Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
ABOUT BOOKS AND READING
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What are U reading these days? (PART SIX) (2010)
Yesterday I finished reading Mudbound by Hillary Jordan.I wrote the following in my review:
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I almost stopped reading this book because it saddened me. However, I decided to continue reading because it's a selection of our library's book discussion group. The theme is a serious and worthy one. As for the story, the suspense toward the end became compelling.
The book deals with poor farmers in Mississippi, their problems and the relationships between blacks and whites during the 1940s. In alternating chapters, each character tells his/her side of the story.
The writing style is straight-forward without flourishes, but there are some excellent similes.
An example:
p.183 - "Swiss Alps: ...and the snow so thick and soft that when you fell it was like sinking into a featherbed."
Like so many books, in order for one to truly realize what it's about, the story has to be read. Summaries and descriptions cannot do it justice and may give a misleading impression.
Because of the lasting impact of the story and the writing, I'm giving this book 4 stars. If I were rating only how I enjoyed it, I would give it just 3 stars. Sometimes enjoyment is only a part of the criteria.
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Below is the link to the above review:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I've begun reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. At first I gave up on it because of its obscure beginning*. Then I gave it another try. I'm glad I did because the story is good one and is well told.*About the obscure start of the book, I plowed through it, not understanding at all what the narrator was trying to say. I figured things would become clear sooner or later. The meaning is slowly starting to make sense, but not entirely. It's the well-drawn characters which are keeping me reading.
Joy, I totally agree with you that enjoyent is only part of the story when reading a book; first you like to enjoy, second it's nice to learn something you didn't already know when you come to the book's end and lastly I have to say I can admire the writing even though I don't like the book. I felt that way about the book, "Close Range." nina
Nina wrote: "Joy, I totally agree with you that enjoyent is only part of the story when reading a book; first you like to enjoy, second it's nice to learn something ... and lastly I have to say I can admire the writing even though I don't like the book. I felt that way about the book, "Close Range."Yes, Nina, it's nice to learn something new while at the same enjoying a story.
I haven't read Close Range: Wyoming Stories (1999) by Annie Proulx. I read her book, The Shipping News (1993). I remember reading somewhere that she's noted for her spare prose. I can't say I enjoyed her prose, but the story was a good one.
In the movie adaptation of "The Shipping News"(2001), I thought Kevin Spacey was miscast in the part of Quoyle. At least he didn't fit the description in the book. He was supposed to be homely, not good-looking at all. That fact had a great deal to do with the way story went.
Last night, at our library's book discussion group, they had a drawing and I won!The book I won is signed copy of The Hudson: A History by Tom Lewis, a historian (GR lists 24 books) and a professor of English at Skidmore College.
To me, this is a lovely coincidence because my first date with my husband back in 1959 was when he took me water-skiing on the Hudson River near the Tappan Zee Bridge in Tarrytown, NY. Also, since we recently celebrated our 50th Anniversary (of our marriage in 1960), this book is a perfect memento.
PS-The Hudson River passes through our city, Glens Falls, NY. In fact, what is now known as "Cooper's Cave" is located on the Hudson River in Glens Falls. (This is now a tour site.) The bedrock formation "served as an inspiration to James Fenimore Cooper in his historical novel, The Last of the Mohicans."(quoted from Wikipedia):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glens_Fa...
For further info, see:
http://external.oneonta.edu/cooper/ar...
Also see this group's topic:
"_The Last of the Mohicans_ by James Fenimore Cooper (the book that made Glens Falls famous)"
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/7...
Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Last night, at our library's book discussion group, they had a drawing and I won!The book I won is signed copy of The Hudson: A History by Tom Lewis, a historian (GR ..."
Small world category: I know Tom Lewis very well. His daughter and my youngest son were in theater together way back when.
He's a great guy.
Katherine wrote: "Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Last night, at our library's book discussion group, they had a drawing and I won!The book I won is signed copy of The Hudson: A History by [author:To..."Sometimes life deals you a good day and that sounds like one and to get a new book free, to boot. Congratulations. nina
Katherine wrote: "Small world category: I know Tom Lewis very well. His daughter and my youngest son were in theater together way back when. He's a great guy."Yes, Katherine. It IS a small world! :) That's terrific. Please give him my compliments.
At the Amazon website, Booklist says: "Spanning armies and aesthetics, the versatile, fluid Lewis writes with affection for the river and its history." Having boated for years on the Hudson River, we feel that affection too.
Nina wrote: "Sometimes life deals you a good day and that sounds like one and to get a new book free, to boot. Congratulations."Thank you, Nina! Yes, it's nice to have good days. Today is another one. The temperature hovered near 60 today... with sunshine. What a great feeling!
We had a cool breeze, but it was wonderful! Definitely light jacket weather. Spring is on the way! I can hardly wait for the trees and flowers to bloom!
Yes! Romeo and I went for our first doggie-walk of the season. He was happy too. :) Warm sunshine is a blessing. (I stayed on the sunny sides of the streets.) :)
Today is a work day, so I will probably get very little leisure reading done.As we are starting our busy season, I come home with my eyes very tired from the computer. I usually manage to read a little just before bed.
I love my days off and after supper, I can usually find a longer chunk of reading time. Sunday evening I rountinely read for about two hours after supper, making that one of my favorite times.
Hi Mary JL.One of the best parts of reading a good book is having it to look forward to.
"As Daddy said, life is 95 percent anticipation."
-Gloria Swanson
I recently read several of the stories in Pilgrimage: The Book of the People by Zenna Henderson (1952, 1961). I found them very interesting, but after I got over the novelty of the "magical" abilities of the "people", the reading lost its compelling quality. Since I had other books on my back burner, I decided not to continue with the book.Besides, I find that short stories aren't as appealing to me as longer novels. No sooner do you get into the short story, than you have to adjust to another setting or different characters. I miss the continuity, even though, as they said, in this book there was some "bridging material".
Goodreads description:
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"These are the People. Marooned on this planet by the crash of their interstellar vehicle in the distant past, The People are never free of a sense of strangeness in this world and a yearning for the home they have half-forgotten.
"These are the chronicles of their arrival on this world, their estrangement from it, and their ultimate acceptance of their poignant exile.
"'Pilgrimage: The Book of The People' is one of the most unforgettable works in all of science fiction."
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See further information about this book (and another after it, Ingathering: The Complete People Stories of Zenna Henderson) at my GR review:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "I've begun reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. At first I gave up on it because of its obscure beginning*. Then I gave it another try. I'm glad I did because the sto..."I'm glad that you didn't give up on this book! I LOVED it! I haven't "read" the book, I listened to it, and thought it was quite moving. I laughed and cried, and did not want it to end. Do let me know how it continues to go.
Hi Jenni. I too am glad I didn't give up on The Book Thief (by Markus Zusak). The weird beginning threw me off initially. I finished the book last night and will be writing my review soon. I'm happy to say that it became a page-turner for me. Although the subject of Nazi Germany is a sad one which can be difficult to handle, the unusual approach the author took made the story very readable. One can't help but be drawn in by the touching characters.Thanks for mentioning that it's available as an audio-book. I'd like to listen to it, just to see how it was done.
PS-Jenni, you should take a look at the hard copy of the book just to see how it was presented. Very unusual. There are even drawings!
PPS-I can't believe that when I first heard the title, I confused it with The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Two VERY different books! :)
Hi Joy, I am back and glad to be here. i miss all the discussions; movies, books, weather and the rest. i am not much for science fiction but a book well written is not to be overlooked. so, perhaps after I get through making photo scrapbooks for each of my five "children" I will give it a try. I am on # 5 at the present time. Then I will start on my life story and hopefully won't make a boring one. It's the sorting and deciding that makes it hard Lots to leave out but what to put in??? Just when I thought our life was more or less settled ten years ago when I was seventy one we moved six times in eight years. I think we are settled. I think! nina
Hi Nina. I'm glad you're once again able to access Goodreads. You've made a good point in saying that the hard part is the decision making. I wish you good luck with all your projects.
Finally finished The Elder Gods. Unfortunately I had to give it an unfavorable review. 2 stars for 'OK' and I was being generous.I wanted to get away from Fantasy because lately, I'm not enjoying it. I'm not sure if I'm burnt out on fantasy or if I've just been making unwise choices in what to read. I have a feeling it's the latter.
I thought I'd read a detective novel since my friend Lara gave me quite a few, but none of those are feeling right.
I chose A Soul to Take by C. N. Bean, a psychological thriller featuring a female detective. I hope it's good, I can't handle another dud. Wish me luck!
Jackie, good luck with that. I know what you mean about not being able to handle another dud. :) It gets discouraging when all we want is a book which compels us to read it.Right now I'm into Wally Lamb's I Know This Much Is True (1998). I've already written a pre-review of the book at:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I start out by saying: "I'm not sure I'll be able to get through this book because it's depressing and very long." Besides that, there are too many sub-plots. But I'm very curious about how the story will progress. I just wish it could be more upbeat. As one of the GR reviewers said: "It's about mental illness, dysfunctional families, and domestic abuse." Not exactly what you would call a feel-good story. Even so, most of the GR reviews are favorable.
PS-At Amazon, Publisher's Weekly says: "Some may be daunted by its length, its seemingly obsessive inclusion of background details and its many digressions."
Good luck with your choice, Joy.I was just talking to my friend Lara and she got into a good book last night and is almost finish; she can't put it down. That's the experience I want. I find that if I'm not enjoying the book, it takes me longer to read it. Mainly because I won't go back to it during various parts of the day. When I'm enjoying a book, I don't want to do anything else but continue reading.
I'm just begining A Soul To Take, barely into it but the crime is unique. I've never read about a crime this strange and that makes it interesting to me. I want to know more. That's what I'm looking for. As Joy wrote: all we want is a book which compels us to read it!
I finished Shutter Island tonight, after seeing the movie Wednesday night. Great adaptation, actually using dialog from the book in the film, and only compressing bits and pieces of action. Of course the book is better, always is, more background etc. But to my mind, the film does express the author's true intent, and isn't that wonderful.
The end is near! Of my long, long book, Homeland, by John Jakes. It's is 1200 pages long, but my interest in it has not flagged--it's going very well.Jakes has an excellent flair for American history and for mixing real characters into his historical fiction.
Mary JL wrote: "The end is near! Of my long, long book, Homeland, by John Jakes. It's is 1200 pages long, but my interest in it has not flagged--it's going very well.Jakes has an excellent flair for American ..."
Have you ever read his Bicentennial series? That was really good, too. I've never read 'Homeland', though. His "Brak the Barbarian" was fun - totally different than his historical fiction. I read several of those stories before I found the Bicentennial series. I had trouble believing it was the same author.
Jim: Yes, I read the entire Bicentennial Series; as well as the North and South trilogy about the Civil War.Homeland is similar in style to the Bicentennial Series and you would enjoy it I think. It is very long, but well worth the effort.
Katherine M wrote: "I finished Shutter Island tonight, after seeing the movie Wednesday night. Great adaptation, actually using dialog from the book in the film, and only compressing bits and pieces of action. Of co..."Hi KM. Glad to hear the good report. I have "Shutter Island" on my Netflix queue (date of availablity "unknown":
"Shutter Island" (Ashecliffe) (2010)
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Shutter_...
Netflix says:
"Genres: Thrillers, Mystery, Crime Thrillers, Dramas Based on Contemporary Literature, 20th Century Period Pieces, Dramas Based on the Book
This movie is: Dark, Emotional, Violent"
Haven't read the book. Here's the GR link:
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
Mary JL wrote: "The end is near! Of my long, long book, Homeland, by John Jakes. It's is 1200 pages long, but my interest in it has not flagged--it's going very well. ..."Wow, Mary, 1200 pages! Daunting! :)
The GR links: Homeland by John Jakes
Jim wrote: "Have you ever read his Bicentennial series? That was really good, too. ..."Here's the GR link:
The Patriots: The American Bicentennial Series Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 by John Jakes
I should probably put at least one of his books on my GR shelf.
