|
Post by Shutter Girl on Jan 1, 2005 11:30:59 GMT -5
...or attempting to... Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
This tome (near 800 pages!) is being called "Dickensonian" and I have to agree. Actually, it's written in a style that is sort of 'Dickens meets Jane Austen'. It takes you to England in the early 1800's where gentleman talk of the study of magic in clubs. They talk of magic.... when someone shows up who can actually perform it all hell breaks lose and everything they've learned has been turned on its head.
The language is beautiful but I hope it's not going to bog down the story for me. I'm going to give it the 100 page trial (I'll read 100 pages and if I can't stand it by then I'll put it down) and see what happens. The novel is being hailed as greatest work of original fantasy since Tolkein. Time will tell....
|
|
|
Post by Shutter Girl on Jan 31, 2005 19:48:08 GMT -5
Killer Smile by Lisa Scottoline
Mary DiNunzio is an Italian-American lawyer from Philadephia who is working on a getting reparations for the family of an Italian immigrant who committed suicide in an internment camp in Montana during World War II. But if it's suicide, then why is someone covering up the threads of the past and trying to kill her?
A fast paced romp into the seemingly small life of a man who would never be an American citizen.
|
|
|
Post by RepairmanJack on Feb 10, 2005 9:14:07 GMT -5
I am reading Duke's Ballad by Andre Norton right now. It is a fantasy novel. I can't remember if I ever read anything by Ms. Norton before which is surprising to me. I thought I have tried all the major Fantasy writers. I am about 100 pages into it and still trying to decide how I like it. The plot seems to be moving at a glacial pace which is surprising since the book is not that long. The story takes place in a world the author has wrote about before so either the story is going to wrap up quickly in the last quarter of the book or it will pick up in future volumes. I hope I am not looking at the latter. I have too many other books I want to read
|
|
|
Post by Shutter Girl on Feb 10, 2005 9:56:41 GMT -5
I have too many other books I want to read You and me both, brotha! I am now going to finish reading Ahab's Wife after having to read my book discussion book for work. I don't mind doing a book discussion for seniors but I have to make sure I can get 15 large print books of the same title and also choose one without a lot of, er, sex! A little sex is ok but not gratuitious sex. This poses quite a problem whilst picking out a discussion book. I'd also like to make time to read: Entombed by Linda Fairstein (sp?) Collapse by Jared Diamond CrissCross by F. Paul Wilson
|
|
|
Post by stubedoo on Feb 14, 2005 14:11:04 GMT -5
I just finished a book called "Postville" about a group of ultra-orthodox Jews who moved to a town in Iowa named Postville to start a Kosher slaughtering plant.
|
|
|
Post by Shutter Girl on Feb 14, 2005 18:31:02 GMT -5
Wow Stu, that sounds interesting! And might even make a good book discussion book.
There's a town in the White Mountains of New Hampshire called Bethlehem that's home to a community of Hasidic Jews. I visited there as a kid and was fascinated by how different everyone look and how they kept to themselves, reminded me of the Amish here. It's a very interesting culture.
Stu, have you ever read Kaaterskill Falls by Allegra Goodman? It's a novel about 3 Orthodox Jewish families in upstate New York. It's supposed to be very good, I've always wanted to read it.
That's some pretty serious beach reading you've got going on there!
|
|
|
Post by stubedoo on Feb 15, 2005 13:06:25 GMT -5
I've heard of the book, but haven't read it.
Postville actually wasn't heavy reading, believe it or not. The writer had a very easy to read journalistic writing style.
|
|
|
Post by MaxQuad on Apr 30, 2005 19:04:08 GMT -5
Actually not reading now, but recently finished - A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Worth reading if only for the history of it's publication and subsequent literary success. Initially rejected by publishers, it remained unpublished at the time of Toole's death by suicide in 1969. His mother subsequently and persistently contacted Walker Percy, requesting he read it because "it deserved to be published." Loved by Percy and eventually published around 1980, it became a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1981. Quite the tale.
It is a funny book about a sad character - a character who is full of ideas and delusions. By the end, however, you wonder who is living in an unreal world and who is not. He moves from unlikeable character to sad victim to a man on the run looking to start anew. Perhaps the best part - it has a character by the name of Battaglia.
If you haven't read A Confederacy of Dunces, I suggest you strongly consider adding it to your reading list.
Now for a complete change of pace - All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy.
MQ
|
|
|
Post by Shutter Girl on Apr 30, 2005 19:36:13 GMT -5
Max, what reading taste you have!
I've heard nothing but great things about Confederacy of Dunces but have not read it. How sad that Toole never got to see it to the height of it's popularity.
I know several people who have had great discussions over this work. It's too bad that I have to religate myself to reading Nora Roberts for my book discussions. How discouraging....
Battaglia? Who would ever name a character that? ;-)
|
|
|
Post by RepairmanJack on May 1, 2005 16:43:20 GMT -5
I finished Juiced by Jose Canseco. I was never a big Canseco fan before and I am even less a fan now. Talk about an arrogant and bitter ex-ballplayer. According to him at least 90% of baseball players use steroids (probably less now with all the attention) and all because of him. Whether that is true of not I don't think it is something he should be proud of From the media reports when the book first came out I expected him to name a lot of players as using steroids. Surprisingly or not he only named a few. And for the medical professionals on our list Canseco claims that there is no adverse effects of using steroids on the human body. As long as they are used properly. He also feels that after close to 20 years of experimenting on himself he knows more than any doctor or scientist of what steroids can and cannot do. If he was looking for sympathy I don't think this book is going to help. I would hesitate recommending this to anyone. True baseball fans should probably stay away---far away.
|
|
|
Post by MaxQuad on May 4, 2005 9:28:27 GMT -5
I finished Juiced by Jose Canseco. I was never a big Canseco fan before and I am even less a fan now. Talk about an arrogant and bitter ex-ballplayer. If he was looking for sympathy I don't think this book is going to help. I would hesitate recommending this to anyone. True baseball fans should probably stay away---far away. Thanks for the review RJ. I agree with your Canseco assessment - add egotistical. I was never fond of him as a player - and think even less of him now. I am glad he feels he is such a steroid expert. Maybe he will use more. I wouldn't consider myself a "true baseball fan" - but I do think the game is in a terrible state, which is sad to see, as it is quintessentially American - and at its best full of grace, power, speed, subtlety and strategy. MQ
|
|
|
Post by Shutter Girl on May 31, 2005 20:56:12 GMT -5
So, what's everyone reading these days?
I'm still plugging through Nevada Barr's Hard Truth and soon I'm going to start Larry McMurtry's bio of Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley, The Colonel and Little Missie.
How about you folks, discover anything good?
|
|
|
Post by stubedoo on May 31, 2005 22:45:06 GMT -5
So, what's everyone reading these days? I'm still plugging through Nevada Barr's Hard Truth and soon I'm going to start Larry McMurtry's bio of Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley, The Colonel and Little Missie. How about you folks, discover anything good? Hah!! I'm reading the crack cocaine of science fiction, David Weber's Honor Harrington series. It's 10 books of pure science fiction military space opera fluff. But it's loads of fun. I'm just biding my time until the new Dan Simmons and Peter Hamilton books come out. Stu
|
|
|
Post by MaxQuad on Jun 1, 2005 7:11:06 GMT -5
So, what's everyone reading these days? Currently reading The Tempest - William Shakespeare: In anticipation of a weekend in Stratford, Ontario - and experiencing the incredible William Hutt as Prospero Recent reads: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Tennessee Williams: In anticipation of a that same weekend in Stratford. You Remind Me of Me - Dan Chaon: Disturbing look at nature, nurture, and the paths we take. Our Lady of the Forest - David Guterson: Mystical vision or drug-induced haze? Both? All the Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy: The first in The Border Trilogy - gritty modern western. The Dive from Clausen's Pier - Ann Packer: When is the right time to leave a relationship? Should obligation play a role in staying? Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides: Gender confusion and the immigrant experience. A unique mix of topics, don't you think? I wonder if David Palmer has read this book? The Photograph - Penelope Lively: Be careful at what personal effects you leave behind when you die. Your legacy may change, your history may unfold in ways you regret. The Winter Queen - Boris Akunin: Russian Hercule Poirot. Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson: Lyrical life journey. MQ
|
|
|
Post by Shutter Girl on Jun 1, 2005 15:58:14 GMT -5
Recent reads: Our Lady of the Forest - David Guterson: Mystical vision or drug-induced haze? Both? MQ It's funny that you mentioned this one Max, when I came into work today it was sitting on the edge of the table next to my desk. Coincidence? I've heard those books are good, Stu.
|
|