What are you reading right now? Showing 151-200 of 2,326

[Leo]

LOVE Slaughterhouse FIve! My favourite quote is (I don't think very spoilerish):

"And Billy had seen the greatest massacre in European history, which was the firebombing in Dresden. So it goes.
So they were trying to re-invent themselves and their universe. Science fiction was a big help."

I bet he found it really therapeutic to write...

[Meg]

I finished The Mongoliad: Book One. It was okay. I hate the female characters (I feel like I said this before). I then read Tigana. I loved it. I always expect to dislike GGK books, but then I end up adoring them. I felt the same way about Under Heaven a few years ago. THEN... I did a short read of this masterpiece Keith Roberts's Anita (If I could easily link this, I would). CHARMING and delightful. I'm kind of in love right now. What a great introduction to a fabulous author.

In another fun surprise, I'm now a couple hours into The Art of Fielding. I expected to really dislike this, but I adore it so far. And I don't even like baseball.....

[Meg]

Alice wrote: "I'm reading 'Before I Go To Sleep'. My mother read it for her book club and I was looking for something quick and entertaining after battling my way through 'Alias Grace' by Margaret Attwood (a bri..."


How is it? I was curious but never got around to acting on it.

[lurea]

Leo: Love the quote! My favorite "Slaughterhouse" quote is the opening line: "All this happened, more or less."

[Alisa]

Brother, I'm Dying Lucky
I just started Brother I'm Dying, and it's already sad. Hoping it will get better. Lucky I'm in the middle of and am starting to get bored. I'm sorry she was raped but her writing lacks passion and is so stale. They are both memoirs.

[Gregory]

The Ambassador's Son

This is the best book I have read all year. Though in all fairness, I listened to it on CD. Mr. Hickam wrote a great book and Steve Hoye's presentation of it was exceptional. I highly recommend it.

[Sophie]

I'm currently reading The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. I am 70% of the way through (thanks Kindle tracker) and I am really enjoying it. I love how well the characters are developed and how real and just plain human they are.

[Katrina]

lurea wrote: "Leo: Love the quote! My favorite "Slaughterhouse" quote is the opening line: "All this happened, more or less.""


Good choice:). Slaughterhouse 5 easily sits somewhere in my top twenty favourite books of all time.

I've just started The Night Circus and it's a lot better than I expected it to be so far, although I wouldn't say I'm hooked by any means.

[ceeeeg]

it was Pam, yes?...and Ruby?...that had an earlier discussion about mythological themes and accuracy of content related to Frazer's The Golden Bough...

i stumbled across it running through older posts on the threads and it had me wondering if either of you are familiar with the works of Joseph Campbell...

or of this, Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America, which is a lil outdated at this point, but certain a more recent study than Frazer's, focusing on more contemporary magical traditions and practices than 'Bough' does...

pretty fascinating stuff, especially Campbell...thought i would mention in case you were unfamiliar and might have an interest...

[Deniz]

I'm currently reading A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce and halfway through. A great semi-autobiographical novel, on the struggle of Joyce with religion and society.

I'm also reading A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin. It is the third installment of A Song of Ice and Fire. Very enjoyable read and recommend it if you have an interest in middle ages and fantasy fiction. 

[Frozenwaffle]

I've read the Song of Ice and Fire so far, but I have to admit it makes me a bit nervous having to wait for the rest of the story to be written. What if it takes YEARS? =|

I like it very much so far, Martin is an original writer imo. But hes so not descriptive he seems like a jornalist sometimes :D

[Valerie]

I am on the second one of the Martin series. I think he is great. I normally do not like this genre but he is good. I was under the impression that the last one of the series is actually out...

[ceeeeg]

Valerie...

during a recent interview, i believe Martin said there will be 2, perhaps 3 more books to the series before he finishes...

here is a link to the interview...don't know who this guy is, conducting the interview, but Martin is pretty candid in it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=...

[Mike]

Valerie wrote: "I am on the second one of the Martin series. I think he is great. I normally do not like this genre but he is good. I was under the impression that the last one of the series is actually out..."

On George's website he list two more books The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. That are not out yet.

[Deniz]

Frozenwaffle wrote: "I've read the Song of Ice and Fire so far, but I have to admit it makes me a bit nervous having to wait for the rest of the story to be written. What if it takes YEARS? =|

I like it very much so ..."

You're right. George Martin says writing the next novel should take about 3 years at the current pace, and another 3 years for the 7th one. I guess i will finish the first five books by the end of summer and will have to wait something like 5 years for the next 2 to complete the whole series. *sigh*

[Stephanie]

Just starting Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History. Just finished Midnight, which I read so that I can talk books with my 8 yr old daughter. ;)

[Mary Anne]

Just started The Obsidian Blade. The Booklist reviewer said she tried four times to write a review without gushing. She finally gave up and just gushed about this book. I'm loving it so far.

[L.T.]

True Crime, by Max Allen Collins. Lovin' it.

[Riona]

I started Annabel and am loving it so far.

[Kate]

Just started Curses! A F**ked Up Fairytale last night. Recommended by a good friend of mine, as an amusing piece of satire. She was right, I've caught myself smiling at the pages.

[Valerie]

pip wrote: "Valerie...

during a recent interview, i believe Martin said there will be 2, perhaps 3 more books to the series before he finishes...

here is a link to the interview...don't know who this guy is,..."

Wow! Maybe 7 or 8 then. Gads! I will have to keep going slow! I also do not like to wait around between books! He MUST finish! :)

[Valerie]

pip wrote: "Valerie...

during a recent interview, i believe Martin said there will be 2, perhaps 3 more books to the series before he finishes...

here is a link to the interview...don't know who this guy is,..."
Pip: Thanks so much for the link. I am liking him even more now. Enjoying the books on my kindle!

[Ruby , Mistress of Chaos]

pip wrote: "it was Pam, yes?...and Ruby?...that had an earlier discussion about mythological themes and accuracy of content related to Frazer's The Golden Bough...

i stumbled across it running through older p..."

Funny you should raise that, Pip. I clicked the Joseph Campbell link, and the thing that jumped out was "Primitive Mythology". Yesterday I was in a shop and a book that was about "primitive cultures". My hackles went up straight away - who gets to say another culture is "primitive"? It just seemed like a particularly value-laden term to use. I would like to get back into mythology though. It's a fascinating subject.

[Ruby , Mistress of Chaos]

Dimitri wrote: "You're right. George Martin says writing the next novel should take about 3 years at the current pace, and another 3 years for the 7th one. I guess i will finish the first five books by the end of summer and will have to wait something like 5 years for the next 2 to complete the whole series. *sigh* "

And THIS is why A Game of Thrones is still unopened on my shelf! Well, that and the fact I'm watching the series and don't want the two to overlap too much! I know once I start the books I'm not going to want to stop..

[Valerie]

Ruby wrote: "Dimitri wrote: "You're right. George Martin says writing the next novel should take about 3 years at the current pace, and another 3 years for the 7th one. I guess i will finish the first five book..."

And this is why I have not watched the series! I started the books first! :)

[ceeeeg]

Pam...

oh no...do NOT so easily dismiss Campbell...

if Campbell ever termed a myth cycle as 'primitive' it would only have been as a way of designating a difference between say neolithic belief and more progressive, if you will, mythologies, such as the Greco-Roman systems...

i can not strongly enough recommend to you that you view his PBS series The Power of Myth which was a series of interviews with Bill Moyer....the book listed here is a transcript with some of the art prints in it that were used in the series, but it is rather abridged...the series tho, in vid, is mesmerizing...he is mesmerizing...

for a good beginning in the books he wrote, i would suggest The Hero With a Thousand Faces...

if you want something deep and profound that demonstrates an interrelation in comparative religion/mythology, you just 'have' to check him out

and a note on watching vs. reading GoT....the cable series is very well done, but by necessity they have skimmed large amounts of it and boiled it down to the main plot devices to fit it into 10 episodes per book...

so i think viewing is a great intro to the series, but if you really want to know why this is a truly cgreat series, as opposed to just a really good one, you must read the books....they are much richer, more multi layered and complex, by far, then the cable adaptation is

[Ruby , Mistress of Chaos]

I don't mean to come across as dismissive of Campbell. I was just saying it's funny that the topic should pop up after I came across that other book yesterday.

I fully expect the GoT books to be better than the series - I just don't want to be in the middle of both of them at the same time.

[ceeeeg]

chuckling...

you have far more patience than i do, that you can wait until Martin finishes to read...

i am racing to order the moment i know a release date and tearing open the amazon packaging to go hide in my room for days and not sleep til i rip through it and then sigh for a few years pining for the next installment....

nice tho, once a series finishes and i have them all, to be able to go back and read the entire thing from start to finish and truly immerse myself in the full scope of the thing...

[Dana]

I'm currently reading The Water Thief by Nicholas Lamar Soutter as it was the runner up in a book club I'm trying out. The winner/ chosen book to read was Fifty Shades of Grey... I don't want to pay to read that book, though, and the wait time is beyond huge at the library, so I might get out of that one.

I'm also rereading Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire. Love this series! I have been meaning to read her horror genre books written under the name Mira Grant.

[Ruby , Mistress of Chaos]

Dana wrote: "I'm also rereading Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire. Love this series! I have been meaning to read her horror genre books written under the name Mira Grant. "

The Mira Grant books are so much better (imho)! The urban fantasy (Seanan McGuire) ones are a lot lighter, but don't go into the Newsflesh series expecting horror. My review of Feed is here if it helps: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Lesley]

Fiona wrote: "Riona wrote: "I finished Valley of the Dolls today... review here.

I think I might start We Need to Talk About Kevin next."

Hi Riona,

I loved both the book and the film and it is one of the ver..."

I read and saw We need to talk about Kevin! I think its a good discussion choice to talk about nurture vs nature.

[Meg]

Ooohhh... After years of bugging my partner about his love of Vonnegut, Welsh, and Bukowski, I read Marabou Stork Nightmares. IT WAS SPECTACULAR. Highly, highly recommend this one.

I also just finished The Elephant Whisperer, which was a lovely, light romp of a story with lots of science problems that I happily suspended for a bit of escapism. I generally hate anything with "whisperer" in the title (Caesar is a dangerous quack, ps); however, he dispels the title issue in the first few pages. I think the character of the author was highly compelling for me -- I just wanted to meet him. Then I found out that he was the person in all of these news briefs. http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/social-issu... I wish I had read the book sooner and had a chance to meet him.

[Ruby , Mistress of Chaos]

Fair warning - My copy of Blackout finally arrived today after months of impatient waiting for its release. So while I may be a little hard to pin down for the next few days until I've finished reading it, please feel free to refer to this picture of me appearing interested in what you're saying.

...hmmmm......really?....uhhuh........yup.......you don't say...

[Dana]

Ruby wrote: "Dana wrote: "I'm also rereading Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire. Love this series! I have been meaning to read her horror genre books written under the name Mira Grant. "

The Mira Grant books a..."

Thanks, I've been wanting to/ meaning to read her books written under the name Mira Grant. Not now though. Since the story broke about the guy eating that guy's face in Miami, I've been put off zombies for awhile. I like my zombies in movies, books, and t.v. --- just not the nightly news.

I will get to them eventually. I really like Seanan McGuire both the October Daye series and (what I consider to be light, yet fun), the newer Incriptid series.

[R.J.]

Re-reading The Great Gatsby wondering if this makes me boring. Will read something more hip next.

[Global]

I'm reading "The Gilr who Kicked the Hornest Nest"... looking forward to making a review...

[Alice]

Re-reading 'Zen Culture' by Thomas Hoover, an old favourite :D x

[Mark]

Riona wrote: "I'm reading another Christopher Moore, A Dirty Job - will probably finish it today or tomorrow. I'm also slowly working my way through Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell with another group, but I'm only..."

Love Christopher Moore, and that one in particular! If you haven't read Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, add that to your "must read" list too.

I'm in the middle of a friend's book, The Infinite Library. It's hard to describe: imagine Umberto Eco fused Jorge Luis Borges with a dash of Neal Stephenson and a soupcon of nerdy Raymond Carver; then they take mushrooms while taking watching a lecture on the history of Western philosophy and write a book.

[Ryan]

Donnica wrote: "I'm reading "The Gilr who Kicked the Hornest Nest"... looking forward to making a review..."

i'm reading the last days of socrates by plato

[ceeeeg]

i just finished up with Equal of the Sun (review to be posted this evening) and am now taking up The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for a BOM in another group....

and still picking at Fifty Shades of Grey in between...

[Riona]

Mark wrote: "Love Christopher Moore, and that one in particular! If you haven't read Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, add that to your "must read" list too."

Yes, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal is definitely my favorite of his so far! (I haven't read all of them.)

I just finished Annabel, which was fantastic. Review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[R.J.]

Am in the last chapter of The Great Gatsby. The linguistic brilliance tailed off about two chapters ago when the story took over. I am absolutely and totally absorbed by it. Part of me is bereft that the most beautiful part of the read is behind me. The deconstruction of Jay Gatsby into James Gatz is profoundly disillusioning, like watching a gyroscope slowing and stopping. He is becoming ordinary. But I still have ten pages to go. How will FSF land the story? Maybe I will just review the first 2/3rds to the part where he kisses Daisy and his fantasy is destroyed by corporeality. Ach, the achiving of dreams is a very poor outcome. The best dreams must surely be impossible to ever achieve. What point is there to life after success? Luckily, a question i will never face.
Ron Askew

[Ruby , Mistress of Chaos]

Still completely absorbed by Blackout...

.....uhhuh.....go on....no, no....I'm listening.....

[Frozenwaffle]

Finished The Catcher in the Rye yesterday, and my Perdido Street Station arrived just in time this morning - so I'm picking this one up.

I'm more than a bit afraid of this book, as english is not my first language and I've read alot of comments say that China Mieville is fond of descriptions with unsual words. Reading it next to the dictionary may take some of the thrill away xD

[Nicholas]

Ruby wrote: "Still completely absorbed by Blackout...

I just finished. There is now a hole in my heart due to no more Newsflesh.

I'm afraid I'm going to under-appreciate my next-ups because they'll be less engrossing (even if wonderful in their own right). So far, so good though:

Parasites Like Us
Threats: A Novel

[Lesley]

Mercy by Jodi Picoult I am hoping it gets better about 100 pages in and kind of bored'

[Theo]

The Book of Lost Things

Just started and it seems like an intriguing premise.

[R.J.]

Just finished The Great Gatsby I have that what-the-hell-do-I-do-now feeling. Life is empty after great art, old sport.

[Riona]

R.J. wrote: "Just finished The Great Gatsby I have that what-the-hell-do-I-do-now feeling. Life is empty after great art, old sport."

Sounds like you might need this thread.


I've been meaning to read The Great Gatsby for ages. Somehow I was never assigned it in school, but I feel like it's one of those classics I should really get to.

[Frozenwaffle]

"R.J. wrote: "Just finished The Great Gatsby I have that what-the-hell-do-I-do-now feeling. Life is empty after great art, old sport.""

Riona wrote: "I've been meaning to read The Great Gatsby for ages. Somehow I was never assigned it in school, but I feel like it's one of those classics I should really get to."

I read it two weeks ago and I didn't find it all that enjoyable... found both story and char development were weak... Is it the writing itself that makes you feel so good about it, RJ?

I'm starting to think that it was a big mistake to read a translated version. Maybe I missed out on the good stuff because the translator didnt get it too well. Or maybe this book just isn't for me..