The Next Best Book Club discussion

I am curious to know what everyone is currently reading.

I just finished High Fidelity by Nick Hornby this morning and jumped right into The Town That Forgot To Breathe.

Strange book to pick up after reading HF, since its a bit supernaturalish. Im already 40 pages into it and its a bit odd. Seems to jump around from one town person to another, but its definetly got my attention.

Has anyone read it before?

The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke. The story is set in New Orleans after Katrina and features Burke's Dave Robicheaux.
I've read all his books, and they are all good. This one may be his best.

Red Evans author On Ice

Right now I'm reading Stalemate by Iris Johansen (the most recent in the Eve Duncan series). And when I'm finished that one...I've got Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty on my bedside table. I should be getting to it in a couple days.

Currently I am reading:
Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson. I wouldn't recommend it. It has great characters, great concepts, and real feasibility as well as explainations of the science involved. Unfortunately, it's the third book in a series and all of the books are drier than a bad textbook. That's why I've set it aside for months at a time.
Patriotic Treason: John Brown and the Soul of America by Evan Carton. This is well written and really explains the motivations of one of the most overlooked shapers of our society. Also, this probably has been a textbook but still worth reading. Thank the bookstore (no free advertising here) for the bargain table. I find so many good historical books there.
Dragon Wing by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hichman. I'm just getting into this one and don't have a concise explanation of it yet.
Does my check book count? It's very creative and complete fiction.

I am currently knee deep in the Dexter Series... I finished Darkly Dreaming Dexter last nite (a day and a half), and I am already half way through the Dearly Devoted Dexter.

I have Dexter in the Dark sitting on my counter patiently waiting its turn.

Has anyone read these series before? I tend to like to read series once they have at least a few novels in the series released. I dont like reading one, then waiting a yr before the next one comes out....

However, Im kinda upset I didnt pick these up earlier. I really like the character, the fact that hes this semi-normal guy in the daytime, has a hobby-related carrer, a girlfriend who doesnt want to do the unthinkable with him, and the fact that he only kills the bad guys makes him totally loveable....

I know there is also a showtime series on it... which I watched for the 1st time the other nite. I think I have a new obsession....

I'm currently reading Eat, Pray, Love.

I about 30 pages shy of completing Any Bitter Thing by Monica Wood. It's a fairly well written novel about a 30 year old woman who gets into a hit and run accident. While she was hospitalized, and unconcious, she thinks she sees her dead uncle (a priest) at her bedside.
From there, we follow her into her past, and his.. she was orphaned at age two and raised till the age of nine by her priest uncle, until he is taken away from her for something the church has condemed him for. We also follow her from the moment of her recovery and watch her heal her marriage, friendships and try to come to terms with what has happened to her uncle.

If you havent read it yet, I advise you pick it up. The first paragraph just caught me and wouldnt let go.

I have recently read The End Of Alice (A.M. Holmes) and am half way through A Long Way Down (Nick Hornby). I love the voices Hornby gives his characters. This is a book about four miserable people who all want to commit suicide, yet, they are witty and funny and insane in their miserableness.... I am enjoying this book alot.

After that, I have the following books waiting in the wings:
All the Names - Jose Saramago
The Double - Jose Saramago
A Scanner Darkly - Phillip Dick

Not sure which one I will start 1st. I really want to read them all.....

Anyone out there reading anything interesting?

Just started Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky and all I can say is "so far so GREAT"

After much contemplation, I chose to go with A Scanner Darkly. about 100 pgs in, and liking it so far. I saw about 30 minutes of the middle of the movie once, and had no idea what was going on.... so the book is actually clearing alot of that up for me. Its neat, I can hear winnona and keanue and downey jr in my head as I read the book....

Once im done, i will have to sit down and watch the movie again, the whole thing this time, from start to finish.

I've got a stack of library books calling to me. . . I think I shall start with. . . Beowulf: The Script Book by Neil Gaiman & Roger Avary

Hey Christine, thanks for joining!
I see alot of people reading Suite Francaise... Is it for a book club, or just for your reading pleasure?

