The Rory Gilmore Book Club discussion
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What else are you currently reading?
I started The History of Love: A Novel and I'm really enjoying it. I think I'll be able to finish this weekend and maybe start something else before school starts.
just finished The Book Thief..wow. what a powerful book.
Just started Let the Right One in and it's already got such a great feel to it!
If you like vampire novels (real vampire novels I mean, not Twilight), you should check it out. It's by John Ajvide Lindqvist, a Scandinavian author and a couple of years old, but it only recently caught my attention because it was turned into a movie that was part of some indie film festival I read about.
I plan on watching the movie also as soon as it's released here. I guess it has already been released in the States, though. I think I read something about it a while back, so if you are interested, check it out : )
I can only recommend it.
If you like vampire novels (real vampire novels I mean, not Twilight), you should check it out. It's by John Ajvide Lindqvist, a Scandinavian author and a couple of years old, but it only recently caught my attention because it was turned into a movie that was part of some indie film festival I read about.
I plan on watching the movie also as soon as it's released here. I guess it has already been released in the States, though. I think I read something about it a while back, so if you are interested, check it out : )
I can only recommend it.
I just started The Selected Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay this afternoon, and I'm absolutely devouring it. Her prose is breathtaking. I'm planning on beginning Savage Beauty, a biography of her written by Nancy Milford, as soon as I finish her poetry.
I am one of those people that has to read more than one book at a time. I think I am actively reading four books: New Moon, French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure, Thief in Retreat and Plum Lucky: Two mysteries, one fiction and one diet. I've got a few stacks of books around here that I keep browsing through also (I HAVE to finally finish The Thomas Berryman Number!!!) but I don't know how long it'll take.
Kate, I have Savage Beauty, but haven't cracked it yet. Let me know how it goes for you.
Marion, Let the Right One In sounds great. I've added it to my list. :)I just finished The Secret Life of Bees. I think I've either going to start The Catcher in the Rye or To Kill a Mockingbird (which I'm kind of sad I've never read before). We'll see which one I'm in the mood for. :)
Hannah, I read some more today and can just continue to recommend it. It's a really great book, very dark and sad, but I like it the more for it.
I read both the Catcher and To Kill A Mockingbird and can also recommend both. I liked both books very much, they were pretty great. If you are feeling more rebellious today, start the Catcher and if you crave for a feeling of home similar to in the Secret Life of Bees, read to kill a mockingbird ; )
I read both the Catcher and To Kill A Mockingbird and can also recommend both. I liked both books very much, they were pretty great. If you are feeling more rebellious today, start the Catcher and if you crave for a feeling of home similar to in the Secret Life of Bees, read to kill a mockingbird ; )
I picked up The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe this morning and polished it off in around two hours. I replaced it in the stack and brought the next one out to pick up tomorrow morning. I'm supposedly reading Anna Karenina but it's been so long since I read the first bit that I don't even know what I've read and will begin again -- sigh.
Marion, thanks for the mood descriptors on the books. :) I think I'm going to go for To Kill a Mockingbird. I think I'll feel more rebellious once school starts and I will want a (nondestructive) way to express my rebellion and not destroy my school work. :)
I picked up again The Book Thief after leaving it off in the middle before Christmas. It takes a bit of time to get used again to the mood and to the very different writing/narrating style of this book, especially after the cheery and very funny Love ina Cold Climate! (only 30 pages to go, so I guess I'll finish that very soon :-)
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On Saturday I finished A Traitor to Memory. I should have read it in October but I'd no idea that it would be so grim. Her others in the series have been less psychologically mind-bending and, well, horrifying in their endings. It was brilliantly conceived and written, but a hard one to take in the end.
On Sunday I finished The Secret Life of Bees which is too great since it's been forever since I read with the group!
Today I read the classic adventure book The Thirty-Nine Steps that Hitchcock based one of his early films on. It was a lot of fun. Then I gobbled up The Tales of Beedle the Bard for a little light fluff.
I've picked up Einstein's Dreams to finish up, then THINK (no promises) I'll finally get to The Enchanted April - so long as I'm still in the mood for it. I also want to get back to Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back in the next few days.
I'm feeling pretty good right now considering we're 12 days into the year and I have completed four books. Granted one of them was quite light and short, but the first was intense and quite long. What with having been sick and not reading for a week, I'm feeling pretty confident regarding reading goals!
Whichwaydidshego?, Einstein's Dreams is worth the read. I also really liked The Enchanted April - I hear the movie based on the book is also very good though I have not seen it myself.Pretty good for the year so far! Keep up the good reads! :)
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El, Einstein's Dreams is one of my all-time faves, so I would agree. Must reread it every now and then! I have seen both movies, the most recent one entrancing me with every nuance, every detail... I first discovered it was a book after watching the classic film of it not that long ago. I'm looking forward to it. But I'm really hungry for a couple of other books as well, including Brideshead Revisited, so I'm not sure what will go next.
Feel free to call me Michele!
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I want to read Brideshead too. But I think after I finish The History of Love, I want to read The Sound and the Fury. However, things are even more up in the air than since I've joined GoodReads because of school.
I wanted something light to read over the holidays so I picked up one of Charlaine Harris' vampire books "Dead Until Dark" and they are addictive. In one week I read 3 books...you would think that I have nothing else to do :) Quick reads and completely silly and fun!!
I'm still on my Harry Potter kick, having just finished the series the other day. I finished The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which I thought was a cute little book. Now I'm starting The Sorceror's Companion (kinda geeky, but whatever), which is kinda like an encyclopedia giving background info on stuff that JKR included in her books. I'm really looking forward to starting it today!
Gaye, those 'quick reads and completely silly and fun book' are sometimes exactly and the only thing that helps you keep your sanity! Last year I had a terribly busy time at university with tons of papers due, lots of boring and tiring reading to do, and after that I seriously felt as if my brain had dried out, and couldn't force myself to read normal intelligent books, books I would normally read, because my brain was too exhausted for that. So I went through a couple of light books, I normally wouldn't pick up, and enjoyed them just for the fun of reading, even though I knew the story/ the writing style, etc weren't that high quality or exceptional, but they restored my brain to its healthy inquisitive state, after which I was able again to read intelligent "heavy" reading material (= literature). :-)
Jess wrote: I finished The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which I thought was a cute little book. I loved the Harry Potter series, including Tales of Beadle.
I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I thought that was very good as well.
Next up, is Day Watch. It is the second in a series of russian novels. They are almost like a combination of Harry Potter and Twilight.
Finished Love in a Cold Climate, I enjoyed it, but think that The Pursuit of Love was better, and funnier. But I definitely love Nancy's style and will be reading more of her books, and books about her and her sisters.Started Far From the Madding Crowd even though I haven't finished The Book Thief yet (onyl 50 pages to go!). I couldn't wait to start reading it, and since it is a reading group book for February I better got started since it's almost 500 pages long.
Jessica, how comes you see Harry Potter and Twilight in the Night Watch Series? : D
I just loved that series and every other book by Sergej Lukianenko, in fact, but I would have never compared it to Harry Potter (too much a coming of age story, also too much of an ideal world in there.. Anton's Moscow is very dark and somber and Harry does have ideal places like the Weasleys' house) or to Twilight (can't find ANY parallels here). On my copy, it reads "The Russian Lord of the Rings" and to me, that was also just plain wrong.
I guess it's a saga of its own and can't be compared to any previous sagas.. Apart from that it sold as many copies in Russia as Twilight and Harry Potter might have in Western countries and that it's got as many followers as Lord of the Rings.
I just loved that series and every other book by Sergej Lukianenko, in fact, but I would have never compared it to Harry Potter (too much a coming of age story, also too much of an ideal world in there.. Anton's Moscow is very dark and somber and Harry does have ideal places like the Weasleys' house) or to Twilight (can't find ANY parallels here). On my copy, it reads "The Russian Lord of the Rings" and to me, that was also just plain wrong.
I guess it's a saga of its own and can't be compared to any previous sagas.. Apart from that it sold as many copies in Russia as Twilight and Harry Potter might have in Western countries and that it's got as many followers as Lord of the Rings.
How was Lolita?? I just bought this book and really want to read it!
Hmm, that's hard to say. I really liked the book in general.
The language was great, all the puns, metaphors and allegories were really funny and inventive. I also really liked Nabokov's use of French and German fragments, reflecting Humbert's Swiss background.
I didn't think it was a comedy, although the blurb on my copy and many reviews claimed it to be one.
The descriptions of Humbert's love for Dolores and how she was ruined through him (and he through her likewise) was just heartbreaking.
I enjoyed reading it, though.
The language was great, all the puns, metaphors and allegories were really funny and inventive. I also really liked Nabokov's use of French and German fragments, reflecting Humbert's Swiss background.
I didn't think it was a comedy, although the blurb on my copy and many reviews claimed it to be one.
The descriptions of Humbert's love for Dolores and how she was ruined through him (and he through her likewise) was just heartbreaking.
I enjoyed reading it, though.
Stella wrote: "Finished Love in a Cold Climate, I enjoyed it, but think that The Pursuit of Love was better, and funnier. But I definitely love Nancy's style and will be reading more of her books, and books about..."Yes you are right. I just did not know how else to explain it. In Night Watch there are witches and vampires. That's the only camparison. I guess it would have been better for me to say it is about a magical world then to compare it to those books.
I don't think it has much in common with Lord of the Rings either.There are no elves, nor are there any unique languages(like the elven language) either. Even the battle between good and evil has no comparison to the battle between middle earth and Sauron(sp? sorry, not a Lord of the Rings fan.)
Night Watch is a completey unique series and concept. I think that is why I lvoed it so much. It's very hard to come across truly unique books sometimes. I just started Day Watch and thus far it is just as catching as Night Watch. I am curious and excited to see the opposite side of things.
Currently I am reading Little Women.... It is taking longer than I would like... but I also started A Christmas Carol at Christmas and have yet to finish it. I am also wanting to start reading Time of My Life A Novel.
I am reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter on page 100. It doesn't seems an extraordinary book but itsleft me curious...
Jessica, A Christmas Carol is good? I want to read it! What are you thinking?
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I will say that we read it in December 2007 and I LOVED it. I used to hate Dickens, now I'm really looking forward to reading more of his works!
Anyway, Jessica there are discussions on it in the monthly book discussion folder if you are interested. I'm sure you will get current discussion if you decide to join in.
I'm about to start Emma for the book club discussion next month.
I am currently reading East of Eden, and am second guessing it's potential. I am a huge fan of Steinbeck's work, but I seem to be lost the point of the book. It's true I am not yet entirely into it yet, but I am hoping it speeds up a little. At parts it seems to be progressing and then it will stop. Any help? Does it get better?
Rafaela wrote: "I am reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter on page 100. It doesn't seems an extraordinary book but itsleft me curious...
Jessica, A Christmas Carol is good? I want to read it! What are you thin..."
I read The Memory Keeper's Daughter as well. I thought it was eh. It kept me engaged enough so that I finished it, but definitely not a book I would read again. I thought the chracters were a little flat...but I still enjoyed it.
whichwaydidshego? wrote: "Rafaela wrote: "A Christmas Carol is good? I want to read it! What are you thinking? "I will say that we read it in December 2007 and I LOVED it. I used to hate Dickens, now I'm really looking f..."
I have read A Chirstmas Carol and I started Dickens The Chimes, but I did not finish it this past holiday season.
I also started David Copperfield once got about halfway through and then, I never finished it. It was just so bloody long....one day maybe when I have oodles of time.... Dickens I think can be difficult to read because he uses the slang of his time. I have a hard time understanding some of the conversations between characters, and (dork that I am) I always keep a dictionary handy while reading him. :P
Oh I am really loving the Christmas Carol! I thing it is going to be a must Christmas read for me. :-)
Allie wrote: "I am currently reading East of Eden, and am second guessing it's potential. I am a huge fan of Steinbeck's work, but I seem to be lost the point of the book. It's true I am not yet entirely into it..."Allie, East of Eden was my first Steinbeck, and I liked it very much. I agree that the novel's structure is a bit haltinga nd bumpy, it doesn't flow that clearly, it is a bit like a puzzle, but I liked it exactly for that unique layered complexity, that it was so different from other books and storytellings. I think you should persevere, if I remember correctly I was also struggling until up to the first half, and after that I couldn't put it down (it helped that I was reading it in summer).
