cabegley's 2009 reading, Part II

Part I can be found here:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/51894

I like Nickelini's Why I Read This Now idea so much that from this point forward I'm shamelessly stealing it for my own.

READING NOW:
The Lunar Men: Five Friends Whose Curiosity Changed the World, Jenny Uglow
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen (audio)
Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, J.K. Rowling (read-aloud to my son)

READ TO DATE:
93. Venetia, Georgette Heyer
92. Miss Mapp, E.F. Benson
91. Maps and Legends, Michael Chabon
90. Sea of Poppies, Amitav Ghosh
89. The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America, Timothy Egan
88. Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel
87. The Diary of Anne Frank: The Critical Edition, Anne Frank
86. The Great Influenza, John M. Barry
85. Her Fearful Symmetry, Audrey Niffenegger
84. The Boys in the Trees, Mary Swan
83. Various travel books about Bermuda and cruises
82. The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery
81. The Last Witchfinder, James Morrow
80. A Room with a View, E.M. Forster (audio)
79. To Siberia, Per Petterson
78. The Lighthouse Stevensons, Bella Bathurst
77. These Old Shades, Georgette Heyer
76. Life and Fate, Vasily Grossman
75. The Ruby in Her Navel, Barry Unsworth
74. Lady of Quality, Georgette Heyer
73. Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
72. The Girl Who Played with Fire, Steig Larsson
71. Telegraph Days, Larry McMurtry (audio)
70. The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science, Richard Holmes
69. Fruit of the Lemon, Andrea Levy
68. Crampton Hodnet, Barbara Pym
67. Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights and Murder in the Jazz Age, Kevin Boyle
66. Homer and Langley, E.L. Doctorow
65. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Steig Larsson
64. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie
63. A Game of Hide and Seek, Elizabeth Taylor
62. Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading, Lizzie Skurnick
61. At Mrs. Lippincote's, Elizabeth Taylor
60. The Great Hunger: Ireland 1845-1849, Cecil Woodham-Smith
59. Earthly Joys, Philippa Gregory
58. The Girls, Lori Lansens
57. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier (mostly audio)
56. Bangkok 8, John Burdett
55. A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson
54. His Excellency: George Washington, Joseph J. Ellis (Kindle)
53. In the Kitchen, Monica Ali (ER)
52. 26a, Diana Evans
51. Property, Valerie Martin
50. Dear American Airlines, Jonathan Miles (Kindle)
49. Breath, Tim Winton (Kindle)
48. The Brother Gardeners: Botany, Empire and the Birth of an Obsession, Andrea Wulf
47. The Hero's Walk, Anita Rau Badami
46. Blue Heaven, C.J. Box
45. American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic, Joseph J. Ellis (Kindle)
44.The White Tiger, Aravind Adiga (Kindle)
43. The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
42. 1776, David McCullough
41. NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children, Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman
40. The Road Home, Rose Tremain
39. The Invention of Air, Steven Johnson (Kindle)
38. The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton (Kindle)
37. The Man in the Flying Lawn Chair, George Plimpton
36. Measuring the World, Daniel Kehlmann (Kindle)
35. The Unburied, Charles Palliser
34. Wickett's Remedy, Myla Goldberg (audio)
33. Let the Great World Spin, Colum McCann (Early Reviewers)
32. Unaccustomed Earth, Jhumpa Lahiri
31. The Curious Life of Robert Hooke: The Man Who Measured London, Lisa Jardine
30. Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had, Brad Cohen
29. Mister Pip, Lloyd Jones
28. On a Grander Scale: The Outstanding Life and Tumultuous Times of Sir Christopher Wren, Lisa Jardine
27. The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington, Jennet Conant
26. The Easter Parade, Richard Yates (Early Reviewers)
25. King Charles II, Antonia Fraser
24. The End of the Affair, Graham Greene
23. The London Blitz, David Johnson
22. Children with Tourette Syndrome: A Parents' Guide, Tracy Lynne Marsh, ed.
21. At Swim-Two-Birds, Flann O'Brien
20. The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World, Steven Johnson
19. The Reader, Bernhard Schlink
18. The Radetzky March, Joseph Roth
17. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Mary Roach (audio)
16. The American Way of Death Revisited, Jessica Mitford
15. The Man Who Wasn't There, Pat Barker
14. Lady Audley's Secret, Mary Elizabeth Braddon
13. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, Kate Summerscale
12. The Defining Moment, Jonathan Alter
11. The Scarlet Pimpernel, Baroness Orczy
10. The Sailor from Gibraltar, Marguerite Duras
9. Villette, Charlotte Bronte
8. Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love and Betrayal, Ben Macintyre
7. The Scandal of the Season, Sophie Gee
6. The Letters of Noel Coward, Barry Day, ed.
5. The Bad Girl, Mario Vargas Llosa (Early Reviewers)
4. Nineteen-Eighty Four, George Orwell
3. Nights at the Circus, Angela Carter
2. Animal Farm, George Orwell
1. Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash, Elizabeth Royte

