Vintage Tales discussion

I am reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid - I am truly enjoying reading this book - to the point that I am getting annoyed each time I have to stop lol. I am happy that I will have two hours of uninterrupted time this afternoon. Happy Reading

My reading continues to be slowed down by my miserable case of flu, which keeps coming back every time I think I've shaken it. :-) But I have managed, over the weekend, to start reading the e-book edition of Joni Dee's debut espionage thriller, And The Wolf Shall Dwell. This is a review copy; I didn't really know what to expect from it, but I was very pleasantly surprised! I'm thoroughly captivated already, though only a few chapters in.

Just starting The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George. Been on my shelve for the longest time. Trying hard to keep my promise one new book and one from the shelve - So far so good.

I've just finished The Spy Who Came In from the Cold and just started Cat's Cradle

I hope you like Cat's Cradle. I think that it and Slaughterhouse Five are Vonnegut's best books(of those that I have read).

Rosemarie wrote: "I hope you like Cat's Cradle. I think that it and Slaughterhouse Five are Vonnegut's best books(of those that I have read)."

Many thanks - It's fascinating, full of wonderful quotes as well!

Interestingly, the same day I bought it (some months back) I also bought a book by Richard Yates called Cold Spring Harbor in which the dedication was to Kurt Vonnegut.

Today I've just started reading The Collected Poems by Langston Hughes. I saw it for sale but a bit pricey at the Oxfam once, and found a pdf of it today. it's just over 700 pages so will be reading it a while. Should be finishing Cat's Cradle today or tomorrow.

Reading Still Me by Jojo Moyes - looking forward to an afternoon of reading. Enjoy your weekend - Happy Reading

Thanks, Nancy. It is a snowy messy day here, perfect for an afternoon of reading, as well as the evening.

Happy Monday everyone - fab start to the week, pub quiz tonight! I'm reading Langston Hughes still, as well as Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and It's Easy to Bluff Blues Guitar :D

I'm still reading Still Me by Jojo Moyes - been watching the Olympics interfering with my reading so hoping to finish today. Packing to go to Florida and have my two books ready so I need to finish this one. Happy Reading.

The only time I miss telly is when it's the Olympics. Perhaps they'll be on doon tha pub! Florida! I have family so close, will you take my daughter Hope's saxophone there for me, Nancy? ahaa

In all the years that Sadie Forsythe and I have been Goodreads friends, she's never pressured me to read her fantasy novel, The Weeping Empress. However, I've been interested in it on my own, and bought a copy a few years ago. As usual with books that find their way into my mountainous physical TBR piles, this one sat there for longer than I'd have wished; but I finally started my long-awaited read of it today!

I am reading the The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Finished 'Eleanor', still reading the other two and started on a book my neighbour gave me for my birthday in October - The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe. Danny gave it to me because he knows I love Kerouac and the beat poets and it's about Ken Kesey (author of One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest) and his band of Merry Pranksters... all sorts of authors appear. Most notably the impressive Neal Cassady who was Jack Kerouac's Dean Moriarty in On the Road. Here's a great video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh2kK...

I am reading The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin.

Although I took the opportunity, awhile back, to download the opening novel of Josie Brown's Housewife Assassin series The Housewife Assassin's Handbook to my Kindle app, to try it out for free and see if it was worth buying a paper copy, I hadn't originally intended to start on it very soon. But I'm not reading anything else in electronic format right now, so I broke down and started it last night. I'm already hooked, so now I'm sucked into another long series. (Sigh!)

I'm also about to start (tomorrow, barring anything unforeseen) The Deerslayer, which is chronologically the first novel in James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales series, though it was actually the last one to be written. This is part of my conscious effort to finish up some of the many "dangling" series I've started --and this one has been dangling quite awhile, since I first embarked on it as a kid in the fourth grade, with The Last of the Mohicans!

I've begun reading my review copy of Tabla Rosa, the debut novel by D. E. Heil. (My guess is that the title is a take-off on the Latin phrase tabula rasa, meaning "blank slate;" but I don't know what the significance is here.) This one will probably prove to be a fairly quick read.

Continuing my reading of James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales, I've now started on The Pathfinder (1840). It was the penultimate volume of the five-book series to actually be written; but in relation to the events of the protagonist's life, it's the third in the internal chronology. (From somewhere, I'd picked up the impression that it was set during the Revolutionary War, but it's actually still set during the French and Indian War --just later than the events of The Last of the Mohicans.)

So glad to be back in the reading chair - physically been sick and a rough few weeks with school. Looking forward to sitting down with The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan while enjoying the Easter break.

As our next "car book," Barb and I are returning to fictional Fergus, Idaho for the second volume in Susan Page Davis' Ladies Shooting Club trilogy, The Gunsmith's Gallantry. For us, this will wrap up the series, since we actually started with the third book.

I finished reading The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains by Owen Wister and enjoyed it, up to a point. It was a romanticized view of the west and I really liked the main character, but the lady school teacher really got on my nerves at times. Fortunately she came to her senses in time.

Rosemarie wrote: "I finished reading The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains by Owen Wister and enjoyed it, up to a point. It was a romanticized view of the west and I really liked the m..."

That one is on my to-read shelf, Rosemarie, though heaven only knows when I'll get around to it. :-)

I feel that way too. I guess we will all have to live to be 200!

Rosemarie wrote: "I feel that way too. I guess we will all have to live to be 200!"

I could get behind that idea, Rosemarie! :-)

I'm nearing the end of my reading of James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales series, having started the final volume (in terms of the series' internal chronology; it was actually the third of the books to be written), The Prairie. The more I've read of Cooper's work, the more my appreciation of his artistry as a writer has grown; so I'm expecting this book to be another great read!

I have read one of his books, The Pioneers, and enjoyed it. I plan on reading more of his books, I just don't know when.

Rosemarie wrote: "I have read one of his books, The Pioneers, and enjoyed it. I plan on reading more of his books, I just don't know when."

The Pioneers is part of the Leatherstocking series, and actually the first one of those books to be written, though it's set when protagonist Natty Bumpo is an old man. I read it back in junior college, and even did a book report on it for my American Literature class. But in order to review it now, and do it justice, I'd need to reread it (which I plan to do sometime). Even though I liked it back then, I believe there are aspects of it that I could appreciate better now.

I'm reading a few books but my favourite is Proust's Swann's Way at the moment.

Although I've been slow to get around to it, I've finally started on Pride's Children: Purgatory, the first book of a projected trilogy by my Goodreads friend, Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt. (It isn't a free review book as such, but she did graciously donate a copy to the Bluefield College library, where I work.) This is a foray into contemporary general fiction, a genre I've tended to neglect for several decades; I'm working on redressing that balance, because I genuinely do like general fiction when it's well done!

I just started reading Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees, a fantasy written in 1926.

When Barb and I take road trips in the summer to visit her family in the Harrisonburg, Virginia area, we usually make huge progress on our "car books," compared to what we do in the rest of the year. The trip earlier this week was no exception, allowing us to finish a book I've been reading to her for two months. So, we promptly started on another one! We're now continuing our exploration of my Goodreads friend Heather Day Gilbert's A Murder in the Mountains mystery series, with Trial by Twelve.

While passing time at the public library in Harrisonburg this week, while Barb went shopping with a couple of my sister-in-laws --I accompany them some, but I'm mostly not interested in the venues where they shop-- I added a new (to me) anthology to my "being read intermittently" shelf: Best Australian Short Stories. Despite my Aussie connection, my reading of Australian literature up to now is virtually nonexistent; so discovering this collection on the shelf was a particularly pleasant surprise!

Reading Aunt Jane ‘s nieces .

I'm reading Tales of the Perilous Realm by JRR Tolkien.

Having recently finished the second installment of Heather Day Gilbert's A Murder in the Mountains contemporary mystery series, Trial by Twelve, Barb and I started the next one, Guilt by Association as our "car book." However, we promptly embarked on a road trip, and finished that book before I had time to post about it here, until now! (That catches us up on that series for now; there's to be at least one sequel, but it's not published yet.)

Louis L'Amour is Barb's favorite author, and a number of his books focus on various generations and branches of his fictional Sackett family. (Goodreads treats this as a series, but my understanding is that the various novels can actually be read independently.) She's recently embarked on a re-read of all the Sackett-centered books (she rereads more than I do); and since Ride the River was one that had also piqued my interest, we've started it as our new "car book."

This month, I'm also taking part in a common read in another group, of Ann Radclife's 1794 Gothic novel The Mysteries of Udolpho. I've gathered that much of the interest for most of the participants comes from Jane Austen's mention of this novel in Northanger Abbey. In my case, though, I've never read the latter novel (I want to, though!); I've had the Radcliffe book on my to-read shelf forever just because I'm interested in reading more of the classics.

