The Next Best Book Club discussion
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What are you reading?
Just started ABRAHAM lINCOLN VAMPIRE HUNTER by Seth Grahame-smith.
i finished Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan tonight.i loved the start of this book, it drew me right in and i totally identified with the first narrator. the characters were only 2 years younger than my real life, so i was able to really relate to what was happening. and although i didn't go to an all-girls college, i joined a sorority, so i totally understood a lot of the girls-only atmosphere that was described.
the ending wasn't bad, but it wasn't what i was hoping for. i rated it as 3 starts, but it was more like 3.75 for me.
i also started The Map of True Places by Brunonia Barry tonight. about 40 or so pages in, and it's keeping my interest, so hopefully this is a good one also.
Marti wrote: "Vicki wrote: "Mary wrote: "I'm not Marti, lol, but I've read a lot of Anita Shreve and The Weight of Water is my favorite."I have a few of hers. I read Light in Snow and loved it, ..."
Yes, Testimony is hers. Someone told me I should read it because I am a teacher. I haven't yet though.
Loved Thirteenth Tale. Hope you do too!
Started two new books. Still working on two previous books. Oh well, makes life interesting. Right now I'm following the "this book is for this place" in the house strategy. One book by the bedside - Bless Me, Ultima, one book by the computer - Primitive People: A Novel, one book by the door for breaks from gardening in the yard - Harem and one book for walking to and from work - Gods Behaving Badly
I finally finished What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848! Happy dance! (It's about 900 pages and I've been working on it since March. Hence the excitement. Excellent read, though.)
I'm reading Linger and because I love the show Bones I've started reading Déjà Dead by Kathy Reichs, although I have heard it is very different than the tv show.
Vicki wrote: "Mary wrote: "I'm not Marti, lol, but I've read a lot of Anita Shreve and The Weight of Water is my favorite."I have a few of hers. I read Light in Snow and loved it, but I only tho..."
Strange Fits of Passion by Anita Shreve is also a good one.
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Claire wrote: "Vicki wrote: "Mary wrote: "I'm not Marti, lol, but I've read a lot of Anita Shreve and The Weight of Water is my favorite."I have a few of hers. I read Light in Snow and loved it..."
Ohh, that's one I haven't heard of or seen. I have to check it out.
I just finished Who Will Run the Frog Hospital by Lorrie Moore. It was recommended to me by a few people, and I really enjoyed it. Now, I'm moving on to Broken Colors by Michele Zackheim. I picked this book up at random, judging the book by its cover, so it will certainly be an adventure to read!
Vicki - I am loving the 13th Tale. I am reading it every spare minute I get!!
I am new to this group. I have just started reading The Cookbook Collector I'm not very far into it yet so I'm not sure if I will like it but I heard it was a modern retelling of Sense and Sensibility so I had to give it a try.
Marti wrote: "Vicki - I am loving the 13th Tale. I am reading it every spare minute I get!!"Although none of the characters were particularly endearing I was intrigued with The Thirteenth Tale and read it almost in one sitting.
Suzanne wrote: "I am new to this group. I have just started reading The Cookbook Collector I'm not very far into it yet so I'm not sure if I will like it but I heard it was a modern retelling of Se..."Hi Suzanne! I haven't read that book, but welcome to the group!
Marti, I am glad you love the Thirteenth Tale!Jane, you are right, they aren't all that likable, but the intrigue is there. Somehow it all works out. I do think I will go back and read it again someday,
I am reading Double Bind and The Blood of Flowers.
Finished the 13th Tale - loved it!!! The characters were not particularly likable but that's what made the story even more fascinating to me. I found that I was drawn more firmly into finding out the end as the characters became more ad more unlikable. The third child made a lot of things make more sense..
Vicki - enjoy the Double Bind - seriously twisted.
Susanna wrote: "I finally finished What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848! Happy dance! (It's about 900 pages and I've been working on it since March. Hence the excitemen..."Susanna wrote: "I finally finished What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848! Happy dance! (It's about 900 pages and I've been working on it since March. Hence the excitemen..."
Hello, I just finished reading the new book by Margaret Langstaff, Marlin Darlin. It is a mystery, that is the first in a series that looks exceptionally promising. The main character is young woman who has a witty, bumble into trouble at every turn, kind of life. I did enjoy it and I am looking for other books with similar characters.
I have had the book Hunger Games on my shelf for a while, now its time to read it. I am only at third chapter and its good and cant seem to stop reading it.
Good point Marti that very thing is probably what kept me in to the end.Started reading Collapse by Jared Diamond for my book club.
I'm actually reading At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon. It's the first in a series that my mother-in-law really wanted me to pick up. So far, it's pretty slow going, but it's also enjoyable in it's own way. Anyone else read or heard anything about this series?[
Jessica, I've read all but the last 3. Some are better than others imo, but they are a cozy read.
Jane, I dug Collapse! It gets more interesting after the opening chapters on Montana. (Well, I thought it did. I think Mayans are cooler than Montana. Your mileage may vary.)
Cozy's a great word for it! I've heard mixed reviews. Some say they're WONDERFUL, and that they couldn't put them down. Others say that they were so boring, they were put down within the first 3 chapters. We'll see how it goes for me. :)
Sheila, may I just say that The Hunger Games is one of those books that only come around once in a while. I'm not normally interested in those types of books, but this one just captivated me! I really hope you continue to enjoy it. :)
Lori Ann wrote: "I'm reading Linger and because I love the show Bones I've started reading Déjà Dead by Kathy Reichs, although I have heard it is very different than the ..."I had read a number of the Kathy Reichs books long before the show came out, and really enjoyed them.
When I started watching Bones, I decided I would be much happier with the show if I just pretended it had nothing to do with the books I had read, just some coincidentally similar names. So I'm able to enjoy the show now too - but it really has next to nothing to do with the books.
Hi! I haven't posted in ages (and have never been a very frequent poster), but will jump back in anyway. I had a holiday last week and read Snow Crash, which I really enjoyed - couldn't believe it had been written in the early 90's. Now I'm reading Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life, and I have Preludes and Nocturnes, Book 1 of the Sandman graphic novel waiting for me at home tonight. Really looking forward to Sandman - been hearing great things about it forever.
Jessica wrote: "I'm actually reading At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon. It's the first in a series that my mother-in-law really wanted me to pick up. So far, it's pretty slow going, but it's also enjoya..."My mom lost her mind over those books. She read them all very quickly. I was charged with finding more. She wouldn't accept that there were no more.
half way done through my re-read of Catching Fire, can't wait for Mockingjay!
Carol (Kitty) wrote: "Slow Man sounds good. I like Coetzee's writing I have read three of his books."I'm interested in what you liked about Coetzee. I know he's a Nobel Prize winner but I put down book:Slow Man|75400] after 138 pages. The blurbs said about his book, that he touched on "What in our lives is ultimately meaningful, and How do we define the place we call "home". I found nothing meaningful about the book, thought the plot was downright silly, I'm open to other points of view.
I just finished The Cutting Edge by Darcia Helle about a hairdresser who harbors murderous fantasies about her clients. It was surprisingly hilarious and I really enjoyed it. Now I'm going to pick up The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud and The Walking Dead Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye. I'm excited for The Walking Dead because I've never read a comic book (or graphic novel) in my life. Interested to see if it's for me.
I'm finally making progress in Mistborn: The Final Empire, so hopefully I'll be able to finish that in a few days. I'm a rather slow reader, though, thanks to a couple of concussions I got 7 or so years ago. I also have The Sweet Far Thing going, but I'm not very far into it because I've been focusing so much of my attention on Mistborn so I can lead a discussion on it (I strongly recommend leading discussions on books you have at least read a good portion of rather than doing it my way). Once I am through with that I'll likely turn to some Bill Bryson and maybe The Book Thief or Hunger Games.
Natalie wrote: "Carol (Kitty) wrote: "Slow Man sounds good. I like Coetzee's writing I have read three of his books."I'm interested in what you liked about Coetzee. I know he's a Nobel Prize winner but I put dow..."
