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i am starting today.

Elizabeth, I think you beat everyone to it.

I started It by Stephen King for Halloween. It's over 1,000 pages, so I'll be working on it for a while. This is my fourth or fifth reading, but it still creeps me out.

I'm waiting for Why Have Kids?: A New Mom Explores the Truth About Parenting and Happiness by Jessica Valenti from my library.

I'm reading The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains (by Nicholas G. Carr.) I'm only about a hundred pages in; but I have to admit that it is one of the most bizarrely meta-reading experiences I've ever had! I'm reading about how I'm reading!

The opening chapters are about how technological innovations impact human neuroplasticity and, how this in turns affects our culture and society. I suspect that Carr's thesis is that what's happening now in terms of the internet, our brains and our culture is not good; but we'll see as the book unfolds. Carr has used bits from Plato, McLuhan and Turing so far and, I suspect Oliver Goldsmith will come up too. The language is accessible (no dictionary required) and so far it' s keeping my interest :-)

Alright, here it goes...

Reading Three Bags Full and then Great Gatsby (both in hard copy) for my Book Club.

I am reading The Casual Vacancy on my phone/Kindle.

I am listening to The Middlesteins on Audible in kitchen/while doing chores.

Also on the list for November:
Thanksgiving: How to Cook it Well (for obvious reasons)

Stardust (for a girls night out/social event)

The Gatecrasher (oldest TBR 2012 Challenge)
Christine Falls (oldest TBR 2012 On Physical Bookshelf Challenge)

The Homemade Pantry, Dinner: A Love Story

And... if time... Gold and Fifty Shades Freed (gulp!)

I just finished East of Eden and give the book a 4/5. It was a very enjoyable, though not particularly fast, read about father-son relationships, the importance of love to a child's life and development, and the presence of good/bad in people. My review is here - though it is spoiler-ish: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Coming up in November:

Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World
Light In August
Doctor Faustus

I'm nearly always reading two books at once, but right now it's just me and . This book demands and deserves my undivided attention.

Currently, , , and . Also listening to so I can then read . I may have gotten carried away at the library again, so there is some other stuff slated, but I'll pace myself (at least here!).

I'll be interested to hear what you think of Death Comes to Pemberly. I love PD James, but am not so sure about this one. I also would need to read Pride and Prejudice first, so between the two books it would be a commitment!

Susan wrote: "I'll be interested to hear what you think of Death Comes to Pemberly. I love PD James, but am not so sure about this one. I also would need to read Pride and Prejudice first, so between the two boo..."

It's definitely killing two birds with one stone. I've been meaning to try PD James, because I hear good things and I've never read any Austen/Bronte/etc and I feel like that's a huge miss. I'll keep you posted. Well, three birds; I'm hoping I clean the house while listening to Pride and Prejudice:)

Amy wrote: "Alright, here it goes...

Reading Three Bags Full and then Great Gatsby (both in hard copy) for my Book Club.

I am reading The Casual Vacancy on my phone/Kindle.

I am listening to The Middlestein..."

I am curios about how youlike A Casual Vacancy, I just finished it a few days ago and enjoyed it very much

The Twelve. I have only waited 2 years for the follow up to The Passage. Worth the wait ?

Dks wrote: "The Twelve. I have only waited 2 years for the follow up to The Passage. Worth the wait ?"

picked up my copy this week & will start it in a few days

This was a lot of fun.

As fans of Star Trek know, "redshirts" are the crew members on the show that provide the illusion of drama by, well, dying. Whereas the main characters, as everyone knows, always return in subsequent episodes. But what if the redshirts figured this out and attempted to change their seemingly predestined fates?

A funny, entertaining, and deconstructive look at an old formula.

I could have done without the three epilogues, but your tastes may vary.

A pretty average comic book offering, not at all justified by the fanfare and format. The reinvention of Superman that Grant Morrison has been doing in the mainstream Action Comics series is far more interesting.

Dks wrote: "The Twelve. I have only waited 2 years for the follow up to The Passage. Worth the wait ?"

Yes! Worth the wait! But my expectations weren't high. The second book of a trilogy often disappoints, so I try not to have my hopes up. Parts of The Twelve were a little slow (imho), but then it picked up speed and it all came together again. Overall it was definitely worth it!

Eric wrote: "

This was a lot of fun.

