November: What Are You Reading?

[Al]

K.B.
I think you are right that the panel/selection committee plays a huge factor in which books are selected.

It is very tough to predict most of these lists.

[K.B.]

One criterion that I remember from the Edgars is that a book has to engage the reviewer within 50 pages or it's toast. Given the volume of books they review, that seems reasonable. But I can think of several books that were slow starters (really slow starters) that ended up being wonderful. And what a shame that books like those wouldn't stand a chance.

[Al]

K.B.
I have become one of those folks who abandon slow starters - there has to be something to engage me from the beginning . . .

[Sarah]

Sherry, I read The Mercy Seat several years ago and remember liking it. I can remember nothing else but that.

Al, I couldn't decide about The Keep. I kept reading it, and couldn't really put it down, but didn't know at the end if I really liked it.

[Al]

Sarah:

I totally agree about The Keep - it was a page-turner but I was so disappointed by the ending that I was almost mad I had spent my time reading it. So far this book has me engaged in a better way.

[K.B.]

Al wrote: "K.B.
I have become one of those folks who abandon slow starters - there has to be something to engage me from the beginning . . ."

Al, IMO, there are slow starters and no-starters. I dump no-starters after about 25 pages. But I'm willing to devote some time to a slow starter because I enjoy the way some authors carefully hook you and start reeling you in. Frequently before you even realize it. And I often continue to read a book simply to admire the author's craft even if I don't particularly like the story. (Nutty, I know.)

[Christine]

Truly, I follow Nancy Pearl's advice. I give the book 50 pages. If I don't like it, I stop reading it and move to something else.

Life is too short to read books that you don't love.

[K.B.]

Christine wrote: "Truly, I follow Nancy Pearl's advice. I give the book 50 pages. If I don't like it, I stop reading it and move to something else.

Life is too short to read books that you don't love."

Maybe. The books I "love" are few and far between. However, the books that I've enjoyed for the author's craft, or the information within, or a particular character, or plot point are numerous. There are so many ways to value a book!

[Sue]

K.B. wrote: "Christine wrote: "Truly, I follow Nancy Pearl's advice. I give the book 50 pages. If I don't like it, I stop reading it and move to something else.

Life is too short to read books that you don..."

I agree K.B. There are so many reasons to keep on reading a less than perfect book and there are so few that I would rate as ones I love. But there are lots that I enjoy. But I am now deciding to stop sooner (or perhaps more accurately) once I really know the book isn't for me. I don't feel obliged to finish even for one of our list books. As we all say, too many books for a lifetime. If I don't enjoy a book on some level, away it goes.

[Al]

I think this is a really interesting idea to discuss further - I am starting a new thread "Slow Starters or no Starters" so join me there

In particular, I want some examples of slow starters that paid off in the end

[Monica]

SLOW START:
Lectures on the "Expedient Means" and "Life Span" Chapters of the Lotus Sutra http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/79...

Bruneleschi's Dome http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14...

Glass Children and other Essays http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24...

NO START:

Still Life With Oysters and Lemonhttp://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...

Got an area straightened up and the books are visible so it's a matter of commitment.

[Sue]

I just got notified of 2 more books from the library--one I requested a few weeks ago and the other is one on my automatic list. Yikes when am I going to fit everything in. A lot of reading coming up.

[Al]

The library queue issue has been long lamented and discussed at CR. It seems to be all or nothing. . .

[Sue]

I think I need to stay away from the library after this for quite a while. I think there aren't too many on the automatic list and I shouldn't request anything except a reading list book.

[TheGirlBytheSeaofCortez]

Susan wrote: "Trespass: A Novel came in from the library and I started it last night, read a couple of chapters. I like what I've read so far, interesting style."

Trespass wasn't a great read for me, but it was okay. I thought the second half of the book was much more engrossing than the first half.

A "No Start" book for me was The Shadow of the Wind.

I suppose I'll read The Inheritance of Loss now.

[Sue]

I am enjoying Trespass. The Inheritance of Loss was one I simply decided to stop. Couldn't get interested enough in the story. Might return to it someday, but I doubt it. Too many others I really want to read.
Gabrielle---what is your favorite of Tremain's novels?

[TheGirlBytheSeaofCortez]

Susan wrote: "I am enjoying Trespass. The Inheritance of Loss was one I simply decided to stop. Couldn't get interested enough in the story. Might return to it someday, but I doubt it. Too many othe..."

Hi Susan, I haven't read all of Rose Tremain's novels, but of the ones I have Music and Silence is my favorite.

I'm glad you're enjoying Trespass.

[K.B.]

I have a lousy cold and I'm having trouble concentrating, so I read a couple of puff pieces-- Mrs. Jeffries and the Yuletide Weddings and Creepers--this weekend.

[Carol]

Sorry about the cold, but you are getting into the season as if we needed a reminder with all the Christmas decorations out already.

[Marialyce]

K. B. Hope you are feeling better.

[K.B.]

Thanks, Ladies. This one has no intention of going away soon, but that's ok. We've had soup 4 times in one week, which makes my husband very happy (surprisingly my son has been thrilled too, but he won't be when I start making split pea today). And because I'm not sleeping well, I get more for-fun reading done. But on the downside, I'm trying to get some projects back to customers before they close for Thanksgiving and those are taking longer than they should.

[Sue]

There are some mean colds around this year. Made for lighter reading.

[Ruth]

I've just started The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War Not sure how long I'll hold out.

[Sue]

Ruth wrote: "I've just started The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War Not sure how long I'll hold out."

I remember seeing a PBS show with that same name and I was thinking of reading the book. I'll be curious about your thoughts.

[Ruth]

I've got the PBS show on my Netflix queue. So far, the books so densely packed with facts that it's slow slogging.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

M.D., could you please repost this in the Promotions Folder? Thanks.

[Larry]

I started Pat Conroy's MY READING LIFE two days ago. It's not just about books but also about people (his mother ... a special English teacher) who helped him become the reader and the writer he is today.

Conroy tries to read 200 pages every day. It's a rare day when I can read even 50 pages!

[Janet]

K.B. wrote: "Regarding the NBA nominees, wouldn't it be fascinating to see whatever documentation is used for the short-listed nominees? "I liked this because...." Every year when the Edgar Award finalists are ..."

FYI regarding book awards and competitions: for most of these, either the author or their publisher needs to submit an entry along with a fee in order to even be considered. There are a great many contests and award programs. Some competitions exclude entries from self published authors. Close to a half million new titles are published with in a given year. Earning or not earning recognition from a particular entity may be skewed by whether or not a book was even entered and the preferences of the judges on the panel.

[K.B.]

Janet, that's fascinating information. I'm not surprised that there's an element of self-promotion but a fee? wow. Sounds like quite the racket. But that does explain why this year's NBA winner, The Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon, has only just been released and isn't readily available.

Ok, that turned out to be a bit of a mess. I meant to say that that explains how a just-released book could win the award.

[A.J.]

I'm not aware of any major award for which there's an entry fee.

The reason you see a book win an award as it's released, or soon after, is that for the award jury to get through all the submitted books, they read advance copies. Publishers submit books from their fall list in June or July. It's the only way the jury can read all the submissions in time.

[K.B.]

That makes sense. Kind of like movies having a special release in one city right before nominations close so they'll be eligible for an Oscar.

[A.J.]

There will normally be a requirement that the book is on sale by a certain deadline. For example, the Giller Prize requires that the book is on sale before Sept 30. But with the longlist announcement coming on Sept 20, and the shortlist in mid-Oct., there is simply no way the jury could consider fall books unless they got advance copies.

Who is shortlisted and who wins is somewhat arbitrary. It depends on who is on the jury and which jury member argues best. Canada (I choose the prizes I'm familiar with) has three major literary prizes, and each of those three juries consider pretty much the same list of books, but it's very rare for one book to win more than one prize, and in fact, there's usually very little overlap between the shortlists. For example, Emma Donoghue's Room won the Writers' Trust Award and was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award, but it wasn't even on the Giller Prize's 13-book longlist.

[Anne]

I, too, abandoned Inheritance of Loss about half way through. I usually don't hold out that long; I kept wanting to like it.

Got my Kindle loaded up with stuff (amazing how that one-click shopping adds up before you know it!) and I'm reading THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS. Loving it.

[TheGirlBytheSeaofCortez]

I like The Inheritance of Loss. I hope enough people will finish it to discuss it.

[K.B.]

