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Post by riverhorse on Jun 11, 2018 2:02:03 GMT -5
I liked People of the Book - I think I liked her one about the plague best, though (The Year of Wonders?) I loved both of these books. People of The Book because I had a very good friend years ago who was a refugee from Sarajevo and I was always fascinated by her home city, and The Year of Wonders - well, years and years ago I dragged poor EGB to Eyam when we were travelling in the Peak District, just so I could wander round the locations from the book! I've got some reading to do for next school year's literature course I'm doing with Year 12 and Amazon have just delivered, so in the next few days I'll be reading Bernhard Schlink's The Woman on the Stairs (Die Frau auf der Treppe) (he wrote "The Reader" which was made into a film with Kate Winslet), and "Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee" by Thomas Brussig which is about growing up as an East German teenager in the 1980s literally in the shadow of the Berlin Wall. My Mum read the Schlink book in English and recommended it to me ages ago, so was glad I remembered it when I was trying to come up with texts for next year's course.
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Jun 11, 2018 3:27:10 GMT -5
I had Dietland on reserve at the library when it first came out, but then the library copy disappeared and was never replaced. So it is still on my to read list.
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Post by sprite on Jun 11, 2018 4:36:34 GMT -5
the psychedelics guy was on radio 4 this morning, as part of a panel. i didn't get to listen to all of it, but there was a lot of 'don't try this at home.'
Lillie, interesting that you found Bryson to have sexism--i noticed that in his 'history of everything' he seemed to take pains to include loads of hidden/forgotten women. so maybe he's woken up, or (cynically), wants to increase his reader base.
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Post by sprite on Jun 11, 2018 4:45:13 GMT -5
Hmm yes sprite; sounds a bit like Chick Lit in the Style of Hemingway. Except in his case it's Dick Lit, and in that genre it's apparently accepted. snort. i don't care for Hemingway, but i can see his voice in his writing. either Ann Cleeves was phoning it in with this book, or i keep forgetting that her writing isn't great.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jun 11, 2018 5:24:21 GMT -5
We actually read Cry the Beloved Country in high school in the 60s! Naught for your Comfort, by Bishop Trevor Huddleston, a serious anti-apartheid campaingner, is also very much worth reading. Lillie, I love the idea of Mma Ramotswe on audiobook. There are one or two in the series I haven't read yet. I'll look for them.
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Post by Liiisa on Jun 11, 2018 5:33:07 GMT -5
Hmm yes sprite; sounds a bit like Chick Lit in the Style of Hemingway. Except in his case it's Dick Lit, and in that genre it's apparently accepted. ETA - I heard Michael Pollan on Terri Gross, talking about psychedelics. There should really be a legal (and safe) way to try these things, yes? lol @ "Dick lit"! After reading that book, I agree 100% that they should be legalized - I thought about this a lot after hearing sad news like Bourdain's suicide, and friends' cancer diagnoses. But best accessed with a guide, like Pollan used them. Just using them on your own like my friends and I did in the 70s can yield interesting experiences, but it would have been helpful to have some conversations with someone about it, like "so why do you think civilization is going to collapse and you need to move into the woods RIGHT NOW, Liiisa" Anyway, I read a book yesterday: 28) Dayna Ingram, All Good Children I heard about Ingram on some thread about queer sci-fi on Twitter, and then there this was at the library! Boldly plotted dystopian novel where aliens have taken over the earth and are using teenagers as agricultural products, and some adults are collaborators with them. A defiant 14-year-old girl is at the center of the story, learning about her power and her sexuality. It was a fast, compelling read (obviously, since I basically sat down and read it until it was done, just stopping long enough to cook dinner.)
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Post by lillielangtry on Jun 11, 2018 6:40:33 GMT -5
the psychedelics guy was on radio 4 this morning, as part of a panel. i didn't get to listen to all of it, but there was a lot of 'don't try this at home.' Lillie, interesting that you found Bryson to have sexism--i noticed that in his 'history of everything' he seemed to take pains to include loads of hidden/forgotten women. so maybe he's woken up, or (cynically), wants to increase his reader base. It was nothing extreme, just of its time. He refers to his wife as "Mrs Bryson", which is fine (for one Thing, it protects her privacy), but that along with multiple jokes about how she spends "his" Money felt old-fashioned. And there were various comments on women's appearance that I just think that if he were writing that today, he wouldn't have included. He is generally a pretty cool guy I think.
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Post by scrubb on Jun 11, 2018 20:18:43 GMT -5
I finished a Bookbub special called Abigale Hall by Lauren Forry today. It's a gothic novel and it's fine if you like them, I suppose, but I think I only like the ones that were written a hundred or more years ago. This 'heroine' was pretty insipid, so it was hard to care.
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Post by fishface on Jun 12, 2018 2:51:27 GMT -5
Chalk me up as another one who read "Cry, the beloved country" in high school!
I finished reading 'The people we hate at the wedding' by Grant Ginder. Congratulations Mr Ginder. You produced a book where I disliked nearly everyone! Looking at reviews some people liked it and others found it tedious. I'm in the tedious camp. The characters were whiny and had few redeeming features. I wanted to reach into my ereader and slap each of them.
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Post by scrubb on Jun 14, 2018 23:41:52 GMT -5
Today I finished "Willhelm Tell" by von Schiller, the play. I only knew the child's version of the story before so it was good to read the adult version which explained some of the context.
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Post by riverhorse on Jun 15, 2018 3:34:38 GMT -5
Ohh Lord, I had to read Wilhelm Tell as part of my German literature course at uni, I remember sweating over the essay I had to do on it.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jun 15, 2018 5:18:43 GMT -5
48. The Life-Changing Magic of not Giving a Fuck. I probably needed this book twenty years ago when I was still trying to please everybody. These days I am old enough to say no when I need to, and choose to embrace what makes me happy. Recommended for anyone who is a time-poor people pleaser. Another audiobook finished on my five hour return journey today to my most remote school.
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Post by Liiisa on Jun 15, 2018 6:13:31 GMT -5
I've gotten better, but it might not hurt me to read that book, ozzie....
But in the meantime:
29) Fred Sjõberg, The Fly Trap
Another really wonderful book! It's going to be hard narrowing down the "best of" list at the end of this year.
This is a funny little book by a man who lives on a small island in Sweden and collects and identifies hoverflies. I admit a lot of its appeal for me is because I like also to stand around in bogs with an insect net, but his approach to the subject matter is quite humorous and honest, so I really think anyone who likes quirky little books might enjoy this. Interwoven with his story of hoverflies is the biography of René Malaise, the inventor of the Malaise trap, a sort of structured tent that entomologists use... I'd always wondered why they named it that, all I could think of was the French translation of "malaise" and wondered if they were able to catch the insects because the trap depressed them, but no, it's an eponym.
Anyway, I recommend this to a general audience despite the fact that it's about Swedish flies.
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Post by Queen on Jun 16, 2018 4:35:44 GMT -5
In the Market for Murder TE Kinsey
A quick read and I thought it would be good for on the train.
I read the first one and enjoyed it so bought this one but it's not so good. Awful lot of time spent on sandwiches and tea, and ALL the characters seemed to say "right you are" all the time. More mystery and fewer teas would improve the book.
It follows the formula of having more than one crime that might be connected or not, but the denouement is daft. The great joy of Agatha Christie is that all the clues are laid out for you if you care to follow - and I've sometimes immediately re-read one just to join them up. In this both amateur detectives without information from each other and the reader to have the surprise denouement.
Ultimately disappointing.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jun 16, 2018 7:25:26 GMT -5
Thanks for the warning. I liked the first one too.
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Post by sprite on Jun 16, 2018 8:02:22 GMT -5
48. The Life-Changing Magic of not Giving a Fuck. I probably needed this book twenty years ago when I was still trying to please everybody. These days I am old enough to say no when I need to, and choose to embrace what makes me happy. Recommended for anyone who is a time-poor people pleaser. Another audiobook finished on my five hour return journey today to my most remote school. i should probably read this. i have recently decided to limit the work i accept from other employers, but may need reminding that i'm doing the right thing.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jun 17, 2018 4:12:31 GMT -5
49. Scots on the Rocks, Mary Daheim. Like a visit back with old friends. I love this series. This time, Judith, the Seattle B&B owner is on holiday in Scotland with scatty cousin Renie, stuck in a castle while their husbands go fishing. Of course they find a body, and the usual mayhem ensues. While the accents have changed, the weather remains like home, and for once the police want their help.
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Post by Queen on Jun 17, 2018 8:14:20 GMT -5
Just bought the first of the series ozziegiraffe, I need some light reading in the next three weeks.
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Post by Webs on Jun 17, 2018 9:19:35 GMT -5
Finished Dietland. A little unstatisfying ending but the journey was fun. Once you get into it it's a quick read. Much of it resonated, being someone who is generally not the cookie cutter. I say read it. I'm hoping the series makes the whole thing more fun.
I'm going to dive into "Women in Sunlight".
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Post by sprite on Jun 17, 2018 14:03:45 GMT -5
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. I enjoyed it, and found it a pretty quick read, which is probably a good sign - I found it reminded me of Behind the Scenes at the Museum (Kate Atkinson) and This Charming Man (Marion Keyes), but it was a much more straightforward redemption (I think?) novel than either of those. It should be interesting to see what she writes in the future. The (small) twist at the end was interesting, and I didn't see it coming. i've just finished 'case studies' by kate atkinson, and can see some similarity in the writing style with Honeyman. I enjoyed Case Studies, but kept forgetting who all the people were.
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Post by sophie on Jun 17, 2018 22:20:24 GMT -5
The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron. A fairly easy read following a current day archeologist who has made a breakthrough find at the same time as discovering she is pregnant and simultaneously life of a coming of age Neanderthal woman. The historical part of the novel is apparently based on the latest research on Neanderthal culture so it was quite interesting as it was new to me. Worth reading.
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Post by scrubb on Jun 19, 2018 0:20:24 GMT -5
Truth and Beauty, by Anne Patchett. Autobiographical biography of her friend and fellow writer Lucy Grealy. It was good, but somehow didn't quite do what it needed to, I would say. Still, it definitely kept me reading.
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Post by scrubb on Jun 19, 2018 19:12:45 GMT -5
A Bell for Adano by John Hersey. Written in the 1944 it's about an American major in charge of a small town in Italy in the last part of the war (after they were occupying).
It won the Pulitzer which was a bit surprising. It's mostly a feel good story with a lot of quirky, rustic peasants, brash Americans, and a perfect hero. Quite enjoyable but pretty simple.
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Post by sophie on Jun 20, 2018 1:56:53 GMT -5
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. A family saga ranging over much of the 20th century about a Korean woman who ends up in Japan. Thought provoking about the racial bias against the Koreans and how they coped .. or not.. an engrossing read.
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Post by mei on Jun 20, 2018 5:37:29 GMT -5
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. A family saga ranging over much of the 20th century about a Korean woman who ends up in Japan. Thought provoking about the racial bias against the Koreans and how they coped .. or not.. an engrossing read. I was wondering about this book Sophie, sounds interesting. Will look it up.
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Post by scrubb on Jun 20, 2018 21:13:35 GMT -5
Yes, that one is on my list too, sophie. But right now I'm reading The Devil Wears Prada (Lauren Weisberger) and Brooklyn (Colm Toibin) and enjoying both of them.
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Post by Webs on Jun 21, 2018 15:07:02 GMT -5
Instead of reading Women in Sunshine, I'm reading "Lillian Boxfish takes a Walk" - another book in my theme of reading about older women written by women.
So far it's very very well written and captivating.
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Post by scrubb on Jun 21, 2018 18:57:01 GMT -5
Finished The Devil Wears Prada. Well enough done to keep me reading even though I couldn't care about the fashion industry stuff. Main character remained mostly likeable while not often particularly admirable.
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Post by Liiisa on Jun 22, 2018 19:05:36 GMT -5
30) Robert Aickman, Compulsory Games
A set of weird, vague little short stories - like Poe, but written by Henry James? I liked many of them - but I have come to the conclusion that I don't really like collections of short stories, at least when the author has a very distinctive style... by the end it all runs together. But I did like many of these - they're generally about normal people going about their normal lives until one day Something Odd Happens.
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Post by lillielangtry on Jun 23, 2018 3:34:32 GMT -5
Liiisa, perhaps it would work to have a short story collection alongside another book? I know what you mean about reading them one after the other, but I quite like it when commuting that I can read a complete story on one journey.
Jenny Erpenbeck, Aller Tage Abend (The End of Days, translated by Susan Bernofsky) I read this in German. It's the story of a woman, well in the first section she dies as a baby, and then in the second her life continues and she dies as a young woman, and then in the third section her life continues - do you see what I mean? So she keeps dying but then the book looks at how if some tiny thing were different, she could have carried on living, and the story goes on. It's apparently a very similar premise to Kate Atkinson's Life after Life, but that seems to be a coincidence: this book was written first, but only translated into English later. It's fairly slow but I liked it. It takes you through a lot of 20th century European history as well.
Emma Cline, The Girls This is based on the story of Charles Manson and the murders carried out by his "girls", something I have to say I knew very little about - I knew the name but that was about it. BUT it is not a true crime book or even a crime novel really at all. It's a coming of age book about a teenage girl, rebelling against her parents and desperate for love, and how she gets drawn into this nightmare cult. It's a bit overwritten but good.
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