marbel Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 From Jane Eyre, a marriage proposal rejection that needs to be on some literary list: <snip> This is why I'm so glad I reread Jane Eyre as an adult. I had forgotten/missed this the first time around (as a teen), and I had certainly not noticed or understood Jane's depth of theological wisdom. Though I'll be in trouble if anyone asks for more specific examples. I finished our readaloud of And Then There Were None. Creepy, disturbing book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Last year, I know quite a few of you read & highly recommended some of the books by North Korean defectors. Based on those accounts & others, plus additional investigations, the UN is now calling for investigation into crimes against humanity in North Korea. UN Urges Probe Into 'Atrocious' N. Korean Crimes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 I just heard an NPR report on this over the weekend. I'm sitting in the car with my trusty phone. Again. I've become chauffeur extraordinaire as I navigate traffic commutes though today has been blissfully light due to the holiday. Plans for this afternoon before I pick ds up from his class include knitting, reading, NPR, tea and chocolate all taking place from the confines of the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Didn't post yesterday because I had two that were almost done, but now I've finished Sarah Addison Allen's Lost Lake and Alice Munro's Dear Life. I like Allen for fun escapist reading. I enjoyed Lost Lake, but it was probably my least favorite of her books. Seemed a bit forced, a bit choppy. If I start thinking about the writing process while reading a book, that means I haven't been thoroughly sucked into the world the author is trying to create. This one just wasn't as well-woven as her previous books. I like Munro. The person who picked this book for our book club apologized by e-mail for picking a "downer" book, but I haven't found it depressing even though these are not light-hearted stories. Next up: I'll be reading Laura Moriarty's The Chaperone for our next book club pick. Dh and I are both reading The Blood Sugar Solution to rejuvenate our healthy eating habits. Amazon tells me that S. has shipped and should be here tomorrow. And if all that isn't enough, I've got 4 other books from the library that I've heard about here--we'll see if I get to any of them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 . There is an emotional succinctness to the quotes you included (which aren't showing up in my post) that I find thoroughly amusing. Perhaps it's their brevity in light of subject :D My quotes may have been succinct but the passage in the novel is much meatier. Let's just say those lines stood out for me. How did the world receive Jane Eyre in 1847? There are snippets of reviews at the end of the novel in my hardcover Penguin version. Refreshing new voice seems to be the general consensus, but one wonders how some of dear Jane's opinions were seen in those pre-suffragette days. At one point, Jane asks, Would it not be strange..to be chained for life to a man who regarded one but as a useful tool? Considering that marriage was often arranged and performed for family ties or other pragmatic purposes, was this a radical concept? So huzzah! Jane Eyre is shelved with a sigh. I almost wish I was rating books so I give could this one five stars. Next up in fiction: I have pulled two books from my library bag. Ruth Ozeki's My Year of Meats is under consideration as part of a 5/5/5 challenge: food novels. Sofi Oksanen's Purge arrived by an interesting path. Fictional detective Inspector Banks (Peter Robinson) was reading this book while flying to Estonia. I made note of the book on this thread. Eliana reported that Purge was unputdownable yet very painful. This one has been on my library list for months now and also satisfies another of my 5/5/5 challenges: Eastern or Middle European novels. I don't usually read two novels simultaneously so perhaps one will grab me more than the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 <snippety> Considering that marriage was often arranged and performed for family ties or other pragmatic purposes, was this a radical concept? Indeed! It sets up a detectable inner rippling in my cellular landscape. Next up in fiction: I have pulled two books from my library bag. Ruth Ozeki's My Year of Meats is under consideration as part of a 5/5/5 challenge: food novels. My Year of Meats is up for consideration for me also as part of a 5/5/5 with food being the category. Others in the possible lineup include :: Salt by Mark Kurlansky Gulp by Mary Roach The Language of Baklava by Diana Abu-Jaber Notes from the Larder by Nigel Slater An Omelette and a Glass of Wine by Elizabeth David (this would be a reread) And a few others under scrutiny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 My Year of Meats is up for consideration for me also as part of a 5/5/5 with food being the category. Others in the possible lineup include :: Salt by Mark Kurlansky Gulp by Mary Roach The Language of Baklava by Diana Abu-Jaber Notes from the Larder by Nigel Slater An Omelette and a Glass of Wine by Elizabeth David (this would be a reread) And a few others under scrutiny. Gulp is a fun book. Cinnamon and Gunpowder was my inspiration for the 5/5/5 challenge of food novels. If I get bored, I'll move to food memoirs. Laurie Colwin's Homecooking would be a reread for me--wonderful book! Are you the person who mentioned Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Are you the person who mentioned Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking? Not I. However it has gone on to my tbr list :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I’m reading through the Wheel of Time serie by Robert Jordan. It’s my last 10-15 