Author Topic: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2 (Read 774922 times)

pedln · « **Reply #3600 on:** August 28, 2012, 10:37:21 AM »

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

Whew, I hope no one spots a book in the maze that he wants to read, and then tries to pull it out. But the maze is a neat idea. Impressive.

Steph, I finished O'Nan's Songs for the Missing not too long ago. It was a difficult book to read, but surprisingly I didn't find it depressing as I have with some titles dealing with tragedy or loss of hope.

Bellemere -- MIchael Lewis -- the Moneyball man. I admire you for tackling the Boomerang. It sounds like a lot to digest, let alone understand. I just finished glancing at some Amazon reviews. Many say it is from articles he has written for Vanity Fair and much is available there online. But no doubt the book ties it together.

Steph · « **Reply #3601 on:** August 29, 2012, 08:50:45 AM »

Ann Fairbarn wrote Five Smooth Stones as I recal..Another book that resonated was Marjorie Morningstar..Everyone had a Noel somewhere in their lives.

MaryPage · « **Reply #3602 on:** September 06, 2012, 10:16:43 AM »

Kate Morton has a brand new book out: The Secret Keeper.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #3603 on:** September 06, 2012, 02:57:23 PM »

I'm almost finished w/ Benton-Franks book Folly Beach. Typical Frank book! Set in SC, of course, about a woman who has long ago stopped loving a strange husband. As the book begins he has committed suicide and she finds he has mortgaged everything they owned. That sounds very gruesome but the book is not dark. It is real and funny and maybe too optimistic......as she returns from NJ to Folly Beach, to live w/ an aunt who raised her and the aunt's partner, she immediately runs into - literally - a very nice male college professor....their story is over-the-top for me. i think the story could have proceeded very nicely if the had remained good friends, Having similar interests, not necessarily becoming lovers.....but the book is enjoyable, nevertheless.

It has a side story of George Gershwin and a couple who lived on Folly Beach who helped GG write Porgy and Bess. That was new info to me and i found it interesting. It is a factor in Cate and college prof's shared interest. Cate, the protagonist, ends up living in a cottage where the GG's collaborators lived.

Jean

Steph · « **Reply #3604 on:** September 07, 2012, 08:33:22 AM »

Someone helping Gershwin.. who was not a notably friendly man.. hmm. Wonder how to check that one out.

jane · « **Reply #3605 on:** September 07, 2012, 09:07:48 AM »

Apparently the Gershwins did collaborate with others...from a quick google and this Library of Congress website:

http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9809/gershwin.html

"that written by George and Ira together, as well as songs composed by George and Ira with other collaborators, and George's concert pieces."

and later in the article apparently a lot of Porgy and Bess material is at the Lib. of Congress:

"...In the course of the next eight years, Leonore Gershwin sustained and expanded her husband's efforts on behalf of the collection and the Library. In 1987 she donated the remainder of the music manuscripts and lyric sheets from their home; on a number of occasions she, too, purchased music manuscripts and correspondence for the collection. Since her death, her very generous bequest has enabled the Library to acquire additional materials, including the files relating to Porgy and Bess from the archives of the Theatre Guild."

It would probably take some digging, but there's probably more info out there on the 'net.

And there's the thought that people could say they collaborated with a great author/composer/whatever and never received their due credit for it. Whether that was true or not could be very hard to both prove and disprove.

jane

mabel1015j · « **Reply #3606 on:** September 07, 2012, 12:56:24 PM »

Frank gave a number of resources at the end of her book to substaniate the general idea of the Heywards collaborating w/ GG.

Here is the frst paragraph of a wiki site on Dubose Heyward

Edwin DuBose Heyward (August 31, 1885 – June 16, 1940)[1][2] was an American author best known for his 1925 novel Porgy. This novel was adapted and produced in 1927 as a play by the same name (which he co-authored with his wife Dorothy) and, in turn, the opera Porgy and Bess (1935) with music by George Gershwin. It was also adapted as a film by the opera's name, released in 1959. Heyward also wrote poetry and other novels and plays, as well as the children's book The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes (1939).

Frank implies that Dorothy did a lot more work than she was credited w/, by her own manipulation of the importance of Dubose.

Jean

Steph · « **Reply #3607 on:** September 08, 2012, 08:27:14 AM »

Ah ha,, you found what I did..And I did remember while reading that I had read about Hayward before. I love Porgy and Bess and must have seen it a dozen times in my life.Some good, some bad and a few absolutely glorious.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #3608 on:** September 15, 2012, 10:55:58 AM »

I have just started reading 'The Secret Life of Bees' - so far I'm really enjoying it, love all the little details of Southern life (though of course have no idea how accurate it is.)

