Author birthdays this week:

Nov 7:
-Gédéon Tallemant Des Réaux, French writer known for his Historiettes, a collection of short biographies (1619; d.1692),
-Friedrich Leopold, Graf zu Stolberg German poet, born in what-was-then Denmark (1750 -1819)
-Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam (aka Jean-Marie-Mathias-Philippe-Auguste, comte de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam), French symbolist writer (1838; d.1889),
-Albert Camus French existentialist essayist, novelist, journalist, awarded 1957 Nobel in Literature, well-known for novels L'Etranger (1942; The Stranger) and La Peste (1947; The Plague) (1913; d.1960),
-Rafael A. Lafferty, science fiction writer and Hugo winner (1914; d.2002)
-Stephen Jay Greenblatt, literary critic, theorist and scholar (1943)

Nov 8:
-Teofilo Folengo aka Merlino Coccajo or Cocajo, one of the principal Italian macaronic poets, famous for his epic poem 'Baldus' (or 'Baldo') (1491; d.1544)
-Sarah Fielding, British author of The Governess, or The Little Female Academy (1749), the first novel in English written especially for children. (1710; d.1768),
-Bram Stoker, Irish creator of Dracula (1847; d.1912),
-Cedric Henning Belfrage socialist, world-traveler, author, journalist, translator and co-founder of National Guardian, a non-sectarian radical U.S. weekly. (1904; d.1990)
-Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind (1900; d.1949)
-Martha Gellhorn novelist, travel writer and journalist, considered to be one of the greatest war correspondents of the 20th century (1908; d.1998)
-Peter Weiss German/Swedish novelist, dramatist, film director, and painter (1916; d.1982)
-P L'Pu La' Deshpande, orator and noted Marathi (Indian) writer (1919;d.2000)
-Kazuo Ishiguro, Japanese/English Booker Prize winning novelist (1954)





Nov 9:
-Mark Akenside, English poet and physician, 'a sort of frozen Keats' (1721; d.1770)
-Émile Gaboriau, French mystery writer and journalist, a pioneer of modern detective fiction (1832; d.1873)
-Sir Muhammad Iqbal, Muslim poet, philosopher and politician; his poetry in Urdu and Persian is considered to be among the greatest of the modern era. (1877 -1938)
-Anne Sexton, Massachusetts poet (1928 d.1974)
-Imre Kertész, Jewish Hungarian author and Nobel Prize winner and a Holocaust concentration camp survivor. (1929),
-Roger Joseph McGough, English performance poet, playwright, broadcaster and children's author CBE (1937)
-Carl Sagan American astronomer, astrochemist, author, and highly successful popularizer of astronomy, astrophysics and other natural sciences. He pioneered exobiology and promoted the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI). (1934 - 1996)

Nov 10:
-Jacob Cats, Dutch poet, humorist and politician (1577; d.1660),
-Oliver Goldsmith, Irish novelist, poet, and dramatist well-known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield and his comedic drama She Stoops to Conquer (1728; d.1774)
-Friedrich von Schiller, German poet, lyricist, and playwright (1759; d.1805)
-Winston Churchill, American novelist (1871; d.1947) (not to be confused with the British dude)
-Vachel Lindsay, U.S. poet (1879; d.1931)
-J P Marquand, novelist (1893; d.1960)
-William E. Butterworth III aka W.E.B. Griffin, military and police novelist (1929)
-James Chapman, American novelist and publisher (1955)
-Neil Richard Gaiman author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels, graphic novels, comics, and films, including The Sandman comic series. (1960)
-Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig Pearse; Irish: Pádraig Anraí Mac Piarais) Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist and political activist who was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916. (1879 –1916)

Nov 11:
-Thomas Bailey Aldrich, American poet, novelist, traveler, and editor (1836; d.1907)
-F Van Wyck Mason, American historian and prolific novelist. (1901; d.1978)
-Howard Fast, Jewish American novelist (1914; d.2003)
Carlos Fuentes, Mexican novelist (1928)
Mircea Dinescu, Romanian poet, editor, satirist and dissident aka 'The Jester-Poet' (1950)
Mary Gaitskill novelist, short story writer, and essayist (1954)
-Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., modern American writer (1922; d.2007)



Nov 12:
-Ben Travers CBE, British playwright, known for his farces (1886; d.1980)
-DeWitt Wallace, magazine publisher, co-founder with his wife of Reader's Digest in 1922. (1889; d.1981)
-Roland Barthes, French literary critic, literary and social theorist, philosopher, and semiotician concerned with structuralism. (1915; d.1980)
-Wallace 'Wally' Shawn American playwright and actor, son of longtime New Yorker editor William Shawn. (1943)
-Tracy Kidder, non-fiction writer, author of House and Among Schoolchildren. (1945)
-Naomi Wolf, feminist progressive writer and political blogger well-known for her first book, The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women. (1962)
-Hanan al-Shaykh is a Lebanese author of contemporary Arab women's literature. (b1945)



Nov 13:
-George V. Higgins, crime writer and columnist (1939; d.1999)
-William Gibson, Tony Award-winning American playwright and novelist. (1914 – 2008)
-Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish author, 1850 - 1894



=====================================================
Trivia: Name two authors on this list who committed suicide.

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 7, 2009, 12:44am.

Trivia--Anne Sexton is one of the two

Reading Keats by Andrew Motion and reading poems in The Poems of John Keats ed. by Jack Stillinger.

Will Shakespeare, Sonnets

N. Scott Momaday, House Made of Dawn

F. Scott Fitzgerald, This Side of Paradise

Gotthold Ephraim Loessing, Laocoon and accompanying essays by various writers, in a collection devoted to this work.

Carol Nelson Douglas, Good Night, Mr. Holmes
Modern story from POV of a friend of Irene Adler (pronounced "i-REE-neh") fictional, and mentioned by Doyle as respected by Holmes for being the only person who solved a mystery before he did. Adler is an American, opera singer and sleuth. Story set in England, Prague, America. Fictional encounters with several historic figures: Charles Tiffany, Oscar Wilde, James Whistler; a quite major role for Antonin Dvorak, who is said to have preferred the singing of the fictional diva. Immense good fun.

The other suicide would be Vachel Lindsay, on December 5, 1931. He was discouraged over lack of $$ he was able to make. Drank something from a bottle, I recall, and it was something like "Mr. Clean", although that brand wasn't around then. I think it was Lysol, and envy no one who has to endure that, even for a second.

>2: Anne Sexton, yes;
>4: Vachel Lindsay, I did not know that! Good on ya'.

So there's one more...at least.

Still reading Shelf Discovery by Lizzie Skurnick and, sadly, Private Papers of Eastern Jewel.

So thereʻs 1 more (suicide) at least #5

Thomas Bailey Aldrich ?

Finished reading The Playboy of the Western World by J.M.Synge. Really enjoyed this one! My review,

http://www.librarything.com/work/150060/...

Or on my 50 Book Challenge thread,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/72408

Now I’m in the mood for more classic plays and I’m also keen on making a dent in my TBR pile. I think I’ll read a Restoration comedy this time, The Way of the World by William Congreve.

Yesterday I finished Julia Blackburn's The Three of Us: A Family Story. Now I'm into another of Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti mysteries: Suffer the Little Children.

Next up: Love and Summer by William Trevor

I finished Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell. Here's my review:
http://www.librarything.com/work/book/52...
I'm also wrapping up The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway and deeply immersed in the group read of People of the Book. I don't know who suggested this book, but it's a dandy!

