Comfort Reads discussion
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What are you reading right now? (SEE NEW THREAD)
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Virginie
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Mar 18, 2010 01:30PM

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Well, I fell in love with Willis' time traveling historians in The Doomsday Book and still love them. If I had to compare Blackout to Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, I'm not sure I can. There is something different about each book I love. With Doomsday, it was the time period of the Plague. With To Say Nothing of the Dog, it was the fantastic witty banter and the Victorian period. With Blackout, it was learning so much about the bombing of London. I think the first two do edge out this last one a bit, and the ending had me almost screaming. How could Willis leave us hanging and keep us waiting until next fall to continue and complete this story? As I haven't read other Willis books, I'm going to try and console myself by reading her Bellwether and Lincoln's Dreams. Have you read either one of those, Lori?

Oh, I'm sorry to hear it..."
Lee, I loved it, so please still read it.

Chrissie, the historical fiction aspect of Blackout was fantastic, especially the bombing of London by the Germans and how it affected the civilians. There were quotes at the beginning of each chapter, too, concerning London and this time period. In fact, one of them states that "there were no civilians," as they were so much a part of and in the middle of the war. I learned so much from this book about an area that I had not really read a lot about, and I've read a lot of WWII lit.

Chrissie, I agree with Lori's response. I, also, wanted to add that I'm not a big science fiction fan either, so I can understand your reluctance. I think of these books much more in the historical fiction sense.

I've already responded about Blackout, Chrissie, but I did want to say a few words about The Good German. I had never really read anything about Berlin after WWII, with the Americans and Russians occupation of it. What an eye opener! It is a book that really examines what people do in war and how they justify their actions. The title not only addresses the question of if there was a "good German," but guides you to a self-examination of what you would do in a similar situation. Just an excellent book!

Doomsday is so incredibly beautiful. It is in my top favorite books. I read it over 10 years ago and it still is so present in my mind. Actually as soon as I finished it, i had to reread.
I'm getting my Willis time travelers mixed up - To Say Nothing comes before or after Doomsday? And Dunworthy wasn't in To Say Nothing, right?
Kathy - I've got to run, but I must PM you, I have a question about Blackout...I hope you don't mind?

*crash*

Doomsday is so incredibly beautiful. It is in my top favorite books. I read it over 10 years ago an..."
Thanks for the info on Passages, Lori. I'd wondered about it, and, of course, now I will have to buy it and read it very soon. I'm excited about Bellwether being fun, like those kind.
You know, Doomsday is incredibly beautiful and thinking more about it, it is my favorite. Of course, I'm a little odd in that I love stories dealing with the Plague. Oh, Doomsday comes 1st, then To Say Nothing of the Dog. I'll have to check and see if Dunsworthy is in To Say Nothing. Not sure.
I'd love to talk more in depth about Blackout, where we won't spoil it for others.
And, now you've added to my to-read list with the two above Willis titles and the Powers' Declare. Declarer sounds absolutely fascinating. Thanks (I think, although I'm going to have to stay in a chair and read the rest of my life now and neglect family, friends, and everything else. LOL).
I'm so happy to find others who love Doomsday as much as I did! It's just one of those books that you never forget about even if the details become hazy over time.
Kathy, thank-you for all the comments about Blackout. I'm still very excited about reading it.
Kathy, thank-you for all the comments about Blackout. I'm still very excited about reading it.
I just read the synopsis for The Good German and it sounds so familiar I wonder if I've read it. But how could I have forgotten??? What a geek.
Lori, thanks for the tip about Declare by Tim Powers. I see I have added a few of his other books to mount TBR. Have you read any more of his?

I just started Major Pettigrew's Last Stand which looks promising as well.
I thought The Secret Life of Bees was unexpectedly good so it sounds like you've picked another winner Mary.

Lori and Kathy, maybe it is better to read Doomsday first? Listening to yo to talk , well it sounds like you both really like the author! Maybe I should try something. I think I would be annoyed that Blackout demands that you read a following book to get the whole story!

Chrissie turned me onto the Book Depository and now I can't keep away from it! I don't know how they make any money with such good prices, free shipping everywhere and no minimum orders!!!
Lee wrote: "Chrissie turned me onto the Book Depository and now I can't keep away from it! I don't know how they make any money with such good prices, free shipping everywhere and no minimum orders!!!"
Ok, give us a link please! :)
Ok, give us a link please! :)
Virginie wrote: "Hooops, sorry Chrissie, I did not even read libraries in your message but bookstore weirdly and I remembered about Waterstones Brussels !!!Anyways you are right, The Book Depository is great for or..."
Great profile picture!!
Great profile picture!!

Oh sorry Virginie, for the confusion. BUYING books is no problem, except for my wallet, but libraries are TOTALLY hopeless. I don't like it when people complain when they are just visitors in a country, so I zip my mouth. Some things I like, some other things less. I AM glad to be living here; what an experience.

The Book Depository is how I got a copy of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest before it comes out this summer in the states. I am trying to fit it in when I have a nice block of reading time, as I know I will become completely absorbed in it.

I don't think you would have forgotten it, Lee. However, I have a friend who is a real speed reader, and she loses track of what she's read (even though I got her a reading journal) and she will ask me, "Have I read this one?" Luckily enough for her, I'm pretty good at remembering what she's read, too, especially if it's one I've read.
Ooooooh Kathy, I just checked and they actually have paperback copies of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest! Cool!
Kathy wrote: "Lee wrote: "I just read the synopsis for The Good German and it sounds so familiar I wonder if I've read it. But how could I have forgotten??? What a geek.""
Is it possible you are thinking of the movie? Isn't it fairly recent, too?
Is it possible you are thinking of the movie? Isn't it fairly recent, too?

LOL, Kathy I haven't seen ANY recent movies! I love to go but for the last four years I've not managed to get there.
Lee wrote: "LOL, Kathy I haven't seen ANY recent movies! I love to go but for the last four years I've not managed to get there."
That was my post Lee! lol Am I confusing people with my new profile picture?? :)
That was my post Lee! lol Am I confusing people with my new profile picture?? :)
Chrissie wrote: "May I whisper this - why is Bood Depository not considered a competitor to Amazon? It is for this reason both can appear under the book description box, but B&N can't. B&N has to be among the "othe..."
Chrissie, you know you can customize your book links to have any combination that suits you right? I just changed mine again.
Chrissie, you know you can customize your book links to have any combination that suits you right? I just changed mine again.
Thanks for the link to Book Depository. I have an order ready at Amazon, but I think BD will save me some money. I'll check the local Borders first, because this is Educator's Weekend and I get 30% off everything, even as a homeschool teacher. yay!

No way! I had to get the hardback.

Is it possible you are..."
Noooooooooooooooooooooooo! Bad, bad, bad movie! I say that without having seen it, as I thankfully had reports the movie version had changed everything about the book, making characters vastly different from what they were in the book. They made the lead female a prostitute for goodness sakes and she definitely wasn't in the book. Sorry, I just had to vent on this. I hate it when a favorite book is taken and completely destroyed in the move version.
Sorry, Kathy, calm down now! Take slow, deep breaths! I will banish that movie title forever. :)

LOL! Taking deep breaths. Thank you for the banishment, Jeannette. (Oh, and please don't think I was ranting at you, just ranting at the movie.)
Oh, I have no knowledge of the book or the movie. Sorry that someone totally trashed a book you obviously like! I'll have to check into it and see if it is something I might like.
I wish I could figure out if the fragments of plot I have in my head are from The Good German. It's so irritating to have read so many books and not be able to remember the titles. Since I started cataloguing books here on Goodreads I wish I had kept some kind book journal instead of random scraps of paper here and there. Grrrrrrr!

You know it's funny. Sometimes a movie trashes the book, but every once in a great while, the movie actually improves the book. Hard to believe, but I thought that the movie version of The Jane Austen Book Club was even better than the book, although I did like the book, too. That's really an unusual statement for me to make. If you do check out The Good German, Jeannette, let me know how you like it.

LOL, Lee. That's as bad as trying and trying to come up with the name of a book you've read, but you can't quite grab it.

Chrissie wrote: "Lee, I know you can choose the store links, BUT B&N never appears immeditaely under the book description box. It is included in the "more options". Under my book box I have Amazon, Amazon UK, book ..."
I get the choice of Amazon, WorldCat (never heard of this one) and then Borders. Must be a localized list.
I get the choice of Amazon, WorldCat (never heard of this one) and then Borders. Must be a localized list.
Kathy wrote: "Lee wrote: "I wish I could figure out if the fragments of plot I have in my head are from The Good German. It's so irritating to have read so many books and not be able to remember the titles. Si..."
I actually posted on Jane Austen the other day for help finding a book I had read, but could only remember that Darcy had kept one of Lizzie's ribbons as a bookmark. Someone knew which book I was talking about! Maybe you can start a similar thread here?
I actually posted on Jane Austen the other day for help finding a book I had read, but could only remember that Darcy had kept one of Lizzie's ribbons as a bookmark. Someone knew which book I was talking about! Maybe you can start a similar thread here?
Well there is a whole group dedicated to figuring out the name of books but I just haven't had time to get my act together and post over there. Lisa is one of the mods.
Chrissie, have you tried going into your profile and clicking under book links? You can re-order the links that show up in your profile, add ones from different countries etc. I just did it and there didn't seem to be any restrictions about competing stores or anything like that. I picked the links I use the most which are Amazon, Book Depository, Bookmooch and something else.

I will definitely want to check that group out, and with Lisa as one of the mods, I'm sure it's great. What is the name of it?
Lee wrote: "Well there is a whole group dedicated to figuring out the name of books but I just haven't had time to get my act together and post over there. Lisa is one of the mods."
I will try again with my Canadian Health Care, heart attack memoir that I read for free sitting in Borders while waiting for my daughter. :)
I will try again with my Canadian Health Care, heart attack memoir that I read for free sitting in Borders while waiting for my daughter. :)
I think the group is called - What's the name of that book?
I may try to find a few titles as well!
I may try to find a few titles as well!
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