I'm reading Far From the Madding Crowd, this is my first Hardy novel, and I like it. Hardy has a very distinct voice, which would be loveley to read in a snowy winter night by the fire or just on the couch in a warm room. His narrative transports me back to Christmas time, his storytelling is so not hurried and the tranquility of the country and the country folks' particular ways transports me into such a quiet and desert place. His use of the English language is very interesting he uses unheard past tenses e.g "seed" instaed of "saw" and "knowed" instead of "knew". I guess he is a bit similar to what you wrote about Dickens, he uses a special vocabulary maybe of his time or maybe the country dialect, which is difficult to understand.
whichwaydidshego? wrote: "I will say that we read it in December 2007 and I LOVED it. I used to hate Dickens, now I'm really looking forward to reading more of his works!"I have to admit I never read Dickens!
It is embarrassing to say, but...
Here in Brazil there are very encouraged by the national literature and little interest in foreign classic books. Any way, I have A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations, which probably will be read in the coming weeks.
Which seems the most suitable for my first Dickens?
Rafaela, I think A Christmas Carol is perfect for a first-time Dickens reader. It's shorter than most of his work and helps put you in the right frame of mind to read more. I loved Great Expectations and Oliver Twist, and while I enjoyed David Copperfield while I was reading it, I had to put it down to do other things going on in my life at the time and I have yet had the chance to pick it up again.
El, Thanks! I forgot to mention that I also have Oliver Twist!
After "Emma" I will have my "Dickens initiation "!
Right now, i'm beginning to read Beowulf, nad have just finished Waifs and Strays by Charles DeLint. i always adore whatever DeLint writes, it's so imaginative and relatable.
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Do any of you ever have a book where whenever you are reading it you are really into it and interested, but when you put it down you aren't really motivated to pick it up?I had that problem with Even Cowgirls Get the Blues when I read it about seven years ago. But then it was the only Tom Robbins book I was able to make it through entirely, so I must just be anti-Robbins.
I'm currently reading Song of Solomon and enjoying it a lot. Toni Morrison has always been one of those authors I've been reluctant to read (bad Beloved-reading experience in college), but I am glad I finally decided to read Solomon.
whichwaydidshego?, That's how I've been with Anna Karenina. I haven't picked it up since December. You're not the only one. That's something I've loved about this site: learning my reading habits and quirks aren't all that weird.
whichwaydidshego? wrote: "Do any of you ever have a book where whenever you are reading it you are really into it and interested, but when you put it down you aren't really motivated to pick it up? I think it's a first for..."That is kind of how I felt about David Copperfield and it was the reason I never finished it.
I find I am very mood oriented with my books. I will pick up a fantasy book and start reading it and then in the middle of it I might have a hankering for a more classic setting like Pride and Prejudice. That's how I end up in the middle of like three books at once. :D
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Yes, that's true about me as well... I am also a very mood oriented reader. I guess that's what's weird. I'm in the mood for it, but don't seem to go there.
Being a "mood reader" started in university (double major, one being Lit.), though, because I wanted to keep reading for pleasure but often couldn't stay focused from one day to the next, my reading moods varying by extremes. Before that, I pretty much read books straight through... but then again, what was I reading before that? LOL
Anyway, I kept the habit of mood reading and kind of like that about me!
Whichwaydidshego? I have had that same problem with the last 4 months... I don't know if it is the books I am reading or a funk I am in...
Whichwaydidshego?, that has happened to me also, though I can't recall now with which book.
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At least... this is not further evidence of it......
:P
And please feel free to call me Michele.
Stella, I'm thinking of reading Grapes of Wrath for my first Steinbeck (I own East of Eden too) in the near future. Do you have any opinions or advice?
The Rory Gilmore Book Club
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I stayed up till 3 am, but I could not have fallen asleep anyway before finishing The Secret Life of bees.