It's October - what are you reading?

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Rowan
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It's October - what are you reading?

Post by Rowan »

Gah! I have lots of books to update...later.

I'm in between books right now. I have Talk Talk by TC Boyle in my bag right now but I haven't started it. Its gotten rave reviews on LibraryThing but we'll see.

Happy October everyone! Think we can get to 3 pages this month?
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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by Spudd »

Not with help from me... I'm reading "The Blind Assassin" which is wicked long, and also not very gripping so far. It'll probably take me all month to read it. And my audio book is "Middlemarch" which, ditto. It's like 32 hours long and I'm only 8 hours in so far.
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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by Beverly »

I've got a slow-goer, too. I'm reading Luftslottet som sprängdes by Stieg Larsson, the third book in the Millennium trilogy. The title translates to "the air castle that exploded," but the title of the English translation is "The Girl Who Kicked a Hornet's Nest" or something similar. Anyway, it's pretty good, but I read more slowly in Swedish than I do in English. Also, the writing is a little distracting, which slows me down even more.
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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by Rowan »

87. [The Dead and the Gone] by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Rating: 3.5

This YA novel is written about the same catastrophe as The World as We Knew It but takes place in NYC. The story revolves around a teenage boy who is trying to take care of his younger sisters. I did enjoy this book but not as much as TWAWKI. I’m not sure if its because I could better relate to the character (teenage girl vs boy) or the setting (rural vs city). Definitely recommended if you enjoy YA novels.


88. [Sag Harbor] by Colson Whitehead
Rating: 3

This was a recommendation from a daily book email I get from my local library. It is the story of a teenage boy and his summer antics. I have to say I really enjoyed the first half and was laughing out loud. The second half seemed to lose steam (or maybe I lost patience for teenage boy antics!). I did enjoy it. Wouldn’t read it again but it was worth finishing.


89. [Olive Kitteridge] by Elizabeth Strout
Rating: 3.5

Everyone is raving about this book but I just didn’t love it. I tend to prefer plot driven novels as opposed to character driven novels. I knew that it was a collection of short stories about Olive so that wasn’t the issue. I was reading it during a very sad time so maybe that contributed to my feelings. I’m glad I read it but was really hoping that it would be one of my favorites for the year.

90. [This is Where I Leave You] by Jonathan Tropper
Rating: 4

I really loved this book. It is about a semi-dysfunctional family who are grieving about the death of their father. It was a quick read and I liked some of the twists and turns that the characters took.

91. [How I Write] by Janet Evanovich and Ina Yalof

A quick how-to by Janet Evanovich et al. on how to write a novel. I enjoy her Stephanie Plum series but they are very mechanical. Its interesting to hear how she sits down to write.

92. [High Five] by Janet Evanovich
Rating: 3.5

I’m liking this series. I started reading it this summer for some light reading. It's a little out there but enjoyable.


93. [Speak] by Laurie Halse Anderson
Rating: 3.5

This was an LT recommendation for a YA novel. I enjoyed this read a lot. I really felt for the main character and was brought back to high school for a bit.
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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by mellenhead »

I just finished The Aviary Gate by Katie Hickman. It was pretty decent - historical fiction about the Ottoman Empire weaved with modern day.

I finally got a library card yesterday. I didn't have much time to look around because Jake was not in the mood to be in there. I picked up a book from the new fiction section called Sleepwalking in Daylight and also The Amber Room by Steve Berry. I read one of his other books and really liked it.
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Bugsy
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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by Bugsy »

I'm still working on "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood. I'm about 2/3 through it, and I'm loving it. The whole "I don't know how to act around girls" theme really resonates with me. So far I'm enjoying this one more than "The Robber Bride," though I did like that one too.
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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by Rachael »

I've read a lot in the last 10 days or so!

The Song is You by Arthur Phillips (it was okay)
The Sand Castle by Rita Mae Brown (nice story, very short and easy)
Ms. Hempel Chronicles by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum (I was into at first, but then got really bored)
Fancy White Trash by Marjetta Geerling (very light, but so fun!)

And I think I already mentioned this one, but I LOVED Tbe Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman.
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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by Sílvia »

I'm reading The 158-pound marriage by John Irving and it's boring me to tears. Bugsy, if you can tell me how it ends and put me out of my misery, I'll be eternally grateful. I'm on page 160 and don't think I'll make it to the end. And it's only 250 pages!

I'm also reading Eat, Love, Pray by Elizabeth... Gilbert? two years after the rest of the universe. I'm enjoying it so far.
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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by Bugsy »

Aw, I'm sorry you're not enjoying it, Silvia. I'm not sure I want to tell you what happens...you're so close to finishing it! The wrestling stuff got a little old for me, but the rest of the story was good.
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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by Blush »

On my trip I read: AUTHOR: Wickham, Madeleine,
TITLE: The wedding girl
This is the alternative name Sophie Kinsella writes under. It was ok. I picked it because it was light beach reading.

The other one was
AUTHOR: Goldstein, Jan,
TITLE: The bride will keep her name
This was a bit more intriguing. I don't know that anyone who isn't into weddings would really like either one.

Now I'm sort of at a loss; I don't have any more books from the library and haven't had a chance to go in and browse. I've been reading my own copy of "Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress: tales of growing up groovy and clueless" by Susan Jane Gilman. It's a memoir sort of in short story format. It's ok, but I'm in the mood for a grippng novel that I can lose myself in.
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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by Rowan »

Blush you must read The Help. It was fabulous!
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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by Crystal Meth »

I haven't been reading much, and that makes me ANGRY. :phbtt! But with moving, I haven't been reading at home and I'm so tired after work I fall asleep on the subway. (And I hate sleeping on the subway. :lol)

Still reading The Private Lives of Pippa Lee. Maybe I will reserve The Help; it will give me an excuse to visit my new library branch. (Like I need an excuse!)
You got into this business because you're funny and weird, and you're socially retarded. And because it pays well. - Jack Donaghy, 30 Rock.

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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by Rowan »

I just finished a YA novel called The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It was fantastic. Really held up to the hype. Story takes place in future North America made up of 12 districts that are ruled by the Capitol . To dispel rebellion, once a year a lottery of teenagers (ages 12-18) is held. One boy and one girl from each district is chosen to participate in the Hunger Games where the chosen must kill each other to be the last one standing. I'm not one for science fiction/fantasy reading but it was very very good.
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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by Anna »

I read The Well and The Mine, I have one to start but I can't remember what it's called and it's upstairs and I'm not
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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by Bugsy »

I finished "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood--LOVED it. Definitely one of my favorites from this year.

The other day I picked up "What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal" by Zoe Heller and also "The Science of Sexy" by Bradley Bayou (per Spudd's suggestion). I'm not very far into either of them yet, so I don't have an opinion just yet.

Silvia, did you finish "The 158-pound Marriage" yet?
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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by Spudd »

I read "Love Story" by Erich Segal over the weekend. That book makes me sob like a baby every time I read it.
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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by mellenhead »

I finished Sleepwalking while awake Elizabeth Berg. It was pretty good but really sad. Ever since I had Jake I have a really hard time reading stuff about bad parent/child relationships.

I also finished The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry. I love his books.

I just picked up three more books from the library - The Unlikely Disciple (thanks to Blush), The Divorcee Debutante by Plum Sykes (I need a fluff book) and The Charlemagne Effect by Steve Berry.
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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by Beverly »

Bugsy wrote:I finished "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood--LOVED it. Definitely one of my favorites from this year.
That was the first Margaret Atwood I ever read, and it turned me into a fan for life! I need to re-read it.

Right now I'm still plugging away at the Stieg Larsson. I read more slowly in Swedish than I do in English, and this is kind of a slow-goer anyway. I'm not even halfway through yet. Gah.

I also started Bill Bryson's The Mother Tongue (and How It Got That Way). I'm just a few pages in, but so far it's good. I love languages.
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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by Rowan »

96. The Way Home - George Pelecanos.
Rating:4.
The author is one of the writers for The Wire which I've never seen but hear is fantastic. This book was very well written and I was instantly involved in the story. The story is about a young man who has made a few mistakes in his youth and been placed in a juvenile prison. The story unfolds when he is released and is trying to do the right things. There is also a wonderful father/son aspect of this story.
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Re: It's October - what are you reading?

Post by Blush »

I'm reading "Such a Pretty Fat" by Jen Lancaster. I enjoyed her first memoir, "Bitter is the new Black" so I'm back for more.
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