You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
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What are you currently reading and why? (CLOSED)
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Janice, Moderator
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Apr 24, 2011 11:50AM
I'm reading Peony in Love. It's part of a challenge from the group Historial Fictionistas. One of the tasks is to read a HF with a flower, plant or tree in the title.
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Just started reading
... just one of several I've checked out from the library that I need to get read.
Dem, thanks for letting me know about Between Shades of Gray. I will have to read it soon. You might want to check out Wave of Terror. That I have read and liked.The Consequences of Love also looks good! What is your opinion on that? Is the love part well portrayed or over-done? Isn't it more about the repressive society than the Romeo-Juliiet love affair? How many stars did you give it compared to Between the Shades of Grey?
Thanks!
Chrissie wrote: "Dem, thanks for letting me know about Between Shades of Gray. I will have to read it soon. You might want to check out Wave of Terror. That I have read and liked...." Thank you for that Chrissie have just added
Wave of Terrorto my to read list. I did not enjoy The Consequences of Love: A Novelas much as I should have, found it a little slow and never really connected with it but may just have read it at the wrong time as friends of mine have loved it.I gave it 3 stars and shades of gray 5, I am normally very mean with my 5 stars but felt it deserved the extra star because I think it makes a wonderful YA Novel as well as good adult read and I find that can be a difficult balance to achieve and felt this book really gets the balance right.
I'm currently reading Secrets of a Fire King by Kim Edwards, since I enjoyed her other books and haven't read short stories in a long time. I forgot how much I enjoyed them.
Dem, absolutly! Some writers can make their books fit both younger and adult reader groups. I thinkTiny Sunbirds, Far Away does this well too. Here is my review if you are interested: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I just put this book on hold at the library based on your comments and was surprised to see it listed as Young Adult. Comments?
Michelle it does deal with coming of age issues, but so much more! I would not restrict it to YA. I personally have a hard time seeing this for a young reader, but then just as we adults vary so do young adults. Serious issues are dealt with. Some young adult literature is childish. This isn't.
On vacation I read six books: Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away
my GR review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
and
Portrait of a Turkish Family
my GR review:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
both got 5 stars! I highly recommend both!
The following two got 4 stars:
An Imperfect Lens: A Novel
my GR review:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
and
The Kitchen House
my GR review:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
The Girl in the Green Sweater: A Life in Holocaust's Shadow got 3 stars
my GR review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Whisper on the Wind I only gave 2 stars and my review explains why: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
All reviews are spoiler free, and I really write them so that people will be able to judge if the book will offer what they are looking for. We are not all looking for the same things...... My two star can by your five star! Maybe.... For this reason it is important to explain what exactly I liked or disliked.
Now I am reading Valeria's Last Stand. I must say - I am kind of struggling. I was hoping it would have the charm of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, but it doesn't.
What is the May read? I'm still trying to read the April read, but what the heck...lol. I'm easily distracted!
Chrissie wrote: "Michelle it does deal with coming of age issues, but so much more! I would not restrict it to YA. I personally have a hard time seeing this for a young reader, but then just as we adults vary so do..."Which book are you discussing?
Chrissie wrote: "Pam, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away."I just read about this today. It sounds very interesting. I'll add it to my to read list.
Chrissie wrote: "Pam, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away."Pam wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Michelle it does deal with coming of age issues, but so much more! I would not restrict it to YA. I personally have a hard time seeing this for a young reader, but then just as we ..."
We were discussing Between Shades of Gray. I was just very surprised to see it listed as YA after reading the description. It seems many YA books these days deal with some very adult issues. The Book Thief comes to mind. I LOVED that book but I don't know if the same could be said if I had read it in high school.
Pam and Michelle, exactly some YA books should not be restricted to just the younger. I mentioned Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away because it seems to fit both adults and YA. I haven't read Between Shades of Grey, but perhaps I should. Book Thief was wonderful too! Some YA books do not work for adults. That is not to say they are bad, just that the prime audience is different.
Judy wrote: "I just finished Sarah's Key and picked up Memory Palace by Mira Bartok."I read the Memory Palace and it is a very good read. The topic is hard,but it tells the hard truth about mental illness.
I will now start Babette's Feast. It is written by Isak Dinesen, although she also writes under the name Karen Blixen. Most of you have read or heard of Out of Africa, by the same author. I am reading this b/c it is short and hope to soon start a borrowed Kindle book and because I hate cooking. This book shows the beauty of cooking and what can be achieved through it. At least, that is what I have been told by a Spanish friend. She adored cooking. I enjoyed the movie which I saw years ago, but it was in Danish and French. I didn't understand all parts because I do not know Danish. In pronounciation it is not that close to Swedish. I was at that point beginning to learn French.I just completed Valeria's Last Stand. Here follows my GR review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I am very glad it is over; I din't enjoy it. I explain why in my review. If you like slapstick humor, well then you just might enjoy it.
I have wanted to read The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe from the moment it caught my eye. I have received an egalley. I am really excited to start. It is a memoir about a family living in Afghanistan when the Taliban took over. It is a true story. I have read several books without mentioning them here: I wanted to try some books that were different from those I usualy pick up. I don't usually enjoy short stories but I did like the novella Babette's Feast. Nevertheless, I could not give it mùore than 3 stars because, as usual, it was just too short. I loved it, and then the door slammed shut and I wanted more. The movie is great too. I recommend both reading the book and seeing the movie. You will be surprised by the ending. The book has an ending that is more nuanced than the movie. I don't quite know which ending I prefer.... Both are good. Here follows my spoiler-free review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Then today I read a book of three short stories: Dog Tails: Three Humorous Short Stories for Dog Lovers. You will laugh all the way through. Fabulous! Really, really funny! My review gives some snippets: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I have been trying to read Mistress of the Art of Death. I stuck in the dog book as an evasion. It is a group read at Historical Fictionistas. I had it sitting there on my shelf, and I was on a binge of trying to read books from genre I don't usually pick up, so I figured now or never. Well I gave up after 137 pages. My review explains why: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Nice, now I can go back to my tried and tru genre! I am expanding my views. Some short stories are fabulous! Yay for Dog Tails: Three Humorous Short Stories for Dog Lovers by Tara Chevrestt
I just finished The Giverand was blown away. What a good book! It's a YA book but a good read for anyone. Published in 1993 it's a forerunner to many of the dystopian novels so popular today.
I just finished The Bronze Horsemanand was so disappointed with this book and felt it was a long drawn out love story, it has great ratings but for me was just a 2 star read.
Dem, thank you for warning me!!! Knowing what not to read is just as important as what must be read.
Just finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett (which I really enjoyed) and just started The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien.Pam, I agree that The Giver was a great book! It has been one of my favorites for a long time. The sequels (Gathering Blue and Messenger) are pretty good as well.
I've just started The Lost Quilter. It's an audiobook that I've had for quite a while, plus it's about one of my hobbies - quilting.
Now I will start The White Woman on the Green Bicycle. Will I get get an interesting love story and learn about Trinidad? I am hoping for culture and history and interestng people.I just finsihed The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe which, being a biography, was right up my alley. This book truly inspires hope for the future of Afghanistan. Kamila Sidiqi is a woman you should know of. This book is true, while A Thousand Splendid Suns is fiction. Here follows my spoiler-free review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Hopefully, after reading the review, you can better judge if it is a book you want to read.
I just finished reading Damon Galgut's The Good Doctor, which I was reading partly for inspiration in starting my new novel. My great grandfather was a doctor in the internment camps of British Columbia during the Second World War, and I've often wondered about whether he felt any ambivalence about his role in facilitating the Internment (he himself was Japanese-Canadian, to make matters more complex). Galgut's novel about two doctors grappling with social/ethical issues in the South African context appealed to me based on reviews I'd read and I was not disappointed. More reflections at my blog, www.the-reading-list.com
The White Woman on the Green Bicycle is the book I just finished. All I can say is WOW - read this book!!! I adored it. Actually I have a lot more to say about this book and why it moved me so much. Here is my spoiler-free GR review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...And now I will startThe Oriental Wife. Why? I don't know. It just plain looks interesting. I am reading an egalley. I am a little worried how any book can possibly compare to the one I have just read?! This is what is so delightful with books. Each one is so different. Here we have two from Nuremberg, Germany, who meet up in the US and something from the past plays havoc with their future. What? I don't know. That is why I must read the book!
I'm reading it for a book club, we are reading the trilogy for may. It's just okay for me, I don't get the hype really but thats prob because the first 300 pages of the book were almost unbearably slow. The last 100 are much more exciting so hopefully I will end up liking it!
Just finishedWinter Gardenand really enjoyed this novel, For some reason I had expected something different when I picked up this novel while on holiday in New York but was suprised by the story and as I love anything set in Leningrad during the second world war was really drawn into this story. Having just read the The Bronze Horsemanand was disappointed with that novel as felt it was too much of a love story for me, I found the right balance in Winter Garden. A nice, enjoyable, relaxing read.
I didn't complete The Oriental Wife, but instead read I Married You for Happiness. I explain my views on this book in my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...Now I will start The Forgotten Highlander. Everybody else is reading Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption but I am guessing that Urquhart's book is more to my taste. Both have the same subject matter. Both are memoirs. I also want to read The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II. If I haven't had my fill by then I can read Unbroken. My husband got to The Forgotten Highlander before I did. He said I really should read it. He is an even pickier reader than me!
I just finished Driving with Dead People, still need to finish Memory Palace. Also just picked up from the library Between Shades of Gray. Do other people read more than one book at a time? Some of my friends think I'm crazy.
I just finished The Lost Quilter and will start A Prayer for Owen Meany tomorrow. It's a 20+ hour long audiobook.Yes, Michelle, I read more than one book at a time. I have an audiobook that I listen to on the way to and from work. I have the Kindle app on my iPad and will read on that when I'm away from home. When I crawl into bed at night, I'll read a paperback.
Currently, on my Kindle app, I'm reading The Birth of Venus. The paperback I've got on the go is The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.
Michelle, what did you thik of Between Shades of Grey? I think I want to buy that.
Chrissie - just starting it - I will let you know. :)
Janice wrote: "I just finished The Lost Quilter and will start A Prayer for Owen Meany tomorrow. It's a 20+ hour long audiobook.Yes, Michelle, I read more than one book at a time. ..."
I LOVED Edgar Sawtelle...Hope you will, too.
The Book Thief. Someone recommended it to me a while ago, but I just completely forgot about it. Was shopping with my mum and she wanted a book. I noticed that it was in the 3 for 2 thingy, and picked it up because I recognised the title xD
Really liking it so far.
Katie, The Book Thief is awesome! I loved it! I wasn't quite sure about it but after hearing all of the rave reviews about it I jumped in. And I am glad that I did. IMO it's one of the few best books that I have read. I'm now reading Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand which is non-fiction but still a great read. I am learning so much about WWII that I can't believe it. And I'm so happy to have read The Book Thief first. The author did her research about the war. I also figured out that shortly before Japan attacked Pear Harbor my dad was only 11 years-old. I learned that from Unbroken.I really would encourage you to read it.
Karendenice, check out The Forgotten Highlander and The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II. I am currently reading The Forgotten Highlander and it is excellent, but a difficult read b/c it is so terrible what the author experienced. He is writing about his own experiences. There is no middleman.
started and finished
, read it cause I've been wanting to forever and it's just been sitting on my shelf! It was pretty good, a fun and quick read!
Thanks Chrissie. Hopefully I'm going to the library and actually have both of those books on my list to check out. Did you make this same comment in a different thread. Because if you did I actually got the book list from your first comment. Now I really believe that I need to read them!! ;)
I am going to start The Free World. I have read intriguing reviews about the author's writing skills. His characters are said to be multi-layerd. I read a bit and was immediately hooked. It is historical fiction.I just finished The Forgotten Highlander. It is a book that should be required reading for all. It does not cover an easy subject, but the book is clear and relates the facts in an unsentimental fashion. It is about the building of the "Death Railway" between Burma and Thailand, about the Japanese hellships of WW2, about the "Fat Man" of Nagasaki. It should be read b/c the Japanese deny the veracity of these events. It is an autobiography of one man who survived. What a man!
Oh and here is my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
The Forgotten Highlander looks really interesting Chrissie. I'm going to add it to my rapidly growing wishlist.
Chrissie, wish me luck. Off to the library tomorrow. :D
Janice and Karendenice, I am sure you will appreciate this book. You will feel it had to be read. I am a meber of several groups so you could very well of seen my blabbling about it..... I will cross my fingers and hold my thumbs that you get your hands on the book. The thumb holding is how you give luck in Sweden. :0)
I just finished Captivate, the sequel to Need. Can't wait to start Entice. They're a little like Twilight, but there are pixies interacting with shifters instead of vampires. A fun and fast read.
I just started Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto because it was mentioned in another book I was reading and it sounded interesting
I'm not going to even pretend I can catch up and read all these posts. But I'll try from here on out.I'm reading The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai because I recently read Moloka'i and loved it so much I wanted to read a non-fiction account. I'm not quite yet at the years where the main protagonist in the novel was there but am eagerly looking forward to reaching that part of this book.
Reading Gone For Soldiers about the Mexican War. Not a lot written about this time period and many of the great Civil War generals are young officers during this conflict - and on the same side. Very interesting.
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You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
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