What are you currently reading and why? (CLOSED) Showing 1,101-1,150 of 4,001

[Sam]

Finished my other ones and have now started reading War and Peace and am quite enjoying it so far, it's not as hard going as I thought it was going to be

[Jaime]

I just started The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. A couple of people from another group on Goodreads were talking about it and it sounded interesting, so I decided to read it. Although I am really not liking one of the main characters (Iris) so far, I am really enjoying the book. It's a real page-turner.

[John]

Re-reading City of Thieves for the Armchair Globetrotters group. This was one of my favorite books from last year!

[Jaime]

I just finished The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. It was very good. I hated to put it down when I had to. I was very disappointed in the ending, though. So I had to give it four stars instead of five. I just started Garden Spells. I'm usually not into books like this, but so many people I know have read it and loved it, I had to give it a go. Plus (this is one for the book cover thread), I got a copy of the UK paperback version on my swap site. The cover is beautiful! There is even glitter on it!

[Chrissie]

I am reading Wave of Terror b/c I love Russian litterature, and not just the classics.There is a humanity in the characters that I love. People are never presented as stereotyped. The good guys make silly mistakes. The courageous don't know what to do. Husband and wife love each other to pieces and yet argue over the the silliest of things. This author has received marvelous reviews, some comparing the writing to Chekhov and Sozyenhitsyn (spelling????)

[Brenda]

Have now started A Case of Exploding Mangoes upon the recommendation from someone on GR. Am really enjoying it...

[Jaime]

I just started The Calligrapher's Daughter: A Novel. Another group read it as a group read last month. I was interested in reading it, but just couldn't get to it in time. It's a historical fiction book about a girl in Korea during the early twentieth century. Everyone in the group who read it really enjoyed it, so I'm excited to get into it.

[Larry]

I'm reading Mission to Moulokin by Alan Dean Foster, strangely apt at this time of year as its set on an ice world!
As to the why, well its the second book in a trilogy ;)
Also reading Life in the Undergrowth, big fan!

[Lianne]

I am currently reading:

- Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White. A lot of other groups have read it and I've heard wonderful reviews about it so I've finally given the book a go =)
- Geoffrey Hosking's Russia: People and Empire, 1552-1917, Enlarged Edition because I'm taking a course on Imperial and Soviet Russia at the moment. I've read his book on Russians in the Soviet Union, which was fascinating. I also like that his work is on my research interest (Russian national identity)
- Penguin's Poems for Life because I like reading poetry every now and then and this book will expose me to different poets

[Chrissie]

Li, if you are interested in more Soviet litterature I s highly recommend :
!The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia
and Olga's Story: Three Continents, Two World Wars and Revolution--One Woman's Epic Journey Through the Twentieth Century. Have you read The Master and Margarita? All of these are good but very different from eachother!

[Emma]

For those who liked the Twilight series, you might consider taking a look at "A House Afire." It's a lot different but has similar supernatural activity and a little bit of romance. (It's a YA fiction/comedy/romance/supernatural novel)

[Emma]

A House Afire

Also, a great book I've read that has always stayed with me is Dancing With Einstein: A Novel This is an adult book, and it's remained an amazing book in my mind for years.

[Karen]

I'm currently reading Patient Zero: A Joe Ledger Novel and I'm absolutely loving it.

[Karen]

have now finished Patient Zero: A Joe Ledger Novel and am now starting Pirate Latitudes

[Shannon]

I have finished When the Elephants Dance and thought that it was a good read. It was a first book for this author and I think she will mature into a really good author.

I have put aside for the moment Doctor Margaret's Sea Chest partly because I am having a hard time getting into it with its formal colonial language and partly because I have to read The Stone Carvers for my in-person bookclub. (I kind of think that I have read this before but will know shortly). If I did, it will be interesting to read it almost 10 years later.

[Chrissie]

Shanon, I have When the Elephants Dance sitting here on my shel real shelf.... I am stuck on a jag of reading about artists and South American literature using magical realism. I have been reading wonderful books so it is hard to leave the genre.... Just began Sunflowers after reading The Passion of Artemisia which originally I had thought to give three stars, but the ending was just so perfect that it received 4! See my detailed review if you are interested....

[Shannon]

Chrissie wrote: "Shanon, I have When the Elephants Dance sitting here on my shel real shelf.... I am stuck on a jag of reading about artists and South American literature using magical realism. I have ..."

Chrissie: If you enjoy magical realism you will find some in When the Elephants Dance. And although there are some harsh scenes in the book (as you would expect from a Japanese occupied Philipines) there are also some wonderful asides that give the flavour of the Philipine folk culture. My biggest (and only real problem with the book) was that the "voice" didn't change enough for me in the three parts (each part is from the perspective of a different character).

It may be an easy segue out of your S.A. literature. ;)

[Chrissie]

Shanon thanks for the info. I have so many books to read it is just pitiful! I tell myself to just stop looking at GR - but I am addicted to it. I just might miss something good. Looking for books is almost as fun as reading them, but only almost.....

[John]

Just starting "An Ice-Cream War" . The First World War comes to East Africa.

[Karen]

Storm Front,am about a third of the way through.I think that instead of being made to work I should just be allowed to read my book as I really want to know who the killer is

[Chrissie]

I am reading about art and artists . I kind of thought I needed a bit a break b/c I also love reading about different cultures. The Piano Tuner: A Novel fits both categories and has fabulous reviews! The text is just wonderful. If you are interested, I practically always write reviews as I read through a book - sort of mentioning HOW the book is affecting me. I do not give spoilers, but often quote bits of the text since writing style is important to me. I have done this for all the books I have mentioned above.

[Jaime]

I just started The Lace Reader. I've had it on my TBR pile for quite some time now. We used to vacation in the Salem area all the time while I was growing up and just went back this summer for vacation. I saw the book plastered all over the place and I probably should have read it while there so that I could have actually seen the places she is describing. That would have been sort of neat.

[Kim]

I am currently reading Of Bees and Mist: A Novel because I was wandering through the library and saw it. I read the blurb and it sounded interesting. I am on page 82 and so far it is okay. I am not totally sucked into it yet, like I like to be.

[Karen]

Have finished storm front and am now reading The Message of the Sphinx: A Quest for the Hidden Legacy of Mankind

[Gary]

I like to read a Stephen King book once a year or so. Lately I've read a lot of academic stuff, so I wanted something that was kind of the opposite of that.

Because I spend some time in Florida each year, I've had my eye on Duma Key. The time was finally right for it. Stephen King after heavier academic reading. A Florida book in the middle of winter.

[Lianne]

I am currently reading Smith's I Capture the Castle. I'm reading it because last year it seems a lot of my groups I'm a member of were reading it and I've heard such wonderful and positive reviews about it that I had to check it out for myself xD I'm enjoying it so far, which is awesome, I can see why people enjoyed it so much =)

[Karen]

Have for the moment abandoned The Message of the Sphinx: A Quest for the Hidden Legacy of Mankind it really isn't grabbing me and have started reading Sacred Hearts: A Novel. Seen it recommended on the waterstones website and so far I am enjoying it

[Lisa]

I'm reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I'm reading it for a blog tour and I'm absolutely loving it.

[Darren]

I am reading Travels in the Interior of Africa by Mungo Park. Absolutely fascinating first hand account of his expedition, written in 1795. As only the second European to ever set foot in the interior he was, as you might expect, treated with suspicion by the local population.

Things are not running smoothly for him at the mo, and you wonder how anyone could have been brave enough to consider doing this alone.

His descriptions of the towns and people of the interior are wonderful, and his explanation of the system of trade and tribute in the region is enlightening.

Loving it!

[Donna]

I recently finished 2 terrific mysteries, This Night's Foul Work and A Beautiful Place to Die and now I reading Odd Thomas

[Shannon]

I am currently reading Shelf Monkey I have not got very far but even the acknowledgements are entertaining. I am reading it because our in person book club was looking for something funny or lighter after several dense or depressing books.

[Molly]

Shannon wrote: "I am currently reading Shelf Monkey I have not got very far but even the acknowledgements are entertaining. I am reading it because our in person book club was looking for something ..."

I enjoyed that book. And although it was quite funny - there are parts that are very dark and disturbing. It should be interesting for your club discussion though - the whole concept about the importance of books in society. The author is on Goodreads and also has his own blog - he's pretty accessible.

[Elena]

I am reading Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut because it is the group selection in another group. I am very happy I discovered this author and this piece of history!

[Shannon]

Kurt Vonnegut, that sure takes me back... Let us know what you think. I wonder how it has stood the test of time.

[Lianne]

I am currently reading The Silent Man by Alex Berenson because I'm in the mood for a spy thriller and it's always great to read a spy thriller when you're swamped with schoolwork (at least, for me, lol) xD

[John]

Gave up on "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" after 260 pages. Now I am reading "The Good Mayor" and it is way more entertaining in just the first 10 pages!

[Chrissie]

I am reading That Summer in Sicily: A Love Story. It is really good!

[Larry]

Currently on The Keep, my first F.Paul Wilson read.

[Lianne]

I am currently reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. I can't remember precisely why I decided to check this particular book out (I have read another of his works before, Love in the Time of Cholera) except for the fact that I was in the mood for a book written by a Spanish author (well, in his case, he's from South America). Plus, I've been curious about this book for a while now =)

[Karen]

Finished Sacred Hearts: A Novel,it was really good. Also finished The Message of the Sphinx: A Quest for the Hidden Legacy of Mankind, didn't really grab me. Am now going to start The Secret of Lost Things, it was recommended to me by someone in another book group

[Chrissie]

Just finished That Summer in Sicily: A Love Story. Amazing because it is all true and the people are so intriguing. You learn about the Sicilian culture and the Mafia and maybe what is important to live a good life. I have just begun Medea and Her Children. I have chosen to read it because the author is an acclaimed contemporary Russian author. Furthermore it takes place in twentieth century Crimea, which I find a fascinating period and place.

[Mary]

Just finished Crossing the Line by Gillian Philip. A young adult novel but I found it engrossing, a little disturbing (it deals with teenage knife crime), spooky but mainly compelling. Would recommend it for adults as well as their teenagers.
Next read is to be The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim which I won in a Bloomsbury competition.

[Veronica]

I'm reading or, rather, have just finished, Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro. Why? Well, because I snap up every Alice Munro book as soon as it comes out :) She is amazing -- like many of her fans I think she occupies a special pinnacle that other writers cannot reach. Her International Man booker Award was long overdue.

It's difficult to follow Alice, but I'm probably going to read Roads to Santiago: A Modern-Day Pilgrimage Through Spain by Cees Noteboom next. Upcoming trip to Spain.

[Sofia]

I'm reading "The shadow of the wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. I choosed it because a friend with similar tastes recommended me this book. And she wasn't wrong, I'm loving it :):)

[John]

Veronica wrote: "I'm reading or, rather, have just finished, Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro. Why? Well, because I snap up every Alice Munro book as soon as it comes out :) She is amazing -- like m..."

Here is a bit of trivia for you. I live in Victoria B.C. and one of the best independent book stores in town is Munro's. The owner is her ex-husband. It is located in an former bank. Big stone columns on the outside and beautiful wooden shelves inside.

[Jaime]

I am just about to start Shanghai Girls. I had to pick it up from the bookstore the day it was released in paperback and have been chomping at the bit to read it ever since. I really enjoyed Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and am hoping that Shanghai Girls is just as good. I didn't like her other book, Peony in Love, quite as much. I have never thought to read any of the books in her mystery series as I didn't think they would interest me.

[Veronica]

John: I would kiss the floor that Alice might have walked on if I lived there ;)

[Shannon]

John wrote: "Here is a bit of trivia for you. I live in Victoria B.C. and one of the best independent book stores in town is Munro's. The owner is her ex-husband. It is located in an former bank. Big stone columns on the outside and beautiful wooden shelves inside"

Thanks for sharing that John, I had no idea and I have spent many an enjoyable hour perusing those shelves. Still drop in whenever I am back in Victoria. And it is a gorgeous building now that I know the links to Alice Munro, even more awesome.

[Lianne]

I started reading Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants this morning while waiting to board the train home for spring break. I'm reading it because I've been seeing it around a lot lately and have heard positive reviews about it so I decided to check it out for myself =D

[Jenny, honorary mod - inactive]

Jaime said: I am just about to start Shanghai Girls. I had to pick it up from the bookstore the day it was released in paperback and have been chomping

I did exactly the same. I pre-ordered it from Amazon but still haven't read it yet. Must read it this year!! You'll have to let me know what it is like.