What are you reading?

[OakLeaf]

I may already have mentioned Against the Grain: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization, by Richard Manning. It's fascinating, and actually a much easier read than my long slog through it suggests, it's just that I haven't had a lot of energy for nonfiction lately.

I read We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves over the winter, and really loved it. Americanah is on my list to read sooner than later ...

Seanan McGuire is a recent guilty pleasure of mine, too. For those who haven't read her, she's sort of a cross between Janet Evanovich and Men in Black (except with "monsters" aka cryptids instead of aliens).

Just finished Jennifer Government by Max Barry. A darkly funny neoliberal dystopia.

[salsabike]

I loved Jennifer Government! I keep hoping for a sequel. Seanan McGuire sounds like a hoot.

[ny biker]

I'm another who doesn't have much time to read these days. I started An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Col. Chris Hadfield after Christmas, but haven't finished yet.

I'm actually thinking of getting a Kindle or other e-reader/tablet, in the hopes it will get me to read more. I tend to play games on my phone while I'm watching TV during dinner and before I go to bed. With a tablet maybe I'll catch up with Words with Friends and then turn off the TV and read instead of playing solitaire.

[rebeccaC]

Just finished Margaret Atwood’s ‘MaddAddam’, the finale of that trilogy. A friend who knew of my reading about native american's and the early california missions recommended "The Orenda" by James Boyden about the jesuit's and first nations of canada which is my next read.

[emily_in_nc]

I am almost through with a remarkable book my mother bought me for Christmas.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

If you like historical works concerning the 17th century Salem witch trials, rare books, and libraries, you'll probably enjoy it.

[emily_in_nc]

The three-book series based on fictional diaries of Josephine Bonaparte by Sandra Gulland. Loved, loved, loved these and wished this series never had to end!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Josephine-...nd+josephine+b

[Wahine]

Nice recommendation!

[Crankin]

I read a lot, but if you asked me what, I'd say, duh? I cannot ever remember the titles, let alone the authors of books. So, I have my Amazon window open here, so I can tell you guys what I've read. I belong to Women's Adventure Magazine's Book Group, so my current reading reflects this. Been reading a lot of non fiction, too.
Sugar in the Blood: A Family's Story of Slavery and Empire by Andrea Stuart
Bold Spirit: Helga Etsby's Forgotten Walk Across America by Linda Lawrence Hunt
Long Distance: Testing the Liits of Body and Spirit in a Year of Living Strenuously, by Bill McKibbon
I Promise Not To Suffer: A Fool for Love Hikes the Pacific Crest Trail by Gail Storey
Motherland: Beyond the Holocaust: A Mother Daughter Journey to Reclaim the Past by Fern Schumer Chapman
When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde

[salsabike]

I read We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves over the winter, and really loved it..

OH! I just finished it. What an extraordinary, wonderful book.

I would just add: to those who haven't read it yet, it is better if you can read it without having read any reviews, interviews or other spoilers. It really does make a difference--so don't read these interviews yet.

[OakLeaf]

If you're interested, it was this interview with Karen Joy Fowler that originally led me to that book.

[Pax]

My ex's mom was highly educated, corporate VP, and very snobby... but she devoured romance novels. She called them "literary palate cleansers"; always made me crack up.

I'm a big fan of read whatever you want, but please read something! It forces our minds to think differently than images do, different is good.

[salsabike]

I couldn't get your link to work, Oak, so I went hunting. Was it this interview? http://karenjoyfowler.com/books/we-a...-ourselves-qa/

[OakLeaf]

No, though it covers a lot of the same ground. I see now the link was censored. The domain name is "books-l-u-t.com" without the dashes ...

[Catrin]

Witthim - thanks for the recommendation for The Bellringers Quite a good book, and I am not usually one for political thrillers that aren't set in current times.

I did look at Goodreads, and there IS an option to start up a group. I could do that if there is enough interest, but that is probably overly complicated since we have this thread.

[Catrin]

Curious what people are reading right now.

I went to the library today and walked out with quite the eclectic collection:

Terry Pratchett's Raising Steam
Virgil's Aeneid (translated by Robert Fagles)
J.R.R. Tolkein's version of The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun

Thankfully these books can be renewed, and will need to be - especially the second two. It's been years since I've gotten into epic verse however, and I've not read the Aeneid before. I figure since I am challenging my body as I've already begun training/preparing for GS (kettlebell sport) competition that it is a good time to also challenge my brain. Epic verse is almost like another language. It is captivating in a different way than prose when it is done well. I really want to read Tolkein's translation of Beowulf but my library still has it on order. Pratchett is for lunch-time reading :-)

I also checked out a CD version of Pratchett & Gaim's Good Omen. I spend 30 minutes in the car every morning and evening and am so tired of the local radio stations and the repetitive content on NPR. I've not listened to a book for a long time.