gldnol,
"Music and Silence", one of my favourite books, Rose Tremain is a great writer "The Colour" was the first of hers that I read, after that I went searching and found Music and Silence. She is so historically correct, I found that I was looking up google just to see how good she was.

I have began a book that has got me in at the moment "All The Living" C.E. Morgan. Lots of conversation, which I do not mind, however there are no inverted commas around same, an unusual or is becoming the usual trend, this I have found in another book recently read.

I hope this book keeps me interested, so far so good.

Went in a completely different direction after my Midnight Fugue disappointment: Chronicles of a Curate by Fred Secombe. Very Herriotish. Wales right after WW II-only it's a green curate, not a green vet. Same tone, though. Pleasant.

I am reading a forthcoming book called Heresy by S J Parris, a pseudonym for an Observer journalist, Stephanie Merritt. The blurb on the back (not what will be published but especially for the reading copy) suggests it will appeal to fans of C J Sansom but at the moment it seems a bit wordy. I will report when finished.

Kath, I remember you said how you had enjoyed Q & A. Have you read Vikas Swarup's latest Six Suspects about the murder of a rich Indian corrupt playboy? It is being serialised by the BBC in play-form and so much is going on it isn't always easy to follow, especially as the story seems to be written in the manner of Murder on the Orient Express with lots of possible motives/suspects.
I wonder if it would make a better 'conventional' read?

Vee, I have read it and I enjoyed it. The title says it all - someone rather nasty is shot at a party and there are six suspects, from all walks of Indian life, who had a grudge against him and the means and opportunity.
It didn't grab me as much as Q & A, but I was very taken with the format of that book. Six Suspects is more conventional in style, but a good whodunnit. I agree that it might be hard to follow on TV though.

After reading a book of Wodehouse selections edited by Stephen Fry, I realised I had missed reading "Leave it to Psmith". So I had it on my shopping list, meaning to request it at the library. In an unbelievable co-incidence that would never be allowed in fiction, I found a copy put out in this quarter's library sale! It is a 1953 Penguin, priced at 2 shillings. I would have had to work two hours to buy it in those days! It is a bit yellowed and fusty smelling but only cost me 50c.
(OT I have had such a good week for bargains with the Damart clothing shop closing and almost throwing their stock away, 95% off everything!)

Ann, in the UK 'Darmart' usually sells 'thermal' type clothes, very handy in the cold weather we are experiencing now. I suppose they do different lines in Australia; singlets and string vests maybe. ;-)
You only got paid a bob and hour? I remember my first holiday job when I got half-a-crown and felt so rich. Today the minimum wage is about £5 something an hour!

Finally finished Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier. The best thing I can say about TC is that she has good ideas for her books. Her 'themes' are quite different from the run-of-the-mill stuff, but there it ends. Her characters don't come alive for me and although I did learn something about early fossil hunting I really didn't care about the characters in the book or whether or not the women got married (they didn't) or if everyone stuck to their station in life (they did) although TC, good American that she is, wasn't happy with it.

I just finished Temeraire: The Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik. It's the second in a fantasy series that features dragons in the Napoleonic era. Very good and now I am anxious to get my hands on book three.

I am brand new here, so hi =)

I am reading Lost Symbol by Dan Brown and really enjoying it. I also am reading Left Behind (to please a friend) by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.

IÂm reading "Suite Francaise" by Irene Nemirovsky IÂm only halfaway through the first part , and I Âm finding it good, but not remarkable, may be , because I had so high expectation...

btw hi elliebar

grelobe

Welcome elliebear! I hope you like it here. We have a very good group, very friendly and helpful.

grelobe-My book group read Suite Francaise and we found that most of us had a definite preference for either the first half or the second. Maybe you are a second-half'er.
What I found truly amazing was that the book as published was her first draft. There are certainly places that an editor would have tightened and tweaked, but the raw power of the book is amazing.

OT Vee, that bob-an-hour was a casual weekend job. When I left school later in 1953 I got less than that working as a junior in Boots Library but I got to read all the latest books so that I could discuss them with the subscribers!
You have no idea how cold it can get in Australia. There is even skiing in the mountains over in the Eastern States. Thermals are definitely needed, but usually only the light-weights in Perth!
Netla, did you get my email about "Penhallow"?

