Goodreads Ireland discussion
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What Are You Reading
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Gavin
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Aug 28, 2014 10:46AM
ive put the word out on FB nothing yet
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I learn German at my High School but I can't read a book in German because, I'm not enough good in this language... But I have this book in French (because I'm French) and in English because I love this language and I love read books in English. It adds a kind of emotion... I don't know how to qualify it ☺
Pauline Jane Eyre is one of my favourite books. I bought myself a nice edition of it a while ago because it's a book I will reread many times.
Trelawn, which is this edition ? I have the Penguin Classics one ☺
It's a hardback published my Michael O'Mara Books. It has a grey cover that reminds me of the grey dresses Jane wears in the BBC adaptation of the story.
Gavin , I hope it works out. That edition looks great. I love buying a beautiful special edition. I spoilt myself with a cloth bound edition of Karen Maitlands new book.
Paul wrote: "Gavin ,a picture you might like of a special edition [IMG]http://i62.tinypic.com/2wbrvhx.jpg[/IMG]"
That is nice i hope they have The Revenge of Seven , when i can afford it
Yeah it should last but i dont think its aslipcase edition as well
Great stuff, Barbara! I'd noticed that you were close to your target so it's good to see you make it so much earlier than expected! Have you a revised target to hit for December now?I've about 11 or 12 books to go in my challenge, mainly thanks to the amount of audiobooks I have been getting through-I'm well ahead volume wise compared to where I was this time last year. The influence of Goodreads Ireland is mighty ! :)
Barbara wrote: "Yay!!! I reached my 2014 challenge of 100 books today! Four months ahead of schedule. I have been reading like a fiend lately as summer tv is just swful!! Reality TV has driven me to books."Congrats on reaching your goal! I just joined Goodreads last week so had no idea how many books I should put as my challenge. I said 25 but I've already finished two so may have to revise the number.
Diane wrote: "I read a quote somewhere that tv is very educating. Whenever it's on I go get a book. I can't remember who said it."
Love that quote!
Trelawn wrote: "Loved The Shell Seekers too. Loaned my copy to someone and never got it back. Might have tp get a new copy. Also loved Coming Home and Under Gemini. There's another one I loved but can't think of t..."She is one of my favourite authors. How awful to loan a book that you love and never get it back! I'm very stingy on who gets their hands on my books because of that very reason.
I am now too :-) I really do love that book, I'll have to get a new copy and do a reread.
I'm currently reading Allegiant by Veronica Roth and rereading The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel Siegel.
Great job, Barbara! I would love to be able to read often enough to claim that achievement.I loved the Shell Seekers, too. My grandmother gave me a copy of it when I was a teenager (a really long time ago) and I've read it a few times. It's one of my favorites!
September! That's the other Rosamunde Pilcher book I couldn't think of earlier.
Barbara wrote: "Yay!!! I reached my 2014 challenge of 100 books today! Four months ahead of schedule. I have been reading like a fiend lately as summer tv is just swful!! Reality TV has driven me to books."well done barbara , :D i hope to get my reading challange back on track i already had to reduce it but still have fallen behind but if get through all these books ive waiting here ( around 22 ) i could be back on track of new books in a year . are you extending that a little for the rest of the year
Trelawn wrote: "September! That's the other Rosamunde Pilcher book I couldn't think of earlier."That's it! Well done! Now I feel like having a rummage and finding my Rosamund Pilcher books! :)
Cati wrote: "Great job, Barbara! I would love to be able to read often enough to claim that achievement.I loved the Shell Seekers, too. My grandmother gave me a copy of it when I was a teenager (a really lo..."
It's so cool to find so many like souls here. I was a bit afraid that all people would read were the classics and non fiction. I do like some of both but not all the time.
Me too but I have so many other books to get to first :-)
Trelawn wrote: "Me too but I have so many other books to get to first :-)"As do I! :)
We've a good mix of tastes here Donna which keeps it interesting
I haven't read September, but I've heard many times that I need to (I just put it on hold at my library). I read Winter Solstice and loved that one, too.So many books, so little time!
I bought Winter Solstice for my nanny and she loved it, haven't read it myself. There's actually a lot of her books I haven't read.
Donna wrote: "Barbara wrote: "Yay!!! I reached my 2014 challenge of 100 books today! Four months ahead of schedule. I have been reading like a fiend lately as summer tv is just swful!! Reality TV has driven me t..."Everyone's challenge depends on so many things. I started keeping a book journal several years back just because I found myself more than once getting books I'd already read out of the library or even buying a book I'd already read. But Goodreads has made it fun to keep track of reading. I keep bringing books into the house (3 arrived today but 2 were for work) so I have to read them:)
Seraphina wrote: "@dalel, hi and welcome. I read nobody's fool by Russo and really enjoyed it. Lovely writing style. How are u finding that book?"Thank you, Seraphina. This is the first book I read by Russo, and so far, I like it. Russo's plot development is quite smooth; I like his style. I'm looking for his Pulitzer winning Empire Falls to read next.
@Trelawn, Ok, I will look for it thanks :)@Emma, I'm currently reading it in French but I have Jane Eyre in these two languages.
Ok, I will write my feelings here so.
Barbara wrote: "Donna wrote: "Barbara wrote: "Yay!!! I reached my 2014 challenge of 100 books today! Four months ahead of schedule. I have been reading like a fiend lately as summer tv is just swful!! Reality TV h..."Isn't that the worst when you check out a book that sounds good and start to read it only to realize that you have already read it? My library lets you keep a reading history in your account and that's what I do.
if anyone is interested in seeing what i own and if there signed i have it all in a file which should be fully uptodatehttps://drive.google.com/folderview?i...
Thats a nice collection. I havent read Michael Scott in years .I read Wolf Moon in my early teens. I'm assuming you're not a kindle man then. If you like the Pittacus Lore Series there's two sets of novellas printed in PB to fill the gaps between the books . They're quite good . Good look building up the signed editions. I have fun doing it . Probably have to make space at some point
Mod
Next I read in it's entirety a slim volume of translated poetry by Iraqi that I bought in Vermont. I'm fairly picky about poetry, but I enjoyed this one. The repetitive imagery, sense of ambiguity, and personification contribute to its ability to move the reader. I couldn't pick a favorite, but the one I typed up below should give you a good sense of the book as a whole.
"God's Palm Tree" by Hasab Al-Sheikh Ja'Afar (translated from the Arabic by Rebecca Carol Johnson and Dunya Mikhail.
My old robe on you waves in the north
Christ-like, and the plain taste of your dates
taken by the ravens and the wind heavy with dust,
scatter over it from sunrise to evening,
its shadow a banner of defeat.
Where are the children
climbing like birds to the sky?
Before our arms turned rigid, scorched by the midday heat
we would extend to you our little hands
in a plea for the world to rain gifts
and to taste, before the birds come, dates
shining like mirrors, upon a luxurious bed of grass
in your bright shade covered with morning dew.
O god's only palm tree in the wind,
every night you fill my long solitude with tears
so I rise, I come to you...but I only embrace the tall shade, I only touch the dust.
As alone as your trunk, a shadow bruned by absence,
I dry out like a pale star or a twig.
"O palm tree in the wind," I used to say, "O my desiring heart,
after a year or more I will return to her with
my own stumbling steps, for everything I lost remains in her
hands.
If I return what would remain of you? In your body?"
The summer nights were heavy with singing your heavy branches in the wind.
And I would appear with my eyes closed,
one of your buds a heaven of coiled leaves, shining in green,
I wake up in a rush before the birds, and in my hands the water of the summer night to pour upon you.
So if I come what would remain of you but ashes
in our deserted hut, and the soughing wind in the ravine that sweeps my papers away. Was it all in vain my longing?
Oh palm tree in the wind, our eyes are strained with waiting,
we watch the days and count the ripened fruit
as the sun drop[s and the rain falls on you
the shining dates fill our little hands like candles.
So what if I return what would remain of you? And what would remain
of me?
The children grew up and so did the playful world, but I used to say, "O palm tree in the wind: O my eager heart...
So if I return what would remain of you? What would
remain in your body.
It reminded me of The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. I also like that for each poem, a brief author biography and cultural context are given. I read each poem at least twice, one before reading the biography and once after.
Next, I finished the sixth book in the 44 Scotland Street series. There's not much to be said about it, other than in was perfectly delightful and the perfect thing to read on vacation.
Finally I read more of the Duberman book. I'm about 60% of the way through, but it's a hard book (in that it's sad) to read too much of at once.
Thanks for the updates, Sara! I have to admit that I'm a philistine when it comes to poetry, so I admire your reading breadth!I have to admit that I feel that I've entered a bit of a reading slump over the last week-didn't like one book, couldn't finish another one, and haven't got far over the last couple of days with my current one. Hopefully it'll pass-I'm putting it down to a 'back to work' hangover. :-/
Sara, I am so sorry you were disappointed in Outlander. They did have a LOT of sex but what else is there to do? There were very few books, no TV, no electricity. Nothing else to do. I, too, admire the amount of research she put into it. Are you watching the series by any chance? It's very good.Allan, you are probably in a slump in anticipation of the football season starting. I see you pacing the house now wondering how you will keep up with all the games. It's either that or Sons Of Anarchy is starting 9/9 and you are wondering how many guns NI will send to us gun poor Californians.
Emma, it is been documented that birth rates soar after prolonged power outages.
Sara - thank you for the poem as it gives me a good sense of what the Iraqi poetry book is like. It reminds me of Neruda's love poems and I have to say as much as I love Seamus Heaney, Neruda is my favorite poet.Allan- for those of us who work in education, returning to teaching can be a shock to the system. I know many people have very short holidays and little time off so it's hard to sympathize. And it's not like you sat on your duff and read all summer.
Paul wrote: "Thats a nice collection. I havent read Michael Scott in years .I read Wolf Moon in my early teens. I'm assuming you're not a kindle man then. If you like the Pittacus Lore Series there's two sets o..."no i'm not much of a digital reader tried it twice and ended up buying the books i got digitally lol and will eventually get those i haven't got my hands on . Oh i've heard of them and will need to get them eventually.
thanks , 53 are signed / personalised , and also one Rare Misprinted one, three advance reader copes. Note the count does include multiple copies of certain books :P
Ive multiples of a few as well. Has to be done to keep the rare copies safe.I've a few ARCs/Proofs as well . I like trying to figure out if anything has changed. I'll have to do a list like yours to catalog what editions i have for my collectables
Susan wrote: "Sara, I am so sorry you were disappointed in Outlander. They did have a LOT of sex but what else is there to do? There were very few books, no TV, no electricity. Nothing else to do. I, too, admire..."Susan, I got Starz just to be able to watch the Outlander series. I am a huge Diana Gabaldon fan. At first I was having a problem with Clare but she is starting to grow on me. Looking forward to Episode 4 tonight!
Donna, I am thrilled to have someone enjoy Outlander with. I meet at a friends house and five of us watch it together. I love Clare's neck. It's like a swan's.Barbara, of course Allan did not sit on his duff. He was sliding in Spain and luxuriating at the Shelbourne. And with all that going on, he managed to paint something in a house that was supposedly all painted out. :). I am sure it was a welcome change of pace to go back to work after that tough, tough summer. :)
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Here's a review of it on a science fiction/fantasy book review site. Most bookstores, online retailers, I've seen classify/shelve it in the fantasy section. It occurs to me though upon reading the first three stories, that it seems to have elements of magic realism (if I'm defining magic realism right). Barbara or someone else more familiar with magic realism, how is defined? It's interesting to me that I've come across quite a few people who don't like the fantasy genre but do read more "literary" novels with magic realism.
Susan, it can be a hard life in the summer as a teacher alright!
I just finished a fantasy called Queen of Dark Things so I'm going for a couple of shorter books to follow up. I'm going to read Carmilla after a brief conversation reminded me of it during the week . It will prep me for the release of Anne Rices Prince Lestat next month.
I'm also going to read the new short Karen Maitland , Liars and Thieves.
I just finished The Late Scholar, a Peter Wimsey written by Jill Paton Walsh. It was a very good read. I always enjoy a return to the world of Peter and Harriet, particularly when they're visiting Oxford. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gadkell is up next.
Well, I just finished the The Commitments followed by the The Snapper and now I'm onto The Van and then Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. The Commitments and the Snapper were a hoot. I hope the rest are as good and that being nominated/winning the Booker Prize has changed his style. :-)
I don't now what you'll make of Paddy Clarke Ha, Ha, Ha, Diane, but it's a personal favourite of mine. I hope you enjoy it.
Declan - I haven't read Paddy Clarke Ha,Ha,Ha yet but you are spurring me on. No excuse as I own a copy.Diane - you are right - these books are so funny. The films are good too. Unfortunately, it seems we can't get The Committments nor The Van here in the US on DVD. Maybe that will change.
Donna - like you, I also added Starz to my cable lineup just to watch Outlander. I am finding it slow moving, and not enthralled with Claire, but love the scenery, backdrop, the Gaelic and the music. Some of the music seems not to be Scottish bagpipes - some sounds like uilleann pipes or even English small pipes. I want to look into the music more. And in last night's episode, the men were playing what looked like hurling - need to look that up too to see if it's historically accurate. I am loving the few knitted pieces I've seen such as Claire's little knitted capelet last night and the cowl in last episode (apologies to non-knitters). There is a new series coming up later in the season with the Northern Irish actor James Nesbitt, The MIssing, though he seems to have more hair. No problem. Either way he is good looking and an excellent actor.
Susan - I am not sure who had more time off - me or Allan. But I think he was more productive with his painting. And remember, his house has a new kitchen. Maybe they'll put it on one of those show-off-my-house design shows :) Just kidding - that's all anyone needs is camera crews tramping all over the place.
@Barbara. It's hard for me to.predict how people will respond to it, as the main reason I like it is because it's a great depiction of childhood in working class Dublin at the time. I'm confident you'll like it, though, as it was so well-received on its release. I also think that Doyle nailed Paddy's voice.
@Theresa. It's great to have you back.
@Theresa. It's great to have you back.
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