What are you reading now?

[Trynn]

Well, that's a given. But we have to tear ourselves away sometimes.

True, all these pesky real life obligations keep getting in the way. Sigh.

[Happygirl99]

I am reading My Almost Certainly Real Imaginary Jesus. A memoir by Kelly Barth. It is about her early years as a fundie trying to supress her homosexuality. She goes to a Gothard seminar in the 80's. It is so far very good.

After this I have The Man who Broke into Auschwitz.

[StacyW]

Sounds potentially interesting... how is it?

So far, it's just about the development of the printing press, so it hasn't gotten into any religious debates yet.

[NeonJungle]

I just finished "The Night Circus." It was intriguing but a bit maddening, because there was such a fun fiction premise but the plot lines never really came together and several threads were left unweaved. I'm left thinking that wasn't intentional, they were supposed to come across as knitted together, but I didn't get it.

[crazyforkate]

I'm on a bit of a depression kick at the moment, having gone through it last semester (and I really should be reading everything for class, but it's mostly stuff I've read before, so no big deal). I've always loved Sylvia Plath's poetry, and watching the movie with Daniel Craig and Gwyneth Paltrow inspired me to re-read Ariel and The Colossus (first year English) and The Bell Jar (Grade 9). She's absolutely fascinating. Then after reading Far From the Tree, I moved on to Andrew Solomon's The Noonday Demon, which examines depression from a variety of different perspectives. It's not quite as good as Far From the Tree but it's still very interesting.

[Violet]

Wedding Season by Katie Fforde (for the umpteenth time.) If you're into romantic stories with happy endings, which are set in various places around the UK, I'd recommend Katie Fforde. I don't know if any of the Germans/Austrians/Swiss on FJ have seen the films "based" on her books?? I watched Harriets Traum when I was in Austria, it's an okay tv-film if you haven't read the book (The Rose Revived) but they change most of the plot and set it all in the US. I did try and watch Sommer der Liebe, but could only manage 10 mins before I got too angry with how much they'd changed it!

Also could any Germanophones or Francophones recommend any books in a similar style to Katie Fforde but in German or French respectively? (Sorry to derail the thread but I want to find books that I would actually enjoy reading in French/German, if I've any hope of improving!) :)

[Shirley MacLaine]

Right now I'm reading a really fascinating biography of Nella Larsen (but it's taking me forever - I don't know why, but I keep putting it down for a week at a time or so and doing little chunks), a biography of Gloria Steinem, and my hold on Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn just came up at the library and I'm excited to start that. I feel like I haven't read many novels lately? Anyway, I set a reading goal for myself on Goodreads this year and that's helping me stay motivated. I enjoy reading, but I tend to put it off in favor of going into an internet fugue for hours/days :P

[JesusFightClub]

Rereading some Sinclair Lewis. I have "Main Street" on my Kindle :)

"Babbit" is one of my favourite books of all time. I got a cheap edition in Japan and I have read it so much the cover fell off I just really like the use of language.

Also rereading Ayn Rand's "We The Living". That's easily her best book. It's not like reading propaganda, like Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead is, although you can see very strong traces of where she was going.

An interesting aside is the character of Andrei Taganov in that book. He is a GPU agent* so he's antagonist and lover at the same time to the main character, Kira. But although he is an antagonist, he's portrayed sympathetically.

That's the only time Rand ever portrayed a character like that. She refused to write any more like him, and I think that was a weakness in her work.

* This is GPU if you don't know http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gosudarstv ... Upravlenie

(Also, see my avatar)

[duplessis3]

I'm doing a Century of Books, where one reads a book from each year of the 20th Century. It makes looking for books very interesting. "Oh that looks good. Damnit, 1998, already covered.) My own rules within this are all novels, no rereads, 5 Canadian authors and the 12 book series A Dance to the Music of Time.

At the moment, I am reading Maria Chapdelaine by Louis Hemon, about a family in Quebec aroun 1910 I'd guess. (Poor old Louis got hit by a train in 1912.) It is really good - thought provoking as in what makes a family restless and what makes a family that stays? , and also reading Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine and The Stone Diaries by Carol Sheild. FWIW, I've gotten 1/3 of the Dance series finished - very very very good.

[Shirley MacLaine]

I'm doing a Century of Books, where one reads a book from each year of the 20th Century. It makes looking for books very interesting. "Oh that looks good. Damnit, 1998, already covered.)

Whoa! That's a neat idea. I totally want to do this, maybe when I'm done with my current reading challenge.

[Mary C Doates]

Shame. I'll note to ignore that one. I've been looking at Escape from Camp 14 and Nothing to Envy

I recently finished The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future, by Victor Cha--I thought it was quite well written.

[duplessis3]

Whoa! That's a neat idea. I totally want to do this, maybe when I'm done with my current reading challenge.

What is your current reading challenge? PM me if you are on Goodreads and want to be friends.

[Shirley MacLaine]

Oh, just 100 books this year. I am just trying to be more ~disciplined~ generally!

[AtroposHeart]

A Clash of Kings by George R.R Martin

[NeonJungle]

A Clash of Kings by George R.R Martin

So like. His prose, sometimes I have to skip some pages, but these are great books. Are you watching "Game of Thrones" on HBO? The new season starts March 31!

[Shirley MacLaine]

So like. His prose, sometimes I have to skip some pages, but these are great books.

Haha. I skip the parts where he describes the food at the feasts and what everyone is wearing. Everyone is always dressed for a Westeros theme party! Does EVERYTHING you own have to relate to your house colors/sigil? I mean, really?

Also, if anyone on here is on GoodReads and isn't my friend, you should totally friend me so I look more popular on GoodReads (but really because I love seeing what other people are reading and getting recs and whatnot!): [link=http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4917418-allison]DO IT[/link]

[duplessis3]

Me too for the GoodReads. I love it - and get some good ideas for it.

[treemom]

Haha. I skip the parts where he describes the food at the feasts and what everyone is wearing. Everyone is always dressed for a Westeros theme party! Does EVERYTHING you own have to relate to your house colors/sigil? I mean, really?

Also, if anyone on here is on GoodReads and isn't my friend, you should totally friend me so I look more popular on GoodReads (but really because I love seeing what other people are reading and getting recs and whatnot!): [link=http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4917418-allison]DO IT[/link]

I was going to friend you...but we are already friends.

[treemom]

I am on good reads too. With work and school obligations my reading challenge is only 24 books this year. I am hoping to get through a couple on this trip. In fact, about to sign off, go find my gate and read a little before my next flight boards.

If anyone wants to friend me on goodreads PM me or let me know. I will pm you the link to my acct.

[Boogalou]

GoodReads looks really interesting, I've never heard about it before. I signed up but now I have some rating to do....

[jaynie]

I'm re-reading Les Miserables atm. I love it to bits and I read it when I was really young, so it's definitely interesting to pick up on the approximately twentytrillionbillionmillion details I missed, but goddamn can Victor Hugo go on a tangent. I could officially start an "Ask Me Anything About The Battle of Waterloo" thread based on this alone, all to make approximately one fairly minor plot point. The worst thing is he always starts such tangents by saying "Not to go into too much detail about this -- " before going into 30 pages of detail about it. :lol:

(Actually, thats a lie. The worst thing is knowing before you even start that 100% of your favourite characters are going to die tragically. Anyone got any perky, upbeat recs to sooth my aching soul?)

I'm doing a Century of Books, where one reads a book from each year of the 20th Century. It makes looking for books very interesting. "Oh that looks good. Damnit, 1998, already covered.) My own rules within this are all novels, no rereads, 5 Canadian authors and the 12 book series A Dance to the Music of Time.

At the moment, I am reading Maria Chapdelaine by Louis Hemon, about a family in Quebec aroun 1910 I'd guess. (Poor old Louis got hit by a train in 1912.) It is really good - thought provoking as in what makes a family restless and what makes a family that stays? , and also reading Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine and The Stone Diaries by Carol Sheild. FWIW, I've gotten 1/3 of the Dance series finished - very very very good.

That is a really cool idea! I think I'd have to start out with, like, a decade of good books though. If I get into a book I can read it non-stop for days, but somehow I keep not bothering to pick things up. I find the Kindle really helps me with this though. Maybe I'll make a Century of Books a long term goal. :D

[dawbs]

I'm re-reading Les Miserables atm. I love it to bits and I read it when I was really young, so it's definitely interesting to pick up on the approximately twentytrillionbillionmillion details I missed, but goddamn can Victor Hugo go on a tangent. I could officially start an "Ask Me Anything About The Battle of Waterloo" thread based on this alone, all to make approximately one fairly minor plot point. The worst thing is he always starts such tangents by saying "Not to go into too much detail about this -- " before going into 30 pages of detail about it. :lol:

(Actually, thats a lie. The worst thing is knowing before you even start that 100% of your favourite characters are going to die tragically. Anyone got any perky, upbeat recs to sooth my aching soul?)

When I was in high school, I was collecting info on Victor Hugo for a paper and I stumbled across "Hugoliad" by Eugene Ionesco.

I thought it was odd and I didn't get it. Now that I"m a grown up (HA), I find it entertaining: http://www.amazon.com/Hugoliad-Grotesqu ... 0394560922

It's...a tremendously sarcastic, almost parody of Hugo's life done by one of the foremost writers for the "Theatre of the Absurd"

To steal the description from Wikipedia, it "includes exaggerated retellings of the most scandalous episodes in Hugo's life and contains prototypes for many of Ionesco's later themes: the ridiculous authoritarian character, the false worship of language"

I recommend it after reading/re-reading anything by Hugo--I like Hugo lots and lots but it does me good to be able to poke fun at him too :)

As of 10 minutes ago, I just finished reading "Homesick: My Own Story" By Jean Fritz.

It's a 'kids' story, and very worth reading. I'm still pondering how much the narrator's relationship w/ her parents is colored by them being missionaries or just by the eras and conflicting cultures. (her folks were missionaries in China and she grew up there until she was 10 in 1927 or so, when she came to the USA)

[tropaka]

Currently beginning to read "The Authenticity Hoax" by Andrew Potter and "Tortilla Flat" by Steinbeck. Both in the beginning stages. Just re-read "Running with Scissors" and "Magical Thinking" by Augusten Burroughs - which left me with a lot of triggers from my own childhood/life but also, conflictingly, with a lot of laughs.

[So Says I]

It seems as though I'm always attempting about 45 books at once. :lol:

Right now, I'm attempting two Wally Lamb books, as my sister are hardcore fans. So far, kinda depressing, but well-written. I'm also working on A Year of Living Biblically. Also, I'm re-reading Bitchfest - a compilation of stories from Bitch Magazine.

With my sonny boy, we've been reading the Johnny Dixon stories by John Bellairs. I still love them as an adult! We've also been working on Encyclopedia Brown.

[So Says I]

Currently beginning to read "The Authenticity Hoax" by Andrew Potter and "Tortilla Flat" by Steinbeck. Both in the beginning stages. Just re-read "Running with Scissors" and "Magical Thinking" by Augusten Burroughs - which left me with a lot of triggers from my own childhood/life but also, conflictingly, with a lot of laughs.

I loved the Augusten Burroughs books (although I was a tad skeptical about some of the "truthiness" involved.) His older brother, who is an Aspie, also wrote a fantastic book, but I can't remember the title right now.