I'm back after being knocked out by a bad cold (flu?). You would think being able to do nothing but lie in bed for two days (and then spending a few days feeling like a walking zombie) would be a good chance to catch up on reading but I could do nothing of the sort.

Despite a New Years Resolution to get back to my usual reading speed, I am still reading Wolf Hall - so glad it's living up to my expectations though! And also McCullough's biography of John Adams - which I should post on the NF thread. It's my first foray into reading about U.S. history, outside of school and reading more recent history (1960s), and the writing is wonderful - I feel like I'm in the late l700's seeing things as they happen. Although I suppose some of the credit should go to John Adams and his beloved wife Abigail for the letters they wrote to each other when apart!

Stoneangel - I hope you continue to enjoy the John Adams' bio. I read it slowly, as I usually do NF, sort of taking time to let the chapters soak in before moving on. Several times I wound up discovering I was reading at about the same time of year as the chapter was covering. Living just north of NYC, that made the NYC battles amazingly alive.

Hello. I also am just recovering from the worst headcold I have had in years. My brain was so blocked I could barely read. However in between coughing and blowing I did finish The Elegance of The Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, which I found to be rather uneven but ulitmately enjoyed. I only wish that Kakuro had appeared sooner, as the story improved with his arrival.

Next up is North River by Pete Hamill. I am especially excited to read this because I am having lunch with the author next weekend! Well, me and about 50 other people, but still. I am on the committee to raise funds to renovate our township libraries and this is a luncheon for potential donors. After lunch we will go to hear him speak as part of the One Book, One [Township] series. We do this every year and it is a sellout. Last year's book was People of the Book and Geraldine Brooks was our guest.

I have just finished "All The Living" C.E. Morgan,for me a wonderful read. Set on an isolated tobacco farm in drought stricken Kentucky. I did not want it to end. Published 2009 so for me a new book, just purchased by my library.

I would liken this writer to Annie Proulx and Elizabeth Strout all wonderful American writers.

Finished up "Lark Rise to Candleford" by Flora Thompson which I loved, loved, loved and realised was set very close to where I grew up. Some of the words and activities that the kids engaged in (playground games and such) were the exact same ones my friends and I had played when I was a kid that age, so it was interesting how little had changed in some ways.

Have a question about Lark Rise if anyone has read it: I thought it was an autobiography in a way, but then there are two characters (Laura and Edmond) who also play a role. Is Laura really Flora?

Then read "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers, creative non-fiction about a Syrian-American husband who stays behind in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and what happened to him.It was rather frightening when happens to civil rights when there is a crisis, at least in this situation.

Now reading "Juliet, Naked" the new one by Nick Hornby which is good so far. Not ace-bril (as we used to say), but good enough. He really knows how to write realistic dialogue...

Oh, and also read "AD: New Orleans" the graphic novel. Interesting as well.

Re Lark Rise to Candleford Liz, Laura is based on Flora Thompson and the life of her family in very rural Oxfordshire. I once recommended her book Heatherley to a friend because it was set in the area in which she had lived (by this time FT had moved to the Hampshire-Surrey border). Friend handed the book back complaining that "Nothing happened." To me that is the beauty of FT's writing. They shows country ways before 'modern life' started to take over.
Btw, hasn't the BBC series Lark Rise to Candleford reached the US TV screens yet? It is on its third year over here and seems very popular. The country folk of Lark Rise are photographed through a golden glow (rather like a cornflakes ad) and the town's people of Candleford are shown as dressed in the latest fashions and displaying amazingly 'modern' attitiudes to life. But all in all a pleasant way to spend an hour on a Sunday evening.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lark Rise to Candleford

lemonhead, "Lark Rise to Candleford" is one of my very, very favorite books. I've read it more than once, along with "Cider With Rosie" by Laurie Lee. Incomparable descriptions of rural landscapes and folkways! Vee, I'm not aware of any TV productions of this in the U.S.

I finished Helen Hollick's "The Kingmaking", the first in a trilogy about King Arthur. I enjoyed it and felt the author had done her historical research well. But I was quite put off by both spelling and grammatical errors. (Where was the proof-reader?).

I am now engrossed in a book about Wm. Shakespeare and am looking at "Wolf Hall" on my nightstand....

Vee - I laughed when you mentioned your friend handed back the book back to you saying "nothing happened".... Hiiarious. Well, that's the beauty (as you wrote). Nothing happens, but a lot happens. I loved the gentle pace of the book and really enjoyed the process of being sucked into a different place and time. (Very different from twenty-first century Texas, let me tell you.) :-)

Plus I agree with Wood - I love Cider with Rosie. I lent to a Texan friend but she didn't "get it".... I don't know. Perhaps it helps to grow up somewhere green with rolling hills and meadows and four seasons....

Just checked Wiki (i know, I know...) and it said that the BBC has three seasons of Lark Rise.... Three! And we haven't got one. Something is very wrong with this. Maybe PBS will come through for us....

Don't forget - Austen's Emma miniseries starts on Sunday at PBS (at least here in LBB). Guess what I am doing at 8pm for the next few Sundays...?

All that nattering, and I forgot to mention what I am also reading ... It's called "British Food: An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History" by Colin Spencer, who was (is?) the Food Critic for the Guardian newspaper. Only up to just past the Norman invasion, but interesting so far...

Expected reaction from non-RPers about book on British food: very short book, no words, no pictures. :-)

lemon- I adored Olive Kitteridge, in fact I think I would put it up as one of my favorites. I am now reading The Swan Thieves by E. Kostova. I loved The Historian. This book is well written but quite different. I have a feeling the ending may be a disappointment, but I refuse to peek!
I have not posted here in so long. I have missed it.
and I totally missed the bookmark exchange. I hope you do another or something similar next Christmas.
Happy 2010 to all!

pam53,

I am with you, wasn't Olive a very special lady!!

I am reading the latest Morland offering from Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, called The Fallen Kings.

Oh, lucky you, Kath. It is so long before the Morland books arrive in the U.S.

Sarah_canary - I finished "Diana Lively is Falling Down" last night. It was a fun book throughout. I loved the ending, and never suspected what Wally was doing. And I still adored Humphrey at the end, and was very happy for him and his love.
Some of the humor made me think of Fawlty Towers. Thank you for posting about it here.

veronicae -- You're very welcome. I really enjoyed it, too. And Humphrey was one of my favorites as well.

I'm still working on "Wolf Hall." I haven't had a lot of reading time lately. :(

I've just finished "The Soul of an Age: A Biography of the Mind of Wm. Shakespeare" by Jonathan Bate. I enjoyed the lively style, built around the theme of the "seven ages of man". I think anyone with an interest in the Bard would find the book fascinating.

Also tried to read "Wolf Hall" but could not get interested, so back to the library it goes....

pam, when you finish the new Kostova book, I'd be very interested in your comments.

I am reading and really enjoying a very unusual little book, "Crusoe's Daughter" by Jane Gardam.

The cover says 'Voluptousley entertaining'.This I am truly finding out!!

june, I find all Jane Gardam's books entertaining.

Have just finished Jude Morgan's The Taste Of Sorrow: Emily Anne Charlotte.
Although I have never been a huge Brontë fan (shades of school English exam courses) I would thoroughly recommend this books to anyone interested in this strange, withdrawn yet passionate family.
Written as a novel, Morgan (real name Tim something is case you thought he was a female) has done his homework and paints a stark but compelling picture of the sisters and brother brought up in isolation, caused both by their physical remoteness and being social cut-off from their Father's parishioners.
In a family haunted by death, lack of funds, and a Father who expected the girls to bring money into the home by 'governessing' the spoilt children of the New Rich mill-owners, the Brontës, even as adults, retreat into their own make-believe world of writing.
Despite the success of their first novels (all three published in the same year) they still find 'company' and the Wide World difficult to deal with.
It is a sad story but most readable.

I started Gail Godwin's Unfinished Desires. I was "supposed" to keep it until I finished 3 library books I have at home - I kept that resolution until I finished 1! I am about 50 pages in and loving it, as I have all her books I have read. Her descriptions of scenes, sites and characters are very well done. She is "spot on" in describing and characterizing teenage girls - from what I remember from being one, having one, and hearing the stories told by two teachers in our family. It's a book to savor rather than to be consumed by.

Read and finished a reread of "Private Papers" by Margaret Forster, an interesting book set up as a journal written by the mother of the story which is being read (and commented on) by one of the daughters. This way you get both versions of the same event, with the daughter feeling that the mother gives a completely inaccurate version of events. The first time I read this years ago, I thought it was hilarious, but now I find it rather poignant.

