THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB discussion
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WHAT ARE YOU READING AND WHY!!
I agree with Rick. I'm thinking about doing that with the Passage but I'm 300+ pages invested so I feel like I should at least finish it.
Jan wrote: "I am reading "Corduroy Mansion" by Alexander McCall Smith, and I'm not sure why. I am a bit over 100 pgs into it & still waiting to figure out if anything is ever going to happen, or is this a blo..."No. Get rid of it. I hate books like that. There are too many good ones out there waiting for you.
right now i'm reading city of ashes be cause my cousin told me togirl in a cage because its one of my favorites
solomon on sex because its an insight to the song of solomon and it gives christian relationship advice
and The brothers grim because i love it
Jan wrote: "I am reading "Corduroy Mansion" by Alexander McCall Smith, and I'm not sure why. I am a bit over 100 pgs into it & still waiting to figure out if anything is ever going to happen, or is this a blo..."I tried one of his books, 44 Scotland Street, and couldn't believe that this was the author that everyone was raving about. I gave it to my mother - one of the ravers - and she couldn't get into it either. I think I gave up by page 50 or so. I didn't care anything about any of the people in the book. When that's the situation I think it is okay to give up on it.
I, like you, hate to put down a book unfinished.....but if it is a chore to read it I usually move on. There are too many good books out there just waiting to be picked up and enjoyed.
I'm normally like that too but in the case of The Passage I want to know what all the fuss is about...I guess its all subjective.
Kyle wrote: "I'm normally like that too but in the case of The Passage I want to know what all the fuss is about...I guess its all subjective."That's true, Kyle. Frankly (and I hate to admit this), I tried to read
The Turn of the Screw three times before I finally gave up.
If it helps Jill *looks around nervously* I don't like Turn of the Screw either. If you don't tell, I won't ;)
Mod
Kyle- did you purchase The Passage? in that case it is a bit more difficult to stop reading it- but with 300 pages read- isnt there like 400 to go? hmmmmmmm
Yeah I bought...well I bought it off of someone so I didn't pay full hardback price (thank god!). There IS still 400+ to go and I've been putting it down all day to read Memoirs of Cleopatra so I think thats a sign :P
Mod
very true! I had a feeling you would like Margaret George! I would buy her Henry VIII book (The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool,Will Somers) next- it is a great format- Henry tells his story- with personal notes by his "fool" Will Somers interspersed!The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers
I'm already planning on it, I can't wait! Have you read her book about Mary Queen of Scots or Magdalene?
Mod
I have the Mary Queen of Scots- have not read it yet-
btw- I looked up the Henry Book- you can get it for as low as $3.96 - $3.95 plus 1 cent for used on Amazon.com
Autobiography of Henry VIII [Paperback]
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I read Mary Queen of Scots when it first came out. Loved it although it nearly started a family feud. Well, not a feud, but a to-do.
"...my darling, my lovely, Annabelle Lee..."
When reading and/or reciting or memorizing Poe...remember that he was raised a Southerner, had a Southern accent. That means that he spoke slowly, added syllables to words, would have; for instance, probably accented "wild clime" and "lieth, sublime" in the same stanza. He would have extended his words at the end of the stanzas...This might help you memorize the poem.
I have just started reading Tales From Gundarland: Eight humorous stories from the land of the incongruous by Hank Quense. After reading quite a few heavy books in a row it is a pleasure to have a light hearthearted chuckle at the adventures in Gundarland. (It was a little disconcerting how closely I could identify Austalian men with the dwarves though) :D
So far well worth picking up.
So far well worth picking up.
Rick wrote: "Kyle wrote: "I agree with Rick. I'm thinking about doing that with the Passage but I'm 300+ pages invested so I feel like I should at least finish it."Kyle- did you purchase The Passage? in tha..."
I, like you, Kyle, bought The Passage. Big mistake! I did finish it though, but never really got what the fuss was about. Over 700 pages of long drawn out descriptions which could have been accomplished in about 300 and then been an ok book.
Mod
Hank is a member of our Group and has an Author Forum, Gail!
I know he would be delighted to know you are enjoying his book!!
Helen wrote: "I just read The Reluctant Fundamentalist. It's a short book and beautifully written; elegant, witty prose and an involving story. I thoroughly recommend it."Helen, I'd like to hear (read LOL) what you think of The Reluctant Fundamentalist after you have finished it. I read it last year and although it was thought provoking, I kind of felt that it was a little preachy and that the narrator telling the story was doing the exact same thing that he criticized Americans for doing - preaching that his way of life in Pakistan was better than the American or Western way of life. A very thought provoking book though.
I just finished reading SK's The Stand (the very looooong extended version) M O O N that spells long (you have to have read the book to get that joke). I will give SK this, he created an unforgettable character in Tom Cullen.I just started Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. It's a bookclub read, hopefully better than many of the other books the head of our bookclub has picked in the past.
Mod
I like Clete too Rick but I find it almost unbearable that he always picks the wrong women (and gets royally screwed over) and that he constantly gets beat up, burned, buried alive, etc. The poor guy is a walking disaster!......with a good heart, of course :)
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[book:Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tat..."Ivan- is your new avatar- Walter Huston from Treasure of the Sierra Madre? or perhaps his cameo in Maltese Falcon??
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interesting book- but as it dealt with quantumphysics- it waslike reading a thriller with a physics textbook insered in narrative at various times- impressive and original- but to scientific to fully touch the reader
3 stars
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I'm off to raid my Kindle for the newest freebies!!!
Mod
love the Kindle free books- mine is full of free classics! and "Complete works of ..." for $2.99-4.99 each
How can you beat 50 PG Wodehouse novels for 4 bucks!
Jan wrote: "I am reading "Corduroy Mansion" by Alexander McCall Smith, and I'm not sure why. I am a bit over 100 pgs into it & still waiting to figure out if anything is ever going to happen, or is this a blo..."Jan, life's too short and there are too many wonderful books out there, so I agree with everybody who urges you to give up. I've yet to find anybody who won't agree the 1st Lady Detective Series is by far Alexander McCall Smith's best series. I like 44 Scotland St series but know few others who do. I've tried 2 of his other books but didn't get far before I gave up.
Deborah wrote: "I'm off to raid my Kindle for the newest freebies!!!"Lee Goldberg's The Man With The Iron On Badge I rated 3 stars which was 2.99 when I bought it is the only book I've found on Kindle worth reading among the cheapos.
I'm looking at Impounded: Dorothea Lange and the Censored Images of Japanese American Internment. Although Dorothea Lange's best known for her Depression era photos of U.S. sharecroppers, she also took some really moving photos of Japanese internment camps in California and I have been using them as a source of inspiration in my writing.... (My full review can be read at: www.the-reading-list.com)I also just started As I Lay Dying, which I've been meaning to read for years.
Mod
Leslie- are you familiar with a WPA photographer named Jack Delano? if not- I highly recommend you check his photos out!
Annalie wrote: "Jan wrote: "I am reading "Corduroy Mansion" by Alexander McCall Smith, and I'm not sure why. I am a bit over 100 pgs into it & still waiting to figure out if anything is ever going to happen, or i..."I have 30 books in my closest TBR pile and cannot give any of them more than few pp. or maybe a chapter. I skipped Jonatahn Franzen's latest because the opening bored me and felt badly written. Why not read a book that you feel invited in by?
Rick wrote: "I just started Bangkok Haunts - love the cultural info! mixed with mystery"Bangkok Eight and Bombay Ice are two of my all-time favorite thrillers set in Asia. The writing is superb, the vision amazing.
i just finished the historian the other day. i really enjoyed it. it's a long book but worth the time i put into it for sure. i also read kitchen confidential today, by anthony bourdaine.....what a riot this guy is. i was laughing out loud! i recommend both highly! haven't decided whats next for me yet.
Started a new audiobook today The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. Have been wanting to read this one for awhile.
Mod
"Bangkok Eight and Bombay Ice are two of my al..."
Lev
This is my first Sonchai Jitpleecheep novel- I definately plan to read the others- also Tim Hallihan has some very good Thai based thrillers
Just finished Andrew Bacevich's "Washington Rules" because I felt the need for some smart, well-written non-fiction, but have returned to Trollope's superb "He Knew He Was Right," which is a fine study of paranoid jealousy and also a probing look at the future for women in late Victorian England. It's not as satirical as, say, his The Way We Live Now, but it can be very funny, as with a spinster appalled by "false hair."
Rick and Leslie, There's a new book that I'm anxious to read, "The Lotus Eaters," by Tatjana Soli, which is a novel about photographers who go to war and why they stay. Thought this might be an interesting read alongside your photographic meomoirs.As a fine arts major, the images that interest you are very much appealing to me, as well. I could stare at them for hours.
I'm going to check out both of the books you two mention. thanks
I am anxious to read that book too, Deborah. It has been rated quite highly here on goodreads.
I'm reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery because it was the chosen book for my real life book group. (Perhaps I should refer to it as "couch and wine" book group, as we refer to "brick and mortar" bookstores!) It's quite good thus far.
Mod
thanks!! I really am facinated by Jack Delano's images of America in the Great Depression- so riveting!
OMG, I have been reading this amazing book, "The Resurrectionist," by J. Bradley, for the past 3 nights that I can't put down.
It is simply the best book I've read in months! The writing is superb, and the story is both horrific and beautiful at the same time. I love it! Go to my "currently reading" section to get a better review if you're interested.
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It is simply the best book I'..."Jo wrote: "I have that on my shelf, Deborah. Glad to hear it's so good!"
i have it on my shelf too
I'm reading Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook by Anthony Bourdain. I know, I know, I should be catching up on Pillars of the Earth. I picked this up from the library a few hours ago and I'm a third through it. Is it wrong of me to hope that one day Bourdain is reduced to poverty and has to give "The Cook's Tour", for bored middle aged housewives, through Southeast Asia, Europe, South America, etc. to make money? I don't watch a lot of TV, but I love No Reservations.
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I really enjoyed the 2 or 3 thrillers he wrote several years ago before he became famous on TV
Just added The Resurectionist to my TBR list!
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THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB
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Jan- if I was 100 pages into a book and net yet "into it" I would toss it!