Skip to main content

It's Monday! What are you reading? -- Feb 22, 2010

Posted on
It's Monday! What are you reading this week?
This is a weekly event initially hosted by J. Kaye at J. Kaye's Book Blog, now by Sheila @ One Persons Journey through a world of Books, to celebrate what you are reading for the week as well as books completed the previous week.

Books completed last week
- The Help by Kathryn Stockett
- The 13th Hour by Richard Doetsch (Review coming up soon!)
- Open Season by Linda Howard (Review coming up soon!)

Unfinished
- The Chopin Manuscript by Jeffery Deaver and 14 other writers: I decided to give up on this, since after 1.5 hours of audio, it still was not holding my interest. I'm sorry to not put on more effort on this, but maybe I'll give it a try some other time.

I am currently reading

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien: This is a re-read that I am doing for the LOTR Readalong. I totally LOVE this series and plan to watch the movie after finishing this read.


White Oleander by Janet Fitch: I've heard this is depressing. I just started it a while back and so far the book is very interesting. I am reading this with a pen-pal, Cheryl.




My reading plans for the next week

Liar by Justine Larbalestier: I've read more controversies regarding this book's cover issue than reviews, and that's pretty sad, so to speak. I just saw this audio book available, and decided to grab it right away (Result of my new plan to be more impulsive and less obsessive).



The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs: The rest of the group with whom I am reading this book already completed it at the start of this month. I had to renew this at the library once since it was due last week. I'll hopefully be starting this over the coming weekend.




Tags

Comments

Dana said…
Oooh, I read White Oleander a long time ago, and don't remember much about it, but I do remember enjoying it! I hope Liar is a good book despite all the controversy surrounding its cover.
February 22, 2010 at 7:51 AM
Introverted Jen said…
Good luck with the impulsive thing! That's how I almost always read. :-) I enjoyed your review of The Help and look forward to your other reviews. Enjoy your reading this week!
February 22, 2010 at 7:56 AM
Aleksandra said…
You've had a great reading week!
Happy reading!
February 22, 2010 at 8:05 AM
Helen's Book Blog said…
The Help, Liar, and the Friday Night Knitting Club are all sitting on my shelves waiting to me be read!
February 22, 2010 at 8:32 AM
Ann Elle Altman said…
I can't wait to see your review. Should be good because you have interesting books.

ann
February 22, 2010 at 9:05 AM
bermudaonion said…
I read White Oleander years ago and don't really remember it being depressing. Of course, I do tend to like books like that. I can't wait to see what you think of it.
February 22, 2010 at 9:31 AM
NancyO said…
I've got The 13th Hour sitting here waiting, so I'll be interested in your review.

Have a great reading week!
February 22, 2010 at 9:45 AM
Ruth Schaller said…
Hope you have a great reading week! Check out mine at: http://ruthiesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/02/its-monday-what-are-you-reading_22.html

Have a good one! :D
February 22, 2010 at 10:24 AM
Tales of Whimsy said…
Good stuff! You go girl :)
February 22, 2010 at 10:27 AM
Sheila (Bookjourney) said…
I read a wonderful review about Liar yesterday and now I really want to read it too. Its funny with a ll the hype a while back about the cover, I never did hear much about the story. Now I have and it sounds good! Enjoy it!
February 22, 2010 at 10:58 AM
Jo said…
Open Season is one of my favorite Linda Howard books. Did you like it? I suppose I should just wait for the review. =)

I have The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs among my TBR books.
February 22, 2010 at 11:02 AM
PensivePixie said…
I love all your choices. I've either read most of them or they look good! The Liar in particular I had not heard of but it looks amazing!

Happy reading week!
February 22, 2010 at 1:14 PM
tweezle said…
Your blog is awesome!! To let you know how much I appreciate your hard work, I have an award for you. You can pick it up here:

Just One More Paragraph
February 22, 2010 at 2:07 PM
The1stdaughter said…
Great books! My hubby did his senior thesis on Tolkien and loved it.

I actually have The Friday Night Knitting Club on my TBR book shelf, but haven't been able to get to it. Hopefully your review will make me more eager to dust it off!

Have a fabulous reading week!
February 22, 2010 at 4:15 PM
Kristen said…
I'm cracking open The Help later today. Have a great reading week!
February 22, 2010 at 4:30 PM
Anonymous said…
You had a great week!

I've been wanting to read White Oleander, can't wait for your review.
February 22, 2010 at 4:58 PM
Amy said…
Great list! I'll be reading your review on The Help!
February 22, 2010 at 5:32 PM
yuan said…
Liar is soooooo good. It's too bad that the story itself is being overshadowed by all the controversy talk on the internet
February 22, 2010 at 5:42 PM
Jan von Harz said…
I love your titles and would really like to read Liar. I also think my students would like this one. Have a great week reading.
February 22, 2010 at 5:59 PM
NerdyMe said…
I'm currently reading several books at the moment, and this is one of them...
February 22, 2010 at 8:12 PM
Athira said…
Dana, I hope so too that Liar is definitely good!

Jennifer G., Aleksandra, Ann Elle Altman, Ruth Schaller, Juju, PensivePixie, Vicki, Amy, thanks! :)

Helen, you should get to them, The Help is definitely good!

Kathy, hoping I'll enjoy it too!

NancyO, I hope to review it soon!

Sheila, glad you heard a good review of Liar! Makes me relieved!

Jo, I didn't like Open Season. :( I wish I did. It was definitely funny and very sexy. The plot was just too thin!

tweezle, thanks for the award! :)

The1stdaughter, Your hubby really did Tolkien for his thesis? I'd love to read it!

Kristen, waiting to hear your review!

Ah Yuan, glad you recommend it! I can't wait to start it then!

Jan, all this gushing is making me want to start Liar right now!

China, happy reading!
February 22, 2010 at 8:13 PM
susan said…
Justine is a fantastic writer and person.
February 22, 2010 at 9:48 PM
Book Soulmates said…
Hi :)

If you're interested, we're giving away 5 copies of Jordan by Susan Kearney. You should stop by our page and sign up!

Click here to see the post!

♥Isalys
February 24, 2010 at 4:30 PM
Athira said…
Susan, I'm glad to hear that! So far, I am enjoying Liar!!

Book Soulmates, thanks for mentioning! Will check out the giveaway!
February 24, 2010 at 8:16 PM
Anonymous said…
I never finished White Oleander, for some reason it bored me stiff, and I'm not sure why. The Fellowship, however, could be read innumerable times, and I'd never tire of it. Ever.
February 24, 2010 at 10:05 PM
Athira said…
dolcebelleza, Sorry to hear that you struggled with White Oleander. I got bored of it too for a moment, but hope the pace will pick up soon!
February 26, 2010 at 7:25 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hell-Heaven by Jhumpa Lahiri (Short Fiction Review)

Posted on
I first read Jhumpa Lahiri years ago, when her Interpreter of Maladies was making a huge buzz. At the time, I didn't catch any of the buzz, but for some reason, when I saw the book on the shelf at the store I was browsing in, I felt it just might be a decent read. Funnily, I read the entire short story collection without complaining about it, but for some reason, I cannot read any collection anymore without agonizing over its disjoint nature.

I did enjoy Interpreter of Maladies, but I did get bothered by the thread of loneliness and infidelity and distrust that laced through the stories. For that reason, I have been reluctant to read Unaccustomed Earth. However, when I came across Hell-Heaven at the NewYorker - a free short story from her book, I decided to go ahead and read it. I can't resist the pull of stories set in India or featuring Indian characters, and it is that same aspect that hooked me throughout this story.


In Hell-Heaven, the narrator contemplates the relations…
13 comments
Read more

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Posted on
Maybe that’s what religion is, hurling yourself off a cliff and trusting that something bigger will take care of you and carry you to the right place.
Bernadette Fox has a reputation. While her husband and her daughter Bee love her, there's barely anyone else who share the sentiment. Her neighbor Audrey loves to gossip mean things about her with her close friend, Soo-Lin. The other parents of kids at Bee's school look down on Bernadette because she doesn't involve herself in school affairs. Bernadette herself goes out of her way to avoid company.

And then one day, Bee comes home with an excellent report card and asks for her reward - a family trip to Antarctica. The very plan throws Bernadette into a panic but she has no other option. She hires a virtual assistant, based out of India to take care of all her demands, including getting prescriptions at her local pharmacy, doing her online shopping and taking care of some of the logistics of her trip. (It is ridiculous! Bern…
27 comments
Read more

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson (Short Fiction review)

Posted on
With the Hunger Games hype that engulfed us last week, it was hard to avoid all the discussion of similar works that existed. Of the many titles that I came across, two stood out particularly - a short story called The Lottery and a Japanese novel (and movie) called Battle Royale (which I'm reading right now and just cannot put down). The novel will be fodder for another post, so for now, I just want to rave about the awesomeness that was The Lottery.

In contemporary America, villagers across the country are gathering on the 27th of June (and some a day earlier) for an annual event called the Lottery. Children, women, men, all come to the main square of their village or town, where the lottery master keeps a black box full of paper chips. One of these chips is marked has a special mark on it to identify the winner (the person who draws that chip). Not everyone draws however, but only the head of the family. Husbands are viewed as the head of their families/households, and if the …
19 comments
Read more