[Closed] What are you currently reading....

[Barbara]

During the holidays I can't resist Christmas themed books. I am reading The Dolmen Book of Christmas Stories edited by Dermot Bolger -so pretty dark and an Irish chick lit book Driving Home for Christmas by Emma Hanigan. .

I need to get my hands on my son's copy of The Hobbit.

[DJ =^^=]

Notorious Nineteen and On an Irish Island.

[Gerard]

Deb wrote: "Notorious Nineteen and On an Irish Island.

"

Deb

there is a review of this book on Fionnchú's excellent 'Blogtrotter' blog, penned in his own Los Angeles gaeltacht. See it here at:

http://fionnchu.blogspot.co.uk/2012/0...

[Barbara]

Gerard wrote: "Deb wrote: "Notorious Nineteen and On an Irish Island.

"

Deb

there is a review of this book on Fionnchú's excellent..."

This is a great blog! Thanks Gerard. I can't imagine anyplace further away from Ireland and the Celtic countries Fionnchú appears to love than Los Angeles. But there are worst places in the US to have to live which I won't name for fear of upsetting those who call those places home.

[Aoibhínn]

I've finished reading by Sophie Kinsella yesterday. The first half of the book was quite good but I got a bit bored with it during the second half. The book was well-written and it had a lot of extremely funny scenes in it. However, the plot was very predictable. I made a guess when I was at 5% of the way in about how this book would end and I figured it out exactly! The author is not very good at adding "twists and turns" into her plots, which is the main reason I haven't picked up a book by this author for ten years. I thought the author would have learned something in all that time but apparently not!
My full review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...


Now I'm a few chapters into by Christopher Moore.

[Susan]

Deb wrote: "Notorious Nineteen and On an Irish Island.

"

Deb,
I am anxious to hear about both of the books. I don't want to read Stehanie Plum if it's the same old book rehashed again. I think I'll scream if the characters don't do something different.
I am wondering about the other book too. It sounds great. Keep us posted.
@Gerald. Thanks for the link. Great blog.
@Barbara. I agree with you that there are worse spots to live other than LA but not many unless you don't mind sitting in your car for hours trying to get somewhere.

[Aoibhínn]

I've finished by Christopher Moore earlier today. The plot was quite thin but there were tons of funny scenes that made me giggle and snicker (it wasn't funny enough to make me laugh out loud). However I got bored with this book pretty quickly. The humour was just so repetitive that it started to get on my nerves after a while and the jokes just stopped being funny. I didn't like the second half of the book as it just got too far-fetched and stupid. I really struggled to finish it.
My full review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...


Now I'm a couple of chapters into by Diane Chamberlain.

[Aoibhínn]

I finished by Diane Chamberlain yesterday morning. The Good Father is a gripping, touching and thought-provoking read. The three main characters are Travis, Robin and Erin and each of the chapters in the novel is narrated by one of these characters. Some of the chapters do jump from the present to the past but I thought the story was still easy to follow. Some parts of the story were very unrealistic and far-fetched and the ending of the novel was a bit of a letdown as I thought it was very predictable. It really seemed like the author had rushed out an ending just to make a deadline. I gave this one 3 stars.
My full review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...


Now I'm about to start by Sanjay Gupta. I heard this novel is going to be turned into a TV series similar to ER. It sounded like a TV show I'm be interested in watching so I decided to read the book.

[Barbara]

OK, it is getting down to the deadline of Dec. 31st. I have 10, yes TEN books on my currently-reading shelf. I plan to focus on finishing a few of them in the next 2 days including Don't Cry For Me Aberystwyth; and Fatty Legs: A True Story. On the other hand, I realize that if I finish some of them after tomorrow I will be ahead for 2013.

[MS]

Reading two at the moment - The King's Speech by Mark Logue which is very different to the film - as in dealing with much wider issues such as the abdication and the war and is interesting from a historical perspective - and Suddenly While Abroad by David Blake Knox which I can't find on Goodreads yet, but details the experiences of Irish merchant marine sailors captured and interned by the Germans during the war, and forced to work in slave camps. It's sobering reading how badly they, and the Jewish community, were let down by the Irish government. It's an era I haven't read much about, despite an interest in history, and it's appalling how anti-Semitic some of the Irish diplomats were.

Interestingly both books were written by relatives of the historical characters featured - Logue is the grandson of the speech therapist (who comes across a little badly in the book, I felt) and Knox is the cousin of one of the imprisoned sailors.

[Aoibhínn]

I finished by Sanjay Gupta yesterday morning. I really enjoyed this novel. It is actually very similar to ER. At times during reading this book, I did feel like I was reading an ER script just with different characters! The plot was interesting, gripping, well-developed and well-written. The medical lingo was easy to understand.The characters were interesting, vivid and well-developed. My only gripe about this novel was that I would have liked to learn more about what happened to the characters at the end of the novel.
My full review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...


Now I'm a few chapters into by Liane Moriarty. Great book so far!

[[deleted user]]

Recently finished The Hobbit and now a quarter of the way through The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rotfuss. It's been quite a slow burner but I have become invested in the main character 'Kvothe' I will put a review up when I'm finished.

[[deleted user]]

I'm currently reading Stephen King's The Drawing of the Three. This is an unusual choice for me, as I don't normally go for any kind of popular/genre fiction. It's the second of King's Dark Tower fantasy series.

So far it's been highly imaginative, with some truly bizarre imagery. Roland (The Gunslinger) is an intriguing character, and King gives us just enough information about him (and his quest) to keep us interested, but not so much that we'll discontinue with the series.

My only gripe is with the unusual shift in tone between characters. In Roland's passages the writing is very literary. In fact, some of it reads beautifully, which I wasn't expecting. However, when the focus shifts to Eddie (The Prisoner) the language is forced and the dialogue cheesy. It's intentional, and as intended it draws a distinction between each character and their respective worlds. But it doesn't quite 'work'. In fact, in Eddie's passages King simply comes across as a lazy writer.

[Aoibhínn]

I've finished reading by Liane Moriarty. I really loved this novel! The plot was very intriguing, compelling and well-written with an interesting and unique premise. I loved the author's writing style. The story was very funny and some parts were quite touching and made me want to cry. The characters were all well-developed, vivid and believable. I found it easy to relate to Alice and the other characters. I was unable to put this book down for long. I was desperate to find out what was going to happen next! I gave it 5 stars!
My full view is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Now I'm about to start by Kate Alcott.

[Laura]

I just finished Gone Girl. It is an engrossing psychological thriller. It starts out somewhat like Broken Harbor where an idealized couple who has everything lose their jobs and then has to move to the boonies carrying their shattered egos. Gone Girl, however, is more intense and explores narcissism and social pathology much more intensely. Disturbing.

[Deirdre]

Laura wrote: "I just finished Gone Girl. It is an engrossing psychological thriller. It starts out somewhat like Broken Harbor where an idealized couple who has everything lose their jobs and then has to move ..."
I've heard so much about that book (Gone Girl). I'm in town on Tuesday, so will be buying that along with Life of Pi...

[Susan]

Deirdre wrote: "Laura wrote: "I just finished Gone Girl. It is an engrossing psychological thriller. It starts out somewhat like Broken Harbor where an idealized couple who has everything lose their jobs and the..."

I loved "Gone Girl". I hope you enjoy it.

[Barbara]

I'm happy to say I have finally been able to start Wolf Hall. Last week I read The Cold Eye of Heaven by Christine Dwyer Hickey.

[Niamh]

Just finished wolf hall loved it now reading the 100 year old man who jumped out the window for a break before starting into bring up the bodies. Also looking forward to the unlikely pilgrimage of Harold fry

[John]

Also looking forward to the unlikely pilgrimage of Harold Fry"

If you do audio, I'd recommend this on Audio. Jim Broadbent really brings Harold to life.

[Tom]

I'm reading The Ultimate Evil by Muary Terry and Carl Panzram A Journal of Murder. Both are really entertaining and fascinating.

[Aoibhínn]

Yesterday I finished reading by Kate Alcott. I really enjoyed this novel. It was very hard to put it down. I loved all the historical details about the Titanic and its survivors. I liked this unique take on the Titanic disaster. Not many books about the Titanic sinking feature the aftermath of it and how survivors try to deal with what happened and move on. I gave it 4 stars!
My full review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...


I'm also about to finish by Janet Evanovich and make a start on by William Peter Blatty.

[Bernie]

I am currently reading Spirits Of The Dead by Edgar Allan Poe. The poems are great but I am finding his short stories tedious.

[Barbara]

Bernie wrote: "I am currently reading Spirits Of The Dead by Edgar Allan Poe. The poems are great but I am finding his short stories tedious."

I really liked HP Lovecraft when I read him years ago. He wrote good horror short stories from that time period - lived 1890-1937 and was born in Providence RI.
Last May, I finally saw Poe's tomb in Baltimore which is right up the road from me.

[Ted]

Started reading The Ghosts of Belfast yesterday. I expect many GR Ireland members have read it, but I only just heard of it (and the author).

[Bernie]

Barbara wrote: "Bernie wrote: "I am currently reading Spirits Of The Dead by Edgar Allan Poe. The poems are great but I am finding his short stories tedious."

I really liked HP Lovecraft when I read him years ago..."
I think some of the satire is lost on me since I do'nt know that much about Poe and that time period. I decided to read him because his name came up a lot in art books, especially the symbolism movement. I will need to do some research. It must have been amazing seeing his tomb and that he is part of your local culture.

[Barbara]

You may know that someone used to leave brandy and a rose on his tomb for years but a couple of years ago it stopped.

[Bernie]

Barbara wrote: "You may know that someone used to leave brandy and a rose on his tomb for years but a couple of years ago it stopped."
Another mystery to do with Poe.Just like the lady in black who use to visit Valentino's grave.

[Aoibhínn]

I just finished reading by William Peter Blatty. The Exorcist is an engrossing, gripping, disturbing and well-written supernatural tale. I really enjoyed this novel. I thought the author's writing style was excellent. I found it very hard to put this book down for long. I just had to know what happened next even though I've seen the movie half a dozen times! It didn't frighten me to death but it did scare me a good bit! Even though the book is over forty years old, except for a bit of seventies slang here and there, it really isn't dated at all. The Exorcist is one of the best horror novels that I've read in a long time. Even if you've already seen the movie a hundred times I'd recommend reading the novel as it's a lot better than the movie!
My full review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...


Now I'm about to start by William Landay.

[aprilla]

Normally I've always been a 'the book is better than the movie' sort but having tried a listen to Life of Pi and not really getting into it I'm still interested but am thinking of going the movie route.
Oddly I just finished The Night Circus and think I would prefer that as a movie. Yikes!
It was a great listen (Jim Dale was a perfect narrator choice) but I prefered several secondary characters to the main and just sortof lost any keen interest around two-thirds through.
Could this be a mid-life crisis?
;)
Not sure what to try next...

[Laura]

I am reading The Bartender's Tale. Doig has a very unique voice. Also reading A Certain Justice by P.D. James. I like a good mystery.

[Aoibhínn]

I've just finished by William Landay. Defending Jacob is a well-written, disturbing and gripping crime thriller with plenty of twists and turns throughout the novel to keep you interested. I really enjoyed this book. I was hooked from the very beginning to the end. The reader is kept guessing as to whether Jacob is innocent or guilty until the very end of the novel. Throughout the trial I kept changing my mind about whether Jacob was guilty or not. I thought this was a excellent read so I’m giving it a well-deserved five stars!
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Now I'm about to start by Jamie Ford.

[Jim]

I've just begun Roddy Doyle's The Dead Republic. It takes up where A Star Called Henry leaves off, sort of. I admire Doyle's style very much, and this one has that usual smack in the face prose.

[Eleanor]

I'm reading the Camelud saga by Jack Whyte and loving it all

[Aoibhínn]

I've finished reading by Jamie Ford last night. I really loved this book! Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a beautiful, fascinating, tender and moving story from beginning to end. Like the title suggests, the story is such a bitter-sweet tale, heartbreaking at times and so warm and sweet in others.All the characters were vivid, well-developed and realistic. I really loved the characters of Henry, Keiko and Sheldon, and really cared about what happened to them. I found it really hard to put this novel down and I look forward to reading more from this author! I gave this novel 5 Stars!

My full review is here:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...


Now I'm a few chapters into by John Steinbeck.

[Jack]

I've just started reading Girl Missing by Sophie Mckenzie and it seems interesting. I think I'm going to enjoy it. :-)

[Dermo]

Hi all, am currently in the middle of 'My Name is Red' by Orhan Pamuk. It's a bit of a slow burner, but it's definitely worth reading for the beauty of the imagery alone. There are also quite deep philosophical musings on various things, like, death, colour, vision, religion and theology, and gender relations. At the basic level, though, it's a great murder mystery, set in a fascinating historical period. I suppose a lot of that will probably go into my review when I finish.
On the side, I'm skimming through 'Eachtraí Krishnamurphy' by Gabriel Rosenstock. Beautiful, simple, lyrical poetry and haikus.

[Catherine]

Anything Philip Pullman writes is okay by me. I nearly fell out of my standing when a woman denounced the His Dark Materials trilogy was the work of the Satan! Never knew Satan was such a good writer!

[Mr. Owl]

Finished Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card which was a bit underwhelming so was in the mood for more sci-fi - currently reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. An easy read with loads of 80s references.

@Dermo - My Name is Red is an interesting read - especially the idea that each chapter has an something (for example a dog) narrating its story as part of the clues. Not as literary but have you tried the Yashim the Eunuch series by Jason Goodwin which is about the adventures of an Ottoman detective.

[Dermo]

@Seán - I haven't actually read any of those, although it sounds familiar. I'm a sucker for a good historical crime novel. unfortunately there are far too many bad ones out there as well. I'll give anything a go though. Some books can really surprise you.
It took me a while to realise it, but the different narrators (who are not characters in the story) are actually from the point of view of the various illustrations which are the constituent parts of the book being made by Enishte and Black. Each one very cleverly explains why those illustrations were chosen to be part of the Sultan's book.

[John]

Started Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend at the weekend. It's like Drop Dead Fred meets The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Light easy fun read. Perfect antidote to Wolf Hall.

[Barbara]

I just started The Absolutist by John Boyne and have been quickly drawn into the book. It's this month's read for my monthly Irish book group.

[Aoibhínn]

I've finished reading by John Steinbeck. The Grapes of Wrath is a beautifully written but extremely moving and heartbreaking novel with interesting, realistic and well-developed characters. I love John Steinbeck's wonderful writing style. I just loved his fantastic vivid descriptions of the landscape and the people. At times the descriptions of the barren landscape and the appalling conditions the family have to put up with is very depressing. I wanted to put the book down sometimes due to this but I'm glad a persevered through and finished the novel.This novel well deserved the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction it won in 1940 and it really is a masterpiece of 20th Century literature. It is definitely a must read! Four stars!
My full review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...


Now I'm about to start on by Nicholas Evans.

[Susan]

Good choices, Ellie. I love Steinbeck and I really liked "The Divide."

[Dermo]

Steinbeck's writing is absolutely gorgeous. I was travelling around America last year and I read 'Travels with Charley' which was the perfect accompaniment. I might read something by him this week, since I'm in California.

[[deleted user]]

I'm going to jump on the Steinbeck bandwagon. I'm a huge fan but I'm not quite through reading all of his work just yet. I always recommend him to everyone.

[Susan]

Dermo wrote: "Steinbeck's writing is absolutely gorgeous. I was travelling around America last year and I read 'Travels with Charley' which was the perfect accompaniment. I might read something by him this week,..."

Dermo, where are you in CA? I live in N. Calif. and we are currently having a tree sitting demonstration going on in town. I noticed in your bio that you are an occassional tree hugger. Maybe you could come help out.

[Barbara]

I just finished reading The Absolutist by John Boyne which is a story of regret, that starts during WWI. It was an excellent read.
I am currently reading a young adult novel Hold Still by Nina LaCour, and almost finished listening to the audiobook of The Round House by Louise Erdrich.

[Dermo]

Susan wrote: "Dermo, where are you in CA?"

Hi Susan. I'm down in Los Angeles, until wednesday, and I have no wheels. :( I hope the demonstration goes well. Ah I love trees.

[Susan]

Dermo wrote: "Susan wrote: "Dermo, where are you in CA?"

Hi Susan. I'm down in Los Angeles, until wednesday, and I have no wheels. :( I hope the demonstration goes well. Ah I love trees."

I hope you are enjoying LA. They are whining about the cold down there. I think it got down in the 50's. Poor babies.