The Dusty Bookshelf discussion

So was off work ill yesterday, managed to read The Alchemist and then start Nemesis. Quite like Jo Nesbo so all is good :)

Currently Reading : The White Tiger by Aravind Agiga

Anushri wrote: "Currently Reading : The White Tiger by Aravind Agiga"

I just got this book in the mail yesterday! Ordered from paperbackswap.com. What are your thoughts so far?


Currently reading: Bee Season
Just finished: The Girl's Guide to Homelessness
Up next: The Ice Queen (hopefully I can read this book.. since I found myself unable to listen to it on CD)

April Lyn wrote: "Anushri wrote: "Currently Reading : The White Tiger by Aravind Agiga"

I just got this book in the mail yesterday! Ordered from paperbackswap.com. What are your thoughts so far?


Currently reading..."

Its a good book. The description of Delhi is like no other!

Finished reading Highly recommend this one!

Now reading

Hayley wrote: "I finished Les Misérables (finally!) Lovely read if occasionally a bit long winded ;D Also finished
The Player of Games .

Mov..."

I loved the movie! Hope you enjoy the book!

I am reading Blue Sky Mountain by Linda lark Miller soon to start my Christmas books I have about 4 of them to read this year

Still haven't finished All Creatures Great and Small. It is such a dry read. I am going to force myself through it though! My plan is to have it finished by the end of this month.

I'm finally reading In a Dark House by Deborah Crombie, which I had included in my initial bookshelf for this group back when I joined. Over the year, I've gotten sidetracked by monthly themes (which have been a lot of fun!), reads for other groups, etc. I think I started with seven books I wanted to get to this year, and had only gotten to five so far. I am loving this book! Crombie is American, but sets her mysteries in England (like Martha Grimes). Each chapter starts with a quote from someone like Dickens or Shakespeare, and there is a great map at the beginning. There are a lot of different plot threads running through this book, but some of them are joining together now. I'm glad I finally got to it!

Now, if I can only get to Rebecca's Story by the end of the year, but even if I don't, my dusty bookshelf grew enough that I think I can be happy to have gotten some of them off the shelf.

I have started reading ravan & Eddie by Kiran Nagarkar . I must say this one is hilarious.

Currently reading: Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant
Just finished: Bee Season TERRIBLE & The Ice Queen HORRIBLE
Up next: The Summer of Naked Swim Parties: A Novel

Currently reading 50 Shades of Grey

I'm on a mystery-reading jag, and started one last night that I realized I have had for some years, so I've added to my dusty shelf/challenge. It's Born in Death, by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts). I have some mysteries that I ended up with because I didn't get my reply card back to The Mystery Guild in time, and I usually keep them because I might find a new favorite (discovered Martha Grimes and Elizabeth Peters this way), and this is one of them. My college roommate MIGHT come to visit for Christmas, so I am trying to read some that I think I will be willing to pass along, because she and her sister like mysteries, so I will give her some to bring back with her. I started with a couple of cozies, but then I remembered that her sister prefers police procedurals, so I decided to get through some of those. I am liking it so far; it is actually set in the future, although it's not too obvious, other than some high-tech stuff and mentions of off-world activities. So far it's just in New York, though, and I think it will stay there.

I'm on to another of my dusty mysteries - Isle of Dogs, by Patricia Cornwell. I knew it would be a police story, but it is really funny! Just about every character is a lunatic! Unfortunately, some are also criminals, including a homicidal maniac who believes she was a Nazi in a former life and can control other people and become invisible. There are a group of isolated islanders who are hysterical! At the point I'm at, they have taken the mainland dentist hostage and are demanding to secede from Virginia!

I'm reading Marvelous Work and a Wonder. It's good, but it always takes me forever to read non-fiction. I've been reading it for a month now.

I've been reading Story of O. *blushes*
It's done well, but at the same time, trying to add an actual story arc to it makes it stupid.

I'm currently reading Shantaram - it's a bit big but I want to get it read before I have to travel home for christmas - mainly to cut down on handbag space for the journey back ;)

I am Reading "Gone Girl"

I'm currently reading The Male Body by Susan Bordo. I normally don't enjoy books written from a feminists point of view because I find them preachy and very one sided but this book I like a lot so far!

I just did a re-read of Pride & Prejudice for a book club. With all of my being I want to rise above the majority, not be taken in by the whims of thousands of gullible women and not submits to the charms of this book, only giving it a four-star rating. Alas, I cannot. I picked this one as my "bedtime, something easy to put me to sleep" reading, and ending up listening to it practically all in one day. The writing is so engaging, the characters so believable and the story so engrossing that I simply could not put it down.

I thought to myself, "Well, if I must give it five stars, I must give creditable reason for doing so." Thus, here is my answer; the Bennett family is so captivating because every single one of us can envision one of its members in our own family. There is the outrageous mother who is so wishy-washy and fully focused on her own desires, to the neglect and outright indulgence of her children. Then we have the older sister, sweet, shy and often misunderstood simply because she is wise and does not wear all of her emotions on her sleeve. The bookish, yet unafraid to speak her mind, modern yet conscientious heroine who, despite her poor position, looks rather down her nose at her more wealthy neighbors, thinking that they in turn peer down their noses at her, how many of us could not relate to? Then there is Mary, who has very little going for her and often makes a joke of herself in public. The two youngest are the truest teenagers that cause nothing but anguish for the rest of the more mild household. Their father is a balance of propriety and indulgence, sometimes holding firm, other times allowing his wife her own ridiculousness.

The gentlemen are equally well presented. There is the rich yet shy gentleman who relies heavily on his friend's influence. There are the snobby sisters that think they are worth more to humanity than their more humble neighbors. The rich man who appears proud until the details of his life are sufficiently flushed out slowly becomes more amiable as the story goes on. Let's not forget, of course, the most outrageous character of all, the cousin who is completely prideful in his humility and spends most of the novel being a tattletale!

These wonderful characters, instead of becoming overwhelming and clashing horribly, are instead put together in such a way to create a smoothly flowing story of love, hate, forgiveness and civility that has rarely been matched. Yes, I am a woman and have so issues with admitting to my own bias for this particular novel, but it has so much to offer as a commentary on life in general that it has indeed earned the credit it has received not only for a romance but for a story of the class system and a character study. It's one I go back to again and again with no less enjoyment than the first time I read it years ago.

Currently reading Pure by Andrew Miller. I've just started it yet so nothing I can really put down in writing about it, it's okay so far.

Finished The Fault in Our Stars last night and it is a lovely book, highly recommended reading :D Must slowly pick up John Green's other works. I kind of had an inkling of what may have been coming but was not expecting how touching it would be.

Both of these books will be passe don to big sis... one by her request and one by my insistence ;)

I was grateful for Book Concierge's polite, very helpful tip. I'm stuck with telephone modem internet (slow) and plain text is a God-send. On blogs, badges and captchas make pages terrible to load and sometimes... don't.

My current read: "The Secret Adversary" 1922, Agatha Christie. Excellent and outrageously original so far.

C. : I do like a bit of Agatha Christie at times, it makes for a good weekend morning read :D

I've finished Pure (was okay I guess) and am now finally on to Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West which I have been wanting to get around to for an absolute age! Just started but hoping my excitement doesn't make me disappointed in any of the book :S

Hayley, people might find this as crazy as I do myself. For a life-long mystery lover: I just started sampling Agatha and Arthur Conan Doyle! As my reviews of them say, I wondered if old English works would be overly verbose (for me) like Shakespeare. Both are fantastic; clearly the reason for their fame! LOL

C. Considering the amount of mystery writers and novels out there, sometimes the classics get put on the back burner... 'they've lasted this long, they'll still be there when I get round to them.'
I did the same about a number of classics until the past few years. I love some of their verbosity - reminding myself the readers didn't have internet or television back then - as there are so many of them that survived with such beautiful use of the English language :)

I love descriptive imagery & language. Let's call what I dislike, superfluous wordiness that doesn't feel like real dialogue. I was impressed by Agatha & Arthur's extremely clever wit and unique but succinct conveyance. Even unusually-worded phrases struck me by how perfectly the points came across. An author CAN do it well.

I'm reminded of a chump I dated when dialogue is 'blah blah blah' without relevance to anything except trying to sound smart. ;) Some vocabularies flow naturally, others sound like they shoved marbles in their mouths. hehehe

Regarding classics, I'm getting to a few too; even children's ones.

'superfluous wordiness'... oh dear, I urge you to avoid unabridged Les Miserables then, I had to let out a mini scream every time he started going off on one, it became annoying as anything!

I hear you on the ex trying to sound smart... have one of those in my past! The type that randomly tries to come out with these 'philosophical observations' that really just sound like he wants to hear his voice some more, right? Soemtimes he'd go on for 5 minutes instead of just saying two words that would've summed it up better.

Which children's classics are we talking about here? I think I may have quite a few missing on my 'to-read' list :(

C. wrote: "My current read: "The Secret Adversary" 1922, Agatha Christie. Excellent and outrageously original so far."

Ah, one of my two favorite Christies! The other is The Seven Dials Mystery. But The Secret Adversary introduces Tommy and Tuppence, who are my favorite Christie sleuths. She didn't write too many with them, but they are gems. I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Enchantée Denise! Everyone: "C" is for Carolyn. :) A treat when folks take notice of what we jot. I shan't get to "Seven Dials" a while, collecting in order. But Tommy & Tuppence are memorable and the approach is refreshingly original. Well, I'll save gushing for my review.

At page 72 I only know Tommy is caught eavesdropping while Tuppence installs as a maid. No need to wonder if he was killed off but I'll forgive that! LOL! I'm glad the characters reprise elsewhere.

Thanks for warning about Victor Hugo. {GRIN} Mini screams? You must share my 'always finish' rule. It boded well for Beth Powning in "The Hatbox Letters". After 5 rambling (even if poetic) monologue chapters; two threads got really good. (As always, my stuff is here & at Amazon.ca). http://www.amazon.ca/gp/cdp/member-re...

Two books I dragged myself even harder to finish were "The Gathering", Anne Enright and "Death Dines Out", Claudia Bishop. To be fair, the latter was book 5 by accident. About arguing sisters rather than the mystery! Real name Mary Stanton has an awesome-looking paranormal series I already bought; I'm praying characters & writing are better.

Children's books? I just reviewed AWESOME ones; either owned since I was 5 or scored at a garage sale. Bryan Buchan "The Dragon Children" surprises you by how well done it is, good for youth to teens. Clyde Robert Bulla sticks to the core so toddlers can grasp it but they pull you in and are memorable! "Ghost Town Treasure" & "The Ghost Of Windy Hill".

I discovered EB White wrote "Stuart Little". I have "Trumpet Of The Swan" and am forcing myself to re-read "Charlotte's Web". I *hate* if an animal perishes and that's all I recall! :( I'm going to refresh myself on "Little Woman", Louisa May Alcott and try the sequel "Little Men". There's a youth author, Eric Wilson with a huge series of mysteries, some paranormal, set in Canada that I'm going to dig into.

I'm revisiting (buying cheaply, in order) good old Nancy Drew. I just finished book two and can't believe how much BETTER it is: "The Hidden Staircase". It's like they had a meeting after "The Secret Of The Old Clock" and said: 'okay team, we can't edit the life outta this one'. Lastly: I'm treating myself to "The Little Prince", whose French author mysteriously died outside Canada in WWII, in a plane like Amelia Airhart, just after finishing it.

Hmmm, I'm only familiar with The Tale of Jeremy Fisher by Beatrix Potter!

Brain freeze! I corrected my thread to "Stuart Little". Good catch.

Charlotte's Web - it's so beautiful (and sad, dammit!)and The Little Prince is definitely up there too! I must confess that, at the time I read it, I wasn't overly enamoured with Little Women and haven't really thought to go back and give it another try :S

hey guys....i am back...i have been so busy with my final year of architecture that i have been absent in pretty much everywhere...but hey.....i have just defended my thesis jury...and it's over..:D:D:D:D and i am an architect, as i speak ^^