Lynn, Neil Gaiman is a great writer. Have you read any of his other novels? I think my favorite would have to be Neverwhere. It was also the first one of his that I had read. Good Omens ranks second...

I've read all of his novels (as far as I know anyway), most of his collections, very few of the collections that happen to include him (though most of those stories are probably in his own collections), all of Sandman & 2 or 3 of his other graphic novels, & now the Beowulf script. There's still quite a lot of Gaiman out there, but it's hard to find. Especially when you're poor & can only buy used books/go to the library. If I ever get the money, I'll buy everything. :)

I think my favorite Gaiman novel is American Gods. Mostly because of the incoropration of so many gods I've never heard of. It's fascinating. :)

I am currently reading a novel called "All the Names" by Jose Saramago. He is the author of Blindness and Seeing. Has anyone read anything by him?

He has a unique writing style, using run-on sentences, and no distinguishing marks when someone is speaking, not to mention that some of his paragraphs can be two or three pages long.... but once you get past those challenges, his storys really pull you in.

Blindness and Seeing are two novels that have stuck with me long after I read them, so i am sort of hoping for the same experience with this one as well.

Hi! I'm new to the group, too. Nice to meetcha.

My very, very favorite feeling is the feeling I get when, after finishing one book, I'm standing in front of my "to read" stack, trying to decide which book to select next. What am I in the mood for? A nice coming-of-age story? Something edgy, maybe? Nonfiction? It's like trying to decide what to eat when you're super hungry, and the menu is a large one. At the risk of sounding overdramatic and cheesy, it's truly "such sweet torment"!

I had to express that.

Anyway, after giving "Lisey's Story" (Stephen King) the old college try, I put that back in the stack and, in the mood for something frilly and effortless, picked up "The Other Boelyn Girl" (by ol' What's-Her-Name). Turns out, it fits the bill beautifully, at least so far. It caught me by page 2, the story is moving along at a brisk pace, and I can keep everybody apart. I'm happy as a clam!

In my pile:

Water for Elephants (S. Gruen)
Empress
The Little Friend (D. Tartt)
The Magic of Ordinary Days (A. Creel)
The Girls (L. Lansens)
The Dogs of Babel (C. Parkhurst)
Obsessed (T. Dekker)
Straight Man (R. Russo)
Clown Girl (M. Lawson)
Bad Behavior (M. Gaitskill)
Dear Zoe (P. Beard)
Innocents (C. Coote)
Helpless (B. Gowdy)
Fallen (D. Maine)
Drenched in Light (L. Wingate)
Saturday (I. McEwan)
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (S. Clarke)

Those are a few; I think I've got close to a hundred (I'll spare you the unabriged list!) though.

Recynd ----you should really dig out Fallen by David Maine, I read that when it first hit the shelves as hardcover and really liked it. it was a refreshing (written in reverse chronological order) novel telling the story of two biblical brothers. I think you may enjoy reading that one. And I would be interested in hearing what you thought of it. Did you know that David Maine is one of goodreads authors??

Anyhow, thanks for joining!

Lori: Thankyouthankyou for the tip about "Fallen". I keep passing it over, I think because I've been worried that it'll be over my head, somehow. I did the same thing with "Middlesex", and when I finally read it, I loved it. I don't know why I'm insecure like that (worried about a book being too "hard")...I made it through "The Fountainhead"; hell, I even slogged my way through "The Voyeur" by Robbe-Grillet...but still, I worry. Such is life.

I'll give a holler when I get to "Fallen"; I'll also give you a mini-report when I've finished it.

Recynd... Dont feel too badly about being afraid to start a book.. I do the same thing. I thought that about a few of Jim Craces novels (Quarentine and Being Dead), not to mention the fact that once I bought The End Of Alice, I was terrified that book was going to somehow mentally SCAR me.....And I ended up liking all of those!

One author I just couldnt get into no matter what I did was Ayn Rand.... She's too over my head I guess! :)

Time to try to get this topic back up and running...Since I see we have some new members...

What is everyone reading at the moment?