As fans of Star Trek know, "redshirts" are the crew members on the show that provide the illusion of drama by, well, dying. Whereas the main ..."

I was waiting and looking forward to your review of Redshirts! It's definitely on my by-the-end-of-the-year list!

Just completed Father's Day: A Journey into the Mind and Heart of My Extraordinary Son. i am ambivalent. This memoir is reputedly hearttouching and honest. It may be true but I feel it somewhat borders on exploitation. Don't think I would recommend it.

Started White Teeth last night. Currently hooked. It will be follwed by In the Woods.

I'm smack in the middle of three very different books: Barbara Ehrenreich's Bait and Switch (her white-collar follow-up to Nickel and Dimed); Alex George's immigrant saga A Good American; and Edgar Jepson's The Four Philanthropists (1907), a strange little would-be comedy about a group of Drones Club types who decide their mission in life is to exterminate rich men who live off the pennies of the poor. This week's lunchtime read will probably be super-editor Diana Athill's Letters to a Friend. My Teetering Stack includes several other titles picked up at a recent library sale, which I hope to get to some time this month: biographies of Will Rogers, Swinburne, and John Mortimer, a short and photo-filled book by a woman who shares her property with a friendly coyote, and a food-spy-mystery novel that the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ recommendations engine swears I'll like. (So far it's been batting about .150.) A generous friend has given me a copy of Terry Pratchett's new non-Discworld novel, Dodger, which I'm dying to take up but have decided to save for "dessert."

I just finished and am now reading . I hope to read , , and by the end of the month.

Dks wrote: "The Twelve. I have only waited 2 years for the follow up to The Passage. Worth the wait ?"

The Twelve was a solid follow-up to The Passage. The first third kind of dragged for me, but I blew through it after that. I had to go back and reacquaint myself with all the characters of The Passage because there are so many and it's been so long, but it just made me want to re-read it. Can't wait for the third!

Amy wrote: "Alright, here it goes...

Reading Three Bags Full and then Great Gatsby (both in hard copy) for my Book Club.

I am reading The Casual Vacancy on my phone/Kindle.

I am listening to The Middlestein..."

OMG, Amy, are we leading parallel lives in the same universe?

So, this month I shall be reading Three Bags Full "Three Bags Full" for my book club. Only today I tried to get The Middlesteins from Audible, but it's not available in my region (bah! this happens all the time!!!), so I thought I'd get A Casual Vacancy instead, to see if it's really as bad as everyone says it is.

I read Gold back in spring, and The Great Gatsby earlier this year, too, so I think I need to check out your reading list for more parallels - seems as though we have similar reading tastes!

I just finished posting GoodReads reviews for the 6 books I finished in October. In order of most favorite to least favorite, they were:

1. The Casual Vacancy, by J.K. Rowling - - loved it!!
2. The Innocents, by Francesca Segal
3. Calling Invisible Women, by Jeanne Wall
4. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, by Rhoda Janzen
5. Last Night at the Lobster, by Stewart O'Nan
6. Canada, by Richard Ford - - hated it!!!

For November, I am committed to reading, for book groups, author talks, etc:
(1) State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett
(2) In My Father's Country, by Saima Wahab
(3) Maria's Papers, by Stephen Clegg
(4) The Lion is In, by Delia Ephron

This month, I also hope to read "Back to Blood" by Tom Wolfe and "The Orchardist" by Amanda Coplin.

Oh November - How did you get here so fast??
So, I just started Every DayEvery Day, and I am loving it. Book Club just picked The Dog Stars The Dog Stars. So, that is on the list. I really want to fit in another David Mitchell novel - so either Ghostwritten Ghostwritten or Black Swan Green Black Swan Green. The last two I want to squeeze in are The Twelve The Twelve and Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Book Store Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

@ eric,

thanks for the post on Redshirts. just this past weekend i thought of this review, but couldn't remember the title. and then i saw your post.

a timely update.

Just got back from vacation, I finished The Lottery and Other Stories, started and finished both The Orphan Master's Son (Adam Johnson's talk at Booktopia was so fascinating that I immediately started the book) and The Passage (finished in just a couple days, I could not put it down), and I ran out and grabbed The Twelve, sadly I had to go back to work so it may take me a couple extra days to go through this.

Kats wrote: "OMG, Amy, are we leading parallel lives in the same universe?..."

