Author Topic: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2 (Read 774992 times)

Steph · « **Reply #4320 on:** January 25, 2013, 06:22:07 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

Most of the time when using the plane, I am going overseas, so Southwest is not an option. Going north from here, I tend to take the train,, a favorite of mine.

maryz · « **Reply #4321 on:** January 25, 2013, 06:37:34 AM »

I love train trips, too, Steph - haven't been on one in the US since I was a kid.

Babi · « **Reply #4322 on:** January 25, 2013, 09:09:59 AM »

I can still get nostalgic when I remember the trains. I rarely see them, but the sound of
train whistle is one of the most nostalgia evoking sounds in the world.

Steph · « **Reply #4323 on:** January 26, 2013, 06:19:46 AM »

I live in Florida, so it is easy to take the train almost everywhere.. I always use it when going north as long as the train goes there. Privacy comfort get a little compartment, take my ipad for books and also a small portable cd player to play books to listen to.. A lovely way to travel. Wish there were more choices in where to go on the trains. Europe and Canada are wonderful train places as well.

pedln · « **Reply #4324 on:** January 26, 2013, 09:19:44 AM »

Quote

Wish there were more choices in where to go on the trains.

You and me both, Steph. I haven't been on a train since travelling in Switzerland almost 25 years ago, and I loved every minute of that. I'd love to take that train that goes West across Canada.

Pride and Prejudice is 200 years old. Here's what being said about it today.

Pride and Prejudice

jane · « **Reply #4325 on:** January 26, 2013, 09:47:32 AM »

Be sure to pick one with good tracks. We took the City of New Orleans from Chicago to N.O. last April. Tracks got very bad about 100 miles south of Chicago, and were a mess from there on south to N.O. We never did get into the dining room...they wouldn't let us regular train passengers in until all the ones in the cabins were served, so some people stood for over 2 hours waiting to get in...and then got cold food. We went with the "snack bar" and then brought food back on the train with us from NO for the trip back to Chicago. The muffalettas from NO were much better than anything offered on the train, believe me. It sounds so romantic...in practice, not so much.

jane

JoanK · « **Reply #4326 on:** January 26, 2013, 02:15:12 PM »

"The author is one of those.. every breath they take sort of authors," I like that phrase. It describes perfectly the book I'm wading through at the minute.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #4327 on:** January 26, 2013, 02:53:05 PM »

What are you reading JoanK - with that statement you really have me curious - it is not a description I have heard and want to have an example.

JeanneP · « **Reply #4328 on:** January 26, 2013, 08:16:44 PM »

Jane. The Train"City of NewOrleans" was a good train for Years. I used it from Champaign to City of NO. a few times and always to chicago . Was A mess last time I used it. The toilets were all broken. Had been all the way from N.O. so you can imagine what it was like. Then it was going to turn around In Chicago and head back down. I will take the Old Illini up to Chicago now. Also have another one started on the Route along with 3 new bus services .

Steph · « **Reply #4329 on:** January 27, 2013, 06:33:40 AM »

Never been on that train.. I do long distance, so always have a cabin.. The north bound from Florida up are all fine.. Stewards are very very caring..Food excellent. Service good.. We did a Chicago to Seattle in 2009 and that was enormous fun.. The trans Canada is a magic ride. We did it years ago and loved it.. I want to go to Alaska and take the train to Denali.. Trying to figure if alone would be practical or not.

Frybabe · « **Reply #4330 on:** January 27, 2013, 07:36:09 AM »

What a shame to hear that the City of New Orleans (train) and tracks have deteriorated so much. The song by that name is one of my favorites.

jane · « **Reply #4331 on:** January 27, 2013, 09:57:13 AM »

Joan...I'm also curious about the author you mention and what kind of book that is.

"every breath they take" ??

The Denali trip was delightful...we took it from Denali back to Anchorage. It was like a "blast from the past"...white tablecloths, etc. A very pleasant couple of hours and delicious desserts.

marcie · « **Reply #4332 on:** January 27, 2013, 01:21:55 PM »

Quote from: pedln on January 26, 2013, 09:19:44 AM

Pride and Prejudice is 200 years old. Here's what being said about it today.

