August Reads - 2015 edition

It's a bit of a tough slog through the almost 600 pages, but I finished Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. A good novel, but it could stand some editing. Carol Shields accomplished a lot more in less than half the pages with Unless.

For a change, I read Finding Audrey by Kinsella. It's a YA novel about a teen recovering from serious bullying. Sh has her usual humourous touch, but does not downplay the consequences of mental anguish and depression.

I'm reading Foucault's Pendulum to start off August. It's a big book too and has some pretty esoteric stuff in it. But it is also a wonderful adventure story. I am dying to find out what happened when he hid away in the Paris museum that contains Foucault's pendulum. I'm only about half-way through right now.

I finished a nice light read last night- one of the Longmire mystery series: Death Without Company by Craig Johnson.

I'm half-way through Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel. Not perfect, but I'm enjoying it more than I expected. Still, last night I needed a bit more of a comfort read and blitzed through the 338 pages of The Trials of the Honorable F. Darcy, by Sara Angelini-- it was a Pride and Prejudice retelling set in modern day San Francisco , with lots of romance and sex. A satisfying vacation read (I was in a hotel room in Seattle, so what else is there to do at 11 PM on a Sunday night?)

Nickelini, I'm in a hotel in Seattle, too! Picked up two books at the used book shop in Pike's Market.

I'm enjoying Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland.

>5 LynnB: that's funny! Now I've moved to a hotel in Whistler. Keep up!

we're in Oregon...planning to drive down the coast to San Francisco.

I'm reading The Everlasting Story of Nory which I got at Pike Street Market.

Finished Foucault's Pendulum and to give my brain a rest I am going to read The Rosie Project.

Just finished I Am Pilgrim. Best thriller I have read in years. Perfect book for camping. I have no idea what to pick up next. I'll just have to mourn the end of this book for a day or two.

>7 LynnB: we're in Oregon...planning to drive down the coast to San Francisco.

Cool! Are you taking the 101 the whole way? Talk about a long and winding road. Gorgeous though. I've gone in and out of it. And San Francisco is one of my favourite cities and one of the only places I'd agree to live in the US. Enjoy!

I finished Beyond Black, which would have been a 5 star read if it was 100 pages shorter. Still, some excellent writing. And the subject matter didn't interest me at all, so that's saying something.

Now I'm reading a memoir, North of Normal. It's about a woman who grew up living in a tipi in the wilds of BC, Alberta and the Yukon, and ran away to become a fashion model. The author spoke at an event I attended in January and I was enthralled by her life story. Even knowing it before hand, I'm finding the events she describes in the book rather horrifying.

I finished Mémé Goes to Hollywood by Belgian author Monfils: highly irreverent and decidedly too vulgar for me, but I love the idea that Granny goes out to Hollywood to marry Jean-Claude Van Damme!

I'm also done with The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. It's an in-depth process to declutter the home. I'm sure it's worthwhile, but I've decided my home isn't cluttered enough for such a purge!

I've started The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan. She's a fabulous writer, but this book is 600 pages... I hope it picks up a bit.

I just read the 2nd book in the Paddy Meehan series by Denise Mina.This one was The Dead Hour and I really liked it.

>10 Nickelini: Nickelini: I read North of Normal last year. I found it a very good read. It made me very happy for my "normal" upbringing!

I just started A short walk in the Hindu Kush by Eric Newby

Juggling two very different books at home today: South Riding, by Winifred Holtby; and Finders Keepers, by Stephen King.

>10 Nickelini: I tried North of Normal about 6 months ago and was so disturbed by her experiences that I bailed, had to stop reading it! Just finished H is for Hawk and for some reason it took me forever but I liked it!

>15 mdoris:, >13 fmgee: - I'm finding it interesting how bothered I am by some of the events in North of Normal. I heard the author speak and read from the book, and to hear her tell it was just fascinating. However, reading it is a lot more uncomfortable experience. I kept telling myself "well, at least she is loved," but then I realized her mother kept saying exactly that every time she did something neglectful or selfish.

The other thing I find interesting is how from an early age the author just wanted to be "normal," when she had so little experience with it. How did she know what normal even was? Yet she did.

>11 Cecilturtle: I really enjoyed The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up not for its decluttering ideas but from the biographical information about the author (her story) and how she approached the challenges of growing up by creating order. We are all so swamped with things and she provides a good philosophy to examine and confront our choices. For me it was a quirky read written by a quirky writer and done in a style so different from our North American writers. I liked it!

1 The new Franzen is a slow start for me too, but I have found the beginnings of his others slow as well. *crosses fingers*

14 I'm getting a giggle out of Winifred Holtby's and Stephen King's books nestled up together in your book bag and on your bedside table (I enjoy books by both too)!

I'm dipping into Keith Inman's The War Poems: Screaming at Heaven and Exquisite Monsters by K.I. Press for poems on these lovely summer mornings.

On the fiction side of things, I'm about to finish Cordelia Strube's The Barking Dog and am nearing the conclusion of the final L.M.Montgomery Anne book, Rilla of Ingleside. Has anyone here read beyond that one? The Blythes are Quoted or the prequel by Budge Wilson?

>18 buriedinprint: Re Montgomery books I have read both The Blythes are Quoted and Before Green Gables. I gave 3 and a half stars to both of them but I think I liked Before Green Gables better, possibly because it is all new information. The Blythes are Quoted repeats a lot of the stories that are in The Road to Yesterday so if you have read that you might be disappointed.

I loved Budge Wilson's Before Green Gables. She so completely captured the spirit of LM Montgomery. Anne continued to come alive in her book and I have recommended it to several other Anne fans.

10: Nickelini, yes we drove down the 101 as far as Redwood National Forest, then decided to head over to Crater Lake National Park in Oregon as we've been to San Francisco before. What a trip! Oregon is so beautiful.

I've added North of Normal to my wish list. Those who liked that may be interested in a novel that explores similar themes: Shoot the Buffalo by Matt Briggs.

I've read The Everlasting Story of Nory by Nichaolson Baker, Plainsong by Kent Haruf and am currently reading A Season in the Life of Emmanuel by Marie-Claire Blais.

>21 LynnB: Yes, Oregon is a cool state. We'd like to explore it more.

>21 LynnB:, >22 Nickelini: if you go to the interior, check out the Oregon Gardens near Silverton, a peaceful and beautiful place to spend some time, and stay overnight.

'Heather' usually ’Picks’ great books, but i'm finding My Brilliant Friend quite, well, boring. It's 37C here today (Okanagan) and I think I need something more engaging.

>18 buriedinprint: And I finished them within a day of each other! It was quite the study in contrasts.

Now I am getting my mystery fix on with Raven Black, by Ann Cleeves, and Gideon's Ride, by J.J. Marric (aka John Creasey).

OK-I am a fan of Ian McEwan again. Just finished The Children Act and really liked it. I can forgive him for On Chesil Beach now!

>25 ted74ca:, I really liked it too The Childrens Act. The one I struggled with was Enduring Love.

Inspired by my trip down the U.S. west coast, I read Why Sacagawea Deserves the Day Off and Other Lessons from the Lewis and Clark Trail by Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs. I also read a great book set in Oregon, My Abandoment by Peter Rock. I'm now reading You Must Remember This by Joyce Carol Oates.

I had a very slow read of H is for Hawk and I really liked it. Now I'm reading The Shallows: what the Internet is doing to our Brains. It's excellent and I am loving the bits about the development of books and reading.

Read the latest in one of my favourite mystery series: The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths. Good book.

I'm immersed in the Revolutionary War as recounted by Diana Gabaldon in Written in My Own Heart's Blood. I love her books but it's a good thing she only puts one of the big ones out every 4 or 5 years. They are massive!

I'm reading a twenty year old book, Microserfs. Douglas Coupland is as witty and clever as ever, and I know this book is highly acclaimed, but it's dated. Not his best, and certainly if you've not read him, don't start here (although it might have been a great Coupland starter novel back in the 90s).

Found a book in the lunchroom at work that I read bit by bit, and really liked it. I'd never read anything by this author before. The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman

I'm about to start my ER book, The Last September by Nina DeGramont

I am about half way through my camping book, Original Sin by PD James.

Starting Martin John by Anakana Schofield, which is still sans touchstone.

Her first novel, Malarky, won the Amazon first novel award after being passed over by all the major award juries. It was utterly brilliant. I have been looking forward to her new one for about a year.

I've added Martin John to my wish list. I loved Malarky.

I'm reading Canada Transformed: The Speeches of Sir John A. Macdonald by Sarah Gibson.

And The Impressionist by Hari Kunzru

Finished Written in My Own Heart's Blood. Now I probably have to wait another 3 years for a Claire and Jamie fix. But I have started reading A Siege of Bitterns which is set in England but is written by a Canadian. I am a bit of a birder myself so I am loving all the references to birds and birding lists and rare bird notifications. Plus this book was picked my Margaret Cannon, the mystery reviewer in the Globe and Mail, as one of her 5 favourite mysteries of 2014 so it is sure to be good.

I am reading part two of Ruth Park's autobiography Fishing in the Styx.

Just finished The Troubled Man, a Kurt Wallender mystery by Henning Mankell

I've read Station Eleven which I enjoyed but was not quite as thrilled with as some other readers: whereas I agree that St John Mandel is a really good writer, I found the novel lacked structure.
I've also finished An Abundance of Katherines, a delightful read. I'm so glad there is a new generation of authors hooking teens on books!

I'm reading What's Happened to Politics by Bob Rae...getting ready to vote!

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I liked this better than Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I stayed up too late two nights in a row to finish it.

A disappointment for this long time Peter Robinson fan: No Cure for Love by Peter Robinson.