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Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 10:15 am
by Bugsy
Last night I finished "The Name of the Wind," by Patrick Rothfuss. Very good, easy read despite being 662 pages! 4 stars, and 1 down, 29 to go.

I just got the e-book of "The Souls of Black Folk," by W.E.B. Du Bois. Looking forward to this one, and I was pleasantly surprised to see it was available without a wait list.

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 12:08 pm
by Spudd
Bugsy wrote:Last night I finished "The Name of the Wind," by Patrick Rothfuss. Very good, easy read despite being 662 pages! 4 stars, and 1 down, 29 to go.
I just checked my Calibre to see if I have that one, because it sounded familiar, and apparently I've had it since September 2014! Haven't read it yet, though. Maybe I'll bump it up on the list.

Last night I started "My Age of Anxiety", I forget the author. But I may not finish it. I thought it might be useful because sometimes I tend to worry a lot especially about the renovations. However, his anxiety is WAY worse than mine, like panic attacks etc level, and he says in the intro that nothing he's tried has really worked for him. So I don't know how useful it will be. I'll give it another chapter and then give up, I think, unless it's actually gotten useful.

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2017 6:08 am
by kayley
I am reading Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna, but it is slow going. In the past I have loved her books, but something here is slowing me down. I think I have about 100 pages left. Hope to finish it this week.

I read Aziz Ansari's book Modern Romance, non fiction, about dating. it was ok, a few good quotes that made me think of specific friends, but probably mostly only interesting to people dating in the digital age.

I am also reading Roxanne Gay's Bad Feminist, also non fiction. It is not as good as I was led to believe, or if it is, I haven't gotten to those essays yet. I want to love her as sort of a feminist pop hero, but so far this book is not doing it for me.

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2017 9:21 am
by Blush
I finished The Other Daughter. It was fine. The 20's slang got to me a bit, and once the book hit the climax it seemed to tie up too quickly, but it was all right.

Next is a nonfiction: Monkeys, Myths, and Molecules -- Separating fact from fiction, and the science of everyday life. It's by Dr. Joe Schwarcz.

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2017 4:29 pm
by Spudd
I did abandon "My Age of Anxiety" last night, I didn't even give it another chapter. I looked at the table of contents and decided to abandon it.

I started "The Question of the Missing Head" by EJ Copperman which has a guy with Asperger's as the main character. So far I love it.

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2017 9:46 pm
by Blush
I just finished Monkeys Myths and Molecules. It was fine. Skimmed the surface of debunking some common beliefs about science topics.

Next: The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell.

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2017 4:58 am
by Sílvia
I read another Brazilian, The Centaur in the Garden by Moacyr Scliar. It was about an actual centaur born to a human family, which had me :headscratch the first time I read the synopsis, but I loved it. It's magical realism, and would certainly be out of some people's comfort zone.

Still reading The Count of Monte Cristo, but it's slow going. Why do most classics need 50 pages to explain something that only needs 3? Getting impatient already.

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2017 9:52 am
by mellenhead
I finally finished Victoria by Julia Baird. It was excellent but long (500+) pages and it could have done with some editing. I'm not sure why the author had to continually wax on about how obsessed she was with her husband, but that's my only complaint. I'm so excited to watch the PBS show on her now.

I'm starting The Couple Next Door tonight. I've heard good things.

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2017 10:59 am
by Spudd
I finished "The Question of the Missing Head" last night and really enjoyed it. Thumbs up!

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2017 9:51 am
by Bugsy
Last night I finished "The Souls of Black Folk," by W.E.B. Du Bois. Like I said in the weekend thread, some of the language was a bit much (similar to Silvia's feeling about "...Monte Cristo"), but it was very good overall. I'm enjoying reading more of these racial/social justice works lately. Or well, maybe "enjoying" isn't the right word, but it's been very worthwhile so far.

Then I have an audiobook called "Pretty Girls," by Karin Slaughter but haven't started listening yet. In transit to the library are "The ALL NEW Don't Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate," by George Lakoff, and also a cool book I saw in a bookstore: "Maps," by Aleksandra Mizielinska. That will be fun to examine more closely.

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 9:11 am
by mellenhead
Finished The Couple Next Door. Meh. It started out well enough but then just got ridiculous.

Next up is either Class or Idaho.

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 9:45 am
by Spudd
I started but then abandoned "Retox" which is a yoga lifestyle book. And then I started a series of Jackson Brodie mysteries, I think Blush recommended by Kate Atkinson. The first book is called "Case Histories" but the e-book I got from the library has the first 4 books in the series bundled together, so assuming I like the first one, I'll probably read all 4 in a row.

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:41 am
by Blush
I finished The Death of Bees. LOVED it. The voices, setting, emotions, plot, all great.

Next: This Must Be The Place by Maggie O'Farrell.

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 2:38 pm
by Sílvia
That sounds up my alley, Blush. I put it on my want-to-read shelf.

I'm sorry to say the Count (of Monte Cristo) and I are not meant to be. I haven't officially given up yet, but will probably do so in the next few days. I should make a clean break, but I feel bad. Then again, I'm too old to read books I'm not enjoying when no one's paying me or giving me good grades to do so. I wanted to finish it because I know it's a good story, but sweet Jesus, just give me the abridged version. I made it to 32%, so more than 400 pages. Spudd, tell Kenneth I don't know how he ever made it out of the part set in Italy. Some goodreads reviewers say that's the worst/slowest part, so that's why I haven't given up yet.

I'm about halfway through Night Road by Kristin Hannah. It's readable, but oh man, the woman likes a tragedy. All her books are about people going through hell and they're so melodramatic. It worked for me in The Nightingale because it's about World War 2 and I love it.

I got a bunch of books from the library today because I've been taking Leo there (got him a card.) He's into A Series of Unfortunate Events and after he read the first one (which we bought) in under 24 hours, I told him we'd have to borrow the next ones. Anyway, they may not have everything I want, but they have a lot. I got The Sum of Our Days by Isabel Allende, The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd, Mr Mercedes by Stephen King and a bunch of others I don't remember.

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 2:46 pm
by Spudd
Silvia, maybe he didn't? I know he made it past the part where he escapes. And then he got bogged down when he was on the outside trying to blend into society, he said there were way too many characters to keep track of.

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 3:24 pm
by Sílvia
Well, you said he made it to 50% and apparently the part in Italy only lasts 100 pages or so, so he probably did. I don't know.

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 5:05 pm
by Korie
Starting on Three Wishes. Kinda slow so far.

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2017 5:24 am
by Sílvia
Korie, is that by Liane Moriarty? I love her, but Three Wishes is my least favorite of all her books. It does pick up eventually, though.

Finished Night Road. It was soap-opera-ish, but very gripping. I couldn't put the damn thing down. It would have been much better if the ending hadn't been so neat. But that's the nature of soap-operas. I'm not proud of it, but I'm sure I'll read more of her work :lol In fact, I have another one from the library. True Colors, I think.

Now I have 13 Reasons Why, and old(er) YA.

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2017 2:09 pm
by kayley
Finished The Lacuna and it was good, I'd recommend it, mostly.

Still reading Roxanne Gay's Bad Feminist on kindle and just started Waiting for Snow in Havana (paper, yay!) today. I am also trying to finish up a mystery/intrigue book called Djibouti, which I bought on a whim off amazon, and I shouldn't have. It's a bit disjointed and possibly racist and sexist in parts, but it's short, and I should finish it in the next couple of days. Then I can put it in the lend/give away pile!

Re: January! What are you reading?

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2017 5:41 am
by Sílvia
Waiting for Snow In Havana sounds good, kayley. Let us know how you like it. Did you get a kindle?

Couldn't get into 13 Reasons Why. Then I started The Invention of Wings and was sucked right in. I didn't like her Secret Life of Bees, but this seems much more compelling. Plus Bugsy and Molly liked it, and I agree with them both more often than not.