Reading Books For Pleasure

[FurryFury]

295 pages, The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion 4/5

Engaging and fun, this book's narrator seems to be an Aspie. The author isn't an Aspie but seems to "get" them. My main question is could love change and/or conquer these differences in real life? I know people who have married Aspies and it always makes me wonder why they would settle for less emotion or love? I still do wonder but it seems a less valid question after reading this book, the answer is love is different.

 

[seela]

295 pages, The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion 4/5

Engaging and fun, this book's narrator seems to be an Aspie. The author isn't an Aspie but seems to "get" them. My main question is could love change and/or conquer these differences in real life? I know people who have married Aspies and it always makes me wonder why they would settle for less emotion or love? I still do wonder but it seems a less valid question after reading this book, the answer is love is different.

I just finished this as well.

I liked the book too, a lot more than I thought I would. The story was very predictable, but it was fun and I got a few good giggles out of it. A fast, nice read.

 

[IrisAlthea]

Dashiell Hammett's The thin man
Liked it!
Now I'm totally in the mood to watch a bunch of old noir classics though, so I'll have to see what I can find.

I also finished David Bodanis' The electric univerese. The shocking true story of electricity.
I brought it with me on a long train ride, and it was just as great for that kind of reading as I thought it would be.
Unfortunately both the book and I got soaked in a rainstorm between the station and the hotel and the book was not in a readable condition on the train ride home.
Then I kind of lost track and now that I finished it, I found that I didn't like it as as much.
Don't know if the first part was better or if I was just in a better mood for it when I read the first part.

 

[seela]

I also finished David Bodanis' The electric univerese. The shocking true story of electricity.
I brought it with me on a long train ride, and it was just as great for that kind of reading as I thought it would be.
Unfortunately both the book and I got soaked in a rainstorm between the station and the hotel and the book was not in a readable condition on the train ride home.
Then I kind of lost track and now that I finished it, I found that I didn't like it as as much.
Don't know if the first part was better or if I was just in a better mood for it when I read the first part.

I don't know why, but this often happens to me too. I take a book with me to a plane or a train, thoroughly enjoy it and when I pick it up later when I'm not in a train or a plane and don't like it anymore. There must be something about traveling that makes you appreciate so-so literature more than you normally would.

I've been reading a lot of Nordic literature lately. I think it's time to move on. I picked up a few books by Iranian authors in the library, but what I'd love to find is some African literature, that isn't very sad.

I've asked before, but I'll ask again. Does anybody know any good African authors? Particularly light and happy kind of literature. Everything that seems to become globally popular from Africa are the books that depict war, slavery, famine, general sadness. I'd love to read something positive, even if the themes of slavery, war and HIV are on the background.

So far the only books like that I've found are the Mma Ramotswe series and Baking Cakes in Kigali and When Hoopoes Go to Heaven.

 

[IrisAlthea]

I don't know why, but this often happens to me too. I take a book with me to a plane or a train, thoroughly enjoy it and when I pick it up later when I'm not in a train or a plane and don't like it anymore. There must be something about traveling that makes you appreciate so-so literature more than you normally would.

I've been reading a lot of Nordic literature lately. I think it's time to move on. I picked up a few books by Iranian authors in the library, but what I'd love to find is some African literature, that isn't very sad.

I've asked before, but I'll ask again. Does anybody know any good African authors? Particularly light and happy kind of literature. Everything that seems to become globally popular from Africa are the books that depict war, slavery, famine, general sadness. I'd love to read something positive, even if the themes of slavery, war and HIV are on the background.

So far the only books like that I've found are the Mma Ramotswe series and Baking Cakes in Kigali and When Hoopoes Go to Heaven.

Yes, I usually choose books that I know will not capture me totally.
I don't want to miss things on the trip and I don't want to bawl like a baby on the shoulder of other travelers.
I guess it is that time when I fell asleep on the shoulder of that nice Italian man that still haunts me. You know the expensive suits they wear... Eh yes, totally embarrassing.

Well African can be debated and positive too, but I really like Alexandra Fuller's Don't let's go to the dogs tonight.
I've probably mentioned it before and I do think it's positive. She's written other things too, that I intend to find eventually.

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[FurryFury]

There are sequels. Glad you enjoyed it. Lois Lowery is an excellent writer.

Every time I write a book post recently it gets swallowed . In the middle of the night I read The Giver by Lois Lowry. It was a good time of day to read it I think. I can see why its so popular. Quite chilling.

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[FurryFury]

I agree with you. I did like her book Number the Stars though which is about WW2 and trying to survive. More realistic fiction, it shares an episode of rescue I had not previously be aware of.

Thank you, I did not know. I downloaded the second for tonight.

I have never actually emptied a book from my ipad and I don't know how to delete them from cloud storage ( there is only so often I reread some books...like that darn Beauty book for book club) but I think I should think about it. My machine is really cranky.


Edit: I don't think this sequel had the same power as the first which was so beautifully crafted. I might read the other two, but not yet.

 

[FurryFury]

Yeah, it's not my usual thing but it was quite charming and fun.

I just finished this as well.

I liked the book too, a lot more than I thought I would. The story was very predictable, but it was fun and I got a few good giggles out of it. A fast, nice read.

 

[Currahee_Gent]

I’m reading Blonde, by Joyce Carol Oats.

I have to get a move on because it’s due back at the library soon. But hey, the library is free and I don't get cluttered up with books.

 

[IrisAlthea]

I’m reading Blonde, by Joyce Carol Oats.

