Book a Week in 2013 - week twenty six

[Stacia]

I'm cross-posting this from a separate post I made, just because I know some of you readers check just this thread....

----------------------------

Though I had mixed feelings about the recent Great Gatsby movie (parts were great, others not so much), I think this is an interesting video which shows the extent of CGI effects in the movie.

 

Some of the effects are very obvious in the movie, but some were not really obvious (after watching this video). It does give me a greater appreciation & respect for the actor's craft to be convincing, even when he/she is standing in front of absolutely nothing....

 

http://vimeo.com/68451324

[mumto2]

Stacia--thanks for the fascinating video. All those blue/green screens. I had never seen how they use them on location.

 

I have finished some more from my stack. "Kitty and the Silver Bullet" by Carrie Vaughn. These books are so much fun. I always want to turn the page and keep reading!

 

Also finished "Something Rotten" by Jasper Fforde. It was the next one in the Thursday Next series for me. It was clever and had a big reveal at the end so enjoyable. But I had a hard time reading it for some unknown reason. I started it at least a month ago and it dragged. A few pages a week until I decided it needed to go back to the library so I had to finish it.

[Onceuponatime]

 

Oh, The Bookman's Tale sounds like a neat title. Let us know!

 

 

So far, so good. It is a Meta-book, which is one of my favorite kinds of books. There is a lot of history entertwined with the story. History about books, book collectors, literature, especially Shakespeare and his contemporaries.

[BigMamaBird]

This has been a seriously messed up two weeks and coupling that with an painfully slow book, I am pretty far behind. So I got a short page turner and an old favorite and plowed through them this week which was a welcome change from the slog that was my last book.

 

I found War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells at the Library. I have been focusing on 20th Century Literature this year and was disappointed to open the cover of this book and find that it was published in 1899 so it doesn't fit my requirements for the year. But I had no other book to read and it was late, so I made an exception for this one. Besides, since the Orson Welles radio broadcast that was so influential happened in 1938, I figured could fudge it and call it good! This book was a lot more brutal than I expected it to be. I don't know what exactly I was expecting, but I naively assumed that a book out of the Victorian times would shy away from a lot of the events that took place. There were a lot of really gruesome parts, it wasn't exactly calming, bedtime reading. While I was reading it I kept comparing it to the Tom Cruise version I saw a few years back. I didn't care for the movie that much, but as I read the book, I was impressed at the effort the filmmakers made in keeping with the original story. Sure, there was a lot added for a modern audience, but there were a lot of parts that they stuck quite close to. Another thing I found myself doing while reading, was comparing how the people reacted in that time period to how we'd react now. The author spent quite a lot of time describing how for days, no one outside of a 5 mile radius of the crash site knew about what was happening, how they just went on with their lives, not knowing a crowd of people had been burned up by aliens. These days, within seconds, everyone around the world would have heard tweets, seen uploaded videos, read FB status updates. It was just so different then. He described how the paper boy was mobbed for still wet copies of single page news reports and now we just click on our favorite internet news source. It was a fun read in that respect.

 

My second book this week was an old favorite of mine, The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. This story takes place in the 1660's in Delft, and since my family is from Holland, I love the slice of life that it portrays! I also love the paintings by the Dutch masters and this book is all about the painter Vermeer. This is another book which was made into a movie. I thought the filmmakers did an excellent job with the visuals in this movie, they actually stuck out to me more than the actors' performances. Just about every scene in the movie looks like a painting and I love it for that.

 

I indulged in easy reading this week and I really needed to! And next week we'll be on vacation, so I can't see any mental gymnastics there either. But that's okay. :laugh:

 

 

1 - All The King's Men – Robert Penn Warren

2 - A Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert Heinlein

3 - A Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

4 - Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger

5 - Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

6 - The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck

7 – Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie

8 – The Illustrated Man – Ray Bradbury

9 – The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

10 – The Hiding Place – Corrie Ten Boom

11 – The Square Foot Garden – Mel Bartholomew

12 - Catch-22- Joseph Heller

13 - Heart of Darkness- Joseph Conrad

14 - Partners in Crime - Agatha Christie

15 - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

16 -O, Pioneers!- Willa Cather

17 - Miss Marple - The Complete Short Story Collection - Agatha Christie

18 - Ringworld - Larry Niven

19 - Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man- James Joyce

20 - Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut

21 - To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

22 - Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin

23 - The Adventures of Augie March - Saul Bellow

24 - The War of the Worlds- H.G Wells

25 - The Girl with the Pearl Earring - Tracy Chevalier

[Robin M]

I'm back from my folks and :grouphug: to everyone. They kept me busy so didn't have much online time. I'm halfway through Map of Bones by James Rollins and currently making my way through Stacia Kane's urban fantasy Chess Putnam series who is a very flawed lead character with a drug addiction problem and works for the church as a ghost hunter. Just finished Unholy Magic and have downloaded the 3rd book City of Ghosts.

[Violet Crown]

I just spent my evening reading most of the manual for the Whirlpool Quiet Partner II dishwasher and watching dishwasher repair videos onn YouTube, instead of the book I wanted to read. While everyone else went out for New Orleans Snowballs. Can I have the manual on my list?

[Stacia]

I just spent my evening reading most of the manual for the Whirlpool Quiet Partner II dishwasher and watching dishwasher repair videos onn YouTube, instead of the book I wanted to read. While everyone else went out for New Orleans Snowballs. Can I have the manual on my list?

 

 

Of course.

 

I think you not only get to add it to your list, you get brownie points too.

 

See, in my previous life, I was a technical writer. We're the writers that almost nobody (except people like you) reads. ;) So, on behalf of the Whirlpool technical writer(s), :thumbup1: & thanks (even though I never worked for Whirlpool).

 

:lol:

[mlbuchina]

I finished reading The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen. For those who have read her books, what other authors can you recommend that are similar to her?

 

Starting The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards. I'm one chapter in, and so far, so good.

[Stacia]

I finished reading The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen. For those who have read her books, what other authors can you recommend that are similar to her?

 

 

I've read only one of her books (Garden Spells), but definitely check into Phoebe & the Ghost of Chagall.

 

Somewhat different than Sarah Addison Allen, but maybe you would also like:

13 Rue Thérèse

The Blind Contessa's New Machine

The Enchanted April

[Rosie_0801]

I just finished reading 'Verity of Sydney Town,' which I picked up in a second hand shop yesterday. It'll will make a nice addition to our Australiana collection. :)

[Stacia]

I'm still slowly reading through the two non-fiction books I've got going right now. But, I also started a fiction book, part of the continental challenge for Africa: Xala by Ousmane Sembène. I found this author through that South African newspaper's list of Africa's best authors. Apparently, the book was also made into a film back in the 1970s, so there are a few scattered black & white film stills included in the book.

 

From Goodreads:

A biting satire about the downfall of a businessman-polygamist who assumes the role of the colonialist in French-speaking Africa.

Ousmane Sembène often credited in the French style as Sembène Ousmane in articles and reference works, was a Senegalese film director, producer and writer. The Los Angeles Times considered him one of the greatest authors of Africa and has often been called the "Father of African film."

[Stacia]

Also finished "Something Rotten" by Jasper Fforde. It was the next one in the Thursday Next series for me.

 

I need to get back to that series. I read the first one years ago & really enjoyed it, but I've never read any of the others.

 

So far, so good. It is a Meta-book, which is one of my favorite kinds of books. There is a lot of history entertwined with the story. History about books, book collectors, literature, especially Shakespeare and his contemporaries.

 

Oh, that does sound good. I enjoy meta-books too. Looking forward to your final review of it.

 

I indulged in easy reading this week and I really needed to! And next week we'll be on vacation, so I can't see any mental gymnastics there either. But that's okay. :laugh:

 

:thumbup:

 

making my way through Stacia Kane's urban fantasy Chess Putnam series who is a very flawed lead character with a drug addiction problem and works for the church as a ghost hunter.

 

I saw her books on a display a year or so ago in the bookstore. I thought at the time that I should read at least one because of her name. ;) :lol: It was kind of weirdly-odd for me because when you have a slightly unusual name, it really sticks out when you see that someone else has it too -- it sort-of made me do a double-take... because, of course, I was never able to buy any of those tacky beach souvenirs with names pre-printed on them when I was growing up. :tongue_smilie: (That's why seeing my name in print is odd.) Other than this author & the singer who has the name, I've only ever heard of/known two other people who had my name (at least as far as I remember...).

[MelAR05]

#32 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (audiobook) - She had me guessing right up to the end with this one - quite a shocking twist!

 

Loved this book!! This has been a VERY busy summer so I am not able to get on the computer much. Thankfully, I am still getting to read and on pace to reach my goal. :D I've read (26) And Then There Were None and (27) Death on the Nile, both Agatha Christie. Really enjoyed both! Taking a break from her for a while and am currently reading Unbroken. I have put off reading this book since it came out. After thinking Seabiscuit was such an incredible book, I did not want to be disappointed. I will let you know what I think. So far it is a hard read. It is difficult for me to read about someone else's suffering. :tongue_smilie:

[mumto2]

Stacia -- dd loves the Jasper Fforde books so I have no choice but to continue! I start feeling rather blah about one of them then something fascinating happens. I loved The Erye Affair, to be honest the rest aren't quite as good imo (dd would disagree) but definately enjoyable.

[Stacia]

I finished Xala. Considering that it was written in the 1970s, it is a surprisingly frank discussion of male & female societal, marital, & sexual relationships in the days of post-colonial Senegal (which gained independence in 1960). It's a dark satire, a harsh parable that shows the clash between old, traditional African ways and the newer, post-colonial, 'Europeanized' ways. For such a short book, it touches on many themes: sexuality, religion, business, corruption, language, gender roles, societal levels & roles, traditions vs. new ideas, questions as to whether or not a former colony is really 'free' from its former occupiers, etc.... Apparently, the book was also made into a movie in the 1970s & the book includes some black & white stills from the movie throughout, giving some nice visuals to the story. This is one of the few African books that I've ever read; this novella has given me an interesting peek into an area of the world about which I know very little. 3.5 stars.

[Stacia]

Hmmm. Already it is interesting. I have started another African book, by chance another Senegalese author, this time a woman: So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ.

 

Xala centers around a story of an upper-class Islamic businessman who is marrying his third (and much younger) wife. Part of the discussions in Xala center around the roles of the wives, the resentments between them, etc.... So Long a Letter also is viewing the life of women in polygamous marriages, seemingly in a letter/diary format that a new widow writes to her friend. Part of her angst & sorrow centers around the fact that after 30 years of marriage, her husband married a second wife (who has been a wife for five years by the time the man dies). Mariama Bâ was apparently a well-known feminist in Senegal, so I'm curious to read So Long a Letter vs. Xala, partly for the female vs. male view of polygamous marriage in Senegal.

 

From wikipedia:

 

Mariama Bâ (April 17, 1929–August 17, 1981) was a Senegalese author and feminist, who wrote in French. Born in Dakar, she was raised a Muslim, but at an early age came to criticise what she perceived as inequalities between the sexes resulting from African traditions. Raised by her traditional grandparents, she had to struggle even to gain an education, because they did not believe that girls should be taught. Bâ later married a Senegalese member of Parliament, Obèye Diop, but divorced him and was left to care for their nine children.

 

Her frustration with the fate of African women—as well as her ultimate acceptance of it—is expressed in her first novel, So Long a Letter. In it she depicts the sorrow and resignation of a woman who must share the mourning for her late husband with his second, younger wife. Abiola Irele called it "the most deeply felt presentation of the female condition in African fiction". This short book was awarded the first Noma Prize for Publishing in Africa in 1980.

[Stacia]

I finished How to Teach Shakespeare to Your Children by Ken Ludwig. I loved it! Easy to read, informative, and helpful as a quick survey of a number of plays, it made for a good introduction. The appendices are full of good stuff. I found out about the book here at the boards, and shock of shocks, my library had it on order.

 

Thanks for mentioning this one. It sounds great.

[joannqn]

I haven't been keeping up with the thread or my reading, but I did finish a book this week.

 

I read through 1984 for the first time. What a depressing ending!

[Robin M]

 

Link to week 27 - please continue conversation in new thread.