pontalba

I have this on my shelf tbr..and I think as soon as I finish 2666 I will try to get to The Reader. I have mixed feelings about your statement above Poppy. On one hand, you'd think so, however I suspect that if we found out a loved one had committed such a horrendous act our perception of them would [perhaps] slowly change, and finally most everything they did would be colored by that act. It may not be fair on our part, but I still wonder. I have another of Schlink's books on my shelf, a mystery, Self's Punishment. There are at least three in the series, perhaps more. I think they all have different translators though, don't know if that will cause any discontinuity.

I, finally, thoroughly enjoyed An Echo in the Bone by Gabaldon. For the middle 2-300 pages it sagged terribly IMO, concentrating too much on everyone besides my main interest, Jamie and Claire. But the last few hundred pages clicked right along and more than made up for the sag in the middle. The cliff hanger at the end left me both gasping and laughing. I'm tackling 2666 by Roberto Bolano now, and after a false start, am now restarting and enjoying it. /fingers crossed/

I finished An Echo in the Bone, and although the middle sagged a bit, what with all the regressions and concentrating on the son, the last couple of hundred pages more than made up for it. In fact, it turned out to be necessary to truly enjoy the last part. The ending about floored me. :D

The Last King, The Power and The Passion of Charles II with Ian McDiarmind It was factual as far as I could tell, although so much was left out, it seemed to only skim the surface of his life.

Perhaps twice in my life I have come out of a bookstore without purchasing a book. Nah, maybe once. . . . . It just goes against the grain, there is always something one of us can manage to find.

I'm fortunate that my OH loves reading as much as I do, and we spend many comfortable hours curled up on the small sofa, reading and comparing notes, and discussing.

I'm rereading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon in anticipation of the new one coming out later this month. I've left it a bit late though, only just starting the 4th, Drums of Autumn. I read on her website that she's going to compile another Outlandish Companion for the rest of the books, and YES!, there will be one more after this new one. At least.

I can't really remember a time I couldn't read, my mother read to me and taught me to read for myself early, I must have been between 4 and 5. My father's family has a streak of dyslexia, and she was afraid I would inherit that trait. The first book I can say I remember reading for myself was Grandpa in Oz, it was my father's, and I wish I had it now. I have no idea what happened to that wonderful old thing.

I print my list out though, then completely ignore it. I'll print about 3 pages of authors and/or titles, then go to the monthly Library Sale, clutch the list whilst going through every book in the place.

NCIS is one of the few shows that I watch all the time, even reruns. I remember being shocked and infuriated when Kate was killed in the last show of whatever season number it was. But I like Ziva a lot. I managed to miss part of the season finale, maybe I can catch it online. Yup, just checked. Ziva's role has really taken some twists and turns lately, I can't wait to see what they do with her next season. Anyone remember Ducky as Illya Kuryakin? Fab.

I sent a rather thick paperback [880 pages] to the UK from the US a month or so ago, and it was $12.00US. So $7.00 doesn't sound too bad.

Peanut butter and butter on oatmeal toast with a pot of strong, black tea.

Thanks Kylie, I feel the same about your choices. I thought I'd started this thread ages ago, but couldn't find it! So I guess I didn't! It's been a weird reading year anyhow, dry then reading spurts.

I'm currently rereading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, I read it years ago, and have continued with the series. I was fortunate enough to win 24 copies of Outlander, mass market printed up especially for publicity for the new one coming out 9/22, An Echo in the Bone. It was a giveaway on her website and all the copies were to be given away to friends and family, whoever would want to start the series. Yeah, they are all gone, went like hotcakes! Can't wait for it to come out!

JANUARY Cat Playing Cupid by Shriley Rousseau Murphy 5/5 Joe Grey is always adorable. Birchwood by John Banville 4/5 Irish Gothic, second half disappointing, prose gorgeous of course. FEBRUARY The Door Into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein 2.5/5 [somewhat dated, but a sweet love story and a cat. Death in Venice by Thomas Mann 4.5/5 would have been 5/5, but for the [to me] somewhat stilted beginning MARCH The Killing Ground by Jack Higgins 3/5 The Queen of the South by Arturo Perez-Reverte 5/5 The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz 2.5/5 APRIL The Stranger by Albert Camus 4/5 East, West by Salman Rushdie 4/5 In The Country of Last Things by Paul Auster 3.5/5 Started Out in the Evening by Brian Morton 5/5 MAY The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale 4/5 Come to Me by Amy Bloom 4/5 Star Trek [movie tie-in] by Alan Dean Foster JUNE dry month, somehow, no books were finished in June. JULY The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer 5/5 The Gurensey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows 4/5 The Cryptographer by Tobias Hill 4/5 Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household 5/5 Persuasion by Jane Austen 3.5/5 The Deadwood Beetle by Mylene Dressler 5/5 An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro 5/5 AUGUST A Sport and a Pastime by James Salter 3.5/5 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson 5/5 Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin 3/5 Up Till Now by William Shatner with David Fisher 3/5 The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston 3/5 SEPTEMBER Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 5/5 [reread] Dragonfly in Amber by DG Voyager by DG Drums of Autumn by DG OCTOBER An Echo in the Bone By Diana Gabaldon 4/5 Cat Striking Back by Shirley Rousseau Murphy 2/5 NOVEMBER Call for the Dead by John Le Carr�bsp; 4/5 Don't Look Back by Karin Fossum 4/5 DECEMBER The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson 5/5 Dixie City Jam by James Lee Burke 5/5

I'll pick up an unknown author, if the synopsis and reviews jive for me. Someone above thread mentioned going by favorite author's recommendations. Yes, I can go along with that. The only reason I picked up The Sea by John Banville was because there was a bit on the front that compared him to Vladimir Nabokov....that sold it to me. And it was true. Otherwise, I go by friends recommendation, sometimes when our tastes are similar, or Amazon recommendations work occasionally. I read the customer reviews on Amazon, and can usually tell if I'll like it or not. Or if it's the 'same ole, same ole'.

If I have enjoyed a book, and it has become one of my favorites, I've certainly bought a different version/cover, especially if I think the newer cover is more appropriate to the subject matter.

Ok, what is your favorite book?

I read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo earlier this month, it was brilliant, I have the next one to read as soon as I finish my present read. If the excerpt at the end is any indication of the second novel, it'll be even better. I can hardly wait.

I've had The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop awhile, only partially read, and it is adorable, I love it. It is a pleasure to hold in your hand.

I have never been able to enjoy John Steinbeck, quite the contrary, I can't stand his writing. I have completely read East of Eden and attempted some others. Tortilla Flat, The Moon is Down, and Of Mice and Men. Couldn't finish the latter three. I wish I could explain what it is about him that puts me off so...to me he is flat and uninspiring and downright turgid. I kept trying because so many people think his books are so innovative and wonderful. Oh well, lots of people don't like my favorites, so I guess the world will keep spinning, and we'll keep reading.

Both of those are excellent reads, and I'd like to add A Woman in Berlin by Anonymous, it covers 8 weeks in a woman's life after the Russians took over the one section of Berlin directly after WWII. Also The Arms of Krupp by William Manchester. It is not only/specifically about a particular war, although it covers a great deal of WWII, but the family Krupp, the munitions makers that armed and funded the Third Reich. It actually covers the family from 1587 - 1968.