The Next Best Book Club discussion
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What are you reading?
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Emma
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Aug 16, 2008 10:03AM
I'm almost half way into The Secret Countess and I really like it. My mouth opened in shock when Muriel called Ollie "crippled".
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Liz,I have read the Shunning and all the other books in this series.
I loved the first and the second book. The third was so so.
I loved the fact that these books took place in areas I have been.
Let me know how you like it!
The Secret Life of Bees is one of my favorites, and I can't wait to see how the movie turns out. I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying it, JT.
I'm a little late on the Stephanie Meyer bandwagon, but I finished Twilight yesterday. It only took me two sittings to get it read. God, I love vacations from work!So today I'll probably start New Moon. Also, I just got Extremely Loud and & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, from the library. I've been anxious to read this one, so now it's a toss up which one to delve into :)
You don't kick them out. You introduce to a new friend, and so on, and so on.Time was when you could read a fabulous book and leave in on an airport seat for someone to discover. Now, airport security would probably confiscate it. So you have to find someone you appreciate enough to give them a part of yourself.
I finally finished book 4 of The Gunslinger series.I stayed off of GRs to accomplish this feat and I'm very proud and pleased that I did so.Though I had some trouble getting into it,in the end it was a pretty good story. I started Fire in the Blood by Irene Nemirovsky yesterday and finished it this morning.It was a beautiful little book,that put me in mind of the beautiful prose of Anais Nin's writing.
So now I'm in a quandary as to what to read next.
I have Suite Francaise by the ssame author or I can finish Tom Sawyer that I had already started or one of the TNBBC august reads.Or maybe even Atonement.Yikes!!!So many choices!
I just finished The Book of Fate by Brad Meltzer. It had just enough Washington DC history to suck me into the modern day "mystery." So after that, I am onto another Meltzer book, The First Counsel.
If you choose Suite Francaise, Sherry, let me know what you think. My MIL gave it to me and it has been staring at my from my bookshelf for a couple of months.
Will do Stacie.Fire in the Blood was so good and Suite Francaise is supposed to be even better.I love that she read and was inspired by Proust.
I am STILL!!! trying to finish THE SHACK. Is it just me, or did anyonelse have a problem with this book? I am loving the short stories in UNACCUSTOMED EARTH by Jhuma Lahiri. And Lori, I have started BLINDNESS and I can't put it down!!! Even with the strange way he writes. I guess cause thats how my mind works...on and on, from one thing to another, to the next conversation, with no punctuation...... I love it!
I put the two books that I was reading on hold, and decided to read The Magus by John Fowles
Great choice, She'Davia. I really quite enjoyed The Magus, even though I'm still not quite sure what was happening at certain points.
Ken I am sad to hear that because Silas Marner is one of the 1001 books to read before you die and I plan on reading them all even if they suck. I guess I will let you know when I get to it if I survived it!
Ken, based on your reaction I'll likely wait until another year to go for Silas Marner. Too many tough challenges this year.
I started His Dark Materials Trilogy by Phillip Pullman today. So far I've read a couple of pages from The Golden Compass and I'm starting to like it.
Jackie, I really enjoyed the His Dark Materials series. I think The Golden Compass was my favorite but the other two are equally gripping. Lyra is a great heroine.
Ooohh good, now I'm excited. I always like a great heroine. Pullman's writing reminds a bit of C.S. Lewis. It really gets you from the beginning.
Finally finished The Red Leather Diary...man that woman led an interesting life...it was really cool I started reading it on my birthday which as it turns out it is the diary writer's birthday too (the book is basically about this journalist in New York who finds an old diary from the 1920's and 30's in a dumpster when her building's storage area gets cleaned out and how she finds the woman who wrote the diary today...non-fiction). It was interesting just took a while to get through. Next I think I'll read The Gargoyle (my arc copy I received from goodreads...the book is already on shelves though so it's not really an early read but oh well).
Cynthia, the Red Leather Diary sounds like a really interesting read. It'll have to be added to the ever-growing to-read list.
I was thinking the same thing Logan.The twenties thirties were such a pivotol time in history.It should be an interesting read.
It came back to the library the other day and it seemed interesting...I like non-fiction that reads like it could be fiction and this does to a degree. I love history too and haven' read much about that time period in US history so it was cool...especially with the personal connection of a shared birthday. Overall it was a good book.
Ken, I do the same thing. My to-read list on GR is a very haphazard concoction. Book recommendations tend to pile up in my head until a select few float to the surface while I'm actually in the store. I figure each recommendation adds another bit of flotation to the book.
Oh I couldn't keep everything in my head...I have everything that I currently want to read and have read in the past (not including childhood authors I wouldn't read today) on goodreads and in an excel spreadsheet.
I have over three thousand in my TBR list. I don't think I can keep all of those in my head. I have a lot of work cut out for me.
Catamorandi, I have the same problem. So many books, so little time. Not to mention that every time I walk into a bookstore or log in to Goodreads another dozen books find their way onto my list. That's why I go by the "number of times recommended" scale for deciding what to read. If a book can cut through the constant chatter of "what to read" that goes through my head then it deserves to come home with me.
