Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

December! Where has the year gone?

I'm reading God'll Cut You Down : The Tangled Tale of a White Supremacist, a Black Hustler, a Murder, and How I Lost a Year in Mississippi also known as Murder in Mississippi as an e-book to write a review.

Still working on and enjoying Landing It: My Life on and Off the Ice. Scott and I learned to skate on the same ice.

Listening to the unabridged Thunderstruck in the car and Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. on my iPad while at work (when I'm not helping someone and just typing book lists).

I flashes by quite fast doesn't it! :-)
I'm listening to The Insufferable Gaucho by Roberto Bolaño and reading Boneshaker

I'm planning to re-read Cormac McCarthy's The Road, The Lord of the Rings trilogy & Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch.

still reading Prince Lestat & I started Winter Garden on my plan to read Wifey with my book group.

In memory of PD James' passing, I am reading The Private Patient and continuing The Illumination.

I'm finally reading The Maze Runner. I know the target audience is more for those younger than myself and might even be aimed more at boys but I don't like watching a movie before I've read it.

I just finished (so should be under November!) 'In the Kingdom of Ice' by Hampton Sides - excellent adventure. I've just started 'The Care and Management of Lies' by Jacqueline Winspear - so far I'm mixing audio and visual. And, for breaks, 'Notes from a Small Island' by Bill Bryson. Also working on the 'Bruno, Chief of Police' series so I can listen to the short Christmas entry in its appropriate sequence. And I need to choose a short light audio book for today's chores.

This has been an amazingly bad October and November for me so I am going to just list what I am reading(listening) to and what I want to read as of now for December. Listening to . Reading and reading .Reading .

Ben wrote: "I'm planning to re-read Cormac McCarthy's The Road, The Lord of the Rings trilogy & Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch."

If you like audiobooks, the audio for the Goldfinch (read by David Pittu) is really worth it.

I'm reading Bellman & Black: A Ghost Story by Diane Setterfield. I loved The Thirteenth Tale, I hope this is just as good.

Just picked up Madeleine L'Engle's A Circle of Quiet - first of 3 (?) in the Crosswicks series, her memoir of the years up to around 1970. I never read A Wrinkle in Time (1962)! Should have started with that, but I was intrigued by the author's story first . .

I finished , Swann, by Carol Shields which is the book Thomas of The Readers selected for Ann and Michael as well as Simon to read. I am now reading Orphan Train, which is my second to last book club read of the year (after I finish I have my postal book club book which is on my TBR). After that I get to select from all the unread books I have collected this year, especially since September. Mostly, I am just grateful that I have had so many wonderful recommendations from friends and podcast hosts and that I am able to read whatever I desire.

Right now I'm reading "The Divorce Diet" by Ellen Hawley (for review), "How To Train Your Dragon" by Cressida Cowell (with my daughter), and "Fairy Tales From the Brothers Grimm" by Philip Pullman (very slowly--about 1 fairy tale every other night. At this rate, I'll probably still be reading it next December).

i'm finishing up ian mcewan's saturday and ... it was kind of rough! i haven't read him in years so perhaps i've forgotten his writing style, but i don't recall it taking 100+ pages for his novels to take off. predictably, there are some great psychological observations to be found in these pages if you aren't reading primarily for story. however, writing in a high toned way about a squash game *at length* isn't riveting! things have improved somewhat, although i hesitate to rate this above 3 stars.

i only have three more must reads to end the year:

Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
May We Be Forgiven: A Novel

Sandy wrote: "I just finished (so should be under November!) 'In the Kingdom of Ice' by Hampton Sides - excellent adventure. I've just started 'The Care and Management of Lies' by Jacqueline Winspear - so far I'..."

in the kingdom of ice looks great! it's on my to be read list for january as of right now.

In the Kingdom of Ice is so good! I keep telling people I can't believe it's non-fiction. They say the truth is stranger...

I also love, love, loved May We Be Forgiven. I'm a big A.M. Homes fan, and wish she would hurry up and write another book. Hope you enjoy it!

Adore wrote: "Sandy wrote: "I just finished (so should be under November!) 'In the Kingdom of Ice' by Hampton Sides - excellent adventure. I've just started 'The Care and Management of Lies' by Jacqueline Winspe..."

Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good needing some fiction in my life everything else for some reason is nonfiction that I've got going.

Sue wrote:

I also love, love, loved May We Be Forgiven. I'm a big A.M. Homes fan, a..."

thanks, sue! i'm not familiar with her other work. in fact, i first heard about this book recently when roxane gay highly recommended it in bad feminist (or maybe on twitter???).

I'm currently reading Bathing the Lion, and when I'm finished I've got The Girl with All the Gifts and My Real Children lined up.

And on the reread side, I decided to reread some Jo Clayton, so I am currently rereading Skeen's Leap

I'm silently suffering through a reading slump. I was on a real tear there for awhile, but am having trouble finding a book (in print) to grab me. While I wait, I've been catching up on short stories and essays. I also started Delancey: A Man, a Woman, a Restaurant, a Marriage, which is proving to be a nice, light bedtime read. On audio, I just started The People in the Trees, having no idea Arthur Morey was one of the narrators - I adored his narration of In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette, which I just finished, and so far, he's doing an equally good (though different sounding) job on The People in the Trees. I don't have an ebook going at the moment. I know I'll be getting some great books as gifts this month (The Book of Strange New Things for one!), so if it doesn't end sooner, the slump should definitely be over by the holidays!

re: A M Homes
She must be an interesting (yes, I do mean weird) woman because her books are compelling yet often horrifying. There is so much anger in her novels that they feel hot. Her short stories are also excellent.

All true. I also find her writing incredibly sharp and often hilarious.

Virginia wrote: "re: A M Homes
She must be an interesting (yes, I do mean weird) woman because her books are compelling yet often horrifying. There is so much anger in her novels that they feel hot. Her short stori..."

I am listening to One Good Turn and The Winter King. Both are excellent so far. I am reading The Bear and The Ladies of Missalonghi.

Virginia wrote: "re: A M Homes
She must be an interesting (yes, I do mean weird) woman because her books are compelling yet often horrifying. There is so much anger in her novels that they feel hot. Her short stori..."

your profile pic is cute! is that a corgi?

i'm really eager to begin this book -- let the weirdness in! i'm honestly kind of surprised by your description of her. she reminds me of the (seemingly) well adjusted broadway actress, cherry jones. :)

What a beginning to December. At the end of November, I started Kevin Brockmeir's The Illumination and was blown away by his writing but got tangled in his story line. I took a side trip to P. D. James' The Private Patient to somehow ground me in a more traditional story so I could return and finish Illumination. When I read something far afield from reality, I seem to lose my footing and have to return to something solid with characters, family, a sense of place and a story line. Ain't reading great!

I just started

Karen wrote: "I just started "

That's on my pile to read, too -- looking forward to your thoughts on it, Karen!

Amy wrote: "Karen wrote: "I just started "

That's on my pile to read, too -- looking forward to your thoughts on it, Karen!"

Amy, so far is has started slow for me, but I just finished a really good book and I think I have book hangover :)

Sue wrote: "I'm silently suffering through a reading slump. I was on a real tear there for awhile, but am having trouble finding a book (in print) to grab me. While I wait, I've been catching up on short stori..."

Yours doesn't sound like much of a slump to me, Sue! I petered out on one of the books I'd been reading and just can't seem to find the right book for December. Oh wait, the library just emailed telling my my reserve is ready for pick up.

^ julie, you are in for a treat! i'm only 150 pages in, but i'm loving it so far. it's much funnier than i expected given the subject matter --an added bonus!

I'm so glad you're enjoying it. I agree, her subject matter can be quite dark, but she writes with such sharp wit. She's a true wordsmith.

Adore wrote: "^ julie, you are in for a treat! i'm only 150 pages in, but i'm loving it so far. it's much funnier than i expected given the subject matter --an added bonus!"

Recently finished reading Sins of Our Fathers - twice, actually! I've reviewed it here, but must quickly say it was an excellent literary page-turner.

I'm currently reading Mr. Peanut and Murder a la Mode as my e-read. I'm listening to Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever but that one is slow going because I only listen when I'm with my husband since we started it on a short road trip in Nov.

Rita wrote: "I'm currently reading Mr. Peanut and Murder a la Mode as my e-read. I'm listening to [book:Killing Linc..."

Would you let me know what you thought of Mr. Peanut? I'd really like to comment (!) but want to wait until you're finished.

I am reading The Narrow Road to the Deep North. I am about a quarter of the way into it. I am not sure what I think yet. I have found myself confused at times by the jumping back and forth in time. Also, there are no quotation marks to set off the speech- at least in my Kindle edition.

Also, I am reading A Christmas Carol for an edX course. This is the first book in what I think are twelve books to be covered in the Cal Berkley Book Club - each book will have its own course. We just finished the first chapter (they call them Staves). It has been a good experience.

The first week in December I finished the edX course on Dante's Inferno. I always wanted to read the work. We start climbing into Purgatory in February.

I read The Girl on the Train - I won an Advance Reader Copy from a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Giveaway. Great psychological thriller! I'm now reading The Cruelest Month... #3 in Louise Penny's series.

Re-watched A Time to Kill and then read Sycamore Row. Here's my review: /review/show...

I joined the Seasonal Reading Challenge that started in December which has a crazy amount of reading in 3 months to actually finish the challenge (I'm pretty sure I won't). So I've read the following this month:
Seabiscuit: An American Legend - excellent, had already seen the movie a few years ago. I think I liked this better than Unbroken.
Looking for Alaska - disappointed in this one after Fault in Our Stars - not at all comparable to me
A Study in Scarlet - classic Sherlock
Cross - pretty good if you're an Alex Cross fan already
The Children Act - good, short, my 2nd McEwan, not sure if I am a fan or not
The Forgers on audio, not as good as I was hoping but still pretty good (the narrator was the same as in The Martian, I believe)

Ian McEwan had me from 1975 (First Love, Last Rites) to 1992 (Black Dogs), but lost me around Enduring Love, and apart from Sweet Tooth, has not really been able to impress me since. His older stuff is much more twisted and creepy than his more recent books, I think.

Victoria wrote: "I joined the Seasonal Reading Challenge that started in December which has a crazy amount of reading in 3 months to actually finish the challenge (I'm pretty sure I won't). So I've read the follow..."

Amsterdam remains one of my Favorite Books I'm Hesitant to Recommend...it completely depends on the friend to whom I'm recommending it! I'm with you on early McEwan...with the caveat that The Children Act is still on my library holds list.

i've really liked 3 out of 5 mcewan books (amsterdam, enduring love, and on chesil beach). i admired saturday, but it was overwritten in places and the climax was almost embarrassingly implausible. i loved the first 1/3-1/2 of atonement, although it gets tricky only recommending 1/2 of a book. :) i haven't given up on him -- i want to read his older works and the children act!

No one is mentioning Atonement! I thought that was "the" McEwan book. I only read Sweet Tooth, I liked it well enough.

^ see above. :)

Adore wrote: "^ see above. :)"

Oh sorry - skimmed over that piece somehow! nevermind.

I couldn't get through Atonement. I did forge ahead and read Solar, though, which is when I think I really gave up on him. I am curious about The Children Act, though.

I feel sort of the same way about Martin Amis. I discovered both of them in the mid-80's, during a college year in London, and was utterly smitten. At that time, in that place, they were both so cool and edgy. Their writing has become a bit frumpy and middle-aged, I suppose. Like me. Sigh.

Victoria wrote: "No one is mentioning Atonement! I thought that was "the" McEwan book. I only read Sweet Tooth, I liked it well enough."

Solar was unbearable. i only made it to page 50.

Just finished "Ordinary Grace" by William Kent Krueger.

I'm listening to "The Powerbroker" by Robert Caro. It's long -- 66 hours. I'm sure I'll be reading it well into 2015.

I'm currently reading Maureen Corrigan's book "Leave Me Alone I'm Reading" which I am enjoying very much.

On the immediate TBR Rex Stout "Fer-de-Lance," the last two back issues of "The New Yorker" magazine, and "The Big Sleep" by Raymond Chandler.

I'm yearning for a big, thick Victorian novel. Perhaps I'll re-read "David Copperfield."

Just finished Kent Haruf's Benediction. Wow! Was swept away by his quiet but powerful writing. This was a staff pick from the Boulder Bookstore/Booktopia 2014. Great suggestion, as staff picks usually are. In some ways Haruf's style reminds me of Eudora Welty. Now I need to get back to Five Days at Memorial. I'm finding that one hard to read.

Cindy wrote: "Just finished Kent Haruf's Benediction. Wow! Was swept away by his quiet but powerful writing. This was a staff pick from the Boulder Bookstore/Booktopia 2014. Great suggestion, as staff picks ..."

Cindy, had you read previous Haruf books?

Is Five Days at Memorial difficult because of what is taking place or other reasons?

Cindy wrote: "Just finished Kent Haruf's Benediction. Wow! Was swept away by his quiet but powerful writing. This was a staff pick from the Boulder Bookstore/Booktopia 2014. Great suggestion, as staff picks ..."
I listened to two Haruf books on audio and loved them. Picked up a third (in paper) at a library sale. I love how he creates characters. Ordinary people, yet so memorable.