Eva's comments
(member since Jul 07, 2009)
Eva's comments from the The Next Best Book Club group.
(showing 1-20 of 80)
I love what you write here. Thank you for writing it. I wonder whether there could be "challenge" in which everyone agreed to buy new books to read, no used books allowed? I've heard that publishing houses are closing or combining and I know indie bookstores are going out of business. If we love books, we should buy new books -- at least sometimes. I need to remind myself of this because used books can be tempting. Also, I'm finding it hard to get new hardcover editions of classic titles (or titles that should be classics...) In those cases, I sometimes have to buy used books.
Mary Shelley. Thanks, I hadn't thought of her. Have you read anything by Edna Ferber? I know she wrote Giant, which became the James Dean movie, but I"ve never read one of her books. Don't know if they've stood the test of time. Well, I guess reading her would be the best way to find out.
Doris Lessing is a great suggestion. I'd forgotten about her. Always meant to read The Golden Notebook, but I never got around to it somehow. Toni Morrison also won a Nobel, I believe, and she would be a great inclusion, too, come to think of it.
It's okay about the folder joke. It was just briefly kind of mind blowing.Yes, what you say about the threads makes a lot of sense. As I just said, moderating a group this large must be like herding cats.
Oh, thanks for telling me what happened, Lori. When the folder "Eva's Many Questions" appeared and then disappeared I wondered if I was finally starting to crack. Thanks for explaining. Eva
Ralph wrote: "Eva wrote: "Ralph wrote: "I usually read books either recommended to me or ones I've found on here. If I'm being told 100x to read a book, I'll put it higher on my list. Someones I'll just goto a r..."Thank you!
Just to clarify, a folder heading appeared in the list that was titled "Eva's Many Questions." That was what I was referring to in the apology I posted. The folder heading doesn't seem to be there any more, but it definitely was. Maybe it's Lori's gentle way of telling someone to cease and desist. Taking the hint, Eva
Oh No! From the folder topic heading, I guess I've asked too many questions. (How did that folder heading happen? Where did it come from?) I feel really bad now. I'll stop. I've never had so many fellow book lovers to "talk with," and I guess I got carried away. I'm sorry if I've been obnoxiously inquisitive or taking up too much room. I apologize. Eva
I feel much better reading your answers. I'm not attracted to Kindle, but the mother of a friend of mine has one. She's elderly and Kindle has large type, which allows her to read books more easily. So that's a very good application of the technology. But not for me.
Thanks for this list, which contains quite a few classics by women that I've never read. Just what I've been wanting to add to my shelf. Mary Barton, Elizabeth Gaskell, H Beecher Stowe, Flora Thompson. Is Equiano a man or woman? I need to branch into more non-Western literature, too. I guess I"ll need a new shelf for that direction. I have some Japanese novelists, but not enough world lit. Maybe that would be a good thread...
Fiona wrote: "I would rather read in silence or a noisy crowd, but when someone has their TV blaring or some annoying ass has their MP3 player on full blast I will read to music.So, if you like reading to mu..."
I like to read in silence. Music would distract me, though the composers and pieces you name sound delightful. I guess I'd like to give them my full attention...and same for the book. I never "multi-task" either.
Eva wrote: "Sharon wrote: "St Teressa of Avila. Author, read by few while alive, her works carried down & preserved through the ages."Thank you! Great suggestion, I never would have thought of her. I'm al..."
Read all three, and I agree that Little Women is a classic. But not the other two, imo. But thanks for thinking of Alcott. I also read Little Men and Jo's Boys when I was a kid, and I liked them. She has other books, too, but I'm afraid they're pot boilers. Anybody know her work beyond Little Women?
Jason wrote: "The thing I hate about electronic readers is they strip books down to just their text. While the text is an important part of a book it's not the only part. I love books as objects of art aside fro..."Yes. I feel the same way. But I think books are dying... publishers are having a very hard time staying in business, for a number of reasons.
Ralph wrote: "I love my Kindle - mostly because it saves me a ton of money (and trees). It's great for books I'll only read once in a while so that I'm not crowding my bookshelves. If I really like the book thou..."But don't all those plastic electronic things (and their components) harm the environment? The Kindle reader, the ipods, DVDs, etc. (I have ipod, DVDs -- so I'm not judging. I jJust don't want books to take more than their fair share of the blame for environmental despoiling.) I mean a Kindle must be nonbiodegradable, while books can be handed on when you're finished and they do biodegrade.
Diane D wrote: "I do worry about the future of books. And think it would be tragic if they do indeed disappear someday, but I think they will. Two Borders have closed in my area in the past year, not to mention t..."I'm so with you! I also think books will disappear for the most part. Like you, I find shelved books to be very soothing. I guess it's the sense of possibility they represent. So much potential there -- for pleasure, thought, growth. So much creativity. The materiality of the book is important to me, its object quality.
Ralph wrote: "I usually read books either recommended to me or ones I've found on here. If I'm being told 100x to read a book, I'll put it higher on my list. Someones I'll just goto a random number generator and..."I love the random number generator way of choosing! It seems so fair minded, equitable somehow, and also full of surprises. I usually DON'T like to read the book du jour, the one everybody's talking about. Maybe I"m just contrarian by nature, but I think there are so many wonderful books that don't get the buzz, and I like to discover those rare treasures. So -- where do you get a random number generator? I've always wanted one, truthfully.
I wonder how people decide what to read next? So many books, so little time! Do you keep a list? Do you get ideas from Goodreads and follow through on them? Do you read with a book club? Do you alternate classics with contemporary works? (That's what I do.) Do you ever try to read everything a particular author wrote?
Debra wrote: "I have a few signed copies, accidentally gave a few away for which I could kick myself. I do have, though, an old Hardy Boys book that my dad gave me when I was about 8. To read it you have to turn..."There's a big market for children's books in very good condition, though of course you could never part with that Hardy Boys book. The memory is worth so much more. Most of my childhood books are in pretty bad shape, but I wish I'd managed to hold onto more of them.
Jessica wrote: "I love collecting books, but don't have too many that are valuable. I have copies of Gone with the Wind and an H.G. Wells collection(hardbacks with dustjackets intact) that are from the early 1940..."The H.G. Wells books from the 40s sound wonderful! I don't know much about science fiction, but I'd guess there's a market for those books.
Taejas wrote: "I'm like most people who've already responded. I don't collect like Elinor from Inkheart, but I've never really been able to part with a book once I'd bought it.Here's the big questi..."
I arrange the books by genre (fiction, short stories, memoir, etc.) and also by author's last name.
