Greg’s Comments (group member since Jul 02, 2014)

Greg’s comments from the All About Books group.

LauraT wrote: "In Italian we say, of characters or persons like Emma, "I'd buy her only to slap her"!!! As with Anna Karenina: beautiful books, but really I can't stand the main character!"

Ha ha, too funny Laura! :)

Leslie wrote: "I just finished The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. All I can say is Wow! Wish I had read this before... I am giving it 5☆"

Great Leslie! I liked it back when I read it decades ago, but I don't remember it well. Maybe I'll re-read it at some point.

Tumbleweed Words wrote: "Always interesting to see books and how they work in different mediums, Trainspotting and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest have to be two of the best adaptations."

Oh yes, some good movies, particularly One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest! I've seen some great movie adaptions of books over the years.

LauraT wrote: "At the moment I'm with Kindred for our group read! And I've also started seeing the tv series yesterday night...interesting, to compare."

How do you like it so far Laura? I'm not sure where that is streaming here, and I don't know if I have a subscription to it. But I would like to watch it someday!

Hi Leslie, sorry about the long delay - this has been a pretty stressful work week with all the things Ron needed and all the things my work needed. I have felt a little like that baby in the Solomon story.

Have you read Philip Levine before? His poems are accessible and moving, lots of poems about working class life in Detroit.

And if you want to go in a completely opposite direction, not too long ago I read a book of poetry by Wendell Berry, and I just loved it so much! His poetry combines spirituality and a deep love for the natural world. Sabbaths was the one I read, but I'm suspecting that many of his books of poetry will be similar - he wrote a whole series of books in that vein.

I'm trying to recommend poets that you might not have read many times already. But among the more familiar choices, I re-read a wonderful book of poetry Fully Empowered by Pablo Neruda recently. One of my favorites! But I figured you had already read him before many times, and it might be hard to find a good translation - there are some clunky translations out there; I really like the translation I linked, and it's dual language with the Spanish on the left and the translated English on the right. That's always an extra bonus!

Tumbleweed Words wrote: "Greg! Great to hear, when I first read Giovanni's Room it blew my mind - the opening as he comes into Paris on the train, so powerful. Another Country is a literary masterpiece. One of my top ten writers for sure :) what have you read?"

Giovanni's Room, Another Country, The Fire Next Time, and a number of other non-fiction books as well as some short stories. It's all good, but the fiction is what I find really special and unique. It definitely has some poetry to it as well as quite a bit of punch as you say.

Tumbleweed Words wrote: "John Fante blows my mind, the moods he sets, the biting reality of poverty, family and society blows my mind. Also, James Baldwin, always and forever, and Alice Munro's short stories are stylistic heaven :)"

I'm a big Baldwin fan Tumbleweed Words. His fiction is so psychologically and socially perspective, and the writing itself is exquisite!

Leslie wrote: "That sounds like my sort of light reading except for the "horror" bit, lol! Though I do much better with horror in books than in movies!"

I definitely like to mix in lighter books, about half usually. I can't handle all deep and dark; my mind needs some breaks! :)

Just finished the space horror novel Dead Silence (3.5 stars). Not deep at all but quite entertaining as a horror/suspense novel with a central mystery as to what's causing all of this to happen. I had guessed the mystery half way through, but I still enjoyed the execution quite a bit. Some parts were a little gory, and the narrator was unstable and wildly insecure, but for readers not put off by those things, I do recommend it as fun diversion.

LauraT wrote: "Greg wrote: "Leslie, I'm more than 3/4 done with Death Comes for the Archbishop now, and I do really love it! The writing is exquisite, and I love all of the stories of the people he ..."

Good to hear Laura! :)

I: Igloo Ice Pop

Leslie, I'm more than 3/4 done with Death Comes for the Archbishop now, and I do really love it! The writing is exquisite, and I love all of the stories of the people he encounters in his ministry. It's a lovely book!

I also feel the depiction is much more balanced as I've gotten further. Cather has definitely shown some of the darker side as well, though Latour is the sort of priest anyone would wish for. He is such a good man!

Esther wrote: "Me! Evry time I sit down to read something happens and I have to stop!!
Which is a pain as I really want to know how it ends."

Ha ha, I know how that goes! :)

I did recently finish it myself, and I won't give away any spoilers on this thread, but I will say that I was very satisfied with how the author handled the conclusion. Hopefully when you finish, you end up feeling the same!

Esther wrote: "Greg wrote: "But I am trying to put up some healthy boundaries in terms of how much extra work I can take on at the last minute. And I think things will be improving. :) ..."

We have one colleague..."

It sounds like we have a similar situation Esther. My coworker that has the problem is also a very nice guy, but he seems to spend very little time actually working these days. And I am tired of having his work shifted to me at the last minute once it's an emergency - that causes me to work a lot of extra hours when it happens. But I know that my company really appreciates me, and I do love that. I just need to keep my sanity too. :)

I think in my case, I have to be a little firmer with my boss about what I am willing to do. I'm willing to work extra hours for emergencies, but if every week is an emergency, they are going to have to figure out some other way of handling the root problem. I think maybe talking to my boss has improved things? We'll see how it goes over time.

I do feel lucky that I have a boss that I can talk to that respects me and really wants me to be happy. And I feel lucky that most of my coworkers are a pleasure to work with!

I hope things get less frustrating for you too!

F: Fruitcake

Christine wrote: "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY!"

Happy Birthday Christine! Hope you have a great one!

LauraT wrote: "At the moment I'm reading
Richard Osman The Man Who Died Twice
and
Josephine Winslow Johnson Now in November
while listening to Winston Graham "

Are you enjoying Ross Poldark so far Laura?

Leslie wrote: "Glad to hear that. Just out of curiosity, is your coworker slacking off or is there some reason for his being chronically behind?

I am not good with office politics so I am not sure whether your ..."

I've been going back and forth on that question myself.

But I am trying to put up some healthy boundaries in terms of how much extra work I can take on at the last minute. And I think things will be improving. :)

Esther wrote: "Somehow I forgot to review this 5 star book.
It is set in the late 16th century in Shakespere's theatre company and was a very enjoyable read.
[book:Fools and..."

Looks fun Esther - and quite different for Cornwall!

Leslie wrote: "So, was Monday better Greg? Inquiring minds want to know."

Yes, much better! One of my coworkers has been behind on all his projects for a while, and I have been having to pick up the slack; it finally reached a point on Friday where it was making me a little cranky.

But I feel somewhat refreshed after the weekend, and I was able to hold things together much better today. :)