What are you reading? Showing 4,201-4,250 of 28,901

[Liz M]

Yesterday I received in the mail a book I ordered weeks ago (prior to finding this group), and one I have been wanting for a while. I kept checking the local used bookstores, but never found it. I finally broke down and ordered it (used) from Amazon. Of course, even though I have three other books going, I couldn't resist peeking. And The Polysyllabic Spree is so appropriate for this group.

First, it's by Nick Hornby, so it's witty and snarky. Second, it is a collection of articles he wrote for a literary magazine and each article starts with a list of books bought and a list of books read during the previous month. Finally, it's a book about books. Just one more way to super-size the TBR list. (must restrain impulse to buy the sequel....must not buy more books about books)

[Jamie (The Perpetual Page-Turner)]

Liz..I want to read that sooo bad!!

[silvia]

Heather

I read the first 3 artemis fowl books last month, I liked the 1st but the 2nd was better and the 3rd even more.

I'm waiting for a friend to loan me the other 3.

I've started The Great and Secret Show by clive barker. only one the first pages but already loving it. Barker is one of those authors that just engulfes me on his writting

[Lori, Super Mod]

Jaime, I am smack in the middle of Frankenstein, so that would be cool to see what you think of it! Its a bit better for me than Dracula....

[Kathy]

I am finally finishing Moby Dick. I started it about a year ago and was actually enjoying it.....until I got to the chapters on knot making and wood carvings of whales. At that point I put it down. I hate leaving a book unfinished, especially one that I was enjoying most of the time. So here goes......

[Cheri Howard]

Finally finished The Midnight Club by James Patterson this morning and started Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley. I took about a week off from reading (tears are forming in memory of the lost time) because we got a puppy — so I was a little preoccupied with watching her every second so she didn't eat lamp wires, TV remotes, and God forbid, books!

[Linda]

Kellie, Since your choice of Shutter Island made such a hit with me, I ran to the library yesterday and got Sunset Express. Started it this morning and am only about 25 pages in, but so far it keeps me page-turning. Thanks.

[Liz]

Lori I recently finished Frankenstein, and I was shocked that I liked it so much.

[Kellie]

Oh Linda.
If you like that one, go back and start with the first of the series...I think it's called The Monkey's Raincoat.
I have forgotten how great the Elvis Cole series is!
One of the better ones, although it does remind me a lot of the Spenser series.

So glad you liked Shutter Island.
I'm going to put The Double Bind on my wish list.

[Laura]

Ann - I loved Empire Falls, I hope you enjoy it. You may have to push thru some at the beginning when they are kind of flashing back for some background info but once you get into the heart of the novel, you'll hopefully love it.

Kellie - The Double Bind was a terrific read with a knockout ending, IMO. I didn't anticipate it at all.

[Angela]

I am getting close to finishing Bell Jar. While I am enjoying it, I personally think that it was one of those books that was hyped up, but I really do not see all the hype. I have about forty pages left.

I think I am going to start reading Crazy School, which is one of my fall challenge books.

[Sheila]

I am reading Serving Crazy with Curry; enjoyable and I am learning much about Indian cooking!

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads]

Picked up The Screwtape Letters today, and I may start that - I've always wanted to read it.

[Lori, Super Mod]

Susanna, let me know what you think once you read it. I have always wanted to get it, but something stops me when I pick it up. I always put it back down....

[Michelle]

I have all three versions of the The Polysyllabic Spree...Hornby adds a few excerpts every time it is released. I love his take on things...I have read all of his fiction because I enjoyed his takes on books so much...The problem is I haven't really enjoyed any of his fiction as much...I read Slam recently and while it is an interesting take on teenage pregnancy...it was alot like Long Way Down...I would rather he just ramble about soccer and books...

And I have to reiterate again how much I enjoyed Love is a Mixed Tape. I wasn't expecting anything when I started it and got so much out of it...but then I am a bit of music freak as well...

I left my copy of Fallen in Ireland somehow so I am reading Devil Bones...and remembering why I find the whole series so annoying....

[Lori, Super Mod]

Awwww... a lost Maine novel.... Im heartbroken for it. and you.

[Michelle]

Lori, I am actually in the process of ordering another one as well...and Seeing and All the Names...plus whatever else catches my eye...although ordering online really isn't the same as wandering through a bookstore...how I miss it...

[Lori, Super Mod]

If you like the two Saramagos... I have to also recommend The Cave and Death W/ Interruptions. My two favorite novels (after Blindness of course)...

[Cynthia]

Not really what I'm reading (I'm still reading Dewey) but I thought I'd share my day with you...the staff of the library system I work for was giving the opportunity to go visit The Library of Virginia in Richmond (about 2.5 hrs away)...we got a behind the scenes tour which was awesome...I actually got to hold a book once owned by Patrick Henry and see one owned by Thomas Jefferson. I also got to see documents written by George Washington and feel a page in a book that was written in Germany in late 1400's. It was really an amazing experience for a book lover like me...so I knew my fellow book lovers would want to hear about it. We also got a tour of the capitol building which was also cool.

[Dani]

I'm reading "Life of Pi" and have heard some harsh reviews. I hope it's worth the read!

[Julianne]

Danielle,

Good luck with Life of Pi. It has made my list of best I've read in 2008. The story takes a dramatic turn at ~p.100, so if you feel it's going slow hang in there--once Pi is lost at sea you won't be able to put it down!

I assume I didn't spoil it for you, if you've read the back of the book or have spoken with or read any of the reviews.

[Chloe]

Cynthia, I am so indescribably jealous of you right now. I can't even imagine how great you must feel after getting the chance to be exposed to such wonders.

[Julianne]

I'm reading the Bourne Identity. I know I'm about 30 years behind...ah, well!

[Melissa]

Well, sheesh, Julianne, you ruined it for me! LOL!

Anyway, I spent most of the afternoon/evening focusing on Like Water for Chocolate so I've put a bit of a dent in that book. I am really enjoying it. I'm also getting ready to start What's a Ghoul to Do? tonight.

[Jamie (The Perpetual Page-Turner)]

Lori..yeah..I have to read it for my Brit Lit class but its already on my TBR list so I'm pretty excited about it. I'm not too far in it yet..but I'll def let you know what I think!

[Suzanne]

I'm gonna start reading Zapped by Carol Higgins Clark.

[Lisa]

Jaime - I just finished Frankenstein by Shelley. It was more cerebral than scary...at least in my opinion.

[Connie]

Laura & Kellie:

I agree with Laura on The Double Bind; didn't see it coming...I mean, some of it maybe, but in a different way. All through the book I kept thinking I knew what was going to happen (and I felt so disappointed), but the ending genuinely shocked me. As one of those people who usually "figures it out" it was nice to be surprised.

The book got some pretty bad reviews on Amazon, but I really liked it and I am not easy to please. The writing style got to me a little at first, and there were a few clichés, but the author made up for it in the end. IMO anyway...

[Lori, Super Mod]

I finished Frankenstein this evening and watched the film version (with Robert DeNiro)... I was struggling to control my laughter... the special effects are quite dated as it was made 14 years ago, but overall it was a nice companion to the book.

I hate how they change things tho... and this film was no different from any other.

But I am glad I watched it (and read it too)

I am currently reading The Captian is Out to Lunch by Bukowski... I had to take a break from all the goth lit....

[Stacie]

Sheila, I would love to know what you think of that book. I have had it on my TBR for quite some time, but never seem to move forward to picking it up.

[Atishay]

Hello friends ! I am a newbie to goodreads as well as this club. I'm currently reading "The Seabiscuit". It was the movie that made me read it. I'm quite finished it though. Could someone recommend me a nice book that I should pick up now? I was thinking of taking up the Bourne Trilogy... still haven't read any of the three :)

[Kristina]

Just started on The Lollipop Shoes (The Girl With No Shadow) by Joanne Harris.

[Beth]

I just finished "Homework" by Margot Livesey and just started "The Glass Lake" by Maeve Binchy. I'm also reading "The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles" with my kids and we are loving it!

[Linda]

Kellie, Thanks for the info. Pshew! This is me out of breath with all the reads I need to get to keep up with you. Wouldn't it be great if we could get a job where we just sit in the library and point the patrons to all the great reads? Sometimes I have to hold myself back from telling someone to look at this book or that author. Don't want anyone to think I am a stalker.

