pontalba

Thanks, Gaia! Thank you, Alexi! Appreciated. The story just carried the reader along wonderfully. LOL I suppose Amazon must think there are many people ordering from them....or at the least several personalities.....hee hee That's so sweet, thank you, Gaia. Sometimes I surprise myself.

Well, hey there! Glad you are back and doing well! What are you reading?

Love it! Looks beautiful. I know what you mean. I hope you can get into your house very soon!

What a great link! Great ideas, lots of very different and inventive takes on the same premise. LOL When I saw the thread, I first thought you meant an e-reader/Nook! Glad I clicked the link!! Thanks.

I've been known to sit up in bed and read till 4 in the morning. Sometimes we just have to know what happens next! Fortunately the light doesn't bother husband. Not that anything does when he is sleeping....... Do y'all become unconscious whilst reading? /giggle/ My Aunt used to become very outdone calling me.....

Odin is a very handsome fellow! Emma's adorable as well.

Anna, did you know that there is a film of the third part of Atlas Shrugged? Atlas Shrugged: Who is John Gault? Well done, here is a link to the trailer. http://www.atlasshruggedmovie.com/ Also we saw the new film A Walk Among the Tombstones with Liam Neeson. It's based on the book of the same name by Lawrence Block. Very. Well Done. I'll post a link to a local reviewer.....and I posted at the bottom, so scroll down to the comments. I'm pontalba there as well. That reviewer was just too nasty. http://www.nola.com/movies/index.ssf/2014/09/a_walk_among_the_tombstones_re.html#cmpid=nsltr_strybutton Anyhow, I'll copy and paste my comment here. by pontalba "We saw "A Walk Among the Tombstones" this afternoon, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Liam Neeson is perfectly cast as Lawrence Block's world weary Matt Scudder. There are some differences from the book, that is only to be expected, but the film works well. Anyone that is a fan of Block will recognize and appreciate Neeson's portrayal of the character. The reviewer speaks of clichés, and while some of the story may well be called a cliché, so can most of the better, not to mention most popular detective stories that have been written, or made into films or television series. One could call any tried and true story line somewhat of a cliché. The old "Hill Street Blues", and any of the "Law and Order " franchise come to mind. If you are a fan of any of those, you will certainly enjoy the film. I found the reviewers take to be a bit condescending in tone, and irritating. Not to mention a bit contradictory. It's a great action flick. :)" In other bookish news, I've read about a third of I Am Pilgrim, and love it. My going out book on kindle was Wyatt by Garry Disher. finished it last night and what a great ending! Differently done, and very good. It's a story of criminals conning each other, crossing paths and retribution. Great characters, great place descriptions. The action is mostly in Australia, but partly in France. 4/5 Recommended.

Great to see ya, Julie! Glad the knee is doing so much better! I've been thinking about you. Oh, man, I can believe it about the mechanic, they can be absolute killers. Buggers. Been there, done that. Nice list of reading. It's great that you've been able to read.

geordie, which is 1400 pages long? I went back and couldn't find the reference. That's a shame! I really liked it a lot, but I do like slow books. I have The Casual Vacancy on the TBR stack as well, I'd like to hear what you think when you get to it. Ahhh, hah! I've finished something interesting, on kindle. For my "bringing out book" I read Wyatt (Wyatt Wareen) by Garry Disher. Very good! Takes place mostly in Australia, and a little in France. I hadn't heard of him before, evidently it's a series. Found it as a sale item on kindle. I'm about a third of the way through I Am Pilgrim, and it's excellent!

Finished Legends last night. And, with impeccable timing, I received our Michelle's wonderful book prize! I've started I Am Pilgrim already, and it's already turning out to be an excellent read! Thanks again, Michelle!

We went to see No Good Deed yesterday, and it really was very suspenseful. Great actors in it, Taraji P. Henson, from Person of Interest and Idris Elba who I only know from The Wire. Well acted, the suspense was kept up throughout, until the very end.

I'm about halfway through Legends by Robert Littell. Good, but I'm not driven to finish.

Great review, BB. I read this a bout 4 yeas ago, so don't remember lots of details, however what I do remember was being very let down by the ending. The twist that was put on it was a cop out, imo. I did like lots about it though.

Sparrow Migrations by Cari Noga 4/5 At first I thought this was a real life, true story of the people involved in the 2009 incident where an airline pilot, of necessity, landed his just taken off plane in the Hudson River in New York. The way the author first presented was very factual and true to life. As I read along though, I realized it was a fictional take on the people. Noga begins with a 12 year old boy on one of the ferry's on the river, closest to the downed plane. We finally realize the boy is a high functioning austic and his reactions to the situation form the basis of the book. The story is told from several points of view, shifting rapidly from one to the next. Stories of people both on the plane and the ferry finally, sometimes obliquely, cross in varying ways. But the incident serves as both a crossroads and culmination of private situations of these people. Noga's chapters are short and very to the point. Crisply and well done. Added in Edit: This is the plane landing the book is based on..... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Airways_Flight_1549 Recommended. Tunnel Vision by Aric Davis 4/5 An interesting detective story investigating a 15 year old murder. The investigation is conducted by a pair of 16 year girls that meet another teenage boy that is rather Mike Hammer(ish), and has a past of his own to overcome. This is second in a series, and I missed the first one so there are some gaps in my knowledge of the boy. I say boy, but in spite of his age, he is already a man with more of the problems than most people have to deal with in their lives. Briefly, he is a survivor. There are several plot lines, and the variety keeps it interesting, and the pace is fast. Some rawness of the "language" and situations were a bit surprising to me, but were not out of line, I think. Young Adult is getting more and more adult. It ain't Nancy Drew by a long shot, but it was well done.

Have finished two books in the last couple of days. Sparrow Migrations by Cari Noga and Tunnel Vision by Aric Davis. The latter is a YA detective story, the first a fictional story of the people involved in that airplane landing in the Hudson River a while back. Intersecting lives. Well done.

Weetabix biscuit slathered with cream cheese with a large mug of black tea.

I've never timed myself beyond knowing it takes me about a minute to finish the average page. Word count? Who knows? Not me!

I haven't followed the back story closely. Was there a history of domestic violence between them? Some articles said that either a woman or a high-pitched male was screaming just prior to the shooting.

You are settling in beautifully! Great descriptions of your walkabouts. It does sound like lots of fun. When we moved up here from N.O., we drove around, just aimlessly.....not a walkable place, unfortunately. Everything is very far apart. Auto necessary here. It's such fun discovering a place.

Aww, that's a shame. Definitely! Thanks, Athena. Oy. I read The Fountainhead, oh I guess must be at least 40-ish years ago. Hardly remember anything of it. Probably should reread at some point.......

The Time Being with Frank Langella Suspect Zero with Ben Kingsley both for "free" on Amazon (Prime)

Aside from the ex-mayor of New Orleans going away for corruption.....messy trial. Ten year sentence. It's the usual. Peak time for hurricanes around here, but nothing on the horizon, thank goodness!

Really love your review of The Dinner. You've hit several nails right on the head! Glad you enjoyed it. It did pull the reader right in, as you mention. I wonder how the English translation stacks up to the Dutch. From what you've said though, I think it sounds on target. Thanks.

Piffle.

Neat idea for a thread, Gaia! Your summation is excellent, and I agree. I love learning how people that I'd never come in contact with think. Why they react the way they do to situations, and the repercussions of those reactions. How do they live with it, how do they manage. I love learning about civilizations that I'd never have a chance to experience, whether it's because they are ancient, or far away. IOW, Why?