THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB discussion
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WHAT ARE YOU READING AND WHY!!
I loved what he wrote in the Afterword about being a writer, very touching and moving for sure. I think this will take you to my review if you want to read it. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/79...
I am happy to hear also, that he does such good for his community, It makes one happy to hear that!
I just started The Beauty of Humanity Movement and two chapters in, I'm loving how the novel weaves together so much interesting historical information about Vietnam with idiosyncratic characters and intriguing plot.... Can't wait to see how this unfolds.Ex Lit Prof
www.the-reading-list.com
Reading The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates. I saw an article about the book and it seemed intriguing. The story really makes you think.
It is great to hear from all the "Wicked" fans, enjoying it in various forms...Now I just have to see it!
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thanks! I own all three- on my bookshelf- just waiting to be read!!
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Maybe you have to be GenX and Calif..."
One GR reviewer called Practical Demonkeeping a gateway drug.
I LOVE that line!!! so witty!!
I'm currently working on Robert Jordan's [Book: The Shadow Rising], because I started this series sometime in the last century, and now feel compelled to complete it.
Natalie wrote: "Practical Demonkeeping and The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove are Maybe you have to be GenX and Calif..."
I'm a baby boomer and love every word Christopher Moore ever wrote. Can't wait to listen to "The Stupidest Angel" on my iPod while baking Christmas cookies again this year.
reading Surrender highlander romance =) and listening to Envy, it's by one of my fav authors and i desperately needed another audiobook. the radio was getting on my nerve =)
Petra wrote: "I started Practical Demonkeeping today. I wanted a fun, quirky story after finishing Ironweed last night. That was an interesting book but very gritty."I love Christopher Moore.
I am currently reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. I have two of her other books and I really loved Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Also another group I'm in is reading right now! So far I am quite enjoying it!
Melissa wrote: "I am currently reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. I have two of her other books and I really loved Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Also another group I'm in is read..."Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a wonderful book. I was so impressed by Lisa See's writing. Just beautiful.
Actually rereading Hush, Hush so I can reread Crescendo (which I just finished on Sunday!) Both are by Becca Fitzpatrick. Also working my way through Pride and Prejudice
I am currently reading Cold Magic by Kate Elliott & The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa.
Reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. It was recommended by a friend who knows the author.
I'm reading
A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle. This is my first Sherlock Holmes. I'm inspired by the new SHERLOCK series on BBC. I've had this volume for years and was watching extras on the DVD and thought: damn it, I'm going to read that!Kara, are you out there? Still want to do a buddy read?
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now reading (among others) Inside Out by Barry Eisler.
Hi, I just finished reading 'Three men in a boat' and I thoroughly enjoyed that so I'm on to Jerome K. Jerome's second, 'Three men on the bummel', it's just as hilarious and I'm enjoying this one just as much. Hmmm, to think I had these on my 'to-read' shelf for sooo long!
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I just finished reading 'Three men in a boat' and I thoroughly enjoyed that so I'm on to Jerome K. Jerome's second, 'Three men on the bummel', it's just as hilarious and I'm enjoying this one..."
Jerome K. Jerome - such a great writer- an so deserving of being remembered!!
I've just finished The Ugly American by Eugene Burdick. I'm about to start a book I received as a Birthday prezzie; non-fiction work, War Made New: Technology, Warfare, and the Course of History: 1500 to Today by Max Boot. I'm still reading Dark Fire by CJ Sansom and quite enjoying. Not sure what I'll start after that.
Starting PJ Tracy's [Book: Shoot to Thrill] tomorrow. I really like the Monkeewrench novels, unbelievable and over-the-top though they may be.
I finished Practical Demonkeeping last night. It was zany, wacky and off-the-wall. I really enjoyed it. It's the story of a young priest-in-training who accidently conjures a demon-from-hell to earth and now needs to find a way to send him back to hell. Christopher Moore knows how to entertain! He told a fun story.I'm not sure what I'll start now.
