What are U reading these days? (PART TEN (2014) (ongoing thread for 2014)

[Jim]

I appreciate that in series, Mary JL. Jim Butcher has a fantasy series like that.

[Jackie]

Grimspace sounds good.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: ""A room without books is like a body without a soul." Cicero/Joy, I am reading a book you'd like, I think. I guess if you read it that would make four books at a time; "Lucia, Lucia," by Adriana Tr..."

Nina, I love that quote. I have it magnetized to my fridge. (I think I received the magnet from Amazon.com with a book shipment.)

I'll look into Lucia, Lucia. Thanks.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Mary JL wrote: "I am currently on a science fiction binge this year. I have started a new series---Grimspace. ..."

Mary JL, enjoy Sirantha!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "I'll see if my library has a copy. Thanks!"

Jim, I just discovered that our library has the audio book of Animals in Translation on CD. I might borrow that copy and save my monthly audio.com book choice for another selection which our library doesn't have.

On the other hand, I love the ease of using the audible.com versions on my computer. Then I can always re-listen to it. Decisions, decisions! :)

[Jim]

Ours doesn't have it for download, unfortunately.

[Werner]

I've just started on The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien (actually, it's a posthumous collection of background material to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, setting forth the early history and prehistory of Middle Earth eons before the time of the trilogy, and edited by Tolkien's son Christopher, whose contribution to it is probably significant). Barb gave me a copy for Christmas in (I think) 2012, and we're doing it as a common read this month in another of my groups.

[Jackie]

I read it decades ago but don't remember too much of it. I have it on my shelf to read again at some point. I also have The Children of Húrin to read after The Silmarillion.

[Werner]

We have a copy of The Children of Hurin at the BC library. I've thought of reading that one, too, at some future time; but I'm hoping to read a lot of the books that are already on my TBR shelf first. :-)

[Jim]

I never could get into the Silmarillion, although I loved the LOTR & the Hobbit. I got a copy of it shortly after it came out & have tried it a number of times over the years. It just bored me, though. I liked The Tolkien Reader, but never felt any desire to read most of the spin-off material.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I just finished reading The Affair by Colette Freedman. For me it was a page-turner! That's saying something. LOL

[Jim]

I just finished listening to Flux a collection of short stories by Orson Scott Card. I gave it a solid 4 stars. Excellent! My review is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This is just one of half a dozen short story books I've downloaded by him. He's definitely one of the best SF authors writing today. Unfortunately many people won't give him a shot now since he's against gay marriage. It's their loss. He's a very smart guy & his work always brings new ways of thinking about & looking at the world.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for the review, Jim. Much food for thought there.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

PS-I'll always remember Orson Scott Card as being the first SF writer who REALLY captivated me! I'll always remember _Ender's Game_.

[Jackie]

I don't care what Card's views are. He's an excellent author and in all the books I've read by him, he doesn't bring these views into it. We're all entitled to our views and opinions whether we agree with them or not. I'm beyond disgusted with PC nonsense, it's false. Freedom of speech means freedom of speech, not freedom of speech only if it's PC. While I don't agree with Card's views, I applaud his courage in speaking his mind. And in the end, it doesn't matter what his views are, people will do what they're gonna do anyway.

PS: I started the last Drizzt story in the Dark Elf Trilogy, Sojourn and I like this one best so far. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

[Werner]

I'm officially listed on Goodreads as a Card fan, but the only collection of short stories by him that I've read is The Folk of the Fringe. (My reading of his work has been mostly the novels of the Alvin Maker series.) I probably should post a review of that collection, sooner rather than later. (And I definitely agree with Jackie's comments on the whole PC mentality!)

[Jim]

I've heard the Drizzt stories are good. I've never gotten into the books, though. I did read a book or two by him years ago. Can't recall which ones, though. I think they, like all the Dragon Lance books, sort of overwhelmed me & were never complete at the library.

[Jim]

Jackie wrote: "I don't care what Card's views are. He's an excellent author and in all the books I've read by him, he doesn't bring these views into it...."

Empire is certainly part of his political views. He considers himself a moderate conservative & is very concerned about the extremist schism in our politics, so he wrote the book. The afterword might be the best part.

He's a smart guy. I have more respect for him all the time, even though we disagree on the gay marriage thing. Likely, that's mostly an artifact of his religion & not part of the rational thought process he uses elsewhere. Judging by the last story in "Flux", he certainly feels strongly about it & much like I do, but it's obvious that marriage in this country is legally just a civil contract between 2 people. Anything else we add to it is on us. That became very clear to me when I had to sign legal & health proxies to give my wife of 30+ years rights that should already be hers.

We read the first few books of the Alvin Maker series when they first came out. I think he lost us by the 3d or 4th book, though. The religious message is pretty heavy I think, but it's been a long time.

[Arnie]

The only book I've read by Card is "The Abyss", which I believe he co-authored with James Cameron as a sort of novelized screenplay for the latter's film in 1989.
I enjoyed the book quite a bit and it explained the parts cut out of Cameron's film (about 45 minutes) and ruined it.
It was only when Cameron's director's cut was released a few years later, that we see a great work and what a scissor-happy studio can often do to stand in its way, for, of course, financial reasons.

[Jim]

I just finished Heartshot by Steven F. Havill. I gave it 4 stars, maybe a little higher than normal because it's a great intro to a new author. My review is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


Understanding Wood Finishing by Bob Flexner was a 5 star read. I've been doing it for a lot of years, but still learned a lot & found out how much I'd finally figured out how to do right. Wish I'd read this about 30 years ago. It would have saved me a lot of heartache.
My 5 star review is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Nina]

Jim, and any other of you S.F. fans, I am trying to remember one of my favorite short stories and I thought it might be by Ray Bradbury, but not certan and all I can remember of the title was the word, "summer" and it might have been Summer Wine?? Can you help me remember? The writing wss some of the best I have ever read.

[Jim]

Bradbury wrote Dandelion Wine, now a novel, but originally a short story. It's semi-autobiographical about one of Bradbury's childhood summers. Wikipedia has a write up on it. See if that stirs up anything.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandelio...

[Werner]

Nina, was the story you're thinking of possibly "All Summer in a Day"?

[Nina]

Jim, thanks that was it, "Dandelion Wine," and I really loved it. I'd like to read it again. I'll check next time I'm at the library to see if I can get it. Not all books or short stories are memorable. Some are even if I can't remember the titles.

[Jim]

Werner wrote: "Nina, was the story you're thinking of possibly "All Summer in a Day"?"

Oh, that's a sad story & I didn't think Nina would be looking forward to reading that again. Very memorable, cruel & short. Kids are awful sometimes, but Bradbury captures them very well.

It's here if anyone else is interested.
http://staff.esuhsd.org/danielle/Engl...

[Werner]

Yes, Jim, "All Summer in a Day" is everything you described, and I thought it was a long shot that it would have been something Nina liked (I didn't care much for it myself). But it was the only Bradbury story I could think of offhand that actually had the word "summer" in the title.

I absolutely loved Dandelion Wine! That's another book I need to get around to reviewing, soon.

[Nina]

Thanks, Werner. I had forgotten I reviewed, Dandelion Wine. It would be interesting to read it again. I am reading a book now that I don't care for, but some of the sentences are jewels. "The Signature of All Things," by Elizbeth Gilbert. The title referrs to God putting his "signature," is each and every flower with the idea that it is a mystery for you to decifer the mystery of the flower..Hope I am making sense here.

[Werner]

Yes, Nina, that concept does make sense! (To me, at least. :-) )

[Nina]

Quotes: "If you want to be reminded of the love of the Lord, Mom alwasy said, just watch the sunrise." From the 2010 book Half Broke Horses. by author Jeannette Walls. "The early piece of the morning is mine." From Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner/"Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothiing worse will happen to you the rest of the day." Mark Twain.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Wow, lots of posts. I didn't realize they were here. I don't remember getting notifications.

I have Crossing to Safety and Dandelion Wine on my to-read shelf.

Right now I'm immersed in Colette Freedman's The Consequences. It's the follow-up to The Affair which was a page-turner.

The trouble with a follow-up book is that there is too much repetition of facts you know already. Also, when the story has 3 characters giving different points of view, there's a lot of repetition as well. That's a downside. But it's still an interesting story (even though it has a "daytime-soap-radio" flavor... marriage and infidelity.) But the writing is good.

[Jackie]

Finished Sojourn, it was the best book of the trilogy, very glad I read this series. Next: The First Book of Swords

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Ever onward, Jackie! I'm plugging along. :)

[Nina]

Thanks Joy for info on Winter's Tale. I will try to get it at the library.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina, thanks for reminding me that I could get a DVD of "Winter's Tale" at our library. Sometimes I forget I have that option. I've ordered it. I'm not sure I'm going to like it but I'm curious. :)

PS-Here's the IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1837709/?...

