Open books

    

     I love to know what other people are reading, especially all the visitors to this site who have varied and interesting tastes, and whose recommendations have increased the size of my books wishlist and my TBR pile considerably. So I'll tell you what is currently on the bedside tables chez Cornflower and I hope you'll tell me what you're reading now and whether you're getting on with it or not  - we've done this before but it's been a while and it's always fun to swap titles.
     I'm well on with something a little off the beaten track and enjoying it greatly and that's the autobiographical  Myself and Michael Innes by J.I.M.Stewart. As for the rest of the family, one has just polished off Moby Dick, another is revisiting John Updike's Rabbit Angstrom: A Tetralogy, the third is reading Pat Reid's Colditz: The Full Story while the fourth was keen to pick up Tears of the Giraffe straight after finishing The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency.
How about you?
 

Comments

[Peter the Flautist]

I have just finished a newly published novel with a detective in it; "The Pianist's Hands" by Eugenio Fuentes (Trans. from Spanish). Somewhat dark, a little "baroque" and definitely well written. By my futon I have a book that, shock horror, I am re-reading. It is "Changing Places" by David Lodge.

Dark Puss

[Claire]

A very gentle Barbara Pym. A Few Green Leaves. Not her best but very easy to read before we turn off the light!

[Suzanne]

I capture the castle by Dodie Smith, after finishing the 4 Cazalett books by Elizabeth Jane Howard. 4 new Persephone titles are patiently waiting for me, as well as Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman. In between Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer by Jane Brockett as well as the biography of Agatha Christie by Laura Thompson. To be honest: a lot more books are all piled up, waiting to be read. There are just not enough hours in a day, or maybe I'm too greedy...
Suzanne from Holland

[BooksPlease]

I'm reading Dear Dodie: the life of Dodie Smith by Valerie Grove. I knew nothing about her before except that she wrote I Capture the Castle. I started this some months ago and only read short sections at a time. Now in an effort to finish it more quickly I've brought it upstairs to read in bed. It's actually quite sad and touching to read how she felt about her "exile" in America during the war years and her need to be appreciated by British theatre goers. I hope to finish it this weekend.

[Kirsty]

I'm reading Reading the Oxford English Dictionary by Ammon Shea, Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and up next is The Victorian Governess by Kathryn Hughes.

[Harriet]

I'm reading "To Love and Be Wise" by the incomparable detective writer Josephine Tey. There's a huge pile of other books next to the bed too, but I think next up will be another vintage murder, Anthony Berkeley's "The Poisoned Chocolate Case". Or will it be "Mansfield Park Revisited" by Joan Aiken? I'm envious of your JIM Stewart as I'm a huge admirer of Michael Innes.

[Julie]

I am reading 'The Turquoise' by Anya Seton. Next up, probably 'Nells Last's Peace'.

[Julie]

Whoops that should have been 'Nella' not 'Nells'!

[Cheryl]

Just began "Love Over Scotland," to complete the AMS Edinburgh series. Wetting my whistle, so to speak for getting a feel for the city.

[Frances]

Reading Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's and Other Short Works and really loving it. Picked it as part of a reading challenge as I realized I had never read anything by Capote. Such subtle, nuanced delivery of personal pain. More than expected.

[_lethe_]

I have just finished The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman which I liked but not as much as I did Coraline.
About to start Cold Skin by Albert Sánchez Piñol. After reading some spoilerish reviews on Amazon I thought I might not like this one, and as I desperately need to make room on my shelves that would not be such a bad thing.
Currently reading The Case of the Missing Books (a Mobile Library Mystery) by Ian Sansom, a bit chatty but fun.
An ongoing project is reading Virginia Woolf's Diary and Letters side by side.

[Janice]

I'm reading White Cargo by Felicity Kendal - Simon (at StuckinaBook) reviewed this last week and added it to his 50 Books list. I'm so glad to have found it. Her descriptions of life in India are marvelous.

And I'm listening to the e-book of Alexander McCall Smith - Corduroy Mansions. He's adding one chapter each day for 2l weeks. The narrator is the best --- Manuel from Fawlty Towers

[natalie]

I'm reading "The Whisperers" by Orlando Figes. It's good, and it's a lot of reading for the £££, but I think I need something a bit lighter for bedtime reading.

natalie

[carole]

I'm reading "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama. It's topical, and I enjoy reading about American politics. Then I will move on to re-read "The Prodigal Summer" by Barbara Kingsolver, perhaps because we didn't have one.

[Terri - teelgee]

I just finished a pretty awful book called "The English Major" by Jim Harrison.

I'm just starting "Peony in Love' by Lisa See. It's for my F to F book group Monday.

Next up will probably be Mosquito by Roma Tearne or Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson

[Sarah]

I've just finished The Comfort of Saturdays, and am savouring an interview from The Paris Review interviews volume II daily. Next, I'm planning to re-read All Quiet on the Western Front for Remembrance Day.

[Georgia K]

Has anyone read "Dreams of My Russian Summers" by Andrei Makine? I've been picking it up and putting it down for the last couple of months. It's a book I want to be captivated by, but it's not really working. So I'm diverting myself instead with a (very rare) re-read, of Evelyn Waugh's highly entertaining "Men at Arms" (first of a trilogy), revisiting the lovely Guy Crouchback, perfectly dreadful Apthorpe, and utterly splendid Ritchie-Hook. Wonderfully written.

[Juxtabook]

I am reading The Team by K.M. peyton (much loved children's book), have just finished Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo (wonderful) for the OU bookclub, and am about to start The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje.

[adele geras]

Ihave been a good girl and finished Mysteries of Glass for next week and am currently about 100 pages into AMERICAN WIFE by Curtis Sittenfeld, loosely based on the life of Laura Bush. It's fantastic....lots to go yet and she's only just met the 'George Bush' character but really enjoyable! My husband has just started THE SOLDIER'S ART by Anthony Powell (number 8 in the Dance to the Music of Time sequence) He says it's a great relief after Anita Brookner's A Friend From England, which he did not enjoy one little bit!

[Becca]

I am currently fully immersed in 'Becoming Queen', which I love, and am also intending to start 'Testament of Youth' tomorrow. I have books all around my room crying out to be read and I wish there were more hours in a day!

[Mrs C]

I too am enjoying Alexander McCall Smith and working my way through the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series and loving them all!

[Rebecca]

I love these posts, indeed several of the recommendations of Cornflower and her readers have featured on my bedside table and all have been greatly enjoyed.

I am currently reading Dorothy Whipple's, Someone at a Distance and it is so good that I am forcing myself to slow down, sadly only a few pages to go, this may be one of the few books that I read more than once.

[Michelle]

I'm reading Finding Violet Park by Jenny Valentine. It's a YA book that I've only just started but I loved the author's other book, Broken Soup so much that I had to give this one a try as well.

[Louise]

Justine Picardie's Daphne is the only book by the bedside I haven't started yet, no value judgement intended. The rest, in no particular order are: du Maurier's The Loving Spirit, Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian (it's just too good to finish), Winifred Holtby's Letters to a Friend, Claire Tomalin's Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life and last but by no means least Barbara Euphan Todd's Miss Ranskill Comes Home.

[Barbara MacLeod]

I have finally received through the inter-library loan Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple. It was on the radio (Book at Bedtime) recently. I only heard the last few chapters but thought I would enjoy it.

[Mo]

I am smiling my way through all Iris Murdoch's novels in order of publication.

[Lesley Arrowsmith]

I've just finished The Cure of Souls by Phil Rickman - and learnt a lot about hops in the process (while being genuinely surprised by the rather gruesome murders)! He's a local author - the series is set in Herefordshire and stars Rev Merrily Watkins, the diocesan Deliverance minister (or exorcist, as they used to be known).
Jenny Valentine is a local author, too - she now runs Hay Wholefoods when she isn't writing.

[Delyn]

I've just finished ''The Road Home'' (Rose Tremain). Lots to think about with regard to our attitude to immigrants and a writer I admire.
I've also recently read ''The Welsh Girl'' (Peter Ho Davies), and ''Resistance'' (Owen Sheers). Both books are based in Wales during the last war,Owen Sheers is a young writer, Welsh, whose writing I very much enjoy, particularly his other book,''The Dust Diaries'', set in Africa.He is also a poet and this is very evident in his writing.
By coincidence, I am now reading ''The Mysteries of Glass'' which is set in my area of Herefordshire. I was interested to read tha comments but am not sufficiently into it to comment as yet.
That is my 'downstairs' book. 'Upstairs' I've started ''Three Cups of Tea'' ( Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin)
Last, but not least, I've ordered a Dorothy Whipple! I hadn't heard of her until Karen mentioned her so I'm intrigued as to what effect she'll have on me.