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Post by bjd on Mar 12, 2010 17:01:22 GMT
Well, in that case...
While I was looking for the reviews for Casi earlier, I found that site called goodreads.com. I spent so much time reading it, that I signed up. They ask some questions about what you have read, but on the second page where I was supposed to assign a number of stars to books, I kept getting titles in Arabic! I did not manage to solve the problem in the FAQ's, so I wrote to them. Am still waiting for an answer.
What was interesting was the section called abandoned books. Many of the same ones that are on favourites lists! I was pleased to see The Da Vinci Code on the Worst Books list.
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Post by spindrift on Mar 13, 2010 9:32:53 GMT
Yesterday, during my long flight home, I read The Elegance of the Hedgehog from cover to cover and am happy to report that I throughly enjoyed it.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 13, 2010 12:56:59 GMT
I'm almost 100 pages into it, and so far, can't figure out why I should care about either of the two main characters. But I'm not giving up!
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Post by spindrift on Mar 13, 2010 14:06:25 GMT
Don't you think it's well written and full of 'home truths'? (i.e. how life really is etc)...
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Post by Jazz on Mar 13, 2010 14:18:46 GMT
Re the Gladwell Red vs Blue, I don't quite see why all the odds would be against the Reds winning. Just remember the various guerilla wars being fought over the past decades, and it's obvious that the American State of War approach doesn't necessarily win. Sorry for threadjacking. I agree, and that was just an example to illustrate Gladwell's larger point. There seems to be a huge disconnect in American intelligence and how it is practically applied. I don't understand why so little appears to have been learned since the glaring results of Vietnam and many other 'smaller' wars. Thanks for the good site bjd, www.goodreads.com/book/explore I think I'll join as well.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2010 14:30:38 GMT
I'm reading two books at the same time right now. One is 'the lovely bones', (thanks for suggesting that one, Kimby). The other one is 'go, boy, go', which is about the memories of a Canadian man who spent a great deal of his life behind bars, and his experiences of that time and of his escape.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 13, 2010 22:16:40 GMT
Maybe Americans are less-likely to appreciate this book, with its understated-ness. Just a theory. My neighbor just loaned me Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Anyone like that one?
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Post by cristina on Mar 14, 2010 1:37:05 GMT
Kimby, I read The Road last year and loved it. While the subject is a bit depressing, the story is really wonderfully told and the writing is downright amazing. McCarthy uses words in a beautiful way.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 14, 2010 2:16:15 GMT
Maybe Americans are less-likely to appreciate this book, with its understated-ness. ? ? ? ? ? ? ?I have to admit I'm enjoying my fluffy historical novel, The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani(link at #239). It's set in Persia in the 1500s and has lots of homely historical detail of village life, as well as excellent descriptions of the city of Isfahan. There are quite a few folk tales woven in, to very good effect. The plot moves along, and the writer only occasionally lapses into the kind of phrasing that makes historical novels excruciating -- "the sun beat down without mercy", or "steeds" for horses. It's not a challenging book, but a very enjoyable read for some good escapism.
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Post by spindrift on Mar 14, 2010 9:17:12 GMT
Oh? I thought there was nothing under-stated about 'The Elegance of the Hedgehog'....quite the opposite.
Bixa - last year I read 'The Blood of Flowers'; as you say, it was a good, easy read with charming insights about the way of life in those times. I left it with my Indian gf but she won't attempt to read it because of the title.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2010 11:02:46 GMT
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.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 14, 2010 15:13:55 GMT
I (an American) totally agree with Spindrift (from the UK) about the (French) book The Elegance of the Hedgehog, that it is anything but understated. I think you all might be interested in your own comments when we first discussed this book: anyportinastorm.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=books&thread=1024&page=1#24843Jazz makes an important point in that previous discussion about ones mood affecting how any given book is received or rejected. I am curious as to whether anyone here read it in French. Cristina, if this isn't too pitiful of a question: exactly how depressing is The Road? Of course I wanted to read McCarthy, as he is a major author. However, Blood Meridian almost did me in. Seriously, I became so depressed reading it that I stopped and never finished the book. His writing is remarkable, too, so I was disappointed that I couldn't persevere. I guess it's a measure of his skill as a writer that he could so strongly affect my mood, but I'd sure like to find one of his books that wouldn't make me feel as though I needed to be medicated. Spindrift, why would the title keep your friend from reading The Blood of Flowers?
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Post by bjd on Mar 14, 2010 16:01:43 GMT
I read The Elegance of the Hedgehog in French. I can't remember anything about over- or understating. I liked it and even bought a copy for my daughter for her birthday, since I had been lent the copy I read.
I have The Blood of Flowers on my shelf. A friend, who reads about one book a year, liked it and bought me a copy since she knows I like Persian carpets! I haven't read it yet though. My unread pile keeps getting bigger since I have bought a few books lately (mostly non-fiction) and I still get books from the library too.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 14, 2010 22:28:01 GMT
That was a thoughtful gift. The protagonist is a knotter, and there are interesting details about rugs throughout the book. (you thought I was going to say "woven throughout", didn't you? ;D)
Pick it up when you're in the mood for some good old-fashioned entertainment. I found it went fast, as it's quite absorbing.
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Post by cristina on Mar 15, 2010 1:30:35 GMT
Cristina, if this isn't too pitiful of a question: exactly how depressing is The Road? Of course I wanted to read McCarthy, as he is a major author. However, Blood Meridian almost did me in. Seriously, I became so depressed reading it that I stopped and never finished the book. His writing is remarkable, too, so I was disappointed that I couldn't persevere. I guess it's a measure of his skill as a writer that he could so strongly affect my mood, but I'd sure like to find one of his books that wouldn't make me feel as though I needed to be medicated. Bixa, I didn't find myself wishing to be medicated after reading The Road. It is a heartbreaking story, given the post-apocalyptic setting. But it is also a wonderful story of a father's love for his child and there is a glimmer of redemption in the end. And I really can't say enough about McCarthy's prose.
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Post by Jazz on Mar 15, 2010 16:11:36 GMT
The Blood of Flowers is now en route to me through inter library loan. It sounds good. I am especially interested in the 'rug aspect', since I love Persian rugs and spent one of the most fascinating, textured days of my life in a rug factory in the Turkish countryside.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 15, 2010 16:58:12 GMT
I LIKE post-apocalyptic stories ( Into the Forest by Jean Hegland www.amazon.com/Into-Forest-Novel-Jean-Hegland/dp/0553379615 and Earth Abides by George R. Stewart en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Abides come to mind as favorites), so I'll probably love The Road. Thanks for the input. Meanwhile, 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...
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 15, 2010 20:16:12 GMT
Yes, I do have a thing for post-apocalyptic or survival stories as well. I guess w/Blood Meridien, I felt McCarthy was almost too good at what he does. Thanks so much for the great reply, Cristina. There is a discussion of the movie here (159, 160, 161, 178, 179) and continuing to the next page here (181, 186, 187). Jazz, I actually thought of you as I read the book, convinced that you'd enjoy it a great deal. Did you ever check out this thread in the Museum? Scenes such as those on the Bridgman link spring to mind as you read The Blood of Flowers. Kimby, I got totally different things from The Hedgehog. One of the main things was a sense of excitement about learning itself, and how that particular novel could be used as a guide to some exhilarating auto-didactism. 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.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 15, 2010 23:19:34 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 think we like things to be more robust than folks from the more cultured cultures do.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 16, 2010 0:57:35 GMT
I also reject that other cultures are, ipso facto, more cultured.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 16, 2010 1:49:11 GMT
Not sure why I'm able to push your buttons so easily on this topic, bixa. Isn't it OK for an American to make observations about Americans? I did say "just a theory", "maybe", "might", and "I think..." to make it less of a statement of fact, though.
(Maybe we should ask kerouac who is more cultured, the French or the Americans?)
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 16, 2010 2:56:01 GMT
Oh, good idea, Kimby. That would be the real thing of an unbiased opinion.
You're not pushing my buttons on it, I simply cannot agree with you.
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Post by onlymark on Mar 16, 2010 7:20:20 GMT
First you'd have to decide on what being 'cultured' is. Then you'd have to delve into the accuracy of stereotypes accurately portraying a nation in general.
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Post by spindrift on Mar 16, 2010 10:34:32 GMT
Whilst I was away I read We Are All Made of Glue by Marina Lewycka. It was a big let-down after her first book A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian. Don't waste your money buying it.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2010 10:37:58 GMT
First you'd have to decide on what being 'cultured' is. Then you'd have to delve into the accuracy of stereotypes accurately portraying a nation in general. Good point. But,I still agree with Kimby on most of what she says. I am now interested in checking out "The Blood of Flowers". How odd, Spindrift that your friend wouldn't read it because of the title.
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Post by onlymark on Mar 16, 2010 12:19:21 GMT
Each of us will have their own idea of culture and stereotypes, but I also do tend towards Kimbys appraisal.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 16, 2010 13:57:14 GMT
I think most people tend towards Kimby's appraisal, but I feel that's a reflexive acceptance of a long-outmoded stereotype. Admittedly this is a tiny sampling, but if one were to go through this thread only, could you pick out who was American (and by extension, Canadian) by who likes what?
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Post by Kimby on Mar 16, 2010 15:16:55 GMT
I'm not saying 'Merkins ain't got culture, bixa, just we got differnt notions of it than other folkses do. Not all of us, but many.
And our attitude, though not shared by all (including the very refined bixa) is probably somewhat informed by our frontier, rough and tumble, revolutionary/rebel history. And our impatience.
Still plugging away at the Hedgehog, and still finding it entertaining enough to keep reading, waiting for the big reward I have been promised.
I almost NEVER abandon a book, however, no matter how little engrossed I am. (I think stubborness is also an American trait.)
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 16, 2010 20:15:35 GMT
Believe me, Kimby -- I do understand what you're saying ...................... just can't accept such a broad characterization. (& I think you're more refined than I. Wanna fight about it? ) I think if a book doesn't catch fire for you, you should abandon it. You can always go back to it later if you suspect it holds treasure you missed. I'm sure I've mentioned this before somewhere, but I am going to have to go back & read "The Great Fire" by Shirley Hazzard. It was published to great critical acclaim & got all kinds of awards. I dutifully read it, thinking "ehhhnnnh" until I was about 3/4 or more through the book. Then I thought, "Damn -- this is excellentl!" I was so annoyed with myself, as it seems I somehow resisted it and deprived myself of a wonderful literary experience.)
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Post by Kimby on Mar 18, 2010 14:51:09 GMT
I can't seem to abandon a book, even if it isn't living up to expectations. Especially if folks I respect have recommended it to me.
I'd be afraid of missing some wonderful denouement that would make it all worthwhile. And make me return to the beginning to better appreciate what I missed the first time around.
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