THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB discussion

I've finally finished (and reviewed) The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, by David Mitchell. Superb.

I know how you feel Pam...you don't need more book ideas....but like most of us, you won't turn them down. Right? :)

I am reading THE ENGINEER by Jan Kusmirek, as it purports to be an intelligent thriller.

Rick wrote: "Lyn M wrote: "Rick - I have never read any Terry Pratchett, so I don't really know. I was actually just thinking of looking some up since you liked it so much.

I just added [book:The Color of ..."

I am looking forward to that. Gaiman, on the other hand is very sinister.

Mike wrote: "Hi Lai. We Just had this discussion on another thread. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is an unusual book. It's in many ways more an experience in visiting it's world more than reading a story. Pr..."

You are so right, Mike. It transports you to a different world - it seemed as though i was right there in the same room with the characters as the story unfolds.

Rose wrote: "Rick wrote: "Rose wrote: "My current read is In Cold Blood by Mr. Capote"

ROSE- IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS- ASK IVAN- OUR RESIDENT CAPOTE EXPERT!"

Thanks Rick, will do. Very creepy stuff so far."

One of my favorite books of all times, and the first real crime book I ever read. It is creepy stuff, but very good!

Rick wrote: "Lai wrote: "Rick wrote: "Gail wrote: "I am currently reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I chose this book as is set in a period I love (early 1800's) combined with my favourite f..."

Wow! I think im gonna drop by the bookshop again tonight to start on Terry Pratchett. I grabbed The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery last night but i havent started reading. Has very good reviews though im reserving my judgment until i read the book.

Daphne wrote: "I am currently reading The English Patient. I am on a Man Booker award kick. I just finished Possession, a five star read (A.S. Byatt is a genius) and earlier in the yea..."

I loved Possession. Have you read her last year's Booker entry? It was also excellent.

Lyn M wrote: "Rose wrote: "Rick wrote: "Rose wrote: "My current read is In Cold Blood by Mr. Capote"

ROSE- IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS- ASK IVAN- OUR RESIDENT CAPOTE EXPERT!"

Thanks Rick, will do. Very creepy s..."

In Cold Blood is an excellent book. I just wrote up a post this month on it on my blog. It's one of my all-time favorite books.

Lai wrote: "Rick wrote: "Lai wrote: "Rick wrote: "Gail wrote: "I am currently reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I chose this book as is set in a period I love (early 1800's) combined with m..."

Hi Lai- I recently bought Hedgehog- its on my bookshelf! also I bought it becauseof the wonderful reviews- LOVE that you will discover Terry Pratchett- my advice- start with Wyrd Sisters

I'm currently reading because I have a serious addiction to this series. I think I will try a different genre after this, but right now I'm totally engrossed.

I'm reading THE ACTRESS by Elizabeth Sims and A DIFFERENT SHADE OF BLUE (nonfiction) by Adam Eisenberg because both books were given to me by the authors at Left Coast Crime. I enjoyed meeting both authors, and I'm enjoying both books.

I don't usually read two books at a time, but the nonfiction book is great for short bursts of reading, like when I'm waiting for an appointment. A DIFFERENT SHADE OF BLUE is about the first women on the Seattle police force. Fascinating stuff.

Rick wrote: "I am finishing my first Terry Pratchett- Wyrd Sisters- and all I can say is that I now own about 25 of his books!! I am totally addicted to Pratchett! after just reading half of one book- I bombarded Amazon and ordered all the others- each day a few more arrive (Got 2 in mail today)..."

It's always so gratifying to find another convert. Welcome to the club, Rick!

Just finished The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World for my F2F book group. I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed it -- a 5-star book for me, for sure. It reminded me a lot of Larson's writing. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys books like The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America.

I've moved on to The Earth Hums in B Flat, which I'm also enjoying so far. It's what The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie was meant to be -- a mystery told in the voice of a young girl -- only this one actually rings true. I found the heroine in Sweetness to be rather grating. The 12-year-old in The Earth Hums, on the other hand, is endearing.

Kari wrote: " is a book that recently came into the shop I put it in the for sale shelf instead of the TBR shelf but after reading the discussion I am rethinking ..."

Take it off of the sale shelf! I am only on chapter 4, however, there is something magical that is happening; I can't stop reading. It is a book about magicians, right?

I am currently doing something that I have not done in years. I have 4 books going at the same time. They are all very different from one another, so it should not be too difficult to keep them all straight.

Miss GP wrote: "Rick wrote: "I am finishing my first Terry Pratchett- Wyrd Sisters- and all I can say is that I now own about 25 of his books!! I am totally addicted to Pratchett! after just reading half of one bo..."

Miss GP..............I agree with you on Ghost Map and The Devil in the White City..... very interesting books. Another one you might like is The Great Mortality about the Black Death.

Every time I start to finish the books I've picked up from the library and start to go back to my to be read list (books I own and that have to wait as I read borrowed books) I come here (or some other thread on Goodreads) and end up with more books I want to borrow from the library... It's a sickness, an addiction!

Totally agree with you on that one Mike. I am beginning to think I will never get around to the books I own.

I love bringing books home from the library! Sometimes I even read some of them! :)

Nancy wrote: "Daphne wrote: "I am currently reading The English Patient. I am on a Man Booker award kick. I just finished Possession, a five star read (A.S. Byatt is a genius) and ear..."

Nancy I started
The Children's Book earlier this year but I didn't really have the time to devote to it. Her books are dense and need to be savored, so I really need to have a few weeks to sit and read it. I look forward to getting to it soon.

My current read is . This book has been on my list for a while and I finally picked it up. I'm pleased to say that I'm heartily enjoying it and its way better than the movie.

I tend to read a library book (Current thriller) and a classicfrom my very large home library.

Rick wrote: "Lai wrote: "Rick wrote: "Lai wrote: "Rick wrote: "Gail wrote: "I am currently reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I chose this book as is set in a period I love (early 1800's) com..."

Okay, will take your advice and start on Wyrd Sisters. Our bookshops here in the Phils carry Terry Pratchett but am not too sure if they have the whole bunch.

Pam wrote: "Kari wrote: " is a book that recently came into the shop I put it in the for sale shelf instead of the TBR shelf but after reading the discussion I a..."

Hi Pam, tried doing that once, start several books at the same time but i had a hard time trying to absorb what i read so i dropped it and went back to reading one at a time. :)

Mike wrote: "Every time I start to finish the books I've picked up from the library and start to go back to my to be read list (books I own and that have to wait as I read borrowed books) I come here (or some o..."

That is so true, Mike.Unfortunately for me, there are not so many good libraries near where i live so all i do is buy them in the local bookshops or order them from Amazon. Now, i have a tower of unread books in my room but i do hope to finish them all very soon!

Jill wrote: "..............I agree with you on Ghost Map and The Devil in the White City..... very interesting books. Another one you might like is The Great Mortality about the Black Death..."

Thanks, Jill! I'll put it on my list.

That is neat to know, Kari. And I agree, the book is way better than the movie.

I have created two groups on goodreads if you would like to check them out.

They are:

Fashion Book Lovers! (This group allows people to share and discuss fashion books that inspire them.)

http://www.goodreads.com/group/invite...

Augustan era to pre-World War II book club! (This group is for books written from 1700-1939 minus Jane Austen and Victorian era books since there are already groups for these. I created this group because a few books I have do not seem to fit into any particular group. There are already 90 books in the bookshelf to give you an idea when nominating for the bi-monthly group read)

http://www.goodreads.com/group/invite...

Hi! I'm new to this group and thanks for the invite.

I'm currently reading the Stieg Larsson Millenium series. Finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and am racing through the 2nd book, The Girl Who Played With Fire.

Hi all,

I am reading several books at once, but the one that is resonating the most for me in, Les Browns' "It's not over until You Win", It is an motivational read.

I am finding that with my multiple book adventure, aka MBA, I am picking one up more than the others. So, I suspect, that I am actually going to end up reading one through the end before picking up the next one and so on...

I am in sort of a reading slump right now. Not that I am not reading, but I just can't seem to find the right book. I have started 4 books in the last three days, and I think I have finally hit THE ONE. It is Secrets of Eden: A Novel by Chris Bohjalian. I am only 30 pages in and already I am loving it.

Vicki wrote: "Hi! I'm new to this group and thanks for the invite.

I'm currently reading the Stieg Larsson Millenium series. Finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and am racing through the 2nd book, The ..."

sad that he passed away before his Millenium series became such a phenom

Right now I'm reading a fantasy romance called MARKED by Elisabeth Thornton. I have learned so much about legends and mythology (and too regency, Victorian and medieval historical) and the like from reading romance books and this book MARKED has the theme of

The blurb about the series:
The Eternal Guardians Series is centered around seven warrors who protect their realm from threats of the Underworld.

Each of the guardians are descended from the seven strongest heroes in all of Greek mytholog.

Book one, MARKED, is Theron’s book. He’s the leader of the Argonauts and the one person who has the power to stop an evil god from destroying their world.

If you love mythology, action, adventure, suspense and romance, this is the series for you.

http://www.elisabethnaughton.com/book...

BIO OF GEORGE TIMMONS-HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

George Straatman embarked on a twenty year journey to create the trilogy "The Converging" in the early 1980's. He diligently researched several books on demons, the occult and mythology as was common belief predominantly between the fourteenth to the sixteenth century. His three novels are an accumulation of thousands of hours of work. They differ from the vigilante trend prevalent in many horror novels written in the past several years. It is noteworthy to mention that the seemingly unstoppable demon entities are two female antagonist along with another who is protagonist. To destroy the two demons, Cynara and Elizabeth, is some mere mortals to accomplish such a daunting task. His novels reflect the notion that not everything that appears to the reader as absolute is not the case when one completes reading them. George Straatman has also already wrote several fantasy books awaiting publication. The readers who have read the trilogy acknowledge the uniqueness of the novels as they are highly rated.

I just finished "Twain shall meet" by J. Guevera. If you know anything about Mark Twain, or even if you don't, it's a good read, very funny. The more you know about Twain, the funnier it is, but much of the humor is right in your face, laugh out loud funny whether you know anything about Twain or not.

I may have to check this out, Dave. Mark Twain is just about my favorite author.

It's available on Smashwords. It's' not in print at the moment. I was just talking with the author. He's in the Philippines these days, though he's an American. It's very difficult for him to get things printed from there.

This Body Of Death by Elizabeth George

Thanks Dave, I will definitely check it out.

Lyn M wrote: "Thanks Dave, I will definitely check it out."

He's on Goodreads, too.

Nan, write the book, then check your facts. Too much research ahead of time makes the book more like what others have done, not what you want to write. There's really no understanding psycopaths, they're crazy, so if you understand... LOL!

Lyn M wrote: "I am in sort of a reading slump right now. Not that I am not reading, but I just can't seem to find the right book. I have started 4 books in the last three days, and I think I have finally hit T..."

Lyn,
I've discovered Bohjalian's writing within the last year and a half and he's quickly become one of my favorite authors. If you enjoy "Secrets of Eden," you should check out both "Midwives" and "Skeletons at the Feast." Both are fantastic novels.

I'm currently reading the following books: "How the Scots Invented the Modern World" (because I lived in Scotland and have a true appreciation for their fried society), "Children in the Holocaust: Their Diaries" (because I wrote my Masters Dissertation on Holocaust Literature and am extremely fascinated by notions of identity and the Diaspora), and "F My Life" (a collection of blog posts about the terrible things that happen in everyday life...mainly because the stories make me laugh and identify with them). Next week I'll be moving on to new ones...yay!

One of my favorites from Bohjalian is Before You Know Kindness

curious if anyone read the many "New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" written by current authors- there seems to be about 5 collections - just wondering if they are worth reading

Probably not, if you're well read in the originals. Just the trailers of the Sherlock Holmes movie leaves me cold, they turned him into some kind of super hero fighting with brawn instead of his brain. I wonder if that comes from the new versions. I've rarely found that somebody else can do the original justice, but it does happen from time to time. The "executioner" series was written by one guy, I forget who at the moment, then for a while it was written by committee, they sucked. Eventually, they found one writer that could do the originals justice. J. Guevera does Twain quite well in Twain Shall Meet, but then he's not exactly trying to write like him except in the parts where Twain is speaking, and he does that well. I found the same thing with the Destroyer series, originally written by two guys, then one died out, the other couldn't carry on, so they tried various authors until they found a pair that could do it justice. For some reason, that series requires a pair of writers, I guess maybe because there are two main characters instead of one. I don't often care for the new Bond books either, and now even the movies really suck because the guy playing Bond isn't suave, cool, and debonair. Ian is probably rolling over in his grave. There was one Bond not written by Ian that was good, but it was written while Ian was alive, by a woman no less, but he made sure it was up to snuff before it was released.

Dave wrote: "Probably not, if you're well read in the originals. Just the trailers of the Sherlock Holmes movie leaves me cold, they turned him into some kind of super hero fighting with brawn instead of his br..."

Dave- I tend to agree with you- especially with remakes of films- when the new Sherlock Holmes film came out- and some friends asked me to go- as I rained down insults upon then- in deference to Rathbone and Bruce- they never EVEN heard of Basil Rathbone or Nigel Bruce- a rare exception was Murder By Decree- and that is only because the namesake of this Group played Watson- brilliantly

The new Sherlock Holmes film was a lot of fun! Sure, it had lots of special effects, but it had a good, creepy mysterious bad-guy that had to be thwarted by Holmes and Watson. Taken for what it was intended to be it was worth seeing!

Jeannette wrote: "The new Sherlock Holmes film was a lot of fun! Sure, it had lots of special effects, but it had a good, creepy mysterious bad-guy that had to be thwarted by Holmes and Watson. Taken for what it w..."

I will admitt that my brother loved it Jeanette
but I shall stick with the old ones and James Mason as Watson

I haven't seen the new Holmes film yet. I like the older films and the Brett series. Honestly, I really didn't care for Nigel Bruce's portrayal of Watson, but that could have been writers and directors.