pontalba

So far I think.... The Stand by Stephen King Ghost Light by Frank Rich Stolen Souls by Stuart Neville Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes Bloodland by Alan Glynn A Death in Summer by Benjamin Black The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino The Dispatcher by Ryan David Jahn Guts by Kristen Johnston The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnette Friis The Cutout by Francine Matthews Folly by Laurie R. King Eclipse by John Banville Box 21 by Rosulund-Hellstrom 4/5

Oh! Almost forgot to mention...Even though I'm at the same weight loss (25 pounds), I have gone from wearing extra large pants down to the three new pairs of slacks I bought yesterday, in a MEDUIM!! On the way home yesterday evening, I wanted to stop at my favorite little shop that sells flax clothing. Well, OH said it would be dangerous...and it was! But had to buy them, smaller size.....hadda do it.

Snickers? lol at least that has some protein in it. Good choice. We all slip, as long as we get up again, that's what counts.

LOL But really, it's a "romance" novel and let's face it, they are not ordinarily the creme de la creme of the crop. The few I've perused have been excessively repetitive and boring. Nabokov it ain't. Or even Gabaldon. Some have criticized the book(s) for the BDSM aspect. I'm here to tell you, anyone that thinks this book promotes BDSM is dreaming. It actually makes a great case against it, and the "contract" that is (boring as heck) detailed in the book removes any possibility of real hurt, and is most detailed as to what is and what is not acceptable to both parties. Both parties have the power to delete any section or act. In any case I found other aspects of the Opinion piece interesting as to what she considers the reasoning regarding the popularity of 50 Shades to be most enlightening., and may well be the very thing that drives the popularity.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel !! Finally! Love, loved, loved it!!!

I ran across this nifty little Opinion piece in the Washington Post just now. It hits many of the nails right on the head. Quick and interesting reading. What's the attraction of Fifty Shades of Grey/Grey matter of fantasy and reality by Ruth Marcus An exerpt:

I've read Fifty Shades Darker, the second in the trilogy now, and have to say it's better than the first in story development. The relationship is developing and deepening between the protagonists in a meaningful manner. Yeah, the sex is great too. But the sex is not the end all, be all of the story IMO. This is a story of redemption of a lost soul, a soul damaged by events that were beyond his control. From the prologue of the book, a nightmare of a man of when he was a 4 year old.... The cigarettes play a large role. Unfortunately.

Well, I've finished the second one, found it to be a bit more interesting than the first. It ended with another type of cliff hanger, so look forward to the last one. There seem to be more books of this type "coming out of the closet" in B&N. Here is one that is displayed near 50 Shades in our local B&N. Bared to You by Sylvia Day The race is on. heh

Regarding your spoiler section, my take on Cronin's methodology here is that he is creating layered context to give the reader a sense of civilizations passing, of huge amounts of time passing, IOW a "Big Picture". It gave me a better understanding of the whole "happening". Usually first novels of a series are a great deal of set-up for the rest of the story. Sometimes that can be a bit tedious to some readers, but in the long run, necessary.

Orson Welles is one of my all time favorites, although as mentioned above there is Gable, Holden, Kelly, and Mitchum. For some reason I have never cared much for Paul Newman and I can't put my finger on why. I know he is/was wildly popular. Just didn't appeal to me. Robert Downey, Jr. was fantastic as Charlie Chaplin but he seems not to be going for the roles that would showcase his true talent. /darn it/ I'd not heard of Daniel Craig before his new role as James Bond, but I've seen a few of his other films, and that fellow has the necessary acting chops to be great. Sophia Loren is as excellent an actress as she is gorgeous. Ingrid Bergman Cary Grant Gregory Peck Richard Basehart Sean Connery Christopher Plummer

I've finished the second in the Shades of Grey trilogy, and am starting The Admissions by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

A couple of decades ago..... lol, I decided that life was too darned short to not give in to, for example, chocolate cravings. Yes. I want to be fit. Yes, I want to fit into clothes that I have and can't at present wear. But ya know what? Those clothes will be there later, and maybe out of style. Then...there is an excuse, er reason to buy some new ones when I am at said weight. All I'm trying to say is that there is no use in torturing ourselves by doing without constantly. We have to give in on occasion to maintain any sort of quality of life. Thankfully I am way past PMS and all that Jazz, but I remember it well. Hell on Earth would not be overstating the facts IMO. So. I say, give in to a small chocolate craving, or whatever your particular craving is. Your body is trying to tell you something. Listen to it.

