or A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James ? Something tells me which way I'm going to go here....


message 45: by Katherine (new)

Katherine (katsikes) | 171 comments Reading Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng for book club; otherwise I'm trying to make October creepy/scary book month. I just finished (and scared myself) The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon , and moving on to Bird Box by Josh Malerman next. And for good measure, reading a plethora of ghost story books I've accumulated over the years from my travels. Spooky indeed...


message 46: by Victoria (new)

Victoria (vicki_c) | 367 comments I loved Bird Box! Another great Halloween time read!


message 47: by Gerald (new)

Gerald Miller | 821 comments Finished A Red Herring Without Mustard. Flavia again delivers. Started a book that I have wanted to read or listen to for a long time The Tiger A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant .


Jenny (Reading Envy) (readingenvy) | 200 comments Today I've finished The Tsar of Love and Techno: Stories, a second impressive book by Anthony Marra who is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

I also finished Mayumi and the Sea of Happiness by Jennifer Tseng, which I bought on impulse at a new bookstore in my town because it has a librarian as a main character, takes place on a cold weather island, and put out by an independent press - but I'm not sure what to think. Some of it I like but reading about any 40ish librarian having a relationship with a highschooler... eh. I suspect it is supposed to be a flipped script on Lolita (especially since it gets mentioned throughout) but I have yet to read Lolita so I am not positive. I really should read it.

The Tsar of Love and Techno Stories by Anthony Marra
Mayumi and the Sea of Happiness by Jennifer Tseng


message 49: by Julie (new)

Julie M (woolyjooly) | 314 comments I gave up on the Lehane - too raunchy/violent. Picked up Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League - will be the third by Odell for me in two years.


message 50: by Katherine (new)

Katherine (katsikes) | 171 comments I can't wait to start it - making myself get through book club book first, though :)

Victoria wrote: "I loved Bird Box! Another great Halloween time read!"

Katherine wrote: "Reading [booit kcover:Everything I Never Told You|18693763] for book club; otherwise I'm trying to make October creepy/scary book month. I just finished (and scared myself) [bookcover:The Night Sister..."

I can't wait to start


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