Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
ABOUT BOOKS AND READING
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What are you reading or what books have you read or heard about? (Part TWELVE) Ongoing general thread.
PPS-What do you think Salinger meant by the following quote?“Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.” ---J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
I haven't read it since I was a teen. I remember liking it then, but can't recall any details.
I remember liking it too. It was published in 1951 but I didn't read it until 2000, according to my files.
The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout is the novel that John Wayne's last movie was based on. That was pretty good, but a very pale Hollywood version of the novel which put a different twist on things. Fantastic, if somewhat depressing. I gave it a 5 star review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly is the last of Harry Bosch novels at this time. It was another excellent addition to the series. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Thanks for posting, Jim.HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!
The Thankful BookLOOK INSIDE: https://www.amazon.com/Thankful-Book-...
I'm Thankful
I'm Thankful Each Day
I'm Thankful for...
I'm Thankful
I think "Catcher in the Rye," was appropriate for the times it was written and spoke to the teens; especially boy teens.
Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man by William Shatner was a really enjoyable audio book. Shatner's writing (with help) & narration makes it almost casual & intimate. A great look at a couple of interesting characters. I gave it a 4 star review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jim wrote: "Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man by William Shatner was a really enjoyable audio book. Shatner's writing (with help) & narration makes it almos..."Jim, that sounds like a very interesting book.
I once listened to the audio version of Shatner's Up Till Now. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I gave it 2 stars.
I liked Up Till Now as much as Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man. I think the latter was a little better organized & linear, but part of the charm for me was the way Shatner skips around in time following threads or themes & then comes back to the chronology. It makes it more interesting & casual - more of a conversational tone. If you had trouble with the first, this probably won't be a lot better. There's also quite a bit about Star Trek, especially the original episodes. While Shatner orients the reader a bit, I don't think those unfamiliar with the show will get nearly as much out of it. For instance, he mentions the first mind meld & the Horta. I could clearly picture that in my mind, so really got his point. It probably wouldn't have been as well made if I hadn't.
I never watched Star Trek, Jim. I remember it but I never was interested. I fell asleep at the movies when I watched Star Wars. :) Or it might have been Space Odyssey 2000... or something like that.
What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe, the author of xkcd comic strip was a great read. I gave it a 4 star review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jim wrote: "I liked Up Till Now as much as Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man. ..."Jim, thanks to your post, I got the Leonard (Nimoy) CD from our library. So far, so good.
Jim wrote: "What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe, the author of xkcd comic strip was a great read. I gave it a 4 star review ..."Sounds like a very unusual book, Jim! Thanks for posting.
Everything from Munroe is a bit unusual, Joy. I doubt his comic would be to your taste, but I've always liked it.Glad you're liking the Nimoy biography by Shatner.
Jim wrote: "..... Glad you're liking the Nimoy biography by Shatner."Yes, Shatner does a good job of reading it too. It's always interesting to learn how performers got their start in show business. With Leonard Nimoy it seemed to be a calling. But I wonder how many actors feel they have a calling and then never get anywhere. The odds are really against them.
I finished Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy today. Wow! All 3 books were 4 star reads. So many of the best characters I've read in a fantasy in years! Here are my 3 reviews of them.Book 1: The Blade Itself
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Before They Are Hanged
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Last Argument of Kings
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Thanks for posting, Jim.
PS - The last time I heard the name, Abercrombie, it was for the store, "Abercrombie & Fitch". Funny how names stay in one's head.https://www.abercrombie.com/shop/us
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Once when my husband was on business in NYC he bought me a hat at Abercrombie and Fitch. It was when you had to wear a hat inside church so I really had quite a few hats and that one was very pretty.
Nina, I still have some of my Easter "bonnets" in the attic! LOL
I watched the film adaptation of Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay. "Picnic at Hanging Rock" (1975)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073540/?...
"During a rural picnic, a few students and a teacher from an Australian girls' school vanish without a trace. Their absence frustrates and haunts the people left behind."
https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Picnic-...
https://www.amazon.com/Picnic-Hanging....
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Good review. It is just as important to give your opinion as the worth of the movie doesn't appeal to you and giving one that does. Thanks for setting the record straight.
Nina wrote: "Good review. It is just as important to give your opinion as the worth of the movie doesn't appeal to you and giving one that does. Thanks for setting the record straight."Thanks, Nina. Sometimes I think they are pulling the wool over our eyes when they insist that something is an artistic success. It's about time we speak up.
Jim wrote [on Nov 12, 2016 in Message #979 above]: "You should update your review of 'Thunder of the Captains' with that misinformation, Joy. That makes a huge difference to me when I'm thinking about reading a book. A goof like that can ruin it. ..."Jim, I've updated my review of The Thunder of Captains with a description of the error which I found in the book. I added it in an addendum. My review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Thanks, Joy! GR friends have made my reading even better this year. Hard to believe, but it is reviews like that which help me weed through & find good stuff.
Joy, did you enjoy the "Saragtoga..." book in spite of the error or did that make you think he might have made other mistakes?
Nina wrote: "Joy, did you enjoy the "Saragtoga..." book in spite of the error or did that make you think he might have made other mistakes?"Nina, to tell the truth, I didn't finish reading the book, The Thunder of Captains, because I lost interest in it before I got very far. I don't know why I lost interest. I guess the plot wasn't compelling enough... or perhaps it was the storytelling. I can't quite remember. I only remember losing interest.
The factual error had no bearing on my interest in the story itself. I can overlook factual errors if the story holds my interest. However, it would be nice to be able to know that the facts in a historical fiction novel are correct. It's a good way to expand one's knowledge of history.
How do we know that facts in historical novels are true or not? Only by doing our own follow up research. One good thing about historical fiction (correct or not) is that it can stimulate our interest in learning more about a subject.
The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde is the third in the Thursday Next mystery series. They're a hoot, an alternate world where books have a life of their own. I gave this one 3 stars because of the rather pointless beginning, but it was still a lot of fun. Here's my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jim wrote: "The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde is the third in the Thursday Next mystery series. They're a hoot, an alternate world where books have a life of their own. I gave ..."Jim, do you think I might like this series, starting with The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde? Audible.com offers it but it's read by Susan Duerden, not by Elizabeth Sastre whom you recommended. I have a couple of credits available to me at Audible.com. I'm afraid it may be beyond me with all the literature references.
http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/The...
I think you would like them, Joy. The world might be a bit wonky for you, but you'll love Thursday. She's quite the lady; feminine yet a persistent detective & a war hero. She tells the tale & it's a cozy, crazy trip. No gore or real violence, either.
Thanks, Jim. I listened to the clip at Audible.com but it didn't make any sense to me. I'll still keep it in mind.
Not really my cup of tea, but AbeBooks published a 2016 literary review. Interesting prologue to it, at any rate.https://www.abebooks.com/books/litera...
Jim wrote: "Not really my cup of tea, but AbeBooks published a 2016 literary review. Interesting prologue to it, at any rate.https://www.abebooks.com/books/litera..."
Jim, thanks for pointing us to that literary review. I've saved the link.
I finished my review of 2016 on Goodreads. It was another 5 star year for me. I posted my review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jim, that was a great review! Incredible!
Thanks, Joy. A lot of great books this year & so few disappointments. Fantastic.
Jim wrote: "Thanks, Joy. A lot of great books this year & so few disappointments. Fantastic."Jim, I imagine that you accomplish a lot of "reading" on your way to and from work via audio versions. That's a big plus.
I usually forget to bring a CD into the car and my trips are so short that it's not worth all the trouble of bringing it to the car and then remembering to bring it back into the house. There are so many other things to remember when we go "out".
I must try to search for some quotes about "forgetting to do things." It's so frustrating!
HERE'S ONE THAT MAKES YOU THINK!
“I am not absentminded. It is the presence of mind that makes me unaware of everything else.” -G.K. Chesterton
(Chesterton was such a wit with words!)
Chesterton was famous for his wit. No wonder. Good quote.
Back in 2009, Werner told us (in this group) about Chesterton's The Napoleon of Notting Hill and at that time, I put it on my To-Read List. Werner had said it was not a difficult read. Here's Werner's review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...Hey! I just now found it FREE online as a Kindle book and along with it I ordered the audio version for $2.99! See the page where I ordered it here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...
