What are you reading now?

[keen23]

I Fired God by Jocelyn Zichterman. It's seriously heartbreaking. All that is wrong with the IFB is in this book. It's just awful what she lived through. I'm not surprised that she's gathered quite the band of haters. A google search shows that Jocelyn is not well liked.

http://www.amazon.com/Fired-God-Inside- ... +Fired+God (link not broken, because it's Amazon)

[SpeakNow]

A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin

[Mela99]

Currently rereading A Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult, and Lady of the Rivers, Phillippa Gregory

[AnywhereButHere]

I'm all over the place with genres. I just finished Live By Night by Dennis Lehane. Not my favorite of his, but I did still really enjoy it after the first couple of chapters. I also just finished Beyond Belief, the Jenna Miscavige Hill book about Scientology. Now I'm reading Broken Harbor by Tana French. I love her books. She's a beautiful writer who really draws you in to her stories.

[JesusFightClub]

The Mapp and Lucia books by E.F Benson. I love these - they're a tale of two women, Miss Mapp and Mrs Lucas (Lucia) and their struggles to take control of the villages they live in. Very camp and very bitchy (they were written in the 1920s/30s by a bloke who was probably gay) but there's an undertone of real affection, certainly towards Lucia, and you end up liking the characters and the small incidents they get involved in. I was never so worried as when I was on tenterhooks waiting to see if Lucia's pretence that she could speak Italian was going to be revealed by the designing Miss Mapp :lol:

Seriously, they are great and very fun books. I read them first in the local library but you can get them on Kindle for 77p and that will give you (Kindle estimate) 17 hours reading. They are just frothy and don't deal with ISSUES, but are very amusing.

[daisyfern]

I just finished Handle With Care by Jodi Piccoult. I'd been meaning to read it forever. I'm currently reading Goodbye, Dearest Holly written by her father, Kevin Wells. I also read a lot of young adult novels on the side to keep up with my middle school students' interests. They're all currently into the Dust and Decay series.

[louisa05]

Twenty years later, I am attempting to reread Wuthering Heights in order to give the Brontes another chance. I got the complete works of the Bronte sisters on Kindle for something like $1.95. But so far, my opinion is not changing much.

[gypsygirl22]

I just started Deeply Odd by Dean Koontz.

[crazyforkate]

My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl. Oh, my god, it is the funniest thing ever (but definitely meant exclusively for the over-18-and-not-easily-offended crowd).

[laura oz]

Currently rereading A Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult, and Lady of the Rivers, Phillippa Gregory

Oooooh, Lady of the Rivers was good. I have read every single book she's written & loved them all.

[lizziesmom]

I just finished Search by Nora Roberts. It was a good one, especially if you love the Pacific Northwest and dogs. :)

[AnywhereButHere]

Twenty years later, I am attempting to reread Wuthering Heights in order to give the Brontes another chance. I got the complete works of the Bronte sisters on Kindle for something like $1.95. But so far, my opinion is not changing much.

I never tried Wuthering Heights, but I hated Jane Eyre (I know - different sister). I could not figure out why people liked it. Jane was irritating as hell, and Mr. Rocheser was a whiny asshole. Just a personal opinion... :)

[Arete]

I'm rereading Alexander Dumas pere's Three Musketeers and Twenty Years Later.

[Patsy]

Very camp and very bitchy (they were written in the 1920s/30s by a bloke who was probably gay) but there's an undertone of real affection, certainly towards Lucia, and you end up liking the characters and the small incidents they get involved in.

I think I have to read these :D

I'm reading "The Moon Pool" by Abraham Merritt, an old lost world sci-fi book. Yet to see if it delivers. I've found a couple of hollow-earth-ish books and it's the first one I'm trying out.

[louisa05]

I never tried Wuthering Heights, but I hated Jane Eyre (I know - different sister). I could not figure out why people liked it. Jane was irritating as hell, and Mr. Rocheser was a whiny asshole. Just a personal opinion... :)

Totally agree. I won't even attempt a reread of Jane Eyre. I'm trying to give the rest another chance, though.

