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Georgesear wrote: "If there is any November left, I will move on to Cinder..."

I enjoyed Cinder...an interesting take on the Cinderella story. I started reading it (you know, in a book), but found that when it came time to go to work, I wanted to keep reading, so I downloaded it from audible :)

I started reading a middle-grades book The Shadows (the first in "The Books of Elsewhere" series) with my nephew. At the end of each chapter, he said, "I want to read the next chapter". We read 5 chapters (a total of 40 pages) in one sitting. Not bad for a 5-year-old.

Tanya/dog eared copy wrote: "

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..."

I just finished The Infernals (the second in the series). Both were delightful and really fun. Enjoy!

Blair wrote: "I just finished The Infernals (the second in the series). Both were delightful and really fun. Enjoy! "

Oh crud! I meant to pick up The Infernals at the library today and forgot! I did, however, pick up Invisible Murder (by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnette Fris), Fuzzy Nation (by John Scalzi), The Disappearing Spoon (by Sam Kean) and, The Violinist's Thumb (also by Sam Kean.)

Before I get to those however, I have Milena Agus' From the Land of the Moon and, Alina Bronsky's The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine . I think I'll start From the Land of the Moon tonight as a matter of fact! It's about a woman's search for love, with the Allied bombing of Cagliari serving as the setting. The book is a translation from the Italian; but I've heard that the English translation retains much of the lyricism of the original.



From the Land of the Moon (by Milena Agus)

From the Land of the Moon
(by Milena Agus, translated from the Italian by Ann Goldstein.)

From the Land of the Moon is a novella about a mid-century Sardinian woman who searches for elusive love. She recognizes that her nature is flawed and her story is poignant without being maudlin. The denouement while not jaw-dropping, is extremely powerful. I would recommend this for women who identify with Anna Karenina and/or Madam Bovary or, anyone who calls "bullshit" on that lyric-cum-lame-philosophy, "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with!"

Next up:


The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine
(by Alina Bronsky; translated from the German by Tim Mohr)

Started

Reading Major Pettigrew's Last Stand for book club, and I'm finding it so charming. As a side note, there needs to be a phrase for having a book club book assigned that is something that you have really wanted to read for a while, and just hadn't gotten to yet. Love when that happens.

Callie wrote: "Reading Major Pettigrew's Last Stand for book club, and I'm finding it so charming. As a side note, there needs to be a phrase for having a book club book assigned that is something that you have r..."

this was one of my favorite books from last year

Diving back into .

Struggling a bit at the start with .

And dipping in and out of the lovely .

On to

Ulysses which is going to take awhile.

just finished which I loved- a mystery about physical books and digital books and many great characters. Started so far I am loving it.

I have been in a total reading funk; I keep picking books up and putting them down. Finished for one of my book clubs. I found it very bleak and unusual, although other members of my group really liked it. I have picked up , recommended by very different friends and now, over 100 pages in, I am hooked. I am also reading which I have had on my shelf for way too many years ( I had originally seen the author on the old CSpan series "Booknotes" with Brian Lamb). I picked it up when I was without power due to Sandy and Diana Preston is such a good writer that I was totally drawn back 100+ years ago. She made me forget my stress about the situation I was living and let me escape which is always the sign of a great book!

Just finished and loved it and am halfway through the audiobook version of which is a great read for my 45 minute commute to work. Next up: and I am really looking forward to . I watched a video of Hanna Rosin doing a Q&A after a reading from her book and she is a great speaker. I think she would be perfect for a Booktopia event.

Lorraine wrote: "Just finished and loved it and am halfway through the audiobook version of which is a great read for my 45 minute commute to work. ..."

Lorraine, a friend of mine picked up the Oliver Sacks book on Friday and finished it yesterday, and this is someone who is not a reader normally. He had very high praise. I'm looking forward to reading it, be sure to tell us what you think!

Finally, power and internet back after the storm! Finished by Robin Sloan, and starting by M.L. Stedman.

Just Finished Last Man in Tower and Tell the Wolves I'm Home..
both really good..
Now on to The Round House and The Panther--then Where'd You Go Bernadette. ..Kind of an eclectic reading month.

I finished Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World today. My review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/....

It is a good book - rated it 4/5. There are a LOT of details with this book, as it describes the development of the Treaty of Versailles to formally end WWI. Although there were some positive outcomes, this is a study in how governments and leaders should NOT behave in setting foreign policy! Granted, it was a daunting challenge with an almost impossible agenda ... but they could have done better.

Callie wrote: "Lorraine wrote: "Just finished and loved it and am halfway through the audiobook version of which is a great read for my 45 minute c..."

Callie wrote: "Lorraine wrote: "Just finished and loved it and am halfway through the audiobook version of which is a great read for my 45 minute c..."

Hi Callie,
I will let you know what I think. It's our book club pick for December/January so I will be starting it soon.

I finished The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine (by Alina Bronsky; translated from the German by Tim Mohr) last night and even though I'm not sure what my thoughts all are about it yet, I do know that I liked it (4 stars.) The story centers around a Tartar woman living in Russia. Her daughter, who has been something of a disappointment to her, has a baby who in turn becomes the center of the Tartar woman's life. Incredibly strong-willed, though ruthless, the grandmother orchestrates their emigration to Germany. The grandmother definitely has moxie, which is both appealing and off-putting at the same time. As for the translation, I have to admit that it was excellent. This is one of the rare times that I forgot that the book had been originally written in another language and, to top it off, did not contain the spartan aesthetic that I have found in many German novels (e.g. The Reader (by Bernard Schlink).)


Next Up:


Invisible Murder (by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis)

I'm reading Obama: The Story currently and just finished reading IQ84 (a books on the nightstand recommendation!). My next is The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan. I can't wait.

Finished Major Pettigrew's Last Stand for book club today (about 10 minutes before book club, no exaggeration), and I just loved it. Some of the ladies thought that it was too slow in the beginning, but I found it very easy to read, and highly entertaining.

Next I will be finishing The Twelve and Time's Arrow before reading The Thirteenth Tale for December's book club read. Then it's on to Christmas reading!

I am currently reading "Don't Know Much About the American Presidents" which I heard about on Books on the Nightstand (thank you very much!) This is a pick-it-up-whenever-I-sit-down book. I love the format because it allows me to do that, reading a little at a time.

I am also currently reading "Riptide" by Paul Levine on my Kindle in the evening. Then just before bed, I listen to about an hour's worth of "Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (which I first heard about on The Readers Podcast, and I think I noticed that Michael is now reading). I'm finding "Shadow of the Wind" to be very enjoyable, and the Audible version has some piano music at the beginning of some sections, which was apparently included by the author. I've read a few reviews that found the piano to be distracting, but since the piano is mentioned several times in the beginning of the book, and since I'm listening to it just before bed, I find it not at all distracting, but rather soothing.

Hi everyone. Greetings from London, England! I'm just about to start A Most Dangerous Method: The Story of Jung, Freud & Sabina Spielrein by John Kerr for a book group. Then I'm hoping to read Ours Are the Streets by Sunjeev Sahota, The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer, Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks and Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh! (And any others I can fit in)

Callie wrote: "before reading The Thirteenth Tale for December's book club read...."

The Thirteenth Tale is my book club's December read too! Too funny!

Callie wrote: "Reading Major Pettigrew's Last Stand for book club, and I'm finding it so charming. As a side note, there needs to be a phrase for having a book club book assigned that is something that you have r..."

Hi there Callie. It's so nice to hear from another admirer of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. I absolutely loved this book. It was a favourite of my last year's reads.

i am starting tonight.

Amy wrote: "Callie wrote: "before reading The Thirteenth Tale for December's book club read...."

The Thirteenth Tale is my book club's December read too! Too funny!"

Amy, have you read it before? I did a few years ago, and I'm looking forward to picking it up again. I really loved it the first time around. I read The Shadow of the Wind right around the same time, so it was a particularly good reading period!

Two couple come together for the purpose of having a "civilized discussion" about an act of violence that occurred between their sons. But what, finally, is "civilization"? Is it a mere sham? Or, although real, does it carry us away from our natural human impulses? Does civilization resolve anything in the end?

How does the behavior of "grownups" differ from the rough schoolyard savagery of children? Are they the same? And do the formalities of the former merely disguise the brutality of the latter?

A very depressing play. One that I'm unsure whether I'd want to see, let alone perform in. I dunno. Depends on my mood, I guess.

If you go to see this play, my advice is that you not sit in the front row, unless you're one of those hardy or masochistic souls who'd be front and center at a Gallagher show and who'd like to be spattered with bits of exploded melon. Only in this case, it'd be puke. Probably fake puke, unless the actress who plays Annette is gastrically super-talented.

Eric wrote: "

If you go to see this play, my advice is that you not sit in the front row, unless you're one of those hardy or masochistic souls who'd be front and center at a Gallagher show and who'd like to be spattered with bits of exploded melon. Only in this case, it'd be puke. Probably fake puke, unless the actress who plays Annette is gastrically super-talented. "

Eric, I saw this play Le dieu du carnageabout five or six years ago when it had its worldwide premiere (happened to be in Zurich, even though the playwright is French, I believe), and it was actually brilliant!! Really perfect on stage - but I didn't sit in the front row. Mind you, the puking went on in the other direction anyway. :-)

Last year I went to see Roman Polanski's movie adaptation with his fabulous cast, and Kate Winslet did a damn fine puking job, too, but I prefer the play on stage rather than celluloid. (not read the book).

The premise of Herman Koch's book "The Dinner" reminds me a bit of this, even though I believe it's a bit more sinister? Thoughts by anyone who knows both?

Kats, what was the overall tone of the play? Was it thoroughly depressing or was there enough of it played for laughs to leaven it a bit?

I'm considering whether or not to audition for a production of it.

Eric wrote: "Kats, what was the overall tone of the play? Was it thoroughly depressing or was there enough of it played for laughs to leaven it a bit?

I'm considering whether or not to audition for a productio..."

Okay, so it must have been six years ago that I saw it because I was 9 months pregnant at the time and very, very emotional (i.e. even worse than usual). It certainly wasn't an uplifting play though there were quite a few humourous scenes in it. But I didn't find it depressing, either, more cynical/satirical and stripping people off their facades until there isn't much left. A bit cruel at times, especially in the cinema you are so close to the actors, it made me cringe a few times - and very worried that a) we'd ever be parents like that and b) meet people like that and c) have an experience like they did. But then, I tend to worry a lot. I didn't find it depressing, though, just worrying and very thought-provoking.
However, it's one experience seeing a play one night, and quite another being part of it over and over again - that would leave more of a mark on you, so I think you're quite right in considering it carefully with all pros and cons. Good luck with your decision whether or not to audition!

I'm generally more of a lurker here, but I feel compelled to jump in and recommend the book I just finished - Escape by Perihan Magden. I'm attempting to read more globally this year and that's what initially attracted me to this book by a Turkish author. The English translation is readily available in paperback and you can borrow it for free from the Amazon Prime Lending Library. I listened to the audiobook and it was fantastic!

Escape is the story of an intense and isolated mother-daughter relationship told primarily from the daughter's perspective. As with Emma Donoghue's Room, the reader is forced to interpret certain events as told from a young child's perspective. The two have always lived in hotel rooms, relocating abruptly and having minimal possessions. The daughter's whole world view is influenced by her admittedly strange mother as she has never attended school or had friends.

This book has very few reviews on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ but deserves some attention. I'm so glad I found it and wanted to share my good fortune with my BOTNS friends.

Escape

Currently reading .

Next up - a reread of .

I finished Invisible Murder (by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis) last night. The story features Nina Borg, a Danish nurse, wife and mother who helps the marginalized through The Network. Her involvement in the Network this time leads her to a garage full of Romy ("gypsy") families who are suffering from what seems to be a particularly vicious stomach virus... Nina ends up enmeshed in a national security crises and puts her own life, and those of many others at risk. This is another contender in the sub-sub-genre of "Nordic Noir" which Larsson's Millennium Trilogy launched into the world's reading consciousness and, you can see the influence of Mr. Larsson's works in Kaaberbøl & Friis' work: the protagonist is a shade of Lisbeth Salander (older and without the tattoos, but still) and the authors' inclusion of gritty social issues in their story lines.

I liked this story better than The Boy in the Suitcase for being better constructed and the characters for being better developed: more complex and showing change; but as with The Boy in the Suitcase, I grudgingly gave Invisible Murder four stars instead of three (It would sit really somewhere in the C+ range if I were grading it.) Kaaberbøl and Friis do a little cheating with deductive reasoning, taking advantage of the reader knowing what's going on though the character(s) can't possibly know; the source of the illness in the garage is obvious from the earliest passages so there is no surprise when the diagnosis is made; and the intention of the plotter of the main thing-that-has-happened is, well, lame. Despite all of this, I sense that Kaaberbøl & Friis are getting better at their collaborative efforts and I'm looking forward to reading the next Nina Borg novel.


Currently Reading:


The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events #2; by Lemony Snicket)

I just figured out that my Kindle will play my Audible books. I realize this should not have taken me as long as it did, but now that I know, I'm even more excited about Thanksgiving vacation. I've got a fully loaded Kindle with a combination of regular and audio and it's going to be the best couple of days ever. Top 5 that I'm trying to read: , , , , and . Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Just finished for book club. I really enjoyed it and am now adding to the TBR. To me these short stories almost rounded out by the end to feel like a novel.

I read The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events #2; by Lemony Snicket) today. It continues the story of the three Baudelaire orphans who wind up in the custody of Uncle Monty, a respected herpetologist. Lemony Snicket always forewarns readers that these tales do not end HEA, and yet I find myself once again surprised that this is in fact true! I think hope endures on my part because I know that these are children's stories ergo they can't possibly be this "angsty!" Regardless, the stories are clever and and certainly had me wondering what was going to happen next! It was also light enough to serve as the perfect novel to read before I head into The Violinist's Thumb (by Sam Kean.) I admit that I'm a little intimidated by the book, having glanced through it earlier. IT looks a bit drier than I had expected form such a popular book. Hopefully, once I start it, my fears will be allayed.

