All About Books discussion

What are you planning to read in March? Any plans?

This is my current plan

Finish up from last month:
in progress Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

Definitely:
in progress 24% My Work by Olga Ravn
✔ Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson ★★★★ (4.0)
✔ Oil and Marble by Stephanie Storey ★★ (2.0)

Probably:
Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (start)
✔ The Activist by Renee Gladman ★★★★ (3.5)
Independent People (Halldór Laxness)

Possibly:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck (more likely April)
The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch
in progress 26% The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

Unplanned:

I hope to read/listen to:

Oil and Marble by Stephanie Storey
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese (if I have time).

I will also be going through Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling, chapter by chapter. As there are five Sundays in March, I will most likely only be reading those five.

Alannah wrote: "I hope to read/listen to:

Oil and Marble by Stephanie Storey
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese (if ..."

why chapter by chapter?

My plan so far:

Pretty Young Rebel: The Life of Flora Macdonald
Lancelot
Sex with the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics
Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage

and finish:
Prodigal Son
Iron Flame
Die Wahrheit über Eva

Kat wrote: "Alannah wrote: "I hope to read/listen to:

Oil and Marble by Stephanie Storey
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
The Covenant of Water by Abrah..."

I'm listening to a podcast which is going through all the chapters weekly

that sounds really cool!

Fiction:
Olesha: Envy (finished March 21)
Ishiguro: Klara and the Sun (finished March 14)
Steinbeck: East of Eden (145/601)
Burns: Milkman (not started)

Poetry:
Carson: The Ballad Of HMS Belfast: A Compendium Of Belfast Poems (finished March 9)

Non-fiction:
Morris: Realism (finished March 1)
Culler: Structuralist Poetics: Structuralism, Linguistics and the Study of Literature (finished March 31)
Pugh: Britain Since 1789: A Concise History (finished March 14)
Moreno: An Introduction to Irish English (EQUINOX TEXTBOOKS & SURVEYS IN LINGUISTICS) (finished March 23)
Kaland: Autisme og aldring i et utviklingsperspektiv (not started)

Long term projects:
Tokarczuk: The Books of Jacob (p. 619 counting downwards)
Barrett: Ireland: A History (no progress)

Greg wrote: "This is my current plan

Finish up from last month:
in progress 52% Swing Time by Zadie Smith
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

Definitely:
[book..."

How is [book:Swing Time|28390369]? I have the audiobook of that awaiting me...

I will continue with Diary of Samuel Pepys — Complete and hopefully will finish Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West and the audiobook of The Magic Mountain.

I will be reading our group read book, Oil and Marble.

Other books planned:
What You Are Looking For Is in the Library
The Yellow Dog
Blessed Are Those Who Thirst
The Red Inn
The White Priory Murders
Red Lights

and if I can get it from the library, My Work for the buddy read

Leslie wrote: "How is Swing Time? I have the audiobook of that awaiting me.."

I'm not sure what you will think of it Leslie, but I quite like it.

Most of my friends disliked the flip-flopping in timeframes and locations between sections, but it didn't bother me because I never felt any confusion as to which location or time I was in. She did a great job of keeping things clear as different characters were involved in the different timeframes; so I didn't have any issue.

Another complaint that I saw was that it felt too distant, and I get that as the narrator feels a bit distanced from herself and others at times. That's part of her issues. But despite that, I found it engaging and I was touched by the characters' predicaments. I liked the nuance in Smith's portrayals.

It's not a fast action plot, but I haven't ever felt bored. I'm very engaged actually. I started a week ago, and I'm practically done, which for me is a fast read for a four hundred page book.

Leslie wrote: "and if I can get it from the library, My Work for the buddy read"

We'd love to have you join if you can! :)

I have been trying to read Zadie Smith for a long time, I voted for The Fraud but it lost by one vote, now I am confused between Swing Time and The Fraud, since the later has some fictitious references to Charles Dickens and has entered the longlist for Sir Walter Scott prize, I think I will read that one first.

I read Zadie Smith last year (White Teeth) and liked it a lot. Thinking of picking up "On Beauty" this month. @Nidhi do let us know how "The Fraud" is, because I've heard pretty mixed reviews.

Some ideas - I don't think I'm going to read all of them - and I'll probably add some other titles. But just to start thinking about...

Winston Graham The Twisted Sword: A Novel of Cornwall, 1815 Listening now
Winston Graham Bella Poldark 12
Anna Nerkagi AnikoRead
Grazia Deledda Cosima
Pearl S. Buck Lettera da Pechino Readinging now
Alba de Céspedes L'anima degli altri
Barbara Perna Annabella Abbondante. Il passato è una curiosa creatura (La giudice ficcanaso Vol. 3) Read
Elena Molini La piccola farmacia letteraria Readinging now
Elena Molini Piccola libreria con delitto
François Morlupi Formule mortali
François Morlupi Il colbacco di Sofia: La nuova indagine del commissario Ansaldi
William Shakespeare King Henry VI, Part 1
Stephanie Storey Oil and Marble Read
Jane Gardam Old Filth
Juan Gómez-Jurado Tutto brucia
Elizabeth Strout The Burgess Boys
Michael McDowell Gilded Needles
Zadie Smith The Fraud
John Steinbeck East of Eden

Greg wrote: "Leslie wrote: "and if I can get it from the library, My Work for the buddy read"

We'd love to have you join if you can! :)"

My hold has come in so I will be joining you.

Leslie wrote: "My hold has come in so I will be joining you."

Yay!! :)