Fiction- What are you reading? Part 2 Showing 801-850 of 4,585

[Chrissie]

I have just started The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is a reread.

[Chrissie]

Currently I am reading Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder. Well, Jeremy Irons is narrating the audiobook for me. :0)

[Diane S ☔]

Love Jeremy Irons!!

[Chrissie]

Diane S ☔ wrote: "Love Jeremy Irons!!"

It went through my head to check out what other audiobooks he narrates, to disregard totally their content. But that is stupid; I changed my mind.

I chose him when I listened to Lolita!

[B the BookAddict]

Gosh, whoever asked Irons to narrate Lolita was a wise person. What a great choice.

[Tamara]

I'm reading The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro. I've read The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go. I loved them both and am really enjoying this one even though it is not at all what I expected.

[Ensoleillé]

The end of eddy by edouard Louis

[Esther]

B the BookAddict wrote: "Gosh, whoever asked Irons to narrate Lolita was a wise person. What a great choice."

Jeremy Irons played the lead character in both the adaptation of Lolita and of Brideshead. Have you seen them? They are excellent.

[Chrissie]

Re Jeremy Irons. He is totally fantastic. It is such a shame he doesn't narrate more audiobooks. I went ahead and searched what else he has narrated and found this: Damage. I do not think this is my kind of book but have added it anyhow. He also narrates The Alchemist, but I am not going to reread that b/c I didn't like it.

[Chrissie]

Having recently read Helen Keller's autobiography I wanted to read about Laura Bridgman. Helen Keller's life would not have been as it was without Laura Bridgman. I am reading this: What Is Visible.

[Esther]

Chrissie wrote: "Re Jeremy Irons. He is totally fantastic. It is such a shame he doesn't narrate more audiobooks. I went ahead and searched what else he has narrated and found this: Damage. I do not t..."

Jeremy Irons also plays the lead in Damage!
The Alchemist hasn't been filmed yet, and is probably delayed as Weinstein was supposed to be one of the producers, but Jeremy Irons hasn't been cast so far :0)

[Diane S ☔]

I read today the Jeremy Irons is the narrator for the poems of T. S. Elliott.

Didn't much care for the Alchemist either.

[Chrissie]

Esther wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Re Jeremy Irons. He is totally fantastic. It is such a shame he doesn't narrate more audiobooks. I went ahead and searched what else he has narrated and found this: [book:Damage|10..."

Yeah, I read that about Irons' role in Damage. I wonder how they got him to read the Alchemist.

[Chrissie]

Diane S ☔ wrote: "I read today the Jeremy Irons is the narrator for the poems of T. S. Elliott.

Didn't much care for the Alchemist either."

Reading a book of poems from start to finish is just not fun for me.

[Leslie]

Somehow, I managed to get several long books going at once (all over 500 pages); generally I prefer to have only one big book at a time!

I am reading our group classic Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family, a science fiction novel The Time Ships and Underworld. The only shorter book is the audiobook of Utopia, which while not long requires close attention.

[Chrissie]

Earlier today I started another by W. Somerset Maugham. This time it is The Merry-Go-Round.

[Chrissie]

Leslie, you are going to enjoy Buddenbrooks I think!

[Alice]

I've started The House of Mirth.

[Pam]

I have started 5 books recently but the only one sticking is The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne, which I am really enjoying. I am also listening to the audiobook Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett. It's ok but not as interesting as the first 2 books in the series.

Leslie, I hope you enjoy Underworld. I will be curious what you think. I have it on my book shelf but haven't been brave enough to pick it up yet! I have only read one of DeLillo's books Zero K which had an interesting concept but I didn't care for the writing so much.

[Leslie]

Pam wrote: "Leslie, I hope you enjoy Underworld. I will be curious what you think. I have it on my book shelf but haven't been brave enough to pick it up yet! I have only read one of DeLillo's books Zero K which had an interesting concept but I didn't care for the writing so much. ..."

I am about 1/4 of the way through and am not loving it but not hating it either. It's a pity I am not more of a baseball fan as there is a lot of baseball in it so far!

Chrissie wrote: "Leslie, you are going to enjoy Buddenbrooks I think!"

I am enjoying it so far!

[Chrissie]

Leslie wrote: "Pam wrote: "Leslie, I hope you enjoy Underworld. I will be curious what you think. I have it on my book shelf but haven't been brave enough to pick it up yet! I have only read one of DeLillo's book..."

Leslie, I gave Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family five stars. First I nagged and nagged Audible to have it made as an audiobook, and then it was, but not probably a result of my nagging!

[Esther]

I am about halfway through Pachinko. It is sad but interesting though the pace is a little slow. I am half-way through and we have only just encountered the Pachinko Parlour.

[Jenny]

I am reading Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. The book and I had a bit of a rocky start, but I am now a third through and very much amazed at the scope of it. So many generations and plotlines, I am amazed at the author's ability to juggle them all. It's very well written but I often have to put it away simply because the subject matter of slavery makes it such a challenging, sometimes brutal read. The things human beings did and still do to each other...

[Leslie]

Jenny, I know what you mean about difficult subject matter. I have an audiobook about a girl sold into what is basically slavery and despite the good things I hear about the book, I haven’t been able to face it yet due to squeamishness. Funny how I don’t mind reading murder mysteries yet can’t read that...

[dely]

I understand you. Though I don't have problems to read about slavery, I can't read books about child abuse. I feel really bad and don't manage to read them.

[Chrissie]

I started listening to Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert...but the narration by Michael Maloney drove me nuts. I could not properly hear the French names of places and people. Secondly the lilt was all wrong; it sounded like he was turning normal lines into pretty poetry. Yuck--so I immediately exchanged it for another with a different narrator. Now I am listening to a narration by Jonathan Fried, and it is better. The writing is kind of wordy. I think I tried to read this once before and gave up, but that was long ago. Then I was reading not listening. I think wordiness is easier to swallow if listened to rather than read.

[Canadian Jen]

Finished the epic book The Drifters...An old one but hasn't aged in the issues young adults face today. My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joan]

Jen wrote: "Finished the epic book The Drifters...An old one but hasn't aged in the issues young adults face today. My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

Thanks for bringing it to my attention- I’ve enjoyed many books by James A. Michener, but had not heard of this one.

[LauraT]

Aside from A Fine Balance, a present from my lovely fried Petra, I'm listening to The Fruit of the Tree that I'm really loving: I had no idea that Edith Wharton could be so ahead of her times: in here she deals directly with issues such as euthanasia, the problems of labor and industrial conditions, and professions for women.
Absolutely astonishing for a book published in 1907!

[Jenny]

I kind of stopped reading after 'A Fine Balance' and went hooray! Love this book! Hope you enjoy it too. Now on to the rest of your message ;)

[LauraT]

LOL!

[Chrissie]

I have begun Paris in the Present Tense, Mark Helprin latest! I adored his A Soldier of the Great War and liked his In Sunlight and in Shadow. How will this be?

[Leslie]

Having finished several big books this month, I am lapsing into my comfort zone of Golden Age mysteries and am reading a Nero Wolfe mystery, Too Many Women: A Nero Wolfe Mystery.

I have to admit, somewhat shamefacedly, that after ~5 years of consciously trying to expand my reading, I have come to the conclusion that while I have discovered some wonderful books I probably wouldn't have read otherwise, my basic tastes in books remains the same as they were when I graduated from high school. The only major difference is that I came away from school hating short stories and now, having been nudged into trying again by my dad, I have discovered that I like them (but I still hate the O. Henry type!).

[Chrissie]

I can see by the books in my library that my interests in books have changed, but only to a certain degree. When I had kids I wanted to find good books for them. When we moved from one country to another I wanted to test books about different cultures and nationalities. I used to read series; I rarely do this anymore. This goes for me in relation to poetry too. BUT having just tried again to read Sentimental Education again, it failed me for the second time. What I like and dislike in a book is pretty much the same but have switched between varying genre. Comics, mysteries and adventure stories have never been favorites for me. I like to know what makes people tick and have always been interested in this.....which is pretty strange given that I worked in finance and accounting. Maybe one balances the other? Numbers can be mastered but they are so boring.

[Sandysbookaday (taking a step back for a while)]

I, Witness by Niki Mackay

[Chrissie]

I have started Summer by Edith Wharton. It has been recommended to me.

[Jenny]

I am reading The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton,
It seems incredibly smart, but now that I am on page 250 of roughly 1000 pages, I still don't really know if I actually care about what happens next. It feels a little like a very well executed technical exercise in novel structure, without the actual heart of a novel to go with it. Did anyone else read this and feel this way? Does it change?

[Pam]

I’m reading The Sympathizer and A Man Called Ove. The first one I like but the 2nd, which I just started, hasn’t captured my attention yet.

[dely]

I am reading Pow! by Mo Yan and I like it till now. I like Mo Yan's humour. I already enjoyed it in Life and Death are Wearing Me Out.
In Pow! there is a main character that wants to become a monk so he is telling his life to an old monk of the temple. The most part of every chapter is dedicated to the past and a few pages talk about the present.

[Tamara]

I am reading Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi. The plot is good, but the writing is a bit pedantic. I don't know if that's a problem with the translation.

[B the BookAddict]

Finally shrugging my non-reading phase, I dipped my toes in the water with Rescue by Anita Shreve. Although this work has not been universally liked by reviewers, I found it to be a 4 ★ read. I have not ventured with a review, my outlook is 'slowly slowly, catchee monkey'.

My next read will be Shreve's final book before her recent death: The Stars Are Fire (although I have to wait for my slowpoke reader sister to finish it first. )

[Leslie]

Jenny wrote: "I am reading The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton,
It seems incredibly smart, but now that I am on page 250 of roughly 1000 pages, I still don't really know if I actually care about wh..."

I just commented to you about this book in the "What will you be reading in May" thread but in case you don't see it, I will repeat here.

I felt just as you do (in fact, I mentioned in my review that the novel lacked heart). For me, it never got better & in the end, I was sorry that I spent the time finishing it. The writing is technically good but Catton never made me care about any of the characters.

[dely]

B the BookAddict wrote: "Finally shrugging my non-reading phase, I dipped my toes in the water with Rescue by Anita Shreve. Although this work has not been universally liked by reviewers, I fou..."

Hurray!

[Dale]

dely wrote: "B the BookAddict wrote: "Finally shrugging my non-reading phase, I dipped my toes in the water with Rescue by Anita Shreve. Although this work has not been universally ..."

Glad you are back in the reading phase Bette.

[Jenny]

Leslie wrote: "I felt just as you do (in fact, I mentioned in my review that the novel lacked heart). For me, it never got better & in the end, I was sorry that I spent the time finishing it. The writing is technically good but Catton never made me care about any of the characters. ."

Leslie, I will take your advice and leave it be. I tried again last night but it is starting to feel more like an exercise in perseverence to keep on reading,

B the BookAddict wrote: "Finally shrugging my non-reading phase, I dipped my toes in the water with Rescue by Anita Shreve. Although this work has not been universally liked by reviewers, I fou..."

Hooray Bette! I think we might be getting out of our respective non-reading phases at more or less the same time. As a side note: I just discovered that there's entire self-help pages and articles on how to overcome a reading slump which I thought is rather amusing.

[Chrissie]

Having just completed a short book, I move on to a VERY long one-- Vanity Fair. Variation is good.

[Marina]

Chrissie wrote: "Having just completed a short book, I move on to a VERY long one-- Vanity Fair. Variation is good."

Chrissie, I finished reading it yesterday! I really liked it, so I hope you do, too. Are you listening to the LibriVox audiobook? I've heard it's very good.

I've started another classic, Caleb Williams.

[Chrissie]

Marina wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Having just completed a short book, I move on to a VERY long one-- Vanity Fair. Variation is good."

Chrissie, I finished reading it yesterday! I really liked it, so I ..."

No, I picked up the two audiobook for the price of one deal at Audible. And heck, if I don't like it I can return it and get the money back.

[[deleted user]]

I really liked Vanity Fair when I read it a few years back. I hope you enjoy it, Chrissie!

[Pink]

Chrissie, glad to hear you've decided to give Vanity Fair a try. I'm still listening myself, about halfway through now. I look forward to hearing what you think of it!