Books you're currently reading??? - Page 106

dar512 · 09-28-2009, 01:35 PM

Just finished "His Majesty's Dragon". The Napoleonic wars, but with dragons. Master and Commander crossed with The Dragonriders of Pern.

How could you not like this book?

jinx · 09-28-2009, 02:12 PM

I finally got the boy to start reading Johnny Tremain after bugging him for 2 years about it. He read the first the first chapter last night and decided it doesn't suck.

glatt · 09-28-2009, 02:37 PM

Johnny Tremain was a good book.

I grew up in New England, and live in the South now. It's funny to see the stuff my kids are taught in school. My American history education was very Boston centric, like Johnny Tremain. Here, everything is Virginia.

A year or two ago was the anniversary of the Jamestown settlement. Very big deal down here. I think I saw one mention, once, of the Popham settlement during the whole thing. No other mention that both colonies started the same summer, and nothing about how, while half of the colony in Virginia died, the Popham colony in Maine was much more successful.

jinx · 09-28-2009, 02:55 PM

Yeah, it was required reading where I went to school in NY.

The way our history requirements are written (for homeschooling, to comply with state standards) we must include US and PA history in grades 1-6. The PA stuff is easy since we live in historically significant area with lots of sites and museums. We've studied the Revolutionary war pretty extensively and will be moving on to civil war stuff soon ("what's so civil about war anyway?")

I'm excited to go to OBX so we can include some history stuff that's out of our area. Roanoke (lost colony) specifically, but also the Wright bros museum and stuff.

Sundae · 09-28-2009, 03:02 PM

Second attempt. No reason you should know this except I wiped out a fair amount of type and it might make me more angry as I'm now doing this second time round. Bear this in mind.

I'm usually pretty bad at remembering to review books I've had from the library. I'm also not great at being objective - my general review would be Great story, liked it or, Bleurgh. I have tried to be more fair, but I am not a reviewer.

Also, of the last batch, I've included some I got out for Mum - this was over the operation/ recuperation period, so they were not all that taxing.

Skin Trade - Laurell K Hamilton - what can I say? I picked it up out of sheer laziness. At least I have that in common with the author. Less group sex than usual. Less sex in fact. It was okayish. I don't recommend it. Will I get the next one from the library if I see it? Yes I will. I'd like to think that's a comment on modern horror rather than my own tastes. But if I wake screaming in the night it's despair not fright..

The Cure - Athol Dickson - Hmmmmmmmmm. Something is foreshadowed, perhaps explained/ resolved in this book. I went back twice to try to find it because I didn't quite get the denouement. I couldn't find it. My fault, but it bugged the hell out of me. All I wanted was to reread the pivotal point of the book and I couldn't find it.

Twas okay. Glas I read it. Would read again, but only to find the one part I need clarification for. Don't get me wrong, I rarely skim (see later book) and never speed read, but in order to grasp the heart of this book, you need to really understand this one point. I didn't get it when I read it, and until I read it again I cannot match up the two sides. That's all.

Jonathan Maberry - Bad Moon Rising I might have missed out by reading the third in a trilogy, but the intro assures me it can be read as a stand-alone.
The reviews also say it rivals Stephen King.

Don't believe them.
The multiple and concluding plot lines make it hard to read as a stand-alone and the author lacks King's lightness of touch.

It's okay - but in the last 2/3 I started to skim. Oh, big battle in hospital? I can skim that. Oh, big battle in hollow? I can skim til that ends up with main characters alive. Some intersting folklore, but choked, choked, gagging in detail.

The Serial Killers Club [sic] - Jeff Povey
Good, clean fun!
Okay, a bit gruesome, but laugh out loud funny without being a comedy.
Very well observed with a very flawed hero. Nice piece of fluff - if you like fluff that comes with blood on.

