What I'm Reading OCTOBER 2014

[Kat]

Sherry wrote: "Kat wrote: "I'm reading Stoner right now--an academic novel set in the midwest. It spans a period of years, beginning not long before WWI. Interesting so far, though I haven't yet see..."

Thanks, Sherry, I'll definitely take a look at the discussion when I've finished the book.

[Kat]

Rebecca wrote: "I also count Notes on a Scandal as one of my favourite books by Zoe Heller and thought the movie did well as it is not a 'feel good' film."

I wasn't looking for a feel-good film, Rebecca. It's been awhile since I saw it, so at this point I'm guessing, but I suspect I felt the movie was too light on showing us why the character was the way she was--I don't much like characters to be all good or all bad, since most of us are a mix.

[Greer]

Just finished Doomsday Book by Connie Willis about time travel to the Middle Ages. I'd definitely recommend it - I had difficulty putting it down even during a busy work week.

I could think of things to nitpick (for instance, in a society where there is time travel, no one has a portable device to communicate and one character spends an inordinate amount of time worrying over missing phone calls)...but the book won me over with great characters and relationships.

[Kat]

Greer wrote: "Just finished Doomsday Book by Connie Willis about time travel to the Middle Ages. I'd definitely recommend it - I had difficulty putting it down even during a busy work week.

I cou..."

Yes, it's technologically dated, and Willis tends to repeat the same details over and over. But that hasn't kept me from reading this book so many times that I've lost count! I always find it gripping, moving, and meaningful.

[Ruth]

I just finished reading "Unbroken A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption." I had never heard of Louis Zamperini until I read this book. As a Pacific POW Louie faced the most unimaginable atrocities; it is almost impossible to believe that he survived. This is not a warm and fuzzy story. It is a mixture of dignity, self-worth, physical torment and emotional scarring. Seeing Louie survive over and over again made me cry.

[Marjorie]

Greer wrote "Just finished Doomsday Book by Connie Willis about time travel to the Middle Ages. I'd definitely recommend it."

I really liked that book. Liked the wry subtle humor which offset the horror of the Black Death. One little thing that I wondered about was where, during freezing December weather, they found the rose petals that were strewn around.

I've meant to read Geraldine Brooks' Year of Wonders which was also about the black death, but someone said was more moving than Willis' Doomsday Book. It was based on a true story of an English town which quaranteed itself when the plague came.

Marge

[Portia]

I highly recommend Year of Wonders. Brooks is a great writer. I've read March, about the father of the Little Women, as well as People of the Book, both of which I also recommend.

One of my spouse's cousins lives near Eyam, so we "got the tour" and were able to see the places where the food was left for the villagers by kind, and courageous, outsiders. What goes around comes around, and the book is relevant to our own time dealing with Ebola.

Eyam is also near Chatsworth, the residence of the Dukes of Devonshire so, until recently, we gave very liberal Cuz a hard time about having Debo Mitford as a neighbor :)

[Ann D]

I second Portia's recommendation of Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Details about the plague can be gruesome, but the writing is fine and the story was very compelling.

[Greer]

Marjorie - I've read Year of Wonders and would add another recommendation for it. I also thought The Plague was a great read.

[Rebecca]

Kat wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "I also count Notes on a Scandal as one of my favourite books by Zoe Heller and thought the movie did well as it is not a 'feel good' film."

I wasn't looking for a feel-good film, R..."

A movie can only reveal so much which is why I prefer books...but in both book and movie the character of Barbara Covett is a deeply disturbed woman who latches onto her friends/victims like a leech. There are people in this world who are like that; scary thought! The one I couldn't really understand was Sheba, she seemed to have it all and yet it wasn't enough.

I liked the movie, but the book is better.

[Book Concierge]

Ruth wrote: "I just finished reading "Unbroken A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption." I had never heard of Louis Zamperini until I read this book. As a Pacific POW Louie faced the most u..."

Wonderful book. I listened to the audio, performed by Edward Hermmann. Looking forward to the movie coming out at Christmas time.

[Ann D]

Marge,
This is a short non-fiction account of the Black Death which you might be interested in: In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made by Norman F. Cantor. It is fascinating and really well written.

[Portia]

Ann wrote: "I second Portia's recommendation of Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Details about the plague can be gruesome, but the writing is fine and ..."

Ann, shall we keep Year of Wonders in mind for the next round of nominations? It sounds as though there is some interest among others so we may have the making of good discussion.

[Ruth]

Ruth wrote: "I just finished reading "Unbroken A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption." I had never heard of Louis Zamperini until I read this book. As a Pacific POW Louie faced the most u..."

This Ruth only gave it 2 stars. Here's my review. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8...

[Cateline]

Portia wrote.
Another group I belonged to had a discussion of Stoner about 18 months ago. I was never able to warm up to the main character and my opinion was not popular with the rest of the group. I'll be interested in your final opinion, Kat.
..."

I loved Stoner, in spite of being frustrated by him at times. :)
I reviewed it here... https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Lyn]

I got the idea to read The Farm from recent posts in this thread. Once I started, it was hard to stop; it's the very definition of a page turner.

Now that I've finished the novel, it seemed such an odd story with such intricate detail, that I wanted to know how the author had thought of it. I also noted from the book jacket that the author had a Swedish mom and an English father.

I googled a bit, and for those who've read the book (or those who don't mind a bit of a spoiler), the answer's here: http://www.npr.org/2014/06/09/3195426...

[Book Concierge]

Paula by Isabel Allende – 5*****
Evocative, heart-rending, luminous, suspenseful, triumphant – I cannot think of enough adjectives to describe this beautifully written memoir. Allende lays her soul bare on the page as she attempts to write her family history at the bedside of her comatose daughter, Paula. The work moves back and forth from Allende’s history to the events in Paula’s hospital room. It took me a while to get into the book; the writing is very dense. But Allende’s gift for storytelling is evident. Her experiences may be unique, but her reactions are universal.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[[deleted user]]

Larry wrote: "I'm working my way through the Travis McGee novels by John MacDonald. I'm up to the eighth one in the series. This is One Fearful Yellow Eye, and it is set in Chicago, instead of Flor..."

Oh, how I loved those books. I wanted to have a best friend like Travis McGee, I think I wanted to be, who was it? Meyer?

Just finished Patrick Ness: "The Crane Wife"; "In America" by Susan Sontag; "Voices From the Street" by Philip K. Dick.

Also read some wonderful poetry this past month. Mark Halliday, for one, trying to see if my favorite bookstore has a copy of any of his. Carolyn Forche.

Just began this morning "Colorless T....." (I promise to know the title by the time I finish), by Murakami. Amazed to find it just sitting there, untouched, at my little library. When I opened it and heard the paper yield its first fresh stiffness, I knew I was the first to open it. So stirred with anticipation.

[Marjorie]

Ann wrote "This is a short non-fiction account of the Black Death which you might be interested in: In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made by Norman F. Cantor. It is fascinating and really well written."

Thank for the suggestion, Ann. I'll look for that book.

Marge

[Kat]

This thread has quit sending me notifications of new posts, I have to keep checking back. I'm still getting notifications from other CR threads. Is anyone else having this problem?

[Kat]

And suddenly I got a notification, first one this month, I think. Okay, I'm happy now.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Kat wrote: "And suddenly I got a notification, first one this month, I think. Okay, I'm happy now."

I never use the notifications feature. I just click on "unread topics" at the top.

[Luke]

I'm currently reading The Heptameron, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, and The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories.

[Carol]

I am trying to finish How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, but picked up Someone, which I am totally immersed in.

[Larry]

Marjorie wrote: "Ann wrote "This is a short non-fiction account of the Black Death which you might be interested in: In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made by Norman F. Cantor. It is fasci..."


Ann, Cantor's book The Civilization of the Middle Ages] was perhaps the first book on the Middle Ages that I read that really gave me some understanding of what those times were like.

[Book Concierge]

The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin – 4****
This is a beautifully written debut novel that exemplifies “show, don’t tell.” Just as you get to know your neighbors or friends over decades, one event and reaction at a time, the reader gets to know Talmadge over the course of the novel. A man of few words he rarely directly reflects on the guilt he carries over his part in events. Rather, his actions speak to his deep-seated pain and desire to make amends. Coplin also writes with eloquence about the land and the time period. Mark Bramhall does a marvelous job voicing the audio book.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Portia]

Carol wrote: "I am trying to finish How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, but picked up Someone, which I am totally immersed in."

Carol, I am so glad to see that you are reading Someone. McDermott is one of my favorite writers, and tho' I am not Irish Catholic, many of the situations she writes about in her too few books bring back memories of my childhood in PA. I gave the book five stars.

[Rebecca]

Lyn wrote: "I got the idea to read The Farm from recent posts in this thread. Once I started, it was hard to stop; it's the very definition of a page turner.

Now that I've finished the nove..."

I also found myself sitting up late into the night as the novel was hard to put down...The mother's story is just so gripping and yet in your heart you know that something is not quite right.....I read the link; to think his real parents inspired the story and in the novel my heart did go out to the mother and the father and the predicament they found themselves in....What a choice for the son!

I really enjoyed this book....Thanks for the link:)

[Geoff]

Mary wrote: "Geoff, were you able to get Munoz's Sepharad in an English translation? My search only returned the Spanish version."

Mary, yes, I found a translation. It's translated by Margaret Sayers Peden. I think I found it used through Alibris.com, but I also just bought it used through Amazon for a friend.

[Mary]

Thank you, Geoff. I found it and added it to my TBR.

[Gina]

I read The Lion Seeker by Kenneth Bonert. This book reveals the pain, both physical and emotional, of its main character, Isaac Helger, who is a Lithuaian Jew living in South Africa just before World War II. He also hopes, dreams, and lives trying to make enough money to buy his parents and their relatives a nice home. His story shares part of the history of that country's shamed treatment of the Jews.

[Frank]

A quick review of bad feminists by Roxanne gay and
While portions of the block book are well written and thoughtful observers others are simply angry

[Frank]

Trying to delete the comment which was clearly sent while I was dictating it so until then forgive me

[Ruth]

Just hit the delete button at the bottom right of your post.

[Luke]

What's wrong with anger.