Goodreads Ireland discussion

@Sara. I'll have a quick look for an article myself and maybe I'll have some luck.

I actually like the more traditional stuff but few people can do it and far too many think they can. Even fewer can freshen it up like Terry Pratchet can.

Fingers crossed the Ravens win.

@Seraphina. I do find that but sometimes it's a breath of fresh air, especially if the recently finished novel was in a greatin, first-person narrative.

I'm still in The Secret History. It's really good but I have little issues with it. Nothing major though.

It does seem to be pretty popular. I'm considering adding just from the responses members have given it.

Jamielynn wrote: "I'm still in The Secret History. It's really good but I have little issues with it. Nothing major though."

I've read so much about Donna Tartt here, Jamielynn, that I think I'll try The Secret History pretty soon. The Goldfinch sounds good, too. She seems to write doorstopper books, doesn't she?

Cathleen, Yes she does. I was home all day yesterday and my son was sleeping so I finished a lot of it. I still have quite a way to go but I'll be home all day today too.

The Tartt lady pulls you into a book and won't let you go til the end.

Sara you like the same kind of books my daughter likes. When she has time after graduation I will have to talk her into goodreads to find things in her favorite genre.

The critics panned her? Crazy! The fact that it's a door stop put me off at first. I didn't know if I felt like facing it LOL I'm glad I did.

The last book I read was quick easy and actually stupid. Sometimes those are fun to read though!

OHHH well duh LOL I make a fool of myself daily!

Hrm. I didn't get one. Perhaps because I haven't been a member long enough?

All I see is "*You must purchase 4 or more audiobooks by November 28, 2013, at 11:59 PM ET (US). Audiobooks must have a regular price of $14.95 or more to be eligible for the 4 audiobook purchase minimum. Only Audible members are eligible for Listening Rewards. Limit one reward per customer. Your coupon will be placed in your account at the end of the promotional window, and no later than December 4, 2013. You will be notified by email when the coupon is available in your account. The coupon is good for audio content only and will expire on December 31, 2013."

I started my free month with 1 credit at the end of September...And then had another credit to use at the end of October...which I spent on The Drowning Girl by Cathleen Kiernan. I'm almost done with it and it's really good but depressing. I also purchased the one of the Daily Deals (The Handmaid's Tale by Atwood) for 4.95 also in October. This month I've gotten nothing.

I'm only a Gold Member. That might be it Allan.

Allan wrote: "Lol Jamielynn, you're always so hard on yourself!

Change of subject. Did everyone who has Audible US get a $10 voucher this month? I went to choose my next audiobook and saw it was there, and as a..."

Bad habit! I am hard on myself. I'm hard on myself but I was to soft on my kids! Haha! Discipline was never my strength! Luckily they both turned out to be great!

Allan wrote: "Lol Jamielynn, you're always so hard on yourself!

Change of subject. Did everyone who has Audible US get a $10 voucher this month? I went to choose my next audiobook and saw it was there, and as a..."

I got the email about the $10 voucher from Audible literally a few hours after I bought a book at 11 PM the day before the offer. I decided not to push it because one other time when Audible messed up something they gave me a $10 voucher. But maybe I will try to convince them to give it to me.

Barbara I hope they give it to you!

Susan, how old are your grandchildren?

I've been reading The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut The Moon In Two which is the third in a series of excellent books. I looked it up and it's recommended for 10-14 year old kids, but I think it would be ok for reading to slightly younger kids.

The grandkids are wonderful. My 11 month old granddaughter is walking. She flat out refuses to crawl. Good for her. My three year old grandson is ecstatic because Nana Johnson just sent him a Golden book on Capt. America. Thanks for asking.

I've just started The Glass Castle - Honestly some people should not be allowed to have children.

I'm multitasking reading The New Jim Crow, Stoner (awesome), and listening to Me Before You.

I-like-to-read. I haven't read the book but I say that all the time!

Barbara good for you! That's something I'm not good at.

Susan. You're grandchildren are at very cute ages! You're very blessed!

Sara, even the title of that book sounds good.

@Sara. I was looking at some of your articles and posts about children's books as I was thinking about buying my niece a book this Christmas. You posted some great stuff but I started to think maybe she'd like choosing her own, so I've decided to bring her book shopping.

I think this'll work out well. browsing to buy books is always as satisfying as reading.

