It's January - what are you reading?

[Rowan]

I'm working my way through the Kathy Reichs Temperance Brennan series. Just finished Grave Secrets. Can't remember the next one - I just know it has a yellow cover.

Edited to add title: Bare Bones.

[mellenhead]

The Strangers on Montagu Street - by Karen White. It was a fluffy mindless read. I thought it was just a mystery, turns out its more a series romance with a little mystery thrown in.

Growing Up Amish - by Ira Wagler - interesting read

The Favored Queen - Carolly Erickson - this was "historical entertainment" about Jane Seymour. It was ok, but I much prefer her nonfiction stuff.

I have 1Q84 from the library, but I'm not sure it's really something I'm in the mood to read right now.....and since it's 500+ pages I need to be in the mood for it.

[Spudd]

I finished a bunch of financial books and now I'm starting the final Stieg Larsson book.

[Rowan]

Spudd, any financial books you'd recommend? Dh does all the $$ stuff in the house (I pay the bills but he does the investment stuff) but I should know more. ONe of my goals for 2012 is to get my 401K in order.

[Spudd]

I mainly read Canadian ones so I doubt they'd be much help to you. I read a couple on stock picking that were American but I don't know if I believe in stock picking or not. I kinda do it a bit for fun but it's more like gambling than investing really.

I've heard good things about "Millionaire Teacher" but haven't actually read it myself.

[Bugsy]

Today I finished "A Game of Thrones" by George R. R. Martin. It's about 800 pages, and the first probably quarter of it was sort of "meh" and hard to get into. But then it really took off and sucked me in. Very good story he has started here. I will start the second one after I read a couple of things from other genres.

Next is Farm Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of Country Life by Julia Rothman. It was on my Christmas list, and Jason got it for me. It has really cool illustrations, and I'm looking forward to something different.

[Rowan]

Anna, if you get in 50-60 pages you'll be hooked. It took me 3 tries to get started.

[Stacy]

Some friends at another board are starting a group read of Anna Karenina, so when my copy arrives I'll be starting that.

I'm also reading Savage Girls and Wild Boys, about feral children, and When Rabbit Howls, about a woman with 92 alternate personalities due to childhood trauma.

I should start A woman's Guide to Painful Sex and Completely Overcoming Vaginismus for my personal problems, but I start my new quarter on Friday, so I have a research methods book, an instructional design book and an SPSS book I will soon be adding to the list.

[Skye]

I just downloaded a Nora Roberts novel called The Next Always. So far it's about what I expected. All of her books, with a few exceptions, seem to follow very similar story lines.

I'm also re-reading Eat to Live by Joel Furhman.

[Stacy]

Thanks for the heads up, Anna. I'm not very far into When Rabbit Howls yet. The feral children book is a historical look at feral children through (I think) Genie from CA in the 70s. The author traces whatever contemporary accounts he can to tell their stories. At times the writing is really dry. When I finish it, I can mail it to you if you'd like.

[Rowan]

Look at all the friends we have here!

Right now I'm reading Fat Vampire - a silly YA novel about a teenage vampire who got turned in his "awkward stage" and no one can believe he's really a vampire. Just fun and silly.

[Sílvia]

I'm reading If Today be Sweet by Thrity Umrigar. I love her style, but the lack of a serious plot after 140 pages is starting to get on my nerves.

[Beverly]

I am just not reading much at all lately. I'm about halfway through both The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot and Long Spoon Lane by Anne Perry, and I haven't really read any of either since around Thanksgiving. The former is a terrific non-fiction book about the origin of HeLa cells, and I wish I had more time to devote to it. The latter is good enough, but her stuff has been totally formulaic for years, so there are no surprises.

[Rowan]

Bev,

As a scientist (who's actually worked with HeLa back in the day) I was really excited to read the book but I honestly was disappointed in it. Not trying to discourage you from finishing it because I'm glad I read it but I really didn't like the tone she took with the family.

Anyway....

[Rowan]

Finished "Fat Vampire" - meh.

I started "We Need to Talk About Kevin" by Lionel Shriver yesterday. I had tried reading it before but couldn't get into it. Now I'm hooked - can't wait to read more.

[Rowan]

Loved "....Kevin". Well, "loved" is the wrong word but I'm really glad I read it! Wow.

[mellenhead]

The Queens of Henry VIII by David Starkey - Excellent! And long!

I have a few books at the library to pick up tonight, The Obamas, The Marriage Plot and The Flame Alphabet.

[Bugsy]

Last week I read "Maus: My Father Bleeds History" (Part 1) by Art Spiegelman. It was excellent, and I just picked up the second part yesterday. Haven't started reading it yet but will do so shortly.

[mellenhead]

The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus - strange strange book, though I did enjoy it. The story is about speech, especially the speech of children, becoming toxic to adults. The writing is beautiful and descriptive but the ending didn't really deliver.

Next up is either The Obamas or The Marriage Plot.

[Sílvia]

Rowan, glad you loved Kevin. And I know, you don't really "love" a book like that, but it's great reading, isn't it? A bit unrealistic and you can tell she doesn't have children, but still.

I finished If Today be Sweet and it sucked. Why does this keep happening? I love a book, then I read another one by the same author that it's just "meh", then by the third one I'm starting to think he/she was just lucky in that first book. Bah. This last one had no freaking plot!! It was all about whether or not a widowed Indian woman should stay in the US living with her son and daughter-in-law now that she had no one in India. My mind was made up on page 1, don't move into your daughter-in-law's house, period.

Then I read Jemima J, which apparently is hated by thousands of people for being offensive to overweight people and unrealistic. It is both, but I found it fun anyway .

Now I started This Body of Death by Elizabeth George and it's a little slow moving so far.