THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB discussion
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WHAT ARE YOU READING AND WHY!!
If you like mysteries set in the period of the lost generation, post WWI, when the world had to rebuild its sense of self (not unlike the mood today), Elizabeth Speller's books will interest you. She's especially good at rich character development as well as unconventional plots. Her second book with Laurence Bartram as a somewhat uncertain sleuth is called The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton. Here's my review.
I recently finished The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs. It's for those of us enamoured of books and reading. Some wonderful advice: 'Read at Whim' and ' Read what gives you delight - at least most of the time - and do so without shame'! This book gives permission to leave off reading 'great literature', at least most of the time, and instead choose what works for you at the time.Highly recommended!
For JUST TWO DAYS, eight of the bestselling indie authors have banded together to bring you their highly rated books for FREE! No wasted time searching through lists. The best of the best are organized and ready for you to download! Check out the participating books at http://bit.ly/JqOsK6!Participating Books:
Allegiance by Derek Blass
Red is an Attitude by Kathy Hall
Sundered by Shannon Mayer
Black Beast by R.S. Guthrie
A Hint of Murder by Lia Fairchild
The Ninth District by Douglas Dorow
Iona Portal by R.David MacNeil
Cassidy Jones and Vulcan’s Gift by Elise Stokes
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GREAT ADVICE!!!
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wonderful event- James Mason Group is very supportive of Indie Writers!!
Last night I finished Fifty Shades of Grey - E.L. James. It was an intense books. It had me crying, laughing and even cringing at the events of Mr Grey and Ms Steele. Now I am going to read Fifty Shades Darker - E.L. James.
Ray Bradbury... may he rest in peace. He was one of the authors that I credit with my love of reading. His "R is for Rocket" collection of short stories was my first hard cover book I owned. My mother gave it to me for my tenth birthday. Thank you Mom; thank you Ray Bradbury.
I'm reading Where Billy Died by Earl Staggs. I have a feeling this one is going to be funny and entertaining.
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indeed- RIP
Rick wrote: "[bookcover:Mary Tudor: England's First Queen]Just finished Mary Tudor- facinating portrait of a very unique person- England's first Queen- The author was very sympathetic to her- trying to change..."
Interested in hearing your thoughts I read it earlier this year, just picked up
LOL I just discovered that Where Billie Died was a short story. However, I enjoyed it so much that I'm going to look for a novel by Earl Staggs.
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Just finished Mary Tudor- facinating portrait of a very unique person- England's first Queen- The author was very sympathetic to her- try..."
I found it well written, kept me interested in the narrative- only minor complaint- the author was quite biased in her affection for Mary- seemed goal of book was to debunk the "Bloody Mary" myth- but I did find book very informative
Whilst taking inventory of some of the books I had to place in storage 6 months ago, I re-discovered Churchill's Sacrifice of the Highland Division: France 1940 by Saul David. It's a book I had begun reading a few years ago but inexplicably put aside for another book that caught my fancy. (I confess to being at times a promiscuous reader.) Notwithstanding that, I was happy to take up the book again, and intend to finish it before the end of the Summer Reading Season. Besides, there are still --- despite the passage of almost 70 years --- aspects of the Second World War little known to the general public that are now coming to light through the work of some enterprising historians.
I started
Last night in bed, and read until my eyes were drooping at 2:30 AM. It is a mystery set in Nazi Germany in 1931 when Hitler is just coming into power. This is the first in a series, and I have a feeling I will be reading the rest too.Recommended by readers on the Ancient and medieval History Group
I just finished reading Nancy Bilyeau's The Crown. It reads like a 16th century thriller but with great character development. One Dominican sister can sure get into a lot of trouble. Maybe a good description would be a page-turner with soul. My review.
My wife and I finished our read of Brisingr (the third book of Christopher Paolini's Inheritance series) yesterday. So, today, we continued straight on by starting the fourth and concluding volume, Inheritance. The third book won five stars from me, and I'd be surprised if the fourth one doesn't also!
I have finished Fifty Shades Darker - E.L. James. Now I am going to read Fifty Shades Freed - E.L. James.
Extinction Point by Paul Jones (GoodReads Author) is up to #25 in Free Kindle Store! Let's help him go even higher. I gave it 5 Stars and he used part of my review in his book description:[Think "Day of the Triffids" meets "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" meets "I am Legend" and you still won't have grasped the full scope of the apocalypse in Paul Jones' artfully crafted tale of extinction and survival.
~ David P. Forsyth - Author of the Voyage of the Dead series ~] Voyage of the Dead and Flotilla of the Dead
Grab Extinction Point today for FREE at http://www.amazon.com/Extinction-Poin...
I'm now reading Dead Horsemeat by the French novelist Dominique Manotti. It's a spicy police procedural novel set in France in the late 1980s offering an inside account of criminal intent, political intrigue, drug trafficking, horse racing, and human decency amid corrupting institutions.This is the second novel from this writer I'm now reading and it's riveting stuff!
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sounds very good- never heard of author- love learning about writers and books and never was aware of before! thanks
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Just finished- GREAT main character!!! only flaw- plot was a bit convoluted- hard to follow at times- but still worth reading
Just finished Murder at Marais
. First I have ever read of a modern French detective. Cara Black is now on my list of good authors.
Finished an excellent first novel, Midwinter Blood by Mons Kallentoft. I will be reading more of his work. Next up, on to Iceland with Last Rituals by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. I'm really enjoying "discovering" Icelandic authors.
This Perfect Day by Ira Levin.This is my third attempt and I think I've reached the point of no return. I'm a firm believer that you just have to be "ready" for the book you're reading, and I'm finally ready for this one. I've read a good deal of Levin's work - both novels and plays; he's a master.
Got alot of reading to do this week here the books I i planing on reading this weekPresumed Guilty by Tess Gerritsen
Kiss the Girls by James Patterson
Return to Grace by Karen Harper
If I Should Die by Allison Brennan
Dead By Morning by Beverly Barton
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This Perfect Day by Ira Levin.This is my third attempt and I think I've reached the point of no return. I'm a firm believer that you just have to be "ready" for the b..."
interesting!!let us know if the three times is the prize!
Jerry wrote: "Ray Bradbury... may he rest in peace. He was one of the authors that I credit with my love of reading. His "R is for Rocket" collection of short stories was my first hard cover book I owned. My ..."The first sci-fi story I ever read was "A Sound of Thunder" by Bradbury and it is still my favorite time travel story. Although All You Zombies is a close second. Rest in peace and thanks for the stories.
I'm just finished WWW: Wake by Robert J. Sawyer (loved it) and Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman (gorgeous) and am reading Surviving Galeras by Stanley Williams, a true account of surviving a pyroclastic volcano blast in Colombia. Plus listening to I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away by Bill Bryson on audio <3
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Just about done with this book- nifty thriller- only qualm is some of the characters are just too good to be true- leaking an illegal document to save a man who tried to incinerate 90,000 people ...in the name of justice? really???
When preparing this review for Rumble Fish, a slender novel by S.E Hinton, author of The Outsiders, I had to see the film version of this book directed by Francis Coppola just to satisfy my curiosity on how one medium translates into another. I will get to the film later. The themes of book are about a sense of belonging and a sense of worthlessness. Both characteristics belong to the main character, a teenager named Rusty James who has built a sort of reputation in his small town as a tough gang member. His is a world of pool rooms, gang fights, drinking and stealing.
The story is told as memory. One day on a beach, Rusty James meets up with his childhood friend, a studious passive young man named Steve who has always stood by Rusty James while at the same time never allowing himself to be lured into that violent world. Rusty James recalls his broken home and the other main character, his older brother, named Motorcycle Boy.
