Books on the Nightstand discussion
What are you currently reading? - December 2010
I started the very enjoyable "Travels in Siberia" today, by Ian Frazier.
I'm reading The Book Thief and really enjoying it so far! Not a terribly easy subject, focusing on WWII Germany but well worth the read.
Clarissa wrote: "I'm reading The Book Thief and really enjoying it so far! Not a terribly easy subject, focusing on WWII Germany but well worth the read."The Book Thief is such an amazing book! I agree the content is sometimes hard to swallow but I loved how the story is narrated. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the ending.
I just finished Acme Novelty Library #20 by Chris Ware. ANL is a graphic novel series where every issue is now usually published as a hardcover book, although the format changes depending on the artistic concept.
Chris Ware continues his exploration into the essential hollowness and brevity of human life, this time focusing on a successful but unscrupulous businessman's journey from infancy to deathbed. Ware's draftsmanship is, as always, amazing. Thematically and story-wise, however, I find "Jimmy Corrigan" to be much richer.
However, a note in the beginning indicates that this book, called "Lint", is only a chapter of a much longer work.
Chris Ware continues his exploration into the essential hollowness and brevity of human life, this time focusing on a successful but unscrupulous businessman's journey from infancy to deathbed. Ware's draftsmanship is, as always, amazing. Thematically and story-wise, however, I find "Jimmy Corrigan" to be much richer.
However, a note in the beginning indicates that this book, called "Lint", is only a chapter of a much longer work.
Recently finished The Sociopath Next Door for book club...meh. Now reading, The Magicians by Lev Grossman which I am enjoying, mostly for his sometimes very funny young adult dialogue. The actual story of a teenage boy at a magical college is a little slow, but I'm only about half way through and I suspect something big, plot-wise, is coming.Listening to The Postmistress. Enjoying it so far. I haven't listened to an audiobook in several years and it's fun, but taking me a little bit to be able to concentrate. Got a huge thrill, however, from being able to download this from the library directly to my iphone. The technology of borrowing audiobooks has greatly improved since I last did it!
Also, extremely happy to figure out that my library card from the much bigger city I lived in couple years back is still functioning. They are switching to overdrive in a month or two and I'm sure they'll have a huge selection. Yay!
I am currently reading "The Golden Mean" by Annabel Lyon. Set in ancient Greece, this first novel is the story of Aristotle and his most famous student, Alexander the Great. Quirky, intelligent, well-written, and a page-turner so far.
Kay wrote: "I am currently reading "The Golden Mean" by Annabel Lyon. Set in ancient Greece, this first novel is the story of Aristotle and his most famous student, Alexander the Great. Quirky, intelligent, w...""The Golden Mean" is one of my favorite reads for 2010. I hope you enjoy it.
Reading Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat by Hal Herzog. Author explores our relationships with animals. Lots of food for thought (no pun intended).
Susan Rebecca White's A Soft Place to Land. A good read and I enjoyed all the references to Atlanta locations and restaurants.When a married couple die from an accident, their two daughters are separated by the terms of the will. Since one of the daughters, Julia, has a different father, she goes to live with him and his second wife. They are fundamentalist Christians in a small Virginia town. The other daughter, Ruthie, moves to San Francisco with her aunt and uncle. The uncle is a gourmet cook and Ruthie learns to love cooking. Julia later writes a memoir and one of the revelations causes damage to Ruthie's relationship with a man she met in a Flannery O'Connor seminar at UC Berkeley.
Finally finishedA Fraction of the Whole and really enjoyed this father-son saga. Just started The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise: A Novel as a light break before my next book club choice The Unconsoled for January.
I finished The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Lossand just loved it. Now it's back to C.
Gavin wrote: "I finished The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Lossand just loved it. Now it's back to C."I have started "C" twice but can't stick with it. I recently read a review (NY Review of Books?) that left me with the feeling that McCarthy is a bit self-indulgent with his obsession about death.
Finished Hell's Half Acre on Saturday and picked up The Watchmen graphic novel. About 1/4 of the way into it and really liking it.After that, I have nothing left to read. I should go on a book buying spree!
Kay wrote: "Gavin wrote: "I finished The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Lossand just loved it. Now it's back to C."I have started "C" twice but can't stick ..."
I'm running into a problem with "C",some parts flow nicely and other parts bog down. It is due back at the library in a couple of days so I will probably have to try is again later.
