What are you reading March 2012?

[nancy]

That's so funny...it's the first book I thought of..
My Book Club is looking for some fiction to pair with Gail Levin's biography of Lee Krasner. So any other Art or Artist related novels?
Thanks all.

[Denise]

nancy wrote: "That's so funny...it's the first book I thought of..
My Book Club is looking for some fiction to pair with Gail Levin's biography of Lee Krasner. So any other Art or Artist related novels?
Thanks ..."

Check out the Art and artists lists in listopia.

[Linda]

nancy wrote: "Looking for some recommendations for fiction about the world of art or an artist..Thanks"

Try works by Ian Pears

[Vera]

Denise wrote: "nancy wrote: "Looking for some recommendations for fiction about the world of art or an artist..Thanks"

Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier."
Nancy, I really enjoyed The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver. It included as supporting characters Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Very enjoyable.

[[deleted user]]

nancy wrote: "Looking for some recommendations for fiction about the world of art or an artist..Thanks"

I Am Madame X by Gioia Diliberto is really good.

[Elizabeth☮]

nancy wrote: "Looking for some recommendations for fiction about the world of art or an artist..Thanks"

[Mark]

I am finishing The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda and will be starting The Obamas shortly.

[nancy]

Suzanne wrote: "nancy wrote: "Looking for some recommendations for fiction about the world of art or an artist..Thanks"

I Am Madame X by Gioia Diliberto is really good."

Thank you to all of my Goodread pals. Now I have to choose which of the wonderful suggestions to recommend to my book club!

[Elizabeth☮]

nancy wrote: "Suzanne wrote: "nancy wrote: "Looking for some recommendations for fiction about the world of art or an artist..Thanks"

I Am Madame X by Gioia Diliberto is really good."

Thank you t..."

nancy,

one of the books i suggested is not the one i thought. there's one that is about the designer of tiffany lamps with a similar book cover. (this is the wrong title. it still looks interesting, it just doesn't fit what you are looking for right now).

[Kathy]

Currently reading by Sarah Waters

[[deleted user]]

I'll soon be rereading Twelfth Night, because I'll be playing Sir Toby Belch this summer! Yeah, baby!

[Linda]

Finished . I am going to make sure to get his other two books. I have two books to finish by Tuesday - one because it's due at the library and I can not renew it any more and the other for my book discussion on Tuesday evening. Good thing my husband doesn't mind that I hole myself up (or is it whole myself up?) reading.

[Kate]

Just realized that I had not posted here....I am finishingKing Peggy: An American Secretary, Her Royal Destiny, and the Inspiring Story of How She Changed an African Village, which I loved and starting My Ántonia,for one of my book groups. After that, I thinkCatching Fire, so I can finish the trilogy.

[Ann]

Eric wrote: "I'll soon be rereading Twelfth Night, because I'll be playing Sir Toby Belch this summer! Yeah, baby!"

Congrats! Will you give us a rendition in Manchester?

[[deleted user]]

Noooo. I won't even have started rehearsing by then.

[Linda]

Eric wrote: "Noooo. I won't even have started rehearsing by then."

I thought of you this afternoon, Eric, while I was finishing Defending Jacob: A Novel this afternoon.

What probably isn't known by many (especially here) is that I used to act. That is actually what I was doing when the Prosecuting Attorney in that book was "preaching to the choir." No one was around, but surely, I got the part - even though I'm the wrong gender.

[Melissa]

Eric wrote: "

I had some trepidation about reading this book. Y'see, I'm a bit of a cynic. I'm not a sports fan. And I'..."

I'm in the middle of this book on audio, and I am enjoying it. I am a runner and I read a great deal of WWII history. My dad served in the South Pacific and was part of the occupying force in Japan. This book is perfect for me, but I have to say that I was bored to tears reading Seabiscuit.

[Nancy]

I finally finished A Game of Thrones, all 807 pages, and simultaneously rewatched the last episode of the first season of the HBO series online. I am so ready for season 2 but decided to wait to read the second book in the series until after the season is over. I want to be surprised by the story as it unfolds onscreen, but I don't think I'll wait another year to read the next three books in the series--just space them out.

Now that I'm ready to move on, I'm starting Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman (Adventures of a Curious Character), the memoirs of a Nobel Prize-winning physicist. It's not my usual fare, but I had no objections when it was selected for one of my book clubs. It's supposed to be very entertaining as well as thought provoking.

On audio, I started listening to The Finkler Question, which was on some best of 2010 lists and the 2011 shortlist for the Tournament of Books. I realized almost immediately that it wasn't capturing my interest and gave up after halfheartedly listening to the first CD. Instead, I'm going to start The Weird Sisters.

[Lil]

Still reading War and Peace. I'm about 4/5 of the way through and have loved it, but I am sure to be the first to observe that it is a tiny bit too long. I wanted to read it all in one stretch, so I wouldn't get distracted by other books and put it down forever.

I did take a quick break to read The Night Circus for book group. I am going to call this a failure on the part of this reader. The beautiful, imaginative descriptions just never captured me, although several members of my group loved it. I actually didn't finish it (although came fairly close in time for the meeting) and won't pick it back up. I was disappointed since I just knew this would be a sure winner for me.

Next up will be Defending Jacob, first in the series of books to prep for Manchester. Yay!

[JoLene]

I just finished Kindred and have started The Kitchen House. I am also in the middle of Cry, the Beloved Country. It is interesting to read all of these around the same time.

On deck, I have Ready Player One which I have been stalking at the library and The Art of Hearing Heartbeats. Both of these I heard of because of the BOTNS podcast.

[nancy]

I just finished The Orphan Master's Son and Defending Jacob.
Now reading Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies. Next up,
Michael Ondaatje's The Cat's Table..then onto the art/fiction choices all of you have recommended. Thanks so much

[Willem]

Just finished reading 'The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet' and I'm completely blown away by it.
Now it's time for some non-fiction, so I've started Daniel Okrent's 'Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition'. With English being only a second language to me, it's sometimes quite a demanding read, but I intend to get the most out of this book.

[Maria]

Just finished Unbroken yesterday. Incredibly moving book. Not sure what I will pick up next.

[Brian]

I finished reading Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking last week, and listening to The Wordy Shipmates yesterday. I'm now reading The Wise Man's Fear and listening to Population: 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time.

I highly recommend Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles, starting with The Name of the Wind and followed by Wise Man's Fear. The thoroughly engrossing story keeps you from feeling too bad that the thick volumes are keeping you from reading more, shorter books.

[Callie]

Finished (and really enjoyed) .

Started , which I found intimidating for some reason, but is actually an easy read. This is the #3 oldest book on my goodreads TBR list, and I'm reading it as one of my 12 in '12 challenges. By the by, is next- which makes me chuckle, because it shows when I started 1) listening to BotNS, and 2) started tracking books on goodreads.

[Joanne-in-Canada]

During March Break I read The Blue Light Project, which was a bit disappointing in having more breadth than depth. I also read Women Who Read are Dangerous, which features paintings and photographs of women reading, with descriptions. I enjoyed the variety of styles and subjects. (My family spent March Break in Montreal going to art galleries.)

I am now reading Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking for Booktopia and have started The Weird Sisters, thought I'm not certain it's a "go" yet--still waiting for it to grab me.

[Valerie]

Finally gave up on Faithful Place. I'd heard great things about Tana but just found this book a little slow and boring. Her other two books are probably better? Maybe I needed to read them first?

[Elizabeth☮]

Willem wrote: "Just finished reading 'The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet' and I'm completely blown away by it.
Now it's time for some non-fiction, so I've started Daniel Okrent's 'Last Call: The Rise and Fall ..."

good to know. i bought The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet at borders when it was closing for .99.

[Elizabeth☮]

Joanne wrote: "During March Break I read The Blue Light Project, which was a bit disappointing in having more breadth than depth. I also read Women Who Read are Dangerous, which feat..."

i'd love to hear what you think of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. as a teacher, i think i would find it interesting to see if it applies to my students' personalities.

[[deleted user]]

After having acted for over 35 years, I'm trying to further hone my skills by taking on some formal training. This is one of the books that have been recommended to me.

The American school of acting that began with the Group Theatre took off from Stanislavsky's work and created its own distinct branch. That branch says that an actor doesn't (or shouldn't) try to reproduce an emotion or a "quality", but should always be playing an action. Something that can be encompassed in the form of a transitive verb. That's not to say that there is no emotion involved in acting, but that the emotion comes naturally while doing.

This book is as the title suggests: a thesaurus. An actor is supposed to use it by breaking down a script into moments. Each moment is a sentence, idea, or a silence the length of a breath. Each one is assigned an action. You can play around by exchanging one action for another.

I'm going to try to incorporate this into the next role I play and see how it works for me. I gave the book four stars based on how intriguing the concept is and how well it has apparently worked for others. If it works like a charm for me, I'll upgrade it to five.

[Lil]

Finally finished War and Peace!!! Took me about six weeks, which is a record by a long shot. It was really wonderful, except, sadly, the last 50 or so pages. Someone should have told Tolstoy a firm no when he decided to tack on a painful discussion about the nature of history on the end of a great book. If you go to the book description on this site, the first review is a really funny one that explains (much better than I could) what I mean about the ending.

Listening to The Graveyard Book and really enjoying it. I think Michael recommended this on the audiobook episode a while back. The author is the reader and does a fantastic job and the music is wonderful. I am apparently the wussiest reader in the world, since this CHILDREN'S BOOK is giving me nightmares. Really pathetic, but this is the person who hid behind a lazy boy lounger every week when the Incredible Hulk aired.

[Kathie]

I just finished The Go-Betweenby L.P.Hartley, and am so grateful to the person at the Slate Culture Gabfest podcast, who mentioned this book's merits a few weeks ago. This is a coming-of-age tale, set in the summer of 1900--a young boy is invited to visit a wealthy school friend and is cajoled into being a go-between, passing messages between the friend's sister and her entirely unsuitable lover.

The narrative flows from the vantage point of that young boy in middle age. The writer conveys the innocence and the confusion of the young messenger so skillfully, and with such laden levels of meaning....

This is one of the best novels I've read in some time.

[[deleted user]]

I missed the chance to see this play, performed and directed by some very talented friends, a few years ago. But recently, at my acting class, the teacher handed me a monologue from the show. Intrigued, I decided to tackle some of the material as a monologue piece.

There are two married couples in the story who are close friends. But when one of the couples divorces, the friendship is thrown for a loop and the intact couple must confront some of the more unpleasant of life's realities.

The issues dealt with here are universal to marriage, aging, and friendship. But they're dealt with so deftly and sensitively that nothing ever feels cliched. I'd welcome any chance to see it performed or to perform in it.

[Robin]

by Anne Fadiman

[Janet]

In paper and on audio at home and in the car.

[Melissa Wiebe]

Anna Karenina
Bleak House
Les Misearbles
History of a Pleasure Seeker
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Game of Thrones

[Paula]

Valerie wrote: "Finally gave up on Faithful Place. I'd heard great things about Tana but just found this book a little slow and boring. Her other two books are probably better? Maybe I needed to rea..."

Hi Valerie - I'm about half way through Faithful Place on audio. I guess a great narrator makes all the difference, I'm finding it a great read / listen. Sorry to hear that you're not experiencing the book the same way.

[SEY]

Paper Journal of a Solitude reading in honor of her centennial, http://www.MaySarton100.org Nook

The Starboard Sea: A Novel and listening to Leviathanby Scott Westerfield

[Julie]

Linda wrote: "Eric wrote: "

I had some trepidation about reading this book. Y'see, I'm a bit of a cynic. I'm not a sport..."

Me too, Eric. Me, too, Linda. It took me about 30-40 pp to get into UNBROKEN but when I did, man was it compelling. I guess I should read Seabiscuit, huh?

[Julie]

Just finished Bonnie Jo Campbell's Once Upon a River. Meh. Now into Jennifer Lauck's memoir Blackbird.

[The Pirate Ghost]

Just finished BLOOD STAINED by CJ Lyons. It's a police procedural, crime novel about a serial ...well a someone who turned out to be serially bad in some very bad ways. It's book two of Lucy Guiardino series.

Lucy is a strong female heroine, in a very good way, realistic and believable (and very likable). This was better written (more polished) than the first one, but darker in content. The first one was good too.

I've moved on to Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon. As if looking for something darker and scarier than Lucy Guiardino stories. It's artfully written, but, not for the squeamish or sensitive.

[Callie]

Finished both Damned and The Poisonwood Bible over the last couple of days. Damned was ok, Poisonwood Bible was excellent. I was lucky enough to get to finish Poisonwood Bible at the beach yesterday (can you believe 80 and sunny in Maine in March???), which made it even better.

I have started Children of God, which is the sequel to The Sparrow, which I loved. So far so good, but it is taking me a bit to remember plot points and certain characters from the first book.

I am in need of an audiobook, the Friday commute home can be a bear. I am on the list for Defending Jacob: A Novel, but alas, it is not my turn yet. Maybe I'll listen to some old BotNS podcasts in the meantime!

[Lisa]

Julie wrote: "Linda wrote: "Eric wrote: "

I had some trepidation about reading this book. Y'see, I'm a bit of a cynic. I..."

I've read them both and found them both fascinating. I'm not one for war stories, but Unbroken is so much more. Great read.

[Janet]

@ Callie....I got to meet Mary Doria Russell at the Tucson Book Festival. She is a feisty woman. I have read The Sparrow and enjoyed it but I think my next read from her will be Doc...I want to see what she does with historical fiction.

[Ellen]

So far this month, I've read quite a few books:

Gentle's Holler by Kerry Madden,
Nibbled to Death by Ducks by Robert Campbell (though I'm not into crime novels much), The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman, Acorna's People by Anne McAffrey, Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher, and The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson. (Yes, I read a lot of fantasy series.) I also reread the book In the Stone Circle, a YA novel I read about 10 years ago and really loved both times.
I'm currently reading My Father, Maker of the Trees: How I Survived Rwandan Genocide by Eric Irivuzumugabe, and once I finish that I'll take a shot at The Hunger Games. I have so many books on my TBR list that I have no idea where I'll go after that.

[Linda]

[Vera]

Janet wrote: "@ Callie....I got to meet Mary Doria Russell at the Tucson Book Festival. She is a feisty woman. I have read The Sparrow and enjoyed it but I think my next read from her will be [bo..."
Listening to Doc in the car during my daily commute.
I'm enjoying the writing and the reader is doing a good job (and not detracting from the story!).

[Alondra]

I am about halfway through Rot & Ruinand contemplating a 2nd book to start tonight. American Psycho was delivered today, so may start that.... mmmmm

[Robin]

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, on audio. Very good.

[Melissa Wiebe]

Started The Hunger Games yesterday (Friday) afternoon and can totally see why people like this book. I have read about half of the book and am thinking maybe I will try to get it done tonight and go and see the late showing of the movie tomorrow (maybe there won't be as many people at the showing, being it is the last day before kids go back to school after Spring Break).