Finished "Bachelor Girls: The History of Single Women in the Twentieth Century" by Betsy Isreal. Found this to be interesting - I had no idea that up until about the 1960's there was this incredible pressure to get married or be a "spinster" - what a choice for many people! Anyway, found it to be very interesting and I appreciate being alive now as opposed to then.

Now on to a lovely book called "Excellent Women" by Barbara Pym. This is my first foray into her work and I am loving it. Nothing much happens but it's great all the same. Can't wait to read more of her stuff. Thanks to all who recommended her. I love it!

Oh, Lemonhead, you have so much Pym to look forward to! I love her books, I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. She's a favorite of mine to re-read, too.

I just started Georgette Heyer's Lady of Quality and it's shaping up to be another winner.

I started Heyer's Venetia today and by page 15, (I'm carefully reading every word) I'm hooked.

Just started Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters and I'm really looking forward to it. After struggling through The Historian and then zipping through A Curious Incident..., I'm ready for some really fun reading.

Finished and really enjoyed the Barbara Pym ("Excellent Women") and went to the library expecting more, but they were all checked out. So returned empty-handed and started reading "Black Swan Green" bt David Mitchell which I am also enjoying. It's chock-full of eighties talk from England so I don't know how people who didn't grow up in England get all the references... Must be hard, I think, or people may miss a lot. I spent the eighties in both the US and England and so I had a lot of fun. I was older than the hero (he is only 13 and I was 17 in 1980) but still - the refs are hilarious.

Thoroughly enjoying it and going to read lots more of it tonight. Of course - got the reccie from here so thanks to all (again). Another good read. Yahoo.

Working on McEwan's On Chesil Beach; could another title be Much Ado About Nothing? Maybe I was born on the wrong side of the "sexual revolution" for this one.

Since I seem to have a soft spot for Indian authors and their stories, I am enjoying Thrity Umrigar's If Today Be Sweet about an Indian widow making a choice between moving to America to live with her son and his family or staying in India. Daniel Mason's A Far Country, which seems to be a coming of age story for an impoverished South American girl, moves slowly but not badly.

Cindy, I think I read that Uncommon Degree of Popularity. While the characters were all pretty uniformly unsympathetic, what struck me was how I see this drama playing out all the time with girls and their mothers. Small wonder the girls grow up and do the same thing.

lemonhead, I was so glad to hear your commentary re the 80's Brit slang in Mitchell's novel. I could not get past the first few pages of "Black Swan Green", as an American reader. A pity, because I really had wanted to enjoy it....

> still think fans and students of history should read this book

I will, thanks for the warning and recommendation!

>what struck me was how I see this drama playing out all the time with girls and their mothers

Oh yeah. The mom I mentioned above gives me the same scoop in her neighborhood. And yeah, the girls can't help but copy. What frustrated me about the book was that there was no one coming up with an idea to maybe change things, or someone (esp the girls) who was just enough of a rebel to show all that there is another way to live?

>Just started Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters

Enjoy. The Witches books are my favorite Disc world themes.

I was able to read Black Swan Green without much trouble. My problem was major disappointment after having read his Cloud Atlas. Wow, what a comedown.

I like McEwan but the premise of Chesil Beach just did not interest me at all.

Has anyone read Their Eyes Were Watching God? It was on the kiosk at my local used store. I've heard about it for years, and thought I'd try it next after I finish Bridgeport Bus (which was worth waiting for. Not the bus, the book :)

cindydavid -
I tried reading Their Eyes Were Watching God. It was laborious, but I thought I should keep trying. Nope...and it was eminently forgettable...I can't think of anything that I read!

I feel just the opposite. Isn't that funny. I really liked it. I read it eons ago, in college, then again a few years ago for my book group. Some of the images were so vivid that they actually remained in my mind from the first reading. If you decide to read it, let us know what you think.

