Queereaders discussion

Tell us what you are reading this month.

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I just finished Dorothy L. Sayers's The Nine Tailors and Fumi Yoshinaga's Ōoku: The Inner Chambers volume 10 the same day.

I am reading Drinking Boston: A History of the City and Its Spirits

I'm reading Hush by Sara Marshall-Ball, about a young girl who falls silent after being somehow involved in her friend's death. It zaps back and forth between then and now, giving clues as to what happened. Enjoying it.

Also reading My Secret Garden by Nancy Friday, a collection of women's sexual fantasies. Rather enjoying this, too!

I finished a raft of books during my recent trip to Seattle (lots of commuting and waiting at airports):

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 4 ★
A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale (my review) 3 ★
Poems by Maya Angelou 3 ★
Capital of Pain by Paul Éluard (a book of poetry by the key French Surrealist translated into English by Mary Ann Caws and others) 3 ★

At the moment, I'm half way through A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (not quite what I expected but still enjoyable) and a book by a Chinese science fiction writer translated into English, The Three-Body Problem.

Greg wrote: "I finished a raft of books during my recent trip to Seattle (lots of commuting and waiting at airports):

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 4 ★
[book:A Place Called Wint..."

I've heard very good things about The Three-Body Problem. I wonder if it's gonna win the Hugo.

Alex wrote: "I've heard very good things about The Three-Body Problem. I wonder if it's gonna win the Hugo. ..."

Alex, I'm only a couple chapters in, but The Three-Body Problem is interesting so far ... quite a lot about Mao's cultural revolution. I'm gathering that was much worse than I knew!

The writing itself on a sentence level is clear but a bit dull though. Of course, being that I'm reading a translation, that probably has more to do with the translation than the original work in Chinese.

I am currently reading Runemarks a YA fantasy by Joanne Harris

Just finished Tipping the Velvet; first Sarah Waters book that I've read, though I've already bought all her books in a bout of lesbian solidarity.

I just finished Moxyland by Lauren Beukes. I really liked it. I've read all of her books so far, but her most recent one.

Also this month I've read The Walking Dead, Vol. 23: Whispers Into Screams by Robert Kirkman, etc. and The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson.

I'm reading now from the library Dearest by Alethea Kontis and enjoying it and Uprooted by Naomi Novik via Kindle.

Alex wrote: "Just finished Tipping the Velvet; first Sarah Waters book that I've read, though I've already bought all her books in a bout of lesbian solidarity."

How did you like it Alex? I hear a lot of good things about Sarah Waters' writing.

Julia wrote: "I just finished Moxyland by Lauren Beukes. I really liked it. I've read all of her books so far, but her most recent one..."

That one looks interesting Julia! Maybe I'll give it a try. Did you sympathize with any of the characters though? Curious for your viewpoint because some of the reviews said all of the characters were thoroughly despicable or something like that.

Greg wrote: "How did you like it Alex? I hear a lot of good things about Sarah Waters' writing. "

So did I, which was why I kept buying her books without ever reading them. But now that I've read one, I can say that I've thoroughly enjoyed her writing.

Here's my review of the book.

Thanks for posting the review link Alex - I think I need to give something by Waters a try soon!

I finished the last Harry Potter novel. Also read "The Greatest Show on Earth" by Dawkins and two of Sarah Waters novel (paying guest and the night watch)

Greg wrote: "...and a book by a Chinese science fiction writer translated into English, The Three-Body Problem..."

I won't be surprised if I turn out to be the one person on the planet who wasn't impressed by The Three-Body Problem. That isn't an unusual position for me. My issue with the book was the roles the female characters were given. When you're done, list them and think about what they did for the plot. In that context, I was offended.

I just started the first in the Tales of the City series by Armistead Maupin. I'm about half an hour in to the audiobook and I already wish I had the whole series. Armistead Maupin seems good at banter and better at sussing out, portraying and conveying human nature and interactions. I suspect I'll be wearing a smirk for the next day or so.

I just finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon last night. It's a story about faith -- how a young man with Asperger's Syndrome, Christopher Boone, reacts when his is shaken. Christopher finds that his neighbor's dog has been 'murdered.' That's exactly how he feels about it. He cannot separate the difference between a canine death and a human death. The act was brutal and the brutality is what he sees. The pet was beloved and that is what he sees. I can't say that I really blame him for his view. It takes a special kind of monster to commit a violent act against a weaker creature, be it dog or man. The real problems begin for Christopher when the killer is revealed.

This is an excellent book that is nearly perfect as an audiobook. It's a peek at the word from inside an unusual character's skin. As such, it's very enlightening. I highly recommend it.

Before that I spent three or four days with John Wheelwright who told me all about his unusual little friend Owen Meany. A Prayer for Owen Meany was an exceptional book too. The Audible Modern Vanguard edition is every bit as good as they proclaim it to be.

Valyssia wrote: "Greg wrote: "...and a book by a Chinese science fiction writer translated into English, The Three-Body Problem..."

I won't be surprised if I turn out to be the one person on the planet who wasn't ..."

Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series is great, and there's a new book out (well, actually not so new) last year, I think. I love the whole series.

As to the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, I read it a couple of years ago and I agree, it's a fascinating look through an unusual character's POV. Very effective as a "mystery" novel.

Well, I finished Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin and it was a lot of fun. I gave it four stars. The only problem was that it was also too short. It made me feel like turning the box upside-down and shaking.

I also finished Annabel by Kathleen Winter. I subtracted two and a half stars for inaccuracies and poor decisions made in plotting the story. It wasn't so bad that I put it down and walk away, but it did manage to irk me at least once, which naturally brought all of the other smaller flaws into sharper focus. My review is here for the curious and the brave. Be aware that it's chock-full of spoilery badness if you haven't read the book.

I've heard a lot of good stuff about Tales of the City Valyssia, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. There's several sequels too, I think!

Greg wrote: "I've heard a lot of good stuff about Tales of the City Valyssia, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. There's several sequels too, I think!"

Yeah there are. There are like six 'Tales of' books and several other character-centric novels. I eventually plan to pick them up.

Greg asked about MoxylandThat one looks interesting Julia! Maybe I'll give it a try. Did you sympathize with any of the characters though? Curious for your viewpoint because some of the reviews said all of the characters were thoroughly despicable or something like that.

No I didn't find the characters despicable Greg, not at all. It's a dystopia, ten years into our future, where the corporations rule, and it's set in Cape Town, South Africa. I liked the characters and understood their problems.

I'll add in that I love the Tales of the City novels. I'm looking forward to The Days of Anna Madrigal, #9 in the series, even though I never read the Mary Anne book. Her, I find awful!

Lately I've read Dearest by Alethea Kontis which is a re-telling of the seven swan story and a great series.

Doctor Who: The Crawling Terror by Mike Tucker even as a Doctor Who novel it's pretty forgettable.

My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga is about two teens who are committed to suicide, so they become friends. It's bleak, but it's also good.

Today I finished The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Also about a depressed character, this young woman uses the Victorian language of flowers to communicate. That she can find and make beauty in spite of the terrible hand she was dealt, is pretty great.

Next up might be Will Grayson, Will Grayson, The Martian, World War One Short Stories, Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury, Farthing.

Julia wrote: "Today I finished The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Also about a depressed character, this young woman uses the Victorian language of flowers to communicate. That she can find and make beauty in spite of the terrible hand she was dealt, is pretty great..."

Thanks Julia for your input on Moxyland - I will definitely read it eventually. I'm glad to hear you found the characters relatable!

Also, I really like the sound of The Language of Flowers the way you describe it - maybe another for my to-read list!

I HATED nearly every book I ever read for middle / high schools and college... which led me to hate the act of reading. But Tales of the City (and its now 8 sequels!) by Armistead Maupin is the one book I credit with getting me back into reading as a young adult.

Back in the mid 90s, a friend had mentioned he was watching the series on PBS; I enjoyed it so much that I sought out the books. I have yet to finish the ninth, though, because I'm a bit sad for the saga to end... Enjoy, friends!

Robyn wrote: "I HATED nearly every book I ever read for middle / high schools and college... which led me to hate the act of reading. But Tales of the City (and its now 8 sequels!) by [author:Armist..."

