I read a wonderful book about the Trail of Tears year ago by Dee Brown.
I was going to skip the new Frazier but maybe I will read it after all.

Susan, welcome! I love the Pirandello title - whats it about?

>Very strange, dark and disturbing book.

Yes. And yet I really liked it (I don't normally go for strange, dark and disturbing)

Now reading Barbara Hambly Sisters of the Raven. I have always loved her work, and just happened to find this one that I didn't know about. Liking it so far.

One of the books I got for my birthday is Goodbye Tsugumi, by Banana Yoshimoto. I kid you not. Haven't started it but with a first name like that, I can't resist

Also found The Night Listener by Armistead Maupin, another author I've heard about but never read. Apparently this is another that was made into a movie. Anyone know much about it?

cindy-one of my former students who was really in to all things Japanese read all of Banana's books but I'll reserve judgement-let me know. I've got a feeling it may be a litte "different" but that's good, right?

The weather was lousy, I wanted a "curl-up" book, so I spent the afternoon in the south of France, the Dordogne actually, with Mademoiselle Benoir by Christine Conrad.
Charming little 'guy meets girl' story with a twist.

Cindy, I loved Banana Yoshimoto's Kitchen, but haven't read anything else by her. Please let us know what you think of Goodbye Tsugumi.

Welcome Susan/pagesturned!

I'm about halfway through "House of Childhood" by Anna Mitgutsch, an Austrian author. Although fiction, it is based on fact, the story dealing with some who escaped the Holocaust and years later, return to their villages to reclaim their former homes, which had been appropriated by non-Jews. I recommend this to anyone with an interest in the topic, as I am finding it a vibrant, compelling read.

I am just over halfway through my first year of teaching (7th grade life science). Not much time for reading, however, I am now also teaching a reading class...so I've got an excuse to just sit back and read (hey, it's for the kids).

Right now, I'm reading The Treasures of Weatherby....just finished Dragonology, which I enjoyed quite a bit!

I read my first Lisa Gardner book, Hide, which is due out sometime soon (it was a uncorrected proof). I enjoyed it very much and think I will try another of hers.

Kathy I have read all of Lisa Gardner's books so far and have a ck mark against Hide, I will have to ck to see if that means it is on my request list at the library...sometimes my little notes are not clear enough LOL!

I am reading Rough Treatment by John Harvey, he is a recent discovery and he is from my home town and his books take place there, so the streets & places are very familiar to me which makes the books more interesting to me!

Pat

just noticed I not only posted re Susan Hill but also some other books on the Hill thread. Guess I'm too tired to be posting any more tomight.

I just finished "The Egg and I" by Betty MacDonald. Very funny in the begining and amusing throughout. She has a wonderful sense of humor and a unique approach to life. I just ordered the movie with Claudette Colbert and Free MacMurray.

gbg

It's great when these threads get long, as they invariably do... I just grab a coffee (if it's morning) or tea (if it's any other time of day), a pen and my handy-dandy "RP Recommendations" notebook and settle in. I'm not too terribly comfortable at the moment as my bigger dog (the Newf) is feeling needy and is demanding cuddles. He's a wee bit big to ignore.

Anyway, I owe a big thank you to all of you who have expanded my list of Egyptian/King Tut books. My current list of books that I am reading is getting out of hand. I am reading five books at once when I usually try to limit it to three. So far, so good. Here are the titles:

1. Tutankhamun: The Untold Story by Thomas Hoving
2. The Curse of the Pharoahs by Elizabeth Peters: this is the second Amelia Peabody mystery series that I am, of course, reading in order - well-researched mystery that simply reinforces the non-fiction I am reading and helps with descriptions and weather-related settings.
3. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett - classics book club selection
4. Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer -a look into the Mormon faith. This is a re-read for me, but also a monthly selection from my other book club.
5. Joseph Smith by Robert Remini - a bio of the founder of the Mormon faith, just to help round out the previous book.

