Books on the Nightstand discussion

I just started listening to The Ocean at the End of the Lane in the car and The Hunger Games on my iPad at work. Then I'm reading House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East and Another Life: A Memoir of Other People

Pat Conroy's The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son just came out, so I'm re-reading The Great Santini right now in anticipation of starting The Death of on the weekend.

I've got Dan Simmons The Abominable on tap after that,

and then Chris Hadfield's An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything,

Longbourn and

Thunderstruckafter that.

November is looking pretty great.

My goodness I am just not much of a reader still listening to BONESHAKER.l Lack of time hurts me a lot and when I get home I am too tired to read.

I can't wait until my class is done, when I will be reading ALL OF THE BOOKS.

Since Halloween is finally over and I won't be devoting all my time to making costumes (for myself - I have no kids), maybe I can finally finish Corelli's Mandolinand move on to some other things... I think I've almost reached the library limit...

Currently in the middle of both Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe and Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey.

I am about one hundred pages in on The Night Circus. For those that have read it, please tell me that it all comes together in the end. It feels rather disjointed right now.

It did for me, I loved it

Elizabeth wrote: "I am about one hundred pages in on The Night Circus. For those that have read it, please tell me that it all comes together in the end. It feels rather disjoin..."

Loved that book, Elizabeth.

I am reading rather enthusiastically, and also planning to spend the weekend trying to force myself to read some of the other stuff that has lingered on my nightstand half-finished for far too long.

Well, didn't read as much in October as I would have liked, but that's okay. October is my favorite time of year so I enjoyed many moments outside of my reading life! I got my 2014 goals more or less set, so I hope to finish up 2013 strong!

Starting out finishing of my last scheduled/challenge read from October, The Goldfinch. Then, I will read my book group's November read The True Deceiver, which looks short enough to finish by 11/11, though not sure if the Kindle page numbers are to be trusted.

Oldest TBR (2011-: An Exclusive Love: A Memoir
Oldest TBR on my bookshelf: Freakin' Fabulous: How to Dress, Speak, Act, Eat, Sleep, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally Be Better Than Everyone Else
Published in 2013: Bellman & Black: A Ghost Story
Titles with Numbers 1 - 12: Eleven Days
Random: [:Everything Changes|242159]

Then, finally going to read that other Life After Life and going to start A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President to finish my history challenge for 2013.

Listening on Audible: The Rosie Project

Jen wrote: "Pat Conroy's The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son just came out, so I'm re-reading [bookcover:The Grea..."

Please tell me what you think of longbourn, I haven't started reading my copy yet and it will probably be a while.

Linda wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "I am about one hundred pages in on The Night Circus. For those that have read it, please tell me that it all comes together in the end. It f..."

I also loved it!

Ok. I'll forge ahead! Thanks for the enthusiasm!

JUst finished . have four books to choose from , , or ( not sure which one I will start but my daughter is highly recommending the last one

Amy wrote: "Well, didn't read as much in October as I would have liked, but that's okay. October is my favorite time of year so I enjoyed many moments outside of my reading life! I got my 2014 goals more or le..."

Amy, what's your 2014 plan?

I just finished and it was fantastic! Wonderful YA coming of age story.

I'm listening to .

Reading as ebook from the library and re-reading in print.

Also, just opened and the first sentence looks very promising. I loved Jonathan Evison's last book, .

Amy wrote: "Well, didn't read as much in October as I would have liked, but that's okay. October is my favorite time of year so I enjoyed many moments outside of my reading life! I got my 2014 goals more or le..."

I just finished - it was a wonderful book. I was expecting a letdown after The Thirteenth Tale. It was one of my all-time favorites! But she nailed this sophomore effort too!
Are you totally loving ? I just started it and it is laughoutloud funny!
Happy reading!

An elderly blind man named Zampano has died, leaving a stack of papers that are an unfinished book. A young apprentice tattoo artist, Johnny Truant, comes into possession of these papers and becomes obsessed with finishing the book.

That book is a critical study of a documentary film in which a photojournalist and his family move into a house which has unexpected dimensions on the inside. Corridors appear and disappear. One corridor seems to lead into an endless labyrinth of more corridors, rooms, hallways, and staircases. This inner space is lightless and its visitors hear a menacing growl which seems to follow them. The film documents the life of the family as they explore these unknown spaces.

Zampano's book treats the film as though it were a famous cultural phenomenon which has been exhaustively commented upon by scientists, psychologists, writers, theologians, and late night talk show hosts, and the book contains copious footnotes, describing and commenting on all the commentary. Johnny Truant, who had never heard of this allegedly famous film prior to reading Zampano's book, provides his own footnotes, which are autobiographical. Truant descends into madness as the mystery of the film about the house takes a psychological toll.

Truant attempts to replicate the format of Zampano's intended book, which includes bizarre typography and text placement and colored ink. Sometimes struck passages are included.

Dizzyingly, there is another editor who sometimes provides footnotes to Truant's footnotes.

My guess is you've never read a book quite like this, although if you like writers who play with form while telling a story, you should get quite the kick out of it. It's a Stephen King-ish horror story for people who like to read writers like Nabokov, Borges, Pynchon and David Foster Wallace. It's also a love story and a satirical commentary on literary criticism.

There's also probably more in it than you can absorb in a single reading. Highly recommended for adventurous readers. I docked it one star because sometimes the overall conceit of critical writing got to be a bit much and I wanted to get back to the "story". Yet that very device created foreshadowing and suspense. Oh, what the hell. I'm giving it five stars. There's nothing else quite like it.

Note: if you like this book, do yourself a favor and check out Nabokov's , which is a murder mystery told in the form of an epic poem and a critical study of that poem.

Re-reading

I'm Finishing listening to my Halloween read.

I plan on starting
I'm not sure what I will listen to next

I'm about halfway through and it's great! I can't believe the things that are happening. So if you're a Nesbo/Harry Hole fan I think you will enjoy this a lot.

I just finished listening to "Son' by Lois Lowry, the final volume that wraps up the story that began with "The Giver," published way back in1993. There are two others in between, and the principal characters from each return. This one focuses on Gabe, the baby who was taken from his dystopian community at the end of "The Giver," and whose fate was left hanging. The other central character is his mother, Claire, whom we have not met before. I'd love to go back and read all four now.

Not letting any time go to waste, I almost immediately began another audiobook, "A Voyage Long and Strange" by Tony Horwitz, which explores the early history of America from the first voyage of Columbus to the arrival of the Pilgrims. Largely overlooked in the history books, various European explorers and settlers reached these shores, encountering the Native Americans and altering the landscape subsequently discovered by the more famous colonists. Horwitz tells their story very engagingly.

On the print side, I've recently read Louise Erdrich's "The Round House," Jhumpa Larhiri's "The Lowland," Keith Donohue's "Centuries of June," "The Love-Artist" by Jane Alison, and "The Ghost's Child" by Sonya Hartnett. I'm dipping into a volume of ghost stories by Edith Wharton but probably won't read them all right now. I wanted to read some ghost stories in October because of Halloween and read several from this book, several from another anthology, and a few online.

Reading Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey.

Chanda2426 wrote: "Are you totally loving The Rosie Project? I just started it and it is laughoutloud funny!
Happy reading! "

I've been listening to back episode of the Book Riot podcast and haven't started The Rosie Project. I only have about 2 podcasts left though, so I will start SOON!

Lil wrote: "Amy, what's your 2014 plan?..."


I am going to finish up 3 series I have started and not finished (Wicked, Cemetary of Forgotten Books, and Thursday Next) - 1 per month. Also going to read the last 24 books I added to by TBR shelf on Goodreads in 2009, the year I joined. I am reading 12 random-number generated books from my TBR and 4 history books. And of course, all of the current books from Booktopis authors :) Looking forward to 2014!!

Amy wrote: "Chanda2426 wrote: "Are you totally loving The Rosie Project? I just started it and it is laughoutloud funny!
Happy reading! "

I've been listening to back episode of the Book Riot podcast and have..."

I LOVE Book Riot podcast. Listen to it every Sunday during my walk! Jeff and Rebecca remind me of Ann and Michael!
Hope you enjoy Rosie! Don is such an interesting character, can't help but love him!
Happy reading!

Tonya wrote: "Linda wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "I am about one hundred pages in on The Night Circus. For those that have read it, please tell me that it all comes together in ..."

Loved this book - keep reading its well worth it :)

Well, in November I am getting well into my Graphic novels - The only one Id previously read was "persepolis" - Ive now read "Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel, New York 5 by Brian Wood and I have Skim by Mariko Tamaki and drawn by Jillian Tamaki at home from the library ready to read too - Getting very into graphic novels! :)
Skim and New York Five are more Young adult selections so if anyone has some recommendations that are more adult related none super hero graphic novels that would be fab x

I read Wally Lamb's We are Water and loved it. Went to a book signing tonight to see him. Wow, such a nice interesting man. It was a huge thrill. I also read The Lost Girls about the prostitutes who were murdered by the serial killer who has never been caught.

Denise wrote: "I read Wally Lamb's We are Water and loved it. Went to a book signing tonight to see him. Wow, such a nice interesting man. It was a huge thrill. I also read The Lost Girls about the prostitutes wh..."

I love Wally Lamb and want to read this too! Glad you enjoyed it!

I am planning to finally begin reading Laura Hillenbrand's "Unbroken" this evening.

I just recently finished Red Sky in Morning (my thoughts) and Master of the Mountain . I'm in the middle of Year of Wonders right now.

Finished & I have started

Karen, I enjoyed Unbroken. I also really liked Erik Larson's In the Garden of Beasts which I read in the same timeframe. I am partial to WW 2 books that take place in the European "theater," though.

Denise wrote: "Karen, I enjoyed Unbroken. I also really liked Erik Larson's In the Garden of Beasts which I read in the same timeframe. I am partial to WW 2 books that take place in the European "theater," though."

Unbroken was the first WW2 that I had read that was not from a European location ….

Shannon wrote: "I just recently finished Red Sky in Morning (my thoughts) and Master of the Mountain [bookcover:Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Sla..."

I'm about 30% through Year of Wonders, Shannon. Not much has happened yet though except for the boarder tailor guy.

I finished Carrie last night. I absolutely could not stop reading it.

Now I started Sea Creatures.

Finished House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East this morning. It was not a difficult book to read, but for me, it was a slow book. Maybe just a lot to digest. IAnthony Shadid is an American of Lebanese decent who sought and found, if not his family's roots, at least his ancestral home that he painstakingly restored. Along the way he learned the customs and personality of the peoples in his sphere, both family and strangers. Shadid restored not only the home, but the land, the olive trees became of special significance to Shadid - a link to the past while starting a new tradition.
The story weaves ancestor stories with Shadid's tribulations restoring the home.
As with the house restoration, the reader needs to be there at the end of the book to truly appreciate the beauty of the work done.

I've now (finally) started The Funeral Dress: A Novel which I've been eager to get to. I'm only about a dozen pages into it and am already hooked. I think it may be the perfect pick-me-up (despite the title).

Elizabeth wrote: "I finished Carrie last night. I absolutely could not stop reading it.

I gave Carrie to my 14 year old to read before seeing the movie. She put it down after p. 44 and said it was 'boring." She didn't like the "religious stuff." I remember loving Carrie when I was the same age. Oh well.

Then we watched the original movie, which she loved, and saw the remake, which she felt was just OK. I think the original far surpassed the remake -- nothing can compare to Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie's performances.

Ann,

I skipped all of King's stuff (except for a collection of short stories) as a teen because The Shining (the movie) scared me into sleepless nights. But now that I've read this book, I can see his talent for the genre. I was riveted by it. Truly.

I saw the original when I was in junior high on TV, so it was edited, but that ending made me scream (even though I knew it was coming). And I saw the remake too. I couldn't agree more with your assessment. The original cast is excellent. I felt the remake was catering too much to a teen audience (that montage of the kids getting ready for the dance is MTV inspired). Piper Laurie was so believable in her role as Margaret White.

Elizabeth wrote: "Ann,

I skipped all of King's stuff (except for a collection of short stories) as a teen because The Shining (the movie) scared me into sleepless nights. But now that I've read this book, I can se..."

I'm perplexed by the decision to keep in the one small moment (and a bit of language) that made this movie rated R. If it had been rated PG-13, I think it would be doing huge numbers at the box office with the 14 and 15 year-olds. As you say, the rest of the movie was definitely catering to that demographic, but none of them can see it without a parent.

Victoria wrote: I'm about 30% through Year of Wonders, Shannon. Not much has happened yet though except for the boarder tailor guy.

I'm not too far ahead of you, actually, but events start piling pretty quickly. It's a very quiet book, though, which I don't mind in this case.

Just finished ! It was absolutely refreshing,a breath of fresh air. I loved these characters and kinda hope there is a movie to follow. I will read any sequel Simsion writes!
Gonna start today. Hope its good!
Happy reading all!

Shannon wrote: "Victoria wrote: I'm about 30% through Year of Wonders, Shannon. Not much has happened yet though except for the boarder tailor guy.

I'm not too far ahead of you, actually, but events start piling ..."

I loved Brooks' debut novel and agree with Shannon that it is a rather quiet novel. So well done particularly from the historical aspect.

Ann wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "Ann,

I skipped all of King's stuff (except for a collection of short stories) as a teen because The Shining (the movie) scared me into sleepless nights. But now that I've read ..."

I agree. They could have made a whole lot more money. But I am a little surprised they remade it in the first place.

Finished The Hunger Games and immediately started listening to Catching Fire. Does that tell you how I liked the first one?

Great biography. Great history. A masterful recreation of the U.S. Senate in the 1950s. And a masterful account of the exploits of the man who tamed it and mastered it for a time.

Caro's "The Years of Lyndon Johnson" series amplifies the lessons in Machiavelli's "The Prince" by showing their nuts and bolts application in a twentieth century life.



Wow. It seems as if a concerted effort was made to make this book less interesting than it could have been. Lee Child seems to walk Reacher's saga up to points where the brave thing would be for Reacher to change his way of life. Child chooses to have Reacher back away from these changes and hit the reset button. I have to admit, I'm getting tired of the static Reacher formula.

The irony is in the title. Reacher always goes back. Never forward.

I haven't read any Caro books, Eric, but his book is on my TBR list. Unfortunately, our library does not have an e-book version of that. I'm not even sure Amazon would have it (didn't check) but I don't want to spend the $$ anyway. I'm sure I could get it from the library in paper form, but I don't really read that way any more.

As for Jack Reacher - blah. I only read the 1st one this year and I wasn't impressed. I've been a fan of some similar formulaic series in the past (e.g., James Patterson, Tom Clancy), so not being a book snob or anything, but Jack Reacher was just not my guy.

There are some really good Reacher books. But the better ones are all after #4 in the series, IMO.