All About Books discussion

Which books are you hoping to read in January? You can share your plans here.

Memory in Death
Haunted in Death
The Stone Monkey
Bloodfever
Midnight Rising
Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand
Heart of Venom
The Spider

Read-a-Longs:
The Girl on the Train

New Releases:
Death's Mistress

Time allowing:
Kisscut
Magic Bites

I'll be starting with -

Swann's Way 2.5 stars
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie 4 stars
The House of Mirth 4 stars
King Lear

I'm going to finish reading:

Anthology of Contemporary Macedonian Poetry
A Feast for Crows

Then:

Phaedrus
Suite Française
Books Burn Badly

I'll be starting:

War and Peace

Possibly:

Madame Bovary
Because She Loves Me

Pink wrote: "I'll be starting with -

Swann's Way
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The House of Mirth
King Lear"

Each time I read The House of Mirth it grows on me, Pink. I find it an extremely moving book.

That's good to know Gill, this will be the first time for me. I've only previously read Xingu by her, so it's about time I try something else.

So far I have lined up:

Swann's Way, The Princess Bride and maybe Lord of the Flies. I'll definitely add some nonfiction in there, but I tend to select those just based on what I haven't read yet on my shelves that looks interesting at the time.

I'm also about to start Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator with the kiddos.

I'm half way through Assassin's Apprentice / Magician so I will continue that. I have also started Foxglove Summer on audiobook in the car.

I am thinking about joining in the Proust challenge but will see how I go!

My plans are to start reading
Swann's Way for the group read here in AAB

And read
The Custom of the Country
The Dante Connection
My Name Is Asher Lev
Winter in Madrid , all for my 2017 challenge

I'm hoping also to get to
Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917 – A World on the Edge

Gill wrote: "My plans are to start reading
Swann's Way for the group read here in AAB

And read
The Custom of the Country
The Dante Connection
...."

Thanks for bringing the book by Rappaport to my attention. She is a good author, and I can highly recommend both No Place for Ladies: The Untold Story of Women in the Crimean War and The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra, both of which I gave four stars.

My first book will be A Man Called Ove. Won't plan any further, will pick from my TBR after I have finished.

I loved that, Gemma! I think you will really enjoy it

Hoping to read my first Paul Theroux, Hotel Honolulu which I picked up yesterday in hard cover for a measly $4.95.

Great to hear, Heather.

A dog named Joe
Rum & punch
The Outer Limits companion
Children of the new world
Some random books by Carrie Fisher.

B the BookAddict wrote: "Hoping to read my first Paul Theroux, Hotel Honolulu which I picked up yesterday in hard cover for a measly $4.95."

Well good luck. I do like Theroux, but I don't know if I would start there. I chose Ghost Train to the Eastern Star over The Great Railway Bazaar, cause it is more up to date. Then I read Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads . Both were VERY good. I am thinking if this book whets your interest you might want more. The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas looks good too. ..... I don't know if I would try his fiction though.

Not sure what to tackle first, but if I ever finish In the First Circle, I am interested in reading:
Poison, Shadow, and Farewell
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis (if it comes in from the library in time for bookclub)
Memoirs of Hadrian
Eline Vere
Growth of the Soil
The Birds

Liz have you read the first too books in the Marias Your Face tomorrow trilogy? I have the set but haven't started - but I am very eager to!

So My list this month is contained to TBR's sitting on my shelf that I have not gotten to. I am trying to be intentional this year to finish what I bought or have been gifted.

Non Fiction
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson 4*
Competing Against Luck by Clayton M. Christensen 3*
My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell 4*
The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life by Ann Patchett 4*

Outliers is one of my favourites Guy! I hope you like it as much as I do.

My plan for January is:
The Distant Hours
A Nation Worth Ranting About
Love the One You're With
Friends, Moments, Countryside: Selected Columns from Canadian Living, 1993-98

And a re-read of Station Eleven for my book club

Evelyn wrote: "Outliers is one of my favourites Guy! I hope you like it as much as I do."


Glad to hear... my daughter gifted it to me. it was a course required read in her university studies and she said I would like it.

