What's Everyone Reading - 2009

[magrat]

I just finished The Thirteenth Tale. It was...very gothic. I won't say I didn't enjoy it, but you'd have to like things in the Victorian gothic style to like it. The writing was very good though, and there were definitely some unexpected twists.

Just started The Nakesake and I'm really enjoying it so far.

[honeygirl]

I finished Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi last night and then quickly followed it with a quick chick lit novel called Cocktails for Three by Madeleine Wickham. She's the same author that wrote the Shopaholic series, but is using a different pen name now (maybe her real one?).

Reading Lolita in Tehran required attention and focus, and I found it taking me longer than usual to read through. It is both a instructional type book (she's an English Professor) but also an intensely personal memoir of her life and experiences in Iran during the revolution. I highly recommend it, especially if you're a English lit fan.

Cocktails for Three on the other hand was a silly, quick, novel. It was a fun switch after the more serious Tehran subject, but not exactly one I'd recommend.

[Rosebud]

I...and then quickly followed it with a quick chick lit novel called Cocktails for Three by Madeleine Wickham. She's the same author that wrote the Shopaholic series, but is using a different pen name now (maybe her real one?).

Here's a question for all of you. You know I'm not a big chick lit fan, but I do really enjoy Sophie Kinsella's books. Are the books released under her other name (I think Madeleine Wickham is actually her real name) similar, or are they of a different quality? When an author adopts a pen name it's usually because they're publishing something fairly different than their other material, right?

[honeygirl]

Here's a question for all of you. You know I'm not a big chick lit fan, but I do really enjoy Sophie Kinsella's books. Are the books released under her other name (I think Madeleine Wickham is actually her real name) similar, or are they of a different quality? When an author adopts a pen name it's usually because they're publishing something fairly different than their other material, right?

Honestly, I'm not sure why she used different names b/c the book was very much like all the other books of hers that I've read. Books like Remember Me, Can You Keep a Secret, and the Shopaholic series (which I didn't like as much as her other books btw). So, I'd say go for it.

[Ummm]

Finished Confections of a Closet Master Baker by Gesine Bullock-Prado. Sandra Bullock's sister, who used to work as the producer at Sandra Bullock's production company but has decided to become a baker instead. Similar in format to A Homemade Life, but I like Homemade Life better, writing is more 'whimsical' and when I read that book, I have the urge to cook even though I am a terrible cook. While reading this book, i want to eat what Gesine made instead (instead of making it myself).

[bookworm]

Here's a question for all of you. You know I'm not a big chick lit fan, but I do really enjoy Sophie Kinsella's books. Are the books released under her other name (I think Madeleine Wickham is actually her real name) similar, or are they of a different quality? When an author adopts a pen name it's usually because they're publishing something fairly different than their other material, right?

I didn't find them to be different in style at all. I liked Cocktails for Three about as much as I liked many of her other books published under Kinsella, and I just read Twenties Girl, which I enjoyed for a light read (that might have been under a 3rd name, even).

Edited: I was wrong--Twenties Girl was written as Sophie Kinsella.

[bookworm]

I just started Her Fearful Symmetry (Audrey's Niffenegger's new book) last night. I'm definitely drawn in, I hope it doesn't disappoint. It's definitely different than Time Traveler's Wife, but it has a similar tone (or maybe it's just her writing style?).

I finished this today, and found it pretty disappointing. I was sucked in quickly (and I do enjoy her writing), but I found the plot totally unsatisfying.

[honeygirl]

Just finished The Last Sin Eater by Francine Rivers. If you're a fan of hers I'd recommend this book. At first it reminded me quite a bit of Shyamalan's The Village believe it or not. I found it different than other books she's written, and I couldn't put it down.

[Ummm]

Has anyone read The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson? Thoughts?

[Dizzy]

Recently read How to Live by Henry Alford. I think it was supposed to be uplifting and encouraging about old age and wisdom, etc, but it just served to depress me and remind me of my own mortality.

Now I'm reading Bringing Home the Birkin by Michael Tonello and it's tons of fun! I love handbags (altho I could never in a million years afford a Birkin or any Hermes) but I'm still fascinated by and drawn to these ridiculously out-of-reach beautiful bags.