Books on the Nightstand discussion

I can't believe it is October as here in New York, it has been really warm. I am reading , Claude and Camille for one of my book groups and then this month I want to read , Unbroken as I think I am the last person in the US who has not read it yet.

I think we posted at the same time! I deleted my thread and moved my post here.

New month, new books! I picked up a pile of new books last weekend that I plan to get started on when I finish my current (secret!) Postal Book Club selection. On tap are:

Station Eleven

Bad Feminist: Essays

Still Alice

Everything I Never Told You
Envy Envy by Kathryn Harrison

The Circle

Should be a busy month!

Yes, definitely read . One of the best books I read this year.

Kate wrote: "I can't believe it is October as here in New York, it has been really warm. I am reading , Claude and Camille for one of my book groups and th..."

The thing might be the size of a truck, but I'm racing through (and absolutely loving) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

I did not read very much in September and I hope to get back on track in October. I have been reading Bad Feminist: Essays and it is quite good. Trying to add more non-fiction and general diversity to my reading life.

Sue...I really enjoyed Everything I Never Told You!

bad feminist is wonderful! it ranks in my top five nonfiction of the year!

october (after i finish americanah):

so far...

I'm reading
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright
and
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey.

In the car, I'm listening to Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

On my iPad I just started listening to A Fighting Chance. She's got SPUNK!

My main read is Summer House with Swimming Pool: A Novel

Finally the trying to catch up on what's old on my shelves but never read book is Landing It: My Life on and Off the Ice I'm not far into it, but really looking forward to it since Scott Hamilton grew up not far from me and we both learned to ice skate at the same arena. I'm guessing I will read of some familiar places.

I just started reading We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves and I've been reading Dear Committee Members I'm also listening to Bossypants in the car during my commute. I'm enjoying all of them immensely.

Listening to In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette and reading Station Eleven

Picking up The Innamorati again after a good week of distractions.

I'm finally reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak! The only difficult part so far for me is when they speak German and then don't really translate because I don't speak German. But they do a pretty good job of translating. There's only been a few sentences where I'm not sure what they said.

I am having such a bad time with my reading. My Goodreads notifications on my Iphone(since downloading IOS 8) won't even up date! I need a good talking to. I can tell you that I am listening to . Just to tell you how bad my reading has been I had a four day vacation last week and DID NOT READ OR LISTEN to a single book!Well in two weeks I have a similar four day. Maybe since this is Graham Greene's birthday today that might be some inspiration.

Kate, you are not alone. I haven't read Unbroken and hear from everyone that I'm missing a great book. I now commit to reading it before the end of October or maybe November!

Currently.reading One Plus One, after a long waiting list for e-books at the library.

James

Just finished Station Eleven by Emily St. John-Mandel. Phenomenal! Totally lived up to my expectations (& they were ridiculously high). Please, just read this book.

I just started for some reason this book wasn't on my radar in 1991 when it was published. The TV mini series prompted me to read it. I'm really enjoying it!

Maureen, I'm so glad to hear it. I can't wait to get to this!

Maureen wrote: "Just finished Station Eleven by Emily St. John-Mandel. Phenomenal! Totally lived up to my expectations (& they were ridiculously high). Please, just read this book."

Karen wrote: "I just started for some reason this book wasn't on my radar in 1991 when it was published. The TV mini series prompted me to read it. I'm really enjoying it!"

Uhoh! Another one hooked....lol. It's a long series Karen. Gabaldon tends to go off on tangents. If you start finding it hard to read, I highly recommend the audios with narration by Davina Porter....lovely Brit accent.

Janet wrote: "It's a long series Karen. Gabaldon tends to go off on tangents...."

Yes. This. I really liked the first few books but grew less interested as the series went on (and the books got longer and longer). I gave up after book 6 (I think? Or was it 7?) when she took more than 800 pages to cover approximately 15 months of time in the characters' lives. That was it for me.

Hopefully I will get all these done, but my October reading list is the following:
Americanah
Small Blessings
The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street
The Magicians
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

It's like a BOTNS marathon since I heard of most of these on the podcasts!

^ yay! another americanah reader! i have to read another book for a book club and i hate to put this one down, even temporarily. it's quite good so far.

I just finished We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, and it will be a Christmas gift for all my bookish friends. Found it for $4.99 online! I just picked up Station Eleven that Ann was looking forward to, and The End of your Life Book Club that was recommended by a friend at Book Club. Another friend loaned me In The Woods by Tana French, and The Care and Management of Lies by Jacqueline Winspear. This friend and I both love the Maisie Dobbs series, but this latest Winspear is a stand alone novel about WWII that my friend and her husband both loved. So many pages, so little time!

I have a bad habit of just picking up a book and saying GEE I AM GOING TO READ THIS and then not reading it. Well I am going to read this . Its been sitting in front of me for years and I started reading it last night.

Finished Midori Snyder's wonderful !
Got 100+ pages into Jennifer McMahon's and then I spoiled it for myself. Sooooooo...with that, I immediately moved on to Michelle Paver's .

So many of you are also reading Bad Feminist, which I am loving. I need to take mini-breaks from some of the heavier chapters, and I've been speeding through my NetGalley list as well.

I'm excited to get started on Lena Dunham's book and having a few days of vacation reading in two weeks!

Just finished liked it and started .

Have you read Roxane Gay's interview with Lena Dunham? Great stuff.

http://www.vulture.com/2014/10/roxane...

Tomissa wrote: "So many of you are also reading Bad Feminist, which I am loving. I need to take mini-breaks from some of the heavier chapters, and I've been speeding through my NetGalley list as well.

I'm excited..."

You're the best!

Sue wrote: "Have you read Roxane Gay's interview with Lena Dunham? Great stuff.

http://www.vulture.com/2014/10/roxane...

Tomissa wrote: "..."

There is a good podcast from TED about privacy. Read that after The Circle -- you'll get chills!

Sue wrote: "I think we posted at the same time! I deleted my thread and moved my post here.

New month, new books! I picked up a pile of new books last weekend that I plan to get started on when I finish my c..."

Thanks, Tomissa, I will!

Tomissa wrote: "There is a good podcast from TED about privacy. Read that after The Circle -- you'll get chills!

Sue wrote: "I think we posted at the same time! I deleted my thread and moved my post here.

New ..."

This month I am reading my (secret) postal book club pick from Heather, and also will be reading A Suitable Boy on a slow, slow reading schedule with my cousin; we probably won't finish until next October, hehe. It is fun to have a few book "commitments." Then I can finish them, feel accomplished, and have the rest of the month to read freely!

I am thinking of reading Your House Is on Fire, Your Children All Gone as something spooky and seasonal for this month.

Read and loved Station Eleven.

Rachel wrote: "This month I am reading my (secret) postal book club pick from Heather, and also will be reading A Suitable Boy on a slow, slow reading schedule with my cousin; we probably won't finis..."

I read "A Suitable Boy" earlier this year, Rachel-- it had been sitting in my bookshelves for 20 years...literally! I bought it when I was pregnant with my oldest son--and he will be 21 in January. I finally broke down and tackled it as my New Year's resolution for 2014. Took me nearly 3 months -- from early Jan. to the end of March. And it was totally worth it--I really enjoyed it. Now I'm looking forward to the publication of "A Suitable Girl" in 2016! :)

Finished The Painter, still reading The Hangman's Daughter & started The Winter People

Amy wrote: "I read "A Suitable Boy" earlier this year, Rachel-- it had been sitting in my bookshelves for 20 years...literally!"

That is great to hear, Amy! It seems like this book is very beloved, and well worth the time commitment, so I'm excited to get started. Will "A Suitable Girl" be just as lengthy and epic?

PS - I love the idea of having a book/reading resolution! I may be setting one for 2015 :)

Rachel wrote: "Will "A Suitable Girl" be just as lengthy and epic?.."

I don't know for sure...but Vikram Seth has had 20 years to write the sequel, so my guess would be yes! Lol

Does anyone have any good recommendations for books to read/purchase? I'm going shopping with my mother this weekend and she typically spoils me to a few new books each time, which is our bonding mechanism. I know I'm grabbing "The Paying Guests," but does anyone else have good recommendations?

Tomissa wrote: "Does anyone have any good recommendations for books to read/purchase? I'm going shopping with my mother this weekend and she typically spoils me to a few new books each time, which is our bonding ..."

I'm an evangelist for An Untamed State

Tomissa wrote: "Does anyone have any good recommendations for books to read/purchase? I'm going shopping with my mother this weekend and she typically spoils me to a few new books each time, which is our bonding ..."

After very briefly looking at your books, I think you might like Life after Life<\i> by Kate Atkinson. Also, if you read any kind of dystopia, read Station Eleven<\i>.

My new favorite book of the year is Sins of our Fathers<\i> by Shawn Lawrence Otto but it's not out quite yet. I suggest you keep that one on your radar for November!

Tomissa wrote: "Does anyone have any good recommendations for books to read/purchase?"

In no particular order, my favorites are:

Code Name Verity - Historical fiction. Set during WWII with two women as the main characters. I loved this book.
The Martian - Science fiction. About one man's journey to try to return to earth after being left behind on Mars. A FUNNY, but I'm sure it's just as good in print.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone - YA fantasy. (1st in a series of 3). A human girl and a chimera family. Really good.
The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom - Middle-grades Fairyretelling. The Princes Charming are tired of being second fiddle to the Princess. Funny audiobook. Bronson Pinchot escalates the narrative. (1st in a series of 3)
The Eyre Affair - Speculative fiction book. What happens when you can enter a book (doesn't really happen until the end). 1st in a series (7 books so far). I love Jasper Fforde. If you haven't read any of his books before, go in knowing he builds weird, quirky but familiar worlds.
Ender's Game - Science fiction that I first read 20+ years ago in college. Set in space where children are trained to become warriors and leaders. 1st in a series.
Cinder - Another 1st in a series and another YS fantasy/science fiction. Set in New Bejing on Earth. A retelling Cinderella as a cyborg. 3 books have been released so far (out of 5), and each book gets better.

Started listening to The First Family Detail: Secret Service Agents Reveal the Hidden Lives of the Presidents

Susanne wrote: "Tomissa wrote: "Does anyone have any good recommendations for books to read/purchase?"

In no particular order, my favorites are:

Code Name Verity - Historical fiction. Set during ..."

I second The Eyre Affair - one of my favourites.

I have just finished Earthly Possessions by Anne Tyler. The characters annoy me and I wish the story had more verve to it but somehow Anne Tyler's writing captures me and I ended the book feeling that I had enjoyed it in a sad sort of way.

An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Two Presidents, Two Parties, and the Battle for the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Listening to

Reading

Loving them both.

Listened to , and listening to right now. Still continuing and reading Allen Ginsberg's poetry collections - and . Also, Viggo Mortensen's

I'm going to be reading some scary books! Starting with the Book Riot monthly read Broken Monsters

In the spirit of Halloween, I am finally going to read Frankenstein, but I am also finishing up A Confederacy of Dunces and just started Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid.

The News Sorority: Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Christiane Amanpour, and the (Ongoing, Imperfect, Complicated) Triumph of Women in TV News

Currently reading ; its drawing me just as Atonement did.