Book Lovers Club
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Cool. Which ones did you get for the bookclub?0 -
We ended up with Mrs. Sinclair's Suitcase by Louise Walters, because one of the ladies had picked it up and put it back....thus breaking the tie, but I imagine we might see some of the rest of them later on (whomever is the hostess for the month picks the next book). I will report back after I read it. Right now I am skimming through a not very good book written by Johnny Carson's lawyer. Not what I expected and I don't think it is very nice to ditch dirt about someone who was your client, and supposed friend, after his death.
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No, it's not very nice especially when the man is dead and can't fight back.0 -
Ruth...now THAT is hilarious!
Finally got around to finishing Erik Larson's Dead Wake. Loved it! There is a great video of Larson being interviewed about the book at youtube. I wish I could copy the link but I haven't had success. The interview takes place at Stanford and it is 55 minutes long! Worth watching!
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American Glamour and the Evolution of Modern Architecture is a fabulous book. I took it out of the library a few years ago and decided to revisit the book since I visited The Museum of the City of New York and attended a lecture on Post- Modern Architecture. The ticket to the SRO sold out lecture was the second best activity in the city after getting seats for Broadway's Hamilton. Speaking at the lecture was the dean of Yale's Architecture school, Robert A.M. Stern. Modern architecture has never appealed to me, but it is growing on me. American Glamour does a great job of putting Modern Architecture into perspective. Listening to Stern discuss the transition from Modern to Post-Modern was fascinating!
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I finished Mrs. Sinclair's Suitcase, a first novel by Louise Walters in two sittings. The book alternates between the present time and World War II England. A a 34 year old single lady, who works in bookshop (and loves to collect the old letters she finds in books), finds a letter in one of her grandmother's old suitcases. The letter is addressed to her grandmother by her grandfather. Very curiously, the letter is written AFTER the presumed death date of her grandfather, a Polish pilot in WWII, and it references a secret. The book goes back and forth between the grandmother's and granddaughter's stories, with it all coming together in the end. Interesting, well-written, and I think worth a read.
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I put it on my long to-read list, Ruth. Almost finished Harlan Coben's latest: The Stranger. It is a page turner! Can't wait to see how it ends. Darn work, interrupting my reading time!0 -
OK - I'm finally caught up with all the magazines I put in a pile for the last several months. 38 separate mags to read. I kept two Bookmarks magazines towards the end. The sub title of this magazine is "For Everyone Who Hasn't Read Everything". It is such a treat to read summaries & reviews about tons of books coming out, interviews with authors, essays sent in from book clubs around the country, etc.
Last but certainly not least was the new issue of The Atlantic. I read an essay last night titled Letter to My Son, adapted from Ta-Nehisi Coates' new book, Between the World & Man. I was absolutely stunned. Just unable to even talk. The book is on my list. Has anyone else read him?
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between the world 7 me I think. googling it now
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Minustwo- Thanks for mentioning the Ta-Nehisi Coates' new book and the Atlantic Monthly article. I have not read the book, but just now devoured the Atlantic Monthly article. Coates is a powerful writer in that he writes from personal experiences that demand the readers attention. I can agree or disagree with ideas but I can only acknowledge and respect the human experience described by the person having that experience. Having said that, I do agree with his ideas about history, about what it means to have a certain body, how brutality works in overt and covert ways and so many of his other ideas. I will read definitely read the book and one reason is that I am fascinated with his focus on his body - embodiment - human beings have bodies and these bodies of ours work to interpret the world and capture the communications/beliefs of others about our bodies.
Pardon please, I get a little to philosophical when I read something that gets me thinking, thinking, thinking.
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Magic- no need to say that. I enjoyed reading your take and POV. Just as valuable to me as the book recommendations here are the peeks into everyone's head. Thanks.
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I would like to add that The Atlantic (no longer called Monthly) almost always has at least one article that makes me think.
In this same September issue I was incensed about the college issues "How Political Correctness is Ruining Education." Wow, what happened to education, particularly higher education, as a place to be confronted with all sorts of 'new' thoughts & ideas and for making decisions for yourself after all the info is on the table and you can listen & study all sides objectively. I was horrified by the "triggering". Professors now have to say - Gee there might be something in this book that you might not like so I'm warning you ahead of time and you can take a pass if you don't want to chance being upset. And they have to warn ahead about every possible thing since there are "thought police" to turn the teachers in if they inadvertently put a book on the list that someone might not like. Do we have any college profs or teachers here who can speak to this new problem?
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Enjoyed The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz (Harriet the Spy for grown-ups). Will read more of the series.
Hot Pursuit, the new Stuart Woods (channeling his inner Stone Barrington) is formulaic; I tire of him.
Next up is This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin. Heard an interview with him on NPR, talking about why human beings make and enjoy music. Looking forward to learning how composers exploit the way our brains make sense of the world, why we emotionally attach to music we listen to as teenagers, why 10,000 hours of practice - not talent - makes virtuosos, and how insidious jingles (aka ear worms) get stuck in our heads.
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Seeing as how you mentioned music, Badger, I found this wonderful short piece where orchestra, conductor, and audience are engaged together. Happy Sunday everyone!
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Badger, glad you enjoyed the Spellman Files! That series is one of my faves.Currently reading Jonathon King's latest Don't Lose Her. A Federal judge who is 8 months pregnant and presiding over a drug lord's case, has been kidnapped. Set in South FL.
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Just came upon this subject and going to take time to read most of the suggestions! This summer I have been reading (light stuff) fiction by Elin Hildebrand. Her stories are all located on Nantucket and being from MA can relate to the area.0
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Welcome pheasantduster! I totally get reading books where you can relate to the area. It's nice envisioning the streets and neighborhoods.
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Welcome also, pheasantduster.
I like it when you can relate to the geographical backdrop as well.
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Ditto on the Spellman Files - great series. I love the family - so lovingly disfunctional!!
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Hitler's Last Days by Bill O'Reilly is a quick interesting read if you like WWII stories. If you decide to read it, I'd recommend the 'real' book because there are a lot of pictures, maps, index of key players etc. so you will probably find yourself flipping back and forth as you read.
Hi pheasant! Yes, it is always cool to read a book set in a place you know, really makes the story come alive.
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Nice welcome from everyone - thanks. I just recently read Tom Brokow's, "A Lucky Life Interrupted" on his recent bout with blood cancer. Tough in parts but did not leave me upset but inspired. We all have our story.0
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I read Tom's book, too. Did not realize how much of a struggle he had. (OK, we'll get off cancer books now!)
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Thanks Katy, loved the Champagne Gallop! What fun!
Nothing can match the energy and joy of live performance.
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Ok ladies, off to the library (books one day overdue) When back to the start of this topic and have a nice list. I could go on library web site to see if books are available but love poking through shelves to see what I can find. I typically go to suggested authors and find previous written books which is great! Hot and humid weather here so perfect for 'reading'.0
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Only one chapter into This is your Brain on Music but can tell I will like it, once I get through music theory. Brain anatomy & chemistry, OK, but music theory is hard LOL. Two phrases stand out in my mind; could not help but notice the juxtaposition when reading liner notes to one of my favorite CDs.
"What artists and scientists have in common is the ability to live in an open-ended state of interpretation and reinterpretation of the products of our work." - Daniel J. Levitin in the intro to This is your Brain on Music (2007).
"The painful paradox is that every time musicians of this caliber get together something unique and unrepeatable happens, and yet it would be impossible or at least unwieldy to record every encounter, every note, every run of every song. But when selectively made, as they have been here, we get a precious postcard from a human and artistic encounter that will never happen exactly the same way again." - Craig Havighurst in the intro to Bryan Sutton *and friends* Almost Live (2009).
Got sidetracked though by a visit to Half-Price Books in Madison last week. Our first time there, Mom and I now have a new favorite place to shop. I spent $5 and got three paperbacks - a Robin Cook (Blindsight), a Mary Kay Andrews (Deep Dish), and one that I bought with Ruth in mind, Giants in the Earth by O. E. Rølvaag. First published in 1927, it's the classic story of a Norwegian pioneer family's struggles with the land and the elements of the Dakota Territory as they try to make a new life in America. Have you read it already, Ruth? If not, I'll send it to you when I'm done. Good book so far, and the characters travel in Wisconsin from Milwaukee to Prairie du Chien on their westward journey.
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Badger- beautiful quotes. I sometimes get so moved by the written word I have to put the book down. Never seems to happen when people talk. Thank you.
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Badger (and other book lovers) here is an example of written words that just stopped me. Stopped me completely.
The protagonist is in a hide observing a pack of coyotes that aren't supposed to exist, that if people knew they were there, would be killed, and she has spent her career protecting them. If she breathes or moves she will spook them, possibly never to be seen again.
"Deanna sank down on her knees, into the childhood summers when neighbors had brought litters of pups in boxes and the barn cats had delivered their kittens practically into her hands. Without self- consciousness her body became a child's, her teeth holding her braid in her mouth for silence and her hands on her chest to keep her heart from bursting.
She wished so hard for her father, it felt like a prayer: If I could only show him this, oh, please. Let him look down from Heaven, whatever that means, let him look up through my eyes from the cells of genesis he planted in me, let him see this, because he would understand it perfectly. Love was the one thing he always knew when it looked at him in the face.
She wondered if there was anyone alive she could tell about these little dogs, this tightly knotted pack of survival and nurture. Not to dissect their history and nature; she had done that already. What she craved to explain was how much they felt like family. "
From Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer
Sorry so long. Needed to share
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I love it when that happened,,, you are so swept away by the author's words,,, you just want to cling to them.Just finished Peter Robinson's latest in the Alan Bank series: In the Dark Places. Excellent, fast paced read.
Now onto Ivan Doig's Last Bus to Wisdom,,, which I think someone on here recommended.
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Our little county museum has front porch chats every Sunday in the summer. Local people with various interests give a short talk each week. Today two local authors (who have written works of regional interest & have taught high school, college and adult writing courses among other things) did a fun talk about the writing process. As part of the talk, they read the first paragraph of books and challenged the audience to identify the book from that paragraph......and then talked about how that paragraph whets the reader's interest and sets the stage. Very interesting (and I will brag and tell you that I identified more books than anyone else in the audience......
).Badger, ya you betcha, I have read Giants in the Earth (and probably have a copy in one of my bookshelves). It is lucky that the settling of the west was not left to me....it would have never happened! The pioneer stock has definitely been diluted by the time it was passed down to me!
I am reading David McCullough's The Wright Brothers; which I love, love!
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Finished an old Sue Grafton O is for Outlaw yesterday. It's one of the series I'd missed. I'd forgotten how much fun she is.
Now I'm reading Barry Eisler's Hard Rain (2003). The protagonist, John Rain, is a 'master of death by natural causes'. He's 1/2 American and 1/2 Japanese and this book is all set in Japan so far, He's trying to tie up loose ends before disappearing to Brazil. A guy in the Japanese FBI wants one more 'favor' before he goes, eliminate an assassin at large who kills w/o conscience. Interesting hero w/lots of soft spots, but not in his trade. VR - I think your DH might like this series. I think Rain Fall was the first.
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