-
The Book Club Online is the oldest book club on the Internet, begun in 1996, open to everyone. We offer cordial discussions of one book a month, 24/7 and enjoy the company of readers from all over the world. Everyone is welcome.
January Book Club Online:
Please Post Below if you are able to join us!
The Boys in the Boat
by Daniel James Brown
(http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/boys/boys.jpg) |
The #1 New York Times–bestselling story about American Olympic triumph in Nazi Germany.
"Out of the depths of the Depression comes an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate account of how nine working-class boys from the American West showed the world at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin what true grit really meant...
The emotional heart of the tale lies with Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not only to regain his shattered self-regard but also to find a real place for himself in the world. Drawing on the boys’ own journals and vivid memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, Brown has created an unforgettable portrait of an era, a celebration of a remarkable achievement, and a chronicle of one extraordinary young man’s personal quest." - Amazon.com
This team of nine young athletes traveled to the Berlin Olympics, an event staged-managed by Hitler and the Nazis, and vanquished the Germans’ hand-picked crew. The book is in its fifth week as the No. 1 best-selling nonfiction paperback in the country, according to The New York Times. (It’s No. 5 on the best-seller list that covers all forms of nonfiction, both print and e-book.)
|
DISCUSSION SCHEDULE:
PROLOGUE, PART ONE..............................JANLUARY l - 7
PART TWO...............................................JANUARY 8 - 14
PART THREE............................................JANUARY 15 - 21
PART FOUR Ch. 13-15...............................JANUARY 22 - 28
PART FOUR Ch. 16-end.............................JANUARY 29 - FEBRUARY 4~
RELEVANT LINKS:
1936 Film of Olympic Rowing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HunZsKugJmY)
Daniel James Brown Website and Information (http://www.danieljamesbrown.com/books/the-boys-in-the-boat/)
Discussion Leaders: Ella (egibbons28@columbus.rr.com ) & JoanK (joankraft13@yahoo.com)
-
I'm very glad ELLA asked me to co-lead this discussion. I was born about the time this book starts, into a depression I was too young to understand but which shaped me because it shaped the way my parents saw the World. So when Ella told me she had read this book and wanted to lead a discussion, I jumped at it. To follow a young man from a working class background trying as my father had to succeed in an elitist area. Maybe I could understand him better.
This is a sports story, but much more. I'm just starting the book, but I've already met intriguing characters from Goebbels to obscure craftsmen working in attics. It's about the depression, the rise of the Nazis, the use of propaganda and of hard backbreaking work.
And rowing.
I love watching sports, but I've never loved watching rowing. It's not much to look at in my view. I think that's because the most interesting things about it are going on in the rowers heads. I've never seen athletes in any sport talk about their sport the way rowers talk about rowing: almost like poetry. Something is going on in there that we don't see, and I'm hoping to get a glimpse of it.
So come and join us. jump in the boat, and let's go, We can have a good time, learn a lot, and give that guy Hitler his come-uppance at the same time.
-
I'VE BEEN OUT OF TOWN, BUT ECHO EVERYTHING JOANK HAS SAID! IT'S A VERY GOOD READ!
Yes, these boys loved rowing, loved their sport, gave it their all, daring to hope that they might make it to Berlin for the 1936 Olympics.
LET US KNOW IF YOU CAN GET A BOOK AND JOIN US IN JANUARY.
-
I have the book
-
Am taking my first year of Latin with Ginny. Would like to be in on this book discussion. Count me in.
Halcyon/Ann
-
OH, THIS IS GREAT!
THANK YOU KIDSAL AND ANN FOR JOINING IN. YOU'LL LOVE THE BOOK.
p.s. Don't start reading the book until January - a month away - if you have the book stick it under the
bed for now so you won't be tempted to read.
-
WELCOME KIDSAL and ANNE. This should be a great discussion.
ANNE: would you like to tell us a little bit about yourself? Are you having any trouble getting the book? (we try to pick books that are available in libraries).
-
What a wonderful choice for a read and a discussion. I've got a reserve on the book, and I will probably buy a copy if I have to wait too long. Sports and historical drama. What a combination. In the last Olympics...wasn't it the Girls in the Boat, who won the Gold? How about this I found among the raves about the book? From the coxwain in the winning shell.
