Ahoy, me hearties! This week's dread pirate author birthdays include:

Sept. 19th:
Arthur Rackham (1867; d.1939)
Mika Waltari, (1908; d.1979)
William Golding (1911; d.1993)
Thomas H. Cook (1947)
Damon Knight (1922– 2002)

Sept. 20th:
Upton Sinclair (1878; d.1968)
Donald Hall (1928)
Alberto de Lacerda (1928; d.Aug2007)
James Blaylock (1950)
Geraldine Clinton Little (1923 – 1997)

Sept. 21st:
Stephen King, 1947 –
H. G. Wells, (1866; d.1946)
Fannie Flagg, (1944)
Marsha Norman (1947)
(Do you find it interesting that Stephen King and HG Wells share a birthday - and King was born a year after Wells died?)

Sept. 22nd:
Philip Dormer Stanhope (1694; d.1773)
Fay Weldon (1933)

Sept. 23rd:
Euripides, (480? B.C.; d.406 B.C.); (birthdate is 'according to legend')
Edgar Lee Masters (1869; d.1950)
Jaroslav Seifert (1901 - 1986)
Baroness Emma Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála "Emmuska" Orczy de Orczi 1865 - 1947

Sept. 24th:
Horace Walpole (1717; d.1797)
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825; d.1911)
F Scott Fitzgerald (1896; d.1940)
W. Wilson Rawls (1913; d. 1984)
John Brunner (1934; d.1995)
Alexis De Veaux (1948)

Sept. 25th:
William Faulkner (1897; d.1962)
bell hooks (1952)
Trivia question: Who wrote a series of novels featuring the Scarlet Pimpernel and had paintings exhibited at the Royal Academy in London?

Message edited by its author, Sep 19, 2009, 12:00am.

Baroness Emma Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála "Emmuska" Orczy de Orczi 1865 - 1947 wrote novels about the Scarlet Pimpernel, but I didn't know she was an accomplished painter too!

I'm reading Roanoke: a Novel of Elizabethan Intrigue by Margaret Lawrence, The Sun Is My Undoing by Marguerite Steen, and The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl on audio.

Excellent, Storeetllr! That's quite a title/name, isn't it? Wonder how she fit that on her tax forms.

I'm at the beginning of The Earth Hums in B Flat and enjoying yet another young precocious female narrator. The author is Mari Strachan.

I am reading Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich - should be nice and easy reading and Silverthorn by Raymond E Feist - the sequel to the Magician, as promised.

Finishing Damsels in Distress and about to launch Mummy Dearest, both by Joan Hess.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley is my current read.
Next up is Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

I didn't know Baroness Orczy was a painter either! I read The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel (or Scarlet Pumpernickel, as I call him) many years ago, because there was a fantastic TV version on with Richard E. Grant. So long ago I barely remember now! (*makes a mental note for 'O' read in ABC challenge*) Nice that there's finally one of your cheeky trivia questions I can answer though...

I'm still reading The Hound of the Baskervilles (thank heavens for Holmes's prosaic humour to balance out the creepiness before bedtime!), and pondering on what to choose for my 'E' and 'F' reads...

Message edited by its author, Sep 19, 2009, 7:28am.

I'm slowly working my way through The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt, which I hope to finish on Sunday or Monday. After that I'll finish the Booker shortlist with The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters.

I finished A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid last night, and I'll read her collection of short stories, At the Bottom of the River over the weekend.

In the spirit of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I'll read The Gold-Bug, a pirate story by Edgar Allan Poe; the full text is available online, on Google Books.

Message edited by its author, Sep 19, 2009, 7:40am.

I'm reading Literary Theory. A very short introduction by Jonathan Culler.
Interesting.

I'm enjoying The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.

Yar! I be readin Crime and Punishment by the scurvy dog Dostoevsky and starting Half Broken Things by the scurvy dog Morag Joss, me hearties.

Happy Speak Like A Pirate Day, everyone!

ETA: can the "submit (or die, dog!)" button stay? I love pirate-speak-Library-Thing.

Message edited by its author, Sep 19, 2009, 8:58am.

I'm about half way through Sex and the Eighteenth-Century Man and Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. I'm not real excited about either of them but will finish them. Looking forward to whatever is next.

I'm 100 pages or so into The Tudor Rose by Margaret Campbell Barnes

LibrARRRRything is definitely AMAZING! :)

I'm currently reading Dark Lord of Derkholm. I tried to read this a year or 2 ago but couldn't get into it, so I put it down. However, after I read some of the reviews and saw lots of people mentioning having a hard time getting into it at first, I decided to give it a 2nd try. I'm a little under half way through it and really liking it so far!

For anyone who wonders, the Pirate-speak conversion is a permanently available language option for LT. The mind boggles, the soul judders to contemplate this....

I have to say the flag button being changed to "flog 'em" has got to be the best. :)

Started Mr. Timothy by Louis Bayard yesterday.

Finished The Well of Ascension and started The Hero of Ages, both by Brandon Sanderson.

I finished the inspiring Three Cups of Tea and am now reading the equally inspiring (but better written) Zeitoun by Dave Eggers.

I'm reading The Beach by Alex Garland, which I'm finding quite easy reading and much better than the film.

Greetings, your Fluffyblueness! Glad to see you round these parts.

This morning I finished The Neon Rain. This one turned out better than I had anticipated. I haven't picked out my next read yet. Midnights Children is waiting for me at home but that's days away.

I finished Forever Amber. Not crazy on the ending for that. Now halfway through The Little Stranger. I feel sorry for the house. I'm not convinced the house is haunted yet though. Why would it be haunted? Just average people have lived their lives there.

#8 I've read The Gold Bug. I liked it. It was quite interesting.

>18 seitherin - I enjoyed that trilogy earlier this year. The universe he created was very interesting and the ending was not something I could have predicted. Happy reading!

I'm making great progress in Anna Karenina and Find Your Strongest Life by Marcus Buckingham.

19--Donna828, Glad you're enjoying Zeitoun. I thought it was terrific.

23--Scarpettajunkie, I'm also almost halfway through The Little Stranger (potential spoilers ahead?) and also not sure about the haunted house angle, though there is the dead daughter, her mother who admits she never loved her other children nearly as much as the deceased daughter and the war-ravaged son to provide some nice angst in the house. I'm enjoying it mightily, though. What about you?

Message edited by its author, Sep 19, 2009, 12:51pm.

Happy UmpTeenth Birthday to Arthur Rackham...my fave Illustrious Illustrator

from way back in the last bit
>222 Richard...i never read any of the "Claire Malloy" titles of Joan Hess...just the "Arly Hanks" and i stopped on them...i can't recall the exact title..but, hey, i'm still a Hillbilly, you......

oh and the Pirate Speak...ARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH..to my bestest friends on LT.....a tip of my (non-piratical) Fedora....a drag off me Lucky...and don't get in the way of my .45 (cause it has a powerful kick)......

J

I'm currently reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and so far it's shaping up to be a great read.

Finishing The City and the City by China Mieville, a good sci-fi detective story, and about to begin the new Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol. I better finish the latter fast, as my daughter is anxious to get her hands on it. His others have been fast reads.

Having completed A Separate Peace by John Knowles who completely bowled me away with his beautiful writing, I am now reading Shinju by Laura Jon Rowland

I'm **still** reading The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins. If you're interested in evolution, but don't already have a strong science background, this is a fantastic review of the evidence. (I should really say "interested in and supportive of the concept of" - not surprisingly, he's pretty antagonistic towards creationism.)

I hope to finish up Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski this week. Work has been keeping me too busy, I've not been able to read as much as I'd like lately.

To message 26, Theaelizabet: I am enjoying The Little Stranger but it doesn't have me excited in places the way my last read, Forever Amber did. It is just humming merrilly along. I have had no big shock as of yet. I guess I'm wondering what all the buzz is about. I still have half a book or so to wake me up.

I'm enjoying "The Clan of the Cave Bear", so far, just about to start Chapter 7 (there are 28 chapters in the book).
Looking forward to discussing "The Clan of the Cave Bear" in a Historical Fiction reading/discussion class in late October.

33--Scarpetta Junkie. I think I know what you're saying. I've only read one other book by Waters (Fingersmith, which I enjoyed), but it does seem as though she tends to slow down the narrative rhythm by writing just one page too many for some scenes. Well, let's see where she goes with this one.

I just finished Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination this morning. It was not good. Hopefully I can wash the taste out of my mouth with my book club's next selection, A Mercy.

I finished up reading Murder with Peacocks which was funny and has a wonderful amateur detective in Meg whats-her-name. Also completed an ARC of Saints in Limbo, very good supernatural touches, lots of redemption ... published in May of this year. Yes, I'm trying to catch up. I will make it!

I began reading Amuse Bouche, though I resisted fairly strongly for a while ... however, once the handsome protagonist (Russell Quant) arrives in Paris from Saskatoon via Toronto and views an amusing encounter which takes place in the alley below his third story hotel window, this book, and its author, Anthony Bidulka, had me totally hooked. Great flirting in this book.

Gotta run to Rosh Hashana dinner at a dear friends bounteous table, L'chaim.

Dashing and panting-

WH

My how time flies. I've been having some personal stuff going on, just haven't read very much. Miss Librarything, miss you guys. Anyways, I finished The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Not something I would have picked out for myself. It was for a book club. Still working on Time Traveler's Wife, went and saw it in the theater. This is probably why my interest has waned. Oh well. I borrowed Frankenstein, hope to start that soon.

( I guess touchstones is throwing a tantrum. . .)

Message edited by its author, Sep 19, 2009, 6:21pm.

Just started How to Buy a Love of Reading by Tanya Egan Gibson. If nothing else I like the cover.

After a unintentional break from reading, I started The Devil's Tickets last night. Pomerantz will be speaking at the Carter Library this Thursday.

I finished The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. It was a fun read, very creative. A nice blend of mystery & fantasy, with the love of books, a central theme. I started Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck. This is due to Belva's gentle nudges. He is one of my all-time favorites and I've sadly neglected him.
For anyone interested in a Group Read of People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, starting Nov 1st, here's the link: http://www.librarything.com/topic/73347 Come join us!

>20 MICHAELA!!! Where've you been hiding yourself recently?! You'll have to let me know how The Beach goes - it's pretty high on TBR Mountain at the moment so I await your verdict to see whether it'll climb a bit higher or surf away back down to base camp...

Finished Smilla's Sense of Snow. that was disappointing, quite a slog for a book with so much positive hype.

Now I am going to tackle the third and last Volume of Shelby Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative. But it is ~1000 pages - so I probably won't have anything new to add to these threads for a loong time.

The Mistress By Philippe Tapon

#37 : I knew you'd be hooked after reading your first Meg Langslow and Russell Quant books. You're now going to be compelled to read the others in both series.

Still plodding through Shinju which I hope gets better as I get along

I'll add The Dark Heart of Italy as my contribution.

Taking a break from The Woman in White to read After by Amy Efaw.

#43 I was not thrilled with it either. I agree it was a slog, though I did think there were some good bits, and those were what kept me reading it. But other parts of it seemed interminable.

I'm reading Swimsuit by James Patterson and will read The Glass Castle by Jeannete Walls next.

I have fallen behind in posting.

I finished The Demon of Dakar by Kjell Eriksson. It is the 3rd and last book in the Ann Lindell series to be translated into English. It is Swedish mystery, and often a bit bleak and slow, but my favorite of the 3. The most like a normal book. I enjoyed.

Then I read a quick non-fiction Then Belichick said to Brady... by Jim Donaldson. It is about the history of the New England Patriots, an NFL football team. It has anecdotes from former players, coaches and owners. It also came with a CD that has audio interviews, which I haven;t listened to yet. It wasn't bad, but it seemed to be a recycling of the stories from his previous book Stadium Stories: New England Patriots.

I am just starting now Psycop: Partners by Jordan Castillo Price. It is an omnibus of 2 books in the series (Among the Living and Criss Cross). It is a mystery, a fantasy, and a gay romance, about a team of police officers in the future, one is a psychic, and the other not.

About Laura Joh Rowland's Sano Ichiro series: I read the 2nd book first Bundori . I thought it was a slog and it took me 6 years to read the rest of the series because of it. It was chosen for my RL book group or I wouldn't have gone back. I enjoyed the rest of the books after the first one I read, so maybe its just the first one you read that is slow for some reason.

Message edited by its author, Sep 19, 2009, 10:25pm.

>25 lauranav - I read Elantris before I started the Mistborn trilogy and I was not terribly impressed with the writing. The concept was interesting but the execution left a little to be desired. But the execution of the Mistborn books is so much better. I'm really enjoying the books.

#41 Mark, I loved Travels with Charley!

I'm starting Siddhartha by Herman Hesse ... trying to kick start myself back into the habbit of reading, lol

Message edited by its author, Sep 20, 2009, 12:01am.

I finally got started on Middlesex this past week. I am about halfway through and I am really enjoying it. If I can kick everyone else out of the house, I might be able to finish it tomorrow.

I just finished Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber from the collection Dark Ladies. Great story. Now I'm going to start the second half, Our Lady of Darkness. I'm also reading a collection of short stories by Gustav Meyrink, originally called Fledermäuse (meaning Bats), in translation.

Message edited by its author, Sep 20, 2009, 12:20am.

After a couple of super busy days and no reading I have finally managed to sit down and start Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. I can see me pulling an all niter curled up reading this one!

Msf59 - Thank you for providing the link to the Group Read for People of the Book.

Still on Geraldine Brooks' People of the Book. Enjoying it. I must say that when the only two characters in the book jumped into bed by page 32 I just about put it down.

The book is good, with the "Hanna" sections the weakest. I find a character's constant self-examination irritating to read.

Message edited by its author, Sep 20, 2009, 12:34am.

I have just finished A Thousand Spendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini which was very enjoyable and are looking forward to starting Tin Drum by Gunter Grass in preparation for October's Podcast of the BBC World Book Club.

Currently reading Illium by Dan Simmons

Currently reading The Name of The Rose by Eco. It seems like quite a tough read because of the language and sentence construction used, don't know if I can get through it now. I am giving it a try, otherwise moving on to The Graveyard Book...

Keep trying on Name of the Rose - it is good.

I am almost finished with Frankenstein and I only started it yesterday! It is such an easy read and quite a good one as well and it's considered a classic!!!! I am so glad (once again) that I found LT as it has steered me to give so many books a try that I scorned before. I am finding a lot that I really like and was sorry I missed - but then I get to read them now so it's OK.

#43, 48 It's many years since I read Smila's Sense of Snow, but I remember really enjoying the beginning and thinking the ending was very forced and inconsistent.

I'm finally going to finish reading Nick Hornby's Complete Polysyllabic Spree after starting it nearly a month ago- not because i wasn't enjoying it, I was, but it's hard to read in one sitting and I've had other books which caught my eye.
Maybe after that I'll get cracking on What I saw and how I lied which needs to go back to the library before i leave for Uni next saturday.

I'm about halfway through our romance group book of the month, Storm of Visions by Christina Dodd, but took a time out to read Smoke and Ashes by Tanya Huff since I was able to pick it up from the library and was very anxious to read it. I'll be going back to my Dodd book now.

Work has me tied up a more than usual last week and this week, so I'm not making much progress on Hitler's Preemptive War: The Battle for Norway, 1940. With five German task forces and several British fleets cruising around the North Sea in a storm, it's a little challenging to keep the sequence of events straight.

I picked A prayer for Owen Meany

I finished Psycop by Jordan Castillo Price. It was a quick fun read. I need to order the next omnibus book that has books 3&4. I also found 2 short stories ( Mind Reader, and Thaw: Psycop ) and a 100 word flash fiction piece (Normal: Psycop) set in the series on-line and read those too.

I am now reading Bottomfeeder by B.H. Fingerman, another book I found on LT. A man is turned into a vampire against his will, and he searches NYC for food and answers. Has a Charlie Huston feel, though dialog is not as rough. Enjoying it so far, but time for football soon, so I may not get too far. Go Pats !

Message edited by its author, Sep 20, 2009, 12:57pm.

I'mworking on His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik.

I finished The Girl Who Played With Fire, and frankly was a little disappointed. I am reading Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee and I will start listening to On Beauty by Zadie Smith.

Ficus- Thanks for the heads-up on Bottomfeeder. I'm a big fan of Huston's Joe Pitt series and I'm always looking for something similar.

Mark - its early days yet, I only just started. I will let you know if it holds up when I am done.

Enacted the Pearl rule onHow to Buy a Love of Reading. I am over 50 so what does that tell you. No further comment. I have started Coal Black Horse by Robert Olmstead.

Just finished The girl who played with fire. Although I was not planning to read the third and last part of the Millenium trilogy immediately, the open ending causes that I wil start The girl who kicked the hornet's nest later this evening.

I've just finished Jane Austen and the Unpleasantness at Scargrove Manor. The author has an ear for Austenian language and I liked the characters. I had the murderer figured out halfway through, but still a good read.
I think I will begin Trick or Treat Murder by Leslie Meier today.

I am done with Frankenstein. Se 61 here for my thoughts on it. Am glad I read it.

Although I planned to read Lost Symbol next, I think I may actually read The Story Girl first, it's shorter, and on my table right now.

Message edited by its author, Sep 20, 2009, 3:24pm.

Still enjoying "The Clan of the Cave Bear"...will be starting "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton next (for book discussion class in Oct.)

#58. "A Thousand Splendid Suns", by Khaled Hosseni in waiting on my TBR bookshelf. I enjoyed his "The Kite Runner" when I read it in 2008, so glad to know that you enjoyed "A Thousand Splendie Suns".

Hoping to finish Chronicles of The Black Company by Glen Cook. Omnibus editions are a good idea. This is a nice if not always fun darker than normal take on epic fantasy.

>67 Good to see another PsyCop fan :-). I discovered the series earlier this year and they've been a lot of fun. After stories 3&4 there is a much longer single story called Camp Hell which I think is the best of all of them.

Having a bit of an icky day so post-dinner I've settled down and finished The Hound of the Baskervilles. Jeesh, there is something so scary about the moors, the howl of a fiendish hound, the dark, the cold... Maybe I'll start something new before bedtime! I think it will have to be...hmmm... Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins by Rupert Everett. Ego and all!

hey hey ... missed you, ficus. glad to see you back on again. I gave up on Shinju and have had to abandon Sano Ichiro .... the book was just too boring. It's not even going to merit space in my suitcase and I'm leaving it here in Tokyo, together with my ARC The Sword of Medina which I'm glad to have finished yesterday because it's a really annoying book.

elliepotten : I loved Hound of the Baskervilles - then again, I loved all the Sherlock Holmes stories. Hope you have a better day tomorrow.

i'm going to start on A Widow for One Year by John Irving. It better be good because it's the only book I've got left from my week away and it's got to take me through my long flight home.

Thank you cameling! Either I'm coming down with something or just having an off day - let's hope it's the latter! (To be fair, it usually is!)

Reading Nicholas Sparks latest book out The Last Song. Just finished reading 14 of Rosamunde Pilcher books. Are there any Pilcher fans? She has been out for a while, but new to me. Very fast, easy read. Makes life seem simple and homey:)

Finally finished my Hornby book! It's been lounging about on my "book table" as I'll call it (although it's just a plastic set of drawers where i stack a heap of books until i read them) for nearly a month now. Really quite enjoyed it, witty and often sarcastic and very interesting to read.

>82 Nicholas Sparks has a new book?? oh no ... now there'll be another book of his I'll cry over. ooo that reminds me I need to read A Walk to Remember maybe this week.

Just finished How I Live Now in audio. I really meant to confine my listening to during my commute but then couldn't stand leaving the rest over the weekend. I really liked listening to this title.

I finished The Little Stranger which really popped and crackled from just past the middle all the way to the end. It was one of those stick with it and you won't be sorry type books. Now reading Tamed By A Laird. I don't know why, but I had the hardest time getting into this book.

>80 A Widow for One Year was my first John Irving. I hope you love it as much as I do.

Just this very minute finished The Likeness by Tana French, a crackling good police procedural with one of the same main characters, Cassie Maddox, as her first book, In the Woods. I hope she is writing a third!

I think I'm going to start Anne Rivers Siddons' Off Season from my
tbr pile. I have some other more "guaranteed" good reads, but I need to settle down with a quiet one for a day or two.

Next book;

The Strange Case of Hellish Nell by Nina Shandler.

In 1944 Hellen Duncan and her four co-defendants listened to the court clerk read the following charges;

(from the back cover)
"...You four conspired together, and with persons unknow, to pretend to exercise some kind of conjuration, though the agency of the said Hellen Duncan, spirts of deceased persons should appear, and were cummunicating with living persons contrary to the Witchcraft Act of 1735"

A witch trail in 1944! That's enough to catch my attention for a read.

Message edited by its author, Sep 20, 2009, 8:22pm.

I have just finished Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks and I echo all the great comments posted on LT about this book!

Next up I am going to crack open Cara Gunn's debut novel Amphibian - the book is described as dealing with the eco-anxieties of its narrator, nine year old Phineas Walsh... could prove promising....

Finished The Mistress by Philippe Tapon and Joanna and Ulysses by May Sarton.

Started At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays by Anne Fadiman.

This week I'm reading The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle which was sitting on the shelf unread for far too long. A fellow LTer suggested that I bump it up and I'm glad I did.

In the car, I'm listening to Loise Penny's A Fatal Grace or Dead Cold and just love it!!

I am reading the 2nd in the Camulod series by Jack Whyte called The Singing Sword. I am enjoying it so far but I hope it doesn't turn out to be too political. The groundwork is being set for the creation of Camelot and there seems to be alot of talk on moralities and priciples of governship.

#76 I went to the library to borrow The Kite Runner but it was out and thats how I ended up with A Thousand Spendid Suns, defiantely looking forward to reading the Kite Runner as well now and hopefully it will be just as enjoyable.

Finished both After by Amy Efaw and The Time Traveler's Wife yesterday. Starting Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons today.

I finished Songs of Earth and Power by Greg Bear on Saturday, then zipped through Philip Reeve's Mortal Engine yesterday (enjoyable story).

This morning I started Winnie-the Pooh. A couple of weeks ago I found a nice copy with the E.H. Shepard illustrations and it is good to visit old friends!

Finished Cranford this past weekend. It was good enough but didn't grab me, perhaps just a bit too genteel and superficial after Olive Kitteridge. Am now reading Causing a Scene about a group called Improv Everywhere that does pranks sort of like performance art. Some pranks seem hostile to me so we'll see if these sound like fun or not.

>90 coppers - I found Louise Penny this year and I am enjoying her books a lot.

I finished Anna Karenina Saturday night.
I am now working on Find Your Strongest Life and getting ready to start Undaunted Courage about the Louisiana Purchase (to fit my Jefferson entry in the President's Challenge).

I'll be finishing up The Stepmother by Carrie Adams today, sequel to The Godmother. Straight up chick-lit, which is what I was in the mood for.

Finished Wuthering Heights last night. So glad I re-read it after (too) many years. I realised that my memory of the book had been corrupted by all the many film and TV adaptations seen in the intervening years so it was good to get back to the original which is far superior (as is often the case). Now trying to decide what to start tonight -think it might be Tell No One by Harlen Coben or I might go for a Terry Pratchett. I usually use him as light relief between 'heavies' (literary or emotional) but Wuthering Heights didn't really leave me feeling like I needed a pick-me-up so I'll probably go for the crime/thriller.

Like some others I am reading People of the Book and enjoying it. First Geraldine Brooks for me, but probably won't be the last.

35% of the way through Perdido Street Station. It is one of those books that make me feel drunk on words when I'm reading it but leave me strangely unwilling to pick it back up when I'm not. All told, I'm enjoying the amazing world building, but can't believe I'm not even halfway through yet.

>96: lauranav- Undaunted Courage is an outstanding book about Lewis & Clark. Hope you enjoy it!
>99: rockinrhombus- Too bad you couldn't have joined us in our group read of People of the Book, which we will begin Nov 1st. Glad you are enjoying it though!!

> 101
I just might--you never know! We just did it at our library and I could never get a copy, so missed that one.

Just finished Vince Flynn's Separation of Power last night (9/20), and just started John Saul's Comes the Blind Fury this morning (9/21).

#99 and #101,

Also reading People of the Book. About 100 pages to go. I would be interested in your detailed opinions.

Generally good but I'm finding the "Hanna" sections irritating and, for me at least, I'm not sure the book lives up to all the praise heaped on it.

Could be Brooks as an author and not the book itself that is under my skin.

Message edited by its author, Sep 21, 2009, 12:38pm.

first full week back from vacation.. Two weeks in Italy were wonderful.
While on vacation read:
Girl With the Pearl Earring (LOVED!!)
Hearts of Horses (pretty good girly horse story / western)
Double Cross found a book in English at the hotel we were staying in.
and 19 Minutes (had to try to tell the guy at the bookstore I needed books in English. He kept trying to sell me books on opera)
Tried to read The Lace Reader and it didn't do much for me, so I left it in a hotel room somewhere along the road.

This week I've got Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close going. I own this book but haven't gotten around to reading it, and the author will be at the Texas Book Festival this year.

Sept. 19 Mika Waltari, (1908; d.1979) birthday. He's one of my favorite authors, I'll have to break out my copy of "The Adventurer" (touchstones goes to wrong book) for a re-read

Message edited by its author, Sep 21, 2009, 1:54pm.

I've gotten in a bit over my head this week -- I'm in the middle of Sue Miller's The Senator's Wife, Barry Smith's Only Milo, Suzanne Supplee's Artichoke's Heart and Jill Pitkeathley's Cassandra And Jane! One book is for review, and the others I keep grabbing whenever the mood strikes me. I seem to want to read young adult before bed, so I always have to have a YA novel going!

>107,
Just sit down with Only Milo for an hour and you'll be done, or nearly so, that will help free you up a bit.

I finished Well and the Mine of Friday and then decided to finish reading The Virginian. I started this a year ago for my book discussion group. We read one classic a year for the discussion group and last year The Virginian was it. I never finished it even though I liked the story. It is rather lengthy but since it is the prototype western I want to finish it. Since it has been raining here for 41 days and nights, or at least it seems like it, now seemed like a good time. Here in our part of the state of Alabama we have had 10 inches of rain since Friday afternoon. I feel like I want to grow flippers and fins. Reading about snow on the Wyoming prairie seemed like a good escape.

I'm reading "The Little Friend" by Donna Tartt, and then I'll be reading "It" by Stephen King. :)

I finished Tudor Rose yesterday and am now about 150 pages into City of Refuge for a blog tour. It is really good, and fairly heartbreaking.

I have just finished The Lost Symbol and about to make a start on The Catcher in the Rye, (I can't believe I've never read this before now).

#110 - Two fantastic books, hope you enjoy them both.

#110 - "It" was definitely an interesting book. If you enjoy that one, may I recommend (if you haven't read them yet) 6 of King's other books (my favorites by him, personally). They are listed in order of writing, not order of preference:

1. The Shining
2. Firestarter (I've also seen the move for this one)
3. Christine (Seen the movie to this one also)
4. Pet Sematary
5. Needful Things (Also saw the movie to this one)
6. Rose Madder

I must add that Gerald's Game was also an extremely fun read, but being a guy and single back then may also have had something to do with it. There isn't really much of a plot to that book (at least compared to say, Pet Sematary)

Message edited by its author, Sep 21, 2009, 4:05pm.

I'm finally getting around to The Elegance of the Hedgehog, which I have given to both my daughters. One of them finally lent it to me.

I finished The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard and I really loved this book. As Hugoreads said, it keeps you guessing and changing your mind about things as each secret is revealed. This was my first book by this author and I will definitely be looking for more of her work.

I am starting My Life In France by Julia Child today.

Message edited by its author, Sep 22, 2009, 1:17am.

Happy late birthday, Upton Sinclair!
Ahem. I'm reading The Scarlet Gang of Asakusa, which would be finished by now if I weren't constantly interrupted by The German Way of War.

Message edited by its author, Sep 21, 2009, 6:06pm.

#36 paperbackpirate

I agree with you about Olivia Jules. I would have quit reading it long before I did except that I was trapped in a car with a friend while on a long trip. We were listening to it as a recorded book. There was no way to leave so I was stuck. We listened to the whole thing. Several weeks later when we were discussing books I happened to say how disappointed I was with this book. She laughed and said that she was also. We had both suffered through that book because we each thought the other liked it. Sometimes it doesn't pay to be too polite about a book. That one is just plain awful. James Bond it ain't.

#54 emaestra

Middlesex was on of the favorite reads of my book club a few years ago. You won't be able to put that one down and it will be a great read.

#58 shels100
What is the BBC World Book Club? Can you tell me more? I have the Tin Drum on my shelves and might be interested in joining a group read. If it is a group read?

Hey, I have a 'Hot Review'. I think this is only the second one.

Its for The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

http://www.librarything.com/work/3331476...

{/shameless plug}

I also finished Bottomfeeder by B.H. Fingerman. I enjoyed it very much. It is set in modern day NYC and the POV is a vampire who is trying to escape detection, find food, and answers about what happened to him.

It has a slight vibe similar to Charlie Huston's books. It is very pared down, and often raw. The POV is a bottomfeeder, in terms of where he hunts and eats, so there are a bunch of disgusting descriptions. He also works digitizing photos, and he gets the grizzly ones, so his work and social life are bracketed with death and gore.

There is humor too. The dialog in this book is normal and the POV is spare, but he is not super cool like Huston's, he is a bit of dork, and spends time trying to hide it. It is a slice of life type of story, rather than one with a specific goal. There is a twist at the end that wasn't all that surprising. I liked it.

I am now reading a non-fiction Geisha by Liza Dalby. She is an American and an anthropologist. The book is about her study of the Geisha in Japan. She actually went through the training and became a Geisha, and that is also part of the book.

Reading Coal Black Horse By Robert Olmstead and City of Thieves by David Benioff.

I'm just finishing up A Widow For One Year and already wondering what I'll read next.

Just finished Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee, and it was a profoundly moving novel. What a writer! I am about to start Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle. I am listening to On Beauty by Zadie Smith.

hemlok, I loved Paddy Clarke and it sent me on a mission to read as much Roddy Doyle as I could find. Enjoy!

I recently finished Donald Windham’s The Dog Star. How this Southern classic isn’t more widely appreciated is beyond me. Think Holden Caufield in Depression-era Atlanta

Just finished Poison Study by Marie Snyder. Not as good as her previous two books. Now reading Fablehaven II by Mull. Love that fantasy stuff written for kids!

>123 cameling, The Amber Room would be a nice, uncomplicated antidote to A Widow for One Year. Thriller it is, and loads o' fun to read.

This past weekend I finished Your Inner Fish : A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body by Neil Shubin. An edition of the "San Pedro River Review", a small poetry journal from Tucson, Arizona, arrived in the mail and I read through that. Next will be Barefoot Gen, Volume Three: Life After the Bomb by Keiji Nakazawa.

123 & 128, I second the rec for The Amber Room. A fun and fast read, as are all Steve Berry books. He's my go to guy for a two day read without much heavy stuff.

Over the weekend I reread an old favorite: The Girl from Cardigan by Leslie Norris. Now I'm enjoying Muriel Spark's The Public Image. Next up: Home by Marilynne Robinson.

I am reading City of Thieves by David Benioff the premises are : in Leningrade during the Nazi’s siege two men find themselves in a cell, one of them is charged of looting a nazi’s dead pilot, the other one is deem as a disertor, but instead of being executed they are given a shot at saving their own lives by complaying with an outrageous directive; secure a dozen eggs for a powerful Soviet colonel to use in his daughter’s wedding cake.
The author , David Benioff has also written The 25th Hour , both the book and the movie screenplay

Message edited by its author, Sep 22, 2009, 4:34am.

>121 FicusFan - your plug worked! Another thumbs up from me... :-)

I am reading Don Quixote. I last read this around 30 years ago and am now wondering why I had not taken the time for a re-read before now. Loving it!
Yesterday I revisited some old friends in Winnie-the-Pooh, a must read in my opinion!

#120 benitastrnad

Towards the start of the year i discovered podcasts through Itunes and just searched different subjects looking at books and discovered the BBC World Book Club.

Its chaired normally by Harriot Gilbert and she interviews different authors each month regarding one particular book of theirs. It's normally done in front of a live audience who participate by asking questions, questions are also normally called or emailed to the show in advance for the author to answer. Found it great to listen to on the train in between books and have since discovered a lot of potentially great books - most are still on my TBR list!

Would definately recommend a listen - it's sort of a group read in that they tell you at the end of the podcast what the author will be next so you can read it and be prepared but not so much in that unless you are in the audience or have sent questions in it is mainly listening to others views and authors answers, which i still find interesting.

Has anyone else listened to them before? It would be interesting to hear other feedback from listeners?

Currently reading Three Kingdoms, the English translation of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms from Moss Roberts. Good translation, but not so great transcription in some points. I've found quite a few typos...

Also re-reading The Fellowship of the Ring. I read The Hobbit and The Fellowship a while ago, but I never got to reading The Two Towers or The Return of the King, so I'm starting from the beginning. Tolkien's difficult for me to read, for some reason, and I kind of gave up after The Fellowship. Not this time!

Also reading Naked Economics for my Macroeconomics class.

#133, Thanks Ellie.

#123 cameling, did you like A Widow for One Year? Any comments?

Just finished Sarah Water's The Little Stranger (Bravo! Enjoyed it even more than Fingersmith.) and have returned to The Master and Margarita and begun Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner. The Brookner book should be a quick read and should hold me until two other Booker nominees come in the mail.

I said in post 14 that I was reading Dark Lord of Derkholm and that the first time I tried it I set it down. Well, this time, I LOVED it. Maybe it's because I haven't read any fantasy in a long time. Or maybe it's because I went into it expecting it to be bad from my previous experience. I don't know. But I enjoyed every page of it.

Now I'm going to read the sequel, Year of the Griffin.

I am so glad my daughter got into L. M. Montgomery as I just finished The Story Girl, a novel I didn't know existed until I found it in her room (she knows I did and she is in Georgia).

Now, I can finally read Lost Symbol.

Hey, look at me...finished two books within a week, easily a record read...

Homer and Langley, E.L.Doctorow's latest was wonderful. Doctorow, of course, famous for Billy Bathgate and Ragtime and others, is such a great writer. He makes New York of the 20's and 30's come alive. Never having been to NY, the city seems real to me under Doctorow's competent words.

Homer and Langley is the story of the Collyer brothers, who apparently were well known in New York society during the twenties. One of the brothers was blind, the other, a little eccentric verging on insane. Their trials and travails living in a big mansion on 5th Avenue across
from Central Park, brings both tears and laughter at the many situations. The book travels through the 20's, 30's, and through WW 11, the 60's, with its moon landings, and assassinations, and 'hippiedom'.

Just a very satisfying read for me...

Plus, I read Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon, and again, I had high praise for a novel that was well plotted and well written. The story involves identity theft, and is a complex book with many surprises, that had me wanting to know early on how it would turn out. A suspenseful read, and again on my recommendation list...

Message 139: Theaelizabet. I finished The Little Stranger as well and while I think more than half of it was average reading and not gripping, the ending more than made up for it. I would have to say I enjoyed this book so much just for its aftertaste.

#60 divinenanny

Name of the Rose is a very very good book. I read this book a long time ago and the version I had was filled with long passages written in Latin. These can be off-putting, but stick with it. The book has lots to say about many things. Especially symbols. It is a Dan Brown book done long before Dan Brown even thought of symbols. Eco is a fascinating author and what he writes and what he means aren't necessarily the same thing. His books are "make you think" books but they are fascinating as well. Eco is a very well know Italian professor (look him up in wikipedia) and writes in Italian. The sentence structure that is giving you problems might be a result of the translation. Stick with the book and it will reward you.

#66 libraryrobin

A friend of mine gave me a copy of Prayer For Owen Meany and told me it was a very presbyterian novel. That made me curious and so I asked her if she meant Presbyterian* or presbyterian**? She said Presbyterian. After I read the book I decided that she was right. So let us know which of the two presbyterian's the book is, or if you think it was Presbyterian at all, when you have finished it.

*wikipedia defines Presbyterian as the following - Presbyterianism refers to a number of different Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, and organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures, and the necessity of grace through faith in Christ. Since Presbyterianism is a Calvinist denomination is should be noted that Calvinism as a system is best known for its doctrines of predestination and total depravity, stressing the absolute sovereignty of God. (also according to wikipedia.)

** presbyterian in the Oxford English Dictionary is defined as the following 1. Relating to or characterized by government by presbyters or presbyteries; designating a particular form or system of church polity (see note); belonging to or maintaining this system.
In Presbyterian Churches no higher order than that of presbyter or elder is recognized, the ‘bishop’ and ‘elder’ (see BISHOP n.1 1a, ELDER n.3 4a) of the New Testament being held to be identical. All elders are ecclesiastically of equal rank; but, in their function in the church, while some are ‘ruling and teaching elders’ or ‘ministers’, others are only ‘ruling elders’ (popularly called ‘lay elders’, but erroneously, since all elders are ordained or ‘in orders’). Each congregation is governed by its session, consisting of the minister and the other elders (see KIRK-SESSION n., also CONSISTORY n. 9); the sessions are subordinate to the presbytery (see also CLASSIS n. 1), the presbyteries to the synod, and (in most Presbyterian Churches) the synods to the General Assembly of the Church (see ASSEMBLY n. 5b).

>135

I love BBC Book Club it suggests great books and interviews have very interesting questions and the readings by the authors are great too.

> 128: richardderus - I read The Amber Room a couple of years back ... absolultey loved it and it started me on a Steve Berry love affair.

>138: jbleil - The short answer to your question is: I absolutely loved Widow for One Year. If you want a longer answer and would like to read my review of it, you can find it on my 75 book challenge thread.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/52662

>142 : morfam - I liked Await Your Reply but I was paranoid about identify theft for a few weeks after.

Running to my TBR pile after dinner to pick up Stain of the Berry by Anthony Bidulka for my next read.

Message edited by its author, Sep 22, 2009, 5:26pm.

Finished The collected stories of Arthur C Clarke. Quite mixed, formulaic sometimes, and often massively outdated, though has some real gems.

Now reading: nothing! Empty TBR stack. Suitcase packed. Emigrating to England tomorrow, so haven't bought anything new in a while. Though I'm sure these guys can help me out when I get there. :)

Leave something for the rest of us!

OK - what's with the British and these on-air reading clubs? When I was in Northern Ireland last spring I discovered this thing called the Richard and Judy Show. This show had a book discussion segment. Now I find out that the BBC has a Book Club - along with several other shows about books and authors. I looked it up the BBC Book Club and they quite an impressive list of authors. Colm Toibin was on back in August of 2008 and in the last two weeks his book Brooklyn has been talked about on this thread. Maybe he has something really interesting to say about his writing and his stories? Something like this might make me seriously consider an iPod.

I just finished and LOVED City of Refuge by Tom Piazza, I've moved on to Posed for Murder by Meredith Cole in print and Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker on audio. Both of these are from the 2009 class of The Debutante Ball. I'm hosting a reading challenge to read all the books from the 2010 Debs next year and I want to read all the books of the 2009 Debs first. After these I just have one more to go.

#150 benitastrnad - Richard and Judy's sofa chat show thingy in the afternoon launched a reading section a few years ago, with its popularity leading to the setting up of 'The Richard and Judy Book Club' which became something of a British institution. They talked about each book on their programme, invited celebrities to read it and share their opinions, and hosted a website devoted to their selections. Their influence on reading and publishing was kind of like Oprah in America - whatever they chose as their Summer Reads or Christmas 'picks-of-the-year' were guaranteed to rocket up the bestseller lists and fill the displays in high street bookshops... Now R&J have 'retired' from mainstream telly so I don't think this really happens any more, but it was a hugely successful phenomenon until very recently - kind of like how kids all started reading when Harry Potter took off!

Message edited by its author, Sep 22, 2009, 5:48pm.

Maybe if I had a BBC station close enough to get on my radio I could hear these programs. I miss media shows about books. Especially since my cable TV company chopped out CSPAN2 and my BookTV on the weekends. That was a wonderful 48 hours of all books, all the time! I loved it. Now I have another sports channel instead of my wonderful book talks on the weekends.

# 153 CSPAN, CSPAN2 CSPAN3 are public service channels. I would not only complain to the cable company, but to the city or entity that grants them the right to broadcast in your area.

I love my book TV.

I also get a BBC broadcast on my radio, not sure of the number on the dial, but it is FM and a low number. It is probably a BBC broadcast for overseas and not the same as they have in the UK.

ETA:

I have comcast, and when they added CSPAN 3, they moved CSPAN 2. it was in the 40s-50s, now its in the 200s, and there is a sports channel in the old slot. Did you check further down your channels ?

Message edited by its author, Sep 22, 2009, 6:09pm.

I'm a big fan of Book TV as well. I sometimes go to booktv.org and get my fix during slow times at my office. They have many programs in full on the web.

morfam- I'm really looking forward to Homer and Langley. I might have to reserve that one at the liberry. I read Await Your Reply recently and was quite impressed. He's a very good writer!
Booktv.org?? Sounds intriguing!

Message edited by its author, Sep 22, 2009, 7:56pm.

reading The History of Love and its great so far, sometimes you open a book and you know right away from the way the author writes that you'll really enjoy it. This is one of those for me!

#157 - Oh, I loved The History of Love - glad you're enjoying it!

>153 You can listen to a lot of BBC programs on the web. I haven't specifically checked for the book club being chatted about here but I have listened to a number of BBC radio programs specifically about books and authors.

Just started The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Just finished The World Hums in B Flat - delicious book. My review is here.

Now I'll move on to Rebecca which I haven't read for decades!

Reading "The Tower of London: A Historical Romance" by William Harrison Ainsworth, published 1890. The book's surprisingly in pretty good shape. Gotta love the "old book" musty smell :)

#136 You are doing it right this time! I read all three of the books at one go and it was totally worth it! Yeah, it's a bit difficult and I did feel tempted (during The Two Towers, not during The Fellowship of the Ring) to give up too. But if you stick to it you are going to enjoy it a whole lot. My favorite part is The Return of the King.

# 161 I listened to Rebecca being read at the BBC program Off the Shelf some 7-8 years ago. I was barely a teenager then and it was one of the greatest experiences of my reading life! Later when I read the book it didn't match up to the OTS experience but it was still good. I am forever grateful to the BBC for enhancing my reading experience (not only with Rebecca but also with many, many more books).

BTW I really don't like audio books. I like to read my own books and I would prefer not having someone else’s voice in my head while I do that. The smell of the pages, the rustling noises they make, I like to feel the books so to speak. But the only time I listened to any book was during the program Off the Shelf. That is just the magic of BBC, I guess.

Message edited by its author, Sep 23, 2009, 3:32am.

#144 benitastrnad

I read Eco before (Baudolino and I tried Foucault's Pendulum. I still find The Name of The Rose hard to get through. It is like two or three stories in one. The murder mystery, and then the philosophical discussions about theological principles, and the political situation between the Pope and the Emperor. I came for the murder mystery, and I am skipping the theological debate. If I want to know more about that, I'd rather read a non-fiction novel explaining it to me than this book, that claims to be fiction. I guess that is my main hangup, this is historical fiction, and it is dragging everything into it. It is almost like Eco is saying "look at all that I know, look!"... I know this all is probably blasphemous for most people, but I think I'll like The Name of The Rose better in a couple of weeks/months, looking back on it.
I am a medievalist myself, and I highly respect Eco, just not his fiction I guess.
I nearly finished the book, and even though it will probably be a three star for me, I look forward to finishing it so I can start The Graveyard Book.

I finished Open secrets by Alice Munro this week-end (in fact, I read it this week-end, you got to love railroad travel). I found it enjoyable, but would have prefered a novel. Some of the stories ended without a conclusion, and I don't like that (although I know it's very bourgeois of me :) ). However, the style and the characters were really my taste, so I'll try some more books by this author (unfortunately, she seems to only have published one novel).

Now I'm into The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale. It's a thriller that reminds me of To Kill a Mockingbird by the setting, the times and the situation. But it lacks its subtlety in its denunciation of segregation, and in the plot (the narrator, a young boy, frequently overhear conversations between adults that explain, sometimes very very awkwardly, what happens behind his back - how convenient!).
Nonetheless, I enjoy it very much, because I can feel the atmosphere and the main characters (the narrator and his family and friends) are very likeable. I hope it'll have an well-twisted ending.

Message edited by its author, Sep 23, 2009, 5:08am.

Hi, thats a tough one. I almost have all the parts of the serie but still hanging on on the 3th of 4th part of the serie, but it's very interresting,though. We have quit a good view how things were in the Prehistorian age.

I finished Geraldine McCaughrean's The Stones Are Hatching last week and am currently reading My Sergei: A Love Story by Ekaterina Gordeeva and E. M. Swift. I'm falling in love with the story of Gordeeva & Grinkov all over again... sigh!

I'm reading The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and I'm going crazy over it! It's haunting...disturbing...

I am still reading Cold Comfort Farm but should finish today. One of my lovely children bought home a cold from school this past week and thought it would be nice to share it with me so I haven't gotten too much reading done in the past few days. While I still feel yucky, I do feel like I could read finally. After I finish that, I am either going to read Brideshead Revisited or The Poisonwood Bible. Brideshead is a library book and Poisonwood is for my RL book club. We aren't meeting until the end of October so I may just do Brideshead so I can return it to the library.

Currently reading The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

My library called yesterday to tell me Hothouse Orchid was in for me and I will pick it up today. I will,however, finish Lost Symbol first. I usually go for the library book but what the heck, they give me two weeks and I can do a Woods book in a day and the Brown book is over 1/3 of the way done and I only started it yesterday afternoon.

I just finished Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier, and I'm about to start Mathilda Savitch by Victor Lodato.

Finished The Stepmother by Carrie Adams and I'm about to start The Fiction Class by Susan Breen. I expect I'll be at it for a while since my brother and his three kids show up for a visit tomorrow. There won't be much time to read for the next week or so. My "laundry folding" audio book is Life after Death by Deepak Chopra.

I just finished The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale yesterday, and am now reading A Place of Hiding by Elizabeth George. But I'm trying not to read during normal waking hours, because I'm trying to finish a cross stitch pattern from Art Nouveau Cross Stitch.

Message edited by its author, Sep 23, 2009, 10:28am.

I started An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon. (latest in the Outlander series) She never disappoints! Great so far.

Message edited by its author, Sep 23, 2009, 12:24pm.

I've been very slow to get around to Anathem by Neal Stephenson. I am a Stephenson fanboy (although I STILL haven't read the third volume in The Baroque Cycle). Having said that, I'm pretty stumped at the judgement Stephenson (and his editor) have shown with this book: it's VERY slow to start, but the ideas are nice and once the plot gets rolling, it's interesting, but then 'the quest' portion of the book starts and BAM!!!!!!! on go the brakes, in goes incidents that aren't remotely related to the plot, etc. With a little less than half the book to go, it looks as though everything is back on track, but whatever momentum the first half of the book had is all but gone...

>176 Ooooh! I'm so jealous! I'll have to run home and order it.

#154 FicusFan

I have Comcast and they put CSPAN2 somewhere above channel 70. I don't want to pay the $100 + per month for the extended cable plan, which is what I would have to do to get CSPAN2. I figure that 70 channels should be enough for me to watch. Unfortunately, it isn't. When the move was made I e-mailed Comcast and voiced my displeasure with the new channel arrangement. Within 2 hours of sending the e-mail a Comcast representative called me and tried to sell me the extended coverage so that I would be able to watch my beloved BookTV. I tried to explain that I didn't want to pay more I wanted fewer sports channels at the bottom end of the cable spectrum and more cultural TV programming including CSPAN2. I kept getting the sales pitch. It was relentless. I finally got tired and hung up on them. For weeks after they called trying to get me to purchase the expensive plan. I learned my lesson. I will never e-mail them again asking them to provide different cable coverage on the basic plans. It isn't worth the effort. So I do without my BookTV. I do watch it sometimes when I am at work on Saturday's. Now I can add the BBC Books program to my Saturday list. Thanks for letting me know about that.

So excited to see people enjoying Little Stranger-ever since I took a contemporary British fiction class while studying abroad, and we read Sarah Waters, I have been in love with her work. I've read everything she's put out so far and can't wait for her next book.

I'm reading Season of the Machette by James Patterson...definitely not one of his best...it seems all over the place and a bit confusing, but I'm going to stick with it. His books don't take long to read, and I'm curious to see where this one is going even if it isn't great.

Just finished Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and thought it was wonderful. I'll be going back to Cold Comfort Farm tonight when I get home from work, and after I finish that, back to The Woman in White.

#165-divinenanny,

This is probably too late to help with The Name of the Rose but there is a small book called Key to the Name of The Rose by Adele J. Haft that translates all the Latin and gives historical background to events in the novel. A good used copy should be easily available @ a good used bookstore or online. The book adds to the understanding of the novel.

#157.. I read a James Patterson novel while on vacation and he plugs History of Love in his novel Double Cross. He mentions that the semi-retired detective in the novel is reading that book.

I finished reading Revolutionary Road and think I'll start The Good Mayor.

Just got back from a long weekend away. Lots to catch up on here!

#112> Reading Catcher in the Rye for the first time? Boy am I jealous. I'd love to be able to read that for the first time again!

Tonight I will start The Ultraviolet Sky by Mexican-American author Alma Luz Villanueva.

Message edited by its author, Sep 23, 2009, 3:03pm.

...and I've moved. Took me about 20 minutes after saying my goodbyes before I started buying books in the book shop at the airport. :D
Now reading The steep approach to garbadale. Also bought The book of fate.

If our modem hadn't stopped working Monday, I would have posted earlier that I've started reading The Elegant Universe. (I did read about a hundred pages of The Mill on the Floss last week. If I hadn't found it a little more depressing than I wanted, I'd still be reading it.)

I am reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. I finished Forever Amber, Tamed By A Laird, and The Little Stranger. I think I will also start The Bronze Horseman.

Finished City of Thieves. Now enjoying Coal Black Horse

I finished The Risk Pool by Richard Russo on Sunday, read Breath by Tim Winton next because it was short and I knew I could finish it by the time An Echo in the Bone arrived. Started that last night. This will be book number 45 out of 50 for my reading challenge so I'm a bit ahead of the game there.

I loved The Bronze Horseman, its a great novel. Be sure to read the other two in the trilogy (first time I read it I didn't know there was a trilogy and I waited years for it...). I already read Tatiana and Alexander and will read The Summer Garden soon, I'm procrastinating because I don't want to say goodbye to the trilogy!

Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer

With the T.V. show starting , I put everthing on hold to read this book to get a preview of it.

If you know what your future was in 22 years , could you change it? Could you use it? That's the basic theme of this book.
The book starts out fast an furious and goes down hill from there. The characters are predictable and the plot forced to a point where I couldn't suspend my disbelief and go along with the story.
The highlight of the book is when half the world starts to complain about a "flashforward" gap when the scientific world wants to try and reproduce the experiment.

I'm always on the lookout for new (to me ) sci fi writers. so on the plus side I'm going to try some of Sawyer's other books. He has won a Hugo and Nebula awards along with John W Campbell Memorial Award.

Message edited by its author, Sep 24, 2009, 5:12am.

I just started "You Don't Love Me Yet" by Jonathan Lethem, so far I adore it- it's hard to put down and I'm completely lost in the characters.

I just finished The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, a strange little book. I am still thinking about it, so might even write a review.

I started Then She Found Me last night, about a woman whose biological mother seeks her out. So far a lightweight read.

#194, I read Then She Found Me a long while back, because of the movie... Lightweight but fun read... :)

I have just made a start on Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. I'm only a few chapters in but I'm impressed so far.

I am reading Kabul24 by Henry Arnold and Ben Pearson a nonfiction account of the SNI people who were arrested/held hostage in Kabul in 2001. Well written so far.

Didn't get to read yesterday as I spent the day at my volunteer job and the evening at a dreadful talk that was supposed to be about Angels and Demons and ended up just talking about Galileo's problems - stuff I already knew. I wanted to hear how some of the Brown stuff was relevant. Oh, well, the speaker was a college professor and my husband, an ex-college progessor, says that says it all!

Hopefully I can get back to Lost Symbol today.

While I was waiting for my co-codamol spaciness to take my headache away last night I happened upon Politically Correct Bedtime Stories on my shelves. I've only read 'Little Red Riding Hood', but so far so funny!

Almost finished My Life In France by Julia Child and have started Frederica by Georgette Heyer.

That's weird...thought I posted this already. Oh well.

Mathilda Savitch wasn't holding my interest, so I put it aside to read The Adoration of Jenna Fox instead. Now I'm reading Untangling My Chopsticks, an interesting travel memoir/cookbook about a woman who traveled to Kyoto to learn about the Japanese tea ceremony and includes some recipes as well. Only about 25 pages into it so far.

I just finished Posed for Murder by Meredith Cole. It was definitely good. I'm still working on The Little Giant of Aberdeen County on audio and just started The Man Who Loved Books Too Much.

#202- Devourer- I loved The Little Giant of Aberdeen County- hope you enjoy it too!

Finished Causing a Scene which is about the group Improv everywhere and a number of the pranks they've pulled off or inspired over the past 7 or 8 years. Lots of fun which can be supplemented by watching what you've read about on YouTube.

Just begining Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.

>205 Color me envious.

206--Have you read it? I'm only a few chapters into it, but so far it's quite good.

Message edited by its author, Sep 24, 2009, 5:56pm.

Well, I am going to have to abandon The Ultraviolet Sky by Alma Luz Villanueva. Too many clunky phrases, cliches and POV problems. There might possibly be a good story at hand, but those sorts of writing problems are too distracting to me. When the prose continually calls attention to itself in a negative way, I can't enjoy the reading experience. The bio on the back of the book says Villanueva is mostly known as a poet. Poets don't always make the jump to prose successfully (and vice versa, of course). So tonight I will search my bookshelves to see what jumps out at me.

I've posted my review of LT author and French Revolution buff Susanne Alleyn's mystery, Game of Patience, on my thread http://www.librarything.com/topic/73753 in post #11, and on the book's reviews page.

Short version: Oh hell yeah.

>#205:
theaelizabet;
My copy of Wolf Hall is supposed to ship from Amazon.com on the 19 of the month. I am excited. I love this time era. (was that redundant?) I can't wait to hear how you like it and to read your review!~!
hugs,

But as to what I am reading now:
Currently I am in Part III of War and Peace by Tolstoy and was surprised to see his name actually come up in the book.
And I am 1/3 of the way through Dracula by Bram Stoker.
As soon as I finish that one I am moving on to Outlander and series in preparation of An Echo in the Bone which should be arriving in the post any day now. Whoo Hoo!~!~!
belva

Message edited by its author, Sep 24, 2009, 6:42pm.

I'm about to start A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong. The summary and descriptions in the reviews here have made it sound very interesting.

I finished Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck. It's one of his later books and it's non-fiction. I enjoyed it. I've been reading The Survivor:Bill Clinton in the White House by John F. Harris. It's a fair well-researched examination of his presidency.
Please don't mention this to Richard but I will be starting The Shack, other LTer's and a good friend have convinced me to give this a chance...now I need to duck & cover!

Run, Forest, Run!~!~!~!

>207, No, that's why I'm envious! Something to look forward to for sure.

212: msf59

If you enjoyed Travels With Charley you might like
Blue Highways: A Journey into America by William Least-Heat Moon.

Message edited by its author, Sep 24, 2009, 7:22pm.

I finished Cold Comfort Farm and am currently reading Brideshead Revisited. I enjoyed Cold Comfort Farm but found the language difficult to get through at times. Being set in England and written so long ago, I sometimes have difficulty with references, slang, etc. It was definitely good though.

I haven't really made a decision on Brideshead Revisited yet as I am only about 25 or so pages into it.

>212 Mister Postman, I pity you in two days' time. You'll be so disoriented by the toxic rays and deadly fumes emitted by The Shack that you'll never ever be able to see the road before you again.

Poor, poor Mark. *sniff* He was such a mensch. *teardrop*

Finished Coal Black Horse this morning. Started a light read Homicide in Hardcover by Kate Carlisle

RD- You are very amusing sir and you have made my day! It could be difficult delivering the mail tomorrow, in toxic disorientation! Wish me luck and may the dogs be docile!

#191-viviane - I've all three, and I was happily surprised to find The Summer Garden was my favorite of them all. I didn't expect it to be that way, but it was a great book, with lots of turmoil and ups and downs, just exhausting to read but very, very good. A great way to wind up the series.

Somebody way back up this thread wanted to know what BookTV was.

BookTV is 48 hours of all books all the time. It starts at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning (Central Daylight Time) and runs straight through to 7:00 a.m. Monday morning. It is only about non-fiction. It is generally videos of author talks and lectures that take place around the country. BookTV also travels to Book Fairs and Book Events like Book Expo and various library conventions where they film events and authors speaking about their non-fiction books. If you miss the weekend you can watch videos of many of the segments on your computer. You can also download them to an iPod or MP3. They even have an archive. You can look up their schedule at BookTV.org

I would turn on the TV on Saturday morning loud enough that I could hear it from room to room and do my cooking and cleaning while listening and learning. (Don't worry my house isn't that big so it wasn't that loud. And the neighbors never complained.) It kept me abreast of what was new in the book world. The people at CSPAN2 tried very hard to keep the presentations even handed and tried to not favor the political right over the political left. They also tried to have a wide variety of subjects. In general I would say that they succeeded, but it has been over a year since I last got to listen to it so it is possible that things have changed.

On the first Sunday of the month they would do a three hour interview with an author who had an established body of work. These were fascinating. BookTV would travel out to the authors house and visit the place where they actually do their writing and talk about research and the books. It was scintillating stuff. I loved it and and I miss it.

I'm glad I hate it when the last installment sucks. But what do you mean exhausting? Should I stock on Kleenex?

Rereading Foucault's Pendulum. (I've been reading a bunch of books about the Templars and thought it would be fun to revisit Eco's take on it.) The first couple of chapters were a bit tough, but now, man, it is really engrossing. I'd almost forgotten how entertaining the book is.

Read Blue Moon last night in a last ditch attempt to get some reading done before i leave for Uni tomorrow *eep* and because it's one of my ABC reads.

>220 The Summer Garden is the best one?? Oh my that has to be good cos the first two were amazing by themselves. Gah if i'm gonna need tissues then that just makes me want to read it even more! hell now i need to find a copy which matches my others

Good luck at uni LadyViolet! :-)

Thanks Ellie :)
Unfortunately I'll probably have to cut down my internet surfing time once i get there or I'll get shot by parentals. *sigh* I might have to change my homepage to something other than my LT home page lol :P

benitastrnad- Thanks for the info on BookTV.org! So it's no longer available?

#222 and #224 - yes there are some sad moments, but not what I'd call a tear jerker. It's more about the every day trials of their marriage and children and ... life. As usual, lots of drama, but what else can you expect from Tatia and Shura?

I picked up another book by Elinor Lipman because Then She Found Me was so good.

Isabel's Bed is fun so far.

#227 it is still available, just not in the package that benitastrnad has. I still think you should contact the city and complain, since talking to the cable company did no good. The CSPAN channels are free to the cable company and making you pay extra to get them is a rip-off.

I actually upgraded to the expanded package about 5 minutes after the cable guy left, when it was first installed. I saw International History channel, and had to have it. Its more pricey but I don't pay more than $75.00 for everything.

still working on Lost Symbol but making fast progress - my life has gotten inhte way and the new fall season hasn't helped, but I should have it done today - or it maybe be Sunday as we are heading to Bethlehem (PA, that is) to see a museum on Free Museum day from the Smithsonian. They do this every year where selected museums around the country let you get in for free - with a coupon from the Smithsonian - to see what they have. We went to one in Charlotte, South Carolina a couple of years ago and last year we hit the Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, NY. My husband and son picked out the one in Bethlehem and I am not sure what it is but I am sure it has to do with the history of that area.

In other words, if I don finish that book today, I may not have time tomorrow!

#141 (koalamom) - I just squealed out loud at your mention of The Story Girl. I loved L.M.M. as a girl (still do!), and am happy that people are still finding her books. Yay!

I just finished Olive Kitteredge. Lots of emotional sucker-punches in that one. I really enjoyed it.

Have a bit of a problem now. I'm moving next week, and most of my TBR books are packed. How silly! I guess I'll have to make a trip to the library...

Message edited by its author, Sep 25, 2009, 10:00am.

I've posted my review of Susanne Alleyn's second Aristide Ravel mystery, A Treasury of Regrets, on my thread http://www.librarything.com/topic/73753 in post #19, and on the book's reviews page.

Short version: Even better the second time around.

I haven't posted anything in weeks - I guess work has been keeping me too busy to have a lot of "fun" reading. I did manage to finish up Thanks for the Memories by Cecelia Ahern, and have started The Glassblower of Murano and have found it quite enjoyable so far.

I am reading Mergers by Steven L. Layne and Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn. They are both really good books. I just finished This Side of Paradise, something about a crazy psycho killer, ALSO by Steven L. Layne. They are really good. I really really really like it and recommend it to all.

I did it. I finished The Lost Symbol. Now to read Hothouse Orchid.

Oh, and I really liked the Dan Brown book. Hard to believe that his stories take place in only one night!

#227 msf59

It is still there and available every weekend on CSPAN2. For some reason CSPAN2 started calling it BookTV as if it were some kind of seperate channel. It isn't. It is just a programming stream that CSPAN2 does on the weekends. They also do some special things were they take the big yellow BookTV bus to special libraries around the country and talk to them about their collections. I really enjoyed it, but now that my local cable company moved the channel to a high number I can't get it. If you have satellite TV or pay for all the expanded cable TV channels it will be there at whatever dark cellar channel number CSPAN2 has been relegated to. (which is likely to be somewhere in the upper 100's.) For instance this weekend they are covering the National Book Festival live. They are also featuring the author The Surge: A Military History on their interview program titled "Afterwords." Surf around on your cable channels and see if you can find it. You will love it.

#233 richardderus

Your comment about the Susanne Alleyn books made me go hunt down some reviews and now I have three more books to put on my TBR list. Shame on you.

#223 - I have met gluttons for punishment, but you take the cake.

Wow, I haven't been on here in a month - college has been insane. Anyway, I was able to fully indulge my love of books last weekend - the local public library put on a GIGANTIC used book sale, and I picked up 12 books for $24 - I haven't been that happy in a long time! So right now, I'm reading Bentley Little's The Summoning, and I think I'm either going to start White Shark by Peter Benchley or The Ruins by Scott Smith. So many books and so little time!

>238 benita, *heeheehee* (that's a shameless titter)

BookTV programming is also available on C-Span's web site. C-Span (and its sister channels) often get bumped off of basic and expanded because of bandwidth constraints. The cable provider pays for each of their basic subscribers regardless of where, or even if, it is carried on a system. Just thought I'd throw that out there...

Did anybody see the reference late last week to the late Tony Hillerman? It was in the USA Today. The story was about the recent conviction of the grave robber/artifact thieves in Utah and Arizona. In the newspaper article the reporter stated that the tale that had unfolded in the courtroom was straight out of a Tony Hillerman novel. Then they went on to explain that Hillerman was the author of numerous mystery novels that were set in Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado and involved plot lines about the culture and archeology of that area. I hope it leads some curious readers to find a novel by him and read it as he was good mystery writer and Joe Leap Horn was a good policeman/detective.

If anybody here is curious A Thief of Time was a good mystery.

Well, as I mentioned yesterday, I had to give up, very quickly, on the book I'd started due to clunky language, cliches, POV problems, etc., that I knew were going distract me every page of the way for the 380 pages of the book's length. The book was The Ultraviolet Sky by Alma Luz Villanueva. And too bad, because it looked intriguing, too.

So, last night I went on a home library prowl and decided to read (and started) Under the Iron Heel by Lars Moën. Moën, an American self-described ex-journalist was in Belgium when the Nazi's invaded at the start of WWII. He stayed in Antwerp for a year and a half before finally getting out and heading home. By 1941, he had published this book, an account of his experiences and the experiences of people he interviewed during his time in occupied Belgium.

The first chapter is about daily life under the occupation, and begins with a description of the rationing system and the ever growing concern with hunger, even in the early goings. Moën says this is because within the first 48 hours of German presence, they had back trucks up to every warehouse they could find, food storage and otherwise, and shipped everything they could get their hands on off to Germany.

My copy of the book, a 1941 first edition, is missing its dust jacket, so my information about Moen was limited. I did some fishing around online and found a contemporary mention of the book in the St. Petersburg Times that refers to Moen as "a distinguished American chemist." Time Magazine's review says Moen was in Belgium "doing color-film research." Another site gives his birth/death years as 1901-1951.

At any rate, all accounts of the book say it gives a detailed view of the morale and condition of the German soldiers, the attitudes of the Belgian civilians to both the Germans and the English, and everyone's ideas about what was transpiring and expectations about what was about to transpire.

I love to read books about well-known historical events that are written contemporarily with those events. I'm expecting this to be fascinating.

Mike, I don't know about the gluttony, but I do have a pretty healthy Imp of the Perverse (to borrow from Poe), whom I suspect has manipulated me into reading Eco's brilliant antidote to Dan Brown at the same time much of the country is consuming The Lost Symbol. I sure didn't plan it that way.

Probably the last chance to post this week ... Going to Bend by Diane Hammond. So far an amazing and surprising book. I was both blindsided AND hooked before 75 pages.

Diane Hammond is an excellent writer. Her characters live, breathe, eat, etc. etc. and I feel as though they pause while I go off and live my life. When I return to the book ... they pick up the story and continue on with their lives. Excellent writing.

Ruth/womansheart

I tore through The Guinea Pig Diaries by A.J. Jacobs today, so now I'm off to read The Queen's Mistake by Diane Haeger with the rain in the background, my husband out of the house, and the baby cuddled up asleep on top of me.

New week, new thread.
Share what you've read.
Now I'm going to bed.

>247 - sounds just perfect... :-)

Has anyone here read the book That Summer by Sarah Dessen? I need some help for a school project. 6 household objects to symbolize the book. Please help me!

Thanks

I just finished The Last Templar

http://www.librarything.com/work/372254

and The Cathars by SeaN Martin

http://www.librarything.com/work/1452961

Am now reading The Human Touch by Michael Frayn

http://www.librarything.com/work/1603213...

and

The Pig who sang to The Moon

http://www.librarything.com/work/423453

and to feed my inner child :)

Going Solo by Roald Dahl

http://www.librarything.com/work/28675