Comfort Reads discussion
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What are you reading right now? (SEE NEW THREAD)
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Lauren
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Mar 22, 2011 02:10PM
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Here I am again. I will now start A Child al Confino: The True Story of a Jewish Boy and His Mother in Mussolini’s Italy. I have been lent this ebook for my Kindle. I wanted to see if this would work, and it did. Of course I like memoirs and reading about the Holocaust - this time in Italy. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... is my spoiler free GR review for Gortner's The Confessions of Catherine de Medici. I gave it four stars. It was rough for me at the beginning, but ended up a wonderful, exciting and informative book.
Christine wrote: "A friend just lent me The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
. I had no plans to read this book, but now I will probably start it..."I'm very curious about this book Christine, I will wait for your review on this book.
Christine wrote: "A friend just lent me The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I had no plans to read this book, but now I will probably start it..."Our book club read this book last year, it was very interesting. It got me interested in a whole new area of science. It was not something I would've chosen to read myself, however, I learned a lot of new things because of this book. Would like to know what you think of it when you are finished.
My last book Give Me Back My Legions! was a disappointment. I am hoping that my next book Sarah's Key is better.
John wrote: "My last book Give Me Back My Legions! was a disappointment. I am hoping that my next book Sarah's Key is better."I loved Sarah's Key, although I wasn't as wild about the last parts as I was about the bulk of the book, the first 1/2, 2/3, 3/4? But, I enjoyed the whole story.
Hohn, as so many books do now, there are two threads, a modern one and an historical one. I bet you will prefer the historical one. Everyone does. Why must authors junk up books with two time periods?! For me, although I very mush enjoyed the historical thread, the modern trhread was so darn crappy that I gave the book 1 star! An author is responsible for her whole book!
I am reading Water for Elephants right now.It is such a great book!I can't put it down!!My friend recommended it a few months ago but I was reading other things at the time.Can't wait till the movie comes out next month!
John, Like Chrissie, I enjoyed the historical time period much more than the modern one, but unlike Chrissie, I liked the modern one too. Not anywhere near as compelling but I found it interesting to see how everything intertwined.
Andrea, Water for Elephanst has so many interesting components - old age, the Depression, animals, circus life..... All these themes draw you in. I loved the ending. So enjoy. I am not so sure I want to rad her other books though. If an author does one excellent book, it doesn't mean all the rest will be as good.
Andrea wrote: "I am reading Water for Elephants right now.It is such a great book!I can't put it down!!My friend recommended it a few months ago but I was reading other things at the time.Can't wait till the movi..."
I loved the book, but I am not going to see the movie. The things that made me upset in the book would not be good for me in movie form. I hope it does well though and draws even more attention to this great book.
I loved the book, but I am not going to see the movie. The things that made me upset in the book would not be good for me in movie form. I hope it does well though and draws even more attention to this great book.
John wrote: "My last book Give Me Back My Legions! was a disappointment. I am hoping that my next book Sarah's Key is better."Sarah's Key is an amazing book - be forewarned.. have a box of tissues nearby and you may become hungry or thirsty through-out the novel.
Andrea wrote: "I am reading Water for Elephants right now.It is such a great book!I can't put it down!!My friend recommended it a few months ago but I was reading other things at the time.Can't wait till the movi..."I'm going to re-read this one before the movie comes out. I really want to see the movie - it should be a good one. I want to read the book sara gruen wrote about the apes. I wonder if that is any good.
I just started The Homecoming of Samuel Lake: A Novel. I'm reviewing it for the Amazon Vine program and it's release date is July 2011. Fifty pages in and I feel like I'm on a roller coaster emotionally. Great writing; hope it's this good all the way through.
I just started reading The Help for a book club. I like it so far and I have several friends who have just recently read it and they all highly recommend it. The Help
April wrote: "I just started reading The Help for a book club. I like it so far and I have several friends who have just recently read it and they all highly recommend it. The Help"April, That book is going to be my real world book club book for June. I've heard mixed things. Most people love it, but a few hate it or at least aren't wowed. It's been on my to-read list since it came out, so I'm happy I'll be reading it.
Laura wrote:I'm very curious about this book Christine, I will wait for your review on this book.
"
My daughter (15 year old) picked it up off of my stack last night and started reading it while she was waiting for me to do something. She was into it immediately. I have no idea how I will feel about it, but it does sound interesting.
"
My daughter (15 year old) picked it up off of my stack last night and started reading it while she was waiting for me to do something. She was into it immediately. I have no idea how I will feel about it, but it does sound interesting.
I am about 3/4 the way through Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy. I'm enjoying it very much. Lots of characters from her earlier novels. It is set in a heart clinic at a Dublin hospital. Whenever the characters go out to eat, it's to Quentins. I do love her writing.
I just finished One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, for me a perfect comfort book, and I'm about to add it to our shelves if it's not already there.Later today I'm planning to start Moloka'i, my April book club book. I've been trying to get the group to read it for a long time, so hopefully they'll like it, and hopefully I'll like it.
I'm reading The Secret Sharer. I've never read anything by Conrad, and someone recommended this one as a good starting point.
I am currently reading Mine Is the Night: A Novel I have to get my hands on the book for my April book club read A Novel Bookstore but I can't seem to find it anywhere. I'm hoping to find it soon at my bookstore so I can read it on time. It sounds like an interesting read. I have several other books TBR also.. I'm supposed to be completing a 100 books read by the end of the year challenge. I decded a 100 books I've never read before by the end of the year challenge. This is going to be a lot harder then I thought. I'm only on book 30.. so quite a bit of reading left to do. Book club helps - they almost always choose at least three things I've never read before.
Oh Yes, I forgot to say - I finished The Confessions of Catherine de Medici and here is my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...I disliked the the portryal of love as it was presented in the book, but by the end I was rooting for Catherine and had learned a lot. The author did an excellent job of teachig a very complicated time period and doing it in a manner that pulled the reader in. I ended up giving the book 4 stars.
Then I read A Child al Confino: The True Story of a Jewish Boy and His Mother in Mussolini’s Italy and here is my review of that: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/.... Spoiler free as usual! Nobody classifies this as a young adult book. I do. I think a boy of 10-14 would go bananas for this book. It is not bad for adults either. I llearned a lot about the specifics of Italian racial laws in WW2. I do recommend the book. Maybe it should have gotten four stars rather than three.
Now I am reading Thanks to My Mother and have started a running spoiler-free review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
At the beginning I was confused about who was who and had to start over a second time writing down all the family members. This was a bit tedious. In retrospect, maybe this wasn't necessary. From around page 60 the tempo took off and it became very exciting and moving. I have read about half. This and the last book have wonderful photos.
Lisa wrote: "I just finished One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, for me a perfect comfort book, and I'm about to add it to our shelves if it's not already there.Later today I'm planning to start ..."
Love, love, love Moloka'i!!!
Kathy, I'm loving Moloka'i so much! Still early in the book but it's wonderful. And thank goodness there is some (unexpected for me) humor.
I'm not sure that I've listed the last two books I've read here. After reading Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden last month, I had to go back and read her first one, The House at Riverton, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I just did finish These Things Hidden and thought it was a great read, too. Now, I have to take a look at my list or lists (lol) and decide what's next. I fear that my recent shopping spree at the Border's store going out of business is going to alter any previous plans.
Lisa wrote: "Kathy, I'm loving Moloka'i so much! Still early in the book but it's wonderful. And thank goodness there is some (unexpected for me) humor."So glad you are loving it, Lisa. I have Brennert's Honolulu, too, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Some people have said that it is good, but it's not as good as Moloka'i. I shouldn't let that put me off, so I'm going to try to get to it by this summer at the latest.
Kathy, It's so hard when an author has had a masterpiece. If I continue to like this as much throughout, I will put Honolulu on my shelves.
Lisa wrote: "Kathy, It's so hard when an author has had a masterpiece. If I continue to like this as much throughout, I will put Honolulu on my shelves."It is hard, makes you afraid that the next one can't possibly live up to the first one you read.
I am drooling over your both enjoying Moloka'i so much!
Chrissie wrote: "I am drooling over your both enjoying Moloka'i so much!"Chrissie, When it comes to Kindle, get it, pronto. Of course, I'm only about 1/3 the way through. So I can't yet vouch for the whole book.
It does exist in Kindle format, but is not available to Europeans. We may not even borrow it for two weeks, from an American who buys it.ETA I have written to Amazon and requested that they add a button so that buyers wo want a book in the Kindle format can express their wish AND that it must be possible to let it be known the book should be available also in Europe. I pointed out I have poor vision and that this is why it was so very important to me. I also asked if they want me to send them a message for every darn book that is NOT available? They might be drowned in messages........
Chrissie wrote: "It does exist in Kindle format, but is not available to Europeans. We may not even borrow it for two weeks, from an American who buys it.ETA I have written to Amazon and requested that they add..."
I like the last part of the message, Chrissie, maybe that will make them get their collective butts in gear. It really is too bad that so many of the books are not available in Europe or for Europeans yet. ALL books should be available for everyone in all formats (globally), just like all DVDs should be of one region (I cannot watch half of the DVDs I want because I cannot easily play German or British DVDs in Canada unless I have a special kind of DVD player). Growwwwlllll!!
I just finished Thanks to My Mother. I recommend it to just about everybody! So why three stars? Well, I have explained in my GR review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...I will now start Smuggled. Why? Well because the book description drew me in. It also has a cool cover. I know this is particularly stupid since I am reading an egalley, but you sell a book by its cover too. It does play a role. Cross your fingers for me. Will my hunch prove right?
Gundula, our messages crossed eachother. :0) I kind of had some fun when I sort of implied that I would send them a message for every book I wanted to see in Kindle format. this could become quite a nuisance! Yes, it is such a pain when things do not work in all countries. Different electric outlets, different DVD systems, there are so many areas that should be globalized. Even within Europe differences occur from country to country. I like simplicity. Hey, why can't you and I get to decide on this :0)
Chrissie wrote: "Gundula, our messages crossed eachother. :0) I kind of had some fun when I sort of implied that I would send them a message for every book I wanted to see in Kindle format. this could become quite..."I like simplicity myself, especially since I am not that techno-savvy and find too much technology confusing and difficult. I would like to be able to decide on this myself as well, and I bet many others would as well :-)
Chrissie wrote: "It does exist in Kindle format, but is not available to Europeans. We may not even borrow it for two weeks, from an American who buys it."Chrissie, My wording was poor. I do know that. I meant available for you. I'm glad you wrote them and I also like everything you said. I hope that it hastens things along. Every Kindle edition should be available to anyone who has purchased a Kindle or has the Kindle app.
Lisa and Gundula, actually I do understand that publishing agreements must be followed. Hopefully, publishers will see that customers exist in Europe too :0) and so will make other agreements in the future. I do think it would be good if Amazon developed a system that would enable this message to get to the publisers in an expedient manner. This would be good for everybody. The publishers and amazon want to sell books. Customers want more ebooks available!
Lisa wrote: "Kathy, I'm loving Moloka'i so much! Still early in the book but it's wonderful. And thank goodness there is some (unexpected for me) humor."I hope you like Moloka'i as much I did Lisa.
Laura wrote: "I hope you like Moloka'i as much I did Lisa."Well, so far, I can't imagine that I'm not. LOVE it!
Laura and Lisa, I cannot figure out what is going on with the Kindle edition of Moloka'i! I am sure I saw that it was available in Kindle for Americans. Now I see it nowhere in the Kindle format. Maybe you have noted that I say different things about this, this is b/c I keep getting different information when I go to the book at Amazon! First I though I was making mistakes, now I believe they are changing information. I have received no response to my email concerning this book and the availability of other ebooks in Europe and the US. Always Amazon has answered my questions, but not this time! Laura, so happy you finally received Captain Corelli's Mandolin. It took three months!!! Crazy, I am sure I paid for air postage! Not boat.
I just looked for Molokai on amazon and found it for the US. But, it is not listed as a Kindle book on the UK site. I can't tell you more than that, but I hope it helps.
Jeannette wrote: "I just looked for Molokai on amazon and found it for the US. But, it is not listed as a Kindle book on the UK site. I can't tell you more than that, but I hope it helps."Jeanette, I posted my review of Molokai on the chat thread because it was being discussed there. I do hope you and Chrissie read this great book, too. One of my all-time favorites. I read it last year.
I'm reading Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier right now. I'm also listening to A Corner Of The Universe, a children's/young adult book by Ann M. Martin. Martin is a new favorite in children's books for me. I recently read A Dog's Life: Autobiography of a Stray by her and have Everything for a Dog that I've started with my granddaughter.
Well, I finished The Homecoming of Samuel Lake: A Novel and can't really classify it as a comfort read because there is a lot of abuse in it, it read like a dark Fannie Flagg ;-) So I'm on to the next Amazon Vine read by an author I really like Beyond Rain of Gold My suggestion is read Victor Villasenor's Rain of Gold first it's a great memoir that takes place in Mexico and California. Rain of Gold
Jeanette, so when you looked Moloka'i was available in the US in a Kindle format? It is so strange this info keeps changing. Sometimes it is listed as being available for US Kindle users and sometimes it is not available in Kindle format anywhere. I have never seen it listed availale in Europe. I am unsure if UK is a different market than Europe. Neither does Amazon answer my question! What I was thinking was to find someone in the US who has the Kindle and we test to see if I can borrow it for 2 weeks! It shouldn't work, but it can't hurt to try. If it works, Amazon will have allowed it. I will not be doing anything wrong. Kathy, you have it as a paper book right? I really DO want to read it, but I am NOT buying more ^paper books.
I looked again just now, too, and found it. Good luck!
Chrissie, Have you ever tried large print books? Would they work for you? They are heavy and expensive. They'd just be for what you can't get in Kindle format.
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