Book a Week in 2014 - BW2

[ladydusk]

You can sign up at the Poetry Foundation website for a poem of the day email. It’s free and I’ve discovered a lot of new to me poets that way. 

 

www.poetryfoundation.org

 

A daily email I get is Prufrock from The American Conservative.  He links interesting articles about language, history, and the humanities.  He posts an image and poem of the day (which is why I bring it up), along with possibly interesting books coming next week and a brief essay.  Definitely a conservative - and Christian - perspective. 

 

I am a Philistine when it comes to poetry, so rarely follow that link ...

[Kareni]

Does anyone have any poetry recommendations? I'm trying to reach out of my reading comfort zone and I've never really read poetry. Well, except in school, but I'm not counting that. 

 

You might be interested in this engaging book about writing and understanding poetry: 

The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within by Stephen Fry

 

"Stephen Fry believes that if one can speak and read English, one can write poetry. In The Ode Less Travelled, he invites readers to discover the delights of writing poetry for pleasure and provides the tools and confidence to get started. Through enjoyable exercises, witty insights, and simple step-by-step advice, Fry introduces the concepts of Metre, Rhyme, Form, Diction, and Poetics.

 

Most of us have never been taught to read or write poetry, and so it can seem mysterious and intimidating. But Fry, a wonderfully competent, engaging teacher and a writer of poetry himself, sets out to correct this problem by explaining the various elements of poetry in simple terms, without condescension. Fry's method works, and his enthusiasm is contagious as he explores different forms of poetry: the haiku, the ballad, the villanelle, and the sonnet, among many others. Along the way, he introduces us to poets we've heard of but never read. The Ode Less Travelled is not just the survey course you never took in college, it's a lively celebration of poetry that makes even the most reluctant reader want to pick up a pencil and give it a try."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[ariasmommy]

Does anyone else feel a little bit apprehensive when they're turning a beloved book into a movie...like they might not (probably won't) get it right? I'm feeling kind of like that about Unbroken.

Yes, I feel this way. I haven't watched the first Hobbit movie because it was a childhood favorite and I don't want all the movie images to spoil the ones in my head. :) And it sounds like they added a silly love interest for one of the dwarves (among other things) to the second one. I'm afraid they'll change Unbroken, too. And even though it was amazing, it was very intense, and I don't think I could handle it as a movie.

 

I'm in a bit of a reading slump and haven't finished anything yet this year. I did get my online book club reading done (the intro to Desiring the Kingdom), but am having trouble getting into anything else. :( Hopefully we'll get into a good routine soon, I'll figure out my history plan for the year, and find a book that holds my attention.

[Jane Elliot]

Yes, I feel this way. I haven't watched the first Hobbit movie because it was a childhood favorite and I don't want all the movie images to spoil the ones in my head. :) And it sounds like they added a silly love interest for one of the dwarves (among other things) to the second one. I'm afraid they'll change Unbroken, too. And even though it was amazing, it was very intense, and I don't think I could handle it as a movie.

 

I'm in a bit of a reading slump and haven't finished anything yet this year. I did get my online book club reading done (Desiring the Kingdom), but am having trouble getting into anything else. :( Hopefully we'll get into a good routine soon, I'll figure out my history plan for the year, and find a book that holds my attention.

 

You didn't miss anything with the first Hobbit movie. We took everyone to see it, and halfway through dd (who was 7yo at the time) buried her face in my lap. I was really kicking myself for bringing a 7yo to a loud and scary movie, and I asked her if she was afraid. But that wasn't the problem. In utter anguish, she looked up into my face and said, "This isn't like the book!!!" Ah...such a harsh reality to face at such an early age.

 

I hope you get over your slump. I'm looking forward to hearing about the books you end up enjoying.

[shukriyya]

You might be interested in this engaging book about writing and understanding poetry: 

The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within by Stephen Fry

 

"Stephen Fry believes that if one can speak and read English, one can write poetry. In The Ode Less Travelled, he invites readers to discover the delights of writing poetry for pleasure and provides the tools and confidence to get started. Through enjoyable exercises, witty insights, and simple step-by-step advice, Fry introduces the concepts of Metre, Rhyme, Form, Diction, and Poetics.

 

Most of us have never been taught to read or write poetry, and so it can seem mysterious and intimidating. But Fry, a wonderfully competent, engaging teacher and a writer of poetry himself, sets out to correct this problem by explaining the various elements of poetry in simple terms, without condescension. Fry's method works, and his enthusiasm is contagious as he explores different forms of poetry: the haiku, the ballad, the villanelle, and the sonnet, among many others. Along the way, he introduces us to poets we've heard of but never read. The Ode Less Travelled is not just the survey course you never took in college, it's a lively celebration of poetry that makes even the most reluctant reader want to pick up a pencil and give it a try."

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Kareni, (and btw your name itself is a bit of a poem, always has me thinking about that tag-along little sister 'i' on the end and from there where the stress is, 1st or 2nd syllable and how each version might sound and whether the 'i' is spoken as 'eye' or 'eee' and the way that particular configuration of vowels and consonants might fill the air around and in me so on...all that just from 6 little letters)

 

Anyway...the link you provided looks like a good one and I'll likely dip into it though I have to say that I generally  approach poetry through the palace of the heart rather than the head. Can't go wrong that way :D

 

[prairiegirl]

Yay. Good to know it's a good one. I meant to get around to this one at the beginning of last year, along with a couple of other books I already have:

 

 

 

I've always been fascinated by pilots & flying in general (so wish I had my own pilot's license!) & learned more about her at a Smithsonian exhibit a few years back. I had never realized that she flew with/navigated for her husband, esp. when he/they were trying to map a route to Asia by going over Arctic routes. Fascinating stuff in the exhibit & I bought her bio right after it (though didn't get around to reading it), then picked up a copy of her book about their time doing that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stacia,  I have Reeve Lindbergh's memoir waiting for me at the library.  I am interested to read if all that was written about in Benjamin's book is true,  although when I looked the family up on Google, the internet was full of the same info that was in the book.  One of the things that surprised me was the paparazzi-like attention they received.  I just didn't  think that it was like that in the 20's.

[Hoot]

Today I finished Winnie Mandela: Life of Struggle by Jim Haskins.  It was interesting to read a bit more about her earlier years and all of the sacrifice and hardship she has endured in the struggle for freedom in black South Africa.  It is a an older book though, so I can forgive its complete lack of information on her involvement in some of the more horrifying methods of resistance. 

 

Not sure what's up next.

 

Completed So Far

 

1. The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright

2. Winnie Mandela: Life of Struggle by Jim Haskins

[JennW in SoCal]

Stacia,  I have Reeve Lindbergh's memoir waiting for me at the library.  I am interested to read if all that was written about in Benjamin's book is true,  although when I looked the family up on Google, the internet was full of the same info that was in the book.  One of the things that surprised me was the paparazzi-like attention they received.  I just didn't  think that it was like that in the 20's.

 

The book I mentioned earlier, One Summer:  America, 1927, went on in great detail about all the paparazzi hounding Charles Lindbergh, and about the over-the-top coverage of the sensational news stories of the time. It seems the only thing that has changed since then is the technology used in feeding the insatiable curiosity of the masses.  I was struck, too, how the general public would pour onto the streets just to get a look at Lindbergh or at a murder suspect, causing major traffic jams. These days we sit passively at home, but can catch the spectacle via the internet or tv.  The impulse to see it all isn't anything new, apparently.

 

 

As to my current reading, last night I finished an action-filled, sci-fi, page turner, The Darwin Elevator by Jason Hough.  It isn't great literature, but is the print equivalent of a summer blockbuster action movie.  There are 2 more titles in the series which I'll pick up at some point in the next few months.  It has aliens and zombie-type creatures, is set in a dystopian future with a cool hero and beautiful scientist love interest.  And the action just never stops.  What's not to love?

[Robin M]

Does anyone else feel a little bit apprehensive when they're turning a beloved book into a movie...like they might not (probably won't) get it right? I'm feeling kind of like that about Unbroken.

Yes, I loved John Grisham's The Runaway Jury which was primarily about jury tampering. It was excellent and riveting.  Then the movie version came out and changed the original premise of a life long smoker dying prematurely from lung disease and suing the tobacco company and turned it into a guy being murdered and the family suing the gun manufacturer.   You'd think it wouldn't have made much of a difference, but having read the book, they left out some really good parts and made it too political.   

 

 

 

Here's an interesting question - how do you think your first read of the year is going to shape your reading year? Discussing it today over on bookriot.  My year seems to be starting out slowly and find myself reading more with deliberate intention than racing through.  I got to a certain part in Wind Up yesterday and felt myself just wanting to race through and finish. So put it down, took a step back and delved into a different book so I could take a break and not deliberately sabotage myself and miss the rest of the story because I rushed it.     Which reminded me of a post I read a couple years ago about Reading Deliberately.   I go back and revisit the post every year as a reminder to not go overboard, make thoughtful choices and be deliberate with my reading. 

 

Deliberate - "Done with or marked by full consciousness of the nature and effects."   How often do we go through our days on auto pilot, not giving conscious thought to what we are doing.  Never fully in the moment, but thinking about what needs to be done next, splitting our attention away from what actively doing at the moment.  

 

 

Periodically I just have to remind myself - it isn't a race, it's a journey and I have this poster in my kitchen which helps me remember.

 

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end  ~ Ursula Le Guin.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

My Lindbergh favorites are by Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Gift of the Sea and Hour of Gold, Hour of Lead.

 

Not sure that I've seen the latter mentioned on the thread, but I might have missed it.

 

[Jane Elliot]

Yes, I loved John Grisham's The Runaway Jury which was primarily about jury tampering. It was excellent and riveting.  Then the movie version came out and changed the original premise of a life long smoker dying prematurely from lung disease and suing the tobacco company and turned it into a guy being murdered and the family suing the gun manufacturer.   You'd think it wouldn't have made much of a difference, but having read the book, they left out some really good parts and made it too political.   

 

I agree completely. I had the same experience with that book and movie.

 

Honestly, I don't know why I torture myself and dh. I read the book, dh offers to watch the movie with me (even the Jane Austens, sweet man!),  I am always disappointed, and then he has to listen to me rant for two straight hours.

[LostSurprise]

Does anyone have any poetry recommendations? I'm trying to reach out of my reading comfort zone and I've never really read poetry. Well, except in school, but I'm not counting that. 

 

Robert Pinsky (former poet laureate of the US) has some great books which give a variety of poetry. It can be fun to pick up one of those from the library and then try different things until you find a style or styles you like best. 

 

Some favorites: 

 

John Donne

John Milton

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Christina Rossetti

Gerard Manley Hopkins

early Edna St. Vincent Millay

 

Last year I dipped into modern poets Max Garland, Ted Kooser, and some Jim Harrison. I think the year before that tried South American poets Adelia Prado and Octavio Paz. The year before that was the year of Rumi and Lorine Niedecker. I think poetry is more enjoyable if you 'graze.' Head to the poetry section of your local library and pull books off the shelf. Read a few. Read a few of another. Something will appeal to you. 

[Stacia]

I guess I'm not that bothered, generally speaking, by books being turned into movies. Even if parts are changed, moved around, omitted, etc..., I tend to enjoy both the book & the movie.

 

I expect them to be different, not faithful reproductions anyway. I wouldn't really want a faithful reproduction. I'm a visual person & tend to create very visual pictures in my head when reading a book. Any movie that comes out is not going to match my 'vision' of the book, so I'm fine with something that's totally different.

 

Perhaps I think of it something like oral storytelling: the story changes & morphs each time it is retold. The root, or some of the morals, or some characters or actions will remain the same, but other things may have big changes. I'm ok w/ the change & often enjoy seeing the changes as much as I enjoy seeing what has been kept the same.

