Books on the Nightstand discussion

I just finished the http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12... Serpent's Kiss by Melissa de la Cruz. It was the sequel to the Witches of East End. I didn't care for it. I started http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13... The Sandcastle Girls but it is heavy so I need to take breaks. I began http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/93... Night Circus and everyone says it's great but I've gotten to a slow start.... I guess the next one is http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11... but I kind of lost my drive to read it. Maybe it's the dog days.... going away for a few days, I'll get my reading mojo back. :-)

Oh well I guess I didn't do the pictures right... sorry you guys.

just hit the "add book/author" button above the box and search for your book that way. you can either place a link or a cover of the title you are posting (at the bottom of the page). try it that way.

Reading Crossing the Borders of Time: A True Story of War, Exile, and Love Reclaimed and really enjoying this. It's a page turner, which I don't often say about non-fiction.

Suite Francaiswhich I really enjoyed, followed by Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spywhich I did not enjoy.

This afternoon I completed Old Filthwhich I would recommend in a heartbeat. Moving on toMadness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reasonand Silent Spring.

Denise, I adored Suite Francaise an several of her other books.

Blair wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "I started ."

Please post about it - I've had it on my shelf for ages and never seem to get around to it. An intriguing review may be wha..."

i found the book a bit slow in parts, but i did like the way the characters' lives are all intertwined. this is not a plot driven novel, so don't look for resolution necessarily in all of the characters' stories. it's really a picture of the lives of these people.

i can see why it's a classic and i'm glad i read it.

Elizabeth wrote: "just hit the "add book/author" button above the box and search for your book that way. you can either place a link or a cover of the title you are posting (at the bottom of the page). try it that way."

Thank you!

Linda wrote: "Claire wrote: "I'm reading and really enjoying it."

It was a great read, Claire."

It really is, Linda, and so interesting. I didn't know alot of the historical stuff!

I'm (finally!!) reading The Pillars of the Earth which has been on my reading list since early high school. I'm really enjoying this one. There's no question why it's such a well-renowned book.

Just finished reading . Now I'm trying to find my next READ read book. The last few weeks I have been listening to one in the car on my drive to work and reading one at home. Right now listening to and if I can finished that before the end of the month I have in Audio at the library waiting to be picked up. Can't make up my mind what to READ next. I have been reading like mad this year and am up to 54 books, for me thats awesome since Jan-June I was also in college. Now that I'm graduated I have more time on my hands after work. Possibly will reread before starting . Next month rereading to prepare for the new one.

Just finished The Help. It was a great book. Now I want to see the movie.

Denise wrote: "Denise, I adored Suite Francaise an several of her other books."

First of her books I have read but i will certainly be visiting with others.

I just started a new (temporary) job with a depressingly long commute, so my reading time is down, but my listening time is up. Just finished audio of Ken Follett's Triple , a high-suspense novelization about Middle Eastern nuclear armament. (But it's fun, really!) My only complaint was that the narrator was no good at accents, which can be a problem with a multinational spy thriller. The character who was supposed to have a Cockey accent sounded half-Australian, half-Texan-with-a-speech-disorder.

I just started I love Tana French. My favorite was

I finished up with . Short but I'm glad I finally got to read it.

I'm waiting on some ebooks to come off hold from the library, but the next audiobook on my list is

Just finished The Why Cafe. Ask yourself, Why are you here? Do you fear death? Are you fulfilled?

Neat little book I won off the giveaways.

I am reading Passage to India. I love E M Forster books and have read A Room With a View and Howard's End. I have never read Passage to India. I also want to read Where Angels Fear to Tread

I really liked Tortilla Curtin. It was good and thoughtful. I would really like to hear your thought about the book after you have read it.

Just started "Sometimes a Great Notion," the book Ken Kesey wrote after "One Flew over the Cookoo's Nest." My husband started reading it, found the narrative style complex, so I went out and bought a copy so I could read along. We have friends who consider this one of the greatest novels of the second half of the 20th Century. We shall see!

Starting . Will follow up with some serious non-fiction:

I won't dare spoil anything about this book for you. Just read it. A very well constructed tale, with at least one unforgettable character.