[PennySycamore]

I always have a number of books going. Right now I'm reading:

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell and Know by Alexandra Horowitz

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame I'm rather embarrassed to admit I never read this as a kid. I saw a copy in the dollar section (AKA the grandma section) at Target so I bought it. (I think I also bought a copy years ago at the UGA bookstore.) Anyway, it's just incredibly good. There were several sections I was reading today where Grahame was describing the English countryside and the Wild Wood in the snow that were just breathtaking beautiful.

I'm also reading Emotional Memoirs and Short Stories by Lani Hall Alpert. It's a collection of 10 stories of which 3 are non-fiction and the rest are fiction. They deal with all sorts of things that women go through: therapy, affairs, plastic surgery, etc. There's even a bear attack in one. (I haven't gotten to that one yet.) Lani started writing in earnest when she was stricken with Epstein-Barr in the mid-80s and no longer could sing which had long been her emotional outlet. For the month of June, you can download the book for free at https://herbalpert.herbalpertpresents.com Yes, it's that Herb Alpert, musician, artist and philanthropist. I did the free download, but I am going to get a paper copy as I'd prefer to read that. And yes, it's very good. I hope Lani keeps writing.

JesusFightClub, did you ever see the London Weekend TV production of Mapp and Lucia? UNC Public TV played it here a number of years ago. Prunella Scales, whom a lot of people remember as Sybil from Fawlty Towers, played Mapp and Geraldine McEwen was Lucia. with Nigel Hawthorne as Georgie. I don't know how close it was to the books, but I liked it a lot. It's available on DVD.

[JesusFightClub]

No! (said in true Riseholme fashion). There's a TV programme of Mapp and Lucia?

I'm super excited! I will look for this on Youtube. Not quite seeing Nigel Hawthorne as Georgie...he's forever Sir Humphrey Appleby to me. But I am willing to be converted.

*dancing a hornpipe in the manner of Quaint Irene*

[Mela99]

Oooooh, Lady of the Rivers was good. I have read every single book she's written & loved them all.

Me too! My favorites are The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool.

[lilith]

Me too! My favorites are The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool.

The White Princess is coming out in a week or two, so looking forward to it.

[crazyforkate]

All of the books on Judaism that one of our FJ colleagues sent me! Currently studying Jewish history and learning some basic Hebrew.

[AuntCloud]

"Still Alice", by Lisa Genova. Absolutely haunting, it's an account of a 50 year old woman declining into early-onset Alzheimer's. The writing is simple and straightforward but the situations the narrator describes are absolutely heartbreaking. Read it if you can get your hands on it, it's a keeper.

Crazyforkate, let me know if I can help you in the Hebrew department.

[Joan of Snarc]

I just finished In the Heart of the Sea, by Nathaniel Philbrick. It's about the whaleship Essex, which was rammed by a whale and sunk in 1820. The crew escaped to the smaller whaleboats and wandered in the Pacific for 93 days before being rescued. The few survivors resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. It was the inspiration for Moby Dick. It was a good read, but a bit gruesome, what with the descriptions of starving to death, dying of thirst and cannibalism.

I just read that Ron Howard is making a movie of this. I love his movies; I bet he'll do a great job with it.

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/06/19/c ... y-bullock/

[Carey Ayn]

I thought this would be a good place for my first post.

I just finished The Painted Girls. It is about two sisters in PAris in the 10th century, ballet, and Degas.

I am currently reading The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving .

[Snarfblatt]

I'm reading "Looking for Transwonderland" by Noo Saro-Wiwa which is about her return to Nigeria as an adult. She is Nigerian but she lives abroad and she hadn't been back to Nigeria since before her father, Ken Saro-Wiwa, was murdered. It is very interesting.

[Loveday]

Just started reading Elizabeth Chadwick's 'The Conquest,' about 1066 and all that. She writes historical fiction that makes you really feel like you're there in the thick of it. Also reading Sharon Kay Penman's 'Here Be Dragons,' this one set during the reign of King John some 140 years later. I have a feeling I'll be confusing the eras before I'm finished with these. :lol: