Readers and Reading discussion
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Book Miscellany
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What are you reading now? Finished recently? 4/5 through 11/6/2009
madrano wrote: "I forgot to note that one of the most interesting things about the Patrick Dennis bio on wiki is that later in life he served as butler to Ray Kroc!Oh, i see i posted this on the wrong board, t..."
Patrick Dennis was a butler?????
Bunny wrote: "Patrick Dennis was a butler????? "Yes. Early in his career he was the first person to have 3 novels at one time on the New York best seller list. Then, come the '70s, his popularity lost, he turned to being a butler. He claimed he really liked it, too. Go figure.
deborah
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Just finished Ladies of the Lake, Hayward Smith. Loved this book. In my opinion it was so much better than her Red Hat Club books. Such a good read.
I am currently reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
I am currently reading That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo. I bought it because some of it takes place in Truro the town where we stay at my in-law's house. I notice this book is on the best seller list. As a person like you all here, who reads lots more books than the publishing world says is normal,I like it ok. However looking at the usual fare of stuff on the list there must be lots of disappointed people who bought this book. It is very unexciting going with practically no dialog. Mostly its a dissertation on this guys entire life influenced greatly by the conflict he had with his terrible parents. I saw the TV movie Empire Falls based on this author's book but have never read any of his other books.
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JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "As I said in my review, If you like gritty stories of small towns with people barely in "survival mode", read Ron Rash."I've read two Russo novels, Bridge of Sighs and Empire Falls. The term gritty in your description has thrown me each time i've seen it, as i didn't see these as gritty stories. Am i using the wrong definition for the word? Do you mean full of grit or plucky people? I know, that sounds funny, but i'm not seeing the novels that way.
It may be that for me the way Russo fleshes out the characters and/or the town itself is why i don't see them that way. I see an area on the slipping-down side but i guess "gritty" isn't what i envisioned. It's probably just a matter of semantics, so i'm hoping you can set me straight. Thanks, in advance.
deborah
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gritty |ˈgritē|
adjective ( grittier , grittiest )
1 containing or covered with grit.
2 showing courage and resolve : a gritty pioneer woman.
• tough and uncompromising : a gritty look at urban life.
I just love Richard Russo but That Old Cape Magic IMO wasn't one of his best. My sister and I have all his books; she especially likes Bridge of Sighs but I prefer Empire Falls or Nobody's Fool which was also made into a movie with Paul Newman!
JoAnn, thanks for clarifying. I didn't see the Russo books in that light for some reason. The people & the character of the town were what caught my interest. Somehow i never saw them as harsh. Interesting.deborah
madrano wrote: "JoAnn, thanks for clarifying. I didn't see the Russo books in that light for some reason. The people & the character of the town were what caught my interest. Somehow i never saw them as harsh. Int..."Ditto- I love books with quirky characters though!
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I just did not like Russo's towns nor his people! The story of people barely making it in some backwater of a town has been told so many times. I also did not like all the words he had to use to tell about them. And "tell" he does....repeatedly!
I love Tyler's and Rash's quirky characters and also the economy of words with which they tell me about them.
This new book is fairly short, so maybe he has figured out how to economize. LOL
Don't get me wrong about Russo, i think he's too wordy. While i realized many characters were barely making it, i rarely saw them in a negative light. It was more like people making a decent try, rather than sinking into addictions or hatred. As i've noted many times, i don't read much contemporary fiction, so this may be why i don't see them in much negative light or feel they are repetitive. For me, the characters & situations are different enough that i continue to read. Otherwise, i'd probably stop before getting very far into the novel. OTOH, i think that when i read the last Russo (Empire Falls) i decided i wouldn't read any more. LOL!
deborah
Madrano: As i've noted many times, i don't read much contemporary fiction,=========================
Deborah, your in good company. :)
"Somebody who only reads newspapers and at best books of contemporary authors looks to me like an extremely near-sighted person who scorns eyeglasses. He is completely dependent on the prejudices and fashions of his times, since he never gets to see or hear anything else."
— Albert Einstein
Alias Reader wrote: "Madrano: As i've noted many times, i don't read much contemporary fiction,=========================
Deborah, your in good company. :)
"Somebody who only reads newspapers and at best books ..."
Contemporary fiction is my favorite genre- classics would be next. I don't particularly care for mysteries and I detest romance LOL. I do enjoy a good biography or memoir.
