Community Room

[literature]

bettymac wrote:

I just finished reading South of Broad by Pat Conroy...wonderful, as usual...am now reading Sand Shark by Margaret Maron...recently read The Last Child by John Hart...really gripping...

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I'm reading South Of Broad now. It took a good hundred pages  but now it is getting very interesting. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. I'm glad I stuck with it.

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I just finished the audio version of South of Broad and it took quite a few disks before I really started to enjoy it.  The beginning was okay, but I kept thinking how long will it  take for him to set the stage.  Once he got into the thick of it., it was good.  I'm glad I kept listening.

[GadgetgirlKS]

I recently finished Cutting for Stone, it was not a book I would have normally picked up on my own (it was for a book club). It was a great story and I highly recommend it, but warning it is a bit long. I also recently finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, another good book.

I am currently reading Emma by Jane Austen. It is the first Jane Austen book I have ever read!

 

Cutting for Stone 

[Amanda-Louise]

I'm reading The Book Thief while I wait for my copy of Drood to arrive.  I'm only about 25 pages into The Book Thief - I'm thinking of not continuing.  Anyone have words of encouragement to either keep going or to cast it aside???

Thanks!

Amanda

[liisa22]

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CJINCA wrote:

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liisa22 wrote:

I just finished Hush, hush :-)    and need to get over there and post!  as far as what else am I reading? In the Heart of the Sea; the story of the whaleship Essex ,  by Nathaniel Philbrick.   Kinda in the middle of re-reading North and South by John Jakes.  My TBR pile has grown quite large since joining First Look!  

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I *loved* In the Heart of the Sea! 

Then I had to follow that up with Moby-Dick, which turned out to be one of those I will read again every couple of years.  What a great book that is.

Right now I am reading The Crying Tree, and I've got Amigoland queued up after that.

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AAAHHHH  I re-read Moby Dick this summer, ( yes, it is one of THOSE books!)    as I had read Ahab's Wife earlier this year, so my mom recommended In the Heart of the Sea. 

Lisa

[liisa22]

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bettymac wrote:

I just finished reading South of Broad by Pat Conroy...wonderful, as usual...am now reading Sand Shark by Margaret Maron...recently read The Last Child by John Hart...really gripping...

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South of Broad is in my TBR pile...   *sigh*  it is getting larger and larger!   My DH asked me what I want for my birthday; I think I will tell him (yet) another bookcase. 

Lisa

[DSaff]

I read The Book Thief a few months ago and found it to be very good. It takes a little while to get into it, but I found the book well worth reading.

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Amanda-Louise wrote:

I'm reading The Book Thief while I wait for my copy of Drood to arrive.  I'm only about 25 pages into The Book Thief - I'm thinking of not continuing.  Anyone have words of encouragement to either keep going or to cast it aside???

Thanks!

Amanda

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[scnole]

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babzilla41 wrote:

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thewanderingjew wrote:

I am reading Chasing Fire, the sequel to the Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. They are young adult books but they are really good. A friend suggested I read them.

I am also reading The Double Bind, by Bohjalian. I just finished Don Quixote by Cervantes and Brooklyn by Colm Toibin.

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I loved The Double Bind - I've read all of Bohjalian's books.  Was also interested in Brooklyn by Toibin but haven't read that.  Let me know how you like it!

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I've read all of of Bohjalian's books also.   Isn't he a great writer!!1

[JaneM]

I also love Bohjalian, and Jodi Picoult for how they take a controversial subject and present it in a fictionalized way so that you learn a lot about an issue, such as midwifes or brittle bone disease.

I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Husseini.  Makes you appreciate life in the U.S. where women can become educated, get jobs, read what they want!  I also recently enjoyed The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows and an odd, but enjoyable little book called Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living by Carrie Tiffany.  It is about farming in 1938 in Australia where they struggle with dust storms - a familiar story line for we who just finished Under This Unbroken Sky.

[thewanderingjew]

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DiniB wrote:

I just went through a large transcontinental move from San Francisco to New Jersey.  My Under This Broken Sky got packed and moved into storage by accident!   The books I brought with me:

The Angels Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafron

Girl with the Dragon Tatto by Steig Larsson

The House at Riverton (a buy 2 get one free B&N purchase) by Kate Morton

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Hi,

I read the second and third books on your list and loved them both. Actually, I read The House at Riverton with the First Look group. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo now has a sequel out...The Girl Who Played With Fire. My book group has it on the list for next season. I have heard the Angels Game is really good but haven't read it.

[Thayer]

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DSaff wrote:

I figured that, Paul. Thanks 

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PaulH wrote:

Sorry about this. We're working on it.

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dhaupt wrote:

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DSaff wrote:

I am having a lot of trouble signing into the book clubs period. In case anyone else is having this problem, I have found a work-around until it is fixed. When I click on "log in" for the book clubs, it always takes me to my account. When I try to load a discussion, it is an a visitor. BUT, if I click on "Reply" to a post, suddenly I am signed in and can navigate. I just wanted to share it for others with similar problems. 

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Thanks Donna, I've been having the same trouble.

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I have found that if I try to sign in on my laptop (using AOL 9.5) it gives me trouble.  If I use my hubby's computer which is internet explorer, I have no trouble at all.  Coincidence? 

Still adjusting to the new look. Seems a bit "clinical" or generic, if you will, to me. My husband however loves the new "modern, clean" look.  Haha

Still a bit intimidated-but trying to acclimate. 

[Thayer]

...and where oh where did my avatar go? It shows up on my profile page.

[thewanderingjew]

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babzilla41 wrote:

I loved The Double Bind - I've read all of Bohjalian's books.  Was also interested in Brooklyn by Toibin but haven't read that.  Let me know how you like it!

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I enjoyed Brooklyn on many levels; one was because I was born there and grew up in East Flatbush. It wasn't the same area mentioned in the book but there were a few places that came up that were nostalgic to me and I had a friend who grew up in the area in which the book takes place. The book was easy to read. Toibin has a way of making your feel as if you are almost a voyeur looking in on the characters as they pass through the experiences ot their lives. Some were likable and others were not! They certainly were trailblazers in a time when there was great hardship coupled with great opportunity.  I don't want to say more since I don't want to give the story away. It found it to be a really fast enjoyable read which touched my heart.

[thewanderingjew]

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Amanda-Louise wrote:

I'm reading The Book Thief while I wait for my copy of Drood to arrive.  I'm only about 25 pages into The Book Thief - I'm thinking of not continuing.  Anyone have words of encouragement to either keep going or to cast it aside???

Thanks!

Amanda

Hi Amanda,

I read The Book Thief awhile back and recently went to another book discussion on it. Many people have expressed difficulty getting into it, as you have. I found that at around 100 pages in I was a captive, so if you can, try and continue. Sometimes a book just never grabs you but I thought it presented the subject matter in a unique way and also presented another side of the Holocaust, not often discussed, the pov of a German. It was enlightening in many ways.

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[kpatton]

Anna, I so agree with you.  I will never find enough time to read all of the books I have written down as suggestions, however I just added your suggestion to my list.  I started The Shack but am having great difficulty getting into it.  My next book to pick up is Loving Frank.  Both of these are for my book clubs.  Just for fun I have Queen of the Underworld on CD in my car.

Kathy

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Anna_Louise wrote:

Hi Everyone:

I too love the First Look BC and all the suggestions.  However, my book list keeps growing and it will take me lifetimes to try to get through it!

I'm currently reading:  The Day the Falls Stood Still which is the B&N Recommended book.  It's fantastic and I'm loving it and can't put it down.

Anna

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[kpatton]

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BSC42 wrote:

HI!

My son is going post-secondary his senior year of highschool and his college English class is reading The Giver.  I am borrowing it and going to read it along with him!

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I read The Giver several years ago when Nancy Pearl lead a reading discussion group through the University of Minnesota.  It is a marvelous read.  You'll definitely want to find someone to talk with when you finish it.

Kathy

[ssizemore]

Amanda-

i would encourage you to continue to read The Book Thief.  My daughter used it in teaching an 8th grade history class and was insistent that I read it.  I was not thrilled about the subject matter, but I persevered and now it is one of my favorite books of all time. I think you will find that the narrator's character changes as the book progresses, or maybe our perception of him does.  Hope this helps!  Sandy

[babzilla41]

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thewanderingjew wrote:

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babzilla41 wrote:

I loved The Double Bind - I've read all of Bohjalian's books.  Was also interested in Brooklyn by Toibin but haven't read that.  Let me know how you like it!

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I enjoyed Brooklyn on many levels; one was because I was born there and grew up in East Flatbush. It wasn't the same area mentioned in the book but there were a few places that came up that were nostalgic to me and I had a friend who grew up in the area in which the book takes place. The book was easy to read. Toibin has a way of making your feel as if you are almost a voyeur looking in on the characters as they pass through the experiences ot their lives. Some were likable and others were not! They certainly were trailblazers in a time when there was great hardship coupled with great opportunity.  I don't want to say more since I don't want to give the story away. It found it to be a really fast enjoyable read which touched my heart.

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Sounds good - thanks for the insight! 

[Sunltcloud]

As for font size, Marciliogq, it is preset at "medium" but you can change it in your profile.

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marciliogq wrote:

I'm having the same trouble!!! I also didn't like the font size. Too small for my short sight.

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DSaff wrote:

I am having a lot of trouble signing into the book clubs period. In case anyone else is having this problem, I have found a work-around until it is fixed. When I click on "log in" for the book clubs, it always takes me to my account. When I try to load a discussion, it is an a visitor. BUT, if I click on "Reply" to a post, suddenly I am signed in and can navigate. I just wanted to share it for others with similar problems. 

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[ChrisB_NJ]

I recently read "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society", "Prayers for Sale" and "Critical". Of the 3, I enjoyed "Prayers for Sale" the most. Right now I'm reading "The Help". Before "The Postmistress" arrives, I need to buckle down and start reading the new version of the PMBOK as I'm scheduled to take the PMP exam in November.   

[Kittysmom]

Hi Anna, my name is Gail and I am new to First Look recommended by DSAFF! It's nice to meet you!

Right now I am just starting a new book called "A Man of his Word" by Kathleen Fuller.  Donna told me it was good and it probably is.  I am looking forward to starting it tonight.