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Post by onlyMark on Aug 19, 2017 18:00:18 GMT
Mr Chips.
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Post by bjd on Aug 19, 2017 18:07:22 GMT
Kimby, have a quick look through them all and choose the one you won't mind leaving behind when your pack feels too heavy.
And I agree about Alistair Horne's writing. Easy to read. I have one book of his about the Paris Commune and have read his book on the Algerian War for independence from France.
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Post by Kimby on Aug 19, 2017 18:54:05 GMT
Kimby, have a quick look through them all and choose the one you won't mind leaving behind when your pack feels too heavy... Not an option. That would be littering. Or book-burning. In any case, since I carry the food bag my pack gets lighter as the days wear on, so the book's weight won't be an issue later in the trip. I thought it'd be fun to hear which title Any Port readers favored, and why.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 19, 2017 18:59:11 GMT
I agree about Mr. Chips. It's the one most likely to have a story arc that will keep you engaged in the (probably) short amount of time you'll have for reading each day.
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Post by mossie on Aug 20, 2017 13:30:27 GMT
Re the Commune, I was curious about what Lissagaray had to say, as I understood he was the last man defending the last barricade on rue Ramponeau. Must have been very lucky to survive.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Aug 20, 2017 14:08:48 GMT
I'm reading Octavia Butler's Imago, the third book in the series 'Lilith's Brood' Nice to find a science fiction novel that isn't all battles and spaceships altho it has it's moments. These books are beautifully written and quite reminiscent of John Wyndham (whilst also being nothing like Jhn Wyndham...if you know what I mean)
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 20, 2017 20:18:19 GMT
No triffids or other evil vegetation?
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Aug 21, 2017 19:42:58 GMT
nope... the aliens can sting tho...
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Post by spindrift1 on Aug 22, 2017 15:28:55 GMT
I have very much enjoyed reading a trilogy written by Naguib Mahfouz an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature.
The first book in the trilogy is 'Palace Walk' followed by 'Palace of Desire', then 'Sugar Street'. The Guardian newspaper described these books as 'Shamelessly entertaining'. They are books I shall keep and read again.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 22, 2017 15:49:30 GMT
I've only heard of Palace Walk, but haven't read it nor realized it was part of a trilogy. "Shamelessly entertaining" sounds wonderful!
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Post by onlyMark on Aug 22, 2017 15:49:39 GMT
I have read those, and have you read "The Yacoubian Building"?
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Post by spindrift1 on Aug 25, 2017 17:45:41 GMT
I have read those, and have you read "The Yacoubian Building"? No I haven't. I will send for it.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 25, 2017 19:37:11 GMT
The movie is excellent, too.
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Post by spindrift1 on Aug 26, 2017 14:33:43 GMT
I am glad to know that there is also a movie.
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Post by bjd on Aug 27, 2017 11:37:42 GMT
I have just read 3 old Ngaio Marsh detective stories in a row. The one I just finished takes place in 1938 or so. Things were so different -- even policemen had to go and look for telephones that passed through an operator in small towns.
Now if I could only figure out how to pronounce the author's first name.
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Post by breeze on Aug 27, 2017 17:59:43 GMT
bjd, that used to bother me too. Once the internet came into my life, I was able to look up the pronunciation, but by then I didn't care and I forgot it. However, you got me wondering, so I checked forvo.com and found several pronunciations, all about the same. Since one speaker is from New Zealand, I trust her pronunciation.
Palace Walk is one of those books that captivated me from the beginning.
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Post by bjd on Aug 27, 2017 18:19:48 GMT
Thanks, breeze. I just listened to forvo. That's about how I would have said it -- it was just the ng at the beginning that threw me.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 27, 2017 19:09:29 GMT
My own method is to look for a YouTube video where the author (or other celebrity) was interviewed and see how their name was pronounced on the programme. This is quite often one of the subjects of the interview, including with people such as Charlize Theron whose name isn't pronounced correctly most of the time even though it looks easy. (I also remember Jacqueline Bisset expressing amusement/irritation about how the French pronouce her name -- as though it were French, which is not at all the case.)
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Post by breeze on Aug 27, 2017 21:04:04 GMT
bjd, how do you pronounce her detective's name? Allen?
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Post by bjd on Aug 28, 2017 5:34:56 GMT
Never thought about it since I don't read aloud, but I guess I would say Allane, with a long a. Then again, English names sometimes have no logical link between spelling and pronunciation, like Cholmondeley, which I believe is pronounced Chumley.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Aug 28, 2017 7:59:12 GMT
I am reading the 2nd book in Ian Irvine's 'Song of the Tears' series and I'm really struggling. I should never have started this trilogy as the last books I read by him were soooooooo depressing. I'm all for battling adversity but there are limits...the pain and torment that the main characters are subjected to, everything that can go wrong does go wrong...it's quite difficult to summon the energy to finish the series...
