What book are you reading?

[ylisa7]

I just finished two books. The first was given to me by the author, Miss Fortune by Albina Hume. It was interesting but not one I would really recommend. It's the story of a village girl born on Ukraine who has trouble pronouncing the letter r. This leads to teasing and her feeling of feeling unwanted and unloved. This makes her most determined to change her life and find true love. She has some bizarre things happen to her that as an American woman I cannot even fathom.


Last night I finished the Rosie Effect. This one was not as good as the first one until it got in about halfway. Don is a trip and I love all of the "innocent" fiascos he gets himself into.

Now I am reading Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah.

[phonelady61]

im reading these three books , the book of strange new things , captive paradise the history of Hawaii , the handsome mans deluxe café by alexander McCall smith who happens to be one of my fave authors and I have been reading the no 1 ladies detective agency series since I read the first one . I love that series .

[LookinForMayberry]

Good Morning and Happy Sunday!

Okay, so I apologize in advance because I (once again) have forgotten about City-Data in my daily internet perambulations and find myself catching up on posts missed -- so many of which I want to chime in. I know this is my ego exerting itself, so if you don't want to bother with my tidbits just zip past the following to the end, or move on all together because truly I don't have anything important to say, really.

Originally Posted by DawnMTL

Okay, so you know that I'm reading The Nobodies Album, which has a bit of a mystery in it. Well, I've never really read mysteries. The few times that I've tried, I got lost in them -- I couldn't keep track of what I was supposed to keep track of, which was frustrating. Anyway, those of you who have read mysteries: Do you ever find that you're wondering why X question was asked? I'm reading this and I'm wondering why nobody's asked who called the police. I'm baffled. If this was a mistake by the author, I'm going to be angry. If I forgot that it was already asked, then I'm going to be even angrier (although, without going back 50 or more pages, I'll never know that it was my own fault). And if someone asks the question in the next 10 or 20 pages, then this entire post will have been for naught....

I hope you never give up your ridiculousness.

Originally Posted by younglisa7

I am on vacation and for the drive Iistened to the beginning of Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl:

I HAVE to read this book. It's even at one of my preferred library locations, just waiting for me.

Thank you.

Originally Posted by Marlow

At the library I picked up a copy of The Boys From Brazil by Ira Levin. It was published in 1976 but I never read it and for some reason it was on the new release table.

Sounds like something that I would've read at the time, but now that I think about it I'd just left my ex, moved across the country and was working and going to school so maybe it got past me.

Originally Posted by Holly-Kay

I was very impressed with the author's vocabulary. He used words that are almost never seen in modern literature.

I love authors that are not afraid to write to an educated reader. It's an honor to find a word I have to look up in the dictionary.

Originally Posted by Mayvenne

... I just finished Breakfast of champions by Kurt Vonnegut. ... I guess I don't really "get" him. I will likely try another of his, but I somehow feel too old.(or is this not the book I should have started with?)

My experience with Vonnegut is that all works are not created equal in the eyes of the reader. If you don't like one it doesn't mean you won't like another.

Originally Posted by TracySam

... I think a really great book of his that gets overlooked is Galapagos, from the 90s. It had some things in common with Slaughterhouse Five, like jumping around in time, and talking about characters in terms of what WILL happen to them in the future. It's basically the story of how human beings become extinct, except for a small group visiting the Galapagos Islands, who then evolve into...well, something else. And the whole story is told by a guy who is actually a ghost, because he's the only one who observed all this stuff happening over thousands of years. ...

Thanks TracySam, I am going read this one for sure!

Originally Posted by TracySam

I just looked this up, because it sounds like something I definitely want to read, but I'm confused. The author has a book called Gone to Ground that came out 2/26/15, and then another one called Underground in Berlin which doesn't come out until 9/8/15, but the descriptions to the books look identical. You mention both titles above. Are they the same book or different? if the same, why two different titles?

Originally Posted by DawnMTL

Hello. Good afternoon. This is Netwit's secretary. I can help you with that question:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/39741984-post14793.html

Thanks to Netwit, TracySam AND Dawn. I've suggested that my library buy it. WE need to read this book.

Originally Posted by i_love_autumn

Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II by Keith Lowe[5-stars] was an excellent but SHOCKING and eye-opening read.Very hard to continue at times,because of the horror described.For Europe the horror of WWII did not end for years. Just trying to survive in a devastated continent and avoid those who were out for vengeance was a daily obstacle.No one,including the U.S. was honoring the Geneva Convention!Some of our soldiers lined the Germans up against a wall and shot them down, outright! This book totally illustrates how war dehumanizes people to an unimaginable extent. ...

I sympathize with your outrage ILA, but offer this one tiny correction: It is not war that dehumanizes people. War is a human act. It is PEOPLE that dehumanize people. It is US that allow others to be dehumanized. Never accept less. Remember: "Hatred never ceases by hatred, but by love alone is healed." (Buddha)

Originally Posted by phonelady61

... has always been a fear of mine I would be out walking my dog and I would have something happen to me and the dog would not know where to go and end up getting hurt.

Fear not. Your dog will stay with you. Even when you are down and out. Be happy.

