usvi-on-line
What are you reading?
I have been spending lots of time packing to move so the only time I've been reading is when I collapse into bed at night. "The Glass Castle" is a memior by Jeannette Walls. It is a great look at what it is like to grow up in poverty with an alcoholic father and a mother who is nothing short of strange. I really enjoyed this book.
AH
AH
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Marcia (Mrs. Pete)
- Posts: 1576
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 9:40 pm
- Location: Madison Area, Wisconsin
Just started Freedom. I believe this is one I should have gotten in hard copy. Sometimes, the feel of a book is lost when you can't sense the depth of the pages and effort. I love my ipad but, there are times I miss the feel of a book.PA Girl wrote:I finished Freedom last night. Overall, I liked it.liamsaunt wrote:I read it. Stick with it, it is very satisfying.PA Girl wrote:Who has read Freedom? I am halfway through it. It sort of depresses me but I think the way the author portrays the characters' childhoods, personality types and how that impacts their life choices is brilliant.
Marcia (Mrs. Pete)
Missing St. John. As always.
Missing St. John. As always.
If I could have reached through those pages and knocked the parents' heads together, I would have.AH wrote:I have been spending lots of time packing to move so the only time I've been reading is when I collapse into bed at night. "The Glass Castle" is a memior by Jeannette Walls. It is a great look at what it is like to grow up in poverty with an alcoholic father and a mother who is nothing short of strange. I really enjoyed this book.
AH
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Xislandgirl
- Posts: 4163
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 4:03 pm
- Location: Slightly left of center
I just started it last night!Marcia (Mrs. Pete) wrote:Just started Freedom. I believe this is one I should have gotten in hard copy. Sometimes, the feel of a book is lost when you can't sense the depth of the pages and effort. I love my ipad but, there are times I miss the feel of a book.PA Girl wrote:I finished Freedom last night. Overall, I liked it.liamsaunt wrote: I read it. Stick with it, it is very satisfying.
[quote="PA Girl"If I could have reached through those pages and knocked the parents' heads together, I would have.[/quote]
PA Girl - that's the reason I didn't buy the book. The salesgirl at the bookstore said that she absolutely loved it, but that her mother had a really hard time with it because, well, she's a mom.
PA Girl - that's the reason I didn't buy the book. The salesgirl at the bookstore said that she absolutely loved it, but that her mother had a really hard time with it because, well, she's a mom.
I just read Dishwasher by Pete Jordan. The author spends 10 years of his life travelling the country with the goal of washing dishes in all 50 states. It is a funny book, easy reading.
I am 3/4 through David Sedaris Squirrel Meets Chipmunk, a collection of story storied told by animals. It is funny, sharply funny. I enjoyed his other books and like listening to him on NPR. Several of the stories in the book I heard him read on This American Life.
I am 3/4 through David Sedaris Squirrel Meets Chipmunk, a collection of story storied told by animals. It is funny, sharply funny. I enjoyed his other books and like listening to him on NPR. Several of the stories in the book I heard him read on This American Life.
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stjohnjulie
- Posts: 570
- Joined: Fri Sep 19, 2008 10:34 am
- Location: St. John VI
Thanks for the recommendation on Dishwasher! I started it a couple of days ago and it is a great fun read. It's kind of like taking a mini vacation for my brain. This guy sounds like a real character. Not even half way through it and have had more than a couple laugh out loud moments
I read Glass Castle years ago, left an impression on me. I thought it was a great book. Not a 'vacation for my brain' but very good.
I have a Kindle, and had purchased and read Freedom, and read it all the way through when I saw it recommended here and realized I bought the wrong book. I read Freedom TM. Nothing like the book mentioned here, but I still thought it was a very interesting book. It is the second in a series, Dameon is the first one. Read that one second, liked it as well. It's a science/tech thriller kind of series.
I read Glass Castle years ago, left an impression on me. I thought it was a great book. Not a 'vacation for my brain' but very good.
