HereÂs what IÂve read so far in December:

The Abduction by Mark Gimenez (okay mystery)
The Darkest Night of the Year by Dean Koontz (I really wanted to like this one but my suspension of disbelief only stretches so far)
Garnethill by Denise Mina (liked this one enough to get the second in the series)
Hey Nostradamus! By Doug Coupland (enjoyed this one, which was my first by this author)
Changing Pitches by Steve Kluger (not nearly as good as his Last Days of Summer)

And today I just started Second Glance by Jodi Picoult, which has been sitting on my TBR shelf forever.

I was very surprised to see Heroines at the bookstore this weekend, over a month before the pub date! And I had a 40% off coupon, and I had what was left on a gift card, and my I hardly paid for it. And yes, its quite a fun read!

Thanks to those who recommended Mary Modern. I found it a really good read. I also finished Bed and Breakfast by Lois Battle which was just ok. In the mood for nonfiction, so next it will either be The Professor and the Madman, or the Island of Maps. (think that's the title)

Just dumped The Maltese Falcon by Dahiel Hammett my first , so called "hard-boiled
American detective story"and I knew it started the genre.
I was already three quarter through the book, but since this morning my
ChristmasÂs order from an on-line bookshop has arrived, I just donÂt care to know how The Falcon
stuff ends. What I couldnÂt stand about it is the fact that there is not a plain plot, the
characters are only described phisically but not inside, scenes depictions are very rare and scant; from
time to time someone stirs in his chair, or changes his clothings, little else. There are only long
dialogues, I couldnÂt picture what was going on, because all happens in the characters mind, I dare
say only in SpadeÂs mind , the detective (o better only in the authorÂs mind) IÂm aware that probably is
a limit of mine, but just the story bored me, so...

my ChristmasÂs order is:

Arthur & George - Julian Barnes (his latest)

A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters - Julian Barnes

The Old Boys - William Trevor

The Boarding House - William Trevor

The Love Department - William Trevor

(these ones are in one volume titled Three Early Novel)

Cheating at Canasta - William Trevor

The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman

grelobe

grelobe, glad to see I'm not the only one who likes short story collections.

The Old Boys - William Trevor

I have this one at home and have read about half the stories so far. Trevor's writing seems to be very spare, it took some getting used to.

The last week has been spent reading the wonderful "Middlesex". I am thoroughly enjoying it and regret not starting it sooner so I could have been enjoying it sooner! I love everything about it - the way it's written, the plot, the development of the characters. It's an excellent read and a great way to end the year. I even don't mind the fact that it's so long as it just means the story doesn't end so soon~

I have had to cut back on my reading. I used to get a good hour of reading at the gym, but it was making me not work out so hard on the machines, so now I can't read any more on the cardio machines. I need to burn off all these brownies I've been eating somehow!

Cindy,

The author of The Heroines is Eileen Favorite. I will put a link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Heroines by Eileen Favorite

Cindy,

Two seconds after I posted the link above, the UPS guy delivered a second copy of The Heroines. I would be glad to send one to you.

PAM

Oh you are sweet! No, I just got it from our bookstore this weekend. Thanks so much!

Sorry about that... I've been quite in a funk this week. I didn't see your post until this morning. Yikes.... the ice storm really got me out of whack. We lost power for over 30 hours, schools are cancelled and I've not been reading enough to keep my sanity! But anyway, I am THRILLED that you enjoyed Heroines. I liked it, I liked how different it was, and after I read it, I pondered it (am still pondering it) and see more and more connections between HER sanity and literature. I think it is a book that can be read on more than one level and is far deeper than what it may originally seem to be on the surface.

PAM

I finished The Golden Compass and loved it (now we can go see the movie *g*). It was one of those books that I couldn't put down once I started, but finding reading time lately has been darn near impossible. The rest of the trilogy will be next, once all the holiday stuff is done.

All this talk about The Heroines has put the book right at the top of my wish list. It sounds very good.

Um, hold off. Pam, I had just started the book when I posted above - and I've gotten about a third way through and quit. The premise is wonderful, but I am not caring for the adolescent style writing (which Im sure had more to do with the narration chosen than the author's writing ability). I suspect tho like you, there are many who will love this one. Just don't go by my account :)

Um, hold off. Pam, I had just started the book when I posted above - and I've gotten about a third way through and quit. The premise is wonderful, but I am not caring for the adolescent style writing (which Im sure had more to do with the narration chosen than the author's writing ability). I suspect tho like you, there are many who will love this one. Just don't go by my account :)

I'm reading yet another book about the Middle East: "Jumping Over Fire" by Nahid Rachin. This is a novel set in the time of the deposition of the last Shah of Iran. An American-Iranian family is caught up in the Revolution and has to flee the country and start over again. I'm finding it very interesting and well-written so far.

Cindy,

I am sorry to hear it. If you have the time, do push on. I think you will be glad that you did. If not, I sure wish I had sent my copy to you instead of having you spend your own money.

PAM

Ah, no problem. I know how to return it. (btw I do not know why my post came up double, I didn't mean it to! :)

Cindy,
I wound up giving up on "Heroines" about half way through which is the usual case with me and anything fantasy...I cannot tell how many times I have started LOTR and The Hobbit......but don't go by me I usually do the same with Jasper Fforde and Terry Pratchett....I truly think I will like them this time and finish them and I do truly like them starting out but just cannot stick with fantasy.
Oh well.
Good thing there are lots of genres!

gbg

I have been trying to get into "Cloud Atlas" after all the glowing reviews on this site, but have to admit that it was not something that grabbed me so back to the library it goes. This was the second time trying so I think it's just not up my alley. Oh well.

Now reading my stack of New Yorkers - those things are like rabbits in how they keep arriving!!

The last week I have read Housekeeping and Gilead by Marilynne Robinson and have started Merry Hall by Beverley Lewis. I liked Gilead a lot better than Housekeeping and am finding Merry Hall an absolute delight. I'm not much of a gardener, but, then, it is so much more than a book about gardens.

I'm pretty sure these books came from RP recommendations, and I thank you.

>This was the second time trying so I think it's just not up my alley. Oh well.

It actually took me three times for it to click for me! I love the book - but well remember my frustration with it. If it helps - know that everything connects. When one chapter ends abruptly and a new story begins, that first chapter will come back, filled with new connections to other things you just read. It really does work. But again, I so understand

I finished The Spaces Between Us, a book about two women in modern India, one middle class, the other poor and a servant for the first. Really quite good; if you like these types of books, I'd recommend it.

>I'm just finishing A Good Distance by Sarah Willis-a mother/daughter story, the mom has alzheimers, goes back in time for both mother and daughter, etc. but it is very good.
>I also read Best Friends which is a memoir of 2 high school friends who take different paths but remain friends. This book is well written and interesting if you enjoy womens' memoirs. The authors are Sara James and Ginger Mauney.
>If you like Jacquelyn Mitchard-Still Summer is also good.

Carolyn, after you've read Merry Hall, you can go on to Laughter on the Stairs and Sunlight on the Lawn. Then there's his "Allways" trilogy (can't think of the titles) and Garden Open Today and Garden Open Tomorrow. I'm not a gardener and I really don't have much interest in gardening; but, as you say, Nichols's books are much more than just gardening. I've recommended his books for years to gardeners and nongardeners alike. I think Sheri was the first here at RP whose ear I put a bug into, so she's read and talked about them much more recently than I have.

Oh, I loved all the Beverley Nichols books, and I can't thank you enough for suggesting them, Frieda. Carolyn, definitely look for the rest of the trilogy. He's written many other books, but his gardening/fix-up-the-house books are the ones that are still in print and I find them delightful.

He wrote an earlier trilogy along the same lines as Merry Hall comprised of Down the Garden Path, A Thatched Roof and A Village in the Valley. There are two others as well, Down the Kitchen Sink about his "gentleman's gentleman" Gaskin (not as good as the others, IMO, but worth reading to fill out the story), and Green Grows the City about his small back garden in London. He's also written two charming books about cats, great fun if you're a cat person.

If you're interested, I've given the link to the BN website, below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Beverley Nichols

Finished "Jumping Over Fire" by N. Rachlin and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the Middle East, particularly in Iran/Persia. I learned a lot about the history of the country from this novel. I have the impression that the author, born in Iran, actually lived through a lot of what is described. Those of you who liked "A Thousand Splended Suns" would enjoy this, IMO.

Now, I am engrossed in Bill Bryson's "Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid." What a great portrait of the American Midwest in the Fifties! I am laughing out loud at some of his remembrances. I wonder how Bryson came to live in the UK, having had such a quintessential Iowan childhood....

I'm currently re-reading Connie Willis's collection of Christmas-themed short stories Miracles. I've done this for the past several Christmases.

Rosefolly

After finishing up a few New Yorkers that were lying around, I am now reading "One for the Road" by Tony Horwitz about his time hitchhiking around Australia's outback. Interesting stories and well written so I am enjoying it.

Looking forward to my Christmas Eve read of Dylan Thomas' "A Child's Christmas in Wales"....

Finished a short and nasty book Let Me Go: My Mother and the SS by Helga Schneider.
Schneider's family were from Austria but moved to Berlin during the '30's were her Mother became an eager Nazi follower. By the time war has been declared she left her two small children and volunteered to work as an SS guard in the
extermination camps of Birkenau and Auschwitz, even assisting with the 'medical experiments' that were carried out on the inmates.
The daughter, for only the second time since WWII, goes to visit her mother and the book's theme is one of the daughter trying to persuade the mother that she knew she had been doing wrong, but to the end the Mother claims she was "convinced of the rightness of the Final Solution."
Don't add this to your Christmas present list.

I was curious about that one when I first heard about it. Your post has made me much less curious (wow, how in the world, after 60 years can this woman still believe that - unless its a way of keeping her alive. If she knew it was wrong, the guilt would probably kill her)

Now reading Inez of my Soul by Isabel Allende. This is the closest she's come to her roots, those first few books like Eva Luna and House of Spirits. Really quite good, and for those who know little about the Spanish conquest of South America, an eye opening history lesson.

veer and cindy...as a non-Jew who grew up in the midst of several families who had survived the Nazi camps, I have spent endless time puzzling out that nightmare phenomeon. Since my teen years I have read hundreds of books on the topic. As horrid as this one sounds, I think I will have to read it...but, as you say, not on my Christmas list.

I am reading The Divide, a good story, not deep, but captivating. Perfect for the pre-holiday bustle... and having holiday guests (spent last night reading Christmas stories to my grandchildren, and having them read to me!) and with extra people in the house - perfect for keeping the thread of the story in my mind.

I am looking forward to starting Bleak House when the house is again quiet, the laundry done, and the fireplace aglow.

Just tried to read Gunter Grass' memoir, "Peeling the Onion." Found the writing style far too convoluted to focus and so took it back to the library, unfinished. I often have had these problems when reading books in English translated from the original German.

Was given for Xmas, among other books, "Emily Dickinson's Gardens", which I am greatly looking forward to....

Some spooky Christmas radio listening coming up everyday this week. Stories by the Master ghost story teller, M R James. Each one only lasts for 15 minutes. May make your hair stand on end and your spine tingle.

Here is a link that might be useful: Christmas Gost Stories

Speaking of Ghosts (!)
I just read The Darkest Evening of the Year, the new Dean Koontz. It is a heart warming story about Golden Retreivers-Koontz has Golden's and this book is a tribute to them. I realize that his books are not for everyone, but this one centers around a woman who runs an animal rescue shelter...some sad stuff, some bad stuff, but a very happy ending!

Pat

For me, it's time for a re-read of Honore de Balzac's Old Goriot. I truly hesitate to type what I am reading lest I cause other people to buy books and not like them...
PAM

Ah PAM, don't do that! For one thing you were not the only one who recommended that book, for another it was my choice to buy it and not check it from the library (it was one of those situations where I returned a book and had that credit burning a hole in my pocket...), and third, it ended up being a perfect present for another reader I know. You don't have any responsibility or control over what people do. Don't stop posting, I want book recs! :)

I gave up on the Allende. The middle just got boring, and I found myself tired of her love affair. The historical info wasn't enough to keep me going. Ah well

I did read These Granite Islands by Sarah Stonich (think someone here recommended her other book, Ice Chorus. I tried to find it but only found this). Liked it very much - about a dying woman recollecting the love affair between her friend and lover. Not great lit, but a well written story with some beautiful descriptions of the location.

