The Next Best Book Club discussion
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What are you reading?
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Chloe
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May 07, 2008 01:35PM
At the behest of Lori and Charity, I am about to start Jose Saramago's Blindness. I finally just read what this book was about and am now very excited.
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I just finished re-reading Possession by A.S Byatt...and to recover I'm now re-reading Bridget Jones' Diary :)
What did you think of Possession Briony? I've got that sitting on my shelf to read at the moment.BJD is a really good read, I found myself laughing out loud.
I just finished Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris and I now reading Nine by Jan Burke
Kathy (and anyone else with input!) -- How do you like books on tape/cd? I have been grappling with this for a bit now as my commute has increased from 15 mins each day to 2 hours each day (if I don't hit any traffic which is sure to go down the tubes this summer!) I know this is off topic for this thread, but I really want to know what you folks think of books on tape/cd. It seems so wrong to me not to have the book in my hand to read, but I have no time as it is and that 2 hours wasted in my car really could be put to better use instead of me cursing at other drivers, singing at the top of my lungs to the radio, and/or zoning out like I do on the way home at 11:30 at night! *L*
I'd be interested to see what people think too Katie, I've been thinking about getting an audiobook on my iPod for whilst I'm in the gym - reckon if I was engrossed in my story I wouldn't be constantly looking at how much time I have left on the treadmill!! But I don't know if it would work, because I also love the feel of a book in my hands...
Katie- I never thought I would like audio books. But, last summer I was traveling a lot back and forth to visit my mom and the 4 hours in the car was wasted time. There were so many books on my list and one of them happened to be sitting on a library shelf highlighting new books so I stepped out of my comfort zone and gave it a try. I discovered it was a good way to "read" when I didn't have time or opportunity. It happened to be 19 Minutes and I loved it. I found, at times, that I would sit in my car after arriving at my destination just to listen to more. I don't enjoy listening as much as reading, but it does make travel time to and from work and running errands, etc go faster.There have been some books that I haven't enjoyed on audio that I would quit listening to and get the book instead, but for the most part, I enjoy it a lot more than I ever anticipated I would. Plus, I use my library cards as often as possible and the audio books aren't in as high of demand so you can get those newest, most popular books faster.
Thanks to an hour wait for a doctor's appointment last night, I finally got started on Abstinence Teacher. I got it for Christmas but it's sat on my shelf since then. I'm really liking it so far but I adore Tom Perrotta so it's not a big shocker for me.
Well, I finally got The Other Boleyn Girl the other day and decided to read it with Ballad of the Whiskey Robber because I might need some brain candy along the way...plus, I've been waiting
forever
for Boleyn Girl at the library so I don't want to put it off any longer. I hate being behind. I feel like I'm studying for a make-up test or something. I should have just read Neverwhere and moved on. Oh well.
Can I just say...Yay Logan!! Blindness is incredible (the book...not the ailment). I can't wait to hear what you think. I hope it lives up to all the fanfare (I'm not really worried). :-)
I've added Blindness to my to-read list, as you all seem to really like it!I've just picked up The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard. Its on recommendation from someone in a forum I'm a member of...
I'm about 150 pages into it so far and am absolutely loving it. I got to campus early last night so decided to sit down and start reading. I didn't come out of the book until the sun started to go down and I was 1.5 hours late for class. I haven't gotten so utterly lost in a book in a long time, I had forgotten how dangerous it is. I in no way regret it though, it's just that good of a book. It's weird but I hated Cormac McCarthy's lack of punctuation and names, but I am enthralled by the way that Saramago does it. At least he explains his rationale as to why they don't need to know one another's names.
I literally had to force myself to put it down last night and go to bed. It's finding books like these that make me so glad to be on Goodreads
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:D
and Kirsty, I think you made the right choice by adding it.... Its just such a haunting novel (i need a new adjective, I always use that one when I talk about Blindness...)
I second what you said about McCarthy, Logan. I kept thinking 'Come on! You've read Saramago. Certainly you can handle a little McCarthy!' But, something about the way McCarthy does it makes me keep having to re-read things...'who said that? are they talking to themselves or to somebody else? wait, who's talking now?'
Lol, Lori. Haunting is a very good adjective of Blindness. Better than my 'insightful'. Ha ha ha.
i just started reading A Changed Man by Francine Prose, its basically about a nazi who decides to change his ways.
I was checking out the reviews for Blindness on Good Reads and read that there is a movie coming out in September starring Julianne Moore as the Doctor's wife.I was curious to know what those of you who have read the book thought.I've added the book to my wish list as everyone seems to really like it.
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I don't know, I am picturing the Doctor's Wife as late 40s/early 50s, which would work for Julianne Moore. But then again, she's my favorite actress so I'll allow her a lot of leeway.I can't believe that Alice Braga is going to be Girl with Dark Glasses! I love Alice Braga! If you've seen Cidade de Deus (City of God) or Cidade Baixa (Lower City), she's phenomenal in both of those. Cidade Baixa has to be the best "love triangle" film that I have ever seen. She was also the survivor girl at the end of I Am Legend.
And with Fernando Mierelles as the director, I know that it'll be a faithful adaptation of the book. He previously directed Cidade de Deus as well as the adaptation of The Constant Gardener. Such a fantastic director! I am really excited for this movie!
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It has been awhile since I read a book that followed a normal storytelling format, so it is really odd for me.. how sad is that?
I just finished Jennifer Weiner's Certain Girls last night (or I should say early this morning)...it was so good despite the section that made me cry. Today I started reading the House at Riverton...only about 25 pages in so far but I'm intrigued.
