SiameseCat

You'd think getting published was ridiculously easy, wouldn't you?

On this score I keep wondering; is it the supply or the demand of junk that should get the most blame? (Same goes for pop "music")

I'm among those who dislike the book. I only read it after a dental surgery when there was nothing left to read in the house. (Someone had given a copy to my mother.) I find Scarlett pretty despicable, but identified with her whenever she found that her mother's ideals were useless in practical terms. It was attempted to make me into a "nice little woman" - I've never stopped resisting. But there's no need to be so overtly obnixious with it. And somehow I can't help thinking it's mostly hype - the emperor's new clothes. No use for the film either. The acting, especially the women's, wasn't even remotely convincing.

My favourite part of Bram Stoker's Dracula is Harker's initial eastward journey. What little I've picked up about that part of the world and its history is absolutely fascinating. It would be great to read a whole book set there. Any ideas? As long as "historic" means set in one of a few standard cultures, I generally pass. I'd like to be prived wrong.

My favourite just for the style of writing is Bill Bryson's Notes from a Big Country. Well, I like the content too, but travel writing easily makes for dry reading.

Thanks for reminding me. It's been a while. I just remembered the unpleasant aftertaste. I'll give her another go. Even though I'm in the mood for more exciting locations ...

I suppose I can go to the library to play it safe ...

I read two of hers maybe 15 years ago. I love the first one. The second one, I vaguely remember was about a crazy violinist or pianist. It was still well written, but the particular kind of insanity put me off. But this is all a bit foggy now. Should I try again?

Thanks for your input! Essentially it was just porn. I very much doubt the accuracy of anything he wrote, and it hardly does that culture justice. DIdn't the guy actually live in Mexico for while? For "research" purposes? I maybe read 200 pages before giving up, so I'd say I gave it fair enough chance. The Esquivel one was too vague and sentimental, trying to be poetic, especially about women. Colin Falconer's Feathered Serpent was actually superior to both of these. I was just disappointed at his "neutral" stance on the Spanish invasion. But as a book it was the most satisfactory of the three. I'd like to read more historic novels about Aztecs (and other Mesoamerican cultures). But they're really hard to find and rarely measure up ...

Thank you very much! I'm practically shocked at the speed of your response. I'll follow up.

Real love isn't just a feeling, it is backed up by sound principles. That makes is very possible to measure its "trueness". Otherwise it is self-indugent and often skewed.

You wrote it before me! Spot on!

I can enjoy most "creatures" if it's well written. Skip the romance for one. I like a X-Files type of approach - fairly realistic, pushing it just that bit further to something we maybe just haven't discovered yet. Haven't found any books that measure up yet ...

I've done a lot of research with no satisfactory results. The local library and book shops just refer me to Agatha Christie's Carribean mystery, which is plain embarassing. (The suggestion, not the book.) Stuck in the south west of England with its depressing weather I tought I'd put the question to this forum for some much needed escapism. I tried a cople by Tami Hoag - the atmosphere wasn't too bad. But she's far too enraptured with female anatomy and sex scenes (we all know the basics, move on already). And to compensate her violence is just needlessly gratuitous. Sorry to repeat myself, but a skilled wordsmith needs neither of those. End of rant. Thanks very much.

I've read a good number of them just because they were meant to be superb. Don't remember the titles any longer. But I would say that her story ideas are mostly very good. It's the excessively wordy writing that smothers any suspense. You could condense her books to a quarter of their volume and nothing relevant would be missing. A great example of the opposite is Tony Hillerman (regardless of the different location). His books were short, but they brought the country and culture to life on top of amazing mysteries.

I'm surprised people liked Broken Harbour. I suppose the ending was shocking, but it had been so dragged out it lost a lot of momentum. Wordiness can really kill a good story. Anyway, I do vary things a little with the occasional fantasy or (non-European) historic fiction, some Bill Bryson or Charles Dickens... But I'm not ashamed of being addicted to suspense, which is not the same as indulgent gore. Not commenting on anyone's preferences, but I'm convinced that a skillful writer doesn't need gore to scare the reader.

Gary Jennings: Aztec Laura Esquivel: Malinche I was looking for a believable but also readable insight into Aztec culture. These two books were two of the most recommended. I was quite disappointed with both for various reasons. Before I go into that I'm curious what others thought ...

I'm curious about your comment on Pig Island. Some of her books were not bad in my mind, but I haven't read that one. As a matter of curiosity, what is it that put you off so much? I just finished The Yard and was very underwhelmed. The promised suspense and creepy atmosphere just didn't happen.

Very interesting question. Actually it's a genre I'd never read anyway. Stereotypes are sadly very firmly in place, both in people's minds and actions, and in how they view others. (They even find their way into the thrillers I read very often.) It's just easier for many to follow the crowd than to think and act outside the box. Considering that and that comparatively few people read any more, I doubt such books are to blame though. So "harmless" is probably the most accurate verdict. And it's not as if all mystery thrillers were intelligent or non-predictable. I find Mary Higgins-Clark quite enjoyable on occasion despite her predictable formula.

I just finished The Dark Room, pretty much devoured it. It was a very enjoyable read, but the ending fell a bit flat. I'm not sure if it was the story itself or the way she concluded it. Before that I read The Breaker, my first of hers. Somehow I didn't really care about any of the characters, and the story itself wasn't that satisfactory. But I like her style of writing in it. The "broken up" of separate threads are a bit hadr to get into, but it makes you read all the faster once you do. But all in all she's no threat to any my usual favourites.

I'll pass. I gave Rankin many chances. But I have no use for characters with too many issues or excessively depressing settings that are supposed to be gritty. The story should be strong enough without too many side issues. But that's just me.

I did a search for him in the forum, and this was the only thread. He was an exceptional story teller. His skill makes me feel I know the South West personally though I've never been. I've re-read his book so many times, even though I know them by heart, just to revisit the atmosphere and setting.

Thanks for your input. I'll research the author right away.

I came to this thread to ask what people thought of it, by comparison to the book. I really enjoyed the book, though it's been too long to remember many details. As for the film, "underwhelmed" doesn't even begin to describe it. If memory serves, they took major liberties with the book's story line.

I read The Lost Symbol recently as my first of his books. I think I'll leave it at that one book. It generally bothers me when a big book describes a relatively short space of time. I wonder if anyone could recommend authors of this type of mystery/conspiracy ... minus the religious aspects. I've realized I rather like conspiracies, just not indiscriminately.