What are you reading?

[Lucy]

I'm reading -- as I have been for two weeks -- "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell." I'm a little more than halfway through. I kept seeing it pop up in this thread, so I googled it, saw it described as "Jane Austen meets magic" and knew it was up my alley. And it IS, I'm really enjoying it, it's just very LONG. It's not a quick read, due largely to the Austen-like qualities, but it's very engaging.

[Lotuslander]

I'm reading -- as I have been for two weeks -- "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell." I'm a little more than halfway through. I kept seeing it pop up in this thread, so I googled it, saw it described as "Jane Austen meets magic" and knew it was up my alley. And it IS, I'm really enjoying it, it's just very LONG. It's not a quick read, due largely to the Austen-like qualities, but it's very engaging.

That sounds like something I'd like too, what year was it written in?

[Lotuslander]

Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates, good, but felt like I was in a valium induced depression reading it.

[John]

Right now i'm reading deception Point by Dan brown. It's as much as good as Angels & Demons and the Da Vinci Code. Damn! Dan Brown is one heck of a writer!!!

Dan Brown IS one heck of a writer. Until the last 50 pages of any of his books, when he runs out of plot and has to try to wrap it all up.

[Dinahann]

Coldwater Canyon, by Clive Barker. I've only just started it, but it's subtitled "A Hollywood Ghost Story", so I'm thinking it may be a little different from the usual carnage.

I enjoyed it, AJane. I haven't read much Clive Barker, but I picked it up at the library a year or so ago and it held my interest. It reminded me a little of King's The Shining.

[Lucy]

That sounds like something I'd like too, what year was it written in?

It's fairly new -- not out in paperback yet.

[Texicana]

I'm reading Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach. Amazon describes it as:

Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem. For two thousand years, cadavers—some willingly, some unwittingly—have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender reassignment surgery, cadavers have been there alongside surgeons, making history in their quiet way.

In this fascinating, ennobling account, Mary Roach visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries—from the anatomy labs and human-sourced pharmacies of medieval and nineteenth-century Europe to a human decay research facility in Tennessee, to a plastic surgery practice lab, to a Scandinavian funeral directors' conference on human composting. In her droll, inimitable voice, Roach tells the engrossing story of our bodies when we are no longer with them

[glennajo]

I'm reading "Coma" by Robin Cook. This is the second book in a row that I'm finding really slow going... I hate it when an author spends paragraph after paragraph describing details about what a person is wearing, what a room looks like, etc. Get on with the story already!

[phat32]

I finished the new Walter Mosley paperback Little Scarlet over the weekend. The book is the latest in Mosley's series of "Easy" Rawlins mysteries. (The 1995 film Devil in a Blue Dress starred Denzel Washington as Easy Rawlins.)

Mosley's books aren't ones I remember to buy upon release, which is a shame, because I've enjoyed every one I've read.

I think it's interesting that in a way I'm supplementing The Emperor of Ocean Park with Little Scarlet. A longer discussion about this wouldn't be appropriate for this forum, but suffice to say that both feature African-American detectives solving a murder. Rawlins just happens to be poor and a resident of Los Angeles in the 60's, while the protagonist of Ocean Park is a wealthy, conservative law school professor from a well-to-do family on the East Coast in 2003. Fascinating contrast.

[Critical]

I just finished Fast Food Nation about an hour ago. That coupled with a second viewing of Super Size Me this past weekend = no fast food for me for some time (since I don't eat fast food more than once a month, I'll probably go the rest of the year, at least, without any). I think both should be required reading/viewing. If people are going to eat that stuff, they should know what leads up to the burger and fries.

For a nice change of pace, I'm reading Katherine Neville's The Eight next. I've heard it's along the same lines as The DaVinci Code, only better. A review inside the book itself calls it a female version of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's been pouring rain here and is supposed to continue for the next few days...perfect weather for a cuppa, the fireplace and a great book!