Finished up the "British Food" book (good) and now on to "Homer and Langley" by E L Doctorow (about the two brothers in NYC who hoarded and hoarded until they were found dead). This is more creative non-fiction than anything so I wonder how accurate it can be. Still, Doctorow usually does his homework pretty well....

Then also reading, as my non-fiction choice, a book called "My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student" by Rebekeh Nathan. Interesting book about how this new generation of students with entitlement issues and helicopter parents are facing the big world of college. I work with quite a few students at the uni here, and this book is quite eye-opening in some ways. No surprise though that the uni administrators and the students are thinking completely differently on many things. Recommended if you're involved in teaching teenagers,young adults or in a uni environment. Or even if you're just curious to see how things have changed since you went to school (if you did)....

I've just finished a Non-fiction work about the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech: "No Right to Remain Silent" by Lucinda Roy, who was the former Chair of the Dept of English at that University. The author had taught the gunman creative writing in her classes, realized he had serious problems, and tried to help him, to no avail. She raises all sorts of questions about safety issues, gun control, town & gown, and more. Roy took quite a good number of risks in speaking out by writing this book, at the possible cost of losing her career. Answers still remain to be revealed about this devastating event....

I just finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I was hesitant due to the "perfect book group read" hype surrounding it, but found it quite good. I read it for a "real life" book group I was just invited to join, so I'll be interested to hear what others thought of it. (This will be my first foray into a FTF group - we'll see how I do!)

I also finished a YA book by Kate DiCamillo, The Magician's Elephant, which was uniformly excellent, as well as Michael Dirda's Book By Book which was full of wonderful things, but it really didn't hold my attention (a lack on my part, I'm sure). I want to revisit it sometime in the future.

Pam53, please let us know what you think of The Swan Thieves, I have been sorely tempted to buy it but wanted a few good reviews first.

Just finished Anne Tyler's newest, Noah's Compass. It was OK. I'm an Anne Tyler fan, the book had her typical quirky characters but I thought the story was a bit flat.

I read two pre-publications novels this month. My favorite was The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. It takes place during WWII leading up to the United States' involvement in the war and flips back & forth between Cape Cod and London. The other was White Picket Fences by Susan Meissner but in checking on a book site, it actually came out in Oct.. Oh well. Easy read, family secrets, raising teens in CA.

Both Wolf Hall and The Elegance of the Hedgehog were a struggle for me and I didn't finish either. WH I really enjoyed, EotH was a bit slow for me but I think both required that I actually pay attention and I've been so busy and reading in fits and starts that after a while, I lost interest in each.

On the other hand, perfect for short attention spans were humorous non-fiction memoirs (can they be memoirs if the author is only in her 20's?) by Gina Barreca It' Not That I'm Bitter and Elna BakerThe New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance. Barreca's book had me laughing so hard in spots that my 14 yr old daughter "had" to read it aloud to me.

Also read Anthony Horowitz's first in his YA Gatekeeper series, Raven's Gate which is a good fantasy set in present times. It reminded me of Michael Scott'sAlchemyst series. Hmm, what to read next?

sheri, I read Stockett's "The Help" and really liked it a lot. I liked the way the author threw in some real life personnages and events from the Civil Rights Movement in the deep South, although it was a work of fiction. There were funny moments and some events I found quite poignant. I thought, for a debut novel,it was spot on.

Next I think I will try to read Pat Conroy's newest: "South of Broad" which is about the fascinating old city of Charleston.

woodnymph and sheri-The Swan Thieves was extremely well written and I would recommend it. That being said, I did not like it near as much as The Historian but I really loved that book. The story is interesting with twists etc. If you read it or anyone else does, I would be interested to hear what you think of the ending.

I am now reading:
Alice Munro-Too Much Happiness (Short Stories)
Anne Tyler-Noah's Compass
Elizabeth Kostova-The Swan Thieves

Of the books I read this month I enjoyed:
A Duty to the Dead-A light mystery set in England during WWI-written by Charles Todd (A mother and son writing team)

Just finished "My Freshman Year" written by an anthropology professor who takes a year's sabbatical to live on campus in the dorms to see how her students' world is in real life.

It wasn't as interesting as I thought it was going to be, but she did make some good points. A lot of college is time and work management skills, and there are quite different stages that you pass through as you progress through your education.

I live in a university town, and am constantly amazed by how alien some of the students seem (lack of respect for property, others, themselves etc) so this reminded me that just how young (in both chronology and maturity) some of the students are. Plus it helped to explain some of the choices these kids make:

I worked two jobs in college to buy groceries and pay electricity bills etc. For quite a few students, working two jobs is to pay for their monthly payment on their loaded Escalade or their Coach purse. I am sure there are students who are in a similar position to where i was in college, but perhaps I just don't see those so much. In my neighborhood, the parents from out of town swoop in, buy a really nice historical house that costs buckos and then hand it over to their kid while he/she is in college and then sell it.

While I had to walk fifteen miles to school up four hills and forge a river....

Anyway, interesting book if you're curious about the college kids of today.

Now on to "Woman of Independent Means" by Elizabeth Forsyth-Hailey. It's probably dated but hopefully, it's not as bad as "Georgy's Girl"...

Just under the wire I finished reading Netherland by Joseph OÂNeill for my book club's meeting tonight. It's rather unusual, but we were almost universal in our assessment of the book. It was overflowing with beautifully expressed insights into the human experience, but the story was flat. None of us could find any connection to any of the characters, and ultimately we didn't care what happened to them. I've never read a book before that contained more gems, but failed so completely. It's a pity -- the book could have been wonderful if there had actually been a story there.

I so want to find a good book to read. It has been a long dry spell.

Rosefolly

Rosefolly,
I do really feel for you, the frustration of not finding a good book!!
May I suggest that you scroll thru the thred posted 5th January 'I need a good book', very interesting.There a lots to choose from!!

Junek

I've been trying to get interested in Pat Conroy's latest blockbuster, "South of Broad." I'm finding it boring and cliche-ridden, so I think I will not be able to complete it.

Meanwhile, I read a rather unique little book, "The Daily Coyote" by Shreve Stockton. This is the true story of a young woman who moved from NYC to Wyoming and raised a baby coyote, along with a cat, and later, a dog, in her cabin. It is filled with wonderful color photos, and very well-written. I really enjoyed the various "adventures" she endured while "roughing it."

Had a snow day (i.e. two inches of snow fell leading to the office closing before lunch leading to much happiness and joy). Had a massive coma-nap and then read to my heart's content: a quick re-read of "Gift from the Sea" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. I have a friend who may want to read it and wanted to make sure it was what I remembered before I gave it to her.

Then finished off "Homer and Langley" by EL Doctorow which was a good read but who knows how true it is. I know there were two Collyer brothers who hoarded in NYC, but their conversations etc... who knows?

Then read and thoroughly truly enjoyed "A Woman of Independent Means" by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey. Two surprises for me with regard to this book: it was an epistolary novel (I LOVE those kind), and it was not as dated as I thought it would be (considering it was written in 1978). Again, nothing deep and meaningful, but just a good read for a snowy day.

Now on to "What the Dog Saw", the NF from Malcolm Gladwell (looking forward to that) and then my fiction choice is "The Warden" and "Barchester Towers" (both in one volume) by Anthony Trollope.

Back to the Victorians I go!

lemonhead - I read "A Woman of Independent Means" many years ago and really enjoyed it. I think there was a movie or mini-series made of it starring Sally Fields.

I'm reading the utterly delightful Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson. I have no idea how this book got on my wish list (and subsequently arrived as a Christmas gift), but I'm guessing it must have been mentioned here. It's one of those charming English-village-between-the-wars sorts of books, somewhat on the order of Mapp & Lucia with a good dash of Barbara Pym. I'm hoping to hunt down the OOP sequel, Miss Buncle Married.

Besides the usual mysteries I have been on a romance spree. It was quite a move to go directly from Georgette Heyer to Lori Foster :-)

I finally finished Empires of the Indus, which was enjoyable but so full of information that I would put it aside for a few days after each chapter to digest the information and read up on the more interesting parts of the history mentioned by the author. For those interested in reading it: there is a website full of supplementary material, such as photographs and folk music Albinia recorded during her journeys.

I have moved on to another river and am slow-reading Danube by Claudio Magris.

Here is a link that might be useful: Empires of the Indus website

I started An Echo in the Bone today, the latest Diana Gabaldon 820-pager. That ought to hold me for awhile.

Carolyn, I will be interested in your feelings about the book. I liked it, but not everyone does.