January 2014-What are you reading this month?

I spent practically all day and evening reading a memoir: A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout with Sara Corbett.
I highly recommend this book: well written-albeit with fairly graphic and gritty descriptions. I'm in awe that this seemingly self centered, over confident and reckless young woman had the inner strength and courage to survive her terrible ordeal while still retaining compassion and insight into others' circumstances.

i have that book coming up soon in my reading too, ted, and have heard such great things. i recently learned that lindhout's co-author, sara corbett, is married to the telling room's author - michael paterniti (another book i plan to read fairly soon).

Today I'm back in my comfort zone-reading crime fiction. Today it was Saints of the Shadow Bible by Ian Rankin. Great book, as usual for Rankin.

Thanks for the tip Ted. I've added Saints of the Shadow Bible to my reading list. It sounds more appealing than the grim Scandi crime I'm currently reading: The Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen which is really well done but grim nevertheless.

I love Jussi Adler-Olsen's books too, Vivienne, but I don't find his as grim and dark as some of the other Nordic crime writers; there is quite a bit of humour in the dialogue in Adler-Olsen's books.

Today's read was for my book club meeting tonight: a light, very predictable book that I think should have Young Adults as its target audience: The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. Not a fan.

Finished off a quick read today: The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith. Just the right book to read on a very rainy, dark, miserable afternoon!

>5 ted74ca: I really enjoyed Adler-Olsen's first book Keeper of Lost Causes and so disappointed in the second The Absent One. I've heard that the later ones will not be so "dark" but there are so many books out there that I'd enjoy that I won't try any more of Adler-Olsen's.

I finally finished A Wrinkle in Time which I had started last year - a fun read which I enjoyed. The movie was a good representation of the plot, but IT did not look at all the way I had imagined IT.

I've also started Deadline, a Romanian thriller by Adina Rosetti.

I don't plan on too many Canadian ones this month, but I am going to claim Wallace Stegner as close-enough! :-) He lived in Southern Saskatchewan for a number of years as a child. I just finished Crossing to Safety.

I have one book in between that and my next one, definitely Canadian: Away by Jane Urquhart.

Stayed in bed way too long this morning to finish The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison. Quite liked it; good writing, though I would hardly characterize it as a psychological thriller, as publicized. A thriller it definitely wasn't, but I thought it was a good read anyway.

>8 Cecilturtle: Cecilturtle I'm just rereading her A Wind in the Door, with an eye to finally finishing the series. But I've said that before, and I seem to only reread the first two and never move ahead. Are you going to read on?

>9 LibraryCin: LibraryCin One of the books I'm reading considers Stegner's time in SK in some detail, referring to his writings as well. I'm wholly enjoying it, although more so for the non-Stegner bits, as I like the way she writes about the land, memory, and history. It's Geography of Blood by Candace Savage.

I'm currently enjoying the short stories in Running the Whale's Back, edited by Andrew Atkinson and Mark Harris, stories by Atlantic Canadian Writers.

My bus book is the very amusing Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, by Stephen Leacock. It's the sort of book that keeps a grin twitching in the corner of the mouth and a chuckle at the bottom of the throat (have to suppress the laughter when on the bus, because people would think it is weird).

>11 buriedinprint:. Oh, that sounds interesting. Thanks, buried! I'll take a look at it!

>12 rabbitprincess:. LOL! I've laughed and cried while reading on the bus/train. I know, I always wonder (but don't peek) if anyone is giving me odd looks!

>11 buriedinprint:, 13. As soon as I saw the cover, I knew it looked familiar. I checked over on shelfari, and it's already on my tbr over there! I'm not sure when I added it, or why, but I might as well add it here, too!

#11 I read Geography of Blood last year and liked it. We had a year in Saskatchewan many years ago and the book really brought the landscape back to memory.

I'm reading The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.

>16 mdoris:. I grew up in Southern Saskatchewan, so I'm sure there will be lots familiar in it to me!

I'm reading Border Songs by Jim Lynch set in British Columbia at an unmanned border crossing. With all kinds of sneaky smuggling, it's very entertaining.

I just finished Road Ends, a little masterpiece of characters.

I really liked Border Songs, and Road Ends is on my TBR shelves....so I"m with you both!

I'm reading May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Homes for a book club.

#12 - no I'm done with the series. I was curious since it had escaped my radar during my youth (!) but I' not a big fantasy fan. I am glad I made the effort, though - I found it astoundingly modern.

I've finished another YA book with Aliocha by Henri Troyat about his experience as an immigrant youth to France from Russia in the 1920s. Unknowingly I also picked up La Promesse de l'aube by Romain Gary which is... exactly about the same thing! Only this time a highly humorous autobiography. I recommend both since they are very personal view points on the White Russian exodus after the Bolshevik Revolution. In Gary's case further compounded by the Jewish Pogrom during World War II. Makes me appreciate just how darn lucky I am...

Last book finished was Headhunters by Jo Nesbo. Quite enjoyed it.

Just finished a reread of The Return of the King. I have not read the series in more than a decade. I enjoyed it a lot more this time. I did not rush it and got a lot more from the language and even read most of the appendix which has a lot of interesting stuff (and plenty of less interesting as well!).

22 i liked May We Be Forgiven except for the title, and the cover. That can of cranberry jelly...hmmm.

I'm reading The Dead in their Vaulted Arches, very entertaining.

my cover has a lamp, which fits.

Haven't read any in this series for quite a while now- enjoyed this one: Critical Mass by Sara Paretsky

Definitely not a "light" read: The Dogs Are Eating Them Now: Our War In Afghanistan by Graeme Smith. A very interesting and sobering accounting about the role of and the effects of the Western forces in Afghanistan, written by a former foreign correspondent for a Toronto, Canada newspaper-The Globe and Mail.

Another Canadian one coming up next, this one a novella:
Clouded Vision / Linwood Barclay

I'm reading The Godfather was a Girl by Eamon Evans, which is about the real-life people behind fictional characters.

20, Loosha Wasn't the collection of voices in Road Ends so interesting? I never had a favourite, although I thought, initially, that I would find Megan's story most appealing, and was just happy to hear more, whichever was doing the telling. Have you read any of her others?

29, Ted74ca That's been on my radar for awhile, so I'll be keen to hear what you think.

@30, LibraryCin Last autumn, I quite enjoyed his Tap on the Window but I think I've only read one other novel of his. I'd imagine his style works well in both short and long forms though?

I'm dipping into Julie Wilson's Seen Reading these days. Love the concept, but only read a few pages of it at a time. It feels like poetry that way.

@32 yes, I've read more by her, and this was the best I think, it was only too short. Megan was my favourite, too, not by a long shot, though. The male characters were very forgivable, redeemable i should say.

I used to read Julie Wilson's blog, but have not seen the book. This is my argument against e-readers - I can't tell at a glance what a person is reading. I wonder what Julie thinks, and I admit that sometimes I barge in and ask, what's on that device?

I'm reading The Invention of Wings.

32. I've read a few by Barclay now (my favourite being No Time for Goodbye, which is the first I read by him). I've really enjoyed them all (including this little novella, and my review will be posted for it shortly in the review thread, for anyone watching that thread).

I find him very similar to Harlan Coben - have you read anything by him? My favourite is probably The Woods, with my next-favourite Gone for Good. They have very similar styles.

32. I don't believe I've read Tap on the Window yet, but I imagine I will at some point!

I love Linwood Barclay! His thrillers are just the ticket for travel reading. I really, really enjoyed Trust Your Eyes last year and am looking forward to taking A Tap on the Window with me on this year's family vacation.

Right now I am reading Sherlock: The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Just finished a great read: Road Ends by Mary Lawson. I loved her previous 2 novels, as I did this one.

Road Ends is on the TBR shelves....I nearly picked it up last night, but thought I should read something that's been there for a while instead of plowing through all the books I got for Christmas. So, I'm reading Underground by June Hutton, which I'm enjoing so far.

33 Agreed that I also want to know what someone is reading on an e-reader: I miss being able to scan the covers when I'm travelling through the city.

Just finished The Wondrous Woo by Carrianne Leung (there's a typo in the touchstone associated with the author name), a coming-of-age story, which I found quite touching and charming. (Not only the Toronto setting appealed, but many cultural details...I'd forgotten about Woolco's $1.44 days, for instance!)

Am now reading Away from Everywhere by Chad Pelley, which is making it impossible to pick up anything else in my stack right now.

Just finished Anne of Green Gables for the first time. I never thought I would read it but I think that was some sort of leftover from a childhood conflict with my sister!

Back to my usual genre today-crime fiction-but this was a bit of a letdown: The Wrong Girl by Hank Phillippi Ryan. Nothing terrible-just not a fan, I guess.

40. fmgee: and what did you think? Did you like it?

42: LibraryCin: Yes I did like it. I spent a lot of time wondering about the differences between the book and the movie. It all seemed to make more sense in the book. I enjoyed getting the know the characters a little better especially Marilla.

43. Glad you enjoyed it! I read the book when I was a teenager, so I don't remember how it differed from the movie. The movie is one of my all-time favourites, though!

I am considering rereading the books, as well (though it's very rare for me to reread anything. I have book 7 of Harry Potter to finish rereading, then I'll think about it. For the last few HP's, I've been listening to the audio, so at least it's a different format. I think I'll see if my library also has AoGG in audio, as well...).

I'm reading The Longer I'm Prime Minister by Paul Wells.

Finished Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein and prompted skimmed it again to find the clues I missed.

Don't be put off by the YA designation, this is an intricate novel that gradually reveals a delicate dance of misinformation.

The story revolves around two young women in Occupied France. One is a spy, the other is the pilot who secretly transported her from Britain.

Good suspenseful read today finished today: Hurting Distance by Sophie Hannah

I'll be finishing up Matched by Ally Condie tomorrow, but after that I have two Canadian books coming up:

- Falling Backwards: A Memoir / Jann Arden
- 419 / Will Ferguson

finished Voices last night. The third book in the Icelandic mystery series. The best one so far I think.

I'm reading Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker

What do you think of May We Be Forgiven? (to those who have been reading it) It won the Orange Prize right? My sister-in-law HATED it and couldn't believe it was up for, never mind won, a major prize. I'd like to hear more before I reject it or add it to the teetering TBR pile!

I'm reading Projection by Priscilla Uppal as I was intrigued by her interview recently with Shelagh Rogers on TNC. It's hard to put down--I didn't get very much sleep last night. Also How to Get Along with Women by Elisabeth de Mariaffi and Quiet by Susan Cain. When I'm in the middle of several books, I usually feel impatient to get to the others on my TBR list because progress is slower. But I can't seem to limit myself to one at a time reading…..

On a biography stint this year so far… Corey Feldman, Artie Lange, Maya Angelou, Clarissa Dickson-Wright and Stephen Hawking. Need to switch over to some fiction for a bit I think.

51 - I liked it but was rather surprised that it would even be nominated. It was definitely a different sort of choice! I read it las April and wrote this:

if you asked me why I liked this book, I honestly wouldn't be able to tell you. It is long and odd and it got stranger as it went on but yet I laughed and cried and loved it.

I'm reading Inukshuk by Gregory Spatz.

55: LynnB I will be interested to hear your thoughts on Inukshuk I had it for LTER a couple of years ago. It had very mixed reviews but I remember really liking it.

I just finished the next Reykjavik thriller The Draining Lake.

I'm reading We Are Water, really starting to enjoy it.

Does anyone know TUEBL? This is a website that allows you to get an amazing variety of e-books free. Is it really legal?

#51: I didn't really like May We Be Forgiven very much. I know it's supposed to be a parody of the American dream, but it was too over-the-top for my taste. Lots of story threads that went nowhere.

There are some funny moments, and the beginning is good, but it goes on too long and gets too far-fetched in my opinion.

Just read one in an older crime fiction series that I've enjoyed for years : The Winds of Change by Martha Grimes