Constant Reader discussion

A new month ... while I'm waiting on the return of Scout, the Condor has reappeared. That's the Condor of Six Days of the Condor, by James Grady ... it was turned into THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR, the movie with Robert Redford many decades ago. I finished the new book. which reads like a graphic novel. Is that bad? Not really. I think that this was what Grady was aiming for. And in the end, there is a serious issue that he reveals that was driving the action. Enough said .. but it will leave you thinking about matters long after you finish this action novel.

I just finished Leaving Time. I loved the parts about the elephants (which comprised much of the book), but was less excited about the parts that relied on "psychic" happenings.

I know poetry and poets are a strong interest here, though not so much for me personally. However, I've just finished Walking Home: A Poet's Journey, the story of poet Simon Armitage's walking the Pennine Way. A great piece of writing that has a poetic ... background if you will. I was curious as to whether he's known much outside Britain? If not, perhaps some Constant Readers might be interested in his poetry, even if they're not so keen on this travel-related book. I listened to the audiobook, where I found Graeme Malcolm as an especially good fit as a reader.

Finished The Leopard, which apparently should really be titled "The Serval." I'm thinking of starting a bibliography of novels with great death scenes in them, this would be on it. Quite beautiful. Can't agree with some passages about the nature of the aristocracy, but Lampedusa knows so much about human nature and is such a beautifully descriptive author that this book was a pleasure to read.

I also finished the second novel in Elena Ferrante's Naples series, The Story of a New Name, which is a hair less exciting than the first, I think. But evidently the third is quite something, so I'm looking forward to continuing the series.

The Leopard is one of ,y all time favorites. It would be even if it didn't take place on the town where my father was born.

Ruth wrote: "The Leopard is one of ,y all time favorites. It would be even if it didn't take place on the town where my father was born."

Interesting! Have you traveled in Sicily yourself? Lampedusa paints the landscape in unforgettable terms, I think I'd almost be afraid to go there! (Not a big fan of the heat.)

Ruth wrote: "The Leopard is one of ,y all time favorites. It would be even if it didn't take place on the town where my father was born."

Ruth, my wife's family came from Monreale. Most Christmas's I give my wife a book or two on Sicily or Italy. This year it was Seeking Sicily: A Cultural Journey Through Myth and Reality in the Heart of the Mediterranean, which she read and loved, and the cookbook, Coming Home to Sicily: Seasonal Harvests and Cooking from Case Vecchie. I'm still waiting for her to cook some food out of that book.

Just finished Herman Wouk's Winds of War. I'm nearly 45 years late in reading this book but, wow!!!!! I'm sure glad I ran across it at a used book sale. Now on to War and Remembrance.

Last year I started Colleen McCullough's First Man in Rome series. Reached the first quarter of the third one to do with Sulla's dictatorship, Fortune's Favorites and was simply "Rome-d" out. :) I've restarted FF, and am loving it.

I've had the books for many years, at first the conversational tone of the books put me off, but now I'm relishing the tone.

Cateline wrote: "Last year I started Colleen McCullough's First Man in Rome series. Reached the first quarter of the third one to do with Sulla's dictatorship, Fortune's Favorites and was simply "Ro..."

I have had these books on my shelf for some time, too. I hope to settle in and read them one of these days.

Donna, they are well worth the time involved. I have found McCullough's research impeccable.

Good to know. Thanks, Cateline.

Finishing Richard Ford's The Sportswriter. Some lovely prose, spot-on reflections and observations, but my goodness, it's like watching paint dry. A disaffected man watching a bunch of interesting characters go by, letting everything go by. Ford certainly gets his point across. I wanted to read it before I went on to Independence Day, which I will do. Also a William Trevor short story collection, which I hate to read because I own it. I like to read library books and keep my own stacks for when I'm In The Home. Just received Dick Cavett's new Brief Encounters, which I will read; I always admired him so, his obvious erudition and his ability to keep it under wraps so his guest could shine. I'm having a gloomy winter, so I'm trying to read on the light side or, alternatively, on the side of a gloom equal to my own. Anne Tyler, for example, I've just reread about four of hers. Gorgeous. Human, true, forgiving, comforting. Leafing through poetry. Waiting for spring.

Ellen wrote: "Finishing Richard Ford's The Sportswriter. Some lovely prose, spot-on reflections and observations, but my goodness, it's like watching paint dry. A disaffected man watching a bunch of interestin..."

I'm reading Anne Tyler's newest right now, Ellen. A Spool of Blue Thread, and I'm liking it very much.

Ellen wrote: "Finishing Richard Ford's The Sportswriter. Some lovely prose, spot-on reflections and observations, but my goodness, it's like watching paint dry. A disaffected man watching a bunch of interestin..."

I loved Independence Day. Made me go back and read the Sportswriter, which I didn't like nearly as much. Nor the book that follows ID, whose title I can't remember.

Sherry wrote: "I'm reading Anne Tyler's newest right now, Ellen. A Spool of Blue Thread, and I'm liking it very much."

I've been eyeing that one.

Sherry wrote: "Ellen wrote: "Finishing Richard Ford's The Sportswriter. Some lovely prose, spot-on reflections and observations, but my goodness, it's like watching paint dry. A disaffected man watching a bunch..."

How lovely, Sherry. I'm about upteenth on the reserve list at the library. Small town! But it's always like the Tooth Fairy's been there when one of your books comes in. I read so much Anne Tyler this winter I've begun to wonder if I shouldn't take my small life and retire to a Baltimore boarding house... I do love her so!

Ruth wrote: "Ellen wrote: "Finishing Richard Ford's The Sportswriter. Some lovely prose, spot-on reflections and observations, but my goodness, it's like watching paint dry. A disaffected man watching a bunch..."

Ruth, how good to hear. I can't say I don't admire Mr. Ford's writing, but I'm glad to know that Independence Day is worth looking forward to.

Crazy by Linda Vigen Phillips – 5*****
Told entirely in verse, this is a moving look at one teen’s efforts to come to grips with an issue that no one wants to talk about. Her own ups and downs as a teenager are fairly typical, but what sets her apart is her mother’s mental illness. My heart about broke for her as she struggled to understand her mother’s illness and bravely sought answers to her most fearful question. In an afterword the author states that this work is partly based on her own experiences as a teen in the early 1960s. The result is a very personal, emotional story.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I just discovered the "Jeeves" books. The Code of the Woosters. What a great English author P.G. Wodehouse. It was cute and a diversion from the winter blues. Bertie Wooster and his gentleman’s gentleman, Jeeves, are delightful together. There are 17 books in this series and I wouldn't want to read all of them, or even another one of them, because how many predicaments can Bertie get into. As usual, butler Jeeves becomes a focal point for all the plots and ploys of these characters, and in the end only his cleverness can rescue Bertie from being arrested, lynched, and engaged by mistake!

My husband is a big Jeeves fan. It's about the only fiction he reads. In bed, chuckling until the bed shakes.

Just read The Girl on the Train. Definitely a page turner, but it will not ever be called uplifting!

I've been looking for an opportunity to read A Spool of Blue Thread but have been buried in work since it came out. Maybe I can find time for it during spring break next week. If not, I might have to hang on until after graduation.

Anne Tyler is my very favorite author. I ordered A Spool of Blue Thread from Amazon and it should arrive this week.

I am currently reading:
All the Light We Cannot See, Someone by Alice McDermott, and And Then There Were None (aloud to my son.)

I finished Spool yesterday. A very satisfying read. When other's get to it, let's start a thread. I think I can remember it for that long.

My last two books have been complete contrasts - I struggled and gave up on Philip Hensher's The Emperor Waltz after reading about 1/3 of its 600+ pages, a gigantic portmanteau novel which just lost me even though I enjoyed the first section set in Weimar at the time of the beginnings of the Bauhaus movement and Art School - I suspect the novel will appeal to people like the disjointed style of many of David Mitchell's novels - I recall someone was reading The Bone Clocks last month; in contrast Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa was a fast paced, speedy read, more like an autobiography than a novel it condenses the Palestinian nightmare into one family and I gobbled it up with great gusto.

I'm reading A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. This is the book which CR members will begin discussing on March 15.

This book is really original. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2013. The story alternates between a Japanese teenager and a Japanese-American writer who finds the girl's diary washed up on the shore of an island in British Colombia.

Both of the main characters characters are well drawn and I am very interested in their stories. The novel has lots of interesting sub-themes as well - teenage bullying, Zen philosophy, loss of employment and status, cultural dislocation, environmental destruction,etc.

I think there will be lots to discuss.

Ann wrote: "I'm reading A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. This is the book which CR members will begin discussing on March 15.

This book is really original. It was shortli..."

I just started this myself. Looking forward to it.

I just began Richard Flanagan's THE NARROW ROAD TO THE DEEP NORTH, a WWII novel set in Australia and Burma about an Aussie army doctor, captured by the Japs and forced to work building a section of a rail line. I am 100 pages in and I think it is overwritten, but I will continue. My dad was also an army doctor who served in Australia and New Guinea.

Finished We: Understanding the Psychology of Romantic Love. This book uses the myth of Tristan and Iseult to distinguish between romantic love and "human" mature love. Robert Johnson writes we must have an inner life where we explore and respect the sacred in our own life and soul, rather than expecting another person to embody that for us. He says we must keep our human relationships humble and down-to-earth. When we quit trying to mix the two, we lose the drama and the drug-like high of relationships, but we gain reality.

I’ve just finished Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín. It’s a wonderful book about dealing with grief and letting go of the dead. It is told from the point of view of a widow, Nora, and excellently captures the suffocating, yet supporting influence of a small town community. The relationship between Nora and her four children seems rather at arm’s length, yet when it matters she is there for her children. The book is full of fascinating characters like Sister Thomas and throughout there’s the lovely lilt of the Irish voice.

Bernadette, I absolutely agree with you. Loved Nora Webster.

I'm rereading The Martian by Andy Weir with another group on GR, man. What a ride, fast paced and his sense of humor are just marvelous.

His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik – 4****
The Napoleonic War is the framework for this fantastical adventure tale that includes not only naval battles, but air combat aboard dragons. It’s a rollicking good adventure/war story. Temeraire is a dragon unlike any I’ve previously encountered in literature. He’s intelligent, a keen judge of character, loyal to a fault, intensely curious, brave and playful. Capt Laurence is truly an officer and a gentleman – principled, duty-bound, intelligent, a fair taskmaster, kind to animals, and a true leader. I love how the relationship between Laurence and Temeraire develops over the course of the novel. I’ll definitely read the next in the series.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm reading A Spool of Blue Thread and enjoying it a lot. It's been a long time since I've had a book I can just dive into and get lost.

Ruth wrote: "I'm reading A Spool of Blue Thread and enjoying it a lot. It's been a long time since I've had a book I can just dive into and get lost."

Oh, I'm glad you like it. I really liked it, too.

Finished How to be both, which was brilliant in its cerebral way. Now reading two novels about adolescent boys that couldn't be more different. I started Land of Smiles because the author is in a group I'm in, but I'm finding it an interesting window into the Laotian to U.S. immigrant experience, about which I know nothing. I think it's YA. I heard about Adam from the Tournament of Books; it's a comic novel with a lot of specific, graphic sexual references about a (hetero) boy who spends the summer in NY with his lesbian sister and pretends to be transgendered in order to be attractive to a girl he gets a crush on. Both novels are very readable.

Kat if you are interested in reading more about Laotian immigrants, specifically the Hmong people, you might be interested in reading The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures byAnne Fadiman.

The is non-fiction and concerns a young severely epileptic girl and her family's interactions with the American medical establishment. Both sides try to do their best for the girl, but cultural misunderstandings make that almost impossible. Even though it's non-fiction, I found it hard to put down.

Katy wrote: "I just began Richard Flanagan's THE NARROW ROAD TO THE DEEP NORTH, a WWII novel set in Australia and Burma about an Aussie army doctor, captured by the Japs and forced to work building a section of..."
Katy , I just started his earlier book Gould's Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish, all I can say so far is it's quite strange but in a tantalising way that is making me persevere.

Over the weekend, I read Mind's Eye by Håkan Nesser. I'm not much of a detective story fan, however, this book was interesting and a quick read. I thought the characters were believable, and was surprised at the end. Maybe this is why I don't like detective stories - I can never guess who the killer might be.

Gina, I've just added this one to my list of Scandinavian crime writers to read.

After putting it down to focus on 2666, I have picked up The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao again.

Daniel,
I really enjoyed The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

Ann wrote: "Daniel,
I really enjoyed The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao."

So far so good. Nothing compared to literal and figurative heft that was 2666, however.

Daniel wrote: "Ann wrote: "Daniel,
I really enjoyed The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao."

So far so good. Nothing compared to literal and figurative heft that was 2666, however."

2666 is one rare and wonderful book. But I really liked Wao, too.

Daniel, if you're interested, here's a link to our discussion of 2666 a few years ago.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Thanks, Sherry.

I feel there is so much left to be understood about this book that, much like the elusive Archimboldi, Bolano will be discussed by critics for decades to come.

I just started A Tale for the Time Being, and am already enchanted!

I just finished Barry Lancet's Japantown: A Thriller, a novel set in San Francisco, where Jim Brodie, the PI protagonist, owns a Japanese art shop, Tokyo where he owns a detective agency, and eventually NYC ... where he doesn't own anything. Lancet is extremely knowledgeable about all things Japan and it shows, but not in a way where he is just showing off. It's an amazingly good first novel. I've probably read 30 suspense novels that use Japan as a background, and there are hardly any where I want to read additional works by those authors. I've already bought the second book in this Jim Brodie series, Tokyo Kill: A Thriller, and it lays waiting on my Kindle.

Thanks for the heads up on JAPANTOWN, Larry. It sounds like something I would like. I put it on my TBR list.