What Are You Reading? - #2

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Just finished Captain Nemo by K.J. Anderson. It was a little weird at first reading about a fictional character (Andre Nemo) and a real person (Jules Verne). At some point during the book you have Nemo experiencing all of Jules Verne's stories, and Verne as Nemo's friend writing about them. You not only have 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island represented but Journey to the Center of the Earth, First Men in the Moon, 5 Weeks in a Balloon, and Around the World in 80 Days. It did manage to flesh out and give background to the character of Andre Nemo.

Susan
 
I currently reading Broken Skin by Stuart MacBride. I've enjoyed his first two Cold Granite and Dying Light and I'm half way through the third and I'm enjoying it as well.
 
Err, just a reminder to please try and put more than one line to your posts. There are lots of things you can say about the book you're reading ;)
 
Just reading "Anansi Boys" by Neil Gaiman, and I'm loving it. Very bizarre but fun story, as usual. For any Gaiman fans, I'd say I like this one better than "American Gods", although that was good too. I'd like to read "Stardust" since apparently there's a movie of it coming out in September! :eek:
 
I'm currently reading "Helen of Troy" by Margaret George. It is a really fascinating read especially if you are at all interested in greek mythology and historical type novels. Tells the story of Helen and Paris from her perspective. Great book!
 
I've just finished reading 'Hannibal Rising' by Thomas Harris. I thought it was quite good. It was very interesting learning about Hannibal and why he is the way he is. It was quite sad really. Anyway, I would like to see the film at some point now I've read the book. :)
 
Im reading the 6th Harry Potter Book (the half blood prince) And its super super good! But so are al the other books. Im So excited to buy the 7th book!
 
i've just finished the CSI book 'Sin City'. bought it by accident so to say. i liked it. the characters were pretty much like the ones on the show. but i have to say the first case was a bit predictable, you knew from the beginning who the killer was. but i enjoyed reading it, it was almost like watching the show.
 
I just finished reading The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger. I hated the main character Holden Caufield mostly because he was always saying depressed and he basically had no live. He also swore a lot. At first when I finished reading it I had no idea what the point of the book was but then my cousin (who read it also) told me that he was telling his story to a psychiatrist(sp?) which helped a lot but know I have to go and write a persuasive essay. :p
 
For summer reading, I just finished reading Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper. I was very touched by the thought-provoking details of the matter of today's "designer babies" or children just conceived to be a donor to another sibling. The characters were very realistic to me and the relationships were striking by how real they seemed. I just started another one of her books, Nineteen Minutes. So far, so good, and it's following in the same thought-provoking manner about school shootings and the trials that follow when the shooter survives. I am beginning to like this author very much.
 
Right now I'm reading Dead Irish by John Lescroart. I like the book but it's sort of hard to get a full opinion of it right now because I'm only in the fifth chapter. So far the writing is solid the characters are well written and it seems to be written in an honest way you know using emotion rather than language that confuses the reader in order to make the author seem like a better writer.


Warning there's some sick stuff ahead. Be careful if you read my preview. I write only the basics but I know some people can't deal even with hearing about it which is why I put this warning in.

For the biography I chose the autobiography of Anthony Goodby Johnson called A Rock and a Hard Place: One Boy's Triumphant Story. Words cannot describe how sad this book is. It's about a child who's physically and sexually abused by his parents and as a result of the sexual abuse gets AIDS. Besides the abuse the book also describes how he and his best friend would live on the streets of NY and look out for each other. I'd highly recommend this book to almost anyone. However if you can't deal with the reality of the issues listed about I'd say skip reading it. Otherwise I think everyone should read it. The fact that when it was written the kid was 16 at the oldest makes it all the more incredible. The other reason I chose this book is child abuse is so rarely talked about even though it happens every day, I want more people to realize how close to home this issue can get.

As for fiction I recently finished the Greg Iles book 24 Hours. I loved his writing because not only was it suspenseful but the characters all were honest with what a person would do in that situation. The other thing which makes his writing stand out is the characters' motives. Unlike other books where you feel bad for some characters and hate other characters. In this book you feel both ways about all of the characters. Again it's another novel I'd highly recommend.
 
I have just finished reading "Notes from a big country" by Bill Bryson. It's one of my dads books and i wasn't sure if i was going to like it, but it really made me laugh. Its cool to see the American way of life from something other than a trashy teen film. I think the best thing about it is how the author always seems to be lost in every kind of situation.
I have started to read one of his other books called "Notes from a small island". Even though it is about England, where i live, i can't seem to get into it. I doesn't seem to have the instant wit or sharpness of the other book.
Has anyone here read it?? If so is it worth reading or should i just be content with the happy memories from "Notes from a big country"?
 
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