I spent far too long not writing about the books I've read, with the result that I'm probably just going to give a line or two about the past 10 books.

26a by Diana Evans

This seemingly mostly autobiographical story of Georgia and Bessi Hunter, identical twin daughters of a black Nigerian mother and a white British father, seems to have been written in part as a way for Diana Evans to come to terms with her life and her childhood. While I sometimes find that annoying, in this case I found it quite touching.

Why I Read This Now: I was semi-participating in Orange July.

In the Kitchen by Monica Ali (an ER book)

I was very happy to receive this book from the Early Reviewers program, since I had read Brick Lane by Monica Ali when it came out, and really liked it. In the Kitchen, however, never really grabbed me. Gabriel Lightfoot, the executive chef for a hotel restaurant, has big plans for the future--he's in partnership with a businessman and a politician to open a new restaurant, and he's considering marrying his longtime girlfriend--that all start to go awry when one of his staff is found dead in the basement of the restaurant. I disliked Gabriel from the start of the book, and never really warmed to him or bought into his motivations, or found his eventual breakdown believable. In all, not a book I'd recommend.

Why I Read This Now: I received the book as part of the Early Reviewers program.

His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis (Kindle)

A very readable biography of George Washington, tying in well with Ellis's other books of the period. Washington appears to truly have been a reluctant hero and leader, and this plus his desire to shine on for posterity rather than to grab power now were essential ingredients for the success of the creation of the United States.

Why I Read This Now: We had recently returned from a vacation to Washington, DC, and a trip to Mount Vernon.

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson set out to walk the Appalachian Trail, along with his childhood friend Stephen Katz, with the idea to write about the journey. I learned quite a bit about the AT and the botany of the area, and appreciated Bryson's discourses on the environment. While this book is described as humorous, I didn't really find it laugh-out-loud funny. I expected that Bryson had walked the entire 1100 or so miles, and was disappointed when I found out he did not. Overall, I enjoyed this memoir, however.

Why I Read This Now: I had received the book as a gift, so it was at the top of my pile, and I was in an outdoorsy kind of mood.

Bangkok 8 by John Burdett

This detective story set in Thailand is very atmospheric and gritty. I won't discuss the plot, since it's very plot driven, but I will say I didn't follow all the twists and turns. I liked it, but didn't love it.

Why I Read This Now: I was looking for something relatively light. I'm not sure I got what I was looking for.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (audio)

I really thought this was a reread for me, but clearly I had never read the book before (just knew the story from the movie). I listened to this audio for about two months (that's what happens when you're in the car an average of 6 minutes a day . . .), but the sound of the recording was screwy and I finally gave up and finished it as a physical read (which is a shame, since Anna Massey was doing a lovely job). I really enjoyed the book, although I do wish I didn't know what was going to happen, and I found myself periodically wanting to take our heroine by the shoulders and shake some sense into her.

Why I Read This Now: It was actually chosen for me by LT members writestuff and lindsacl when I was looking for a new audiobook to listen to.

The Girls by Lori Lansens

This is the fictional memoir of Rose and Ruby Darlen, at 29 the world's oldest craniopagus twins. Joined at the side of the head, they can only see each other through mirrors. This differing perspective is reflected in their memories, which don't always exactly mesh. I really enjoyed this well written story, and would like to read more by Lansens.

