Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
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ABOUT BOOKS AND READING
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What are U reading these days? (PART NINE (2013) (ongoing thread for 2013)
Nina wrote: "Speaking of good authors, I am so enjoying the charming, excellently written book by DE Stevenson, "Miss Buncle's Book." I can't remember when I last laughed out loud while reading a book. ... do check her out. "Will do, Nina! Thanks for telling us about it:
Miss Buncle's Book
This month, the Christian Goodreaders group, which I help moderate, is doing a common read and discussion of C. S. Lewis' The Great Divorce (the title is a takeoff on William Blake's "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell"). I'd read it about 20 years ago, but realized I don't remember it well enough to discuss it intelligently; so I started a reread of it today.
Sounds good; anything by C.S. Lewis I've read was excellent.
I remember that I enjoyed it the first time around, Nina, and I'm appreciating it this time as well!
Finished One Good Knight, gave it 4 stars. Slightly slow in the beginning and kind of predictable with the happy ending and all that but still an enjoyable read. One thing I really enjoyed: sometimes dragons are referred to as 'wyrms', in this book the dragons were 'bookwyrms' and their hoard of treasure was books. I've never come across bookwyrms before, I don't know if this is unique in the genre but it was unique to me.
I decided to continue with the next book in the series, Fortune's Fool since I'll be sending these to a friend.
Jackie wrote: "...in this book the dragons were 'bookwyrms' and their hoard of treasure was books."I LOVE that! Cool. :-)
That was my sentiment also! It made a good story even better.
Werner and Jackie, thanks for posting about your books.Sorry I haven't been here lately. Goodreads isn't sending me email notifications. I'll have to look into that.
Meanwhile, I've started the following two audiobooks via audible.com:
The Private Lives of Winston Churchill by John Pearson
and
The Spectator Bird by Wallace Stegner
I'm enjoying them both. Trouble is, listening is so much easier than reading that I'm neglecting my current hard copy books!
I'm also reading Lady Chatterley's Lover, a friend's mother lent it to me and wants me to read it. Classic and romance, I don't think it's for me, but I'll give it a try.
Jackie, I tried reading it several years ago, as background reading for teaching British Literature when we were homeschooling our girls (just because Lawrence is a balleyhooed author, and the book was influential); but I found it boring and didn't finish it. :-(
Jackie wrote: "I'm also reading Lady Chatterley's Lover, a friend's mother lent it to me and wants me to read it. Classic and romance, I don't think it's for me, but I'll give it a try."Jackie, I read Chatterley a while ago. I remember enjoying it. I'll have to put it on my "read" shelf.
I decided to re-read John Jakes Bicentennial series. It's been a lot of years since it first came out & I read it, but I've remembered it fondly. The TV mini-series were good, too. I wondered if the writing would still seem as good. After all, my introduction to Jakes was Brak the Barbarian. I have to say, the first book, The Bastard, didn't disappoint. I gave it 5 stars. My review is here:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Jim wrote: "I decided to re-read John Jakes Bicentennial series. It's been a lot of years since it first came out & I read it, but I've remembered it fondly. The TV mini-series were good, too. ..."I read the first 4 books in the "The Kent Chronicles". I started the fifth, The Titans, but never finished it. Other books were calling to me. I enjoyed the first four. It was fun coming across the historical figures.
I didn't know there was a TV series. Netflix has it listed but it's not available yet. I've put it on my Netflix "Saved" queue.
"The Kent Chronicles" (1974)
http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/The-Kent...
"Based on the best-selling novels by John Jakes, this star-studded Revolution-era romp follows the fortunes of a young Frenchman as he immigrates to America and crosses paths with historical heavyweights like Benjamin Franklin and George Washington."
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bastard/dp/...
The Bastard (1978): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077212/?...
The Rebels (1979): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079877/?...
The Seekers (1979): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079783/?...
"Lady Chatterly's Lover" was great to skim through when I was a lad. Later on in college I took a course on Lawrence and was made to actually read the book---a great book---I don't think anyone ever wrote about sex in such a high literary and beautiful style.
Just finished Arthur Miller's autobio, "Timebends" Don't think I've ever read a more beautifully written, introspective and insightful book---reads like a great novel. Highly recommend.
