Comfort Reads discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
General
>
What are you reading right now? (SEE NEW THREAD)
message 2651:
by
Lee, Mod Mama
(new)
Dec 02, 2010 12:07PM
Mod
reply
|
flag
Lee, I wonder what you will think of Burnt shadows! I liked it, I am sure you remember!
Mod
Kimberly wrote: "I'm reading 
. It's the first book by her that I've read and I must say I really like her."Kimberly, she's a great author. I think you'll really enjoy her other stories too.
Kristi wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "I'm reading . It's the first book by her that I've read and I must say I really like her."Kimberly, she's a great author. I think you'll rea..."
Thanks I have one of her other books
. I think I'll read that next. Plus I work at a used bookstore and we have a ton of her books that I can read.
Kimberly wrote: "Kristi wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "I'm reading . It's the first book by her that I've read and I must say I really like her."Kimberly, she's a great author. I t..."
You work in a used bookstore!?!? How awesome would that be!?!
Kimberly,
I would love to work at a used bookstore! What a dream job!
I would love to work at a used bookstore! What a dream job!
It's great!We're having a major sale right now I wish everyone could come lol. We're selling all our books except our new arrivals for $2.00! ...the only problem in working there is I bring home between 5-40 books a week and since I started working there in June my personal library has grown from 400 to 800 books!
Kimberly wrote: "It's great!We're having a major sale right now I wish everyone could come lol. We're selling all our books except our new arrivals for $2.00! ...the only problem in working there is I bring home be..."I would have the same problem, I cannot say no to books, especially books at good prices.
Kimberly, I am green with jealousy. Totally green. What a dream job! Like going to heaven every day! :0) I am ever so happy for you!
Thanks! Now I'm faced with the ever growing problems of lack of space and time to read them! Plus now I have a few that I don't want anymore but I don't know anyone who wants them.
Kiberly, you could always give them back to the store!
Or check out bookswap on Goodreads. Look under the Explore tab.
Bookmooch won't let me use the site since my sister used my account and buggered it up and unfortunately I can't give them back to the store because we have no room and the bookswap isnt available in Canada yet.
Back to the bookstore or you could donate them to your local library. :)
True I just get sad seeing them go to strangers lol!
Strangers that can love them, too.
Kimberly wrote: "It's great!We're having a major sale right now I wish everyone could come lol. We're selling all our books except our new arrivals for $2.00! ...the only problem in working there is I bring home be..."OMG!! 800???? Wooooowwwww!!!
Not saying I wouldn't be in the same boat, bc I would be. (BLUSH)
I'm reading Blackout, which I'm loving and might very well end up being a comfort read. Historical fiction and science fiction and time travel. I'm in heaven. I already have the second book on reserve at the library (All Clear) but there will be a long wait for it.
I just gave up on the NY Review Classic The Family Mashber. Here is why: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...I have switched to Loving Frank. I like it immediately. It helps to enjoy Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture; you can picture the rooms and houses described. I am hoping to learn more about who he was inside!
Jeanette, I adored the movie. what is the book like? Could I possibly find it "dated". Currently I am scared of the "great classics".......
The movie, of course, had the romanticized ending, which fans of the book disliked. I haven't quite decided what I think about the story. The writing is wonderful. It's such a short piece, but it's jam-packed with colorful language and descriptions that pull you into Holly's world. After I read the ending, I'll see if the point of the story becomes clearer. For now I find it to be a very interesting character study of this frail and yet, unstoppable, woman.
As for being dated, well, Holly uses a lot of racist and sexist language. I couldn't feel that the writing and the setting (1943) really jived. There was such a lot of high-living that I don't normally associate with mid-WWII.
As for being dated, well, Holly uses a lot of racist and sexist language. I couldn't feel that the writing and the setting (1943) really jived. There was such a lot of high-living that I don't normally associate with mid-WWII.
Jeanette, thank you very much for giving me a really clear answer. Straight to the point and then more that I hadn't even thought to ask about. Here is a BIG thank you. :0)ETA: I think it would disturb me immensely that the writing and the setting don't jive.
