I'd like to try reading...what would you recommend?

[dely]

Bette BookAddict wrote: "@Chrissie :) always a big tick on your reviews:)

One other thing which I have to get off my chest because I know no-one in real life who uses GR so I can't whinge to them. I HATE reviews where t..."

I never read those reviews with moving gifs. They are so annoying and disturbing!

[Alannah]

Me neither. They're alright on other sites like tumblr but not here.

[B the BookAddict]

I like a humorous review if it's well done.

Thanks to Chrissie for the word GIFS. You can see I;m lagging behind in techno jargon.

[Diane S ☔]

Some of these GIF's are so crude. Can't say I'm a big fan, they take up so much room on the page and there is now way to get rid of them unless you unfriend the person. Don't see the attraction.

[Chrissie]

Before The Casual Vacancy came out there were pages and pages of "non-content reviews" consisting primarily of GIFS. It shocked me into action.

[[deleted user]]

I agree. If you have to use GIFs for humour you aren't funny!

[LauraT]

Heather wrote: "I agree. If you have to use GIFs for humour you aren't funny!"

Still lost on the meaning!!!

[Bionic Jean]

Laura - A "GIF" is an acronym for those annoying little repeated moving images on a loop. They are often, but not always, miniature cartoons. It's one of the few techno jargon words I already knew, but I googled it so I could quote something clear. What I got was,

"The Graphics Interchange Format is a bitmap image format that was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage..." Whaaaaat?

[LauraT]

Ahhh!
Thanks Jean - I could have looked at it myself, but you're beter!!!!

[Gemma]

Sounds like you'd all hate my reviews. I like to keep them short and sweet. Sometimes I may go into more detail. I used to review every book I read, but I just don't have the time now. Should make the effort really. I'm not keen on reviews where the person only tells you the plot, that tells me nothing about what the book is actually like. So actually, after all that my reviews do fit with the above, they're just shorter :)

[Bionic Jean]

I like your reviews Gemma, for the reasons you gave ;)

Laura - I thought I knew what GIFs were until I read Wiki's "explanation!" :D

[Chrissie]

Gemma wrote: "Sounds like you'd all hate my reviews. I like to keep them short and sweet. Sometimes I may go into more detail. I used to review every book I read, but I just don't have the time now. Should make ..."

Short is fine, right to the point. While many of us don't like the jumping pictures (GIFS), I think many younger people do.

[LauraT]

Jean wrote: "I like your reviews Gemma, for the reasons you gave ;)

Laura - I thought I knew what GIFs were until I read Wiki's "explanation!" :D"

;)

[Alannah]

I'm currently looking for a cheap paperback on amazon for my ferry journey next week. I think I want something light and fluffy, not too heavy.

[Pink]

Oh I don't do light and fluffy, what about something like The Rosie Project?

[LauraT]

That's when I mostly appreciate my ebooks!

[Alannah]

I have seen a few that interest me but they are a lot cheaper on kindle. Guess I just have to make sure my kindle is fully charged before I go.

[Alannah]

Pink wrote: "Oh I don't do light and fluffy, what about something like The Rosie Project?"

Sounds good, normally I won't do light and fluffy but I thought it would be best for a long journey.

[Pink]

Alannah, I think something light and fluffy is probably just what you need right now. Sometimes we all need a bit of something different to our usual tastes.

[Everyman]

Alannah wrote: "I'm currently looking for a cheap paperback on amazon for my ferry journey next week. I think I want something light and fluffy, not too heavy."

How cheap is cheap? The editions that Goodreads highlights may not be the cheapest; all these are available for roughly $10-15, and a lot cheaper in second hand editions.

How about:
Forever Rumpole: The Best of the Rumpole Stories

or
I Capture the Castle Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

or any book by Miss Read, such as
Village School

or possibly
At Home in Mitford

[LauraT]

I love Miss Read books! Found some of them for a really convenient prize on the net!

[Debbie]

Light and fluffy but smart and juicy:
Where'd You Go, Bernadette

Also:
Isabel's Bed
Goodbye to All That
Julie and Romeo ( by ann patchett's mom!)

[B the BookAddict]

"Some books leave us free and some books make us free.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

At 49, it is about time that I read me some Ralph Waldo Emerson but I have no idea where to start. I don't think I want his poetry at this stage but some suggestions about his other works. Any ideas?

[Leslie]

Bette BookAddict wrote: ""Some books leave us free and some books make us free.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

At 49, it is about time that I read me some Ralph Waldo Emerson but I have no idea where to start. I d..."

I haven't really read Emerson myself but I think that his essays are what he is most famous for.

[B the BookAddict]

@Leslie Thanks. I'll give them a try.

[Summerdale]

I was thinking about reading something by Salman Rushdie. Does anyone have an idea about which of his books I should start with..or if I should even waste my time? lol It would be appreciated.

[Erica]

That's a good question Summerdale, I've been wondering the same thing.

[Book Ninja]

Hey Summerdale. I have read only one book by Salman Rushdie and it was the Midnight's Children. He has a very different style of writing. This book is divided into three books. While the first two were good. The third one was a bit drag. But I think you should give it a try. It was fun reading the first two books.

