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What are U reading these days? (PART SIX) (2010)
message 651:
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Jackie
(new)
Jul 01, 2010 12:23PM
Yes, I read it years ago. Saw the movie too. I don't think I've read anything else by Irving.
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Nina wrote: "Didn't any of you read John Irving's, "The World According to Garp," or see the movie? I think that was his first book and the one that got him established as an author. It was an excellent book. I..."Yes, Nina, I did read Irving's The World According to Garp. I remember finding it very vulgar. I liked Irving's The Hotel New Hampshire better. However, I couldn't get into his A Prayer for Owen Meany. I couldn't tolerate the flashbacks. I know that many readers loved APFOM, but I've never been tempted to try it again.
Joy, what is APFOM, you know me and the abreviations don't stick together too well, LOL
Jackie wrote: "Joy, what is APFOM, you know me and the abreviations don't stick together too well, LOL""A Prayer for Owen Meany".
Back in Message 644, I forgot to mention that while on the trip up to Fulks Run, I started reading Christopher Paolini's Eragon, the first novel in his dragon- centered fantasy trilogy. Barb had picked this one (and the second Inheritance trilogy volume, Eldest) up some time ago at our local flea market, and it's currently our read-aloud book for when we're traveling in the car. So far, we're both liking it!
I loved Eragon, and Eldest. Impressive that Paolini was just 15 years old when he wrote Eragon. I have Brisingr since it first came out but when I found out it wasn't the end, that there's another one on the way, I decided to hold onto it. For some reason, I had forgotten most of the detail of Eragon so I had to re-read it before starting Eldest. I'll probably have to read both books again before continuing.I was very excited when the movie came out and even went to the theater to see it. I was very disappointed. It had the bare bones of the story but all the details were changed.
Yes, Jackie --I knew nothing about Paolini when I began reading the book (I'd thought he was Italian :-)), so I was amazed when I learned he wrote the book as a teen. (And still more amazed that he did so with such perfect command of language --his flawless use of words puts the vast majority of adult first novelists to shame!)I haven't seen the movie, either, but I've heard from others who did. Your verdict seems to be universal.
Werner wrote:his flawless use of words puts the vast majority of adult first novelists to shameI feel the same. Paolini is a talented young author.
Finished The Edge on the Sword but decided to hold off on Far Traveler for now. While Edge was good, it didn't wow me. Since the next book is about Edge's heroine Aethelflaed's daughter and not a continuation of Flaed's story I don't feel the need to rush into it.I chose Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko which was recommended to me by a friend who shares the same reading interests as me. I'm in desperate need of a really good book and I think this is the one for me. I have the second in the series, Day Watch but still need to get the next two of the series.
Now that Werner mentioned Eragon, I might not wait for #4 and read Brisingr next. I was reminded how much I enjoyed Paolini's writing.
Jackie, my understanding is that the first three books form a trilogy in themselves. So Brisingr will probably have some sort of closure, from which the fourth book will take off as a new departure. (That might make it more palatable to read the first three without immediately having the fourth on hand. :-)).
Werner, it was originally meant to be a trilogy. Lucky for me, I like to read the the foreword, acknowledgments, author's note, etc. before I dive into a book.In Acknowledgments, CP wrote: "Because of it's complexity, Brisingr ended up much larger than I anticipated--so much larger, in fact, that I had to expand the series from three books to four. Thus, the Inheritance trilogy became the Inheritance cycle."
It was 2 years ago that I bought Brisingr, so I'm hoping that by the time I finish reading it, the next of the cycle will be available.
Thanks for that information, Jackie! (I see that, if we continue to like Paolini's work as much as we have so far, Barb and I will eventually be reading four books instead of three with this series. :-))
I know you will. He's fantastic! He's given me everything I've wanted in a Fantasy series. Eldest is just as good as Eragon, and that says a lot, considering second novels in series often go awry.I'm not bothered in the least that it went from 3 to 4 books. If they continue as the first two, which I think they will, then it means More For Me! I just wish it'd be published already so I can get it.
Over the weekend, I started reading The Innocence of Father Brown, the first (and in the view of many critics the best) of G. K. Chesterton's book- length collections of mystery stories featuring his protypical clerical sleuth, Father Brown. I'd read a couple of the stories before; and I'm thoroughly enjoying the rest!
