I had read some stuff about “Let the Great World Spin” (including on this thread), and decided a storyline involving a tightrope walker at the World Trade Center did not appeal to me.
HOWEVER, last night while looking for a good book, I opted to check out a free sample of the book on my Kindle. After reading the sample, I immediately bought the book. I haven’t finished it yet, but I am engrossed.
Isn’t it funny how you can read a few pages of a book one time, decide it’s not that good, set it aside only to pick it up later and find out that it’s a GREAT book? I had “Let the Great World Spin” out from my library for a week and after reading about 10 pages took it back. Now I’m re-thinking my actions! OTOH, I had bought “The Help” after hearing about it here and from a neighbor and read it in about 3 days - it was wonderful!
I had picked it up from the library, seeing it by chance, and then hesitated because of its 1970s NYC setting, which for some reason didn’t appeal to me. then I started reading, and was immediately hooked.
The U of C Law School faculty’s favorite recent reads:
[The</a> University of Chicago Law School | What Are We Reading?](<a href=“What Are We Reading? | UChicago Law Book Recommendations”>What Are We Reading? | UChicago Law Book Recommendations)
Thank you, epistrophy! Law professors read for fun ;)? Just kidding.
(My H is currently reading Fool’s Gold and enjoying it.)
Currently reading The Irregulars by Jennet Conant.
It’s about Roald Dahl (yes, the children’s author) and the British spy ring that he was part of in Wartime Washington DC. It’s a fascinating tale of the behind the scenes political wrangling that took place, the power brokers, and elicit affairs etc of the time. It has some very interesting things about LBJ’s rise to power that I was not aware of.
A New Literary History of America . BY Greil Marcus ( Harvard uni Press Reference Library)- will be a good collection to any Library
I read Zeitoun…David Eggers is a fine writer. I never new there were large (and brutal)temp prisons set up in New Orleans during Katrina.
On to The Help. Can’t wait based on the reviews here!
Beyond that, I just ordered “The Vegetarian Myth” by Lierre Keith. Interesting…the author was a vegan for 20 years and now eats meat.
The Wet Nurse’s Tale, by Erica Eisdorfer. Very quick read (under 3 hours). Get it from the library, because, while it’s enjoyable, it’s not something you’ll re-read over and over.
A really thoughtful piece:
[Zadie</a> Smith on the rise of the essay | Books | The Guardian](<a href=“http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/nov/21/zadie-smith-essay-guardian-review]Zadie”>http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/nov/21/zadie-smith-essay-guardian-review)
This is the second time (that I know of) that a collection by Alice Munro has been featured on the cover of The New York Times Book Reviewnot too shabby for a writer of short stories.
<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/books/review/Cohen-t.html?hpw=&pagewanted=print[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/books/review/Cohen-t.html?hpw=&pagewanted=print</a>
(And if weren’t enough, many writersincluding, for instance, the wonderful Lorrie Moorename Ms. Munro the writer they most admire.)
I read The Help over the Thanksgiving weekend and loved it! Thank you, whoever recommended it!
I’m not finished yet, but I spent jury duty yesterday giggling through Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. It’s very entertaining, if you can stand the blasphemy. I"d like to think that if Jane were around today, she’d approve. S and I are sharing it; he is reading it when he comes home from his late night job, and I read it during JD (over now) and early evenings. He had to read P and P in college. Not his cup of tea, though he did admit “Elizabeth is pretty cool.” But he’s been warning about the coming zombie apocalypse for a while, so this subject is important to him…
I swear I read a recommendation on this thread for a newish non-fic book that featured four women, all of them famous or semi-famous. After I read about it, I looked it up and found that my library had it. Of course, I then forgot all about it when I was at the library and now can’t find the recommendation in this thread. Does this ring a bell with anyone?
garland, my S1 gave me P&P&Z for my birthday last spring, and we shared it and enjoyed it just as you and your S are doing. We were in the same boat - I’m a huge Jane fan, and he can mostly take it or leave it, though he does appreciate Austen’s humor - but we both had a lot of fun with the spoof.
I’m rereading Nicholas Nickleby right now and just loving it. Next up, either Girls in Trucks or Road to Quoz; I can’t decide.
[The</a> 10 Best Books of 2009 - The New York Times](<a href=“The 10 Best Books of 2009 - The New York Times”>The 10 Best Books of 2009 - The New York Times)
[Michiko</a> Kakutani’s Top 10 Books of 2009 - The New York Times](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/gift-guide/holiday-2009/giftguide-kakutani/list.html]Michiko”>Michiko Kakutani's Top 10 Books of 2009 - The New York Times)
[Janet</a> Maslin’s Top 10 Books of 2009 - The New York Times](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/gift-guide/holiday-2009/giftguide-maslin/list.html]Janet”>Janet Maslin's Top 10 Books of 2009 - The New York Times)
[Dwight</a> Garner’s Top 10 Books of 2009 - The New York Times](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/gift-guide/holiday-2009/giftguide-garner/list.html]Dwight”>Dwight Garner's Top 10 Books of 2009 - The New York Times)
kathiep, when that happens to me, I just ask the librarians and they usually know which book it is + they can access databases that can sort through books and come up with the title based on what you tell them.
cleveland - that’s the problem - I work at a library! I’m usually very good at solving this problem for our patrons… There’s a fairly good book finding search engine called, “describe a plot” but since the book I’m looking for is a non-fic and it’s pretty new, I couldn’t find it in that database.
kathiep, what about asking at Borders or Barnes and Noble, then? Maybe they can help? (I didn’t realize you worked at a library!) 
If you click on ‘search this thread’ and search for “women”, you get 15-20 posts to consider. I did this but couldn’t figure out which book you were referring to.