What are we all reading?

[Haven]

Date: 7/30/2009 6:49:51 PM
Author: MC
I''ve been reading Kurt Vonnegut books. . .started with Cat''s Cradle, then Slaughterhouse Five, and now, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater.

His writing is totally different from my normal genre. . .mostly books by and for women were the gals suffer from the usual family problems and ponder life. Seems like they all began sounding the same after a while.

I''ll plan to read a few more Vonnegut books and then try A Clockwork Orange, which I bought a few months back but have procrastinated reading it.

MC--We must have similar reading palettes--I love Vonnegut. A Clockwork Orange is my favorite novel of all time. And I am not enjoying The Time Traveler''s Wife. It''s a good story, but the writing is just not my cup of tea.

You won''t be disappointed with ACO. I can''t wait to work in a district that will allow me to teach that book. *drool*

 

[Haven]

Date: 7/30/2009 6:04:33 PM
Author: Tuckins1
I love that everyone has a current reading project... I ALWAYS have a book to read. It blows my mind when people tell me that they hate to read!

I know. I consider it one of my life''s missions to convert people who "hate" to read into avid readers. I''ve been working on my DH for quite a while.

 

[kittybean]

Date: 7/30/2009 6:55:56 PM
Author: Haven

Date: 7/30/2009 6:49:51 PM

Author: MC

I''ve been reading Kurt Vonnegut books. . .started with Cat''s Cradle, then Slaughterhouse Five, and now, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater.

His writing is totally different from my normal genre. . .mostly books by and for women were the gals suffer from the usual family problems and ponder life. Seems like they all began sounding the same after a while.

I''ll plan to read a few more Vonnegut books and then try A Clockwork Orange, which I bought a few months back but have procrastinated reading it.

MC--We must have similar reading palettes--I love Vonnegut. A Clockwork Orange is my favorite novel of all time. And I am not enjoying The Time Traveler''s Wife. It''s a good story, but the writing is just not my cup of tea.

You won''t be disappointed with ACO. I can''t wait to work in a district that will allow me to teach that book. *drool*

MC and Haven, I also LOVE Vonnegut! Cat''s Cradle is definitely on my favorite books list.

Right now I''m reading the third book in the Twilight series, Eclipse, in Spanish. I''m trying to practice my Spanish as much as possible since I use it at work all the time. I just finished Memoirs of a Geisha and found it fascinating.

 

[Julianna]

Date: 7/30/2009 4:37:58 PM
Author: Haven
I''m reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenedies and The Time Traveler''s Wife by Audrey Niffeneger.

Middlesex is great, I''m really enjoying it.

The Time Traveler''s Wife is not so great, it''s actually pretty darn contrived, but I LOVE Eric Bana, so I want to read the book before I see the movie.

I loved Middlesex.

Couldn''t put it down.

I''m reading Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling, which is kinda postapocalyptic fiction...my favorite genre.

Tuckins, you''re my people! I love 1984 and Brave New World. If you don''t mind being a tidge disturbed, read Sea of Glass by Barry Longyear. It''s fabulous. And of course The Handmaid''s Tale by Margaret Atwood.

 

[Julianna]

Date: 7/30/2009 6:19:28 PM
Author: iluvcarats
I am reading The Tent by Margaret Atwood. I love, love, love her. All her books are wonderful.

Ah another Atwood fan. How I love her.

 

[Tuckins1]

Date: 7/30/2009 9:00:07 PM
Author: Julianna

Date: 7/30/2009 4:37:58 PM

Author: Haven

I''m reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenedies and The Time Traveler''s Wife by Audrey Niffeneger.


Middlesex is great, I''m really enjoying it.


The Time Traveler''s Wife is not so great, it''s actually pretty darn contrived, but I LOVE Eric Bana, so I want to read the book before I see the movie.

I loved Middlesex.

Couldn''t put it down.


I''m reading Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling, which is kinda postapocalyptic fiction...my favorite genre.


Tuckins, you''re my people! I love 1984 and Brave New World. If you don''t mind being a tidge disturbed, read Sea of Glass by Barry Longyear. It''s fabulous. And of course The Handmaid''s Tale by Margaret Atwood.

Definitely don''t mind disturbing books- I will have to try it!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 7/30/2009 6:04:33 PM
Author: Tuckins1
I love that everyone has a current reading project... I ALWAYS have a book to read. It blows my mind when people tell me that they hate to read!

Same here. . .I always have a stack of books waiting to be read. My usual trend is going on a binge spree - purchasing five or six books at a time and then reading them in the order in which I'm "craving" a specific story line. . .if that makes sense.

I just want to add that I LOVE these kinds of threads as seeing titles always compels me to look up new authors/titles I hadn't considered before. Now I have more to add to my list!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 7/30/2009 9:09:55 PM
Author: Tuckins1

Date: 7/30/2009 9:00:07 PM
Author: Julianna

Tuckins, you're my people! I love 1984 and Brave New World. If you don't mind being a tidge disturbed, read Sea of Glass by Barry Longyear. It's fabulous. And of course The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

Definitely don't mind disturbing books- I will have to try it!

1984 is a good book. . . for sure made me more aware of cameras than ever. Now when I go into the grocery store, I duck down and cover my face so "they" can't see me!

Handmaid's Tale is great, too. I've read a few other Atwood books - Cat's Eye and Oryx and Crake, but found them kind of boring and I've kinda given up on her. Oh, well.

 

[makemepretty]

I''m on the 7th book of the Sookie Stackhouse series. I have the last two coming in the mail. I LOVED the Time Travelers Wife and was a mess at the end, scared my kids and hubby to see me bawling like a baby. My SIL couldn''t get into it though.

I also just finished The Wedding Girl and have the new Sophie Kinsella coming to me from my book club(Twenties Girl? or something similar to that title). I read rather than watch t.v. so I go through a lot of books but I only read for fun so it''s mostly fluff.

 

[Clio]

Date: 7/30/2009 4:04:29 PM
Author: waxing lyrical
Foucault's Pendulum

I loved Foucault's Pendulum - so hilarious. I just finished Arturo Perez-Reverte's The Club Dumas, which shares a certain resemblance to Foucault's Pendulum, though it's not as humorous.

I'm now reading Perez-Reverte's Queen of the South. It's a very different kind of book from The Club Dumas, though both share a consideration of books and people's reactions to them.

 

[Amandine]

Date: 7/30/2009 6:51:47 PM
Author: MC

Date: 7/30/2009 4:37:58 PM
Author: Haven


The Time Traveler''s Wife is not so great, it''s actually pretty darn contrived, but I LOVE Eric Bana, so I want to read the book before I see the movie.

I had mentioned this in another thread, but I absolutely couldn''t stand The Time Traveler''s Wife. I found that the two characters sounded so similar, I''d often become confused who was explaining each chapter. It has fabulous reviews on Amazon, so I made it a point to give it an negative review to try and balance it out a bit. lol

Me, too!

I also always have a stack of books that I am waiting to read, but mine come from the library. We would be perpetually broke if we purchased all the books I read. DH and I are beginning to house hunt, and I have already checked out the main library in the area we are looking at...its beautiful!

 

[ChinaCat]

Loved Middlesex and Clockwork Orange.

I am about to read Girl With The Dragon Tattoo- anyone read it?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 7/31/2009 1:22:42 PM
Author: Amandine


Me, too!

I also always have a stack of books that I am waiting to read, but mine come from the library. We would be perpetually broke if we purchased all the books I read. DH and I are beginning to house hunt, and I have already checked out the main library in the area we are looking at...its beautiful!

Almost all my books are from the used book store, "Half Price Books." They had the Great Gatsby for $1.60.

For my kids, they get theirs at the library. It''s great having a well-stocked library. About once a week, I put a list of books on hold for the kids. I also play audio books in the car for them. We have one of the Harry Potter ones on hold now. My son has read book 1, 2, and 3, but switched to Goosebump books.

 

[shimmer]

I''m reading my Organic Chem textbook

but am actually quite excited about it as I have been waiting 4 years to go back to school and finish my degree!


This summer I have read the Twilight books and a few parenting books that were recommended on a thread here which I''m still in the middle of.

 

[KimberlyH]

Just finished Olive Kitteridge (LOVED IT!!!!) and Bright Shiny Morning (really good, interesting look at the city of Los Angeles). Currently reading a fluff book called Look At Me (I think). It''s quick to read and interesting enough but not anything special.

 

[luckystar112]

I''m reading When You Are Engulfed In Flames by David Sedaris. I think he''s great. I''ve never read A Clockwork Orange but it''s on my list!

 

[kittybean]

Haven, I just bought A Clockwork Orange today over lunch. I figured that if you like it, I''ll probably like it

. (I don''t know how you''d read that book without knowing a Slavic language, though!)

I''m really interested in learning how one goes about "teaching" a book. I should probably know better, having been a language and literature major, but I''d have no idea where to begin.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

speciality board certification review books

 

[elle_chris]

Date: 7/31/2009 8:46:41 PM
Author: kittybean
Haven, I just bought A Clockwork Orange today over lunch. I figured that if you like it, I''ll probably like it

. (I don''t know how you''d read that book without knowing a Slavic language, though!)

I''m really interested in learning how one goes about ''teaching'' a book. I should probably know better, having been a language and literature major, but I''d have no idea where to begin.

I thought his use of throwing those words in was brilliant. Then again I speak Russian. But utimately, i think it''s easy to guess what most of them mean just based on the context.

 

[Black Jade]

Date: 7/30/2009 4:47:08 PM
Author: jet2ks

Date: 7/30/2009 3:57:14 PM
Author: elrohwen
I decided to re-read Watership Down since I got a real bunny of my own a few months ago

I''m trying to get FI to read it next. I''m almost done though and not sure what I should read next ... I''m going on vacation soon so my next one needs to be a good vacation read.

Ah, my favorite book! I read it for the first time when I was 10 and re-read it about once every year or two.

Right now, I am re-reading The Count of Monte Cristo.

Love these two books also.

My reading sort of skips all over the place. I tend to read lot of things at a time some in foreign languages. I''m right now finishing the Letters of Heloise and Abelard for a bookclub I''m in. (It''s French language reading club and we did Monte Cristo last January). I''m reading Paris, the History of a City by Colin Jones, and I just finished The New Elite:Inside the Minds of the Truly Wealthy by Harrison and Stephen Kraus. I''m reading a pop fiction book in French on life of Madame de Maintenon and I''m reading a Grammar of Septuagint Greek because I think I should read up some more on NT Greek Grammar, it''s been a while since I had classes and I''m getting annoyed when I read the New Testament in Greek (which was my goal taking classes) that I still don''t have cases and syntax down as well as I would like. I know what it means, usually at this point (I took several years of classes) but I couldn''t you WHY it means that--so I don''t think I really have a handle on it. I''m good at foreign languages but terrible at grammar. I was a sixties child and in the middle of my grade school years, they just stopped teaching grammar, and I''ve been trying to make up for my grammatical deficiencies ever since.

I just finished reading a series by somebody called Francine Rivers that my sister sent me which was kind of okay, sort of, the first two books better than the last--i''ts the Voice in the Wind trilogy? (I think that''s the name) and I started another trilogy called Sisters of the Quilt which was somewhat over the top I thought (the poor heroine''s life was like the Perils of Pauline--in the first two chapters, she got engaged to some guy her parents disapproved of, because he wasn''t Amish like she was, got raped, got clinically depressed and her brother and his fiancee got into a just about fatal car accident. And it was downhill from there for her. I couldn''t quite believe all of that, I''m sure it could happen in real life, but for a book it all seemed rushed and kind of like overkill but I enjoyed the background inthe book about the Pennsylvania Amish and might read another book in the series for that reason. ) And I also started a book today about ethnic neighborhoods in NY city. Non-fiction.

