Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
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What are U reading these days? (PART EIGHT (2012) (ONGOING THREAD for 2012)
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Nina
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Dec 06, 2012 07:12PM
Werner wrote: "I'm usually so behind-hand in reading older books that I don't read very many new ones in the same year that they're published. (There are just too many older books ahead of them on the list!) So..."Speaking of reading older books; I am re-reading, "Death Comes to the Archbishop," for the third or fourth time. I have lost count but it's been a while now since I've once again delved into one of my all time favorite books. Joy, have you read it?
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Nina wrote: "Speaking of reading older books; I am re-reading, "Death Comes to the Archbishop," for the third or fourth time. I have lost count but it's been a while now since I've once again delved into one of my all time favorite books. Joy, have you read it?"Nina, I don't remember reading Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927) by Willa Cather, but I think I remember reading some of Cather's books years ago although they're not on any of my lists.
Wiki says: "Death Comes for the Archbishop is a 1927 novel by Willa Cather. It concerns the attempts of a Catholic bishop and a priest to establish a diocese in New Mexico Territory. The novel was included on Time's 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005 and Modern Library's list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century, and was chosen by the Western Writers of America to be the 7th-best "Western Novel" of the 20th century.
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BELOW IS FROM IndieBound:
Description: Willa Cather's best known novel; a narrative that recounts a life lived simply in the silence of the southwestern desert.
“A truly remarkable book . . . Soaked through and through with atmosphere . . . From the riches of her imagination and sympathy Miss Cather has distilled a very rare piece of literature. It stands out, from the very resistance it opposes to classification.”—NEW YORK TIMES
“The most sensuous of writers, Willa Cather builds her imagined world as solidly as our five senses build the universe around us.”—Rebecca West“
[Cather’s] descriptions of the Indian mesa towns on the rock are as beautiful, as unjudging, as lucid, as her descriptions of the Bishop’s cathedral. It is an art of ‘making,’ of clear depiction—of separate objects, whose whole effect works slowly and mysteriously in the reader, and cannot be summed up . . . Cather’s composed acceptance of mystery is a major, and rare, artistic achievement.”
-from the Introduction by A. S. Byatt
FROM: http://www.indiebound.org/book/978067...
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Sounds like a book I should read. I suppose I should read My Ántonia too! I'll put them both on my To-Read list. Thanks, Nina!
I just listened to O Pioneers! by Willa Cather not too long ago. It didn't blow a lot of wind up my skirt. I only gave it 2 stars. Not horrible, but it just wasn't all that good. Kind of pointless.My review is here:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I've never read O Pioneers! (loved the Hallmark Hall of Fame adaptation with Jessica Lange, though!), though it's on my to-read shelf, along with Death Comes for the Archbishop and Shadows on the Rock. But for whatever it's worth, My Antonia is one of my all-time favorite novels. If anyone's interested, my review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... .
Thanks, Jim and Werner, I will check out your reviews.
Werner wrote: "I've never read O Pioneers! (loved the Hallmark Hall of Fame adaptation with Jessica Lange, though!), though it's on my to-read shelf, along with Death Comes for the Archbishop and Shadows on the R..."Didn't know about the Hallmark adaptation of O Pioneers. I've put it on my "saved" list at Netflix.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105038/?...
http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/O-Pionee...
Thanks for mentioning it!
You're welcome, Joy! Hope you like it.
I finished The Hobbit, I'm in the middle of The Spirit Well with Werner, and I started The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times since it was mentioned yesterday and because I really would like the watch the TV series sooner rather than later.
Gosh, Jackie, I feel delinquent compared to you! LOLI'm going to make a New Year's resolution to spend more time reading.
But first I have to get through the Christmas Rush. :)
PS-I currently have the following DVD from Netflix and intend to watch it soon:The Netflix title is: "Tom Jones" (1997) (Season One)
http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Tom-Jone...
"Henry Fielding's classic novel charts the rise of a charming orphan who's raised among the well-bred and blossoms into a handsome womanizer. But he ultimately meets his match upon falling for a beautiful heiress."
The IMDb title is: "The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling" (1997)(TV Mini-Series)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0123351/
"A new adaptation of the classic novel by Henry Fielding of the life, loves and adventures of the charming rascal Tom Jones. A foundling child born of a serving wench but allowed to grow up in the privileged surroundings of Squire Allworthy's household.
This position allows him to grow up with, make the acquaintance of and eventually fall in love with the beautiful daughter of his wealthy neighbour, Sophia Western.
However, the path to true love rarely runs smooth and family pressure, the difference in their parentage and 18th century social custom prevent the young lovers from being together.
Eventually both are forced out of their gentile, protected surroundings and into the great wide world to see what adventures real life might bring... (Written by Mark Smith)"
Adapted from: The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding (first published in 1749).
There's another movie adaptation of the same book starring Albert Finney whom I love. The film was made in 1963. Finney was young then and so handsome! The movie is on my Netflix "saved list" with an unknown date for availabilty.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057590/
"Tom Jones, the adopted son of a British country squire, is a love-'em-and-leave-'em lady charmer who goes blithely from bed to bed, while managing to get into enough other mischief to come within moments of being hanged."
I'm not spending much time reading, not like I used to. All this TV and computer time has slashed my reading time down to about a 1/3 of what it used to be, maybe even 1/4. Oh well, we read when we can.
Jackie, you seem to be doing OK in the reading department. But I know what you mean about computer time taking away from reading time. Netflix movies are taking time away from books too, but at least I'm watching adaptations of books. LOL
I finished The Spirit Well, and now I'll have to settle in for the wait for the rest of the series to be published. I'll be starting Tigana later tonight. It's almost 700 pages of tiny print, I expect to be reading it for a while. Being that I enjoyed this author, Guy Gavriel Kay, so much with The Fionavar Tapestry series, I'm really looking forward to reading Tigana.
I don't pay a whole lot of attention to the sexism thing. My role model was Mom & there have never been many that were stupid enough to tell any of my gals they weren't as good as any man. Women who can get kicked or bit by a 1/2 ton beast & then beat them up aren't the sort you mess with, you know?But Amazon managed to upset me today. They sent me an email of books for Xmas presents. Cool! I open it up.
For Him
For Her
Seriously? I hope that becomes a public relations nightmare for them.
I got that too....delete.
I think I use my delete key more than any other key. (lol)
I'm going out on a limb here and guessing that this e-mail was devised by a male Amazon executive. :-) And if he's married, and had his wife on the e-mailing list, I'm guessing that he's sleeping in the doghouse tonight, and enjoying a filling can of Alpo for supper.
I like that idea, Werner. It's funny, but most of the younger people don't seem to see what's wrong with it. Wow.
Now you've got me really worried about the younger generation, Jim!Ironically, when I was a kid growing up, the common stereotype among other kids was that serious, "intellectual" type reading, in areas like history, was the natural province of girls, not guys. (Of course, that's as sexist as the opposite assumption that the female brain just can't handle the serious stuff.) And I'd venture to guess that Stephanie Plum's fan base includes quite a few guys who like a heroine who's got the moxie to be a bounty hunter. :-)
I read a couple (2.5?) of the Stephanie Plum novels, but it got boring quickly.
I prefer male detectives. :)
Joy, my theory is that both genders of readers often have a natural interest in reading about the other. :-)One of my male Goodreads friends likes the Plum series and has recommended it to me, and I've got One for the Money on my to-read shelf. But I doubt that I'll read many novels in the series; I hear that the author doesn't really develop the character and keeps recycling the same plot elements in book after book --which understandably would quickly get boring!
Werner wrote: "Joy, my theory is that both genders of readers often have a natural interest in reading about the other. :-)One of my male Goodreads friends likes the Plum series and has recommended it to me, an..."
Yes, Werner, our natural tendencies are always with us, whether we recognize them as such or not. I am realizing, late in life as I am, that I tend to do the things I like first. All else gets procrastinated. So much in life depends on motivation!
“To find your own way is to follow your bliss. This involves analysis, watching yourself and seeing where real deep bliss is -- not the quick little excitement , but the real deep, life-filling bliss.” -Joseph Campbell (American prolific Author, Editor, Philosopher and Teacher, 1904-1987)
[Joy's comment on the above quote: "There's nothing wrong with the "quick little excitements" either! (lol)]
"A multitude of small delights constitutes happiness." -Charles Beaudelaire
(above quote found in the following book:
joy, written & compiled by M.H. Clark)
Quick, little excitements are often the finest kind. They keep life interesting.;-)
Jim wrote: "Quick, little excitements are often the finest kind. They keep life interesting.;-)"
“There are three things which the public will always clamor for, sooner or later: namely, Novelty, novelty, novelty” -Thomas Hood
Today I had my book club and others about ten for lunch today after first going to the dentist. Not well planned but they seemed to like lunch and stayed four hours; first discussing our selection of this month; "Death Comes to Pemberly," but P.D.James/ I had originally recommended it to our group. It was interesting at first but bogged down later according to others and to myself. P.D.James is a well known author with several accolades and many books to her credit; probably at least twenty. I even think she was knighted; not positive. However, we all came to the conclusion that either her editor was young and inexperienced to let it get out of hand or she is so well respected no one bothered to even read the manuscript and just let it go on her reputaition. One of our group thinks that also happened to Barbara Kingslover. Well, nuff said for tonight. Busy day but all wanted me recipe so guess Easy Mexican soup was a success.
