What book are you currently reading?

[monrein]

just bought "Prisoner of Tehran" by Marina Nemat.  I was seated next to her at a semi-traditional Persian wedding we attended on the weekend and although I'd heard of her memoir I hadn't read it.  I found her interesting to talk to and look forward to learning more about her experiences in Evin prison.

[Cordelia]

Argh!               I just went to order book #2 and book #3 on the Shades Series through Amazon.ca and I don't think the order went through properly.       

[cariad]

just bought "Prisoner of Tehran" by Marina Nemat.  I was seated next to her at a semi-traditional Persian wedding we attended on the weekend and although I'd heard of her memoir I hadn't read it.  I found her interesting to talk to and look forward to learning more about her experiences in Evin prison.

Oh, monrein, that sounds fascinating. Please let us know what you think of it.

I am almost finished with Whatever You Do Don't Run. It was a Nook Daily Find, so only $2 to download it, and it is written by an Australian who has spent 20 years in Africa as a safari guide. Easy summer reading. The setting is right up my street, the writing is nothing special, but the stories are superb. I have started Martin Meredith's The Past is Another Country but doubt I'll have time to finish it before it's due back.

[KarenInWA]

I'm reading Rachel Maddow's "Drift" right now. I really enjoy her show and feel I learn a lot from her. She is a research junkie!

I don't want to read the 50 shades of grey books. I hear the writing is sub-par at best, and frankly, virgin meek beauty meets powerful, abusive man really creeps me out. All the hype over it gives me the heebie jeebies! No thank you!!!

KarenInWA

[cariad]

I'm reading Rachel Maddow's "Drift" right now. I really enjoy her show and feel I learn a lot from her. She is a research junkie!

I don't want to read the 50 shades of grey books. I hear the writing is sub-par at best, and frankly, virgin meek beauty meets powerful, abusive man really creeps me out. All the hype over it gives me the heebie jeebies! No thank you!!!

KarenInWA

Karen, I've read the free excerpt on Amazon, and the writing is terrible. Story line does not interest me, either, but I have never read a romance novel in my life - whole genre does not interest me. I do absolutely love reading the Amazon reviews of the book, it's become a guilty pleasure of mine. Some of those reviewers are quite clever and I wind up laughing almost every time I find new ones on there, especially the one and two stars.

Glad you're enjoying it, Cordelia. There is nothing better than being truly engrossed in a book! 

It is the beginning of the month; a good time to start a book club.   Anyone have a good suggestion for our first book?   Give ourselfs until the beginning of July to read it.  Figure out a good day to start the discussion.  Maybe run the discussion for a week and then start another book?
Anyone ever been the leader of a book club?    Any ideas on how to start this?   Any ideas for a book choice.      It will be fun.

This is a great idea. I hope we can get this started at some point. I have no suggestions, although I find that Kurt Vonnegut has near-universal appeal. He's an easy read with lots to say about humanity. Drawbacks are that he is not widely available outside America (at least I've never seen one of his books in a foreign shop/library) and the Americans may feel they've read enough of him in high school.

Come on, IHD, what are some authors you'd like to read and discuss?

[Cordelia]

You are so right on the nail, Cariad, there is nothing better than being engrossed in a book!         

I know Shades isn't everybody's cup of tea. I would say its the kind of genre of book that you either like or you don't. There is no between.             

[KarenInWA]

Karen, I've read the free excerpt on Amazon, and the writing is terrible. Story line does not interest me, either, but I have never read a romance novel in my life - whole genre does not interest me. I do absolutely love reading the Amazon reviews of the book, it's become a guilty pleasure of mine. Some of those reviewers are quite clever and I wind up laughing almost every time I find new ones on there, especially the one and two stars.
\[/quote]

  I've done the same thing! I like to think of those reviewers as doing a public service!

KarenInWA

[smcd23]

I just finished the Shades series. Despite the fact I thought the author needed a thesaurus and to perhaps attend some writing workshops, I couldn't put the books down. But now I need to read something good - open to any and all suggestions!

[KarenInWA]

All I can say about 50 shades of grey is, I'd rather be hooked up to HD with no entertainment than subject myself to that garbage! And I say this as a transplant patient!