“For years I’ve stared and wondered about the old wooden boat resting on the top rack of the UW (Univ. of Washington) boathouse. I knew the names of the men that rowed it but never really knew who they were. After reading this book, I feel like I got to relive their journey and witness what it was truly like earning a seat in that Pocock shell. The passion and determination showed by Joe and the rest of the boys in the boat are what every rower aspires to. I will never look at that wooden boat the same again.”—Mary Whipple, Olympic gold medal–winning coxswain, women’s eight-oared crew, 2008 and 2012
I'm not sure the book will be safe under my bed. I'd better lock it away somewhere.
-
JONATHAN, good to see you here and you lock that book in a safe place and hide the key. Come on, where is self-discipline? But I know exactly how you feel. This is a winning combination, and...
the 1936 Olympics. Who can ever forget them? JESSE OWENS, that great black American runner. Was it 4 gold medals he won? Something like that. And in doing so, proved that the Aryan race Hitler was attempting to build in Germany was not superior.
The boys in the boat were there, but that is all I am going to tell you! No spoiling the book for others.
-
I'm definitely in. It sounds like a really good read. There is a family of rowers across from me--parents and teenage boy and girl. It's really important to all of them, and maybe I'll get a better idea why.
-
PATH, happy you will be here with us as we learn about these boys and their determination to succeed. I imagine that the family close to you has a goal they want to meet, or possibly, it's just exercise for them.
-
YEAH JONATHAN AND PAT. we're filling up our boat, but there's plenty more room!
-
I'm in. I was hoping to check it out from the library before buying a copy. All I can say is it must be a really good book because the waiting list is huge. I would get it by March maybe. So I will be getting the print version from Amazon.
-
HYSTERIA! Welcome, we're all glad to have you with us and remember do NOT read the book until January - why, you might get pushed out of the book for such unruly behavior.
My library had many holds on the book also. It seems it has become popular through word of mouth. Is it on any bestseller lists that anyone knows of?
-
I promise I will not read the book until January! I am ordering it now though so I won't find it unavailable when January rolls around. ;D
-
Congratulations on your first year choice of Latin with Ginny. I am in my 3rd year and think she is wonderful; such an enriching experience in so many ways beyond the fun of learning Latin
I will try to find the book via the library, it sounds very interesting, the 1930s was an amazing decade and the 1936 Olympics so incredibly important.
Harry10
-
Yes, indeed, HARRY, the decade of the thirties was one of our countries' worst and greatest. The depression caused so much unhappiness, such misery, but it was toward the end of the depression that the 1936 Olympics was held. Hitler wanted to show the world what a great society he had built, and, in truth, he had. He had created jobs, gave people hope, ignored the Versailles treaties in doing so.
Someday we should discuss a book about the Third Reich, but this book is about young American boys working very hard toward a goal that each individual set for himself.
So happy to have you here, will you be a rower or coxswain?
-
WELCOME HYSTERIA. I'm so glad to see you here. I really enjoyed your contributions to THE HOT ZONE.
And WELCOME HARRY. Latin AND more recent history too. What a great combination!
Makes me think: sports were important to the Romans too. And was superiority in sports tied to national identity then, too? (I know it was with the Greeks. Have to ask Ginny) Are sports found in every society? Why do we feel so proud when "our" team wins, when we had nothing to do with it? (Two of "my" teams won last night in two different sports, and I felt good all evening!)
Anyway, Hitler was certainly convinced that his superior athletes would show the world how superior Germans were.
-
There are eight of us. That makes a crew. We need a coxwain. That's the guy who's along for the ride. As you can see from the cover, he has no oar.
I'm just into a book on the Third Reich. Bella Fromm's Blood & Banquets: A Berlin Social Diary. Fromm wrote a social column for a Berlin newspaper in the thirtys, and we met her in Erik Larsen's In the Garden of Beasts. She showed the ambassador's daughter around and introduced her to many important people. She observed Hitler's behavior at the Olympics and has a few things to say about that. In her diary, not in her column Can you imagine the pressure on German athletes contending for the Fuehrer. And the challenge for all the others.
'The manner in which Hitler applauds German winners is an orgasmic frenzy of shrieks, clappings, and contortions, painful proof that the whole idea of Olympic games is far too broad for his single-track mind. This is his show, and his Germans are supermen. That the whole world must admit. He has said some remarkable things.' (p225)
-
The coxswain does nothing? That sounds like my job. Oh, wait: I have to be able to count! ;)
Actually, the coxswain's job sounds IMPOSSIBLE! They time the strokes to the 10th of a second!?! And make changes in stroke rate of 10th of a second?!?
Who can do that? Have any of you?
-
I just put a hold on the Kindle version of this book at my library. I'm sixth in line so I think I'll have it in time.
Nancy
-
I would be #171 in line at my library, although waiting for one of 45 copies. That doesn't give me much chance of getting it in time, so I'll buy it.
-
WELCOME NANCY Perhaps the Kindle edition of the book is easier to obtain? I know little - nothing - about the Kindle, although Santa may be putting one under the tree. My eyesight is not what it was or should be or I would like it to be, OH, WHAT THE _______ (says Archie, the cockroach, remember him?)
-
I'm pretty sure you can chose from several sizes of print on the Kindle. I know I had to change the page color from stark white to a light beige color. The factory setting almost blinded me! That is the beauty of the Kindle. You can customize it.
-
I not only remember Archy, I used him in one of our word guessing games a few days ago, and Frybabe remembered him too.
-
Ella, yes the Kindle type size can be increased. My partner bought one and kept it on "large" font. The only problem with getting the Kindle version from my library is that I can have it for only 21 days. So, if our discussion goes beyond that I'll have to get in line again. If you're going to buy the Kindle version, it is usually cheaper than buying the book.
Nancy
-
WELCOME NANCY! I'm glad to see another kindle user.The kindle version is only $2.99 and you can get it from the Amazon add on this page. (I thought I paid more for it, but that's what I just saw). So jump on the boat. Would you like to be coxswain?
ELLA: if Santa does bring you a kindle for Christmas, I recommend spending some time with the users manual that comes with it. Not the most thrilling reading, but it does tell you how to do all the things you want to do to adjust it to you, like changing the type size and background color. And how to organize the books by subject, something I always wanted to do, but never had the stamina to do with my book-books.
I'm relieved to know you can change the background color on the new ones. My "Old" one is set to a soothing nice light gray, and I was afraid if it ever gave up the ghost, I'd be stuck with the blinding white of my grandkids'
-
Thanks for the advice on the Kindle, folks! I hope I can get used to the feel of it after holding books in my hand since I was a wee one.
If you have never been introduced to Archy and Mehitabel, here is a treat - published about the same time as our boys were learning to row:
http://donmarquis.com/archy-and-mehitabel
-
I put it on hold at my library (I'm first on the hold list) - not because I 'm interesting in rowing or the Olympics, but because it is recommended at Amazon for those who liked Unbroken, which was one of my favorite reads last year where Louie Zamperini raced in that Olympics (He died this year at age 97, I was sorry to learn)
Marj
-
MARJ: WELCOME! We may find out we like rowing better than we thought we did.
-
Of course we will. Rowing is what dreams are made of. Everybody growing up in the thirtys learned to sing 'Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, life is but a dream. With an all out effort comes gold and glory.
-
Greetings,
Had no trouble getting the book. Ordered from Amazon and it was here in two days. Was all set to start reading when I read Ella's post about not starting until January! As I said in my first post I'm taking year one of Ginny's Latin class. Had studied Latin years ago and have always wanted to continue. I live in snowy Central New York with my husband and a 100 pound yellow lab named Grover Cleveland of Mugwump who gives me fits;this week he swallowed a sock and ate a square foot out of a quilt! I love reading myseries especially series. Currently I'm finishing the Joe Gunther series which takes place in Vermont. Can't wait to start The Boys in the Boat.
Ann
-
I have requested the book at the library, there are 6 holds on it, but they have 2 book copies and an audio copy.
Jean
-
JONATHAN, there is a lot of meaning in that little song - as we "row" our way through life, shall it be a dream or a nightmare or do we have a choice? That's another discussion, isn't it?
ANN, a New Yorker, love you! And snowy, oh yeah, I live in Ohio and it gets cold and snowy here, too. But must you walk that big dog every day? And what kind of diet do you have the poor dog on that he is so hungry he must eat "socks and quilts?" hahahahahhaaa When I was much, much younger with a house and children I, too, had dogs who preferred that diet. At one time, we had grandma, (Snoopy), daughter (Missy) and granddaughter dog (peppy) all living in our house. The kids weren't too creative with names.
-
Hi, MABEL, good you will be here.
I will be posting a schedule of discussion soon in the heading. It is to keep the group all together in one section of the book so we will not be rambling. But, of course, ramblings about the history of the era and rowing and issues of that nature are always welcome.
I have no idea of the age of any of you, but I can tell you I remember FDR. And the radio, his addresses, the soap operas while I did my chores. When I was very small I thought FDR was my grandfather and when I grew a bit older and he died, I thought the country would never survive.
-
PEARL HARBOR DAY, lest we forget.
-
Hi Ella
Interesting you say that about FDR. I felt the same about Ike when I was little. Beautiful sunny day here in Central New York. All the snow has melted. Just waiting for the next round. Great day to walk that big quilt eating dog of mine!
Ann
-
JEAN: WELCOME WELCOME!
HALCYON: do come into our mystery discussion and tell us about the John Gunther series. we're always looking for good mystery series.
http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=807.msg240919#new
-
Marj: you mentioned the Olympic runner Louie Zamperini and the book about him: "Unbroken." I had forgotten til my daughter reminded me today that he was born in Torrance California where I live. The little airfield near bye (whose low-flying planes drive me crazy) was named for him. My daughter saw him when he led a parade here a few years ago.
The book is being made into a movie.
-
WELCOME NANCY! I'm glad to see another kindle user.The kindle version is only $2.99 and you can get it from the Amazon add on this page. (I thought I paid more for it, but that's what I just saw). So jump on the boat. Would you like to be coxswain?
ELLA: if Santa does bring you a kindle for Christmas, I recommend spending some time with the users manual that comes with it. Not the most thrilling reading, but it does tell you how to do all the things you want to do to adjust it to you, like changing the type size and background color. And how to organize the books by subject, something I always wanted to do, but never had the stamina to do with my book-books.
I'm relieved to know you can change the background color on the new ones. My "Old" one is set to a soothing nice light gray, and I was afraid if it ever gave up the ghost, I'd be stuck with the blinding white of my grandkids'
Joan, if the library doesn't come up with the book before January, I'll order it from Amazon. And, thank you for offering to let me be the coxswain, but I reluctantly decline. ;)
-
The Book Club Online is the oldest book club on the Internet, begun in 1996, open to everyone. We offer cordial discussions of one book a month, 24/7 and enjoy the company of readers from all over the world. Everyone is welcome.
January Book Club Online:
Please Post Below if you are able to join us!
The Boys in the Boat
by Daniel James Brown
(http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/boys/boys.jpg) |
The #1 New York Times–bestselling story about American Olympic triumph in Nazi Germany.
"Out of the depths of the Depression comes an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate account of how nine working-class boys from the American West showed the world at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin what true grit really meant...
The emotional heart of the tale lies with Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not only to regain his shattered self-regard but also to find a real place for himself in the world. Drawing on the boys’ own journals and vivid memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, Brown has created an unforgettable portrait of an era, a celebration of a remarkable achievement, and a chronicle of one extraordinary young man’s personal quest." - Amazon.com
This team of nine young athletes traveled to the Berlin Olympics, an event staged-managed by Hitler and the Nazis, and vanquished the Germans’ hand-picked crew. The book is in its fifth week as the No. 1 best-selling nonfiction paperback in the country, according to The New York Times. (It’s No. 5 on the best-seller list that covers all forms of nonfiction, both print and e-book.)
|
DISCUSSION SCHEDULE:
PROLOGUE, PART ONE..............................JANUARY l - 7
PART TWO...............................................JANUARY 8 - 14
PART THREE............................................JANUARY 15 - 21
PART FOUR Ch. 13-15...............................JANUARY 22 - 28
PART FOUR Ch. 16-end.............................JANUARY 29 - FEBRUARY 4~
RELEVANT LINKS:
1936 Film of Olympic Rowing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HunZsKugJmY)
Daniel James Brown Website and Information (http://www.danieljamesbrown.com/books/the-boys-in-the-boat/)
Discussion Leaders: Ella (egibbons28@columbus.rr.com ) & JoanK (joankraft13@yahoo.com)
_____________________________________________________________
WHAT? NO COXSWAIN YET!
WEll, I NOMINATE HARRY - THE QUIET ONE, THE THINKER, HE'S BUSY PLANNING OUR SPEED, STRATEGY, ETC.!!!
YOO-HOO, HARRY
-
This sounds interesting.
-
Oh, it lis, JEAN, the book is so interesting. Do join us as we learn all about rowing and meet some great young men. What an adventure. Hope to see you by the lake.
-
Hi, JEAN. Jump in the boat.
Once you're interested in anything, you see traces of it everywhere. I like to watch the soppy Christmas movies broadcast on TV this time of year. I looked at one last night, involving a rich family. Someone was introduced to the son, and told that he had gone to Harvard. Instead of asking, as I would have done, "what did you major in?", the person asked "Did you crew?" (i.e. were you on the rowing team?)
That reminded me of what a friend who went to Princeton told me. We middle class families send our kids to Ivy League schools, if we can, to get a good education in their chosen field. Not so the rich. They send their kids there to meet all the "right people" (i.e. sons of other rich people) and form a useful network for later. This involves joining all the "right" activities. Apparently, rowing is one of those.
We'll see what happens when working class kids try to row, and outsider schools try to compete with the "Ivies."
-
Ella, it was our teacher in the third grade who taught us the little rowing song. But not for the wisdom. I believe it was meant to wake us up when we began to look a bit droopy and bored. It was a little trick of hers to wake us up. We all enjoyed it, without ever wondering about the wisdom we were acquiring. The row of desks at the window would start with 'row, row, row your boat, and after getting launched, the second row would begin. After that the third row would begin plying their oars. By the time the fifth row was rowing with a splash the first was finding life a dream...in a classroom of all places! Not until now did I ever thing of the teacher as a coxswain.
I have my book, and it's all I can do to keep myself from getting into it. But I've solved the problem by starting another which should keep me occupied while waiting for New Years. I'm going to try hiking the Pacific Crest Trail with Cheryl Strayed. Has anyone read her book. WILD? I believe the movie has just come out. What a wild subtitle! From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. It starts wih her stopping for a break, taking of her boots, to have one of them fall off and out of reach farther down the mountain. In despair or disgust she throws the second boot to follow the first. What a prologue!
-
Oh my, JONATHAN. You have me hooked.
-
I can't resist it, JoanK. The Ivy Leaguers and the Uppers in England chose not to row with the working class. (The latter, being generally more muscular, had an unfair advantage.)
-
;D
-
I downloaded the book on my iPad. Now to keep myself from starting it too soon. That's a problem with me in this type of forum. Once I start the book I want to finish and then lose interest. I'll try harder this time. ;)
-
Yes, I understand that JEAN. That is why we ask people not to start the book - we have a schedule which we will post soon, but DO NOT START THE BOOK UNTIL THE FIRST OF JANUARY.
You just miss the whole discussion which is half of the fun - if not, all of the fun of reading the book. It adds so much.
HIDE THE BOOK, HAVE YOUR NEIGHBOR KEEP IT FOR YOU, DRASTIC MEASURES MUST BE TAKEN! hahah
-
http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/fivering_circus/2012/07/_1936_olympics_rowing_the_greatest_underdog_nazi_defeating_american_olympic_victory_you_ve_never_heard_of_.html
I am in.
-
WELCOME BLUEBIRD! So glad you can join us.
That's a great article, but a bit of a spoiler (yes, we can guess how the race turned out, but there's a lot of suspense on the way. Let's wait and see how it unfolds). So let's save it for the end of the book.
-
WOW!! What a happy ending. I'll be looking forward to reliving the moment, in the book. I'm sure getting there will be a lot of fun. Our book is the answer to the remark:
"For seventy-five years the feats of the Washington crew have largely been forgotten."
And then, this amazing report, of the awards presentation:
"As the Star-Spangled Banner played, the crowd gave the Nazi salute to the American victors."
That salute has taken on a new meaning for me. But it must have caused many sleepless nights for many Germans, who were left wondering if they had been caught on Riefenstahl's films.
-
JONATHAN! You are not reading ahead - certainly not! We will be discussing that film in the book. Now hide your book, we just have a couple of weeks. We will post the schedule this weekend sometime and then a few days before Jan. lst you can read what is scheduled.
That's a good picture of the boys,BLUEBIRD! We are happy you are joining us. Our boat is fillling up nicely, hahaha Look at the muscles on those young men.
As JOANK said, we'll have a lot of fun starting at the beginning to read how it all got started.
Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream - JONATHAN, my sisters and I used to sing that song and my children sang it on driving trips. That one and 99 bottles of beer on the shelf. MERCY, how tiring those trips were, would I do it all over again. You betcha!
-
JoanK, don't forget JohnJacobJingleheimerSchmidt, that's my name too.
I've downloaded Boys, but promise not to start until January. And since I"m committed to finishing Goldfinch by FEb. 1 that should keep me on the straight and narrow.
The German documentaries are on my Netflix queue -- are they for the beginning or the end, Ella?
Every time I come here I keep thinking of the Winkelvoss twins. Weren't they big rowers -- the ones who said they were cheated by Mark Zukerberg?
My DC daughter-in-law tells me that her book club will read Boys in the Boat in February.
-
Pedln, I hadn't thought of JohnJacobJingleheimer for years, and now I've been humming it all afternoon.
-
The discussion schedule is now in the heading. Can we tear ourselves away from football and hangovers on January first to start rowing? We'll see.
-
Happy Hannukah to all who celebrate this happy event.
-
HAPPY HANNUKAH!
-
Jonathan, as you may have noticed in the Open House, you are one of two winners in our Holiday Open House Raffle! Congratulations!
Your email is bouncing, could you please email me so I can give you the details?
-
hi, ginny What a nice surprise. I'm going to enjoy the happy feeling for the time being. I have no active email at the moment. Something must be done about it.
-
Well many congratulations! When you get email you can email me either your address to which I can send a B&N gift card for use in any B&N store, or I can send the prize via email to you, via Amazon.ca.
-
HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!
Keep those books out of sight for another week and then you can read the Prologue and Part One in anticipation of our discussion!
We put the Schedule of Discussion up rather early because we DLs (Discussion Leaders) wanted to get our work done early before the holidays.
But you were not to start reading!!! No, No. You will forget everything or have to go back and read the varying parts all over again.
-
History in the movies. UNBROKEN, is to be shown soon and it's hero was a runner in the Berlin 1936 Olympics if I'm not mistaken. It was a good book and I do want to see the movie.
And again, history in the movies, sort of. FOXCATCHER - The Dupont family. They brought black powder, dynamite to America in the early 1800's. We toured their historic site along the Brandywine Creek back in the 90's about the time the one brother was found guilty of murder. The historic site is well worth seeing, explosions were a fear, they did happen, but they took precautions; even the horses wore padded boots to prevent sparks on the cobblestone streets.
And now, I understand, our BOYS IN THE BOAT, is to be a movie.
Movies, I think it is grand when the focus is on history. However, first comes the books, and then the movies, so let's hope they keep getting written. Laura Hillenbrand seems to write one every 10-15 years
-
Oh, that's great. We'll be able to compare the book and movie. (I usually hate the movies that are made from books I've read: they never look the way I've imagined things).
-
Today my youngest granddaughter and I were at one of my favorite Seattle bookstores -- Third Place Books -- and the place was hopping. I saw a woman carrying Boys in the Boat and just couldn't resist telling her that SeniorLearn was going to read it in January. She told me how much she had enjoyed, and said what some others here have said -- that it reads much like a novel.
Ella, I like the films based on history, too, and also the biographical ones. I'm looking forward to the one about Stephen Hawking -- The theory of Everything, andThe Imitation Game, about Alan Turig, as well as Unbroken.
-
JoanK....I agree about movies made from books. The only one that ever met my expectations was Gone With the Wind. Rhett Butler was just as I'd imagined. Of course I think I was only 14 when I saw the movie! Happy Holidays everyone.
-
I just came home from seeing the movie, Unbroken about Louie Zamperini an Italian/American Olympian of 1936. I loved the movie. Although, I must say it broke my heart. We are going to see The Imitation Game with friends on New Year's Eve. I prefer reading and seeing nonfiction movies. I am finding fiction a bit boring. Does anyone else feel like this?
The Boys in the Boat, sounds interesting, so I would love to join you all in the discussion. I just downloaded the ibook from my library.
Saw previews of 50 Shades of Grey that is coming out in Feb. I read book one, and half of book two of the three books, and was not impressed. My daughter in law read all three and shared the ending with me. I suspect they will have to clean the movie up incredibly in order to keep it from being rated porn.
-
WELCOME WELCOME, BELLA! Jump onboard the boat. We row on January 1st. (Is that the right expression? We set sail isn't right for rowing).
If your too hung over on the first, will still be here on the second).
-
Good to have you, Bella. The book UNBROKEN is wonderful to read, the author wrote SEABISCUIT some years ago which also was wonderful. I agree about nonfiction.
-
Please join our new discussion of this book at http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=4551.0