As the Page Turns (the Book Thread)

[annie_mg]

Currently reading my first Elena Ferrante My brilliant friend and loving it.

I bought it as a holiday book and indeed it is one! I think I might get the sequel.

 

[clairecloutier]

I love to read my favorite children's books over and over, and never get tired of looking at the illustrations. It's like having comfort food for dinner.

This is how I am, pretty much.

With LOTR, my husband is a Tolkien lover, and he got me into it. I enjoyed the whole series and The Silmarillion, the book of mythic tales about the LOTR world. For some reason though, I haven’t read The Hobbit yet.

 

[MsZem]

Judith Kerr passed away last week at age 95. A lot of people knew her from the Mog books and The Tiger Who Came To Tea, but for me she's first and foremost the author of the autobiographical children's book When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. It held up nicely when I read it as an adult, and Anna and Max's attempts at writing essays in French remain priceless.

I read the books in high school and really liked them. But hated the movies. And am not in the class of people who read them over and over.

The movies spent too much time on the battles. It was also obvious that Peter Jackson was more into showing the darker parts of the books and didn't really know what to do with, say, the Rivendell section.

The best decision made in the movies was cutting out all the stuff with Tom Bombadil. Even I couldn't get through that, and as someone who actually read most of the appendixes that's saying something.

I went through a Regency Romance period ages ago but ran out of good authors and also they have changed over the decades to have more and more sex and most authors can't write sex scenes so they have gotten less enjoyable to me over time.

I read a lot of romance, and I'm finding it harder and harder to find books that work for me. I don't care about Dukes, SEALs, billionaires, secret spy clubs and any combination thereof.

 

[Jenny]

I also will pickup books from thrift stores if they are clean,

I LOVE used bookstores!! As a cookbook collector, they are a goldmine of vintage titles super cheap, and I'll buy other books too. My husband is similar when it comes to vinyl records

I am nervous to read books that I loved as a child. I want my memory of them and sometimes they don't hold up. I do read new YA if it looks interesting.

I've always found it an interesting exercise in what I remember vs what I don't, and the things I might have missed as a young reader that jump out at me now.

Among childhood authors, my favourite then and now is Zilpha Keatley Snyder. The Velvet Room, Black and Blue Magic, The Egypt Game, The Headless Cupid, wonderful stories all.

 

[rfisher]

Still over the lack of love for The Hobbit.

Dwarves! Elves! Trolls! Giant Spiders! Wizards! Cursed Forest! Songs! Ancient Tales! Goblins! Riddles! Sorcery! Legendary Swords! Enchanted Ring! Gold! Smaug the Dragon! The Quest! Adventure! Travels! Ponies! Magic! Eagles! Rhymes! Treasure! Gollum! The Arkenstone! Bravery! Maps! Secret Doors! Mountains! Battles! Giants! Courage! Deception! Revenge! Grudges! Alliances! Good! Evil! Invisibility! Secrets!

All this within 300 pages, and accomplished with a complete lack of clean handkerchiefs and proper teatime. This is total
What more can you ask for - its friggin BRILLIANT.

And, all those missed second breakfasts!

 

[rfisher]

The best decision made in the movies was cutting out all the stuff with Tom Bombadil. Even I couldn't get through that, and as someone who actually read most of the appendixes that's saying something.

And of all the discussions regarding Toliken's intent, I don't think I've ever heard anybody explain what purpose Tom Bombadil served other than to get them away from the Black Riders and on their way to the Inn and Strider/Aragon. All of which could have been done in 1/3 of the space he donated to this. He didn't even provide Sam with Bill the Pony. When I listen to the audio books (they are great for long trips), I just skip through that section because I end up humming those stupid songs over and over and over in my head.

 

[MacMadame]

The movies spent too much time on the battles.

They were basically war movies. Which is not a genre I am into.

But every time someone says Peter Jackson, I do a double-take. Because that's the name of our CEO.

 

[PrincessLeppard]

I finished Hidden Cities by Moses Gates. He's an urban explorer, which is something I've always wanted to do, but no one has ever wanted to go with me and I know better than to go wandering into abandoned grain silos alone. But he and his friend Steve, and others, go to some really interesting places in NYC, Paris, Moscow, Sao Paolo and London. It's a fast, interesting read.

 

[Simone411]

At the moment, I'm reading Chariots of the Gods and Return to the Stars by Erich von Daniken for about the 10th time. Erich will be a guest at the convention, Alien Con 2019 Los Angeles on June 21st - 23rd along with William Shatner.

Sure wish I could go to this one in Los Angeles. There is another convention in Dallas on October 4th-6th, but Erich won't be attending that one.

 

[Finnice]

Currently reading my first Elena Ferrante My brilliant friend and loving it.

I bought it as a holiday book and indeed it is one! I think I might get the sequel.

I have read the all four. Some in English translation, some in the Finnish one.
I am not a native English speaker, but I considered the translation a bit lacking. The structure of the original language (Italian) showed too much. The Finnish translation was much more fluent.
Loved the books! It was a long and great story and I miss Lila and Lenu.

 

[emason]

Well, I am in the minority, but I read My Brilliant Friend for a book club and did not like it. I just didn’t relate at all to the women and I have no desire to read anything more about them.

 

[annie_mg]

Well, I am in the minority, but I read My Brilliant Friend for a book club and did not like it. I just didn’t relate at all to the women and I have no desire to read anything more about them.

It took me at least 100 pages to get into it but then I did and I was hooked. Thanks @Finnice for the tip on the translation. I read it in French and I thought the translation was pretty good, though you can always tell when a book is translated. Just ordered the sequel

 

[Rob]

I am reading Less by Andrew Sean Greer. Really enjoying it. It makes me laugh out loud.

 

[aliceanne]

Speaking of children's books I recently discovered Mary Norton wrote one more Borrower book in the 1980's (The Borrowers Avenged), so of course I had to read it. It was surprisingly long for a children's book, but I still enjoyed it. Pod, Homily, and Arietty are living in a haunted rectory and their relatives are living in the church. The ghosts (a young man who committed suicide and his grieving sister) don't bother them, they just walk through them as their glow lights the way to the pantry where they get their supplies.

 

[taf2002]

I checked out Harriet the Spy from my library onto my kindle & I've only read a couple of pages so far. I must say it seems like a very odd book. Who is Oh Golly & what relation is she to the children & the children to each other? And what kind of name is Oh Golly? I'm not very interested in reading more but I probably should finish the 1st chapter before I trash the book. This book seems to be on the same maturity level as The Secret Garden but I loved it as an adult.

 

[cygnus]

I read Harriet the spy (and its sequel The Long Secret) as a kid, and thought they were okay, but they didn't grab me. I remember very little about them right now - I never had the desire to reread them. Maybe I should try them again and see if I missed something.

 

[MacMadame]

Oh, I forgot about The Long Secret. I would consider both of these to be seminal books for me (like Catcher in the Rye is for teenage boys).

 

[Jenny]

I liked the Great Brain series as a kid, anyone else read those? Based on the real life of the writer growing up around turn of the century in Utah, his brother being the Great Brain who always got his little brother, the narrator, into all kinds of scrapes with his schemes. Read the first one years later as an adult and was surprised at the seriousness of many of the themes that I hadn't really caught as a kid.

 

[Kasey]

Curious, has anyone read the continuation of the Stieg Larsson "The girl with the dragon tattoo" novels? I don't often read continuation novels, but I loved that collection, and was hoping the continuation lives up to the originals.

 

[Prancer]

Who is Oh Golly & what relation is she to the children & the children to each other? And what kind of name is Oh Golly?

Isn't it Ole Golly and isn't she the nanny? I haven't read the book since I was a kid, so I don't remember where Ole Golly comes from (an early childhood mispronunciation, maybe?), but I distinctly remember Ole Golly.

I wasn't a big fan of Harriet the Spy, but I know I read it more than once. I wonder why.

 

[Wyliefan]

I liked the Great Brain series as a kid, anyone else read those? Based on the real life of the writer growing up around turn of the century in Utah, his brother being the Great Brain who always got his little brother, the narrator, into all kinds of scrapes with his schemes. Read the first one years later as an adult and was surprised at the seriousness of many of the themes that I hadn't really caught as a kid.

I loved those!

 

[genevieve]

I am reading Less by Andrew Sean Greer. Really enjoying it. It makes me laugh out loud.

I read this a couple of months ago. I think of it as the gay Eat, Pray, Love (I haven't actually read EPL so that could be way oof base ). It's a very funny book, under some really uncomfortable moments.

And it is Ole Golly in Harriet the Spy.

 

[Habs]

Currently reading my first Elena Ferrante My brilliant friend and loving it.

I bought it as a holiday book and indeed it is one! I think I might get the sequel.

I loved the entire series.

 

[quartz]

I love "My Brilliant Friend" and also really enjoyed the TV series. I initially put the book in the Goodwill box, but then last Christmas my store got the boxset of the 4 books and I bought it at 60% off.

 

[antmanb]

Curious, has anyone read the continuation of the Stieg Larsson "The girl with the dragon tattoo" novels? I don't often read continuation novels, but I loved that collection, and was hoping the continuation lives up to the originals.

I've read them and I have really enjoyed them. Page turn-y thrillers are my go-to beach read and I've read the other two novels in the series that he completed before he died as well as the fourth one (the girl in the spider's web I think) that is written by someone else who had access to the unfinished book and all the materials Stieg Larsson had collected for it.

 

[flyingsit]

I tried to read Less a month or so ago and couldn't get past the first 50 pages or so. Normally I don't bail on books but that went right back to the library.

 

[puglover]

I am reading "Chasing Cosby - The Downfall of America's Dad" by Nicole Weisensee Egan. There is probably not a lot new here but having the facts presented chronologically is so disturbing. How anybody can still dispute his guilt with dozens and dozens of similar stories from women is so troubling to me. You really get a sense of what victims of sexual abuse are up against - 1. attempt to destroy her by launching a full out attack on her name and reputation, 2. demand "proof", witnesses, etc. 3. question her motives in coming forward "money" and certainly consider it questionable it took her some time to report the abuse. I gather Bill Cosby feels no remorse nor even considers himself to have done anything wrong, but I hope some of those who aided and abetted him now have seen the light.

 

[her grace]

I recently read A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra. The book opens with Akhmed hiding Haava, the young daughter of a Chechen local, who has been taken by the Russians for an unspecified crime. As the book continues, we meet an assortment of characters, some ethnic Chechen and some ethnic Russian, and the book moves back and forth between the First and Second Chechen wars. This is an ambitious literary work, with a finely woven story and an unflinching look at people living in impossible circumstances. The book is beautiful, but it is also a beatdown, just sadness after sadness.

Then for a lighter read, I tried At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen. I thought the book was going to be about a trio of Americans hunting for the loch ness monster in Scotland, but very little of the book depicts monster hunting. The beginning of the book introduces you to some of most unlikeable characters I have ever encountered. Then toward the middle, I had grown to like and root for one of the characters only to find the ending rushed and

Spoiler

incredibly convenient. I did enjoy Maddie's character development, her relationships with the Scottish people and her self discovery.

OTOH The book tries hard to be everything: historical fiction, romance, magical realism, serious family drama, etc. and the result is a far-fetched and thin plot.

 

[canbelto]

Speaking of books I finally saw Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird. Mostly loved it:
https://humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com/2019/06/to-kill-mockingbird-abts-spring-season.html

 

[Jenny]

Finally finished The Paris Diversion by Chris Pavone (The Ex-Pats, etc). Is there anything more luxurious than a day off work when you can get up with the sun, sit in your favourite chair with a cup of tea in your favourite mug, and finish a good book?

Anyway, I loved it. It's sort of a sequel to The Ex-Pats, same central characters and many references to the plot of that book and his others (which while about different people, are part of the same world he's created, so some small overlaps) - but if you are like me and read that book years ago, or not at all, don't let it put you off because he does a good job of bringing you back up to speed, and without too much of the leaps in timeframes that some disliked in the past. In fact, the entire book, aside from a few remembrances, takes place over the course of about 10 hours. Well paced action, interesting and well drawn characters, good writing, satisfying ending. I recommend it.