Book Lovers Club
Comments
-
I got a Kindle right after my mx and it was so much easier to handle than a big hard-back novel and the stacks of paperbacks all over the house. I like re-reading some of the classics or favorite parts of some books....when you get used to all the features , you can bookmark and highlight as well as put comments in your Kindle. It is amazing to buy a new book in the middle of the night when the mood hits.
Just finished two really cute mysteries : "Take the Monkeys an Run " by Karen Cantwell....which had me laughing outloud in places; and "Thirteen Diamonds" by Alan Cook.
I love this thread and all the suggestions....starting a list of book for 2011.
0 -
Retrievermom...When you have a moment, please tell me why you loved Summons to Memphis. I thought the novel was terrific. While reading the book, I was reminded of another book, whose backdrop was Tennessee. Stella Suberman's The Jew Store recalls a time in her life when her family moved to Concordia, Tennessee and opened a dry goods store. The themes of the books are similar. They both beg to answer the question and reflect on how much influence where you live has on your life.
Both books are gems.
0 -
Just finished reading a very good little book, "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" by Dai Sijie. Its setting is a remote mountain village where two teenage boys are sent for 're-education' during China's Cultural Revolution. The theme centers around first love and banned books (so you all should like it
). The author himself (who now lives in France) who was 're-educated' in the early 1971s; so although this is a novel, he speaks from his own personal experiences.0 -
Ruthbru,
I also read "Balzac" and loved it.
Lane
0 -
Makes me want to read some of the french novels mentioned in the book.
0 -
Ruth - I saw the film version! Wonderful!
0 -
I'll have to find the film!
Lane
0 -
I think one of my main gripes about the Kindle is that some of the books I realy want to read are not available for it through Amazon yet. I really wanted to get some of the old Irving Stone books and some Faulkner, but they just aren't Kindle-ready yet. And I am tied to Amazon, for better or worse...
I did go on a bit of a spending spree when I got mine last month. A few free ones (I hear the editing is a little rough on some of those) and lots of newer ones. So much to read, so little time.
I'm reading THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST and i must admit taht early on, I'm a bit weary of these characters. But I'm sure it'll pick up and grab me before long. Then I'll move on to THE THOUSAND AUTUMNS OF JACOB DE ZOET.
Anne
0 -
I got tired of the hornet's nest people by the end of the series too. I just skimmed through the third book to see how it all came out.
0 -
Hi, Layne,
From another Lane! Is yours a family name? Mine is. Thank you for the link. I'm getting such a great list of books, and I LOVE IT! I start to panic if my list starts to dwindle.
Lane
0 -
Layne,
Oh, yeah, I know what you're saying! I had almost forgotten about the letters from the military! And lots of junk mail to MR. Lane _______. And phone calls "I'm calling for Lane" and then an embarrassed pause when they realize I'm Lane. But, I have grown to like it. Hated it when I was a kid and they'd say, "That's a BOY'S NAME!"
And now, here we are, 2 of us. Well, happy to meet you! And Happy Holidays!
Lane
0 -
what a great idea... no bc or healthy books, right? I am a fan of the "nice little murder" books too.
Some of my favourite authors: Parker... his books have branched out to a few more characters, but my fav. is Spenser, Hawk, and Susan and of course Pearl the dog. These are funny and somebody usually dies.
Kellerman: Psychologist who gets into all kinds of trouble usually. Sandra Brown tells a very good story. Geez, there are so many I can't think of them all.
thanks again
Kathy
0 -
Voracious: There are so many reasons I like Summons, and I was gratified to find I liked it even more re-reading it many years after the first time. My mom's from the hills of Eastern TN. One of her brothers moved to Nashville (Middle), and he and his family forever were referred to as "the Nashville folks." So from a personal standpoint, I like the way the novel deals with the protagonist's mother being from one part of TN and her displacement; feelings of a loss of gentility, etc. But the novel really resonates with me in the way it deals with parent/child issues. How does one come to terms with having the type of father this family has? Can one forgive without forgetting? Another aspect I like is how Taylor, like Pat Conroy, Willie Morris, and others, deals with the need many writers felt to get out of the South. I think the writers of that period felt they had to leave to find their voices. Speaking of Conroy, he certainly deals with the "bad dad" subject, but I like Taylor's take much more.
I'm reading Lorrie Moore's A gate at the stairs. I just got back from a weekend trip and have the Sunday Times, a New Yorker, and this good novel----yeah!
I liked Balzac, too.
0 -
Retrievermom, Thanks for your comments regarding Summons to Memphis. After reading about your thoughts, I was reminded of another author who hasn't been mentioned on this thread, Jumpta Lahari, author of The Namesake. She's written several other books, all with a similar theme about family and culture's influence. I think she is a terrific author.
Kelban, Funny story about my experience with Sandra Brown. I once read a Sandra Brown book because I was curious about her writing. While reading it, one of my closest friends, for more than two decades, came over to my home and noticed the Sandra Brown book on my coffee table. She looked at me and said, "I never knew you read Sandra Brown books." Believe me, I didn't know that I read Sandra Brown books until curiosity picked my interest earlier that week at the library! Anyway, she went on to tell me about how much she LOVED Sandra Brown books and BOUGHT ALL OF THEM and that ANYTIME I wanted to get my "Sandra Brown 'Fix'" I could just drop by her home and pick one of her books from my friend's collection. Anyway, I was obsessing about this incident for YEARS. Why? Because, I knew my friend for so many years and since literature is such a big part of my life, I couldn't understand why I hadn't known, until then, about her passion for Sandra Brown's books. It just seemed to me, as close friends, I should have known what she was passionate about reading sooner.
I'm presently reading, As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=as+always+julia
I started reading A Very Simple Crime, but Mr. VR plucked the book out of my hands. I'm going to go back to reading it as soon as I'm finished with the Julia Child book, whether he's finished with it or not!!! Stay tuned....it might get messy here.
0 -
Reader: That's a great story. It's funny but my experience has been that people I think would be a reader isn't. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't read. I seem to get so into a book that I'm there. I will look up and 2 hours have gone by.
Kathy Reichs: Sue Grafton: (the lady who writes the Kay Scarpetta books.. her name escapes me... chemo brain): are a few of my other female authors.
Kathy
0 -
Voracious,
I read The Namesake and also Interpretor of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. Enjoyed them both. Also, The Attack by Yasmina Khadra. Recently The Rooftops of Tehran (can't remember the author right now). Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, based on a true story.
Lane
0 -
A few good reads:
Conversations with God - an uncommon dialogue
Gardening Month by Month - Alderich and Willamson
Chicken Soup for the Breast Cancer Survivor's Soul
I'm not sure here on this thread if we are sticking to one certain type of genre. Thanks Ladies.
0 -
Oops sorry just read the above about BC books, my mistake...note to self...thanks ladies.
0 -
Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry
I really liked The Time Traveler's Wife although it was sometimes hard to keep her explanation of time travel straight.
Just finished Her Fearful Symmetry and while I still think her character development is amazing and it was interesting delving into the relationship between identical twins and what it might be like to be an obsessive compulsive, it is rare that I am in the middle of a book and shout, oh no don't do that, how trite and then read the last page of a book and go WTF??? If anyone can explain to me what happened at the end of Her Fearful Symmetry and why I would appreciate it. It just seemed to dribble off.
0 -
Jelson, I didn't care for "Fearful Symmetry" either.... on so many levels. So you aren't alone.
I picked up "Fall of Giants" by Ken Follett. I'm not a huge fan of his but I did enjoy "Pillars..." enough that I gave this one a read. IMO he got way too bogged down trying to tell about WWI & the surrounding politics... I appreciate that he's trying to weave history into his stories but his characters weren't fleshed out at all (flat, flat, flat) and they and their stories seemed like a weak excuse for him to write about WWI. He tied up all the loose ends very quickly and too neatly to ring at all true. Normally I like learning about history through fiction (or at least having my interest piqued enough to learn more on my own) but about halfway through I realized I thought the book was dreadfully dull and boring. I only stuck it out because I kept thinking it would get better, and I skimmed and skipped when it got tedious. I don't recommend this one.
