Book Lovers Club
Comments
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I just finished an Elizabeth George novel, The Punishment She Deserved, with the Lynley and Barbara Havers characters. The setting was outside of London and picturesque, but the plot was slow. I found myself reading fast to get through the book. Not this author's best work.
Now I'm reading the third Gillian Flynn book, Sharp Objects. I am finding the story intriguing so far.
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minus! I just looked at the original illustrations of The Wizard of Oz! Wow! Pinocchio and The Wizard are among the grandson’s favorites! Annie is also up there
last week, I saw the Off Broadway, Yiddish version of Fiddler on the Roof based on the stories of Tevye’s Daughters. Years ago, I read the book by Sholem Aleichem. The words jump off the pages. You can almost see the story and hear the music that grew out of the story.0 -
Carole: Funny - I just finished The Punishment She Deserves last week too. I think some of the 'slowness' with all authors now is that they are encouraged (coerced?) to write 500 page books - or longer. That means the plots have to be unnaturally retarded a bit or embellished needlessly to get the requisite page numbers. Punishment was 690 pages. I'd rather go back to the old way and have two separate books to look forward to.
Also recently finished Deborah Crombie Garden of Lamentations (only 414 pages) and John Lescroart Poison (289 pages). Both relatively fast reads. I still treasure Lescroart. I saw him speak once and he is outstanding. As you can see, I'm catching up on books that came out in paperback that I was waiting for. (yeah, I know I ended the sentence with a preposition)
I have Greg Illes' Mississippi Blood on deck, but at 760 pages it's almost to heavy to read at all - even in paperback. It will be murder to read in bed lying down. Maybe I'll have to wear my LE sleeve (LOL)
VR - I pulled out an old copy of Swiss Family Robinson. There is not a publishing date, but from my research it's likely the turn of the last century. Great black & white drawings & plates, but oh the story type is soooooo small. I had to return it to the shelf for now. Maybe after my cataract surgery.
I haven't seen Fiddler in years but the music is still in my brain. Would be fun to see it again.
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Minus, what a coincidence that you were reading the same novel at the same time!
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MinusTwo- thank you for the recommendation on bookmarksmagazine, I will certainly check it out. re: Pinocchio, I remembered recently reading that someone loved it, remembered it was Patti Smith and while there are many interviews in which she ;mentions it, I am providing this one ....
Elsewhere, Smith revealed that Little Women was the book that changed her life and that the book she wish she had written was The Adventures of Pinocchio by Italian writer Carlo Collodi.
"[It's] the perfect book for any age," she said of Collodi's book that later became the basis for the 1940 Disney movie Pinocchio. "It addresses creation, the war between good and evil, redemption, and transfiguration in one beloved tale. I have loved it since age seven and have long wished to write something similar."
mac5 - I love the Outlander series but I could never read one right after the other - with the first couple, I literally had to "cool down" for a couple of months between books!!! now I simply enjoy the anticipation and read them as they are published. You summed up like 16,000 pages very well!
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minus! Cataract surgery!! I wish you well! My cataracts aren’t “ripe” enough for surgery and when the time does come....I AM PETRIFIED...I have had more than a dozen surgeries, none of which I gave a second thought....but that one....affecting my eyes....scares me. I keep thinking of the Twilight Zone Burgess Meredith episode when he breaks his glasses and can’t read...VR’s absolutely, WORST nightmare! Do keep us posted! My thoughts and prayers are with you!
Switching subjects..in a hurry....On Monday, went to an author lecture at The Museum of the City of New York. Perhaps my favorite museum.....NY Times reporter,Sam Roberts discussed his new book, A History of New York in 27 Buildings. He was hilarious! Today, picked up my reserved copy from the library....it is going to be a long night....
Pinocchio...Only thing better than reading the story to a three year old is watching them perform “I got no strings...” Pure bliss....
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VR - da, da, da, da; da, da, da, da... (how do we sing that shark circling song?) I'm with you. Take a leg. Take both legs. Take an arm - even my right. I've like to keep one hand if possible - though I expect I could learn to cope. But if I can't read you might as well push me off a cliff. Or rather, I'd probably just be jumping. I've been going to the same eye surgeon for more than 30 years and she assures me this is easy, no sweat, no problem, etc. So we're laughing in her office, but while I'm pretending to laugh, understand I'm thinking over-the-top-crazy, teeth grinding, nail biting, white knuckle time. BUT IT's MY EYE!!! I'm waiting 5 weeks before eye #2, just in case something goes horribly wrong I'll still have one eye. Yes, I've had 5 or 8 friends who have all told me this is a snap - I know, I know, BUT IT's MY EYE!!! I'm not a pill taker, but this is worse anxiety than the double mastectomy. So in addition to PETRIFIED, I'm PARANOID.
That said I've made provisions for an optical shop to pop out the first progressive lens and put in clear glass after the post-op (the morning after). I've agreed I'm OK with readers, so I plan to go buy some at WalMart of Target in a couple of magnifications. Because of course as timing usually happens, just the first of the year I gave away my entire progression of readers form 1.0 to 3.5.
In the mean time, I just finished re-reading Sue Bender's "Everyday Sacred: A Woman's Journey Home". Her first book was "Plain & Simple" when she went to live with the Amish for awhile. This one starts with the tradition of the 'begging bowl'. She's discovering how to accept that what is given each day is enough - people, stories, experiences. And how to 'delete' the severe judge inside that tells her "you're not doing enough, you don't measure up". She emphasizes that everything we see & hear & do should be with our full attention and love.
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minus! I DO wish you well! Please, please, please let us know how it goes! In the meantime....carpe diem! And remember...us book lovers have your back! Thoughts and prayers too
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Been ages since I've been here, read some uninteresting and at times downright tedious books the last few months, got so I just wasn't reading anymore. Finally started the Jack Reacher series Killing Floor by Lee Child, thanks to recommendations from here. What a great character! At last a book that made me want to read "one more chapter". Not sure what is up next, but I got scads of suggestions from reading back a few pages. Love this thread!
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Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout has to be one of the best books I have ever read. Olive Kitteredge was the first and was also a great read. The character goes through many life experiences in a series of interconnected short stories. The author is very good at understanding the human condition and putting emotions into words. The book will take your breath away in spots. All of Elizabeth Strout’s books are good, but these two are wonderful.
Also finished Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson. Another character driven book about an African American family coming to grips with life events. Most of the stories are told in reflection with the action taking place in one day. Several generations trying to find meaning and love with each other. Very well written.
Thanks for listening!
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jcs! Just got a copy from my library! Can't wait to dig in! So glad to hear you loved it!
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JCS - I agree, I like Strout. I think I'll re-read the original "Olive" from my shelf. Need a refresher before I consider the 'sequel'.
Working my way through the Mary Poppins series before I pass them along to my grand-niece. I never saw any of the movies so my conception of Mary & the Banks family has stayed the same for 65 years. I like the pictures my brain conjured up, with help from Shephard's line drawings. I like that my baby brother, who died in 1994, gave me one of the books in the series I was missing in 1965 when he was 10 and I was a junior in college. Wonderful inscription in the front.
Did anyone read the Mother West Wind series, either as a child or to their own children or grandchildren? Thornton W. Burgess wrote over 100 books in the series starting in 1910. The early books were illustrated by George Kerr. Some of the later books were illustrated by Harrison Cady. (Mother Westwind's Animal Friends, The Adventures of Reddy Fox, The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk, The Adventures of Peter Cottontail, etc.) My Mother ordered many in the series for my son. Oh how many delicious mornings we spent when he'd crawl into my bed with a book. They're wonderful for reading to younger children and the sturdy, larger print books are perfect for when kids start exploring reading on their own. Because there's so much about nature and animal life (although granted the animals are anthropomorphized - think Wind in the WIllows), these need to go to my grand-nephews who live on a ranch. Also because my niece reads to them. But boy is it tearing at my heart to part with them. The oldest two books on my shelf are really vintage 1910/1912 that were my Mother's and she read them to me when I was a child.
