Modern Mommies discussion
About Books
>
What Are You Currently Reading?
I just finished An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. I think I am going to read a really old Carl Hiassen book--Lucky You. I trade books with some co-workers so I end up with a hodge podge of books. I also need to finish an Annie Lamott book--I really enjoy her musings so I don't want to reach the end!
Anna, Lucky You is one of my favorites. I found it to be completely hilarious. Let me know how it goes when you start it.
I see I'm a couple days behind. I finished "The Handmaid and the Carpenter" by Elizabeth Berg. This was okay read, not one of Berg's best. I rated it 3/5. I'm over half way hrough "Summer of my Amazing Luck" by Miriam Toews. I'm really enjoying this book and feel that I'm going to be surprised by the ending.
I just picked up The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb. I have wanted to read a book by him. They have been recommended to me. I hope to start this one this week.
Mona,I haven't read that one by Wally Lamb but I read "She's Come Undone." It was pretty good but it was an Oprah book so obviously it was somewhat depressing. I swear that woman doesn't like happy books.
I finished "Summer of my Amazing Luck" last night. Was an okay read, I rated it 3/5. This morning I started "The Book of Negeros" by Lawrance Hill.This book was recommended to me by my co-workers and has been given great reviews also on the Chapters Community Site.
Wendy,I'd be very interested in what you think of Book of Negroes. I have that on my TBR shelf.I've been reading This Charming Man and then will be tackling War and Peace.
Sherry I'll keep you posted as I'm only 25 pages in and I'm hooked.I'm hoping to get some major reading time in this weekend.
I just signed up for a book discussion at my local library. We are going to read "The Lace Reader." Has anyone read it? It sounded pretty interesting. The discussion is not until the 29th of January so I am not going to read it until after the first of the year so it will be fresh in my mind. It shouldn't take me more than 2 weeks to read it even if I have trouble getting through it. Usually I read a book in a few days to one week.
I just finished This Charming Man by Marian Keyes. Slow start but interesting look at alcohol addiction and abuse. Pretty weighty issues for chick-lit but I enjoyed it. Now on to War and Peace.
Amanda, I also love heartwarming holiday reads - I recently finished The Redbird Christams: A Novel by Fannie Flagg and really enjoyed it.
Right now I'm reading The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. So far (about 150 pages in) I am really enjoying it. As all the reviews have said, it's almost impossible to describe...sometimes gruesome, sometimes hilarious, often very weird. But I enjoy the writing style and the story has definitely sucked me in. Now if I could just find more time to read!
I'm looking forward to reading that one Jen. It's been on my TBR shelf almost from the time it's been out. Glad to hear it's good. I hear you on finding time to read though. I decided to tackle War and Peace during Christmas season and renovations in our home. What was I thinking?!!! I was tempted to put it aside for a time that is less hectic but the story has sucked me in so there's no turning back!
Sherry, I'm trying to tackle Anna Karenina, which I haven't started yet, but I am really looking forward it. If I enjoy it, I intend to read War and Peace next Christmas.
Oh I'd love to hear what you think of Anna Karenina! I've had that book on by TBR shelf forever!I'm doing '7 classics in a year' challenge in the coming year and I am tempted to put AK on it.
I'm still working on WaP. I think it's possible that I'll still be reading it as I grow old and need a walker to get around! It is like reading a soap opera. But I love it!
I'm half way through "The Book of Negroes"by Lawrence Hill. This is an amazing book to read, but things (Christmas shopping, wrapping, cards etc.) keep getting in the way of my reading time.
Wendy, I noticed you had posted the first paragragh of The Book of Negroes in TNBBC. That paragraph had me hooked enough to buy the book.It looks like a good one!Amanda,I was tempted to put WaP on hold and pull down something light from my TBR pile but I'm a little afraid that if I do I might not pick it up again. What was I thinking tackling this at the busiest time of the year!
Did you enjoy On Strike for Christmas?
Sherry wrote: "Wendy, I noticed you had posted the first paragragh of The Book of Negroes in TNBBC. That paragraph had me hooked enough to buy the book.It looks like a good one!Amanda,I was tempted to put WaP..."
Sherry I hope you enjoy this book as much as I am. I hope to finish over the weekend.
Sherry wrote: "Wendy, I noticed you had posted the first paragragh of The Book of Negroes in TNBBC. That paragraph had me hooked enough to buy the book.It looks like a good one!Amanda,I was tempted to put WaP..."
Sherry I hope you enjoy this book as much as I am. I hope to finish over the weekend.
I'm going to read AK in between other books, because it's so long and I think that it may be a good book to chip away at instead of attempting to read straight through - it's going to take me a long time.Sherry, I'm so happy to hear that you are enjoying War and Peace.
American Wife just came in at the library for me, too, this week so AK will likely be put on hold until I finish that one and one other that I started.
Thanks, Prettymisslara. I am so looking forward it!
A friend, literally, just handed me "One Thousand White Women" by Jim Fergus. She went on and on about how much she enjoyed it and about how everyone she has lent it to loved it as well. I am between books right at the moment so I am going to start it today so that I can get back to her.
I've heard good feedback on that one as well Shea. Let us know how you like it.I just finished American Wife, and it was a very good story. The Laura Bush angle is interesting, but I enjoyed the book for its own sake.
I'm now returning to Stones of Ibarra, which is about a couple who move to Mexico in the 1960s to try to re-establish a mining operation that the husband's grandfather had abandoned in 1910. It's very interesting to see the mix between American and Mexican cultures during that time period.
Shea wrote: "A friend, literally, just handed me "One Thousand White Women" by Jim Fergus. She went on and on about how much she enjoyed it and about how everyone she has lent it to loved it as well. I am bet..."One Thousand White Women is one of the best books I have ever read! Let me know what you think.
I just finished Blindness and really liked it. Very dark but thought provoking! I am currently reading Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy. It is a memoir and I am liking the writing style. I will let you know how it is.
Yay for Blindness! It does give a lot to think about.
I finished The World According to Garp today,which I loved and though I've been reading War and Peace I don't feel ready to jump back into that yet so I'm starting the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series.
Christine, I have the Snow in Havana book at home. Let me know how you like it.I just finished Stones for Ibarra and Like Water for Chocolate. Both were set in Mexico, which gave me a different perspective, since I haven't read a book set in Mexico in who knows how long.
I've put Anna K. off for a bit, because I really want to stick with one fiction, one non-fiction reads, and I don't want to tackle a super long fiction read at this time. I'll likely do that with the non-fiction read instead. Therefore, I'm starting Uglies, which is part of a 4-part series. It's YA science fiction, which is completely out of my comfort zone, but I am looking forward to reading it. I also intend to start Team of Rivals this week for my non-fiction read. I've had it for over a year now, and I figured that since it has been getting much attention in the press, because of Obama, that I would see what all the fuss is about.
I also have One Thousand White Women - it's on my nightstand. I'll admit that I started it but haven't finished it yet. I got distracted with all the pregnancy books I was reading and then never picked it up again after Mila was born. Right now I'm working through the Chronicles of Narnia - I've wanted to read them for a long time and I finally started. I've read 4 and have 3 to go. I guess when I'm done with them, I'll go back to One Thousand White Women. I'm glad to hear that people like it.
Carrie,Good work on the Chronicles. I read them aloud to my sons. I don't know that I would have been able to read all 7 if I was reading just for me. Some I definitely enjoyed more than others.
Some of them are definitely slower to get going, but they are so short that they go pretty quickly. The other series I'm really curious about is the Twilight series. A friend of mine is going to lone me the first two books. Hopefully I'll finish One Thousand White Women first, but who knows? I also just got The Book Thief from the library (I guess I'm sort of in to young adult books right now). How will I choose?
(Current mantra: I will discipline myself to finish Narnia before I read anything else...)
I am currently reading:
Death Dealer by Heather Graham
The Dead Room by Heather Graham
The Perfect Victim by I'm drawing a total blank!
ETA: Jay Bonansinga! is the author!lol
Death Dealer by Heather Graham
The Dead Room by Heather Graham
The Perfect Victim by I'm drawing a total blank!
ETA: Jay Bonansinga! is the author!lol
I finished Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris,which was a hoot and started book 2,living Dead in Dallas which has been pretty good so far as well. I also picked up War and Peace again after a rather lengthy hiatus but I don't imagine I'll get to far a long in it as I'll be reading all the Sookie Stackhouse books. They're just to good to put down!
Prettymisslaura, I started Uglies last night. The story seems promising and unique so I'm looking forward to seeing how this one turns out. I'm sure that your students will also find it very interesting. I'll continue to keep you posted :)
Hi everyone. I've just stumbled upon Project Gutenberg - you can download books for free. Has anyone used this? What did you think about it?
Jhera, I haven't used it, but one of my friends has, and she loves it. She downloads to her Kindle - do you have one of those? I do, and it's absolutely fabulous. It will make it so much easier for me to try and to get some type of reading in after the baby is born.
Sera,I don't have a Kindle yet and I'm very envious. :) My husband and I are saving for a down payment on a house and going to graduate school. If we bought Kindles, we'd be buying books left and right...goodbye house. But once we have the house, hello Kindle!
I just finished reading "The Lace Reader" by Brunonia Barry and I LOVED it. I read it for the book club at the local library and I am glad I did because I don't know if I would have found it on my own. The characters were so complex and it kept me guessing, which I love. I am so happy when I can't figure out a book before the end. I also finished "One Thousand White Women" yesterday and that was also very good, especially if you enjoy historical fiction. Now I am starting on a light read Suzanne Brockmann book...
Jhera, once you pass the initial cost of the Kindle (I was fortunate enough to receive one as a gift), the books are much more inexpensive than regular books, because you don't have shipping charges and since the books are e-books, there are no printing charges included in the cost of the book.Sara, I just finished American Wife, too, and absolutely loved it. Poisonwood Bible and Joy Luck Club are also two of my favorites.
Shea, let me know how you like Suzanne Brockmann's book. Someone gave me one of her books as a gift, but I haven't read it yet, and I'm not familiar with any of her work.
Those have been the same concerns I have had with the Kindle. When I first heard of them i thought the idea was awesome but the drawbacks out weigh the benefits for me.
I was a doubter, too, but no longer. In the marketing world, I would be what they call an early adopter, but in all fairness, I have two very good friends who were using it months before me and talked me into it, and I'm glad that they did. I've saved a bunch of money, have no storage issues, and there are opportunities to make notes, etc. Plus, it will be much easier to read when the baby comes, because the device doesn't need to be held in my hand to use.I also currently have 160 unread books in my home that I am working my way through so I still get to feel the pages. Plus, I joined the local library to get part of my "fix" there without spending money.
I understand that it wouldn't be right for everyone, but it is great to use. In fact, I've been reading some regular books right now, and I miss the ease of the Kindle.
Sera,I enjoyed the S. Brockmann book (Hawken's Heart aka It Came Upon a Midnight Clear) as I usually do. I have been reading her for a while. Among her many books she has two separate series that follow two different Navy SEAL teams. I have read several of each series. She is good about blending romance with action and intrigue and her characters are usually very likable. I like to read her when I am looking for something light that I can plow through.
I'm reading The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray and The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot. One of the other groups I belong to is doing a YA challenge this month.
Prettymisslaura, you are so funny. Believe it or not, I carry a phone for emergencies, but I rarely have it on so in that sense I understand :)Shea, the Brockman book that I have is Over the Edge. Have you read that one? It is part of one of the Navy Seals collections. My friends love her books. I may read this one for a challenge in one of my other clubs.
I am reading podcasting for dummies. I found the book alittle long but it did give the information I need.I have completed my first podcast. What would we do without books?
Regards,
YvonneW
Author Assistant
Yvonnew, I don't even want to think about what I'd do without books!I finished book 4 in the Sookie Stackhouse series and I'm moving onto book 5. I also will try to read Shakespeare's King Lear and Macbeth,both of which I've started. The Sookie books keep calling my name though and distracting me from my goals!(I don't mind though!)
Sera,Over the Edge is #3 in the Troubleshooters series (Seal Team 16). It was a good one. The first one I read was actually #6 and now I have gone back to read them in order. I will reread #6 next since I read it so long ago. Every book in the series can stand alone since each is a story about one of the team members. However, I still like to read books like these in order so I have all the background info on everyone and how they ended up who/where they are. I get really confused about which books go to which series of hers and what order they belong to so I go to suzannebrockmann.com to figure it out. Let me know if you enjoy her.
Amanda wrote: "CarrieI just finished the first book in the Twilight series a couple of weeks ago and will be starting book 2 soon. The books are pretty good, the story line sucks you in... (no pun intended). ..."
I finished The Book Thief over the weekend. I highly recommend it. It made me laugh and cry. I don't know what makes it a young adult book, really. It was a great story and narrated by death gives it a really interesting perspective. Let me know what you think of it after you read it.
I'm still trying to work through the Chronicles of Narnia. I'm at the beginning of The Horse and His Boy and then I only have one more. I may start the Twilight Series before I'm done with Narnia though.
Modern Mommies
Books mentioned in this topic
Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong--And What You Really Need to Know (other topics)Beyond the Sling: A Real-Life Guide to Raising Confident, Loving Children the Attachment Parenting Way (other topics)
The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth (other topics)
Screamfree Parenting: The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool (other topics)
Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Edie Meidav (other topics)Edie Meidav (other topics)
Heather Graham (other topics)
I'm now halfway through Voyager and I'm hoping to be finished all of them by the time we move next week. I've stopped eating and sleeping so I have more time to read. I think addicted is a mild form of what I've got!