Robin M Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 After TeacherZee's mention of this publisher of novellas, I just stumbled on a related article (which ends up mentioning Peirene Press): Reading all the ‘Art of the Novella’ novellas in a year. And, there's another interesting article on there related to some of our earlier discussions: A new prize for women in translation. Great article and interesting challenge. Of course, Melville House most likely will be giving him all the books which is great pr for them. Unfortunately I'm not will to pay $10 for a novella no matter who wrote it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Great article and interesting challenge. Of course, Melville House most likely will be giving him all the books which is great pr for them. I know. I wish I had volunteered before he did! Maybe then I'd be the one reading all the books on their dime. :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Finished 48. Guy de Maupassant, Bel-Ami. What fun! The title character may be one of the most enjoyably despicable characters I've ever met; a walking checklist of the seven deadly sins. Of course all the people around him are horrible, but less talented at nastiness and so end up as his victims. A definite recommend for a light and page-turning read. Here's his social set, indulging in gluttony and lust at a dinner party: ------------------------------- They had reached the stage of witty suggestiveness, of words, veiled yet revealing, that are like a hand lifting up a skirt, the stage of clever allusions, skilfully hidden impropriety, shamelessly brazen hypocrisy, cryptic words that cover naked images and which fill the eye and the mind with a sudden vision of what dare not be said openly and enables smart society to enjoy a subtle, mysterious sort of lovemaking, a sort of marriage of impure minds, by simultaneously conjuring up, with words as sensual and disturbing as a sexual embrace, the secret, shameful desire for body to clasp body. The roast had now appeared, partridges garnished with quail and then green peas, followed by pâté de fois gras with a salad whose frizzy leaves were like froth in the large round salad bowl. They had eaten it all without tasting it properly, without realizing what they were eating, entirely absorbed in what they were saying, immersed in thoughts of love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 And congratulations Ali on 52! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 There have been multiple complaints from people who move into the new pricey condos in our city's downtown that the weekend music is too loud. In Austin! Music, too loud, downtown! And they want the City to do something about it. Where did they think they were moving to, Amarillo?http://whereisaustintexas.com/tour/austin-texas-live-music-capital-of-the-world/ My sister works at a marina that is along a major shipping channel/port city. Near her work are multi-million dollar condos. People who live in the condos often whine & complain about ships blowing their horns (per Coast Guard regulations, btw), noise of ships loading & unloading, just general sailing & shipping noises, dock repair, etc.... :blink: You have to seriously wonder about some folks if they are too clueless to realize things like that before dropping millions on a condo. Obviously, they didn't earn their millions from their brain power. :tongue_smilie: The whole bell tower fiasco happened about two years before we arrived here. Environmental health was actually going to make the church stop ringing. It is a closely held secret which newcomer actually filed the compliant but apparently all newcomers were politely told to list thier house and leave or live with the noise because everyone else loved it. No homes sold and the compliant withdrawn. It must not have really been that disturbing. Living by music clubs and not expecting noise is beyond me. I would think you would buy there in order to hear the music for free. We got to listen to Elton John for free at our first flat here. Tickets were sold out and I was disappointed. Quickly realized we saved tons of money and had cheap great refreshments! Dc's were still somewhat little and had a blast at their concert! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Jules Verne wrote the original zombie story (& it has vampires too)? :blink: http://www.mhpbooks.com/books/the-castle-in-transylvania/ I had never heard of this book, but I'll definitely have to read it. I love the quote at the top of the link: This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.—Dorothy Parker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 We have lived near military bases where people buy houses then complain of jet noise. Not to mention that at the closing of home purchases you have to sign a form saying you understand you live in the path of the jets and that you will hear them. It doesn't seem to matter. On the other hand, we once lived in a very quiet area, half suburb, half farms, and an amphitheatre was put in less than a mile away. None of the locals wanted it, but the county government had apparently been planning it for a long time and were counting on the revenue, so it went ahead regardless of protests. My husband went to meetings in which the residents were told everything would be engineered so we wouldn't hear any noise. We were given a number to call if the noise disturbed us. One night we put our 4yo to bed and the Eagles started playing, in our house. It was louder than loud. Our daughter was crying for us to make them stop. We called the number. The lady on the other end said, "Don't you wish you were there?" We just had to endure that concert. It never got quite as loud again , but still, we had not signed up for that. The Turn of the Screw is going slowly, but I'm determined to finish it. After all, it is a novella. I'm not thrilled with the way two main characters converse in gasping half sentences. I think I'm turning into a cranky old lady. I used to love gothic style stories, now there is something silly about some of them. I want to yell, "Just say what you mean, instead of beating around the bush." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Terry Pratchett fans -- a Discworld app! http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/?p=5648 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I love the quote at the top of the link: Quote: This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.—Dorothy Parker :lol: Yeah, we just don't get quality literary criticism like back in the good old, Funk & Wagnall days... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Terry Pratchett fans -- a Discworld app! http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/?p=5648 Oh, Stacia, thank you for this -- I had no idea. I'm sitting here at my kitchen table stunned by Neil Gaiman's pre-mortem eulogy for Pratchett (in response to a characterization of Pratchett as a 'jolly old elf')... Quote: ...Terry’s authorial voice is always Terry’s: genial, informed, sensible, drily amused. I suppose that, if you look quickly and are not paying attention, you might, perhaps, mistake it for jolly. But beneath any jollity there is a foundation of fury. Terry Pratchett is not one to go gentle into any night, good or otherwise. He will rage, as he leaves, against so many things: stupidity, injustice, human foolishness and shortsightedness, not just the dying of the light. And, hand in hand with the anger, like an angel and a demon walking into the sunset, there is love: for human beings, in all our fallibility; for treasured objects; for stories; and ultimately and in all things, love for human dignity. Or to put it another way, anger is the engine that drives him, but it is the greatness of spirit that deploys that anger on the side of the angels, or better yet for all of us, the orangutans. Terry Pratchett is not a jolly old elf at all. Not even close. He’s so much more than that. As Terry walks into the darkness much too soon, I find myself raging too: at the injustice that deprives us of – what? Another 20 or 30 books? Another shelf-full of ideas and glorious phrases and old friends and new, of stories in which people do what they really do best, which is use their heads to get themselves out of the trouble they got into by not thinking? Another book or two of journalism and agitprop? But truly, the loss of these things does not anger me as it should. It saddens me, but I, who have seen some of them being built close-up, understand that any Terry Pratchett book is a small miracle, and we already have more than might be reasonable, and it does not behoove any of us to be greedy. I rage at the imminent loss of my friend. And I think, “What would Terry do with this anger?†Then I pick up my pen, and I start to write. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Just googled Terry Prachett and ran into these lovely illustrations.http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/gallery/2014/sep/12/terry-pratchett-dragons-at-crumbling-castle-gallery-mark-beech Anyone read the book to thier dc's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Just googled Terry Prachett and ran into these lovely illustrations.http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/gallery/2014/sep/12/terry-pratchett-dragons-at-crumbling-castle-gallery-mark-beech Anyone read the book to thier dc's? Those are great! The illustrations remind me a lot of Quentin Blake, whom I also adore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Finished Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good by Kathleen Flinn (The Sharper Your Knife the Less You Cry, Kitchen Counter Cooking School) over the weekend. A memoir of her Midwestern parents and grandparents and her own growing up. Lots of food and family. It was okay. I could relate to a lot of the family stuff so that kept me involved, but generally family memoirs either need a really dramatic family or freakishly good writing/editing. This wasn't really that, but it was nice. Other then that I've been trying to read Acceptance, the 3rd in that freaky Southern Reach trilogy. I want the closure but the more I read the more I think I'm not going to get the closure. I'm 1/3 of the way in and it's a slog. Too much description slows the pace. Too many character POVs dilute the paranoia (although that does give me hope that I'll at least learn the main characters' fates). Cute little rabbit trails