What Are You Reading?

[sachinky 464]

Finished reading Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach last night.

Male YA book. Pretty decent stuff.

[keysjangle 145]

Favourite book of all time:

Currently reading:

Future reading:

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Just finished View from the Summit by Sir Edmund Hillary "The remarkable memoir by the first person to conquer Everest" celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hillary's historic climb, 1999 - very enjoyable and very interesting. What a fascinating individual and what an eclectic mix of activities he has done. I recommend this one.

Am currently reading The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine, 2010. It's supposed to be a satirical modern day version of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility and while it is highly acclaimed and was on the NYTimes Best Seller list, I find the writing rather disjointed and in need of a good editor. The story so far is ok, but it is definitely not Austen nor anywhere near that quality of writing. The satire is so-so. I'm hoping it gets better.

Next on the pile is Vivaldi's Virgins by Barbara Quick, 2008 . The jacket reads" Abandoned as an infant, fourteen year old Anna Maria dal Violin is one of the elite musicians living in the foundling home where the "Red Priest", Antonio Vivaldi, is maestro and composer. Fiercely determined to find out where she came from, Anna Maria embarks on a journey of self-discovery that carries her into a wondrous and haunting world of music and spectacle, bringing eighteenth-century Venice magically to life." It is described as 'A good read'. We'll see .

Edited June 20, 2012 by Kathryn41

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Finally finished A Clash of Kings, now getting started on A Storm of Swords. These books own me, I can't focus on anything else.

[Peachey 10]

Finally finished A Clash of Kings, now getting started on A Storm of Swords. These books own me, I can't focus on anything else.

I haven't picked mine up in a few weeks (Clash of kings). I have been having vision problems, but as soon as my problems clear up I'll be reading the books agaiN!

[sachinky 464]

Sue Townsend -- Adrian Mole: The Wildnerness Years

De-light-ful.

Edited July 5, 2012 by sachinky

[sachinky 464]

Currently reading Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson.

Just finished If You Can't Stand the Heat by Robin Allen.

MIL lent it to me on hearing that I was a culinary mystery buff.

[sachinky 464]

If you are interested in historical dramatized fiction I would definitely recommend author Indu Sundaresan's trilogy chronicling the life of Mughal Empress Noor Jahan, the woman Emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal for. Enthralling work.

The three books in order are:

The Twentieth Wife.

A Feast of Roses.

Shadow Princess.

Book description :

An enchanting seventeenth-century epic of grand passion and adventure, this debut novel tells the captivating story of one of India's most legendary and controversial empresses -- a woman whose brilliance and determination trumped myriad obstacles, and whose love shaped the course of the Mughal empire.

She came into the world in the year 1577, to the howling accompaniment of a ferocious winter storm. As the daughter of starving refugees fleeing violent persecution in Persia, her fateful birth in a roadside tent sparked a miraculous reversal of family fortune, culminating in her father's introduction to the court of Emperor Akbar. She is called Mehrunnisa, the Sun of Women. This is her story.

Skillfully blending the textures of historical reality with the rich and sensuous imaginings of a timeless fairy tale, "The Twentieth Wife sweeps readers up in the emotional pageant of Salim and Mehrunnisa's embattled love. First-time novelist Indu Sundaresan charts her heroine's enthralling journey across the years, froman ill-fated first marriage through motherhood and into a dangerous maze of power struggles and political machinations. Through it all, Mehrunnisa and Salim long with fiery intensity for the true, redemptive love they've never known -- and their mutual quest ultimately takes them, and the vast empire that hangs in the balance, to places they never dreamed possible.

Shot through with wonder and suspense, "The Twentieth Wife is at once a fascinating portrait of one woman's convention-defying life behind the veil and a transporting saga of the astonishing potency of love.

Edited August 12, 2012 by sachinky

[Miss M 54]

Have 2 on the go - Advice From A Failure by Jo Coudert. I hate self help books in general, but I was sold on this once I read this blurb: Of all the people you will know in a lifetime, you are the only one you will never leave nor lose. To the question of your life, you are the only answer. To the problems of your life, you are the only solution.

Amazon says, 'hailed by psychiatrists and layman alike as a breakthrough in the field of self-understanding. No other book is comparable in its intelligent synthesis of knowledge of the workings of the human mind in terms designed to be of immediate and practical benefit to the reader.'

I started reading it 2 days ago and haven't gotten very far into it, so we'll see.

The 2nd one I'm reading is Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo which examines the effects of aid on the African continent.

My favourite book of all time? Hmm, it's a toss up between Dark Continent My Black ####### by Sihle Khumalo (an African travel memoir by an African writer. I laughed all the way through it) and The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb (a fictional account revolving around the Columbine massacre)

I like light, easy reading and generally avoid fiction unless it comes recommended by someone who knows what I like to read.

Edited August 12, 2012 by MNyarai

[sachinky 464]

Chomp by Carl Hiaasen.

Wasn't as good as his other YA stuff.