I have never read, nor had any desire to read, any of the Twilight books, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo books, and I only read the first of the Hunger Games books. I thought HG was well written, and an interesting story, but I just have no interest in reading the others. I'm not a big fan of violence or blood, and even though IRL I have a high pain tolerance, I certainly don't want to read about it. Books/movies with rape scenes or control scenes will literally turn off my appetite - both for food and sex. I can think of nothing worse I could do to my relationship, if I had one. I do have a bit of an LD one, and I would never to that to him. That would be horrible!!! (A tampon sex scene??? Really??? EWWWWWWW!!!!!!!)

I don't know why I am so bothered by the fact that 50 shades has become such a phenom with so many women out there. I guess I like it when I can relate to my fellow women about things, but this just draws a big "WTF???" from me. Women are already being set back politically in the US. Do we really seek that in our entertainment, too? Seriously???

KarenInWA

[Poppylicious]

I just finished the Shades series. Despite the fact I thought the author needed a thesaurus and to perhaps attend some writing workshops ...

This is how I feel about JK Rowling, which was (semi-)fine because the work she produced was for children.  I hear she has a book coming out for adults this year and I've already decided I'll give it a miss, thankyouverymuch!

This is a great idea. I hope we can get this started at some point. I have no suggestions, although I find that Kurt Vonnegut has near-universal appeal. He's an easy read with lots to say about humanity. Drawbacks are that he is not widely available outside America (at least I've never seen one of his books in a foreign shop/library) and the Americans may feel they've read enough of him in high school.

Come on, IHD, what are some authors you'd like to read and discuss?

Well, I've heard that E L James is an up and coming author and I think Karen might really enjoy her style ...

 

You can definitely get Kurt Vonnegut over here in bookshops and the libraries. I've never read anything of his but feel free to recommend something I could get my teeth into.

[ODAT]

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Also read Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
These both came on my droid!

[KarenInWA]

Well, I've heard that E L James is an up and coming author and I think Karen might really enjoy her style ...

 

No, Poppylicious, I would not like her style. I have a lot better things to waste my time on than sub-par writing about dominating men over virginal meek beauties. Like I say, I'd rather do HD without any entertainment. At least that's productive! LOL

KarenInWA

[WishIKnew]

I'm currently enjoying the fluffy, light summer read of James Patterson's The Lucky One.

I really liked Defending Jacob.

[cariad]

You can definitely get Kurt Vonnegut over here in bookshops and the libraries. I've never read anything of his but feel free to recommend something I could get my teeth into.

Slaughterhouse Five! Slaughterhouse Five!!!!

This book played no small part in bringing Gwyn and me together. I'm sure I've told this story here before, but I never get tired of repeating it. When we met in San Francisco Gwyn told me that he did not really like reading and I responded "Well, even people who don't like reading love Kurt Vonnegut." He made some joke about only reading books with pictures, and that's the great thing about Kurt Vonnegut - you cannot use that excuse! He draws pictures! I told Gwyn about Slaughterhouse Five and he said "I think I'm going to go to Borders and see if they have this Slaughterhouse Five." This made me laugh uproariously, because it is basically like saying "I wonder if Borders stocks this Webster's Dictionary I've heard about...." Anyhow, he not only bought the book (which still resides downstairs) but read it and wrote me sweet little love letters about what part he was on and how it all reminded him of me.

It is a painfully honest war novel with a lot of absurdism thrown in. Apparently Kurt Vonnegut did not consider himself to be a sci-fi writer, though he was often labeled this way because his books have included aliens, other dimensions, characters who know they are characters, mad scientist weapons, and so on. They can be rather melancholy.

Perhaps the rest of the world has finally cottoned on to him. I periodically checked a few Smith's and libraries and random booksellers in Britain once-upon-a-time, after Gwyn warned me he's really not famous outside America - the V section was always terribly bare. I guess in these days every author is accessible. 

[cariad]

It doesn't bother me that other people like 50 Shades of Grey. I got over that with the Harry Potter series. My friend (an English prof) and I are still talking about this trend in adults reading kids books. It used to annoy me - I worried what would happen to literature if one could only make money writing wizard and vampire books. These days, I recognize that most of us have so many real-world troubles and have to work so hard just to keep ourselves afloat that I can see how people would turn to light escapism more often than James Joyce. I recently read The Magician's Elephant and Framed aloud to my kids. I especially loved Framed, and I can proudly state that after a mere 12 years of marriage to Gwyn, I can pronounce all the Welsh in it. It takes place in Manod, Wales, authored by Welshman Frank Cottrell Boyce. It was beastie! (A term used throughout by the child protagonist. The kids over here say anything cool is 'beast' but have not adopted beastie... yet.)

I heard that 50 Shades of Grey is a bit of a rip-off of a film called The Secretary - the lead male is even named Mr. Grey. That film has been favorably reviewed, and I think one of the primary points was that in these relationships, the submissive actually wields a great deal of power. It is more balanced than it appears at first glance. I don't believe people can really help what turns them on, and so long as it's mutually consenting adults, I see no harm. Actually, the one-star reviews written by people familiar with BDSM called the sex 'boring' and 'vanilla'. You cannot please everyone!

Now E.L. James' awful, repetitive, simplistic writing - that offends me. Always.

[jbeany]

50 Shades started as an online fan fic novel based around the Twilight series - I guess lousy writing inspires more lousy writing.  Popular, however, does not have to be intelligent or well made.  Snookie and the Jersey Shore, anyone?

I've seen an interview with the author who admits that it's simply her personal sexual fantasies written down.  If it's creating any kind of buzz at all, it's supposedly about the fact that it is "freeing" women to admit that what they fantasize about has little relationship to what they actually want IN a relationship.  Apparently, it's taken this many decades for the media to jump on the idea than women prefer their porn in written form, not video.  Duh....

Just chewed through the last of my stocked Kim Harrison "The Hollows" series.  Trashy witch/vampire fun - especially when one was set in my hometown, complete with the Mackinaw Bridge and clueless "fudgie" tourists.  The next two are on my wishlist on paperbackswap.com.

Tried to start another sci-fi series that I had collected 3 of from the thrift store.  Uh...made it through a couple of pages.  I hate it when the authors of the book blurbs don't seem to have read the books.  All 3 on my swap site, hoping for someone who actually likes the author.

Found a new fluff mystery series that's next on my list.  Found one at the thrift store to try.  "Home Repair is Homicide" series by Sarah Graves.  It seemed appropriate!

[Poppylicious]

Slaughterhouse Five! Slaughterhouse Five!!!!

Perhaps the rest of the world has finally cottoned on to him. I periodically checked a few Smith's and libraries and random booksellers in Britain once-upon-a-time, after Gwyn warned me he's really not famous outside America - the V section was always terribly bare. I guess in these days every author is accessible. 

 I'll try and remember to find it at the library (I say remember because they're updating the online feature/catalogue thingy and I can't currently search or put on hold and I KNOW my local library won't have it!)

I don't think WH Smith have ever knowingly sold anything decent ... these days especially they're just full of the biographies of z-listers.

 

[galvo]

Attempting to 'escape', I am reading The Pop Larkin Chronicles, a compendium of H E Bates' tales, including The Darling Buds of May. Was there a final story where all the characters either ended up on diabetes-related dialysis, or chewing their own feet off in an institution for morbidly obese alcoholics? Perhaps titled The Drunken Fatties of December?

[kitkatz]

Currently reading Legacy by David Goleman

[billybags]

jbeany, How strange, my daughter was hunting that book 50 shades down to-day. I said why don't you down load it to your Kindle and she said she wanted to share it with me. I think you not. I had all my fantasies years ago now all I want to do is sleep.

[jbeany]

I had all my fantasies years ago now all I want to do is sleep.

 

I'm all for the occasional trashy romance novel - but if that's all I wanted to read, I'd could buy Harlequins by the bagful at garage sales and save a fortune on books.

[kitkatz]

The recent book store run netted me some books!

[MaryJoe]

I just finished The Memory Keepers Daughter  By Kim Edwards.  Not exactly light summer fluff, but a good story about the way familiar secrets, regret and lack of communication can change even the deepest relationships.

Just started a biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine.  Fiesty lady for her time.

Also about 1/4 of the way into Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult.  It's about a family whose youngest daughter has osteogenisis imperfecta (brittle bones) and how it affects each family member.

I love having summer off with the students!  One of my favorite job perks - now if they would just pay me for staying home it would be perfect! 

[smcd23]

I read The Memory Keepers Daughter awhile ago and thought it was very good.

I've read a few Jodi Picoult books, but I don't think I've read that one. I read My Sisters Keeper, Change of Heart and The Tenth Circle. I like her style, but the darn books always make me cry like a little girl.

[MaryJoe]

I know, her books always get to me too.     Jodi Picoult also has a book about a high school shooting called 19 Seconds, it's a real heartbreaker.