What are you reading?

[Talon]

Ballet Russes~Andre Tubeuf

[justanolecowboy]

At Home, a Short History of Private Life - Bill Bryson
Shakespeare on Toast - Ben Crystal
Recovery's a Bitch - Jacqui Brown
Living Clean - the approval draft
The Etymologican - Mark Forsyth

Have read the Bill Bryson - i liked it - i enjoy most of his writing.

[Kobi]

Tomorrow....adventures in an uncertain world by Bradley Trevor Greive

One of those cute little (100 pages) books of wisdom. The wildlife photos that accompany the thoughts are priceless.

[Cid]

Right now...posts. That's about it.

[cinnamongrrl]

Have read the Bill Bryson - i liked it - i enjoy most of his writing.

I also enjoy Bill Bryson's writing. I have read A Walk in the Woods, it inspired me (partly, but largely) to want to hike the AT. :)

[cinnamongrrl]

I am reading Wilderness Essays by John Muir.... Excellent book :) Even the introduction was good, and I typically just skim them ;)

[Talon]

Punk History: American Hardcore by Steven Blush

[Degotoga]

Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

[TheMerryFairy]

The Century Trilogy by Ken Follett. I am half way through "Fall of the Giants" and I have Winter of the World waiting for me.

[Semantics]

There Once Lived a Girl Who Seduced Her Sister's Husband, and He Hanged Himself: Love Stories by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya.

Reading these "love stories" is like chewing on broken glass.
Petrushevskaya is an excellent writer, however, so the bleeding is worth it. Kind of.

[PaPa]

Wish I had time to bury my nose into a good book, but lately the extent of it has been studying for my national licensure exam. Oh wait!! I did buy and go through the book! It was called CRC Exam: Guide to Success by Roger O Weed, PhD, CRC and Joseph A Hill, PhD, CRC 9th Ed. *Sighs...
But to be able to get back to reading for pleasure.......*another dreamy sigh

[rhopar]

The Vanished Man .. (Lincoln Rhyme Series)
By Jeffrey Deaver

[KCBUTCH]

At the Heart of History- Forgotten battlegrounds of the Norse
:pirate-steer:

[Kätzchen]

I have been reading from two books from a former English & Women's studies class I took a few years ago. At the time, we had to read both books side-by-side; as well as provide a highly developed research appendice to our study papers. I didn't like it at the time because I felt my head was on fire. But I saved my books from that class because it's important to internalize the tremendous struggle women have endured and how we still continue to liberate ourselves from constraining, and what feels like at times to suffocate our very existence, socially held agenda.

Authors of Classical literature that was considered highly controverial during their time:
North and South (Elizabeth Gaskell, 1855)
Ann Veronica (H.G. Wells, 1909)

(both boths are reprints and published by Penguin Books)
Coming soon in May:

And The Mountains Echoed
(Khaled Housseini)
A novel about how we find a lost peice of ourselves in someone else: How we find love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations. In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most. Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe—from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos—the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page (Amazon, 3/2013).
I have read two other books by Hosseini:
The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns
Both books affected me profoundly - Housseini definately
has a way of illustrating the human condition in timeless ways.

http://covers.booktopia.com.au/big/9781408842430/and-the-mountains-echoed.jpg

[StillettoDoll]

This is a beautiful book , with some of the greatest gorillas photos taken by Bob Campbell. Such amazing grueling work Dian did for our Gorillas.
She was one tough lady.
http://images.bookstore.ipgbook.com/images/book_image/large/9780956444899.jpg

[BowtiePrincess]

I am reading......

All That Is Bitter & Sweet - Ashley Judd with MaryAnne Vollers

its pretty good

[Kelt]

Low Back Disorders: Evidence based prevention and rehabilitation
Dr Stuart McGill

The Essentials of Sport and Exercise Nutrition
Dr John Berardi

Yeah, light fluff.

[The JD]

I'm reading Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It came out in 2006- I'd never heard of it, but it's come up a few times lately so I'm taking that as a cosmic nudge.

Just started it, but so far so good. It focuses on Lincoln's gift for turning his political opponents into allies by making the message more important than the ego.

[Katniss]

"Incarnate" by Jodi Meadows. (a trilogy....NEWSOUL, NOSOUL, HEART)

NEWSOUL
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.
************************
"Sensual Reading; New Approaches to Reading in its Relations to the Senses."
Edited by Micaehl Syrotinski and Ian Maclachlan

Sensual Reading is a collection of essays that attempts to rearticulate the relationship between reading and the different senses as a way of moving beyond increasingly homogenized discourses of the ‘‘body’’ and the ‘‘subject.’’ Contributions engage with the individual senses, with the themes of sensory richness and sensory deprivation, and with the notion of ‘‘telesensuality.’’

Katniss~~(Thank you Kätzchen, I liked "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and now have "And the Mountains Echoed" on order with Amazon.)

[Scottish MacDaddy]

I am currently reading "Undefended Love," by Jett Psaris, PH.D and Marlena S. Lyons, PH.D.....It's an inspiring and practical approach to lasting, loving relationships. The message is clear and the effect is profound. I'm learning alot.

[Talon]

Politics and Pasta~by Vincent "Buddy" Cianci.

[Kobi]

Politics and Pasta~by Vincent "Buddy" Cianci.


OMG I love the Buddy books. Being born and raised in RI, I am used to the colorful political scene and love hearing the Buddy take on things. I like the Federal Hill stories too. I miss my people.

[Hollylane]

I am someone who constantly thirsts for understanding and knowledge about other cultures and religions. So, currently, I am reading The Book of Mormon. There is a nice young man at work who is Mormon, and he is very open in talking about his faith, even knowing that there is no way that I would ever be influenced by it.

[Kätzchen]

Have any of you ever heard of Lucia Perillo?

She's a Pacific Northwest author who lives in the state of Washington and I came across a book of hers, the other night, which I plan to purchase next week - since I couldn't find a copy of it at the library.

The title of her book is: Happiness is a Chemical in the Brain (2012).

Here's a book review (LINK (http://www.sfgate.com/books/article/Happiness-Is-a-Chemical-in-the-Brain-review-3588804.php))

Here's a brief excerpt of her writing from chapter 1 (Bad Boy Number Seventeen):
....."I think he's funny," she says in that woofy voice of hers. "I think he's cute. I think that boy wants to be my boyfriend."

.....This is the kind of thing Louisa'll say that drives a stake into our mother's heart. Lately Mum's been talking about getting her tube tied, a plan I could condone on pragmatic grounds but against which I've nonetheless felt compelled to launch a squeak or two of protest. Louisa's been living with Mum ever since she got kicked out of the group home for repeated makeup theft, and even though Louisa's relatively sulf-sufficient - she can ride the bus, she has a job assembling calendars and pens - my mother won't rest easy until Louisa's fate is sewn up. I mean, Louisa needs a baby about as badly as she needs a scholarship to MIT, but then part of me says: What right do we have to go monkeying around with Louisa's body? (pp. 3; Perillo, 2012).
Book Description

Publication Date: May 7, 2012

A stunning debut from an award-winning poet.

Populating a small town in the Pacific Northwest, the characters in Lucia Perillo’s story collection all resist giving the world what it expects of them and are surprised when the world comes roaring back.

An addict trapped in a country house becomes obsessed with vacuum cleaners and the people who sell them door-to-door. An abandoned woman seeks consolation in tales of armed robbery told by one of her fellow suburban housewives. An accidental mother struggles to answer her daughter’s badgering about her paternity. And in three stories readers meet Louisa, a woman with Down syndrome who serves as an accomplice to her younger sister’s sexual exploits and her aging mother’s fantasies of revenge.

Together, Happiness Is a Chemical in the Brain is a sharp-edged, witty testament to the ambivalence of emotions, the way they pull in directions that often cancel one another out or twist their subjects into knots. In lyrical prose, Perillo draws on her training as a naturalist and a poet to map the terrain of the comic and the tragic, asking how we draw the boundaries between these two zones. What’s funny, what’s heartbreaking, and who gets to decide?




http://covers.feedbooks.net/item/310719.jpg?size=large&t=1359403964

[dixie]

Some trashy romance novel lol

[jcisbutch]

Biography of Christopher Reeve

[Semantics]

Lover at Last by JR Ward.

I started hearing a lot of chatter about this book last year. J.R. Ward writes a series called the Black Dagger Brotherhood which is about vampires. It's romance but it's somewhat edgy. One of the books in the series included BDSM, and people were all frowny about it (this was pre-50 Shades).

So J.R. Ward decides to step it up a notch and make the latest installment of her series about the love story between two men. Two beloved characters that have been in earlier installments.

People lost their ever-loving minds. People flocked to her message board and vented their spleens about how they didn't want to read a love story about two men, and how they especially didn't want to read the sex scenes. They blogged about it. They cried on Goodreads. And so on.

This of course made me want to buy twelve copies, but in the end I only bought two (one for my kindle and one for my local library). I read it yesterday and while it didn't blow my mind, I liked it. J.R. Ward is a good writer and I admire her courage in writing this story despite the criticism.

[Ascot]

I am reading The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing. I find the author to be a bit full of herself but damn the woman can craft a sentence. I'm about 100 pages in and find myself quite glad that this book is a little over 600 pages. I want to be able to wade in it for a while.

[Hollylane]

The Hobbit. I have read it about 7 times, but not in the last 20 years, so after watching the movie, I suddenly felt the need to revisit the tale...I started reading it yesterday, and according to Kindle, I've already finished about 75% of it. I can't put it down, and I am loving the stroll down memory road of the books of my past...I am betting this will lead to me re-reading all of James Herriot's series of books that began with "All Creatures Great and Small"...

[Kelt]

The Hobbit. I have read it about 7 times, but not in the last 20 years, so after watching the movie, I suddenly felt the need to revisit the tale...I started reading it yesterday, and according to Kindle, I've already finished about 75% of it. I can't put it down, and I am loving the stroll down memory road of the books of my past...I am betting this will lead to me re-reading all of James Herriot's series of books that began with "All Creatures Great and Small"...

I also loved the 'great and small' series, makes me want to re-read them too!

[nycfem]

An Anthropologist On Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales by Oliver Sacks (I love all his books)

"...seven narratives of neurological disorder....These men, women, and one extraordinary child emerge as brilliantly adaptive personalities, whose conditions have not so much debilitated them as ushered them into another reality"

[Duchess]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512UeP5dlBL._SY300_.jpg

[nycfem]

Rolling Nowhere: Riding the Rails with America's Hoboes

[nycfem]

http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g443/trsio/87173c80.jpg

[StillettoDoll]

http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9780812993240_p0_v2_s260x420.JPGhttp://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQSBXW7uDtkB5eTDmf12SyD1DoJU7GwY JToNd--XcJxpIvVFBlByw:www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde%3FSite%3DBB%26Date%3D20130303%26Category%3DN EWS0107%26ArtNo%3D303030320%26Ref%3DAR%26MaxW%3D62 0

Just started this one a few days ago ... Its memoir of this women growing up with a drug addicted mother.
Read a review in the new york times recently .
So far its been very good.

[Massive]

Next thursday I will be reading this:
http://www.rosiegarland.com/books/fiction.html

[wahya]

The life of Emily Dickinson.

[The JD]

I'm so excited! One of my favorite authors, Mary Roach, just released her latest book: Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal.

Her books tend to pick a subject- sex, death, ghosts, space travel-- and answer all the quirky and obscure questions you've never thought of, but once you hear the question, you HAVE to know the answer (or at least I do). She's a writer of (weird) science who uses lots of humor and outsider perspective to make her subjects accessible. About once a year, I re-read her first book, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, because it's just that good.

Her latest book focuses on the digestive system, starting with the sense of smell (and what makes a good wine taster), down through the stomach (where she explains why it doesn't eat itself), and on down to the anatomy of the rectum, and of course what comes out of it (and answers the question: did Elvis really die of constipation?). In the introduction, she writes that her aim is not to gross the reader out, but to fascinate...though she admits being grossed out is probably unavoidable. And I admit I look forward to being grossed out, because she'll have me laughing and learning the whole time.

http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1352232547l/13615414.jpg

[Cailin]

Still working on Memoirs of a Geisha. I started reading this before news of the movie came out- then I had to stop. I finally picked it back up a few months ago.... and i'm still not done. Need to get on the ball!

[Hollylane]

Cross Country (Alex Cross series), by James Patterson.

[nycfem]

Hope you'll stop by with a review after :).

(I love Emily Dickinson!)

The life of Emily Dickinson.

[Little Fish]

I know this thread lends itself more toward books etc but I just have to say that I recently decided I need to be more informed in my citizenry--and certainly more globally informed as well. So I recently subscribed to the New York Times, which in addition to being fairly global in it's scope also has the most amazing pictures! I've been enjoying them on my iPad...good for the soul. And also, the LGBT wedding announcements are fucking wonderful to read. That is all. Carry on. :-)

[cinnamongrrl]

Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls

I never read fiction. But I loved her Glass Castles

[puddin']

"son of a witch". the second book in gregory maguire's "the wicked years" series

[Hollylane]

I, Alex Cross
by James Patterson

[tonaderspeisung]

i bought the
wool omnibus edition - hugh howey
just finished book 1

fan-freakin'-tastic

[girl_dee]

"Rabbit Proof Fence"
Doris Pilkington


A story about 3 brave Australian Aboriginal girls who were removed from their families by the English, who then made a great escape.

[Semantics]

i bought the
wool omnibus edition - hugh howey
just finished book 1

fan-freakin'-tastic

I loved that series.

I read that 20th Century Fox bought the movie rights and that Ridley Scott is heading the project. If they do it right it's going to be awesome.

[Kelt]

"Rabbit Proof Fence"
Doris Pilkington


A story about 3 brave Australian Aboriginal girls who were removed from their families by the English, who then made a great escape.

An excellent book, also a film. Good choice.

[Anomaly]

So for years everyone has been trying to get me to read Harry Potter and Twilight and stuff, and I'm like "Hmmm, no. How about I read some Mian Mian or Dostoyevsky or Michelle Tea because I'm a grown-up, no thank you." I'm pretty embarrassed about it, but I'm kinda super into the Hunger Games now. I had to buy the third book in hard copy, and I wanted to wear sunglasses and a trench coat to the juvenile fiction section. But I guess I don't care... I love those books.

[Soon]

Whore Diaries II: Adventures in Independent Escorting

Each chapter details one night/one customer...fascinating. Read in one soak in the bath.

"There is something open and honest about the words written in this book. I always feel a little more bare, a little more vulnerable after reading something so raw. Even if you think that this book isn't for you, I would encourage you to read it anyways. You might be surprised at what you learn about yourself in the process." - Chelsie Perkins

[Kobi]

Travels with Epicurus : a journey to a Greek island in search of a fulfilled life /

Daniel Klein

Klein (Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar, 2008, among others) returned to the Greek island of Hydra at age 73. His return had a new and specific purpose: I want to figure out the most satisfying way to live this stage of my life. Prior experience with the island led to conclude that the old folks of Hydra have always struck me as uncommonly content with their stage in life. But just observing and absorbing what the people had to show and tell him didn't seem like quite enough. To augment his on-site learning, he took with him a stack of philosophy books by ancient Greeks as well as some modern writers. It's an interesting formula, resulting in a lovely little book with both heart and punch, an argument against the forever young syndrome so prevalent in contemporary American society. His contemplative time spent observing the old men of Hydra while reading his small library of the great thinkers led him to an evolving philosophy of a good and authentic old age. --Hooper, Brad Copyright 2010 Booklist

[Hollylane]

Cross Fire, by James Patterson.

I'm also still struggling through The Book of Mormon.

[bright_arrow]

I just finished the Mortal Instruments series, and have started re-reading The Host.

A friend sent me a good 20 novels for the Kindle that I have to transfer over.. I am excited :)

[bright_arrow]

So for years everyone has been trying to get me to read Harry Potter and Twilight and stuff, and I'm like "Hmmm, no. How about I read some Mian Mian or Dostoyevsky or Michelle Tea because I'm a grown-up, no thank you." I'm pretty embarrassed about it, but I'm kinda super into the Hunger Games now. I had to buy the third book in hard copy, and I wanted to wear sunglasses and a trench coat to the juvenile fiction section. But I guess I don't care... I love those books.

I bought all three at once, figured if they were so popular I would love them.. Honestly, it took me a lot to get into the first book. It was so hard I even asked the wife if I should just return them! Glad I stuck it through because I liked them. I don't love them per say, but they are a good read. I am not fond of the movie, not sure why, I think I built up District 9 as more glamorous in my mind, and did not imagine the other districts looking so.. old-fashioned?

Either way, glad you are enjoying it. Our 9 year old has finished the Harry Potter series I believe, and is now reading The Hunger Games.

[Hollylane]

I just finished the Mortal Instruments series, and have started re-reading The Host.

A friend sent me a good 20 novels for the Kindle that I have to transfer over.. I am excited :)

I just discovered something new on my Kindle Fire, there is an app called "Audible", and they have a 30 day free trial for Audio Books. I work on Data entry at work sometimes, and today was one of those days. I really enjoyed listening to a book while I was working. In fact, it was awesome! It really made the day fly by.

[bright_arrow]

I just discovered something new on my Kindle Fire, there is an app called "Audible", and they have a 30 day free trial for Audio Books. I work on Data entry at work sometimes, and today was one of those days. I really enjoyed listening to a book while I was working. In fact, it was awesome! It really made the day fly by.

I will have to go look that up! I didn't know about it! I am doing the free 30 days of Amazon Prime and that is a little addicting :)

[Kent]

The Bible... New Standard Revised Edition.. I think that's what it's called.. It's so easy to understand and read...

[Rope]

Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer

[Hollylane]

I will have to go look that up! I didn't know about it! I am doing the free 30 days of Amazon Prime and that is a little addicting :)

Oh my Dog...I am an Amazon Prime addict...I hardly use my Netflix since I signed up for Amazon Prime, and don't get me started about the free shipping during the holidays!

[always2late]

A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Power

[Katniss]

I am currently reading "Kyudo---the Essence and Practice of Japanese Archery."
by Onuma and De Prospero

http://www.karatekorner.com/images/pict/9350.jpg


Kyudo-the Way of the Bow-is the oldest of Japan's traditional martial arts and the one most closely associated with bushido, the Way of the Warrior. Kyudo at a granular level is the search for Truth, Goodness and Beauty and to find those concepts within the self. I will admit I am currently taking classes in kyudo so there was a method to my madness in starting in on this book. I at first found it challenging and the stillness and centering difficult for my very Western spirit to embrace. As time has passed I find I enjoy this new way of thinking and am leaning into the challenge.

[VeganDebbie]

Usually its a cookbook, but I've started Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. GWYNNE

[Talon]

Gabriel's Woman....by Robin Schone

[MysticOceansFL]

Da Vinci code

[Anomaly]

Either way, glad you are enjoying it. Our 9 year old has finished the Harry Potter series I believe, and is now reading The Hunger Games.


Haha, see, I'm reading the same books as 9 year old, that's what I was worried about! Oh well, your 9 year old has good taste.

Just finished the Doomsday Prepper's Pocket Guide, which was unsuprisingly weird and poorly written. Don't laugh! There's a civil emergency going on outside my window right now! The roads are closed, the government buildings. About half of the commercial buildings are closed, too. Second or third time this winter, and my friends are still speeding their cars into telephone poles on their way to the grocery store like a bunch of dummies, because they don't even have 24 hours worth of ramen noodles in their apartments. The whole world shuts down here, regularly, and I'm always just fine.

And I just started This is How by Augusten Burroughs.

[bright_arrow]

Haha, see, I'm reading the same books as 9 year old, that's what I was worried about! Oh well, your 9 year old has good taste.

Just finished the Doomsday Prepper's Pocket Guide, which was unsuprisingly weird and poorly written. Don't laugh! There's a civil emergency going on outside my window right now! The roads are closed, the government buildings. About half of the commercial buildings are closed, too. Second or third time this winter, and my friends are still speeding their cars into telephone poles on their way to the grocery store like a bunch of dummies, because they don't even have 24 hours worth of ramen noodles in their apartments. The whole world shuts down here, regularly, and I'm always just fine.

And I just started This is How by Augusten Burroughs.

Don't feel bad - she is in third grade reading at a seventh grade level.. and thinks anything aimed towards kids is stupid [and has told me so numerous times!].

[Kätzchen]

The Summer We Got Free
-- Mia McKenzie

(Oakland, CA: Black Girl Dangerous Press)


http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355016448l/16286376.jpg

I just ordered it online today @ Amazon.
I'm looking forward to reading McKenzie's book
(it's an early birthday present for myself).

[Sweet Bliss]

Got my recent order this afternoon.

"8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back" by Esther Gokhale, L.Ac.

Comes highly recommended, since I know so many peeps with bad backs thought I might learn something to help them. Am also hoping to prevent the same in myself.

Having back pain can make your life sooo freaking miserable.

[wahya]

What Did We Use Before Toilet Paper?: 200 Curious Questions and Intriguing Answers.

I went out and got this to educate myself for those never ending questions my 7 yr old grandson stumps me on from time to time. lol

[wahya]

Got my recent order this afternoon.

"8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back" by Esther Gokhale, L.Ac.

Comes highly recommended, since I know so many peeps with bad backs thought I might learn something to help them. Am also hoping to prevent the same in myself.

Having back pain can make your life sooo freaking miserable.

Could of used this one 20 yrs ago. ha ha

[The JD]

I finished one book by Mary Roach (Gulp), and started another by her- for some odd reason, both books were published the same week. This one is called My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places, and is a collection of articles previously published in Reader's Digest. The book is cute, quirky and quick- nothing that sticks with me, but entertaining. Mary Roach cracks me up even when she's writing for a magazine that is usually found in my parents' bathroom. Recommended.

[The JD]

And thanks to the barrage of promos and teasers for the upcoming HBO movie Behind the Candelabra, I went looking for the book of the same name. The book is about Liberace's turbulent relationship with Scott Thorson, his lover and chauffeur (the movie is about the same, but with Michael Douglas as Liberace, and Matt Damon as Thorson. I admit I'm intrigued.)

The book won't come out until May, though I found an out-of-print copy on Amazon- I guess it's being reprinted, thanks to the HBO movie. It was originally published in 1988, a year after Liberace's death from AIDS, and marketed as a tell-all memoir by Thorson the Chauffeur himself. The puzzling part is that the book is labeled "an autobiographical novel." Whaaa? Wait, why isn't it nonfiction?? I might pass on the book now, but I'm still all atwitter over the movie's debut. Damn you, HBO.

http://www.avenueswank.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Matt-Damon-Michael-Douglas-Liberace-EW.jpg

[BoSoxBoi]

I'm currently reading "Of Drag Kings and the Wheel of Fate" by Susan Smith. I first read this book years ago, and every so often I read it again. After I'm finished, I'll be re-reading the sequel to this book, "Burning Dreams". :) Susan Smith is an amazing author.

[rhopar]

The Broken Window, by Jeffrey Deaver

[Kobi]

Not becoming my mother : and other things she taught me along the way / Ruth Reichl

Bestselling author Ruth Reichl embarks on a clear-eyed and openhearted investigation of her mother's life, piecing together the journey of a woman she comes to realize she never really knew. Looking to her mother's letters and diaries, Reichl confronts the painful transition her mother made from a hopeful young woman to an increasingly unhappy older one and realizes the tremendous sacrifices she made to make sure her daughter's life would not be as disappointing as her own.

[Sparkle]

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

from the book description:

"What if you could live again and again, until you got it right?

On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war.

Does Ursula's apparently infinite number of lives give her the power to save the world from its inevitable destiny? And if she can -- will she?

Darkly comic, startlingly poignant, and utterly original -- this is Kate Atkinson at her absolute best."

It is very readable, as are all her books. And it's a great concept. I'll let you know what I think when it's done.

[Fancy]

Minimalist Parenting: Enjoying Modern Family Life More by Doing Less
by Asha Dornfest and Christine Koh

Ok, so I was thinking this book was going to tell me to get rid of my stuff, but not so. Here's a partial review from Moxie, which I think is spot-on:
"This book is probably going to overwhelm you if you have a first baby under three months. If you have kids older than that, though, this book will give you a nice framework for thinking about all the areas of family life so you can assess what you can control and streamline things so you can process the chaos as it happens and spend more time enjoying life and less time feeling like it's dragging you around."

[girl_dee]

Incidents in the life of a slave girl


Harriet Jacobs

[Kobi]

Where Have All The Leaders Gone

~Lee Iacocca

[Gina]

"Illuminati" by Mark Dice

[Fancy]

The Nature Connection - An outdoor workbook for kids, families, and classrooms

by Clare Walker Leslie

**A lot of fun gems in here to stimulate our thinking and keep us outside learning!

[PaPa]

As Little as possible....
after grad school I am read out for now.
I will however, take suggestion for when I am able to pick up a book again and enjoy it.
I am just too braindead right at this moment in time.
HA!

[VeganDebbie]

Just got it from my mom.............snow falling on cedars by David Guterson

[Ascot]

A fascinating read...

Savage Girls and Wild Boys-A History of Feral Children
Michael Newton

[Fancy]

The Business of Baby: What Doctors Don't Tell You, What Corporations Try to Sell You, and How to Put Your Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Baby Before Their Bottom Line

Margulis, Jennifer

[Kätzchen]

Wright, David (1985). Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales.
Oxford University Press (Oxford, England & Oxford, New York).


I find myself, from time to time, picking up this book and reading particular selections of Chaucer. I often find myself re-reading Wright's introduction to Chaucer, so that I am reminded of Chaucer's place in time and where he stood socially - due to his father, John Chaucer, a well-to-do wholesale wine merchant who lived on Thames Street, which at one time was a weathy district in London and his father's marriage to a wealthy heiress, Agnes de Copton - and to also re-acquaint myself with Chaucer's long-storied career in service to the public. I don't know why I do that, but I do - every single time I return to read some tale in this book.

While soaking in the tub last night, the latest tale I read from Chaucer was: The Fragment of The Wife of Bath's Tale (pp. 219 - 250).

[Fancy]

Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.

~Zora Neale Hurston

[Kobi]

Where they stand : the American presidents in the eyes of voters and historians

by Robert W. Merry.

The rating of American presidents is a popular fascination for scholars and citizens alike. Merry believes that professionals' opinions are, however, sometimes out of sync with those of the people and, specifically, the electorate that installed or repudiated a president.

Therefore, he accords the vox populi weight equal to the verdicts of seven polls of historians conducted over past decades. The professors and the voters exhibit no differences over who were the best presidents Washington, Lincoln, and FDR but they diverge over nominees for the near-great category; electorates liked Jackson and Reagan, but historians have been critical. Likewise, the dons praise Wilson and Truman, whereas the people voted their parties out of power.

To bridge such discrepancies, Merry combines fluid commentary on what impresses historians and application of his rule for the populace's standard of approval, rewarding an incumbent with a second term and succession by his party's nominee. Anything less plunges a president down the scale to average or failure, with near-great Polk as a conspicuous exception.

[BowtiePrincess]

Scars of Sweet Paradise The Life and Times of Janis Joplin

[Ascot]

I Shudder at Your Touch-22 Tales of Sex and Horror

Steven King, Clive Barker and 20 others.

[Semantics]

I'm rereading George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.

Season 3 of Game of Thrones is awesome and it's been awhile since I've read the earlier books in the series.

I'm a little irritated that Martin is releasing The Wit and Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister at the end of this year. It's a lesson in patience, since I really want the next book in the series instead, and he takes so long to write them.


Call it an irrational fear, but George isn't a young man and the times when I consider that he could potentially die before finishing the series are pearl-clutching moments.

[PinkieLee]

I picked this up the other night.....

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51WhfMM5n2L.jpg

[Apocalipstic]

Dr. Feelgood: The Story of the Doctor Who Influenced History by Treating and Drugging Prominent Figures Including President Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis Presley
by Richard A. Lertzman , William J. Birnes

&

12th of Never: Women's Murder Club, Book 12
by James Patterson , Maxine Paetro

&

Adult Children of Alcoholics workbook

& Re-reading

A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson

A nice mix of history, trash and personal growth. lol

[LukeCian]

Piece of Cake - Cupcake Brown

The Coldest Winter Ever - Sister Soldier

Private - James Patterson

[~baby~doll~]

The Four-chambered Heart by Anais Nin

Lesbian Polyamory Edited by Marcia Munson

[Mopsie]

I am reading (and really enjoying!) Butch is a Noun by S Bear Bergman

[afixer]

just finished with old mail.

now on to the instructions for a leveling product that i hope works.

[nycfem]

Just listened to the CD of:

"Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church" by Lauren Drain and Lisa Pulitzer"

Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church: Lauren Drain, Lisa Pulitzer: 9781455512423: Amazon.com: Books

I think it's read by the author but I could be wrong. In any case the reading of it is just beautiful which makes a big difference to me for books on CD.

It's an amazing book that I'm sure I will listen to again at some point. For those who don't know, Westboro Baptist Church is the "God Hates Fags" church. It's about how this girl, now woman, Lauren's, parents ended up moving their family to Kansas and joining the church. It's a fascinating in depth look at this religious cult and the psychology of the people involved from the inner workings of the church day to day, particularly Shirley Phelps. Highly recommended but chilling.

[Kätzchen]

Here's what I borrowed from the library yesterday:

Patrick Swayze: One Last Dance.
Leigh, Wendy (2009)

Lives Like Loaded Guns: Emily Dickenson and Her Family's Feuds.
Gordon, Lyndall (2010)

Her Blue Body Everything We Know (Earthling Poems 1965-1990).
Walker, Alice (2003).

"There Are Things I Want You To Know" About Stieg Larsson and Me.
Gabrielsson, Eva (2011).

How Stella Got Her Groove Back.
McMillan, Terry (1996).

And I checked out a 4-disc dvd collection, a British drama series from Masterpiece Theatre (PBS): Upstairs, Downstairs (Anniversary Edition).


eta: I'm half way through the book about Patrick Swayze which is not only about him, but also about Lisa (his wife), his mother (Patsy) and his father (Big Buddy) and their family of friends, but also incredibly insightful about the man himself, his accomplishments as a dancer and actor and how he owned his life - no matter the circumstance, no matter the outcome. I am enjoying this book immensely.

[~baby~doll~]

i just started the Lesbian Adventure Club series by Rosalyn Wraight
They are fun and a quick read

[Sassy]

Read a great little piece of lesbian fiction titled "Lexington Connection" (by M.E. Logan, http://www.bellabooks.com/9781594933233-prod.html) about a week ago. Really enjoyed the characters and was happily surprised at the depth of the story considering the size of the book and the fact that the sexy times begin on Page 5. I recommend it.

[BBinNYC]

I recently read a ton of these because I wanted to understand the formula so I could write one. Most of the ones I read are not badly written, very focused on the romance (not very literary), and pretty vanilla. Most are not butch-femme but a few hint at it. All in all, they are worth a read if you need some escape. I put a list together for a friend. Here it is:

The ones with a * are the ones I like the best!

1. Heart Block* - Melissa Brayden: Rich, white, blonde CEO who never gets into relationships (but sleeps around a lot), Emory. Her mother dies and she hires Sara (Latina, single mom, not identified as a lesbian) to clean out the mansion of a house and give everything away. Good characters and writing.

2. Wild Things* - Karen Kallmaker: Rich, white attorney/politician in AA after alcohol addiction avoids relationships in order to keep a squeaky clean image so she can run for State Senate, Sydney. Her brother is dating Faith, a U Chicago history professor who is very Catholic and still living with her very Catholic parents at age 34. Faith has a lesbian past she is trying to forget.

3. Waiting in the Wings - Melissa Brayden: Jenna is a blonde dancer/singer/actor who majored in musical theater and gets her first big break in the touring company of a hit show which stars Adrienne, a former teenage actress. Romance ensues until Jenna gets a big offer to work in LA and they break up. Four years later, they are cast in a movie together.

4. Come and Get Me - Julie Cannon: Lauren is an in-house attorney for a Fortune 500 company, not sure of her sexuality. Elliott is a rich head of her family's venture capital fund. Elliott sleeps around. They meet and at the point when things get steamy, Lauren tells Elliott this would be her first time with a woman. Elliott freaks, thinking she's being played. The rest of the book is their coming back together.

5. The Princess Affair* - Nell Stark: Princess Alexandra (Sasha) is second in line to the British throne and has a reputation as a party girl. She's a closeted lesbian who sleeps around a lot. Kerry is an Irish Catholic Rhodes Scholar who comes to Oxford to study architecture and meets Sasha. Can they reconcile their different worlds?

6. Too Close to Touch* - Georgia Beers: Gretchen is a sales executive starting a new job. Kylie is the girl next door and is Gretchen's assistant. But you can't fall in love with your boss or your assistant. Can you?

