Your Book Activity - November 2013

[Athena]

Thanks ! I'll see how I get on with The Chimes, that's the next one to read.

 

I hope you enjoy The War of the Worlds, I've seen the film (or are there multiple?) and liked it, I would like to read the book sometime.

[Mila]

Finished Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.  Don't know what to read... Maybe Atonemet by McEwan...

[bobblybear]

I enjoyed Atonement, if that counts for anything.

[Inver]

Oh lordy....my reading is on a go slow again....I'm still reading The Little Stranger ~ Sarah Waters

[chesilbeach]

I needed an audiobook for today, but I've found that I can only listen to books I've already read, otherwise I lose the thread too often and have to keep rewinding, so I went for Pride and Prejudice which I can count it towards my English Counties challenge when I get sorted out (hopefully one evening next week ).  Lindsay Duncan is narrating and I'm really enjoying her reading, although I wish she pronounced the "t" in Hertfordshire.

[Janet]

An audiobook for that purpose (books already read) seems like a great idea, Claire.

[Mila]

I enjoyed Atonement, if that counts for anything.

Yep, thanks   I began Atonement, but found it a little hard, because there were so many new  words for me!   It’s

great, but not for a Sunday, when I want to relax. So, of course, I read Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys. I need to delete all his books, which I hadn’t read yet. Because when I'm feeling lazy, I go for his books. They are pleasure to read, but aren’t good for the quest to expand my vocabulary.

 

I needed an audiobook for today, but I've found that I can only listen to books I've already read, otherwise I lose the thread too often and have to keep rewinding

 

Yeah, me too. And sometimes I can’t recognize words from their pronunciations, because I’m better at written than at spoken English. So I have the book that I already finished (Gaiman’s Good Omens – yeah, yeah, I love this author ). I try to listen it everywhere I can: while cooking, traveling, ironing, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bookmonkey]

Finished The Killing Room by Richard Montanari.

[frankie]

So many posts to catch up on, sorry for the mass quoting

 

Purge was a good book, but wow  , it was a bit upsetting a few times in the book  . But worth it in the end.

 

I'm really happy you thought it was worth it in the end It's so rare for anyone on here to read a Finnish book, that I'm quite beside myself with joy!

 

Just added most of the books discussed here on my wishlist.. the one I will accidentally drop where Santa can read it   I usually have a lot of Santas complaining about how difficult is to give me a book because I read too much (!!!), so I'll make their lives easier!

 

Excellent thinking I am sure Santa(s) will be happy, too!

 

Finished The Book Thief and it's really wonderful!!! Really well written and it's so touching (ok, I confess: sometimes cried).

 

It was a really sad book, but beautiful, and great, and everything, wasn't it?  

 

Glad to hear your enjoying it as much as Poppysake & i did, i was beginning to think we were going to be the only ones who raved about it 

 

Oh dear, are you two really the only ones who've enjoyed it so far? I'll try and read the book soon so I can come to the RC thread and give you some much needed back-up and TLC  

 

I finished The Radleys today - loved it!  So good, and I loved how their story was resolved.

 

The ending was rather surprising, wasn't it?! It was really great!

 

Oh dear Janet .. the curse of Titus Groan strikes again .. hope you get on better with your next read  I didn't find it waffly .. but then probably everybody's got a different waffle tolerance  

 

Am about halfway through The Luminaries .. most unfair as after 400 pages I would have finished practically any other book  I'm enjoying it but feel a bit daunted by a further 440 pages  Also reading Winter Ground by Catriona Mcpherson and struggling to keep interested  It's a murder/mystery set partly in a circus .. I don't really like circuses .. The Night Circus had tricked me into thinking I did but no .. it must've been a one-off   

 

The Curse of Titus Groan and the Curse of Circu®ses... We are a cursed lot, aren't we

 

I can't wait to see how you liked The Luminaries in the end. It's another BCF book for me: I started seeing the title on this forum, here and there and everywhere, a few weeks ago and I'm really curious about it. Have also seen it on GR.

 

 

Hmmm interesting.  Just received The Penultimate Truth in the mail.../fingers crossed/

 

Did you get the edition with the beautiful cover, the one on Devi's log? I hope you like the book!

 

Started How Proust Can Change Your Life by Alain de Botton. The first chapter was How To Love Life Today, and I made remember how much I love the way de Botton writes. 

 

This is one of my favorites... It's the book that made me really interested in Proust and made me want to read his books!

 

Thanks to the men of the house hogging the TV for the football i got over half Death Of A Penguin read last night . What can i say..... i want a penguin like Misha for christmas 

 

For once I will have to say Hurray for footy crazed men! Misha is soooo adorable... I started wanting a penguin, too, when I read the book...  

 

 

I finished my re-read of Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism (and found out there's a movie, I have to watch it some day!), and then started reading a Finnish non-fiction book on the subject of shame. Quite oddly I didn't find it difficult to read, I wonder if I could give TG a try today, maybe my mojo's getting more keen again....

 

[Marie H]

This is one of my favorites... It's the book that made me really interested in Proust and made me want to read his books!

 

Yes, I'm really glad that I bought How Proust Can Change Your Life, as it has made me more interested in Proust's Swann's Way again.   I loved Alain de Botton's writing 

Sofi Oksanen was my 2nd Finnish author, after Tove Jansson (her children's and adult fiction). Tove Jansson is probably the only Finnish author you would hear of in the UK, and only then for the Moomin series.

I had a good chuckle about the 'full of beans' idiom   . We Brits tend to forget that English isn't the first language of everyone in the world   . I hope you will feel more rested and recuperated   .

[Timstar]

Started The Dragon Reborn - Book 3 of The Wheel of Time

[Athena]

I hope you like it !

 

I'm reading Charles Dickens - Christmas Books and have almost finished Chimes, the second story in this book. I had to stop reading it yesterday because my tired mind couldn't follow it anymore.

 

I'm also reading The Mind Gym - Mind Gym 3: Relaties (translated from Relationships).

Edited November 18, 2013 by Athena

[Janet]

It's very frustrating - I hate giving up on books.   I've put it to one side and started Sue Townsend's The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year, but I'm not sure if I'm going to get on any better with that! 

Sadly I've given up on The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year.     I got up to page 156, so I gave it a good try, but the characters were just awful and I felt no empathy towards 'The Woman' or her family.  Frankly I couldn't care less if she stayed in bed for ever!   

 

That's the second book in a row I've abandoned!    I've read one of Sue Townsend's before - The Queen and I, which I read years and years ago - I vaguely recall being underwhelmed by that too.  I'm going to be reading the first Adrian Mole book sometime soon - I hope that's better... 

 

I've just started on Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier.  I've not read it before but I can already tell I'm going to enjoy this one - at least, I hope so!

 

Janet i couldn't agree with you more. I simply cannot quit on a book once it;s started and I don't know why. It can be really unbearable too when you get the feeling like it's dragging and notice you aren't reading as much because of it. I am going through this now with my current read, it's called "In the Lake of the Woods" by Tim O Brien. And it's not even in my normal genre of fiction that i usually read, just had a real catchy summary so i bought it but the good thing is many people on GoodReads site told me it gets much better, just has a slow start. I hope they're right..

How are you getting on with your book, UtD?

[poppyshake]

Sadly I've given up on The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year.     I got up to page 156, so I gave it a good try, but the characters were just awful and I felt no empathy towards 'The Woman' or her family.  Frankly I couldn't care less if she stayed in bed for ever!   

 I felt the same Janet though I did plod on with it  (it got worse if anything.) I hope you'll like the Adrian Mole books .. they're very funny  

 

Glad to hear you're getting on with Jamaica Inn .. good old Daphne never disappoints does she?  

[chesilbeach]

An audiobook for that purpose (books already read) seems like a great idea, Claire.

 

I do love having someone read to me, but a lot of the time I'm concentrating on something else, so I have to listen to a story I already know, so that if I don't listen to a couple of minutes, I still know where I am in the story!

 

I'm about three quarters of the way through and really loving Lindsay Duncan's narration, and I'm picking up some new little nuances in the writing I've not noticed before when I've read it myself.  

[dex]

I've got to page 48 of Old man's war by John Scalzi.

[frankie]

Yes, I'm really glad that I bought How Proust Can Change Your Life, as it has made me more interested in Proust's Swann's Way again.   I loved Alain de Botton's writing 

 

Would you recommend any of his other books?

 

Sofi Oksanen was my 2nd Finnish author, after Tove Jansson (her children's and adult fiction). Tove Jansson is probably the only Finnish author you would hear of in the UK, and only then for the Moomin series.

 

I'm not a fan of Tove Jansson, I can't stand the Moomins I've not read the books, so they might be great, I wouldn't know, I've just seen the animated TV series and never liked it. So that's why I'm so happy that someone's read something by another Finnish author and not just Tove Jansson

 

I had a good chuckle about the 'full of beans' idiom   . We Brits tend to forget that English isn't the first language of everyone in the world   . I hope you will feel more rested and recuperated   .

 

Well I don't blame you, us foreigners 'speak' English on this forum so you're bound to forget And it's only great that we can learn new idioms and words every day And thanks, I'm feeling better, not so tired anymore

 

Sadly I've given up on The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year.     I got up to page 156, so I gave it a good try, but the characters were just awful and I felt no empathy towards 'The Woman' or her family.  Frankly I couldn't care less if she stayed in bed for ever!   

 

So frankly, my dear, you didn't give a damn?

 

Aww, I'm sorry you didn't like it   Maybe it wasn't the right time for you, or maybe it's just not the book for you I hope you find something way  more fascinating soon!

 

 

 

That's the second book in a row I've abandoned!    I've read one of Sue Townsend's before - The Queen and I, which I read years and years ago - I vaguely recall being underwhelmed by that too.  I'm going to be reading the first Adrian Mole book sometime soon - I hope that's better... 

 

I hope you enjoy your first Adrian Mole It's different from The Bedridden Woman, so there's a fair chance

 

 

I've been reading more of the shame book, also started re-reading The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic. Why does that sound odd. Have I referred to the novel by some other title in the past... Hm.

[poppyshake]

I'm not a fan of Tove Jansson, I can't stand the Moomins I've not read the books, so they might be great, I wouldn't know, I've just seen the animated TV series and never liked it. So that's why I'm so happy that someone's read something by another Finnish author and not just Tove Jansson

Now this is me too .. not that I don't like Tove because I saw a programme on her and she seemed fascinating plus I loved The Summer Book but I've always hated The Moomins because of the animated TV series but the books get so much praise that I'm thinking I must be wrong (what? .. again ) and so am willing to try the first one to see.

[Timstar]

but I've always hated The Moomins because of the animated TV series

 

  I loved the Moomins as a child

 

"Here they are for one and all, the Moomins are about to call. Come and sit down here with me, they're here for you on your TV, they are the Moomins... they are the Moomins!"

 

Edited November 19, 2013 by Timstar

[geordie9]

Just finished Salems Lot and now im onto Stephen Kings next book The Shining. I enjoyed Salems Lot a lot better this time round as i must have rushed it last time.

[frankie]

Now this is me too .. not that I don't like Tove because I saw a programme on her and she seemed fascinating plus I loved The Summer Book but I've always hated The Moomins because of the animated TV series but the books get so much praise that I'm thinking I must be wrong (what? .. again ) and so am willing to try the first one to see.

 

Yep, I think the Japanese ruined it for us I've told many people that I really don't like the Moomins, never have, never will, and people (the ones who've actually read the books) will always tell me that I shouldn't go by the animated series, because the books are nothing like that! I mean the Moomin Papa (whatever he's called in English) smokes dope in one of the books, for g's sake

 

Maybe you and I could do a tentative Moomin read together? I would be up for that

 

 

  I loved the Moomins as a child

 

"Here they are for one and all, the Moomins are about to call. Come and sit down here with me, they're here for you on your TV, they are the Moomins... they are the Moomins!"

 

 

Oh god how I hate that song So weird to see the English lyrics... So weird!

 

Edit: And it's always so weird to see them being called 'Moomins'... They are Muumi's in Finnish (although Jansson wrote them in Swedish, and they are 'Mumin' in Swedish).

