What Are You Reading? Part Deux

[danie]

Finished The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell, and I liked it for its real characters and very funny dialogue. The novel set-up, telling the story in six different installments, at different times, from various characters, was a neat way to write. I was kind of disappointed in

Spoiler

the big supernatural battle at the end. It didn’t read well, and lost all the momentum that had been built up for 500 pages. Also, the last installment was depressing and too long. I kept sighing as it became more and more drawn out. Once I did get to the actual ending, I was pleased with the outcome.

I have Mitchell’s Slade House in my TBR pile. I’m now reading Lady’s Maid, a historical fiction novel about Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s personal maid, and I’m really liking it so far.

 

[Blake]

It's his birthday on the 9th March. He was a hero of mine back in 1972. He was slightly eccentric. He was obsessed with a game from the 1960's where a pawn was supposed to move to h6 and he didn't know if this was the right continuation. I've read another biography of his. They've done studies with chess players being to recall games etc and they are good a visual patterns. But if you put the pieces in a random order they aren't familiar with they are just like everyone else.

 

[skimom2]

I read an entire book today! I haven't done that in a while, but my puppy is sick and I was home from work today letting her in and out and letting her sleep on my feet. Carve the Mark (Veronica Roth). Kind of an interesting premise and some good characters, but she is not a sci/fi author and it shows. Though it was absorbing enough to keep me reading all day, the story fell completely apart at the end. Too bad, because she did have a decent story in there. I think she saw that she had been successful with a dystopian series and thought sci/fi would be easy. Nope. Different kind of world building when one is set in a real, if future, world and the other is completely different. "Borrowed" liberally from a few other books in setting up the world, and had a few deus ex machina to try to rescue herself from a plot hole that gaped at the end.

I'm also working on This House is Haunted (John Boyne) at lunchtime at work, and Mrs. Tom Thumb is my laundry room book. Also trudging through a review book.

 

[mjs9153]

Currently just getting into The Star Rover by Jack London, which someone here recommended.. next will be The Circus Fire by Stewart O'nan, SK's co author in his book about the Red Sox Championship season of 2004 .. This is the story of the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus tragedy where the main tent burned and injured eight thousand people, killing a hundred and sixty-seven.. after that, Triangle, The Fire That Changed America by David Von Drehle, about the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in New York City in 1911. This is my month for historical disaster novels.. you would think that with the massive amount of lost lives in these two incidents, that there would be films about them, but instead we get the same old dreck from Hollywood every year..

 

[Toni_S_UK]

I have settled on the idea of re-reading the gunslinger (not sure if it will lead to a full dark tower reread - if it does it won't be back to back). Only question left is do I read my nice soft, worn in paperback or do I use my pristine paperback from my favourite king item (well, maybe joint favourite with my cheap decrepit paperback of It) - my dark tower box set.

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I read the gunslinger and haven't been able to stop since, now on book 4, back to back and am loving it

 

[Toni_S_UK]

Just started Wizard and Glass this week

 

[cat in a bag]

Finished Radiant Angel over the weekend, liked it. John Corey is one of my all time favorite characters. I hope there will be more with him.

Still working on Sycamore Row, no page numbers on my kindle version, but it says I am 80%. I think a lot of the middle could have used a big edit but things are starting to get good again.

 

[do1you9love?]

My library kindle copy of Strange Weather came today!! I just finished Snapshot!

 

[skimom2]

Currently just getting into The Star Rover by Jack London, which someone here recommended.. next will be The Circus Fire by Stewart O'nan, SK's co author in his book about the Red Sox Championship season of 2004 .. This is the story of the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus tragedy where the main tent burned and injured eight thousand people, killing a hundred and sixty-seven.. after that, Triangle, The Fire That Changed America by David Von Drehle, about the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in New York City in 1911. This is my month for historical disaster novels.. you would think that with the massive amount of lost lives in these two incidents, that there would be films about them, but instead we get the same old dreck from Hollywood every year..

The Triangle book is good!

 

[skimom2]

Hatchet (Gary Paulsen) for one of my reading groups (teacher assigned it, and I haven't read it before now--hard to lead a book discussion without knowing what's going on!). I also picked up a book of collected essays/columns written my Ursula LeGuin, titled: No Time To Spare: Thinking About What Matters.

 

[Paddy C]

Got sidetracked with some SF and History stuff but now back to It

 

[danie]

Hatchet (Gary Paulsen) for one of my reading groups (teacher assigned it, and I haven't read it before now--hard to lead a book discussion without knowing what's going on!). I also picked up a book of collected essays/columns written my Ursula LeGuin, titled: No Time To Spare: Thinking About What Matters.

Hatchet—My very favorite middle-school book! I read it aloud to my students so many years that I think in Paulsen’s phrases and cadence. I recommend Brian’s Winter as a follow up.

 

[urrutiap]

Im reading Tom Clancy's Threat Vector. Im about done with it. Have about 100 pages left then its off to reading Star Wars Dawn of the Jedi Into the Void

 

[skimom2]

Hatchet—My very favorite middle-school book! I read it aloud to my students so many years that I think in Paulsen’s phrases and cadence. I recommend Brian’s Winter as a follow up.

I'm going to be using it in my 4/5 classroom, as well, as soon as they finish their current book. The 3rd grade teacher assigned it first, to her high readers. I don't think they're going to enjoy it, or even understand a lot of it. High reading ability doesn't always correspond to maturity in comprehension--they struggled with The One and Only Ivan, for pete's sake. Third grade is developmentally still pretty self centered--not a lot of empathy available from most of them. I tried to explain that to her, but she's determined to get through a chapter a day. *sigh* At least it will be good for their fluency, if read aloud by them.

I'll check out Brian's Winter, too! Thank you!

 

[danie]

I'm going to be using it in my 4/5 classroom, as well, as soon as they finish their current book. The 3rd grade teacher assigned it first, to her high readers. I don't think they're going to enjoy it, or even understand a lot of it. High reading ability doesn't always correspond to maturity in comprehension--they struggled with The One and Only Ivan, for pete's sake. Third grade is developmentally still pretty self centered--not a lot of empathy available from most of them. I tried to explain that to her, but she's determined to get through a chapter a day. *sigh* At least it will be good for their fluency, if read aloud by them.

I'll check out Brian's Winter, too! Thank you!

I read it mostly with fifth-graders and a few times with sixth. I wish I could get into my computer and send you the “journal” I created to go with the book. The journal was to check students’ comprehension of the story, as well as give them creative assignments to go along with the chapters. I can’t get my computer to work though. Of course, there are plenty of resources on the Internet now. Years ago, I had to come up with all my stuff, and type it all up to copy! I hope you and your kids enjoy the book as much as I did.

 

[grin willard]

It's his birthday on the 9th March. He was a hero of mine back in 1972. He was slightly eccentric. He was obsessed with a game from the 1960's where a pawn was supposed to move to h6 and he didn't know if this was the right continuation. I've read another biography of his. They've done studies with chess players being to recall games etc and they are good a visual patterns. But if you put the pieces in a random order they aren't familiar with they are just like everyone else.

That actually looks fantastic!

 

[grin willard]

I days ago found a John D. McDonald collection called Shades of Travis McGee. At a local thrift shop! But being fans of McDonald's protégé, Stephen King, myself and all of you know that you never read Travis McGee in the winter or spring. It just is not done. Only in summer. My bathroom book is an old Robert Mitchum biography I found.

It's about all I'm reading really. Oh, a work friend, I guess he's my friend, he bought me a couple of huge hard-back horror anthologies at Barnes & Noble! I was pretty shocked, since I barely know him, but we had spoken about horror fiction a few times. I hope they were cheap. He has a gf, so he's not trying to get into my pants! Does he think I am more important than I really am? But in the break room I've been lauding him with thank yous & complements! The books are nice collections of mostly older horror. Mart Shelly's Frankenstein is in one. This guy is a tall thin Icabod Crane drink of water! Do I need to buy him something now? I am out of my depth here.

 

[Doc Creed]

I hope they were cheap. He has a gf, so he's not trying to get into my pants! Does he think I am more important than I really am? But in the break room I've been lauding him with thank yous & complements! The books are nice collections of mostly older horror. Mart Shelly's Frankenstein is in one. This guy is a tall thin Icabod Crane drink of water! Do I need to buy him something now? I am out of my depth here.

 

[Doc Creed]

you know that you never read Travis McGee in the winter or spring.

I broke with tradition and read The Deep Blue Goodby this January. I have Nightmare in Pink on my Kindle that I'm saving.

 

[skimom2]

I read it mostly with fifth-graders and a few times with sixth. I wish I could get into my computer and send you the “journal” I created to go with the book. The journal was to check students’ comprehension of the story, as well as give them creative assignments to go along with the chapters. I can’t get my computer to work though. Of course, there are plenty of resources on the Internet now. Years ago, I had to come up with all my stuff, and type it all up to copy! I hope you and your kids enjoy the book as much as I did.

That sounds so great! There is a good program called Bookpagez that we're using for the older kids, but it's just beyond the 3rd graders. Teachers Pay Teachers has a bit of everything, but I've found quite a few things that have inaccuracies. Nothing has been a complete loss yet--even the least helpful have provided a jumping off point