Actually.......... you'll find it prominently displayed about 20 feet from the front door, facing the front, taking up the top 2 shelves in the Barnes & Noble around here.

I read The Stand not too long ago, the expanded version, and I can highly recommend it. Haven't seen the mini series. Don't most stories of that genre have some of the same incidents going on though? How many differences can there be. Sure many variations of the same thing, but different? nah, I don't think so. Something I read years ago spoke of there only really being One Story and I have to agree, the human struggle can only take so many forms. I'm a Star Trek fan, the original series mostly, and as I recall they advertised it as The Wagon Train of the stars. Wagon Train was a popular (US) western tv series on when I was a kid. IOW you could transfer stories from a western to space. neat.

I thought he was trying to show how hopeless life had become over the long term, generations of people trying different ways to survive. Cronin is creating a whole new reality for us to understand. It isn't like he is setting his story in an existing time or place, he has to create that reality practically from scratch. I agree the book had ups and downs and on occasion I had a "oh, come on, spit it out!" moment. But it was all to create a tapestry for us to observe. At least that's my take on it. In some ways that sensation reminds me of Stephen King's The Stand. King went from one group of people to the next, making the rounds, telling the individual stories, looping them together, finally. The Passage will, I think, end up the same way....it's only a bigger project.

I think any author that is into writing a series does the same thing to a lesser degree perhaps. The last Diana Gabaldon for example, An Echo in the Bone had several extremely effective cliffhangers involving several of the characters, most of the main ones as I recall. I remember putting the book down and shouting a certain expletive deleted. The expletive was both on account of the very interesting ending, and the fact I know how slowly she writes! So, yes, I think it is partially to sell the sequel, and partially just plain fun on the author's part. Here they are, with how many readers dangling?? What a power trip! hee hee......shades of grey......har! I also think that in some cases even the author hasn't worked out exactly how they'll get XX out of that particular pot of boiling water. What fun! Really.

Agreed, they have to still look just human enough to think to one's self...........there but for the grace of God, go I. Started Fifty Shades Darker by E.L James this morning, and to my eyes it is written better than the first. Tighter, more in control (hmmm, is that a pun? ) than in Volume One with more interesting outside elements brought into the story.

That is exactly what I thought made it soooo verra effective. My reaction was anger, disappointment, and extreme curiosity.

It was truly one of the best and almost unexpected cliff hangers I've read.

Sounds interesting. One of the Law & Order franchise, probably SVU, had an episode like that a few years ago.

ROTFALOL! I could hardly keep my mouth shut when you first posted wondering about the ending. When I finished and came to that last scene I almost croaked!! It was almost time to throw the book across the room at the wall time for me. Frustrated didn't begin to cover it! And to wait all this time for the sequel...../gnashing of teeth/ I know I'll have to have a skim reread before I read the second. grrr, just like Gabaldon's series. heh

Over here it's coming out in October, but doesn't say on UK Amazon. Here are the links. http://www.amazon.co...86&sr=8-1-spell and http://www.amazon.co...ords=The+Twelve Yes, I hae it pre-ordered already. I believe it's cinematic possibilities are fantastic considering the technological advances that would allow Cronin's creations to be fully realized. Better? I can't think it would be actually better, after all our own imaginations can carry us a long way in that direction and what the CGI guys come up with could be at odds with what we've imagined.

I've tried James Patterson, and couldn't read it. I am hesitant to try another as the one I tried.......can't remember the name although I may recognize it. It was so dark and a rather twisted view of a serial killer, I believe down in Florida somewhere, I thought.....never again will I go down that dark path! /shiver/ David Sedaris is another I won't try again. Some of his stories of childhood were awfully mean. Oh, it was Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. Another I didn't like, although I did finish it was The Book Thief. I know most people liked it, but it seemed to me to be only "Nazi Lite", and reading as much of WWII history as I have, it really rubbed me the wrong way.

I thought of that too, and checked on Good Reads, the reviews I saw, only looking at the star system numbers, ran from 3.84 stars for the first volume to 4.14 for the third. Also 4.42 for the bundle. So, I'd say that's a bunch of readers, being on Good Reads.

Oh Peacefield, I wasn't targeting you regarding said vitriol. It's common on another forum that I visit. And, naturally, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I simply don't believe anyone should be belittled or looked down upon because of them. I especially find these attitudes interesting considering the three volumes are the top three best sellers (again) as listed on the New York Times best seller list . Who is buying these books? To read here and other places, no one, yet, there it is, on the NYT and I'm sure other lists. I have to say, it is all highly amusing.