Just wondering ... what is everyone reading now?

[tinlizzie]

I'm almost at the end of The Long Walk, The True Story of a Trek to Freedom, by Slavomir Rawicz. Set in the early 1940's, escapees from a Siberian labor camp make their way on foot to Tibet. Grueling is the word here. Impossible for someone like me to actually comprehend. Two take-aways from the book -- the cruelty of Siberian winters and the warmth of Tibetan hospitality.

Waiting are a couple of "what are you reading" recommendations: John D. MacDonald's The Deep Blue Good-by and The Children's Blizzard. I'll do the Deep Blue first - Siberia was too cold to follow up so soon with more snow. Thank you, recommenders.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Just FYI, I've reviewed the following book in a different DC topic ("Knock You Naked Brownies" in DC's dessert section, and I'm quoting it here for those of you who may not be following that topic:

I finally got a copy of Pioneer Woman's cookbook The Pioneer Woman Cooks: recipes from an accidental country girl (by Ree Drummond) from the public library. After going through a couple dozen recipes all I can say is that I'm impressed! None of these are recipes you haven't heard before but PW has them done perfectly, with directions complete enough that only a total newbie would have any trouble following them.

Here's several of her recipes that I reviewed and want to try soon:

• BBQ Jalapeno Poppersb (jalapeno halves stuffed with cream cheese & cheddar cheese, bacon wrapped and baked)
• Pico de Gallo (her version looks good, although conventional, makes the point that tomato, onion & cilantro must be in equal parts)
• Guacamole (just avocados + pico de gallo, and don't over mash them, definitely don't process it!)
• PW's Potato Skins (almost like mine but + bacon)
• Katie's Roasted Corn Salad (just a bunch of grilled vegies, chopped, plus a dressing)
• Hot Artichoke Dip (from canned artichokes, seasoned with cayenne)
• Cinnamon Rolls (looks like a killer recipe!)
• Pizza Crust (very basic but I want to try her version)
• Potato-Leek Pizza (with bacon of course!)
• Perfect Pot Roast (very basic and conventional, but concise)
• Chicken Pot Pie (again, very basic, uses following crust)
• Perfect Pie Crust (with an egg and 1 T vinegar? I'll try it)
• Chicken Fried Steak (conventional, simple, looks delicious! egg + milk dip, seasoned flour dip, egg/milk dip again, flour dip again, pan fry them, make sauce from some drippings + milk)
• Meatloaf (she lays bacon slices over the top, then sauce & bake it)
• Twice-Baked Potatoes (I think mine are better but I wanna know, both very similar)
• Fried Chicken (again, basic and conventional, but it's simple and looks perfect)

I've looked at perhaps only one-eighth of the recipes and almost every one looks worth cooking, even the ones that resemble things I already have my own recipes for.

Her style is a bit too cutesy for me. I'm not interested in the non-cooking, biographical or philosophical stuff either. Nor the family pictures, but I am interested in the food pictures! Pure hard core food porn!

I've made up my mind that I will definitely buy my own copy of this book. It's only $16.50 at Amazon and all I need is my next coveted book to push it over the $25 free shipping threshold.

Note: Do not confuse this with The Pioneer Woman Cooks: food from my frontier which is her new book going to be released just this March 13th, Tuesday next week. Obviously I haven't reviewed it yet, but I intend to, and I bet it'll have some good recipes too!

So take that you PW scoffers! I give the book a hearty thumbs up!

 

[vitauta]

For "Hunger Games" fans - you might like "Divergent" by Veronica Roth. The second book in the planned trilogy, "Insurgent," comes out May 1.

sharon, where did you hear of veronica roth?

 

[SharonT]

sharon, where did you hear of veronica roth?

Amazon.com

 

[Margi Cintrano]

www.audible.com

I am listening to " Our Magnificant Bastard Tongue " written by: John Mc Whorter ...

It is a factual read on the English language and its´ components, origins, linguistic issues, its connection to Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, Dutch and German. Fascinating for those who are linguistically inclined and curious to delve into what makes the English language tick.

Kindest.
Margaux Cintrano.

 

[vitauta]

hunger games is a compelling story based on an utterly abhorrent premise. suzanne collins deftly shepherds us through repeated scenes of human exploitation and carnage, still *hungering* for that romantic and happy storybook ending. suzanne collins is truly a modern day literary wizard.

additionally, suzanne wizard is giving the green light to the upcoming movie of her book, praising both the director and actors for bringing an honest and faithful portrayal of her story to the screen. she reserves a special commendation for the female lead actor of the hunger games, and credits the film for bringing an extra visual layer of reality to her story.

i don't know about you, but this is the first time i'm hearing an author warmly embracing the handling of her work by the movie-makers. sweet....

hunger games might just get me back into a movie theater for the first time in ten years or more. this movie, i expect, will be a phenom like none other in this century....

i just wanted, also, to respond to those book reviewers who are comparing suzanne collins to stephenie meyer as being similarly outstanding contemporary authors. NOT!!! suzanne collins has a rare gift for descriptive writing that has captured the imagination and attention of millions of readers widely ranging in age and interests. imho, stephenie meyer, while insanely popular, mainly with the vampire obsessed tween reader market, seems incapable of putting together a respectably literate paragraph in her twilight saga....

 

[Alix]

Hmmm. I enjoyed all three of the Hunger Games trilogy. I found Mockingjay a bit preachy toward the end though. I also thought it ended rather precipitously and was not as well done as it could have been. Maybe I'm the only one with anything remotely negative to say about that. If so, I'll take my lumps as they come.

I enjoyed the Twilight series. I think you need to take it for what it is though. It was written with teen girls in mind. YOUNG teen girls. The "rescue me I'm a tragic heroine" syndrome is in full swing at that age.

I am thoroughly enjoying lots of teen fiction these days. I have high praise for Kelley Armstrong's Darkest Power's trilogy. She blends the paranormal stuff in with some excellent teen angst. Group home, magic, romance...its a winner.

 

[Barbara]

Coming Apart by Charles Murray. A compelling read after I got through the statistics. He is the author of Bell Curve.

 

[Addie]

I know the Kindle and other ones like it are the latest rage. But one of the things I really enjoyed in my working days was listening to books on my way to and from work each day. I need to get back into that. I still have my casette player and head set. Time for a trip to the library. Maybe I should invest in a CD player instead. It would be a lot easier. All my clothes have pockets and I could put the player in there while I am working around the house.

 

[Barbara]

I listen to books on my ipod. Audible.com has great selection and it is easy to download.

 

[Addie]

I listen to books on my ipod. Audible.com has great selection and it is easy to download.

Thank you. I will look into it.

 

[Rocklobster]

I have started reading a book called "What they'll never tell you about the music business". I can't believe some of the stuff I am reading. I am amazed at how greedy and sleazy some of these practices are.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I listen to books on my ipod. Audible.com has great selection and it is easy to download.

I do the same thing with my smartphone. I plug it into the car radio, so it plays through the speakers on the way to work. Everywhere else, I use a set of wireless bluetooth headphones. No matter where I go, I'm never without my books or music.

I love Audible.com, but it can get a little spendy, since I sometimes listen to 5 or 6 books a month.

I've been looking at AudioBooks.com. You pay a monthly fee of $24.95 and it gives you access to unlimited books. Has anyone tried this service?

 

[Barbara]

Yes, audible can get expensive I hope someone on here can recommend.

 

[SharonT]

John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee


One of the most praised series ever comes to Audible

The list of authors who are also fans of John D. MacDonald and his Travis McGee series reads like a who's who of modern and contemporary mystery and thriller writers. "The great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller," raves Stephen King. Jonathan Kellerman calls MacDonald "the consummate pro, a master storyteller, and witty observer", while Sue Grafton suggests he has had "a dominant influence on writers crafting the continuing series character." And forget about the genre of mystery, Dean Koontz has said that MacDonald is his "favorite novelist of all time." Audible is excited to present the first seven titles in this extraordinary series. More titles are coming soon, so stay tuned.

Oh, Yay.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Wow! And I've been a John D. MacDonald fan for decades. I recall my sadness when I discovered he would be writing any more novels...

Sue Grafton is another interesting author, with her "Kinsey Milhone" AKA "alphabet" series, starting out with A is for Alibi, then B is for Burglar, etc. up to her latest V is for Vengeance. I'm caught up to U is for Undertow but after 21 of her novels I'm afraid I'm getting a bit jaded. Maybe I'll wait for "X" to come out, just because I'm curious what she'll pick for X is for ________. I presume she'll retire after "Z"... (Although in the engineering documentation field the next version would be AA. I guess that would obviously be AA is for Aardvark. )

But still, I stuck through 21 novels because each interested me enough to read the sequel.

Sharon, please post if you discover who the reader will be for the McGee novels. I'm not a fan of audio books but I believe the reader could make a very big difference.

I'm a big Hayao Miyazaki anime fan and it's astonishing who voices the various characters in his movies, some of our top actors and actresses.

 

[Orryette]

Sue Grafton is another interesting author, with her "Kinsey Milhone" AKA "alphabet" series, starting out with A is for Alibi, then B is for Burglar, etc. up to her latest V is for Vengeance. I'm caught up to U is for Undertow but after 21 of her novels I'm afraid I'm getting a bit jaded.

I'm up to J. There not a bad series but I find myself skipping the discriptions of all the main characters now. But still cant stop reading them

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I'm very close to finishing "Catching Fire" in the "Hunger Games" series...this one is reading much faster than the first. One more to go and then I have to attack the formidable stack of unread books...2 boxes and books stacked on top, that I have yet to read.

But, this weekend's reading will be centered on The Pioneer Woman Cooks...

 

[SharonT]

Sharon, please post if you discover who the reader will be for the McGee novels. I'm not a fan of audio books but I believe the reader could make a very big difference.

I love audio books... That's all I have on my iPod. It is always wonderful to see new ones from a favorite author (Macdonald). Previously there were only a few on cassettes recorded by Darren McGavin which were okay, but were abridged = anathema, IMO.
Here you can Listen to Sample of one of the newly recorded Travis McGee novels. The reader DOES make a difference. At Audible you can search for books read by your favorite readers, a nice feature.
Sue Grafton's books are recorded (mostly) by Judy Kaye, who is very good.
MY FAVORITE reader is Michael Prichard, who reads the Rex Stout Nero Wolfe novels. He's also recorded some Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum. I've listened to all the available Rex Stout books more than once.

 

[SharonT]

I do the same thing with my smartphone. I plug it into the car radio, so it plays through the speakers on the way to work. Everywhere else, I use a set of wireless bluetooth headphones. No matter where I go, I'm never without my books or music.

I love Audible.com, but it can get a little spendy, since I sometimes listen to 5 or 6 books a month.

I've been looking at AudioBooks.com. You pay a monthly fee of $24.95 and it gives you access to unlimited books. Has anyone tried this service?

Audible is worth it, for me! There are several different membership plans, with the cost per audio book ranging from $9.56 to $14.95. I'm currently on the "2 credits per month" @ $22.95. They have periodic promotions where you can "buy extra credits" for about $11.** each. At other times they feature 100's of books on sale for $4.95 each. I recently bought T.H. White's "Once and Future King" for $4.95. So I save my credits for the pricey books and watch for the sales. They also have a member freebie each month (usually a short story or sample chapter). In Dec. the freebie was a recording of "A Christmas Carol" read by Tim Curry.
You can also download each book you buy to up to three computers and up to three other devices [it may be three other devices for each computer, not sure]... so my husband and I can both listen. You can also burn them to cds. For us, that's preferable to paying the $24.95 a month for streaming an unlimited number of books one at a time.
P. S. I don't work for Audible.com. Just a very happy customer.