Every one's Choice discussion

Since we have a place for final thoughts I though we should have one for books in progress that aren't group reads.

I am about 50p into The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and am finding myself pushing through it. It is IMO very juvenille and Bruno is so insolent I am struggling already to turn the page. So far I feel cheated because I so looked forward to this book and am irked to find it classified as YA.

I felt the same way but the ending makes it all worth it.

I'm currently reading a historical book about Tudor Queens and am irked by the inconsistancies found in it vs. all the other books I've read about these same people. And using secondary sources when there are plenty of primary sources?!! Unbelievable.

Colleen, I really wanted to read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas too! You'll have to let me know if you write a review about it.

Which book, Aly, the David Loades?

Ok I am very much loving Honolulu!!!!!! I am 80 pgs in and want to read in my sleep!

I am glad you are loving it. It is one of my faves.

I am reading Pride and Prejudice and enjoying it immensely. I am also reading a book on Marie Antoinette and am once again amazed by European Royalty and the way they lived.

I mean at points I really feel like I am reading from a man's voice as a woman but that is to be exp[ected I guess and sometimes I feel that he is trying to teach us things about the cutlre rather than just let it be. Does that make sense? I know what I want to say but can't truly put it into words ;-)

I am super enjoying Shutter Island right now and the movie is playing in my head as I read. :)

Did you see the movie first?

Yeah I did and I loved it!

The book is excellent, Colleen, but I haven't seen the movie yet. It looks like it follows the book pretty good, though, and I thought the casting choices were wonderful. I am really looking forward to it.

Well it's out on DVD and movies on demand now so no more excuses! ;) LOL

It is definitely on my to do list!!

Trish - this one is supposed to follow the book so well, that it shouldn't be a problem, but it would give away all of the twists and turns.

I am in the middle of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and I am really enjoying the story. I read the book once before, but it was in college, which for me was a LONG TIME ago. I am really enjoying the interplay between the characters, and the sarcasm with which Austen seems to view the times. Her characters are great, and I find myself not being able to wait to see how things work out. I know how it ends, but I am enjoying reacquainting myself with how she gets there.

Trish wrote: "Colleen wrote: "I am super enjoying Shutter Island right now and the movie is playing in my head as I read. :)"

I always want to read the book BEFORE I see the movie & it drives my ..."

I do both...but in this case read the book first and really liked it this way...it's a great book and a great movie...so you can't really go wrong....you'll only be surprised once though...so chose your poison!!!

I just started my first book by Canadian author Lori Lansens called Rush Home Road: A Novel. Although I think it is going to be a mostly sad story, the writing so far is fantastic.

OK so I am still reading Poison Study and I feel like the main character is a little flat. I don't really se her as having a personality. I am so of 200 pages in and I am told that she gets a personality at some point so I am trying to get to that point sooner rather than later.

Donna - I liked that book, but didn't think it was great. I am about 1/4 of the way through Rush Home Road: A Novel and I can already tell I am really going to like this author!

I have just started The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay. It is very interesting so far. She has a very eloquent writing style, and I find I am liking it. I even had to look up a word, which doesn't happen to me very often.

Here is a great quote: "Mother and I possessed no religion, save the worship of imagination, of living a kind of fiction, which death, in all its realness, had made a mockery of."

Uh Oh! I don't think I like that! I hate to "work" when I read.

What do you think of Jane Austen? This is sort of like that, to me, but not quite as much. Kind of Jane Austen Lite.

Well, I am still reading Beautiful Creatures and at first I was not too crazy about it but it is picking up a little more. I love how his Mom had books everywher and she would read 20 at a time and would create bookmarks outta anything she found on hand; spoons, socks, and so forth.

I am really enjoying the different writing style in The Secret of Lost Things, but I had to set it aside because I am reading Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian. This is my third Chris Bohjalian book, and I really liked the first two. This one is very different, though. For one thing it is more of a historical fiction as it takes place at the end of WWII. For another, it is a very graphic depiction of the war. I am one quarter of the way throug, and although I still like his characters and writing, the subject matter is not my favorite.

So - I am reading a Young Adult book about a girl whose best friend commits suicide, and how she heals. It was recommended to me by my son's friend Caitlin, and so far it is really good. The only problem is that it is pretty heavy, and after just finishing a rather heavy book, I should have gone with something lighter for the next one.

After your lite book you should be reading Cromwell so we can discuss it Lyn. ;) Before you answer I know I should go to the library today and check back out Caligula and buckle down on that one. I am waiting for Jennifer to catch up to me on To Hold the Crown: The Story of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York and I have read two books in the mean time.

Speaking of the afore mentioned book, I am really enjoying it so far. This is my first Jean Plaidy book and I already can't wait to read more from her.

Colleen - my Pick-a-shelf group is reading history this month, so this will be the month for me to finish Marie Antoinette and read both Cromwell and To Hold the Crown. At least that is what I am hoping.

You have been reading a lot this year Lyn, good for you! Jennifer and I are really enjoying THtC so if you get that first and start it you wont be too far behind us.

That actually is my first order of business for history month.

Excellent! We are both only about 100p into it so you should have no problem catching up. We both really enjoy JP so far. :)

I started it today, am only about 20 pages in, but really enjoy it already. I will try to catch up quickly!

I am currently reading Jean Plaidy's historical fiction book To Hold the Crown: The Story of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. I like her writing so far, and I am really getting a kick out of reading about Henry VIII's father. I have to say, though, that I am a bit surprised by how docile Elizabeth of York is. I must have confused her with her mother. She does not seem to have much of a backbone. At least not so far.

I am still reading The Street of a Thousand Blossoms and I am really enjoying it. I love her style writing. It is very poetic and smooth. It keeps me feeling like I was there or to get a real sense of what they are feeling during the times of war and heartache.

I agree Donna. I love the way that Gail Tsukiyama writes.

Lyn M wrote: "I am currently reading Jean Plaidy's historical fiction book To Hold the Crown: The Story of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. I like her writing so far, and I am..."

I am reading this book as well and very much enjoying it. Lyn, she doesn't grow a backbone at all and unlike what the back of the book says there is no romance between Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. I am pretty dissapointed about that because I thought the grew to love each other but in the book it reamins nothing but a political marriage. I am finding it interesting to read about Henry VII but I really hate him now. He. like his son will later be, is concerned with nothing more than getting as many healthy sons as possible and a few girls to use for political marriages. Poor Elizabeth of York is basically constantly pregnant. I really liked her mother though, very interesting person.

I agree, Colleen. I just finished the chapter where Elizabeth Woodville dies, and now I really want to read some books about her. She seems a fascinating entity. Much more so than her milk toast of a daughter.

LOL! I would love to read more about her too, debating on reading The White Queen though. Thinking PG may have gone wild like she seems to do in some of her books.

I have that one, and may start there, but as always, I will take it with a grain of salt, and search out other sources as well.

I think he books should come with a disclaimer: this is a work of historical FICTION about real historical characters, please read with a grain of salt. I enjoy her books because I don't get pissy about everything being 100% what historians agree on about what really happened.

We are like spirits where that is concerned (as you already know). I am currently reading a political thriller where the author uses real names for corporations and news outlets, etc., and he does just that. In the front of the book he puts "this book is a work of FICTION." (the caps are his)

That's awesome! PG should take a page from his book.

I have had to put the bio I am reading on Marie Antoinette aside (even though I am only 114p away from finishing) because it is getting too heavy for me. I picked up one of last month's gr's, The Zahir, and am really enjoying it so far. I am amazed at the profound things the author brings up so early in the book and the interesting characters. I think it's funny how he keeps alluding to The Alchemist.

I like how one of the characters, Esther, is so open minded and free spirited and the book has already inspired me to write a little bit. :)

I have The Zahir checked out from the library, so I should be reading it soon. I am really excited about it. Glad you are enjoying it. I have had no time to read lately, so I am WAY behind on things. I have four books going so far, and am desperately trying to keep up:

To Hold the Crown: The Story of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York by Jean Plaidy. I think I am liking this book better than some of the people in the group I am reading it for. I like the story, but am surprised at the characterization of the main focus since it is not represented the way I remember it. Interestingly, I either read this book in the not too distant future (I don't think so though) or a read a book that went through the exact same parts of Henry VIII's young life, because that part of the book, and the chapter about Perkin Warbeck in Scotland, I am finding VERY FAMILIAR, like almost word for word.

Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser. I am slowly slogging through this one. I have to say, I am enjoying the information, but it is a very slow read. Small type and lots of info to digest. Additionally, everyone is telling me how heavy the end is, so I am almost afraid to get there.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. I am only about 20 pages into this one, but I have wanted to read it for a long time. So far I like her writing and portrayals, but I am still at the stage where she is introducing all of the characters.

The Overton Window by Glenn Beck. This book is a real departure for Beck who usually writes either non-fiction political books or really sweet, sentimental fiction. It is a political thriller (the politics part is not a departure) and is a lot better than the reviews it is getting. I think the bad reviews are due to the fact that Beck does not positively portray government and the media in the book. He is equally critical of both the liberal and the conservative side, and even disses his own statipn, Fox News. I think a lot of people will be surprised by this book as they will probably be expecting it to be a liberal bashing treatise.

I'm 26 pages into The New Annotated Dracula, finding the story very good and the notes informative but can't really find a way to absorb all the information quickly.

I am really looking forward to reading Dracula some time soon! Not sure which version to get though.

So far I am finding Ella Minnow Pea to be just the right kind of quirky. I am anticipating what letter will be axed next, and how the Nollopians will deal with it.

I am only on my 30 of Speak and I wanna throw up! HS sucks and it scares the crap outta me that my girls would have to endure it. But I think I was a strong person so I am hoping that I have passed it onto them.

I have Ella Minnow Pea next after I finish The Alchemist and I am hoping to like it as much as you do Lyn because I am really on the fence about it.

Donna, what is it you are hating about Speak?

I didn't hate it per say I just hated the idea of someone going through such a thing. I gave the book 4 stars so I did like it but...