but I know they don't fit within the whole so they aren't catching my imagination. Repetition of things I either know or already figured out. Sigh. I want to like this tale of environmental evolution, but it's just not working for me this time. I have been crotchety, sick, and watching too much television this week though, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Picking up and putting down Julia Child's letters, Neruda poetry, Something Wicked This Way Comes re-read, Charles Stross short stories, and Tam Lin (Dean) and The Bone Clocks (Mitchell) just arrived from the library. Ack. Library's about half done. Books are up. I have over 3 boxes I'm giving away. :rolleyes: The kids have been sleeping in there lately. On the floor. It's a good place for doing homework or playing a board game. We just need a few cozy chairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 And congratulations Ali on 52! Yes, Ali, congratulations on 52! :party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Dictionary of the Khazars is free on Kindle right now. Don't know if it's any good, just know it's on the 1001 Books list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 :grouphug: , Tam. Hope you feel better soon. Other then that I've been trying to read Acceptance, the 3rd in that freaky Southern Reach trilogy. I want the closure but the more I read the more I think I'm not going to get the closure. I'm 1/3 of the way in and it's a slog. Too much description slows the pace. Too many character POVs dilute the paranoia (although that does give me hope that I'll at least learn the main characters' fates). Cute little rabbit trails but I know they don't fit within the whole so they aren't catching my imagination. Repetition of things I either know or already figured out. Sigh. I want to like this tale of environmental evolution, but it's just not working for me this time. I toyed with starting this trilogy earlier this year, but didn't. Not a huge fan of dystopian, yet I'm still curious about this series. Re: the Terry Pratchett stuff, a little side note. Ds has quite a few Terry Pratchett books (I think around 20), but a part of his Christmas wish list is all the other TP books that he doesn't own. His goal is to end up having all of them. :thumbup1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Dictionary of the Khazars is free on Kindle right now. Don't know if it's any good, just know it's on the 1001 Books list. Thanks. My husband just downloaded this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 :grouphug: , Tam. Hope you feel better soon. I toyed with starting this trilogy earlier this year, but didn't. Not a huge fan of dystopian, yet I'm still curious about this series. Re: the Terry Pratchett stuff, a little side note. Ds has quite a few Terry Pratchett books (I think around 20), but a part of his Christmas wish list is all the other TP books that he doesn't own. His goal is to end up having all of them. :thumbup1: Feelin' better. :) Thanks. I try not to post anything of merit when I'm off in some way, but I enjoy everyone's posts! The Southern Reach trilogy isn't what I think of as dystopian...more speculative fiction/thriller/sort of like the feel of Shutter Island (if you've read that). The government agency doesn't come out really well, but it isn't that unrealistic. There's an interesting mystery behind the whole thing that could go in a few directions. The first one was really paranoid and interesting. The second much more subdued. I'll have to let you know if it feels worthwhile when I finish this book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Dictionary of the Khazars is free on Kindle right now. Don't know if it's any good, just know it's on the 1001 Books list. Tried this very briefly a couple of years ago, but couldn't get into it at the time. However, just a few months ago, I requested a copy through PaperbackSwap because I figured I'd like to give it another try sometime. My hard copy is sitting here.... Thanks for the link -- I downloaded that too. I know the hardcopy book has two versions (the 'male' & the 'female'). My hardcover is the 'male' version. Wonder if the ebook 'androgynous' version has both the male & female lines or is a different/third edition? I guess I'll have to read them to find out! Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I love the quote at the top of the link: Quote: This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.—Dorothy Parker I think Dorothy Parker would have fit in great here on our BaW threads! :thumbup1: & :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Ds was thrilled to see this: Harry Potterâ€s Villainous Professor Umbridge Will Get Her Own Little Backstory This Halloween He is a huge fan of HP & loves to hate Umbridge the way I love to hate Wuthering Heights. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Dictionary of the Khazars is free on Kindle right now. Don't know if it's any good, just know it's on the 1001 Books list. I remember being fascinated by this book's male and female versions when it first came out in English in 1989 (time flies!), but being an impoverished student at the time, I didn't buy a copy. Thanks for the link! Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Dictionary of the Khazars is free on Kindle right now. Don't know if it's any good, just know it's on the 1001 Books list. Thank you. I downloaded it too, and anxiously await BAW reports, since I have far more lying around that I mean to finish up by end-year than I can possibly get through already... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Inna* Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Have you read other Mary Stewart novels? If not, there might be better ones for an introduction to the author. I have only read The Moonspinners and This Rough Magic, so other BaWers might want to chime in. No, I haven't. Thanks for the recommendations! :) Inna, The Moonspinners and This Rough Magic are possibly my favorites. I reread and enjoyed Airs Above the Ground recently also. ETA I started dd with The Moonspinners for her Mary Stewart introduction. She has gone on to read several including The Ivy Tree (I think). Thank you! I'll definitely start with these titles. :) Yet another book to look into! Last year I made diet changes which seemed to help my adrenal fatigue. I've only been half-heartedly following the diet this year, add in the stresses of the year, and the extra sugar I consume during the fall season and my adrenals are feeling horrid. I'm gearing up to get back on my diet this coming Sunday in hopes of getting myself feeling better. Do you mind sharing what you have been doing and what kind of diet? I am newly diagnosed. I'm sitting here at my kitchen table stunned by Neil Gaiman's pre-mortem eulogy for Pratchett (in response to a characterization of Pratchett as a 'jolly old elf')... Oh, wow! I love it! And I agree, he doesn't come across as a "jolly old elf". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I've finished a couple more rereads both are by Mary Balogh and can be found in this one volume compilation ~ A Christmas Bride/Christmas Beau. "A CHRISTMAS BRIDE The very wealthy Edgar Downes has promised his aging father to finally take a bride—specifically, to wed a titled lady by Christmas. London is full of pretty, proper, and eligible misses, but it’s the widow Helena, Lady Stapleton, in a shocking red dress, who captures Edgar’s attention. Helena is intrigued by the seductive stranger—but he’s simply not in her class. Marriage, of course, would never do. But in a season of miracles, something wondrous is about to happen. CHRISTMAS BEAU Not even the warm, forgiving Christmas spirit can stop the Marquess of Denbigh from settling his score with Judith Easton: The beautiful young widow injured Denbigh’s pride years ago by jilting him for another man. Now that Judith is free from a nightmare marriage, the handsome marquess has her in his sights—and wants her in his arms. But to trust the tender words on his lips, Judith must not only see past the hardness of his heart, but learn once again to trust her own heart’s desire." I enjoyed them both. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I read 'The Rosie Effect' this afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I read 'The Rosie Effect' this afternoon. Did you think it was as good as the Rosie Project? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I thought 'The Rosie Project' was good though it was a little silly and corny in places. I thought this one was also a little silly and corny in places and liked it anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I finished The Turn of the Screw. :huh: Um...gee, what can I say. That was different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Kareni--I just attempted to find the original Beau Crusoe by Carla Kelly and the search function didn't want to work. I have now finished it and am total agreement, after reading I suspect literally thousands of romance novels, I have never encountered that subject in one. Even more amazing it was actually a good romance. Just want to add that I am pretty sure many of our romance reading friends here would not enjoy this one. I think a certain enjoyment of the paranormal genre (although the book isn't) is probably required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 ... Beau Crusoe by Carla Kelly.... I have never encountered that subject in one. Even more amazing it was actually a good romance. Just want to add that I am pretty sure many of our romance reading friends here would not enjoy this one. I think a certain enjoyment of the paranormal genre (although the book isn't) is probably required. I'm in total agreement on all fronts. It is a good romance, and I doubt that many here would enjoy it. Her books have quite a range, and I've enjoyed all of them that I've read. She has some traditional Regency romances which frequently feature everyday/non-titled characters; she's also published American set westerns. Recently she's published some romances that have more of a religious component; two of them have won Whitney Awards which are given to LDS authors. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Yesterday I read Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (another book my 13 year old will be reading soon). I found them to be generally boring and kind of lacking... something. I remember watching videos of those two stories and so in my mind there is a lot more to them. Obviously there isn't. I mean Washington Irving wrote them how I read them. I guess what I was expecting was quite influenced by what I saw. That leaves me feeling a little disturbed. I don't like that I felt like stories - the real stories - are missing something. I'm still reading Blood of Olympus lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I'm nearing the finish line with The Ivy Tree and I have to say that the second half of the book is better than the first. There is a vividness to the writing that I felt was lacking in the first half, an immediacy, almost as though Mary Stewart was a little bored starting out but found her groove midway. Or perhaps the same description could be applied to the reader ;) This is pure Mary Stewart loveliness... "I suppose I dozed a little, for I don't remember when the moon went down and the light came. I remember realizing that the dark had slackened, and then later, a blackbird fluted a piercing stave of some song alone in the cold dawn. After he fell silent there was a deep hush, for the space of a long breath, and then, suddenly, all the birds in the world were chattering, whistling, jargoning in a mad medley of sound: the dawn chorus..." I remember the dawn chorus from childhood. Where have all the birdies gone? I rarely hear the dawn chorus anymore even though I've been on rather intimate terms with the dawn at certain points. Mumto2, do you hear the dawn chorus where you are? I do remember it well when I lived in England. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I'm nearing the finish line with The Ivy Tree and I have to say that the second half of the book is better than the first. There is a vividness to the writing that I felt was lacking in the first half, an immediacy, almost as though Mary Stewart was a little bored starting out but found her groove midway. Or perhaps the same description could be applied to the reader ;) This is pure Mary Stewart loveliness... "I suppose I dozed a little, for I don't remember when the moon went down and the light came. I remember realizing that the dark had slackened, and then later, a blackbird fluted a piercing stave of some song alone in the cold dawn. After he fells silent there was a deep hush, for the space of a long breath, and then, suddenly, all the birds in the world were chattering, whistling, jargoning in a mad medley of sound: the dawn chorus..." I remember the dawn chorus from childhood. Where have all the birdies gone? I rarely hear the dawn chorus anymore even though I've been on rather intimate terms with the dawn at certain points. Mumto2, do you hear the dawn chorus where you are? I do remember it well when I lived in England. We have a dawn chorus here. Sometimes I feel that the choristers are in my bedroom since a mockingbird can throw its voice like a ventriloquist. Personally I love hearing the hoot owls in the predawn hours. Of course, I should be sleeping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Just googled Terry Prachett and ran into these lovely illustrations.http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/gallery/2014/sep/12/terry-pratchett-dragons-at-crumbling-castle-gallery-mark-beech Anyone read the book to thier dc's? Well, I will be now! Ds was thrilled to see this: Harry Potterâ€s Villainous Professor Umbridge Will Get Her Own Little Backstory This Halloween He is a huge fan of HP & loves to hate Umbridge the way I love to hate Wuthering Heights. :lol: Thanks for that! I was out of town. I'll have to show my kids. I loathe Umbridge. I finished The Rithmatist in the car. LOVED it. I can't wait for more. I was hesitant to begin this one because I knew it was YA and felt like I wanted to read something else. Well, I had to wait for ILL, so I picked it up and was quickly lost in it. I think it's a great start for young Sanderson fans or those who want to dip their toes into his works. I started Anna Dressed in Blood-another I thought would be too young and cheesy. Nope! I LOVE IT. I only have a few pages left, in fact. I went ahead and bought the next. It reminds me of Hemlock Grove some. I really, really like it. Up next is Snowblind. When I finish Anna in a few minutes, that'll take me to 48 for the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I remember the dawn chorus from childhood. Where have all the birdies gone? I rarely hear the dawn chorus anymore even though I've been on rather intimate terms with the dawn at certain points. Mumto2, do you hear the dawn chorus where you are? I do remember it well when I lived in England. We definitely have a dawn chorus at our house. Remember though, we are in the country. When we were near a city center we didn't have little birds. We also have a substantial number of rook nests in the trees accross the street. Morning and night at least a hundred rooks(crow family) calling to each other is not particularly lovely, especially in the spring. Remember I love birds, I even love crows, they are loud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I finished The Turn of the Screw. :huh: Um...gee, what can I say. That was different. :D I didn't like it the first time I read it, nor the second. Then