Comfort Reads discussion
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What are you reading right now? (SEE NEW THREAD)
Yes, I agree the phrase was poorly chosen (I think it was a guy thing) and then poorly translated to the US audience. I think my husband may have muttered something like "stupid German saying" and then soldiered on! I was certainly surprised at the phrase being uttered by someone in such a high position in the company.
I'm having one of those times where I can't quite decide what to read and am switching between various books. The Gift of the Wondrous Fig Tree by Magda Szabó would probably please many of you who enjoy children's literature and fantasy for your comfort reading; it's an adorable tale of the queen of the fairyland whose son befriends humans which causes trouble, and has the most beautiful illustrations; and it seems like the sort of book you love as a child but can reread many times as an adult, too. I've no idea how easy it's to obtain outside Hungary, though, as I bought my copy there.In addition I'm reading a P.G. Wodehouse book (Much obliged, Jeeves), enjoying my French reading of Le Grand Meaulnes, rereading the libretto of my favourite musical Tanz der Vampire as I want something in German and Inkheart just isn't doing it for me; and I've picked up The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery, Vol. 3: 1921-1929 again after a long-ish break. And am still going through various history books for novel research...
I kind of envy people who can read just one book at a time - I'm so mood-dependent in my reading that I can only rarely be absorbed in just one book until I've finished it. Especially if the book isn't quite so dazzling (but still good enough that I want to finish it) I'll easily lay it aside at some point for another that interests me more at the moment, and then end up having several books going on at once. Also reading in lots of foreign languages has an effect, because I don't want to read just in that language until I've finished, and need to always have the option of reading something in my native language in the case all foreign ones, including English, begin to tire me.
Katri wrote: "I'm having one of those times where I can't quite decide what to read and am switching between various books. The Gift of the Wondrous Fig Tree by Magda Szabó would probably please m..."I kind of envy people who can read just one book at a time
Oh, Katri, and I so admire anyone that can read MORE than one at a time. I wish I could!
It has its uses, but when you end up having a dozen books you're currently reading, it becomes just confusing if you'd like to actually finish some of them some day...
I read several at once; but usually try to keep the genres separate. Helps me not get books confused.
I don't have the talent for reading more than one at a time. Some books have more than enough names and relationships to keep straight as it is for me. :)
I am usually reading several at a time, too, but wouldn't call it a talent, more a lack of focus :) Makes it difficult when you want to grab just one and cozy into a chair for a few hours. I end up dragging a small stack around the house with me. It is helpful, though, when I'm reading a book I don't like a lot, as I sometimes read a chapter of one, a chapter in another, then back, etc.
Like Jeanette I can only read one book at a time. If I read several or even just two, I always like one best and NEVER want to go back to the other.I like to be drawn into the characters' lives. This doesn't happen if I read several books simultaneously.
Paula wrote: "I am usually reading several at a time, too, but wouldn't call it a talent, more a lack of focus :) Makes it difficult when you want to grab just one and cozy into a chair for a few hours. I end up..."Yeah, this is exactly what I meant. :-) I don't think it's a talent as much as an inability to focus either; and while it's handy if there are several books I should be reading or if I'm reading a book I'm not that into but still need to/want to finish, so I don't have to focus only on that one book if I get it finished. But it makes it difficult to choose which book to start next, and means it sometimes takes me forever to finish anything.
Of course, every now and then a book just grabs me and forces me to read only it until I'm finished. If I could always only find superbly amazing books to read, maybe I wouldn't have this problem!
Jeannette wrote: "I don't have the talent for reading more than one at a time. Some books have more than enough names and relationships to keep straight as it is for me. :)"
I'm the same. I've tried it, but it never works for me.
I'm the same. I've tried it, but it never works for me.
My older brother is always reading at least three books at a time, simply because he thinks that way! :)
Jeanette and Christine, well that makes at least three of us who stick to one book at a time. I think being able to read several at the same time is a talent to be appreciated! So tell your older brother how lucky he is.
I just started Blackout by Connie Willis. It is her new book featuring historian time travelers that started with her books Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog. Those two are two of my favorite books, so I am really excited that Willis has, at long last, written another. I just started it last night, but I was immediately drawn into it. Willis is just such an exceptional author.
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Lee wrote: "Ooooooooh Kathy, I'm very, very envious. I'm dying to read that book! I love Connie Willis!"Lee, I would love to have someone else reading it while I am. Maybe you could pick it up now, too? Glad to know you're a Willis fan, too.
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Island of the Sequined Love Nun - sounds like a contender for the "Best Book Titles" list over at Listopia.
I'm reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. :] I'm really enjoying it so far. It's a very neat urban fantasy that involves a sort of underground London...don't want to give too much away. I'm finding it to be a very smooth read. My boyfriend is a big fan of his book American Gods so I will have to give that a try soon as well!
Lee wrote: "Kathy, I would love to read this with you now but I'm in the middle of a group read and not making very fast progress. After I finish with my current read I'm starting [book:North and South|156538..."Lee, it sounds like you're pretty busy with your reading right now. I'm hoping to get in some good reading time on it the next few days. So far I'm only 30 pages in, but it is already great reading.
Lee wrote: "Ooooooooh Kathy, I'm very, very envious. I'm dying to read that book! I love Connie Willis!"me too, me too!!
Laura wrote: "Lee wrote: "Ooooooooh Kathy, I'm very, very envious. I'm dying to read that book! I love Connie Willis!"me too, me too!!"
Join me, Laura. I have a friend who reads like a demon who is going to read it now, too, but she will probable finish way before I do.
Kathy wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lee wrote: "Ooooooooh Kathy, I'm very, very envious. I'm dying to read that book! I love Connie Willis!"me too, me too!!"
Join me, Laura. I have a friend who reads like a demon ..."
dear Katty, I don´t have this book...not yet.
Having finished The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo, I will now start Niki: The Story of a Dog.
Chrissie, "Agony..." you finished it already??
Laura, yeah. Once I am really into a book, well then I cannot put it down. And my pump is behaving :0).
I am glad about your pump. I have been quite busy at work and having less time for reading...
I am reading Emma, my 1st Jane Austen book. I love it so far. I have Northanger Abbey on my to read book shelf but I think I will try PP 1st. It has taken me a bit to get use to her writing style but I am really enjoying it.
Laura wrote: "Kathy wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lee wrote: "Ooooooooh Kathy, I'm very, very envious. I'm dying to read that book! I love Connie Willis!"me too, me too!!"
Join me, Laura. I have a friend who r..."
Well, it will be a great read to look forward to for you.
I'm rereading The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father. It's a wonderful tribute to James Herriot (Alfred Wight), but his son certainly does not have the same gift of writing that his father possessed; I'm enjoying (or re-enjoying) it immenesly, though.
I'm sick right now, and finding The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie very comforting just now, in the sense that I'm so drawn into it I can't think about being sick.
Susanna wrote: "I'm sick right now, and finding The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie very comforting just now, in the sense that I'm so drawn into it I can't think about being sick."Sorry to hear that you're sick, Susanna, but you do have a perfect book to comfort you. I loved it, and plan on buying the next one that just came out this week, The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag. Feel better soon.
Susanna wrote: "I'm sick right now, and finding The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie very comforting just now, in the sense that I'm so drawn into it I can't think about being sick."take care of yourself dear Susanna..
Thanks. Am doing my best to stay warm and hydrated.
I'm starting The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon. I thoroughly enjoyed her book, Remnant Population, and consider that one a comfort read. I'll let you know about this one.
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Mary, Saving Ceecee Honeycutt: A Novel sounds like a hoot and has a beautiful cover!
I'm still working my way through the huge Sacajawea but it's very good.
I'm reading The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agencyby Alexander McCall Smith. I started reading it last night and I'm more than halfway through it. It's turning out to be an amazing read.
Kimberly wrote: "I'm reading The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agencyby Alexander McCall Smith. I started reading it last night and I'm more than halfway through it. It's turning out to be an am..."I really liked that, and the first book of one of his other series too. BUT, then I stopped. I haven't read any of the other books. I guess if I ever decide to read them, I'll have many to look forward to.
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Kimberly, that's one of those books that everyone seems to love but it's hard to imagine why until you read it. I keep wondering about the appeal of that series.
I just finished Niki: The Story of a Dog which I liked, although the ending disturbed me. It is not only about a dog but also about life in Budapest after WW2 and before the Hungarian Revolution, a failed attempt to throw the Communists out of power. I want to understand more about Hungarian history through the 1900s, so now I am reading The Storyteller: Memory, Secrets, Magic and Lies. It is utterly fabulous - so far. I have quoted some bits in my running review.Lee, I missed that you had started Sacajawea. Do you really enjoy it? I hope I didn't lead you astray.
And Laura, you finished The Agony and the Ectasy. I have to go check out your review. I left a comment about the Daphne du Maurier book you are currently reading. They must mention Roscoff in Brittany. That is the town most famous for sending onion-sellers to Cornwall.
I loved the television show and wanted to see how close the show stayed to the book and it's stayed pretty darn close... I love the character of Precious and the setting of the book...
Lee, I am a sucker for a pretty book cover!
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Comfort Reads
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In my opinion, a German saying like "sich in die Hose machen" (which does mean to pee one's pants, but in colloquial German can be used to express fear) is not a particularly "comme il faut" saying to use in a formal business meeting. I know that some Germans do use sayings like the latter (and others with similar anal nuances) to portray fear in conversational situations, but in a formal meeting, a more neutral expression should have been used.