Constant Reader discussion

Here we go for February 2012! I'm about to return to Franzen's Freedom for my in-person book discussion group. It will be interesting to see what other people living in St. Paul, Minnesota, think of the story.

F2F book club reads for February -
The Tiger's Wife (currently reading)
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Others I'm hoping to get to this month
How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else (current audio book)
Girl in Translation
The Inn Of The Sixth Happiness
The Weird Sisters

On the January thread, "Sue wrote...I really liked the original Stand. I'll be curious how you like the expanded version Cateline."

I'm about 150[ish] pages in, and truly enjoying it Sue. For comparisons sake, I wish I had more memory of the original aside from knowing I liked it. It reads smoothly, and draws the reader right into the characters.

Yesterday, I finished Bowen's The Death of the Heart, and wanted to comment that it was well-written, although many of the characters were rather grating. Good use of an Audible credit, and I look forward to the upcoming discussion of The House in Paris (I've already dropped a credit on that one, but haven't listened yet).

I started reading Tender is the Nightby F. Scott Fitzgerald which we are doing for our in-person book group. I suppose that I read it years ago, but I don't remember a thing!

I finished Lost Memory of Skinby Russell Banks and I loved it. I just wish that I had someone to discuss it with. I do have lots of questions.

I just finished We Need to Talk about Kevin, which is chilling. Now I'm reading The Art of Fielding, which is excellent so far.

Note on the January thread: I've read quite a lot of Rose Tremain and esp. liked RESTORATION. Haven't read COLOUR yet, it's in my bookcase.

Philip, what did you think of FREEDOM?

A bunch of art history and criticism stuff mostly on de Kooning which probably doesn't interest anyone. A huge pile of mostly hardboiled detective novels for a book I'm revising -- I like nearly all detective novels but taking hardboiled in large quantities is proving difficult. The writing is so perfunctory. "a feline note in her voice" -- what does that mean? It's a swipe at the old canard about women and cats but it doesn't suggest an actual noise. Purr? Hiss? Growl? Miaou? I would like to take a break from this project.

Charles wrote: "A bunch of art history and criticism stuff mostly on de Kooning which probably doesn't interest anyone. "

When I was fresh out of grad school I tried to persuade the local paper that they needed to do art reviews and that I should write them. For my interview I brought in several reviews I'd written, one of which was titled DEKOONING AT THE CORCORAN.

I knew my cause was lost when the editor picked it up, stared at it a moment, then looked at me and asked, "Doing what at the Corcoran?

Ruth wrote: "Charles wrote: "A bunch of art history and criticism stuff mostly on de Kooning which probably doesn't interest anyone. "

When I was fresh out of grad school I tried to persuade the local paper th..."

Hee hee, that's a good one. One in the pile is the catalog of the de Kooning retrospective at MOMA, which my daughter gave me for Christmas. Probably 40 lbs and a million words. Daunting.

Visiting the de Kooning retro at MOMA was also daunting, Charles. A group of us Constant Readers in New York for the 2011 Convention in October enjoyed our visit to the museum very much over all, but I at least found I needed only one floor to satisfy that particular need.

Charles wrote: " "a feline note in her voice" -- what does that mean? It's a swipe at the old canard about women and cats but it doesn't suggest an actual noise. Purr? Hiss? Growl? Miaou? .."

I think of Eartha Kitt's voice.... :)

Kat wrote: "Note on the January thread: I've read quite a lot of Rose Tremain and esp. liked RESTORATION. Haven't read COLOUR yet, it's in my bookcase.

Philip, what did you think of FREEDOM?"

I loved The Colour.

How Starbucks Saved My Life - Michael Gates Gill
Audio book read by Dylan Baker
3***

Gill was a highly-paid ad executive when, at age 53, he was let go when new management took over. He formed his own consulting firm, and had some modest success … but 10 years later, Gill is sitting at Starbucks hoping against hope that his phone will ring and enjoying a latte he really cannot afford any longer. It so happens that there is a job fair in progress. The young woman sitting at the next table casually asks, “Would you like a job?” Gill surprises himself by answering, “Yes.” Thus begins a new phase in his life.

It’s a pretty interesting journey, and, for the most part, I enjoyed it. However ….

The book is subtitled: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else. In case we didn’t understand this concept just by reading the cover, Gill manages to insert some vignette from his privileged life every chapter … how he met Hemingway; or the size of his mansion (37 rooms); etc. I’m sure he meant it to help illustrate just how far he had come, or how difficult it was for him to change his outlook, but I got tired of it. I still give it 3 stars because I did enjoy it, and I was left wanting more …

I really enjoy the give and take in this group. I didn't have time to read Gone with the Wind in time for discussion here so I made an early start on State of Wonder. I had a hard time putting it down last night.

My husband doesn't read novels all that often anymore but he commandeered my Kindle and has been immersed in 11/22/63. and thoroughly enjoying it. I’m having to do battle with him for my time to read.

Janet wrote: "My husband doesn't read novels all that often anymore but he commandeered my Kindle and has been immersed in 11/22/63. and thoroughly enjoying it. I’m having to do battle with him for my time to read. "

Heh. My wife never read much until lately either, and suddenly she's sitting up late with Catherine the Great and My Antonia and historical novels on the Wars of the Roses. She, too, commandeered my Kindle at one point. What gets into us old people, do you suppose?

How Starbucks Saved My Life sounds like one of those disappointing books which could have been really interesting if it weren't for ... [fill in the blank] Foo.

I just finished Mudbound, which was really excellent. Left me wondering the hows of creating characters one comes to care about like that.

Before that, read Life Itself and was surprised to not be very taken with most of it, though I enjoyed the chapter about Siskel. I like Ebert's movie reviews much more than his autobiography.

Ruth wrote: "...Doing what at the Corcoran?..."

That is funny; altho in his defense, he might have been trying to invoke one of the old rules of headline writing -- they must contain a verb and should have subject and object. Something along the lines of DEKOONING SMEARS CORCORAN might have convinced him.

Finally have enough focus to read. Read The Marriage Plot, and have begun Four Seasons in Rome, by Anthony Doerr--highly recommended by several on GR, The Evolution of Calpunia Tate, a delightful young adult book that some of my fifth graders are reading...I'm hoping to skype into a conversation and Luck and Circumstance by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Joy. Not being able to focus enough to read because of drugs and pain was almost worse than the pain.

I got State of Wonder from the library today... even though I still have about 200 pp of Gone With the Wind to go. Of course, my dear, I know how that one ends...and I'll think about it another day.

Mary Ellen wrote: "I got State of Wonder from the library today... even though I still have about 200 pp of Gone With the Wind to go. Of course, my dear, I know how that one ends...and I'..."

HeeHee!

I finished the Bolano bookThe Third Reich now I will startWaiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy

Jane wrote: "Finally have enough focus to read. Read The Marriage Plot, and have begun Four Seasons in Rome, by Anthony Doerr--highly recommended by several on GR, The Evolution of Calpunia Tate, a delightful y..."

I'm sorry to read you were having significant pain, Jane, but glad it's receded.

I'm still rereading A Suitable Boy and loving every second. Seth is publishing A Suitable Girl in 2013, which will revolve around Lata's search for a wife for her grandson. I don't know if I'll read it. I don't want some of my favorite characters like Mrs. Rupa Mehra to be "gone." I adore her!

Kitty, you might like the books of Cristina Garcia, Dreaming In Cuban, Monkey Hunting, etc.

Mary Ellen wrote: " Of course, my dear, I know how that one ends...and I'll think about it another day..."

I once had a co-worker who would answer any inquiry with "Let me think about that and get back to you tomorrow." (Of course, "tomorrow" apparently never came, because she would NEVER get back to you.) We started calling her "Scarlett" behind her back. (Heck, we probably could have called her that to her face and she wouldn't have gotten it.)

Charles wrote: "How Starbucks Saved My Life sounds like one of those disappointing books which could have been really interesting if it weren't for ... [fill in the blank] Foo...."

The more I think about it, I believe the narrator was part of the problem. He has a "whiny" quality to his voice that just irritated me.

Book Concierge wrote: "Mary Ellen wrote: " Of course, my dear, I know how that one ends...and I'll think about it another day..."

I once had a co-worker who would answer any inquiry with "Let me think about that and get..."

Sometimes when I don't have time to really think about or do a project I'll say, "I'm going to be Scarlett today."

