What are U reading these days? (PART EIGHT (2012) (ONGOING THREAD for 2012) Showing 601-650 of 1,151

[Jim]

Jackie mentioned 'liking' my review already. I often start reviews of books before I've read them, especially when they have short stories or sections that I want to review separately, which was the case here. I don't check the 'add to my update feed' box & hope that no one sees them before I'm fully finished. I often go back & touch up quick notes & other aspects. Until I mark a book as read, I don't check the update feed portion. I guess GR just puts it out there anyway, though. That kind of sucks.

[Jackie]

OK, it's working now.

[Jackie]

It does suck that they send it out without your approval. If I'm going to do a review, I add notes to a document on my computer and update as I go along. Then copy and paste into the review here when I'm done. Sometimes I need time to think, and to revise.

[Jim]

I guess I could put them in an email, but if the book is an ebook, I often read it at work & at home, so keeping on GR makes it easier.

[Jackie]

I agree. I'm always home so it's easy for me to keep them on the computer.

I just started reading Richard II, mostly because later in the year, PBS will be doing a short series of a few Shakespeare's plays. It's now or never. Once I see the play/TV movie, I'll never read it. It's been a long time since I read Shakespeare and it's not as hard to read as I thought it would be.

[Jim]

I loved the Shakespeare editions I first saw in high school. They had explanations on the left side with the play on the right. Shakespeare's English was different enough from ours & he made up so many words that it was really helpful.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "Over the course of a month, I worked my way through Lord of the Fantastic: Stories in Honor of Roger Zelazny, a wonderful collection of stories. My review is here:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... ..."

Wow, Jim, that's quite a reading list at your review! It deserves saving!

I've put the book on my keep-in-mind shelf. Below are my own comments:
==============================================
FROM THE GR REVIEW (of Lord of the Fantastic: Stories in Honor of Roger Zelazny ):
"... twenty-five ... writers -- including some of the most acclaimed names in SF and fantasy -- come together to pay tribute to Roger Zelazny with original stories evoking the magic and wonder of his own best work."

See the following review by Jim:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Jim's review contains an excellent reading list of the short stories (included in this collection) written by the authors who were influenced by Zelazny..

The GR book description describes Zelazny's writing with the following words:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Over the years, that shining talent burned brighter in novels such as Lord of Light, The Dream Master, and Creatures of Light and Darkness...works whose lyrical prose, masterful plotting and unique blend of timeless myth with cutting-edge science won Zelazny the acclaim of readers and critics alike..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=======================================

[Jackie]

Jim, I would definitely like those annotated editions. It would make the reading easier and faster.

[Jim]

Jackie, I believe they were Signet editions that had the explanations. Something like this one here:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16...

Yes, very handy.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "... I often start reviews of books before I've read them, especially when they have short stories or sections that I want to review separately ..."

Jim, I write my reviews for my own benefit more than for others. I treat my reviews as places to put notes, comments, and information about the book which I don't want to forget. If it benefits others, so be it, but the reviews are mainly there for me. I like going back after time has passed to see what I had to say. Sometimes I surprise myself. :) If a book is on my to-read shelf or my keep-in-mind shelf, it's always necessary to start the review page before reading the book.

[Jackie]

Jim, Thanks, I'll have to try and find the Signet editions for the plays I don't have.

I think you have a good idea there, Joy, writing the reviews, thoughts, etc for yourself.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Speaking of Shakespeare, I'm currently listening to a CD of Bill Bryson's book: Shakespeare: The World as Stage. A GR reviewer says:
===================================================
"Bryson is a natural teacher. He does a review of what is known about Shakespeare, the age in which he lived, the state of drama during that time and the controversy concerning the authorship of his plays. He breaks those facts down into interesting pieces and then makes them come alive."
FROM: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
====================================================

[Jim]

I've read a couple of Bryson's books. He is very readable & good.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "I've read a couple of Bryson's books. He is very readable & good."

Here's my "Bryson" shelf at GR (hope the link works for you):
http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...