Murder Most Fab - Julian Clary Ah now. Talking about fluff and blood. This is the ultimate accidental/ oops did I do that/ blood and guts and every day life and showbusiness tale. Brits know Julian Clary as a very camp gay stand-up. Very intelligent and cutting. He brings 75% of that to the book, which is more than may writers. He has a deft touch with the plot too, outrageous though it is. And some fun comes from wondering if/ who is based on real life characters. I recommend wholeheartedly to Brits, and to borrow for Merkins (to see it it translates)

Sundae · 09-28-2009, 03:29 PM

FTR - realised the ones I got for Mum were all Agatha Christies (okay, not all, but she has the chick-lits downstairs.)

No point in reviewing an Agatha Christie.
Fun to read, pretty easy to untangle - except those where she withholds vital info til the last chapter. Dated, but intelligent. And I've seen all three (of the ones I got out) on TV anyway - Miss Marple is a staple here.

Trilby · 09-28-2009, 07:26 PM

Slave narratives. Tons and tons and tons of 'em...all over the map. Was NOTHING written in the mid-19th C. besides slave narratives? (In American lit, I mean, natch) One has to wonder just how much actual slaving was going on when everydamnbody was writing a narrative about it...sheesh!

plthijinx · 09-29-2009, 09:27 AM

just finished "Sail" by James Patterson last night and started the "Left Behind" series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins

henry quirk · 10-02-2009, 10:04 AM

'Where the Wild Things Are', over and over, to my 3 year old nephew.

Queen of the Ryche · 10-02-2009, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by henry quirk

'Where the Wild Things Are', over and over, to my 3 year old nephew.

...and to think I used to dislike you a bit.......opinion changed. A bit.

We're currently stuck on Tea With Ruby, as she has a copy autographed by the illustrator, so now PrincessotR thinks the book was written about her....

elSicomoro · 10-03-2009, 11:19 AM

Caring for Victor by Robert Ellis: Ellis is the Army nurse that had to make sure Saddam stayed alive before he was executed. The nurse is from here in St. Louis.

Gotcha Capitalism by Bob Sullivan: I like reading him on The Red Tape Chronicles on msnbc.com, so I figure this should be a good book.

wolf · 10-10-2009, 09:37 PM

I won another Firstreads book on Goodreads.

Basically, you end up with free books by promising that you'll review them. The more you review, the greater the likelihood that you'll be chosen to receive more books.

2666 - Roberto Bolaño

The book was published posthumously. The author died young. The author description doesn't say of what. Wikipedia barely says ... hints at a heroin addiction and maybe liver failure as a complication of Hep-C.

Anyway, it's a strange book. I'm not really sure what it's about, and I'm a chunk and a half into it. The book is divided into 5 parts, that have titles that read like the names of Friends episodes, "The Part about the Critics," "The Part about Fate," and so on. I thought this was a really clever observation, until I found out that the Time Magazine Critic said the same thing a year ago.

henry quirk · 10-13-2009, 12:58 PM

'In the Night Kitchen'

"I'm not the milk and the milk's not me...I'm Mickey!"

My nephew loves the story 'cause Mickey flies around in a bread dough plane.

The Grandma hates it 'cause Mickey runs around naked.

My brother, the dad, just rolls his eyes and says, 'that Sendak fella must be from California...'

HA!

Henry · 10-17-2009, 10:14 AM

State Of The Art - Iain M. Banks

Juniper · 10-17-2009, 11:06 AM

Mary Barton. So is Bri. Damn depressing.

09-28-2009, 01:35 PM	#1576
dar512 dar512 is now Pete Zicato Join Date: May 2003 Location: Chicago suburb Posts: 4,968	Just finished "His Majesty's Dragon". The Napoleonic wars, but with dragons. Master and Commander crossed with The Dragonriders of Pern. How could you not like this book? __________________ "Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain." -- Friedrich Schiller

09-28-2009, 02:12 PM	#1577
jinx Come on, cat. Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: general vicinity of Philadelphia area Posts: 7,013	I finally got the boy to start reading Johnny Tremain after bugging him for 2 years about it. He read the first the first chapter last night and decided it doesn't suck. __________________ Crying won't help you, praying won't do you no good.

09-28-2009, 02:55 PM	#1579
jinx Come on, cat. Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: general vicinity of Philadelphia area Posts: 7,013	Yeah, it was required reading where I went to school in NY. The way our history requirements are written (for homeschooling, to comply with state standards) we must include US and PA history in grades 1-6. The PA stuff is easy since we live in historically significant area with lots of sites and museums. We've studied the Revolutionary war pretty extensively and will be moving on to civil war stuff soon ("what's so civil about war anyway?") I'm excited to go to OBX so we can include some history stuff that's out of our area. Roanoke (lost colony) specifically, but also the Wright bros museum and stuff. __________________ Crying won't help you, praying won't do you no good.

09-28-2009, 03:02 PM	#1580
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	Second attempt. No reason you should know this except I wiped out a fair amount of type and it might make me more angry as I'm now doing this second time round. Bear this in mind. I'm usually pretty bad at remembering to review books I've had from the library. I'm also not great at being objective - my general review would be Great story, liked it or, Bleurgh. I have tried to be more fair, but I am not a reviewer. Also, of the last batch, I've included some I got out for Mum - this was over the operation/ recuperation period, so they were not all that taxing. Skin Trade - Laurell K Hamilton - what can I say? I picked it up out of sheer laziness. At least I have that in common with the author. Less group sex than usual. Less sex in fact. It was okayish. I don't recommend it. Will I get the next one from the library if I see it? Yes I will. I'd like to think that's a comment on modern horror rather than my own tastes. But if I wake screaming in the night it's despair not fright.. The Cure - Athol Dickson - Hmmmmmmmmm. Something is foreshadowed, perhaps explained/ resolved in this book. I went back twice to try to find it because I didn't quite get the denouement. I couldn't find it. My fault, but it bugged the hell out of me. All I wanted was to reread the pivotal point of the book and I couldn't find it. Twas okay. Glas I read it. Would read again, but only to find the one part I need clarification for. Don't get me wrong, I rarely skim (see later book) and never speed read, but in order to grasp the heart of this book, you need to really understand this one point. I didn't get it when I read it, and until I read it again I cannot match up the two sides. That's all. Jonathan Maberry - Bad Moon Rising I might have missed out by reading the third in a trilogy, but the intro assures me it can be read as a stand-alone. The reviews also say it rivals Stephen King. Don't believe them. The multiple and concluding plot lines make it hard to read as a stand-alone and the author lacks King's lightness of touch. It's okay - but in the last 2/3 I started to skim. Oh, big battle in hospital? I can skim that. Oh, big battle in hollow? I can skim til that ends up with main characters alive. Some intersting folklore, but choked, choked, gagging in detail. The Serial Killers Club [sic] - Jeff Povey Good, clean fun! Okay, a bit gruesome, but laugh out loud funny without being a comedy. Very well observed with a very flawed hero. Nice piece of fluff - if you like fluff that comes with blood on. Murder Most Fab - Julian Clary Ah now. Talking about fluff and blood. This is the ultimate accidental/ oops did I do that/ blood and guts and every day life and showbusiness tale. Brits know Julian Clary as a very camp gay stand-up. Very intelligent and cutting. He brings 75% of that to the book, which is more than may writers. He has a deft touch with the plot too, outrageous though it is. And some fun comes from wondering if/ who is based on real life characters. I recommend wholeheartedly to Brits, and to borrow for Merkins (to see it it translates) __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

09-28-2009, 03:29 PM	#1581
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	FTR - realised the ones I got for Mum were all Agatha Christies (okay, not all, but she has the chick-lits downstairs.) No point in reviewing an Agatha Christie. Fun to read, pretty easy to untangle - except those where she withholds vital info til the last chapter. Dated, but intelligent. And I've seen all three (of the ones I got out) on TV anyway - Miss Marple is a staple here. __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

09-28-2009, 02:37 PM	#1578
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Johnny Tremain was a good book. I grew up in New England, and live in the South now. It's funny to see the stuff my kids are taught in school. My American history education was very Boston centric, like Johnny Tremain. Here, everything is Virginia. A year or two ago was the anniversary of the Jamestown settlement. Very big deal down here. I think I saw one mention, once, of the Popham settlement during the whole thing. No other mention that both colonies started the same summer, and nothing about how, while half of the colony in Virginia died, the Popham colony in Maine was much more successful.

09-28-2009, 07:26 PM	#1582
Trilby Slattern of the Swail Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 15,654	Slave narratives. Tons and tons and *tons* of 'em...all over the map. Was NOTHING written in the mid-19th C. besides slave narratives? (In American lit, I mean, natch) One has to wonder just how much actual slaving was going on when everydamnbody was writing a narrative about it...sheesh! __________________ In Barrie's play and novel, the roles of fairies are brief: they are allies to the Lost Boys, the source of fairy dust and ...They are portrayed as dangerous, whimsical and extremely clever but quite hedonistic. "Shall I give you a kiss?" Peter asked and, jerking an acorn button off his coat, solemnly presented it to her. —James Barrie Wimminfolk they be tricksy. - ZenGum

09-29-2009, 09:27 AM	#1583
plthijinx Master Dwellar Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 4,197	just finished "Sail" by James Patterson last night and started the "Left Behind" series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins __________________ For your dreams to come true, you must first have a dream.

10-02-2009, 10:04 AM	#1584
henry quirk maskless: yesterday, today, tomorrow Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 2,162	'Where the Wild Things Are', over and over, to my 3 year old nephew. __________________ like the other guy sez: 'not really back, blah-blah-blah...'

10-03-2009, 11:19 AM	#1586
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	Caring for Victor by Robert Ellis: Ellis is the Army nurse that had to make sure Saddam stayed alive before he was executed. The nurse is from here in St. Louis. Gotcha Capitalism by Bob Sullivan: I like reading him on The Red Tape Chronicles on msnbc.com, so I figure this should be a good book.

10-10-2009, 09:37 PM	#1587
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	I won another Firstreads book on Goodreads. Basically, you end up with free books by promising that you'll review them. The more you review, the greater the likelihood that you'll be chosen to receive more books. 2666 - Roberto Bolaño The book was published posthumously. The author died young. The author description doesn't say of what. Wikipedia barely says ... hints at a heroin addiction and maybe liver failure as a complication of Hep-C. Anyway, it's a strange book. I'm not really sure what it's about, and I'm a chunk and a half into it. The book is divided into 5 parts, that have titles that read like the names of Friends episodes, "The Part about the Critics," "The Part about Fate," and so on. I thought this was a really clever observation, until I found out that the Time Magazine Critic said the same thing a year ago. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

10-13-2009, 12:58 PM	#1588
henry quirk maskless: yesterday, today, tomorrow Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 2,162	'In the Night Kitchen' "I'm not the milk and the milk's not me...I'm Mickey!" My nephew loves the story 'cause Mickey flies around in a bread dough plane. The Grandma hates it 'cause Mickey runs around naked. My brother, the dad, just rolls his eyes and says, 'that Sendak fella must be from California...' HA! __________________ like the other guy sez: 'not really back, blah-blah-blah...'

10-17-2009, 10:14 AM	#1589
Henry King Of Oreos Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Possum Holler NC Posts: 33	State Of The Art - Iain M. Banks __________________ When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained. ~ Mark Twain

10-17-2009, 11:06 AM	#1590
Juniper I know, right? Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 1,539	Mary Barton. So is Bri. Damn depressing.

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