Challenge: 50 Books discussion
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Ray's 50 Book Challenge
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Ray
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May 14, 2012 05:42AM
Cool group - this is my second attempt and I am doing well. I am at 30 books and it's May. I haven't been reading short works, but I have some really long books for the summer since I'm ahead.
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Ray wrote: "The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York"Wow, this sounds like an interesting book. Did you enjoy it?
Tiffani wrote: "Ray wrote: "The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York"Wow, this sounds like an interesting book. Did you enjoy it?"
Yes - really fun, despite the serious topic. I highly recommend it.
Ray wrote: "Tiffani wrote: "Ray wrote: "The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York"Wow, this sounds like an interesting book. Did you enjoy it?"
Yes - really fun..."
If I find it during my next bookstore outing, perhaps I will pick it up and give it a try. Thanks, Ray
Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?Excellent history of the study of who wrote what we know as the works of Shakespeare. Surprisingly there is a body of legitimate scholarship on the question spanning two centuries. A non-fiction with the tone of an English professor, though many of the stories are ironic and in some cases, comical stretches of imagination. In the end, Shapiro shows how one might imagine Shakespeare having been the front man for a workshop or a better educated noble while making his position clear - Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare!
Liesl and PoA children's fantasy - for diversion. I listened to this because it was read by Jim Dale whose narration I really enjoy. A fun romp through a misty, dark Victorian world of friendly ghosts and evil stepmothers. Aimed at the teen fantasy crowd, but like Harry Potter or the Graveyard Book, enjoyable for adults who like fantasy.
House of LeavesGreat book. I wrote a long review in my books. For a brief summary: creepy book about a house that changes shapes told by a young tattoo artist who tells his own story in footnotes that go on for pages. Multiple voices, multiple story lines, complex and fun. Not light reading, but really satisfying for those who give it some time.
Moby-DickRead from June 19 to July 03, 2012
When I was in 5th grade I had a teacher who read us Moby Dick. I had always believed I knew the work and had listened to it. So many of the passages and descriptions where so vivid that I remember them 40 year later - but she did not read us the full work. I found an abridgement for children which she must have read and I made note that I should read it for real. This book is so much a part of popular culture that along with Huck Finn and others, this book is critical to anyone claiming to be an educated individual - or so I believe. When a friend mentioned he was planning to read it this summer, I picked it up and have found it delightful.
Ishmael is the narrator and main character. The part he plays on the crew is a young sailor restless for the sea and willing to be a minor crew member on a whale ship. In actuality Melville uses Ishael's voice to not only tell the tale, but to act as an omniscient narrator who not only tells the tale at hand, but gives a history of whaling, humanity and the sea, and reflect in poetic terms on whaling as a metaphor for life, spiritual reality and eternity... he really goes off.
I have to say, I really liked this book. Melville's prose are exquisite. His rants on the beauty of the sea and mysteries of the deep are engaging and hypnotic. At almost 700 pages of 19th century romanticism, this book is not for the faint of heart. But for those with the time and energy, once again, this is a classic for good reason. The tale captures the romantic passion of the American Spirit to engage the world, adventure and live to tell the tale. Good Read!
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire HunterRead from July 03 to 10, 2012
This was silly. I read and enjoyed Pride and Prejudice and Zombie's, tried and gave up on Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, but made it through Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. In the same way with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies included the full text of the original, it appears Grahame-Smith researched a sort of plain vanilla biography of Lincoln and added Vampires. While the idea that all the hardships, toils and troubles of Lincoln's life, of which there were many, were actually caused by vampires or the complications of hunting them, the book was dry. I think Grahame-Smith deliberately tried to write in a 19th century style. While the idea is amusing, Lincoln's voice earnestly explaining the intricacies of vampire hunting got old for me - but not that old. This was an entertaining read and I would not discourage anyone from reading. I just wouldn't particularly recommend it. In a field with World War Z, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and other pseudo-scholarly romps through the fantastic, this one engages but does not particularly stand out.
So, good book, fun to read but it was not as amazing as the title or other similar books.
My only exposure to Moby Dick had been an excerpt in a high school anthology. Unfortunately, it was, to me, a tedious excerpt. And so I avoided the whole book for decades.Recently, I took a 5-session class on Moby Dick, and LOVED IT. I was so impressed with Melville's presentation of the panorama of whaling life. I could not even identify which chapter might have been the excerpt I'd read long ago--I was that entranced.
At the end of the class, our teacher gave us custom-made bumper stickers: "I Actually Read Moby Dick."
To be displayed with pride!
Rose
Cakes and AleI have read lots of books I've loved, but few have had the influence "The Razor's Edge" has had on me. W. Somerset Maugham really struck me and I've returned to Larry Darrell a half dozen times - like an old friend. I've also enjoyed Maugham's short stories and the movie adaptation of The Painted Veil. So, his work is always on my list of books to read. I picked up "Of Human Bondage" and "Cakes and Ale". "Cakes and Ale" being a shorter book, I thought I'd knock it out before beginning the larger work.
I liked the style. "Cakes and Ale" begins with a series of luncheons and character sketches which were delightful, but lacked any clear purpose. I am embarrassed to admit that at about halfway I searched and read reviews of the book that explained that it was a send up of some of the authors and the London scene of the early twentieth century. In other words, he was making fun of the snobbery of London's literary community. Ultimately the charm of the book is in the characters Maugham creates. There is no deeper meaning or message. Maugham thinks snobbery is silly, but he takes great joy in creating rather endearing though thoroughly self absorbed snobs and poking fun at them.
Near the mid point, a love story begins. The narrator, William Ashenden, is re-united with Rosie Driffield, a woman from his hometown who has moved to London and married. After 150 pages of luncheons and snobbery, a fun, funny affair held my interest and the second half of the book ended up being quite satisfying. So, this was a slice of life, tong in cheek romp through literary London of the 20s. Not a life changing book, but a pleasant summer read and the beautiful prose of an old favorite author whose work I have only just begun to explore.
Challenge: 50 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The Beautiful and Damned (other topics)Sister Queens: The Noble, Tragic Lives of Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile (other topics)
Shadow of Night (other topics)
The King's Speech (other topics)
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