THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB discussion
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WHAT ARE YOU READING AND WHY!!
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Carol
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Nov 19, 2012 05:48AM
I'm reading a new book by author-friend Lindy Moon, Hyperlink from Hell. So different and challenging, crazy, witty.
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Since Jackie and I both enjoyed The Skin Map, we decided to continue our buddy read to include the whole Bright Empires trilogy. So I'm now started on the second book, The Bone House.
I'm like Rick in the way that I'll have a few books on the go at the same time. Right now I'm working my way through The Troika, which is a surrealistic/SF tale about a jeep, a brontosaurus and an old Mexican woman traveling across an alien desert. It's a deeply affecting read.And I've just started Solar, by Ian McEwan. (I'm reading this because my bro gave me the paperback copy, and it's a good one for bedtime reading.) McEwan's writing is sharp and the humor is edgy too.
Is going to read Howl - Annalise Grey (*whispers the next few words "on her kindle" as it's been playing up nearly a week since it arrived*)
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Annalise Grey is a James Mason member writer so full support here!!
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D.L., Dickens is one of my favorites. To me, nothing can touch his Bleak House.For those who were impressed with Ken Burns' Dust Bowl special on PBS this past week, be aware that there is also a book version of the documentary. The strength of those people is amazing.
Shelley, Rain: A Dust Bowl Story
http://dustbowlpoetry.wordpress.com
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I have to say I am a bit dissapointed with the 5th Odd Thomas book- it seems more like a haunted house novella stretched into a novel- writing is great (this IS Dean Koontz) yet darker and far less enjoyable then previous Odd Thomas books- entire book takes place in one location - and there are about 4 characters
I'm now reading "Three Months from the Diary of a Gob, 1918-1919" by Harvey G. Meyer. I came across it by accident a week ago. The diary sums up the author's experiences as a young seaman in the Merchant Marine during a 3-month voyage he undertook in 1919 from Baltimore to Buenos Aires, Argentina. BTW, "Gob" was slang in the U.S. during the nineteen-teens for a sailor.
As I've mentioned here before, my wife and I usually have a book going for reading out loud in the car, since we don't use conventional audiobooks. The one we've just started is the omnibus volume of a trilogy by Elizabeth Moon,
. We're both fantasy fans, and this one comes very highly recommended by two of my friends here on Goodreads; so I have high hopes for it!
I am thoroughly enjoying
partly because I wanted something really different to be in mind when I read (next)
Mod
partly because I wanted something really different to be in mind when I read (next)
"I have
still have not got around to reading it! curious how you like Hock!
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wow- really amazing reviews for that trilogy!
Reading
by Jorge Luis Borges, having read his Fictions and loved it, so far it is not as great as Fictions but still good, and I have only read about half of it.
Shelley wrote: "For those who were impressed with Ken Burns' Dust Bowl special on PBS this past week, be aware that there is also a book version of the documentary."I had a copy of that once. I would pick it up and would always find a gritty outline of where the book had sat. Finally had to give it away.
I'm reading Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair by Pablo Neuda.
I'm re-reading Brave New World. Why? It has been a while since I last read it. I remember the first time I read it when I was in High School and I didn't really get a lot of it. (Check that; I didn't get it at all.) I re-read it during College and it made a bit more sense. As I read it now I really feel like the US has, in a lot of ways, become the brave new world (scary stuff). Anyway, this is what I consider to be a true 5-star book; the type that can allow you to understand it in different ways at different points in your life.
I'm also re-reading my own novella entitled, "Perdu" (Vampyrus #1). It isn't nearly as philosophical as BNW. But, it is nonetheless an entertaining yarn; a unique twist on the vampire mythology. Check it out on Amazon.
-Rae
I'm just past the middle of Fingersmith and I am loving it! Talk about suspense and intrigue! I already highly recommend this one. It's this month's pick in my RL book club which meets Thursday evening, so I'd better get back to it and finish! :D
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Why? It has been a while since I last read it. I remember the first time I read it when I was in High School and I didn't really get a lot of it. (Check that; I di..."
I must say I very much enjoy your writing style Rae!
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looks like a great read...long!! over 500 pages!!
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I'm always reading lots of books at once, but FALL OF GIANTS is the biggie for me at present. Gripping, of course, but sure to be tragic: mines, servants in love with the master, Russians in love...
I'm now reading "Hostile Skies: A Combat History of the American Air Service in World War I" by Dr.James J. Hudson, himself a WWII Army Air Force veteran pilot. For any aviation fan, this is fantastic stuff!
I'm listening to Virals in the car. It's a YA by Kathy Reichs, and I'm not sure about it yet. So far not much has happened (and what has happened seems to have marginal motivation for happening!), but we'll see. I'm reading Deep Fathom on my iPhone Kindle app when I'm waiting in line somewhere; The Crimson League on my "home" Kindle; and On Writing sporadically. Oh, and Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream. I'm not getting a whole lot of reading done, since I'm doing NaNoWriMo this month, but we've got a beach vacation coming up in December, so I'm hoping to burn through a bunch then!
Rick wrote: "Zuzana wrote: "I'm just past the middle of Fingersmith and I am loving it! Talk about suspense and intrigue! I already highly recommend this one. It's this month's pick in my RL book club which mee..."looks like a great read...long!! over 500 pages!!
Yes, but it flies by! Especially toward the end here - I am nearly finished. ;)
I'm readingNever Give In To Fear: Laughing All the Way Up from Rock Bottom Marti MacGibbon (A TRUE STORY) and FREE KINDLE DOWNLOAD
http://www.amazon.com/Never-Give-In-F...
John
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Never Give In To Fear: Laughing All the Way Up from Rock Bottom Marti MacGibbon (A TRUE STORY) and FREE KINDLE DOWNLOAD
http://www.amazon.com/Never-Give-In-F......"
super title!!!
Just finished Howl - Annalise Grey which I found very good. Now I am about to make a start on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson.
I'm reading "Former People the Final Days of the Russian Aristocracy" by Douglas Smith.
Rick wrote: "Hock wrote: "I am thoroughly enjoying partly because I wanted something really different to be in mind when I read (next) [bookcover:Red Sorghum|894..."
I really enjoyed the book. I read it in English and also in French for my class. The movie was pretty good too but I much prefer the book.
Fiona (Titch) wrote: "Just finished Howl - Annalise Grey which I found very good. Now I am about to make a start on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson."Enjoy! I loved the Millennium Trilogy. Some people thought it dragged a bit with too much description, but those books constituted one time, with thick volumes of material, when I thought everything was right where it needed to be. Awesome characters, incredible atmosphere and suspense, and marvelous commentary on some of the intrigues that go on all over the world among those who are supposed to be protecting people. Brilliant!
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partly because I wanted something really different to be in mind when I read (next) [bookcover:Re..."
Super- definately going to get to it in 2013!!
Hock wrote: "I am thoroughly enjoying "
I thought it was well written, and I was enjoying it as I read, but I have to say that I was disappointed with the ending, and that kind of ruined it for me. Took it from 4 stars down to 2.5 IMHO ... a good ending is so important to me!
Fiona (Titch) wrote: "Now I am about to make a start on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson."Hope you enjoy it - I couldn't get into it at all, and quit at about pg 130. Obviously a lot of people like it, though!
I am getting ready to start The House of Mirth. The reviews have been good overall, & it's on the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die challenge list, which I'm "slowly" working my way into :)
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Hope you enjoy it - I couldn't get into it at all, and quit at about pg 130. Obviously a l..."
I have all three books- alas have not read a page yet!
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what a truly great classic!!!
I recently re-read STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND by Robert Heinlein after first reading it in college. Heinlein's insights into the foibles of politics and religion were profound. But his attitude toward women was nowhere near as enlightened. I was stunned by the male chauvinism which as a young man, I took as the natural order of things. Glad I grew out of it. Too bad Heinlein did not.
Fingersmith was really excellent! I highly recommend it! I am now finishing Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders: A Writer's (and Editor's) Guide to Keeping Historical Fiction Free of Common Anachronisms, Errors, and Myths. Hilarious and also very educational!
I think I will move next to either Catching Fire or Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, both of which I have had for a long time and have not gotten around to.
Mod
Reading this book by Matthew Reilly- and to be honest...not really liking it...I love thrillers- but this is all action..no plot ..no character development..I did not know if this was like all of Reilly's other books as this is my first..and while many love his style- there was a review which perfectly summed up my feelings about the book "Like the novelization of a video game"
Rick wrote: "Scarecrow ReturnsReading this book by Matthew Reilly- and to be honest...not really liking it...I love thrillers- but this is all action..no plot ..no character development..I did not know if thi..."
Don't you just hate it when that happens? Some authors just descend into media muddle. I used to love Michael Crichton's work, for example - so imaginative and dynamic. Then his books started reading like scripts. Oh well!
I just finished Nexus for review. It is a wonderfully written New Adult technological thriller about a young mind who creates a program that gives people the ability to link minds. Loved it!
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THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB
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