Mac
-
Posts
1,344 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Books
Everything posted by Mac
-
Morning! I've started my own reading thingy. I've finished Norwegian Wood if you're interested in having a look.
Hope youre okay, mate, and that sleep gently wrested you away from consciousness and took you to Dreamsville on a gently idling rowing boat.
Toodles.
-
The pictures of where you live look very lovely. The problem with where I live is that it is slap-bang in the middle of the country - I miss the sea! Still, can't complain, can I?!? I've been to the west coast of the States several times (LA, San Fransisco, Las Vegas, Boulder, Phoenix, San Diego and Lake Havasu), and Dallas twice. That's the extent of my American journey's. Have you ever been to Britain? Hope you're okay, mate. Pip pip.
-
Hi Janet. Sorry to bother you, but Chrissy said I should find a moderator if I run into problems. I would like to be able to access the debating forum, but can't seem to get it right. I've gone to the User CP bit and filled that in, but the request seems to have gone to Michelle2, which appears to have no activity. Some of the topics seem interesting to me and I would enjoy discussing them with the group. I'm always respectful of others' views and I promise I'm not an extremist in any way. I would really appreciate your help in this. Thank you.
-
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami When he hears her favourite Beatles song, Toru Watanabe recalls his first love Naoko, the girlfriend of his best friend Kizuki. Immediately he is transported back almost twenty years to his student days in Tokyo, adrift in a world of uneasy friendships, casual sex, passion, loss and desire - to a time when an impetuous young woman called Midori marches into his life and he has to choose between the future and the past. This is the first real time I've ever tried to put my thoughts about a book down in words. Along with everyone else, I'm sure, I find certain books striking a chord within me and therefore feel them to be more personal. This is one of those times. Being a private sort of chap, I'm experiencing difficulty in saying how and why this book affected me so, but here goes. Apologies if I'm rubbish at it. The protagonist, Watanabe, focusses heavily on the past, on death and on the conflicts he finds between social situations and his own core beliefs. The skillful way Murakami (as usual) deals with this is extraordinarily thought provoking and made me wander off into my own world on more than one occasion. Obviously, because paralells can be drawn between Watanabe's past and my own, it is bound to have at least some effect upon me. Interestingly, I went out late last night, after I had finished the book, to pick up my girlfriend from a night out in town. Increasingly, over the last few years, I have really struggled with town night life, preferring a quiet one in my local pub, or even a bottle of wine at home. Driving through the town to the arranged pick-up point, I was watching the behaviours of the...shall we say lubricated?...revellers and feeling all sorts of anxieties (nothing unusual here, really) which made me want to remain in the safe confines of my car. The novel hightened these feelings, I'm sure. I connected with the prose, which is very gentle, evocative and beautiful. Do you know what I mean if I say it sang to me? Despite some of the content, I find Murakami's writing lullaby-like. Does that sound weird? Also, what I found curious is that, again - like Kafka On The Shore - the sex in the novel seemed to be detached, clinical, almost as if he was describing how to make a smoothie or the actions required to set up a PA system. In other words, I wouldn't have a problem recommending this to my mum, because it's so matter-of-fact. All in all, I loved the book. It's a novel that will stay within me. As chrysalis_stage says:- Read Haruki Murakami :eek2: 10/10 definitely
-
and hello to you Bookologist. I wish I'd thought of that name, dammit. My imagination limited me to what people call me. Sad, isn't it? Have fun here. It's great.
-
It's Sunday morning now, and I'm feeling a lot better, ta. I finished Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami last night and prior to that I was reading Simple Genius by David Baldacci (I have eclectic tastes!). This flaming illness lasted for 12 days, though - and I still only had 2 days off! I need to have a word with myself. Hope you have a lovely Sunday. I'm off walking over th'ills...
-
I'm often lumped in with cheese...I wonder what that says about me...?
-
I don't even know what Corn Bread is, except Tom Hanks' wife made it real nice in the Green Mile. I love all foods Italian. I love a good curry. I love fresh, fresh, fresh Chinese food. I love bacon sandwiches with cheese and tomatoes. I love food. I love real ale. I love good, red wine. I love single malts from the western Isle's of Scotland. I hate Olives.
-
It sounds gorgeous. That's something I miss, the sea. I'm quite lucky in as much as my family own a few properties, one of which is in Cornwall, right on the cliff of a fishing village called Porthleven. Simply heavenly. They've also got a couple in Spain and The Canaries. It's Beach Holidays R Us in my family, you know! *laughs*
-
Ah-ha! I thought it could possibly be him. Is he your top choice for the guy, then?
-
Who is he? I can't even tell. My dad reckons that chap David Morse should play him.
-
You're welcome. One Door Away From Heaven is a particular favourite of mine that features dogs. Hope you're well. Toodles.
-
It is, indeed, very pretty where I live. It's right on the edge of The Peak District, which is a national park here in England. The Pennines, which, if you look at a map of England are what could be described as the backbone, start about 20 minutes drive from my house. I love walking and regularly take advantage of the countryside here. It's breathtaking at times. I'm very lucky. I've even walked from my house to Scotland via The Pennine Way. The solitude was the worst thing and the best thing I've ever experienced. Wonderful stuff. Hope this finds you well. Cheers.
-
The most disturbing work of fiction that you have ever read
Mac replied to Oblomov's topic in General Fiction
I work with learning disabilities and found the book Weathercock by Glen Duncan most disturbing, probably more so because of my job. The Wasp Factory I thought was marvellous. Can't get enough of Iain Banks. What a dude! -
Hey there. I'm impressed that you stuck with the novel (although, if you have to justify hating something in front of a panel, it's often good to have the big picture, I guess). I just can't seem to do this. If I am reading something that doesn't keep me ensnared, I get fidgety and chuck the book away. It's a bad habit that I could do with breaking, because some novels are possibly slow burners. Take Donna Tartt for example. I adored The Secret History and waited most patiently for her second novel but was terribly disappointed with it and barely got half-way through the blessed thing before I said "Whoa, Tiger! Life's too short!" I probably need to have a word with myself.
-
Ayup. There is talk of Hollywood making a film featuring Lee Child's fantastic character Jack Reacher (honestly, if you haven't read this chap, you must - it's what the non-word 'unputdownable' was invented for). Casting an actor for this role must be extraordinarily difficult. Have a go yourself. What about Dwayne Johnson? He could be half French, couldn't he? He's certainly big enough... Cheers!
-
There is talk of these books being made into a film, but the casting of Jack Reacher is proving to be very difficult. One element of this is that there are hundreds of thousands of men and women alike who love this guy and have a very specific idea about what he's like. How would you decide who to cast? Any ideas? The blurb on the back says; "Men want to be him. Women want to be with him." This is, at first reading, extraordinarily cheesy with extra cheese on top - it put me off reading these books for a few years! - but once you read them, it turns out to be so true! I might start a little thread here...hang on...
-
Hello mate. Check out your last posting and my reply to it. Some good ones to have a go at. Cheers!
-
Have you read a book in one sitting?
Mac replied to Colin Jacobs's topic in General Book Discussions
I do. It also says that you're on holiday. The one book I read in one go was The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime by Mark Haddon. Started at 8.30, finished by the evening. I read Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff in two days, mind, and that was only over a weekend. I wasn't much fun as company that weekend, I can tell you... -
That sounds appalling. Are you with a union? A very similar thing happened to a friend of mine. She's a solicitor and was getting terribly harassed at work by her sleezebag of a boss. She's left the job (on 'gardening leave') and is filing some action against him. I hope the court rules that he's set fire to. Have you got work to go to? Keep smiling.
-
Hi Kate. I was sorry to read that you suffer from anxiety. And I'm 100% sure that you've been told this before, but you are not alone. I've suffered quite nastily with it in the recent past, too. I don't need to tell you my experiences, because you will have experienced the same thing and it'll all sound like empty platitudes to you, but if you're interested in some of the things I've done to combat it, let me know. Hope you feel better asap. Take care, chum.
-
I'm on it! I'm on it! (Nice shiny reference, Chrissy!)
-
Have a great weekend, Kate. I hope the weather with you is as lovely as the weather with me!
-
You're welcome. It'll not let you down. I'm feeling a bit better, thanks. I'm actually taking bloomin' antibiotics to shift this thing (something I'd normally try and avoid), but apparently, the drugs do work, Mr Ashcroft, so what do you say to that, huh?...hmmm, clearly I'm still delirious, however...
-
How come you've read so many books so far this year? I must read really slowly because it takes me about a week to get through a novel, what with work and the like. God help me when I begin my degree for real at the end of the year! Very impressive, Kate.