Mike’s
Comments
(group member since Oct 28, 2021)
Mike’s
comments
from the Never too Late to Read Classics group.
Showing 81-100 of 317
kubelot wrote: "same here i love both the novel and the movie. I think The Princess Bride along with The Third Policeman is the book i have reread most often. I just started to read the g..."I seriously need to get on and read The Third Policeman. I've been meaning to read it for years and have had The Complete Novels for quite sometime. I created a reading nook at home a few weeks ago with a shelf dedicated to "in progress" and even put that book on the shelf. I think I delay because I know I'll enjoy it but once I've read it, I can't anticipate reading it anymore.
It's like Cookie Monster and the last cookie, a deep philosophical problem. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGSzq...)
Book Nerd wrote: "Yeah, I guess it really depends what you see first. I like The Neverending Story movie better than the book. :)"Could well be, I did indeed read Neverending Story before I saw the film! For me it was one of the most influential books for developing a love of reading. My grandmother gave it to me for Christmas when I was around 10 and I remember becoming so completely absorbed in the book that I practically felt I was Bastian hiding in the attic.
It just dawned on me, they're both metafiction! And with kubelot's mention of Flann O'Brien's classic, one of my other favourite novels, that is also metafiction, is O'Brien's At Swim-Two-Birds.
I forgot to come back here and note I finished reading it (review).It's been a little while since I last watched the film but I think very little of the story doesn't make it to the movie. The "editor" interruptions are of course replaced with the grandfather and grandson scenes reading the story.
I'm hard pressed to commit myself to which is better. I think I lean towards the movie only because I know it so well and there isn't a lot of extras in the book. The film is certainly a great adaptation, unlike others such as The Neverending Story where they were faithful for the first half the book and then skipped to the end.
Hope all is well Karin and hope to see you here soon.
I've just finished The Princess Bride and will now resume In Search of Lost Time with Sodom and Gomorrah. This also means that I make progress on my AND list for the first time this year!
It's been a while since I made progress on this list as I've been navigating life and In Search of Lost Time. I have now come to Volume 4 of Marcel Proust's masterpiece, Sodom and Gomorrah, which has it's place on this list. Hard to believe this project is nearing two years old!
Lesle wrote: "Darn dust from the boxes of stuff that went with her, probably got in your eyes!"Yes, that must be it!
Rosemarie wrote: "How far away is your daughter, Mike?"
In theory 2 hours but with all the construction and heavy traffic it usually takes closer to 3. We had a pretty good run up on Friday but it was a bit of a slog home today. I quickly took the children to the neighbourhood park when we got back so that could burn of a pile of energy.
Today I dropped my eldest off at her accommodation for university. Some tears were shed, but it was just dust in my eyes. Her brothers were pretty nonplussed but her sisters found it tough. At least these days she's only a video call away!
Brian E wrote: "John wrote: "Best wishes to you and your family Mike, with admiration and congratulations for staying strong for your children, and keeping them occupied during this time of transition for you all...."Thank you Brian for the nice words. They also brought a smile to my face!
I also extend my thanks to all, your words have all helped me to feel a little less lonely.
Lesle wrote: "do not overfill the glass of bourbon in your comfy new spot! :)"I absolutely hate hangovers so there's no risk of that! :D
Thanks for the encouraging messages. Sadly she has a terminal degenerative disease so, short of a miracle, we know she'll only get worse.It's quite a shock and it's hard not to look at the 6 month old knowing he'll never know his mother as the rest of us do.
At least with her in the care home, we can enjoy time with her and not spend it caring for her. The home is really nice and make a big fuss of the kids. Last time we were there, they did an afternoon tea with lots of cakes and biscuits in the garden for us. The house has a dog, Peanut, and a neighbour's cat frequently comes over as he knows where he can get uninterrupted attention all day. Both of them came to visit us in the garden and the children just loved it.
Good luck with the interviews Lesle! I too was moving books around on Friday, wish I had had a wagon to help. I've taken over a bookcase in the living, put a very comfy chair and reading light in the corner of the room and filled the bookcase with the various coffee table books I've picked up, all silly heavy. This freed up two shelves in my office for work related books that have been stacking up and hiding behind other books.One shelf if the "Currently Reading" shelf, at arms reach from the chair. I've got a coaster in there (deep shelves) to put coffee in the morning, or bourbon in the evening.
Sadly all this is now possible as my wife has been in hospital since June and was permanently moved to a care home three weeks ago as the level of care she requires can't be provided at home. It's been quite the roller coaster, especially for the children, so I've been redoing the whole house to try and distract us and cheer people as best I can.
I started the book today and read a third in one sitting. I'm really enjoying it and love the meta-fiction aspect to it. Normally I skip introductions but thumbing through I realised the meta-fiction nature of the book so read it, and boy was it fun.
I finished The Guermantes Way this evening. I enjoyed this one the most so far as it had a faster pace and I enjoyed the elaboration of the Guermantes Way/wit. I'll be taking a short break to read The Princess Bride and have read 1/3 of it in one sitting this afternoon. Looking forward to starting Sodom and Gomorrah as it also progresses my AND list that has been collecting cobwebs this year.
John wrote: "It's only two weeks until summer (astrologically) ends in the UK. As Summer departs and the nights become longer we find ourselves between the seasons. For the ancient Celts this was a liminal pe..."
Interesting, I wasn't aware of this and no doubt the days are much shorter and/or longer up there than they are for the rest of us further south. The bonfires and feasting sounds great.
Karin wrote: "Good for him! It helps that he isn't the first. I'm guessing he's been wanting to go for a long time to be more like the big kids."It definitely helps. Two of his sisters are at the same school and usually came home with smiles last year. They've both had his teacher and liked her so have told him lots of nice things about her.
Kiki (Formerly TheGirlByTheSeaOfCortez) wrote: "Hope you have a great trip, Rosemarie!Glad your son likes school, Mike. I know lots of children who just hate that first day. I was one of them."
Yes, there were some there and some of my older children weren't too happy to be going. Of course there are also the parents that are emotionally overwhelmed too!
Today was my second youngest's first day of school. I got him to the gate and he happily marched on in with a grin on his face and didn't look back. He had a great day and was fast asleep tonight.Hope you have a great trip Rosemarie!
