*** What are you reading now? - Part 2

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DiscussionsClub Read 2017

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*** What are you reading now? - Part 2

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1AnnieMod
Mar 1, 2017, 5:04 pm

March is here. Back home, March 1 is a special day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Marta
And the weather in March is unpredictable - it can rain today and be sunny 2 hours later (sounds like Phoenix yesterday...). It is believed that the changing weather is connected to Grandma March mood - and as with any woman, it is changeable at the drop of the hat.

Do you have any traditions and sayings like that for the upcoming spring? (or autumn for our friends down under)?

And regardless of the answer to the above -- tell us what you are reading:)

2RidgewayGirl
Mar 1, 2017, 5:49 pm

Rabbit, rabbit.

I'm reading Joyce Carol Oates's A Book of American Martyrs, in which she takes a look at abortion in America. It's as odd and uncomfortable and (I know this is supposed to be an insult now) compulsively readable.

I'm also reading The Refugees, a book of short stories by Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Black Wave by Michelle Tea.

3mabith
Mar 1, 2017, 6:06 pm

Working on The Gulag Archipelago, Yes, Chef, and Monsters in Appalachia. I'm on vacation at the beach though, so not getting loads of reading done.

4Simone2
Mar 2, 2017, 1:40 am

>3 mabith: Isn't the beach the perfect place to read?

5mabith
Mar 2, 2017, 8:19 am

Simone, I have chronic pain, so my beach vacations are a little different. Between the drive and pushing myself to do certain things my pain is ratcheted way up, making it too hard to concentrate on a book (also not able to be in the sun at all, and wind is problematic too, so I can't easily just lie on the beach for hours).

6Simone2
Mar 2, 2017, 9:56 am

Oh, I am so sorry, I didn't know that. I can imagine it is much more comfortable for you at home.

7japaul22
Mar 2, 2017, 1:19 pm

I just finished The Heart is a Lonely Hunter which I unfortunately did not love as much as many of you did!

Now I'm starting The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa.

8SassyLassy
Mar 2, 2017, 3:53 pm

>7 japaul22: What a contrast in books! I loved The Feast of the Goat if you can use such a word for the sheer horror of it all. Looking forward to your thoughts.

9japaul22
Mar 2, 2017, 8:32 pm

>8 SassyLassy: I know! They are both off my shelves but also fit into group challenges on LT. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is a book I thought I would love and didn't, so I'm hoping the opposite is true for The Feast of the Goat which is a bit outside my comfort zone.

10alphaorder
Mar 3, 2017, 9:43 am

Savoring The Warbler Road and starting All Grown Up.

11bragan
Mar 3, 2017, 2:46 pm

I'm almost finished Mostly Void, Partially Stars: Welcome to Night Vale Episodes, Volume 1 by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. Next up is Why I Read: The Serious Pleasure of Books by Wendy Lesser.

12AlisonY
Mar 6, 2017, 9:12 am

I've finished the thought-provoking The Grass is Singing. The books in my own TBR pile aren't working with my reading mood at the moment, so I've picked up a bunch of random library books and am starting with Alan Bennett's A Life Like Other People's.

13RidgewayGirl
Mar 6, 2017, 9:38 am

I'm deep into JCO's A Book of American Martyrs, which is a wild ride - reading it is a claustrophobic experience, yet I just want to read it and ignore the other books.

I've just started Autumn by Ali Smith and High Dive by Jonathan Lee. Their opening chapters are promising, but I need to finish the JCO first.

I'm also reading The Break by Katherena Vermette, which is about a crime committed in a First Nations community in Winnipeg. The picture it's painting of a struggling, yet tight-knit community of women is a fascinating one. And Vermette's descriptions of Winnipeg in the winter are wonderfully vivid.

14alphaorder
Mar 6, 2017, 2:36 pm

>13 RidgewayGirl: I enjoyed Autumn quite a bit and look forward to the other three books in the quartet.

15RecklessReader
Mar 7, 2017, 9:16 am

Working slowly through 'The Underground Railroad' by Colson Whitehead. :-)

16AlisonY
Mar 8, 2017, 6:32 am

I've been left thoroughly charmed by Alan Bennett's A Life Like Other People's. On now to Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf.

17Nickelini
Mar 8, 2017, 10:00 am

I'm enjoying Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. For some reason the publisher sent me an ARC years ago and I never had any interest in it, but I guess now is the right time.

18Rebeki
Mar 8, 2017, 11:34 am

I finished When We Were Bad by Charlotte Mendelson yesterday, which I really liked.

I'm still slowly working my way through They Were Divided by Miklós Bánffy, but I've also started on Virginia Nicholson's social history work Among the Bohemians, which I imagine will keep me busy for even longer, although both are enjoyable reads.

19cindydavid4
Mar 8, 2017, 4:59 pm

>17 Nickelini: That book has one of my favorite covers ever

20bragan
Modifié : Mar 8, 2017, 8:24 pm

I'm currently reading Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave, which I'm feeling pretty meh about. Maybe if I were more of a wine-drinker...

Next up, I'm finally moving on through Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series with The Book of Taltos, which should hopefully be more fun.

21ELiz_M
Mar 9, 2017, 6:56 am

I've finished The Book of Ebenezer Le Page and will be slowly making my way through Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann over the next month.

22Nickelini
Mar 11, 2017, 1:51 am

>19 cindydavid4: That book has one of my favorite covers ever

Being always a fool for a good cover, I have to admit I was a bit puzzled by your comment. My cover is a perfectly nice but boring picture of stacked tea cups. I looked further and see there's one that looks like coats on a coat stand, and then on closer inspection they look like two people in an embrace (tiny pic, I think that's what I'm seeing) -- guessing that's what you're talking about and yes, it's terrifically clever.

23ipsoivan
Mar 11, 2017, 10:06 am

>21 ELiz_M: I love Ebenezer La Page. What a wonderful, but I think little known, book.

24ipsoivan
Mar 11, 2017, 10:07 am

I'm reading The Eye in the Door for the second time--probably read it first back in the 90s. Wonderful but harrowing.

25cindydavid4
Mar 11, 2017, 10:18 am

>22 Nickelini: heh, yes, thats the one. Esp because the coat stand was also a play on the title

26AlisonY
Mar 11, 2017, 12:50 pm

I zipped through Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf and am going to pick up Troubles by J.G. Farrell next I think.

27avidmom
Mar 11, 2017, 1:31 pm

"March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb."

>17 Nickelini: >19 cindydavid4: I have that book too and like the cover also but never got the whole "stand" play on words! Cool. :)

I just finished Troublemaker by Leah Remini and am reading Outliers by Malcom Gladwell and hope to start The Last Unicorn soon.

28cindydavid4
Mar 11, 2017, 4:39 pm

>26 AlisonY: Let me know how you like the Haruf one. Ive loved several of his books; this one I expected to like.

Now reading The Brothers Cabal. Yep, the hits just keep on coming (not sure who on LT recommended this series to me, but whoever it was should get some kind of commission from John Howard's publisher :)

29RidgewayGirl
Mar 11, 2017, 6:39 pm

I'm loving Autumn by Ali Smith. It's the story of a friendship and so beautifully written.

I'm finishing up the last two books on the Tournament of Books roster. High Dive by Jonathan Lee centers on a 1984 assassination attempt on Margaret Thatcher. And Sudden Death by Alvaro Enrigue is bizarre and wonderful and I can only read it when all of my brain is present.

And I'm reading All the Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin.

30AlisonY
Mar 12, 2017, 4:44 am

>28 cindydavid4: I definitely enjoyed it, but it didn't quite have the same pull for me as Plainsong.

31alphaorder
Mar 12, 2017, 9:33 am

>29 RidgewayGirl:. I am ready to read the next book in Smith's quartet!

Not sure there is a great audience for this book here, but if you are in the nonprofit sector, I highly recommend Joan Garry's Guide to Nonprofit Leadership. Arrived yesterday and I am 2/3 through.

32cindydavid4
Mar 12, 2017, 9:50 am

>30 AlisonY: Oh, Plainsong is my favorite. This would have been close but I really hated the ending, in fact when she makes her decision I tossed the book against the wall. I understand what he was saying, but it was just wrong on so many levels Pity because the writing and character development was spot on Ah well :)

33RidgewayGirl
Mar 12, 2017, 11:18 am

>32 cindydavid4: Regarding Our Souls at Night - the ending confounded me, too.

34AlisonY
Mar 12, 2017, 1:06 pm

>32 cindydavid4:, >33 RidgewayGirl: yes, me too. In one way it was good it wasn't predictable, but the actions didn't seem true to the character. Was a bit of a damp squib.

35japaul22
Mar 13, 2017, 8:54 am

I finished The Feast of the Goat about Trujillo and the Dominican Republic. Good, though out of my comfort zone.

I'm about to finish the lighter reading book I picked up during Feast of the Goat, Penelope Fitzgerald's first book, The Golden Child.

Next I'm starting the second volume of In Search of Lost Time, Within a Budding Grove. I'm not sure what else I'll start. Maybe a nonfiction (Ivory Vikings??) or something light off my shelf.

36cindydavid4
Modifié : Mar 13, 2017, 3:23 pm

>34 AlisonY: Exactly. I mean, here was this strong woman, 70 years old, who makes this courageous connection, and has just what it is that she wants in the world. (spoiler) And the author allows her to be silenced by her adult children? Just no, no.

37Cait86
Mar 14, 2017, 9:29 am

I'm about 2/3 of the way through Emma Donohue's Frog Music, which is about a burlesque performer/prostitute in 1870s San Francisco. Next up is a reread of Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion, and something else.... plus on audio I've been listening to The Tenant of Wildfell Hall for eons.

38bragan
Mar 14, 2017, 7:49 pm

I'm reading bit of local interest travel writing that's been sitting on my TBR shelves for a decade plus: Gila Descending: A Southwestern Journey by M. H. Salmon. Which is readable enough, but not particularly memorable. Next up is an ER book, Tender by Sofia Samatar, which is an interesting-looking short story collection.

39mabith
Mar 14, 2017, 10:38 pm

I finished The Gulag Archipelago Vol. 1 and had a fluffy-ish historical fiction break with Patience and Sarah.

Now I'm trying to speed finish Five Days at Memorial before my book club meeting on Thursday, moving house has really ripped into my reading time.

40thorold
Mar 15, 2017, 5:05 am

I'm still deep in Project Milton - I've just finished Samson Agonistes, so the only major hurdle left in the poetry is Paradise Regained, which intrigues me because no-one ever seems to talk about it very much. Also reading William Kerrigan's The prophetic Milton, which is a lot more theology than I'm used to, so nearly as difficult to read as Milton himself, but very interesting.

(And I'd almost forgotten about Robert Walser, but on Sunday I noticed Der Gehülfe sitting there with a bookmark accusingly halfway through it and took it for a walk in the country...)

41japaul22
Mar 17, 2017, 7:59 am

I've started Eowyn Ivey's new book, To the Bright Edge of the World. I'm also reading a nonfiction book called Ivory Vikings about Viking era chess pieces that were discovered in Scotland and what they tell us about the time period.

I'm also continuing with volume 2 of In Search of Lost Time, Within a Budding Grove.

42mabith
Mar 17, 2017, 3:39 pm

Re-reading A Man Named Ove for my book club. Also started The Shia Revival.

43cindydavid4
Mar 17, 2017, 8:45 pm

I could not finish Ove. Kept thinking, hasn't the scrooge thing been done a few thousand times? But then I am obviously in the majority - most of my book club loved it. and so it goes

44mabith
Mar 17, 2017, 9:46 pm

>43 cindydavid4: Cindy, I went into my first read thinking I would hate it, but then ended up really liking it (I think of myself as a Scrooge though). I'm very curious how my two best book club friends will react though. I feel like it's one that's hard to predict.

45MarcusBastos
Mar 17, 2017, 10:07 pm

Finished two books. Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories, by Agatha Christie and O Caso Lula, portuguese edition. Both reviews in my thread.

46Oandthegang
Mar 18, 2017, 4:00 am

I currently have a number of dipping books scattered about the house - Clare Leighton's Country Matters, which is almost finished, The Death of Kings by Clifford Brewer and Germany: Memories of a Nation by Neil MacGregor, which really deserves to be read properly cover to cover, however my next cover to cover read is going to be Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Lustre. The Evenings still lurks by my bed with only one chapter read. I must get back to it. Someday.

47dchaikin
Mar 18, 2017, 2:57 pm

>41 japaul22: interesting. I own a arc of Ivory Vikings sort of by accident from a nice book seller. Curious what you think.

48dchaikin
Modifié : Mar 18, 2017, 3:02 pm

I'm lost to the known world, vast distances away from regular mental reading construction in Mason & Dixon. I'm almost three weeks in, about 25% in and not 100% sure I'm in the right place. But settling in, I suppose...

And I started, on audio, My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg...which is also not so normal an audio book, with recorded speeches with their background noise and whatnot, and even a bit of opera. But the words themselves are normal.

And I picked up and put down and plan to pick up again Stephen King's Different Seasons. I've never read King before. Wanted to read the origins behind the movies Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me.

49MarcusBastos
Mar 19, 2017, 6:41 pm

Read The Body in the Library, by Agatha Christie. Enjoyed a lot! Review in my thread.

50bragan
Mar 19, 2017, 11:58 pm

I've just finished Men at Arms, the latest in my intermittent reread of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, followed by the wonderful, sacrilegious humor of Religion: Ruining Everything Since 4004 B.C. by Zach Weinersmith. Now I'm on The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, which I'd somehow come this far in life without reading.

51alphaorder
Mar 20, 2017, 8:15 am

I read and enjoyed The Woman Next Door this weekend. Now onto Swimming Lessons.

52Nickelini
Mar 20, 2017, 10:51 am

I just started Reasons She Goes to the Woods by Deoborah Kay Davies. Despite being nominated for the Bailey's Prize a few years ago, there are only 40 copies on LT. What a shame, because so far this is one of the best books I've read in ages and ages.

53VivienneR
Mar 21, 2017, 10:31 pm

Colin Dexter died today so I will begin my planned re-read of his books, starting with Last bus to Woodstock. Read them many years ago and enjoyed them a lot. I'm hoping time and the excellent John Thaw performance won't affect my enjoyment.

>48 dchaikin: Related to post 184 on the previous thread - I'm also near the bottom of a long holds list for Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen. With the long lending period at our library, I am probably in for a long wait. It sounds really good, might be worthwhile to consider buying.

54cindydavid4
Mar 21, 2017, 11:51 pm

Started Astray by Emma Donoghue. I've loved so many of her books, looking forward to this story collection.

55thorold
Mar 23, 2017, 11:42 am

Taking a short break from Milton with Gerrit Komrij's very enjoyable autobiographical novel Verwoest Arcadië - after that I'll probably try to read another book for the RG Benelux theme read before we get to the end of Q1. Ordered some more books about Milton last night, but it will be a while before they arrive.

56Nickelini
Mar 23, 2017, 8:49 pm

Finished Reasons She Goes to the Woods by Deborah Kay Davies. Only a few readers at LT and only avg 3.5 stars, which surprises me. It rates much higher over at GoodReads. Anyway, it was the best book I've read in forever. Will post a review on my thread later today I hope.

57MarcusBastos
Mar 25, 2017, 10:34 am

Read Occupy, by Noam Chomsky. My first Chomsky book. It's seems that a promising relationship is beginning... Review in my thread.

58dchaikin
Mar 25, 2017, 10:56 am

>53 VivienneR: loved Born to Run - or, well, the 80% I listened to. It's worth the wait...and maybe better on audio than print since he reads it himself.

>57 MarcusBastos: I'll need to check your thread after that post, Marcus.

59mabith
Mar 25, 2017, 12:09 pm

I've started West With the Night, the autobiography of pilot and horse trainer Beryl Markham, and I'm re-reading Dreams of Joy by Lisa See (the sequel to her Shanghai Girls).

60cindydavid4
Mar 25, 2017, 1:41 pm

>57 MarcusBastos: We read several of Chomsky's books on language for our deaf studies program for my masters degree. Really outstanding writer and teacher. Never read is other books. Is the book you mention a good place to start?

Just finished Emma Donoghes Astray An amazing collection ,with the historical explanation and a bit of comedy. Well worth reading!

61cindydavid4
Mar 25, 2017, 1:44 pm

>59 mabith: West With the Night, the autobiography of pilot and horse trainer Beryl Markham

I hope you love it as much as I do. Have you read te new HF about her? She also has a couple of others

62MarcusBastos
Mar 26, 2017, 12:12 pm

It's sure a good book to start!

63MarcusBastos
Mar 26, 2017, 12:15 pm

Read MÍDIA Propaganda Política e Manipulação, by Noam Chomsky, portuguese edition. I liked it. Review in my thread.

64Simone2
Mar 27, 2017, 8:11 am

I finished Makkelijk leven (Comfortably living) by Herman Koch and now return to three books I have been reading for the past few weeks: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, Life is a Caravanserai by Emine Sevgi Ozdamar and In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower by Marcel Proust.

65RidgewayGirl
Mar 27, 2017, 9:15 am

I'm reading Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeline Thien, which is wonderful, as well as the odd and imaginative Sudden Death by Alvaro Enrigue, which follows a tennis match between Caravaggio and Francisco de Quevedo, a Spanish poet, while also digressing to Cortes's conquest of Mexico and his later retirement, asides to the reader and Papal politics. It's weird and interesting.

And I've picked up How to Survive a Plague by David France, which is a history of AIDS in the US.

66kidzdoc
Modifié : Mar 27, 2017, 1:57 pm

I finished two books yesterday, the first ones I've read in two months, which were both very good: The Speed of Light by Javier Cercas, and I Am Not Your Negro, the companion book to the documentary about James Baldwin's work. I've written brief reviews of both books on my thread.

Today I'll start reading The Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss, which was chosen for this year's Wellcome Book Prize shortlist. As I mentioned on my Facebook timeline this morning, "This book is centered on a contemporary family in the English Midlands, in particular a teenage girl who goes into cardiorespiratory arrest at her school. This novel is narrated by her father, a stay-at-home academic who is married to an overworked National Health Service physician, and the two parents must deal with the challenge of negotiating with the NHS to get the best care for their stricken daughter, while they deal with their own guilt, deep love for their two children, and their own stressful lives. I suspect that this story will resonate with those of us who care for hospitalized children and their families, and those whose children have required inpatient care."

The Tidal Zone isn't available in the US (I bought my copy when I traveled to London last year), but the UK Kindle version is currently on sale for £1.79.

>65 RidgewayGirl: I'll be curious to get your take on How to Survive a Plague, Kay. That book was also chosen for the Wellcome Book Prize shortlist, and I'll read it sometime in the spring.

67japaul22
Mar 27, 2017, 2:57 pm

I've finished To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey, which I quite liked.

I'm midway through Within a Budding Grove, the second volume of Proust.

I'm flying through Hannah Tinti's first novel, The Good Thief, and loving it.

Not sure what will be up next.

68Nickelini
Mar 27, 2017, 8:51 pm

>66 kidzdoc: Once in a while I find that British books are available in Canada but not the US -- I just checked The Tidal Zone and see that it's not available, but a new one is coming out in a few weeks -- Signs for Lost Children, and apparently it's shortlisted for the Wellcome Prize for historical fiction. The description says it's set in Victorian era, so I doubt the wife is a physician for the NHS. A little confusing.

I read Sarah Moss's Cold Earth and liked it very much.

69kaylaraeintheway
Mar 28, 2017, 12:27 pm

Well, I was reading To Kill a Mockingbird and Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America's National Parks, but then my car got broken into and the bag I had my books in was stolen :(

So while I am waiting for replacement copies to come in the mail, I started The Wanderers by Meg Howrey, which is quite interesting so far; South and West, my first Joan Didion; and a re-read of A Wrinkle in Time.

70Yells
Mar 28, 2017, 1:53 pm

>69 kaylaraeintheway: That is seriously the saddest thing I have read today.. who steals books?

71cindydavid4
Mar 28, 2017, 10:57 pm

Just picked up Celine by Scott Turow Loved his other two, looking forward to this one,

72AlisonY
Mar 29, 2017, 1:39 pm

I'm not feeling the love with Troubles. I think it's perhaps a case of right book, wrong time, so I may return to it at another stage. I've started The Miniaturist instead.

73bragan
Mar 29, 2017, 3:13 pm

I've recently finished Doctor Who: Sands of Time by Justin Richards, which was okay, but probably would have been more enjoyable on TV than in book form, and How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World by Steven Johnson, which was full of fascinating facts and fascinating connections between them.

I'm now reading Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller, and have not decided yet whether I like it or not.

74cindydavid4
Modifié : Mar 29, 2017, 4:08 pm

>72 AlisonY: I wasn't a fan of Minaturist but ymmv

My sis put Scott Turow Ordinary Heroes in my hand, and I starting it this morning. Just came up for air. this is really good, never read any of his beore may need to now.

75thorold
Modifié : Mar 30, 2017, 3:08 am

Finished Gerard Reve's Op weg naar het einde yesterday, which is probably a good place to lay down the Q1 Benelux thread. That made me think of Angus Wilson, who appears in the book both as the distinguished British writer "Angus Wilson" chairing a PEN conference and - thinly disguised - as Reve's friend "Angus W" (with his partner "Tony G") when the three of them go on a splendidly queeny road-trip together. So I've started The middle age of Mrs Eliot, a book I never got around to before, for some reason.
Meanwhile I've also finally got going on Milton and the English revolution, which took forever to get here from Scotland.

76alphaorder
Mar 30, 2017, 7:15 am

>73 bragan:. I am in the same boat with Swimming Lessons. Interestingly enough, I saw a Europa book (I fall for the French flaps on paperbacks) with a nice cover at the bookstore two days ago and purchased it. It is called Ties. Guess what - it starts with a letter from a woman to her husband who has left. Not the same storyline, but certainly a similar structure. Seems to me to have become more popular since Gone Girl.

77tonikat
Mar 30, 2017, 7:53 am

>75 thorold: I'm looking forward to reading of your Milton reading, saving it having found it, for the right time.

My burst of reading of Chinese poets, especially Li Bai has slowed, also about them has slowed, too much to do (yet more posts). I am reading though, an old interview with Jean-Luc Godard (link in my thread) was fascinating and the two essays on Wordsworth in Christopher Ricks' The Force of Poetry lit up my week. I mean to read that book, but have not read all the writers in it. I liked listening with him with Wordsworth.

I do make bits of progress with Emily Dickinson, reading Johnson's edition. Also reading some Seamus Heaney. I got Martha Nussbaum's book on love, philosophy and literature from the library too but have made little progress.

Also one chapter in to the things you can see only when you slow down, the first chapter was nice, at times beautiful.

78Oandthegang
Mar 30, 2017, 9:16 am

> I would find it encouraging in a weird way. I doubt the intention was to steal the books specifically, but if people were deliberately stealing books it would mean that books had a higher value in the world than they have now among the wider public.

79dchaikin
Mar 30, 2017, 10:13 am

>69 kaylaraeintheway: so sorry. Hope your car is ok. But stealing books you're in the middle of is just cruel.

80RidgewayGirl
Mar 30, 2017, 12:33 pm

>69 kaylaraeintheway: It's no fun to be robbed. And losing a book in the middle is cruel.

81bragan
Mar 30, 2017, 1:25 pm

>76 alphaorder: I'm now halfway through Swimming Lessons, and I want to like it, but neither the characters nor the letter-writing conceit is really working for me, alas.

82mabith
Mar 30, 2017, 4:43 pm

Just finished West With the Night by Beryl Markham, and Too Pretty To Live (true crime). Starting Defying Hitler by Sebastian Haffner and a re-read of Little Fuzzy.

83kaylaraeintheway
Mar 30, 2017, 5:25 pm

>70 Yells: >78 Oandthegang: >79 dchaikin: >80 RidgewayGirl: Thanks everyone! I'm just thankful the car itself was ok, because that would definitely have been a more expensive fix than replacing two books!

84Oandthegang
Mar 30, 2017, 6:13 pm

>83 kaylaraeintheway: Years ago I used to know someone who drove a former post office van. It had no lock and could be started simply by pressing a button. He lived in a high crime neighbourhood and was endlessly frustrated by the local joyriders' stupidity in 'breaking in' through the side window and then hot wiring it. He always said he wouldn't have minded them stealing the car for the night if they would just open the door and press the ignition so he wouldn't have to get it repaired in the morning.

85dchaikin
Modifié : Mar 30, 2017, 6:37 pm

>84 Oandthegang: a lot of people leave their doors unlocked so that breakins do less damage.

I'm listening to Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi and it's working for me.

86cindydavid4
Mar 30, 2017, 7:10 pm

Oh man, I hate it when a good book goes really bad. Reading Ordinary Heroes. The father of the narrator obviously is a time traveler from the 21 century, exclaiming about the way that Blacks were treated during WWII. Yeah, some people were ahead of their time, but when his driver starts taking photos of a work gain, he notice that the driver did not ask permission - what? This is 1944! This is happening more and more and is distracting me from the good story. That is when the narrator shows us instead of telling us. Ok, lets see how far I get, maybe there is some hope soon (and who knows maybe the father is a time traveler from the 21 century?)

87Nickelini
Mar 31, 2017, 1:54 am

I'm almost finished Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio by Amara Lakhous. Maybe you have to understand a bit about Italian culture to love this as much as I do, but I don't think so. Ever had a disagreement that arises over different points of view? Probably. Then you'll get this, especially if it's cross-cultural (although this short novel shows that things that the characters think are tribal actually aren't).

And then I also connect it to the times I've spent "living" in my husband's aunt's apartment in Italy (for way too many weeks than anyone wants to--next time we're NOT staying there! Also, we say that every time we go to Italy).

Highly recommended.

88AlisonY
Avr 1, 2017, 3:27 pm

O-M-G.... I LOVED The Miniaturist. It fitted my current reading mood like a glove. Going to try The Good Soldier next, although I'm not sure I'm in the mood for classics at the moment.

89cindydavid4
Avr 1, 2017, 8:26 pm

Alison I was in love with it until the last third - it just turned into something that I didn't want. But the first part, especially her description of the dollhouse was so good, Im not sorry i read it.

90mabith
Avr 1, 2017, 9:36 pm

Finished Defying Hitler by Sebastian Haffner, which at times was too much in line with current events.

Just starting The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin by Masha Gessen and Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho.

91AnnieMod
Avr 2, 2017, 1:33 am

I started the month very weirdly with a poetry collection: And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou. Modern(-ish) poetry is not that bad after all. And I am back to posting in my thread.

In more normal reading, I have White Dog by Peter Temple (the 4th Jack Irish novel) going on the kindle and starting Robert B. Parker's A Catskill Eagle - the 12th Spenser novel.

92MarcusBastos
Avr 2, 2017, 9:32 am

Just finished The Moving Finger, by Agatha Christie. Another good plot. Review in my thread.

93RidgewayGirl
Avr 2, 2017, 10:16 am

I'm reading Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, which is about a Korean family living in Japan.

I'm also reading How to Survive a Plague by David France, which is about the AIDS crisis in the US. It's both difficult to read and hard to put down.

And I'm reading Kelly Link's book of short stories, Get in Trouble, and her writing reminds me of both Karen Russell and Heather O'Neill.

And because I seem to have too many books going at once, I'm reading Woman No. 17 by Edan Lepucki, which is set in sunny LA and while Lepucki writes with a light touch, there's a feeling that something not good is on the horizon.

94dchaikin
Avr 2, 2017, 10:51 am

"And because I seem to have too many books going at once, I'm reading..."

This makes perfect sense to me.

95bragan
Avr 3, 2017, 9:27 pm

I'm now reading California by Edan Lupecki. Next up is an ER book, Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History by Bill Schutt.

96AnnieMod
Avr 3, 2017, 11:15 pm

Finished White Dog - the last of the Jack Irish novels. I really like Temple's style and I will miss Jack Irish - as dysfunctional as he is. Still have a few Temple novels left (his standalones) and I hope he will get around and write something new - his latest is from 2009...

97cindydavid4
Avr 4, 2017, 3:23 am

Finished The Lauras, despite some over the top scenic descriptions, ths is a very well written story. Reminds me a great deal of Middlesex. Taylor has an earlier book that I would like to try as well, Shore

98avidmom
Avr 7, 2017, 9:47 pm

I am (finally!) reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone! :)

99thorold
Modifié : Avr 8, 2017, 1:45 am

>98 avidmom: I think that beats even my best efforts at not jumping on bandwagons! You'll have to change your line at cocktail parties to "...but I didn't bother with the sequels."

I've finished Milton and the English Revolution and The middle age of Mrs Eliot in the past couple of days - both excellent, I'll post a review of the Hill shortly. Have started Stuart Hall's (posthumous) memoir Familiar stranger: a life between two islands and I'm not sure yet whether I'm going to read another Milton book or a novel in parallel with that...

100Nickelini
Avr 8, 2017, 2:19 am

The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea -- a Japanese book that I bought years ago because of the gorgeous cover and the intriguing but mysterious title.

101MarcusBastos
Avr 8, 2017, 9:07 pm

Finished A Biblioteca Mágica de Bibbi Bokken, by
Jostein Gaarder and Klaus Hagerup, portuguese edition. Great reading for kids and adults. Review in my thread.

102mabith
Avr 8, 2017, 10:21 pm

Working on Why Soccer Matters by Pele, and The Zhivago Affair: The Kremlin, the CIA, and the Battle over a Forbidden Book, partly as a prelude to hopefully reading Doctor Zhivago later this year.

103bragan
Avr 9, 2017, 11:57 pm

I've finished Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff, a surprisingly good YA novel, and am now reading Lean Mean Thirteen, yet another of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels. Next up is Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris.

104lilisin
Avr 10, 2017, 12:48 am

>98 avidmom:

How fun! I read the first 4 Harry Potter books in one week then read the remaining books as they came out. A great little series even if not in a genre I ever read.

>100 Nickelini:

A title that funny enough has nothing to do with the original Japanese! This much more lovely title was I created by the first translator to translate the work (which I believe was the French) and then all other countries adopted the new title. The original title is much less lyrical.

105Nickelini
Avr 10, 2017, 9:13 pm

>104 lilisin:, Ah, thank you for that. I'm glad you noticed my comment and spoke up with your expertise. The English is not quite correct and a translation from French makes sense. I started looking into it and saw that the Japanese translated to English would be something like Afternoon at _____ (some place). Like you say, not as lyrical. Interesting when they change titles completely. The Italian title for To Kill a Mockingbird is something like Darkness Under the Hedge (I could look it up but I'm feeling lazy). So different, but kinda fits.

106mabith
Modifié : Avr 11, 2017, 2:11 am

I'm starting The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of The Window and Disappeared for my book club. I'd decided I didn't want to read that one, but the book club chose it, so I will. I have a feeling that reading it just after we read A Man Called Ove will not do it any favors.

Also started The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake and Chasing Utopia by Nikki Giovanni

107OscarWilde87
Avr 11, 2017, 4:41 am

I have started 13 Reasons Why and so far I like it quite a bit.

108Nickelini
Avr 11, 2017, 10:15 am

>104 lilisin:, >105 Nickelini: I see in Wikipedia that the Japanese title translates to "The Afternoon Towing". I don't even know what that means.

109lilisin
Avr 12, 2017, 12:32 am

>108 Nickelini:

Towing of a boat: out of port for example.
I think it's supposed to be representing the father like figure being supposed to go back out to sea with his companions.

110Nickelini
Avr 12, 2017, 12:35 am

>109 lilisin:
Hmm, okay, I see that. The French then English is more poetic though. As you already noted. I'm just writing up my comments on this now.

