Constant Reader discussion

New Year --
feeling broody
from late Autumn.

Haiku by Basho

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Verra nice touch, Larry.

Happiness and contentment to all. :)

Thank you Larry for the gooing and the coming with Basho.

It's not January yet where I am! But Happy New Year to all.

I've been pouring myself into TRISTRAM SHANDY for weeks now and suddenly can't make myself read another page. 150 pages to go, but I'm not sure I'm going to make it.

Happy New Year to one and all!

Didn't quite mange to finish Susan Hill's Strange Meeting in 2013 but perhaps in many ways more appropriate to have doen so at the start of 2014 as we enter the year of commemoration of The Great War in which this novel is set. I loved this book, if loved is the right word for a story set in wartime, but it is family love and the love of friendship which is at its heart. As usual I wrote about it here.

Not sure what to read next but have copies of Paul Bowles's Up Above the World and The Spider's House sitting on the table. Any Bowles fan's care to recommend which one?

Still working on The Master, such wonderful writing. He brings Henry James alive. Happy New Year and Happy Reading to you all.

Happy New Year to all!!!

I am confused between The Starry River of the Sky and Beloved!! Not in the mood to brood and strat my year with some light fun reading... so I may begin with Starry River of the Sky soon

Washington Square by Henry James and The Police by Jo Nesbo.

Happy New Year!

I'm nearly finished with The Golem and the Jinni. It's beautiful.
I haven't picked my next read yet.

I started The Accounting by William Lashner. I'm about a quarter of the way into it. Interesting premise.

Finished reading Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo – 3***
Focusing her work on the residents of Annawadi, a slum built in the shadow of luxury hotels near Mumbai’s airport, Boo writes a book that tears away the film of anonymity that hides the multitude, and forces the reader to recognize their individual humanity. Once I started, I could not stop reading.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I am reading The Book of My Lives by Aleksander Hemon. Parts are a bit dull, other parts very good. I've read Hemon's short fiction and liked it, and also previously read the final chapter of this book on the loss of his little daughter which is heart-breaking.

Sped through Carl Hiaason's latest, Bad Monkey. I have a couple more easy-reads of Jeanne Ray (learned she was Ann Patchett's mother; they write very differently!) to go, then I'm more than ready for something with a little more depth.

just started Madness, Rack, and Honey: Collected Lectures by the poet, Mary Reufle. I suspect this will not be a book I race through, but one I will dip into over a long period of time.

At 3 this morning I finished The Accounting by William Lashner. My first by this author. My review, here. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

BC, I loved Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity. I'm glad you did as well. Haunting and compelling and so readable. I'm sure you've checked out our discussion...

I was down for the count with a cold over New Year's Eve, but was fortunate in that I'd made a library mystery run a few days earlier, and was able to hang out in Three Pines with Armand Gamache for about 30 hours, via Still Life by Louise Penny, the first book in the series. As comfy as the quilt in under which I was scrunched as I read.

But Penny fans, please tell me: does the obnoxious policewoman Yvette Nicol make a reappearance after taking off in a huff? I hope not to see her again, but I hope to dip into this series often!

Mary Ellen wrote: But Penny fans, please tell me: does the obnoxious policewoman Yvette Nicol make a reappearance after taking off in a huff? I hope not to see her again, but I hope to dip into this series often!

Hah, yes. But it's complicated.... :) Natch.

Have started The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I've had it on the shelf for several years, unread. I recently read and loved The Goldfinch, so searched for The Secret History on my shelves. Found it, started it, am loving it. :)

Mary Ellen wrote: "BC, I loved Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity. I'm glad you did as well. Haunting and compelling and so readable. I'm sure you've checked..."

Indeed she does. I love this series.

Just started and I'm half way through The Murder of Halland, a Danish mystery. Beautifully written, many secrets in everyone's lives it appears. A short but seemingly very affective/effective book. Also reading Leo Africanus about a man's travels after the fall of Al Andalus in the Inquisition. Also doing a slow read of The War That Ended Peace: The Road To 1914, which I may have mentioned here before. Very interesting book.

Joan wrote: "Mary Ellen wrote: "BC, I loved Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity. I'm glad you did as well. Haunting and compelling and so readable. I'm ..."

I love this series, too. Yvette becomes slightly less obnoxious later on. :-)

Cateline wrote: "Mary Ellen wrote: But Penny fans, please tell me: does the obnoxious policewoman Yvette Nicol make a reappearance after taking off in a huff? I hope not to see her again, but I hope to dip into thi..."

I haven't cracked The Goldfinch yet, and I had some quibbles with The Secret History, but boy, I loved The Little Friend.

Sara wrote: I haven't cracked The Goldfinch yet, and I had some quibbles with The Secret History, but boy, I loved The Little Friend.

Glad to hear that, it's on my shelf as well. :)

I enjoyed Still Life despite what I thought was a horrible first couple of pages (author was trying too hard and the editor didn't rein her in, in my view). I too found Yvette incredibly annoying and couldn't imagine someone being that tone-deaf that consistently. I have not tried the subsequent novels in the series but would like to at some point.

In the murder mystery genre, I have really enjoyed all of the novels by Tana French (Dublin Murder Squad series) - I think those are very well done.

I started The Goldfinch a couple of days ago.

Amy wrote: "I enjoyed Still Life despite what I thought was a horrible first couple of pages (author was trying too hard and the editor didn't rein her in, in my view). I too found Yvette incredibly annoying ..."

I really like Tana French, although I haven't read the latest one yet. I have to be in the right frame of mind, because I find them very dark.

I am finishing up The Goldfinch and while it is not what I expected (I was thinking it would be a dark, grown-up version of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler....that it is not!), I have mostly enjoyed it. I just picked up I Am the Messenger for another GR reading challenge and also plan to read The Luminaries.

Finished The Ascent of Man by Jacob Bronowski. Based on the TV series of the 1970's, it is a masterful view of evolution through the lens of scientific advancement.

Joan wrote: "Finished The Ascent of Man by Jacob Bronowski. Based on the TV series of the 1970's, it is a masterful view of evolution through the lens of scientific advancement."

We have that book. Read it eons ago. Thought both the book and the TV series were excellent.

Sue,
Both The Murder of Halland and Leo Africanus sound very interesting. I noticed that the Goodreads reviews for the second book are mostly in Arabic! This book must give the reader an interesting perspective.

Ann wrote: "Sue,
Both The Murder of Halland and Leo Africanus sound very interesting. I noticed that the Goodreads reviews for the second book are mostly in Arabic! This book mus..."

I'm only about 1/5 into it but I'd say yes, definitely, Leo Africanus gives a perspective that Westerners don't often get. I've read a couple of books on Spain of that time and the ending of the Muslim era and I find it very interesting. This book is supposed to move beyond that with the man's wanderings around the Mediterranean countries of the time and I'm really curious to see what Maalouf will produce. The MENA group has introduced me to a lot of new reading I might never have discovered.

The Sound of Things Falling. Here's the review I wrote: "What a beautiful, sad, well-written story. The author includes all the details I needed to feel, smell, hear, taste, and see the setting for this story without compromising plot strength or character development. In these days of books that are too long because they've not been well-edited either by the author or the publisher, this book stands out as a beautifully faceted and brilliant gem. The ending is ambiguous, but I did not mind that all. In my experience, foreign authors - or maybe their readers - have a greater tolerance for ambiguity so the plot line does not end all neatly tied up, just like life."

Sue wrote: "Ann wrote: "Sue,
Both The Murder of Halland and Leo Africanus sound very interesting. I noticed that the Goodreads reviews for the second book are mostly in Arabic! T..."

Added LEO AFRICANUS to my TBR list, sounds interesting!

Kat and Ann, a non-fiction book for that time that I enjoyed is The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain.

Joan wrote: "Finished The Ascent of Man by Jacob Bronowski. Based on the TV series of the 1970's, it is a masterful view of evolution through the lens of scientific advancement."

Like Ruth, I still have held onto my copy of the book. And I can remember how much we enjoyed the television series even if I can't remember much else about it.

Thanks for the recommendation of The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain, Sue. I put it on my wish list in Amazon, which I use both for library books and some purchases.

Ann wrote: "Thanks for the recommendation of The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain, Sue. I put it on my wish list in Amazo..."

I was able to borrow an e-copy from the library which was nice. Sometimes I lose out on some of the photos but the convenience is so great.

We had a good discussion of this in the MENA group should you want to check it out.

Mary wrote: "The Sound of Things Falling. Here's the review I wrote: "What a beautiful, sad, well-written story. The author includes all the details I needed to feel, smell, hear, taste, and see the setting for..."

Mary, I'm halfway through THE SOUND OF THINGS FALLING. Really good writing. I am struck by what he reveals on almost every page. It definitely makes me want to read more of his earlier works.

Mary and Larry,
I recently finished The Sound of Things Falling and it's original Spanish version, El ruido de las cosas al caer . Working on my goal of Spanish fluency! It was an excellent book and a challenge to me as a student of Spanish, Colombia and life.

If you enjoyed it, you should really check out Héctor Abad's Oblivion: A Memoir. Written twenty years after the assassination by paramilitaries of his father, a prominent doctor and human rights activist, in Medellin. It is a universally powerful story of the relationship between fathers and sons told in the very specific and tragic context of Colombia in the 80's.

Incidentally, I just noticed that the Goodreads' link to Oblivion: A Memoir has one rating only and it's a 2. The link to the Spanish version El olvido que seremos has 652 ratings averaging 4.27. That's about right.

Reading Stoner, Tenth of December and The Third Coast: When Chicago Built the American Dream.

The last one is a cultural history of Chicago from the end of WWII to 1960. My formative years in my formative city; so there's much I knew, much I didn't know and much to both agree and disagree with. Makes for good reading.

Mary wrote: "The Sound of Things Falling. Here's the review I wrote: "What a beautiful, sad, well-written story. The author includes all the details I needed to feel, smell, hear, taste, and see the setting for..."

What a great review. It really expresses what I felt about this book much better than I could have.

Thank you, Gina.

I startedThe Sound of Things Falling. Thanks CR'ers for the recommendation. It is every bit what others are saying about the book.

Brian wrote: "Reading Stoner, Tenth of December and The Third Coast: When Chicago Built the American Dream.

The last one is a cultural history of Chicago from the ..."

Took a trip to Chicago a couple years ago and prior to it read several novels set there: THE PIT by Frank Norris, SISTER CARRIE by Dreiser, and NATIVE SON by Richard Wright--all terrific!

Read Four Quartets. I struggled with this small book of Eliot's poetry, but was glad I stuck with it. From his poem Little Gidding, we get the quotation often heard.

"And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."

Gina wrote: "Read Four Quartets. I struggled with this small book of Eliot's poetry, but was glad I stuck with it. From his poem Little Gidding, we get the quotation often heard.

"And the end of ..."

Thanks for that, Gina. I definitely feel the need to pull out Eliot and read. Haven't for a long time...too long.

Gina wrote: "And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time." ..."

I used to write that on the front of all my journals.

Ruth wrote: "Gina wrote: "And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time." ..."

I used to write that on the front of all my journals."

How lovely. :-)

Oddie,
Wuthering Heights was a big favorite of mine when I was young. Are you enjoying it?

Finished reading The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Blum (Book on CD read by Coleen Marlo) – 5*****
The first time I read a book about forensic science I was in 7th grade. The subject has continued to fascinate me ever since. This is a wonderfully told, compelling work of nonfiction about the early 20th century New York City’s Medical Examiner’s office and the pioneering work done by Alexander Gettler and Charles Norris. Highly recommended, even for the non-science-geek.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm reading the O'Brian series and feel slightly guilty. I started on the Burgess Boys. It's interesting but the wife of the successful brother is, to me, such a chilling character - self satisfied, not interested in anything but her husband and children. Olive Kittredge had her problems but there was a lot underneath. The main character is like the woman in Blue Jasmine. But not crazy.