Author Topic: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2  (Read 738717 times)

pedln

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #40 on: November 24, 2009, 05:43:33 PM »
         
This is the place to talk about the works of fiction you are reading, whether they are new or old, and share your own opinions and reviews with interested readers.

Every week the new bestseller lists come out brimming with enticing looking books and rave reviews. How to choose?


Discussion Leader:  Judy Laird

pedln

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #41 on: November 24, 2009, 05:58:55 PM »
Jean, re: Patricia Sprinkle -- that name sure was familiar. Years ago I read her When Did We Lose Harriet , about a young teen who falls through the cracks and apparently no one cares.

I also have, somewhere in a stack of magazines, an article she wrote for Presbyterians Today.  I don't remember what it was about, but I've kept it for years, so it must be important.   :P  I'll look it up when I get home next week.

mrssherlock

  • Posts: 2007
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #42 on: November 24, 2009, 06:23:57 PM »
Sometimes a writer can pull you into the spell of his story seemingly with little or no effort. Frequently the use of the first person narrative can do it.  Robert Greer pulls it off beautifully in Spoon, a tale of the contemporary west with its ranchers/cattlemen vs. big energy corporation conflict.  Greer, a pathologist and professor of medicine at U of Colo, owns a ranch in Montana where the Darleys find their 14,000 acre ranch is coveted by Acota Energy for its vast underground coal deposits.  Told in the voice of the son of the family as he takes a year off between high school and U of Montana at Bozeman, the minutiae of ranch life are recounted in a matter-of-fact way that highlights its stark, almost brutal beauty.  The action covers the year that Spoon, the wandering hired man, spends with the family.  Partly coming-of-age, partly horse opera, this is a very satisfying read.  Greer has written several books and I will be reading more of his work.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/g/robert-greer/

http://www.amazon.com/Spoon-Novel-Robert-Greer/dp/1555916899/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259104827&sr=1-1
Jackie
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

Babi

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #43 on: November 25, 2009, 09:04:26 AM »
You do that, too, PEDLN? I've got old Times Magazines and National
Geographics that I saved for important features. I wonder what they were?  ;D

 Sounds good, JACKIE.  Right now I only have a couple of light 'holiday'
books to read, and I know they are going to go fast.  I do hope I don't
run out before the library opens again after Thanksgiving.  But then,
I can always go to the shelves for an old goodie.
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

mabel1015j

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #44 on: November 25, 2009, 01:47:59 PM »
jackie - Just a querky correction - Bozeman is the home of Montana State U, not U of Montana..................I only know that because my son coached football at MSU and there's a huge rivalry between the two, so MSU fans are quick to let one know the difference.  :D ...........jean

mrssherlock

  • Posts: 2007
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #45 on: November 25, 2009, 06:04:14 PM »
Mabel:  thanks; the reference to Bozeman is correct, I'm the one who misstated the name of the school.  This explains a part of the story i didn't completely understand when he runs into an old girlfriend who's going to the U and she wishes him well at Bozeman.  I thought it was the same place.  Here in Oregon the rivalry between U of O and OSU is intense; both schools are competing for the Rose Bowl this year.  Their big game is called The Civil War and it really is.  In the Bay Area the Big Game is between Stanford and Cal, Berkeley home of the  U of California. 
Jackie
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

winsummm

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #46 on: November 25, 2009, 11:28:01 PM »
as posted elsewhere I'm into an unusual book about car racing written by a dog. or at least the dog is the protagonist and it is set in the first person.  very good writing, for a dog and good story telling and advice for driving in the rain.
The art of racing in the rain.
thimk

Gumtree

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #47 on: November 26, 2009, 03:29:42 AM »
Winsumm: Your comment about the dog as protagonist brought to mind the story Virginia Woolf wrote about 'Flush' which was Elizabeth Barrett Browning's spaniel.  In it she tries to reconstruct the life of 'Flush' and so through the dog's story we get a brief tale of the life of the Barrett Brownings as well. It's a delightful story - "Flush' proves Woolf's  point that  "Everything is the proper stuff of fiction". 
Reading is an art and the reader an artist. Holbrook Jackson

JoanK

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #48 on: November 30, 2009, 09:47:38 PM »

We're looking forward to seeing you at the

Holiday Open House


December 1 - 20



PatH

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #49 on: December 04, 2009, 01:24:45 PM »

Coming Soon...KIM by Kipling ~ our January Book Club Online.
Let us know you'll be joining us in our discussion.

Tomereader1

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #50 on: December 04, 2009, 01:56:28 PM »
Just a brief note to let you all know that my f2f Library Book Group read "The Help" for our December selection.  Our meeting last night to discuss was one of the best we have had in nearly 3 years.  Aside from having two new members show up, we had a lively, informative, courteous discussion that went nearly half an hour past our allotted time.  I cant seem to remember if anyone here has recommended the book, but if not, let me highly recommend it.  The author is Kathryn Stockett, and it is her first novel, but so well written you'd never know it.
The reading of a fine book is an uninterrupted dialogue in which the book speaks and our soul replies.


André Maurois

mrssherlock

  • Posts: 2007
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #51 on: December 04, 2009, 03:57:36 PM »
Tome:  Happy to see that your group agreed with those of us who posted here about The Help.  It was a special story and I hope Stockett has many more stories to tell us.
Jackie
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

winsummm

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #52 on: December 04, 2009, 05:09:35 PM »
I'm well past the half way mark in Dan Browns
Quote
The Lost Symbol

references to much that I don't know but clearly explained as used to  edge the story along.  I don't care for all the "teasers" though and the chapters skipping each other. It is a format that keeps the reader involved but simply irritates me.  a good read though I started it yesterday and expect to finish today.

claire
thimk

Babi

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #53 on: December 05, 2009, 08:47:13 AM »
 I guess I really need to catch up on Dan Brown.  (But when??!!)
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

marjifay

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #54 on: December 05, 2009, 12:11:54 PM »
Babi, I know what you mean and when you ask when can you get around to reading Dan Brown's Lost Symbol.  I try to keep my books close to 300 pages , if possible.  But even though it's rather long, Lost Symbol is a very fast read.

Marj
"Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill."  Barbara Tuchman

winsummm

  • Posts: 461
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #55 on: December 05, 2009, 02:55:42 PM »
dan brown writes suspense well but in this book it is clear that he is manipulating his reader with  teasers and alternate chapters ala the wizard of oz. I resent that. I' am almost done. recently there was a documentary on the capital and its dome and its art which ties in very well with this book. It is worth saving for the instructional material as well. My particular interest i the mind keeps me going and I do recommend it with these caveates.

claire
thimk

evergreen

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #56 on: December 06, 2009, 01:14:25 PM »
winsummm your comments on Dan Brown's Lost Symbol are very interesting.  I read it not long ago and had the eerie feeling I was reading a screenplay.  While the background on Washington buildings and monuments is informative, I felt there were many similarities to the formula he used in the DaVinci Code.

I guess I'll be renting the Tom Hanks movie in the not too distant future

evergreen

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #57 on: December 06, 2009, 01:28:19 PM »
Has anyone read Orhan Pamuk's new book The Museum of Innocence  yet?

I've read My Name is Red and Istanbul  and liked both, so I went ahead and bought the new one.  It's sitting on the stack of TBR's, said stack is growing daily ;D

winsummm

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #58 on: December 06, 2009, 03:18:49 PM »
evergreen Tom Hanks in my mind IS Robert Langdon. It's been said that there  are many mistakes in the book if you are trying to learn from it. I was just being entertained as well as informed about washington, george and also DDC and the MASONS.

I did try to construct a magic square starting with on two and two more each with a value of one. then I made it into a   sqare of three and  found that I needed five of them and that I also neede the number four as well as three and two.  iteventually tauaght me where the numbers come from in Franklyns square, I think. from the twenty six of our alphabet, I think.  It's fun to play with the idea of making a magic square of my own.

claire
thimk

winsummm

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #59 on: December 06, 2009, 03:24:53 PM »
I just ordered the sample for MY NAME IS RED from amazone for my kindle. the reviews said the writing had a jewel like quality. I'm anxious to see.

google tells me about magic squares and how  to construct them here.

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=magaic+square&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

claire
thimk

Babi

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #60 on: December 07, 2009, 07:57:49 AM »
 As much as I admire Tom Hanks, I never felt he fit the lead role from
the DaVinci Code as described by Dan Brown. Sometimes a good actor can take a role and make it their own, but for me that did not happen in this case.
   I've read two Orhan Pamuk books and I would say 'jewel-like quality'
is a fair description.
  You must be a math whiz, CLAIRE.  I look at a project like your magic
square and my eyes glaze over.  I haven't a clue.  ???
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

marjifay

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #61 on: December 07, 2009, 03:15:47 PM »
If they make a movie of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, I hope it's better than the movie they made of Angels and Demons.  I like Tom Hanks usually, but that movie was so boring we walked out after about half an hour.  And I really liked the book.
"Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill."  Barbara Tuchman

winsummm

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #62 on: December 07, 2009, 05:19:39 PM »
like SUDOKO magic squares are about position as well as numbers. I haven't cooled it yet. I'm just intrigued is all. math isn't my thing at all, but I can see things in my head pretty well which works for puzzles.
as for the tomhanks playing the role in the first movie. I know what you mean a taller slimmer  more professorial person would have fit but this one has an older plumper slower dumpier kind of look I think.  so who would have been good in the first one,
thimk

Babi

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #63 on: December 08, 2009, 08:51:16 AM »
 I have no idea, CLAIRE.  When it comes to keeping track of celebrities, I'm not interested enough to even try.  I enjoy talent; I have no interest
in poking into their personal lives.  Maybe that's why half the time I don't remember their names and have to ask my daughter.."where have seem him/her recently.
  Or maybe I just don't keep track of the moderns.  I would have said
perhaps David Niven, but he isn't even with us anymore.

"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

winsummm

  • Posts: 461
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #64 on: December 08, 2009, 02:11:55 PM »
babi I meant the actor for the role of the first book. I don't follow celebraties  personal lives anyway althought the tv is full of them tiger woods currently using it all up in place of hard news.
claire
thimk

Babi

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #65 on: December 09, 2009, 08:59:37 AM »
 I know, CLAIRE.  I wish they would get off that guy's back and go find
someone else to hound. You would think he had been caught in the crime of the century! 
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

mrssherlock

  • Posts: 2007
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #66 on: December 09, 2009, 12:03:19 PM »
Babi:  Funny, that does seem to be the crime of the decade there have been so many whose marriage vows are of the "do as I say, not as I do" variety. 
Jackie
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

Babi

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #67 on: December 10, 2009, 08:18:17 AM »
 Yeah, JACKIE.  I certainly don't condone Mr. Wood's actions, but I  find myself wondering how many of those stoning him could pass the "let him who is without sin" test.
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

mrssherlock

  • Posts: 2007
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #68 on: December 10, 2009, 02:06:16 PM »
babi:  Good point.  It does seem as if the seams of our society are getting more frayed, though. 
Jackie
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

JoanK

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #69 on: December 10, 2009, 03:15:51 PM »
Yes, it's sad. But it's a little repellant to see everybody jumping on him the way they are. I'm afraid a lot of hidden prejudice will come out. As the only African-American at the top of a white, country club sport, I have felt that he always had to bend over backward to be a perfect role model. Now I'm afraid those few who harbour racist feelings will use this against, not just Tiger, but all people of color.

mrssherlock

  • Posts: 2007
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #70 on: December 10, 2009, 04:04:15 PM »
Joan:  What a doofuss I am!  Believe it or not I forgot the race issue entirely in light of the apparent stupidity.  You are right but, in my experience, racists don't need an excuse to be that way though this gives them carte blanche to be vocal about their racism.
Jackie
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

Babi

  • Posts: 6732
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #71 on: December 11, 2009, 08:28:28 AM »
 JOANK, I suspect the very fact that he has been a beloved role model is
one of the factors in the heavy attacks against him now. People feel he
has let them down and they are angry. It's illogical, of course. He is
not responsible for people insisting on putting him on a pedestal. His
sports career has been so spectacular and people do love a hero.  One
of the risks of fame, I suppose.
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

winsummm

  • Posts: 461
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #72 on: December 11, 2009, 02:15:34 PM »
this is a repeat of y post in the mystery discussion for though who like  a good light series but . . .  beware.
Quote
of wendy robertss series featuring sadie novvak who cleans up the sites of unattendeed elderly death scenes. . .whew she is amusing and writes well BUT. . . .¡¡¡      
thimk

