Irene's comments (member since Jun 01, 2009)

Irene's comments from the Books on the Nightstand group.

I just finished listening to a GREAT audio book, too, SUMMERLAND, written and read by Michael Chabon.

HI all,

I haven't had time to keep up with all of you for a couple of months, so it's nice to catch up. I loved WATER FOR ELEPHANTS too. I found YEAR OF WONDER interesting but it didn't really "get" me. I'm about two chapters from the end of SHADOW OF THE WIND and I'm enjoyin it. But THE BEST thing I've read in ages was EXPECTING ADAM by Martha Beck. It's an unforgettable memoire, deep and funny in equal parts. Has anyone else read it?

I was happy to hear how much Shona liked Shadow of the Wind and Fraction of the Whole, both of which are on my nightstand. And I've added Book of Joe to my list. I

I just finished a GREAT non-fiction book called Re-Thinking Thin by Gina Kolata (the science editor at the NYTimes). The book's subtitle is The New Science of Weight Loss -- and the Myths and Realities of Dieting. It covers the history and theories of dieting from the 1800's to the present, and was published in 2007 so the scientific research is fairly reccent. All I can say is that it completely changed the way I think about weight, metabolism, and eating disorders.

I halfway through a novel called The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall. Anyone out there know it? It's a little uneven but when it's good it's really good. How about this for an opening: If I could tell you only one thing about my life it would be this: when I was seven years old the mailman ran over my head. As formative events go, nothing else comes. close.

I just started a book called The Girls by Lori Larsens, a fictional autobiography about conjoined twins. I found it on Paperback Book Club. I'd never heard about it before but the reviews on Goodreads and Amazon were good. I haven't read enough to know what I think yet.

How many animal lovers are out there? Enough to do a topic on books where animals are central-- like Watership Down, Horse Heaven, The Art of Racing in the Rain, etc?

I like the idea of focusing on different cultures or parts of the world. I generally like books about India, especially those by Indian authors (although the Raj Quartet was great, too). Other favorites are about Africa (Laurens va der Post and Isak Dinesen come to mind.) And almost everything by Australian writers.

I'll have to look into Jonathan Tropper. I've never heard of him and I feel like I'm missing something!

I am almost finished Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey and I give it 5 out of 5 stars. He's a pyrotechnical writer. If anyone read The Electric Michaelangelo by Sarah Hall and liked it, you would like this too.

I finished the Emporer's Children and was very disappointed. It never went anywhere as far as I was concerned.

I just listened to Little Bee and loved it.

I'm also reading Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey. It's taken about 40 pages to hook me, as all the characters stories are being set up, but I believe it's got me now. Only problem is the font is so tiny I need reading glasses to read it.

I'm listening to Little Bee and really enjoying it. Great narrator.

I just started reading the novel Plain Language by Barbara Wright. It's interesting as a follow up to The Worst Hard Time, which I read a week or two ago.

Thanks for the great suggestions for audio books. I agree that the reader can make or break a book. I didn't realize Dreams From My Father was read by Obama. That's at the top of my list of audio books to look for.

I just remembered one that I listened to ages ago and loved. It was called The White Nile. It was about the many expeditions that tried to find the source of the Nile in Africa. Hilarious, in many ways. All these English adventurers would ship off to Zanzibar with piles of food from Fortnum and Mason and all kinds of other civilized stuff. They'd need to hire dozens of porters to help them carry it all off into the wilderness for them. Invariably, the porters would quit in three or four days, leaving the Englishmen (and frequently their stoic wives) tramping though jungle and swamp on lean rations. I won't spoil the ending by saying who found it or how it was done, but it was a mystery for quite a long time.

Have you ever talked about books that may be more easily appreciated in their audio form than than on the printed page? I've found audio books to be helpful with older books, like those by Dickens, where it takes a while to get into the older writing style. I'm not much into mysteries and thrillers, so other recommendations of books that are well suited to audio would be appreciated.

I just finished reading The Worst Hard Time. A great book, that I heard about on this site. I went through it in three days, which tells you what a well written book it is -- I often find history hard to slog through. It certainly puts any petty worries I may have into perspective!

I took three books out of the library yesterday and started with Life in Rewind. The other two to follow are The Help, which has had lots of good reviews,and The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint. I haven't heard anything about that one. Has anyone read it?

Does anyone here belong to the Paperback Swap Club? I've been getting some great books through it as well as passing on the ones I've read.

I didn't get the Corrections either.

I also didn't get the ending of The Yiddish Policemen's Union. I loved the book, but when all the threads were supposed to be wrapping up I just got lost. Anyone else have that experience?

Suzanne wrote: The Way the Crow Flies isn't a sequel to Fall on Your Knees (just written by the same author). Thanks for the clarification, and the positive review.

After reading everyone's posts on the House of Sand and Fog it's going on my to-read list. I usually don't like to read a book after having seen the movie, but there are some strong thumbs up here.

Should I introduce myself first or respond to Lauren who asked about Fall on Your Knees? Well, since I LOVED Fall on Your Knees, I think I'll mention that first. It's quirky, wonderfully imaginative and full of great characters AND there is a sequel called The Way the Crow Flies (which I haven't read). I haven't read House of Sand and Fog so I can't compare the two.

As for me, I joined this group a few days ago and subscribed to the podcast today. I've already added quite a few suggested titles to my booklist. I love the variety of books mentioned by this group, and the fact that not all of them are new releases. I usually have at least two books on the go. Right now I'm reading The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar, and the Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris.

I'm new to this group, so hello. I read "the Search for Six of Six Million" by Daniel Mendelsohn (sp?) a year ago. The author's grandfather and 4 of his siblings got out of Europe before the Holocaust. One of the grandfather's brothers did not get out and he was killed along with his wife and their 4 children. The author, an academic by profession who knows a thing or two about research, decides he wants to find out what happened to them. Over quite a period of time he was able to find a handful of survivors from the village, who knew his family, who told him what they knew along with their own stories of survival. He also visited the village where it all happened and talking to non-Jews there who knew the family. By methodically piecing together pieces of information he puts together a story of what happened. By dealing with just 6 lives, and the lives of thos who touched them, the story is very personal and immediate. What makes it even more moving is that the survivors are elderly by the time Mendelsohnn begins his search, and a number of them die before he meets them or shortly after he connects with them. It's also a story of his own family and growing up in America. He was close to the grandfather who lost his brother. It's a long book and to be honest I skimmed parts. But much of it was very strong. I recommend it to anyone interested in this period of history, or who is interested in the resources available for researching Jewish families from eastern Europe.