THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB discussion
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WHAT ARE YOU READING AND WHY!!
Rick wrote: "Mira wrote: "I am currently reading The Crucible and Of Mice and Men because that is what my kids are reading in school. I like to read with them and then we discuss the boo..."I liked it better than Lamb. Probably because I like Shakespeare more than the Bible. I actually listened to it on my ipod and it was funny. It is bawdy! I enjoyed it.
I wasn't a huge fan of the Crucible, but Of Mice and Men is brilliant. Short and brutal, just like the lives of the desperate men it portrayed.
Thomas wrote: "I wasn't a huge fan of the Crucible, but Of Mice and Men is brilliant. Short and brutal, just like the lives of the desperate men it portrayed."This is actually my second time through The Crucible, my older daughter read it a couple of years ago and she absolutely loved it. A book looks different when someone close to you (children) just love it and talk about it with enthusiasm. Also, ever since my girls saw a documentary on the History Channel about the Salem Witch Trials they have been fans of anything have to do with those trials.
Again, with Of Mice and Men, daughter #2 read it a few years ago and daughter #3 is reading it now. We all know the story because #2 loved it and that's all she talked about. Then we had to watch the movie. I read Cannery Row in school and hated it. Steinbeck's other works are so much better.
Mira wrote: "Thomas wrote: "I wasn't a huge fan of the Crucible, but Of Mice and Men is brilliant. Short and brutal, just like the lives of the desperate men it portrayed."This is actually my second time thro..."
Loved the Crucible when I first saw it on television in the late sixties with George C. Scott as John Proctor. Got it out of the school library the following day! Got into a discussion about it with my history teacher later who explained the bit about it being allegorical with the McCarthy Hearings. That led me into a bit of private study on American History which meant that I neglected my official studies, which meant that I failed my mock GCE exam and so did not sit the real one later. Ho hum! Can't really blame Miller for that..
Loved Cannery Row but funnily enough I have never read any other Steinbeck since then. Must add him to my TBR list. Any suggestions as to which one I should start with
Decided to go with Travels with Charley: In Search of America as I read the sample on Amazon and liked it immediately. I am never going to progress with The Ambassadors :)
Rick wrote: "KRad wrote: "Pia wrote: "In school I had to read some of the original Spanish Don Quixote--I liked it but never got around to reading an English version. Bad me! I should have tried to read it by n..."I love the Edith Grossman translation of Don Quixote. I found it so much more readable than the older translations.
I just finished
and I'm about to start
.
Over the weekend I stumbled into a group, that shall remain nameless, but which I thought might be interesting. After a closer look I discovered that nearly everyone (most of whom happened to be ladies .. ummm.. my English upbringing always compels me to call them that until proved otherwise) was a fan of a genre called PNR. On further investigation I discovered that this was ParaNormal Romance. I backed out of there quicker than a greyhound on roller skates.Can anyone explain the attraction? Romance novels I just about get.. who doesn't want a bit of fantasy about the perfect mate. But when that mate's intention is to sink their fangs into your neck? (I had a girlfriend once who was always giving me love bites on my neck, our relationship ended when I said I would buy her a sandwich if she was hungry)
It just seems very very weird to me and given that Homo Nocturnis is technically a different species, even weirder
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This is actually my sec..."
I enjoyed the remake (and I know I have made my views on remakes very clear..very often!!) mainly due to the fact that it features an all too rare film appearance for the brilliant Paul Scofield as the Judge
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I have just about all his books- I must say- I love the cover for FOOL- appreciate your info!! Mira
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great book!! who can resist Steinbeck and his pooch!Travels With Charley
I am reading Loki. I am trying to discover new/self-published books I can review on my author website (and cross post on Goodreads, Amazon, etc). I know how hard it is for self-published authors to find an audience and I want to do what I can to help. I plan on only reviewing books I can give 4 or 5 stars to. Matt
Eternal Knight
Rick wrote: "Tim wrote: "Decided to go with Travels with Charley: In Search of America as I read the sample on Amazon and liked it immediately. I am never going to progress with [book:The Ambassado..."Enjoying Travels With Charley very much, great writing and Charley must have been a great dog (Ftt!!)
Tim wrote: "Mira wrote: "Thomas wrote: "I wasn't a huge fan of the Crucible, but Of Mice and Men is brilliant. Short and brutal, just like the lives of the desperate men it portrayed."This is actually my sec..."
I wouldn't read Steinbeck for a long time because of Cannery Row. "Of Mice and Men" is short and brutal as Thomas stated. Might be a good start and work your way up in length.
I am currently reading Stonehenge by Bernard Cornwell
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interested in your take on Cornwell book- facinated by Stonehenge- did see it once when in UK
I'm just about to start Divergent by Veronica Roth. I hear it's a lot like the Hunger Games, and I loved that trilogy!
Just finished re-reading To Kill A Mockingbird which was even more wonderful this time. Now reading The Last Worthless Evening by Andre Dubus.
I'm just reading The Road
again. I'm trying to understand how Cormac McCarthy's sparse, ungrammatical language works in creating the sense of isolation and lonliness that he conjours up so well.
I just finished
and enjoyed it very much. It was a nice little parlour mystery. I'm half way through
, which has now become my downstairs book.. :0). I'm about to start a DI Anna Fraser mystery,
and quite looking forward to it.
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and enjoyed it very much. It was a nice little parlour mystery. I'm half way through , which has now beco..."Bill is that the final Fen book?
Rick wrote: "Bill wrote: "I just finished and enjoyed it very much. It was a nice little parlour mystery. I'm half way through , which..."It appears to be, Rick. I've read one other, The Moving Toyshop and enjoyed it as well.. Oh, now that I've googled, Edmund Crispin, I see there was a collection of short stories, Fen Country Twenty-Six Stories Featuring Gervase Fen that was published posthumously.
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and enjoyed it very much. It was a nice little parlour mystery. I'm half way through [bookcover:The Glimpses of the Moon|9..."I do have 7 or 8 of the Fen books, believe Crispen died quite young
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Rick wrote: "Bill wrote: "Rick wrote: "Bill wrote: "I just finished and enjoyed it very much. It was a nice little parlour mystery. I'm half way through [bookcover:The Glimpses ..."I enjoyed The Glimpses of the Moon. He definitely has a different style. Maybe in the same vein as Carl Hiassen, from a more modern perspective. The story wanders around from incident to incident and gradually all comes together..
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and enjoyed it very much. It was a nice little parlour mystery. I'm half way through [bookcover:..."Never made the connection- but, yes, and I can see in Crispen a certain early Hiaasen, in that his style has a wit, characters are off-beat and yet the narrative is very catchy!
Kyle wrote: "Rick wrote: "Bill wrote: "Rick wrote: "Bill wrote: "Rick wrote: "Bill wrote: "I just finished and enjoyed it very much. It was a nice little parlour mystery. I'm ha..."I'll have to check it out when I get home, Kyle. I can't get to youtube at work.. :0(
Rick wrote: "Bill wrote: "Rick wrote: "Bill wrote: "Rick wrote: "Bill wrote: "I just finished
and enjoyed it very much. It was a nice little parlour mystery. I'm half way throug..."It was a vague similarity, Rick. I kind of pushed the envelope with that one.. *g*
Kyle wrote: "Bill wrote: "Kyle wrote: "Rick wrote: "Bill wrote: "Rick wrote: "Bill wrote: "Rick wrote: "Bill wrote: "I just finished and enjoyed it very much. It was a nice litt..."Just the security settings at work. And, darn, I forgot to check last night at home!
I've started A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny & am already half way through. I really love this series!
Finally got my hands on the new John Connolly. Can't talk. Reading.
Kyle wrote: "Robert wrote: "Finally got my hands on the new John Connolly. Can't talk. Reading."You are so lucky!!!"
Will get it when the price of the Kindle edition comes down a bit
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Russell Brooks
"love that cover design for Chill Run, Russell!
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This is one amazing writer- so so ahead of his time!!
I'm currently reading The Language of Flowers. I was drawn to it by the title. I am finding it very engrossing. The characters are well realized and the story is very immediate. I feel as if I were experiencing these events with the protagonist. It's astonishing that this is a first novel.
Rick wrote: "I am on an HG Wells spree!! finished Time Machine, Invisible Man, now reading This is one amazing writer- so so ahead of his time!!
.I have only seen the John Mills version although I do believe that the BBC produced a couple or more versions for TV
The Diviner, Melanie Rawn; Prey, Linda Howard; Saint's Gate towards reviewing and pleasure.
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This is one amazing writer- so so ahead of his time!!
[author..."
will do! next up is The First Men in the Moon-
really enjoyed John Mills in that film- very underated actor
I just finished rereading The Moonstone. I'd forgotten what a great mystery it was and lots of fun. Collins has a great sense of humor and irony, as well as building a mean, twisted plot. Here's my review
I'm quite honored that a German band, Berlin Architecture, has been influenced by my books enough to write music as homages to them. Their songs "Snow Angels" and "Lucifer's Tears," and an instrumental are on my website, www.jamesthompsonauthor.com I enjoy the band's music, homages or not. They remind me a lot of Leonard Cohen.
Matt wrote: "I am reading Loki. I am trying to discover new/self-published books I can review on my author website (and cross post on Goodreads, Amazon, etc). I know how hard it is for self-publ..."The reviews I write for publication sometimes have lower stars, but the rest of the books--I only post what I enjoyed--so they all have high star ratings.
The only place I can find Loki is Amazon. It looks interesting, but it'll lay in the cart till I have enough to get free shipping. LOL
I am just finishing Do I Look Fat in This?: Life Doesn't Begin Five Pounds from Now and really enjoyed it. It is great for women, men, teens, anyone that has grimaced about their bodies. It is a wake up call for those us of who are body-loving challenged!
Although I'm not usually a fan of French history, I had heard so much about Becoming Marie Antoinette that I decided to read it. For me there was maybe more about clothes and hair than I am thrilled to read about, although that is pretty central for the period, but I definitely enjoyed the in-depth reappraisal of Marie Antoinette. Grey gets inside her head in a convincing way. Here's my review.
So I just got A Stolen Life: A Memoirand I keep looking at it because I just don't know if can read it. It is one of those books that should be read, but I know it is going to be so sad. I know there is a sort-of happy ending but still. The sickness of that man and his wife, scares the hell out of me.
I just started listening to Desolation Island which is #5 in the Aubrey/Maturin series (Master and Commander fame). I have enjoyed them so far and can't believe that they were written in the 1970's!
I'm reading a haunting and poetically written book called A Year of Drowning by John Burnside.
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THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB
Books mentioned in this topic
Confessions on the 7:45 (other topics)Amity (other topics)
Truly, Devious (other topics)
We All Fall Down (other topics)
Get Even (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Monica Rodden (other topics)Lisa Unger (other topics)
Natalie D. Richards (other topics)
Maureen Johnson (other topics)
Gretchen McNeil (other topics)
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It's our own mini book club. :)