About a quarter of the way through The Count of Monte Cristo. I just felt like buckling a swash...

Good fun. Mind, I can't help feeling that if someone were kept in a dark dungeon with lousy food and no sanitation for fourteen years, he'd be a little weaker than Edmond Dantes seemed to be....

But why let the facts get in the way of a good story?

I had started Jared Diamond's "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Succeed or Fail", but got bogged down in Iceland with the Vikings. So I set it aside and read most of John Barry's "Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America." This is excellent and written in an interesting, fast-paced style, yet I got bogged down again. I've decided its the time of year that my mind yearns for lighter fare. So I dug out an old copy of Behrendt's "Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil." I'm reading it for the 2nd time and it suits my mood exactly -- yes, murder and mayhem at the holidays, as Dyno said....

Early in December I finished "The Brooklin Follies" by Paul Auster,then I devoured "The Kite Runner" and now I'm starting "The City Of Falling Angels" by John Berendt

grelobe

I've been in the mood to re-read old favorites, so that's what I've done so far this month. Now, however, I have new-to-me books going. I'm currently listening to Light From Heaven by Jan Karon. It's the last one in the Mitford series (so the author says). I like it okay, but it's been a while since I read the other books, so the story doesn't flow as well for me as it would if I'd read them more recently.

I picked up The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder based on Jane's and Martin's earlier comments. I am enjoying it, although I have to admit I'm cheating a little. Since I only got it a couple of days ago, I'm reading more than one chapter a day until I catch up!

I also picked up The Lost Painting by Jonathan Harr. I heard a discussion about it on Nation Public Radio and thought it sounded interesting. That's the one I hope to start tonight, now that I have most of my wrapping done.

Well, I finished A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle. It wasn't his usual fare, but a more serious endeavor taking place during the early 1900's in Dublin when the IRA and Sein Finn were starting to take action. Doyle's sense of humor still came through in some conversations, but it was a more serious novel. I am so glad I read it. It opened my eyes to a history I knew little about and I ended up doing more research on the topic for the discussion my book club had on the book. The discussion, for any book club members who may be wondering, was the best we've had in a long long time.

The library just called with Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner, plus I have The Closers by Michael Connelly, The Mysterious History of Christopher Columbus by John Noble Wilford, Plain Truth by Jody Piccoult, plus A Million Little Pieces by Frey which is next month's book club book.

Whew... all that and Christmas, too. Looks like I have to drink more coffee and give up sleeping!

PAM

Am not reading as much as I want to lately. I have a proposal due tomorrow - I'm just taking a little break ;)- and I've been bothered by a toothache, which I've never had before. It turns out not to be a cavity or an infection, but rather I hurt my tooth nerve because rather than screaming like a banshee at my kids when I'm upset at them, I set my jaw, grit my teeth and lower my register. Well that pressure on my teeth has given me a toothache. And the screaming gave me a headache. What to do? The strange thing is, since I decided to keep my jaw slack and all that, my girls haven't given me any reason to get upset at them. It's all a vicious circle, really.

By the by, I often encounter the expression "Good Thing", in reference to events in English history. Is this some sort of inside joke?

I just read 1066 and All That, it's a spoof of English history books that consider it Top Nation, it's absolutely hysterical. But maybe that's just me - I read some passages to my husband and he doesn't laugh. For example:

From that time onwards foreigners, who, unlike the English, do not prefer to fight against long odds, seldom attacked the British Navy. Hence the important International Law called the Rule Britannia, technically known as the Freedom of the Seas.

and

King Edwards' new policy of peace was very successful and culminated in the Great War to End War. This pacific and inevitable struggle was undertaken in the reign of His Good and memorable Majesty King George V and it was the cause of nowadays and the end of history.

(after the war)
America was thus clearly Top Nation and history came to a .

Venusia, 1066 And All That must be the funniest 'History' book ever written, but it does help to have some knowledge of the subject to appreciate the humour eg King John losing everything in the Wash (plus picture) and the examination questions at the end of each section.
The 'Good Thing' and 'Top Nation' are typical uses of English irony

I've had problems deciding what type of book I'm in the mood for. I've picked up at least three different books in the last week and decided I'm not in the mood for any of them. What I've ended up with, though, is Eliza Haywood's 18th century potboiler, "Love in Excess". My ability to concentrate isn't too sharp this week, but I'm interested in seeing how convoluted the plot twists get. The novel itself is a bit of tragi-comedy and quite theatrical, but an interesting example of amatory fiction and the sensational novels that circulated in England during this time period.

Frances,
My favorite entry was "Hurling." I also loved reading about A.J.'s father and brother-in-law. Very funny!

I've just started reading Everything She Thought She Wanted by Elizabeth Buchan. Most of my reading time is right now is done in the car waiting for my daughter to get out of school. I'm not that far into it, but like the story.

Finished up "Four Blondes' by Candace Bushnell - enjoyable lightweight bubblegum read. Then whipped through "Holidays on Ice" by David Sedaris (still funny) and now reading "Staying On" by Paul Scott. Enjoying it and looking forward to more reading time during the upcoming holiday weeks. Still have to work, but it's colder and the dogs aren't always clamoring to go for a walk...

I am reading Teacher Man by Frank McCourt and Michael Connolly's The Lincoln Lawyer, both good so far. (tall coffee, I will get back to you on the knitting books, never fear-I'm just harassed right now). Pam

Still keeping to one chapter a night of The Christmas Mystery. I'm up to the 19th December now (predictably!), but I have to say it is becoming a bit of a chore, as each chapter is very similar to the previous ones, and nothing really happens. The mystery of Elisabet's disappearance is the only thing keeping me going at the moment..... Jane UK

Pam 53 No problem. know the feeling which I'm dealing with by furiously knitting scarves. Figure they're always a good Christmas gift since it's an article that tends to get lost at least around my house. I'm anxiously awaiting what others thing about the resolution of Elisabet's disappearance in the Christmas mystery. I'm reading the Black Pearl/Morland dynasty when I'm not teaching/knitting/getting ready for the big day. Susan

Yesterday I finished Creepers by David Morrell which I highly recommend to those that enjoy a good suspenseful and scary book! After finishing it I went through my TBR's looking for something different and found Standing in the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg. I have read and enjoyed all her books, this one got buried and I am glad that I found it! Pat

I forgot to add that in tandem with "The Christmas Mystery" I am reading "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens. I'd forgotten how well he writes, with so much humour. An example being the frequent references to being brought up 'by hand' (the hard and heavy one of his sister) - it's very funny. Jane UK

How funny, I am also half way through 'Great Expectations' right now. I'm enjoying it a lot. I would really like a day or two to just sit and read the rest of the book, but my hectic schedule is keeping me from good reading time. Maybe on Christmas...

IÂm currently reading "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden. I picked it up because IÂve heard rave reviews (about the book) and thought I might go see the movie, but wanted to read the book first. ItÂs an interesting story, and I'm glad I picked it up. Golden is a competent writer, but I feel it falls a little short of the rave reviews IÂd heard about his beautiful writing. IÂve decided IÂll probably wait until the movie comes out on video before watching it.

The copy I ordered of "Cold Comfort Farm" via ILL only just has arrived today. So if I join in the discussion it will be quite late.... Meanwhile, continuing in the "lighter" vein for the holiday season, I've just begun Ann Tyler's "Amateur Marriage." I had always imagined Tyler the author of "Chick Lit" but oddly, no less than 2 middle aged male friends have recommended her books to me recently.

Mary, I am probably past middle-age (who knows when the cut-off age is?) and enjoy Ann Tyler, there is a wistfulness about her writing and I find I need a break between books. Have read 'Seasaw' by Deborah Moggach. An underestimated English writer IMO; some of you may have read her 'Tulip Fever' and she wrote the script for the new P&P film. A strong tale of a comfortable middle-class family who's life and values are turned upside down by a kidnap. 'Seeing Things' by Oliver Postgate. He is best known in the UK and perhaps Aus as the maker of the film animations 'Ivor the Engine' 'Noggin the Nog' and 'Bagpus' OP is from what is sometimes called a 'Champagne Socialist' family, his granfather was the Labour leader George Lansbury (which makes the actress Angela L his cousin), a 'conscientious objector' in WWII he later leans towards Liberal politics and the peace movt. . .. and has an interesting side-line in inventing 'things'. 'The Road to Nab End' by William Woodruff is about socialism at the bottom end of the scale. The story of a very poor boy from a family of Lancashire cotton weavers brought up in dreadful conditions during the Depression. He is the youngest and the only family member with any ambition to 'better himself'. I've just started Part II.

I listened to Simon Winchester read his book The Professor and the Madman. Oh goodness what a story! The creation of the OED was indeed a daunting task.

Vee - I have always considered that middle-age starts in about ten years time. A bit like jam tomorrow...!!

Just finished "Island Voices" by Fiona McDonald, a fascinating little book of interviews with people who live in the Hebrides Islands. Some of them were people who were born and lived there all of their lives, some of them were "incomers" (i.e. new folk from England mostly)... Very interesting. Now on to a book called "An Eye on the Hebrides" by Mairi Hedderwick about her six month solitary journey through the islands. Some lovely pics so far... Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and it will be time for "A Child's Christmas in Wales" by Dylan Thomas... Can't wait. We have a half day at work so this afternoon, a group of us are going to see "Memoirs of a Geisha" at the movies...

Martin, in my case I think it was 'jam yesterday' - raspberry served on warm scones (pronounced to rhyme with 'cones').

VeeR, Haven't we had this discussion before.....LOL (I'm with you, by the way) I finished listening to Light From Heaven by Jan Karon. I found it more difficult to follow the story in this one. It seemed more disjointed; she jumped around a lot which made it harder to keep up with. I think it would have been much easier to read it. That being said, I did like it enough to finish it. Yesterday I read Murder With Peacocks by Donna Andrews, (with thanks to whomever recommended her, I temporarily forget who it was, sorry!) It was quite amusing; I found myself chuckling out loud in several spots. I picked up several books at the library, all of which looked enticing when I looked at them. Fortunately, one of them remained enticing after I got it home. I have almost finished I Wish I had a Red Dress by Pearl Cleage. It's not my usual style for fiction, but I will definitely finish it tonight.

I was hoping to finish "Oliver Twist" by today but I still have over 100 pages to go. I love this book! Dickens is funny in some parts and brings a tear to the eye at others. I will reread this one.

I finished The Lincoln Lawyer late last night-highly recommended.

Finished "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey. Riveting account of rehab from someone who was very messed up at the time... Wow. Now on to "On Beauty" by Zadie Smith. Heard good things about this and enjoyed her other ones (esp "White Teeth") so fingers crossed for a good read.

I am reading The Constant Gardener by Le Carre and not enjoying it that much! Mostly I am finding hard to accept that young & lowly English police (no Inspectors) would constantly question high ups in the Foreign Office in such a rude and disrespectful manner. As a reader who enjoys the English mystery-I have never seen (read)with such disbelief!..... In all the books that I have read & the TV shows the police are always very polite!...... so this sidetracks me from the story.....Pat

Finished A. Tyler's "Amateur Marriage" and ended up liking it more than I thought I would at the beginning. Which others of her novels should I next look for? I am having a devil of a time getting interested in "Cold Comfort Farm" , on the other hand....

I'm currently reading Hosseini's "The Kite Runner" for a book club. It's an engrossing read so far.

I've finished "A Guide to Elegance" by Genevieve Antoine Dariaux. I love dated fashion and lifestyle guides, and though this one showed signs of being updated for its 2003 re-release (she mentions Princess Diana and cell phones), the majority of her advice remains firmly rooted in 1965 or so. Classic recommendations and fun to read. .......................................................................... I also flew through the latest Nora Roberts, "Red Lily", which was a good, solid romance and the final book to her In The Garden trilogy. ........................................................................ I'm now finishing up "Field Guide to the Apocalypse" by Meghann Marco, a hilarious advice book based on sci-fi movies ranging from "The Omega Man" and "Planet of the Apes" to "The Matrix" and "Mad Max". Bottomline advice: Make sure you have your leather gear, cool sunglasses and signature weaponry ready for the coming ice age/global-warming-induced-desert/nuclear winter/virus-riddled/mutant-filled future. It is a one-joke book, but she pulls it off terrifically well, IMO ......................................................................... Finally, I'm half way through "At Day's Close: Nights in Times Past" by A. Roger Ekirch (a BIG thank you, Frieda, your bibliophil list is always full of interesting non-fiction!).

I am on page 140 or so of James Frey's "A Million Little Peices" for my bookclub. It is so raw and so painful - nothing in my life can compare to this and all of a sudden, my "addiction" to chocolate seems so very normal and yes, even healthy. There is so much to discuss in this book that it will be a LONG book club meeting.~~~~~PAM

I've just finished The Founding by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles and placed an order on abe.com for the next five of her Dynasty Series. The books are cheap paperbacks, but the shipping charges run up the bill since no one bookshop seems to have them all. Do any of you have some of the series you would like to sell me?

Carolyn, I've just gotten into these, and I don't have any to sell, but I got 24 books in the series thru alibris. They all came from one seller, and the average price per book was 6 dollars. Even though they are second hand, they are in excellent condition. I also picked up a couple of titles I needed thru paperbackswap.com

Finished "On Beauty" by Zadie Smith - good, but not as good as "White Teeth".......... Now on to "To Serve Them All My Days" by RE Delderfield. Good so far, but slow paced.

smallcoffee, you really made a haul! The five books I ordered ranged in price from $1.00 to $3.50, but the shipping was over $3.00 each. Not so bad, but I hoped to find more at one location. Then today I got an e-mail from one dealer saying he had just sold his only copy of the one I ordered to Amazon. At any rate, I'll have four to be going on with.

Finished Bleak House which I read in installments over a period of several months. In spite of a few chapters that were heavy going, I think it is probably my new favourite Dickens....................................................................................................................... The Autobiography of Malcolm X was disturbing to read in parts because of his strong anti-Christian, anti-white feelings, although his views appeared to change somewhat after his visit to Mecca. However, very worthwhile reading.................................................................................................................................. Finished my re-reading of the Narnia books with The Silver Chair, The MagicianÂs Nephew, and The Last Battle. Am still undecided as to whether I will see the new movie or not.............................................................................................................................. Also finished The Heaven Tree, The Green Branch, and The Scarlet Seed a historical trilogy by Edith Pargeter. Interesting and well-written historical fiction set in 13th century England and Wales with perhaps though a few more descriptions of battle scenes than I would have liked................................................................................................................. And a light mystery The Book Lady by Malcolm Forsythe.

Mumby, if you enjoyed the Edith Pargeter trilogy, you might like her book about Henry IV, Prince Hal, Harry Hotspur, and Owen, A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury; and then The Founding, the first of Cynthia Harrod-Eagles' long series, is about the beginning of the War of the Roses and starts with Hal's son. I felt as if I had had an in-depth crash course in English history, but I really enjoyed them. It was one of those serendipitous reads for me; I read them back to back, having no idea they contained connected history.

Carolyn and Small Coffee- I own 6 of the books and have read the first 4-mine are paper backs culled from various places but I want to keep them right now. I love the series, as does my mom. (who is reading books 5/6 first) If either of you enjoy mysteries watch out-I am reading her first Bill Slider mystery-Orchestrated Death and am already "hooked". I don't know how many books are in that series.

I just finished Freakonomics by Steven Levitt. It was an interesting read not only because of the information the book contained but from the way his mind works over a problem and the way he researches the solution. Up next, one of the fifteen books I have from the library that are all due on January 4----wish me luck.~~~~~PAM

I think there are seven Bill Slider mysteries, which I have read from the library, and a new one just out that I've ordered because I can't wait. As good as the Dynasty Series is, I can't imagine why none of the books is in my library. I also looked at Borders, and they don't have any of them either. Oh, dear! Does this mean another trip to London? Nah, just half.com.

Carolyn, I have all the Morland books, but sorry, you cna't have any *VBG* I just love the series. When I started collecting them, there were only going to be 12 in the series - I think she is up to number 27 now! And the Bill Slider books are great too - the mysteries aren't always of the highest order, but I just love the word play and characters. BTW, what is happening with the formatting at RP? Last night I tried to type this and couldn't get any paragraphs or HTML working. Is it just me?

I'm reding How to be good by Nick Hornby, it' such a funny book, that next I have to read the other book by Hornby, High Fidelelity. I wish a Good New Year to each of you!

I finished two quick books, "Rosie" by Alan Titchmarsh (a very sweet little romance) and "Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door" by Lynne Truss. TTTH was very funny and well-argued, and I was nodding in agreement all the way through it. I am becoming SUCH a curmudgeon :-)

I'm working hard to finish "Undaunted Courage" so as to be able to start the discussion tomorrow. I love the book but it sure is difficult to find reading time during the holidays.

Thanks for the recommendations Carolyn. I'd be particularly interested in trying the Harrod-Eagles series since you and others here seem very enthusiastic about them - also, I have read and enjoyed some of her Bill Slider mysteries. My library has quite a few of her mysteries but only 1 or 2 titles in the Dynasty series and not even the first one - I sometimes wonder how they make their purchasing decisions.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Thanks also to Cece who mentioned the Sheila Pim's mysteries on another thread. I have just finished "Common or Garden Crime" and will definitely be looking for the other three titles. This was a charming and witty cozy set in an Irish village during World War II (with a heroine who loves to read Jane Austen as an added bonus). I highly recommend it to anyone who likes cozies and it would probably be particularly appealing to any gardeners here.

My library which usually has what I want also does not carry the Morland Dynasty, but has a few Bill Slider. Haven't seen them at Borders or B&N which is really a shame. It is so nice to have the internet! Another sight to get comparison prices on books new and used is www.campusi.com

Carolyn & Pam53- I just finished Dear Departed which was the latest Bill Slider mystery by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles a good read and witty as usual-love the humor! From the ending I gather that there must be another book in the works but I suppose it will take a while to get to us.............Pat

New Year's Eve was so much fun as I was able to read in a quiet room and periodically go into the living room to chat with friends of my parents. I finished Ian McEwan's "Atonement" and Frank McCourt's "Teacher Man." Loved Teacher Man! I can hear his voice in my head as the words drift acroos the page.