Topeka & Shawnee Co. Public Library discussion

Welcome! This ongoing discussion is your place to share what you are reading and what you think about it!

I finished The Brief History of the Dead last night for the So Many Books, So Little Time discussion. I really liked the idea behind it and enjoy most of the book. I stayed up late to finish the last 50 pages and was disappointed by the last two chapters.

I'm about 25% of my way though Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow and just started Shanghai Girls by Lisa See for my book club.

Yesterday I finished Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, and I really enjoyed it. I never really knew much about the Chinese immigration experience from the 1920s to the 1950s. The ending is open to a sequal, but I enjoyed reading this book.

I'm 100 pages into Worth Fighting For by Lisa Niemi Swayze. It is about Patrick Swayze and his battle with cancer. Very moving, and you can see why they loved each other so much even though they had their difficulties.

Melanie wrote: "I finished The Brief History of the Dead last night for the So Many Books, So Little Time discussion. I really liked the idea behind it and enjoy most of the book. I stayed up late to finish the ..."

I read and enjoyed Brockmeier's The Illumination last year, which is about a new phenomenon that suddenly appears where people's pain manifests itself as light radiating from their wounds. In a related subplot, a secret diary is passed around. I've been meaning to get to Brief History since.

I recently finished The Sharp Time the debut young adult novel by Lawrence writer Mary O'Connell. I loved the voice of the main character, Sandinista Jones, at times wickedly funny and achingly vulnerable. Living on her own after her mother's death, she walks out of high school and into a job at a hip vintage clothing store and its hodgepodge surrounding businesses. Meanwhile, she entertains violent revenge fantasies against one teacher while hoping to be saved by another. This is a beautifully written novel with a tough, sweet, and funny heroine. I also highly recommend her short story collection Living with Saints.

I first heard about the book I am now reading on NPR. It is The Moment edited by Larry Smith of Smith Magazine. I am enjoying every page of this book. There are a few pages by each writer answering the simple question, "What was your Moment?" Each entry is as varied as the one hundred and twenty five authors that answer that question. Some of the writers are famous, some not. Smith Magazine was launched with the idea that everyone has a story, and everyone should have a place to tell it. (Not unlike our Library's philosphy.) Read this fascinating book. You can tell your story and read hundreds of more stories at www.smithmag.net/themoment.
I am also reading The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley. This book takes place in Scotland. There are two stories being told, one in the Eighteenth century and one in the present day. It is a great read also.

I am currently reading Vlad III Dracula: The Life and Times of the Historical Dracula by Kurt Treplow and enjoying it. The book examines the political and economical elements of 15th century Wallachia and Southeastern Europe as well as the conflicts these countries were facing with the Ottomans. The Principality of Wallachia was created in 1310 but the throne was not automatically handed down through the practice of primogeniture. Therefore, legitimate and illegitimate heirs were constantly battling over the throne for the next 150-200 years. Vlad III had three separate reigns himself. I am not familiar with a lot of Eastern European history so I thought I'd pick this book up for a quick read.

Melanie wrote: "I finished The Brief History of the Dead last night for the So Many Books, So Little Time discussion. I really liked the idea behind it and enjoy most of the book. I stayed up late to finish the ..."

I'm glad to see you are planning on joining our "So Many Books" discussion. I am re-reading The Brief History of the Dead for it as well. Too bad that you found the last couple of chapters disappointing, but that should give us some interesting fodder for discussion!
The Brief History of the Dead

Just finished Worth Fighting for by Lisa Niemi Swayze. I hope I'm not giving away any spoilers here, but it is about Patrick Swayze's battle against pancreatic cancer. It is also about love and marriage. A very heartbreaking love story. I never have been close with anyone going though chemotherapy, and this helped me gain much more respect and understanding for their struggle. Also made me want to get in better shape because once we lose our bodies we really don't have anything. Very surreal finishing this between Whitney Houston's death and Valentine's day.

I am currently reading The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson, which takes place inside modern North Korea. About 2/3 through, I’ve followed the main character, Jun Pak Do, through his adventures as an orphan, tunnel fighter, kidnapper, radio transcriber on a fishing boat, translator on a diplomatic mission, and prisoner. So far, it has been an interesting glimpse into the closed-off world of North Korea.

I’ve also been reading Remedy and Reaction , a book about the history of health care reform in the U.S. up to and including the recent Affordable Care Act. I am finding this a good companion book to a book I read a couple of years ago, T. R. Reid’s The Healing of America , which looks at the pros and cons of health care systems in other countries, and how versions of those systems exist in the hodgepodge nature of our health care system here.

I also took a break from the heavier stuff I’m currently reading and gulped down a YA novel, The Future of Us , which I think I got from a recommendation here in the GoodReads group. It was a quick, fun read about what happens when two teenagers in 1996 get access to their future Facebook profiles through a free AOL CD. I particularly enjoyed the 90s pop culture references and look back to the early days of the Internet.

Just finished reading The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski. Posnanski is a sports columnist and traveled around the country with Buck during the last year of his life. Buck made appearances at schools, charity events, ball games, museums, etc. and offered his wisdom, stories, and humor. His passion was baseball and he wanted his stories of the negro leagues to come to life and portray the ball players' love of the game. It's a great read and I highly recommend it!

I just started a light read... the third Charley Davidson book, Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones.

Just finished Cannery Row by John Steinbeck. This was for the Kansas Humanities Council and the focus is on communities. I've never read Steinbeck before, and had only seen a production Of Mice and Men. Of Mice and Men had disturbed me, so I wasn't sure how to take Cannery Row. It is character driven and not plot driven like most books I normally read. I think most of us would avoid the majority of the characters in our everyday lives, but Steinbeck shows you the person inside. It makes for a good discussion.

Lissa and Thad had both recommend Ready Player One by Ernest Cline in several of their Hush podcasts (discussions can be found in this Group). I wanted to third the recommendation. It is a fast paced read and the reader is quickly drawn into the story. I found it very hard to put down. This is a debut novel for Ernest Cline and he will definately be an author I want to follow. I'v read reviews were people got bogged down in looking up many of the 1980s references. I don't remember much of the 1980s, and maybe you will get more out of the book if you look them up - however, you don't need to look anything up to enjoy this book even if you don't remember a song, movie, a television show, a book, or a video game. While this book revolves around a video game and has many references to them you do not have to be a gamer to enjoy this book. We don't have a gaming system like OASIS - being on Goodreads shows you have enough technology knowledge to enjoy the book. Again, I highly recommend Ready Player One.

Finished Paranormalcy by Kirsten White. It was a fun, easy, and quick read. Evie had grown up in the foster system and then working for the IPCA. Her best friend is a mermaid. She has a way of distinguishing paranormal individuals from humans, and suddenly the paranormals are being killed. Is she one of them? It is the beginning of a trilogy.

Melanie wrote: "Lissa and Thad had both recommend Ready Player One by Ernest Cline in several of their Hush podcasts (discussions can be found in this Group). I wanted to third the recommendation. It is a fast p..."

I just finished this on audio last week. Wil Wheaton was the reader, an excellent choice given his geek credentials, and he's even name-checked in the book.