What are you reading?

[velouriaL]

You didn''t like The Unbearable Lightness of Being, MINE? I really did, but that was a long time ago.

Just Finished:
I Dream of Microwaves by Imad Rahman (Very funny and weird. A quick read that''d be good for the beach but is very much not unchallenging.)

Current:
Tourmaline By Joanna Scott (So far, gorgeous, smart, summery, Hitchcock-like.)

In the Queue:
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem (recently finished by boyfriend and awaiting discussion)

How to be Alone By Jonathan Franzen (Because The Corrections really was one of the best books I''ve read in the last five years.)

Breath and Bones by Susann Cokall (Because I''m moving to Richmond VA, and I''m interested in catching up on the local talent)

 

[LadyluvsLuxury]

I have decided to read the Holy Bible from cover to cover. I am waiting for a version other than the one I have to arrive in my mailbox. I still have ''Da Vinci Code'' in a box UGH Hubby got that book for me right when we sold our townhouse and it hasn''t been unpacked since we have been in this apartment waiting for our house to be built.

 

[tanuki]

Since you asked:

Last year when Master and Commander came out on DVD I saw it and decided to check out the Patrick O''Brien novels it was based on since they had so many enthusiastic fans.

I think you either like them or you don''t but I started with the first one and was hooked.

There are something like 20 books in the series. The pile of books on my nightstand just kept getting higher and higher as I finished one and went out and bought the next one. Each one picks up right where the one before it ends, so it reads like one long, long novel. He doesn''t resolve all the plot threads from one to the next which makes it hard to just quit after reading the first few.

This week I started the last volume. By the end of the month I should be finished. It took a year!

 

[fire&ice]

Date: 6/16/2005 5:44:51 PM
Author: tanuki
Since you asked:

Last year when Master and Commander came out on DVD I saw it and decided to check out the Patrick O''Brien novels it was based on since they had so many enthusiastic fans.

I think you either like them or you don''t but I started with the first one and was hooked.

There are something like 20 books in the series. The pile of books on my nightstand just kept getting higher and higher as I finished one and went out and bought the next one. Each one picks up right where the one before it ends, so it reads like one long, long novel. He doesn''t resolve all the plot threads from one to the next which makes it hard to just quit after reading the first few.

This week I started the last volume. By the end of the month I should be finished. It took a year!

If you like those, you may like the Horatio Hornblower series by Forrester. My husband likes that kind of stuff too.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

6. Confessions of a Shopaholic

I dumped my other book (the time traveler''s wife - very blah) and picked up Confessions of a Shopaholic and want to mention that book is fabulous! I''m 3/4 of the way through it, and it''s totally silly and light-hearted, but super fun to read. Perfect beach book!

(I''ve decided I''m never going to read a depressing book again. . .the last book I finished last month was a WWII novel that was TERRIBLY upsetting.

NO MORE!)

 

[kaylagee]

In the mail today:

_Wedding Rings_ Osnat Gad
_The Way of G-d_ Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto
_Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry_ E.Taylor

I''m still reading _Perfume Legends: French Feminine Fragrances_by Michael Edwards. I have it in French(i felt like i was getting a headache if i read for too long) but gave up and bought an English copy too.

 

[twinkletoes]

I''m currently reading
The Tipping Point about how sensations/epidemics arise & spread & stick.

I''m also half heartedly reading Men are from Mars/Women are from Venus. It''s not very interesting.

My favorite books include...

Ender''s Game series by Orson Scott Card (every person I''ve recommended this series to has LOVED it!)
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
The Time Traveller''s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Secret Life of Bees Sue Kidd
The Poisonwood Bible

I hated The Devil Wear''s Prada. And if you read one Shopaholic book you''ve basically read them all. And even though I prefer books over movie remakes, I hated reading Bridget Jones''s Diary. A friend recommended the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and it was the worst book ever! I found myself getting impatient trying to hurry and finish the book so I could be done with it.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 8/5/2005 6:13:25 PM
Author: twinkletoes
My favorite books include...

The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

And if you read one Shopaholic book you've basically read them all.

I TOTALLY agree here. The first shopaholic book is funny, but I should have stopped after that book because the second was so incredibly stupid. Not only was it not funny, but the character really got on my nerves which left me feeling mostly frustrated.

I'm not a fan of chick lit so I guess this explains why I am horrified that there are probably hundreds of these shallow types of books flooding the market. It's perplexing to me that people actually enjoy reading novel after novel in this genre!

The Time Traveler's Wife didn't really appeal to me. I noticed that among the reviews on Amazon, people feel strongly either loving or hating this story, and I am of the latter in that I didn't like the story and felt that the two main characters weren't adequately developed.

 

[OldBride]

I love mysteries, especially by Lawrence Block(the Matthew Scudder series), Sue Grafton, Tony Hillerman, Harlan Coben, Jonathan Kellerman, Faye Kellerman, etc etc.
I absolutely loved The Time Travelers Wife, and am currently re-reading the Harry Potter series to see if I can find any "clues" about book 7.

I also recently read A Prayer for Owen Meany and cried my eyes out. Same goes for The Lovely Bones.

As far as "girlie books" go, The Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood

 

[ame]

I am reading a book about Quark 6. Such an exciting read.

 

[teebee]

I''m about to finish Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver. I almost hate to finish her books... as others have mentioned, The Poisonwood Bible was superb & I loved Prodigal Summer, Pigs In Heaven, and The Bean Trees as well...

I''m so glad to get some good recommendations - I get overwhelmed in the bookstore!!

 

[fatafelice]

I love Barbara Kingsolver...I haven''t read a few of those, so I''ll have to make a trip to the book store.

I will admit that I have a strange fondness for trashy romance novels of the historical variety (Julia Quinn, Catherine Coulter, Judith McNaught, and so on) -- they are great for traveling and rainy days, but I was also an English major ( and I''m a teacher), so I consider it a guilty pleasure. I have to balance out my reading so that I still feel like I have a mind and am using it!

Recent Reads:
Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding -- Entertaining, but I''m not sure how to take it. It is an action/suspense/spy novel, but in a very overdone and hopefully tongue-in-cheek sort of way.

Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen -- Witty. I like his style. I got into him because of a children''s book he wrote, Hoot, which is great for grownups, too!

Queen of the Turtle Derby by Julia Reed -- A collection of funny essays on the South written by a southerner/new york journalist. So funny I almost peed my pants, but probably wouldn''y be as good for someone who''s never lived below the Mason Dixon.

as hot as it was you ought to thank me by Nanci Kincaid -- My favorite book I''ve read in more than a year! I love southern lit and this is set in rural florida in the 50''s. The narrator is a 13 year old and the author does an amazing job giving her an honest and unique voice. This is my first book by the author, but I''m going to read more!

Sadly, at this point in the summer, I have to go back to adolescent fiction and some classics in preparation for this school year.

 

[jorman]

I agree that the series of the shopaholic books was generally mindless, but I liked the first one.
As for Devil Wears Prada, my first job out of college was for an Interior Designer much like Miranda Priestly, so I think I relate in some way- I just wish I had enough nerve to say f-you too.

I am currently not reading anything in particular. A lot of you have recommended The Poisonwood Bible and Skinny Dip so I think I will try those. I have started (but not gotten into) The Sisters which is a saga of the Mitford sisters who each had relationships with the Communist party during Hitlers time of power. It sounds interesting, but I keep trying to read it at night and inevitably fall asleep.

Have any of you read The Lovely Bones or A Girl''s Guide to Fishing and Hunting? A friend recommended those and I haven''t heard much about them.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 8/5/2005 8:04:33 PM
Author: teebee
I''m about to finish Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver. I almost hate to finish her books... as others have mentioned, The Poisonwood Bible was superb & I loved Prodigal Summer, Pigs In Heaven, and The Bean Trees as well...


I''m so glad to get some good recommendations - I get overwhelmed in the bookstore!!

I LOVE Barbara Kingsolver. Animal Dreams was my favorite!

 

[Scintillating]

The Lovely Bones will rip your heart out. It''s a very sad moving story, but definitely not light - and not for everyone. This books connects to the author''s painful personal story (rape), which she wrote about in her memoire Lucky Girl.(?)

The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing was nothing extraordinary, pretty mediocre infact. I didn''t enjoy the authors writing style. I also didn''t find the story (or stories) particularly interesting. There is a weird point in the middle where the author switches voice to another character, it''s just weird and awkward.

Just some thoughts.

I just read the Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kid, slow to start but a good read.

Any ideas out there for an inspiring uplifting read?

Scintillating...