[Summerdale]

By the reviews I've read on different sites Midnight's Children is my best bet as it's mentioned the most and no one had anything terrible to say about it. I'm interested to find out just how unique his writing style is. Thanks for the recommendation, Rahat.

[Chrissie]

My question is a little bit different... I have read Richard Russo's Bridge of Sighs which I only thought was worth two stars. Then I tried Nobody's Fool and hated it so much that I dumped it. CRUDE. I just could not go on. I tried it because people say that Russo is so very good. So do I give Russo one more chance - with Empire Falls?

I talk so much about what I like and dislike in my reviews so perhaps someone out there can advise me if they think this book will fit me.

[Lee]

I would love a recommendation besides the one appointed to me. I love sci-fi, paranormal, steampunk. and historical fiction.

[Chrissie]

The Master and Margarita would fit perfectly then, Lee. Maybe you have read it?

[Dhanaraj]

Lee wrote: "I would love a recommendation besides the one appointed to me. I love sci-fi, paranormal, steampunk. and historical fiction."

For sci-fi: Solaris
For Historical Fiction: Kristin Lavransdatter.

[LauraT]

Chrissie wrote: "The Master and Margarita would fit perfectly then, Lee. Maybe you have read it?"

Complex book. One of y husband's favourite; not mine though. Too ... symbolic maybe

[Chrissie]

Re The Master and Margarita

Well it is both fantasy and historical fiction. It is important to get one with good notes, that makes it more interesting.....or you can just read it for the fun and forget the historical references.

[[deleted user]]

I liked The Master and Margarita a lot but I didn't read it with notes and just enjoyed it

[Lee]

Thanks you guys I will order The Master and Margarita!!!Will look at Solaris,sounds familiar I may have read that,

[Chrissie]

Heather, I was amazed that I loved it as much as I did b/c fantasy is not usually my cup of tea. It has everything. Imagination and historical details for those who want them.

[Chrissie]

Lee, it is long. I forgot to mention that. Or maybe it was all the notes that made it long....

[Chrissie]

Can nobody help me with Russo, message 180 above?

[Angela M]

Chrissie , I think Empire Falls is his best novel . It really captures "small town USA" and the characters are wonderful. I loved it .

[Chrissie]

Angela wrote: "Chrissie , I think Empire Falls is his best novel . It really captures "small town USA" and the characters are wonderful. I loved it ."

I like good character portrayals and a good picture of "the blue-collar" life-style sounds interesting. OK, so your advice is to give him one more try. Did you like the other books I have named by Russo?

[Paula]

The Master and Margarita sounds excellent - I think I'm going to try it!

[Chrissie]

Paula, I read the version that is fully annotated. If you want that one it has ISBN 0330351346. If you search with hat number you will see it here on GR. But maybe that isn't what you are looking for.

[B the BookAddict]

Chrissie wrote: "My question is a little bit different... I have read Richard Russo's Bridge of Sighs which I only thought was worth two stars. Then I tried Nobody's Fool ..."

Chrissie, maybe you need a bit of Russo's lighter side. I would try Straight Man!

[Paula]

Chrissie wrote: "Paula, I read the version that is fully annotated. If you want that one it has ISBN 0330351346. If you search with hat number you will see it here on GR. But maybe that isn't what you are looking for."

Thanks Chrissie! Yep, I appreciate annotations and footnotes :).

[Katy]

Chrissie:

I loved Empire Falls. I thought Tick was the best character he ever wrote. There were times I laughed out loud reading it. It is also very touching at times. I generally like Russo. His portrayals of blue collar life remind me very much of the town I grew up in so I may be a little biased.

[Angela M]

@ Chrissie ,
I have read most of Russo's books so I did read the ones you mentioned that you weren't crazy about . I did like them . I agree with Bette - Straight Man is a very funny book ! But again , Empire Falls is my favorite of his .

[Everyman]

Leslie wrote: "Bette BookAddict wrote: "At 49, it is about time that I read me some Ralph Waldo Emerson but I have no ...
I haven't really read Emerson myself but I think that his essays are what he is most famous for. "

Yes, his essays are what he is best known for, though most of them were initially written as lectures and then revised for publication. (He also wrote poetry, but frankly I've never found anything particularly memorable in his poetry. But you might.)

Probably his most famous essay is Self Reliance, but all the essays in his First Series and Second Series are at least worth dipping into. If you want to try him out quickly, most of his work is available to read free from Gutenberg. Or most libraries will have at least a selection of his work.

I can't leave Emerson without mentioning a story, perhaps apocryphal but quite possible true, about him and Thoreau. Thoreau was tossed in jail in Concord for refusing the pay the poll tax which he believed would be used to pay for the Mexican-American war, which he believed was unjust. (A hundred years later he was the inspiration for many tax resisters who objected to paying for the Vietnam war, but that's another story.)

Anyhow, the story is that Emerson, who was a good friend of Thoreau, came by and asked him "what are you doing in there?" To which Thoreau reportedly replied "The question, Henry, is not what I'm doing in here, but what you're doing out there."

(If you haven't ready Emerson, it's possible that you haven't read Thoreau either. If so, definitely read his essay Civil Disobedience.)

[B the BookAddict]

Thanks for your input, Everyman. Both Emerson and Thoreau are on my reading list for this year.