What are you currently reading? Showing 851-900 of 1,649

[Ann]

Debbie, I'm so sorry about your father-in-law, but I'm glad that the two books have helped. I never did read The Lovely Bones, but of course The Book Thief is an absolute favorite.

[Joanne-in-Canada]

I'm about 1/3 into "The Thirteenth Tale", recommended by a friend, but also suggested in your podcasts. Next up will be "The Sweet Edge" by Alison Pick, I think, though I'm always torn between the books on my nightstand and the books on my "To Be Read" list, which number more than 160.

[[deleted user]]

Last year I listened to WATER FOR ELEPHANTS (by Sarah Gruen; narrated by David leDoux and John Randolph Jones) and really liked it; but this year I tried to read it in print and it really fell flat for me. It was too easy to skim the text and miss the lush details (i.e. "flash of pink sequins") so despite being intrigued by the archival photos, I ended up not finishing it this time around.

Last week, I started ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY (by Rose Connors; narrated by Bernadette Dunne.) This is mystery set in Cape Cod involving a lawyer who may have had the wrong guy convicted for homicide. It's a very carefully read story so no fault there, but it's not terribly exciting. It's a first-in-series (Marty Nickerson) and it doesn't look like I'll continue with the series.

This past week-end I read two books: Dexter by Design (by Jeff Lindsay) and Bed of Roses (by Nora Roberts.) DEXTER BY DESIGN is the fourth in the series upon which the TV series is based. Jeff Lindsay has managed to recover from the debacle that was Dexter in the Dark and write a novel which genuinely gives pause to those who might have been merely expecting clever bon mots. The art exhibition in Paris, "Jennifer's Leg," sets the tone of the story and adds thematic depth by providing the subtextual topic of "perspective." This theme is underscored by the deaths and corpse mutilations from the basic linear narrative, by the tension between his sister (Sergeant Deborah Morgan) and himself and, by the multi-generational legacy of the tutelage of the monsters within. The line between perspective and rationalization is as thin as ever and one that Jeff Lindsay treads with as much care as ever. This is Jeff Lindsay's best Dexter novel yet.

BED OF ROSES is the second title in the Bride Quartet by Nora Roberts. I don't usually read modern romances in general but decided to read Vision on White (first-in-series) and Bed of Roses because Bed of Roses has been so prominently displayed in bookstores and blogged about. I was disappointed with Vision in White, because frankly, the sex scenes (chemistry+romance+consumation) were rather tepid. I know Nora Roberts can write steamy stuff (i.e. Naked in Death, first in the In Death Series by J.D. Robb) so the mediocre fare offered by Vision in White was a bit of a surprise. In Bed of Roses, the sex scenes were hotter, but overall, the story was just as forgettable as in Vision in White. I don't think I'll continue with this series and if I want to read a romance, I'll probably pick up a regency, though admittedly I kinda "read out" the genre years ago.

I'm currently reading THE MAZE RUNNER (by James Dashell) as the third and final title for the DystopYA Challenge.

[Rita]

I'm currently reading Sunday Money by Jeff MacGregor which is non-fiction. He's a sports reporter who buys a motor-home and travels to each NASCAR race. Since I'm a NASCAR fan, it's a pretty easy read.

Once I finish this one I'm going to read New Moon.

[[deleted user]]

I finished THE MAZE RUNNER (by James Dashell) yesterday, and ergo the DystopYA Reading Challenge. Now I just have to post a review!

I've decided to read SATURDAY (by Ian McEwan) next. It's a Man Booker 2005 longlist title that I hope to finish off before I leave for the East Coast on Monday.

For the flight, I have David Small's graphic novel, STITCHES and, while I'm away, HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET (by Jamie Ford) and A FRACTION OF THE WHOLE (Man Booker 2008 shortlist title by Steve Toltz.) I'm looking forward to both reads, but I have to say I am completely unimpressed with Nathan Burton's cover design for the paperback edition of A Fraction of the Whole. The cover is perforated with holes so that you can see a contrasting color and the title of the book though the apertures. Despite careful handling, its already showing wear and I haven't started reading it yet! Want to take any guesses as to how long this cover will remain intact?

[Michael]

Where on the east coast are you headed Tanya?

Wave if you fly over Rhode Island!

[[deleted user]]

Michael wrote: "Where on the east coast are you headed Tanya?

Wave if you fly over Rhode Island!"

We're spending ten days in NYC! Some of the things I'm looking forward to: New York City Ballet's production of The Nutcracker, FAO Schwartz, Toys 'R' Us in Times Square, The M&M Store, Partners & Crime Bookstore, The movie The Princess and the Frog, Macy's windows (and Santa!), The Egyptian Section at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters, MoMA (lunch and Tim Burton exhibit) , Horse 'n' carriage ride in Central Park (Will there be snow? How cool would *that* be!?), taxis, room service, friends I haven't seen in years...

Nothing personal, but I'm hoping I won't be flying over Rhode Island, 'cause if we are, there's something terribly wrong!

The next time I'll be in New England will probably be next July when we fly in to WDC and drive up to Maine...

[Linda]

Tanya, May I hide in your luggage?

Linda

[[deleted user]]

Lmj wrote: "Tanya, May I hide in your luggage?

Linda"

I might not be able to get you past homeland Security, but I'll do the next best thing by twittering along!

Tanya
dogearedcopy

[[deleted user]]

What I'm currently reading: The Lace Reader A Novel by Brunonia Barry.
What I'm no longer reading: Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust -- I have finished all six volumes!

[[deleted user]]

Suzanne wrote: "What I'm no longer reading: Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust -- I have finished all six volumes!"

Congratulations!

[Ann]

Suzanne!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!

[Linda]

Wow! Suzanne! I bow down to your fortitude and diligence.

Linda

[Maureen]

Currently reading If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name News from Small-Town Alaska. Interesting book - a collection of essays, really - about the author's life in a small town in Alaska. More thought-provoking than I thought it would be. The author is the obituary writer for her local newspaper, and there's some interesting essays on death and dying.

[Linda]

Finished Sarah's Key which I absolutely loved. Returned to Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet A Novel. I had started the latter as an audiobook, but had to return it to the library before I finished it. This time I'm attacking the pages - it will go faster anyway. I finished listening to Steve Martin's Born Standing Up A Comic's Life which I too enjoyed. Now listening to Eragon. I have a signed first edition of the book, but never seem to get around to reading it. This will also keep my book in pristine condition.

Linda

[Shona]

Just got done reading Best Friends Forever A Novel and have started Last Night in Montreal

Update - just finished Last Night in Montreal (4-star read for me) and have started The Hunger Games which I immediately love...

[Caro]

I just started reading Julie and Julia 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell and so far I'm enjoying it. Last week I finished Peeps by Scott Westerfeld and Y The Last Man Vol. 1 Unmanned, oh and somebody just gifted me a kindle, this was completely unexpected, it wasn't even on my wish list, it's the first time I have some type of e-reader... let's see how it goes...

[Trish]

Snakehead by Keefe. Wonder how he got the Snakehead to talk.

[Melissa]

I just finished Shutter Island and now I am reading The Devil in the White City.

[Ann]

Trish, isn't Snakehead amazing? Our rep in NYC and one of our booksellers took a walking tour of Chinatown with Keefe. They said it was incredible and really brought the book to life!

[Trish]

O-o-o-h-h yeah. Very interesting. Certainly puts another spin on international relations. Gang wars in NYC with 12-, 13-, and 14-year-olds. Very scary.

[Tressa]

I just finished Waiting for Columbus. I found the first half of this book quite frustrating. But I am glad I persisted because the second half was worth the wait.

I was in New York for a 'theater experience'----4 days and six plays. Such fun! I enjoyed Ragtime, so I'm now reading the novel.

I am also reading Great Expectations and a gift book titled, Charles Dickens and the House of Fallen Women. Interesting! Has anyone read this book?

[Libby]

I just finished Homeland, by Barbara Hambly, an epistolatory novel of letters between a woman in Maine and another in the south during the Civil War. What is unique is how it shows that not all southerners were on the side of the Confederacy and not all northerners fought for the Union. The devastation and deaths were overwhelming and many of the letters written by the women were not sent until after the war. Often what is not said is important later when you figure out what is going on. Cora (in Maine) begins by saying she doesn't read fiction after receiving a trunk full of books from Susannah (in TN), but later starts reading Jane Austen and Charles Dickens books, sharing her thoughts.

[Laurie]

Lit, by Mary Karr.

[Melissa]

I am currently reading The City and The City by China Mieville. This is the first one of his books I've read and I'm loving it. One of my friends was really shocked that I was reading a "straight up" detective story so I told her about the twist in the story. She was like "should've known there'd be some sci-fi element to any story you're reading."

I'm listening to Catching Fire (Book 2 of The Hunger Games trilogy) by Suzanne Collins. It's so good that I can barely quit listening. I'm driving extra slow to and from work. It's going to be really frustrating when I reach the end of the story and have to wait until next August for the next book.

[Savvy]

An on-line group I belong to just finished SACRED HEARTS by Sarah Dunant and are starting our discussion for January.

Here's a link to the site if you'd like to join us. I am the owner/moderator and will approve you if you ask to join.
We're a small group, and most of us have read Sarah's other 2 Renaissance novels and a few of us have met and interacted with Sarah both in person and on-line.
Anyway...here's the link if you have some interest....we'd love to have you!

Cheers! Susanne

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CafeDeiLet...

[Kirsty]

I just finished reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and loved it. His portrayal of someone with Asperger's was fantastic...

Now on to Helpless by Barbara Gowdy

[Trish]

Re Lit by Mary Carr. A colleague of mine recommended the title with these words: The deeply powerful story of a life begun in chaos and violence and a woman's attempt to reconcile the irreconcilable.

[Kirsty]

Sounds good Trish... I've added it to my neverending TBR list.

[Shona]

Well I finished Hunger Games (LOVED, LOVED, LOVED), but do not have Catching Fire yet, so I read Tortilla Flat by Steinbeck - interesting story but I have yet to figure out the point of it. Now I'm reading Pride and Prejudice - can't believe I haven't read this until now. I had also started The Scarpetta Factor, but P&P kept drawing me away so I'll finish it first.

[Libby]

The Book of William by Paul Collins. Fascinating for book collectors or lovers of Shakespeare. The author tracks The First Folio of Shakespeare published shortly after his death through several editing or butchering jobs (the second notably by Alexander Pope) into subsequent editions. He shows how the First Folio fell then rose in price to be the most expensive book worldwise. We are taken through modern London with a comparison to London of the 17th and 18th century. Only about half way through but I'm loving it.

[Ann]

Tressa wrote: "I just finished Waiting for Columbus. I found the first half of this book quite frustrating. But I am glad I persisted because the second half was worth the wait.

Tressa, I completely understand, and I'm so glad you kept at it. The Dickens book sounds interesting!

[Ann]

Wow, what a great list of books you all are reading!

I'm in the middle of Ian McEwan's new book that will be out this summer. It's quite different, and yet definitely still McEwan.

I've also been dipping in and out of THE MAKING OF A CHEF by Michael Ruhlman. Seems like if I'm not eating food I'm reading about it. I think I may need to read something that will motivate me to give up the cake and cookies!

[Melissa]

I'm looking forward to hearing more about the Ian McEwan book. I'm enjoying The Devil in the White City, but I'm waiting for my 14 year old son to finish his Christmas books so that I can read them. He received The Maze Runner, The House of Stairs, and a collection of Sherlock Holmes books (among many others). I love how my children always open their books first on Christmas morning, and spend most of the day talking about what they will read next. I also have The Lacuna and Any Human Heart on my TBR pile.

[Linda]

I finished Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet last night. i enjoyed the book - especially the latter half. The last half became compelling vs the beginning. I don't know why, specifically. It took about the last 120 pages for it to become a page turner for me. I seemed to have a theme fo sorts going since I'm now listening to The Help which I read earlier (this time for a book discussion) and the previous book was Sarah's Key.

Now, I've started a completely trashy book written in 1976. I should be embarrassed to say I'm reading THE USERS by Joyce Haber. This ties with a book I read by Dominick Dunne - which was also Hollywood trashy. Should be a quick mindless read.

Linda

[Shona]

Just finished Pride and Prejudice which was extremely good. I got so engrossed in it. Now I've started The Scarpetta Factor as I got it for Christmas. I have not enjoyed her last couple of books but since I have it, decided to try her again.

[Caro]

Finished Julie and Julia 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen and started Peter & Max A Fables Novel.

[Deb]

Ann wrote: "Wow, what a great list of books you all are reading!

I'm in the middle of Ian McEwan's new book that will be out this summer. It's quite different, and yet definitely still McEwan.

I've also bee..."

Melissa wrote: "I'm looking forward to hearing more about the Ian McEwan book. I'm enjoying The Devil in the White City, but I'm waiting for my 14 year old son to finish his Christmas books so that I can read them..."

I just finished The Devil in the White City this morning. My book group will be discussing it next week. I really enjoyed it--something I would have never known about without reading this very engaging book.

[Melissa]

Deb wrote: "I just finished The Devil in the White City this morning. My book group will be discussing it next week. I really enjoyed it--something I would have never known about without reading this very engaging book."


I have about 60 pages left. I told myself that I can finish it after I've finished grading another stack of research papers. I'm really enjoying the descriptions of turn of the century Chicago and the building of the World's Fair. The author does a fascinating job interspersing this story with the story of the serial killer.

[[deleted user]]

Ann wrote: "I'm in the middle of Ian McEwan's new book that will be out this summer. It's quite different, and yet definitely still McEwan. "

I just finished reading SATURDAY by Ian McEwan. It's about a neurosurgeon whose Saturday has been interrupted by an ugly incident stemming from a minor car accident earlier in the day. All this is set against a large protest (against British involvement in the Iraqi War) that took place in London. There were a lot of things that I could I identify with in the book (my father was a neurosurgeon and many of the settings could have been transplanted to a townhouse on East Capitol Hill in Washington, DC) and even a couple of phrases worthy of highlighting even if they weren't particularly original; but overall, I finished the novel without having felt really engaged with the story. Perhaps if I read more McEwan? I may try Atonement at one point.

[Linda]

I just finished reading SATURDAY by Ian McEwan. It's a...

…I finished the novel without having felt really engaged with the story. Perhaps if I read more McEwan?"

I felt exactly the same way when I read it several years ago.

And, I loved The Devil in the White City. My library even had a book from that World's Fair to add to our book discussion's enjoyment.

Linda

[Ann]

Tanya and Linda,

I almost never feel engaged with the characters in Ian McEwan's novels, but I think that's what appeals to me. I feel like the distance from the characters allows me to better see the psychological workings (and non-workings) of the various players.

I don't find this works for too many authors, but for some reason, McEwan can pull it off, imho.

[Tara]

Tanya wrote: "I finished THE MAZE RUNNER (by James Dashell) yesterday, and ergo the DystopYA Reading Challenge. Now I just have to post a review!

I've decided to read SATURDAY (by Ian McEwan) next. It's a Man B..."

I purchased Saturday when it first came out, but made the mistake of reading the lacerating review that was in The New York Review of Books... after that I couldn't get into it. Has anyone else seen that review? I don't know why, but I'm happier to have read that than I am disappointed to have not read the book.

[Tara]

I'm almost finished reading Heirloom: Notes from an Accidental Tomato Farmer by Tim Stark which was all kinds of great! Its got me in the mood for Spring... I'm actually thinking of starting a clutch of gardening books to get me through the worst of January... I've one by Gertrude Jekyll I think I'll start next.

Also, in terms of fiction, I started Half of a Yellow Sun by Adichie and downloaded Await Your Reply... which I've been dying to "read" since Michael's review. I'll start listening to that one on Monday.

[Trish]

Finished Snakehead by Keefe. Great storytelling. Read my review here.

[Anne_MB]

I am about halfway through The Hunger Games and am LOVING it.
It reminds me a little of both John Wyndham's The Chrysalids and John Marsden's Tomorrow When The War Began series.
Luckily I have the sequel to read next...I bought both as Xmas presents for my daughter but got to them first.
What a great start to the year!!

[Rita]

I'm finishing up two books right now. Sunday Money by jeff McGregor (finally finishing it) and Hot Six by Janet Evanovich. I'll take a break from Stephanie Plum and then am going to read A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton. Another series I want to start.

I've got both Sawtelle and Atonement staring at me. But these others are my the night stand closest to me so I must read them first. I'm a little OCD that way.

[Kirsty]

I've just finished Helpless... wow, that woman can sure tell a gripping story. I read the second half of the book in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down! The subject matter was tough, and it wasn't an easy read, but boy did it pull me in!

[Dottie]

Working my way through some historical English mysteries. Started with The Mistress of the Art of Death by Arianna Franklin - set during King Henry II reign with a strong and unusual female character - an early female doctor specializing in corpses at a time when women weren't supported to be either a doctor or dealing with dead bodies. The next two in the series (also interesting) are the Serpent's Tale and Grave Goods. And am currently engrossed in C. J. Sansom's Sovereign which has moved up to King Henry's time and has a protagonist who is a lawyer with a crooked back (relevant to the story).

[Kirsty]

Dottie, I have Dissolution by Sansom, but haven't read it yet. Is it a good read?