WHAT ARE YOU READING AND WHY!! Showing 7,401-7,450 of 10,669

[Emily]

I just started reading Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Emily wrote: "I just started reading Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"

been quite curious about that book!

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Howard wrote: "Rick Roy, glad you waded through all that Scottish slang."

Difficult..Sharon helped with link for Scottish Slang..but de-coding gets a bit easier after 100 pages-fun to try and figure out what on earth they are saying!

[Anastasia]

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Finished The Survivor..expected a great thriller..it is, surprised by how very affecting it is too- the main character has ALS..superb read

[Marja]

I just finished Lies of Convenience by M.M. Gornel and I couldn't put it down. Her books take place along Route 66 in the desert, and she makes me feel like I'm right there with her characters. She's a wonderful storyteller.

[Helen]

I just finished The Giver, by Lois Lowry. I read it because it's been compared to The Hunger Games. I can see why. As I read it, I kept thinking, "This book is not for children." I wish they'd change the cover, though. Hate the cover. Does this make me shallow?

[Barbara]

Helen wrote: "I just finished The Giver, by Lois Lowry. I read it because it's been compared to The Hunger Games. I can see why. As I read it, I kept thinking, "This book is not for children." I wish they'd chan..."

Nah. Not liking the cover doesn't make u shallow Helen :)

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Just started the always reliable Jack Higgins

[Andrew]

Rick wrote: "
Just started the always reliable Jack Higgins"

Early stuff good, but of late I am soooooooooooooo bored with Sean Dillon.....in fact gave up. By the numbers stuff. If I have to read "it's the grape mix" just ONE more time.....

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Andrew wrote: "Rick wrote: "
Just started the always reliable Jack Higgins"

Early stuff good, but of late I am soooooooooooooo bored with Sean Dillon.....in fact gave up. B..."

I agree the Dillon books are by the number..yet somehow comforting to me - knowing the characters so well!! Certainly not up to earlier novels like Night of the Fox

[Helen]

Barbara wrote: Nah. Not liking the cover doesn't make u shallow Helen :)..."

Maybe just a design snob! I've had this book in the house for years--one of my kids had to read it for school--and I never had the least urge to pick it up. Covers matter. Still, this book won a medal and is taught in schools, so I guess it doesn't matter that much!

[Andrew]

Rick wrote: "Andrew wrote: "Rick wrote: "
Just started the always reliable Jack Higgins"

Early stuff good, but of late I am soooooooooooooo bored with Sean Dillon.....in ..."

I think I run out of enthusiasm for recurring characters quite quickly, as they seem to be reduced to 4 or 5 shorthand characteristics. (Twinkling eyes, Krugg champagne, the odd Irish phrase...)I had a similar loss of interest in Robert B Parker's Spenser.

Though never in Holmes, Poirot, Marple .................or Otis King.

[R.G.]

Right now I'm reading Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs. Figure I adore the show Bones, so I should start reading the books that inspired the show.

[Shomeret]

Re recurring characters-- If you really enjoy the characters in question then you'll want to see them again. After a while, they become like old friends.

[Andrew]

Shomeret wrote: "Re recurring characters-- If you really enjoy the characters in question then you'll want to see them again. After a while, they become like old friends."

Fair point, if well written....but after a while most of them get dull, as the authors get lazy.

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Andrew wrote: "Shomeret wrote: "Re recurring characters-- If you really enjoy the characters in question then you'll want to see them again. After a while, they become like old friends."

Fair point, if well wri..."

Shomeret wrote: "Re recurring characters-- If you really enjoy the characters in question then you'll want to see them again. After a while, they become like old friends."

I really enjoy Mitch Rapp, Doc Ford, Odd Thomas and even Sean Dillon. Dillon, Ferguson, Billy and Harry, Blake Johnson et all are like Shomeret said, visiting old friends

Love Poirot- wish there were more Hastings books - love the early ones with him as a "Watson"

[Barbara]

I'm reading The Camel Club by David Baldacci; terrorist plots and Secret Service intrigue abound in this book. Good for thriller lovers.

[Ken]

I'm currently reading George R. R. Martin's "A Game of Thrones." It was recommended bubba friend who knows my passion for J. R. R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Ring" trilogy.

I must admit, I'm finding it hard to paint these characters in this world in my imagination. I'm enjoying it none the less.

[Bill]

Starting two new books this week; Deadeye Dick by Kurt Vonnegut and Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin.

[Ken]

Based on recommendations I just finished A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Very good and I was surprised, when a contemporary release in 1943, it was considered prurient. What I enjoyed were Francie's impressions of the day to day events as well as the extraordinary passages in life.

Now I will become the heretic. I saw some similarities between TGIB and a lot of John Updike's work, particularly the Rabbit series. Updike was twelve years old when TGIB was released and I imagined he read it and submit it had an impact on his own writing.
The Rabbit series follows Harry Angstrom from his early twenties through his life. Much of it deals with the protagonist's impressions with the mundane events and scenes of his life. Of course, both stories needed events that drive the narrative but much of the magic in both books deal with the descriptions and impressions of everyday life in a small town.

I see the same sort of narrative in other Updike books like Couples,Trust Me, and Roger's Version.

Updike is also considered prurient by some and certainly is far more so than TGIB but all his work was written in more permissive times. Still, the narratives are similar, in my opinion. Thoughts?

