November: What Are You Reading?

[Sherry, Doyenne]

I just finished Dr. Haggard's Disease. It was quite strange. I enjoyed it for the most part, but I thought it overdid the "I'm in love and I'll never get over it" aspect. But the writing was good. I think it could have been shorter, and at 191 it was pretty short already.

[Marialyce]

I started War and Peace this morning.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

You're in for a ride. Do you have the P&V translation? Be sure to go see our discussion when you're done.

[toria (vikz writes)]

Marialyce wrote: "I started War and Peace this morning."

It's quite a long and demanding read. But, it's worth it. I love war and peace. I'm sure that you will too.

[Marialyce]

Sherry wrote: "You're in for a ride. Do you have the P&V translation? Be sure to go see our discussion when you're done."

I di Sherry.

Thanks, Vikz! I hope I will too!

[Pamela]

I'm reading The Women by T.C. Boyle. I love his short stories.

[K.B.]

The Magician by William Somerset Maugham.

[Steven]

I am just about done with and really enjoying Everlost by Neal Shusterman. I think I will definitely have to add him to my fav list.

[Shirley]

I just started the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. I wasn't sure if I would like it....I love it. This should keep me busy for awhile what with group reads interspersed.

[Lynn Dee]

I'm reading The Insufferable Gaucho by Roberto Bolaño and The Night Watch by Sarah Waters -- and am stalled on both for some reason. Probably just the election. :)

[Mary Anne]

I just started The Surrendered. So far, a very compelling read.

[Anne]

Starting LIKENESS by Tana French.

[Pamela]

I really like Tana French--enjoy!

[Hazel]

I'm finishing up Alan Bennett's Untold Stories and have just started Desperadoes, which is unusual historical fiction, written from the perspective of one of the Dalton gang.

[Wilhelmina]

Pamela wrote: "I really like Tana French--enjoy!"

I second that!

[Kat (A Journey In Reading)]

I am hoping to finish up Fall of Giants today or tomorrow.

[Sarah]

Over the weekend (when I was not luxuriating in a tattered chair at The Tattered Cover for HOURS by myself!), I read Man in the Woods by Scott Spencer. I picked up this author by accident (I mistook him for Scott Smith of The Ruins) and was happy I did. Very competent writer, great premise, and wonderful character development (although I thought he did a better job with some than others). A gentle man finds himself in a situation that draws out some violence in him, and the rest of the novel is how he deals with it and how it affects other people in his life. I will read more Scott Spencer. I bought his A Ship Made of Paper at TC. I have not been at TC for over a decade, and my return visit did not disappoint.

[Roxanne]

Lynn Dee wrote: "I'm reading The Insufferable Gaucho by Roberto Bolaño and The Night Watch by Sarah Waters -- and am stalled on both for some reason. Probably just the election. :)"

Lynn,
I also started both of the books. I wanted to like them - but stopped and put them down. Don't know why either - but I was surprised at how little I wanted to finish them after the first 75 or so pages.

[Roxanne]

I started Room. So far I am intrigued. A bit difficult with the child-ish talk, but there are moments of clarity and originality that keep me going. I have a feeling I will finishe it. I also started. Blue Nude, but I set it down at page 40 to start Room. So - between the two I have them for 14 days. Think I can finish them?

[Sara]

I actually read all of Night Watch, even though Waters usually loses me by the time I finish one of hers. Don't get me wrong: I think she is a wonderful writer, I just feel duped sometimes. In this case, I'm not sure the reverse timeline is totally successful.

I finished listening to The Blind Assassin, which was wholly satisfying. What a great experience. Have started listening to The House of Mirth, which I thought I'd never read, but now I'm not so sure. Working on a biographical essay, since it is rumored I will need to introduce the discussion, and Wharton is just endlessly fascinating for me.

Roxanne, I found Room to be quite a quick read once past the first 30 pages or so.

[Ruth]

Roxanne wrote: "I started Room. So far I am intrigued. A bit difficult with the child-ish talk, but there are moments of clarity and originality that keep me going. I have a feeling I will finishe i..."

I'll be interested in what you think of it.

[Marjorie]

I'm almost finished with Hag's Nook by John Dickson Carr (190 pp, 1933). A good creepy mystery for Halloween, set in rural England, about a family said to be cursed. Very well written.

Marge

[K.B.]

Marjorie wrote: "I'm almost finished with Hag's Nook by John Dickson Carr (190 pp, 1933). A good creepy mystery for Halloween, set in rural England, about a family said to be cursed. Very well written.

Marge"

He has never disappointed me. I haven't read that one yet, I'll have to look for it.

[Wilhelmina]

Sarah wrote: "Over the weekend (when I was not luxuriating in a tattered chair at The Tattered Cover for HOURS by myself!), I read Man in the Woods by Scott Spencer. I picked up this author by accident (I misto..."

I haven't read "Man In The Woods" yet, but I always find Scott Spencer to be a thought-provoking writer.

[Roxanne]

Ruth wrote: "Roxanne wrote: "I started Room. So far I am intrigued. A bit difficult with the child-ish talk, but there are moments of clarity and originality that keep me going. I have a feeling ..."

I'm almost finished with Room. For contemporary, popular fiction, I think it's a winner. However, that may not be saying a lot considering that I dont' seem to be able to finish much contemporary fiction, though God knows I try. Not perfect but some things that would be interesting to talk about.

I'll go to the book topic posts in CR to review.

[[deleted user]]

I started this last night. It seems to be interesting and the cover is beautiful !

[Sara]

I'm intrigued that so many are expressing appreciation for Scott Spencer. I never got over Endless Love--didn't buy it at all, not the least because it was set on the block I grew up on, and there are hideous factual errors (even in terms of continuity, i.e. a house crucial to the story is on one street in the first chapter, and another through the rest of the book) and then, well, the 18 page sex scene, with enough menstrual blood to drown a battleship (sorry, sorry)! :)

Now, I read it something like 30 years ago or more, so I know I have a rickety leg to stand on, but I've never been willing to try him again.

Am I just wrong on this? Is there a later one that I should not miss?

[Sarah]

Sara, I had no idea he was the author of Endless Love. I read that, too, about 30 years ago, and don't remember thinking much of it even then (I would have been in my teens). He must have gotten better, I guess. I really liked this one. Writing was not overblown, characters had depth...and no menstrual scenes. :)

[Sara]

Sarah, I was in my teens as well, and the movie was filmed a bit later at my high school. I admit, I heard him discussing this latest book on NPR and thought he was quite articulate and funny, so I've questioned my hardness against him. I know Ship Made of Paper is also very highly regarded, so I may have to relent.

I'm also going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he learned some basic physiology in the intervening years, because I would think anyone bleeding that much would be dead after 18 pages. :)

[Flora]

I'm almost finished with The Witchery which is good but sad. And there have been parts of it where its felt like I'm reading a history book.

Getting ready to start The Invisible Man and I expect I shall like this one.

[Sarah]

I'm about half-way through The Reluctant Fundamentalist, and I'm hooked!

[Michael]

I'm still in The House of Mirth for upcoming Classics discussion, but I noticed this in the paper -- Cynthia Ozick's faves:

"On Innocents and Innocence Lost"

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001...

I've only read the Henry James, which I liked, but of course she makes them all sound good -- except maybe that first one!

[Michael]

In fact, there are a dozen or two current titles reviewed intelligently here, plus an occasional author interview (Lehane), all of which one can scan through quickly for whatever may catch the eye: http://online.wsj.com/public/page/new...

A couple that caught mine and are worth knowing about:

U.S. History -- "It is the first comprehensive account of the debates in the 13 states over adoption of the Constitution...remarkably, until now, no historian had written a full-length account of the politics, personalities, arguments, and outcomes between Sept. 17, 1787, when the Constitutional Convention completed its work, and May 29, 1790, when the last of the original states, Rhode Island, ratified the document. "Ratification," for all its scope and technical detail, is a gripping and eye-opening read."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001...

More U.S. history, about a spectacular political reversal: "Ms. Dunn has written an engaging story of bare-knuckled political treachery that pits a president at the peak of his popularity against entrenched congressional leaders who didn't like where he was taking the country and their party. FDR tried to use the power of the White House, and his personality, to run his opponents out of the Democratic Party. He failed miserably."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001...

And lastly, a horrible story that I doubt I could manage to read, but which needs to be noticed, at the least:

My Lie: A True Story of False Memory

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001...

[Ruth]

I'm well into Bound

Terrific opening passage.

[Sara]

Ruth, please let me know how you like Bound--I run very hot and cold on Nelson, and while I've liked a lot of her stories, found at least one novel incredibly wanting. But I have heard promising things about this new book.

I won't mention my personal impression of her, formed in 1991 at a writers' workshop (I was in her husband, Robert Boswell's class). His writing I find consistently amazing.

[Flora]

I'm half way thru The Invisible Man and so far I really like it.

[Ruth]

So far, Sara, it's going pretty good, though it hasn't lived up to those first few pages.

[Sarah]

The first entry in this list made me think of a book I read recently that was almost exactly the opposite. Goodnight, Mr. Tom (Michelle Magorian, 1983) is a children's novel that I thoroughly enjoyed reading last year. During the evacuation of WWII, a child of a troubled mother is sent to live in a village in north England. His 'host' is a gruff man who has shut himself off from the world. The transformation of both child and man is wonderfully done.

[Barbara]

This is my first post. I am actually the author of "The Reindeer Keeper"-a heartwarming Christmas story for adults; for anyone who remembers that feeling of truly believing in Santa Claus. Anne L. Homes, Head of the National Association of Baby Boomer Women states it is a Hallmark movie in the waiting. I invite you to check out: www.thereindeerkeeper.com.
Love to hear your feedback!

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Welcome to Constant Reader, Barbara. You probably didn't notice that we have a Promotions folder where this should go. The book sounds nice.

[Sue]

Sarah wrote: "I'm about half-way through The Reluctant Fundamentalist, and I'm hooked!"

What a book. Had a great discussion with a library book group last year.

[Christine]

I just finished Roomyesterday and really enjoyed it. As for what is up next, I've got a PNR called Guilty Pleasures, How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, C, and 1632.

That's the plan at least. I'm sure by the end of the month it will look nothing like that.

[Melissa]

Flora, I remember enjoying The Invisible man too, thanks for reminding me!

Michael, I'm holding off on Wharton till I've had the chance to read the Lee's The Surrendered for later this month. But I'm really looking forward to Mirth after being so impressed with The Age of Innocence when we read that three years ago, when I was new to CR.

[Jane]

Sarah wrote: "The first entry in this list made me think of a book I read recently that was almost exactly the opposite. Goodnight, Mr. Tom (Michelle Magorian, 1983) is a children's novel that I thoroughly enjo..."

Sarah,
This book was made into excellent film from Masterpiece Theater starring John Thaw as the old man. It was very moving.

[Jane]

Has this ever happened to you? I bought the book, MR. WHITE'S CONFESSION by Robert Clark when I was in Minneapolis. It takes place in 1939 in St. Paul. Anyway, I started it yesterday, only to realize that I read it before! I looked it up in my book log and saw that I read it in 2000. Since it was so long ago, I decided to reread it. I am also reading a non-fiction selection for my in-person book club, ZEITOUN by Dave Eggers.

[Christine]

Jane wrote: "Has this ever happened to you? I bought the book, MR. WHITE'S CONFESSION by Robert Clark when I was in Minneapolis. It takes place in 1939 in St. Paul. Anyway, I started it yesterday, only to re..."

Yes, that has happened to me twice. Now, I can't remember either book title but I re-read them both! With one I was probably 100 pages into it before I realized, which proves I probably wasn't paying much attention the first time around. :)

[Ruth]

Jane wrote: "Has this ever happened to you? I bought the book, MR. WHITE'S CONFESSION by Robert Clark when I was in Minneapolis. It takes place in 1939 in St. Paul. Anyway, I started it yesterday, only to re..."

Oh shoot, Jane, that happens to me all the time. It's better tho, if it's a library book instead of one I bought.

[Natalie]

I just started Alphabet Weekends: Love on the Road from A to Z by Elizabeth Noble .

[Paul]

I am reading "Freedom" by Jonathan Franzen. So far I am enjoying it.

[Jana]

finished and loved it. Very good book club choice.

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