Nina, that IS interesting about P.D.James and Barbara Kingsolver!Sounds like you had a great book club meeting. Wish I could have been there!
Joy, most of the members of my book club are published authors so we/they critique a book with that in mind. Like how a book stands up besides whether you personally like reading it. A fun group. Yes, you would make a great addition to our group. I so enjoyed any of your published work you have shared with our group.
Right now, I'm reading Life in the Iron Mills and Other Stories, by 19th-century author Rebecca Harding Davis. I wanted a book I could finish quickly (I've already read the title story) while I'm waiting to begin a common read next month in one of my other groups. Besides, this one will count towards my classics challenge in still another group.
I am reading two books right now... One for school, and one at home... The one I'm reading at school is the lightning theif, at home I am reading the hardy boys #2 the house on the cliff. I am enjoying both so far...
I just finished a YA book, Wilderness Champion: The Story of a Great Hound, that I originally read about 40 years ago. It was great this time, too. I gave it 4 stars. Review here:http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I also finally finished A Reverence for Wood. I'm almost done with The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Third Annual Collection as an audio book. I thought it was short stories, but Dozois even includes novellas. It's long.
I've just started a beta read of "The Rose & the Thorn" by Michael J. Sullivan. It's the 2d in his new prologue trilogy to the Riyria series. Pretty good so far, although beta reading is far different than ARC reading, which I did for most of the Riyria series. Since Orbit is publishing him now, they ARC read, so what I'm seeing is fairly early text. I'm not sure how much will change by the time I see the final copy. I beta read the first one a few months ago & it won't be published until August 2013, if it's on time.
I'm also reading Brush Cat: On Trees, the Wood Economy, and the Most Dangerous Job in America, a present from a gal here on GR. I made her son a catapult for Xmas.
I have the Riyria series on my To-Buy/Wishlist. I've heard it's excellent.
Having finished the four books in Sarah Zettel's Isavalta series, I am now reading a historical novel,Pomp and Circumstanceby Fred Mustard Stewart. Set in 1856, it covers the exploits of a set of character in England, India and America.So far, I am enjoying it.
Werner, Mike, Jim, Jackie, and Mary JL, good onya for keeping up with your reading. I have finally found a compelling book, My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira. I'm really into it. It was last month's selection at our local libary's discussion group. It feels so good to be drawn into a book again!The writing is excellent! The author is an amazing wordsmith. The genre is historical fiction, set at the time of the Civil War, about a woman who wants to be a doctor but is rejected because she's a female. So she sets out to be a nurse, hoping to work her way up. We're reminded of the terrible conditions at that time, well-described by the author.
BTW, Mary Sutter starts out in Albany, NY, which is not far from Glens Falls where I live. So that's an added interest for me.
A friend of mine just read Mary Sutter, also for a book club, and said it was excellent.
Jackie, thank goodness for book clubs. They really stimulate my reading! I discover books I never would have known about otherwise.I like the way Robin Oliveira, the author of the Mary Sutter book, fleshes out her characters. This book is her first novel. Her GR description says: "Robin Oliveira grew up just outside Albany, New York in Loudonville. She holds a B.A. in Russian, and studied at the Pushkin Language Institute in Moscow, Russia. She is also a Registered Nurse, specializing in Critical Care and Bone Marrow Transplant." She's 58 years old and seems to have gathered quite a bit of wisdom over the years.
Here's her Wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Ol...
Interestingly, in the time that Oliveira sets her book, nursing was nearly as male dominated as the medical profession itself. Florence Nightingale had blazed a trail for female nurses only a decade earlier, during the Crimean War; but the idea was still hotly debated.Back in the 90s, I watched a popular miniseries set during the Civil War, and recall a discussion by some of the characters about Clara Barton's radical idea of having female nurses tend wounded soldiers. "They would have to see them NAKED," one scandalized gentleman exclaims, "and dispose of their ...their waste products!" :-)
Werner, this is about your reference to Robert Louis Stevenson and his novels, "Kidnapped," and "Treasure Island." I have read neither but was only familiar with his poetry, "A Child's Garden of Verses." I am amazed the difference between, "Dr Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde" and that book of poems. Could it be the same author? Yes, of course we know it is. I once stood outside Stevenson's childhood home in Edinburg and my Scottish friend pointed out to me his bedroom window. She told me because he was ill so much during his childhood, his nurse would hold him up from bed and let him see the scene from there. This is where the idea of the poem "The Lamplighter," came from and I could almost picture him looking out as I looked up. Also, saw the house he lived in in England with his wife where he wrote, "Treasure Island." I must put that on my to read list. I was familiar with his picture as it was on my card in the Game of Authors that I played so often as a child.
Nina, I used to play the Authors game, too, as a small child; it's neat to hear from somebody else who shares that experience! I can remember being quite intrigued by all those book titles, and wondering what they were about. :-)It would be wonderful to be able to visit places where authors who have delighted us with their work actually lived! I'm glad for you that you've been able to do that.
Werner wrote: "Interestingly, in the time that Oliveira sets her book, nursing was nearly as male dominated as the medical profession itself. Florence Nightingale had blazed a trail for female nurses only a deca..."Thanks for your input, Werner. How times have changed! Nowadays it seems that most nurses are female. In fact, I'm usually surprised when a male becomes a nurse. I wonder what percentage of nurses nowadays are male.
PS-I just found this: "An increasing number of men, like Potts, are entering the nursing field. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, three percent of all nurses were men in 1980. Today, that percentage has grown to 6.6 percent, or one in every 15 nurses."
FROM: http://www.sdsucollegian.com/2012/03/...
Another interesting tidbit is that back before the Common Era, in the Celtic culture women were the healers and judges. I find it almost silly that any profession should be thought of as strictly male or female, although that's how it's been for centuries. Ability and interest in the field seem more important to me and I'm pleased that it's finally that way now, and that both sexes are accepted in all professions.
Werner wrote: "Nina, I used to play the Authors game, too, as a small child; it's neat to hear from somebody else who shares that experience! I can remember being quite intrigued by all those book titles, and wo..."Werner and Nina, I had never heard of the "Game of Authors" until now. So I looked it up at Wiki. The Wiki page is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authors_...
Now I see that they still sell these card games and I can order them online if I want.
My cousin is a geriatric nurse & she loves male nurses. She's a pretty strong woman, but having a big, husky male around for some of the heavy lifting or problem cases is really nice, she tells me. The facility she works at is a rehab for Alzheimer's & dementia patients. They usually get them for 6 months or so to straighten out medications & deal with problems. An 85 year old who thinks she's 5 & has tantrums with osteoporosis is tough to deal with. A big guy doesn't usually have to bother wrestling like so many of the smaller women do, though.
Werner wrote: "Nina, I used to play the Authors game, too, as a small child; it's neat to hear from somebody else who shares that experience! I can remember being quite intrigued by all those book titles, and wo..."I have been fortunate to visit a few of our famous authors' homes; Beatrix Potter's, Hill Top Farm, William Wordsworth, Dove Cottage, Robert Burns almost cellar like cubby hole where he wrote, And of course Shakespeare's and his mother's home,Sir Walter's Scott's home and wonderful library, Mark Twain's famous fence and cave and boyhood places in Hannibal, And his home in Hartford, CT and Willa Cather's home in NB and Thirsk, village where vet office and pub etc of Jammes Herriot, and might be more but can't remember them at the present.
Jackie wrote, "Ability and interest in the field seem more important to me and I'm pleased that it's finally that way now, and that both sexes are accepted in all professions." My sentiments exactly, Jackie! (Though I'd say that there's probably still some gender prejudice in certain fields; but happily, it's nowhere near what it used to be.)
Jim wrote: "My cousin is a geriatric nurse & she loves male nurses. She's a pretty strong woman, but having a big, husky male around for some of the heavy lifting or problem cases is really nice, she tells me..."Good point, Jim, about the advantages of a nurse being a male who would probably be stronger than most females.
Nina, you must have some great memories of your many travels and tours. Travel certainly expands one's horizons!
I'm reading Arthur Miller's brilliant autobio, "Timebends"---not only was he a great playwright, but this book reads like a superior novel.Also, for comic relief, Victor Borge's "My favorite Comedies in Music"---Borge gives hilarious accounts of the lives of the great composers and musicians---if you like Dave Barry, or Richard Armour, you'll love this---he also has a second equally funny book, "My favorite Intermissions in Music."
Arnie wrote: "I'm reading Arthur Miller's brilliant autobio, "Timebends"---not only was he a great playwright, but this book reads like a superior novel.Also, for comic relief, Victor Borge's "My favorite Com..."
Arnie, thanks for the great suggestions! I love that kind of book. I'll put them on my GR shelf. Hope they're available in audio-versions!
Timebends: A Life by Arthur Miller
My Favorite Comedies in Music by Victor Borge
My Favorite Intermissions: Lives of the Musical Greats and Other Facts You Never Knew You Were Missing by Victor Borge
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Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
Books mentioned in this topic
My Favorite Comedies in Music (other topics)My Favorite Intermissions: Lives of the Musical Greats and Other Facts You Never Knew You Were Missing (other topics)
Timebends: A Life (other topics)
My Name Is Mary Sutter (other topics)
Pomp and Circumstance (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Arthur Miller (other topics)Victor Borge (other topics)
Robin Oliveira (other topics)
Michael J. Sullivan (other topics)
M.H. Clark (other topics)
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