Thanks for all of the well wishes, I've been laid low by the flu and so responses to queries and things are going to be a little delayed.
In the meantime, every now and then I like to get a snapshot of what people are reading to get a sense of the pulse of the book world.
So. What are you reading at the moment?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
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«Oldest ‹Older 1 – 200 of 548 Newer› Newest»Mr. Toppit by Charles Elton
I'm deep in The Somnambulist, and my wife is wading through Emma.
Rereading The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce.
I'm cheating -- getting an early start reading INFINITE JEST by David Foster Wallace. An online group has started a project called Infinite Summer -- not really supposed to start until June 21st. So far it's great.
Review copy of The Collaborator, Gerald Seymour's new one, and Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Of Vicars and Tarts by Sonja Bigg
"A shining beacon in a sea of chick-lit mediocrity"....review.
Nonfiction: Gideon's Spies, by Gordon Thomas
Fiction: The Eight, Katherine Neville
Both good, if very different.
Just finished Unwind by Neal Shusterman last night and started Fade by Lisa McMann. I'm on a YA kick.
I just finished Michael Connelly's newest one, THE SCARECROW - a great thriller!
Now, I'm reading (and enjoying!) Lauren Groff's collection of short stories, DELICATE EDIBLE BIRDS, and Katherine Howe's THE PHYSICK BOOK OF DELIVERANCE DANE.
The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman
Since I'm a YA author, I'm reading several YA books at the moment. (working my way through them one at a time would be a more accurate description) Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Wings by Aprilynne Pike, Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr, and Looking for Alaska by John Green.
I've got my reading for the next month cut out. Haha
Reading Joe Scarborough's Last Best Hope. I watch him every morning and love Morning Joe, but without Mike and the gang, I'm finding him hard to get through!
Playing With Matches by Brian Katcher
Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr.
I have Paper Towns by John Green and Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover by Ally Carter waiting. Not sure which will come first.
Under the Black Flag by David Cordingly.
After the string of pirate attacks off the Somali coast, I realized the only thing I really knew about pirates was from Hollywood and children's books.
Little Dorrit, then Fragile Eternity.
I'm reading "Obsidian Butterfly" by Laurell K Hamilton and "You Are Psychic!" by Pete A Sanders.
Things of Remembrances Past (Vol. 2), Peter Ackroy'd Thames, the Biograhy, the zine "We'll Never Have Paris," cookbook on Mediterranean food by Elizabeth David, and my editor's revision notes....
American Gods by Neil Gaiman.
I'm reading "The Hour I First Believed" by Wally Lamb. Stunning.
After This by Alice McDermott
An e-book by Dan Stone titled, THE REST OF OUR LIVES, pubbed by Lethe Press.
Don't know what it's like out there, but back here when you hear flu you run to get tested for swine. Hope you saw a doc.
Sending along good vibes in hopes you get better soon. Just finished Into the Wild, (I skipped Krakauer's personal experiences). Started Playing With Boys (Valdes-Rodriguez) but couldn't get past page 3. Picked up about several Stephen King books at tag sales - decided to give them a go. Probably start with Cell.
Lots of books about Bohemian Paris at the turn of the 20th century. I'm doing research for a spooky historical thriller I'm writing that takes place around that time.
Well, I'm reading two things right now. One, I'm re-reading The Lord of the Rings, because I'm Blogging the Rings - blogging about the novel chapter by chapter, trying to break it down from a writer's point of view. One chapter a day is the goal (Sundays off - rest is needed). Currently on chapter six of Fellowship.
Secondly, I'm reading Kobo Abe's The Woman in the Dunes, which is quite strange and wonderful so far. Gotta love those Japanese magical realists.
Oh, and I'm listening to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on audiobook each day, driving to and from work. Does that count as reading?
Trail of the Serpent--surprisingly modern Victorian mystery.
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan.
My 12- & 14-year-old daughters are reading: James Patterson's MAXIMUM RIDE series & VAMPIRE ACADEMY.
Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott; The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson; Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr
I just started reading Lord of Misrule, The Autobiography of (Sir) Christopher Lee. It has a terrific introduction by Peter Jackson! I'm looking forward to reading more about this brilliant actor.
Get well soon, Nathan.
Currently:
"The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga. Fabulous so far!
"The Tale of Genji" by Murasaki Shikibu. Just started but good of course. World History class sparked my interest.
On deck is "Infinite Jest" by David Foster Wallace for the Infinite Summer challege!
Between Silk and Cyanide, a Codemaker's War 1941-45 by Leo Marks. Riveting!
"Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems" by Randall Maggs.
Denied the leap and dash up the ice,
what goalies know is side to side, an inwardness of monk
and cell. They scrape. They sweep. Their eyes are elsewhere
as they contemplate their narrow place. Like saints, they pray for nothing,
which brings grace. Off-days, what they want is space. They sit apart
in bars. They know the length of streets in twenty cities.
But it’s their saving sense of irony that further
isolates them as it saves.
– from "One of You"
And The Band Played On by Randy Shilts.
glad you're feeling better!
Shadow's Edge by Brent Weeks.
Nonstop action, great story. This is the second one in the trilogy.
Highly recommend it.
Review copy of Rachel Caine's CARPE CORPUS.
"Minders of Make Believe" by Leonard Marcus. About the history of children's book publishing.
The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan.
Emily Giffin - Love The One You're With. To be followed by Aprilynne Pike's Wings. Super excited for that one. :)
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (rounding up), with Magic Bites and Poison Study to choose from after I finish it.
Fiction: Holly Phillips's THE ENGINE'S CHILD, which is a dark fantasy.
Nonfiction: various histories of Washington, DC and the US capitol. I'm on a local history kick.
JUST finished Darwinia; A Novel of a Very Different Twentieth Century, by Robert Charles Wilson.
Will bend your mind like one of those twisty loop straws!
Having fun reading The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. Next up: Infinite Jest
THE GATECRASHER by Madeleine Wickham (a.k.a) Sophie Kinsella.
Thoroughly enjoying it.
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout... I'm really enjoying it!
Also re-reading Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles thanks to the other week's blog on which characters influenced us most (with Tess it was her profound honesty). I realized it had been a while and dug into it again. He is such a great storyteller.
Also gearing up for Michael Perry's latest memoir, Coop.
Foundling by D.M. Cornish. I picked it up in my last Amazon order and meant to read it this weekend. I brought it with me to read over lunch at work today (and instead, here I am reading blogs).
I'm reading Rebellion on Piza 7. It's my book, recently released. It's different in book form, and I need a reminder of the flow for the next in the series. Plus, I have book signing coming up and it wouldn't do for the reader to know more than I remember about my characters! lol
Just finished Catch-22 (Heller) and currently reading Can You Forgive Her? (Trollope). Next up is Saturday (McEwan).
Widow's Kiss - BOT - Bryan, that's about all I do, anymore, is listen; rarely read. Even w/ books, my wife's usually there reading to me (several WIPs there - some that we've been "reading" for years: Ghost by Maguire, another one by Maguire - after Wicked, it was all fast downhill - The House of God, Enslaved by Ducks, The Road)
Right now I'm in the middle of Zero at the Bone by Jane Seville.
Bad to the bone, by Jeri Smith-Ready
The Source, by James Michener. My first taste of his work. And WOW.
Last night, I finished Love in the Time of Cholera by Marquez. WONDERFUL novel. I just started The General's Daughter by Demille. My book club picked it. So far, I'm not impressed with the writing at all, but we'll see.
Home Game, the new book by Michael Lewis.
At the moment, I am reading The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen, and I just finished What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman - both of which are turning (or turned) out to be excellent books. Next up is Six Seconds by Rick Mofina.
Get well soon, Nathan!
Red Seas Under Red Skies, by Scott Lynch. Loves me some Locke Lamora!
1984, although I just finished My Sister's Keeper.
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson, The Watchmen, Infected by Scott Sigler, and Personal Effects: Dark Art by J. C. Hutchins.
Acacia by David Anthony Durham
Spook Country by William Gibson!
I just finished CURSOR'S FURY by Jim Butcher and I've been working on THE GLORIOUS CAUSE by Jeff Shaara.
I recommend both authors. Although their works are vastly different (Historical fiction v. Sci-fi/fantasy) both are incredible writers.
Right now I'm casting about for a good mystery/suspense novel featuring an amateur sleuth. Any suggestions anyone?
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
david foster wallace - infinite jest and 'consider the lobster' for lighter moments.
plus george saunders' first collection of essays: 'the braindead megaphone'.
Jayber Crow - by Wedell Berry
And just finished - A Thief of Time - by - Tony Hillerman
Get well quick -
"The People of Sparks" by Jeanne DuPrau. It's the wonderfully written sequel to "The City of Ember".
The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers.
Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster. She's laugh out loud funny!
Just read two YA books - The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan and The Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks. Reading two from the shortlist for the Melissa Nathan award for romantic comedy - Recipe for Disaster by Miriam Morrison and the eventual winner The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama.
Just started The Road by Cormac. Just finished Columbine by Dave Cullen. Great, great work by Mr. Cullen.
Lady Killer
Lisa Scottoline
Excellent book. Love her voice on the page
1. Your blog. But that's probably taking "at the moment" too literally.
2. Just finished THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE.
3. About to dig into Michael Crichton's NEXT.
Three Cups of Tea. And The House at Sugar Beach.
And a Penelope Trunk blog post on abortion, which is one of the most honest, raw posts I've read in a long time. (http://tinyurl.com/lrzn6b)
Madeleine L'engle's "Walking On Water" among other things.
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
The Snow Tourist by Charlie English
The Price by Alexandra Sokoloff and Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.
Oooh, John Quirk, I've just finished my ARC of The Collaborator. It was excellent - Gerald Seymour is a brilliant thriller writer. Interesting moral dilemmas, intriguing characters and fast-paced plot. I met Gerald at the London Book Fair (we have the same publisher) and he was such a gentleman, offering sage and numerous advice.
Gustav Flaubert's Sentimental Education
Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish
St. Augustine's Confessions
Err. That was supposed to say 'humorous' advice. Dammit.
I'm reading the behemoth that is Dragonfly in Amber, the second book in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. I thought Outlander was eh, but I was curious where she went with the series (and I don't mind reading about a sexy Scot). I'm only 200 pages in and it's due back at the library this weekend and there are already 3 more holds against it. Apparently it's a very popular series...
Today: The latest chapter in a SF work for my crit group. Also one chapter into To Say Nothing of the Dog and between Suzanne Brockman novels.
Stealing Shadows by Kay Hooper
Her Sanctuary by Toni Anderson
Velocity by Dean Koontz
Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
I'm reading Freeze Frame. It's a YA book. Forgot the author, too lazy to look.
Japan: Its history and culture, by W. Scott Morton.
Fiction-wise, I've got Sherwood Smith's Once a Princess still in progress as well.
"On Beauty" by Zadie Smith
I’m checking out some recent Young Adult and Middle Grade books right now. Finished “Be More Chill” by Ned Vizzini last night and started “Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree” by Lauren Tarshis over lunch today.
WV: musig – a singular musing. “My hour of daydreaming only generated one worthwhile musig.”
Finally getting around to reading The Watchmen graphic novel. I'm really enjoying it. I avoided much of the hype about the movie because I wanted to read it first, so it's a real treat.
FRAGILE ETERNITY by Melissa Marr ... can't decide if I should read GRACELING or HUNGER GAMES next.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Duplicate Effort, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
Feel better soon, Nathan!
I'm reading THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO for the first time. I've seen the movie a bazillion times, and I'm loving the book so far.
Still working on House of Leaves as well as Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray. Just finished Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects and can't wait to devour her newest novel. Starting Infinite Jest in 4 days!
Get lots and lots of sleep, Nathan!
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Ogawa and The Time Traveler's Wife by Niffenegger
Two non-fiction books: "The First Responders: The Untold story of the NYPD & 9/11" by Anthea Appel, and "Chasing the Monsoon" by Alexander Frater
AMAZON INK by Lori Devoti
It's Urban Fantasy. These days I won't touch UF or Paranormal Romance, because I'm sick of stereotypical Kick-Butt Heroines. I wouldn't have touched this one either, because the cover art screams stereotype. But, I read a blurb about it at
fantasydebut.blogspot.com
and learned it isn't stereotypical at all. The Heroine is even a mommy.
I'll be reviewing it at Enduring Romance too.
Heed the power of the Blog!
Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. But it's for my philosophy class, so I suppose that's cheating.
When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro. Also just finished the new YA When the Whistle Blows by Fran Cannon Slayton.
Well I hope you got your Tamiflu in time!! lol
I was hoping that wasn't what it was. I'm sorry. :(
I'm reading Middlemarch (yes, still) by George Eliot. I wouldn't really call it "the pulse of the book world". Lol.
But I did finish Black Order by James Rollins and gave it 3 out of 5 stars. I'd say it was 4.5 stars until the ending. :/
just finished The Book Thief by Zusak; now reading Everything is Illuminated by Foer
The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp and Hit and Run by R.L. Stine (research)
Short Stories by Elizabeht Bishop: heard recently on the radio a reading of "One Art" and got stuned and stung by it... So went out and bought the short stories and the poems. Incredible read for writing...
Feel better, rest and read a good book!
Short Stories by Elizabeht Bishop: heard recently on the radio a reading of "One Art" and got stuned and stung by it... So went out and bought the short stories and the poems. Incredible read for writing...
Feel better, rest and read a good book!
A proof copy of Killing God by Kevin Brooks - controversial, gritty, thought-provoking, brilliantly written YA novel with a compelling voice - just totally awesome.
Hope you're better soon!
I'm reading:
- Renegade : inside the Obama campaign. I followed the campaign daily last year, it's interesting to see it through the eyes of an insider.
- Wicked : the first in the Maguire Oz series. I saw book 3 at the library and decided I want to read the series, so starting with book 1. I read Baum's original Oz series as a child, am interested to see what Maguire's take is like.
I'm reading CRISS CROSS by Lynne Rae Perkins and I am IN LOVE.
I'm also rereading ULYSSES. Happy belated Bloomsday!
Next up I have Beth Kephart's HOUSE OF DANCE.
I'm reading Highway 99: A Literary Journey through California's Great Central Valley.
I'm reading "The Sociology of Philosophies" at the moment, but that's just to kill time until my John Crowley books get here.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies...engrossing.
-Persepolis
-Reading Lolita in Tehran
-The Yiddish Policeman's Union
-The Artful Edit by Susan Bell
And a ----load of blogs and twitter feeds.
I'm just finishing AMERICAN GODS by Neil Gaiman. And I'm about to start A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY by Libba Bray.
The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea
Fairfield Porter, Art on Its Own Terms. It's a compilation of the artist's articles and essays about art; my art teacher suggested it to me.
I haven't read anything this analytical and academic since I left grad school, but at least it hasn't talked about deconstruction or dialectics yet...
- The ABCs of Kissing Boys by Tina Ferraro
- Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon
- Dull Boy by Sarah Cross (maybe)
Pegasus Bridge by Stephen Ambrose
Without Remorse by Tom Clancy
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson although it took me many nights of falling asleep after 3 pages at a time to get into it. I'm a s-l-o-w reader.
Since I'm a biblioslut this is only a partial list:
Dark Banquet: Blood and the Curious Lives of Blood-Feeding Creatures by Bill Schutt
Pieces of my Heart by Robert Wagner
Twinkie Deconstructed by Steve Ettlinger
The Salmon of Doubt by Douglas Adams
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
And about 20 or so others that are in various stages of being read.
Miracle of the Rose by Jean Genet
Ten Ring by Joseph L Cooke for about the tenth time.
It gets better with each reading.
Nothing, but possibly "Anna Karenina" soon.
"Pride, Prejudice & Zombies," slow going and really not that good. Slogging along and it's a chore.
"Something Missing," of which I have an ARC and which is interesting but overly bogged down in minutae so it's also slow going although I am enjoying that book.
"Possession," by Jennifer Armintrout. Just barely finished it, and it was pure torture to get through.
Not sure if it's me and my mood or the books that are the problem...
A Most Ingenious Paradox: The Art of Gilbert & Sullivan, by Gayden Wren.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is my book club's next pick and I'll be starting that tomorrow.
As I'm writing YA, I just finished Graceling and Vampire Academy, and as I'm also working on a MG ms, I'm in the middle of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Oh, and this weekend I bought On Writing by Stephen King since so many on this blog recommended it, and I finished it the next day (loved it!)I'm so glad I wasn't an adverb person to begin with or I would have had much more fixing to do.
Nathan - hope you're feeling better.
I'm reading two books: Palace of the Varieties by James Lear and On Writing by Stephen King. Loving them both. :)
How is this for a pairing. The Catholic Church, a short history by Hans Kung: Swan Lake by James Lee Burke. If that isn't a twosome I don't know what is...ha ha
The Spider's House by Paul Bowles.
Setting: Morocco in the 1950s
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides.
Oh, and my son just finished the second Mysterious Benedict Society and said he's SOOOO bummed that there's not another one waiting for him. He's 11 and loves to read, but it's hard to find good mysteries or comedies or sports books for a highish level. It's all dragons and vampires and teen love and magic weirdo stuff that doesn't interest him in the least. He reads in bed so he doesn't want to have nightmares...scaredy cat kid I guess. :) Anyways, kudos to that author and the agent who pulled him in.
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, by David Foster Wallace and
I Sailed With Magellan by Stuart Dybek. Damn! Gotta get some lady authors on my nightstand.
Who Talks Funny, a non-fiction book about linguistics and the world's languages, by Brenda Cox. It's intended for young readers, but it's interesting reading even for adults. She does a good job of making complex ideas accessible and fun.
Jack Kerouac's On the Road, Langston Hughes' The Ways of White Folks, William T Vollmann's You Bright and Risen Angels, Oakley Hall's Warlock, Robert Bennett's Mr. Shivers (advance copy). Also slowly and randomly working through Shakespeare's plays.
Bolano's 2666 and (finishing) Pynchon's Against the Day are up next, and then I'm waiting for Vollmann's Imperial and Pynchon's Inherent Vice.
Finished "The Little Stranger" by Sarah Waters (terrific) yesterday at the last little league game of the season--yea! Planning on starting "On Sledge and Horseback to Outcast Siberian Lepers" by Kate Marsden (what can I say? I was influenced by Ben Hur at an early age.) at tonight's last softball game of the season.
Just finished (in a day) Bone Dance by Emma Bull, next up Cats Have No Lord by Will Shetterly, then one of the three Josephine Tey mysteries sitting on my nightstand.
Evolution's Shore, by Ian McDonald. And rereading The Once And Future King, for a book club.
Bright Lights, Big City by...by...
*Google-fu*
Ah, right. By Jay McInerney.
And that, folks, is why you shouldn't write novels to become famous.
Night World No. 1 by L.J. Smith.
Paranormal romance. I highly recommend it.
"The Help" by Kathryn Stockett.
Just finished: THE NAMESAKE by Jhumpa Lahiri
Currently reading: THE PRINCESS AND THE BEAR by Mette Ivie Harrison and ONE-EYED CAT by Paula Fox
Next up: I AM THE MESSENGER by Markus Zuzak
The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker, for research purposes.
The Book Of Lost Things, by John Connolly. Fairy tale re-interpretation goes dark. Really dark.
What about you? Read any good books lately?
Stay warm and drink tea!
On my nightstand and underway:
"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian," Sherman Alexie
"The Hunger Games," Suzanne Collins
"The Forest of Hands and Teeth," Carrie Ryan
Almost done with MAINSPRING by Jay Lake. It's pretty interesting so far!
Hope you feel better soon!
I'm mainly reading The Gun Seller (Hugh Laurie) with a side dish of Terry Pratchett, Nora Roberts (in Dutch - easy enough to understand as a beginner, language-wise, that is) and Di Morrissey (in German - family present (just so they can read it too!)).
Right now? Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King.
1984. The Holy Qu'ran.
"Gaudy Night" by Dorothy L. Sayers
"Ukridge" by P.G. Wodehouse
"Lumby Lines" by Gail R. Fraser
In the past three weeks, I read:
-The Twilight Saga - Myer
(all four) (twice) GREAT story!
(second read the repeats stood out, but I learned from that and STILL GREAT STORY)
-Wings - Pike (no plot or characters)
-On Writing - Stephen King (loved it)
I am in the middle of -but put down:
Brisinger -Paolini
(too much world building - lost interest -will probably pick up again later)
I just started reading:
The Ghost Orchid - Carol Goodman
I am slowly reading:
Writing The Breakout Novel workbook - Donald Mass
Writers Market 2008
How To Write Science Fiction & Fantasy - Orson Scott Card
The Elements of Storytelling - Peter Rubie
And my husband is reading
Mason & Dixon - Thomas Pynchon
to me on Sundays
(and helping me understand it by deciphering it for me as we go -he already read it and loved it, but it's a bit thick for me so far.)
"Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
"One Across, Two Down" by Ruth Rendell
Currently I am reading The zombie survival guide.
Skin Trade-Laurel K. Hamilton (Anita Blake Series)
Was anyone else completing jonesing for Nathan's post the last few days? I am hopelessly addicted. Glad your feeling better!
I'm currently slogging through "Wizard and Glass," the fourth entry in The Dark Tower series by Stephen King
I just finished, on Monday, "A Countess Below Stairs."
Next I can't decide. When life calms down I will.
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. It's taking me a long time to get into it.
I just finished "Tetraktys" by Ari Juels and "Carmen Dog" by Carol Emshwiller. I'm now reading "The White Road and Other Stories" by Tania Hershman. My husband is rereading Harry Potter.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Feel better.
Nathan,
Hope you're feeling better! :-)
I'm fighting bronchitis, drinking ginger ale and I hate to say it... halfway through my second People magazine. Trashy magazines always helps when I'm sick and Melissa Joan Hart really does look pretty cute in her bikini. ;-)
RAGTIME by E.L. Doctorow, just finished OLIVE KITTERIDGE by Elizabeth Strout.
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
A daunting task for a 15 year old, perhaps?
Just finished the eighth Aubrey-Maturin novel, The Ionian Mission, and have just started Phaedra Weldon's Wraith.
Just finished slogging through Mody Dick (wow, was that one tough!) and the last few Fables comic book TPBs. Now it's on to Michael Connelly's The Brass Verdict.
Right now, I'm reading Jessica's blog and giving her a hard time.
I figured it was overdue, and only fair.
At home, I'm reading Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, and enjoying it alot.
I am reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows by JK Rowling and 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King currently.
I'm trying to follow the "read widely" advice and am currently reading Charles Dickens' David Copperfield. I haven't read Dickens since my college days & have had to pull out the dictionary a couple of times :)
Just finished The Pearl by John Steinbeck, The Unbreakable Child, a memoir by Kim Michele Richardson, and Latter-Day Cipher by Latayne C. Scott. About to start Anathem by Neal Stephenson. How's that for eclectic?
Just finished the Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes and now reading The Collected Stories of Flannery O'Connor.
The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern, an early Lilian Jackson Braun book. She's had 40 year career. Wow.
Slowly working through Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson. It's not holding my interest the way Elantris did, and the prose...just doesn't feel like it holds together as well. Maybe I was more forgiving with Elantris since it was his first book -- I don't know.
I also have Guns, Germs, and Steel out from the library for worldbuilding research, but I haven't started reading yet.
And the pile of books waiting in the wings is too staggering for me to contemplate.
On a whin, Marge Piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time. This was published in 1975 and is a little preachy, but surprisingly still resonates.
Nathan,
A future You Tell Me suggestion: Is listening to an audiobook "reading"?
Just because I'm curious.
Bane,
Can you believe Mira didn't respond to all those new 'On Writing' readers?
Re-reading 'Harry Potter' series, in prep for 6th movie in July.
As a break b/w HP 2 & 3, I'm reading 'Impossible' by Nancy Werlin.
I'm really conducting a study of 3rd person narratives and comtemplating a rewrite of all existing ch's in my current 1st person WIP. Yuck, but seems to be necessary.
Mira,
When I saw that post by Jessica I thought of you. :)
CHINDI, by Jack McDevitt. Honestly not the best-written book in the world, but I have a soft spot for alien archaeology and I am totally digging the "Hutch" series.
Also, it's good, fun reading whilst being pregnant and hormonal. Currently, anything more depressing than fluffy bunnies sends me right over the edge.
Wow, we have alot of readers. I happen to be reading Devil's Gold by Julie Korzenko. So far, it's a really good book.
Miles Harvey's Painter in a Savage Land: The Strange Saga of the First European Artist in North America. It's good.
Glass Bead Game.
Just finished reread of For Whom the Bell Tolls.
I am one of these who relies on the filter of time (dead authors only). Not worth much to agents, i guess - not even to my agent.
Last week I read Closing Time by Joe Queenan, I'm Down by Mishna Wolff, and Love Child by Allegra Huston. Right now I'm reading Devil in the White City. Also re-reading Jitterbug Perfume.
