All Books. All the Time. discussion

I'm currently reading too many things due to my blog hosting Top Shelf Short Stories, which is basically one short story a day for every day in February.

Here are the collections I've read from: Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie, Underneath by Dan DeWitt, Cthulhurotica (various), Lay Me Out Softly by Francesca Lia Block, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace, and Dangerous Women (various).

I am reading Percy Jackson- The Lightning Thief. Needed something lighter and fun after finishing The Book Thief. lol

Sha wrote: "I am reading Percy Jackson- The Lightning Thief. Needed something lighter and fun after finishing The Book Thief. lol"

I don't blame you! I had to read something lighthearted after that book. I've heard great things about that Percy Jackson series - I need to try it out.

Do we have any books lined up to read as a group?

Sha wrote: "Do we have any books lined up to read as a group?"

Not so far, but do you have any recommendations to get us started?

Not really- I am starting Divergent; Claire of the Sea and Jenny Pox so far this month. I wouldn't mind throwing in some literature or a good crime/mystery/thriller type. I'm fairly new to fiction so I'm optimistically curious. :)

Hi, I am Christina. I am looking for a small group where I can discuss books with people - instead of a group of thousands of people where my voice seems to get lost/overlooked.

I am currently reading Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card. I try to read a classic for every couple of non-classic books.

I like that idea Christina. I agree- the larger clubs serve a purpose but I also wanted a small group to read with and have fun discussions. :) I saw Sycamore Row by John Grisham at the grocery store today. Have either of you read it? I've only read 2 of his books and I like his style. The only classics I have lined up are from Jane Austen. I'm really behind. Lol

I have read The Chamber by Grisham. It was good. Are you thinking of reading Sycamore Row? If you are, I could see if my grocery store has it and we could do a group/buddy read?

What Austen books do you have? I have read some of her stuff. I have a decent collection (80ish) of classics that I "should" read and am slowly making my way through.

What kind of books does everyone enjoy reading? We can maybe discuss group read books...

I enjoy Paranormal for my fun-reads. But I am currently reading Orson Scott Card's Bean series. Just finished Ender's Series (SciFi). And I am trying to branch out so I also have the Game of Thrones books (never seen the show). But Kelley Armstrong, Patricia Briggs, and a few others are authors I really enjoy for Paranormal. Mitch Albom is also good. I really don't venture outside of paranormal, fantasy, and classics... Maybe you guys can help me explore other genres.

Though I did just Read the curious incident of the dog in the night-time and that was really interesting and well written.

And, I apologize now, I tend to write a lot.

I've only read Jane Eyre and I just downloaded Pride and Prejudice to read next month. Game of Thrones is on my list as well. I heard it's a good read. I read The Firm and The Testament by Grisham and really enjoyed both. I'm open to the genre we choose. I like a mixture of classic, dystopia, mystery, paranormal...

Oh- to answer your question- yes, I think I will be starting Sycamore Row next month. :)

My grocery store doesn't have it. But I am interested now. If I can get my amazon order together, I'll try to add that one on. :)

I have Pride and Prejudice on my to-read shelf. And I need to find a copy of Jane Eyre.

Have you ever read The Moonstone? It's a classic and it's a mystery. It's considered kind of the model for mystery books (including for Sherlock Holmes I believe). I thought it was pretty good for the time period.

I've never read The Moonstone but I'd be interested in reading it. Let me know when you get Sycamore Row. I am going to get it too. Maybe we can read it as a group but if not we can do a small buddy-read. We can also do The Moonstone or Pride and Prejudice next month. Whichever you prefer.

I hate to say I'd prefer not to read The Moonstone, but seeing as how I just read it last year...I think it'd be too soon for me to reread it. Plus, I am not good at rereading books. I am sorry. But if you choose to read it let me know and we can discuss it along the way! The characters are really great and the "mystery" throughout is good as well.

I would be interested in reading Pride and Prejudice though! I think a group and/or buddy read would be the perfect reason for me to stop putting it off... :)

And I am sorry but I just looked up Sycamore Row and the paper back isn't out yet. I am kinda not working a lot right now so I can't afford hardcovers, or really buying anything for that matter. I feel like a let-down now for shooting down two of the three books we have thus far discussed. Sorry!

Christina- I had to chuckle at your response. I am a new stay-at-home wife and Mom and my budget has been crazy (and lacking)! I took a ton of my not-so-liked books to the bookstore and got a lot of credit. I got Pride and Prejudice; Emma; Sense and Sensibility; Sycamore Row and The Partner (another Grisham). So, I totally understand and relate. Let's do Pride and Prejudice. Not sure if anyone else in the group wants to join but I'm ready to go! Lol

:D yay! Kinda nice knowing someone who understands. Everyone else I know just can't understand why I don't just buy whatever books I want... I wish I had a used bookstore. All three that were within 45min of me had to close down. the closest one is an hour away but she doesn't have a lot :(

Alright, Pride and Prejudice. When shall we start? Should we put a time limit on it (Example: read by April 1st)?

I was going to ask Celia to create a new folder for individual book threads so as not to overload the general/introduction folder. I can ask if she'll put up a notice for the other members to see - so maybe around March 1st would be a good start date? My copy is only 332pgs with Afterward, a month should be enough time to read it and not be stressful? I'll drop her a non-decisive note. :)

Let me know your thoughts on when would be good for you to start and time frame. :) yay, I'm excited!

I like March 1st. There are 61 short chapters so maybe we can set some checkpoints for discussion. We definitely need a thread going. :)

Christina wrote: ":D yay! Kinda nice knowing someone who understands. Everyone else I know just can't understand why I don't just buy whatever books I want... I wish I had a used bookstore. All three that were withi..."

Sorry for the late response! Been under the weather and all that. I haven't read Pride and Prejudice and would like in on this project :) let's get that folder started :)

Celia wrote: "Christina wrote: ":D yay! Kinda nice knowing someone who understands. Everyone else I know just can't understand why I don't just buy whatever books I want... I wish I had a used bookstore. All thr..."

Haha, not a late response at all! Thanks for helping. Does March 1st work for you also?

Time Frame: Do we want to do a weekly checkpoint or a midway checkpoint? IE: read 15 chapters a week, or CH. 12 of VOL. 2 (halfway) by mid March?

I would like something weekly so we can communicate a bit.

Weekly works for me as well :)

Have you guys read anything by Fyodor Dostoyevsky? A good friend of mine considers him one of his top favorite authors, but I can't trust his opinion because he loves Dostoyevsky so much... I need to know what other people think of him before I buy a couple of his books.

I have only read The Brothers Karamazov but I really enjoyed it. Definitely worth a try.

I have only heard of Crime and Punishment but I haven't read it. I just looked up his other works and he's got a lot of books. I'd be willing to give him a shot.

I have Crime and Punishment but haven't read it yet. I am picking up The House of the Dead, and Notes from Underground - both by Dostoyevsky ... and both really cheap :D

Could be good Group Read material :) Especially Crime and Punishment.

I'd be willing to read Crime and Punishment. Not sure if I can handle two classic reads at the same time though. Lol- maybe for April?

haha, Yeah - Definitely not while reading Pride and Prejudice! That would be like college - and I don't want to feel like I'm in college again...hehe. :) April would be good for me :)

Christina wrote: "haha, Yeah - Definitely not while reading Pride and Prejudice! That would be like college - and I don't want to feel like I'm in college again...hehe. :) April would be good for me :)"

Yeah, I was going to say that I might need a bit more time for Crime and Punishment haha

Celia wrote: "I'm currently reading too many things due to my blog hosting Top Shelf Short Stories, which is basically one short story a day for every day in February.

Here are the collections I've read from: T..."

I love Francesca Lia Block! About 11 - almost 12 - years ago a friend of mine read Dangerous Angels (Weetzie Bat books?) and had me pick it up and after that we read all the books she had out at the time! I've only read Ruby (I think that's the title) since then, but she is such an amazing writer.

My mom recently got back into reading and I showed her how to find books on Amazon. Then a friend said something about Ebay...So with my mom sitting next to me I logged onto ebay and within 15 minutes we had three different sets of books purchased for a total of 31 books...It was almost like taking a kid to a candy store!

I shared this with you guys because you apparently love books too and I thought my mom was cute for going book-buying crazy on ebay...Also, if you have a favorite author, and don't mind used books, ebay is a really cheap place to buy books. My mom's purchases came out to $31.64 - for 31 books (including all fees).

