I finished Beware this Boy last night (read all in one day, so it was pretty good... also, I got nothing else done all day). It was very good but very unsatisfactory ending, for me. I was hoping the story would continue in the next book in the series, but the synopsis of it I read online doesn't suggest so. Darn, I hate loose ends.

I'm starting A Study in a Scarlet, the first Sherlock Holmes novel. I've enjoyed recent Holmes adaptations - the two modern-day set TV series and the Robert Downey Jr movies - and I thought why not give the original stories a go? I recently needed to purchase something to get an Amazon order past the free shipping threshold, and I chose to get the complete Sherlock Holmes collection, in two paperback volumes, for a very decent price. The only downside is that it's in two volumes only... The print is tiny!

Oh, I hope you like them - I still remember exactly where I was when I first read "A Study in Scarlet". My mom had to call me three times for dinner.

The original stories are nothing much like the recent adaptations, but they have their own gas-lit charms.

I just finished "The Wolf of Wall Street" by Jordan Belfort (yes, the basis for the movie). It was...poorly written. Belfort, in my opinion, is about as close to the definition of a psychopath as you can get without actually killing anyone. The entire book is written in that tone as well, him being better, smarter, more handsome, etc than everyone else. Including his bragging about how much he can drink and how many narcotics he can use in a day. It got rather tiresome and repetitive. The writing is about what I'd expect from a teenage boy and really shows his lack of understanding of his own shortcomings and how he affects other people in his life.

Anyway, if that sounds appealing to you, give it a read. If not, avoid it. It's a shame he's making money from the book and the movie, given his disgusting history.

I just started 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak - so far it's excellent.

I'm about 3/4th of the way through it. I like the story, but don't really care for the format/style of the writing. Overall I get the appeal of it though...since the story is so strong.

Yes I liked the story, but to tell the truth I never really understand the need to make the narrator be Death.

I was more annoyed with the interruptions (what I call them anyway, I'm not sure if there's a better term for it) where the narrator injects comments throughout the book.

I came across a little gem.
"When we were bad" by Charlotte Mendelson.
It very cleverly weaves a family and its troubles. It could only be a Jewish family and oh how well the writer knows the ups and downs. I loved it for its wit and its insight. A first novel, I think . I hope there are more.

Well it obviously wasn't a first novel I looked her up, having so loved "When we were Bad". This one : "Almost English " is so much funnier . The other had some tragic elements. It is a while since I laughed aloud while reading. This one is set in a Hungarian family in London and is a scream. I really recommend her.

Finished reading the "Wool" Omnibus from Hugh Howey. Found the book entertaining, interesting. I haven't read a lot of new Dystopian books, so can't really compare it to anything off the top of my head. I do like Howey's writing style, having also read "The Hurricane" from him. I'm planning on the rest of the Wool series, the Sand series and "I, Zombie" as well. I liked Wool mainly because it wasn't much of a science fiction based dystopia, more of a realistic based one. I'd recommend it to anyone that likes dystopian novels.

Howey is an interesting story/rise to fame as well. From a short story, self published to a movie coming out next year directed by Ridley Scott. By all accounts it'll be a massive blockbuster film. I haven't seen any actors attached to it yet, though.

William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. The brother is taxing my patience, I tell you.

"Dangerous Women" an anthology of short fiction from the people who brought us the "Warriors" anthologies, Gardner Dozois and George RR Martin. Typically excellent stuff - these are wonderful anthologies with a fantasy s/f slant, though other genres are represented. Quite a few historical fiction writers in this one. Everyone will find at least one story they find outstanding in this collection, and if you like fantasy and s/f, you're certain to find more than one.

At the same time as the above, I'm also working my way through "Where Joy Resides", a collection of writings by Christopher Isherwood. I really love Isherwood - a camera he is indeed, and one which sees everything. I suspect he was a very uncomfortable person to actually know - you'd know that he was noticing all those little things that the rest of us don't, or at least pretend not to.

I see that this collection includes "A Single Man" which I have not yet read, just seen the movie. I don't know if I'll have the strength - the film nearly finished me.

Christian Ethics by Norman Geisler

Pascal's Wager by James A. Connor

i briefly started but stopped to finish up on "Pascal..."

Singled Out by Bella DePaulo. I have to finish one more before I return to that And I start school Monday so my reading hours will be cut short tremendously.

About 3/4 of the way through the "Shift" omnibus by Hugh Howey. I like it much better than "Wool". "Shift" is a prequel he wrote after "Wool". He shows you the origins of the story that occurred in "Wool" and even introduces the back story of a few characters he didn't expand on in the first omnibus.

I'm sure many of you have read "Don Quixote". I just can't get into it. I'm only on Chapter XI, so does it start slow? Is it pretty consistent throughout? I'm trying to decide if I should stick with it...or scrap it now.

Have just finished "When the Wind Blows" by Raymond Briggs, a graphic novel for adults and not the sort of thing I would usually have opted for in the bookstore.

It's an easy read, it took me maybe 30 minutes to get through it. My interest had been sparked by a song I heard which was written after the singer had read this book, and I was intrigued. Having finished the book, I was then intrigued to look up the "Protect and Survive" pamphlet that had been issued to households in the UK in the 80s, and generally read up about the background setting. There was an animated movie made also, and the discussions linked to it on the imdb site make for interesting reading. The whole experience is pretty chilling!

A very disturbing novel most particularly because of the charming cartoon-images (same style as Briggs' other well-known work, "The Snowman"), the exaggeratedly eccentric yet ever-trusting and innocent main (& only) characters, and the contrasting underlying truth and horror of what Nuclear fall-out really could mean.

A great experience altogether!

Great review. I found that book (and film, and play) so sad and scary; and just as you said, the contrast between the trusting couple and the horror of fall out is so effective.

I've seen the corresponding Irish pamphlet (hang all your sheets out of the windows to deflect the blast, and hide under a table), it was printed with the centre pages upside down which didn't inspire too much trust. And then there were the iodine tablets distributed to every household - 6 per house - seems fair, it is not as if Ireland is known for large catholic extended families or anything, 6 shall be ample.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/iodine-tablets-sent-to-irish-homes-55898.html

I was wondering why I didn't remember receiving the iodine tablets, until I looked at the date. I had emigrated at that stage ...

The couple in the book were so over-the-top silly, the sad part is that the exaggeration is not really that far off the mark. How many thousands of us would similarly blindly follow governmental advice thinking that they were acting in our interests, not realizing that the hidden agenda is to actually make the life of the ruling body after fallout, easier? And this applies not just to fallout but to many other aspects of life in a democratic republic.

It was definitely a thought-provoking read!

This may be a silly question, but what was the iodine for?

To protect against radiation sickness.

"KI (potassium iodide) is a salt of stable (not radioactive) iodine that can help block radioactive iodine from being absorbed by the thyroid gland, thus protecting this gland from radiation injury.

The thyroid gland is the part of the body that is most sensitive to radioactive iodine."

From here.