wrathofkublakhan

my copy comes with a girls necklace.....

Tough call. Sometimes my favorites are simply my most recent - I loved the movie Hairspray that came out this week. I was an Instant Fan and bought the soundtrack too! All Time Favorites: To Kill A Mockingbird The Wizard Of Oz The Quiet Man Hoosiers Bull Durham Shawshank Redemption I can go nuts sometimes and just follow an actor (Gene Hackman, for example) or a director (Stanley Kubrick) or even a genre (film noir or kung fu) and just steep myself in someone who is brimming with talent or some oddity in film making - I think they call it "wire fu" now, all that martial arts in the air. Finally, thanks to cable television - they play movies over and over again so I'll watch something that may not be great but just easy to access while I'm reading. Such as: Freaky Friday The Parent Trap You've Got Mail Forrest Gump Big Y'know, I could make a list of just Tom Hanks movies!

I am about halfway through this book, the first of a series. Ever have one of those experiences where a book title keeps popping up in your life? I first noticed the title here in the forum (now where is that thread about if titles sell books?) and since then I seemed to see this title everywhere. Finally I just had to buy it and give it a go. I like the slow pace of the book, it seems to reflect the long hot days in Botswana. The cases that Precious solves are not always what one expected to result to be - so I like the surprises too.

Book Title: Bangkok 8 Author: John Burdett Publisher: Vintage Press (Random House) Excellent blurb on the back cover: Witnessed by a throng of gaping onlookers, a charismatic Marine sergeant is murdered under a Bangkok bridge inside a bolted-shut Mercedes-Benz. Among the spectators are the only two cops in the city not on the take, but within moments one is murdered and his partner, Sonchai Jitpleecheep - a devout Buddhist and the son of a Thai bar girl and a long-gone Vietnam War G.I. - is hell-bent on wreaking revenge. On a vigilante mission to capture his partner's murderer, Sonchai is begrudgingly paired with a beautiful FBI agent named Jones and captures her heart in the process. In a a city fueled by illicit drugs and infinite corruption, prostitution and priceless art, Sonchai's quest for vengeance takes him into a world much more sinister than he could ever have imagined. My motivation for buying this book: I had been reading books like Lady Chatterley's Lover, Dairy Queen, The Secret Garden and a spate of fantasy books and fluffy funny mystery novels - I wanted something with a little more grit and weight in the storyline. Broader Commentary: With a Buddhist as the main character it is no surprise this book is about balance. Weighing the mores and morals of two very different societies (East Vs West but most often America vs Thailand), our author builds a wonderful case for Bangkok being a wonderful terrific lovely place without lying - if prostitution is part of the discussion then we are taught that in the West we see sex as something encumbered with romance, while in the East it is merely an itch that needs scratching. The same comparison is made for drugs, graft, guns and murder. One walks away with an entire new view on life in another culture. Specific Thoughts: I loved our hero, Sonchai. He meditates, believes in re-incarnation, makes amazing non-logical connections and simply understands humans. It was wonderful for me to see how he could meet a gangster or corrupt official and see the beauty in that person; the beauty, honor, love and spirituality. Overview and Warning: This is a very dense book - a lot of facts and material on prostitution, a lot of information on history and politics of the area and a wide-scope point of view on the world and it's direction. This is a book for grown-ups. It is mature, violent, smart and wickedly funny. At it's core, it is very honest and will challenge your own views of everything: religion, money, sex, food, life, death. It is full of surprises in which the satisfaction comes not from what you, as a reader, are anticipating but rather a more humble (my vocabulary is lacking) centered result. Recommendation: I very much recommend this book to anyone who is an adult. I think my own acceptance of the story comes from the fact that I've traveled to other countries and been (briefly) immersed in other cultures. This is one of the few books I thought about writing a thank you note to the author while I was reading the narrative. It is a good, smart read that is challenging and rewarding. Online Reviews: reviewsofbooks salon.com bookreporter.com movie in 2009? Enjoy!

Finished three minutes ago: Bangkok 8 by John Burdett A beautifully written book. It is also a very dense book that took me just over a week to read, I'd read a few pages or chapters and then put it down - very weighty stuff. It is a murder mystery that takes place in Bangkok with our hero being the only incorruptible cop who is also a Buddhist. It is such a different culture it would be hard not to bear my own judgment on prostitution, drug use and drug selling, killing, sex-changes, the black market and on and on. However our hero loves his country and his people and just how different the mind-set is of the East. It is illogical, magical, honest, full of love -- and simply beautiful. Next On The Pile: The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri The 'person of dubious parentage' by John Jakes Dracula by Bram Stoker (Comparative Reading Circle) Carmilla by J. Sheridan LeFanu (Comparative Reading Circle) Letters From The Earth by Mark Twain New York Dead by Stuart Woods The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith Recently Finished: Bangkok 8 by John Burdett The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner Literacy and Longing in L.A. by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence (July Reading Circle) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya The Nymphos of Rocky Flats by Mario Acevedo Maximum Ride - The Angel Experiment by James Patterson Maximum Ride - School's Out Forever by James Patterson Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich

Death is kinda fun.

....and if you care to find me, look to the western sky!

Sigh -- what a good book this was, I just did not want it to end!

I have an older brother and two sisters. The big deal in our house was that we'd introduce new words into our conversations that we picked up while reading. It was a very smug thing to do and we'd always set it up with a pause, "she seemed rather ... nonchalant", sometimes holding a bit for a reaction. At times we'd go so far as to deliberately pronounce the word, "must you be ... os-ten-ta-tious?", which doubled back pretty well. Since these were words picked up while reading, we'd often flub the pronunciation and get mocked or teased, or even worse; not really know the new word having inferred meaning from the context. Decades later, when this goofy family gets together we still brandish our vocabulary with alacrity at any opportunity. A whole family full of readers; I grew up with piles of kid's books, comics, storybooks and even the beloved "baby books" with textures and holes and pop-ups.

Hello littlefadingstar, I just finished a book about a 15 year old girl who is in high school. I really enjoyed this book, it's called: Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock The kids tease her because she lives on a milk farm and has to milk the cows every morning. She does make friends ... it's not a sad book. It's got some surprises and is not a "kids book". I liked it a lot.

Finished three minutes ago: The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger What a fabulous book! I fear my response to it must be emotional as well as critical, I'd imagine this is true for anyone who's read this book. Honestly, I bought the book because I'd recently seen the flick on HBO. After years of me declaring that not only do Anne Hathaway's supporting cast support her, they carry her! If you can have Julie Andrews and Hector Elizondo (the Princess Diaries) and Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci (DWP), then you simply can't miss. I have to say tho: Anne did a wonderful job (and, girlfriend, she was working those bangs!). I had a lot of sympathy for Andy. I remember missing my first Christmas with my folks because of a show. After 30 years working as a stagehand and a sometime designer in the theater, I've missed more New Years Parties, Christmas with the folks, Thanksgivings, Easter than I care to think about. The number of people in my social circle who are married are only the one's who both work in this crazy business we call show. My first feature film (I worked in the Art Department) was much like Andy's baptism into the fashion world - non-stop, do or die, insane money, poor pay, perks beyond belief. My experience was certainly not at the scale of Andy's but close enough for me to see what was going on in her life. I'm sure it is counter to most readers, but I felt Andy's friends just didn't understand nor did they care to understand what was being accomplished. Alex with his "do the right thing" can stuff it up his ... syllabus. Guilt trips don't cut it, I don't buy it. My dad could be in the hospital and he'd rather me working on my show, in fact, he'd be less than pleased if I dropped everything to tend to him. There are people in the world who are trying to do something bigger than making wages. Be it theater, fashion, sports, politics, health-care, the list can just go on and on - one's personal life does fall to the way-side, even if it's just for the length of time you can sustain your passion. Even out of context, the Bard explains it all with: the play's the thing. I was very glad for Andy to tell Miranda to "fudge off" in full view of the important fashion event. I felt sorry for Andy that she spent a year in servitude to a bitch and never really understood the motives for the big picture - what a horrible reason to work on any job: the promise of a good recommendation. I never once felt any guilt on Andy's part for Lilly's problems. I was glad to see Andy write for Seventeen magazine - exactly the level of work she should be producing. Very good book. It took me about 80 pages to get really into it, the movie tainted me a little bit. It was strong enough that I felt myself reconsidering my own choices in attire and presentation. I would happily recommend it to anyone on the condition that we'd talk about it once it had been finished.

Yes, indeed. One article, from wikipedia, is here.

Nope! But I have plenty to say about critics! It is summed up best by a scene in the wonderful play, Waiting for Godot. The two characters are hurling insults at one another with the final trump being when one calls the other "critic!" The argument ends in silence. (I love that line!) Here, I found it in the script. I'm overdoing it, I know - but all in the name of Forum Fun.

Wear your badge proudly, Liz. You are now a member of an elite club. Reading the book is quite a journey, the experience can stick with you for a lifetime. How Ken Kesey wrote the scenes with the delicate power shifts and their impact on the ward simply gives me the chills. Personally, I sometimes think that this book is also a commentary on the rise of the Women's Movement when read in the context of it's publishing date. In my twisted version of reality, the perfect compliment to this movie is Frances, a movie about a strong-willed woman who gets put into an asylum with similar tragic results. All the BS above ignored, I'm glad you got to read it - one of the best books ever.

I came across this quote the other day, now have googled the world and can't find it anywhere, but basically it's a famous author (my money is on Mark Twain or GBS) who said (paraphrased), "oh, yes. Please read the last page first. Since you know what's going to happen, then now you can sit back and enjoy the writing!" Quite a different take and kind of fun; making it not about the story but about the writing itself.

Welcome to the boards. I usually click the "new posts" at the top when I first visit this site.

Tough call. Picking one favorite of the year, I might change my mind once I've had a muffin since I feel I've read some damn fine stories. I think I'll pick: The Secret Garden. It was very well written, had solid characters and was full of charm and surprises. One of the few books that can stand the test of time and not feel dated. Really, the time frame adds to the charm. My goodness, it was a good book!

I'll try to answer the questions too: 1- Who was your favourite character and why? I liked Clifford's nurse, Mrs. Bolton the best. She was very wise and saw beyond her own selfish nose - can't say the same for any of the other characters. I also liked the shift later in the book when she became sort of the Mother Of Us All, a nice little literary step into an archetype; representing something greater than just herself. 2- Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest? I liked the trip to Venice. It allowed us to see Connie outside of her situation so we could look at her in a new light. Sadly, she didn't really re-new herself - nonetheless the opportunity was there. 3- Was this the first book you've read in this genre/ by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? It's my first by this author. I think he had one more book that was more popular (Son's and Lovers?) that I might try. I always thought he was cool in that he had a ranch (really a retreat) in New Mexico that was visited by Gertrude Stein and some of the other writers of that time. 4- Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? Not really, I was very interested in the impact of Industry and Technology in that time and how obsessed not just Clifford but Mr. DH was with just that. 5- Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? It sure was enjoyable. There were times when I grew impatient with the characters or impatient with the pace/descriptions. I believe that it is an "important" piece of work so I am also proud to have read it and can say that I have. Others have said they were not shocked - I was shocked to the core to read the C-word! I had to stop and pick my teeth up off the ground and re-check exactly when this book was first published! 6 - What this a good Reading Circle choice? I think that it was - the shared experience of reading this novel made it all the more fun. I felt that there has been and continues to be an interesting conversation about the book and the reading experience of a classic. It was not a light-weight read like a children's book - it took some time and effort, it has a context of history yet still proves as sound bit of writing in today's standard. In my opinion, very successful.

Absolutely, if you didn't read the first book when it came out ~ then the hype makes it way too big and you'll read and say, "it ain't all that." My example would be the movie Titanic. A huge movie and I missed the original rush. I know if I saw it, I might think it's good but so many people have gushed and told me I'd love it that I know already, "it ain't all that." Hype is great for anticipation but it's a killer when it's a passed-upon trend.

Finished three minutes ago: The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner This was a fun little book. It's about a 15 year old girl who is trained in the sword and taken away from the life of parties, gowns, gossip and dating. The book was unusual (for me) because of the drug use, overt sexual situations and plenty of gay sex ~ on many levels it was quite refreshing to have them part of a book without it being an issue, just a part of regular life. I love stories that have theater in them, I love sword-fights with honor and I love coming-of-age stories. This one had it all. Next On The Pile: Bangkok 8 by John Burdett The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri The 'person of dubious parentage' by John Jakes Dracula by Bram Stoker (Comparative Reading Circle) Carmilla by J. Sheridan LeFanu (Comparative Reading Circle) Recently Finished: The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner Literacy and Longing in L.A. by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence (July Reading Circle) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya The Nymphos of Rocky Flats by Mario Acevedo Maximum Ride - The Angel Experiment by James Patterson Maximum Ride - School's Out Forever by James Patterson Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich

Hello Ruth, Feel free to jump into the conversation -- between chapters of whatever you are reading!

The Hobbit is a great choice. How many of us felt like we were part of something special when we understood the bathroom graffiti - Frodo Lives! * *Granted this was about 35 years ago when only the cool people knew about The Hobbit.

The true miracle of the HP books is that they took off in the teen and pre-teen set. Kids were reading that first one (adults too - but it was the kids). There is a tremendous need to conform when you are a kid. It almost never happens with books because its almost impossible for a book to be a fashion statement. Another factor in favor of books is that it's not gender-based, so this potential exploded. There have been comparable trends that have swept kid-dom; hula-hoops, saddle shoes, backwards baseball caps, Britney Spears, Michael Jordan (and his jersey), yo-yos and so on. The deal with HP was that it is a book and so it's rare and amazing. Once we get beyond that first book phenomenon, then we're talking franchise. The only franchise that I can think of that's similar is the Hello Kitty franchise which seems to have done pretty well for about ten years (did you know one can buy a Hello Kitty vibrator?). The final bit I'll add is that this miracle is set up in a closed universe, we know there are an exact set of books (and movies) and so the energy has an ending point. If we did not know that, sales would have begun dropping after the second book. There have been a few books that have been fashion trends; Dr. Spock's baby book, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Celestine Prophecy, Chariots of the Gods and the Da Vinci Code come to mind ~ sudden popular books that are talked about at the water cooler and at quilting bees. Big, just not as big as HP, because HP has the kids.

Howdy Stephanie, Glad to see you and hope you jump right into this room full of readers.

Well, now I'm all curious - obviously I'm following this thread along with y'all. My first thought about the Roaring Twenties was the Prohibition here in the US, speakeasies, flappers and all that jazz. We've got Elliot Ness and Al Capone, the Untouchables though I doubt it was ever a fiction book, just a tv show and eventually a movie. I suppose movies like The Cotton Club fit in as well. Who Framed Roger Rabbit must've been set in the 20's since they have the scene with "Walt sent me." That might be a book, I think. Mebbe not. We've got flappers (women shave their armpits for the first time in history), two musicals come to mind; Thoroughly Modern Millie and Chicago. I know there was a movie called Roxie Hart which is about a woman who kills her husband, a "passion killing" or some such who gets off with no jail time. Wikipedia lists the following for literature: