Books on the Nightstand discussion
What Are You Currently Reading? November 2011
date
newest »
newest »
Mod
. My apologies to Dave Eggers. I didn't hurl it, but I was close to hurling. I did finish it however.
I had mixed feelings about the Eggers book while I was reading it. I particularly found it reprehensible that Eggers was using his little brother's life and pain as sort of a creative writing experiment. But when I closed the book, I realized that Eggers had engaged me in just the way he'd intended. He'd made me angry. In retrospect, I thought it was a great piece of writing, and unlike anything I'd ever read.
Mod
The only book my ENTIRE book group hurled across the room (metaphorically)...
I just finished Alias Grace and I loved it. I was so in to the book that I was trying to get some Thanksgiving cooking done while I was reading it....I quickly put together two pumpkin pies and put them in the oven and sat down to read again. Unfortunately I'm not that skilled at multi-tasking. I pulled the pies out and started cleaning the kitchen only to find that I had forgotten to include one of the main ingredients - no not the pumpkin - the evaporated milk. Pies weren't good - but the book was excellent!!!!!
Mod
. I know I'm late to the fair.
Currently, I'm three books along listening to Garth Nix's The Keys to the Kingdom series
I had previously read a short story by Mr. Nix. He really has a unique imagination that I am really enjoying.I'm also reading some historical fiction. Just finished
which was really great and have moved into the mystery genre with
which is also fantastic. All in all its been a run of good reading which is great for a long holiday weekend. Good excuse to avoid shopping!
Stephanie wrote: "Currently, I'm three books along listening to Garth Nix's The Keys to the Kingdom series I had previously read a short story by Mr. Nix. He really has a unique..."Have you read Maisie Dobbs #1? I've had that on the "nightstand" for a long time and can't seem to get to it.
Finished Back When We Were Grownups last week for my in-person book club. It's only my second Anne Tyler - the first was The Amateur Marriage. She can pull you in so subtly, it just amazes me. Just started The Invisible Bridge andA Great Deliverance, and still plowing through a fascinating biography of Alfred Hitchcock - Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light.
wow! what strong feels jana and linda! i love eggers' books. his narrative non-fiction is great!
Jana wrote: "Stephanie wrote: "Currently, I'm three books along listening to Garth Nix's The Keys to the Kingdom series I had previously read a short story by Mr. Nix. He r..."I have read the first Maisie Dobbs book and liked it very much. I really like that time period/place - Britain between the wars or really in the 20's Britain in the aftermath of WWI. This series has also been fairly original - somewhere between a cozy mystery and Charles Todd's Ian Rutledge series if your familiar with those. And they are quick enjoyable reads. A little word of warning however if you're really in the mood for a mystery book 1 may be a bit of a disappointment as the mystery takes a bit of back burner to Maisie's story. Birds of a feather is more of a traditional mystery.
I've just finished reading "The Chaos Crystal," the fourth and final volume of a sci-fi/fantasy series by the Australian writer Jennifer Fallon. This is the third of her series that I've read, so obviously I like her work. The plots and characters are, in my view, well above average for this genre. I look forward to reading more of her work.Next up is this month's choice for my book club, "The Harbor" by Lorraine Adams. A bit tardy, we're reading a book with a tie-in to 9/11. I don't think it deals with 9/11 itself but with the experiences of Arab Muslims in the US and the domestic war on terrorism. I think it will be an excellent book.
On the audiobook front, I finished Dickens' "Oliver Twist" a few days ago and am about halfway through Ann Tyler's "Noah's Compass." Oliver was one of Dickens' earliest novels and perhaps not his best (the plot relies heavily on coincidences), but it's a good story, and his criticism of the treatment of the poor is vivid, and probably still relevant now. As for Tyler's book, I'm a big fan and have never read anything of hers I didn't like.
Elizabeth wrote: "wow! what strong feels jana and linda! i love eggers' books. his narrative non-fiction is great!"
I don't disagree that he's a great writer, I just couldn't get through that book (I have a review in my "read" list which explains where I gave up/hurled the book.) I would like to try his
sometime.Just finished
and pronounce it a great read!I just got off to a promising start with
. I'm not sure if this is good or bad, but because we watched ROME last year, I feel like I will get more out of the book: I have faces for everyone and know a lot of their history. I don't want to sound like Charlton Heston is my Moses, but I think that's what I've done in this particular slice of history. Hail Ciarán Hinds!
I just finished Moonwalking with Einstein (highly recommend!), and am reading and listening to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I love it already !
Mod
(I believe Evanovich has become the Thomas Kinkade of writing - just spew it out, don't worry about quality.) I've heard this one is better and I needed something to listen to in the car.About to start (here, in the house) listening to
. It was due today and since I'm not driving any place that takes 5-1/2 hours, I listen to it and do some sewing that needs to be done (fix my MICHIGAN jacket's seams).
I've read all of the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich and have Explosive Eighteen on hold at the library, but I agree with Linda's comments that the author has been just "spewing" them out. It's high time for some character and plot development, not the same old, same old. The books are fun, but they're getting tiresome.
In the Regency and Victorian periods, English novels usually had a "marriage plot", in which the heroine dealt with choosing between marrying one of two men, each having different personality characteristics. This book is an update and a deconstruction that type of plot.
There's a love triangle, in which Madeleine, a lit major, chooses between Mitchell, a soul-searching religious studies major, and Leonard, a troubled biology major. The action takes place in the early eighties (why Eugenides chose to set it then I haven't figured out yet, but I was pleased, because that made the characters my contemporaries).