During my recent vacation to Mazatlan, along with scouring the galley proofs for Wicked Eddies for errors, I managed to read 2 mystery books while lounging by the pool or ocean. I enjoyed Carolyn Hart's Engaged to Die, and I very much enjoyed Nancy Pickard's The Whole Truth. In fact, I put the other two titles in that series on my to-read list, and my husband is reading THE WHOLE TRUTH now.

Tossed in the towel on Life in the Balance: A Physician's Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss with Parkinson's Disease and Dementia Here's my review:

I'm a famous physician. Oh dear, I have Parkinson's and dementia. My patients all love me. Oh darn, I have Parkinson's and dementia. I am very handsome. Oh damn, I have Parkinson's and dementia. Everyone looks up to me. Oh shit, I have Parkinson's and dementia. I am a wonderful, wonderful, unusual person. How can this happen to me?

It's on to Rules of Civility for me.

Oh Ruth, I think you will like Rules of Civility. I thought it was a rare gem.

Love the review, Ruth!

It would be fun to write reviews a la Ruth for all the books we hate, or find tedious. After a miserable, miserable night (and I am so unusual and wonderful, how could that happen to me?) I opened Goodreads and just laughed. Thanks, Ruth.

Great review Ruth - you have me rolling.

I am starting to read Sweet Reward by Christy Reece

someone mentioned Wallace Stegner Angle of Repose on CR and I read it and loved it. I followed it up with his The Spectator Bird which was one of my favorite reads ever-and one I plan to read again. Beautifully written and so poignant. I've also been working on Family Matters (Mistry), which took me a couple of weeks to get through b/c it was so heart breaking. Many times I had to just turn to something else. It was beautiful and heart wrenching. My father has Parkinson's and so I think it really hit me so very hard. It's wonderful to find two great books in a month. I strongly recommend both of these.

I really liked The Spectator Bird, too -- hadn't realized it was a sort of "sequel" to All the Little Live Things, which is on my TBR. Family Matters was terrific; my father has Parkinsons also.

I started on The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf last night. I'm a few chapters into it so far and its a bit of a page turner.

Just started Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré

I'm currently reading An abundance of Katherines by John Green

After that I'll start readingThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson before I watch the movie.

Jane, my brother just bought me Lost Memory of Skin. I can't promise I'll race through it, but I'm so glad to know it's a good one. I haven't read any Banks since I lost track of myself in the middle of Cloudsplitter. I never finished it....not because it wasn't good, but somehow I got distracted. I do love him.

Tory and Antonio, could you please also include the names of your books, instead of just the covers? I can't read those covers very well, especially when I read the board on my iPhone.

Thanks, Rannie, Jane and Sherry. I picked that book to read because my father had Parkinson's and my mother suffered from dementia, so I was not an unsympathetic reader. It may be the fault of the person who was helping him write the book, but Graboys came across as insufferable.

I edited it. Sorry about that Sherry.

Ruth wrote: "Tossed in the towel on Life in the Balance: A Physician's Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss with Parkinson's Disease and Dementia Here's my review:

I'm a famous physician. Oh dear, I h..."

Ruth, please, please, please: should you not enjoy
Rules of Civility give us fair warning before you unleash your review. :-) You know I can't take it.

I shall be suitably gentle, Sara. So far I'm enjoying it, but I'm not far into it.

I just started Bad Things Happen this afternoon and am having trouble putting it down. The protagonist is quite unlike most amateur "murder mystery solvers". I think I ordered the e-book through my online library based on a recommendation from Sherry and others here... so thank you very much! I should be grading tests this weekend, but it's hard to get motivated to do that when I've got a good book going :)

Ruth wrote: "I shall be suitably gentle, Sara. So far I'm enjoying it, but I'm not far into it."

Whew. Thanks!

Lynn wrote: "I just started Bad Things Happen this afternoon and am having trouble putting it down. The protagonist is quite unlike most amateur "murder mystery solvers". I think I ordered the e-book through ..."

Boy, that does sound good, Lynn. Amazon had a hardcover remainder for $6.50, so I ordered it up.

It's an ... interesting story, and even though I had some issues with it I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

It wasn't me, Lynn. But you're welcome, anyway.

I think it was Jane and I who recommended that one, Lynn. I have the second one in my TBR.

Is that grammatically correct? I'm sleepy.