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[Linda]

At work, I started listening to All That Remains by Patricia Cornwell today. It is the third of the Kay Scarpetta novels and I requested the version narrated by C.J. Critt. Also listening to Lemony Snicket #5 The Austere Academy in the car.

[Eric]

I have been trying to finish The man from Bejing by Henning Mankell. This is by a swedish author who a written a few books. After reading the Stieg Larsson books I have been on a sweden kick. I have been having a hard time with this book. It starts out great and i loved the begining but now near the end I feel like I am reading a textbook on china's history.

[Vanessa]

LMJ wrote: At work, I started listening to All That Remains by Patricia Cornwell today

That was the last Scarpetta book I liked. I made it thru 2 or 3 more and gave it up for good. I tried the first Kathy Reichs book (the basis for the TV show Bones although there is almost nothing in common) and liked it pretty well. I have the second one on reserve.

I think we are all on a Swedish kick courtesy of Larssen. I have The Man from Beijing on my to read list too Eric. I hope it gets better.

[Linda]

Vanessa, What I have heard of this book so far sounds very fanmiliar to me. I had started the Cornwell novels about 10 years ago and never finished. Since I have this job in which I do NOTHING, I figured I'd listen to books. - Of course, C. J. Critt makes anything palatable.
And since this is the third Cornwell book I've listened to, I have figured out that she does NOT know the actual meaning of "peruse."
Scarpetta quickly perused her closet. Yeah! Right!

Linda

[Andrea]

I became intrigued with South Africa, their politics and history after reading The Power of One and Tandia. My boss lived in South Africa for a few years and highly recommends The Covenant by James Michener. I've just gotten my copy, but it's over 1000 pages long and the last time I tried Michener, I got lost in the paleozoic era before the story ever started. Has anyone out there read Michener or The Covenant? What am I in for???

[Peg]

I started The Covenant a year or so ago since my daughter was dating a South African at the time. Michener's books have been around a long time and I remember my mother stating if the geology sections at the beginning bore you, skip over until the story starts. However, I think I remember that the beginning of The Covenant, those parts play an important part.

We could start a little group here of reading it in sections to discuss. I have my copy near at hand.

[Andrea]

I'd LOVE that! Anyone else interested???

[Vanessa]

Andrea wrote: the last time I tried Michener, I got lost in the paleozoic era before the story ever started.

That is so funny. I haven't tried to read Michener in many years but that was my experience of him as well. I certainly appreciate science and history but if I'm reading a book about, say, the American Revolution, I don't need to start the story at the Permian extinction.

A book I liked that discussed Africa (mainly the Congo, but South Africa in parts as well) was The Poisonwood Bible.

[AM]

I've decided not to finish Wild Ride by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer. I normally love their stuff and read all of Crusie's work. But, this one didn't grab me and 150 pages later, it still wasn't working for me. So, I made the hard decision to put it down. I just started Changeless, by Gail Carriger. I am hoping it is as good as Soulless. My patience is always raw after interacting with a book I didn't enjoy.

[Andrea]

I read The Poisonwood Bibleseveral years ago but don't remember a lot about it. I DO remember that I really liked it though, and I ended up getting the rest of Barbara Kingsolvers books after I'd read it.

[Kat]

I've a penchant for books set in Africa, here are some titles that worked very well for me:

Brazzaville Beach and A Good Man in Africa: A Novel by William Boyd
A Sport of Nature by Nadine Gordimer
July's People by Nadine Gordimer
Every Secret Thing by Gillian Slovo
Ties of Blood by Gillian Slovo
Antonia Saw the Oryx First by Maria Thomas
Waiting for the Barbarians by Coetzee
Martha Quest: A Novel by Doris Lessing
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller
Dreams of the Kalahari by Caroline Slaughter
The Flame Trees of Thika by Elspeth Huxley


The Bruce Medway series of mysteries by Robert Wilson: Instruments of Darkness, A Darkening Stain, The Big Killing, Blood Is Dirt.

[Andrea]

Kat wrote: I've a penchant for books set in Africa, here are some titles that worked very well for me:

Wow! Thanks for the list. My "to read" list is growing! I can't wait to check these out. I've heard William Boyd is really good, but I haven't heard of the other authors.

[Kat]

Happy to spread the book love.

[Peg]

One of my favorite books set in Africa was by Mark Lee titled "The Lost Tribe of Israel" which is probably way out of date. I loved it so much that I emailed him and said I wished it had been a thousand pages. He replied it started out at a thousand pages but got pared down by editors. He's gone on to write screen plays - and hopefully has been successful.

Another new South African author I've found is Deon Meyer that I need to read based on a recommend from a great reader friend.

[Nancy]

I also love Africa books. Don't miss:

Half of a Yellow Sun
The Darling
So Long a Letter
anything by J.M. Coetzee
The House at Sugar Beach: A Memoir

[Linda]

Finished Game Change. Reads like fiction behind the scenes of the 2008 Presidential race. Now on to Pope Joan: A Novel which is the book for my monthly book discussion - in fact, it's a county-wide read this month.

Linda

[Kat]

>I also love Africa books.

Hey, I know you! Nancy's on the mark with those titles. I was especially bonkers over Russell Banks' "The Darling."

[Kat]

>Pope Joan: A Novel

This novel is popular, especially amongst book groups comprised of women. I read it years ago and honestly thought it a decent soap opera, no more, no less. But don't go by me since Amazon shows more than 300 readers giving it an average of close to five stars.

[Ann]

Kat wrote: ">Pope Joan: A Novel

This novel is popular, especially amongst book groups comprised of women. I read it years ago and honestly thought it a decent soap opera, no more, no less. But don't go by..."

Five stars from me! Or 4 1/2 at minimum -- only because the ending was given away by the title of the book ;) It's also one of the handful of books that I've ever read more than once.

I think much of the appeal comes from the wondering: "could it be true?".

[Kat]

Deon Meyer

This guy writes great police procedurals/thrillers set in contemporary South Africa -- excellent reading, I went on a binge with him.

Devil's Peak
Dead at Daybreak
Heart of the Hunter: A Novel
Dead Before Dying: A Novel
Blood Safari

[Lynne]

I just finished A Woman Among Warlords by Malalai Joya and I am blogging about it everywhere because it is such an important book. Everyone should read this book if you want to find out what is really happening in Afghanistan. Read more on my blog: http://women4reading.wordpress.com/

[Kat]

The Pope Joan story is an old one based on a 9th-century legend which was picked up by Emmanuel Royidis in the 19th-century; that book later was translated into English and "enhanced" by Lawrence Durrell and can be found under the title Pope Joan.

[Vanessa]

Wow lots of Africa book recommends. Thanks everyone. I am fascinated by Africa and the Middle East but I especially want to read more on Africa.

I am currently reading Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It (picked by the NYT as one of the best books of last year) and Elmore Leonard's When the Women Come Out to Dance: Stories. Both are short story collections so they are easy to alternate. I chose the Leonard because I had never read anything by him and I like the new FX show Justified and one of the Leonard stories ("Fire in the Hole") was the basis for the pilot. I admit part of the reason I like the show is because it is based in my hometown, Lexington, KY, although it is very clearly not filmed there.

[Vanessa]

BTW, a few comments back on this thread we were discussing the proliferation of Scandinavian mysteries. My local library blog just did a post on this topic so I thought I'd share the link in case anyone is interested in reading more. I hadn't heard of any of these.

[[deleted user]]

Lmj wrote: "Finished Game Change. Reads like fiction behind the scenes of the 2008 Presidential race. Now on to Pope Joan: A Novel which is the book for my monthly book discussion -..."

We read Pope Joan for one of my book groups as well, and the author phoned in for our discussion -- she is a character.

[Linda]

I'm loving Pope Joan. About 100 pages into it. Finished the Cornwell audiobook All that Remains and started John Paul the Great by Peggy Noonan. Should finish The Austere Academy tomorrow on the way to work - audiobook.

Linda

[JULIE]

Kat wrote: "I've a penchant for books set in Africa, here are some titles that worked very well for me:

Brazzaville Beach and A Good Man in Africa: A Novel by William Boyd
A..."</i>

Also consider [book:Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a story set during Biafra's short history.

[JULIE]

Nancy wrote: "I also love Africa books. Don't miss:

Half of a Yellow Sun
The Darling
So Long a Letter
anything by J.M. Coetzee
The House at Su..."</i>

Oops, I should have scanned down before I suggested [book:Half of a Yellow Sun!

[Linda]

Cutting for Stone takes part largely, but not exclusively in Ethiopia.

Linda

[Kat]

More Africa:

The police procedurals by James McClure (e.g., The Song Dog) and Wessel Ebersohn (e.g., Divide the night), the mysteries by Elspeth Huxley (e.g., Murder on Safari), novels by Lynn Freed (e.g., The Servants' Quarters), Ladysmith by Giles Foden, Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa and Shadows on the Grass.

Plus the non-fiction:
White Mischief by James Fox
Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey
Origins Reconsidered: In Search of What Makes Us Human by Richard Leakey
The Scramble for Africa by David Packenham
The Boer War by David Packenham

[[deleted user]]

Thomas Pynchon's V has a great chapter set in Africa.

[Vanessa]

Wow Kat you certainly do have an interest in Africa in literature.

A little off topic but speaking of Dian Fossey, when my Mother was a teenager in Louisville she had a friend who was seeing a physical therapist for a leg injury. Her friend told her one day the therapist was quitting her job to go work with gorillas in Africa. The therapist turned out to be Dian Fossey.

[Kat]

"Wow Kat you certainly do have an interest in Africa in literature."

Yeah, it's a bit of an obsession, some might say fetish. But not the only one; ask me about plague and pestilence sometime.

And that is a cool annecdote about your Mom and Fossey.

[Kat]

>Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It

Vanessa, how are you liking this? I'm tempted.

[Sheryl]

I am so excited! Last night I received The Passagefrom the Goodreads giveaway. I have been hearing so much about it and couldn't believe it when I opened it up. I handed my Kindle to my daughter(who was really excited too because now she gets to read some of the books I've been going on and on about)and started reading. It is good right from the start - I have tomorrow off so I think a day of reading is in order!

[Vanessa]

Kat wrote: Vanessa, how are you liking this? I'm tempted.

It's an interesting book. You read a story and it seems like nothing much happens other than it being a sad, almost random, tableau. Then you finish it and can't get it out of your head even days later. So I would recommend it. Actually the collection seems like a literary Rorshach Test and it would be interesting to see what stories resonated the most with any given reader. They are a melancholy but lovely bunch.

BTW, after reading Connie Willis' Doomsday Book, I too got obsessed with plagues and yersinia pestis for a while. I wondered how you managed to read so many books on Africa then I took a gander at your "Read" list. It's ENORMOUS.

[Kat]

Heh, also I'm old.

[Joel]

Finishing up The Manual of Detection today, then I have three library books to get through:

The Solitude of Prime Numbers
Angelology
Bloodroot

[Kat]

Interested to know your take on "The Solitude of Prime Numbers." Please report back here if you think of it.

[Jenn]

I finally broke down and bought the paperback of Cutting for Stone. I'm about 200 pages in. And then I hit the library lottery - so to speak - all the books I've been waiting for came in. Guess I'm gonna have to read fast! Or faster than normal - I have some kind of reading OCD where I sometimes stop and read paragraphs a couple times before moving on...Anybody else do that???

Anyway! The list is...
Cutting For Stone
The Reliable Wife
Beat the Reaper
Monsters of Templeton

I'm also reading Enduring Love by Ian McEwan. (It's the book that goes with me where ever I go and read when I can.) I just started it on Friday. I choose it based on the groups recommendations and the synopsis. Thanks for the suggestions!

[Linda]

Jenn,

Sometimes I reread - sometimes because only my eyes (not my brain) went across the words and other times because I need to sort something out or don't quite understand.

I've read 3 of the books on your list. Two, I tout to whomever I can. The third I felt was a dud. Eager to see what you think.

Linda

[Jenn]

Linda - now you've made me very curious...which two do you recommend? Maybe that will help what I read first...and which was the dud (bottom of the pile?)

I think I reread to really let things soak in, fully take in the details or the language/wording. It's like I need the words to marinate in my brain.

[Laurie]

Just finished Sarah's Key. I was not impressed with the writing, but the story was interesting, about the roundup of Jews in Paris in July 1942. I wasn't aware that this had happened in Paris until I read the story. It's dark, I know, but I was prompted after finishing this to download Night by Elie Wiesel, read by George Guidall. He is a fantastic narrator.

[Peg]

Jenn wrote: "Linda - now you've made me very curious...which two do you recommend? Maybe that will help what I read first...and which was the dud (bottom of the pile?)

I think I reread to really let things soa..."

I've read all of your library list except for Beat the Reaper which I tried but wasn't in the mood for at the time. As for the rest, remember a story may be the best for you but a c+ for others. It depends on your mood and taste and timing.

Enjoy!

[Joel]

Jenn wrote: "Linda - now you've made me very curious...which two do you recommend? Maybe that will help what I read first...and which was the dud (bottom of the pile?)

FWIW, The Monsters of Templeton was a dud for me. The main character is really annoying, and involved in several tedious romances that undercut the central historical mystery. Said mystery is recounted in multiple voices from the past that all sounded the same to me.

It started off ok but really bogged down and took forever to finish. One of those books I probably should have stopped, as it put me off reading for a few weeks.

[Vanessa]

Joel wrote: FWIW, The Monsters of Templeton was a dud for me.

Just to mix things up, I'll add that I really liked Monsters of Templeton. The main character had her flaws but they were intentional. She was at a low point in her life and I thought it was gutsy of the author to pick someone who could be selfish and a little weak morally as the narrator. Loved the writing and how smoothly the narrative flowed between past and present.

Ann has finally gotten to me and I read an Ian MacEwan book--The Comfort of Strangers. Which was extremely well-written but really strange and off-putting at the end. A co-worker suggested I should read Atonement or Saturday instead.

[Linda]

Jenn,

I adored Beat the Reaper and really, really liked Cutting for Stone. Part of the unlikeability of A Reliable Wife might have been the hype I heard - it couldn't live up to it.

Peg is right! I loved The Time Traveler's Wife and recommended it to two friends (one of each gender) who both really liked it. It was one of the most negatively received books at my book discussion. One never knows.

Beat the Reaper is a little raw - but the story was excellent.

Linda

[Peg]

I bailed in the middle of Time Traveler's Wife only because it kept going on and on for me.

And that is what I meant by different stories for different people and at different times.

I LOVED Cutting For Stone. I read A Reliable Wife early when it first came out and liked it because the people were interesting if not likeable.

I'll have to give Reaper another try.

One of my other all time favorites was Peace Like A River. Lief Enger's second one was also a dandy - So Young, So Handsome, So Brave.

[Kat]

I also enjoyed "Beat the Reaper" -- quick read, amusing, no more no less.

[[deleted user]]

Last October, I participated in the DystopYA Challenge and I had been looking at UGLIES (by Scott Westerfeld.) I ended up reading three other titles, but in a huge avoidance tactic (rebelling against reading titles for groups, challenges or, work) yesterday afternoon, I picked Uglies up. It's about a girl who's looking forward to her sixteenth birthday when she will undergo socially mandated plastic surgery to transform her from an Ugly into a Pretty. Her longing to be Pretty and part of the Pretty crowd are palpable, as her disappointment when there's a hitch... The writing is not particularly challenging and in some places it's even a little confusing (i.e. action sequences, e.g. If a hoverboard is tumbling BELOW you, how can it pull you up by your bracelets?) but despite the mediocre writing, there is a hook (some would say a cliffhanger) at the end of the story that has me curious about how the story will pan out in the next installment, PRETTIES. As it stands now, I'd give it a "C+" but I'm reserving final judgement until I've read Pretties and SPECIALS.

Today, I started TOKYO YEAR ZERO (by David Peace) which is actually the first in The Tokyo Trilogy. Like Occupied City, the writing is a stylistic challenge and, is a fiction based on an actual event in post-war Japan. This time around it's an investigation into a serial rapist. The detective is slowly going insane...

I'm currently listening to THE BLACK TOWER (by Louis Bayard; narrated by Simon Vance.) It's a historical fiction/mystery set in Restoration France. When the name of a "Dr. Carpentier" shows up on the body of a dead person, an investigation is mounted which quickly escalates into a Royal intrigue. The writing is reminiscent of (de) Balzac and even a little of Alexandre Dumas (The Count of Monte Cristo") in its usage of "Classic" language and the tendency to describe ugly people and sordid surroundings acutely. Simon Vance chose NOT to affect a French accent for any of the characters, choosing instead to use various British accents to denote class and personae. So far, I'm not crazy about the way he's chosen to portray the women in the story and overall, the pace seems to be well, "quelle drag." I'll finish this audiobook if only because I nominated it for a group listen (and it was selected;) but I may have enjoyed it more had I read it in print last summer after having read Madame Bovary (by Gustave Flaubert) and Pere Goriot (by Honore de Balzac.)