Usually, if reading something by Bryson, I don't finish the book. But if I listen to it via an audio CD, I might get through it or I might not, even though I find him extremely interesting. That's how I am with anything non-fiction. (A notable exception was Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. That book fascinated me!)

[Jackie]

I'm not as engaged with non-fiction as I am with fiction. But with movies, I like when they're based on true stories. Maybe it's that non-fiction books can be rather dry, whereas movies can bring it to life.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jackie wrote: "I'm not as engaged with non-fiction as I am with fiction. But with movies, I like when they're based on true stories. Maybe it's that non-fiction books can be rather dry, whereas movies can bring..."

Jackie, I feel the same way. I LOVE biopics!
A couple of examples are:
"Seabiscuit" (2003)
and
"Secretariat" (2010)

Of course, the information in such a movie may not be exact, but at least we learn more than we knew before. :)

[Jackie]

I agree that it may not be a 'true' rendition, but embellished for the sake of entertainment. If the subject interests me enough, I will look into it to get the correct info.
Case in point, I just recently finished Little Dorrit, and I thought that version of the Marshalsea (debtor's prison) wasn't so bad, Mr Dorrit had a nice place to live. But upon a tiny bit of research, I found that conditions were appalling, many people to a single room and the debtors had to pay rent there.

[Jackie]

I just finished Flesh and Spirit by Carol Berg. I gave it a rare 5 star rating; it's well written, the characters are fantastic and the story is very good. I'm really looking forward to starting the next one, Breath and Bone sometime later tonight.

[Nina]

Joy, am I right that your books are equally audio or read in hand? Does that make sense. It is just that I notice you are commenting quite a bit on an audio you have just listened. Do you prefer audio?

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jackie wrote: "I just finished Flesh and Spirit by Carol Berg. ..."

Nina wrote: "Joy, am I right that your books are equally audio or read in hand? Does that make sense. It is just that I notice you are commenting quite a bit on an audio you have just listened. Do you prefer audio?"

Nina, I often listen to audio versions of books, simply because they allow me to "read" books while I'm driving or doing other things.

At the Goodreads "Audiobooks" group [ http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/5... ], they consider listening to a book as good as reading a book. When they finish listening to a book, they consider it "read" and they place it on their Goodreads "Read" shelf. I do the same.

To answer your question, Nina, I really don't have a preference for either hard-copy-books or audio-books. I enjoy both. However, I find that I can get through more audiobooks than hard-copy-books because I am a very slow reader and also because I don't spend as much time reading hard-copy-books as I do listening to audio-books. As I said, I listen audio-books while doing other things. So I can cover more territory.

As you can see above, Jackie has finished another book in a short time. I admire that but I don't seem to be able to read hard-copy-books that quickly. I regret that but that's my life-style.

BTW, I've started reading the hard copy of The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett, which you recommended. I'm really enjoying it! Thanks for the recommendation. At the same time, I'm also reading the hard copy of John Jakes, The Seekers. It's taking some time for me to finish but I'm enjoying that book too.

[Jackie]

I thought I was slow on this one, about 2 weeks! Yikes! I used to read 3-5 books a week. That damn TV and the computer eat up my reading time!
Also, I find that when I read in the daytime, it puts me to sleep. That never used to happen, I could read all afternoon, now I'm lucky if I get 10-20 pages in before I'm reading the back of my eyelids, lol

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Yes, Jackie, the computer eats up my time too (and the Netflix films do too). But I enjoy it.

And yes, I get sleepy when I read a book too. I've heard it called "the nodding reflex" but I can't find any reference to it online. Here's the only reference I could find and it doesn't seem to fit my use of the expression:
http://www.treatingscoliosis.com/does...

In any case, I think it's a good expression. :) Nod. Nod. :)

[Jim]

I like audio books by some authors just don't write well for them. They're too wordy & obvious. I'm listening to Shaman's Crossing by Robin Hobb & I'm ready to strangle her. Great world & idea, but she repeats herself a lot & her foreshadowing is too heavy handed for an audio book. I have too much time to think & figure out what's going to happen too far ahead of time too often.

