Books on the Nightstand discussion
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What are you currently reading?
I've just started reading Ask the Dust by John Fante- even though I'm only on the fifth story of Richard Yates' Eleven Kinds of Loneliness! I can never only have one book on the go- I wish I were a more loyal reader...
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I've never read Yates' stories, but I plan to. I love Revolutionary Road so very much.
Ann, my book club just did Revolutionary Road. We had a most fascinating discussion about the novel!
Well, I finished Edgar Sawtelle earlier this week and just loved it. I've been recommending it to fellow readers. I'm about halfway through The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly for another group here on GR. Thinking about Secret Life of Bees next or perhaps The Road.
Mod
I haven't read Secret Life of Bees, but I can vouch for The Road. It won't disappoint.
Michael, yes, it is absolutely sensational. Will definitely be in my top 10 books read in 2008.I think I'll probably pick up The Road this weekend!
The author of Edgar Sawtelle did a reading on NPR book tour. After seeing the recommendations here and hearing this, the book has gone on my to be read list as well. You can download the podcast of the reading here:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/st...
Barbara, you won't be disappointed! (at least I hope not!) The NPR book tour podcast featuring Wroblewski is great as well. I loved hearing him speak about his inpiration, sources, etc..
Starting Edgar Sawtelle. Finished The Likeness by Tana French. In the midst of The Good Earth, and The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz. Love to see all the good news on Edgar, since it's definitely longer than my usual read.
Wow! So glad that I saw this group and decided to join!!Right now I'm currently reading Fractured by Karin Slaughter. I have loved everything she has written. She totally replaces Patricia Cornwell for me!!
I have a big pile of books on my nightstand and a lot of them are YA because I work as a middle school librarian. I like to keep up-to-date for the kids and try to appear "cool."
On the pile:
Impulse by Ellen Hopkins (love her writing style)
Queen of Cool-Cecil Castelluci
Tweak-Nic Sheff (read the dad's book)
Annie on my Mindy -Nancy Garden (Gay/Lesbian YA)
Ironside: A modern faery's tale-Holly Black
Staci
I recently read Tithe and purchased Valiant. I thoroughly enjoyed Tithe so I'm looking forward to more Holly Black. Aside from having young protagonist, I didn't find Tithe particularly young adult though.I checked out the Sheff books and added them to my to-reads. They interest me bc as a nursing student on my peds/maternity rotation last spring I saw several cases involving methadone (different than crystal meth to be sure) and heroin.
A while back I mentioned that I was going to be starting "Soul Mountain" by Gao Xingjian. I am half way through, and I can say that it is the most unusual yet enjoyable book that I have read in a while. It won the Pulitzer in 2000 and has recently had a lot of comments so I had to try it out. The book is a long 500 pages, and while long books don't intimidate me I found that the lack of any plot was going to make it difficult at times to get into. The book has reoccuring themes and characters that are mostly vague sketches of people the narrator meets along the way. I had read somewhere that someone started reading it from the back forwards,and I thought that you could probably read it in any order of chapters you like and get the same idea...though I am sure that isn't recommended. Why did I like it then? From the very first it seems like Art for the literary mind, like looking at a painting in words and you have to stand there and take in the setting that he "paints" for you, to get the real meaning of it. I will write more about it in my review when I finish it.
Well since posting on this thread I've finished both Secret Life of Bees and The Road. Two very different books one after the other!Really loved both. Both have been adapted into films coming out this fall so I'm anxious to see how those turn out.
Currently, I'm making my way through Anna Karenina and Can't Help Singin' which is a fascinating history of the American musical (both film and theatrical).
Mod
I just finished Junot Diaz's THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO.....WOW!And I've just started reading THE SOLOIST by Steve Lopez...pulled me right in, which doesn't always happen in non-fiction novels!
I'm definitely going to go with the P & V translation. But not til November or December. I decided I just couldn't tackle Anna Karenina right now. Instead, I finished the following books: short stories by Alice Munro("Runaway"), "Safekeeping" by Abigail Thomas and -- don't laugh -- "Revenge of the Middle Aged Woman" by Elizabeth Buchan! Next up: "Rebecca" (my book club's choice for Sept.) and "Child 44" by Tom Robb Smith. Eclectic, eh?
Oh, I'm such a fan of Alice Munro. I had been waiting to buy her latest collection, The View from Castle Rock, until it came out in paperback because I had read a number of the stories in The New Yorker. Now, the day has come so I owe myself a treat.
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A little over a week ago I started reading "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte on an e-book. This was a first for me, and I didn't know whether I would like e-books. I am enjoying both the new reading experience, and "Jane Eyre". I also started "Guernsey..."by Shaffer and Barrows so that during my absense from the computer I would still have a good read. It is as good as recommended here. I especially like some of the things it says about reading"Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books."
I'm still working my way through The Foundation Trilogy. But my daughter interrupted that reading by sending me 7 of the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris. I've read the first two and just started the third. My daughter loves them and wanted to be able to discuss them with me. She calls me at least once a day, usually more often, and I'm grateful we have such a great relationship. What can a mom do but read books at the request of her kids? The books are enjoyable, light reads with lots of humor. Normally I'm not a vampire-genre reader, so these are a new experience for me. I'm just glad they're not the scary kind of vampires...LOL.
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My mom is a great reader, and I'll give her stacks of books to read. Unfortunately, we can't really discuss the books -- I'll ask her what she thought about a book, and she'll just say, "it was good." And that's it. I was hoping to get her to do some of my work reading for me, but after a few years, I just gave up. She's my mom and I love her, but she's not cut out for a book group, that's for sure!
Mark, thanks for the heads up about the Munro New Yorker story! My copy always hits my mailbox late. I wonder if someone in the post office reads it first.
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I just finished On Chesil Beach. Ann you were so right. Ian McEwan is phenomenal. I was absolutely enthralled. His skill for revealing, phrasing words together in beautiful strings and character development are exquisite! Thank you and I recommend anyone and everyone should pick up this book.
I'm now a few chapters into THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE and am very impressed with the author's writing style....and the heartfelt messages of the story.I know it's one I'll stall a bit to finish....
Thanks Michael and Anne for the heads up!
Susanne
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is amazing. I'm so glad to see people excited about it on here! It was the first book I finished and felt like I absolutely had to discuss with someone before I could let it go.I'm working on two books right now. The first is a YA novel by Steve Kluger called My Most Excellent Year. It incorporates journal entries, emails, letters, and text messages from three high school students in a very clever and rich way.
The second is actually an advance copy of a memoir coming out at the end of the year called Hands of my Father by Myron Uhlberg. It's the story of a hearing child of deaf parents. I majored in American Sign Language in college, so I may be a bit biased, but I'm only 40 pages in and I already love the book. More as I get further in!
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Erin - you do realize that Michael is now jumping up and down and doing the fist pump, don't you? Probably in his pajamas, no less. (oh, there's a visual). He really loves Hands of My Father.
I've been looking forward to this ever since Michael recommended it too. I've been teaching in special education for a long time and worked at the School for the Deaf in Michigan for a year. I love working with deaf children.And, that definitely was quite the visual, Ann.
Mod
Well, I love memoir, and I'm fascinated by ASL and the Deaf community (I worked at The Learning Center for Deaf Children for a year after majoring in ASL in college), so I'm pretty sure I'll end up loving it. It doesn't hurt that it's written very well too! I'll definitely keep everyone posted.
I just started reading The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho and I am enjoying it so far. It is for my book group and sometimes the choices for our group are hit or miss (for me at least) but I found myself pretty engrossed in the book last night. It's a rainy day here, so I am looking forward to going home after work and curling up with the book.
Jennifer,I started Witch of Portobello and didn't get very far. I'll be interested to know what your final thoughts are. Maybe I just needed to keep going...I usually like Coelho's books!
I just started The Sister by Poppy Adams. It is already promising to be a book I will loose lots of sleep staying up to read.
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Well right now I'm currently reading "The Boat" by Nam Le, "The Game" by Laurie R. King, and "Off the map" a zine-book by Hib & Kika. I'm loving them all right now. The first two books were all recommended through Books on the Nightstand. "The Boat" through the podcast and Laurie R. King's books on a thread on Goodreads by you Ann.
Mod
Glad we could help add some books to your reading list! I'm intrigued by the concept of "zine-book" -- not a term I've heard before. Can you tell us a little about it?
L - The Sister is a really interesting book - I thought it was one of the best examples I have read in a long time of "show me - don't tell me" but I found my self very frustrated in trying to come up with a diagnosis.dottie
Ok, well supposedly "Off the Map" began as a photocopied zine distributed everywhere, eventually accumulating ten thousand copies. Now a lot of readers have expressed doubt about the feasibility of such an outrageous amount of copies being distributed given how difficult (and expensive) it is to create copies of zines (mini-magazines)but, you never know. Anyway, it proved so popular that a publishing company (CrimethInc) decided to publish "Off the Map" as a book. Hence the term, zine-book: a book that started its life as a zine. Another zine-book that I've read and that I really loved is "The Big Rumpus: A Mother's Tale from the Trenches" by Ayun Halliday which is the distilled book form of her popular zine "The East Village Inky" about her life as a mother to two children in NYC. I highly recommend that (even to those who aren't parents); it is very funny and even touching at times. I have to say there is something refreshingly sparkling and vivid about writing when it comes in the form of a zine; it can be remarkably direct and creates a clear connection between writer and reader. Sorry about this too long comment; I can be quite passionate when it comes to zines specifically, and reading in general.
Erin --- I finshed The Witch last night. This was the first book I read by Paulo Coehlo and based on it, I will definitely pick up his other titles. I found the language to be very romantic and I would find myself re-reading passages because they were so beautifully written. I picked up the paperback edition of Witch of Portobello which included an interview with Coehlo and reading his thoughts, inspiration, etc made me like the book even more.
Jennifer,Thanks for sharing your thoughts! It sounds like I should go back to Witch of Portobello. The first book by Coehlo that I read was The Alchemist, and I keep expecting his other stuff to be simiar, which, to me, it's really not. Maybe I'd find I really like his other stuff if I'd just stop comparing!
I just finished Edgar Sawtelle and totally LOVED it; I am a dog lover as well as a lover of good writing and this book absolutely captivated me. Am now doing some reading on Buddhism so need something light. SO have Tess Gerritsen and Laura Lippman lined up for some quick easy reads! This book that everyone is talking about, the Witch of Portobello, sounds intriguing so may have to pick that up soon! Brigitte
Mod
Jennifer, The Witch of Portobello sounds like something I should check out. Thanks.
Actually, I got both of those zine-books using Amazon.com. Though I know that you encourage using independent bookstores, I don't have any close ones near my home and plus Amazon usually has a variety of books not easily found in other bookstores. Thanks for the nice response btw!
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So, no worries! We're simply happy that people are reading :)
For those looking for a light and charming read, I want to put in a word for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (my copy is now on its 4th reader). It reminded me of 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff- another favorite.
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Actually, I love going into a bookstore, the experience of browsing and physically picking a new book which was just waiting to be brought is one of my favorite ways to spend a day; but I use Barnes & Noble which is the closest (and only) bookstore near to me.
Ann and Dottie, I just finished The Sister and it does make you want to talk about its ending. I will try to not give anything away for all others that want to read it though. At the end I was disturbed by the narrators instablility and my estimation of it throughout the book. I also still wanted to know why Vivi came, what she was looking for exactly.
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Julie, I have the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation. What about you?