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Library Bookshelf

Started by Marilyne, March 29, 2016, 03:20:53 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

phyllis

#2490
I gave up about half-way through "The Book of Longings" by Sue Monk Kidd.  Just couldn't find a point to it.  The theme has been hashed over by other authors many times.  And better done, in my opinion. 

I turned to "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein and loved that. Spent most of the day reading it.  One of those books that I couldn't put down.  I'll admit that it probably doesn't appeal to everyone but I thought it was terrific, even though it is a sentimental tear-jerker.  I'll try to find the movie though I'm almost always disappointed in the movie made from a favorite book.
phyllis
Cary,NC

Marilyne

Phyllis -  I'm so glad you liked, "The Art of Racing in the Rain".   It was such a warm and uplifting story,  narrated by the wise and wonderful dog,  Enzo!    I loved it,  and now I'm inspired to read and enjoy it all over again.

I have the book here, and I see that I have bookmarked lots of pages - all of which contain passages spoken by Enzo,  about his thoughts on life, and humanity.   One that I especially liked  - "I'm stuffed into a dog's body, but that's just the shell. It's what's inside that's important. The soul. And my soul is very human."

I did see the movie, and of course I was disappointed, as we all usually are by a movie adapted from a good book.  They changed lots of things from the original story, as they always do.  :(   

phyllis

I'm going to listen to you, Marilyne, and pass on the movie.  I liked the book so much I don't want to "muddy" it with a bad movie.  Enzo was such a wise dog.  I hope his human reincarnation was just the same.   :)
phyllis
Cary,NC

CallieOK

[Hello.  Remember me?  ;)

It's been a busier than usual two weeks and, by the time I get around to reading anything....I fall asleep!

Just reading "beach book/chick lit" stuff - most of which I finish in one session.  There are several authors of this kind that I like = even though I know how it all will end - so I decided to print out a list from each author's website and work my way through.

Currently reading Jodi Thomas, Mary Kay Andrews and Nancy Thayer.

I've been reading posts and enjoying your comments.
Now I need to bring my Tablet and Cell Phone up to full charge in case the predicted severe weather actually affects my area tonight (weather gurus can't seem to make up their minds if or when that will happen).

TTYL

Marilyne

Callie -  Good to see you checking in!  Sorry your weather is also unpredictable, with days of Winter still hanging around. I saw your post in another folder, that Miss Emily came by with her SO, and that she seemed happy, and that the rest of the family likes him also. ❤️   I hope Miss Ellen,is doing okay in NYC?   Wonderful that she will again have a small bit in "Mrs. Maisel".

Phyllis  - I didn't mean to discourage you from watching the movie,  "Racing in the Rain".   They left out some of the story that might be considered controversial, but the rest of the story stuck fairly close to the original. The voice of Enzo was narrated by Kevin Costner, and I thought he did a good job.  The actual dog who "played" Enzo, was wonderful!   

Has anyone else been watching the Hemingway biography/series, on PBS?   We've seen Episodes one and two, and will watch the final one tonight.  Excellent, in my opinion!   Of course, any series produced by Ken Burns, is always good and accurate.    I've been thinking about what a hard time I've had over the years, reading any of Hemingway's novels!   Now I'm anxious to read each and every one, and I plan to check them out, from the library, one by one.   So I  tried . . . only to discover that lots of other people in my library district, want to do the same thing!   There is already a wait list, for all of his books. 

CallieOK

Marilyne, didn't even sprinkle at my house but it was a tad chilly this morning.

"SO" is a much better term for a couple the ages of Miss Emily and T. than "boyfriend/girlfriend".  :) I'm happy that she's met someone because most of her friends have married - or are getting married and it's so much nicer if she has a "Plus One" when they get together.

Miss Ellen is doing fine in NYC.  She's getting more shifts at the store where she was transferred and I think a few "in person" auditions are beginning to appear. She had sent in a few video auditions but she doesn't do well with those.