I was away for a day and a half and there are over 100 new messages...LOLI should be done with Memoirs of a Geisha tommorow...not sure what to read next, I really really like this book!
....probably My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult or Plain Truth by the same.
Rose Ann, I havent read Plain Truth yet. But My Sister's keeper was by far one of the best books that I have read this summer.
oh good! I've heard lots of good things about it!
I'm reading "How We Buried Puso" by Morabo Morojele, a fellow South African author, whom I met last year. The wonderful thing about his book, and most African literature, is that it offers insight into unknown worlds, indirectly addressing and exploring social and political issues. It's a tradition I'm proud to be part of. I've been reviewing the books of SA authors as a Voyage of Rediscovery here and on my blog. Many of them make for wonderful reading, particularly for those who see books as a vehicle for alternative travel.
She'Davia - The Magus is my all time favourtie book!!! I so envy you reding that for the first time, let me know how you get on with it.Rose Ann, Memoirs of a Geisha is also in my top 5 - isn't it a beautiful book? I have read My Sisters Keeper and Plain Truth and while I loved them both my favourite was My Sisters Keeper - fantastic.
Has anyone read The Shack, by William P Young?I just picked it up at Walmart and thought I may read that next instead.
Boof...I absolutely LOVE Memoirs of a Geisha..I'm stalling reading it, because I dont want it to end yet...lol
Yesterday I read Round Ireland With a Fridge by Tony Hawks. It was a very funny read. :) I really enjoyed it. Today I'm starting Kane and Abel by Jeffery Archer.
Boof, thanks for the recommendation (Before I Die), although my library reserve list continues to grow because of GoodReads!Cynthia, I have Red Leather Diary on my bookshelf (from the library, of course) - how do rate this one so far?
Kellie, I'm finding The Shunning very interesting - and, although classified a Christian novel, not too preachy! Before moving to Central PA, my former husband, daughter, and I stayed with an Amish family in Intercourse as a vacation. Lovely!
I had a problem with The Shack, Ann - even though it's a hot book right now! In fact, I didn't finish - not a normal thing for me to do!Did not enjoy Unaccustomed Earth as much as Lahiri's first (The Namesake); still trying to figure out how all the stores connected ...
As for Blindness, I've finally succumbed and put it on reserve at the library - I've read so many good comments about this title on GoodReads!
Rose Ann, As I have posted earlier, I am trying to read THE SHACK, but having a hard time finishing it. I have heard alot of hype about it, good and not so good. With me, having lost my Mom to cancer after a brief illness, I have really struggeled with my relationship with God. I live in the south, in the Bible belt, have been going to church all my life, raised Methodist, now Baptist, sang in the choir, always active in the childrens ministry. Well, since my Mom's death, have barely even attened morning wworship service. I thought reading THE SHACK would push be in the direction I need, want... to go. I don't know. Maybe its hitting too many buttons, but I just can't finish it right now. Maybe later...Boy, I sure didn't mean to ramble on...Oh well, back to reading BLINDNESS...
Boof, Before I Die sounds like a book I'd love. I need to add this to my TBR lsit. I'm also going to add The Road. Ken got me interested in this one! In fact, I tried getting it at the library and they had 0 copies available... so I ended up getting NO Country for Old Men, which I wanted to read anyway since I didn't "get" the movie.
I'm excited to see what you think of the book (No Country for Old Men), Beth. I must agree with the other posters that the side narrations add such a great element to the story.
I'm a little compulsive so I do a TBR list here on GR and I also have the same one in a portable notebook. My husband thinks I'm nuts to do the notebook thing. He asked me why I need to keep a "hard copy" when it's on the computer and I had to explain to him that the notebook fits in my purse and is therefore handy for when I go to the library or bookstore.
Speaking of politics, I just got a Obama t-shirt today! Hopefully I'll be able to watch the forum tonight, if not, I bet it's on youtube!
Liz I gave RLD 4 out of 5 stars not bad at all for non-fiction...a really interesting portrait of that time period through one woman's experience.
Anyone who enjoyed The Namesake should definitely read Jhumpa Lahiri's The Interpreter of Maladies, her first book for which she won the Pulitzer. I was never a fan of short stories until I read hers and was completely blown away.
I'm reading The Selfish Gene (the choice over at Science and Inquiry).Liking the science, but thinking the author (Richard Dawkins) does not have any self-esteem problems. And he injects himself into the text quite often.
Also, he is clearly indulging in wishful thinking in the most recent introduction - this is most definitely a "young man's book," as evidenced by the fact that he's still defending it 32 years later.
An interesting read, though.
Susanna, I really enjoyed Dawkins' The God Delusion and found that he managed to make it less a testament of his own greatness than an even-handed look at theism. I enjoyed it far more than Christopher Hitchens' God Is Not Great.
Well, like I said I am enjoying the science a great deal. It's an interesting read, certainly.
Logan, I totally agree with you regarding Jhumpa Lahiri's The Interpreter of Maladies - I am not a short story person and I loved this book!
That is one of the best books I've ever read - I agree - it still just one let go!
sorry Ann...I was away for a day or two, and havent gone back to read all the posts. (I cant keep up here...lol)I didnt realize it had alot of controversy/hype. I had never heard of it before seeing it this a.m.
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The Next Best Book Club
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