|
Post by bixaorellana on Mar 24, 2017 18:07:18 GMT
Bjd, a friend lent me the first book. It was returned to her slightly less than half read. At that point I decided the author was simply not going to be allowed to continue to belabor the same point (describing her "Brilliant Friend"). Now I'm afraid I'll be sent to Purgatory when I die and be forced to read the whole trilogy. For the record, the friend who lent me the book has finished the second installment and just bought the third. I asked her why, since she wasn't that enthusiastic about the first two, and she said she needed to know how it all came out. I just finished American Heiress, the story of the Patricia Hearst kidnapping. It didn't hook me right away, but once it did I couldn't stop reading, partly because I remember the event and the era so vividly. I would recommend the book if it is a subject that interests you, but must say that it is flawed. I would say that my opinion is in line with most of the three-star reviews of it on Amazon. www.amazon.com/American-Heiress-Kidnapping-Crimes-Hearst/dp/1524703419
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Mar 24, 2017 19:07:34 GMT
Bummer! I bought it, but at least it's just a paperback. I had remembered that you had started off rather enthusiastic about it.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Mar 24, 2017 21:19:31 GMT
*guilt* But you could very well wind up enjoying it -- many people have!
|
|
|
Post by lagatta on Mar 26, 2017 16:01:34 GMT
I can't find a book by Neruda with a name similar to Memories, could it be this? Titre Confieso que he vivido. Auteur Neruda, Pablo, 1904-1973 Résultat Titre précédent Titre suivant Langue Texte en espagnol (Collection multilingue) ISBN 8401425212 While I've admired many of Neruda's poems, I've always felt an aversion to him because I have more fellow-feelings for the anarchists and the POUM, not the official Communists. But I want to see the recent film about him and should read up on his life. I have several friends from the Southern Cone countries and he certainly played a part in that culture as well as Hispanic culture in general.
Yes, I read Le Monde diplomatique assiduously for years, a bit less now just because there are so many things to read. I have read articles in the German version, but that was easy as I'd already read the given article in French. Colleagues of mine here were supposed to have secured the huge contract for the English version, but the close friend who was in charge of the project died of a massive heart attack (in front of his wife, who is also a close friend of mine) at the age of only 51. I inherited another, more intermittent recurring contract, but the Monde diplomatique project went elsewhere.
I worked (as a freelancer, natch) at the Communications Department of a major labour confederation here in Québec, and we had the pleasure of a luncheon with Claude Julien and his wife.
As for what I'm reading now, I'm re-reading some Italian literature from the Second World War and postwar period, such as Tutti i racconti by Primo Levi and some early works by Italo Calvino, because I'm translating something grounded in that period.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2017 23:33:09 GMT
Huge Neruda fan here....
I suppose this could also go in the Food Writers thread down yonder but am going to post it here as the author was not renown for his writings on cuisine.
The writer Jim Harrison, who died last year wrote a collection of essays which was published posthumously in the last few months. "A Really Big Lunch". Both humorous and witty, it clearly demonstrates Harrison's appetite in a "larger than life way" most especially to those familiar with his writings.
|
|
|
Post by questa on May 27, 2017 6:25:48 GMT
bjd member
bjd Avatar
From "Famous people game" Reply #7341 posted 11 hours ago
Hi, bjd, Have you read "Letters from a Lost Uncle" ?It is very funny and my second son read it many times as a kid.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on May 27, 2017 9:52:47 GMT
Thank you, nice Australian person, for reviving this thread as I need to report on the book I'm reading. It is The Secret River, by Kate Grenville -- the first book I've read by her. What a writer! Really, she is as good as Dickens in making you feel as though you are there, as though the events and the people are real. Here is her Wikipedia entry, which I had to read with one eye closed since I have @a hundred pages left to go & don't want it ruined. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Grenville
|
|
|
Post by bjd on May 27, 2017 12:28:49 GMT
No, Questa, I haven't read it. My access to English books is fairly limited so I'm unlikely to be able to pick old books up at the library. I don't even remember Gormenghast -- it just came to mind while I was looking for a name of a famous person.
Looking back at the beginning of this page, it turns out that Elena Ferrante's book wasn't so bad after all. She does indeed go on about how brilliant her friend is, but there is a lot of interesting background on growing up female and poor in 1950s/early 60s southern Italy. I finished the book in Scotland and left it for my daughter-in-law, although she is not much of a reader.
I have been having a hard time finishing books these days and tend to read several at the same time. Got about halfway through Heartstone by C.J. Sansom and put it aside, read The Origins of Political Order by Francis Fukuyama, have nearly finished rereading a Lindsay Davis book about Falco, the Roman informer, plus all these interspersed by Maigret books by Simenon.
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on May 27, 2017 13:28:37 GMT
Each time I return to the Florida house I find new books on the bookshelves, left behind by our renters. My latest discovery was THE MAN FROM BEIJING, by Swedish crime novelist Henning Mankell. A few years back someone left another of his novels, THE FIFTH WOMAN. Great to have pre-selected titles to read on the plane home.
|
|
|
Post by questa on May 27, 2017 16:11:53 GMT
Falco, Falco, Falco...I love him. If you are going to read these books, do it in the right order!!! You get the full story of his life from his wacky family and poverty to his job as a spy for the Emperors and his love-life. Each book is self contained story with settings from Palmyra to Gaul and the images of Rome make you feel you are there. A nice twist is all the books have the name of a metal in the title. Bixa, I hang my head in shame for not having read The Secret River. It has made a big splash here (sorry) with a TV series and movie as well as scooping lots of literature awards.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on May 27, 2017 19:02:17 GMT
I have many of the Falco books, Questa, from the beginning. I did venture to buy one of the sequels where his daughter takes over and I was very disappointed.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 28, 2017 14:25:00 GMT
My husband bought me a new book by the author A.S. Byatt. One of my favorite writers. Peacock and Vine is a biography of two great artists, Mariano Fortuny and William Morris of whom Ms. Byatt has a great passion for which comes across loud and clear.
Mariano Fortuny lived in Venice in the mid-1800's. His home Palazzo Pesaro Orfei where he created intricate designs from glowing silks and velvets.
William Morris lived outside London in" Red House" with Gothic turrets and secret gardens that were the inspiration for his stunning floral and geometric patterns.
Ms. Byatt delves deep into each artist's lives, designs and passions. It is illustrated beautifully however, I do wish it had more illustrations.
|
|
|
Post by whatagain on May 28, 2017 19:29:12 GMT
The last Dona Leon.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on May 29, 2017 2:25:41 GMT
I am so relieved you wound up liking My Brilliant Friend, Bjd! I don't love everything Mankell ever wrote, but generally I love his books. Never even heard of the Falco books, but they sound great. Questa, you may have shied away from The Secret River for the same reason I often shy away from books involving the history of race relations in my country, i.e., you know it ain't gonna be pretty. So interesting, Casmira! The Balham Public Library granted me the great gift of a temporary membership, which pretty much saved my sanity this weekend. I wonder if they have that book. One of the great joys of Google is that it can be used to fill the gap of illustrations in a book, allowing us to see more than even the most expensive art books will show. Today I started and finished When We Fell, by Dennis Lehane. This was my first book by him and wonder of wonders, it was a brand new, uncirculated hard back ~ nice! Also, I now know why he is considered such a good writer. This was definitely a page turner. www.harpercollins.com/9780062129383/since-we-fell
|
|
|
Post by bjd on May 29, 2017 5:18:35 GMT
Well, Bixa, either you are jet-lagged or still sick, given the hour at which your are posting!
The Falco books are a series written by Lindsay Davis. Falco is an "informer" in Rome, about 70 AD. Well researched and witty, as well as with a mystery happening.
|
|
|
Post by cheerypeabrain on May 29, 2017 8:15:14 GMT
I haven't read any Falco books...listened to the dramatisation of some on Radio 4 and enjoyed them tremendously so I may have a go. I read all the Father Cadfael books (Ellis Peters)years ago and I recall a book about a medievil female physician solving murders...but can't for the life of me remember who the author is or the name of the book. I've been re-reading Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders trilogy on my Kindle atm, and have a paperback I'm saving for my holiday (Somerset) at the end of June...A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 29, 2017 21:03:55 GMT
I finished the A.S. Byatt book aforementioned. So well done.
If there's some way Bixa and all and any folks in that"neck of the woods" that you could squeeze in your schedule while you're over there, both of William Morris's homes, Red House and Kelmscott Manor are both museums open to the public and would likely be a worthwhile adventure.
Meanwhile, I'm onto The Genius of Birds, by Jennifer Ackerman. "A lyrical testimony to the wonders of avian intelligence" (Scientific American).
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on May 29, 2017 23:00:26 GMT
Thanks, Casimira ~ I noted it. Those houses would be a nice reason to go out that way, although as a survivor of plantation country, I'm not much for tromping around houses. That said, learning about Rupert Williamson when I stuck my nose in the Great Dixter house was a thrill. You are reading about bird brains?! Actually, that book sounds fascinating. I keep meaning to review a book I finished recently, which was Creation: The True Story of Charles Darwin, Randal Keynes. It's an absolutely fascinating look at Darwin and the Darwin family. I've seen a trailer for the movie made from the book and it looks as though the movie presents Mrs. Darwin in a poor light, as someone religiously rigid, whereas my impression was that she was a supportive companion to her husband. This may be out of print, but maybe you can find it as a used book, as I did. Creation: The True Story of Charles Darwin, Randal Keynes, Annie was Charles and Emma Darwin's adored first daughter. Her death at the age of ten broke their hearts. At the time, Darwin was working secretly on his theory of evolution and the pain of his daughter's death sharpened his conviction that natural laws have nothing to do with divine intervention. But he became racked with anxiety about his ground-breaking theories in The Origin of Species, and the controversy they would cause. As Darwin's theories continue to shape so much of our thinking about human nature today, Creation gives us fresh insight into the private life of a man who viewed the world in a new and extraordinary way. source
|
|
|
Post by questa on May 30, 2017 0:29:57 GMT
bjd.... Lindsey, not Lindsay
cheery... Cadfael was a monk not a priest, hence Brother Cadfael, not Father
Only correcting these 'cos they might be needed for finding the books.
The Cadfael books were good reads, although he went a bit slushy with sweet boy/girl romances in the last few. The series finally taught me the politics of the era and the Welsh Border troubles...and herbal remedies and sleuthing without technology.
I have a memory of the woman physician books, I'll see if I can find details
Bixa...I haven't read any books for a year or so. I am finding it hard to concentrate and keep up with who's who in the plot. I also tend to fall asleep unless doing some activity (like knitting)
|
|
|
Post by mickthecactus on Jun 29, 2017 19:33:57 GMT
The Holocaust by Laurence Rees published this year.
A superb book and quite terrifying.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jun 29, 2017 20:21:02 GMT
Last night I finished Music and Silence by Rose Tremain, a writer I always enjoy. Once again she creates a world we can get lost in -- in this case, 17th century Denmark. It truly kept me absorbed throughout. www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-374-19989-0
|
|
|
Post by questa on Jun 29, 2017 23:44:47 GMT
Has anyone read any of the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich? They are very funny, with some violent parts as Ms Plum falls into all sorts of troubles in her job as bounty hunter. She has 2 gorgeous men in tow and a family/neighbourhood filled with crazy characters. The series starts with 'One for the money', 'Two for the Dough' and I believe she is up to 18 now. Fast paced, can't put down, light reading for holidays...and hilarious.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Jun 30, 2017 7:15:57 GMT
I haven't heard of them. I picked up a copy of Bring Up the Bodies, volume 2 of Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel. I was not thrilled by the first volume but figured for 20 cents I can read the second one. It's about Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII and the downfall of Anne Boleyn. In fact, the book contains characters from the C.J. Sansom books I have been reading, but shown from the other perspective: as good guys on the side of the king, as opposed to Sansom's lawyer Shardlake who sees them as nasty and conniving.
I also re-read The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by Le Carré. In French unfortunately, but still a great read. I had totally forgotten the story and it was interesting to be back in Cold War Berlin, spies, Russians, etc.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jun 30, 2017 7:27:38 GMT
TOTALLY agree with you about the Stephanie Plum books, Questa!
Maybe I need to give Hilary Mantel another try. *sigh* I attempted one of her books -- I think it had a giant in it -- and barely restrained myself from hurling it against the wall.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Jun 30, 2017 14:01:30 GMT
I wouldn't bother if it is going to make you suffer, or damage your walls. Both books (Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies)Man Booker prize but I don't know whether that means much.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Jul 1, 2017 5:49:35 GMT
Montalbano doesn't die? I hope he doesn't give him Alzheimer's like Henning Mankell did with Wallander. Speaking of Alzheimer's, I just read Barney's Version by Mordechai Richler. The book is a memoir supposedly edited by the narrator's son because the father is suffering from Alzheimer's.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jul 1, 2017 7:58:48 GMT
Man Booker prize but I don't know whether that means much. Usually it does to me! Really, it was the reason I was willing to give Mantel another chance, but life is short and there are plenty of other things out there I'd rather read. huckle, you speak and read Italian? That is marvelous. I watched some of the Inspector Montalbano series online in my frivolous attempt to learn the language. Still no Italian, but the episodes are great.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Jul 1, 2017 14:49:32 GMT
Sorry to be a spoiler about Mankell, Huckle.
|
|
|
Post by mickthecactus on Jul 1, 2017 15:38:27 GMT
The Holocaust by Laurence Rees published this year. A superb book and quite terrifying. I want to commend this book to all of you. It isn't an easy read but remember this all happened an eyeblink ago.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jul 1, 2017 15:45:26 GMT
Oh Huckle! Believe me, the Montalbano episodes I watched were all subtitled in English. Not ignoring you, Mick. It's just that with certain subjects that I don't want to have mental images stuck in my head forever, so I avoid those subjects.
|
|