Talk Healthy

I gave up on The Plot Against America. Fabulous idea, terrible execution. I'd never read anything by Philip Roth before, and I hated his style. His sentences are so long you have no idea how they started after a while! Besides, not much seemed to happen. For a book with the word "plot" on its title...

Anyway, I started The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier yesterday. Anyone read it? I read Falling Angels by her and didn't like it, but this one sounds better. We'll see.

I'm reading Shopaholic and Baby. I got it off the "quick picks" shelf at the library, meaning it can only be checked out for a week, no renewals. It is predictably predictable, but it's fluffy and I needed fluff. I had previously been reading (and quit) a book where the protagonist cheats on her husband and thinks that's a-ok. Geez. I was mad at her, so I stopped reading.

Still slogging through "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," but I haven't read much in the last week. I'm about 2/3-3/4 of the way through it. Really enjoying it so far!

Sílvia wrote:I gave up on The Plot Against America. Fabulous idea, terrible execution. I'd never read anything by Philip Roth before, and I hated his style. His sentences are so long you have no idea how they started after a while! Besides, not much seemed to happen. For a book with the word "plot" on its title...

Aw, man -really? That's sitting on my bookshelf right now. Oh well.

Well, LB, that's just me. Lots of people on amazon seem to have loved it!

I've read:

Jane Green - Mr. Maybe
Monica Ali - Brick Lane
John Sandford - Eyes of Prey

I will read:

Jhumpa Lahiri - The Namesake
Margaret Atwood - Bluebeard's Egg, Wilderness Tips, and The Blind Assasin
Tami Hoag - Ashes to Ashes

Holy crap, are you plowing through the Atwood. Get "The Robber Bride"!

Me: I just started Nick Hornby's "The Polysyllabic Spree." He's talking about reading books. I love it!

I just finished Tami Hoag's "Prior Bad Acts". I think I may have posted about it already... anyways. It was a page-turner.

I'm listening to The Namesake, I think I'm about 2/3 of the way through. Love it!!

I just started reading Persuasion, by Jane Austen. It's OK so far, I'm waiting for the excitement to begin.

Crystal Meth wrote:Holy crap, are you plowing through the Atwood. Get "The Robber Bride"!

Me: I just started Nick Hornby's "The Polysyllabic Spree." He's talking about reading books. I love it!

The library didn't have it.

Shopaholic and baby was predictable but kind of cute. Becky's not quite as annoying as she has been the last couple of books.

Now I'm reading Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill. I'm enjoying it so far, and it's Canadian!

I'm reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. At first I didn't think the theme would be that appropriate for a pregnant woman, but it hasn't really disturbed me. And I'm finding it hard to put down. Well, after all the abortions, miscarriages and children's murders in The Virgin Blue...

Sílvia wrote:I'm reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. At first I didn't think the theme would be that appropriate for a pregnant woman, but it hasn't really disturbed me. And I'm finding it hard to put down. Well, after all the abortions, miscarriages and children's murders in The Virgin Blue...

I'm picking this up from the library today. We should compare notes!

Oh, and I'd like to add:

Lifeguard by James Patterson
At Risk by Patricia Cornwall
Art of Detection by Laurie R. King

I finshed it, Ruth. Let me know when you've read it so we can discuss!

I started a book by a Brazilian writer called Érico Veríssimo. He's the author of one of my favorite books ever, Time and the Wind. The one I'm reading is called Crossroads.

I'm reading:

1. Heart-Shaped Box - Stephen King's son whose name escapes me
2. The Return - Bentley Little

Yes, both are fluff horror novels.

On audio book this month I have listened to:

1. Wicked
2. Stalemate - Iris Johansen
3. Mary, Mary - James Patterson

I am currently listening to The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

Jax wrote:1. Heart-Shaped Box - Stephen King's son whose name escapes me

Stephen King, Jr?

(You love it... )

I am currently taking suggestions for a book to read on my train trip Saturday. Note: it must already be on my bookshelf. Let your psychic predictions ensue...

I don't have any suggestions for you, Crystal, but I'm sure you'll find one to take along.

Last Friday I finally finished "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." Overall, I really liked it and its message, but maaaaaan was it long. Some parts weren't so bad, and I'm sure it helped that I'm interested in motorcycles, hiking, and stuff. Those parts of the book definitely kept me entertained. It gave me a lot to think about, and I think it'll be a book I remember for a long time.

Crystal, didn't you say that it made you want to kill yourself? Now I'm curious to hear your thoughts on it!

Honestly, I'd have to go back and look at some Cliffs notes or something, because it was looooooong and just didn't even resonate. at. all.

I just remember getting fed up when the guy turned out to be the guy he was looking for or something...?? Was there something like that?

Hold on, I'll consult the wiki entry. I'm sure there is one.

Yeah there is a wiki entry. And yes, the narrator and Phaedrus are one in the same, but I suspected that early in the book. Different tastes, I guess.

Bugsy wrote:Different tastes, I guess.

Totally, different tastes make the world go round. *buries nose in Thomas Hardy* (nobody ever likes Hardy, LOL)

How right you are! I don't think I've ever read Hardy, but now I do need a new book to start. Something a bit...lighter than ZATAOMM, I think.