What are you reading this week of September 20, 2015?

[hermetic]

Still squirming my way through John Dies at the End by David Wong. This is a true danse macabre. Fascinating stuff, though, so I will see it through to the end no matter how gross it gets. Lots of blood and guts.

What are your thoughts on your current books?

[northoftheborder]

1. Echo in the Bone

Part of the never ending Outlander series. I can't quit this. I thought this was the last one, but I'm almost to the end, and I'm becoming aware that there is one more! It is not great literature, but exciting a lot of the time, is historical fiction, which I love, but can be tedious; a ton of the episodes could have been eliminated without taking away from the general narrative. I never have liked science fiction, but this one dealing with time travel has become addictive. I have to see how the saga ends. Hope it's not disappointing.

[Staph]

4. I'm rereading the Outlander series.

I read it as the books originally came out, but the release of the television series on Starz primed me to start it again.

I'm on the fifth book -- The Fiery Cross. I love the characters and the basic story line -- the idea of following a couple and their world of friends and family over decades of time is one of my favorite kinds of stories. I love to immerse myself in that kind of a universe.

But I had forgotten how meandering Gabaldon can be. The first 20% of the hugely long fifth book covers a single day and night. I thought I'd never get off that bluidy mountain!

[northoftheborder]

6. The historical background...

....to the beginnings of the American Revolution is fascinating. We tend to think of the Founding Fathers, educated, intelligent, reasoning and compromising, as representative of the whole population. Not so -- most people back then were not educated, poor, scrabbling out a living in the wilderness, untrusting of any government, often criminal escapees from Europe. How we ever came together to make a nation (from many cultures) is an amazing story. The author of this book has done extensive research on the culture of the times, both in the colonies and Scotland. (I can skip the intricacies of primitive surgery, thank you.) But it has been very interesting and educational to read. The development of the main characters is very rich.

[Enthusiast]

8. Thank you for the background story, northoftheborder.

I love historical fiction.

[japple]

2. Sing for Us by Steven Wise

Last edited Mon Sep 21, 2015, 09:08 AM - Edit history (1)

Steven Wise, Sing for Us

During the dying days of the Civil War, Letha Bartlett lovingly tends to the wounded in a Confederate hospital in Richmond, Virginia. A widow herself, her gentle touch and fiercely protective personality bring comfort and courage to the soldiers in her care. When Granville Pollard, a Northerner who spurned his Union father to fight for the Confederacy, enters the ward, Letha is captivated by his cultured bearing and singing voice. Granville has lost both his fiancée and his feet to the war, leaving him emotionally and physically crippled.

Based on a true story, Sing for Us is a riveting tale of love and hope in the last days of the Civil War.

This is what the author has to say about high school English teachers:
"My love for writing dates back to a marvelous high school English teacher, Florence Hudson, who was both feared and revered. In one way or the other, everything I write is in honor of her memory. She once frowned down on a page I'd written, and said, "Steven, using just any word instead of the perfect word is like using a nail when a screw is called for." I often heard her voice during the writing of this novel, and fervently hope that I've written with screws. The voices of great teachers of literature never die, they just come from different places."

I don't know why I chose this book. Maybe because it was free.

Edit to add: One of the main characters, Granville Pollard, was injured in the Battle of the Wilderness. I read Lance Weller's book, Wilderness earlier this year. The descriptions of the battle are mind numbing.

[Enthusiast]

10. I like the sound of that one—Sing for Us. Thank you, japple!

[shenmue]

3. "Nine for the Devil," Mary Reed and Eric Mayer

A historical mystery set in the days of Byzantine Emperor Justinian.

[Enthusiast]

11. More historical fiction! What an unusual series!

The book covers have stimulated my curiosity. Very cool.

[scarletwoman]

5. Shockingly, I finished my latest Tibet mystery in under 24 hours!

First things first; I finished Louise Penny's The Nature of the Beast early yesterday. I liked it much better than than her previous entry in the series, although my earlier criticism of the series as a whole still stands. As does my specific criticism of the absurdity of the central premise of this particular book - although the author's afterword presents something of an excuse for it.

Oh well. I guess I'll probably read the next one in the series ( assuming there will be one) - there's some promise hinted that Gamache may move on into a new career. So, I'll have to find out if this indeed happens...

As for Tibet - Mandarin Gate was a great mystery novel, and somehow just whizzed along with much more alacrity than the others have done. Or maybe it's just that for the first time in months, I had a free day to just kick back and do nothing but read at my leisure. In any case, I loved it as I have loved all the books in this series that have gone before, and I'm already saddened by the prospect that there is only one more to go.

Since I didn't expect to finish this one so quickly I haven't even requested the next and final book in the series from my library yet. Thankfully, I have Peter May's Entry Island to get me through the next few days. I'm looking forward to it.

Once I finish the 8th and final book of the Inspector Shan series, my intention is to write a comprehensive overview of the entire series. As I've mentioned before, these books have affected me deeply. I'd like to do them justice.

[Enthusiast]

9. Good Morning, scarletwoman!

We are looking forward to your review of the Inspector Shan series.

[Enthusiast]

7. Hello, everyone! Thank you for the thread, hermetic.

I am still reading All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. What a wonderful book!

Mrs. Enthusiast just this moment finished The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. She was very impressed with The Poisonwood Bible. So I just now ordered a used copy of The Lacuna.
Thanks to everyone that recommended the Barbara Kingsolver books!

[japple]

13. The Herriot books (and the tv series on BBC) are long time favorites.

The books were so well written and wonderful the read and the BBC series is one of the most perfectly cast programs I've ever watched.

I liked The Poisonwood Bible, though I found several of the characters unlikable. On the other hand, I LOVED The Lacuna and think that everything about it was darn near perfect.

[Enthusiast]

14. Thank you, japple. Herriot is an excellent writer. We enjoyed the BBC series too.

We are looking forward to The Lacuna.

[pscot]

12. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Life in the Virtual Universe. I read Armada last week, also by Cline; Stephenson's Seven Eves before that. Dune is on my night stand. Seen from this perspective, the future looks bleak indeed. If anyone can suggest a good comic novel, I'm ready for it.

[hermetic]

16. Not easily, evidently.

Terry Pratchett is always good for a laugh. Good Omens, which he wrote in collaboration with Neil Gaiman is quite amusing.

Paladin's post below mentions Jonathan Franzen and he wrote a highly acclaimed satire, The Corrections. I haven't read it but it is on my list.

Margaret Atwood has a book coming out next week which is supposedly quite satirical.

That's about all I can think of right now. Be sure to let us know if you actually find a good comic novel.
Cheers!

[Paladin]

15. "Purity" by Jonathan Franzen.

Big, dense, intelligent and enjoyable, as I've found Franzen's other novels. Nice to wade into something substantial every once in a while; a book where you encounter words like "adamantine" and "solipsism" without any cringe-worthy pretense.

[Enthusiast]

18. I had to look up adamantine and solipsism.

Solipsism remains a foggy notion in my mind.

[getting old in mke]

17. _Gray Mountain_ John Grisham

Only the first 60 pages in, beginning to roll. Whatever else goes on, I always enjoy the essentially good heart of Grisham.