:) Indeed Annpan.

Hi eveyone - I haven't posted in a long time although I have been calling in.

My reading has been a bit hit and miss. I had a skim read through the 'Fifty Shades' books, and was quite appalled. Not by the sexual content, but by the truly horrible writing. I felt I should know something about the books to speak to customers, but mostly I have been trying to talk them out of buying them (don't tell the boss).
I then read a couple of other erotica novels, to get a feel for what is out there, and there are so many better written books! Those authors must be weeping for the publicity and money E L James is raking in.

I was lucky to get an advanced reading copy of Shadow of the Night, the follow up to The Discovery of Witches. I really enjoyed the latter, and thought the follow up very good.
And now, in a surfeit of riches, I am reading Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, which is part two of her trilogy about Thomas Cromwell. I thought the first part (Wolf Hall) was brilliant, and I am really enjoying this one too.

When we went on holiday, our friends were reading Fifty Shades.., and for a laugh, I put on my radio announcer BBC voice and read random passages. It was hilarious because, as AstroKath rightly points out, it's not well written at all. It's basically soft p**n as far as I can tell, which is fine if that what you choose to read, but don't try to upsell it as lit. :->

In the author's defense, I did hear that she wrote it only for her husband and did not intend it for publication. However, that's not been confirmed so who knows how accurate that is?

We've been watching the TV series, The Game of Thrones which has a good story but really just seems to be a vehicle for more soft p**n and gore. Are the books like this? (Again, not judging. I now understand why my guy friends are all in this!) :-)

I just finished up The Long Afternoon by Giles Waterfield which is a short read set in the earlier part of the twentieth century. A wealthy couple move to the French Riviera to find a house. They had been living in India, but had a tragedy there along with health problems (they are both "delicate") and so the town in France is thought to be a health spa.

As world events progress, and WWI comes, the couple seem to be unaware of how things are changing around them. As the years go on, the wife, in particular, is resistant to noticing change and lives her idle indulgent life as before. As the world seems to be falling apart around them, their family of two sons also seems to be battling problems as well, and it is this slow-moving car wreck feeling that keeps you reading. The tension is well done, and the ending. Phew. Perfect, really.

A good fast read.

Also finished up The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, and now starting The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.

So, as AstroKath states above, "a surfeit of riches"...

Twobigdogs -- yes, that town is a blink on the highway. Small world -- we are both named Pam. Maybe it was a popular name is Pennsylvania coal country.

Just finished The Love of a Good Woman by Alice Munro (short stories) and Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America by Barbara Ehrenreich.

Liz, Fifty Shades began life as Twilight fanfic, I believe. Like you, I have no problem with erotica, but it should be decently written, not just a bunch of (boring) sex scenes. This must be one of the few books to go from an ebook to a paper one.

JW - What did you think of the Ehrenrich book about positive thinking? I've been looking at that for some time, but not actually picked it up.

Reading a "arty" graphic novel book called "Women's World" by Graham Rawle. Fiction about an older brother and sister who live together in Surrey (UK) in the 1960's or perhaps 70's. The text is put together using cut out letters and words from loads of older women's magazines and reflects the PoV of the protagonist, the sister who is obsessed with clothing and looks. There is something going on, an undercurrent that I can't quite work out right now -- something's gonna happen!

It's a good change from Wharton and other "serious" reads. I think WW will deal with serious issues - it's just handled in a creative manner. Good so far.

Here is a link that might be useful: Women's World: A Novel - Graham Rawle

PAM, the book about The Holy City is "A Gentleman of Charleston and the Manner of his Death" by William Baldwin, based upon a real life murder. The house where the murder took place is still standing --- a restored dentist's office.

lemonhead, I thought that the Ehrenreich book was saying something important. She traces the "positive thinking" idea from the 19th century through Norman Vincent Peale and into the present, but her focus is on contemporary manifestations of the kinds of advice that tell us we must "keep smiling."

Has anyone read Cutting for Stone? It was highly recommended to me by a friend I trust, and the views on amazon are superb. I think I'll start it.

Recently I watched a TV program about Wallis Simpson based on "That Woman" by Anne Sebba. It was so interesting that I have requested the book. Although it claimed new insights into the events leading to the abdication of the King, I did know some of these things already. What I didn't know was that they married on the same date as I did just after I was born on the Coronation Day of George the Sixth! Strange co-incidence!

marita, I listened to Cutting for Stone a couple of years ago and it is excellent.

