Book Lovers Club
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love that, Ruth! I'm swiping it!
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Please do! It is something our whole society should be taking stock of right now IMO.
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VR - I read an author your DH might like - Gregg Hurwitz, You're Next (2011). I had a bit of a hard time getting into it, but then couldn't put it down. Young boy of 4 abandoned at a playground by his Dad w/very few memories of his parents. And no idea why he was left. He's raised in a foster home & becomes quite successful. Then his picture is in the paper and menacing characters start to appear. How can he protect his family while believing his father didn't protect him? And who's behind this & why?
Got thoroughly caught up in While I Was Gone by Sue Miller (1999). I vaguely remember reading The Good Mother many years ago and seeing lots of truths for the age I was then. This is about a mother who's last child goes off to college and in spite of being happily married to a preacher & having satisfying work as a vet, is still obsessed with an early period in her life when a good friend was killed. It's about secrets, about sharing, about how secrets change relationships, about finally growing up (maybe), about not knowing what your own children think of you, or why, about how someone so conflicted (although perfectly human) can have such a GOOD husband.
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Minus...I will check it out for him. He is presently reading, The Gene, written by the author of The Emperor of all Maladies. Daniel Silva's new book, The Black Widow is going to be released this week, so he is going to be a happy camper! I like the subject matter and just might read it as well.
Today, I returned to The Met Breuer for my third time in as many months to enjoy, yet again, the exhibit, Unfinished. I read the exhibit's catalog accompanying book and highly recommend reading the book if you can't get to see the exhibit in person. As a new grandmother, I must brag by saying, I had the pleasure of bringing my 4 month old grandson to the museum and have to say he LOVED the portraits! If I had been asked which painting he enjoyed the most, I'd have to say it was one of the Titians. He loves the color red and the person in the painting was wearing a scarlett robe which kept his attention.
This week, the museum will also unveil an exhibit ddicated to the photography of Diane Arbus. There is a new book about her as well. One of VR's friends is reading the book and can't put it down. Her personal life was tragic. Her tragic young death was a huge loss to her children and a huge loss to the artistic community...
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VR, thank you for the heads up on the Arbus exhibition and catalouge. She was my greatest inspiration when aquiring a MFA back in the early 80's, so inspired of her vision and style working that i use a square-format (2-1/4-inch twin lens reflex) camera - fill flash, portraits (teens hanging out on beach, older, forgotten elderly, etc..) in color rather than b&w. Look who I've quote on my profile and always have. Last exhibition of her work that I viewed was back in 2011 at the Tate Modern and love to get to the Met and see these completely unknown additions of her work . Lucky puppy you.
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ahhhhh!!! Lilac!!!!!! I would have loved to have crossed the pond to see The Tate's exhibit!!!! Yesterday, one of my friends saw the exhibit and loved it. She said the photos were small and patrons huddled around the photos to get a close-up look. She also said that the museum was quieter than expected. I think few people are aware of this new Met location. I also think that tourists flock to the main Met location so they can say they visited The Met. Too, too bad. The Met Breuer is an undiscovered gem!
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VR, the Met Breuer is on my radar thanks to you! Wondering if this exhibition will travel?
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lilac....the last exhibit devoted to Arbus ran for a year, back in 2011, at the British Tate. This exhibit has never before exhibited photos. Not sure if it will be travelling. I will be visiting it later this month and I will ask. You can also email the museum and inquire as well.
Been focusing on my summer reading. Reading art, architecture and fashion "Q" books. Oy! The books are so heavy! Worth their weight! 😇
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Just read Elizabeth's Missing by Emma Healey (2014). It's her first book & just marvelous. It's an emotionally challenging read for anyone getting older & starting to forget, but well worth it. The book goes back & forth between the present and Maud's childhood - encompassing the WWII years in England. "Ingeniously structured & remarkably poignant...(it) is the story of friendship & loss that will have you compulsively puzzling fact from fiction as you race to the last page."
Also read Kent Haruf's latest book, Our Souls at Night (2015), finished just before he died. Imagine two lonely old neighbors, both living on long after a spouse died, who have known each other for years. Nights are lonely with no one to talk to and all they want is companionship. How do you deal with neighbor's gossip in this small town. "Mournful & compassionate." I'm going to go back & read his first book, Plainsong, again.
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Hi I have not been keeping up but have read two of the best books, and I'm sorry if they have already been recommended.
They are two beautiful books, one fiction and one nonfiction which I believe speak to the same subject
When Breath becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
and
The Elegance of the Hedgehog.by Muriel Barbery
I loved them both.
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Bedo - so...the flu is good for something - LOL. Loved The Elegance of Hedgehogs. I'm waiting for the paperback of When Breath Becomes Air. Somehow hardback books are just too hard for me to hold anymore. And yes, I do a lot of reading in bed!!!
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I'm now reading, The First Nazi, Eric Ludendorff, The Man Who Made Hitler Possible by Will and Denise Brownell. For all of you Erik Larson fans, the Brownells' book is written like Larson's writing. It is very quick reading! As many of you are aware, this year marks the 100th anniversay of WWI. This book, like many others published this year, give readers an opportunity to understand in great detail how we get to war and how much pain it causes.
What I find so fascinating are the staggering details of the cost of war both in the lives lost and the suffering that was inflicted on those who survived.
Regarding today's terrorism, last week, I saw a quote in The New York Times by William McCants, the author of the terrorism book that I recently read. The book, Isis Acopolyse, was also mentioned.
These two books, I most highly recommend.
