I’ve seen a couple threads discussing a specific author or book, but I always want to leap off into a discussion of another and feel duty-bound not to hijack the stated subject of the thread (though I admit to doing it once :eek: )
So I was wondering – would anyone like to join me in a discussion of whatever book you happen to be reading at the moment? Or discussion of an old favorite? All genres welcome!
I’ll start by mentioning one of the best books I’ve read in probably the last 10 years: Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund. This book imagines the life of, unsurprisingly, the bride of Ahab from Moby Dick. That book was a bore when I read it in college (though I’m not immune to it, completely). However, this book is captivating in its story, gorgeous in its writing and engrossing beyond belief! A friend who read it told me she limited herself to 75 pages a night so as to savor the experience. I’m not that disciplined; I read it in about four days.
Other interesting books I’ve read in the last few months include Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier and a re-read, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Somehow I can’t stop myself from picking it up every couple years.
One of the most startling books I’ve ever read is Expecting Adam by Martha Nibley Beck. Its subtitle is “A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic.” If you’ve never heard of it, I encourage you to check out this link.
Ah books…I love them so much.
I haven’t read anything you mentioned. Ahab sounds pretty good…I betcha she was pretty peeved her hubby wasn’t home much.
I’m currently reading, JRR Tolkien’s (sp?) The Hobbit. For the 1st time!!! Bilbo Baggins is a cut up!
I just finished reading Asimov’s “Farmer in the Sky”. Before that, Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End.
I read everything…Bio’s, Sci-fi, Stephen King, Arthur Ford, Ruth Montgomery, Koontz, Woodward,…well, everything.
Hmmm. I’ve never seen Heinlein’s name spelled that way before.
All kidding aside, Farmer in the Sky is one of Heinlein’s all-time greats. Probably his third or fourth best juvie. I’d put it behind Tunnel in the Sky, Have Spacesuit and Citizen of the Galaxy
Currently, I’m reading Richard Ellman’s definitive biography of Oscar Wilde. It’s an absolutely absorbing account of Oscar’s life and shows what a gobshite Bosie really was.
I’m also intermittently working my way through Marcel Proust’s “A La Recherche Du Temps Perdus”, or, “In Search of Lost Time” I’m almost done with the first volume,“Swann’s Way”, and the connections Proust makes between the past and present, people and birds, the deceptions people practice and the masks they wear are insightful and wise, plus his prose is mesmerizing.
I also just finished reading Gregory Benford’s “Eater”, about an intelligent black hole that comes to our solar system to absorb the people of Earth and integrate their personalities with its own. Good stuff.
I’m currently reading The Testament by John Grisham, I’m not very far into it, but it’s okay so far. I just finished Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, which was great, I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that made me laugh out loud so often.
Next on my reading list is Snow Falling on Cedars by some guy whose name I can’t recall. (I’m horrible at remembering names) I’ve already read it twice, and I’ve been in the mood to pick it up again lately. I havn’t seen the movie yet, though…I actually rented it last night and plan on watching it this evening. The book is excellent, though, even my father, who basically hates any book that isn’t horror, loved it.
The worst book I’ve read lately is Quick Shots of False Hope: A Rejection Collection by Laura Kightlinger. I enjoy her stand-up, and maybe I expected too much from the book, because I heard it was great. Ha! I must have laughed once, mostly it just depressed me. When I finished it, (I read the whole thing in one night, it’s not a long book) I wanted to cry, it was a total drag. Usually I love dark humor, and I don’t know if this was just too dark or what, but damn…this coming from someone who laughed like a madwoman at You Are Worthless: Depressing Nuggets of Wisdom Sure to Ruin Your Day by some guy affiliated with The Onion.
The Dark Tower series by Stephen King is one of my all-time favorites…I know people who absolutely loathe Stephen King who love these books.
My friends and family think I’m nuts because I thoroughly enjoyed Hannibal by Thomas Harris, even the ending. It gave me some interesting dreams, though.
Whew, what a list, goboy! I see your college alma mater is near where I grew up. Did you know one of its more famous alumni??
Pepperlandgirl, I haven’t read any of those, but I’ve heard good things about Yellow Raft in Blue Water. Not much help, I know.
Graeme, Ahab’s wife missed him, but she didn’t sit around doin’ nuttin. That’s what makes this story so compelling. She is a unique, intelligent person in her own right.
The last science fiction book I read was Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. It suggested the movie “Blade Runner” but the two are quite different. I used to read a lot of sci-fi short stories, but not in several years. My favorite is a book (that I’ve lost in my house somewhere) of stories from the 1930s. Many of them are scaaaaary, including one the movie “The Thing” was based on … you know, researchers isolated at the South Pole uncover [insert doom music here] alien thing frozen in the ice. (I’m so annoyed I can’t remember authors.) Another is a story called “Time Out of Mind” I believe and has the premise that beings other than human have been the top dog on Earth over its eons of history. One guy gets to see what beings through a kind of time-travel student-exchange program. I’m sure it’s a pretty famous story; maybe I’ll go questing for who wrote it. (I may even have the wrong title; gasp.)