minutes in bed reading, nice and cozy. I had read the first 5 or 6 books a couple of years ago, and I’m surprised by how much I remember. But that’s okay. Done: Eye of the World and Great Hunt, I’m halfway through Dragon Reborn. It's awesome to see a couple others reading WoT ;) The Dragon Reborn and The Shadow Rising were two of my favorites in the series. Loved both The Historian & Born to Run. I'm not a runner either, but it (almost) made me run too. (And I also have a pair of Vibram shoes, lol.) I'm still trying on the running stuff. My dh loves to run (gets that 'runner's high'), but I don't get the thrill. It feels like drudgery to me. :tongue_smilie: :lol: This is my dh too! And your response is mine. I have been trying to run a very little for exercise. Ugh. So not my favorite and I'm barely going a mile, if that. Just don't get it! I finished a book over the weekend, but I'll post tomorrow. It's been a busy few days and I'm headed to bed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Gulp is a fun book. Cinnamon and Gunpowder was my inspiration for the 5/5/5 challenge of food novels. If I get bored, I'll move to food memoirs. Laurie Colwin's Homecooking would be a reread for me--wonderful book! Are you the person who mentioned Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking? I love these books! Every now and then I pull one out and reread an essay. Such great books! I also enjoyed Salt very much. Thanks for the reminder (you didn't know I needed one, did you?) about my 5/5/5. I keep finding other things I need to read and forgetting about it. But I want to do a challenge like that. I think I have art fiction and food fiction but can't think of another category. Or maybe I did and forgot it already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I am sitting here in the gloaming, in the kitchen watching the light slowly fade away from itself, a glass of kombucha at my side and the prospect of dinner prep on the near horizon. Our long commute home in rush traffic has left me feeling thinned out. Thermoses and lunch containers stand sentinel at the sink awaiting the transformation soap and hot water and that crowning alchemy, human intention. But I'll sit a bit longer here in front of the computer and catch up.I did get a lot of reading done and am wrapping up 'A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar' (bit of a mouthful, that). What seemed to be unparallel stories are now becoming clear in their relevance to each other. The ending has taken a rather disturbing, though not altogether unsurprising, turn. It's a well written book for the most part though the main characters feel just a wee bit distant, as though some kind of intimacy is missing from their makeup. Is that a function of the author's own disinterest, I wonder, or her lack of skill in knowing how to give them flesh and breath and silence? I feel slightly removed from them though I am curious to know what will finally become of them. I've learned a lot with this book about pushing through initial disinterest. Okay, on now to dinner prep... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Oh, my teetering library pile! And I have so much to do this week & next that I fear I will get through very few of these. Anyone else have a big library pile right now? If so, what's in your pile? Mine is: The Way Through Doors by Jesse Ball (in progress) The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing (just picked up & need to read for my book club) The Circle by Dave Eggers The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien Nothing: A Portrait of Insomnia by Blake Butler The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs Ripper by Isabel Allende Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock Man or Mango? by Lucy Ellman Why We Suck by Dr. Denis Leary The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith Werewolves of Montpellier by Jason And, of course, I have quite a few more on my request list. :leaving: Just in case you need a few more ideas, here's a fun page: My Guilty Pleasure: Writers talk about the books they love but are embarrassed to be seen reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 NPR hosts Grapes of Wrath read-along (to do prior to the 75th birthday of the book in April)... http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2014/02/17/275913549/last-chance-to-read-grapes-of-wrath-before-it-turns-75 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 One more interesting article: Muses And More: 3 Books We Owe To Writers' Lovers Ok, I had to lol about the first one (Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde -- one of my favorite books, btw) when it mentions what his wife did.... :blink: Guess she was right, though, as I love the story as it is today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Oh, my teetering library pile! And I have so much to do this week & next that I fear I will get through very few of these. Anyone else have a big library pile right now? If so, what's in your pile? Mine is: The Way Through Doors by Jesse Ball (in progress) The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing (just picked up & need to read for my book club) The Circle by Dave Eggers The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien Nothing: A Portrait of Insomnia by Blake Butler The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs Ripper by Isabel Allende Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock Man or Mango? by Lucy Ellman Why We Suck by Dr. Denis Leary The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith Werewolves of Montpellier by Jason And, of course, I have quite a few more on my request list. :leaving: Just in case you need a few more ideas, here's a fun page: My Guilty Pleasure: Writers talk about the books they love but are embarrassed to be seen reading. Your list is substantial but I'm more impressed by the fact that you linked every.single.book. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Your list is substantial but I'm more impressed by the fact that you linked every.single.book. :lol: That is the editor in me.... ;) (Either do them all or do none. Must be consistent.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 This week, finishing The Quest for Corvo (biography of Frederick Rolfe, who wrote the very strange roman à clef Hadrian VII, which I read and enjoyed earlier this year), starting Don Juan, three pages into Colette, and trying to find my copy of Purgatorio. It was around here somewhere, unless it's completed its penance and moved up.... I would like to know how Don Juan fits into people's theories of poetry and their enjoyment thereof. It's a hilarious read, especially with some familiarity of who and what is being skewered in various stanzas, but not quite what seems to be meant by "poetry" on the book threads. 8. Austen, Mansfield Park 7. St Hildegard von Bingen, Scivias 6. Shakespeare, As You Like It 5. Maupassant, "Le Horla" 4. Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories 3. Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables 2. Frederick Rolfe, Hadrian VII 1. Mann, Death in Venice & Other Stories Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlbuchina Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I finally finished The Devotion of Suspect X, by Keigo Higashino. Oh my goodness, what an ending! I did NOT see that coming. Stacia, my jaw literally dropped when all was revealed. LOL I enjoyed the book a lot, but I do think the ending was rushed. I think it needed one more chapter to wrap everything up a little more neatly. As we were traveling home today, we finished up Inkheart, and started Inkspell. I just love these stories, and enjoy listening to them immensely. The woman who reads the first book does such a wonderful job with each character's voice, and the second one is read by Brendan Fraser :001_wub: . In addition to listening to the audio books, I have started reading The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green. My Italy book I think I mentioned last week is The Shape of Water, by Andrea Camilleri, and I hope to get to it this week. I still haven't gotten to Inferno yet. :leaving: While visiting with my dh this past week, we went to a used bookstore, and I couldn't leave without some treasures. :D I found all the Narnia books on CD. One of the books is read by Kenneth Branagh, and one is read by Patrick Stewart! The other readers are Michael York, Alex Jennings, Lynn Redgrave, Derek Jacobi, and Jeremy Northam. (I'm embarrassed to say that I don't have any idea who these people are. I'll have to Google them.) I found a book I think I'm really going to enjoy called The Archivist, by Martha Cooley. I love the cover, too. The reviews aren't so favorable, but that just usually means I'll like it. :001_cool: [edited to remove picture] Oh, and I picked up a copy of Mansfield Park, too. :D The Roundup: 1. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle 2. The Winter Ghosts, by Kate Mosse (winter challenge) 3. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakami (around the world challenge, Japan) 4. 360 Degrees Longitude, by John Higham (5/5/5 challenge, travelogue) 5. Ring, by Koji Suzuki (around the world challenge, Japan) 6. Spiral, by Koji Suzuki (around the world challenge, Japan) 7. The Lunatic, by Anthony C. Winkler (around the world challenge, Jamaica) 8. In A Sunburned Country, by Bill Bryson (5/5/5 challenge, travelogue) 9. The Devotion of Suspect X, by Keigo Higashino (around the world challenge, Japan) 10. Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Harry Potter 1 and Cuckoo's Calling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 While visiting with my dh this past week, we went to a used bookstore, and I couldn't leave without some treasures. :D I found all the Narnia books on CD. One of the books is read by Kenneth Branagh, and one is read by Patrick Stewart! The other readers are Michael York, Alex Jennings, Lynn Redgrave, Derek Jacobi, and Jeremy Northam. (I'm embarrassed to say that I don't have any idea who these people are. I'll have to Google them.) We love the one with Derek Jacobi and the one with Lynn Redgrave. She is marvellous. Kenneth Branagh's reading is good too though not as much of a fave as the previous two. I recall Michael York from my youth. I'll bet his reading is good as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Wow, this thread sure has moved along briskly! It's only Monday, for cryin' out loud! Big news from our little corner of the world: we have a NEW DOG. Which I imagine will influence my exercise time positively, and my reading time negatively... I'm so glad that others have also enjoyed Cloud Atlas... I went back this week and re-read it AGAIN, this time taking absurdly extensive notes and excerpts... in some ways it felt wrong to pull the Russian nesting dolls apart and deconstruct the storylines and draw diagrams connecting common elements between the characters and plot lines. Yet there's so much there, and it continues to pull me... In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner-I really loved this book. I found the language just beautiful and loved having the story told from the perspective of a child who is forced to be grown up and deal with adult issues way too early. It's a heartbreaking story. <snip> Stitches by Anne Lamott-This is her newest release. As usual for me with Anne, I found myself laughing at times, scratching my head on occasion, and backing up to read certain passages over and over again because they touched me so deeply. I wish I could go on one of her hikes with her and her dogs and soak in some of her wisdom. :) I enjoyed