What are you reading or what books have you read or heard about? (Part TWELVE) Ongoing general thread. Showing 2,551-2,600 of 2,793

[Nina]

I like the last one.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I've always liked the "L'esprit de l'escalier" expession (literally, "staircase wit")!

[Nina]

Great book; couldn't bear to put it down. 'The Paris Architect," by Charles Belfoure

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for posting, Nina.
My computer was out for repair.
Now it's back and OK. Thanks goodness.

The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure

[Jim]

I've read a couple of good books lately. MASH is what the 1970 movie & the later series was based on. I've read it before, but not in a long time. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker is a great nonfiction book in these times of doom & gloom. He shows that we're not swirling down the drain, but have come a long way & are living in the best of times. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for posting, Jim.

[Nina]

The movie based on the movie "Mash" was produced by the screen director, Robert Altman. Years ago my husband and myself were in another movie he produced, "Kansas City," and it was loads of fun.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "The movie based on the movie "Mash" was produced by the screen director, Robert Altman. Years ago my husband and myself were in another movie he produced, "Kansas City," and it was loads of fun."

Nina, I remember that you told us about that at one time. It must have been a memorable experience!

[Nina]

What I didn't tell you was that I had written about an experience I'd had as a young child and once someone from Hollywood called me and asked if I knew Robert Altman was going to use it in the movie. As it turned out he did sort of use it but worked it out his way in the story. But I was pleased.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "What I didn't tell you was that I had written about an experience I'd had as a young child and once someone from Hollywood called me and asked if I knew Robert Altman was going to use it in the mov..."

How exciting that must have been, Nina!

[Nina]

Now reading a very interesting historical novel told from the viewpoint of the wife of Alexander Hamilton; "My Dear Hamilton," by Stephanie Gray and Laura Kamoie.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Now reading a very interesting historical novel told from the viewpoint of the wife of Alexander Hamilton; "My Dear Hamilton," by Stephanie Gray and Laura Kamoie."

SALON Overdrive doesn't have that book but it has the following:
Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Hamilton The Revolution
by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Jeremy McCarter
Audiobook
https://salon.overdrive.com/media/267...

I've put in a reserve for it.

Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda

[Jim]

I've been getting frustrated by my library's audiobook selection lately. They usually have about 5000 available, but pickings are getting pretty slim in science, SF, & other genres I'm interested in. I thought some libraries allowed out of state lending, but I couldn't find any.

Of course, GR groups to the rescue. I was pointed to an article & from there I applied to the Brooklyn (New York) library. They have about 20,000 audiobooks available & allowed me to sign up for a $50 annual fee, the cost of 2 or 3 audiobooks if I were to buy them. It was a surprisingly fast & easy process only taking a couple of hours through the web from filling out the form to getting access. I'm tickled.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Good for you, Jim! That's a bargain for an avid reader and listener like you.

[Nina]

One more good book, "The Last Runaway," by Tracy Chevalier who also wrote, " The Girl with the Pearl Earring,"

[Jim]

The Games by Ted Kosmatka was a great change of pace. I haven't read a SF medical-thriller like this in a long time. Gene editing for Olympic pit fights with a lot of money & prestige hanging in the balance. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I would have liked it better if Scott Brick hadn't been the narrator. He's a good, popular narrator, but there's something about his voice that slowly irritates me.

Today I listened to Joe Pepper by Elmer Kelton. It was brilliantly narrated by Pete Bradbury. I'm not much for westerns, but this one was really well done all the way around. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "One more good book, "The Last Runaway," by Tracy Chevalier who also wrote, " The Girl with the Pearl Earring,""

Hi Nina,
See my 2 reviews of those same books:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "The Games by Ted Kosmatka was a great change of pace. I haven't read a SF medical-thriller like this in a long time. Gene editing for Olympic pit fights with a lot ..."

Jim, thank you for your interesting posts and reviews. You really get INTO things! :)

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I finished listening to Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It was a good Gothic mystery even though I found it to be a bit too long and drawn out.

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

[Nina]

This is a reply to the "The Last Runaway," review by Joy. I so enjoyed what you wrote as it was right on. Almost like being in a book club to listen rather than read your thoughts. Also I really liked, "The Girl with the Pearl Earring," better than her other book as I thought you did also.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "This is a reply to the "The Last Runaway," review by Joy. I so enjoyed what you wrote as it was right on. Almost like being in a book club to listen rather than read your thoughts. Also I really li..."

Nina, I'm glad we agree.
Below are 4 links to my reviews of his books which I didn't like:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

PS-Nina, when my review says "no hook" it means the story didn't hook me. There was nothing that motivated me to keep reading. I call that "NO HOOK". :)

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Today I found the following:
============================
All this week, in the grand tradition of Victorian periodicals, Lilith will be serializing an excerpt of _Sadie in Love,_ the debut novel from 90-year-old former magazine editor Rochelle Distelheim. Look out for new installments every day this week.
From: https://www.lilith.org/blog/2018/05/w...
============================

Sadie in Love by Rochelle Distelheim

Years ago I discovered a poem by Rochelle Distelheim. It struck a chord with me and I saved it. Today I discovered that at the age of 90, she has written Sadie in Love.

In case you're curious, see the poem below:
======================
NO MUSE IS GOOD MUSE
-by Rochelle Distelheim
To be an Artist you need talent, as well as a wife
who washes the socks and the children,
and returns phone calls and library books and types.
In other words, the reason there are so many more
Men Geniuses than Women Geniuses is not Genius.
It is because Hemingway never joined the P.T.A.
And Arthur Rubinstein ignored Halloween.
Do you think Portnoy's creator sits through children's theater
matinees--on Saturdays?
Or that Norman Mailer faced 'driver's ed' failure,
chicken pox or chipped teeth?
Fitzgerald's night was so tender because the fender
his teen-ager dented happened when Papa was at a story conference.
Since Picasso does the painting, Mrs. Picasso did the toilet training.
And if Saul Bellow, National Book Award winner, invited thirty-three for Thanksgiving Day dinner, I'll bet he had help.
I'm sure Henry Moore was never a Cub Scout leader,
and Leonard Bernstein never instructed a tricycler
On becoming a bicycler just before he conducted.
Tell me again my anatomy is not necessarily my destiny,
tell me my hang-up is a personal and not a universal quandary,
and I'll tell you no muse is a good muse
unless she also helps with the laundry.
-Rochelle Distelheim
======================

[Nina]

Right on' perfect and couldn't agree more. Thanks for sharing.

[Nina]

Just finished reading "Finding Dorothy," and thought it was excellent. It is the story from the viewpoint of L. Frank Baum's wife. I guess you must know he is author of "The Wizard of Oz." Not only does the book take you into her fife as a child and then wife, mother and sister; it also takes place in Hollywood at the making of the movie. Did you know, Judy Garland was thirteen at that time and was playing the role of a ten year old; therefore they wanted her to look younger so she was only allowed to eat anything every other day so she wouldn't gain weight.

[Nina]

Also she was required to smoke eighty cigarettes a day thinking that would cause her to lose weight too. Sad.

[Jim]

An interesting intersection of SF & science, specifically environmentalism:
After Silence: Amanda Palmer Reads Neil Gaiman’s Stunning Poem Celebrating Rachel Carson’s Legacy of Culture-Shifting Courage

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/af...

[Nina]

A Chicago movie reviewer panned "Dontown Abby," but said the film's fans would probably like it anyway.

[Jim]

Wild Sex: The Science Behind Mating in the Animal Kingdom is a fascinating tour of sex from tiny insects up to whales from a variety of angles. I gave it a 5 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Nina]

Best book I have read this year; "My Dear Hamilton," and "Finding Dorothy" comes in second.

[Nina]

Just read a review of the new Judy Garland movie. It had almost five stars and verified some of what I had read previously in the book, "Finding Dorothy."

[Nina]

Interesting read, "The Perfume Collector." WWII in PARIS.

[Nina]

Reading a very good book, "Becoming Mrs. Lewis," by Callahan. Hope that is the right spelling. Try this as the writing is excellent.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Reading a very good book, "Becoming Mrs. Lewis," by Callahan. Hope that is the right spelling. Try this as the writing is excellent."

Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan

Thanks, Nina. I'll look for it.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

PS-Nina, I started a review of the book so I won't forget to look for it. (_Becoming Mrs. Lewis_)

See the beginning of my review at:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Nina]

Joy your mind reminds me of an encyclopedia when you come up with so many things just when I am trying my best to find them to no avail. I so wanted the name of the movie portraying the characters in the Lewis book and there it was on your review/Shadowlands. So thank you once again.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Joy your mind reminds me of an encyclopedia when you come up with so many things just when I am trying my best to find them to no avail. I so wanted the name of the movie portraying the characters ..."

Thank you, Nina. I loved the movie "Shadowlands" with Anthony Hopkins in the role of Jack Lewis. I couldn't remember the exact name of the movie so I went the IMDb website and looked up Hopkin's filmography. And I recognized the title as soon as I saw it. Of course, the name "Joy" confirmed it all. :)

"Shadowlands" (1993)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108101/...

[Nina]

Thanks for the info.

[Nina]

I'll try to get Shadowlands on Netflix.

[Jim]

Pandora's Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong a really good book, but I didn't care for the title or description. Except in one case (psychiatry) science didn't go wrong, people, society, & institutions did. They took what they wanted or fit their biases. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "Pandora's Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong a really good book, but I didn't care for the title or description. Except in one case (psychiatry) science didn't go wrong, peopl..."

Jim, thank you for the interesting review and for posting here.

[Nina]

I think that sounds interesting

[Nina]

I am reading "The Dressmaker's Gift," by Fiona Valpy. So far quite interesting set in WWII in Paris when occupied by the Nazi's and much later on.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "I am reading "The Dressmaker's Gift," by Fiona Valpy. So far quite interesting set in WWII in Paris when occupied by the Nazi's and much later on."

Thanks for posting, Nina.

The Dressmaker's Gift by Fiona Valpy

[Nina]

I am almost finished and it was a very good read. Literally.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Glad you enjoyed it, Nina.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

TODAY I LISTENED TO _Major Pettigrew's Last Stand_ - A Novel - by Helen Simonson.
I HAD READ IT BACK IN 2011, BUT TODAY I LISTENED TO THE AUDIO VERSION VIA SALON OVERDRIVE. I'M STILL LISTENING TO IT. HOPE I CAN STAY TO THE END.

SEE MY GOODREADS REVIEW AT:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand BY Helen Simonson

[Joy H., Group Founder]

PS-Nina of this group originally recommended this book to me.

I gave it 4 stars out of 5. Good story.

_Major Pettigrew's Last Stand_ by Helen Simonson

[Nina]

Yes, I did like the Major P. book and just finished, "Becoming Mrs. Lewis," and it was one of my favorites.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Yes, I did like the Major P. book and just finished, "Becoming Mrs. Lewis," and it was one of my favorites."

I wish I could get "Becoming Mrs. Lewis," as an audio book but it's not available via SALON OVERDRIVE.