I read a lot of older books, kids books, history books, not a lot of contemporary fiction anymore unless someone specifically recommends something (like my sister with Francine Rivers). The last piece of contemporary fiction that I definitely enjoyed like I would enjoy the Count of Monte Christo, and books by Dickens, Trollope, Austen, Balzac and my other favorites was called Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. It came out about 5 years ago and I loved it. I wish the author would write something else, but that one took her twenty years so I''ll have to wait, I guess.

 

[Black Jade]

I did like 1984 also, but it''s a while since I read it, so I forgot a lot of it. I didn''t like Animal Farm as much. It was too obvious an allegory for me. I think 1984 might have been assigned in school.

I read The Name of the Rose and I liked that for the puzzle, although again, I don''t remember it very well. I tried to read Foucault''s Pendulum last year and was bored to death with it.

 

[kittybean]

Date: 7/31/2009 9:18:52 PM
Author: elle_chris

Date: 7/31/2009 8:46:41 PM

Author: kittybean

Haven, I just bought A Clockwork Orange today over lunch. I figured that if you like it, I''ll probably like it

. (I don''t know how you''d read that book without knowing a Slavic language, though!)

I''m really interested in learning how one goes about ''teaching'' a book. I should probably know better, having been a language and literature major, but I''d have no idea where to begin.

I thought his use of throwing those words in was brilliant. Then again I speak Russian. But utimately, i think it''s easy to guess what most of them mean just based on the context.

I actually speak Ukrainian, so I kept finding myself relying on that knowledge in the chapter I''ve read so far. I feel like it would be difficult without that knowledge, although I definitely appreciate the power of context--I use it all the time to read in other languages that aren''t as familiar.

 

[elle_chris]

Black Jade- My husband isn''t a fan of Foucault''s Pendulum either. Eventually I''ll get to it only because it''s in the house as I''m crazy about having books here that I haven''t read.

Kittybean- The funny thing is, I first read it as a tean and didn''t even get half the words! I re-read years later in my 20''s and it was an "AH HA!" moment for me. A bit different the second time around for sure.

 

[Haven]

Date: 7/31/2009 8:46:41 PM
Author: kittybean
Haven, I just bought A Clockwork Orange today over lunch. I figured that if you like it, I''ll probably like it

. (I don''t know how you''d read that book without knowing a Slavic language, though!)

I''m really interested in learning how one goes about ''teaching'' a book. I should probably know better, having been a language and literature major, but I''d have no idea where to begin.

I hope you like ACO! The language thing is pretty easy to figure out once you read a bit into it, but if you need a reference there are a lot of glossaries floating around the web.

As for teaching a book, you don''t. I should say "I hope to be able to use that book in class one day" but that''s just not how teachers talk.

What I do, at least, is find content (novels, articles, short stories, etc.) that is interesting enough to explore as I teach my students the skills they need to be able to think critically and to express their ideas. Personally, I like to use "essential questions" when I teach, which means we approach a text as a means to answer an intriguing question, and go from there. (e.g. Is money the root of all evil? was one of our essential questions when we read Ibsen''s Enemy of the People in my sophomore class last year.) I start out every new major piece of literature by giving my students 20 T/F questions that I *think* they will find intriguing and worthy of some serious pondering. Then, we do a survey in class to figure out which of the 20 are the most controversial, and BAM! The three most controversial questions become the ones we explore as we read the text. It''s actually a lot of fun.
In a nutshell, I just want my students to be able to answer this question: What do I believe, and what am I going to do about it?

And, I majored in English and American lit in undergrad, and we definitely didn''t learn how to teach reading to anyone, so don''t feel bad. It took me a couple of master''s degrees and hundreds of students to even get a clue. That''s about where I am at the moment, a tiny bit clued in.

 

[Steel]

Finished The Colorado Kid (Stephen King) last night. I was disgusted that the end came so quickly as there were many pages still left until the back cover - all ads

.

So now I am book-less.

 

[Rock_of_Love]

Date: 7/30/2009 5:11:14 PM
Author: ZoeBartlett
I''ve been reading the third book in the Twilight series (''Eclipse?''). The first two were really good but I can''t get into this one. I''ve been working on it for over a month now and although I rarely read it these days, I can''t bring myself to abandon it for another book. The books I have waiting on my night stand are ''The Time Traveler''s Wife'' and ''Vision in White'' (this one is by Nora Roaberts). I want to read ''The Geometry of Sisters'' at some point too.

Yeah, this one was my least favorite of the series...but the fourth (Breaking Dawn) was the best!! So get through it!!!

Hmmm...think I might have to pick up Time Traveler''s Wife.

Really need to pick something up...all I''ve been reading is PS!!!

 

[IluvEmeralds]

Date: 7/30/2009 4:47:06 PM
Author: Selkie
I''m reading book 4 of the Sookie Stackhouse ''True Blood'' series. I''ve been tearing through them ever since I started watching the HBO series, and enjoying the hell out of them-they''re my antidote to the Twilight novels. Also, a few other random things that I''ve downloaded on my Kindle of a more intellectual bent, like Christopher Hitchens and ''The Wordy Shipmates'' by Sarah Vowell, about the Puritans.

ME TOO!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM!! (did I say that enough times to get my point across?) I just bought the rest of the series so that I can read them. ( I don''t have HBO- so I only have the books to go on...I can only imagine how good the series must be!)

Also read "Chasing Harry Winston" by Lauren Weisberger (Sp??) same author of "The Devil Wears Prada" Good beach read.

Pther good ones:

"Happiness Sold Separately" Lolly Winston

"The Memory Keeper''s Daughter"

"Firefly Lane" Kristen Hannah

Umm...."My Sister''s Keeper" was also good.

Everything else I''m reading is Young Adult since I''m a reading coach and getting reading for the new school year. I have to know what to recommend for the kids. I''m reading a book a day at least lately!

ILE

 

[Selkie]

Amandine, if you're out there, thank you SOOO much for mentioning The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. I downloaded it Friday night, and have barely put down the Kindle since. I'm fascinated with the Witch Trials anyway, so that alone would keep me hooked, but the book is well written and suspenseful as well. I just emailed my mom to look for it at her library.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 7/30/2009 9:00:07 PM
Author: Julianna

Date: 7/30/2009 4:37:58 PM

Author: Haven

I''m reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenedies and The Time Traveler''s Wife by Audrey Niffeneger.


Middlesex is great, I''m really enjoying it.


The Time Traveler''s Wife is not so great, it''s actually pretty darn contrived, but I LOVE Eric Bana, so I want to read the book before I see the movie.

I loved Middlesex.

Couldn''t put it down.


I''m reading Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling, which is kinda postapocalyptic fiction...my favorite genre.


Tuckins, you''re my people! I love 1984 and Brave New World. If you don''t mind being a tidge disturbed, read Sea of Glass by Barry Longyear. It''s fabulous. And of course The Handmaid''s Tale by Margaret Atwood.

I LOVED Dies the Fire. It was ridiculously good. I actually tore through that, then the next 2 books in the trilogy, then the first 2 in the next trilogy set 20 years after. I''m impatiently waiting for the next book (Sword of the Lady) to come out in a month or so.

Currently reading Katherine, by Anya Seton, and Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb (I got the Kindle edition of Assassin''s Apprentice, the first book in his fantasy series, for free, and it got me hooked).

I just finished reading Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See, which was a bit depressing, but very interesting. It reminded me a bit of Honolulu, by Alan Brennert (which I think I liked better). I''m probably going to start Snow Flower and the Secret Fan after finishing Katherine.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 8/1/2009 11:57:55 AM
Author: Steel
Finished The Colorado Kid (Stephen King) last night. I was disgusted that the end came so quickly as there were many pages still left until the back cover - all ads

.


So now I am book-less.

Steel-the blank pages/ads are all just a part of the book making equation. Books, based on the way the pages are printed and compiled, have to be made in "signatures," which are groups of pages in 8,16,24,32,and 64. the higher the number the less expensive the book is to print, so usually sigs are 32 or 64. So if SK ends his story on page 60, then the publisher has to make up the extra 4 pages to equal a signature of 64. Does that make sense? With a hugely popular author like SK, the publisher will take advantage of the extra pages and sell the ad space. Sometimes you''ll see them blank though.