Next Up:


The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code (by Sam Kean)

The most unusual and innovative graphic novel ever. Chris Ware is right up there with Will Eisner and Jim Steranko as one of the great auteurs of the comics medium.

It comes in a box like a board game. Inside are fourteen separate items: books, pamphlets, strips, a giant tabloid "comics section" and a fold-out "game board". They may be read in any order to create a novel.

The central characters are a building, a young woman who lost part of her leg in childhood, a bickering couple, a lonely old landlady, and a bee. Yes, a bee. With the exception of the bee, all of these characters remain unnamed. In the end, though, you'll find you know them better than the others in their orbit.

The amputee, though, is the real central character, and the more you read, the more the details of her life are filled in. Your experience of reading will be different from mine, since you'll be presented with every little revelation about her in a different order than I was.

This book is, as a friend stated, ergodic literature, meaning you interact with it by choosing how you read it. In many cases you even must choose how to read and process an individual page.

Explaining the book as I have still doesn't convey its emotional resonance. Ware's last long-form published book was the also brilliant , but whereas "Jimmy Corrigan" focused on the brevity and sadness of life, "Building Stories" offers a fuller picture: not just existential despair (although that is there), but happiness and human connection.

You won't find this in digital form. It's made to be perceived and read as a collection of physical objects. One of a kind!

Just started Kill You Twice. I have been following this series since the advanced readers copy was released. I work full time and go to college full time and did not realize the book came out in August!

Callie wrote: "Amy, have you read it before?..."

No! I am looking forward to it though. I have had Shadow of the Wind on my TBR/bookshelf for a couple of years. I might just have to read it before the end of the year too. Thanks!

Callie wrote: "Finished Major Pettigrew's Last Stand for book club today (about 10 minutes before book club, no exaggeration), and I just loved it. Some of the ladies thought that it was too slow in the beginning..."

This was one of my favorite books last year. I listened to it as an audiobook and was constantly finding things to do around the house, just so I could keep listening.

Just finished Insurgent. I liked Divergent a little better than this one. I had some difficulty keeping track of all the characters it kind of wandered it a bit toward the end.

I decided to try The Chicago Way. It has been on my shelf for awhile and it looked interesting.

Finished I initally liked it but it was too depressing for me. Started , enjoying so far.

The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code (by Sam Kean)

I didn't make it. I got to page 60 and decided against struggling with the book before it killed my reading mojo! I'm interested in the topic of genetics; and, Sam Kean writes in a layman's style, so I'm thinking that the problem is with me in that I just don't have the right mind set for it at the moment. I may come back to this book at another time; but quite frankly, unless it it would be for a book club read, probably not.

Next Up:


Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper

Started listening to

Reading Beautiful prose. My MFA semester ends with this book, so as soon as I'm done, I will have more reading freedom. The books I read for this program are great, but there are so many more I want to get to, like the pile I bought for Booktopia! Yippee, long weekend with books.

This past week I've finished two books.

1. Where We Belong centers around adoption, and a girl's need to find her birth parents because she feels she doesn't belong in her family, even though they've never made her feel that way. I liked that the chapters alternated points of view, switching between the daughter and her birth mother.
It was a good, quick read. My complaint is that there was no real, lasting discord. Everyone is very understanding, easily forgiving lies and betrayal. Don't get me wrong, it was a good book, but it seemed more idealistic than realistic.

2. Every Day is about a "person" with no body, no gender, just self. And every day, this self wakes up in a different body. No explanation is given for why this happens. It just does. It's an interesting concept, and the novel takes a look at being able to love a person for who they are vs. what they look like.

On my Kindle I'm reading The Knife of Never Letting Go. There's a town where there are only men. The females were supposedly killed off from a virus or something, and this virus caused all of the men to be able to hear each others thoughts. There is one "boy" left, and he has one more month until his next birthday when he'll be considered a man. However, at the swamp, the boy "hears" a hole in the noise, which causes mayhem. They boy runs away, finds the hole in the noise again, which happens to be ... a girl. They're now on the run because the men are apparently out the kill both of them. And I'm only 15% of the way through. Very interesting.

I just finished reading Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores ; I bought it this morning, intending to give it to a friend for Christmas. Well, I couldn't resist "just reading a few pages." Oh my goodness, you've got to read this - it's hilarious and, at times, unbelievable. Quite a study on the human condition. There are several other people on my shopping list who would enjoy the stories, so I'll be back in the bookstore soon - always a dangerous environment for me, since I don't believe I've ever gone to a bookstore with the intention of buying a book for someone else without leaving with at least one book for me.

By the way, novelist Richard Russo had a lovely article (about bookstores) in Sunday's Parade magazine. It was exerpted from My Bookstore: Writers Celebrate Their Favorite Places to Browse, Read, and Shop. Any bets on whether I'll look for a copy when I'm in the bookstore looking for the other book?!?