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!

Ugh, I am STILL on Mockingjay by Suzanna Collins! It's a good book, but I keep having to stop for class readings! I also started reading a couple other books, but I'm not sure they're holding my attention yet. I will let you know what I think of Mockingjay once I am finally finished!

I have finally started reading Divergent by Veronica Roth. It's another dystopian young adult read. I am only about 80 pages in and the characters have selected their factions to live out the rest of their lives with. I'm waiting for the action to pick up but overall its seems to be a pretty quick read.

I have not been reading YA dystopia (although I still very much want to get to the Hunger Games at some point before seeing the movie). Instead I have been reading the Israeli writer Etgar Keret's new collection of stories,Suddenly, a Knock at the Door. These stories are imaginative and funny, and sometimes absurdist: In Lieland, for example, people encounter their lies--such as ailing or dead relatives invented as excuses--in the real world. Most of these stories are super-short, at around 5 pages or so.

I've also been listening to the audiobook of Tony Horwitz's nonfiction book about John Brown, Midnight Rising and discovering how much I have forgotten from 7th grade Kansas History class.

I've been either busy or not in a reading mood. I'm working on working on by Lily Koppel. I love the idea, but just not connecting to Florence

I'm getting close the 1/2 point of by David Ebershoff. I've having a hard time putting it down.

It is about Brigham Young's 19th Wife which left him and worked to make polygamy illegal, and a murder mystery involving a current day 19th wife.

Melanie wrote: "I'm getting close the 1/2 point of by David Ebershoff. I've having a hard time putting it down.

It is about Brigham Young's 19th Wife which left him and worked to make po..."

Oh yeah, I really enjoyed that one. For some reason I find the idea of Polygamy fascinating. I still think about the way the modern day polygamist group was portrayed whenever I hear about modern day polygamists--I hope they really aren't in horrible situations like that.

Deb, it was a great book. Well written and engaging.

Now I'm contining to work on

Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow. It is a good book, but 817 hardcover pages. I'm only to the Revolutionary War.

I just finished reading Paris in Love: A Memoir by Eloisa James. Eloisa James (Mary Bly) is a professor of Shakespeare and takes sabbatical in France after fighting and winning a battle with cancer. With her Italian husband, Harry Potter loving daughter, tennis playing son, and chunky chihuahua, our author sells most of her belongings (leaving herself with only one pot!) and makes the move to France for a year. This book is full of lovely essays and short paragraphs about the little moments during her stay in a beautiful country. I loved reading about those small, enjoyable snippets of her and her family's life, and imagining how the kids adapted to a new country and learning new languages. This would be a nice choice for book clubs.

Last night, I read and finished The Secret of the Old Clock, the first Nancy Drew mystery, by Carolyn Keene. I wish I had read those when I was younger because I feel like I missed out on something great! Right now I am reading books for my Children's Lit class and our module includes books we've always wanted to read. Next on my list is the first Hardy Boys book and then the first Boxcar Children.

I finally finished reading Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins earlier this month, and I have to say it was my least favorite in the trilogy, but still enjoyable.