What are you reading right now? (SEE NEW THREAD) Showing 1,301-1,350 of 7,588

[Chrissie]

Jeanette, this is covered in the book too. School covers extracurricular activities that would not be considered regular school topics in the States. The pressure IS extreme. Suicide is high in Japan. Japanese MUST preform up to standard....... When we were there the topic of conversation was a train employee who was involved with a train arriving with a one minute delay. He was so ashamed he commited suicide!

[Lisa]

I just finished a really quick read: Aldabra, The Tortoise Who Loved Shakespeare for the Children's Books group's International Book Club July discussion and I'm about to start Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, which is the YA Book Club's July selection. I keep taking breaks from my current novel, Cutting for Stone, which I do like. I own it though and the others are library books with due dates.

[[deleted user]]

Chrissie wrote: "Jeanette, this is covered in the book too. School covers extracurricular activities that would not be considered regular school topics in the States. The pressure IS extreme. Suicide is high in Jap..."

I heard somewhere that the biggest pressure is to get into a prestigious college (akin to Harvard or Yale). Once this is achieved, the students, supposedly, take it easy. Their admittance to a top college is their meal ticket to a good job. The whole society is living under a lot of pressure (their are 8 million people in Tokyo). I would hope things could change for the better, but I think there are a lot of traditions in Japan that are still very important to the culture and the work ethic, too.

I am looking forward to reading the book, and your review, afterward.

[Kathy]

Lisa wrote: "I just finished a really quick read: Aldabra, The Tortoise Who Loved Shakespeare for the Children's Books group's International Book Club July discussion and I'm about to start [book..."

I want to read Aldabra, Lisa. The Children's Book Group is what prompted me to add it to my to-reads. Did you like it? I enjoyed [book:Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac|5559333], but I Zevin's Elsewhere is still my favorite by her.

[Kathy]

Jeannette wrote: "I have a friend whose 14 year old son is in Japan right now for the summer. She said he is in school from 9am until 7pm, every day. So, I guess the school is very important to the children. I ca..."

Wow, that's a long school day!

[Lisa]

Kathy, Yes, I've heard good things about Elsewhere and it's on my to-read shelf, but Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac is for a July book club read so...

I did like Aldabra, The Tortoise Who Loved Shakespeare, a lot, but it's one of the weirdest books I've ever read. A very quick read. Still mulling it over, but probably won't change my review.

[Chrissie]

Jeanette, the book also says that the pressure is to get into university. Once in University they "play". All that has gone through my mind is how do you define play? Maybe it only feels like play since the hell they went through to get there makes the university life appear simple! Look what the Japanese have achieved using their tremendously hard work ethic. Escape through suicide is NOT a new phenomenon in Japan. It too is a part of the culture. Anyhow the book remains good.....

[Kathy]

Lisa wrote: "Kathy, Yes, I've heard good things about Elsewhere and it's on my to-read shelf, but Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac is for a July book club read so...

I did like A..."</i>

I think you'll enjoy Memoirs, Lisa. I really like Zevin's writing. I have one by her that I checked out from the library entitled [book:Margarettown, but I haven't gotten to it yet. Have you heard of it? I need to check on the reviews here on goodreads about it.

[[deleted user]]

I have Margarettown on my bookshelf (the real life one, not goodreads), but still haven't read it. It was an impulse buy at some point.

[Laura]

I am reading The Shipping News. So far so good.

[Lisa]

Kathy wrote: "Margarettown, but I haven't gotten to it yet. Have you heard of it? I need to check on the reviews here on goodreads about it."

No, I hadn't heard of it, just Elsewhere and Memoirs. I'm loving Memoirs. I hadn't expected quite so much humor, and I'm enjoying being amused.

[Joy]

I'm reading Every Last One by Anna Quindlen. It has taken me awhile to get into it. I'm also reading a used book I bought in London last month and I really like it.

[[deleted user]]

I'll be interested to hear your opinion of Every Last One, Joy. I just finished that a bit ago.

[Lisa]

Christine wrote: "I'll be interested to hear your opinion of Every Last One, Joy. I just finished that a bit ago."

Me too.

[Mona]

Lisa wrote: "Christine wrote: "I'll be interested to hear your opinion of Every Last One, Joy. I just finished that a bit ago."

Me too."

Me 3

[Joy]

Mona wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Christine wrote: "I'll be interested to hear your opinion of Every Last One, Joy. I just finished that a bit ago."

