aggieamy Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Just popping in to say I'm still reading. Obviously, I don't have the time to read that I used to because it is taking me a while to get through my books. I'm still working on the 4th book in the Wheel of Time, The Shadow Rising. This book is a favorite! I'm about 3/4 through it. :seeya: I've got three books on my nightstand to finish up and then I'm going to start the second book in the series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mnemosyne Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Decided on some light reading (Harry Potter fanfiction), which was really quite good. I liked the first two a lot more than the 3rd, but it was enjoyable and I couldn't put the books down, which is always a good sign. I also read Thomas Paine's Common Sense, which was a difficult read after James Potter! I'm glad I finally read it, though, as it really helped shape the United States and I had managed to get through university without reading it. I feel like it is one of those books that I will need to read again at some point to help digest it a little better. I'm currently reading a couple books, depending on my mood. I am working on Wealth of Nations, Second Treatise of Government, and The Principles of Morals and Legislation (the latter two for a Coursera class I'm taking). I find that even though these older works are a lot tougher to digest, they are very valuable in learning about government and business, and I have found several little tidbits that I will be using to help me in my own business, which is always a good sign. 10. Common Sense (Mar 18) 9. James Potter and the Vault of Destinies (Mar 18) 8. James Potter and the Curse of the Gate Keeper (Mar 15) 7. James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Crossing (Mar 15) 6. The Power of Concentration (Mar 13) 5. The Well-Trained Mind (Jan 31) 4. The No-Cry Sleep Solution (Jan 29) 3. Redwall (Jan 23) 2. Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie (Jan 22) 1. The Four Hour Chef (Jan 1) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Have y'all read Paul Theroux's books? He has been on the Siberian Express a couple of times, most recently on Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, which is a retracing of the travels he took for his first travel book, The Great Railway Bazaar. Both are evocative journeys on wonderful trains through exotic countries, and while some people find Theroux to be too much of a misanthrope, I find his descriptions to be spot on. Granted, I wouldn't want to share a train compartment with him then find myself described on the pages of one of his books... Anyway, the Railway Bazaar is fascinating because he travels through Iran on train and into Pakistan on the Khyber pass, neither of which you can do now. The later book takes you to Indian call centers and abandoned Gulags off the Trans-Siberian line. Too funny. After the earlier mentions of the Siberian railway, I had gone to the library's website, done a search, had those books pop up as matches, & put in a request for them. Hopefully, I'll have time to read them once they arrive. (If not, I'll make a note & get back to them in a couple of months.) I've never read anything by Theroux.... Finally started Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote (for my upcoming -- very soon -- book club meeting). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 I love Coehlo's books, though I agree The Alchemist is a bit, what was the word used? Hokey? It was the first of his books I read, when I was a teen, so I liked it. It reads like a fairy tale to me now, but I enjoy his others. Haven't read Aleph though. Many of his books are a bit teen lit flavoured to me. That's good to know. Perhaps I would enjoy something else of his better should I try to read him in the future.... Finished Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote. Capote has earned his place as a master of American writing. (I was a Capote fan anyway....) As I read, I remembered parts of the story from when I read it ages ago, but not enough to ruin the story for myself, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 I finished The Power of Reading by Stephen Krashen last night. It's a review of all the literature about the advantages of reading. I enjoyed it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 I finished 11/22/63 and started working on: 12. Mere Christianity 13. The Cider House Rules Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 I finished The Hiding Place early this week. It was very inspirational. I am now onto Percy Jackson #4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 I finished The Power of Reading by Stephen Krashen last night. It's a review of all the literature about the advantages of reading. I enjoyed it! That looks like I book I want to read. I finished a purely fluff book. The Chase by Clive Cussler. I've been reading Cussler for many years. My dad got him started with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganCupcake Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 I finished Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel last night. Ahhhh, I loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 I was going by the library so I stopped to pick up Aleph which will satisfy the South American challenge while giving me a vicarious thrill aboard the Trans-Siberian Railway. Turning the corner, the book that jumped off the shelf was Das Kapital (no, not that Das Kapital), "A Novel of Love and Money Markets" by Viken Berberian. It looks delightful! Anyone familiar with it or Berberian? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 That looks like I book I want to read. I finished a purely fluff book. The Chase by Clive Cussler. I've been reading Cussler for many years. My dad got him started with him. I've been seing Cussler everywhere and wondered if he was any good. Tell me about him... Picked up Nuture Shock. More social science stuff (cause the MFT study guide just isn't enough- *snort*) but great, intriguing data that the national media isn't sharing much of yet. Good stuff and, of course, fits right in with classical (at least the first chapter ; ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Chinua Achebe died. His obituary can be found here. One of the things that we did when my son was a high school student was read Conrad's Heart of Darkness followed by Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Then we watched the film Apocalypse Now.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 I finished Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel last night. Ahhhh, I loved it. Well I shall look forward to reading it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Chinua Achebe died. His obituary can be found here. One of the things that we did when my son was a high school student was read Conrad's Heart of Darkness followed by Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Then we watched the film Apocalypse Now.. Maybe we will do that too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnMama Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 This week I finished #11: King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (Green version). Lots of smiting going on in that one. Also #12: A Storm of Swords. Even more smiting. Loved it. So far this year: 1. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey 2. The Great Gatsby 3. The Night Circus 4. A Study in Scarlet 5. The Red Pyramid 6. The Throne of Fire 7. The Perks of Being A Wallflower 8. The Serpent's Shadow 9. D'Aulaire's Norse Myths 10. Odd and the Frost Giants 11. King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table 12. A Storm of Swords Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 This week I finished #11: King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (Green version). Lots of smiting going on in that one. Also #12: A Storm of Swords. Even more smiting. Loved it. Thanks for the chuckle. Sounds like you're getting your smite-amins. What's next in the smite-fest? Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnMama Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 Thanks for the chuckle. Sounds like you're getting your smite-amins. What's next in the smite-fest? I'm continuing the theme with Robin Hood (reading to my son) and When Christ and His Saints Slept by SK Penman (rereading to self before picking up the newest in the series). What can I say? I'm a sucker for smiting :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 I just finished the audiobook of Rob Lowe's autobiography, Stories I Only Tell My Friends. As I mentioned upthread, I haven't seen any of his recent work. I tried to watch Parks and Recreation but didn't like it. I always meant to watch West Wing but just never got around to it. Anyway, I enjoyed his storytelling style. It's decently written for non-fiction and has a story feel to it, and he did a good job reading it. I just made it in order to count it for this week. I'm 80% done with Anna Karenina, and haven't decided what to read next. I also need to pick my dusty book for April. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 I'm 80% done with Anna Karenina, and haven't decided what to read next. I also need to pick my dusty book for April. This is on my list for sometime in the next couple of years. Has anybody who has read the book also seen the movie? I have an opportunity to see it this week. Should I watch it or will I ruin the book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 This is on my list for sometime in the next couple of years. Has anybody who has read the book also seen the movie? I have an opportunity to see it this week. Should I watch it or will I ruin the book? I picked up a copy of the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation at a book sale last week. Which translation will you be reading? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulainTx Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 Finished Kisses From Katie by Katie J. Davis and Beth Clark, (41) Just One of the Guys by Kristin Higgins, (42) Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini, (43) The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, (44) and A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering her Head, and Calling Her Husband Master by Rachel Held Evans. (45) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted March 24, 2013 Author Share Posted March 24, 2013 Just discovered this and will try to remember to include in tomorrow's thread. 10th anniversary of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code - Download the ebook for free through the 24th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 I picked up a copy of the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation at a book sale last week. Which translation will you be reading? I will be honest and say that I had not gotten that far in my planning. My thought was to download a copy onto my kindle just so I wouldn't have to haul a chunky book around with me. Is there a recommended translation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 Well, I think I just have to set Hopscotch aside for the foreseeable future. I feel like I've been wading through it forever & still have a long way to go. I'm just not into it anymore (at least at this point).... A few thoughts... Reading it in the 'normal' order: It's a dense read w/ many references that probably whizzed right past me. Parts were good, the prose is gorgeous (sometimes), & I loved the few ending chapters. But, overall, I didn't like any of the characters & didn't really care for the story (not really much of a plot). It has a rather pessimistic view on life, imo. I'm so-so on the novel in that version. Reading it in the 'hopscotch' order: It's still a dense read, but more interesting w/ the extra chapters interspersed. I can really appreciate the talent needed to create a book that can be read in various orders & still have some semblance (?) of sense. It reminds me of all the little details in a surrealist painting by Dali -- so many little pieces & touches to make it one picture or a different one depending on how you view it. Really it takes a massive amount of skill, dare I say genius, to pull it off correctly. So, I see the beauty of the structure. I love the beauty of the structure. I also like that flipping to the various chapters in the hopscotch order actually interrupts your reading flow enough that you have a few extra seconds to mull over what you just read while you're searching for the next section. The slight mental breaks work wonderfully within this framework. However, I still don't like the characters & I still don't like the story. And, really, why does it bug me that these folks are in their 40s & behaving these ways? I don't know, but it does; it seems like they're acting like 'intellectual' & pretentious 20-somethings, but it gives me a different view to find that at least some of them are in their 40s during this story. So, though I love the structure, the framework, it's just not enough to keep me compelled to read. Total between both readings (the completed 'normal' order & partially completed 'hopscotch' order), I've probably read over 500 pages. I feel like I have a lot invested in the book but that I'm not getting much in return at this point. Shrug. Must stop it for now & move on to something that will make me happy to read.... So, I'll have to call it a partial success with very cool execution, but not a story that I like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganCupcake Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 This is on my list for sometime in the next couple of years. Has anybody who has read the book also seen the movie? I have an opportunity to see it this week. Should I watch it or will I ruin the book? I have the DVD here right now and though I haven't watched it yet, I'm pretty sure you shouldn't watch before reading. :) I picked up a copy of the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation at a book sale last week. Which translation will you be reading? I have the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation, too, but haven't read it. I have my grandfather's old illustrated edition that doesn't list a translator but is almost certainly Constance Garnett. It's a reasonable translation--can't really complain--but I am excited to someday read the Pevear/Volokhonsky. I will be honest and say that I had not gotten that far in my planning. My thought was to download a copy onto my kindle just so I wouldn't have to haul a chunky book around with me. Is there a recommended translation? Oh, who knows. :) Pevear and Volokhonsky have new translations of a lot of Russian classics that have been really well received. Tolstoy's writing style is pretty simple, compared to Dostoyevsky, for instance, and the newer translations supposedly reflect that better than Constance Garnett's translations, which were pretty much all that was available for a long time. But not everybody loves the newer translations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 Finished Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote. Capote has earned his place as a master of American writing. (I was a Capote fan anyway....) As I read, I remembered parts of the story from when I read it ages ago, but not enough to ruin the story for myself, lol. Anyone interested in Capote or Breakfast at Tiffany's might find it strange (?)/unique (?)/fabulous (?)/completely whacked (?) to know that Capote's cremated remains were invited to attend the opening of Breakfast at Tiffany's on Broadway.... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2298089/Truman-Capotes-cremated-remains-invited-attend-Breakfast-Tiffanys-Broadway-premier.html :ph34r: Chinua Achebe died. His obituary can be found here. One of the things that we did when my son was a high school student was read Conrad's Heart of Darkness followed by Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Then we watched the film Apocalypse Now.. I still need to read Things Fall Apart... Even more smiting. Loved it. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 This is on my list for sometime in the next couple of years. Has anybody who has read the book also seen the movie? I have an opportunity to see it this week. Should I watch it or will I ruin the book? I made the mistake of reading reviews of the movie and now I don't think I want to see it. It's not the story, though I think it's a difficult one to bring to the screen, but the style. Supposedly it's done like a play within a movie. I picked up a copy of the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation at a book sale last week. Which translation will you be reading? That's the translation I'm reading. They get good marks for their translations of the Russian writers, and if their translation of Anna Karenina is a good example of their work, I'd have to agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnMama Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 :lol: This is great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted March 24, 2013 Author Share Posted March 24, 2013 Link to week 13 - please continue conversation in new thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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