What are you reading?

betenoire · 11-19-2011, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UofMfan

I finished Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, I guess being sick gave me the opportunity to finally finish it. It was good, not excellent, and I am sure a sequel is coming.

Totally a sequel, there was no way to leave the ending open like that without a sequel in mind.

It was a cute book. I liked the use of the old photographs. The book did feel a little "young" for me, though.

1QuirkyKiwi · 11-21-2011, 04:00 AM

After some insistant persuasion be some friends (including one who like me, isn't into fantasy) I'm going the the local Library to get the Twilight trilogy. I've avoided reading the books and watching the movies to date. I'm not really interested in Vampire stories (I read a lot when I was younger and most were fairly generic), the only exception is: Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice. I still have the book (and movie on DVD), I felt it broke the mould of Vampiric stories and apart from Bram Stoker's Dracula, it holds a bench mark of quality and originality........so, I'll give the Twilight trilogy a chance - no guarantee I'm going to like them, lol!

foxyshaman · 12-01-2011, 12:51 PM

I am listening to a six CD set called:

Sitting by the Well ~ Bringing the Feminine to Consciousness through Language, Dreams, and Metaphor By Marion Woodman.

I am giving this CD set to every single woman on my christmas list. It is inspiring, eye opening and filled with deep deep insights. She was described as a mythopoetic author. In Canada, and abroad she was a women's movement figure. She was a Jungian analyst and from what I can tell one of the most widely read authors on feminine psychology. She was anorexic for 25 years and it was her illness that led her to Jungian psychology and dream analysis. I would have loved to have met this charming, intelligent and incredibly witty woman. This CD set has taught me MORE about Feminine symbolism and the female archetype than anything I have ever delved into.

Sparkle · 12-01-2011, 01:36 PM

I'm currently reading

Snowdrops by A.D. Miller

"That’s the truth about the Russians that I missed until it was too late. The Russians will do the impossible thing—the thing you think they can’t do, the thing you haven’t even thought of. They will set fire to Moscow when the French are coming or poison each other in foreign cities. They will do it, and afterwards they will behave as if nothing has happened at all. And if you stay in Russia long enough, so will you."

Next on deck is IQ84 by Haruki Murakami

Praise for Haruki Murakami:
"Murakami is like a magician who explain what he's doing as he performs the trick and still makes you believe he has supernatural powers... But while anyone can tell a story that resembles a dream, it's a rare artist, like this one, who can make us feel that we are dreaming it ourselves."
— The New York Times Book Review

Greyson · 12-01-2011, 02:18 PM

I am currently reading the Jane Dunn book. After I finish this, then onto Gold's book about the Irish Pirate Queen. I was drawn to read these books because they were all very powerful women living in 16th Century Britian. To be powerful women in these times I suspect these women were "above average."

If you like history, and powerful women I think you will enjoy reading these books. Queen Elizabeth and Grace O'Malley did meet, face-to-face. Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots never did meet face-to-face. Most of us know how that story ended.
__________________________________________________ ______________

Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens -Jane Dunn

Against the backdrop of sixteenth-century England, Scotland, and France, Dunn paints portraits of a pair of protagonists whose formidable strengths were placed in relentless opposition. Protestant Elizabeth, the bastard daughter of Anne Boleyn, whose legitimacy had to be vouchsafed by legal means, glowed with executive ability and a visionary energy as bright as her red hair. Mary, the Catholic successor whom England’s rivals wished to see on the throne, was charming, feminine, and deeply persuasive. That two such women, queens in their own right, should have been contemporaries and neighbours sets in motion a joint biography of rare spark and page-turning power.

The Pirate Queen: The Story of Grace O'Malley, Irish Pirate -Alan Gold

Grace O'Malley commanded a dozen ships and the obedience of thousands of men. Her empire stretched from Connaught on the Irish coast to the cobalt aters of Africa. Through the daring of her piracy, Grace nearly bankrupted the English treasury-and her outright defiance brought embarrassment to Elizabeth I. Yet the lives of these two amazing women were inextricably intertwined-and their eventual meeting during the most brilliant and romantic era that Europe has ever known would shock the world.

NorCalStud · 12-01-2011, 02:47 PM

Great hearing new titles. I am into the queens. Amazing women. Thx for the book reports.

Julien · 12-01-2011, 02:59 PM

I just finished 11/22/63 by Stephen King and beginning The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. King's book was very good and I'm looking forward to The Hunger Games.

lyric · 12-01-2011, 03:01 PM

Last night I downloaded this for my Kindle, so this is next on the list and I may start it tonight:

Annabel: A Novel

"Kathleen Winter’s luminous debut novel is a deeply affecting portrait of life in an enchanting seaside town and the trials of growing up unique in a restrictive environment.

In 1968, into the devastating, spare atmosphere of the remote coastal town of Labrador, Canada, a child is born: a baby who appears to be neither fully boy nor fully girl, but both at once. Only three people are privy to the secret—the baby’s parents, Jacinta and Treadway, and a trusted neighbor and midwife, Thomasina. Though Treadway makes the difficult decision to raise the child as a boy named Wayne, the women continue to quietly nurture the boy’s female side. And as Wayne grows into adulthood within the hyper-masculine hunting society of his father, his shadow-self, a girl he thinks of as “Annabel,” is never entirely extinguished.

Kathleen Winter has crafted a literary gem about the urge to unveil mysterious truth in a culture that shuns contradiction, and the body’s insistence on coming home. A daringly unusual debut full of unforgettable beauty, Annabel introduces a remarkable new voice to American readers." from [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Annabel-A-Novel-ebook/dp/product-description/B004I6DD2O/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=133140011&s=digital-text"]Amazon.com: Annabel: A Novel eBook: Kathleen Winter: Kindle Store[/ame]

I just finished this one...

The Red Garden

"The Red Garden introduces us to the luminous and haunting world of Blackwell, Massachusetts, capturing the unexpected turns in its history and in our own lives.
In exquisite prose, Hoffman offers a transforming glimpse of small-town America, presenting us with some three hundred years of passion, dark secrets, loyalty, and redemption in a web of tales where characters' lives are intertwined by fate and by their own actions.
From the town's founder, a brave young woman from England who has no fear of blizzards or bears, to the young man who runs away to New York City with only his dog for company, the characters in The Red Garden are extraordinary and vivid: a young wounded Civil War soldier who is saved by a passionate neighbor, a woman who meets a fiercely human historical character, a poet who falls in love with a blind man, a mysterious traveler who comes to town in the year when summer never arrives.
At the center of everyone’s life is a mysterious garden where only red plants can grow, and where the truth can be found by those who dare to look.
Beautifully crafted, shimmering with magic, The Red Garden is as unforgettable as it is moving."
from [ame="http://www.amazon.com/The-Red-Garden-ebook/dp/product-description/B004J4WL6O/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=133140011&s=digital-text"]Amazon.com: The Red Garden eBook: Alice Hoffman: Kindle Store[/ame]

11-21-2011, 04:00 AM	#2
1QuirkyKiwi Senior Member How Do You Identify?: BBW. Unique femininity that does not encompass the western paradigm. Preferred Pronoun?: Anything Respectful! Relationship Status: Single, Happy, not Desparate or Looking, but Open to Possibilities... Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Europe and Aotearoa on a 5:2 ratio. Posts: 2,308 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 11,003 Thanked 6,035 Times in 1,617 Posts Rep Power: 21474852	After some insistant persuasion be some friends (including one who like me, isn't into fantasy) I'm going the the local Library to get the Twilight trilogy. I've avoided reading the books and watching the movies to date. I'm not really interested in Vampire stories (I read a lot when I was younger and most were fairly generic), the only exception is: Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice. I still have the book (and movie on DVD), I felt it broke the mould of Vampiric stories and apart from Bram Stoker's Dracula, it holds a bench mark of quality and originality........so, I'll give the Twilight trilogy a chance - no guarantee I'm going to like them, lol! __________________ What will make the difference to me is your strength of character and what's in your heart...

