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What are you reading in October


mashiara

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Almost finished A Time to Kill. I've loved every page so far, and now think that the film does not do it justice.

Not sure what to read next. I ought to finish Moon Over Soho, as I put it down halfway through. I don't think I've enjoyed reading set texts as much as I've enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird and A Time to Kill. Unfortunately those are the only two books I need to read this term, but I may have a look for others. Does anyone happen to have any similar recommendations? My essay will be based on the portrayal of juries in film and/or literature, and so I'm keen to read outside of the reading list.

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Almost finished A Time to Kill. I've loved every page so far, and now think that the film does not do it justice.

Not sure what to read next. I ought to finish Moon Over Soho, as I put it down halfway through. I don't think I've enjoyed reading set texts as much as I've enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird and A Time to Kill. Unfortunately those are the only two books I need to read this term, but I may have a look for others. Does anyone happen to have any similar recommendations? My essay will be based on the portrayal of juries in film and/or literature, and so I'm keen to read outside of the reading list.

I seem to remember enjoying John Grisham's The Runaway Jury.

Every jury has a leader, and the verdict belongs to him. In Biloxi, Mississippi, a landmark tobacco trial with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake begins routinely, then swerves mysteriously off course. The jury is behaving strangely, and at least one juror is convinced he's being watched. Soon they have to be sequestered. Then a tip from an anonymous young woman suggests she is able to predict the jurors' increasingly odd behavior. Is the jury somehow being manipulated, or even controlled? If so, by whom? And, more importantly, why?

It was also adapted into a pretty decent movie, with John Cusack, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman in the starring roles.

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I seem to remember enjoying John Grisham's The Runaway Jury.

Every jury has a leader, and the verdict belongs to him. In Biloxi, Mississippi, a landmark tobacco trial with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake begins routinely, then swerves mysteriously off course. The jury is behaving strangely, and at least one juror is convinced he's being watched. Soon they have to be sequestered. Then a tip from an anonymous young woman suggests she is able to predict the jurors' increasingly odd behavior. Is the jury somehow being manipulated, or even controlled? If so, by whom? And, more importantly, why?

It was also adapted into a pretty decent movie, with John Cusack, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman in the starring roles.

Thank you! I intended to look at Grisham's other novels, even if I didn't use them in my essay. Will watch the film too, possibly this weekend. (I also have to watch Philadelphia this week, which may not centre around my chosen essay question, but I think it'll be relevant at some stage in the year.)

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On Sunday I finished 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King. It was fantastic, not as scary as I was hoping, but very atmospheric. It also felt like it ended a bit abruptly, but I have zero tangible complaints about this book. I'm extremely happy that Tears of Lys recommended it, thanks! :thumbsup:



Today I finished The Sorcerer's House by Gene Wolfe. This one was quite excellent, and also extremely atmospheric. It definitely felt simplistic for a Gene Wolfe book - it kind of felt like what I would imagine it would feel like if Wolfe wrote a children's book :P Not that it is a children's book by any means. It's kind of a haunted house meets an adult fairy tale, and it's definitely a strange combination but it works. It's told in a series of letters from an ex-con, mostly to his twin brother who he defrauded leading to his incarceration, leading to this one having too abrupt of an ending for my tastes too, but I did quite enjoy the format. It was very reminiscent of John Connolly's The Book of Lost Things but with a 41 year old ex-con as the main character rather than a 12 year old boy.



Up next is The October Country by Ray Bradbury.


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I read Anansi Boys for the first time since it first came out. I liked it a lot better this time, knowing what kind of story I was in for going into it.



It's really quite fantastic and much better than American Gods, which was disappointing on reread


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Almost finished A Time to Kill. I've loved every page so far, and now think that the film does not do it justice.

Not sure what to read next. I ought to finish Moon Over Soho, as I put it down halfway through. I don't think I've enjoyed reading set texts as much as I've enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird and A Time to Kill. Unfortunately those are the only two books I need to read this term, but I may have a look for others. Does anyone happen to have any similar recommendations? My essay will be based on the portrayal of juries in film and/or literature, and so I'm keen to read outside of the reading list.