You're welcome, Chrissie! I have a feeling that this is supposed to be autobiographical, but I haven't read anything about it. If so, then these people did live like this during the war. But, I certainly didn't feel like the war and the rationing associated with it was a part of these people's lives.
Maybe Kristi can fill us in? :)
Maybe Kristi can fill us in? :)
Unfortunately, yes, there was quite a bit of living it up during WWII. Not everyone could, but those who could did. No one wants to admit, historically, that the people in the US were as "denying" of the war as they were/are the others that followed. It makes them look ignorant, or at least shallow, with the events that happened.
I know all of this sounds hypercritical, and I don't mean it to be. I mean it more to be ...realistic. We, as a society, have a out of sight, out of mind mentality. I'm as guilty as others. I think I only am more aware of it, bc I'm now a military spouse. Other wise I don't think I'd know much about what was going on in Iraq/Afghanistan as I do.
Also, back then there wasn't the media access that we have now. They just didn't know, or weren't told.
Sorry for the soapbox moment, and for the huge, long reply. lol
Kristi, I would appreciate your thoughts too.
I like what you have to say, Kristi. My mom lived in a small town in PA, not NYC, so she certainly didn't do anything so glamorous as Holly. A big night out for her was a movie or a dance or roller skating.
And you aren't being hypercritical. I don't think too many people think about the US being engaged in the Middle East. It's not "really" a war to a lot of people, except to those who are on the frontlines and those who are at home, waiting. It's not that we don't care about those soldiers, but there are other things in our immediate lives that become more important.
And you aren't being hypercritical. I don't think too many people think about the US being engaged in the Middle East. It's not "really" a war to a lot of people, except to those who are on the frontlines and those who are at home, waiting. It's not that we don't care about those soldiers, but there are other things in our immediate lives that become more important.
Jeannette wrote: "I like what you have to say, Kristi. My mom lived in a small town in PA, not NYC, so she certainly didn't do anything so glamorous as Holly. A big night out for her was a movie or a dance or roll..."Oh yea, I get the more important. Even when hubs is over there, my focus isn't on the war. It's on the house, the kids, their activities, my friends, my support network, my job, my animals, my....well, the list goes on. :-D
I think the "big" wars affected our society more. There was rationing, and the draft, and blood drives, scrap metal drives. My mom couldn't get nylons! Now, the war seems so distant, a series of sound-bites on the news and the internet.
I'm glad you have that long list to keep you from worrying too much. It can't be easy to kiss your spouse goodbye, and send him off to war.
I'm glad you have that long list to keep you from worrying too much. It can't be easy to kiss your spouse goodbye, and send him off to war.
That's true, about the impact the WW had on the nation. I couldn't even imagine the $*#& that would hit the fan in my house if someone said I had to limit my coffee!?!? What!?!? Limit my caffeine and deal with 3 kids? What you are smoking and where can I get some, or is that rationed too? Ha ha ha!!! Sorry I have a twisted sense of humor.
Petra wrote:
Christine, I've read the Vish Puri books, too. They're a fun read. Very much comfort reads.
..."
I just finished it. I love these!
Christine, I've read the Vish Puri books, too. They're a fun read. Very much comfort reads.
..."
I just finished it. I love these!
Kristi wrote: "That's true, about the impact the WW had on the nation. I couldn't even imagine the $*#& that would hit the fan in my house if someone said I had to limit my coffee!?!? What!?!? Limit my caffeine a..."
You would have been SOL!! ;)
You would have been SOL!! ;)
My husband's grandma lived through both World Wars, in Frankfurt Germany. She was a coffee hoarder after that. They found cans of the stuff, most of it spoiled, in her apartment when they cleaned it out.
Jeannette wrote: "My husband's grandma lived through both World Wars, in Frankfurt Germany. She was a coffee hoarder after that. They found cans of the stuff, most of it spoiled, in her apartment when they cleaned..."There is this delicious (in my opinion) instant grain coffee in Germany called "Karo Kaffee" which is made out of grains and chicory (contains no caffeine). I've always loved the taste of it, but many older Germans refuse to drink it, because it was the only "coffee" that was available during the War.
I think they still make it. I've never tried it.
That's understandable, the not wanting to drink it.
You can get chicory coffee in Louisiana. I could never stand it, but many love it. It's very strong ... or maybe they combine it with caffeine? Anyway, I've probably only had one cup ever & didn't finish it!
Martha wrote: "You can get chicory coffee in Louisiana. I could never stand it, but many love it. It's very strong ... or maybe they combine it with caffeine? Anyway, I've probably only had one cup ever & didn't ..."I've had coffee that had chicory added to it and did not like it, but "Karo Kaffee" is coffee made completely out of roasted grains. I like it precisely because it does not taste like coffee. I don't really care for coffee, but more importantly, coffee does not care for me, one cup of even decaf makes me completely hyper.
Back to Breakfast at Tiffany's. I think the reason the setting bothers me is because Holly reminds me so much of a character that could have been written by Waugh, one of his Bright Young Things. Aimless, restless, flitting from party to party, but never really happy.
Jeannette wrote: "Back to Breakfast at Tiffany's. I think the reason the setting bothers me is because Holly reminds me so much of a character that could have been written by Waugh, one of his Bright Young Things. ..."I think the idea of "Bright Young Things" was common in both Turn of the Century (19th to 20th) literature and the literature between the World Wars, particularly the so-called Roaring Twenties.
Jeanette, your reasoning strikes a similar chord with me. Have you written your review yet? Maybe you could give the link here?
I had to do some Japanese homework today, but I'll have the review later and post a link for you, Chrissie. I also wanted to let all of my ideas settle, too, before writing the review.
Gundula wrote: "Jeannette wrote: "Back to Breakfast at Tiffany's. I think the reason the setting bothers me is because Holly reminds me so much of a character that could have been written by Waugh, one of his Bri..."
Did Waugh borrow the term from an earlier time? I associate the term with him and the cast of characters in Vile Bodies.
btw: Happy Nikolaus Tag, Gundula! :)
Did Waugh borrow the term from an earlier time? I associate the term with him and the cast of characters in Vile Bodies.
btw: Happy Nikolaus Tag, Gundula! :)
Jeannette wrote: "Gundula wrote: "Jeannette wrote: "Back to Breakfast at Tiffany's. I think the reason the setting bothers me is because Holly reminds me so much of a character that could have been written by Waugh..."Thanks, I completely forgot about St. Nicholas Day, but it was really fun when we were kids, putting out our shoes on the evening of the fifth of December and waking up the next morning to find them filled with candies, mandarin oranges and yeast breads shaped like a man (smoking a pipe). One time, my parents had a St. Nicholas party, and one of my uncles dressed up as St. Nicholas, and was very disappointed when I recognised him (my brother, on the other hand, was scared of him and hid in the bathroom, he was only three at the time, so I could understand that). We kept up the tradition of putting out our shoes for the first few years after moving to Canada, but then stopped (although we still celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve).
I don't know wether Waugh borrowed the term from an earlier time, but L.M. Montgomery uses the same term, "Bright Young Things" in some of her later short stories (20s and 30s).
We give my daughter a small gift and some candy on Dec. 6. This year she forgot to put out her shoes, but she is 16, so I guess it's okay to let it slide. How scary for your little brother. My daughter was always terrified of people in Santa suits.
Maybe Waugh coined the term and Montgomery borrowed it from him? I should research this a little. It might be a reference to a book or a poem.
Maybe Waugh coined the term and Montgomery borrowed it from him? I should research this a little. It might be a reference to a book or a poem.
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Comfort Reads
Books mentioned in this topic
Forever (other topics)The Big Sky (other topics)
Anil's Ghost (other topics)
Burial Rites (other topics)
Goodbye Sarajevo: A True Story of Courage, Love and Survival (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Michael Ondaatje (other topics)Wendell Berry (other topics)
Robert K. Massie (other topics)
Edmund Morris (other topics)
Susan Fromberg Schaeffer (other topics)
More...
