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True Grit by Charles Portis
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Doc has been on my TBR for a long time and there are bio's of Doc Holliday and his times (none read by me).
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I'm also intrigued by this book.
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I'm also intrigued by this book."
Ooo, I like that suggestion.
Chris, good if you don't have wrong expectations. I read this book 7 years ago, and it was my less favorite book by this author. see why: https://wordsandpeace.com/2011/06/02/...
How about True Grit? I've heard it's an excellent book, and I also recently heard David Sedaris on another podcast recommend the audiobook - it's narrated by Donna Tartt, believe it or not. He said she was "born to read True Grit out loud." I'm not sure what nonfiction book would pair well with it, but maybe there's a book about vigilante justice in the American West or the lives of girls/women in the American frontier...or something.
Taking a look at The Will Rogers Medallion Awards I found this:Pairing of the story of Kate Warne
Non-fiction: The Pinks:The First Women Detectives, Operatives, and Spies with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency - Chris Enss
Fiction: Pinkerton's First Lady: Kate Warne - United States First Female Detective - Det. John Derring
I haven't read either. Decent reviews but don't know about availability. If nothing else, someone may be interested in adding it to their TBR pile.
I liked both Doc and True Grit.
How about Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West? Very dark, with great description of desolate country. Judge Holden is one of the most frightening villains in all literature.
Hi - I just joined this group - love, love your podcast!!If you haven't read Lonesome Dove that is one of my all time favorite books - I just noticed there is a book on the making of Lonesome Dove (I guess they are talking about the mini-series that came out back in the 80's?). A Book on the Making of Lonesome Dove
Chris wrote: "Sandy wrote: "Doc has been on my TBR for a long time and there are bio's of Doc Holliday and his times (none read by me)."I'm also intrigued by this book."
So good!! Epitaph is the sequel or book 2.
Mary Doria Russell just nails these stories!!
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If you would like to join in, we will be recording our discussion of the book on March 29, 2019.
We look forward to the discussion on this page.
Ooh, I just read this at the end of last year.
Serendipity. True Grit was on a recommended display at Hong Kong City Hall library last week and I was intrigued enough to borrow it! Hurrah! 🤓📘
A fun yarn! Not the usual type of book I read, but I blew through this in a few days. And the faster/more committed readers among you could easily get it done in one sitting.
Mattie is a feisty protagonist who is fearless in her sense of the need for justice and her determination to attain it.
Portis plays into many of the tropes of classic westerns to great effect. In less capable storytelling hands, the central players in this book could come across as annoying caricatures. But powered by Portis' droll prose, expert navigation of the line between exaggeration and authenticity, and easy reading style, it's hard not to be romanced by our cast. They chase through this tale of 'daring do' driven by a black-and-white sense of right and wrong and a phlegmatic view of life and death on the frontier.
A very entertaining read. :-)
Favourite quote (not a spoiler!) is from page p173 (in the version published by The Overlook Press in 2010) when Mattie says:"But I had not the strength nor the inclination to bandy words with a drunkard. What have you done when you have bested a fool?"
:-)
I have been listening to this book on my walks over the last few weeks and have been surprised at how much I have enjoyed it. It is funny and I didn’t expect that. I like that a tenacious young lady was at the center of the story - very entertaining.
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Not the usual type of book I read, but I blew through this in a few days. And the faster/more committed readers among you could easily get it done in one sitting.
Mattie is a feisty..."
Enjoyed your response. Can't wait to dive in.
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Good to know! I wasn't expecting humor either.
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Finished this today, loved it, loved Mattie & loved their style of speaking, old fashioned, proper & old west style! And yes, there were times when I laughed, usually at Mattie!
I am looking forward to the discussion, but I ain't reading it!
I had no idea how much I would like this book. I started it Friday and finished it today, Sunday. The gusto of a 14-year-old girl on a mission was captivating. The audio was narrated by Donna Tartt which surprised me. She read her own essay at the end of my version. I appreciated the inclusion of the essay.
I read this last year for the Western category of the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge. Most members of our Read Harder Challenge Book Club here in San Diego read it also because western is not a genre most of us read in and when the first to read it gave it rave reviews, the rest followed. We all decided if westerns were like this book we would read more. It was a compelling read that we all unexpectedly enjoyed. It’s an adventure story but with a feminist edge. Mattie is a smart, tough, fearless young woman with a determination and dedication inspiring to all. Portis tells the story with a spare prose (I think we all expected more flowery from a western) but with humor and outstanding descriptions of the landscape as well as great character development. From what I have read about the films I assumed Rooster would be the star as John Wayne was, but in the book Mattie is the star.
Read it about a month ago and enjoyed it as much as I did the first time I read it.
I read it and loved it and also the John Wayne movie version. I laughed all the way through the book at Mattie's various interactions with different characters. She bested everyone. I also read a book that peripherally reminded me of True Grit. It was News of the World. Just another book that some might find a good western.
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Just checked it out and it sounds good. Thanks for the recommendation!
I just finished it. I listened to the audio with Donna Tartt. I real enjoyed it. I have never read a “western” before so wasn’t sure if I would enjoy it. I loved Maddie’s spirit. How courageous and determined. She was so able to handle the men and the situations thrown at her. I did find some of it funny like you mentioned in the podcast. Her manner of speaking and delivery was great. I will have to watch the movie now. Thanks for the nudge to read this.
Just started it today! Better late than never is pretty much my life motto :) I never saw the John Wayne movie but enjoyed the more recent version, so I'm looking forward to the book.Once I finish True Grit, it's onto Gone with the Wind, just in time for my Big Book Summer annual reading challenge!
Thanks for hosting the readalongs. I absolutely loved both Born a Crime and Hum If You Don't Know the Words.
I finished the audio version today. this book has to have the highest number of actual or discuss murders of people of any book that I have come across so far. The gruesome was a little bit much for me at times. don't listen to the scene about the pit right before trying to go to sleep oh, at least it was upsetting for me.to answer a question Chris posed on the podcast about this read along there is a story about a pit in the Torah ( what others call the Old Testament). The brothers pushed Joseph into a pit of snakes and serpents and assume he dies but he does actually survive. I did not pick up on a lot of other biblical references. I found the suggestion of that interesting though.
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That pit scene is intense! Thanks for following up on the Torah reference. I will check it out. I had a big illustrated edition of the Bible when I was a kid and some of those images really stuck with me.
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Apologies for not acknowledging your comment before now! I think we sometimes cancel out notifications or something. Hope you enjoyed the movie/s.
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Once I finis..."
Apologies for the just now replying to your comment. I think we must cancel out notifications sometimes as there are two of us. ? So glad you've joined on these readalongs!
Book Cougars
Books mentioned in this topic
Lonesome Dove (other topics)True Grit (other topics)
Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West (other topics)
Doc (other topics)
A Book on the Making of Lonesome Dove (other topics)
More...
Our hope is to find a fictional western with an accompanying nonfiction complement.
Please discuss!