What are you currently reading?

[sinjin]

"A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole.

I am rereading this after many years. I can't recommend this novel too highly.
IMO possibly the best American novel every written. And hilarious.

A must read.

[U'ilani]

Leaving Home by Anita Brookner

I'm in the mood for elegant prose and interior drama. Heaven help me.

[Sharilyn]

I just finished The Husband by Dean Koontz. Snore.

Tonight I'll start New Moon by Stephenie Meyer.

[U'ilani]

Tonight I'll start New Moon by Stephenie Meyer.

What did you think of Twilight?

The Anita Brookner book was absolutely dreadful. Elegant prose be damned!

I'm just starting The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. He's going to be at a nearby library next month talking about this book, so I'm excited about that.

I've also just begun Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro on audiobook.

Edit: Go here to hear Alexie's acceptance of the National Book Award last year.

[Sharilyn]

What did you think of Twilight?

I loved it. I guess it's been awhile since I've read fantasy-young adult fiction.

Little things bug me, tho... like Bella. Her whole existence is an obsession over a vampire. She has no extracurricular activities, no interest in furthering her eduction, and no real friends. She could do charity work, travel, or work with her Dad at the police station instead of that stupid sports shop. But then, there'd be no story.

Oh, I hate to nitpick while I'm reading, tho. It spoils my enjoyment.

[Honoruru]

I just began reading William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition. I must say, I like this much better than Neuromancer, which didn’t impress me as much as it did other people.

One interesting spur in the narrative involves the mysterious appearances of video footage on the web (segments of a completed movie? a work-in-progress? who knows?) and the fascination and speculation these appearances incur world-wide, so much so that websites spring up to discuss their significance, including one forum the protagonist is addicted to, and is a regular poster. I think it really captures the world of forums. Kind of reminds me of Hawaii Threads when discussing the latest episode of Lost, or what to expect in the upcoming episode, or what it all means.

[Leo Lakio]

Also on the "soon to read" stack: Ashley Kahn's history of Impulse Records, "The House That TRANE Built."

Just finished it last weekend. Great collection of anecdotes and details about the life of this influential jazz record label, the artists who were recorded, and the people behind the scenes. As a jazz DJ in the late '70s, Impulse was a major part of my playlists, as well as my personal listening.

Taking a brief break from books now, again to catch up on three months' worth of National Geographic magazines. Not sure which book will jump into my hands next, but I may finally get to David McCullough's biography of John Adams.

[Sharilyn]

Started reading Jodi Picoult's Plain Truth. My second Picoult book... don't really care for her writing style.

[Sharilyn]

In the middle of Dirty Play by Sandra Brown. A friend recommended it... wow, pretty junk so far.

[Leo Lakio]

don't really care for her writing style.

... wow, pretty junk so far.

How come you waste time on stuff you don't seem to like? Drop 'em, and go after the stuff that you will enjoy; reading time in this life is limited.

[U'ilani]

I'm currently on vacation and was able to download from my wonderful library 2 Adobe PDF ebooks:

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
-and-
The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry (go here to read the interesting background of how this book came to be and an excerpt from Chapter 1)

[Leo Lakio]

I need a break for some fiction, something I rarely read. Think I'll head off into Garrison Keillor territory, starting with his "WLT: A Radio Romance" from 1991.

[U'ilani]

I just want to report that I am really enjoying The Gargoyle by Davidson. His writing is very accessible and the story is intriguing.

Your Hawaii Public Library Sytem has ebooks too that you can download to read or listen to from your computer.

[salmoned]

Anyone else ever read 'The Continuum Concept' by Jean Liedloff? It's supposedly a classic in child development. I'm just starting into it.

[Leo Lakio]

I need a break for some fiction, something I rarely read. Think I'll head off into Garrison Keillor territory, starting with his "WLT: A Radio Romance" from 1991.

Finished yesterday, then started on his "The Book Of Guys." I think I have about five more of his books ahead, if I read them in order of publication. If they all read this fast, I'll likely stay with him all the way through to the most recent, "Pontoon" (just out in paperback) and "Liberty" (just released in hardback).

[Honoruru]

I’m a third of the way into Real World by Natsuo Kirino, translated by Philip Gabriel. I’m liking it. As with Out and Grotesque, her two previous novels translated into English, it gives us a look at the darker side of modern Japanese society.

It mystifies me that Kirino’s books are classified as mystery novels. She’s really more of a psychological writer, more like Dostoevski than Sherlock Holmes. From the very beginning we know whodunit, so there’s no mystery there. She’s more interested in the backdrop of a crime, the internal secrets of the heart, the societal reality that breeds the environment that made the crime possible.

[timkona]

Just finished John Grisham's "Bleachers". About a great coach from a small football town who dies, and how the town and all the former players deal with it. Short, fun, read. Way off of Grisham's norm.

Gotta go to the bookstore. I'm out.

[surlygirly]

Just finished "Love the One You're With" by Emily Giffin. I wasn't too impressed. My father just send us all the crystal I inherited and included all of the Baby-Sitters Club books I had as a kid, so I've been re-reading some just for fun.

But I need to load up at Half Price Books before the Big Move to Oahu (6 weeks) so I'll have some good airplane/beach reading. Because I will be at the beach for the first two straight weeks. I'm so over this 100 degree weather here in Dallas.

Hey- is there a Half Price Books on the island? Or an equivlant?

[U'ilani]

Just finished "Love the One You're With" by Emily Giffin. I wasn't too impressed. My father just send us all the crystal I inherited and included all of the Baby-Sitters Club books I had as a kid, so I've been re-reading some just for fun.

But I need to load up at Half Price Books before the Big Move to Oahu (6 weeks) so I'll have some good airplane/beach reading. Because I will be at the beach for the first two straight weeks. I'm so over this 100 degree weather here in Dallas.

Hey- is there a Half Price Books on the island? Or an equivlant?

I'm not much into chick lit, but two audiobooks that were amazingly entertaining that I'd recommend (as audio or book form) are: The Undomestic Goddess and Can You Keep a Secret, both by Sophie Kinsella. She also wrote Confessions of a Shopaholic; but I'm such a penny pincher that I could not relate to the adventures the woman got into at all.

The last time we were back home in Hawaii (last year) they didn't have a Half Price Books yet.

[Leo Lakio]

The last time we were back home in Hawaii (last year) they didn't have a Half Price Books yet.

They don't have any Hawai`i locations listed on their website, either.

As of Friday, on to yet another Keillor volume, "Wobegon Boy." These are fast reads for me.

[cyleet99]

Just finished "The Good Carbohydrate Revolution" by Terry Shintani (bought brown rice last week , but cannot stand stevia or xylitol. Am trying agave nectar. I like honey better.)

Started "Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West" by Stephen Ambrose. So far it's an interesting read!

[Leo Lakio]

Started "Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West" by Stephen Ambrose. So far it's an interesting read!

Possibly the best book I have ever read on this subject - enjoy.

[cyleet99]

I have always liked Stephen Ambrose. When I read the intro, he stated the reason he was so successful was that he was married to an English major. Now I know why I like him so much.

[sinjin]

http://www.amazon.com/Our-Kind-Where.../dp/0060919906

[jkpescador]

Anyone tried reading Neal Stephenson?