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[[deleted user]]

Great title. I take it's historical fiction?

[Paul]

It is. Its set in 12th century England around a village run by a pagan group.

[Paul]

I meant the 14th.century. I'm having a slow brain day.

[[deleted user]]

No bother. I have plenty of those. I'd like to know how that works out, Paul. Let me know what you think.

[Paul]

Company of Liars, Maitlands first book is well worth a read as well if your ever stuck

[[deleted user]]

I've just added it. :)

[Paul]

Good plan.

[Sara]

I've finally been able to steal enough reading time in my busy schedule to finish Sabriel for my fantasy book group.

"So my final verdict on this one is that it is a damn fine book. I enjoyed it quite a bit and would have loved it as a teen. It takes what is a fairly standard YA fantasy plot, "teen to young 20 something goes on a journey, encounters challenges, defeats Evil, and learns about life, love, and death," and adds some interesting twists. Chief among them are an interesting system of magic and religion (necromancy with bells). I was most into the bits that showed Sabriel when she is performing her duties/roles as Abhorsen. The book does a good job at showing a character who is taking on a very adult role while still being very young and a times unsure.

On the negative side despite the pacing being generally good, there was a bit that dragged a little (at the 40% to 50% mark approximately). The dialogue at times was also stilted.

Finally, the mark of a good first book in a trilogy or series, is that it makes me want to read the next one. Sabriel did that."

Next up I will be reading as much of Blindsight as I can before my science fiction book group on Thursday. I suspect that won't be all of it, as I'm quite busy working on my friend's political campaign, and Blindsight is not the type of book to be gobbled.

On audio (at the gym and in the car), I'm listening to Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America. I'm finding it hilarious, although it's definitely crude in many places and not the kind of thing that is to everyone's tastes. For reference purposes, John Waters directed films like Hairspray and Pink Flamingos. He's also from Baltimore.

[Sara]

I've been meaning to read some Maitland Paul. What do you think I should start with?

[Paul]

This is only my second one Sara but I loved Company of Liars. The characters are brilliant in it.

[Diane]

@Susan. I'm sorry you are having such hot weather. Here in central Ohio it has been a great spring.Where are you located?

[Barbara]

Glad we got off the weather topic as it's d#*# depressing once it gets hot.

I have 300 pages of reading to do this week related to a training I'm involved with. Heavy theoretical stuff. It is keeping me from much other reading until Friday and the weekend. I think I will find a silly short book to read and add to my books read list so I can 'count' my work related reading:)

[Susan]

Diane, I'm in N. Calif. about 3 hours north of SF. I have friends going to Ohio this week for a family reunion. I'll tell them the weather is nice.

Sorry, Barbara, for harping on the weather. I will try to avoid it.

[Sean]

I have recently finished Frank McCourt's ANGELA'S ASHES. It was my second bout with McCourt's Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography and once again I found myself both absorbed and moved by the story. Often when I like (or hate) a book or movie, I will sneak a peek at the assorted reviews and browse the opinions of the multitude of readers who disagree with me. It is, I suppose, a kind of penance I feel I must undergo for my giddy, literary enjoyments and my own miserable Irish Catholic childhood. ANGELA'S ASHES is just such a book. For every reader who sounds a note of praise for McCourt's memoir, there is another who damns both the book and its author. The selected responses of the goodreads readers is a prime example. Nevertheless, I have remembered the book fondly and my regard for ANGELA'S ASHES and Frank McCourt's extraordinary writing remains unshaken.