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Minus - you don't have to be afraid. I had my eyes done about 8 months ago and it was easy-peasy. Here's a good reason for you to get them done -
My dad had cataracts done when he was about 80. That was back when they just gave you a Valium and you were pretty much awake for the procedure (which takes about 5 minutes). My mom was absolutely terrified and was adamant that nobody was ever going to touch her eyes. No matter what we said or did, she would not budge. She kept saying her eyes were fine even though she had to get closer and closer to the television and switched to the large print books (and struggled to see the print). My dad died when he was 96 but mom just kept on ticking. Finally when she reached 100, she admitted that "maybe I should have had cataract surgery" but by then, it was just too late. One eye was almost blind and the other was almost as bad. Mom lived to be 104 and by that time, she could only see shadows with her "good" eye. Barely. She couldn't tell the difference between my sister and me.
I have told many people about mom in the hopes that they won't do what she did. I know it is so hard to have yet another surgery, but believe me, you will be glad you did. My mom regretted her decision until the day she died.
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Wow Snickers - age 104. Thanks for sharing the story.
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I would hate to see you put it off like she did. It was very hard to watch it happen because she was such a healthy woman all her life. Until she was 102, she never took any pills, not even vitamins. When we had to put her in a nursing home (because she no longer could walk) at 102, she complained mightily about "all of the drugs" they were giving her. It was a multivitamin every day. She did have a Guinness Extra Stout every day for lunch until about a week before she died. We figured her blood must have been like tar at that point!
My 3 daughters and 4 granddaughters love that they got to know her and remember her, but it was so sad when she couldn't see them.
So don't put it off!!! Tighten up the elastic on those big girl panties and get it done!
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Yup - I committed last month. First eye 11/4. Second eye 12/9. Just agreeing with VR about how scary it is for anyone to be doing anything to my "lifeline".
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Yes, I get that. It is scary but so is the prospect of losing your sight. Glad you scheduled! You won't regret it and you will be fine!
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minus....we all have your back! And when my time comes....there is going to have to be some heavy lifting....
speaking of reading and vision...two friends and I drove to the city last night and the only thing worse than finding a parking spot....was.....NOT the traffic....but READING the damn street signs! Imagine three women of a particular age and NONE OF US, I tell you, NONE OF US could read the small print! The only thing VR could read was the sign for the parking lot that read $12 after 4 PM! Score!
But in all honesty, I get what Minus is saying about her eyes being her “lifeline.” That is a very raw emotion. I know when my time comes, I will step up to the plate because, let’s face it, what other option is there? None, if we still want to see and continue to love reading....my issue right now is my cataracts are “stable” and according to my doctor, they may stay like this for many, many years. It’s a problem because everything is fuzzy. I had second and third opinions and they all said, until they are “ripe”, I won’t be a candidate for surgery.I wish Minus and everyone here the best! May all of us enjoy the best eye sight to see whatever it is we want to see....
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So in M.G. Wheaton's Emily Eternal, Emily is an artificial consciousness, developed at MIT to advance machine learning and to assist people to deal with trauma, unfortunately the sun is dying, like a lot sooner than the billions of years previously anticipated and all life on earth will be extinguished within just a few years. Emily is the protagonist and the book deals with big questions like what is it to be human and what would the preservation of humanity mean. scientists. You learn a lot about artificial intelligence. It is in interesting contrast to Ben Winter's The Last Policeman which also takes place in Boston with a premiss of the the end of the world but by an asteroid. In Winter's books - the different reactions of people to the reality of imminent destruction is the core of the books. Emily Eternal is uplifting, The Last Policeman, not so much - but both worthwhile! lots to think about
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Hi, I finally have a good one to recommend: Educated by Tara Westover. It's a memoir. The author grew up in a family of survivalists in the mountains of Idaho. They were so outside of the mainstream that there was no one to insure that the children received an education, proper medical care, or even that their basic safely was being maintained. Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention as Tara works to educate herself, and in the process to separate herself from the family that, despite of everything, she still loves.
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Oh Ruth - thanks. My BFF has been trying to get me to read this book for a year, but I will not buy hardbacks. I checked last week, and the paperback is still $21.00 at Target - more than I want to spend for this book. I plan to look at Costco on my next run. Or yes, I could dig out my library card.... (Wonder if it's expired?) But I so like to mark passages that I particularly want to share or read again w/more thought.
I go in waves - library only for a year or so, then used book store for a couple of years w/occasional books from Amazon. It's about time for me to get back to the library anyway.
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I did enjoy Educated. Hard to believe a family could raise a child that way. Also hard to believe she was able to enter the world at college and survive. Well written, thoughtful memoir.
I have not finished, but am thoroughly enjoying Overstory by Richard Powers. Several short stories about trees and the human relationship to them. Very poetic writing. It would be a great book for tree huggers in the family. LOL. Actually it does give one pause to think about how we would survive without trees and our current environment. It is the PBS Reads November selection.
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Snickersmom - I loved Where the Crawdads Sing. DH though it was good and my sister could not put it down! I didn't want it to end.
Annie
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I just started The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington (Meltzer and Mensch) and highly recommend it. I can't believe I hadn't heard this story before. Ruth, you are so knowledgeable about Washington - have you read this book yet? If you have, what did you think of it?I've been on a non-fiction kick lately and just completed The Spy and the Traitor (Macintyre) and found it fascinating. (And I am on a waitlist for Educated so I'm glad to see your endorsements of it above.)
I am reading Charlotte's Web to my six-year old granddaughter (we read a chapter whenever we are together) and we are both loving it. Isn't it fun to share the books you love with another generation of children?
PS Minus, I had both my cataracts removed several years ago and was thrilled with the results. I still need reading glasses but I can drive, work out, etc without glasses now! Results are immediate, pain is non-existent, and the procedure is very quick. Yes, it's scary to contemplate have surgery on your eyes but you will be sooooo happy to have done it!
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JKL - thanks for the reassurance.
I'm now reading "Little Britches" by Ralph Moody. Written in 1950 it's based on the author's real life. It's the story of an 8 yr old boy & his family who move to Colorado in 1906 from an Eastern city as a 'cure' for his Dad's lung problems. Six children when they get there, no house, almost no money, one room schools. It was one of my favorite books growing up & I actually have a copy signed by the author.
I think I first encountered the book at age 10 and can hardly wait for my nephews to get old enough to share. Not only do they live on a ranch now (although both parents work in town) but in the 1950s their great-grandpa moved his family (including their grandma as a young girl) from the big city to a Colorado ranch for 10 years. Many of the stories are similar to those my DH told about his youth even with the time gap.
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Yes, JKL, I read and very much liked The First Conspiracy. In fact, I just dug it out and gave it to DH as he has gotten interested in The Revolutionary War.
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Just finished the Silver Star by Jeannette Walls. Unlike her first 2 books The glass Castle and half Broke Horses, this one is fiction. I so enjoyed her first 2 books, but this one kind of left me wanting more. Next up for me is Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner - I do love WWII fiction, and this came highly recommended.
I'm on waitlist for Educated too. I put it on my list last year after I read The glass Castle, as someone said I would like it if I liked glass castle. I'm number 420 on 37 copies, so it's going to be a while!
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Educated is definitely worth waiting for.
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My first eye cataract surgery was Monday. The surgeon says everything went very well. I figure it's too soon to judge due to internal swelling. It's weird trying to read with plain glass now popped into the 'new eye' side of my glasses and a seriously complicated progressive lens on the one not done. I've figured out how to perch a pair of 1.5 cheaters on top of my uneven glasses and that works as long as I don't move. So I'm reading things that don't require too much thought & concentration - but do provide escape. Just finished Lee Child's Past Tense. Wow - how weird to read about Reacher trying to track down his father's family. Next up I've piled an old Nevada Barr book on the night table. Hmmm - or maybe a J.A. Jance first.
Two weeks ago I finished David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars. It's a 1995 book and had been on my list for a long time. Ordered a new one and then forgot & picked up a copy at the used book store before it came. It was an amazing powerful book. A novel about an island in Puget Sound in the 1950 - and reaching back to WWII when the Japanese strawberry farmers and fishermen & their families were sent to camps. Intimate discussions about pride & prejudice and a 'tender examination of fairness and forgiveness'. I was surprised by the courtroom scenes and turns of evidence.
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Glad your surgery went well, Minus. Snow Falling on Cedars was one of the first selections my Book Club read when we started 21 years ago!
I thought you'd all enjoy this:
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