IÂm still trying to decide what book to start. I have three IÂm debating on. The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, or Atonement by Ian McEwan. Any suggestions?

Hazel I enjoyed Atonement, but haven't read the others....something about The Lovely Bones just didn't appeal to me-but hey I could be wrong-wouldn't be the first time lol...I know a lot of readers enjoyed it.

I am currently reading The Diary of Mattie Spenser by Sandra Dallas & much to my surpise I am really enjoying it!!! I read her Persian Pickle Club & more recently TallGrass & this earlier one of hers was recommended to me. I always knew I would never had made it as a pioneer. This book is so well done I am enjoying 'her diary' of her travels to Colorado with her new husband-I know I would never had survived it!

Pat

Well I tried The Lovely Bones out and managed to choke it down....there were some very lovely and poignant parts to the book, but most of the time it was just gut-wrenching (so much for my attempt at a "light" read...ha ha) So I guess I will try out Atonement now. Thanks for the suggestion.

I started the Daniel Silva, and enjoying it as expected, but it is a trade paperback borrowed from work and needed something smaller to take on the bus, so am also reading a Kyle Mills *g*

Congratulations phaedosia! I loved the name you chose last time.

I had a really hard time with The Lovely Bones although I find the author's story so compelling that I would almost buy the book just to support her, even if I couldn't read it. Her emergence as a literary voice and bestselling author is a testament to the triumph of the human spirit.

I'm rereading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and enjoying it immensely.

Reading now A Country Affair by Rebecca Shaw, the first of the Barleybridge novels, about a veterinary practice set in a small village in Yorkshire. Cozy, with likeable characters. There are four more books in this series, but I think only the first 3 are available in the US.

Phaedosia,
Sorry to hear about your morning sickness, but congrats on the baby girl! I read an article years ago about a study that found that ginger helps with morning sickness. Since the amounts needed to provide relief would ruin ginger for life for anyone, they recommended taking ginger pills.

I'll have to check out A Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier. I got The View from the Seventh Layer by him from our library, but haven't checked if they have this other one. I like the way he writes.

Lemonhead,
Glad to hear your moles were removed in the precancerous stage. My sister had melanoma, but, thank God, it was caught when still very small.

Just finished The Scales of Justice by Ngaio Marsh, one of the better of her Roderick Alleyn mysteries.

Now reading The Terracotta Dog by Andrea Camilleri. As usual when reading Camilleri, I feel as if I have been transported to Sicily.

Warning:
Atonement is NOT a light read.

Packing up some paperbacks for the trip to Oregon-some Wodehouse, some Christie so far....the pile will grow.

Just finished "The Sheltering Sky" by Paul Bowles. It made me want to re-read "A Little Original Sin" which is about wife, Jane Bowles, so have started that one. I am ready for our book discussion.

Thanks to everyone for their concern over the state of my moles on my back. My stitches are healing nicely, and it would be perfect if I could just lay around and eat chocolate and read. I really think that would help the healing process.

However, unfortunately I am not a millionaire so I have to go to work.

Thanks again. Fingers crossed for the pathology reports to be good.

My daughter was in Portland, OR, week before last on a business trip and paid a visit to Powell's Bookstore. She brought me a bookmark, a map of the store, and a couple of used paperback mysteries. She said the store is wonderful; wish I could see it. We do have a small local store here with both new and used books and with two locations; unfortunately, neither of them is near me. I do manage to visit once in awhile.

My sister, two brothers, our spouses, and I are going on an Alaskan cruise in a couple of weeks; hence, the gift of small books. Some are flying, but I'm in the bunch that is leaving next week and driving cross country to Vancouver. What with driving time to and from and the cruise, I'll be gone for weeks. Don't forget me!

Carolyn, my aged US Aunt sailed up the Alaskan coast recently, and despite being well-travelled (her husband was an 'Army Man') she said she regretted not having made the trip years ago.
How long will it take to drive to Vancouver?
Hope you keep some sort of diary with which you can entertain us at RP on your return. ;-)

Carolyn, I did that cruise about 4 years ago and had a fabulous time. Find a good spot with windows at the front of the ship for spying whales. Depending on the cruise line, you may find a large library with current novels. I can highly recommend visiting the temperate rain forest in Sitka - great for watching salmon. If you stop in Ketchikan, a trip to Mystic Fjord is a lot of fun.

Just read Invasive Procedures by Orson Scot Card and Aaron Johnston and enjoyed it. I liked Ender's Game tremendously when we read it for discussion here. But then I tried a run of Card novels that I just didn't like at all, and didn't finish. This looked promising, and I'm glad I tried it.

Took a break from Harry Potter to read the title for my scifi book group, The Road to Mars by Eric Idle. Yes, that Eric Idle, the one from Monty Python.

The main story follows a comedy duo, Ashby and Muscroft, as they attempt to leave the sticks of the solar system (the moons of Jupiter and Saturn) and hit the Big Time: Mars. On the way they encounter revolutionaries, Big Stars, other comedians, love, lust, and explosions. Meanwhile, Carlton, their faithful robot factotum is busily writing a thesis on the nature of comedy, which has been discovered by the framework narrator eighty years later.

Not a terribly successful effort, I'm afraid. While the satire is fun, interrupting a funny narrative with recycled facts on the nature of comedy is not. Carlton spends so much time pointing out that comedians are generally Not Nice People that it's hard to feel any sympathy for Ashby's romance or Muscroft's strained relations with his ex-wife and daughter. Nor is there any reason to have written this as scifi; it could just as easily been set during the era of vaudeville (well, except for the robot...)

Not recommended except for the desparate.

I'm reading Return to Sullivans Island by Dorothea Benton Frank. I enjoy her books, but my daughter loves them, buys them, and passes them along to me to read.

Vee, we are allowing nine days to drive to Vancouver. My BIL, the driver, thinks it will take five traveling days, leaving four to stop by Rocky Mountain National Park, the Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone NP. We won't take that long coming home--the only plan is to see the Badlands, Black Hills, and Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota.

Chris, I do plan to make notes. None of us has been to Alaska. Not sure how much travel info anyone would want to read. You all can let me know.

Took a "mental health day" from work yesterday and got a lot of reading done. Read three books for my book review column (this has taken up a lot of time lately), and then finished "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodie Picault. Good story, and kept me reading, but not rivetting for some reason.

Also ended up taking back all my (unread) library books as I realized that the scolding I rec'd from my DH re: the state of my books was actually en pointe and so I returned these books unread. I can always check them out another time, and in the meantime, I have five million books at home to choose from. I really intend to make a dent in those over the next few months (just in time for the FoL Book Sale)....

I am having trouble carving private Liz time from my DH. After six years of having evenings on my ownsome and doing whatever I like, he is now home every night due to the new job, and wants to do something "together" each night.

I realize this is a lovely problem to have (lots of married people don't necessarily want to spend time together), but it's difficult for me to carve out reading time without seeming like I'm telling him to buzz off. Any hints?

Liz, without wanting this to sound like a letter to 'Dear Worried' and despite this being a site for people who enjoy reading, the books will be waiting for you when you return from whatever jaunts you and the old man take.
From what you say about being 'scolded' for the state of your books . . .what do you do to them . . . scribble on the covers, throw then all over the floor? . . . it sounds as there is an unnecessary 'book issue' happening in your home.
The best place to conceal library books is among other books. I bet the Great Detective wont notice them there.
I don't know what is on offer by way of evening entertainment in your area, but he will soon notice the cost of nightly fun and games and probably be willing to cut back to a couple of evenings a week or go out with his men buddies leaving you to play with the cat, knit yourself a shawl or do some extra reading.
Take this from someone who has been married for over thirty years to a man who never ever wants to go out in the evening and who regards the only places of entertainment (the local pubs) as the entrance to the Fiery Pit. ;-)

I have no advice to offer Liz-maybe it is all due to not being married very long?
Like Vee - have been maried over 30 years & DH & I do not live in each others pockets-I suppose we are lucky to have enough rooms to have our own space & our own computers & our own interests! Of course we share time & talk, but both love to read-he non-fiction & he tells me about what he is reading, but leaves me in peace to read my own books!

I am currently trying to get interested in The Help which is for one of my book forums. It is not a book I would choose to read & am not sure I will finish it-I will give it a little more time before deciding.

I have lots of books sitting here I want to get to including a library book Stone's Fall by Iain Pears.

Pat

The "scolding" came in the form of a humorous but rather snippy comment about having piles of books surrounding the bedside table. I thought it was actually rather nice to have such a wide selection so close, but upon reflection and remembering that my hub is rather minimalist in how he likes things, I can see how this might drive him crazy after a while esp when I just go to the library and get MORE of the suckers.

