What books are you reading now? (2020) Showing 601-650 of 2,222

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

I've started Finding Nouf for the May mods read. The beginning definitely captures interest and fits the theme well.

[Susan]

Good to hear you are enjoying it, Elizabeth.

[Chrissie]

I do like The Marsh Arabs by Wilfred Thesiger.

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

I have moved on to Slowly Down the Ganges by Eric Newby. The introduction sucked. I am hoping the book will be better.

[Nigeyb]

Chrissie wrote: "I have moved on to Slowly Down the Ganges "


Contender for our forthcoming travel read?

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

[Chrissie]

I have no idea if it will be good yet.

[Nigeyb]

Hence the question mark....


....however Eric Newby is very well regarded by other travel writers so I feel sure it will have some merits

It's the third most popular title by him on GoodReads...

https://www.goodreads.com/author/list...

[Chrissie]

I am kind of grumpy after the start. After the lousy introduction there is a listing of 108 names for the river........ Listening to the reading off of a list is not my thing. Phew, it has got to get better.

[Nigeyb]

Let's hope so.

[Chrissie]

I gave up on Slowly Down the Ganges by Eric Newby.

I explain in my VERY short review why: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I will begin The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri.

[Nigeyb]

How far in did you get?

[Joy D]

Just finished this book, published in 1988. Enjoyed it more than expected:

Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith - 4 stars - My Review

[Pam]

I just finished The Night Circus and am currently reading Green Island by Shawna Yang Ryan and listening to Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk and Five-Carat Soul by James McBride. They are all 21st century books. I have lots of 20th century books on my bookshelves, which I will eventually get back to!

[Chrissie]

Nigeyb wrote: "How far in did you get?"

Nigeyb wrote: "How far in did you get?"

I read the introduction (terrible), followed by the reading of a long list of 108 names for the Ganges and then four chapters. It is repetitive, The writing, the prose style is just plain messy. The writing is supposed to be amusing--it isn't! The author dribbles out information extremely slowly. The story takes forever to get going, I don't dare going near his other books, which are supposed to be better, but I have been burned. I do not think his kind of humor will fit me.

[Chrissie]

Joy D wrote: "Just finished this book, published in 1988. Enjoyed it more than expected:

Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith - 4 stars - My Review"

Oooooh yes, I liked that one by Smith, a lot too. Good stuff.

[Nigeyb]

Chrissie wrote: "Nigeyb wrote: "I do not think Eric Newby's kind of humor will fit me. "


Thanks. I had no idea he was a humorous writer. Interesting.

[Chrissie]

Nigeyb wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Nigeyb wrote: "I do not think Eric Newby's kind of humor will fit me. "


Thanks. I had no idea he was a humorous writer. Interesting."

Friends who have read several of his books, say he is, but not this one, neither from his standpoint nor mine. I wasn't really looking for the humor, I just wanted interesting info about the people living on the Ganges. The writing is what disturbed me most.

[Judy]

This discussion has me intrigued, as I have been meaning to try Newby - the one I've heard most about is Love and War in the Apennines, about his escape from an Italian prisoner of war camp, but I see a couple of his others are on Kindle Unlimited, so I might try one of those first and see if his style of writing is for me.

One of them is Something Wholesale: My Life and Times in the Rag Trade, about his time as a commercial buyer in ladies' fashion, which sounds interesting!

[Judy]

PS, on the humour, the Amazon blurb for Something Wholesale says Newby "is cherished as the forefather of the modern comic travel book."

[Nigeyb]

Judy wrote: "PS, on the humour, the Amazon blurb for Something Wholesale says Newby "is cherished as the forefather of the modern comic travel book.""

A proto Bill Bryson then?

[Chrissie]

Judy wrote: "This discussion has me intrigued, as I have been meaning to try Newby - the one I've heard most about is Love and War in the Apennines, about his escape from an Italian prisoner of ..."

The one you mention first is what originally drew my attention to the author. I bought the book, years ago when I could still read books, but even then the font was so small I could not manage it. So I gave it to my husband to read. This was years ago. I cannot get out of him how good it was. I do not think that is supposed to be funny! As I said, I am not looking for humor. I would love that you read it and tell me more about it. It has become available on audio now. I could get it.......but it has the same narrator as Slowly Down the Ganges where his mumbling further annoyed me! I don't know what to do??????

[Pamela]

Judy wrote: "This discussion has me intrigued, as I have been meaning to try Newby - the one I've heard most about is Love and War in the Apennines, about his escape from an Italian prisoner of ..."

I enjoyed Love and War in the Apennines, it was written with a lot of understatement and humour, but you still get a feeling for the danger he was in. I must read A Small Place in Italy soon as I have that on my kindle

[Tania]

Pam wrote: "I just finished The Night Circus and am currently reading Green Island by Shawna Yang Ryan and listening to Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of th..."</i>

I enjoyed [book:The Night Circus, and would like to get to The Starless Sea, but I'm in no hurry. I'd love to hear what you think of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, it keeps cropping up and I'm intrigued.

[Chrissie]

Pamela wrote: "Judy wrote: "This discussion has me intrigued, as I have been meaning to try Newby - the one I've heard most about is Love and War in the Apennines, about his escape from an Italian..."

So it DOES have humor? What kind of humor? Humor is so tricky and so very hard to define! What works for one does not work for another. I remain at a loss on what to do. Do you have a review I could read? Do you say anything about the prose style? Maybe I sound too fussy, but Slowly Down the Ganges really did not work for me. Otherwise I would not have dumped it as quickly as I did.

[Nigeyb]

Here's Pamela's review of Love and War in the Apennines...


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


Chrissie, you have your own very recent review for this book...

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

...which says your husband will read it. What did he tell you about it? Your review also states "not for me" so presumably he wasn't especially impressed - though you don't mention what he said.


Love and War in the Apennines is clearly not a humorous book, although some reviewers mention Eric Newby's sense of humour. It's part travelogue, part escape story and part romance which details Newby's imprisonment and escape from an Italian prison camp during World War 2.

That said, one of these reviews mentions humour...

'His masterpiece' Spectator

'Superbly funny … as civilizing, generous and affecting as “Vivere in Pace”, and the men, women and children, weather and woodsmoke are as fresh as yesterday' Observer

'A vivid description of Italian village life, full of notable characters … and the reactions of one sensitive man to being out of the war in the middle of one' Daily Telegraph

'It is necessary to state with emphasis that this is a very good book indeed' Times Literary Supplement

'An exciting story, superbly told. And wisdom, courage and generosity illuminate it' Punch


I have to say, and having read a few of the GR reviews of Love and War in the Apennines, that it sounds absolutely brilliant and right up my street.

[Pamela]

I agree with Chrissie that humour is hard to define - Newby's humour is very subtle and gentle and comes from the situations he describes.

[Nigeyb]

Thanks Pamela, having read yet more reviews I have the impression that Eric Newby is very understated and self deprecating.

I imagine something akin to Wodehouse's Jeeves.

Fairly subtle and easy to miss if you're not atuned to his sensibility, but equally an absolute delight if that sort of thing appeals to you

[Chrissie]

Nigeyb

Oh, I do see how things can be misunderstood. Please see message 620. When my husband read it ages ago he liked it, but nothing fabulous. NOW it exists on audiobook, not then, so I thought I might try it. NOW, when I ask him what he thought of it, I cannot get much out of him. Obviously it left no impression. When I first picked it out, I picked it out for its history. I put in that I do not want to read it b/c of the bad experience I had with Slowly Down the Granges.That review has no rating. .......and I keep changing ,y mind whether to read it or not. This is something typical for me.

Understated humor can be expressed in so many different ways. Also it is not just the humor that affects how you react to a book.

Thank you for your help. I will try and figure this out myself.

[Chrissie]

Pamela wrote: "I agree with Chrissie that humour is hard to define - Newby's humour is very subtle and gentle and comes from the situations he describes."

Thank you, Pamela.

Maybe the book I first chose to read would have fit me better.

[Pam]

Tania wrote: "Pam wrote: "I just finished The Night Circus and am currently reading Green Island by Shawna Yang Ryan and listening to [book:Drive Your Plow Over the..."

Tania- I will try to remember and come back to this post and give some thoughts on Drive Your Plow Over the Dead Bodies, providing I finish it! I had to check out the audiobook, which is my least favorite reading medium. The narrator sounds like she is East European (maybe it is the author?) and her accent is distracting to me. The premise of the book sounds really interesting! I previously listened to her book "Flights" which won the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Man Booker International Prize. I didn't enjoy it but it could be partly due to the fact it was an audiobook and a short story collection (not my favorite either). I thought I would give the author another try. I've also heard positive comments about this book.

[Barbara]

Chrissie wrote: "I gave up on Slowly Down the Ganges by Eric Newby.

I explain in my VERY short review why: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I will begin [book:The Lowl..."
You can't go wrong with Lahiri.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Pam wrote: "I previously listened to her book "Flights" which won the Nobel Prize in Literature"

Just a note - the Nobel Prize is not awarded to an author for a specific book. In the case of Olga Tokarczuk, her award was "for a narrative imagination that with encyclopedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life".

[Pam]

Thank you Elizabeth for the clarification. That wasn’t clear to me from just reading the book’s GR description.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Thanks, Pam. I've fixed the GR description for clarity.

[Chrissie]

Barbara wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "I gave up on Slowly Down the Ganges by Eric Newby.

I explain in my VERY short review why: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I will beg..."

There is a lot in it for me to relate to. I was at Brown at about th time as in the novel. I also find the Naxalite Movement interesting.

[Joy D]

Just finished this classic science fiction, published in 1974:

The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia by Ursula K. Le Guin - 4 stars - My Review

[Brian E]

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Pam wrote: "I previously listened to her book "Flights" which won the Nobel Prize in Literature"
Just a note - the Nobel Prize is not awarded to an author for a specific book. "

Even though the award is to an author and not to a specific work, the Nobel Committee will sometimes cite a specific work when giving the award to an author. For instance the Nobel Committee said:
In 1920, to Knut Hamsun “for his monumental work, Growth of the Soil”
In 1929, to Thomas Mann “principally for his great novel, Buddenbrooks, which has won steadily increased recognition as one of the classic works of contemporary literature”

I remember these examples since many consider Hamsun's Hunger and Mann's The Magic Mountain to be their author's most monumental work.

The majority of the time, though, the Committee refrains from citing specific books and says stuff like:
In 1930, to Sinclair Lewis 'for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humour, new types of characters”'
In 1928, to Sigrid Undset “principally for her powerful descriptions of Northern life during the Middle Ages”

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Yes, and Galsworthy "for his distinguished art of narration, which takes its highest form in The Forsyte Saga" - but note that it isn't *for* The Forsyte Saga, it is for the person. The Nobel Prize for Literature is not awarded to a book in the way that most other prizes are awarded, like the Booker or the Pulitzer. (I say most, because there are other awards for a body of work or lifetime achievement.)

[Brian E]

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Yes, and Galsworthy "for his distinguished art of narration, which takes its highest form in The Forsyte Saga" - but note that it isn't *for* The Forsyte Saga, it is for the person. The Nobel Prize..."

Funny you mention Galsworthy example as I had it in my post and deleted it as 3 examples is overkill and the other two authors had alternate works I wanted to mention. Galsworthy doesn't really have another renowned work other than the Saga.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Brian wrote: "Galsworthy doesn't really have another renowned work other than the Saga."

That's not the point. The point is that the Nobel isn't given to a specific book, but to an author. Just because an author is known for a specific work despite having authored many others doesn't mean the Prize was given to the book.

[Joy D]

Finished this unusual book about, published in 1983 and set in the 1950's and 1960's, about a female chess prodigy with addiction issues:

The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis - 3 stars - My Review

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

I will finish Finding Nouf a little later today. I look forward to the discussion. I am enjoying it thoroughly, so thanks to Susan for her nomination. I have picked up the next in the series at $1.99 and my library has the third. Not sure when I'll get to them, of course.

[Chrissie]

I have completed Jhumpa Lahiri's The Lowland.

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

I have begun Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz. I am looking forward to this a lot!

[Nigeyb]

I've just started listening to...


Don't Let Go by Harlan Coben

...which I got out of the library on a whim.

I've never read anything by Harlan Coben and am vaguely intrigued to find out what he is like.

Any fans in the group?

My first impression of Don't Let Go is that it's an intriguing, slick and efficient tale of murder and hidden secrets. Plenty more still to go, though I daresay I'll whip through it

It's also a pleasant contrast to The Plague by Albert Camus, the other book I currently have on the go

The blurb...

With unmatched suspense and emotional insight, Harlan Coben explores the big secrets and little lies that can destroy a relationship, a family, and even a town in this powerful new thriller.

Suburban New Jersey Detective Napoleon “Nap” Dumas hasn't been the same since senior year of high school, when his twin brother Leo and Leo’s girlfriend Diana were found dead on the railroad tracks—and Maura, the girl Nap considered the love of his life, broke up with him and disappeared without explanation. For fifteen years, Nap has been searching, both for Maura and for the real reason behind his brother's death. And now, it looks as though he may finally find what he's been looking for.

When Maura's fingerprints turn up in the rental car of a suspected murderer, Nap embarks on a quest for answers that only leads to more questions—about the woman he loved, about the childhood friends he thought he knew, about the abandoned military base near where he grew up, and mostly about Leo and Diana—whose deaths are darker and far more sinister than Nap ever dared imagine.

[Jill]

I have read the first 4 of his Myron Bolitar series and enjoyed them. Will read on as and when.

[Alejandro]

I was reading a bit more of "The Law of Success" by Napoleon Hill.
Long read but worth it.

[Joy D]

Published in 1986, one of the most unusual and creative books I have ever read:

The Stone Raft by José Saramago - 4 stars - My Review

[Pam]

Joy - That one sounds interesting!

[Nigeyb]

I've read two books by José Saramago and I really enjoyed them both - thanks, Joy, for the review of The Stone Raft

[Haaze]

I'm in the middle of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton and find it quite delightful. I'm very much rooting for Ms. Lily Bart. Wharton's language is exquisite and it is such an interesting psychological immersion into the New York upper class at the time. It makes me more interested in Wharton as an author and as a person of her times.

[Chrissie]

I liked that one by Edith Wharton, but I think she has even better. You really must try The Old Maid: The 'Fifties, Bunner Sisters. False Dawn and Summer. I kind of think her shorter pieces are best, but not all. Ethan Frome I did not like at all.

Hmm, I wonder if there are more of hers I should read.