What are you reading this week of May 22, 2016?

[hermetic]

, fellow readers.

I'm now reading Elizabeth George's A Traitor to Memory. A well-known woman has been brutally run over in the streets of London. Elsewhere, a violin virtuoso has suddenly lost his ability to play. He's been instructed by his psychiatrist to write a journal and it's rather amusing at times. It will be interesting to see how these two seemingly diverse events eventually come together.

Listening to The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood. Ah, the end of the world as we know it. Doesn't feel fine at all. I like how there are 3 readers and they've put the hymns to music so it seems more like listening to a movie. Interesting that she wrote about the building of a wall to keep the Mexicans out. Wonder if someone read this book to tRump once and he thought it sounded like a good plan for the future.

So, there is this thing I do. After I've read a book, I like to visit online sites to then read about the author, the plot and reviews. This sometimes gives me perspectives that I may not have had while reading. When I went to FictionDB to look up The Power of the Dog, there was no plot synopsis, no reviews. This is not an easy book to talk about, evidently. SPOILER ALERTS ahead.

The thing about this book that I noticed right away was how it kept me changing my mind about all the characters. At first I'd like, or not, someone but then a few chapters on and I'm suddenly understanding why they did this or that. Then I'd be more sympathetic to that person. Kind of like real life, ya know. I liked Rose, mostly, and totally sympathized with her drinking, at first.

Then the ending just blew me away. I think I actually said, Whoa!" out loud; then I laughed. This is definitely one of the most unusual books I've ever read and I plan to read it again someday. I now live in the area Savage writes about so it's easy to "see." I even have friends with cows. Things have changed, of course, since the 30s. But not everything.

What books are making you shout out this week?

[TexasProgresive]

1. I'm only 2/3 through John Scalzi's "The Ghost Brigades"

I have 2 books in line. one novel the other non-fiction. Both are cycling oriented. The novel is considered a classic The Rider by Tim Krabbé. It is short only 148 pages about a short 1/2 day race.

The non-fiction is Reading the Race: Bike Racing from Inside the Peloton by Jamie Smith with Chris Horner. I may never race but it makes being a spectator of bicycle racing more sensible. This one I will probably read in parts.

I'm am kind of obsessive about cycling. I managed to fight off the urge to whip out my credit card to the tune of $1,000+ for a titanium bicycle frame. It probable would take another $1,800 to build it. My rationalizing is that I could afford the frame, but reason won out when I consider the build out cost. So I bought books. LOL

[Enthusiast]

4. That reminds me of myself wanting to buy a kayak to fish from. I have never been in a kayak.

I suspect I might be unnerved by the entire experience. I have the fishing part down.

You can't go wrong with books.

[shenmue]

2. Almost done with "Merciless" by Richard Montanari

Skeered

[Enthusiast]

7. Hi, shenmue. I can't find Merciless by Richard Montanari on Fantastic Fiction.

Is it a Jessica Balzano and Kevin Byrne novel? Thanks.

[shenmue]

8. Yes

Won't give it away, but it's very scary.

[hermetic]

13. Found this one...

http://www.fictiondb.com/author/richard-montanari~merciless~157155~b.htm

There are several books titled Merciless. This one sounds good.

[Enthusiast]

15. Thank you, hermetic!

That does sound skeery!

[Enthusiast]

3. Hello everyone! Thank you for the thread, hermetic!

I'm glad you read The Power of the Dog, hermetic. That is some ending! Hey, I have family with cows.

This past week I finished Entry Island by Peter May. This book blew me away. Peter May can plop the reader down all over the map and do it convincingly. Not only that but he can take the reader somewhere on the map during a different time and again do it convincingly. Entry Island was an excellent story. It's a "who done it" actually. But it is far more than that. It's a sort of history lesson about people we might never have known existed, unless you happen to live on one of these islands in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence or on the Hebrides Islands.

Now I'm reading When the Bough Breaks by Jonathan Kellerman. This is the first of the Alex Delaware series. I was afraid I would find When the Bough Breaks deficient after Entry Island but that is not so.

Mrs Enthusiast is still reading The Stand by Stephen King—a huge book. She is finding this very appealing as I thought she might. I have persuaded her to read several Stephen King's works in the past. She loved 11 22 63 and enjoyed Under the Dome, The Girl that Loved Tom Gordon, Joyland and a number of his short stories like Shawshank Redemption and Misery.

[pscot]

5. The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalup

I don't know much about this one yet. One of the blurbs calls it a "noir-tinged, apocalyptic vision of the near future", so I got that to look forward to.

[Enthusiast]

6. Hi, pscot. I can't find that Paolo Bacigalup guy on Fantastic Fiction.

[hermetic]

12. Hi, Enthus

Try this spelling: Bacigalupi, Paolo
My library has Water Knife on cd so I plan to be listening to that one soon.

[Enthusiast]

20. Thank you, hermetic.

Water Knife is a distopian novel. It sounds too much like a likely near future scenario.

[japple]

16. I have The Water Knife on my list. Maybe the library has it on

e-edition. Will have to check.

[mackerel]

9. I*'m rereading The Outsiders. I have to teach it tomorrow.

I'm trying to connect with these inner city kids I'm teaching right now. None of the books in the classroom are young adult. So I brought the only copy I have at home and I spend about 20 minutes reading to them everyday. Some days they listen. lol

[Enthusiast]

10. Thank you for your service.

[pscot]

11. As long as they aren't throwing stuff at you

You're ahead of the game. They can be a tough audience.

[hermetic]

14. Good for you!

You don't say how old your kids are but I thought I would share this. I am a big fan of The Bloggess, Jenny Lawson, and a few weeks ago she recommended this book, Stolen Things by Stephen Parolini. It doesn't actually say YA but it is about a young girl.

A storybook forest. A friendly neighborhood cat. An ancient garage stuffed with history and mystery. Moving with her dad to her aunt’s hill house in Maine holds the promise of a compelling adventure for 12-year-old Raspberry Lynette Granby, except for one heartbreaking truth: her dad is dying of cancer.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0991621220?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=393177&creativeASIN=0991621220&linkCode=shr&tag=thebloggess-20&linkId=RJ24WMXMMRJMUMVH

[mackerel]

18. Right now I'm doing 8th graders but next

year they might switch me to 6th graders. That might be a good book for 6th graders. These kids are awful on good days and yes they do throw stuff at me occasionally. Thankfully our school has a supportive administration and I learned early on make good friends with security because you need them to have your back.

[japple]

17. Thanks for the thread, hermetic. I enjoyed your comments on

The Power of the Dog and your assessment closely matches my own. That ending was one of the most original, unusual, and powerful endings I've ever read. I laughed about it as well, then went back and re-read the last couple chapters again, just to make sure I hadn't imagined it.

Finished reading Stephen Harrigan's book, Remember Ben Clayton which I enjoyed and thought a very good story and nicely written.

Then, I downloaded a book from the library. Nathan Jorgenson's book, The Mulligan. Given the title, I should have expected there would be quite a bit about golf, but there was a lot about fly-fishing as well, and I abandoned it--probably before it got to the part I would have enjoyed.

Now, I am reading a book by Richard Bausch, titled Peace which is about the Italian campaign in WWII, and where my father served. It is rough and the descriptions of the hardships faced by soldiers and civilians alike are sometimes gruesome--just like war.

[japple]

19. Hermetic, I got so carried away in your review of The Power of the Dog

that I forgot to respond to your comments about Margaret Atwood, The Year of the Flood. I've been a fan of MA for many years and, though I liked other books more than the Oryx & Crake books, I enjoyed this trilogy, though lots of the details and scenarios really grossed me out. I am not prepared for a future like this. I will, hopefully, transition before this comes to pass.

[hermetic]

21. I love Margaret

She is an amazing person. I read Oryx & Crake back when it first came out and my remembrance is a bit dim. I had to listen to The Year of the Flood twice (28 hours!) to really grasp all that was going on. She sure imagined some freaky hybrids but her take on humans was quite accurate. Now I'm into book 3 which I will say a bit about in today's pinned post.

Something that really cracks me up though is Adam One. Do you remember that TV series from long ago? Every time they would mention him I could just hear that old police radio crackling out, "One Adam One, One Adam One."

[japple]

22. I had forgotten that TV series Adam One! Thanks for the

LOL!

[CrispyQ]

23. My reading.

I finished Playing with Fire by by Tess Gerritsen a few days ago. I really enjoyed it. It was one of those two-stories-in-one books - a story in current time connected to a story in the past. In the current time, a violinist buys a book of old gypsy music when she performing in Italy. In the book is a piece of handwritten music that seems to have strange effects on her child. The story of the past takes place during WWII in Italy. What was really interesting is that the author wrote a piece of music - presumably the music from the novel. I purchased it for $1.25 & it's good. Different & it goes dark, but I liked it.

Now I'm reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. It's a fascinating non-fiction about how this woman's cells were taken from her during a cervical exam & how unique they are. Yes, I used the word are, because they are still alive. Here's a short version of the medical side of the story & something about the book below. I'm only about a 1/3 of the way through but it's really interesting. There is a human element too. It's not all medical.

http://www.npr.org/2010/02/02/123232331/henrietta-lacks-a-donors-immortal-legacy

I'm going to check out The Power of the Dog. Sounds interesting.