Thus - I have only decided to get books from the library for that book review column (since I don't own any kids' books) and I have also decided to turn off the evil "One Click" on amazon (which made it far too effortless to buy another book).

DH and I have been married 22 years and so we know each other's foibles. He likes guns and gadgets. I like books.
My stuff just happens to be more noticeable. Darn it.

And you're right - the books will always be there. :-)

PAM - Sorry I didn't comment sooner on your lovely list of books. I've read several Sylvia Boorstein books and always enjoy her. I really like It's Easier Than You Think. And, in fact, I have given my copy away. I think I'll purchase another one. Hope you enjoy it.

Several years ago, I read Mark Salzman's book Lying Awake, a fascinating story.

I'm reading Rush Home Road for my book group. It's pretty grim, so I can't read it before bed. Therefore, I'm re-reading Christopher Moore's Fluke -- probably my favorite of his books.

Thank you for the welcomes!

Carolyn, I have family in Vancouver WA (right over the river from Portland) and they are always raving about PowellÂs. I am going to have to make a trip in there one of these days. Have fun on your trip! Alaskan cruise sounds like fun.

I am still reading The AngelÂs Game which is very good but not quite as good as his first novel.

At the age of 44, I just finished my graduate degree in June. It has been hard the last couple of years because there has been almost no time or energy for pleasure reading. So reading this summer has felt like reacquainting myself with an old friend.

Finally listened to Janet Evanovich's Finger Lickin Fifteen and had a couple of laugh out loud moments. I always, while reading, end up eating something Stephanie Plum is eating in the book. This time it was peanut butter sandwiches. Last time it was those butterscotch tasty cakes which I hadn't touched for a quarter century. Not as funny as usual. And I have a bone to pick. I certainly remember Ranger being about Stephanie's height, short for a man. Somehow he is now almost 6 feet tall. Anyone else remember it the way I do?

The tide is in, the bushes are bursting with blueberries, the ducks are arguing with the seagulls - it must be holiday in Maine. I'm writing this from a storybook seaside cottage in the mid-coast area. I've only been here since Saturday, but it feels like weeks. Must be the absence of time eaters like TV and telephones. Luckily I brought books with me - really, really good books. I'm thoroughly enjoying The Angel's Game, although it's not for everyone. Several slim volumes of poetry have been read aloud to the DH who is recovering from a tonsillectomy. The cat has caught one chipmunk so far (released unharmed, back to its home in the woodpile). Life is good.

Tricia Lynne - congrats on the degree. Hope it was fun and enlightening at the same time.... Enjoy your free time!~

Siobhan - I am so envious of where you are. It sounds like a perfect location. Hope your DH recovers quickly. Do they really give you lots of ice cream to eat when you have that? :-)

Reading "The Glass Castle" by Jeanette Walls. Her family are insane, but it seems that she made it through ok in the end. She is coming to the university in the fall semester for a reading and I wanted to make sure I had read her book before then. It's a good read, but wow - it makes you happy for your own family (at least it did for me)....

Finished Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin. Nice to read a historical novel by someone who 'knows' her history. This one would be of interest to those RP'ers interested in Arthurian legends and is set in Glastonbury, the slightly 'weird' town (even today) in Somerset.
Spoilt by Terry Denby. A total change of pace. Denby comes from one of those dysfunctional feckless families that live on Govt. handouts, have too many unwanted kids and know every wrinkle in the UK welfare system.
His mother gave him up into 'care' when he was six and the book is the story of his time in orphanages/reform school and living in the sub-culture of London's East End. Amazingly, through taking up the guitar and playing in groups he has got himself out from his horrible background and is the only person in his extended family every to have had a proper job.
The Chameleon's Shadow by Minette Walters. A psychological thriller. Good, but necessary to be totally concentrated on who's who, where, why and what to follow the plot.

Vee, I loved Grave Goods and all the rest of Ariana Franklin's books.

I have discovered a new-to-me,quick-read mystery series--the Daisy Dalrymple books by Carola Dunn set in London between the wars.

I also just finished an Ariana Franklin novel: City of Shadows. It's fictionalized suspense featuring Anna Anderson, the woman who claimed for decades to be Grand Duchess Anastasia. Franklin acknowledges the irony of 'fictionalizing' an account of Anderson, as she put it in her Author's Notes:I have taken great liberties with her life. But then, so did she.The real Anna Anderson's whole life after 1922 was a fraud!

