Anyone up for another group read, maybe for January?

[Pam]

I'm reading The Far Pavilions by M. M. Kaye for a group read at a Historical Fiction board. I've heard about this book for years and I love historical fiction, so I don't know why I'm just getting to it.

Anyone else want to read it, or something else? I enjoyed our other discussions.

[Jamie]

It sounds good to me. I'll look for a copy and join you - I've enjoyed your picks so far!

I'm expecting an influx of new books for Christmas, so I will probably be reading these in late December and January, if anybody is interested in discussing:

Lonesome Dove
Dissolution, C.J.Sansom
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell

[Pam]

I've read those -- I don't remember much about Kavalier & Clay but the others are fairly fresh in my head.

Dang, I'd love to re-read Lonesome Dove, but my cousin has my copy and she moved away. It's a first edition HC. It's been years and I'd feel silly asking for it back after all this time. Assuming she even still has it.

[Julie]

I love Kaye's mysteries, but I've never read her other work. I'm in.

[[deleted user]]

I'll sit this one out, but will follow your discussion. I have a lot of work-related reading coming up, and also anticipate a stack of childrens' and YA books for Christmas (hoping for Beedle the Bard, The Thin Place, Sunshine, The Arrival, and probably will buy myself Octavian Nothing and The Invention of Hugo Cabret).

[Pam]

Wow. This is embarrassing. I'm about 100 pages in and have no desire to keep reading this book. How did it sell so many copies? It's all story. It reads like part history, part travelogue, and the characters aren't believable. There's lots of detail but no depth.

Eleanor, I hope you didn't buy a copy.

::me slinking away, head down::

It's not "bad", it's just predictable.

[Jamie]

I haven't yet. Neither of my local used bookstores had a copy, so I was just getting ready to order one. Maybe I won't now. :)

[Pam]

That's a relief!

I looked at the reviews at Amazon. They're overwhelmingly positive, except for one reviewer who said the book was "expository". That's the word I was looking for. Kaye tells us everything. Nobody's motives are hidden, or even suspect. I like to discover some things for myself.

[Julie]

Well, I have it from the library, so I'll go ahead and try to read it. I put in the effort of carrying that enormous thing a couple of blocks already! :D