111thorold
Avr 12, 2017, 2:06 am

I've tried to make good on one of my good intentions for my - almost completed - tenth year on LT by picking up one of the oldest residents on my TBR shelf, Les dames de France by the Corsican author Angelo Rinaldi. I'm not at all sure any more why I bought it, but it's been there since mid-2009...
I don't think I'll finish it before my Easter break, so one or two of the eBooks on my list will probably pop up first.

112japaul22
Avr 12, 2017, 9:22 am

I've finished volume 2 of Proust.

Now I'm half way through School for Love by Olivia Manning, a NYRB publication which I'm really loving. And Emma Donaghue's new book The Wonder just came in at the library for me.

113cindydavid4
Modifié : Avr 13, 2017, 11:20 am

the gargoyle hunters

114OscarWilde87
Avr 13, 2017, 3:30 am

I have just started The Last Mile.

115dchaikin
Avr 13, 2017, 1:37 pm

Audio - Finished Homegoing, checking out other audio books
Paper - finished Mason & Dixon. Now what?

116ELiz_M
Avr 13, 2017, 2:19 pm

>115 dchaikin: Congrats!

117dchaikin
Avr 13, 2017, 3:47 pm

>116 ELiz_M: thanks Liz. : )
(But maybe I made it more difficult than I needed to...)

118Nickelini
Modifié : Avr 13, 2017, 8:52 pm

I hope no one minds me interrupting this thread to look for a recommendation. I'm one of those people who likes to read books that reflect my environment (wintry books in winter, a book set in London when I'm on holiday in London). In a few weeks I'm going to Mexico. My husband won this trip through a work contest, so we'll be with work people who I don't really want to or need to spend too much time with . . . hence lots of time for hiding under a palm tree with a book. But I just looked at my TBR and have few Mexican books.

Here's my criteria:

- Mexico themed somehow
- readable! Not looking for something uber-literary or dense
- I love the 200 p novel. I'd prefer to read 4 200 p novels than one 800 p novel, unless that 800 pages are amazing

Mucho gracias

119dchaikin
Avr 13, 2017, 9:00 pm

>118 Nickelini: Stones for Ibarra - but it's not a page turner

120thorold
Avr 13, 2017, 11:21 pm

>118 Nickelini: Like water for chocolate is short and quite light, but you've probably read it already.

121Yells
Avr 13, 2017, 11:30 pm

Nothing to Declare by Morris is fantastic if you can find a copy. Literary travel about a writer who travels around Mexico and other places by herself.

122cindydavid4
Modifié : Avr 14, 2017, 12:20 am

I second the Morris book, actually any travel book by her is fantastic

Also second Like water for chocolate*

The Lacuna Barbara Kingsolver

Hummingbird's Daughter Luis Alberto Urrea (one of my all time fav reads)*

*Mexican authors

123cindydavid4
Avr 14, 2017, 12:22 am

Oh and btw, Mexico has many beautiful and interesting places to see. Might want to put the book down a bit so you can enjoy them! Just sayin '

124Simone2
Modifié : Avr 14, 2017, 12:46 am

I loved Atticus by Ron Hansen, though I read it a long time ago.
And I would highly recommend 2666 but it is hardly a 200 pages book, nor a light holiday read.
It is worth the 800 pages though, it is thought provoking and it shows another, shocking face of Mexico.
Like Water for Chocolate did nothing for me.

125RidgewayGirl
Avr 14, 2017, 10:20 am

The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli is odd and interesting and written by an up-and-coming Mexican author. It's set in a suburb of Mexico City. It's pretty weird, though and there's not a lot of vacation scenery.

126Simone2
Avr 14, 2017, 10:45 am

>125 RidgewayGirl: >118 Nickelini: O yes, her Sidewalks is great as well.

127dchaikin
Avr 14, 2017, 5:09 pm

Started an audiobook without knowing much of anything about it - Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue.

128Nickelini
Avr 14, 2017, 8:55 pm

>119 dchaikin:, >120 thorold:, >121 Yells:, >122 cindydavid4:, >124 Simone2:, >125 RidgewayGirl:, >126 Simone2: Wow, thanks everyone for the Mexico suggestions. I've written them down and will now check the bookstore.

Like Water For Chocolate is one of my all time favourite reads, but it's been a while since I read it so maybe it's time for a reread.

>123 cindydavid4: Oh and btw, Mexico has many beautiful and interesting places to see. Might want to put the book down a bit so you can enjoy them! Just sayin ' Well, I'm very much being brought along on this trip and don't know if I'll have any opportunities to leave the resort. I might be forced to follow along with the group. I figure if I can read and do some yoga on the beach I'll be lucky.

129cindydavid4
Avr 14, 2017, 11:53 pm

>128 Nickelini: Gotcha, been on those types of trips myself. Well enjoy the beach if you can and hope you are able to get some reading done!

130dchaikin
Avr 15, 2017, 11:00 am

Among the books I've opened lately:

Different Seasons
March - the John Lewis graphic autobiography
Born to Run - paper version, to finish it
Mr. Mercedes

I think I'm trying to find a book to read. These are all fine, but nothing is really clicking.

131japaul22
Avr 15, 2017, 1:56 pm

I'm paralyzed by the thought that all my library books that are on hold are about to become available at the same time.

I finished an NYRB called School for Love which was excellent and now I'm reading The Wonder.

I'd like to start something else, but like I said . . .

the unpredictability of library hold lines.

132dchaikin
Avr 15, 2017, 2:54 pm

>131 japaul22: -Totally understand. for audiobooks I use the suspend hold option. Then, when in the front of the line, I unsuspend only the books I want at that time. This way I have several hard to get books somewhat close to available.

133japaul22
Avr 15, 2017, 3:29 pm

>132 dchaikin: ooh, that's smart. When you unsuspend a book you go back to the position in line where you suspended it? So if I'm "next in line" and suspend I would be next up when I unsuspend? Maybe I'll experiment with that.

134dchaikin
Modifié : Avr 15, 2017, 4:07 pm

>133 japaul22:, yes, exactly. So, you still need to wait, but at most one loan period. And usually more like a couple days.

135mabith
Avr 15, 2017, 5:33 pm

I'm working on two very long reads, Jonathan Swift: The Reluctant Rebel by John Stubbs, and a re-read of The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer for my online bookclub.

136Simone2
Avr 16, 2017, 12:00 am

I finished Mokusei! by Cees Nooteboom, a short story about a European man and a Japanese woman, but mainly one about Japan itself. Now I'll continue The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek, Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter and, of course, In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower by Marcel Proust.