Pride and Prejudice

Pedln, thanks for a very interesting article, with all of the funny and insightful descriptions of characters by different authors.

Steph · « **Reply #4333 on:** January 28, 2013, 06:03:45 AM »

Our local museum in Orlando is doing a glass show. Lots of Chihuli, but a lot of other glass artists I had never heard of.. Some are really spectacular. some a bit odd..to put it mildly. One person works with small pieces of glass on a wall , all lit and the glass is treated with a variety of minerals, etc, different colors, lines,, very very spectacular. Probably not a good choice for a house, but works well in a museum.. Spent the afternoon there yesterday and loved it. Once again, wished I was rich enough to own even a small Chihuli piece..They are up to 6500.00 now.

maryz · « **Reply #4334 on:** January 28, 2013, 10:18:43 AM »

You should see the glass exhibit in our Aquarium - in conjunction with jellyfish. It's spectacular.

JeanneP · « **Reply #4335 on:** January 28, 2013, 02:09:16 PM »

My Favourite Train was one that we took to Montreal, Canads from Chicago. We were sailing to UK out of Montreal. Cabin slept 4. a sleeper. Bathroom.
I would like to take the one Canadian train going from Toronto out to California and also one up into Alaska.
Love trains. Grew up using them in UK and Europe. Not crazy about one from Paris to South of France. Also a Sleeper but only thing was your people riding in the carriage will be sleeping in same room. 2 rows of seats make into 6 beds. I like the private room ones. One seat in the day and bed at night. Own Toilet. Traveling alone. Trains to me are the safest.

JoanK · « **Reply #4336 on:** January 28, 2013, 03:01:43 PM »

Jane ""every breath they take" isn't my phrase: who said it here. I've already forgotten what book I was reading, it was very forgetable.

Steph · « **Reply #4337 on:** January 29, 2013, 06:35:03 AM »

As far as I know, there is no train from the US to Alaska.. Would be fun though.

jane · « **Reply #4338 on:** January 29, 2013, 10:01:58 AM »

Thanks, Joan...I just didn't understand what it meant...so was looking for clarification. I find that sometimes authors seem to get so...well..."full of themselves"...that they come across to me as egotistical bores. It was drilled into me in writing classes that the purpose of the written word was to communicate. Long rambling groups of words that aren't complete thoughts, that don't convey a message in a clear, concise way are not what I call good writing. My writing prof was big on knowing your audience and writing for that audience. If whatever we turned in wasn't clear and concise and appropriate for the group audience he'd targeted, the writing was returned as unacceptable.

jane

MaryPage · « **Reply #4339 on:** January 29, 2013, 11:39:17 AM »

I would love to own a Chihuli piece, too!

And how I would love to see just one of his exhibits. I mean, I would love to see them all, but just one before I die would be loverly.

Granddaughter Kim in Oklahoma City sent me a wonderful all-color-photos book titled: CHIHULY 365 DAYS for Christmas. It is wonderful to look at and gasp and ooh and aah over. I am a died in the wool glass lover, and particularly colored glass. But what he does is just unimaginable and looks impossible. What is more, he has not actually blown since something like 1979. He thinks up the work and draws it and instructs his blowers and, LO! It is done!

Kim is lucky because Oklahoma City has one of the few permanent exhibits of his work world wide. There are lots of moving shows going on all over this planet at any one time, but only something like 8 permanent exhibits. Sigh!

maryz · « **Reply #4340 on:** January 29, 2013, 01:12:51 PM »

MaryPage, we've traveled to several cities (Nashville, Knoxville, Atlanta) just to see Chihuly exhibits. They are fantastic. Click here for a link to the exhibition schedule on his web site. There may be one coming close enough for you to see.

JeanneP · « **Reply #4341 on:** January 29, 2013, 01:46:44 PM »

Steph.

No, you have to pick up a Canadian Line that goes out of West coast Canada. