Into the Forest discussion

I'm at page 40 and the actual retelling of the story is over. The rest of the book is what happens afterward. The opening has some important differences from the familiar Rapunzel, and I liked those differences. The rest of the book is a historical fantasy adventure novel. I like that sort of book. I think that Lackey's quality is uneven, but when she's good she's extremely good. We'll see how I feel once I finish it.

Recently finished A Curse Dark as Gold a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin (not bad) and am now reading A Court of Thorns and Roses which is, so far, a pretty good riff on Beauty and the Beast

Shomeret wrote, "I think that Lackey's quality is uneven, but when she's good she's extremely good."

I second that.

After reading The Man from Bashmour: A Modern Arabic Novel. which was interesting, but not exactly apage turner, I felt the need to indulge went on to read the two newest Patricia Briggs books Night Broken and Dead Heat. They were so much fun!
I am currently reading The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts. I know some of you here are also in the Endicott group and its this months read. Are any of you reading it? I am feeling really ambivalent about it. I find the author is putting every stereotype about Latin America there is into it, but without the emotional depth of writers like Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez or Isabel Allende. I am not sure if I want to read on.

Jalilah wrote: "I am currently reading The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts. I know some of you here are also in the Endicott group and its this months read. Are any of you reading it?"

I've decided not to read it. I have so many books right now I need to read for various reasons--research, teaching, books friends have lent me (some for fun too, of course!)--that I've decided to only read for the Endicott group if it's something that looks really good. This is the only group I'm in that I try to participate in with all the reads.

Margaret wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "I am currently reading The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts. I know some of you here are also in the Endicott group and its this months read. Are any of you reading it?"

I've dec..."

I know how that is! There were a couple of reads there that I really enjoyed like The Cure For Death By Lightning. I can't say how you would like The War on Don Emmanuele's Nether Parts. The more I think about it, I think I'll skip it. There are too many things that bother me.

I didn't mention reading Alice Takes Back Wonderlandwhich I thought was wonderful, but it was an ARC for review. It won't be released until September 28th.

Wait, what Endicott group??

This group:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

I admit I haven't participated in those group reads in MONTHS.

Melanti wrote: "This group:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
I admit I haven't participated in those group reads in MONTHS."
Michele wrote: "Wait, what Endicott group??"

Hardly anyone has participated in any of the group reads there for ages!
I have not read all the books either.
In the case of Don Emmanule, I really felt like talking about it because I found it really disturbing, but luckily I found another review that expressed exactly how I was feeling https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... so I was able to get it out of my system!
I saw the next book in line is Someplace to Be Flying which is one of my favourite books. I'd actually like to reread and discuss it, so if no one reads in there maybe we can have a read for it here at a later date.

Shomeret wrote: "I didn't mention reading Alice Takes Back Wonderlandwhich I thought was wonderful, but it was an ARC for review. It won't be released until September 28th."

That looks amazing! I've put in on my to read list. As it was I was going to read the original Alice in Wonderland for my 2015 Challenge a book that inspired my favourite movie. Now I'll read both!
I also read your review of the new Mercedes Lackey book From a High Tower and am intrigued. Lackey is really hit and miss for me. Even when I find myself really liking one of her books she'll often suddenly do something that makes me like it less.
However the Wild West thing in Germany and how different perceptions are is a very interesting topic that I've witnesses first hand having lived in Germany. Yes, Karl May had a huge influence there.

Jalilah wrote: "Shomeret wrote: "I didn't mention reading Alice Takes Back Wonderlandwhich I thought was wonderful, but it was an ARC for review. It won't be released until September 28th."

That ..."

Well, if you read the blog version of my From a High Towerreview you'll know that Lackey did do something that caused me to like the book less. She threw in Hansel and Gretel briefly and I felt ambushed by it because that's my least favorite fairy tale.

Shomeret wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "Shomeret wrote: "I didn't mention reading Alice Takes Back Wonderlandwhich I thought was wonderful, but it was an ARC for review. It won't be released until Septemb..."

I saw it but also saw that over all you liked it. Yes, that's exactly what I meant about Lackey always throwing something in that makes you like the novel slightly less.

Jalilah wrote: "Shomeret wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "Shomeret wrote: "I didn't mention reading Alice Takes Back Wonderlandwhich I thought was wonderful, but it was an ARC for review. It won't be relea..."

Every time I decide I should give her another chance, she disappoints me too!

Jalilah wrote: "Hardly anyone has participated in any of the group reads there for ages!
I have not read all the books either. ..."

There was a string of 4-5 months at the beginning of the year where either I didn't like the author selected or my library didn't have the books. If there'd been more participation in the reads, I probably would have ordered them through ILL or just bought them, but it didn't seem worth it for a group read where on most months only a couple of people read/discuss... And of course, me bowing out just contributes to the low-participation issue, I admit.

I just bought a new Trade sized edition of Someplace to Be Flying, so I'm all set for next month if I have the time to participate...

I just signed papers on the new house this morning! Yay! But I'm probably going to be busy the next couple of months with all those hundreds of moving chores.

Jalilah wrote: "Shomeret wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "Shomeret wrote: "I didn't mention reading Alice Takes Back Wonderlandwhich I thought was wonderful, but it was an ARC for review. It won't be relea..."

Yes, I did like it but it didn't get five stars. In my handwritten book journal I grade books. I gave From a High Toweran A-.

I have the same reaction to Lackey as everyone else! I loved her Valdemar series as a teenager, but everything I've read as an adult has been hit and miss, and as a result I no longer read her novels. But maybe I should revisit someday.

Since Someplace to Be Flying is by Charles de Lint, I might join. I really want to read more of his after enjoying the group read we did last year (I believe).

If you all don't have time to read Someplace to Be Flying in September, we can always read it here at a later date. We'd probably have more participation in this group.

I just started a Charles De Lint novel that I somehow missed, Promises to Keep.

Shomeret wrote: "I just started a Charles De Lint novel that I somehow missed, Promises to Keep."

Charles de Lint is one of those authors that I will read ANYTHING he writes. He's amazing.

Shomeret wrote: "I just started a Charles De Lint novel that I somehow missed, Promises to Keep."

I discovered that one too after I'd read the other Newford books. It was a pleasant surprise!

Jalilah wrote: ""Cleanse your Palate" LOL I know exactly what you mean."

So do I, which is why along with From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers
I am also inhaling The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate --these being the 1940's postwar versions of what we'd now call beach reads--but so deftly styled and so witty.

I was a doctor's office waiting room reading and laughing at/ with You're Never Weird on the Internet. It's a delight!

Julia wrote: "I was a doctor's office waiting room reading and laughing at/ with You're Never Weird on the Internet. It's a delight!"

Good to know! My daughter's request just came in so she's picking up her copy from the library today. And I was thinking about nabbing it from her once she's finished. Sounds like I won't be disappointed :)

Does this happen to anyone else? You read the lastest book of a newer series, wait a few years for next one to come out and when it finally does, you just can't get into it anymore?
That's exactly what happened to me with Freda Warrington's Aetherial series. I loved the first one Elfland, liked the second Midsummer Night slightly less, but still enjoyed it. I waited in great anticipation for the third Grail of the Summer Stars and now that I have it, I am not liking it that much! Part of the problem is the first two books were not really related and had completly different characters, but the third takes off where the second left off. It's been 4 years and I've forgotten a lot. Some series authors, for example Patricia Briggs help refresh readers memories by mentioning incidents that happened in the previous novels or characters without being overtly repetitive. I really appreciate that! But the main problem I am having with it is turning into an unbelievable save the world fantasy which is not my cup of tea. Too bad!
I am seriously tempted to ditch it because my copy of The Hearing Trumpet has arrived!

Jalilah wrote: "Does this happen to anyone else? You read the lastest book of a newer series, wait a few years for next one to come out and when it finally does, you just can't get into it anymore?
That's exactl..."

