You’re welcome!
Oh, I did too, I knew he was going to have to return to our time and that was so hard. I do like how Cooper points out that Shakespeare’s plays have turned into an almost religious experience now and so many have become such stuffy productions, when at the time, they played around with costumes, sets and had more fun.
Two recent YAs:
Summer of Yesterday, by Gaby Trianna, which was a cute enough time travel romance, where a teenage girl goes back in time to the early 1980s – but the real score for me was the setting, which was River Country, Disney World’s now defunct water park where I spend two vacations when I was a kid, and I was amazed at how all the details brought it all back. Crazy! So I really enjoyed it, but I think the strongest part of the book was the Disney nostalgia.
Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins. This is a really sweet YA romance, set in Paris, that has more actual substance than the title or the book cover would have you think. There’s a bit much of “but does he like me? Does he like like me?” that never seems to end, but that is a built in risk for adults reading YA. Other than that, I was surprised by how genuinely funny a lot of this book was, just quick little snap one-liners that made me think the author would be a very fun person to hang out with.
A request, as we are getting toward the end of the month. Could the first post of the new month contain a link to the last’s month’s thread? It was so convenient when the first post always had that link. Thanks!
I always assumed anyone reading would have subscribed to the prior month’s thread already…
I’m now reading a short story collection by Nikolai Gogol, and am almost done with "Taras. Bulba "
FYI - If you’re on GoodReads, the audiobook of California is being offered for free thru the end of September thanks to the Ford Motor Company:
https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/show/2668
Speaking of audiobooks, I just finished Scott Westerfeld’s Goliath, the third (and presumably last?) in the Leviathan series. Prince Alek of Hohenberg and Dylan/Deryn Sharpe are still aboard the Leviathan - a massive, living airship that is part of the British Air Service. The ship is responding to a request from Russia, one of its Darwinist allies to travel to Siberia to rescue a scientist and his team. This scientist is none other than Nikola Tesla, and his latest Clanker invention may just possibly end the World War.
I LOVE the world-building in this series of YA novels! The mix of fabricated beasts created by the Darwinists and the steampunkesque contraptions built by the Clankers provides a rich visual tapestry for the story to proceed upon. Alek and Dylan/Deryn (Deryn the girl is masquerading as Dylan the boy) are very well-rounded and have both shown considerable growth of character throughout the trilogy. The secondary characters, like Volger and Dr. Barlow, and even Eddie Malone are also well-drawn and help move the plot along as well. Not only does Tesla make an appearance, so does William Randolph Hearst and Francisco “Pancho” Villa. And I really, really want a Perspicacious Loris (which I see as a cross between a mogwai and a chinchilla).
Alan Cumming does a masterful job of narrating this trilogy - although his American voices (particularly his Adela Rogers St. Johns) could use a bit of work. However, I can’t imagine coming back to this trilogy (which I can definitely see myself doing) without “hearing” his portrayal of Dylan/Deryn Sharpe and her wonderful Scottish slang!
Still digging The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A.J. Jacobs, and am now more than halfway through.
Started the novel The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, and must admit, I’m underwhelmed so far. It might not pass my must-hook-me-by-page-50 test.
Also started Death of a King by Tavis Smiley and David Ritz, about MLK’s last year of life, and it’s so-so. Just not very engaging writing. The authors at least allude to the less-attractive traits of the great civil rights leader, but don’t dwell on them.
Started Snuff, another of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels.
I finished Poul Anderson’s Mother of Kings yesterday. It took a little getting used to the writing style, but I started imagining a skald standing in front of the mead hall reciting the tale and that helped me get into it. It’s a fictional biography of Gunnhild, Queen of Norway back in the 900s. She’s not the most likeable of characters, but she’s also a product of her times and social status so she couldn’t really be the most kind and compassionate of women. On the whole I really liked this, and not just because it’s relevant to my interests concerning a project I’m working on.
I’m three quarters of the way through Lost Light by Michael Connelly and I’m going to be eternally disappointed in my desire to have Eleanor fall off a cliff aren’t I, Siam Sam?
I’ve been reading some short collections of stories by Lord Dunsany. Most of them are as good as I remembered, but some of the Gods of Pegana stories had me skimming a bit.
I’ll never tell!
Finished Lost Light by Michael Connelly, a very well written well paced book and very depressing too. I guess the end should have cheered me up except I really did want Eleanor to move to the North Pole or something…
So… no cliffs?
Sadly not, she’s just going to remain as an emotional anchor for Harry.
when she left him two or three novels earlier, she was pregnant. The baby is now 4, so for FOUR years she has raised this child without Harry’s knowledge. A pretty dick and cruel move in my opinion. Harry’s no saint, but there’s nothing in the books to indicate that he would be a bad parent.
New thread for October here Khadaji's Whatcha Readin' thread - October 2014 Edition - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board
“From ghosties and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night…”
I loved Snuff, it my favorite Sam Vimes book, right after Night Watch.
Or … maybe … not. 
EDIT: 'Tis October over here. New thread?
EDIT EDIT: Never mind. Just saw the earlier post about the new October thread.
One can only hope. Let’s face it, Harry has crap taste in women 
I’ll see how Rachel pans out later.
Scroll up tthree posts Sam
Two words: Nine dragons.
Working my way there. I figure I better read The Poet next since The Narrows deals with the events of that book…