Ophelia by Lisa Klein and the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull.
i'm reading the anthropology of turquoise by ellen meloy. it's beautiful.
i have a question and am not sure who else to ask...
i was picked-up very quickly (a very unconventional try) by a lit agent six months ago. at first she was quick to reply to my emails. lately, not so much. how do i get a feel for where we are in the process without bugging her?
hope you're feeling better.
For the first time, Treasure Island.
Just finished: The Lies of Locke Lamora
Up next: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Get well soon, Nathan.
I'm reading The Lottery and Other Short Stories, Shirley Jackson. Incredible spare prose and creepy plots!
wordver = facti - plural of "fact" for those attempting to sound more erudite than they are
Bryan - I figure she's given up the ghost on the whole issue (despite the fact that even her toenails are turning red with bottled fury). Either that or she's mapping her attack lines to annihilate all acolytes of the King.
Best not to feed the beast, though.
Sounds like it's time for some Tamiflu! Hope you feel better soon.
I went to a $1 book sale put on by a Hatchette warehouse and picked up a bunch of books. The one I'm currently reading is a middle-grade novel called "The Secret of Castle Cant". I'm really enjoying it, and so I looked up the author just today to learn more about him. Turns out he's currently being prosecuted for trafficking child pornography. :( I've always said that writers for children are the nicest folks around but it looks like in his case it may not be so. I almost don't want to read the rest of the book though I'm normally a big believer in separating book from author. Ugh. Why couldn't he have been arrested for robbing a bank or something less disturbing? Bleh.
Matthew Aaron Goodman's Hold Love Strong. It would be a great "I'm-sick-and-not-getting-up-for-awhile" book.
Feel better.
Ink -
Oh, please don't bait me, I'm trying to be good.
Also, I'm having problems typing because my head exploded when I read that Kristi bought On Writing because it was recommended here.
Why oh why must this book torment me so?
Feel better soon:) Right now I have piled on my night stand Avi's Murder at Midnight (uncorrected proof); Swoon by Nina Malkin; King of the Screwups by Kelly Going and Kim Harrison's first YA. i alternate depending upon my mood. I read the genres I write in:)
I just finished reading Rhett's people. I'm thinking of reading Gone with the Wind once more...
Ragtime in Simla by Barbara Cleverly
I try to throw in a classic every couple of books or so. Right now it is Catcher in the Rye, and i must say I am pleasantly surprised with Salinger's voice.
For work (proofreading paperback), I just finished SWEETHEART by Chelsea Cain about a screwed up (mentally) detective and a female serial killer he's sort of in love with. I don't ordinarily read serial killer novels, but this one was well written and I recommend it for the author's great characterizations and perfect details...
The Time Traveler's Wife.
It's one of those books that's been haunting me through recommendations, sightings in stores, and online reviews.
I'm halfway through, and I love it so far.
I just finished The Patriot Witch by C.C. Finlay (good read) and am about to start reading A Spell for the Revolution (2nd book in the trilogy).
and huggs on the flue - I just broke a fever of 102F :P
Fool by Christopher Moore, even though I know it won't be as good as Lamb.
I just wanted to say that I hope you feel better soon.
Just finished "Something, Maybe" by Elizabeth Scott. It wasn't that good, but her others were better.
Also, I'm thinking of rereading The Phantom of the Opera, just because . . . well, I want to.
I'm reading Parched by Heather King with Redeemed by same author on the shelf. I'm also working on Grace (Eventually): thoughts on faith by Anne Lamott. Plus I'm reading Get Known Before the Book Deal by Christina Katz, the topical book on platform for writers.
I just finished Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass.
Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony, by Eoin Colfer
and
Magic Thief, by Sarah Prineas
Nonfiction: Liberal Fascism, by Jonah Goldberg
Just finished Peace Like a River, currently reading The Painted Veil, and about to start The Strain.
Personal Effects: Dark Art by JC Hutchins;
Legend by David Gemmel;
Firestorm by Iris Johansen;
Also listening to three Audiobooks:
Ancestor by Scott Sigler;
This is Life by Seth Harwood;
Billibub Baddings by Tee Morris.
Redemption Ark by Alastair Reynolds
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