Arnie wrote: ""Lady Chatterly's Lover" was great to skim through when I was a lad. Later on in college I took a course on Lawrence and was made to actually read the book---a great book---I don't think anyone ever wrote about sex in such a high literary and beautiful style. "I read Lady Chatterley's Lover a while ago. I remember that it was a good read.
Audible.com has 8 audio versions, each read by a different narrator. Below is a link to the list.
http://www.audible.com/search/ref=sea...
Each one has a "sample" which you can listen to by clicking on arrow next to the word "sample".
Arnie wrote: "Just finished Arthur Miller's autobio, "Timebends" Don't think I've ever read a more beautifully written, introspective and insightful book---reads like a great novel. Highly recommend."Thanks for the recommendation, Arnie. Audible.com has Timebends: A Life in an audio version. You can listen to a sample at:
http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_13...
Maybe I'll get it.
The response from friends who have read Lady Chatterly have been mostly positive. Maybe I'll enjoy it? I don't know but we're gonna find out.
Jackie, let us know what you think of Chatterley.
Since I belong to a pulp fiction fan group here on Goodreads, it's no secret that I like that sort of thing. :-) Pro Se Press (based in Batesville, Arkansas) is a relatively new small press dedicated to republishing out-of-print works from the classic pulp era and to publishing New Pulp, new stories and novels with the basic characteristics and spirit of the old pulps, often in modern settings. I started checking out their offerings earlier this year, with The New Adventures of Senorita Scorpion.The book I started reading today is also from Pro Se: The Pulptress. Both books are short collections of new stories featuring an action heroine protagonist; but where Senorita Scorpion was originally created decades ago, the Pulptress is a modern invention. Originally conceived just as a costumed character to represent Pro Se at book trade conventions, founding editor Tommy Hancock got the idea of endowing her with a mysterious backstory and letting some Pro Se authors feature her as a fictional heroine. I found the concept intriguing, so I'm giving the book "a go," as my Aussie kinfolks would say. :-)
Werner wrote: "Since I belong to a pulp fiction fan group here on Goodreads, ... Pro Se Press (based in Batesville, Arkansas) is a relatively new small press dedicated to republishing out-of-print works from the classic pulp era and to publishing New Pulp, new stories and novels with the basic characteristics and spirit of the old pulps, often in modern settings. ..."Werner, What are the the "basic characteristics and spirit of the old pulps"?
PS-Here's a link to info re Pro Se Press:https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...
It says: "Pulp Fiction, known by many names and identified as being action/adventure, fast paced, hero versus villain, over the top characters and tight, yet extravagant plots..."
PPS-Here's a link to the "INSIDE" of the book, "The Pulptress", at Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1477...
You can read some of the story at the above link.
Joy, thanks for the links! Hmmmm, good question: What are the 'basic characteristics and spirit of the old pulps?'". (I might not have a good answer, but it's still a good question! :-) ) If memory serves, we had a discussion of pulp fiction in this group sometime ago, though I can't recall what thread it was on. The description given at the first link you shared actually sounds pretty good.The fiction printed in the old pulp magazines in their heyday in the 1920s and 30s (and they survived on into the 50s), encompassed a variety of genres and styles. To me, though, some of the common elements of what we might call its "spirit" are a celebration of individual human freedom and capability; an optimistic view of the universe (evil exists and has power, but good is ultimately more powerful); and a grounding in traditional moral truths, taken seriously. (Some might argue that pulp noir is an exception to the last two --but I've discovered that that's far from always the case.)
I'd say that some of the defining characteristics are strong emphasis on action and adventure; appeal to reader's emotions (after the triumph of Realism in mainstream fiction, Romanticism refused to die, and the pulp tradition remains one of its strongholds); often use of extreme or exotic situations and settings; protagonists with heroic qualities; an emphasis on strong, plotted storytelling, and eschewing of "experimental" or "avant garde" fictional techniques; and restraint in the use of bad language and depiction of sex --classic pulp writers weren't Victorian, but they did employ good taste. (There's also some restraint in the handling of violence, and not a lot of gratuitous blood and gore; pulp fiction is often violent, but the descriptions don't wallow in sadism, and where the effect of horror is sought, it's achieved more by psychological means than by depictions of torture and dismemberment as it is in a lot of modern "horror.")
You can get more of a feel for pulp literature by reading some examples of it than by reading any description of it. From what I know of your tastes, though, Joy, I'm not sure that most of it would be exactly up your alley. (I could be wrong about that, of course!)
Werner wrote: "... You can get more of a feel for pulp literature by reading some examples of it than by reading any description of it. ..."I read the first few paragraphs of
I wasn't drawn in. Too much description was given before they put the hook in. So I lost interest.
(e.g., "...the short heavy bellied man ran his sausage like digits through what few strands of greasy black hair clung to his splotched pate." [from "Black Mask, Big City") Such a long sentence before I was made curious about him and how he fit into the plot. Didn't work for me. But that was a short test and I may have been biased before I began.
I found an old Anne Tyler book in my bookcase last week so I am reading it and although I hadn't read this particular book, if I had picked it up and not looked at the author's name I am pretty sure I'd know it was written by her. I am not as emnamored with her work as I once was as it seems only the character's name are different. The title of this one is, "Ladder of Years."
Nina, I've always enjoyed Anne Tyler's books. I read many of them a while ago. The one I read most recently was Noah's Compass. The theme of the book was aging. So of course it resonated with me. I enjoyed the story and gave it 4 stars. Here's my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Joy, one quick correction for message 777: the heroine's handle is the "Pulptress" (a reference to pulp fiction), not the "Temptress." (Though "the Temptress" sounds like a nickname you could imagine for a pulp character --but one probably more apt to be bestowed on a villainess than a heroine! :-) )Interestingly, I read the same sentence you quoted, and was drawn in by that and the rest of the description. I could totally visualize this guy, and his thug partner, and my curiosity was piqued as to what they were up to. (That's a perfect illustration of the fact that it would be a dull world if we all liked the same things! :-) )
Werner, thanks for the correction. I've fixed my Message 777 above. I have to laugh to myself that I made such an association between "Pulptress" and "Temptress". LOL I was CLOSE! LOLAs a description, the words about the "heavy bellied man" were good, but their placement at the beginning, without any orientation as to what was going on, made me lose interest. I've always needed orientation. I don't like jumping into the middle of a scene. The author starts the scene with the man saying: "Too public if you ask me." Right away, I said to myself: "Huh? What does THAT mean?" The description followed. I had already lost interest! But that's just me. :)
Joy wrote: "The author starts the scene with the man saying, 'Too public if you ask me.' I asked myself: 'Huh? What does THAT mean?'" Well, that's not a bad question, and maybe even one the author wanted you to ask. When I read it, what leapt into my mind is the fact that people with no reason to fear being observed don't care how public the venue is. Ergo, this dude's probably up to no good. :-)The artistic technique of starting a story/novel or a film in the middle of the action is called beginning "in medias res," a Latin loan phrase for "in the middle of things." It's favored by writers who want to avoid initial exposition and infodumps, and to fill the reader in as things develop. But you're right that with this type of opening, you start out much less oriented than you'd be if the writer used a different strategy; and this technique doesn't work for every reader.
Werner, thanks for explaining "in medias res". I need exposition. I don't understand why exposition is often looked down upon. It seems that some authors enjoy creating more of a puzzle than a good story.Examples of two books which were almost impenetrable for me because of the lack of exposition were: The English Patient and All the Pretty Horses. I didn't appreciate the ambiguity in either of them even though I recognized the literary worth of the writing styles. Unfortunately much modern literature tends have that ambiguous atmosphere. It makes it tough on people like me. :)
Joy, I never read either of those books, but I know about the modern style (mostly in self-consciously "literary" fiction, or fiction the writers hope the critics will think is "literary") of deliberate ambiguity and opacity, and I don't like it either. I'm not usually bothered by a beginning "in medias res," and I understand that too much exposition can bog a story down. But there's also such a thing as too little exposition; and prose that fails to communicate is a wasted effort --unless the effort is just to make critics think the writer must be profoundly deep, since every good critic knows that all deep writers are unintelligible, and vice versa. :-( (My theory is that unintelligible writers are just incompetent at their craft, but what do I know?)
Werner wrote: "... I know about the modern style (mostly in self-consciously "literary" fiction, or fiction the writers hope the critics will think is "literary") of deliberate ambiguity and opacity..."Werner, in regard to ambiguity & opacity, below are some amusing quotations related to the subject:
=======================================================
"What she lacked in talent, she made up for in opacity." -Garrison Keillor on Gertrude Stein
"Don't express your ideas too clearly. Most people think little of what they understand, and venerate what they do not." -Baltasar Gracian (1601-1658)
"If everybody came to agree that stories should be told this clearly, the professors of literature would be out of a job, and the writers of obscure, encoded fiction would be, not honored, but pitied for their impenetrability." -Orson Scott Card, in the preface to his book, _Ender's Game_.
"Keating leaned back with a sense of warmth and well-being. He liked this book. It had made the routine of his Sunday morning breakfast a profound spiritual experience; he was certain that it was profound, because he didn't understand it." -Ayn Rand, _The Fountainhead_, [1943]
"The purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure pure reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog!" -Bill Watterson's "Calvin" cartoon - SEE CARTOON AT: http://blog.sagrader.com/2011/01/11/c...
"That must be wonderful; I have no idea of what it means." -Moliere
=========================================================
I collect this stuff in my quotations file. :) Great hobby!
Great quotes, Joy! Thanks for sharing those. :-)
Glad you like them, Nina."I quote others only in order the better to express myself." - Michel de Montaigne.
While listening to the audio-book, The Private Lives Of Winston Churchill, I heard the following expression: "STYGIAN GLOOM." (Stygian rhymes with pigeon and smidgen.) I had never heard it before and didn't even know how to spell it. I googled and found that it's used quite often in writing, including in articles about Winston Churchill. The meaning is below:======================================================
"Stygian gloom" is a phrase borrowed in a sense from Greek mythology. The word "Stygian" comes directly from Greek myths -- it's related to the River Styx, which the Greeks believed formed the border between Earth and Hades (the Underworld). The souls of the dead were taken across the river by Charon in his ferryboat. As you can imagine, places of the dead are usually fairly dismal, so "Stygian" became an adjective used to describe something that was dark and gloomy. So, the phrase "Stygian gloom" means a gloom that's about as gloomy as you can get."
FROM: http://www.reference.com/motif/arts/s...
========================================================
Here's an example: "about the electoral convulsion which swept Attlee into power and Churchill out. No one in the know expected it. ... Churchill was devastated. 'It was a tremendous, humiliating blow. We had lunch in Stygian gloom,' said his daughter, Mary."
FROM: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2005...
REH, author of Conan, loved 'stygian'. He had darkness & a whole country named for it. They were bad guys; sorcerers, snake worshipers & slave traders.
I am having a stygian day; mice ate four corners of our dishwasher and the water that should have stayed in it travelled downstairs to our guest bedroom; ruining(maybe salvagable partly) my mother's antique mahagony chest of drawers and the one hundred and thiry year old doll sitting on top of it and soaking the ceiling which will have to be replaced and so on and on..I think that word describes my mood exactly.
Nina, I'm so sorry to hear that! I know we all feel for you. :-(
Jim wrote: "REH, author of Conan, loved 'stygian'. He had darkness & a whole country named for it. They were bad guys; sorcerers, snake worshipers & slave traders."Jim, of course, you're talking about Robert E. Howard and Conan. Interesting about his use of the word "stygian"! Thank you.
Nina wrote: "I am having a stygian day; mice ate four corners of our dishwasher and the water that should have stayed in it travelled downstairs to our guest bedroom; ruining(maybe salvagable partly) my mother'..."Oh, Nina, how awful! Such a loss, especially the 130 year old doll which you must have treasured! Exactly what part of the dishwasher did the mice chew?
For some interesting remarks, see my review of The Private Lives of Winston Churchill at:http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
The part of the dishwasher that sends the water to wash the dishes rather than emptying out down the drain is where the mice chewed. Worse than that I found our youngest daughter had a wreck on the way to work this morning; totaled her car. We are hoping she is OK. Her sister is to call me with later details. Not a good day for our family. And found out our great grandson who is nine has pneumonia. I am afraid to ask, "What next?"
PS Forgot to mention my accident daughter had to have her cat put to sleep today. I think there is a children's book titled, "The No Good Horrible Bad Day," and I think the author must have had one of these days like mine today.
Nina, sounds like the mice chewed the water hose.I hope that there will be no more bad news for you this week, Nina. I hope that everyone will be OK.
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Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
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Will do, Nina! Thanks for telling us about it.
Miss Buncle's Book