What are you reading these days? (Part ELEVEN (2015) ongoing thread for 2015 Showing 501-550 of 1,045

[Nina]

Having watched four of the Hornblower series on DVD I would think a map would be of tremendous help.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Having watched four of the Hornblower series on DVD I would think a map would be of tremendous help."

Yes, I'm glad Jim mentioned it. Eddie says he finds the maps very helpful.

[Jim]

Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie was a romantic murder mystery with a lot of humor. Crusie often surprised me. Excellent characters, especially Agnes, & everything was neatly tied up in the end. Nothing profound, just a hell of a lot of fun. I gave it 4 stars (1 more than normal for this sort of book even when I like them a lot.) in my review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim, if Angry Agnes has measurements of 40"-33"-42", I think her dress size is larger than size 14! LOL

[Jim]

Well, I looked it up & found about those measurements on a clothing site. I don't know.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim, I've noticed that the manufacturers of woman's clothing seem to have decided that women like to think of themselves as wearing smaller sizes. So they seem to have renamed the larger sizes and now assign smaller names to them. Anyway, that's how I see it. I wonder if other women have noticed this.

[Jim]

Marg was telling me that, Joy. Pay more & get a smaller size #, although it's the same in actual measurement. She says it's also changed in time. She now has to get a size larger in the same manufacturer's tee shirt.

I'm a guy. I don't understand dress sizes. Guys clothes are generally simple & mean what they say. I get a 32" inseam no matter if they're cheap jeans or an expensive suit. Since they compared Agnes' size to her friend's via dress sizes, it meant little to me until I looked it up. This is the site:
https://www.jcrew.com/sizecharts/main...

Even there, I was averaging or rounding the difference between short & tall.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim, we just have to adjust to the changes. That's life.

[Werner]

Yes, Joy, it's absolutely a page-turner! It has my attention riveted so far.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Werner wrote: "Yes, Joy, it's absolutely a page-turner! It has my attention riveted so far."

Werner, I gather you are referring to Agnes and the Hitman which Jim posted about in Message #503 above. I looked quickly at the "preview" offered on the book's page and when I saw that there was a lot of dialogue to read, I bailed out. I hate reading dialogue in a story.

[Nina]

Joy, you are absolutely right about the dress and pant size and other women's clothing. Because I seem to keep old clothes I notice what used to be labeled size 8, is now a size 6. So much for vanity if this is a well known fact..

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina, this size business is very confusing. Also, some slacks are comfortable until I sit down. Then the waist feels tight because my plumplish tummy rides up. LOL That's why I now will try to buy slacks with elastic waistbands.

BTW, I know that the term "slacks" isn't used much anymore but I find that the word now used, "pants", isn't specific enough. It's too close to the word "panties". I hate to call slacks "trousers" because that word really refers to men's pants. So "slacks" is the best word, IMO.

[Werner]

Joy wrote: "Werner, I gather that you are referring to Agnes and the Hitman". No, Joy, actually I was referring to Doha 12, which you had commented sounded like a thriller. (I've never read Agnes and the Hitman, although I'd seen it mentioned a time or two.) Sorry for the confusion!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Werner, thanks for clarifying. I see your reference to Doha 12 in Message #498.

[Nina]

Joy, I forgot about the word, Slacks. I used to say that all the time. Thanks for reminding me. Also, I think of trousers like men's pants with the exception of then Katherine Hepburn wears them and for some reason the word trousers seem to fit her.

[Nina]

I just picked up our book club selection at the library this morning and I'm anxious to get into it as the premise sounds good. "Under the Wide and Starry Sky," by Nancy Horan. It tells of the passionate love story of Robert Louis Stevenson. Would you be interested in reading this Joy?

[Jim]

Besides Jackie, I'm probably the only one in this group that enjoys a space opera in the tradition of Robotech, but I thought I'd let you know about Forged By Battle by Patrick J. Loller anyway. Full of action with a blend of SF & fantasy - magic that is tech we don't understand. It's a furiously fast, fun ride. I gave it 4 stars here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "I just picked up our book club selection at the library this morning and I'm anxious to get into it as the premise sounds good. "Under the Wide and Starry Sky," by Nancy Horan. It tells of the passionate love story of Robert Louis Stevenson. Would you be interested in reading this Joy? "

Nina, I have Under the Wide and Starry Sky on my "keep in mind" shelf but as I browse the GR reviews, I don't see a lot of enthusiasm for it.

I picked out some books from the library yesterday. One of them is: The Believers by Zoë Heller. I've already read to page 86 and it seems promising. At least the author is gifted in her use of words and I always admire that. The plot is starting to fall apart but I'm hanging in there, partially hooked. :)

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "Besides Jackie, I'm probably the only one in this group that enjoys a space opera in the tradition of Robotech, but I thought I'd let you know about Forged By Battle by [author:Patr..."

Well, Jim, at least you made me look up the meaning of "space opera" once again. :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_opera

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Joy, I forgot about the word, Slacks. I used to say that all the time. Thanks for reminding me. Also, I think of trousers like men's pants with the exception of then Katherine Hepburn wears them an..."

Gee, Nina, I really MUST be outdated if even YOU don't use the word "slacks". I still insist it's a better word than pants or trousers. :)

Do you remember when women wouldn't DARE wear slacks to church? Or even to go to work in them. We thought my mother's friend was revolutionary when she wore slacks!

And how about sneakers... years ago we wouldn't THINK of wearing them to church. Our kids had to have "good" shoes to wear to church. If I remember correctly, we even packed them with our camping gear so they could go to church properly dressed. Seems an impossibly high standard nowadays.

[Jim]

Metzger's Dog by Thomas Perry was one of the best action-suspense-crime novels I've listened to in a long time. It's not what I expected, kind of low-key, but grabbed a hold of me & I didn't want to stop. I gave it 4 stars here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Nina]

Joy, How about when women had to wear hats to church. Somehow that look doesn't seem to fit in wiht slacks, does it?

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "Metzger's Dog by Thomas Perry was one of the best action-suspense-crime novels I've listened to in a long time. It's not what I expected, kind of low-key, but grabbed ..."

Jim, now you've made me curious. I've ordered the audio from the library. Who was the reader? Here's the link to the library's listing:
http://pac.sals.edu/polaris/search/ti... (Hope it works.)

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Joy, How about when women had to wear hats to church. Somehow that look doesn't seem to fit in wiht slacks, does it?"

Nina, you are so right! LOL
I'll bet the new church ruling put the millinery industry out of business. LOL

[Jim]

Michael Kramer was the narrator, Joy.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "Michael Kramer was the narrator, Joy."

Thanks, Jim. I've made a note of it so I can compare when I get the audio of Metzger's Dog by Thomas Perry.

[Nina]

Joy H. wrote: "Nina wrote: "I just picked up our book club selection at the library this morning and I'm anxious to get into it as the premise sounds good. "Under the Wide and Starry Sky," by Nancy Horan. It tell..."I tried in vain to get the Reader's Reviews for this book but they wouldn't come up. Most of my friends say the reviews they've seen are good so was curious to read the goodreads ones but as i said to no avail.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina, Here's the link to the GR page for _Under the Wide and Starry Sky_:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Scroll down to see the GR reviews.
Maybe I didn't see the good reviews. I only took a quick look.

[Nina]

I press on the reviews and nothing comes up. Lost cause I guess. Anyway it shows that it got four stars so that's not all bad.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina, please let us know how you liked Under the Wide and Starry Sky when you finish reading it.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I just finished reading The Believers by Zoë Heller. I read it in 4 days; that's quick for ME! It kept me reading, mostly because of the good writing. There are several sub-plots but it all revolves mainly around one family and their interactions with one another. Because of the sub-plots there's a lot there to keep your attention, including some interesting characters.

[Nina]

Joy H. wrote: "Nina, please let us know how you liked Under the Wide and Starry Sky when you finish reading it."I will. Also, we will be critiquing it in June at my book club so I'll add my friend's critiques to mine and relate them all to you.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "...we will be critiquing it in June at my book club so I'll add my friend's critiques to mine and relate them all to you."

Thanks, Nina.