I'm still reading Wuthering Heights and The Road home. I think I need to read something a little lighter, soon. There are far too many emotions in those books for me.

Declan, I'm glad you're reading Wuthering Heights though. I hope you like it. Hey! Time for you to read a cozy mystery!

I'm really enjoying it, but I hate nearly everybody in it. What a bunch of miserable, bitter, emotionally unstable idiots they are!

It's gripping though.

Christie's Mysterious Affair at Styles is available for free, so I might try that next. Something cosy might be nice.

Allan wrote: "Did everyone who has Audible US get a $10 voucher this month? I went to choose my next audiobook and saw it was there, and as a..."

No! News to me. I just checked and don't see anything like that. But I somehow have 5 credits so I won't be running out any time soon. I bought extra credits for the summer holiday and have had a buffer ever since. Woo!

Barbara wrote: "I'm multitasking reading The New Jim Crow, Stoner (awesome), and listening to Me Before You."

I always have two on the go. The Road Home on Kindle, and The Goldfinch on Audio.

Declan wrote: "@Sara. I was looking at some of your articles and posts about children's books as I was thinking about buying my niece a book this Christmas. You posted some great stuff but I started to think mayb..."

My favourite children's books are anything by Oliver Jeffers. Very sweet, and amazing illustrations. I think I enjoy them more than the kids. I've since discovered that he has a huge adult fan base. And has started referring to his books as Picture Books, to include the adults.

http://www.oliverjeffers.com/picture-...

The youngest adores "How to catch a star" and knows every word off by heart.

@Allan

It seems that if you buy four books on Audible this month, you get $10 to spend:
http://www.audible.com/mt/ListeningRe...

@John. Those are lovely suggestions. I might browse some of these books with her on my laptop.

Ah! That explains why I haven't gotten it Allan. I won't be eligible for another 3 months.

Declan wrote: "I'm really enjoying it, but I hate nearly everybody in it. What a bunch of miserable, bitter, emotionally unstable idiots they are!

It's gripping though.

Christie's Mysterious Affair at Styles is..."

Haha! True they are! I saw 2 versions of Wuthering Heights movies and they never really showed Heathcliff as he was written. He's far worse!

A cozy makes for a nice relaxing break. The Secret History is a good book. I think it's heavy so maybe you'll wait a bit. It's worth the time though. I still have 50 pages to go. It's like running a marathon LOL!

My son is feeling a lot better now thank God! Maybe his new meds will work. Why do the sweetest people suffer the most? My brother told me once that we went to the fair to see the for the cotton candy and the rides etc. When we got there it was empty..no fair!

I would love to have at least 10% of my son's incredible spirit.

John wrote: "Declan wrote: "@Sara. I was looking at some of your articles and posts about children's books as I was thinking about buying my niece a book this Christmas. You posted some great stuff but I starte..."


What a beautiful little doll!

@Jamielynn. I'm glad your son is feeling better. I can't believe you didn't get your candy floss. That's the highlight of any fair.

When I started the book I was expecting a lot about heartbreak and bitter-sweet love. It turns out they're mostly maniacs.

@John. I couldn't see the photo on my phone earlier, but it's absolutely beuatiful. It could be a cover photo for the book.

Declan, I had seen Wuthering Heights before I read it.
It's really not a sweet love story at all. I guess when Hollywood wants a love story it will be a love story dammit! LOL!

@Declan, The Mysterious Affair at Styles is a good one. It's her first and I think you'd enjoy Poirot more than Miss Marple. I also think you'd enoy a PD James book. She is the intellectual of mystery writers. Her hero works for Scotland Yard and also writes poetry. Hard to beat that combination.

@Jamielynn. I think if people discussed the emotional turmoil more than love the book would have far more wider readership. I'll definitely be recommending it.

@Susan. I think I'll go for that, so. Cosy mysteries, here I come! :)

Wuthering Heights is a great book. I think you'll enjoy the cozy side of life Declan.

Jamielynn wrote: "What a beautiful little doll! "
Declan wrote: " it's absolutely beautiful. It could be a cover photo for the book. "

Thanks :)

Allan wrote: "Barbara, would you recommend Stoner then? I've had it in my hand a few times and remember posting a review from The Guardian before the summer. I'll be interested in reading your final thoughts on ..."

I would recommend it. It's a gem of a book. It's hard to explain what makes it so. Stoner is a professor of English in a midwestern university. He grew up on a farm, an only child, of a struggling family. He "discovers" the world of books when he is required to take an English course in his sophomore year and it changes his life. Not a lot happens but it is in many ways a profound meditation on the meaning of life. At under 300 pages, the author manages to pack in so much meaning in an economic prose. I am halfway through and see why this is considered a lost classic.

Allan - I agree! I got a copy from the library. The plus is that Library borrowing is free but the minus is then I only have 3 weeks to read the book.

The Book Thief looks really good but..intense. I want to find a skinny wimpy book for now LOL!

Jamielynn, if I could offer you a suggestion of skinny wimpy I-want-to-escape books. Have you read any of the Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency? It's about a "traditionally" built lady in Botswana. It is incredibly fun, heartwarming and thin. Another series is Lady Georgiana by Rhys Bowen. She is like 32nd from the throne and broke. It is so fun.
There are days I only want to escape and laugh and these are two good series I do it with.

Hi, I'm Sara and I have a book acquisition problem.

https://twitter.com/leprechaun42/stat...

The first picture is of my friend James Crawford's zombie books on top of two books I purchased at the church bazaar for a friend's 2 and half year old. The books pictured are:
Blood Soaked and Contagious by James Crawford,
Blood Soaked and Invaded by James Crawford
Seasons by Warabe Aska, and
My Treasury of Fairy Tales

https://twitter.com/leprechaun42/stat...

The second picture is the 7 books I got for me for $5 at the church bazaar...Church bazaar's are totally kyrptonite for book lovers. The books pictured are:
Murders Most British(an anthology of short story murder mysteries by British writers. I bet this would be right up your alley Susan)
Penicillin Man: Alexander Flemming and the Antibiotic Revolution by Kevin Brown
Cinde by Jean Devanny
The Daughters of Time by Josephine Tey
The Best American Short Stories of 2011
The Norton Anthology of Poetry, and
Madame Sarah by Cornelia Otis Skinner (about Sarah Bernhardt the actress with an excellent first name I might add)).

https://twitter.com/leprechaun42/stat...

The last picture is of 5/6 books I picked up off hold at the library...on top of the 3 I already had out. Oh and Taz likes books too. The books pictured are:

The Ear, The Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer (YA, another Newberry Honoree)
The Speckled People: A Memoir of a Half-Irish Childhood by Hugo Hamilton (This is one I've been wanting to read for awhile
Love and Rockets: New Stories #3 (the next one in a graphic novel series I've been enjoying)
Swallow Me Whole by Nate Powell (another graphic novel)
Any Empire by Nate Powell (its sequel)

You are right, Sara. I would like the British mystery. We read The Daughter of Time for my English mystery book club and it was great. You'll enjoy it.
I just love the phrase "I have a book acquistion problem." I should have a Tshirt made with that phrase.

Once I've read the British mystery one (not promising that will be anytime soon LOL), I'll pass it along.

Glad to be of service Allan!

Sara wrote: "Hi, I'm Sara and I have a book acquisition problem.

https://twitter.com/leprechaun42/stat...

The first picture is of my friend James Crawford's zombie books on top of tw..."
Sara, your "I have a book acquisition problem" made me laugh out loud. I loved all the photos of the books. I read The Ear, the Eye and the Arm years ago. It's a terrific ya book. And Murders Most British--that looks like a perfect book to curl up with now that we're in the gloomy days of November :) What's on your reading deck for this weekend?

The funny thing is that I will most likely read none of these books this weekend. I'm planning to read the last 70 pages of The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two, The Road Home, and probably delve into A People's History of the United States.

@Jamielynn. The Book Thief is a lovely read and I think you'll really enjoy it. It's more a coming-of-age story than anything else and would be lighter in mood than To Kill a Mockingbird.

@Susan. I've been trying to find something to get my mother for Christmas and I think I'll buy her the No. 1... series. She reads crime but it's usually quite dark, but she also reads really fluffy chick-lit. I think they might be a winner.

@Sara. You've come to the right place. If nothing else, you'll make the rest of us feel better about our book problems.

These are times I wish I used Twitter - on the other hand it'd be another time-eater that took away from reading time.

I mainly use it to post pictures (which you can look at even if you don't have a twitter account) and links, but it can definitely be a time suck.