Michael wrote: "slowly chipping away at War and Peace"

I absolutely adore that book. I have read it four times. The first just to say I had. The second I paid more attention to the characters before the war. The third I paid more attention to what the war had done to the characters. And, the fourth, how the war had changed the perspective of the characters. If you like the psychology of people, it is a fascinating piece of work.

Currently reading Murder on the Orient Express. Half way through and I am a new fan of Agatha Christie!

Agatha Christie is addictive. I have been rereading them since I first read them 20+ years ago. I have just started Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell.

A discussion in another group recently reminded me of the book Dragonlord of Mystara by Thorarinn Gunnarsson, which Barb and I read together back in the early 90s and really liked. I've never reviewed it, and to do it justice I'll need a refresher read; so we've started reading it again. By now, we've forgotten so much of it that it's essentially like reading a new-to-us book. :-) (The author was born in Iceland, but lives in the U.S. now.)

Finally, I'm joining in the August common read of Lost Horizon (by James Hilton) in one of my other groups. None of the libraries around here have it, so I'd originally expected I'd need to borrow it by interlibrary loan; but I was recently able to buy a thrift-store copy (yay!). There's not a lot of time left in August; but I expect this one to be a very quick read, so I'm confident of finishing before next month nonetheless.

I'm taking part in our group's common read of The Prisoner of Zenda this month.

I am reading The Greek Coffin Mystery by Ellery Queen.

Earlier this year, Goodreads author E. M. Bosso sent me a review e-copy of his humorous writing guide, Writing Tips #42: The Incomplete Guide For the Self-Published, and I've started reading this on my Kindle app. I'm expecting it to be quite a quick read.

In paper format, I'm finally reading a book I've had on my to-read shelf forever as a "must read": the werewolf novel Moon of the Wolf by Les Whitten. I read and liked his vampire novel Progeny of the Adder as a kid back in the 60s, but wasn't aware he'd written anything else until I saw the movie adaptation of the book I'm now reading in the 70s (although the film differs from the book in significant ways).

Although I haven't read any of his work in awhile, I count Charles de Lint as a favorite author. His stand-alone fantasy novel The Harp of the Grey Rose is another book Barb and I read together back in the 90s, and have sufficiently forgotten that it's like a new read; it's also another one that I haven't reviewed here, and could use a refresher before doing so. So, we've started reading it again!

One of my other groups starts a common read on Oct. 1; so until then, I wanted to pick a short book I could finish in the meantime. The one I opted for is The Apocalypse Door by James D. Macdonald. (Actually I'm reading the hardcover edition; but I think the paperback has much cooler cover art! :-) ) This has been on my must-read list ever since I read reviews of it back in 2002, so I'm delighted to finally get around to reading it.

Since I was ready to start a new book today, I began reading the October common read in one of my other groups, Black Creek Crossing by John Saul, slightly early. (That won't put me too far ahead, since I won't get to read tomorrow; my reading time is limited on most days, and at 459 pages, it's a relatively thick book.) John Saul is a veteran author of horrific fiction, having written over 30 best-sellers. But this is my first exposure to his work (on the whole, I don't read many big-name authors).

As of last night, I've finally started reading my review copy of Ebolowa, by Goodreads author Simon Miller, on my Kindle app. So far, I'm actually favorably impressed with it; I'm finding it well-written, and a solid, workmanlike approach to the mystery genre conventions. Although it's the second book in a series, it's a new case for the detective protagonist, and I haven't experienced any feeling that I'm missing anything in relating to him.

For the rest of this month, I don't expect to have much chance to write book reviews. Since I like to write them while the books are still as fresh in my mind as possible, I wanted my next read (having finished one today) to be thick enough that I wouldn't need to review it until I have more time --but not so thick that it'll greatly interfere with a common read coming up next month, which will also be of a thick book. It remains to be seen whether I gauged that well in my choice. But there are no consequences for being off of schedule, and I expect to greatly enjoy both books!

The book I started today is The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian by Robert E. Howard. REH is one of my favorite writers, and Conan one of my favorite fictional characters; so I've had my eye on this posthumous collection ever since the Bluefield College library acquired a copy. As an added plus, all of the stories collected here are new to me; there's no overlap with the previous Conan collection I read, The Essential Conan.

Finally, I've started reading my review e-copy of FBOM by E. M. Bosso. The unfortunate acronym doesn't mean what you're probably thinking --it actually stands for "Foundation for the Betterment of Mankind." (Though whether or not the latter organization is really appropriately named remains to be seen....)

I have just started reading Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake. It will take me a while to read it since it is so long.