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What I'm Reading APRIL 2015
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Ann wrote: "Ellen,
Mead has been criticized for seeing what she wanted to see in her studies of the lives of primitive (by our standards) peoples."
I do that to people, too, so I can sympathize with her. Thanks!
Mead has been criticized for seeing what she wanted to see in her studies of the lives of primitive (by our standards) peoples."
I do that to people, too, so I can sympathize with her. Thanks!
John wrote: "Finished The Girl on the Train today. If I could take it back I would. Not recommended!"Really, John? I rather liked it.
I liked The Girl on the Train as well, even though the woman annoyed me no end. For me, she improved with time. John, what was it that put you off so?
Or is this space big enough? /grin/
Cateline wrote: "I'm starting Sanctuary by William Faulkner. Hoping it'll bring back my reading mojo. :)"You too? Gasp I haven't had time to read. Planned a wedding, cleaned out a home for resale, now planning a family party for bride and groom, then another when Hubby retires, and finally hoping to get to the CR convention in Maine come September. Then maybe I can settle back into my reading mojo. In the mean time I am still working on "The Fall of Giants".
Cateline wrote: "I liked The Girl on the Train as well, even though the woman annoyed me no end. For me, she improved with time. John, what was it that put you off so?
Or is this space big enough? /grin/"
Yes, Rachel's helplessness, up until the end, was a big part of the problem, but the characters were all so unlikeable. Moreover, I found the plotting so convoluted that it added to the frustration.
I guess I'm in the "this book is over-hyped" crowd. Then again, I really liked Gone Girl (ending, not so much).
Sue wrote: "I recently finished Aquarium by David Vann, the story of a 12 year old girl and her mother, living in Seattle. Her mother is in a dead end job. Caitlin escapes to the city Aquarium ..."Third time in a couple of weeks that Aquarium has crossed my path positively. Wait list is eons long at Chicago PL, so I may need to resort to other resources!
Yep, I thought the Girl on the Train was overhyped and not terribly pleasant to read. Currently I'm right in the middle of the very odd and dreamy The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I'm somewhat engrossed and hoping it pays off!
I'm reading The Witch: And Other Tales Retoldby Jean Thompson. As with most collected stories, I like some more than others. So far, I particularly like The Witch and Faith, based respectively on Hansel and Gretal and the Pied Piper. Thompson's handling of dialogue is masterly.
Lyn wrote: "Yep, I thought the Girl on the Train was overhyped and not terribly pleasant to read. Currently I'm right in the middle of the very odd and dreamy The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I'm s..."
I liked Wind Up Bird a lot.
Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day by Winifred Watson – 4 **** What a delightful comedic romp! I just love Miss Pettigrew, who is in turn amused, shocked, befuddled, brilliant, compassionate, composed, or flustered. The ebullient and casual Miss LaFosse is a perfect counterpoint for Miss Pettigrew, who is restrained and formal. I was reminded of Damon Runyon’s stories, although with a bit more class.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Lyn wrote: "Yep, I thought the Girl on the Train was overhyped and not terribly pleasant to read. Currently I'm right in the middle of the very odd and dreamy The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I'm s..."
Murakami can spacy to point of tedium at times in that novel, but stick with it. There are also some mesmerizing scenes, and by the end, it all hangs together pretty well, if you don't expect tidy morals.
Lyn wrote: "Yep, I thought the Girl on the Train was overhyped and not terribly pleasant to read. Currently I'm right in the middle of the very odd and dreamy The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I'm s..."
Lyn, we discussed this several years ago. Here's a link: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Book Concierge wrote: " Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day by Winifred Watson – 4 **** What a delightful comedic romp! I just love Miss Pettigrew, who is in turn amused, sh..."
I just saw the movie this evening. Light and enjoyable though a bit slow-moving. I haven't read the book, so can't compare.
Just finished a light, fun read, Death of a Celebrity by M.C. Beaton, part of a series about a Scottish policeman of which I am very fond.I also finished an intense read: The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt that I found fascinating, the kind of book that stays with you after you've finished reading.
I'm now reading Why I Don't Write Children's Literature by Gary Soto, which I won from LibraryThing. It's a book of short essays. So far, they've all been good, some excellent. And I'm at the beginning of A Confederacy of Dunces, a book that makes me very nervous for some reason. I am enjoying it, although it's a little strange. Funny and rude.
I've finished Joyce Carol Oates' Middle Age: A Romance. As always I appreciate her exceptional ability to capture the physical and emotional reality of a place as well as her skill in conveying the complexity and layers of diverse personalities. Her plots often deal with the messiness of life and I can't say I always enjoy them but I have never been disappointed that I took the time to read one of her books. The 1st two paragraphs of this one hooked me immediately:
"Is this fair? You leave home in Salthill-on-Hudson on the muggy afternoon of July Fourth for a cookout (an invitation you didn't really want to accept, but somehow accepted) and return days later as ashes in a cheesy-looking funeral urn: bone chunks and chips and coarse gritty powder to be dumped out, scattered, and raked in the crumbly soil of your own garden.
Fertilizer for weeds."
We are in total agreement, Mary. I used to refer to Joyce Carol Oates as my "no-fail" author. I have not read anything near all her books, but I've never regretted reading any of them. Long ago I had a habit of picking up something of hers if I'd just slogged thru something difficult or less than satisfying, because it was a guarantee it would not be 2 difficult or unsatisfying books in a row.Tonya
Oates can be uneven. I love most of her books, but I'd count "My Sister, My Love" and "Little Bird of Heaven" as failures. Of her more recent books, I really liked "The Gravedigger's Daughter". I recently read "Blonde" a fictionalized account of the life of Marilyn Monroe, expecting not to like it--but I did, it's great. I've never been disappointed by her short stories.
I wonder why I stopped doing that? I guess it seemed like copping out or something; maybe we are supposed to be taking a risk every time we pick up a book.At any rate, the last book I finished was Kalooki Nights, and it was a bit of a slog. Or, just fat in the middle. Loved the beginning and fairly flew thru the pages for a bit. The middle was a bog; constantly reminding myself of the beginning to keep me reading. Then the last 100 pages flew by with style and beauty. In the end I look forward to reading more Howard Jacobson, but I won't pick up a 500 page book from him.
Not Joyce Carol Oates, but the book I began last night is so far charming and very readable: The Ninth Life of Louis Drax. At 50 pages I feel that I want to read more from Liz Jensen too.
Oh, I bet that explains it! There are so many more books on my list and so many more authors I want to revisit now!
Middle Age is one of her best. I also loved Because it is Bitter and Because it is My Heart, and of course, her early books: The Garden of Earthly Delights, Them and Expensive People.
Joan, I also liked Little Bird of Heaven very much. Another one I remember liking very much is We Were the Mulvaneys.
I am re-reading an old Iris Murdoch novel, A Fairly Honourable Defeat. For this one, it has been so long that I remember nothing about it, which makes it like new for me. I am remembering why I went through a big Iris Murdoch phase in my twenties and thirties: I particularly love the way that she describes people, not just their appearance, but very specific things about how they exist in the world, their anxieties and issues. I may have to return to other Murdoch novels over the summer.
Nicole wrote: "I am re-reading an old Iris Murdoch novel, A Fairly Honourable Defeat. For this one, it has been so long that I remember nothing about it, which makes it like new for me...."This reminder is perfectly timed, as I'm going on a vacation for the first ten days of May in which I expect to have lots of reading time. I was a huge Iris Murdoch fan at one time, and A FAIRLY HONOURABLE DEFEAT was my favorite of the ones I read. But she wrote a number of novels I never got to, and I haven't read her in a long time.
Kat wrote: "But she wrote a number of novels I never got to, and I haven't read her in a long time."Me, too. She did write an immense number of novels, though.
