What are you reading these days? (Part ELEVEN (2015) ongoing thread for 2015 Showing 901-950 of 1,045

[Jim]

The Graveyard Shift by Jack Higgins was excellent, especially as an audio book read by Patrick MacNee. I gave it 4 stars here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Mary JL]

Finished book one of The Hunger Games trilogy, I immediately started Book 2, Catching Fire. Really like book one and book two is going smoothly.

Intended for a YA audience, but enough good content to interest some adults---like me!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for posting, Mary JL (and Jim too). :)

[Nina]

I am thoroughly liking the book I am now reading. Hard to put down. Sort of a mystery set in Paris France in 1937, "The Book Thief," by Natalie Meg Evans. It is a gripping novel.

[Nina]

Jim, my daughter with the two horses doesn't have nearly what you have to do to winterize but she does have a pool and that takes extra work. Is your barn heated? Her's isn't.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "I am thoroughly liking the book I am now reading. Hard to put down. Sort of a mystery set in Paris France in 1937, "The Book Thief," by Natalie Meg Evans. It is a gripping novel."

Nina, here's the link to my review of The Book Thief:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I gave it 4 stars.

[Werner]

I hadn't read far into Novel Ideas --Fantasy before discovering that the selection I started with, "Hatrack River," rather than being a distinct story in its own right, is actually repeated verbatim as the first few chapters of Seventh Son. The introductions here give no clue as to whether that's the case with the other seven stories; but since the table of contents uses the same formula ("expanded into [Novel X]") for all of them, that seems to be indicated.

Since a collection of excerpted novel beginnings wasn't what I wanted (if I want to read a novel, I'll read the whole thing!), I've relegated that book to my "started-not-finished" shelf. Instead, I'm reading The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour, Volume 1: Frontier Stories. Barb has all three volumes of his Western, or "Frontier," stories; so these ought to meet my need for short fiction reading for quite awhile to come!

[Nina]

Joy, my mind said one thing and my fingers typed another. I meant to write, "The Dress Thief." and I guess my mind went to the Book Thief," but I did read the latter one and I thoroughly enjoyed reaing your review. I hadn't done it prior to today. It was so excellent. Should have been printed in the NYT. I agreed with it entirely.

[Nina]

Long ago I read some of Louis L'Amour and remembering liking them very much.

[Jim]

I had really high hopes for Voice from the Edge, vol 1: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison. It has 2 of my favorite stories by him, the title story & "A Boy & His Dog" which was a movie with a very young Don Johnson (Miami Vice). Unfortunately, he went over the edge with his reading, so I only gave it 3 stars.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thank you all for posting.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina, here's the link: The Dress Thief by Natalie Meg Evans

[Jim]

I just finished The Boy with the Amber Eyes by Katharina Marcus & gave it 4 stars. Excellent & a must-read for horse lovers.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for posting, Jim.

[Nina]

Jim, is it fanasty?

[Jim]

No, Nina. Set in today's world in England, very real situations, but most of all horses. Marcus writes the riding scenes like you wouldn't believe. I practically thought I was riding.

[Nina]

Thanks Jim for explaining the book's premise. I copied down the title and think I'll get it for my "horsey" daughter. And possible read it myself. Sounds good.

[Mary JL]

I started the last book of the Hunger Games trilogy,Mockingjay. The first two books were a good, fast read for me---hoping for a well written ending.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for posting, Mary JL. Good to hear from you.

[Nina]

Joy, I am curious as to which Anita Brookner book you are getting at the library. Not the best of days as our shower went out and it involved the plumber having to cut a hole in our wall and cost was 1,500. Should we have stayed dirty?

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Joy, I am curious as to which Anita Brookner book you are getting at the library. ..."

Nina, I have ordered several of Brookner's books from the library. They haven't come in yet.

[Nina]

She reminds me with her stories of Penelope Lively who I also really like. Have you read any of her books?

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "She reminds me with her stories of Penelope Lively who I also really like. Have you read any of her books?"

No I haven't but I will look her up. Penelope Lively

[Nina]

Moon Tiger was one of my favorite books by her. Very good.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Moon Tiger was one of my favorite books by her. Very good."

Right now I'm reading a long sample online of her How It All Began. There are quite a few characters to keep track of and there's lots of going off on tangents. So I'm not completely sold on the story.

[Nina]

Joy, I never read that one. And it is not fun when there are too many characters, I agree.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Joy, I never read that one. And it is not fun when there are too many characters, I agree."

It takes a reader with an excellent memory! Too much work for me!

[Nina]

Hope you all have a Happy Halloween and aren't too besighed by hauntings. Our little great granddaughter had on Halloween p.j's and is all set for trick or treat at 11 months. A Halloween story: When my daughter was temporarily renting in Tacoma Wa she heard that an old lady who lived down the street was quite poor. My daughter dressed her then year old in an angel costume and her older sister took her to the lady's doorstep and rang the bell. The baby was holding a plate of decorated cookies. The older sister disappeared and all the lady saw was this little angel standing holding the cookies. Later on my daughter heard from neighbors that the lady really believed an angel had appeared on her doorstep and wouldn't believe otherwise.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

That's a beautiful story, Nina.

[Jim]

Is anyone voting in the GR Best book awards for the year?
https://www.goodreads.com/choiceaward...

I looked through it, but only found 1 book I'd read in the listings. Not unusual.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "Is anyone voting in the GR Best book awards for the year?
https://www.goodreads.com/choiceaward... ..."

I'm not voting. Haven't read enough.

[Jim]

I gave 5 stars to Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation by Bill Nye, the Science Guy. He did a great job explaining evolution. Both fun & interesting at the same time.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Nina]

Only voted on one book. I'm afraid too much going on in real life now to get into that science but nice that you enjoyed a good read, Jim.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "I gave 5 stars to Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation by Bill Nye, the Science Guy. He did a great job explaining evolution. Both fun & interesting at..."

Thanks, Jim.

[Nina]

One more note I have to relate about our World Series. The parade and welcoming home was on a Tuesday after the win. The newspaper is calling it our Miracle celebration as there were reported to be 800,000 gathering downtown and there were three minor arrests. Not looting, no broken glass and as they said it was all just First Class. They mentioned when the series celebration took place in San Francisco as an other kind of example, there were dented cars, fires, gun shots multiple arrests etc which is why our celebration with those thousands together in one place is being called a miracle.

[Nina]

Finished the book, "The Art Forger," and can't figure out if i liked it. I thought I did until I got to the end. Is there a Goodreads review of it?

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "One more note I have to relate about our World Series. The parade and welcoming home was on a Tuesday after the win. The newspaper is calling it our Miracle celebration as there were reported to be..."

Interesting post, Nina.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Finished the book, "The Art Forger," and can't figure out if i liked it. I thought I did until I got to the end. Is there a Goodreads review of it?"

Try these, Nina:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Nina]

Thanks so much Joy. Both reviews were enlightening. I mostly agreed with the first one who had some doubts but said she couldn't put it down. I felt the same. The second review was very positive. Now I have to ponder on that one.

[Nina]

Joy, A couple of quotes for you from the book, "the bee cottage," by Frances Schultz.

"Like music, gardens are a tonic for the soul."

"The thing about gardens is that they are never finished, ever. They are never perfect. Yet they are so wonderful as they give great joy and great hope."

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for the quotes, Nina. So true.

[Nina]

I especially like the reference to "hope." Don't we all need that at some time in our lives?

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Yes, Nina, we have to keep a positive attitude.

[Nina]

As an andidote after reading the depressing book, "The Invention of Wings," by Sue Monk Kidd I just read a funny book/laughed out loud at some parts/"Society Girls," by Sarah Mason.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina, I'll check it out. Society Girls

[Jim]

Here's an interesting article about how things were done in the early 1800's.
http://www.countrysidemag.com/97-1-ho...

Hurray for living today!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I'll second that "Hurray", Jim.

[Werner]

My Canadian Goodreads friend Shane Joseph recently sent me a free review copy of his latest novel, In the Shadow of the Conquistador, so I started on that one earlier this week. Shane usually writes serious general fiction with a contemporary setting, as is the case here. This is my first exposure to his long fiction; I'd previously read (and greatly liked) his short story collection, Paradise Revisited, and his style is similar here.

[Nina]

My husband's grandfather homesteaded in Canada in 1901 and this article brought back some of the memories he wrote to his wife then lving in Wi. NO, not an easy time but still no shooting kids in schoolhoses and cities with high murder rates. Yet, children did die young back then. Maybe there is no perfect time but I think the forties, fifties and sixties were probably the best for some of us.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Werner and Nina, thanks for posting.

Sad news tonight about the terrorism in Paris.