What are you reading right now? (SEE NEW THREAD) Showing 4,301-4,350 of 7,588

[[deleted user]]

I listened to Mr. Popper on audiobook years a go, and loved it. I'm not very excited about the Jim Carey movie.

[Brenda]

I heard the book and movie are very different. I'm reading it with my son, he wanted to see the movie but we tend to go book first. Sometimes we have fun discussions about the differences.

[[deleted user]]

Well, the book won the Newberry in 1939, so there will definitely be plenty of differences. It bothered me how Cheaper by the Dozen was filmed (with Steve Martin). I think it's strange/unfair to take a well-loved book title and then write a completely unrelated screenplay.

But, enjoy the book and the movie! I haven't read any reviews, so I really can't say anything about it, in all fairness.

[Chrissie]

I am now reading How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers

I have been told you don't have to know how to meditate or even be attracted to Buddhist beliefs, to be helped by this book. Anyone with a chronic illnes or who cares for another with a chronic illness should consider this book. This is a book for those people who have an illness that is not going to go away.

I am very reluctant to read self-help books. I just get out a piece of paper and pen and think while I jot down my thoughts. A dear friend suggested this to me. She said read a bit and see what you think. That is what I did. It drew me in, and I wanted to continue. So this is what I am reading.

[Chrissie]

I will now start On Hitler's Mountain: Overcoming the Legacy of a Nazi Childhood. I bought it. My husband grabbed it first, and he said I would like it. He even confirmed that the historical facts were accurate. :0) So I will tackle the paperback. If it proves to difficult I will switch to a Kindle book.

I just finished How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers. I give it my highest recommendations. You do not have to be chronically ill to learn a lot from this book! You need not be a Buddhist, but you might begin to appreciate their beliefs. Before reading this book I thought Buddhism was way to negative for my tastes. The book was a real eye-opener! Here follows my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... . This is a five star book.

[[deleted user]]

I have requested "How to Be Sick" from the library, Chrissie. I have always been interested in learning more about Buddhism, but the books I've tried were a bit inaccessible. This one sounds interesting, an easier to comprehend.

[Chrissie]

Jeanette, the book is very practically oriented. At the same time it taught Buddhist beliefs in a manner that I could comprehend and in fact agree with. I always felt Buddhism was too negative. It isn't at all.

I really should start reading it again..... It is a book meant to be used.

[[deleted user]]

I hope I get as much out of it as you have. I'll let you know.

[Chrissie]

Jeanette, I hope so too. As I said in my review - there are particular situations where I can imagine other things happening than what she describes.

The author is called Toni and her husband is Tony! I thought that was cute.

[[deleted user]]

Cute, but confusing! ;)

[Chrissie]

Jeanette, no, it is not confusing, you just have to look carefully. The context is usually pretty clear too. You know who is sick and who is the caregiver!

[[deleted user]]

I meant the names, Toni & Tony! Sorry for the confusion. :)

[Chrissie]

Jeanette, I did too. You are not confused by their similar names. You always know who is who.

[Lisa]

Chrissie wrote: "Jeanette, I did too. You are not confused by their similar names. You always know who is who."

It might be confusing for people in their real lives who are talking about them because their names are pronounced identically. I think that's what's being said???

[[deleted user]]

Yes, thank you, Lisa! :D

[Chrissie]

Lisa, of course! I just meant it wasn't confusing in the book....... Duh!

[[deleted user]]

No, it was MY duh, Chrissie! My "humorous" remarks are very spontaneous, but fail to take into account context, most of the time. I failed to connect the author and her husband back to the story.

But, I've always been curious about Buddhism. I have found most books on the subject hard to connect with. Maybe this will be just the right story for me.

[Chrissie]

Jeanette, I have read books about Buddhism. I walked away from them thinking NEVER! Too negative! Desire is wonderful, and Buddhism is saying that deire is bad and causes suffereing. There was no way I could accept that. But I had the whole thing wrong.........

[[deleted user]]

Julia wrote: "I've just finished How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers and liked it. Here's what i said in my summary:

Short, easy to read. I will..."

Julia: You jumped into the middle of a discussion this book. Was it coincidence, or did you see Chrissie's comments? She really liked the book, too. And, I am looking forward to reading it.

[Chrissie]

Oh Julia, you have read the same book I read! I am glad you liked it too. The thing is, we have to go back and use the practices so well described in the book. Some are so easy to remember, but I am sure others will be good too. One reading isn't enough! Did you see my review?

Jeanette, see! Julia liked it too! It is a good book.

[Chrissie]

Julia, what happened to Toni is so horrible that you feel you have absolutely no reason to moan...... I forgot to mention that!

[Carol]

Hi, I just joined this group tonight and the book I am currently reading is called Northern Lights, a book about the Canadian artist Tom Thompson by Roy MacGregor.
So far there are parts I find interesting about the early twentieth century but there is a lot of detail and genealogy also which I could do without reading, so I do a lot of skimming. I am reading it because his death was and is to this day somewhat of a mystery, and that part, along with the fact that he left a woman behind when he died (was murdered?) is intriguing. I would not call it a comfort read though.

[Chrissie]

Julia, the emails are not working properly. I didn't know you had responded! Sigh.

[Chrissie]

I have now downloaded Gyula Krudy's Sunflower. I read the beginning and was terribly intriqued by the author's prose style. I felt that what I read was dreamy, macabre, and erotic all rolled together, just as the book description describes the writing. And I do like reading a story that takes place in Hungary. I just hope it is as good as others have said!

I finished this morning, On Hitler's Mountain: Overcoming the Legacy of a Nazi Childhood. I highly recommend it. Here is my spoiler-free review. Everyone is reading In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin. I have chosen to read this instead. It is all about how the Germans felt about Hitler and WW2, before, during and after, seen through the eyes of the people in one family. That little girl on the cover is the author, and she sat on Hitler's lap when she was three. She and her family lived next door to his retreat in Bavaria. Here is my review of this book: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/.... I gave it four stars.

[Chrissie]

Having dumped Sunflower, I have now started Far to Go by Alison Pick. I have read several books about Czechoslovakia during the war. This has as a central theme the Kindertransport and the life of a family of secular Jews. It is historical fiction, but based on the author's grandparents' lives.

My review explains why I didn't like Sunflower: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Abby]

the road, by Cormack McCarthy.

[Chrissie]

I just finished Far to Go. It was worth 4 stars. This is a perfect example of how historical fiction can best be put to use. You fill in the missing parts when you only know some of the facts! Here is my spoiler-free review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... I had a hard time putting it down.

I will now start W.G. Sebald's Austerlitz. Just as Far to Go was about a child who left Czechoslovakia via Kindertransport to Britain, this book too has the same theme. It too is about our need to remember, understand and not forget the past. It will be intereting to compare the two. I hope I like the style of writing. The book description put me off a bit, but I have the book, so I will give it a try.

[Lauren]

I finished reading Friendship Bread which was only okay - soap-opera worthy. I re-read Fallen so I could remember what happens before I read the new one that came out.

[[deleted user]]

Friendship Bread didn't do too much for me, either, Lauren. It was rather predictable.

[Kim]

I've started reading Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. Very simply written and easy to read, but very interesting. It was something I'd never heard of before finding a reference to it in a GR friend's review of another book.

[Lee, Mod Mama]

Kim, I haven't read Kindred but I've read three of her other books and I think Octavia Butler is a fantastic writer.

[Kim]

Lee wrote: "Kim, I haven't read Kindred but I've read three of her other books and I think Octavia Butler is a fantastic writer."

Which of them have you read, Lee? I may have to add them to my TBR list (*groan* - as if it isn't long enough already!)

[Lauren]

Kim wrote: "I've started reading Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. Very simply written and easy to read, but very interesting. It was something I'd never heard of before finding a refer..."

My book club read this last year - I had nightmares for a while.. it was very interesting to say the least..