Oh dear I really should not have stayed up as late as I did this morning as now I feel like death. Started reading The Girl who Played with Fire around the midnight hour and couldn't force myself to put it down until I finished it which unfortunately happened to be just before 6am so now I'm shattered and I've lost several hours out of what was supposed to be a highly productive day... darn it.

I'm in between books again. I managed to finish my book on Friday for the 2nd week in a row, and instead of starting a new one while I'm distracted by football all weekend I'll just wait until Monday to start The Overlook by Michael Connelly.

Same nonfiction (Out of Eden) and short story collection (Black Venus) as last week; still reading People of the Book (kind of on schedule for the group read) and yesterday I started Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia McKillip.

I just finished Elective Affinities by Goethe this morning. I liked it very well, it's very impressive how morals are dealed with in the book, especially the view an women is interesting. The ending is sad but at happy at the same time. For each of yoz who likes german classics this is a very recommendable book.
I'm still into Name of the Rose and it's fascinating me more and more. Don't know what, maybe the Holmes-like attitude of Master William of Baskerville in this medieval setting and the intelligent, for this medieval time very straightforward thinking is great.
At all, I'm just kept in the Generel Prologue of Canterbury Tales. It's so difficult to read in middle english, but I'm pretty optimistic to finish at least the Prologue this day.

Got from the library and have barely gotten into Dead Days of Summer, but I now only have two more of that series to read and one was this year's and then I am sure that there will be one in 2010.

LadyVi - look on the bright side - your DAY may have gone to pot, but your night was very productive!

I'm right near the end of Marley and Me, so I'll finish it tonight I think. I don't want to read any more in the shop because I just know I'm going to cry at the inevitable end! It's been such a joyous ride, I'm not even a 'dog person' but I couldn't help falling in love with Marley! For cat people (especially British ones), Deric Longden's books are a brilliant equivalent.

Plus I'm keeping pace with the People of the Book group read. So far so good - just a few pages to go then I can start next week's section tomorrow, right on time...

I am hoping to finish The Last Jet-Engine Laugh by Ruchir Joshi, which I'm reading for the Reading Globally India theme read and which was recommended here on LT, today, as I'm leaving for a week's vacation tomorrow. In order to have more than enough to read, I'm bringing what I hope are too many books with me: Beyond Black and A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel, The War at the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa, and The Paris Interviews IV.

First rule of LT-ers on vacation: unless you know for certain that there's a bookshop within ten feet of where you're staying, too many books is ALWAYS preferable to too few!

Have a great vacation, Rebecca! I'll be eagerly awaiting your reviews of The War of the End of the World, which is high on my TBR list, and the two Mantel novels.

I'll start City Gates, a novella by Elias Khoury today, and resume reading the Thelonious Monk biography and Chowringhee by Sankar, for the Reading Globally monthly theme read (India).

>Ellie you're quite right, a night is never wasted if spent devouring a wonderful book :)
thankfully i have got a couple of hours work done so I don't feel quite as guilty for sleeping in til half 11 ;)

This week I'm reading The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles. So far I'm a fan.

>7 I don't think Aldrich committed suicide.

I am on the same books. Upstairs Midnight's Children, downstairs The Tender Bar

I am still reading Mennonite in a Black Dress the memoir I received as part of LT's Early Reviewers. It is pretty good so far. After that, I have a stack of library books to pick from. I went in to get the two books that I had on reserve and wound up grabbing 4 or 5 more!

I just started The Brothers Karamazov. I'm afraid I won't be posting here for a while; I'll be reading this one for a long, long, time.

My two main books right now seem to be Idiot America and Await Your Reply. I am enjoying them both. I picked up several new ones at the library yesterday that I can't wait to get to.

I also watched the movie version of 84, Charing Cross Road last night and recommend it to any fans of the book. Or even if you haven't read it. It was very sweet and true to the book.

Today, 11:34am (top)Message 22: teelgee wrote:

> "I don't think Aldrich committed suicide"

True, teelgee, he didn't. He'd built new houses for his son and himself. When the son died prematurely, Aldrich was discouraged and sort of "vegetated" for a long time. But Aldrich never gave in to the "characteristic leading-note droop".

Hello Booklovers - I am reading Lionel Blue - Hitchhiking to Heaven - an Autobiography - 2004

He is a Reform uk rabbi - as back blurb says 'reflecting upon events and experiences with profundity and originality but also with humour' ... something I found at the library this week and has helped me get out of the 'slough of despond'.

Ok reading this thread ... starting with suicide as trivia? ... almost puts me off this thread but with the help of rabbi Blue, not quite ... thank you Lionel!

Beesknees, welcome, I see you're new to LibraryThing! I'm glad you hung in there with the help of the rabbi! We're not always so...morbid.

to pdqb and teelgee:

Thanks, for the note about Aldrich.

I doubted, myself, that he committed suicide, but thaought he was more likely than most of the names that I recognized on the list.

Finishing part two of "The Birth of Venus", as well as the final chapters of "The Age of Innocence".

Still reading The Witches of Eastwick. Sometimes I feel like I'm reading a poem instead of a novel.

I saw the movie a long time ago, and it is quite tame compared to the book.

I'm still trudging through Jane Eyre (I'll be glad when I can finally stop including that book in these threads.). It's hard for me right now because I'm at a part in the book where she has to start over yet again and has just found another family to mooch off of after fleeing the man who loved her because of self righteous morals. It almost seems like Jane did what she did so that she could revel in her misery as a way to get something (entrance into heaven) instead of sincere belief. I just don't think Jane would be that good were it not for Christianity, and I have no respect for that. Actually, it irritates the daylights out of me, and that is what is preventing me from proceeding.

I've also started An Instance of the Fingerpost but I don't think I'm going to get very far in that one either. But, I'll give it through the first part of the book before I send it back the library. Maybe it'll pick up.

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 7, 2009, 4:19pm.

I'm finishing up In the Valley of the Kings by Terrence Holt. I picked it up based on a very positive NY Times review. It's taken a couple of stories to get into Holt's style, but I think it lives up to the review.

I've also started Danilo Kis' Hourglass, which kicks off a little surreal.

Still reading Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. This book is so beautifully written. I'm really enjoying it.

I just finished Cold Mountain which was an incredible book that I really loved. I decided to lighten it up a bit and I am currently reading Girls' Poker Night which I should finish in the next day or so and then I'm thinking of picking up Hound of the Baskervilles. Not sure yet though.

Aquest missatge ha estat marcat com abús per més d'un usuari i ja no es pot veure.

i finished reading the tenth gift by jane johnson, and started reading madame bovary by gustave flaubert. almost half-way through that one. haven't chosen my next pick yet, though.

I am reading several books which will probably take me a long time to finish. I am reading Life and Fate by Vasili Grossman with the Group Read--Literature group.

I've also started Swann's Way the first volume of Proust's In Search of Lost Time. I am reading this with a non-LT group which so far is being very well-moderated. After the first week (we read 15-20 pages a day), I have been captured by this book.

And I'm about half-way through Red Land Black Land: Daily Life in Ancient Egypt by Barbara Mertz, which I'm reading for my rl art history group.

Finally I do hope to read a book by an Indian author for Reading Globally this month, probably Twilight in Delhi by Ahmed Ali.

I am reading The Sugar Queen by Sara Addison Allen and so far I like it..

I just finished Dreamfeverby Karen Marie Moning and I loved it,,just have to wait for the last installment of the series..

I finished reading Act like a Gentleman, Think Like a Woman by Maria Bustillos. I just started reading The Book Thief for the library book club I just joined. I have to finish that book by Nov. 18 for our meeting. I am also reading Die Smart by Kathy Lane and Sylvia, Rachel, Meredith, Anna by Robert Sientz-Kesler. Those two are on hold for now so that I can finish reading The Book Thief in time for the meeting.

I have caught up with the group read People of the Book - so far loving it!
I have temporarily discarded Leaving Tangier as I managed to renew it on-line with my library for another three weeks so I have picked up Last Night in Montreal as my in-between book. I will go back to Leaving Tangier in the next week or two.

I finally finished Terminal Cafe by Ian McDonald. It was only 277 pages, but it took me 7 days ! It is one of most badly written books I have ever read.

It is SF about nanotechnology bringing the dead back to life. Almost nothing is explained. Very little from sentences, paragraphs to character's adventures are connected to one another. Very much in the violence and destruction is fun corner. I should have chucked it, but I just couldn't. Reminded me of a stained glass window with dark and nasty scenes, that was cracked and broken, and the shards were the story, in no particular order.

Now starting The Repossession Mambo by Eric Garcia for my RL SFF book group.

I'm about 35 pages into The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and am giving serious consideration to dropping it, were it not for the fact it's for my RL book club meeting on Thursday. I'm having a hard time with the language, not only the liberal use of Spanish expressions (my long-ago high school and college Spanish classes were way too long ago to be of much help) but also some very crude language. I guess I'd like to hear from other LTers who liked the book and can encourage me to carry on. I didn't finish the last book club pick and would like to finish this one, but am struggling.

Sorry, can't be encouraging. I read The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and detested it. It felt like something that needed to be scraped off my shoe.

The Spanish, the Spanglish, the wallowing in the gutter, the crude attitudes and language - and the narrator is supposed to be a college graduate. I read it when I was reading books about the Dominican Republic when my RL book group was reading In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez..

But others have posted that they enjoyed it, don't know if its something that was from the start or if they grew into it.

J. G. M. Le Clezio, Desert
John Irving, Last Night in Twisted River.

I just finished The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt, a Newbery Honor Book that was delightful and moving. About a 12 year old boy, the only one in his class not to go to religious instruction on Wednesday afternoons, who is stuck each week with his teacher who he's convinced hates his guts. Instead they form a bond that helps both of them get through 1967 as the teacher's husband goes missing in Viet Nam and the boy's sister disrupts the family by battling her father over the war.
Next up: Wolf Hall.

I had just finished Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Given that it has an official "Sequel", and that Relic ends with a person knocking on the door (A cliffhanger, of course), I feel obligated to read their next book, Reliquary, immediately.

Therefore, I'm starting on Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

I'm reading Life and fate by Grossman, and I think it will take me another couple of weeks before finishing it. I'm also reading Our ancestors by Calvino and going to start in Toni Morrisons Beloved.

edit: corrected touchstone

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 8, 2009, 5:35am.

Still working on Peculiar, MO. Hoping to do some more damage on the plane tomorrow. Enjoying it so far.

I just finished Giraffe by J.M. Ledgard, which is higly recommended. A story about animals, our behaviour towards them and communism.

Later today I will start in Wetlands by Charlotte Roche.

I went away for the weekend (friday and saturday really) and we got stuck on the train for an extra 3 hours, so my reading went well. I finished Dodenboek (Book of the dead) by Preston and Child. When we got there I bought some books, and immediately read Slaughterhouse Five (loved it) and Thomas Aquinas: A very short introduction. I am now between reads, I'll pick a new one tomorrow. Time to clean up my bookshelves now...

ETA, and coming back to the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies discussion from the previous thread, I just picked up Pride and Prejudice and I am planning to read this soon, so I can forget half and read Zombies in about 6 months. I want to read it, but not without having read the original...

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 8, 2009, 7:21am.

I have been unexpectedly away from LT for weeks now, and only managed to read three books last month! Some days I didn't read at all -- so weird. I guess I will need to change my reading expectations now with the onset of motherhood.

My inattention though has resulted in good luck from early reviewers -- while otherwise occupied I received To Siberia, which I just started and Sea of Poppies. I also managed to finish The Haunting of Hill House -- pretty good, but not as chilling as I had hoped. And Trollope's The Eustace Diamonds which I did not like so much - a bit boring and silly -- I much preferred Thackeray's Vanity Fair which is in the same vein.

A sadder-than-I-expected book, You Are Not a Stranger Here by Adam Haslett. I also purchased The Most Beautiful Book in the World yesterday, but I am unsure as whether that will end up depressing me too so I'm scared to switch to it. haha

Last night I started The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel by Maureen Lindley.

> jhowell- Welcome back to the fold! I'll be curious on your thoughts of both To Siberia & Sea of Poppies.
I finished The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. I had some mixed feelings about this one but I'm glad I read it. I will be starting The Killing of the Tinkers by Ken Bruen. It is the 2nd in his Jack Taylor Irish crime series.
BTW, I loved The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao!

I am in the middle of Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro- excellent short stories!

I'm reading The Making of the Middle Ages. It's dry and the text shows its age (CK says it was first published in 1953, so it may be showing its age in other ways, too). But at lest it's (fairly) short.

Three books by David Hackett Fischer-his most recent, Champlain's Dream, his Pulitzer Prize winning book, Washington's Crossing and his 1994 book, Paul Revere's Ride.
All 3 books are discussed on these very brief YouTube interviews:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxX0Kzfye....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNoj2OJuF....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GutWIkvEw....

Until I read Paul Revere's Ride, I never properly appreciated that the New England Minutemen saw themselves not as revolutionaries, fighting for new rights, but rather as defenders of their old, inherited folk rights, their self-government, a basic condition of their lives for 6 generations.
Richard Borkow, M.D.
Village Historian of Dobbs Ferry

I finished Marley and Me last night, in floods of tears as I predicted yesterday morning! So now it's week 2 of People of the Book - so far so good - and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time for my ABC challenge. Absolutely loving it so far - plus it's an easy one to read so ideal for reading at the shop. I am having a renewed surge of bookishness at the moment and I just desperately want to Read. Everything. NOW!

Started The Road Home by Rose Tremain the other day. Been sitting getting dusty for too long. (The book, not me).

Just finished Book # 75 in my 75/2009 Challenge thread ...wait ....wait ... go here to see what it was, those of you interested, of course ... otherwise ... skip the link and move along now to the next post.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/72975

Ruth/womansheart

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 8, 2009, 11:48am.

Ruthie;
Congratulations on reaching your 2009 goal of 75 books. Now just look how much time you have to beat that???????????
And with a book I would never have thought you would like. If you liked it, I may enjoy it.
I haven't added anything to my TBR listing for quite some time as I haven't had time to be reading threads, but I think I may give this one a try. Before or after reading the "real thing"; what do you think?
Again, congrats and
love you,
belva

>10:
msf59;
Hey Mark!~! How's it going. Silly boy, you are the one who suggested People of the Book. It was on your TBR pile and you thought it might work. You also had The Thirteenth Tale waiting in the wings. We put it out there for a vote. So I guess "the people" actually choose the book. How about that? Some things are just magical.
I will begin the 2nd part this evening right on schedule along with those of you able to stick with the program. I am loving this read and what I am missing, others are making comments on. I think this is a very diverse group reading the book this time and am seeing wonderful in-depth comments about the book and it's story line. I love it.
Was happy to see your comment regarding The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao as it is on my shelf and I am hoping to get to it in 2010.

>#21:
Jennifer;
I am so envious of you and a first time read of The French Lieutenant's Woman. I absolutely loved it the first time I read it. Then I watched the movie and it goobered it all up for me. But Meryl Streep was wonderful, as always.

>#53:
Jen;
Congratulations. And motherhood changes everything, not just reading habits. But most of it is wonderful. So relax and enjoy.
We are here for when you are here.
:-)

hugs all,
belva

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 8, 2009, 12:22pm.

Hmmmmmmmmmm, forgot where I was and what thread I was on.

I am still battling my way through War and Peace for Stacia's group read although I haven't picked it up for a few weeks. Need to jump back on that old horse. Not at all loving it as I did his Anna Karinina.
I am midway through my group read of Vanity Fair. It is my first Thackeray and I am loving it; all of it!~! I don't even know what else he did write--------will be finding out though. My books arrived in a rather backward order so I am reading this one first and then will begin Life and Fate. I hope I like that one also. It sounds pretty deep though.
Will begin the 2nd part of People of the Book for that group read tonight along with others of that group. What a wonderful story and also a wonderful group read. Mark's always are!~!
I will also be reading Elizabeth von Arnim's Elizabeth and Her German Garden and The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rugen for Author of the Month reads. I love her style. I have already read her The Enchanted April and must say that I was indeed enchanted.
Then too, I have Kim and A Fine Balance set aside for the India theme month. So I think I am pretty well set for November.
Happy reading one and all.
belva

I couldn't read Marley and Me but I read Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper and loved it. It is the true story of a blind cat written by the woman who adopted him.

yeah #66, I lost intrest in Marley and Me completely. The movie is goo though!! haha. A story of a blind cat? that sounds heart-warming. maybe i should read it.....

right now I'm reading the 4th book of the Percy Jackson series, The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan.
So far, it's good.
I can't wait to read the 5th book of the Percy Jackson series.
I can't wait for the Percy Jackson movie!!!!!!!!!

:b

Finished Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence by Matthew Sanford, a well-written memoir of a paraplegic who became a yoga teacher, and Dead Man's Mirror by Agatha Christie, a fun trio of Hercule Poirot stories.

Now starting Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway.

#33 Dragonfly310

regarding An Instance at the Fingerpost. Iain Pears books are dense and take a while to get into them. However, most people who read them consider them to be worth it in the end. I have not read An Instance at the Fingerpost but do have Dream of Scipio on my beside TBR pile. However, that pile is growing and so don't think this book will be the next on my read list. Dream was on many top books to read reading lists a couple of years ago and several friends of mine highly recommended it.

Oh Darn! Now I've managed to make myself think I should start that book myself.

Like somebody else on this list I stayed up last night to finish a book. It was The Welsh Girl. Unlike her, I didn't stay up until 6 a.m. I only stayed up till 1 a.m. I noticed that the LT reviews of this book weren't all that good, but I liked it. It does have some structural problems (I couldn't figure out what the character of Rotheram and Hess had to do with the story) but overall thought it was worth the reading. Even though it is complicated it does have lots to say about the concept of honor and how that is different for men and women. (at least in the author's view)

As an American it was also interesting to read about Welsh nationalism. This is a concept that is hard for Americans to understand. We tend to see Great Britain and its parts as one monolithic structure and it wasn't until Brave Heart that many of us saw Great Britain as a Union of different parts. I do recall reading that when Prince Charles was installed as Prince of Wales he was the first Prince to give his acceptance speech in Welsh. In order to be noteworthy it must have been extraordinary for the time. As for World War II, everybody was united against a common enemy weren't they? And it is hard for us to think that there are parts of the U.K. that might have thought that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. In fact one of the statements I am still thinking about was a part in the book where the girl looks over the hills at Caernoven Castle and thinks that it as built by the conquerors (invaders) to keep the Welsh behaving - not to protect them from invaders.

Today I started Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West for my book discussion group. And am still listening to Vol. 2 of Octavian Nothing.

>70 Hehe I don't think there are many people as mental as I am who'd be willing to stay up til 6am reading but I don't mind being contradicted by others who have ;)

I started Stray last night and I may read a bit more tonight although only a little as I need an early night cos I've got a train to catch tomorrow.

I finished John Irving's new book Last Night in Twisted River and thought it one of the he's ever done, right up there with Owen Meany, Garp, and Cider House Rules, so I'll probably be recommending this one for a long time.

Right now I'm nearly done with Donald Westlake's 2007 Dortmunder novel What's So Funny, and like all the books in the Dortmunder series, it's smart, fast, and extremely funny/

Up next I'm either reading Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna or Hillary Mantel's Booker-winner Wolf Hall, whichever one has the best opening paragraph.

I'm so glad someone finally agreed with me on Last Night In Twisted River. When I reviewed the ARC there were mostly pretty negative comments about it. It helps if you are a John Irving fan.

Now about the Marley book. I am a sucker for a good dog story and enjoyed Marley's story and the movie as well. I started reading Lost & Found by Jacqueline Sheehan in the Denver airport today and actually found myself wishing I had a longer flight home. I think I may need a few tissues for the wrap-up of this one!

No touchstone for Lost & Found? I even tried it without the ampersand.

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 8, 2009, 5:36pm.

Louis- Glad to hear your high praise on Last Night in Twisted River and on that splendid note I will be picking up a copy. I'll also be interested in your opinion on either the Kingsolver or Mantel choice!
~Big wave to Donna~ :-)

I have both Irving & Kingsolvers books waiting in the wings. Glad to hear Twisted River is so good. Would be interested in anyone who's read Lacuna their opinion.

I buy relatively few new hardcover books but I did buy the new John Irving (I am a fan going way back although a few of his more recent books disappointed me). I haven't started it yet, but am always glad to hear good reports!!

I loved Marley and Me and also Gwen Cooper's Homer's Odyssey. Both were not only pet stories but stories of the people who love them and their own individual growth.

#74 Donna828 - I thought Lost and Found was sweet and am glad you had some good travel weather!

Currently I'm nearing the end of Await Your Reply. Yikes! Still not sure what to expect!

Finished "The Birth of Venus" today...very satisfactory ending.
Still finishing "The Age of Innocence".

Ohhh let me know too if anyone reads Lacuna! The New york times seemed to like it, but NPR gave it a burn of a review. Not sure whether to buy it, might wait for the paperback.

I'm also glad to hear some raves about the new John Irving. I haven't liked anything he's written since Owen Meany and was about to quit him. Won't he be thrilled to know I'm giving him another chance??

I'm still reading The Glass Castle and must get back to Life and Fate soon. I haven't had much reading time the last couple of weeks.

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 8, 2009, 8:43pm.

I'm happy to hear about the new John Irving. That one is going on the TBR Mountain.

I've been away from LT for a while and am a little slow getting back into the swing of things. I'm slowly working my way through People of the Book for the group read and enjoying it so far.

I've been spending time knitting and would love to hear anyone's recommendations about good books for patterns or just about knitting if anyone has suggestions.

Thanks!

I read Vanessa and Virginia this weekend. I haven't read a book in a day in a long time. It is a novel about the relationship of the sisters, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I pretty much ate and read this weekend. Not bad.

Today I finished off the manga Black Bird Vol. 2 and Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton along with zipping through Beautiful Monster by Joely Skye. Breaking from my paranormal streak, next up is a cozy mystery, Hasty Death by Marion Chesney.

I started in Pride and Prejudice last night, and I hope to finish this tomorrow. After that, I am longing for a nice long read...

I finished Mennonite in a little black dress yesterday afternoon which was an ER book - I wasn't thrilled with it unfortunately. After that, I started Homer and Langley which I AM thrilled with so far.

I finished Dead Days of Summer and will move to a Janet Evanovich which I had picked out before I went to the library and got the Hart. This took me just the weekend so I am back in my groove.

This weekend I finished four short books:
Shame and A Woman's Story by Annie Ernaux
City Gates by Elias Khoury
Creole Folktales by Patrick Chamoiseau

I've finished nearly 100 pages of Chowringhee, a classic of mid-20th century Bengali literature by Sankar that was only recently translated into English, which is excellent so far.

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 9, 2009, 9:51am.

>33/69

I loved An Instance of the Fingerpost but some narrators were definitely more engaging than others. It picks up.

I bought Dream of Scipio soon after, at least 5 years ago, and got about 1/3 of the way through and just gave up. Couldn't get interested. Still have it laying around though.

I finished Stray on the train this morning and liked it very much so now i've got another series to catch up on- yay.
Dunno what I'm gonna read next as I'm away from all of my books :O so I may steal on of my bf's Literature books and up my classics intake.

I finished The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway. My review can be found here: http://www.librarything.com/profile_revi...

I'm now reading The Lacuna the new Barbara Kingsolver novel.

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 9, 2009, 11:01am.

I finished Marley and Me on Sunday- what a wonderful book and what an amazing family and the dog that loved them!!

I started The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb and The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim on Sunday as well

This week I've got Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War going.. and on audio The Men Who Stare at Goats.

But last night I sat down with the children's books I had around the house from the library and finished off Meet Julie the newest American Girl (she's from 1974!!).

Hate that Cat which is an adorable poetry book about a boy who hates writing poetry because girls write poetry not boys.. but discovers he likes writing about his dog and how he hates cats.

And The journey that saved Curious George : the true wartime escape of Margret and H.A. Rey a picture book about Curious George's creators and their escape from wartime France. It involves daring bike rides, and boat rides to South America.

I'm still reading (and enjoying though it's going slowly) The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. I decided to stop listening to 13 Things That Don't Make Sense today, not that it isn't enjoyable, just that it's a very difficult book to follow on audio. So it'll go back on the TBR list.

I've started reading The Enchanted April this week for the Monthly Author Read choice...so far so good. And in the place of 13 Things, I'll start listening to The Uncommon Reader tonight as well.

I'm reading Land of Echoes by Daniel Hecht. It's the second Cree Black book and I'm really enjoying it.

I'm listening to The Genius by Jesse Kellerman and am fascinated with the concept of one person creating over 120,000 drawings. An art dealer, Ethan Muller, acquires them, meets a retired cop who sees the faces of murdered children in one of them. It's quite entertaining.

I started Dracula yesterday. I'm interested in the group read of People of the Book. Can someone point me in the right direction?

#95 nancyewhite (and anybody else who wants to join in)

the link to the discussion threads for People of the Book

General thread
http://www.librarything.com/topic/73347

Part one thread (up to end of Feathers and a Rose)
http://www.librarything.com/topic/75851

Part two thread (up to end of Saltwater)
http://www.librarything.com/topic/76370

Hope to see you there:)

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 9, 2009, 2:07pm.

I just started People of the Book last night so as to catch up to the group read. I'm also still picking up Shelf Discovery here and there and listening to Sense and Sensibility in preparation to read Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters.

#90, brenzi, I just started Kingsolver's The Lacuna this morning, only about 50 pages into it, but I'm enjoying everything so far.

>98 I thought it was a slow start but at 130 pages I'm really hooked.

#59 -- RichardBorkow: I appreciate your comments on Paul Revere's Ride -- I tried to teach that lesson to my American history students, sometimes quoting from that very book.

#70 -- benitasmad: I, too, admired The Welsh Girl (I had the same problem with it that you did -- the Rotheram-Hess storyline felt tacked on, never really part of the whole) and I like what you have to say about Welsh nationalism.

Your message seems related somehow to RichardBorkow's -- that idea of how a people perceives itself as opposed to how it is perceived by others -- and how the difference between the two is like a wound that rubs raw and festers and leads to so much of the trouble in the world.

I'm really enjoying Killing Floor by Lee Child. This is the first book by this author that I have read and I've been very happy with his writing so far. Very suspenseful, good story line, great main character, (Mr. Jack Reacher). I thought this would be more of a "guy" book but I'm lovin' it. Can't wait to read the rest of his stuff.

I really enjoyed An Instance of the Fingerpost-I really want to reread it some day.

I'm about to start two books-Marked, the first book in a young adult vampire series I've heard good things about, and Positive Discipline A-z, which was recommended to me as a future teacher.

Saturday night, but after this thread started, I finished Alphabet Juice. It filled a need, but is not very substantial. Some of it is wrong-headed.

Sunday night I read about half of More Information than You Require. It is tremendously entertaining, and it can put me on the spot to ponder some of the lighter perplexities. If he stops having fun writing this series, I think it will fall apart.

Robert

I too really loved An Instance of the Fingerpost. It was so interesting to see the same things from different characters' perspectives, and wonder who was lying and why.

>104

That was my favorite part too. I love unreliable narrators. I recently read (and enjoyed) Nabokov's Pale Fire for that reason.

I am enjoying the group read of the People of the Book. Also reading The Deception of the Emerald Ring by Lauren Willig and I have Falling Off Air by Catherine Sampson waiting for me to pick up.

Hate to admit it but I am reading Metro Girl. I have only read one chapter and I am not as enamored of it as I am of her number series.

Faros Daughter by Georgette Heyer.

( I am chair bound by injury, and have exhausted my tbr pile, starting on books from the back of other peoples cupboards. )

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 9, 2009, 7:54pm.

Heartbreak River by Tricia Mills

My Antonia by Willa Cather.

#92: ShannonMDE - I'm entertained by the description of Hate that Cat. Do have a sense of what age level it's for? Would a 5-yr-old get it?

Reading Beowulf on the Beach : What to Love and What to Skip in Literature's 50 Greatest Hits by Jack Murnighan - which is as wrong and entertaining as it sounds.

I've just started Garrison Keillor's A Christmas Blizzard.

I'm aware that it's only Nov. 9 and I'm not trying to rush the season, but library holds and all that, well it's now or January. Physically, it is a lovely little book.

Was reading You are not a stranger here by adam haslett, and was thoroughly depressed by it, so I stopped and started reading Graceling and finished it too. It was a nice, light and fun book which was exactly what I wanted. Now I'm moving on to Fire the prequel, compliments of my Kindle and the ability to buy books and have them immediately at hand.

Oh, and I'm listening to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies the in the car all day while I drive from assignment to assignment.

I have noted all the posts regarding An Instance of the Fingerpost - suffice to say, it has been added to the TBR pile.

I finished Last Night in Montreal this evening - Loved it! My review can be found here: http://www.librarything.com/profile_revi...

Still reading and enjoying People of the Book for the group read - in the meantime, I plan to pick up The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam - I was grabbed by both the title of the book and the postings on LT.

#111, dchaikin, I read Beowulf on the Beach earlier this year, and while I didn't agree with everything the author offered, I enjoyed it very much, and thought it both thoughtful and very funny too at times.

The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory.

The Old Patagonian Express by Paul Theroux. Marvelous writing. Paul is currently making his way by train through dense jungle, the scorching Guatemalan sun an intense contrast with snowbound Boston.

My 12 year old has plowed through Twilight and New Moon by Stephenie Meyer, so I'm working on the second one right now to see what the fuss is about. I finished the first over the weekend. I also scored an ER copy of Winnie and Wolf by A.N. Wilson, so that will be my next book.

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 10, 2009, 12:15pm.

#108 Annodyne - I'm sorry that you're chairbound and hope you recover soon.

Faro's Daughter was my first book by Heyer. I loved it. I read it when I was about 13 or so.

I really hope you enjoy it. If you do, there are lots and lots of romances by her. A couple of my favorites are The Talisman Ring, The Quiet Gentleman, and These Old Shades. Oh, and The Unknown Ajax.

edited to add Ajax.

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 10, 2009, 1:20pm.

115: LouisBranning - yes, that's a very good one-sentence summary. I'm enjoying it.

Just finished High fidelity by Nick Hornby
Now reading The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets

#59> Richard, I, too, was interested in your comments about Paul Revere's Ride. I haven't read it yet, although, interestingly (I hope!), I just reread Johnny Tremain for the first time since grade school and found the description of the battles of Lexington and Concord to be very down-to-earth and effective.

I have read Washington's Crossing, however. I read that one immediately after McCullough's 1776. Those two work extraordinarily well as companion volumes.

As for my own current reading, after finishing up a long article on the abortion debate from a 5-year old Harper's Magazine, I will begin the newest offering from Philip Roth, The Humbling.

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 10, 2009, 4:42pm.

#117-kanspira,

The Old Patagonian Express is my favorite Paul Theroux travel book. He isn't too cranky in that one yet.

Finished Pride and Prejudice last night, and decided my long read would be Wolf Hall which I started this morning. I am loving it so far.

I finished The Mysterious Mr. Quinn last night, and went straight on to Flowers in the Attic. I'm not quite sure what I think about it yet, but it seems promising.

I finished Homer & Langley last night and absolutely loved it! After that, I started The Comfort of the Company of Strangers by Ian McEwan. I have only read about 10 pages or so of this but I find my skin crawling already. I hope I can make it through this one.

Ok, finished Lionel Blue 'Hitchhiking to Heaven' now - a very easy to read autobiography, 'folksy' with humour and sincerity - 2 'takeaways' important to me:

1 - 'My best teachers have been my problems and failures in life ... they are my spiritual capital. They are the only way I learn compassion, mercy and what it's like being at the wrong end of the stick. They point the way by which I can go beyond feeling to that deeper listening which is feeling with.'

2 - 'I can only say the words I learnt so long ago from the agnostic emperor Marcus Aurelius. If there is a God, follow him. If there is no God, become godlike yourself.'

Now gonna read some more posts so I'm 'armed' when I go to the library today!

Beesknees
:)

I had to put my other books down to finish my RL book club book (In the Woods by Tana French) in time. Not the sort of thing I usually read, but it's fascinating. I can't wait to find out whodunit.

Waiting for Under the Dome to arrive. I don't want to be stuck in the middle of an 800-pager when it gets here so I'm on short books only right now - starting with Notes From Underground.

I'm trying to finish reading Confessions of a Shopoholic by Sophie Kinsella this week. I feel like I've been reading it forEVER. It's a cute book, often funny, but it does tend to drag a bit. Right now it's good, I'm in the spot where she's caught in all her lies at the press conference and can't escape. I'm trying to finish the book before watching the movie, and I suspect I'll like the movie better. I like the actress who plays Rebecca and I loved Chris Noth from his Law & Order days.

Well, I did start reading it about 3 or so months ago, but have been dealing with the flu for a month. I was sick with it, myself, for almost a week, then as soon as I got better, the girls took their turns at it, one at a time. Poor Maggie, though, thought she'd escape it by getting her flu shot, only to get sicker than both of her sisters with it put together the next day. She was down with it all weekend and just got back to school today.

NOW, with all the sickness here, my house looks SERIOUSLY like the city dump was relocated to the inside of my house. The sink is overflowing with dirty dishes, laundry everywhere, and the living room could be used for submitting a claim to FEMA after an F-5 hit.

Just a note that www.belletrista.com has a new edition posted. Highly recommended. This site is the creation of LT member avaland, and many of the writers/reviewers are LT members.

#130 - thekoolaidmom - I am sorry to hear the flu bug hit your home. :-( I haven't read Confessions yet but I did enjoy curling up on the couch recently with popcorn to watch the DVD - I find I tend to appreciate the book more if I read it after seeing the movie, only because I can then fully appreciate what was edited to created the movie adaptation, whereas if I read the book first I usually find myself frustrated that they completely edited what I considered to be an important aspect of the plot of the story. Oh well....

On the reading front, I finished The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam - I found this to be a great coming of age story told through the POV of the narrator, 8 year old Nyree, of life in Rhodesia in the late 1970's in the lead up to the end of the civil war.

I will now dive back into People of the Book for week two and plan to pick up The Year that Follows by Scott Lassar as my in-between book.

#132 lkernagh - I have soOOooOO been dying to get a copy of Voluptuous! It's been on my BM and PBS wishlists forever. As far as movies-vs-books, I'm starting to think the same thing... better to watch the movie first, because if I love the book, the movie will only disappoint and irritate me.

I started and read about 150 pages of The Creature from Jekyll Island last night. I had hoped for it to be a reasonable description of the Federal Reserve with criticism of its fit in our economic world. It is, however, rather leadenly a polemic about the one world conspiracy. It is easy reading, so I will probably finish it and continue to wonder about David Rockefeller.

Robert

I finished The Comfort of Strangers this evening and while I liked it, it was really disturbing and I feel kind of icky now and like I need a shower or something! I am about to begin The Man Who Loved Books Too Much.

I finally finished The Repossession Mambo by Eric Garcia. It is a SF book for a RL book group. Strange symmetry with the Health Care debate.

In the future commerce runs the show, to the point that they will sell you an artificial organ, at usurious rates of interest, and if you default they send out the Repo man who will extract your organ(s) and leave you dead - all legally protected.

It was full of black humor, and it had a SF premise, but it didn't do much with it, and it was too long.

I am now starting Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron. It is for my RL mystery group. It is the start of the Deborah Knott series.

I'm currently reading confessions of a shopaholic.

And I've just finished Shopoholic. I don't plan on reading further in the series, though. While I found Rebecca funny, and sometimes heard my own thought processes echoed in her rambling and justifications, I thought she was a bit annoying after awhile, and her constant lying really began grating my nerves. At one point I actually yelled at the book, "Oh, for God's sake! Would you just tell the truth?! It's not that hard!"

My children (and the dog) stared at me... mouths agape... considering committment procedures.

**********************************************************************

Now I'm onto The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, I think. It's been sitting on my desk, staring at me for some time. I saw the movie a couple years ago and loved it, so I'm sure the book will be even better.

I've done the math, and I've got 14 books to go to make my reading goal this year. I can do it, but I'm definitely going to have to get busy with it.

im about to read Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolfe, just finished catcher in the rye by JD salinger

For my maiden message, I will inform you all that I am currently reading Drifter by William C. Dietz.

Aside from the remarkable (and splendidly frequent!) editing errors, it is a decent little sci-fi.

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 12, 2009, 3:45am.

> imacdvguy- Welcome aboard! And hope to see you around a lot more!
After finishing The Killing of the Tinkers, Ken Bruen has become by favorite crime writer, working today. Simply put, he kicks butt! I'm cracking open Shiloh by Shelby Foote. My Civil War reading has bottomed out, time for a remedy. And of course still immersed in the group read of People of the Book.

Under the Dome - don't expect any sense out of me for the next few days.

I also loved the movie The Namesake, koolaidmom, and have read Jhumpa Lahiri's book of short stories but not this one. I'll be interested to hear what you think.

I just finished The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway, which was sad and good - we should all count our blessings.

Now I'm back in Three Pines with Chief Inspector Gamache in Louise Penny's fifth mystery in that series, The Brutal Telling.

Because I had yesterday off, I was able to finish both Lonely Planet's Andalusia and Rich Dad, Poor Dad, as well as start/finish The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings and start The Daddy Shift: How Stay-at-Home Dads, Breadwinning Moms, and Shared Parenting Are Transforming the Twenty-First-Century Family.

I recently finished The Heretic's Feast which covered the history of vegetarianism from the apes up to modern day. Because of it's wide historical scope it couldn't go too much in depth, but it was informative and interesting.

Now I'm reading Following the Drum. This book looks at the experiences of wives and families who followed their husband soldiers when they went off to war. Early on she gave the example of Harry Smith and his Spanish bride who I recognised as the couple from Georgette Heyer's The Spanish Bride. That was pretty interesting.

I'm also reading Old Boy.

Bought and read all of My Soul to Take earlier this afternoon and enjoyed rather a lot although I'm mildly peeved that I'm going to have to wait until next year to get the second *and* I'll probably have to pay more to get it shipped over from amazon.com but meh I don't mind too much.

I started Disquiet, Please, a collection of humor writing from the New Yorker, last night. Just what I needed.

Last night I finished People of the Book for the LT group read (I've never been good about limiting how much I read to fit a schedule!) and started Cleopatra's Daughter because it is due back to the library in the next few days.

I finished The Humbling last night, Philip Roth's latest. It's basically a long novella, so it only took my two sittings to get through it. I am a huge Roth fan, and I was disappointed. I don't think any future Roth offerings are going to feature the brilliance of his (very long) peak period, but this story, unlike his previous story, Indignation, seems flat as a board to me. I'll post more about The Humbling shortly in my 50-Book Challenge thread.

This morning I began The Last Picture Show by James McMurtry. I saw the movie so long ago I barely remember it, but the first few pages of the book are entertaining, indeed. Believe it or not, I don't think I've ever read any McMurtry before.

I've just started Omega Sol by Scott MacKay. I really liked Phytosphere, which I read earlier this year, and so far I'm really enjoying this one too, although I'm only 30 pages into it.

So...I finished The Enchanted April, which was a really fun read. And today I read Shade by John Olson in preparation for receiving Powers (no touchstone) from EarlyReviewers. Now it's back to The Woman in White (I will finish this book today...or maybe tomorrow).

#145 QuestingA

I learned alot of history from The Spanish Bride and An Infamous Army. Over the years it has surprised me how many times there are references to Harry Smith and Juana. I read someplace recently that the city of Ladysmith in South Africa is named for Juana when she followed Harry to South Africa. Guess I should check that one out to find out if its true.

I have requested The Greatest Knight from my library because I wanted to read about William Marshall. Placing the request reminded me of how much I learned about Henry II and his children from a series of romance novels set during that time period. The series of books was by somebody whose first name was Rachel. These books were about William the Marshall and William Marshall the younger. Does anybody remember the names of those books?

#145 QuestingA

I just checked Wikipedia (I know its Wikipedia) and found out that the town of Ladysmith in Natal South Africa is indeed named for Juana Smith wife of Sir Harry Smith. She not only followed him through Spain and the battle of Waterloo but went with him to South Africa as well. That was one well traveled Lady.

>Rocket- The Last Picture Show is an excellent book and you'll have to watch the film again, it's a masterpiece! And speaking of masterpieces, you'll have to move onto Lonesome Dove.

Finished literacy and longing in L.A. by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack.

#154> Thanks, Mark. My intention at this point is to gradually read through the Thalia, TX, series, which is comprised of The Last Picture Show, Texasville, Duane's Depressed, When the Light Goes and Rhino Ranch.

I'm reading The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, Reality Check by Peter Abrahams, and Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns.

Hi everyone,

Recently, I read The Host by Stephenie Meyer and thoroughly enjoyed it. Also read The Thirteenth Tale which I enjoyed while reading it, but now find that it left a peculiar aftertaste in my mind. This week I've been rereading Sharon Shin's four book series, The Twelve Houses. On finishing the last book, I immediately launched into Mansfield Park by Jane Austin. Not a good idea to move without transition from high fantasy to Regency England. Talk about culture shock! Quite independent of that, I'm not enjoying Mansfield Park as much as I've come to expect enjoying Austin, but I'll stick with it.

BTW how do you catalogue books downloaded from audible.com?

What, no touchstones? GRR!

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 12, 2009, 10:43pm.

Just finished Peculiar, Mo. Exciting read, seems Mr. Williams put in quite a bit of research on this one. I look forward to reading additional novels by him.

>157 mcollier - I read Cold Sassy Tree in high school and absolutely loved it! Fantastic book!

I finally pulled The Wayfarer Redemption Book 1 of that series off my shelf. Hopefully I'll actually have some time to read between all the assignments I have coming due in the next few weeks! I loved The Serpent Bride so I wanted to go back to the earlier series and check it out.

#138 and 143 - I read The Namesake several years ago and loved it. The movie was done very well, too.

I finished my first holiday book of the year, Garrison Keillor's A Christmas Blizzard. Very funny and offbeat and recommend it for people like me who like their Christmas books on the unsentimental side.

There was a lot of talk on another thread recently about In a Dry Season by Peter Robinson. I'm about 60 pages in and enjoying it.

Two books going right now:
Confessions by Jean Jacques Rousseau at work and The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot with a side of rereading The Merlin Conspiracy because sometimes I do that.

Finished The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl and now reading Drop City by T. C. Boyle.

I finished Love and Summer today -- lovely, haunting book -- I'm going to miss those characters, that setting.

Now I'm reading Louis Begley's The Man Who Was Late.

mollygrace - I'm adding Love and Summer to the list!

>kittycatpurr- Drop City is one of my all-time favorites! Enjoy!

Just received Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill. Creepy and fascinating read right out of the gate. How would you like to go to an e-bay type site and bid on owning your own ghost? That is what happens to this rock star who owns other ghoulish memorabilia. The outfit that comes with the ghost is starting to stink. Cool!

Also reading The witch doctor's wife which is a LT win. Got to hand it to Cripple, she is clever! She has set in motion quite a can of worms.

Finished Metro Girl and will start At First Sight and I think I'll try Log Four, too.

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 13, 2009, 8:27am.

Have just started reading Graham Greene - The Power and the Glory - pub 1940 - meant to be his masterpiece (according to John Updike in the intro, at any rate) ... seems very readable and a 'proper story' ... (initial thoughts occurring after first chapter re the revolutionary effect of modern communications/transport) ... will report back when I've finished.

Also got An Instance of the Fingerpost out on the recommendation of this forum but think Dear Husband will read this one first ....

Beesknees
:)

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 13, 2009, 9:17am.

Finished The Lost German Slave Girl; started Lincoln at Cooper Union. Looking forward to that one. I knew Lincoln went to New York and gave the speech at Cooper Union and it was a big deal, but I'd not read the speech previously. I expect I'll also learn the ins & outs of what made it a big deal.

I have about 20 pages of Mice and Men left to read, and then I'll be starting something new later on tonight, not sure what yet though. I have a TBR pile of about 200 books, it's knowing where to start!!

>#158 Catreona: Could you please elaborate on what you mean by The Thirteenth Tale leaving a peculiar aftertaste in your mind? I'm puzzled....

I abandoned The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao despite wanting to finish it for my RL book club. I was looking forward to the group's comments and although most liked it and I wished I had been able to finish it, the restaurant where we met was far too noisy to hold a good discussion. Interestingly, this group tries to meet in a restaurant that has some connection to the book being read and our medium-sized city rather surprisingly has a Domenican restaurant. We all loved the food and the ambience, although noisy last night.

Now I'm on to Audrey Niffenegger's Her Fearful Symmetry which is intriguing so far and a much more comfortable read for me.

Finished Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War. I think it focused more on King Philip's War than I was hoping for. I would have liked more about the travel over or Thanksgiving or religion, as I thought it was a great seasonal read that ended up being not so seasonal feeling.

Back to reading YA lit.. finishing Thirteen Reasons Why probably today. It's about a girl who commits suicide then starts something of a "chain letter" in tape form where she explains to thirteen people their role in her decision to kill herself. The story follows Clay as he listens to Hannah's story.

Probably Fade next which is a trilogy(?) about a girl who falls into the dreams of sleeping people. She is able to use what she sees in their dreams to solve crimes. I finished the first book in the series in a long afternoon. Should read this one pretty quick too.

I have completed "My Wicked Vampire" by Nina Bangs, started and finished "The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove" by Christopher Moore, and started "Fluke" by Christopher Moore. If all goes well, I will finish Fluke and then start "A Dirty Job" also by Christopher Moore.

>161: Joanne, I love Garrison Keillor -- his radio show and books. I hope our library has A Christmas Blizzard by him without a long waiting list. I like to read books according to the season.

>173: Shannon, I'm lucky to have Mayflower in my TBR stash. Sounds like the perfect book to read next week in between getting the house ready for company and "thinking turkey."

I am currently reading Cutting for Stone and liking it very much. I predict that it will make my Top Ten list for the year.

im reading pirate latitudes by michael critchton

Struggling through Drood by Dan Simmons on my iPod. I tend to listen at night before I go to sleep...maybe that's not the best idea. I'm seven chapters into it and I can't figure out why the author keeps going off on these tangents that have nothing to do with the search for Drood. Maybe it will make more sense later on. But it's very slow going when every night I have to back it up because I realize I have no idea what's going on, having no doubt dozed off the night before.

Shannon, my daughter recommended Thirteen Reasons Why and Fade and Wake to me, and I liked all of them. High quality YAs.

The third one in Lisa McMann's series is called Gone, and is supposed to come out in February next year:

http://www.amazon.com/Gone-Wake-Lisa-McM...

I finished Cleopatra's Daughter last night and found it quite good, so now I'm on to House on Tradd Street, as I have the sequel Girl on Legare Street for review later this month. I'm also nearing the end of both Shelf Discovery and the audio of Sense and Sensibility. I'm thinking about starting Cranioklepty tonight, but I think I need to finish Shelf Discovery first.

Finished Library at Night last night. It didn't do a whole lot for me. There were some interesting musing about the role of a library, its physical surroundings and organization, in our lives. Mostly, though, it felt like a platform for the author to show off his literary knowledge. Today I finished Half Moon. I enjoyed it. It was close to being too detailed but it managed to hold my interest. I was particularly intrigued with Hudson's conniving ways.

#151- I finished The Encahnted April last night and thought it was wonderful and then started Blaze by Richard Bachman-aka Stephen King

#178.. I'm having that moment with Thirteen Reasons Why where I'm about 30 pages from the end and I keep looking at my bag knowing I can't just pull it out to finish it at work.

>157 Absolutely LOVED Cold Sassy Tree; read it many years ago.

ShannonMDE - lol! I've had those moments, including lingering at the downtown train stop to finish the book before going on to work.

Instead of Casual Friday, maybe they should have Finish Your Book at Work Day.

I like that idea of Finish your book at Work Day. I have been wanting to finish The Book Thief. I have just over 100 pages to finish the book and all I want to do is read it at work. I wish I had to take the train into work just so that I could have time to read my books. I miss those days when I use to take the train to college.

I have been dragging myself through The Magicians for the last two days and I can't take it any more. I just couldn't bring myself to care about the characters or the plot. The liberal sprinklings of other authors' magic did nothing to add to this story.

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 13, 2009, 4:21pm.

172: I'm sorry, that's the best way I can describe it. Thinking about the book after finishing it made me indefinably uneasy or uncomfortable, though I enjoyed it while reading.

>152 and 153 - Following the Drum also mentions that Ladysmith was named after Juana Smith. I've always enjoyed Georgette Heyer and was impressed that she'd based The Spanish Bride on real people. This also helped to explain the density of the novel in terms of it's historical detail.

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 13, 2009, 7:31pm.

#184 I love the idea of Finish Your Book at Work Day, especially since I'm only 300 pages into A Suitable Boy.

>187: Thank you. I think I know what you mean. There have been a few times when it has taken a while for meanings or subtle connections to surface in my brain after reading a book, especially those that are complex and multi-layered. Reading reviews or having discussions with other people who open my eyes to other viewpoints can trigger discomfort that I "fell" for the story. It does seem unusual that The Thirteenth Tale made you uncomfortable after reading it, although you enjoyed it. Of course, that is probably my favorite book of 2009, so I'm a bit biased.

Finished The Enchanted April, Elizabeth and Her German Garden, The Virago Book of Ghosts and People of the Book.
Still reading War and Peace, started Life and Fate and The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rugen. I think I will be until the year's end with War and Peace and Life and Fate but it is nice to have something lighter going at the same time. Loved People of the Book!~! What a great book for a group read!
belva

Hey Belva- Glad you enjoyed People of the Book! I just finished our 2nd segment and it's been very good!

I just finished (for the second time) LOVEFOOL by Amalia Angellinni and now I am going to read Hemingway.

I finished Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron. It was for my RL book group. It is the first of the Deborah Knott aeries.

It is set in NC and about a lawyer who becomes a judge in her county. The mystery was an old murder that was unsolved, and the investigation in the current time caused more murders to happen. It wasn't bad, though it had a lot of extraneous people. It gave a feeling of reality, but I couldn't keep straight who was who and how they were related. Now reading Uncommon Clay by Margaret Maron, and number 8 in the same series.

Since Monday, I've read Good Omens, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Breakfast at Tiffany's, A Handmaid's Tale, and Juliet, Naked. I'm thinking I'll start 'Salem's Lot or The Road next.

I've been doing an insane amount of reading since I added ebook-reader functionality to my iPod--I end up reading a few pages between classes and during breaks, and before I know it I've finished another novel.

#189 I think that's gonna need more than one day! Maybe 'finsh your book at work month'?

Finished Sworn to Silence, but will post in the new week to let you all know what is on or by my bed right now ...

see you over there,

Ruth

Finished The Power and The Glory by Graham Greene

I think the priest finds out however reluctantly the same as item 1 of my post re Rabbi Lionel Blue's autobiography - a very odd combo I know:

'My best teachers have been my problems and failures in life ... they are my spiritual capital. They are the only way I learn compassion, mercy and what it's like being at the wrong end of the stick. They point the way by which I can go beyond feeling to that deeper listening which is feeling with.'

However the book's 'item 2' has no doubt as to the existence of G-d and his duty as a priest to 'the people' - gave me a sympathetic understanding of Catholicism.

The intro by John Updike is v informative - how Greene incorporated his real experiences into the book and his influences - Joseph Conrad and John Buchan. And maybe Dante/John Bunyan? {I could've guessed Conrad even though I've only attempted a few pages of Heart of Darkness. Will try again plus Buchan now on my list.}

Recommended but imagine wouldn't suit everyone.

Now started An Instance of the Fingerpost - light reading after that!

All for now
Beesknees
:)

Wrong thread, but hello everybody anyway.

Robert

Missatge modificat pel seu autor, nov. 27, 2009, 5:00pm.