mrssherlock

  • Posts: 2007
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #73 on: December 11, 2009, 03:36:10 PM »
In defense of Wendy Roberts' series, Sadie began this work when her brother commited suicide and she undertook the chore of the clean-up to spare her mother.  She then completed the training, got her certification, and has been the only provider of this service for Seattle.  She found that the dead, those who couldn't continue to their final destination, could communicate with her and she has helped solve some crimes as a result.  It is a bit graphic and the majority of her cleaning jobs are crime scenes, though not all.  The character's compassion and dedication are deep and she is an appealling protagonist IMHO.
Jackie
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

pedln

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #74 on: December 11, 2009, 06:07:42 PM »
I’ve mentioned this book in two other sites, and mention it again here because it is a delightful and recommended title.  Baking Cakes in Kigali by 1st time novelist Gaile Parkin.  Parkin was raised in Zambia and worked for two years in Rwanda, the setting of the story.  Angel T, her husband Pius, and their five grandchildren  have come to post-war Kigali from their native Tanzania.  Pius is with the university and Angel has her own cake business.  She says that she is not an ‘educated somebody,’ but she is a ‘professional somebody.’  Her clients, who come from all over Africa and the rest of the world,  come to order cakes, and leave her with their stories, which may be problems, which are usually solvable. A book about survivors, this is a novel with strong elements of community, culture, and language, combined with the issues that are prevalent in Africa, especially in Rwanda. It’s similar to the Alexander McCall Smith books, but perhaps has a little more depth.

mabel1015j

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Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #75 on: December 12, 2009, 12:41:48 AM »
It's possible that most of the women claiming to have been w/ Tiger could be fabricating, it seems people will do almost any thing these days to get some publicity. If they all/or most turn out to be true, it seems to me the poor guy is an addict or at least desperate for something - perhaps searching for the intimacy he had w/ his Dad. But, where was his brain? He must know by now that there are cameras everywhere and someone should have warned him that at least ONE of those women was going to scream "I SLEPT W/ TIGER WOODS!" ............the race issue has to be in there somewhere, as you say.......................jean

winsummm

  • Posts: 461
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #76 on: December 12, 2009, 01:20:23 AM »
that's the trouble with sadie. she is likeable, the work she does is noble.."someone has to do it" and I could identify with her and with the elderly ghosts etc. I read three of those books within a couple of weeks because roberts does engage but I ended up with a major anxiety attack because I could be one of those elderly living alone  unattended corpses. it is one of the reasons I don't have a pet.
a pint of chocolate ice cream helped though. and the lactose pills to accompany it since like many over thirty I am lactose intolerant.
whells i wheels.

claire
thimk

Babi

  • Posts: 6732
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #77 on: December 12, 2009, 08:51:32 AM »
CLAIRE, why  not get one of those medical alert gadgets that you can
'wear at all times and use to alert 911 in an emergency.  It's simply
good common sense for a person who lives alone.  Accidents do happen, and what are the odds of one occurring within reach of a phone?
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

winsummm

  • Posts: 461
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #78 on: December 12, 2009, 01:19:56 PM »
i have had a LIFE ALERT bracelet on for years.  I'm just thinking about the cleanup and my  kids who live far away haing to hire some one to do it like sadie does. most of my art stuff will probably be thrown out all the books things they would want to brouse orver and select from.. at least some of it lives in the garage and ceramics outside in the patios.  I'm practical to the end.  read and learn. . .
thimk

mrssherlock

  • Posts: 2007
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #79 on: December 12, 2009, 08:27:47 PM »
I like to shop at estate sales but I've seen so many which are crammed with things that i've been weeding out my stuff.  I will look at an item and wonder if it is something my heirs will want to keep.  If not, and when it's not part of my usual life, it can go.  My mother and her sister, having lived through the Great Depression, were mildy afflicted hoarding.  When their homes had to be cleaned out there were dozens of rolls of TP, paper towels, and other consumables.  Being thrifty myself I take advantage of sales to ppurchase extras of the household essentials but there won't be as much for someone to have to sort through when I go.  I cleaned out my wardrobe drastically when I retired, got rid of most of my collection of costume jewelry, I've sold or donated most of my books and I rarely buy a new one since I can find most of what I read at the library.  Another help is when I downsized my home; there's just not as much space now.
Jackie
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke