color, thanks for that, very interesting. Also interesting to read some of the reviews. Most were positive, but Many folks don't seem to realize what fairy tales originally were. Reminds me of the times I've gone to Animation festivals and seen whole families attending - until they realized animation doesn't mean rated G.

Seton also wrote The Wintrop Woman, a historical fiction account of the first colonists from England, escaping religious prosectution only to start their own.

I finished The Book of Lost Things this afternoon. I am so glad that I decided to get it again from the library as I very much enjoyed it and was sad to see it end. Cindy, I know what you mean about the origin of fairy tales. They are typically very dark and violent with few happy endings, which many don't realize.

I've just started The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. I really had no intention of specifically choosing it out of the TBR piles, but for some reason I grabbed it and decided it was next, probably because it was close to the top of the stack.

color, you are right -- Kill Me definitely is one of Stephen White's best books. I can hardly wait for his new one. In addition to being well-written and very suspenseful, Kill Me also addresses a thought-provoking topic that I hope is only fictional.

Also today I finished listening to the 31 hours of Middlemarch, an audiobook worthy of the time required to complete it.

Next up are Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy on audiobook and Term Limits by Vince Flynn on printed page.

Colormeconfused, glad you decided to finish ConnellyÂs The Book of Lost Things and enjoyed it. I get a little aggravated every time I see it in the mystery section of a bookstore. It should be either in Fiction or Fantasy, but since all ConnellyÂs other books are mysteries, thatÂs were they stick it. So word-of-mouth is going to be important for this book.

I hope all of you have been kept safe and warm. ItÂs been a rough few days here in Ohio, what with the weather. Makes for good reading, though. This month so far IÂve read:

Eye Contact by Cammie McGovern (3.5 / 5): I liked this one a lot, but the author went way overboard with the surplus of challenged kids in this story.

The Uses of Enchantment, Heidi Julavits: I barely got through the two chapters of this book before setting it aside. It wasnÂt what I expected, and not interesting in the least. Perhaps I'm tired of reading about families sitting around sniping at one another. ItÂs back to the library for this one.

Carry Me Down, M.J. Hyland (3.5 / 5): I sort of liked this one as well, but it suffered from too little plot and the main child character wasnÂt particularly likeable. There also seemed to be a lot of loose threads that I wish had been addressed. For instance, I didnÂt see the purpose of the whole subplot with the teacher Mr. Roche. There seemed to be something a bit disturbing about him and his attention to John, but even though he made an appearance near the end nothing came of it.

IÂm currently in the middle of Wicked Break by Jeff Shelby, a sequel to his previous book Killer Swell. This is a simple P.I. mystery novel with a wisecracking protagonist and his "tough" sidekick, which is a bit of a cliché in this genre but Shelby handles it well. These remind me a bit of Robert Crais early books.

I'm plodding my way through The Language of Baklava by Diana Abu-Baber. Nothing really wrong with it, but in my opinion, this memoir is not quite interesting enough to be a book. (Obviously, I'm wrong.) -- Kathy T

Frances, I had a feeling you would like it. After I finished it, I thought the plot was so intriguing that I mentioned it to my father and to my husband. I think that Stephen White's newest book, Dry Ice, comes out in a few weeks. I'm first on the waiting list at the library, so I should get it soon. I think it's another book in the Alan Gregory series.

Dorieann, I'm surprised that The Book of Lost Things is being placed in the mystery section. As you say, his other books can be classified as mystery, but I don't think TBoLT belongs there. It's nothing like his other books.

I finished The Haunting of Hill House, which was delightfully creepy, and have moved on to Chris Bohjalian's newest novel, The Bind.

I've never understood how marketers determine where books are shelved. Seems like it would make life a lot easier (and probably more lucrative for authors) if they'd just call everything general fiction and shelve by author....But thats not me. That book certainly isn't a mystery book.

Just finished Brief History of the Dead and am not sure what I think. It certainly was a turn pager, and was filled with much to think about. But the ending - I think I need to read the last 20 pages or so again. Anyone else read this one yet?

Had to add something to the mix, as I needed some fiction.

While I'm still reading The Scientific American Book of Dinosaurs ed by Gregory Paul, I am also reading Robin McKinley's Spindle's End

After a rejuvenating wallow in Barbara Pym books, I'm now reading the delightful Birds, Beasts and Relatives, the sequel to My Family and Other Animals, by Gerald Durrell.