I just started and am almost finished the 2nd book in a liitle called Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley. These are very cute mysteries starring your favorite fairy tale characters good and bad. This is kind of Jasper Fforde for children. I'd like to weigh in on the audio book issue. I love audio books if the reader has a good voice for the particular book. As a dyslexic, I read slower than some of the rest of you. Audio books allows me to have two book going at once, which otherwise, is just to confusing for me. Just my two cents.
I just finished Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith - what can I say - I was really looking forward to this, and in the end, it was disappointing. I guess it's partially based on a true story, but the guy can't even get the Russian names right, so what's up with that? I know I should dive right into the May group read books, but I am so tempted to read Blindness (due to the raves by you guys, I might add).
Happy Mother's Day to all you book reading mamas!
Thanks Jen for the Mother's Day wish. I finished Sisters Grimm and have started The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz on the recommendation of some of my co-workers. I at the very beginning, but so far so good. As always, I'll keep you posted. Audiobook wise, I as listening to Bram Stoker's Dracula. I remember been assigned this in college, but I don't think I finished it. What was I thinking? It is so good. No wonder it's a classic
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Thanks Lori! Happy Mother's day to everyone!!! :)
Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers. I'm currently reading the following books:
Uglies-Scott Westerfeld
Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness(book 2)-Kaza Kingsley
Possession is an amazing book - the amount of research that must have gone into writing it!That said it's a pretty tough read. I'm normally a fast reader but this one took awhile.
Now I'm on to Night Train by Martin Amis, which I haven't read since I studied it at uni.
Briony, have you read Martin Amis' Time's Arrow? It was incredibly difficult to read, but really amazing. I haven't read Night Train, but now I'll take a look.
Ok, I'm going to do something that I usually can't pull off, I'm going to be reading two books at once, I have started to read Night by Elie Wiesel, (I will read this during my lunch break, and I have to finish by the 24) and going to continue reading "Ballad" before bed. The curious thing about it is that they are both, set/have to do with Transylvania, in very different times in history. By the end of the month I'm going to be an expert in Transylvanian culture, to top it all off I should follow up with a good vampire story ... LOL
I hav 19 books out from the library, and not really reading any of them. I might take some of them back and read one at a time. I'm just waiting for New Moon at the library (there's 22 holds ahead of me) so i have a while.
Just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns... excellent.Downloading Witch of Portobello now to start it next.
Have you read The Kite Runner, Scott? Which did you like better? I liked The Kite Runner far better than Suns but perhaps that's because I read Suns second and also I've read a few books like Suns in years gone by, where women are involved, so maybe that's why. I'd be interested to see how you thought they compared.
Scott -- I'm reading Witch of Portobello now...totally not what I expected so far:(
Do you like Witch of Portobello so far? I was going to take that off the bookshelf next... he's my favorite author and usually love everything he's written. Wondered if it was good...
...totally not what I expected so far:( Katie, what's with the frowning face? Not enough witches or not enough mushrooms?
*L* I guess I expected more of a story. It reminds me of a project I did in college where I tried to combine a bunch of interviews into a book that made sense & was interesting...and it didn't come out as interesting as I'd hoped. So far W of P is like this for me...it seems so disjointed, jumping all over the place! Have you read it Logan? Does it get better?? I was looking forward to a very interesting story...and yesterday I actually had the thought that maybe I'd put it down unfinished! *gasp* I want more witches:P ('cause I HATE mushrooms!)
Renata: I haven't read Time's Arrow, I will have to check it out. Night Train is the only Martin Amis novel I've read so I can't really compare it.I got kind of frustrated with the Witch of Portobello too Katie!
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Good luck with reading two books at once. I was never able to pull that off... Unless one was a novel and the other was short stories or poetry.... You will have to let me know if it works out!
Emma, 19 books from the library?? OMG... How didi you carry them all out of there?!!
lol, ya know Lori, that is a great great mystery. I can read two books at once but one has to be a novel and the other a non-fiction book. Or two non-fiction books.
Lori, It didn't go well at all, I had to put down Ballad, because I have a due date on finishing Night. I just enjoy a book much better when I can let the words and the story envelop me, I think about the characters, their situations all day, they kind of become part of my family for a few days. Reading two books is almost like having your in-laws and your parents visit you at the same time! LOL
The good news, Night is very short (but extremely intense, I caught myself crying at the dealership yesterday while waiting for my husband's car, this has never happened before in a public place) so I am a few pages to finish it, I could have finished it last night but had to put it down, not being able to bare the sorrow, and to distance myself from the story and get some sleep.
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But now, I am able to start reading my mothers day gifts.. Im begining with The Old Man And The Sea... I read this in HS but wanted to own it and reread it. Away i go.....
Just finished The Time Traveler's Wife, great book! Now I have to decide whether to start another or wait for Ballad. I'm hoping it will be delivered within the next couple of days, fingers crossed.
I just finished reading The House at Riverton which was very good, a bit mystery, a bit historical fiction...the story reveals itself in bits and pieces and comes together well at the end. I wasn't sure at first but I really got into it. Tomorrow I start The Pact by Picoult...it was going to be The Thirteenth Tale but The Pact has a hold on it so I have to read it so I can bring it back to the library.
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Tomorrow I will be starting Lord of the Flies (another re-read. I also read this one in HS, but wanted to own it and refresh my memory!)
I'm reading The Virgin Of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard. Didn't really know what to expect with this - had never heard of her, but picked it up on the basis of a review I saw in a magazine. It has mixed reviews on here, but I'm really enjoying it so far!
Finally finished The Ruins and have started Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke.I just love this series.
I am back to Ballad, and I am glad I need something light and fluffy after Night ... Mandy, I liked that book a lot too, the way the husband views his wife's experiences is so sad and the way he handles adversity is so common yet so heartbreaking.
Alicia, did you like the ruins? I liked that book, it was so creepy.
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