Guy, I plan on reading Bryson's A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail too! What a coincidence. Let's hope it is good.

I have to first finish the six books not yet completed from my December list. They are these:
1. Salt to the Sea 2 stars read
2. The Fall of the House of Wilde: Oscar Wilde and His Family 4 stars read
3. Becoming Faulkner: The Art and Life of William Faulkner 2 stars read
4. Irena's Children: The Extraordinary Story of the Woman Who Saved 2,500 Children from the Warsaw Ghetto 4 stars read
5. First Lady: The Life and Wars of Clementine Churchill (4 stars read)
6. 1776 3 stars read

If I can I will read these too:
7. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail 2 stars
8. Of Mice and Men 5 stars read
9. Some Bitter Taste 3 stars read
10.The Garden of the Gods 3 stars read
11. One Wild Bird at a Time: Portraits of Individual Lives 4 stars read
12.Excellent Women 1 star
13. Bilgewater 4 stars
14. Fenian's Trace 4 stars read
15. Lancaster and York: The Wars of the Roses DNF-DUMPED

See message 41 for other books read this month.

Dianne wrote: "Liz have you read the first two books in the Marias Your Face tomorrow trilogy? I have the set but haven't started - but I am very eager to!"

But of course! I read the first volume several months ago, before reading Proust, and thought it okay. I read the second not too long ago, during a Proust break, and suddenly the long rambling reminiscences prompted by the events of a single evening was incredibly compelling. Now I can't wait for the third, but must finish Time Regained first.

These are impressive lists! I am looking forward to some interesting reviews in January from everyone.

I plan to start with:
Swann's Way for our group read.

Other books, I'm contemplating are:
The Light Years
Early One Morning
Two-Gun & Sun

In audio, I have:
The Wonder and Today Will Be Different

I plan to read:
Swann's Way for our group challenge
Creditors for our group drama theme
The Girl on the Train for our group fiction book (if my library has a copy available)

and possibly these others:
Moo by Jane Smiley
The Dance of the Seagull by Andrea Camilleri (audiobook)
Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
Villette by Charlotte Brontë

His TED talk was good too and I also enjoyed the books by these brothers. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

Guy wrote: "Evelyn wrote: "Outliers is one of my favourites Guy! I hope you like it as much as I do."


Glad to hear... my daughter gifted it to me. it was a course required read in her university studies and ..."

These are my plans for January, but I'll probably get distracted by something not on the list.

Swann's Way (with the group)
How Proust Can Change Your Life
Moonglow
The Liar's Wife: Four Novellas
The Nest

I'm also reading 3 cookbooks:

The Rye Baker: Classic Breads from Europe and America
The Red Rooster Cookbook: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem
Cooking for Jeffrey: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

As always, I have way too many books going at once, but somehow I manage to keep them all straight; my mind compartmentalizes them naturally. (I was born with that knack, which I'm grateful for.)

Some highlights at the moment: Don Quixote in the wonderful Edith Grossman translation; Joseph Conrad's Nostromo; Xavier Herbert's Australian classic Capricornia.

Last night I continued reading Mazo de la Roche's Canadian classic The Building of Jalna, the first in a 16-novel series. Completely engrossing read, like much of the "popular literature" of its era (1927-1958). "Popular literature" becomes high literature with time (Dickens, for example).

Patrick wrote: "As always, I have way too many books going at once, but somehow I manage to keep them all straight; my mind compartmentalizes them naturally. (I was born with that knack, which I'm grateful for.)

..."
When I was a teenager, I read my way through the complete Jalna series. I loved it. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

I think that many readers these days do not even know about it! I want to say this carefully, but if readers of contemporary popular romantic fiction are looking for something that goes to the next level in a literary sense, the Jalna novels should be just the ticket.

Chrissie wrote: "Guy, I plan on reading Bryson's A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail too! What a coincidence. Let's hope it is good.

I have to first finish the six book..."

well I am enjoying it Chrissie - I have had moments of uncontrolled laughter and he through in some good information in between.

Patrick wrote: "Last night I continued reading Mazo de la Roche's Canadian classic The Building of Jalna, the first in a 16-novel series. ..."

I read and enjoyed this series many years ago. I still think of it occasionally with fondness. Enjoy the read, Patrick.

Guy wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Guy, I plan on reading Bryson's A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail too! What a coincidence. Let's hope it is good.

I have to first fi..."
Wonderful, since I know what I have a head of me. Thanks for telling me.

Gill wrote: "My plans are to start reading
Swann's Way for the group read here in AAB

And read
The Custom of the Country
The Dante Connection
[book:My Name Is Asher L..."

So, how come it's 3 days into the month, and I'm reading an almost completely different set of books?!

Gill wrote: "So, how come it's 3 days into the month, and I'm reading an almost completely different set of books?!"

Lol

This is why I don't make plans!

Gill wrote: "Gill wrote: "My plans are to start reading
Swann's Way for the group read here in AAB

And read
The Custom of the Country
The Dante Connection
..."

Hahaha! That is so often the way - but hopefully like me, you enjoy the process of making the list even if you don't follow it :)

Gill wrote: "So, how come it's 3 days into the month, and I'm reading an almost completely different set of books?! "

It works like this many, many times...you're not alone :-)
Just enjoy whatever you're reading.

Struggling with A Passage to India for RL book club. I'm also listening to The Nest. Not sure what else I'll get to in the month but will probably get to start at least another print and audio. Not sure what, for once, but I think I have obligations, so it won't be too much of an impulse.

I'm happy to report at least I'm on track for the reading challenge this year (so far) and audio does help fill in the gaps.

I have finished my short list in post #26, except for the Discworld book (still waiting for my library hold to come in on that one). I have the following in progress or to come in the 9 days left:

The Mill on the Floss (audiobook)
Malone Dies (as part of Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable)
Snow Country
and I would like to read another book off my shelves if I have time (probably a mystery) -- Find A Victim

I will have to add a couple more books. I know one will be:

The Painted Veil 4 stars

and now I need one more:

Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family (finished in February)

I think this will keep me occupied.

See message 23 for other books read this month.

Chrissie wrote: "I will have to add a couple more books. I know one will be:

book:The Painted Veil|99664]

See message 23 for other books read this month."

I liked that one a lot Chrissie. I wonder what you will make of it? The book definitely has religious themes, and it isn't very long. But for my part I definitely liked it!

Greg, not sure at all what I will think. Both Of Human Bondage and The Moon and Sixpence I thought were OK. I liked Christmas Holiday more. The Painted Veil was a special deal for only 3USD, so I figured if I was ever going to read it now was the time!

Ive added a short one - The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life by Ann Patchett and should knock of it and My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg to complete my January reading plan this weekend.

Greg, there is an interesting bit of information given at the beginning of The Painted Veil. Maugham states that this is his only book where the plot, the story to be told, came before the characters. Usually, he said, he has an idea of a character and builds a story around the person rather than the other way around! Since I am more drawn to character portrayal over plot, this has me a bit worried.

Chrissie wrote: "Greg, there is an interesting bit of information given at the beginning of The Painted Veil. Maugham states that this is his only book where the plot, the story to be told, came before..."

I liked the characterizations when I read it Chrissie, but I can't remember very well anymore. I should read it again someday!

Thanks for giving me hope, Greg.

Greg, I was very pleased with The Painted Veil.

Chrissie wrote: "Greg, I was very pleased with The Painted Veil."

Wonderful! I liked it very much, but I wasn't sure what you'd think. Once in a while I feel certain you will like or dislike something, but many times I don't know. :)

Greg wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Greg, I was very pleased with The Painted Veil."

Wonderful! I liked it very much, but I wasn't sure what you'd think. Once in a while I feel certain you will like or ..."

Greg, even I don't understand myself. How can others? Writing style is very important and the hardest to pinpoint. There are just so many variants! I LIKED the nuns, just everything detailing how they were drawn. I liked the details of their French origin.
Here too I thought their actions fit perfectly their positions and who they were. Of course Mother Superior would have to tell Kitty (view spoiler)[to return after the death of her husband. (hide spoiler)] I also liked how the other nun gossiped of the Manchu Princess. yeah, I certainly liked it. Good story and very good characterizations. Realistic.