julie Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Kat Sounds like an absolutely wonderful trip . The site-seeing,and especially the book shops. You must have hit quite a haul to have to ship them all back home .At least when you got home ,you didnt have the letdown from coming home from vacation,because you had all those boxes of books as souveniers of the trip . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 It sounds like you had an awesome time! When you talk about boxes and cartons of books, how many do you think there were in each carton? If I ever get to visit America, I think you and I will have to go book shopping together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted December 21, 2012 Author Share Posted December 21, 2012 (edited) Come on over Kylie!! You'd love it. Come in October, that's when the annual State Department Book Fair is held, two weekends in a row. Of course I've seen adverts for Book Fairs in NYC too. Here is a link to one of our Library Thing accounts. http://www.libraryth...atalog/booknest I think you'll get the WDC/State Dept list. You can check out all the WDC and NYC lists. I've never actually counted.......lol AIE: Ok, I counted. We bought 72 books on our trip all together. Edited December 21, 2012 by pontalba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted December 21, 2012 Author Share Posted December 21, 2012 Kat Sounds like an absolutely wonderful trip . The site-seeing,and especially the book shops. You must have hit quite a haul to have to ship them all back home .At least when you got home ,you didnt have the letdown from coming home from vacation,because you had all those boxes of books as souveniers of the trip . It really was Julie, me who'd never gone anywhere.....I was like a kid in a candy store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 AIE: Ok, I counted. We bought 72 books on our trip all together. That's always been my dream! To buy more than just a couple of books. Opening a big parcel and seeing so many new books in one spot, the smell must of been nice when you opened the box too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas 4/5 Thanks for the review! I think I've read mixed reviews on this, I don't know if they have to do with the subject matter being as controversial as it is, or if it's to do with the writing. I have this on my TBR pile, I should bump it up... We saw a Broadway play, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, fantastic. Oh wow! Have you read the play? Well, I mean, it's not first and foremost to be read, but to be watched, duh. The movie was on our national telly a few weeks ago, it's splendid as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted December 22, 2012 Author Share Posted December 22, 2012 That's always been my dream! To buy more than just a couple of books. Opening a big parcel and seeing so many new books in one spot, the smell must of been nice when you opened the box too. We were like kids in a candy store! The whole trip was like a dream come true for me, both of us really. My husband has travelled a lot, but always for business. That was before he retired of course, and before we were married. So, it was different for him, and totally new for me. Thanks for the review! I think I've read mixed reviews on this, I don't know if they have to do with the subject matter being as controversial as it is, or if it's to do with the writing. I have this on my TBR pile, I should bump it up... Oh wow! Have you read the play? Well, I mean, it's not first and foremost to be read, but to be watched, duh. The movie was on our national telly a few weeks ago, it's splendid as well. Re The Slap, boy is it ever controversial! Somehow the author shows all sides though, and at different times makes the reader feel sympathy for everyone, on all sides of the event. The aftermath is so........I don't know.....convoluted, and the layers of the characters motivations are well explored. I really had some strong feelings for some of them. Both good and bad feelings! That takes a good author, or at least one that understands human nature, and all it's complexities. Re VW...no, I have not read the play. I can't seem to wrap my head around reading a play, it just gets on my nerves. I suppose it's because of all the interjected stage direction. But I had seen the film many years ago. lol The day after we got home we watched the Taylor/Burton DVD, I'd had it on the shelf for a while. It was of course, a little different, after all.......Taylor! Burton! Segal! heh and the girl that played Honey in the film was fantastic. Can't think of her name.....she nailed it. But the Broadway play was truly fantastic. Just the experience itself. The actors were all excellent. I thought they all were good, the only one I had a bit of a "ennh" with was the girl that played Honey.....I found her to be too shrill and not a credible drunk. But she was ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 Re The Slap, boy is it ever controversial! Somehow the author shows all sides though, and at different times makes the reader feel sympathy for everyone, on all sides of the event. The aftermath is so........I don't know.....convoluted, and the layers of the characters motivations are well explored. I really had some strong feelings for some of them. Both good and bad feelings! That takes a good author, or at least one that understands human nature, and all it's complexities. That's another thing I know about the book, that it's from all the different perspectives and we get to learn what motivates these different people and thus why they react differently to it. I think that's an ambitious undertaking of any author and if s/he manages to pull it off, it's really something. From what you've told me Tsiolkas has managed it rather well and I suspect I'm going to enjoy reading the book. There's bound to be a lot of food for thought, and that's always a sign of a good book in my opinion. Re VW...no, I have not read the play. I can't seem to wrap my head around reading a play, it just gets on my nerves. I suppose it's because of all the interjected stage direction. That's what I used to think, and that's what I still think sometimes, but some of the plays out there are very readable in that they don't have a lot of that interjected stage direction stuff. This particular play, in my opinion, is one of the very readable ones, so if you feel like you might enjoy it, don't worry about it being a play But I had seen the film many years ago. lol The day after we got home we watched the Taylor/Burton DVD, I'd had it on the shelf for a while.It was of course, a little different, after all.......Taylor! Burton! Segal! heh and the girl that played Honey in the film was fantastic. Can't think of her name.....she nailed it. I've seen the movie half way through only, I haven't had the time to finish it, but I really enjoyed it as far as I got with it. I think it captures the feel of the play very well, at least how the play was in my head when I was reading it. But the Broadway play was truly fantastic. Just the experience itself. The actors were all excellent. I thought they all were good, the only one I had a bit of a "ennh" with was the girl that played Honey.....I found her to be too shrill and not a credible drunk. But she was ok. And of course this is the way plays are supposed to be experienced, actually seeing the play on stage! I can only imagine how great it must've been!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted December 25, 2012 Author Share Posted December 25, 2012 Well written, The Bayou Trilogy will haunt you with it's lushness, it's depravity and it's total handle on realism. Noir in a sense, but more. The three stories Under the Bright Lights, Muscle For the Wing and The Ones You Do reverberate with the atmosphere of the Louisiana Bayou. They follow the Shade family, first focusing on two of the three sons Rene Shade and his brother Tip, the former a police detective, the latter the owner, continue(er) of paternal family tradition, a barkeep/pool hall owner. The third, youngest, of the brothers Francois (Frankie) is a lawyer, part of the local D.A.'s office. The first two of the Trilogy focus on the sons, the third zeroes in on their wayward, deserting father, John X(avier) Shade. Pool hustler extraordinaire, now eaten up with booze and who knows for sure what else. Their moral struggles, and decisions are what drives these books, although not exactly in the manner you'd think. Recommended, but not for the squeamish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted December 26, 2012 Author Share Posted December 26, 2012 (edited) Dick Francis's Bloodline by Felix Francis 3.5/5 I wanted to love this book, I loved the series by Dick Francis, and his son Felix has continued after his Father's passing. They'd written several together and they remained the same, mostly, as the earlier entries. This one, however, has an ever so slightly different feel. This is the second that FF has written on his own, I haven't read Gamble yet though it is on my shelf. Somehow I picked this one up first in error. I cannot put my finger on the exact difference but it is lurking there on the edges. This one seemed a bit more explicit, but not, a bit less introspective.......that's the best I can come up with at present. The story frame is interesting enough, typical Francis hero. Someone in the racing world with close familial ties to that world. A murder, love interest, bad guys, goodish guys. Flawed hero of course, that is par for the course. Recommended for die hard Francis fans. Edited December 26, 2012 by pontalba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 I've just searched for some reviews on Lawrence Block's - Matthew Scudder series and noticed that you have read a couple. Could you tell me if he stays with the one character or changes viewpoints during the book? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 I've just searched for some reviews on Lawrence Block's - Matthew Scudder series and noticed that you have read a couple. Could you tell me if he stays with the one character or changes viewpoints during the book? Thanks. Hi Dex. I've read his Keller series, and a few of the Matthew Scudders. They all seem to stick with the one narrator/character, not different viewpoints. I really enjoy Block's writing. He is direct and to the point, somewhere I believe I referred to his writing as noir with humanity. I still think that fits. Happy reading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 thank you, Pontalba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 I'm still reading two, alternating. Twelve Patients, Live and death at Bellevue Hospital by Eric Manheimer, MD...all true stories of the famous hospital. All heartwrenching. This sounds good, I'm adding it to my wishlist. Thanks pontalba! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 This sounds good, I'm adding it to my wishlist. Thanks pontalba! You are more than welcome! Glad to be of service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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