Thankfully, I see a lot of good recommendations, so I'll make a fresh list and head to the library soon!
0 -
I never read anything by Ken Follett, although many people urged me to! HOWEVER, when I saw that another one of my heartthrob actors, RUFUS SEWELL, was playing the lead character, Tom Builder, in Pillars of the Earth, I decided it was worth viewing the DVD. Mr. VR and I began watching it yesterday! We finished episode 3 yesterday. Five more to go! I'm such a happy camper! Poor Julia Child. The book, As Always, Julia, about Julia Child and Alva DeVoto is just going to have to sit on my coffee table a little bit longer.
0 -
I just finished A gate at the stairs, by Lorrie Moore. I had mixed feelings. Anyone read this?
0 -
I have had a bad back for several days which gave me time to finish the book I was reading. Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese, which I thought was a really wonderful book . But then again, I seem to be one of the few who really liked Freedom so don't know if you would like it. Now I am going to read one I just got called Look me in the eye which is written by Augusten Burroughs brother who has aspergers. I love Augusten Burroughs' books so will see if I feel the same way about his brother's writing.
0 -
Marybe, I read Look Me in the Eye. Bookart should check out the jacket. Really great cover. I read the book because I have a family member who has Aspergers. I thought it was a good book. I don't want to tell you about the ending, but I think it was one of the better books written about Aspergers by a person with it. Enjoy!
0 -
I recently finished Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum. It was a recommendation from this thread and I enjoyed it. It was well written and the stroy kept my attention. I also read The Secret History by Donna Tartt, also recommended here. I liked the story and I felt the characters were well developed. I think it was a little wordy and I kept waiting for something to happen. Now, I'm reading Catching Fire, the second book after The Hunger Games. Has anyone read The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee? It's gotten great reviews for being informative as well as very readable. Gina
0 -
ginadmc ~
I have THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES...on my nightstand. It is very readable, and I'm reading it between fiction (currently, THE CONFESSION, by John Grisham). I had my library reserve it for me the day I read the review in Newsday (LI's daily paper). It reminds me of how I've become more aware during the last few years that modern medicine is just that - very modern. It was not so long ago that procedures were seemingly quite archaic. I am skipping around trying to find most of the references to BC and the remedies used up to now.
Be well, and happy reading!
Maria
0 -
Hi,
Just found this thread.. I love a good book. I too thought Cutting for Stone was a greatbook. The best I have read in quite some time.
I loved Those Who Saved Us.
I just read for my Gilda's Club book Club..The Reliable Wife. Some love it and some hate it.I also read the immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. ..non fiction..
Will reserve The Emperor of All maladies.
Hugs , Francine
0 -
I just found this thread and I love to read:
Suggestions:
The Shack - by William P. Young
The Cross Gardener - by Jason Wright
Wednesday's Letters - by Jason Wright
I'm going to check out some of the books on here for sure!
Thanks
0 -
Started the Emperor of All Maladies last night - of course I cheated and looked up Dennis Slamon and read that section first. I know the story, but I got goose bumps reading about the author's interview with Barbara Bradfield who, at Stage IV, enered Slamon's Herceptin trial in 1991 and still is alive and doing well today.
My friend who was dx with bc six months before me gave me the book for Christmas - I'm sure others would think it a pretty depressing gift, but we totally get it!
0 -
I liked The Reliable Wife...it was one I picked up at the airport along with The Piano Teacher and that was one I really enjoyed also. I have had good luck picking books I like in the airport bookstores....last one was Wishin and Hoping by Wally Lamb and I already wrote about how funny it was before.
0