Originally Posted by pinetreelover

I just finished The Stranger. I hated the ending!!!...

Our Seattle weekly publication of events, commentaries, etc is "The Stranger." For one brief instant I was puzzled at how it could enrage you. It does have a perverse view of the world, but it is mostly a pretty good read! The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper

I finished "Broken English" by P.L. Gaus and have move on to "And Sometimes I Wonder About You" by Walter Mosley. The former: I didn't like 30% of the way through and only hung on because of the Amish interest. By the end I didn't like it enough to say I am glad I did. The latter: I am three pages into it and already love it. The question begs to be asked: "Why don't I just trust my instincts and stop when I think it sucks?

Walter Mosley has never disappointed me.

[loves2read]

Finished #8 in Charlie Resnick English police series by John Harvey
Easy Meat
One of top 2-3 so far
Great plotting--seems like so many story lines are not connected but Harvey/Charlie weaves them together by book's end but just whets your appetite to go to #9-- which I certainly did...

[Deelighted]

Originally Posted by LookinForMayberry

I love authors that are not afraid to write to an educated reader. It's an honor to find a word I have to look up in the dictionary.

I agree!

[Holly-Kay]

Originally Posted by Deelighted

I agree!

Me too! I was truly enchanted by the writing and wonderful use of the English language.

I finished The Governor's Wife this afternoon after all my hissing and moaning over what a bore it was. The story started to pick up speed mid way through. Once it started to get interesting it remained so. I still can only give it a three out of 5 but then again We Are Not Ourselves set a high standard for comparison.

[i_love_autumn]

I read and enjoyed the children's book " The One And Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate that was mentioned by Lisa07.
Then I tried Relic by Preston and Child,and I seem to remember that I tried another of theirs before and found it too gruesome and full of profanity for my tastes,same with this one.

Then I read and did manage to finish~Creature by John Saul but it was rougher than I had found his books before as far as gore and profanity. Very interesting story,though.YA-- An excellent example of the horror genre, although not as extreme as Stephen King. When Craig Tanner is offered a promotion by TarrenTech and the family moves to Silverdale, Colorado, everything seems perfect. It is a company town with quaint houses, little commercialization, and a community that supports its sports teams. Mark Tanner develops dramatically as an athlete after several sessions at the Rocky Mountain High sports center where the football players are given workouts. This is only the beginning of a training program that has some terrifying results. Creature will be widely read by athletes and sports fans.

Next I tried what was supposed to be an action/thriller by Clive Cussler~ Vixen03... but only made it to page 15 before I almost fell out of my chair laughing when Dirk's girlfriend comes into her father's garage [they are staying at his cabin] where Dirk has found the nose gear to an airplane.He tells her that he needs her help to load it into the jeep so he can take it to someone to help identify it,and that she might want to take off her blue nighty so she doesn't get it dirty,so she does that and proceeds to push the large nosegear up boards into the back of the jeep,while "naked"! Yeah like any woman alive would be THAT IDIOTIC,LOL! That killed it for me,no way could I take that book as a thriller with a scene that ridiculous in it! Guess only a man could appreciate that visual,lol,lol,lol!

[DawnMTL]

Do you ever shorten your "to read" list WITHOUT having actually read the book?

I do this sometimes. It's cleansing. I look over my "to read" list. Some of the books seem like they could be removed -- based on nothing tangible, my desire has just waned. I look up a few of the books -- again -- on Amazon. Read the synopsis again. (At this point, I'm a bit closer to removing it from the list.) Read a few reviews. (Closer.) Read the sample. (Even closer.) Read the synopsis one more time. (Aaaand... GONE!)

Do you do a spring cleaning (in any season) of your "to read" list, finding that books that you'd once been excited about now just make you shrug?

[fromupthere]

Originally Posted by DawnMTL

Do you do a spring cleaning (in any season) of your "to read" list, finding that books that you'd once been excited about now just make you shrug?

Yes I do. I used to have so many freebies that I had collected on my Kindle, but I started re-reading the synopses when I'd be in a rut and discovered that so many of them didn't appeal to me in the least. I definitely gotten out of that habit.

I also do that with my regular books and am probably due again. I've pulled so many off my shelves and have given them to my mom, a friend for her neighborhood little free library (as I don't live in a spot that is conducive to having my own), a few to other reader friends, and have a huge load that I'm taking to a used bookstore that I really, really like. (They give free books to people when it is their first visit to the store which I think is so awesome.)

Books make me happy, physical and e versions, owning, sharing, giving away.

[pinetreelover]

I'm currently reading a book that was recommended on the Book board of Flipboard (great app, by the way!) It's called The Rocks by Peter Nichols. I'm about 18% in and am still very uncertain if I'm going to like it or hate it. The setting is beautiful - Mallorca: think sun, salt air, olives, hills, oranges and lemons, parties at night, "handsome" women, music...

There was one pretty shocking sexual dalliance that has not really been fleshed out (no pun intended!). If that event is central to the story and was purposeful, then I'm OK and will keep reading, but if it is just indicative of a bunch of pseudoshocking sexy bits, then I'll move on to something else.

More later!