I read "The Help" and "Mockingbird" recently. Lots of similar civil rights issues obviously. Thought "The Help" was a great first book by the author and I learned a lot. Didn't think "Mockingbird" was edited well - - the author repeated the same facts several times throughout the book. I love "TKAM" as I even named my youngest daughter Scout as her middle name.
Shauna, i agree with your assessment of Mockingbird. The repeated information was annoying, particularly when it was in the preceding chapter! Additionally, i tired of the recapping of TKAM.deborah
Nancy wrote: "Contemporary fiction is my favorite genre- classics would be next. I don't particularly care for mysteries and I detest romance LOL. I do enjoy a good biography or memoir."I'm with you on romance, Nancy, but i do enjoy mysteries, but not long, heavy ones. I should have said re. cont. fic. that i'm picky about it. WHile i don't dislike it i'd just prefer to read a classic unless i hear great things about a book/author whose work i've already been leaning toward. How else would i have found Anne Tyler, my absolute favorite contemporary author?!:-)
deborah
I just finished the Guernsey and Potato Peel Book, and while I enjoyed it, I wasn't as excited as some other readers. The characters are appealing, and I was interested in the history of Guernsey's occupation, but found the story a tad sentimental and predictable. On the other hand I am blown away by the story and the writing style in A Tale of Two Cities. I know I read it in high school, but I must have been brain dead because I do not remember vast parts of the plot, and I certainly don't remember the wonderful language Dickens employs. It's horrifyingly violent, which must be why it isn't taught too often. Horrifying and riveting.
madrano wrote: "Shauna, i agree with your assessment of Mockingbird. The repeated information was annoying, particularly when it was in the preceding chapter! Additionally, i tired of the recapping of TKAM.deb..."
I've read some Anne Tyler - Ladder of Years comes to mind (I liked it)and I think I thought Back When We Were Grownups was OK but I need to check my logs and sometimes, I reread a book later and like it! An old quirky book that I often recommended years ago was Beachcombing For A Shipwrecked Island by Joe Cooomer. I should pick that up aghain and also, I found Russo's Mohawk and started reading it again last night. Every couple of years I reread my favorite book by Wallace Stegner Angle of Repose. I just love that book!
Nancy wrote: "I just love Richard Russo but That Old Cape Magic IMO wasn't one of his best. My sister and I have all his books; she especially likes Bridge of Sighs but I prefer Empire Falls or Nobody's Fool wh..."I have a special place in my heart for "Nobody's Fool".. Parts of the movie were filmed right here in our fair city of Hudson, NY.. the scenes in the Iron Horse Grill were actually filmed in the "State Grill", a local "landmark". In fact, the name was changed to "Iron Horse" permanently, and the sign from the movie is now the official sign out front.. I remember all the hulabaloo during the filming! Was very exciting!
I've had to stop temporarily on August to switch to a book-club title that was a recent movie, The Painted Veil. August is the story of how a small, undeveloped northern Norway fishing village starts to grow economically. That probably sounds dry, but it's not -- the town is tiny, so it's believable that the same basic cast of characters drives all the changes. Their personalities play huge roles in how they get a post office; how they pool together to participate in the herring catches that are the main source of income; how they start a bank and what they do with it once they've got it. (One of the main officers explains it's OK for him to keep dipping into bank capital personally, because of his high level of probity... ) I read in some Hamsun bio material that, probably due to his own agricultural origins in the 1800s, he was anti-capitalism, but that is not apparent from the book so far at all. His interest is in the foibles of human nature and how our characters determine our lives. The most responsible woman, who sees exactly what is happening to the bank, speaks her mind but no one is listening because nothing financially fatal has happened, so far. No one wants to think about how a current trend will end up.... sounds only too familiar a tale. But as the herring runs start to shift location away from little Polden after 15 or 20 years, well.... I'll be curious to see what conflicts develop.
Meanwhile, Painted Veil has been interesting because of its differences from the movie (which was fabulous and extremely beautiful in many parts). It starts at the climax of the action, which makes for a great beginning for readers. Almost journalistic, in how the most important fact hits you first, and then explanations (and consequences) are provided later. I don't know if I've ever read any Maugham before. This one reminds me a bit of Steinbeck in its compelling and economical story-telling, not necessarily in theme.
Jo, I read the Bell Jar a long time ago. My impression of Sylvia Plath is unfortunately of a terrible whiner. Not necessarily from that book, alone..... did you sense that at all in reading it? Or is my memory unfair?Jo wrote: "I finished The Bell Jar and loved it. I am now reading Generation X Tales for an Accelerated Culture"
Sherry, you are a woman after my own heart. Dickens is a master. Now, go on to his others. You have much good reading ahead of you!!!Cheef
Cheef, I have read most of what Dickins wrote, it's just that some of them were a while back. I don't think I've read The Old Curiosity Shop or the entire Old Curiosity Shop though. I took at least one grad course in Dickens. DH claims we both read Tale of Two Cities in a class, but I must have had some memory block.
It's hardly great lit, but I just finished Melissa Gilbert's autobiography "Prairie Tales" and really enjoyed it. I wasn't especially a fan, but her tales of growing up in Hollywood are interesting. I had no idea her family was so connected in show business. The book is very dishy and enjoyable. The afterword contains alternative book titles, and some were hilarious: "Half Pint...a Day", "Little Ho on the Prairie" (there was a fair amount of sleeping around), and my favorite "Nellie was Nice, but Melissa Sue was a Bitch".
LOL, Karla! Those alternative titles make the book sound well worth reading.deborah
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The book was about an elephant and a private zoo ---- and I have no interest in either topic. It was predictable and sappy....but I loved it! Go figure!
I did learn a lot about elephants, so that was a good thing....and I also think Hammond is good at character development. I really felt that I knew these people.
I have no idea why this would be compared to "Water for Elephants". The only thing they have in common is an elephant. It is like comparing apples and oranges.
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This was an audio book and sometimes the reader annoyed me when he said Henry's words with a bit of a Chinese accent (inconsistently at that!) .... Henry had been born in the US.
I usually do not like when an author switches back and forth from one time period to another, but in this book it "fit".
I think the author should have made Henry and Keiko a bit older...I found it impossible to accept that these "children" had such a relationship. Absolutely implausible. I also found the writing to be clumsy AND I felt little connection to any of the characters.
I found a ton of inaccuracies in this book but since I was driving while listening, I could not make notes on them...but I groaned a LOT! This author really need to do better research or have an editor who knows something about history. One of the most egregious errors was when Henry's son was participating in an online grief group...in 1986!!!!! Yeah, right, sure.
The author said, at the end, that he did not intend to make this book about the internment camps...but perhaps he should have put that statement at the beginning because I think maybe people were expecting that to be the focus of this book....
Sherry (sethurner) wrote: "I just finished the Guernsey and Potato Peel Book, and while I enjoyed it, I wasn't as excited as some other readers. The characters are appealing, and I was interested in the history of Guernsey'..."I agree with you about Guernsey - loved the history, a little put off by the sentimentality.
I started a new school in 8th grade, and the class was reading A Tale of Two Cities - I took it home the first day and read it that night. My teacher was so impressed! Guess he hadn't met too many readers before :) Must be time for a reread.
Meanwhile, Painted Veil has been interesting because of its differences from the movie (which was fabulous and extremely beautiful in many parts). It starts at the climax of the action, which makes for a great beginning for readers. Almost journalistic, in how the most important fact hits you first, and then explanations (and consequences) are provided later. I don't know if I've ever read any Maugham before. This one reminds me a bit of Steinbeck in its compelling and economical story-telling, not necessarily in theme. - MichaelOh, Michael, never read Maugham before? I think I've read Of Human Bondage 4 times at least. I loved the movie The Painted Veil - didn't realize it was by Maugham - now I'll have to read it.
I just finished Dan Brown's new one. I will go out on a limb and say I enjoyed it--based on some reviews I've read, that may be an unpopular opinion. It is in much the same vein as Angels and Demons and the other one, oh, you know, DaVinici something. I think if you enjoyed those two you will also enjoy this one. If you hated either of those, then skip this one!It was mostly daytime when I read it (I usually read in bed), so I took advantage of the internet and looked up the places in DC that were part of the plot, and that made it more interesting.
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I love an occasional Western "Bodice Ripper!"
I picked up a big stack at the Library yesterday, so today I am reading Swan for the Money by Donna Andrews, in the Meg Lanslow series. This is just a fun, quick read. I need those sometimes in between some of the more serious stuff I read!
Donna in Southern Maryland
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I like your idea of looking up the DC locales, Karla. I just read the first 4 chapters of The Lost Symbol on my son-in-law's Kindle.
The book, as I expected, roped me in. Not so much the Kindle - I can take it or leave it. There was just not enough text on each page using the size font (3 or 4) that I was comfortable reading. It felt like a child's book with so little text to read before needing to "turn" the page.
There was just not enough text on each page using the size font (3 or 4) that I was comfortable reading. It felt like a child's book with so little text to read before needing to "turn" the page. Interesting comment, JoAnn. I've never seen or used an e-reader and I've wondered about that....I envision those as a kind of old "Etch a Sketch", but less cumbersome. Being a fast reader, I think I would be annoyed by the constant "turning" of the page. I can skip the e-reader...what I really need is an e-retainer!
Lois
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Re Painted Veil and MaughamNo, Bunny, I somehow missed Of Human Bondage when it was assigned reading in some of our high school classes, and its title has never struck me as inviting. Looking over his work, I found few of Maugham's titles did sound inviting, but Painted Veil was a good story, briskly told. It has a couple differences from the movie -- if you read it any time soon, post your reactions to those differences. The story has some obvious similarities to his own life, which is apparently true of a bunch of Maugham's books if Wikipedia is to be believed. I did enjoy the story-telling, just as I've enjoyed going back into Steinbeck's story-telling for the first time in years. I know I am going to be reading more Maugham; it was too much fun, and the dialogue made me envious! I wish I could think as fast as his characters do, and speak half as plainly!!
Bunny wrote: "Oh, Michael, never read Maugham before? I think I've read Of Human Bondage 4 times at least. I loved the movie The Painted Veil - didn't realize it was by Maugham - now I'll have to read it."
I've been having trouble getting into a book this month. I started The Black Book by Orhan Pamuk and took it with me on our trip to Spain, but it just wasn't vacation reading. Far too strong. I dreamed about the characters at night or at least weird situations that could have been set in Turkey. I'll probably finish it at another time when my life is quieter because it's quite wonderful. Next was The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson because I'd enjoyed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a lot. But it's too violent for me. Darn. I put it down reluctantly last night and started The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, a book I've somehow missed in my long years of reading. So far so good :) It takes place (so far) in a village in a valley in the Alps, which is odd because I could see some of those villages from our airplane flying into Zurich and wondered what life was like down there. I posted a picture - didn't know those were there - that baby's the cutest!
I have three books going. From the library I'm reading a slender little volume called My Jim, which is narrated by the wife of Huck Finn's sidekick. Those who are disconcerted by dialect, beware. In the car I'm listening to a silly little novel entitled Hey Cowgirl, Want a Ride? written and read by Baxter Black. Two old cowboys find a curvy blonde near her wreck small plane. Who is she and why are people trying to find her.
On my iPod I'm reading Willa Cather's Song of the Lark, which promises to be the best one. I'm not far enough to report much, but so far it's set in Colorado.
My Jim A Novel
Hey, Cowgirl, Need a Ride?
The Song of the Lark
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But the story....so good and I found it hard to put down.
Rating 4.5
Sherry, i hope you like the Cather as much as i did. The aspect of an artist in a relatively isolated place called to me. Enjoy!deborah
Sherry (sethurner) wrote: I'm reading a slender little volume called My Jim, which is narrated by the wife of Huck Finn's sidekick. Those who are disconcerted by dialect, beware...."Iremember some controversy about My Jim...and now wonder if the dialect was the issue. I remember reading it with no problem, likewise The Help, yet there have been other books with off-putting dialect. The Color Purple was one which was tough. Maybe it was written more in the vernacular than in dialogue...I think there is a difference...maybe some of you lit teachers can comment.
Lois
Regarding THE HELP....I felt that not only was it a very interesting story of the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement but there was a certain amount of suspense that just kept you turning those pages!
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ABSOLUTELY...very suspenseful.
I'm reading Iain Pears' Stone's Fall, Robert Essick's commentary on William Blake (I seem to have been Blake in a former life, everyone says who sees my work) and for the umpteenth time, Gadda's That Awful Mess On the Via Merulana. All rich stuff, will make your head swim.
I tried to post about this yesterday, but the board was having trouble "processing." Perhaps I should send a digestive?Having read "The Guernsey Literary...." some months ago, I was happy to stumble upon "Coventry" by Helen Humphries. What a treasure of a book. There's a lifetime packed into it, though it is, on the surface, only about the bombing of Coventry. The author said her descriptions came from eyewitness accounts from both Coventry and Baghdad.
Amazing book.
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Readers and Reading
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I don't know how to find our earlier mention of the above title, JoAnn, but I did finish it and repeat I didn't like the author's sense of humor. Yes there was a halfway tender scene as the book ends, but I already didn't like the characters, their wise mouths, the whole caricature. No, I'm not losing my sense of humor....I hope!
Lois