What are you reading or what books have you read or heard about? (Part TWELVE) Ongoing general thread. Showing 1,801-1,850 of 2,793

[Jim]

Thanks!

[Jim]

Tin Can Man by E.J. Jernigan is an autobiographical account of a regular US Navy man during WWII. It's told in a matter of fact way - the way it was. Excellent! I gave it a 5 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Linda]

Agree. Add you to the list Nina on doing great reviews.
I do not. Well, maybe once in a while. However, that's probably an exception!!

[Linda]

Currently reading the selection of the month with the local book club.

"The Bookman's Tale" by Charlie Lovett. A Novel of Obsession.

One of the club members stopped reading as she stated its boring. She's a historian and likes more complex books. This one I like as its a mystery, a love story and deals with rare book stores and books in a library (smell, feel, look) all which appeal to me.

Good, easy reading book so far.

[Jim]

I finally finished The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2000. I've read a couple in this series & loved them, so I bought the entire set. This is the first of the series, so it's old for science today & had a different main editor than most. I didn't care for it nearly as much as the others. I only gave it a 3 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Jim]

If You Ask Me by Betty White was a short, fun read. She's a hoot. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Linda]

Jim, Betty White is an interesting woman. Good joke teller. Didn't realized she had a book.

Thanks for the review. Adding book to my list.

[Jim]

According to this book by Betty White, this is her 4th, I believe. I'm not particularly interested in reading another, but this was fun.

[Jim]

I finally got around to reading A Man Called Ove & wound up really liking it. I almost took a star off for the slow start, but decided that was more on me than the book. It needed that slow start for the fantastic finish. I gave it a 5 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "I finally got around to reading A Man Called Ove & wound up really liking it. I almost took a star off for the slow start, but decided that was more on me than the book. It needed t..."

Here's my review of same:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Nina]

Not my usual forte but sometimes I like something different. This book was recommended by my granddaughter who teaches school in Vietnam. She said I'd love it. I read the reviews and many gave it four stars; two gave it five and one three and a half. Jim, I wish you would read it and tell me what genre it is; science fiction? fantasy? or something else? The theme is Post Apocalyptic and I have to say the writing is great. Hard to think what's next? It's funny; it's sad. "Station Eleven" by Emily St John-Mandel. I wonder if you have already read it, JIm//

[Jim]

I haven't read Station Eleven, but it is highly thought of by my friends here on GR. Most rate it with 5 stars & all shelve it as either SF or post-apocalyptic, which is generally thought of as a sub-genre of SF. I put a hold on it at the library, but I don't know how long it will take to get to it. Thanks for letting me know about it, though.

[Nina]

Thanks for clearing the genre up for me, Jim. The more I get into that book, Station Eleven the more I like it. I highly recommend it.

[Jim]

I'm 2/3 of the way through The Long Way Home by David Laskin. There's some repetition, but basically it covers the life of a dozen immigrants to the US who fought in WWI, the times, & major circumstances of the day. Since most of my great grandparents were part of that flood of immigration that came through Ellis Island, I'm finding it very interesting.

It's unfortunate that Laskin never served in the military. Some of the things he finds so horrific are laughable since they were pretty much the same when I served 6 decades later. It weakens his narrative about the conditions these people fled & then what they had to put up with on the ground in Europe. It's pretty obvious that he has no idea what the real miseries are.

His description of Ellis Island is interesting, though. I've read others & his aren't the best, but he does make the point of how bewildering it was. Most were processed through in about 5 hours, but it was a crazy time. 5000 people a day was average & they often processed twice as many. The record was something over 11,000 people in one day.

The tensions over loyalties & the flood of immigrants is really well done, too. Almost 20% of the soldiers in WWI were immigrants, many without citizenship & no one was sure of their loyalties. Many Jews were all for the Soviet Union overthrowing the Czar not realizing what would arise. Immigrant Serbs, far from supporting the Austro-Hungarian empire, wanted to fight against it. Many Irish were pro-German because they were anti-British.

It's pretty amazing I sit here writing this today since my own family would have been on both sides of the conflict. Bewildering.

[Nina]

A line from Station Eleven; "Hell is the absence of the people you love." I agree.

[Nina]

That bit of history sounds fascinating. Always something different to think about.

[Jim]

The Long Way Home by David Laskin wasn't as good as I hoped. It started out pretty good, but got somewhat scattered, repetitious, & was plagued by his own views & lack of understanding. I still gave it a 3 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I followed it up with an LA Theater Works play, Abundance by Beth Henley. I was amazed at how well she painted these two women's lives, but it wasn't very pleasant. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

White Rose, Black Forest BY Eoin Dempsey

I got this kindle book free as a "Kindle First" for Prime Amazon members.
Sounded interesting.

KINDLE FIRST MEANS: Each month, Prime members can download and keep one free book from Amazon's "Kindle First" selection of six pre-released picks. I chose this one for the month of February 2018.

See my review page at:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Nina]

Joy, Thanks for mentioning ,"white rose Black Forest," as I ordered it on my Kindle. I don't have Kindle First but it was only five dollars and sounded good for reading in our cold winter weather next week

[Linda]

I've received a few kindle free books through my Prime membership but haven't read any of them yet.

"White Rose Black Forest" does sound interesting.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

RE: White Rose, Black Forest

The beginning of the story drew me in but I lost interest when it started giving details about Hitler and the war.

At least the beginning was well done.

All the writing seems to be very readable.

[Nina]

Best book so far I've read in the past several months is "Station Eleven," by Emily St. John. It is sort of science fiction but not in the strict sense that we usually think of when we read that genre. It is timely I think as we hear of the epidemic raging of the flu this year on TV every evening and that although not to the extreme of this story, the theme is the Georgian Flu comes by way of Russia to Canada and US and other parts of the world wiping out the citizens but not all. The survivors make up a troupe of actors and musicians who tour the wastelands doing Shakespeare plays. The story is fascinating and I won't go into more detail. I do recommend it, however and I warn you it won't leave you for a long time afterwards.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks, Nina.

[Jim]

Duskfall by Christopher Husberg really impressed me. It's not often that I find an epic fantasy that has such a new story line any more & isn't just weird. It's his debut novel, which is even better. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Nina]

As usual, an insightful review means I might try the book.

[Jim]

The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How it Changed America by David Hajdu was fantastic. I'm not much of a comic book fan, but it was mostly about the censorship of them in the 40s &50s. Scary & topical! I gave it a 5 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Jim]

Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern is a great, short book about an excellent dad. I gave it a 5 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Jim]

The Collection by Lance Charnes was an excellent mystery-thriller about art being used as currency in black market deals. It's the first of a series, but it's story is well resolved. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Then I went & bought the second one. I'll read it next.

[Linda]

I still haven't finished last months book club selection and picked up the latest selection which is "A Death in the Family" by James Agee.

Thought by working part-time I'd have more time to read and practice my drawing of birds. Instead I'm shoveling snow, eating at home more which means more cooking, cleaning ... but I'm doing all of this with my husband which is a big PLUS. :)

Speaking of which we'll be married 28 years on 2/17.
Twenty-eight years ago on Valentine's Day we went to the local county office and got our marriage license. On the 17th we were married.

[Jim]

Happy early anniversary, Linda.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Happy Anniversary, Linda and Fred.

[Linda]

Thank you Jim and Joy!

[Linda]

Oh my goodness gracious Gertrude! I just read some of the Goodreads reviews on the book I'm to be reading (notice I said "to be reading" as I haven't read more than the cover).

Incredibly deep with sadness, agony, making you want to weep into your whiskey ... and more. Too soon for me to read a book about death. I work with seniors and when they move on to the next phase of their life (assisted living, nursing homes or memory care) my heart seems to cringe and tighten up making me lose my breathe for a moment. Why add more sadness when the sun is outside shining, the birds are singing, people telling jokes and offering hugs, towns and villages full of energy -

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I'll never understand why writers want their readers to wallow in sadness.

[Nina]

Have a happy anniversary, Linda whatever you do to celebrate; hopefully not shoveling snow. Joy, i am liking so far the book you mentioned, "White Rose..." I guess when I was a teenager during WWII I never thought about the American bombs reaching innocent Germans; only the Nazis is what we thought of and I don't remember either hearing of the terrible Jewish massacre. Now it's instant communication which not all good either. We might get snow tomorrow. As I said, so far barely an inch. Seems impossible to you snowbound people. I don't envy you that.

[Nina]

That is why we need Fannie Flagg once in a while to dispel grief.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

So true.

[Nina]

Joy, I really liked "White Rose, Black Forest," so thank you for mentioning it. I would give it four stars; minus one because as you mentioned it did get a bit long on history but overall I could hardly put it down.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Glad you like it.

[Linda]

Joy H. wrote: "I'll never understand why writers want their readers to wallow in sadness."

An entire book! Maybe a chapter or two ...

Another book club member said she read 100 pages but its so depressing and too close to heart (she lost a parent a few years ago).

Hopefully the next book club selection will be cheery, or at least readable!!

[Linda]

Nina wrote: "Have a happy anniversary, Linda whatever you do to celebrate; hopefully not shoveling snow. Joy, i am liking so far the book you mentioned, "White Rose..." I guess when I was a teenager during WWII..."

Thanks Nina!

[Linda]

I just downloaded "White Rose, Black Forest," and hope to start this within a few days. Hmmmm. Maybe today. Accompanying my husband to a doctor's appointment. Always a good place to get a little reading in. I just put my kindle next to my cell phone to take with me today.

[Linda]

Oh, and I don't see our thread for What dvds, shows, movies we are watching. So, I'm asking here. Anyone watch something good lately? We are watching the series "West Wing," and after all these years its still good. We'll watch 1 or 2 episodes an evening. Need another show to watch. Something light hearted and funny would be most welcome.

[Nina]

Just watched the older movie, "Summer Magic," with Haley Mills and it was such a pleasure to go back to those innocent times and listen again to Burl Ives's singing. Otherwise, in a very different genre we finished watching Reign/"Mary Queen of Scots." Grim but entertaining.

[Nina]

I especially liked reading about the section on Stuttart, Germany and
how the people survived or didn't survive the American bombings. I was in that city twice and couldn't imagine how it must have been then. Gave ,me pause as when I was a teenager during WWII I only thought of Germany as Nazi occupied and never imagined the Germans who weren't. I could hardly put that book down.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Linda wrote: "Oh, and I don't see our thread for What dvds, shows, movies we are watching. So, I'm asking here. Anyone watch something good lately? We are watching the series "West Wing," and after all these yea..."

Here's the link you need, Linda: "Movies, DVDs, and Theater" :
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

[Linda]

Thank you, Joy for the link.

[Linda]

Nina wrote: "Just watched the older movie, "Summer Magic," with Haley Mills and it was such a pleasure to go back to those innocent times and listen again to Burl Ives's singing. Otherwise, in a very different ..."

Nina, my husband I thought "Reign" Mary Queen of Scots was entertaining. Yes, parts were rather grim. Clothing was beautiful.

Haley Mills. Loved her when I was growing up along with her sister Juliet Mills. Pretty and very pleasant looking. Haven't thought of them in quite some time. I'm going to look up some of their movies.

[Nina]

We're watching Masterpiece Theater's "Victoria," now.

[Jim]

The Human Age: The World Shaped By Us by Diane Ackerman is about the Anthropocene Age, the one in which we live. She gives a good, balanced account of how we've changed the world as much as any of the other great changes that resulted in major extinctions of species. She looks at it from the perspective of an anthropologist of the future who lives on Mars & is studying our age. Nothing too far out, just enough to lend a better sense of historical perspective. If you like Sue Hubbell or Rachel Carson, you'll probably like this. Ackerman's style is very similar. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...