General question – What books did you like to read in your ‘formative’ years? Did you read books directed at teens? I’m reviewing a book for young adults (12-14) but I cannot relate to my own adolescence. I went straight from Charlotte’s Web to Gone with the Wind. And some racier titles.
Wish I could have helped you, but I was of the same ilk as you.
Right now, I’m reading M.F.K. Fisher’s *The Art of Eating * which is a compilation of her most famous works. The most wonderful part of this is The Gastronomical Me which is a bit like “love, loss and what I ate”. She describes many of the important moments of her life, marked by memories of food. She is an amazing writer, but largely ignored because she wrote of food.
So did I, literally. THe last book we read as a class in 3rd grade was Charlotte’s Web. The first book I picked up when summer began that year was Gone With The Wind. I’m also reading it now. After Gone With the Wind, I began reading all my Grandma’s romance novels.
I just finished Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. Good book, though it reminded me of a watered-down version of Gravity’s Rainbow.
Before that, it was Octavia Butler’s The Parable of the Talents. Excellent, as should be expected.
I’ve got two Terry Pratchett novels to catch up on, but first I have a memoir of Julius Schwartz (Superman’s boss, among other things) that I have to devour.
Ellen, would you believe Woody and I were roommates sophomore year in Crowe Hall? Mind you, we haven’t spoken since graduation 17 years ago, but still, I can say I knew him before he was famous.
I’ve read Pat Conroy, Canthearya, and have to say he’s just too much for me. Beach Music was the worst. All that fuming and hatred of one’s family members, seemingly just because they are family members is so over-the-top and frankly unsubstantiated. In Beach Music, I think, the father makes a statement of some sort, on the order of “one of my greatest pleasures is finding ways to torture my sons” with complete seriousness. Oh come on. Even if people don’t get along with family members, do they actually confess to actively liking to mistreat them? Maybe he’s just more honest than most (???), but generally, Conroy gets the “oh brother” treatment from me. I have a brother-in-law who compulsively reads The Great Santini and HIS family seems fairly normal. Hm, “seems” …?
I love the South, too. I have an internet friend in Savannah (she’s a native!) and she’s been given warning to expect me to show up on her front porch one day (she’d better hand me a martini, too!). I honeymooned and take regular family vacations to Charleston, S.C.
On the subject of adolescent reading, I’m glad I was in no way censored in what I was reading by my parents. I got through my Sidney Sheldon period a long, long time ago … as well as got other schlock read early so I could learn to detect it.
Whoops, goboy, you snuck in whilst I was formulating my Great Thoughts … You roomed with Woody? Wow! I thought you’d at least know him since you seemed (to me) to be there at the same time. You’re a year older than I, judging by your college graduation date. I grew up ‘cross t’ river.
[/old home week]
RealityChuck, you say, *a watered-down version of Gravity’s Rainbow. * Please tell me precisely how I’m a mental deficient because I haven’t read this book. All the pseudointellectuals and puffed-up stuffed shirts I’ve ever known (OK: two) have told me I MUST read this book. When I sat down to try … well, I don’t remember what happened. Either it was so dense I couldn’t comprehend it, or so boring I couldn’t retain it. Is it something worth trying again by the Older and Wiser Me? Or leave it to the aforementioned puffed and stuffed?
This could be it’s own thread. Hmmmmm. I can think of several books that might be considered “teen” titles that I just love:
The Hero and The Crown by Robin McKinley
The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper
The Owlstone Crown by X.J. Kennedy
etc.
They all star pre-teens.
By my teen years I was already reading Heinlein, Tom Robbins, and anything else I could get my hands on, so I have a hard time coming up with strictly “young adult” books as well. I think if the person is reasonably bright, you can hand them anything, and even if the person is a teenager, it will be fine. grin
Ellen I had the same kind of parents, thank goodness.
I went straight from juvenile literature into schlock. I was so uncomfortable reading explicit sex scenes that I asked my mother what books she liked to read. I was so happy to find out that not all adult novels are like Harold Robbins’ and Sidney Sheldon’s.
The name of the story is “Who Goes There?”, and that is by far my favorite science fiction short story of all time. It is scary as hell. I can never remember the author’s name though.
For those who like southern-themed books, have you read Run with the Horsemen by Ferroll Sams? It is outstanding. (It’s a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age novel set in the Depression and written by a physician from Fayetteville, GA.)
Ah, “The Betsy.” What a waste of time, yet perfectly suited to the intellect of a 14-year-old. I however suffered no shame at reading the naughty bits. :eek: I was a bit surprised at the brief sex fantasy spelled out in “Jaws.” To this day I can recall, word for word, a couple of specific sentences. Not long ago, I was discussing this with my husband, and he confessed the same thing! Never underestimate the power of literature.
Edwardina, so what can you say about these works that might help me review this book? I’m in a real quandry. The subject is treated as an adult novel might (unwed teen pregnancy in 1950s small-town North Carolina) but it’s written in such a sketchy, surface way … I presume written “down” for the younger set. As an adult, I feel gypped by what seems to be left out. I’m also troubled by the relevence of today’s teens to a 50s teen’s dilemma. No one gets sent away anymore to live with relatives. On the other hand, are the ideals of the 50s to be emulated today? Bear with me folks: I might be working this out on my own!