12-01-2011, 12:51 PM	#3
foxyshaman Member How Do You Identify?: spiritually minded dirt dog Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: canada Posts: 898 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 3,957 Thanked 2,592 Times in 663 Posts Rep Power: 21474852	Geek Alert I am listening to a six CD set called: Sitting by the Well ~ Bringing the Feminine to Consciousness through Language, Dreams, and Metaphor By Marion Woodman. I am giving this CD set to every single woman on my christmas list. It is inspiring, eye opening and filled with deep deep insights. She was described as a mythopoetic author. In Canada, and abroad she was a women's movement figure. She was a Jungian analyst and from what I can tell one of the most widely read authors on feminine psychology. She was anorexic for 25 years and it was her illness that led her to Jungian psychology and dream analysis. I would have loved to have met this charming, intelligent and incredibly witty woman. This CD set has taught me MORE about Feminine symbolism and the female archetype than anything I have ever delved into. __________________ Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. Muriel Strode

12-01-2011, 01:36 PM	#4
Sparkle Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Femme Preferred Pronoun?: She, please Relationship Status: Loved Up Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Western MA Posts: 2,183 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,001 Thanked 6,554 Times in 1,553 Posts Rep Power: 21474853	I'm currently reading Snowdrops by A.D. Miller "That’s the truth about the Russians that I missed until it was too late. The Russians will do the impossible thing—the thing you think they can’t do, the thing you haven’t even thought of. They will set fire to Moscow when the French are coming or poison each other in foreign cities. They will do it, and afterwards they will behave as if nothing has happened at all. And if you stay in Russia long enough, so will you." Next on deck is IQ84 by Haruki Murakami Praise for Haruki Murakami: "Murakami is like a magician who explain what he's doing as he performs the trick and still makes you believe he has supernatural powers... But while anyone can tell a story that resembles a dream, it's a rare artist, like this one, who can make us feel that we are dreaming it ourselves." — The New York Times Book Review __________________ I am made of stars

12-01-2011, 02:18 PM	#5
Greyson Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: Transmasculine/Non-Binary Preferred Pronoun?: Hy (Pronounced He) Relationship Status: Married Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 6,589 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 21,132 Thanked 8,146 Times in 2,005 Posts Rep Power: 21474858	I am currently reading the Jane Dunn book. After I finish this, then onto Gold's book about the Irish Pirate Queen. I was drawn to read these books because they were all very powerful women living in 16th Century Britian. To be powerful women in these times I suspect these women were "above average." If you like history, and powerful women I think you will enjoy reading these books. Queen Elizabeth and Grace O'Malley did meet, face-to-face. Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots never did meet face-to-face. Most of us know how that story ended. __________________________________________________ ______________ Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens -Jane Dunn Against the backdrop of sixteenth-century England, Scotland, and France, Dunn paints portraits of a pair of protagonists whose formidable strengths were placed in relentless opposition. Protestant Elizabeth, the bastard daughter of Anne Boleyn, whose legitimacy had to be vouchsafed by legal means, glowed with executive ability and a visionary energy as bright as her red hair. Mary, the Catholic successor whom England’s rivals wished to see on the throne, was charming, feminine, and deeply persuasive. That two such women, queens in their own right, should have been contemporaries and neighbours sets in motion a joint biography of rare spark and page-turning power. The Pirate Queen: The Story of Grace O'Malley, Irish Pirate -Alan Gold Grace O'Malley commanded a dozen ships and the obedience of thousands of men. Her empire stretched from Connaught on the Irish coast to the cobalt aters of Africa. Through the daring of her piracy, Grace nearly bankrupted the English treasury-and her outright defiance brought embarrassment to Elizabeth I. Yet the lives of these two amazing women were inextricably intertwined-and their eventual meeting during the most brilliant and romantic era that Europe has ever known would shock the world. __________________ Sometimes you don't realize your own strength until you come face to face with your greatest weakness. - Susan Gale

12-01-2011, 02:47 PM	#6
NorCalStud Member How Do You Identify?: gaea's Daddy and Fiance Preferred Pronoun?: Ours Relationship Status: Engaged with gaea:-) Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Island Mountain Posts: 440 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 1,630 Thanked 1,465 Times in 359 Posts Rep Power: 18918588	Great hearing new titles. I am into the queens. Amazing women. Thx for the book reports. __________________ "Love the questions" ...Rainier Marie Rilke...Letters to a young poet Che

12-01-2011, 02:59 PM	#7
Julien Member How Do You Identify?: TG/GenderQueer Preferred Pronoun?: I'm flexible, but only up to a point. Relationship Status: Single Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Alabama, Gulf Coast area Posts: 1,007 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 2,247 Thanked 2,702 Times in 737 Posts Rep Power: 21474853	I just finished 11/22/63 by Stephen King and beginning The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. King's book was very good and I'm looking forward to The Hunger Games. __________________ Julien “Self-plagiarism is style.” Alfred Hitchcock Formerly known as Graphiteta2s

12-01-2011, 03:01 PM	#8
lyric Junior Member How Do You Identify?: Queer Femme Preferred Pronoun?: she Relationship Status: quiet and content Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Springfield, VA Posts: 88 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 161 Thanked 303 Times in 56 Posts Rep Power: 3971634	Last night I downloaded this for my Kindle, so this is next on the list and I may start it tonight: Annabel: A Novel "Kathleen Winter’s luminous debut novel is a deeply affecting portrait of life in an enchanting seaside town and the trials of growing up unique in a restrictive environment. In 1968, into the devastating, spare atmosphere of the remote coastal town of Labrador, Canada, a child is born: a baby who appears to be neither fully boy nor fully girl, but both at once. Only three people are privy to the secret—the baby’s parents, Jacinta and Treadway, and a trusted neighbor and midwife, Thomasina. Though Treadway makes the difficult decision to raise the child as a boy named Wayne, the women continue to quietly nurture the boy’s female side. And as Wayne grows into adulthood within the hyper-masculine hunting society of his father, his shadow-self, a girl he thinks of as “Annabel,” is never entirely extinguished. Kathleen Winter has crafted a literary gem about the urge to unveil mysterious truth in a culture that shuns contradiction, and the body’s insistence on coming home. A daringly unusual debut full of unforgettable beauty, Annabel introduces a remarkable new voice to American readers." from [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Annabel-A-Novel-ebook/dp/product-description/B004I6DD2O/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=133140011&s=digital-text"]Amazon.com: Annabel: A Novel eBook: Kathleen Winter: Kindle Store[/ame] I just finished this one... The Red Garden "The Red Garden introduces us to the luminous and haunting world of Blackwell, Massachusetts, capturing the unexpected turns in its history and in our own lives. In exquisite prose, Hoffman offers a transforming glimpse of small-town America, presenting us with some three hundred years of passion, dark secrets, loyalty, and redemption in a web of tales where characters' lives are intertwined by fate and by their own actions. From the town's founder, a brave young woman from England who has no fear of blizzards or bears, to the young man who runs away to New York City with only his dog for company, the characters in The Red Garden are extraordinary and vivid: a young wounded Civil War soldier who is saved by a passionate neighbor, a woman who meets a fiercely human historical character, a poet who falls in love with a blind man, a mysterious traveler who comes to town in the year when summer never arrives. At the center of everyone’s life is a mysterious garden where only red plants can grow, and where the truth can be found by those who dare to look. Beautifully crafted, shimmering with magic, The Red Garden is as unforgettable as it is moving." from [ame="http://www.amazon.com/The-Red-Garden-ebook/dp/product-description/B004J4WL6O/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=133140011&s=digital-text"]Amazon.com: The Red Garden eBook: Alice Hoffman: Kindle Store[/ame]