|
Post by wickedkittiesmom on Feb 15, 2020 17:15:03 GMT
"The Lantern Men" by Elly Griffiths , It came in the mail yesterday from Amazon U.K., I'm half way through and will finish it today.
|
|
|
Post by novastar6 on Feb 15, 2020 17:55:25 GMT
Trapped, a children's book about the Donner Party.
|
|
|
Post by jackspicer on Feb 16, 2020 7:11:54 GMT
Enemy at the Gates by William Craig I'm 25% of the way through, and only now has Vassili Zaitsev finally appeared. This seems to be much more about the battle as a whole, and not focused on the sniper duel, as the film of the same name is. The duel is what I was interested in. Vassili wrote a book of his own called "Notes of a Russian Sniper: Vassili Zaitsev and the Battle of Stalingrad". I probably should have started with that.
|
|
|
Post by dirtypillows on Feb 16, 2020 7:19:26 GMT
Still putting down and picking up "High Fidelity", which is enjoyable enough, I supoose. However, in the middle of the semi-blandness of it all, I re-read Ursula Curtiss' "The Forbidden Garden", which was made into the old lady in peril genre, camp delight "Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice?" Oh, wow, book and movie are both excellent. I can't even begin to understand how some writers really do fall under the radar (though Miss Curtiss did get her books published, so that is a big accomplishment in itself). But "The Forbidden Garden" has got to be one of the most astute, observant character studies of the narcissistic personality I've ever read, and not one page is boring. It's seriously readable stuff! And then to get to watch Geraldine Page and Ruth Gordon sparring off each other in the film is a rare delight!
|
|
|
Post by wickedkittiesmom on Feb 16, 2020 10:59:32 GMT
Still putting down and picking up "High Fidelity", which is enjoyable enough, I supoose. However, in the middle of the semi-blandness of it all, I re-read Ursula Curtiss' "The Forbidden Garden", which was made into the old lady in peril genre, camp delight "Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice?" Oh, wow, book and movie are both excellent. I can't even begin to understand how some writers really do fall under the radar (though Miss Curtiss did get her books published, so that is a big accomplishment in itself). But "The Forbidden Garden" has got to be one of the most astute, observant character studies of the narcissistic personality I've ever read, and not one page is boring. It's seriously readable stuff! And then to get to watch Geraldine Page and Ruth Gordon sparring off each other in the film is a rare delight! Where did you find the book Mr. Dirty? I need to go to some old antique bookstores to hunt stuff out. I have been searching for Postcards From The Edge by Carrie Fisher to no avail. I could get from ebay I suppose. Did you try Amazon? I get a lot of used books from Amazon - used book stores & Goodwill sell books on Amazon. Not a big fan of Amazon but they have cornered the market on a lot of things, I'm too old to be running around to find things. I also buy a lot of books from Thriftbooks.com.
|
|
|
Post by OldSamVimes on Feb 16, 2020 13:45:36 GMT
|
|
|
Post by dirtypillows on Feb 16, 2020 19:07:04 GMT
Still putting down and picking up "High Fidelity", which is enjoyable enough, I supoose. However, in the middle of the semi-blandness of it all, I re-read Ursula Curtiss' "The Forbidden Garden", which was made into the old lady in peril genre, camp delight "Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice?" Oh, wow, book and movie are both excellent. I can't even begin to understand how some writers really do fall under the radar (though Miss Curtiss did get her books published, so that is a big accomplishment in itself). But "The Forbidden Garden" has got to be one of the most astute, observant character studies of the narcissistic personality I've ever read, and not one page is boring. It's seriously readable stuff! And then to get to watch Geraldine Page and Ruth Gordon sparring off each other in the film is a rare delight! Where did you find the book Mr. Dirty? I need to go to some old antique bookstores to hunt stuff out. I have been searching for Postcards From The Edge by Carrie Fisher to no avail. I could get from ebay I suppose. Yes, there is nice used bookstore a few train stops away from me. One of the last of them around. Actually, I own two copies of TFG as it's never more than five dollars and I just like to have a back up copy around. Amazon.com, like the poster ahead of me suggested, is a great place to buy used. I looked and currently there are 67 used copies of PFTE, starting a little over two dollars. And I think, for practical purposes, you can usually rely on the qualifier of "good". But it's a very, very, very funny. Carrie Fisher was an extremely intelligent,witty and perceptive woman.
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on Feb 17, 2020 3:55:32 GMT
Joe Hill’s NOS4A2 (2013). Hill is Stephen King’s son and writes extremely similarly to his father, so much so that an uncharitable reviewer may call this an It knock-off (monster goes after child; when child gets older, monster comes back). That said, Hill has an energy all his own, and despite the stylistic similarities he’s not the same writer as his father. That’s both for good and ill. He’ll turn in a great phrase like “the light came at a low slant through the oaks across the street, gold and green, and how she loved that light,” but even though I’m only ~170 pages into this 700 pg. tome (long books, now that’s a King family tradition), I haven’t read anything yet to compare with the characterization and well-written scares of the first 100 or so pages of The Shining. Still, there are about 600 pages left, so maybe that will change. That said, this is good enough that I’m interested in reading more Hill. Will chime in when I finish. Well, I finished it—about a week ago, as a matter of fact. Spoilers follow, though not major ones. I was wrong on most of what I wrote here. Superb concept—the bridge, that is, mostly. It got extremely, perhaps overly, disturbing quickly after I chimed in, and the penultimate scene in Christmasland really bothered me, especially the kids calmly discussing which body parts they’ll “get,” as did Christmas-obsessed Bing Partridge. Still, maybe I wasn’t too far from wrong: it was more disturbing than scary, if that makes sense. (I was wrong, too, on Hill’s being like his father, apparently: this book is extremely King-like, but according to critics it’s Hill’s most King-like work, intentionally, while his other books are intentionally unlike his father’s work. Trying to decide whether or not to read, at some point, Hill’s comic book series Locke and Key, which Netflix has now adapted into a show.) It’s well-written, and the characters were good, and it kept me turning 700 pages. A major accomplishment—yet I didn’t love it, probably because it bothered me so much. But it also wasn’t warm, at least not until the very end, and that was mostly re: Lou, not Vic. As much as I liked and believed in Vic (and I did), the reconciliation-with-father scene, for example, didn’t convince me. By the way: Charlie Manx is as much the Pied Piper as he is Pennywise, but the name’s meter and cadence recall “Santa Claus,” and that has to be on purpose.
|
|
|
Post by CrepedCrusader on Feb 17, 2020 4:06:46 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on Feb 17, 2020 4:11:53 GMT
I just finished Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and it’s superb, the best book I’ve read recently. Every word is necessary, the book is beautifully written, and the fantasy glides so smoothly in with the realism that it feels like a real memoir. (Gaiman is the best author I know at marrying fantasy and reality, so that one believes that fantasy.) Similarities to Gaiman’s American Gods, The Graveyard Book, and The Sandman. I shouldn’t doubt Gaiman: even fame and wild fans, always transitory, never seemed to get to him, as he always seems to be writing for himself, never has any pretensions about writing pastiches or parodies. His books are never too long or too Tolkienesque, two flaws (or are they, perhaps, only one flaw?) that seem to plague nearly all fantasy writers these days. (He’s also a good writer, while I find many modern fantasy writers’ stuff unreadable. Then again, is Gaiman even a fantasy writer? He can’t, and shouldn’t, be pigeonholed.) I wonder if, to some degree, monstrous Ursula Monkton represents Scientology, the cult to which many of Gaiman’s family members still belong. An odd idea, but her seduction of Ocean’s narrator’s father recalls a cult’s brainwashing members. The book is also dedicated to, and was apparently written for, Gaiman’s wife Amanda Palmer, who is definitely not a Scientologist and who “wanted to know.” Just a feeling. This is an exceptional, beautiful book. Highly recommended.
