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[Tressa]

I have just finished reading Olive Kitteridge. The story and the characters are so intriguing. I am not sure that I like Olive. So many times, I wanted to stop her talk and ask her if she had any idea how hurtful were her comments. How could she not realize this? Why did no one ever tell her?

Yet, she was so sensitive and caring to Nina. Her comment, "I am starving too" really hit me. We are such fragile and complex creatures.

I leave these stories with a renewed focus on cherishing family and friends and making sure to 'seize the day'.

I am now enjoying The Book Thief. It is hard to put this book down and set the Thanksgiving table!

[Caro]

Currently reading World War Z An Oral History of the Zombie War, I had just finished the book I was reading and was waiting in the airport for my flight, the store didn't have two other books I wanted to read and picked it up only because I had heard Michael mentioned it. Well, I'm glad I did because it is really, really good and not something I would have ever purchased on my own.

[Dottie]

Tressa - had exactly the same reaction to Olive but I think the author did a fantastic job in getting us to realize Olive's needs as well. I kind of felt when I was finished that I knew the entire community through Olive - kind of Our Town like.

And I am glad you are liking The Book Thief. It's one of my favorites.

A recent read that I really enjoyed was Pete Dexter's Spooner - was surprised to find that it was at least in part autobiographical - I have been trying ever since I read it to characterize Spooner in my mind. Limited boundaries but more than that - no concept of consequences. But I thought it was one of the funniest books I have read in ages.

Dottie M.

[[deleted user]]

Today, I've got only one book in hand, RECIPES 1-2-3 MENU COOKBOOK by Rozanne Gold! It contains a 15 ingredient Thanksgiving dinner that has been the basis of my Thanksgiving dinners for the past 10 years. The pages are stained, heavily annotated and there are computer printout of complementary dishes from Rozanne Gold's other menu cookbook, ENTERTAINMENT 1-2-3. The spine is completely shot and the whole of it is held together with a giant rubber band! Each menu in both books also has a wine recommendation. This year my notes are mostly about adjustments being made to the instructions as I'm now using an electric range and oven (in the past I've always used a gas range and oven.)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

[Ann]

Tanya,
Our Thanksgiving for the past 10+ years has been taken entirely from Rick Roger's THANKSGIVING 101. The book has been updated since then (and changed publishers) but it's still the bible for our family Thanksgiving. If I had to save one cookbook in a fire, this would be the one.

I'm glad to know that we're not the only one that relies on a single cookbook for so much...

[Tressa]

Dottie,
Thanks for your comments regarding Olive. So nice to 'chat' with someone about a character(s) that has made such an impression. I viewed an interview of the author on utube which was fascinating as well.
Tressa

Dottie wrote: "Tressa - had exactly the same reaction to Olive but I think the author did a fantastic job in getting us to realize Olive's needs as well. I kind of felt when I was finished that I knew the entire..."

Carol wrote: "Currently reading World War Z An Oral History of the Zombie War, I had just finished the book I was reading and was waiting in the airport for my flight, the store didn't have two othe..."

[Elhara]

After 2 or 3 rather gripping serious novels, I need to choose something light. As my nightstand soon will collapse under the weight of so many "to read" I jumped the library due date queue and picked The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg. I am on page 124 and am enjoying it.

[Linda]

Finished The White Tiger which was very enjoyable. I never knew where it was going. The more I think about it, the more I like it. A lot of symbolism.

Now I'm reading The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. so far, it is enticing - a mystery which takes place during the year I was born. This is the author's first book and his is 70. There's hope for me! I see he has another book coming out in the spring. I think I'll be in line for that one.

[Shona]

I'm still reading The Thirteenth Tale and am really enjoying it...have about 50 pages left and I'm looking forward to seeing how it all gets wrapped up. I'm currently on vacation in Garmisch, Germany and was in a bookstore yesterday (yes, I can't even pass a bookstore where all the books are in a language I don't even speak, lol). But they had a small English section and found a book by William Boyd called Ordinary Thunderstorms - I haven't heard of that one - wondering if anyone else has?

[Melissa]

I don't use a cookbook on Thanksgiving. I use a collection of old, stained slips of paper with the family recipes for dressing, Waldorf salad, and pumpkin pie. The family forbids any straying from the traditional recipes.

[Becka the]

I finished The Book of Names by Gregory and Tantori last night - excellent book for anyone interested in Judaica, specifically gematriya, Kabbala, mysticism...What to read next? I'm still plodding through Sophie's World, which I seem to hate more and more as it goes on, but having invested this much time in it I refuse to quit without seeing if it does actually resolve into something. I have lots of non-fiction on hand that I want to read, but like to intersperse with some lighter, faster, less-concentration-demanding fare.

[[deleted user]]

Melissa wrote: "I don't use a cookbook on Thanksgiving. I use a collection of old, stained slips of paper with the family recipes for dressing, Waldorf salad, and pumpkin pie. The family forbids any straying from the traditional recipes. "

LOL, For 25 years, my Mom served the same Thanksgiving dinner which included the mandatory Waldorf salad, Jello with fruit and rolls. Then my father retired and he started watching cooking shows and ordering cookbooks. He announced that he was going to do Thanksgiving dinner that year, and it was Wonderful (yes, that's a capital "W"!) Everyone oohed & aahed and said "it was the best Thanksgiving dinner ever!" My mother was so mad! This was the start of The Thanksgiving Wars with my family which has had many interesting culinary battles!

[Rita]

I'm back to reading Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. It's my last entry in the DystopYA challenge.

[Ann]

Rebekah, have you read Bee Season by Myla Goldberg? It's wonderful -- I thought of it after your description of The Book of Names. It deals with Judaism and Kabbala, but also adolescence and spelling bees and family. I read it many years ago, but I loved it! Not heavy at all, but deep enough to resonate and stick with you.

[Maureen]

Hi all ~

Long time lurker, first time poster. :-) I'm reading my first Bill Bryson travelogue, Notes from a Small Island. (I've previously listened to A Short History of Nearly Everything on audiobook.) Enjoying it so far.

[Ann]

Hi Maureen,

Oh, you're in for a treat! My favorite Bryson is A Walk in the Woods, and I confess that audio was not the right format for me to enjoy Short History of Nearly Everything, but I did love the book.

Thanks for de-lurking!

[Becka the]

Ann wrote: "Rebekah, have you read Bee Season by Myla Goldberg? It's wonderful -- I thought of it after your description of The Book of Names. It deals with Judaism and Kabbala, but also adolescence and spelli..."

No; I'll definitely have to check it out, especially since hundreds of years ago in my adolescence I was a spelling bee champion, and have two sons who went far in spelling competitions as well! Thanks. Off to the library website!

[Melissa]

I finished With Wings Like Eagles (a history of the RAF during the Battle of Britain) and started Masters and Commanders by Andrew Roberts. It is about the relationships between Churchill, Roosevelt, Marshall, and Brooke. I also started The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, but it hasn't captured me yet. It's strange, but once school starts, I seem more drawn to non-fiction. I guess after teaching fiction all day, I need a break.

[Shona]

I just started reading The Handmaid's Tale. I'm only on page 72 but it has just captivated me -- it's going to be a long night :)

[Melissa]

I loved The Handmaid's Tale. I also enjoyed Oryx and Crake. I am looking forward to reading Year of the Flood. I put it at the top of my Christmas lists, so I have high hopes of seeing it under the tree. I listened to a podcast interview of Margaret Atwood, and she tried to describe her genre of writing. She said she didn't consider it Science Fiction because it didn't concern outer space and aliens, but of course most of her stories are set in an alternate reality. I would describe it as speculative fiction. Her books demonstrate the possible results of current social trends, political agendas, or scientific exploration divorced from moral guidance or common sense.

[Michael]

I've been away from Goodreads for a few weeks, so I'm catching up on what everyone is reading. It is so thrilling to hear that so many have taken my recommendations and are enjoying the books:

Lekeshua with The Secret History
Carol with World War Z
Lmj with Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

It's wonderful that so many books I love are getting more love from all of you!!

[Shona]

Melissa wrote: "I loved The Handmaid's Tale. I also enjoyed Oryx and Crake. I am looking forward to reading Year of the Flood. I put it at the top of my Christmas lists, so I have high hopes of seeing it under the..."

Melissa,
I am really loving The Handmaid's Tale - I found myself today asking everybody at work whether they had read it because I just wanted to talk about it with somebody else! I like your term speculative fiction - it describes it quite well.

[Eric]

Melissa wrote: "I loved The Handmaid's Tale. I also enjoyed Oryx and Crake. I am looking forward to reading Year of the Flood. I put it at the top of my Christmas lists, so I have high hopes of seeing it under the..."

melissa,
I loved oryx and crake and I just finished the year of the flood and I liked it so much. Even better than oryx and crake. Its one of my favs of this year!

[Claire]

Shona wrote: "Melissa wrote: "I loved The Handmaid's Tale. I also enjoyed Oryx and Crake. I am looking forward to reading Year of the Flood. I put it at the top of my Christmas lists, so I have high hopes of see..."

The Handmaid's Tale is on my top 10 list of all time favorite books. Glad you are enjoying it.

[Scott]

Picked up The Feathery on my Kindle. If you like fiction thrillers and golf, here's a good way to blend your passions. Liking it very much so far.

[Libby]

I just started "Year of Wonder" by Geraldine Brooks. Her writing is so wonderful that I immediately got pulled into 1666, the year of the plague. I've had the book since it came out in 2001, because it got such good reviews, but just got around to reading it. I loved "People of the Book" and "March," too.

[[deleted user]]

I'm supposed to be reading WATER FOR ELEPHANTS (by Sara Gruen.) I listened to the audio last year (narrated by John Randolph Jones and David LeDoux) and wasn't really planning on covering the material again so soon, but it's the book the library's fledgling book club selected for this month. I want to show my support for their endeavors by being able to actively participate in the discussion, but my heart's just not in it, so the goings slow. Don't get me wrong, I liked the book and, in fact have recommended it to others, but right now I find myself just looking at the pictures!

In audio, I'm listening to SUDDEN DEATH (fourth in the Andy Carpenter series by David Rosenfelt; narrated by Grover Gardner.) There are two titles in the series that are abridged, and only abridged (meaning that there is no unabridged audio available,) Bury the Lead, the third title in the series, and this one. In Bury the Lead, I had no idea what the abridger(s) left out, but with this title, there has already been one continuity error :-(
I'm young and I'll get over it, but I'm glad the rest in the series are unabridged!

[Linda]

Tanya wrote: "I'm supposed to be reading WATER FOR ELEPHANTS (by Sara Gruen.) I listened to the audio last year (narrated by John Randolph Jones and David LeDoux) and wasn't really planning on covering the mater..."

Tanya, I've read this book 3 times - including the second time for my book discussion. Each time I felt I got more out of it than I did the previous time. There are few books that I have read more than once let alone more than twice. Good luck with your support for your reading group.

Linda

[[deleted user]]

Libby wrote: "I just started "Year of Wonder" by Geraldine Brooks. Her writing is so wonderful that I immediately got pulled into 1666, the year of the plague. I've had the book since it came out in 2001, beca..."
Year of Wonder is a good book - I read it about a month ago. I didn't care for the ending so much, but I loved the strength of the female characters.

[Shona]

I just finished The Handmaid's Tale. Definitely on my all time favorite list. I don't know what I will read next - I'm still in Gilead with Offred...this story will stick with me for a while...

[JULIE]

Libby wrote: "I just started "Year of Wonder" by Geraldine Brooks. Her writing is so wonderful that I immediately got pulled into 1666, the year of the plague. I've had the book since it came out in 2001, beca..."

Libby, have you read "Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women"? It was published in 1994. Brooks travels to several different Islamic countries and visits with the women there. She is thus able to present a different side of Islamic culture than what we usually see. (Since those cultures are patriarchal, the women's thoughts and opinions are pretty much invisible to Westerners.) I didn't even realize that this was the same Geraldine Brooks as the other books you mentioned until I looked her up on Goodreads! Now I will definitely add her other books to my TBR list!

[[deleted user]]

Jeweleye wrote: "Libby wrote: "I just started "Year of Wonder" by Geraldine Brooks. Her writing is so wonderful that I immediately got pulled into 1666, the year of the plague. I've had the book since it came out..."

That sounds like an interesting book -- I'm putting it on my TBR list.
Another non-fiction book by Brooks worthy of mention is Foreign Correspondence A Pen Pal's Journey from Down Under to All Over where as an adult she tracks down pen-pals she had while she was young. Her novel People of the Book is also very good.

[Becka the]

Started another installment of "classics I missed along the way" the other day - Les Mis; plan to do library runs early next week for Bee Season by Goldberg and The Illumination by Gregory and Tantori; The Birds' Christmas Carol is sitting atop my desk beckoning for the annual re-read (a tradition I've kept almost every year for the last 30 or so).

[Irene]

HI all,

I haven't had time to keep up with all of you for a couple of months, so it's nice to catch up. I loved WATER FOR ELEPHANTS too. I found YEAR OF WONDER interesting but it didn't really "get" me. I'm about two chapters from the end of SHADOW OF THE WIND and I'm enjoyin it. But THE BEST thing I've read in ages was EXPECTING ADAM by Martha Beck. It's an unforgettable memoire, deep and funny in equal parts. Has anyone else read it?

[Irene]

I just finished listening to a GREAT audio book, too, SUMMERLAND, written and read by Michael Chabon.

[Graceann]

I'm reading the brilliant SCHINDLER'S LEGACY, which is non-fiction regarding the experiences of some of the Schindlerjuden after their liberation. This author has gotten a fair number to tell their stories (many others didn't wish to discuss it anymore, or couldn't be found, or had already passed on). There is anger, determination, sheer guts, heartbreak and, surprisingly, a bit of humor. Highly recommended.

[[deleted user]]

Irene wrote: "HI all,

But THE BEST thing I've read in ages was EXPECTING ADAM by Martha Beck. It's an unforgettable memoire, deep and funny in equal parts. Has anyone else read it?"

One of my friends lent me that book in 2008 and I'm ashamed to admit that I still have it sitting here unread. One of my resolutions for 2010 is to read the half dozen or so books that people have lent me and return them. Sounds like I should start with EXPECTING ADAM!

[Libby]

I haven't read "Nine Parts of Desire," but I'd like to. Maybe I'll put it on my Christmas list. I also haven't read the one about Brooks' penpals.

[Ann]

Oh, I *loved* Nine Parts of Desire! I read it before Geraldine Brooks was *the* Geraldine Brooks!

[[deleted user]]

I just finished reading The Living Dead in Dallas, the second in the Sookie Stackhouse series. Waiting for a copy of the third book to fall into my hands! In the meantime, I'm reading Real World by Natsuo Kirino. I received it as a gift quite awhile ago, and it's been gathering dust. Time to read it, and put it up for swap!

[Scott]

Rebekah wrote: "Started another installment of "classics I missed along the way" the other day - Les Mis; plan to do library runs early next week for Bee Season by Goldberg and The Illumination by Gregory and Tant..."

Good luck on Les Mis. Great book and story, but a veeeerrrrryyyy long read. :)

[Scott]

I've finally finished Sherlock Holmes and am now completely engrossed in The Feathery by Bill Flynn. Never been a big golf person, but this book has me hooked.

[Becka the]

Scott wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "Started another installment of "classics I missed along the way" the other day - Les Mis; plan to do library runs early next week for Bee Season by Goldberg and The Illumination by ..."

Turns out I unrealizingly picked up an abridged version - only 400 pages. How long is the unabridged?

[Linda]

Finished Juliet, Naked A Novel this was my first Nick Hornby. I really liked the book until I had to draw conclusions about the ending.

Now I've started listening to Steve Martin's memoir Born Standing Up A Comic's Life. I haven't listened to much, but what I've heard verifies what I've thought about Steve Martin. That he is funny, intelligent, well-spoken. Now I know he's introspective, too.

[Melissa]

I'm listening to Waiting for Columbus - loving it. I'm reading Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, and A Jury of Her Peers.

[Kerry]

I loved "Expecting Adam" too. It is really a great personal account of how society and make judgements about people's choices. It is Martha Beck's first book and I still think it is one of her best.
Just finished listening to the unabridged, "While I am Falling" by Laura Moriarty. I loved this book, sort of a chick lit but a good read and gives a good view on how divorce can effect a family. Also read the "Crying Tree" Don't know if I mentioned this before but it was sooo good, deserves another mention.

[Linda]

Finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and have now started Sarah's Key. I fear this one will be a tear jerker. It partially takes place during World War II and partially now. So far the short chapters are alternating and are easily to tell which age I am reading because the font changes.

[[deleted user]]

Lmj wrote: "Finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and have now started Sarah's Key. I fear this one will be a tear jerker. It partially takes place during World War II ..."

Sarah's Key is excellent. I wasn't a fan of the writing style but it's a great story.

[Julie]

Need a fun, light, bedside read this Dec.? Try Fannie Flagg's "A Redbird Christmas." Also just finished Katherine Lanpher's "Leap Days" - a memoir from the St. Paul, MN journalist/author who moved to NYC at midlife to cohost 'Air America' - Al Franken's now-defunct answer to the right wing talk radio. But it's really about mid-life introspection and what life holds for the second half - with a healthy dose of humor and self deprecation! I could certainly relate to all her references about the Twin Cities and the Midwest in general.

[Debbie]

I just finished reading "The Book Thief" and listened to "The Lovely Bones". This was an interesting happenstance - since both books are told from an unusual point of view, and since my father-in-law has just recently passed away. Each book brought some comfort to me in their own way. The writing in "The Book Thief" was so skillful, I felt like I was right there with Liesel and Rudy. The narrator's observations about people struck a deep chord with me. In "The Lovely Bones" the narrator's vision of heaven seemed to fit my own thoughts, and it helped to think of my father-in-law in a heaven of his own, and I wondered who and what would be there with him. Even having known him for 35 years, I'm not sure I would guess correctly. At any rate, both these books resonated for me, maybe due to recent circumstances in my own life, but I really think they would have regardless.