The Next Best Book Club discussion
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What are you reading?
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Once again I am trailing Lori. I'm about 125 pages into Oscar Wao now. I'm glad you kept going Lil!
Julianne - as a dog lover, you might enjoy Timbuktu by Paul Auster. It is written from the point of view of a dog and fairly short. I just finished it this past weekend.
Julianne - as a dog lover, you might enjoy Timbuktu by Paul Auster. It is written from the point of view of a dog and fairly short. I just finished it this past weekend.
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Too many big holidays are right around the corner, and then I will have no time to pee, let alone read!! hee hee
That's no good having to choose between peeing and reading.
Which is why I ALWAYS take a book in the bathroom with me, except for when I shower.
Me too! I make sure I clear out the book for the shower because it tends to curl the cover up on me.
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I love to read in the bath tho! I only take a bath when I have a killer headache or am really stressed. the super hot soak , a good book and a few motrin usually make me feel soo much better...
A FEW motrin? What kind of dosage are we talking here? I only take that many if I have an injury and need to play.
My fiance always makes fun of me when I do that. He's always says, "You are only gonna be in there a few seconds, what do you need a book for?" Hey, I can get a couple good paragraphs read in a few seconds!
I carry my book around the house with me all the time. I read when in the bathroom, cooking dinner, letting the pans soak while I am washing dishes...you get the picture. My husband thinks I am weird, but it is peaceful when they think I am doing the dishes and I am just standing in the kitchen reading!
... So I'm not the only weird one always going to the bathroom with a book under her arm! I feel much much more normal already! :)
I also carry a book with me to the bathroom. There is no shame in it.
I started BLINDNESS last night; just a few pages into it but so far so good. I'm also thinking about reading WUTHERING HEIGHTS.
I finished Dexter in the Dark last night. It was a dramatic improvement after the second book, but the supernatural element of it all just wore terribly thin and the ending seeming almost an afterthought. I hope Lindsay got this need for mysticism out of his system for when Dexter by Design comes out.I've moved back to Graham Greene's The End of the Affair. I love Greene, he's never failed to entice me with a new read and this one is no exception. I just wish it were a bit longer.
I gave up on Talisman just not my thing.So I picked up Mr Hands for another group read.I also take a book to the bathroom with me so don't feel bad.My whole family likes to read in the bathroom.
I keep my bathroom reading limited to magazines only. The shorter paragraphs make for quicker skimming. Plus, if I didn't set down that ground rule then I'd never keep up with the periodicals because I'd always have a book in there.
Just out of curiousity, Alicia, are you a Stephen King fan? I just wonder because I have had Talisman and Black House on my shelf for several years.
Magazines fight a losing battle with my books. I have piles of half read or completely unread.
Magazines fight a losing battle with my books. I have piles of half read or completely unread.
Jeremy, I feel your pain. I have three months worth of National Geographics gathering dust. Luckily one of my subscriptions just lapsed so they aren't piling up as quickly as they normally do.
Jeremy, I'm a King fan and I read THE TALISMAN. Wasn't that impressed by it. For an adveventure story, it wasn't that that exciting.
The worst thing is I just paid for a year of Writers Digest. Great magazine IF I actually read it.
Logan and Jeremy, I fall into the same trap. Even with Lit journals, I'd rather be reading a book. So I end up with piles of magazines that are never looked at.
I think Poets & Writers is the one magazine I'd read on a semi-regular basis. But usually, I'd be too late for submission deadlines...lol.
Sometimes the bathroom is the only quiet place in my house. I have read a bunch of SHANTARUM in there. lol
I just finished Midwife of the Blue Ridge...very good historical fiction. Now on to a non-fiction...Belle Weather: Mostly Sunny with a Chance of Scattered Hissy Fits and Conniptions.
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I just finished The Cider House Rules (only book I'm reading of our September reads) and am now onto The Millionaires by Brad Meltzer.
I hear you Lori. I'm sorry to hear about your headaches.
Jesse, I was one of the people that had some difficulty with reading Blindness in the beginning, but once you really get into it it is like being on a runaway train. I had to confess to really liking it, though at times I had to put it down -- too much that was disturbing going on. Good luck!
Lori, a good bath and a good book, ahhhhhhhhhh. Watch out for the bubbles though. They tend to curl the pages of the book.
Stacie, don't do too much standing and reading. Love to assume the Lotus position in a big oversized chair. But then the problem becomes leg lock. Oh well, if I can't get up, I guess I have to keep reading. Right?
Just found Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell in the FULIR library (great library - no due dates, no limits, no late fees) and have started it. Enjoying it so far (mind you, I just started Chapter Two).
Linda, I've heard its difficult in spots. But like you say, it's so good that you stick with it.
Lori, I get migrains. I am on a preventative called TOPAMAX. When I do get one, I take RELPAX. I feel your pain! When I get those, I can't read:(
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Ann, sorry to hear about the migranes. I understand they can be very debiliating(sp?)...
Jesse, dont put that book down for anything!
Finished The Cider House Rules a few days ago. Finished Old School by Tobias Wolff today (so excited that he will be in town to speak this spring).Just started Wuthering Heights today.
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I think I'll put it down for a little bit tonight and go watch some episodes of Lost. You won't fault me for that, right???:-)
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Joe & Logan:Thanks for the discussion. I loved Atlas Shrugged. I thought the book was excellent from both a philosophical and a literary standpoint. I loved the clarity of Ayn Rand’s writing-style and her dialogue, the only real critique I have is that all the characters seemed to share the same voice. I agree that it was very repetitive---a thing I usually hate---but for some reason it didn't bother me so much, probably because I felt like someone had finally put my thoughts into words! It is quite amazing how much things have changed since the time this book was written, how much they’ve stayed the same when it comes to government and politics.
On the point of "altruism". The author does make a distinction that she believes in helping people if you want to; but that no one should be forced to (i.e. by means of government compulsion), or at the cost of your own well being. For instance, at one point when she speaks of altruism in the book (I think through Galt's speech toward the end), she states something like--- if you feed your last bit of food to your own child it is not altruism (or sacrifice of one’s self for the good of another)---because that would be in your own self-interest--- but if you feed your last bit of food to your neighbor's child (leaving your own to die) that would be considered true altruism; it is saving everyone at the cost of your own happiness [life]. I think where it gets a bit confusing is that since the author’s time the definition of altruism has changed, expanding to included non-sacrificial forms of helping others. Many times within the story people did actually help each other, out of genuine goodwill (and free will). I liked how the story also depicted that when one person is successful, they actually have the means to help others, but if you hold them down and run them out of business they are good to no one. I think that’s where I agree the most with Ms Rand is on her views of a free-market society, and that hurting the ones who hold this world up is not good for any of us. But more importantly than that is the message that stealing is an immoral act.
I also liked some of the points made regarding thinking; that it’s a GOOD thing, and that man’s mind is his only means of survival. There’s so much more that I can’t even begin to articulate, and I feel that if I tried I would become as redundant as the book itself! :-)
Lori:Hey there! Have missed you at MySpace lately. Glad to catch up finally.
Sorry to say, not enjoying The Plague. I just space out when I'm reading it and I'm not sure why. It seems well-written, I just can't get into the characters or the story (but it sounded so intriguing!!!). It's a short little book, but I'm only halfway through after several days now. I put it down last night to read Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, which I loved btw!
I am now reading Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts and Callander Square by Anne Perry.
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Jeremy I am a Stephen King fan.I just don't like everyhitng he does.But I will always try.
Alicia, I may have missed it if you've mentioned if before but have you read The Stand? I'm looking to read it next month and I've heard great things about it so far.
I'm slowly reading behond the narrow gate a real acount of 4 chinese women imigrated in the us, telled by the daugther of one of them. I'm having trouble simpatizing whit the charathers.
Boof, Went on line to order the Guernsey Potato (oh whatever, the title is too long to put here) and decided that might as well order the $25 to get the free shipping and ordered The Art of Racing in the Rain. Would love to hear what you think of it. I don't think mine will be shipped for another few days. Also got Ghost Soldiers - Hampton Sides for $.01 (and $3.99 shipping - bummer).
I finished Cider House Rules yesterday, and started on A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray.
Villette by Charolette Bronte. I started it on Monday, so far so good, it is a big book but a pretty easy read.
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The Next Best Book Club
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Lori, are you getting a sexy Heathcliffe? Is he the rough and ready type? I imagine him on those windswept Yorkshire Moors, all rugged and manly..................rrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!