I read a lot of other James, and then re-read it, and then I liked it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 :D I didn't like it the first time I read it, nor the second. Then I read a lot of other James, and then re-read it, and then I liked it.I'm impressed that you could bring yourself to read it three times, let alone twice. ;-) Spoiler: It is my considered opinion that the governess was delusional and repressed. So much blather over imaginary wickedness of an undetermined nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I agree with your spoiler. Though James wrote a fair amount of short fiction with less ambiguous supernatural elements (though he doesn't really do unambiguous, does he?), he's primarily a psychological writer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 More thoughts on James. I sometimes worry (when I'm running low on things to worry about) that writers' works are assigned to students with an eye primarily to brevity. So Billy Budd instead of Moby Dick, Heart of Darkness instead of Lord Jim, and Turn of the Screw instead of any of James' novels. (And poor Richardson is completely gone. He should have been forward-thinking enough to write something short enough for an AP class.) I don't have to spell out the down side of this to book-loving homeschoolers. But one down side is that the shorter works end up being better-known and so more often read, even if they're not necessarily the best first exposure to a writer. Turn of the Screw is actually pretty difficult. And it can sort of innoculate readers against James. I found my way to him eventually by starting with The Spoils of Poynton, one of his lesser works but quite accessible and a good read. It basically taught me how to read James. I read others of his novels, then re-read Portrait of a Lady and felt like I understood it this time, and later Turn of the Screw together with some of his other short fiction, so I had an idea of how he constructed shorter pieces. I feel safe in saying James is my favorite novelist now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted October 25, 2014 Author Share Posted October 25, 2014 Arrg! Having a heart attack because our at&t network has gone down totally. No phone, no internet, no tv. Thank goodness I have Verizon wireless and a hot spot. If the post is late tomorrow, you'll know why and just keep posting on the old thread. Emailed Stacia and Jane to alert them through my phone because didn't think of my hot spot until later. Oy! Off to get the sunday post for 52 books done. Hopefully! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Other then that I've been trying to read Acceptance, the 3rd in that freaky Southern Reach trilogy. I want the closure but the more I read the more I think I'm not going to get the closure. I'm 1/3 of the way in and it's a slog. Too much description slows the pace. Too many character POVs dilute the paranoia (although that does give me hope that I'll at least learn the main characters' fates). Cute little rabbit trails but I know they don't fit within the whole so they aren't catching my imagination. Repetition of things I either know or already figured out. Sigh. I want to like this tale of environmental evolution, but it's just not working for me this time. I don't throw many books across the room, but Annihilation was the last one to meet that fate. lol I just kept thinking, "This is going to end as satisfyingly as 'Lost', isn't it?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Ohhh, we had oodles of book fun today. Dh, dd, & I went to a book signing to meet 4 authors! I have read books by two of them (Kevin Hearne & Cherie Priest) & have not yet read books by the other two authors (Molly Harper & Delilah Dawson). So much fun, a great bunch of authors, all just amazingly nice & a few hours spent at a very cool local indie bookstore. Dd & Kevin Hearne. She got every single one of her Iron Druid books (the entire set) signed by him. :laugh: Uber-cool local couple dressed as characters from Hearne's Iron Druid series, including having their baby dressed as Oberon. :lol: They were such a fun couple to chat with while we were there. I'm with Cherie Priest here. (Picked up her book The Inexplicables there.) With Molly Harper here.... (Picked up her book How to Flirt with A Naked Werewolf.) And, Delilah Dawson. Yes, she came even though she broke her back just 5 days ago! :blink: (Picked up Servants of the Storm.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Nothing to do with books, but I thought this was funny.... Madeleine Albright Burns Conan O'Brien in Hilarious Twitter War Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Stacia, Sounds like you had a great time at the signing. I would have loved that one! I love Molly Harper's Nice Girls don't have Fangs. Funny light paranormal. My best friend liked it so much she sent it to me as a birthday book a couple of years ago. I have read Kevin Hearne but need to try the other two authors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share Posted October 26, 2014 Link to week 44 - please continue conversation in new thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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