gandpsmommy Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I haven't been around as much this year, so forgive me if I missed it. I know there's a thread for the reading challenge, but I was wondering what everyone else is reading. I'll start. I'm reading Texts and Contexts: Writing About Literature with Critical Theory by Steven Lynn. I just started David Copperfield. What are you reading? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie in IL Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Just finished 5 Love Languages of a Teenager by Gary Smalley - loved it. Currently, I'm reading Pilgrim's Progress, the 3rd volume of Charlotte Mason's education series, Homeschooling High School, and a fun light summer read by Tracie Peterson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet in Toronto Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I'm reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 On my own I'm reading The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck. I was reading a book on the Great Depression in Canada before and so this one seemed like a natural next read. I'm reading Metamorphoses by Ovid with the kids. I'm including it because I don't think I've ever enjoyed a read aloud so much and if anybody decides to read it make sure you read aloud and not to yourself! It makes a huge difference. I had to stop reading it because my daughter is off to my parents for two weeks and it's just about killing me. I keep reaching for it before I remember I have to wait because my daughter loves it as much as I do. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I'm reading The Biology of Belief (Bruce H. Lipton, PhD) and The Secret Teachings of Plants (Stephen Harrod Buhner). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patchfire Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I'm reading David McCullough's Truman, as well as Wicked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I'm reading The Canterbury Tales, the adaptation by Geraldine McCaughrean. I think it's hilarious. Later this week I'm starting The Odyssey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soph the vet Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 With the kids: Henty's Cat of Bubastes For myself: Thomas Sowell's Basic Economics, Levin's Liberty and Tyranny, Clousen's 5,000 Year Leap and Rand's Atlas Shrugged Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loupelou Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 With the kids: A Tale of Two Cities Me: Eat to Live, Candide - Voltaire, Oxford Illustrated History of the Bible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I just finished An American Haunting: The Bell Witch by Brent Monahan. I was sorely disappointed. While the story is good, the author swears up and down in his note to the reader at the beginning that this whole work is from a sealed document a friend of a friend found. When I got to the end, I knew it couldn't be true. It deals with multiple personality disorder, and the supposed person who wrote this document in the 1800's is surprised at his wife's racism towards the slaves. Hmmmmm.....in 1800's Tennessee. That's surprising to him? The story itself was interesting, though it dragged in many places. I just felt really betrayed by the author for lying to me. I felt the same way after reading Amy Tan's Saving Fish From Drowning. She swears in her reader's note that she got the story from a psychic who communicates with the dead who wanted her to tell this tale. If you read the interview with her at the end, you find out she made the whole thing up. My next book is Garden Spells since many people here have read it and had positive things to say about it. Wicked is awesome, for the poster who was asking. I've read it a couple of times. The author has a unique writing style, and it can take awhile to get used to it. It's a fairly dark book. All of his books are good except for Lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Lords of the North by Bernard Cornwell. It's the fourth book in The Saxon Tales series. Excellent if you like historical fiction :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkInTheBlue Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I just received Great Expectations a couple of days ago, so that's what I'm going to be reading. I'm finishing some bubble gum reading of a Southern Vampire book. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I'm currently working on a 6 book tall stack on books on Paul! I'm wondering how long it'll take me to get through them..lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Forests of the Heart by Charles de Lint. I love his modern folk tales. He's got a great voice. I'm reading The Fire Thief Trilogy by Terry Deary with the boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i.love.lucy Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Wow. You guys are ambitious! I tried to join the 52 books club, but it was too fast for me. Just too much going on to make sure I get done with a book in a week, but now that summer is here I'm speeding up. I finished Redeeming Love. Eh. It was okay. Now into The Red Tent. Again, eh. It's not grabbing me yet. On my list for summer is: The Other Boleyn Girl When We Were Gods The Good Men People of the Book Thirteenth Tale Outlander I like historical fiction in case you couldn't tell.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claire up north Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I just finished Sir Gawain and the Green Knight last night. I am working my way through Catch-22. I can't wait for my Amazon order to get here so I can read a book I ordered for my son: Phineas Gage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BabyBre Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Just finished 5 Love Languages of a Teenager by Gary Smalley - loved it. That one shed a lot of light for me! I'm finishing The 5,000-Year-Leap. I haven't decided what to pick up next, but I'm in the early stages of my US history self-education so it will almost certainly be related to our founding. I will also likely start The Grapes of Wrath with ds16. I'm also reading Johnny Tremain with the little ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luanne Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I just finished reading (within the past two weeks) Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (and have another book about him requested from the library), Up a Road Slowly, and Bound for Oregon. I am about half-way through Streams to the River, River to the Sea and The Intellectual Life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I am a sequential person, and like to read just one book at a time, but I have gotten myself stuck in three different books at the same time! Anyway, it's more like "what's on the nightstand," as MFS used to say... Caribbean by James Michener Triathalon Made Easy by Zoe McDonald Why Beauty Matters by Karen Lee-Thorpe Caribbean is a chunkster, a dramatic history that is not a fast read. I have Les Mis in queue after that, as well as Moby Dick, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Shakespeare), an Edgar Allen Poe anthology and Queen Bees & Wanna-bes. I also just finished a couple of Clive Cussler novels (wow, he is such a chauvinist, but I do enjoy his plots!) and two by Teri Blackstock (Line of Duty and Double Minds). Eclectic, aye?!! I am trying to catch up on that 999 reading challenge, so I've got 'em lined up and ready to go! Now if the kids would just quit needing to eat and wear clean clothes, and not have to be driven places, I might actually get through my stack.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I'm reading David McCullough's Truman, as well as Wicked. Wicked is pretty good :) With the kids: A Tale of Two CitiesMe: Eat to Live, Candide - Voltaire, Oxford Illustrated History of the Bible Love love love Tale of Two Cities I just finished all of the books I was reading. Farenheit 451 - :D great book. Catcher in the Rye - :glare: Okay, I don't get all the fuss. Did.not.like.it. The Broken Window - :001_huh: POSSIBLE SPOILER Lincoln Ryme story, not one of my favs. I don't like who dunnits where the culprit is someone no one really discussed. IOW, you CAN'T figure out who dunnit, because it's from so far out in left field. Moving on to: The Grapes of Wrath To Kill a Mockingbird (with dd) Holes (with ds) Crime and Punishment (with the book club on here :tongue_smilie:) Another TBA, by my red hat book club Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 TWTM by SWB. :) I'm also working my way through Algebra: Structure and Method Book 1. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I just finished reading (within the past two weeks) Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (and have another book about him requested from the library), Up a Road Slowly, and Bound for Oregon. I am about half-way through Streams to the River, River to the Sea and The Intellectual Life. We read Carry On, Mr. Bowditch earlier this year as a part of our LA curriculum. I loved it!! He was an amazing man! I had never even heard of him before reading that book. I'm so glad I got to learn a little about the man and his life. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slug hollow Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I'm rereading Atlas Shrugged. I read it 10 or so years ago. It's way more intense this time around, though I still think it could have benefited from more editing. I paused in my quest to finish Don Quixote to start this. I'm choosing some terribly long books for someone who gets about 35 minutes of (my own) reading time a night. So much for coming close to the 52 book challenge! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 (edited) I just finished reading The Snow Queen by Mercedes Lackey, and now I'm reading Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and S*x by Mary Roach. The latter I heard about on an NPR interview, and it's proving quite an amusing read. Next on the reading shelf is Stephen King's On Writing, The Thrall's Tale by Judith Lindbergh, and The Crown of Silence by Storm Constantine. Edited June 17, 2009 by Ravin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patchfire Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I was eying Wicked at the book store. How is that so far? Well, it hasn't grabbed me as much as I expected it to. We love the soundtrack here, even though we've never seen the musical, so I think I keep trying to picture where the songs work in too much. :) OTOH, it could be simply because I'm loving Truman so much more than I expected to. It's intimidating in size but oh, what a treasure! Two other good books I read lately - 1491 and 1421. I felt like I was on a number kick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Just finished Fahrenheit 451 and moved on to The Abolition of Man. I have several I still working on: English Literature for Boys and Girls Climbing Parnasus Famous Books Ancient and Medieval Outlines of 108 Great Works That Have Shaped Modern Civilization (looonnngg title!:001_smile:) I also just started How to Read a Book We're nearly finished with The Penderwicks for the girls.They are really enjoying this, which is a good thing since we're reading The Penderwicks on Gardam Street next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nutmeg Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Reading aloud: Anne of Green Gables, again :) Of Courage Undaunted (Daugherty), for school Kidnapped (RL Stevenson), for book club for myself... just finished: Welcome to the Lizard Motel (great topic, didn't appreciate the execution) Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of the Tree (middle-school angst; protagonist is a combo of Nancy Drew and ST:TNG's Data) Re-reading: The Hobbit perusing: The Friendly Dickens (Norrie Epstein) pre-reading: The Dancing Shoes, (Noel Streatfeild) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Oh, we are loving Anne of Green Gables. We're reading this for school (along with Robinson Crusoe) and my dd (12) just loves the character of Anne. I think she sees herself in her. My dd is a real romantic drama queen! We love the movie too!:001_smile: P.S. We haven't read Dancing Shoes but the girls loved Ballet Shoes. Just to share with you, Netflix has a really cute movie for Ballet Shoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I'm glad you posted about this because I wanted to ask for opinions after I saw it at Borders! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 The current bed-side stack includes: Michner's The Source, Wine and War, Bellow's Humboldt's Gift, and a quick re-read of Anthem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I have a stack: The Appeal by John Grisham. Good summer page turner. The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto Amusing Ourselves To Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes...in You and Your Kids by Scott Turansky Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverfront Headmistress Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Chinese Cinderella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendi Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I just finished a fascinating book called A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz. It's about the exploration and settlement of the New World. Eye-opening, to say the least. Now I'm reading a book I found in the children's section of the library. It's called Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland. And ds and I are reading together The Good Fight by Stephen Ambrose. I also just finished reading Surviving Hitler; ds will read it next. Next up is Sailing from Byzantium: how a lost Empire shaped the world. Wendi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Great thread! You all are giving me great ideas for my next stack. Last summer I read "The Road" by Cormack McCarthy --- AACK!!!! :eek: My husband just insisted that I read it, and I had nightmares for days. I had to finish it because he assured me that the end would "make things better" I just wonder HOW they are going to get that movie onto the screen without an NC-17 for gruesomeness....and I can't stand gore! It's not slasher gore, but that kind of horrible creepiness that sticks in your mind for years and years and years.... I don't care if everyone and their brother is praising it as a "Dark, Lyrical Meditation on Love's Dedication" (as one eloquent Amazon reviewer titled his post). It's a scary-larry book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 "The Dragon Reborn" by Robert Jordan. Actually, I'm rereading all of the Wheel of Time series in preparation for the new book being released in November. I've already read the prequel and books 1 & 2. I've been waiting for them to pick an author to finish the series since Robert Jordan. I hope the new author does it justice. I had hopes of reading "Abraham Lincoln's World" to the girls this summer, but right now we are enjoying break way too much to do any of that!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellifera Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Anna and the King of Siam The Bondage of the Will Luther Does the Rainbow Resource Center catalog count as a book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapax Legomena Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims, by Andrew Bostom, MD, 759 pages. This book is a compendium of quotes from Muslim writers and scholars from the last 1200 years or so to the present. I didn't quite finish it prior to the library due date, so I have returned to complete the final 100 pages of the Iliad. When the Bostom book is available again, I look forward to completing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erica471 Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I just finished The Piano Teacher by Janice Lee. It's set in Hong Kong both in the occupation of Hong Kong by the Japnese and then years later. I really enjoyed it. I'm reading The Last of her Kind by Sigrid Nunez for my book club. I haven't read enough of it yet to form an opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheryl in NM Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I'm reading Grapes of Wrath. Someone posted a few weeks ago about how she had just finished reading it and couldn't get it off her mind. I'm find the beginning very dry though. I'm hoping it picks up soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 John Adams by David McCullough and the autobiography of U.S. Grant. Boy, talk about two different men and two completely different writing styles. The U.S. Grant one is fascinating, since I have absolutely no knowlege of the Mexican-American War, or basically any 19th Century history besides the fact that the Civil War was in there somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Bleak House by Charles Dickens and Strangers in Death by J.D. Robb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World by Stephen Glenn and Jane Nelsen. Seven Principles for Making a Marriage Work by John Gottman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruby Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Reading "How to Have Confidence and Power in Dealing with People" and the marriage book "Love and Respect." Oh yeah..........can you count the new Rainbow Resource catalog? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gandpsmommy Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 I'm reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. Oh, I loved that book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizabeth Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I just finished listening to The Road by Cormac Mccarthy and it is one of the best books on audio I have had the pleasure of listening to. If your library has audiobooks and you enjoy post apocalyptic literature it is great! http://www.amazon.com/Road-Cormac-McCarthy/dp/1428112782 For sheer geek bliss I cannot recommend the series by Cassandra Clare highly enough she writes great paranormal fantasy without the soft core p*rn element that seems to be ever presentin other series. FWIW I am no prude I simply find most of this type of writing , dark paranormal to be cliched and boring. Her world building is fairly unique and certainly theologically fascinating. http://www.amazon.com/Bones-Mortal-Instruments-Cassandra-Clare/dp/1416955070 I am also prereading a book titled Heavy Sand by Rybakov that was recommended by relatives. We will be reading about modern Russia and eastern Europe next year thus my attempt to flesh out our coverage to include a wide range of historical fiction. http://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Sand-Anatoly-Rybakov/dp/0140055355/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245279784&sr=1-2 I am forever reading political theorists and Noam Chomsky ,albeit primarily a linguist is one of my favorite thinkers. Therefore I am treating myself to Failed States to balance the mind candy. http://books.google.com/books?id=yDhGoR6yU8AC&dq=Noam+Chomsky&printsec=frontcover&source=an&hl=en&ei=Dng5Sq_FOIzMMpTU7Y0N&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=13#PPA3,M1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gandpsmommy Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Have you read Outliers? It was a very interesting read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Ledge Academy Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Bess of Hardwick and Carried Safely Home (great one on adoption) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I just finished Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham...outstanding read, better applied! I am now reading Teaching the Trivium (not for fun) and Dewey (for fun). I think I'm going to have to read this Hedgehogs book. Sounds really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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