What are you reading?

Just finished A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett.

I found this at the library today and read it in one sitting: Requiem For A Paper Bag by Davy Rothbart of Found magazine. Short vignettes told by people who found something and the effect it had.

The Ginger Tree. Wynd. It's a 35-year-old epistolary novel set in 1904 China, just after the Boxer Rebellion, (and Japan years beyond that, too) among the euro-diplomatic community. Recently still in print, and it should be.

Any book that can break through my writing/editing fog right now has to be good, and this one is. Clearly realized with wonderful details, great voice, a character that grows. Did anyone see the BBC miniseries based on it? I didn't but the book is terrif.

I've just started The Brides Of Rollrock Island, by Margo Lanagan. It's wonderful so far: she has a unique and compelling voice, and her story is beautifully told.

Barbecues & Outdoor Kitchens--Sunset

I have this mountain of stones and flagstones from a failed pond right in the center of my backyard. I contracted someone to make a patio. He suggested a fire pit to go with it. Nice place to make s'mores and hotdogs with the g-kids. So I do what I always do--I bought a book on the subject. I've been reading it since about 4:a.m.
I've decided that that I want a pizza oven, screw the cost. I love the wooden paddle that slides the pizza in--getting a little manic here-- better pick up something else to read--s6

The Street Lawyer by John Grisham

Sweetness and Light --The Mysterious History of the Honeybee--Hattie Ellis
This is one of the best books I have ever read. Fascinating--s6

Just started reading Wool by Hugh Howey... so far I'm impressed, very well-written

Currently?

Faery Tales and Nightmares by Melissa Marr, which--quite frankly--isn't as compelling as her Wicked Lovely series, but still reads pretty fast.

Legend by Marie Lu, which I got halfway through in a day. That book is going to be finished very, very fast, I have a feeling.

HHhH by Laurent Binet (translated into English) and Nightmare: The Underside of the Nixon Years by J. Anthony Lukas.

How to Eat a Cupcake (Meg Donohue). I hate the title, but it's a pretty good read.

Just completed
Hush Hush by Becca Fritzpatrick
loved it

The Inverted Forest by John Dalton.
Beautifully written and a gripping story.

Research for next WIP (if I'm still researching, is it IP? Or AIP or STBIP. Whichever) The Great International Disaster Book. at almost 50 years old, it has details I can't find on-line.

I picked up two books at the local library to read while the kids swam at the pool: The Sad Man in the Sports Car by Leo Lichy and flatscreen by Adam Wilson.

(why wasn't I in the pool? That's a long story, best saved for later)

Both books feature losers for MCs. The Sad Man... has two MCs, both losers. A few funny parts at the beginning but it was so over-the-top, it became annoying. The author started to seem like a desperate comedian on stage but out of material. Not much of a plot, if any, with a rather weak ending. The only reason I finished the book was it was short and I had nothing else with me to read.

flatscreen was written much better, the author stayed focused and had a plot in mind. Some things were over-the-top, too, but not nearly as annoying as the first book. An OK ending, probably the truest, most believable ending to the story. My biggest complaint is he spends most of the book showing us the MC is a loser. His writing and humor kept me going instead of giving up on the MC.

Up next, A Murder of Quality by LeCarre

The Golden Compass - Phillip Pullman and Paper towns by John Green
they're both really great books.

CHIME by Franny Billingsley and DRAGONSWOOD by Janet Lee Carey.

Airport (1968). Amazingly good.

Finished Brief Interviews With Hideous Men just last week. A bit exhausting to read in some places, but well worth it in others. I think that was kind of his aim anyways, to make the reader do some work.

Right now, I'm about 150 pages into A Year In The Merde by Stephen Clarke. Really funny, and it brings back memories of Paris. I really need to go back and visit again

So Much for That by Lionel Shriver.

It's so refreshing to read a book dealing with cancer and degenerative childhood disease where the afflicted aren't saints, and neither are their loved ones.

About a third of the way into 1776 by David McCullough. Figured July is a good month to read a little history. Surprisingly short book for the subject, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It reads well, if a bit distantly, but hardly the dry tome one usually associates with history in the land of public education.

East of Denver by Gregory Hill. I'm on page 50 and I'm hooked.

Might as well update...

Just Finished:
The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins.) YA dystopian sci-fi, in a world where a totalitarian government televises annual death-matches between kids. Pretty good, if not great. It moved fast, at least, and had a decent heroine.

Currently Reading:
The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, Book 1, by Brandon Sanderson.) World-sweeping epic fantasy, done Sanderson style. So far, I find the world fascinating, and the characters are interesting and distinct enough to tell apart.

ExtraNormal (The Paranormal Romance series, Book 1, by Suze Reese.) YA sci-fi/romance, with an alien girl going undercover at a California high school for reasons that have yet to be revealed. Not the deepest thing I've read, but at least it's readable, and I'm not bored yet.