Motorcycle Boy used to be the gang leader that everyone looked up to. Not only is he courageous and quietly intelligent, he is the one person Rusty James wants to emulate in both character and deeds. But he is not able to do this. Rusty James may long for respect but he can only fight his way through life and be hated by his rivals. In an early scene, Rusty James is shooting pool and he is interrupted in the game to hear that a rival is out to kill him. His response is that he is playing pool and cannot think of two things at the same time. Unlike Motorcycle Boy, Rusty James’ intelligence rests with his fists not his mind. He also does not like being alone. He must always have people around him. This is why gang life is so important. He goes to school, not so much to study as to be among other people.
Motorcycle Boy returns to the town he left behind. He had wanted to leave his violent life and his family, consisting of Rusty James and their alcoholic father who never had much use for either of them and vice versa. Upon his return, he says that he wanted to leave the gang but that he could not leave the neighborhood. As a result, the bond between Motorcycle Boy and his past will never truly be broken. He is wise enough to understand this and spends most of his time in the story as an isolated character reflecting on his past. Motorcycle Boy is also colorblind and slightly deaf. He lives in a glass bubble of gray and black and white.
When the father speaks to his sons for the first time in the next to last chapter, his dialogue has the quality of a classically trained actor reciting a piece on stage, a rather odd contrast to the other characters in the story but colorful nevertheless. Their mother abandoned the family years ago.
There is a scene where Rusty James and Steve are attacked by muggers and Rusty James is stabbed. As life seems to ebb away he floats out of his body and levitates over everyone in observance of his own mortality before regaining consciousness. This is also in the film.
A minor character in the story is a bridge that leads from their desolate town into the city where lights, sounds and people abound. As the brothers and Steve walk along the bridge the ambiguity of their lives takes on an exploratory quest for meaning.
Later Motorcycle Boy is hanging around a pet store where he observes a pair of rumble fish which are Siamese fish that are kept in separate tanks otherwise they will kill each other. The fish serve as a metaphor for the two brothers as pure fighting instruments.
It’s a sad book about young wasted lives as they drift in a world that doesn’t have anything good to offer.
The 1983 film is an art film with attractive stylistic crisp black and white cinematography and extraordinary depth of field. Everything in the foreground and background is in focus to give a sharp edge to the nameless mythical town somewhere in the Midwest where everyone knows everyone and nothing exciting happens.
Matt Dillon plays Rusty James with boastful arrogance and Mickey Rourke is the Motorcycle Boy. Rourke delivers his lines with a quiet intensity that his character becomes almost untouchable by the others. He is in their presence but he is in a world of regret and acceptance for what his life has become and ultimately he becomes self-destructive. He orchestrates his own death in the last act when he steals the Siamese fish from the pet store in an attempt to liberate them from the confinement of their fish tanks until a vengeful police officer prevents this.
As mentioned, Motorcycle Boy is color blind, but the Siamese fish represent an act that will culminate with his death and they are selected for the only use of color in the film to give them added distinction.
There are so many touches of pure theatricality that sometimes the narrative is lost but perhaps that was the intent. Clouds rolling past a window with tremendous speed symbolize the rapidity of life passing by while two characters converse; numerous shots of clocks to remind the audience of the passage of time; extreme close-ups and low key lighting recalling the great film noir period of the 1940s where shots were highly contrasted in black and white. The film is atmospheric, moody and dark; a wonderful exercise in expressionism.
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FACINATING POST!!!
I just read "Love Has A Taste" and loved it. Talk about spooky! John Stephen Walsh just released this debut indie compilation of disturbing horror and apocalyptic stories. However, several of them were previously published in print and online mags. This is his first book, but he is a seasoned and talented writer of short horror and science fiction stories. I gave 5 stars to this collection of 15 shorts.
http://www.amazon.com/Taste-Stories-S...
I'm avidly reading Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City by Jonathan Mahler. THIS BOOK IS SO COMPELLING THAT I'M RELUCTANT TO LET GO. I was in my late pre-teens and early adolescence in the period described in the book. But I do remember hearing, as a 10-year old, about New York being on the verge of bankruptcy and asking Uncle Sam for a bailout. I remember, too, the 1976 World Series in which the Reds swept the Yankees. The Yankees had virtually no offensive power, to speak of. It seemed to me that only Thurman Munson (the catcher) was providing the bulk of Yankee offensive power. Alas! it was not enough and conseguently, I fell out of love with the Yankees. To this day, I am NOT a Yankees fan.
The book also talks about Studio 54, the disco & gay scene, the Son of Sam murders, and the 1977 NYC mayoral race. Fascinating stuff. Koch I remember. But didn't know that Mario Cuomo and Bella Abzug had also run for the mayoralty against Koch, who was a dark horse at the time. I also remember watching an ABC Special Report in July 1977 at the time of the Great Blackout in NYC. Totally blew my mind trying to comprehend how NYC could cope with that!
Then there was the 1977 World Series. I was now a Dodgers fan and expected they would beat the Yankees. Didn't count on "Mr. October" coming to the fore. When Reggie Jackson hit those 3 home runs in that game (which I watched at home in the living room) off of 3 different pitchers (each time off the first pitch), I GROANED. I knew then that the Dodgers couldn't win the Series. Reggie Jackson that day had become like a demigod.
I recommend this book to ALL GOODREADS MEMBERS. :)
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MY FAVORITE YEAR!!! I was 10 and loved the Yanks!!!
Munson, Nettles, Rivers, Chambliss, Guidry, Roy White with the all time greatest announces, Rizzuto,White and Messer! Love that era- actually purchased the entire Series on DVD- about 7 discs!
Reading Gellhorn: A Twentieth-Century Life by Caroline Moorehead. Martha Gellhorn was a novelist, magazine writer and war correspondent who covered the Spanish Civil War and World War II that's as far as I've gotten). She also happened to be Hemingway's third wife. She led a very interesting and adventurous life and new Everybody! Whenever she happened to be in Washington she stayed when her friends the Roosevelts . . . yeah, at the White House.
Charles wrote: "When preparing this review for Rumble Fish, a slender novel by S.E Hinton, author of The Outsiders, I had to see the film version of this book directed by Francis Coppola just to satisfy my curiosi..."Charles, excellent review!
I have finished Fifty Shades Freed - E.L. James. Now I am reading Quenched, A Paranormal Romance - Z.L. Arkadie.
I finished The Coroner's Lunch this morning and I must say it's one of my favourite books so far in 2012. I'm currently reading Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, about 50% finished and just about to start another new mystery for me, Death on the Move, a Patrick Dawlish mystery.
The Siri Paiboun series is now my all-time favorite. Again I thank whoever mentioned it on Goodreads. It intrigued me enough to read the first book.
Genine wrote: "The Siri Paiboun series is now my all-time favorite. Again I thank whoever mentioned it on Goodreads. It intrigued me enough to read the first book."I'll definitely be reading the rest, Genine. I'm not sure where I heard about it, but I'm glad I did try the first book.
Last night, I started reading "Sin Creek" by Susan Whitfield. I wanted to stay up all night to finish the book; that's how intriguing it is. Unfortunately, my eyes wouldn't cooperate. I can't wait to get back to it tonight!
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Finishing up bio on thomas Cromwell- unlike Alison Weir, this writer knows how to tell a story and not get bogged down in mundane facts! great book- what a crazed man Henry VIII became! Charlie Sheen has nothing on him!
I'm reading "Reading Lolita in Tehran" for my bookclub and "The Name of the Wind" on my own.
I just started In One Person by John Irving and so far loving it ---
Jane wrote: "I just started In One Person by John Irving and so far loving it ---"John Irving is wonderful! I saw him at a talk he did in London a few years back when Until I Find You: A Novel was published. Could have listened to him all night!
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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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Was that the one that starred Oscar Homolka?"
That's right, and Sylvia Sidney.