[Lisa]

Ooo, ooo, tell me a little about Death with Interruptions!

[Lori, Super Mod]

Death W/Interruptions : It starts with the first day that no one dies. And how everyone celebrates this... until they realise that death is not coming for anyone anymore.... death (with a small d) has decided to take some time off to teach people to appreciate her more.....

It was quite a thought provoking novel.
Similiar to Blindness, it shows how unprepared we are as a society, and within humanity, to deal with something like this.

[Jeane]

Hmmm Kathy, you aren't giving me a lot of courage. I tried to read Moby Dick three times and now I am busy reading it again, determined to finish it but it is going extremely slow and I am only at the point when they are going to leave with the whaling boat!

[Catamorandi]

I tried to read Moby Dick twice, and it was so slow and boring I stopped early on in the book both times. Another book I have tried to read three times with the same results was "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis.

[Ann from S.C.]

Well, I had to put MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA down before I even started:( I realized that I had a book that had to be returned to the library asap so I had to start the book
2012 by Whitley Strieber. It should be a pretty quick read. I am also really loving EMPIRE FALLS. And also getting into THE BELL JAR. And still plowing through FOUND with my son. This is a great book and we are enjoying it! Boy, so many books, so little time! But I am making my way through MT. TBR!

[Laura]

Ann, I'm so glad you're enjoying Empire Falls. Congratulations on your speed-reading prowess!

[Melissa]

Lori, Death w/ Interruptions sounds neat! Please share what you think when you're done!

[JT]

Ann, Once you get around to Memoirs, I hope you enjoy it! It's one of my favorite reads. I've been anxious to get into Empire Falls myself. It's one of those that I started and put down several years ago, but I'm ready to pick it back up.

[JT]

by the by, has anyone read The Zookeepers Wife by Diane Ackerman? We just picked it for this months read in my bookclub.

[Marsha]

I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns. What an amazing read. Moving, thought-provoking, and a solid story.

It's funny how we stay in our comfort zone so much. I love it when I read something else and my world opens up a little more. This book did that for me.

[Lori, Super Mod]

Melissa, I finished Death W/Inter back on Oct 1st. It is my second favorite Saramago novel. Very well done.... loved it!

I am finished with Bukowski (The Captian is Out to Lunch..) I didnt realise this was one of his last books before his death. So different from his older, raunchier novels and collections. This showed a more resigned, calmer man... it was interesting, a bit sad, with all the foreshadowing...

I am about to embark on Rankins novel "Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse"..... I had been looking in the stores for this for awhile and finally got my hands on it!

[Jenna]

I'm about to begin Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel for my book club. It's a historical memior about Galileo told through the eyes of one of his three illegitimate daughters. The author translated a whole bunch of letters written by the daughter. It seems pretty interesting.

[Kellie]

Linda
That is so funny you say that. I find myself tilting my head trying to read the cover of a book someone is reading. If it's something I've read, I have to tell the person...can't hold back. I know they think I am weird but hey I can't help it. Books are my friend.

Ann, Memoirs is an awesome read! You will love it.

JT, I have read Zookeepers Wife. You can see my review in my book shelf.
I will say, the idea is fantastic. I was intrigued. The story of the Warsaw Zoo and it's keepers during WWII sounded so interesting to me. Especially since it is a true story.
I just didn't care for the writing style.
You might enjoy it though. Let me know how you like it!

[Petra X]

I'm reading All Dressed in White, the Irresistible Rise of the American Wedding. Its got some great pics but in the first few pages I found factual errors - like veils for weddings started in Roman times when they are mentioned in the bible a thousand years before. I hope it improves.

[Cynthia]

I just finished reading Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World it was a really cute story...it made me cry in some parts but overall it was a heart-warming story that I recommend for animal/cat lovers.

Next I'll be reading Thinner, Blonder, Whiter for the fall challenge.

[Jessica]

I read Moby Dick (was this in college) a long time ago. It was a hard read. I admire you for picking it up again. I believe everyone should read it at least once or twice. Stick with it, if only for knowing that you have finished it. That is a celebration. I think I read it straight through the first time and in blocks the second time--because it is a hard read, but...I felt a sense of accomplishment when I finished it--very thought provoking.