I have to get a move on because it’s due back at the library soon. But hey, the library is free and I don't get cluttered up with books.

I liked that book a lot. I've actually been thinking about rereading it.

 

[FurryFury]

When I have a book from the library and it's due, can't be renewed, I just email myself the page I stopped on and then put it on hold again. I rarely read just one book at a time, so I always have another book or more than one usually, to be reading!

 

[IrisAlthea]

Just finished Carlos Ruiz Zafons The prisoner of heaven.
Now I feel a bit like it's time to re-read he earlier books.
Might save it for when the next comes out and read them all again.

 

[Kateateight]

I'm reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and it's making me so keen to talk to someone from Savannah

 

[FurryFury]

The Inquisitors Key by Jefferson Bass

This was perhaps my fav of the series by my author(s) of the year (2015). I loved the historical elements on the French papacy. It had all of the other good elements in the Body Farm series of course! 4.75/5

Dead Ice by Laurell K. Hamilton 4/5

I'm reluctant to read these books now but I enjoyed it nonetheless! I'm so glad Laurell K. is more comfy with herself and her relationships now so that she can write sex and violence again, not necessarily together either. She seems to "get" BDSM finally. I just wish she seemed less smug in her picture and would NEVER use the word "spill" ever again.


The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida 4/5

Written by an 11 year old Japanese autistic boy, this short book illuminates a world we will never live in. It could also help general understanding as well as inform and empower care giving greatly.

 

[Currahee_Gent]

I knew someone who knew Jim Williams quite well and attended some of his parties. Of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” fame. Thanks for reminding me. I’d like to read it again.

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[FurryFury]

128.) Cut to the Bone by Jefferson Bass 4/5

I am done with this series now. This one was a prequel which I found a bit strange.

Amazon sez:

Jefferson Bass’s Cut to the Bone, the long-awaited prequel to his New York Times bestselling mystery series, turns the clock back to reveal the Body Farm's creation—and Dr. Bill Brockton's deadly duel with a serial killer.

In the summer of 1992, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton and Tennessee Senator Albert Gore begin their long-shot campaign to win the White House. In the sweltering hills of Knoxville at the University of Tennessee, Dr. Bill Brockton, the bright, ambitious young head of the Anthropology Department, launches an unusual—some would call it macabre—research facility, unlike any other in existence.

Brockton is determined to revolutionize the study of forensics to help law enforcement better solve crime. But his plans are derailed by a chilling murder that leaves the scientist reeling from a sense of déjà vu. Followed by another. And then another: bodies that bear eerie resemblances to cases from Brockton’s past.

But as the body count rises, the victims’ fatal injuries grow more and more distinctive—a spiral of death that holds dark implications for Brockton...and everyone he holds dear.

129.) A Fox Story by Allan Sollers 5/5

This book reminded me of why I loved it so much as a child. It involves a smart fox and some children who observe him twice being smarter than the hunters but not giving him away. Yay!

The pictures are beautiful too.

130.) Apples From Heaven by Naomi Baltuck 4.5/5

Full of wisdom as well as wonderful tales of storytellers and stories. Loved!

Booklist Sez:

An experienced storyteller herself, Baltuck has put together a fine selection of traditional tales about stories and storytellers. She practices restraint in her retellings, using a refreshingly straightforward approach and staying close to a traditional form that promotes reading and telling aloud. Identification of the country of origin follows the title of each tale, which opens with a quote or proverb.

A quick glance at the table of contents shows great diversity--there are stories from Iraq, Romania, and Melanesia, to name only a few of the places of origin. The extensive source notes provide easy access to tale variants, and it is apparent from Baltuck's introduction that this book was a labor of love. It is also a strong anthology that will be very useful in comparative folktale collections as well as to librarians and storytellers. Janice del Negro --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

 

[seela]

I read Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and absolutely loved it. I've read some other book by her and liked them a lot, but this one felt the lightest, even though it dealt with serious issues.

It's about a Nigerian woman, Ifemelu, who moves to the US to study and work. She starts a blog about race that becomes very successful and makes some very keen (to me at least) observations about race, racism and the American culture. At the core of the book it is a love story, but it tells so much about Nigeria and the US, both in past and in present.

Loved it!

 

[gwenrider]

Jane Eyre, Harry Potter, Inkheart, the first 3 books in the nne of Green Gables series, The Woman in White, North and South by Gaskell, A Room with a View, The Rosary - by F.L. Barclay, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Northanger Abbey, Little Women, The Commitments by R. Doyle, The Outsiders by E.S. Hinton. And... I think I'll stop right here. xD

 

[markFL]

Just finished Half Made World by Felix Gilman and Back To Blood by Tom Wolfe. now reading A Land Remembered about the pioneer life in Florida. It's enjoyable so far...

 

[FurryFury]

131.) F You, Box: And Other Observations of My Cat's Inner Dialogue
by Katie Cook 1/5

Funny if it weren't from my borderline mother who hates me.

132.)World Without End by Ken Follett 4.75/5 Epic and wonderful.

133.) Wolf for Christmas - A Fangs and Fur Novella: Holiday Shifter and Vampire Romance by Sotia Lazu 3/5 Just okay for me very YA boy obsessive feeling and light on the sex or D/s.

134.) The Legend of Holly Claus by Britteney Ryan 4.75/5 utterly charming, perfect for x'mas reading.

 

[MistressMaggie]

Just finished Seven Eves by Neil Stephenson.

Next: Head Trauma (poetry and sonnets) by Gary Johnson