What are you currently reading? August 2011

[Melissa]

My son received Game of Thrones for Christmas, and rapidly plowed through all of the series. He kept after me to read it, but I stalled. I knew I would love it, and who has time for a series of 1,000 page books? I finally gave in while we were on vacation, and I AM LOVING IT! The prose can be a little clunky and repetitive, but the characters, world, and plot are fabulous.

I am also reading The Redbreast
and Every Man Dies Alone
I am listening to I am finding this a little slow-moving.

[Vanessa]

Melissa, I just finished The Redbreast last week and then listened to Jo Nesbo talking about it on BBC World Book Club. It took a little time to get into but I really liked it and felt like I really understand a least a piece of the Norwegian psyche now.

[Callie]

Finished Cleopatra: A Life today, and it was a bit of a push to finish. I don't know if this was true at the beginning and I just didn't notice it, but the narrator became very robotic sounding towards the end. The story was very interesting, however, and I'll probably give the actual book a go at some point.

When I went to return Cleopatra and get a new book to listen to, I found that the library shelves were bare. I ended up grabbing a random Jodi Picoult, Change of Heart to listen to. What's interesting to me is that this is the first audiobook I've listened to that has had multiple narrators. Maybe it will keep it from getting monotonous, something that is not conducive to keeping me awake while I am driving the 1.5 hours home from work.

[[deleted user]]

This past week-end I read We the Animals: A novel (by Justin Torres) - What a fierce little book! It’s about a young half- Puerto-Rican/half-white boy living somewhere north of New York City in an environment of survival. One of a pack of two parents and two other brothers, the protagonist struggles for identity amidst the pathos of love. The bathtub scene? Like a Pieta… emotionally, it slayed me...

Right now, I'm reading By Nightfall (by Michael Cunningham) - So far, it seems to be about a middle-aged white man in SoHo NYC who seems to have a lot of inner angst about maybe being gay and; is definitely insecure around women. I wonder if Michael Cunningham knows Ian McEwan? Why? I dunno, maybe they both talk about taking themselves too seriously (cf Saturday by Ian McEwan) :-/


We the Animals: A novel by Justin Torres


By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham


Saturday by Ian McEwan

[Lil]

Just finished listening to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and found it very fun and funny. Despite being 30 years old, it reads as if could have been written as satire of today.

Also, reading (over and over!) Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site with my 3 year old. Want to give a hearty recommendation for this wonderful children's book for anyone (probably anyone 5 or under) obsessed with tractors, dump trucks, etc.

Just started listening to Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks. I'm not sure I'm feeling non-fictiony at the moment, but seems promising series of individual case stories.

[Ann]

Steven wrote: " I just listened to your podcast for the first time and thought it was very informative and entertaining. Do you do segments on books on CD?
"

Hi Steven and welcome! Thanks so much for giving the podcast a listen. We do talk about audiobooks quite frequently -- we don't usually give them their own segment (maybe just once or twice a year), but we have lots of audio fans who listen and Michael and I are also fans, so they come up from time to time in general book discussions.

[SEY]

Just finished Snow Flower and Secret Fan by Lisa See, have the sequel Shanghai Girls, which got rave reviews but not sure I want to read it. Snow Flower... was amazing, revealing a world I knew next to nothing about but so sad. Is the sequel the same?

Still on a Chinese theme though and love cooking so picked up the Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones. You have to like food but a lovely little story with lots of history intertwined like the courses of a fine gourmet meal. Real Chinese food is nothing like your local take-out, this is a fascinating trip East!

Listening to Middlesex, while cooking of course, by Jeffrey Eugenides - fascinating! Why didn't I read this sooner. I have so many Greek friends, now I get it! Highly recommended!

[Lil]

Listening to Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. This is a book about a small village enduring plague in the 1600's and narrated by a common woman of uncommon "understanding". I'm almost halfway through and finding it wonderful. This was a surprise find in the library's "available now" download section and I snatched it up as I had just recently enjoyed Ms. Brooks's March. Apparently I'm on a kick.