I will let you know when I start reading Slow Man. It should be here next week. I like the depth of Coetzee's writing. He makes me think.
In a bit of a reading slump, hoping reading The Left Hand of Darkness at the same time will help! (You know, I don't think I've ever read "high" science fiction except for the Bailey Robot books... and they hardly count.)
Kaion, I've been wanting read that forever. Let me know what you think. If you hate it, I'll probably love it. ;)
Lori wrote: "Welcome back Brigit! So jealous we went to Ireland on vacation! Will you be posting photos at all?"I could!! I have like 600 - I am a chronic over-photographer! Do we have a thread like that on here? Don't want to take up space in this thread!
I've started Virals by Kathy Reichs. Its her first foray into YA - an ARC that will be published in November. Follows Temp Brennan's grand-niece. Really fun so far!
I started Kindred, by Octavia Butler last night and I can't put it down. I'm reading at stop lights!
Bridgit, maybe Lori would let you start a Travel thread where people can post questions about travel, travel plans, photos from travels, etc. I think that'd be pretty cool. We have a thread about pets, so why not travel? :)
El wrote: "Bridgit, maybe Lori would let you start a Travel thread where people can post questions about travel, travel plans, photos from travels, etc. I think that'd be pretty cool. We have a thread about..."That's what I was thinking too. I just started a "What we are doing when we are not reading" thread in the daily randomness folder. Posted some pictures from travels down there. This could be a really fun thread!
I'm still reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and so enjoying it. Some of the characters are hilarious.
Kaion wrote: "In a bit of a reading slump, hoping reading The Left Hand of Darkness at the same time will help! (You know, I don't think I've ever read "high" science fiction except for the Bailey R..."I read that not long ago. I really liked it, it was so different from anything else I've read.
Alisha wrote: "I just finished The Cutting Edge by Darcia Helle about a hairdresser who harbors murderous fantasies about her clients. It was surprisingly hilarious and I really enjoyed it. Now I..."I love the Walking Dead graphic novels. If you like zombies you'll like them. However, they are extremely graphic (which graphic novels tend to be) and main characters die left and right which is actually part of the majesty. Hope you like them.
I like Walking Dead too. But as Felina said: extremely graphic. Right around...I think it's volume 6, there are scenes of rape and torture that I found deeply disturbing. Hope that's not too much of a spoiler; I just want you to know what you're getting into. :)It's being made into a TV series on AMC, debuting this October, incidentally.
I actually finished the first one in less than an hour and loved it! Apparently, comic books/graphic novels are so for me. As for the scenes of rape and torture, I read horror novels, and I've read some graphic ones and while I have felt sick to my stomache once or twice, it's not too bad. I'm looking forward to reading the other volumes. Absolutely can't wait for the TV series either.
Well, cool! Have you seen 28 Days Later? The similarities between the openings of the two are remarkable, huh? They were written sortof at the same time, and both authors insist they weren't aware of the other - which I believe, because if they'd known about it they would have run screaming from a similarity that obvious.If you end up with a graphic novel jones after this, check out Y: The Last Man next. Satisfaction guaranteed.
I loved 28 Days Later (and 28 weeks Later). Zombies are scary already, but if you make them fast as hell, they're absolutely terrifying. I did notice the similarities, but I wasn't bothered by it since waking up and finding your town deserted of actual people but surrounded by zombies is ranked as number 1 in my "I really hope that never happens to me" list.And thanks for the recommendation! Y: The Last Man looks great and I've already requested it from ILL.
Really, that's number one? I think my #1 fear is waking up to find my wife next to me in bed...reading the Twilight series. DUN DUN DUNNNNN.
I've decided to tackle the 1001 books list (or at least try), so I'm about to start American Psycho.
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The Next Best Book Club
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Got absolutely no reading done while on vacation in Ireland. It was GO GO GO all the time. Drove 1100 miles in 8 days. BUT i was inspired to l..."
Definitely an awesome trip!
It was really cool reading about places and historic sites and then thinking "I was there yesterday!"
Princes of Ireland is super long, but worth it if you are interested in Ireland.