Chicks On Lit discussion

Tera--I love it so far--but I am ahead in reading for the book of the month and I LOVED Octobers' reading.

I'm reading A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. I'm also still reading the Dark Elf Trilogy, but I've almost finished that. Since I've already read the Dark Elf Trilogy I just read bits and pieces here and there.

re: 39
Laura, what does "clean fiction" mean?


re: 34 & 34, I wanted to add Chesil Beach to my to read list, but I noticed there are two versions: On Chesil Beach and just plain ol' Chesil Beach. Which one did you read??? :)

Teri I think your husband and my boyfriend should be BEST FRIENDS.......do you think if we put them in a room together no one would speak? Or it would be one word answers only? I want to know who would ask the first question though!! LOL Totally joking...well not really....he and I just got into it last night about how un-receptive he is to me telling him things he "doesn't care about". UGH!!!

LOL on the cover of "Prep", Brittany! That was my consensus as well! :)

Okay...adding East of Eden to my "to read list" right now...

I think you will love that book Emily.

Hi Amanda - clean fiction means nothing explicit sex-wise, no cussing, etc. I don't want to send her something I know will offend her.

Oh. Would she read Margaret Atwood? Probably not, huh? That makes me so sad. I want every woman in the world to read Margaret Atwood! She's one of the few authors that I'm fanatical about. I love love love her!

I don't think I've ever read Margaret Atwood, so I'm not sure. What would I start with if I wanted to read her?

I started with The Edible Woman

which I loved. The most amazing thing about it (to me) is that she wrote it at a time when women weren't really free to take charge of their own lives.

Her most famous work, however, is The Handmaid's Tale

She writes some dystopian novels and some "regular" novels. The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel, set in the US in our not too distant future. In our society, the church has taken over the state and women have been stripped of all their rights and most of them even have their children taken away. It's miserable, but not altogether impossible.

Margaret Atwood makes me proud to be a woman.

I am currently reading, "Through Time Into Healing" by Brian Weiss.
He has written many metaphysical novels, of which this is one.
He is a psychiatrist who treats his patients using a method called "regression therapy" to help his patients realize their past lives, which in turn help them to understand their current life.
The underlying belief is in reincarnation.
Its a whole new idea for me, and its an interesting read.
His first book, "Many Lives, Many Masters" is a good lead into this book. I thoroughly enjoyed "Many Lives, Many Masters".
Sharon

Yay Atwood! She's someone who if they have a new book out, I get agitated until I have it in my hands.

I recently finished Shantarum which was a loooong and heavy read but excellent, and now I'm on Neal Stephenson's new book Anathem which was not a smooth start - it has different vocabulary words and takes place on an alternative universe (maybe) with complex history which ordinarily wouldn't be a problem for me, except my brain had to work for Shantarum and it wanted to shut down with my next book! So I'd only read a few pages at a time, which didn't help since I lost all continuity. After a week of this, something finally clicked and I'm loving it.

Kate....in response to your question...I finished Alice Sebold's The Almost Moon last night. I have not read Lucky, but The Lovely Bones was probably one of my favorite books that I've read this year. I even dreamed about it while I was reading it!
The Almost Moon, to me, didn't "capture" me nearly as much as The Lovely Bones. I think I liked it better than you (from seeing your 1-star rating of it), but I kept having to go back and re-read sections of it to remember what was going on. It hasn't put me off her as an author...just hope her next book will be better!

I am reading The Time Traveler's Wife. Loving it so far.

I am reading it now too,
ashley! Where are you in the story?

I just finished "Lucky" by Alice Sebold and couldn't tear myself away from it. She is very courageous. It was so interesting as a writer to read her 'real life experience' and contemplate how that had affected (and given birth to) her narrative in "The Lovely Bones."

Our group read this month is exactly what you are describing you want.....

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27...

I also really liked Blessings by Anna Quindlen. Also The Myth of You and Me by Leah Stewart.

What kind of books do you like Ashley?

Ashley, if you have a list of books that you have read, you can link to see who else on here has read them and also see what else they are reading...it may be a good idea to get a good idea of like-minded book opinions!

Ooh, Ooh, what Holli said AND Colony by Anne Rivers Siddons. If you try that one and don't love it, I will buy you a gift certificate to Amazon!!

I am about to finish Lucky by Alice Sebold and I must say it is an incredibly honest, pure and heroic account of her rape. It makes me very grateful for the work of victim advocates that we have in court rooms and for victims today. I happen to run a victims services agency and I cannot begin to tell you the value of having someone there with you every step of the way explaining everything.

Alice did an amazing job detailing her feelings, experiences and her strength. Lucky

I highly recommend this book!!!

Has anyone read Their Eyes Were Watching God? I think that is my next read! Their Eyes Were Watching God

Jennifer--I enjoyed Their Eyes Were Watching God. It is a fast read too. Enjoy :)

I plan to dive into tonight at a football party :) I always bring my books, ha!

Their Eyes Were Watching God is a great book, Jennifer.

I'm curious to know how those who are reading The Time Traveler's Wife are enjoying it?

Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters. So far, it is really interesting. I also really enjoyed Tipping the Velvet, by Sarah Waters as well.

I finished "The Middle Place" by Kelly Corrigan Friday night. It was one that sucked me in and I didn't put it down until I was finished.
I just started "For the May Queen" by Kate Evans. I'm not too far into it, but am really liking it so far. Thanks, Kate!!

Amanda,

It is On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan that I was referring to. I really liked it.

I have always picked up "The Middle Place" because I am intrigued by the book cover...but I always put it back for some reason. I will pick it and and take it the next time.

Emily~ I am about 3/4 done with "The Time Traveller's Wife" and I am enjoying it, although I am finding it difficult to keep straight who is living in the present ( Clare or Henry) and who is travelling and reminescing ( sp?)
What are your thoughts on it?

I'm currently reading 'Notes From a Small Island' by Bill Bryson. Anyone read it?

I'm halfway thru Wildfire by Nelson DeMille.. anyone else read this?

i really like the main character John Corey, he is such the smartass. He was used in NightFall also and i remembered i liked him.

i was on a DeMille kick a few years back and am glad i wandered into his world again.

Cyn, it *is* hard to keep that straight. I read it on a vacation, and I read it voraciously, which kept me on track.

The ending is...OK, I won't give anything away.

You know what I decided I hate about GRs? I hate the "Currently Reading" bit. I hate that, because I inevitably put up a book that I'm starting. Decide I cant get into it or don't like it - Pick up another book or two or four along the way that I do end up reading but for some reason cant seem to take off the book I said I was reading! Why do I let these little things hang me up?!
I'm supposed to be reading Glass Castle but I just cant get into it. yeah she was poor and her parents are nutcases... welcome to my world.
I really feel like reading a Jane Austen book but I feel like I'm obligated to give Glass Castle another go because I was dumb enough to put it on my Currently Reading list.
I swear after this I am never putting a book on that shelf again!

*crazy girl rant off stepping off her soapbox and going to take a bath*

Emily~ I finished it last night....I didn't get the sequence of the ending at all!!!

tera~ I so agree with you on the "currently reading" list..I always have 3 or 4 books going at once and it sometimes does take me awhile to decide which ones I am going to continue with for hte present time! LOLOL

Tera,
The Glass Castle makes for a great audio book if you can't get into the read. I think it is really well done, but one of the things I like about it is the New York City part (being a nyc gal myself) which might not hook others.

I agree with you too Tera - completely. BUT even though I used to spend pages & pages w/a book, the one thing I've learned from GR is that life is too short for that $%^t.

There are WAY too many books that I want to read, or need to read just for the education I missed in school. I am not going to feel bad for putting down something I can't get into anymore.

Since Jane Austen is my favorite author - which one are you going to read??? Pride & Prejudice? Enquiring minds wanna know!

;)

Oh I loved Glass Castle.....what I liked the most about it is that even though all this weirdness went on in her life she stayed totally normal and non-whiny about it all.

Tera....I put things up on my currently reading shelf and if i don't like them I mark them as read and then write on my review why I couldn't finish it or I just put it back on my to be read shelf to re-visit later. :)

I was thinking something a little more obscure than her famous stuff which I have already read. I was going to give Lady Susan another go. But I decided it's just bugging me too much not to finish something that is on my list. So, I started reading Glass Castle again. One of my best friends who I grew up with since forever gave me the book to read after I told her I had heard good things about it. She and I both have the same sort of feelings towards it. "Been there done that". I just assumed everyone grew up dirt poor with crazy parents. I didn't know I could write a book about it and make some bank!
I totally have to start thinking outside the box.

LOL, for sure Tera!!

:)

Ashley....I actually think Meg suggested it not me. Its a great book though huh?? I loved it!!!

Ashley !!! I'm so excited! You just made my Monday, girl.

I can't wait to see what you think of Colony! Have you read any other Siddons books?

OHHH....Duh! It must be a blond day! LOL ok...I gotcha now.

She has tons of great ones in my opinion, but of all the ones I've read, Colony was the best. Once you finish w/Colony, if you like it, I'll be glad to tell you some others of hers to think about.

Tera, read PERSUASION. It's my favorite! I totally love the new BBC movie version of it as well.

Cyn, I'm adding you as a friend so we can discuss TTTW more fully. :)

Cyn- I am sorry I didn't get on here this weekend. I finished TTTW and I liked it a lot. What did you think?

Since I read that and The Kite Runner is next I decided to read Visions of Sugar Plums (149 pages) to give myself a silly break between the 2 heavy books.

AHHH I love me some Stephanie Plum!

Okay I feel like a literary loser but I cannot get into Their Eyes Were Watching God...it is taking me too long to re-read the pages to get the dialogue down. I know I suck but I just can't do it, it doesn't flow in my mind--it could be my lack of patience...maybe another time.

On to The Shackand thus far LOVING the writing style and story line.

Tera- Isn't Stephanie Plum great. I read the comments people left about the book and I was sad because I loved it. Supernatural or not.