books

[lazarus]

At a thrift store yesterday I picked up Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man, by Thomas Mann (who wrote Doctor Faustus and Death in Venice). I haven't read any of his stuff, and know nothing about this book, but it looked interesting.

Anyone?

 

[Dalton]

I absolutely loved The Brothers K.

Laz, you can read? I guess I can stop posting so many pictures for you then...

 

[lazarus]

Anyone read any Robertson Davies? I finished the Deptford trilogy not too long ago, and now I'm on the first book in his Cornish Trilogy, The Rebel Angels.

Man, this guy is good.

 

[Saracene]

I've just finished "Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold.

Pretty good, but I'm not sure why so many people, including the girl at the book store, loved it so much. Maybe I've simply read too many "family-dealing-with-tragedy" novels.

 

[beegee]

I've just finished "Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold.

I read that years ago. I don't usually read books like that but I remember really enjoying it. What made it so haunting was that author told the story through the voice of the young girl.

 

[corianderstem]

I really liked Lovely Bones, but I thought the ending was disappointing. I'm curious to see what they make of the movie adaptation.

Has anyone read her latest novel? The reviews I saw were fairly negative.

 

[ylimeU2]

I have. And they were negative for a reason. Any one who has read Sebold's books know they are not for the faint of heart, but The Almost Moon just crossed the line of taste. And the story itself didn't make much sense. It seemed to me like she rushed to finish it. I honestly can't find anything redeeming to say about it at all. Big waste of money and the time spent reading it.

 

[lazarus]

Has anyone read Michael Ondaatje's Divisadero, which came out last year?

I never got around to picking it up and was wondering if I should make it a priority.

I love ALL of his books, for what it's worth.

 

[corianderstem]

Big waste of money and the time spent reading it.

Glad to hear I don't need to read it. I liked her first two books, so that's disappointing to hear she dropped the ball with this one.

 

[corianderstem]

#13 Single Wife by Nina Solomon

Grace lives in New York with a husband who tends to disappear for days or a week at a time. Where has he gone this time? Is he coming back? How does Grace adjust from covering for her disappearing husband with lies to learning to be alone and learning something about herself? And where did he go anyway? Will he ever come back?

You know, I really liked this book. Loved the details - lots of New York descriptions and lots of talk about food, which made me want to stuff my face. Thumbs up from me, and would definitely read something by this author again.

 

[lazarus]

#13 Single Wife by Nina Solomon

Grace lives in New York with a husband who tends to disappear for days or a week at a time. Where has he gone this time? Is he coming back? How does Grace adjust from covering for her disappearing husband with lies to learning to be alone and learning something about herself? And where did he go anyway? Will he ever come back?

Say hello to married life with NSW.

Homey just ain't gonna be AROUND.

His secret: Touring regional theatre. I know, pathetic.

 

[No spoken words]

Say hello to married life with NSW.

Homey just ain't gonna be AROUND.

His secret: Touring regional theatre. I know, pathetic.

Come see me in Taming of the Shrew starring Lance's Mom in Hammond, Indiana.

 

[corianderstem]

No, no, it's okay ... last I checked, we were still mid-divorce.

 

[Thora]

Just picked up Atonement - Ian McEwan. I've only read one chapter, but I'm loving it so far. It's a book I've always wanted to read, and I'll probably finish it this weekend.

After that, I have The Other Boleyn Girl. It was on sale at Chapters when I was there last weekend, I read a few pages, and was hooked. I'll be reading that one next.

Along with these 2 books I also bought a history of Jane Austen. Can't remember the name of it, but it also was on sale. I love Jane Austen, and the book looked interesting, so I'll be giving it a shot.

 

[U2isthebest]

I'm going to the library to get "Little Children" by Tom Perotta today. I've wanted to see the movie for a long time, but I really want to read the book first.

I'm also going to get "Notes on a Scandal" which is another book turned movie. I always like to read the book before I see the movie. I'm getting "White Oleander" also, for the same reason.

 

[beegee]

I'm getting "White Oleander" also, for the same reason.

White Oleander has been one of my favorite books for years, long before they made the movie. The movie was good, the cast was good, Michelle Pfeiffer plays the mother and it wasn't a typical role for her. The mother's character is so complex. But yes, read the book first. It's one of those books that I read again and again over the years. The writing in it is so beautiful.

I waited six years for Janet Fitch's next novel "Paint It Black" and I was so disappointed in it.

I'm also going to the library today.

To work

 

[U2isthebest]

White Oleander has been one of my favorite books for years, long before they made the movie. The movie was good, the cast was good, Michelle Pfeiffer plays the mother and it wasn't a typical role for her. The mother's character is so complex. But yes, read the book first. It's one of those books that I read again and again over the years. The writing in it is so beautiful.

I waited six years for Janet Fitch's next novel "Paint It Black" and I was so disappointed in it.

I'm also going to the library today.

To work

I've heard it both are excellent! I'm probably going to read that one second. I've already started "Notes on a Scandal" and I'm intrigued by it already. I love the style of the narrative. I hope the movie is just as good.

 

[No spoken words]

Finished "The Blade Itself". It did the trick, but, nothing I'd ever suggest to someone as something they need to read.

The Brothers K is up next.

 

[susanp6]

Finished reading Atonement&it was utterly heart-breaking and i was very impressed by the film too

Started reading Anne Robinson's autobiography, plus reckon i'll start Great Expectations soon

 

[corianderstem]

#14 Specials by Scott Westerfeld

The third in that YA sci-fi trilogy I somehow found myself sucked into. I almost didn't count this book as "read" because I skimmed a LOT. I wasn't as concerned about details of this futuristic society, or the writing style. I just skimmed for plot, because I wanted to see what was going down in this one.

Nice little world the author created, though.

 

[verte76]

re-reading Princess Trilogy

I'm re-reading the Princess Trilogy. So far I've read the first two books.

 

[zumanity42]

Finally finished The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter. It's a pseudo-legal thriller dealing with Race, ambition, & family loyalty set among the legal academics of an Ivy League university; Carter teaches Law at Yale.

I found parts of it insightful ("Bumpies") but, at nearly 800 pages, extremely long. It would have been a much more interesting read with fewer characters/subplots and a tighter editing process.

Next starting David Sedaris' Barrel Fever and finishing Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals.

 

[U2isthebest]

I finished "Notes on a Scandal" and it was excellent. It's one of the best fiction books I've read in ages. The story is just a human drama, but the way it's told it plays out like a thriller in terms of keeping you on the edge of your seat. The characters are very real and you feel a mixture of compassion, anger, and frusturation towards all of them at some point. The way the narrator tells the story ends up revealing her own character more than character who the story is based on. It's brilliant and intriguing. I could not recommend it enough.

 

[watergate]

Jeffery Archer wrote some good books. Mark Twain is good too. I could fill a page of my favorite authors. I go to the library a lot and my city libraries are well funded. There are always the new best sellers there, but you have to request them because they get checked out fast.

 

[Carek1230]

I am almost embarrassed to admit but I just ordered from Amazon Valerie Bertinelli's book and Tor Spelling's book. I hope they are quick reads and not too over the top, I'll let you all know.

Has anyone else read either one?

 

[verte76]

I've read Meena, Heroine of Afghanistan, by Melody Ermachild Chavis, and am currently re-re-reading Jean Sasson's Princess Trilogy.

 

[*browneyedgirl*]

I want to read Valerie's book and I still have to read Atlas Shrugged before I read any other book as I promised.

 

[Saracene]

Just finished "Morvern Callar" by Alan Warner.

A very peculiar novel that is by turns macabre, bleak, lyrical and funny. It truly got under my skin, I think I'll be re-reading this in the years to come. It's about a young Scottish girl leading a dead-end existence in a small West Highland port, who in the first pages finds her boyfriend dead on the floor after he'd slit his own throat. The story itself is secondary though; I thought that the novel's true strength is Morvern's idiosyncratic eye for detail and observations and the depiction of life in a small town. Some of the dialect, like "greeting" for "crying", took a while to figure out; I now know how non-Russians feel when reading "Clockwork Orange",

 

[Carek1230]

I want to read Valerie's book and I still have to read Atlas Shrugged before I read any other book as I promised.

I will let you know how it is. I plan to read Valerie's book first then Tori's book.

 

[corianderstem]

#15 Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

Last year I read Vowell's The Partly-Cloudy Patriot, and I absolutely loved it. Nothing else I've read by her since has quite measured up.

This one wasn't bad - Vowell, a complete and utter dork for history, delves into the assassinations of three presidents who were not Kennedy (Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley).

It had its moments, some expectedly hilarious, some poignant (comparing US involvement in the Phillippines in the early 1900s with our involvement in Iraq). There was a lot of detail I just wasn't that interested in, though, and I skimmed a bit.