Why I Read This Now: Another Orange July read.

Earthly Joys by Philippa Gregory

I have avoided Philippa Gregory to this point. While I like historical fiction, her books have always seemed too bodice-rippy to me. However, Earthly Joys was recommended to me by a fellow LTer who knows of my interest in 17th- and 18th-century history and science. Earthly Joys is the story of the famous gardener John Tradescant and his relationships with his employers (Sir Robert Cecil, adviser to Elizabeth I and then James I; the Duke of Buckingham; and Charles I and his wife Henrietta Maria). While it was a little too bodice-rippy for me, and I am not enamored of Gregory's writing style, I enjoyed (most of) the story and it was a worthwhile read for me. My biggest quibble: When a book is presented as an historical novel, and all the characters are actual historical figures, I don't like it when authors, you know, make stuff up, and Gregory seemed to make quite a lot of stuff up. I know! it's fiction. But I always picture readers taking it in as fact.

Clearly, it didn't bother me too much, since I picked up the sequel, Virgin Earth, starring Tradescant's son.

Why I Read This Now: It had been near the top of my list since I'd read and enjoyed The Brother Gardeners in June.

The Great Hunger: Ireland 1845-1849 by Cecil Woodham-Smith

First published in 1962, Woodham-Smith's excellent overview of the potato famine is a devastating account of the miseries endured by the Irish when the peasants' only food crop failed, compounded by the British government's inability to understand the realities of life in Ireland, thereby dooming to failure their attempts to alleviate the suffering. I found myself shaking my head in disbelief many times in the course of reading this book, and I was shocked at how badly things were mishandled by the government.

While The Great Hunger is incredibly depressing and disheartening, I highly recommend it.

Why I Read This Now: This book had been sitting on my shelf for a few years (I'd purchased it when I saw it listed as a reference by Andrea Barrett for her excellent novella Ship Fever), and it had been calling me. I hadn't read any nonfiction for a couple of weeks, and I guess I wasn't in the mood for a light beach read.

At Mrs. Lippincote's and A Game of Hide and Seek by Elizabeth Taylor

Why I Read This Now: I had picked up a number of Virago books at a library sale and then offered them to some Virago-collecting friends of mine. When these two Elizabeth Taylor books were requested, I decided to read them before passing them along.

I'm so glad I did! I'm new to Elizabeth Taylor, and her quiet, mid-20th century domestic novels, with so much happening under the surface and between the lines, are wholly satisfying reads.

Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading by Lizzie Skurnick

Skurnick, who blogs about books on jezebel.com and oldhag.com, has gathered a number of her posts about YA novels together in this collection. Each piece is about a different YA novel, mostly published in the '60s-'80s, which wasn't quite what I was expecting, and while Skurnick is probably only a few years younger than me, we didn't have as much overlap in our teenage reading as I'd thought we would. I did get a few good recommendations for my girls, though, and it will probably inspire me to dust off some old favorites to see how they've stood the test of time.

Why I Read This Now: I read a review about the book in Time magazine and requested it from the library. While I'm not sorry I read it, I'm also not sorry I didn't pay for it.

Wow, Chris, a lot of interesting reads! As usual! And I like the "why I read it now" line too.

I too like the "why I read it" addition - I think it helps to know about the mood of a book.

10> I, too, was fascinated by the lives of the John Tradescants, about whom I knew nothing, when I read Earthly Joys. Unfortunately, as a scholar of the period, I was really put off by some of the invented details. For one thing, Buckingham would NEVER have jeopardized his position with the king by engaging in sex with a gardener; and he had plenty of ways to get what he wanted without seduction.

I have a nonfiction book about the Tradescants that I haven't yet gotten to and another one on my wish list. The last time I was in London, I tried to visit the Tradescant garden at Southwark Cathedral, but it was all torn up for improvements.

Exactly! That whole storyline was what bugged me the most.

I'd be interested to hear what you think of the Tradescant book--I'd like to read more about them.

So many interesting reviews all at once...Thanks for the warning on In the Kitchen. You might be interested in the review in this past Sunday's New York Times - it's a bit negative. Also thanks for the review of The Girls, a book I hope to get to sometime. I read A Walk in the Woods several years ago and still think about - little things stick like Katz's lonely TV dinners, and his coffee filters spinning through the air after he tossed them into the woods on day one.

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

I read Midnight's Children many years ago, and it had been one of my favorite books. I was delighted when my RL book group selected it to read this summer. As I started to reread it, I realized that I remembered very little about it, so it was almost like reading it for the first time. I found myself doing lots of research on the side as I read, primarily about India's history in the 20th century, but also for a firmer grasp on the symbolism in the book. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience--I think this is a wonder of a book, with so much crammed into it. Rushdie's use of language is a particular treat. I dreaded the book-group discussion, though, and with good reason. After postponing several times (our meeting was about a month after we had originally planned), when we finally met almost half our members either abandoned it or couldn't finish in time. We spent more time talking about our personal lives than talking about the book. So, with many caveats (if you like magical realism, if you like Indian authors, if you enjoy playing with language), I recommend picking up Rushdie's masterpiece.

Why I Read This Now: Book group, as stated above.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson

At the time I finished Midnight's Children, I was on vacation at my sister's summer cottage on a quiet little island in Maine. At first I picked up Mark Puls's Henry Knox: Visionary General of the American Revolution, which they had on the shelf there, but I found myself filling in bits of information I'd learned from other books about the Revolution as I went along, and soon got annoyed and abandoned it.

And so on to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the first in a trilogy (I believe 10 books were planned, but sadly Larsson died before he finished) about Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist and publisher, and Lisbeth Salander, a socially incompetent hacker. Blomkvist, who is in disgrace following a libel trial, is hired by the elderly head of a prominent industrial family to write the biography of said family and, in secret, to investigate the 30-year-old disappearance of the family head's 16-year-old niece. Blomkvist hires Salander as a researcher, and together they . . . but of course, I won't give away the plot.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is baggy, more than occasionally ludicrous, and plagued with infodumps. But I find Salander an intriguing character, and something about it made me go back about a month later to read the second in the series, The Girl Who Played with Fire. The second installment in the series had fewer infodumps but more (many, many) unlikely coincidences, and I missed the interaction between Blomkvist and Salander (while they're still main characters in the story, they only meet up briefly a couple of times). I find these books more intriguing than good. And so, despite myself, I'm sure I'll read The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest when it's released next June.

Why I Read This Now: I'd heard a lot of talk about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and it looked intriguing. And then I couldn't help myself with the second one. But in both instances, I was looking for something less taxing.

Still struggling with my review of the ER book Homer & Langley by E.L. Doctorow. So, TK.

ETA:

Homer & Langley, E.L. Doctorow's fictional take on New York's famously reclusive hoarders the Collyer brothers, is beautifully written and wonderfully evocative of time and place. The brothers are fully realized, three-dimensional characters. And yet . . . I have a hard time putting in to words what I thought was lacking in this book. We see the world entirely through the perspective of Homer, the blind brother, in such a way that their increasing eccentricity, and in particular Langley's mental disintegration, seems completely normal. Too normal, I think--I never really grasped Langley's madness.

The real Collyer brothers lived from the 1880s to 1947, while the lives of Doctorow's characters are shifted to encompass most of the 20th century. While I believe Doctorow did this in order to give an overview of the century, the time shift really bothered me and I had trouble accepting it. Doctorow's lovely writing elevates the book above these flaws for me, but in the end I don't find it on a par with his best work.

Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights and Murder in the Jazz Age by Kevin Boyle

In 1925, Ossian Sweet, a black doctor and the grandson of slaves, and his wife Gladys bought and moved into a home in a previously all-white neighborhood in Detroit. The KKK had been stirring up anti-black sentiment among the white population of Detroit all summer, and several previous attempts by black professionals to break the color line had been met with violence. The Sweets, concerned about their safety but determined not to be kept out of the home they wanted, enlisted the support of a number of friends and acquaintances as they settled into their new home. On the second night of their residence, the house was surrounded by an angry mob of neighbors, and some rocks were thrown through the upper-floor windows. Shots were fired in return, killing one man and wounding another, and the Sweets and nine other men in the house were arrested and charged with murder.

Boyle's account of the event and the trial afterwards is riveting--a fascinating chapter in US race relations.

Why I Read This Now: Another book that's been on my shelf for a while. I think it was the "Jazz Age" part of the subtitle that attracted me to finally pick it up, in response to some of the more interesting parts of Homer & Langley.

Uh-oh. Homer and Langley is on my wish list. Sounds like it isn't thrilling you.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has been sitting on Mt. TBR for a year now. I have resisted reading it even though I purchased it (courtesy of the evil machinations of my fiendish and local purveyor of books). Some day perhaps.

Deborah--I liked, but didn't love, Homer and Langley. I think it's very well written, but there was something missing for me. rebeccanyc loved it--it's one of her top reads of the third quarter--and she has excellent taste in books, so don't be turned off by my hesitation. I'm also struggling with my review because I waited too long to write it! I've read a number of books since, and I'm feeling as though I'm not going to do it justice.

Mary--if you do read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I'd be interested to hear what you think. I know a lot of people love these books. And as I said, they are compelling to me, even though I think they're quite flawed.

Deborah--I really enjoyed Homer and Langley. "Fascinating", I think, is the adjective most apt for me. I have a friend who has promised to lend me the Larson books. Her husband works for a Swedish company in the U.S., and over the years they've made many friends among the Swedes who come here to work. She recommends the books, but says she thinks it helps to have known so many Swedes!

Chris, thanks for the compliment. I don't think Homer and Langley is one of Doctorow's best, but I do think it shows his usual brilliant characterization, humanity, and awareness of ambiguity.

Rebecca--I agree with all of those things. I think my main problem was that I felt Langley's mental disintegration wasn't adequately demonstrated or explained (neither of those are the right words--see, I'm still struggling!), and I also had problems with the time shift from actual events (I know--it's fiction).

Well, I also had a problem with the time shift from actual events too; it really irked me, in fact. I felt with Langley that he suffered from WWI and then, living in isolation, just got stranger and stranger -- but maybe that isn't an adequate explanation.

I finally posted my review of Homer and Langley (see #21 above). Moving on . . .

Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym

My first Pym, but certainly not my last, this is one of her early works (though apparently not published until much, much later). This sweet social comedy set in Oxford is sort of an anti-romance, in which the reader revels in couples not getting together. I enjoyed this and look forward to reading more by this author.

Why I read this now: I wanted something light. Plus, I'd heard quite a bit about Ms. Pym and wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Fruit of the Lemon by Andrea Levy

Small Island by Andrea Levy was one of my favorite books of last year, so I really looked forward to reading Fruit of the Lemon. I was quite absorbed in the first half of the book, about Faith Jackson, a young Englishwoman whose parents are from Jamaica, and her experiences as a black woman in a predominantly white society. But as Faith starts to fall apart, so does the book. The second half, with Faith in Jamaica recovering from her breakdown and learning about her family, might as well have been a completely different book. As a whole, the narrative didn't hang together for me, and I was ultimately disappointed.

Why I read this now: I wanted to read more by an author who had excited me. Plus, it was on a shelf that caught my eye every time I left the house, and it had been calling to me for a while.

The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes

In The Age of Wonder, Richard Holmes gives biographical sketches of some of the great scientists and scientific discoveries from the mid-18th to early-19th century, and shows how the science of the day influenced the Romantic poets (and vice versa), beginning with Sir Joseph Banks and his voyage of discovery with Captain Cook on the Endeavor, and ending with Darwin's journey to the Galapagos Islands. Banks, in his role as president of the Royal Society, remains a force throughout the book, mentoring and influencing the scientists who come after him. This will surely be on my list of best books of the year. Holmes' writing is compelling and accessible, and his who's who of Romantic-era scientists will keep me in ideas for new books to hunt down for the next year or two. Highly recommended.

Why I Read This Now: I'm a sucker for history of science, and the reviews I read of this book made it sound as if it had been written specifically for me!

Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

I wanted to like this book. I really did. But Tess is such a maddeningly passive heroine that I just wanted to shake her. I did appreciate Hardy's enlightened (for the time) views on women. But I think I'll go read Jude the Obscure again.

Why I Read This Now: I have Claire Tomalin's biography of Hardy sitting on my shelf, and I really need to read more of his work before I tackle it.

Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer

Practically spinsterish (late 20s) Annis Wychwood rescues runaway heiress Lucy Carleton from the side of the road and takes her on as a project. When Carleton's rake of a guardian, Oliver Carleton, enters the scene, typical hate at first sight/engagement in battles of wit/true, deep love ensues. Annis was the perfect antidote to Tess. This may not be Heyer's best, but it was still fun.

Why I Read This Now: I needed something light, and a heroine with backbone, after Tess.

The Ruby in Her Navel by Barry Unsworth

In 12th century Palermo, the Christian Thurstan works in the Diwan of Control under the Muslim Yusef as both a procurer of entertainment for the king and as a sort of secret agent. While the Diwan, and King Roger's domain, is currently multi-cultural, Christian forces are working to eliminate the non-Papists from power, and Thurstan is unwittingly caught up in their machinations.

As usual, Unsworth creates a fully realized world and immerses his readers in the time and place of his novel. While this wasn't my favorite of his works, and I was particularly bothered by the myriad coincidences, I enjoyed my time in the Middle Ages.

Why I Read This Now: The book was nagging at me, since I'd bought it a while ago and then left it to languish unread.

Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman

Wow.

Since this book is being discussed over on Group Reads ( http://www.librarything.com/topic/74405 ), I'll invite you over there to learn more about it. But suffice it to say that this is one of the best books I've ever read, amazing in its historical and emotional scope. A long, tough read, but well worth the effort. I need to read more about the history of the Russian Revolution and the Stalin regime.

Why I Read This Now: I've been eyeing it on my shelf for a while, and avoiding the heaviness (mental and physical). Teelgee was talking about the group read, and pushed me into action.

These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer

This may be a new pattern for me, following up a rough read with Heyer's comforting fluff. This one started out a little too precious for me, but by the end I was totally caught up in it.

The Lighthouse Stevensons: The Extraordinary Story of the Building of the Scottish Lighthouses by the Ancestors of Robert Louis Stevenson by Bella Bathurst

That awkward subtitle is really the book in a nutshell--both subject and handling. While an interesting story (four generations of Stevensons were essentially responsible for lighting the Scottish coastline, massive feats of engineering in the time before modern machinery), the book seemed to meander along, with not enough attention spent on the astonishing work itself. I am also wary of a book like this that is devoid of sources and footnotes.

Why I Read This Now: It was time for nonfiction again, and this book jumped off the shelf at me.

So glad you feel about Life and Fate the way I did, Chris.

>32 cabegley:, The Age of Wonder is so on my TBR pile! Sounds great.

I'm intrigued by Life and Fate as well, but I don't know that I have time to join a group read right now.

Me, too, Rebecca! (When are we going to see that list of all-time favorites?)

Kris, to be honest, I'm not good at the whole group-read thing. I didn't talk about the book much as I read it, I didn't feel comfortable being the first person to post about parts 2 and 3, and so now I've finished the book and left the group read behind. I figured I'd keep an eye on it and comment if I felt I had anything relevant to read, but I say read the book in your own time and just get caught up in its vast canvas.

>41 cabegley:, sounds wonderful to me. I almost always fail at group reads, no matter how well-intentioned I am.

Well you've been busy, haven't you? Nice to catch up on what you've been reading !

>43 lauralkeet: I really need to do this more often! But of course I stopped dead when I came to a book I needed to actually review (To Siberia by Per Petterson). I'm going to try to do it in the next week, before it fades away.

So glad to see you've joined the Pymites! I just discoveered her last summer and am stretching out the novels to savor them.

Just catching up on your reading, Chris. Wow! That's quite a line-up - and a nice mix, too. And I like your use of the "why I'm reading this now" and recognize it from Nickelini's thread. I might try that also (although I expect there will be an embarrassing amount of "because it was there" answers).