Books on the Nightstand discussion
What Are You Currently Reading? - December 2011
Tanya/dog eared copy wrote: "I'm currently listening to A Christmas Carol (by Charles Dickens; narrated by Hugh Terry.) Hugh Terry's voice is clear and pleasant; but there's not really any distinction made between characters. ..."Tanya, I haven't heard of The Unit but a quick amazon search has me intrigued. I'm also about to start When She Woke. What's the link between these two? Do you think I should read The Unit first?
Katie
Katie wrote: "Tanya, I haven't heard of The Unit but a quick amazon search has me intrigued. I'm also about to start When She Woke. What's the link between these two? Do you think I should read The Unit first?"
There are four books that are connected in my mind:
The Scarlet Letter (by Nathaniel Hawthorne);
The Handmaid's Tale (by Margaret Atwood);
The Unit (by Ninni Holmqvist) and;
When She Awoke (by Hilary Jordan)
The Scarlet Letter is historical fiction; but the other three take place in the future and could be considered dystopian, political thrillers and/or speculative fiction. All four titles feature a female protagonist who have had their civil liberties stripped in the name of improving the respective societies in which they live(d). I happen to be reading them in the order in which they were published with the idea of connecting themes from the Classic with the more recent offerings; but all are stand-alones and can be read in any order you wish:-)
There are four books that are connected in my mind:
The Scarlet Letter (by Nathaniel Hawthorne);
The Handmaid's Tale (by Margaret Atwood);
The Unit (by Ninni Holmqvist) and;
When She Awoke (by Hilary Jordan)
The Scarlet Letter is historical fiction; but the other three take place in the future and could be considered dystopian, political thrillers and/or speculative fiction. All four titles feature a female protagonist who have had their civil liberties stripped in the name of improving the respective societies in which they live(d). I happen to be reading them in the order in which they were published with the idea of connecting themes from the Classic with the more recent offerings; but all are stand-alones and can be read in any order you wish:-)
I consider this book merely an appetizer to precede learning about an unappetizing period of history. It left me wanting to read more, not about Nazi atrocities (which I've already read a lot about), but about the politics and power-shifts within the regime. About how the German people were made to swallow the Nazi party line.
It's the story of how William Dodd, an historian, goes to Berlin in 1933 as FDR's ambassador to Germany. Dodd brings with him his wife Mattie and two adult children, Bill Jr. and Martha. William and Martha are the primary POV characters here, presumably because they left behind the most writing about the period.
Dodd is a bit naive, and has a tinge of the casual antisemitism that was prevalent at the time, even among Americans, but at the same time he cares about their plight. He's also a square peg in a round hole, since most people in the foreign service, "the Pretty Good Club", are expected to be men of means and to throw their own money around quite a bit in entertaining foreign dignitaries. Dodd is not a member of this monied class, and the Depression period of austerity limits his salary and budget. Dodd comes off at first a little naive, but gradually you come to admire his Atticus Finch-like belief in American principles.
Martha is a sexually liberated young woman who, although married to a banker back home, plays the field of available men, which includes Rudolf Diels, the head of the Gestapo (not a bad guy, it turns out, but an earlier moderating influence in the party, who was later purged). At one point she was even "pimped out" as a potential date for Hitler himself. She falls hard for Boris Winogradov, a Soviet who turns out to be an agent of the NKVD (precursor to the KGB). Their romance provides much of the suspenseful impetus that keeps you turning the pages of this book. Martha's antisemitism, at least early in the story, is more blatant than that of her father, and she starts out sympathizing with Nazi ideals. Even though conscience hits her later, I had a hard time totally sympathizing with her, although I found her compelling.
Through the eyes of Dodd, Martha, and others, we see the rise of Hitler, who, as Chancellor, had not yet seized total power. It was only after a spree of murdering his rivals (the Night of Long Knives) that he succeeded in achieving sole power. Anywhere from 200 to 1000 people died that night. The Night of Long Knives provides an answer to the question I asked above: why did the German people go along with the program (and the pogrom)? They knew they could have been murdered if they'd spoken out against it. The first major massacre was directed primarily at non-Jews who opposed Hitler, or who were perceived to oppose him. Americans, imagine if we had a leader who demanded total allegiance. We'd be angry, sure. But then if a cadre of thugs arrived in every county in the country and dragged the ten most vocal opponents of the regime into the woods and shot them, what then? What if the leader than announced he was the supreme judge of the American people? What then? Folks, be on your guard. It can happen here.
Shannon wrote: "I just started The Night Strangers, and if the whole book is as intense as the first 15 pages have been, I am not sure I will survive this reading!"Good creepy book!!
Thanks for the insight, Tanya. And for introducing me to The Unit. Looks like I have some great books ahead!Katie
Just finished
and LOVED it. Still plugging away at
and just started
- the jury is still out on this one. I'm on page 73 and not sure how I'm feeling about it yet.
I finished The Marriage Plot and The American Heiress. Both of them were enjoyable, but not quite as great a read as I was expecting. Oh well.Reading Crossed next even though I didn't really like Matched which is the first book in the series, because I hate to start a trilogy and not finish it. It's a YA book and an easy read.
Eric wrote: "I consider this book merely an appetizer to precede learning about an unappetizing period of hi..."
Eric,
I enjoyed this book as well. You might like Every Man Dies Alone
The Traitor's Emblem and A Night of Long Knives
I am fascinated by this time period in history.
Kathy wrote: "I'm re-reading The Hunger Games for our One Book, One School."At the movies last night and saw the trailer for the movie, The Hunger Games. It looked great and can't wait for it. It's coming out on March 23rd.
Eric wrote: "I consider this book merely an appetizer to precede learning about an unappetizing period of hi..."
Thanks for a great review Eric!! I will be reading this in March for one of my book groups and we had been dissapointed by Larson's "Thunderstruck." This new book sounds much more interesting. Like you, I now prefer to read about the "lesser known" parts of that time period, having also read my share of books/articles about the Nazi atrocities.
Eric wrote: "I consider this book merely an appetizer to precede learning about an unappetizing period of hi..."
I really enjoyed this one as well... I've been inching my way through The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich for a while, which is fascinating but dense. It has a lot of information about the various political machinations that were afoot at the time, as well as some really interesting background on how Hitler formed his political philosophies and strategies.
I just finished Crossed which I didn't like any more than the first book in the trilogy (Matched). Starting A Discovery of Witches tonight. Really looking forward to this one.
Mod
I consider this book merely an appetizer to precede learning about an unappetizing period of hi..."
I really enjoyed this book and urged my husband to do the same. He did. Immediately after this one, I read a book that contained Martha Dodd again. And I didn't know anything about her prior to that. What are the odds on the Dodds?
In talking about the audiobook of
Tanya/dog eared copy wrote: "Actually there are three narrators: Allison Hiroto, Mark Boyett and Marc Vietor. I'm guessing Allison Hiroto, who only has one other book to her credit (and that other book is also set in Japan) was hired primarily as one of the few female narrators with a fluency or proficiency in both English and Japanese."
Alison Hiroto is wooden in her reading, as I've said, but her diction is great. I don't necessarily require the reader to "act" the book for me. The prose itself supplies the necessary emotion. The reader's imagination fills in. Sometimes a trained actor, trying to hard, will sabotage the audiobook. To me, Jim Dale falls into this category.
One thing about Hiroto that bothered me is her mispronunciation of certain words. I suspect that the librarian was not "bespeckled", but "bespectacled". Likewise, I think a mine disaster was a "heart rending" rather than a "heart rendering" event.
Tanya/dog eared copy wrote: "Actually there are three narrators: Allison Hiroto, Mark Boyett and Marc Vietor. I'm guessing Allison Hiroto, who only has one other book to her credit (and that other book is also set in Japan) was hired primarily as one of the few female narrators with a fluency or proficiency in both English and Japanese."
Alison Hiroto is wooden in her reading, as I've said, but her diction is great. I don't necessarily require the reader to "act" the book for me. The prose itself supplies the necessary emotion. The reader's imagination fills in. Sometimes a trained actor, trying to hard, will sabotage the audiobook. To me, Jim Dale falls into this category.
One thing about Hiroto that bothered me is her mispronunciation of certain words. I suspect that the librarian was not "bespeckled", but "bespectacled". Likewise, I think a mine disaster was a "heart rending" rather than a "heart rendering" event.