Cindy, I haven't read The Brief History of the Dead in several months. I know what I think the ending implied, but I could be wrong. I hate to just spell it out here and spoil it for anyone else who might read it, though, so in an attempt to be ambiguous, I'll just say that I think the end was inevitable. Not happy, but inevitable. That probably didn't make sense, did it?

I've finally found a book which will drag me out of my reading doldrums -- Bob Woodward's State of Denial : Bush At War Part III.

I've read the first two in the series and now it's on to the third! I can't help it -- I'm a political junkie. ;-)

Oh, I thought it inevitable as well, color. I just thought the last few chapters entered a realm of the metaphysical that seemed off from the rest of the book. Yeah, I pretty much figured what happened. But that ending just seemed off. Think it could have been written better. The book certainly gave much food for thought. Should be an interesting discussion for our sci fi group next month.

>State of Denial : Bush At War Part III.

I'm still asleep - I thought that said World War III....I am a political junkie as well, which sometimes can be damned depressing.

Now reading Moral Disorder by Margaret Atwood. I so love her writing.

Ye4s, being a political junkie CAN be a tad depressing at time. But just think ......there's SO MUCH TO READ! :-)

I was thinking about it and ..... arguably the US is an empire right now. (Note -- I said ARGUABLY) So, if the US is the modern-day Rome, what does this make Bob Woodward? A modern-day Suetonius? I thought maybe something akin to a Plutarch but not quite?

I must be a political junkie, too, as I've just started Barak Obama's memoir: "Dreams from My Father".

For this, I set aside another memoir: "My Memories of Six Reigns" by Princess Marie Louise, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, whose life spanned from the 1870's to 1956. She traveled widely in Africa and Europe and was close to almost all of the royal houses of Europe. Interesting, but quite "dated" and a bit too much detail of personalities for my taste. I'll probably finish it later.

dyno, mentioning Suetonius made me think of a book you might like - Ian Pears Dream of Scipio. Very different from his usual art mysteries, this one looks at three different couples during pivitol points in western history, and moral issues involved. The first one is the fall of the Roman Empire.

I was very disappointed with the Atwood (and lest folks think I am a speed reader, it only had about 200 pages). She starts out well - following the course of a girl born after WWII, into the 60s. But after that point, she tries to fit every trend and social conflict for the next 30 years into the book, making it very convuluted and soap operaish. A credit to her writing that I wanted to stick with it. But I wouldn't recommend it.

Thanks for the recommendation! I'll have to look for that book.

By the way, since I'm almost halfway through Woodward's new book, if you're going to read it, I'd suggest also reading David Halberstam's The Best and the Brightest. You've probably read it already but the parallels between Rumsfeld and McNamara are quite interesting, not to mention the parallels between Iraq and Vietnam.

I'm embarrassed to say, I didn't read a thing from Nov.-Jan. I had the WORST morning sickness (really all day sickness) and just couldn't focus on anything. Finally last week, I picked up a few books from the library. Two from other RP recommendations: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and Dragon Song by Anne McCaffrey. I really enjoyed both of them. Now, I'm reading Hank and Chloe by JoAnne Mapson. It's a novel based in Irvine, California (about 40 minutes from my house), complete with romance and horse training. Fun, light read.

We did find out yesterday, we're having a baby girl!

Glad your feeling better phaedosia. Now your Aunties/Grannies etc can start knitting all those little baby things in pink wool!
Or perhaps wool is too hot for your area and you are planning to have a designer-dressed baby!

Phaedosia, congratulations on the baby news!

Thanks for posting Hank and Chloe , I live in Irvine and love to read books that take place here.

Like the Red Panda by Andrea Seigel is another one and she grew up just down the street.

T. Jefferson Parker has several thrillers that take place in Orange County.

Jodi-

I hate to say that I have given up on Michener's "Mexico", with about 50 pages to go; I tried, but I could not finish it. Not recommended, either it was very unfocused, or perhaps it was me that could not focus...Anyway, now onto "The Boy From Maine" by Katharine Brush. Seems like a good read.

Bob

Im reading The Night Listener by Armistad Maupin. Its not a book I'd normally go for but the premise sounded very interesting. Very well written, and fast paced. A bit faster than expected coz I had to skim various pages (I don't like a lot of sexual detail, gay or straight)

I love Armistad Maupin! Read the entire Tales of the City series and Maybe the Moon. Think I'll check out The Night Listener.

Jodi-

I decided to do a reread of The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille, one of my favorite authors.
It has been years since I read it, and his newsletters promise that he is planning a sequel...anyone that gets his newsletters knows about his sense of humor, so no telling when we can expect the new book-but I am preparing myself !

Pat

Been reading TC Boyle's "The Inner Circle" about Prof Kinsey's sex survey in the 1950's. It's interesting to read about and it seems that sometimes the city where I live hasn't moved too far ahead. The Chippendales just got arrested during their show for public lewdness and being sexually oriented. Sigh. It's like being in a re-run of Footloose sometimes.

Our book club chose "Cranford" by Elizabeth Gaskell, thanks to recommendations on here. I'm psyched to read it.

I think your town made my internet news column today-unless those naughty Chippers are getting arrested all over the place!

I am almost finished my marathon reading of Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver series-except for the couple books I could not get through library, paperbackswap or abebooks (at a reasonable price!) They are as meaty as a souffle, as mind-enhancing as a gossip magazine-yet so satisfying! Happy Endings, law and civility triumph, and another little corner of the world is safer. I read "beach books" during the school year, and save the "thinking books" for the summer.

I'm in the middle of Sigrid Undset's Kristin Lavransdatter. I couldn't find the newer (Nunnally) translation at my local bookstore, so I'm reading the older, Archer translation of the three volumes. It takes a bit to get used to the odd sentence constructions (somehow I think that is what makes this one harder to read than just the archaic expressions), but at a certain point I think the story starts to take off and I've found a certain rhythm with the language. However, when they start talking politics, I wish I had the newer translation. I did find an article written by Nunnally in World Literature Today (Sept-06 edition) which compares the text of her newer translation with the older version of this book. I liked what Nunnally had to say, and it was educational reading about the idiosyncrasies of translating books. Apparently, she also translated the newer Penguin anniversary edition of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales. Books like this always remind me of how much I am at the mercy of the translator. But... it seems I'm rambling now.

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. Its the story (fiction) of a small village in England and what happened to it when a taylor brought a bolt of cloth from Plague-ridden London. The characters are well developed and the details about the potions and salves and what they tried to do to stop the spread of the disease is fascinating.
I'm moving on to the Devil in the White City next.

Finished both my memoirs. The Barak Obama stalled out in the middle part, but picked up again at the end, when he went back to Kenya to seek his "roots." The Princess Marie Louise autobiography proved more rewarding. BTW,Cece, I think you would enjoy it, as it deals with so many royals of all nations, and is filled with fascinating detail, albeit dated....

I read Year of Wonders a couple of years ago and also found it quite interesting.

I feel compelled to report that most members of my book club had a more positive view of Language of Baklava that I expressed in my earlier post. Perhaps my critique was a bit harsh, though in truth, I still feel that way.

I just started The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks and am really liking it. From the very first page, I was drawn in. I like the writing and in particular, the depth of the characters. This experience is quite refreshing since my last couple of reads were a bit disappointing.

Speaking of marathon reading, I have read the last 12 of the Morland books since January 31. Even I have never read so many words in so short a time in my life. I dream about these people. Sadly, now I have to wait until the brand new one comes out in paperback.

As a restorative to normality, I got the last two Dido Hoare books from the library yesterday (Marianne MacDonald). For you other mystery lovers, this is a series about a small-bookstore owner in England who keeps finding dead bodies. I also have the latest Deborah Crombie waiting on the shelf.

I've been reading less lately, possibly because I'm spending too much time reading political blogs on-line. Anyhow, I'm about to finish Wicked which a number of you read some time ago if I remember correctly. I am enjoying it upon two levels. First I almost always like fantasy and particularly when magic doesn't always go smoothly. The other area of amusement is to figure out the metaphors for current events. I have to wonder, however, if the writer isn't somehow full of self-loathing. The novel is rather negative toward men. Does anyone else remember it that way?

If you start reading Gaiman, you must check out his Sandman graphic novels. Also, when I read American Gods it most reminded me of the late Roger Zelazny's novels built around myth. Lord of Light explores s self-created (through superior technology) Hindu pantheon; This Immortal imagines Pan in the far future when mankind has destroyed the Earth through war; The Mask of Loki has the Norse trickster god fighting a centuries long battle with the avatar who is the first Assassin. Loki is not Zelazny's best but it does have some resonance today. And, of course, Gaiman's Anansi Boys is a trickster god novel.

Welcome, Jain! I was around back in the early days of Spike, too. Back when The Garden Party was the most vigorous forum and there were only a few other general subjects. It seemed more of a community when everyone seemed to check into one spot before going off to their specific interests.

I've been in a severe reading slump for the past couple of months, so I haven't been able to contribute much lately. I did make use of the village library to request a couple of books that I didn't want to buy because they were too expensive.

One was The Chicago Manual of Style which I wanted to check the proper use of the diaeresis mark. But there is very little in the book about it. I've been leafing through it anyway to see all the things I've been doing wrong.

The other was The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, a book of poems by Tolkien. I wanted it to type in some of the poems for a website I'm working on. I looked up the edition I received on AbeBooks, and the only copy listed is priced at $125. If I was tempted, I would report the book as lost and pay the replacement fee which would be what the library paid for it. I wonder if I should notify them about it.

woodnymph-
I am looking for it-it did seem to be something I'd like. My library doesn't have it, but I'll have to look on abebooks and see what comes up.

Georgia_Peach, I loved the Kristin Lavransdatter books, and the Tina Nunnally translation is absolutely wonderful. I wish you could have found them. I checked them out from the library and enjoyed them so much that I put them on my Christmas wish list. Fortunately, when DH asked what I wanted, I signed into my Amazon page's wish list and stood beside him and pointed to what I wanted most, which just happened to be the three books in that series.

Chris, thanks for the further recommendations on Gaiman. I've checked out Neverwhere from the library but haven't had time to start it yet, and they have a couple of his other books, too. I'll also check on Zelazny.

I've finished Bohjalian's new book, The Double Bind, which was engrossing and had a nice twist at the end. I saw the majority of the surprise coming, but not all of it. Right now I'm smack in the middle of Dan Simmon's latest, The Terror. At almost 800 pages, it is turning into quite an investment in reading time, but I am thoroughly enjoying it, although I don't think I've felt warm since the author mentioned the temperature being 100º below zero where the two ships were iced in. Brrrr.

CMC, you might want to get Neverwhere from Netflix if you have a chance. Gaiman wrote the book during the downtime while filming the miniseries. Is The Terror a stand alone? I loved Simmons' Greek God series but haven't yet dipped into his other stuff.

Chris, The Terror is a stand alone. It's being billed as historical fiction (with some horror and supernatural happenings) and is Simmons' take on what happened to the 1840's Franklin expedition and its search for the Northwest Passage. The first couple of hundred pages had me hooked, but after that the book has drawn me in to the point that I find myself thinking about it even when I don't have time to read. I keep pondering the horrors of scurvy and surviving the arctic winter. To me that's scarier than any monster Simmons can dream up.

I just started The Terror, after a friend and I exchanged the 2 books we had just finished - she took away Atwood's Alias Grace. We thought it a good exchange, since both books are speculations on real events. :)

I've had Nunnally's translation of the first Kristin Lavransdatter book on my TBR shelf for a couple years. I took it with me on my Alaskan trip earlier this month, but ended up reading Tales of Ticasuk, a book of Eskimo tales that I picked up at the museum bookshop instead.

cheryl

> The novel is rather negative toward men.

mmm, I don't recall picking that up. However, Maguire was definitely following Baum's original story, with the political satire against the establishment of the day. As most of the establishment consisted of men, well....Tho certainly in Wicked, women have their share of negative representation.

I did love that book and meant to reread it. Need to sometime. And someday I want to see the Broadway production (btw, have you read Maguire's other books? Mirror Mirror and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister are most excellent - not as layed as Wicked, but as enjoyable)

>Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.

I loved this book till the end - then was thrown out of it by the anachronistic behavior of the main character. I've also read March, and two of her non fiction works - she does much better with the latter, I think (btw her husband is Tony Horowitz, whos travel/history books are most excellent)

Yesterday I started Tales of the City and while I liked it at first, I put it aside about half way through - its fun, but gets very repetitive after a bit, and I really didn't care much about the characters. I'll probably return to it later tho. So I started The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre, a wonderful fictional account of the life of one of the pioneers of photography.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre

Cindy, let me know what you think of Mercury Visions. It caught my eye when it first came out in hardcover, but I resisted the temptation. However, during my last trip to the bookstore I noticed it was out in paperback and bought it. It will probably be several weeks before I get to it, though.

I'm also interested in reading Simmon's The Terror but will probably wait until it comes out in paperback. Trying to hold those 800 plus pages in hardcover is quite burdensome.

Re-read Herman Hesse's Demian. Now I remember why I read it the first time and why it seemed to have such an effect on me. I recall reading it back when I was in my early 20s and now that I'm in my mid-30s, it now has a different interpretation for me. I still like it a lot but ..... it's no longer as gripping or as eye-opening as it once was. Then again, I guess I really shouldn't expect it to have the same effect.

I guess it's kind of like opening Pandora's box the first time I read it -- it seemed so full of .... stuff. Now, I look into the box and I see the same stuff but the sense of wonder, the sense of discovery, and the sense of awe are now all gone.

Either I'm getting cynical or old. Or both. Wait, doesn't one necessarily go with the other? ;-)

not necessarily-I know some very cynical 20somethings, and some very optimistic, positive "golden oldies"

Whew. I finally finished The Terror in all its 766-page glory and enjoyed every moment of it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is not only willing to invest the time and effort needed to read it but is also willing to turn a blind eye to dust-covered furniture, mounds of laundry, and a sink full of dirty dishes in order to engage in marathon reading sessions.

I'm about to begin Robert Crais' newest, The Watchman, which looks positively thin compared to The Terror.

cece, the Marie Louise memoir first came out in a Penguin paperback. That's the one I have. If you can't find it, I'd be happy to send it to you, although my copy is tattered, since I got it second-hand.

Dyno, I did not discover Hesse's "Demian" until I was well into adulthood. I liked it a lot, but even more, I loved his "Narcisse & Goldmunde." I know these books were cult lit in my youth, but somehow, I read his "Steppenwolf" instead and missed these. I really admire Hesse's writings, in general. The older I get, the more subtle and timeless they seem.

I really think that Hesse's writings and other books that have a timeless quality about them are readings that one seeks out at various times in one's life. When confronted with confusing, challenging, or difficult decisions/times, I find that I gravitate towards such readings.

To thine own self be true. I think Thales said it. But I think I need readings like Hesse to remind me of it from time to time. ;-)

I've been having a bit of a reading crisis myself. I haven't had much luck finding "new to me" books so have been re-reading several old favorites.

Thanks to Martin and other RPers who recommended it, I did read Tom's Midnight Garden by Phillipa Pearce and enjoyed it. I also read I,Coriander by Sally Gardner. It has elements of the Cinderella story in it and there may be other fairy tales that I didn't catch. It wasn't bad, so I will look out for any other books she may have written.

I've finished with The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. While typing "Errantry", I came across these lines: He battled with the Dumbledors,
the Hummerhorns, and Honeybees

I knew I had heard the word before, but I couldn't remember where. The OED says that a dumbledore is either a bumblebee or a cockchafer, so I assume that Rowling didn't get the name of her headmaster from Tolkien.

Late to the party, last day of the month, but here I am. I read The Laments for my book club. So-so. Characters and situations were intriguing, but the author failed to sustain interest in weaving an actual story. It was a first attempt, and felt autobiographical. No doubt he'll do better next time.

Other than that I have been very busy with school. It seems to me I read a couple other books earlier this month, but I've forgotten what they were. Normally that would say something about the reading experience, but in this case it says more about my state of distraction.

Rosefolly

I read a few books trying to find one to read aloud to my kids.

Read Author and the Minimoys - interesting...liked it enough to be interested in the sequel.

Also read The Secret School by Avi, which I enjoyed tremendously. An hour or so to read, but a good one.

Finished it off with The Firework-maker's Daughter by Philip Pullman - this is the one I'm reading to my kids. Started today. Good book.

Still reading Spindle's End by Robin McKinley - I'm enjoying it tremendously. Won't be long before I finish this one.

Last week, I read "Beasts of No Nation" by Uzodinma Iweala about boy soldiers in one of the African countries. It was written in a pidgin English which took some getting used to, but in the end, was a powerful book.

Then moved on to "Perfume" by Patrick Suskind about eighteenth century Paris and a murderer who kills people for their smell. (He's a journeyman to a famous perfumier in Paris.) It's well written and I am enjoying it now that I am further into it. I have heard it's being made into a movie which would be interesting.

Lemonhead, I read Beasts of No Nation several months ago and found it to be unforgettable. I read Perfume a month or so ago and very much enjoyed it. I've wondered whether the movie is going to follow the lines of the book closely or if it will be unrecognizable as so often happens.