What are You Reading in 2009?

I've just finished Cost by Roxana Robinson. It's early in the year so you never know, but I'll be surprised not to find this one on my best of the year list at year end. Incredibly compelling and moving. So many elements so well interwoven: the experience of losing a parent and a spouse to Alzheimers, the complex world of parenting, the awkward relationships we have with our siblings. I don't think I've ever seen the idea of the adult child still needing to be the good child delivered so thoughtfully. I find myself thinking of George Eliot, in the way Robinson delivers such realness in fiction.

I'm reading a thriller called What Time Devours by A. J. Hartley that is quite good. I'm also reading Green Tea and Other Ghost Stories by J. Sheridan LeFanu.

Both are for my 999 challenge.

I'm reading A Mercy by Toni Morrison and am just barely beginning War and Peace for a group read.

Working solely on Great Feuds in Science, so to speak....

My Profile Page says I'm reading three books, but I haven't picked up the other two in quite some time. And I'm barely reading the above-mentioned at all -- a couple of pages per week. Yet, it's a very good book!

Just finished Lost & Found which I found very enjoyable. I think I'll begin Lee Child's Persuader tonight. Or possibly I'll change my mind when perusing my shelves before bedtime. I'm open for suggestions...take a look at my library. If it doesn't say "read" in the tag, then it's in the running.

I finished What Time Devours and am starting my ER book, The Perfect Scent.

I just started a new 999 Challenge book, David Denby's Great Books. I am liking it so far. One review posted on LT complained about the constant self-referencing, but as it is intended as a journal and not standard lit crit, I don't think that counts as an issue. What may be important is whether or not I like Denby and how he thinks.

Over in the Introduce Yourself string, we had a series of exchanges about the Puzzle Lady book series. Based on the recommendations there, I just finished the first book in the series A Clue for the Puzzle Lady. I enjoyed and there are lots more books from the series at the library, so I'll be reading more of that series in 2009. Likewise, I discovered Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series at the end of 2008, so I am steadily listening my way through that series as well. Next up, I'm going to work on my ER book Mother Teresa's Secret Fire.

I'm reading The Brothers Karamazov for the 999 Challenge group read, as well as Sydney Poitier's autobiography The Measure of a Man. I also have an ebook on the go, The Alexander Cipher although I haven't made much progress as yet.

Presently: The Belly of Paris by Emile Zola; An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England and The Children by David Halberstam. I guess this is a fair representation of what I usually do--switch between fiction and non-fiction and light fiction and not so light fiction. I think the Zola book is going to be the first I finish of these three. He writes as if he were painting!

I have joined the 75 challenge for 2009. I am currently on book #40.
It is The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters.. it's an ARC from vine.
It is like her others, wonderful. I should finish it tonight perhaps?
Depends.

Glad News of the Natural World, which is mildly engaging, mostly because once you've read Wise Blood, you've already read the best treatment of that eccentric Southern schtick.

I review everything I read, and recent reviews can be found on my profile page. Or on Club Read if anyone's also following that group.

A follow-up from #4....

I'm currently rereading Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader because when I first read it, I wasn't in the habit of writing reviews, and as Anne has become my favorite Author, I feel like I owe it to her.

The next one will be A Passion for Books, edited by Harold Rabinowitz and Rob Kaplan.
It's a collection of essays, stories, poems, etc... on book-related subjects.

My favorite genre is Books about Books, and I've decided that I've neglected my collection of them for too long now, so for the rest of this year, unless there's a compelling reason to choose otherwise, I'm indulging myself.

I also enjoy books about books and have read both Ex Libris and A Passion for Books and both are excellent in there different ways. I also like coffee table type books about books like At Home With Books and Living With Books. I have A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel on my TBR pile and need to get to it sometime soon.

I got nowhere with reading this weekend, much to my dismay.
I started out just washing bedclothes, ended up switching our winter bedclothes to summer ones on all four beds ( 2 guest rooms ) and doing other laundry, cleaning closets, drawers and the attic. ( a little in the attic) .
Thus I read very little, sadly.
:(

Books about books. What a cool idea.

I'm waiting for People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks.

Also like Fahrenheit 451, which I read once every few years.

There's Rex Libris, a graphic novel about a librarian, which I have not got my hands on yet. I am not wild about the GN genre, but this one sounds interesting.

Currently, I have a few books going at the same time. I am reading A People's History of the Supreme Court as a background for my US Presidents Challenge. I have found that reading the biographies of the Presidents (I've done Washington thru Madison so far) I need more info in certain areas and thought that this book could help me as I progressed. It tells of the development of the court and then the landmark cases that the Court settled. So far it has been very interesting. I'm also finishing Jane Eyre on audio. I can't believe that I never read this book before. It's a little over the top in some places but at least it's holding my interest.

#17, if you're looking for prez bio rec's:

Truman by David McCullough is the best prez bio I've ever read.

Also Henry Pringle's bio of Theodore Roosevelt is old, but quite good.

I'm reading Love Stories in this Town by Amanda Eyre Ward, which is a delightful short story collection. Manages to be funny and moving at the same time. Read "Shakespeare.com" last night.

If you like Presidential memoirs / bio's you might like to look into Personal Memoirs: Ulysses S. Grant by Ulysses S. Grant. And The Case of Abraham Lincoln: A Story of Adultery, Murder, and the Making of a President by Julie M. Fenster

Team of Rivals was wonderful
The Hummingbird's Daughter ~ fantastic
The Bestiary and A Trip to The Stars
The Mystery of Grace ~ loved them all

are some of my favorites of the year so far.

Kath, you do go on and on about The Hummingbird's Daughter. I'm going to have to push it to the top of my list just so I can see what all the fuss is about! I'm trying to sit tight on the book buying/borrowing until I see what I can pick up at the Library Sale at the end of May, but I may not last that long...

yeah.. I guess I do , lol. I have another of his books The Devil's Highway, waiting on the stack..

I am currently reading The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, and it is looking good...and I love the book itself.

I've had three or four other people tell me that I have to read The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane after I put it on my list from your talking about it. And it doesn't even look like it's available yet! I'm anxious to get to it myself.

It hasn't been released yet.. I got it from Amazon vine..
I totally love it so far.

so far this year (and last) I have been reading alot of military sci-fi. At the top of the list would be Taylor Anderson's three book Destroyerman series starting with Into the Storm: Destroyermen book I.
Have been reading more non- fiction than in past years. At the top of the list would be The Four Deuces: A Korean War Story by C.S. Crawford followed by two WW2 books writen by Japanese Authors, Japanese Destroyer Captain by Tameichi Hara and Midway the Battle That doomed Japan by Mitsuo Fuchida
Currently reading another military sci-fi Relentless (The Lost Fleet, Book 5) by Jack Campbell

I'm reading A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnitt before diving into Maps of Time.

I just finished Aunt Dimity's Death, by Nancy Atherton. I enjoyed it very much and will at the very least go on to the next one. I also just finished Terminal Freeze by Douglas Preston and/or Lincoln Child on audio. I enjoyed that too, but still prefer to actually hold a book in my hot little hands.

I'm listening to A Monsterous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King. I love audio books for when I can't hold a book--doing household jobs, say, or at the gym (I can't read at one speed and exercise at another).

Arrr,
My Wife likes the Aunt Dimity books. She even tried a few of the recipes in the back of them. (I like them).

I am steadily working my way through the Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly. Almost all of them are available as MP3 downloads through the library. I've always liked listening to books, but I LOVE the convenience of listening them via MP3. That's how I stumbled onto the Harry Bosch books--one of them was on the home page of the digital section of the library. It was a great find. I'm really, really enjoying them!

What a recommendation! I'm making a note to look on my library's e-audio books.

I am participating in the 999 Challenge, so some of my reading has been pretty various. The two big experiences were The Name of the Rose and Possession: A Romance. I just now finished some Byatt short stories, The Matisse Stories. She boggles my mind, she is that good and that accessible, at least to me. I just find her a rich and satisfying read. This is during my morning "face the day and chew your coffee" time. In the evenings, after work, I just steam my way through mysteries, science fiction and fantasy. I just discovered Joe Scalzi who does intelligent space opera. And, of course, LT is doing wonderful and horrible things to my tbrs and my wishlist.

In The Wake of Madness by Joan Druett
An interesting read. This is the account of the cruise of the whaleship 'Sharon' out of Fairhaven Mass. from 1841 till 1845. Whose Captain was murdered a year later by three of the crewmen. And then the ship being almost single handedly being retaken by the third officer.

The story mostly unfolds through the journals and letters of the Third Officer Benjamin Clough and the ships cooper Andrew White. Also other ship logs from other ships that crossed their path.

Two things make this simple account very interesting;
One, it reveals the sinister side of the whaling industry. At this time, whaling at it's height with over 700 American ships hunting for whales. This leads to ships being manned by sailors with little or no experience. This also seems to be the case with many captains as well as many were given this post at very young ages with only one or two cruises under their belts. This inexperience and youth seems to be a factor in the violence of many Captains to their crews.

Two, these years (1841 to 1845) were the same ones that Melville was sailing the same waters. Where he jumped ship (the whaleship Acushnet ). He had seen many of these same conditions that are described in the book on his ship. Also as there were over 20 deserters from the Sharon he might have heard tales about the Mad Captain who flogged a seaman to death. The author Joan Druett references Melville many times during this narrative.

She also dwells on the reasons that this chapter in whaling history is not very well known and may even have been covered up.
All in all a very readable and interesting history.

>34 usnmm2:

Thanks for the report on The Wake of Madness. It's on my look out list.

35: stevetempo
I've just discovered Joan Druett myself. I have read only one other of her books, A Watery Grave (Wiki Coffin Mysteries). This being a mystery series based around the United States South Seas Exploring Expeditionof 1838. I'm not a big fan of mysteries, but one that takes place in the age of sail caught my eye.
She has written serveral other histories, which I'm going to look into myself. She Captains,
Heroines and hellions of the sea, Hen Frigates and She Was a Sister Sailor

>34 usnmm2:, 36: Did you mention Joan Druett somewhere else? I have She Captains on my list, and had never heard of her until recently. Now I will have to add the other two that you mention. So nice to read about female sailors!

37: LisaCurcio
I mosy likely did mention her somewhere. I read A Watery Grave (Wiki Coffin mysteries last year.

After reading and enjoying In the Wake of Madness I've decided to re-read Typee by Melville. Read it many years ago in school so it should, almost, be like reading it for the first time.

Just finished the first three Aurora Teagarden mysteries by Charlaine Harris, and started Reader and Raelynx by Sharon Shinn.

Just finished Think on My Words by David Crystal for the Elizabethan England challenge.

On chapter 7 of Maps of Time and about half-way through The Pirates' Pact.

Dunno why the touchstones don't like fiction tonight ...

At the moment I'm reading Fatal Burn by Lisa Jackson.

37: LisaCurcio

Just obtained a copy of She Was a Sister Sailor based on the journals of Mary Brewster and edited by Joan Druett. Will get to it soon.

>42 usnmm2: usnmm2: I will be looking forward to your comments!

I am reading one right now that you might or might not find interesting. I know you are used to bigger boats than most of us :-)

Old Glory: A voyage down the Mississippi by Jonathan Raban is Raban's tale of his "dream" trip from Minneapolis/St. Paul to New Orleans in a 16 foot boat with an outboard motor. I have not gotten too far--only through Lock 5A, but I am enjoying his descriptions of the river, the small towns and the people. I have only done the trip from Alton, Illinois, to the Ohio River, but so far it seems like the same river.

Lisa,

Actually I enjoy travel books of that sort. here's a list of some that I have read and enjoyed;
Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen : Reflections on Sixty and Beyond by Larry McMurtry
Roads : Driving America's Great Highwaysby Larry McMurtry
Blue Highways: A Journey into America by William Least-Heat Moon
Travels with Charley in search of America by John Steinbeck
And having the previlage of crossing country 4 times on the old Hyway 66 this one really brought back memories;
THE VERSE BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD the Story of the Burma Shave Signs and the jingles by JR. ROWSOME, FRANK

You may also like Mississippi Solo: A River Quest by Eddy L. Harris. It was the Read MOre selection several years ago, and the St. Louis Public Library system invited him to come and talk. He made the trip in a canoe, and I found it a fascinating read.

you people aren't helping me get my TBR pile smaller. :)

That is not our mission. We aim to have everyone surrounded by large TBR piles. It is our contribution to world peace.

>46 usnmm2:: jennieg is correct. Besides, you joined a library cataloging site with active "talk" groups and then joined at least one of those groups and are participating in a thread about what we are reading now and you expected to make your TBR pile smaller? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Stop it--you are killing me.

And did I complain when you directed a list of books to me--only one of which I have read--that all sound interesting? No, I did not. In fact, I thank you for further contributing to the advancement of world peace. My dogs and my husband, however, are complaining because there is less and less room for them in the bed.

I quess I'll have to bow to peer pressure and get more shelves, book cases, boxes etc.:)

from Carlos Maris Dominques "the house of paper"
"...the books are advancing silently, innocently through my house. There is no way I can stop them"

They may advance silently, but they are in no way innocent. They know full well what they are doing.

Thank heaven that one was already on my wishlist! A marvelous quote--I am going to hijack it to my profile.

...and why, pray tell, would you WANT to stop them?

Maybe we don't want to stop them. I have a quote for that too.

"Even when reading is impossible, the presence of books acquired produces such an ecstasy that the buying of more books than one can read is nothing less than the soul reaching towards infinity... we cherish books even if unread, their mere presence exudes comfort, their ready access, reassurance."
--- A.E. Newton

So let them keep advancing.

Love the quote, usnmm2!

That's one of my fall back ones that I use to justify my growing TBR pile.

Justify, smustify, who needs to make excuses? :-)

That is an awesome quote. I fully intend to steal it.

It's open domain. Enjoy! :-)

Lest Darkness Fall by L.Spraque De Camp;
An other blast from the past. Martin Padway in visiting Rome, and is whisked back to 535 A.D.. Where he introduces brandy, modern book keeping, printing presses and movable type, news papers and manages to save the world the 1000 years time called the Dark Ages. The story often humorous and brings to mind A 'Connecticut Yankee' in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain. Just enjoyable and fun to read.

Typee by Herman Melville
Had read this many years ago, but really enjoyed it much more this time around. What Melville wrote is part travel log, part sea story (tall tale) and idyllic and sometimes romanticized look on a way of life that has disappeared.
This copy is based on the oringinal text that was printed in England. A much edited version was printed for the U.S. market where the more explicit parts and the not so flattering look at the Missionaries were omitted.
I've put his second book on my TBR pile Omoo.

Started to read (first three chapters) One Second After by William R. Forstchen a post-apocalyptic type story. So far it seems fairly standard. We'll see how it progresses.

I'm just finishing A Fine Family by Gurcharan Das. Still deciding how I feel about it.

I'm reading Stone's Fall by Iain Pears this week, and quite enjoying it! I only wish for more time...say 48 hours in a day??? ;)

If we had 48 hours in a day to read, we'd wish we had 96. You'll have to let me know what you think of Stone's Fall. It looks intriguing, but I'm mildly put off by "800 pages"...

# 63 - tloeffler - You're so right! We would always find ways to fill the time and end up wishing for more. I am enjoying 'Stone's Fall' so far, and am on pg. 147. It is intriguing. I just wish my opportunities for reading lasted longer than a few minutes here and there. Oh for the days when I had no responsibilities and could immerse myself in a book for hours on end! I'm off to spend some time reading now....

In my car, I'm listening to Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. I am finding it fascinating. I think we're going to have to buy a copy because I'm sure my husband would also enjoy it. I remember thinking about why one kid was popular and another was not back in high school. As I suspected, it had more to do with his advantages than his inherent characteristics.

On my mp3 player, I am listening to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer. Very enlightening and well done. I know very little about WWII, so this is pretty much new information for me.

Lastly, at home, I'm reading The One Thing You Need to Know by Marcus Buckingham. I enjoy Buckingham's writing style and find myself agreeing with his conclusions.

#65 I also enjoyed Outliers and also found Tipping Point also by Malcolm Gladwell very interesting. Another book I read last year that was a bit mind expanding was the Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

One Second After by William R. Forstchen

Fairly standard story about the collapse of the U.S. after an attack by an E.M.P. (electrical magnetic pulse) weapon. The author goes into great detail about the decisions that a small town most do to survive. He does this by the use of the debates that the people who make up the ruling council have.
The book has a more ominous tone than other ones in this sub genre, (Alas Babylon, Earth abides, Damnation Alley, Lucifers Hammer etc.).
But I couldn't get into or care for any of the the charactors. The story just seemed to go from one clique to the next. There were no surprizes or twists, you knew what was happening before you turned the page.
I think the authors main purpose was to show how tenuous our hold on and way of life is. In this way he succeeds very well. It will make some of you think.

I finished The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman yesterday and started Crazy '08 by Cait Murphy. I liked Graveyard very much. (It won the Newberry a couple of years ago.) And Crazy is off to a great start!

Just finished Columbine by Dave Cullen and The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown. Both are excellent, the best non-fiction books I've read in a long time.

Just finished Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede - I liked it very much, and look forward to the next one in the series.

How is it that I have kept missing this thread?
If I ever get a minute to sit down with clan hands ( gardening)
I will finish The Miracles at Little No Horse.

Right now I am too achy to hold the book.. lol

ouch

I'm finally getting one off the TBR list Soldiers of Salamis by Javier Cercas.
Always had a interest in the Spanish Civil War and it looks like it might be good.

>71 mckait: That's why they make audio books, Kath!

I have Mistress of the Art of Death in my car CD players, Dreamers of the Day on my work MP3 player, The Dog Department in my "lunch at work" shelf, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society on my book table, and The Brothers Karamazov also on my book table, getting 30 pages a night. I will finish that book or die trying. (actually, it's starting to get interesting).

Really, looking at this, there must be something terribly wrong with me...

I am totally unable to do an audio book. My mind wanders... I end up rewinding over and over. They just don't work for me, believe me I have tried :)

"The Brothers Karamazov also on my book table, getting 30 pages a night. I will finish that book or die trying."

LOL I have read books like that! and then wondered why.... I hope that you do end up enjoying it.

I am really glad to have gotten the new planting done yesterday as it has rained off and on for hours.. :)

perfect!

off to read for a bit..

Soldiers of Salamis by Javier Cercas (translated from the Spanish by Anne McLean)

A Spanish journalist is ask to write an article for the 60 th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War. He writes a story of the last days when 1000's of Republicans were fleeing to France for exile, and a mass execution of Fascist leaders. Several people escape the firing squads and become leaders in Franco's government.

Sanchez Mazas a founding member Franco's Flangist Fascist party is one of these people. He tells the story of his escape and how when his hiding place is discovered his life is spared a 2nd time by a soldier that found him and let him go.

The journalist becomes intrigued with the story. And asks , Is the story true? and if it is why did the soldier let Sanchez go?.

The book is in three parts. First is about the journalist and what he learns. Second part is told thought the eyes of Sanchez Mazas. And the third part is about the soldier.

What makes this book so interesting is that all the people and events are real. Although concidered a novel it reads more like history. The journalist in the book refers to it as a tale.

I am reading Dreaming in Hindi, and enjoying it.
It is a memoir about a woman who spends a year in India.
I am just beginning it , but liking it so far.

