An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, slow slow going but I find that I sometimes get discouraged by long books.  Finished Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, recommended by Evelina,  The story is written by a father to his very young son.  Having married when he was older, he knows that he will not be alive to watch his son grow into a man.  As a minister he uses his knowledge of scripture and his religious beliefs throughout the writing.  He writes of his family - particularly his father and grandfather, hoping to help his little boy understand his ancestors as well as his father.  It's an interesting approach and an interesting story.  Makes one think about one's own life and how we might relay our beliefs and the personalities of our family members to our children and grandchildren.  Good read. Moloka'i by Alan Brennert for the contemporary challenge and it is without a doubt a 5 star read - more if I could give it more.  I can't recommend it enough.  As I plug along with Bone I find I need to pick up shorter books to keep me going.   Working on Druids by Morgan Llywelyn.   For those of you who read fantasy I recommend the Mistborn series - I loved it.  Hope you do, too.  

 Finished The Lady in the Loch by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough for the fantasy challenge and reading The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson for a gr read along  Finished From Time to Time by Jack Finney for the fantasy challenge. I finished Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and I realize that I liked it so much.  Yes, it is an outstanding book.  There has been quite a lot of conversation about Ishiguro on gr and his various works lately.  May have to look into his other books.  Finished Dracula in Love by Karen Essex, my horror choice for the YA challenge and Fisherman of the Inland Sea by Ursula LeGuin for the YA challenge.  Dracula was a good, good read and I liked several of the stories in Fisherman.  Read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon but I didn't think the book was up to all the hype the public was giving it.  Read Magrait and The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon for the yellow choice of the mystery challenge.  New author - French writer - quite good.  Also read The Violet Hour by Daniel Judson for my violet selection for the mystery challenge.   This one, too, was very good.  Picked up When We Were Strangers by Pamela Schoenewaldt.  As usual I was distracted by a new book at the library.  Found Alexander McCall Smith's The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party, which I immediatly read and when I checked my reads for the year there were so many mysteries that I signed up for the mystery reading challenge.  Nice read!  Also just finished Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith.  So enjoy these little mysteries.  And, I finished The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay, a goodreads read along and the first in a new fantasy series called The Fionavar Tapestry.  It's great fun!!!!  Finished a fantastic fantasy series - the Mistborn series - with  The Hero of the Ages by Brandon Sanderson.

I posted this in June's What Are You Reading thread...d'oh!

I finished my book group selection The Girls by Lori Lansen.  It's the story of conjoined twins Ruby and Rose.  Rose decides to write her autobiography and eventually bullies Ruby into writing some too, so you get their story from both girls' viewpoints.  I was skeptical at first, but by the end, I really liked this one.  I just fell in love with the characters.  The book group had a mixed reaction, split about 50/50.  (But that's the way I like it...more to discuss!!)

I started EC's The Champion this morning.  This book will finish my It's All Relative challenge.  And it's starting out quite good so far!

Just finished Infidel by Ali (autobiography for my book club) and now onto History of a Suicide by Bialosky (memoir for my Book Selection committee). Afterwards, I'll need a dose of HF!

I think I'm going to start Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray today. That is, unless an ARC lands today that I very much want to get my hands on, then all bets are off.

I just finished Farewell, My Queen by Chantal Thomas.  Didn't really care for it at all.  I've decided to read mostly books set in the US this month so it looks like I'll have to send Count of Monte Cristo back to the library and finish it up some other time.  Not sure what I'm going to read now.  Hopefully something good after that waste of time I just finished.

I started Tolstoy's Anna Karennina on Tuesday...heavy, but good.  I've been trying lately to include in my reading some of the classics I feel like I missed along the way.

Holly - I had looked at Farewell, My Queen, a couple of years back and it just didn't seem to appeal to me. Now, I'm happy that I didn't waste my time on it!

I just finished The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner - excellent book!

I am reading Sweet Smell of Decay and I just downloaded Dark Enquiry.  But I am not going to read it until I get through Sweet Smell of Decay.

Which is set in Restoration England.  But I don't know how much reading I can get done, my niece wedding is tomorrow.

Letty - let me know how you like Sweet Smell of Decay - I've got that on my Kindle and was wondering about ordering the next one.

Since I enjoyed The Last Queen so much, I'm going to dip into Confessions of Catherine de Medici next and hope that it is as good as Last Queen!

I am reading She Walks in Beauty: A Woman's Journey Through Poems by Caroline Kennedy. It is very enjoyable so far. I just read the "lovemaking" section. 

Let's just say there is some very interesting imagery.

i'm reading The Secret Lion by C.W. Gortner,   it's well writen and interesting in it's details. just hoping the next one as good

Jeanne, John lent me both Sweet Smell of Decay and the 2nd one.  I will let you know.

John,  I can't wait for the next John Shakespear either!

I've started the next (for me) installment in the Roger the Chapman mystery series by Kate Sedley, The Goldsmith's Daughter.  I am thinking this one will work for the "all locked up" category in the h/f mystery challenge, but it could probably fit in other spots as well.

I'm about two thirds through To Defy A King. Dear Lord, please don't let Hugh die.  I don't think I could take it.

Christa will be on pins and needles for a while.

I've reading Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray. OK, but definitely not rocking my world. Not necessarily the author's fault since it has a few things about it I'm not predisposed to. Lots of magic (ack!), first person narrative and worst of all I am just not much interested in this period. The book was passed along to me and I'd probably bail but I need it for the challenge.

I'm over half way through Vainglory by Geraldine McCaughrean, a very unusual novel set in Renaissance France.  I never know what to expect from one chapter to next.  I enjoy the humor involved, the really out-of-the- ordinary characters.  I wish I could remember why I added it to the wish list nearly two years ago.  Anybody else read this one???

Linda

Linda it looks as if you can blame Cathy. http://www.paperbackswap.com/forum/search.php?q=Vainglory+by+Geraldine+McCaughrean&s_type=st&fid=107&action=search

No, blame EC. She had a blog post some time ago about her all time favorite medievals and that's where I found it. Got it via ILL. Yes, you never do know what will happen from one chapter to the next.

Cathy, thanks for the reminder.

 I remember adding lots of books to our wish list and buying several more after EC posted that back in July of '09.  She mentioned Alinor by Roberta Gellis, which I read plus the next 2 or 3 of that series.  EC listed the second novel of Judith Merkle Riley's trilogy that started with Vision of Light, so I acquired and read all three books.  This was my introduction to Juliet Dymoke - Henry of the High Rock.  Read that one plus others by her.  Two of my favorites from this year's challenge were already on the TBR because of EC's list: Road to Jerusalem and Judith Tarr's Queen of Swords.  I became a fan of Cadfael after EC listed the second book of that series. I had read the first book and was not impressed, but after EC said that the second book in the series was a favorite, I tried it, and consequently have now read through book eleven.  Two rather light but entertaining romances were listed - Red Adam's Lady and Silken Threads.

With this reminder, and after looking again at the list, I've pulled three books off the TBR to read later this month.  EC called My Lady's Crusade by Annette Motley "a great romp" and I know I like this author.  I also plan to read Pagan's Crusade by Catherine Jinks  and The Burnished Blade, by Lawrence Schoonover.

Looks like I turned this "What are you reading?" thread in to an "already read" and "plan to read" thread.  If I knew how to post a link to EC's list I would do that.  Perhaps Cathy can do that.  The list was posted July 30, 2009, to EC's 'Living the history' blog.

Linda (just call me long-winded)

Oh -- I think it's always safe to blame Cathy, regardless of who is actually at fault.

Linda I have the second Pagan book it was on my wish list I still need the first.  Maybe I can borrow the first one if I lend you the second one?

 The Pagan in Exile (Pagan Chronicles)

Here it is. I have the Motley book and read it half way, but I got derailed and never went back. It still glares at me on occasion when I dust that side of the table. I read the Schoonover book and found it rather meh and nothing resembling its lurid cover. Library only. I'm still wishing for Henry of the High Rock, and I tried for an ILL and they told me it couldn't be found.

Oh -- I think it's always safe to blame Cathy, regardless of who is actually at fault.

Seems like three of us were posting at the same time. Yes, I'm always to blame, even when I wasn't there.

I am 118 pages into Dark Enquiry.  I just Julia Grey and Nicolas Brisbane!

Just starting Sable Flanagan by Betty Layman Receveur. California gold rush/arranged wife something or other. Promising start but still early going. Finished Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray last night. Rather tepid read for me, but I'm not one for that period, or YA or first person narrative. Bad combo.