Vee, I agree that Franklin is very good with the historical aspects -- even when she's 'fictionalizing' she makes things seem very real.

I've just finished Jane Hamilton's Laura Rider's Masterpiece and Joanna Cannan's The Princes of the Land. Now I get to start the latest Anne Tyler!

I am SO glad to be re-reading Wuthering Heights. Could hardly put the book down and turn off the lights last night. What a difference a decade (or two) between readings can make! Will post my final thoughts when finished on the WH thread.

"Water for Elephants" leaped off the shelf and into my arms at the library last Saturday and so far the story has really grabbed me.

I am another who enjoys Ariana Franklin/Diana Norman's works.
I finished the Daniel Silva, The Defector, and thought it as good as usual. The story doesn't change much but it is still well written and exciting.
On the other hand, the Kyle Mills book I was reading, Darkness Falls had the interesting premise of someone stopping the world oil supply, but I thought the writing was stilted and predictable, which is a pity because I have enjoyed his others.
Now reading a forthcoming Tracy Chevalier book, Remarkable Creatures. This comes to me via my boss with a huge rave, so I am looking forward to it. It is based on the life of Mary Anning who was a spinster who collected fossils in the early nineteenth century.

I'm just back from vacation where I had lots of uninterrupted reading time -- bliss! I finished The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, which I thought was terrifically well-written/translated with original characters and situations, but the "ick factor" of the violence involved really put me off reading the sequel. Still, I'm glad to have read it.

I also polished off The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman (she's uniformly excellent no matter what she's writing, IMHO), My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger (very cute, and his books are always fun to read), and Big Stone Gap by Adrianna Trigiani (not bad, but not a keeper).

PAM, great library sale haul! I'm a big Pym fan, and loved Quartet in Autumn. It's one of her more melancholy books, but IMO still exquisite.

Socks, I loved Little Heathens when I read it last year. I particularly admired the author's spirit and optimism despite the hard times she lived in. Really an uplifting book.

Carolyn, so sorry to hear about your library flood! The thought of all those books (not to mention the computer system) being ruined is heartbreaking.

Lemonhead, hope your stitches are healing quickly. I had something similar done a couple years back and couldn't believe the scar left from one tiny mole! Better to have them gone, though.

Balrog and Tricia, welcome! Hope you enjoy it here as much as I have. Balrog, I have now adopted your comment One's to-be-read list should always exceed one's lifespan... as my book mantra, LOL. I used to just say I was stockpiling for retirement, but given the state of my TBR pile, I think your line is much more accurate.

It's good to be back :)

I'm about halfway through "Emily's Ghost" by Denise Giardina and like it very much. It's a fictionalized work about the 3 Bronte sisters, Emily, Ann, and Charlotte. I think it is going to play with some of the themes of "Wuthering Heights", as a tragedy to come is hinted at. (Oh, dear, I ended a sentence with "at"). Anyhow, the author has researched her English history well, so this is a plus, from my point of view.

Finished The Angel's Game last night - rather disappointing IMHO. I did enjoy the first half, then it let me down.

Now I'm reading The Sheltering Sky in hopes of finishing it in time to add something to the discussion, and also Pride and Prejudice as part of my Jane Austen summer.

Just finished up a book I was rather dreading reading, but had promised someone I would read it for my book review column. It was actually much better than I had anticipated (apart from some kind of fetish for ellipses) and I am going to give it a positive review. I don't know if it's available everywhere but it's called "The Recluse of Iffley Church" by Emily Beavers. She has a second in the series and actually, I am quite looking forward to that.

It's nice when you can find local talent that is actually talented. ;-)

I have just given up on Bitter Lemons by Lawrence Durrell. I liked it but find I need to read up on the history of Cyprus from WW2 leading up to the Turkish invasion, because he doesn't explain much of what he is writing about concerning the political situation on the island when he was there.

I am now reading:
Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers, which is enjoyable but long.
Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts. The film is on TV next Sunday and I want to read the book before I see it.
The City of Falling Angels, by John Berendt. I'll post something about this one on the non-fiction thread once I finish it.

I've been reading so much this summer. Finished My Sister's Keeper, City of Thieves, Sarah's Key and now I'm reading Firefly Lane. Next up is the Brief Wondrous Life...

I just finished Sarah's Key. It was an absorbing book. Although uneven at times, it definitely kept me interested. It even won out this afternoon over finishing a quilt.

I finished up The White Tiger, a darkly humorous look at modern Indian life. A worthwhile read, and since my book group matches our restaurant choice to the book, I'm looking forward to dinner, too.

Veronica-I read Sarah's Key last month & enjoyed it more than Suite Francaise.

I finished Stone's Fall by Iain Pears, a very convoluted story with a big twist ending.

I just started The Last Hostage by John Nance.

Pat

kkay - I really enjoyed reading The White Tiger, and liked the fact that the protagonist was rather unappealing but you still liked him just the same. (At least I did.)

It was also a nice change from the other Indian authors like Rohinton Mistry etc....

Pat - a co-worker asked to borrow it, so when I finished it I put it on her desk. Later in the day we were talking about it. Someone she knows is Jewish, and his family was in Paris at that time and were involved in the deportation. Some didn't survive. I told her of the camp survivors who lived in my neighborhood when I was a child. The connections that can be made...all because of a book.

I finished Tracy Chevalier's forthcoming book, Remarkable Creatures, today. It tells the story of Mary Anning, a woman from a poor background who was one of the first to find and dig up fossils of things like the ichthyosaurus and plesiosaurus. Her finds were all sold to collectors, but she was given some acknowledgement in her own life. It is a very interesting story and one of those that makes me want to go off and find out more.

I just finished listening to The Chopin Manuscript, which was great fun. I enjoyed every minute and recommend this to anyone who likes international thriller/spy type novels. This one is actually written by 15 different authors! Jeffery Deaver (who I believe conceived of the project) wrote the first and last chapters, and the others each wrote one chapter, leading to many plots twists and turns. Apparently they wrote in succession, each author receiving the completed chapters in turn. If you like this type of book, and if you like to listen to audiobooks, you will like this one. You might even like it if this isn't your genre, it is very entertaining. Obviously you could read the book instead of listening to it, but I think a book like this is particularly suited to the audio format.

Me again! I've just spent a pleasant evening reading Old Dogs are the Best Dogs by Gene Weingarten and Michael Williamson. The title is self-explanatory, and the book is not very long and half of it is photographs to boot. Really nice. I would like to own this one, but it's a library book.

Just finished "Emily's Ghost", which certainly made the 3 Bronte sisters come alive for me. It was so well researched and well-written that it made me toy with the idea of taking another shot at trying to re-read "Wuthering Heights". Those wild moors in Yorkshire must be gorgeous....

Finished Have His Carcase AND Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers. Such very different books. One is too long and overcomplicated and the other is brilliant, deep, juicy and just the right length, and there isn't even a murder.

Midnight Bayou made a nice little snack, and I thought the TV film was well done, although of course they changed the ghost story a bit.

Now reading The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers. A proper boy's own adventure - the sailing bits mostly go over my head, but the action is heating up and it's becoming gripping.

Finished up (gobbled up really) the rest of the Michael Dirda essays in his book "Reading" which I just loved and recommend for any serious book lover. The essays are engaging, intelligent and challenging all at the same time. I am not familiar with a lot of his work so most of this is new to me, but I am finding it delightful. Just had to order another one of his books to continue this delightful reading experience...

Then read "The Sheltering Sky" by Paul Bowles (see other thread for that), and then read my way through a book of quotations taken from children's books from long ago and quite recent. It was interesting to see just how en pointe some of the quotes could be when applied to adult life and its various issues. It was called "What the Dormouse Said" and was edited by Amy Gash. A good thrift shop find.

Now onto "Tepper isn't Going Out" by Calvin Trillan - an ordinary guy in NYC decides to sit in his car and read while waiting for his meter to run out. NYCers take it to be a sign of something and it builds from there. Nothing too outstanding, but not bad.

Astrokath wrote:

>I finished Tracy Chevalier's forthcoming book, Remarkable Creatures, today.

Thanks for the mention, Astro. The Wife will be interested; Anning is one of her heroes. Heroines. Role models...

Just started Harry Potter #7; this is only the second time I've read it, so I'm sure I'll catch a lot I missed the first time around.

Just got back from a week in New York's Finger Lakes region. I read two books while there:
1. Still Waters by Nigel McCreary, a mystery that was at once both hard-to-put-down and creepy.
2. The Samurai's Garden by gail Tsukiyama. I like her writing and this was a good book, just not as good as Women of the Silk and The Language of the Threads.

Now reading The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan.

PAM