[ChrisB]

Finished The Secret of the Pink Carnation, by Lauren Willig.  What prompted me to read the first book in this series is that I received a later book for Christmas.  I can't bring myself to start a series smack-dab in the middle!  It was a fun, chick-lit, light read.  

 

Next up is The Bone Season, by Samantha Shannon.  Has anyone read it?  Your thoughts?

[AmandaVT]

You might be interested in this engaging book about writing and understanding poetry: 

The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within by Stephen Fry

 

"Stephen Fry believes that if one can speak and read English, one can write poetry. In The Ode Less Travelled, he invites readers to discover the delights of writing poetry for pleasure and provides the tools and confidence to get started. Through enjoyable exercises, witty insights, and simple step-by-step advice, Fry introduces the concepts of Metre, Rhyme, Form, Diction, and Poetics.

 

Most of us have never been taught to read or write poetry, and so it can seem mysterious and intimidating. But Fry, a wonderfully competent, engaging teacher and a writer of poetry himself, sets out to correct this problem by explaining the various elements of poetry in simple terms, without condescension. Fry's method works, and his enthusiasm is contagious as he explores different forms of poetry: the haiku, the ballad, the villanelle, and the sonnet, among many others. Along the way, he introduces us to poets we've heard of but never read. The Ode Less Travelled is not just the survey course you never took in college, it's a lively celebration of poetry that makes even the most reluctant reader want to pick up a pencil and give it a try."

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

Thanks for all the recommendations! Kareni - Stephen Fry as in the narrator for the Harry Potter audiobooks? I'm in! I love his voice. :- 

 

LostSurprise: I like your grazing recommendation too. Thank you for ideas of who to look at in the library!

 

I finished the Mysterious Affair at Styles and am about halfway through the Franklin autobiography. I want to get the Wind up Bird Chronicles next time I go to the library, but am tempted by one I just got for Kindle by Abby Rike. She's a former Biggest Loser contestant with a very inspirational story. Oh and I got my January Kindle First book which is back in the cozy mystery/romance genre that I can read through like candy...

[Tullia]

Last week I finished Every Living Thing (James Herriot) which was a re-read.  This week I'm reading Real Food (Nina Planck) while trying to decide which Murikami to read first.  decisions....decisions...

 

I'm going to try to work  The Good Knight (Sarah Woodbury) into my reading time this week.  :thumbup1: to welovetoread for the link.  The positive review from another Brother Cadfael fan and the Kindle price (free today)---how could I resist?

[Stacia]

FYI, BaW friends, eaglei's update on her son's doctor visit today:

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/498232-urgent-prayer-request-for-ds/?p=5409656

 

Eaglei, so glad to hear that your ds' situation seems more positive for now. Continued thoughts & good wishes for all of you. :grouphug:

[mamaraby]

I'm finding "The Wind-Up Bird" a bit of a tough slog. It's odd and a little confusing, but I keep reading because while I think it makes no sense, I'm hoping it will make sense at some point. I think I'm enjoying the reviews of the book on Good Reads more than the book itself.

 

In the meantime, Michael Perry's "From the Top" came in at the library today so I have abandoned everything else. I don't know if it's because he's native to Wisconsin, got that midwest Scandinavian sensibility, or his crumudgeonly wit, but I'd read just about anything if he wrote it.

 

As for movies based on books, I'll watch them, but only after reading the book and then if I can complain about all the things they left out that I feel are essential to the story. Still never quite forgiven JK for letting them mess with the storyline in books 6-7.

[Kareni]

Thanks for all the recommendations! Kareni - Stephen Fry as in the narrator for the Harry Potter audiobooks? I'm in! I love his voice. :- 

 

 

How funny!  I only knew Jim Dale as the narrator of the Harry Potter audiobooks; I hadn't realized that Stephen Fry did them, too.  I see that there is quite the controversy of who is the better narrator.  See here and here.  Who knew?

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Jane in NC]

In the meantime, Michael Perry's "From the Top" came in at the library today so I have abandoned everything else. I don't know if it's because he's native to Wisconsin, got that midwest Scandinavian sensibility, or his crumudgeonly wit, but I'd read just about anything if he wrote it.

Last year I read Michael Perry's Population: 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time.  Delightful author!

[mumto2]

We love Stephen Fry. He does great documentaries. This one is http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O6KmzuULPmQ&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DO6KmzuULPmQ one of our favorites. If my link doesn't work google stephen fry guttenburg and you should get his history of the printing press. That one we watched a few times.

 

Kareni, the library has is book so I have reserved it. Thank you.

[mumto2]

I also finished one of the stack, Curtsies &Conspiracies by Gail Carriger. It is the second of the Finishing School series which is being written as a prequel of the very mild YA variety to the Parasol Protectorate series. This one was good, I liked the first one in the series but this one was better. Some beloved characters make quick appearances which I enjoyed. Dd quite liked this one too and since she hasn't read the PP series they obviously stand alone for the younger set just fine. These books are a very gentle intro to steampunk and the fun boarding school setting I loved as a teen.

 

I used to read a very gothic setting boarding school suspense book every year or so that I can't remember the name of. I think it had "dark hall" in it but that isn't working for me google wise. I would love some suggestions for that type of storyline for dd. I think she would enjoy a couple boarding school books.

[mamaraby]

Last year I read Michael Perry's Population: 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time. Delightful author!

That's a good one. I started with "Truck: A Love Story" and then circled back to 485. I think "Truck" is my favorite, though. He has a video series that used to air on Wisconsin Public Television that's pretty funny - http://sneezingcow.com/tag/clodhopper-report/

[Stacia]

.

[shukriyya]

We love Stephen Fry. He does great documentaries. This one is http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O6KmzuULPmQ&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DO6KmzuULPmQ one of our favorites. If my link doesn't work google stephen fry guttenburg and you should get his history of the printing press. That one we watched a few times.

 

 

We like Stephen Fry for his 'Paddington Bear' series of audio books.

[Stacia]

.

[Robin M]

I forget who asked so forgive me.  Here's the link to New York Times Best Seller lists from the 1950's to the Present.  Find your birthday week and check out the best sellers published both for fiction and nonfiction.  Book mark the link as we will eventually be doing a mini challenge using the list.   Here's an example of what you will find

 

The week of my birth - November 22, 1959
Fiction

1 ADVISE AND CONSENT, by Allen Drury.
2 EXODUS, by Leon Uris.
3 THE UGLY AMERICAN, by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick.
4 DEAR AND GLORIOUS PHYSICIAN, by Taylor Caldwell.
5 THE WAR LOVER, by John Hersey.
6 THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE, by Morris L. West.
7 THE DARKNESS AND THE DAWN, by Thomas B. Costain.
8 THE CAVE, by Jennifer Warren.
9 POOR NO MORE, by Robert Ruark.
10 THE THIRTEENTH APOSTLE, by Eugene Vale.
11 STATION WAGON IN SPAIN, by Frances Parkinson Keyes.
12 GEMINI, by William Kelley.
13 THE LOTUS EATERS, by Gerald Green.
14 THE BREAKING POINT, by Daphne du Maurier.
15 HAWAII, by James A. Michener.
16 THE TOWN HOUSE, by Norah Lofts.
 

[shukriyya]

 

I forget who asked so forgive me.  Here's the link to New York Times Best Seller lists from the 1950's to the Present.  Find your birthday week and check out the best sellers published both for fiction and nonfiction.  Book mark the link as we will eventually be doing a mini challenge using the list.   Here's an example of what you will find

 

 

This sounds intriguing, Robin! Bookmarked.

 

On another note I've started 'Incarnadine' and I feel like I'm falling through space. The collection begins with two quotes. The first by Simone Weil...'the mysteries of faith are degraded if they are made into an object of affirmation and negation, when in reality they should be an object of contemplation' (Of course I happen to think that contemplation is inclusive of both affirmation and negation and their sister, that still point between the breath, but who am I to argue with SW?) Following that quote is one from Hardy's 'Far from the Madding Crowd'...'Repose had again incarnadined her cheeks.'

 

So right there with that curious juxtaposition of quotes I am totally drawn in. Before the collection even unfolds. Perhaps it's the wonderfully powerful use of 'incarnadine' as a verb, with its evocative images of crimson and pinkish-red combined with its latin root 'incarnare' (incarnate). Or perhaps it's the suggestion that 'faith' is an earthy, sensuous experience in which the body is as much a part of the journey as the soul. Perhaps its the voluptuous femininity of it all...the word 'incarnadine' bringing to mind flowers, the rose, the carnation with the kind of generosity that goes hand in hand with certain stages of the female experience...what is a womb but a generosity. At any rate I dived in only to find myself, as I said, falling through space. Some of the poems I can find my footing within and others...no tent pegs whatsoever, it's just me and the flapping of my own glorious lostness in the expanse of the language and imagery that surrounds me. So onwards and inwards with more to come....

 

On a more prosaic note my Isabel D mystery is moving along comfortably and while I'll be sorry to see the end of this series I think I'll finish it up by the end of the week allowing me to continue membership in this awesome group of reading ladies!

[TeacherZee]

How funny!  I only knew Jim Dale as the narrator of the Harry Potter audiobooks; I hadn't realized that Stephen Fry did them, too.  I see that there is quite the controversy of who is the better narrator.  See here and here.  Who knew?

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Stephen Fry wins hands down. He has the british accent :D

 

My keyboard is wonky so I will write more about my reading over the weekend

[Uff Da!]

Get well soon, honey! You might enjoy reading Little Women after Pilgrim's Progress, it is such an integral part of the book's framework.

 

?

 

Now you've got me curious. Dd listened to Little Women last year and I heard snippets of it. I will have to check it out. We just finished listening to the Secret Garden. So I guess I did get a book "done" this week even if it wasn't the one I was set on. Don Quixote is funny so I am enjoying it. It's not a quick read for me however.

[Lady Florida.]

I really enjoyed this series when I read it years ago. I think I made it through M or N. I'm looking forward to hopping back into this series again.

 

I made it about a third of the way through the alphabet. I don't remember why I stopped, because I was enjoying the series. I think I need to put the series back on my TBR list.

 

I just finished No Turning Back (The Kathleen Turner Series #1) by Tiffany Snow.  For those who have Kindle Prime, I see this is currently a free book.

 

 

 

My library has it labeled as a mystery; however, it has a strong romance component.  While I'm sufficiently intrigued by some unanswered questions/loose ends that I'd like to read more by this author, I did almost give up at one point.  (And have you ever noticed when an author seems to overemphasize one thing or another?  In this case, the heroine's strawberry blond hair was mentioned once, twice, a dozen times!)

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

I keep looking at that series and thinking I might try it. It might be the romance component that's keeping me away. I don't like romance stories. In any case, I already have my free January book (the third book in The Hangman's Daughter series), so I'll have to wait.

 

 

-- signed by one of the old ones on here...

 

I can almost hear him yelling, "GET OFF MY LAWN!".  :lol:

 

 

 

Here's an interesting question - how do you think your first read of the year is going to shape your reading year? Discussing it today over on bookriot.  My year seems to be starting out slowly and find myself reading more with deliberate intention than racing through.  I got to a certain part in Wind Up yesterday and felt myself just wanting to race through and finish. So put it down, took a step back and delved into a different book so I could take a break and not deliberately sabotage myself and miss the rest of the story because I rushed it.     Which reminded me of a post I read a couple years ago about Reading Deliberately.   I go back and revisit the post every year as a reminder to not go overboard, make thoughtful choices and be deliberate with my reading. 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't think it affects my year, but each book I read affects my future choices. For example, I recently finished Tess of the d'Ubervilles, and am almost done with The Grapes of Wrath. I haven't yet decided what to read next, but I know it will be a totally fluffy, twaddle, brain candy book, because that's what I'll need after those two depressing, heart wrenching stories.