Yes, I do that sometimes, particularly with epic fantasy series. When I was younger, I would reread the entire series when a new one came out, but now I feel like I have so much to read I don't want to reread an entire series all over again! I actually bought Elfland a few years ago, based completely on how pretty the cover is! I still haven't read it, however.

Margaret wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "Does this happen to anyone else? You read the lastest book of a newer series, wait a few years for next one to come out and when it finally does, you just can't get into it anymore..."

As I read on I actually starting liking it more! She finally did a few brief recaps and it turns out some of the stuff I thought I'd forgotten is actually new. She's tying aspects of both Elfland and Midsummer Night into it.

The Hearing Trumpet is marvellous! I highly recommended to it! At first I thought the reason I couldn't get into my next book, The Gospel of Loki because I was still having a " book hangover" from Hearing Trumpet, but I went on to read something completely different, A Golden Age, without any difficulty at all. So I tried Gospel of Loki again, but just couldn't get into it!
I must admit I skipped some of the essays in Don't Bet on the Prince: Contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales in North America and England but found most of the stories pretty good.
I am now reading Sister of My Heart and loving it!

I've put down The Gospel of Loki for now too, in favor of The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain. I nominated it in another group and it won, so I felt obligated to read it, even if no one else was reading it either.

Once I'm done with that, I'll try to come back to The Gospel of Loki or perhaps start in on Don't Bet on the Prince.

I'm also half done with Black Heart, Ivory Bones, which I've been slowly chipping away at since before I moved. I can recall reading about half the stories so far, though I'm not convinced I've read this particular collection. But the collection is excellent (as expected).

Recently finished A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction (Terry Pratchett) and Pines. Now working on Wayward (sequel to Pines) and The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss which is fascinating -- a beautiful evocation of 19th c. Paris and Vienna, so far.

I am contemplating my next read. I already have my copy of The Grass Dancer and am debating if I should just go ahead and start it, even though the group read starts October 15
Anyone else planning on starting soon?
I will be double posting this in the buddy read thread.

I'll go ahead and request it from the library now. Since I've moved, it now has to be shipped across town which always takes a few days anyway.

I can't promise I'll have time to read it, but I can try!

I finally finished Black Heart, Ivory Bones this afternoon and The Postman Always Rings Twice last weekend, so that makes 2 1/2 books read since I moved. Woo hoo!

I knew moving would cut into my reading time just due to the change in commute, but I had no idea how much.

I'm torn between reading Don't Bet on the Prince: Contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales in North America and England next or This House is Haunted. On one hand, a group read for this group and on the other, a seasonal ghost story!

Melanti wrote: "I'm torn between reading Don't Bet on the Prince: Contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales in North America and England next or This House is Haunted. On one hand, a group read for this group and on the other, a seasonal ghost story! "

If you only have time to read one book read The Grass Dancer! ;)

I'm reading Jade Dragon Mountainwhich is a mystery taking place in 18th century China. Its relevance to Into The Forest is that there is a visitor to China in this book who is an Arab storyteller. He is telling what may be traditional tales from the Arabian Nights, but if so I don't recognize them.

Jalilah wrote: "Melanti wrote: "I'm torn between reading Don't Bet on the Prince: Contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales in North America and England next or This House is Haunted. On one hand, a group read for this gr..."

WEll, I need something to read between now and the time they tell me I can pick it up.

Shomeret wrote: "I'm reading Jade Dragon Mountainwhich is a mystery taking place in 18th century China. Its relevance to Into The Forest is that there is a visitor to China in this book who is an Ar..."

Looks good!

Melanti wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "Melanti wrote: "I'm torn between reading Don't Bet on the Prince: Contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales in North America and England next or This House is Haunted. On one hand, a group ..."
Sorry! Just realised I did not read your post correctly the first time!

