What BOOK are you reading right now?

msolga, I really enjoyed Life Class. I think Pat Barker is a wonderful writer...can't recall the name of a book she wrote that I read recently but it was an unforgettable story...about WWII.

I read Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible and got to page 1 zillion, near the end, and said...I'm not bothering to read this. The story became inconsistent and a bit weird toward the end...and I realized I found the whole book unrewarding. I have read reviews of the book of her locavore year, and saw a comment that she seemed a bit too self-satisfied and smug...hmmm.

Osso, I love your Camus quote...it describes me, too, .although I didn't know that until I read it!

I admit to never having read Camus, though a friend, Dyslexia, recommends him. But, I'm an old Cavett fan.

Hi Kara - I'm enjoying her style so far, but I'm a much more lateral reader than you are. I like her approach (and her philosophy of science). But I've found reading on the bus makes me sick - but that's another story.

What is a lateral reader?

Lateral reader? Why, that's a feller who tosses aside a book, init?

Hi, Kara, and well met. I just put up "Driftless" over on the "best book" board.

I think it was a poor word choice, what I meant was I start at the start, work through the middle and finish with the end - even with books that don't have a linear thread (linear! that's the word I was looking for!) like anthologies of short stories or essays. My little bit of OCD/Asperger's. Makes dictionaries a bugger!

Oops ... sorry for the misplaced pun, hingehead. I wouldn't have interrupted the flow had I but noticed that Kara was replying to your previous post.

Debacle, the unhinged.

[url]I read Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible and got to page 1 zillion, near the end, and said...I'm not bothering to read this. The story became inconsistent and a bit weird toward the end...and I realized I found the whole book unrewarding. I have read reviews of the book of her locavore year, and saw a comment that she seemed a bit too self-satisfied and smug...hmmm.[/url]

I also could not finish Poisonwood. I liked her Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, but agree with littlek that it's preachy. I prefer the locavore church of Michael Pollan.

Just started The Women by TC Boyle. It's about the wives of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Hey Kara. Good to see you again!

I couldn't agree more about Pat Barker. She's terrific! Are you thinking of The Regeneration Trilogy? Ghost Road? (No hang on, those were WW1!)

Green Witch, I am actually reading one of Kingsolver's novels right now, Animal Dreams and I have always liked her stuff, maybe not so much for the stories but simply because I enjoy her writing style, much like I like TC Boyle writing style. However, I will give the nod to Boyle for penning a story that holds together better than Kingsolver's.

Let me know how you liked The Women. I haven't read that one yet.

No pology necessary D - I thought it was pretty funny.

Reading The Snow Fox , Susan Fromberg Schaeffer.

Loving it.

It depends, Debacle. If you drop the book on the floor in disgust, you might be termed a gravitational reader. A lateral one would have to fling the book sideways.

I hope you put RIL on the list before Driftless...but we may disagree on this?

Hinge, I do understand that a reader could term himself linear if he read straight through a book of short stories or essays, while I tend to be drawn to one story or essay and read that first. But when I read a novel, I read it from beginning to end...how else would one do it?

I did read Spook differently (it was not a work of fiction, of course) because I wasn't sure I wanted to read the book at all...so I opened it at random, read a bit and was somewhat interested, then opened it at random and discovered the fascinating chapter about the "soul researcher." I went on to read most of the book.

GreenWitch......Michael Pollen...me, too. Did you read his piece in the NYTimes mag a few months ago called "Farmer in Chief"? Profound.

The Women has been reviewed well...I'm going to look for it at the library.

msolga, it was Ghost Road, of course, and Duh...it was indeed WWI. Marvelous book.

Andrew Wyeth, a Secret Life, by Richard Meryman.
Wyeth was a total loon with nothing left in his soul except painting.

If anyone wants to read Pollan's NYT article it's on-line:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html
You can also hear some of his talks on Youtube.

I picked up "The Women" at my local library after seeing the review in the Times. I hope to get a good start on it tonight.

Gus, I agree, Boyle is a better storyteller than Kingsolver. Kingslover does put together some good paragraphs and has good ideas, but I think she needs a stronger editor to keep her focused on the point of her tale.

I am usually more or less lateral when I'm reading books...