Alana’s Comments (group member since Mar 20, 2018)

Alana’s comments from the What is Life without Books group.

Oh! I've got "The Mermaid Chair!" Somewhere. I read it years ago and did not love it; don't remember much about it except maybe some good imagery. Maybe it will be better the second time around.

I read "The Music of Dolphins" by Karen Hesse today. It is targeted for tweens but very thought-provoking nonetheless. I think it can count as a mermaid story!

Will look into, thanks! On another note, I've noticed that the women in Stephen King stories are often strong. Open to a relationship with a male character, but self-reliant, blue-jeans-wearing women. I wonder if he bases them on his wife or other women he's admired.

I loved the first Fantastic Beasts movie! I never read Harry Potter or anything related to the film but it did not hinder my enjoyment of it at all.

Ok, I don't love my hatred of this character at all, but one of the most loathesome characters I've come across lately was the husband, Sam, in the Danielle Steel book "Lightning." (Let me preface that this book was just lying around the office; I didn't buy it.) Anyway -- spoiler alert -- the main character's decision at the end made me so mad I literally threw the book across the room and cursed the waste of time I'd spent reading it.

From TV & movies Killian ("Hook") from Once Upon a Time and Jason Bourne come to mind as well as Kristin Wiig's character from Bridesmaids. I also thought poor dumb Tony Manero from Saturday Night Fever was actually more complex than he was ever given credit for 😂

I guess I like my heroes flawed. I've always needed the main character to have the trait of self-deprecation for me to fall in love with them. So from childhood classics that'd include Alice, Anne of Green Gables, Jo from Little Women, and Huckleberry Finn. All brave, but certainly not perfect and very capable of making mistakes. For adolescent reading that'd include Holden Caulfield and looking at my bookshelf now, Harry Hole from the Nesbo series, Dolores Price from "She's Come Undone" and all of the females in "Moon Women." (Oh, Lisbeth Salander too, J.M.!) In non-fiction, Augusten Burroughs, David Sedaris, and Anne Frank.

I like the monthly theme/topic idea too. It'd be fun to see what participants choose and why/how it relates to the theme.

Lotte I am cracking up about how hard you are working to get through "IT" in the midst of all your real-life demands. Totally understand about being caught up in a book and wanting to get back to it above everything else. One interesting fact is that whole character and actions surrounding "The Kid" was scrapped from the original publication (400+ pages), not because King wanted to but because the publishing house accountants said the book was too long to cost-effectively print.

Thank you! It does not appear to be available in English (unless you know otherwise?) Ah well.

Emma, can you tell me the name of the book? I have researched and educated people about selective mutism but honestly haven't come across much that is interesting to read; some reinforce the fallacy that a shock or traumatic event or some kind of weird abuse causes the disorder (like PTS syndrome), which is usually not the case.

I bought the Mrs. Peregrine's book after walking past it in a bookstore and being thoroughly arrested by the title and cover photo. Was excited when I saw the first trailer about the movie but it didn't come out with a "bang" where I live, & have since seen pretty bad reviews (of the movie). I loved how the author was inspired to write the book, though, ending up a collector of odd antique photographs.

Sarah & Aly: I am a huge Jo Nesbo fan and "The Snowman" is one of my favorite books.
Right now I am re-reading Stephen King's "'salem's Lot" and afterwards plan to track down a copy of "The Tommyknockers." I started this book long ago, becoming thoroughly engrossed in my roommate's copy, then she moved out and I was devastated -- not because she left but because she took the book when I was in the middle of reading it!😂

I have one book going at all times. If it turns out to be boring, I give myself permission to abandon it and start another, though that rarely happens because there are always so so many books on my reading wish list. I read pretty fast and try to slow down and savor the story once I find myself nearing the conclusion. Once finished, I mourn a little (epilogues help), then start the next one soon after. I prefer the old-school feel of turning the pages of a paperback over a device. I can't read at all during the work day but take a little reading break after work -- I have trained my family -- and then look forward to reading later in bed. And the occasional Sunday evening bubble bath with a book and a glass of wine: heaven!

Ok so I just went back to the beginning of this thread and am thrilled to see so many interesting, International posters! Everybody here is such a good writer! Stephen King said it best: "If you don't have time to read, you don't have time to write." I guess every true bookworm is naturally also a secret writer. Anyway, sorry to hog with too many close posts; I hope this thread will be an active one!
I sometimes like reading strange stories, as long as they are gripping. Some of my favorite weird stories are
"Running With Scissors" by Augusten Burroughs, "Geek Love" by Katherine Dunne, and "The Flawless Skin of Ugly People" by Doug Crandell. Does anyone else have another unusual (not necessarily sci-fi) story that has resonated to recommend?
p.s. Unlike others, I canNOT read more than 1 book at a time; don't understand how you do it!

I am excited to look into some of the favorites from this thread. Lotte, if you haven't read Wally Lamb, I recommend "I Know This Much Is True" and "She's Come Undone." Big, meaty books. For teen girls I really liked "The Center of Everything" by Laura Moriarty, and for anyone who loves Southern women, "Moon Women" by Pamela Duncan.

Oh they are so good. My favorites are The Leopard, The Snowman and Devil's Star, but I have all 10 & read them in order every other winter; gotta read about Oslo in winter when cold outside & cozy in 😊

Lotte I recently finished reading "It"; yes it is huge! I really got into the characters though.

Hi, I just joined goodreads after realizing how many times I clicked on comments about books and authors I was interested in, and this seemed like a very good group! I am a voracious reader who experiences a pang of despair when I see there's only a few pages left of a really good book; I love/hate when a gripping story wraps up. My favorite series is the Jo Nesbo "Harry Hole" thrillers but I also like everything from true crime to classic Stephen King to Amy Tan to The Mafia Cookbook! "The Rapture of Canaan" is one of my most dog-eared books.