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Post by Webs on Mar 1, 2018 13:01:07 GMT -5
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Mar 1, 2018 17:05:40 GMT -5
Bookmarking. Thank you Webs.
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Post by Liiisa on Mar 1, 2018 18:46:42 GMT -5
Bookmarking! Thank you Webs!
I'm just at the beginning of an interesting sci-fi novel that's kind of long, so I won't be back in for a while. It's really good so far: Ada Palmer's "Too Like the Lightning."
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Post by Webs on Mar 2, 2018 13:49:05 GMT -5
Having enjoyed my last book but finding it hard to book lately because I don't bookstore enough (going into bookstores is a leisure activity and I so miss it), I can't seem to get myself excited about anything.
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Post by lillielangtry on Mar 2, 2018 16:49:15 GMT -5
Having enjoyed my last book but finding it hard to book lately because I don't bookstore enough (going into bookstores is a leisure activity and I so miss it), I can't seem to get myself excited about anything. Are there free/public bookshelves in your area? I totally can't go past them without checking them out. It's the random nature of what you might find there... |
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Post by Liiisa on Mar 2, 2018 17:02:37 GMT -5
Having enjoyed my last book but finding it hard to book lately because I don't bookstore enough (going into bookstores is a leisure activity and I so miss it), I can't seem to get myself excited about anything. Or - I mean I know this is obvious, but: the library? |
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Post by tzarine on Mar 2, 2018 21:33:58 GMT -5
thinking about an ursula leguin
in the meantime - the molly bloom section of ulysses
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Mar 3, 2018 3:49:34 GMT -5
23. Earthly Remains,, Donna Leon. This is the first Brunetti book I've listened to as an audiobook, and it adapts to the format well. The evocative descriptions of the Laguna, the love of Venice and the menace of those whose actions are harming it shines through.
The mystery unfolds relentlessly, keeping the listener enthralled, and the characters are depicted beautifully.
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Post by Webs on Mar 3, 2018 17:59:04 GMT -5
Lillie, not really.
Liiisa, I don't seem to get there in time to get anything good.
I have, however, acquired "A Wrinkle in Time" which I don't recall reading.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Mar 3, 2018 20:16:03 GMT -5
I love A Wrinkle in Time.
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Post by sophie on Mar 3, 2018 20:38:31 GMT -5
Carson McCullers ‘The Heart is a Lonely Hunter’. I had read it eons ago when I was doing my English Literature degree but remembered nothing of it. Some brilliant writing but also some dated stereotypes. I think this book along with Faulkner is what drove me to embrace English rather than American literature.
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Post by scrubb on Mar 4, 2018 22:18:08 GMT -5
A Wrinkle in Time remains one of my all time favourite books
sophie - my degree was mostly English lit classes so I read "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" on my own, a few years later. I remember thinking that it was amazing, but also not something I would rush out to re-read, or to find more by her.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Mar 7, 2018 5:03:39 GMT -5
24. Gone with the Win, Mary Daheim. Another good book in a fun series. This time we learn more about Judith's old neighbourhood as she helps a friend solve a cold case.
The characters continue to entertain.
25. Murder at the Mansion, Alison Golden. A shortish ebook cozy mystery. Another quick read, that was quite a good mystery. I'm still wondering how much the author knows about the life of Church of England clergy, as although the MC is a vicar, there is little ecclesiastical detail.
Instead we get recipes!
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Post by tzarine on Mar 10, 2018 12:41:49 GMT -5
a question?
is colette's break of day worth a read?
read some when i was a teen
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Post by scrubb on Mar 10, 2018 22:09:53 GMT -5
Sorry tzarine, not sure. I haven't read it, only her "Claudine at School" or whatever it is.
I finally finished my first book of March - Amy Tan's "The Valley of Amazement".
Unlike the other Amy Tan books I've read, this one is historical fiction - set in China around the turn of the 20th century and between the 2 world wars. It tries to be a sweeping epic, with elements similar to "Memoirs of a Geisha". But I think her ideas were too big to fit into a 400 page book and she ends up telling the story, instead of showing us the story. There was a ton of expository writing, and most of it, in fact, was almost along the lines of "then we did this. I felt X".
The elements of the story were good - a half American girl in SHanghai in the early 1900s whose mother has an interesting history, but who ends up being sold into a high class courtesan house.... too much plot to try to summarize - but the writing was disappointing and just didn't do the story justice.
Worth finishing, but nowhere near as good as the other books I've read by the author.
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Post by sophie on Mar 11, 2018 1:26:05 GMT -5
Went to hear Jan Wong tonight and got her latest book, Apron Strings. Just need to find time to read it.
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Post by Liiisa on Mar 11, 2018 7:34:03 GMT -5
tzarine I have to admit I've never read anything by Colette!
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Post by scrubb on Mar 11, 2018 11:37:27 GMT -5
Went to hear Jan Wong tonight and got her latest book, Apron Strings. Just need to find time to read it. Oh, cool! I absolutely LOVE "Red China Blues" and would love to hear her speak. Eager to hear how her latest book is. I just finished David Byrne's "Bicycle Diaries". It's almost 10 years old, but I kept thinking I'd love to read the book if he wrote it today as I think he'd have some astute things to say about the the orange menace world. Overall, I enjoyed the book but found that he gets maybe more philosophical than necessary. IT's theoretically about his ponderings as he bikes around various cities all around the world but he spends less time talking about his rides than about the meetings he gets to, the art he sees, the people he meets, etc. Which is good, but when he expounds on his world view it sometimes comes across as a bit too facile. And maybe it's not, but the format he chose to communicate did not lend itself to really deep thinking. |
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Post by Liiisa on Mar 11, 2018 19:15:27 GMT -5
13) Ada Palmer, Too Like the Lightning
This is a sci-fi novel that's sort of a crime novel, set in a future where peace is achieved by the dissolution of nations, with people associating in nongeographic "Hives" and religious proselytizing is banned. The plot and characters are quite interesting, and it's a book that's full of philosophical ideas. Recommended! But beware, this is the first of a four-book series! I'll definitely be reading the rest of them at some point.
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Post by lillielangtry on Mar 12, 2018 3:25:05 GMT -5
I've never read any Colette either, but I know someone who raves about her!
Keri Hulme, The Bone People
This is its author's only novel and won the Booker prize in 1984. It's about a woman in New Zealand who gets to know a traumatised young boy and his Maori adoptive father. It's long and the style is poetic but there's a lot of violence, including against the child. There's also a lot of alcohol abuse.
I ended up loving this but it was a tough read. I think a lot of people probably wouldn't want to stomach the child abuse. I did keep drawing comparisons to another long book with very detailed descriptions of abuse - A Little Life. But while I felt manipulated by that one, I liked this much more. My book club is going to hate me for this suggestion though, as we've had a run of "depressing" reads!
Joanna Walsh, Hotel
Non-fiction, a meditation on hotels, Freud and the breakdown of the author's marriage. Read in a day while travelling, which was nice.
Martin Suter, Allmen und die verschwundene Maria
Audiobook. I like Suter but I only really listened to this one to bring me up to date on the series.
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Post by Webs on Mar 12, 2018 9:04:51 GMT -5
And now I remember why I didn't read any of the other "Wrinkle" books. This was very choppy and has tons of holes. I probably didn't like it as a kid either. Maybe the movie will have a better explanation of what the hell just happened.
Sometimes, as an adult, you really shouldn't go back and read a children's book. Disappointed.
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Post by lillielangtry on Mar 12, 2018 12:35:40 GMT -5
Oh that's a shame. I really did like it as a kid and read it several times. I've been considering a reread but maybe I'll just see if the film comes to a cinema near me.
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Post by Webs on Mar 12, 2018 13:17:59 GMT -5
Holes, it's full of holes.
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Post by sprite on Mar 12, 2018 16:09:57 GMT -5
no, Holes is another book.  that is a shame, i really enjoyed the entire Wrinkle series. The Alice network, by kate quinn. read because my mom and sister are reading it and it finally showed up as available on my library app. which i really must investigate more. i get a bit annoyed by all the crappy novels dumped in there, it's harder to find good stuff. i enjoyed this book. it's well-written, aside from the main character reducing everything to mathetmatical equations--it felt like she did this every other page, but maybe i was just reading too quickly. i like the way the two stories unfolded, and the challenges each woman faced. it was even more interesting to learn how many of the characters were real. my only critique is that it does follow a set list--you know right away where the romance arc will be, and it's fairly easy to guess the sadness arc too. the author did seem to be trying to avoid a neat and tidy ending. |
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Post by scrubb on Mar 12, 2018 16:49:11 GMT -5
I loved Wrinkle and eventually read all the series (but I don't think any of the sequels are as good as the original, though they all have interesting ideas). And I reread it multiple times as a kid, and have reread it as an adult too and still find it great. I don't see the holes Webs does, but of course we all have different viewpoints.
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Post by Liiisa on Mar 12, 2018 20:35:21 GMT -5
14) Joan Lindsay, Picnic at Hanging Rock
I've been home sick today, so I polished off this entire novel. Boarding school girls disappear on a class picnic in the bush somewhere outside of Melbourne, and events unroll in consequence.
It's a tense novel - I really enjoyed it! I particularly loved her descriptions of nature, which are tucked in quite frequently among all the action.
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Post by tzarine on Mar 12, 2018 21:05:58 GMT -5
liisa
have you seen the movie?
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Mar 12, 2018 21:42:56 GMT -5
There is also a missing chapter - Joan Lindsay allegedly included what happened to the girls in the original manuscript but it was published without the explanation. Apparently it was decided it was a better story without it. Which is sort of true - the missing chapter is only any good if you read all the explanations about it, and the other theories.
The movie is wonderful. Not sure if I want to see the new TV series that is being made.
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Post by Webs on Mar 12, 2018 22:11:17 GMT -5
I still don't understand how the girls weren't found. I've seen the movie. It was creepy weird.
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Mar 12, 2018 22:22:24 GMT -5
I've climbed the rock. my friends watch stopped while we were walking there. That was also creepy weird!
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