Nicole wrote: "I am re-reading an old Iris Murdoch novel, A Fairly Honourable Defeat. For this one, it has been so long that I remember nothing about it, which makes it like new for me...."Never read any Murdoch but been meaning to. Is this one a good starting place, Nicole?
I'm definitely enjoying it, Tom, so I would say yes. My favorites have always been the Green Knight and the Sacred and Profane Love Machine, but even for those it's been a very long while since I read them.
Nicole wrote: "I'm definitely enjoying it, Tom, so I would say yes. My favorites have always been the Green Knight and the Sacred and Profane Love Machine, but even for those it's been a very long while since I r..."Thanks!
I can't express how much I'm enjoying Virginia Woolf's The Common Reader. She's such a clear-eyed, penetrating reader.
Geoff wrote: "I can't express how much I'm enjoying Virginia Woolf's The Common Reader. She's such a clear-eyed, penetrating reader."Yes. Years since I've read those essays, but they were formative.
The Dressmaker Beryl Bainbridge Slow start, but after awhile it kicked in there. The fact that I read it only a week ago, and now remember little may be more a comment about me, than the book.
Essays After Eighty Donald Hall. A famous poet, and former US Poet Laureate reflects on growing old. This book seemed a natural for me, since I'm going to hit the big 8-0 soon. I was not disappointed.
Catching up here.In Open Spaces Russell Roland
A good old-fashioned page-turner which follows a Montana ranching family from 1916-1946. Solidly written, but few moments of shining prose.
Finished The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle today. Okay, if the message is the medium than I just wasted a lot of time inside an author's mind in a place that was in no way redeeming or interesting to me. Next up, reading Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption before I see the DVD, as people have said the book is better than the movie.
Ruth wrote: "The Dressmaker Beryl Bainbridge Slow start, but after awhile it kicked in there. The fact that I read it only a week ago, and now remember little may be more a comment about me, than..."
Ooh, Beryl Bainbridge, I'd forgotten about her. Read a couple of hers a couple of decades back. Maybe I'll try another.
Enjoying Netherland quite a bit halfway through.
Lyn, I'll be interested to read what you think of Unbroken. When I finished it, I had no desire to see the movie. The story was intense enough in written form. I felt I didn't need or want any visual images in my head.
Mary wrote: "Lyn, I'll be interested to read what you think of Unbroken. When I finished it, I had no desire to see the movie. The story was intense enough in written form. I felt I didn't need or want any visu..."I too have refrained from seeing the film (which was panned by reviewers) as I liked the book a lot and didn't want my impression tarnished.
I'm about 4/5 done with Unbroken and I see what you guys mean. I'm not left with any desire to see the movie. Got a glimpse of why maybe my dad never spoke about his wartime experience. How brutal people can be. We need to start sincerely valuing kindness in this world.
I wasn't sold on Unbroken at all. Gave it 2 stars. Here's my review:"Just threw in the towel on this book. Reads like a plodding uninspired list of all the research she did. Where was her editor?
Coming back to say I found myself with nothing to read in the house, and picked it up again. This time I finished it. Still not impressed with the writing. So flat and affectless, but at least after the crash she's talking about more interesting things than childhood misbehavior."
Finished The Blazing World a few nights ago--such a moving and inspiring conclusion. Like How to be both, which I read not long ago, it deals with art and gender. And like Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels, it does a superb job of showing the cost women pay--especially as artists--for being socialized to be "nice."Now on to Murdoch's An Accidental Man, which I'm loving already, as well as The Book of Strange New Things (recommended by several here), and A.L. Kennedy'sLooking for the Possible Dance.
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Constant Reader
Books mentioned in this topic
How to be Both (other topics)An Accidental Man (other topics)
The Blazing World (other topics)
Looking for the Possible Dance (other topics)
The Book of Strange New Things (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Iris Murdoch (other topics)Iris Murdoch (other topics)
Iris Murdoch (other topics)
Naomi Ragen (other topics)
M.C. Beaton (other topics)
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Mead has been criticized for seeing what she wanted to see in her studies of the lives of primitive (by our standards) peoples.