December! What are you reading?

[Beverly]

I'm still working on Careless in Red, the latest (I think) Inspector Lynley mystery by Elizabeth George. It's very good, but I'm having trouble finding the time to sit and get it read!

[Bugsy]

Almost done with "Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Strout. The more I read it, the more I'm enjoying it. In fact, I'm going to go sit down with it right now.

[Rowan]

I'm reading My Name is Mary Sutter and loving it. Its the story of a midwife who wants to go to medical school and become a surgeon. The kicker? It takes place during the Civil War. I hate to recommend things before I finish so I'll wait.....

[Bugsy]

Last night I finished "Olive Kitteridge." I really enjoyed this book, even though it was a collection of stories. The stories were all about various residents in this small town, and the main character, Olive, played various-sized roles in each of the stories. It was a good read.

Then last night I started "The Man Who Ate Everything," by Jeffrey Steingarten. He was a lawyer and then became Vogue's food critic, so he made himself get over his weird food hangups/phobias in order to do his job more completely. I'm only a few pages into it, but it seems like it's going to be good. He's already made me laugh, which is a good sign.

[mellenhead]

Oooh, Rowan that sounds good!

I'm about a 1/4 of the way through The Distant Hours by Kate Morton. I've heard wonderful things about it so I hope it picks up soon.

[Rowan]

Loved, loved, loved My Name is Mary Sutter. Go out and read it.

Also read This is Where We Live by Janelle Brown which I really liked and breezed through. Recommended.

Not sure what's up next. Need to get cracking in December.

[Spudd]

I put My Name is Mary Sutter, Olive Kitteridge, and This is Where We Live all on hold at the library. Thanks for the recommendations!

I'm still slogging through Olympos by Dan Simmons. It's really not a winner; I don't know why I keep reading it. I'm kind of curious how it's going to turn out but I know it won't be worth the slog in the end.

Anyways, two bike touring books just came in for me at the library, so I'll be putting Olympos on hold to read those.

[Rowan]

I'm having a really good string of reads these days. I"m almost done The False Friend by Myla Goldberg - so far so good! its the story of a woman who's best friend was kidnapped when they were young but years later as an adult she remembers what really happened to her. She goes back to her hometown to confess the truth but nobody believes her. Definitely a quick read....

[Rowan]

Let me retract my excitement for My False Friend. I loved it until the end - it was rushed and I'm not entirely sure what happened. I hate when an author spends so much time on development and then rushes the end. Bah.

Next up is April and Oliver (Tess Callahan?). I'm 2 pages in so no comment yet.

I have to hit the library tonight to return some stuff and I have a few books on hold.

[mellenhead]

I finished The Distant Hours by Kate Morton. I liked it a lot but I felt like the last few chapters she was just rushing to tie all the story lines together.

OF COURSE about 4 holds all came up at the library at once. I'm most excited to read Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff.

[Rowan]

Mellen, I love that you read so much historical fiction. That's totally how my holds come in too. What else you got?

[Beverly]

I finally finished the Elizabeth George book. It was good, like they always are, but her writing style grated on me at some points, which I don't remember from past books.

Now I've started Alice Hoffman's Local Girls. I haven't read enough yet to get a feel for it, but I usually like her books.

[Spudd]

I'm reading "Metal Cowboy" by Joe Kurmaskie. It's a bike touring book. It's really good! It's more of a series of vignettes than an actual ongoing plot. The vignettes are mostly amusing, and it's really well written.

[Sílvia]

I'm reading The Two Lives of Miss Charlotte Merryweather by Alexandra Potter. It's silly at best and incredibly predictable. Remind me not to read chick lit ever again. Bridget Jones was nice. The billions that followed it, not so much. They never fail to disappoint me. The only reason I'm reading it is because I had nothing else until I hit the bookstore on Saturday and now I'm too close to the end. Also, here's a little tip that I'll probably email the publisher: if you wanna make jokes using other cultures, make sure you research them first. Pablo is NOT a Portuguese name, we do NOT speak Spanish In Brazil, and salsa is NOT a Brazilian rhythm. Of course that didn't help me enjoy the book.

Next I'll start something by Sophie Hannah. I forgot the title. I'm not much of a crime fiction reader, but this one looks promising.

[mellenhead]

I *loved* Cleopatra: A Life. Wonderful detail.

My other holds that came up were The Help by Kathryn Stockett (boring, predictable), Meeks: A Novel by Julia Holmes (completely strange, I read it 3x and I'm still not sure I grasped the whole story), and They call me Baba Booey by Gary Dell'Abate with Chad Millman (I didn't finish it, it was boring)

I'm going to start All the devils are here : the hidden history of the financial crisis by: Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera tomorrow.

[Spudd]

I finished Metal Cowboy, it was good as bike touring books go.

Now I've started Olive Kitteridge. It's a little strange, but I think I like it. Except for one story where at the end I was like, WTF? I sooo did not get it.

[Bugsy]

Mellen, you thought The Help was boring and predictable? God, that book made me cry my eyes out.

Spudd, it's definitely kind of a strange book, and some stories are better than others...but I found myself liking it more and more as the book progressed. Which story did you not understand?

I'm still working on "The Man Who Ate Everything." It's good but long, and I haven't had much free time for reading.

[Sílvia]

Mellen, you thought The Help was boring and predictable? God, that book made me cry my eyes out.

Yeah, I was shocked by her comment too! Guess we're all different

I'm still reading The Other Half Lives by Sophie Hannah. She took her sweet time getting into the story, but now things seem to be picking up (after page 200). Well, better late than never.

[Spudd]

Bugsy, the one... I can't even remember what it was mainly about. I think the character's name is April? Anyways, it ends by talking about bruises on her mother's arms. And I had no clue why they brought that up, it seemed unrelated to everything.

[mellenhead]

Don't mind me, guys. I was in a funk when I tried to "The Help" and people at work had been harping on me to read it. I didn't finish it. Maybe I need to give it another go?

I got the book "Matched" as a gift for a family member. I'm debating if I can finish it by Christmas! Its a YA novel in the same vein as The Hunger Games.