What are you currently reading? Showing 901-950 of 1,649

[Tara]

Dottie wrote: "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 charac..."

I'm a huge fan of the Arianna Franklin Mistress of the Art of Death series... enjoy!

[Dottie]

Haven't read that one but Sovereign was quite good - interesting look at the history.

[Scott]

About a third of the way through Secret of the Sands. Good story so far. I'm looking forward to some more reading today to hopefully answer some of the questions that were brought up in last night's reading.

[Kirsty]

Dottie wrote: "Haven't read that one but Sovereign was quite good - interesting look at the history."

Ah ok, I just assumed you'd read Dissolution as it's the first book of the series. Will let you know if it's any good when I get around to reading it!

[Melissa]

I finished The Devil in the White City, and I decided to start Under the Dome. I don't know why I started it - it's over 1,000 pages long. I made the mistake of reading the first few pages and was hooked. I'm hoping it will go quickly; I've already read over 100 pages. I also began the New York Trilogy and Any Human Heart.

[Laurie]

Just started Push: A Novel (or Precious), by Sapphire.

[Libby]

Laurie, I just saw the movie, "Precious" this weekend but haven't read the book. I'll be interested in your opinion of the book.

I'm reading "Free Man of Color" by Barbara Hambly. It is a mystery set in 1833 New Orleans.

[Helen]

I am reading "The Unfinished Gift" by Dan Walsh. This is a book group book for January. I am also reading "The Last Chinese Chef" by Nicole Mones. I don't like to cook at all but lately I have read several novels that have some sort of cooking as a base. Just wonder what's up with That!..

[[deleted user]]

I just finished listening to NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (by Cormac McCarthy; narrated by Tom Stechschulte.) Basically, the audiobook is a poor production of a great novel. The character of Anton Chigurh is compelling. I listened to the section where he talks to Carla Jean Moss three times! The exposition on predestination, free will and fate was fascinating and a nice counterpoint to McCarthy's gunmetal style of nihilism. However, mouth noises, booth noises and, a misread pulled me out of the story a few times :-(

I'm now on to ON CHESIL BEACH (by Ian McEwan; narrated by the author.) In a serendipitous moment, as I was thinking I should read more McEwan for stylistic context, a co-worker gave me a copy of the audiobook! It contains an interview with the author as well.

I've been carting HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET (by Jamie Ford) for over a month and six thousand miles now. I need to hunker down and read it already! Uh, I just opened it up and discovered I have a signed copy. Now I feel really bad that I didn't handle it with more care :-(

[Shona]

I am reading The Last Town on Earth: A Novel which is pretty good and then I was going to start One Second After but I went to London yesterday just for the day (I live in Germany) to see a play and happened to find a Waterstones in Picadilly (they advertised it as the largest bookstore in Europe). It has six floors and it is truly beautiful. Since I live in Germany (and I don't speak German), the only bookstore in my area is a small one on the military base, so I was so excited to walk into a bookstore where everything is in English :) It was literally worth the trip over there, just so I could browse their aisles/floors. So I got some great books and I just love how the covers are different than in the states:

The Children's Book
Cutting for Stone
The Little Stranger
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest

Now I don't know what to read next!

[Linda]

I just started Her Fearful Symmetry. I loved The Time Traveler's Wife so much, I hope I'm not disappointed by Niffenegger's second novel.

Linda

[Trish]

Shona wrote: "So I got some great books and I just love how the covers are different than in the states:

The Children's Book
Cutting for Stone
The Little Stranger
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest "

So jealous. That's a candy shop.

[Onaona]

I just finished No Country for Old Men, which is the first book from Cormac McArthy that I've read. I enjoyed it but feel that it requires a reread since I focused more on the plot the first time around, and rather glossed over the more philosophical discussions. I just started Her Fearful Symmetry, which I absolutely LOVE so far. I hope to tackle Cutting for Stone, The Year of the Flood and Museum of Innocence soon.

[[deleted user]]

Vaashti wrote: "I just finished No Country for Old Men, which is the first book from Cormac McArthy that I've read. I enjoyed it but feel that it requires a reread since I focused more on the plot the first time ..."

I know this sounds kinda awful, but I was fascinated by the character of Anton Chigurh. I listened to the audiobook, but I plan on re-reading it in print at one point, just to focus on his character and "dialogue."

[Trish]

I know this sounds kinda awful, but I was fascinated by the character of Anton Chigurh. I listened to the audiobook, but I plan on re-reading it in print at one point, just to focus on his character and "dialogue."

Good for you. McCarthy is one of the finest authors writing in English today, and diving deeper into a classic is as worthwhile a pursuit as spreading your interests far and wide. I encourage depth and concentration for developing an eye and ear for good writing. Share with us what is best after your analysis.

[[deleted user]]

I finished ON CHESIL BEACH (narrated by the author, Ian McEwan) and it may be that I am not a McEwan fan. His prose comes across as something between a forensics report and an English classroom/academic exercise. Nonetheless, I'm reserving final judgment until I've read at least a couple more of his books. I'm thinking about picking up BLACK DOGS and/or ATONEMENT. Maybe AMSTERDAM and then of course, SOLAR is being published this year!LOL, I may end up reading all of McEwan's works!

Now I'm listening to ALONE (by Lisa Gardner; narrated by Anna Fields.) IT's a title I've in my queue for years and I'm determined to clear at least 20 titles off my backlog this year!

I should finish HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET (by Jamie Ford.) It's fairly innocuous so far. Then I'm on to tackle THE CHILDREN'S BOOK (by A.S. Byatt.)

[Linda]

I finished Her Fearful Symmetry. Vaashti, I'll be very interested in your take on it after you are finished with it. I started Burn. I'm more than halfway through it and basically feel it's o.k. - not great.

Linda

[Onaona]

Tanya wrote: I know this sounds kinda awful, but I was fascinated by the character of Anton Chigurh.

I agree. One of the reasons I want to reread the book is to take examine Sheriff Bell's conflict in confronting the existence of such a man as Chigurh. Truly fascinating.

Lmj wrote: I finished Her Fearful Symmetry. Vaashti, I'll be very interested in your take on it after you are finished with it.

I am slightly more than halfway done and am enjoying it so far. My husband commented that is sounds similar to many aspects of the movie Ghost, which I have never seen. Any thoughts on that?

[[deleted user]]

Tanya wrote: "I should finish HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET (by Jamie Ford.) It's fairly innocuous so far. Then I'm on to tackle THE CHILDREN'S BOOK (by A.S. Byatt.) "

I changed my mind. I'm going to start A FRACTION OF THE WHOLE (by Steve Toltz) tomorrow and hopefully finish it in a week. Then I'll start The Children's Book (by A.S. Byatt.)

I did finish HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET (by Jamie Ford.) It reminds me, in style and sentimental intent, of Water for Elephants (by Sara Gruen.) I gave it a "B-" (4 stars on goodreads) because I was feeling generous. It's interesting for its historical elements and fairly innocuous, though there are some anachronisms relating to 1986 and, unless your talking it over with someone with wartime experience, probably not a whole lot to discuss.

[AM]

Trish wrote: "I know this sounds kinda awful, but I was fascinated by the character of Anton Chigurh. I listened to the audiobook, but I plan on re-reading it in print at one point, just to focus on his characte..."

There is an awesome book called Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose. Weather you wish to be a writer or not, it is a great book that talks about close reading. It progresses through word choice to sentence building to paragraphs, etc. I highly recommended to anyone interested in the language used to tell stories.

[AM]

I am currently reading The Dangerous World of Butterflies by Peter Laufer and America's Women: 400 years of dolls, drudges, helpmates and heroines by Gail Collins. I am also listening to The Language of Bees by Laurie King.

[Ryan]

I just finished Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya, and I am currently reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.

You can check out my review of "Nectar in a Sieve" here

Despite all the hype about Larsson's book, I have to say that I am really disappointed so far. I feel like I've been reading forever and I STILL haven't gotten to the main story yet.

[Ann]

We had to read Nectar in a Sieve in 9th grade. In my opinion, waaaay too early. I don't think a single person liked it. I would probably love it now.

[Linda]

Lmj wrote: I finished Her Fearful Symmetry. Vaashti, I'll be very interested in your take on it after you are finished with it.

I am slightly more than halfway done and am enjoying it so far. My husband commented that is sounds similar to many aspects of the movie Ghost, which I have never seen. Any thoughts on that?

I hadn't thought of comparing it to the movie Ghost. After thought, the parallel's are someone dies who stays behind as a ghost. Having read the entire book, I'm thinking maybe it's anti-Ghost. - Finish reading, I don't want to ruin anything.

I did finish HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET (by Jamie Ford.) It reminds me, in style and sentimental intent, of Water for Elephants (by Sara Gruen.)

Water for Elephants??? I never made that connection either. I did parallel HOTEL to SARAH'S KEY. Have you read that one?

I finished BURN (I should love my new job for as unbusy as I am - I'm basically getting paid to read!). Haven't decided yet, what I'll take to work tomorrow - I do have a pile of Gregory Maguire's YA books.

