Author Topic: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #1 (Read 154042 times)

mrssherlock · « **Reply #440 on:** March 23, 2009, 01:58:58 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

Being hard to fit, having children who were hard to fit, shoes always were a major investment, and finding a shop that carried more that the most popular sizes was worth celebrating. Children's feet always outgrew shoes at the most inconvenient times! My MIL gave us a puppy and the puppy chewed thru the back of my six-year-old daughter's brand new shoes! Happily MIL found someone who dearly loved that puppy cause I surely didn't.

Steph · « **Reply #441 on:** March 24, 2009, 04:34:09 PM »

My Mother was very very short..She wore a size 3 and could only wear samples. Our little local shoe store got whatever she wanted from the salesmen. She wore heels until she was maybe 60 and hated giving them up.
I have a granddaughter who wears a size 9 and is 13. Her mother and I are concerned ab out just how big they plan on getting.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #442 on:** March 24, 2009, 07:35:29 PM »

My aunt was around 5' even and she wore size 10's! I've always been self-conscious about my feet because mine grew to be bigger than my mother's. It is a teen thing, maybe, to stress on foot size. Teens must wear what every one else is wearing and if one has feet which are hard to fit that can be disastrous.

Steph · « **Reply #443 on:** March 25, 2009, 10:03:16 AM »

Yes, I thought my feet were big as a teen.. Size 5.. but they were huge compared to Mom.. Teens are so very uncertain about themselves. I think to some extent that is why the Twilight series is so very popular with young teens. It is Romeo and Juliet for the modern day child. All romance and sacrifice.. Young teens love that sort of stuff. Very dangerous stuff to some extent.

Judy Laird · « **Reply #444 on:** March 25, 2009, 03:41:17 PM »

I read the book Last Night at the Lobster and I really didn't get it.
Different strokes I guess.
Had a Elizabeth Lowell book called Wrong Hostage already read it/
Read Dry Ice by Stephen White and it was O.K.
I seem to be in a dry spot, time for some May Sarton I guess.
Today is Gloria Steinham's birthday and she is 75.

YOU CANNOT OPEN A BOOK WITHOUT LEARNING SOMETHING

Steph · « **Reply #445 on:** March 26, 2009, 08:55:54 AM »

I loved Last Night at the Lobster, but then we lived in New England for 10 years and were involved in the retail business for almost 40.. It is typical of the era and the place.. Judy,, have you ever read John Strahle.. He is an Alaskan mystery writer. I adore him and try to find him wherever we go. I think his books all take place in Sitka..I know they are all in Alaska..

Gumtree · « **Reply #446 on:** March 26, 2009, 10:29:48 AM »

Quote from: Judy Laird on March 25, 2009, 03:41:17 PM

YOU CANNOT OPEN A BOOK WITHOUT LEARNING SOMETHING

Judy: Yes, I agree, even though what one learns may not be what one expects. Even bad books can teach us something....Doris Lessing had this to say about literature - sorry but I've lost the reference - probably from The Grass is Singing or The Golden Notebook:

A BAD book cannot tell you about people - only about the author.
A BAD book doesn't know much of love, hate, death etc.
A BAD book can tell a good deal about a certain time or place, about history, facts, mores, customs.

A GOOD book provides complex news about the world
A GOOD book refines knowledge of your fellow human beings
A GOOD book tells about societies, countries, classes, ways of living

seems there's lots to go on with in those few statements.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #447 on:** March 26, 2009, 01:14:39 PM »

Last Night at the Lobster destroyed any of the mystique about restaurants which had survived Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. The author has a knack for bringing the reader into the story since the narrator so easily becomes al alter ego of the reader. This is one book I'll remember.

CallieOK · « **Reply #448 on:** March 26, 2009, 02:20:02 PM »

I was under-impressed with "Last Night At The Lobster". Although I understood what the author was trying to portray, I just couldn't relate.

Judy Laird · « **Reply #449 on:** March 26, 2009, 05:04:38 PM »

Now about kids shoes-----when my kids were little they had to Have Stride Right Shoes, remember the floroascope or whatever it was that the kids had to stand on and the metal thingy that you stood up on so they could see how long their feet were and how wide? Now they throw a pair of tennis shoes that lite up on the bottom, who cares if they fit or not. Also when they started to walk we had to go and get the white high leather shoes to support their ankles. They were expensive to and they had to have salt weather sandles to go to the beach.
I was at my book store today and the lady had put aside something for me that she thought I would enjoy. Its called The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. I am anxious to start it becauses she usually picks winners.

BEFORE YOU EMBARK ON A JOURNEY OF REVENGE, DIG TWO GRAVES.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #450 on:** March 26, 2009, 09:53:42 PM »

I think it was my cousin who recommended this book: A Place to Call Home by Deborah Smith. I really enjoyed this book. As the title suggests it is about what home really is. A large clan of Irish-Americans have settled in a small town just outside Atlanta. In fact they founded the town. Their lives touch on all ltiers of their small town, from the poorest white trash to the state legislature.. A nice sense of place and memorable characters inhabit a story that is never predictable.

Babi · « **Reply #451 on:** March 27, 2009, 09:07:51 AM »

I remember those gadgets, JUDY. I was greatly impressed by the whole thing. I don't know why the shoe sellers stopped using them.

I read Satterfield's "The Thirteenth Tale" with mixed reactions. I think I simply could not relate to the central character. Let me know what you think of it.

jane · « **Reply #452 on:** March 27, 2009, 11:34:59 AM »

Who is the latest "new & great novelist" to appear in publishing? Are there any new "first novels" that are truly worth reading that aren't the same old topics?

jane

ALF43 · « **Reply #453 on:** March 27, 2009, 12:15:56 PM »

Jane- I've got one! What about the fellow that just wrote The Edgar Sawtelle story. Wasn't that written by a first timer?

Quote

Are there any new "first novels" that are truly worth reading that aren't the same old topics?

Edgar Sawtelle was surely NOT the same old topic.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #454 on:** March 27, 2009, 12:23:39 PM »

Judy - just about the time my son was getting into shoes - 30 yrs ago - the report was out that sneakers or bare feet were better for kids feet than the hard white shoes, the muscles in their feet got a better exercise w/ flexible shoes. And, those foot x-rays were giving us much bigger amts of radiation than any of us needed. I haven't heard of anyone who was acctually harmed by them, but obviously we didn't need that much radiation. I'm sure they could come up w/ something similar these days that are much safer..................jean

Steph · « **Reply #455 on:** March 27, 2009, 04:31:34 PM »

I read the same reports on the little machine. Oh how I loved watching my lighted up foot. My boys are 44 and 46, so they had high tops, no shoes at all until they walked and then good sturdy high tops for a few years. No sneakers except for gym until high school.. Ah well, who knows what works best.
I agree that too much radiation is bad. I get tired of my dentist, who adores the all around xrays and constantly pushes them for us. They cost over 100.00 and serve no useful purpose, but he loves them. But then our current dentist loves money.. I wouldnt go, but I like the hygenist.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #456 on:** March 27, 2009, 05:09:59 PM »

My pediatrician was ahead of his time. My children, born in 57 and 60, both wore soft shoes. Never had those stiff high-tops. My MIL had one child, adopted my husband at birth, and knew in her bones the best and only way to raise a child. She personally molded his head when he was an infant else he grow up with that odd shape babies get when they are born. Oh, and, the time to get pregnant is when having your period, just like dogs!

Babi · « **Reply #457 on:** March 28, 2009, 10:12:03 AM »

ALF, I am about to reveal my woeful ignorance once again. Who is Edgar Sawtelle?

STEPH, I once had a dentist who found a tiny blip on the corner of a tooth
and persuaded me to go ahead and let him remove it before it got bigger. It
took him about 5 minutes. I then got charged for 'three surfaces' because it
was on a corner! Needless to say, they never saw my face,...or my teeth...again.

JACKIE, all I can say is 'Ewww'.

Steph · « **Reply #458 on:** March 28, 2009, 10:36:43 AM »

My mother in laws favorite game was... my sons never ever fought. They always share and never ever disagreed. This was usually when I was prying my two who are 25 months apart from some toy or another.. Mine fought fair,,and the younger always let the older win which used to drive me nuts. The younger was by far the bigger, stronger, etc. He just adored and stil does his older brother. I asked my husband one time and he said that of course he and his brother fought, but that his brother was always sent to private school and he always attende public school, so they never played together much.
Then when you took Mom out, she always wanted whatever someone else had.. She would constantly stab at your plate with her fork. Never ordered dessert, but ended up eating everyone elses. One time when the boys were adults, my older son ordered exactly the same thing Mom did, and she still stole from his plate. He said.. Nana, its the same thing and she went,,, no yours is much bigger and better.Sigh.

ALF43 · « **Reply #459 on:** March 28, 2009, 12:10:12 PM »

bABI, THAT IS so NOT TRUE of you. I loved this story and have passed my book all around. If you would like, when my friend is finished with it, i will mail it to you.
Synopsis

Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life on his family's farm in remote northern Wisconsin where they raise and train an extraordinary breed of dog. But when tragedy strikes, Edgar is forced to flee into the vast neighboring wilderness, accompanied by only three yearling pups. Struggling for survival, Edgar comes of age in the wild, and must face the choice of leaving forever or revealing the terrible truth behind what has happened. A riveting family saga as well as a brilliant exploration of the limits of language, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is destined to become a modern classic.

ALF43 · « **Reply #460 on:** March 28, 2009, 12:18:07 PM »

Does anyone else have other answer to Jane's question?
This is a fiction site so I am going to babble about what I'm reading. I just finished with Toni Morrison's A Mercy. I didn't care for it too much. It'sin regards to the issue of slavery and abondonement but I found it very slow.

Has anyone read Netherland?It's by Joseph O'Neillabout NY City after 911. It's a storyof a man whose marriage is foundering and the friendship he makes with another gentleman. The blurb says it's about the complicated rlationship between the American dream and the particular dreamers. It's different.

What's everyone else reading? Are any of you going to join us in Three Cups of Tea, even though it is not a work of fiction? How about our selection for June, The Night Villa? We are going to have the author with us for that one?

Gumtree · « **Reply #461 on:** March 29, 2009, 12:33:24 AM »

I picked up Night Villa at the bookshop a couple of days ago and will save it for the discussion in June.
I've just started reading Elizabeth and her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim which we all discovered when reading the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - I read a little of Eliz's garden book online and was so captivated that I just had to get it.
Finally settled down and read Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale which has been on my 'to read' pile since 2007. I need to go back and re-read to find some of the clues I missed - when I do that I will read the discussion which is in the Archives here.

Babi · « **Reply #462 on:** March 29, 2009, 09:26:29 AM »

ALF, thank you for the offer. I did a quick check, tho', and my library does have it. I'll put it on my list, and check it out after I have read "Elegance of the Hedgehog". That discussion is only two days away, and I am hoping my daughter Sally will be bringing me that book today.

Steph · « **Reply #463 on:** March 29, 2009, 09:43:11 AM »

Need to check outDiane Setterfield. Not an author I know about.. I am reading or starting to read the Hedgehog. ,the latest Mott Davidson book in paper, and an old mystery about a strange part of Texas a and a woman named Texarkana.. Very odd and old mystery

Judy Laird · « **Reply #464 on:** March 29, 2009, 01:37:28 PM »

I read the 13th Tale and it was the most amazing book. I know nothing about gothic novels or anything of that nature. The 1st over half of the book I couldn't put down. It is nothing I would have ever picked out myself but I am grateful to the lady at my book store for putting it aside because she thought I would like it.

Steph · « **Reply #465 on:** March 30, 2009, 12:40:35 PM »

I have Night iVilla coming from my swap club.. Hooray.. Pc is fixed,,Supposed to be back to fast, but it is fast, but the mouse is having a problem.. Ho hum.. computers are such fun some days.

Judy Laird · « **Reply #466 on:** March 30, 2009, 02:42:09 PM »

Steph I would love to hear your opinion of the 13th Tale if you are going to read it.

Steph · « **Reply #467 on:** March 31, 2009, 08:21:56 AM »

Judy, I have it on my list, but am looking for it. I always check the swap club and various used book stores before I break down and pay retail..
I am still reading Diane Mott Davidson and an old Thomas Perry.. and of course starting on the Hedgehog, which I am not quite sure that I like at this point.

Babi · « **Reply #468 on:** March 31, 2009, 08:33:12 AM »

I don't have the "Hedgehog" yet. My daughter placed it on the waiting list for me at her branch library. She says they have 9 copies, and she is eighth on the list, so hopefully it won't be too long.