[Nina]

So far so good, as far as I can tell, about the Robert Louis Stevenson book; it is a novel but it reads like a Biograpy. I am now half way through it, and it doesn't have a sagging middle as some books that start out good develop along the way.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "So far so good, as far as I can tell, about the Robert Louis Stevenson book; it is a novel but it reads like a Biograpy. I am now half way through it, and it doesn't have a sagging middle as some b..."

Nina, about Under the Wide and Starry Sky, below are links to some two-star and one-star reviews which made me doubt if I'd like the book:
TWO-STAR REVIEWS:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

ONE-STAR REVIEWS:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Nina]

I read some of these reviews and can understand why you took the book off your to be read list. I didn't agree with any of their comments but I believe they wrote what they honestly thought about the book so can't fault them for their opinions. I think one of the reasons I so liked the book is because I always liked Rober Louis Stevenson and loved his children's poetry. I wanted to know more about him and to me this is sort of a biographical novel. I admire him so far that with his terrible health he could still become a famous writer. I am only half way through the book and I have savoured each page but I really don't know if you would feel that way about it. Perhaps it is my age that makes me identify with this book.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Those are good reasons for liking the book, Nina. (Under the Wide and Starry Sky)

[Nina]

Joy, About the book, I looked it up on Amazon and read three reviews. Two were very much in favor of the book, in fact one said she had originally read the book from the library and liked it so much she bought a hard cover of it to keep in her library. Of course, one review was much like the goodreads not liking it for various reasons. The last revierwer said she so agreed with the first review and thought it so good as a biographical look at FLS. I will see what my book club members think of it next month.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina, it will be interesting to hear what your book club members thought of Under the Wide and Starry Sky. One man's meat is another man's poison ... TRUER WORDS WERE NEVER SAID! lol

[Joy H., Group Founder]

PS-About liking or not liking a book... I defy anyone to NOT like the following book: The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty. I'M LOVING IT! Hate for it to end. There's nothing like a really good book!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

The author, Julia Spencer-Fleming, is going to speak at our public library on June 10, 2015. She is a NY Times best-selling mystery writer.

I read this author's, In the Bleak Midwinter, and thought it was a good mystery, one that I could understand. :) So maybe I'll like the second one in the series, A Fountain Filled With Blood, although the title is a bit daunting!

See my review of In the Bleak Midwinter at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Mary JL]

I just finished my book about the Holocaust---The Book Thief and it was fabulous..

Switching to non-fiction, I just started today The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London. I have read several novels set in Victorian London, I thought it was time to read an actual history.

[Nina]

I agree, "The Book Thief," was very good. I have a bird question for Jim and Werner. We have a small bird about the size of a sparrow at our feeder. He or she has a black head and black bib and speckled black and white wings and small red tufts coming our of his head. Can you identify that type of bird for me?

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Mary JL wrote: "I just finished my book about the Holocaust---The Book Thief and it was fabulous... "

Hi Mary JL. I gave The Book Thief 4 stars. A very good read once I got into it. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Good luck with The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London. Sounds like an interesting non-fiction book.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "... We have a small bird about the size of a sparrow at our feeder. He or she has a black head and black bib and speckled black and white wings and small red tufts coming our of his head. ..."

Nina, what a pretty bird that must be! I too wonder what kind it is.

[Nina]

I meant to write out of his head, not "our"

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "I meant to write out of his head, not "our""

Nina, I didn't even notice! The context of the word helped me to read it as "out" instead of "our".

[Jim]

Nina wrote: "We have a small bird about the size of a sparrow at our feeder. He or she has a black head and black bib and spe..."

Except for the red tufts coming out of the sides of the head, it sounds like a Downy Woodpecker. They have red on the back of the head, although it can vary. They're a bit bigger than a sparrow, though.
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Do...

[Werner]

Nina, I'm not really good at bird identification. (Jim is, so he's the appropriate person to ask.) It sounded to me like it could possibly be a chickadee, but they don't have red tufts sticking out from their heads, either.

[Nina]

Werner, it's the red tufts that seems to throw everyone I ask off the track. I am going to try to get a picture of it. Thanks for answering.