[Trish]

There is an awesome book called Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose. Whether you wish to be a writer or not, it is a great book that talks about close reading. It progresses through word choice to sentence building to paragraphs, etc. I highly recommended to anyone interested in the language used to tell stories."

Will check it out, many thanks.

[Trish]

Ryan wrote: "Despite all the hype about Larsson's book, I have to say that I am really disappointed so far. I feel like I've been reading forever and I STILL haven't gotten to the main story yet."

Are you reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo still? It is horrid in the beginning. The editor says it's because the author was just getting used to writing novels and didn't quite have a grip yet. See the comment on my blog. The second book, The Girl who Played with Fire, was much tighter.

[Ryan]

Ann wrote: "We had to read Nectar in a Sieve in 9th grade. In my opinion, waaaay too early. I don't think a single person liked it. I would probably love it now."

I definitely have to agree, 9th grade is far too young to truly grasp the themes of the novel. The book sometimes reads like a laundry list of tragedy, but all in all I think it was pretty good.

Though I'm sure the pile of books on your nightstand is already taller than my house, it might be worth the trip down memory lane to pick this one up again for some fun :)

[Ryan]

Trish wrote: "Ryan wrote: "Despite all the hype about Larsson's book, I have to say that I am really disappointed so far. I feel like I've been reading forever and I STILL haven't gotten to the main story yet."
..."

Thanks for clearing that one up Trish! It's funny that you were finally successful at finishing this one on audio, since that is how I am "reading" this one too. It took everything in me to keep listening through the first TWO HOURS of exposition! But, finally, it's beginning to pick up enough to keep my attention.

[Tressa]

I just finished reading Await Your Reply. What an unexpected thriller!! The author creates such a sense of danger that there were several times I actually needed to put the book down and regain my composure. This is a book I probably would not have picked up on my own, so thank you for the recommendation David and Ann.

I am now reading Devil In the White City, and I am really enjoying it. Erik Larson’s writing is just beautiful---word choice and the flow of the language are magical. I found a great video interview with the author on C-Span. This was a treat! Can you recommend other video interviews?

Thank you again Ann and David for the great podcast. I truly look forward to each new session.
Tressa

[Rita]

Tressa wrote: "I just finished reading Await Your Reply. What an unexpected thriller!! The author creates such a sense of danger that there were several times I actually needed to put the book down and regain m..."

I picked up Devil in the White City at a sale and wouldn't have if Michael and Ann hadn't recommended it. I'll have to bump it up sooner on my TBR list now.

[Laurie]

I am currently listening to A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. It has me laughing out loud pretty consistently, and I think the audio is great. Also reading Raising Jake by Charlie Carillo on my Kindle, which is a surprisingly good story that I certainly wasn't expecting, since it was a free download.

[Caro]

Just started The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, so far I'm enjoying it, it's all about Flavia. Also started reading Watchmen.

[Linda]

Today I read and finished 3 Gregory Maguire children's books Matchless: A Christmas Story, Five Alien Elves, and Leaping Beauty: And Other Animal Fairy Tales. LEAPING BEAUTY I would recommend to kids of any ages - it's fractured fairy tales.

Linda

[Shona]

I just got done reading One Second After. It's all about what happens after a nuclear device is detonated over the US delivering an electromagnetic pulse that takes all electronics/communications, etc. It was an interesting story, but the writing wasn't fabulous - I gave it three stars.
Now for the three day weekend, I'm starting The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest...I'm so excited :)

[Deb]

Our book group just discussed Devil in the White City--I was listening to the Podcast where you mentioned it on my way to Book Group! So I told everyone there about the Podcast. You should have some new listeners soon.
We also put Await Your Reply on our list.
For next time, we'll read Richard Russo's Bridge of Sighs. I love it after just 10 pages!

[Linda]

Today I read "Cursing in America" which is a scholarly work written in 1993. I must have seen the author interviewed about something and thought that sounded like an interesting book. It wasn't what I expected, but was still interesting. After that I started Lucky Man: A Memoir. Fox is a decent writer.

[[deleted user]]

Lmj wrote: "Water for Elephants??? I never made that connection either. I did parallel HOTEL to SARAH'S KEY. Have you read that one?"

Yeah, Water for Elephants! Both Water for Elephants and Hotel on the Corner and BItter and Sweet use the same literary constructs and elements. Both books alternate sections between old men and their younger selves: WFE with Jacob at 93 and Jacob at 23; HOTCOBAS with Henry at 52+ and Henry at 12+. Both novels use historical research to flavor the flashback scenes: WFE with Depression-era circus life and HOTCOBAS with WWII Seattle life. Both also use the flashbacks scenes to take the reader to a scene most contemporaries of those times would not have experienced as well and; both use the the flashbacks scenes for a romantic narrative as well. In the end of both stories, the protag takes a step that "completes" the circle as it were.

No, I haven't read SARAH'S KEY yet. It's on the list...

[Linda]

Tanya, when you said "Water for Elephants" and "Hotel at the Corner and Bittersweet" I recognized you meant the parallel of older men and bouncing back and forth between the younger same person. I just hadn't thought of it.

[[deleted user]]

Lmj wrote: "Tanya, when you said "Water for Elephants" and "Hotel at the Corner and Bittersweet" I recognized you meant the parallel of older men and bouncing back and forth between the younger same person. I ..."

Eeek! Did I sound contentious? I didn't mean to be! So sorry!

[Linda]

We're cool!

[Ann]

Deb wrote: "Our book group just discussed Devil in the White City--I was listening to the Podcast where you mentioned it on my way to Book Group! So I told everyone there about the Podcast. You should have som..."

Thanks, Deb! Bridge of Sighs is one of those books that I wish I could read again for the first time.

[Sherri]

"The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" by Allan Bradley- based on glowing recommendations from the Books on the Nightstand folks : ) Really liking it so far. I just finished "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. Great book. Also working on "Columbine" by Dave Cullen.

[[deleted user]]

I'm reading and enjoying "The Children's Book" by A.S. Byatt

[Melissa]

Laura, let us know how you like the Children's Book. It's on my TBR pile.

[Vanessa]

I just finished "The City and the City" by China Mieville which totally blew my mind. I went to write a review and hadn't the faintest idea what to say. The story is so complex (altho the book is a short 312 pages) that I had no idea how to describe it and I'm sure I can barely scratch the surface of what it meant thematically other than something about the ludicrousness of man-made borders. I wasn't sure how much I liked it till the end and now I just want to read more Mieville.

I was torn between what to read next but I think it's "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" as that is unrenewable from the Library. Then I'll read "The 10 Most Beautiful Experiments." I'm deep into my BOTNS recommends right now : )

[Jeff]

I'm alternating between Running Blind by Lee Child, a thriller, and The Ten Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer.

[Vanessa]

I just finished reading On Chesil Beach. This was my first experience with Ian McEwan and I think I might look into reading more of his books. Now I am in the middle of The Maze Runner. It is not what I expected and great I should be done with it quite soon. Seems to be one of those you can put down, if barely, and want to pick back up immediately.

[[deleted user]]

I had disposition ALONE (by Lisa Gardner; narrated by Anna Fields) as a "DNF." The narrator dropped her voice unnaturally low for the male voices and had no ear for the cadence much less the accent of the area (South Boston, MA.) Moreover, the narrator was miscast solely on the premise that this is the story of Robert (Bobby) Dodge (male) and Ms Fields was female. Unlistenable (quit after two Cds and about seven minuted into the third.) I will probably pick this one up in print later.

I've moved onto BEAT THE REAPER (by Josh Bazell; narrated by Robert Petkoff.) Despite the voice enhancements, some special effects and music, which I find really annoying, its an enjoyable listen if only because the narrator is perfectly cast. The story is about a medical intern who, in his former career, was a Mob hit man. At the hospital, his past and present collide... It's funny, but for the more conservative, the language and casual delivery of horrific events may not appeal. Of course, you kinda know from the opening sentence whether this is the book for you (it pretty much sets the tone right off,) "So I'm on my way to workand I stop to watch a pigeon fight a rat in the snow, and some f!@#head tries to mug me!"

I'm still picking my way through A FRACTION OF THE WHOLE (by Steve Totlz.) The pages are much more densely packed than I estimated at first and I'm only able to get through 20-25 pages at sitting. I'm determined though, to finish before the end of the month!

[Linda]

Today I should finish 3 books one of which is the audio for THE HELP. I had read the book previously, but am listening to it to brush off the cobwebs before my book discussion tonight. The book is narrated by three women - one each for Skeeter, Minnie, and Abilene.

I am well aware of problems with listening to books and would recommend this one.

[Libby]

I recently read "Property" by Valerie Martin about a woman on a Louisiana plantation around the 1830's. I'm listening to "Waiting" by Ha Jin. I also like to listen to books while folding laundry. Anna Fields is one narrator who irritates me so much I won't buy anything she is reading.

Last night I started "Bloodroot" by Amy Greene. I'm glad you recommended this, Ann. My mother is from Appalachia and I needed to buy her a book for her birthday. I bought two copies of "Bloodroot" -- one for her and one for me.