Happy Friday! What Are You Reading? (8/22)

[dorothyinAus]

Are you enjoying it?

QOTW:  Who was the last author you saw in person?  If you haven't seen any authors reading/speaking, who would you like to see?

[dorothyinAus]

I'm reading The Clue Is in the Pudding, the second-to-last installment of the Pennyfoot Hotel series.  I've been trying to catch up some series I've gotten behind on this year.  I'm enjoying it, but you can telling the author was getting tired of the characters.  I'm not too far in, so I can't say anything about he mystery yet, but I have my suspicions about the killer -- the last one I read was very easy to figure out.  I had the killer pegged as soon as the character was introduced.

QOTW:  I went and saw astronaut Chris Hadfield (the one who did the YouTube video of Bowie's Space Oddity) last night as the opening address of the Melbourne Writer's Festival.  If you ever have the chance to see him speak, take it!  It was great fun!  He talked about his book, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, without actually reading any of it.  Afterward he was signing books.  It was a great night out.

[christy082]

I"m halfway through Oryx and Crake. It's so depressing, ugh.

QOTW: none I can think of.

[charlatti]

Watership Down. I've never read it and decided I should. I'm enjoying it, I think.

QOTW: Most recent would have been my BIL when he was doing his book tour. I'd love to see Louise Penny. I get her facebook updates in my feed and she just seems so sweet and interesting. Actually, I don't think there's an author I wouldn't want to hear, but I just don't seek out readings. I should do that.

[Booze Raccoon]

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta  I LOVE it!  But I also love the show.

I've never seen an author.  I might like to see Khaled Hosseini.  IDK, I don't get 'starstruck' and I feel like I'd have nothing to say to an author besides "I love your books" which feels strange for me.

[frog]

1984. I realized I've never read it. I already know the story of course, but the writing is impressive.

I don't remember as far as the author question goes... I'd like to see Bill Bryson, he comes here every now and then because he's from my city. I missed him the last time he came.

[Stingyshark]

I always want to play here, but I always forget, and I rarely make time to read - but I've been trying to put it higher on my priority list these days.

I'm reading: The impossible knife of memory, Laurie Halse Anderson
Listening to: The Friday Night Knitting Club, Kate Jacobs

QOTD: Never met anyone.. Never really thought about meeting anyone. 

[msmerymac]

The Moviegoer by Percy Walker. It's okay.

QOTW: I saw John Green and Judy Blume at the LA Times Festival of Books in 2012 or 2011. That was probably the last major author event I went to.

[itsme]

A Dance with Dragons - It will never end.

QOTW: I dopn't think I've ever met or seen an author. I have no desire to meet one.

[kiminky]

Aug 22, 2014 7:43:22 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

One Plus One by JoJo Moyes. I'm enjoying it.

QOTD: I saw Khaled Hosseini speak at Harvard the week And the Mountains Echoed came out. He was incredibly kind and engaging.

I just finished listening to this, I really enjoyed it (almost more then You Before Me).

[AJL]

I'm finishing up Night Broken by Patricia Briggs. Total brain candy.

QOTW: I think it was Barbara Ehrenreich when her book Nickeled and Dimed came out.

[rootbeerfloat]

I'm about to start Voyager (Outlander #3).

QOTW: Not sure I would consider him an author, but LL Cool J did a book signing at my college back in the day.

[aurora]

Aug 22, 2014 6:11:17 GMT -5 christy082 said:

I"m halfway through Oryx and Crake. It's so depressing, ugh.

QOTW: none I can think of.

It is depressing, but I can't wait to discuss it!

[aurora]

I just finished An Echo in the Bone last night and started Scarlett (the sequel to Gone with the Wind) this morning. It's too early to tell if I like Scarlett or not, but I really enjoyed GWTW. However, I really want to pick up Written in my Own Heart's Blood now to find out how all the stories end.

I'm also listening to This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett on audiobook. It's not something I would have sought out, but I've been having trouble with finishing audiobooks before my library loan expires so I figured a compilation of essays made sense. I am enjoying it, though.

QOTW: myself, technically, but I just write dull scientific stuff. I can't think of when I met an author of the type we would get excited about here.

ETA - there are a lot of authors I would like to meet.  JK Rowling was the first who came to mind.

[dorothyinAus]

Aug 22, 2014 8:52:27 GMT -5 frog said:

I don't remember as far as the author question goes... I'd like to see Bill Bryson, he comes here every now and then because he's from my city. I missed him the last time he came.

I saw Bill Bryson when he was in Melbourne earlier this year.  He read from The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, but spent most of the time discussing the book he wrote about Australia -- the copy I have us titled In A Sunburned Country (from the poem My Country by Dorothea Mackellar), though it has been retitled Down Under.  I understand why he spoke so much about the Australia book, but I would have preferred more discussion about the other books.  And frankly, he had a sand artist helping illustrate his comments, and the sand artist really upstaged him, I'm sorry the artists wasn't featured more.

[msmerymac]

Aug 22, 2014 11:47:53 GMT -5 AJL said:

I'm finishing up Night Broken by Patricia Briggs. Total brain candy.

QOTW: I think it was Barbara Ehrenreich when her book Nickeled and Dimed came out.

I saw her during that tour, too! She came to my college. 

[persa]

I literally just finished To Kill a Mockingbird and am taking a little GBCN break and then starting One plus One. I really liked TKAM and I'm kind of glad I didn't really know the full plot when I read it but it was a lot longer than I expected.

I had to disable the wireless on my Kindle so that library couldn't take my copy of TKAM away from me when I was so close to finishing it! I felt a little bad but not bad enough not to do it, lol.

[CG]

Right now I'm reading The Book of my Lives. I'm enjoying it so far, I don't normally enjoy non-fiction, but it's pretty engaging. I just finished Visions by Kelley Armstrong (good continuation of the story, but I wish it would unfold faster!) and Fool's Assassin by Robin Hobb (really good, but oh geez the end is a cliffhanger). Oh and I'm re-reading The Name of the Wind, well, listening to it with my husband who hasn't read it yet.

QOTW: I actually just got back from the World SciFi and Fantasy convention (Worldcon) so I've just seen quite a few of my favorite authors this past week. I was at panels with Scott Lynch, Robin Hobb, Max Gladstone, Pat Rothfuss, Kelley Armstrong, Carrie Vaughn, Ben Bova, Alistair Reynolds and more. It was really interesting to hear them discuss different topics in the worlds that they work in. I've found that most authors are pretty well spoken, so it's often fun to hear them elaborate on how they work or why they've chosen to write things a different way. Or talk about the economics of moving armies in a medieval setting.

[Pippin]

I just started At The Mountains Of Maddeness by HP Lovecraft. I picked up the ecollection of his entire works so I'm looking forward to a few different stories of his.

QOTW: I haven't really met any authors recently but I would love to get my Harry potter books all signed.

[Wallflower]

I just finished Murder with Puffins, and am patiently waiting for Louise Penny's new book, coming out on Tuesday.

I'm not sure when I've seen an author recently, but I remember seeing Tony Hillerman in college, and I was a big fan of his and it had a big impact. I remember him talking about retiring from the newspaper business, all prepared to work fulltime as a writer. And he'd get up, and have breakfast. Then maybe take a walk. Then it was time for lunch, you know. And after lunch, it's always fun to play a game of solitare. And then General Hospital was on. Made me laugh, and love him all the more to know he procrastinated too.

And John Nichols spoke at my college graduation. He was very, very good.

[booknerd]

I'm two days late, but I just finished reading One Lavender Ribbon by Heather Burch. It was really good in the beginning and again towards the end some, but for the most part it was only okay. I was thinking it would be more Sarah Jio and less...dragged on? Several times I literally thought there was nothing else to write about but she kept on writing anyway.

QOTW: I saw Nicholas Sparks a few years ago for a signing. I got a book signed for me, my sister, and my grandmother. I'm not a big fan of his but I don't pass up signed books lol. I'd looooove to meet Nora Roberts or JK Rowling. Getting my special Harry Potter books signed would make me freak out with excitement.

[apelila]

I'm in the exact middle of OITNB. I had to turn it back in to the library and couldn't renew it because someone else had a hold on it. Blarg! I hope to get it back soon so I can finish it.



I met a couple romance/erotic authors at a book fest in Austin a few months ago. I don't know who any of them were because they aren't authors I read.    My friend I went with was a big fan though, and made up for me not knowing them! 

[worldman]

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood