pontalba's 2013 reading list

[pontalba]

Kate

You really have a wide range of reading tastes . Are there any genres you refuse to read , or do you like them all ?

 

I guess I'll try anything once.

I don't like gory, or real "horror" stories though. I can only read some of Stephen King, not all.

I have to say I don't like real "romance/chick lit" either.  There are some books classified as such though that I have enjoyed.

[pontalba]

For Stephen King's Under the Dome I'd have to really say 4.5/5 rating, not the 4 stars* I've allotted. I suppose it's simple cussedness not allowing the 5 star, I can't rate it as high as I would Nabokov, Banville, or some of my other all-time favorites. But what a storyteller King is!

What would happen if a small town, with it's petty dictator types and a passel of stereotypical sorts were cut off from the rest of the world. Cut off by an invisible, but impermeable dome that reaches higher than the eye can see (if one could see it), and so far down into the earth it cannot be told how deep it reaches?

The reader is met at the intersection of Lord of the Flies and The Twilight Zone partnered with a strong dose of dystopia. Combine this with King's fabulous characterizations that are seemingly over the top......but are so down to earth accurate, that the reader has to stand in wonder at the mix. The story pulls the reader along, we have to know who lives, who dies and almost more importantly, who gets or doesn't get their comeuppance.

*Oh, the heck with it, make that a 5 star rating. The book deserves it!

[bobblybear]

Glad you enjoyed Under the Dome. Stay away from the TV series though - it's dire!

[pontalba]

Thanks BB!  I've heard that before.  What a shame.

 

Have you read it?

[bobblybear]

Yes, I read it several years ago when it first came out, and then I re-read it last month (or maybe the month before) after the TV series started here in the UK. I found it a bit hard to keep track of all the characters at the start, but soon got to grips with who was who. It was a very good read - moreso the second time around.

[pontalba]

I agree, it's one that can be reread, I was bound to miss something. 

 

I have his Dark Tower series here as well, I gathered them second hand a couple of years ago.  I think I may have read the first of it many years ago.

[Devi]

I agree, it's one that can be reread, I was bound to miss something. 

 

I have his Dark Tower series here as well, I gathered them second hand a couple of years ago.  I think I may have read the first of it many years ago.

I have both the dark tower series and under the dome. Eager to read them sooner rather than later.

[pontalba]

For years I've had a bee in my bonnet regarding Norman Mailer.  The only book by him I've read (so far) is Harlot's Ghost.  At the end he wrote TO BE CONTINUED, and the story should have been continued.  However........it wasn't.  I've been irritated ever since.   He wrote HG in 1991, and died in 2007, so the sequel ain't coming! 

 

Anyhow, this rant is prologue to the fact that I saw a bio of Mailer, A Double Life by J. Michael Lennon, and was intrigued.  Yes, dear reader, I bought it.   Along with Mind of an Outlaw Selected Essays by Norman Mailer. So there! 

 

A great quote in the bio regarding Harlot's Ghost (p. 614) says: "His greatest regret, he said the year before he died, was "the memory of the books I promised to write and didn't". Even as it stands, unfinished and abandoned, it may be his finest novelistic achievement, one of the last high peaks of his writing life, and the summa of his knowledge of postwar America, as seen through the eyes of two generations of CIA agents."

 

How can I stay angry with a man that said that?  That's easy, I can't.

Edited November 2, 2013 by pontalba

[pontalba]

I've discovered Robert Silverberg.  I don't usually list the kindle books I buy, but these are extraordinary. And, a steal at 2.99 USD each.

 

Hot Times in Magma City: The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg, Volume Eight

We Are For the Dark: The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg, Volume Seven

Multiples: The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg, Volume Six

The Palace at Midnight: The collected Stories of Robert Silverberg, Volume Five

Trips: The Collected Stories of R.S. Volume Four

Something Wild is Loose: The Collected Stories of R.S. Volume Three

To the Dark Star: The Collected Stories of R.S. Volume Two

To Be Continued: The Collected Stories of R.S. Volume One

[julie]

Kate

 

The only Mailer book I've read is Executioner's Song . Very impressive task ,but he did it well .Other than that, from what I've read of him, he could be quite "cantankerous" .. Maybe someday I'll have to pick up another of his . I'm not very familiar with any of them .

 

 

Sounds like you found a nice pile of Kindle books that will keep you busy !

[Kidsmum]

I've discovered Robert Silverberg.  I don't usually list the kindle books I buy, but these are extraordinary. And, a steal at 2.99 USD each.

That is a bargain.... good job i don't have a kindle 

[Karsa Orlong]

There are loads of Silverberg's ebooks available through the SF Gateway.  I've only read one so far (Downward to the Earth) and it was very good

[Athena]

I'm glad you liked Under the Dome, great review . It's on my TBR, though I might read The Stand before Under the Dome since many people here like The Stand more.

[bobblybear]

I would certainly read The Stand before Under The Dome. As good as Under The Dome was, it's nothing compared to The Stand (in my opinion!).

[pontalba]

Athena, I have to agree with BB, The Stand is actually a more far reaching book, much wider stage.  But both are good.  I loved the telling of all the individual's stories.....in both books.

Edited November 7, 2013 by pontalba

[pontalba]

I managed 200 pages of Titus Groan, of The Gormenghast Novels, or half of it. Obviously fantasy of that sort is not my cuppa.