I just finished listening to the sixth Simon Serailler book, Betrayal of Trust, and I hated it. The other five were good reading (or listening), even though her writing is a little dark. The subject matter of this one was just plain depressing and there were so many subplots, all of which were depressing. As usual, she doesn't resolve many, if any, subplots, but I just wanted the book to be finished and I think she felt the same way because it suddenly ends. If you plan to read this series by Susan Hill, please don't start with this one. Ugh.

Now I'm ready for something very light and fluffy. I think Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews will be just what I need.

I also read & really enjoyed Cutting For Stone, actually recommended to me a couple of years ago by my Dr.

Frances I agree with you about Betrayal of Trust, I have been reading the Susan Hill series, and in fact just finished The Shadows in the Street, does every book have somone dying of Cancer...? No one ever seems to be cured - which is not my experience with Cancer!

I am still working my way through the Barry Maitland series and have the last one Chelsea Mansions to pick up from the library.

Meanwhile I am reading a couple of thriller freebies on the kindle, some of them not bad at all, I finished The Perfect Assassin and am now reading The Last Justice.
Some of the free books are awful & I delete them after struggling with them for awhile, others are suprising as good as any of the better known authors.

For those that like to read what I consider 'light sci-fi' I read and enjoyed WOOL by Hugh Howey which I bought as the Omnibus 1-5 for the kindle. Apparently it had been released in parts, but this one is all in one book. Then I read the Prequel, and am actually looking forward to more-as I am sure there is more to come in the series-well I hope!

My copy of Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel arrived a couple of days ago and I look forward to the "further adventures of Thomas Cromwell" for a complete change of pace. LOL!

Pat

I reread Airs Above the Ground, a 1965 book by Mary Stewart, in advance of an upcoming trip to Central Europe where we have tickets to see a performance of the Lipizzaner horses. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and didn't remember a single word of it, which makes me want to go back and read the other Stewart books.

Now I've started the latest Anne Perry, Dorchester Terrace, and it involves anarchists from Austro-Hungary. Don't you love synchronicity?

Carolyn, I wanted to see the Lipizzaner horses while I was going to be in Vienna, on holiday from Australia, because I had read that book! I got a German friend to write for tickets months in advance. When I went to collect them, I was asked if I would like seats in a better position. This turned out to be in a box under the VIP one and in a prime facing position. It was a magnificent show. A wonderful memory!

I, too, enjoyed a performance of the Lippazaners in Vienna, years ago.

I took a detour and went down Memory Lane, to re-read "Anne's House of Dreams", one of the Green Gables series. My copy dates from 1917!

Now, I am trying to get into Katherine Howe's "House of Velvet and Glass." The plot goes back and forth in time and place and I am wondering what the Shanghai part of the story will have to do with the part set in Boston, just after the sinking of the Titanic. I don't think I like this as well as her other novel, "The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane."

Pat, how are you liking Bring Up The Bodies? I haven't yet made up my mind to read it because I found the writing style of Wolf Hall to be so annoying although I did come to really like Cromwell. Since I've read that this is the second book in a planned trilogy I assume Cromwell will make it out of this book alive.

In Susan Hall's books the characters suffer different problems, not just cancer. For example, one of the books focused on mad cow disease!

On my Kindle I'm just finishing up Force of Nature, the 12th Joe Pickett book by C. J. Box. Pickett is a game warden in the west and I love these books. I don't have the next book in mind yet and am looking forward to choosing one.

Marita -

I also really enjoyed Cutting for Stone, but found that it was a book that I had to give some big chunks of time to keep it all straight. However, I would consider that the weakness of this reader as opposed to the author.

:-)

Just finished up Wharton's The Age of Innocence which was a fun read. Then a graphic novel whose plot blew me away in unpredicabilitiness (word choice?) and now, as it's five million degrees here in Texas, going to read The Winter Book by Tove Janssen to hopefully cool me down. It's already reached past 100 degrees this week so am curious what this means, if anything, for the rest of the summer when it (traditionally) gets hotter. :-)

Oh, and reading The Turn of the Screw by one of Wharton's contemporaries, Henry James. Not bad so far.

Finished Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter, a terrific book that should be required reading in U.S. schools. It will stay with me always.

Getting ready to move, just reading bits and pieces of things before I go to sleep at night.

Astrokath, I am positively envious you have already read Shadow of the Night but I'm more pleased you thought it was good! Less than a month to go, I can't wait for my copy to arrive.

After being sidetracked a bit, I finally finished my re-read of The Forgotten Garden for my book group tomorrow night. I do love Kate Morton! It should be an interesting discussion as one book group member already told me she loved it, while another told me she didn't like it much at all ... we'll see.

I also (finally!) had the opportunity to watch the 1995 BBC version of Pride & Prejudice with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth -- and as promised, it was perfect.

A re-read of Discovery of Witches will be next on my list.

I had trouble finding a good book to read, but finally decided on "Ready Player One," -- recommended by my daughter. It looks like it's gonna be good.

I am reading a wonderful book "A Recipe For Bees" by Gail Anderson-Dargatz, the main character Augusta is so like the young Hagar from "The Stone Angel", the author is Canadian, they sure do produce some great writers.

Finished Nathaniel Philbrick's Sea of Glory. Like I mentioned earlier, it was a bit of American history I had never heard of before. I was fascinated from page one straight through to the end.

Now finishing up An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor. Light and fun. It should go quickly.

Siobhan, Glad you liked The Light in the Forest. For me, it was one of those books that I wondered why I hadn't heard about it before. Where are you moving? A new town? A new house?

PAM

Yes, I don't know why we didn't read that in school - it is perfect as a learning tool.

I'm staying in the same town - I have very luckily found a new home that is perfect for me and half the price that I am paying right now. I feel like I have won the lottery. It's a small cottage on a gorgeous piece of property with an oceanview. This will be much more like home, and I plan to stay there for quite a while. I'm not interested in buying property right now - I would like to keep my options open.

I stayed up late finishing a rather amusing YA novel called Warriors - Into the Wild by Erin Hunter about a tribe of feral cats. Normally I find this type of anthropomorphism repugnant, but it sucked me in and is quite well-written. Don't actually recommend it, as it rather too idiosyncratic. I quite enjoyed it, though, an easy read and a nice escape.

Siobhan,it sounds like heaven -- a cottage with an oceanview!

Frances I haven't started Bring Up the Bodies yet. I had several requests in at the library & when they say a book is ready for pick up I feel obligated to read & return it right away as there are always others behind me waiting for that book!

I just finished The Chemistry Of Death by Simon Beckett, he is a 'new to me' author and I have already requested his 2nd book from the library. The lead character in the books is a renowned Forensic Pathologist and therefore the book was somewhat similar to Patricia Cornwell-but not really (!) the book takes place in a village in Norfolk England. I thought it quite good.

I am finishing up a freebie sci-fi book on the Kindle, The Stars Rain Down by Chris Randolph, I had set it aside for the library book & before the Mantel book arrived.

Pat

It is quite wonderful, Frances! I am very, very excited. It will be a great home for me and the two kitties.

After sort of making fun of the YA book I just read, I found myself thinking about it and wondering what would happen to the characters. So I put in a request for the next one on ILL. Where's the harm after all? I have been ready a lot of nonfiction lately, some pretty weighty and good stuff, so a bit of fluff is okay for now.

Wood,

A belated THANK YOU for the title and author of the Charleston book. I have ILL-ed it from my library as it is not on the shelves. Looking forward to reading it.

PAM

I finished Katherine Howe's "House of Velvet and Glass", which I found very satisfying in the end. Learned a lot about the use of opiates in the early 1900's, not only in China, but in the USA.

Now, I am just finishing up Richter's "The Light in the Forest." It's a beautiful story and should be required reading for American school kids. (I remember when it used to be). It had been sitting in my bookcase, unread, for years. I am glad I pulled it out.

I recently cat/house sat for a cousin and, because she is a semi-invalid, staying at her home is akin to living in a library with all the latest electronics and connections. Heavenly! I caught up with Sharyn McCrumb and discovered a silly but fun Southern Sisters series of murder mysteries by Ann George. The two sisters are a frequently married bossy 65 year old and a 60 year old long married just retired English teacher. And I am just the age to be amused. Brought a couple back home with me and then kindled more.

Reading the fabulous Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in the Markets and in Life by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Enjoyable in spite of my not knowing much of anything about economics. Really a book about philosophy.

Siobhan - don't worry about liking that cat warrior book... My nephew (who is now close to 15) adored that series and still does. Besides, what's not to like about cats who kick b**t?...

:-)

Just finished up Howards End by E. M. Forster. What a good read and so many levels to think about... The accompanying Merchant/Ivory film is supposed to be lovely as well so perhaps I can watch this weekend with hubby out of town. Now, perhaps I could pick up A Passage to India which I tried before but couldn't stick with. Maybe this time will be better timing.

Also reading On Royalty by Jeremy Paxman about the various royal families in Europe... Funny so far, although haven't got too far along in it just yet. (Got sucked up into the world of Howards End.)

Why no apostrophe in Howards End? It just looks wrong to me.
:-)

Your post is very timely, lemonhead, as I just brought home the second cat book. Any book that stays with me (in a good way) and makes me wonder what happens next is worth reading. I can see why it would be popular with young people - the fact that the protagonist is a cat is almost secondary. A young creature leaves his comfortable home for freedom and danger and excitement, lives a tribal hunter-gatherer lifestyle - yep, it's fun. And it's well-written.

Also, early this morning, perhaps around 2 AM, I got the sudden urge to read Proust. In a few minutes I had the first part of In Search of Lost Time on my Kindle and I can hardly put it down. I think I am at the right time in my life to read this.

Liz, I loved the Merchant/Ivory film of "Howard's End." I have watched it over and over again.

I finished Richter's wonderful "Light in the Forest" and am now reading something quite different: "Titanic: the Legends and the Realities" by Eaton and Haas. I keep finding books in my 4 large bookcases that I have never read....

I'm reading Massie's "Catherine the Great." Wonderful, wonderful.

Siobhan - I can *honestly* say that I have never, in my whole life, woken at 2am with a pining for Proust... Am I missing something wonderful?...

Was looking for something a little more fluffy than my recent titles, so picked up Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves - PG Wodehouse. It was written in the 1960's and every now and then, there is Jeeves' mentioning some far-out sixties thingy which is a bit jarring. Apart from that, it's good as usual.

While I agree with Lemonhead about never awakening with a pining for Proust, I am curious enough to ask why this author? Never having read him myself, the fact that you traded sleep to read him tells me his work is something extraordinary?

Now dipping my tow into Henry James' What Maisie Knew, written in 1897, it centers on the life of Maisie, a child of divorce. Interesting concept since divorce was so taboo in the Victorian Era. And since the skies look like thunder today, perhaps I will have time to settle down and enjoy it a bit.

PAM

The year I lived in France and studied at the Sorbonne, we had to read large portions of Proust's "A La Recherche de Temps Perdu" in French. Shall I just say, it was an INTENSE experience....

I have had to change to stronger lenses and stopped reading for over a week as it was difficult while the print was curved and blurry. I bought some CDs of favourite books but found it hard to concentrate on the story for as long as I would have read! I have so many threads to catch up on too!
Chris, I loved the Southern Sisters and was sorry there will be no more. I actually wrote to the publishers suggesting another writer could continue the series but they never replied. It is like someone moving away and never getting in touch again, don't you think?

Annpan, exactly! I'm in the middle of the last one now and find myself reluctant to finish it.

Like PAM, when I reread The Light in the Forest, I felt like it was taking place in my backyard. In fact, I think it mentions the town of Carlisle, where I grew up.

Since I am now a contributor to my library's book blog, lately my reading is very focused on books which would meet our guidelines for review, and am looking at a lot of advance reader copies. I, too, have Shadow of the Night on my Kindle and am waiting to read that and Dennis Lehane's Live by Night when I am at the beach in a few weeks.

One of my favorites recently is Ron Rash's The Cove; Sharyn McCrumb fans would probably like him as he, too, writes of Appalachia and its mountain dwellers. I also enjoyed, and admired the writing of, The Book of Jonas (Stephen Dau) about an young middle-eastern refugee with a link to an MIA US soldier, and Joseph Monninger's The World as We Know It about which deals with family relationships as well as the ties between people, animals, and nature.

I have sadly finish reading "A Recipe For Bees" by Gail Anderson-Dargatz, for those who enjoyed "Stone Angel" by Margaret Laurence this novel is a must read.

I am well in to "Home" by Toni Morisson and it is a dream read.

Yes, junek- "Home" Toni Morrison's latst is a dream to read. 2 hours well spent! I always worry I might be disappointed when a book that is great deamnd on my library hold list suddenly turns up in my ready to read list. Not this time!!

Lemonhead- Thank you for your recommendation of Sonya Hartmett's "Of A Boy" I found a copy and loved it. My Fairfax Co. VA. library didn't have it. I found a used perfect condition paperback copy on Amazon, with shipping- under $5.( original cost- Inc GST $24.95 ) I don't know where it had been, but stuck in the back was a form, a doctor's statement for "Social Security and Statutory sick pay purposes" ( 2/3/07 )Glasgow, Scotland.
Another Pam

Last week I finished Laurie Graham's Gone With The WIndsors, which I chose because of discussions about it here at RP. Thank you! I loved this book. True, much of the book is funny, mainly because of dear, ditzy Maybell's telling of the tale. But it is also a great commentary on the culture and values of Britain's elite at the time. And underlying it all is the approach of WW2, with "Mr. Hitler" being the subject of casual dinner conversation. Graham has created deeply lovable characters in this story.

So am continuing with Graham, now reading The Importance of Being Kennedy, told from the standpoint of an invented children's nanny. This is a more serious book, with a startling castigation of Rose Kennedy and, to a lesser extent, Patriarch Joe, and a lot of sympathy for the downstairs folk, the "help". Graham is an unusual writer, and she depicts various cultures - British, Irish, American - with tremendous skill. I'll be looking for more from her.

Sable - I think you will enjoy Graham's earlier work. I have just finished an early book called Perfect Meringues which is, according to her website, the most autobiographical of her works. (Really funny in places as well, and very true to life.)

I would also like to re-read The Future Homemakers of America which I know I have read but honestly can't remember a thing about. I don't think that that means it was a bad book - I think it was before I started to pay more attention to what I read whilst I was reading it.

For me, I am nearly done with Superfreakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. I am not that interested in economics (as a whole), but this is economics made more palatable by having been written in a Malcom Gladwell style and so this is really interesting. I don't usually read much/at all about economics (due to lack of interest), but this is a very interesting find. Yeah for reading outside one's comfort zone!

I finished the Titanic book. Have also just finished a wonderful, inspiring story set in the Native tribes' region of British Columbia: "I Heard the Owl Call My Name" by Margaret Craven. It was quite similar in theme to "The Light in the Forest", and spiritually quite moving. Craven's novel depicts a vanishing way of life in one of the most beautiful forests of the world.

Hey Wood - I *loved* Craven's novel - rather poignant, I thought. I am thinking there might be a follow-up to this, but I may well have dreamed that.

I adore Craven's work as well. I've read it at least four times. In fact I think I will read it again - it is in "treasured but battered and deteriorating paperback" collection.

Also, it rather ties in with this "Warrior" YA series that I might as well admit that I am enjoying tremendously. I am very interested in tribal cultures, paleolithic times, etc., and although she uses cats as her protagonists, she explores the tribal and hunter-gather life. Sort of like Jean Auel, but interesting and fast paced. Erin Hunter is that most precious of beasts, a great storyteller. I've read three, and if they stay this good, I will read them all.

Liz, I looked up M. Craven and learnt she did write a follow-up, an autobiography, and several other books, as well. She was born in 1901 and "I Heard the Owl Call My Name" was inspired by a trip she made to British Columbia under the aegis of the Anglican Church. In the novel, I loved the descriptions of the "potlatch" tribal celebrations and tribal dances. I enjoyed the mocking portrait of the visiting anthropologist who could not correctly pronounce the tribal name, and wondered if this was not a take-off on Margaret Mead, who did, in fact, visit the Kwaqcuitals and record their folkways and customs.

I have heard that it is a bit of send-up of Mead. Interesting, isn't it?

I looked up 'Erin Hunter' and found out she is not a person, she is four people. I suspected something like that when I saw how many books there are! And the name seemed to be an obvious pseudonym. I am pleased that all the writers are women.

It's not a book, but I am listening to some recorded lectures about C.S. Lewis - fascinating. I knew he was an extraordinary man, but he is even more extraordinary that I could have imagined.