Started The House of Mirth and got back to The Pillars of the Earth last night. I remember reading Wharton in college and how much disdain we had for Lily. I'm sorry to say that I'm still feeling that way. Apparently the intervening decades haven't made me more sympathetic. Older, yes. Wiser, I hope so. But I still can't identify with a character whose vocation is husband hunting. I do wonder what Wharton would have thought of dating (as opposed to courtship)and marriage in the 21st century. What kind of a book would she be writing today?

[Marialyce]

I, too, am reading The House of Mirth and finding Lily, so far, (although I am only about fifty pages in) a most interesting character. I guess this book harkens back to the day where every women had to be married. I remember my mother saying that if you were not married by twenty-five, you were considered an old maid and that was in the '40's. Times are ever so different today where 4/10 people do not think marriage is needed.

[K.B.]

I suspect we'll have a very interesting discussion next week. Can you believe it's almost December already? Where has this year gone?

[Badly Drawn Girl]

I just finished one of the best non-fiction works I've read in some time... The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan. It truly read like a page turning thriller, which is hard to create when writing about history.

Now I'm finishing up two books, March by Geraldine Brooks which I've picked up and put down many times at the thrift store. I'm glad I finally bought the darn thing. What a beautifully written story. And I'm also reading Surfacing by Margaret Atwood. I'm a huge Atwood fan and I'm struggling a bit with this one. I read a review that compares it to The Bell Jar and I think that's an apt comparison. I'm hoping the ending will clear up my current confusion in the plot!

[Wilhelmina]

Badly Drawn Girl wrote: "I just finished one of the best non-fiction works I've read in some time... The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan. ..."

I thought that The Worst Hard Time was excellent also. And Geraldine Brooks is an author whose books I really enjoy as well - I thought that March was very good.

I recently finished the short story collection Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans. This debut collection from a young author has been critically praised on all fronts and all of the kudos are well deserved. Big thumbs up from me - one of the best I've read this year.

[TheGirlBytheSeaofCortez]

Marialyce wrote: "I, too, am reading The House of Mirth and finding Lily, so far, (although I am only about fifty pages in) a most interesting character. I guess this book harkens back to the day where ..."

I find I'm liking Lily Bart, too, Marialyce. In Wharton's time, not many opportunities were open to women other than husband hunting. I agree, it's a reflection of the times.

[K.B.]

Gabrielle wrote: "I find I'm liking Lily Bart, too, Marialyce. In Wharton's time, not many opportunities were open to women other than husband hunting. I agree, it's a reflection of the times."

The husband hunting probably was, but I never felt that Wharton approved of Lily's methods. (Or maybe I'm projecting.)

[Jim]

UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand
excellent book about WWII in the Pacific
and how the human spirit can soar even in the darkest of times

[TheGirlBytheSeaofCortez]

K.B. wrote: "Gabrielle wrote: "I find I'm liking Lily Bart, too, Marialyce. In Wharton's time, not many opportunities were open to women other than husband hunting. I agree, it's a reflection of the times."

..."

I don't think Wharton approved of all Lily did, either. Have you read The Age of Innocence? I think that book gives insight into Wharton as well.

[TheGirlBytheSeaofCortez]

Jim wrote: "UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand
excellent book about WWII in the Pacific
and how the human spirit can soar even in the darkest of times"

I thought Unbroken was one of the best books of the year, Jim.

[K.B.]

"Have you read The Age of Innocence?"

Gabrielle, I think I might have. But, as with, The House of Mirth, until I start reading it, I won't remember for certain.

[TheGirlBytheSeaofCortez]

K.B. wrote: ""Have you read The Age of Innocence?"

Gabrielle, I think I might have. But, as with, The House of Mirth, until I start reading it, I won't remember for certain."

Okay, thank you, K.B. I love both books.

[Marialyce]

I just got The Inheritance of Loss from the library. Just have to finish Parrot and Olivier in America (which I like greatly btw) and then I can start it.

[Marialyce]

K.B. wrote: ""Have you read The Age of Innocence?"

Gabrielle, I think I might have. But, as with, The House of Mirth, until I start reading it, I won't remember for certain."


K. B. I have that one on my Kindle. It is ready when I am!

[TheGirlBytheSeaofCortez]

Marialyce wrote: "I just got The Inheritance of Loss from the library. Just have to finish Parrot and Olivier in America (which I like greatly btw) and then I can start it."

I'm glad to hear you like Parrot and Olivier in America, Marialyce. That's one I want to read.

[K.B.]

Marialyce, I think it's part of the collection of Wharton I have on my Kindle.