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[[deleted user]]

I can't stop hearing Rufus Thomas singing "Cutting for Stone" in my head, to the tune of "Walking the Dog".

[[deleted user]]

Started reading THE GLASS ROOM (by Simon Mawer) today. Interestingly, it has Notes on Pronunciation at the beginning and I've caught myself muttering the Czech words in the text until they sound right!

[Linda]

Finished HALF-BROKE HORSES which I recommend very highly. I then started A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest Gaines. Our community's Big Read read his A LESSON BEFORE DYING and since we are having a video conference with him tomorrow night, I decided to read a little more by him. I'm glad I did since reading this book gave me an answer I had to the first book.

Linda

[Sheryl]

Thank you Tanya, Linda and Ann. I was just curious what others were doing, if anything. I guess I'll just continue to over-do! And thank you for the websites, Ann. I'll check them out.

[Anne_MB]

Suzanne wrote: "Abbie wrote: " I have just finished reading Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay, a novel based around the true story of the arrest and deportation of French Jews living in Paris in July 1942, an event..."

Thanks for that. I am excited that The Journal of Helene Berr is available at my local library.
Thanks also to Ann, Jenn and Deb for their recommendations, which I will try and track down.

[Clark]

The hunger games by Suzanne Collins. I love it. Thanks for recommending it

[Linda]

A GATHERING OF OLD MEN is a great read. Now onto The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Went to a teleconference with the author of these books tonight. I recognized something he hadn't realized he did!

Linda

[Shannon]

Just finished Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Girl Who Played with Fire.... loved these books, and hate that I have to wait 3 months for the next one. Any recommendations for me?

[[deleted user]]

Shannon wrote: "Just finished Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Girl Who Played with Fire.... loved these books, and hate that I have to wait 3 months for the next one. Any recommendations for me?"

Over the Christmas holiday, my husband read the complete Millennium Trilogy and then went on to read the entire Kurt Wallender series by Henning Mankell and, is now reading Ake Edwardson (Inspector Erik Winter novels.) He groups the three authors (Larsson, Mankell and, Edwardson) separately from Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, a husband and wife duo that wrote the Martin Beck series. He likes them all, but I got the impression that he liked Larsson et al because, despite their distinct styles, they were able to convey the Scandinavian sensibility better.

I've read the first two in The Millennium Trilogy, one or two of the Kurt Wallender novels and two of the Martin Beck titles and all I can say is that the Larsson novels are the only ones that truly stick out in my memory. I often confuse Mankell and Sjowall & Wahloo. Maybe I should watch the PBS Kurt Wallender series for some memory reinforcement!

[Linda]

Read Homer and Langley: A Novel today. I would only give it three stars (out of 5) but I did find myself chuckling and shaking my head a lot while reading.

Finishing a book of children's poems written by Ted Hughes with illustrations by my favorite illustrator, Raymond Briggs

Linda

[[deleted user]]

Cristina wrote: "Tanya, thank you for letting us know about this book. I loved the other two you mentioned, and want to consider this for our book club. "

I think it would be a great book club choice!

The edition that I have has "bonus" materials at the end of the book:

About the Author/Meet Debra Dean;
About the Book/A PBS Series, a Grandmother with Alzheimer's - Chance Inspiration;
Read On/On Visiting St. Petersburg... Finally and;
Read On/Author's Picks: Related Reading and Viewing.

But there are no Discussion Questions (!)

BTW, My favorite pice of art mentioned in the book is Fragonard's "The Stolen Kiss." I look at the gown in that painting and it's as if I could reach out and feel the silk cascading through my fingers...

[JenRaye]

Jenn wrote: "I read Pictures at an Exhibition by Sara Houghteling this winter. The book is a fictional account of the looting of art in Paris during WW2, especially with the Jewish art dealers. It left me wanting more information though. But you might check it out.
"

Jenn--recently I read part of The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War. This book really goes deeply into the art theft across Europe during the Nazi years. Excellent premise, but the book is so crammed with information that I had a difficult time getting through it and wound up stopping around 3/4 of the way through. It may have been the timing of the read for me--if it had been a less busy time when I could really concentrate on a book like this, I likely would have finished it. I understand that there is a dvd based on the book, so that may be a place to go for information, as well.

[[deleted user]]

Shannon wrote: "Just finished Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Girl Who Played with Fire.... loved these books, and hate that I have to wait 3 months for the next one. Any recommendations for me?"

I'm currently reading The Man from Beijingby Henning Mankell that has the same vibe as Stieg Larsson's books.

[Melissa]

Lmj wrote: "Read Homer and Langley: A Novel today. I would only give it three stars (out of 5) but I did find myself chuckling and shaking my head a lot while reading.

Finishing a book of chil..."

I was not impressed with Homer and Langley, either. I understand that the author was trying to use the brothers as a poster board for the century, but I would have rather read a nonfiction account of Homer and Langley's lives.

[Melissa]

I just started Wilkie Collins' Woman in White. I have read plenty of Dickens, and I wanted to read something of Collins before beginning Drood. I understand that Drood is narrated by Collins and tells the tale of Dickens' inspiration for his unfinished last novel, Edmund Drood.

[Libby]

Finished "The Lost Art of Gratitude" by Alexander McCall Smith. It's the last of the Isabel Dalhousie series for now. I hope he writes more of this series. He's an amazingly prolific author who has about four series going at once.

Now I'm reading "Passing" by Nella Larsen about a woman who is passing for white. She has two friends who are light enough to pass, but don't, although they are often assumed to be white. The woman who is passing has a racist white husband who doesn't know that his wife or her friends are African American.

[Linda]

Finished a light read today (I needed a break from Ted Hughes poetry book) Step-Ball-Change. I was ready to not like it, but was pleasantly surprised. It was my card of humor - dry, familial. Very light read - no rocket science here.

Linda

[Lori]

I finished Girl who Played with Fire late in January. I went onto the Amazon UK site and ordered The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest because I just could not wait! It was well worth the money and I received it on my doorstep in 10 short days!

[Lori]

Loved Hands of My Father.....an eye opener!

[Elaine]

Ann wrote: "Sheryl wrote: "I have a question and I'm not sure where to ask it. I'm reading Cutting For Stone and I'm keeping notes on the characters. Frequently I will do this especially when there are a lot o..."

Another tool you might consider is Evernote. It allows you to keep a very large database of web pages, free-form text, etc... There's versions that just require a browser, PC and Mac apps with more capability, and also an iPhone app.

[Linda]

I learned something last night that I feel is worth mentioning in this link. If we use the small brown "add book / author" above the comment box to put the name of the book in, we can all then "link" to the comments.

After I writing my comments about finishing Homer and Langley: A Novel, I was able to bring up a page that would allow me to check out what other people within this group have said about that book. Unfortunately, I was the first to use that book and that method to make a comment. (I thought others had commented which is why I was trying to see what others said.)

If you don't understand what I'm saying, let me know and I'll try to explain better.

Linda

[JenRaye]

Toni wrote: "Another suggestion that parallels this topic is called The Forger's Spell by Edward Dolnick. It tells the true story of one of the greatest forgeries ever perpetrated by a so-so artist and con man named Han van Meegeren. He painted a faux Vermeer, then was able to pass it off as genuine to Hitler's right-hand man, Goering, who was one of the key players responsible for much of the art looting during WW2. Really interesting stuff!"

I agree with Toni, The Forger's Spell is excellent--it's what got me started on books about art theft during the Nazi years. Another, non-WWII era book about art theft is The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft, about the theft of priceless works of art from the walls of the Gardener Museum in Boston, Mass. The frames hang empty to this day.

I'll look for The Monuments Men, too. Thanks for mentioning it.

[Sheryl]

I just finished Cutting For Stone - it was a wonderful book. There are so many individual stories that it really makes the characters come alive. And I learned a lot about life in a world I've never even imagined.

I've just started Let the Great World Spin.

Thank you for your comments, Cristina and Elaine. I'm going to keep making notes but I will also check out the Evernote site, thanks for suggesting it Elaine.

All these posts about the art theft books are very interesting. I think I will check them out too.

[[deleted user]]

Done with Netherland by Joseph O'Neill.

Hans van den Broek is a top-earning financial guru who, untethered from life by the events of 9/11 and the defection of his wife (and son), finds his own guru in criminal/entrepreneur Chuck Ramkissoon. Hans is emotionally adrift in New York City, and finds his anchor in a cricket league, where he meets Chuck. Chuck imparts a joie de vivre, and a sense of history, of connectedness, using cricket as a metaphor, explaining to Hans that cricket was the original American sport of choice, before it was displaced by baseball. Hans is enlisted in Chuck's "Field of Dreams" project: to create a classic cricket field which, Chuck believes, will restore the proper place of cricket in the American soul. Hans learns that life must be responded to on the fly, just as a cricket batter must learn to respond to the unpredictable rolls and bounces of a cricket ball. The story isn't told in a linear fashion, but skips around in time. This is done for a reason, as some events take on their full meaning only in retrospect. I appreciate how O'Neill, like Hemingway, can often express things effectively by what is not said, rather than by what is said.

Now onto Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book.

[Linda]

Toni wrote: "Reading Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell. The writing is witty and darkly comedic, albeit a little vulgar in some parts. This book is so fun to read, especially coming after the slog of a novel I jus..."

Toni, I loved, loved, loved that book. To say that about a book with that had more "salt" then the ocean speaks tomes. I hear Bazell is close to publishing his next book. I'll be close to the front of the line for that one. I wouldn't mind if this is a series.

Linda

[[deleted user]]

Deb wrote: ""Let the Great World Spin" by Colum McCann.

I loved the line .. "Another day, another dolor.""

That's a helluva book.

[Rita]

I'm reading Empire Falls by Richard Russo

[Peg]

Eric wrote: "Deb wrote: ""Let the Great World Spin" by Colum McCann.

I loved the line .. "Another day, another dolor.""

That's a helluva book."

May I second that? It was one of my favorites of last year and I'm collecting his other books.

[Melissa]

Deb wrote: ""Let the Great World Spin" by Colum McCann.

I loved the line .. "Another day, another dolor.""

Can you expand on that? I've had it in my TBR pile for awhile now.

[Diane]

Rita wrote: "I'm reading Empire Falls by Richard Russo"
I loved that book. Bittersweet.

[Kerry]

Finished listening to "Let the Great World Spin" I did like it but as an x-New Yorker I could relate alot. Not sure how easy it would be to get through for a reader not feeling an affinity for the Great City. It was just a little dark for my taste but did finish on an uplifting note.

I continue to try to read books that have been sitting on my book shelves, some for many, many years. So far have finished two that I loved--I knew I picked bought them for some reason. "World Made by Hand" was really a great read. "Jar City" a wonderful mystery set in Iceland and an easy fast read. Now reading "Ursala Under" also a fascinating read. I now actually have a little space on one shelf--hard to resist the temptation of running out to buy a few books to fill the empty space.

[Paul]

I'm reading "Then We Came to the End". Easy to see why it was a National Book Award finalist.

[Linda]

The Imperial Cruise: A True Story of Empire and War, non-fiction telling the wedding of a diplomatic mission sent to the near East by Theodore Roosevelt with a tour of his daughter Alice. Alice's trip was really a smoke screen so no would know what the mission of the diplomatic mission was. This is NOT a "The U.S. always does everything perfectly" story. This author presents the stories including the parts which history shows were not to our benefit or more often to the detriment of other countries.

Linda

[Dottie]

Has anyone else read Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos? A friend recommended it and I found it interesting but I am still pondering the concept of breaking expensive items to turn them into mosaic as a healing process.

[Scott]

Wrapped up Soul Identity, a wonderful thriller. Can't wait to get started on Soul Intent, the second book in the series.

[[deleted user]]

Finished The Graveyard Book today.

This is the first prose novel I've read by Gaiman that measures up to the fine work he did on his comics series, Sandman. There is a certain alchemy between words and pictures that Gaiman is a master of, a lightning-in-a-bottle that his prose work, at least for me, has ...never been able to approach. Here it does. This is the story of Nobody Owens, an orphaned child raised by the dead in a graveyard. A series of picaresque events eventually culminate in a climax that pays off the elements seen before in the story. I have to say that one plot point was extremely obvious and I saw the revelation coming a long way ahead. But that's okay. Anyone who loves a good whimsical fantasy tale is going to appreciate this book. I can see "Bod" spawning a franchise like the Harry Potter series. I'm going to hand this off to my son today.

Now on to A Short History of Women: A Novel

[Elhara]

Today I have begun reading Blessings
by Anna Quindlen.

[Scott]

Now reading Soul Intent. Fantastic

[Jenn]

Reading Last Night at the Lobster for book club and Mister Pip for me.

I finished Her Fearful Symmetry over the weekend. Still haven't quite sorted out how I feel about it overall. One thing I can say is that I flew through it and mostly enjoyed it.

I seem to enjoy quirky books. I don't really know how to quantify what I mean other than just being a little bit out of the realm of reality, a little extra-ordinary. Escapism without going to different lands with wizards and hobbits. (Not that there is anything wrong with hobbits, by all means.) Books like Time Traveler's Wife and The Gargoyle spring to mind, even Water for Elephants was quirky. So, fellow readers, got any titles you could maybe suggest for me? I'd really appreciate it!!!

[Linda]

Am not very far into Await Your Reply: A Novel. Didn't take long to get gory. Short lunch so going to dive into more - if I can keep my eyes open.

Linda

[Ann]

Ooh, Toni, I really liked Mind's Eye. I don't remember if it took me awhile to get into it or not, but I do remember wanting to read more Nesser when I finished.

[JULIE]

Jenn wrote: "Reading Last Night at the Lobster for book club and Mister Pip for me.

I finished Her Fearful Symmetry over the weekend. Still haven't quite sorted out how I feel about it overall. One thing I can..."

Have you read anything by Joanne Harris? (Chocolat for one; Five Quarters of the Orange for another.) Her stories are a bit out of the ordinary and very engaging.

[Sheryl]

Jenn wrote: "Reading Last Night at the Lobster for book club and Mister Pip for me.

I finished Her Fearful Symmetry over the weekend. Still haven't quite sorted out how I feel about it overall. One thing I can..."

Jenn, I like quirky books too. I totally enjoyed Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. Quite a bit like Practical Magic, but it was really a fun read. Probably a good book for summer reading.

I just finished Let the Great World Spin. It was very good - I really enjoyed it.

I've just started on The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I have to believe with all the good reviews that it gets better. So far I am not impressed. In fact, I'm bored. I have to keep re-reading some of it because my mind wanders. Either it gets better or there are a surprising number of people who like their fiction full of the excitement of economics. I'm going to stick with it, but I hope it gets better soon.

[[deleted user]]

Sheryl wrote: "I've just started on The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I have to believe with all the good reviews that it gets better. So far I am not impressed. In fact, I'm bored. I have to keep re-reading some of it because my mind wanders. Either it gets better or there are a surprising number of people who like their fiction full of the excitement of economics. I'm going to stick with it, but I hope it gets better soon. "

Yes, the opening chapters are "quel drag" but wait for it.... when things start to happen, they *really* start to happen! The beginning sections which you are struggling through set up the key notes for the whole of the trilogy. The exposition on Swedish economics and business practices reflect Stieg Larsson's view on corporate power and powerful men, the prime catalysts of the events when they unfold in the narratives. It needs to be understood that the antagonists can be known individually in the system that they work to their advantage and, collectively as the spider-web of relationships they establish to enable their misconduct.

[JenRaye]

Toni wrote: "Finished Beat the Reaper: A Noveland am now reading The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon. The descriptions of the jungle and the creatures the..."

Toni, I really was drawn into The Lost Cit of Z. Kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way. Very intense, and made more so by the fact that it is non-fiction.

Currently reading
The Madonnas of Leningrad: A Novel, which is particularly poignant for me as my dad has Alzheimers. I'm fascinated by the pictures the author paints of Leningrad during WWII as she works in the Hermitage museum.

[Vanessa]

Tanya wrote: Yes, the opening chapters are "quel drag" but wait for it.... when things start to happen, they *really* start to happen!

Yes ditto that. When I started the book I was like "This is a financial thriller? Blech." But once you get past the intro with how Blomkvist gets himself into his legal predicament, the story quickly changes. By the end I loved the book. I am reading the sequel now. Alas, I just started two days ago and now the Library wants it back. Curse 14 day loans. I see fines in my future.

[Linda]

Vanessa wrote: "Tanya wrote: Yes, the opening chapters are "quel drag" but wait for it.... when things start to happen, they *really* start to happen!

Yes ditto that. When I started the book I was like "This i..."

Vanessa, I hear ya' I didn't realize your library did that. I haven't seen that since I was in NW Ohio. I get in enough trouble with your library on the 4-week loans. But, yeah, I just chalk it up to helping out the library in these times of library budget cuts.

Linda

[Sheryl]

Thanks for the encouragement (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo). It's starting to be a little better - at least I don't have to re-read every paragraph anymore. But I'll stick with it and believe it will be worth it.

[Vanessa]

Yes, Linda the Cowlumbus Library has that 14 day policy on new books (althought the sticker on the jacket tells me that it was purchased in July...) At any rate, I get hivey keeping an overdue book but since the paperback isn't out yet, I'm trying to read fast. As you say, Ohio libraries sure could use the money.

I had never heard of "Madonnas of Leningrad" Jennifer. I checked it out and added it to my to read list. Beautiful title.

[Laurie]

It took some time for me to decide to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo after listening to the review on Books on the Nightstand. But once I started, I couldn't put it down. I don't know why I am so drawn to the story and the characters. I think I just especially love Lisbeth's character. I immediately bought the next book once I finished this one. I am so disappointed that there is only one more book with these characters (I've already pre-ordered it for my kindle). I highly recommend the series!