I blame my ridiculous reluctance to try new authors, I found my comfort zone (Elizabeth Moon, Raymond Feist, Jasper Fforde, Terry Pratchett are some of my favourite authors) and I sort of hover there. I do read other types of fiction...but have always loved fantasy and science fiction and love to abandon reality and submerge myself in alternative worlds. At least twice a year I make myself read a 'classic' this year I read Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd which I enjoyed....and William Goldings Lord of the Flies which I didn't.
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Post by bjd on Aug 28, 2017 8:28:29 GMT
Cheery, I have decided that life is too short to waste time reading books or seeing movies you have to struggle with. I now leave the books partly-read or walk out of the cinema.
That said, there are also times in our lives when we enjoy certain books or authors and other times when you just can't get into them. I think D.H. Lawrence can only be read when you are under 25. Afterwards, it seems like such pretentious nonsense. Or, some like Proust -- I tried several times and couldn't get past page 50, which felt like one long sentence from page 1. Then, in my 30s, I read the entire set of 7 or 8 books in a row and enjoyed them.
I read lots of science fiction when I was young: Asimov, John Wyndham, Bradbury, etc. (I guess I'm showing my age here). I enjoyed a couple of Fforde's books but eventually found a lot of repetition so have stopped, especially when I ended up reading French translations! I have read only one Terry Pratchett - it was okay.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Aug 28, 2017 8:36:50 GMT
Oh I thought there was something wrong with me when I tried to read 'Women In Love'. I had read It when I was 16 and liked it...found it unreadable at 60!n In my early 20s I read novels David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey (sp?) and similar which I find too simplistic. I read Wyndham and Asimov etc but teens too... You're right...but I hate to leave books unfinished...especially when I've paid good money for them. I just won't buy any more books by this author. I need to visit more charity shops as they usually have loads of cheap books
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Post by bjd on Aug 28, 2017 13:04:04 GMT
There were tons of charity shops along Portobello High Street in Edinburgh. In April, I went into all of them looking for a book to read on the plane home but unfortunately most of what they had were best-seller type books, so I didn't even want to spend £1. I did buy something eventually but have already forgotten what -- obviously nothing memorable.
I even saw the movie of "Women in Love"! Years after reading the book, of course. Then again, I have always liked Alan Bates.
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Post by Kimby on Aug 29, 2017 13:04:48 GMT
I remember finding a copy of Lady Chatterly's Lover on my parents' headboard and devouring it as a teenager. Haven't read it lately, but I have a copy from a used book sale queued up for eventual re-reading. A rather unique book review - and tribute to the "c-word" - by Brad on Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/32049.Lady_Chatterley_s_Lover
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Post by whatagain on Sept 5, 2017 15:52:36 GMT
I 'lose' the books I don't like. Just leave them on a chair somewhere outside, best protected from rain. I often read inside 'this is a traveling book'...
I have finished 'Conclave' by John Irving (hesitating now) and I loved it. Give some kind of inside knowledge about how conclaves are held, and the characters are well 'drawn' - it seems credible. Besides it is neither against religion or against religious men, just about men (er, there are 2 women in the book).
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 8, 2017 3:39:05 GMT
No, no, Whatagain! Conclave is by Robert Harris. (John Irving is a crappy writer.) I'm happy to have the recommendation. I've only read a couple of Robert Harris's books, and they were un-put-downable. '
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Post by bjd on Sept 8, 2017 6:02:23 GMT
I agree about Robert Harris. I have liked all his books except one, something about a ghostwriter in the States. I just can't get into it. All his other books are good.
I just read a new Elizabeth George book, A Banquet of Consequences, pretty good like all her books, with repeating characters. And I started a book by Zadie Smith, N-W (for North West London) but I just find it boring and annoying so probably won't finish it.
Instead I startedPaula by Isabel Allende -- a book she wrote to her daughter while her daughter was in a coma, telling her about her family and family history.
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Post by onlyMark on Sept 8, 2017 6:48:29 GMT
Thrown out to be a general question for anyone - do you always read "good" books? Meaning, doesn't anyone read those candy floss type books? Those that are there to pass the time without needing too much brain power. You all seem to mention books and authors people have heard of. I often read the ones you get from Amazon for free. No name authors and variable quality, especially the science fiction ones I like. Here is a selection of what I have on my Kindle at the moment -
Into the Black By: Evan Currie Solitude: By: Dean M. Cole A.I. Destroyer By: Vaughn Heppner Dominion By: C. J. Sansom World's Worst Crimes: An A-Z of Evil Deeds By: Charlotte Greig I also have a few detective novels, one recently read was set on Gibraltar (and not very good).
Then I have one by a known author - The Kill Zone By: Chris Ryan
But then there is the adventure one about a real life explorer called Fawcett who mapped out vast areas of the Amazon and searched for a lost city called Z - The Lost City of Z: A Legendary British Explorer's Deadly Quest to Uncover the Secrets of the Amazon By: David Grann
To be honest, I can't be bothered with in depth reading half the time, especially just before bed. So a bit of a Space Opera is just the thing.
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Post by mickthecactus on Sept 8, 2017 7:54:51 GMT
I seem to read mostly Bill Bryson books at present. Not too heavy, good information and humorous.
But I do get the free ones for the Kindle too and some of them are really good.
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