What Did You Just Finish, What Are You Reading Now & What Books Have You Brought Home Recently? (Spoilers Possible) Showing 901-950 of 1,086

[Cheryl S.]

I'm all excited because my copy of "The Autobiography of Henry VIII With Notes by His fool, Will Somers" arrived yesterday from PaperBackSwap. Been wanting to read it for a long time.

Currently reading "Dark Angels" which is also historical fiction and finding it very good.

[Petra X]

I've just finished The Sense of an Ending. Julian Barnes' Booker Prize winning book. Absolutely astounding writing, unbelievably entertaining book, I can see why it won the prize.

I'm also about half way through Mortality which I can't bring myself to read more than a few pages of at a time because it is Christopher Hitchens dying and writing about it and it is just so sad. Also half way through The West End Front: The Wartime Secrets of London's Grand Hotels and, my handbag book for queues, Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure.

I usually write a lot of reviews but I didn't write a single one last week, just been reading a lot. I have to get round to it before it feels like a task.

[peg]

Sense of an Ending is on my list. West End Front sounds interesting, too.

[Petra X]

Sense of an Ending is astonishingly good, West End Front sadly, is a great deal less so. Cover seduced me.

[Florence (Lefty)]

Petra X wrote: "Sense of an Ending is astonishingly good, West End Front sadly, is a great deal less so. Cover seduced me."

Petra, really happy to hear you say that. The writing just blew me away, thought the story was terrific as well. What a great book.
Peg, so glad you're reading it.

[Petra X]

I've just written a comment on your review of it, Florence. Essentially we did not see this book in the same way.

[peg]

I haven't started it yet, Florence, but I will be soon.

[Marian]

I finished "Lionheart" by Sharon Kaye Penman. it is an historical novel about King Richard I of England. The author includs portraits of his wife, Mother (Eleanor of Aquitain) It is a very readable book as Richard the Lionhearted lived an exciting life, going on crusades to get the Moslems out of the holy land. There will be a sequel to this book (his life is to adventures to fit into 1 volume) I am looking forward to it.

I also finished Louise Erdrich's "A Plague of Doves"
her usual well written story that features the Objibe tribe of N. Dakota & Minnesota.

A quick read was "The Dutch" a mystery by Les Roberts who writes a series of mysteries set in Cleveland OH which is where I was born & went to school. (and also learned gardening)

[Florence (Lefty)]

peg wrote: "I haven't started it yet, Florence, but I will be soon."

Hope you'll let us know what you thought of it once you are done.

[peg]

I definitely will :-)

[Cheryl S.]

I really need to read some of Louise Erdich's books. I believe she generally writes about my neck of the woods and I enjoy reading books based here. Our local Native American population is Ojibway so that topic is always interesting to me too.

[peg]

I read two of Erdrich's books recently: The Round House and The Master Butchers' Singing Club. The setting in both novels is North Dakota. The Round House is about a modern-day Ojibway family but TMBSC centers around German Immigrants in North Dakota after WWI. There is a subplot about Native Americans in TMBSC. I enjoyed both books. Her writing is great.

Now I am reading A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris. Dorris was married to Louise Erdrich and he has quite an interesting bio. The writing in this novel is amazing. The story is about three generations of Native American women who take turns telling the same story from their own perspective.

[Cheryl S.]

I have read "Master Butcher's" and did enjoy it. I read "Yellow Raft" years ago and can't remember anything about it. I'll have to look for some more of her titles on PaperBackSwap.

I'm about 1/4 done with "Henry VIII" (over 900 pages) and enjoying it so far. Very readable and I'm finding it fascinating.

[Sheila]

Cheryl S. wrote: "I'm about 1/4 done with "Henry VIII" (over 900 pages) and enjoying it so far. Very readable and I'm finding it fascinating.."

I read this book about 6 years ago and remember enjoying it very much. I agree, it was very readable. Have you read any other books by Margaret George? I read her book The Memoirs Of Cleopatra and it was also very good.

[Cheryl S.]

Sheila wrote: "Cheryl S. wrote: "I'm about 1/4 done with "Henry VIII" (over 900 pages) and enjoying it so far. Very readable and I'm finding it fascinating.."

I read this book about 6 years ago and remember enjo..."

I did read "Cleopatra" and enjoyed that one too. George really has a knack for historical fiction, makes you feel like you're right there in the room with the characters.

[Cheryl S.]

Finished "Henry VIII" which I enjoyed immensely. I've decided I need to walk away from the Brit historical fiction for a while as I'm starting to develop a Brit accent.

