What are you reading now?

[terranova]

The 40th and latest Discworld, Raising Steam. It's a a thing of great beauty.

[NellieBell]

I loved it Treemom. I'd never heard of H. Clark before her death. It's a fascinating look at another poor little rich girl left to the mercy of the money vultures. I nearly fell over at the amounts she left her nurse!

[NotAGangsta]

I loved it Treemom. I'd never heard of H. Clark before her death. It's a fascinating look at another poor little rich girl left to the mercy of the money vultures. I nearly fell over at the amounts she left her nurse!

I'd never heard of her, either - I'm glad to hear someone else was clueless about this story before reading the book because it seemed like everyone else I talked to had hear of her!

What did you think of the nurse? I'm still torn between thinking she took advantage of her and that it was Huguette's money to give, so if she wanted to give it to the nurse, it was her choice. Either way, I think the family has been horribly greedy - they got their inheritance. They showed little to no interest in Huguette and they had no right to her money.

I agree, though, it was a really good book. I was fascinated by her story.

[treemom]

I had heard of her, but only because NPR did a piece when she died.

[keen23]

The 40th and latest Discworld, Raising Steam. It's a a thing of great beauty.

I LOVE Terry Pratchett.

Have you read The Long Earth and The Long War? I thought the world building was quite interesting, but the novels, Lobsang excluded, don't strike me as super Pratchett-esque. I suspect Stephen Baxter had a lot more to do with the majority of the writing. The Long War was kind of a really long set-up book for the expected third book in the trilogy.

[NellieBell]

I'd never heard of her, either - I'm glad to hear someone else was clueless about this story before reading the book because it seemed like everyone else I talked to had hear of her!

What did you think of the nurse? I'm still torn between thinking she took advantage of her and that it was Huguette's money to give, so if she wanted to give it to the nurse, it was her choice. Either way, I think the family has been horribly greedy - they got their inheritance. They showed little to no interest in Huguette and they had no right to her money.

I agree, though, it was a really good book. I was fascinated by her story.

I've got mixed feelings regarding the inheritance left to the nurse and her family but only probably because I'm a nurse myself and it seemed to me like the nurse set herself up to be the only one trusted etc.. I have to admit that since there was no close family members, the money going to the nurse was a logical choice. I particularly disliked the way the hospital behaved as well, especially hiding documentation of the date of her admittance etc. from the government. Sleazy!

I can't believe I hadn't heard of the Clark family before this. Especially since I'm a bit of a history buff and know quite a bit about the early twentieth century millionaires.

I've just started History Of A Suicide. Has anyone else read this and if you have, what's your thoughts?

[Joan of Snarc]

Just reread a couple novellas: The Death of Ivan Ilych by Tolstoy and The Metamorphosis by Kafka. Both so great. I think I appreciated them more now than when I first read them in college.

[AnywhereButHere]

I just tried to get through The Gathering by Anne Enwright. I gave up halfway through and found a synopsis online. I did want to know how it ended, I just didn’t want to waste any more time reading it. I described it in a review I wrote as being like a fruitcake, you may like all of the ingredients on their own, but mixed together it was just so dense and only good for a doorstop.

I also just finished (and really enjoyed) All Souls: A Family Story from Southie by Michael Patrick McDonald and Faithful Place by Tana French (absolutely love all her books). I tried Palisades Park by Allan Brennert but didn't like it as much as I loved Molokai'i. It was good, just not as good. I’ve been alternating between fiction and non- fiction lately, but I’m not too sure what’s next in my queue. I'm waiting (very impatiently) for the next Game of Thrones installment - whenever it may be.

My son (13) just read All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury for his English class, so we were talking about it over dinner last night. It’s great to see him getting interested in the same stories I was/am.

[Loveday]

In the middle of my annual re-reading of Miss Read's Christmas stories: Village Christmas, The Christmas Mouse, and No Holly for Miss Quinn. Also reading Bill Bryson's latest, One Summer: America 1927.

[terranova]

Has anyone read The Luminaries yet? I have it on my holiday reading pile for when I have time off at New Years.

[freethemall]

Just finished White Teeth by Zadie Smith (very good) and just started Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh because of my excitement for the return of Downton Abbey and British aristocracy!

I think I'll read Quiverful by Kathryn Joyce soon, which has mixed reviews on Goodreads - I'm sure people here have read it, what are the thoughts?

[NellieBell]

I finished History Of A Suicide. It was sad (as expected) but good. I particularly liked that the family did not blame it all on Kim and most owned up to what they could have/should have done to help her. I finished Under The Banner Of Heaven, which I didn't think was as good as everyone else did. And last night I reread Dr. Frau, A Woman Doctor Among The Amish. That was fantastic and I would recommend it if you're into medicine and the amish. I've got her follow up book Detour lined up for my next night shift :D

[louisa05]

Sycamore Row by John Grisham. It is back in Ford County, the setting for A Time to Kill, and features the main character from that book.

Unfortunately, so far, it is a bit boring. A contested will is not all that riveting. I'm about 100 pages in and hoping it gets better.

On a lighter note, I read a couple of chick lit books by Mindy Klasky featuring a genie. Rather entertaining and surprisingly well done.

[Alachantal]

Currently: Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hill

[louisa05]

Currently: Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hill

I want to read this. Tell me when you are done if it is worth the money.

On the topic of NOT worth the money, I got a book called And My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You for $1.99 for Kindle.

Usually, anything under $5, I figure, if it sucks, whatever. But this was so bad, I want my $1.99 back. No discernible plot and a heroine/narrator that was so bland and emotionless she seemed unreal. She traumatically loses her job, no problem; no response to that. She has an unplanned pregnancy, okay. Fine. She's fine. And her family is fine. Contacts the father and learns he's married? This was the end of a chapter. Next chapter literally picks up with no actual mention of that. She cruises on as if that did not happen. And there is an overload of supporting characters that I think are supposed to be quirky and fun and are actually just boring. There are attempts at creating sub-plots for them, but our narrator never really tells us enough for those to seem real or important either. I want my $1.99 and the few hours I spent reading it back. Now.

Next up: Iscariot by Tosca Lee, also for $1.99. I've read Tosca's work before. I expect this one to be good.

[PennySycamore]

I got another copy of Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know by Alexandra Horowitz. I'll probably just keep the spare copy in the car and/or I might loan it out to dog-loving friends. One of my neighbor's dogs is having minor surgery on her eye next week. Maybe she'd like the read it while her Lucy is in surgery. It's really good!

I also got Hounds: the Lowdown on Life with Three Dachshunds by Matt Ziselman. It's really funny, heartwarming and, in parts, heartbreaking as when the Ziselman's adopt a dog unknowing from a puppy mill. It's very evident to them that Maya has been scarred by her past. She had born countless litters of puppies in that puppy mill. Matt is determined that Maya will never any more worries or burdens the rest of her days. That chapter about Maya just makes me want to hug my own rescued doxie closer.

[Kailash]

PennySycamore- have you read The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein? I read it and liked it. I loved the ending.

I'm currently reading In the Company of a Courtesan . I also have Frangrant Harbor, All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing and Case Histories checked out from the library. I finished Cold Mountain this morning. I never saw the movie but the book was very good.

[crazyforkate]

My parents gave me a Kobo gift certificate for Christmas, so I have gone crazy with books. My first, incredibly highbrow choice? Cracked's De-Textbook.

At the same time, I'm exploring my beloved Swedish crime novels. Right now my pet is Camilla Lackberg's work.

[PennySycamore]

PennySycamore- have you read The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein? I read it and liked it. I loved the ending.

I'm currently reading In the Company of a Courtesan . I also have Frangrant Harbor, All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing and Case Histories checked out from the library. I finished Cold Mountain this morning. I never saw the movie but the book was very good.

I have The Art of Racing in the Rain, too, and I really need to read it.

I made a slight mistake on the name of one of my books: it's Hounded, not hounds.

[RachelB]

I'm currently reading Susan Cain's Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking.

[Kailash]

I finished The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. I thought it was excellant. I know I'll be thinking about it, digesting it if you will, for some time.

[snusmumriken]

The Handmaid's Tale is one of my all-time favorites and one I return to a lot. I remember the first time I read it--could not stop reading. I really like dystopia/post-apocalyptic stuff so I end up picking up quite a few YA books lately. I like that the genre is so hot right now, even if most of the books coming out aren't *that* amazing. Right now I'm reading The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, which is quite good so far.

[snusmumriken]

Reporting back on The 5th Wave...I was a little let down by the last third or so of the book. It felt a little worn-out, interpersonally, somehow. Has anyone else read it? Oh well, on to Under the Dome. That should take awhile to get through!

[Chowder Head]

Morganville vampires series. Sis gave me the first 6 for christmas. Just finish The history of Henery the VIII 1921 something book.

[RandomTrivia]

Just finished a Christmas present, The Darling Dahlias and the Texas Star by Susan Wittig Albert. It's the third, I think, in a series of "cozy" mysteries, set in a small town during the Depression. Darling is the name of the town, and the Darling Dahlias are the town garden club.

Next up, finishing Wil Wheaton's Happiest Days of Our Lives - I got the library to Interlibrary Loan it for me, since it was apparently a small print run. I'd love to have a copy, but used ones on Amazon are $150 and up. :( Both this one and his Just a Geek are going to be favorites of mine. As hokey as it sounds, those two books speak to me somehow. Maybe because I was a bit of a geek in school, and sort of grew up on TNG. (It still makes me do a mental double-take when I realize that he's the same age as me, within a month or so, and I don't know why.)