What are you reading?

[debbaker]

I agree. I am at that inbetween period. I have so many books that I want to read but am running short on time and need to pick well. I just finished a book that I had mixed feelings about and needed to take a day to refocus and then decide.

Since I am an English teacher it is harder for me to read independently during the school year. I need to get as much in as possible this month. September will slow me down some. I spent two weeks in July reading no thought novels just to create a separation between school and summer.

Tomorrow I will be able to update my reading choice.

[thewanderingjew]

i needed a break from feather man; i am reading away by amy bloom. i will return to feather man.

twj 

[thewanderingjew]

i am now reading the echo maker by richard powers. feather man turned out to be great.

twj 

[Everyman]

I'm encouraged that people have found Feather Man to be excellent and worth the time.  I haven't yet regathered the nerve to continue after the point when I decided I needed a break from it (which was the end of Chapter 18), but you're all encouraging me to keep at it.

[karinlib]

I finished As I Lay Dying    By Faulkner, and I have started The Light in August. I don't love Faulkner's subject matter, but I do like his writing, there are some passages that are just wonderful.  I need a break from Faulkner for now, but I will continue.

I am taking a break and reading something light : Carol Goodman's The Night Villa. 

[cooldiv16]

I think the two books that I have recently read (within the last month) that have made it to the top of my favorites list and I would highly recommend:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho; A very simple story, yet it held so much meaning, had so much power.. one of the deepest books I've read.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini; A heart-wrenching story of women in Afghanistan.. the part that left me in awe and made this book really special was when I thought of how a male writer has captured and portrayed so well the emotions of women in a country and setting that is highly male-dominated.

Message Edited by cooldiv16 on 08-26-2008 02:56 PM

[Linda10]

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karinlib wrote:

I am taking a break and reading something light : Carol Goodman's The Night Villa. 

---

Hi Karinlib!

I just skimmed a review of The Night Villa the other day and it sounded wonderful!  Are you enjoying it so far?  I'll be interested in what you thought of it when you've finished.

I am currently reading a book that came out yesterday, The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti.  It starts out with a little boy in an orphanage, who happens to have been born without or somehow lost his left hand (we don't know which yet).  It has gotten some really good reviews.  In fact, I think it's worthwhile including a quote from one of those reviews.  This is from Elizabeth Gilbert, who wrote Eat, Pray, Love:

"Every once in a while -- if you are very lucky -- you come upon a novel so marvelous and enchanting and rare that you wish everyone in the world would read it as well.  The Good Thief is just such a book -- a beautifully composed work of literary magic."

[gregs317]

Hi all. After about a 2-month break, I wanted to see what's been happening here. I finished The Handmaid's Tale; it was a really good story. At first I was bummed about the ending, it just kind of left you there - wondering what happened to Offred. The final section, which came after the last chapter, helped a little bit in that it offered a new perspective on the whole story. I still would have rather found out what happened to the main character, but oh well.

At any rate, my curiosity was just grabbed by the title of a book I haven't read yet - Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire.  Has anyone hear read it? I'd love to hear any thoughts/comments about it. 

Happy Reading, Greg

[gregs317]

Oh and I just read the review for 'Stolen Innocence'. It looks like a great read - one more book to add to the list, haha. Greg

[jaimi1]

I am reading Love in the Time of Cholera. It is a tough read. It reminds me of Oscar and Lucinda.  I am plugging away at it because I really do like it.

Have you read the Kite Runner ?  I do believe it is one of the best novels I have read.   I liked The Painted Veil  and Snowflower and the Secret Fan.  Also the The Secret Life of Bees and Girl With A Pearl Earring. I could add a lot more but this is good for starters.

Jaimi

[cherybery]

Currently reading Salt by Mark Kurlansky. So far so good!

[Purpyl]

I loved Snowflower and the Secret Fan, although I found myself getting angry in places, not unlike Memoirs of a Geisha. It's hard for me to believe how women were treated in Asian countries. I look forward to reading more by Lisa See.

[Purpyl]

I am one of those people reading more than one book at a time. (Am I ADD??) On my Treo I have The Golden Compass & Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. (This way I am never without a book. Heaven forbid I ever have to wait somewhere & not have a book to read. I am not & have never been a magazine kind of person.) I started reading Son of a Witch, but stopped & am now reading Twilight, on the recommendation of a friend. She is 60 & I am nearly 54. She loved it & I'm half-way through & am having difficulty sticking with it because, as my 29-year-old son (who gave me the book) said, "It's for teenage girls." I'll keep at it a while longer; but I have so many books sitting on my many bookshelves waiting to be read, I may need to get back to SOAW, which I know I'll like.

[Maj.M.Lawrence]

Hey guys, I found this great historical romance novel online. Its called "A drifter's love"... has anyone heard of it? Its a real classic

check it out, when you get a chance

http://www.worthyofpublishing.com/book.asp?book_ID=1096

God bless!

[Kay228]

I just finished up Twlight and I am getting New Moon today.

I also just picked up a a copy of Heartsick by Chelsea Cain last night on ebay so I'll be reading that once i'm done with the Twilight Saga.

[crimsonrush]

Right now I'm raeding Us and Them: The Science of Identity by David Berreby.  It's really cool.  It moves me because it made me realize things about how we act (it's kind of psychology) but it makes sense.  Unlike other books about society, this one actually rings a bell.

I don't really like reading multiple books at once, but i can always read Ender's Game hehe.  Best.  Book.  Ever.

[Paula717]

On the recommendation of a couple of members, I started reading "Molokai'i" and am truely enjoying it. It is an incredible read.

[cooldiv16]

So after a bit of a hiatus, I am back on here and reading some fantastic books! I finished about a month ago, The Plain Truth, by Jodi Picoult. I must say it was quite a surprise package - good reading, good research, very different "angle". This is only the second book I have ready by Ms. Picoult, and I think I'm on the way to becoming a fan!

The Twilight Saga was another delightful read.. the last two books were a bit better, because like someone else said the first two are really for teenage girls.

I'm currently reading several books.. because I have a different mood to read a different book each day.. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl was recommended by a friend, and is coming along quite well - but beware, it is quite thought-provoking and highly emotional; it is a non-fiction analysis type of book. Anna Karenina is the classic I am now attempting. The Barnes and noble classics edition is very good, very reasonable, and upwards of 800 pages! This one is going to take me a while, but it is so well-written! It is also my first step into Russian literature.. let's see how that goes..

[Elisa695]

I just finished THE WINNER, which i loved, and DIARY OF DATING, which I loved as well.

: )

[jaimi1]

I haven't contributed in a while, but I finished Water for Elephants recently. I thought it was wonderfully descriptive. I also read The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips. That was also a very clever and descriptive novel.  Now I have started The Bastard of Instanbul. So far I like it but it is too soon for me to make a judgement. There isn't too much I don't like.  I avoid what doesn't appeal to me.

jaimi