All About Books discussion

Pink wrote: "Which fiction book should I read next from my library books?

Their Eyes Were Watching God
A Spool of Blue Thread
Me Before You"

If you want to cry, read Me Before You. I think A Spool of Blue Thread would be an enjoyable read, though.

Oh gosh so Me Before You might make me cry? I'd thought Their Eyes Were Watching God would be the possible tearjerker. I'll try reading the first page of each and see if that helps me decide.

Pink wrote: "Oh gosh so Me Before You might make me cry? I'd thought Their Eyes Were Watching God would be the possible tearjerker. I'll try reading the first page of each and see i..."

Their Eyes Were Watching God is amazing Pink if you can get past the dialect! In that one, the audiobook can almost be better the first time through because the dialect can be a stumbling block and can obscure the gorgeous language!

Hope you enjoy whichever one you pick!

Thanks Greg, I read the first chapter and noticed the dialogue, but it doesn't seem too bad. I'll hopefully read them all before I return them to the library.

Pink wrote: "Oh gosh so Me Before You might make me cry? I'd thought Their Eyes Were Watching God would be the possible tearjerker. I'll try reading the first page of each and see i..."

I had the audio version, Pink. I was down by the beach and had to keep out of people's way; I was walking along with tears running down my face!

It was a good, thought provoking read.

I'll keep that in mind Gill, maybe one to read in private :)

Pink wrote: "I'll keep that in mind Gill, maybe one to read in private :)"

Yes, I'd agree with Gill there. I haven't read A Spool of Blue Thread, but the other two were both excellent, and possibly both could make you cry.

I cried in Their Eyes Were Watching God too Pink, though I'm something of a softie with books. :)

Gill, Greg and Shirley, thanks for the help. I read abut 50 pages of Their Eyes Were Watching God yesterday and yes I can see that this one might make me cry too. That's not a problem though as I much prefer sad books to happy ones. Is that just me?

Pink , I cried over Their Eyes Were Watching God also . There is a wonderful movie of it with Halle Berry that also made me cry . I prefer the serious, sad books .

I have a lot of reading to do, but I'm stumped on what to read next. I've narrowed it down to three books:
1)One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.
2)Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.
3) The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joël Dicker.

I will be reading one these along with a book from my science challenge, so I want something that would offer a stark difference. Any thoughts?

I've only read one of the three; so I think others could probably advise you better Charbel! :)

Charbel wrote: "I have a lot of reading to do, but I'm stumped on what to read next. I've narrowed it down to three books:
1)One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.
2)[book:Memoir..."

all three are on my to read list! I would have thought that Memoirs of a Geisha would contrast the most...

Pink wrote: "Gill, Greg and Shirley, thanks for the help. I read abut 50 pages of Their Eyes Were Watching God yesterday and yes I can see that this one might make me cry too. That's not a problem ..."

I prefer serious sad books! I want to be moved. Humorous books are often just plain stupid, except for some......and those which I like tend to have dark humor.

Charbel, I can't help you much there as I haven't read any of them. I would recommend Geisha of Gion: The True Story of Japan's Foremost Geisha: The Memoir of Mineko Iwasaki in place of Arthur Golden's book though.

I've seen One Flew Over the Cuckoos nest and think it would be a good read, though not a light storyline. I don't know anything about the Harry Quebert book.

Charbel wrote: "I have a lot of reading to do, but I'm stumped on what to read next. I've narrowed it down to three books:
1)One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.
2)[book:Memoir..."

I have read the Harry Quebert and it is a very enthralling read. Though it has more than 500 pages it is an easy and fast read, an engaging thriller and it's hard to put the book down. I didn't like it that much but we have different tastes so you may like it.
I agree with Pink about the Cuckoos Nest. I've seen the movie, loved it, and I don't think it would be a light read.

Charbel, I haven't read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest but I want to, so of course I would recommend that one. Memoirs of a Geisha is very good and that one I have read. Maybe your mood should determine what to pick next.

Torn between Sophie's Choice by William Styron or The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.

I loved Sophie's Choice and Grapes Of Wrath when I read them (many years ago). Both are wonderful. Do you like descriptive writing, describing every nuance of an item, combined with a poignant story? If so, I'd recommend Sophie's Choice. It's a book not often read (at least, I don't see it mentioned much on GR).

Petra wrote: "I loved Sophie's Choice and Grapes Of Wrath when I read them (many years ago). Both are wonderful. Do you like descriptive writing, describing every nuance of an item, combined with a poignant stor..."

Interesting. The description for me depends on the writing style. I'm used to the likes of Victor Hugo who liked to delve into immense details, and sometimes I can lose myself in such passages. Which one made more of an impression on you Petra?

Both were read too far in the past. All I remember is that I couldn't put either of them down. Over time, the story of Sophie's Choice has stayed with me more, so I would say that this one made more of an impression. I still feel for Sophie when I think of this story.
Yes, at times, the descriptions could get into the realm of Victor Hugo.

Petra wrote: "Both were read too far in the past. All I remember is that I couldn't put either of them down. Over time, the story of Sophie's Choice has stayed with me more, so I would say that this one made mor..."

Sophie's choice it is then! Thanks!

I hope you enjoy it, Charbel.

I have no useful input on those 2 books but wanted to say hi Charbel! I hope that school is going well.

Charbel, I can't remember much about The Grapes of Wrath. Sophie's Choice moved me to the core of my being. I topped it off with the superb Alan J Pkula movie of the same name. (To tempt you), Pakula also produced To Kill A Mocking Bird (he received an Academy for that), directed and produced Klute and directed All The President's Men.

B, if that's the movie starring Meryl Streep, I agree that its suburb.

Charbel, I LOVED The Grapes of Wrath. I have read many by Steinbeck and that one is my favorite.

Hi, Everyone. Does anyone have any audiobook recommendations please?

Gemma wrote: "Hi, Everyone. Does anyone have any audiobook recommendations please?"

Burial Rites narrated by Morven Christie is my recommendation.

Morvan Christie is a great audiobook reader, but if you are familiar with Icelanders IRL the accent might throw you a bit (but friends of mine loved that audiobook who aren't as familiar with them as I am).

The audiobooks I liked best this year, and I'll link the one I liked the best:

All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - Helen Simonson
The Summer Before the War - Helen Simonson
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania - Erik Larson
The Daughter of Time - Josephine Tey
Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd - Alan Bradley
*

Chrissie I'm reading Burial Rites on my kindle at the moment but I imagine it would be great as audio.

Thank you, Karin
I have made a note of those. I've just downloaded half of a yellow sun so will see how that goes.

Gemma wrote: "Chrissie I'm reading Burial Rites on my kindle at the moment but I imagine it would be great as audio."

What a coincidence that I name what you are already reading! You are liking it, huh?

Karin wrote: "Morvan Christie is a great audiobook reader, but if you are familiar with Icelanders IRL the accent might throw you a bit (but friends of mine loved that audiobook who aren't as familiar with them ..."

Definitely echo Karin's recommendation of the audio version of All the Light We Cannot See. Really enjoyed that.

Also, experiencing Sissy Spacek's rendition of To Kill a Mockingbird is absolutely worth doing. It felt like Scout herself was sitting in the car telling me about her life while I drove through the Texas countryside.

Gemma wrote: "Chrissie I'm reading Burial Rites on my kindle at the moment but I imagine it would be great as audio."

I was very disappointed with Burial Rites on audio and couldn't get through it. Here's why--I'm half Icelandic on my mother's side. So 1. I couldn't accept her with an English accent (might have if I were living in England and born there, etc) and 2. I could hear her English accent in her Icelandic even though she had quite good pronunciation.

That said, others have loved it, and if you haven't met Icelanders from Iceland that have all of their speech patterns and haven't head it spoken enough without an accent, than none of those should give you any trouble. One day I will get around to reading this book in print, though.

Karin, I am sorry to hear that the narration is not the way it should be. You have more knowledge than me! Try and separate the book from the narration. Personally I always try and separate the two. What did you think of the story, the words, how it was told?

My trick is to repeat the words in my head; this helps me not hear the narration and focus instead on the author's words.

Chrissie wrote: "Karin, I am sorry to hear that the narration is not the way it should be. You have more knowledge than me! Try and separate the book from the narration. Personally I always try and separate the two..."

I often love audiobooks, but sometimes it's better if I read the book. I have had this problem with other books, as well. If I weren't in such a rush for a reading game, I wouldn't be doing any more of the audiobook for Broken Harbor, but not due to the accent (he is Irish), but more for the women's voices.

Karin, if you can choose pick that which works better for you. It took me quite a while to get used to audio listening.

Chrissie wrote: "Karin, if you can choose pick that which works better for you. It took me quite a while to get used to audio listening."

I love some audiobooks and it works well for me if I'm gardening, walking or driving, but if I don't like the narrator or the accent jars for the book or I hate how the author does certain voices, then it doesn't work for me. I have enough experience listening to them, but am rather selective at times. I hated the way the Broken Harbour Narrator did women's voices, especially the Dina. Now it might have fit the protagonist, but it jarred me right out of the story at times.

But a great narrator can improve a book for me--one example is Jayne Entwistle reading the Flavia de Luce books. I started listening with book 5 and it evens out the writing--not all of the books are equally well written, but I like the story and want to read all 10. I'm totally up to date and am waiting for the next one.

Karen, it is wonderful when a narrator further enhances one's appreciation of a book you are already enjoying. Kate Forbes, for example, has a talent for Southern books. I think you have said you like such books, haven't you?

Chrissie wrote: "Karen, it is wonderful when a narrator further enhances one's appreciation of a book you are already enjoying. Kate Forbes, for example, has a talent for Southern books. I think you have said you l..."

It depends on the Southern book, but I have loved some southern ones on audio, such as Sissy Spacek's reading of To Kill a Mockingbird and her reading of her memoir/autobiography. Reese Witherspoon is excellent, but as good as she was with Go Set a Watchman, I kept thinking of Scout with Sissy's voice because I heard it first. That said, I'd listen to another by Reese and my try Kate Forbes if I am interested in any of the books she's narrated.

You should try A Parchment of Leaves by Silas House. Forbes narrates it.

For me To Kill a Mockingbird was so perfect on paper I just do not want to touch it.

The Hard Blue Sky by Shirley Ann Grau is a winner. Listen to it narrated by Luci Christian Bell