Ann, I am excited to have started The Sparrow last night. I read to page 18 and I'm already intrigued.
I loved The Sparrow! Happy reading! I just heard Nancy Pearl (podcast) talk about The Hare with Amber Eyes and I put it on my TBR list. I just finished The Finkler Question. It was amusing, but not as funny as advertised. It did give me quite a bit to think about, though. I started Lucky Jim last night - so far, so good.
I am half way thru In the Time of the Butterflies which I love. Phineas Finn on the other hand I just can't seem to get into. I may not finish this one if it doesn't get interesting soon.
Started the audiobook of
and I'm loving it so far! Quite a change from The Glass Castle...
While Christmas gift shopping today I couldn't help myself... I picked up another item for my Holiday library- The Christmas Chronicles: The Legend of Santa Claus. It's a very pretty book, deckled (sp?) edges, and the story looks sweet. There was another that I might go back for, The History of the Snowman: From the Ice Age to the Flea Market. I am a weak creature.
I just started Flannery O'connor's Wiseblood and am about 1/2 way through The new Twain autobiography. Looking forward to winter break (yes, teachers love winter break as much as children) so I can really get some reading done.
Mod
about the Jay Leno/Conan debacle over The Tonight Show. I need something light and frothy right now.
I jut finished listening to I Am Legend (by Richard Matheson; narrated by Robertson Dean.) For many years I have avoided reading titles in the horror genre because of this idea that I had, that horror books are full of campy monsters with high gross-out factors and gratuitous violence (This, despite having read the prototypes of the horror novel, Dracula (by Bram Stoker) and Frankenstein (by Mary Shelley.)) It was after listening to THE ANGELS ARE THE REAPERS (by Alden Bell; narrated by Tai Sammons) and this book, I AM LEGEND, that I now understand that I have gotten it all wrong. It's not about the vampires or the zombies or whatever, it's all really about what it is to be human! Hollywood has corrupted much of the genre, probably because it's much easier to give us Bela Lugosi or CGI than it is to portray deep philosophical insight. Anyway, the book turned out to be a something of a study of man going mad and the the end is a bit stunning in its plot twist. This story was written fifty years ago and it has held up remarkably well over time. I can see why Matheson has his cult following. Now I've loaded another Matheson novel onto my iPod, Hell House, this one narrated by Ray Porter.
It's not about the vampires or the zombies or whatever, it's all really about what it is to be human!
Yup!
You'll like Hell House.
Yup!
You'll like Hell House.
Tanya wrote: "It's not about the vampires or the zombies or whatever, it's all really about what it is to be human!This is what makes The Walking Dead Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye (and the rest of the series) so great!
I was reading The Ten Year Nap by Meg Worlitzer. It was a terribly boring book. I did not finish it and I'm proud of me since I usually feel obligated to finish all books I start!
I finished In the Time of the Butterflies and absolutely loved it. I admit, I cried at the end. Am gonna try to continue with Phineas Finn but still not sure I'm gonna finish it. Am also working on False Memory. I haven't gotten very far but I like it so far.
Pam wrote: "I was reading The Ten Year Nap by Meg Worlitzer. It was a terribly boring book. I did not finish it and I'm proud of me since I usually feel obligated to finish all books I start!"Hi Pam, felt exactly the same way, i thought the subject matter was interesting but the book itself was so hard to get into!
Mod
Darn! I have this on my "wait for a sick day and be decadent" shelf.
Ann wrote: "Carolyn wrote: "Pam wrote: "I was reading The Ten Year Nap by Meg Worlitzer. It was a terribly boring book. I did not finish it and I'm proud of me since I usually feel obligated to finish all boo..."I enjoyed this book. I'd still give it a try, Ann!
Just finished The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise: A Novel, a BONS recommendation which I thoroughly enjoyed. Next up,The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clayfor the BONS discussion in January. I am having a hard time reading because of last minute Christmas prep, but after Sunday I think I'll have some chunks of time to relax and read!
Ann, you may want to still consider The Ten Year Nap. I read and enjoyed it. My big complaint was that I thought the ending was incredibly rushed. There's one line about raising boys in that book that my wife and I quote often. I'm paraphrasing, "the key to raising boys is to run 'em like dogs."