I've never been particularly interested in reading anything by Hemingway but did read "The Paris Wife", which is about him and his wife, Hadley. That was quite a while ago and I don't remember the details.
Maybe I'll watch the final PBS episode tonight.

Have a "sort and stack" project staring at me.  Off to get it out of the way.

Happy Reading, Everyone.

 

FlaJean

Anne Hillerman's latest book will be out April 13th. She has done a masterful job of continuing her father's work. Love this series.

Tomereader1

Marilyne, I've watched Epi. 1 of the Hemingway series.  I DVR'd Two and Three, perhaps tonight I'll catch up.  I am enjoying it.  I've read several of his books, can't say I enjoyed them.  I did read "The Paris Wife" about Hadley and Ernest. It was a good, well-written and interesting book. 

" May you live in interesting times" - - the adage is so true, especially with our weather.  Thinking that less than a month ago, we had a blizzard (Texas style!) with snow and ice and frozen pipes and severe water damage, some folks with no heat or water.  Now we have had several days in the upper 70's, only to have a real quick cold front push through, last night Hail in several places.  I had some, pea sized or smaller, but it quit within 5 minutes (thank goodness).  I kept hearing "ping, ping, ping" on the roof and glass patio door.  Went out to check and by the time I came back in, it was over.  Yesterday was windy, with temps I think in the lower 80's, I had to turn on two ceiling fans.  Then this AM
very chilly.  The rapid weather change has created the need to strip down the bed, take off the flannel sheets, electric blanket and quilt, and return to regular sheets and light coverlet.  Of course, in a day or so, I'll probably have to dig out my flannel p.j.'s  LOL.
Hope everyone is doing as well as can be expected, our regular healthwise, with accidents and surgeries notwithstanding.

Amulet

#2498
Does anyone here read e-books?  If so what do you like about reading that way?  If not, why not? I live in a part of the world where trees used to grow profusely.  Now they are dying out because of climate change.  We no longer get enough rain.  We need to start reading digital books.

Marilyne


Amulet - Hello, and welcome to the Library Bookshelf, discussion!    Yes, I think just about everyone who posts here, reads e-books, or listens to audio books.  I'm the last hold-out, who still prefers an old fashioned book.  I do have a Kindle, and I download a book occasionally.   Sounds like you may live in California or Oregon?   I'm in CA, and we are now officially in drought conditions.   We'll likely have to start water rationing by Summertime.  Right now we're only being asked to conserve. 

Tome - We finished watching the Hemingway series tonight.  I thought it was excellent!   As I said yesterday, Ken Burns, never disappoints.  All of his many series on PBS, have been very well done.  Back in another lifetime, when I was a Journalism/English major in college, I read lots of the early Hemingway books, but can't say that I enjoyed them.   I think I was too young to appreciate them, which is why I intend to read them again.  I also read, "The Paris Wife", and liked it very much.

Jean - I remember you recommending Ann Hillerman, a couple of years ago.  I intended to read one of her novels, but my  list is always long, and some of the books work their way to the bottom and then get forgotten. I'll move her back up to the top.

Callie -  I still like the old fashioned terms, like boyfriend or girlfriend, but I've been trying to switch to, "significant other".  Recently I've been told that SO, is an outdated term, and we are now supposed to say "partner".   Partner, can mean - bf, gf, husband or wife, so it's generic I guess??   ::)  ;D 

Vanilla-Jackie

#2500
Amulet
...a warm welcome from UK...Oh yes, how i agree with you, our ever changing climate change and the destruction and decline of our trees, we so need them, they purify our air...we also need the ability to read good books yet save our fast diminishing trees..

As for reading, i only read when i go to bed, this helps me doze off...

...Two books i have re-read are Chef Interrupted by Trevis Gleason... his story - memoir of holidaying ( from America ) for two months in Ireland, miles from nowhere, in a rented old house with his new pup, his determination and humour...We both have something in common, we both have MS, hence the read...

...and Tales of a Tiller Girl by Irene Holland...her true story of growing up in the 1930's...dancing during wartime London, then starting her own dancing school in her later years...When i was young, just had my 70th Birthday, like many here in UK, we grew up watching on our tv's Sunday Night at the London Palladium, hence the Tiller Girls came on first with their high kicks dance routine to open the show...It is her own personal story of her dream of becoming a dancer - tap dancer, this was her only dream from a young child...

I have also read books by Joni Eareckson Tada, her quadriplegic and ministerial life...Heaven your Real Home and Joni and Ken, an Untold Love Story...

Jackie...
" There is no present like the time "

MarsGal

Welcome Amulet. I have a large library of print books that are being neglected because I spend almost all my reading time with an E-book or audio book.

Things I like about E-readers:
Light to hold, and lots easier to hold when they commandeer my lap.
Can change the font and font size to suit.
On my tablet, I use the light yellowish background color instead of white.
Easy to carry with me everywhere, especially when traveling.
Lots easier to borrow books from library and return than physical books.
I don't use the bookmark and notes feature, but they are there if you want them.

What I like about audio books:
As with E-readers, can carry my tablet with me, and can borrow from library. Can also bookmark, but I never tried it.
Can do other things while listening. (but beware, sometimes you miss things because attention is divided)
An excellent narrator can make a book more interesting than if you read it yourself.
Some are really super at voice changes for different characters making it easy to know who is talking, and great fun to follow. Some audio books are "full-cast" narrations.
I find that I like listening to an extra long book better than reading them.
You can adjust the reading speed slower or faster by a little bit. I only used this feature once.


I can't speak to reading on a smart phone, because I don't have one, but I rather think I wouldn't like it much. I like a larger screen. I don't know about other E-readers, but Amazon seems to encourage customers to upgrade to newer versions rather frequently. For example, there is no way to change the battery on the Kindles so you have to get a new one instead. They do have an easy recycle program in place for the old one if you but new which I appreciate.

I hope this doesn't amount to an ad for Amazon. I am just pointing out some of the things you might want to look at before getting an E-reader.

Oh, and since I inherited an old Nexus tablet with Google's OS installed, I now have easy access to borrows using Libby from Overdrive. And yes, it is definitely easier to borrow an Amazon e-book or audio book with Libby than using the Kindle using just plain Overdrive. But, I like it especially because I can read .epub books that Amazon doesn't carry. I've run across two borrows so far that my library does not have in Kindle format. Bottom line is that you do not need a dedicated E-reader to read digital books. There are a number of E-book apps out there and book sites (free and otherwise) as well. I assume there are also apps for listening to audio books, or general audio applications that handle voice audio as well as music. I haven't looked into that.

Well, time to stop. I think I just about over-killed that subject.

phyllis

#2502
Welcome, Amulet.  I am one who declared that I could never read a book on an e-reader.  I would always have to have the "real" book.  But, now that I can no longer get to the library easily having an e-reader has saved my life.  And I would repeat all of the reasons that Mars Gal listed.  I especially like being able to adjust the font size to my comfort. 

I'm not a fan of Hemingway's books.  Too much testosterone for me, I think.  I remember seeing the movie of "For Whom the Bell Tolls", with Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman,  and it stuck in my memory.  I did watch all of the Ken Burns' doc. and was surprised to learn that Hemingway, though talented, was not a very nice person.  I would not have wanted to know him personally, I think.  Any man who abuses women is not someone I would care to know. 
phyllis
Cary,NC

CallieOK

Amulet,  I agree with Mars Gal and Phyllis.  I can borrow as many as 10 books at a time from my library, have 10 "On Hold" and put as many as I want on my "Wish List".   I love being able to finish a book and get a new one as soon as I can check "Borrow".
 
The neatest thing about the library is that, if you don't renew or return at the end of the borrowing time (2 weeks), the book simply disappears.... No Overdues!  :thumbup:   You can recheck it immediately if it's available.

I like fiction- particularly well-researched historical fiction -, biographies and some mysteries or "thrillers" (never have understood the difference - but I don't like gory descriptions).
Have tried to keep a data base of e-books I read but slowed down adding to it when the number reached  800.

Still working my way through the three "chick-lit" authors I mentioned earlier.

Amulet

#2504
Thank you CallieOk, Phyllise, MarsGal, Vanilla-Jackie and Marilyn.  Forgive me if I get this all wrong or leave someone out.  I'm trying to get the hang of this place and I didn't get notified this had been responded to.  I thought I'd signed up for that. Now I have an error message that there's something that needs to be corrected before I can continue.  But I have no idea what to do or how to correct it.

I'm an author and am reconsidering how I present my work.  In other senior sites I've been on only an occasional persons read e-books.  They wanted something they could hold in their hands - which was not an e-reader. I understand that, but reading on an e-reader or a computer is so much easier.  I don't have an e-reader.  I downloaded Adobe Digital into my computer and downloaded an e-pub version of digital books. So I read on my computer.  I far prefer it.

Yes, Marilyne, I live in Oregon in the Coast Range.  When I was a kid we had so much rain I complained.  Now the trees are dying.  This year is worse than last and so on.  The trees are harvested very young and chipped for paper and furniture.  Old growth trees can withstand fires because the bark is so thick.  These trees are being harvested at about twenty years old, so the ones standing burn easily.  I wouldn't doubt that the fires hit my area this year.  Last year they were 40 miles away and the sky turned orange several different times and the air was awful.

We all need to do our part to protect out planet.  This is the only place we have to live.

Marilyne


Amulet  - Very interesting that you are a writer!  Do you like to write short stories, or full novels, or non-fiction?  Yes, there are many options for reading books, in todays high tech world.  Although I do occasionally read on my Kindle, it would be difficult for me to read a book on my computer.  Back problems, as well as it's too uncomfortable for me to sit in this desk chair for very long.   Maybe wouldn't be so hard if I had a laptop, but a desktop computer is all I have.

What type of reading do you enjoy most?   Do you like novels written by and for women, or historical fiction,  or do you like thrillers, mysteries, etc.?  Most of us who post here read a mix of all those, plus lots of non-fiction as well.  Let us know what books you've enjoyed?

I also live in wildfire country, here in Northern California. It's getting worse every year.  The fires are starting earlier in the season, and lasting into November, the past couple of years.  Every year we hope it will be better, but instead it gets worse.   

Amulet

Quote from: Marilyne on April 12, 2021, 04:09:21 PMAmulet  - Very interesting that you are a writer!  Do you like to write short stories, or full novels, or non-fiction?  Yes, there are many options for reading books, in todays high tech world.  Although I do occasionally read on my Kindle, it would be difficult for me to read a book on my computer.  Back problems, as well as it's too uncomfortable for me to sit in this desk chair for very long.  Maybe wouldn't be so hard if I had a laptop, but a desktop computer is all I have.

What type of reading do you enjoy most?  Do you like novels written by and for women, or historical fiction,  or do you like thrillers, mysteries, etc.?  Most of us who post here read a mix of all those, plus lots of non-fiction as well.  Let us know what books you've enjoyed?

I also live in wildfire country, here in Northern California. It's getting worse every year.  The fires are starting earlier in the season, and lasting into November, the past couple of years.  Every year we hope it will be better, but instead it gets worse.   

Since I sit at my computer most of my day, I have a comfortable desk chair. I would find it very uncomfortable to write on a laptop, all scrunched over.

I've written creative nonfiction and fiction. With the nonfiction I had a story that needed to be told.  It took me ten years to write it and get it published.  Then the publisher messed it up, turned some of my painful truth into lies.  I rewrote it years later, once I had recovered from the trauma of the horrible event. I write literary fiction which just means it is character driven rather than action oriented.  I just learned it's actually upmarket fiction, which means it's literary with market potential.  I don't like thrillers.  I lived through a version of that and I will never like them.  It is not entertainment, if you've been victimized by it.  All books are mysteries.  You start a book not knowing what is going to happen, and the author, if she/he is good at it leads you through the mystery.  I did write one book that could be considered alternate history. It was set in two time periods.  There are elements of magical realism/visionary stuff in my books.  That just means that just because someone dies, doesn't mean they are no longer in the story.

My favorite book of all time is Jonathon Livingston Seagull.  It literally changed my life.  When I was twelve I read and was haunted by Gone with the Wind.  These days I am too busy writing my own stuff to read much.  One I've written all day I want to be entertained by a movie, tv series or documentary.  Lately I've been watching a lot of space stuff, which led me to write my latest novel including quantum entanglement.

As for the wildfire seasons they will ongoingly be getting worse.  So we are again assembling boxes to pack our most needed emergency supplies in in case we have to bug out this summer. The rain just isn't showing up.

MarsGal

If it weren't for it actually appearing to work, I would think Quantum Physics/Mechanics is a cosmic joke. It is very hard for me to wrap my brain around.

My last foray into Quantum physics was Hannu Rajaniemi's trilogy starting with The Fractal Prince. I listened to the audio versions narrated by Scott Brick, whose voice was absolutely mesmerizing. I began to understand some of the story better in the second book, The Quantum Thief. The third is The Causal Angel.

Now that I have finally finished listening to the two non-fiction audio books I had set aside for a while, I am starting a new one. Caesar's Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome
By: Stephen Dando-Collins. I am getting a really big backlog on my audio book listens especially since Audible had added what amounts to a borrowing library of audio books. The oldest audio book I bought that I haven't started yet is  Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World By: Jack Weatherford, so I may start that too.

E-book wise, I am reading another first of series military scifi, Marine (Terran Scout Fleet, Book 1) by Joshua Dalzelle. It is not a bad story, but it suffers from the usual lack of proper editing. I really do cringe and have to shake my head at the thought that there are so many writers who do not know when to use "you and me" as opposed to "you and I". And, I must finish up A Splendid Exchange by William J. Bernstein, which I think is more interesting than Frankopan's Silk Roads... book. I hope to get these done before Mick Herron's newest Slough House book becomes available from the library.

so_P_bubble

for Kindle

   
The Engineer's Wife

By Tracey Enerson Wood

Inspired by true events: In 1869, suffragist Emily takes over her husband's role overseeing the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. Can she overcome the obstacles she faces — and embrace her ambition? "An absorbing and poignant tale... Not to be missed!"
(New York Times bestselling author Kim Michele Richardson).

Historical Fiction
$1.99  instead of $9.99
Amazon

Amulet

Quote from: MarsGal on April 13, 2021, 08:06:47 AMIf it weren't for it actually appearing to work, I would think Quantum Physics/Mechanics is a cosmic joke. It is very hard for me to wrap my brain around.

If you want to understand Quantum Physics watch documentaries about it by physicist Brian Greene.  He's excellent in explaining it.  My book does not dwell on the technical side of it.

The reason some books are poorly edited is that it's hard to find a publisher and an agent. That means that the writer writes stuff without learning all the rules, and then publishes it him/herself. They tend to think their work is gold, as is. The publishers and agents used to weed out the authors who weren't ready for publication yet.  I have a writing friend who thinks her books are perfect because she considers them God assignments.  So she stopped trying hard.  Plus, it's hard to catch one's own mistakes.  Even if you have people reading for you, they miss the mistakes too.  Plus sometimes junk writing makes it, big.

patricia19

I don't normally post here, but I was given a book by  Richard Powers called "The Overstory."  It tells the story of nine Americans who are drawn into deep and interesting relationships with trees. It received the 2019 Pulitzer prize winner for Fiction, and I highly recommend it.

Marilyne

Patricia - I remember reading about this novel when it was nominated, and it sounded fascinating . . .  then I forgot all about it.   ::)   I plan to check my library tomorrow, and hope that they have a copy.  Thanks for reminding me. 

patricia19

I think you'll enjoy it.

Marilyne

Patricia - Just to let you know that, "The Overstory", has not arrived at my library yet.  It was ordered from another library in my county system, which of course is in another city.    Never had to wait this long for a book, but I think its because I asked for Large Print, if possible,  but that I would be okay with regular print.    They probably didn't notice the last part, so I guess I'll be getting large print?  :-\ 

Another book that I've wanted to read for a long time, is "The Dinner List", by Rebecca Serle.  The premise of the book is  -  If you could invite five people to a dinner party, who would you invite?  The five guests could be deceased, living, famous, infamous, etc.  Sounds like something to think about?

MarsGal

Morning everyone.

Look to Windward by Iain Banks, is almost finished. While there are a few spots I skimmed over, the story is quite interesting. Here is the story of a soldier grieving for his dead wife (also a soldier) and wishing mightily that he would die and join her. He is inconsolable. Finally, giving up on trying to help him through his grief, his superiors offer him a suicide mission. This mission is seen as an act of retribution against the alien empire that meddled in the internal affairs of his independent home-world by fomenting a class/civil war. Does this sound oh too familiar? Yet another country/empire meddling in the internal affairs of another to try to affect whatever changes they deem best for that country or their own pockets as the case may be.

I finally got back to Michael J. Sullivan and the first of The Riyria Chronicles series, The Crown Conspiracy. It is another segment of his Elan Universe books. I had been putting this next series off for a while because I know once I start it, I will not be able to put it down.

Marilyne

MarsGal - As usual, your reading selections sound fascinating.  "Look To Windward", is one that AJ might like, so I'll have him look it up, and see what he thinks about ordering it for the Kindle.  As you said - a familiar theme, but always interesting.

Patricia - I finally got, "The Overstory"!   Definitey not the large print copy that I was hoping for.  In fact, the print is not only small, but very light.  I'll start reading this afternoon, but if it's too hard on these old eyes, I'll probably order it again for the Kindle.  I read the book jacket, and the story sounds like one that AJ would like also. 

patricia19

I really enjoyed the book Marilyne and I'm curious to see what you and perhaps AJ think.

The Dinner List sounds interesting as that is a game I've played since childhood at family or holiday dinners.

MarsGal

#2517
Mick Herron's latest Slow Horses series novel, Slough House, just became available from the library. I will start reading it after I finish the last few chapters of Requiem for Medusa: Tyrus Rechs: Contracts & Terminations Book 1 by Jason Anspach and Nick Cole. It is another of their Galaxy's Edge series. Okay, but not their best, I think.

MarsGal

Alrighty then, I seem to have lost my post!

I just finished Slough House, already. The ending just flabbergasted me. AND, I just found out that Apple+ is filming a series based on the books. Of course, COVID19 has slowed things down mightily, but they do have six episodes finished so far. Great cast with Jonathan Pryce, Gary Oldman, Kirstan Scott Thomas, Jack Lowden, Olivia Cooke and Chris Chung for starters. I am not familiar with the last three actors.

I checked with IMDB to find out what is going on with the HALO series to be aired on Showtime. It has once again been put back to a release date sometime in 2022, this time because of COVID. You don't have to be a gamer to watch, but if you hare interested, I recommend watching Forward Unto Dawn. It is one of my favorite SciFi movies.

Marilyne

MarsGal - Slough House, sounds good!   Also the fact that it has been made into a series, starring all those great actors, makes it all the more interesting.   Not sure if I get Apple TV, but if not, I'll look into it?  I'll also look and see if I can find, Forward Into Dawn.  Not a lot of new shows to choose from on any channel.   As you said, Covid has caused production to stop on all new TV programming.