I think the book would read much better if I could skimp repetitions. I tend to immerse myself more when I read & go a LOT faster than a narrator can speak, so that would be a real bonus here. He's just starting school & I knew what his first day was going to be like. Ugh.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim, it's true that it's faster to read a book than listen to the audio version. One time I switched from the audio to the book because I wanted things to move faster. Can't remember which book it was.

I usually listen to non-fiction books because with fiction there's a plot involved and that requires more attention (my mind often wanders while listening). So I don't often choose to listen to audio versions of novels. One's mind can't wander while reading but it can while listening.

[Werner]

Those who've followed some of my earlier posts know that I'm a big fan of my Goodreads friend Krisi Keley's On the Soul series, beginning with On the Soul of a Vampire. I'm now reading the second volume of the prequel, Pro Luce Habere (To Have Before the Light) Volume 2.

[Jackie]

Later tonight I'm going to start a novella lent to me by a friend of my son, Vintage Season/In Another Country and in turn I lent her The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (which she loved) and The Broken Kingdoms.

Werner, I'll be on the lookout for your review.

[Werner]

Jackie, I expect to finish and review the book some time in the earlier part of August. I really get into the series, but I'm not entirely sure that you'd like it as much as I do.

I've read "Vintage Season" twice (once as a 12-year-old) in the collection Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories for Late at Night (my review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... ). It's a story I really appreciate now, having gotten a lot more out of it on the second reading.

[Jackie]

I like it so far. Maybe halfway finished with VS only.

[Nina]

Joy, What did you think of my list of books? Do any strike your fancy? I think I'd go for "The Girl in the Blue Beret>"

[Nina]

Joy, What did you think of my list of books? Do any strike your fancy? I think I'd go for "The Girl in the Blue Beret>"

[Jackie]

Where is the list, Nina?

[Nina]

It was on Goodreads yesterday. I saw it later after I had posted it. I'll see if I can find it again and if not, I'll try to do the list one more time.

[Nina]

I'll re-do the list It is a list given by the owner of an independent bookstore in our area. She is still thriving, thank goodness. Partly, this is due to her having guest authors come to speak. She gave a talk yesterday at a church function. She reads three hundred books a week and these are her favorites this year. I hope you get the list this time. Please let me know.

Fiction:

"The Good American" by Alex George
"A Good hard Look" by Ann Napolitano
""Caleb's Crossing" by Geraldine Brooks
"Clara and Mr. Tiffany" by Susan Vreeland
""Faith" by Jennifer Haigh
"Friendship Bread" by Darien Gee
"Language of Flowers" by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
"Maine" by J.Courtey Sullivan
"Once Upon a River" by Bonnie Jo Campbell
"Rulesof Civility" by Amor Towles
"South of Superior" by Ellen Airgood
"State of Wonder" by Ann Patchett
"Untold Story" by Monica Ali
"The Arrivals" by Meg Mitchell Moore
"The Art of Hearing Heartbeats"
by Jan-Phillipp Sendker
"The Girl in the Blue Beret" by Bobbie Ann Mason
"The Homecoming of Samuel Lake" by Jenny Wingfield
""The Last Letter from Your LOver" by Jono Moyes
"The Little Women Letters" by Gabrielle Donnelly
"The NIght Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
"The Night Strangers" by Chris Bohjalian
"The time in Between" by Maria Duenas
"To Be Sung Underwater" by Tom McNeal

Non-Fiction:

"Destiny of the Republic" by Candice Millard
"Nothing Daunted" by Dorothy Wickenden
"The Hare with Amber Eyes" by Edmund de Waal
"The Reading Promise" by Alice Ozma

[Jackie]

Language of Flowers and The Girl with the Blue Beret sound good. I found your list, Nina, it was in the Movie discussion. Sorry to make you write it out again.
Which books from the list do you plan on reading?

[Nina]

Jackie, the bookstore owner, Vivian Jennings said everyone should read, "Language of Flowers," even if they read nothing else on the list. It is based on a true story of what happens when a young foster girl is turned out on her own. She thinks it is inspiring for everyone to see what many of these young people do with their lives when they are literally dumped on the street; no job, no home etc. I plan to read it and a few others. Will post that later.

[Jackie]

I just read that it's being adapted into a movie: http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Jenny-...
imdb has it listed as in development

[Nina]

Thanks for the info, Jackie. Also, on the list is The Night Circus, that I have mentioned here as giving it five stars even if I really didn't like it. It too is going to be a movie and I think it will make a terrific one.

[Jim]

I'm reading Horse Heaven by Jane Smiley. I'm about halfway through the 650 page book & it's kind of dragging for me. Too much about the weird racetrack people, not enough about the horses nor is the story moving along. Kind of like a soap opera.

Still, it's been a very good book in a lot of ways. She's obviously spent a lot of time around the race track, the people & the horses. I love some of her descriptions & how much of a character the horses are. That's part of the problem because it's so true to life &, except for the name changes, the people & horses are much like so many I've known. I'd have more of a sense of wonder if this was my introduction to them.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Joy, What did you think of my list of books? Do any strike your fancy? I think I'd go for "The Girl in the Blue Beret>""

It was a great list, Nina. I'll check out The Girl in the Blue Beret.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jackie wrote: "... I found your list, Nina, it was in the Movie discussion. ..."

Jackie, thanks for clarifying!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "I'm reading Horse Heaven by Jane Smiley. I'm about halfway through the 650 page book & it's kind of dragging for me. Too much about the weird racetrack people, not enough about the horses nor is the story moving along. ... Still, it's been a very good book in a lot of ways. She's obviously spent a lot of time around the race track, the people & the horses. I love some of her descriptions & how much of a character the horses are. ..."

I usually like Jane Smiley's writing.
I think I'll put the book on my keep-in-mind shelf. ( Horse Heaven )
Thanks, Jim.

[Carol]

I loved "Caleb's Crossing". Thanks for the list.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Carol wrote: "I loved "Caleb's Crossing". Thanks for the list."

Hi Carol. I've had Geraldine Brooks's Caleb's Crossing on my to-read shelf for a while. It's about the the first Native American to graduate from Harvard. I had originally heard about it from an online article from "NPR Books":
http://www.npr.org/2012/01/01/1431637...
The article is entitled:
"Conversation Starters: 2011's Top 5 Book Club Picks"

I will definitely keep it in mind!

[Carol]

Nice review--I totally agree!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Carol wrote: "Nice review--I totally agree!"

Gee, I never got a notification about Carol's post above. From now on I guess I'll have to check for "unread" posts at the group.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

While I'm here, I guess I'll mention two three things:

1. I have the book which Jim recommended: Lord of the Fantastic: Stories in Honor of Roger Zelazny. I borrowed it from the library. So far I've read only one of the short stories: "Only the End of the World Again", written by Neil Gaiman. It was about a werewolf, as far as I could figure out. I didn't get it. Not much plot. Pretty gory stuff! (What was that part about "under the sea", in italics, all about? A dream? What did it mean?) (I didn't understand the meaning of the title either.)

I'll be reading more short stories from that book soon and will comment about them soon.

2. Our library has purchased the book which Werner spoke about here: Feckless by Ellen C. Maze. They're holding it for me. I'll be picking it up soon. More later...

3. I finally finished The Seekers by John Jakes. On to the next volume: The Furies. I love these "Kent Chronicles"! I've always enjoyed historical fiction.

Back to FunTrivia! LOL

[Jim]

Joy, I don't think the book is really for you since you're not well read in the genre. It's a tribute to Zelazny & contains a lot of references, this story more than most. I probably don't realize how often such references were made since I'm very familiar with his work & the genre. You've questioned things before that I thought were obvious & startled me by how much background I take for granted.

As I mentioned in the review, Gaiman's story is about Larry Talbot. The story means a lot more if you're familiar with who he is (the wolfman from the old 1940's B&W movie), the role he played in A Night in the Lonesome October (helping to stop the Elder Gods & the end of the world) & H.P. Lovecraft's works, the guy that created the Cthulhu Mythos upon which everything revolves. You might understand a bit better if you skim this article on the 1941 film, "The Wolfman"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wolf...
Another on Lovecraft:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._P._Lo...
Then this short summary of A Night in the Lonesome October
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Night_...

Then again, you'd probably just get an intellectual understanding, but not the emotional impact of the story which grows from watching & reading these things since I was a kid.

I'd suggest you try "THE OUTLING" by Andre Norton. I think you'd like her work. She's not as far out as Gaiman can be.

I'm glad you're liking the Kent Family Chronicles. I certainly enjoyed them. I read them when they first came out & haven't re-read them since. I probably should.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "Joy, I don't think the book is really for you since you're not well read in the genre. It's a tribute to Zelazny & contains a lot of references, this story more than most. I probably don't realiz..."

Jim, I'm sure you're right about the fact that I lack the Fantasy reading background which would help me pick up references in stories. I appreciate your pointing that out because it explains why so much of the Fantasy genre seems vague to me.

Thanks for the links. An "intellectual understanding" is better than no understanding at all. :) I'll make a point of studying the information.

I will try "THE OUTLING" by Andre Norton, as you suggested. It's on page 218 of Lord of the Fantastic: Stories in Honor of Roger Zelazny

I appreciate your guidance. I'm trying to widen my horizons.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim, I've studied the links you provided to help me better understand the short story by Neil Gaiman about Larry Talbot the Wolf Man (werewolf). I was vaguely aware of "The Wolf Man" movie (1941) but didn't realize that the name of the Wolf Man was Larry Talbot.

I also now understand the title of Neil Gaiman's short story, "Only the End of the World Again". It's a reference to Zelazny's novel A Night in the Lonesome October. Wiki explains: "... should the Openers succeed, then the Great Old Ones will come to Earth, to remake the world in their own image". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Night_...

Also, I now understand the part about "under the sea". It was a reference to "a malevolent entity trapped in an underwater city", as explained in a Wiki article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu

As you say, the reader must understand the references in order to appreciate the story.

I read the short story, "The Outling", by Andre Norton, which you recommended (from the Lord of the Fantastic short story collection). I found that story easier to understand, about a half-human, half-wolf child trying to survive among humans. As you said in your review, it's a "morality story". It brings out one's sympathies as the child tries to be loyal while risking his own life.

[Jim]

I'm glad that helped clear things up, Joy. I guess you see what I mean about the emotional impact, though. I grew up watching the Wolf Man & have read a fair amount of Lovecraft's stuff not to mention a lot of other fantasy derived from it. I've read 'Lonesome October' a dozen times & actually studied it several times (I have a Word document I've compiled about it that is dozens of pages long.) so all of the complicated background needed for this story is part of me. I instantly knew what was going on & had a connection with Larry. That makes for an entirely different read than reading it cold.

Unfortunately, many of the stories in this collection read best if the reader knows something about the authors that contributed & Zelazny. I guess I should have put that in my review, but hadn't really thought about it. I've been reading some of those authors, including Zelazny, since I was a kid. I recently read the 6 book 'Collected Works' of his writings, complete with biographical notes & essays about him. Some of the authors in this anthology even wrote forewords to the collection. I chat with one of the editors, Chris Kovacs, on a regular basis. Actually, I just read an essay by him about the Amber books last night. It's here:
http://www.nyrsf.com/2012/07/suspende...

It all adds up to a familiarity with the author, his work, the genre, & the other authors that allowed me to find a lot of subtle points that might escape the casual reader. More, Zelazny was a very subtle fellow, so many of these stories followed his example. So, while the book really does it for me, I don't think it's for everyone.