what are you reading?

Working my way through Suzanne Collins Hunger Games trilogy

I just couldn't get through it... barely lasted through the first one... just couldn't engage with the characters and that long slog through the middle when they are in hiding seemed out of place. Not my cup of tracker-jackers, I guess...

Currently reading the kid's book Midnight Magic by Avi. Fluffy but fun!

I also cut my way through Mel Brooks' autobiography. It's surprisingly flat coming from such a funny guy and accomplished writer... It's all about me indeed... he makes it sound like he never made a misstep and that his judgement rarely errors. Almost zero drama or inside scoops on other famous folks... you are either "fabulously talented" or not in the book. Example: he mentions his kids he has with his first wife but neglects to mention her name... You are either in the club or you don't get mentioned at all. Kinda dull reading, actually... not much sizzle...

For a fun Celeb Bio, read Eric Idle's Always look on the bright side of life which is really a fun read. Ukulele tie in: he was besties with George Harrison, and they hung out together a lot. There is an absolutely horrifying description of the night a deranged psycho broke into George's house. This is a much more satisfying read, really fun and full of poignant observations about the human condition. Highly recommended!
 
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For a fun Celeb Bio, read Eric Idle's Always look on the bright side of life which is really a fun read. Ukulele tie in: he was besties with George Harrison, and they hung out together a lot. There is an absolutely horrifying description of the night a deranged psycho broke into George's house. This is a much more satisfying read, really fun and full of poignant observations about the human condition. Highly recommended!
I got this from the library as an audiobook at the start of the pandemic. It was a great distraction at the time.
IA with the recommendation. 📚📖
 
Today, my “hold” for the Libby digital audio version Watership Down was honored. Looking forward to re-starting where I left off. Narration by the author is perfect and immediately puts my nearly six-decade-old brain in a kid’s frame of mind.
 
I just finished Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I had been reading so much buzz about this book I had to see what it was all about. I really liked the plot device where we have one story element happening over days, weeks and months and then there is another story element starting many years before and as those years progress we see that these two stories are eventually going to merge as one. I thought the latter part of the story was a bit implausible and weaker than it could have been but that it happened in a backwoods area of North Carolina some 50+ years ago made it a bit more believable. As this element of the story resolved I was disappointed thinking, "That's it?! So you're going to leave this big plot element just hanging and not resolve it?!" The author lost me but I'm pleased to say that she won me back in the end. I enjoyed it.
 
I just finished Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I had been reading so much buzz about this book I had to see what it was all about. I really liked the plot device where we have one story element happening over days, weeks and months and then there is another story element starting many years before and as those years progress we see that these two stories are eventually going to merge as one. I thought the latter part of the story was a bit implausible and weaker than it could have been but that it happened in a backwoods area of North Carolina some 50+ years ago made it a bit more believable. As this element of the story resolved I was disappointed thinking, "That's it?! So you're going to leave this big plot element just hanging and not resolve it?!" The author lost me but I'm pleased to say that she won me back in the end. I enjoyed it.
I enjoyed it, too. I read one of their earlier non-fiction books from when they lived in Africa, Cry of the Kalahari, it was quite enjoyable, too.
 
I finished Dolores Claiborne.

It was pretty rough. Child and spousal abuse does not make for a fun read.

Ah, but then I started reading Gerald’s Game (these books were originally going to be one book called In the Path of the Eclipse but it was broken up because of story mechanics and now they’re more companion novels than anything else) and holy smokes it’s even worse.

Ugh.

But I’m more than halfway through and I THINK this is his going to be King’s most disturbing book for me so it would all be downhill from here.
 
Just finished Abraham Verghese's Cutting for Stone. I really enjoyed it.

And reread Yann Martel's Life of Pi (one that I get a little more out of every time I read it).
 
My current book is Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. its one of the finest novels I’ve read in quite a while. Thought provoking, intriguing. The first half in particular has been compelling. I have about a fifth left to read.
 
I finished Gerald’s Game. It was… intense.

After that, I read Chef’s Kiss, a bisexual/non-binary romance that was pretty cool, though I would say it’s less “romance,” and more “educational material for folks who have no experience with this.”

Definitely worth reading, though.

Then I read “Less,” which won a Pulitzer but I haven’t figured out why, exactly. It was fine, but that’s all. Just fine. Nothing special.

I have four more books I need to read this year and then I can get back to practicing more!
 
During a quick visit to the local lending library this afternoon, I found William Kent Krueger's newest release "Lightning Strike". I'm hoping it's still part of the Cork O'Conner series. Krueger's novels are set in the UP/ Iron Belt portion of Michigan. The first I read was "Boundary Waters" about five years ago and I was forever hooked.
 
Just finished Less by Andrew Sean Greer, which blew me away. I read it when it first came out, and now I’ve re-read it. Brilliant novel. It richly deserved the Pulitzer.

Following up with a 19th-century novel by Anthony Trollope, a favorite author of mine. This one is Castle Richmond. Loving it.
 
Just finished Less by Andrew Sean Greer, which blew me away. I read it when it first came out, and now I’ve re-read it. Brilliant novel. It richly deserved the Pulitzer.

Following up with a 19th-century novel by Anthony Trollope, a favorite author of mine. This one is Castle Richmond. Loving it.
Interesting. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
 
I don’t know what kind of criteria awards panels are looking at when they choose. That might help me understand.

I don’t get too wrapped up in it, though. If they want to be mysterious about their selection process, they’re doing so because they don’t want objective arguments. Which is fine - but it doesn’t inspire a lot of faith in the gravitas of the award for me. And I’ve always been a “read what looks interesting rather than what I “should,” read,” kind of guy. It’s only afterward when I wonder what about this book ticked boxes for the voters.
 