Me too."

Me 3"

I'll be sure and let you all know..:)

[Chrissie]

I finished The Syringa Tree: A Play, which I did like. However I recommend insteadThe Syringa Tree: A Novel. You get a very moving description of the race and class conflicts and life in South Africa during the apartheid, ie 1960-1970s. I was quite amazed how with so little, just the bare dialogue and scene descriptions of lighting and sounds with barely no usage of props I felt the fear and tension of the times. I wish I had read the novel, but ordered the wrong book!

Now I am reading The Man-Eater of Malgudi. Why? Well because this contemporary Indian writer is highly acclaimed in his country. It takes place in a ficticious city in southern India. It is pure fiction. I am wondering if I haven't made a mistake......... The characters are quirky so lets hope they provide entertainment. Most people like pure fiction - I don't! It IS important to get out of the old grooves. Anyway it is short. I have read 34 of 174.

[Beth]

Joy wrote: "I'm reading Every Last One by Anna Quindlen. It has taken me awhile to get into it. I'm also reading a used book I bought in London last month and I really like it."

Joy, I'm reading this right now, too. I don't know if it's just me but it seems kind of "wordy." She seems to give a lot of "backstory."

[Kathy]

Christine wrote: "I have Margarettown on my bookshelf (the real life one, not goodreads), but still haven't read it. It was an impulse buy at some point."

I'm way too familiar with impulse buys, Christine. LOL! I am going to try and read Margarettown before it's due back to the library.

[Kathy]

I loved Every Last One by Quindlen. She does tend to give a lot of back story, Beth, but as the story progressed, I thought it really aided in the character development and subsequent story line. I hope you both, Joy and Beth, end up with a favorable opinion, but I, too, am anxious to know what you all think.

[Beth]

Kathy, I really like Anna Quindlen and I do like Every Last One. I figured that the all the back tracking she does must play into the story later on. However, I did hear that there were negative ("professional") reviews on this one. After I finish the book I'm going to look for them.

[Chrissie]

Here I am again. I tried The Man-Eater of Malgudi. I really did. I read about 70 of 173 pages and I find it a total bore. Also annoying. The characters are so stupid. A taxidemist has invited himself to live above a printer's shop. The taxidermist doesn't have to pay rent. Everybody is really annoyed b/c the dead bodies smell awfull and in fact pets are being shot. So why can't the printer just tell the taxidermist to get out? Then people start thinking the printer is at fault - why would he let the taxidermist stay there without paying rent?! There must be a connection between the two.... The inability of the printer to kick the guy out is just so feeble. I find it a big waste of time reading this. If a book is so bad I cannot continue , well then it only gets one star. I think it is terrible that this contemporary Indian writer is so highly acclaimed. He wins all sorts of prizes...... What should I learn from this? Don't read books/authors that win all sorts of prizes!

Now I will read Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire. This is more my cup of tea.

Why don't I learn? straight fiction usually bores me to pieces. At least with historical fiction, memoirs, biographies or non-fiction you learn something if the writing style turn out to be just OK!

[[deleted user]]

Chrissie wrote: "I finished The Syringa Tree: A Play, which I did like. However I recommend insteadThe Syringa Tree: A Novel. You get a very moving description of the race and class confl..."

I have that novel. It keeps looking at me with that "read me" look on it's face.

[Chrissie]

Christine, I WISH I had been more observant when I ordered the Syringa Tree. I wish I had read the novel, rather than the play!!! Lucky you! I think you will enjoy it. My review doesn't have any spoilers so check out how the original play was produced. Is production was very interesting.

[Maude]

Chrissie, you may already have read Paul Scott, The Raj Quartet, which is also about the end of the Empire. Outstanding. Book 1: The Jewel in the Crown, (2) The Day of the Scorpion, (3) The Towers of Silence, (4) A Division of the Spoils. There was also a BBC adaption of this series which was excellent. I will be interested to see how you like Indian Summer.

[Chrissie]

Maude, I feel so much more comfortable reading Indian Summer. I was getting so edgy reading The Man-eater of Malgudi...... Nevertheless I worry that I didn't really give it a fair chance since I gave up. But why should one heave to suffer through a book?! WHAT was I going to get out of it???? No, I did the right thing. Yes I did see the BBC adaption of the Raj Quartet, but to be honest it was ages ago and I don't remember much. Maybe I should read them...... I decided to add the first one to my mountain. I also want to read Burnt Shadows, which I have already purchased.

