What are you reading?

[cactusfan]

Finished "The Help"... and now a friend is lending me:



Has anyone read this?  Heard it's a really good book even if you aren't into sci-fi novels

people seem to love this book. it won lots of sci fi awards back in the day. i found it to be badly written, pro-war junk. but maybe that's just me. let us know what you think...


i just started Murakami's new 1000 page doorstop, 1Q84. good so far...

[shoreline99]

Just read The Apothecary by Maile Meloy. Great book, handing it off to the kids now . Have to see if her brother's novel is up to snuff next.

[Mr Minor]

Finished "The Help"... and now a friend is lending me:



Has anyone read this?  Heard it's a really good book even if you aren't into sci-fi novels

It's interesting, but nothing mind blowing.  Great if you are a 13 year old boy...

[gainesvillegreen]

Just read The Apothecary by Maile Meloy. Great book, handing it off to the kids now . Have to see if her brother's novel is up to snuff next.

Don't know about her brother, but I've read all of her novels and short stories this year, and would recommend most of it. Both Ways is pretty close to deserving the hype and awards it has received. The opening story "Travis, B" is one of the best stories I've read this year, and I've read 40 or more collections of short stories this year (been a focus of mine - gets me reading American lit again rather than lit in translation, also was a good way to read more women writers). The Children and Two Step are good stories in that collection too.

Her "adult" novels are good, but not great, and work off one another, as they have the same characters in both.


Right now, I am reading Richard Ford's "Rock Springs" story collection:

From Publishers Weekly
"The stories in this collection read like textbook exercises in classic short story form . . . Ford approaches the genre with reverent precision and delivers an array of haunting, enduring images," maintained PW of these portraits of violence and betrayal among the unemployed in rural Montana.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Inside Flap
In these ten stories, Ford mines literary gold from the wind-scrubbed landscape of the American West--and from the guarded hopes and gnawing loneliness of the people who live there. Rock Springs is a masterpiece of taut narration, cleanly chiseled prose, and empathy so generous that it feels like a kind of grace.

[iamhydroJen]

Finished "The Help"... and now a friend is lending me:



Has anyone read this?  Heard it's a really good book even if you aren't into sci-fi novels

people seem to love this book. it won lots of sci fi awards back in the day. i found it to be badly written, pro-war junk. but maybe that's just me. let us know what you think...

Just finished this.  I read a different book halfway through this one so it took me a little while.

I didn't enjoy this at all.  I thought the writing was extremely boring... honestly just adding more descriptive words (or any sort of intriguing vocabulary) could have painted a better picture of what was going on.  The only part I thought was somewhat interesting was when he describes the "End of the World" game.  And if I had to read the word "fart-eater" one more time.........

[Mr. Natural]

Finished Rain Pryor's JOKES MY FATHER NEVER TAUGHT ME. Boy are you glad you're not that motherfucker's kid.  Her story is engrossing for the first half, but you'll hate both her and her father by the end. She does that thing where she repeats large chunks of text later on in the book, and since it doesn't work, you just think 'do you remember? you put that in, already.' ? The best part is the quick talk her dad gives her after she walks in on him "fuckin'." It's actually a good talk.
Was listening to Spalding Gray's MONSTER IN A BOX in the car and picked up his published DIARIES. I've always been morally opposed to reading diaries of the deceased, but I also had the feeling that he wrote in there for outside readers, too.

[Mr Minor]

Finished the 7th Dark Tower novel.

Enjoyed the series.  I will miss reading about Roland, Eddie, Susannah, and Jake. 

I was happy with the ending.  I have talked with a few who were not.  But I think it was solid.

I was not as thrilled with books 5 and 6 as the others (they were good but took some odd turns in good ole Stephen King fashion), but book 4 was my favorite of the series.

I don't want to go into detail and spoil anything, but if you have started the series, finish it.  I think the payoff is worth it in the end, big-big.  And I say thankya.

[kellerb]

Finished the 7th Dark Tower novel.

Enjoyed the series.  I will miss reading about Roland, Eddie, Susannah, and Jake. 

I was happy with the ending.  I have talked with a few who were not.  But I think it was solid.

I was not as thrilled with books 5 and 6 as the others (they were good but took some odd turns in good ole Stephen King fashion), but book 4 was my favorite of the series.

I don't want to go into detail and spoil anything, but if you have started the series, finish it.  I think the payoff is worth it in the end, big-big.  And I say thankya.

I agree on the ending.  I think people get angry about the "right before the ending parts", and book 5-6 to a lesser degree.  There's a few character-builds that do not peak properly, if you will.  But the ending-ending is perfect.

[mistercharlie]

Finished the 7th Dark Tower novel.

Enjoyed the series.  I will miss reading about Roland, Eddie, Susannah, and Jake. 

Not to worry, The Wind Through The Keyhole will come out on April 24th. It's supposed to be set between books 4 and 5.

[Lifeboy]

Finished the 7th Dark Tower novel.

Enjoyed the series.  I will miss reading about Roland, Eddie, Susannah, and Jake. 

Not to worry, The Wind Through The Keyhole will come out on April 24th. It's supposed to be set between books 4 and 5.

Have you guys heard about the television series that's going to air on HBO?

http://www.slashfilm.com/dark-tower-tv-series-air-hbo/

I'm still on The Gunslinger. I'm about half way through (I know, I'm waaayy behind) but I had a bunch of other books on my list to read first.

[Mr Minor]

Finished the 7th Dark Tower novel.

Enjoyed the series.  I will miss reading about Roland, Eddie, Susannah, and Jake. 

Not to worry, The Wind Through The Keyhole will come out on April 24th. It's supposed to be set between books 4 and 5.

Have you guys heard about the television series that's going to air on HBO?

http://www.slashfilm.com/dark-tower-tv-series-air-hbo/

I'm still on The Gunslinger. I'm about half way through (I know, I'm waaayy behind) but I had a bunch of other books on my list to read first.

I think there are a lot of problems with actually making it happen, but I hope someone puts it together.  I would really like to see Javier Bardem as Roland.  Obviously Clint Eastwood is too old (the horror!) but he would have been more than perfect in his prime.  I know King has often said Eastwood was one of the people in his mind when writing about Roland.

I would love to see this become a reality though!

And yes, I am excited about The Wind Through the Keyhole.  Also, I would like to check out (short storynovella?) Sisters of Eluria.

[alcoholandcoffeebeans]

finished the entire Kathy Reichs library.

Read Dead like you by Peter James and i'll find more in this series

onto:


story of my life in the title. almost done with it and started this morning... it's got good points.

[gah]

The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran. It's a simple and quick read, but more pleasurable if you take your time and contemplate it's poetry.

[sls.stormyrider]

The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran. It's a simple and quick read, but more pleasurable if you take your time and contemplate it's poetry.

"and you see - The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, with all the important passages underlined. Every word in the book is underlined"

David Bromberg, Bullfrog Blues, on How Late Will You Play 'till?

[gah]

The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran. It's a simple and quick read, but more pleasurable if you take your time and contemplate it's poetry.

"and you see - The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, with all the important passages underlined. Every word in the book is underlined"

David Bromberg, Bullfrog Blues, on How Late Will You Play 'till?

HA! It's true. I've got at LEAST one or 2 passages underlined on EVERY single page. And I've quoted various lines to a number of people in completely different situations.

I'm really bad at starting books, but then getting distracted by being interesting in something else and starting other books, and at any given time having 4-6 going at once. Eventually they all get read, but it takes forever when you're only reading a chapter here or there, so one of my new years resolutions is to finish the stack of books I've already started before picking up anything new. Working on finishing up Omnivores Dilemma right now.