What Are You Reading Now? Showing 51-100 of 2,435

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished:


The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


The Best American Mystery Stories 2019 edited by Jonathan Lethem and Otto Penzler

[Lynn, New School Classics]

Lilly wrote: "Thank you, Lynn! It is really interesting to see which authors are known in which countries - or not known. Enid Blyton is often thought to have been Europe's most influential children's book autho..."

Oh wait! I have seen the book the Secret of Platform 13 but have not read it.

[Lynn, New School Classics]

I am still reading H.P. Lovecraft stories. My current story is The Mound which was co-written with Zealia Bishop. There is a wonderful set of audiobooks on Youtube from "HorrorBabble". This is now my third HorrorBabble Lovecraft. Then of course I read along as well on my Kindle.

[Lilly]

Lynn wrote: "Oh wait! I have seen the book the Secret of Platform 13 but have not read it."

That's great :)
Platform 13 doesn't seem to be so well known ... although it is a great book - all the books by Eva Ibbotson really are ...

At the moment I have another of her books in my reading pile: The Haunting of Hiram - quite funny.

[Lilly]

Lynn wrote: "I am still reading H.P. Lovecraft stories. My current story is The Mound which was co-written with Zealia Bishop. There is a wonderful set of audioboo..."

H.P. Lovecraft has been on my tbr for ages, I even bought a copy once - but somehow I always put him off ...

[Heather L]

I’ve heard of Enid Blyton, but have not read her. Sorry! 😐

Recently finished In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware, sent to me by a friend, and am currently reading Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie.

[Lilly]

Heather L wrote: "I’ve heard of Enid Blyton, but have not read her. Sorry! 😐

Recently finished In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware, sent to me by a friend, and am currently reading [b..."

Thanks, Heather! I think it's interesting that Blyton isn't as well known nowadays as one might expect.
Do you know Eva Ibbotson or Philippa Pearce?

I admit I never read any crime, and reading Enid Blyton, Maria Axt, Wolfgang Ecke and their likes as a kid, is as far as I went with mystery.

But I saw "Growth of the soil" on your reading list and that one really got my interest. How are you liking the audio so far?

[Heather L]

Lilly — No, have not heard of Ibbotson or Pearce.

Growth of the Soil is, alas, on pause at the moment. I started it in December, when I was looking for something to listen to while making Christmas cards. It came up as a recommendation following another book. I had never heard of it, looked up a blurb on it here, and decided to give it a go. I’m about a third of the way in, but have not listened to it since before Christmas. It’s not that I wasn’t enjoying it, just haven’t got back to it. 😐

The narrator of the audiobook, which I found on YouTube, is pretty good, except for his pronunciation of “Trondheim.” I looked up a print copy at Project Gutenberg and confirmed my suspicions that the alternate spelling, “Trondhjem,” was used. He pronounces it like ‘Tronjem’ and it drives me nuts, lol.

[Lilly]

Heather L wrote: "Lilly — No, have not heard of Ibbotson or Pearce."

Thank you again, Heather. That is interesting.

Heather L wrote: "Growth of the Soil is, alas, on pause at the moment."

I am sorry to hear that you have no longer the time. Hopefully another opportunity will come up ...

I think I will keep an eye on the book myself and try reading it at a later time.

The narrator of the audiobook, which I found on YouTube, is pretty good, except for his pronunciation of “Trondheim.” I looked up a print copy at Project Gutenberg and confirmed my suspicions that the alternate spelling, “Trondhjem,” was used. He pronounces it like ‘Tronjem’ and it drives me nuts, lol."

Well, as the book is over a hundred years old, the city was still 'Trondhjem' at the time it was written. And although we are now familiar with the modern version of the name and its according pronunciation in Nynorsk, your narrator also uses the correct Bokmal pronunciation. So, for a native speaker the pronunciation would depend on which version of the Norwegian language they speak.
And I think they also kept the old spelling and pronunciation to honor the age of the book.
But I can definitely understand how the use of another than the familiar version of a name can be most annoying! :D

[Terry]

Hiroshima by John Hersey.

[Luke]

Works I've started (and maybe finished) since my last post:

On Photography - Susan Sontag
The Museum of Eterna's Novel - Macedonio Fernández
Idu - Flora Nwapa

[Gavin]

Insomnia by Stephen King.

[PattyMacDotComma]

Lilly wrote: "Thank you, Lynn! It is really interesting to see which authors are known in which countries - or not known. Enid Blyton is often thought to have been Europe's most influential children's book autho..."

I live in Australia (grew up in the US) and I have to say most people my age loved their Enid Blyton books, to the point that I wondered if she was Australian! No, she wasn't, but the English influence was obviously strong then.

Even I knew about the Famous Five and the Secret Seven, although I don't think I've ever read any of her books. Maybe they are a little too English for American tastes. I'm sure my kids and their friends would all know her.

[PattyMacDotComma]

This is an unusual addition to the Little People BIG DREAMS series for children by Mª Isabel Sánchez Vegara. Louise Bourgeois was a troubled, unique artist who created disturbing sculptures.
4★ Link to my Louise Bourgeois review with illustrations and a few photos of her "Maman" spiders

[PattyMacDotComma]

Amazing Things Are Happening Here is a collection of short stories by Jacob M. Appel, a doctor who has a knack for writing stories with a twist.
3★ Link to my Amazing Things review

[Terry]

I finished Hiroshima by John Hersey and will start Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote next.

[Lilly]

PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Even I knew about the Famous Five and the Secret Seven, although I don't think I've ever read any of her books. Maybe they are a little too English for American tastes. I'm sure my kids and their friends would all know her."

Thank you, Patty! You're explanation that Englishness is the reason why Americans seem to know Enid Blyton less, is quite interesting. Although I think her fame might also be receding in some countries. I grew up reading her books, but quite a number of my classmates did not know her, while in my parents' generation everyone knew her. I think she is even less known today.
However, I would not put Enid Blyton quite in the same group with Philippa Pearce and Eva Ibbotson, as she is definitely better known worldwide than them. But I guess Englishness would be an aspect for all of them.

[Lilly]

Terry wrote: "I finished Hiroshima by John Hersey and will start Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote next."

I read Breakfast at Tiffany's at school, but can't remember any of it.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I started reading:


The Hot Spot by Charles Williams

[Lynn, New School Classics]

Lilly wrote: "PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Even I knew about the Famous Five and the Secret Seven, although I don't think I've ever read any of her books. Maybe they are a little too English for American tastes. I'm..."

I have no knowledge of any legal issues with this author, but in the past legal copyright issues would sometimes limit distribution of books in the US.

[Lilly]

Lynn wrote: "I have no knowledge of any legal issues with this author, but in the past legal copyright issues would sometimes limit distribution of books in the US."

She has been dead a while, but not long enough for legal rights to expire - I have honestly no idea who holds them.
I guess both publisher's and seller's choice would have an impact here. I don't know if there are American print versions, but the need to import could be a holdback.

[Terry]

Lily, Capote is such a good writer that his words, right from the get-go, are such a pleasure to read.

[Lilly]

Terry wrote: "Lily, Capote is such a good writer that his words, right from the get-go, are such a pleasure to read."

I'm glad you're liking Breakfast, Terry. :)

I remember we had to buy this tiny red Reclam edition for school. I should better put him up for reread for when I come across my copy again ... :D

[PattyMacDotComma]

I really enjoyed The Crossing, the first of Aussie author B. Michael Radburn's mystery series about a park ranger escaping his grief by taking a posting in Tasmania. It's frying pan into the fire stuff, except it's so bl**dy freezing that the fire might be welcome. Good read!
4.5★ Link to my review of The Crossing

[Luke]

First section of Dorothy Richardson's 'Pilgrimage' done! Just a little more than 1600 pages to go, but that'll be started up again once February begins.

[Brina]

Aubrey, are you aiming for 150 pages a month to read over the whole year? What an intriguing idea to read a long read such as this.

[Luke]

Brina wrote: "Aubrey, are you aiming for 150 pages a month to read over the whole year? What an intriguing idea to read a long read such as this."

I'll be reading one volume per month, starting each at the beginning of the month and then, depending how early I finish it, filling the rest of the month with other reads. That's what's worked for me with other reads of comparative length. In any case, I tend to wrap up my challenges for the year anywhere between 6-8 months in, so I don't plan reads that span the entire year.

[PattyMacDotComma]

This is a great one for kids and music lovers. Elton John by Mª Isabel Sánchez Vegara is bright and interesting and real.
5★ Link to my Elton John review with several illustrations

[PattyMacDotComma]

Sulari Gentill's exceptional Rowland Sinclair historical mystery series takes her four Australian characters to 1930's Shanghai in Shanghai Secrets. What a terrifying place it was - but a great read!

5★ Link to my Shanghai Secrets review

[Nente]

After a recent group read of Julius Caesar, I decided to go on to Antony and Cleopatra. Worthwhile but not quite as good.

[Luke]

Works I've started and maybe finished since I last posted:

Tower for the Summer Heat - Li Yu
That Lass O' Lowrie's: A Lancashire Story - Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Changelings - Jo Sinclair

[Terry]

I finished Breakfast at Tiffany’s and I am now reading Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood.

[PattyMacDotComma]

How could I not love The Kalahari Typing School for Men, the 4th book in the series of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith? These are always enjoyable and a gentle reminder that life in rural Botswana is a far cry from that of most readers.
4★ Link to my Kalahari Typing School for Men review

[PattyMacDotComma]

Psychedelic dreaming for toddlers, anyone? Alice In Wonderland by words&pictures has some inventive artwork by Cynthia Alonso, including holes in the pages for peeking and for little fingers.
4.5★ Link to my Alice review with illustrations

[Patty]

More Miracle than Bird by Alice Miller; a debut novel.

It takes place during WWI, and is told by two points of view: Georgie Hyde-Lees as she works in a hospital for wounded officers and interacts with W. B. Yeats; and one of the officers in the hospital—Lieutenant Pike.


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

[Milena]

Jane Eyre Somehow I have never read this.

[Srinidhi]

the diviners ;))

[Heather L]

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, which I have not read before.

[Lynn, New School Classics]

I am still having fun with older science fiction short stories and novellas. I read a campy 1930s John Campbell, Jr. book from a kindle megapack - physicists discover nuclear energy... fun ensues. I also just read The Horror of the Heights. Arthur Conan Doyle writes speculative fiction, 1913.

[J_BlueFlower]

I don't know how old something has the be 'old', but I enjoyed this one a lot last year: 100 Great Science Fiction Short Short Stories from 1978 (most of the stories are from 1960-1978).

Isaac Asimov made a later collection after the same principle: Microcosmic Tales: 100 Wondrous Science Fiction Short-Short Stories. It is not quite so good.

Lynn wrote: "I also just read The Horror of the Heights. Arthur Conan Doyle writes speculative fiction, 1913. "

There is also The Adventure of the Creeping Man (just the title story). A speculative fiction Sherlock Holmes story from 1923!

[Lynn, New School Classics]

J_BlueFlower wrote: "I don't know how old something has the be 'old', but I enjoyed this one a lot last year: 100 Great Science Fiction Short Short Stories from 1978 (most of the stories are from 1960-197..."

Thanks for the recommendation J_Blueflower. I own five Science Fiction Anthologies at home, but I just marked another to-read. I have not read a single story from the one you recommended, but many of the authors are familiar.

[Lilly]

Wow, that is impressive, Lynn. I only own one very thick SF anthology that came out several years ago. I sometimes find short story anthologies rather hard if they are too thick, so many settings and worlds to jump through ... although I used to like the shorter collections.

Do you know Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories? It is of course not SF, but if you like both SF and Fantasy you might also like that one.

[Nente]

Couldn't wait until February. I'm now reading the second Claudius book, Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina.

[Lilly]

I decided to start my challenges with a reread of Dubliners by James Joyce and just noticed that it is not on the group shelves. That kind of astonished me, as it is the most approachable of Joyce's works - whereas 'Ulysses' made the group shelves ...

[Lynn, New School Classics]

Lilly wrote: "Wow, that is impressive, Lynn. I only own one very thick SF anthology that came out several years ago. I sometimes find short story anthologies rather hard if they are too thick, so many settings a..."

Thanks Lilly. I have not yet read any Steampunk. I have chaperoned many Halloween parties where teenagers dressed in Steampunk though. I kept mistaking them for 1970s era Dr. Who costumes haha.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished:


Books of Blood: Volume 5 by Clive Barker
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


The Hot Spot by Charles Williams
Rating: 5 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


Books of Blood: Volume VI by Clive Barker


Big Trouble by Dave Barry

[Lilly]

Lynn wrote: "Lilly wrote: "Thanks Lilly. I have not yet read any Steampunk. I have chaparoned many Halloween parties where teenagers dressed in Steampunk though. I kept mistaking them for 1970s era Dr. Who costumes haha."

Yes, Steampunk is of course also a dress fashion, I've seen them kind of explode on past WGTs in Leipzig, some years ago ... I can see how their style would be confusing at first :)
After all, it is both in literature and style a fusion of old and new. Many of the stories are set before the backgrounds of worlds that use old fashioned mechanical technologies, but brought to a level of possibilities that equal those in SF and Fantasy; time travel, body enhancement, mechanical AI, you name it ... - Which is why the anthology came to my mind in this context ...

[Heather L]

Lilly wrote: "I decided to start my challenges with a reread of Dubliners by James Joyce and just noticed that it is not on the group shelves. That kind of astonished me, as it is the ..."

We read one or two stories from the collection, but not the book as a whole. I know we did “The Dead” in 2019. I much prefer his short stories to his longer works.

[Lilly]

Heather L wrote: "We read one or two stories from the collection, but not the book as a whole. I know we did “The Dead” in 2019. I much prefer his short stories to his longer works."

Yes, I noticed 'The Dead' on the shelf, but that's it. Which is interesting, as this story wasn't part of 'Dubliners', when Joyce first came up with the concept.

Do you have a favorite story?

[Luke]

Since last I posted, I've started:

The Sympathizer - Viet Thanh Nguyen
Justine, or The Misfortunes of Virtue - Marquis de Sade
Pilgrimage, Volume 2: The Tunnel and Interim - Dorothy M. Richardson