[Maude]

Chrissie, I just looked up Burnt Shadows and I would love to know what you think of it after you read it. If I can't stand a book or if I am so bored by it by the third chapter (or earlier), I don't read it. There are too many good books to slog thru one you don't like. You did the right thing!

[Laura]

Chrissie wrote: "Maude, I feel so much more comfortable reading Indian Summer. I was getting so edgy reading The Man-eater of Malgudi...... Nevertheless I worry that I didn't really give it a fair chance since I g..."

Chrissie, I am looking forward to read your comments on this book.

[Wendy]

I am reading a mystery set in 1857 New York called 31 Bond Street by Ellen Horan. It's really good so far!

[Lee, Mod Mama]

I just finished a book set in a small farming community just before and during WWI that I think some of you would enjoy. It's called The Last River Child. The writing and the story was very clean (as in not wordy) and sweet.

[Chrissie]

Maude I will write a review. So far I like it and it has maps:0) !

[[deleted user]]

Starting The Case of the Missing Servant ...just finished

[Beth]

Every Last One by Anna Quindlen is getting really good now. I'm having trouble putting it down and I'm sure I'll finish it today.

[Chrissie]

Maude, dam, I wrote a bit about the book and even copied a portion so others could see the style. THEN GR didn't function and what I had written was lost. When this happens I just cannot do it all over again.Grrrrrrrrr It is so hot here, over 30°C, ie over 90°F I think. Oscar is suffering the worst. And my husband. I like hot weather...... I don't freeze!

[[deleted user]]

Chrissie wrote: "Maude, dam, I wrote a bit about the book and even copied a portion so others could see the style. THEN GR didn't function and what I had written was lost. When this happens I just cannot do it all ..."

That drives me crazy, losing a quite eloquent post to a system glitch! The text just goes "poof" from the screen and my brain! I have started writing reviews in a temporary document and then copying it into Goodreads. I don't lose it that way.

Europe is having another hot summer! My German in-laws were complaining, too. :(

[Chrissie]

Jeanette, I seem to be the only one who likes hot weather - all winter I freeze. But Oscar has a TERRIBLE time. I have been thinking about talking about how heat affects dogs on the animal thread....

But I am complaining about the stupid GR system glitch. Well, I still love GR so I am not that mad.

[Maude]

Crissie, I totally understand your "glitch", since I have had such losses myself and it is infuriating when you wrote some perfect prose! The films of the Raj Quarted follow the books exactly - I love both the films and the books. Trust the BBC for that. I shudder to think what Hollywood would have done with it. Do you not have air conditioning or do you prefer not to have it on? What kind of dog is Oscar? I just finished reading (a few days ago) Morgan's Run by Colleen McCullough and I came to despise her in the last chapter - it was all I could do to finish it. Not because it was bad, but because I was having a reading meltdown!! I have been reading so much and the book NEVER seemed to end!!!! However, I am now over my snit and Colleen is back in my good graces, but I had to take a few days off. When you start hating the author, Chrissie, it is time to take a break!

[Chrissie]

Maude, nice you understand the temper I was in..... Yeah BBC productions are marvelous. Personally I like French movies best. I just actually feel more at home in the mileu they draw and the wy the character interact. It has been years since I lived in America. this is again how come I fit nowhere. Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire is good b/c it draws a complete picture of the characters that shaped the history. It starts with Mohandas Gandhi and nnow Jawaharlal Nehru. You meet them as kids. It is so interesting that you never think - yuck this is dry history. It is too personal for that.

You know I usually never choose to read lots of books by the same author all at once. They usually are similar in some funny way and I get bored. Actually I like hopping around into different places through my books. I haven't read a Collen McCullough in ages. I really am not drawn to read her again. i am always thinking what if I am missing some NEW author!!!

No, we don't have air-conditioning. This is an old house built in the 1800s..... I just open up all the windows and let the air blow through. It is Oscar and my husband who complain, not me! Oscar is 14 months and a big curly coated retriever. I have pictures of him on my profile page. I am smilinjg b/c I am thinking of the cute puppy pictures there too. There is also a picture of Skye, who died last year.

[Maude]

Chrissie, I just made a few comments re Oscar on another thread and I thought he was a little dog - I don't know why - I think I thought of Skye and just put "terrier" after it without thinking! Some of my comments are not appropriate given his size. He sounds quirky and funny and loving and special and a dog who knows his own mind! I am going to look at his picture now.

[Joy]

I'm on page 218 of Every Last One. It's hard to talk about without giving anything away. A lot of it has taken me completely by surprise...

[Manybooks]

Jeannette wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Maude, dam, I wrote a bit about the book and even copied a portion so others could see the style. THEN GR didn't function and what I had written was lost. When this happens I just ..."

One of the main problems in Europe is that many (actually most) of the older buildings do not have air conditioning. Also, many of the older buildings are designated as historic sites, so you cannot simply add an AC system. My aunt in Hannover really hates the heat, but she lives in a beautiful old 19th century building and is not allowed to change much, especially to the outside of the building. Gosh, I hope it does not get as hot as it did two or three years ago; what happened in France with so many heat-related fatalities was horrific.

[Lisa]

Joy wrote: "I'm on page 218 of Every Last One. It's hard to talk about without giving anything away. A lot of it has taken me completely by surprise..."

Oh, I knew what was coming. But, there were a couple pages when I thought I was wrong when the mother was confused.

[Manybooks]

Chrissie wrote: "Jeanette, I seem to be the only one who likes hot weather - all winter I freeze. But Oscar has a TERRIBLE time. I have been thinking about talking about how heat affects dogs on the animal thread....."

When we still had our Rottweiler, he really hated the hot weather as well (a black coat does not help). Luckily, my parents live in Alberta (on a farm) and the basement is always cool. So, Kipper would hide in the basement until it cooled down in the evenings, smart dog (and, not at all a monster, Rottweilers are fine if they are trained correctly and not inbred).

[[deleted user]]

Kipper is a great name! Was he named for the storybook,
Kipper?

I have met several lovable Rottweilers. The lady that owns the kennel has one. Big dog, loves everyone!

[Chrissie]

Maude, yeah he is big and WONDEFUL!!!

Gundula, people who think that all dogs of a certain races are bad, don't know what they are talking about. It is true you have to know your race and consciously make sure you train the dog appropriately. Oscar likes best lieing on the cool tiles in the entrance hall.

[Maude]

Chrissie, that is so true. Rottweilers and pit bulls are both wonderful dogs. Pit bulls have been called "nanny" dogs because they are so good with children. They get a bad rap because of these horrible people who teach them to fight other pit bulls which they don't want to do!! When Michael Vicks dog fighting ring was broken up, all but 2 0r 3 dogs were able to be placed in loving homes with children.

[Manybooks]

Jeannette wrote: "Kipper is a great name! Was he named for the storybook,
Kipper?

I have met several lovable Rottweilers. The lady that owns the kennel has one. Big dog, loves everyone!"

Our dog was a bit strange, but he was such a sweetheart as well. If you were sitting down at the table, he would actually drape himself over you. And, he was jealous of books and the newspaper (he would attempt to destroy those at times because he did not like it when we paid more attention to the books than to him). Oh, and he was jealous of the horses as well; he always wanted to be curried even though in the house, he did not like being brushed, and if we fed the horse a horse treat, of course Kipper wanted one as well. I don't think that he was named for any story book, as when we got the dog, we had only been in Canada for about a year (I think my mother said that the dog reminded her of a kippered herring, but I always wondered about that, there was certainly nothing fish-like about him, except that he loved to go swimming).

[Maude]

I always find it so amusing how big dogs wil climb up on you and try and get in your lap and legs are everywhere! My son's dog would squeeze up into a chair I was sitting in until he made sure he had a good seat on or by me! I sure did love that dog but he has been gone for about 3 years now.

[Chrissie]

Kipper sounds ADORABLE!!!! And I like the name too. Oscar lies always at my feet, and the chair has wheels so I have to be very careful. When he sits next to me he puts his foot on mine - to keep me in place. Well I simply don't understand people who cannot relate to dogs or at least pets. Maude, is it impossible to get another dog now?

[Manybooks]

Chrissie wrote: "Kipper sounds ADORABLE!!!! And I like the name too. Oscar lies always at my feet, and the chair has wheels so I have to be very careful. When he sits next to me he puts his foot on mine - to keep m..."

I really miss that dog. My parents have had other dogs since Kipper, but they were not nearly as personable as him; he had so many neat little tricks. And, he used to pout for days when he realised that I was going back to university, after summer holidays, Christmas etc., just seeing my suitcase made him upset (and it didn't make leaving home any easier, actually, it was the dog I missed, more than my parents, oops).