Edited November 19, 2013 by frankie

[Marie H]

Would you recommend any of his other books?

A couple of books of his but I liked are:

The Consolations of Philosophy, (blurb from the Wikipedia) “In The Consolations of Philosophy, de

Botton attempts to demonstrate how the teachings of philosophers such as Epicurus, Montaigne, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Seneca, and Socrates can be applied to modern everyday woes such as unpopularity, feelings of inadequacy,

financial worries, broken hearts, and the general problem of suffering." The first book I read about Western philosophy, it's quite light-hearted and mostly in the style of a self-help guide  .I  think that I was going through something of an 'existential crisis' at that time, when I found this book. It started my interested in ancient Greek and Roman philosophers.

 

Essays in Love (the blurb from The Book Depository) “will appeal to anyone who has ever been in

a relationship or confused about love. The book charts the progress of a love affair from the first kiss to argument and reconciliation, from intimacy and tenderness to the onset of anxiety and heartbreak. The work's genius lies in the way it minutely analyses emotions we've all felt before but have perhaps never understood so well: it includes a chapter on the anxieties of when and how to say 'I love you' and another on the challenges of disagreeing with someone else's taste in shoes.” What can I say?   I think all of us need some help in problems within relationships. However, whether we admit that we do need help, or take any heed from them is a totally different thing    .

[frankie]

A couple of books of his but I liked are:

The Consolations of Philosophy, (blurb from the Wikipedia) “In The Consolations of Philosophy, de

Botton attempts to demonstrate how the teachings of philosophers such as Epicurus, Montaigne, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Seneca, and Socrates can be applied to modern everyday woes such as unpopularity, feelings of inadequacy,

financial worries, broken hearts, and the general problem of suffering." The first book I read about Western philosophy, it's quite light-hearted and mostly in the style of a self-help guide  .I  think that I was going through something of an 'existential crisis' at that time, when I found this book. It started my interested in ancient Greek and Roman philosophers.

 

Essays in Love (the blurb from The Book Depository) “will appeal to anyone who has ever been in

a relationship or confused about love. The book charts the progress of a love affair from the first kiss to argument and reconciliation, from intimacy and tenderness to the onset of anxiety and heartbreak. The work's genius lies in the way it minutely analyses emotions we've all felt before but have perhaps never understood so well: it includes a chapter on the anxieties of when and how to say 'I love you' and another on the challenges of disagreeing with someone else's taste in shoes.” What can I say?   I think all of us need some help in problems within relationships. However, whether we admit that we do need help, or take any heed from them is a totally different thing    .

 

Awww... I do rather like the sound of those And I did his style in How Proust Can Change Your Life... These will go on my wishlist, yes. Thanks Marie!

[Marie H]

I'm not a fan of Tove Jansson, I can't stand the Moomins I've not read the books, so they might be great, I wouldn't know, I've just seen the animated TV series and never liked it. So that's why I'm so happy that someone's read something by another Finnish author and not just Tove Jansson

 

Yes, I've only read the Moomins series books within the last four years, and have only "seen" them as pen drawing illustrations in

the books, which I find are beautiful. But I agree with you, I find them really scary in such vivid, psychedelic colours in some of the children's picture

books  ! Ha ha, it seems quite ironic that I am trying to influence you, a Finn in Finland, into the delights of Tove Jansson's books!  (Definitely a case of "taking coals to Newcastle”, (my idiom of the day!) ) I find that her book of short stories 'Travelling Light' is rather good. As poppyshakes says The Summer Book is good too.  

[Athena]

I've been reading more of the shame book, also started re-reading The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic. Why does that sound odd. Have I referred to the novel by some other title in the past... Hm.

x

I normally call it Confessions of a Shopaholic as that's what's on my copy. It's annoying when they rename books for different countries etc., sometimes you think you haven't heard of this title but then when you read the synopsis, it's a book you've already read being released under a new title.

 

EDIT: I've finished reading The Chimes and am now reading The Cricket at the Hearth, the third story in Charles Dickens - Christmas Books. I'm also still reading the third Mind Gym book.

Edited November 19, 2013 by Athena