137alphaorder
Modifié : Avr 16, 2017, 4:53 pm

Read Dani Shapiro's Hourglass in the last day. Really appreciated it.

Now back to The Nature Fix.

138ELiz_M
Avr 16, 2017, 9:49 pm

Finally finished Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann and read, in a single day, The Left-Handed Woman by Peter Handke. I've started The Good Soldier Svejk; we'll see if I have the patience for another loooooong book.

139bragan
Avr 17, 2017, 12:27 pm

I've recently read The Great Glowing Coils of the Universe: Welcome to Night Vale Episodes, Volume 2, as well as Terry Pratchett's Feet of Clay, my most recent Discworld reread. I'm now on The Lifebox, the Seashell, and the Soul by Rudy Rucker, which has been on the TBR shelves for far, far too long.

141dchaikin
Avr 17, 2017, 8:52 pm

Trying The Shadow Man by Mary Gordon, about her father.

142avidmom
Avr 17, 2017, 11:28 pm

>99 thorold: LOL

>104 lilisin: It is quite addictive.

>106 mabith: I really liked The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of The Window and Disappeared. (I think I saw the movie first & then had to read the book.)

Well, I'm a few pages away from finishing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Once I finish it, I plan on starting A Monster Calls.

143cindydavid4
Avr 17, 2017, 11:32 pm

Reading The Kindness of Enemies is so timely right now. The two sides, from Chechnya and Russia, from 1854 to now - nothing has changed but everything has.

144MsNick
Avr 18, 2017, 9:08 am

I'm finishing up Greg Iles' Natchez Burning trilogy with Mississippi Blood.

145RidgewayGirl
Avr 18, 2017, 12:12 pm

I've finished both the lackluster This Must be the Place by Maggie O'Farrell and the excellent How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS by David France, which took awhile to read as it was so frustrating and heart-breaking.

Now looking at rereading A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth in preparation for the long-rumored sequel. Whether or not that fabled book ever appears, it's been more than a decade since I last read A Suitable Boy and I'm curious as to whether I will love it as much as I did the first time.

There are a few other books I've started or am considering.

146Nickelini
Avr 18, 2017, 8:26 pm

I finished The Uncommon Reader which was okay but didn't charm me like it did others, and now I'm starting Station Eleven which I'm not really interested in but so far it's pretty good.

147cindydavid4
Avr 18, 2017, 8:43 pm

>145 RidgewayGirl: I've been a fan of hers since her debut; this one didn't work for me either. Pity; have you read any of her other books?

148AlisonY
Avr 19, 2017, 6:10 pm

I can't really say I abandoned The Good Soldier as I was super busy with work and only got as far as page 2. Definitely still one I want to read. HOWEVER, My Brilliant Friend arrived into my grubby little paws courtesy of my local library, and poor Ford Maddox Ford has been sidelined for now.

For the first 50 or so pages I was unconvinced, but I get it now! In the final straight and loving it.

149dchaikin
Avr 19, 2017, 9:27 pm

>148 AlisonY: I'm jealous. !! I can relate to that about the 1st 50 pages, even if I did them on audio.

150RidgewayGirl
Avr 19, 2017, 10:06 pm

>147 cindydavid4: I usually love Maggie O'Farrell's novels. But this didn't work for me. I'll read her next one, though.

151MarcusBastos
Avr 21, 2017, 10:18 am

Read And Then There Were None: Teaching Guide with Sample Chapters. A point made about one of Agatha Christie best books. Review in my thread.

152bragan
Avr 23, 2017, 11:23 pm

I've just finished The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, book eight in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, and am now about to start Jack of Shadows by Roger Zelazny.

I'm also dipping in and out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Watchers' Guide, volume 1 by Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder, in honor of Buffy's 20th anniversary year (and also because I've had that book on my TBR shelves for way too long).

153thorold
Modifié : Avr 24, 2017, 4:31 am

Project Milton rumbles on, with Stanley Fish's Surprised by sin: the reader in Paradise Lost, which (inevitably) takes a position diametrically opposite to the other books on Milton I've been reading lately. And I've also started on The sympathizer, a book I would probably never have picked up if it hadn't been chosen for our book club, but which I'm finding worthwhile so far.

>152 bragan: in honor of Buffy's 20th anniversary year - Eek! Once again, someone makes me feel old on a Monday morning. Why is it that precisely those things we think of as too frivolous and superficial to survive are the ones that turn into venerable institutions? (I had no idea it was still running)

154bragan
Avr 24, 2017, 5:00 am

>153 thorold: I know, it made me feel old, too! Enough so that I had to keep double-checking to make sure that was correct, and it wasn't actually ten years instead. But, of course, it really has been that long.

Buffy only ran seven seasons, but it seems to have made something of a lingering impact. The other day, I was watching something aimed primarily at teens, in which a teenage character made a reference to the show, and found myself wondering if a 2010s teenager would even reasonably get a reference like that. Then I realized that probaly Buffy is to teens today something very much akin to what the original Star Trek was to me as a teenager in the 80s, and I felt old all over again.

155Simone2
Modifié : Avr 24, 2017, 10:10 am

This weekend I finished Ian Rankin's first Rebus, Knots & Crosses and the second Proust, In the Shadow of Girls in Flower. From both I will read the next volumes, but both not immediatetely.
I started The Dumas Club by Arturo Pérez- Reverte and Slanting of the Sun, stories by Donal Ryan which gets excellent reviews in the Dutch media.

156RidgewayGirl
Avr 24, 2017, 11:34 am

I've finished A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles with mixed feelings.

I'm enjoying American Rust by Philipp Meyer. It's set in a decaying steel town in Pennsylvania, and while a crime has been committed, it's very much about the people, rather than the events.

I'm looking to begin Human Acts by Han Kang. or to reread A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth or to dive into Colm Toibin's Letters to a Young Writer or maybe all three or something else entirely.

158cindydavid4
Avr 24, 2017, 8:20 pm

Finished The Kindness of Strangers and cannot recommend this book highly enough. Well researched but it doesn't show, beautifully written story of two opponents that want peace, but end up only with war, over and over again.

Started The Norse Gods by Neil Gaiman

160avidmom
Avr 24, 2017, 11:37 pm

I'm reading the very funny Permission Slips by Sherri Shepherd (seriously, I want to give this one to every woman I know) & Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets.

161dchaikin
Avr 25, 2017, 8:05 am

On audio I finished Behold the Dreamers, about Cameroon illegal immigrants in NYC seeking asylum. Next I'll start Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer.

On paper I've added a book of selected poems of Ovid, selected by David Hopkins. It's short, and translators vary and include names like John Dryden. (Mainly, I'm still reading The Shadow Man)

162AlisonY
Avr 26, 2017, 6:54 am

On to book 2 of Ferrante's Neapolitan novels. Now where did I put that big book book to hide the cover behind on the bus....

163dchaikin
Avr 29, 2017, 4:17 pm

Finished The Shadow Man. It will be tough to review. Really intense intro. Also, abandoned The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo about 1/3 through because I just lost interest.

I'm eyeing Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer as my next book. And on audio I've checked out The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis, but I haven't started it yet.

164japaul22
Avr 29, 2017, 8:05 pm

I'm way out of my comfort zone reading Ursula K. Leguin's The Dispossessed. It's on the 1001 books list and gets great reviews, but science fiction is not something I usually read. I thought I'd give it a try though.

Also still reading The Invention of Nature which is good, but slow going.

165thorold
Avr 30, 2017, 2:45 am

I've taken advantage of the long weekend to finish both Surprised by sin and The sympathizer, also read a (very) short Maigret yesterday, and have started What I loved, which is grabbing me a bit less than the other Hustvedt novels I've read, so far.

166mabith
Avr 30, 2017, 9:19 am

I sped through Zorro by Isabel Allende, which I absolutely loved. Now I've started a re-read of Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn and also started The Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara.

167cindydavid4
Avr 30, 2017, 11:15 am

>164 japaul22: I have a lot of respect for Le Guin, and love her short stories, but find her novels hard to get through . Try the short story the ones who walk away from the Omelas for a sample

168RidgewayGirl
Avr 30, 2017, 11:37 am

I'm reading Innocents and Others by Dana Spiotta, an author I'd never heard of before a passing comment in March had me looking her up. She's very good and I love the idea that there are potentially thousands of great authors I've not yet discovered.

169Simone2
Modifié : Avr 30, 2017, 4:10 pm

I am going to Valencia, Spain, for a few days with my son. I want some easy books there so from the shelves I chose some recommendations out of this group. I'll take with me Sweet Lamb of Heaven by Lydia Millet, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, my first Maggie O'Farrell, and He Who Fears the Wolf by Karin Fossum, my second Inspector Sejer book.

170AlisonY
Mai 1, 2017, 4:55 pm

Have galloped through book 2 in the Neapolitan series - now on to book 3 by Ferrante.

171bragan
Mai 1, 2017, 6:46 pm

This weekend I finished The Wright Brothers by David McCullough. I'm now reading Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang. I had little knowledge about this one going in and no idea what I might make of it, but I'm really enjoying it.

172Nickelini
Mai 1, 2017, 8:36 pm

I tried Little Red Riding Hood in the Red Light District, by Manlio Argueta, but it's too much for my brain at this moment in time so it's going back into the TBR pile. Not sure what I'll try next.

173thorold
Mai 2, 2017, 2:35 am

And now I'm finally tackling La disparition, which I bought in 2011 and forgot all about. Fun so far, but it lacks ... I don't know what? :-)

174LolaWalser
Mai 2, 2017, 4:49 pm

>173 thorold:

Zip? Oomph? Fizz?

175ipsoivan
Modifié : Mai 2, 2017, 6:18 pm

>118 Nickelini: I'm very late to the party! I'd recommend Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna or Paco Ignacio Taibo's mystery series.

176ipsoivan
Mai 2, 2017, 6:21 pm

I've been away far too long, and missing intelligent book talk. At the moment, I'm veering between Barchester Towers and England, England, enjoying both very much. Work has me in its claws, though.

177cindydavid4
Mai 2, 2017, 6:29 pm

Oh I loved England England probably my favorite of his books, and I've read several. Reread it not to long ago after many years, and I think it holds up very nicely in fact, a bit too much iykwim.

Now reading Uprooted for a book group. LIking it enough, smooth reading, feels a bit like some of the fantasy novels I was reading in the 80s. Might have to check out her other books.

178japaul22
Mai 2, 2017, 7:53 pm

I'm finishing up The Dispossessed and recently finished The Invention of Nature, a biography of the 18th/19th century naturalist Humboldt.

I had a false start with Iceland's Bell by Halldor Laxness. I read the first 50 pages and realized that I just don't have the focus right now so I've picked up The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (coincidence the I see it was just recommended in >175 ipsoivan:).

179thorold
Mai 3, 2017, 8:11 am

>174 LolaWalser: Probably. No lack of assassinations, Albanians, zahirs, baths, billiards, cachalots or Hispano-Suizas, anyway.

>175 ipsoivan: >178 japaul22: The Lacuna, A Void and The Fermata would make a great trilogy, if those titles hadn't already been used for books that have nothing to do with each other...

180ipsoivan
Mai 3, 2017, 8:27 am

>177 cindydavid4: I read Uprooted late last year, I believe. Quite enjoyed it. And yes, England, England is a winner.

181ipsoivan
Mai 3, 2017, 8:27 am

>179 thorold: Good one!

182mabith
Mai 3, 2017, 10:08 am

Just starting Capture: Unraveling the Mystery of Mental Suffering by David Kessler. Nearly finished with Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis, after which I'll probably start Country of Red Azaleas by Domnica Radulescu. Also started Poor Cow by Nell Dunn in print, which is very compulsive reading so far.

183LolaWalser
Mai 3, 2017, 1:26 pm

>179 thorold:

Albanian assassins in baths with billiards: always good for adding brio, vim, a dash of ooh-la-la!

184thorold
Modifié : Mai 3, 2017, 1:53 pm

>183 LolaWalser:
I find that Vim is only good for post-bathing scouring of tub walls. Brio track floats, but is too hard for comfort. Ooh-la-la is always good, though, during ablutions or at any opportunity...

185LolaWalser
Mai 3, 2017, 2:33 pm

WOW! You win! :)

186Nickelini
Mai 3, 2017, 11:14 pm

>179 thorold: Probably. No lack of assassinations, Albanians, zahirs, baths, billiards, cachalots or Hispano-Suizas, anyway.


No idea what that means, but it sounds great!

187Nickelini
Mai 3, 2017, 11:15 pm

>180 ipsoivan: And yes, England, England is a winner.

Good to know because it's in my TBR pile. I'm currently "off" British books, but I know that won't last long and then I'll pick it up.
Ce sujet est poursuivi sur *** What are you reading now? - Part 3.