Now I'm reading a novel entitled "The Orphan Master's Son" which is about North Korea and is totally bone chilling. I have no idea how much of it is true and almost quit reading at one point, but the writing is good enough that I've kept going.

[Petra X]

I've just listened to Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl on Librivox (free). The book is amazing, it is very interesting and a depiction of the life of black people, some of whom were slaves, some of whom were free at the time. The narrator was excellent and the chapters just the right length 6 - 12 mins. An absolutely brilliant book, entertaining too.

[Florence (Lefty)]

I'm just finishing - roller-coaster of a read, great suspense.

[Cheryl S.]

I had to quit reading "The Orphan Master's Son" as I was afraid I would start having nightmares. I know conditions are bad in North Korea but I couldn't decide if this book as written as a satire or not. At any rate the brutality was beyond what I can handle and I do not recommend this book even though the writing is good.

For a total change of pace I'm now reading "The Crazy Ladies of Pearl Street" by Trevanian and am enjoying it a great deal. Young boy growing up in the 1930s slums of Albany, New York. Humor and nostalgia and a interesting story.

[Cheryl S.]

Finished "Crazy Ladies" and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys good writing and a great coming of age story. There's an urban legend this is actually a fictionalized memoir of the author's real life. Trevanian is a pen name for a mysterious author who wrote under several different pseudonyms but who is most famous for his work written as Trevanian.

[peg]

I put Crazy Ladies in my "to-read" pile, Cheryl. It really looks interesting. Thanks for the tip.

[Cheryl S.]

peg wrote: "I put Crazy Ladies in my "to-read" pile, Cheryl. It really looks interesting. Thanks for the tip."

Hope you like it as much as I did.

[Cheryl S.]

Just finished "Love Medicine" and ended up enjoying it. It's quite confusing in the beginning as the family relationships are quite entangled, but I did like Erdrich's writing style and will probably look for more of her books.

[Cheryl S.]

Read " The Banyan Tree" by Christopher Nolan. Nolan is an Irish author who because of being deprived of oxygen at birth is mute and paralyzed. He writes by having someone hold his head while he taps at a typewriter with a stick attached to his forehead. When I first started reading the book I was unsure if I would finish as the prose seemed so florid and convoluted. I'm so glad I kept going and ended up loving the book.

Also read P.D. James' "Devices and Desires" an Adam Dalgliesh mystery and also quite good.

[Cheryl S.]

I know this book has been out for quite a while and has been popular but I just got around to it. I rarely give a book 5 stars unless I can't but it down and that's what happened when I read this one. "Half Broke Horses" .

Now I'm reading "The Tin Horse" which a friend of mine got free from Random House Circle of Friends. These are books that haven't come out yet but are sent out free to Circle members only asking the member to write a review. I just joined myself. My friend says she usually gets a couple of free books a year. So far I'm enjoying the book.

[Jaye]

I just finished A Week in Winter .
I'm really sad she's gone and this is her last book. I think it would have been great to hear more of the guests of the stone house.
And now I dream of a vacation to the coast of Ireland.

[Cheryl S.]

Jaye wrote: "I just finished A Week in Winter.
I'm really sad she's gone and this is her last book. I think it would have been great to hear more of the guests of the stone..."

Love Maeve Benchy and have not read this one. I'll have to look for it.

[Cheryl S.]

Just read "just here trying to save a few lives, tales of life and death from the ER". . Found this very interesting as I spent my last 10 working years working nights in an ER. Not for everyone, but I enjoyed it.

[Petra X]

Were you a nurse Cheryl?

I read Just Here Trying to Save a Few Lives: Tales of Life and Death from the ER as well. I gave it three stars.

[Lára]

Soon, I´ll be reading


I have them at home so I just need to find time to read them

[Jaye]

Lára wrote: "Soon, I´ll be reading


I have them a..."

I tried some green Zinnias one year. I wasn't crazy about them. Wait. Maybe the whole thing was a dream.
Okay, I either tried them or I dreamed them, either way I wasn't crazy about them.

[Florence (Lefty)]

Jaye wrote: "Lára wrote: "Soon, I´ll be reading


..."

As far as green flowers go, Lady's Mantle is the only one I've grown. Love the way rainwater forms beads on the leaves. Didn't think I'd like a green flower this much but it's turned out to be such a useful filler plant, good as a break between hot colours. Self seeds quite a bit though. I also grow the smaller version Alchemilla alpina in my rock garden, it's really pretty & delicate looking but tough as nails. I suspect you'll come across some nice ideas worth trying - let us know:)

[Florence (Lefty)]

Cheryl S. wrote: "I know this book has been out for quite a while and has been popular but I just got around to it. I rarely give a book 5 stars unless I can't but it down and that's what happened when I read this ..."

