What books are you reading now? (2020) Showing 501-550 of 2,222

[Joy D]

Finally got around to reading this well-known work published in 1989:
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel - 3 stars - My Review

[Chrissie]

Here follows my review of An Elephant in My Kitchen by Francoise Malby Anthony:

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

I hope it will help you decided if the book will fit YOU.

I have begun another by John Steinbeck--In Dubious Battle.

[Chrissie]

Jill wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "It seems to be an easy read, so far........"

I read The Elephant Whisperer back in 2013, and really liked that, as he gave it so much feeling. So as this one is by ..."

It is actually written with the help of another author --Katja Willemsen, but yes it is heavy on the emotion. Her husband's book is not available to me due t publication restrictions. I have heard commented that her book repeats information presented in his book, which isn't so strange since their experiences were shared. I wonder if he had a co-author.

[Alejandro]

I am reading The Antidote by Jesse Lee Peterson. It is non-fiction.
Very good so far. Began reading this recently.

[Susan]

Deciding, having finished the emotionally draining, The Mirror & the Light, I decided to try something topical, but lighter. This has been on my TBR list for a while:

The Health of Strangers

[Chrissie]

John Steinbeck is a great author. In Dubious Battle is one of his best.

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

I picked up and started Wedlock by Wendy Moore. I simply had to give it up. The audiobook narration by Rachel Atkins was too fast for me. At the speed she was reading, none of the facts thrown at me were possible to absorb.

So I will now start instead Saving Simon: How a Rescue Donkey Taught Me the Meaning of Compassion by Jon Katz.

[Jill]

Chrissie wrote: "John Steinbeck is a great author. In Dubious Battle is one of his best.

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

I picked up and started Wedlock..."</i>

I have read 6 of the [author:Jon Katz dog books. I didn't know he had about any other animals. Thanks for reminding me of him.

[Chrissie]

Jill, I have read Jon Katz's dog books too, but ages ago, way before good reads ever existed. I am hoping that finally I will find a good book about donkeys.

[Chrissie]

I have been reading a bunch of books about donkeys. This, .Saving Simon: How a Rescue Donkey Taught Me the Meaning of Compassion by Jon Katz, It's a very good book, even if you are not into donkeys.

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

I have begun Cal by Bernard MacLaverty. It is set in Northern Ireland, during what Brits call "The Troubles". a moniker which I think says a lot.

[Judy]

I thought Cal was very good, Chrissie - hope you enjoy it.

[Pam]

I finished My Century by Günter Grass. I haven’t decided what to rate it! It was not an easy read because I had to keep rereading and stopping to research names, places, and dates so I could understand the context. I learned a lot about German life and history in the 20th century so I definitely enjoyed that aspect. I’m going to read Grass’s The Tin Drum next.

I started The Library Book by Susan Orlean, which I am enjoying. I’m reading a lot more non-fiction this year, which was one of my goals.

[Brian E]

I just finished Kestral for a Knave furthering my 60ish Yorkshire book survey after The Vic Brown Trilogy: A Kind of Loving, The Watchers on the Shore & The Right True End and Room at the Top.
Besides rereading Trollope's The Way We Live Now, I'm halfway through Lorna Doone which has me learning more about the Charles II successor battles which I am fairly ignorant about.
For non-fiction I'm readingThe Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur which is fairly short and livelier than I expected. I'm reading it as a followup to my enjoyable read of Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard

[Chrissie]

Judy wrote: "I thought Cal was very good, Chrissie - hope you enjoy it."

Seriously good stuff. I just finished it. Now I want to read more by the author.

[Nigeyb]

You're on fire Brian

[Val]

Pam wrote: "I’m going to read Grass’s The Tin Drum next."
I hope you like it Pam.

[Judy]

I read The Tin Drum many years ago - I only remember bits now and also bits of the film, directed by Volker Schlondorff, which made a strong impression on me. I will be interested to hear what you think, Pam.

