The Next Best Book Club discussion

I read the Dome of Stephen King

Finished Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline – 3.5***
This was a captivating novel made richer, I think, by using two time-lines, allowing the reader to compare and contrast the stories of 17-year-old Molly (a troubled teen in foster-care) and 91-year-old Vivian Daly (a wealthy widow living in a Victorian mansion). Kline effectively uses Molly’s Native American heritage in exploring one of the central issues. The novel also shines a light on a relatively unknown episode in American history.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I just downloaded . Looking forward to starting it while I have a glass of wine in my hand tonight. :)

I'm about 1/3 of the way into and liking it a lot so far.

Tomorrow I'm starting Washington Masquerade,

Going to start reading The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

Reading by Katia Lief.

I recently read Doctor Sleep and The Exorcist.

Now I'm reading Roadwork.

I'm reading 11/22/63 - so far it's very good.

Lorraine wrote: "I'm reading 11/22/63 - so far it's very good."

Excellent book. I wonder how the movie is going to turn out.

Oh, I didn't know there would be a movie! Sweet!

Book Concierge: The Chaperone and Orphan Train both look good. The latter is actually on my book wishlist.

Jackie wrote: "Going to start reading The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver"

Loved this book!

Lorraine wrote: "I'm reading 11/22/63 - so far it's very good."

Loved this one too!

Lots of people reading Stephen King ... Hmmmm

Heather L wrote: "Book Concierge: The Chaperone and Orphan Train both look good. The latter is actually on my book wishlist."

I found it really interesting that both deal with the orphan trains!

I'm reading a mystery, Washington Masquerade which is really good so far.

Going to start reading Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann.

Just finished reading the new book by Uri Gneezy and John A. List called The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and The Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life. The authors have become famous for applying controlled field experiments to everything from education, to charity, to business, to healthy living, to discrimination etc. and in this book they update us on their experiments and results. The book is a fun and very interesting read. I've written a full executive summary of the book available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2013/11/05...

Cheers,
Aaron

I've started

Just finished book by Émile Zola - The Beast within.
Vety powerfull. It's not first book I have read by this classic, always impressed me. The Beast Within (Les Rougon-Macquart, #17)

Finished the audio version of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett – 4**** (Audio performed by Vanessa Maroney)
This is a classic of children’s literature, first published in 1911. At heart it is about the restorative powers of friendship, love, and nature, and the power of positive thinking. It’s a rather simple story but I can easily see why it has remained popular with children for over 100 years. Vanessa Maroney does a fine job narrating the audiobook.
Book Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just finished "Fuzz" by Ed McBain — one of the best writers I've read period, let alone for the police procedural (I've also read his "Blackboard Jungle" under the name Evan Hunter). Just starting "And the Mountains Echoes" by Khaled Hosseini, who also wrote (and I read) "The Kite Runner." Someday, I really to want to read "The Book Thief," I just keep getting sidetracked ...

Reading today, but the library is my crack so I ended up bringing home and as well. I need a 12-step program for my addiction : (

The war of the worlds by h.g wells

I am working my way through Whistling Past the Graveyard.

Abandon by Meg Cabot

I have finished reading Whistling Past the Graveyard & have really started to get into The Widower's Tale.

About to start Shift by Hugh Howey. Looking forward to it, loved Wool and this is the prequel to it.

Did you like The Book Thief Nicole? I loved it.

Emperor of Thorns

Despite my limited acquaintance with the fantasy genre, I find myself enjoying this one a lot.

Book Concierge wrote: "Finished the audio version of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett – 4**** (Audio performed by Vanessa Maroney)
This is a classic of children’s literat..."

I'm glad you liked this one. I won a copy in second grade (tied for most books read), and still have it. I've read the book more than a few times, and have seen a couple movie adaptations as well.

I'm reading Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry and it's being such a great reading! So touching... And the writing is enjoyable, really smart.

Now reading by Carol O'Connell

Hmmm....I just finished reading Eternal Rider by Larissa Ione, I really got sucked into her paranormal romance series, especially since they focus on "EndOfTheWorld and #Romance, so I just ordered her next book, Immortal Rider and I'm waiting for that.

I haven't posted on this thread in forever, but I wanted to share with you a book I just finished reading that is PERFECT for those people who grew up in the 80's, those people who label themselves as "gamers", "hard core readers", aka "specialized geeks", and those who are currently dating, are out there trying to date, or are married ole hags like me!

You really need to pick up a copy of The Geek's Guide to Dating by Eric Smith. OH MY GOD. No matter who you are, or what relationship status you are in, you are going to get such a kick out of this book!

Not only is the book cool, but the design work and formatting is fresh and interesting too!

Finished The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce – 4**** (Audiobook performed by Jim Broadbent)
When recently retired Harold Fry learns that a former work colleague is dying of cancer, he makes a snap decision to walk the length of England to be by her side. So, without his phone or proper shoes, with nothing more than the clothes on his back, he sets out on foot. As unlikely as this pilgrimage is, the insights Harold gains from hours alone with his thoughts are life-changing. There is something about Harold that will appeal to a wide range of readers. I grew to love him and my heart broke for him as I learned how he had lost his way. Jim Broadbent does a marvelous job of narrating the audio version. He had good pacing and his inflections brought out the wry humor in certain passages.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Started A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, the November group read for a GR classics group.

Goodbye rebel blue

I've started Beyond Rue Morgue Anthology: Further Tales of Edgar Allan Poe's 1st Detective,

Just finished Family Matters.I loved Mistry's writing. Its pace worked perfect to me. The story is touching, and in my opinion it has everything to do with how in love we find peace, and how family really matters.
Now I go with Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris

Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay

Finished reading Ingenious Pain by Andrew Miller – 2**
What an odd book. There is some glorious writing within the text but I felt disconnected from the central character and the events. Still, I was intrigued and interested in the story from the outset, but the author lost me in the last eighty pages. To paraphrase one of my husband’s favorite expressions: I can define every word used but have no idea what I just read.
Book Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Color Of Water In July by Nora Carroll

I am enjoying Unwrittenby Charles Martin.

Just started

Finished listening to the audio version of Three Bags Full by Leoni Swann – 3*** (Audiobook performed by Josephine Bailey)
A flock of sheep emerge from the hay barn and discover their shepherd dead. Who killed him? The sheep are determined to find out who the killer is and bring him or her to justice. I was completely engaged and interested in this very different murder mystery. Swann fills the book with philosophical ruminations, sprinkles in some ethics and morality, and adds a good dose of humor. It was a delightful surprise, and I’m glad I read it.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I am listening toNever Again Good-Bye.

I am currently reading the Lincoln Assassination Encyclopedia. I am fascinated with that period of time, especially the various conspiracy theories surrounding Lincoln's death. Organizes every person, place and item that had ties.

I just finished a marathon read of Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov

Tackling the complications of both truth and reality by means of great philosophical deliberation, Dostoyevsky suggests that neither exist, or if they do, it is not in man’s interest to try and understand them. From the outset he introduces a narrator whose account of the Karamazov story is largely unreliable, whose perception of events is just another among many, none of which we can say with certainty is the truth.

Story unfolds within story, mutates and shifts as characters change position. “I love her. I don’t love her.” “I am guilty. No, I am innocent.” “Yes, I said that, but I don’t know why, because truly I meant this.” And throughout, man is represented by the Karamazov brothers: Alyosha—a shining example of surrender and wisdom, of faith not simply in God but in goodness—embodies our potential for contentment and enlightenment; Ivan is haunted by tremendous intellect, resulting in an existential crisis that exemplifies our disbelief in God, our lack of faith; Dmitri, like an over-stimulated puppy, is all heart but erratic and fickle in his convictions; and the morally bereft, illegitimate Smerdyakov symbolizes our most base instincts. Minor characters live in the shades of gray, in the spaces between these four brothers. How each react to the unfortunate circumstances of the novel becomes the central focal point and is of far more significance than the events themselves, which readily unfold without pretense or mystery. The events can have no truth on their own, are of little value without the varying and countless perspectives that come to define them. Conversely, in essence, the events of the story contain infinite truths.

The Dalai Lama once said (to paraphrase) that the root of all conflict lies in man’s inability to accept the simple fact that each one of us sees the world through our own unique lens. Between these perspectives—these universes of thought—are light years and darkness. It is not necessary for us to see or understand these differing views, but only surrender to their existence. Dostoyevsky proposes this same idea by suggesting how absurd our efforts to both understand and undermine each other, and also that by suffering through conflict, through life and the lessons it proffers, it is eventually possible to submit to our place in the universe where perception and story are of little consequence and faith the greatest reward.

About to start We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oats :)

Currently, I'm reading "In the shadow of a saint - A son's journey to understand his father's legacy" by Ken Wiwa.