WHAT ARE YOU READING AND WHY!! Showing 8,601-8,650 of 10,669

[KOMET]

Rick wrote: I have always wanted to read that classic as well. An enormous undertaking. Both in time and emotion

++++++++++++++++++
Rick,

You should put Shirer's magnum opus on your MUST READ LIST of books to read in 2014. (Besides, give yourself a break from reading fiction and dive into non-fiction for a spell.)

I read it little more than 30 years ago (as a college student) and was thoroughly engrossed in it.

[Barbara]

Christopher wrote: "I'm reading Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, by William Shirer. I've been meaning to read this book for years, but never got around to it. Could kick myself. Excellent writing. Fascinating look at..."

I read this a while back. I agree it's an excellent book; not easy to read but very informative about the Nazi regime

[Barbara]

I started The Last Kind Words by Tom Piccirilli

[John]

Just finished John LeCarre's "Karla Trilogy." I read them all years ago, but now that I'm a writer, it's fascinating to go back andpay attention to the craft that LeCarre exhibits.

[[deleted user]]

I just started reading Murder List

[Sunflower]

The last book I read was, "The Raven's Warrior" by Vincent Pratchett. This is his first novel. It's a good mix of fantasy with a sprinkle of history. It's the Arthurian legend with new twists. The journey unfolds when a slave becomes a king. Set in about 900 A.D., when a viking wounded Celtic warrior is sold into slavery. His masters become his teachers and companions and he learns Eastern ways of medicine, science, war and philosophy as they travel through China....all under the watchful eye of Death.

[Fiona (Titch)]

I've finished The Succubus Gift - B.R. Kingsolver today. Now I think I will read From a Dead Sleep - John Daly.

[Michael]

I just finished which tells of a woman's trip to Ireland at her grandmother's dying request. Her family was from County Cork, near where my ancestors were from. The woman comes to know the country and people and love the land.
Can't recommend it enough.
If possible check out my review on Amazon.com books and if you like it, mention it on the review. It's like a message of joy.
Mike

[Sunflower]

I would like to sum up this blog...... Great books, so little time to read them all!!

[Erich]

Never say to judge a book by its cover, you may be wrong. After just returning from Algeria, have time on my hands I stopped at Chapters to buy a book.
"The longest Ride' on the cover a pickup, a barn and a horse and rider. I have horses so I bought the book. I was so very surprised when I started reading it, I had to finish it immediately.
This is a book, many will call it chick lit, it is excellent writing for one and a story that captivated the soul. Two couples with nothing in common how in the end their lives intersect. This is a book about a lifelong love and a budding relationship. It is a book that speaks of hardship and loyalty that grows throughout the years. Of differences and sacrifices, it is a book I bought by mistake and loved every page of it. I will from now on put Nicholas Sparks on my wish list and look for his books in bookstores on their shelves.

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Erich wrote: "Never say to judge a book by its cover, you may be wrong. After just returning from Algeria, have time on my hands I stopped at Chapters to buy a book.
"The longest Ride' on the cover a pickup, a ..."

very interesting Erich..I loved The Notebook (well the film anyway) I never thought Sparks was an author I would like..but willing to give him a try now

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Barbara wrote: "The last book I read was, "The Raven's Warrior" by Vincent Pratchett. This is his first novel. It's a good mix of fantasy with a sprinkle of history. It's the Arthurian legend with new twists. T..."

Barbara..I believe he is related to the amazing Terry Pratchett??

[Fiona (Titch)]

Barbara wrote: "The last book I read was, "The Raven's Warrior" by Vincent Pratchett. This is his first novel. It's a good mix of fantasy with a sprinkle of history. It's the Arthurian legend with new twists. T..."

http://www.vincentpratchett.com/#!bio...

[Fiona (Titch)]

Rick wrote: "Barbara wrote: "The last book I read was, "The Raven's Warrior" by Vincent Pratchett. This is his first novel. It's a good mix of fantasy with a sprinkle of history. It's the Arthurian legend wi..."

http://www.vincentpratchett.com/#!bio...

[Fiona (Titch)]

Rick wrote: "Barbara wrote: "The last book I read was, "The Raven's Warrior" by Vincent Pratchett. This is his first novel. It's a good mix of fantasy with a sprinkle of history. It's the Arthurian legend wi..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Pr...

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Fiona (Titch) wrote: "Rick wrote: "Barbara wrote: "The last book I read was, "The Raven's Warrior" by Vincent Pratchett. This is his first novel. It's a good mix of fantasy with a sprinkle of history. It's the Arthur..."

thanks..he is indeed a "blood relation" of Sir Terry

[Barbara]

I finished The Last Kind Words by Tom Piccirilli. The main carrier is Terrier Rand whose family are "gentleman" thieves - no violence. So when Terry's brother Collie goes on a murder spree Terry leaves town. Five years later, just before his execution, Collie asks to see Terry and tells him that he's guilty of all but one of the murders, a young teenage girl. He asks Terry to investigate. Rather than being a straight murder mystery, however, the book is more an exploration of how a devastating act affects the other people in your life. The characters are well-drawn and interesting. Good book.

[KOMET]

Yesterday, I began reading "Lock 14" by the wonderfully prolific writer Georges Simenon. Simply put, I enjoy reading the Inspector Maigret stories.

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

KOMET wrote: "Yesterday, I began reading "Lock 14" by the wonderfully prolific writer Georges Simenon. Simply put, I enjoy reading the Inspector Maigret stories.

[bookcover:Lock ..."

I enjoy then as they are very literate mysteries. Terrific use of language and the translations have been universally magnificent

[Barbara]

KOMET wrote: "Yesterday, I began reading "Lock 14" by the wonderfully prolific writer Georges Simenon. Simply put, I enjoy reading the Inspector Maigret stories.

[bookcover:Lock ..."

I enjoy them too. Maigret has such a leisurely way of detecting: stopping off for lunch, a glass of wine, a conversation with his wife, thinking things through. A little different than most American detective stories.

[Fiona (Titch)]

Yesterday I read and finished Opal Fire - Barbra Annino.

[Barbara]

I started Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand

[Barbara]

I finished Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand. On the evening of the high school graduation in Nantucket sweet, talented Penny Alistair - a rising high school senior - takes the wheel of a Jeep containing her sports-phenom brother Hobby, her friend Demeter, and her boyfriend Jake. Penny seemingly purposely crashes the Jeep, killing herself and horribly injuring Hobby, while leaving Jake and Demeter physically unscathed. What did Demeter tell Penny that set off this event? That's the central mystery is this character driven story. Hildebrand presents a realistic picture of troubled families in a small community.

[Lance]

Just finished Hot Art: Chasing Thieves and Detectives Through the Secret World of Stolen Art by Joshua Knelman. Snappy writing and a cast of interviewees from both sides of the law make art theft come alive. 4.5 stars.

Read the full review here.



Now reading and .

[Barbara]

I finished Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver. Dellarobia, a farm wife in Appalachia, is about to embark on an extramarital affair when the sight of a blazing orange forest changes her mind. It turns out the startling sight is caused by millions of Monarch butterflies covering the trees, far from their usual winter home in Mexico. Dr. Ovid Byron, a butterfly expert, comes to study the insects and Dellarobia gets a job helping him. This, in turn, magnifies the tediousness and poverty of Dellarobia's everyday life. The book is partly a treatise on the dire consequences of climate change and partly a character study of the Feathertown people, who reject scientific explanations for nature's changes, regarding them as God's will. The book didn't have a strong plot in the usual sense but the characters were interesting and the dangers of climate change were boldly drawn.

[Chris]

I'm finally reading The Picture of Dorian Gray. I've heard so many people say they either love it or hate it that I figured I would see for myself.

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Chris wrote: "I'm finally reading The Picture of Dorian Gray. I've heard so many people say they either love it or hate it that I figured I would see for myself."

I loved it..a quick read..witty and clever..also you must watch the 1945 film..Hurd Hatfield was a perfect Dorian Gray..not to mention Angela Landsbury and George Sanders!

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Barbara wrote: "I finished Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver. Dellarobia, a farm wife in Appalachia, is about to embark on an extramarital affair when the sight of a blazing orang..."

I never read that book of hers but did read ..aside from loving the title, I found it so very didactic and transitory..nothing to grab hold of

[Barbara]

Rick wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I finished Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver. Dellarobia, a farm wife in Appalachia, is about to embark on an extramarital affair when the sight of..."

Rick, I've only read one other book of Kingsolver's, The Poisonwood Bible, which I thought was excellent.

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Barbara wrote: "Rick wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I finished Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver. Dellarobia, a farm wife in Appalachia, is about to embark on an extramarital affair when..."

Yes! I know that is her most famous book..I have not yet read that one..I wanted to read Pigs in Heaven because it dealt with an important and facinating subject..cross cultural adoption and the joys and travails that can occur..in this case the lead character is a 6 year old Native American who was adopted by a non-Native American lady and what happens when members of her Cherokee Nation contest the adoption years later..a very interesting subject..yet I just felt it was very slow moving and mechanical in how the writer approached the subject and plot.

[KOMET]

Two days ago (which also happened to be my birthday), I began reading My Venice and Other Essays by Donna Leon, famous for her Commisario Guido Brunetti novels set in Venice. So far, I'm enjoying it very much. Besides, I once visited Venice one summer, arriving there by train from Trieste, and fell in love with the place.

[Barbara]

I finished Through the Evil Days: A Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mystery by Julia Spencer-Fleming. In this mystery/thriller, the first part of the book is a mystery: the cops are trying to find out who kidnapped a child, Mikayla. Once the suspects are identified, the remainder of the book is a thriller as the cops set out to rescue the girl and catch the perps during 'the ice-storm of the century.' This is book 8 in the series and many well-known (and mostly well-liked) characters are on hand for the action/personal dramas.
I liked the first part of the book but got bogged down in the second part: the prolonged scenes of slogging through ice and snow and tangling with the perps. All in all I thought the book had interesting characters and a good plot but I found myself skimming through parts in the second half.

[Barbara]

Rick wrote: "Barbara wrote: "Rick wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I finished Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver. Dellarobia, a farm wife in Appalachia, is about to embark on an extramar..."

I agree it's an interesting subject - cross-culture adoption. But I don't like slow-moving books so I'll probably skip Pigs in Heaven

[Jennifer]

Just finished "Cocaine Blues" by Kerry Greenwood. I started watching the TV series adaptation on Netflix and liked it enough that I went looking for the books. The first one is free on Kindle right now, so I picked it up. Very fun! The show makes a lot of changes, but both the novels and the series are worth catching.

[Ken]

I've started and set down White Jazzand American Tabloid by James Ellroy. I liked LA Confidential and I liked The Black Dahlia but these two are too off the rails for my taste.

The more acclaim an author seems to garner the more the writing seems to take on a Hunter Thompson, Cormac McCarthy 'I'm gifted and I'll do what I want' kind of flair. Recognition is like heroin to these guys it seems. Putting together three word phrases separated by slashes and calling it a sentence.

I then started Last Night in Twisted River. Its good but too John Irving so I set it aside to come back to later. Started Black House by Stephen King.

[Barbara]

I started The Poisoned Pilgrim by Oliver Pötzsch

[Barbara]

I finished Lucky Bastard by Deborah Coonts. This mystery starts off with Lucky O’Toole, customer relations honcho for the Babylon Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, being called to the hotel's on-site car dealership. There a beautiful woman lies dead on top of a Ferrari, stabbed in the neck with a Jimmy Choo shoe. It turns out the woman participated in high stakes poker games at the hotel and just might have been cheating. Soon more people associated with high-stakes poker turn up dead - and as Lucky runs around investigating her own life may even be endangered. The book has a good deal of humor, engaging characters, some romantic angst, and a nice touch of Las Vegas casino ambience. Enjoyable light mystery.

[KOMET]

I'm well into reading Last Train Over Rostov Bridge by Marion Aten, DFC. It's about his experiences as an RAF fighter pilot in 1919 in Russia as part of the White forces fighting the Bolsheviks (i.e, "the Reds") in the civil war there. It's fascinating to learn the extent of the West's involvement in the Russian Civil War in trying to defeat the Bolshevik movement and the threat (as they perceived it) that it posed for Europe.

[Glenn]

I can barely keep track of all the things i'm reading. (I'm too easily distracted. Iv'e got books in progress all over the house. I spend way to much time in the bathroom.) I'm reading Dave Eggers' "The Circle," which keep hoping will get better because the dialogue is atrociously useless. I'm in the middle of 3 or 4 books by HL Mencken. I'm more or less reading another by an author I can't remember, nor can I remember the title at the moment. Harper's magazine has just arrive,d so I need to read that. I'm also re-reading a book I wrote, "Thanksgiving: The Pilgrims' First Year in America" because every year I pick a paragraph and read it before we tuck into the meal, to put the meal in perspective. I'm also reading a lot of stories by Machado de Assis because I'm editing translations that are being done by several academics.

[Julie]

I am reading Envious Casca This is a locked room mystery with a Christmas theme. So far it is really good!

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

KOMET wrote: "Two days ago (which also happened to be my birthday), I began reading My Venice and Other Essays by Donna Leon, famous for her Commisario Guido Brunetti novels set in..."

Jennifer wrote: "Just finished "Cocaine Blues" by Kerry Greenwood. I started watching the TV series adaptation on Netflix and liked it enough that I went looking for the books. The first one is free on Kindle right..."

Ken wrote: "I've started and set down White Jazzand American Tabloid by James Ellroy. I liked LA Confidential and I liked The Black Dahlia but these two are too off the rails for my..."

Barbara wrote: "I finished Lucky Bastard by Deborah Coonts. This mystery starts off with Lucky O’Toole, customer relations honcho for the Babylon..."

KOMET wrote: "I'm well into reading Last Train Over Rostov Bridge by Marion Aten, DFC. It's about his experiences as an RAF fighter pilot in 1919 in Russia as part of the White ..."

Julie wrote: "I am reading Envious Casca This is a locked room mystery with a Christmas theme. So far it is really good!"

Look at the amazing variety of books being read! From just a few recent posts..This is one of the best things about the Group..so diverse and always a person to ask if I have a question as to a particular book..love it!

[Bonnie]

Food for the Gods by Karen Dudley

[Beth]

I finally finished reading Anna Karenina, a classic by Leo Tolstoy. I want to watch the movie with Kyra Knightly, and I thought I should read the book first. It was a long, slow slog, with short spurts of sublime writing sprinkled in the 800+ pages. For my full review, go here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Gabby-Lily]

Currently reading the following: Assignment in Brittany, River of Stars, and The Martian War: A Thrilling Eyewitness Account of the Recent Invasion As Reported by Mr. H.G. Wells.

Just finished reading: People of the Black Sun: A People of the Longhouse Novel, Four Blood Moons: Something is About to Change, Evolving Toward Peace: Awakening the Global Heart, and Above SuspicionThe Stonecutter

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Beth wrote: "I finally finished reading Anna Karenina, a classic by Leo Tolstoy. I want to watch the movie with Kyra Knightly, and I thought I should read the book first. It was a long, slow slo..."

an excellent review Beth..I agree that the book was somewhat emotionally distant and quite slow at times

[Barbara]

I started Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson. It's amusing - snippets of funny incidents from her life.

[Barbara]

Beth wrote: "I finally finished reading Anna Karenina, a classic by Leo Tolstoy. I want to watch the movie with Kyra Knightly, and I thought I should read the book first. It was a long, slow slo..."

You're right Beth, that fiction writing is much leaner today, which I like. I don't have patience for a lot of description and political diatribes. I remember, though, being mesmerized when I read Anna Karenina (a long time ago)- I think because the characters rang true to me. I felt Anna's actions stemmed from her (ultimately tragic) overwhelming obsessive love for Vronsky. I think that kind of emotion really happens for some peoople.

[Russell]

For the past several weeks I was reading Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy. I chose this book, first, because it was a gift; secondly, because Clancy is great when it comes to military subject matter. This was important for me since I'm researching subject matter for my upcoming thriller. However, to be honest with you, I'm halfway through and the story just isn't well written. I've tried over and over to give it a chance, but I feel like I'm on walking on a treadmill with crutches--the story just isn't going anywhere. I've given up on it and decided to put it aside.

[Barbara]

I finished Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson. I liked the first part of the book which was mostly stories about the author's family and childhood. These were amusing. After that the book went downhill, relating long, not so interesting anecdotes about activities that seemed purposely engineered for a blog (or book). Just not as funny as I'd expected. 2 stars for me.

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB]

Russell wrote: "For the past several weeks I was reading Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy. I chose this book, first, because it was a gift; secondly, because Clancy is great when it comes to military sub..."

Russell, I think that perhaps since that is a later book by Clancy, the same amount of research and effort that went into his earlier books was not expended. There is also a co-writer..I am sure he is a fine writer, yet who knows how much of the book he wrote and how much Clancy wrote. For even the best writers, it has to be very hard to completely emulate another author, especially a Clancy.