Nice! You'll have to let me know what you think of Three Bags Full when you finish!

Callie wrote: "Just got back from vacation, I finished The Lottery and Other Stories, started and finished both The Orphan Master's Son (Adam Johnson's talk at Booktopia was so fascinating that I immediately star..."

Callie, did you go to Santa Cruz as well then? You lucky, lucky bookworm!! I wish I could read as fast and furiously as you!! These days I am so easily distracted, I seriously wonder whether I suffer from ADD...

I did indeed get to attend Booktopia SC, and I definitely consider myself to be a very, very lucky bookworm! This was another wonderful group of readers and authors, and we had a blast. My husband, who is not a reader, was impressed with the whole weekend, and I think it made him understand my appreciation for bookstores and booksellers.

Afterwards, we went to Hawaii for 10 days, and I spent way more time reading during this trip than I have on previous vacations, thanks to my very understanding husband. I simply said, I don't care what we do, as long as I get a couple hours to read every day, and he agreed. Major points were earned by him!

@ callie,

your husband is to be greatly appreciated. it sounds like you had a blast in santa cruz and in hawaii! wow. and you missed most of the awful weather.

I am reading The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark while trying to finish The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever. Enjoying all three so far.

Callie wrote: "I did indeed get to attend Booktopia SC, and I definitely consider myself to be a very, very lucky bookworm! This was another wonderful group of readers and authors, and we had a blast. My husband,..."

LIKE!

Just about to start: The Bookseller: The First Hugo Marston Novel by Mark Pryor

"Max—an elderly Paris bookstall owner—is abducted at gunpoint. His friend, Hugo Marston, head of security at the US embassy, looks on helplessly, powerless to do anything to stop the kidnapper. Marston launches a search, enlisting the help of semiretired CIA agent Tom Green. Their investigation reveals that Max was a Holocaust survivor and later became a Nazi hunter. Is his disappearance somehow tied to his grim history, or even to the mysterious old books he sold?"

Elizabeth wrote: "@ callie,

your husband is to be greatly appreciated. it sounds like you had a blast in santa cruz and in hawaii! wow. and you missed most of the awful weather."

We did miss Sandy, and though there was an evacuation for a tsunami warning, our hotel did a vertical evac for the floors below ours... so long story short, we weren't affected at all. And thankfully we did not find any destruction at home from the storm. The images from NY, NJ and places were crazy, and I count myself as very, very lucky (especially since we had Snowtober a year ago and lost power for almost a week, so I know what that's like).

Callie wrote: "I did indeed get to attend Booktopia SC, and I definitely consider myself to be a very, very lucky bookworm!

My husband..."

..... is the dog's b*ll*cks, as we'd say this side of the pond!!! What a great, great guy!

Glad you had such a fabulous time at Booktopia (very jealous here!), and on your holiday afterwards, and especially that you were totally unharmed and unaffected by Sandy.

Hope to see you again in Vermont in April 2013!

Hi All!

I just ended October with:

History of A Pleasure Seeker by Richard Mason
Learning To Swim by Sara J Henry
Quiet:The Power of Introverts in a World Taht Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
The Art Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

So far my November reads are:

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan,
The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society (Re-read)
The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
Mrs Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn

So far I recommend all the books in my lists and happy reading to anyone anywhere in the world! ; )

Blair wrote: "Also listening to Pride and Prejudice so I can then read Death Comes to Pemberley.

Susan wrote: I'll be interested to hear what you think of Death Comes to Pemberley. I love PD James, but am not so sure about this one. I also would need to read Pride and Prejudice first, so between the two books it would be a commitment!"

Pride & Prejudice is one of my favorite books. The first time I read it for school was when the BBC adaptation came out on A&E (which stayed really true to the book), so that enhanced my reading experience. The writing can be a bit difficult (my Mom and a friend of mine thought it was dull and boring and vowed never to read Austen again) so everyone's experience will be different.

Death Comes to Pemberley is definitely NOT boring, but I also felt it took license with some of the characters. Some of their actions and thoughts just did not express who they were. I'm not a P&P purist (I liked P&P&Zombies), but I do feel you should stay true to the foundation.