 

My favorite paragraph from the Reading Deliberately link:

 

Reading is very much a way that I make “me†time.  Taking up that time with obligations (no matter how happily agreed to) to other people negates that “me†time more often than not.  Then, reading becomes a chore.  Thankfully this is one thing over which I have complete control.  I appreciate the opportunities offered to me, but I will be taking my time to research them before saying yes.  Would those books intrigue me if I were looking at them on the book store or library shelf?  If not, do I think I would grow as a reader as a result or am I interested in expanding my horizons with it?  If not, then I will say no. 

 

I left off the last sentence in which the blogger says she has trouble saying no. I have no problem using no whenever I need to. Reading is my me time. While I have books that I want to read, I still follow my mood when choosing my next book. The only exception is with book club books, but I chose to be in a book club so no one is forcing me.

 

I guess I'm not that bothered, generally speaking, by books being turned into movies. Even if parts are changed, moved around, omitted, etc..., I tend to enjoy both the book & the movie.

 

I expect them to be different, not faithful reproductions anyway. I wouldn't really want a faithful reproduction. I'm a visual person & tend to create very visual pictures in my head when reading a book. Any movie that comes out is not going to match my 'vision' of the book, so I'm fine with something that's totally different.

 

Perhaps I think of it something like oral storytelling: the story changes & morphs each time it is retold. The root, or some of the morals, or some characters or actions will remain the same, but other things may have big changes. I'm ok w/ the change & often enjoy seeing the changes as much as I enjoy seeing what has been kept the same.

 

This is how I am with books turned into movies. I almost always think the book was better, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the movie. I get a little frustrated when a movie changes so much that the only thing it has in common with the book is the title. For the most part though, I see them as separate, each to be enjoyed for what it is.

 

How funny!  I only knew Jim Dale as the narrator of the Harry Potter audiobooks; I hadn't realized that Stephen Fry did them, too.  I see that there is quite the controversy of who is the better narrator.  See here and here.  Who knew?

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

I knew that the UK and US had different narrators, but I didn't know who the UK narrator was. I wouldn't mind listening to Fry's narration someday, but I do love Jim Dale.

 

We love Stephen Fry. He does great documentaries. This one is http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O6KmzuULPmQ&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DO6KmzuULPmQ one of our favorites.

 

I was enjoying that series until he got to the south, particularly Florida. He went to Miami, hated it, and left his UK viewers with the impression that the whole state is an unfriendly, ugly, concrete jungle. I wish he would have taken time to get to know Florida and its people better. I ended up not watching the rest of the series after that.

[Kareni]

Jo Walton (SFF author, has a Livejournal and blogs on Tor.com sometimes) sometimes says in a review that one should read a book through the lenses of one's inner 12-year old...

 

Did you know that she has recently published a book of her columns? 

What Makes This Book So Great by Jo Walton

 

"As any reader of Jo Walton's Among Others might guess, Walton is both an inveterate reader of SF and fantasy, and a chronic re-reader of books. In 2008, then-new science-fiction mega-site Tor.com asked Walton to blog regularly about her re-reading—about all kinds of older fantasy and SF, ranging from acknowledged classics, to guilty pleasures, to forgotten oddities and gems. These posts have consistently been among the most popular features of Tor.com. Now this volumes presents a selection of the best of them, ranging from short essays to long reassessments of some of the field's most ambitious series.

 

Among Walton's many subjects here are the Zones of Thought novels of Vernor Vinge; the question of what genre readers mean by "mainstream"; the underappreciated SF adventures of C. J. Cherryh; the field's many approaches to time travel; the masterful science fiction of Samuel R. Delany; Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children; the early Hainish novels of Ursula K. Le Guin; and a Robert A. Heinlein novel you have most certainly never read.

 

Over 130 essays in all, What Makes This Book So Great is an immensely readable, engaging collection of provocative, opinionated thoughts about past and present-day fantasy and science fiction, from one of our best writers."

 

My library has the book on order.  Yay!

 

 

 

You are a fine one to talk!  You posted that *dreadful* list of 'best of 2013 lists'!  ...I worked on that list for days... and added an absurd number of books to my wishlists...   My library should send you a note/gift of appreciation for the way you keep increasing their circulation numbers!

 

Evil chuckle ....

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Kareni]

I just finished Pamela Clare's Naked Edge (I-Team, Book 4) which is a romantic suspense novel.

 

From Publishers Weekly

"In Clare's latest I-Team romantic suspense, half-Navajo journalist Kat is participating in an inipi prayer session when there is a brutal police raid. Kat's leg is broken; luckily she is saved by mountaineer/ranger Gabe Rossiter. Cynical and bitter, Gabe doesn't believe in love, unlike devout, dedicated Kat, who believes sex is sacred. They resist attraction until Kat's Grandpa Red Cloud turns up dead with a rare artifact near his body. The official report insists he was drunk. Kat is determined to clear his name, and reclaim sacred land under dispute. Likewise, Gabe is determined to protect Kat, even when he loses his job over it. Clare offers a respectful portrayal of Navajo culture, and a fascinating look at the journalistic world, but the real draw is Kate and Gabe-contrasting his tough guy cynicism with her intelligent passion for truth. Watching the pair find love and compromise as they race to solve a deadly mystery makes this a solid page-turner.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."

 

 

The review above isn't quite correct in that the broken leg occured in an event unrelated to the inipi prayer session.  However, this "Clare offers a respectful portrayal of Navajo culture, and a fascinating look at the journalistic world..." is very true.  I felt as though I learned quite a bit in the course of reading this book.  It was an enjoyable book.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[LostSurprise]

Michael Perry is a fun author. If you have an opportunity to see him speak, do it! He's hilarious, and humble. 

 

 

I'm really looking forward to Incarnadine. I've been waiting for it at the library since Stacia linked the NPR books list. 

[Onceuponatime]

I finished Snow Falling on Cedars. It was gut-wrenching in parts, and even though the writing was superb, it got a little too graphic at times for my taste. The author took an intimate (very intimate) look at each of the main character's lives as the story unfolded in the past and the present,  similar to The Bridge of San Luis Rey or Hiroshima.

