Book Lovers Club
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Minus...Believe me! I've tried to read both classic and contemporary novels.....There are a few fiction authors that I enjoy reading but are rarely mentioned. I love reading Henry James. I also love James Michener. This year I plan on reading Sebastian Barry's On Canaan's Side. Has anyone read any books by Barry?
Sadly, my beloved sister isn't wired to read at all. One of my greatest joys in life is sharing books with our mother. Often, I will go to book signings of our favorite authors and have them inscribe books for our mother. It breaks my heart that my sister has never enjoyed reading nor can she share beautiful and often intimate discussions about books with our mother. I feel my relationship with my mother is deepened by our love for reading. At almost 88 years old, she often tells me that she's "slowing down" in her ability to read and enjoy books. That also breaks my heart! I tell her not to lament! I tell her I'm "slowing down" a bit too.... Honestly, I hope if I get to her age that I have the same "wits" as she has! Intellectually speaking, she is still SMOKIN'!
There is a lovely French film that radiates warm and affection when two people are smitten with the love of reading. My Afternoons with Margueritte is a treasure of a film.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_afternoons_with_margueritte/
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mcsushi - Yes, Mary Karr wrote The Liar's Club. I'll be interested to see how you liked it and Let's Pretend...when you get around to reading them.
VR - I love that your mom is still passionate about reading and that you can share your love for books with her. My sisters and I all read, share books, etc. I'm happy to see that my nieces are good readers, too. My dad was our greatest reading influence growing up~~he always had a stack of books on his nighstand. Now, he watches more TV but we've been buying him books lately in the hopes that he'll re-kindle his interest in reading.
Gina
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....Mom called today because she picked up The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry from the library yesterday and is half way through the book. Isn't life good when you get to share a great book with the next person and they love it as much as you have or even more? And when that next person is a family member? What more can I say???
Gina... It's fascinating how we remember those little things....and how much they've influenced us in big ways...0 -
Hi! I've been reading (this thread) for a while and reading (books) is one of the greatest joys in life, IMHO! A couple of books I've recently read and enjoyed:
The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian, (I think this was mentioned here before),is about a young social worker and amateur photographer, who becomes caught up in some pictures left behind by a homeless man. There is a Great Gatsby connection, which is kind of fun, and it probably has one of the best twist endings I've read! I did also like the social worker connection, since that's my line of work.
Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell, is a YA novel that I saw recommended on Goodreads and was drawn in from page one. It starts, "Today is Christmas Eve. Today is my birthday. Today I am fifteen. Today I buried my parents in the backyard. Neither of them were beloved." Two sisters try to cover up the deaths of their alcoholic, neglectful parents. This is set in Glasgow, Scotland and certainly portrays a raunchier side of that city (lots of swearing, drugs and sex), but the characterizations are wonderful. I couldn't help loving the sisters and the gay next-door neighbor who takes them under his wing. A good book overall.
I was undecided as to what to read next, and I had 4 books sitting around that I decided to read the first chapters of to try and decide: a southwestern mystery by Judith Van Gieson (can't think of the title right now), The Book Thief (my daughter gave me it for Xmas), an older P.D. James that I missed, and a Louise Erdrich. The Erdrich book, something about the last report at Little No Horse or something like that (I have a terrible time remembering titles!) caught my attention with a storyline about an elderly priest on an indian reservation who has a big secret (LOL!) but when I read further, I wasn't so into it (my attention span is not the best right now). I'm hoping to return to it at some point, and I'm sure I'll read the other three as well, but I ended up downloading a library book on my kindle -- The Weed that Strings the Hangmans' Bag.
This is the second book in a series by Alan Bradley. I read the first I while ago. The detective is a young girl in the thirties/forties? with a passion for chemistry. I had forgotten how well-written and interesting the series is, and I'm really enjoying this one!
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VR- Harold Fry is on my to read list. At my library(which is very small) I have to wait until a book is 6 months old to request it from another library. I am looking forward to it! It hits 6 months at the end of this month
maryc- I like the suggestion of Death of Bee's...sounds interesting, thank you! I loved The book Thief
I finished Breaking Dawn this morning and was sad that it was over, I enjoyed it so much and grew to really feel for the main character. Love that it is not fiction and that woman is out there somewhere helping other people. I am not one to leave a book lingering because I love it- instead I devour it. So my next random kindle read for free is Chasing Paris. A story about a young woman whos' grandmother passes away and she embarks to Europe to delve into the mysteries of her grandmothers past. Again....we shall see. I have hopes after my random luck with Breaking Dawn.
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maryc2130-
I envy you, I am up to the fifth in Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce series.
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Jelson - They are really good, aren't they? I'm surprised it's taken me so long to get to the second one; they kind of got lost in the shuffle somehow.
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mcsushi- I can't believe how many books we have in common on Goodreads! Also, that we give things about the same rating. Especially Devil in the White City. Everyone I know loves that book and I just did not...glad to see I wasn't the only one!
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The Exceptions by David Cristofano
A Mob family, the Witness Protection Program, murder and love. A good read.
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Laurie08: I thought the same thing!
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Uh oh - my old Kindle is not working properly. It's my only good connection to English books!
Looks like I'll be in the market for a new one. Does anybody have the Kindle Fire? Any other recommendations for an e-reader? 0 -
enjoyed One for the Books, thanks for the recommendation VR. found it intimidating, so many authors I had never heard of much less read - thought of making a list, but since I am his age exactly - not enough time to read them all, but I admit having already checked out from the library Penelope Fitzgerald's the Golden Child and the Complete Novels of Flann O'Brien (had read them ooh 30 years ago) - common theme: humor
In the meantime I read The Lucky Dog Matchmaking Service by Beth Kendrick. Joe Queenan is partial to beautiful book covers, I too am drawn to the book cover, our taste is different I am sure. Anyway, Lara the protagonist and her new mother- best friend Kerry run a dog rescue and match the dogs and the people very carefully. There is much interpersonal stuff as Lara navigates a fiance who decides he isn't a dog person, best friend, moving in with her divorced mother, immature father, dysfunctional dog owners etc. along the way you learn much about dogs/dog shows - at least I did - not ever having a dog!!! very funny and enjoyable - no sex scenes, not even humping dogs. Kendrick has several other books.....
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Jelson and all of you sisters who have enjoyed reading Joe Queenan's book....if you want to take "intimidating" to the next level, please watch the BOOK TV lecture that Geoff Dyer recently gave at the Key West Literary Festival. Thank goodness there's a "pause" button, "repeat" button AND the internet to understand what he's talking about! Unbelievable. Really.
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Oh Voracious - I'm going to have to change my log in habits. First you give me Shakespeare Retold that kept me up all night. Now Geoff Dyer. I stopped the talk and will resist for now.
Speaking of "essays", seems to me maybe the Nora Ephron book How I Feel About My Neck... was mentioned some time ago. Very funny & true book. Now out of my $0.25 grab bag, I've found Crazy Salad, a book of Nora Ephron "essays" from 1973. Wow - remember feminism? Remember Watergate? Remember Linda Lovelace? Remember the Pillsbury BakeOff? Remember changing into gym suits in the 50's & 60's? For example, one's called - "On Never Having Been a Prom Queen". Most of these were published as articles or opinion in Esquire and the New Yorker back in the day when some of us were young. I like her writing & what a wild ride.
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Minus, the Geoff Dyer discussion, "The Novelistic Essay & the Essayistic Novel" had my brain ready to explode. Thank goodness, I could hit the pause button. The breath and depth of the writers that he spoke about left me scrambling as though I was late for a train that was taking me around the world. Thoughout his discussion he sprinkles the names of other writers. The Russians. The Europeans....and then, not to be left out...the Americans. If I ever thought Joe Queenan's breath and depth of reading was intimidating, Geoff Dyer, IMHO, puts Queenan to shame...
But for you novel lovers, I realized from listening to Geoff Dyer's discussion, that maybe I am wired for novels. Dyer explained that through the "tone" of a novel, the writer's voice conveys "an essay" of perhaps how they view the world. He gives great examples of how that "tone" is heard. Early in the discussion he describes how one famous author's character views Holbein's The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb. From following Dyer (okay, I admit it, I'm a groupie), what I find irresistable about him is how he incorporates the world of art and music into HIS understanding and interpretation of writers' works. After reading or listening to Dyer, I am ALWAYS left wondering how he accumulates so much knowledge and then can so easily "translate" that knowledge into his writing. My cousin who is an award winning children's author believes that the Internet makes it "easy" for him to find the "connections" and then "translate". I most humbly disagree. I haven't a clue how he does it. If anyone can figure out how he does it....by all means...let me know.
Oh...and I almost forgot to mention his humor. His play on words rivels Oscar Wilde, another great fellow British writer! Could the answer to why we have great English authors be found in their water?
Regarding Nora Ephron. I always enjoyed her earlier work better. Regarding the time period you mention, I prefered reading Erma Bombeck to Nora Ephron. As a native New Yorker, I somehow enjoyed better the secrets of Bombeck's charming midwestern sensibilities than the sophistications of a bi-coastal person.
....and speaking of Feminists....I think the best book of THAT generation...and is still in PRINT and recently celebrated it's 50 Anniversary.....is Peg Bracken's The I Hate To Cook Book.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Hate-Cook-Book-Anniversary/dp/B005SMVDQ0
That book changed my life! I realized I didn't need to grow up enjoying cooking! Paved the way to spending less time in the kitchen and more time doing the things that I would grow to love even more!
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Joy,
When my original kindle broke, I picked up the kindle paperwhite as a replacement for a course i'm in so that I could download all the required reading electronically. I couldn't be happier. Mind you, I've tended to be a real book person but the paperwhite has made reading electronically quite nice. I didn't get the Kindle fire because I already have an iPad. And yes, I have the kindle app on that, but the paperwhite is smaller and lighter and the lighting is great in all conditions. I really just wanted a dedicated reader and this fits my needs perfectly.
Destina
p.s. haven't posted here before but you all have given me much diversion perusing your book recommendations! It's been fun learning about authors unknown to me and downloading samples. Of course, it is distracting me from my study time... ;-)0 -
Hi All,
FYI, a few pages back The Yellow House was mentioned. It's $2.99 today for Kindle on Bookbub.com.
Loved Nora Ephron's I feel Bad About My Neck. It was LOL funny.
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Finally finished "Loving Frank" . That ending really stays with you.
Won't say more, for those who hae not read the book.
Has anyone read any other books about FLW's life ?Now on to "Killing Kennedy", very well written.
Ruth - your newest read sounds good
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I have Killing Kennedy but haven't had time to start it. I am mired down in paperwork at my job
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Destina,
Thanks for your Kindle recommendation. I love my old Kindle, it's the second version made and if it weren't on the fritz I would happily continue to use it. We too have an ipad so the Kindle Fire isn't necessary, a dedicated ereader is all that I need. Is the lighting on the Paperwhite optional? It looks like there is a toggle to adjust the level of illumination?
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Joy, yes you can adjust the lighting easily. I also bought the smart cover which works just Iike the iPad's and offers nice protection. If you enjoyed your old kindle, I'm sure you'll love this one, too.
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I have the new Kindle fire and the old one too. I enjoy the fire where I don't have an i pad. I enjoy reading on both. I do like that the screen on the fire is lit up so I can read in bed at night wile my husband sleeps and I don't need to put the light on. He is actually the one who purchased both for me. When he heard the screen lit up on the fire he was all over it! Lol!
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I 've been using a Kindle for several years and just got the Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas. I find the backlit page easier to read, and it's a BIG help when I read in bed while my DH tries to sleep. I can turn off the bedside lamp and read in the dark, with the cover turned so that he doesn't even see the light of the page. Plus, gone is the annoying click every time I turn a page. The swipe is easier than clicking a button. 8
It's also smaller and easier to bold in one hand. I'm a big fan of this new version.0 -
And, yes, both the type size and brightness are adjustable....
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Okay book lovers....if everyone switches over to the e-reader....eventually this is going to happen....AGAIN......
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Ha! Pretty funny, VR. I have to just say that until I started using the kindle paperwhite, I was not a fan of e-reader devices. It made me a convert, and yes, I still like books (and remember how to use them). ;-)
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Lol on the video.Iam adjusting to reading books on my Ipad.Thanks to the ipad I have been missing alot of my favorite threads without realizing I had accidently cleared them.
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Very funny video VR. Thanks for sharing!
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Great video, VR! I much prefer a book but the Kindle sure is convenient.
Thanks all for thoughts on e-readers. The paperwhite sounds perfect and if I can read in bed without disturbing DH, all the better!
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Voracious - wonderful video.
Reading a 1996 Clive Cussler book, Shock Wave. Certainly outlines some of the far reaching problems caused to the total world environment by just one action.
I've put many of your books on my list, but it will be awhile since I have two grocery bags full to read first.
We have an Indie book store in Houston called "Murder by the Book". They have regular author's visits & book signings but I've never been. It's a pretty good distance, but I may try to go this month and meet Deborah Crombie and John Lescroart.
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