June 2015 - Parking Lot (Reporting Thread for Planes, Trains, Auto)

[Kylie]

I read Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith and I loved it. The entire novel is in the context of 4 strangers having a conversation on a train and sharing their life stories of love that involve trains somehow. It is both charming and intriguing, not all stories end happily, some ambiguous, and that is what's great about it.
Favorite Quotes:

"Each of us has his or her reasons, for making this journey, for being as we are, for continuing with the lives we lead; ordinary lives, of course, but touched here and there with moments of understanding and insights, and sheer marvel."

and another favorite...

"Loving others, she thought, is the good thing we do in our lives."

[Janice, Moderator]

Thanks Kylie. I'm glad you enjoyed your challenge read.

[Mariab]

Almeta wrote: "Read The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White. The majority of the story takes place on a train.

The Alfred Hitchcock movie The Lady Vanishes is based on this book..."

I remember that movie!

[Almeta]

Mariab wrote: "Almeta wrote: "Read The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White. The majority of the story takes place on a train.

The Alfred Hitchcock movie The Lady Vanishes is based on this book..."
..."

There was another movie made later, but not as good as the original in my opinion. There was a play as well.

Hitchcock kept the mood and the broad scenes from the book, but he did change up the characters a bit and the "revelation" that proved Miss Froy existence was totally different. Nothing sooo different to disappoint. A pretty good read.

[Amanda (Mandy)]

I read .

This book was about the Gold medal winners for rowing in the 1936 Olympics. I had recently read Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption which was similar. However, this book was more purely about the establishing of the crew team. It went into the backgrounds and life stories of many of the men. The main focus was on Joe Rantz who overcame poverty and basically being abandoned by his family at an early age. He worked through each summer to earn enough money to pay for the next year of school.

The author also went into the Nazi government and their use of propaganda to hide their true intentions from the world.

I found the book interesting, but a slow read. Some of the facts just made it hard to get through and broke up the flow. Overall though I enjoyed the book and learned some new things about that period in history.

[Lilisa]

Finished The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics - a fantastic read. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Some quotes:

Referencing the team's rowing --"All were merged into one smoothly working machine; they were, in fact, a poem of motion, a symphony of swinging blades."

"Harmony, balance and rhythm. They're the three things that stay with you your whole life. Without them civilization is out of whack. And that's why an oarsman, when he goes out in life, he can fight it, he can handle life. That's what he gets from rowing."

Referring to the crafting of a wooden boat -- "The ability to yield, to bend, to give way, to accommodate, he said, was sometimes a source of strength in men as well as in wood, so long as it was helmed by inner resolve and by principle."

[Lori Z]

I read Shadow of the Titanic: The Extraordinary Stories of Those Who Survived for this challenge. It was a fascinating yet very sad compilation of survivors' stories. Other than the obvious impact of this disaster and how it affected the survivors, with the loss of so many loved ones, I never really thought of how they went on afterwards. In most documentaries and movies it usually ended with them being rescued and you didn't see how they were impacted for the rest of their lives. The PTSD and survivors guilt some of them suffered, just made my heart ache. Some of their stories will stay with me a long time.

I don't really have any quotes except one that stuck out from the introduction. For many survivors, the specter of the Titanic would forever cast a shadow over their lives.

[Janice, Moderator]

Added! I've always been fascinated by the Titanic.

[Lori Z]

Janice wrote: "Added! I've always been fascinated by the Titanic."

I have too, Janice. It's definitely worth the read.

[Travis]

Master and Commander

Maturin says "it is a great while since I felt the grind of bone under my saw"


The newly-minted Captain admits the irony of gold on his shoulder and lack of gold in his pocket"

Basically entire story is on a boat. What I learned is the differences in types of boats based on type and number of sails, heights of masts and number and size of guns

[Mariab]

I read Heart of Darkness

An amazing prose. The river, of course, and the jungle were the true protagonists

Quotes:

"They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force—nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others"

"The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves"

"There were moments when one's past came back to one, as it will sometimes when you have not a moment to spare to yourself..."

"When you have to attend to things of that sort, to the mere incidents of the surface, the reality—the reality, I tell you—fades..."

"Droll thing life is—that mysterious arrangement of merciless logic for a futile purpose. The most you can hope from it is some knowledge of yourself—that comes too late—a crop of unextinguishable regrets"

I learned that a steamboat will not bring along the wood to feed the engine, but will cut it from the surrounding forest

And new words: pestiferous
factitious

[Thing Two]

I read Train Shots: stories by Vanessa Blakeslee which was just fabulous! *review to follow shortly ...

REVIEW finally!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Teanka]

I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. A little bit late compared to the rest of the group, but I figure it qualifies for this challenge, because the protagonists were constantly hitchhiking:) that is, traveling or talking about where to go next.

[Janice, Moderator]

Just in time, Teanka! There's a few hours left of June.

[Diane]

I read On the Road by Jack Kerouac.

There were actually quite a few good quotes from the book:

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”

“The air was soft, the stars so fine, the promise of every cobbled alley so great, that I thought I was in a dream.”

“I saw that my life was a vast glowing empty page and I could do anything I wanted.”

“Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry.”

“Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.”

My personal favorite:
“There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars.”

[Cherie]

You have convinced me that I need to read him, Diane!

[Janice, Moderator]

Badges are posted! Please let me know if I've missed anyone.

[Stephanie]

Awesome badge, Janice! Thank you :-)

[Cherie]

Hahaha, great badge, Janice!

[Tejas Janet]

I read "On the Road" about what feels like a million years ago. Okay, it was really only like 33 years ago. Seems like soooo long ago (because I'm lucky to be able to say I'm growing old).

I'd be interested in re-reading this one I think. As I recall, it's quite wonderfully written.