It's been a year since I read it, but I believe there might be enough background information provided in DCTP that you don't necessarily *have* to read P&P first. And you might enjoy it more than I did because you won't be saying to yourself, "there's no way Elizabeth would think that," or "how could their marriage end up like that," or "he would NEVER do that." Although I definitely would encourage you to read Pride & Prejudice just because it is a really good book (IMO).

It was an interesting book, and I'm glad I read it (I've never read PD James before), but I probably won't read it again.

Thanks Tanya & Eric! I just added Redshirts and The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains to by TBR pile.

I have also started reading Robert VS Redicks fourth instalment of The Cathrand Voyage series titled The Night of the Swarm. Possibly the best fantasy series recently released.

Kelly wrote: "Dks wrote: "The Twelve. I have only waited 2 years for the follow up to The Passage. Worth the wait ?"

The Twelve was a solid follow-up to The Passage. The first third kind of dragged for me, but..."

Just started The Twelve on audio during my commute. This is generally not one of my favorite genres, but loved The Passage and was surprised that I liked it so well. The writing is top-notch! In addition, the narrator, Scott Brick, is one of my favorites. I don't want to get out of the car when I get home!

Also reading Familiar by J. Robert Lennon (via Powell Books Indiespensable --- thank you Michael and Ann for the referral!) and Mister Pipp by Lloyd Jones --- which I received in the Yankee Swap at Booktopia Manchester 2012. They are all so good I wish I could read them all simultaneously! Too many books; too little time!!!

The decks are being cleared, and I am going to start Anna Karenina for book club. Over the Christmas season we always pick something long since no one has time to meet again until January. This is likely to be in my December list as well... I hope it's not as boring as Middlemarch, which I failed to read over Christmas break a few years back!

i finished which i found impressive. thanks for the recommendation michael!

i have started .

Currently reading The Circus in Winter and Three Bags Full.

@Jo Ann, I just finished Three Bags full for book club. Are you liking it so far?

I'm listening to Days of Blood & Starlight, which was just released yesterday. It's the follow-up to Daughter of Smoke & Bone which was a wonderful YA fantasy.

I just finished The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and have a good start on Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. I am trying to get this one read before the movie comes out. I am listening to Moon Over Manifest during my daily commute and really like this Newbery winning book. The Books-On-Tape people did a good job on the audio book. It is a very nice production.

I started The Gates (by John Connolly) last night. I picked it up because the cover appealed and the opening paragraphs were clever and engaging. It's about an eleven-year old boy named Samuel Johnson who discovers that the new neighbors are opening up a portal between Earth and Hell! There are footnotes that break through the fourth wall (references to the text but are direct addresses from the author to the reader) and so far it's very entertaining. It combines elements of fantasy, physics and for the realism component, the confusion and loneliness of a boy whose father has left the family. It's shelved in some places as YA though I found it in the Adult section of the library and, it doesn't have the dumbed down language that I so often find in YA books. Recommended for Geeks everywhere (You know who you are! :-D)

My reading goal for this month includes finishing and . Next up I plan on starting either OR . Most likely the latter since I didn't get to that one last month. Also, I am loving Jo Nesbo so far so I might just need to jump into the next book in the Harry Hole series.

I'm also looking forward to finishing . I started that last moth and got side tracked.

In audio I am listening to . I am about halfway in but I don't know if I can finish this one. The way the narrator does voices is really annoying. I would also like to finish up (which is beautifully narrated by the way). Next up I'll be listening to in preparation for reading (or listening to) .

I'm about to start The Wordy Shipmates (by Sarah Vowell.) There is an audio for this title; but I listened to Unfamiliar Fishes a couple of years ago and, unfortunately, the novelty of the author reading her own work quickly wore very thin for me. I'm hoping that I won't still be hearing her voice in my head as I'm trying to read this book about the Puritans (an appropriate choice given the season.) Sarah Vowell is very smart, funny and clever and, because she manages to insert herself in the narrative, there really is no better choice than herself to narrate the audio; but her voice is not for me. #fingrnailsonachalkboard

Finished listening to Audiobook of The Dogstars by Peter Heller -- fantastic recommendation by Michael!

Also read Unwholly by Neal Schusterman.

Up this week is The Man Who Was Thursday by GK Chesterton, followed by City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare.

I'll be starting a new Audiobook: Saturday by Ian McEwan, to be followed by A Moveable Feast by Hemingway.

If there is any November left, I will move on to Cinder and probably more Hemingway.