#Read26Indy discussion

What is everyone starting February off with and how far are you into your challenge?

I am starting my 8th book Paper Towns by John Green and I am planning to read/listen to The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes very soon. (both for other book clubs that I am in) Also, as inspired by our group meeting at Indy Reads Books this part week, I have Going All the Way by Dan Wakefield on hold at the library.

I am still finishing books 6 and 7 - I read way too much!

I've read 9 so far. Just starting The Maltese Falcon for one of my courses - I'll be reading mostly detective fiction this spring. I'm still listening to Leaving Atocha Station and I'll be starting Jeff Lemire's Underwater Welder graphic novel soon.

I just completed number six: No Easy Day. Now onto And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini.

After a visit to the Central Library, I picked up Vienna for their One Book Two Cities. I have Franny and Zooey and the new Salinger bio because we watched the documentary on WFYI. A friend asked for my opinion on The Lifeboat for a potential book club read. And I have a book of poetry by Eugene Peterson called Holy Luck. I finished seven books in January.

I also picked up Vienna! It's on my to-read list for this month, as well as Out of Sight by Elmore Leonard, which was a Christmas gift.

Just finished Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank - one of my favorite authors who writes fiction that takes place in Charleston and surrounding low country region. She is excellent with southern dialect; though did not use it much in this book. She weaves history through out this novel to tell her story - inspired me to add many more books to my "to read" list.

I am starting on Story Engineering now - my third book. I need to pick up my pace a bit!!

Finished:
1. Moonwalking with Einstein- Foer
2. Franny and Zooey- Salinger

Currently on Masters of Atlantis- Portis and Great Expectations. Have my next 15 or so planned but always on the lookout for good recs.

I'm about halfway through The Glass Castle, but it's slow going.

Jennifer - I'd be interested to hear what you think of the Salinger biography when you've had a chance to start it.

One the audiobook front: Just completed Ben Lerner's Leaving Atocha Station. Highly recommend it in this format. Just downloaded and will be starting Aimee Bender's The Color Master. I'm a little apprehensive as audio story collections can be very hit or miss, but I'm excited.

Recommendation: Check out Annie Proulx's collection Close Range in audiobook format. Yes, it does include the Brokeback Mountain story (which isn't bad), but the others in the collection are so much stronger and the performers for each are perfect.

Teresa wrote: "I just completed number six: No Easy Day. Now onto And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini."

I was so disappointed in Mountains Echoed... don't expect as much goodness as he provided in his first two books.

Gretchen wrote: "I'm about halfway through The Glass Castle, but it's slow going.

Jennifer - I'd be interested to hear what you think of the Salinger biography when you've had a chance to start it."

I loved the Glass Castle! I would possibly put that in my top 25.

Raquel, I finished And the Mountains Echoed today, and I was disappointed. I loved his other two books and had high expectations for this one. I appreciate that he was experimenting with some modern literature techniques, but much of it left me wanting.

Not reading as fast as some - started book 4 o few days ago... The Shining by Stephen King. I'm not really into horror - films or books, but actually do enjoy the movie. I got curious about the book after reading the King was not crazy about the adaptation.

Raquel wrote: "Gretchen wrote: "I'm about halfway through The Glass Castle, but it's slow going.

Jennifer - I'd be interested to hear what you think of the Salinger biography when you've had a chance to start it..."

I loved Glass Castle too.

I just finished my 3rd book of the year, 1st for February, The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

Timothy wrote: "I just finished my 3rd book of the year, 1st for February, The Road by Cormac McCarthy."

I read this one, too, and was enthralled and shocked. What did you think?

Oh, man. I love McCarthy. Nothing like a book to make you lose all faith in humanity. If you enjoyed the Road, No Country for Old Men or Blood Meridian are both great too.

Reading The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch - filled with great advise on life in general.

Read Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. I loved this series in my 20's but I'm over it now. It was a fun read but probably won't read anymore in this series.

The Last Lecture

I just finished Dark Places. I'm now starting The Maze Runner. My kid is insisting I read it. I love it when he does that!!

Working hard to stay on pace. Three young children tend to take up most of my free time...though, if I counted bedtime books, I'm sure I'd be leading the pack!

Just finished "Fine Just the Way It Is," by Annie Proulx (my 3rd book of the challenge). About to start "Stardust," by Neil Gaiman. I'll follow that with "On Writing Well," by William Zinsser.

I finished The Leviathan Effect by James Lilliefors. It's a high tech thriller by a former Washington Post reporter. I met him at a book signing event last year in Naples, Florida and really liked his first book Viral. This is the sequel and there will be a third book since this one ends with a cliff hanger. The Leviathan Effect

I have started Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. Recommend this for computer geeks and anyone who loves mysteries about old books. Lots of contemporary references to things like Google and MacBooks. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

I finished The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt which was AMAZING. Best book I have read in a long time. Halfway through Bellman and Black by Diane Satterfield. It's kinda meh.

I came today to the end of Dan Simmons' The Terror. This is an adventure/horror story that terrifies as much with the plight of usually resourceful men, who are stranded in the frozen arctic seas, as it does with the depredations waged against the sailors, who are seeking the Northwest Passage in the mid- to late-1840s, by an invincible monster from Inuit legend.

Does reading for professional development count toward the 26? I may have to take a break from pleasure reading for work...

To me, a book is a book. Ultimately, we read because we enjoy reading. But sometimes we read for our lives. And our livelihood. In my opinion, there are no loopholes in reading. Reading is what a reader does.

The Terror is my eleventh. I also finished a book of poems called Folly today. Once the weather improves. I won't have school cancellations and delays but, personally I'd like to read 100 books this year.

Jennifer wrote: "Timothy wrote: "I just finished my 3rd book of the year, 1st for February, The Road by Cormac McCarthy."

I read this one, too, and was enthralled and shocked. What did you think?"


I can't say that I loved it, but I'm not sure one can "love" a book with the bleak power of The Road. Still, I definitely was enthralled by the way McCarthy painted his landscape with prose to match his landscape.

Robert wrote: "Oh, man. I love McCarthy. Nothing like a book to make you lose all faith in humanity. If you enjoyed the Road, No Country for Old Men or Blood Meridian are both great too."

I will keep both of them in mind for sure! Thanks for the suggestions.

I finished by fourth book of 2014 (2nd for February) this morning. The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin is definitely his magnum opus. I recommend it to anyone with a love of civil rights history, who desires a firm but fair look at the nature of equality in the mid-20th century.

Finished my 6th book for the year - Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia. Waiting patiently for Beautiful Chaos to become available. Not sure what I'm going to read in the mean time.

Just finished Isaacson's biography on Steve Jobs, a holdover from last year. That's three books down.

Steve Jobs

On 3rd and 4th books - Read Wild by Cheryl Strayed and listened to Ken Follett's Winter of the World (excellent). Now reading Below Stairs and listening to Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Finishing up Andrew's Brain by Doctorow. Starting Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese.

Amy in case you didn't know Cheryl will be speaking at Cloews Hall March 31.

Started in on Lightning by Koontz.

I finished my books 3 and 4: Out of Sight by Elmore Leonard and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Both good reads. Now I'm on to Vienna, since I picked up a free copy at the library a month or so ago.

Finished Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore which I mentioned earlier.

Also finished An American Tune by Barbara Shoup. I was narrating this for Indian Voices and got half way through before that program was suspended, but I had to finish it! Ms. Shoup is Executive Director of the Writer's Center of Indiana. The book takes place in part at IU during the 60's. Bittersweet, poignant and thought provoking, more so because I lived through those times. An American Tune

Just finished #5 Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple and started on #6 - 12 Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital by Eric Manheimer, MD. I'll also be diving into some real riveting stuff for work: Business and Financial Concepts for Insurance Professionals. Yeah... can't wait.

I've read ten so far. Working on Chaplin: A Life by Stephen Weissman.

I finished my 3rd for February (5th overall) -The First True Lie by Mander.

Finished #15 overall this morning - Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions. Not the best of his I've read (Slaughterhouse-5 still holds that distinction) but still hugely charming with some metafictional entertainment snuck in as well.

I also recently finished James Ellroy's The Black Dahlia, which was undoubtedly one of the best things I've read recently. It's dark, pervasive, and gritty, but incredibly written.

I finished Conan of Venarium, my 19th. I'm going to read American Dervish next.

I succumbed to the goodreads ads and downloaded The Goldfinch and although really long (how deceptive page numbers are in an e-book versus holding a hefty tome in your hands) Wow -- what fun. I loved the characters in all their filthy rawness. The plot was tightly wound and and it brought together several of my disparate personal interests. That was #15 for me. NOW WHAT DO I READ?

I've read two, now on my third: "Cutting for Stone". It's OK, but I'm not 100% hooked and it's a deep 600+ pages. Yikes.

Now reading "The Prince of Frogtown" by Rick Bragg - this is my third book of his to read. Love it! If you enjoy reading about the south, the people, the dialect (1930's, 1940's) Rick does a fabulous job in this book documenting his father's life.

Reading Lightning by Koontz now. Also, about to start NOS4A2 for my book club (Book-a-Book Club on Goodreads if you are interested)

Girls Growing Up On the Autism Spectrum is 21. I need to finish Spirit a Level in the next few weeks as my nonfiction read and then maybe another professional book, I Hate to Write.

Just finished "Snow Falling on Cedars" and "The Paris Wife." Am now reading "The Giant's House."

Just finished John Carlin's "Knowing Mandela". It was a bit of a let-down (see my review). Need to finish Howard Buffett's "40 Chances" now that I have my replacement copy after leaving my original copy in the Delta terminal at LAX. Sharing is caring, right?

In February, I've read Bitter is the New Black, Navy SEAL Dogs and just finished W is for Wasted. On track so far for the challenge! Prince of Thieves is up next.