You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
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What are you currently reading and why? (CLOSED)
Chrissie wrote: "I have read:The Last Light Breaking: Living Among Alaska's Inupiat
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
and dumped (half-way through)
Incendiary
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/501..."
Lol, Chrissie, tell us how you real feel. Thanks for the feedback, I will skip Incendiary.
Finished reading Escape by Barbara Delinsky.who is an author I have mixed feelings about. This one I liked.
I'm still reading Asking For Trouble: The Autobiography Of A Banned Journalist by Donald Woods and I think it's a great read. I would highly recommend it to people who like non fiction in particular autobiographies. I think the book provides a great insight into the life of a white South African during apartheid.
I have finished From Harvey River: A Memoir Of My Mother And Her Island and gave it three stars: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... My review is very short since it didn't move me that much. Yeah, it was good, but certainly not fabulous. I am almost done with Travels in Siberia which I will be giving four stars.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I have begun Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories. This edition is wonderfully translated by Hillel Halkin.
Shanon, well that is only my opinion, and I know others do not agree. But for the life of me, I do not understand one thing good about "Incendiary".
I'm nearly finished with Divergent and then it's ZOMBIE TIME with Zombie Night in Canada: First Period
I just finished
Asking For Trouble: Autobiography Of A Banned Journalist by Donald Woods and am blown away by the man...the courage he and his family had is something to be admired. I'll have to buy myself a copy of this for my personal library. I gave it 5 stars and highly recommend it. My review will be up in a few days.
I finished Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories, the Tevye stories being the basis for the musical "Fiddler on the Roof".http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I am now listening to the audio book:Seven Years in Tibet. I certainly DO like this!
Why? because Tibet interests me. The author escaped from a POW camp in India (1943) and climbed the mountain over to Tibet. Quite a unique chance to take a peek inside "closed" Tibet. He was an experienced mountaineer.
Judy wrote: "I finished Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories, the Tevye stories being the basis for the musical "Fiddler on the Roof".I wondered about that."
Tevye's stories were definitely better than the Railroad Stories, which became extremely repetitive. I don't think one should sit and read a bunch of stories one after the other.
Judy, have you had a chance to check out Lapierre's book on Fanny Stevenson? I just heard that she has another very interesting one:Between Love and Honor which of course again is based on a real person. This one is available as an audio, but I was just told that the audio format does not include an author's note at the end. That is bad! STILL, doesn't it look good!!!
Judy, it is her life rather than the writing that makes me like the book so much. The author does pick interesting people to write books about!
Judy wrote: "Yes, I agree. I like authors who don't write about the people everyone else writes about."Well, she also wrote about Artemisia. So many have written about her.
Judy, I try to restrict my books by only adding one unread book at a time for each author. I would be buried otherwise. And I so like trying different authors..... I am glad you want to read the Fanny book because her life was so amazing.
Chrissie wrote: "I am now listening to the audio book:Seven Years in Tibet. I certainly DO like this!..."
I loved the movie with Brad Pitt, so much so that I bought the book. It was such a good book. Enjoy!
I started the next audiobook on my list, The Cypress House. It sounds like it may be a good horror pick.I gave up on Apart From Love. I can't do the dysfunctional family thing. I thought it was about early onset alzheimers, but it was really about the lust between the son and step-mother. I have started The House at Sea's End which is a library book that I have already renewed once. I guess I had better get it back to the library.
I'm started South African Dispatches: Letters To My Countrymen < by Donald Woods. It's different but I like how it's a selection of editorials he wrote.
Judy wrote: "Chrissie, I have to add them all at once or I forget about them. LOL!"Yeah, I do certainly forget titles.
Chrissie wrote: "I am now listening to the audio book:Seven Years in Tibet. I certainly DO like this!"If you have not already read My Journey to Lhasa I highly recommend it. It is set in 1923 (first published in 1927), so a bit earlier than Seven Years in Tibet and is based on a 55 year old woman's journey into the forbidden city. This is based on her real adventures travelling into and having an audience with the Dalai Lama.
Shanon, I have added that. Thank you. Definitely sounds good. It seems like they both became friends of the Dalai Lama. It would be interesting to compare the two. She was there even earlier than he was. In Harrer's book there is lots of description - landscapes, the houses, the food, the customs. The poor guy tried several times before he succeeded to get out of India. He kept getting caught and returned. It is a good thing he was sportsy and a mountaineer. The British put him in a POW camp because he spoke German, though his nationality was Austrian.Thank you so very much.
You will get even more culture in David-Neel's book and lots of adventure and quite a bit on buddhism if I remember correctly. I found it to be quite fascinating.
Shanon, so you have read both? How long did the woman stay in Tibet?
Chrissie wrote: "Judy wrote: "I finished Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories, the Tevye stories being the basis for the musical "Fiddler on the Roof".I wondered about that."
Tevye's stories were definite..."
I have just added
Between Love and Honor by Alexandra Lapierre to my TBR list, also. I loved Fanny's story and this one looks good, too. It is no. 165 on my TBR list, but I'll get to it one day.
Yesterday I started
The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney, who wrote The Tenderness of Wolves that nobody liked when I suggested it for a group read. Anyway, I liked it. And, I love The Invisible Ones. Couldn't put it down last night.
I am reading A Happy Marriage by Rafael Yglesias and Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin...enjoying both. The first is serious and sad, the second fun and light.
