Sacramento Public Library discussion

Are you reading something good? Something exciting? Something you just want to tell everyone about? Please share it in the comments and help someone else find their next great read!

My wife's book club selected Carson McCullers' The Heart is a Lonely Hunter for this month, so I decided to read it, too. I'm really impressed by it, even more so by the fact that she was only 23 when it was published. It's a very stark and lonely read. It's also fascinating seeing the say she handled the implicit homosexual themes, which must have been very taboo for 1940. I'm about 2/3 of the way through it now - so far, I'd have to say I'd highly recommend it!

I am reading The program and Free to fall both YA and both very good :)

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens seems to be a promising read, if you like the dramatic (which I do, lol).

I am reading Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" so that I can help the classes that I TA for English and I am fascinated by his revelations while I am disgusted at the same time with Monsanto, the Federal Government, and the Beef Industry. We really need to start a campaign to change the way our children eat as well as the way we eat. Definitely not a light read, so I am also reading Preston and Childs' new book, "White Fire."

Thanks for the tips Julie. Added both to my to-read list.

I've started P.S. I Love You, which is a BOM for another group.

Beth (Beth~a~holic) wrote: "Still Missing by Chevy Stevens seems to be a promising read, if you like the dramatic (which I do, lol)."

I just read that book last month Beth - it was really good :)

Annemarie wrote: "I am reading Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" so that I can help the classes that I TA for English and I am fascinated by his revelations while I am disgusted at the same time with Monsant..."

Good Book, yes scary, but a good read.

Currenttly on book 3 of the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. I want to finish that series. I am rereading the Fuzzy Sapiens series by H. Beam Piper because I really want to read the "reboot" Fuzzy Nation. My daughter-in-law is due this month and since I am the primary cook I have been reading lots of cookbooks to make sure she has a varied and healthy diet.

I am currently reading Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson which asks the question "What happens if people who have developed super powers cannot use that power responsibly?" The answer is, they take over the world and the result isn't pretty.
I'm about half way through and enjoying it quite a bit. It's been marketed as a teen book but it holds a great deal of appeal for adults too.

I am currently re-reading Divergent and I plan on reading the alt+library book club selection after that. And my copy of Eleanor and Park just came in...So I have a busy month ahead of me!!

I am reading After the End and liking it a lot more than I expected to.

Carolyn, I finished Still Missing. Great read until the very end!

I am currently re-reading "The House Girl" by Tara Conklin for my book group, Daniel Silva's "Portrait of a Spy," the 11th book in his Daniel Allon series, and Susan Rieger's "The Divorce Papers," an Advanced Reader's Edition that I won in the February Library Reading Challenge. All are very different types of books, and I'm looking forward to reading each of them.

I have started Rebecca. I also have Alena, a modern take on it, waiting in the wings.

I just finished The Last Reunion of the All-Girl Filling Station. That was a quick, fun read. Rebecca is a bit more toothy of a read!

Beth (Beth~a~holic) wrote: "Carolyn, I finished Still Missing. Great read until the very end!"

A lot of people had trouble with the ending Rebecca. It came out of left field for me too.

I'm reading Mrs. Budley Falls from Grace, I'm slowing working through Marion Chesney/ M.C. Beaton's books.

I have just begun Ninety Percent of Everything by Rose George, a look at the shipping industry. I picked it up because I enjoyed her previous book, The Big Necessity: the unmentionable world of human waste and why it matters. Neither topic sounds exciting but both are central to our daily lives and to our impact on the planet. Even a few chapters in I can tell that Ninety Percent of Everything is going to be as fascinating as her first book.

Chelsea wrote: "Brendle, I LOVED Steelheart. What an addictive read. I had to read it in one sitting."

I totally agree, it was a fantastic read! Had it not been my lunchtime read at work I would have gobbled it all down at once too. Highly recommended for sci-fi lovers, comic book readers, and action adventure readers. Even if you aren't one of those things, you might become one after you read it because it's lots of fun!

I'm reading Tempt the Stars

I finished "The House Girl" by Tara Conklin and Daniel Silva's "Portrait of a Spy" and enjoyed both. I'm continuing "The Divorce Papers" and really having fun with the author's humor and wit. I've added "The Luminaries" to my currently reading pile since it was on the Lucky Day shelf at the Carmichael library and I've read rave reviews about this Booker Prize winning novel.

I just finished Annabel Scheme, a novella by Robin Sloan who wrote Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore which I read recently and loved. It was fun and interesting (and short!) but I found the ending kind of unsatisfying overall. This was written before Penumbra so it's nice to see so much improvement. I'm looking forward to more from Sloan.

Not sure what to read next. The SPL challenge this month is to read short stories, but I'm kind of tempted to read The Bell Jar which has been on my "someday" list for about 40 years now. Or maybe The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination, a short story collection recommended by my GR friend Tabitha the Pabkins. Or The 2014 Campbellian Anthology which includes a short story by my Facebook friend Christopher Reynaga. Plus I'm trying to learn Italian. *sigh* So many books, so little time!

I loved Mr Penumbra's 24 hour Bookstore but my son was disappointed in the ending.

I just finished Rebecca an am going to read A Long Way Home next. I need a literary break before moving on to Alena.

I am reading In the End and its pretty good so far

I am reading the graphic novel March by John Lewis a little late for Black History Month, but I really enjoyed the artist's The Silence of Our Friends and am excited to read a graphic novel written by a living "primary source," if you will.

I picked up Helen Oyeyemi's Mr. Fox since her Boy, Snow, Bird is coming out and I know I will be down a bit on the hold list for it. The interviews I read about Oyeyemi indicate her work can be circuitous, so I was a little hesitant, but her voice is very clear, evident from the first chapter and I think it'll make any opaque plot less frustrating to puzzle out.

Finally, I'm slowly chewing on The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters because I want to learn about this energy issue before I make an opinion about it.

Decided to read The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination: Original Short Fiction for the Modern Evil Genius as part of the March Short Stories challenge. Loads of fun!

I finished up "The Forever War" while sitting in the airport in Salt Lake City. I'll write up a review later, but I highly recommend it. "Forever War" features a group of soldiers fighting an interminable war against an enemy far from Earth and has strong parallels to the Vietnam War. The author, Joe Haldeman, was a Vietnam vet who wrote this shortly after the end of the war. "Forever War" won the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 1974-1975.

Next up, for our book club, will be "Neuromancer," by William Gibson, which is one of the first novels in the cyberpunk subgenre. It's also a Hugo and Nebula winner.

John wrote: "I finished up "The Forever War" while sitting in the airport in Salt Lake City. I'll write up a review later, but I highly recommend it. "Forever War" features a group of soldiers fighting an inter..."

Wow - I remember reading The Forever War when it first came out. I really enjoyed it - glad to hear it still holds up. And Neuromancer is a classic. Sounds like you're in an interesting book club!

Angie wrote: "I am reading the graphic novel March by John Lewis a little late for Black History Month, but I really enjoyed the artist's The Silence of Our Friends and am excited..."

I have a copy of Boy, Snow, Bird that I won. I have so many other books in my "to read" list that I don't expect to get to it anytime soon. I wonder if the library would let me leave a book at the desk for someone to pick up. My branch is the Valley Hi-North Laguna.

John wrote: "I finished up "The Forever War" while sitting in the airport in Salt Lake City. I'll write up a review later, but I highly recommend it. "Forever War" features a group of soldiers fighting an inter..."

If you haven't already read the rest of the series,Forever Peace and Forever Free, I highly recommend them. Somewhat along the same lines are "The Old Man's War" series by John Scalzi.

I am reading the forever song by Julie K and I am savoring my time reading Murder of Crows :)

I finished Crystal Singer, good book.

Now I'm reading Diving into the Wreck

Tabitha the Pabkins wrote: "@John - I'm totally jealous of your book club. I have a nice group of local ladies I'm in a group with but mostly all they choose are what I think of as 'Oprah book club picks' - pretty much all of..."

The book club is called "SF-Squared" and meets the fourth (or occasionally the fifth) Saturday at McKinley Library at 1:00. Our next meeting is this coming Saturday. I started the book group to read fantasy, science fiction, and mainstream paranormal fiction, but so far we've been reading mostly hard science fiction. If you'd like to join or know anyone interested, anyone is welcome!

Chip wrote: "John wrote: "I finished up "The Forever War" while sitting in the airport in Salt Lake City. I'll write up a review later, but I highly recommend it. "Forever War" features a group of soldiers figh..."

(I posted a similar reply to Tabitha) This is a book group I run at McKinley Library for science fiction, fantasy, and mainstream paranormal fiction. So far we've been reading pretty much all hard SF. The group meets usually the 4th Saturday at McKinley Library. Our upcoming meeting is 3/29 at 1:00. You're welcome to join!