Steph · « **Reply #469 on:** April 01, 2009, 07:46:34 AM »

I read the review on Amazon. The Thirteenth Tale is a ghost story?? I was puzzled since the descripton sounded more like a mystery.
The Hedgehog and I are fighting.. I think I am being put off a bit by the need for hidden meanings.

Gumtree · « **Reply #470 on:** April 01, 2009, 09:34:16 AM »

Steph - I've just read The Thirteenth Tale - it's a mystery - a ghost story - something of a gothic novel - and never quite what I was expecting. Setterfield sprinkles lots of literary allusions around which is fun. I plan to go back and re-read again so I can find the clues I missed - Generally I don't read much mystery - I can't say I enjoyed it particularly and only read it because it had been discussed with this group a couple of years ago. The discussion is in the Archives here but I haven't read that yet - will do so when I re-read.

Please don't give up on the Hedgehog - it improves as one goes along - the discussion should be very thought provoking and worthwhile - aren't they all ?

Babi · « **Reply #471 on:** April 01, 2009, 09:46:16 AM »

"I can't say I enjoyed it particularly and only read it because it had been discussed with this group...."

I was glad to read your remarks, GUM, because that was pretty much my reaction to "The Thirteenth Tale". For whatever reason, I simply didn't much enjoy it.

Judy Laird · « **Reply #472 on:** April 01, 2009, 04:31:04 PM »

We are now looking at a senior retirement place about a mile from us. This is not a rest home its senior living and you have your own apartment. They have at least 4 or 5 actavities every day. They go out to lunch take trips go to the Casino's. They exercise to W11. They have cards and bingo. The resturant is lovely. Theres a salon , a pool, hydro pool, pool tables, a library I could go on forever. This is not for sick people just for people who want to be able to relax and not have to deal with a house. We have put down a small dep and with that are allowed full run of the place and all their actatives. We just don't sleep there. There is not limit in the time we have to make up our minds and if we decide not to move there, our money is refunded immediatley.[/color]

mabel1015j · « **Reply #473 on:** April 01, 2009, 04:47:09 PM »

wow Judy, that's sounds ideal...............can i come visit?..........jean

maryz · « **Reply #474 on:** April 01, 2009, 05:06:51 PM »

Sounds great, Judy. I'd go in a heartbeat, but John says he's not ready to leave the house yet.

Judy Laird · « **Reply #475 on:** April 01, 2009, 10:27:35 PM »

Mary thats the reason I am not down there yet. Don says he's not ready to go yet. He's the one who would benefit most from the place but he's a man there's no way to figure them out.

Actually its the best of 2 worlds right now.

If and when the time come's that I lose my driver's lysince I will be down there the next day, Don or not.

maryz · « **Reply #476 on:** April 01, 2009, 10:56:48 PM »

I hear you, Judy! John and I have laughed about it - I've asked the rhetorical question - How long would I stay in this house if something happened to John? And the answer is usually "about 3 weeks".

Steph · « **Reply #477 on:** April 02, 2009, 07:45:09 AM »

I love the idea of a senior apartment living, but I have two dogs and would not give them up for anything. There are a few places that allow dogs.. Generally when they are townhouse types.. The ones I am the most interested in are on the campus of universities. They look as if they have so much fun.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #478 on:** April 02, 2009, 12:09:18 PM »

One solution to living with old age and its limitations is illustrated in the Joe Grey mystery series. Several older women combine their resources and establish a group home. Pooling their talents they can cover most of the tasks a homeowner needs and there is an infinite number of choices for all. In such a household pets would not be an issue. Imagine not having to cook unless you want to. Being able to close your door and not having to justify your desire for solitude. When a fit of housecleaning overtakes you there would always be duties to satisfy you without having to take on the responsibility for the whole deal. Some friends and I talked about such a fantasy but she got cancer, I moved away and my kids moved back in with me. Sigh.

Judy Laird · « **Reply #479 on:** April 02, 2009, 01:14:22 PM »

Steph we can take the dogs. When I go in the afternoon I take Emma and you would think the queen had come to call. Its great fun.

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Author Topic: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #1 (Read 154042 times)