Lisa wrote: "Ann, I am excited to have started The Sparrow last night. I read to page 18 and I'm already intrigued."I need to reread The Sparrow. I always think about how well the group conversations at meals are written. They are so alive.
Callie wrote: "I'm in the middle of my Christmas season reading. I finished A Christmas Carol last night, and I read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever today. This is one of my favorite Chr..."Callie, THANK YOU!! I got this from the library and even though I haven't really read at all this month, I was up early today and picked this up and it was totally what I needed to really get me in the proper Christmas spirit. In face, I promptly went on Amazon and bought several copies (and I really try to avoid owning books!!). I want my kids to have this one to read every year for years to come!!
5 stars from me :)
Just started I Live in the Future by Nick Bilton and am loving it. It is so exciting to read someone who has a grip on the changes we are living through now. Sometimes it all seems a mystery.
Ashley FL wrote: "Callie wrote: "I'm in the middle of my Christmas season reading. I finished A Christmas Carol last night, and I read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever today. This is one of ..."Glad you liked it! How great is Gladys- she cracks me up every time I get to her parts!
Mod
I started this a couple of weeks ago and have been dipping in and out. I like Bilton's writing style, and some of his ideas are very intriguing.
I'm currently reading Spray by Harry Edge. It is such a fun book!
I've gotten halfway, and have read as much of this as I'm going to right now. Don't get me wrong, a lot of the material here is first rate Twain (mostly the bits and pieces in the beginning). But then you have long, long deserts of mind-numbingly boring ramblings. I just don't have the energy to sort the wheat from the chaff any more. Maybe after all three volumes come out, someone will do that sorting and produce an abridged edition. Until then, I remain kind of disappointed.
im reading eclipse at the mo,not to far into it but enjoying it:)
A fine graphic novel by Mazzuchelli. Around the time that I read it, I watched the Coen Brothers' film "A Serious Man". Both of them shared a similar theme: the futility of trying to impose order on a meaningless universe. The title character is an architect who attains some renown through his designs of buildings which never get built, and through his theories about art, which he disseminates as a university lecturer. Polyp, who had a twin brother who didn't survive birth, tends to see the world in dichotomies. His ego loses him a wonderful wife, and a fire costs him his apartment. He then goes on a journey to find himself, becoming an apprentice auto mechanic, and achieving for a time a certain zen-like sense of contentedness. But that doesn't last and eventually he must try to recover what he has lost. But he's up against something bigger than himself, in the form of the meaningless universe previously mentioned.
In many ways, this is a book about living life. In other ways, it's about art. In a way, it serves to teach certain ideas about art in a way reminiscent of Scott McCloud's books on comics. All in all, a very sophisticated, yet accessible read.
Mod
Eric wrote: "A fine graphic novel by Mazzuchelli. Around the time that I read it, I watched the Coen Brothers' film "A Serious Man". Both of them shared a similar theme: the..."
Eric, thank you for your book reviews. I like them, whether it is a book I want to read or not. Short. sweet, and to the point. You are a proficient reader. I look forward to your comments. Thanks again.
I'm about 100 pages into The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. I was a little wary because I'm not a comic book person but so far, so good.
Mod
A good biography is a good story. Most of the time, that story is a tragedy, since its subject often dies at the end. Sometimes, as in this book, it's a tragic love story. Although author Stacy Schiff tries to downplay the motivation of love for many of Cleopatra's (and Mark Antony's) actions, that motivation shines through. Not that there weren't separate political reasons for everything these two great personages did. But it's pointless to resist a great and epic love story such as this.
The tale of the fall of Cleopatra and Antony, indeed the fall of Alexandrian Egypt itself, and the rise of Octavian (Caesar Augustus), is a worthy subject for Shakespearean tragedy (which of course it was), and could well be seen as the template for every tragedy Shakespeare ever wrote.
This book makes me want to back and read "Antony and Cleopatra", as well as rereading Robert Graves' "I Claudius" and "Claudius the God", to continue reading about Roman scheming an subterfuge.
Recommended.
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It's funny, I had the opposite reaction. I loved The Glass Castle because their oddness struck me as being so true. It reminded me a lot of some people I know.
I wish I'd read Half Broke Horses first (which would have been tough, since it hadn't come out yet). The sort-of-fiction/sort-of-biography account of her grandmother provides a good context for her mother's behavior in The Glass Castle.