Whatcha Readin' Oct 2012 Edition

Just started reading 50 Shades of Grey…just to see what the hubbub was about…

I’m actually enjoying it waaaaaay more than I thought I would to be honest. It reminds me of “American Psycho” and “Wild Orchid” mix together. It’s funny how it started out as Twilight Fan Fiction.But I find it “fun” to read…

Oh…and I’m a guy btw…

Peter Straub “Ghost Story”

My book club read that a few years ago; I have to say, I was disappointed by it. For all the emotional power that those Depression-era stories ought to have had, I thought the book fell flat.

I’ve finished two books in recent days. Marina and Lee by Priscilla Johnson McMillan is a pretty interesting 1977 profile of Lee Harvey Oswald, his Russian wife Marina and their troubled marriage. It’s based, in part, on the author’s many hours of interviews with Marina throughout the Seventies. Oswald comes across as a liar, a cheat, a mooch, a narcissist with delusions of grandeur, and a violent man. McMillan is in no doubt that he shot the President on impulse, and was almost certainly not part of some greater conspiracy.

The other book was The French Cat by Rachael Hale, a charming collection of photos of Gallic cats, indoors and out, along with the author’s musings on life in France.

Finally got around to starting Stephen King’s 11/22/63. It’s slightly annoying so far, and I really hate it when an author gets a fact wrong. Early in the book (which is about time travel), the old man is talking about “the 48 states”. The protagonist says “48?”. “Yeah”, says the geezer, “Hawaii doesn’t get in until next year” (1959). Er, that would be Alaska, Stephen, not Hawaii.

Also finished Cosmos, by Sagan.

Finished In the Woods. Overall, a very good book. I liked the characters and the writing, but the ending was disappointing.

One of the plotlines dealt with an incident years before involving one of the two main characters in which his two friends disappeared and he was left covered in blood with no memory of what happened. That was never resolved, which was frustrating, given the amount of attention devoted to it.

Moving on to The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements, based on recommendations here.

Agreed. Very much agreed.

And that type of ending seems to be a trend. I don’t recall the titles, but awhile back I read In the Woods and two other recently published books with a similar plot – adults dealing with a traumatic childhood event or mystery – and they ended the same way.

Finished Elizabeth Street by Laurie Fabiano. I liked it a lot and wanted more. Next up is the new one by Sebastian Faulks, author of Birdsong.

I agree - except I really didn’t enjoy it for the reason you put in your spoiler. It just seemed like she (the author) wasted my time.

I finally finished All Roads Lead to Austen by Amy Smith. Liked it, but didn’t love it. I started reading Florence and Giles by John Harding. Also reading a book about haunted locations in Minnesota.

Oh, and I also wrote a 60,000 -word novel, the bulk of it between Sept. 21 and last Friday. Now I’m gearing up for NaNoWriMo. :slight_smile:

Finished The Black Ice, by Michael Connelly. Another excellent read, and I’ve become quite a Connelly fan.

Next up is the final entry in this Connelly anthology of three Harry Bosch novels: The Concrete Blonde.

I finished all those sometime last year and enjoyed them. Bosch is a good character.

Try his Lincoln Lawyer series featuring Bosch’s defense-attorney half-brother.

Wow, you wrote a novel to prepare for writing a novel! Good luck with NaNoWriMo. It’s a ton of fun, but it sounds like you know that already.

Anyone want to recommend something high fantasy without a lot of misery and gore?

I had a blast writing the one I just finished. Originally I had thought oh, it should take me a year or so to write. Heh. I’m hoping that, now that I have the hang of it, this one will be better than the last.

Perhaps you’ve heard of this Tolkien fellow…?

Lord Dunsany perhaps?

Or, more modern, there is Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell.

Both concentrate more on the sense of magic inherent in high fantasy and have less gore etc.

Another favourite of mine is Gormenghast, but there is nastiness in that one (mostly, a character who murders his way to the top).

The Kedrigern series by John Morressy. I don’t know how “high” it is, but there’s very little misery or gore. It’s a charming series about an old Wizard who falls in love. The books are out of print but available for cheap at Amazon. Link to the first title.

Ooh, yes, definitely. Loved it. A friend said it was a bit as if Jane Austen had written a Harry Potter book.

Thanks for the recommendations. I’ve read most, and they’re good ones, so I’m squirreling away the others! :slight_smile: