Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
ABOUT BOOKS AND READING
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What are U reading these days? (Part Five) (begun 3/12/09)
Nina wrote: "Yes, Dewey is a true story."Thanks, Nina.
Here's the link again:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32...
Jackie wrote: "Anne Rice used to be a good author; she holds no interest for me now. Especially after her publicized return to Catholicism. She turned her back on her religion for her entire adult life, until h..."I am now reading Called Out of Darkness by Anne Rice..I am only up to her questioning her faith at this time; but, I have to say her descriptions of her early life as a Catholic are quite revealing and to me very authentic..She is such a good writer she has me with her on each page. For my final take on the entire book I will hold my comments until I've finished but so far so good no matter how or why she ends up in life. nina
Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Debra wrote: "Hi Joy, it's been awhile since I contributed. I was in Hawaii for the Left Coast Crime writers conference and taking a bit of a holiday, and I'm still trying to catch up on the backlo..."Speculative fiction, as I understand it, is writing about other worlds, although you can blend it with real worlds. So, it would include science fiction, fantasy, or a blend of these things. I just posted a review of Goodreads today.
I am starting The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I hope it is as good as people say.
Oh, I loved The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy! The movie wasn't quite as good, though it had a couple of hilarious moments. Well, maybe more than a couple. I was killing myself laughing in the movie theatre at times, but sometimes I was the only one.
Nina, I am pleased that you are enjoying the book, Rice is a good author. Perpendicularandi, I liked Hitchhiker's Guide, it's absurdist fiction and quite humorous. I agree with Debra that the movie wasn't as good, it made it kind of ridiculous somehow. Lesser than the books. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, let me know what you think of it.
Debra wrote: "Speculative fiction, as I understand it, is writing about other worlds, although you can blend it with real worlds. So, it would include science fiction, fantasy, or a blend of these things. I just posted a review of Goodreads today. "Debra, thanks for explaining the meaning of "speculative fiction". It's a new term for me.
Can you give us a link to the review you mentioned?
Debra wrote: "Oh, I loved The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy! The movie wasn't quite as good, though it had a couple of hilarious moments. Well, maybe more than a couple. I was killing myself laughing in the movie theatre at times, but sometimes I was the only one. "Randi, Debra & Jackie, I've just put that movie (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) on my Netflix queue. Thanks for mentioning it. Sounds interesting.
Haven't read the book. (_The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_)
For what it's worth, I sometimes think of fiction as divided into two main branches: descriptive fiction, that takes the world as it is and describes it, and speculative fiction, which starts with reality as we experience it, but asks "what if" something about it was different? For instance, what if there are other inhabited worlds (as Debra said)? Or what if magic was real? Or what if science discovered how to do this or that? So by that broader definition, a novel like H. G. Wells' The Invisible Man is speculative fiction, even though it's set in this world. To me, it includes the whole realm of fantasy and science fiction, and also supernatural fiction set in this world (like the Harry Potter series, which is set in good old normal England, impossible to miss on any map or globe!).
I always go for the 'what if'm as you can see in my choices of books. I already know how the world is, I want to be taken away. And what better way than 'what if'.
Good Morning from KS. I thought because there would be no Goodreads without words I would contribute one of my favorite poems written by a friend of mine who has since died. She was a well known local poet, Marjorie Culver.THE SHEPHERD
I am the shepherd of this flock of words.
Mine is the crook, the pen that gathers them
In little clumps upon the page.
They stray, they leap and tumble one on one
And I must bring some order to the fold.
Words are precious.
And there is one I cannot find,
Caught in a crevice of my mind.
Ah, there you are!
Come here, my prodigal, my lamb, my wooly one,
Just here, beside yor brothers.
No crowding, please.
Now graze.
And if I hear the sound of tiny bells
Perhaps we have a poem.
Have a nice April, no fooling! nina
Nina wrote: "Good Morning from KS. I thought because there would be no Goodreads without words I would contribute one of my favorite poems written by a friend of mine who has since died. She was a well known l..."Nina, that's a lovely tribute to "words".
Below is a good quote to follow that poem:
"Wordstruck is exactly what I was--and still am: crazy about the sounds of words, the look of words, the taste of words, the feeling for words on the tongue and in the mind."
-Robert MacNeil (1931- ) _Wordstruck_ [1989:]
Werner wrote: "For what it's worth, I sometimes think of fiction as divided into two main branches: descriptive fiction, that takes the world as it is and describes it, and speculative fiction, which starts with reality as we experience it, but asks "what if" something about it was different?"Werner, I like that idea... "What if...". It certainly jogs the imagination.
Jackie wrote: "I always go for the 'what if'm as you can see in my choices of books. I already know how the world is, I want to be taken away. And what better way than 'what if'."One of these days I will get to the science fiction books on my To-Read list. I don't think I've ever read science fiction.
Speaking of being "taken away", I just started reading _The Thirteenth Tale A Novel_ and I do have the feeling I'm being taken away. I've only read up to page 52 and the author, Diane Setterfield has already pulled me in by slowly ramping up the suspense. She certainly can create a cryptic atmosphere.
Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Nina wrote: "Good Morning from KS. I thought because there would be no Goodreads without words I would contribute one of my favorite poems written by a friend of mine who has since died. She was a..."Yes, that quote fits right in to the poem's theme..Good one!
Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Jackie wrote: "I always go for the 'what if'm as you can see in my choices of books. I already know how the world is, I want to be taken away. And what better way than 'what if'."When I was in a writing critique class for many years our leader always recommended that we start our fiction with the thought,"What if..." And it worked. ninaOne of these d..."
I'm presently reading A Frolic Of His Own by William Gaddis. It's the first of his I've started, and while his lack of quotation marks may irritate some, I find that it adds something, for me it seems to hurry the dialogue along, giving it a more real life staccato effect. I'm only in about 40 pages as I haven't had much reading time the last few days, but from what I've read so far, I like it.
Pontalba wrote: "I'm presently reading A Frolic Of His Own by William Gaddis. It's the first of his I've started, and while his lack of quotation marks may irritate some, I find that it adds something, for me it s..."Hi Pontalba. Thanks for telling us about _A Frolic of His Own_. I haven't read it but I looked at the Goodreads page.
The Goodreads description calls it a "dense and imposing book ... a masterful work that mocks the folly of a litigious society" ... a "satirical and philosophical treat".
Sounds like quite an undertaking. (g) I found it interesting to read the Goodreads reviews at:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28...
Some were favorable; some were not. Andy said:
====================================================
"I would say this book is unreadable, as much of the body of it is written in that style, so popular in the late 80's and early 90's, in which none of the dialogue is attributed, so that one must engage in a constant guessing game as to which characters are speaking, and sometimes, which characters are even present in the scene. In the face of this kind of thing, I must concede defeat."
====================================================
Pontalba, would you agree with him at all?
Gaddis had captured some of the idiosyncratic behavior of Southern lawyers, but maybe my having worked for lawyers, and having them in the family helps. *g* I did only skim a legal "opinion" that is many pages long embedded within the text, as I've read legal opinions before, and this was typical. I read enough of those pages to see what the suit was about, and when it began repeating itself, I zoned out. As far as the lack of quotes, and attribution, it doesn't bother me. Gaddis lets us know when a new voice is added, and whose. Yes, it's extremely subtle, but catchable.
I feel I know these people, the rat-a-tat-tat of the conversations is typical of friends of mine. I don't know if I'll become bored with this or not, it's too early to tell. I hope not.
I feel I know these people, the rat-a-tat-tat of the conversations is typical of friends of mine. I don't know if I'll become bored with this or not, it's too early to tell. I hope not.
Pontalba wrote: "Gaddis had captured some of the idiosyncratic behavior of Southern lawyers, but maybe my having worked for lawyers, and having them in the family helps. *g* I did only skim a legal "opinion" that..."Pontalba, from your reply I can see that you're well-prepared to enjoy Gaddis' style of writing. I'm reminded one of the educational principles called "Reading Readiness". Adults, as well as children, need to be ready to read the material, i.e., they must have the proper background and preparation before any kind of reading material can be understood and enjoyed.
So many times when I find I can't get into a book, it's probably because I'm not ready for the author's style or even the content. I'm thinking of authors like Philip Roth (_Portnoy's Complaint_). I vaguely remember not being able to understand what he was talking about. (It may have been another book or author I'm remembering, but the idea is that my previous exposure to literature and/or current events hadn't prepared me for the reading.)
As for skimming, that's something I must learn to do. I've always been afraid I'll miss something integral to the plot. Skimming seems to be a skill which must be acquired in order to get through certain books.
Oh yes, the ultimate heroes. Fighting to save the people who fear and hate them, quite a daunting task. Professor X is awesome, such a compassionate and caring man, self-less, always for the greater good. The School for mutants was his idea and legacy. And having Patrick Stewart play him in the big screen versions was casting at it's best. I'm completely in love with both Professor X and Patrick Stewart.I just started World Made by Hand A Novel by James Howard Kunstler. Only 21 pages in and it has already given me things to think about and I like that.
Jackie wrote: "...I just started World Made by Hand A Novel by James Howard Kunstler. Only 21 pages in and it has already given me things to think about and I like that."The Goodreads review says:
=================================================
With "World Made By Hand" Kunstler makes an imaginative leap into the future, a few decades hence, and shows us what life may be like after these coming catastrophes—the end of oil, climate change, global pandemics, and resource wars—converge.
=================================================
Yikes! :)
It was a really good book. I realize how unprepared we are, all of us. We've lost the art of doing and making things by hand.
I also started and finished The Gnostic Mystery which was excellent. I've already read The Nag Hammadi Library in English and The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English so these gnostic concepts are not new to me. In fact, I find them more plausible than traditionalist or literalist concepts. And it fits with my own thoughts that the teachings of Jesus are more important than religious dogma.I'm must emphasize that I'm not here to debate religious philosophy. What I really want to say about the this novel is that I like the way in which information is presented, as opposed to the dry reading of the scrolls. In this novel, I'm getting the information through dialogue with the added bonus of one of the characters asking questions I would ask and getting answers.
I would only recommend this novel to someone who is willing to challenge their beliefs with an open mind or to someone who is already interested in gnosticism.
PS: And I've been leafing through Where's Bin Laden?, much like the Where's Waldo books.I'll be starting Faerie Tale by Raymond E. Feist tonight.
Jackie, thanks for your posts, keeping us informed of the books you're reading. I find your comments interesting.I wonder what the Catholic Church says about _The Gnostic Mystery_.
I'm almost finished reading _The Thirteenth Tale_ by Diane Setterfield. I think you'd like it. It's a good mystery. The main characters are book lovers; so there's some discussion about antique books, but the plot goes beyond that and draws the reader in. The Glens Falls library group will be discussing it on Monday.
I just read the write up; it reminds me a little of Atonement by Ian McEwan. Have you read that? If so, how does it compare, is it similar?The Church doesn't like anything that threatens them. I've read extensively about the history of the Church. So it doesn't surprise me.
I haven't read Atonement but did find the author's book, "Saturday," fascinating. Great writing and I do recommend it. I would like to discuss it with anyone who has read it but don't want to give away any of it's unique plot. Also, just finished, "Called Out of Darkness," and consider it a fine read..Good writing and excellent characterization..It is a memoir. Fascinating.. And a priest friend of mine recommended it to me. I don't think of the "church" itself being threatened by books..Maybe some individual parishes are or their bishops are but not all. The church is made up of human beings just like the rest of us; some very good and some not as we know. And speaking of books and movies made from them, I just finished watching, "Blindness," and it is the first time I have seen a movie make from a book that changed the main character..strange..nina
Nina, Saturday by Ian McEwan does sound interesting. I put it on my To Read shelf. What category would you classify it? I put it in thriller but I can change it if you don't think it fits.
Jackie wrote: "I just read the write up [of _The Thirteenth Tale_:]; it reminds me a little of Atonement by Ian McEwan_, the stories are very different. They both have a young girl or girls as characters (and the girls are strange), but that's the only similarity.I can see how the Goodreads description would seem to indicate that the two books had more similarities because they both look back at past happenings. However, the stories are very different.
It's best to go into this book not knowing much about it because any description is bound to be misleading or otherwise to be a spoiler of sorts.
_The Thirteen Tale_ has held me spellbound. (I hardly ever say that about a book.) I've been reading a bit at at time and am nearing the end. I really hate to see it end, such is the wonderful mysterious world one enters when the book is opened, a world of mysterious characters and places. The author, Diane Setterfield, is a master at creating that mood.
Good, because that all I really needed to know. I don't mind reading imilar things depending on what it is but I much prefer a completely new reading experience.I don't like spoilers for books at all. I don't like to have preconceived notions of a book. Of course, I need to know a little, to know if it's my kind of book, but that's all I really need.
13 is going up on my To Read shelves right now, thanks, Joy.
Jackie wrote: "Good, because that all I really needed to know. ... 13 is going up on my To Read shelves right now, thanks, Joy."YW, Jackie. I hope you'll like it. It's not an action story, but is more of a psychological mystery. That's the kind I like.
I like psychological mysteries very much, more so than regular mysteries. They always seem to feel more realistic, like, this could really happen.
I would classify "Saturday" as a psychological thriller. It leads you slowly and then POW you can't not turn a page. nina
Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Jackie wrote: "I just read the write up [of _The Thirteenth Tale_:]; it reminds me a little of [b:Atonement|6867|Atonement|Ian Thirteenth Tale is on my to read list. ninaMcEwan|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I......"
Yesterday I finished reading _The Thirteenth Tale_ by Diane Setterfield.See my comments at: ====>
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
I've been reading several books, A Frolic of His Own by William Gaddis, A Loving Gentleman by Meta Carpenter Wilde and Orin Borsten, East, West by Salman Rushdie, The Stranger by Albert Camus, and one other book that's upstairs, a book of diary excerpts of famous and not so famous people. I'll post the name of that one later, after I've gone back upstairs. :)
I have stalled on the Gaddis, the witty dialogue gets old after a hundred pages, and looking at 400 more of the same. Nothing impenetrable about it, only downright boring after a while. heh
I finished The Stranger yesterday, I enjoyed it, his prose is plain, but somehow keeps one's interest. I'd have to say it's a fascinating look at the world from a sociopath's perspective. He wasn't particularly a bad person, although he did commit a murder, he just didn't see the big deal, and seemed to realize feelings in retrospect, much more than at the time of any particular incident. I suppose this was one of the first of that particular genre, but there is nothing shocking about it in this time period. It's one of those books that the longer you think on it, the more you see the layered aspects and appreciate the author's intent.
The Wilde/Borsten book is a biography of William Faulkner through the eyes of his long time mistress. Rather simplistic in it's approach, it is a rather innocent book.
I only have one more story in the Rushdie to go, it's a compilation of his short stories, some being of the East, some of Western location. I prefer the Eastern ones. One of them, The Free Radio was just the subject of discussion in the short story section on Constant Reader, one of the groups on Good Reads.
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
That particular story was actually my least favored entry.
I have stalled on the Gaddis, the witty dialogue gets old after a hundred pages, and looking at 400 more of the same. Nothing impenetrable about it, only downright boring after a while. heh
I finished The Stranger yesterday, I enjoyed it, his prose is plain, but somehow keeps one's interest. I'd have to say it's a fascinating look at the world from a sociopath's perspective. He wasn't particularly a bad person, although he did commit a murder, he just didn't see the big deal, and seemed to realize feelings in retrospect, much more than at the time of any particular incident. I suppose this was one of the first of that particular genre, but there is nothing shocking about it in this time period. It's one of those books that the longer you think on it, the more you see the layered aspects and appreciate the author's intent.
The Wilde/Borsten book is a biography of William Faulkner through the eyes of his long time mistress. Rather simplistic in it's approach, it is a rather innocent book.
I only have one more story in the Rushdie to go, it's a compilation of his short stories, some being of the East, some of Western location. I prefer the Eastern ones. One of them, The Free Radio was just the subject of discussion in the short story section on Constant Reader, one of the groups on Good Reads.
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
That particular story was actually my least favored entry.
