Book Nook Cafe discussion

Sara wrote: "I just ordered “Welcoming the Stranger” by Matthew Soerens. I heard him on a podcast recently and he made me think and ponder immigration in a new way. I learned a lot and found it helpful."

Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion Truth in the Immigration Debate---Matthew Soerens

Thank you for sharing this timely title, Sara !

madrano wrote: "That written, as John mentioned, one must refer to the sheet in order to not repeat reading a book. Over those years i've probably reread 3 or 4 by accident, mainly because the title or author appealed, and i just didn't check the list...."

Well, now i've gone & done it! After our posts earlier this month about making lists of books read, etc., i failed myself to epic porportions! I actually managed to REREAD a book i didn't remember reading and still have no memory of reading in the first place. It was only when i was recording it on my Excel sheet that i realized the program was auto-filling in the title, then the author's name. Lo! and Behold! i read the same book (probably the very same, as it was a library book) in January of '07. The book is The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists & was written by Gregory Curtis

One thing which really bugs me is that i really forced myself to continue this time because i was angry at the author's seeming dismissal of two women who made contributions to recording & analyzing the cave paintings of France. Why would i not recall this from my first reading, i ask? No answer.

On the upside, i suppose, is that when i am senile and ask someone to read a book to me, all books will apparently be "new" to me. Sad Solace, i must say.

madrano wrote: "madrano wrote: "That written, as John mentioned, one must refer to the sheet in order to not repeat reading a book. Over those years i've probably reread 3 or 4 by accident, mainly because the titl..."

I've re-read books thinking - I know this story. If it is good I continue reading it. Unfortunately, I have only been keeping records for less than half my life so it happens once in awhile.

madrano wrote: "madrano wrote: "That written, as John mentioned, one must refer to the sheet in order to not repeat reading a book. Over those years i've probably reread 3 or 4 by accident, mainly because the titl..."

I believe that at least once I have read a book that I had not consulted at Goodreads first, then when I was finished gone to write a review, finding that I had already written one!

I appreciate the comments. The topic fascinates me and i feel as though i learned So Much this time, that i don't really mind that much. But, i'm going to start checking in the future! John, it's a relief to know i'm not alone in this.

I'm liking my current (print) library book The Rings of Saturn, though folks who dislike stream-of-consciousness writing wouldn't be comfortable with it probably. Don't get why my library shelves it as fiction!

madrano wrote: Well, now i've gone & done it! After our posts earlier this month about making lists of books read, etc., i failed myself to epic porportions! I actually managed to REREAD a book i didn't remember reading and still have no memory of reading in the first place. ..."

That is annoying. On the plus side, you won't forget you read this book.

The Rings of Saturn

John wrote: "Don't get why my library shelves it as fiction! "

It won the
Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction (1998)

http://web.mnstate.edu/schwartz/latim...

OK, if they say so! It sure reads as nonfiction.

John wrote: "OK, if they say so! It sure reads as nonfiction."

:) It must be really well written.

The W.G. Sebald book sounds good to me. Thanks for the links & all, Alias. GR mentions eccentrics in the book, which calls to me no end.

Yesterday i got the ebook of Richard Preston's sequel to The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus--Crisis in the Red Zone: The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History, and of the Outbreaks to Come. I was immediately hooked, of course, and finished Part One before i could go to bed.

madrano wrote: "The W.G. Sebald book sounds good to me. Thanks for the links & all, Alias. GR mentions eccentrics in the book, which calls to me no end."

The book held my interest fairly well. His travel narrative is well done, though is more of a skeletal framework for the various historical digressions. As I understand it, it was the author who wanted the book classified as fiction. I suppose that the historical parts inside peoples' heads might qualify as fictional to some extent.

I had heard great things about Sybille Bedford, so purchased her volume of European travel essays Pleasures and Landscapes. My library has her book on traveling through Mexico in the 1940s A Visit to Don Otavio, but just my luck that the nonfiction area of that library branch is being recarpeted, so the holdings are temporarily off-limits!

Fiction section is fine, so my trip wasn't a total waste as I was able to get out the novel The Slaves of Solitude, which I had had to return last time when I didn't get to reading it and there was no renewal available. Also have gotten out In the Wake, after reading its "prequel" I Curse the River of Time. Wake was apparently the first of this author's books to be translated into English from Norwegian, which to me is rather odd since it's the third in a trilogy (featuring the same character).

madrano wrote: "Yesterday i got the ebook of Richard Preston's sequel to The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus--[book:Crisis in the Red Zone: The S..."

The Hot Zone was very good. It's scary to think this sort of thing could easily happen again.

madrano wrote: "The W.G. Sebald book sounds good to me. Thanks for the links & all, Alias. GR mentions eccentrics in the book, which calls to me no end."

You're welcome.

John, in many ways W. G. Sebald is to be commended for realizing there are a number of people who become annoyed when an author "reports" the thoughts of real people in the text. In the past we've had healthy debates on this very topic & whether the book should be fiction or non.

And i am again compelled to thank you for sharing titles of books you are reading. For myself, you mention authors whose names i barely recognize with titles to boot. Thanks.

Alias, i was interested to note that apparently Richard Preston revisits some of the doctors from other books. In this latest he mentions Nancy Jaxx and her boss, whose name eludes me at the moment; additionally, it appears the US doctor who specializes in this work, Lisa Hensley was featured in his The Demon in the Freezer. It makes sense given his forte in writing about this arena.

Just picked up three titles on Amazon this week:

Bloodfever

Just a Couple of Days

The Basic Eight

madrano wrote: "John, in many ways W. G. Sebald is to be commended for realizing there are a number of people who become annoyed when an author "reports" the thoughts of real people in the text. ..."

Thanks! I post in this thread like that as I find that members here are open to reading unknown stuff by recommendation.

Anita, the last one, written by Daniel Handler sounds very interesting. I hope you enjoy it & will share a bit more here when you are finished.

John, we are grateful. One of the things i like best about Book Nook Cafe is that we don't just stick to what's "hot", Top Ten or whatever. It's that variety which makes reading an adventure for me.

madrano wrote: "Anita, the last one, written by Daniel Handler sounds very interesting. I hope you enjoy it & will share a bit more here when you are finished.

John, we are grateful. One of the thin..."

Thanks for the kind words! I do read some "mainstream" stuff, Gone Girl, etc. However, that's more the exception for me. Since reading a "What the hell, doubt this is for me..." success with You're Never Weird on the Internet, I've been far more open to trying ones that might prove OK after all; we've all had disappointments with books that held great promise, yet sadly failed to deliver.

That book sounds fun, John--thanks. Agreed on the disappointments vs. promise. Still, i'm usually glad i tried.

madrano wrote: "Anita, the last one, written by Daniel Handler sounds very interesting. I hope you enjoy it & will share a bit more here when you are finished.

John, we are grateful. One of the thin..."

I'm starting it this morning, I'll keep you posted! I was a huge fan of The Secret History, and I've read a few comparisions to it so I'm pretty excited!

Just went for a nother quick three on Amazon yesterday after loading up my Want To Read list lol

Nearest Thing to Crazy

Geek Love

Burn for Me

Anita, you are creating a reading storm! I hope they are each as rewarding as the Tartt novel!

madrano wrote: "Anita, you are creating a reading storm! I hope they are each as rewarding as the Tartt novel!"


I have been on quite a reading binge, I'm averaging about a book every 6 days, and I'm about 8 books ahead of my personal challenge for the year.

There's just so much amazing stuff out there, I can't help myself! lol

Anita wrote: I have been on quite a reading binge, I'm averaging about a book every 6 days, and I'm about 8 books ahead of my personal challenge for the year. ..."

Well done, Anita !

Anita, i love your sentence, "I can't help myself!" When it comes to reading, most of us here totally understand that sentiment.

Working on Sybille Bedford's As It Was: Pleasures, Landscapes, and Justice. However, I'm only reading the second part focusing on her reports from three famous trials: Lady Chatterley's Lover as obscenity, the trial of Jack Ruby for killing Lee Harvey Oswald, and a Nazi war crimes trial. She does a very good job of interpreting the proceedings (best way I can put it), without seeming at all condescending. I bought a copy of Pleasures and Landscapes, which contains the six travel pieces from the other book, plus two additional ones.

I'm not familiar with the author Sybille Bedford but what i read at the author link intrigues me. High praise for her prose. Thanks for the intro, John.

I'm not familiar with her either. I agree, the books sound very interesting. Unfortunately, the book seems to be out of print.
On the plus side, there are very inexpensive used copies available on Amazon.

Well, I understand there are copies available online at a not exorbitant rate. I'm not as interested in her fictionalized memoirs, which were reprinted by New York Review of Books, along with A Visit to Don Otavio. I'm lucky to belong to two library systems that between them often carry a copy of an obscure book that seems interesting; tradeoff for a 10% sales tax on everything but food (no state income tax though).

I know about having a sky-high TBR mountain, so work on yours, letting us know how it goes!

Alias, that's good news. It's been such a long time since i bought a used book online but i really liked being able to locate oldies.

I made a resolution for September to read more from my TBR than from books reviewed on Book Nook Cafe. When i look over what i've read the last few months, i'm surprised how many titles i got from the terrific reviews on this board. Still i need to control myself if i ever want to pare down that TBR pile!

I just checked out two library books: A Month in the Country, and The Stepdaughter - can a 96 page book really be considered a "novel"?

John wrote: "I just checked out two library books: A Month in the Country, and The Stepdaughter - can a 96 page book really be considered a "novel"?"

Someone here must have mentioned A Month in the Country. I read the first page on Amazon and it's very familiar to me. ANYway, it sounds interesting. Enjoy !

I learned of it from the "other titles" list at the back of the New York Review of Books edition of The Slaves of Solitude.

Perhaps I posted the title in one of the book lists.

I read J.L. Carr's A Month in the Country 4 or 5 years ago. It was a sweet book about recovering after War and a further search for identity. As a result, i ended up reading several other books about small country churches, which delight me even to this day. There is history there...i think i was first introduced to them via Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure, about a stonemason. We've visited many since and, honestly, i cannot get enough of them. NOT that the Carr book goes as crazy about them as i do, i hasten to add. :-)

Thanks for the tip that it's a good read! I'll probably buy a couple more of his titles (my libraries have no others by him).

madrano wrote: "I read J.L. Carr's A Month in the Country 4 or 5 years ago. It was a sweet book about recovering after War and a further search for identity. As a result, i ended up rea..."
Carr's book was very good!

Today's library book was Hangover Square. I liked the author's The Slaves of Solitude which I read recently.

It's a good thing when one finds an author whose work calls to us again & again. Enjoy this Patrick Hamilton, John.

Realized I only had 1 book on my TBR pile and had to take immediate action!

Went on Amazon and grabbed a couple from my WTR list:

So I put The Chain and Thirteen on hold at my library, because they're still relatively new and I assumed it would take a while for them to come in, thus giving me time to read my other books.

Well, two days after I get an email that they're both in and ready to be picked up...

Womp womp...

Anita, i drooled at the idea that my TBR pile would get that low. The third on your list, My Life as a White Trash Zombie sounds fun. I see author Diana Rowland has quite a series going with it.

Kelli, doesn't that figure? I see several different books titled The Chain, is yours the one by Adrian McKinty or Antony Millenor Keith Gray or someone else entirely? Thirteen by Richard K. Morgan sounds exciting. Enjoy!

Anita wrote: "Realized I only had 1 book on my TBR pile and had to take immediate action!

Went on Amazon and grabbed a couple from my WTR list:
."

:) Glad you were able to quickly remedy that scary situation.

madrano wrote: "Anita, i drooled at the idea that my TBR pile would get that low. The third on your list, My Life as a White Trash Zombie sounds fun. I see author Diana Rowland has q..."

Madrano, it definitely does! That's what happens when you're overeager I guess! The Chain is by Adrian McKinty, the new one that came out this year.

They both sound really good, I just don't know when I'll read them, hahaha!

The Chain by Adrian McKinty. Thanks, Kelli. That novel idea sounds remarkable--what a dilemma! I hope you find the time to read both...And get back to us about them!

I just finished reading the slim novel Quicksand, which i purchased in Little Rock's Mosaic Temple Cultural Center ( http://www.mosaictemplarscenter.com/ ). Years earlier i read & really liked Nella Larsen's best known novel, Passing, so grabbed Quicksand right up. This week i finally got around to reading it.

The book is the story of a woman born of a Danish mother and a West Indies father and how her life developed, given life in the US in the 1920-30s. I won't lie to you, i was surprised by the thoughts presented as Helga Crane made her choices. Upon further research i found this summation, which says it all for me, "Like Larsen, Helga is of mixed racial background, functioning as a psychological problem due to her failure to create a sense of self that fits into the community. She finds this process alienating, her only comfortable identity is as an outsider. Due to this, Helga Crane produces a peculiar relationship with happiness in which she doesn't know what it is, but she knows she doesn't have it."

It is an exploration & not an uplifting one but it was powerful, imo. Larsen had only these two novels published and spent most of her life in NYC as a nurse, dying in 1964. I'm sad her writing career was cut short, due to accusations of plagiarism over a short story she wrote. The result was that no one would publish subsequent works, of which three were apparently written but destroyed. A pity.

Saw this one on the library shelves today while looking into another title: Cleopatra's Wedding Present: Travels through Syria. The book was published in 1997, after the author's murder, so I'm assuming his travels were not long before that. A book on Syria seems so timely now!

Ended up getting the other one as an ebook Meander: East to West, Indirectly, Along a Turkish River, towards the $20 requirement for a $5 Kindle credit.

John, I don't buy kindle books often, but if I buy a book that gives me a credit it usually runs out before I buy another book. I wish they didn't have an expiration date.

Thanks for the book titles. I have a neighbor that likes travel books, I am going to pass the Turkish title on to her.