[Brian E]

Nigeyb wrote: "You're on fire Brian"

Just finished watching the film KES. Very very close to the book. Well done and very British. My wife watched a bit and then left since there weren't subtitles.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

I have finished In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette. Very good adventure story, excellently written. My Review.

Brian - Candice Millard is good, I think although I've read only her The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey, another superb adventure story.

I have started Suddenly at His Residence, aka The Crooked Wreath|13511330] for the Detectives group.

[Brian E]

In the Kingdom of Ice: is my favorite of the five Hampton Sides books I've read. The ideas people had in the 19th Century about the North Pole did help me better understand the bizarre things Edgar Allen Poe placed near the South Pole when I read his The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym several months ago.

I recently bought Millard's Hero of the Empire: The Making of Winston Churchill and will read it sometime this year.

I learned today that my two best law school friends have both read Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves so I thought about reading that as my next non-fiction but I read something that says it has fictional elements. Anyone have any thoughts

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Brian, I will look forward to what you have to say about the Robert Graves book, when ever you get to it. It is part of my all things WWI (a topic I've neglected of late, but will get back to).

[Jan C]

I read Goodbye years ago in college. I hadn't heard anything about fiction related to it. I think I have it now for a re-read, not sure if I have started it or not.

I assume I must have liked it since I bought it to read again.

[Joy D]

Published in 1999, this book is a coming of age of a young girl in foster care due to her mother's imprisonment:

White Oleander by Janet Fitch - 3 stars - My Review

[Nigeyb]

Brian wrote: "I learned today that my two best law school friends have both read Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves so I thought about reading that as my next non-fiction but I read something that says it has fictional elements. Anyone have any thoughts"

It's superb. You should read it

I don't recall any fictional elements

Here’s my spoiler free review

[Roman Clodia]

I read Goodbye To All That at school and still remember how powerful the section in the trenches is. But his life before and after the war bored me - which may have been because I was 14-15 at the time :) I'd echo Nigeyb.

[Judy]

I think others remembered things differently from how Graves described them and he also changed some names and details, but a great book.

[Chrissie]

Cal is good, very good! Bernard MacLaverty is a contemporary author I will be reading more of. Soon!

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

Yesterday I began The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson.

[Susan]

Interested in your thoughts, Chrissie. I have The Splendid and the Vile on Audible, when I get to it.

[Chrissie]

Brian wrote: "I just finished Kestral for a Knave furthering my 60ish Yorkshire book survey after"

Two of the books you mention I have liked a lot--Millard's and A Kestrel for a Knave. That one by Trollope did not work for me. but I do like him as an author.

[Chrissie]

Susan wrote: "Interested in your thoughts, Chrissie. I have The Splendid and the Vile on Audible, when I get to it."

The narration is very good. Clear. I have not come far.

[Tania]

I thoroughly enjoyed A Table Near the Band. I think it's a shame that A.A. Milne isn't better known for his short stories. I'm now reading Confusion by Elizabeth Jane Howard the third book in the Cazalet Chronicles. Very good.

[Joy D]

One of my goals this year is to read 5 books by Saramago. This is the 3rd of the five. It may not have been that much fun to read, but it certainly engages the brain. This book was published in 1989.

The History of the Siege of Lisbon by José Saramago - 3 stars - My Review

[Alejandro]

Pam wrote: "I finished My Century by Günter Grass. I haven’t decided what to rate it! It was not an easy read because I had to keep rereading and stopping to research names, places, and dates so I could unders..."
Reading more nonfiction is one of my goals also. Looking for Group reads in nonfiction.
Happy Reading!

[Roman Clodia]

I've just started Men at Arms, the first part of Evelyn Waugh's Sword of Honour trilogy. After some inward-looking doomy-gloomy stuff, I'm in the mood for something more satirical.

[Susan]

Oh, joyous, RC. I am sure you will love it.

[Nigeyb]

Roman Clodia wrote: "I've just started Men at Arms, the first part of Evelyn Waugh's Sword of Honour trilogy"

I hope you enjoy it RC. Did you know there's a slightly different version? I'll paste more info below

Click here to read the old BYT discussion on Sword of Honour from January 2014

From my review...

NOTE ABOUT DIFFERENT EDITIONS:

Sword of Honour was originally published as three separate volumes Men At Arms (1952), Officers and Gentlemen (1955), and Unconditional Surrender (1961), however Waugh extensively revised these books to create a one-volume version 'Sword of Honour' in 1965, and it is this version that Waugh wanted people to read.

The Penguin Classics version of 'Sword of Honour', contains numerous informative and interesting footnotes and an introduction by Angus Calder, each time Waugh changed the text there is also a note. Most of sections that Waugh changed or removed was with a view to ensuring that his "hero" Guy Crouchback is perceived as more worldly and experienced than was the case in the original version of the books. I can see why Waugh would choose to change the emphasis in this way and I think it makes the overall narrative more convincing and effective.

[Roman Clodia]

Ah, thanks Nigeyb, I didn't know that about the different editions. Mr RC has Men At Arms on Kindle so I'd started reading that but have now swapped to the Penguin paperback Sword of Honour which has been sitting on my shelves for years. I've just read Waugh's own note and yes, it makes complete sense to read the later version - thank you!

Great to have the discussion link too - I'm only about 60 pages in so far so will come back to it. I already love Colonel Ritchie-Hook! And I can't help seeing Guy as Hugo from The Vicar of Dibley!!

[Susan]

Yes, I can see that, too!

[Chrissie]

I have liked The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz, Erik Larson's latest.

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

I have begun the Japanese classic Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki. The prose is straightforward and simple, at east so far. I wasn't expecting this.

[Joy D]

I just completed this book about the human impact of the Biafran-Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970). The book covers the decade of the 1960's in various locations in Nigeria. I am extremely impressed by the writing and the craftsmanship. This is my first by Adichie but won't be my last:

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - 4 stars - My Review

[Susan]

I loved that novel, Joy.

[Chrissie]

Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki is a Japanese classic I can recommend. I was pleased with the translation too.

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

I have begun a book about the adaptability of birds--Beaks, Bones and Bird Songs: How the Struggle for Survival Has Shaped Birds and Their Behavior by Roger Lederer.

[Chrissie]

Joy D wrote: "I just completed this book about the human impact of the Biafran-Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970). The book covers the decade of the 1960's in various locations in Nigeria. I am extremely impressed b..."

I thought that was very good too!!

[Jill]

As it is such a long book, I thought I ought to start Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar now.

[Chrissie]

I did half of Beaks, Bones and Bird Songs: How the Struggle for Survival Has Shaped Birds and Their Behavior by Roger Lederer.

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

It is chock full of facts, but not in a form you can sit down and read or listen to. It is like a reference book.

I have now begun The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

[Val]

A lot of books I intended to read are stuck on the reserve shelves of closed libraries or with other borrowers who can't return them. I will catch up with group reads when the libraries reopen, assuming I am still alive and healthy then.

[Susan]

Goodness me, Val. Don't even say such a thing!

[Chrissie]

Val wrote: "A lot of books I intended to read are stuck on the reserve shelves of closed libraries or with other borrowers who can't return them. I will catch up with group reads when the libraries reopen, ass..."

((((((val)))))))). Take courage!

[Susan]

Yes, you are very important to us, Val :)

I just finished, and enjoyed: The Health of Strangers

It is very relevant to the current situation, but I picked it up, mainly as there were suggestions it was comparable to Slough House. Of course, comparisons are unfair, but the book does feature a group of likeable misfits and I enjoyed it.

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

[Chrissie]

My review of The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri:

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

Lahiri got the Pulitzer for fiction in 2000, not for this but an earlier anthology.

I have begun Queen Lucia by E.F. Benson. I want to test if its particular type of humor will work for me.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

I think Lahiri is wonderful, but I appreciate her short fiction more than her novels.