[Vanessa]

I finished After Dark-my first Haruki Murakami. I liked parts of it a lot-the strangely deep and emotional conversations that took place between near total strangers especially-but other parts I didn't understand. I may not be smart enough to read him but I like him. Someone suggested I read Kafka on the Shore.

After a couple of heavy subject matter books in a row, I'm reading Horns by Joe Hill. I liked his previous book, Heart-Shaped Box.

[Gerald]

I am reading now "She Smells The Dead" .I picked this up because I recognized the picture on the Kindle of the author I follow on Twitter.Hey its YA and who knows it might be good.I have also just finished listening to Classic American Short Stories Very interesting if you want to see how great writers write.

[[deleted user]]

Vanessa wrote: "After a couple of heavy subject matter books in a row, I'm reading Horns by Joe Hill. I liked his previous book, Heart-Shaped Box. "

Have you read his comic book series, Locke and Key yet? It's superb.

[Callie]

Finished Cutting for Stone last night, and it was incredible. The high praise was certainly well deserved!

I'm starting The Illumination next, which I got at the Yankee Bookswap at the BotNS Retreat!

[[deleted user]]

I finished By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham last week. It's very much a lit-fic novel: an exploration of character more than an action-driven plot. As I mentioned before, it's very much about the interior conflict of a white, upper-middle class guy in NYC who questions his sexuality when his brother-in-law arrives for a stay in his home. This precipitates something of a mid-life crises which, really, when all is said and done, really isn't that interesting. Maybe there are guys who think this is pretty dramatic stuff; but um, no.

Right now I'm reading Finn by Jon Clinch. I had read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (both by Mark Twain) earlier this year because I really couldn't remember if I had read either Classic before and, I wanted the backstories to this take on Huckleberry Finn's father. [In a small digression here, when I went to the library, I was extremely annoyed to discover that I couldn't find "Tom Sawyer" on the stacks. Then I realized I was looking under "S" :-/] To his credit, Jon Clinch did not seek to emulate Twain's writing style, instead weaving detail-rich scenes with beautifully descriptive phrases; but fair warning, neither is this a humorous satire. It is a dark novel with graphic and haunting moods.



By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham


Finn by Jon Clinch


The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain


Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

[Libby]

I read Before I Go to Sleep in about two days which is really quick for me. It drew me in instantly and was mostly satisfying. Thrillers are kind of "junk food" for me since I mostly read more "literary" fiction.

Now I'm reading The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. I'm enjoying it, but it reminds me of Bitter in the Mouth, which I think is better. 'Lemon Cake' is about a young girl who can taste the emotions of the cook when she eats. If the food is from a factory, she can identify which state the ingredients hail from. In 'Bitter in the Mouth,' a young girl has synesthesia, where she can taste words. Maybe it's unfair to compare, but so far, I think 'Bitter' is better.

[Libby]

Also, I'm listening to Sense and Sensibility on Libravox. I'm preparing for The Cookbook Collector which I heard is based on Sense and Sensibility. The Libravox recording is a little strange, because it starts off being read by a woman with an American accent, then around chapter 10 is narrated by an Australian woman, then it goes back to the American reader. This is my first Libravox recording, so if others have listened to Libravox, is this typical for narrators to change?

[Flora]

I just finished The Phantom of the Opera which I really liked. And I'm currently about 1/4 of the way into Mistress of the Art of Death which has been really good too.

[Ann]

Libby,
Since Librivox is a 'crowd-sourced' project, there are sometimes books with varied narrators. Sometimes people sign up to just read a chapter or two -- the goal is to get as many books as possible produced, so this way, there is a better chance of it happening. It's a lot easier to volunteer to read just a bit, then to commit to taking on an entire book.

[Ann]

By the way, I wish Goodreads had a "like" button so that I could like all of your reading choices.

[Linda]

I'm reading an anthology titled Mystery Times Ten 2011. One of the people in my writers' group has the third story in it. I've finished one story so far, which was pretty good.