Elizabeth wrote: "Started Shantaram in print the other day and am hooked. And it is nice fat book which delights me no end. :-)"

One of my all-time favorite books about India. Be sure to google the author for some very interesting interviews and background information.

I just finished which I loved!

I've started Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir which I think I'm going to enjoy and

I'm reading e-book samples of Sandcastle Girls and the Unlikely Pilgramage of Harold Fry to see what I download next.

I read Fifty Shades of Grey on my friend's Kindle which I took on vacation. I was not impressed...now I'm told that I need to read all three books in the trilogy...what if I'm still not impressed? In the meantime, I'm reading The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Istop4books wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "Started Shantaram in print the other day and am hooked. And it is nice fat book which delights me no end. :-)"

One of my all-time favorite books about India. Be sure to google t..."

Oooh! I LOVE Shantaram!The audiobook experience is incredible (narrated by Hunphrey Bower.) It's been 4 or five years since I experienced it and I'm still more than a little in love with Lin :-) A word of warning though, it may absolutely ruin other books about India for you!

Karen wrote: "I just started I love Tana French. My favorite was "

I loved The Likeness, too. It reminded me a bit of The Secret History, another book I love. I thought Broken Harbor was excellent, too. I really enjoyed it.

I'm already waiting impatiently for her next book!

Just finished Vixen03 and now starting on some of the trade paperbacks I've had piling up, starting with Batman:Life after Death, and then the Gotham Central series.

I finished , which I really enjoyed, then [[bookcover:The Song of Achilles|11887641], which is one of my top picks this year. I am currently reading , which is completely different and has been on my TBR for a long while.

Istop4books wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "Started Shantaram in print the other day and am hooked. And it is nice fat book which delights me no end. :-)"

One of my all-time favorite books about India. Be sure to google t..."

Will do. Am so loving it. Have slowed down my reading to drag it out.

Tanya/dog eared copy wrote: "Istop4books wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "Started Shantaram in print the other day and am hooked. And it is nice fat book which delights me no end. :-)"

One of my all-time favorite books about India. ..."

Tanya, I had not considered the audio version. Might try that a couple of years from now. Shantaram raises the bar for books in general does it not? :-)

i am reading .

After both Anne and a really good friend of mine recommended The Absolutist I had to get to it. My friend named it her favorite read of the summer and said we have to discuss it. So, it moved to the top of my list.

Started listening to and reading for my book discussion last week. Read it many, many years ago.

I am reading The Other Woman's House by Sophie Hannah.
The book is both annoying (hard to swallow and follow) and hard to put down. And just as things in this story appear and disappear, I have had a hard time posting this books as "currently reading" and it doesn't show the progress bar (which is motivation for me to finish a book). Odd indeed.

A Discovery of Witches
by Deborah Harkness; narrated by Jennifer Ikeda

I finally finished A Discovery of Witches (by Deborah Harkness; narrated by Jennifer Ikeda.) It took a record TWO months to listen to 20 hours of audio. Needless to say, I didn't care for it that much. Only a perverse determination to attempt to find out why so many of my friends like this book kept me going when I should have DNFed it. I just don't think it's a good sign when you're protags are in life-or-death situations and you're rooting for the bad guys to win out! I pre-ordered the sequel as an eBook; a decision I regret because it will sit there unread, maybe forever. I just don't care what happens next . Jennifer Ikeda has a lovely voice; but the mispronunciations drove me nuts and I probably won't willingly look for her as a narrator again.



The Weight of the Nation: Surprising Lessons about Diets, Food, and Fat from the Extraordinary Series from HBO Documentary Films
by John Hoffman et al; narrated by Bernadette Dunne

I have started listening to The Weight of the Nation (by John Hoffman and Judith Salerno, MD, MS, with Alexandra Moss; narrated by Bernadette Dunne.) I watched HBO's four-part documentary over the weekend and found it absolutely fascinating. It talks about the condition, causes and effects of being overweight and/or obese. Truly a revelatory work. The audio, by itself, doesn't amount to much; but it's a great companion piece to the documentary in that it reinforces the material from the show. Bernadette Dunne's narration so far is very neutral, appropriate for non-fiction. I'm not sure what she could have done to make this a *spectacular* listen.



The Boy in the Suitcase
by Lene Kaaberbøl

On my iPhone/Kindle app, I'm reading The Boy in the Suitcase (by Lene Kaaberbol; translated by Agnete Friis.) I had avoided reading tis book because I thought the story was about a dead boy's body being stuffed in a suitcase; but I have been told this is not so. I hope my friend was not lying to me! Anyway, it was available for $1.99 via Kindle only, so I decided to break my AMZN ban and get it. So far, nothing has happened to connect the short chapters told about different people...



You Only Live Twice
by Ian Fleming

In print, I'm about to start You Only Live Twice (James Bond novel by Ian Fleming.) I need to get that read this week and jump into the audio of The Man with the Golden Gun (narrated by Simon Vance) next week in time for Saturday's live tweet up of the discussion and movie :-)

i finished which has an interesting voice and perspective.

i started last night.

Catching up on books I put on my lighter-read list last year like:

The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove which was not as good as The Help, with a weak ending

and

The Irresistible Henry House enjoying this one so far

I loved Henry House.
I finished The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry which had an interesting twist I didn't see coming and today I am starting Broken Harbor

Finished Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption and The Age of Miracles. Loved both of them!
Struggling to finish A Discovery of Witches. I started this book in January. It is extremely boring and I just don't understand the hype. We'll see if I can finally finish it.

Joa wrote: "Struggling to finish A Discovery of Witches. I started this book in January. It is extremely boring and I just don't understand the hype. We'll see if I can finally finish it. "

OMG, YES! I thought I was going to scream with another description of zen-like moments when the protag was rowing, or running, or doing yoga, or touching Matthew's face... Part of it too was that I listened to the audio and the narrator read every scene with the same energy, utterly draining the story of any tension or real drama. The scene where she was doing yoga was treated with the same calm as any other, including the action scenes.

Glad to hear others say it was boring...I agree. The premise is fascinating but the execution was miserable.

Just finished Wuthering Heights about to finish .

Next on my list is 1984 followed by , So I'll have read it well in advance of the Ang Lee film adaptation coming this Christmas.

I just finished which was a fun summer read. I'm in the middle of and the book is really starting to take off for me. It's another book that's been touted as the next "Harry Potter". If I enjoy it half as much as I did those books, I'll be thrilled.

Joa wrote: "Finished Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption and The Age of Miracles. Loved both of them!
Struggling to finish A Discovery of Witches. I started this book in Janua..."

Totally agree about A Discovery of Witches. I wad so disappointed in it. Made it half-way through the book when I finally put it down for good.

Set to Sea by Drew Weing


A classic and endearing story with graphics that tell another story on each page. This short, but deep, "carpe diem" story is a delight and the drawings are magnificent. Well worth your time.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand is a nice read. The authour definitely has talent as a writer as she is able to create memorable characters and a good story. However, I was often bored while reading this book. It reminded me of the "Cozy Mystery" genre where the the quaint English village is too quaint by far, and the attitudes of the inhabitants are predictable in their necessary roles. The character of Major Pettigrew is the novel's saving grace as his portrait is well-rounded and believable, though occasionally bordering on caricature. I ended up skimming some of the novel, but I kept up with it so that I would be able to find out what happens between Major Pettigrew and Mrs. Ali. Three stars out of five.

I have had great August reads! I finished and am now reading for one of my book clubs. I am also reading for the Soho crime read-a-long. I am not doing them in order, as I have read some and then have waited to get others from the library.

Blankets by Craig Thompson (2003)

A modern take on the classic coming of age story in graphic novel form. The art within this novel is beautiful. The story is deeply honest and often heart wrenching, but ultimately very hopeful. I think this is quite a monumental work that deserved every award it received: Three 2004 Harvey Awards for Best Artist, Best Graphic Album of Original Work, and Best Cartoonist as well as two 2004 Eisner Awards for Best Graphic Album and Best Writer/Artist. 5 stars for sure.

I am reading Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks


The story continues to surprise me as it unfolds. Being a New Englander (now living elsewhere) this story appeals to me. I also knew a rather prominent Wampanoag family when I lived in Boston, so I have long been interested in their history.