What BOOK are you reading right now?

Finished Billy Collin's latest book of poetry, The Rains of Portugal. Reading a book of short stories by China Miéville called Three Moments of an Explosion.

Serpent In The Sky ( The High Wisdom of Ancient Egypt ) .

By John Anthony West

"By Women Possessed"

by Arthur Gelb and Barbara Gelb

A life of Eugene O'Neil

(869 pages)

I'm on page 141 of Wallace Stegner's novel, All the Little Live Things, 1/3 through, quite a book. The author's vocabulary is one of the best I've seen in years and years, but he's not at all a word showoff, he just knows quite a bit about quite a lot, waking up my own brain with words I used to use myself or had read before. He writes about nature and horticulture and human behavior, including pests of various kinds, and, and, and. He's a thoughtful writer, not pedantic, and his characters are thoughtful in their own ways, so I've gotten engrossed.

I'll be reading more of Stegner's books, one titled Angle of Repose, the other, Crossing to Safety. Wallace Stegner, 1909-1993. Oh, and The Spectator Bird. (The guy knew his birds too...)

I just finished reading Crazy Rich Asians by Kwon. It was eh. I also just finished reading a Linda Fairstein mystery--Death Angel. I enjoyed it.

For my birthday a friend sent me Being a Dog. I just started it. Gotta get my nose in gear.

I've just started reading Ghosts of Spain; travels through a country's hidden past, by Giles Tremlett.

Ossobuco recommended it as reading prior to my Spain trip next year. Not a page turner yet = but I have high hopes. Interesting so far.

I used to read Fairstein, good writer, got grumpy about her, but that's me.

He's a reporter, if I remember - it's been a while - but I learned a lot re a complicated history, the complications building.

An a2ker who lived in Spain for a while, is FBaezer. Not to push, he is busy enough.

I don't mean re tourist romps, just that I take him as smart and may talk if he sees this.

Hi, I'm new here. This community looks fun and I can feel the good vibe. I'm reading I'm reading "Murder on the Orient Express" right now or should I say later, 'cause I'm still facing the computer right now.

Perusing the comic strip collection of Step aside, pops : a Hark! A vagrant collection by Kate Beaton. Displacement by the graphic memoirist, Lucy Knisley, is waiting in the wings in my book bag.

Returned a graphic memoir of a Palestinian (?) artist regarding his life with his wife and preschool kid. But I forgot to write down the name of the book and his name (so that's lost to time as my searches appear to confuse Google, Bing, the NYPL, and Amazon). #sigh

As I do at this time every year, I am about to re-read A Christmas Carol.

lemme know how it ends.

It wouldn't be right to post a spoiler.

The current caretaker turns out to have worked at Ebenezer Scrooge's law firm in a past life. He was equally blood thirsty and violent back then as he was in the current storyline.

That's Agatha Christie isn't it? I remember liking it, but have no memory of the details.

Yes, it's a great book. I actually just finished it and next on the line is Pride and Prejudice.

Wyoming Tales by Annie Proulx. Im catching up on her skills as a writer of novels, non-fiction, and earlier, short stories.
Wyoming Stories is the book in which Brokeback Mountain appeared

I bought a batch of books at GoodWill, and got a few others from a friend, so I'm set for a while.

In no particular order, as I grab them out of the bag:

Karen Brown's Italy, Charming Bed and Breakfasts
This is pure nostalgia as there is little chance I'll get there again: first I'd have to buy a lottery ticket.. I tend to like 1 star family run alberghi anyway.

The Exotic Marigold Hotel, novel by Deborah Moggach. I haven't seen the movie either.

The Ophelia Cut, suspense novel by John Lescroart, whose books I've liked in the past.

The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco. Being a mad italophile, I should have read this long ago. Will report..

The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri; I think I have read her before, don't recognize the titles, so I may be mixing her up with another writer.

Wild Fire, Nelson DeMille; I usually like his books.

The White Pearl, novel by Kate Furnivall. Set in Mayala, 1941.

Without a Hero, T. Coraghessan Boyle; stories. Writer I've liked.

Bread and Wine, Ignazio Silone, novel in translation, set between the wars, around Rome. I've read his name as an author more than once, but have never run across one of his books before. I'm likely to be engrossed, and if not, it's a small paperback.

Tepper Isn't Going Out, Calvin Trillin - this is a known "I'm going to like it", he's a smart and often funny man, whom I first ran into now decades ago while reading one of his articles in the New Yorker, subject being how to make your own tripe (oh, my my). On the title, I've no idea who Tepper is, but I'll find out.

Caramelo, Sandra Cisneros. I've read about her, including something about people being appalled about what color she painted her San Antonio house (I'm on her side, long story). So I've been interested, but haven't yet read her books - this is a good find.

The Turnaround, George Pelecanos, famously good writer, producer, etc. Not positive I've read him (the mind fuzzes if one reads a lot of crime novels). I've already gotten started on this one, letting a book I plan to continue have a break for a while. (Wallace Stegner is just great, but I need a rest from all the discussion... too much like A2Kers arguing over and over.)

Of those, I have read The Name of the Rose and enjoyed it immensely.