Just finished Let the Right One Inand strangely I had read Dracula for the first time last month. This one was good, a little over the top gore for me....but it kept me interested. Not sure if I could watch the movie though.
Petra wrote: "I finished Practical Demonkeeping last night. It was zany, wacky and off-the-wall. I really enjoyed it. It's the story of a young priest-in-training who accidently conjures a demon-fro..."My absolute favorite Christopher Moore book is A Dirty Job
Still working on the Harry Potter series - I'm about a third of the way through Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ... and I'm not reading anything else, which needs to change. Soon.
Last night, I started on Death of a Citizen (1960), the first novel in Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm series, which is noir-ish espionage action-adventure, featuring a series character who's an assassin for the U.S. government. It's not my usual type of reading fare, but it was recommended by one of my Goodreads friends. I expect it to be a relatively quick read; I may be doing some traveling next month, and want a short book I can finish quickly before I start my big, thick airport/plane flight book. :-)
Jenny wrote: "My absolute favorite Christopher Moore book is A Dirty Job ..."Thanks for the recommendation, Jenny! I haven't read that one yet.
What am I reading. Earlier this year, I was in Comic-Con Magazine, the Writer's Issue, and they asked me the same question, along with my advice to aspiring writers. If you would like to read this issue of Comic-Con magazine, there is a link to it on my Website, www.douglaserichards.com. I've also cut and pasted my answers below:What are you currently reading, and what's great about it?
Although I feel like a dinosaur for admitting this, what I’ve currently been reading isn’t anything even remotely current. For the past three months I’ve been rereading old SF favorites; books, stories, and novellas I haven’t read in years or decades, wondering if they are now hopelessly out of date or if my increased sophistication will diminish their appeal. I’m happy to report that my answer to both of these questions is an emphatic “no”. In my view, the works I’ve just revisited hold up spectacularly well. Asimov’s THE END OF ETERNITY (1955) is an adventure story I loved as a kid, but as an adult I see it clearly as the brilliant and thought provoking social/political commentary that it is, and appreciate it even more. Piers Anthony’s MACROSCOPE (1969) continues to dazzle and expand the mind. I found Van Vogt’s short story RESURRECTION (1948) just as impossibly fun and compelling to read as I did when I was ten. Mike Resnick’s IVORY (1988) still drew me in instantly and was as fun and unique as anything I’ve read, and his novella SEVEN VIEWS OF OLDUVAI GORGE (1994), a modern masterpiece, is still a brilliant commentary on the human condition. And as for the last of the past gems I’ve just finished rereading, my enthusiasm for Simmons’ HYPERION (1989) and THE FALL OF HYPERION (1990), and Card’s ENDER’S GAME (1985) and ENDER’S SHADOW (1999), has not diminished in the least. So while this recent exercise exposes me for the dinosaur that I am, for the past three months I’ve been a very happy dinosaur, delighted by the memories of years past and quite impressed with the good taste in science fiction demonstrated by numerous younger versions of myself.
What's the one tip you would give to an aspiring writer?
The single most often quoted writing tip in history is, “Write what you know.” While this might be great advice if you’re a special forces weapons expert or a high profile criminal prosecutor, if your area of expertise isn’t all that interesting to you or to anyone else (e.g. laminated metal hinge designer), this probably isn’t a good idea. I would modify this to, “Write about what you have a passion to write about, without regard for the rest of the known universe.” If you’re passionate about a topic, don’t talk yourself out of it because something in the same vein has already been done. How many different vampire and dragon novels have been written in the past hundred years? Yet there is always room for one more — as long as you tell a compelling, well written story. Worried about the other extreme — that what you’re passionate about writing is unlike anything else out there? Worried that everyone is looking for the next vampire novel and not your journey into unexplored territory? Don’t be. Yours could be the very breath of fresh air that starts the next big trend. After all, when Bram Stoker wrote DRACULA, it was unexplored territory. The obstacles to achieving external measures of success as a writer are truly enormous, so write what you love to write, work tirelessly to find your audience, and let the chips fall where they may. By being true to yourself, you’ll love what you’re writing and achieve a high level of satisfaction, regardless of any external measures of success that may or may not come your way.
I am going to be reading Distant Hours by Kate Morton. For some reason, I feel drawn to her books. I own all three, but have not read them yet. I think it's time to do something about that.
Petra wrote: "Jenny wrote: "My absolute favorite Christopher Moore book is A Dirty Job ..."Thanks for the recommendation, Jenny! I haven't read that one yet."
Oh, good - let me know what you think of it when you do.
Lily King's Father of the Rain. FANTASTIC>
I have nothing to read today and the stores are closed...hoping to go out tomorrow and get a book!
Oh, that's terrible when there is nothing to read! But you can always read a bit of something on google books, no? I know it isn't the same.Caroline Leavitt
Caroline wrote: "Oh, that's terrible when there is nothing to read! But you can always read a bit of something on google books, no? I know it isn't the same.Caroline Leavitt"
Hmmm I have never tried that...I might have to look it up...what time do the stores open??? 4 am???
Tori wrote: "I am currently reading Cold Magic by Kate Elliott & The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa."How are you liking Cold Magic?
Yesterday I finished The Year of Magical Thinking and I started The Finkler Question. Didion's book was an excellent reflection on the nature of grief. Today, we seem to expect people who are grieving to get over it and move on within a month or two. Anyone who has suffered the loss of someone close knows that grief is a process that can last years, if not a lifetime. I started The Finkler Question because I enjoyed last year's Booker Prize Winner, Wolf Hall, and because I heard that it was funny. I felt I needed something a little amusing after the Didion book.
Just finished The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon and loved it. Getting ready to start The Crossroads
I started reading Three Seconds because I won it from a Goodreads Giveaway and I'm looking forward to reading it.I've just begun but it's promising to be a really good crime thriller.
Fingersmith - Sarah Waters - sensational story! Just finished it up.
Vicki wrote: "I am going to be reading Distant Hours by Kate Morton. For some reason, I feel drawn to her books. I own all three, but have not read them yet. I think it's time to do something abou..."Oh my goodness! You must read them! She is my absolute favorite author and when I finish her novels, I almost want to cry, because I know how long I will have to wait for the next one. Her style is so poetic and beautifully descriptive that I feel as if I am in the story myself. I strongly encourage you to get reading! You won't regret it!
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I purchased that book- did it capture the mood of the Victorian Period?
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facinating that her late Husband Gregory- was the brother of Dominic Dunne
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Emma wrote: "Vicki wrote: "I am going to be reading Distant Hours by Kate Morton. For some reason, I feel drawn to her books. I own all three, but have not read them yet. I think it's time to do ..."I am reading Distant Hours now. I do love it and just want to savor it. I have no doubts that I will love them. I love her language and have found myself jotting down beautiful quotes.
I'm reading Susan Henderson's Up From the Blue, and it's divine!
Didion brifly describes the relationship her daughter had with Dominic's daughter, Dominique.
Thinker wrote: "Hi, I just finished reading 'Three men in a boat' and I thoroughly enjoyed that so I'm on to Jerome K. Jerome's second, 'Three men on the bummel', it's just as hilarious and I'm enjoying this one..."
I loved Three men in a boat! And I never knew there was a second book...I'm going to have to get it quick!
Carmel wrote: "Lots of people talking about Distant Hours, looks like a great read, going on my BTR:)Cheers"
You have to! It is simply breathtaking! Enough said!
Carmel wrote: "Lots of people talking about Distant Hours, looks like a great read, going on my BTR:)Cheers"
Ditto. After I finish Harry Potter. Starting #5 now...
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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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haha was that a joke "a banger" and he lives in Bangor :) I live in Orono, Maine and have met Stephen several times. Stephen and his wife Tabatha have done a lot for our community. It's really nice to see someone so famous give back.