I have a Kindle, and had purchased and read Freedom, and read it all the way through when I saw it recommended here and realized I bought the wrong book. I read Freedom TM. Nothing like the book mentioned here, but I still thought it was a very interesting book. It is the second in a series, Dameon is the first one. Read that one second, liked it as well. It's a science/tech thriller kind of series.
While I haven’t posted in quite some time (nor have I, unfortunately, been to St. John in recent years…need to fix that), I have been enjoying the off-topic forum, particularly the information regarding whatever has been reading. In appreciation of this, I will share what I have been reading recently (should anyone care!) – by recently, I mean over the last year or so (at least what I can remember).
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows) – highly recommended as a very easy read. Historical fiction in post-WWII 1946
Snow Flower and The Secret Fan (Lisa See) – the story of a woman living in 19th century China; enjoyed it because of the story of the woman’s friendship and for what I learned about that era
The Woods (Harlan Coben) – easy reading, crime thriller; certainly not the best book I ever read, but not a bad, easy read
The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd) – the story of a teen girl that takes place in the south in 1964, the year of the Civil Rights Act; I found the book to be okay, but I didn’t find the book believable and found the narrator to be a bit self-righteous (based on reviews, I think most people liked this book more than I did)
Outlander (Diana Gabaldon) – huge, long book that ultimately takes place in 18th century Scotland, while it involves time travel, it is not a sci-fi book. This is the first in series of six. I really enjoyed the first one…but got bored by the 2nd/3rd (never got beyond that).
The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho) – very spiritual, about an Andalusian shepherd boy; the only thing I liked about it was it was short – did not enjoy this book (this is another one that generally gets good reviews by people…
Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro) – this book held my attention from the beginning; I don’t want to say too much about the storyline for fear of ruining the book for others; the story is generally about the relationship of childhood friends, but you know immediately that things are not “normal” – the book is disturbing (but not in a Kite Runner sort of way) and will have you thinking; I did enjoy this book
Water For Elephants (Sara Gruen) – a story about life in the circus; not my favorite book; kind of interesting about what the circus life was like, but I personally can’t recommend (I know I am yet again in the minority on this one)
Heart-Shaped Box (Joe Hill) – a paranormal-type thriller; easy read, pretty good for this type of book (which I am usually not a big fan); I found myself interested in what was going to happen next, so that makes it good, right?
Books on my “To Read” List include:
The Help (I may be the only who reads this)
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand
Sarah’s Key
Hold Tight
Talk Before Sleep
Cutting for Stone
Forgotten Garden
Tea Rose
Half Broke Horses (by Jeanette Walls – for those that have not read The Glass Castle, I recommend this one)
The Passage
Someone Knows My Name
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Thanks for all the recommendations over the years – Happy Thanksgiving!
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows) – highly recommended as a very easy read. Historical fiction in post-WWII 1946
Snow Flower and The Secret Fan (Lisa See) – the story of a woman living in 19th century China; enjoyed it because of the story of the woman’s friendship and for what I learned about that era
The Woods (Harlan Coben) – easy reading, crime thriller; certainly not the best book I ever read, but not a bad, easy read
The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd) – the story of a teen girl that takes place in the south in 1964, the year of the Civil Rights Act; I found the book to be okay, but I didn’t find the book believable and found the narrator to be a bit self-righteous (based on reviews, I think most people liked this book more than I did)
Outlander (Diana Gabaldon) – huge, long book that ultimately takes place in 18th century Scotland, while it involves time travel, it is not a sci-fi book. This is the first in series of six. I really enjoyed the first one…but got bored by the 2nd/3rd (never got beyond that).
The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho) – very spiritual, about an Andalusian shepherd boy; the only thing I liked about it was it was short – did not enjoy this book (this is another one that generally gets good reviews by people…
Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro) – this book held my attention from the beginning; I don’t want to say too much about the storyline for fear of ruining the book for others; the story is generally about the relationship of childhood friends, but you know immediately that things are not “normal” – the book is disturbing (but not in a Kite Runner sort of way) and will have you thinking; I did enjoy this book
Water For Elephants (Sara Gruen) – a story about life in the circus; not my favorite book; kind of interesting about what the circus life was like, but I personally can’t recommend (I know I am yet again in the minority on this one)
Heart-Shaped Box (Joe Hill) – a paranormal-type thriller; easy read, pretty good for this type of book (which I am usually not a big fan); I found myself interested in what was going to happen next, so that makes it good, right?
Books on my “To Read” List include:
The Help (I may be the only who reads this)
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand
Sarah’s Key
Hold Tight
Talk Before Sleep
Cutting for Stone
Forgotten Garden
Tea Rose
Half Broke Horses (by Jeanette Walls – for those that have not read The Glass Castle, I recommend this one)
The Passage
Someone Knows My Name
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Thanks for all the recommendations over the years – Happy Thanksgiving!
I share your feelings, I enjoyed it but was left wanting more out of it. I thought the ending was weak, like the author got tired of writing and wanted to wrap it up ASAP.canucknyc wrote:I just finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I really enjoyed it, but at the same time felt it was lacking something. Has anyone else read it?
For some reason The Help hasn't appealed to me.
Laura, from your "to read" list, I will recommend Cutting for Stone. I was not sure if I was going to be able to keep reading it after the brutal opening, but it's really an amazing book. And I concur on "Never Let Me Go." I actually read that one on St. John some years ago. John kept asking me what I was reading that was freaking me out so much! Really disturbing, but beautifully written.
Here are some of my recent reads--all light stuff read on vacation.:
The Confession, John Grisham. I think this might be one of his best.
Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer, also by Grisham. I screened this one for my nephew. I thought it was OK, nephew loved it (he is 11).
Girls in Trucks. I forget who wrote this. It was OK, not great.
Re-read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Had to get ready for the movie.
Squirrel Meets Chipmunk by David Sedaris. Sharp and funny, but too short! It only took me an hour to read. It’s almost time to re-read his Holidays on Ice collection.
I really want a kindle or a nook for Christmas...
Laura, from your "to read" list, I will recommend Cutting for Stone. I was not sure if I was going to be able to keep reading it after the brutal opening, but it's really an amazing book. And I concur on "Never Let Me Go." I actually read that one on St. John some years ago. John kept asking me what I was reading that was freaking me out so much! Really disturbing, but beautifully written.
Here are some of my recent reads--all light stuff read on vacation.:
The Confession, John Grisham. I think this might be one of his best.
Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer, also by Grisham. I screened this one for my nephew. I thought it was OK, nephew loved it (he is 11).
Girls in Trucks. I forget who wrote this. It was OK, not great.
Re-read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Had to get ready for the movie.
Squirrel Meets Chipmunk by David Sedaris. Sharp and funny, but too short! It only took me an hour to read. It’s almost time to re-read his Holidays on Ice collection.
I really want a kindle or a nook for Christmas...
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
Just started Stephen King's new novella collection- Full Dark, No Stars.
It's good. King is a master of the short/long story. Skeleton Crew is one of the best collections of short stories ever.
You know a story's good when you think about it later. I thought about it later and not in a warm fuzzy sentimental way. I thought about rats. In the walls. Ew.
So far it is a thumb's up.
It's good. King is a master of the short/long story. Skeleton Crew is one of the best collections of short stories ever.
You know a story's good when you think about it later. I thought about it later and not in a warm fuzzy sentimental way. I thought about rats. In the walls. Ew.
So far it is a thumb's up.
Liamsaunt - thanks for the comment on Cutting for Stone...I will keep your comments in mind reading the opening of the book. As I recall, one of the reasons I selected Never Let Me Go was a recommendation on this forum from you 
That book was one of the few books that I found myself thinking about constantly. Usually, I read a chapter or two, set the book down and not think about it until I am reading it again...not NLMG.
Just picked up Tell No One...an older Harlan Coben book...so far, so good!
That book was one of the few books that I found myself thinking about constantly. Usually, I read a chapter or two, set the book down and not think about it until I am reading it again...not NLMG.Just picked up Tell No One...an older Harlan Coben book...so far, so good!
