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)
Jackie wrote: "Did they say why she calls him Ender? There is a reason."I figured that she couldn't pronounce Andrew. So she said "Ender".
No, it's a valid reason, nothing like that. Maybe once you're further along. I thought it was early on, but I don't really remember exactly what part of the book it tells why, I just know it does.
Thanks, Jackie. I'll be looking for more info regarding the name "Ender". I am guessing it means that he will be an "ender" (finisher) of some sort. We'll see.
Jim, please be sure to let us know if you're enjoying Lithgow's bio, _Drama_. I'm still enjoying the audio-book of the same, read by Lithgow himself.Meanwhile, I'm alternating with listening to _Ender's Game_. It's hard to pull myself away from Lithgow. I LOVE him!
I finished Labyrinth, it was very good. Hope to finish The Wild Road this week.
I'm starting Erwin Schrodinger's "What is Life? Mind and Matter" tonight. It doesn't come up on the add book link, I'll have to do it like this: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56...
A rare non-fiction event for me. Science, physics, I like that stuff.
And I moved Ender's Shadow to the top of my list because I read that the movie will comprise both books, Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow. I'll start it this week.
Joy H. wrote: "Jim, please be sure to let us know if you're enjoying Lithgow's bio, _Drama_. I'm still enjoying the audio-book of the same, read by Lithgow himself...."That's how I'm 'reading' it, Joy. On your recommendation, I might add. It's pretty good & interesting, although it isn't wowing me. I think I'm 2/3 of the way through or so. He just finished talking about how/why he missed Woodstock & his part as Lenny in "Of Mice & Men".
Jackie wrote: "... I'm starting Erwin Schrodinger's "What is Life? Mind and Matter" tonight. ..."Jackie, that book you mentioned, What Is Life? with Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches (original title) , sounds fascinating. I like that sort of thing too... if I can understand it. :)
Other editions:
What is life? & Mind and matter
What Is Life?: With Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches
Jim wrote: "... He just finished talking about how/why he missed Woodstock & his part as Lenny in "Of Mice & Men"."Jim, one of the things I like about John Lithgow is his self-deprecating personality. He's so human and yet in actuality he must be extremely intelligent and super-talented. He's an original.
Hearing his voice on the audio-version is icing on the cake!
I wouldn't say he's as self-depreciating as he is honest. He's obviously spent quite a bit of time figuring out who he is & accepts it - the good & the bad. It's almost like a form of therapy for him, perhaps it is the result of therapy. He's certainly laying it all out, though. I wish I knew more about the theater & some of the plays he talks about. He's done a great job of explaining them, but knowing them would add a lot. Unfortunately, It's been most of 40 years since I read Much Ado About Nothing or the The Tempest & I've never read Twelfth Night much less seen a production of any of them.
Yes, Jim, I suppose you could say Lithgow's honest instead of self-deprecating. That's an excellent observation. I never quite thought of it that way. I loved it when he called himself an "intellectual slowpoke". :)I, too, have had very little experience with much of the literature he mentions. He had a wonderful background, thanks to his father. I loved the part where he got so much applause for his part in the Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera, Utopia Limited Or, the Flowers of Progress. He said that applause changed his life. I guess it set him on his life's path.
I thought the part about getting a British accent was funny & how he finally got back to his American one. I always thought he was a British actor who had learned an American accent! He still has some of that quality about his voice. You know who is really wild to listen to is the guy that plays Patrick Jane on "The Mentalist". His American accent is perfect, but we saw him in an interview & apparently he is Australian. I never would have guessed. I have a rotten ear for accents, though.
Jim, I've never watched "The Mentalist" but, speaking of accents, I'm always amazed when I hear Nicole Kidman speaking in an American accent. She's Australian-American.
This might not be the place to comment on the Weather topic but had to: We shattered our weather record with a 76 degrees in January. I had to change clothes by mid day.
There are so many British and Australian actors on American TV with their perfect American accents, you don't know until you see them on a talk show or somewhere when they're speaking in their native accent.On Brothers and Sister, two of the kids weren't American, the actress who played Sarah (and also as Brenda on Six Feet Under) is Australian and the guy who played Kevin is British.
Battlestar Galactica's Lee Adama is British.
Anna Torv who plays Olivia on Fringe is Australian, so is John Noble who plays Walter.
Hugh Laurie from House is British.
Rick in the Walking Dead, British.
Idris Elba as Stringer Bell in The Wire, British.
Charlie Hunnam as Jax on Sons of Anarchy is British.
Damien Lewis of Homeland, British.
Kevin McKidd in Grey's Anatomy, British.
John Barrowman in Arrow, British.
Andrew Garfield who plays Spiderman in the new movie is British. I could go on and on.
They are all over our TV and movies!
76 degrees, I could cry!We're supposed to get up into the 40s tomorrow and 50s the day after. I'll believe it when I see it. We just got dumped with about 6 inches of snow today, maybe more.
Very good movie; great acting, gorgeous scenery of a Greek Island. Fun story. Just a great evening was spent watching this. I could watch it over again. ps send us some of your snow and I'll send some warmer weather; I wish!
Which movie, Nina?I wish we could trade weather!
Nina wrote: "This might not be the place to comment on the Weather topic but had to: We shattered our weather record with a 76 degrees in January. I had to change clothes by mid day."That's amazing, Nina! We had snow here today. Enjoy your warm weather.
Jackie wrote: "There are so many British and Australian actors on American TV with their perfect American accents, you don't know until you see them on a talk show or somewhere when they're speaking in their nati..."Jackie, that's quite a list!
Nina wrote: "Very good movie; great acting, gorgeous scenery of a Greek Island. Fun story. Just a great evening was spent watching this. I could watch it over again. ..."Nina, which movie are you referring to?
Joy, that's just what I could think of in the moment. It's just the tip of the iceberg.
Jane Seymour is British, and speaks with a British accent when she's on camera as herself --but when she's playing an American character, like Michaela Quinn on Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman, you'd never have a clue that she's not born and bred in the U.S.A.
Werner wrote: "Jane Seymour is British... you'd never have a clue that she's not born and bred in the U.S.A."How in the world do they do that? Perhaps they have speech coaches but they also have to have a special ear for the nuances of pronunciation.
Our son studied French and has immersed himself in the language by having many French friends. He has been told that he has hardly any American accent when he speaks French. He attributes that to a gift for language and lots of practice.
PS-It would be fun to go to a speech coach and be trained to speak with a flawless British accent! Crickey! I'd love that.
PPS-Take a look at the following page:HEADING:
"Playful Pronunciation Practice - The 44 sounds of English English, one at a time"
http://www.davidappleyard.com/english...
Scroll down to: "The 20 Vocalic and Diphthongal Sounds".
Click on the MP3 buttons to hear interesting short drills in pronunciation.
For example:
"The clever never ever say 'Never ever!'".
"It's clear the beer is dear here." :)
"Bert wasn't hurt but got dirt on his shirt."
PPPS-MORE EXAMPLES:"Be fast to be first! The firm farmer ran his farm like a firm."
To hear the above, slide down to section called: "Problem Sounds for Japanese Learners"
http://www.davidappleyard.com/english...
Has anyone here read any of the books about the character Drizzt created by R.A. Salvatore?If so, what would be the best book to start with?
OR the most interesting book of the series to start with?
What did you think of the series?
Start with The Crystal Shard, it was written first. Then The Dark Elf Trilogy, which will give you Drizzt's backstory. I made the mistake of starting with DE trilogy and found it dark, boring at times, I just didn't care. When I read The Crystal Shard later, I found Drizzt to be an intriguing character, and only then did I want to learn his story.In all honesty, Joy, I don't think this is your kind of book/series, it's dark and it's straight up fantasy. If you're not into fantasy, I don't think it'll hold your interest. Even as a huge fan of fantasy, I'd say it's average at best.
Joy H. wrote: "Nina wrote: "Very good movie; great acting, gorgeous scenery of a Greek Island. Fun story. Just a great evening was spent watching this. I could watch it over again. ..."Nina, which movie are you..."Sorry, I forgot to put the title; major flaw. The movie is "Opa." Really good.
Joy, my comment about "My Name is Mary Sutter," is mixed reaction. Let me explain. After finishing it this morning and laying it aside to go back to the library, I had decided to write and say five stars; really very good story and fascinating details that even with all my reading of Civil War stories; fiction and non-fiction, I had never read such details; a bird's eye view to be sure. However, in a few minutes, I thought, "Wait a minute. What happened to Bonnie? Did I miss something in the Epilogue?" I retrieved the book and read again the last few pages of the last chapter until I came to the part where Mary brings Thomas home and he sees his daughter for the first time. The author tells us heartbroken Bonnie hands the baby to him. That is the last we hear of Bonnie. Not right as she is first introduced in the beginning and is defintely one of the characters as is Jake, her errant husband. I wanted to know, did she have to go back to him after the War or even did he survive. Did they not take her with them to New York City? I thought it was a major flaw in the book. What did you think, Joy?
Jackie wrote: "Start with The Crystal Shard, it was written first. Then The Dark Elf Trilogy, which will give you Drizzt's backstory. I made the mistake of starting with DE trilogy and found it dark, boring at ..."Thanks, Jackie. I was curious about the Drizzt character. When I went to Wiki, I was overwhelmed by large number of books about the Drizzt legend. At Amazon, when I peeked inside one of the books, the writing didn't draw me in at all. But I'm still curious about Drizzt. If they'd make a movie, at least I could learn about Drizzt. :)
PS-I found an interesting GR review about "The Dark Elf Trilogy". It's at:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
(That's how I learned a little about Drizzt.)
Nina wrote: "Very good movie; great acting, gorgeous scenery of a Greek Island. Fun story. Just a great evening was spent watching this. I could watch it over again. ..."Nina, I've put "Opa!" (2005) on my DVD queue at Netflix. Thanks.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460892/?...
http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Opa/7012...
"While searching for an ancient relic on a Greek island, American archaeologist Eric falls for Katerina, a vivacious local. But when his career clashes with his burgeoning romance, Eric must decide which matters more."
Nina wrote: "Joy, my comment about "My Name is Mary Sutter," is mixed reaction. ... What happened to Bonnie? ... Mary brings Thomas home and he sees his daughter for the first time. The author tells us heartbroken Bonnie hands the baby to him. That is the last we hear of Bonnie. ..."Nina, I accepted the fact that Bonnie was a minor character. I didn't miss hearing more about her, although I sympathized with her. I don't remember what happened to Jake. I was satisfied with the story as is. The story had enough characters and sub-plots to keep track of. I didn't need anymore. :)
Jackie, see my PS to my Message #134 about Drizzt.
Joy, I would love a movie about Drizzt. There's a lot of books I don't want to read but would like to see in a movie. It all comes down to time, do I want to put in the many hours needed for a book? Sometimes the answer is no, even though I may want to know about the story or characters. Drizzt is interesting, in and of himself; he's worthy of a movie. I see that I have the first two books of the Dark Elf Trilogy as given 4 stars. I guess they're a little above average, then. Many times, when I see a rating I gave immediately after reading, I don't understand how I could have rated it that high, lol Thinking back, I should give the first book 3 stars and the second book can remain at 4. I did like that one better.
Yes, Jackie, time does enter into the picture when it comes to choosing books and movies. Nowadays we have so much choice readily available to us that we have to seriously prioritize our time. Actually, when it comes to books and movies, I find myself choosing the one which calls to me most strongly at the time. It's an intuitive thing.On the other hand, at times I am so overwhelmed by the choices that I pick the one handiest at the time. Sometimes it's almost a random choice.
Recently, three of my "random" choices of movies to stream from Netflix, turned out to be good ones:
1. One of the "Father Ted" episodes: "A Christmassy Ted" (1995). - HILARIOUS! (British)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111958/?...
2. "Death at a Funeral" (2007) -another comedy - VERY FUNNY (British)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0795368/?...
3. "Anna Lucasta" (1958) with Earth Kitt - DRAMA - GOOD PLOT
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051362/?...
(It was so good that, out of curiosity, I ordered online a used DVD of the 1949 version with Paulette Goddard, $8.00.) I love comparing different versions.
It was originally a play on Broadway: Anna Lucasta by Philip Yordan
Father Ted is so funny. Have you seen any episodes with Graham Norton as Father Furlong?
Jackie wrote: "Father Ted is so funny. Have you seen any episodes with Graham Norton as Father Furlong?"Oh, yes! LOL He's priceless! He was in the one episode I've seen ("A Christmassy Ted"). Here's Graham Norton's photo as Father Furlong:
http://images.persephonemagazine.com/...
I haven't been able to find any other episodes of the Father Ted series. They don't seem to be available. It's a shame because I enjoyed what I saw.
PS-The Church probably banned them. LOL
I saw Fr Ted on PBS years ago, I think. Have you ever watched The Vicar of Dibley? They're even funnier than Father Ted. The Vicar is still on PBS on Saturday nights, in the Primetime slots, not sure of the exact time.
Jackie wrote: "I saw Fr Ted on PBS years ago, I think. Have you ever watched The Vicar of Dibley? They're even funnier than Father Ted. The Vicar is still on PBS on Saturday nights, in the Primetime slots, not..."Ah! Thanks, Jackie. I haven't watched "The Vicar of Dibley". I just noticed that one episode, "The Arrival", is streamable from Netflix. In fact, it's been in my Instant Queue for while, but I forgot about it. I'll move it to the top of my queue.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0739936/?...
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/701...
BTW, I borrowed the "North & South" series DVDs from our public library. So I've been watching that too. Also I have some "Father Brown" DVDs from the library. I'm getting religious. LOL
All the above ought to get me through this miserable day. :) (not to mention my audible.com audio-books which I keep busy with as well as my current hard cover books in progress.) That's why my Xmas tree is still up. LOL
Which North and South? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417349/
or http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088583/
I saw the first one; it was very good. Richard Armitage is wonderful in that. I always like him in whatever he does.
Joy, that's the reason I don't put up a tree, at some point I'll have to take it down, lol
Jackie wrote: "Which North and South? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417349/
or http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088583/
I saw the first one; it was very good. Richard Armitage is wonderful in that. I always like h..."
I'm watching the 1985 series of North and South with Patrick Swayze. Good story with John Jakes' historical background. North and South by John Jakes
I'm not familiar with Richard Armitage. (Images at link below):
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&am...
Jackie wrote: "... Joy, that's the reason I don't put up a tree, at some point I'll have to take it down, lol "LOL - Oh, but I LOVE my tree and all the rest that goes with it.
I've always wanted to see the N&S with Swayze. How many discs is it or how much time would I need to watch it? I'm under the impression it's many episodes. I may have to order it from the library.Speaking of library, Friday is Crandall library book sale.
It's 3 sides on 2 discs.Jackie, when you go to the book sale, please do me a favor and keep your eyes open for:
I Passed This Way by Sylvia Ashton-Warner.
I stupidly gave my copy away to the library's book sale several years ago. It had some scribbled notes I made on its pages which I'd like to get back. Maybe somebody will return it to the library sale again. Fat chance, but you never know. Stranger things have happened. Thanks.
Joy, is it fiction or non-fiction, they'd be in separate rooms and I need to know where to look. TY
Jackie, I Passed This Way is non-fiction. Thanks.
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Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
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http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I thought the second book, "Catching Fire" might alleviate my disappointment. Unfortunately, the main premise seems to be what I hated at the end of the first. I gave it most of an hour, then abandoned it for Drama: An Actor's Education by John Lithgow.