Their Eyes Were Watching God has been one of my favorites for years. I agree with Sarah, the story is so vivid. I had to push myself to keep reading at first since it took a bit to get used to the dialect but then could not put it down--was actually reading it while making dinner. Zora Neale Huston was a fascinating, and controversial, woman in her own right and this story transcends race and socioeconomic class.

Interestingly, I read Black Swan Green when it first came out, and didn't notice the slang *g*

Mmm, I tend to have problems with dialects in books. Some like Twain can pull it off, others not so well. But I'll try a few pages and see.

I'm half-ways through The Crossing, which is Cormac McCarthy's second novel in his Border Trilogy. Unlike the first book (which takes place in 1949), this one starts in the 1930s. It's about a teenage boy who rides his horse down to Mexico; of course all sorts of adventures and tragedies occur.

It's beautifully written, but sometimes hard emotionally to read (at least for me). It's one of those books where you know something bad is going to happen; you just don't know how or when. I have a strong suspicion that the main character is going to come to a bad end.

Kelly

I'm still reading about Isak Dinesen and her "set", but took a short break to complete Anita Shreve's latest novel: "Body Surfing." I had found her last one very forgettable ("A Wedding in December"), so was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked her newest. In general, I find Shreve's writing uneven, her best, IMO, being "The Weight of Water."

This week I have read The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman and The Ghost At The Table-Suzanne Berne. They were both enjoyable. I have started The Bone Garden-Tess Gerritsen's newest. The plot is a departure for her and is very uneven. I'm still reading but not thinking it is near as good as other books she has written.

Bookmom, I enjoyed Daniel Mason's A Far Country, but I liked his first novel, The Piano Tuner much better. Have you read it?

Pam53, I read The Bone Garden several weeks ago, and I while I do agree that it's not quite as good as many of her other books, once I got about halfway through, I couldn't put it down. It's very readable and uncomplicated, if you know what I mean, and ended up being a fast, light read.

I confess that I tried reading Their Eyes Were Watching God and was completely put off by what I felt was an overemphasis on dialect. Sometimes dialect can be written in such a way that it feels natural and easy to read once you fall into a rhythm, but for some reason, I never could find my rhythm with that particular book. I gave up on it, but I still intend to pick it up again one day and try again. On the other hand, I had no problems at all with Black Swan Green.

I've been slogging through a Sci-Fi/Fantasy book by Sergei Lukyanenko called Nightwatch, the first in a trilogy. The translation from the original Russian is a bit trite, awkward, and uneven at times, and the overuse of exclamation marks is very distracting, but I'm enjoying what one review calls "Harry Potter in Gorky Park." As soon as I finish it, I'll be on to Patricia Cornwell's newly released Kay Scarpetta novel.

Color, I did read The Piano Tuner and agree, it is better than A Far Country.

Right now I have A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines to re-read for my bookclub. Hoping I find it as good the second time around.

I'm currently reading The Life and Work of Dennis Potter by W. Stephen Gilbert. The Amazon synopsis mentions that this biography is handicapped because Potter's family (with two exceptions) and most of his friends refused cooperation. I'm puzzled about why -- maybe it was just too soon after his death in 1994 -- and then of course there's the parts about "sexual abuse," but that sort of thing is discussed in many biographies so I don't know why Potter's would be any worse.

Vee, I've read your mentions of the Forest of Dean and Potter's connection to it. I also recall some of your descriptions of those born and raised there that you have had dealings with. Since I don't personally know anything about those folk and their patch of ground, I noted what you said as interesting, but without a frame of reference I chalked up the strangeness to my own ignorance. The only other book I've read that gives a bit of insight is Gordon Burn's Happy Like Murderers: The Story of Fred and Rosemary West, which I would think is hardly typical...but now I'm beginning to wonder.

One of the things I noticed in the latter book is Burn's use of repetition in telling the story of the Wests. He would say things such as (I'm paraphrasing):
Fred liked tools. Oh yes, Fred liked tools. Tools were Fred's thing. Tools and Fred.Unadorned, staccato, fragmentary. At first I thought this was a stylistic eccentricity of Burn, but I suspect now that he was mimicking the way Forest of Dean people converse among themselves, their way of telling a story. Evidently Potter also had this habit -- perhaps polished to a degree from being away from the area and working in television, etc. -- but still there underneath.

Another striking dialectical feature is the use of gender to denote inanimate objects, such as Fred West did when he didn't know the proper name of one of his tools, he called it "what's-her-name" or when he said of a chair, "I never liked him." I wish I could hear the pronunciations of the words: Zinnerfud for Cinderford, etc.

Vee, can you add a few things to help my understanding?

I can't get into Eat, Pray, Read My Book or whatever it is called. I just can't see why I should spend so much time with this author. Maybe it's my mood, but she is rubbing me the wrong way - from the beginning. Not finishing it. Done. Next...

I am on my third M.C. Beaton book, Death of a Charming Man. I am reading them completely out of order, unfortunately. But the pieces of Hamish McBeth's life are not difficult to put together. I am enjoyng them, but must try harder to read them in order.

Also reading Linwood Barclay's No Time for Goodbye. From the front cover: "You wake up, your house is empty, your family has disappeared..." Nothing literary about this book - a thriller for the Halloween-ey time of year. It's a semi-page turner. Just when I get bored, something happens to lift up my eyebrows. And so far, an easy read no matter how tired my brain is at the end of the day. I'll be finished in short order. If you like thrillers, this is one to get at the library as I can't see anyone reading it more than once.

PAM

re Dennis Potter. I'm sure most people in this still backwards neck-of-the-woods (literally as the Forest is almost on our doorstep) had no idea who DP was until his plays started appearing on TV. Apparently he only spent his younger childhood days here before going back to London and St Clement Danes school. He didn't leave a small Forest elementary school and go straight to Oxford. Of course kudos by association followed.
Pennies From Heaven used Dean locations and many children from the area took part in the school scenes.
I think what his extended family and many locals have against him is his use of subject matter. When anything of a sexual nature raises it head they become all coy and complain that "'ee do write dirty stuff, I sharnt be watching it" They don't want to see romping in the ferns under the oak trees.
It is not uncommon, especially among older people to use ''im and 'er' when speaking of inanimate things "'im have been giving me trouble for years" said about a car.
And as for Cinderford! I read in the travel section of a national paper not long ago something like "From a distance it could be mistaken for a Tuscan hill town" . . . yes, from a very great distance, through almost closed eyes on a dark night.
In all fairness until recently the whole area was very poor and grubbed a living from coalmining, stone quarrying (Toronto City Hall was built of Forest stone), charcoal burning, wood-cutting, sheep badgering (flocks of sheep still run lose over the whole area and cause many car crashes). They were cut off from the rest of the country by the rivers Wye and Severn and they have a deep mistrust of 'strangers'. Even to this day and to us who have lived in the area since 1980 they never fail to point out that we will never be accepted unless "Vorest born and bred"
The revolting Fred West certainly had connections with the area and it is suspected that some of his victims could still be buried near the houses of his relations. It is surprising how many locals just 'happened' to have to drive to the street in Gloucester where most of their dreadful deeds were done. The house (since pulled down) was at the bottom of a cul-de-sac but still the ghouls turned up to stare.
A book that paints a true picture of the old 'Forest' is Child of the Forest by Winifred Fowley. The BBC bought the story from her and it was read on 'Woman's Hour' many years ago. A most enjoyable read.

>I can't get into Eat, Pray, Read My Book or whatever it is called. I just can't see why I should spend so much time with this author. Maybe it's my mood, but she is rubbing me the wrong way - from the beginning.

I got half way through and finally tossed it aside in disgust. The first eyebrow raiser was when she decided to stop taking meds, lecturing everyone else on how they should too. Psych meds have saved the lives of many people. She acts like you could just drop your crutches and walk. The more I read, the more self centered, egotistical, and silly I found her. She's going to places like Italy, and writes nothing of what she sees. Its all about her and her divorce and sex life. Eh. I don't get the hype at all

Finished Bridgeport Bus; interesting, not what I expected. Theres a play within the book that really is ahead of her time, but one that works quite well to move the story along. I'd read more by her; any recommendation?

