Books on the Nightstand discussion
What are you reading February, 2016
Eric wrote: 
Oooh! I adored The Name of the Wind. I've been waiting to have the time and attention-span for The Wise Man's Fear.
I finished Girl on the Train and am now reading Orphan Train.
Then Again, Maybe I Won't, A Long Way Gone, The Magician's Nephew, Beowulf with Commentary (Tolkien), Prisoner B-3087
Jess wrote: "Mary wrote: "Just started A Brief History of Seven Killings. I'm having trouble getting into it. Does it get easier?"I had the same problem (and decided to set it aside until I'm more in the mood..."
I have read about 200 pages. Lots of violence. So many characters! I am finding it difficult but something draws me in to finish it!
I am currently reading
and I can not put it down!! It is so so good. Subject matter very important and a complete page turner. Highly recommend!
I'm listening to Dumplin' on audiobook (Thanks, Ann!). It's a sweet YA book - great to listen to before bed. I just started reading "Sweetland". I heard Michael Crummey on a recent BOTNS. The story takes place on a remote Newfoundland island. It's an intriguing setting, and so far I'm enjoying his writing.
Michael Crummey is the real deal. I was fortunate enough to spend some time with him at Booktopia Vermont. I loved Sweetland. Lauren wrote: "I'm listening to Dumplin' on audiobook (Thanks, Ann!). It's a sweet YA book - great to listen to before bed. I just started reading "Sweetland". I heard Michael Crummey on a recent BOTNS. The story..."
We Are Not OurselvesI think this is going to be a top 5 book of alltime. . . I'm listening to the audio, will be so sad when it's over.
I am reading My Brilliant Friend....and also reading a serial read for free on BN Nook....Little Girl LostLiking both so far
Katharine wrote: "I'm reading "A Man Called Ove" and loving it!"Loved this book!
"Plainsong" by Kent Haruf. I'm having a tough time getting used to his writing style. I'm just over 60 pages into it.
Just finished audio of A Man Called Ove, and also snuck in The Ex by Alafair Burke. Allison - I'm in four book clubs - it basically happened because I can't say no!! I'm in one in person club but the discussions are sometimes lacking. So when I learned about postal book clubs at Booktopia, I decided to start one with my long-distance friends. It filled to really quickly (like within an hour) and another friend was bummed she missed out on it. So I decided to start a second one and offset the mailings, figuring that would be OK. That filled up quickly and another friend lamented missing out. since one of my goals this year is to read one non-fiction a month (otherwise I get stuck in the fiction world...) I thought doing one more postal club would be OK if I made it non-fiction only. And there you have it - four book clubs! YIKES!! :)
Now I'm on The Queen of the Night, Fahrenheit 451 and The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun.
Loving
. Also started
which had a grisly beginning, and I'm hoping that was the worst of it. Also, on my nightstand is
.
. Also started
which had a grisly beginning, and I'm hoping that was the worst of it. Also, on my nightstand is
.
I adored this book, and I adore the author, who I met at a lovely, small event at the Glucksman Ireland House in 2014. I can't wait to see what he does next. Becky wrote: "We Are Not Ourselves
I think this is going to be a top 5 book of alltime. . . I'm listening to the audio, will be so sad when it's over."
I'm listening to When Breath Becomes Air, which is equal parts heart-breaking and inspiring, and have started Mr. Splitfoot in print.
Alternating between The Book of Secrets by M.G. Vassanji and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (both which have a character named Corbin; what are the odds?!?) and listening to The Vegetarian by Han Kang.
Now I'm on Swamplandia! and The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun with The Queen of the Night on pause.
Dawn wrote: "Ebony wrote: "I'm currently reading 
Spoiled Brats: Stories"
I LOVED this! I hope you like it too!"
I did like it. My favorite story was the one about his great great grandfather. I loved that one :)
Currently reading:
A Monster Calls
Janet wrote: "Loving . Also started which had a grisly beginning, and I'm hoping that was the worst of it. Also, on my nightstand is [bookcover:..."I read the Dante Club a few years ago. It actually prompted me to go read The Inferno for the first time. I wished I read Inferno first because it would have helped me understand the crimes a bit better. Also read a short bio of Longfellow. I love it when one book leads you into another.
Sue wrote: "I'm listening to When Breath Becomes Air, which is equal parts heart-breaking and inspiring, and have started Mr. Splitfoot in print."I finished When Breath Becomes Air while "iced" in on Monday. Much in there to underline and ponder. I think I'll be returning to it frequently.
I am reading Night Film for one book club and just finished American Housewife: Stories for another. Night Film is really grabbing my attention but American Housewife was uneven and a bit disappointing. Some of the stories were funny and touching, others I could not relate to. Next up is The Redemption of Galen Pike ( a short one) and In Other Words. I want to get to the classic I promised myself I would read in 2016- Kristin Lavransdatter. We'll see...
Mod
. Also started which had a grisly beginning, and I'm hoping that was the worst of it. Also, on my nightstand ..."Thanks for letting me know to read Inferno before I move onto The Dante Club.
Right now I'm reading The Last Bookaneer by Matthew Pearl and am enjoying it so much that I knew I would be moving onto The Dante Club.
I just finished reading The Strangler Vine for a book club; all of us liked it a lot and were pleased to discover that two sequels are in the works, although it looks like the second will be set in London, not India, and we all felt that the India setting of the first one was a large component of our enjoyment.I set aside a trilogy that I'd been reading sporadically since the first of the year to read Strangler Vine, so now it's back to that. It's the Kristin Lavransdatter series, set in medieval Norway. The three novels were published from 1920-1922, written by Sigrid Undset. I read a different translation of them many years ago and decided to reread them when I heard about an updated translation a few years ago. I bought the Kindle versions, hoping that was force me to use the device, which I won in a drawing rather than purchased. I'm not much of an e-books reader! It's been untouched until recently, but I'm glad I'm finally getting around to it. I only remember the outlines of the stories, so it's almost like reading something entirely new.
My current audiobook is H is for Hawk. I've also listened to the first two volumes in Jane Smiley's Last Hundred Years trilogy, Some Luck and Early Warning. I read them while on a long overseas trip, and if the third had been available from the library as a download for my iPod, I'd have gone on to finish the series. Since it wasn't, I checked out the print book when I returned but haven't had time for it yet.
I just found out I'm playing Thomas More.
About half done with Democracy in Black by Eddie S Glaude Jr. Very powerful read!
Finished The Goldfinch. Started City on Fire. After that I'm going to read the the New York Metropolitan Phone Directory, the Oxford English Dictionary and the entire Encyclopedia Britannica.
Mod
My first thought at reading the first two books was, "Wow, there's a guy who likes really thick books. Then I kept reading and thought, "Wow, there's a guy with a really good sense of humor."
Just finished Devil in the White City and now I'm reading All The Bright Places. I've been reading so much non-fiction that I figure if I'm going to ease back into fiction, I'll do it with a YA novel.
Megan wrote: "I am reading American Gods right now and next on deck is In the Unlikely Event and The Grownup."I had to abandon American Gods in the middle of it, I just couldn't find myself getting into it. Maybe I'll go back to it at some point in time.
It's not easy. Probably the toughest Gaiman book of the three that I have read.
Gerald wrote: "It's not easy. Probably the toughest Gaiman book of the three that I have read."And I've tried so hard and I stuck with it until I just didn't want to pick it up. And like Michael has said, if it feels like a chore don't read it.
I am starting
Sounds good. It is our book club pick for Feb. I like the link between the heroine and Denys Finch from Out of Africa. Kind of like when you were a kid and The Jetsons met the Flintstones....
I am listening to Frog Music by Emma Donoghue on audiobook and really enjoy it so far. My husband and I have been listening to A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman on audiobook on our daily work commutes. I'm finding the descriptions of the grumpy old man Ove to be funny and a little sad. I've been trying to read Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty but I'm really having trouble getting into it. It just isn't grabbing me.
Reading Ghettoside by Jill Leovy and listening to H is for Hawk.
Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Alternating between The Book of Secrets by M.G. Vassanji and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (both which have a character named Corbin; what are..."I just finished reading the Vegetarian - it's weird! What do you think of it?
Louise wrote: "I just finished reading the Vegetarian - it's weird! What do you think of it? ..."
Bizarre! And disturbing. The middle section was most memorable I think.
Sue wrote: "Michael Crummey is the real deal. I was fortunate enough to spend some time with him at Booktopia Vermont. I loved Sweetland. Lauren wrote: "I'm listening to Dumplin' on audiobook (Thanks, Ann!)...."
Agree! Read Sweetland befire Booktopia VT. I am reading Galore now. Soooo good!!!
I loved Sweetland too - he also wrote a book called River Thieves that I loved. I am reading Peace Like a River which is lyrical and lovely.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot which I'm reading for a book club. So far it's pretty good and very interesting.
Books on the Nightstand
Books mentioned in this topic
The Graveyard Book (other topics)Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America (other topics)
The Grownup (other topics)
Last Bus to Wisdom (other topics)
Under the Udala Trees (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Neil Gaiman (other topics)David Ebershoff (other topics)
Colm Tóibín (other topics)
Helen Macdonald (other topics)
Stephen King (other topics)
I finished The Sound of Gravel on audio yesterday and highly recommend it. It's an amazing, harrowing memoir of a childhood spent in a polygamist colony in Mexico.
I'm about half-way through Brown Girl Dreaming.
With a beach trip coming up in a couple of weeks, I'm trying to decide what to read next. Do I crack open the first book of the Neopolitan novels? Maybe start Mr. Splitfoot?
I do believe my pre-order of Hidden Bodies will arrive before I leave for my trip, and that will definitely be coming to the beach with me!