What are you reading or what books have you read or heard about? (Part TWELVE) Ongoing general thread. Showing 2,401-2,450 of 2,793

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thank you both for posting,

[Joy H., Group Founder]

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

Is this the one?

[Jim]

Tom Sawyer, Detective was short & fun. The events are related by Huck Finn. The boys have to go back to Arkansas & help their Uncle Silas & Aunt Sally who are in quite a pickle. By sheer coincidence, they run into the man that helps them unlock the mystery & Tom Sawyer has his day in court.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

THANKS FOR POSTING, JIM.

[Nina]

Sounds like a fun read. "Tom Sawyer," was one of my very favorite books as a child. Especially after visiting Hannibal, MO and viewing the fence.

[Nina]

Yes, that is the author, Susan Orlean

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks, Nina.

[Nina]

Joy, if you are still collecting quotes here are three for you;

"Memory believes before knowing remembers," William Faulkner

"And when they ask us what we're doing, you can say, "We're remembering," Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

"I have always imagined Paradise as a kind of library," Jorge Luis Borges

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thank you, Nina.

[Jim]

I just finished reading The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World by Charles C. Mann.

I've read about both Borlaug (The Wizard) & Vogt (The Prophet) before, but it's great to get a better picture of their lives & missions, especially where their adherents collide head on.
- Borlaug believed that technology got us into this mess & could get us out of it. He's credited with saving over a billion lives due to his work with tweaking crops to grow in poor soils. He is credited as the father of the Green Revolution - crops modified to resist disease & deliver more while being fertilized & protected by chemical means. He wanted to feed hungry people now.
- Vogt saw humans racing headlong into Malthusian destruction & our only option was to cut back the human population & allow Mother Nature to prosper. He sees the environment as having a 'carrying capacity', being limited in what we can safely take from it. He is the father of the modern conservation movement.

Both have fanatic supporters & I've rarely read a book on the subject that wasn't completely biased toward one camp or the other. The author admits to being on the fence which lends his work a balanced point of view.

More in my 5 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Nina]

Victoria magazine had a message appealing to their readers to submit something about a kindness expressed to you as daughter or son. I haven't submitted anything for quite a while but because it made me think of my mother I went ahead and wrote something. They are publishing it and I am thrilled to have it in a national magazine. It is just a vingette nothing long but still it's kind of a thrill and they wrote such a nice letter thanking me for sending it. Had to share my good luck.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "I just finished reading The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World by Charles C. Mann. ..."

Interesting post, Jim!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Victoria magazine had a message appealing to their readers to submit something about a kindness expressed to you as daughter or son. I haven't submitted anything for quite a while but because it ma..."

Congratulations, Nina!

[Jim]

Congrats, Nina.

[Jim]

I usually don't bother to post reviews of books I didn't like, but The Secret Society of Demolition Writers seemed like such a neat idea & was such a total flop that I'd like to warn everyone off. My 1 star review is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thank you, Jim.

[Nina]

Just finished, "The Library Book," by Susan Orlean. She is a master at research. It was a fascinating trip down the twentieth century of library facts and having lived several months in the LA area I so enjoyed "visiting" that city again with her take on that city. If you are so inclined to read this book, you won't be disappointed.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Just finished, "The Library Book," by Susan Orlean. She is a master at research. It was a fascinating trip down the twentieth century of library facts and having lived several months in the LA area..."

Thank you, Nina, for telling us about this.

[Jim]

Only Time Will Tell is the first of Jeffrey Archer's Clifton Chronicles which start shortly after WWI in England & follow Harry into the start of WWII. It's quite a ride. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Nina]

Very good insight of Jeffery Archer's story. I have read many of his books years ago and can't remember if this was one of them but they were always fun to read.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for posting.

[Nina]

I am reading, "News of the World," by Paulette Jiles who also wrote "Enemy Women," one of my favorite books. So far I am liking this one also.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for posting, Nina.

[Jim]

21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari was an excellent read, but it's depressing that Kentucky is so well known for its conservative idiocy that an Israeli citizen would twice use it as an example. Yes, my state is more world famous for its Dark Age laws than its bourbon. On the bright side, he had good things to say about SF. My 5 star review is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for posting,

[Linda]

Finished "Little Fires Everywhere" which will be discussing at the next book club meeting. Good expectations of the discussion, lots to discuss.

About a perfectly planned town - if everything is planned all will run smoothly - ha! Utopia. About cross-culture adoption, abortion, surrogate mother, abandonment, mistakes and second choices, friendship and loyalty, crossing moral lines, laws and ethics and more!

Well-written, easy reading, quite interesting, thought provoking. One of the best books I've read in quite some time.

[Linda]

Nina wrote: "Linda, my favorite read of this past year was, "The Winter Sea," by Susanne Kearsley"

Thanks, I'll check this out.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Linda wrote: "Finished "Little Fires Everywhere" which will be discussing at the next book club meeting. Good expectations of the discussion, lots to discuss.

About a perfectly planned town - if everything is ..."

Thanks for posting, Linda.

[Jim]

Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space by Carl Sagan was wonderful as an audiobook. I originally read it as HB shortly after it came out. That was back in the mid 90s, so it's been a while. When I saw it in audio format, I jumped on it & got to love it all over again. I gave it a 5 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Linda]

Carl Sagan, an interesting person. A "catch your attention" voice.

Audiobook sounds good, Jim.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for posting, Jim. Years ago I enjoyed Carl Sagan's programs.

[Linda]

A friend of a friend wrote a book - here's a review of the book
http://www.bestsellersworld.com/2019/...

[Nina]

Just finished, "The Two Family House," by Lynda Cohen Loigman and it was exceptionally good. Can't wait to read her next novel.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Linda & Nina, thank you both for posting.

[Nina]

A quote I like; "Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn."-Lewis Grizzard

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Good one, Nina!

[Linda]

April book club selection is "Clock Dance" by Anne Tyler
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for telling us about "Clock Dance", Linda. Interesting title, anyway.

[Nina]

"Clock Dance" is slated for our July book club. I will be anxious to hear your thoughts on it.

[Linda]

So far a fast, easy read. Halfway through and awaiting for some action, climax.

[Nina]

Anne Tyler used to be my favorite author starting over twenty years ago but her later books didn't hold my attention as did "The Homesick Restaurant," and the "Accidental Tourist," and some of the others.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

The following link shows how many stars I gave to the books I read by Anne Tyler. There were quite a few good ones. None lately.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

[Nina]

I agreed with your ratings of the one's I had read. And none of the others seemed to interest me. I have forgotten the title of the first book she wrote and I do remember liking it very much.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks, Nina.

[Jim]

A few more interesting books over the past week or so...

The Basics of Genetics is one of the Great Courses by Betsey Dexter Dyer. It was very elementary, but I still gleaned some interesting info from it. The explanation of animal coat color was great. I love Dyer's enthusiasm, but she's not a great speaker & often her attempts at metaphors left me more confused than if she'd just spit it out in science-talk. I gave it a 3 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read a couple of mysteries:
Holy Ghost, the 11th Virgil Flowers book by John Sandford. Enjoyable as always. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Murder on the Flying Scotsman, Daisy Dalrymple #4, was fun, too. Set in the time of Downton Abbey, Daisy seems to always be there when someone is killed. They're short, cozy mysteries. I gave it a 3 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I don't read much YA or UF/PNR stuff any more, but I put The Scarlet Thread on my Kindle for some reason. It has a really neat world, but I don't think I'll continue on with the series. Still, I gave it a 3 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Escape Across The Cosmos is just total escapism, action SF. I gave it a 3 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

It's been an enjoyable month of reading so far.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for posting, Jim. Glad you're enjoying your reading.

[Nina]

Now reading, "The Spitfire Girls," about WWII women pilots. So far so good.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Now reading, "The Spitfire Girls," about WWII women pilots. So far so good."

Good title!
The Spitfire Girls by Soraya M. Lane

[Jim]

Going Rogue by Drew Hayes is the third in the Spells, Swords, & Stealth series, a D&D world from the NPC (non player characters) point of view. The series is really hitting its stride. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for posting, Jim.