I have just finished a wonderfully entertaining book called "Notes on a Scandal" by Zoe Heller. (The movie was based on this, but as usual, the book is way way better.) It wasn't the most *festive* of books, considering it is Christmas Eve etc., but it was a darned good read.

The protagonist of the novel is so unaware of herself but the novel is unputdownable -- I spent all afternoon reading it instead of doing what I was supposed to do (Christmas stuff) but it was worth it. Absolutely brilliant.

I saw the movie first and was blown away by Judi Dench's character. Then I read the book, and was surprised by how much more complex that character was. I am not sure which I liked better (thought the movie ending was creepier, thought the book ending too short). But I enjoyed them both.

I was forced, forced I tell you, to start up Good Omens. My sci fi group it reading it for a discussion next week. Oh, such a sacrifice I am willing to make!

Pretty Birds by Scott Simon is up next I think.

Come on, no one's read anything in four days? :)

I have passed the magic 50 page point People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (yes I managed to find one at a Used bookstore, pre pub date. I suspect I have a Brit copy). I am liking it very well so far.

I also finished Septembers of Shiraz. I thought it an excellent look at what was happening to the man on the street while we were worried about the hostage crisis - the Revolutionary Guard wasn't much better than the Savak (the Shah's secret police). My only complaint was the ending - way too quick and smooth, very littl suspense as to whether or not they escape. But it is well worth reading in my humble opinion

Here you go, Cindy -

Just finished "R is for Ricochet" by Sue Grafton. Not her best.

Now I think I'll read "Half Magic," a children's book from year's past that I used to love.

Cindy, not much time for reading around here at Christmas; barely had time to stroke the covers of my waiting-to-be-read pressies.
Have nearly finished March by Geraldine Brooks. Excellent. A writer I only discovered when I arrived at RP several years ago.
Which one of her books should I next look out for?

Cindy, as a companion to "Septembers of Shiraz", I think you might enjoy another look at Iran/Persia through the eyes of Nahid Rachlin: "Jumping Over Fire." Also about a family in the same time frame, but quite a different story line....

Vee, I liked "Year of Wonders" by Geraldine Brooks. She has also written a book about the Middle East, but I've not been able to find it yet.

Geraldine Brooks has a non-fiction title, Nine Parts of Desire, but her next fiction, due out here in February, is called The People of the Book. I have read a non-corrected proof of this, and enjoyed it very much. The book is set out much like Michener's The Source (one of my all time favourites) in that it tells a modern story interlaced with history.

I am reading People of the Book now (actually the pub date for the states is Jan 1). I was disappointed with both March and Year of Wonders, but this one is turning out much better so far.

The one about the Middle East is Nine Parts Desire, a non fiction account of women's role and treatment in the Middle East. She also wrote Foreign Correspondence, about looking for her penpals from childhood, taking her around the world. Excellent.

BTW her husband is Tony Horowitz, of Confederates in the Attic fame. In his first book Bagdhad without a Map, she is often mentioned as they were both journalists in the middle east before they became writers, and she was often involved in the same stories (the book covers the 80s, so there are many stories they covered on the Iranian Revolution and the Iraq Iran war)

>Nahid Rachlin: "Jumping Over Fire"

Thanks, I'll keep my eye out for that one

Year Of Wonders really captivated me, Vee. I did enjoy March also but not as much.

Okay, I'll chime in... thank you Cindy, for your kind words in your post on 12-24.

I just finished No Idle Hands. It took me a long time, relatively speaking, because I just wanted to remember every word. While I was reading that, I was totally captivated by my knitting magazines, managed to totally mess up a sock I was knitting by dropping a stitch and not noticing it for about ten rows. (I should double check and count my stitches more often...lesson learned.) If you are an American history buff, or a knitting enthusiast of any nationality, this is a great book. Yes, it's about knitting in America, but more importantly, it's about the importance of knitting in our lives. Thank you to whomever on RP recc'd it.

I am now forcing my way through The World is Flat, a non-fiction book about world economy. For some reason, this book is my book club choice and it is driving me mad. It is 653 pages of boring business stuff. Oh, there is an interesting tidbit every few pages or so...if I can stay awake long enough to find it. My book club sorely needs a rockin' good read... and soon.

My other book club is reading Pere Goriot by Honore de Balzac. I first read this book 20 years ago and am looking forward to the re-read. Maybe I'll ditch The World is Flat and dive into Goriot. I'm a rather crabby person when I am reading an awful book.

PAM

Tom Friedman is one of my favorite political writers, but I was not interested in that book one bit. If you want to try one that is readable, and compare it to what your group is dicussing, try Longitudes and Attitudes: exploring the world after September 11. No boring economics; rather a collection of his columns in the New York Times after September 11 that takes a look at many facets of the horror, what lead to it, and what he saw is a way to tackle it all. Its a fast read, and seven years later, a bit prescient.

Let me know what you think of Goriot. I loved Cousin Bette, but never tried anything else by him.

Thank you, veer, for the link to the ghost stories above. They are wonderful; I listened to them twice over as I convalesced from a very minor illness. I have also re-read this thread which offers so many ideas and have added The Heroines and a couple of Beverley Nichols's books to my library list.

I have a wonderful book from the library called The Intellectual Devotional, which offers daily readings from different fields of knowledge. The writing is fresh and lively and the topics very interesting. The book can't be renewed, alas, and I am trying to decide whether or not I should buy it. The one problem with it - the type is extremely small. It's like reading an entire book in footnote type. Seriously, I will need to purchase a magnifying glass to go along with the book. I suppose the type was made so small in order to make the book a normal size, but sheesh!

A really great book, though.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Intellectual Devotional

In the last few days, I finished the third book in Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. I thought the books were very well written and imaginative, and I loved every moment.

Yesterday I read a book I read about somewhere here on RP. I'm thinking that perhaps it was Cindy who recommended Mary Modern by Camille DeAngelis, so when I saw it sitting on the new acquisitions shelf at the library, I grabbed it. The book definitely depends on the reader's willingness to suspend disbelief, but what a wonderful reward it was. I very much enjoyed it. If it was you that recommended it, Cindy, I thank you.

Today I finished a book that I even hesitate to mention since it is not at all my usual reading fare and I only have it in my possession because it was on the library sale table for a quarter. After the stress of the holidays, though, I must have needed something light and fun and have to admit that I actually became totally engrossed in Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder, which is about a young woman granted a reprieve from execution if she agrees to become a food taster for the Commander (in a very fictional medieval-fantasy-era setting) to make certain that he is not assassinated by poisoning. Evil plots abound and magic flows, and I have read compulsively only to find that there's a sequel. Sigh. Sometimes it's nice to overdose on sweets, so I suppose I don't feel too terribly guilty about indulging in something that's pure entertainment.

Will I be the last December, 2007 post? I've read, at bedtime, Tana French's In the Woods, a murder/suspense/psychological thriller taking place in Ireland. Not bad, not great. Now I'm working on Free Food for Millionaires, also a novel, authored by Min Jin Lee, dealing with the culture of Korean immigrants in NYC in the early 1990's; the main character is a twenty-something Ivy grad, trying to figure out her way in the big city. The bits about Korean culture are interesting, but the storyline is a soap opera. Why am i sticking with these so-so books? Because I haven't had time to get to the library...

Now, off to try to remove my son and his buddy from the Wii and TV, so I can watch Lonesome Dove with my husband. Happy New Year to all of you!

Little Heathens by Mildred Armstrong Kalish-a memoir about her youth during the depression in the midwest. It's an interesting book, especially to me, as she is the age of my parents generation. I need to start something new for the New Year but nothing appeals at the moment.
>A Happy Joyous New Year to all with many hours of reading pleasure and lots of excellent books!

Color, I'm glad you enjoyed Mary Modern. Yeah, once you get over that hump, its a real treat.

When I saw Little Heathens, I thought of Little Savages, which is another mom memoir that is quite good

It always happens after I finish a really good book - it takes me a while to settle into something else. I tried and put down four book from my shelf. Ah well - tomorrow my indie store is having their 25% off everything sale, and I plan to be there, early. I suspect I'll find something.

A very happy new year to you all! Hope it brings you peace, joy, and many many books