PS-I checked out the GR page for John Jakes. It's worth repeating here:==========================================================
"John Jakes is the acknowledged contemporary master of the family saga. He is the creator of the legendary eight-volume Kent Family Chronicles, the Main and Hazard families of The North and South Trilogy, and the Crowns of Chicago, German-Americans whose stories interweave the history of the twentieth century in Homeland and its sequel, American Dreams. His 2002 novel, Charleston, returned him to the turbulent years of the Revolution and the Civil War, and became his sixteenth consecutive New York Times bestseller.
"Praised as "the godfather of the historical novel," "the people's author," and "America's history teacher," Jakes mingles the lives of his fictional characters with those of historical personages, and involves them in the great events of U.S. and world."
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There's much more at the GR page.
I'm over halfway through Outlander, and am enjoying it. I'm also listening to the audio version of Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders. While I am enjoying Fragile Things, I don't think I'll listen to short stories in the car again. I'm finding it too hard to keep track of everything, and sometimes it's hard to tell when a story ends (and a new one begins) if I'm having to pay attention to traffic. I think I'll have to get the real book and read it. That being said, I love the fact that Gaiman narrates it. He has an amazingly beautiful voice, and really knows how to tell a story. This is probably why I haven't stopped listening to it. I'm also reading Under the Lilacs, and am almost finished with it. I hate to admit it, but I think that Little Women is the only Louisa May Alcott book that I've read, until now. I really should have read more of her, as I can't even count how many times I read Little Women as a child. Better late than never, right? :)
Yes, Jenni, better late than never. But I think I'll NEVER catch up to all the avid readers in this group or on Goodreads in general. I can't imagine how everyone is able to read so many books. I'm such a slow-poke.Thanks for the links and for mentioning the audios read by Neil Gaiman himself. I'm going to make it a point to find them at our library.
As I've said before, I used to confuse the book, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, with Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Silly me. I LOVED the non-fiction _Outliers_. Haven't gotten around to _Outlander_ yet. I really should check it out.
Joy, I found the Bicentennial series to be like peanuts. None of them ever ended the series as they follow Phillip in the "Patriot" from his origins in France to his life in the US & the Revolution. The rest of the series masterfully follows him & his decedents through the 1800's. He wrapped me up in the characters, (sometimes male, other times female, but always interesting) until I just had to know how their lives worked out - like a soap opera.
I loved the way John Jakes intertwined the lives of the Kent family with every American historical event of their time.The North & South books were so well done, I was sorry there were only 3.
Jim wrote: "Joy, I found the Bicentennial series to be like peanuts. None of them ever ended the series as they follow Phillip in the "Patriot" from his origins in France to his life in the US & the Revolutio..."Jim, that's an encouraging recommendation. Sooner or later, I'll probably get around to sampling John Jakes' writing... especially now that you've made me even more curious. :) The books are on my GR shelf to "keep-in-mind". I should probably move them to my "to-read" shelf. :) But that's too big a step at this point, at the rate I'm going! LOL
Katherine wrote: "I loved the way John Jakes intertwined the lives of the Kent family with every American historical event of their time.The North & South books were so well done, I was sorry there were only 3."
Wow, Katherine, another encouraging recommendation! Perhaps I should create a new shelf called "must-read". :) But then again, a shelf like that might be too niggling in my brain. It would start nagging at the back of my mind. Oh, the pressure of wanting to get through too many bogging books in order to get to the really good ones!
PS-As I've said elsewhere... I'm really getting annoyed with Wally Lamb's digressions in _I Know This Much Is True_! At Amazon they refer to its "seemingly obsessive inclusion of background details and its many digressions."
Today I am reading nothing. I just finished 1200 pages of John Jakes' Homeland so I am taking a one day break from reading to do other things.Review of Homeland to follow!
Mary JL wrote: "Today I am reading nothing. I just finished 1200 pages of John Jakes' Homeland so I am taking a one day break from reading to do other things. Review of Homeland to follow!"A well-deserved break, Mary. Congrats on reading such a long book.
How long did it take you to read Homeland?
Finished A Soul to Take. Good but not great. I decided to go where I'm guaranteed to be entertained: Bronze Age Britian with Guardians of the Tall Stones : The Sacred Stones Trilogy by Moyra Caldecott starting with Tall Stones to be followed with Temple of the Sun and Shadow on the Stones. Barely started and I like he feel of it already.
Jackie wrote: "Finished A Soul to Take. Good but not great. I decided to go where I'm guaranteed to be entertained: Bronze Age Britian with Guardians of the Tall Stones : The Sacred Stones Trilogy..."Jackie, another member finishing a book. I'm afraid I'm still plowing my way through several books. I've read a good part of the way through all of them but because I'm splitting up my time between them, I'm slowed down on finishing them.
I often read several books at once because when I'm temporarily bogged down with one, there's always another to turn to. Later, when I do return to the "boggy" book, I have renewed interest in it.
Don't know why some books bog down for me. I guess there are several reasons.
Sometimes I have multiple books going. When I'm working I have one book that I leave there for lunchtime. When it would get really good or towards the end, I'd bring it home to finish. I used to spend most of my day reading and one book was not enough, I needed more stimulation. But now with the computer and TV, a good portion of my time is spent on those pursuits which limits my reading time.
Jackie wrote: "... But now with the computer and TV, a good portion of my time is spent on those pursuits which limits my reading time."You said it, Jackie! Me too! :) Netflix, more than TV!
I like to keep several books going at the same time as well. Right now I'm reading Elizabeth Costello, and just finished Little Bee, but still have a few others going from before as well.
I just finished "The Kitchen Garden" by Kathleen Grissom. Well written story about a seven-year-old Irish girl who was orphaned at sea, is indentured to a plantation owner, and put to live with the slaves.Her struggle comes when as she grows; she is torn between the black and white separate worlds of her environment.
Joy, TV, movies, it's the same to me. My butt is still glued to the couch, LOLAnd speaking of TV, I'm now on a Smallville kick. My nephew lent me 8 seasons, 23 eps each. Smallville is currently in it's 9th season and I figure by the time I finish these 8 seasons, the 9th will be available on DVD. It's definitely keeping me occupied.
Speaking of keeping occupied, the family is visiting this weekend. So we'll be pretty busy, but I'll keep checking in to the group.The books which both Katherines mentioned sound very interesting. I will follow up and look into them.
Fulfilling a promise I made last year to a Goodreads friend of mine (who wanted my opinion of the book), I've finally started reading Women in the Old Testament: Twenty Psychological Portraits, by Norah Lofts. I'd been waiting for it to come in through interlibrary loan, and it finally arrived. Since it's a fairly short book (178 p.), I expect it will be a relatively quick read.
Werner, now that sounds interesting. Let me know how it is; I may want to read it.
Werner wrote: "Fulfilling a promise I made last year to a Goodreads friend of mine (who wanted my opinion of the book), I've finally started reading Women in the Old Testament: Twenty Psychological Portraits, by ..."Werner, that sounds like a very unusual book.
Women in the Old Testament - Twenty Psychological Portraits
From the product description at Amazon:
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"... So here is a book, written by a woman, about a group of people who have nothing in common save their sex and the fact that their names or their stories happen to be included in what is one ix x foreword of the most magnificent pieces of history in the whole of literature if not the most magnificent. There are twenty of them and they differ from one another far more sharply than would the next twenty women you would meet in the busiest London street different as they would be, could you know their stories They range from simple nomadic desert women to palace-bred princesses here are women of sound good practical sense and mystics prudes and harlots women who have attained immortality because some man once looked upon them with love, and women who by their own actions influenced the history and thought of their times. ..."
FROM: http://www.amazon.com/Women-Old-Testa...
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Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
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Nina, those are the moments we never forget.
Greg Mortenson is a familiar name from his bestseller:
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time (2006).
Now, I see he has another good book:
Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan (2009)