Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
ABOUT BOOKS AND READING
>
What are you reading or what books have you read or heard about? (Part TWELVE) Ongoing general thread.
I just wrote another review and bought another Kindle book! Help, I'm over-saturated with Kindle books! LOL See my review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
RE:The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You by Elaine N. Aron
Still entranced with "The Gentleman from Moscow."
I don't know if I am oversensitive or not.
Nina wrote: "Still entranced with "The Gentleman from Moscow.""Nina, I've ordered the audio version on CDs from our library. I'm looking forward to it.
A Gentleman in Moscow
Nina wrote: "I don't know if I am oversensitive or not."Not OVER. The word is HIGHLY. The word OVER makes it sound like a negative thing.
Nina, if you were highly sensitive, you would KNOW it! LOL
The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You
I'm currently reading Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History. It's really interesting & not just because of my own life long fascination of them. They're amazingly complex organs. The author is currently discussing the effects of hexagonal hydrocarbons on them since these often mimic estrogen & now saturate our world, inadvertent pollutants from plastics, fire retardants, & such.I'm also reading Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach. It's not about war as much as all the people who are trying to make military service including war safer for those who serve & help them recover afterward. As she puts it, she doesn't shine a spotlight, but is more of a goober with a flashlight peering into odd corners. She's certainly found some interesting topics.
Thank you, Jim. You certainly have a way of finding interesting material!Ed & I have begun listening to Unseen Diversity: The World of Bacteria by Betsey Dexter Dyer. It gets more fascinating with every lecture! She certainly provides plenty of back-up information. She seems to know how to clarify difficult concepts, giving good examples and widening one's knowledge in every direction.
http://www.audible.com/pd/Science-Tec...
Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History by Florence Williams was super. Breasts are fascinating & she discusses their history up to the latest cancer research. Excellent & highly recommended for both men & women. I gave it a 5 star review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jim, My daughter had serious breast cancer at age thirty one. Yes, all breast cancer can be called serious but in her case they decided she had cancer eight years before it was discovered. This was also after a mammogram didn't show any. Finally, there was a lump. It turned out her cancer grew sideways and they said that made it difficult to discover. Only ten percent of women get that kind. It had spread to her lymph nodes and they; plus her breast had to be removed/she had chemo and radiation and that was now over ten years and we are hoping it is all she ever has to go through again. The interesting thing was she had five children by t hat time and she also mostly lived in Europe for the eleven years before and had none of the toxic things most people are exposed to as she lived in small villages in the Alps mostly and had fresh food and lived in 400 year old houses. Oh well, I did like your review and thought you might be interested in my story.
Sorry for your daughter, Nina. There is 'usual' & then what happens to us. It's a big subject with all sorts of variables. My mother-in-law had breast cancer & survived, my sister-in-law did not.
Yes, there are variables and sorry about your sister in law. What is amazing with my daughter as I mentioned is she seemed to be immunine to so many things that supposedly cause cancer and yet there it was all along.
Joy, I ordered the Grace Kelly bio at your suggestion. Also, I just remembered when I was on a tour in Germany and we passed through a small village the tour guide mentioned that Grace Kelly's grandmother was from there and so far as I remember there was never a mention of a German grandmother. I see what the bio says.
Nina wrote: "Joy, I ordered the Grace Kelly bio at your suggestion. Also, I just remembered when I was on a tour in Germany and we passed through a small village the tour guide mentioned that Grace Kelly's gran..."I can't remember any details about Grace Kelly's ancestors. I was more interested in her directly. It's a light book but entertaining enough. Hope you like it. Grace: Her Lives - Her Loves: The startling royal exposé
Being Human: Life Lessons from the Frontiers of Science was another really good lecture series from The Great Courses. It's all about what makes us human from both a micro & macro point of view which Robert M. Sapolsky is well equipped to relate. I gave it 4 stars in my review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jim wrote: "Being Human: Life Lessons from the Frontiers of Science was another really good lecture series from The Great Courses. It's all about what makes us human from both a micro & macro p..."Sounds very interesting! Thanks for posting about it.
PS-Here are a couple of links to Audible.com audio samples of books by Robert M. Sapolsky who wrote Being Human: Life Lessons from the Frontiers of Science .https://www.audible.com/pd/Bios-Memoi...
https://www.audible.com/pd/Self-Devel...
I am enjoying the Grace Kelly bio. Funny that it mentions her having a convertible and that reminded me of my friend telling me about her brother riding in that convertible.
Speaking of convertibles, I once owned a convertible when I was single. I used to ride around with the roof down and the heat on! LOL
But according to Grace Kelly's bio she sat on the back seat and drove the car with her toes. We had a Chevy II white convertable with red leather seats but I wasn't single as I then had six kids; some of whom drove it besides myself. Also, my mom who was a real estate broker had a yellow Cadillac convertible with white leather seats and my son was thrilled when as a senior he got to drive it in their high school parade. Those were the days, as the song goes.
Yes, those were the days!
I finally got around to reading Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach. Quite good, as always, although I wanted more. Big subject, so the book was too short. I gave it a 4 star review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I just finished The Menacers, the 11th Matt Helm book by Donald Hamilton, as an audio book. It was a lot of fun. Written in 1968, it used the UFO craze as the basis of the plot. Really well done, but I think that would age it badly for anyone who doesn't remember the time & paranoia. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Thanks for posting, Jim. I was able to get the audio CD version "Grunt" from the library. Not sure it's for me, but Ed may like it.
Joy, Did you ever listen to "Britt=Marie Was Here?"
Nina wrote: "Joy, Did you ever listen to "Britt=Marie Was Here?""RE: Britt-Marie Was Here BY Fredrik Backman.
Nina, no, I had never heard of that book until now. Sounds like another good book by Backman! Just now I ordered the audio version from our public library. Thanks for mentioning it!
Whoever heard of going to a chili church supper in seventy two degree weather? We did.
Nina wrote: "Whoever heard of going to a chili church supper in seventy two degree weather? We did."Was that in the book, Nina? Or is it just a play on words?
I just read Bridge to Terabithia for the first time. Wow! Fantastic!!! Definitely has a place next to The Yearling & Where the Red Fern Grows. I gave it a 5 star review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jim wrote: "I just read Bridge to Terabithia for the first time. Wow! Fantastic!!! Definitely has a place next to The Yearling & Where the Red Fern Grows. I gave it a 5 s..."Jim, thanks for telling us about "Bridge to Terabithia". I had never heard of it before. I have added the DVD (of the 2007 film adaptation) to my Netflix queue. I'm taking the easy way out ( via the movie) because there are so many other books I need the time for.
https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Bridge-...
"New classmate Leslie unlocks a wondrous world for fifth-grader Jesse in this magical adventure. Rivals at first, the two outcasts soon become friends and create the make-believe kingdom of Terabithia, where they plot vengeance against school bullies."
1985: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088853/?...
2007: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398808/?...
AMAZON: 2007: https://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Terabit...
That wasn't in the books, Joy or a play on words. It was seventy two degrees here yesterday and when we had decided to go as a benefit for the church never dreamed that the weather would be so warm. We still have almost no snow/three inches so far on our lawn/one inch one day and two inches a month later. Both were gone by the next day. Second lowest snowfall since the 1800's.
Jim, I read The Bridge...several years ago and I, also, thought it was one of the best young adult books written. Terrific author.
Nina wrote: "That wasn't in the books, Joy or a play on words. It was seventy two degrees here yesterday and when we had decided to go as a benefit for the church never dreamed that the weather would be so warm..."Nina, be glad you're not here. We've had more snow here. "Snow accumulating 5 to 8 inches" ... on top of the several inches we had already. Of course it's much worse up in New England. I don't know how those folks are coping!
I have finished reading The Girl With No Name by Diney Costeloe.A good read! See my review at:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
PS-How many of you readers were alive during WW2? There are probably fewer and fewer people alive who can say yes to that. I remember those days because I was born in 1934 and was in grade-school at the time.
My mother was born the year before Pearl Harbor, Joy.;)
Jim, she was just a baby then and most likely doesn't remember much first-hand info. Perhaps she remembers the end of war. I remember the happiness of that day.I remember crying at the train station when my older cousin went off to war. He came back OK, thank goodness.
I am halfway through a huge historical novel called New York and it is excellent. I had previous read Edward Rutherfurd's novel London so I expected this one to be good as well. I was not disappointed---enjoying it immensely. Reviews coming soon, I hope.
Mary JL wrote: "I am halfway through a huge historical novel called New York and it is excellent. I had previous read Edward Rutherfurd's novel London so I expected this one to be good ..."Sounds like good historical fiction.
It turns out that I partially read New York.
Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Secret Garden is a classic I've never gotten around to reading before. I heard it was excellent. I found it less so. Frankly horrifying in many respects. I gave it a 3 star review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jim wrote: "The Secret Garden is a classic I've never gotten around to reading before. I heard it was excellent. I found it less so. Frankly horrifying in many respects. I gave it a 3 star review h..."I haven't read The Secret Garden but I've seen a film adaptation at least once. I believe I saw the 1949 version, with Margaret O'Brien & Dean Stockwell. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041855/?...
I never thought about the parental aspects of the story. I just accepted it for what it was, a story with a suspenseful plot which held my interest because I was curious as to where the story was going.
I guess it was unreasonably cruel for the parents of the boy to be so unfeeling about his situation. However, if they thought they were doing things for the boy's good, that made sense. I thought, in the back of my mind, that that was rather strange, but I let the story sweep me along to the happy ending.
Even though I haven't read the book, at least the movie enabled me to see what the story was all about. That was enough for me. I have no desire to read the book.
I think the movie differed significantly from the book. It was the death of the mother that caused the father to fall into self-pity & travel the world leaving his sickly child in the hands of the staff with insane orders. Somehow we're supposed to be happy that it all worked out due to the magic of the garden & all will be fine from then on. Ugh.
No, it's not a fairy tale, Joy. While they talk about magic, it's not that sort at all. I listened to Heidi today which was similar in many respects. I didn't like it quite as much, but could see where both could make far better movies. I gave it a 3 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jim wrote: "No, it's not a fairy tale, Joy. While they talk about magic, it's not that sort at all.In the movie the garden seemed too good to be true.
The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution by Sean B. Carroll was a really interesting look at some specifics in DNA. The book is 10 years old & yet still blew my mind with our scientific achievements. As a tool to convert Creationists (one of his goals), I don't think it did well. I still gave it a 4 star review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Thanks for posting, Jim.
I finished Flowers for Algernon as an audio book & gave it a 5 star review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Obviously, I thought it was fantastic yet again. There are a lot of really powerful themes at work here. If I can find it, I'd like to listen to the short story in a year or so. IIRC, I found it even better. I should probably watch the movie too, but I can't seem to make much time for TV.
Jim wrote: "I finished Flowers for Algernon as an audio book & gave it a 5 star review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Obviously, I thought it was fantastic yet again. Ther..."
There was a movie inspired by the book:
"Charly" (1968) (starring Cliff Robertson)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062794/
"An intellectually disabled man undergoes an experiment that gives him the intelligence of a genius."
A remake of the above movie was:
"Flowers for Algernon" (2000) (starring Matthew Modine)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210044/?...
Charley was a very good movie. Saw it years ago and then not too long ago. It stood the test of time.
Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
Books mentioned in this topic
Everything All at Once: How to Unleash Your Inner Nerd, Tap Into Radical Curiosity, and Solve Any Problem (other topics)The Lincoln Highway (other topics)
Everything All at Once: How to Unleash Your Inner Nerd, Tap Into Radical Curiosity, and Solve Any Problem (other topics)
We Are All Stardust: Scientists Who Shaped Our World Talk about Their Work, Their Lives, and What They Still Want to Know (other topics)
Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Bill Nye (other topics)Bill Nye (other topics)
Stefan Klein (other topics)
Mary Roach (other topics)
Bill Nye (other topics)
More...
I recommended that book to a friend of mine who is a postman (or do they say "mail-carrier). (Re: Neither Snow nor Rain: A History of the United States Postal Service )
Hope he likes it.