50 Book Pledge discussion

March! Already! (Thank goodness...I love winter, but even this one has been a bit much for me, here in Toronto. I have run out o places to put our snow. Heh!!)

What reading do you have on the go, or planned, for March?

Last night, I began reading Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, by Lawrence Wright. Though I am only a little ways into the book, it's already fascinating. It's had such great reviews, and was nominated for both the National Book Award for Nonfiction (2013), National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction (2013).

Please let us all know about your reads this month!!

:)

So far, I'm partway through Joseph Boyden's The Orenda. I think I'm going to read The Coup by John Updike after finishing this one.

I just started reading Beyond Ophir: Confessions of an Iditarod Musher, An Alaska Odyssey because the Iditarod just began this past weekend!

Alexander wrote: "So far, I'm partway through Joseph Boyden's The Orenda. I think I'm going to read The Coup by John Updike after finishing this one."

are you following the canada reads debates, alexander?

The Lake of Dreams. Enjoying it, calm, slow read. Almost finished, not sure what's next. Possibly Half-Blood Blues.

I'm reading Peter Pan for a classics book club on goodreads and am starting the second book in my stack of Reacher series by Lee Child.

Jennifer wrote: "Alexander wrote: "So far, I'm partway through Joseph Boyden's The Orenda. I think I'm going to read The Coup by John Updike after finishing this one."

are you following the canada reads debates, a..."

I am not, but I really should. Checking in now, I see that The Orenda appears to be doing quite well. However, having not read the other books, I don't really have much of an opinion on that. Perhaps, some reading for the future has been decided for me...

Alexander wrote: " am not, but I really should. Checking in now, I see that The Orenda appears to be doing quite well. However, having not read the other books, I don't really have much of an opinion on that. Perhaps, some reading for the future has been decided for me..."

i think the CBC web site has each day's debates available for viewing...yep! here's the link to all the videos for this week: http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/v...

(there are spoilers there, so if anyone is waiting to see/hear the results later on today/tonight...maybe don't click on that just yet.)

the debates were wonderful this week - very engaging and, at moments, intense (in a good way).

i haven't yet read all of the 2014 contenders...but the couple i haven't gotten to yet are of much stronger interest to me now, thanks to canada reads. (i am totally looking at you Cockroach: A Novel!)

The only book I have opened at the moment is American Psycho. 2014 has been a bad year for books for me so I am not surprised that I pretty much hate it. I have some other things on my kindle but they are things that have been on my TBR so long that it's time to read them regardless of my current interest in them.

I got an email from my library saying The Lies of Locke Lamora was ready to be downloaded. I will open that in a couple days.

i started reading Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie last night. i am only a little ways into the story, but so far i am really digging it!

I have read her collection of short stories called The Thing Around Your Neck and I recall having mixed feelings. Lol. Hopefully you have better luck with that one.

i have not read that one, but i have read Purple Hibiscus (3-star read for me) and Half of a Yellow Sun (4-star read). she is a very interesting woman, so i am curious how this will go, and have been wanting to get to it for ages. it was longlisted for the 'women's fiction prize' last night (formerly the orange prize), so that got me to finally open it up!!

i do really love how she captures nigeria in her writing -- it's so vivid. i always love when a writer is able to give importance and strength to their settings, incorporating them into the story as more than just a backdrop. it's hard to do well, but some writers really ace it!

I am familiar with Purple Hibiscus but not so much with Half of a Yellow Sun. I believe I saw something on Facebook recently about the director of the movie.

I am not surprised that she was up for prize. She has a way with words. Lol. I am not too familiar with that prize either so I had to wikipedia it.

sorry, eddie! i should have inked it!!

here's the prize page: http://www.womensprizeforfiction.co.u...

Thank you! Oh my, I see a pile of books that I have never read/heard of. You read anything else they nominated? I see three that I am interested in but won't be adding to my too big TBR.

I have read a few good books lately. Some in February and a couple in March. I just finished In the Blood by Lisa Unger which is a great psychological thriller. During the Olympics I chose to read The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt which probably wasn't the best time to read it as I was distracted. I also read the very strange and compelling Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer This is the first in a trilogy, all to be published in 2014, and I really am looking forward to the next one.

Read in March so far...
Searching for Beautiful
Soulless
Transformed
He Belongs with Me
Romancing the Bookworm
Til Death
Sun Damage
My Life From Hell
Ellie Stanton

Currently Reading
Darkside Sun

Up Next...
Preservation

Later This Month!
Reservation
Declaration
Where Life Takes You

I'm reading among others Inés of My Soul. I wasn't too sure about but so far it's okay.

Eddie wrote: "Thank you! Oh my, I see a pile of books that I have never read/heard of. You read anything else they nominated? I see three that I am interested in but won't be adding to my too big TBR."

i know, right?? it would be a great reading project, to read all 20 of the nominees...i am debating it. :)

so, i have read:

* The Luminaries - and i am in a minority on this one. it was fine (3-stars), but i thought it was overwritten and could have been a much tighter and better story. i totally got what catton was doing with the book...but it didn't work for me.

* The Signature of All Things - loved it!! so much. 5-star read for me. and it's the book that, i think, most surprised me in 2013. i had not read gilbert's 'eat, pray, love', as it's just not the kind of book i enjoy. but i had read gilbert's earlier novel Stern Men, have enjoyed her journalism and love a TED talk she gave. but i had no expectations going into TSoAT...that it was so good, well, that was amazing.

books i own but haven't got to yet:

* Burial Rites
* The Bear (canadian!!) - and which i think will be coming up soon in my reading
* The Goldfinch
* The Lowland
* Still Life with Bread Crumbs

which three caught your attention, eddie?

Shayna wrote: "Currently Reading Transformed I have read 32 books so far!!"

hi shayna!! would it be possible for you to link the words for titles and authors, instead of images? apparently with the app for goodreads, there are huge problems for users when it comes to cover or author images -- they only show up as "blobs" - so then people have no idea which books have been mentioned. goodreads knows this problem exists...but as of yet, they haven't fixed it with any of their updates. sorry -- but thank you so much!!! :)

Darcy wrote: "I'm reading among others Inés of My Soul. I wasn't too sure about but so far it's okay."

isabel allende is a glaring gap in my reading, darcy! i own a couple of her books -- but there's something that always has me bypassing her books for someone else's. have you read a lot of her stuff?

Jennifer wrote: "hi shayna!! would it be possible for you to link the words for titles and authors, instead of images? ap..."

Done!

Jennifer wrote: "isabel allende is a glaring gap in my reading, darcy! i own a couple of her books -- but there's something that always has me bypassing her books for someone else's. have you read a lot of her stuff?
"

No, this is my first foray into her writing. Apparently many of her books are magical realism, but this one is a straight-up historical fiction. I like the style though, it's almost conversational. Based on the couple of chapters I've read, I'd give more of her books a go.

Shayna wrote: "Done!"

awesome!! thank you so, so much!! i had no idea the app problem existed, since i don't use it. but, in other groups i moderate here, i heard so many complaints from people about this "blob problem". then i felt bad for not knowing it was stymying so many.

Darcy wrote: "No, this is my first foray into her writing. Apparently many of her books are magical realism, but this one is a straight-up historical fiction.."

yeah -- see, i think that's my hesitation with allende. magical realism only sometimes works for me. usually when it's lighter, like The Snow Child or Galore. when it's more hardcore, like One Hundred Years of Solitude, i have more trouble setting aside my 'yeah, but...'

i do enjoy historical fiction, and i am fairly certain the books of allende's that i do own are in this genre and not the MR space.

I'm reading "The Weirdness" by Jeremy Bushnell. Good so far.

Eddie wrote: "...I got an email from my library saying The Lies of Locke Lamora was ready to be downloaded. I will open that in a couple days. ..."
Let me know what you think of that one Eddie, I bought it for my Kobo, but I just couldn't get into it. I had read that George RR Martin loved this book, so I was very excited to read it, but sadly, I abandoned it - I just could not finish it.

So far this month I've been working on The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference and The Cat's Pajamas: Stories. I've almost finished them both.

Gladwell's book took longer than I would have liked. It was not as entertaining as most of his others.

I'm excited to get started on We. It's a predecessor to 1984 and Brave New World and all that. I love them both and I hope that We is even a fraction as good.

I'm going to give The Eagle and the Raven a go. I wasn't a big fan of one of Pauline Gedge's other books, so I'm a bit hesitant in devoting my time to a nearly 900 page work. However, I'm told this is one of her best.

Killing Rommel Right Now
Trilogy by Arturo Pérez-Reverte of Captain Alatriste
The Devil ColonyAfter that
Then I will be startingThe Sword of Truth, Boxed Set III: The Pillars of Creation, Naked Empire, ChainfireThe Sword of Truth Boxed Set II: Temple of the Winds; Soul of the Fire; Faith of the Fallen

Violetveil wrote: "Eddie wrote: "...I got an email from my library saying The Lies of Locke Lamora was ready to be downloaded. I will open that in a couple days. ..."
Let me know what you think of that one Eddie, I b..."

I may be having better luck than you did with this book. I am actually liking it a bit though I am far from what I would assume would be the meat of the story. I mean, I hope this isn't the meat of the story.

Jennifer wrote: "Eddie wrote: "Thank you! Oh my, I see a pile of books that I have never read/heard of. You read anything else they nominated? I see three that I am interested in but won't be adding to my too big T..."

My interest are about as shallow as they get... I like the binds and/or the titles.

I love the way the bind onThe Signature of All Things looks. Gold, green and red are colours that can do no wrong together but it seems like the bind is the only thing that looks good. I'd give it a try, though.

From front to back, The Strangler Vine looks better overall. The Goldfinch also looks good though it is tied with The Lowland.

I like the way Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's book looks but I am not even up for considering reading another one of her books. I kind of need a break from a possibly bad book. Lol. After I finish off this quarter of book challenges, I am going to read a Ken Follett book. I can't explain it but I love his book(s).

* My Life From Hell looks very interesting.

heh! The Signature of All Things is a beautiful book - the physical object, i mean.

oh - ken follett is a wonderful storyteller. his books are great escapes. which one are you going to read? (i have only read his giant, epic historical fiction...though not all of them. i have a couple left still!)

Jennifer wrote: "heh! The Signature of All Things is a beautiful book - the physical object, i mean.

oh - ken follett is a wonderful storyteller. his books are great escapes. which one are you goi..."

I read The Pillars of the Earth and started World Without End and enjoyed it so much that I had to stop reading it. I decided to save it for when I find myself in my current situation! And, with a trail of bad books behind me I think I am going to go in another 100 pages or so.

He is one of the authors where I plan on reading everything he writes... someday. Is the giant, epic hist/fict you read The Pillars of the Earth?

His epics, well, frighten my friends. I like great big books and my friends are more into short stories. I haven't talked to someone else that didn't get a stomach ache when they thought about reading one of those until now.

I just purchased "Suite Francaise". It's by an author who died at Auschwitz.

Eddie wrote: "He is one of the authors where I plan on reading everything he writes... someday. Is the giant, epic hist/fict you read The Pillars of the Earth?"

i have read that one, yes. and 'world without' end too. they were great! i want to read his the century trilogy next. i have the first two books.

i always feel, with big, fat books: YAY! BONUS!! i love chunky novels.

Jennifer wrote: "Eddie wrote: "He is one of the authors where I plan on reading everything he writes... someday. Is the giant, epic hist/fict you read The Pillars of the Earth?"

i have read that one, yes. and 'wor..."

Oh, Fall of Giants is one of the books I am reading apart of an upcoming book challenge (I love doing BC's)! I don't know if I own it or not, though. I remember a bookstore having a sell and picking up a Ken Follet book, Latro in the Mist and everything from a series I cannot remember. I am not sure if FoG was that book...

Chunky novels are truly the best. I don't know why but a big book makes me think "oh, this one must be special". Lol. It's a bonus~!

Currently working on Cress by Marissa Meyer, Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi, & This Star Won't Go Out by Esther Earl Grace.

FINALLY reading Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Book Store! Loving it so far...

Sandra wrote: "FINALLY reading Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Book Store! Loving it so far..."

i enjoyed that one a lot, sandra! i read it for an in-person book group and the discussion was very good!

i began reading Burial Rites by Hannah Kent (another 'women's prize longlist' nominee), and i am really enjoying it a lot. it's a debut novel, and it's a pretty impressive one at that. i was told today that Geraldine Brooks is a mentor to kent.

I am currently reading The Lies of Locke Lamora. I liked it for a bit and now it is slowing down for me. I should have taken the title more to heart than I did.

Eddie wrote: "I am currently reading The Lies of Locke Lamora. I liked it for a bit and now it is slowing down for me. I should have taken the title more to heart than I did."

This post made me smile.

Currently working on:

Finished and just started

hi guys.

i would like to ask a favour - and i hope you don't mind.

there is a problem with using book or author images when you link them - people using the app for GR cannot see them. because of issues with the app, all they see are giant blobs.

could you please use the word options to link your books and authors, instead of the images? that way every one will be able to read what you are sharing here in the group.

thank you so, so much!!

Hey Jennifer

I just finished "The Girls of Atomic City" by Kiernan and started "Stiff" by Roach.

Jennifer wrote: "hi guys.

i would like to ask a favour - and i hope you don't mind.

there is a problem with using book or author images when you link them - people using the app for GR cannot see them. because o..."

I LOVED that book!

Sandra wrote: "FINALLY reading Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Book Store! Loving it so far..."

Chickadee wrote: "Hey Jennifer

I just finished "The Girls of Atomic City" by Kiernan and started "Stiff" by Roach...."

mary roach is awesome!!! i loved 'stiff'.

Chickadee wrote: "I LOVED that book!

Sandra wrote: "FINALLY reading Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Book Store! Loving it so far...""

It was an awesome book! I loved it!

we read Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore for an in-person book group i used to belong to, and it sparked really great discussion. i thought the novel was really good. i had a lot of fun reading it!