Just started A Song for Arbonne for the Green Dragon group read. Very promising beginning.

I just finished Radio Priest: Charles Coughlin, the Father of Hate Radio, a fascinating read, especially in light of current events. Coughlin became famous during the Great Depression, when people were losing their jobs and their homes. As scary a character as he was, I might steal one neologism: "bankster."

This guy was a fascist, a capital F fascist. He is the granddaddy of the worst of the radio talkers now, combined with the Christian militia guys, too. Our parents were raised in this environment, which is sobering in itself.

That is a scary thought. Would you recommend the book?

Yes, I would. It's very readable, and fascinating. So often, we don't have much context for the social environment around big events of even recent history. All we know are the high points. The world our parents knew is surprisingly blank for us, because what were current events for them was "that happened before I was born!" for us. In fact, it was my dad needling me about just that when I was in high school that got me reading about Huey Long. ("How could anyone not know who Huey Long was!" "I wasn't born yet!") He's mentioned in the book, too.

Then I will definitely put it on my list. I fully agree with what you say about how little we know of things that happened in fairly recent history, compared to things we know about last century. I'm constantly amazed to read about things that happened in other parts of the world while I was a coherent adult that I never even knew were happening! It shames me sometimes. Thanks for the rec!

PhaedraB--What did you read about Huey Long? All the King's Men or nonfiction?

> 82

Non-fiction, but mind you, it was forty years ago. It might have been Every Man a King, but I can't say I remember for sure.

Still working on She Was a Sister Sailor about halfway done.
Last hight started Orphan's Triumph by Robert Buettner it's the 5th book in the saga of Jason Wander and the Slug War.

I am able to read a book a day easily, most days off.
I have been off for two weeks, and have read very few,
what with visiting my son and running around with a friend,
working in the garden... I am still reading Dreaming in Hindi.
It is not a book that drags or sends me fleeing from its pages, but I am spending
more time with other things. That is both good, and bad. :P

Today is my sisters birthday and so I will be spending much of the day with her.. more not reading!

Some wonderful books just out in paperback:
No One You Know
Somebody Else's Daughter
The Divorce Party

Hi meg, nice to see you!

Welcome back, meg! No One You Know is already on my TBR list!

Is that her new one tloe?

No, this one is by Michelle Richmond. I saw it on a website & it looked good, so on the list it went. Isn't it nice that she recommends other people's books too?

It is nice. But then, she isn't one of those authors who never use LT and just show up to say I wrote a book and you should buy it :)

Nice to see you guys, too! I'm working my way through Olive Kitteridge. Anyone else read it yet? Thoughts?

I LOVED Olive Kitteridge! It was like nothing I've ever read before. I'm not sure when I've ever read a book where I changed my mind so often over how I felt about a character. It made her seem real somehow.

I haven't read that one. I have been reading more non-fiction than usual in the last few weeks.. some fiction too of course. . I seem to be hooked on a new to me author, Erik Larson, who disappointingly has no touchstone. Sad state of affairs. I read Isaac's Storm and am now reading Devil in the White City. I also have 2 Luis Alberto Urrea's on the stack. I fell in love with his writing after The Hummingbird's Daughter. They are fiction, but mostly based on fact/history.

I was underwhelmed by Devil in the White City. The two plotlines never did merge well, I felt. It seemd like it would have been a great magazine article.

I just read The Terrible Hours, about the first deep-water submarine rescue and the man who almost siglehandedly developed the first technology for submarien rescues. Very fascinating stuff.

I recently read 2 delightfully weird and creepy books by Alexandra Sokoloff, The Unseen and The Price. I seem to be reading her books in reverse order, but that's OK -- they aren't a series. Her first novel The Harrowing is on my wishlist.

I just started The Odds by Kathleen George -- too soon to tell if I'll like it. I'm coming in on the middle of a detective series with that one, but a review of it in the newspaper caught my eye. It's set in Pittsburgh, a city I know somewhat, so that's a plus.

I'm loving, but sometimes struggling, with The Gone-Away World, by Nick Harkaway. It's a post-apocolyptic story with unforgettable characters and a huge serving of imagination and fun. Has anyone else read this?

I have just started one of my 999 Challenge reads that seems like it is going to be a happy surprise. I selected it for historical value and self-improvement opportunity BUT it will be an interesting pleasure to read The Penguin Nature Library edition of George Caitlin's The North American Indian. For a self-taught man travelling, writing and painting at the time of the westward expansion, Caitlin was quite a decent nature writer and anthropologist. I am not generally a fan of portrait paintings but now I want to go wherever it is that the Smithsonian has their collection of his works and check them out. I love happy surprises. Sorry, no useful touchstones.

I finished The Odds, and enjoyed it. Some aspects of the story seemed a wee bit implausible, but not so much as to put me off the story. I also finally read The Perfect Storm, and it was an engrossing, thought-provoking read.

I meant to take up Judas Child (as my next fiction read) and Isaac's Storm (my next non-fiction), but before I could get started on them, I was at the county library with my son and picked up another book on my wishlist to occupy my time -- Heart Shaped Box -- and I was immediately hooked. When a book can give me shivers in broad daylight in a public library, it's usually worth checking out and finishing! (And I did.)

First time on this thread.

I am reading The Oxford Book of Canadian Short Stories selected by Margaret Atwood & Robert Weaver.

Maybe it is just me but this book has not impressed me at all. There are a few stories that I enjoy but nothing to get overly excited about. I was so looking forward to reading it. I am almost done and relieved that it will soon be in my past.

Soldiers of Salamis: A Novel by Javier Cercas

A Spanish journalist is ask to write an article for the 60 th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War. He writes a story of the last days when 1000's of Republicans were fleeing to France for exile, and a mass execution of Fascist leaders. Several people escape the firing squads and become leaders in Franco's government.

Sanchez Mazas a founding member Franco's Fascist party is one of these people. He tells the story of his escape and how when his hiding place is discovered his life is spared a 2nd time by a soldier that found him and let him go.

The journalist becomes intrigued with the story. One - is the story true? and if it is why did the soldier let Sanchez go..

Ned Myers; Or, a Life Before the Mast (Classics of Naval Literature) by Ned Myers (edited by James Fenimore Cooper)
.

What a great book. Ned Myers ran away to sea at age 10 and he says of it ;

"Some idea may be formed of my recklessness, and ignorance of such matters, at this time, from the circumstance that I do not remember ever to have known the name of the vessel in which I left Nova Scotia. Change an adventure were my motives, and it never occurred to me to inquire into a fact that was so immaterial to one of my temperment. To this hour, I am ignorant on the subject"

His whole carreer seems to be like this. One of shifting sands and impulse.
Some of his stories seem to be a little far fechted, he seems to have mastered the art of the 'Sea Story' or 'Whopper' and could revial some of Mark Twains "Tall Tales"

He is full of regret for the lost opprtunities that he squandered, and the dangers of too much grogand drink. He doesn't spend alot of time beating himself for this but does warns younger men not to waste them if they come their way. He uses witty sayings all though the book to great advantage;

"Sailors make their money like horses, and spend it like asses"
or "... it being the fate of seaman to encounter the greatest risks and hardships in company, and then to cut adrift from each other, with little ceremony, never to meet again".

Overall it was a great read. Not so much about the day to day living like Dana's Two years Before the Mast, Meleville's White Jacket, or Buenzle's Bluejacket: An Autobiography, but like a fine painting the whole colorfull pallat painted in large strokes tells of a mans life.

Next up is a Sci fi read the first in the Helliconia Triolgy by Brian W Aldiss Helliconia Spring

I'm currently reading The Pillars of the Earth, a group read in the 50 book challenge group. Excellent historical fiction set in the middle ages.

I recently finished The House at Riverton by Kate Morton and I loved it. It's another historical fiction and the setting is aristocratic England during the period just before, during and after WWI.

I've just finished You-Turn: Changing Direction in Midlife by Dr. Nancy B. Irwin. It was a great read and very inspiring. Also very appropriate that I read it at this time while making my own You-Turn. :) I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I'm also reading Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul by Jack Canfield. Always love stories about cats!

Next up is also No Matter What: 9 Steps to Living the Life You Love by Lisa Nichols. Also a very appropriate read as I'm now living the life I love! :)

What have you enjoyed reading more than this collection?

>101 usnmm2: I think you will enjoy Helliconia Spring. The concept (the seasons take place for hundreds of years because of the elliptical nature of the planets orbit) the book features is fascinating. I didn't enjoy Helliconia Summer as much and never got to the last book and I'm not sure why. I read them in the 1980's.

If you are in the mood for something interesting alternate history try West of Eden. It's also a trilogy. It features sentient dinosaurs. Harry Harrison created this alternate world with several experts. I found it very believable.

I'm currently enjoying The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. A most outstanding biography.

I read all three of the Helliconia books, and loved them. Spring was my least favorite for some reason. I have Summer coming up for a reread.

Just finished Judas Child. Once I got started, it was very difficult to put it down, even when I had to. A terrific book, interesting characters, lots of plot twists right up to the very end. And it left me thinking.

>105 stevetempo:: stevetempo
Thanks for the sugestion. West of Eden looks interesting. H.H. is not one author I usually seek out. I read a few of the Stainless Steel Rat books many years ago (they were OK.) Enjoyed his Planet of the Damned and Make Room! Make Room! the sorce book for the movie "Soylent Green". Bill the Galatic Hero had me in stiches. I guess I'll have to look into more of his books.
I just got The Rise of Theogore Roosevelt and am looking forward to it.

102: loriephillips
Read and enjoyed Pillars of Earthmany years ago. Follet is another of those authors that I never think of but am always pleasently surprised when I read him. I've read his Eye of the Needle, The Key to Rebecca, Code to Zero, Night Over Water and Whiteout and have enjoyes them all.

Closed my book, The Oxford Book of Canadian Short Stories last night and happy that it was done. It wasn't all that bad. It wasn't all that good. This book has been sitting on my shelf for who knows how long. Glad that I read it and it's over with and done.

Going to dive into The Big Book of Canadian Book Stories by (John Robert Colombo) that I started reading in January. It's been pleading for me to read it. I am surprised by all the articles that came from newpapers way back in the late 1800's. Very intersesting.

I've just started The Fifth Floor by Michael Harvey. It's written more or less in the style of those old '40's "hard boiled" detective novels, but set in modern Chicago. Part of the story involves the city's history -- the Great Chicago Fire. I'm about 10 chapters in and, so far, I really like this guy's style a lot.

I am listening to Hour Game by David Baldacci. It is the second book in his new Sean King and Stephanie Maxwell series. I am enjoying this book more than I did the first one--not sure why.

In the car, I'm listening to Winter Study by Nevada Barr. I keep thinking that I've already listened to this book, but since I can't remember who gets murdered or who the murderer is, I'm also thinking it doesn't much matter if I've already listened to it!

I am continuing to make my way through Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series. I just finished The Narrows, and will be requesting The Closers from the library soon.

Lastly, even as I type, I am downloading The Time Traveler's Wife, a title I saw favorably reviewed a number of times on LT, prompting this library check-out.

Isn't that the greatest thing about growing older? Everything is a new experience!

>111 lbradf: Hope you enjoy The Time Traveler's Wife. It's one of my favorite books from last year's reading. It has very broad (time travel, romance, etc.) appeal and I found it very insight and satisfying.

I've heard a movie is in the works and I think it may have also inspired a short lived TV series titled The Journeyman.

I saw a commercial for the movie last night...
I was surprised. It is a good book, one of those on my re-read shelves.

Just wanted to say that I recently read Nixonland. It was a great recreation of the mid-sixties through the early seventies. It reminded me of many events and people I had forgotten, and put a new perspective on others.

I just finished No Matter What!: 9 Steps to Living the Life You Love by Lisa Nichols. It was great! I'll have my review up shortly. Next will be Behind the Mask...No More by Byron Nease. I've always been a fan of Phantom of the Opera, and was thrilled to be able to see it live in New York a couple of years ago. This book is sub-titled "A Phantom Stars' Journey through Love, Abuse, Fame, Loss to Re-Invention.

>115 arubabookwoman:, abw: Nixonland keeps coming up and your recommendation clinches it for the wishlist.

Just finished a disappointing entry in Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski series: Blacklist. I hope her new one--Hardball--is better. I always liked V.I.

Continueing to read more non-fiction this year.

At All Costs: How a Crippled Ship and Two American Merchant Mariners Turned the Tide of World War II by Sam Moses

This is the story of "Operation Pedesetal". Which was the name of the convoy to resupply the Island of Malta after two years of constant bombing by German and Italian forces. This convoy was the most well armed and protected convoy and the most attacked convoy in history. After a six day running battle (being bombed in the day time and attacked by E-Boats at night) Only 5 merchant ships out of 15 made limped into Malta. These 5 ships carried enough cargo and fuel to keep Malta going for another three months and allowed the British 10th submarine force to return and sink enough axis ships to forced Rommel to retreat and allowed America time to join forces with the Britsh Army and retake northern Africa, Sicily and force the Italians to surrender.