7. Love Waits - Gerri Hills: Classic reunion story. Gina, a former high school jock, and Ashleigh, a blonde cheerleader, fall in love in high school and break up their first year of college after a terrible miscommunication. Neither has found real love over the next 20 years. They attend their 20th high school reunion dreading seeing one another.

8. Starting From Scratch - Georgia Beers: Avery pines after the local bank branch manager, Elena, who she believes is out of her league. After being asked by her friend to coach a T ball team while her friend recuperates from surgery, Avery meets a little boy named Max. One day Max shows up at Avery's backyard and begins playing with her dog. Her mom comes by looking for him and she is none other than Elena.

9. Learning Curve* - Rachel Spangler: Ash, a butch about town who never sleeps with the same woman twice, is convinced by her best friend to sit in on a support group for LGBT youth where she meets Carrie, a women's studies professor who volunteers with the youth. The book is about their growing attraction, romance and how they reconcile their two different worlds. It also features the story of a young lesbian struggling to get away from her homophobic mother.

[Fancy]

Barnheart: The Incurable Longing for a Farm of One's Own
Woginrich, Jenna

On it's way....can't wait to start reading.

[Katniss]

"The Price of Salt" by Patricia Highsmith (lesbian romance)


Patricia Highsmith was an American novelist and short-story writer most widely known for her psychological thrillers, which led to more than two dozen film adaptations. Her first novel, Strangers on a Train, has been adapted for stage and screen numerous times, notably by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951. In addition to her acclaimed series about murderer Tom Ripley, she wrote many short stories, often macabre, satirical or tinged with black humor. Although she wrote specifically in the genre of crime fiction, her books have been lauded by various writers and critics as being artistic and thoughtful enough to rival mainstream literature. Michael Dirda observed, "Europeans honored her as a psychological novelist, part of an existentialist tradition represented by her own favorite writers, in particular Dostoevsky, Conrad, Kafka, Gide, and Camus


So far my favorite quote from this book;

"You’re about as weak as this match.” Carol held it burning for a moment after she lighted her cigarette. “But given the right conditions, you could burn a house down, couldn’t you?”

Katniss~~

[~baby~doll~]

Just listened to the CD of:

"Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church" by Lauren Drain and Lisa Pulitzer"

Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church: Lauren Drain, Lisa Pulitzer: 9781455512423: Amazon.com: Books (http://www.amazon.com/Banished-Surviving-Westboro-Baptist-Church/dp/1455512427/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368014671&sr=8-1&keywords=banished)

I think it's read by the author but I could be wrong. In any case the reading of it is just beautiful which makes a big difference to me for books on CD.

It's an amazing book that I'm sure I will listen to again at some point. For those who don't know, Westboro Baptist Church is the "God Hates Fags" church. It's about how this girl, now woman, Lauren's, parents ended up moving their family to Kansas and joining the church. It's a fascinating in depth look at this religious cult and the psychology of the people involved from the inner workings of the church day to day, particularly Shirley Phelps. Highly recommended but chilling.

Thanks sweetie. i just bought it and it looks great thanks for sharing.

[puddin']

"the saddest girl in the world", cathy glass

"cherry bomb", j.a. konrath

[The JD]

I'm reading Queer South Rising: Voices of a Contested Place, edited by Reta Ugena Whitlock.

From the back cover:

Queer South Rising is a collection of essays about the South by people who identify as both Southern and queer. Essays explore the complexities of the Southern place while questioning notions of a universal, homogenous LGBT, queer, identity. Essays explore topics ranging from religion, politics, sexuality, race and education, inviting readers interested in the South and queer themes to engage with the narratives it holds. Whitlock has sought, in collecting these essays, to shatter perceptions about a nostalgic, romanticized Southern culture in general.

"This is simply wonderful! Reading these pieces is invigorating- like getting a call from my mama- as if she had never died and had just been hiding out in the moutains somewhere. Suddenly I feel like I am not alone, that I have family close by. These essays are resonant powerful tales and wonderfully complicated examinations of what most of the world does not even acknowledge, my people and our messy lives." - Dorothy Allison

I have an essay in the book, so yeah, I'd recommend it. :)

[MysticOceansFL]

Pop culture and The De Vince Code

[Wryly]

Break Down by Sara Paretsky - a V.I. Warshawski book.

Just started but I liked this:"He only wants to marry a strong woman so he can wrestle her to the ground and grind the life put of her."

[Medusa]

I've been hearing a lot about "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn and started listening to it today while I'm puttering around the house.

I am pleasantly surprised and have stayed with it all day! It's really engaging and I will probably stay up late tonight to finish it in print!

[blush]

The World's Strongest Librarian- memoir of a weight-lifting librarian with Tourette's Syndrome

Every Day-great premise about a teenage being who wakes up in a different body every day, poorly excecuted, IMO.

[Fancy]

Read this off and on over the last several months. It's been tough to get through, but an amazing journey.


The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

by Candice Millard

[maryam]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Rites_(novel) by Jim Butcher. Harry Dresden number 6. Nice brain candy.

A Short History of India and Pakistan (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3358994-a-short-history-of-india-and-pakistan) by T. Walter Wallbank. This is the 1958 edition, which has been revised slightly from the original. I've just started it, but at this point, it seems a bit Pro British with a bit of Colonial Apologism on the side, but not as much as I was expecting. It's remarkably objective for the time when the book was written. It's also interesting to see what the British attitude was towards the Middle East (Jordan/Israel/Palestine/Syria area) and the Far East (India/Pakistan) at the roughly the same time. It's also a bit uncomfortable to see how little has changed in Western attitudes towards the area.

and....

The Handbook of Needlework by Miss Lambert. Found on Google Books, as it's from 1901 ish and in public domain. Very good, super interesting!

[KCBUTCH]

Intercultural Empathy:Myth, competency, or possibility for alliance building?
Sara Deturk Oct 23 2001 Peace Corps Online

[Bleu]

HOME by Toni Morrison.

I'm only about one quarter of the way through it. Morrison's ability to build character is blistering. However, at a quarter way through, I am still unsure of the real meat of the story line. How can I be worried about it as, after all, it's Toni Morrison. I could probably read her grocery and to-do list and be glued.

[Italianboi]

I just finish to read "se il sole muore" by Oriana Fallaci
and i just start to read "news of a kidnapping" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez....

[Mopsie]

I just finish to read "se il sole muore" by Oriana Fallaci
and i just start to read "news of a kidnapping" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez....

Do you read books in Italian, English, and/or another language?

** Curiosity killed the cat ... and probably the Mopsie ... :|

I am jealous of people who are good languages ... I never have been ... :)

[Medusa]

I've been hearing a lot about "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn and started listening to it today while I'm puttering around the house.

I am pleasantly surprised and have stayed with it all day! It's really engaging and I will probably stay up late tonight to finish it in print!



Ok, so I finished this at 3am. In other words, I gulped this book down like free ice cream!

A couple of spoiler-y things so read no further if you plan to read this:

First, I've never read anything by this author and was prepared to be disappointed because I don't like a lot of popular fiction. This, however, was so different than what I expected that I will be reading all of her other stuff.

And second: The PACE is fantastic. The writing style is both jarring and stark...and really beautiful. The characters are fucked up beyond all belief and the sheer mental illness in that one is beyond most of what I've read about supposed "-paths".

I told a girlfriend of mine that I felt like I had been punched in the butthole after reading this. It's such a fucked up, wonderful read.

[daisygrrl]

i'm (of course) an incorrigible bibliophile; and this is my latest pleasure (that had nothing to do with school, etc.)

I just read The Imposter's Daughter--and loved it. I wanted something confessional and structurally complex. For those who love a memoir, it's fantastic--and for those who adore comic prose, it's breathtaking.

[nycfem]

daisygrrl, I soooo loved The Imposter's Daughter! It would figure you loved it too! You're the first person I've talked to who has also read it :).

I am reading "I am the Central Park Jogger." Well, I'm listening to it on tape, let's be honest here. It's read by the author which is cool. It's certainly a heavy topic. It's very well-written and flows beautifully. Much of it is about how one recovers from a traumatic injury which I find to be quite fascinating.

I Am the Central Park Jogger: A Story of Hope and Possibility: Trisha Meili: Amazon.com: Books


On a much lighter note, I'm listening to the CD of the new David Sedaris book: Let's explore Diabetes with Owls. It's a collection of his usual humorous, memoir-type essays. He always reads his own books for the recording, and I love his voice. It's very soothing, and he clearly gets a kick out of himself which is kind of sweet. I'm a little less into it because I've already read most of these essays by him in the New Yorker. Oh, what can ya do?

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls: David Sedaris: 9780316154697: Amazon.com: Books

i'm (of course) an incorrigible bibliophile; and this is my latest pleasure (that had nothing to do with school, etc.)

I just read The Imposter's Daughter (http://www.amazon.com/The-Impostors-Daughter-True-Memoir/dp/B005OHUK7M)--and loved it. I wanted something confessional and structurally complex. For those who love a memoir, it's fantastic--and for those who adore comic prose, it's breathtaking.

[RockOn]

Hi everyone, I am very interested in reading a biography about Elena Sendler. Google search provided "Courageous Heart."

I welcome your suggestions regarding a good read
about her.

Thanks.
Brock

[The JD]

I just read The Imposter's Daughter (http://www.amazon.com/The-Impostors-Daughter-True-Memoir/dp/B005OHUK7M)--and loved it. I wanted something confessional and structurally complex. For those who love a memoir, it's fantastic--and for those who adore comic prose, it's breathtaking.

I downloaded this last night, just finished. I usually buy graphic novels (or in this case, graphic memoirs) in hard copy, but the iPad/Kindle app did a good job with the graphics.

Great read, thanks for bringing it to my attention! It has this interesting blend of titillating and insightful. Now that I think of it, that's the standard addiction-memoir formula, but it's interesting to see it as an illustrated narrative. The ending is a bit too tidy and abrupt for my taste, but that might have more to do with the comic book format/presentation.


Recommended!

[WickedFemme]

I'm reading the 'Killer Wore Leather' by Laura Antoniou. It's very amusing, humorous, and if you have ever been to a leather contest - you will laugh your arse off.

[Daktari]

I'll look that one up, thanks for posting WickedFemme.

Currently reading The Dark Lord's Handbook by Paul Dale. I'm only 17% through it - I may be a super speller but a dyslexic, slow reader :| Really enjoying what I've read thus far and have laughed out loud numerous times.

"After many spectacular failures, Evil decided to lend more than inspiration to these would be tyrants. He wrote an easy to follow Dark Lord's Handbook. And yet the next Dark Lord that came along screwed up like all the others.
It had been hundreds of years, and the Handbook was lost in the annals of time, along with all that was mythic and exciting in the world. Then one day a randy dragon had a chance encounter. Nine months later a Dark Lord was born.
In time, the Handbook found its way to this new contender, Morden. To become a Dark Lord is no easy thing. Morden had better be a quick study."
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15456561-the-dark-lord-s-handbook

[Semantics]

Currently reading:

To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918
by Adam Hochschild.

World War I was supposed to be the “war to end all wars.” Over four long years, nations around the globe were sucked into the tempest, and millions of men died on the battlefields. To this day, the war stands as one of history’s most senseless spasms of carnage, defying rational explanation.

To End All Wars focuses on the long-ignored moral drama of the war’s critics, alongside its generals and heroes. Many of these dissenters were thrown in jail for their opposition to the war, from a future Nobel Prize winner to an editor behind bars who distributed a clandestine newspaper on toilet paper. These critics were sometimes intimately connected to their enemy hawks: one of Britain’s most prominent women pacifist campaigners had a brother who was commander in chief on the Western Front. Two well-known sisters split so bitterly over the war that they ended up publishing newspapers that attacked each other.

As Adam Hochschild brings the Great War to life as never before, he forces us to confront the big questions: Why did so many nations get so swept up in the violence? Why couldn’t cooler heads prevail? And can we ever avoid repeating history?

[Kätzchen]

My summer reading list will comprise largely a re-reading of books authored by Salman Rushdie and Dr. Khaled Hosseini:
Salman Rushdie (Midnight's Children, 1981; Shame, 1983; The Satanic Verses, 1988; The Moor's Last Sigh, 1995; The Ground Beneath Her Feet, 1999; and, Shalimar The Clown, 2005).

Dr. Khaled Hosseini (And The Mountains Echoed, 2013).

I once took several sociology study classes, at an undergraduate level, wherein the current professor of studies was an ardent admirer of Rushdie and his post-colonial views, as both Rushdie and my former professor are members of the Indian Diaspora. Reading the Rushdie collection of books will be my all-summer immersion study on the works of Salman Rushdie and to add toward notes I have kept since the time I undertook sociology courses in post-colonialism.

Reading the newest book by Hosseini will largely be my own independent and extended study on issues pertinent to Family Communication studies. When I set time aside for this reading project, it won't be for pleasure (per se), but more along the lines of critical analysis on as-near current theorems pertaining to Family Communication. My approach will be to read his newest book as if it were an upper-graduate course reader; compiling an annotated bibliography that connects previous scholarly authored works within the frame of Family Communication.

Toward the end of summer, I was just sharing with Katniss that, I was looking for recommendation, hoping to come across a book (fiction or non-fiction) that might have a dose or two of romance but not mushy romance: I am looking for something more along the lines of a good crime-like novel or mystery or, unsuspectingly, something that un-nerves the reader in a good way. I would welcome any suggestions, from our coummunity of readers, with appreciation.

[nycfem]

I'm reading (well, listening) to the book:

"On Whale Island: Notes from a Place I Never Meant to Leave"
by Daniel Hays

This is my second time listening to it. I'm listening to it on tape (Yes, I love old-fashioned tape recorders.). It's a memoir about a man who takes his wife and step-child to live on a small, rugged island for a year. He goes through the day to day tasks and problems and miraculous moments with nature. I love it because it takes me out of my urban world and makes me feel like I'm living on the island too. The author reads it aloud himself so that only adds to feeling like I'm there. His love for the hardship and beauty of this way of living is evident, and clearly if his wife didn't feel understandably stifled by it, he'd stay there indefinitely. I love learning about other cultures and ways of life by hearing/reading someone's lived experience. He's a good writer and funny too. It's a very real book, like he's sitting across the table, telling all about it. Thumbs up. I always love this kind of book.

On Whale Island: Notes from a Place I Never Meant to Leave: Daniel Hays: 9781565123458: Amazon.com: Books

[Sparkle]

I finally finished 'Life After Life' by Kate Atkinson.
It was a tome, and it was a bit of a slow start; I had to push through the first 100 pages, when I finally got into it I finished it in two marathon sessions. I enjoyed it once I got it to it.

I've just started reading 'Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore' by Robin Sloan. It's a very funny and easy read... delightful, in fact. I was giggling aloud all the way through the first few chapters.

[Greyson]

I am almost finished reading History's Greatest Mysteries and The Secrets Behind Them - Bill Price

The next two books I have lined up to read are

Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World - John Shelby Spong

In this thorough, substantive guide, Spong explores the origin and essential meaning of each of the individual books in the Bible, examining the background, the context, the level of authenticity. He explains why these particular books, written between two and three thousand years ago, came to be regarded as authoritative and preserved as sacred; he traces the pathway that biblical religion has traveled as it evolved through the centuries, and shows how people have misused many of these texts in the service of their prejudices.


Civil War Top Ten - Thomas R. Flagel

A ranking of the best, the worst, the bloodiest, and the most important people and events of the war between the states.

[Medusa]

I'm about halfway through "The Imposter's Daughter" and love it!!

Also started "The Warmth of Other Suns" on recommendation from Juney and it's a fascinating read.

From the New York Times review of "The Warmth of Other Suns":


In this epic, beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life. From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves.

With stunning historical detail, Wilkerson tells this story through the lives of three unique individuals: Ida Mae Gladney, who in 1937 left sharecropping and prejudice in Mississippi for Chicago, where she achieved quiet blue-collar success and, in old age, voted for Barack Obama when he ran for an Illinois Senate seat; sharp and quick-tempered George Starling, who in 1945 fled Florida for Harlem, where he endangered his job fighting for civil rights, saw his family fall, and finally found peace in God; and Robert Foster, who left Louisiana in 1953 to pursue a medical career, the personal physician to Ray Charles as part of a glitteringly successful medical career, which allowed him to purchase a grand home where he often threw exuberant parties.

Wilkerson brilliantly captures their first treacherous and exhausting cross-country trips by car and train and their new lives in colonies that grew into ghettos, as well as how they changed these cities with southern food, faith, and culture and improved them with discipline, drive, and hard work. Both a riveting microcosm and a major assessment, The Warmth of Other Suns is a bold, remarkable, and riveting work, a superb account of an “unrecognized immigration” within our own land. Through the breadth of its narrative, the beauty of the writing, the depth of its research, and the fullness of the people and lives portrayed herein, this book is destined to become a classic.

[~baby~doll~]

i just finished reading Banished A Memoir by Lauren Drain and loved it so much.

i just picked up Vanessa & Virginia by Susan Sellers It is a novel about the lifetime relationship between sisters Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf. It is written in the form of love letters between sisters. i look forward to the read.

i also purchased Queen of Bohemia The Life of Louise Bryant by Mary Dearborn Louise was the wife of John Reed and they are the two whom the movie Reds fleshes out. She is an interesting woman and very much ahead of her time.

[StillettoDoll]

The book is beautifully written this is a great book for anyone thinking about going vegan. Lots of information , great true stories of lots of people recovering from diseases. Liking it.....


http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9781602861336_p0_v2_s260x420.JPG

[LukeCian]

Right now I have been focused on reading all of the requirements/course descriptions for starting school soon!! I think My inner nerd is very excited.

Also, still working on Private by James Patterson

[~baby~doll~]

i just finished Queen of Bohemia The Life of Louise Bryant by Mary Dearborn Louise was the wife of John Reed and they are the two whom the movie Reds fleshes out. This is a marvelous read about a woman far and away ahead of her time.

i have in my mind to do some rereading and this one is at the top of my list. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

But this one seems to be calling me as well. i guess i will have to reread both. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

[rockybcn]

Walden; Or, Life In The Woods~ Henry David Thoreau

[puddin']

the world's strongest librarian
the magician's assistant

[cinnamongrrl]

The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother is the autobiography of James McBride first published in 1995; it is also a tribute to his mother. The chapters alternate between James McBride's descriptions of his early life and first-person accounts of his mother Ruth's life, mostly taking place before her son was born. McBride depicts the conflicting emotions that he endured as he struggled to discover who he truly was, as his mother narrates the hardships that she had to overcome as a white, Jewish woman who chose to marry a black man 1942.

[Venus007]

The Wolf Gift Anne Rice

[puddin']

"shaken", j.a. konrath

"the saddest girl in the world", cathy glass

(i hafta balance me reads)

[Kobi]

Thanks to those who recommended The Impostors Daughter. Good book, funky format, nice insight.

[Medusa]

Finished "Imposters Daughter" and agree with Kobi's assessment! Great read.

Started "Sharp Objects" by Gillian Flynn on audiobook this morning and love it so far. Listened to "Gone Girl" last week and am really loving this author. Her books are fast-paced and she is a great storyteller. Will be reading or listening to "Dark Places" as soon as this one is finished!

[cinnamongrrl]

I have just started reading Summer World by naturalist, Bernd Heinrich

How can cicadas survive—and thrive—at temperatures pushing 115°F? Do hummingbirds know what they're up against before they migrate over the Gulf of Mexico? Why do some trees stop growing taller even when three months of warm weather remain? With awe and unmatched expertise, Bernd Heinrich's Summer World never stops exploring the beautifully complex interactions of animals and plants with nature, giving extraordinary depth to the relationships between habitat and the warming of the earth.

If my brain gets fried and needs simple amusement, I will also be reading Summer Sisters by my childhood favorite, Judy Blume. It is a novel for grown ups.

Summer Sisters unfolds over almost twenty summers in the lives of two young women - from 1977 when they're twelve to 1995 when they celebrate their thirtieth birthdays. There's a love story at the center, and the story of a friendship more intense and longer lasting than many love affairs.

My mother told me to read this specifically...and gave me the book to ensure I did...what can I say, I still have to listen to my mom! :)

[firecat242]

Just started Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. Excellent writer can't wait for Gone Girl to come out in paperback

[easygoingfemme]

11/22/63: Stephen King.
I gave a copy to my father for father's day and then ran to the library to get a copy for myself.

Stephen King is both a shared love and a family joke. We were on a vacation when I was 6 or 7 years old and I ran out of reading material. Going through my parents books I had either my mother's romance novels or my father's Stephen King novels. That summer I read Cujo and Pet Cemetery. My mom thought I was fake reading so she didn't say anything, but I was fully reading them. I learned to read freakishly early. I still love Stephen King. My father doesn't talk much but I think he is secretly proud of me for having been drawn to the books so early.

[BoDy*ShOt]

I just finished The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

What a very good read about Butch/femme in the 40's and wartime.

[NerdieGirl]

I am currently reading The Borgia Bride by Jeanne Kalogridis. It's fiction laced with historical fact. Not too bad.

Also reading The Lady in the Tower, by Alison Weir. It's about Anne Boleyn, and I love it. Alison Weir is one of my favorites when it comes to Tudor history.

[wahya]

The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks.

[The JD]

Rereading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I started reading the series 10 years ago and made it to the 5th book. Now the 8th book is out, and there are plans to make it into a TV series... so time to get reacquainted.

[luv2luvgirls]

The Witness by Nora Roberts

[Sweet Bliss]

Got my recent order this afternoon.

"8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back" by Esther Gokhale, L.Ac.

Comes highly recommended, since I know so many peeps with bad backs thought I might learn something to help them. Am also hoping to prevent the same in myself.

Having back pain can make your life sooo freaking miserable.

I typically only read spirit based or practical practice-able books to help myself and others. So I promised to share my knowledge.

My roomie has been in severe pain for years, with less mobility and increased pain yearly.

