What Are You Reading Now? Showing 1,801-1,850 of 2,435

[Gulli]

RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "Gulli wrote: "I just finished reading Red Harvest and really enjoyed it (almost as much as The Maltese Falcon), so I've decided to read Hammett's The Thin Man..."

Glad to hear you enjoyed it, too. I'll eventually get round to reading The Dain Curse; maybe we can exchange our thoughts towards it then.

[Darren]

just to complete the Hammett love-in, I'll be reading The Glass Key soon - it's third in line in my Crime TBR pile, so probably in December...

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Darren wrote: "just to complete the Hammett love-in, I'll be reading The Glass Key soon - it's third in line in my Crime TBR pile, so probably in December..."

I need to read that one too. I have only Dain Curse and Glass Key left to read of his novels.

I also plan to read The Big Book of the Continental Op which has all of his Continental Op short stories, including those that were fixed-up into Red Harvest and Dain Curse. And I have Return of the Thin Man which I believe contains Hammett-written scripts for Thin Man movie sequels and some notes he wrote. And I have the short story collections The Big Knockover: Selected Stories and Short Novels and The Hunter and Other Stories to read. So, plenty of Hammett to get to in the future.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Gulli wrote: "Glad to hear you enjoyed it, too. I'll eventually get round to reading The Dain Curse; maybe we can exchange our thoughts towards it then."

Sounds good. I'll post my review once I'm done. That should be in late December I'm guessing.

[Janice]

I am still reading The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished the inspirational account of the 1936 USA Gold-Medal winning 8-Man Crew team


The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown
Rating: 5 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading


A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

[Teri-K]

RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "I finished the inspirational account of the 1936 USA Gold-Medal winning 8-Man Crew team

[bookcover:The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics|16..."

I loved The Boys in the Boat! I keep trying to get people to read it, but I can't make it sound as good as it is. I also want to reread it in the near future. Thanks for reminding me.

[Grace]

Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
I am almost done with Haunting Adeline and debating if I want to pick up the second book. I read through it pretty quickly. I just recently picked up The Virgin Suicides because I just love depressing books for some reason. Romance is typically out of my normal genre but Haunting Adeline is pretty entertaining

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Teri-K wrote: "I loved The Boys in the Boat! I keep trying to get people to read it, but I can't make it sound as good as it is. I also want to reread it in the near future. Thanks for reminding me."

You're welcome, and yeah it was a good story wasn't it?

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished the classic Science-Fiction fix-up novel about a generation ship where the crew has forgotten they are on a ship


Orphans of the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Darren]

RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "I finished the classic Science-Fiction fix-up novel about a generation ship where the crew has forgotten they are on a ship


Orphans of the Sky..."

if you're in the mood for more of this sub-genre, I can recommend Brian Aldiss's Non-Stop

[Teri-K]

I'm reading the Hungarian classic Abigail by Magda Szabó. Set during WWII, it's an interesting look 14 year old Gina's life the year her father, a general, sends her away to boarding school. Gina has no idea what's going on at first, though I knew - I think it's more a kid's/YA classic. A Hungarian friend said the translation is excellent, and it certainly reads that way to me.

[Terry]

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger. At more than 50% in, it’s good — complex characters with interesting back stories, moving plot, descriptive prose. This writer has chops

[Jakub]

I'm about to finish Aeneid and next one in store for me is The Other Name: Septology I-II

Can't wait to read this one, it's one huge sentence this book. Seems like there are no breaks just one big thought pouring through the pages.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Darren wrote: "if you're in the mood for more of this sub-genre, I can recommend Brian Aldiss's Non-Stop"

Thanks Darren. Non-Stop is on my Wish List for sure.

[Teri-K]

Terry wrote: "The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger. At more than 50% in, it’s good — complex characters with interesting back stories, moving plot, descriptive prose. This writer has chops"

I thought he was an amazing writer, too, and I'd love to read more of his books. but I tried Ordinary Grace and I couldn't read it all, it was just too sad/dark for me. If anyone knows of something he wrote that isn't as heart-wrenching, I'd love to hear about it!

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished the disappointing Edgar Award winning mystery novel


The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale
Rating: 2 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading


A Simple Plan by Scott Smith

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished the short story collection


A Curtain of Green and Other Stories by Eudora Welty
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading


Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

[Wreade1872]

Having a belated halloween, started reading The Thing in the Woods from 1913 .

I'm assuming its horror ;) .

[Cynda]

Earlier this year, some of us read Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. I felt the need to complete the story, so I read Parable of the Talents. I knew that Octavia E Butler had said that both books need to be read to get a full understanding of the story. Agree.

I saw poor-quality video of Butler being interviewed by Charlie Rose.
https://youtu.be/N2XPKRP7eSI?si=xPHu4...

[Chris]

I recently finished G.K. Chesterton's The Club of Queer Trades written in 1905. A collection of interconnected short stories.

[Cynda]

Recently I completed a micro study of H G Wells:

The Time Machine ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Island of Dr. Moreau ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Invisible Man ⭐⭐⭐

I reread The island of Dr Moreau so I might better appreciate The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia--and to participate in group read. It wasn't necessary to reread, yet I am glad to have reread.

When I write my review, I will rate The Daughter of Doctor Moreau as either 3 or 4 stars

[Darya Silman]

Reading Искра жизни (Spark of Life) by Erich Maria Remarque

[Wreade1872]

Finished Alan Moore's epic Jerusalem [4/5] review

[Chris]

Finished Longfellow's epic poem The Song of Hiawatha.

[Franky]

I just started The Magnificent Ambersons and am about a third of the way through The Sign of the Four.

[Gulli]

I just started A Fine Balance.

[J_BlueFlower]

I just finished reading Storm på vej (A Storm is Coming). Steffen Kretz, a Danish journalist, who has lived and worked in the USA for many years write about the cold civil war unfolding in the USA.

The situation is worse than I knew. According to Steffen Kretz the USA may just be a single election away from a dictatorship. Imagine the next demagogue, who wins an election, is better prepared than Trump and puts his own people in leadership positions in advance.

Red flags are already there: 4 out of 10 Americans want a (more) authoritarian leader, the enemy is not the Soviets, but those of the other party – other Americans!

It is very easy to see how this can become everybody’s (from the Western World’s) problem: If USA becomes a right-wing dictatorship and withdraws from NATO then it is immediately on the other side of, for example, the Nagorno-Karabakh war than some other NATO countries. (This last bit is not in the book, just me being scared.)

[Lynn, New School Classics]

J_BlueFlower wrote: "I just finished reading Storm på vej (A Storm is Coming). Steffen Kretz, a Danish journalist, who has lived and worked in the USA for many years write about the co..."

Well I don't usually do politics, but some of us feel we are already under the dictatorship, and Trump isn't in office now. It's commonly called the "uniparty". If you look it up make sure to realize the term has a long history long before Trump.

It's the idea that no matter who you vote for they end up basically the same as power corrupts.

[J_BlueFlower]

You are using ”uniparty” in another meaning than one-party state? One-party states tend not to have basic human rights.

[Lynn, New School Classics]

J_BlueFlower wrote: "You are using ”uniparty” in another meaning than one-party state? One-party states tend not to have basic human rights."


It means that the minute the elected officials get to Washington they forget to represent the people. The will of the people is not done, and somehow they almost all end up millionaires.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished the Gothic novel written in French but first published in English and set in Arabia:


Vathek by William Beckford
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I also finished the epic Latin poem (which has been snarkily referred to as "Homer Fan Fiction")


The Aeneid by Virgil (translated by Frederick Ahl
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading the Hugo Award-winning novel about overpopulation set in the future in 2010 and using narrative techniques lifted from Dos Passos' USA Trilogy


Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner

[Cynda]

I have just finished reading

On the Admission of Women to the Rights of Citizenship by Nicolas de Condorcet. If interested, stop by on current buddy read thread.


The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. Those who have read The Aleph and Other Stories by Jorge Luis Borges might like the aleph moment in this short novel.

[Teri-K]

I finished a reread of Death in Kashmir by M.M. Kaye. I quite enjoyed it. It's a good mystery and has a great sense of place and time - just before the British hand over India.

[Gulli]

I finished reading A Fine Balance, a fantastic, heart wrenching read. I've just picked up Moon Tiger.

[Njeri]

I recently finished The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde which I loved. Now listening to The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery and reading Northanger Abbey and L'Étranger. :)

[Greg]

Wow, I was completely blown away by Veniss Underground (Jeff VanderMeer), such a gorgeous book! Though, the description on the back cover that describes it as having an "almost Boschian intensity" is exactly right. Plenty disturbing and gory but well worth it, for me anyway.

I also ended up very much enjoying The Razor's Edge, though you couldn't find a more different book than Veniss Underground. Maybe that made them a good pairing. When I needed a break from Veniss, I stepped into Razor for a bit more restraint.

I rated both of those 5★.

Next up, I'll be starting The Night Before Christmas (Nikolai Gogol), The Sound of Waves (Yukio Mishima), and Imperium: A Fiction of the South Seas (Christian Kracht).

[Irphen]

I just finished Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés and it was really something! I can't highly enough recommend it as it is one of rare non-fiction books that I found very complete, interesting and empowering all through my reading progress.

Now I'm reading A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin, some nice fantasy and I'm enjoying it very much as well! :-)

[Cynda]

Yes indeed Irphen! Definitely worthwhile reading for those of us interested in traditional tales.

[Cynda]

I am reading American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence (1997) by Pauline Maier. Good rhetorical analysis of The Declaration of Independence.

I am reminded that I also want to read The Rhetoric of Fiction by Wayne C. Booth. I missed a buddy read of that book. Glad to have notes left on thread.

[Gavin]

Just starting Piranesi

[Pillsonista]

Lynn wrote: "J_BlueFlower wrote: "It means that the minute the elected officials get to Washington they forget to represent the people. The will of the people is not done, and somehow they almost all end up millionaires."

Because there's a paradox at the heart of all elections: anybody who runs in one should *never* be elected. Anybody who actively implores others to bestow them with power, by their very nature, should never be trusted with it.

This is why in the earliest years of the Christian Church, bishops were literally conscripted. Whoever refused the bishopric would be kidnapped in the middle of the night and forced to wear the robes of the church because it was believed that they would be less likely to abuse power. It didn't always work out that way, but the logic behind it was reasonable. Rebecca West wrote about it in Black Lamb and Grey Falcon.

Secular "elections" would be better if they were conducted in this way: whoever doesn't want the power gets the job.

[Lynn, New School Classics]

Pillsonista wrote: "Lynn wrote: "J_BlueFlower wrote: "It means that the minute the elected officials get to Washington they forget to represent the people. The will of the people is not done, and somehow they almost a..."

LOL That's funny. What a time to live in during the early church!

[Linda R,]

I am reading the Name of the Rose.

[Jakub]

Name of the Rose is fantastic! Enjoy!

[Linda R,]

Jakub wrote: "Name of the Rose is fantastic! Enjoy!"

I am, thank you! Have you read any of Eco's other books? I am thinking about reading more of him.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished


A Simple Plan by Scott Smith
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading the second Lord Peter Wimsey book


Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers

[Teri-K]

I'm reading Emerson's essay Nature, Sherlock Holmes short stories, and Envious Casca by Heyer. it's a Christmas country house locked-room mystery. these are all rereads, but it's been a while.

[Greg]

Finished The Night Before Christmas (Nikolai Gogol) (2.5★) and Imperium: A Fiction of the South Seas (Christian Kracht) (3.5★) and my reaction to both was mixed.

The Gogol was full of the sort of slapstick humor that I don't usually appreciate, and the social commentary wasn't nuanced enough to be interesting. And the Kracht had some beautiful passages and some extremely evocative writing, but the themes were all over the place and the main analogy felt a bit strained and unfair to me.

Now, I'm reading The Sound of Waves (Yukio Mishima) and An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving & Other Stories: Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag, Vol. 6 (Louisa May Alcott). And after I finish those, I'm planning to start The Memory Police (Yōko Ogawa)

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished the classic gothic romance novel


Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Rating: 2 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...