It's also the story of two Merchant Seaman, Fred Larson a vertern Merchant Marine Officer and a Merchant Seaman Cadet Lonnie Dale. These two men reboarded (this action also inspired others to reboard and help) the oiler SS Ohio after after it was abanded and on fire to repair it's AA guns, engines and fight fires to fight off German dive bombers and Italian "E" boats for two days

A Hanging Offense: The Strange Affair of the Warship Somers by Buckner F. Melton

A very readable history of the only mutiny on a U.S. Naval vassal the U.S. Brigg of War Somers in 1842, that resulted in the three ring leaders being hanged. The result of which led to the founding of the U.S. Naval Academy.

On the surface you would say O. K. discipline in those days were harsh and these things happened in those days.. But it ends up that these three young men were hanged without a court Marshall or the benefit of legal council of any kind.

Add to the mix that the mastermind of the mutiny was a young acting Midshipman named Phillip Spencer whose father was John Canfield Spencer was Pres. John Tyler's secretary of war, and had arranged the boy's commission with the help of Capt. Oliver "Hazzard Perry.You now have the setting for high drama and what sounds like a Hollywood script.

The book is written in a very low keyed tone. Every chapter is more of an essay on the main people involved and each part of the event as it unfolds. Overall it gives a good account of the facts as known and the condition both political and physical of the U.S. Navy and the Country ain 1842.

The story is a who's who of America and American Maritime History. James Fenmore Cooper, Richard Henry Dana Jr., and almost every member of the Perry family. William H. Seward who would be Pres. Lincoln's Sec. of State in the Civil War.

The Lt. aboard the Somers was Melville's cousin and may have been the source for Melville's book Billy Budd. There are some very striking similarities between Capt. Mackenzie and Captain Vere. The last exchange between Capt. Mackenzie and Seaman Smalls is touching ;
Capt. Meckenzie - "Small" ..."what have I done to you that you won't bid me goodbye?"
..... "I did not know that you would bid a poor bugger like me goodbye Sir,"
.... Now Meckenzie it was who asked forgiveness of Small. He told the seaman that he had to go through with the execution; both the honor of the flag and the safety of the crew demanded it. "Yes, Sir and I honor you for it," replied Small. "God Bless that Flag!"

Billy Budd years later says ""God bless Captain Vere!"

>118 usnmm2: A Hanging Offense: The Strange Affair of the Warship Somers sounds very interesting to me. Thanks for the summary of both books.

I'm still in my Theodore Roosevelt mode this summer. I completed The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt which I thoroughly enjoyed. Morris made me feel like I was right there with TR through many of the formative events in the first part of his life. The book follows his development from birth to the moment he assumes the Presidency.

I'm almost done with Mornings on Horseback. Another homerun! McCullough focus much more on TR's early life and family as well as other influencing factors.

I also fun with 1901. It's an Alternate History novel with the "what if" being a Germany invasion of the US at the turn of the century. TR also figures as a major character. This was Conroy's first book and was not my favorite (I have also read 1862 and 1945,) but still enjoyable. It was also not a "What If" (Germany's Invasion) that I had ever read before. I find his books to be fun fast reading as his stories move with a lot of narration. I thought the books ending was clever. You can judge for yourself.

I also read Hurricane of Independence: The Untold Story of the Deadly Storm at the Deciding Moment of the American Revolution. Williams ties a large Hurricane that hit the East Coast of North America in Sept 1775, to historical events and then speculates on how the storm affected the outcomes. I love the idea and did learn a bit, but felt it a little disjointed and dry at times

Another ARC Waiting For Columbus.. just started it. I haven't read anything much for a week.. eek!

119: stevetempo
I hope you find and enjoy a copy.
One the interesting outcomes of this event was the founding of the U.S. Naval Acadamy.

>119 stevetempo: Steve, you might also enjoy (if you haven't already) 1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs--The Election that Changed the Country by James Chace. I'm not a political reader by any stretch of the imagination, but even I enjoyed this fascinating and fairly easy to read book.

finished and reviewed Waiting for Columbus..
Finally starting The Lost City of Z

>121 usnmm2: (usnmm2) -- thanks again for suggestion...the book is on my radar scope...B-)

>122 tloeffler: (tloeffler) -- Your suggestion sounds very interesting, I'll be sure to look for that...thanks!

Just finished The Lost City of Z and starting Franny and Zooey. The Serpent's Tale is in the car, The Ice Queen is in the MP3, Porgy in the purse.

>125 tloeffler: (tloeffler) I find your geographically centered reading fascinating...B-)

Letters to Bess is a facinating collection of letters from Harry Truman to Bess Truman.

Just finished The Pure in Heart, and can't decide whether to start Sea of Poppies, Battle Cry of Freedom or Justice Accused. Maybe I will start all three and see which one I finish first!

Better than halfway through The Last Lincolns. Fascinating.

The first half was mostly Robert Lincoln and his mother Mary Todd. Now I'm into the next generation - Robert's 2 daughters. (His only son died as a teenager)

I am descended from a cousin's line (My grandmother was a Lincoln). It is really sad to think the President's line only lasted 3 generations beyond him. The family was certainly cursed with sorrow and tragedy at every turn.

Just started They Were Expendable by W.L. White. Been on the TBR pile for about a year. So far seems good.

@130: wow, thanks for the memory jog. I recall reading They Were Expendable when I was in 5th or 6th grade (around 1965) when I found it in my parents' library. It was my introduction to World War II and gave me a good opportunity to ask lots of questions of my father about his experience in the US Army (otherwise, he wasn't one to talk much about it). I remember it as a very moving, frank, book, but of course I didn't know anything at that age...(and not much more today, haha).

Edited to add: I'm currently reading and enjoying an advance copy of Dreaming in Hindi by Katherine Russell Rich, which focuses on language acquisition and cross-cultural experiences.

Sigh. I just entered a rather long post about the three or four books I'm currently reading, and the system bobbled and it went away...

On the commuter train: The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis; I'll continue re-reading her Falco series - good, humorous mysteries set in in 1st c Rome.

At lunch: Ravens and Black Rain: the Story of Highland Second Sight by Elizabeth Sutherland

In the evenings (once I get through watering the garden, and house/garden sitting for my sister & a friend, both of whom are out of town), either Cloth and Clothing in Early Anglo Saxon England, AD 450-700 by Penelope Walton Rogers or Kevin Danaher's The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs

Can you tell I like archaeology & folklore? :-)

I tend to be a *very* fast reader - not always a good thing - so the list will be mostly different next week.

I'm reading The Children's Blizzard. I'm very glad to be reading it in August.

Dreaming in Hindi .. read and enjoyed it a few months ago...

must have Ravens and Black Rain!!!

Ravens and Black Rain is pretty good; not as scholarly as I would like (I keep looking for footnotes ;-) but certainly an enjoyable browse.

Have been reading non-fiction the last few books, so I'm back to one on my favorite fiction genre, naval/nautical fiction with South to Java by Adm. William P. Mack USN (Ret.). read 130 pages so far and is excellent.

another arc The Day the Falls Stood Still, for me

Late last night I started reading Perry Mason, The Case of the Sleep Walkers Niece by Erle Stanley Gardner. Only on page 16 and already enjoying it.

I picked up a romance by Kat Martin last night called The Bride's Necklace. I just needed something light after a long and busy day. Along with that, I'm reading Eat Right for your Blood Type again.

I've been catching up with some favorite mystery series this summer. Currently I'm reading Peter Robinson's "Friend of the Devil".

#107 tymfos
Since you read & liked "Judas Child"...you might also like Carol O'Connell's 'Mallory' series, if you haven't discovered it already.

#116 Neverwithoutabook
You mentioned liking 'Phantom of The Opera"...
recently I attended a series of lecture classes called "An Afternoon with the Phantom". The instructor had visited the Paris Opera House, and she shared her experience & photos with the class. After discussing the history of the Opera House, we talked about the book "Phantom Of The Opera" by Gaston Leroux, then we watched & discussed the film "Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Phantom of the Opera" (love the movie, BTW).

I just finished The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons. Very well written, I found it very disturbing -- it's been described as Siddon's venture into horror, but a different kind of horror.

Now I'm reading Journey into Fear, edited by Richard Peyton. It's a collection of scary railroad stories. Legends/allegedly "true" ghost stories alternate with short fiction, supposedly inspired by the legends, by some great authors. (Sometimes the connection between the legend and the tale it supposedly influenced is pretty slim, except that they both involve a train.) Fun reading.

#140 Catgwinn
Thanks! I have read most of the Mallory series. But I just borrowed one that I missed from the county library, and plan to start it this weekend.

About halfway done with South To Java by Vice Adm. William P. Mack USN (Ret),a very good read so far.

Have two in the on deck circle and keeping with my pledge to read more non-fiction they are both histories;

Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920's by Frederick Lewis Allen
and
At 12 Mr. Byng was Shot by Dudley Pope

> 142

You are bringing back memories usnmm2. I remember reading Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920's for my History class at Texas A&M almost 30 years ago. As I recall it's a great account of the 1920's. My Professor at the time called the 1920's the first "Modern Decade."

Right now I'm almost done with The Defiant Agents by Andre Norton. This is part of her Time Travel Series. It's quick and fun to read and focuses on a alliance between the Apaches and the Mongols against the Reds,,,B-)

Next up I'm going to try The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. The motivation for this is a love of New York City History (especially the 19th Century) and I'm just coming off of two wonderful bios of Theodore Roosevelt, where he grows up in the New York of the 1870's. So we will see where this path takes me.

Happy Reading all!

143: stevetempo
If you like NY history, you might enjoy Downtown: My Manhattan by Pete Hamil

#143
I'll be reading "Age Of Innocence" for a lecture, discussion class 'The Novel' which starts in September/October. Among other topics, we'll be comparing "Age of Innocence" with "Portrait of a Lady", which we read last spring.

> 144; usnmm2...Thanks for the suggestion...will check it out.

>145 Catgwinn: Catgwinn...Good luck with your class. I've heard of Wharton but never read any of her books. She was referenced a few times in the Roosevelt bios.

140 - Catgwinn
Sounds like a great discussion on Phantom. I love the movie in most of it's versions, and loved seeing it live! I can't imagine what it would be like to see the Paris Opera House! That must be a real experience to remember!

I just started Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy by Diana Preston. I had checked it out of the county library, then hesitated to read it, thinking the volume too heavy (literally and figuratively) to take on vacation. But (swayed by glowing reviews it has received) now that I'm back home, I've renewed it and am liking it after the first chapter. I don't feel I know a lot about World War I, and this looks like an interesting way to get acquainted with it.

(edited for spelling)

Loved The Age of Innocence. The best read of 2009, not surprising.

I have just started Stories in Stone: Travels Through Urban Geology for a change of pace.

I have to read quickly...school starts in another week...here we go! B-)

South To Java by Vice Adm. William P. Mack USN (Ret)

The book is about an old WW1 four stacker destroyer in the Plillipines at the start of WW2. The main charactor is a young Naval Officer is the gunnery officer. Just so happens that at the start of WW2 that Adm. William P. Mack USN (Ret.) was was a young gunnery officer on the USS Pope an old WW1 vintage four stacker station in the Phillipines.

This is what makes this book unique from the many other fiction books that I have read set in this time frame. There is a feel of authenticity to the conversations amoung the charactrs;
"Where and when will the war will start. Pearl Harbor, Hong Kong, Singapore etc."

Also the charactors or more fleshed out than in most books of this kind. Not only the officers but the enlisted as well. They all have their lives and problems aboard ship and ashore. We care about them.

The battle sequences were well written and the fictional USS O'Leary DD 200 Took nothing away from the actual historical battles.
Overall a good read and recommended to any that like Naval Fiction.There are a few more books that the author wrote to continue the story. I just might look into them

Momentarily stopped reading Master and Margarita, which I was enjoying, to read Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, the true story of one man's/family's experience with Hurricane Katrina and, to some extent, the aftermath of 911.

Started reading Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920's by Frederick Lewis Allen last night. Seems like it's will be an interesting read.
Many things that Lewis mentions about May 1919 sound familiar;

> '... short haired women, like long haired men, are associated with radicalism, if not free love.' (1960's?)

> refering to a cartoon that appeared in "Life";
'... Uncle Sam saying to a soldier, "Nothing is to good for you, my boy! What would you like?" and the soldier answers "A job" (today?)

>149 stevetempo:: stevetempo and >145 Catgwinn:: Catgwinn
I looked into The Age of Innocence
and it's tweeked my curiosity. Being written in 1919 I think it might be a good segway with " Only Yesterday..." followed by "Years of Grace" (1931) by Margaret Ayer Barnes .
Speaking of Pulitzer Prizes was fate trying to say something with the 1928 winner The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder

>152 usnmm2: usnmm2,

I hope you enjoy The Age of Innocence if you decide to read it. It was a different kind of book then I normally read. It's an historical romance of the world of High Society New York in the 1870's. I found Edith's witting style outstanding. The book resonated with moments in my life and I found myself really caring about the characters.

The underlying message (dealing with conformity,,,"group think",,,what ever you want to call it) is an issue of the human condition and very germane to today.

I'm into Stories in Stone: Travels Through Urban Geology. It's an Early Review. In to the first 100 pages and I'm liking it. It's very interdisciplinary (science, history, etc.) and that's something I very much enjoy. After that it's back to TR with Theodore Rex. The reading will slow a bit next week though as I find myself back in the classroom again with my students.

I'm a fan of the Victorian ghost story and also read LeFanu. Even better than him is M. R. James, with Casting the Runes and other truly creepy tales. Also wonderful are Algernon Blackwood and Oliver Onions.

>152usnmm2: For more fiction written about that time try The Given Day by Dennis Lehane. It is set primarily in Boston, 1919 at the end of the war. I particularly liked it. My review (and other better reviews) are on the book page.

155: LisaCurcio

FINALLY!!! A recomendation I don't have to find, buy or wait 2 months to get it from the library. It's already in the TBR pile. Got it as a present last Xmass. Thank you Lisa.

I just finished Joyce Maynard's Labor Day and recommend it wholeheartedly - a wonderful, quick read!

I need to get back into reading mode. I switched off when I changed my journey to work from tube to overland following an office relocation, in the tube there was elbow space but none on the overland which made it awkward. I started Temeraire at the beginning of this week and must say I am enjoying it and should have it finished by the end on the weekend. Then I must get to finish my re-reading of The Colour of Magic and also finish Wintersmith. Probably then start Temeraire: Throne of Jade or even Twilight leaving a couple David Eddings books to finish of The Redemption of Althalus and The Elder Gods.

Dave

just passing through to keep in touch.. Some of these look very good!

155 usnmm2:

You are welcome, and I will count on you to return the favor some day. It is always nice to take one off of the TBR pile for the two or three we put on it as a result of these threads!

The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy. Read it in the middle 70's when it first came out. His experiences teaching impovrished African-American children on an island off South Carolina. Compelling then, compelling now.

>152 usnmm2:: usnmm, I'm anxious to hear what you have to say about Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920's. It's on one of my shelves, and it didn't look like a book that anyone else would have ever had. My latest madness is that, as soon as I run out of books on my small "TBR in process" table (as if), I am going to take turns pulling a book off of a different shelf each time I'm ready for a new book to read. The shelf that book is on has a lot of good ones, but I may bump it to the head of the line if you have good things to say about it!

>158 dfmorgan: "in the tube there was elbow space but none on the overland which made it awkward."
Have you ever tried listening to books? I download them to my mp3 player free from the public library. It's great for listening to books on airplanes, waiting rooms, anywhere. I always have three or four on the player--much easier to carry and handle than three or four physical books!

>161 CharlesBoyd:--You tempt me to read The Water is Wide again myself! It is a book I have never forgotten.

>163 lbradf: Ibradf

I enjoy listening to audio book all the time, but almost all my listening is to non-fiction books. I find it very hard to keep my mind focused on the plot of a novel while listening to the story being read.

Ibradf #163 Definately worth rereading. I wonder if Conroy is in touch with any of the people from the island, and what long term effect he had on them.

I finished Last of the Lincolns a while ago. Now I'm reading How to Read Literature Like a Professor. It is really entertaining. I sense themes most of the time. But I've never had such things spelled out for me in quite this way. I'm loving it.

I finished Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy by Diana Preston, and another short book, Reading with Deeper Eyes: The Love of Literature and the Life of Faith.

I'm currently reading Dead Famous by Carol O'Connell. It's the one Mallory mystery that I haven't read yet.

Currently reading Anne Perry's "Buckingham Palace Gardens". Started "We Shall Not Sleep" also by Anne Perry (#5 in her WWI series).
Want to finish it before my SAIL classes resume in September...I'll be reading several different books for different group-reading classes, plus reference reading (online & hardcopy) for other classes.

#146/149 stevetempo
Glad to know you liked "Age of Innocence"; I'm looking forward to reading it for my one of the SAIL classes. BTW I've added "Stories In Stone: Travels Through Urban Geology" to my "Find/TBR" list...it sounds like an interesting read.

I have read this, Seven Ancient Wonders, Matthew Reilly, Area 7, same author, if you like your action fast paced then you will enjoy these titles, kinda Bond meets Indiana Jones...

..also reading at the moment, The Night of the Mi'raj, not sure about this, it's different to what I would normally read, I would say it's interesting from a diferent point of view

I'm reading Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz.

So far, a very interesting read. Pulitzer Prize winning author Horwitz goes on a Civil War quest through the South, and meets quite a variety of fascinating (sometimes funny, occasionally scary) people who are still caught up in the Civil War, one way or another.

ETA for spelling of book author's name.

My bestest friend ever has lent me a few of the books that she has read and hopes I would enjoy. Jusst finished Death Angel by Linda Howard. A bit disppointing but a fast read. I was laid up in bed for a few days so it was good that I didnt have a book that made me think.

Now another one of hers, Dead Before Dark by Wendy Corsi Staub. Actually started last night but couldn't tell you what it was about. Going to start all over again tonight.

I'm halfway through my latest LTER book, The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan. It's a fantastic story and I'm learning alot about Niagara Falls.

Also reading Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip by Matthew Algeo. A fun trip down the blue highways of the midwest.

I really need to read Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horowitz, tymfos.. that one is going onto my wishlist, as will Last of the Lincolns .. that one sounds good merry!

Now off to work before I find more to add...

I am reading The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler thanks for LT recommendations. I'm pretty I would enjoy it more if I had read more Jane Austen myself, but the further I go, the more I am interested in the book club participants and the Austen references fly by more easily.

In the car, I am listening to Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos. I had never heard of it. However, the reviews on the back of the CD case were excellent, so I took a chance. I almost brought the CDs into the house to keep listening. That is a sure sign of a book that's gotten hold of me--and I've just begun the second CD!

On the mp3 player, I am listening to Finger lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich. I'm not far enough into the story yet to know if I'm going to like this latest entry in the series. However, I love hearing how the reader portrays Grandma Mazur and Lula, so as long as they get plenty of action in the story, I'm sure to like it.

Up next is an arc Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women by Harriet Reisen

I've heard from several people that Labor Day is good, so with the recommendations here, I'm putting it on my TBR.

And I'm thinking this thread is getting a little long, so opening a new one. Back in a minute with a link.

Okay, moving this discussion to a new thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/72318&newpost=1#lastmsg