What are you currently reading? Showing 551-600 of 1,649

[Ann]

Sidweena, hooray! That was a recommendation from a listener who called in to the podcast, too. Glad you enjoyed it. I still haven't had a chance to check it out,but I will.

[Savvy]

Finally...listened to the last of THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE yesterday in the car (couldn't just sit there and run the battery down!)
YES...it kicks it up a knotch from THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO for sure!
The twists were sometimes amazingly surprising!...what a fertile mind we've sadly lost.

It was ALL good...but the grand finale felt a little abrupt and forced to me.
Can't wait for the next one though!...Long live Lisabeth Salander!

Am a few chapters into FRAGMENT and it's definitely got my attention!
Also reading SACRED HEARTS by Sarah Dunant for my F2F book club.

[Amy]

I'm reading The Girl Who Played With Fire now and I'm loving it!!

[[deleted user]]

I'm STILL reading ORYX AND CRAKE (by Margaret Atwood!) Life has been getting in the way quite a bit the last couple of weeks, but I hope to have this finished before THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD comes out!

I just finished listening to THE RAPE OF NANKING (by Iris Chang; narrated by Anna Fields.) It was a tough but compelling book. Moreover, it corroborates my father's parallel experience in the Philippines so there's an added sense of veracity to the proceedings as related in the book. Boy, my Sunday night call to my parents will certainly be interesting this time 'round!

But now I need something a bit lighter, so I've started THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE (by Audrey NIffenegger; narrated by William Hope and Laurel Lefkow) I'm not interested in seeing the movie, but I like TTTW enough so far that I think I'll like HER FEARFUL SYMMETRY when it comes out.

[Linda]

Tanya, TTW is one of my favorite books, but I would think listening to it might be confusing. How are the narrators? - Linda

[Ann]

I have had TTW on my shelf for *years* - I think it once made it to my nightstand, but then migrated back to the shelf .... I am hearing great things about Her Fearful Symmetry, though, so I may have to pick up TTW.

I just got a few books to prepare for our future podcast episode, Dystopian Young Adult novels, and they are drawing me to them. I still have a lot of work reading to get through, though. Oh, the dilemmas.

[[deleted user]]

Lmj wrote: "Tanya, TTW is one of my favorite books, but I would think listening to it might be confusing. How are the narrators? - Linda"

I've only gotten about an hour-and-a-half into the story, but so far I haven't had any trouble following the narrative or "jumps." It's still too early to evaluate either the narrators' performances overall or the story, but the way it stands now is that the the writing is better than the narration and is carrying WF & LL through the story while they settle into their roles.

[Ronald]

Right now I am reading Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris. It is second book part of the Sookie Stackhouse books which are the origin for the HBO series True Blood.

[Linda]

Ann wrote: "I have had TTW on my shelf for *years* - I think it once made it to my nightstand, but then migrated back to the shelf .... I am hearing great things about Her Fearful Symmetry, though, so I may ha..."

Ann, I read TTW, a 518 page book, in 4 days. Two of those were until 4 a.m. I could not and did not want to put it down. I immediately recommended it to two people who felt the same way I did. I subsequently recommended it to my book discussion group where it got mixed reviews.

Linda

[Elhara]

Shining Through I'm just on page 35. So far so good. I really enjoy settings in the 30's and 40's. What a different world we now live in. It's interesting to read how WWII affected everyday people. Not something we should ever forget. Can't wait till bedtime, my favourite time to read.

[Melissa]

I'm getting to the end of Atmospheric Disturbances. I'm not sure if I like it or not. I have to see how it ends.

[[deleted user]]

I read ATMOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES (by Rivka Galchen) earlier this year and I had to have someone explain the end to me! I'll wait until you've finished to say more, but overall, I think I gave it a "C."

Melissa wrote: "I'm getting to the end of Atmospheric Disturbances. I'm not sure if I like it or not. I have to see how it ends. "

[Linda]

I finished The Grapes of Wrath over the weekend. What a powerful book and timely under the present economic situation. Especially poignant for Labor Day.
I'm about to start a book I read many years ago, The Wizard of Oz. My book discussion is reading Wicked by Gregory Maguire this month. I also read that several years ago, but thought it would be wise to juxtapose the re-reading of the two books to enliven the discussion.

[Kirsty]

I'm reading 1984 at the moment and am really liking it. It's a strange one though, because its not such an absurd idea and I can see how the world could end up like this. Scary thought!

[Melissa]

1984 is a terrific book. I recently reread Fahrenheit 451, which is also frightening in its predictions of the future. The "earshells" are much like today's ipod "earbuds" and the "parlor walls" are today's reality TV on big flatscreens. Next thing you know, the publishing industry will die and all of our books will be gone! Very, very scary.

[[deleted user]]

Kirsty wrote: "I'm reading 1984 at the moment and am really liking it. It's a strange one though, because its not such an absurd idea and I can see how the world could end up like this. Scary thought!"

I loved the book when I first read it (in high school?) and thought I had remembered a lot of it, especially the appendix which concerns itself with language; but then I listened to it in audiobook format earlier this year (narrated by Simon Prebble) and was "re-awed" by the book! There was a point at which I audibly gasped! The audiobook made my Audiobook A List for 2009 (even though it was produced in 2007.)

[[deleted user]]

Melissa wrote: "1984 is a terrific book. I recently reread Fahrenheit 451, which is also frightening in its predictions of the future. The "earshells" are much like today's ipod "earbuds" and the "parlor walls" ar..."

Last year, our county did a Big Read program and the book was Fahrenheit 451. I listened to it in audiobook format (narrated by Christopher Hurt) and was terribly disappointed in the production. Maybe the version narrated by Ray Bradbury would have been better. I saw the movie too, and boy, there's a film crying out for a remake! It's so very dated in it's 1960's sensibilities, it was a hair breadth's away from watching Barbarella!

Anyway, after I had listened to 1984 (by George Orwell) this year, I was struck by some common themes between Bradbury, Huxley and, Orwell in their post-war attitudes. There is an absolute revulsion for the fascism that they were all imminently threatened with. Hmm, that reminds me, I need to re-read Brave New World! It might pair nicely with some of the YA dystopia-themed novels I have lined up this winter.

[Linda]

Finished The Wizard of Oz and will move on to Wicked by Gregory Maguire. I have read both books before. The Maguire book gets a second read for my book discussion next week - it's been too many years since I first read it not to give it a second dance. The Baum book I thought would be a good segue into the Maguire. I haven't read them side-by-side before. I think I first read The Wizard of Oz when I was in my 20s or 30s, just a few years (decades) ago.

[Kirsty]

Tanya wrote: "I loved the book when I first read it (in high school?) and thought I had remembered a lot of it, especially the appendix which concerns itself with language; but then I listened to it in audiobook format earlier this year (narrated by Simon Prebble) and was "re-awed" by the book! There was a point at which I audibly gasped! The audiobook made my Audiobook A List for 2009 (even though it was produced in 2007.)"

Oh I might have to try it in audio too then! Obviously will leave it a while before I do, but definitely one to add to my audio TBR list.

[Amy]

I'm finishing up That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo right now (LOVING it, although I love everything by Richard Russo). Next up is Julia Glass' I See You Everywhere. I can't wait to get started on that one!

And I'm finally reading The Wizard of Oz via Daily Lit. Seemed like time to get that one read ...

[Michael]

Okay. All of you need to stop talking about how great the books are that you are reading. I have too many books on my TBR!!!

(just kidding... keep 'em coming!)

[Linda]

Michael,
Prior to discovering Goodreads, Library
Think and Shelfari, I started a database on my computer of books that sounded interesting to me. It beat the little slips of paper I kept loosing. I have over 3500 books in that database. Of course, about 1,000 have been read (I've had the database about 10 years.)

Linda

[Dottie]

Amy - I also enjoyed That Old Cape Magic. Russo is one of my favorite authors but I also just read new books from two of my favorite southern authors - I think I would classify them both as southern fables. Michael Malone's The Four Corners of the Sky is kind of a romantic caper book and Pat Conroy's South of Broad is just Pat Conroy doing what he does. I kept thinking all the way through - while I really enjoyed it - that I didn't believe in the central character but at the end of the book he kind of tells you that he is just storytelling. Both worth reading I thought

dottie m

[Amy]

Dottie - I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for South of Broad. I'm a HUGE Pat Conroy fan! I'll have to check out The Four Corners of the Sky ...

