BookCrazy discussion

My bedtime book is Zig-Zag by Ben MacIntyre. It's non-fiction (unusual for me) -- the story of Ed Chapman, a British double agent during WWII.

Chapman's a criminal who is in prison on the island of Jersey when it's occupied by the Germans. He volunteers to spy for the Germans, is trained in France and sent to England on a mission. He immediately turns himself in and becomes a double agent.

His story is just now being told because his files were released by MI5 -- and they're very detailed files.

My other book is Garnethill by Denise Mina -- it's billed as "Scottish noir". A young woman is accused of the murder of her married lover after his body is found in her apartment. It's very gritty, and I'm enjoying it a lot.

Right now I am reading Travels With Lizbeth, by Lars Eighner, a chronicle of his three years of homelessness. The author writes very eloquently and with a sense of humor about his friendships, traveling companions, and jobs despite his many hardships. He is a keen observer of people and places and the love he has for his dog, Lizbeth is heartwarming.

I am reading Four to Score by Janet Evonovich. I am loving this series!!! I Have never read a book that has made me laugh out loud!! This is not the kind of books that I normally read, so i am glad I stepped out of my comfort zone!!

I am reading Bridge of Sighs right now. I am over 50 pages, and it is pretty boring so far. If it doesn't shape up soon, it is going back to the library.

Snow Angels by Stewart O'Nan -- I think it's excellent. A young woman is murdered early in the book, and O'Nan tells her story from different points of view -- mostly from the POV of a teenager that the woman used to babysit.

Bridge of Sighs is shaping up to be a really good book. It started out slow, but it has picked up a lot of speed now.

I'm reading American Dreams, by John Jakes. It continues the story of the Crown Family, begun in Homeland (which I lugged with me across the ocean and around Georgia and Florida, then back again, before finishing it a few days ago). This second book concentrates on Fritzi Crown, who wants to be an actress. It promises to introduce the characters of Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin, which has me interested.

I am reading like crazy to finish as many books as possible while in the Netherlands. Friday I'll be flying back to Aruba. I have just finished the Road by Cormac MacCarthy and want to start a Liza Marklund detective but I am afraid I will not be able to finish it. Maybe I'll read one from the series of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. For the flight I have The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory!

I had to put "Bridge of Sighs" down before I got halfway through. It got much worse again. I read "X Out of Wonderland" by David Allan Cates. It was a tongue-in-cheek satire of the world condition. It was interesting. None of the characters had names. I thought it was well-written, and I would read Cates again. I am about to start "Finnegans Wake" by James Joyce.

Andi, is Finnegan's Wake the one with pages and pages about breakfast? I've never read Joyce, but his name always pops up when readers talk about "difficult" books.

The second book in Denise Mina's Garnethill trilogy was pretty good. The main character has a slew of problems and issues, and I think she tries to solve other people's problems because hers are just too much to even think about.

I'm also reading Quicksilver, off and on because it's so daunting, and the new one by Rennie Airth, The Blood-Dimmed Tide. Murder in the English countryside in 1932. It's pretty good but there's some padding.

I've just finished Tales of Hoffman. E. T. A. Hoffman was a seriously weird early 19th century Romantic writer. There are elements of the gothic, and of science fiction, and other stuff that is just plain strange. I liked it.

I've just finished Adam Stemple's Singer of Souls, a very dark fantasy about a young musician and recovering heroin addict who leaves Minneapolis to start a new life with his grandmother in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Douglas draws in the crowds by using his guitar and voice to compose personalized songs about passers-by. While living with his grandmother and making a decent living, he manages to stay clean until he meets an unusual woman who presents him with a white powder that steers him off the path to recovery.

Instead of achieving the desired high, Douglas' life takes an unpredictable turn when the powder gives him the ability to see Edinburgh's invisible fey inhabitants.

I gobbled up this short, fast-paced, magical and very dark fantasy in two sittings. I loved the characters, the setting and the ability of the music to enchant and transform its listeners. The faeries and other magical creatures are not beautiful or enchanting. This is a dark and gritty urban fantasy with an ending that makes me want to drop everything and grab the sequel.

I am reading Pushing Up Bluebonnets by Leann Sweeney, a mystery featuring an adoption PI who gets embroiled in the attempted murder of a woman who had sent her a letter requesting her services.