The Quasi-Official February Book Reading Game

[Sparkplug]

Have you read Oryx and Crake? I have a sample of it waiting on my Kindle, but I was hoping to get a familiar opinion on it. Not to go off on a tangent, but I am just curious since it's another of Atwood's dystopian novels.

Butting in... (I didn't see this thread in time, but I'll be on the list next month to participate.) Oryx and Crake was really good; if you liked The Handmaid's Tale, you'll like this one. Her follow up novel The Year of the Flood was excellent as well.

[sem]

Well, I am about a third of my way into my assigned book and really am enjoying it. "White Seed" may answer some questions but it raises others. I am about a third of the way through the book and I found that I am becoming invested in some of the peoples lives. It has also peaked my curiosity and I want to find out more about the lost colony and some "real" history of the area.

[Cora]

Butting in... (I didn't see this thread in time, but I'll be on the list next month to participate.) Oryx and Crake was really good; if you liked The Handmaid's Tale, you'll like this one. Her follow up novel The Year of the Flood was excellent as well.

Awesome. I'll definitely have to check it out.

Also, I'm about 40% of the way through The Alchemyst. I'm enjoying it so far, though the characters feel rather one dimensional. I do love all of the mythology thrown in, but I'm not finding myself invested in the characters. I'm thinking it may have to do with how quick the story took off and how the author seems to be rushing to 'the good bits' of the story. It's like... he's going "okay, here's the main characters, they're special, here's why, here's a bit how the world works...." etc. Now I'm hoping that after all the foundation setting is done, things will pick up. I really am enjoying the menagerie of characters... but I feel like I'm not really emotionally attached to anyone (yet).

[akagriff]

I started reading The Book Thief yesterday.  I'm about 25% done.  At first, as Death was describing his involvement in the story, I didn't think I was going to like the book.  It was a little too out there for me.  But then Liesel's story started.  I'm totally captivated by the story.  The author's description of a scene, or of a moment, or of a thought is amazingly colorful.  I can feel as if I can feel, taste and hear the story.

[Thalia the Muse]

Shoot, I can't believe I missed this! I'm definitely in for March.

[imallbs]

I just found out I'm not going to have much reading time this month so I've set aside my other books and started reading Watchers.  I've only read about 15% (but hey it is 10000 locations).  There was trepidation at the beginning but I found myself unable to put the book down - which was not a problem around 2am when I finally stopped reading but it sure was a problem at 6am when I had to get up.  I keep trying to figure out how these 3 stories are going to come together.  So far it has kept my interest but I keep waiting for....something, anything that will justify my avoidance of all things Kuntz.

[Megs]

For Megs I have picked The #1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith.



It's the 1st in the series.  I hope you enjoy it.
It is $8.00, If that's an issue, please let me know.

I am eager to start this one, as soon as I'm done with the Watchers...which is ironically the book you had picked for you!

As for mine:

I'm giving Geemont two options, because it took me a while to find a book he hadn't read yet!  Someone who reads more than I do is a rare find indeed.  Your choices, sir, are:



This is fantasy, but somewhat dark.  I know you said the length would be fine, but be forewarned that it is the first of four books.  If you're the type who can't stand a story that isn't a stand-alone, this one is not for you.  It's one of my favorite fantasy series ever, though, and I can never resist recommending it.



This is one of my favorite authors, and as with many short story collections (at least in my opinion), the format gives him the freedom to get really creative.  Some of them gave me chills, some of them made me smile...all of them were great.  I plan to re-read this soon, and just judging by some of the things you've got on your list, I think you might like it.

[Geoffrey]

Those are both great choices, Megs.  I've read the The Briar King's series and I've read all of Gaiman - except his short fiction.  I may have to add that one to my TBR list as well .....

[Megs]

I very much recommend it.  There's one story that somehow manages to give you the creeps without actually having anything bad or evil happen...now that's a talented writer!

[Geoffrey]

I started reading The Notebook today and I'm about 400+ locations into it.  This isn't completely out of my comfort zone, but I don't think I ever would have selected it myself.  

By the end of the prelude I was sucked in.  The scene was an old man sitting in a room with and reading to his wife who has Alzheimer's (or something similar, they didn't specify) and who doesn't know who he is.  I got a little emotional over the image.

[Geemont]

Thanks Megs.  I've got two books to finish this week and next before finally choosing.  I'm leaning towards The Briar King despite the length, but maybe I'll go for Gaimen.  (The sample only has the Introduction and 26 locations of the first story.)

[Lynn]

I finished One for the Money last night. I enjoyed it a lot. It was a fun easy read. I am interested enough in the characters to read the next one, though I may look for used copies somewhere. I don't mind spending $6.00 or so but I Would like it to last a little longer!Of course I guess I didn't have to stay up last night reading

Lynn L

[Winter9]

I missed it because I just got my kindle, but count me in next month! I am looking so forward to it!!!

[Geoffrey]

I missed it because I just got my kindle, but count me in next month! I am looking so forward to it!!!

Since this is a short month, I was thinking about starting sign up around the 17th to the 27th  .... that's 10 days to sign up and with that being the start of the Geoffrey Day Holiday Weekend, we can all celebrate me with a new, interesting book to read.  (and a beer or two)

[Winter9]

So cool! Looking forward to it already!

[Margaret]

I have read about 25% ofConsider Phlebas and I have to admit that I am not having an easy time with it.  I know, Geemont, you warned me.  The author has created his own universe where even the names of the characters take some getting used to.  This is a book that I have to give my total attention to as I read, or I lose the thread of what is going on.  Normally, I can keep half an eye on what is going on with my family or on the tv as I read.  Not so with this book.  That being said, I am enjoying the story. I like the various touches of humanity that the author has put into his characters and I find the whole concept of the Mind/Culture dynamic fascinating to think about.  ( sort of like HAL on Steroids.)   I'm looking forward to being snowed-in tomorrow, so that I can do some serious reading.  Thanks for this choice!

[akagriff]

I'm around 65% finished with The Book Thief.  Even though I feel the book is excellent, I feel as though I need to take longer and longer breaks from reading this book.  I feel as if I need to give my mind a rest.  Could be that I have been drawn into the works of Death and it's so tiring.  I just like to think of a happy world, rose-colored glasses world, and not Death visiting Nazi Germany. 

[Geoffrey]

I started reading The Notebook today and I'm about 400+ locations into it.  This isn't completely out of my comfort zone, but I don't think I ever would have selected it myself.  

By the end of the prelude I was sucked in.  The scene was an old man sitting in a room with and reading to his wife who has Alzheimer's (or something similar, they didn't specify) and who doesn't know who he is.  I got a little emotional over the image.

I got up early this morning to finish this book.  There are over a thousand reviews for it on Amazon and I rarely review a book that's already been so thoroughly covered, but this is what I wrote about it:

It Touched Me In Place I Didn't Know Existed
This book is not the sort of thing I normally read but was instead selected for me as part of a book group.  I was unsure and a leery when I started it.  But, by the end of the opening scene, I was completely sucked in.  It opens with an old man reading a story to his wife who has Alzheimer's and doesn't recognize him.  The scene is so well written and is both powerful and understated, I found myself getting emotional.

The middle two-thirds of the book go back in time 45 years and tell a beautiful story of love found, lost and found again.  It is not a fluffy tale of lust and desire or of cheap emotions.  It is a fully adult story of two people who never gave up on their first true love even after being separated for fourteen years.

The final third returns to the old man and old woman.  Their story is painful and wonderful.  It made me think of my own mortality, my partner, my parents ... It gave me a model to live into 40 years from now when its my turn to be in my twilight years.



I need to go read something light and fluffy now as a sort of brain sorbet....

[NogDog]

I finished Riptide, by Preston & Child, last night. Unfortunately I cannot recommend it myself. While parts of it grabbed me, too many parts did not, including the opening few chapters -- which is a cardinal sin in novel writing. I felt almost as if I were reading the script for a Hollywood adventure movie, with the same sort of stereotyped characters and sometimes over-the-top action we tend to accept in escapist movies, but which I do not cope with well in a book. It might still have been saved by some really good wordsmithing, but in general I found the writing style to be uninspired, though variably so (perhaps a result of being crafted by two authors?).

I'm not sure if I would have finished it if it were not for this "game". It would be interesting, though, if there were some way to convert it into, say, a sci-fi novel while keeping everything else the same, to see how I would feel about it, or if I would still find it uninspiring.

PS: To Gecko29, please to not take this as a put-down of your taste in books. We're all different -- especially me. I mean, lots of people love Stephen King and have made him a rich man, yet I have never gotten past the first couple chapters of any of his books. I figured, though, that my honest opinion was better in the long run, in order to get valid data for this "experiment." Vive la différence!

[Susan in VA]

I finished One for the Money last night. I enjoyed it a lot. It was a fun easy read. I am interested enough in the characters to read the next one, though I may look for used copies somewhere. I don't mind spending $6.00 or so but I Would like it to last a little longer!Of course I guess I didn't have to stay up last night reading

Lynn L

I think that makes you the first one done with your "assigned reading".  Glad you liked it.   The series gets better and funnier as you go....  there are at least two threads here on KB discussing the series and the characters.

[Geoffrey]

We're not yet a week into the month, but I thought I'd do a list of all the selected books and an overall set of statuses based on the latest updates ....  


Participant          Book Picked by      Selected Book
akagriff                 luvmy4brats            The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - 65% finished - Tough but excellent
Cora                     Malweth                  The Alchemyst by Michael Scott - 40% finished - Enjoying it but not emotionally attached
Fuzzy Dunlop       sem                          Andersonville Volume 1 A Story of Rebel Military Prisons by John McElroy
Geemont              Megs                       The Briar King by Greg Keyes or Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman - Leaning toward Briar King
geko29                RiddleMeThis            Dhampir by Barb and JC Hendee  
Geoffrey               pomlover2586         The Notebook Nicholas Sparks - FINISHED - Emotional but pleased with book
imallbs                  Lynn                       Watchers by Dean Koontz - 15% finished - unable to put down
luvmy4brats         Fuzzy Dunlop          Neverwhere by Neil Gaimen
Lynn                     Susan in VA             One for the Money by Janet Evanovich - FINISHED - Enjoyed it a lot
Malweth               akagriff                   The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson or Radium Halos by Shelley Stout
Margaret              Geemont                 Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks - FINISHED - Tough but enjoying it
Megs                    imallbs                    #1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
NogDog                geko29                   RipTide by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child - FINISHED - Cannot recommend; reads like an escapist movie script
pomlover2586      Cora                       The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood    
RiddleMeThis        Margaret                 A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini        
sem                      welshcorgi              White Seed: The Untold Story of the Lost Colony of Roanoke by Paul Clayton - 33% finished - Really enjoying it.
Susan in VA          NogDog                   The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
welshcorgi            Geoffrey                  Ruled Britannia by Harry Turtledove

[devilmafia]

This sounds interesting. 

[welshcorgi]

I just finished my assigned book Ruled Brittannia by Harry Turtledove and I found it to be a most enjoyable "alternate history".  The book is set in England in the time of Wm Shakespeare, the main character.  The premise is the Spanish Queen Isabella is ruling a Catholic England, in which Queen Elizabeth is imprisoned in the Tower.  There is much intrigue, plotting, etc. by the English to free their queen and reinstate their Protestant faith. Shakespeare and Spanish poet Lope de Vega are the two main characters, but they are supported by the likes of Christopher Marlowe among others.  I don't want to give too much away, I will just say that Shakespeare does what he does best

Looking forward to next month's assignment

[akagriff]

I'm done!
The Book Thief was excellent.  I wouldn't have had choosen this book if this hadn't been selected for me. 
Why?
1.  I'm 50 and I don't shop in the Young Adult section but now I'm open to this idea.
2.  It's a very emotional book and I couldn't detatch my emotions from the characters.  I physically felt their sorrow and laughter.  I think the characters I could most empathize with were Rosa and Hans.  I hope that I could be like them when facing similar situations.

I'm looking foward to March! 

[imallbs]

I'm about a third of the way through Watchers.  I like the story and will definitely finish the book but...
I'm not really fond of the repetitious writing style.  I find myself thinking (and sometimes saying outloud) "I got it".  But he keeps saying the same thing over and over and over
Most of the characters have not really caught my interest but they are not totally boring either
The book moves a little close to the horror genre sometimes.  Maybe I don't really know what horror is but it seems to me that some grotesque beast that is stalking and killing is getting a little close.  It hasn't crossed the line yet though.

All and all, I'm intrigued by the story and will finish the book.  Overall it's been a fairly good story and has caught my interest.  Although the story pushes the edges of my comfort zone somewhat, I'm finding the story interesting.  Although the characters (except Einstein) have not been very interesting for me, the story is good enough to carry the book and over and over and over and over and over....