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

Greg’s comments from the All About Books group.

I agree about the fibbing Leslie - Huck is a mixture as most of us are. I like that he starts out mischievous in petty childish ways with Tom and then later as he begins to mature, his fibs are for a purpose.

Myst, dialect can be a real distraction for me too. Audiobooks can help as Leslie said. Either way, deciphering the dialect does usually make me slow down and make books take longer for me to read on paper.

I'll join in as well! :)

Heather wrote: "I've definitely given up on kindle freebies. In fact I have completely gone away from reading on my kindle at the moment. I think I will bring it out for holiday reads but I'm enjoying dead tree bo..."

I will be re-reading those soon Heather - fun reads and in my opinion, very well done!

B the BookAddict wrote: "I haven't tried Le Guin, Greg.

I have read and loved everything written by Kate Mosse."

I haven't tried Mosse yet Bette, but I'm sure I will. Good to hear that you like her work!

Raul wrote: "None of the stories I've read have been too scary Joan, not the stuff of nightmares. I'd say they're more Hitchcock than King if I were to compare her work with the two."

I agree!

Joan, it's a dark re-working of traditional fairy tales, sort of a much more literary and darker pre-Shrek Shrek. Many are not very action oriented, more a lush language with strong ambience. Not gory at all, and not even very scary.

There's a lot of variance in the stories. All are well written, beautiful on the level of language. In terms of content though, some are a little slow moving, but others are fairly breathtaking! Angela Carter was an oddball but a very talented oddball. She put a feminist twist on many of the stories as well but not a trite one.

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories is my favorite of her books that I've read so far.

B the BookAddict wrote: "Novelist, children's book and short story writer, Ursula K. Le Guin was born on this day 21st October in 1929. She is an American author, main..."

I read The Dispossessed recently and liked it a lot!

Raul wrote: "Currently reading The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter. It's strange but good, the writer writes so well about places and portrays fear so vividly."

I love that one Raul, but yes, very strange. For me, it's the vividness and lushness of style that set it apart. My favorite story is "The Tiger's Bride" .. the ending of that one gives me chills!

Jennifer Lynn wrote: "I would love to nominate Holding Still For As Long As Possible by..."

Jen, by the description and awards this book has won, I'm really intrigued and want to read this book! The only problem though is that we're definitely a worldwide group. About half our members live in the UK or Europe.

It looks like people in the UK are going to struggle to get this one. It isn't widely available there and won't be in their library system. Even Amazon UK says it takes 1-2 months to dispatch a paperback of it; for copywright reasons the kindle version isn't available there either. Because of these availability issues, we won't be able to add this book to the poll.

Did you want to nominate something else?

Also, if you haven't read Holding Still For As Long As Possible yet, are you interested in a buddy read with me? It looks interesting!

Margaret wrote: "I'll nominate When Saigon Surrendered: A Kentucky Mystery"

Hi Margaret. Is this book available only in a kindle edition? Our nominated books need to be widely available for members in different regions and different formats. We're a quite varied group!

Close to finishing volume 1 of Books of Blood: Volumes One to Three by Clive Barker. I'm for the most part pleasantly surprised. There was one story toward the beginning that was too gory for me (had to grit my teeth and read a few parts really really fast). But the rest of the stories in volume one have been great Halloween fare .. very imaginative, well written, creepy.

I've also just begun War Horse. I have it out on Overdrive for 1 more week. I didn't know it was going to be written at least partly from the perspective of the horse. Telling a story from an animal's perspective is tough I think; it can easily come across as too anthropomorphized, too cutesy and not genuinely animal-like. I'm giving it a chance anyway though - curious to see where it goes.

Leslie wrote: "It's a little after 7 p.m. here in New England and I am putting in the time until Jeopardy starts checking in here.

I made a pot of tortilla soup yesterday so tonight's dinner was easy, just rehe..."

Tortilla soup sounds good Leslie! Enjoy!

I also love albondigas soup.

Nichole wrote: "Greg wrote: "Nichole wrote: "I’ll share the 24th"

Great Nichole!"

I meant I'll "take" the 24th, Greg. God, I hate phone apps..."

I understood Nichole, and I've added you to the list. Thanks for signing up!

Did the phone do an auto-correct? I hate it when that happens. :)

Nichole wrote: "For 2017, it's going to be Persuasion by Jane Austen."

A very enjoyable read Nichole!

Joan wrote: "Greg wrote: "Joan wrote: "Just glad to be home after 4 hours at the emergency animal clinic. I’m exhausted, one a.m. is way past my bed time. Although I’m still not sure what is wrong with my cat, ..."

What an adorable picture Joan! I'm so very sorry to hear about little Tiller. It's heartbreaking to lose pets that give us the gift of their innocent love. My heart goes out to you and your family.

Ruth wrote: "Reading has always been my refuge and sanctuary. When I am angry or upset I will go take a walk. It helps to clear my head. I also find listening to music and meditation helpful.
I hope everyone is..."

Thanks Ruth! :)

Nichole wrote: "I’ll share the 24th"

Great Nichole!

Chrissie wrote: "I hope things lighten up for you, Greg. It is hard when work takes over every second of existence."

Thanks Chrissie! Once this project is over, I feel sure it will get better. I just don't know though when the project will be fully over, hopefully soon!

Thinking of you Chrissie with your cheek and you Joan with your pinched nerve and wishing you both healing. My aunt had a pinched nerve; it can be very painful.

I love taking walks too! Sadly, work has been so crazy lately that I barely see sunlight on weekdays - I can't wait for this horrible project to be over!

dely wrote: "It's 10 am and I will go out for a walk. Yesterday I have seen my bricklayer (yes, always for my terrace, argh!) and he is renewing a church and asked me if I wanted carpets or other stuff they are..."

haha, I hope he is reputible dely! :)

Joan wrote: "Just glad to be home after 4 hours at the emergency animal clinic. I’m exhausted, one a.m. is way past my bed time. Although I’m still not sure what is wrong with my cat, at least I now know it’s n..."

Haha about the mastiff Joan. :) But much more importantly, I hope your cat is okay and that they figure out whatever is wrong quickly. I get so much love from my cat - I just don't know what I would do without him!