What book have you read lately or do you recommend?

[louielouie2000]

I'm nearly finished reading The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice. It's easily the best thing she's written in 20 years. I could definitely see this book spinning off into it's own series like her vampire & witch novels... there's just so many directions the story line could venture into.

[fringed n fab]

I don't visit bookstores searching for particular books, I usually just find em lying around someplace or at peoples houses or someone brings them to me and I'll get around to picking them up and if interested after 5 minutes, I keep reading. I just read Lorrie Morgan's book recently and never realized why or when she cut the song "Faithfully" by Journey, that that was hers and Keith's song when they were together, they had been out one day early in their relationship and he went inside a store and came out with a Journey tape and played her that song, and said right then and there that would be their song always, and to really listen to the lyrics, which she did. She gives an honest account into both their lives in the book, very personal things and how as Keith was just taking off in the music business, his drinking binges were spiraling out of control. She talks later of after they married, she felt it her duty to always supervise Keith, that he'd go drinking anything he could get his hands on, be it household cleaners or mouthwash, colognes, anything he could sneak away with, so her and friends and family constantly had to keep watch on him, making sure he always swallowed his Antabuse pill, which would make a person deathly ill if they drank alcohol, but Keith was known for clever ways of hiding the pill under his tongue and later disposing of it anywhere he could to get out of taking it daily. As both their music careers were taking off, she talks of how their managers tried to make their schedules overlap in between so they could spend some time together before one of the other had to be on the road, so one would be home with the kids, etc. She talks of him coming in off the road, what would be the very last time, and she was about to leave a short time later to go do her thing, her own gigs off somewhere, but had this awful feeling something was not right or about to happen, and she called her record people and tried to cancel but they urged her on to go, he'd be alright. So off she goes, and Keith drove her to meet her plane and as she was about to get on he handed her an envelope and said do not open it until you're off the ground, so she waited until the plane took off and then opened it and whatever the message was Keith was trying to get across, Lorrie felt immediate doom in the air and wanted to turn the plane back around but her road guy who accompanied her assured her everything was going to be ok. Well she talks of trying to reach Keith at home by phone as soon as she could a few hours later and the next couple of days went by and still no answer, which was highly unusual since they both always stayed in touch and never went that long, calling every few hours when away. She felt uneasy the entire time while away but tried to get through her gig and back home as soon as she could, and it was when she was busy eating at a diner with one of her label people, that the person she was with was paged to come take a call. So she sat there feeling very nervous and uneasy, and when her guy came back to the table, she noticed a look on his face and he told her she had to make a call home to so-and so. She blurted out "Keith's dead, isn't he?" "I know he's dead". He had drank himself to death at age 34 at home in their bed.

From Wikipedia, below.

Alcoholism and death

Whitley was a longtime alcoholic, who started drinking early in his career at bluegrass gigs, long before he was legally allowed to drink alcohol. Many times he had tried to overcome his alcoholism, but failed. Whitley preferred to drink alone, making it difficult for anyone to detect that he had a problem. According to Lorrie Morgan, she tried to conceal all alcoholic beverages from him, even going as far as binding their legs together before going to bed so as to make it impossible for Whitley to wake up in the middle of the night to consume a drink without her knowledge - only to discover that he would drink things such as perfume and nail polish remover to get intoxicated.

Whitley had lost both his father Elmer and his brother Randy (October 1983 motorcycle accident), in the five years preceding his death.[3][5]

On the morning of May 9, 1989, after a weekend of drinking and partying, Whitley awoke and spoke with his mother briefly on the phone. He was then visited by his brother-in-law Lane Palmer, and the two had coffee; after which Whitley had planned to start writing songs for he and Lorrie Morgan to record when she returned from her tour. Palmer departed at approximately 8:30 a.m.,[9] informing Whitley to be ready to leave within an hour. Upon returning, Palmer found Whitley face down on his bed, fully clothed.

The cause of death was determined to be acute ethanolism (alcohol poisoning),[4] and Davidson County Medical Examiner Charles Harlan stated that his blood alcohol level was .477 (the equivalent of 20 1-ounce shots of 100-proof whiskey[10] and almost five times over the then Tennessee level of 0.1 legal intoxication limit, and nearly six times over the current .08 legal limit to drive).[11][12][12][13][14] Whitley was 34 years old.[1][2]

The day after his death, Music Row was lined with black ribbons in memory of Whitley. He is buried in the Spring Hill Cemetery outside of Nashville, Tennessee.

[KarmaContestant]

I just picked up a copy of Out of Oz, by Gregory Maguire.



His book Wicked is one of my favorite novels. Out of Oz, as it turns out, is the fourth in a series so I'll have to get books 2 and 3 before I can read it.

I might as well re-read Wicked as well, before I see the musical (again) this summer.

[RavenOfRhiannon]

(My review of the book, via Goodreads)

I don’t even know how to begin to describe my experience in reading The Night Circus, because that’s what it was, an experience. The book had been in the periphery of my life since before publication, I’d heard several of my book industry colleagues discuss it. I filed those conversations away.
When it came time to leave for Taos for my Christmas holiday, I knew I needed a book to take along. Circumstances dictated I was unable to get the book before I left town, what a fortuitous turn of events. I procured my copy at Moby Dickens the day I arrived. Moby Dickens is a very special shop in the middle of Old Taos. Much to my delight, it was brimming over with customers. (Who says Independent Bookstores are passe?)
As soon as I got back to the hotel I opened up the book, and fell right in to the story. I don’t want to give too much away, because I want everyone to experience the book on their own, without the lens of my perspective.
This was the first book I had read since leaving my post as a bookstore manager for the field of librarian that made me regret my decision, even for a moment. I wanted to have read an Advanced Reader’s Copy so I could have planned a huge release party in my store. I wanted to walk up to every single customer, regardless of what they were buying and tell them about Night Circus. I wanted to wear black and white everyday, with a different red accent, just to see who would notice. I could have sold the crap out of that book, and I knew whoever it was who was in my old post now would not have given the book a second thought. I felt bad for all my old customers, and hoped that the book would find itself into their life another way.
I know some people will read this book on an e-reader, but this magical book demands to be read on paper. The dust jacket, the interior art, the striped inlay, heck, even the font are all part of the enchantment of the story. An e-reader would just lessen the experience. There are literary elements to the story that conjure up musty old libraries and bookshops.
I have been a voracious reader and bibliophile for such a long time, that my imagination runs rampant with the details of a story. When I read, I see everything: faces, furniture, places, objects. I can construct the entire story in my mind, using only the author’s words, and my imagination. With The Night Circus, t didn’t work that way. I could see the general outline of things, get an impression, but the details were always hazy. I have an idea of what Celia Bowen looks like, but I could never attempt to describe her to anyone. I can just feel how she looks. The same goes for the Circus itself, it is more of a general feeling and atmosphere than it is a description. The other funny thing about that was that as soon as I left a character or a place, I would totally forget how they looked. I would have to reconstruct the circus in my mind every time I went back there. It was as if I was viewing everything through a mist or haze.
That is why it is so hard to write about this book. I can only tell you how I felt while reading it. As I was reading it, I felt magical, and I was so happy to be away from home, it helped me feel transported. The other thing that I abandoned in the reading was my discipline. I usually force myself to read slowly, so that I can savor each chapter, and live with each character for a long time. I like to walk around, thinking about what would happen next, and what the characters might be thinking. I wanted to do that with The Night Circus too, but each time I put the book down, an incredible melancholy crept over me. I felt listless and alone. I had to get back to the circus. I did most of the reading at night (happy coincidence, or fate?) in the old library of the hotel.
Too soon (actually, on time, the night before we left) I finished the book. I was beyond sad. I was not ready for the story to end. I was not ready to leave the circus. I wanted to email Bailey and tell him how marvelous his circus was. I didn’t want to let go, it hurt too much. I was sad that I would bot be selling the book. I was sad that I had no one to talk to about the book. I was sad because I knew there should be no sequels or other journeys with the circus. It was the perfect story and did not need an adaptation for the screen. It does not need a sequel. It just needs to exist and find it’s way into the hands of other readers.
I started looking on the web and found the author’s website, facebook page, and pages for the book itself. There is a community out there, reveurs, like in the book itself. That both comforted me and irritated me. On one hand, having a community to discuss the book with would be lovely. On the other hand, I still feel like this is MY book, and I wanted to keep it that way for a little while longer. I wasn’t ready to share this experience. I knew I would be writing a review of this book, how could I not? But even that frightened me. What if, in the process or writing it, I deconstructed it to the point it was no longer magical? Unlike Celia in her quest to control the circus, I did not wan to know how Marco’s magic worked. It was better left a mystery. That is why this review says almost nothing about the story itself. I want it to be a discovery for you, as much as it was for me.
That night, I dreamt of trains, passenger trains, everything was in shades of grey, save for a pair of bright red boots worn by a woman whose face I could not see. When I woke, I realized that, although I was done with the book for now, the book was not done with me.

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by RavenOfRhiannon

(My review of the book, via Goodreads)

I don’t even know how to begin to describe my experience in reading The Night Circus, because that’s what it was, an experience. The book had been in the periphery of my life since before publication, I’d heard several of my book industry colleagues discuss it. I filed those conversations away.
When it came time to leave for Taos for my Christmas holiday, I knew I needed a book to take along. Circumstances dictated I was unable to get the book before I left town, what a fortuitous turn of events. I procured my copy at Moby Dickens the day I arrived. Moby Dickens is a very special shop in the middle of Old Taos. Much to my delight, it was brimming over with customers. (Who says Independent Bookstores are passe?)
As soon as I got back to the hotel I opened up the book, and fell right in to the story. I don’t want to give too much away, because I want everyone to experience the book on their own, without the lens of my perspective.
This was the first book I had read since leaving my post as a bookstore manager for the field of librarian that made me regret my decision, even for a moment. I wanted to have read an Advanced Reader’s Copy so I could have planned a huge release party in my store. I wanted to walk up to every single customer, regardless of what they were buying and tell them about Night Circus. I wanted to wear black and white everyday, with a different red accent, just to see who would notice. I could have sold the crap out of that book, and I knew whoever it was who was in my old post now would not have given the book a second thought. I felt bad for all my old customers, and hoped that the book would find itself into their life another way.
I know some people will read this book on an e-reader, but this magical book demands to be read on paper. The dust jacket, the interior art, the striped inlay, heck, even the font are all part of the enchantment of the story. An e-reader would just lessen the experience. There are literary elements to the story that conjure up musty old libraries and bookshops.
I have been a voracious reader and bibliophile for such a long time, that my imagination runs rampant with the details of a story. When I read, I see everything: faces, furniture, places, objects. I can construct the entire story in my mind, using only the author’s words, and my imagination. With The Night Circus, t didn’t work that way. I could see the general outline of things, get an impression, but the details were always hazy. I have an idea of what Celia Bowen looks like, but I could never attempt to describe her to anyone. I can just feel how she looks. The same goes for the Circus itself, it is more of a general feeling and atmosphere than it is a description. The other funny thing about that was that as soon as I left a character or a place, I would totally forget how they looked. I would have to reconstruct the circus in my mind every time I went back there. It was as if I was viewing everything through a mist or haze.
That is why it is so hard to write about this book. I can only tell you how I felt while reading it. As I was reading it, I felt magical, and I was so happy to be away from home, it helped me feel transported. The other thing that I abandoned in the reading was my discipline. I usually force myself to read slowly, so that I can savor each chapter, and live with each character for a long time. I like to walk around, thinking about what would happen next, and what the characters might be thinking. I wanted to do that with The Night Circus too, but each time I put the book down, an incredible melancholy crept over me. I felt listless and alone. I had to get back to the circus. I did most of the reading at night (happy coincidence, or fate?) in the old library of the hotel.
Too soon (actually, on time, the night before we left) I finished the book. I was beyond sad. I was not ready for the story to end. I was not ready to leave the circus. I wanted to email Bailey and tell him how marvelous his circus was. I didn’t want to let go, it hurt too much. I was sad that I would bot be selling the book. I was sad that I had no one to talk to about the book. I was sad because I knew there should be no sequels or other journeys with the circus. It was the perfect story and did not need an adaptation for the screen. It does not need a sequel. It just needs to exist and find it’s way into the hands of other readers.
I started looking on the web and found the author’s website, facebook page, and pages for the book itself. There is a community out there, reveurs, like in the book itself. That both comforted me and irritated me. On one hand, having a community to discuss the book with would be lovely. On the other hand, I still feel like this is MY book, and I wanted to keep it that way for a little while longer. I wasn’t ready to share this experience. I knew I would be writing a review of this book, how could I not? But even that frightened me. What if, in the process or writing it, I deconstructed it to the point it was no longer magical? Unlike Celia in her quest to control the circus, I did not wan to know how Marco’s magic worked. It was better left a mystery. That is why this review says almost nothing about the story itself. I want it to be a discovery for you, as much as it was for me.
That night, I dreamt of trains, passenger trains, everything was in shades of grey, save for a pair of bright red boots worn by a woman whose face I could not see. When I woke, I realized that, although I was done with the book for now, the book was not done with me.

I have never heard of this book but will definitely check it out.

[fringed n fab]

Originally Posted by RavenOfRhiannon

(My review of the book, via Goodreads)

I don’t even know how to begin to describe my experience in reading The Night Circus, because that’s what it was, an experience. The book had been in the periphery of my life since before publication, I’d heard several of my book industry colleagues discuss it. I filed those conversations away.
When it came time to leave for Taos for my Christmas holiday, I knew I needed a book to take along. Circumstances dictated I was unable to get the book before I left town, what a fortuitous turn of events. I procured my copy at Moby Dickens the day I arrived. Moby Dickens is a very special shop in the middle of Old Taos. Much to my delight, it was brimming over with customers. (Who says Independent Bookstores are passe?)
As soon as I got back to the hotel I opened up the book, and fell right in to the story. I don’t want to give too much away, because I want everyone to experience the book on their own, without the lens of my perspective.
This was the first book I had read since leaving my post as a bookstore manager for the field of librarian that made me regret my decision, even for a moment. I wanted to have read an Advanced Reader’s Copy so I could have planned a huge release party in my store. I wanted to walk up to every single customer, regardless of what they were buying and tell them about Night Circus. I wanted to wear black and white everyday, with a different red accent, just to see who would notice. I could have sold the crap out of that book, and I knew whoever it was who was in my old post now would not have given the book a second thought. I felt bad for all my old customers, and hoped that the book would find itself into their life another way.
I know some people will read this book on an e-reader, but this magical book demands to be read on paper. The dust jacket, the interior art, the striped inlay, heck, even the font are all part of the enchantment of the story. An e-reader would just lessen the experience. There are literary elements to the story that conjure up musty old libraries and bookshops. I have been a voracious reader and bibliophile for such a long time, that my imagination runs rampant with the details of a story. When I read, I see everything: faces, furniture, places, objects. I can construct the entire story in my mind, using only the author’s words, and my imagination. With The Night Circus, t didn’t work that way. I could see the general outline of things, get an impression, but the details were always hazy. I have an idea of what Celia Bowen looks like, but I could never attempt to describe her to anyone. I can just feel how she looks. The same goes for the Circus itself, it is more of a general feeling and atmosphere than it is a description. The other funny thing about that was that as soon as I left a character or a place, I would totally forget how they looked. I would have to reconstruct the circus in my mind every time I went back there. It was as if I was viewing everything through a mist or haze.
That is why it is so hard to write about this book. I can only tell you how I felt while reading it. As I was reading it, I felt magical, and I was so happy to be away from home, it helped me feel transported. The other thing that I abandoned in the reading was my discipline. I usually force myself to read slowly, so that I can savor each chapter, and live with each character for a long time. I like to walk around, thinking about what would happen next, and what the characters might be thinking. I wanted to do that with The Night Circus too, but each time I put the book down, an incredible melancholy crept over me. I felt listless and alone. I had to get back to the circus. I did most of the reading at night (happy coincidence, or fate?) in the old library of the hotel.
Too soon (actually, on time, the night before we left) I finished the book. I was beyond sad. I was not ready for the story to end. I was not ready to leave the circus. I wanted to email Bailey and tell him how marvelous his circus was. I didn’t want to let go, it hurt too much. I was sad that I would bot be selling the book. I was sad that I had no one to talk to about the book. I was sad because I knew there should be no sequels or other journeys with the circus. It was the perfect story and did not need an adaptation for the screen. It does not need a sequel. It just needs to exist and find it’s way into the hands of other readers.
I started looking on the web and found the author’s website, facebook page, and pages for the book itself. There is a community out there, reveurs, like in the book itself. That both comforted me and irritated me. On one hand, having a community to discuss the book with would be lovely. On the other hand, I still feel like this is MY book, and I wanted to keep it that way for a little while longer. I wasn’t ready to share this experience. I knew I would be writing a review of this book, how could I not? But even that frightened me. What if, in the process or writing it, I deconstructed it to the point it was no longer magical? Unlike Celia in her quest to control the circus, I did not wan to know how Marco’s magic worked. It was better left a mystery. That is why this review says almost nothing about the story itself. I want it to be a discovery for you, as much as it was for me.
That night, I dreamt of trains, passenger trains, everything was in shades of grey, save for a pair of bright red boots worn by a woman whose face I could not see. When I woke, I realized that, although I was done with the book for now, the book was not done with me.

I admit I'm not much of a fiction book reader, but this book does seem interesting from reading the first few pages on Amazon. And I agree with you about needing to read a physical book to have the full experience. And the same can be said for buying music and physical albums and stuff. By going digital, the whole experience of holding something as you're flipping through be it a book or a music album, just isn't the same when it's digital. I do think you end up losing something by that and a prime example of modern conveniences just not being the same.

[Fireflies]

i just finished "the hunger games". definitely entertaining, but her style of writing (or lack thereof) was a chore adjusting to. if you can make it through the first ten pages, you're solid.

and, if you're into this genre--you should check out "oryx & crake" and "the year of the flood", both my margaret atwood.

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by Fireflies

i just finished "the hunger games". definitely entertaining, but her style of writing (or lack thereof) was a chore adjusting to. if you can make it through the first ten pages, you're solid.

and, if you're into this genre--you should check out "oryx & crake" and "the year of the flood", both my margaret atwood.

funny you mentioned those books, because I was just checking them out on my e-reader. The problem I'm having is spending soo much money for those e-books. They are old. Infact, I just my Nook, which Barnes and Nobles e-reader and I'm really disappointed with the price points on e-books, although I love the Nook.

[RavenOfRhiannon]

Thanks for the responses to my post. Fringed N Fab, I am right there with you. I do not own an e-reader. I have a second living room in my home that I converted to a library. I love to sit in my reading chair, surrounded by my books, and read. You can't do that with an e-reader. You also can't get an e-book autographed, which I do a lot. I can see the convenience, but it's just not for me.
Speaking of autographed books, here's another way The Night Circus keeps cropping up in my life.
As I was couring the 'net for info on the book and the author, I came across a picture of a window display in a book shop in Georgia. I used the pic as my fb cover photo, and also 'liked' the bookshop. I was promptly contacted by the woman who created the display. Her name is Stevie (I swear!!)
Stevie told me the author would be signing at the store, and offered to get my book signed. I sent it off with an added present, sort of a thank you to the author for writing such a great book. The book is very Stevie Nicks, so I put together a 3 disc 'soundtrack' to the novel. These are the tunes I think you should listen to while reading the book. The book shop ladies and the author were so impressed, they played the music during the signing. I'm at work so I can't post the picture of the cover I designed for the cd, but here is the playlist in case anyone is interested:

1. Annabel Lee - In Your Dreams

2. Enchanted - Wild Heart

3. Beautiful Child - Tusk

4. Sleeping Angel - Enchanted (Disc 3)

5. Candlebright - Trouble in Shangri-La

6. Destiny Rules - Say You Will

7. Kind of Woman - Bella Donna

8. Go Insane (live) - Very Best of Fleetwood Mac (Disc 2)

9. Sorcerer (Marylin Martin) - Streets of Fire

10. Running Through the Garden - Say You Will

11. Secret Love - In Your Dreams

12. If Anyone Falls - Wild Heart

13. My Heart - In Your Dreams

14. Battle of the Dragon - Enchanted (Disc 3)

15. How Still My Love - Bella Donna

16. The Chain - Rumours

17. Book of Miracles - (B-side of Seven Wonders single)

18. Bella Donna - Bella Donna

19. Wild Heart - Wild Heart

20. Make Me A Mask - The Chain Boxed Set (Disc 1)

21. Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream) - In Your Dreams

22. Tango in the Night - Tango in the Night

23. Gold Dust Woman - Rumours

24. Sisters of the Moon (single version) - Very Best of Fleetwood Mac (Disc 2)

25. Doing the Best That I Can - The Other Side of the MIrror

26. Gypsy (extended) - The Chain Boxed Set (Disc 2)

27. Storms - Tusk

28. Her Breath is the Wind - (Rhiannon mashup)

29. Illume - Say You Will

30. Silver Springs - Rumours (reissue)

31. Crystal - Buckingham Nicks

32. Mistaken Love - Piano Demo

33. Angel - Tusk

34. Wide Sargasso Sea - In Your Dreams

35. Have No Heart - Demo

36. Dreams - Rumours

37. Trouble in Shangri-La - Trouble in Shangri-La

38. The Highway Man - Bella Donna

39. Beauty and the Beast - Wild Heart

40. Violet and Blue - Enchanted (Disc 3)

41. For What It's Worth - In Your Dreams

42. Frozen Love - Buckingham Nicks

43. Fire Burning - The Other Side of the Mirror

44. Call on me for Magic - Demo

45. When I See You Again - Tango in the Night

46. Say Goodbye - Say You Will

48. Love Is - Trouble in Shangri-La

[fringed n fab]

^^Pretty cool... Yeah I think a lot of us are more like Stevie (Nicks) than we realize, remaining old school. How I'm not willing to be like so many and switch to computing these days by a small little phone or tablet, no matter how "smart" and cool they say something is. To me nothing's like computing on an actual desktop or laptop and probably never will be. Sure I like the convenience every great once in a while to pull up something right quick by phone on the web, but will never be satisfied mainly computing everything one needs to do that way. It's just not the same! And I don't see how people do it.

[KarmaContestant]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

funny you mentioned those books, because I was just checking them out on my e-reader. The problem I'm having is spending soo much money for those e-books. They are old. Infact, I just my Nook, which Barnes and Nobles e-reader and I'm really disappointed with the price points on e-books, although I love the Nook.

The prices of e-books is a travesty - a rip-off actually.

There's a lawsuit going on right now - the United States has sued Apple and several publishers, accusing them of organized price-fixing on e-books.

[ButterCookie]

I'm looking forward to my next lot of Student Loan to come through so I can buy Doctor Who: Shada.

Douglas Adams wrote the Doctor Who story Shada and due to strikes at the BBC, the television serial was never finished. Gareth Roberts has finished writing/editing the script into a novel and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

[Macfanforever]

I happen to find a book I got from middle school in some boxes I packed away.It a book about Nashville {City of Sound} dated 1976 .A 124 page book Written by James A. Hudson .I'm going to reread it.Also I probably use it for a book report then which is still floating around here somewhere in the boxes.

[Silver Springs]

I'm currently reading The Picture Of Dorian Gray. We have an interesting relationship, Oscar Wilde and I. We rarely speak, but when perchance we do it's as though we are dear old friends.

[cliffdweller]

Originally Posted by Fireflies

and, if you're into this genre--you should check out "oryx & crake" and "the year of the flood", both my margaret atwood.

Read both of those. I enjoyed both immensely, but there was something about YOTF that totally hooked me in. Love Atwood. Love dystopian lit!