So. I have been researching for awhile. I found the sacro wedgy. works great for me, but i don't have chronic severe back pain.

Roomie has used it twice, today and yesterday. most of her pain is GONE, she can stand up straight, does not need to use grocery cart to walk through store. several joints have realigned in her back and her hip joints are almost back in the socket. I heard several loud pops as lower vertebrae went back where they belong.

It is like a miracle. I have never seen her get up without groaning , and pain noises.
her whole FACE is different. It's a face without pain. She says she can feel the blood flow moving throughout her whole body and in her head...

I am glad I found something that truly helps.

The other thing we are exploring is " The Melt Method", another great pain reliever.

[Katniss]

1. The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster. by Associated Press reporter Jonathan Katz.
Basically nothing I didn't already know. He gives very specific examples of NGO's and the assistance they thought was needed (post earthquake) and how not listening to or respecting their Haitian counterparts led to less than stellar results. That said I take exception on too much "rah rah" one-sidedness. Corruption is rampant in Haiti within their own government (not that this is unique to Haitians as the CEO in my county was just indicted on racketeering.) Sadly good intentions don't always produce good results and he gives several well documented cases of project failure. An interesting read if you are curious about "where did my donation go and why are they still living in squalor."

That said I think empowering and micro-funding women owned small business and listening to what *they* say is needed will go a long way. Haiti produces some of the best vanilla in the world and Barbancourt rum is outstanding. As well the Progressive Women of Leogane were promoting cane harvesting and reforestation well before the earthquake. They were also micro-lending amongst themselves long before it became popular.

2. "Gift From the Sea"by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. This is a re-read for me as I take it out every couple of years just to center myself a bit more when all the flotsam and jetsam of life seems to overwhelm. I like the messages of simplicity, self-care not being self-ish, and recognizing our outward environment and habits have a ripple effect on our inward peace of mind and wholeness. A nice little book to slowly read a short chapter each morning to begin the day.

Katniss~~

[Daktari]

Thus far today it has been the relevant fellowship's 12x12 and The first in Laura Antoniou's Marketplace series.

[Semantics]

I'm reading The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell.

[~baby~doll~]

Myrna Loy: The Only Good Girl in Hollywood by Emily W. Leider

A few chapters in and i find it a good read. Myrna s a star who always fascinated me. i love her sexy eyes.

[puddin']

will love for crumbs: a memoir, by jonna ivin

they came to bagdad, by agatha christie

[Hollylane]

The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts

&

The Heart of the Five Love Languages

By Gary D. Chapman

[Kobi]

Angie recommended Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. It is a fascinating read of human pathology that makes ones hair stand on end. Not my usual cup of tea but it was well done and very engrossing.

[NorCalStud]

The butchcock thread. I can imagine several of those stories being published.

Also I am reading Masters Manual..Handbook of Erotic Dominance. Jack Rinella

and then this book that I think is going to offer something very interesting.

Many Lives
Many Masters

True story of a prominent Psychiatrist, his young patient, and Past Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives.

[Kätzchen]

I ditched my summer reading plans and took several books back to Powell's and traded them in for a different book, which was recommended to me by a staffer at the store. I've only just begun to read it and for some reason, I'm already drawn into the story.



http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1351914778l/15783514.jpg

Here's a brief introduction to the story:

Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.

Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark

[Cailin]

Im still (yes. STILL) reading memoirs of a geisha. But! Im just 100 pages til the end. :) loving this book

[GraffitiBoi]

I'm currently reading through a ton of research material for the book I'm writing. I'm also re-reading Kushiel's Dart for fun.

[cinnamongrrl]

I am currently engrossed in, Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage by Edith Belle Gelles

http://www.inthestax.com/book-review-abigail-john-portrait-of-a-marriage/

I bought it over a year ago, but have picked up various other books in the mean time... I just finally picked it up and I have learned so much in the first thirty pages. I have read other things about the Adamses, and I do know that theirs was a true love story.. <3

[Ginger]

Honestly? Pretty much all I've read for the last few months is my own work. Over and over.

[Chelsius]

Joyland by Stephen King

[The JD]

Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Not really sure what I thought it would be about, but am pleasantly surprised.

[Talon]

"Producer"..(lessons shared from 30 years in television)

By Wendy Walker, Senior Executive Producer of Larry King Live

[Cid]

posts and text messages..who has time for more than that?? :seeingstars:

[Mopsie]

Many Lives
Many Masters

True story of a prominent Psychiatrist, his young patient, and Past Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives.

I was just talking about this book with somebody at work ... I read it a number of years ago and really enjoyed it. Tell me what you think when you get time. :)

[Glenn]

"A Transatlantic Love Affair" is about the strange, long-distance, affair, between macho writer Nelson Algren ("Man With The Golden Arm", "Walk On The Wild Side") and the founding mother of modern feminism Simone de Beauvoir ("The Second Sex"). I live across the road from the dilapidated little cottage Nelson bought, where she lived. No one lives there now, and I spend every spare moment just hanging there. She wrote about it to Sartre:
"Algren has bought a ravishing little house hidden in the trees, with a garden running down to a little lake. You cross the lake by boat, and on the other side is dunes, and the immense Lake Michigan, with a lovely, sandy, beach. I think it shall be really agreeable living here."

[girl_dee]

Just finished..

My Mothers Secret


Wonderful quick read, especially if you are a
WW2 history buff!

My Mother's Secret: Based on a True Holocaust Story:Amazon:Books

[Greco]

"In The Body Of The World A Memoir"
by Eve Ensler

transcendent.

Greco

[DiaSmiles]

I am reading The Fall the second book of the vampire series written by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan. Scary....scary....:)

[ONLY]

I just started reading 11/22/63 by Stephen King.

I have been so wrapped up with the Anita Blake series by Laura K. Hamilton.
Just finished her second last book in that series. I am waiting on the last one that should be coming to the library soon.....(if you enjoy vampire & wereanimals /erotic I suggest you check this out) My girl (f) got me onto this series when we met over 3 years ago and I am ahead of her :)

[Joness]

I have just started reading Orlando by Virginia Woolf

Love it already and struggling to put it down. Love the way her writing transcends space, time and sexuality. I love the way she writes, daring and brave of her time. Full of blurred lines and the ever shifting male/female continuum.

Can't stop moving forward but don't want it to end at the same time . . . . argh! Passion . . . breathy breath breathe . . . love it!

Off to read some more, always moving too fast, need to slow down :cowboihorse: xx

[Genesis]

I am re-reading for the umpteen time: Cien años de soledad (One hunded years of solitude) by Gabriel García Márquez
and 更級日記 (As I cross the bridge of dreams) by Sarashina,Nikki

[Mari]

I'm currently reading two books as I'm want to do: one for my edification and one for pure pleasure. The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, Steven Pinker, and A Dance with Dragons by the great bearded mountain, George R.R. Martin.

[bright_arrow]

Just finished

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513M0l8RgPL.jpg

Now reading

http://boyofsf.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/enders-game.jpg

[Venus007]

How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill
It is a fun read, I am Irish so the hyperbole is absolutely correct :wink:
I am enjoying his trashing of bad imperial Roman poetry, as I have had to translate boatloads of it.

[Daktari]

The Slave...the second in the Marketplace series.

[The JD]

Virgin: The Untouched History by Hanne Blank

Just started. Combines historical and medical facts with social analysis to sort out what's really known about virgins and virginity.

[easygoingfemme]

Just finished 11/23/63, Stephen King. SOOOO good. I think it's my favorite ever of his.

Also just finished, for my book club, Beautiful Ruins. It got wonderful reviews. None of us could understand. Hated it on many levels.

Now reading, again for my book club, The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin.The Orchardist: A Novel (P.S.): Amanda Coplin: 9780062188519: Amazon.com: Books It's intense, really intense. Very raw.

Then I need to add in a whole bunch of pre-reading/reviewing to plan for my daughter's curriculum next year. 9th grade! I plan to do a lot of historic fiction with her this year, which we both love. She also wants to read more on time travel so I'm going to re-read Octavia Butler's Kindred to refresh my memory before passing that on for her to chew on.

[Chancie]

I've just learned how to borrow books from the library for my kindle, and I've been reading a lot, mostly light stuff, about a book a day.

I've been reading John Grisham and Agatha Christie's Miss Marple books and various New York Times best sellers that catch my fancy! I just read a children's book by the author of The Ladies #1 Detective Agency, and I just started a Janet Evanovich book with different main characters than her popular numbered series. <-- very light stuff

[Kätzchen]

Just started reading the newest book published by Alfred A. Knopf publishers (Vintage):

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

by Cheryl Strayed (March 26th, 2013)

Hailed as the best non-fiction book of 2012 by The Boston Globe and Book of the Year by NPR, St. Louis Dispatch and Vogue, at twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and she would do it alone. Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her (a brief introduction to Strayed's book provided by Amazon).



http://www.zinzin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/cheryl-strayed-wild.jpg

[Sparkle]

I'm reading book 1 in the "Game of Thrones" series.

I like it a lot, great writing, it's very evocative and it keeps moving ... but my god is it long.

I might need to put it aside for awhile so I can actually read a few other books I have queued up for this summer.

Question for those that have read the "Game of Thrones" series, is it worth it?

I know that is a subjective question.

It's a just such a huge time investment. I haven't had more than an hour a day, to read, for a couple of weeks; I don't feel I'm making a lot of progress with the book, I'm only 50% through book 1 after 2 weeks of reading. For the first time ever I'm tempted to skip the books and watch the television show. But I *know* I will get much more out of the book. I just can't decide if its worth it yet. :|

[justkim]

I have truly enjoyed the series, both in the book form and the t.v. show.
I read the books first and found like any other book series that has been turned into a t.v. show that there are things that seem to be forgotten.
I have not seen this season yet but I will probably go back and reread them just to refresh my mind.
Enjoy and happy reading...



I'm reading book 1 in the "Game of Thrones" series.

I like it a lot, great writing, it's very evocative and it keeps moving ... but my god is it long.

I might need to put it aside for awhile so I can actually read a few other books I have queued up for this summer.

Question for those that have read the "Game of Thrones" series, is it worth it?

I know that is a subjective question.

It's a just such a huge time investment. I haven't had more than an hour a day, to read, for a couple of weeks; I don't feel I'm making a lot of progress with the book, I'm only 50% through book 1 after 2 weeks of reading. For the first time ever I'm tempted to skip the books and watch the television show. But I *know* I will get much more out of the book. I just can't decide if its worth it yet. :|

[~baby~doll~]

Killing At The Cat by Carlene Miller

This is a Lexi Hyatt mystery about a murder taking place at a lesbian bar. So far an interesting read. This is the first book in a series of three, all the books can be read as stand alone.

[Martina]

I read Sum It Up, Pat Summitt's memoir and the last book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. Both were fine. I am shocked that people got all up in arms about Sookie ending up with Sam. He was not my favorite character, but certainly it was a predictable outcome.

[~baby~doll~]

A Cold Case of Murder by Jean Marcy

The Fourth Meg Darcy Mystery I just began reading this book about an unsolved murder.

[puddin']

"the namesake", by jhumpa lahiri (loved "the kite runner")


"let's talk diabetes with owls", by david sedaris (adore me some david sedaris)

[Fancy]

Return to the Caffe Cino

A collection of plays and memoirs edited by Steve Susoyev and George Birimisa

...getting ready for a new project next year and selecting plays. This is exciting stuff. :)

[Fancy]

I really enjoyed this book. Let me know what you thought of it... :)

I was describing gist of the memoir to a friend the other day as we talked about some of the logistical planning that goes into a long hike. There were several bits in the book that were eye-opening.


Just started reading the newest book published by Alfred A. Knopf publishers (Vintage):

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

by Cheryl Strayed (March 26th, 2013)

Hailed as the best non-fiction book of 2012 by The Boston Globe and Book of the Year by NPR, St. Louis Dispatch and Vogue, at twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and she would do it alone. Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her (a brief introduction to Strayed's book provided by Amazon).



http://www.zinzin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/cheryl-strayed-wild.jpg

[Kobi]

Leading Ladies - Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson

Biographical portraits of 63 American female pioneers in military service, journalism, public health, social reform, science, and politics.

Amazing how many female trailblazers I never knew about.

[cinnamongrrl]

I just started reading The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Welles. I needed a fluffy...and short...book after the uber cerebral biography....and I did love the movie...

[Kätzchen]

Return to the Caffe Cino

A collection of plays and memoirs edited by Steve Susoyev and George Birimisa

...getting ready for a new project next year and selecting plays. This is exciting stuff. :)

Your book sounds intriguing (you'll have to tell us more about it, when you're ready) and I sense your excitement concerning new projects and plays for the up and coming season!

I really enjoyed this book. Let me know what you thought of it... :)

I was describing gist of the memoir to a friend the other day as we talked about some of the logistical planning that goes into a long hike. There were several bits in the book that were eye-opening.

I chose Cheryl Strayed's book because.... her story is poignant and her journey took place in the Pacific Northwest, a place that is dear to my heart - the Pacific Crest Trail. Also, I'm reading her memoir rather slowly as I am, like I do so much of the time about anything, analysing tragedy in my own life and revisiting choices I've made over my lifetime. Interestingly enough, I feel a kindred spirit with Strayed's story. I imagine this book was terribly interesting to you Fancy, given your experience with hiking and gps/logistics. :)

For certain, I want to purchase a copy of the book (I borrowed it from the library downtown).

[PoeticSilence]

Map of Dreams by M Rickert:

From Publishers Weekly

Sorrows, anguish and bitter might-have-beens dominate Rickert's fitfully brilliant collection of fantasy fiction, whose title novella, according to Gordon Van Gelder's afterword, reveals a love of the natural world that wonderfully imbues the author's often enigmatic fiction. Rickert's nature is less illumined by golden daffodils than "red in tooth and claw," rife with the fierce necessary complements of birth and death, reality and dream, sanity and madness. Rickert acknowledges her "magical realism" owes a literary debt to Gabriel García Marquez, but her most powerful passages, like "Moorina of the Seals," a startling ecological hymn, and "Many Voices," the horrific exposé of a women's prison, draw on woman's strengths and weaknesses as maiden, matron and crone. "Leda" and her other subtle retellings of myth, couched in the deceptively prosaic dialogue of America's underprivileged, achieve resonances that plumb the darkest depths of human love and loneliness, and occasionally rise to "the song that both connects, and disconnects us, shared, but never owned, life."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

[sierragirrl]

The gifts of imperfection
by Brene Brown

[cinnamongrrl]

I wasn't sure what I was going to read next...and then....I went to the post office and found I had a package. :) I am now reading...

On the Beaten Path: An Appalachian Pilgrimage by Robert Alden Rubin

It details the travels of a man hiking the Appalachian Trail....

[The JD]

I finished The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick a few weeks ago. I haven't seen the movie, so I can't compare...but I'm guessing the movie must be much better. The book was okay, even good in some places. But when it was *finally* time for the Big Reveal, I was a bit disappointed.

After that, I read Castle Waiting, a graphic novel by Linda Medley. It doesn't deviate much from the fairy-tale formula, but it's a good read. I think i picked up some Neil Gaiman influences, which might be why I liked it.

I just downloaded Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman. I just finished episode 8 of the TV show, am completely hooked, and had to get the book to feed my obsession.

[PoeticSilence]

The Surgeon's Tale by Cat Rambo and Jeff VanderMeer

In a world where magic is fading and science begun to ascend, a young surgeon in medical school experiences an obsession so forbidden that its realization will change him forever. "She looked as if she were asleep, still with that slight smile, floating on the thick sargassum, glowing from the emerald tincture that would keep the small crabs and other scavengers from her. She looked otherworldly and beautiful." Sometimes life is not enough. Also including five more stories of dark wonder from Rambo and VanderMeer, from "The Dead Girl's Wedding March" to "The Farmer's Cat." Enter a world of rat suitors, severed arms, and Fungi Et Fruits de Mer, served up with prose both appetizing and uncanny. Dark fantasy has never been quite so decadent . . .(amazon.com)

The author Cat Rambo is someone I know in RL.

[deathbypoem]

Reading a book online that I read in paperback a few weeks ago.

It's about a woman in a polygamist group that fights with her entire might to get the hell out of there.
It's called Escape.

[nycfem]

I loved that book!

Escape: Carolyn Jessop, Laura Palmer: 9780767927574: Amazon.com: Books

Reading a book online that I read in paperback a few weeks ago.

It's about a woman in a polygamist group that fights with her entire might to get the hell out of there.
It's called Escape.

[deathbypoem]

I loved that book!

Escape: Carolyn Jessop, Laura Palmer: 9780767927574: Amazon.com: Books (http://www.amazon.com/Escape-Carolyn-Jessop/dp/0767927575/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376333242&sr=8-1&keywords=escape)

oh my goodness. Me too. Little did I know that all of that really existed. I mean to an extent I knew of things here and there but that is beyond disturbing. :) glad you enjoyed it too

[Soon]

Coming Clean: A Memoir: Kimberly Rae Miller


Both Blurbs Taken From Amazon:

Kim Miller is an immaculately put-together woman with a great career, a loving boyfriend, and a tidy apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. You would never guess that Kim grew up behind the closed doors of her family’s idyllic Long Island house, navigating between teetering stacks of aging newspapers, broken computers, and boxes upon boxes of unused junk festering in every room—the product of her father’s painful and unending struggle with hoarding.
In this moving coming-of-age story, Kim brings to life her rat-infested home, her childhood consumed by concealing her father’s shameful secret from friends, and the emotional burden that ultimately led to an attempt to take her own life. And in beautiful prose, Miller sheds light on her complicated yet loving relationship with her parents that has thrived in spite of the odds.

Coming Clean is a story about recognizing where we come from and the relationships that define us—and about finding peace in the homes we make for ourselves.

-----------
The Chronology of Water: A Memoir Paperback
by Lidia Yuknavitch (http://www.amazon.com/The-Chronology-Water-A-Memoir/dp/0979018838/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1376337242&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=Chronology+f+water)


This is not your mother’s memoir. In The Chronology of Water, Lidia Yuknavitch expertly moves the reader through issues of gender, sexuality, violence, and the family from the point of view of a lifelong swimmer turned artist. In writing that explores the nature of memoir itself, her story traces the effect of extreme grief on a young woman’s developing sexuality that some define as untraditional because of her attraction to both men and women. Her emergence as a writer evolves at the same time and takes the narrator on a journey of addiction, self-destruction, and ultimately survival that finally comes in the shape of love and motherhood.

[KCBUTCH]

The 40 day Prosperity program :)

[blush]

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Miller
President Garfield spent $150 on his Presidential campaign. It's an amazing account of his presidency.

The Language of Flowers
In spite of the plot holes big enough to drive a Mac truck through, I loved the characters.

The Perfume Collector
It's a great realistic fiction about classic perfumes.

The Cuckoo's Calling
I almost gave up on the stereotypical characters, but they're intentional. I loved the kitten stationary. Very Dolores Umbridge.

[RockOn]

CLR via C# 4th edition 2012 by Jeff Richter

I am very familiar with parts of it but decided today to study/read one chapter a day at work ... I believe it will be beneficial. It is some 900 pages of pure geek.

[Sparkle]

I'm reading book 1 in the "Game of Thrones" series.
...

It's a just such a huge time investment. I haven't had more than an hour a day, to read, for a couple of weeks; I don't feel I'm making a lot of progress with the book, I'm only 50% through book 1 after 2 weeks of reading. For the first time ever I'm tempted to skip the books and watch the television show. But I *know* I will get much more out of the book. I just can't decide if its worth it yet. :|


I stuck with book 1 of 'Song of Fire and Ice: Game of Thrones' - based upon feedback from a few of you and now I am totally addicted. I'm currently at 65% of book 3 'A Storm of Swords'; I've just passed the "red wedding" scene. :|

Definitely worth the time investment, thanks for all the great feedback! :)

[puddin']

I loved that book!

Escape: Carolyn Jessop, Laura Palmer: 9780767927574: Amazon.com: Books (http://www.amazon.com/Escape-Carolyn-Jessop/dp/0767927575/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376333242&sr=8-1&keywords=escape)


wow, will hafta check that one out.

"buried (a bone secrets novel)", by kendra elliot

""let's explore diabetes with owls", david sedaris

[ONLY]

Affliction by Laura K. Hamilton (the Anita Blake series)
Excellent series ( I think this is book 21 or so) SS (f) got me hooked on them:seeingstars:

[nycfem]

Tried out:

Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure: Sarah Macdonald: 9780767915748: Amazon.com: Books

but I just couldn't get into it. I stopped the book towards the beginning. I love travel writing but I found her sense of humor to be condescending or something. Some others on Amazon felt the same way.

[nycfem]

Oh, I forgot. I knew I was reading a good book! I'm also reading:

Amazon.com: Roseannearchy: Dispatches from the Nut Farm: Roseanne Barr: Books

I didn't expect to like this book but I'm loving it! It's a memoir by Rosanne Barr that focuses a lot on:

-her experience growing up as a fat child
-her many years as part of a lesbian feminist collective (even though she's straight, she has a lesbian sister- and they are politically aligned)
-her fierce feminism and living outside the box

It has some very interesting and moving stories and also is very funny! I tend to prefer reading books on feminist theory by lesbians but Rosanne really holds her own. Surprisingly enjoyable read.

[Slowpurr]

Kurt Vonnegut

Look At The Birdie

[Luv]

A text book on surgical nursing. I love any book related to the medical field

[Katelar]

Oh, I forgot. I knew I was reading a good book! I'm also reading:

Amazon.com: Roseannearchy: Dispatches from the Nut Farm: Roseanne Barr: Books (http://www.amazon.com/Roseannearchy-Dispatches-Farm-Roseanne-Barr/dp/B00509COIW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376622556&sr=8-1&keywords=Rosannearchy)

I didn't expect to like this book but I'm loving it! It's a memoir by Rosanne Barr that focuses a lot on:

-her experience growing up as a fat child
-her many years as part of a lesbian feminist collective (even though she's straight, she has a lesbian sister- and they are politically aligned)
-her fierce feminism and living outside the box

It has some very interesting and moving stories and also is very funny! I tend to prefer reading books on feminist theory by lesbians but Rosanne really holds her own. Surprisingly enjoyable read.

That looks really good, I may have to get a copy when the price comes down a bit.

I've just started reading ' The unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry'. It's different to what I usually read as I'm a non fiction person mainly. So far it's enjoyable.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry: Amazon.co.uk: Rachel Joyce: Books

[Soon]

Paint it Black--Janet Fitch


blurb from Amazon:

Josie Tyrell, art model, runaway, and denizen of LA's rock scene finds a chance at real love with Michael Faraday, a Harvard dropout and son of a renowned pianist. But when she receives a call from the coroner, asking her to identify her lover's body, her bright dreams all turn to black.

As Josie struggles to understand Michael's death and to hold onto the world they shared, she is both attracted to and repelled by his pianist mother, Meredith, who blames Josie for her son's torment. Soon the two women are drawn into a twisted relationship that reflects equal parts distrust and blind need.

With the luxurious prose and fever pitch intensity that are her hallmarks, Janet Fitch weaves a spellbinding tale of love, betrayal, and the possibility of transcendence.


"Lushly written, dramatically plotted. . . Fitch's Los Angeles is so real it breathes." -Atlantic Monthly

[PoeticSilence]

Crackpot Palace by Jeffrey Ford

From the Back Cover


From the unparalleled imagination of award-winning author Jeffrey Ford come twenty short stories (one, "The Wish Head," written expressly for this collection) that boldly redefine the world. Crackpot Palace is a sumptuous feast of the unexpected—an unforgettable journey that will carry readers to amazing places, though at times the locales may seem strangely familiar, almost like home. Whether he's tracking ghostly events on the border of New Jersey's mysterious Pine Barrens or following a well-equipped automaton general into battle, giving a welcome infusion of new blood to the hoary vampire trope or exposing the truth about what really went down on Dr. Moreau's Island of Lost Souls, Jeffrey Ford has opened a door into a dark and fantastic realm where dream and memory become one.

[Daktari]

Haynes Bicycle Maintenance book

[cinnamongrrl]

I'm actually reading two books, because SOMEONE stole my book while camping...

Animal Farm by George Orwell. I THINK this was required reading in high school...but I don't remember reading it.

Animal Farm is an allegorical and dystopian novel by George Orwell, published in England on 17 August 1945. According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then on into the Stalin era in the Soviet Union.[1] Orwell, a democratic socialist,[2] was a critic of Joseph Stalin and hostile to Moscow-directed Stalinism, especially after his experiences with the NKVD and the Spanish Civil War.[3] The Soviet Union, he believed, had become a brutal dictatorship, built upon a cult of personality and enforced by a reign of terror. In a letter to Yvonne Davet, Orwell described Animal Farm as a satirical tale against Stalin "une conte satirique contre Stalin",[4] and in his essay "Why I Write" (1946), he wrote that Animal Farm was the first book in which he had tried, with full consciousness of what he was doing, "to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole".

and for my new selection whilest I wait for this one back I am reading,

The Reluctant Saint: St. Francis of Assisi by Donald Spoto

Acclaimed biographer Donald Spoto strips away the legends from the life of Francis of Assisi to reveal the true story of a man who has too often been obscured by pious iconography. Drawing on unprecedented access to unexplored archives, plus Francis's own letters, Spoto places Francis within the context of the multifaceted ecclesiastical, political, and social forces of medieval Italy, casting new light on Francis and showing how his emphasis on charity as the heart of the Gospel's message helped him pioneer a new social movement. This nuanced portrait reveals the multifaceted character of a man who can genuinely be said to have changed the course of history.

[Teddybear]

I'm actually reading two books, because SOMEONE stole my book while camping.....


I did NOT steal ur book. U told me on the way that u were ALREADY reXing another book. I'm almost done with it. U should have it back tonite. R u going to finish it as quick as I????

[lusciouskiwi]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1185529_641692382516422_1863133331_n.jpg

[cinnamongrrl]

I am now reading...

Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived by Ralph Helfer

Spanning seven decades and three continents, Modoc is one of the most amazing true animal stories ever told. Raised together in a small German circus town, a boy and an elephant formed a bond that would last their entire lives, and would be tested time and again; through a near-fatal shipwreck in the Indian Ocean, an apprenticeship with the legendary Mahout elephant trainers in the Indian teak forests, and their eventual rise to circus stardom in 1940s New York City. Modoc is a captivating true story of loyalty, friendship, and high adventure, to be treasured by animal lovers everywhere.

[deathbypoem]

http://www.amazon.com/The-Dark-Side-Twilight-Justice/dp/0965153606


This is what I'm currently reading

[Jerseyboi]

James Paterson... Alex Cross series..:balloon:

[puddin']

read "when i found you", by catherine ryan hyde, this weekend. it was a real good read...

[MsBluem]

I'm trying to finish up The Ethical Slut so I can really get into In the Garden of Beasts. I tried to multitask and I sort of suck at it.

[MysticOceansFL]

The book I'm reading is " Princ. of sociology for when I start my class tomorrow.

[aishah]

the professor's daughter by emily raboteau.

[StillettoDoll]

I have been reading these books , got very interested in conservation after reading a Dian Fossey memoir .
This book by Jane Goodall is about conservation of different animals saved all over the world and the people who dedicate
there lives to helping save our animals, love this book I would like to read more of Jane Goodall works. . Love her . Also reading this other book written by Ms Goodall
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PdoZlEBkwJE/TQaJq0sOxnI/AAAAAAAABmo/414nUF465LA/s320/hope-for-animals.jpghttp://images02.olx.co.za/ui/2/95/81/1357384976_469799481_1-The-primate-family-tree-in-excellent-condition-Lyndhurst.jpg


Check out Chimp Haven

[PoeticSilence]

Herodotus (I work on reading the book slowly to get the most out of the histories)

[Chelsius]

I just picked up Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwell today, and I'm already sucked in.

[ONLY]

Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger

It came up in another book I was reading and I remember hearing the title quite a few times in the past. Seems like it was a book most school gave to read but we never did. I do remember reading MacBeth in highschool though.

[deathbypoem]

http://www.amazon.com/Loris-Song-Story-American-Captive/dp/1432738291


Currently reading Lori's Song- Its a true story about an American woman who was held captive in Iran. Needless to say, it isn't for the faint of heart. Regardless of the struggle, she survived and overcame her deepest darkest fears.

[Katniss]

1. "Looking for the Gulf Motel" by Richard Blanco

A poetry book (he was the poet chosen by Pres. Obama for the inaguration) that is a collection of three movements taking the reader from childhood to adulthood.

"As a child born into the milieu of his Cuban exiled familia, the first movement delves into early questions of cultural identity and their evolution into his unrelenting sense of displacement and quest for the elusive meaning of home. The second, begins with poems peering back into family again, examining the blurred lines of gender, the frailty of his father-son relationship, and the intersection of his cultural and sexual identities as a Cuban-American gay man living in rural Maine. In the last movement, poems focused on his mother’s life shaped by exile, his father’s death, and the passing of a generation of relatives, all provide lessons about his own impermanence in the world and the permanence of loss."


2. "Life Traces of the Georgia Coast" by Anthony Martin


"This is a book about ichnology (the study of such traces), a wonderful way to learn about the behavior of organisms, living and long extinct. Life Traces presents an overview of the traces left by modern animals and plants in this biologically rich region; shows how life traces relate to the environments, natural history, and behaviors of their tracemakers; and applies that knowledge toward a better understanding of the fossilized traces that ancient life left in the geologic record. "


and with the kiddo at bedtime;

3. "Follow My leader" by James Garfield

I recall reading this as a child and enjoying the book. The story follows a young boy who is blinded by a fireworks accident. He has to re-learn all the things he used to know but without the advantage of sight. He is finally given the chance to have a guide dog which is where the learning (and adventure) really begins.


Katniss~~

[willow]

And the Mountains Echoed (http://khaledhosseini.com/books/and-the-mountains-echoed/synopsis/) by Khaled Hosseini

[deathbypoem]

http://www.amazon.com/Think-No-Evil-Schoolhouse-Shooting/dp/1416562982


THE TRUE STORY OF OCTOBER 2, 2006, WHEN CHARLES ROBERTS ENTERED AN AMISH SCHOOLHOUSE, bound and shot ten schoolgirls, and then committed suicide.

[puddin']

"a pavilion of women: a novel of life in the women's quarters", pearl s. buck

[Hollylane]

http://www.flixfilm.dk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/orange-is-the-new-black-netflix-danmark.jpg

5% in on my Kindle, and I love it already!

[cinnamongrrl]

I picked this up on a whim... I had read the biography of John and Abigail Adams and thought this would be an excellent parallel. And it IS! :)

http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/14-non-fiction/347-founding-mothers-roberts

[Jesse]

Deep Survival-
Who Lives,
Who Dies,
and Why

- Laurence Gonzales

[ONLY]

The Hunger Games. Saw the movie last summer but thought I would check out the book.

[Jesse]

I haven't seen the movie yet, but the trilogy is really good.

The Hunger Games. Saw the movie last summer but thought I would check out the book.

[nycfem]

Love these types of books. If you get a chance, report back on what you think of it :)

Deep Survival-
Who Lives,
Who Dies,
and Why

- Laurence Gonzales

[The JD]

I just started The Killer Wore Leather: A Mystery by Laura Antoniou. If you've ever been to a leather contest or a BDSM event, you'll love this book. I can't say yet how it holds up as a mystery, but Antoniou's keen eye and sharp wit note all the details of a leather pageant, from the behind-the-scenes workings of the event to the smorgasbord of BDSM identities and personalities.

I'm just two chapters into it, and there have been a few places where I laughed out loud at the dialogue-- not because it's farcical, but because it's so damned TRUE ("Go find boy Jack. No, the other boy Jack."). No master, slave or pony boy is safe from Antoniou's gentle jabs. But I also see a love for her characters, and am already invested. Going back to read more!

[puddin']

"a lion among men", (3rd in the gregory macguire wicked years series)...

[tonaderspeisung]

i'm about a quarter of the way into
confessions of an economic hit man - john perkins

incessant, vague, repetitive drivel

i'm convinced this book was written, with full consent of economic hit men everywhere, to undermine legitimate concerns about world banking policies

[Jerseyboi]

James Paterson!!! Still on the Alex Cross series. 4 Blind Mice!

[torchiegirl]

French Island Elegance ~ Michael Connors

ok, so it's a little more like looking opposed to reading!.


...
...
..

[torchiegirl]

British West Indies Style ~ Michael Connors

*still looking at pictures mostly.

...
...
..

[Mopsie]

A friend recommended THIS (http://www.nadiabolzweber.com/books/pastrix-the-cranky-beautiful-faith-of-a-sinner-saint) book.

Has anyone read it or know much about Bolz-Weber?

*curious*