Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
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What are you reading these days? (Part ELEVEN (2015) ongoing thread for 2015
message 701:
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Nina
(new)
Jul 15, 2015 08:33AM
Jim wrote: "I got the audio version of Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee today. I'm going to start listening to it tomorrow with trepidation. It's relatively short, only 6+ hours."Jim, after reading a short review of the Harper Lee's new book, I have decided I wouldn't like to read it. I am curious to read your review if you would post it.
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I just started it this morning, Nina. I'm only 45 minutes into it, but so far it's OK. I'm sure it won't live up to 'Mockingbird' but we'll see.
Jim, I have one more bird question. We have Chickadee's at our feeder and one of the pair that eats together at our Finch feeder has a red head like a rooster on top of the black cap. I can't find anything in our bird book or on google that mentions the red head. Also, the other birds we saw a few weeks ago with the red atop it's head hasn't returned so I was unable to get a picture of it. Also, this morning the black cap chichadee on the feeder had black and white stripes down it's chest. Does any of this sound familiar to you.
An Acorn woodpecker has kind of a red mohawk, I think. They're a western bird normally, but we thought we had one here some years ago. Only saw it once & not for too long, but we both saw it.Warblers often have the stripes you mention. Again, I think you're talking of a western one, Black-throated Gray Warbler, but I live east of the Mississippi, so we almost never see them. I looked up warblers & saw this one, but it's tough for me to figure out western birds. I have a tough enough time trying to keep up with eastern ones! Anyway, try this link & see if it looks like it.
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bl...
Jim, it's possible that could be the bird with the stripes I saw this morning. I only saw it once and not ever again so hard to remember exactly what it looked like. To me, it looked exactly like the black cap chickadee except for the stripes..Interesting isn't it? I also saw a Carolina chickadee this afternoon and they are not supposed to be this far north or west.
I can't remember if you have the great blue herons on your property.
I thought the only difference between the Carolina & Black Cap chickadees were their song & general area. The first are west of the Appalachians, the latter west. No?We occasionally have Great Blue herons on the property, but none that live here. I have a bird dog who jealously guards the property. She's supposed to be a pointer, but grew up with Jack Russells, so she's a bit confused. She points & then kills them if she can catch them. Meadow larks & Kill Deer can live here, but not something as big as a GB heron. She's even brought down a yearling deer & a fox. Not very typical for her breed.
Jim wrote: "I got the audio version of Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee today. I'm going to start listening to it tomorrow with trepidation. It's relatively short, only 6+ hours."That should be interesting, Jim. Please let us know when you post your review.
Hi Everyone! I just started the new Harper Lee book. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...So far, so good! I love her writing style!
The Carolina chickadee is usually south of the Mason-Dixon line whereas the black capped one is west and north of it. Yes, the Carolina has four to five notes in it's song rather than the two or three of the Black cap. The Carolina has brown on it's underside feathers.
I succomed and purchased The Watchman book as it was on sale at B & N and I had a couple of discounts so it only cost me 13.43 for the hardback. Jim, we'll have to compare reviews.
Joy. We watched a good movie last night, "Tasting Menus," by Netflix. It was fun to watch.
I haven't read or ordered Go Set a Watchman; since I've never read To Kill a Mockingbird (though it's on my to-read shelf), I thought it would be best to read that one first. But I was very interested in the review of the new book posted by my Goodreads friend Auntie J, explaining why she decided NOT to read it. (She embeds a link to a detailed Washington Post story, which is also of interest. Her review is here: www.goodreads.com/review/show/1189550441 .
Almost done with "Watchman". It's suddenly gotten quite good at the end, but I'm a bit conflicted. Writing the review will be tough. I don't know if I can do it at all without spoilers. I'll have to think on it.
Jim, After I read mine maybe we could communicate by email. The review in the paper had one spoiler and even though he was upset by what he read overall he thought the writing very good and he ended up liking the book. Does this make sense to you?
Last night, I started reading a review copy of my Goodreads friend David Wittinger's debut novel, The Strong One. It's one I'm reading in e-book format (it's not available in paperback yet, though the author hopes it eventually will be) --so, not as regularly or quickly as I read in print. I was intrigued by the concept of this one, but not sure I'd like it; so a chance to try it for free was appealing. By now, I'm three chapters in, and liking it so far.
I checked it out and not my kind of book but enjoy Werner.
Yes, Nina, I don't think either you or Joy would like it. (I just report what I'm reading, and my reaction; I don't necessarily recommend it as such. :-) )
Jim wrote: "My review of Go Set a Watchman is here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
I saw this article online: http://www.npr.org/2015/07/13/4225459...
PS-The title of the article is: "Harper Lee's 'Watchman' Is A Mess That Makes Us Reconsider A Masterpiece".
Werner wrote: "Last night, I started reading a review copy of my Goodreads friend David Wittinger's debut novel, The Strong One. It's one I'm reading in e-book format (it's not available in paper..."Thanks for posting, Werner.
Nina wrote: "Joy. We watched a good movie last night, "Tasting Menus," by Netflix. It was fun to watch.""Tasting Menu" (2013)
Here's the IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1826753/?...
I finally finished The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson. I only gave it 2 stars because it was far too long & repetitious, but the idea was pretty interesting. It's about the birth of statistical analysis in the understanding of disease during the cholera outbreaks of London during the mid 1800's. This was before general knowledge of the existence bacteria, too. So, it certainly had its good moments, but I'd highly recommend reading it, not listening to it. My review is here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jim, with all your reading about this type of thing, you'll soon be eligible for a medical degree! :)
I am half way through, "...the Watchman," and some of it rings true just like The Mockingbird but other parts seem forced. Good the Harper Lee had a bright and caring about her manuscript editor. More later.
Nina wrote: "I am half way through, "...the Watchman," ..."Nina, I admire the way you are able to read so many books!
Joy, I mostly couldn't read our book selection this month for the book club I belong to as it was probably the worst or close to it book I ever tried to read. I skimmed it and read the Epilogue so I'd have something to discuss. Don't read, "To Rise Again at a Decent Hour." It is gross and boring and the main character is an egotist.
Joy, I promised you earlier that I'd post a link to my review of Cakes and Ale. Here's that review, posted last night: www.goodreads.com/review/show/1330541308 . (I could have gone into more depth about the background of the book, but I had to draw the review to a close when a thunderstorm came up as I was typing it.) This was one read I was less enthusiastic about than most, rating it only at two stars.
Werner, thanks for the link to your excellent review.
You're welcome, Joy! Glad you liked it.
Joy, Don't you think the book Werner reviewed would make a great Masterpiece Theater movie staring Judy Dench?
Personally, I could imagine it as a Masterpiece Theatre production; but I'm honestly not familiar enough with Judy Dench to picture her as Rosie. :-)
Nina wrote: "Joy, Don't you think the book Werner reviewed would make a great Masterpiece Theater movie staring Judy Dench?"Yes, Nina, it probably would. At least I could find out more about it without reading it ("Cakes & Ale"). :)
Hello, everyone! I am back. Spent the last three weeks doing some volunteer work for my church---neglecting my posting.But I will always hope to return to my friends.
Currently, I am reading a SF classic, Pebble in the Sky. It was Isaac Asimov's first published book. I read it but I do not believe I finished it---I was 11. Now that I am older I am enjoying it and it makes more sense to me. Will try to catch up on some reviews soon.
PS. Hope everyone had a great 4th of July Holiday!
Mary JL wrote: "... Currently, I am reading a SF classic, Pebble in the Sky. ... "Hi Mary JL. Good to see you. It's interesting that that was Asimov's first novel. ( Pebble in the Sky )
That's a blast from the past, Mary JL. I remember reading it a long time ago, too. One of my early SF books. I read The Caves of Steel not long ago. That's the first of his robot series according to GR, a universe I spent many pleasant hours in. It was good, but I wish he'd stayed away from numbers. They dated it. The world retreated to urban 'caves of steel' in the face of the overwhelming population of 8 billion several thousand years in the future which just doesn't seem likely today.
I'm impressed you read that book, Mary JL at age 11.
While I'm waiting to start a buddy read of the final book in Stephen Lawhead's Bright Empires series with Jackie (I'm the slowpoke; I'm getting the book by interlibrary loan, and it's in the mail), I'm reading in a short story anthology, Men O'War: Stories from the Glory Days of Sail. For now, I'm shelving it as "being read intermittently," rather than "currently reading." (The anthology would appeal to Hornblower fans, and indeed has a Hornblower story.)
I saw something someone wrote on the NYT book review about Goodreads having a section of the MOST boring book you have ever read. I haven't come across that here but thought it might be fun to start. I am going to quote what else he wrote: The most useful question to ask a boring book is "Not why is this author so incompetent?" but "What is this author trying to do that I don't understand?" Whether the book in question was published 200 years ago or last week the bopring part of the book may turn out to be the cloak of it's splendor.Some of the most recent published books contain long stretches of barely anything happening. This writer is Adam Kirsch. He says "Moby Dick" is also like that.
My most recent boring book is "To Rise Again at a Decent Hour," by Joshua Ferris
Nina, if you look at the top of any screen on GR, there is an "Explore" button with a drop down. Click on it & then the "Listopia" link. Then look down on the right side & you'll find a place to search by tag. Put "boring" in there & click search. You'll find this page:https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag?ut...
You should be able to see quite a few lists of boring, overrated, & more. You can vote for those you think belong on the lists. I found that I disagreed with many on a couple of the lists I looked at.
Thanks, Jim, that was interesting. I hadn't read all of the them/some I disagreed with and couldn't imagine To Kill a Mockingbird to be boring. But, we all have different tastes, obviously.I did agree with the selection of The Life of Pi. Couldn't get into it.
I hadn't read all of them, either. Some because I was sure I'd find them boring!;)
Werner wrote: "... I'm reading in a short story anthology, Men O'War: Stories from the Glory Days of Sail."Werner, that seems to be an interesting collection of stories. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
Jim, thanks for the link to "Boring Book Lists". https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag?ut...Very interesting!
Nina wrote: "... The Life of Pi. Couldn't get into it. ..."Nina, I enjoyed _Life of Pi_. Life of Pi
Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
You wrote a very cognizant review of Pi, Joy. Perhaps if I had read it first I would have liked the book better. Now, I can't remember why I disliked it; I think it was just too much disbelief for me and I especially disliked having to figure out which movie ending I liked best. However, I think I was in the minority as most everyone I knew liked it.
Jim. I am going to qoute a passage in a book I am reading about the German occupation of an Italian town during WWII as I actually believe it could be included in the Watchman book. See what you think:People can experience different things; they can even grow. But they cannot change. Not in a significant way."
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