I found the prose both pretentious and pointless. Some passages were beautifully written, but in service of such an unpleasant story, were unfortunately wasted on me.

If one is a fan of stories of Tolkien, or similar fantasy this is for you.
Not me.

Added in Edit: I'm given to understand that TG is not very similar to Tolkien, so, my apologies.

I also realized one more reason for not liking the story. The characters are not fleshed out a bit, and are rather one-note characters. No depth. No variations.

It's definitely still not my cuppa.

 

1/5

[julie]

Nothing wrong with that , Kate

 

All books aren't for all people . Life's too short to waste it on struggling through a book you aren't  enjoying .

 

I'll bet you might have another book laying around the house someplace since you didn't like this one . 

[pontalba]

...wild about Harry (A Biography of Harry Lee) by Deno Seder 3/5

 

That's Sheriff Harry Lee of Jefferson Parish, a suburb of New Orleans.  Jefferson Parish started out about a hundred years ago as a sort of bedroom community to New Orleans, and developed into it's own entity, separated completely from governance of New Orleans (Orleans Parish).  BTW, the rest of the United States call the areas "Counties", Louisiana, with the French influence from the beginning nicked onto calling those areas "Parishes".

 

I happened on this bio of Lee yesterday at the consignment store we frequent.  So glad I picked it up.  It is by Deno Seder, who was Harry's campaign manager.  Lee was Sheriff of Jefferson Parish for 28 and a half years, beginning in 1979, serving and being re-elected 6 times.  During his tenure 90% of the murders were solved, an unprecedented rate.  Sadly, Harry died in 2007, this book ends in about 2001, 6 years prior.  I wish I could impart the charisma of the man.  There was nothing fake about him.  He said what he meant, whether anyone liked it or not, and made 'em like it.  He loved cowboys and horses for all his life, and could sing only one song, Always on My Mind...

 

His family opened The House of Lee, a well known and fabulous restaurant that unfortunately closed some years ago.  Harry brought the first Fais Do Do* to the White House lawn during President Clinton's tenure.  Two days in a row...partying, singing, dancing and FOOD, all brought by truck from Louisiana. 

 

Sheriff Lee was a Chinese-American born in a Chinese Laundry in New Orleans, and rose to be the most effective and popular Sheriff we've had.  He ran for Governor once, but seeing, finally, some of the back door stuff, pulled out, he wanted no part of it. 

 

A hard working family man, honest, charismatic and civic minded, he hit all the right notes. Harry contributed his time and considerable effort into all sorts of charities, making many millions of dollars for same.

 

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fais_do-do

[pontalba]

Nothing wrong with that , Kate

 

All books aren't for all people . Life's too short to waste it on struggling through a book you aren't  enjoying .

 

I'll bet you might have another book laying around the house someplace since you didn't like this one . 

Er, maybe one or eight.......

[pontalba]

Since many are totting up their book counts for the year, I will as well.  My master list is the first post of this thread. 

 

I stand at 82 books as of today.  I don't set that sort of goal for myself, as one never knows, and I just don't have that drive to do so.  I admire those that are able to plan and organize though, and applaud them!  

 

Last year I only read 64 books, don't know why the difference, and 92 in 2011.  hmmmmmm. 

[julie]

Very close to a possible new record  !!! I bet you can beat it ! Good job !

[dex]

I found it really funny when you recommended me a book you hadn't read yet.

[pontalba]

I found it really funny when you recommended me a book you hadn't read yet.

 

Dex, I think there is a misunderstanding.  In the other thread I said regarding Defiance,

 

 

pontalba wrote:  Great film.  I have the book, unread.  Have you read it? 

and

 

 

pontalba wrote: I haven't read it yet, it's glaring at me from an upper shelf.....   Agree re the actors.  All fantastic.

 

You'd mentioned how good the actors....I was agreeing.

[pontalba]

Dirty Love by Andre Dubus III  5/5

Dubus brings us four novellas, Listen Carefully As Our Options Have Changed, Marla, The Bartender and the last, namesake of the group, Dirty Love. Each a snapshot of a segment of a person's life, a pivotal change of their lives. This is Life on the ground floor, told in a beautiful, stylized prose that keeps the reader enthralled, despite the ordinariness of the actual tale. Ordinary in the sense that it is at least part of what we all, as humans, go through in some manner in our lives. Choices, the path taken.....instead of, what? It sounds trite to say a door closes, a window opens, but that is the exact truth.

These novellas tell of the doors that have closed on the protagonists, and the windows they escaped through. They tell of second chances, changed lives and even some true love.

Dubus has a way of weaving a story. He tells pieces of reality at a time, goes back and forth in time, till we finally see the whole cloth of the story. And understand the choices that are made, sometimes applauding, and occasionally gritting our teeth at other choices. We certainly feel their pain, cringe at some episodes, wish we could take them by the scruff of the neck and force them to face themselves. But, there is a finality of the choices, and just maybe another window at the end of the tunnel.

Exceptional. Heart-breaking. Real. Highly recommended.

[Marie H]

Exceptional. Heart-breaking. Real. Highly recommended.

Great review pontalba , and I think that novellas are a good taster for a new authors style. One for my wishlist.