Book Lovers Club
Comments
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Pat01 - is that a mystery? It sounds a bit familiar but I can't remember if I read it.
We used to live right over the RI/CT border in Putnam, CT. Know where that is? My oldest daughter lives in MA and is a designer at Hasbro in Pawtucket (or wherever they are!).
An
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I tried to read The Grapes of Wrath again, too, and all it did was put me to sleep! I did, however, stumble on one called I Will Send Rain, and it was fabulous. I was dreading the last page because I knew I was done with the book at that po
I also loved The Book of Bright Ideas and The Space Between Us. Both are easy reads and easy to get into. I love to lose myself in nice big fat books, especially if they are family sagas and if they span several generations. My friends chuckle because I always say I won't read anything under 300 pages. Call me crazy!!
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Hi all and welcome beach2beach. You will find some great recs here.
This week's library books are The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, and Educated.
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badger...harold frye....wonderful. Even shed a tear...
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Just finished listening to Frankenstein (Mary Kelley) read by Dan Stevens. Its the first time I've listened to this book and found both Frankenstein and the Monster heartbreaking. Dan Stevens brings a great deal of empathy in his reading of both characters. I had forgotten that Frankenstein is not the monster but the creator of the monster. I'm glad I listened to this reading and highly recommend listening to this tragic saga.
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ok! Geoff Dyer alert! Newest book, Broadsword to Danny Boy, will be published next month! It is about the film, Where Eagles Dare. As a child, I watched the movie and fell in love with Clint Eastwood. I watched it again when Tarantino said it was one of his favorite films and his film, Inglorious Bastards, pays homage to it. Imagine, my most favorite filmmaker and my most favorite author BOTH paying homage to the same film that features the first Hollywood actor who VR had a crush on...........whew! I am so excited.....
DId I earlier mention the Tarantino book that I read? Tarantino A Retrospective. What a great book! It is one of those oversized books packed with amazing pictures and quotes. My whole family are Tarantino fans. I discovered him when I randomly pulled Resevoir Dogs from the video store shelf. The DH and I watched it and I was shell shocked for a week! This occurred BEFORE Pulp Fiction became famous. In fact, I wasn’t that impressed with Pulp Fiction having already seen Resevoir Dogs. Couldn’t understand the fanfare. However, what i love about Tarantino is the same thing that i love about Dyer. I love watching each of them develop their art
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Just got the book The Radium Girls. Haven't had a chance to start it yet, but I did glance at the index and see that Timex which was formerly known as the Waterbury Clock Company, that started in the town I live in was mentioned several times. Going to recommend this one to an aunt who likes books like this.
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mom...nice piece of trivia
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Yes it is.
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M0mmy, I liked Radium Girls and will be interested to hear what you & your aunt think.
VR, Harold Fry was so good! A well-told tale of a man who walks 500 miles to see an old friend, and who finds himself along the way.
Educated was also very good. A memoir from the daughter of an Idaho fundamentalist who distrusted gov't to the extent he refused to let his children go to school or see a doctor. It's amazing that she made it out in one piece and went on to do so well, albeit at a high personal cost.
This week's library book is The Secret History of Wonder Woman (2014) by Jill Lepore. The author ties WW to female empowerment social trends such as woman suffrage and birth control. It's a fascinating read!
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Travelers in the Third Reich, by Julie Boyd....
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34594504-travellers-in-the-third-reich
I read the first hundred pages in what seemed like a half hour. Engrossing story of Post WWI Germany and WWIIthrough the personal notes of the people who visited. Yeah....the American Ambassador's daughter who Erik Larson mentions in his book, In The Garden of Beasts,has some attributable quotes here....and more.....as I breezed through the pages I wondered about the amount of time devoted to finding such quotes. Amazing! This book addresses, not just Hitler, but the culture and crushing economy. I was surprised how Germany's infrastructure hadn't suffered during WWI like its neighboring countries that it had attacked.
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If you haven't read Sister by Rosamund Lupton, I highly recommend it. The publisher calls it a Literary crime novel. The entire story is told in first person, the older sister speaking to a younger sister, who comes up missing and is discovered dead. Her death is ruled a suicide but the narrator sister cannot accept that verdict and begins her own investigation, which exposes her to the same killer who murdered her sister.
The writing style is vivid and the narrative engrossing. There is a certain amount of trickery in the telling of the story and there's a surprise ending. The only down side is an inevitable sadness for what has been lost.
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I'm halfway through WW which is chock-full of historical images of real and imagined women. It's an absorbing read but needed a break from non-fiction so took a rec from this thread and picked up The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. Nothing like a twisty murder mystery set on a luxury cruise ship to get one's mind off reality.
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The Woman in Cabin 10 sounds interesting. I'll have to put it on my list.
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I just finished “Orphan Train” by Christina Baker Kline - I knew nothing about these trainloads of orphans sent from the East Coasts to the Midwest. Loved this novel. I also enjoyed her “A Piece of the World” about Andrew Wyeth and the woman who posed for his painting “Christina’s World.” My brother lives in Wyeth country in Pennsylvania so I’ve seen a lot of his work
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Just read Believe Me (by JP Delaney) & enjoyed it even more than her previous novel, The Girl Before. It's dark, twisted & engrossing, with a lot of surprises. Carole, I've reserved Sister, based on your recommendation & am looking forward to reading it.
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Tappermom - my mom (who passed at 104 last year) remembered the orphan trains. She was born and brought up in New York and she said that she remembered seeing the children being put on the trains at the train station near where her family lived. She said they often wondered what happened to the children after they left New York and she enjoyed reading the book. I did, too!
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Oh my Snickers - thanks for sharing that about your Mom. I liked Orphan Train too.
Recently read "The Light Between the Oceans" by M.L. Stedman. I know it's from 2012 so many of you may have read it already, but I found the dilemma about whether to keep the baby from the row boat heart rending.
Also finished a summer read by Ann RIvers Siddons "Colony" from 1992. I used to read her books 25 years ago - family sagas usually set in the south - Georgia, the Carolinas, etc. This one was about a southern girl who married a 'main line' guy & has to spend every summer at the Maine retreat w/ all the same families for the last 100+ years.
Also read and enjoyed an old P.D. James. She really is a master at her craft.
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I remember Ann River Siddon's "Colony"! A great book.
May I recommend the audio version of "Anna Karenina" read by Maggie Gyllenhaal. I've only got a few chapters left--- I really don't want it to end.
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Thanks for sharing about your Mom, Snickersmom. I enjoyed reading the author’s notes at the end - she talks about connecting with some orphan train survivors - in their 90s.
MJ
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I heard the Orphan Train author talk in person. Very interesting!
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Didn't finish The Secret History of Wonder Woman before it was due, but want to and will borrow again.
The Woman in Cabin 10 was a quick read, and very twisty!
Finally got my hands on Practical Magic. It was so familiar ... then I realized I had seen the movie years ago. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman were well-cast. Still enjoyed the book, even though I knew the plot.
Was first on reserve list for The Forbidden Door, the new Jane Hawk by Dean Koontz and picked it up today!
And, in a rare event, I bought a book. Bob Woodward's Fear arrived today but will let mom read it first.
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I just picked up "To Kill a Mockingbird" from my shelves. It's been years and I think I need to re-read.
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minus! I just returned, Atticus Finch:The Biography!
https://www.amazon.com/Atticus-Finch-Biography-Joseph-Crespino/dp/1541644948
I regretted having not read it! It is on my list to get to! If you or any other To Kill A Mockingbird lovers read it, PLEASE let me know
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VR - Thanks for the referral. I'll add it to my list.
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I am re-reading The Name of the Rose by Umberto Ecco. Set in 14th century in a monastery.
To Kill a Mockingbird is on the short list of my favorite novels, along with Pride and Prejudice.
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Carole Halston: 'The Name of the Rose" -- that's a heavy lift. I admire Umberto Ecco's writing so much, but have never been able to get through one of his books.
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I like the good suggestions.
I can recommend several; I do like loooong books. And many of them are older, and maybe have already been read. "Lonesome Dove", Larry McMurtry. "The Winds of War" part 1, 2 and 3. by Herman Wouk (pre-WWII and during WWII). All 5 books of "Game of Thrones" by George RR Martin. Almost all of Margaret George books, "Cleopatra", "Helen of Troy", "Henry the 8th", I am working on Mary, Queen of Scots by her now. "The Last Empress", biography of the last Tsarina of Russia, by Greg King. "Anna Karenina" yes!
I have seen the movie made of "Name of the Rose", by Eco, but also had a slow time with reading the book. Movie has Sean Connery as the detective monk.
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I love Umberto Eco’s books! Read most of them, but The Name of The Rose is still my favorite one.
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I'm sticking to the classics for now:
I'm listening to Tolstoy's 'War and Peace", the audio-recording available for free on Librivox.
I am a Dickens fan, and have never read 'The Old Curiosity Shop', so last night I started listening to the Librivox recording by a British lady Mil Nicholson who is an excellent expressive reader. I alternate the Tolstoy and Dickens, such very different writers.
If you like long books I would recommend anything by Edith Wharton, like 'Custom of the Country,' 'The Age of Innocence', 'The House of Mirth', especially the audio versions on Librivox.
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