Almost finished A Time to Kill. I've loved every page so far, and now think that the film does not do it justice.

Not sure what to read next. I ought to finish Moon Over Soho, as I put it down halfway through. I don't think I've enjoyed reading set texts as much as I've enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird and A Time to Kill. Unfortunately those are the only two books I need to read this term, but I may have a look for others. Does anyone happen to have any similar recommendations? My essay will be based on the portrayal of juries in film and/or literature, and so I'm keen to read outside of the reading list.

I would recommend that you watch film Twelve Angry Men for purposes of your essay, if you have the chance to do so. You've already read To Kill a Mockingbird, which would have been my literary recommendation. :)

As for October, now that I have finished The Lowland, I am starting David Sedaris' Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.

Eta: Sorry for quoting you twice. As evident from my oops and my double quote, the new computer and I are not on friendly terms.

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I am reading a couple light steampunk tales, The Lazerus Machine and The Osiris Curse. They are light, fluffy, utterly forgetable; but they are kinda fun and I read the first one in a day so figured why not just shotgun them both?


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Won't let me edit for some reason, may be because I'm writing on my Kindle.



I just finished reading Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself, by Harriet Ann Jacobs. A free Kindle book, and an absolutely amazing book. So informative, heart-wrenching and beautiful, I feel like I've learnt so much. A definite must-read for anyone interested in slavery in the Southern states of the US, as well as the "free" Northern states, in the late 1800's.


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Thanks Ravenhair! Planning on checking out any recommendations this weekend - always happy for more! :)

(And don't worry, quoting has been funny for me recently!)

You should always listen to my beloved Ravenhair. She knows her stuff. :)

I saw that you gave To Kill a 4 out of 5 in Goodreads. That is my all time favorite book. I loved reading it and reading it to my youngest. I loved reading while using different voices. "These here are his innards". That whole Harvest Festival/ Halloween thing was one scene I will never forget (and how Scout got stuck being a ham, representing pork products.) :D

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You should always listen to my beloved Ravenhair. She knows her stuff. :)

I saw that you gave To Kill a 4 out of 5 in Goodreads. That is my all time favorite book. I loved reading it and reading it to my youngest. I loved reading while using different voices. "These here are his innards". That whole Harvest Festival/ Halloween thing was one scene I will never forget (and how Scout got stuck being a ham, representing pork products.) :D

:laugh: That image makes me smile. My boyfriend and I watched the film first, and we were like, is she a ham? No way! She is a ham! I enjoyed the book a lot more.

I checked out Twelve Angry Men and there's no Kindle edition, and the paperback is a little more than I'd like to pay. I might do it the old-fashioned way and check the library :o I did find the film online though, so I'll watch that this weekend.

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I love Felix Gilman. Thunderer and Gears of the City are two books that deserve to be better known among readers who like that sort of thing. Admittedly, that's not everyone as both are meandering and sometimes chaotic.



HowdyPhillip has convinced me to put Lynch on my reading list, and I have a rec from Ini as well. But a re-read of East of Eden and a last shot at Murakami with Hard-Boiled Wonderland are up next. I enjoyed The Wind-up Bird Chronicle and was lukewarm toward Kafka on the Shore - neither blew me away though.


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Finished To Green Angel Tower, Part 1 yesterday and it was pretty enjoyable to see story lines from the first two books come to a conclusion while setting up the finale to the overall series. Where Part 1 ends seems like a perfect place, but I see after finishing Part 2 the series might have been better as a tetralogy than a trilogy. I have a friend at work and another on Goodreads who commented on the small text in the original hardcover.



Started Timetrap by David Dvorkin and am 66% of the way through already. I'll finish it tomorrow and might start To Green Angel Tower, Part 2 right afterwards or wait until Sunday. I'm on vacation, but I have to write, write, and write some more over the next week.


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