What are you reading the weeks of December 8 & December 15, 2013?

[DUgosh]

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter book #2

2013 book #133

I will be away from my desk next week, but I will return on December 22. Stay warm!

[Little Star]

1. "Darkest Fear" By Harlan Coben...

It's #7 in The Myron Bolitar series.

[Tindalos]

2. A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute

and a few others that I'm picking up and putting down.

[vanlassie]

11. First read? A Town Like Alice is a favorite of mine!

[Tindalos]

12. Yes, first time reading it.

I remember it being on TV when I was a kid, but didn't realize it was a book. It was very good. I particularly enjoyed the early parts set in Malaysia.

[vanlassie]

13. It was my mother's favorite book. She loved Neville Shute,

But ATLA was extra special. I love the movie too! Enjoy!

[CTyankee]

3. Anybody else reading "The Death of the Black Haired Girl" by Robert Stone?

A very noirish novel, set in a university town, which is probably New Haven where I live. There is irony, despair and black humor in the author's strongest suit, character development. Strangely, I found a kind of kinship of his writing with John Cheever, who also sought an almost redemptive (religiously) tone, throughout the book.
I am not finished with it yet but so far it holds me with fascination with the characters and its "what's next?" touch.

Author Stone himself has a history of alcoholism and drugs, plus emphesyma from nicotine (he is 75) and had a horrible childhood. He is writing out about his tortures, I think, in much of this novel. The despair is pretty soaked in with this book and it makes me fear for the mental state of the author. But in the meantime he has delivered a real accomplishment in novel making.

[Mz Pip]

4. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Loving it.

[matt819]

8. I got about halfway through

And had to take a break. The main character was just beginning to annoy me. I'll get back to it later.

[Mz Pip]

9. Interesting you should say that.

I'm getting tired of the whole Las Vegas scene too.

[matt819]

10. I made it through Las Vegas

Just barely.

But then back in New York, some years later I think, and this guy is pretty much a crook. Look, I know he had a hard-ish life, what with his weird father and dead mother, but the old guy took him in and taught him well, and living with the rich folks didn't hurt all that much, and while he was essentially on his own in Las Vegas, he seemed generally okay. But then to see him back in NY essentially running cons on his customers, well, it was just irritating.

[YankeyMCC]

5. casino Royale

By Ian Fleming

I never read the novels.

I'm finding it kinda disturbing. The antisemitism, other predudices. And I'm not sure yet if the misogyny of Bond is just the character or the authors view of the world.

The writing is effective in taking me along a full and well described spy thriller ride. But I don't think I'll read more of these novels.

[getting old in mke]

6. Yeah.

I went through the first five, actually, last year, mostly on audio, and I doubt I'll read more. Of those five, one, _Moonraker_, had what I thought was a solid female counterbalance to Bond.

Other than that one, the sexism and racism is endemic: I understand they were written at a particular point in time in a particular culture and that attitudes come with the territory. But while I might go along for something that seemed important to read or know, the entertainment value didn't balance the icky feeling of "why am I doing this?"

In case you didn't see this last week, the British Medical Journal published in its Christmas edition a study of Bond's drinking and the likely consequences.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/12/health/james-bond-alcohol/

[YankeyMCC]

7. I did see that BBC story

I think Mr Fleming could've written something I would enjoy.

I like to read Jack London and there too you run into racism and sexism, somehow though even though both are in part just reflections of the time and culture of the authors it's something I can get through with most (not all ) of London's work. The Bond novels though don't seem worth it as you say.