I bought The Scarlet Letter last night. I am really into reading the classics right now. I am currently reading Jane Eyre, which I should finish this week. I like this book a lot but the writing is sometimes hard to understand because it was written so long ago when people spoke and wrote quite differently than they do now and although there are definitions listed for some words I have been using m-w.com(merriam webster's website) to help me out.

I'm about to finish "Cold Moon" by my favorite mystery/thriller author, Jeffery Deaver. It has been an enjoyable story but one of those where there is almost TOO much going on sometimes to keep up with it all...esp. when you're only reading a little bit every day and you have to remember who all these characters are and what their interrelationships are.

I'm back to slogging through "Under the Banner of Heaven" by Jon Krakauer. I'm determined to finish it but it is still slow going.

quote:

Originally posted by BrenauMom:
This weekend I picked up a copy of "Healthy Cooking for Two (or just you) that someone here had mentioned. We tried one of the recipes for dinner last night and it was really good (and quick and easy) and no leftovers .

I'm glad to hear that! I got as far as going through the book and marking recipes that sounded good but I haven't actually tried any yet.

quote:

I also picked up "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz. Anyone familiar with this?

Yes, I read this some years ago...very meaningful ideas. I also have a workbook that goes with it and I think another book of his.

This weekend I picked up a copy of "Healthy Cooking for Two (or just you) that someone here had mentioned. We tried one of the recipes for dinner last night and it was really good (and quick and easy) and no leftovers . Will post it in the recipe thread.

I also picked up "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz. Anyone familiar with this? Not my usual kind of reading but so far it is very interesting.

I just finished "Beginner's Luck" but Laura Pedersen. I loved it. Humourous, touching, well written...

Here's one of my favorite passages. She is trying to explain her relationship with the people she lives with. They aren't relatives, but she feels they are much more than friends.

"And that's when it became clear to me they are my Huckleberry friends. We are not bound together or beholden to one another through accident of birth, legal documents, or vows recited before clergy.
No, it is much more. Because a body can so easliy turn his back on all that. The magic of a Huckleberry friend arises from the fact there there is no covenant to be broken Our connectedness endures soley as a result of the stirrings within our own hearts, and continues whether we re near to one another or far apart."

Dawn

I just finished The Thirteenth Tale which was our book club book. It was weird, but kept sucking me in! I'm glad I finished it, but never would have dreamed of the ending!

I am reading The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield as my main book. I had noticed that it is very populat at one of my local libraries and on BookReporter.com.

My listening-in-the-car book is by Simon Winchester. A Crack in the Edge of the World. It is about the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. I have read and enjoyed previous books by Winchester - most notably The Professor and the Madman about the expansion of the Oxford English Dictionary.

The Thirteenth Tale revolves around one of my favorite subjects - books and authors.

Oh, pass it on - I'm going to meet a writer next week in Columbus who has been very encouraging to me. It's T.A. Barron. He writes books that probably appeal more to "young adults'. His The Lost Years of Merlin series has been acclaimed. If anyone would like a signed copy of one of his books - I'll be happy to do what I can.

Linda

quote:

Originally posted by SheriaVa:

quote:

Originally posted by Preciousmew:
1. Key Lime Pie - Johanna Fluke (Stephanie Plum Series) - Fantastic as usual!!

I'm confused. Are there two different authors with a Stephanie Plum series? Janet Evanovich is the only one I've heard of.

I was just getting ready to post the same thing.

Dawn

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by johnbol:
Yesterday, for my local library reading group, I started Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper. [...] What a great read. This will not be the last Picoult book I read. She has a very illustrative way with words.


Linda: Very happy to hear this, as I have had this book on my amazon wish list for some time now because it was recommended to me (by whom, I have by now forgotten!).

Would you classify it as heavy/sad?

I just read this on my vacation. Loved it! I don't know if I would characterize it as heavy/sad but it is a sobering subject but really well written I think. It is a very interesting subject and I too enjoyed the family dynamics. I was surprised by the ending but not shocked if that makes any sense.

Peg

I started reading Jane Eyre. I have had it on my bookshelf for a while but just haven't picked it up until last night. I love reading classic books. Barnes and Noble has a display of many of them so I try to buy one each time I go.

Jill

Oops...I mean Hannah Swensen mystery series..

Heather

quote:

Originally posted by Preciousmew:
1. Key Lime Pie - Johanna Fluke (Stephanie Plum Series) - Fantastic as usual!!

I'm confused. Are there two different authors with a Stephanie Plum series? Janet Evanovich is the only one I've heard of.

hehehe, We have another Stephanie Plum convert

I gave my sister #1 a couple of months ago and she just got around to reading it recently. Last Tuesday when she was here for dinner she took #2 and she just called and said she is ready for #3 when she comes tomorrow.

I think I had better give her several this time because it will be a month before she comes back again.

My reading recently has been books on Knitting but I also re-read a favorite of mine:
"The Cuckoo's Egg" by Cliff Stoll. From the back of the book:
"Cliff Stoll was an astronomer turned systems manager at Lawrence Berkley Lab when a 75-cent accounting error alerted him to the presence of an unauthorized user on his system. The Hacker's code name was "Hunter" - a mystery invader hiding inside a twisting electronic labyrinth, breaking into U.S. computer systems and stealing sensitive military and security information. Stoll began a one-man hunt of his own, spying on the spy--and plunged into an incredible international probe that finally gained the attention of top U.S. counterintelligence agents. "The Cuckoo's Egg" is the wild and suspenseful true story-a year of deception, broken codes, satellites, missile bases, and the ultimate sting operation--and how one ingenious American trapped a spy ring paid in cash and cocaine, and reporting to the KGB. (copywright 1989)

I am not usually a "non-fiction" reader but I find this book fasinating enough to re-read it occasionally. It was even made into a semi-docudrama by NOVA on PBS but I don't remember the title of the NOVA episode. I do remember that the NOVA show did not do justice to the story in the book.

I am currently reading Cape Refuge by Terri Blackstock. I'm only 7 chapters into it, so I can't really tell if it's going to be a "thriller" or not yet, but I am enjoying it so far, and like that I can't tell, yet, what is going to happen

Currently reading two books at the same time..

1. Key Lime Pie - Johanna Fluke (Stephanie Plum Series) - Fantastic as usual!!

2. Sisters - Daniel Steel..The story is hitting very close to home for me..I am enjoying it.

Heather

quote:

Originally posted by SheriaVa:

quote:

Originally posted by johnbol:
Yesterday, for my local library reading group, I started Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper. [...] What a great read. This will not be the last Picoult book I read. She has a very illustrative way with words.

Linda: Very happy to hear this, as I have had this book on my amazon wish list for some time now because it was recommended to me (by whom, I have by now forgotten!).

Would you classify it as heavy/sad?

Sheri,

It is a very easy read, yet it's also thought provoking. I would not classify it as heavy (like James Joyce, for instance).

Going to the book discussion last night, before I finished the book, let me in on a few things that I didn't know yet. Some definites and some supposition on my part.

I did hear that Picoult's teenaged son read the book prior to its publication and he had tears in his eyes. I haven't gotten that far yet (I'm on 300 of 412, now).

I think you would like it, Sheri. It's thought provoking because it deals with a controversial issue. I also felt some of the family dynamics hit a bit close to home for me.

I think Judy (BrenauMom) would like it, too.

Linda

quote:

Originally posted by johnbol:
Yesterday, for my local library reading group, I started Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper. [...] What a great read. This will not be the last Picoult book I read. She has a very illustrative way with words.

Linda: Very happy to hear this, as I have had this book on my amazon wish list for some time now because it was recommended to me (by whom, I have by now forgotten!).

Would you classify it as heavy/sad?

Yesterday, for my local library reading group, I started Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper.

Oh!

My!

Gosh!

What a great read. This will not be the last Picoult book I read. She has a very illustrative way with words.

I didn't finish the book for the discussion last night, but I was more than half way through and that was all read between 10:30 and 6:30!

Linda

My current reading:

Cold Moon by Jeffery Deaver

Trace by Patricia Cornwell

Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer


The Deaver is my work book (read during lunch) and I'm moving right along and enjoying it. Deaver is my favorite author of the mystery/thriller genre.

The Cornwell is my car book (read while eating out or waiting in doctor's offices, etc.) and that one is going okay--I used to be a MAJOR Cornwell fan but I think she's gone downhill.

The Krakauer is my at home book (read at bedtime) and is VERY slow going. Slogging would be the most descriptive word. I've adored the other two books of his that I've read but this one is too bogged down in details.

quote:

Originally posted by Tayhudson:
I'm getting ready to start "Beginner's Luck" by Laura Pedersen for my work book club.

Dawn

I am in the middle of this book now and am really enjoying it. There are some parts that really ask you to suspend logic and reality a bit, but it is really enjoyable.

A little bit "Evanovichish" in that can make what should be a really bad situation comical.

Dawn