Robin M Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Good morning dolls! Today is the start of week 36 in our quest to read 52 books in 52 weeks. Welcome to everyone who is just joining in, welcome back to our regulars and to all who are following our progress. Mr. Linky is all set up on the 52 books blog to link to your reviews. The link is in my signature. 52 Books blog - I is for Intellectual Devotional. Sort of like a religious devotional, the intellectual devotional is a secular devotional for the brain. September and Fall is almost upon us. Can you imagine? What are you reading and what's on your nightstand for this month? Link to week 35 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 I'm still working my way through Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series. Currently on book # 14 Danse Macabre. The series has gone from being gruesome to more erotic. Have read many complaints in reviews about the sexual aspects of the story. Since I've been reading one after the other, I can see how it all ties in and shows the growth (no pun intended) of the characters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 I finished "Romancing Miss Bronte" by Juliet Gael (loved this book!) and am now on Book #45--"Revolution" by Jennifer Donnelly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglei Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Still enjoying Elswyth Thane's "Williamsburg Series"! :) This week I finished: #56 - The Light Heart (volume 4) and began: #57 - Kissing Kin (volume 5). I am SO glad I decided to reread this historical fiction series! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-M- Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 (edited) This week I finished five, bringing my year-to-date total to eighty-eight: ■ The Hypnotist (Lars Kepler) Fiction. It seems as if I've had a bookmark in this for most of the summer. It finally captured my imagination -- in the way a particularly implausible but generally riveting episode of "Criminal Minds" will -- late on the last Saturday of the month. Twenty-four hours later, I set it aside with satisfaction. A gruesome, sordid, and suspenseful exploration of human weakness, frailty, and, yes, evil -- as I said, not unlike an episode of "Criminal Minds." ■ This Beautiful Life (Helen Schulman) Fiction. What was the author thinking, invoking The Great Gatsby -- perhaps the original wealthy-Americans-experience-angst-too story -- at the mid-point of this overwrought novel? The comparison only made This Beautiful Life seem... more baldly less than. Sure, I'm a bit tetchy as I write this, but seriously? I finished with two thoughts: (1) I'll never get that afternoon back; and (2) Another book with unlikeable characters behaving stupidly -- bleah. Maria Russo (NYT, July 28) loved it, by the way. Did we read the same book? ■ Beginner's Guide to Traditional Archery (Brian Sorrells) Non-fiction. Because I cannot WAIT to use my new bow! ■ This Girl Is Different (J.J. Johnson) YA fiction. A mostly predictable YA treatment of the "homeschooled kid decides to attend public high school -- and change the world!" story -- although I did appreciate the strong, intelligent protagonist. ■ Before I Go to Sleep (S.J. Watson) Fiction. I told my husband that this was the psychological-thriller take on 50 First Dates. It wasn't bad; I just wasn't over-awed by this debut novel. More, the twist was rather apparent. Edited September 4, 2011 by Mental multivitamin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 An Irish murder mystery, Common or Garden Crime. Essential Literary Terms--give it to your HS senior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 I read 'A Town Like Alice' by Nevil Shute and 'Wild Colonial Boys' by Frank Clune. How Aussie of me. :) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 I read 'A Town Like Alice' by Nevil Shute and 'Wild Colonial Boys' by Frank Clune. How Aussie of me. :) Rosie :lol: Like! I've been reading/listening more lately. For this week, I've started Confederates in the Attic thanks to this board! Here's my up to date list: Listened to: Evening Class by Maeve Binchy The Adventures of Sally by P.G. Wodehouse The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night by Mark Haddon The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Read: (Fiction) The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banarjee Divakaruni Dream Angus by Alexander McCall Smith The Neddiad by Daniel Pinkwater The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand The Masque of the Black Tulip by Lauren Willig The Deception of the Emerald Ring by Lauren Willig The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig The Favored Child by Philippa Gregory The Enchantment of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig Meridon by Philippa Gregory The Betrayal of the Blood Lily by Lauren Willig Secret Son by Laila Lalami Mr. Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt The Tenth Song by Naomi Ragen Blood Orange by Drusilla Campbell The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson Still Alice by Lisa Genova L’heure des elfes by Jean Louis-Fetjaine Babyville by Jane Green Bel Canto by Ann Patchett Malpertuis by Jean Ray Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly The Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig (Non Fiction) Disconnected Kids by Dr. Robert Melillo Why the Chinese Don’t Count Calories by Lorraine Clissold Going Gray by Anne Kreamer The Celtic Realms by Myles Dillon and Nora Chadwick Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medieval Mom Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Still reading The Fellowship of the Ring. Sigh! I love this book more each and every time I read it. Also, I'm still plugging away on Charlotte Mason's writing. I wish I could read and knit at the same time like Elizabeth Zimmermann. Alas! I must rotate among knitting, reading, and chasing after boys! :lol: For any knitter's out there looking for a cozy knitting read (to last you a year of warmth), here's my absolute favorite: Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac. It's now in hardcover! Hip hip hooray!! (Or in soft.) P.S. No, I don't work for Dover publications. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medieval Mom Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Has anyone else out there noticed that their coffee consumption while reading is going up in September? I went from one cup a day to three this week. :001_huh: The mornings are getting darker, colder, and cozier... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Since I've been reading one after the other, I can see how it all ties in and shows the growth (no pun intended) of the characters. :smilielol5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I read 'A Town Like Alice' by Nevil Shute and 'Wild Colonial Boys' by Frank Clune. How Aussie of me. :) Rosie I love A Town Like Alice! Still one of my all-time favourites, although I haven't re-read it for years. I am slowly building up my personal library of books-I-love-and-want-to-own - part of a symbolic process of putting down roots in Australia after years of too many moves, domestic and foreign, and too much book purging. I must add A Town Like Alice to the list. I've just bought a handful of YA novels that I read 20+ years ago. Although dd10 hates anything I recommend on principle, my impeccable literary judgement usually wins her over in the end. Just the other day she told me that the first of the Kevin and Sadie novels set in Northern Ireland was "not terrible" - this after I had to make the book assigned reading to get her to read it. This week I finished THREE books: 28. The Shape of Water – Andrea Camilleri (1st in the Inspector Montalbano series – Italian police / crime novel) 27. Julie and Julia – Julie Powell 26. The Liberated Bride – A.B. Yehoshua It's hard to know what to say about The Liberated Bride. It's a stunning novel - varied and amusing and tragic and ordinary and extraordinary. It was definitely both my most challenging and my most satisfying read of the year. It has been the subject of a number of academic papers, which makes me feel slightly less dense for taking about 6 weeks to read it (it really isn't a difficult book to read, just worthy of ones full attention). Yohanan Rivlin, a professor at Haifa University, is a man of boundless and often naïve curiosity. His wife, Hagit, a district judge, is tolerant of almost everything but her husband's faults and prevarications. Frequent arguments aside, they are a well-adjusted couple with two grown sons. When one of Rivlin's students-a young Arab bride from a village in the Galilee-is assigned to help with his research in recent Algerian history, a two-pronged mystery develops. As they probe the causes of the bloody Algerian civil war, Rivlin also becomes obsessed with his son's failed marriage. Rivlin's search leads to a number of improbable escapades. In this comedy of manners, at once deeply serious and highly entertaining, Yehoshua brilliantly portrays characters from disparate sectors of Israeli life, united above all by a very human desire for, and fear of, the truth in politics and life. I liked Julie and Julia less than I thought I would at the beginning. It was amusing, but had less depth than I had anticipated. And it made me quite sure that I never want to cook my way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year, as the author did! The Shape of Water is the first in the Italian Inspector Montalbano series. I read the 8th book first, and unlike two other series which I've read "backwards" this year, I definitely enjoyed this one better than the later book. I think the author does a better job of evoking the political and social climate in Sicily in this one (given that I know next to nothing about Sicily). The books are very popular in Italy, apparently, and have been filmed - I managed to find the first series, with subtitles, here in Australia, and have ordered them. I am currently reading The Sound of Wild Snails Eating and still have to decide between Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep or another Inspector Montalbano book. Nikki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imprimis Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I read When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro last week, and have moved on to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which I've never read before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I read When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro last week, and have moved on to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which I've never read before. I read "When We Were Orphans" earlier this year & really enjoyed the atmospheric feel of it. Have you read Ishiguro's "The Remains of the Day"? It's just perfect. I read "Frankenstein" last October & found it was somewhat different than what I expected. I am curious to hear your comments after you read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Oh my gosh! I just realized after being behind all year that I'm finally caught up. The Total Money Makeover was my 36th book. WEEEEEEEE!!!:party: I'll probably be behind again next week, but for now woo hoo! Yipee!!! Way to go! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsbaby Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I finished Regret by Dan Dawkins today. Just an easy thriller type. I enjoyed it. So, that was book 40. Not sure what 41 will be. I'm feeling like I need to read something less "fluffy" given my last few choices:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imprimis Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I read "When We Were Orphans" earlier this year & really enjoyed the atmospheric feel of it. Have you read Ishiguro's "The Remains of the Day"? It's just perfect. I read "Frankenstein" last October & found it was somewhat different than what I expected. I am curious to hear your comments after you read it. I believe I learned about Ishiguro from you in a previous thread, Stacia. I haven't yet read Remains of the Day, but it's on my list. BTW, I've also added Map of Time to my list. Victorian London, historical fiction, steampunk? Sounds like a great read! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I finished My Ox is Broken! and started on Growing Up in 13th Century England by Alfred Duggan and Riders of the Pony Express by Ralph Moody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I finished The Good Earth yesterday. I liked it much more than I thought I would. I hope that dc will read this when they're older, or maybe we'll read it together. Dh read it many years ago and has been wanting me to read it for what seems like forever. I've also added Map of Time to my list. Me too. :D Not sure what book I'll be starting this week. First I want to finish my copy of National Geographic. Love Nat Geo. :) Right now I'm reading about orphan elephants. Fascinating, sad, and very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 First I want to finish my copy of National Geographic. Love Nat Geo. :) Right now I'm reading about orphan elephants. Fascinating, sad, and very interesting. Have you read Travels on my Elephant by Mark Shand? The author (for reasons which I can't remember) decides to travel across India on an elephant called Tara. Really enjoyable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 (edited) . Edited September 12, 2014 by Stacia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted September 5, 2011 Author Share Posted September 5, 2011 Oh my gosh! I just realized after being behind all year that I'm finally caught up. The Total Money Makeover was my 36th book. WEEEEEEEE!!!:party: I'll probably be behind again next week, but for now woo hoo! Yeah! I read When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro last week, and have moved on to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which I've never read before. Will be interested also to find out what you think of Frankenstein. It was totally different from what I expected. This weekend, I started The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma. Love the cover and sounds intriguing. Adding it to my wishlist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvnlattes Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 We were on vacation last week so I was able to finish 2 books. The first was Lost in Shangri-La. I enjoyed the chapters that explained what was happening with the survivors and their rescue. But overall I thought the book was just okay...interesting in some parts, dull in others. After I finished that I read Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy. It was another so-so read. IMO she had way too many characters in this book. She kept introducing more and more to the point I thought to myself, "Enough already!!!" This week I'm reading Little Princes by Conor Grennan. I noticed it at Borders when I was checking out their going out of business sale. So far, I can hardly put it down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imprimis Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 If you like the idea of Victorian London, historical fiction, & steampunk, please, please read The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder. I *absolutely* loved it & it is by far the best book I've read this year. From Booklist: "*Starred Review* The usual superlatives for really clever fantasy (imaginative, mind-bending, phantasmagorical) aren’t nearly big enough for this debut novel. With this one book, Hodder has put himself on the genre map. The time is 1861; the place, London, England. The country is besieged by loups-garous (werewolves), and Spring Heeled Jack, the notorious (and possibly mythical) creature who appears out of nowhere to accost young women, is causing a bit of a ruckus. To deal with these problems, the prime minister recruits Sir Richard Francis Burton, the noted explorer, linguist, and self-promoter. With the help of his friend, the poet Algernon Swinburne, Burton wades in with both feet and uncovers a frightening conspiracy and a (potentially) world-altering technology. And that’s just the bare-bones story of this wildly inventive—another insufficient superlative—novel. Hodder has brilliantly combined various genre staples—time travel, alternate reality, steampunk—into something you’ve never quite seen before. His mid-nineteenth-century Britain features steam-driven velocipedes, rotorchairs, verbally abusive messenger parrots, a pneumatic rail system, and robotic street cleaners. The book’s supporting characters include Charles Darwin, Florence Nightingale, Francis Galton, and Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the revolutionary civil engineer (although Hodder uses them in excitingly twisted new ways). The book is incredibly ambitious, and the author pulls it off like an old pro: not only is the setting exciting and fresh, the story is thrilling and full of surprises. Hodder’s only problem now is to find a way to follow up this exhilarating debut, which will appeal not only to sf/fantasy readers but also to mystery and historical-fiction fans." YES! You know, I had this on my B&N wishlist a couple of months ago, but, I guess it was deleted somehow. I had forgotten all about this book. Thanks for mentioning it again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawneinfl Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 I read "Sarah's Key" this week. I actually finished it in one day. It was the "can't put down until I find out what happens" novel I've been waiting for all year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Have you read Travels on my Elephant by Mark Shand? The author (for reasons which I can't remember) decides to travel across India on an elephant called Tara. Really enjoyable. No, I've never heard of it until now. Thank you. Will look into it. :) After I finished that I read Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy. It was another so-so read. IMO she had way too many characters in this book. She kept introducing more and more to the point I thought to myself, "Enough already!!!" Yes, I agree. I read it a while ago, but I tend to mainly prefer her older stuff. I've always loved Maeve Binchy for my light reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 I'm still working my way through Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series. Currently on book # 14 Danse Macabre. The series has gone from being gruesome to more erotic. Have read many complaints in reviews about the sexual aspects of the story. Since I've been reading one after the other, I can see how it all ties in and shows the growth (no pun intended) of the characters. I've read every single "Anita Blake" book she's written so far, and every "Merry Gentry" book, too. I really love them but I do think that the last three or so books in the Anita Blake series just got too repetitious, becoming pretty much nothing but sex, which might sound good to some lol, but it's repetitive sex...we've read it all before in the previous books and those scenes seem to all become the same. And there's less "real" plot...I'll keep reading them as they come out though just because I feel like I already invested in the whole series haha. This weekend, I started The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma. This book sounds really good! My library does have it and I've made an official notation (read: I've scribbled it on a Post It Note that may well get lost on my desk) for future borrowing. I've already got two books ordered through ILL, one of which is quite lengthy, so I want to get through those before I start ordering more! I read When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro last week, and have moved on to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which I've never read before. You know, I've never read "Frankenstein" either. I really should! Adding that to the file (read: Post It Note System) too! If you like the idea of Victorian London, historical fiction, & steampunk, please, please read The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder. I *absolutely* loved it & it is by far the best book I've read this year. Okay, I'm adding it (to the Post It Note)! I read "Sarah's Key" this week. I actually finished it in one day. It was the "can't put down until I find out what happens" novel I've been waiting for all year. I keep going back and forth on whether I want to read that one. It's just that I know the premise and I know the plot and it sounds awfully depressing... As for me, I just finished "A Feast For Crows" yesterday and have "A Dance With Dragons" on reserve through interlibrary loan. I'm doing another quickie read while I wait for it to arrive... "Bloodfever" by Karen Marie Moning, the second in an urban fantasy series set in Ireland, though the main character is an American who goes to Ireland trying to find out who murdered her sister, then finds out that "Fae" really exist and she has certain powers, and she gets caught up with all sorts of supernatural problems after finding out that her sister knew about them, too and died for it, and she meets several enigmatic characters with no idea who to trust... It comes after Darkfever which I previously read, and I've got the third book in that series on reserve through ILL, too. Someone here recommended the series to me, zennjenn I think, and I like these books in the same way I like Laurel K. Hamilton's books, J.R. Ward's books, and the "True Blood" books. They're just... fun! :D P.S. I finished "These Happy Golden Years" with my 10 y/o daughter, and we're reading "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli together this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Having fun reading through The Iron Druid Chronicles, by Michael Hearne Atticus is an ancient Druid, the last of his kind running a bookstore and trying to stay out of trouble. His Irish Wolfhound, Oberon speaks with him through a mind link and his encounters with gods and fae keep the plot lines going. These are very numerous and I am enjoying them immensely. Still avoiding serious books due to overwhelming issues here at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 FYI, the Man Booker Prize announced its shortlist today: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Another finished, and this was *wonderful.* Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies. Poetic, thoughtful, elegant writing weaving the Christian faith with the idea of 'words' and how they go hand in hand. I loved it. I've read very few "duds" this year, and it is easily somewhere in the top 3 of the list below :) (but not #1, Island of the World is far and away my favorite read of the year) My 2011 Reviews: 1. Her Daughter's Dream - Francine Rivers 2. Island of the World - Michael O'Brien (AMAZING!) 3. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress - Rhoda Janzen 4. Cinderella Ate My Daughter - Peggy Orenstein 5. Devil's Cub - Georgette Heyer 6. Keeping a Nature Journal - Clare Walker Leslie and Charles E Roth. 7. Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization (Audio Book) - Anthony Esolen 8. Excellent Women - Barbara Pym 9. The Abyssinian - Jean-Christophe Rufin 10. In the Company of Others - Jan Karon 11. One Thousand Gifts - Ann Voskamp 12. Regency Buck - Georgette Heyer 13. Bath Tangle - Georgette Heyer 14. The Convenient Marriage - Georgette Heyer 15. The Organized Heart - Staci Eastin 16. Your Home: A Place of Grace - Susan Hunt 17. Christian Encounters: Jane Austen - Peter Leithart 18. Bambi: A Life in the Woods - Victor Salten 19. Aunt Jane's Hero - Elizabeth Prentiss 20. The Magician's Nephew (Audio Book) - C.S. Lewis 21. The Horse and His Boy (Audio Book) - C.S. Lewis 22. Beauty for Truth's Sake - Stratford Caldecott 23. A Mother's Rule of Life - Holly Pierlot 24. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 25. Persuasion - Jane Austen 26. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen 27. Real Love for Real Life - Andi Ashworth 28. Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies - Marilyn Chandler McEntyre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 I stopped reading The Crystal Cave. I was really looking forward to it and I found I just couldn't get into it. I'm not in the right mind set for such a book. Maybe some other time. Loved The Hound of the Baskervilles and I will be reading more Sherlock Holmes books. I started Carry On, Jeeves based on this thread. I need funny right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Did I mention I was in love? I got Addison Allen's other 2 books from the library and am deep into The Peach Keeper. Next is Garden Spells. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvnlattes Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Some of my sister's friends just moved to Katmandu about a month ago to begin a 2-year teaching stint. They recently posted that school had been cancelled for the day because troops were firing on buses. :sad: He talks about this in the book. It was a regular occurrence during much of the time he was there. The book ends in about 2008 and at that time a peace agreement had been signed between the two groups and the fighting had stopped. I'm sorry to hear things have escalated again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 I finished The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma. Overall, I'd give it 3 (out of 5) stars. I can't say I loved it; it didn't meet the high expectation I had for it. However, you may like it -- don't take my disillusion with it as reason not to read it. I think there may be quite a few who would really enjoy this book, especially if this is your first foray in to this genre of book. (This book is also being tagged as an 'international sensation' & is being translated into something like 30 languages, so perhaps many would love this book & I'm just the exception....) Normally, I enjoy long books. This one (at 600+ pages) rambled and the writing style was ok, but nothing amazing. (Perhaps something got lost in translation? I don't know.) I did wish for stonger, better vocabulary at points in the story. I also wished for better characters; most were mediocre & weren't really characters I cared about. The book is mainly three separate stories that are somewhat intertwined. I don't want to give too many details so as not to spoil it for anyone who does want to read it. Overall, I found the first section fairly slow. The second section improved, but within a short time, I was starting to feel cynical & was waiting for some parlor trick to be revealed (both for the section & for the whole book). The author seemed to (heavily, imo) borrow ideas, themes, etc... from many, many books/authors (The Time Traveler's Wife; The Eyre Affair; Charles Dickens, Plato, etc...) rather than being more original, thought-provoking, & unique (as I had hoped). I liked the third section best & spent most of the time thinking that I had finally reached the meat of the book, yet I felt blasé at the ending. I enjoy unique & surreal books, so perhaps I'm somewhat unsatisfied by this one purely because I have read some very talented, very unique authors (Jonathan Carroll, Haruki Murakami, Mark Hodder, Jasper Fforde) & Félix J. Palma's book just didn't end up being enticing by comparison. The Map of Time is classified as historical fiction, romance, thriller, mystery, sci-fi, and steampunk -- or as a variation/combination of all of those categories. My advice, if that sounds appealing, is to instead read The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder. Hodder's book is head & shoulders above this one in writing style, storytelling, and sheer ingenuity. In fact, I think any of the authors I mentioned in the previous paragraph would give you more satisfaction for your reading time, so please check them out if you are so inclined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Geesh, I'm having a hard time finding a book to stick with. I've yet again picked up a book and then put it aside. I just can't decide what I'm in the mood to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 I meant to read the stash of books ordered, but have been taunted by some new titles ... I just got The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs today and can't wait to get started ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medieval Mom Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Geesh, I'm having a hard time finding a book to stick with. I've yet again picked up a book and then put it aside. I just can't decide what I'm in the mood to read. When I'm in a mood like that, I sometimes pick up a book I've already read and enjoyed. I'm thoroughly enjoying my upteenth read of LOTR, and am toying with re-reading some Sherlock Holmes mysteries or Agatha Christie afterwards. Good luck finding a book worth keeping open :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 I finished The Somnambulist today. Overall, I enjoyed it. It was the author's first novel & I think he did a pretty decent job for a first novel. There were some weak points (definite overuse of his thesaurus at times) & some vague or unresolved items in the story. It was unique & moved along at a pretty brisk pace. It's kind-of, sort-of a Victorian style thriller w/ a large bit of the unusual, weird, & macabre tossed in, along w/ some very dark humor (which I found funny but some might not). I'd give it a qualified recommendation for those who enjoy a genre like this. If you're interested in the book, I like the Washington Post's review of The Somnambulist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted September 11, 2011 Author Share Posted September 11, 2011 Link to week 37 - please continue conversation in new thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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