What book are you currently reading?

[billybags]

Well in Nottingham UK  50 shades of Grey is flying off the shelves. Every man and his dog are reading it. My daughter managed to get two of the books, apparently it is a trilogy. She says you can not put it down. I suppose I could have a little look  when she has finished with it.

[Rerun]

I'm reading Madeleine Albright's 'Prague Winter'   A story of remembrance from her childhood in Prague during WWII.

It is good so far.

[cariad]

I suppose I could have a little look  when she has finished with it.

Billy, might have known, you naughty girl....

[MooseMom]

I'm reading Madeleine Albright's 'Prague Winter'   A story of remembrance from her childhood in Prague during WWII.

It is good so far.

I've been wanting to read this; thanks for reminding me.

Used to be I'd finish one book before starting another, but nowadays I have up to three books going all at once.  I am currently reading "The Emperor of Maladies" which is a non-fiction history of cancer.  It explains, among other things, how fundraising for cancer has become such a behemoth, but it also outlines how far we've come in our understanding how cancer works.  Cancer is basically a disease of us in that it is a disorder of reproduction, but all cells have to be able to reproduce in order to sustain our bodies.  So, cancer is really built into us.  I find that to be fascinating.

I'm also reading "A Single Roll of the Dice" about Obama's foreign policy toward Iran.  It makes me realize that Iran has its political factions, too.  There are those who want normalized relations with the US just as there are others who want to continue to have the US as an enemy against which to rail for political gain.  Sounds rather familiar, doesn't it?  During the Bush administration, the Iranians gave the US, via the Swiss, a list of concessions they were willing to make, pretty much agreeing to everything the US had demanded.  There could have been peace between our two nations, but certain factions within the Bush administration refused to accept the concessions because they feared it would make us look weak, so that opportunity was lost.  After several years, those people came to regret their intransigence.  What a terrible shame.

My husband has been nagging me to read Stephen King's new book, 11/22/63 about the Kennedy assassination.  I am not a fan of Stephen King's writing.  His stories are better made as movies and I find his writing to be artless.  But being the good wife that I am, I relented and am about a third of the way through that.  It's easy reading.

[Whamo]

I'm reading "The Little Book on After Dinner Speeches", and it's got some good ones.

[jbeany]

Finished in the last couple of days:

the girl who stopped swimming by Joshilyn Jackson.  Loved this as much as "gods in alabama"
La's Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith.  This one is landing on my "To be re-read" shelve, right next to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
Emma by Jane Austen
Nerilka's Story by Anne McCaffrey - which was one I had read before,but didn't own until I just found it at the thrift store recently.

(I read really fast, and need to read for at least an hour if I expect to be able to sleep, so I chew through them quickly.)

[MooseMom]

(I read really fast, and need to read for at least an hour if I expect to be able to sleep, so I chew through them quickly.)

Oh gosh, ME TOO!

I'm going to investigate the Joshilyn Jackson books you mentioned.  I've not heard of this author and am always on the lookout for new things to read.

I am not familiar with La's Orchestra Saves the World, but I really enjoyed McCall Smiths "Ladies' Detective Agency" series.  Did you see the TV adaptations?  I loved those.

I also really liked The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

I also recently read Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffennegger who also wrote The Time Traveller's Wife.  Both very interesting and creative.

[jbeany]

Reading fast is a benefit in school - but a pain in the neck when reading the last book in a favorite series - they never last long enough!

I've read a few of the Ladies' Detective stories and liked them.  Did know they were made into video, but then I don't have cable, so I don't see much on TV.  (Plus, at the moment, both of my little TVs have been packed away for the last 2 months, which makes it really hard to watch them.  One of these days, I need to dig them out and see if my antenna gets any stations here.  But then I'd watch TV when I should be remodeling...so, nahhhhh.)

[jbeany]

Well in Nottingham UK  50 shades of Grey is flying off the shelves. Every man and his dog are reading it. My daughter managed to get two of the books, apparently it is a trilogy. She says you can not put it down. I suppose I could have a little look  when she has finished with it.

My sister gave me all 3 of the books over the holiday.  Neither of us can figure out what all the hype is about.  It's like a poorly written Danielle Steele novel, with a few light bondage scenes tossed in.  (Seriously, if you've ever watched HBO's Real Sex shows, which were all about the lighter, weirder side of people's sex lives, you've already seen harsher BDSM than what's in the book.)  Everyone is young, beautiful, and incredibly rich - and they all live happily ever after. 

[billybags]

jbeany, Daughter loaned me the first book yesterday, I will let you know if it thrills me ,chills me or what!

[kitkatz]

I bought the first volume of Fifty Shades Of Gray

[Cordelia]

Are you enjoying it? I'm on book 2.

[Treasure]

Howdee, all. It's been a while, but I thought I would jump in and post about a book I'm about to start:

All My Crimes  by Tal Valante

I really don't know much about this book, but I often get review request from Tal's publisher.

I have been discussing 50 Shades of Grey for many months now. I read it when it was a free Kindle read and had no idea it would take off the way it has, hehehe.

If you want to know what books I've reviewed recently, message me off list and I'll give you a link to my book review blog.

I've missed hanging out with you all, but I should be around a bit more now that I've quit my job to work from home.

[WishIKnew]

I'll admit it.  I'm reading the first 50 Shades of Grey book.  I'm 36% through it (can you tell I'm reading it on my Kindle?)  and I'm still undecided if I like it or not.  It is VERY poorly written, cliche after cliche among other things, but...  I continue to read,,,

 

[monrein]

"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak.

[kitkatz]

Sue Grafton's V is for Vengeance.

[jbeany]

I'll admit it.  I'm reading the first 50 Shades of Grey book.  I'm 36% through it (can you tell I'm reading it on my Kindle?)  and I'm still undecided if I like it or not.  It is VERY poorly written, cliche after cliche among other things, but...  I continue to read,,,

 

Like an abusive relationship - we just keep thinking it will get better....
But I did read all of them - well, okay, by the last one, I was just skimming, convinced that all the raving fan girls online must have seen something I was missing.  Still blind over here, though.

Chowed through Sarah Addison Allen's Garden Spells and The Girl Who Chased the Moon in the few days.  Loved them both, and will add them to my "Reread" shelf.  Also finished Rita Mae Brown's Loose Lips, and Bingo.  Both also fab and destined for the Reread shelf, and making me wish she had written more about Runnymede.  Some fictional towns just make you want to visit all the time.

[cassandra]

Reread 'Bloodstream' from Tess Gerritsen. Only remembered the story at the last couple of pages. Sometimes I can see the benefits of having had a cerebral haemorrhage.

[brenda seal]

My youngest daughter is an English teacher at an all girl's catholic high school and she has recently become aware a number of her senior students are reading " 50 Shades of Grey " . She bought herself a copy to see what all the fuss was about and found it very disturbing on a number of levels , mainly that her students would think the kind of relationship portrayed in the book is OK . It seems that in the modern teenage world , being treated badly by one's boyfriend is seen as glamorous .
My daughter is concerned about the message the girls are getting from this book but is not sure what to do about it . Banning the book at school would only make reading it more desirable and anyway it seems many of the girls are being given the book by their mothers after they themselves have read it .
What do those of you who have read it feel about teenage girls reading it ? Would you encourage your teenage daughter to read it ?
I myself have no desire to read it as I too cannot sleep unless I have read for a while and I prefer to escape to a nicer place .

[MooseMom]

Two Christmases ago, vcarmody was my secret Santa, and she gave me "One for the Money", the first in the Stephanie Plum books.  I hadn't had the chance to read it, but about a month ago, I picked it up and really enjoyed it.  It reminded me a lot of the Kinsey Millhone series (I'm sure both authors often hear that comparison) which I also had liked.  So, I've downloaded the entire series onto my Nook, and I'm currently on the fourth in the series, "Four for the Score".  It's light, entertaining and makes me giggle.  I am not in the mood for anything too cerebral at the moment.

[jbeany]

My youngest daughter is an English teacher at an all girl's catholic high school and she has recently become aware a number of her senior students are reading " 50 Shades of Grey " . She bought herself a copy to see what all the fuss was about and found it very disturbing on a number of levels , mainly that her students would think the kind of relationship portrayed in the book is OK . It seems that in the modern teenage world , being treated badly by one's boyfriend is seen as glamorous .
My daughter is concerned about the message the girls are getting from this book but is not sure what to do about it . Banning the book at school would only make reading it more desirable and anyway it seems many of the girls are being given the book by their mothers after they themselves have read it .
What do those of you who have read it feel about teenage girls reading it ? Would you encourage your teenage daughter to read it ?
I myself have no desire to read it as I too cannot sleep unless I have read for a while and I prefer to escape to a nicer place .

Spoiler alert - skip this if you plan to read the books and want at least some plot line surprises...



Well, if you only read the first one - she walks out on him because of the abuse.  The next two consist of a "Love and Psychiatry conquers all" message, so he gets over the controlling thing to a certain extent.  I suppose the worst message the girls might get from it is that there's a chance to change a controlling man.

I don't know that it's going to have any huge influence though, not compared to what the relationships the girls will see in their own lives will have.  I was reading at a college level by the time I was in 6th grade, so I certainly read my share of trashy novels at much too young of an age.  None of the "flutter your eyelashes and let the man rescue and dominate you" philosophy stuck with me - but I credit the strong, balanced relationships I saw between my parents and grandparents for that.

I don't think I'd ever consider attempting to ban it - waste of time, and, as you said, the surest way to make certain even those who don't read for pleasure take a look.  I think, if I were her, I'd get permission to have a discussion about the books - perhaps with the health and English teachers in tandem.  With a Catholic school atmosphere, she would probably need to get parental permission, but I think it would be worth the effort.  The English teacher portion would be a chance to talk about how badly it's written - and perhaps offering some other classic books about love affairs as a comparison.  A discussion of banned books wouldn't be a bad idea either.  Lady Chatterly's Lover was banned, after all - which is why everyone read it.  The health discussion about relationships would be a chance to remind them that it's fiction, and get into the idea that what is appealing as a fantasy in a novel is not workable in real life.

[CebuShan]

Two Christmases ago, vcarmody was my secret Santa, and she gave me "One for the Money", the first in the Stephanie Plum books.  I hadn't had the chance to read it, but about a month ago, I picked it up and really enjoyed it.  It reminded me a lot of the Kinsey Millhone series (I'm sure both authors often hear that comparison) which I also had liked.  So, I've downloaded the entire series onto my Nook, and I'm currently on the fourth in the series, "Four for the Score".  It's light, entertaining and makes me giggle.  I am not in the mood for anything too cerebral at the moment.

MM - I got started on the Stephanie Plum series after winning a drawing at the local library. "Visions of Sugar Plums" was the first one I ever read. I have them all and reread them from time to time. (I want to grow up to be Grandma Mazur!    )Make sure you read the "between the numbers" novels too. Glad to hear you're enjoying them.

[cariad]

I don't know that it's going to have any huge influence though, not compared to what the relationships the girls will see in their own lives will have.  I was reading at a college level by the time I was in 6th grade, so I certainly read my share of trashy novels at much too young of an age.

I don't know what level I was reading at by 6th grade (age 10) but I do remember that it was that year that a girl brought the book Wifey to a sleepover at my house. I learned new words as the girls thumbed through a ludicrous number of pages (I think it was some 600 pages in total!) I was too young for it and when my friends created a cover out of paper to hide it and then left it at my house (this happened with an issue of High Times as well) I felt gross just having that book in my room, so I gave it to my mother because it didn't occur to me to throw it out and I just wanted someone to get it away from me. I have never wanted much to do with bad writing and spent my formative years reading through the great playwrights. That Christopher Durang could be awfully risque, though.

I don't think I'd ever consider attempting to ban it - waste of time, and, as you said, the surest way to make certain even those who don't read for pleasure take a look.  I think, if I were her, I'd get permission to have a discussion about the books - perhaps with the health and English teachers in tandem.  With a Catholic school atmosphere, she would probably need to get parental permission, but I think it would be worth the effort.  The English teacher portion would be a chance to talk about how badly it's written - and perhaps offering some other classic books about love affairs as a comparison.  A discussion of banned books wouldn't be a bad idea either.  Lady Chatterly's Lover was banned, after all - which is why everyone read it.  The health discussion about relationships would be a chance to remind them that it's fiction, and get into the idea that what is appealing as a fantasy in a novel is not workable in real life.

If it were good writing, I would be fine with this, and if every last girl in the class has voluntarily read it, it could work. However, I would never grant permission for my son to be assigned that book in school and I don't think the kids who hadn't read it would get much out of a discussion. If a teacher came to me with this idea, I would say pick a shocking classic, perhaps one that was banned, and read that but please, for the love of all that is decent in this world, do not take up class time with that awful book.

[WishIKnew]

Half way through the first book of 50 Shades of Grey and I'm done.  I just can't get into the "story" and can't get past the writing.  I gave it a try.  I used to teach high school English and many of my former students, now in their 30's, told me I would probably not like it.  They know me well.

[KarenInWA]

Yeah, I can't bring myself to read 50 Shades. For me, sex that involves spanking, slapping, and whips reminds me of herding cows. Reading about controlling men makes me feel all icky inside. Not something I want to walk around with while I read it, ya know? And bad grammar in a mass published book would just piss me off! (and I really don't want to read a book and have a "Mooooooooooo!!!!" playing over and over again in the back of my mind!)

Instead, I am re-reading a novel by Edward Rutherford called "New York". It's an historical novel about the city, starting in 1664 and going into the 2000's. It takes real life events and writes it around the stories of some fictional characters, following their generations throughout the centuries. A highly fascinating read. I first read it last year. Reading that made my dialysis treatments a lot more bearable!

MooseMom, I want to read that JFK Stephen King novel! My sister gave it to my brother-in-law for Christmas, and she gets to read it after he does. I don't think he's read it yet! I haven't read much Stephen King, maybe a novel or two. But anything JFK is probably worth a read for me.

KarenInWA