ON BOOKS ~ Location = Chicago...

raidergirl3 asks - It's Tuesday, where is reading taking you?

I am in Chicago in the late 1800's learning about the lives of 2 very different men and their impact on the upcoming World's Fair. One of the city's top architects is trying to get the best from the country to work together in this extravagant project to out-do the last fair in Paris, which will show the world that the people of the U.S. and Chicago are great visionaries. At the same time, a psychopath has moved in to town and is setting up shop ready to prey on the lovely ladies streaming into town. He can hardly wait to take advantage of his good fortune, having his multi-purpose building just down the street from the site of the fair.

(The Devil In The White City - Erik Larson, non-fiction) - Read a Teaser in the post below...

ON BOOKS ~ Location = Paris...

raidergirl3 asks - It's Tuesday, where is reading taking you?

I am in Paris again, although this book has placed me in the mid-1700's. Let me tell you, it REALLY stinks! I mean - it is totally gross. Not at all the impression I had in my head of Paris. But there is this strange guy here who only seems to have emotion when it comes to scents - good or bad. I've heard that he has been driven to murder over it. But I also hear that he is behind some of the most marvelous new perfumes this city has ever seen. So although I don't trust him one bit, I am glad he's making things smell better around here.

(Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - P. Suskind, fiction) - Read a Teaser in the post above...

ON BOOKS ~ Location = NOT London...

raidergirl3 asks - It's Tuesday, where is reading taking you?

I am one definately NOT in London anymore. I am following the voice of my mother through a land of creatures oh so familiar to the fairy tales we used to read together before her illness took her away from me. At first this seemed like a good place to go instead of being stuck at home with my Dad's replacement family, but things don't seem to have the happy endings here that I'm used to.

(The Book of Lost Things - J. Connolly, fiction) - Read a Teaser in the post above...

ON BOOKS ~ Location = France

raidergirl3 asks - It's Tuesday, where is reading taking you?

I am one of many refugees fleeing Paris as the Germans advance through the countryside of France during WWII. At times I am a bored yet patriotic teenager running off to join the soldiers and fight. Other times I am a rich elitist horrified to be stuck with the unfortunate masses. And there are times where I am just trying to keep track of my family. This book has me seeing many points of view from a variety of characters.

(Suite Francaise - I. Nemirovsky, fiction) - Read a Teaser in the post above...

ON BOOKS ~ Location = Ireland...

raidergirl3 asks - It's Tuesday, where is reading taking you?

I am trying to solve a young girl's murder in my hometown outside of Dublin where my own repressed childhood memories are threatening to be relevant. Luckily my partner and best friend is there to help me through.

(In The Woods - T. French, fiction) - Read a Teaser in the post below...

ON BOOKS ~ Location = Iowa

raidergirl3 asks - It's Tuesday, where is reading taking you?

I am ensconced in catnip by the caring ladies who saved me from that frigid drop box and welcomed me into this friendly library in the middle of America's heartland.

(Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched The World - V. Myron w/B. Witter, non-fiction)

ON BOOKS ~ Location = Russia...

raidergirl3 asks - It's Tuesday, where is reading taking you?

I am breathlessly in love with someone other than my husband and trying to figure out how to pull it all off. It seems this business of deceipt is not uncommon in the circles I travel, which are high society in Moscow & Petersburg and jaunts to the country in the summer.

(Anna Karenina - L. Tolstoy, fiction)

ON BOOKS ~ Location = Wisconsin...

raidergirl3 asks - It's Tuesday, where is reading taking you?

I am in Wisconsin hanging out with the family dog learning about the beginning of Edgar's life and how his grandfather came to own the family's land. I am also trying to figure out what the heck the man in the pea coat back in South Korea has to do with any of this!

(The Story of Edgar Sawtelle - D. Wroblewski, fiction)

ON BOOKS ~ Location = The Berkshires, MA

raidergirl3 asks - It's Tuesday, where is reading taking you?

Having holed myself up in seclusion for several years as a writer and cancer survivor, I am learning about the rejuvenation of life from my neighbor in his 70's who is having an affair with someone half his age in this college town in the Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts. While I have no problem with it, others here might find it as amoral as President Clinton's trysts with his intern.

(The Human Stain - P. Roth, fiction)

ON BOOKS ~ Location = Chicago

raidergirl3 asks - It's Tuesday, where is reading taking you?

At an Ad Agency in Chicago, we are congregating in each others offices, cubes and in conference rooms overlooking Michigan Ave. gossiping, joking, questioning, laughing, plotting and praying that we look busy enough to keep from being fired and ending up on Lower Wacker Drive.

(Then We Came to the End - J. Ferris, fiction)

ON BOOKS ~ Location = Pakistan & CA

raidergirl3 asks - It's Tuesday, where is reading taking you?

Although I have faced many financial and physical roadblocks, I am undaunted in my goal of building a school for the children of Korphe in Pakistan. Although getting fired from my nursing job and getting dumped by my girlfriend upon my return to California to raise more funding was rough, it wasn't nearly as rough as carrying 800 pound spools of steel cable for 18 miles in the mud and rain - this is what the men of Korphe have just done so that we can build a bridge to their village in order to get the school built.

(Three Cups of Tea - One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time - G. Mortenson & D. Relin, non-fiction)

ON BOOKS ~ Location = Pakistan

raidergirl3 asks - It's Tuesday, where is reading taking you?

I have just stumbled upon the town of Korphe perched in the remote mountain valleys of Pakistan. I have lost my way (again) after a grueling descent from a failed summit of K2 which was to have been in honor of my sister. I am about to have an epiphany of some sort that will lead me to build schools across Pakistan and Afghanistan - starting here with the children of Korphe who welcomed this strange bedgraggled foreigner with eager curiousity.

(Three Cups of Tea - One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time - G. Mortenson & D. Relin, non-fiction)

ON BOOKS ~ Location = Los Angeles, CA...

raidergirl3 asks - It's Tuesday, where is reading taking you?

I am in Los Angeles, CA where Henry Sullivan is giving me life lessons by sharing what he has experienced as a builder. Things like what to look for in a contractor, and what a contractor looks for in you - but also how renovations, in a home and in your life, can make or break a relationship. Henry is a funny guy who seems to be breaking his rules left and right, but I am enjoying learning from his mistakes!

(Confessions of a Contractor - R. Murphy, fiction)

ON BOOKS ~ Location = Cape Cod, MA...

raidergirl3 asks - It's Tuesday, where is reading taking you?

I am spending my summer break from college working hard to impress all of the MLB scouts watching me play ball. I also have a part-time job out here which helps to pay for the fun I am having after games with my teammates at the beach bonfires or sneaking beer into my host family's house. Some of my teammates are even signing contracts at some point this summer with the MLB teams that have drafted them. I'm just hoping someone out there is paying attention to my game so that I have a shot to make it in the show too some day. Until then, I'm enjoying the competition, the new friends, and the girls in bikinis out here on Cape Cod.

(The Last Best League - J. Collins, non-fiction)