That's a great recommendation Robyn! Hopefully I'll have time to read them soon!

Valyssia wrote: "I also finished Annabel by Kathleen Winter. I subtracted two and a half stars for inaccuracies and poor decisions made in plotting the story. It wasn't so bad that I put it down and walk away, but it did manage to irk me at least once, which naturally brought all of the other smaller flaws into sharper focus. My review is here for the curious and the brave. Be aware that it's chock-full of spoilery badness if you haven't read the book..."


I too had mixed feelings about Annabel. Kathleen Winter is a gifted writer, but I felt certain subjects could have been handled better.

Finished A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (4 ★) as well as much of
The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights (3 ★)

Still in the middle of The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, and I just started re-reading The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

@Greg: How are you liking Thw Three-Body Problem? Does it really have "the scope of Dune"?

Since I last checked in I've read The Nightrunner Series books 1-3. I enjoyed the first two books, Luck in the Shadows and Stalking Darkness, a little more than the third, Traitor's Moon, but not enough to effect my overall four star impression. The view of where Sergil was reared in book three was valuable to his character. The initial duology just made for stronger material. I'm curious to see where Flewelling takes the series.

At book four, Shadows Return, if you're listening to the audiobooks, the narrator changes. Raymond Todd, the narrator of the first three books, does a good job. I liked him very much. I'm not so sure about Adam Danoff, the narrator of books 4-7. My ear is going to have to adjust before I offer an opinion. So far the shock is as bad as when they switched narrators at Ghost Story in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. Hopefully that impression will pass.

Kernos wrote: "@Greg: How are you liking Thw Three-Body Problem? Does it really have "the scope of Dune"?"

Truthfully, I'm not crazy about it. The book isn't bad, and the ideas are interesting enough, but the characters aren't so engaging (pretty flat). For me, I don’t think the Dune comparisons are warranted. Worth reading but not phenomenal.

Valyssia wrote: "Since I last checked in I've read The Nightrunner Series books 1-3. I enjoyed the first two books, Luck in the Shadows and Stalking Darkness, a little more than the third,..."

Thanks Valyssia! I added the first in the series to my to-read list.

Greg wrote: "Valyssia wrote: "Thanks Valyssia! I added the first in the series to my to-read list."

My pleasure. The series is well worth a listen.

Kernos, I finally finished The Three-Body Problem. My personal reaction:

The first 2/3 of the book bored me somewhat, I suspect because of the lack of character depth. Everyone blended together; they weren't much more to me than a grab bag of names. Some of the historical references to the Chinese Cultural Revolution were interesting, but they weren't enough to hold my full attention. Another problem: the translation was easy to understand but not thrilling in terms of language.

Finally, about 2/3 through, a detailed backstory unfolded for a key character, and this part of the story did grab me. At least that one character began to feel human! And that deepening of character was quickly followed by a series of unpredictable, engagingly unusual pseudo-scientific developments in the storyline. I really enjoyed the last 1/3 of the book!

Overall, only one character was complex enough to hold my interest though, and only 1/3 of the book fully engaged me. I don't think I'll finish the series, but I liked the book ok. It was worth reading.

I read the The Three-Body Problem with the Evolution of Science Fiction group a couple of months or so ago. My reaction to it was somewhat different. It left me wanting to ask Liu Cixin how he felt about his mother.

In other news, I've finished a fantasy series written by a woman, Lynn Flewelling, whose lead characters are a pair of fully actualized, sane, non-genocidal, romantically partnered men. (Shocking, I know.) The last book Shards of Time fell a bit flat for me (three stars), otherwise the series were solid four star reads with one other exception. I gave Casket of Souls four and a half stars (translated to five due to a lack of flexibility within the rating system). It was the strongest of the plots to my mind, and damned fine mystery in it's own right. The author did an excellent job of tugging at the emotions I'd developed over the course of the five previous books.

Sadly, the audio books really didn't improve after the narrator change. Narrator number two just wasn't as skillful. That didn't kept me from enjoying them enough to consider the series a good investment. I'll doubtless return to it in time. I always do when I love the characters. In fact I'm kind of tempted to listen to the Tamir Triad again soon. I'll probably put it off so as not to wear the stories out. It's a little soon, but doubtless I'll get to a second listen some time next year.

Right now I'm forcing myself to finish the last story in Charles Stross' Wireless anthology. I haven't enjoyed this as much as I hoped. I absolutely love his Laundry Files series. And the one thing I enjoyed completely from this anthology was a story about the intrepid geek Bob Howard (the bungling hero of the Laundry Files). Go figure.

If you're interested, The Concrete Jungle is a good entry point. It comes appended to the first book in the series The Atrocity Archives, at least in audiobook form. The audiobooks are fantastic, easily equal to the Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronovitch (another of my top picks in the realm of urban fantasy). I have a history in the IT industry, so Laundry Bob really struck a chord with me. I laughed myself silly. The premise of the series is that Cthulhu and his monstrous minions live just outside our perception. Reaching them is a matter of math. Computer hackers are conjurers, opening gateways to Armageddon. That's where Bob comes in. One night he writes a bit of code and finds himself at the mercy of an MI-6-like branch of Her Majesty's Secret, Secret Service. His life changes just a tad after that.

Next up for me, once I muddle free, will be the A.J. Hartley novelization of the Shakespeare inspired Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. It's supposed to be really good, but I've been putting it off for the sake of shinier pretties. I do that. I'm one of those 'but it was on sale' sort of collectors who has a TBR that could choke pretty much anyone sane.

Valyssia wrote: "My reaction to it was somewhat different. It left me wanting to ask Liu Cixin how he felt about his mother.
..."

Why Valyssia? Because of Ye Wenje's relationship with her mother?

Greg wrote: "Why Valyssia? Because of Ye Wenje's relationship with her mother?"

No, it was a joke rooted somewhere between Freud and Bladerunner.

"Describe in single words only the good things that come into your mind about... your mother." - Holden from the Voight-Kampff test.

In the Three-body Problem Liu Cixin portrays five female characters: (view spoiler)[three are mildlessly homicidal, taking the life of Ye Wenje's father without a twinge of conscience; Ye Wenje herself sells out her entire race (imagine how much hatred it would take to do that); and there's Wang Miao's wife who's a cardboard standee of hysterical feminine humanity (she's more scenery than actual character). (hide spoiler)]

Contrast those characters with their male counterparts for a moment. The cop is actually kind of likable. Wang Miao doesn't seem like a bad sort. He's sort of an 'every man.' Ye Wenje's significant other from the laboratory complex midway through the book was charming enough. I bought that she could love him. Her father from the beginning of the book is portrayed as an honorable man. And there are more. The women in the story are all vapid, villainous, or mindlessly open to manipulation by powerful men.

I don't know about you, but I have a general picture of the woman in my life as being easily as funny, smart and engaging as any of their male contemporaries. I have to wonder what the women in Liu Cixin's life did to him to give him such a negative opinion of the gender. The Three Body Problem is arguably one of the most sexist pieces of fiction I've read this decade and it passes the Bechdel test.


Edit: Spin that and imagine that the Three-Body Problem was written by a woman and all of the male characters were vapid, villainous, or mindlessly open to manipulation by powerful women. Imagine the reception it would receive as a piece of fiction. Imagine it not being nominated for a Hugo.

I can see where you're coming from Valyssia, but other than Ye Wenje, none of the other characters have any development at all really. We know next to nothing about them, and none of them have any development. Even Wang Miao is surprisingly bland, and the cop is a one-note caricature.

You're totally right that the men are portrayed as generally more honorable, but I didn't notice because most of the characters didn't grab enough of my attention to notice them much. Now that you describe your reaction, I can see what you mean.

But Ye Wenje is the only one that has a detailed backstory or any kind of psychological reasoning behind her behavior. So even though she was deeply flawed, I was drawn to her more than the others. The rest of the characters didn't feel real to me.

Greg wrote: "I can see where you're coming from Valyssia, but other than Ye Wenje, none of the other characters have any development at all really. We know next to nothing about them, and none of them have any ..."

(view spoiler)[I didn't buy the way Ye Wenje turned on humanity. That felt like quite the stretch. (hide spoiler)] A more reasonable reaction wouldn't been a strong desire to maybe visit Malaysia or Indonesia. She never once thinks about walking away. The way the author built her was like trauma, trauma, trauma(view spoiler)[, villainy (hide spoiler)]. It made me suspect he hated her. She was tortured to do the unthinkable. Tell me that speaks well of her creator.