[Jackie]

Winter's Tale is available on DVD already? It came out in theaters about 3 weeks ago. Let me know if it's available now, or if you're on a waiting list. If it's available now, I'll order too.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jackie, I too was surprised that "Winter's Tale" (2014) was available already. See the following link to the DVD of the movie in the library catalog:
http://pac.sals.edu/polaris/search/ti...

PS-Yes, I'm on a waiting list. HOWEVER, I just noticed (when I clicked on "availability") that the catalog says it's "ON ORDER".

[Joy H., Group Founder]

See my PS above.

[Jackie]

Our posts crossed. I deleted mine.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jackie, It's on my "request" list at my member page online. So at least I will get it when it's available. No rush. I have plenty of other stuff to watch.

Right now I'm watching (via streaming from Netflix):
"The Six Wives of Henry VIII" (1970 TV Mini-Series)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066714/?...
"A six-episode dramatization of Henry VIII's relationships with each of his six wives. Each episode is devoted to one wife, and is a complete play in itself."

[Jen]

Joy, I'd like to know what you think of The Six Wives of Henry VIII... that sounds interesting to me. :)

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Hi Jennie - So far I've watched only the first episode about Catherine of Aragon. Since it was done in 1970, it's a very old-fashioned film but otherwise it's interesting for the dramatic flavor. It's easy to understand because it's not flooded with too many complicated characters. The politics of royalty are presented clearly.

I've never been able to remember quite who was who and the sequence of the wives. I thought this simple presentation would fix things in my memory.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

PS-My interest in Henry VIII was renewed by a question at FunTrivia. They asked the following question: Who was the only son of Henry VIII to become king? The answer was Edward VI who reigned from 1547 to 1553. He was crowned king at the age of nine. He was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour.

After learning the above, I wanted to know more about Jane Seymour. That's when I discovered the movie. It was mentioned at the Wiki page about Jane Seymour. In the "Popular Culture" section, they referred to "the 1970 BBC series The Six Wives of Henry VIII".

[Werner]

When The Six Wives of Henry VIII first aired, back in 1970, I liked it (although I didn't get to see every episode). That was probably because, as a history buff, I was quite fascinated by seeing British history brought to such vivid life. (I loved The First Churchills miniseries, about John and Sarah Churchill, as well.)

Over the intervening decades, though, I found that my tastes have changed, and it now takes more than recreating history to get me excited about a dramatic work. I re-watched the first episode, and a couple of episodes I missed the first time, a few years ago (when the library I work for discarded its VHS copy of the series, and I grabbed it up), but I didn't appreciate it nearly as much. Henry comes across as the total horse's backside that he actually was, and most of the other characters aren't at all appealing either (though I did like and respect Catherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves).

[Jen]

I think I'm going to check out Netflix to see - Werner and Joy have intrigued me on this one! Yes, I also think that he was a total horse's backside, but the women really intrigue me. :) Stay tuned, I might have an update for ya'll if I get around to remembering to watch in on Netflix! :)

[Jackie]

The Tudors http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758790/ was very good. Originally on HBO so that means lots of unnecessary nudity, but it frequently airs on BBCAmerica without that aspect of it while the story itself remains intact. Great story because it brings in so much of the history of the time, not just the wives, but the behind the scenes political and religious influences.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I'm finding that The Six Wives of Henry VIII gets a bit boring after a while. They could have made each episode half as long if they didn't linger over dull scenes in which nothing happens. Each episode is over an hour long! Maybe they're not worth my time. I'll see.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jackie wrote: "The Tudors http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758790/ was very good. Originally on HBO so that means lots of unnecessary nudity, but it frequently airs on BBCAmerica without that aspect of it while the ..."

I tried watching "The Tudors" in 2010. My records show that I gave it 2 stars and that I didn't finish watching. It's available for streaming at Netflix:
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/701...

[Jackie]

The Tudors is either 4 or 5 seasons of 13 episodes to each season, if the miniseries was too long, then The Tudors will surely be. I'm big on British history, so I find it interesting.

Speaking of history, AMC is starting a new original series called Turn on April 6th, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543328/ about the first spy ring in the American Revolution. I find the Revolution to be the most interesting time in American history.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for telling us about "Turn", Jackie. I find American history more interesting than British history.

[Mary JL]

Still on a science fiction binge, I am reading and enjoying Expendable. It has an interesting premise. In a technologically advanced future, certain persons---especially those with minor disabilities--are considered 'expendable' and are routinely assigned to the Explorer Corps. Their assignments of landing on dangerous planets makes their odds of dying h higher than 'normal' people.