Now reading Alan Bennetts Untold Stories. Its one of those books you read bit by bit, but enjoying it. Its sort of a memoir, sort of a collection of his essays.

Tried really hard to enjoy "The Botany of Desire" by Michael Pollen, but just couldn't make it past the marijuana section (which I thought was going to be pretty interesting). I read through the apples (interesting), tulips (less interesting), but daydreamed my way through the marijuana and the potato sections. Boring. So put it down and now on to a book of short stories by Kim Edwards. "The Secrets of a Fire King".

Still early days, but hopefully this will make up for the boredom of the previous book.

I am happy to see that Oprah has chosen "Love in the Time of Cholera" for her book club. I love that book -- hopefully, others will as well.

I read Susan Hill's The Woman in Black and didn't find it nearly as scary as I'd hoped. I saw the author of Eat, Pray, Love on Oprah and she did seem a little bit self-involved. But I guess being depressed can do that to a person. She was pretty likable, otherwise.

Has anyone read Lisa See's Dragon Bones? I'm considering reading that after Wyrd Sisters.

>I am happy to see that Oprah has chosen "Love in the Time of Cholera" for her book club. I love that book -- hopefully, others will as well.

Loved that book as well. Saw the movie trailer for it and jsut cringed. If they do anything to change that plot, esp the ending, I will scream. I'm not going to watch it till I know the coast is clear.

>But I guess being depressed can do that to a person

I dunno, I didn't get the feeling she was very depressed, at least once she got traveling. I felt that it was her real self. She seemed to be able to turn on and off the depression at will.

I've been extremely leery of reading anything by Garcia Marquez since I struggled through One Hundred Years of Solitude. I don't do well with magical realism. However, I'm told that Love in the Time of Cholera is not as prone to fantasy. True?

Thanks, Vee, for the further elucidation about Forest of Dean folk.
When anything of a sexual nature raises it head they become all coy and complain that "'ee do write dirty stuff, I sharnt be watching it"That's quite comical, though, since they seem obsessed with the "dirty stuff." Or is that just outsiders telling tales about them?

What about the repetitious patterns in Gordon Burn's writing and Dennis Potter's style? Have you noticed this characteristic feature amongst the F of D people? It's really peculiar (unusual) and I'd be surprised if it's coincidental to these two fellas, telling stories about the denizens of this particular place.

I finished The Road and it is haunting me. I can't seem to stop thinking about it, trying to find some thread of hope. I need to find something cheerful to read next, cheerful and yet strong enough to be engaging. This will be a hard book to follow up.

Rosefolly

Finished The Pirate Queen. It wasn't so much a history book as a travel one, about the author's search for herself while searching for stories of seafaring women. I only realised near the end why the author's old name, Barbara Wilson (which she changed to Sjoholm after the journey she describes in the book) sounded familiar: I've read a mystery by her - quite a funny one titled Gaudi Afternoon.

I'm now reading Kingdoms of Experience by Andrew Greig. It's about an (unsuccessful) attempt to climb the North East ridge of Mount Everest in 1985, and the first mountaineering book I have read since I read about Hillary's ascent of Everest.

Frieda, re Gordon Burns style of writing local speech. I think country speakers tend to be slower than 'townies' and Glocestershire, as a county, is meant to have the slowest speakers in the country, but I feel Burns may have been doing it for dramatic affect; I'm not familiar with his writing.
After much searching about I have found the site below. You can scroll down to various eg's of local speech via Real Player or Broadband. Please don't tell me you don't have either because I can't help you further! Be warned they may take a while to 'warm up'.

As far as the sexual content of Potter's plays goes I think the same is probably true of all 'local' communities. They outwardly show disdain but still lap it up on TV courage and in the papers . . . how else would the tabloid press keep going? Certainly not for the content of their Arts and Financial pages. :-)
Remember also, that Fred and Rosemary West did not live in the 'Forest' but in the city of Gloucester, a down-market and rough (in places) in-land port. Certainly a couple of the girls they murdered came from north of this area and another lived to tell the sordid tale . . . I understand they where doing unprintable things to her but decided to stop and have a cup of tea (yes really) and the girl managed to escape.
So I might say although there is quite alot of violence around here it is not necessarily of a sexual nature. Just groups of youths beating each other up on a Saturday night, which seems to happen all over the UK these days.

Here is a link that might be useful: Forest Dialect

PAM - I agree with your assessment of No Time to Say Good-bye. It's the best thriller/page turner that I have read in a very long time! Very well crafted, and it works. I had fun reading it, I remember it more than 2 minutes afterward. Not great literature...true, but a book that deserves a couple of good cups of coffee, and a comfortable chair with a comfy quilt, reading.

I had to read the conversations between principal and teacher to my retired teacher husband. They are spot on perfect!

Whoops - Not Time For Goodbye

>However, I'm told that Love in the Time of Cholera is not as prone to fantasy. True?

Its been a while since I read it, but yes, as far as I remember, it is true. And while I liked Hundred Years, Cholera is by far my favorite of all of his works.

Rosefolly, I commeserate. I remember reading On the Beach for the first time and was like a zombie for a few days. I haven't read McCarthy, but I've heard that book is a mega downer. I usually recommend Good Omen to see human foilbles as being just that and to seeing that there is hope for us. Also gets you to laugh from page one.

'Good Omens' is such a great book. My copy is nearly worn through from so many readings. I never get tired of the humor I find in its pages.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about my most recent book read for book club, 'Running With Scissors.' The hype for this book has long since died, but a member insisted it be our October pick. I could waste your time sharing my extensive critique and the 1 or 2 moments I found even remotely amusing, but I won't. I was left with the knowledge that in the future I will stick with David Sedaris. IMHO, he reigns supreme in this type of fiction. I wish Burroughs had not even thrown his hat in the ring.

I'm moving on to Hermione Lee's biography of Virginia Woolf. I've been on a non-fiction kick lately. I hope it proves worth my 750-page investment.

I started Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. Thanks for mentioning it Pam53, it's started off quite nicely and I think I'll like it. I've briefly set aside Heyer's Lady of Quality as GS is a 7-day library loaner, but plan to get back to it ASAP.

I also picked up a copy of the book Affluenza by by John De Graaf and David Wann, about your basic Wretched American Consumerism. It promises to be an uncomfortable but, I hope, inspirational read.

sheri, Affluenza does sound inspirational. Have you started it yet? Sounds particularly appropriate in light of the looming Christmas shopping season.

I started a book my mother gave me; never heard of either it or the author. City of Light by Lauren Belfer takes place in 1901 Buffalo, narrated by a private school headmistress. Apparently it is a mystery which I generally don't choose but so far, it is intriguing as it explores the social conventions of the time, giving background on Buffalo ,usage of electricity and Niagra Falls.

>I've been extremely leery of reading anything by Garcia Marquez since I struggled through One Hundred Years of Solitude. I don't do well with magical realism. However, I'm told that Love in the Time of Cholera is not as prone to fantasy. True?

AMEN to what you said about One Hundred Years of Solitude, Frieda. It would take an awful lot to convince me to read another of his books. (Not that I actually finished One Hundred Years....)

I'm currently in the middle of The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. I'm finding it interesting, though not compelling. I've avoided reading any RP posts about the book because I don't want to stumble across any spoilers. Perhaps if were a biblical scholar, there would be no "plot intrigue" for me. For once, ignorance is on my side.

I had problems with Red Tent but it had nothing to do with the plot. Her writing just irritated me. I swear if she told us one more time what the red tent was for I was going to toss the book through the wall....