All of the characters are well-read and intelligent. Plenty of books are discussed and name-dropped. Whenever I expected someone to be a cliche, or a "type", I was put in my place by Eugenides' insight and mastery of characterization. I would recommend this book to any bibliophile who enjoys a good exploration of the human heart (a love story, in other words). But don't read it if you're one of those romance buffs who expects a happily-ever-after ending. This book is much more nuanced than that, and takes into consideration that just because people love one another, it doesn't necessarily mean they should spend their lives together.
This book, for the most part, tells a smaller-scale story than "Middlesex", except for a section where Mitchell, in his trip to India, contemplates some larger questions and comes to know himself better. I found Mitchell Grammaticus to be one of the most engaging characters I've read about this year.
This is a book that I may come back to one day, and I don't say that lightly.
Jana wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "wow! what strong feels jana and linda! i love eggers' books. his narrative non-fiction is great!"
I don't disagree that he's a great writer, I just couldn't get through that bo..."
Zeitoun is a great book. you should definitely invest the time.
Just finished Clockwork Prince and loved it as much as Clockwork Angel. Currently I'm finishing Grave Goods
Finished You Suck a couple days ago. It was ok, but I didn't like it as much as A Dirty Job. Possibly because ADJ was audio, and Fisher Stevens was such a perfect narrator. I think I'll stick to audiobooks for this author.Next up is Sarah's Key, which I am reading for book group. I actually won my copy in a giveaway from the blog My Friend Amy. I also received a copy of the movie soundtrack, which is absolutely perfect as background music for reading the book.
As for the book itself, I'm enjoying the story, and the alternating narrators. My only quibble is that the parts written in the American woman's voice feel almost translated from French, and something feels just a little off. I don't get this feeling at all with the parts written from the POV of the little girl. I'm sure that once I'm more immersed in the story it won't bother me as much.
Mod
and
I just finished The Stranger's Child
which I didn't like as much as I thought that I would. I'm starting The Taker
today for a change of pace.
Eric wrote: "In the Regency and Victorian periods, English novels usually had a "marriage plot", in which the heroine dealt with choosing between marrying one of two men,..."
Eric,
Enjoyed your review of
. This may be my best read of the entire year. Can't wait to read
.
Currently reading
(and yes, the illustrations are in colour).
I have just finished the compact, but fascinating 'A Single Man' by Christopher Isherwood. I have 'The Forgotten Waltz' by Anne Enright in my hand ready to start. I have previously read 'The Gathering' by Anne Enright and enjoyed it thoroughly, so hopefully 'The Forgotten Waltz' stands up to my expectations.
Eric wrote: "In the Regency and Victorian periods, English novels usually had a "marriage plot", in which the heroine dealt with choosing between marrying one of two men,..."
great review Eric. i have added it to my TBR.
Elizabeth wrote: "Eric wrote: "In the Regency and Victorian periods, English novels usually had a "marriage plot", in which the heroine dealt with choosing between marrying ..."
Me too! I never finished Middlesex - heck, I barely started it. It's sitting right here on my shelf, so I wasn't encouraged to read The Marriage Plot, but I think I've been swayed.
I don't know what this says about me, but I just finished Camus
and found it a very enjoyable read. It's my second of his, and now I'm on to
.I thought Middlesex was amazing. I read it twice (read & listened) and I don't do that very often. I will definitely be reading The Marriage Plot, and I'm not sure why I haven't read The Virgin Suicides???
Started The Hare with the Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal. Fascinating story (non-fic) about family, art, and loss. I also loved The Metaphysical Club by Louis Menand. Anybody know another book that similar? Really enjoyed it.
Jana wrote: "I don't know what this says about me, but I just finished Camus and found it a very enjoyable read. It's my second of his, and now I'm on to...."
Took a graduate course on Camus many years ago - and that's where I discovered "The Plague" - one of my all-time favorites. I should read it again. Of course, I also loved Eggers' "Heartbreaking Work". Go figure!
I just finished The Taker
but wasn't all that impressed with it overall. I'm starting The Marriage Plot
next.
About a 1/3 of the way through Mockingjay. I'll miss this series when I'm done (sigh).
Valerie wrote: "About a 1/3 of the way through Mockingjay. I'll miss this series when I'm done (sigh)."me too... *weeps*
Mod
Ann, we're still catching up on our November reading.
Angela wrote: "I am reading Ava's Man. Read All Over But the Shoutin' a few years ago and loved it."Where can we find the December thread????
I finished reading "The Harbor" by Lorraine Adams several days ago; in some senses it's an immigrant "stranger in a strange land" story centering around a group of (mostly) illegal Algerian immigrants trying to get by in America and Canada, taking whatever jobs they can find, sending money back to their families, and trying to understand the foreign culture around them. It also explores the issue of terrorism, as it takes place around the time of 9/11. No one in the book IS a terrorist, but the FBI believes they are due to the challenges of translation and grasping the nuances of other languages, understanding another culture, agency bureaucracy, and the tendency to see what you want to see. I liked the book very much and would like to reread it, but there's too much else on my agenda right now.I've read the first few chapters of "Larry's Party" by Carol Shields and know I'm going to like it.
On the audio side, I just finished the first volume of the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness, "The Knife of Never Letting Go." It ended on a major cliffhanger, naturally, so I've requested the next one from the library. Before I listen to that, I'll tackle at least one other book for variety. First up is "The Lotus Eaters" by Tatjana Soli, involving a love triangle set against the backdrop of the Vietnam war.
Books on the Nightstand
Books mentioned in this topic
All Over But the Shoutin' (other topics)Ava's Man (other topics)
Ava's Man (other topics)
All Over But the Shoutin' (other topics)
The Marriage Plot (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Salman Rushdie (other topics)Salman Rushdie (other topics)
Victoria Alexander (other topics)
Dennis Lehane (other topics)
I stand firmly in my "Jim Dale read it to me whilst I was driving and I enjoyed it" opinion.
The only book I've actually hurled across the room is