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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 18, 2010 15:46:30 GMT
Well, I guess I proved your point rather than my own with the Great Fire. If I'd not persisted, I would never have realized what a superior book it is, nor known that I had to give it another chance.
I finished The Blood of Flowers yesterday, and absolutely recommend it. I'm always a little reluctant to admit how much I like the combination of pure story, history, and exotic locale. However, none of that will overcome bad writing for me, so I think I can recognize the better quality historical novels, if that's not too snotty a thing to say.
This one is really excellent, especially in terms of the research and the heartfelt, respectful use of folk tales. And this is one book where you won't want to miss the Author's Note at the end.
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Post by Jazz on Mar 20, 2010 23:25:19 GMT
I absolutely reject the idea that Americans as a whole are less subtle or capable of appreciation than the population of the rest of the world. I agree with Bixa. My poor mind just can't cope with the thought of tossing off an entire group of about 300,000 million people in a word, or a phrase. Back for a moment to The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I did love it. Somehow, it never occurred to me to think of whether or not certain cultures were capable of grasping its subtleties? Subtle or not, it's great. Today at the library I picked up two books that I am looking forward to, Tom's Midnight Garden and Three Cups of Tea. Here, on the Port was the first I heard of Tom's Midnight Garden and I can't wait!!! One of most loved children's books is The secret Garden and I read it each year, just before spring.
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Post by bjd on Mar 21, 2010 7:19:17 GMT
I'm reading Arthur Koestler's The Scum of the Earth. It tells of the imprisonment of the various anti-Fascist Europeans in France in 1939-1940. Many of those who had fled Germany or East European countries for being Jews or Communists, were put in prison and camps. Koestler was at first arrested and put in Paris's Roland Garros stadium (yes, indeed, the place where the tennis tournaments are held every year), then sent to Le Vernet in Ariège, not too far from Toulouse.
The French authorities and police, especially the gendarmes, do not come off looking too good in this. The terrible conditions, corruption and mistreatment of prisoners -- many of whom were middle-aged or even old intellectuals, doctors, engineers -- forced to do hard labour on little food and no warm clothing.
Another part of French history that has been swept under the carpet.
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Post by spindrift on Mar 21, 2010 9:43:44 GMT
Jazz - you have inspired me to buy Tom's Midnight Garden.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2010 10:12:23 GMT
Wow, I somehow missed that statement about American readers, I will look back for it. I remember the mention and semi discussion of The Elegance of the Hedgehog and some difficulties I had with the subtleties in it. But, to make such a gross generalization would raise my ire,and does.
I like Arthur Koestler,however,it has been a long time since reading him. I would be interested in checking out this book BJD. Thanks.
I am reading Susan Sontag's book On Photography,which my house guest had given me some time ago and I had never read. Her presence here and inquiry as to how I liked it,shamed me into picking it up and reading.
I adore The Secret Garden,and I can't believe it escaped my list of favorites in the other thread!!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2010 1:43:45 GMT
I somehow fell into a bookstore in the French Quarter today...( swore I was not going to go near a book or record store and failed on both counts )
Anyway, I picked up a Margaret Drabble novel that I found out is the sequel to another novel of hers that I read a year or so ago. The first one was called The Radiant Way and I quite liked it. This one is A Natural Curiosity. I can't say that I am a huge fan of hers because I have only read two of her books,and although, I liked them well enough,I haven't gone particularly out of my way to read her others. I keep thinking that it is because I know her sister is A.S. Byatt (one of my favorite living novelists) and I keep wanting to unfairly compare. How lame is that?
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Post by joanne28 on Mar 26, 2010 18:00:03 GMT
I just started The Girl Who Played With Fire, having read The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo a few months ago. I'm riveted.
I'm going to try The Elegance of the Hedgehog, based on all the comments I've read here.
I'm also gearing up for my yearly (or so) rereading of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I first read them at the age of 16 and 40 years on I still love them.
I reread a lot of books. I'm a Jane Austen fan and reread those. Dickens holds up well, Vanity Fair is another fave of mine.
My problem is that I normally buy books secondhand. Not always but mostly. So there's a lot I miss - this thread is going to be very handy, I can see.
I have most of Bill Bryson's books, I find him one of the funniest writers - he's a "laugh out loud to" writer.
A digression - why do people look at you strangely on the subway or the bus if you are reading and burst out laughing? I assume the person has read something funny. It's the ones that start cackling for no apparent reason that worry me. ;D
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 26, 2010 18:24:47 GMT
Ha ~~ so true, Joanne! Of course, if I were so foolish as to read Bill Bryson in public, people wouldn't just look, they'd have me carted off. He reduces me to doubled-over, helplessly crying, shrieking, honking, ribcage-hurting paroxysms.
You are also so correct about re-reading books. I always say, we look at art more than once, listen to the same piece of music multiple times, why would we think we extracted everything out of a good book after one reading?
I finished a wonderful book yesterday -- A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick. I strongly recommend against reading the reviews, as so many of them give away important bits of the plot. Rather than "plot twists", Goolrick leads us to revelatory glimpses after strongly building a different point of view. The setting of the book -- 1907, winter in Wisconsin -- works beautifully with the author's lush yet controlled prose. You feel you're standing in a room white with the glare of snow through the windows, and as you're led into the minds of the protagonists, their thoughts seem to tumble silently through a gray afternoon into a sparkling drift of character development. Yes, he does skirt the limits of gothic or even bodice-ripper conventions at times, but so sure-handedly that it's sheer enjoyment.
Anyone who appreciates excellent, rhythmic prose combined with a strong, on-going plot will love this book.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2010 18:42:50 GMT
The titles of the Stieg Larsson books are different in Europe, and much simplified in France, being just called "the Millennium trilogy." The real title of #1 is "Men who don't like women" but it wasn't considered to be commercial enough to English speaking audiences.
The movies are excellent, but only "Millennium 1" was filmed for the big screen. 2 and 3 are 'made-for-TV' movies.
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Post by livaco on Mar 27, 2010 1:48:54 GMT
I just finished reading The Help. I really liked it
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Post by lola on Mar 27, 2010 3:49:01 GMT
Laughing on the metro.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 27, 2010 4:00:11 GMT
What is The Help, Livaco?
What happened to that resolve we all made, that we'd tell a little more about what we're reading and even discuss?
It's disconcerting to really try hard to write something that conveys my opinion and feeling about a book, and to get no reaction whatsoever.
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Post by livaco on Mar 27, 2010 13:33:32 GMT
Sorry, bixa, for me it is not that I don't care what people take the time to write. Far from it. It's more that it's hard sometimes to find the time myself to adequately respond. There are a lot of posts on this thread and many times I only have a few minutes on this site while eating lunch at work. So while I would love to post all the books I read and respond to what people have said about others, I usually only end up having time to add a song to the 8 songs game. I do post all the books I read on facebook (visual bookshelf) and that too can be hard to keep up with. It's interesting that you posted about A Reliable Wife. That is a book that I have wanted to read for a while. But then a person from my book club said that she wants to pick that for her next selection. (We take turns each month.) So she asked if I would hold off reading it until then. I think her turn is in August, so I have to wait until then! The Help is set in Mississippi in the early 60's. The story switches between the points of view of 3 women. Two are Black maids and one is a white woman who ends up interviewing them and other maids for a book she is writing. I thought it was a really amazing book. I couldn't put it down! www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399155341/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0P7JTB7VR1PBVPW6375T&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846
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Post by livaco on Mar 27, 2010 13:40:40 GMT
A digression - why do people look at you strangely on the subway or the bus if you are reading and burst out laughing? I assume the person has read something funny. It's the ones that start cackling for no apparent reason that worry me. ;D Ha Ha!!! I have certainly been in that situation. Books that come to mind that have made me laugh in public: McCarthy's Bar by Pete McCarthy, (An English man of Irish heritage who goes to Ireland and tries to visit every bar/pub with "McCarthy" in its name), many Bill Bryson books ;D, and even, surprisingly, Push by Sapphire (was made into the movie Precious). For such a sad book it was laugh out loud funny at times. Right now I am reading another LOL book -- I am Ozzy by Ozzy Osbourne. He is one funny f*cker!!