[Vanessa]

Eric wrote:Have you read his comic book series, Locke and Key yet? It's superb.

I've only read the free FCBD issue that Callie mailed to me (thanks again, Callie.) I know I should read the series, I'm just reluctant to pick up ONE more series. I need to pick the TPB's up from the library.

[Pam]

See a bunch of hits for Jo Nesbo's detective fiction. Yea! There are many fantastic books (and films) from other countries--we just don't get them often, and it's our (American) loss.

Reading Tea Obreht's the Tiger's Wife now and enjoying this young woman's debut novel.

[Flora]

Just started The Garden of Eden

[Jay]

Finished One Day. I really enjoyed this one. I tend to get interested in books they are making a movie of when it has actors that I like. I still haven't seen the movie but it was nice to imagine Anne Hathaway as Emma the main female character. Regardless, I really loved this book. I was really able to relate to the characters well. The author did a great job of making them come to life and making them interesting even when they were being loathsome human beings.

[Jason]

Currently reading The Postcard Killers for my bookclub. An average book at best.

My next read will be In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin. Heard it is a great read.

[Callie]

I finished The Illumination today, which I though was pretty good, but a bit jumpy. I wish I had known (or remembered) that it was in a short story format, so I wouldn't have gotten as invested in the characters as I did.

Next I think is The Last Werewolf. If you've seen my previous post, you know that I had some trouble getting a copy from my local bookstore, who was going to have to special order it, and I ended up cancelling the order because I was worried I wouldn't get it in time for vacation. Well, I got a phone call the day before vacation from this bookstore, informing me that my order had arrived. I decided to go down and pick up the book, because I felt guilty that all this had happened. So I get the stupid thing, get in my car, and BOOM, hit another car as I was leaving the parking lot. Then, a couple days later, I'm putting the book down on my nightstand, knock my glass of water over, and almost ruin my cell phone, plus the finish on the nightstand. I'm thinking this copy of the book is cursed.

[Ree]

Jason wrote: "Currently reading The Postcard Killers for my bookclub. An average book at best.

My next read will be [book:In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's..."

Garden of Beasts is on my wish list. Would love to hear your thoughts after you read it.

[Karen]

Michael, I have to tell you, I gave up on Lev Grossman's The Magicians twice, but your review of the sequel made me give it another try. I am enjoying the storyline. I still don't enjoy the characters.

Thanks,
Karen Horvath

[Keetha]

Callie wrote: "I finished The Illumination today, which I though was pretty good, but a bit jumpy. I wish I had known (or remembered) that it was in a short story format, so I wouldn't have gotten ..."

Re: The Last Werewolf. Oh my! It does sound like the fates are conspiring.

A few weeks ago I emailed my local indie asking them to get me a copy of The Magician King. I wanted to have it as soon as it came out, so I emailed a week or so before then. Aaannnnd no response.

What really infuriated me was that I went out of town the next weekend. SAW the very book at another indie and at Barnes & Noble but didn't buy it because I'm a chump and wanted to spend my money locally with an indepentdent bookstore.

I never heard back from them - and this isn't the first time this very thing has happened with the same store. So I got it from B&N.

Grrrrrr.

[Karen]

I have The Illumination on my Kindle. I enjoyed his first, I think it was something like The City of the Dead.

Customer service isn't always what it should be. Employees probably are min wage just learning. BN needs sales also these days.
Karen

[Shane]

[Lil]

Finished Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks on audio yesterday. Really enjoyed it overall. Narrated by the author and she does a wonderful job (I thought it was an actor until the credits). I will say that the ending seemed a little out of the blue. Without creating a spoiler (knowing the mixed and passionate opinions on That subject!), one of the main characters really had a fairly abrupt about face at the end and there wasn't much foreshadowing.
Wonder if anyone else read this and has an opinion on the ending? Also wondering if anyone could recommend a good nonfiction account of the plague?