I had gone bookshopping this past week...
Im planning on starting Come Closer tomorrow. But I have to admit, Im a little afraid. Its supposedly a freaky little book about a woman who becomes possessed. I read the 1st chapter, and its definetly not something I want to be reading home alone late at nite i think!!

(I bought Book Thief (to read for the Book-a-holics thread Im a member of here) and i also bought You're Not You.. but i only read one book at a time.)

Recynd... how are you chugging along on those books you listed???

I read The Book Thief a while back and enjoyed it, great concept.

I'm currently reading Mr Maybe by Jane Green. I've been reading a few heavy books lately and it was time for some chick lit. I think after I finish that it will be Water for Elephants or if I don't finish until Christmas it will be a James Patterson book I'm getting or A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Ooohh Carrie, I loved the Dexter books and didnt start watching the showtime season until I finished the last book, I was afraid I would end up ruining something for myself.. Tho I had nothing to worry about since the show doesnt follow the books, but sort of moves parallel to them....

Be sure to have the other two books ready when you finish the 1st, if your like I was, you will barely have it closed as you reach for the next....

Pfffttt... I read and finished Come Closer today. Totally not as scary, not be to read at nite home alone-ish as i thought. Just a look at the slow sinking of one woman into the clutches of a demon that is posessing her.

Totally could not put it down. Tho the only thing terrifying about it was the fact that it read so damn fast. I couldnt have made it last longer if i tryed! The quickest 7 bucks I ever spent.... I really liked it tho!

I'm reading three books right now: Skinny Bitch (love it), God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, and The Buried Book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh. I know, weird choices to group together.

I've just started reading the first book in a trilogy by Nora Roberts called 'Blood Brothers'. So far so good:)

Im currently half way thru You're Not You, a change of pace from my last twenty or so books... this one is borderline chick-lit, but really more fiction as it doesnt quite fit the cheezy chick lit criteria. About a college student working for a woman with ALS.

A nice break from the heavy creepy things Ive been plowing thru.

I am currently reading "Bodies in Rest and in Motion"-Thomas Lynch.
This guy is a poet who has run his family business, a funeral home, for many years. He writes short stories about his life, work. I really love the story about how he hates his cat but he can't kill it because his son loves it so much. I would love to get rid of my cat but my son loves her.
He talks about his own problems with alcohol and how his son has become an alcoholic too.
Its a nice read to take to bed.

I am reading The Book Thief for the Bookaholics thread. I dont usually read YA books, but Ive seen so many great reviews on it that I had to give it a shot.

Currently about 180 pages into (its over 500 pages, oy!) and I gotta admit, I like it while Im reading it, but once I put it down, Im in no big rush to pick it back up again. I am curious to see what happens to the little girl Lisel, but really I am not that into it. Does it get better further in? I plan to finish it, tho it appears I will not be finishing as quickly as I had been hoping to!!

I'm reading Water for Elephants. Interesting subject, easy to read and so far I'm liking it.

Finished The Book Thief yesterday. Heavy sad depressing book. So i jumped head first into The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore.

Its my first book by him, and im glad i chose it. Its light, and crazy, and just what I needed. Not to mention that its just right for the holiday season!

I just finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I basically read the whole book last night! I have tried to start it a couple of times in the last 2 weeks (library book, has to go back soon) but wasn't sure I wanted to read it. It's a really depressing premise. Well, once I truly started, I couldn't stop. It is an awesome book.
Now I am on to lighter fare, Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich. I think the Stephanie Plum series is so much fun. Though, after thirteen books the plot is definitely routine.
After that, The Fifth Mountain by Paulo Coehlo.

I just finished "The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver. Yesterday I started "Water for Elephants" and am really loving it.

im cuurently about half way thru The Book Of Lost Things... Its a very dark and twisted take on some of the fairy tales we have grown up on.very well written and keeps me up late into the nite becuase i dont want to put it down.

I'm making a rare foray into non-fiction and just started "Expletive Deleted: a Good Look at Bad Language." It's a study of swearing in the english language written by a linguist. I love bad words, so I think I'll like it.

After that, I'm going to try out the Golden Compass and its sequels.

I just finished two of the Georgia Nicolson series. All I can say about those.. "eh."

Hi! I am currently reading "Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown. I have read a few reviews on this book. Some are good and some not so good. I like the book myself. I am waiting to see if they find the path of the Illuminati. No, don't tell me, LOL, I want to find out for myself. Take Care!!

Sherrie.. I really liked Angels and Demons as well. Have you read Da Vinci Code by him as well? That book gets such a bad rapp, but if you read it as fiction, and dont try to take too much out of it, Its a great read as well!

I just finished Water for Elephants and my goodness that August makes me so so mad. I've never felt that way about a character before but it goes to show the author wrote it really well, I can picture all the characters as if they're real people. Some parts of this book are not pretty but overall it was a good read and well-written.

I've read the Da Vinci Code and loved it. I know I'm getting Angels and Demons for Christmas and can't wait - oh, along with five other books I know for sure and possibly a few I don't!!

Since I had fallen in love with the Book Of Lost Things, I thought I would stay the course of twisted takes on old stories and read The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde. hmmm.... only a few chapters in, but i'm having a hard time with the authors writing and its not quite what i thought it would be. Im toughing it out though, hopefully it gets better.

(After this, I have The Dead Fathers Club, which is a little spin on Hamlet, from what ive read in the reviews)

I'm currently on Josephine: The Hungry Heart, and I recently finished Slaves of New York.

I have read all of Jose Saramago's novels. I have enjoyed everyone of his novels. It does take getting used to his very unique writing style, especially his very very long paragraphs.

Ahhh. a fellow lover of Jose Saramago....
Everything I have read of his I have really enjoyed, even tho some of them get so heavy and become so internal that I need to take multiple breaks from him just to let it all sink in and to give my eyes a rest....

Which would you say is your favorite book by him?

Right now I'm reading The Swarm by Frank Schatzing.So far it's okay.not much reading time withe holidays.

I'm halfway through "Belladonna" by Karen Moline (and a recommendation from a Goodreads member), and I LOVE it! It's such a fun read: over-the-top in every way, easy to get into, and a wild story line. Has anyone else ever heard of it, or, better yet, read it?

I recently read "The Other Boelyn Girl" (liked it a lot, though it's not more than just fluff), and also "The Queen of Subtleties" (an insufferable slog, I'm afraid).

Hi everyone,
Just finished Angels & Demons by Dan Brown. I am now reading Book of The Dead by Patricia Cornwell.
Next will be one of these:

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Angels Fall by Nora Roberts
The Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah
Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky

Finally finished Suite Francais and started "Ronnie" by Ronnie Wood which I got as a Christmas present.

Sherrie- from your list of "nexts" I did read Glass Castle and highly recommend it.

I'm reading Double Cross by James Patterson - so far so good.

Sherrie: I got Angels & Demons for Christmas, did you like it? Also in my mountain of books to read sitting on my cupboard is The Glass Castle, I've heard lots of good things about it.

I made a trip to the library today and came home with too many books.
The Poisonwood Bible-Barbara Kingsolver
The Yiddish Policeman's Union-Michael Chabon
The Castle in the Forest-Norman Mailer
The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao-Junot Diaz
One Hundred Years of Solitude-Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I'm not sure that I will make it through all of these in the next 3 weeks but I will try. I've started The Poisonwood Bible and am already interested.

Mandy and Sherrie-I read Angels and Demons a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. I thought it was better than The DaVinci Code.

Hey Amiee, I really loved the Poisonwood Bible myself, also One Hundred Years of Solitude.

I am reading "Are We Rome?", nonfiction. Its is pretty interesting how he looks at the similarity's and differences of America today and Rome thousands of years ago.

i just started secrets by danielle steel. it's been on my shelf for a while and i figure i might as well read it.

I am still reading the Alexandria Link by Steve Berry ( cuz I have been sick and keep falling to sleep reading it) It so far is a good book but I wouldn't put it as hIgh as his last one.