[Chrissie]

I have decided not to finish Austerlitz. I disliked that it lacked paragraphs and correct punctuation. I found the writing too dam erudite for my tastes. To appreciatee this book you must be very knowledgeable about European cities and architecture, European history and battles and natural sciences and medical procedures. When there were pages and pages on moths, I started to look for when the chapter might end and discovered there were no chapeters! What is good is that the photos make the book utterly believable. It says here is a photo of X's office. When you look at the photo you think that this person just has to have existed, but it is all imaginary. Here is my spoiler-free review:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I will start something totally different: Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

[[deleted user]]

Isaac's Storm is a great choice, Chrissie! I didn't want to put it down.

I don't know if I could read pages and pages about moths, either. ;)

[Chrissie]

Jeanette, a GR friend just told me thatthe bookt misrepresents the facts. The guy who tells everyone to evacuat, in reality did nothing of the kind! I have asked the person to tell me the name of the misrepresented person.

[[deleted user]]

My comment disappeared!

Well, I am curious to hear who this person in the book is, and what part he played. I just assumed the story was factual. It tells the story of how the Weather Service handled the hurricane, as well as the stories of the people living in Galveston.

I don't fact-check stories in general, unless I read something I know to be inaccurate. It is a good read, even so.

Let me know.

[Chrissie]

Jea,ette, I see you have found Leslie's comment below my place for a review of the book Isaac's Storm. I cannot get a link here....... Maybe this will work:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14...

Leslie's is the 9th comment to may review of the book.

[Chrissie]

My comment came up three times until I deleted some.

[Maude]

Chrissie, It seems to me to be probably Isaac himself because if I remember right, he did not think there was going to be a bad storn and so did not call for evacuation and thus, there was significant loss of life. It has been a few years since I read it but I think that is it. It is a very good book and should hold your interest.

[[deleted user]]

I think Maude has it right. (See how good this book was. I haven't read in a few years, either, but I remember it, too.) I think your friend must be remembering it a bit backwards. I definitely do not remember the book portraying Isaac as a hero.

I really do think you will enjoy the book, on several levels.

[Chrissie]

Maude and Jeanette, I came to the same conclusion last night - that Leslie was speaking of Isaac himself. I responded to Leslie's comment to please explain why the Galveston authorities have reacted as they did toward this book. They seem to feel that if Isaac, I assume it is him, had told people to evacuate more lives would have been saved. True, but maybe he didn't have enough info since he was working with the powerful Weather Bureau who was stating that they were in charge..... She says that the book makes him a hero and that is what they do not like.

Please look at the link I gave you rather than discussing this in two places. Please see the comments under where it says I am reading the book.

Too me it sounds like the Galveston suthorities simply don't want this issue discussed! Bad publicity.

[Felicia]

I was reading Heartless but after about 50% of the book, I REALLY tried to get into it, I just can't keep going. Nothing technically wrong with the story but it was just sooooo slowwwww.....

I have several things in my TBR list but nothing is drawing me. *sigh* Hopefully something will catch my attention soon.

[[deleted user]]

I'm reading On Hitler's Mountain: My Nazi Childhood. The author is just recalling her early childhood. The story should start to get more interesting now.

[Chrissie]

Jeanette, I hope you like it. I don't remember being bored in the beginning......Have you read about her parents' lives before she was born?

[[deleted user]]

Maybe I haven't quite gotten used to her writing style. Or maybe all the German words she sticks in annoy me. Or maybe I was hungry....

I did find it interesting that her grandmother is 12 years older than her grandfather. And, my MIL, born in 1934, is named Helga. ;) But, I don't want to give away too much.

[Chrissie]

Jeanette, that is tough being hungry and trying to concentrate on a book. I ended up truly understanding why her parents supported Hitler in the beginning. But not her grandfather! No way!

[Beth]

im reading Switched by Amanda Hocking! love it!

[[deleted user]]

Chrissie wrote: "Jeanette, that is tough being hungry and trying to concentrate on a book. I ended up truly understanding why her parents supported Hitler in the beginning. But not her grandfather! No way!"

It's just getting interesting, because now she is talking about the Hitler times: learning the salute, leaving the church, etc.

[Chrissie]

Jeanette, ok, I know where you are.