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Post by Shutter Girl on Apr 29, 2008 8:43:22 GMT -5
Thanks for the great reviews, Max!
I am a member of a new reader's advisory committee for our library system and one of our tasks is to write short annotations for books that we are attempting to get folks to read. If I'm being forced to write them maybe I'll actually do it, lol!!
Ok, we all read something, let's not let poor Max be the only reviewer here....
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Post by RepairmanJack on Apr 29, 2008 23:09:00 GMT -5
Recently finished Marley and Me by John Grogan. A great book for anyone who ever had a dog as a pet. I will say he did seem rather oblivious at times to the world around him, but a satisfying quick read. I read this for my book discussion group at work. This was one of those rare books that everyone just loved. Even the none dog lover in the group really enjoyed it. We had an interesting discussion. The author and all of us commented on how much a dog can become part of your family. The ending, which I am sure anyone who has ever had a dog can guess, was heartbreaking to read. Still, it was worth the effort.
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Post by MaxQuad on Apr 30, 2008 16:28:00 GMT -5
Recently finished Marley and Me by John Grogan. A great book for anyone who ever had a dog as a pet. Well, I will admit it: I have never had a dog as a pet. I have a friend with a beagle, however, a beagle with whom I have grown quite fond. So, maybe this is a book for me. MQ
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Post by Shutter Girl on Jul 12, 2008 6:43:30 GMT -5
So what's everyone been reading lately?
I've having a good time this summer reading something light: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I know.... I'm slow!! JK Rowlings is an amazing writer, not only can she weave an entriguing tale but she creates characters and a world so rich that you can't help but become immersed in her novels. This isn't a series for children, oh no... it's a story for the ages.
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Post by MaxQuad on Jul 12, 2008 7:13:01 GMT -5
So what's everyone been reading lately? Currently reading: The Black Book by Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk Just finished: The Garden of Last Days by Andre Dubus III, A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (fantastic fantasy - first in the series A Song of Fire and Ice), Love Marriage by V. V. Ganeshananthan, and America America: A Novel by Ethan Canin. MQ
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Post by Shutter Girl on Oct 11, 2008 8:30:24 GMT -5
Reading The Murder Room by P.D. James. The Dupayne Museum is dedicated to the interwar years and houses a room dedicated the most famous crimes of the 1920's and 30's. When one of the Dupaynes turns up dead Commander Adam Dagliesh must investigate the sinister dealings of many of the museum's associates.
I've not read any of her work before but I have to say that I like her writing style, it's so very descriptive that she sets the atmosphere and the very feel of time and place perfectly. It's so very British, you have to love it!
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Post by MaxQuad on Oct 14, 2008 11:53:46 GMT -5
I've just finished Richard Russo's Bridge of Sighs - another wonderful exploration of a small town in Upstate New York - and a bit further beyond - in this book. Russo has an incredible way of creating characters with imperfections familiar and common. As I read his books I care about his characters - and his characters cause me to reflect on my own life, my own imperfections. In the end there is hope and happiness grounded in reality. Kind of like the sweatshirt motto for Buffalo emblazoned for all to read a few years ago: City of no illusions. Russo is one of my favorite writers. Bridge of Sighs is well worth the time. MQ
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Post by stubedoo on Oct 15, 2008 23:41:13 GMT -5
You guys are just too intellectual for me. I'm reading space opera. But I am also reading Frank Wilczek's Lightness of Being. It's an exploration of the nature of matter written by a Nobel prize winning particle physicist.
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Post by RepairmanJack on Oct 16, 2008 10:18:31 GMT -5
I have been on a graphic novel kick lately. I recently finished the first 7 volumes of the Lucifer series by Mike Carey. Really good stuff. I also am working my way through the World War Hulk books.
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Post by MaxQuad on Nov 12, 2008 11:06:42 GMT -5
Home: A Novel by Marilynne Robinson
Marilynne Robinson provides a worthy follow up to her 2005 Pulitzer Prize winning novel. In this story, it is the Boughton family that is the focal point in the small midwest town of Gilead. Robinson writes beautifully of the fragile and fractured relationships within the Boughton family, a family whose patriarch is a Presbyterian minister. She fully captures both the boundless joy and intense pain which is often manifest within many families, often simultaneously. The difficult personal and spiritual journeys which she describes are powerful and enlightening. For anyone who appreciated the graceful life reflections of Gilead, Home will provide a moving companion story.
MQ
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Post by MaxQuad on Nov 12, 2008 11:07:46 GMT -5
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
The life observations reflected are not unique - nor is the advice given, yet it all proves quite powerful when you realize you still fell for the first and second head fakes. I have yet to watch Pausch's actual Last Lecture, but will at some point. For anyone experiencing any concerns about his or her mortality, this quick read provides some useful reminders about what is and what is not important in life.
MQ
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Post by MaxQuad on Nov 12, 2008 11:09:41 GMT -5
My Antonia by Willa Cather
There is something about Willa Cather books that bring me a sense of peace - and make me aware of a connection with the people and land around me that I usually take for granted. My Antonia is another quiet book that speaks powerfully. It is a pioneer story that tells the story of Antonia, a young Bohemian girl whose family has moved from Europe to a rural area in the Midwest, and others who were in one way or another connected to Antonia during the course of her life. The changing nature of that aspect of the American experience is captured in the stories told of youth, adolescence, and maturity.
Antonia's impact on the narrator is significant, as is his impact on her. One of my favorite passages, one that describes the powerful nature of their connection, is similar to another facvorite Cather passage in Death Comes for the Archbishop. After two decades apart, Jim Burden, the narrator, returns to see Antonia and her large family. "Before I could sit down in the chair she offered me, the miracle happened; one of those quieter moments that clutch the heart, and take more courage than the noisy, excited passages in life. Antonia came in and stood before me..."
As we learn what has become of the characters we have met, many of whom have had circuitous routes to their current station in life (or death), Jim looks back realizing he and Antonia may have missed out on many things. He also realizes that the early days they shared were precious then - and precious still. The intervening years saw each following very different paths, but, in the end, those paths crossed and were joyous because of those memories, not sadly tainted with regret.
MQ
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Post by MaxQuad on Nov 12, 2008 11:12:41 GMT -5
Rosencratz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard
The outcome is the same, but the view point is quite different. The Hamlet story from off to the side - an indirect view provided by R&G as they ponder life and fate. Wonderful word play and existential conversation. Having just seen an excellent performance of Shakespeare's play at Stratford, Ontario - this was a wonderful complement.
MQ
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Post by MaxQuad on Nov 12, 2008 11:14:59 GMT -5
The Black Book by Orhan Pamuk
Identity is what pervades this book. Perhaps it is more appropriate to say the difficulty in defining identity pervades this book. Galip suddenly finds his wife has gone missing. In his attempt to uncover where she is and why she has disappeared, the reader is provided story after story of the struggle to maintain, define, recapture, and reshape identity, whether personal, national, cultural or political. Through the writings and storytelling of Celal, who has also gone missing, and eventually Galip, one learns much about Istanbul and Turkey. This book requires concentration: it is not a light read. In the end, we have not waited for Godot - Galip's wife and Celal are found. The journey, however, provides the impact, not the outcome.
MQ
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Post by MaxQuad on Nov 12, 2008 11:16:15 GMT -5
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
A story depicting the struggles of being a woman in Afghanistan, A Thousand Splendid Suns provides many reasons to cringe at what is deemed acceptable in a very different culture and society. Few men are portrayed positively, as two women at odds initially grow to depend on each other to survive the personal horror. A moving story. To me not as satisfying as The Kite Runner, but still a worthy follow-up.
MQ
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