Book Nook Cafe discussion
What did you read last month?
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What I read February 2012
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Lesley wrote: "I really enjoyed Someone Knows My Name and knew very little about the history of the subject. Alentejo Bluelooks pretty good. I have Brick Lane on my books..."
I loved that book, Someone Knows My Name.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/...
Ron Rash does not write series books.And his books can be bleak.My husband usually likes Rash's books but could not get into THE COVE. So I guess it is not for everyone. And even though I gave it 5 stars, it is not his best IMO. Nor is Serena, which some readers rave about. I liked thses books of his (he is masterful at short stories):
One Foot in Eden
Saints at the River: A Novel
The World Made Straight: A Novel
Chemistry and Other Stories
The Night the New Jesus Fell to Earth and Other Stories from Cliffside, North Carolina
Burning Bright: Stories
Thank you, JoAnn. I see a couple which appeal, both in topic & length. deb
The Submissionhttp://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
The Humming Room
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
The Tiger's Wife
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Calico Joe
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Three Weeks in December
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
The Lake Shore Limited
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
A Walk Across the Sun
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Rules of Civility
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
The Dovekeepers
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
The Solitude of Prime Numbers
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
The Cow in the Parking Lot: A Zen Approach to Overcoming Anger
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
You sure read a lot in February, TWJ ! And quite a variety of books, too.I've put in a request for The Cow in the Parking Lot, but I have so many books to read before it I don't know when I'll get to it.
I listen to books every morning, when I walk, so I am able to "read" more.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. 4 stars.http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. 4 stars.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. 4 stars.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
The Traveling Vampire Show by Richard Laymon. 3 stars.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
The author's writing is definitely juvenile but every once in awhile I get an irresistible impulse to read something seedy. He fits the bill.
Mine by Robert R. McCammon. 3 stars.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Stick with Boy's Life by the same author. A much better read at 5 stars.
Wives of the Fishermen by Angela Huth. 4 stars.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Worthy chick lit.
The House Of Lost Souls by F.G. Cottam. 1 star. Didn't finish.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I love a good haunted house tale but this failed to hold my attention.
I can't decide if it's encouraging or discouraging to see how many books others have read in a month. Don't get me wrong, i'm happy for each of you. It's just i tend to remember when i used to read that much. I thought when we retired i'd have more reading time but it really hasn't worked out that way at all. Of course, if i started listening to books while on the treadmill instead of watching "CSI" reruns or listening to music, i could add to my list. Hmmm. I appreciate the reminder, TWJ.deborah, grateful to see the lists
JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "The Cove: A Novel by Ron Rash 5 stars Another amazing book by this outstanding author. He writes of lost souls and of tentative and short-lived happiness in a place said to be cur..."
I have a copy of The Cove but I'm in such a terrible reading slump that I don't want to start anything new and potentially good, since I'm afraid my slump might "overcome" a really good book and I'll wind up not finishing it.
I read exactly ONE book in February so I'll post it along with my list of March reads which, hopefully, will be longer.
Gosh, I don't recall you ever having a reading slump, Connie. I hope you are over it soon. I found taking a few days break and catching up on my mountain of unread magazines helps.
Madrano wrote: "I can't decide if it's encouraging or discouraging to see how many books others have read in a month. Don't get me wrong, i'm happy for each of you. It's just i tend to remember when i used to read..."I always think it's encouraging to see how many books people manage. I love that goodreads has made me accountable since I've joined (particularly groups like this one and the 1 Million pages group). My monthly goal is never based on number of books, only on page count. If I'm at least 2000, then I'm happy!
Wow, I missed a lot of posts the last couple of days.Alias Reader - sorry to hear The Book Thief isn't that good though it sounds interesting.
Julie - State of Wonder sounds like it could be good but I totally understand the feeling of not knowing how to rate a book.
Lesley - the books you read covered a lot of ground. I'm intrigued by the food descriptions in The Island but I get how that can become annoying.
Also, I second your comment about liking the reviews and adding new books from the monthly round-ups.
deb - re Book of Negroes: basically, the book opened my eyes to the details of those events; as you say, the people who were still "property" didn't have a chance plus slave owners were trying to make last-minute claims on escaped slaves and the British had to be political about it in terms of hearing claims and only taking people who could demonstrate they were working for the British for a certain period.
re Zone One: this one is on my 2012 to-read list. I think I'll have to bump it up now.
Also, your quest to read about the presidents sounds really neat. Good luck with it! And I agree with Stephanie that it's encouraging to see how many books people read and would add that you should just read at an enjoyable pace for you; I'm assuming you're doing other things during retirement too!
Fiona (Titch) - sounds like you had a great reading month. Putting Last Train from Liguria on my to-read list.
Shay - thanks for reminding me about Roots; I'll have to try that one eventually though I didn't realize it's so long.
Carolyn - the funny thing is I own a copy of The Corrections but could never get into it. I only finished Freedom because it was for the book club.
Stephanie, Alias Reader, Lesley, Richiesheff and deb - thanks for sharing your thoughts on The Help. It's always interesting to read different opinions on any book. I've been wary of it because of some of the points you bring up though it's also been recommended to me.