There's so much to admire in McCourt's recollection of his impoverished childhood in Limerick. The unrelenting poverty, death and despair that resided at the heart of of the book is skillfully offset with great humor and surprising compassion. McCourt does for Limerick what James Joyce did for Dublin with his detailed descriptions of the sodden lanes and smokey tenements. As a writer, Frank McCourt effortlessly captures the character of young Frankie with a convincing mix of innocence and guile. It is a carefully measured journey propelled by the boy's keenly observant commentary of growing up in circumstances that are nearly impossible for the reader to imagine. Here's young Frankie in his tattered clothes and broken boots attempting to rouse his jobless, alcoholic father out of the pub where he has gone to drink away the dole money. And here's Frankie nestled in the same father's lap relishing their morning time together with tales of brave Cuchulain who all know saved Ireland. There's Frankie's long-suffering mother, Angela of those Ashes, burying her dead infants, begging a sheep's head for Christmas dinner and battling the growing despair that surrounds them all. And its all topped with cast of Limerick characters that would frighten Charles Dickens. As Frank McCourts tells us in the memorable opening passage of ANGELA'S ASHES, it's a wonder Frankie survived it at all.

As a thoroughly integrated Irish American raised in a solidly middle class Irish American family, I must admit to finding a few disturbing similarities between my comfortable Yankee upbringing and the utter impoverishment of the McCourt family. There were, of course, a bevy of Irish aunties and uncles and cousins whose assorted eccentricities bordered on the psychotic. My mother suffered through it all including Notre Dame's successive losing seasons with legendary strength and patience. My father worked hard, enjoyed success, but maintained a fondness for Irish whiskey. While I don't recall him ever demanding that I die for Ireland, I do remember some late night choruses of 'Kevin Berry' though he forgot most of the words. Like young Frankie, I survived the hard-knuckled admonishments of nuns, Christian Brothers and Jesuits. I too discovered poetry, Shakespeare, Guinness, and girls.

Re-reading ANGELA'S ASHES brought back a lot of memories. While my world was very different from the McCourts, some of those ashes were very familiar. It also made me consider how much books and reading have meant to me through the years. I am proud of the Irish love of the spoken and written word and of their great literary tradition. It's a priceless gift and exactly what I would expect from a book that is as memorable as ANGELA'S ASHES.

[J.S.]

Hope you posted that review, Sean. Enjoyed it, brought back memories of the scenes.

[Diane]

Wow, what a wonderful review. While I have nothing in my upbringing that can even faintly compare, Frank McCourt's writing made me ache for Frankie and his family. Usually books filled with so much misery are horribly depressing but, as you pointed out, the humor and compassion aptly offset the despair.

[[deleted user]]

@Sara. I'll have to bump Sabriel up the pecking order on my to-read list. I think it'll give me a.necessary change of the direction in the next few weeks.

@Sean. Thanks for sharing that wonderful review with us.

[Susan]

Sean, that was one of the best reviews I've read on the book. I heard Frank McCourt speak when he released 'Tis. He was a marvelous speaker and held the audience in the palm of his hand for almost 2 hours.

[Allan]

I thoroughly enjoyed both 'Tis and Teacher Man, but have never read my copy of Angela's Ashes-I think I might soon, though, based on that review, Sean. :)

[Seraphina]

I think Harris, like a lot of people from Limerick, were annoyed with McCourt because they felt the picture he depicted of Limerick wasn't accurate. Not that times weren't hard, more that his version and descriptions were more fiction than fact. These people grew up in Limerick at the time, I know people who lived in those areas in the time he is writing his story who dispute his story completely.
And I know people enjoy this book but I would say that it's a story not a memoir.

[[deleted user]]

I got mad at Harris for being a walking, negative, Irish stereotype.

[J.S.]

Yes. The country of the Squinting Windows.

How dare McCourt mention the poverty, the endless Limerick rain, and the alcohol thing. And all the walking wounded. It was hard enough to maintain strict Silence about what the Church got up to in dark corners, then McCourt writes a f*n tell-all of his childhood. How dare he? Well he can stay in America.

[ The above is tongue in cheek, btw. ]

PS) First line refers of course to Valley Of The Squinting Windows. The Valley of the Squinting Windows

[Seraphina]

Parts of his book have been disputed by the people he mentions.
I'm not arguing that he didn't have an awful childhood because his father was a drunk but if you research it a bit further local people have defended his mother who he depicts in a not so great light. They also say that Frank and his brothers didn't treat her well. But as you say it is his perspective being told.
And also some of the people mentioned weren't even real. The woman mentioned in his first sexual experience is said to have been dead at the time so if what he says is true then yes he truly had the most miserable childhood ever having sex with dead people.....
(Tongue in cheek)

[J.S.]

2 irish in the room, 6 opinions, is all I'm saying.

ETA: the flap started soon after his novel came out. It's been wet and wild every time I've been in Limerick which overall has the charm of New Ross: grey, grimy, and grim.

The Angela's Ashes flap was rather like the demonstrations here (USA) against the film, The Magdalene Sisters, though that was mostly good oirishamerican Catholics who could not imagine in their wildest dreams that any part of the film was true. At the time I had a property only 10 km or so from one of the locations, so I didn't say much here or there.

[Susan]

Every body has their own truth. I know my daughter has vastly different memories of her childhood than I do. People, years later, say his story is untrue. I think it was true for him. People do get defensive about their home. I remember when I went to Louisiana and found a scene right out of Tobacco Road. I couldn't believe anyone in America lived like that. Sometimes we just don't see it.

[Seraphina]

I think we'll just have to agree to disagree about this one.

[[deleted user]]

That's a massive haul of books, Theresa. I hope you got a good bargain?

[Trelawn]

I love that Waterstones, i strolled round it the last time I was in London. I was much less impressed with Foyle's. It seemed so generic like it could be any store. There was no soul to it, nothing unique. I was kinda dosappointed in Charing Cross Road in general wrt books. All the tourist books hail it as a book lovers paradise. I only bought one book. Much preferred Waterstones, Hatchards and the shops in Cecil Court.

[Paul]

Trelawn, they moved Foyles to New premises. it'll be interesting to see if its any improvement.

[Paul]

Nice haul Theresa. I couldn't go to Charing Cross without hitting the collectors shops of Cecil Court which Trelawn mentioned. Its also Diagon alley in the HP films so worth a look.:-)

[[deleted user]]

@Trelawn. I always liked Waterstones as a general rule. Their shops are lovely places to be.

@Theresa. London can make Dublin look like the arse-end of nowhere. I love London.

[Trelawn]

@ Theresa I'll reserve judgement on the new Foyles. I'll check it out when I get back to London. I was in Blackwells in Oxford and it was lovely.

@ Declan I agree re Waterstones, there's a gorgeous one in Oxford just down from Blackwells on the corner. They always have a lovely setup and I love there shelf edge recommendations by the staff.

[Paul]

I miss Dublins Waterstones. The London and Oxford ones are fantastic as is Blackwell in Oxford. I love the feel if Hatchards as well. I don't think bookshops in Dublin quite compare, even the ones I love.

@Theresa. Wow. But you've read the books of course.:-)

[Paul]

I miss Dublins Waterstones. The London and Oxford ones are fantastic as is Blackwell in Oxford. I love the feel if Hatchards as well. I don't think bookshops in Dublin quite compare, even the ones I love.

@Theresa. Wow. But you've read the books of course.:-)

[[deleted user]]

@Trelawn. I forgot about the recommendations. That's the reason I read Star of the Sea. I might never have bothered otherwise.

@Paul. As much as I loved Waterstones I always preferred Chapters.

[Paul]

Chapters is great but loved the choice between the two

[Allan]

Theresa, I love to hear of a successful book shopping trip-I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the books you have purchased! :)

[Paul]

London is quite the book city Emma. Well worth it

[Trelawn]

@ Emma i have heard tell of a book market on the Strand in London. I haven't been to it but it's on my list for my next London trip.

[Paul]

@Emma its so true
I'm nearly planning my next visit as one is finishing.

[Trelawn]

I'm a little late to the party but I'm gonna start The Martian. I just finished The Rosie Project which was a fast, really fun read. Staring at my shelves nothing was jumping out at me so I've decided to venture outside my comfort zone. We'll see how it goes :-)

[Sara]

A two part question: (1) Do folks quit books they aren't enjoying? (2) If so, at what point do you pack it in? (3) If so, do you guilty about it?

I started Blindsight by Peter Watts earlier this month for my science fiction book group, and tried several times to get into it, but just couldn't. It was simply too dense for the amount of reward I thought it promised. I suspect it also just wasn't what I was in the mood for right now. I didn't hear anything when I went to the book club tonight that made me want to keep reading, so I quit it. Now I feel slightly guilty about it.

[Paul]

I have in the rare occassion discarded a book but it has to be really bad. I ditched Ulysses, most do, and AS Byatts The Children's Book.

[Allan]

I rarely ditch a book, Sara, but only because I have the choice of what I am reading, unlike you with your book club. I did give up on the recent DW Wilson novel though, mainly because I was bored, and due to the fact that it had taken me a week to read 100 pages. The only guilt I felt was that I had spent my money purchasing it!

[Paul]

Emma. I managed to finish the Casual Vacancy. You were probably right to stop

[J.S.]

*sigh* Truly miss the booksellers there, and the small publishers who offer unique, quality titles. Am talking more the Irish publisher entities rather than those in the UK who unfortunately emulate the assembly line approach these days.

In that vein, just dinged a new title. Usually try to be circumspect with reviewing online, but --- see
People of the Morning Star .

[J.S.]

Sara wrote: "A two part question: (1) Do folks quit books they aren't enjoying? (2) If so, at what point do you pack it in? (3) If so, do you guilty about it?

I started Blindsight by Peter Watts earlier this m..."

1. Occasionally. 2. Within first 50 pages. 3. NO

[Sara]

So over the past two days I have bought 8 new books. I will share them all in an attempt to make the rest of you feel better about your book buying habits

The Way We Never Were: American Families & The Nostalgia Trap by Stephanie Coontz. I read about this on a friend's blog I believe, and, deciding to be good, checked it out from the library. Lo and behold, I found that someone had written and highlighted in it extensively, completely killing my ability to read it. Barbara can attest to how bad it was. So I ordered a copy from my local independent bookstore, and picked it up last night while there for my science fiction and fantasy book clubs.

The next six books come to me courtesy of the quarterly member sale at the same independent book store where everything is 20% off. I managed to be quite thrifty though and only paid $56 and change for the six.

In the remainder section I got:

Third Class Superhero by Charles Yu. @Declan or @Paul or other fans of science fiction or fantasy might like this one.

Under Wildwood by Colin MeloyThis is the followup to Barbara's Secret Santa gift to me back in December.

The Barrytown Trilogy by Roddy Doyle I was excited to see this. $6.95 (before the 20% discount) is a steal for three books...especially by Doyle.

In new books were:

A Dance for Dragons by George R.R. Martin. I think I will be reading this as one humongous book combined with Feast for Crows in the chapter reading order I found online.


The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany. This is apparently a fantasy classic which is why my fantasy book club choose it as our selection for July. Since it's a book club book, it would have been 20% off anyway, but it was nice to go ahead and get it. It's one of only recent picks for that club that hasn't been available at the library, so I don't feel too put out buying it.

Finally, I picked up Volume 2 of District Lines which is a literary magazine put out by the independent bookstore Barbara and I go. I quite enjoyed the first volume and hope this one will be as good.

When I got home from the bookstore, my Book Depository order of A Girl Is A Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride

To somewhat compensate for my binge I returned about 6 books to the library while only picking up 2 new ones.

[Colleen]

J.S. wrote: "Sara wrote: "A two part question: (1) Do folks quit books they aren't enjoying? (2) If so, at what point do you pack it in? (3) If so, do you guilty about it?

I started Blindsight by Peter Watts e..."

I read several books at a time and if I'm not liking it I leaving it hanging there and go back to it later and read so more and at some point I finish it but at that point it doesn't get a very high rating but I finished it. I have to finish it at some point because it might get better and someone took the time to write it. I would feel guilty.

[Sara]

Oh and in honor of International Crime [Fiction] Month (did anyone else know it was International Crime Month, I didn't) the folks that put out the Noir series of anthologies had a little FREE teaser magazine booklet with stories by many authors including Edwidge Danticat. @Barbara I got a second one for you.