Book Lovers Club
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Probably will be doing a lot of reading in the coming weeks. Thinking of taking an online class at the college where hubby works. If I do, I will be saving on one of the books that will be assigned as I already have it.
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Over the weekend, I got George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”
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Oh my, this thread is sadly slow. I have a couple of posts, but found this review today enticing so I'll save the books I've read for later. As a former smoker, this is now on my list. Wow - just look at the authors - Nicotine Chronicles:
In recent years, nicotine has become as verboten as many hard drugs. The literary styles in this volume are as varied as the moral quandaries herein, and the authors have successfully unleashed their incandescent imaginations on the subject matter, fashioning an immensely addictive collection.
From the introduction by Lee Child:
Food scientists have discovered a complex compound naturally present in, among other things, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. The compound offers us a number of benefits: it improves our fine motor skills; it increases our attention spans; it improves our cognitive abilities; it improves our long- and short-term memories; it lessens depression...In and of itself, it has no real downside. It's called nicotine. We should all get some.
The problem is the delivery system...The most efficient way is to burn dried tobacco leaves and inhale the smoke. Ten seconds later, the compound is in your brain, doing good in all its various ways. Unfortunately, the rest of the smoke doesn't do good. And therein lies a great mystery of human behavior. To get the good, we risk the bad. Or we prohibit ourselves the good, for fear of the bad. Which approach makes more sense?
Featuring brand-new stories by: Lee Child, Joyce Carol Oates, Jonathan Ames, Eric Bogosian, Achy Obejas, Michael Imperioli, Hannah Tinti, Ariel Gore, Bernice L. McFadden, Cara Black, Christopher Sorrentino, David L. Ulin, Jerry Stahl, Lauren Sanders, Peter Kimani, and Robert Arellano.0 -
I've made my way through the Murderbot Diary novellas by Martha Wells (2 were re-reads, 2 were new reads) and I'm looking forward to the Murderbot full length novel, Network Effect https://www.marthawells.com/murderbot.htm
I've read two of the Kat Holloway Victorian cook mysteries (Death Below Stairs & Scandal Above Stairs) and have the 3rd here ready to go. https://katholloway.com/
& I'm still working through the Miss Silver Mysteries. I'm now on Miss Silver Intervenes which is set during WW2; many people were bombed out of London, one character spends part of her day making up parcels of donations for evacuees, and another character was gifted, for her birthday, with eggs from her sister in the country, and thus was able to have a dinner party at which she served omelettes. How grateful I am to live in a place and time of peace and plenty.0 -
I am reading a wonderful book, Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington by Ted Widmer. I think the reviews talk about the topic better than I could.
As a divided nation plunges into the deepest crisis in its history, Abraham Lincoln boards a train for Washington and his inauguration—an inauguration Southerners have vowed to prevent by any means necessary. Drawing on new research, this account reveals the President-Elect as a work in progress, showing him on the verge of greatness, foiling an assassination attempt, and forging an unbreakable bond with the American people. (Amazon)
"Widmer brings off his panoramic, almost mystical interpretation with riveting panache. His book is not only a historical achievement but a literary one." (The Wall Street Journal)
"A Lincoln classic...superb....So much has been written about Abraham Lincoln that it's rare when a historian discovers an episode in his life that, if fully developed and interpreted, yields important new insights. Ted Widmer has done just that..." (The Washington Post)0 -
Richard Rothstein's The Color of Law: A forgotten history of how our government segregated America is a well researched and critically acclaimed historical account of the role that the US Federal and state governments and the US Supreme court played in segregating America by allowing for active discrimination against Black Americans from owning houses. For well over 100 years since the 13th amendment to the constitution was passed discrimination was legally leveraged throughout the US. After WW2, the VA used restrictive covenants to keep Black veterans from purchasing homes.
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VR - one of my neighbors I just happened to see while walking today told about a great, new book. The Lions of Fifth Avenue. Apparently it's a novel but he said there's great detail about the library. He happened to read it because it turns out the author is from the small NJ town where he grew up, and only 4 years younger. I know you don't normally read novels, but if you get to this one before I do - let us know.
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minus....READ THIS! It is a New York Public Library transcript of an interview with the author of The Lions Of Fifth Avenue...
https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/events/fiona_davis_transcript.pdfInterestingly, I knew about the apartment. Furthermore, she mentions The Gotham Writers Workshops as a good place to go to gain your writing chops. Coincidentally, my older son took a stand up comedy writing class there and the experience was priceless. It was that good.
I am sure it is a wonderful book...but...you do know me....historical fiction ...not my cup of tea....
That said...the history of the building and the times is fascinating...
now for some trivia....
while most people who study New York are familiar with Robert Moses who is immortalized in Robert Caro’s The Powerbroker, the name Andrew Haswell Green is more often unknown. Last year, my friend and I stumbled upon a group of people in Central Park who were celebrating his life.Andrew Haswell Green was a city planner and a visionary. He is responsible for founding Central Park, the Museum of Natural History, The Bronx Zoo, The Metropolitan Museum of Art AND The New York Public Library. He also united New York City’s five boroughs.
unbelieveable.0 -
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If that were true (and I wish it were), I'd be stick thin. LOL. Wishful thinking.
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just finished reading, Robert Gellately's Hitler's True Believers, How Ordinary People Became Nazis. Can't recommend the book. I don't think it lived up to its title. He delves into not the “ordinary" people. I was expecting to read more about the people like the characters in the 1965 film, The Shop on Main Street. Instead, it spoke of the movers and shakers of The Third Reich and how they became followers of Hitler.
still haven't finished Robert's Churchill book, but, I am getting there....0 -
intimate look at Lee Child.....
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8724461/Jack-Reachers-revenge-mother.html0 -
Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life. Reading shaped my dreams and more reading helped me make my dreams come true. --Ruth Bader Ginsburg
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Thank you Ruth
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I have a book recommendation: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. It takes place in 1936 and is a novel, but tells the true story of Kentucky's pack-horse librarians (a program created by Franklin Roosevelt to bring literacy to people in isolated rural areas). The main character is one of those librarians, and was one of the "blue mountain people" I never before heard of this inherited condition (methemoglobinemia) which causes the skin to be blue. Very interesting and I am very glad that I did not live back then.....especially as a woman, although I wouldn't have wanted to be a coal miner either!0 -
I haven't read that one yet Ruth, on my list, but I read a different novel on pack-horse librarians recently which I quite enjoyed - The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes, she wrote Me Before You. Apparently there is some controversy around this book, with some saying Moyes plagiarized Richardson's book. Nevertheless, I found it to be a wonderful book and story, the kind that keeps you reading to the very end.
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The first volume in the long-running girl detective series, "The Secret of the Old Clock," was published 90 years ago under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. In a tribute to the iconic sleuth, author Theodore Jefferson writes, "Agency. It is that which forms the foundation for any hero's ability to save the day. In America, agency for teenage girls in literature made its debut in 1930 in the person of Nancy Drew." This original Mighty Girl character paved the way for many more heroic female characters and inspired generations of real-life girls and women.
Ghostwritten by Mildred Wirt Benson and later revised by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, the first volume of Nancy Drew had a huge influence on young readers. Jefferson writes, Nancy Drew provided them with "stories of someone like themselves who had a positive effect on the world instead of passively sitting at home… She is a character with that magical 'what if' question woven into her identity, and one that effortlessly captures the imaginations of readers by allowing them to participate in a world where the answers to that question are just as entertaining as the stories themselves."
At the time, some viewed Nancy Drew as a poor role model, "contradicting adults while she squared off with the villains… she is mechanically inclined and at the same time doesn't act like most people in the 1930s would have expected a teenage girl to act." In fact, many libraries and bookstores refused to carry the Nancy Drew stories. Despite -- or because of -- that disapproval, kids collected the books voraciously, and in the midst of the Depression, used copies were shared and traded like trading cards are today. As a result, "any kid, even those who couldn't afford new books, would very likely get to read every adventure starring their favorite character."
The tremendous influence of Nancy Drew continues to this day asserts Jefferson: "It is difficult to overstate how powerful Nancy Drew's presence remains in literature and in other media. She has influenced film, comics, video games and animation for [90] years, and will continue to do so as long as teenage girls take the lead as our heroes in the imaginative worlds of adventure."
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I highly recommend Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. The plot centers around a suicide, a bank robbery and a hostage situation, but it is not a thriller. This author also wrote A Man Called Ove. Both are wonderful character studies of people and how they deal with problems. For the most part, the characters are good people that eventually learn to care for others around them. Very heartwarming without being sappy
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I liked A Man Called Ove so will check it out!
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Great poster Ruth. Just what I needed before ending the day. Thanks.
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I’m a fan of Fredrik Backman. Have enjoyed all his books.
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Does anyone else read the magazine Bookmarks? "For everyone who hasn't read everything". It discusses new books in 6 or 8 different categories by highlighting the premise or story and printing reviews from at least 6 different publications, summarizes what's coming out in paperback in the near future, has articles & recommendations from book clubs, highlights authors with special interviews. etc, etc. Every issue is like a gift.
On the last page they highlight "(the) year in books" and this issue was 1995 - Notable fiction, NYTimes Best Sellers, Notable Non-fiction, prestigious awards. Interesting to see how much I was or wasn't reading in any given year. Here's a bit of trivia from 1995 - "Amazon sells it's first book online.."
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1995? Seems like forever, doesn't it?!
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Oh yes Ruth !!!
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I totally agree, Ruth! Reading has replaced so much since the pandemic. I will always champion access to libraries and bookstores.
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I love to read but the biggest issue I have about reading is when you get literary critics telling you to read certain books because they liked them. That kind of stuff makes me feel like I am back in school and reading because it was an assignment.
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My reading is so eclectic I feel empowered to ignore the lit crit. I only pay attention if it's an author I really like recommending his or her favorite reads.
A neighbor brought me Nicholas Sparks' Every Breath. I hadn't read one of his book is a long time. He's not really to my taste, but I read it because I knew I would be able to easily put it down every night when it was time to go to sleep. That's a sad commentary.
I bought The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty - a compilation of all her other 'collections' - some stories from 1936. Published 2019 with an introduction by Ann Patchett, she was a winner of the National Book Award. Some of the stories are better than others, but she is always worth reading. The only problem is the book is hefty at 564 pages - and a large size "trade" paperback. Too bad so many paperbacks are larger now. No way could you fit it in a purse or pocket. Anyway it's hard to read in bed.
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As an Louise Penny fan, her latest book, All The Devils are Here, was so disappointing that I have not finished the last few chapters. That is a bummer as I was looking forward to a little escape reading. I am reading posts here for the last few weeks in hopes of finding something captivating from all of you avid readers.
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Oh no magicLight - I'm a Louise Penny fan too but don't often read new books until they come out in paperback so I haven't see it yet.
I watched a virtual group round table with Lee Child & others two weeks ago talking about the new book he's edited - The Nicotine Chronicles. I have it on hold at my local Indie book store. brand-new stories by: Lee Child, Joyce Carol Oates, Jonathan Ames, Eric Bogosian, Achy Obejas, Michael Imperioli, Hannah Tinti, Ariel Gore, Bernice L. McFadden, Cara Black, Christopher Sorrentino, David L. Ulin, Jerry Stahl, Lauren Sanders, Peter Kimani, and Robert Arellano.
"Typically for Akashic--publisher of the terrific Noir series--the stories approach the subject matter from an impressive number of angles...Akashic has yet to produce a dull anthology, and this one is especially good."
--Booklist"Sixteen tributes to America's guiltiest pleasure...Even confirmed anti-smokers will find something to savor."
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Just dropped a hint to my hubby that the last time we were in Ollies, a bargain store they have here in our town that I saw a book on Elvis. He knows I’m a big Elvis fan and I’m hoping that it will give him an idea for Christmas.
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