|
|
|
Post by jackspicer on Feb 17, 2020 5:35:52 GMT
Joe Hill’s NOS4A2 (2013). Hill is Stephen King’s son and writes extremely similarly to his father, so much so that an uncharitable reviewer may call this an It knock-off (monster goes after child; when child gets older, monster comes back). That said, Hill has an energy all his own, and despite the stylistic similarities he’s not the same writer as his father. That’s both for good and ill. He’ll turn in a great phrase like “the light came at a low slant through the oaks across the street, gold and green, and how she loved that light,” but even though I’m only ~170 pages into this 700 pg. tome (long books, now that’s a King family tradition), I haven’t read anything yet to compare with the characterization and well-written scares of the first 100 or so pages of The Shining. Still, there are about 600 pages left, so maybe that will change. That said, this is good enough that I’m interested in reading more Hill. Will chime in when I finish. Well, I finished it—about a week ago, as a matter of fact. Spoilers follow, though not major ones. I was wrong on most of what I wrote here. Superb concept—the bridge, that is, mostly. It got extremely, perhaps overly, disturbing quickly after I chimed in, and the penultimate scene in Christmasland really bothered me, especially the kids calmly discussing which body parts they’ll “get,” as did Christmas-obsessed Bing Partridge. Still, maybe I wasn’t too far from wrong: it was more disturbing than scary, if that makes sense. (I was wrong, too, on Hill’s being like his father, apparently: this book is extremely King-like, but according to critics it’s Hill’s most King-like work, intentionally, while his other books are intentionally unlike his father’s work. Trying to decide whether or not to read, at some point, Hill’s comic book series Locke and Key, which Netflix has now adapted into a show.) It’s well-written, and the characters were good, and it kept me turning 700 pages. A major accomplishment—yet I didn’t love it, probably because it bothered me so much. But it also wasn’t warm, at least not until the very end, and that was mostly re: Lou, not Vic. As much as I liked and believed in Vic (and I did), the reconciliation-with-father scene, for example, didn’t convince me. By the way: Charlie Manx is as much the Pied Piper as he is Pennywise, but the name’s meter and cadence recall “Santa Claus,” and that has to be on purpose. It's so weird. When I was reading NOS4A2, I didn't know Joe Hill was Stephen King's son, but all the while I was thinking that Stephen King could learn a thing or two about writing from this guy.
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on Feb 17, 2020 13:45:23 GMT
Well, I finished it—about a week ago, as a matter of fact. Spoilers follow, though not major ones. I was wrong on most of what I wrote here. Superb concept—the bridge, that is, mostly. It got extremely, perhaps overly, disturbing quickly after I chimed in, and the penultimate scene in Christmasland really bothered me, especially the kids calmly discussing which body parts they’ll “get,” as did Christmas-obsessed Bing Partridge. Still, maybe I wasn’t too far from wrong: it was more disturbing than scary, if that makes sense. (I was wrong, too, on Hill’s being like his father, apparently: this book is extremely King-like, but according to critics it’s Hill’s most King-like work, intentionally, while his other books are intentionally unlike his father’s work. Trying to decide whether or not to read, at some point, Hill’s comic book series Locke and Key, which Netflix has now adapted into a show.) It’s well-written, and the characters were good, and it kept me turning 700 pages. A major accomplishment—yet I didn’t love it, probably because it bothered me so much. But it also wasn’t warm, at least not until the very end, and that was mostly re: Lou, not Vic. As much as I liked and believed in Vic (and I did), the reconciliation-with-father scene, for example, didn’t convince me. By the way: Charlie Manx is as much the Pied Piper as he is Pennywise, but the name’s meter and cadence recall “Santa Claus,” and that has to be on purpose. It's so weird. When I was reading NOS4A2, I didn't know Joe Hill was Stephen Kong's son, but all the while I was thinking that Stephen King could learn a thing or two about writing from this guy. Interesting—I like Hill, but I think King’s the better writer!
|
|
|
Post by darknessfish on Feb 17, 2020 21:14:12 GMT
|
|
luffy
New Member
@luffy
Posts: 20
Likes: 15
|
Post by luffy on Feb 18, 2020 13:41:02 GMT
and
|
|
|
Post by vegalyra on Feb 19, 2020 0:45:21 GMT
Enemy at the Gates by William Craig I'm 25% of the way through, and only now has Vassili Zaitsev finally appeared. This seems to be much more about the battle as a whole, and not focused on the sniper duel, as the film of the same name is. The duel is what I was interested in. Vassili wrote a book of his own called "Notes of a Russian Sniper: Vassili Zaitsev and the Battle of Stalingrad". I probably should have started with that. I have Notes of a Sniper, it’s an excellent work. Zaitsev is a great writer and every time I reread it I feel I’m in the hell called Stalingrad.
|
|
mmexis
Sophomore
@mmexis
Posts: 860
Likes: 732
|
Post by mmexis on Feb 19, 2020 3:57:22 GMT
I see you're still slogging through the Neapolitan quartet. How do you like them?
|
|
|
Post by Zos on Feb 19, 2020 9:59:14 GMT
I just finished Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and it’s superb, the best book I’ve read recently. Every word is necessary, the book is beautifully written, and the fantasy glides so smoothly in with the realism that it feels like a real memoir. (Gaiman is the best author I know at marrying fantasy and reality, so that one believes that fantasy.) Similarities to Gaiman’s American Gods, The Graveyard Book, and The Sandman. I shouldn’t doubt Gaiman: even fame and wild fans, always transitory, never seemed to get to him, as he always seems to be writing for himself, never has any pretensions about writing pastiches or parodies. His books are never too long or too Tolkienesque, two flaws (or are they, perhaps, only one flaw?) that seem to plague nearly all fantasy writers these days. (He’s also a good writer, while I find many modern fantasy writers’ stuff unreadable. Then again, is Gaiman even a fantasy writer? He can’t, and shouldn’t, be pigeonholed.) I wonder if, to some degree, monstrous Ursula Monkton represents Scientology, the cult to which many of Gaiman’s family members still belong. An odd idea, but her seduction of Ocean’s narrator’s father recalls a cult’s brainwashing members. The book is also dedicated to, and was apparently written for, Gaiman’s wife Amanda Palmer, who is definitely not a Scientologist and who “wanted to know.” Just a feeling. This is an exceptional, beautiful book. Highly recommended. His self read audio version of it is even better.
|
|
|
Post by Zos on Feb 19, 2020 10:00:52 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on Feb 20, 2020 1:33:00 GMT
I’ve been reading a lot of horror recently—not at all sure why. I’m in a Halloween-y mood in the middle of February! Anyway, I just finished Stephen King’s ’Salem’s Lot and enjoyed it, but it’s not half as good as The Shining, the only other major King work I’ve read. That’s mostly because of the characters, who here are too numerous and too stock—unlike the Torrance family, whom King depict in-depth and sympathetically. That said, it is scary; it’s scarier than Joe Hill’s NOS4A2, which is more disturbing than it is actually scary. But all the pieces—haunted house, ghost of Hubie Marston, lots and lots of vampires, the soap operatic, Peyton Place examination of a small New England town—don’t fit together, and King overwrites badly in an attempt to come off as literary. And with that said, King does stick the ending, which is solid and effective, and the book always kept my interest. For all that it’s nearly a rewrite of Dracula (some scenes are near-identical), King’s right to note that in some way it’s closer to Invasion of the Body Snatchers: the scariest part is that family members, friends, neighbors, loved ones, are falling victim to this vampiric disease. All in all, an OK book with some good things, but not a great one. Still, it was fun to read.
|
|
|
Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Feb 20, 2020 6:29:19 GMT
I see you're still slogging through the Neapolitan quartet. How do you like them? Yes, I've almost finished the final one. I'd watched the first season of the TV series and that interested me enough that I wanted to check out the books series from which it was adapted. I liked the first book (and was pleased to see the first season had followed the first book pretty closely). I liked the second book a little less so (but am anxiously awaiting the second season of the TV series - I have no idea when it'll be out on DVD here. Probably not for a year or so, and by then I'll have probably forgotten what I read). I haven't been as into books #3 & #4, but was determined to finish reading the story. Everyone is so INTENSE in the books. They're all constantly threatening to kill each other over everything. I do find Lila an intriguing character, though, and the actress who portrayed her in the first season of the show impressed me in particular. I think she perfectly captured the complexity of the character. I'm just happy/relieved to find a book series that I've been able to stick with and haven't given up on partway through (which has happened in the past with other book series that I've started). I'm glad I checked out the show, as it introduced me to this book series.
|
|