The Next Best Book Club discussion

Patricia, I also just picked up Await Your Reply: A Novel at the library! I am only about 40 pages in but really liking it so far.

I am going to read Let the Great World Spin next.

My latest "next books on my list" list is as follows:

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Death and the Lit Chick: A St. Just Mystery by G.M. Malliet
Hate That Cat: A Novel by Sharon Creech
Blackout by Connie Willis
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo-- finally starting it. I borrowed this from a friend MONTHS ago...around August I think. I am a bad book-borrower!!

The next book on my list after reading Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule will likely be David Hewson's The Cemetery of Secrets since it's been on my TBR list longer than the other book I brought with me to residence xD

Finishing , then is up next, followed by and [image error]

Kristin wrote: "Marti, that sounds like a fun weekend/vacation!! good for you!

I don't know what to read next... I'll be finishing The Help this weekend. I have The White Queen and..."

Kristin, I read both of the books on your list. Both are good, but different types of reads.. Enjoy..

Will be starting The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo tomorrow on audio and Little House on the Prairie in print.

Mine is going to be The Help as soon as it comes in at the library. I'm on the waiting list. Can't wait to read it.

BJ, I loved Prey. Have fun.

Tammy, ha...Little House on the Prairie. I read those when I was a kid.

I'm on to Robert Harris' Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome and King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa, both inspired by this site.

Well, I'll be taking it easy for a few days since winter break begins on Friday at 10 AM so I'll mostly be doing school work until then. But if I feel the need to read (which I will!), I'll either pick up 100 Must-Read Science Fiction Novels or River Phoenix: A Short Life .

Finished The Help last night, and lo and behold, the library called this morning to tell me that The White Queen is in for me! So that's next. Hope I enjoy it - I'm ready for some juicy winter scandal and seduction. LOL!

Better get a couple more books, looks like you might be stuck inside this weekend Kristin.

Are we getting a(nother) storm? Please don't say "yes..."

I hope not ,this one is to be a doozey
The northeast, New York etc. Check the weather report .

The next book for me is the Savage Detective-Roberto Bolano

Just started Cutting for Stone and after that will be reading by Barbara Kingsolver.

Still browsing through 100 Must-Read Science Fiction Novels ; will be starting Lolita next, probably tomorrow.

I just started 'Conspiracy of Paper' by David Liss last night and after that am planning on reading 'Shutter Island' by Dennis Lehane.

After Shutter Island my next 5 are:

1. The Sea of Monsters
2. A Long Long Way
3. The Poacher's Son
4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
5. The Book of Lost Things

Randomly responding to a totally old conversation, sorry - Carol, I really liked Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. Bryson's not for everyone; have you read anything else by him? Some people find his writing style a little too cutesy. But it works okay for me.

The point of the book is...how do I describe it? You know all those things you were supposed to learn in high school, but you weren't paying attention because you were busy flirting with that guy who sat next to you? All those things you weren't learning are actually pretty cool, and Bryson's point is to refresh your memory in a fun way. He more or less accomplishes it.

Getting ready to start The Dark Materials Trilogy, after finally finishing Dante (YAY!!!),....then I am gonna find something that has nothing to do with religion.

Oh gosh, decisions, decisions - there are so many good books to choose from! Just downloaded some new female sleuth samples to my Kindle; I'll probably choose one of those. LOVE samples!

I think I'm going to start Guy Gavriel Kay's Ysabel next; I would have to snag The Elegance of the Hedgehog off my friend and I won't see her again until Tuesday xD

I'm just about to start Lost in Hollywood: The Fast Times and Short Life of River Phoenix by John Glatt. But first: coffee!

Next books on my List:

1. Ford County
2. Noah's Compass
3. One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd
4. Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office
5. The Capture

Tracy - you're going to love

Next up, The Tenderness of Wolves: A Novel by Stef Penney.

I've had it on hold at the library going on 4 months now, I believe. I am number 2 in line, now.

Susanna wrote: "Next up, The Tenderness of Wolves: A Novel by Stef Penney."

I just read this a couple of weeks ago. It was a good historical fiction. Very well written.

Tracy wrote: "Susanna wrote: "Next up, The Tenderness of Wolves: A Novel by Stef Penney."

I just read this a couple of weeks ago. It was a good historical fiction. Very well written."

I'm only about 20 pages in but the story is already enticing. :)

Susanna wrote: "Next up, The Tenderness of Wolves: A Novel by Stef Penney."

I read this one year before last and really enjoyed it. I agree with Tracy that it is very well written.

I just ordered Stones Into Schools and can't wait reading it. I loved three cops of tea, the first 5 chapters of that got me hooked real good. This is while I am waiting for my own book "A Time to Betray" is coming out in about a month.Lots of anxiety!

Chantelle wrote: "Tracy - you're going to love "

I agree with Chantelle. I loved this one.

I am re-reading Chocolat while waiting for The Girl with No Shadow: A Novel to arrive.

Kathy wrote: "Susanna wrote: "Next up, The Tenderness of Wolves: A Novel by Stef Penney."

I read this one year before last and really enjoyed it. I agree with Tracy that it is very well written."

I've heard a lot of good things and so far I am very happy I picked it up. The atmosphere she creates is different than I expected but it's only a good thing :)

I picked up The Postmistress yesterday from the library. Looking forward to starting it tomorrow!

I just finished up two books and I was trying to decide what comes next. I have SO many books both on my kindle and on my shelves that need to be read that I trying something I did last year that helped. I'm going to pick 10 books to read and I am not going to bring another book into this house until my list is done. So the next 10 to read are:
Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle
The Unnamed
The Help
The End of Manners: A Novel
When You Reach Me
Wolf Hall
Cutting for Stone
Secrets of Eden: A Novel
Last Night in Twisted River
Worst Case

Shona wrote: "I just finished up two books and I was trying to decide what comes next. I have SO many books both on my kindle and on my shelves that need to be read that I trying something I did last year that ..."

What a great idea! I wish I had the discipline to do that. I read the reviews on GR and I swear I get reading ADD. I can't help myself. Good luck with your list.

I've got A Fraction of the Whole next, looking forward to it as well. It sounds good.

Lemme know how you like Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes, Shona. That's been on my radar for a while.

And when you get to Wolf Hall, there's a thread about it from a Jan / Feb buddy read in the Historical Fiction book club; that may be useful to you. It's awesome, but can be confusing at first.

I'm off to Machiavelli's The Prince next, as part of my "How have I not read this?" series, and then probably Civilization: A New History of the Western World based on a recommendation from Jason on this here site.

Yeah, Alex, how have you not read The Prince? Well, better late than never. Not that I can talk. It wasn't that long ago that I read it myself. I think my problem was that my oldest brother had to read it for high school, so I just figured I would have to read it in school at some point too. It wasn't until I was amost 30 that it occurred to me that my teachers never made me read it after all. Luckily my brother still had his copy for me to snag.

My list of "next books to read" has become embarrassingly convoluted. I get excited about what I plan to read next, and then on my way to get said book I trip over something equally exciting. It's a freaking nightmare sometimes.

Anybody remember National Lampoon's European Vacation? Audrey had a bit of an eating disorder and had that dream on the flight to Europe that she was eating all that food, and the servers kept bringing out more, and eventually her shirt buttons started popping off and she was all swollen and felt gross? That's me. Except with books.

I have a reading disorder.

I've also missed nearly all of Dickens. And the Bible. And whatever Jodi Picoult is.

Yeah, I get the same thing: I have my reading list all nicely laid out, and then someone mentions a book that sounds totally awesome, man and I totally lose focus. And you can't fight it too hard, because then you'll be slogging through Malthus thinking man, I wish I was reading Flannery O'Connor instead, and you won't really enjoy Malthus.

Who wants to be the one to tell El that you're not supposed to eat books? Not it.

...awesome metaphor.

My next read will be the third novel in Pamela Aidan's Fitzwiliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy. After that, I going to start on stuff for The Seasonal Reading Challenge in big way. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies will probably be first for that!

I read the Prince first time last year.

Alex, I recommend hitting up most Dickens (based on the ones I've read anyhow), parts of the Bible and skipping Jodi Picoult. But that's just my opinion.

Wait, you don't eat books? Crap, I knew there was something wrong with me.

I need help deciding between The Song of Roland, Reborn: Journals and Notebooks, 1947-1964, or Love and Exile: An Autobiographical Trilogy as far as my next book. Normally I just put my hand out and read whatever it touches first, but let's live a little.

Next up for me is The History of Love and Twisted.

I'm really looking forward to whenever I get around to Dickens. From what brilliant, affluent and well-groomed people like yourself have told me, I'm going to like him.

I looked up the other two books; one is described as "complex self-awareness" and the other as "concomitant displacement." I'm not into the first and I don't know what the second means, so I vote Song of Roland.

Edit: See? Carol hadn't read it either. How is it, Carol?

It was interesting. I can see national governments still applying some of his principals. Most is a bit of a drudgery though. It made me wonder if some of GW Bush's policies were not formulated on these principals.

A Lot!!! So hard to pick one. But I'm getting Dark Lover by JR Ward soon. I heard it's good, and I can't believe I'm so behind.

Hm...I'm reading Katherine now. I have The Heretic Queen and The Memoirs of Cleopatra waiting for me in book form, and Persuasion and The Leisure Seeker: A Novel and The Wednesday Sisters are all book club reads for this month. Ugh, I have a lot of reading to do!

Wow, Chantelle, so many books! I'd go crayz if I have that many waiting for me. I read slowly. Very.