Just started Cancer Vixen: A True Story, my first graphic novel ever. Really. I had a wonderful visit to The Strand bookstore in NYC (far from home for me) a couple of weeks ago and picked up a hard copy for $2.95 in perfect condition. When I began to read it today, I saw that it had been signed by the author. I almost feel like I stole it. This is the first book in a while that has really made me appreciate the physical book over an e-book (I'm a total traitor to print books now).

[Callie]

Lil wrote: "Finished Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks on audio yesterday. Really enjoyed it overall. Narrated by the author and she does a wonderful job (I thought it was an actor until the cr..."

What a great find Lil! That's what is so great about The Strand, and other places like it... you just may come away with a real treasure.

[Flora]

Shane wrote: ""

Really enjoyed this one. Its on my to-read again list.

[Joanne-in-Canada]

Lil wrote: "Finished Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks on audio yesterday... Wonder if anyone else read this and has an opinion on the ending? "

Lil, I loved this book, but thought the ending didn't fit at all, that the protagonist's actions were totally out of character. I highly recommend People of the Book by the same author. I also read March for my book club. I was less taken by this one, which tells the story of the absent father from Little Women, perhaps because I am not a huge fan of Little Women. One of my book club members read and liked Brooks' non-fiction book Nine Parts of Desire: Hidden World of Islamic Women.

[Joanne-in-Canada]

I just finished After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell. Excellent character development.

Next up: Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, which is #9 in my 11-in-11 reading challenge (for me, this means reading the 11 books that have been on my reading list the longest!) I wasn't sure I was going to tackle this 600-page tome, but when my 21-year-old daughter returned from a three-month internship in Johannesburg and put it in my hands, how could I say no?

[Frankie]

Karen wrote: "Michael, I have to tell you, I gave up on Lev Grossman's The Magicians twice, but your review of the sequel made me give it another try. I am enjoying the storyline. I still don't enjoy the charact..."

Everyone's raves about The Magician King made me pick up the copy I got awhile back of The Magicians (B&N - hardback for $5... can't beat that). I don't think I've hated an author's prose this much since I read The Da Vinci Code. I very nearly gave up after 10 pages but made myself keep going to 50. The plot has picked up so I'm going to give it another 50, but how can people love something so poorly written? I have more grace for genre where the plot is supposed to be the main attraction, but this one is selling itself as literary fiction. Maybe this is just me...

On a more positive note, In the Garden of Beasts is fascinating and beautifully written!

[Flora]

I'm finally getting started on The Help and I've also started My Life in France both of which I've been looking forward to reading. I've also started The Cat Who Said Cheese which I think will be a fun easy read.

[[deleted user]]

I finished up Finn by Jon Clinch. It's the back story of Huckleberry Finn's father. The prose is beautiful and evocative and moody and haunting and... I had a nightmare about it and I'm just a wee bit wary of starting Kings of the Earth! I'll probably wait until I read a couple of other books first :-)

I've just started The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove by Susan Gregg Gilmore. It’s the story of a girl who meets a boy; but the catch is that she’s a rich white girl and he’s a poor black boy and; Nashville in the pre-/anti-revolutionary 1960’s is not the time and place for such a thing. I’ve only read a couple of chapters so far; but I already know this time, these people and this place even though it happened before my time, the characters are fictional and, I’ve only been to Nashville as a tourist (stop on the pilgrimage to Graceland.) Susan Gregg Gilmore has managed to evoke the world of Bezellia, not just her surroundings, but her interior life as a girl from an old family and who is desperate for the love and affection of her mother. It’s already a little heartbreaking and painful; but I'm really liking it.


Finn by Jon Clinch


Kings of the Earth by Jon Clinch


The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove by Susan Gregg Gilmore

[Amy]

Tanya wrote: "I finished up Finn by Jon Clinch. It's the back story of Huckleberry Finn's father. The prose is beautiful evocative and and moody and haunting and... I had a nightmare..."

I read Kings of the Earth immediately after Finn and I didn't think it was nearly as nightmare inducing as Finn, though it too is a dark story. In fact, I thought it was bland after having read Finn. Admitedly, part of it could have been the novelty of writing Huckleberry Finn from a different perspective, but I think you'll be fine with Kings of the Earth.

[Julie]

Finished on a roundtrip plane trip to Va last week: The Alchemist's Daughter Bleh. It
was an interesting read, but a bit of a slog, and the characters did not enchant me. I did like the details of country life circa 1725 in England, and bustling urban London. Anyone else read this and have an opinion?

[Julie]

Oh, now reading The Language God Talks: On Science and Religion by Herman Wouk. A formidable nonfiction topic tackled by one of the 20th century's greatest historical fiction writers. I'm finding this fascinating AND totally accessible!

[Victoria]

Oh, I have a number of books going! I'm reading The Snowman in hard copy. I also have Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading partway done on my Kindle. And I do a ton of article reading thru Instapaper on my iPad and iPhone. Overall - always too much to read and not enough time.

[[deleted user]]

I finally finished this book, which took me about a month and a half. There are more POV characters in this book than ever before in the series, so there's a lot of mental gear-shifting that has to be done every time you start a new chapter. Not only that, but Martin's style is such that, when a character is left at a cliffhanger, when he next picks up that character, he doesn't take you back to the crisis he'd left him at. Martin has moved ahead to the next phase, allowing the reader to imagine how the cliffhanger resolved. In that regard, Martin is challenging. You have to meet him halfway.

Keep in mind: this book is a middle entry in a series, and doesn't even purport to stand on its own. If you're planning on diving into this series here with book five, give it up right now. You will be lost if you do. Start with the first book, "Game of Thrones", and read from there.

Constant readers of the series will see the stage being set for a climax and conclusion, which will take place in the final two books. The story is big. It's the story of who will rule a civilization. The rising, falling, and resurrection of dynasties. When will the next book come out? We don't know. This book took five or six years to emerge.

Without spoiling too much, I'll say the following:

We find out a bit more about the weirwoods, and more about skin-changers.

Jaime meets Brienne of Tarth...or does he?

We get to know Ramsay, Bastard of Bolton. One of the most despicable characters in Martin's world.

We watch Tyrion become something of a father figure.

Bran finds his purpose.

Jon prepares for winter by seeking unlikely allies.

Arya continues her "origin story". Her story seems more of a beginning than that of the other characters. I wouldn't be surprised if she were the main character in another series of sequels.

A new king emerges.

Cersei takes a perp walk.

Daeny flounders.

We find out what full-grown dragons get up to when they get out and about.

Ser Barristan fills the need for a truly honorable character.

Prince Quentyn of Dorne and his ragtag band have a quest to fulfill.

Asha Greyjoy makes her stand.

And who is the physically and emotionally shattered prisoner, Reek?

All these questions and more are dealt with. Read with pleasure.

[Lil]

Thanks Joanne and Gaeta1! I'm putting all of those on my tbr list.

[Sharman]

I finished The End is Now (not recommended reading), People of the Book, The Hunger Games, and Catching Fire (all highly recommended reading). Love long car trips. I'm ready to read Mockingjay, River Rising, Cutting for Stone, and March. I'll start with Mockingjay for my own pleasure and then River Rising for my book club.

[Sharman]

I finished The End is Now (not recommended reading), People of the Book, The Hunger Games, and Catching Fire (all highly recommended reading). Love long car trips. I'm ready to read Mockingjay, River Rising, Cutting for Stone, and March. I'll start with Mockingjay for my own pleasure and then River Rising for my book club.

[Dawn]

In the last week I read , which I highly recommend.. And also - which disappointed me a bit. I think I went in with my expectations too high. That said, the way it ended means that I'll probably end up reading the next one! Now I'm on to .

[Gerald]

I just finished "She Smells the Dead" I know,don't laugh.Its a YA book,short and simple.I just wanted to read it because I follow the author on Twitter.I believe that she(EJ Stevens) could probably do better but she has her little niche.I did learn some things which I guess is why we read.ger

[Gerald]

Now reading which I heard so much about.Also reading a kindle single,"The Book Bind" by Saskia de Rothschild,about a small publisher in NYC.ger