JoAnn/QuAppelle - Aftertaste sounds good!
thewanderingjew - I can't seem to get to your review of Someone Knows My Name with the posted link but glad you liked the book too.
Sumofparts wrote: "Wow, I missed a lot of posts the last couple of days.Alias Reader - sorry to hear The Book Thief isn't that good though it sounds interesting.
Julie - State of Wonder sounds like it could be goo..."
I hope this link works better for Someone Knows My Name.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I read The Maze Runner Trilogy and loved it.
Sumofparts wrote: "Also, your quest to read about the presidents sounds really neat. Good luck with it! And I agree with Stephanie that it's encouraging to see how many books people read and would add that you should just read at an enjoyable pace for you; I'm assuming you're doing other things during retirement too!..."Too much to do since retiring. You are right, though, i need to go at my pace. It changes more lately than it used to but so do my other priorities, which explains it all.
Alias, your comment about catching up on magazines when in a slump is true. Indeed, now that i find myself reading two BA books, articles i clipped long ago from National Geographic are being read. I get tired of reading Moby-Dick, then switch to Einstein: His Life and Universe (& vice versa). But sometimes both seem overwhelmingly long, so i grab an article or two and read away. Good frame of mind.
Stephanie, that you read by page number came to me yesterday at the dentist. She told me she is reading A Game of Thrones "trilogy" (now up to 5 books, btw), each of which was 1000 pages long. Wow! That's a commitment. My whining about the two above books slowed down remarkably after that. :-)
deb
Alias Reader wrote: "Gosh, I don't recall you ever having a reading slump, Connie. I hope you are over it soon. I found taking a few days break and catching up on my mountain of unread magazines helps."I have my fair share of reading slumps. This last one was caused by the fact that I was reading a book that I felt like I should like, but which I was not liking at all. I never even wanted to pick it up when I'd see it lying near me. I felt so guilty about not reading that book that I just sort of quit reading at all. And I didn't want to start anything new because I felt like I should finish the other one. Ugh.
I finally quit the first book, picked up The Autobiography of Malcolm X and have been read it eagerly ever since. The slump seems to be over!
Connie wrote: I finally quit the first book, picked up The Autobiography of Malcolm X and have been read it eagerly ever since. The slump seems to be over! -------------
Connie, that is one of my all time favorite books! You can really see the arc of his life and how he changed. You also get a good feel for that era. I just loved it.
I recently purchased, but have not yet read,
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention~~~Manning Marablewhich they say is the definitive book on Malcolm.
Alias: I recently purchased, but have not yet read,Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention~~~Manning Marable
which they say is the definitive book on Malcolm.
I browsed through the Marable book while I was working at the Nook counter the other day and it does sound interesting. Just in the short time I skimmed the book I found a few facts that enhanced my appreciation of the Autobiography.
I'm going to have to track down the Denzel Washington version of the Malcolm X movie. Hope the library has it!
So Connie, what was the book you hated?
JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "So Connie, what was the book you hated?"I'm sorry to admit the book I couldn't finish was "Behind the Beautiful Forevers" by Katherine Boo. It's gotten rave reviews from everyone but it just didn't do it for me. I'm interested in stories about life in the slums of India, in this case, Mumbai. I read "A Fine Balance" before Oprah ever heard of it. But for some reason the people and situations in "Behind the Beautiful Forevers" just didn't compel me. I wouldn't tell anyone not to read it. I'm just sorry I spent so much time trying to finish it and in the end, not succeeding.
Gosh, that's one book I will be buying sometime. I have a bit of a fascination for India, so it will be interesting to see how I find it when I do read it.
Book Nook Cafe
Books mentioned in this topic
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention (other topics)Einstein: His Life and Universe (other topics)
Moby-Dick or, The Whale (other topics)
A Game of Thrones (other topics)
The Cove (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Alex Hailey (other topics)Manning Marable (other topics)
Christopher Moore (other topics)
Robert McCammon (other topics)
F.G. Cottam (other topics)
More...
Another amazing book by this outstanding author. He writes of lost souls and of tentative and short-lived happiness in a place said to be cur..."
Thanks for the reviews, JoAnn. I haven't tried Rash but if he can write well yet sparsely, i've gotta give him a try. Is this the best of his books or would you recommend trying another as my first taste of him?
Carolyn, those darned web cam of wildlife are real time suckers, aren't they? I am amazed at how long i can spend watching them. Nowadays they are self-verboten as i really seem unable to stop watching. My favorite was the Monterrey Bay Aquarium, probably because we've been there, so i could easily imagine i was there. I just went to their website & see they have MORE live cams. Oh oh.
Michele, i liked the way you phrased your comments on the Obama book, "But if you use your judgement, I think you can learn something." I am sure many feel it's not worthwhile to do so and that the author should be more precise but i'm okay with deciding what sounds "right" & what doesn't. Your comments on the bios sound like me. I couldn't tell you what i want but i know it when i experience it because i can barely put the book down!
deb