Susan, I never stick to the order of books on my list.
Chrissie wrote: "Susan, I never stick to the order of books on my list."Neither do I; they're all in a big jumble.
I'm continuing my slide into debauchery, reading Fifty Shades Freed. It's a bit like a car wreck - it's not that great, but I can't look away! LOL
Judy wrote: "Eileen wrote: "I'm continuing my slide into debauchery, reading Fifty Shades Freed. It's a bit like a car wreck - it's not that great, but I can't look away! LOL"Ha! Love that description, Eileen."
Me too...funny.
I'm still reading Mandela by Anthony Sampson. It's a really long book (600 some odd pages excluding the bibliography and index). I like the writing style though. It's unique because the author is a close friend of Mandela so he's got a real insight into the "real" Mandela...I love reading about him...
I started The Lifeboat. It was released in April and I chose it as my 2012-release challenge. I'm behind on that challenge, as I am in other challenges. Sigh!
Janice wrote: "I started The Lifeboat. It was released in April and I chose it as my 2012-release challenge. I'm behind on that challenge, as I am in other challenges. Sigh!"Oh I've been waiting to hear your thoughts on this one Janice!
I'm reading A Note of Madness - after I read her book Forbidden I immediately went to see what else of hers I can find.This is shaping up to be another emotional read!
Kat wrote: "Janice wrote: "I started The Lifeboat. It was released in April and I chose it as my 2012-release challenge. Oh I've been waiting to hear your thoughts on this one Janice..."
Be on the lookout this next week. :) So far, it sounds really good. I've only read the first chapter.
I am currently reading ... Nothing! Finished two books last night and now deliberating what I want to read next.(still Alice and diary of a grumpy old woman were the two I completed)
Secret Diary Of A Grumpy Old WomanI am being quite grumpy today yes! Perhaps a new book will remedy this.
Snoozie Suzie wrote: "I am currently reading ... Nothing! Finished two books last night and now deliberating what I want to read next.(still Alice and diary of a grumpy old woman were the two I completed)"
Thank you for reading my diary.
Susan!!! I almost spit my coffee at my screen when I read that.
Hee Hee Susan. That cheered me up a little. And Janice too.
My husband wrote Diary of a Grumpy Old Man, but it is blank because all the expletives have been deleted.
You grumpies are too funny!Janice wrote: "I started The Lifeboat. It was released in April and I chose it as my 2012-release challenge. I'm behind on that challenge, as I am in other challenges. Sigh!"
I have this on hold, and will be interested to read your review.
I've decided to restart Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl one of two books left for my year long challenge. A doorstop per with 500+ pages which is why I have been ignoring it. I probably have run out of renews for it at the library though and will have to pay as it was an ILL.
I'm just finishing up with a reread of The Thorn Birds, just to see if I like it as much as I did in 1980 when I first read it. I did. What a wonderful book! Now I am waiting for A Dance With Dragons from the library. I've read the first four in the series and I feel compelled to finish since the last one left me wondering if the bad guy (girl) was going to live or die. I hate when an author does that.
Linda wrote: "I'm just finishing up with a reread of The Thorn Birds, just to see if I like it as much as I did in 1980 when I first read it. I did. What a wonderful book! Now I am waiting for A Dance With Dr..."I have The Thorn Birds at home...may have to put it higher on my tbr.
I started reading one of the Stephanie Plum mystery series (Ten Big Ones) - I wish I found it as funny as people tell me it is. I'm finding the same repetitive humor annoying instead of amusing. Maybe I should look up the Grumpy diaries. :D
I'm reading a few books right now but I can't seem to focus on them because I keep going back to my AtW52 challenge and I need to read almost my whole list in the next 6 months...so it looks like I'm going to have to motor on with those soon.
Judy wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "I'm reading a few books right now but I can't seem to focus on them because I keep going back to my AtW52 challenge and I need to read almost my whole list in the next 6 months...s..."I'm hoping to...if I can get the books I want. I think I may change a bunch of the books on my list though.
Just finished Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snowthis is my review www.goodreads.com/review/show/314866037
I'm starting a lighter read today I think I'll start Making Waves
by Tawna Fenske. I read the author's blog and she is hilarious....I like adding some chick lit into my reading.
Betsy wrote: "I started reading one of the Stephanie Plum mystery series (Ten Big Ones) - I wish I found it as funny as people tell me it is. I'm finding the same repetitive humor annoying instead of amusing. Ma..."I haven't gotten to Ten Big Ones yet-- I should start it at some point... BUT TRUST ME-- you're completely right. It's nice... at times... to remind oneself that even the other books one doesn't 'like' so much can be entertaining when compared to the SAME humor for 18 books running!
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You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
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The Last Light Breaking: Living Among Alaska's Inupiat
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
and dumped (half-way through)
Incendiary
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I definitely think you should not waste your time on the latter. What the characters do is not credible. What happens, step by step, would NEVER happen. The writing is "sensational" in tone, its only purpose being to upset you. The sex is vulgar. I will never read,listen, buy or borrow another book by Chris Cleave.
Now I am reading a delightful biography by the poet Lorna GoodisonFrom Harvey River: A Memoir Of My Mother And Her Island. She writes about her mother growing up in Kingston and Harvey River, Jamaica. It reads like a novel. You can tell the author is a poet. She has a way with words. You learn about Jamaican culture.