Jalilah wrote: "Shomeret wrote: "I'm reading Jade Dragon Mountainwhich is a mystery taking place in 18th century China. Its relevance to Into The Forest is that there is a visitor to China in this ..."

I've gotten to a point in Jade Dragon Mountain where the story that Hamza the storyteller tells, obviously isn't a traditional tale because it's a story about the Sultan and the Chinese detective, Judge Dee. He's telling this story in Chinese for his Chinese audience, and I'm pretty sure that the author must have created it. Hamza is a very clever character. I really like him.

Melanti said, "I finally finished Black Heart, Ivory Bones this afternoon and The Postman Always Rings Twice last weekend, so that makes 2 1/2 books read since I moved. Woo hoo!"

Ooh, Melanti--which group was reading The Postman Always Rings Twice?

--I own most of the classic James M. Cain novels--although Postman is actually my second-least favorite, because I found it hard to attach to his protagonists. Usually I can do that--even with Double Indemnity. I love his authorial voice. (And I think most of the movies made of his books when he was alive were cheap commercial travesties.)

Anyhoo, what I really stopped by to say that I'm 96% through Hammer For Princes, a stunning historical by Cecelia Holland, who can probably best be compared to Hilary Mantel. I love Holland when she's writing stories set in the middle ages.

I also sampled Bitter Greens on my Kindle, so that is up next. I think that was a group read before I joined the group.

For refreshment, I'm always reading genre whodunnits, and right now that means The Case of the Missing Servant.

Finally, for driving, after three CDs (a fair chance, I think) I just decided not to proceed with The Marriage Plot. I just can't care about any of the protagonists. So I must to the library today to find an audiobook I can love.

Susan wrote: "Ooh, Melanti--which group was reading The Postman Always Rings Twice? ..."

It was one of last month's selections for Short & Sweet Treats. It's a group that focuses on books under 250 pgs.

I was actually the one who nominated that book, solely based on its influence on Camus's The Stranger. I'd never read Cain before, and I can't say The Postman... has really persuaded me to read him again. I'm not a huge noir fan in general.

We did indeed read Bitter Greens about a year ago. I really enjoyed it though there were a couple of group members who didn't.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Melanti wrote, "Susan wrote: "Ooh, Melanti--which group was reading The Postman Always Rings Twice? ..."

It was one of last month's selections for Short & Sweet Treats. It's a group that focuses on books under 250 pgs."

I didn't know Cain's Postman was supposed to have influenced Camus. Must ponder that.

Cain didn't always write noir. My fave Cain is Mildred Pierce, which I practically know by heart. It's depression-era melodrama, a total beach read. How many mid-century US mainstream novels had a female protagonist, a female antagonist, and female mentor figures?

The Joan Crawford movie, which is all most people know of it, is wildly untrue to the novel (the studio actually transformed it into a murder plot, and changed the classical musician into a hoochy-koochy girl). The recent mini-series starring Kate Winslett is true to the plot, but mostly atrociously miscast.

But enough defense of Cain for one morning--I'm going to take a look at that Short & Sweet group to see what it's all about.

Oooo. This thread is just too dangerous to read -- I always end up adding more books to my TBR list. :)

Susan wrote: "I'm going to take a look at that Short & Sweet group to see what it's all about. ..."

To be honest, it's a pretty random selection of books. That group has read everything from heavy books like Notes from Underground to light books like The Graveyard Book. It's technically one classic and one themed book each month, but quite often the nominated themed books are classics, and the "classics" are what the mods decide are classics - which is quite different from what I would term classics. In the end, the only connecting thread is that they're short.

I'll keep what you said about Mildred Pierce in mind if I give Cain another try. I've got a HUGE TBR pile at the moment though, so it'll be awhile.

Kathy wrote: "Oooo. This thread is just too dangerous to read -- I always end up adding more books to my TBR list. :)"

I know! I'm eyeing Shomeret's book at the moment...

Just finished all three Blake Crouch Wayward Pines novels (Wayward, Pines, The Last Town). Loved the premise, can't decide about the ending of the third book. Part of me feels like it was a cop-out but another part of me feels like, "Ooh, very clever!"

Now I've gotten sucked into the Wool series. Only about thirty pages in, but it's far far better than I had been expecting.

Susan wrote: "Cain didn't always write noir. My fave Cain is Mildred Pierce, which I practically know by heart. It's depression-era melodrama, a total beach read. How many mid-century US mainstream novels had a female protagonist, a female antagonist, and female mentor figures?"

Yes!! Such a great book.

Kathy wrote: "Oooo. This thread is just too dangerous to read -- I always end up adding more books to my TBR list. :)"

True, that!

Michele wrote (about Mildred Pierce): Such a great book.

Hurrah! A fellow fan. Most people don't know it, nowadays.

So I'll wait and read The Grass Dancer with everyone else after the 15th. In the meantime......I enjoyed Sister of My Heart so much ( it was for the Challenge Endicott fairy tale retelling) that I just have to order the sequel The Vine Of Desire. While I am waiting for it to arrive I am reading Anne of Green Gables, a book that I miss somehow as a child.

Susan wrote: "Hurrah! A fellow fan. Most people don't know it, nowadays."

I'm embarrassed to admit, though, that until you pointed it out, I didn't notice that it has a cast almost entirely of women! I encountered the Joan Crawford movie long before I read the book so I still have a soft spot for that version, but the book is a much richer story, especially (view spoiler)[Veda as a coloratura. (hide spoiler)]

It also has one of my favorite quotes, in which Mr Treviso, one of Veda's teachers, is describing Veda to Mildred (which I guess might be spoiler, so I'll tag it:(view spoiler)[

"You seem like a sensible lady," Treviso said. "You go to the zoo. You see a little snake, huh? It's from India — red, yellow, black — very pretty little snake. Do you take it home, huh? Make it pet like puppy dog? No. You've got more sense. It is the same with Miss Veda. You buy ticket, you look at little snake, but you don't take home."

"What are you insinuating? That my daughter is a snake?"

"No — is a coloratura soprano — is much worse."

(hide spoiler)]

Michele wrote (about Mildred Pierce) "It also has one of my favorite quotes. . . ."

Okay, we must be secret sisters--that quote (that whole scene, actually) is my favorite, too!

James M. Cain wrote two other novels (that I know of) about opera singers--Serenade and Career in C Major (which I only find listed in Goodreads as part of collections like Three of a Kind: Career In C Major, The Embezzler, and Double Indemnity. Both are romances, not crime stories; the first is dark and psychological (and not a favorite of mine), but the second is an almost comic romance with loads of back-stage stuff.

The first time I read that one, I knew somebody in Cain's family was an opera singer--and it turns out it was his mother. Cain himself aspired to that career--but Mom told him he didn't have the stuff.

I don't like all Cain. Some novels read like potboilers for sure. I like the ones that are potboiler plots with a literary voice, irony, and character treatment.

Michele also wrote: "I encountered the Joan Crawford movie long before I read the book so I still have a soft spot for that version. . . ."

Even though I disapprove of the screenplay's utter disregard for much of what matters in the novel, I enjoy it, too, and have watched it more than once. I just think of it as a different story.

Melanti wrote: "I'm torn between reading Don't Bet on the Prince: Contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales in North America and England next or This House is Haunted. On one hand, a group read for this group and on the other, a seasonal ghost story! "

I read This House is Haunted last year and it's a perfect story for October/Halloween season. Here's my quickie "review". What I remember most about it is the atmosphere.

I read The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Careysome days ago and really, really liked it. It has a lot about myth and mythic stories. Another one that is recommended for October!

Since then I've read the memoir The Butterfly Mosque: A Young American Woman's Journey to Love and Islam by G. Willow Wilson. I prefer her novels Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal and Alif the Unseen.

Now I'm reading Movie Speak: How to Talk Like You Belong on a Film Set by Tony Bill.