[Stephanie]

I never know whether to THANK BOTNS or BLAME BOTNS for adding to my endless TBR shelf, but I finally started a Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child. You guys have mentioned him several times on your show, and I checked out Killing Floor. He is a good writer. The plot is seamless and he knows his stuff. Great recommendation! I can't wait to finish this and read some more!

And, I just have to add, Jack Reacher is one of the most bad-ass characters I have met in a book. There is just no other way to put it...even with a BA in English Lit. ;)

[Rita]

My dad just finished a Lee Child book. So of course, I have added it to my pile.

[Kirsty]

Stephanie, I have to confess I have a crush on Jack Reacher! He's so lovable despite being a bad-ass!

I really enjoyed Killing Floor and have the next couple on my shelf. I won his latest book, Gone Tomorrow, in a giveaway on Waterstones.com (our equivalent of B&N for those in the US) and really enjoyed that one too. I like that although they're part of a series, you don't really have to read them in order (although my OCD is making me - I only read Gone Tomorrow because I had to review it for the site!)

[[deleted user]]

So, you go on a first date with a guy who is smart, funny, cute... You go to a movie, dinner, dancing, and after hours club and you're thinking "Wow!" Then the evening ends and he takes you back to your door and, nothing. A handshake. No kiss, no "I'll call you." Nothing. Is it me? WTF?

Okay, that's what reading ORYX AND CRAKE (by Margaret Atwood) was like.

[Kirsty]

A little anti-climactic then? lol

[Jeff]

I actually didn't like Lee Child's KILLING FLOOR all that much, but I kept reading the series, and it gets better and better. Reacher is definitely a kick-ass character.

I recently interviewed Child for my Reading & Writing podcast - http://readingandwritingpodcast.com/0...

[[deleted user]]

I'm currently reading THE HUNTER by Richard Stark, with an introduction by Donald E. Westlake (Stark was Westlake's nom-de-plume for the Stark series.) The Hunter was made into a movie in the 1960's with Lee Marvin and Angie Dickenson and, later a remake was produced as Payback, starring Mel Gibson. So far the book is pretty basic and straightforward and I can definitely see why movie producers were attracted to it; There's no interior dialogue. It's a WYSIWYG world!

[Shona]

I have to say that all summer long I have had wonderful luck with the books that I've read..there have even been some of my favorite of all time...In the last couple of months I've had the privilege of reading Shadow of the Wind, Fraction of the Whole, Guerney Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Book of Joe. All of them rated four or five stars and a couple of then are on my all-time favorite list. I've had a great summer, so I guess it was only a matter of time that something I picked up to read wasn't that great. I finished Bookends by Jane Green which I can't believe I finished because I really really didn't like it, but I felt like it just had to get better...it didn't. Then I picked up The Boneman's Daughter by Ted Dekker, which I was really looking forward to reading, but I couldn't even finish it. I thought the characters were awful and unlikeable and I really didn't care for the way he wrote. So after two duds, I started reading Mudbound by Hilary Jordan and Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner. Hopefully they will get me back on the right track....

[[deleted user]]

THE HUNTER (by Richard Stark) isn't exactly a challenging read and I was able to whip through it this afternoon! It's OK, interesting in that it takes place in 1964, when even "the bad guys" wore suits and gentrification hadn't hit the Big Apple; but overall the story isn't much more than a toss-off.

Now I'm starting THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME (by Mark Haddon.)

[Melissa]

If you like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, you might want to try A Spot of Bother by the same author.

[Kirsty]

I've read A Spot of Bother and really liked it. I have The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time on my shelf... I'm hoping to get to it in the next couple of months.

[Ann]

OMG, I've been away all weekend and have so much goodreads to catch up on, but I just have to say, Tanya ... ROFL.

Sorry, don't mean to make light of your bad date with Oryx & Crake, but ... I can't stop laughing.

[Michael]

great discussions going on here! I wanted to point out Jeff's comment where he mentions his Reading & Writing Podcast. I've listened to a few and think they're great. Check them out!

http://readingandwritingpodcast.com/0...

[[deleted user]]

Shona wrote: "I have to say that all summer long I have had wonderful luck with the books that I've read..there have even been some of my favorite of all time...In the last couple of months I've had the privileg..."

Both Mudbound and Good in Bed should get you back on track -- they are very different books and both are excellent.

[[deleted user]]

Melissa wrote: "If you like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, you might want to try A Spot of Bother by the same author. "

I ended up liking it, but not loving it. I thought the style was original and interesting, a little tiresome at times; but overall entertaining. If I were grading it, it would have warranted a B- from me. And no, I didn't agree with the resolution of "The Monty Hall Problem" as given (which applied for 3 doors, not 2) and as a result, I pretty much just skimmed the rest of the math and logic problems and focused on the narrative.

[[deleted user]]

After much deliberation, I've pulled THE COMPOUND (by S.A. Bodeen) from the proverbial nightstand. It's a YA dystopian fiction novel about life in a bunker. Segues nicely with Farnham's Freehold (by Robert A. Heinlein) which I'm reading and listening to for work.

[Dottie]

Want to recommend a non-fiction book - The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale. It reads like a novel and is an account of a case in 1860 that both began the use of forensic science and pretty much ended the career of a Scotland yard detective. The Detective - Jonathan Whicher - was the inspiration for Sgt Cuff in the Moonstone and influenced a number of other fictional detectives. Really worth reading.
Dottie M.

[Linda]

I just had to comment about how much more I'm enjoying Wicked the second time. I'm reading it this time because my book discussion is reading it and it has been close to 10 years since I read it the first time. I think originally I was caught up in all the strange names and trying to keep track of the cultures and places. I am laughing out loud this time. Maybe I should go back and give The Thirteenth Tale a second look (and The Lace Reader and…)

[Tracey]

I just finished The Law of Similiars by Chris Bohjalian. It wasn't what I expected but I think I liked it ok enough. I heard what a wonderful writer he is so I'll try other books he's written. I'm reading The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax. I'm liking it so far.

[Kirsty]

Dottie wrote: "Want to recommend a non-fiction book - The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale. It reads like a novel and is an account of a case in 1860 that both began the use of forensic science and ..."

It's good to know you liked this Dottie, I have it on my shelf to read. A friend also read it and raved about it so I'm thinking of taking it on vacation with me at the end of the month.

LMJ, I read Wicked a couple of years ago and thought it was ok but I wasn't over-enamoured with it. I think it may have been the keeping track of names/places that ruined it for me too. I'm thinking I should read it again though as I have the second book on my TBR shelf. Hopefully my experience of re-reading will be as good as yours!

[Melissa]

I will add my rave to Dottie's. I enjoyed The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher very much. After reading so many present-day novels with detailed descriptions of the forensic science used, it was very interesting to read how it all began.

[Linda]

Kirsty, I went to the book discussion on Wicked tonight. I was not the only one who had read the book earlier and thought, "eh," then reread it for the discussion tonight and got a whole lot more out of it. Give it a try. It is now the first of three including Son of a Witch and A Lion Among Men.
I was one of the first to get Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol from the library today. Same day The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo came in for me. Choices!

[[deleted user]]

I was up at 3 am this morning and read THE COMPOUND (by S.A. Bodeen.) While I can't give SAB points for originality, her writing style is accessible and sympathetic to the YA audience it was written for, without being condescending or trite. It read like a re-write of the first half of Robert A. Heinlein's Farnham's Freehold, with a tighter narrative and POV.

I went to the library and picked up THE RAPHAEL AFFAIR (by Iain Pears,) the first-in-series (Jonathan Argyll.) The series is apparently centered around art theft in Europe and looks to be a cozy. I've only read the first couple of pages so far, but it looks somewhat akin to the Inspector Montelbano series (by Andrea Camilleri) in that it promises to be a smart read with a culturally rich and aware charm.

[Ann]

Suspicions of Mr. Whicher has been on my wishlist forever!

I did have a victory today in that I was in a bookstore *and* remembered to check my Indiebound wishlist on my iphone, so that I could remember which book it was that I wanted to buy. That's a first -- usually I can't remember until I'm driving off. Of course, they didn't have it :(

[Elhara]

To my surprise, My Journey With Farrah by Alana Stewart, became available quite quickly at my library. I've only just started but as I really admired Farrah I,m sure will enjoy this book. I like to read a biography or really anything else than fiction if I've been on a fiction binge. It's a nice change of pace.

[Linda]

I started two books one of which I'm embarrassed to report, so I won't. It will be a very quick read and I put it next to the bed since I've been so tired I can't concentrate on anything cerebral.
The other was The Lost Symbol. I was shocked to find out I got it on the first day from the library because they got multiple books and I requested it that long ago.