What's everyone reading these days?

[Pennywise]

Giraffe: A Novel by J. M. Ledgard

On a mild spring day in a small Czechoslovakian town 49 giraffes held in captivity were shot and dismembered. This was the largest herd of giraffes ever confined; twenty-three of them were pregnant. The slaughter was ordered by the communist government, with no explanation then or in time to come. These quiet, graceful animals had been caught in Africa and brought to a zoo. The story of their capture and eventual massacre, in Ledgard's story, serves as a political parable as seen through the eyes of Emil, who traveled with the animals, Jiri, a shooter hired to kill the giraffes, and the most poignant observer of all, Snehurka, a giraffe cow.

[kmw229]

Just finished: Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs

Funny, sad, ironic - and a real page-turner! This is the memoir of the author's life growing up with a mentally ill mother who left him to live with her psychiatrist and his oddball family. Great book! I recommend it.

[YorkieLover]

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho ... a tale about finding your personal legend.

[firetiger888]

Douglas Adams:

Finished - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Reading - The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

[Snowpuff]

"The Nasty Bits," by Anthony Bourdain.

My word, he uses a lot of very crude language. But the book is interesting, if you like dining out, cooking, food, etc.

[! 0ab !]

I don't read, I go to the internet...

[beglobal]

Right now Im not reading something special... but I ve looking for a book called "Why do Men Have Nipples" of Mark Leyer and Billy Goldberg... I cant find it!!! this two guys are doctors, they answer silly questions like the title but based in medilcal research!!! if you have any idea where I can find it please let me know!!! thanks!!!

[verwon]

I just finished Lilian Jackson Braun's The Cat Who Brought Down the House and started The Cat Who Went Banana's.

Plus I am reading The Prince by Machiavelli, a new Robin Cook that I just picked up, but I a blanking on the name right now, and The Deep by Peter Benchley.

[TTMommy]

Originally Posted by kmw229

Just finished: Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs

Funny, sad, ironic - and a real page-turner! This is the memoir of the author's life growing up with a mentally ill mother who left him to live with her psychiatrist and his oddball family. Great book! I recommend it.

I listened to this on CD, read by the author, and the fact that this now-grown kid isn't institutionalized or dead via suicide is a testament to the human ability to survive almost anything. That he has become successful is even more amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed it and can highly recommend the audio version. (Be prepared for sex, including child molestation, and much profanity. )

I have always been an avid reader, but I've recently also gotten hooked on audiobooks! I drive about 20 minutes to work each day (and my son, a freshman in college, is a little over an hour away and has a girlfriend at home , so I've been making lots of trips back and forth...), and it started because there was a book I was considering teaching but hadn't read, and I was short on time, so I got it from the library and listened to it. Since then, I rarely listen to anything else; one day, when I was about to finish one and didn't have another in reserve, I made an "urgent" trip to the library because I knew that *gasp!* I'd go through withdrawal without one!

In any case--back on topic!--I'm currently listening to The Jane Austen Book Club, which I'm enjoying, but it's not one that, like some, I can't wait to get in the car and turn it on. It's a worthwhile story, nonetheless, of a group of adults who get together to discuss Austen's novels, illuminating all of their own back-stories, past and present, as they work through divorce, betrayal, death, loneliness, etc. I might like it better if I were more familiar with Austen (and it borders on scandalous that, as an English teacher, I'm not! ), although it may inspire me to read (or listen to) more classics.

While at home, I'm also reading (yes, I do still read! ) The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls, another luminous and poignant memoir of a markedly unconventional childhood and how a bright, sensitive child copes and survives and ultimately triumphs. It begins with the author, a successful writer and frequent contributor to msnbc.com, running across her now-homeless mother on the streets of Manhattan--"I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster" is the memorable first line--and the fiercely independent older woman's bitter refusal of any real help, seeing it as an unwelcome value judgment by her daughter. The story of how both got there is treated so beautifully by the girl-now-woman who lived through it that it makes me want to cry.

At school, I'm reading (for pleasure, during our classroom silent sustained reading time--yea!) Inkspell, by Cornelia Funke. What an amazing book! It's the second of a planned trilogy, the third of which hasn't been published yet, and it fits squarely into the fantasy genre. The first book, Inkheart, centers around the interactions between a group of ruffians magically brought into our world from a novel and an engaging family including a father (the magical reader) raising his daughter alone after his beloved wife disappeared into the novel when the villains came out, the girl Meggie (who also shows the gift of being able to read characters into this world), a reclusive book-worshipping aunt, and others they meet along the way, including the author of the book whose characters have come to life. Wow! It's an intricate, well-woven plot with admirable but human heroes, despicable villains, and lots of action. Inkspell continues their story, but in this one, the "real" people have entered the book world, where there's plenty of magic--it's ultimately a fantasy novel about a fantasy novel!--and intrigue and nefarious plots that need to be stopped, as well as a budding romance between Meggie and a young man who has been read out of, literally, Arabian Nights. Anyway, they're wonderful books (Inkheart is being made into a movie), and I wholeheartedly recommend both to anybody who either already loves fantasy or is open to being introduced to the genre.

Whew! Sorry so wordy. As you can tell, I love reading!

[kayemjay]

The trouble with coming to this site is that I always hear about at least one more book that I have to put on my wish list.The Glass Castle sounds very good.
I just finished reading Billie Letts third book, Shoot The Moon. Very good, with lots of quirky characters, mystery and romance.

[sadaqut]

Hi, This post is very informative, however I would like some specific information. If someone can help me then please send me a private message. Best Regards,

[kayemjay]

Originally Posted by sadaqut

Hi, This post is very informative, however I would like some specific information. If someone can help me then please send me a private message. Best Regards,

What sort of specific information were you looking for?

[freesurfer]

Petey by Ben Mikelson

[YorkieLover]

The King of Lies by John Hart ... a novel about a troubled lawyer whose lawyer father was killed, it looks like he will get arrested for it, and how the mystery was solved. Several graphic adult parts, but great first novel.

[freesurfer]

Lily's Crossing by patricia reilly giff