# Whatcha Readin'? A Book Thread



## fureverywhere

Forgive me if such a thread already exists...but reading is my passion. I could survive without food, but I didn't have access to reading material I'd have to jump. I read multiple books at a time so maybe this could be a place to share reviews and suggestions? Four I just finished

The Amorous Busboy of Decatur Avenue/ Robert Klein
Robert Klein was before my time, so I began reading this just because it looked interesting. Really well written and entertaining. In his youth he worked the Catskill resorts as a busboy and life guard. I remember the Concord very well. A great read for somebody who knows his comedy as well.

Bomb Squad/Richard Esposito
One of those books that pulls you right in there. If you ever wondered what it feels like to be in a hot one hundred pound safety suit...your hands are bare so you can carefully dismantle the device in front of you...all you can hear is your own heartbeat as you make the long walk towards it...A history of bombings both in the US and globally. Maybe not the best book to read before bed.

Fireball/Robert Matzen
I've always been a big fan of Clark Gable. This book focuses on the final days of Carol Lombard, the other passengers on the plane, and examines the crash itself and it's aftermath. She had been on a successful tour selling war bonds when her plane crashed. Something that surprised me was the author says that because of the dense woodlands of the crash site, pieces of the plane still remain there today.

Behind the Burly Q/Leslie Zemeckis
I read online that this was also a documentary, I'll have to look for it. All the stars of burlesque when it was still a naughty art form. Interesting behind the scenes gossip.

One I've just started 

Furiously Happy/Jenny Lawson
So far a lot of fun...finding the jolly humor in being bipolar whoooohoooo! The raccoon illustrations alone are worth buying the book.


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## AprilT

Well I went to the library today so I'll be starting in on these titles, not sure in what order just yet, but, I am always reading something,  The Slut by Lauren Homes, should be a fun read ,   I will leave this to the imagination, but, not really so much the title well depending on mindset, possible other afflictions. 

The Household Spirit, by Tod Wodicka, a story of misfits, well sort of, much more than that.  Appears to have some depth, will see.

Letters To Zell, by Camille Griep, Figured I could use a laugh this holiday season. Take on Garden of Eden, but not in a usua sense.  A woman washes up on shore in a suitcase bada boom.   

 I'll let you know if I yawn or die of laughter, think I'll save this for the turkey day.  But, just rereading the cover, I'm almost tempted to start on it right now.   

Eve, by WM. Paul Young,  I'm not really sure where this one goes, but, it sounded interesting, I might be done with it after two paragraphs or may thoroughly be able to let it wash over me for just what it is another novel with really good writing. 


  I'm thinking it's a toss up between starting on Eve or Slut first.


I've not had much luck with the previous couple of books, so hope these ones I just picked up, hold my attention.


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## Victor

A Partial History of Lost Causes by Jennifer DuBois--very thoughtful book and I took notes on it.

Getting Back from 2003 about a man's struggles from college thru life


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## Pappy

Mysteries and more mysteries. Love my kindle reader on my IPad. I belong to Amazon Prime so I read them for free.


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## Jackie22

I'm reading 'Bess' .....about Bess Truman written by her daughter.


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## Susie

I'm currently reading an old book bought at the 5 for $1.00 sale at local library, called "The Target"by David Baldacci (1983).
It's a bit dated, having to do with past atrocities in N. Korea and the fine art of killing.


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## AZ Jim

Just finished "The Diary of Anne Frank"....I know I am late to the party since it was published in 1947 but I just finally did it.  After toughing it out for 25 months the hiding place is discovered and Anne who kept her diary religiously died in a concentration camp while still not yet 16.  Courage....Lot's of courage.


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## Cookie

M Train by Patti Smith --- I've already read her bio 'Just Kids' very very enjoyable.


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## fureverywhere

Just finished "The Diary of Anne Frank"....I know I am late to the party since it was published in 1947 but I just finally did it.  After toughing it out for 25 months the hiding place is discovered and Anne who kept her diary religiously died in a concentration camp while still not yet 16.  Courage....Lot's of courage. 

Yes I read that many years ago. I understand that the new editions have parts Otto Frank had edited. I would enjoy reading the complete text.

M Train by Patti Smith --- I've already read her bio 'Just Kids' very very enjoyable. 
"Just Kids" was lovely...one of my favorite parts was when she's in the automat with Allen Ginsberg, he was asking her if she was a pretty boy or a butch girl. Either way he fed her and was very kind.


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## Rowan

Picking up my copy of Bazaar of  Bad  Dreams  on  Thursday .


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## fureverywhere

Blessed to have a library with a big used book collection.


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## Manatee

AZ Jim said:


> Just finished "The Diary of Anne Frank"....I know I am late to the party since it was published in 1947 but I just finally did it.  After toughing it out for 25 months the hiding place is discovered and Anne who kept her diary religiously died in a concentration camp while still not yet 16.  Courage....Lot's of courage.



Her home is a museum in Amsterdam, interesting to visit.


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## Manatee

"Atlas Shrugged" at 1080 pages it is taking a while.


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## Butterfly

Manatee said:


> "Atlas Shrugged" at 1080 pages it is taking a while.



Found it ponderous and didn't care for it.


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## Butterfly

The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town.  Nonfiction by John Grisham

LOVE mysteries, courtroom drama -- that sort of stuff.


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## chic

I'm reading _The Elementals_ by Francesca Lia Block. It's about a college coed investigating the disappearance of her best friend while on a school field trip.


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## Ameriscot

I'm currently reading a book written by my brother which is about combining big business and social change.  (social intrapreneur).  I haven't read his previous books, so thought I'd read at least one and I'm actually finding it interesting.

The most recent books I've read that I enjoyed:
All 3 by Gillian Flynn:
Dark Places
Sharp Objects
Gone Girl

In the Woods (Dublin murder mystery)
The Girl on the Train
Michelle Wan series of 4 - Death in the Dordogne
The Bookseller
1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created
Mayflower:  A Story of Courage, Community and War

Next up will be one of these - all suspense or mystery
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
The Disenchanted Widow - Christina McKenna
The Godforsaken Daughter - Christina McKenna
Dark Secrets of the Dordogne - Angela Clarke

Or
A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking

All are on my Kindle so I will not be short of reading material on the planes or in Thailand!


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## Pappy

Right now, Ghostly Interest. About a gal that can see ghosts and uses them to solve murders and evil- doers.


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## hangover

I've been reading John Varley stuff since the mid 80's. His imagination blows my mind. There's only one book of his I didn't like, because it was too real, called Slow Apocalypse. About a virus that was put in all the oil of the whole world.

I just finished his newest book, Dark Lightning, the fourth in a series.

Varley wrote a book called Millennium, that was made a movie starring Sheryl Ladd and Chris Christofferson, back in the 80's.

I just put a couple of books in the Entertainment Section, if anyone is interested. THE TESTAMENT OF SOLOMON and THE SECRET DOCTRINE....


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## AZ Jim

Manatee said:


> "Atlas Shrugged" at 1080 pages it is taking a while.


Who is John Galt?


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## AZ Jim

fureverywhere said:


> Just finished "The Diary of Anne Frank"....I know I am late to the party since it was published in 1947 but I just finally did it.  After toughing it out for 25 months the hiding place is discovered and Anne who kept her diary religiously died in a concentration camp while still not yet 16.  Courage....Lot's of courage.
> 
> Yes I read that many years ago. I understand that the new editions have parts Otto Frank had edited. I would enjoy reading the complete text.
> 
> M Train by Patti Smith --- I've already read her bio 'Just Kids' very very enjoyable.
> "Just Kids" was lovely...one of my favorite parts was when she's in the automat with Allen Ginsberg, he was asking her if she was a pretty boy or a butch girl. Either way he fed her and was very kind.


Google "What did Otto Frank edit from Anne Franks Diary"  it will show you the edited parts, it was mostly about her "self exploration" of her body. Typical teen curiosity.


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## fishfulthinking

I just started Tom Franklins "The Tilted World"  I hope it will be good I have loved some of his others.  Hell At The Breech, and Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter.


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## fureverywhere

"Two Days That Rocked the World" by Terry O' Neill
A collection of photos from when Elton John played Dodger Stadium in 1975. I wish there were more text. It was a big group of musicians and all but one or two is still alive. It would have been better to have more commentary. A bunch of the pictures have been published elsewhere. Terry O' Neill was a noted photographer. If you're a fan it's interesting but better to find "Elton, It's a Little Bit Funny" by Bernie Taupin. Out of print but worth tracking it down, same tour but possibly more pictures.

One book on my wish list is " Fear and Clothing" by Cintra Wilson. She contributes to GQ and an article on the candidate's sense of style was really spot on. Me want more of her writing.


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## Hap

Currently about 2/3 through "Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind." by Yuval Noah Harari.  It begins with the Cognitive Revolution (about 70,000 years ago) and runs to the present day.  It is a broad history of Homo Sapiens, our beliefs, societies, personalities, etc. and how we evolved into who and what we are. It meets my main criteria for a good book in that it is masterfully written.


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## DennisK

I'm in the middle of "Notes From a Very Small Island" by Anthony Stancomb.  It is a nonfiction about living on the island, Vis which is off the coast of Croatia.  This book must have been self-published as there are a number of typos. However, despite those errors, I am enjoying the read. It is a lighthearted view of those who reside there. I have just finished "Hornet Flight" by Ken Follett, and my next book will be "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho.


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## fureverywhere

I've gotta get my reading material organized. In my backseat, in my front seat, in my bags, night stand, kitchen and of course on shelves. I have at least three Bill Bryson books started. Think I'm up to owning every book he's written...now want to finish each one at a time. I know he hates dogs, but otherwise one of my favorite writers. Then again David Sedaris once wrecked a book talking about executing mice.


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## Ameriscot

fureverywhere said:


> I've gotta get my reading material organized. In my backseat, in my front seat, in my bags, night stand, kitchen and of course on shelves. I have at least three Bill Bryson books started. Think I'm up to owning every book he's written...now want to finish each one at a time. I know he hates dogs, but otherwise one of my favorite writers. Then again David Sedaris once wrecked a book talking about executing mice.



I've read many of Bryson's books.  I have shelves full of books from my pre-kindle days.  But I now travel with dozens of book in a nice wee package weighing less than 3/4 lb including the case.


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## AprilT

So far, zero on the holding my interst meter with the books I've started in on.  One I had to take a good look at the cover to make sure it hadn't been placed on the wrong shelf at my library and maybe should have been in Y/A = young adults, the other, I had grabbed all off the new books I brought home off of the new books section, I didn't have a lot of time as my bus was coming soon, next trip, I won't forget my book list, I'll add to my list before heading over there.

What I was supposed to pick up was, The Warmth Of Other Suns and Someone Knows My Name, but without my list, I was lost.  Will look for these when I go back to the library on Mon or Tues.  In the meantime, I still have two books, Eve and Letters to Zell left to try and see if they will hold my attention.


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## fureverywhere

One thing to remember is that any book, Young Adult included can be a fascinating read. On day I was in the teen section keeping my daughter company. Of course I had to wander and pick up a pile of interesting things. Several were big books of pictures and text and several historical events I had never heard of. A boat full of explosives en route to the front lines that ended up blowing up the dock and much of the surrounding town. Really in depth accounts and illustrations throughout. I also discovered graphic novels. At our age we can feel free to devour anything.


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## AprilT

fureverywhere said:


> One thing to remember is that any book, Young Adult included can be a fascinating read. On day I was in the teen section keeping my daughter company. Of course I had to wander and pick up a pile of interesting things. Several were big books of pictures and text and several historical events I had never heard of. A boat full of explosives en route to the front lines that ended up blowing up the dock and much of the surrounding town. Really in depth accounts and illustrations throughout. I also discovered graphic novels. At our age we can feel free to devour anything.




I wasn't implying otherwise, I just said the book I was reading read like a it belonged in the juvie section, this doesn't mean there aren't great books to be found and read by adults in such a section.  I actually read two books from the y/a section this year that I enjoyed very much, but when a book is categorized and the jacket reads as if it was written with what I felt might have a more sophisticated writing pattern yet the book reads like cat and the hat, then, I have a little problem with it sometimes.  There are many brilliant titles located in the y/a section of the library considering I've worked in that section of the library ordering for, dispensing, stocking and reading to youngsters, I know this first hand.


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## Ameriscot

fureverywhere said:


> One thing to remember is that any book, Young Adult included can be a fascinating read. On day I was in the teen section keeping my daughter company. Of course I had to wander and pick up a pile of interesting things. Several were big books of pictures and text and several historical events I had never heard of. A boat full of explosives en route to the front lines that ended up blowing up the dock and much of the surrounding town. Really in depth accounts and illustrations throughout. I also discovered graphic novels. At our age we can feel free to devour anything.



I've read a few books labeled as young adult and loved them.  They were fantasies which are not my typical read, but they involved magic, etc and well written.


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## Linda

I just finished The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty.  It takes place in Australia and I really enjoyed it.  Now I'm on The Daemon by Anthoney Peake.  Some of the paragraphs I have to read twice to really wrap my brain around what he is saying. I've watched the author explain some of it on YouTube and that helps.


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## Susie

Currently reading yet another one of my 5 for $1.00 books: "Started early. took my dog" by Kate Atkinson (2010), up to p.244 (350 pages), and still haven't a clue what it's about!
Did find the little dog, always hidden in the bottom of a car.
Have also discovered that a retired police super has stolen a little 5-year-old girl.
Blurb at the back describes the plot as 'Dickensian' brilliance!?
The very last page (p. 350) even quotes a poem (3 verses) by Emily Dickinson.    :dontworry:


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## Ameriscot

Started reading The Godforsaken Daughter by Christina McKenna. Decided to save it for the planes as it is one of those that will make time fly. I've read one of her books before and enjoyed it, and I've got a third one of hers on my Kindle.


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## chic

I'm reading Bedford Square by Anne Perry which is a Victorian mystery set in late 19th London. I love the atmosphere of this type of book. It makes me crave tea and blueberry scones.


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## Linda

chic said:


> I'm reading Bedford Square by Anne Perry which is a Victorian mystery set in late 19th London. I love the atmosphere of this type of book. It makes me crave tea and blueberry scones.


I guess I'm not the only one who gets to craving something the people in my book are having.  I've finally just gotten to where I try to have whatever it is so I can get it out of my head.  Sometimes I'll tell my husband "Well, the people in the book I'm reading are eating "whatever it is" so I guess you know what we'll be having for dinner.  Usually it involves going to the store and getting something.


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## Ameriscot

Linda said:


> I guess I'm not the only one who gets to craving something the people in my book are having.  I've finally just gotten to where I try to have whatever it is so I can get it out of my head.  Sometimes I'll tell my husband "Well, the people in the book I'm reading are eating "whatever it is" so I guess you know what we'll be having for dinner.  Usually it involves going to the store and getting something.



I used to read gothic novels and wondered what a scone was.  I didn't find out what a proper scone was until 1999.  I like plain or raisin with lots of butter and jam.  And tea with milk.


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## Linda

I used to love gothic novels and also the true murder stories but I guess I read so many of them I'm not not as into them as I used to be.  I also didn't know what a scone was until Starbucks came out with some and then I have had a few really good ones at teas my daughter has taken me to.  I love them with clotted cream!


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## Ameriscot

Linda said:


> I used to love gothic novels and also the true murder stories but I guess I read so many of them I'm not not as into them as I used to be.  I also didn't know what a scone was until Starbucks came out with some and then I have had a few really good ones at teas my daughter has taken me to.  I love them with clotted cream!



I've seen what are called scones in the US like at Panera, and scones in the UK aren't like those at all.  I was baffled when I saw them shaped like triangles some with blueberries.  Scones in the UK look like this and are plain or with raisins:


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## hollydolly

I'm reading Bill Brysons' latest release..the road to little Dribbling  subtitled '' more notes from a small Island'' ..it's the long awaited sequel  to his very first book, Notes from a Small island which he wrote about 20 years ago  about his arrival  and subsequent travels and life in the UK as an American incomer during the early 70's  , absolutely hilarious even given that  much of it was   poetic licence  ...sad to say this book is  not a patch on any of his other books all of which I've read and loved...and certainly not in the same league as the original  Notes from a small Island. I still Love Bill Bryosn as a writer but this one is a big disappointment..he seems to have lost his witty edge, and become a grumpy old man, and it certainly shows all the way through the book ...shame!!


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## Manatee

I have enjoyed a number of Tony Hillerman's mysteries.  They are set on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico and Arizona.  He included a lot of the Navajo culture in them.  He died about 3 or 4 years ago.

I also like John MacDonalds stories which are mostly set in south Florida.  He died in 1986, but his books are still good.

Books bought cheap at a book sale are a bargain and good to read.


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## Susie

Susie said:


> Currently reading yet another one of my 5 for $1.00 books: "Started early. took my dog" by Kate Atkinson (2010), up to p.244 (350 pages), and still haven't a clue what it's about!
> Did find the little dog, always hidden in the bottom of a car.
> Have also discovered that a retired police super has stolen a little 5-year-old girl.
> Blurb at the back describes the plot as 'Dickensian' brilliance!?
> The very last page (p. 350) even quotes a poem (3 verses) by Emily Dickinson.    :dontworry:


::;

Update: 
for some unknown reason many of the characters in this book start murdering each other--some grisly descriptions of murder scenes, making even the thick-skinned, investigating officers sick!
But where is the main character-the little dog; maybe I'll find out in the remaining 10 pages?!

Playing it safe with my next book which is approved by today's critics: "Rogue Lawyer" by John Grisham.


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## AprilT

Finally something that's holding my interest, I've gone through quite a few books since this thread was started and nothing was doing it for me, I think I'll stay away from the fantasy fiction or even that which tries for realism to some degree.  There was one or two auto-biographies, of which were ho-hum too, but, this one, "How I shed My Skin, by Jim Grimsley is turning out to be an interesting book though sadly a quick read.  I'm trying to drag it out a bit, while I search for something else to read after.


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## fureverywhere

I just finished "Persepolis", about an independent minded girl growing up in Iran and trying to make sense of it somehow. Funny that I always thought graphic novels were for teens. But depending on the story quite absorbing actually. The first I ever picked up was " Larceny in My Blood". A seasoned criminal trying to educate his way out of they system...very graphic, rough reading, but excellent if you stay with it. Also "Rover, Red, Charlie"...it's graphic horror but a lovely story in the end.


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## fureverywhere

I just started " Born on the Fourth of July". I'm a history buff and have read so many war stories, but this one I'm going to have digest in small parts. The book opens and pulls you in. You're laying there in the jungle with Ron and the bullets are raining down. Everyone is running and screaming and the bullets keep coming. Something I notice with books like this is kind of a catharsis. When you put it down and then go about your day you're happy for just ordinary stuff.


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## Jackie22

I'm just finished reading Astoria....about how the town was founded by the fur trading business and the hardships the people endured....a good read.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DB361N8/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1


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## vickyNightowl

A Train in Winter


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## fureverywhere

For New Years I'm going to read through all of Maya Angelou's books again. Not her poetry, although beautiful...I love Gwendolyn Brooks too...I'm just a bit dim with poetry appreciation. I'm also skipping the first book only because I've read and re-read it so much I can recite whole chapters. The second book and on begin when she was in her late teens and twenties.


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## jujube

I just finished "The Red Queen" by Phillipa Gregory.  I love her writing but it's really hard to keep all the characters straight in my head.  She writes historical novels and everybody is either Henry or Richard or James or Margaret or Mary.  "Henry" comes riding in with his 5000 men to depose the king, who is also Henry, but there's another Henry who's fighting _for_ the King Henry (at least today....tomorrow, he and Henry might be after Henry's head).  In the meantime, Henry's wife Mary and Henry's wife Mary are plotting to get their sons, Henry and Henry declared the heir to the throne so that they can marry Lady Mary or Lady Mary or possibly Lady Mary.  Add the ten Richards, the seven James and any number of Margaret's to the mix and you need a cheat sheet. It would be so much easier to understand if there were a few Tiffini's, a Kourtney or two, and at least one Nevaeh.  

Now I'm reading "A Strangeness in My Mind" by Orhan Pamuk.  I am really enjoying it because it's mostly set in Istanbul from 1969-2012.


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## fureverywhere

jujube Darlin', something helpful for me that I learned when I went back to school. An index card of characters and their relation to each other. Easy book mark and you can keep adding names as the book progresses. That sounds like an awesome book though!!!


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## Ameriscot

After We Fall by Emma Kavanagh.  A thriller.  Good so far.  Interesting characters.


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## chic

Rereading _A Storm of Swords _by George RR Martin.


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## vickyNightowl

Frank Kafka-short stories


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## fureverywhere

Just started "Furiously Happy" by Jenny Lawson...what a great book. I mean if you can't laugh about being bi-polar, you cry. Very well written, very funny in a twisted way of course.


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## DennisK

fureverywhere said:


> Just started "Furiously Happy" by Jenny Lawson...what a great book. I mean if you can't laugh about being bi-polar, you cry. Very well written, very funny in a twisted way of course.


Thanks for recommending this book, fureverywhere!  I'm in the mood for twisted humor - got it loaded in my minipad from Amazon.  This month, I've read As a Driven Leaf by Milton Stein:  A historical novel about Jewish history during a period of Rome's occupation.  The Martian by Andy Weir: A SciFi about an astronaut who was presumed to be dead and left on Mars.  He had to find a way to survive and eventually return to Earth.  Killing Floor:  a Lee Child mystery.  I am currently reading Save The Last Bullet For God:  I think it is some kind of SciFi ... not sure.


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## fureverywhere

I'll have to look for those for my son, real big on SciFi. The Milton Stein one sounds interesting for me.


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## DennisK

fureverywhere said:


> I'll have to look for those for my son, real big on SciFi. The Milton Stein one sounds interesting for me.



I liked Stein's writing style. I found his book an enjoyable read like being in a Buick upon a straight freeway – as apposed to a ride in a Jeep along a dirt road. I have always thought of a rabbi as being the same as a Christian priest, but in those days, a rabbi was more like a lawyer or a judge. I found a number of insights that I value, in that book.
  Historical novels are my favorite genre, but I have been jumping around quite a bit, lately.


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## Linda

Right now I'm reading Windows 10 For Dummies and The Causal Vacancy by J.k. Rowling.  This is her first adult novel.  She wrote all those Harry Potter books for kids.


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## Ameriscot

Linda, The Casual Vacancy is good.  

For this holiday and the plane trip I got a lot of free or cheap books on my Kindle.  Going through a mystery/thriller phase.  Some have been good, some I gave up by chapter 2.  I've just started one called *Cauldstane by Linda Gillard*.  I must have got it because it takes place in Scotland.  Not sure if I'll finish it as I suspect it will be predictable.  I read reviews before I get any book and this one was mixed.


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## Bluecheese50

I have always enjoyed reading, my mother had to force me to go out to play as a child; I preferred reading a book! Mind you, I doubt she would have been quite so keen to send me out to play if she realised all the life threatening situations I got myself into when left to my own devices!

I am fond of my Kindle and have hundreds of books on it. My BIG problem is that I took a speed reading course as a teenager, so I read very quickly indeed. I get through lots of books each month, about £60 worth, but it is worth it.


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## Cookie

I use a e-reader and borrow digital editions from the public library. Don't spend a penny on books anymore!  

Right now its Mavis Gallant (re-reading some of my favorites) as well as Alice Munro re-reads.


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## fureverywhere

A serious subject but very well presented from both a clinical and emotional standpoint. "How We Die" by Sherwin B. Nuland.

A review written shortly after his death...an extraordinary man indeed.
I attended the Yale School of Medicine when Shep Nuland taught there, and despite our both being surgeons, I know him best in my capacity as a reader. I don’t recall when I first read _How We Die_—I was just finishing high school when it came out—but I do know that few books I had read so directly and wholly addressed that fundamental fact of existence: all organisms, whether goldfish or grandchild, die. His description of his grandmother’s illness showed me how the personal, medical, and spiritual all intermingled. As a child, Nuland would play a game in which he indented her skin to see how long it took to resume its shape—a part of the aging process that, along with her newfound shortness of breath, showed her “gradual slide into congestive heart failure … the significant decline in the amount of oxygen that aged blood is capable of taking up from the aged tissues of the aged lung.”

But “what was most evident,” he continued, “was the slow drawing away from life… By the time Bubbeh stopped praying, she had stopped virtually everything else as well.” With her fatal stroke, Shep Nuland remembers Browne’s _Religio Medici_: “With what strife and pains we come into the world we know not, but ’tis commonly no easy matter to get out of it.” 
I studied literature at Stanford, and later history of medicine at Cambridge, to better understand the particularities of death, which still seemed unknowable to me—and yet vivid descriptions like Nuland’s convinced me that such things can only be known face to face. _How We Die _brought me into medicine to bear witness, as Shep Nuland had done, to the twinned mysteries of death, its experiential and biological manifestations: at once deeply personal and utterly impersonal.

I like to think of Nuland, in the opening chapters of _How We Die_, as a young medical student, alone with a patient whose heart had stopped. In an act of desperation, he cut open the patient’s chest and tried to pump the patient’s heart manually, to literally squeeze the life back into him. The patient died, and Shep was found by the intern, his supervisor, covered in blood and failure.Medical school has changed since Shep’s time, and such a scene is unthinkable now: medical students are barely allowed to touch patients. What has not changed, though, I hope, is the heroic spirit of responsibility amid blood and failure. This is the true image of a doctor. It is not the idealized happy profession in which we always cure diseases and ease suffering, our patients invariably leaving us better than we found them. It is also doctors facing the enormity of patient problems, seeing the crudeness of our tools, and, inevitably, watching our patients die, usually either in agony or under sedation.


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## vickyNightowl

The Enchanted-Rene Denfeld


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## Ameriscot

Follow you Home by Mark Edwards

A thriller.  Can't put it down.


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## Ameriscot

Nobody reading any good books?

I gave 'Follow you Home' by Mark Edwards 5 stars on Goodreads.  Suspense!

Just finished 'The Girl you Lost' by Kathryn Croft.  Another thriller.  Finished it in 2 days.  Shocking ending. 

Anybody have any recommendations on thrillers/suspense books?  I enjoyed Gone Girl and Girl on the Train, so anything along those lines is good.