Bookmom, my book club is currently reading City of Light at my suggestion. I read it several years ago and loved it. This is the only book the author ever wrote, which may be why you never heard of her. I found the story fascinating, and the rich historical background as well. Who knew Buffalo was once such an important center of power and industry in the United States? Not I.

Rosefolly

I read Affluenza a little while ago and it was pretty good. Yes, a perfect read for the months before the crazy Christmas season. There is another book well worth searching for: Judith Levine's Not Buying It, My Year Without Shopping. She categorizes her purchases into "wants" and "needs" and decides to spend her money only on the "needs" for 365 days. Really a neat book.

Finished No Time For Goodbye last night. It was, as previously mentioned by me and by veronicae, a good but easy read. Don't buy it... library it. It's not worth the cash for two days reading and a lifetime of dusting it.

I think I need to hunt down Good Omens and read that next. I know it's around my house someplace (famous last words). My house is far from messy, just full of books. There IS a difference. Thanks to all who have raved about this book and have inspired me to finally read it.

PAM

PAM, so far I'm finding Affluenza very interesting, I'd like to see the PBS program that begat the book. I'll look for the Judith Levine book, too. I hope you enjoy Good Omens, it's one of my all-time favorites.

Bookmom, I read City of Light a few years ago and remember liking it a great deal. Let us know what you think of it.

In my usual state of library affairs in which all the books I've ever requested arrive all at once, The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs is ready to be picked up and it's another 7-day loan. Garden Spells, Affluenza, Lady of Quality, The Year of Living Biblically ... I'll just have to read faster *G*.

>I swear if she told us one more time what the red tent was for I was going to toss the book through the wall....

Oh Cindy, your comment has me laughing! (Not good since I'm in post-bronchitis coughing mode.) That is so true! The author is getting a lot of mileage out of a very limited topic.

I finished Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I loved this book, but unfortunately, that makes it hard to get into a new book. Right now I'm trying to get into Fairest by Levine. We'll see if I can manage it.

I finished Venetia by Georgette Heyer last week and loved it more than any romance I have read in ages and ages. I'm looking for some of her other books now on ebay and such.Got a vocabulary lesson in the boot (hull cheese, lief, farrago, fustian ...)

Started Peace Like a River, yuck...I had hoped I would be captivated by it too.

kathy, glad you enjoyed the comment, but sorry to hear you are sick. I have had my share of bouts with bronchitis, not fun. Feel better soon!

While staying at a friend's house, I picked up a YA book and was "hooked." I cannot say enough good things about "Number the Stars" by Lois Lowery. It is so beautifully written, with an inspiring message, based upon actual happenings. Makes me admire the Danes even more than I already did....

I love "Number the Stars"! I read it years ago but still occasionally reread it.

I am about 60 pages into A Thousand Splendid Suns and am savoring every word. Hosseini's style is so readable, so expressive. I'm glad I have the weekend extended this time around, so I can really enjoy this book.

Pam, your comment "a two-days' read and a lifetime of dusting" has me laughing. I wish I didn't feel compelled to keep every book I've ever bought.

I have completed Hard Row by Margaret Maron, part of her Deborah Knott series, and The Risk of Darkness, the third Simon Serrailler book by Susan Hill, both authors I really enjoy.

carolyn, thanks for that... it's been a very long day and your comment made me smile. Thank you.

I didn't find Good Omens yet, but I did find Irene Nemirovsky's Fire in the Blood on the shelf. (don't ask... books just keep showing up and I lose track, honestly.) So I just kinda sat down in front of a bookcase and started reading it. I will find Good Omens, though. You friends have said too many good things about it.

PAM

Put down the Kim Edwards book of short stories. They just weren't reading well and when it takes four or more days for me to finish a book, that's a sign of problems for the book (i.e. I don't like it).

So now on to "Moral Disorder" by Margaret Atwood which will be a quick read. I am loving it so far.

Going to a Witches' Brew tea party this afternoon. I have my hat ready and will be dressed in black. Anyone care to come with me?