Eric wrote: "Alison Hiroto is wooden in her reading, as I've said, but her diction is great. I don't necessarily require the reader to "act" the book for me. The prose itself supplies the necessary emotion. The reader's imagination fills in. Sometimes a trained actor, trying to hard, will sabotage the audiobook. To me, Jim Dale falls into this category.
One thing about Hiroto that bothered me is her mispronunciation of certain words. I suspect that the librarian was not "bespeckled", but "bespectacled". Likewise, I think a mine disaster was a "heart rending" rather than a "heart rendering" event. "
Oh man, I really, *really* wish that the-company-I-work-for had gotten the rights to produce this title! I personally would have loved to have cast it, having experienced the whole Japanese-American casting experience via Occupied City (by David Peace) a couple of years ago! There are a lot of unexpected challenges in finding the right narrators for Japanese/English works. Also, the company I work for tends to proof things to within an inch of its life! Even though the audiobook isn't "mine," it's disheartening to hear about the wooden performance and the mispronunciations. As the saying goes, you only get one chance to make a first impression and, I hate to think how many people may be put off either the author's works, this particular title or, audiobooks by this narration.
One thing about Hiroto that bothered me is her mispronunciation of certain words. I suspect that the librarian was not "bespeckled", but "bespectacled". Likewise, I think a mine disaster was a "heart rending" rather than a "heart rendering" event. "
Oh man, I really, *really* wish that the-company-I-work-for had gotten the rights to produce this title! I personally would have loved to have cast it, having experienced the whole Japanese-American casting experience via Occupied City (by David Peace) a couple of years ago! There are a lot of unexpected challenges in finding the right narrators for Japanese/English works. Also, the company I work for tends to proof things to within an inch of its life! Even though the audiobook isn't "mine," it's disheartening to hear about the wooden performance and the mispronunciations. As the saying goes, you only get one chance to make a first impression and, I hate to think how many people may be put off either the author's works, this particular title or, audiobooks by this narration.
I'm about 2/3 of the way through The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I like the voices of the two narrators, but aren't sure about the plot, which seems pretty minimal so far.
Joanne wrote: "I'm about 2/3 of the way through The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I like the voices of the two narrators, but aren't sure about the plot, which seems pretty minimal so far.[bookcover:..."
i read this book, but wasn't all that impressed in the end. i think i had built it up in my mind with all the reviews on it that when i finally read it, it didn't meet my expectations. i find the teenage narrator unrealistic. i think the story of the concierge is quite intersting.
Elizabeth wrote: "Joanne wrote: "I'm about 2/3 of the way through The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I like the voices of the two narrators, but aren't sure about the plot, which seems pretty minimal so fa..."My book club read and discussed Hedgehog earlier this year. It was a huge dividing line in the group--people either loved it or didn't get it or enjoy it. There was no middle ground. I loved the book, but I do see where many would not. It is a very quiet, and sometimes pretentious book. I related very much with Renee, the main character, and I think that connection is what made me love the book so much. It currently resides in my number two spot of all the books I have read this year : )
Shannon wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "Joanne wrote: "I'm about 2/3 of the way through The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I like the voices of the two narrators, but aren't sure about the plot, which seems pr..."I read the first couple of chapters and couldn't get on board with the translation - I found the sentence constructions distracting. I want to get my hands on an original version to see if I would fair better with the French.
I just finished Nathaniel Philbrick's Why Read Moby Dick, which is a loving tribute of this classic. Makes want to re-read Moby Dick and Philbrick's In The Heart of the Sea. It's a short, but handsomely designed book and would make a great gift. Started The Secret Garden "by accident" last night. I downloaded a copy because the book is on my TBR list for 2012, but I made the mistake of reading a few lines and a few lines turned into a few chapters!
Wow - can't believe it's already the middle of December and I haven't had time to post what I'm reading this month yet. I started out the month with my book club read, Olive Kitteridge. Then, I'm finishing up some Chris Bohjalian books, which when I am finished, means I have read every book by the retreat authors in print this year (Bohjalian has at least 3 titles that are out of print and not available at my library). The final books to read for December are The Buffalo Soldier, Idyll Banter, The Law of Similars, and Secrets of Eden. If I have any more time left over the holidays, next up are The Perfectionists, The Book Thief, and Tolstoy and the Purple Chair (jumped up on my list because I was catching up on podcasts yesterday, so thank you Ann!). Need to find some time to read the Harry Potter series as well...