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 27, 2010 14:56:26 GMT
Sorry, Livaco ~~ that wasn't aimed at you or at anyone in particular. (although the movie comment right after a string of thoughtful posts about books probably set me off) And it's particularly gratifying that you'd take some of your limited free time to contribute. It's just that a thread like this is always more interesting and useful when there is interaction. For instance, I would have thought The Help was not something I'd want to read. Then I read your recommendation and followed the link you posted and now am looking at it completely differently.
I can see how you would want to wait for the book club reading of A Reliable Wife, particularly since you're in Wisconsin. I was frustrated when I finished it, because I don't know anyone who's read it, so couldn't discuss it.
Looking back at this page, I see I've been really remiss in the responding department, so ....
Like Jazz, I'd never heard of Tom's Midnight Garden and was amazed so many of you knew of and treasured it. It's definitely on my list to read now.
Bjd, even though I knew there had been some reprehensible behavior in France during the war, I never knew about this early, official movement against the anti-Fascists.
A book I really enjoyed was The Volcano by Susan Sontag. However, the novel she wrote after that was so deadly boring that I'm afraid I pretty much dismissed her after attempting it. It's good to be reminded of On Photography, which I believe is considered a "must read" on the subject.
I don't dislike Margaret Drabble, but often feel weary at the prospect of having to read another of her books, although I probably need to give her another chance.
Joanne, it was great to get a look at your literary tastes. It seems to me that people who have a grounding in "the classics" have a better appreciation of reading in general.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2010 20:55:05 GMT
Bixa,you should get Sontag's, On Photography. I can't recommend it highly enough to anyone interested in the topic. I.too,loved her novel,The Volcano and had forgotten about it totally until this last read.
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Post by Jazz on Mar 27, 2010 20:56:53 GMT
Outliers is my second book by Malcolm Gladwell and I find it more fascinating than Blink. He discusses why some people become succesful and others don't. Gladwell has a unique way of pulling together unexpected elements to illustrate his thoughts. His highly detailed discussion of 'rice paddies and math tests' is one excellent example. Another is the essay on the 'ethnic theory of plane crashes'. Tom's Midnight Garden sits patiently, awaiting its reading. I only had time for the first few pages, but I can't wait to discover what happens.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 28, 2010 2:22:21 GMT
Yeah, i can't believe I never got around to reading On Photography -- sheer intellectual laziness on my part.
So glad you brought Outliers up again, Jazz, I needed the reminder. Reading Gladwell is exciting even when you're not agreeing with him. It's always a good muscular workout for the mind. Also, I appreciate that he's keeping the art of the essay alive.
unrelated: I love that new avatar, Jazz -- it's three-dimensional!
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Post by joanne28 on Mar 28, 2010 16:03:59 GMT
Bixa, There's a reason they are called the classics. And thanks for the point that we rewatch movies and listen to music multiple times. I simply never thought of that and it will be a useful piece in my arsensal of shutting people up when they are incredulous about me rereading something. If you would like a muscular workout for the mind, I recommend Voltaire's Bastards - The Dictatorship of Reason in the West by John Ralston Saul. I'm not sure how to categorize it. It's not new - published in 1992 and I think the subtitle is a fair description. I enjoy Drabble but haven't yet read Byatt. I do have Babel Tower but haven't started it. I have a bad habit of buying 6 or 8 or 10 books at a time & then managing to lose one somewhere in the house. I will give Byatt a bash soon. Jazz, have you read The Tipping Point by Gladwell? I believe it was his first. I stumbled upon it and loved it. Same with Jared Diamond. So I have these "Eureka" moments about writer who are very well known to the rest of the world. Oh well, feeling foolish is an emotion to which I'm quite accustomed. My reading habits are intensive but very much all over the map. I try to maintain a ratio of one non-fiction to four fiction but find when I'm stressed that classic murder mysteries soothe me.