 

So, now for something a lot lighter: Troubling a Star by Madeleine L'Engle. It is a L'Engle that I have not read because it is not in the libraries I go to. I found this one in the thrift store last week and have an excuse to read it sooner, rather than later. Lest you think I am not sticking to my Winter/Snow/Ice theme, here is a picture of the cover:

 

 

 

It takes place in Antarctica, so I kill a few birds with one stone. :coolgleamA:

[Robin M]

 

Take my thoughts with an enormous grain of salt - most of my philosophical reading is pre-Hegel.  My modern reading has been scattershot at best, and I know nothing about current ideas about teaching/learning/engaging with philosophy.

 

...in this, as in so many other areas, I am a dabbler, at best.

 

Personally, I found great value in a chronological approach for the earlier philosophers.  I felt so many of them were in dialogue with each other, either directly or in my head! ...and there was an interesting progression of ideas.  (Progression is the wrong term... interesting chain of ideas... with lots of branches!)

 

I found the first ten or so on that list very, very readable - slow reading, often, and perhaps better done with someone to talk about it with, at least now and again, and best of all when I'd stop and... I don't know how to describe it, 'poke' at the ideas, challenge them a bit, play with them.

 

I think Plato and Aristotle are essential to understanding the medieval philosophers.  [side note: I would not start with Plato's Republic, I'd move more gradually into it with a few other dialogues first, ymmv.  And, although all of Aristotle's works were important, I'd focus on Nicomachean Ethics]

 

I have mixed feelings about using commentaries/guides to Great Books.  I passionately believe that the primary interaction should be the reader with the unfiltered text... but sometimes context and other info can transform one's ability to connect directly with the text. 

 

Joe Sachs has some nice editions of Aristotle and Plato, Jacob Klein's commentary on Meno is wonderful.  Eva Brann's book about the Republic is absolutely amazing (as if everything of hers I've read - she is even more special in person, and I wish I'd had more than a single seminar from her!)

 

I remember Augustine's Confessions as being very accessible, an engaging read, in fact.

 

Aquinas was harder, but it is also hard for me to cope with philosophy w/in an explicitly Xtian framework, so that could have been part of it.  ...I cannot for a moment, however, deny the incredible significance of Aquinas's work. [sorry, referring to Summa Theologica sp?)

 

I do think Maimonides belongs on this list - his impact on Aquinas, Leibnitz, Newton, and, as I recall, Spinoza, was significant.  (he is also an interesting possible bridge to Islamic philosophy, though I have not explored this connection yet...) [Guide for the Perplexed]

 

Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy I also remember as an engaging, interesting read.

 

*Pausing to go back and look over the list again - and grumble at the omission of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations... *

...also very accessible and, imho, engaging, though that can depend on the translation.  (don't remember mine off-hand, sorry)

 

For Lucretius: On The Nature of Things  also an interesting, imho, accessible read.

 

I find Seneca fascinating, and you might want to read one or more of his tragedies (plays) as well as the letters and essays I assume they are referring to... he is, ihmo, a delightful read.

 

This translation of  The Analects by Confucius is very accessible and has selections from traditional commentaries.

Sorry, left off the link: here

 

(Grumbling, again, this time over the omission of Mencius....)

 

The Bacon I have read was delightful and accessible, but I haven't read his more significant works (from a philosophical perspective)  The work I want to read, for that purpose, is Novum Organum, but I would recommend reading some of his essays and shorter works first to get the rhythm of his use of language and ways of discussing things, but ymmv.  The other work I'd like to read is New Atlantis (a utopian novel).

 

After Bacon, I feel that philosophical works start to get more challenging to read, but gradually.

 

Descartes's Meditations on First Philosophy is, imho, a core text for moving into modern philosophy, and still reasonably accessible.

 

...after that, things branch out so much, imho.  There are directions that are more political (Locke) or economic (Smith) (not that they don't interconnect etc) and some of them are dense and challenging.

 

Hobbes, Berkeley, Locke, and Hume are, to varying degrees, quite do-able. [i could suggest some works for each, but it would be biased by what I have read...]

(so are Voltaire and Pascal, but I, in my ignorant prejudice, perhaps, don't weight them as significantly as the others) [i haven't read William of Ockham, Bentham, or Fichte (though I've been reading about the latter lately), so I can't comment on either their accessibility of their significance)

 

And then come Kant and Hegel.  Unmissable, but I remember them as incredibly challenging, but essential to moving into modern philosophy.  I don't think I got what I should had from them when I encountered them - I suspect I was either too young or too unprepared to set aside my own ideas and ideals, but I could just have not worked hard enough or been thinking about them the right way.

 

Rousseau's Confessions & Social Contract were both quite accessible, as was everything I've read by Machiavelli.

Ditto More's Utopia and Montaigne's Essays (how is this list organized?)

 

Leibniz and Spinoza were more challenging, but not as hard as Kant and Hegel (sorry, I should have arranged this chronologically, rather than following along with the list, and then skimming through trying to catch who belongs before Hegel...)

 

Personally, I'd read those first before moving into the more modern realm.

 

Modern philosophers I could see reading 'cold' (ie w/out reading a large percentage of the above):  Sartre (I haven't read any since I devoured everything I could find of his when I was 15-17.  Some of it I read in English, some in French), Beauvoir, Weil (Her essay on the Iliad was a delightful 9and very dusty) read last year, not a philosophical work, per se, but very grounded in her philosophical thinking, imho), Chomsky, Camus, perhaps Marx (but so much better, imho, in context), maybe William James?

 

All of the above are, imho, very readable and reasonably accessible.

 

Not sure if anything in the above is even vaguely helpful.... but I wanted to offer a viewpoint as someone who has read these w/out an intro to philosophy text or guide and, for the most part, without commentaries.

Eliana, you are awesome.  I'm going to have to copy and save this to refer to when I start getting into reading Augustine's Confessions.  One of the gals over on goodreads talked me into (wasn't difficult) joining in starting the autobiographies from WEM  midyear.  Hopefully I'm not biting off more than I can chew this year.  My brain's in the wanna learn mode, feed me mode. 

[Onceuponatime]

 

 

 

Not sure if anything in the above is even vaguely helpful.... but I wanted to offer a viewpoint as someone who has read these w/out an intro to philosophy text or guide and, for the most part, without commentaries.

 

It is very helpful. I, too, will have to print this out to refer to. Thank you very much for taking the time to spell it all out for me.

[mumto2]

Maybe I will make it to Antarctica! This sounds interesting. I look forward to your review.

 

So, now for something a lot lighter: Troubling a Star by Madeleine L'Engle. It is a L'Engle that I have not read because it is not in the libraries I go to. I found this one in the thrift store last week and have an excuse to read it sooner, rather than later. Lest you think I am not sticking to my Winter/Snow/Ice theme, here is a picture of the cover:

 

It takes place in Antarctica, so I kill a few birds with one stone. :coolgleamA:

[mamaraby]

I'm a little worried about the depiction of women in WBC... I am enjoying the book so far, but a few things worried me a little. 

His depiction of women is certainly an issue, I think.  I can handle graphic scenes in books, just not sure if I can abide the way he portrays his female characters, but most especially the way he handles Creta.  I'm still trying to power my way through.

[Stacia]

A friend notified me of some cool reading Bingo cards...

 

http://www.retreatbyrandomhouse.ca/2014/01/reading-bingo-challenge-2014/

[mumto2]

For the Wind Up Bird readers I have recently crossed the 70% mark and the dots are have started connecting nicely. I am having problems putting it down but I must. For me reading Murakami's books requires lots of breaks. Only 2 or 3 chapters at a time. During 1Q84 I became a huge fan of a particular character (some of you did too) so I was happy when he made his appearance in this book. Right now I don't like him much but hopefully he will redeem himself. ;)

[Brilliant]

...

 

 

 

I forget who asked so forgive me.  Here's the link to New York Times Best Seller lists from the 1950's to the Present. 

 

I scrolled through that page and found it fascinating, because I usually don't think of books that show up on the NYT Best Seller list as being "literature". (50 Shades of Grey?)  But if you go back to the 40s and 50s - the classic novels of today were the bestsellers of yesterday!  John Steinbeck, Daphne Du Maurier, Thornton Wilder, Ernest Hemingway, etc.  Some of the books listed are their lesser-known works - Du Maurier shows up a LOT; I had no idea she was so prolific.

[Kareni]

Kareni & Robin: Since you both often like romances with a SFF setting, I wanted to recommend to you are fun book I read last year: Firebrand

 

 

It was a delightful diversion - and I enjoyed the narrator's voice very much.  It was.. uhm... less G-rated than I generally prefer (I know, I reading Heian Japanese stories and those aren't G-rated either... ), but I enjoyed it very much... proof that all it takes to hook me is a voice I enjoy and characters I want to watch...

 

 

 

This sounds intriguing, Eliana.  Thanks for thinking of me!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[AmandaVT]

Posting from my phone so I don't have access to my lists and bookmarks but two wonderful poets that come to mind are Mary Oliver and Jane Hirschfield.

 

I'm curious to hear from the so-called non- poetry folks about what it is that puts you off? Maybe we can help each other, y'all can expand my fairly narrow range of literature love and I can show you that you, too, actually do have a poetic ear :D

 

I missed this when you posted it, sorry! For me, I'm not sure if I'm put off by poetry, but I feel like I'm missing something. I'll read a poem and think that I'm supposed to "get" something out of it or have a transcendent moment and I usually just finish and think "ok - not sure if I get it, but ok." Maybe it's that I secretly feel that people who love poetry have a part of their brain that lights up and I'm missing that part! :-) Hmmm...not doing a very good job wording this. 

[LostSurprise]

I gave myself the The Lives of the Heart, a book of poetry by Jane Hirschfield, for Christmas. I'm really looking forward to it. I was paging through one of those 'best of' collections somewhere and 2 poems of hers really jumped off the page for me. 

 

I would say that 75% of modern poetry is an individual connection to what is being said or a feel for the voice/language. 25% is good writing (although without this 25% you can't make the individual connection). This is why I am a serendipitous poetry reader. I already realize that from an entire book I'll probably only connect with 1-3 poems (and that's if I like the writer). If the poet is good I'll enjoy the craft that went into many of the others, but the magic isn't there (at least not with the initial reading). 

 

I kind of equate it to gambling with a slot machine. The thing about gambling is that it really gives you a charge when you do win. 

 

For several years, I got out of reading poetry. For the last 3 years I've made it a priority to read at least 2 books a year. They're usually very slim and can be left in the bathroom or kitchen or anywhere you have time for 1-2 pages. When you're in the habit you appreciate the ones without electricity, the non-connectors, a lot more, because you appreciate the craft of writing poetry a lot more. 

 

Just my opinion. 

[Angel]

 

I forget who asked so forgive me.  Here's the link to New York Times Best Seller lists from the 1950's to the Present.  Find your birthday week and check out the best sellers published both for fiction and nonfiction.  Book mark the link as we will eventually be doing a mini challenge using the list.   Here's an example of what you will find

 

 

 

 

Ok, I looked at my list and I don't recognize any titles but one.  "The Exorcist!"  Um, NOOOO!  I think I will skip this mini challenge  :scared:

 

 

 

Thanks, Stacia!!  I have a good friend IRL that would love to play "Bingo" with me!  This will be fun.  

[Angel]

(as I said, I prefer Eight Cousins, Rose in Bloom, and An Old Fashioned Girl, but LW does have more allusions, more to draw out)

 

I remember loving Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom when I was in late elementary!  I loved book series back then just as much as I do now.  I think it's because I become so attached to my characters that I just can't bear to give them up.  Of course it has been so long since I read them that I don't remember much about them.  I just know I got a fuzzy feeling when you mentioned them.  ;)

[shukriyya]

I missed this when you posted it, sorry! For me, I'm not sure if I'm put off by poetry, but I feel like I'm missing something. I'll read a poem and think that I'm supposed to "get" something out of it or have a transcendent moment and I usually just finish and think "ok - not sure if I get it, but ok." Maybe it's that I secretly feel that people who love poetry have a part of their brain that lights up and I'm missing that part! :-) Hmmm...not doing a very good job wording this. 