i have not really read much this year...except for a few great ones (shiddhartha by hermann hesse..silent house bby orhan pamuk..God of small things by arundhuti ray..and the mountains echoed by khaled hosseini..etc.) i randomly started in car-drive to class and back home..and in kindle while my stay at my parents'...but i sure did not miss a chance of buying books ... :'( uhhuhhhuuuuu i am nuts... i absolutely had no time to read but i managed to buy books from the street hawkers sitting in the car...from old book stores with my sister..seemed absurd at that time (wasting money" some said)and now i have a pile of books ready for the vacation... ^^

among the pile..i have (old and very dusty copies of) the Harsh Cry of the Heron and Birdsong i am eager to start.. i bought them because one had Geetanjali quote in the writer's preface..and one because i had just watched "flowers of war" (no relevance, i was simply overwhelmed by the movie and on that instance, the cover of the book)...

anybody read any of the books... share your experiences here..?? (without spoilers pls..i will simply decide which one to read first on your responses..and i always love it if there's a story after a reading experience)

Congratulations, Lilaboti - that's great!!!

I'm currently reading Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee. The protagonist angers me (he's deliberately written as unlikable), but so far I'm still enjoying the book.

Am I the only one who is reading my Dusty Shelf from shortest book to longest? It kind of feels like cheating, but there's a reason why I chose Disgrace and Less Than Zero (which I just finished) over Gravity's Rainbow and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

I'm not but that's a good idea. It would make you feel accomplished finishing tons of books quickly :)

Alicia, you've given me a jumping off point of what to read next. I started reading Coetzee's Waiting for the Barbarians and never finished. I think I'll go back to it.

So somehow I've gotten into a kick of reading a bunch of memoirs/biographies off my shelves lately. I've done Lucky Man: A Memoir and now working through Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far and Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist. They work well for audiobooks in the car and I've been quite enjoying them.

I'm reading after reading

Currently reading The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul - it's alright. It was a birthday present from my grandparents but it's a touch more romanticised than I'm used to reading.

Since my parents are moving house they requested that us children take some books we love away with us - which has only added to my 'dusty tbr' pile as they were a compeltely separate dusty shelf that I had forgotten about - oops ;P

I am going to be in heaven soon! As I'm travelling alone to Berlin I have figured out how much reading time of A Feast for Crows I have available to me:
Friday evening at the hotel - I shall be aiming to get there mid-afternoon so haours left!
After check in at the airport: ~2 hours
On flight: 2 hour flight....

To think of all the reading I can get done then - it is beautiful!!

I love Frankenstein Lora :D Always a book I can reread.

I've been reading too many Netgalley books lately and it has completely eaten into my time for reading books I want to read. I'm supposed to be reading a buddy read and the month is almost over. It probably doesn't help that I take my kindle to work because it is easier to hide for some subtle reading and the book I'm supposed to be buddy reading (All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye) is a physical book. It is a reread for me so I know what happens but I read it years ago and I'm rereading everything the author has written.

So I have been binge reading this week. Sadly nothing from my Dusty shelf. All library books. However, I just finished Fairest by Marissa Meyer and it was such a wonderful read. I have read all the books in this series so far and love them! Anyone else reading her books? I am looking forward to Winter. I haven't checked to see when it will be released but planning to read it as soon as possible. It is a mix of fantasy, science fiction, fairy tales, and awesome!

I'm reading 3 books right now. *I must be feeling very multi-tasky (I created a word!) right now because I've also been on this de clutter kick. Anyway, current reads are Dragonfly in Amber, Yes, Please, and The Silver Witch. I can say all 3 are enjoyable but I'm really digging The Silver Witch!

I'm working on two books. I've been reading the Little House On The Prairie series out loud to my 15 month old twins since they were born. It started out as a way to handle the stress of them not sleeping because they wanted to be held all the time, so I would hold them and read out loud while they slept. Now we are on book 5 and my husband has joined us and won't let me read without him!
My personal book is The Joy Luck Club. I'm really enjoying it because I understand the gap between a mother and her daughter... It's really been speaking to me.

Jimi-carol, I too love Amy Tan's books. The last one I read was The 1000 Secret Senses, it was really good!!

Right now I'm reading And The Mountains Echoed, I love the way Khaled Hosseini pulls you in from the first sentence. I recently finished The Children Act, not my favorite Ian Mcewan book.

I'll have to look into more of Amy Tan's books.