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Book Miscellany
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Reading/Planning to read through 2/28/2010
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Looking forward to each of these for different reasons.....
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Tonight I finished FORD COUNTY, stories by John GrishamI read this in January and also really enjoyed it, The stories could have each been a novel by itself, and yet there was enuf to make it complete.
JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "Last week I also finished Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime. It was like watching a train wreck.I finished the audio version of Game Change CD: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime this week too. As a campaign overview it was fine but it pretty much just confirmed the stereotypes I already had about the race and the candidates and did not really add too many new insights.
I also finished Life Sentences recently and, as always with Laura Lippman, enjoyed it.
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I read this in January and also really enjoyed it, The stories could have each been a novel by itself, and yet there was enuf to make it complete..."
I think making a short story "complete" is a real gift.
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I do not know if the author can sustain the level of humor of the first 60 pages, but I sure hope so.
JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "I started Supreme Courtship late last night and am really enjoying it. I do not know if the author can sustain the level of humor of the first 60 pages, but I sure hope so."
I just finished listening to Boomsday by Christopher Buckley, JoAnn and loved the political satire! Of course, the plot was absurd but the dialogue was hysterical. Buckley reminds me of Christopher Moore - very entertaining!
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Good to know, Marcy. Thanks
I have read some reviews today and it appears that Supreme Courtship is not his strongest book, but that's okay.
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Incensed by the financial burden soon to be placed on her age bracket by baby boomers approaching retirement, she proposes on her blog that boomers be encouraged to commit suicide. Cassandra insists that her proposal is not meant to be taken literally; it is merely a "meta-issue" intended to spark discussion and a search for real solutions. But the idea is taken up by an attention-seeking senator, Randy Jepperson, and the political spinning begins.
The reason this leapt out at me is.....I just found out that once one goes on Medicare, women are only covered for one gynecological exam every two years. I have been ranting about this for two days. It put me in mind of stories I have heard of how Eskimos used to put their elders on ice floes and send them out to sea to die.
GRRRRRRR
>>I just finished listening to Boomsday by Christopher Buckley, JoAnn and loved the political satire! Of course, the plot was absurd but the dialogue was hysterical.<<I think Christopher Buckleyis hilarious and Thank You for Smoking is one of my all time favorite reads (the movie turned out pretty well too). I also really liked the audio version of Florence of Arabia: A Novel.
JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "Marcy, I just read a review of BOOMSDAY and this quote struck me (To be explained)The reason this leapt out at me is.....I just found out that once one goes on Medicare, women are only covered for one gynecological exam every two years. I have been ranting about this for two days. It put me in mind of stories I have heard of how Eskimos used to put their elders on ice floes and send them out to sea to die.
I didn't know that!! That's horrible.
Sandi wrote: ">>I think Christopher Buckleyis hilarious and Thank You for Smoking is one of my all time favorite reads (the movie turned out pretty well too). I also really liked the audio version of Florence of Arabia: A Novel. I should be starting the audio of No Way To Treat A First Lady this week. Also looks like a good one.
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My library does not have this audio and at Amazon, there is just an abridged version.
I am reading No Excuses by Kyle Maynardit's the true story of a congenital amputee who became a champion in wrestling and in life.
This book is extremely inspiring and will make anybody rethink their own lives a bit and what they could accomplish if they gave everything into whatever they are doing in life. This guy is amazing and I highly recommend this book even if you're not into sports or wrestling...this book is more than that.
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JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "Steven, I think I saw a profile of him on TV recently...."I'm hoping to hook this guy up with my son somehow. My son is a quad amputee that just started wrestling this past year and he would love to learn some new moves he could use and he really needs some motivation.
I am reading A Year on Ladybug Farm by Donna Ball. It is about 3 50 something women who buy an old farmtead, that was owned by 1 family, and restore it. It is in the Shenandoah Moutains and has been real light reading. She has written a sequal too and it is called At Home on Ladybug Farm.
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Maynard seems like the kind of guy who would help if he could....
JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "Steven, how old is your son?Maynard seems like the kind of guy who would help if he could...."
My son is 13 and in junior high right now. I've even tried talkin my wife into letting him play football if he wants to, like Mayard did but she is too scared to let him and is pretty stubborn about it.
Maynards book really gets into a lot of things he is able to do and he talks about different things his dad did to help him do everyday type tasks. So this book has been really helpful so far.
I'm reading Sebastian Barry's The Secret Scripture for book group. It's starting off rather slowly, hope it picks up. Has anyone read it? Opinions?
I just finished "The Eight" by Katherine Neville. Although I don't play chess I still thoroughly enjoyed the book. I hate it when a book ends and you have to say goodbye to the characters who have kind of become like good friends.
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Lori, I admire you for sticking with this book. I just could not get through it. Maybe I should try again. It has been years.
JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "Lori wrote: "I just finished "The Eight" by Katherine Neville. Although I don't play chess I still thoroughly enjoyed the book. ..."Lori, I admire you for sticking with this book. I just could n..."
"The Eight" is a favorite book of a friend of mine, but I couldn't force myself to get through it either. Lori, I'm pretty sure that a sequel to "The Eight" was released in the last year or so. I might be wrong, it might just be another book by the same author, but I'm sure there's something new out there you might be interested in.
Connie
The idea of reading a book because it's a favorite of a friend is rather new to me. My DD's shelves are full of books she obtained (either bought or were given to her) merely because it is a friend's favorite. Maybe it's because the ones she mentioned are ones i didn't care for, such as The Corrections
Jonathan Franzen. She couldn't name one which she was glad she'd read on its own, not because her friend had liked it.
How about you? Do you read your friend's favorite books? Would you? If you did, was it worth it? These are different from books they recommend because they think you'd like them, i hasten to add. I'm talking about books they love & would like you to read.
deborah
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One that I was so glad I read was The Art of Racing in the Rain, which HRDCOVERS/Nancy loved and nagged me into reading. I loved it. But she is only "batting" about 2-3%. LOL
And I do not even bother recommending books to her!
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So last night I went to ABEbooks.com and ordered her other collections of stories, Passion and Affect and Another Marvelous Thing
I just happened to find both books at the same seller's and there was no shipping charge. And they already shipped this morning!
I ordered them from Wonder Book in Frederick, MD via ABE
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.This is one of a series with a main character named Savannah Reid, set in CA. She has 8 brothers and sisters who are all named after cities and towns where they live back in Georgia. She's a former cop, so she has a male friend on the force who helps her, and vice versa, on the cases she takes as a private investigator. She loves to eat and cook, so there's always plenty of food talk. She has a female assistant who is into health food and exercise. She also has 2 gay friends who are former FBI agents who help her out with her cases. All in all, just a pleasant, fun, escapist kind of book for when I need an escape from reality.
Donna in Southern Maryland
Connie,Thanks for the info on the book "The Eight." I'll have to look into finding the sequel if it exists.
Donna, that sounds like a good book. Is it the first in the series?deborah
JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "I ordered them from Wonder Book in Frederick, MD via ABE ..."I used to love to go to their store in Frederick. Sometimes we'd drive there just for the store--it is a good, friendly place with generous employees.
deborah
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Thanks for the info on the book "The Eight." I'll have to look into finding the sequel if it exists."
Would you believe this sequel, THE FIRE, came out in October of 2008??? Not much fanfare, I guess.
Here is the author's website and info about the book:
http://www.katherineneville.com/
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I used to love to go to their store in Frederick. Sometimes we'd drive there just for the store--it is a good friendly place with generous employees..."
This is nice to know. I was surprised that there was no charge for shipping. Is it a big store, Deborah? Do they sell new books too?
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sounds good Donna...I love books that have food talk in them. I see that this is the 15th book with Savannah as a main character. Have you read all of them?
madrano wrote: "The idea of reading a book because it's a favorite of a friend is rather new to me. My DD's shelves are full of books she obtained (either bought or were given to her) merely because it is a friend..."A friend gave me two of her favorite books for my birthday this year - Water for Elephants and Choke. First of all, I was surprised she gave me real books instead of the usual gift cards (of course I love them, too), and then I really liked the books, which I thought was amazing. I know we're a lot alike but not that much. I'm so relieved I liked the books - it would be a huge disappointment if a friend I liked picked silly books for me.
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JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "This is nice to know. I was surprised that there was no charge for shipping. Is it a big store, Deborah? Do they sell new books too?..."(This is about Wonder Books in Fredrick, MD.) The only new books they had were remaindered ones. I'm surprised by the free shipping, too. Last time i looked, which was over 2 years ago, there were charges for shipping.
deborah
Bunny wrote: "A friend gave me two of her favorite books for my birthday this year - Water for Elephants and Choke...."Two different novels, that's for sure! It's good that it turns out you like the books. Sometimes i'll read a loved one's recommended fiction to see if i can get insight into them. Horrors! But i'll admit it helped me with my son, who doesn't read much fiction.
deborah
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sounds good Donna...I love book..."
JoAnn, you saved me looking up the series to count how many for Deborah....I was gonna say 13 or 14, and there are 15! Yes, I have read them all and eagerly await each new book in the series. I am generally a read in order person. While you certainly could pick up any book and the author catches you up on what you need to know, I'd recommend starting at the beginning.
Donna
My face to face group decided to read Olive Kitteridge this spring, so at least I'll get to it this year. I've been waiting, not sure why.
Thanks, JoAnn & Donna. It sounds like a good series. I like humor in my mysteries.deborah
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What "brought" you to read this book? Just curious.
Re Church of Cheese-- I've always been interested in gypsies. I have a friend who is an ethnic gypsy. After reading this book I understand a great deal more about her history and background. This book isn't about the gypsy tribe that is most written about, but it is about the tribe that is the largest in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is where I live.
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What exactly is an "ethnic gypsy"? I have never heard that term.
An ethnic gypsy means that she is descended from gypsies. My friend's mother was a member of a gypsy tribe. According to DNA tests gypsies are originally from India, not from Egypt as gypsies used to claim. We don't know exactly why or when they left India, but they scattered all over the world. There are gypsy enclaves in most major cities. My friend isn't part of any local gypsy community and she doesn't participate in gypsy culture, but there are ways in which having been brought up by a gypsy mother impacted her and her outlook.
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Thanks for this information. I guess my friend is an ethnic gypsy too!
My only encounters with gypsies were in Italy, where they are everywhere, begging and stealing. One of our friends had his pockets "picked" twice on one trip. He kept nothing of value in his pocket, and the second time this happened it was a toddler who was being held under a blanket and "directed" by his mother.
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In these stories, he returns to Clanton, the setting of his first novel, A Time to Kill. The characters are real and diverse; their development is strong; the plots are good; the stories are clever and engrossing.....and while he does not write about the law, it is in every story in some way. Grisham spins a good yarn. Although the stories are unrelated, because they all take place in or near Clanton, the reader gets a sense of the community as a whole.
I really hated for this book to end.