Pontalba wrote: "I've been reading several books, A Frolic of His Own by William Gaddis, A Loving Gentleman by Meta Carpenter Wilde and Orin Borsten, East, West by Salman Rushdie, The Stranger by Albert Camus, and ..."Pontalba, below are links to the books you mentioned:
1. A Frolic of His Own
2. A Loving Gentleman
3. East, West
4. The Stranger
It might be interesting for members to read the Goodreads descriptions.
That's quite a list of books.
Now I'm reading In The Country of Last Things by Paul Auster, and the book on diaries I mentioned before is A Book of One's Own by Thomas Mallon.
Joy, I'm not sure how you manage those links?
Joy, I'm not sure how you manage those links?
I also have Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot to read as soon as I finish the Auster. The play format has always flummoxed me, but I've found that books like McCarthy's The Road and Gaddis's A Frolic of His Own, lacking the usual "he said, she said" etc, has given me somewhat of a leg up on the play format. So I have high hopes this time. I'd failed to finish the Beckett a while back.
Pontalba wrote: "... Joy, I'm not sure how you manage those links?"Pontalba, just above the comment box are the words "add book/author". Click on those words.
1. You will see an entry box. Type the name of the book or author in the entry box (after choosing the appropriate tab) and click on the "Search" button.
2. When your book or author show up below, click on the "Add" button. The book or author will show up at the bottom of your comment box. If you preview the results, you'll see how they will appear as links in your post.
For example, here is the link to: _Waiting for Godot A Tragicomedy in Two Acts_.
Hope this helps.
Oh, neat! Thanks Joy. :)
I had known about it, and it completely slipped my mind.
I had known about it, and it completely slipped my mind.
Pontalba wrote: "I also have Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot to read as soon as I finish the Auster. ... "You might enjoy the analysis of WFG at the following website:
http://www.shmoop.com/intro/literatur...
Click on the various tabs.
I find that the literary analysis at shmoop.com is fun to read.
I finished reading _The Almost Moon_ by Alice Sebold.The suspense kept me reading. I wanted to know how it ended. To say it's about a mother-daughter relationship doesn't really convey the sense of the book. It's really a suspense story.
PS-I browsed the Goodreads reviews of this book. Most of them are negative. Still, as one reviewer (Jeff Neuman) said: "It was morbidly fascinating enough that I wanted to finish it..."
See his review and my comments at:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/....
I've wanted to read Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones for a while now. I've heard it was very good.Almost done with my Author challenge. Joy had given me the final two authors I needed to complete it: Yeats and Updike. I didn't know Updike wrote The Witches of Eastwick. I saw the movie years ago, I know I liked it but I don't remember much else. And I loved Yeats' Irish Fairy and Folk Tales; it was so my kind of thing. Thanks, Joy!
I have 4 titles left for my Title Challenge; I choose The Jesus Papers Exposing the Greatest Cover-Up in History by Michael Baigent. He was one of the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail which I liked but being non-fiction, it takes me a while to get through it. I don't read non-fiction as voraciously as I do fiction. I expect it'll be the same with The Jesus Papers.
I have the other titles except for the letter P. Since Joy's suggestions worked out so well for me, I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a book title that begins with the letter P (The doesn't count).
I've got about 50 pages left to Faerie Tale by Raymond E. Feist and let me tell you, this book is far scarier and creepier than I'd ever have imagined. I'm going to send it to my BIL because we like the same type of books, movies, well...everything. My sister jokes and tell people she married her sister, LOL
Thanks for the Godot link Joy. :)
I still haven't gotten to him though.
Am presently reading The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective.
And...have sort of started Midnight's Children
and Caesar's Tribune.
Still working on a few others, but they're back burner. :)
I still haven't gotten to him though.
Am presently reading The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective.
And...have sort of started Midnight's Children
and Caesar's Tribune.
Still working on a few others, but they're back burner. :)
I am reading Anne of Green Gables. I have always wanted to read it, so I decided I finally would. I was incredibly surprised to find out that, in my opinion, it is actually a page-turner. I was up till 5am this morning reading from it. The only reason I fell asleep was from sheer exhaustion.
Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
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Debra, welcome back from Hawaii.
Below are the cover link to the books you mentioned:
Debra, what is "speculative fiction"?