What Are You Reading February 2015

[Ronald]

I finished the silly book posing as deep thinking. I am still working my way through . The next book on the Mark Z reading list The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined appears to be 800ish pages. I may pass if I can't find an eBook copy. ;-)

[Bill]

I'm hoping there's more to than the trashiness in the movie version from the 60s. But at less than a hundred pages it'll be a very quick read regardless.

[Ronald]

Finished with moving on to next. I suspect this next book will be a little dryer.

[Bill]

was recommended to me by a co-worker. It looks like it has great potential as something I'll relish.

[Melanie]

I just finished Sense and Sensibility last weekend. I've read Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, and Emma. I prefer S&S over Emma, but felt Marianne was about as mature as Emma and Elinor was just so cold. I was surprised she wrote P&P more because you could feel Elizabeth's hatred then love towards Darcy. In S&S it felt like we were just being told a story. I still have Mansfield Park and Northhanger Abbey to read. I loved Persuasion too. I honestly thought Austen could be my favorite author but right now she has two balls and two strikes...

[Melanie]

For the Humanities book club I'm reading The Namesake and I'm really enjoying this. The focus is on exhiles. It is about a young man born in America to Indian (with a dot) parents. I am finding it very interesting and quite enjoying it. Also makes one wonder how much your name influences one's life.

[Melanie]

My audio book selection is Dubliners by James Joyce. I needed to start somewhere with him and Ulysses is very much a love it or hate it book. I'm a fan of Homer's The Odyssey and wonder if I will love it or hate it - I hated the O' Brother Where Art Thou because I had heard it was based off of The Odyssey. I could definatley follow that, but the characters which made the Odyssey epic where a huge fail to me.

[Bill]

Melanie wrote: "My audio book selection is Dubliners by James Joyce. I needed to start somewhere with him and Ulysses is very much a love it or hate it book. I'm a fan of Homer's The Odyssey and wonder if I will..."

Melanie wrote: "My audio book selection is Dubliners by James Joyce. I needed to start somewhere with him and Ulysses is very much a love it or hate it book. I'm a fan of Homer's The Odyssey and wonder if I will..."

I read Dubliners in high school; the Irish Christian Brothers order that ran the school I attended probably demanded that. LOL. Honestly I don't remember a thing about it. I did give Ulysses a try after college and I have to say I couldn't get in to it at all, nor was I able to finish it. Whenever I can vote on the most over-rated book of all time Ulysses always gets my vote.

[Melanie]

I will read another Austen and Dickens before getting back to Joyce - my next book will be a Thomas Hardy. Also should add Henry James to the list.

Librivox.org has public domain books you can listen to for free read by volunteers. Some have gone on to have professional audio book careers. I'm willing to give people a try but I have a few favorite readers and will be making selections based on their work.

[Melanie]

Finished The Namesake and I really enjoyed it. I feel like I lost a friend. I'm now starting Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry. There are four books to The Giver, but it isn't a sequel. We shall see...

[Melanie]

Gathering Blue was a quick read and I found it interesting, but I was able to guess the ending. Also made me think of the movie The Village.

Starting another light read - Shopaholic and Baby.

[Melanie]

Dubliners is not a book I would recommend. Granted it is 15 short stories, but none of them connect, and really don't have a point to them. There are some reviews that say it was like a guidebook to Dublin especially at the turn of the century (1900s). I don't need to have a happy ending, but I do like to have some kind of a point for reading it.

Now listening to Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd.

[Bill]

I usually don't read two similar books back to back. Having just finished an intense emotional experience reading Susan Abulhawa's "Mornings in Jenin" I wanted something totally different. might actually be somewhat similar. Nevertheless, here goes...

[Melanie]

I'm reading Brink Lane by Monica Ali and so far not very impressed. Because I'm reading two Indian books in a row one of my featured books is Indian Readers. Um, this is assigned reading. However, I do recommond The Namesake.