Banyan as well. Well, 'enjoyed' is maybe not the right word - parts were very painful to read. But as you say, the child's voice worked, which is tricky to pull off. I'll have to look out for Stitches - I've enjoyed her other books. Next week is Spring Break for us and I plan on reading a lot. I have several books lined up, because obviously if I don’t do that I default to non-fiction and I want to get away from that. I used to read mostly fiction and only occasionally non-fiction, but that changed when I got children. It’s easier for me to read non-fiction in short snippets and I now really have to work to get into the world of a book. But fiction gives me so much more pleasure, so I’m determined to read more of it this year! I also find non-fiction much easier to read in bits and pieces. If a fictional work is compelling -- if I care about the characters and believe in their world -- I don't even want to come out for air, let alone to make dinner or do laundry. And forget about sleep. Whereas non-fiction I generally can put done and return to without undue separation anxiety... Rumi is a poet who is alive in our home, his poems often quoted or sung or even danced to. Coleman Barks is one of the best (the best?) translators of his work and if you ever get a chance to see Coleman, Zuleikha, Glen Velez and David Darling in concert together you won't be disappointed. The breath beneath the poetry is brought vividly and beautifully to life.Rereading ::'Untold :: A History of the Wives of Prophet Muhammad' by Tamam Kahn--this is an exquisite book by a dear friend that I first read a few years ago. She and I have prayed together, danced together, laughed together...A recent conversation with a friend inspired me to pick it up again. It's written in a literary form called prosimetrium which moves back and forth between sections of prose and sections of poetry. Prosimetrium has a fairly long history in both eastern and western literatures. I like what Fred Chappell says in the foreword ::"To read "Untold" is like making a journey through a broad, colorful, desert landscape as one is carried along in prose and then to be halted by sudden encounters with personages who eagerly tell their stories or by striking features of landscape that offer themes and images for meditation. When the journey provides understanding, the abrupt bursts of poetry offer exhilaration. Each is indispensable to the other." Ah, Shukriyya, truly I think we must have been separated at birth... just this morning I put up Rumi's Gnats in the Wind (Banks translation) on my blog! What are the odds, really. In concert... wow. And Untold -- is it mostly poetry, or prose as well? Storytelling, or elliptical and allusive? I finished The Vow this morning. It is the true story of Kim & Krickett Carpenter who were in a terrible automobile accident shortly after they were married. Krickett sustained terrible brain injury and forgets that she was ever married. It is the story of Kim Carpenter winning back his wife and staying true to his vow to be faithful to his wife. This was one my friend's books that she said I just had to read. Not typically the type of book I pick up; had it been fiction I really wouldn't have been interested. It was, however, non-fiction and it was neat testimony of the couple's faithfulness to each other and their faith in God. (I guess they made the rounds in the newspapers, magazines, and talk show circuit back in the late 90's early 2000's, but it wouldn't have been on my radar at that time. It was also made into a movie starring Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum in 2012, which I have not seen.) Huh. My eldest and I saw a (very sweet) rom-com called 50 First Dates based on a clearly related premise, but with Drew Barrymore. Really quite lovely if you care for rom-com. (Personally it's the only genre of movies I ever watch other than LOTR.) Re: Wicked, I'll be waiting to hear what you think! It was a book that I tried many years ago and I thought it was SO weird that I didn't finish it. I'm going to look for that The Summit; that kind of thing interests me. Same with me. Loved the musical. Great music, fascinating second take on the Oz plot, serious insight on how we can be bent, positively and negatively, by the influences around us, made sense. Immediately went off to find the book and delved into it with enthusiasm. Sadly, the book makes no sense. Such a reaction is unusual, for me... I also enjoyed Salt very much. Thanks for the reminder (you didn't know I needed one, did you?) about my 5/5/5. I keep finding other things I need to read and forgetting about it. But I want to do a challenge like that. I think I have art fiction and food fiction but can't think of another category. Or maybe I did and forgot it already. Marbel, if you liked Salt, you might take a look at Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World... I used this as a case study with my kids that all sorts of things can serve the center of a coherent historical narrative... I love Kurlansky. He also has a new one out on oysters which is sitting on my bedside table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 So, last week I finished Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, which I'd never read before and enjoyed a lot. It's a time-traveling, satiric romp that weaves in Twain-era technology, notions about governance and religion, and revulsion against bondage, into the characters and setting of the King Arthur legends. Good fun. With my daughter, I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon. This is YA fiction, with a narrator on the spectrum, with imperfect parents. It's quite interesting, both because the narrator-on-the-spectrum is done IMO extremely well (Rosie Project, which also had a narrator on the spectrum, was good fun, but this narrator really conveys the abilities and the interpersonal relationship challenges much more fully); and also, relatedly, it becomes a really good way to explore and discuss the construct of an "unreliable narrator"... recommended. I also read Eric Weiner's Man Seeks God: My Flirtations with the Divine; which like Geography of Bliss is a combined travelogue-plus-delve-into-a-semi-serious-subject. (I mean, the subject -- comparative religious traditions' approach to union with the divine -- is serious; Weiner's approach to the subject, by his own account, vacillates in its seriousness.) Good faith, good fun, no surprises. And I re-read Cloud Atlas, again... :laugh: My daughter and I are now reading Black Radishes, by Susan Lynn Meyer, a YA novel set in occupied France with a young Jewish protagonist. I'm still working on Buber's I and Thou as my heavy book; VS Naipul's Magic Seeds as my fiction; and The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano as my audiobook. This last is very good and quite heartbreaking, though not for all audiences (anorexia, cutting, etc). I was up visiting my parents this weekend and my mother took me to a fabulous used bookstore, where I managed to pick up Conference of the Birds and Judah Halevi's Song of the Distant Dove, both of which were on my dusty TBR list; as well as a book of stories by Bella Chagall (Marc's wife, with his illustrations) that I never even knew existed, called Burning Lights: A unique double portrait of the warm world of Russian Jewry. Score! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlbuchina Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Wow, this thread sure has moved along briskly! It's only Monday, for cryin' out loud! Big news from our little corner of the world: we have a NEW DOG. Which I imagine will influence my exercise time positively, and my reading time negatively... Doesn't it, though?! Congrats on the new dog! I see an opportunity for more time for audio books. LOL ~Phoenix, on 17 Feb 2014 - 09:40 AM, said: "I finished The Vow this morning. It is the true story of Kim & Krickett Carpenter who were in a terrible automobile accident shortly after they were married. Krickett sustained terrible brain injury and forgets that she was ever married. It is the story of Kim Carpenter winning back his wife and staying true to his vow to be faithful to his wife. This was one my friend's books that she said I just had to read. Not typically the type of book I pick up; had it been fiction I really wouldn't have been interested. It was, however, non-fiction and it was neat testimony of the couple's faithfulness to each other and their faith in God. (I guess they made the rounds in the newspapers, magazines, and talk show circuit back in the late 90's early 2000's, but it wouldn't have been on my radar at that time. It was also made into a movie starring Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum in 2012, which I have not seen.)" Huh. My eldest and I saw a (very sweet) rom-com called 50 First Dates based on a clearly related premise, but with Drew Barrymore. Really quite lovely if you care for rom-com. (Personally it's the only genre of movies I ever watch other than LOTR.) I watched The Vow on Saturday, and even though I knew how it ends, I was still in tears quite a few times during the movie. I enjoyed it, none the less. It led me to rewatch P.S. I Love You. I love that movie. I have the book in my TBR pile, and I hope I like it. 50 First Dates is a great movie. We actually watched it this past week, too. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I read Wicked some years ago. It contains a lot of politics and since I'm fairly apolitical, that aspect of the novel did not appeal to me. My theory is that those who are more politically interested might like it more. This was one case where the musical, in my opinion, was better than the book.Regards,Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Ah, Shukriyya, truly I think we must have been separated at birth... just this morning I put up Rumi's Gnats in the Wind (Banks translation) on my blog! What are the odds, really. In concert... wow. And Untold -- is it mostly poetry, or prose as well? Storytelling, or elliptical and allusive? I think you would very much enjoy 'Untold'. It's a mix of poetry and prose, alternating each, lots of poetry, lots of prose, each poem flowering within a garden of historical and cultural context. Lots of storytelling, allusive, yes! and luminously elliptical. It's exhaustively researched, not just from a scholarly standpoint but from an experiential one, from the reference point of the body. The author went deep with this one. You might enjoy her blog and thank you for linking yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 And speaking of movies, we just watched "I Know Where I'm Going" made in 1944. The story was a basic romance but the star of the show was the landscape. It was shot in the Scottish Hebrides in b&w. Gorgeous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Last year, I know quite a few of you read & highly recommended some of the books by North Korean defectors. Based on those accounts & others, plus additional investigations, the UN is now calling for investigation into crimes against humanity in North Korea. UN Urges Probe Into 'Atrocious' N. Korean Crimes Stacia, I know that you barely watch TV (like me), but did you see the recent Frontline show on North Korea? We finally got to see it last week. Didn't post yesterday because I had two that were almost done, but now I've finished Sarah Addison Allen's Lost Lake and Alice Munro's Dear Life. I like Allen for fun escapist reading. I enjoyed Lost Lake, but it was probably my least favorite of her books. Seemed a bit forced, a bit choppy. I just read this also and had the exact same thoughts - my least favorite of all her books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 In my library pile: The Thief of Venice- Jane Langton (Since I've been reading Jane Langton, plus we are in Italy) The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag- Bradley (I read the first a few years ago and forgot about it being a series till the last few threads of BAW.) The Venetians: A New History: From Marco Polo to Casanova-Strathern (on topic, thought I'd take a look and see if I feel like reading it.) My bigger, unread "used book" pile: On the Road With Charles Kuralt- Kuralt The Consolation of Philosophy- Boethius Practical Magic- Hoffman Payment Deferred- C.S. Forester Looking at Philosophy: The Unbearable Heaviness of Philosophy Made Lighter- Palmer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I think you would very much enjoy 'Untold'. It's a mix of poetry and prose, alternating each, lots of poetry, lots of prose, each poem flowering within a garden of historical and cultural context. Lots of storytelling, allusive, yes! and luminously elliptical. It's exhaustively researched, not just from a scholarly standpoint but from an experiential one, from the reference point of the body. The author went deep with this one. You might enjoy her blog and thank you for linking yours. Thanks... I enjoyed looking at her blog, and particularly this (her reference is to the NT parable of the man giving away the shirt off his own back, whose meaning is understood not as literal history but as an archetypal "generosity story" that teaches us about a life well lived): "...These fragments are preserved, shared among those who wish to know about Fatima, while the room where Fatima spent her childhood sleeping and playing, the room to the left of the front door of her mother Khadija’s house is under sand and cement, sealed off. Her birth: We have Mary, mother of Jesus; Assiyya, wife of the Pharaoh; Kulthum, sister of Moses; and Hagar or Sarah, wife of Abraham who delivered Fatima when Khadija gave birth. Umm Ayman, who delivered Muhammad and was a servant in the house — isn’t mentioned, just those legends. So there is a gap. Poetry is good for this kind of situation, since it can give wings to words when the trail ends, as long as the reader can follow the new trail through air…. My job with Fatima is to haul all of it, a pack-rat’s-vehicle-of-lifetimes, to a place where I can chose what to hold, fold, walk or run away from…. a challenge that needs one thing; a quivering antenna, a very refined radar that keeps asking the question: what needs to be said here?" ... which evokes for me the tradition in Judaism of midrash, the stories in the spaces between the stories. I will look for Untold... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Wow, this thread sure has moved along briskly! It's only Monday, for cryin' out loud! Big news from our little corner of the world: we have a NEW DOG. Which I imagine will influence my exercise time positively, and my reading time negatively... You must share more about this dog! We did cats a few weeks ago, lol! I watched The Vow on Saturday, and even though I knew how it ends, I was still in tears quite a few times during the movie. I enjoyed it, none the less. It led me to rewatch P.S. I Love You. I love that movie. I have the book in my TBR pile, and I hope I like it. 50 First Dates is a great movie. We actually watched it this past week, too. :D I forgot I did watch that 50 First Dates way back when it came out. I'm glad you liked The Vow movie, where/how did you watch it? It looks like I can buy it on Amazon for $6.99 to stream. I was hoping Netflix would have it, but didn't see it there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I've banned myself from the library while I whittle down the books on my shelves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I've banned myself from the library while I whittle down the books on my shelves. I just can't seem to do that. I come home with a few new books every time I go in. And we go in a lot, as my daughter volunteers there. I also scan the new book section and grab stuff that might be interesting for my son (who likes book but doesn't go to the library as much as his sister and mommy). Every now and then I have a fit and take every library book back. But we just start over. It's weird. You know what's weirder though? My MIL, when asked for ideas for gifts for my FIL, saying: "Don't get him a book. He's got one he hasn't read yet." Seriously? One unread book in the house? (I don't think she reads at all.) And when I think about my husband's book issues... sometimes I wonder if he was secretly adopted or switched at birth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlbuchina Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 You must share more about this dog! We did cats a few weeks ago, lol! I forgot I did watch that 50 First Dates way back when it came out. I'm glad you liked The Vow movie, where/how did you watch it? It looks like I can buy it on Amazon for $6.99 to stream. I was hoping Netflix would have it, but didn't see it there. We got it from a Redbox kiosk. It's so funny to me to be getting movies from a vending machine, instead of at a rental store. I met my dh at the video rental store I was working at. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 We got it from a Redbox kiosk. It's so funny to me to be getting movies from a vending machine, instead of at a rental store. I met my dh at the video rental store I was working at. LOL Ha. Didn't even think of looking there. Yup, ours has it, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 You know what's weirder though? My MIL, when asked for ideas for gifts for my FIL, saying: "Don't get him a book. He's got one he hasn't read yet." :svengo: I'm speechless. That reminds me of people who, when asked what their favorite book is, start telling very enthousiastically about that wonderful book they read 3 summers ago, while I'm frantically trying to remember what I read 3 months ago, let alone 3 years ago. And after a couple of minutes, it becomes clear they have only read *one* book in all those years...so that's why they remember..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I love Chretien de Troyes. My poor kids-I quote from it all the time. And you have been busy! How do you find the time? Meh, all the books I read were super short. I'm sure regarding time spent and page count it was about the same as reading one novel of about 300-350 pages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Alice, have you read M. T. Anderson's Octavian Nothing books? I read the first one a few years ago & thought it was really good. I keep meaning to read the sequel.... See, I say I don't like YA & I'm already contradicting myself. Lol. I recently got the first one out of the library but had to return it as I too many other things in the pile that I had to read first. I am interested in reading them though. And my daughter saw the photo of your library stack and said "Woah, that's a lot of books!" On Wicked, I read the book a long time ago, I think before the musical even came out although maybe it was just before it became so popular. I didn't love the book but I didn't hate it. But it was so bizarre that I remember being really surprised at how popular the musical was. I still haven't seen the musical, and it took me a long time to realist that the musical is apparently quite different from the book. I should have suspected that but for some reason I just had this image of the storyline from the book being what all these fairly conservative middle-aged women I knew had fallen in love with in the musical. And that just seemed hilarious to me. A funny library story that most of you will understand...We get a lot of books out, as most homeschoolers do. My youngest is still very much in the picture book years so it's quite easy for us to max out two cards (50 book limit on each card) and we've come close to maxing out all three cards we have. Most of the librarians know me well and most are nice. Some do a little"eye-rolling" when we come in and check out but most are pretty nice. Recently, we were there when a new librarian was training. I had to take up the books we had on hold and ask her to check them out on my son's card instead of mine. This is quite routine for us as often the card the books are on hold on is full, but they never have a problem checking them out on the other card since he is there with me. They were in the process of doing it but then his card became full so I took out the other son's card. She looked puzzled and said "Wait, a minute. If you have two cards that are full that means you have more than 100 books at home." I smiled and said yes, that was so. She looked concerned and said "That doesn't seem good at all." I was kind of flummoxed and amused at the same time. I could see her giving me a lecture on library policy or something but my only thought was that shouldn't a librarian think that having the more books the better? I just kind of laughed and said "Well, we think it's great" and left it at that. I'm sure the other librarians will fill her in on our weirdo family. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 ... which evokes for me the tradition in Judaism of midrash, the stories in the spaces between the stories. I will look for Untold... Bolded because that is so often where I live. Even on this thread there are the silences, the places where the collective indrawn breath pauses and is held in a kind of gathering of impulse. It's a fascinating constellation that I like to imagine shimmers through each of as we read and respond to each other. Okay, taking off my woowoo hat now :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMom Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 CAmom I'll be interested to hear how you like The Sunday Philosopher's Club. I didn't really like it. :leaving: I kept thinking....Why is there no philosophy club? :lol: I found it disjointed with no real flow of story. I felt like there was no thread weaving the characters together; like several of them were merely put in there to send the reader on a wild goose chase. There was no real build up to the ending just-wham. There you go. I didn't care about a single character in the book and, by half way through, I didn't even care whodunnit. I only kept reading because it was short and quick. If it had required any effort, it would have gone back to the library without being finished. How's that for a glowing review? Maybe I missed something? :blushing: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I didn't really like it. :leaving: I kept thinking....Why is there no philosophy club? :lol: I found it disjointed with no real flow of story. I felt like there was no thread weaving the characters together; like several of them were merely put in there to send the reader on a wild goose chase. There was no real build up to the ending just-wham. There you go. I didn't care about a single character in the book and, by half way through, I didn't even care whodunnit. I only kept reading because it was short and quick. If it had required any effort, it would have gone back to the library without being finished. How's that for a glowing review? Maybe I missed something? :blushing: I would have given the same review. I read it two years ago and was looking forward to a philosophical bent in the story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Bolded because that is so often where I live. Even on this thread there are the silences, the places where the collective indrawn breath pauses and is held in a kind of gathering of impulse. It's a fascinating constellation that I like to imagine shimmers through each of as we read and respond to each other. Okay, taking off my woowoo hat now :lol: That's lovely. I always figured the silences come because someone has dropped a stitch... . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 OK, so my frustration of the day is: I did this whole long multi-quoted post, responding with great (ahem) wisdom and wit to a whole bunch of other posters' suggestions and insights and comments (we're a little thin on the GIF files so far this week, I notice), and then... ... as I attempted to insert a picture of our fabulous new dog... THE WHOLE POST GOT EATEN. Grrr. So, I'm just going to try to do the dog, here: .... Um. OK, I think I'm ready for my tutorial on How To Post A Picture From My Desktop, please... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 You must share more about this dog! We did cats a few weeks ago, lol! We got it from a Redbox kiosk. There's a danger in not reading closely. At first I thought the dog had come from the Redbox kiosk! Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Anyone else have a big library pile right now? If so, what's in your pile? My library pile is surprisingly short right now. (Of course, you can hardly see it as it's dwarfed by all those other unread books that I own.) Cutting for Stone - VERGHESE (currently reading for my new book group meeting on Thursday) This Same Earth - HUNTER The Novel Cure: From Abandonment to Zestlessness: 751 Books to Cure What Ails You - BERTHOUD Killing Sarai (In the Company of Killers) - REDMERSKI The Edge of Always - REDMERSKI Then there are the five books on hold that I need to collect from the library .... Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I didn't really like it. :leaving: I kept thinking....Why is there no philosophy club? :lol: I found it disjointed with no real flow of story. I felt like there was no thread weaving the characters together; like several of them were merely put in there to send the reader on a wild goose chase. There was no real build up to the ending just-wham. There you go. I didn't care about a single character in the book and, by half way through, I didn't even care whodunnit. I only kept reading because it was short and quick. If it had required any effort, it would have gone back to the library without being finished. How's that for a glowing review? Maybe I missed something? :blushing: I would have given the same review. I read it two years ago and was looking forward to a philosophical bent in the story. Well, that's just about as far on the opposite end of the spectrum from my experience with it as could be :lol: I'm trying to remember back to that first book...it's kind of hazy but I do know I enjoyed it immensely. I liked the very, sloooow pace, the fact that nothing really happened but that you had a glimpse into the philosophical ruminations of Isabel. They gather steam with each novel but the pace doesn't change and the 'whodunnit', if you could even call it that, is really an afterthought in practically every book but I liked that because I wasn't really interested in the mystery aspect at all. I was more drawn to her descriptions of the Scottish landscape and history and the inner ruminations of her heart-mind. Things 'pick up' in book 3. I skipped 2 and went straight to 3 and then read every one after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 on the stories in the spaces in the silences between the stories: Bolded because that is so often where I live. Even on this thread there are the silences, the places where the collective indrawn breath pauses and is held in a kind of gathering of impulse. It's a fascinating constellation that I like to imagine shimmers through each of as we read and respond to each other. That's lovely. I always figured the silences come because someone has dropped a stitch... . Or, they're off to find Just The Right Gif... ... or, they've found it, but can't quite recall how to post it... :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 That's lovely. I always figured the silences come because someone has dropped a stitch... . That too...look, there it goes.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 on the stories in the spaces in the silences between the stories: And the green grass grew all around all around, and the green grass grew all around... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 A funny: I just patted my 14yo on the head and he said, "Ouch." When I asked what was wrong he told me he had a bruise on his head. How did he get the bruise? Last night he flopped back on his bed and hit his head on a book. "It was a hardback." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMom Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Well, that's just about as far on the opposite end of the spectrum from my experience with it as could be :lol: I'm trying to remember back to that first book...it's kind of hazy but I do know I enjoyed it immensely. I liked the very, sloooow pace, the fact that nothing really happened but that you had a glimpse into the philosophical ruminations of Isabel. They gather steam with each novel but the pace doesn't change and the 'whodunnit', if you could even call it that, is really an afterthought in practically every book but I liked that because I wasn't really interested in the mystery aspect at all. I was more drawn to her descriptions of the Scottish landscape and history and the inner ruminations of her heart-mind. Things 'pick up' in book 3. I skipped 2 and went straight to 3 and then read every one after that. Does she ever actually get her philosophy club off the ground? ;) I found some of her inner philosophical discussions interesting but they didn't have anything to do with the story. Or, did they and I'm just too thick to see it? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.