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## AprilT

Annie, I pick up books from the library every week, so far, I've not found anything that has held my attention past the first chapter, I'm in a slump till I find a good read, but, I've not given up, I always have a book on hand, I will be checking into Amazon, good reads and other sites this week before I head back over to the library either Friday or Sat morning to see if I can find something to hold my attention.


----------



## debbie in seattle

AprilT said:


> Annie, I pick up books from the library every week, so far, I've not found anything that has held my attention past the first chapter, I'm in a slump till I find a good read, but, I've not given up, I always have a book on hand, I will be checking into Amazon, good reads and other sites this week before I head back over to the library either Friday or Sat morning to see if I can find something to hold my attention.



i went through that phase recently and it really bothered me.   It passed and I'm back to being an avid reader.


----------



## AprilT

debbie in seattle said:


> i went through that phase recently and it really bothered me.   It passed and I'm back to being an avid reader.



Yes, it happens, I used to panic, but, I know, I'll hit the jackpot again, I just have to keep looking till I come across those gems and I know I will.  Nothing worse though than feeling you've reached a peak, but, I know better, plus I could always reread something from an old collection if I get desperate.


----------



## vickyNightowl

Ameriscot said:


> Nobody reading any good books?
> 
> I gave 'Follow you Home' by Mark Edwards 5 stars on Goodreads.  Suspense!
> 
> Just finished 'The Girl you Lost' by Kathryn Croft.  Another thriller.  Finished it in 2 days.  Shocking ending.
> 
> Anybody have any recommendations on thrillers/suspense books?  I enjoyed Gone Girl and Girl on the Train, so anything along those lines is good.



It's posts like these I get my credit card out and go on abe books (do you know  this site?)

I'm reading : Leo Africanus-Amin Maalouf


----------



## fureverywhere

A book I wish had been written when I was a kid "Wonder". My daughter's friend rides home with us every day. He's higher functioning, personable kid. He knows how much I read so he handed me his copy and said I would like it. I admire the teacher breaking it down for the class. It's basically a child with a face disfigured from birth. The book is in journal form, his perceptions as he starts public school. He's been home schooled to that point and accepts his appearance. The challenge of course is other kids reactions...I read it half through in one sitting. It's a preteen novel so light reading but very good.


----------



## AprilT

I just can't find the one lately,  go to the library frequently, but, am just having a time, it's partly me because I know a different time a different mood I would have have lapped up a few the selections I brought home but this time they just get to draining,  anyway, I'm going to head back over there soon and try to find some reading materials that will keep my mind engaged.  I don't don't do romanc, too far fetched fiction or anything along those line when it comes to books for the most part.


----------



## fureverywhere

It's okay April, I get like that too. A book in every room plus the car all with markers in them. And still I'll joke to my son " I need something to read". We get scattered sometimes.


----------



## vickyNightowl

"Whenever you read a good book,somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light."


I have been talking to a young man from Yemen.He has introduced me to Amin Maalouf.

Every suggestion is allowing you to see the other person a little bit deeper.


----------



## Falcon

I'm reading  Last Man StandingBY  David Baldacci. 

A real man's book


----------



## Jackie22

....another True Crime, can't remember the title, they're all beginning to read the same, especially the court trials..lol, so, I'm with you, April, I read mostly non-fiction, I'm beginning to think I've read all the good ones already.


----------



## Ruth n Jersey

I just finished the mystery,  Mean Streak by Sandra Brown. It had a lot of twists to it. I hate when I can figure out the plot two chapters in. I was able to connect our library to my Kindle. Now I can put a book on hold or borrow right away. I don't like to depend on Amazon for my books. In the fall I will be dropping Prime so I'm sure I will no longer be able to get their books.


----------



## fureverywhere

They delivered three books in one day whoooohooooo!!!!!
Just started "Billy's World" by Bill Stauss, the story of a pup who runs away from a professional dog fighter...I'm hooked after the first chapter.
"The Dog Who Saved Me" by Susan Wilson. I've read all her other dog stories, I know it will be a good one.
The Best of Creem magazine...not depressing at all I subscribed for years. A trip down memory lane.


----------



## Jackie22

I'm reading The Girl With No Name...doubt that I'll finish, its that bad.


----------



## fureverywhere

I usually give the book two chapters. If it doesn't pull me in from there, I skim for anything interesting and donate it.


----------



## Jackie22

Desert Flower about Waris a model that grew up in an African Nomad family.

http://www.amazon.com/Desert-Flower-Extraordinary-Journey-Nomad/dp/0688172377

Four stars


----------



## AprilT

Recently finished, Year Of Yes, Shonda Rhmes,  I'm working my way through two books at the moment, The Rift, (non-fiction,) by Alex Perry, I'm about fifth of the way in  and Family Life, (fiction,) by Akhil Sharma, I'm half way in on this one, but may fast forward through the rest of it.


----------



## fureverywhere

I'll recommend all of Susan Wilson's dog stories. The first one I read by her I found by chance on the used book shelves. It was "One Good Dog". The cover has a man and dog sitting on a park bench, their backs away. I saw the profile of a bully and that is the dog breed. But it's much more than that. A love story eventually...I just adore her writing. Every character in her books has a back story and their own unique voice.

In "One Good Dog" the chapters alternate between the man and the dog. Each has their own thoughts and expectations of what is going on in the story. I'm more than halfway through "The Dog That Saved Me". The only difference is more characters and more points of view...including the pup. In a nutshell it's about an ex-K9 officer who moves back to the town he grew up in. His Dad was the town drunk and his brother a drug dealer.

He accepts a lowly job as animal control officer. He keeps a distance from everyone including his Dad with his police training. But there's a dog that he meets...he won't even name it, but he goes to some effort to catch it. Then he has to grudgingly make peace with the old neighborhood. Peace understanding his Dad but his brother is still a bastard.Despite himself he starts to get some feelings back...some of it will make you cry, but what a beautifully written story.


----------



## ndynt

Just finished a auto-biography "Not My Father's Son" by Alan Cummings.  Starting "Marmee and Louisa-The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and her Mother"  Trying to finish "Belle; Slave Daughter and the Lord Chief Justice....a historical biography.


----------



## fureverywhere

I have to look at that Alan Cummings book again. I'm typing this from my favorite library where I've been lost a few hours. Two books I'll be reading cover to cover eventually:
An autobiography by Joel Grey
In the Country We Love-Diane Guerrero

I was just a kid the first few times I saw Cabaret. Now I'd really be interested in seeing it again. I mean I understood that WWII was coming and the Emcee was supposed to be a spooky sort...but at 9 or 10 the whole backstory is over your head. Now I would understand completely what was being shown there.


----------



## Ameriscot

Just saw this about Alan Cumming.  I've read a bit about his personal life.  Talented actor!  And he does a great American accent.  He comes from a charming village in central Scotland.


----------



## AprilT

ndynt said:


> J*ust finished a auto-biography "Not My Father's Son" by Alan Cummings*.  Starting "Marmee and Louisa-The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and her Mother"  Trying to finish "Belle; Slave Daughter and the Lord Chief Justice....a historical biography.



I've been looking for something good to read, this sounds like it should go on my list.  I'll see if my library has it and put it on hold.


----------



## debbie in seattle

Cop Town, it's great


----------



## AprilT

Presently working my way through "Pay It Forward", by Catherine Ryan Hyde.  Just started it, so, we'll see, I've really enjoyed some of her other books, this was one I was hoping to read.


----------



## ossian

Reading a book called Nightfall on Ardnamurchan. It is about a guy brought up on a croft in the remote area of Ardnamurchan. It tells of a hard existence which has pretty much gone now.


----------



## Ameriscot

ossian said:


> Reading a book called Nightfall on Ardnamurchan. It is about a guy brought up on a croft in the remote area of Ardnamurchan. It tells of a hard existence which has pretty much gone now.



Sounds interesting.  Are you familiar with this website of Scottish books:  http://booksfromscotland.com/


----------



## ossian

Ameriscot said:


> Sounds interesting.  Are you familiar with this website of Scottish books:  http://booksfromscotland.com/


It is quite an interesting book but I originally found it hard to read. I stopped half way through some years back and started it again recently. It is partly written as a diary, using the author's father's diary and the later he uses his own diary. However, it does highlight the hardships that the crofter's endured. And the very strong sense of community.

I had not seen that site you mentioned. But it does look good. I tend to use Birlinn for many books. I am sure that they still send me their catalogue.


----------



## Ameriscot

ossian said:


> It is quite an interesting book but I originally found it hard to read. I stopped half way through some years back and started it again recently. It is partly written as a diary, using the author's father's diary and the later he uses his own diary. However, it does highlight the hardships that the crofter's endured. And the very strong sense of community.
> 
> I had not seen that site you mentioned. But it does look good. I tend to use Birlinn for many books. I am sure that they still send me their catalogue.



My sis in law gave me Sea Room - An Island Life, by Adam Nicolson, years ago but I never finished it.  It's about living on the remote islands of the Shiants, off the Isle of Lewis.


----------



## AprilT

ossian said:


> Reading a book called Nightfall on Ardnamurchan. It is about a guy brought up on a croft in the remote area of Ardnamurchan. It tells of a hard existence which has pretty much gone now.



Thanks for mentioning this one, sounds like another I will add to my list, I already put Alan Cumming's book on hold.


----------



## ossian

Ameriscot said:


> My sis in law gave me Sea Room - An Island Life, by Adam Nicolson, years ago but I never finished it.  It's about living on the remote islands of the Shiants, off the Isle of Lewis.


I think the Shiants are unpopulated? So that must have been a hard existence!

A book that I would recommend in the same vein as Night Falls on Ardnamurchan [....sorry, got the title wrong last time. I hope you can change that list, April!], is A Croft in the Hills by Katharine Stewart. It is not a big book but I found it quite enchanting. It tells of a couple who moved from the city to a hill croft at Abriachan above Loch Ness. Katharine may be dead now, but she lived in Abriachan for the remainder of her life, as far as I know, and was the post mistress for a long time. I think she also set up some kind of small museum there too.


----------



## AprilT

ossian said:


> I think the Shiants are unpopulated? So that must have been a hard existence!
> 
> A book that I would recommend in the same vein as Night Falls on Ardnamurchan [....sorry, got the title wrong last time. *I hope you can change that list, April!*], is A Croft in the Hills by Katharine Stewart. It is not a big book but I found it quite enchanting. It tells of a couple who moved from the city to a hill croft at Abriachan above Loch Ness. Katharine may be dead now, but she lived in Abriachan for the remainder of her life, as far as I know, and was the post mistress for a long time. I think she also set up some kind of small museum there too.



No problem, I had already looked it up on Amazon, prior to responding, they corrected it, I can't put it on hold just yet anyway, but, I can check to see if my library has it.  At the moment my library hold list is maxed out, you can only put five items on hold at a time.    I'm going to go check to see if my library has a copy maybe there is one on the shelf at my branch already not checked out.


----------



## AprilT

Interesting, they, my library district, don't have the book, nor anything by the author.  I may have to put in a request to see if they can get it, probably better for me to wait till after I move depending on how long it will take them to order and process the request.


----------



## Ameriscot

ossian said:


> I think the Shiants are unpopulated? So that must have been a hard existence!
> 
> A book that I would recommend in the same vein as Night Falls on Ardnamurchan [....sorry, got the title wrong last time. I hope you can change that list, April!], is A Croft in the Hills by Katharine Stewart. It is not a big book but I found it quite enchanting. It tells of a couple who moved from the city to a hill croft at Abriachan above Loch Ness. Katharine may be dead now, but she lived in Abriachan for the remainder of her life, as far as I know, and was the post mistress for a long time. I think she also set up some kind of small museum there too.



A young man inherited these islands with nothing to live in but a primitive bothy.  Can't remember how long he stayed, but it wasn't permanent.


----------



## ossian

AprilT said:


> Interesting, they, my library district, don't have the book, nor anything by the author.  I may have to put in a request to see if they can get it, probably better for me to wait till after I move depending on how long it will take them to order and process the request.


Neither author is well known. Stewart is better known here than Maclean. She has written several books about her life in Abriachan. Maclean is a poet and I think this may be his only book.


----------



## fureverywhere

I scanned a book, don't recall the title but it's new and there' a teddy bear on the cover. A girl who was 17 in 1979...1979 so it wasn't the dark ages. But she finds herself pregnant. Her mother's solution is that she'll go to a home for wayward girls have the baby and then never mention it to anyone. One of those books you can't put down despite yourself.

At the end she graduates, marries and has a bunch of kids. She asked her mother before she died if it was okay to write the book. I just can't imagine. My youngest and I'd suggest terminating it or I'd raise the baby. If one of my other girls dropped someone on my doorstep I would raise it...the adoption thing no...


----------



## Jackie22

Nearly finished....Breakfast at Sally's....true story about a wealthy man that loses it all and becomes homeless...about the people he meets and how he survives..4 stars

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004T2LKOA/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1#navbar


----------



## AprilT

Jackie22 said:


> Nearly finished....Breakfast at Sally's....true story about a wealthy man that loses it all and becomes homeless...about the people he meets and how he survives..4 stars
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004T2LKOA/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1#navbar



Sounds good Jackie, sort of reminds me of a book I read earlier this year, "How Starbucks Saved My Life" Another true story based on someone down on their luck.  I will try to see if I can get a copy of the one you posted, I'll just recently picked up the book our member, ossian, recommended, but with all this moving stuff I haven't really started reading it yet, will get to it very soon, maybe even tonight.

https://www.amazon.com/How-Starbucks-Saved-Life-Privilege/dp/1592404049


----------



## AprilT

Well, I started reading Alan Cummings book, "Not My Father," speaking of "Not" it's not a good choice to start on just before you plan to go to sleep; I was I getting stressed and wanted to scream and cry every time he reflected on the chapters "Then".

Today, I picked up "Breakfast At Sally's, read a few pages.  Jackie, that was cute what happened with the typewriter.  That chapter is as far as I read, I want to finish the other book about Cummings before I continue reading this one.


----------



## Jackie22

Hi, April, I finished "Breakfast at Sally's" and started "Days Road Crossing Plains 1865" about a family on the Oregon Trail...another true story.

https://www.amazon.com/Days-Road-Cr...RY?ie=UTF8&ref_=pe_385040_202724770_TE_M1T1DP

I'm about one quarter in, so far it is just ok.

I meant to ask you before if you know about "Book Bud', this is where I get most of my books....nothing over $3..I think "Breakfast" was $1.99 and this last one was $.99...most all the books offered are usually around $10 on Kindle..check it out if you don't already know about it.....I sign up and get an email from them every day, I pick out the ones that I think I might like and order a sample, if I like it after reading the sample I'll go ahead and buy, you can't hold the sample too long though or the price will go back up. Book Bud directs you to Kindle so you are actually buying from Kindle at a cheaper price for a limited time......happy reading.


----------



## AprilT

Hi Jackie, thank you for the info about "Book Bud", I'll looking into it, sure is good to know.


----------



## Bobw235

I am presently reading Carl Hiaasen's "Bad Monkey".  A fun read. Very lighthearted, cynical look at all the crooked people in FL. Love his stuff.


----------



## AprilT

Bobw235 said:


> I am presently reading Carl Hiaasen's "Bad Monkey".  A fun read. Very lighthearted, cynical look at all the crooked people in FL. Love his stuff.



Because it was set in my lovely state, I tried reading it, I just couldn't get into it, wasn't so much the subject, I just haven't been much of a fan of mystery novels for some time.  Plus, I deal with the real people of Florida everyday, that's a trip unto itself.


----------



## Victor

As I said on  another thread, I am reading *The Tailor of Panama *by John LeCarre, also was a movie. Very good.
Also* Getting Back* by Maller  (published by iUniverse)  Very good
Also* Venus* by Ben Bova  Very good science fiction


----------



## bluebreezes

(^^love reading LeCarre!)

I just finished *The Girl on the Train* (Paula Hawkins), *Midnight Sun* (Jo Nesbo), and am tonight starting *Belgravia* (Julian Fellowes).


----------



## Bobw235

Just finished Nelson DeMille's "Radiant Angel" and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Another of his John Corey novels, this time involving the Russians, a suitcase nuclear device and a plot to set it off in lower Manhattan.  A great thriller and a fun read. I've been a fan of DeMille's work for many years and in particular his John Corey series. 

One of the newfound joys of retirement, time to read.


----------



## debbie in seattle

Been waiting forever for the book The Fireman by Joe Hill, little did I know it was 750 pages, read about 20 pages and decided I'd never finish.   Started The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena.    Really good, so far.


----------



## Bobw235

AprilT said:


> Because it was set in my lovely state, I tried reading it, I just couldn't get into it, wasn't so much the subject, I just haven't been much of a fan of mystery novels for some time.  Plus, I deal with the real people of Florida everyday, that's a trip unto itself.



It was okay, but I've read better books by Mr. Hiaasen. Fun to read, but ultimately forgettable.


----------



## Bobw235

Just picked up "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson.


----------



## fureverywhere

I just started " At Least in the City Someone Would Hear You Scream". Basically a young man abandons Whole Foods and Sephora to live Thoreau's dream...It opens with a raccoon stuck on his head.


----------



## Bobw235

I'm about half way through "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson. As someone who has been using Apple products for many years, I find this biography a fascinating look at a very complex man and in large part, the rise of Apple as a company. For all of brilliance often attributed to Steve Jobs, he was a very flawed individual and often a miserable person to deal with. A poor manager by many standards, yet there were those who bought into his vision and passion for excellence. His idiosyncrasies cost him dearly. The author spent a lot of time gathering material for the book, which Jobs apparently sought him out to write long before he died. When Isaacson passed on the idea at first, it was Jobs's wife who also encouraged him to write the book before it was too late, knowing how dire the illness was that ultimately took Jobs from the world.


----------



## Susie

Just finished j. Fluke's "Gingerbread Cookie Murder".
Fairly tame, but a really good collection of cookie recipes.


----------



## Jackie22

A Woman in Charge by Carl Bernstein about Hillary Clinton, I've read about half the book, it is pretty good, Bernstein rambles a lot though so I just skip over.....3 stars.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000SEF6QQ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1


----------



## Bobw235

My wife just read "A Mother's Reckoning-Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy". She described it as eye opening and a book she'll never forget, written by the mother of Dylan Klebold, one of the shooters at Columbine. She found herself really feeling for the woman, who tells the story of what happened in the wake of this terrible nightmare.


----------



## bluebreezes

Because I'm a Game of Thrones fan, I've just started reading the books, A Song of Ice and Fire. I'm about halfway through the first book, and am totally enjoying it.  I didn't realize the author, George R. R. Martin, was American and had assumed he was from the UK.

This week I treated myself to a new basic Kindle e-reader (not the Fire) after having my previous Kindle for 5 years, which still works fine. I may donate it to the library. I have to say the touch features on the new one make it much nicer to use. 

I don't buy paper books anymore because I don't want to add to my library, and I only download e-books from my library system (which is very easy to do). Occasionally if there's an author's story or book collection that Amazon offers for a very low price, I'll buy it, especially if there's a consolidated, interactive table of contents.


----------



## Jackie22

Heist....true story about a 17 million dollar robbery of armored truck company....4 stars

https://www.amazon.com/Heist-Oddbal...UTF8&qid=1475326989&sr=1-4&keywords=the+heist


----------



## debbie in seattle

Bobw235 said:


> My wife just read "A Mother's Reckoning-Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy". She described it as eye opening and a book she'll never forget, written by the mother of Dylan Klebold, one of the shooters at Columbine. She found herself really feeling for the woman, who tells the story of what happened in the wake of this terrible nightmare.



Saw an interview last year with this mom and I felt badly for her.


----------



## Bobw235

debbie in seattle said:


> Saw an interview last year with this mom and I felt badly for her.



All the proceeds from her book have been donated to causes devoted to mental health and suicide prevention. This tragedy ended her marriage. She wrote to those victims who survived and to the families of those that didn't. What struck my wife in reading this was just how hard it was for the woman in the aftermath of the event, and also how she never saw any warning signs in her son leading up to it. In hindsight of course, she's now recognizing things that might have raised red flags about his depression, but the book makes clear that signs of the illness in teens, differ from those in adults and may not be as obvious. Not an easy book to read, but one my wife recommends.


----------



## fureverywhere

My wife just read "A Mother's Reckoning-Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy". She described it as eye opening and a book she'll never forget, written by the mother of Dylan Klebold, one of the shooters at Columbine. She found herself really feeling for the woman, who tells the story of what happened in the wake of this terrible nightmare. 

I got this book when it first came out. I cried through quite a bit of it. I mean it's upsetting but in a positive sort of way. She managed to survive somehow. It's a comfort to those of us who had troubled kids of our own. Sometimes the parents are completely innocent of what their children become.


----------



## Buckeye

I'm in the middle or re-re-rereading "Jude The Obscure". Was in a used book store in Hilo and found the same paperback edition I had to buy for a Eng Lit class at Ohio State about a 1,000 years ago.


----------



## Lon

I have been reading famous speeches by different politicians and presidents and came across this one that was responsible for launching Ronald Reagans political rise. "A Time For Choosing" was a great speech whether or not you liked Reagan, and some how the speech seems appropriate in this election season.


----------



## DaveA

I recently started "The Last Stand -Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the little Bighorn" by Nathaniel Philbrick, one of my favorite authors.  Most of us are familiar with Custer's Last stand, from history classes back in high school.  This book is far deeper in depth and delves into the lives of all of the leading figures surrounding this battle.

Philbrick is also the author of "In the Heart of the Sea'', the tragedy of the whaleship Essex, and  "Mayflower", regarding our Pilgrim fore-fathers and their first community.


----------



## fureverywhere

One of those books I just found out of the blue in the used book stacks..."The Film Club" by David Gilmour. It's about movies obviously but more so the relationship between the author and his sixteen year old son. Anyone who has ever been close to a teenage boy will be able to relate. I totally recommend it. By turns serious and funny but definitely well written.
https://www.amazon.com/Film-Club-Memoir-David-Gilmour/dp/0446199303


----------



## fureverywhere

One that gets better every time you read it is " Bossy Pants" by Tina Fey. I don't watch TV so I really have never seen her in anything. But the book is terrific, you don't have to know who she is to enjoy it. It takes a lot to make me chuckle sometimes. There's a chapter where she and her husband have the cruise from Hell...perfect! The experience of a city nail salon experience? Same thingnthego:


----------



## bluebreezes

fureverywhere said:


> One that gets better every time you read it is " Bossy Pants" by Tina Fey.



I enjoyed Bossy Pants too. She's a very funny writer in addition to all of her other talents. I'm currently about 60% through the _Song of Ice and Fire_ books on which Game of Thrones is based. Great reading and it makes the HBO series much more meaningful knowing all of the detail in the books.


----------



## Jackie22

Another thumbs-up for Bossy Pants...

Now reading....Red Scarf Girl


----------



## debbie in seattle

Just started A Man Called Ove and so far, really good.


----------



## MarkinPhx

I've been lazy the past few years and have been listening to audiobooks instead of action reading a book. However, I did just start reading The Lonesome Dove once again. It is my favorite book and I usually go back and visit that world every other year or so.


----------



## fureverywhere

A tradition when I was young and went through multiple pregnancies was to begin "Gone With the Wind" a few days before my due date. Katie Scarlett was in the hospital with me every time. Even for us fast readers it's a lovely long story. Sixteen years since my last baby, time to climb back into it perhaps? I have a decorative sign over my desk " You discover you have wings when you open a book". That says it all:love_heart:


----------



## AprilT

Caucasia by Danzy Senna

Some Of My Best Friends Are Black, by, Tanner Colby

And just in case considering all possibilities coming, Start And Run a Profitable Craft Business, by, William G. Hynes.


----------



## Marie5656

*I am just finishing up a book by Stephen King, name of Revival.  Interesting story.  I am not as big of a King fan as I used to be, but I found this in the bargain bin at Barnes and Noble, and figured what the heck.  It is pretty good.*


----------



## Bobw235

Just finished Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run". I really enjoyed it. A long book, about 500 pages, but you learn about his life in the business, the E Street band and his family life. Also talks quite a bit about his struggle with depression.


----------



## BlondieBoomer

"The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story" by Michael Preston. This reads like a novel but is actually a true story of the discovery and exploration of a hidden city in Honduras. It's an amazing story, moreso because it's true.


----------



## Bobw235

My wife just finished reading Amy Schumer's book, "The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo". She loved it.


----------



## Susie

Just finished reading one of my 20 cents' gems from the local library's bargain bin: Mark Abernethy's "Second strike", published in 2008.
This Australian thriller took place in many parts of Australia I have visited.
Enjoyed the interesting plot, the lack of spelling, grammar, and sentence structure errors.


----------



## Timetrvlr

What a great thread!  Reading the posts here I've discovered books that I might enjoy too and I can find most of them as eBooks on Google Play or Amazon Books for reasonable prices. 

 We just finished Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich, a wonderfully funny book that we both enjoyed very much after such a depressing year. I'm reading The Floor of Heaven by Howard Blum, a history of the characters of the Yukon gold rush. Howard Blum writes many other historical books that  might interest readers of history.


----------



## Jackie22

[h=1][/h]
The Suspect: A true Story of love, Betrayal, Marriage and Murder

A true crime in Wales.....don't waste your time or money.


----------



## tnthomas

Bobw235 said:


> My wife just finished reading Amy Schumer's book, "The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo". She loved it.



A few months ago I discovered Amy Schumer on Comedy Central, doing some very good standup.  I consumed several more of her performances on Youtube.

A very talented comedian.


----------



## smilingmore

AZ Jim said:


> Just finished "The Diary of Anne Frank"....I know I am late to the party since it was published in 1947 but I just finally did it.  After toughing it out for 25 months the hiding place is discovered and Anne who kept her diary religiously died in a concentration camp while still not yet 16.  Courage....Lot's of courage.


I have always wanted to read this book.  I am glad that you finally did, and hopefully I will find a copy and read it.


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## debbie in seattle

I'm currently reading the new John Grisham book Camino Island.   At the same time, I'm kicking myself for wasting money on this book it's so bad.


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## JaniceM

The book I'm currently reading is "The Brother"-  about the Rosenberg case.


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## JaniceM

smilingmore said:


> I have always wanted to read this book.  I am glad that you finally did, and hopefully I will find a copy and read it.



It's an excellent book!!


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