chaliepud Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Hope you enjoy The Girls Ruth, I thought it was a great read, I keep meaning to look up more of her work.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sofia Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 (edited) I just finished The Green Mile, by Stephen King. What a fantastic book; I can definitely see it being one of my top five this year. About to start The Girls, by Lori Lansens. I'm a big fan of King's older stuff....The Shining, Christine, Carrie...etc....but I did like The Green Mile....report back on The Girls please? Edited July 5, 2011 by Sofia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 I'm a big fan of King's older stuff....The Shining, Christine, Carrie...etc....but I did like The Green Mile....report back on The Girls please? I've read a few other King books, and have a few on my tbr as well. So far I'm only about 60 pages into The Girls, but it definitely looks like a book which I will really enjoy. I'll let you know when I've finished it - but so far everyone I know who has read it thought it was terrific Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 Day 29 - a book everyone hated but you liked. Carnavale, by Michelle Lovric. I read this for the reading group at the local library. Only one other person in the group apart from myself finished it, and she didn't particularly enjoy it. Nobody else liked it enough to finish it, but I quite liked it, and have added another book by the author to my wishlist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I've always felt I should get started on some good Stephen King books, but I never seem to get around to it; perhaps because I feel there's so much choice in front of me, and it becomes a struggle with where to begin. You obviously rated The Green Mile very highly, though, so I'll have a look out for that one in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sofia Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I'll let you know when I've finished it - but so far everyone I know who has read it thought it was terrific please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 I've always felt I should get started on some good Stephen King books, but I never seem to get around to it; perhaps because I feel there's so much choice in front of me, and it becomes a struggle with where to begin. You obviously rated The Green Mile very highly, though, so I'll have a look out for that one in the future. I know what you mean about the amount of choice! I enjoyed Misery and Carrie a lot - The Shining and Thinner I liked a little less (but they were still pretty good reads). The Green Mile is definitely my favourite book by Stephen King though (so far). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I know what you mean about the amount of choice! I enjoyed Misery and Carrie a lot - The Shining and Thinner I liked a little less (but they were still pretty good reads). The Green Mile is definitely my favourite book by Stephen King though (so far). I'll bare them in mind Ruth, thanks for the recommendations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share Posted July 8, 2011 Day 30 - Your favourite book of all time. Oh no! How can I choose just one? Okay, for today I'm saying The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood, but tomorrow it could be Jane Eyre, or A Perfect Balance. I have a few favourites, and any of them can be my absolute favourite at different times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Day 30 - Your favourite book of all time. Oh no! How can I choose just one? Okay, for today I'm saying The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood, but tomorrow it could be Jane Eyre, or A Perfect Balance. I have a few favourites, and any of them can be my absolute favourite at different times. Why does this sound familiar? I have so many favourites my number one can change with the weather around these parts, which is arbitrary to say the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sofia Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 (edited) Day 30 - Your favourite book of all time. Oh no! How can I choose just one? Okay, for today I'm saying The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood, but tomorrow it could be Jane Eyre, or A Perfect Balance. I have a few favourites, and any of them can be my absolute favourite at different times. One of my fave's as well, and one of my fave cover's even! Have you ever watched the movie? If you haven't, please don't!! HORRIBLE!! Edited July 8, 2011 by Sofia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 Sofia, I haven't seen the film. I had put it on my Amazon wishlist, but I'm in two minds about whether to or not really - sometimes film adaptations can be awful! I've finished reading The Girls, and enjoyed it a lot. I think the beauty of the writing was in that it reminded the reader constantly that these two girls were very different and distinct personalities, and rather than their conjoinment being the thing that defines them, it is they themselves and who they are that defines them (if that makes sense). I will be looking out for the author's other books. I've just started reading Singin' In The Rain: The Making of an American Masterpiece, by Hess and Dabholkar. Singin' In The Rain is possibly my favourite movie ever (it's like an instant shot of happiness), and I'm interested in how it came into being. So far the book is very interesting and readable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sofia Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Sofia, I haven't seen the film. I had put it on my Amazon wishlist, but I'm in two minds about whether to or not really - sometimes film adaptations can be awful! I've finished reading The Girls, and enjoyed it a lot. I think the beauty of the writing was in that it reminded the reader constantly that these two girls were very different and distinct personalities, and rather than their conjoinment being the thing that defines them, it is they themselves and who they are that defines them (if that makes sense). I will be looking out for the author's other books. Thanks, I've mentally moved it up a bit further on my TBR list and regarding the movie, please don't pay a lot for it...you'll regret it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 Thanks for the warning! It's the kind of film I'd like to see out of interest, but I'm not that bothered if I never see it. On the subject of films, I've just finished reading Singin' In The Rain: The Making of an American Masterpiece by Earl J. Hess and Pratibha A. Dabholkar. This is probably my favourite film, and this book tells about how it was made, and the impact it had on viewers, critics, and the cast and crew. It's jam packed with info, and is a really interesting read. This morning I was after another book to start and I grabbed The 19th Wife, by David Ebershoff, off my shelf, so that will be my next read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I loved The Girls I seem to remember thinking she ended the book really well. I didn't think much of the 19th Wife though so will be interested to hear your thoughts on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 I thought The 19th Wife was going to be a bit of a drag, but I ended up getting really interested in it. I'd definitely read more the the author; the only thing I didn't like was that the ending seemed very abrupt. Next up is this month's book for my face to face reading group - Unless, by Carol Shields. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted August 1, 2011 Author Share Posted August 1, 2011 Wasn't too sure about Unless - I just couldn't really take to the main character/narrator, and the story moved along too slowly. Not that I always need fast paced books, but I just found this one a bit....dull really. My next read is Superfreakonomics, the sequel to Freakonomics which I read and enjoyed a lot earlier this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 Finished Super Freakonomics - it was good, although not as good as its predecessor. Still, worth reading and I enjoyed it About to start The Big Over Easy, by Jasper Fforde. I've only read one of his books before, but REALLY enjoyed it, so am looking forward to this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted August 12, 2011 Author Share Posted August 12, 2011 Finished The Big Over Easy. Quite good, but I was bit disappointed, because it wasn't a patch on The Eyre Affair. I guess I'll be sticking to the Thursday Next series from now on. Just started Into The Wild, by Jon Krakauer - the true story of Chris McCandless, who died after going to live in the Alaskan wilderness in 1992. It was made into a film by Sean Penn, and starred Emile Hirsch (the film's good, I hope the book is too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Just started Into The Wild, by Jon Krakauer - the true story of Chris McCandless, who died after going to live in the Alaskan wilderness in 1992. It was made into a film by Sean Penn, and starred Emile Hirsch (the film's good, I hope the book is too). I watched the movie this week - thought it was brilliant - and have added the book to my wishlist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Finished The Big Over Easy. Quite good, but I was bit disappointed, because it wasn't a patch on The Eyre Affair. I guess I'll be sticking to the Thursday Next series from now on. Interesting, Ruth. When I first read The Big Over Easy (it was after I'd read the first three Thursday Next books), I didn't get into straight away. In fact, I read the first chapter and didn't get it at all, and put the book down and read something else. I then came back to it again in a different frame of mind, and I re-read the first chapter slowly to make sure I understood who was who and what was going on, and it all fell into place and I absolutely loved it from then on. I actually thought the second book in the series, The Fourth Bear, was better than The Big Over Easy and although they're both humorous, the Nursery Crimes books are much more traditional crime stories than Thursday Next which are more quirky and about that literary alternate society. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Butter Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Funny, that. I read both The Eyre Affair and The Fourth Bear a while back, on the basis of rave reviews both here and in other places, but I have to confess that neither did very much for me (and I say that with some trepidation, beacuse I know how popular they were here). I thought they were very clever - Jasper Fforde is clearly someone who knows his literature - but rather contrived, and I was left wondering if I'd missed something. Just shows, I guess, that not everyone has the same tastes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted August 15, 2011 Author Share Posted August 15, 2011 I watched the movie this week - thought it was brilliant - and have added the book to my wishlist. I hope you enjoy the book - I liked it a lot, although I never felt that I got to know what motivated McCandless (but I think that he didn't want people to know). Interesting, Ruth. When I first read The Big Over Easy (it was after I'd read the first three Thursday Next books), I didn't get into straight away. In fact, I read the first chapter and didn't get it at all, and put the book down and read something else. I then came back to it again in a different frame of mind, and I re-read the first chapter slowly to make sure I understood who was who and what was going on, and it all fell into place and I absolutely loved it from then on. I actually thought the second book in the series, The Fourth Bear, was better than The Big Over Easy and although they're both humorous, the Nursery Crimes books are much more traditional crime stories than Thursday Next which are more quirky and about that literary alternate society. You're the second person who has said that they preferred The Big Over Easy on the second attempt. I'm definitely planning to read the next one in the series. Funny, that. I read both The Eyre Affair and The Fourth Bear a while back, on the basis of rave reviews both here and in other places, but I have to confess that neither did very much for me (and I say that with some trepidation, beacuse I know how popular they were here). I thought they were very clever - Jasper Fforde is clearly someone who knows his literature - but rather contrived, and I was left wondering if I'd missed something. Just shows, I guess, that not everyone has the same tastes. I think Jasper Fforde's writing probably polarises readers - as you say, people have different tastes, and I definitely think he's a writer who people will either love or hate. I couldn't read two books of his in a row, I think his style might get tedious after a while, but to read his books occasionally seems to work for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted August 22, 2011 Author Share Posted August 22, 2011 I've just finished reading The Bookseller of Kabul, by Asne Seierstad. Fascinating and shocking read. I was disappointed in Sultan (the man with whose family the author lived). He was clearly intelligent and in many ways very progressive, but he treated the women in his family like second class citizens. I'd definitely recommend this book. I'm about to start The Secret Scripture, by Sebastian Barry. It was picked as Book of the month for my face to face reading group, which is quite handy as it was on my tbr pile already Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sofia Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 I've just finished reading The Bookseller of Kabul, by Asne Seierstad. Fascinating and shocking read. I was disappointed in Sultan (the man with whose family the author lived). He was clearly intelligent and in many ways very progressive, but he treated the women in his family like second class citizens. I'd definitely recommend this book. I really enjoyed it as well....unfortunately "Sultan" didn't like the way he was portrayed when her book came out and supposedly wrote one 'in response' have you heard/read it by any chance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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