WHAT ARE YOU READING?

[Jim]

ALL THE COLORS OF DARKENESS by Peter Robinson

good so far as all his books have been
where would anyone rate him vis-a-vie Rankin/Connelly?

[Avigail]

Well I started two:
1. Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami
2. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafo'n
I am at the beging of bouth books.

[Kathy]

Jim wrote: "I have The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on reserve
and it sounds like a really good book
what's it about?"

Jim, click on the title of the book in my posting to get a really good description of it. The focus of the novel is the disappearance of a wealthy family's young female member forty years past. Her elderly uncle has hired a financial reporter/publisher who has just been convicted of libel to investigate the disappearance and see if he can uncover anything new about what happened. There are quite a few layers to peel in the investigation, and with the aid of an egnimatic young woman who investigates people for a living with her unique computer skills, there is no lack of intrigue and mystery.

[Kathy]

I just finished Glass by Ellen Hopkins, the sequel to Crank. So informative, so depressing, so sad. I started Linda Fairstein's latest Alexandra Cooper novel, Lethal Legacy A Novel. I've read all the others in this series and enjoyed them.

[Jenn]

I'm currently reading THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy - and I'm amazed how similar it is to BLINDNESS by Jose Saramago- anyone else noticed this??? Before that I read MEMORY OF RUNNING by Ron McLarty - and highly recommend it. Smithy Ide just stays with you.

[Jim]

CASE OF THE EXPLODING MANGOES

ANGELS AND AGES- A SHORT BOOK ABOUT DARWIN, LINCOLN AND MODERN LIFE by Adam Gopnick

[[deleted user]]

I have just started 2666. Not really captivated after 50 pages

[Jean]

I'm reading The Grift by Debra Ginsberg. It's about a thirty-something woman who has pretended to be a psychic for pay since a young girl. In her mid-thirties she has the ability to actually see into the future.

[Ashley]

I've started reading "City of Glass" by Cassandra Clare.

[madison]

I curently reading a book called The Stand by stephen king and another called Blackout i forget the author but its really good.

[Kathy]

I'm reading The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King, the 9th in her Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series. I love this series and have waited 4 years for a new book in it.

[LaTrica]

I'm currently reading From Dawn to Decadence 500 Years of Western Cultural Life 1500 to the Present by Jacques Barzun. Rather large but interesting.

[Richard]

LaTrica wrote: "I'm currently reading From Dawn to Decadence 500 Years of Western Cultural Life 1500 to the Present by Jacques Barzun. Rather large but interesting."

[Richard]

LaTrica: you picked a good book; please let me know how it goes with this book. I would be interested in your view on this book as you read more of it. Thank you.

[Jim]

PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by Geraldine Brooks
very interesting and excellent so far

[Kathy]

Jim wrote: "PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by Geraldine Brooks
very interesting and excellent so far"

Jim, I loved People of the Book. I think it's her best to date, even though Year of Wonders dealt with one of my favorite subjects, the plague. I loved Year of Wonders, too, but I thought that there were more layers to uncover in People of the Book.

[[deleted user]]

I agree with you regarding People Of The Book. I have been recommending it to every reader I know.

[Ashley]

I am reading "100 Cupboards" by N.D. Wilson.It is the first of a series. I am halfway through it. I will be able to finish it easily this week.

[Kathy]

I've just started The Devil in the White City Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson.

[Chelsea]

I just finished "The Vampire Diaries" and I'm reading the sequel, but I need help the second I'm hating. Not, because it's not good, but because I don't like what happened

[Stef]

I am reading The Red Leather Diary Reclaiming a Life Through the Pages of a Lost Journal by Lily Koppel and really like it

[Ann]

I am reading Gossamyr by Michele Hauf, almost done. If you like fantasy, magic, fairy's and action you will love this book.

[Barb]

I'm just started reading "One Reckless Summer" by Toni Blake. So far I'm really enjoying it. Barb D

[LaTrica]

Now I'm reading The Iron Tower Omnibus. I'm liking it much more than I thought I would. It moves quickly.

[LaTrica]

Chelsea wrote: "I just finished "The Vampire Diaries" and I'm reading the sequel, but I need help the second I'm hating. Not, because it's not good, but because I don't like what happened"

If you're talking about the L.J. Smith books it's getting really good in parts 3 and 4.

[Stef]

I am reading Kafka on the Shore and really like. Different from what I usually read but okay.

[Jessika]

I'm reading New Moon (I can't help it--I love the Twilight books) and The Year of Jubilo A Novel of the Civil War. Howard Bahr is slowly becoming one of my favorite authors.

[Kathy]

I just finished The Devil in the White City Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson. Fantastic!

[[deleted user]]

Hi. This is my first post after lurking for a while. I'm currently reading Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson. It's a long book, some 700 pages and a slow read at that - at least for me. But I'm liking it.

[Barb]

I just started reading Twilight last night. I've heard so much about it that I thought I'd give it a try. So far I'm about 1/4 through it and really enjoying it.

[Catherine]

Another teen novel in my search for new materials for my classroom. A book that teens who love sports might enjoy, Beanball by Gene Fehler. The protagonist is beaned in the head by a pitch meant to scare him back from the plate. It hits him right next to his eye however. What happens next is told through the various characters that represent family, friends, teamates, coaches, doctors. We are privy to the thoughts of all of these people as they try to cope with what has happened.

[Catherine]

How Not to be Popular by Jennifer Zeigler

This teen novel is worth a read if you are a young teen. The plot was predictable in a sort of formulaic way, but if you arent' already aware of such writing formulas, it will hold your interest. The biggest problem I had with the story is that it's historical context is incorrect. The protagonist's parents are portrayed as free spirited hippie types, overeducated and restless. Since most of the people who bought into that scene are now in their 60's, maybe even older, it's not likely that they would have a seventeen year old daughter. I suppose they could have had a child at age 45, but having grown up during and at the tail end of the hippie era, most of us have adult children closer to 30 by now. It was a distracion for me as I read the book. The dynamics of a high school and its cliques are brought into the story in a useful way, contributing to the coming of age theme.

[Catherine]

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

This teen novel is worth a read if you are a young teen. The plot was predictable in a sort of formulaic way, but if you arent' already aware of such writing formulas, it will hold your interest. The biggest problem I had with the story is that it's historical context is incorrect. The protagonist's parents are portrayed as free spirited hippie types, overeducated and restless. Since most of the people who bought into that scene are now in their 60's, maybe even older, it's not likely that they would have a seventeen year old daughter. I suppose they could have had a child at age 45, but having grown up during and at the tail end of the hippie era, most of us have adult children closer to 30 by now. It was a distracion for me as I read the book. The dynamics of a high school and its cliques are brought into the story in a useful way, contributing to the coming of age theme.

[Catherine]

I just finished the last of the teen novels I brought home from the school library in my search for new materials for my students. The book is entitled Airman by Eoin Colfer, author of the Artemis Fowl series. This one was a little hard to get into at first, which may be due to the fact that I've been reading teen novels for a month. The story is set on the Saltee islands off of Ireland during the time when hot air balloons were new technology and the race for man to create a flying machine was in full swing. The hero is tutored by a French scientist obsessed with flight and areoplanes. He is caught in a plot to overthrow the king and is sent to a prison on little Saltee where he is forced to mine diamonds underwater using a diving bell. This novel has everything: science, some actual history, romance, betrayal, heroes, and strong women.

[Ashley]

I'm currently reading "Identical" by Ellen Hopkins and "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher.

[Kathy]

I'm reading a YA book, Impossible by Nancy Werlin.

[Avigail]

I am reading Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose in greek. Because the greek copy is 920 pages I am stack with a big tbr list and I don't know what to read next

[Susan (NY)]

I just started reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. This book has a lot of great reviews, but I didn't know if I was going to like it. I've read the first hundred pages so far and I'm hooked.

[Catherine]

I finished A Friend of the Earth by T.C. Boyle. I marked this book as "liked it" because I'm still thinking about it. The protagonist is a flawed hero, a radical environmentalist with a penchant for blowing up things. The author is very good at moving back and forth through time as the story is unraveled, which keeps the book interesting. I'd be interested to know what others think.

[Catherine]

I recently read Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin. This is a book I received through the book drawings on goodreads. I like the book because it takes on romantic conflict in an upbeat manner, somewhat in the vein of "Sex in the City." This story is also set in New York. The story definitely kept me interested despite the conflict being a familiar one. The young heroine is going beyond her coming of age into the coming into oneself phase of her life. It is a satisfying read.

[Catherine]

I just finished The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. This is a book that will stay with me for a very long time. The fact that the author is educated in philosophy is clear as you read this story of survival on the open sea. The story is like a good wine in its complexity; there are several layers to it. It's not a difficult book to read, its complexity lies in the way it triggers thought on a deeper level. A very satisfying read.

[Kathy]

Catherine wrote: "I just finished The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. This is a book that will stay with me for a very long time. The fact that the author is educated in philosophy is clear as you read this story of sur..."

I agree completely with your assessment of The Life of Pi. I read it several years ago, and I like your comparison to "a good wine in its complexity."

[Catherine]

I am currently rereading parts of Giants in the Earth by O.E. Rolvaag and The Emmigrants by Vilhelm Moberg. With new immigrants from across the globe moving into Minnesota and North Dakota I feel my 9th graders would benefit from some perspective. I'm including excerpts of these books as part of a unit that includes Of Beetles and Angels by Mawi Asgedom, a story of the authors journey from a refugee camp to the U.S. and Harvaard.

[Monika]

I started The Year of Pleasures: A Novel last night, and I'm almost half-way through it...I really like it thusfar.

[AK]

I'm about half way through Mister B. Gone. It's different from pretty much anything I've ever read by Clive Barker, and I can't tell yet if that's a good thing.

[Linda]

Hello all

One of the best books I read this summer was "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society." Charming book about World War II.

[Avigail]

well I read a couple I read the following:
1. The Name of the Rose including Postscript to the Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, I read it in greek that is called:Το Όνομα του Ρόδου.
2. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, for a mounth read of another group in GR.
3. The Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer.
4. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards, for the fall challange.

[Wes, Moderator]

I decided to go on a Cormac McCarthy benge... I ordered 7 of his books and have started 3 and so far it is a great decision.

[Wes, Moderator]

Ashley wrote: "I'm about half way through Mister B. Gone. It's different from pretty much anything I've ever read by Clive Barker, and I can't tell yet if that's..."

I read that one and enjoyed it. I hope it is treating you well.

[LaTrica]

I'm about halfway through The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England and enjoying it more than expected. I'm on the search for a similar sort of book on the Tsars of Russia.