And the cost of her supposed sanity? (view spoiler)[It was two good men, both of whom were murdered by women. (hide spoiler)]

But the thing that really got me was that she's a she. (view spoiler)[It made me think that the author could imagine a woman selling humanity to an alien race as some sick twist on revenge. Conversely, the men in his world were all too honorable to even consider something so venomous. (hide spoiler)]

As to the rest being non-characters, that's just more to the point. (view spoiler)[Those three girls showed back up as adults and they've been used so hard that one of them was actually missing an arm. I mean, really? (hide spoiler)]

Valyssia, I really do understand where you're coming from and I think it's a completely valid perspective. But I'm not 100% sure I feel that way myself.

Valyssia wrote: "But the thing that really gets me is that she is a she. It makes me think that the author could imagine a woman selling humanity to an alien race for as some sick twist on revenge..."

Well, her seemingly male counterpart on Trisolaris (the one manning the listening station in chapter 32) makes a very similar decision in (view spoiler)[bringing about the destruction of his own civilization by sending the "Do not respond" transmission (hide spoiler)]. The way his actions are described in chapter 32 are almost an exact counterpart to Ye Wenje's actions in chapter 23 (down to the exact description, almost word for word, of their despair reading the pre-communication signal waveforms from space and even the red keyboard button they push to transmit their fatal response.

Valyssia wrote: 'That felt like quite the stretch. A more reasonable reaction wouldn't been a strong desire to maybe visit Malaysia or Indonesia. She never once thinks about walking away. '

As far as her just walking away, it seemed to me that Ye Wenje was actually a glorified prisoner in the Red Coast base. It's not clear to me she would've been allowed to leave. She only escaped it after (view spoiler)[her fateful betrayal of the human race (hide spoiler)] and only then because of her extreme sickness following her pregnancy. It doesn't seem to me that it's always so easy to escape these sorts of movements anyway. If it were, so many intellectuals wouldn't have died in the Cultural Revolution. Of course Ye Wenje shouldn't have done what she did (there's no justification for what she did; it was purely evil), but a small part of me understood why from her perspective she did it.

I'll admit my first reaction to her being revealed (view spoiler)[as the commander of the ETO (hide spoiler)] was that it was a totally cheap twist. I was greatly annoyed at first, but the detailed backstory in the subsequent chapters mollified me somewhat. Also, she does seem to have (view spoiler)[at least some redemptionist sympathies by the end (hide spoiler)]. I'm not 100% convinced that even given her extraordinary history that she would have done what she did, but I'm not 100% convinced that she wouldn't have either.

Greg wrote: "Valyssia, I really do understand where you're coming from and I think it's a completely valid perspective. But I'm not 100% sure I feel that way myself."

I didn't mean that I feel she should have 'walked away.' I know that was impossible, but to my mind, she should've at least thought about it. In that situation I would've been spending most of my time looking for an out. (view spoiler)[I certainly wouldn't have been a good little drone of the state. I wouldn't have gone through all of the schooling to be the scientist they demanded me to be. They can't force you to learn. She plays their game by their rules and puts herself at that base. I would've probably ended up in prison, but that's me. I'm stubborn. There's something about the thought of watching my father being beaten to death that brings out the imp in me. Call it a flaw. (hide spoiler)]

I thought the spoiler you point out (the second from the end, the one with the leadership twist) was completely stupid. It had the feel of bad melodrama. The villain stands up and cackles madly. I came close to shutting the stupid thing off and pressing delete. The whole thing was just --

There were five female roles in the whole annoying book and they were all vilified or vapid to some degree. That is the very definition of misogynistic. Women make up roughly half the population of the world. They should make up at least a third of the cast of any work of fiction unless the piece is period specific, about war or -- have you ever read any Herman Wouk? The man writes about World War 2 and by some miracle manages to include interesting female characters (several of them) who aren't just set dressing, reflections of their men or foils to them. They are their own people. They don't exist just to please or thwart anyone. They are actually involved in the plot and they make a positive difference. It's effing amazing given that better than half of his nearly million word epic The Winds of War and War and Remembrance occurs in war torn Europe.

It can be done. I know because I've seen Herman Wouk do it under the most historically adverse conditions. Liu Cixin -- not so much. Mark my words, if The Three-body Problem could be gender swapped, author and all, it would've been a total flop not a Hugo Award nominee. We wouldn't be having this discussion because it never would've been on the SciFi and Fantasy Book Club's radar.

It's been a good discussion Valyssia! No doubt I would've liked the book better myself if it had deeper characterizations (including some better female characters).

Greg wrote: "Kernos, I finally finished The Three-Body Problem. My personal reaction:

The first 2/3 of the book bored me somewhat, I suspect because of the lack of character depth. Everyone ble..."

Thanks Greg. I have so many books waiting to be read, I think I'll skip this one.

I finished Another Country. It is quite a powerful novel. The characters were fully formed and the book remains timely. It's one of those books one feels like they didn't completely get it all. I often come away from complex character driven novels feeling like that. I'm gonna try to review it, but have to think abut it some more. It's a bit depressing, but I think its ending is upbeat. That depends on one's weltanschauung.

I'm now reading Runelight by Joanne Harris which is book 2 of a fantasy series in the world of the Icelandic myths with Loki as the principle mover. Wonderful stuff from a good author.

Greg wrote: "It's been a good discussion Valyssia! No doubt I would've liked the book better myself if it had deeper characterizations (including some better female characters)."

I can agree wholeheartedly with all of that. Thanks for listening to me vent.

I've crossed off Liu Cixin too (who sounds too hard science for me anyway). Thanks Valyssia.

Am reading three books, unusually:


Peas & Queues: The Minefield of Modern Manners by Sandi Toksvig
My Secret Garden by Nancy Friday (women's sexual fantasies, researched for the first time in the 1970s)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (loving it)

Bryn wrote: "I've crossed off Liu Cixin too (who sounds too hard science for me anyway). Thanks Valyssia."

You're welcome. Thank you for taking the time to 'listen.'

I recently finished The Anthropology of Turquoise: Reflections on Desert, Sea, Stone, and Sky, a collection of fifteen essays which are meditations on nature. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Needing something light and fun, I am now reading The Red Notebook (fiction), translated from the original French. I read his previous book, The President's Hat, earlier this year. He's a great storyteller.

I am reading Under House Arrest by Yevgeny Kharitonov.

I find it difficult to read sometimes. I can't tell if the issue is the poetic style of writing he used or the translation. Probably both. I can't say I dislike it though.

I'm in the middle of American Gods by Neil Gaiman and Evening Crowd at Kirmser's: A Gay Life in the 1940s by Ricardo J. Brown. Soon I also hope to start Another Country by James Baldwin.

Since the last time I posted, I finished:

The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin - 3 ★
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James - 5 ★

I went on a vacation and we were pretty much without internet for a week plus, but I had a Kindle. I read:

The Sword-Edged Blonde by Alex Bledsoe, it's one of my husband's favorite fantasy/ mystery series. It was okay and diverting, but not much else, for me.

Then I read Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury edited by Sam Weller and Mort Castle. Even reading Bradbury- like short stories was a delight.

Next came Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes, I didn't like it as much as Zoo City, it's more toward the horror spectrum.

Mind of My Mind by Octavia E. Butler came next, because I'd just bought a t-shirt from Out of Print with the 1977 cover of it. It's not one of my favorites of Octavia E. Butler's books, but my husband liked it, and it was his first book by her. Now I sort of want to reread Clay's Ark, the next book in the series, which I haven't read it for maybe thirty years, because I remember it as disgusting. I hope I'm wrong.

Then I read The Martian by Andy Weir. I loved it! I'm really looking forward to the movie.

I'm currently rereading, or perhaps reading, Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. I remember nothing about it.

Susan wrote: "I am reading Under House Arrest by Yevgeny Kharitonov.

I find it difficult to read sometimes. I can't tell if the issue is the poetic style of writing he used or the translation...."

I've never heard of Kharitonov Susan, but it sounds interesting. Let me know what you think when you've finished!