Joy H. wrote: "Jim wrote: "Jim, I imagine that you accomplish a lot of "reading" on your way to and from work via audio versions...."I use an MP3 player, so my 45 minute commute each way is certainly a part of my reading time, but I get more done doing chores. Mowing, weeding, moving hay, & such are fairly mindless tasks, so listening to a book makes them pass more quickly.
Nina wrote: "Thanks, Joy. I ordered it."Nina, I listened to it but couldn't get into it. (The Napoleon of Notting Hill). Let me know what you think.
Jim wrote: "I use an MP3 player, so my 45 minute commute each way is certainly a part of my reading time, but I get more done doing chores. Mowing, weeding, moving hay, & such are fairly mindless tasks, so listening to a book makes them pass more quickly."Jim, I can see how those times can add up to lots of books. For most things I'm not very good at paying attention to 2 things at once. Even doing the dishes isn't so mindless for me. :) I can't think of anything I do that is mindless for me. I'm always thinking of what the next step should be.
The only thing that is mindless for me is done in the "Reading Room". That's when I listen to CDs played on a CD player.
I often listen to audio's on my laptop as I sit in my recliner or lie on the sofa. That's when I usually fall asleep while I'm listening and never know where I left off. That's always a problem.
I could make little sense of the Napoleon of Notting Hill. I guess you have to be British to get gist of what he is trying to be clever at/or else I am not smart enough to grasp his humor.
Nina wrote: "I could make little sense of the Napoleon of Notting Hill. I guess you have to be British to get gist of what he is trying to be clever at/or else I am not smart enough to grasp his humor."Nina, I felt the same. I was very disappointed. I'm sure you're smart enough. As you said, it may be a "British" thing.
One good thing about audio CDs that bore me is that they help me get to sleep! They're a perfect soporific! LOL I drift right off! Better than sleeping pills! LOL
This is an oldy, but a goody & is funny. Jo Walton writing about "The Suck Fairy" who visits beloved books & sucks the fun out of them.http://www.tor.com/2010/09/28/the-suc...
Jim wrote: "This is an oldy, but a goody & is funny. Jo Walton writing about "The Suck Fairy" who visits beloved books & sucks the fun out of them.http://www.tor.com/2010/09/28/the-suc..."
Jim, that's an interesting idea. I hardly ever reread a book. There are too many others I want to catch up with. But I can relate to the idea because sometimes when I reread the quotes I've saved from my reading, they don't seem to have the same weight that they did at first reading or when they were read in context. They're like stale cake, they lose their flavor.
I can understand the quote problem, Joy. I agree that there are a lot of books to read, but there are some books that should be or I just want to reread because they were so good in one way or another. Books that should be reread include a lot of classics. To Kill a Mockingbird & Fahrenheit 451 exemplify that group. The first because it spoke so well & differently to me at different ages & the second because it seems to have been extremely prescient. Seemingly it is more true today than when it was written over 60 years ago.
Some books are complex & 'deep' (I used to hate that description!) enough that they require multiple reads. Roger Zelazny's books need rereading since his unique styles are often packed with so many subtle elements. Roadmarks & A Night in the Lonesome October were fun on the first read, but kind of bewildering due to they styles. Trying to keep track of what was going on was tough enough on the first read. I didn't have the attention to spare. Once I knew the story, I could concentrate on the allusions & other interesting elements which made them even better. Is Lord of Light or This Immortal fantasy or SF? Both have elements of each & it makes interpreting the world interesting - different, disparate flavors all mixed into one.
I sometimes have to reread books in a series due to long waits between them. I've reread the Matt Helm & Recluce several times since their writing spans several decades & I really like them. The Recluce novels are meant to be read in published order the first time as Modesitt grows the world, but are great when read in chronological order, too.
I've read them & others, like the Conan, Kane, & Heinlein's books, multiple times when I was just out of sorts. Some books are just comfort reads. They help get me back on track & make reading fun again.
Jim, I envy your ability to read as much as you do and to reread as much as you do. I surmise that you're a very fast reader. I am a VERY SLOW reader and it's hard for me to even read a book once, especially nowadays when there are so many other interesting things vying for my attention.It seems that books are getting to be a monkey on my back, especially now that I have so many books in my Kindle library waiting to be read. There's a fine line between opportunity and obligation. Sure, there are more and more opportunities for me to read but since I can't keep up, they are starting to feel like obligations.. The easy availability of books has changed from a bonus to a burden.
Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
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