Okay, the Newf is happy and has removed himself from sitting on my feet, knees, and lap all at the same time. And now I can peruse this thread slowly, with coffee and pen. Lovely.
PAM

The Egg and I was on my parent's bookshelves, and I read it many times as a kid. Haven't read it since, probably should.

Art Buchwald, who died the other day, was also well represented on those shelves. Along with MAD magazine, it was my first foray into political and social satire. Dad had every one of those books. Buchwald also spoke at my University. Thinking I may want to return to some of those as well, and catch up on the latter ones I haven't read.

I finally read Coming Up For Air. I don't remember a discussion here on RP of the similarities with Babbit. The main characters:
1.Have similar jobs
2.Have a traditional family, house in the suburbs, a wife they dislike, and children they ignore
3.Run off to "find themselves"
4.Come back to realize they like their wives a little more than they thought, but not much
5.In the end, are resigned to their fate.
Anyone else have thoughts about these books?

I liked Lewis' "Main Street" much more than his "Babbitt."

I finished "House of Childhood", which I found excellent. Have been dipping into Lincoln's "In War's Dark Shadow", which deals with the history of 19th century Russia and events that led up to the Revolution.

For a lighter read, last night I read at one sitting Preston's "Gatsby's Girl", which is fiction based upon the first love of F.S. Fitzgerald. Good but not great....

Finished up The Treasures of Weatherby this morning. Interesting book. I liked it.

Now onto Once Upon a Curse by E.D. Baker. So far, very cute and amusing.

My husband got an unexpected bonus at work yesterday, so we got to go out last night and spend some of it at the bookstore! Lot's more books to enjoy...

I just finished an excellent science fiction novel by a new-to-me author, Robert Charles Wilson. The book was called Spin. These days I read more fantasy than SF, but I still enjoy a well thought out hard SF story with good characters and plotting.

Rosefolly

Cindy, have you seen the movie of "The Egg And I". I have it on order from the library. I am having surgery tomorrow so I stocking up for the recovery.

gbg

gbg, Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

PAM

I just finished Undaunted Courage. Can't wait to read all the comments here from the past discussion! I thought the book was thrilling, educational and amazingly sad when Lewis committed suicide. I'm starting Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era tomorrow or maybe The Arms of Krup. Although I'm rereading Green Darkness tonight.
Oh, I also recently read Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood which was too borderline sappy realism for me and Mayflower which did I like but it was a Thorndike large print from our library and the large type irritated me so much I gave up after a couple chapters. And I think it's shortened than the true book if not abridged. I may have to buy it.
A relative gave me Can You Keep a Secret? by the shopaholic author and I couldn't list it fast enough on paperbackswap.com. I did read it though!

I just finished In This Rain, new by S. J. Rozan. I enjoyed it but didn't think it is as good as Absent Friends, which I really liked.

I do wish she would hurry and write another Bill and Lydia book. Her website says they are "on vacation."

I just finished Once Upon a Curse by E.D. Baker. A cute fantasy that is part of a series of books. I had time to finish it today, as school was canceled due to bad weather.

Now I think I'll read Conrad's Fate by Diana Wynne Jones. I have enjoyed the Crestomanci series so far, so I have no doubt I'll enjoy this one, as well.

Pam, thanks for the good wishes. I had my gallbladder removed at 0730 this morning and was home by noon. Eating soup and reading posts here at 1230. Been sleeping and reading my old Bailey White books....a total comfort read for me. I do have "Brainiac" by Ken Jennings and I may start that tonight.

gbg

I'm having the flu, despite a shot-darned multiple strains....spent most of the day sleeping and a little reading-just got up to feed DS, check emails and RPF...then back to bed. I finished the book about the Roosevelts and the Royals-enjoyed it and learned something-started The Sempster's Tale but found the level of concentration needed was too much (granted, it's not a book on rocket science, but I'M SICK!)so I've picked up a Miss Silver mystery-goes down easily, like jello.

gbg, let me know what you think of Braniac. I watched Jennings through the whole streak and was surprised how down to earth he stayed. I'd think his book would be the same. And btw, rest and take care of yourself! Feel better soon.