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Another classic on this subject (how WWI happened)is Barbara Tuchman's The Guns Of August. Considered by many among the top 100 non fiction of modern times. It won the Pulitzer many years ago and remains an approachable standard today, though written years ago.
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The Guns of August was one of President Kennedy's favorite books. He used it as a guide of what NOT to do during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
I just got back from a beach vacation. I read three books that I wouldn't recommend (two actually, the third I could get through), and one that was pretty good. Before the Fall by Noah Hawley was an Amazon Best Book of June recommendation. It begins with the crash of a private plane carrying some very influential people on board. The book goes back in forth in time developing the characters and the plot. I was reading it on the plane home & when we hit some bad weather over Denver, I thought maybe it wasn't a wise choice to be reading while flying!
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jackie...ruth....many readers of this book reference the Tuchman book...and the Kennedy connection as well. I kind of wish that politician and voters would read this book and epecially the ISIS book. I also had wished that politicians had read Larson's Issac's Storm BEFORE Katrina! Meanwhile, younger DS is in Galveston as I write this and he assured me before visiting that he checked the weather ahead of time and there are no hurricaines in the immediate forecast!
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Ruth, which books DiDN'T you like?? and getting through it isn't much of a recommendation - so tell us!!!
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Okay, you asked for them:
First Dads: Parenting and Politics from George Washington to Barack Obama by Joshua Kendall wasn't bad. I did, however, find several factual errors which made me suspect the rest of what the author said.
When I'm Gone by Emily Bleeker was okay. Don't read it if you get creeped out by 'Dying From Cancer' books. After the death of his wife, the main character starts getting letters from her. Letters that lead to the discovery of a deep, dark secret. A little far fetched to me.....I finished it because it was a paperback & I didn't want to get an electronic book wet on the beach.
What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman. Includes abusive parents, murder, foster homes and mental hospitals. Nope, couldn't do it; even though it was paperback & I would have to risk getting the Kindle washed away by the waves.
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Speaking of parenting, I am on a library list to get the first copy of Alison Gopnik's new book on parenting. I read a column, written by her, in the Wall Street Journal. She claims that "parent" is a noun and should not be considered a verb such as "parenting." Very fascinating and wise advise in the column. Hope the book is also refreshing. I will report back once I have it in my hands.....
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Not reading anything heavy right now, only some old favorite paperback romance novel
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voracious: one of my pet peeves: everyone turning perfectly good nouns into bogus verbs
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abigail..💑
My biggest issue is with the phrase, "We're pregnant!"
When men have labor pains and actually deliver, then it will be acceptable! Until then....hmmmmm...
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I thought you would enjoy this picture of my Book Club taken today at Barnes & Noble. We have been meeting every month since August 1998. As you can see, we are surrounded by books, coffee, and desserts....the perfect combination for a great afternoon with friends!
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Great pic, Ruth! I just started Kickback, the new Spenser paperback by Ace Atkins.
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I know some of you are history buffs and was reading a book review regarding a book, which deals with an historical episode which is apparently notorious among American Jews but I never heard of before reading a book review on: When General Grant Expelled the Jews by Jonathan D. Sarna. On December 17, 1862, General Ulysses S Grant issued "General Orders, No 11", expelling Jews "as a class" from the so-called Department of Tennessee, a large area comprising the whole of Mississippi plus sections of Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee proper. Jews were given 24 hours to evacuate Union-controlled territory within the Department on pain of imprisonment. The order was almost immediately rescinded by President Abraham Lincoln and therefore only affected a small number of Jewish citizens. However, being the most anti-Semitic decision ever made by an American official or military commander, it naturally shocked the Jewish community, which had expected the United States to be different from the European nations, where Jews faced various forms of discrimination and sometimes state-sanctioned violence. Wondered if this book or General Orders, No 11 ever came up on anyone's radar before?
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lilac...On Friday, I visited Philly and saw a statue of him, atop his horse, and vaguely remembered I didn't like him, but I had forgotten why! I am surprisely happy that you mentioned the long forgotten fact. I must have read a review for the book and forgotten. I will put a reserve on it! Thanks!
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VR, was amazed reading about Grant and General Orders, No 11. There is another Sarna book, Lincoln and the Jews: A History , that has received high praise and explains Lincoln even more so, as the extraordinary individual he was.
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lilac....will have to read that one too....speaking of Lincoln and how great he really was, I read the book, A First Rate Madness a few years ago which discussed the mental "handicaps" of some of the world's arguably great leaders. I recommended it here a while ago. I saw the book being referenced in another book that I recommened a few weeks ago....Andy Warhol was a Hoarder. In A First Rate Madness the author, a psychiatrist, claimed what made Lincoln great was his deep compassion which, he believes, was caused by a deep depression. The author explained that he thought a number of great leaders were, in fact great, due to mental illnesses. While his theory is quite provocative, it is conceivable.
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I am going to read " Girl at War " for our book club meeting on Aug 15th. I don't know if it's good, or if anyone has read it.
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I finally have a novel that I can recommend with no reservations: Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger. A middle-age man looks back at events that happened during a summer 40 years ago when he was 13. Events that defined and shaped the lives of him and his family. A little bit of a mystery, a lot of meditation on the meaning of life.
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Oh Ruth, what a coincidence. I stayed up way too late last night to finish the same book, Ordinary Grace, and have the book sitting by my computer so I could post today. I second your recommendation. A must read. I've read a couple of his other books in the Cork O'Connor series, mostly set in Minnesota, and I had a mental note to keep an eye out for his books but I'd forgotten him. A neighbor lent me this one. What a treasure.
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