And, last month I trialed Audible.com, and listened to The Hunger Games. For this month's download I of course got Catching Fire so I could "read" the second book of the trilogy. Lots of Christmas baking means lots of time to listen!
Amy wrote: "Wow - can't believe it's already the middle of December and I haven't had time to post what I'm reading this month yet. I started out the month with my book club read, Olive Kitteridge. Then, I..."
what did you think Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading? i've been wanting to read this book.
Shannon wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "Joanne wrote: "I'm about 2/3 of the way through The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I like the voices of the two narrators, but aren't sure about the plot, which seems pr..."Loved Hedgehog but hated the ending. The concierge was my philosophy hero. I admire any character that keeps on learning and has a great but hidden inner world.
Finished A Christmas Carol last night, afterwards I read through some of his sketches (essays? stories?) about Christmas. I love his way with words, the way sentences flow together. I'm going to expand my Dickens library next year for sure!I started my rereading of The Christmas Chronicles: The Legend of Santa Claus, which I really enjoy. One little thing I had forgotten from when I read it last year was the green font color, which is so unusual and festive. I'm also planning on picking up Michael's recommendation from today's podcast, Batman: Noel, on my way home today. Love adding to my Christmas shelf!
i read We the Animals: A novel last night in one sitting. i forgot my regular reading book at work and it was just too tempting to ignore this book. once i started i couldn't stop. and then i listened to this week's episode and i love that ann mentions it as an underrated book of the year. i absolutely love the prose. it seems torres might have a background in poetry. i just love it. and i will recommend it to everyone.
I finished (read: devoured within 24hrs) A Discovery of Witches which was absolutely amazing. It's going to be a very long wait for book two of the trilogy next fall. Definitely one of the best books that I read this year.I just started When She Woke last night, which I'm liking so far. In some ways, it reminds me of The Handmaid's Tale.
Ann wrote: "Amy: just wow!!"I second Ann's "just wow!!" Amy: do you not sleep?!?!?
I'm on page 520/892 of Our Mutual Friend by Dickens. While he is on my literary Mt. Rushmore, i'd advise anyone who's taking the "Read Dickens in 2012" challenge to not take pick this one unless they are hard core Dickens fans. I'm enjoying it, but it did take until roughly page 450 to really get the plot going, which is far too long. Apparently the original subscription to the monthly magazine installments for this novel was 35,000 but dropped to 19,000 by the end. So it was a hard slog even for his contemporaries! my top Dickens is still Great Expectations followed by David Copperfield. . .
While making my Christmas shopping trip to the bookstore yesterday, I picked up a little something for myself- Batman: Noel, on Michael recommendation. I started it last night, and only got a little ways in before I realized that several pages had holes and tears in them. Something must have happened in production. I will be returning my copy and definitely hunting (carefully) for a new one, because the art is GORGEOUS and totally worth the price.
Elizabeth wrote: "Amy wrote: "Wow - can't believe it's already the middle of December and I haven't had time to post what I'm reading this month yet. I started out the month with my book club read, Olive Kitteri..."
Not Amy, but I read Purple Chair this past summer. Here's how I reviewed it:
I think I liked the idea of this book a lot better than the book itself. The indulgence of reading a book a day made me jealous! But while I appreciated how the author found parallels and lessons in all her readings, none of it did much for me. I had not heard of many of the books she read, and the brief quotes she provided didn't really entice me to read them either. Overall, just a fair book and I won't recommend it to friends. I might check out her blog to see if I enjoy her individual book reviews better.
I, too, read Purple Chair earlier in the year. This was my take:When Nina lost her sister Anne-Marie to cancer, she decides to process her grief by reading a book a day for a year and posting a daily review on her blog. I was a bit skeptical of this project because I rarely find enough reading time and I don't have four young boys like Nina. Then I learned that she took a ruler to the spine of the books and selected those that measured an inch or less, roughly 300 pages a day. She also skimped on house cleaning for awhile. Sounds good to me.
The book chronicles her year of reading and grieving. Some readers may think that Nina spends too much time reminiscing about her sister and desire more literary discussion. Other readers may think she spends too much time on books and wish for more memoir. It depends on your taste.
I always enjoy learning about how others experience books that I have read. I continue to be amazed at the various ways books impact people's lives. I intend to spend more time on Nina's website reading her reviews. Meanwhile, I can only envy, not her sorrow, but the opportunity to read a book a day. What an experience that would be! Maybe when I'm retired ...
Becky wrote: "I'm on page 520/892 of Our Mutual Friend by Dickens. While he is on my literary Mt. Rushmore, i'd advise anyone who's taking the "Read Dickens in 2012" challenge to not take pick this one unless th..."Our Mutual Friend is actually my favorite Dickens book. It is long though, isn't it?
Victoria wrote: "Becky wrote: "I'm on page 520/892 of Our Mutual Friend by Dickens. While he is on my literary Mt. Rushmore, i'd advise anyone who's taking the "Read Dickens in 2012" challenge to not take pick this..."wow! you must be a hard core fan. . . no, I like Our Mutual Friend, I do. . . especially now that things are picking up with the plot, and I'm reading some criticism and appreciating the complicated character interweavings and the imagery. . . it's just not as easy as Great Expectations . . . if you're hardcore dickens fan, you should check out the Dickens Project at UCSC, a summer Dickens Camp for the public and academics. . .
Ha ha. No thanks. I have posted in the Dickens episode thread that I did my senior thesis on Dickens. I'm Dickens-ed out!
I've just finished Across the Nightingale Floor.It is one of those books that requires a pause for reflective enjoyment.
Mod
which I recommend, but caution it is not a start at his birth and progress chronologically book. It is more anecdotal, choosing a topic for each chapter and explaining, pontificating or story telling about said topic.Now working on
. Even though I started this morning and am only on chapter 5, I've started a family chart for this book. This is not something I normally do, but thought, quickly, it would be helpful for this one.
I am finished with
and I am now reading
What did you think of "The Gargoyle"? I have seen reviews of it that were all over the place.
I loved it. It is beautifully written and full of imagery. There are some stories within the story that are moving as well. I recommend it. It can be somewhat graphic.
Bobbi wrote: "Ann wrote: "Amy: just wow!!"I second Ann's "just wow!!" Amy: do you not sleep?!?!?"
Oh I'm only on 80 books for the year - I've see more than one person in the group has read way more than 100 books this year. I just used the Authors Challenge list to prioritize Besides... I really wish I could have gone to the retreat!
I am happy to report that this afternoon I finished my last Christ Bohjalian book, and I have officially read all of the retreat authors' books that are in print!
I've just gotten started on Amaranth & Ash which has started off really good. I've also started Book of Prophecies which I'm not so sure about
I finished When She Woke which I really enjoyed because the dystopian future was basically her opinion of what would happen should Christianity be allowed to be part of the US government's functions. I particularly liked it because rather than just being one obviously "bad guy," (the government) as is the case in most dystopian novels, this one really leaves room for a lot of discussion. I think there is a large population who might find that they think all the things that are oppressive about this government are perfectly acceptable.I also read The Twisted Thread which was supposed to be like The Secret History. It was in terms of overarching basic plot points, but it lacked all the je ne sais quoi that made Secret History so amazing. This lackluster book wasn't worth the read, sadly.
I'm (FINALLY!) starting the Game of Thrones/Song of Fire and Ice series tomorrow with A Game of Thrones. I'm really excited to finally get to these.
Linda wrote: "Just finished which I recommend, but caution it is not a start at his birth and progress chronologically book. It is more anecdotal, choosing a topic for each cha..."I find family charts to be quite helpful with Kate Morton novels. Especially with The Forgotten Garden. I do really enjoy her novels, though. I hope you find that you do too.
Shannon wrote: "...people either loved [[book:The Elegance of the Hedgehog|2967752]] or didn't get it or enjoy it. There was no middle ground."Funny, I picked it up because my mother said she didn't like it, but the way she described what she didn't like made me think I would. I liked the book overall, though I was disappointed in the resolution. (More details--and spoilers--in my review.)
Books on the Nightstand
Books mentioned in this topic
The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb (other topics)The Passage (other topics)
The Passage (other topics)
The Passage (other topics)
The Passage (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Ernest Cline (other topics)Margaret Atwood (other topics)
We The Animals was fantastic. It is a very heavy, deep, honest, and painful book-although it does have happy moments. It is a good read-very thought provoking, and it REALLY made me appreciate my parents!