You're always talking about books I'm planning on reading:) Friend of mine just finished The Tin Horse: A Novel and loved it. Half Broke Horses I've been planning to get too for ages:) Are you on a horse theme? Ignore me, I'm just being silly.

[Petra X]

Florence wrote: "Jaye wrote: "Lára wrote: "Soon, I´ll be reading
[bookcover:Bloom-Again Orchids: Tips and Tricks for Glorious Displays Year After Y..."

Pretty plant, a pretty name, Alchemilla, too.

[Cheryl S.]

Petra X wrote: "Were you a nurse Cheryl?

I read Just Here Trying to Save a Few Lives: Tales of Life and Death from the ER as well. I gave it three stars."

Nope, X-ray Technologist doing a lot of trauma cases and Cat Scans.

[Cheryl S.]

Jaye wrote: "Lára wrote: "Soon, I´ll be reading


..."

They've never appealed to me either. Zinnias come in so many gorgeous colors and look good mixed in with other green leafy plants so I could never figure out what I would do with green ones.

[Cheryl S.]

Just finished "Coming Home" by Rosemunde Pilcher . How I missed reading this over the years I'll never know. Gave it 5 stars. Brit, WWII, family and romance. Like it as much if not more than "The Shell Seekers".

[Petra X]

Cheryl S. wrote: "Petra X wrote: "Were you a nurse Cheryl?

I read Just Here Trying to Save a Few Lives: Tales of Life and Death from the ER as well. I gave it three stars."

Nope, X-ray Technologist doing a lot o..."

That must have been quite traumatic, but very interesting.

[peg]

I have been re-reading bits of Egg and Nest. It is a beautiful book that features photographs of bird eggs. I found this gem at a photography exhibit.

[Jaye]

peg wrote: "I have been re-reading bits of Egg and Nest. It is a beautiful book that features photographs of bird eggs. I found this gem at a photography exhibit.

"

I just ordered this from the library. Thank you for pointing it out to me, I never would have known about it despite having read Owls Head: On the Nature of Lost Things .

I just started reading: The Good House

[peg]

I will have to find Owls Head now. Thanks for mentioning it, Jaye.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

I've been reading a haunting novel set in 1950's Louisiana, The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow. Really enjoying it!

[Cheryl S.]

"The Carousel" by Rosamunde Pilcher . Quick read, nice story.

[Florence (Lefty)]

peg wrote: "I have been re-reading bits of Egg and Nest. It is a beautiful book that features photographs of bird eggs. I found this gem at a photography exhibit.

"

Peg, that looks beautiful. Will check at my library, hope they have it.

[Cheryl S.]

Reading "Behind the Beautiful Forever" . Some of it is pretty hard to read. Anyone who has seen "Slum Dog Millionaire" will have a good idea of the content.

[Florence (Lefty)]

I've just finished , had to see for myself what the '2nd funniest book' according to Goodreads was like, really enjoyed it. I had needed something a little light after Well worth reading if the topic interests you at all.
Now I'm reading

[Kimberly]

Florence, I just purchased Bury Me Standing based upon your recommendation. It looks good.

[Florence (Lefty)]

Kimberly wrote: "Florence, I just purchased Bury Me Standing based upon your recommendation. It looks good."

I thought it was, Kimberly. Really hope you let me know what you thought of it once you've read it.

[Cheryl S.]

"Behind the Beautiful Forevers" is the single most depressing book I have ever read. Won a Pulitzer and I can see why because the stories are appalling but the writing is terrific. Narrative non-fiction. Having a difficult time deciding how many stars to give it.

[Petra X]

I gave Behind the Beautiful Forevers 3 stars. I was neither that impressed or depressed. I'm not sure what is the most depressing book I've ever read. Recently it would be The Emperor of All Maladies. I gave that 7 stars (out of 5). Depressing because there is never going to be a cure for cancer, it's built into us.

Over time maybe The House of Dolls. I read it when I was very young - it's about the forced prostitution of pretty young Jewish girls to 'service' the Nazis. I knew one of them. She was boss of the kitchen when I was a teenager on a kibbutz one summer. When you know someone who has been in the situation described in a book, it brings a whole new element, in this case, real horror every time we looked at her.