[Howard]

Ken said: 'I just finished A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.'

Ken, an insightful analysis, thanks.

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Howard wrote: "Ken said: 'I just finished A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.'

Ken, an insightful analysis, thanks."

Ken wrote: "Based on recommendations I just finished A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Very good and I was surprised, when a contemporary release in 1943, it was considered prurient. What I enjoyed were Francie's i..."

Such a great book by Betty Smith and the 1945 film is just as good with Peggy Anne Garner perfectly cast and James Dunn unforgetable as the father

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Barbara wrote: "I'm reading The Camel Club by David Baldacci; terrorist plots and Secret Service intrigue abound in this book. Good for thriller lovers."

love that book!!!! and the follow-ups!!

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

I am reading Strange Case of Mr. Bodkin and Father Whitechapel- a modern adaption of Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde..and it is a flip book- so it has complete original Stevenson tale on the back- very very well done indeed!!

[Tom]

I'm reading SUTTREE by Cormac McCarthy. Not really sure why, but McCarthy's been on my radar for a while, and I liked BLOOD MERIDIAN a great deal. Good so far, even if the Faulkner Influence is occasionally rather stifling.

[Shelli]

I just finished Running Barefoot by Amy Harmon. It was an excellent book, a great literary read. Perfect for book clubs. It made me want to read more good literature, so I'm going to reread Little Women next.

[Ken]

Just started The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany. 1200 pages of historical minutiae. If I'm not back in two weeks, send help.

[Stacia]

Working on Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I want to finish the book before seeing the movie (which looks very intriguing, imo...).

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

The Stockholm Octavo
read this magnificent book- what an amazing plot!!!

[Fiona (Titch)]

Just finished Destined to Play - Indigo Bloome and loved it.

[Stacia]

Rick wrote: "The Stockholm Octavo
read this magnificent book- what an amazing plot!!!"

Oh, I saw that one the other day & thought it looks great. Glad to hear your review!

[Carol]

I'm reading Hyperlink from Hell, a manic new mystery by author-friend Lindy Moone. It's so new, I'm not sure it's on Goodreads or available yet in paper. (Amazon, ebook).

[L. Allen]

I'm reading, The Innocent, by David Baldacci. I am a Baldacci fan.

[L. Allen]

Rick wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I'm reading The Camel Club by David Baldacci; terrorist plots and Secret Service intrigue abound in this book. Good for thriller lovers."

love that book!!!! and the follow-ups!!"

I am a fan of David Baldacci. Good choice.

[Per]

Reading The Bells of Bicetre by , I'm a big fan of his, and this book is very good so far.

[Mackenzie]

Just finished The Chapel in the Woods by Susan Louineau a debut novel by a fellow British author and twitter friend. Really enjoyed it. Those who like the works of Joanna Harris will love this book. It involves three stories from different periods in France, in the same geographical area. Carefully crafted and cleverly written all three stories converge.

I've just started The Zen Man by Colleen Collins. I'm only four chapters in but I'm a fan of Miss Collins incredibly good writing already.

[Laura]

Emily wrote: "I just started reading Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"

I am reading it too. Not proud of it, but am sort of enjoying it (yes I am a hypocrite).

[Andrew]

I'm now reading the biography of one of the most recognisable faces of football in the world . It has been sitting on my bookshelf for a while now and I thought it was about time I read it.

[Russell]

Finished BrookLyn's Journey by Coffey Brown. It was a great coming-of-age story. My first LGBT book I've read, it was a great change from reading thrillers.

[Michelle]

I'm about to start The Bride of Time because I love time travel novels. I hope this is a good one!

[Bill]

I'm currently enjoying by Ariana Franklin and about to start by Nicolas Freeling.

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Per wrote: "Reading The Bells of Bicetre by , I'm a big fan of his, and this book is very good so far."

Per I have read Georges Simenon, and enjoyed his mysteries- yet I find it upsetting that he waswidely believed to be anti-semetic..even writing many virulent anti- semetic articles in 1932..here is an interesting study- brief on him. Sad- but sometime one must separate the books fromj the writer

http://www.trussel.com/maig/bergerac.htm

[Per]

Rick wrote: "Per wrote: "Reading The Bells of Bicetre by , I'm a big fan of his, and this book is very good so far."

Per I have read Georges Simenon, and enjoyed his mysteries- yet..."

Troubling and upsetting for sure, but as you said, sometimes you have to seperate the books from the writer, actually I would say very often, especially if you go back in time to pre-WWII, and even more still if you go back to before WWI.

[Fiona (Titch)]

This morning I started A Life For A Life - Tim Ellis

[Barbara]

I'm reading Deception by Denise Mina

[Kerry]

The book thief, because it was recommended to me

[Barbara]

Kerry wrote: "The book thief, because it was recommended to me"

Loved "The Book Thief". Our town library picked this book for everyone to read for the year. It was good.

[Barbara]

I'm reading Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson by Lyndsay Faye. Holmes and Watson investigate the "Jack the Ripper" killings in this book. Sherlock and Watson are captured very authentically in this book - so if you're a fan of Conan Doyle's Sherlock you'll probably enjoy this story.

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Facinating book...amazing how lace played such a role in 17th Century France..love how tale is told from several perspectives!