I don’t know what kind of criteria awards panels are looking at when they choose. That might help me understand.

I don’t get too wrapped up in it, though. If they want to be mysterious about their selection process, they’re doing so because they don’t want objective arguments. Which is fine - but it doesn’t inspire a lot of faith in the gravitas of the award for me. And I’ve always been a “read what looks interesting rather than what I “should,” read,” kind of guy. It’s only afterward when I wonder what about this book ticked boxes for the voters.
Oh yeah, pretty much, me too - except when I was part of a book club and had to read what others suggested. Sometimes it was great being pushed out of my normal interest bubble, and other times, not so much.
 
Oh yeah, pretty much, me too - except when I was part of a book club and had to read what others suggested. Sometimes it was great being pushed out of my normal interest bubble, and other times, not so much.
I’ve had mixed success with book clubs for that reason. I just did a buddy read in Instagram for Stephen King’s “Fairy Tale,” and that was pretty fun but mostly because I already knew I wanted to read it.

At one point this year I was able to volunteer at a used bookshop after work for about a month. Compensation was in store credit for any book except the classics that they sold (I got a Shakespeare collection from 1880 with an inscription from 1885 for $87, though! Super affordable for how old and beautiful it is).

At first, I picked up books I knew I wanted. When those ran out, I picked up authors I knew I liked. Then authors I THOUGHT I would like. And then, when those were all exhausted, I would be alphabetizing shelves and find random books that looked interesting. Books I wouldn’t go to the shop specifically for or pay cash for, but since cash wasn’t an option, I figured I might as well pick these other books up. I think this kind of thing shows a person a lot about themselves that they can’t see too often because of the limited financial resources we have, and it was pivotal for me.

After that, I’d visit the library/bookstores and spend WAY more time perusing, not getting hung up on genres or reading the backs of books. If the title and cover seemed interesting, I’d read it.

I’ve had a lot more success this way with books with only a few glaring exceptions.
 
I’ve had mixed success with book clubs for that reason. I just did a buddy read in Instagram for Stephen King’s “Fairy Tale,” and that was pretty fun but mostly because I already knew I wanted to read it.

At one point this year I was able to volunteer at a used bookshop after work for about a month. Compensation was in store credit for any book except the classics that they sold (I got a Shakespeare collection from 1880 with an inscription from 1885 for $87, though! Super affordable for how old and beautiful it is).

At first, I picked up books I knew I wanted. When those ran out, I picked up authors I knew I liked. Then authors I THOUGHT I would like. And then, when those were all exhausted, I would be alphabetizing shelves and find random books that looked interesting. Books I wouldn’t go to the shop specifically for or pay cash for, but since cash wasn’t an option, I figured I might as well pick these other books up. I think this kind of thing shows a person a lot about themselves that they can’t see too often because of the limited financial resources we have, and it was pivotal for me.

After that, I’d visit the library/bookstores and spend WAY more time perusing, not getting hung up on genres or reading the backs of books. If the title and cover seemed interesting, I’d read it.

I’ve had a lot more success this way with books with only a few glaring exceptions.
Well said, @LukuleleStrings ! I've had much the same experience in recent years, which is one of the many reasons I've really enjoyed the free "Libby" app offered by our local lending library. Through Libby, I'm able to search for books that have been digitized and have been amazed at the extent of great literature that's available.

Though I don't enjoy reading on / through an electronic device, a multitude of titles have been converted to audio, and it's possible to "borrow"/ download the book and listen to its unabridged content. It's extremely convenient. I've lost count of those I borrowed, listed to for half an hour, and returned the same day because I didn't like either subject matter or narrator.

The narrator's voice and inflection is a huge factor. For example, though I've seldom found myself not enjoying any printed book written by John Grisham and Lee Child, I only enjoy the audio versions narrated by Scott Brick. "Go Set a Watchman", Harper Lee's much-maligned follow-up to "To Kill A Mockingbird" received fairly lousy reviews, but I found the audio version highly well-done and entertaining. My adult son and I listened to the entire book during a long road trip. Many of the cowboy novels by Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour are available as audiobooks, and the format is often much the same as old-time radio shows with different voices for different characters, limited musical accompaniment and even sound effects.
 
The narrator's voice and inflection is a huge factor.
Oh my, an audiobook lives or dies by the narrator's ability. I have some books that I love to read, they're absolute favourites, and then I listened to a sample of the audiobook and thought that was the most disinteresting and disappointing thing I'd ever heard, thankfully I had read the book and not been first introduced to it through audiobook. I find that it can frequently (but not always) be the case that an author should not narrate their own book; I can't tell you how many self-narrated books I just couldn't tolerate. There are many. Stephen Fry, however, is a stellar exception to that rule, in my opinion, even if he is a bit of a pompous ass at times, he's an entertaining pompous ass.
 
Just finished Paul Pringle's Bad City, which was a good read for me.

I'm now partway through Annie Jacobsen's Area 51, which is interesting, but maybe not interesting enough for me to keep going with it. I'm about 1/4 of the way through and already thinking about what else I could be reading instead. Not a good sign for me finishing it, but I could see why others might find it fascinating.

Audiobooks: The narrator totally makes a difference. I usually check the samples on Amazon and decide if I want to put a hold on something at the library based on that. There is one recently I thought I wanted, but the sample convinced me that I'd not be able to tolerate listening to it. I'm not sure the library had it anyway. But they're great to listen to while cooking, eating, and other tasks where hands aren't able to hold a book. The library has a decent selection.
 
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