Happy Friday! What are you reading? (6/27/14)

[christy082]

Last Friday in June! Wow the year is flying by!

What are you reading? How do you like it?

QOTW: Any book releases this year that you are looking forward to?

[christy082]

I'm reading Plastic Purge: How to Use Less Plastic, Eat Better, Keep Toxins Out of Your Body, and Help Save the Sea Turtles!
by Michael SanClements. It's #40 for the year. I'm only 1 chapter in so too soon to tell how I like it, but I do like the way it is written (casual, easy to understand, not overly scientific).

QOTW: The only one that comes to mind right now is Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins.

[dorothyinAus]

I'm reading The Assassination of the Archduke.  It's really very interesting.  I've read quite several books about Tsar Nicholas II and others on the children and grandchildren of Queen Victoria, but this is an interesting look at royals I really only knew peripherally.  The authors have really done a very good job so far in making the Archduke a likable character, though I have no idea what his character was in person.

QOTW:  I'm honestly not sure of what's coming out this year.  Since books are so expensive in Australia, I really don't pay too much attention to release dates.  I splurge on Amazon when I get gift certificates for birthday or Christmas presents and get all the series books I have missed.  Otherwise I get most of my books from remainder sales or at cheap overstock-type bookstores, so I'm often months, if not years behind on release dates.

[charlatti]

The Shadow Year by Hannah Richell. It's light and chick-lit-ish but enjoyable, definitely plot-driven rather than character-driven. I dislike most of the characters, but the story is still engrossing.

QOTW: I'm most excited about Louise Penny's new Inspector Gamache book, The Long Way Home. Tana French has a new one soon, and there will be new Grace book from Julie Hyzy (August, I think?). Also Rebecca Makkai -- she wrote The Borrower, which I really enjoyed. The Black Hour by Lori Rader-Day -- supposed to be a literary mystery, and she's a friend of a friend. My library is great about getting new stuff, so I watch for things and then get myself on the reserve list early.

[msmerymac]

Perhaps much like dorothyinAus, I'm reading The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914, in "honor" of the centennial anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which is tomorrow. It's pretty good. I'm learning a LOT about military and political history that I didn't know, especially in the Balkans, but it's a long book and kind of dense, so it's taking me quite a while!

I haven't read the classic work on WWI - the Guns of August - but I'll probably do that in "honor" of the start of the actual war this year.

QOTW: I still have not read Allegiant (did that come out this year or last year?) or Dreams of Gods and Monsters. I want to re-read the first two books in each series before reading the final book, and I just haven't found the time yet. So that's all, really. Also, I mostly get my books from the library on kindle, so I have to wait until they are available, which is usually quite a while after they are released!

[frog]

I'm currently reading A Game of Thrones. It took me forever to get started on that series, but H keeps saying he wants to watch the show and I refuse to before reading the books, so I had to get started. It's good so far, but I'm having difficulties getting into it. Changing viewpoints of characters is one of my least favorite literary devices. I understand it's necessary to get all these story lines going, but it's still difficult for me to get into.

QOTW: On 9/16 the 3rd book of Ken Follett's Century Trilogy is coming out. I can't wait! I've actually been holding off reading the 2nd one as well so I can read them back to back. Though, I suppose I'll have to reread the first as well

[Wallflower]

Still working on The Goldfinch, but got distracted by a romance that released this week (When Dawn Breaks, by Maya Banks) and by a bunch of work stuff that exploded yesterday.

And like Charlatti, I'm almost counting the days until the next Louise Penny book releases. I love her mysteries!

[2curlydogs]

I may or may not be listening to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on CD with my son.

Otherwise, still plugging thru The Plantagenets. Edward I just disemboweled Dafydd ap Gruffydd.

I also started The Paris Wife by Paula McLain.

[itsme]

Jun 27, 2014 8:26:59 GMT -5 frog said:

I'm currently reading A Game of Thrones. It took me forever to get started on that series, but H keeps saying he wants to watch the show and I refuse to before reading the books, so I had to get started. It's good so far, but I'm having difficulties getting into it. Changing viewpoints of characters is one of my least favorite literary devices. I understand it's necessary to get all these story lines going, but it's still difficult for me to get into.

I had to watch one or two episodes of the show to be able to understand who was who in the book.  After that I was fully immersed.

[itsme]

I am currently listening to Pearl of China bu Anchee Min. It's not a bad book. It's keeping my interest but it's not a book that I can't wait to get back to.

I'm reading A Dance with Dragons. I really missed these characters! I'm not too thrilled that more characters are being introduced though. It's so much to keep up with as it is.

QOTW: Not really looking forward to any books being released since I don't keep up with that stuff. I did look up when the third book in The Passage trilogy will be out. Supposedly 2014 but that may have changed. I really liked The Passage but didn't are much for The Twelve so I don't know how excited I will be to read City of Mirrors.

[christy082]

I thought of another one I'm looking forward to: The Infinite Sea: The Second Book of the 5th Wave by Rick Yancey is being released in September.

[Deleted]

I just returned to A Feast For Crows, after reading several other books since I put it down. Now I'm so confused, particularly about the plot lines in Dorne and Braavos.

But I'm trying to power through because the show has started surpassing where I was, and I prefer to read it first.

QOTW: I can't think of anything. I'm rarely on top of the new releases. I wait for others to figure out something is good first. I mean, I just watched Breaking Bad (in it's entirety) a couple of months ago.

[mrspez07]

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd.
So far so good.

I don't really pay attention to media releases, unless I hear about them randomly, I don't really follow too many authors other than Diana Gabaldon.

[charlatti]

Jun 27, 2014 13:23:59 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

I just finished The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith. I really liked it, but would have liked a bit more Robin in this one. Hopefully she'll play a bigger role in installment #3 (if there is one?)

I've heard there are supposed to be seven, but I'm not sure how reliable that info was.

[Pippin]

I'm plugging away at Panic by Lauren Oliver not very far in unfortunately after a busy week but I'm hoping to finish it this weekend.

QOTW: The only book I was waiting came out in April so nothing at the moment. I honestly don't have an author right now that I'm dying to read everything they publish:(

[dorothyinAus]

Jun 27, 2014 8:10:32 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

I haven't read the classic work on WWI - the Guns of August - but I'll probably do that in "honor" of the start of the actual war this year.

My Dad and I had a spat over the start of WWI because of that book.  I was telling him that I was reading The Assassination of the Archduke because of the anniversary at the end of June.  And he insisted that the assassination could not have happened in June because it's "The Guns of August!"  Much friendly family argument and research and it turns out we were both right.

I'm not really interested in the war itself; I've never been a military history buff, but I am interested in the fall of the empires and the fate of the royals.  I am also very interested in the between-the-wars period.  I'm sure it was a throw-away discussion in Kerry Greenwood's Murder in Montparnasse, but the discussion was between older two hotel workers in Paris in 1918 about how the younger generation won't take advice from the older generation, and the concluding line was "That's because we advised them to die."  It put a whole different spin on WWI and the between-the-wars period for me.

Also, Tsar Nicholas II and the Russian Revolution is my pet historical period, and while WWI isn't a big factor in Russia after the revolution began, it does play a rather big role in the fall of the Romanovs.  It is so very interesting to see how so much of the world is interconnected.  I never tied everything together in school history classes the way I can when I read things now.  It's my biggest complaint with how history is taught, but that's another discussion entirely!

[whitemerlot]

I'm reading The Light Between Oceans.

I'm behind on my reading but would like to get back to reading a book a week.

[aurora]

Jun 27, 2014 8:26:59 GMT -5 frog said:

I'm currently reading A Game of Thrones. It took me forever to get started on that series, but H keeps saying he wants to watch the show and I refuse to before reading the books, so I had to get started. It's good so far, but I'm having difficulties getting into it. Changing viewpoints of characters is one of my least favorite literary devices. I understand it's necessary to get all these story lines going, but it's still difficult for me to get into.

QOTW: On 9/16 the 3rd book of Ken Follett's Century Trilogy is coming out. I can't wait! I've actually been holding off reading the 2nd one as well so I can read them back to back. Though, I suppose I'll have to reread the first as well

I'm re-reading this right now.

Unfortunately I think the POV-switching gets worse as the series goes on, at least through book 4.

[aurora]

Jun 27, 2014 9:11:49 GMT -5 2curlydogs said:

I may or may not be listening to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on CD with my son.

Otherwise, still plugging thru The Plantagenets. Edward I just disemboweled Dafydd ap Gruffydd.

I also started The Paris Wife by Paula McLain.

There is never anything to be ashamed about reading HP.

[aurora]

Jun 27, 2014 11:38:15 GMT -5 @stalkermom said:

I just started Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling).  It's the second Cormoran Strike mystery and I really liked the first one.  I had to buy it at Barnes and Noble because the publisher is one of the ones in a dispute with Amazon and you can't get it there. Or you can, but it won't ship for 4 months for something..... Looking forward to a weekend of reading and World Cup soccer.

Oh, thanks for the reminder to put this on my list!

[BlackCanary]

A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Marting

QOTW: I really can't think of anything. 

[MrsAxilla]

I'm re-reading Outlander. Watching Jamie and Claire fall in love forthe first time is so sweet. I'll probably re-read the second one, too, but I don't think I have it in me to read the entire series again.

QOTD: Stephen King just released Mr. Mercedes, and I think Under the Dome Part Two is set for later this year.  I'm also looking forward to the new Anne Rice - Prince Lestat or something like that.

[Pippin]

Jun 28, 2014 23:13:36 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

I'm re-reading Outlander. Watching Jamie and Claire fall in love forthe first time is so sweet. I'll probably re-read the second one, too, but I don't think I have it in me to read the entire series again.

QOTD: Stephen King just released Mr. Mercedes, and I think Under the Dome Part Two is set for later this year.  I'm also looking forward to the new Anne Rice - Prince Lestat or something like that.

Oh I forgot about Prince Lestat. Definitely looking forward to that one.

[msmerymac]

Jun 27, 2014 18:12:36 GMT -5 dorothyinAus said:

Jun 27, 2014 8:10:32 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

I haven't read the classic work on WWI - the Guns of August - but I'll probably do that in "honor" of the start of the actual war this year.

My Dad and I had a spat over the start of WWI because of that book.  I was telling him that I was reading The Assassination of the Archduke because of the anniversary at the end of June.  And he insisted that the assassination could not have happened in June because it's "The Guns of August!"  Much friendly family argument and research and it turns out we were both right.

I'm not really interested in the war itself; I've never been a military history buff, but I am interested in the fall of the empires and the fate of the royals.  I am also very interested in the between-the-wars period.  I'm sure it was a throw-away discussion in Kerry Greenwood's Murder in Montparnasse, but the discussion was between older two hotel workers in Paris in 1918 about how the younger generation won't take advice from the older generation, and the concluding line was "That's because we advised them to die."  It put a whole different spin on WWI and the between-the-wars period for me.

Also, Tsar Nicholas II and the Russian Revolution is my pet historical period, and while WWI isn't a big factor in Russia after the revolution began, it does play a rather big role in the fall of the Romanovs.  It is so very interesting to see how so much of the world is interconnected.  I never tied everything together in school history classes the way I can when I read things now.  It's my biggest complaint with how history is taught, but that's another discussion entirely!

I'm also not really into military history, but I've been trying, I guess. I recently did a research project about the War of 1812, and I have several books to read about WWI and WWII, etc. I used to consider myself a Civil War buff, but the actual battles kind of bore me to tears. I have an MA in history, but from a cultural perspective. I'm always just really interested in the way normal people lived. They don't know they're living in history, but how were their lives and actions affected by all these other machinations? What was normal to them that would be absurd to us now? 

I had friends in grad school who were extremely interested in WWI, mainly because you have to understand WWI to understand WWII. I'm going to Belgium later this year and Ypres is a stop on a bike tour we're doing... so knowing more about WWI will probably make that more powerful.

The Sleepwalkers is pretty cool because it's all about the lead up to the war and the history of tension and how it could have been avoided, but also wasn't, obviously... The first 2/3 are about pre-1914 and the then the last 1/3 or so is about the July Crisis.

And my husband knew about Saturday being the centennial anniversary of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and asked me yesterday how long it took for WWI to start after that. I was like, "Five or six weeks. Guns of August!"

[2curlydogs]

Jun 27, 2014 8:10:32 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Perhaps much like dorothyinAus, I'm reading The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914, in "honor" of the centennial anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which is tomorrow. It's pretty good. I'm learning a LOT about military and political history that I didn't know, especially in the Balkans, but it's a long book and kind of dense, so it's taking me quite a while!

I haven't read the classic work on WWI - the Guns of August - but I'll probably do that in "honor" of the start of the actual war this year.

QOTW: I still have not read Allegiant (did that come out this year or last year?) or Dreams of Gods and Monsters. I want to re-read the first two books in each series before reading the final book, and I just haven't found the time yet. So that's all, really. Also, I mostly get my books from the library on kindle, so I have to wait until they are available, which is usually quite a while after they are released!

I really like this idea! Stealing it!

My grandpa fought in WWI, so maybe I'll get my family reading it as well.

[apelila]

I'm reading
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (it's okay, about 35 pages in)
- The 9th Girl by Tami Hoag (I like it; very gruesome and gory though, about 100 pages in)
- still plodding along with Don Quixote (only been a year and a half... I'm embarrassed to admit how close to the beginning I still am)