Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
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ABOUT BOOKS AND READING
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What are you reading these days? (Part ELEVEN (2015) ongoing thread for 2015
A short while back, Jackie mentioned the young adult fantasy, Magyk by Angie Sage. I borrowed it from the library and am slowly getting into it. It's easy reading and slow-going so far but I'm curious about this genre. So I continue to pick it up. I read a few pages each time.
Nina had mentioned The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. She said it's a very popular book. Most of the Goodreads reviews are positive, but there is a NEGATIVE review of the book at:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The review is written by GR member "B the Book Addict". I think Nina would enjoy reading this negative review and the 16 comments that follow it.
The reviewer found the book's protagonist (a character named Don Tillman) to be "annoying". I thought the same thing while I was reading a sample of the book at:
https://play.google.com/store/books/d... (Click on "FREE SAMPLE".)
I can't understand why so many people found the book enjoyable. Yes, it did keep me reading the sample but all the time I was thinking how much I disliked Don Tillman, the protagonist. He was definitely ANNOYING, IMO!
Today I read a sample of All the Tea in China (by Jane Orcutt) at:https://play.google.com/books/reader?...
It's a Regency historical romance and I like Jane Orcutt's style of writing. Werner mentioned this book in this group back in 2009. I'm glad he did because I put it on my GR shelf and found it today while I was searching for a book I could really get into. Looks like this is a good one!
Joy, Barb and I both liked
(I gave it four stars). Since you put it on your shelf on the strength of my mentioning it, I really hope you like it! :-) For whatever it's worth, here's the link to my review: www.goodreads.com/review/show/71756949 . You and I don't have exactly the same tastes in books, but I try to make my reviews descriptive enough that other readers can glean some idea from them of how they'd react to the book themselves.
Werner, so far I do like All the Tea in China. From your review, I can tell I will enjoy reading it to the end. BTW, verrucas are warts. :)http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/...
Glad my review was helpful, Joy, and thanks for the link and definition. (It's always cool to learn a new word!).
Werner, I hope you won't have need to use the new word! :)
Me, too, Joy; the definition says they're usually painful! :-)
Recently I've been listening to the audio version of Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn by Donald Spoto. I never realized how many problems she had during her life and during her career as an actress. It's almost painful to hear about these things because she has always seemed so enchanting and sweet. It seemed that no harm could come to her. But she had problems like everybody else.
PS-I just realized that I had already read Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn back in 2008. Thanks to my Goodreads shelves I was able to find this out! Oh well, it was so long ago that it's like a NEW book to me! LOL
Books I really enjoy I can reread and it does feel like a new book to me. I may remember the bare bones of the story but I forget the details and that's what makes the book new again, all those delicious details! I've always liked Audrey Hepburn, my dad would call me Audrey Hepburn when I was a child because I was dramatic, lol
Jackie, speaking of "delicious details", I'm currently reading a free sample of The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais. There's a lot of cooking going on! LOLAlthough I hate to cook, I'm enjoying the words because the author tells a good story. Right now, at the beginning of the book, the setting is India, Indian foods, and Indian "start-up" restaurants which develop into better restaurants. The narrator, at this point, is a young boy, helping his parents with the food.
Free sample (of the book, not the food) :) can be found at:
https://play.google.com/books/reader?...
(I'm at Chapter Two; so the link leads there. You can back up with the arrows in the lower right hand corner of the screen.)
PS-Of course, this is the book from which the current movie is adapted.
I didn't read the book but I saw the movie.
Jackie wrote: "I didn't read the book but I saw the movie."Jackie, I should have known. You always keep up with the latest movies.
Iron Men and Silver Stars a collection of short western stories edited by Donald Hamilton who wrote the last & best story in the book, "The Guns of William Longley". Overall, I gave it 4 stars.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished the second volume of Robert Heinlein's biography. Now, I have started a new Stephen King book,Full Dark, No Stars.It is a collection of four short stories---the first one---1922--is going very well.
Jim wrote: "Iron Men and Silver Stars a collection of short western stories edited by Donald Hamilton who wrote the last & best story in the book, "The Guns of William Longley"...."Interesting collection, Jim. I like your comments on each story.
Mary JL wrote: "I finished the second volume of Robert Heinlein's biography. Now, I have started a new Stephen King book,Full Dark, No Stars.It is a collection of four short stories---the first on..."Mary JL, good going on Heinlein's biography!
You're brave to tackle Stephen King's stuff. He frightens me. :)
I'm taking a look at a sample of Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges. It's at:https://play.google.com/books/reader?...
[The link is where I'm at. You can back up to the earlier pages using the arrows at the bottom on the right.]
Of course, a film, entitled, "The Imitation Game" has been adapted from the book. It's been nominated for many awards. I can't wait to see Benedict Cumberbatch play the role of Alan Turing.
Alan Turing was always wondering if a computer-like device could "imitate" the human mind. He devised a game to test his theories. The game is described here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_t...
I also watched the following short documentary related to Turing: "Decoding Alan Turing".
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1377144/?...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006...
Do you like spy thrillers? If so, Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin is a nonfiction sketch of the birth of the atomic bomb is the place to see where the modern ones were born. The accounts are barebones, often understated, but the outline is all there from trying to stop Hitler from building his own atomic bomb by destroying the heavy water plant in Norway (Norwegian resistance, gliders, & sabotage) to troubled scientists dealing with the morality of their works. There is also a sketch of the politics behind many of the decisions regarding the creation, use, & finally crazy proliferation of this WMD. Everyone should read it. I gave it 5 stars in my review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jim wrote: "Do you like spy thrillers? ..."Not really, Jim. I was interested in "The Imitation Game" mainly because it's up for an Oscar and because Benedict Cumberbatch is in it.
Jim wrote: "You lived through this one, Joy."Jim, if you mean WWII, yes I did live during that era. I turned 10 years old in 1944. All my older cousins were eligible for the service at that time. In fact, one of my cousins became proficient in sending Morse Code, was really good at it. I kept thinking of him while reading about Alan Turing and his code-breaking fame.
Another cousin of mine, in his 90s now, was in the D-Day invasion. He was in the navy and his boat brought the ill-fated soldiers into the beach at Omaha. He won't talk about the things he saw. His statement is part of the Congressional record, he says, whatever that means.
I remember crying at the train station in New Rochelle when my other cousin went off on the train with the other soldiers.
I haven't seen "The Imitation Game" yet. Won't see it for a while until it's available for streaming online for Netflix or Amazon Prime members.
One of the interesting tidbits was about Morse Code. A group dropped into Norway, occupied territory, under awful conditions. One sent in his report & almost wasn't believed because his Morse code signature, the way he sent the message, was different than when he'd been in Britain because they were freezing & starving. Luckily, there was a secret question that confirmed his identity & the mission moved on.It's an interesting history, not really a spy thriller. Just happens to have a lot of the elements, but it was real life.
What do you do when you find out a really good book isn't true? I hate that. I saw today that one I was thinking of reading Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West is apparently not completely accurate. A lot of my friends have read it & loved it. More have it on their To-Read lists. Here's the story I read:http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/18/asi...
It might not really matter. The author, Blaine Harden, has posted an explanation on his site here:
http://www.blaineharden.com
This sort of thing bugs me. The worst example I know of is A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. Touted as one of the best books on addiction recovery by Oprah for a while, it was full of lies. I knew it as soon as I read it & told my mother so. She had recommended it to me saying how she finally understood a bit better what it was like for me. I gave the book 2 stars because of that, but wanted to give it negative stars for the last 2/3 of the book which are plain dangerous. More explanation in my review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm always disappointed when a very moving book winds up being fiction instead of fact. In the case of 'Camp 14', I guess the exact details don't really matter to us, but I couldn't read it now so I put it on my Do-Not-Read shelf with an explanation.
I guess I would be disappointed when it's a non-fiction book.Sometimes the makers of a film which is adapted from a fiction book change the details a bit. I don't mind as long as I enjoy the film, but I do like to be aware of the changes.
If it's not accurate then it cannot be called non-fiction, because those inaccuracies are a fiction, knowingly written fiction. That would infuriate me. I'm not a fan of changes from book to film unless it's an improvement and that almost never happens. The only movie I can recall liking better than the book is World War Z. It was completely different that the book, and the book sucked, so I was OK with it. Except they should have titled it something else since it had nothing in common with the original book, except there were zombies.
And Jim, doesn't it just annoy you to see opposite sex AA/NA sponsors on TV. That never ever happens, unless one of them is homosexual. Films use the sponsor relationship as a stepping stone to a sexual relationshio, I hate that because it is 100% false. That's exactly why they don't allow it in the real world groups.
Jackie, I agree with you about WWZ. Couldn't read the book, didn't bother with the movie. I listened to an abridged edition & loved it, though. I generally don't read abridged books, but some really benefit from it. "Moby Dick" certainly did, too.You're right, Jackie. Unless there is no shot of the 2 being sexually compatible & even then it's a stretch, usually just a temporary measure to get someone by. I get so tired of this PC BS of trying to equate the sexes. Men & women may be equal, but we are NOT the same. There are issues, both physically & emotionally, for each gender that the other just will not understand.
I daresay that Nina & Joy will agree & they've both been married longer than we've been alive, I think. Marg & I certainly still don't really understand some issues the other has. We just know the other has them.
Jim, try the WWZ movie, it's pretty good. Well said about the sexes! I couldn't agree more.
I knew I liked paper books better than ebooks & thought that I got more out of them. I put it down to some deep seated prejudice on my part. Something deep down in my brain just kept rejecting etext as a real book or something. After all, I do still print out some bits of tech manuals, but usually only those parts that I plan to annotate. Well, it's not just me. Research suggests that recall of plot after using an e-reader is poorer than with traditional books
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014...
Hurray for books on paper!
Joy wrote: "Hurray for books on paper!" Joy, I'm joining you in a hearty cheer!
Great, Werner. And hurray for audio-books! (for entirely different reasons.) :)(not that I don't appreciate the free digital samples at Google-Play.) :)
https://play.google.com/store/books
Authors vs. Goodreads by Zoe Desh is a complaint by an author over her treatment by GR. While she damns the entire system, she particularly doesn't like reviews & librarians. I gave one of the shortest books the longest review I've ever written since I like both.You can find the book here, a free download from Smashwords.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...
My 2 star review is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Wow, Jim, that WAS a long review! Personally, I appreciate the member reviews at GR. I always keep in mind that we are all different with different likes and dislikes. Live and let live (within reason)!
Yeah, I think my rebuttal was as long as her book. Sorry about that, but it needed to be said to balance her out, I think.
Jim, it's good to get things out of your system! It's like a catharsis of sorts. Sometimes it's good to "vent".
Yes, that's what it was, Joy. While I didn't say it, she sounds like a child with sour grapes. She actually said the review system should be wiped out because it was so poor & suggested ways to game the system to cause just the problems she was complaining about.
Jim, IMO, the review system is one of the best things about Goodreads! When I'm in the mood, I like to read what other people think of various books. I admire the articulateness of so many of the GR posters.
The Digital Divide: Arguments for and Against Facebook, Google, Texting, and the Age of Social Networking by Mark Bauerlein is a compilation of essays by some of the best & most interesting writers about the web & how it is affecting our lives. Well read. It was a bit long & dated, but well worth reading. Here's my 4 star review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jim thanks for the link and the review. Interesting stuff to think about. Some of it I had heard before but it bears repeating.Thanks for including the table contents. Even if I haven't got the stamina to read the entire book, skimming through it and reading the areas of interest to me might be the way to approach it.
PS-Probably good as an audio book too.
Yesterday, I started reading Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris. It's very short, so I'm expecting to finish it on Tuesday. (I won't have any opportunity to read tomorrow or Monday.)
Thanks for the link, Werner. While I was at that page I saw Jim's review of the same book. Jim's review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Prophet by Michael KorytaI gave it 4 stars here.
It was another excellent mystery thriller from Koryta & well read. It was quite a bit longer than I expected, but great to the last drop.
Thanks for telling us about the book, Jim. Sounds like a real thriller!
Don't go anywhere near it, Joy. You'd hate it.;)
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There were lots of things to be said against the girl, but in her favor was the fact that she could and did read.
I gave it 4 stars & reviewed it here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...