Werner wrote: "Over the weekend, I started reading The Innocence of Father Brown, the first (and in the view of many critics the best) of G. K. Chesterton's book- length collections of mystery stories featuring h..."That's a great title, Werner! (The Innocence of Father Brown)
GR's description is interesting:
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"... G. K. Chesterton moved from London to Beaconsfield, where he met Father O'Connor. It was the combination of Father O'Connor's shrewd insights to the darker side of man's nature together with his mild appearance that suggested to Chesterton a character that became the unassuming, pudding-faced Father Brown.
"Numerous short stories followed. All of them featuring this priest who appeared to know nothing yet in fact knew more about criminals than they knew about themselves. THE INNOCENCE OF FATHER BROWN is the first collection of these stories.
" 'Father Brown is a direct challenge to the conventional detective and in many ways he is more amusing and ingenious.' " (Saturday Review)
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I have started an excellent science fiction novel---Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress.
MaryJL, that sounds like an interesting premise:FROM THE GR DESCRIPTION:
"Many of us wish we could get by with less sleep. _Beggars in Spain_ extrapolates that wish into a future where some people need no sleep at all."
Beggars in Spain
It's fun to read the sample pieces at the Google Books web page linked below:http://books.google.com/books?id=gTnK...
These pieces are from Andy Rooney's book Years Of Minutes. If you've enjoyed Andy Rooney's comments at the end of the TV program, "Sixty Minutes", you might enjoy browsing the Google web page.
Billy Young sent me the code to read his novel, Bublos, free online. I've only read a few pages so far, I don't have to the time to put into reading on the computer but it does have an interesting premise and I planned on buying it at some point anyway. I was thrilled that he let me read it for free.
Jackie wrote: "Billy Young sent me the code to read his novel, Bublos, free online. I've only read a few pages so far..."Thanks, Jackie. What genres does Bublos come under? Would "horror" be one of them?
At Amazon, a customer review says:
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"Bublos traces the journey of a hidden scroll from the Book of Revelations and the effects it has on those who come in contact with it. Going all the way back to WWII, Mr. Young takes the reader on a detailed account of those who have had the scroll in their possession."
...
"Part Dan Brown, part Tim LeHaye, and yes, part King even, Mr. Young weaves a tale rich in history, religion, and suspense."
FROM: http://www.amazon.com/Bublos-Billy-Yo...
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The title of the book made me curious. I suppose the word "Bublos" refers to the Bible. I searched online and learned that "byblos" is a Greek word meaning papyrus, the name of the material upon which the ancient books were written. Also, "Byblos" was an ancient Phoenician city which was noted for its papyruses.
I put it under supernatural and thriller. I'll be able to classify it better once I've read it.From online etymology dictionary:
'Biblio' is from Greek for 'book' which is where the Bible gets it title, I'd imagine.
Byblos: ancient Phoenician port (modern Jebeil, Lebanon) from which Egyptian papyrus was exported to Greece. The name probably is a Gk. corruption of Phoenician Gebhal, said to mean lit. "frontier town" (cf. Heb. gebhul "frontier, boundary," Arabic jabal "mountain"), or perhaps it is Canaanite gubla "mountain." The Gk. name also might have been influenced by, or come from, an Egyptian word for "papyrus."
I find etymology highly interesting and informative.
Thanks, Jackie. Yes, Jackie, etymology can be fascinating. It's intriguing to learn how words evolve to their current usage. It's like a form of evolution. Oops! I guess the words "evolve" and "evolution" are related. LOLAs for the etymology of the word evolve, the Online Etymology Dictionary says:
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evolve: 1640s, "to unfold, open out, expand," from L. evolvere "unroll," from ex- "out" + volvere "to roll"
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We're on a roll here. :) The evolution continues. :)
Yes! That's exactly how I see it, an evolution. I love to look up words and find out what they originally meant. Quite often, the meaning is completely different today. This should be out trademark motto, Joy, I love it: The evolution continues. :)
My "read' shelf holds a few story collections (mostly science fiction) that I've never reviewed, because I haven't actually read every story they contain. Since I have a period of about two weeks before Barb and I go on vacation again, which isn't long enough to read a whole book, I thought it would be a good time to pick off (as it were) some of those "stray" stories. :-) So I've been doing that since finishing The Innocence of Father Brown. (Reviews coming!)
Good idea, Werner. I seldom read short stories. Sometimes they're good, but I often find that the endings leave you hanging or wondering what the story was trying to say. In other words, they can be disappointing.
Joy, your comment illustrates a very real problem, not with the short story format itself, but with the way it's typically practiced in "mainstream" circles today. It's not uncommon for modern literary pundits to bemoan the American reading public's disinterest in short fiction; but that disinterest isn't a weird phenomenon caused by sunspots or by something in the drinking water. :-)Production of good quality fiction on a large scale requires a viable market for it, so that authors will be encouraged to write it in the first place. For novels, of course, a flourishing book trade provides a market. But for short stories, the ideal market is wide circulation periodicals that print them. Those flowered in the 19th century, and endured through a bit more than half of the 20th century; and the short story flowered with them. Most writers of that era wrote for the average intelligent reader; they created plotted stories that communicated clearly, and that don't leave you hanging, and which remain very readable today for the most part.
Changing publishing industry conditions, though, have sent mass circulation periodicals that carry short fiction the way of the dinosaurs. Some genre magazines for science fiction, mystery, or fantasy stories, etc. survive, for the smaller niche markets with a taste for those brands of fiction; and plotted, coherent short fiction survives there, too. But the only magazines publishing "general" short fiction now are pretty much just the small circulation titles that appeal strictly to the "elite" subculture of academics and wealthy people. Alas, for both ideological and "snob" reasons, this group and the editors who both shape and cater to its taste are almost exclusively interested in stories where "the endings leave you hanging or wondering what the story was trying to say;" where little happens outwardly and the characters spend their time "intuiting" depressing things; and where ideals, virtue, heroism, eventful plots and writing that the average factory worker or housewife could understand aren't welcome. Most of the writers who were the backbone of the short story in its heyday couldn't be published in these venues today --and there aren't any other venues around. So, I don't read much in the way of modern mainstream short fiction, either!
Okay, I'm off my soapbox now. Thanks for letting me vent; I feel much better with that off my chest! :-)
Werner, there's a lot of truth to what you say regarding the short story and today's "elite subculture". I would venture to say that there are still some highly intelligent and cultivated people who continue to enjoy "plotted, coherent short fiction". Not all literature has to be ambiguous in order to be good. Unfortunately, nowadays, for some people, ambiguity seems to lend a certain cachet to artistic endeavors. Ambiguity usually does nothing for me. For me, clarity, when combined with high style, trumps ambiguity.
Joy wrote: I seldom read short stories. Sometimes they're good, but I often find that the endings leave you hanging or wondering what the story was trying to say. In other words, they can be disappointing.That's exactly how I feel. If it's one thing I cannot stand it's to be left hanging. I want a payoff at the end of a story, I don't want to have to wonder what happened or fill in the blanks myself. Even if it's a poor ending, I require an ending nontheless. That's what I'm paying for when I buy books. These days, I don't even bother with short stories or anthologies of any kind.
Yes, Jackie, a good ending is like a payoff. I don't want to have to provide my own payoff. :)
Just finished Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko. A different take on the usual magic story. In the first two sections, I figured out the end early on. Predictable but enjoyable anyway. I thought I had the last section figured out but was pleasantly surprised. I especially enjoyed reading a novel by a Russian author and seeing his worldview seep through into the story. Very interesting.
I chose Sliver by Ira Levin, a psychological thriller as my next read. I needed something different from magic and fantasy, something quick. And I've liked Levin's work in the past. He gets to the point and I appreciate that.
Thanks, Jackie. I always enjoy your views on things.It's interesting to look at the list of books Ira Levin has written. So many familiar titles!
http://www.goodreads.com/author/list/...
Some of the titles:
Rosemary's Baby
The Stepford Wives
The Boys from Brazil
No Time For Sergeants
Jackie wrote: "Just finished Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko. ... I especially enjoyed reading a novel by a Russian author and seeing his worldview seep through into the story."Jackie, I like the word "worldview". It reminds me of the word: "weltanschauung".
My uncle told me about the word "weltanschauung" (WELTANSCHAUUNG). It means "world outlook" or "attitude toward life". He said it was the key to happiness. The idea's been expressed many ways, as in the following quotation:
"The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind." -William James.
Weltanschauung - n. 'world view'; personal philosophy of life.
From the Hutchinson Encyclopaedia:
http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/di...
PS-Also see:
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/worldview
"Worldview: A calque of German Weltanschauung, a compound of Welt (“world”) + Anschauung (“view/outlook”)."
Very cool word. I'd never heard of that word before. I love learning new words and their meanings. Now, if only I could pronounce it, LOL
Joy, the first link you gave for Weltanschauung took me to the Dictionary for Difficult Words, what a treasure! You know where I'll be til bedtime.
Yes, Jackie, the word, "weltanschauung", is a good one. It's thought-provoking.I too learned something when I had to look up the meaning of "calque" which was used in explaining "weltanschauung". The Dictionary for Difficult Words defines "calque" as: a "word or phrase directly translated from one language and used in another."
http://www.talktalk.co.uk/reference/d...
"Calque" is also defined online as: "an expression introduced into one language by translating it from another language."
http://lookwayup.com/lwu.exe/lwu/d?s=...
A good example of a common calque is the word, "dandelion", derived from the French "dent de lion", literally, "lion's tooth" (from its toothed leaves).
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?t...
A dandy examply! :)
I am fascinated by the origin of the word dandelion. Maybe I won't hate the little things so much when they populate my lawn next spring. nina
Joy H. wrote: "Good idea, Werner. I seldom read short stories. Sometimes they're good, but I often find that the endings leave you hanging or wondering what the story was trying to say. In other words, they can b..."Guess what I am reading tonight; "Lantern Slides," by Edna O'Brian. It is her collection of short stories. I will let you know what I think after reading it. nina
Werner did a great job reviewing all the short stories. I found it really amazing that we could read them in such different ways, though. I think that's one of the things I love about shorts - they are far more open to interpretation than a novel.
Yes, Jim, I can see where it would be interesting hearing the different interpretations of different readers. Sometimes the interpretations are different from anything the author originally intended. I can't be specific on this, but I know I've read or heard about examples where this is true.
Nina wrote: "Guess what I am reading tonight; "Lantern Slides," by Edna O'Brian. It is her collection of short stories. I will let you know what I think after reading it. nina"Thanks, Nina. Here's the GR link:
Lantern Slides: Short Stories by Edna O'Brien
Here are interesting facts from the GR author page of Edna O'Brien:
"In 1950, she was awarded a licence as pharmacist."
"In 2006, Edna O' Brien was appointed adjunct professor of English Literature in University College Dublin."
About short stories, I, who almost never read science fiction picked up a book of them by Ray Bradbury and the one story that stuck in my mind forever was the one where the man went into the toilet at the filling station after filling their car with gas and never came out. He just disappeared. The door was locked from the inside. As I said I never forgot it and the memory returned each time my husband disappeared into a toilet. At least he has always returned, so far.nina
Thanks, Jim! And I think you're right --the openness of short stories to interpretation so many different levels, and the ways that they can strike different readers in diverse ways, is a real part of their charm.
Nina, I wonder if the book was: Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales.Might have been! :)
Joy H. wrote: "Nina, I wonder if the book was: Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales.Might have been! :)"It could have been. It has been too long ago for me to remember but it was a powerful story. He was such a story teller he made you believe everything he wrote. I think he was probably a genius.I once saw a video with him telling his life story and he said he remembered being circumsised at ten days old. No one believed him until he described the color of his mother's dress. It was yellow. nina
Jackie: Our local public library had a two month period called "Omaha REads" and they had votes so everyone participating would read just one same book. The winner was Bradbury's Farenheit 451! I beleive they will be doing the same "one book for one city" program next year.
OUr library also has several online chat groups for various genres---mystery, teens, sf ---and so on.
I have just started "Mystic River" by Dennis Lehane, a character driven , pschological mystery.
Links for reference:Book: Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
Film based on book of same name: "Fahrenheit 451" (1966)
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Fahrenhe...
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