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Post by Jazz on Mar 28, 2010 20:19:31 GMT
Joanne, no, I haven't read The Tipping Point yet, that will be next. I agree with you and Bixa 'There is a reason they are called the classics'. Much of my self education was based on a very early reading of the classics. I have no problem with rereading a book or rewatching a film. Often, this is done years apart and my experience is totally different. We all seem to receive what we are ready to receive at a given time and somehow don't notice the rest. Often, its like reading a totally new book, just on another level. I notice that you live in Mississauga and love to go to second hand bookstores. If you are in downtown Toronto, I suggest that you visit the Annex area, on Bloor St. west, between Spadina and Bathurst ....this is the area in and around the University of Toronto. There is a great used bookstore, BMV, on three floors. It has a huge collection! They have many 'new' releases, and also CD's, DVD's and publishers' overstock-brand new releases. They will buy your books for cash on the spot. Three blocks west of this is Seeker's Books, smaller but quite good. There is another great BMV at Yonge and Eglinton. I have read all of A.S. Byatt but the only one that I love and think is excellent is Possession. It is also one of the rare books that was well translated into a film. A few people here have mentioned Bill Bryson and I think it's time to read this man. Thanks Bixa, it's a parrot tulip...my early spring avatar
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 28, 2010 21:28:43 GMT
We are certainly all on the same page today! I read Joanne's post earlier, when I didn't have time to reply, and came back to recommend Possession to her. It was the first one I read, and really excited me about the author. Like Jazz, I don't think any of her other work quite measured up to that. Babel Tower is a good book, but radically different than any of her others, so would be an offbeat introduction. I quite liked Sugar and Other Stories, not least because it wasn't so "look-I'm-an-intellectual!" as some of her other stuff. A.S. can be quite full of herself.
Joanne, The Tipping Point was my introduction to Gladwell, also. It was pressed on me by a friend, and I remain grateful. In that same spirit, I'm going to look for Voltaire's Bastards. God knows, my flabby mind-muscles need a workout! Thanks for mentioning Jared Diamond. My 'eureka' moment is doomed to come late also, as I had thought his books would be too dry.
I have never been disciplined enough to maintain a fiction/non-fiction ratio as you mention. It's never too late, though, is it?
The book I just finished was Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich. The Stephanie Plum series are so enjoyable. I really admire Evanovich, too. Although her books are sheer entertainment, she never writes a clunky sentence, is obviously having fun, and is endlessly inventive. I even read one of her early romances once, simply out of curiosity about her. The zaniness and character development skills were already well displayed even in that fluff.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 30, 2010 6:47:57 GMT
On The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Maybe Americans are less likely to appreciate this book, with its understated-ness. Just a theory. I am in agreement with Kimby on the understatedness theory re: The Elegance of the Hedgehog,and, what she commented on a bit earlier about the first 100 pages or so, believe it was about 60-75 pages in my case. back to the Hedgehog. I'd reached page 119 before anything written inspired me to jot down a quote for later consideration (I often read with a notepad nearby, to capture thoughts I want to ruminate on further). "We live each day as if it were merely a rehearsal for the next..." said Renee the concierge. And on page 128, Paloma, the suicidal 12-year-old, says "We have to live with the certainty that we'll get old and that it won't look nice or be good or feel happy. And tell ourselves that it's now that matters: to build something, now, at any price, using all our strength." What I said about Americans maybe not appreciating this book due to its understated-ness might be similar to Americans often not "getting" British comedy. Too subtle for us brash frontiersmen... So, reading only a (short) chapter a night at bedtime, I finally finished The Elegance of the Hedgehog. And turned right around and started re-reading it. I often do this, as I like to see how an author structures their tale when I know where it's going (kind of like seeing a movie twice). But I also wanted to see why I found the first 100 pages less-than-gripping the first time around. Don't know if I'll finish it twice, as I'm anxious to get to The Road, but it was worth reading. Though not on my list of favorite books. I have enjoyed reading everyone's opinions of this and other books on this thread. Keep it up, please!
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Post by tillystar on Mar 30, 2010 8:56:04 GMT
I am reading the auto-biography of Dawn French, she probably isn't known outside the UK but is probably one of our best known and loved female comedians/comic actresses. I wouldn't have chosen to read it but my neighbour was taking a load of books to the charity shop and gave me a nose through the bag before she went! It's lovely, a very easy read by an incredibly nice and funny lady. Lots of smiles and laughing on the tube going to work this morning! When I finish this I am out of reading material. Will have to go through this thread for some ideas!
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Post by bjd on Mar 30, 2010 9:47:46 GMT
I just read Stalin's Nose by Rory MacLean (author of the Magic Bus mentioned on another thread). It was his first travel book. It's about his trip through some of the former Iron Curtain countries (East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Russia) just after the fall of the Berlin Wall -- so early 1990. He goes with his aunt (a recently-widowed Communist) and her pet pig in a Trabant.
Although the cover makes it sound like a funny book, there is in fact a lot of serious stuff about how people lived under Communism, about politics, etc. But it's an easy read anyway and I thought it was good.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2010 10:36:50 GMT
I think that Byatt's very first novel,The Shadow of the Sun is her finest. Her other collection of stories,aside from Sugar,is The Matisse Stories,which is well worth checking out. I wish she would write more short stories (in between novels...). She edited a very fine collection of British short stories that I also highly recommend. The Babel Tower is actually number 3 of a quartet. I had read independently and enjoyed,but,when coupled with the others,I devoured all the others. I fell in love with her characters,and the time line involved was spectacular. Clearly,I am a rabid fan. Curiously,Possession was the last novel of hers that I read,aside from her newest one,which once again I highly recommend.(The Children's Book). I am curious to read Tilly's final take on this as I recall her starting it and liking it initially.
I started a reread of Sontag's The Volcano after our recent discussion. Love it even more than the first time I read years ago.
P.S. Great to see you in here Livaco and look forward to more recommendations etc.!!
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Post by onlymark on Mar 30, 2010 10:58:23 GMT
I am reading the auto-biography of Dawn French, she probably isn't known outside the UK but is probably one of our best known and loved female comedians/comic actresses. She's about as funny as piles.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2010 11:39:32 GMT
She is well known in France due to you-know-what show. But a lot of her solo stuff in not exportable.
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Post by joanne28 on Mar 30, 2010 14:18:08 GMT
I think Dawn French is very funny. I bought her autobiography 2 UK visits ago and loved it. It definitely had laugh out loud moments.
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Post by traveler63 on Mar 31, 2010 15:03:29 GMT
I have been gone for a while so I have reviewed all of your posts. There are some really good suggestions. I have Elegance of the Hedgehog on reserve at the library. I am waiting for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I have put these two on reserve strictly from everyone's recommendations. I have read all of the Stephanie Plum books and waiting for Sizzling Sixteen. I agree with you Bixa they are very entertaining. By the way, there is a movie on the way, don't know which one, obviously the first. Katherine Hiegle is rumored to be the actress playing Stephanie. Hmmm, I wonder who is going to play Ranger(Denzel Washington comes to mind, but he may be too high priced ). I am currently reading 3 books at a time. The first is The Sheen on the Silk by Anne Perry. I love her Inspector Monk series. The second is Zafon's The Angels Game and the third is J. D. Robb's Fantasy in Death
So thanks to all who have posted because you all have taking me out of the rut of what I have been reading. I will let you all know what I think of the the ones you have recommended. ;D
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 31, 2010 15:20:52 GMT
Kimby, you are such a dedicated reader!
T-63, your comments are awaited ~~ great to see you back here!
I really like the Inspector Monk series too, although I don't care for the Inspector & Mrs. Pitt series. Anne Perry's plots and settings are great, but I always wish she were a better writer.
I had to look up Katherine Heigl. Yes, she could really work as Stephanie if they give her brown hair -- Stephanie is definitely not a blonde. Denzel is too old for Ranger, and doesn't look at all Latino. Ha ha -- maybe they'll launch a modern-day search like the one done for Scarlett O'Hara.
I've been eying The Angel's Game, but seem to remember that Tilly wasn't that pleased with it -- must go back & find her review. I'm eager to hear what you think, T63.
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