March! What are you reading?

[Malanee]

Just finished "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." Loved it! I had no idea this series was so suspenseful, so that was a nice surprise. Just placed a hold for the next one, so that probably won't come in for a couple of months.

And I'm still working on "What to Eat" by Marion Nestle. It's really interesting, but since "Girl..." is in such high demand, I kind of set "What to Eat" aside to be sure to finish "Girl" before it was due back.

You gotta read the rest of the dragon tattoo girl series. And see the movies! Soooo good!

[mellenhead]

And, I just picked up "Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War".

I LOVED Matterhorn.


I finished Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton, which is a chef memoir. Definitely a good read. It was more about her life and experiences that led to her becoming a chef than about the daily grind / behind the scenes, etc kind of stuff but I really enjoyed it.

Next up is The Complaints by Ian Rankin.

[Rowan]

Funny...I finished I Think I Love You last night too. Again, I liked the premise but didn't really connect with any of the characters (and I did have a teen idol love -- Simon LeBon was supposed to marry me).

Not sure what's next.

I did read "gods in Alabama" by Joshilynn Jackson this weekend which I really liked. It was on my TBR list for years and finally got my hands on a copy. Glad I did.

[Sílvia]

I'm reading We need to talk about Kevin http://www.amazon.com/We-Need-Talk-Abou ... 391&sr=1-1, and while her style gets on my nerves sometimes (too "literary", sometimes I wanna shake her to make her get to the point), I'm finding it very gripping. Creepy and disturbing, but gripping. I'm glad I started it.

[Bugsy]

I just finished "What to Eat" by Marion Nestle. It was such an excellent book--probably the most illuminating book I've ever read. It took me a while to get through it, but it was worth it for sure. Not sure what will be up next. I could use some Margaret Atwood, that's for sure!

[mellenhead]

The Complaints by Ian Rankin bored me to tears. A "suspense" novel that is around 500 pages should not draaaaag on and on. I gave up.

Now I'm reading Life, on the line by Grant Achatz - an award winning chef that was diagnosed with tongue cancer and survived and his restaurant is thriving. The writing is a little choppy but it's good.

[Spudd]

I finished The Girl Who Played With Fire on Saturday. Good book! Not quite as good as the first, I think, but still good. I'm looking forward to reading the third one as well.

On Sunday I started and finished Coraline. It's the first book I've read on my new Kindle. I liked the Kindle experience but I'm not completely won over from paper books. Kenneth is like "why would you read paper books when you can read Kindle?", but I don't agree. I still like the paper. Anyways, the book was good. I'd already seen the movie, though, so I kinda knew how it was going to turn out.

[mellenhead]

Spudd, I'm not a fan of the whole e-reader movement. I like actual books, in paper, in my hand.

I finished Life, on the line by Grant Achatz. The overall story was interesting and I loved reading about his time at The French Laundry and how he brought the concept of Alinea to life but the writing was really choppy. It would just switch topics, skip years....sometimes I couldn't figure out WTF they were talking about. I think the only people that will bother with this book are foodies/fans of Alinea and those in the restaurant industry.

I just started Moby-Duck, The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Evironmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them by Donovon Hohn. It's starting out sllllooooowwww so I hope it picks up soon.

[Bugsy]

I have "The Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood and am maybe 50ish pages into it. Liking it so far! I love her writing so much; it's so damn descriptive.

[Malanee]

I have "The Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood and am maybe 50ish pages into it. Liking it so far! I love her writing so much; it's so damn descriptive.

Loved her - so glad that Crystal recommended her. Hey, where is Crystal?

[Beverly]

I have "The Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood and am maybe 50ish pages into it. Liking it so far! I love her writing so much; it's so damn descriptive.

I LOVE that book! Seriously one of my favorites.

[mellenhead]

Moby-Duck, The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Evironmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them by Donovon Hohn was meh. I expected more.

I'm about halfway through The Trinity Six by Charles Cumming. It's espionage/thriller, pretty good so far and keeping me interested.


I have Forged: Writing in the Name of God by Bart Ehrman waiting for me at the library, which I'm excited to read next.

[Rowan]

Mellen, I read The Discovery of Witches on your recommendation and loved it! Thanks so much for recommending. What was especially nice was that the science parts were not wrong (which I generally have such a hard time with). Really if anyone likes the vampire/witch thing, I highly recommend it.

Also read Without Mercy by Lisa Jackson which I picked up at the airport. I hadn't read anything by her before but I liked it. Nice suspense but there was so bumps in the story a bit.

Not sure what's on tap next.

[Rowan]

Question: For those who've read The Girl Who.... series, how long did it take to get into the first book? I've tried a couple of times but just can't get far into it. I want to read them because people have loved them so much but I keep getting stuck.

Thoughts?

[Spudd]

I have the Discovery of Witches on hold at the library, glad to hear it's going to be good.

Rowan, I think it took me 50-100 pages to really get into the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. At first the translation was bothering me and I wasn't really getting the characters. But it went away after a while and it was worth it.

I just downloaded the audiobook for "Room" and will probably start listening to it on my way home from work today.

On paper, I'm reading "The New Space Opera 2", which is a collection of short science fiction stories.

[Rowan]

Thanks Spudd. Hope you like Room - it was one my favorites last year.

[Beverly]

Rowan, it took me a little while to get into the first one, but once it took off, it really took off!

[Rowan]

Blush, I loved The Road but I loved it from page 1.

Thanks Beverly for the input.

[Sílvia]

Question: For those who've read The Girl Who.... series, how long did it take to get into the first book? I've tried a couple of times but just can't get far into it. I want to read them because people have loved them so much but I keep getting stuck.

Thoughts?

As far as I remember, I got into it right away, but I could be wrong. Anyway, it certainly didn't take long.

[mellenhead]

Rowan I've tried to start "The Girl Who. . . . ." A few times and I simply can't get in to the book. I feel like I should love it since its so popular, but I just can't do it.