pontalba

Very, very true. Gawd. Not a set I'd want to be on.....watch out for flying missiles! Their bitterness quotient was extremely high, to say the least. I think most people hide it pretty well to outsiders. One never knows what goes on behind closed doors, and we never know what really goes on in another's marriage/relationship.

I loved the way Grimwood worked in the '60's references.....I was a teenager then, and remember all of it well, so it had more resonance for me. Regarding the money Kay, hurry up and read it! Oy. Hah! Good one. First he tried to play innocent.......who, me?? But I've got his number. And it's the same as mine..............

Uh oh!! I had to give them up about 10 years ago. IBS Looks neat!

Finished Under the Dome, exhausted. Don't know what is next. Oh, Titus Groan.....!! Review over yonder on my book thread.

LOL Of the ones mentioned Jane Eyre is my favorite, by a long shot. Funny thing is, I'm not usually attracted to "romantic" novels. I like a hard core of realism with my romance, and it isn't always easy to find. And, although I do appreciate Ms. Bennet, I must admit they are not my favorite. In reading P&P and S&S, I found myself extremely irritated with the lot of them. As to others of that ilk, at the moment I am stumped. I'll have to think on it, and examine my shelves.

For Stephen King's Under the Dome I'd have to really say 4.5/5 rating, not the 4 stars* I've allotted. I suppose it's simple cussedness not allowing the 5 star, I can't rate it as high as I would Nabokov, Banville, or some of my other all-time favorites. But what a storyteller King is! What would happen if a small town, with it's petty dictator types and a passel of stereotypical sorts were cut off from the rest of the world. Cut off by an invisible, but impermeable dome that reaches higher than the eye can see (if one could see it), and so far down into the earth it cannot be told how deep it reaches? The reader is met at the intersection of Lord of the Flies and The Twilight Zone partnered with a strong dose of dystopia. Combine this with King's fabulous characterizations that are seemingly over the top......but are so down to earth accurate, that the reader has to stand in wonder at the mix. The story pulls the reader along, we have to know who lives, who dies and almost more importantly, who gets or doesn't get their comeuppance. *Oh, the heck with it, make that a 5 star rating. The book deserves it!

Kylie, on 16 Oct 2013 - 04:35, said: I haven't read the play, but was fortunate enough to see it live on Broadway last year in New York.......and of course I've seen the Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton film. What Frankie said ^^^^^^^. Long simmering bitterness plus drunkenness make lousy filters. IOW, no filter at all on the mouth. Everything comes out. I thought the dialogue was plausible, and even logical given the time frame it took place in, and the pain they were both in from the past. Disturbing? Oh, yeah. Painful to hear? yes. Fascinating. Definitely.

Hear, hear! I could not agree more.

Thanks for sharing that tidbit, muggle. Sure it was only two glasses?

Good grief! Glad you are getting out of there! Cutting hours to save on salary and insurance, I expect. Bugger. Ouch! Moaning is ok, and thankfully you are ok enough to do the moaning! That's too long a drive in too short a space of days for me, muggle. Will you split the driving to two days, or in one day?

LP, I sorta gave up on the Russell/Holmes series after the first 4, I think. I've read a few since and have Pirates, unread. No inclination to do so either. /sigh/ I think they lost their charm when King practically erased Holmes from the equation. bleech. I loved the relationship between Russell and Holmes, and without that interaction, they are only half alive. IMO.

BEWARE, THAR BE SPOILERS BELOW......... #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#* http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/11186-pontalbas-2013-reading-list/page-7 Post # 131 my review. Even though I rated it 5/5, I agree with some of your niggles. But just when I was nearing the end of my tether, Pamela popped up...then the other guy. Yowee! I could understand his preoccupation with money, he'd had to worry about it in his first life, and didn't want to go through that again. The drugged up lives really annoyed me, and I was happy that at least it was glossed over somewhat. As far as the creepy factor with regards to Linda, well. I agree and can see the creepiness, but I think that was just his naivety. Also I think it showed that he really didn't know her all that well, 'cause if he'd had a real knowledge of her personality, he wouldn't have tried that approach. Re Niggle #3...I think he didn't go back to them, in a sort of a "been-there-done-that", unproductive sort of feeling. Re Niggle #4...I loved, loved, loved, LOVED the epilogue! I'd almost rate it as the best part of the book! But I am a child of The Twilight Zone.......can you hear the music? Husband and I were sitting in Starbucks earlier, munching. Had car worked on this morning. oy Anyhow, whilst sitting in said Starbucks having brought kindle and book, meaning ^^^^^this book, I read the first pages and turned it over to Charles and said, "Recognize anyone?".......YES! It's a portrait of yours truly and spouse. More later once I've read the thing. Haven't read the Hornby you mention.

I guess I'll try anything once. I don't like gory, or real "horror" stories though. I can only read some of Stephen King, not all. I have to say I don't like real "romance/chick lit" either. There are some books classified as such though that I have enjoyed.

Started Under the Dome by Stephen King. /shivers/

Actually, it doesn't look too bad, as long as it doesn't come up past the curbs and sidewalks. I really hope it doesn't get worse! The wind is dangerous though, what with fences and electric wires coming down. /fingers crossed for all/ They get that sort of flooding in N.O. in any heavy(ish) rain. Actually any old cloudburst will do. heh Yeah, lousy drainage, below sea level.

I haven't loved Dick in the past, but this one sounds extremely promising. Added......

LOL If I ever come up with a plan that I'd stick with, I'll let you know. Not likely though. I guess I'm too moody and dither too much. I'm a bit like Julie....start many, finally stick to one. I don't know if reading a really riveting book puts the kibosh on following reading. Maybe, yes....maybe, no. I think that whatever the book was, I want to read another in the same genre to follow it up, and extend the happiness. Maybe. But Coca Cola will for sure. If it'll dissolve copper pennies, it'll clean an oven I'm sure!

Finished An American Spy, not sure what next. Review up over yonder.

An American Spy by Olen Steinhauer 4/5 Dithering between a three and four star rating....came down on four. Just because of Steinhauer's amazing talent for dragging the reader along even through iffy parts. The story is, in some ways a typical spy, cross, double-cross, unknown quantities, and other ways quite extraordinary. Steinhauer constructs his stories in a sort of stacked manner, and shifts perspective and adjusts the timeline so that finally at the end the reader has the entire picture of "what really happened". Even if all the participants of the story are not fully in the loop. I'm not exactly sure what to make of that, whether or not I fully agree with that style. It is, however, interesting. I haven't read all of the "Tourist" stories to date, and I am certainly moved to do so. I'd recommend Steinhauer to anyone that loves a twisty spy story, with perhaps a bit of an untypical ending, and complicated characters.

A really great article from The Guardian by Neil Gaimen. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming An excerpt: bolding, mine..... Really. Wow.

Nocello on the rocks.

I'd started An American Spy by Olen Steinhauer on our trip, and forgotten all about it. Picked it up again this evening. Interesting.

LOL sounds good.

water, but heading for the kitchen right now.

Interesting link on Amazon Julie, thanks for posting. I have a difficult time picking a next read, usually. I dither, and look, and sigh and generally muck about till something pokes me. heh