I bought the Weetzie Bat collection on ebay for a great price lol So funny how that ties together. But yeah, I love buying books off of ebay - so cheap. I recently bought Kushiel's Dart (due to Vaginal Fantasy's recommendation) on there for about $3. It's great!

Never even thought about eBay! Great idea. I'm doing that today.

I am currently reading Angels & Demons by Dan Brown!

Hi Asta- I've never read anything from Dan Brown. Did you read DaVinci Code also? What is your favorite genre?

Does anyone read any Paranormal books? Like Kelley Armstrong, Patricia Briggs, Katie MacAlister, etc...? Most of my "fun/easy" reads are paranormal...though I am going to read the Game of Thrones books which I believe is more fantasy (never seen the show).

Game of Thrones is on my list. I just started City of Bones today. Not sure if that's more dystopia or paranormal. Love both! :)

I think City of Bones is Urban Fantasy...which I think overlaps with some of my paranormal authors - like Patricia Briggs I believe is considered more "urban fantasy."

Let me know how City of Bones is - I might have to put that on my very long list of future purchases... :)

Hi Astra! I've heard mixed things about Dan Brown, what is your opinion of his writing?

What kind of books/genres do read?

Will do. This is another one on my "to-read" list. It is a free download. It's supposed to be good.

Sha, have you read the Abarat series by Clive Barker? The series isn't finished yet. But they are really cool because he does all the art himself and its throughout the entire book. It's a YA series. Fantasy. He created an entire world where there are islands for each hour of the day...

Sha, also, have you read 1984? and Fahrenheit 451? I believe those are dystopia books. I've read both and I enjoyed...hm...thought they were well written. ("enjoyed" seems like the wrong word for future disaster) :)

Sha wrote: "Hi Asta- I've never read anything from Dan Brown. Did you read DaVinci Code also? What is your favorite genre?"

I really like his books! I've read The Da Vinci Code and it's a super good book.

Christina wrote: "Sha, have you read the Abarat series by Clive Barker? The series isn't finished yet. But they are really cool because he does all the art himself and its throughout the entire book. I..."

That sounds crazy! I'll have to check it out.

Christina wrote: "Sha, also, have you read 1984? and Fahrenheit 451? I believe those are dystopia books. I've read both and I enjoyed...hm...thought they were well written. ("enjoyed" seems like the wrong word for f..."

Haven't read them but I almost picked up Fahrenheit 451 a couple of weeks ago. That storyline is something else! I will look into 1984.

Fahrenheit 451 is one of my all time favorite books. I had to read it in high school and I feel in love with it!

I'm currently double fisting Insurgent and The fault in our stars. I'm trying to get through the buzzfeed list of books to read before seeing the movie in 2014 :)

Hi Cassi- I'm starting Insurgent in April. Can't wait! What are your favorite genres?

Sha wrote: "Hi Cassi- I'm starting Insurgent in April. Can't wait! What are your favorite genres?"

I don't know if I can say I have a favorite genre. I feel like I go through phases where I'll read every book I can find in a certain genre until I get bored with it.

Last time is was Historical Fiction. Specifically royal families.

And right now it is that dystopian life like Divergent and Hunger Games.

Cassi wrote: "Sha wrote: "Hi Cassi- I'm starting Insurgent in April. Can't wait! What are your favorite genres?"

I don't know if I can say I have a favorite genre. I feel like I go through phases where I'll rea..."

Hunger Games trilogy is definitely a favorite of mine.

Cassi wrote: "Fahrenheit 451 is one of my all time favorite books."

Hi, Cassi! Fahrenheit 451 is a great book. I didn't know anything about it when I picked it up (other than the fact I ignored it in college class) so it was quite a surprising book for me! But so great!

Cassi wrote: "I don't know if I can say I have a favorite genre."

What other genres have you delved into? Do you have any favorite authors?

I have begun Game of Thrones...Dun Dun Dunnn... A few people told me it was really difficult to follow because there are too many characters. I am about 100 pages in so far and it isn't overwhelming. And it is, so far, interesting. The 800 pages aren't as terrifying as they were when I picked it up. :)