 

Well I'm sure I miss at least half, if not more, of what some poets are trying to say. But you know what, it doesn't matter. And I don't think that's the point. For me the point is language, the way my own soul rushes up to meet the poem and the places where we collide in a breathless heap. Perhaps it's only one single line out of the whole poem. But I allow that line to live in me for a while and see where it takes me.

 

Think about it this way, think about the poet herself or himself spending quiet hours writing and re-writing into what probably feels like a void at times. It's solitary, for the most part, a meditation, prayer even, silent communion with the deities of language. The poet is likely in a swoon some of the time and then eventually s/he re-emerges into the everyday world, a world that, let's face it, has less and less time for poets and the offspring of their labors, to offer up her or his heart with the book of poems. When I read the poem I'm not just reading the words on the page but am tapping into some of their unspoken meditations--that part always fascinates me, the silent places in the poem, where the words aren't.

 

So with this context I imagine them being thrilled just for someone to pause and offer their attention to one of the poems, one of their children, thrilled. In that state of gratitude there's no room for exclusivity, for an 'in crowd' who gets it and an 'out crowd' who is missing something. There's just a sweet wallowing in the words as they unfold across the page in a way particular to that poet. So I say embrace the part of you that secretly thinks she's missing something, take her arm in yours and stroll into the garden of your confusion together, linger there awhile like a couple of old and dear friends and applaud yourself for giving your attention to the poem, the line, the word, the image, even if only for a minute.

 

I gave myself the The Lives of the Heart, a book of poetry by Jane Hirschfield, for Christmas. I'm really looking forward to it. I was paging through one of those 'best of' collections somewhere and 2 poems of hers really jumped off the page for me. 

 

I would say that 75% of modern poetry is an individual connection to what is being said or a feel for the voice/language. 25% is good writing (although without this 25% you can't make the individual connection). This is why I am a serendipitous poetry reader. I already realize that from an entire book I'll probably only connect with 1-3 poems (and that's if I like the writer). If the poet is good I'll enjoy the craft that went into many of the others, but the magic isn't there (at least not with the initial reading). 

 

I kind of equate it to gambling with a slot machine. The thing about gambling is that it really gives you a charge when you do win. 

 

For several years, I got out of reading poetry. For the last 3 years I've made it a priority to read at least 2 books a year. They're usually very slim and can be left in the bathroom or kitchen or anywhere you have time for 1-2 pages. When you're in the habit you appreciate the ones without electricity, the non-connectors, a lot more, because you appreciate the craft of writing poetry a lot more. 

 

Just my opinion. 

 

Thanks for this. Keeping a book or two lying around in a place in your home where you stop and pause is such a great way of entering the stream. Sometimes I like to just re-read a single line that has moved me, each day it tells me something different. And re connecting with only 1-3 poems, I imagine that the poet likely has poems that feel more resonant and 'complete' than others within a single collection. I do like and approve of your priority of reading a couple of collections a year :D

[Stacia]

Maybe it's that I secretly feel that people who love poetry have a part of their brain that lights up and I'm missing that part!

 

Ever since the question was asked about why one doesn't like poetry, I've been pondering the question. And I really can't come up with an answer. To be fair, I haven't devoted a lot of time to reading poetry in my life, & I do feel like I'm someone who *should* like poetry (I used to edit so I can appreciate spare wording/precise vocabulary, I love reading great writing, even love experimental forms of writing, ...), but something just doesn't reach me through poetry.

 

Your statement is great. I'm not sure I ever would have come up with wording it that way, but it rings true to me too.

 

For those who have posted in defense & love of poetry: Thank You. You are making me see the possibilities, making me want to try again. I did read two books of poetry last year (Altazor and Night of My Blood). I loved, loved the beauty & surreality of Altazor. Night of My Blood was interesting (from an 'other cultures' perspective) but didn't really touch me, I think.

 

Perhaps I need to try more poetry this year. 

[shukriyya]

Ever since the question was asked about why one doesn't like poetry, I've been pondering the question. And I really can't come up with an answer. To be fair, I haven't devoted a lot of time to reading poetry in my life, & I do feel like I'm someone who *should* like poetry (I used to edit so I can appreciate spare wording/precise vocabulary, I love reading great writing, even love experimental forms of writing, ...), but something just doesn't reach me through poetry.

 

Your statement is great. I'm not sure I ever would have come up with wording it that way, but it rings true to me too.

 

For those who have posted in defense & love of poetry: Thank You. You are making me see the possibilities, making me want to try again. I did read two books of poetry last year (Altazor and Night of My Blood). I loved, loved the beauty & surreality of Altazor. Night of My Blood was interesting (from an 'other cultures' perspective) but didn't really touch me, I think.

 

Perhaps I need to try more poetry this year. 

 

See, and I feel like I'm someone who *should* like more forms of literature than I do, whose aperture should be tuned a little wider than it currently is because like you, I used to edit and I do so very much appreciate the impossible possibilities of language and story and how they touch and unfold us. I applaud your pioneer spirit in the realm of the surreal and experimental lit.

 

I guess I'm hoping to have you all broaden my fiction horizons a little and while I cannot find my way into Murakami I'm enjoying the conversation y'all are having around his writing. And it has encouraged me to explore other writers from Japan, something I wouldn't likely have done on my own.

 

Someone commented on how upsetting 'Snow Falling on Cedars' was. I read it years ago and don't remember it being upsetting at the time but I bet now I wouldn't read it based on that comment. Because part of what's happened to me is Motherhood--yes, it deserves that capital M and perhaps italics if I think further because it is such a combination of strength and vulnerability isn't it? Motherhood has softened places in me that used to be more resilient, more armored such that things go in a little more deeply iykwim. So Motherhood informs what I read. Can anyone relate to this?