Pam’s Comments (group member since Jul 12, 2018)

Pam’s comments from the Never too Late to Read Classics group.

Thank you Rosemarie for your suggestions!

I’m also interested in CanLit and Canadian history! Most of what I read is contemporary, though. Part of my interest is due to my French-Canadian roots but also the proximity to the U.S. The Canadian author I am interested in reading is Farley Mowat. Any recommendations? I first heard about him on a podcast where they talked about his book “The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float”.

I'm reading Prizes: The Selected Stories by New Zealander author Janet Frame. This collection includes the best of her stories covering four decades. The earliest stories are from The Lagoon and Other Stories, pub. in 1951 and The reservoir: stories and sketches and Snowman Snowman: fables and fantasies (S, pub. 1963. Some of the others were published in the 1980s. I was looking to read a NZ author for another challenge, which is why I picked this book up. Just happened to find it at Goodwill. I'd like to read one of her novels since I'm not a big fan of short stories, in general. There are a couple in this selection, so far, that I really like.

I just finished it. I really liked the ending but it’s not one of my favorite King books. At first I didn’t like the switching of narrative but once I got used to, i thought it was an effective technique. I rarely read a book after seeing the movie because I’m usually underwhelmed, because I already know the story. The book did give a little more insight to the fanatical/abusive mother and to what happened afterwards.

I will also support The Golden Notebook. I’ve been wanting to read it for several years. I’ve already read An American Tragedy and East of Eden and highly recommend both of them!

I will support The Ladies Paradise. The edition I have is just titled The Paradise. I watched the first season of the Masterpiece Theater TV show and really enjoyed it. I was planning to read it this year, but I’m running out of time.

Good luck Bruce and any other members living in the hurricane’s path! I have one relative who’s evacuated and another who doesn’t have to. I’m here in NM and terrified. I couldn’t imagine living through these weather events.

I hope to start it this week. Jen - I hope you are able to get back into it. I’ve been struggling to get into and finish anything the last few weeks.

I just started it last night. I am reminded why I used to like Stephen King! I have to wonder if I would’ve liked this book back in the 70s. I think I probably would have!

My e-book via Libby just came in. It’s the 50th Anniversary edition. I’ll start it tonight. I didn’t realize that there are 3 adaptations. I’ve only seen the original.

Sounds interesting! I found it on Hoopla so I’ll ck it out.

I just put a hold on it. I used to read King in the late '80s and '90s but haven't read too much in the 2000s. I saw the movie in 1976 and then again in 1977, dubbed in Spanish (which was weird). It should be interesting to see how his writing style has changed over the decades, this being his first published novel. I noticed a big difference, in his writing (dialogue in particular), between The Dead Zone (1979) and his later works. I hope my copy comes in soon!

I will support Shōgun. I just bought a copy a few weeks ago!

Our read for the months of Oct-Dec is Conversation in The Cathedral. (Note: Cathedral refers to a bar not a church.) GR describes it as:

A haunting tale of power, corruption, and the complex search for identity, taking place in 1950s Peru during the dictatorship of Manuel Apolinario Odría Amoretti. Over beers and a sea of freely spoken words, the conversation flows between two individuals, Santiago and Ambrosia, who talk of their tormented lives and of the overall degradation and frustration that has slowly taken over their town. Through a complicated web of secrets and historical references, the author analyzes the mental and moral mechanisms that govern power and the people behind it. More than a historic analysis, it is a groundbreaking novel that tackles identity as well as the role of a citizen and how a lack of personal freedom can forever scar a people and a nation.

Mario Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician. He is one of Latin America's most significant novelists and essayists and one of the leading writers of his generation. Some critics consider him to have had a larger international impact and worldwide audience than any other writer of the Latin American Boom. He's won an impressive number of literary prizes including the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature, the 1967 Rómulo Gallegos Prize, the 1986 Prince of Asturias Award, the 1994 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1995 Jerusalem Prize, the 2012 Carlos Fuentes International Prize, and the 2018 Pablo Neruda Order of Artistic and Cultural Merit. In 2021, he was elected to the Académie française. Source: Wikipedia

This book is just over 600 pages, which is why it is scheduled as a quarterly read. The group will not be continuing a Latin American Reads in 2025 but the 2024 threads will remain open for comment. Please feel free to suggest a Buddy Read if there is a book you really want to read! I hope that members have enjoyed the books we've read and that you will continue searching out Latin American authors!

Leona - Yes, I live in Albuquerque, just 3 miles from the Balloon field. My grandson’s school (and other local schools) have a pre-Fiesta event (Balloons Aloft) early this Friday morning, where a hot air balloon or 2 inflate and take flight from the school grounds. It’s really fun for the kids!

Thank you Kathie and Rosemarie! I rarely go to Balloon Fiesta but enjoy watching the balloons from the dam in my neighborhood, which is walking distance. I may go this year with my aunt who’s coming in for a visit. Greek Fest is this weekend also! October is the month of fiestas in NM. Surprisingly, it’s still unseasonably warm/hot. It really needs to start cooling down! 🥵

My husband offered to take me to the movies tomorrow to see The Wild Robot. It’s not his typical movie genre. 😂 Has anyone seen it?

Hello everyone! I’ll be a day late posting the Latin American read for the quarter. I have been nonstop busy getting my dad‘s house ready for sale. Spent the day today staging it and am now waiting for the photographer to finish up. I need to clean the inside of the refrigerator and that’s it, done! The house goes on the market Friday! That was a LOT of work plus I still have to figure out how to dispose of a bunch of furniture and decorative items. I’m going to take a break for a couple days and then start thinking about that activity. Glad to be finished just in time for Balloon Fiesta this weekend!

Rafael - Thanks for the recommendation! “Lusty…strenuous comedy” - sounds fun!

Chad wrote: "I’m near the end. Many of the political chapters do not do it for me and I find myself always wanting to get back to Gabriela and Nacib. Gabriela is a unicorn for most men. Something that doesn’t e..."

I remember thinking also that Gabriela's ideas were ones that you expect from men. I found that really interesting, even from the beginning before she arrived in town. I liked the political parts but was also more interested in what Gabriela was up to! I would love to watch the movie. The 1983 movie is free to watch on Tubi, Amazon Prime Video, and Freevee. Has anyone seen it?

Does anyone plan to read more books by Jorge Amado? I have a few that I'm interested in, including Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands.

The hurricane damage is devastating. I don’t know how people recover and rebuild. I have family in the Tampa Bay area and one of them lives in a mobile home. None of them have messaged me or posted a status on FB. I’m hoping they are all ok! My sister lives in KY and she says they are predicting flooding even that far north. 3 straight days of rain.