Goodreads Ireland discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
What Are You Reading
Allan wrote: "I hope you have a good time at the wedding today, Seraphina! I was getting brake pads replaced this morning, and having forgotten to bring a book, ended up browsing Amazon and buying 3 more second ..."I kick myself when I don't have anything to read. I was at the eye doctor's and my phone was dead so I couldn't read. I had my plug but alas, few places to plug in. Sometimes I have a physical book with me, and always when I travel. Reading and listening to music really runs down the battery and when traveling, you have to shut off devices...Sometimes reading helps me to stop wondering about all the people sitting there staring into space. Really??? I don't mean to be judgmental, but anything would be better than doing nothing.
I am currently listening to Half a Yellow Sun - a Nigerian novel, reading The Power of Habit (physical book) and an e-book Well Considered. The last is for my book club on the last Saturday of the month. It is written by a local writer who comes to the group. He and especially his wife have been pushing his books since the book club started about a year ago. Fortunately it is an interesting story, and the writing is decent, but I can see why it was self-published. The characters are pretty one-dimensional especially the white rednecks.
@Sara. Best of luck with the conference I'm sure everything will go brilliantly. And thanks for the compliment about my versatility.
Re. Game of thrones: Besides the dragons there is the Red Witch, The magicians in the city liberated by Daenerys Targaryen and the White Walkers. Bran also has a the power of mind control. Daenerys is also fireproof and a witch put a curse on Khal Drogo which killed him and his unborn son. The long winter also gives it its own flavour that distinguishes it from medieval Europe.
Re. Game of thrones: Besides the dragons there is the Red Witch, The magicians in the city liberated by Daenerys Targaryen and the White Walkers. Bran also has a the power of mind control. Daenerys is also fireproof and a witch put a curse on Khal Drogo which killed him and his unborn son. The long winter also gives it its own flavour that distinguishes it from medieval Europe.
@ Sara, Thanks for the recommendation Sara, I was wondering which Atwood book I should try next. Good luck at/for the conference, what's the theme? Sorry, you may have already explained all this previously.@Barbara, sometimes I need to just sit there and not "do" something? At times, if I am constantly reading and "doing things", I feel I need to take time to wind down and just "be" without stimulation and I probably look like those people in the waiting room, staring into space!
@Barbara - "Half a Yellow Sun" is on my shelf to read, hear it's quite harrowing but a good read.
Mod
"I thought that the material covered in this might be too repetitive of what's in the t.v. show, but I found that there was definitely enough new material to engage with. The author had a strong voice and didn't hold back. It was also nice to get several "takes" on one particular type of situation. This was most clear in the chapters that dealt with white women who been unfaithful to their husbands with a man of a difference race (which in the late 1950s East End of London would have been much more uncommon and highly frowned up). At least in Season 1 of the t.v. show, one incidence of this is shown, but the book lays out three each with a different conclusion. Finally the books goes into the background of the nuns and lay nurses in greater detail. You clearly get the sense that they are driven by a sense of vocation, and the book also starts to hint at the main character (the author herself)'s search for God and a deeper meaning in her life. I will definitely be reading the second and third volumes of this memoir."
It also talks a bit about the importance of the development of the National Health Service in post-WW2 England.
Finally, it's funny seeing what Goodreads will recommend to you based on your "currently reading shelf." While I was reading Call The Midwife, Goodreads recommended many many other books about midwives to me as well as manuals on how to give birth...not things that I would normally think of reading!
Great review, Sara. It's no wonder the show is so popular, by the sound of things.
And it's being deliberately avoided because of that. Game of Thrones starts back in just over a week, and that'll be the focus of my TV viewing.
Sara, Miranda Hart who plays the midwife was doing her standup show in Belfast last night-not my thing, but a colleague was going. I'm glad that you enjoyed the book.Re Goodreads recommendations, I've recently bought the Studs Lonigan trilogy, written in the 30s by James Farrell on the strength of seeing it on the recommendations, but some of their recommendations are way off...
Mod
What's the Studs Lonigan trilogy about?
The Goodreads recommendations can be very hit and missI've seen some really strange ones.
Sara-I wouldn't be a massive fan of standup either, but I think Miranda was a pretty big draw in Belfast. Re the Farrell, although the edition that I got is different to this one, the blurb will explain better than I can about the Studs Lonigan trilogy.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
I've actually just started reading the first book in another series, the Albany Cycle, a series of books by William Kennedy, which are set around the time of the Depression-I was turned onto these by Willy Vlautin as Ironweed, one of the cycle, is his favourite ever book.
I remember I got recommendations based off of my wipe-your-arse shelf. They were pretty way off.
Nice idea for a shelf.I'm currently reading a bit of historical fiction -
Stormbird by Conn Iggulden. Its a pretty decent version of the war of the roses so far. Characters are well drawn and its much more historically accurate than igguldens Roman books where. Half way through and really enjoying it.
Oooh! It sounds like something I could get my teeth into. Don't forget to tell us how it works out.
Hi FriendsHaven't been around here much recently, but I just started our current read, The Free. And I'm also in the middle of Women by Charles Bukowski who I always wanted to try.
Here are quick reviews of the last 6 books I read:
http://www.johnbraine.com/2014/04/a-f...
Cheers for the reviews. I've been curious about the Rosie Project. Sound good.Started Harlequin by Bernard Cornwell. Been a little while since I've read any of his stuff so looking forward to it.
Mod
John, I'm really interested to find out what you think of 'Women' by Bukowski. I've read all his novels, a number of his short story collections and a couple of poetry anthologies over the years, but found this one really hard going-if I remember rightly, his alter ego Chinaski is particularly loathsome in this one. Seeing this post has made me want to revisit Bukowski's books, saying that...
It is an amazing book, I read it a few years ago for the Dublin"One City, One Book" for that year. I love Oscar Wilde's plays and The Ballad of Reading Gaol but the style of Dorian Gray is completely different. It is a compelling read, i hope you enjoy the rest of it.
@Jamie Lynn I absolutely agree. I saw an all male production of it a few years ago and it was amazing. I also love An Ideal Husband.
@John. I remember the Lefave case from a few years back, mostly because of South Park's lampooning of the whole thing. This kind of interests me but I can't imagine actually putting myself through the trouble of reading it. I think I'll give The Rosie Project a go, though. I haven't heard a lot about it either. Maybe it'll shield me from any hype. Loved The Guts, by the way.
@Gerry. I added the Snowden Files after your initial post. I hope it's as good as it sounds.
Re. Dorian Gray. It was the first book recommendation I got on GR. A great start, for sure. :)
@Gerry. I added the Snowden Files after your initial post. I hope it's as good as it sounds.
Re. Dorian Gray. It was the first book recommendation I got on GR. A great start, for sure. :)
@ LMM thank you :-) it' s the name of a character from a book i loved years ago. Glad you enjoyed Dorian Gray.
Declan wrote: "@John. I remember the Lefave case from a few years back, mostly because of South Park's lampooning of the whole thing. This kind of interests me but I can't imagine actually putting myself through ..."Oh - interesting! I made no connection between Tampa and a real-world event before you mentioned it. I ended up at this review which is pretty much spot on: http://www.tampabay.com/features/book...
Allan wrote: "John, I'm really interested to find out what you think of 'Women' by Bukowski."
Verdict still out. About 1/4 left. I know I'm supposed to hate him but as is often the case with despicable characters, I don't really, for some odd reason. I'll try and figure this out in my head and get back to you!
Jamie Lynn wrote: "Nice to see you John! :)"
Thanks :) - you too.
Paul wrote: "Started Harlequin by Bernard Cornwell."
Not familiar with him. I'll check him out.
@John Bernard Cornwell is probably most famous for the Sharpe books which spawned the series with Sean Bean. He writes other series, some pre Norman England and the one that I'm reading is set around the 100 year war. He's worth a look if you've any interest in Military Historical fiction
Predawn who's in here just finished that book. she might have some insight for you
Sorry I meant Trelawn.my autospell took over
@ LMM the book was A Little Love Song by Michelle Magorian. There was a character called Alec Trelawn who owned a seaside bookshop during WW2. He was my first book crush, well tied with Rochester actually :-)
I think she is probably most famous for writing Goodnight Mr Tom about a young boy evacuated from London during the war. It was made into a tv series starring John Thaw. The book features on the Junior Cert syllabus as far as I know.
@John. Bancroft mentions everything I might have feared about starting a book like that. It sounds extremely vapid.
@ LMM I hope you like it. I've reread it a few times and still enjoy it as much as I did the first time. It's an easy read.
Trelawn wrote: "I think she is probably most famous for writing Goodnight Mr Tom about a young boy evacuated from London during the war. It was made into a tv series starring John Thaw. The book features on the Ju..."This is the dvd I recommended a few weeks ago, Jamie Lynn.
Mod
I have some stuff to do Saturday and Sunday before having some minor outpatient surgery Monday, however I do plan to try to use DEAR day as an excuse to read more! I want to delve into more multicultural poetry, get further into The Free (only on chapter 5, but loving the characters so far) , and rereading Storm of Swords (the third Game of Thrones book).
Such a good idea for a Day. I finished The Bernard Cornwell. Great book but all his are. Those enjoying The Vikings in the other thread would probably enjoy the fast paced battle scenes in his books.
Going for a very different type book now. The Martian has moved to the waiting pile in case we pick it as book of the month so I'm starting Douglas Adams The Restaraunt at the End of the Universe for day time reading and Kate Mosse The Mistletoe Bride for bedtime reading. The second is a book of atmospheric ghost stories and she has a lovely style of writing so I'm looking forward to it
On the train to cork. Some quality reading time ahead. @Allan and Declan, I'm loving unspoken so far. It has me giggling away at the familiar language and just the pure Irishness of it. A fun book so far
@Jamie Lynn. if you like atmospheric ghost stories try Kate Mosse The Winter Ghosts. very good book.
Jamie Lynn wrote: "I'm finally listening to an audio book. I got a ton of house work done today while listening to "The Woman in Black." I'm already half way through the book. I read far slower than the pleasant Engl..."Another convert. Great! Welcome to a world of books you didn't previously have time for.
Sara, DEAR day sounds like your kinda day! I hope you're managing to use your time well in getting further through the books you have mentioned, and that everything goes well for you on Monday.Seraphina, I'm glad that you're enjoying Unspoken so far, though I'm not surprised. I was trying to sell the book's merits again to Barbara yesterday-the more people that read it the better. I'm amazed that both books weren't a bigger deal in the south, given their underlying commentary on the latest bust, but I suppose you can't have everything!
Jamielynn, I'm glad that the audiobook is going well for you-you'll never look back now you've started listening!
As for me, I'm aiming to finish Tao Lin's 'Taipei', which came out to critical acclaim last year but which I'm finding rather annoying at present, before starting into Steinbeck's 'The Wayward Bus', and possibly one of the DC based books that Barbara kindly brought over for me. That's all dependent on how much relaxation time the city break allows, of course!
Mod
@Seraphina. I felt sure you'd enjoy it and I'm glad I was right. I can't believe so few people have read it.
@Jamielynn. I'm glad you enjoyed your first dalliance with audiobooks. I hope it wasn't too scary.
@Jamielynn. I'm glad you enjoyed your first dalliance with audiobooks. I hope it wasn't too scary.
@Allan. I bought The Wayward Bus a few weeks ago and haven't gotten around to starting it yet. I have LOADS of bus on the bedside locker vying for my attention.
Sara, Barbara kindly brought me the two Baltimore based David Simon books, Homicide and The Corner, which I'd been wanting to read for ages, as well as The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears, which I'm planning on starting after Steinbeck, and another book of short stories whose title I can't recall, but which I believe was award winning. She was far too generous!Declan, The Wayward Bus gets great reviews, which is why I decided to read it ahead of all the other Steinbecks I've bought recently. I'm hoping to start America and the Americans on audio next as well, when I'm finished Shotgun Lovesongs-apparently one of the articles is about Steinbeck's return to Ireland to trace his Hamilton heritage.
I'll try to get it in the next few weeks. I'll post my thoughts once I've finished, and hopefully you'll do the same. :)
Seraphina wrote: "On the train to cork. Some quality reading time ahead. @Allan and Declan, I'm loving unspoken so far. It has me giggling away at the familiar language and just the pure Irishness of it. A fun book ..."Who is the author of Unspoken ,the one you are reading?It seems to be a popular title.
Jamie Lynn wrote: "I'm finally listening to an audio book. I got a ton of house work done today while listening to "The Woman in Black." I'm already half way through the book. I read far slower than the pleasant Engl..."Jamielynn---Did Susan Hill write The Woman in Black? I just picked up two books of hers from the library, and they both look good. They look to be sort of gothic/spooky, not part of the Simon Serailler series.
Cathleen wrote: "Jamie Lynn wrote: "I'm finally listening to an audio book. I got a ton of house work done today while listening to "The Woman in Black." I'm already half way through the book. I read far slower tha..."Woops. Forgot the titles. They are The Small Hand and Dolly and The Mist in the Mirror
Colleen, it's great to see that you got Unspoken for such a low price. It's the first part of a two part series, which starts the day that De Valera is 'moved upstairs' to become President, and ends when Haughey becomes PM. Unspoken follows characters, both fictional and real, through the 60s, while The Effect of Her does the same with the 70s. When I read Strumpet City, I got the feeling that Stembridge had had that kind of project in mind when telling his story.
Both books are excellent, so I was surprised when I joined Goodreads to see that they weren't even on the database. Declan helped out with that one though!
I'd highly recommend both of these novels to anyone with an interest in the social and political history of Ireland at this time, adding the caveat that they're not 'heavy' books, but really easy to read and total page turners!
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Goodreads Ireland
Books mentioned in this topic
Band of Sisters (other topics)The Four Winds (other topics)
The Paris Library (other topics)
Lana's War (other topics)
Big Girl, Small Town (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Lauren Willig (other topics)Kristin Hannah (other topics)
Janet Skeslien Charles (other topics)
Anita Abriel (other topics)
C.S. Harris (other topics)
More...
On the Game of Thrones v. Mistborn front. I've enjoyed both series for different reasons. I read Game of Thrones for the political machinations and Mistborn for the unique system of magic. I'm also looking forward to reading Sanderson's Way of Kings trilogy (the second book just came out) some point.
Tara, you should read Handmaid's Tale by Atwood. It's chilling.
Everyone should read Mile Failte: The Goodreads Ireland 2013 Writing Challenge book. I'm almost done with it. The piece I'm currently on "Gaelach Taisteal" by Ted Schumpeter is blowing me away. I would have paid $2.99 for it alone! I've also be impressed by the varried styles Declan can write in, Barbara's poetry, and a few other pieces.