And no I never saw the film Egg and I - I was so familiar with the book that it just wasn't something I'd wanted to see at the time. Should I, do you think?

bumblebeez, you might like reading the novel 'I would be extremely happy in your company', basically a fiction account of the journey. I had a problem with the dialect for Sacajawea, but otherwise thought it well done.

I read the prequel to the Ya Yas, and was so turned off by the charactrers that I refused to have anything to do with any other books of the same name.

Finished Man without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut. He hasn't lost his punch, thats for sure. A rather depressing book, but one with lots of truths, and a glimmer of hope.

cc, hope you feel better soon.
Cindy, haven't seen "The Egg And I" yet but will let you know what I think. It is in transit.

I read Ya-Yas before I read Little Altars and became disgusted really and won't touch any of them again.

gbg...well enough now to munch on a truffle....Yum!!!

I just finished reading Gerald Durrell's "My Family and Other Animals". Thank you to whoever recommended it in the "happy" books thread. It did remind me of "Cheaper By the Dozen".

Now I'm ready to start Avram Davidson's "Adventures in Unhistory".

My latest was Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, which I can highly recommend.
Partly a story of life in a railway circus in the US in the Depression, and partly a love/hate story, I thought the writing was good, the information about the circus intriguing and the plot entertaining. All in all, a good read.

While savoring my read of 1776, I paused to read Eye Contact by Cammie McGovern. It's the story of a ten year old autistic boy who is the witness to a murder. He hold the key, which his mother and a sensitive police officer try to find. I think, from caring for the autisitic patients I have had as patients, it gives a pretty good picture of life with an autisitic child. Small victories to us that become very large to them. It's also a fairly good mystery...especially when I realized that the frustration of the random clues was the device used to portray life with an autistic child. This is the second novel by McGovern, who is the mother of an autistic child.

I picked up, but have abandoned unfinished No Bed for Bacon, the novel on which the movie Shakespeare In Love was based. It took me a while to decide just why I could not love this book, though I had expected I would. I think I finally have it. This book just preens. It says to the reader "Now aren't I a clever book? And didn't clever people write me?" I noticed that my DH also picked it up, read a few chapters, and is now reading something else.

Rosefolly

CindyDavid, I looked up the book "I would be extremely happy in your company" and that does seem interesting. I'll see if the library has it. Thanks!

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
I will follow that with Darcy's Story by Janet Aylmer

There are a number of books out there based on the P&P characters and point of views of said characters.

Jodi-

I finished Fannie Flagg's Can't Wait To Get To Heaven and while it was pleasant enough, it was just a little too sweet and fluffy. I'm now dividing my reading time between How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life, which I think I should like more than I do, and Orange County Choppers: The Tale of the Teutul's which is just loads of fun.

Sheriz,

I'm with you on Can't Wait to Get to Heaven. It was ok, but not up to Flagg's other books...definitely a little "too sweet and fluffy." I hope this isn't a trend, as I really enjoy Flagg's books.

I just finished The Bridge by Doug Marlette and enjoyed it a lot. Much of the book involves family history, and how you can know a person for years but still know so little about them and the times theyÂve lived through. ItÂs about the importance of family ties, and love and forgiveness. A great story, and IÂll now have to seek out his newer book. Thanks for the recommendation, Woodnymph!

Next up is a mystery, The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom. The main character is Israel Armstrong, a sensitive, intelligent, adventurous Jewish vegetarian who moves from England to a small town in Ireland due to the promise of an exciting career as a librarian. (Who here couldnÂt sympathize with this as a dream career?) When Israel arrives he finds the townÂs library has been shut down, so he makes do with another offer: to drive the mobile library around the small, damp Irish town. The only question is, who stole the mobile libraryÂs 15,000 volumes that have mysteriously disappeared? This looks like a bit of light reading, which IÂm totally up for right now.

Veronica, I have Eye Contact sitting on my TBR bookshelf as we speak. Glad to hear itÂs good. I plan to read it probably in the next month.