The other book I am supposed to read for the library is 'The 5 People You Meet In Heaven' - and even from reading the back cover, I feel that this is not going to be the book for me - has anyone else read it?

I've also got 3 new books to review, plus a pile of books I've recklessly borrowed from the library - and I have my mother staying all next week, during which reading time will be virtually non-existent. I must be certifiable.

Rosemary

mabel1015j · « **Reply #3609 on:** September 15, 2012, 12:16:11 PM »

Rosemary, join the crowd!

i'm sure we have all felt that way at one time or another, leaving the library w/ far more books than we can possibly read in the time allowed. But what a delicious psychosis!

I've just finished Good Harbor by Anita Diamant who wrote The Red Tent. I didn't read Red Tent, but liked this book very much. Altho when i began it i wasn't sure about reading it just now. My SIL was just diagnosed w/ pancreatic cancer and this book starts w/ a woman's new diagnosis of breast cancer.......... Wasn't sure i wanted to go there, however, it turned out to be as much about two women of different generations becoming friends, as about the breast cancer. Her dialogue is just delightful, i could feel the younger woman's influence on loosening up the older woman. Each woman's individual story centered around their families was quite real also.

Jean

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #3610 on:** September 15, 2012, 12:46:19 PM »

Several years back Jean when we were SeniorNet we read The Red Tent - what an eye opener it was for many of us - it was such a great conversation that the book and what we learned stayed with me for years. In The Red Tent the focus is on women and how two Jewish tribes either revered or controlled women. The story suggests the start of how through history we experience the Patriarchal control of woman. I could see how in another book Anita Diamant would bring out the relationship between women which is a strong feature of this earlier book The Red Tent.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #3611 on:** September 15, 2012, 01:52:19 PM »

I'll have to read Red Tent, Barbara, sounds like something i'd like. Thanks for the summary. I wonder if the Senior Net discussions are available in an archive, i'd like to read what you all had to say. I'll have to look for it.

marjifay · « **Reply #3612 on:** September 15, 2012, 02:03:54 PM »

Thanks, Barbara, for your review of The Red Tent. I'd never thought I'd like this as I'm not one to read bible stories. But your review made it sound interesting, and I've put it on my reading list.

Marj

marjifay · « **Reply #3613 on:** September 15, 2012, 02:22:28 PM »

I'm finally getting around to reading UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand (Seabisuit). Can't put it down. It's a true story of a young man who is drafted in WW2 just as he was about to run in his second Olympics race. He becomes a bombardier and he and his crew crash over the Pacific Ocean. Three survive in a raft and eventually land 2,000 miles from where they crashed, on an island occupied by the Japanese. Very interesting how this man and others are able to overcome the awful obstacles they endured on the raft in the middle of the Pacific and during capture, while others are just the opposite and succumb to depression. Not a "goody-goody" type story, just so interesting. You also get a real taste of what the war was like for those who had to fight it. One of the best stories I've read so far this year.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #3614 on:** September 15, 2012, 04:25:10 PM »

Here is what I have as a link in my old bookmarks - several reading with us and helping to move things along as discussion leaders have passed on and then others never did make the switch from SeniorNet

http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/archives/fiction/RedTent.htm

mabel1015j · « **Reply #3615 on:** September 15, 2012, 08:23:31 PM »

Thank you Barb, i'll enjoy reading that.

Jean

Babi · « **Reply #3616 on:** September 16, 2012, 09:07:18 AM »

ROSEMARY, I read and very much enjoyed "The Secret Life of Bees". I didn't read the
other book, tho' I did see a movie based on it which really didn't make a whole lot of
sense to me. I'll be interested in your take on the book.

Pretty much the same with JEAN. I read "The Red Tent" years ago...I assume it's the
same book...but haven't read "Good Harbor". Did your 'Red Tent" refer to the tent the
women the early Biblical culture retired to during their menses? I could definitely
relate to the idea that the enforced withdrawal was a welcome 'time-off' for most of them.

Steph · « **Reply #3617 on:** September 16, 2012, 09:38:12 AM »

I read Red Tent some years ago, but had not even heard of the other one.. Five things.. not my cup of tea, so I have not read it.
I think somone just mentioned Stewart O'Nan.. Yes, his books sound grim on the surface, but they hold your interest. They are really about survival.. and hanging on.. I loved every single one I have read.

marcie · « **Reply #3618 on:** September 16, 2012, 11:54:13 AM »

I've finished reading "Mr. Pip" by New Zealand author Lloyd Jones. I found the book serendipitously after reading Great Expectations with a group here on SeniorLearn. The book is set during the 1990's civil war on Bougainville Island, the main island of the now autonomous region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea.

It's a wonderful book, told through the eyes of a girl on the island who develops a connection with Charles Dicken's character, Pip, from the last white man on the island, who reads the book, Great Expectations, with the children. The horrors of the civil war are depicted in sections of the book, though it is uplifting, despite the violence. I just found out that there has been a film made of the book this year, which stars Hugh Laurie (of HOUSE fame).

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #3619 on:** September 16, 2012, 01:43:05 PM »

Didn't the mother die protecting her daughter in Mr Pip - or was it Mr. Watts himself - it's been awhile and so I forget the details but it was a good book and the ending knowing Mr. Watts made a huge difference where education was not valued and the girl/student became a successful adult was the kind of ending we wish - I remember it was one of the 5 finalists for the Booker because that was the year I decided to read all 5 finalists - that was the year that The Gathering won the award.

MaryPage · « **Reply #3620 on:** September 16, 2012, 02:26:32 PM »

I adored THE RED TENT. It was one of my all time favorite books, albeit of course I have reached that age where I cannot remember the names of all of my all time favorites. But honestly, this was one.

Years later, when you mention that book, I find I have two ways in which it impacted my knowledge of ancient history. One, of course, was her portrayal of the way the women of the tribe were required to be set aside during their periods. No matter their age, if they were menstruating, they had to live in The Red Tent, with no men nearby to become contaminated by them! Weird, but true! Diamant, of course, wove a lot of imagination into her story, but the basic premise was truly the way things were.

The other was the beautiful Biblical story of Leah and Rachel and how Jacob yearned for Rachel and fulfilled his contract to win her. And how the women he was married to or had as concubines (totally permitted and encouraged back then) got along with one another as a family grouping. And how it was with their children.

Oh, I do think almost every woman alive would love this book.

pedln · « **Reply #3621 on:** September 16, 2012, 02:57:05 PM »

Marcie, I'm delighted to hear that there will be a film version of Mr. Pip. I really liked the book, which was shortlisted for the Booker prize in 2007, and also won the Commonwealth Prize for that year as the best book in Southeast Asia.

Mr. Pip film

The role of the girl is played by a Bougainville teenager, and the role of her mother, actually played by her mother, a doctor in Bougainville.

When I read a book like this it makes me think about how little I know about what goes on in the rest of world, how little aware I am of the suffering of many in other parts of the world. Bougainville -- did I even have a clue to where it was?

I haven't read The Red Tent, but Jean's review of the Good Harbor has promted me to put it on my TBR list. I'm sorry to hear about your SIL, Jean.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #3622 on:** September 16, 2012, 03:07:13 PM »

Interesting the different takes on The Red Tent...

marcie · « **Reply #3623 on:** September 17, 2012, 12:07:06 AM »

pedln, I had a similar reaction to MR PIP. I didn't have a clue about the location or the civil war in that area. It is a very moving book. How interesting that the mother and daughter are played by actual mother and daughter in the film.

Steph · « **Reply #3624 on:** September 17, 2012, 08:49:04 AM »

Mr.Pip is something I have not read, but not sure I will..Dislike stories that include war.. I simply cannot deal with war rationally.

Babi · « **Reply #3625 on:** September 17, 2012, 09:22:15 AM »

Hugh Laurie, a little girl & 'Pip'. That's a move I'll want to see, MARCIE. Unfortunately, a quick check of Netflix reveals
they do not have it. It's a New Zealand film. Maybe Netflix will acquire it later on.

marcie · « **Reply #3626 on:** September 17, 2012, 11:08:16 AM »

Babi, I understand that the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last week (where the audience gave it a standing ovation). I don't think it's been promoted yet in the U.S. I would think that having Hugh Laurie in the film would make it interesting to many in the United States.

Babi · « **Reply #3627 on:** September 18, 2012, 08:21:37 AM »

I agree, MARCIE. I would think there would be a demand for it here, and I'm hoping we'll see it in the States
soon.

Steph · « **Reply #3628 on:** September 18, 2012, 08:22:14 AM »

I suspect that Hugh Laurie will bring in the people, so look for it in the theatres. How come they are showing a really really prejudiced movie about Obama in the regular movies. They are also promoting it on Facebook.. Sigh.. There is way too much money being thrown into this election. We simply must get this unlimited money eliminated somehow. know... that the pols wont do it.They do love money.

pedln · « **Reply #3629 on:** September 18, 2012, 06:12:49 PM »

Steph, I'm reading Watergate by Thomas Mallon, an historical novel about the Watergate breakin. (The list of characters is four pages long.)

Regarding money, I found it interesting to read last night the writer Joseph Alsop telling his second cousin Alice Roosevelt Longworth that he had just written a campaign check for $49 because that was the most an individual could give without identifying himself.

Steph · « **Reply #3630 on:** September 19, 2012, 08:30:41 AM »

I made a solemn vow not to buy one single book written by any of the Watergateprincipals, but this one isnt, so I may look for it. I find it amazing that they were so stupid..
I wish we could go back to contributions being publicized and who gave them.. Might stop this nonsense.. There are way too many rich old men who adore conservative things who are throwing money left and right.

marjifay · « **Reply #3631 on:** September 19, 2012, 11:00:18 AM »

I can't see reading a novel about Watergate when so many interesting nonfiction books have been written about it, and having lived thru' the whole thing. I remember a friend and I were in San Francisco on vacation when we heard that Nixon had resigned. We were so happy we went to our hotel bar to celebrate with a drink, and everyone there was also deliriously drinking to his resignation.

Marj

MaryPage · « **Reply #3632 on:** September 19, 2012, 11:44:44 AM »

It is not fiction, but while we are mentioning propaganda, politics, and so on and on, I am reading a very much NON political book of History that reads like a fascinating novel and every word carefully checked and rechecked and the authors do not have an agenda. The beauty of this book it that it makes me feel GREAT about how well our country works sometimes and optimistic that we can get there once again:

I swear, no propaganda for any faction:

THE PRESIDENT'S CLUB, Inside The World's Most Exclusive Fraternity by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy.

I love it, and I think you will. Sincerely.

maryz · « **Reply #3633 on:** September 19, 2012, 12:50:16 PM »

MaryPage, a group here on SeniorLearn is in the middle of discussing The Presidents' Club this month. It is a terrific book!

bellemere · « **Reply #3634 on:** September 19, 2012, 04:26:19 PM »

I just started Cloud Atlas on my Nook, and I think I have a wild tiger by the tail here. Has anyone read it? I understand it is also a movie , with Tom Hanks and Hugh Grant, my favorite english cad playing a painted cannibal. the first part takes place in the
chatham Islands off New Zealand, so I am getting to know the history of a part of the world terra incognitaa to me. Beautriful writing a, so I am liking it. Bur wondering where he is going to end up.

Babi · « **Reply #3635 on:** September 20, 2012, 08:19:22 AM »

The thoroughly English Hugh Grant playing a painted cannibal? I can't imagine it. I've never heard of "Cloud Atlas",
which is surprising considering the popularity of the stars. Please let us know, BELLE, when you have some idea of
'where it's going'. I'm definitely interested.

Frybabe · « **Reply #3636 on:** September 20, 2012, 08:41:11 AM »

Cloud Atlas, the film, is to be released the end of October. According to Wikipedia, is was shown at the 37th Toronto International Film Festival on September 9 and got a 10 minute standing ovation. Other actors whose names I recognize are Hugo Weaving, Halle Barry, Susan Sarandon, and Keith David. The names Jim Broadbent and Ben Whishaw sound familiar, but I don't know from where.

Ah, found a trailer for the film: http://cloudatlas.warnerbros.com/ At the top you will see menu. Mouse over it and can go to the video clips, etc. I don't know about book, but I definitely want to see the movie. It looks awesome.

Babi · « **Reply #3637 on:** September 20, 2012, 08:47:18 AM »

Thanks, FRYBABE. Me, too!

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #3638 on:** September 20, 2012, 11:16:30 AM »

I could not get the Warner Bros. link to open but I did find this 5 minute trailer on YouTube - yes, it looks like a must see movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWnAqFyaQ5s

Frybabe · « **Reply #3639 on:** September 20, 2012, 11:18:24 AM »

That's great Barb. It is the same extended trailer that is one the movie website.

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Author Topic: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2 (Read 774922 times)