Jodi, please let me know what you think of DarcyÂs Story. I was eyeing that in the bookstore one day but am vacillating on the decision to read it. I donÂt really care if itÂs up to the standard of Pride and Prejudice (what is?), but I would want it to be a story that can be enjoyed for itself.

Cindy, I have started "Brainiac" and so far so good. It is an engaging story and he writes well.

Jodi and Doriann, I have not read "Darcy's Story" but a few years back I did read one about Jane Fairfax and I think you are right Doriann, that these "sequels" have to be read as themselves and enjoyed on their own terms. I enjoyed the one on Jane Fairfax (title escapes me at the moment).

Sheriz and vtchewbacca, "Can't Wait To Get To Heaven", yes it is fluffy but I loved the main character Elner. I have liked some of Fanny Flagg and some not so much, but this and "Standing In The Rainbow" are my favorites.

Doriann, yes I can see a librarian as an exciting career and that looks like just the kind of book I am in the mood for.

gbg, heading for library website

Sure thing, I'll report back on Darcy's Story after I've read it.

Jodi-

I seem to be on an Anya Seton kick, having just discovered this author. As soon as I finish "Green Darkness", I'm going to check out "Dragonwyck" and look for "Katherine."

Dorieann, do let me know if Doug Marlette's newest is any good and how it compares to "The Bridge." (You know Marlette was sued (or almost) because some of his acquaintences thought they recognized themselves as characters in his novel.)

I just finished Perfume by Patrick Suskind and have to agree with Martin. Altogether a fascinating book, although the ending chapters had my eyebrows raised in disbelief. It will be interesting to see how the movie fares.

I've started reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and will readily admit that I am already engrossed. It's wonderful so far.

Gooseberrygirl - Standing in the Rainbow is my favorite Flagg book. I adore the story and the characters and I have read it many times.

Just finished Conrad's Fate by Diana Wynne Jones. Another one of her Chrestomanci novels. I loved this book. I've enjoyed her others, as well - but I really thought this one was fascinating. A good mystery and a lot of interesting twists.

Now I think I'll read The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine. Looks to be an interesting read (yes, I am reading a ton of YA fantasy...I'm looking for books to recommend to my 7th graders).

> Dorieann, do let me know if Doug Marlette's newest is any good and how it compares to "The Bridge." (You know Marlette was sued (or almost) because some of his acquaintences thought they recognized themselves as characters in his novel.)

Ha! I don't doubt it. Of course if it were me, I wouldn't admit bearing a likeness to any of the characters (other than Buzz).

I guess when you post this far down, the audience is smaller but there are a lot of comments you want to chime in on.

Here goes
Just finished "What is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achek Deng, A Novel" by David Eggers.
Blew me away. Spent the entire weekend reading (and have the piles of still-unwashed laundry to prove it) and wrote a letter to my senator upon reaching the end. It's the story of one of the Sudan Lost Boys. Heartbreaking.
Go. Find. Read.

I finished "1776" on tape in the car. David McCullogh is so fine in print and that voice. So comforting. Very American. It was also thrilling knowing some of the roads on which I commute to work were once the paths these armies marched on that year.

Very American? Well, ya gotta love Elmore Leonard, I zoomed through "The Hot Kid." Bank robbers in Depression era Oklahoma. His usual: fun read, great dialogue.
Also devoured T.S. Boyle's "Talk, Talk," right up there with "Tortilla Curtain" for the-way-we-live-now look at materalistic America. Great descriptions of scenes we take for granted. Recommend both.

I just started "Saturday" by Ian McEwan. He is sly perfection. lulls you in with smooth, delightfully structured prose and leads you right to a thrumming insight. that's about the best way I can describe it, but then that's why I'm a reader not a writer. Anyway, completely thrilling. makes it look so easy,--"why isn't everyone writing like this?" you think--guy's a genius.

I can back recommendations for David Lodge and Margaret Atwood. I'd read anything either of them would care to write, including grocery lists. I'm going to recommend "Oryx and Crake" next month for the book club. Very funny and horrifying take on the annihilation of mankind. My nightmares are still haunted by 'pigoons'.

Speaking of postapocalyptic novels, I have a hold in at the library for "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy, anyone read it? That's my next TBR. How did you like it?

My two cents (or more like a shilling) on the best postsurgery book: "The Quincunx." It's like Dickens. A fat novel filled with colorful (and menacing) early Victorian characters but without the philosophical asides. I give copies to anyone scheduled for some rest time. Best for those who've had bunion surgery or the like who need to stay in bed. Once the main character arrives in London, the book is the ultimate can't-put-it-down tome. (I guess that's not so good if you've had shoulder surgery, though!)

Will add "Perfume," "The Other Boleyn Sister," "Gathering Blue" and 'Water for Elephants" to the pile thanks to you.

Last bit here, a request. How do you italicize book titles for these postings? I'd prefer that to my quotation marks but don't know the right command. CTRL-I on highlighted words doesn't seem to work for me.

Thanks,
Amy

Amy, this thread explains how to italicize words and does a much better job of explaining it than I ever could.

I read The Road a few months ago, and it was one of my favorite reads for the year. There were a couple of discussions about it. You can read them here and here. It's a very powerful, thought-provoking book, in my opinion.

I just found a new author to watch for -- Michelle Lovric. I'm currently reading The Floating Book (Venice just after the printing press has been invented) after having just finished her other book, The Remedy (a tale that takes place between Venice and London, in the late 1700s).

Lovric has apparently written quite a bit about Venice (both fiction and non-fiction/its past and its present/and has spent much time there). These books are imbued with the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and sensuality of Venice. Lovric's prose is ornate and poetic, with more than a dash of irony and smirking humor. You might like these if you don't mind books with a bit of debauchery and where place and language take center stage. I'm delighted with them. The books also include the author's notes which explain historical fact from historical embellishment used for the sake of the stories. A nice touch, I thought.

Oh, I am so hooked: Venice, history, irony and dry humor. Looking forward to reading that one!

BTW, the author notes for me are mandatory for historical fiction. I need some idea as to what is real and what is memorex. I don't mind poetic license, but not knowing makes my sense of history very confused. I also love it when the author puts up a 'further reading' or bibiliography, so I can find out more!

Just finished The Sisters of Bemarre by G.C. Levine. An interesting book, though Addie annoyed me greatly at the beginning by being so overly weak.

Now onto Deep Secret by Dianna Wynne Jones. Good thing that my TBR pile is so large, at the rate I'm going through books. I've got my next month and a half of lesson plans done, so I've a little extra time to read in the evenings, and it shows!

There are three Loren Eisley books on the nightstand that I'm working on - The Firmament of Time, Star Thrower and The Unexpected Universe. Also, Into Thin Air, an account of a particularly deadly Mt. Everest climbing season.

I just finished Susan Hill's The Various Haunts of Men and found it a very good read. I'm almost done with Anna Salter's Truth Catcher-it's the kind that keeps me glued to the page. Has anyone heard of her? She has written I think four other novels-suspense type fiction.

> Into Thin Air

I read an excerpt of the book first in Outside magazine and knew I had to get the book. I was not disappointed.

Now reading Suite Francaise. Really quite excellent. Reading this, you could almost see this as a movie - and I don't say that in a bad way. I can visualize the characters, the city, the panic as if I was watching just what the author was watching. I think I'm going to enjoy reading this over the weekend.

This has been a very thin reading month. I took a pile of books out of the library before Christmas and sent most of them back after only a few chapters.
The worst book had to be a present from an elderly US Aunt Southern Fried Women the author Pamela King Cable signed the copy, pouring God's blessings onto me.
Short stories about poor, sad women living in trailor parks, with no husbands and too many children.
Many of these females go on to attended religious revival meetings or come in contact with televangelists and their luck changes. They are now able to pay their debts, buy a bigger trailor/TV and get a more God-fearing husband.
I kept reading the book because the way of life was so alien to me . . . not the poverty we have plenty of that over here . . . but the attitudes, the religious fervour. One character shouts at his son "You want to be a social worker? You might just as well be a Communist."
Am I reading an accurate portrait of life in some parts of the US?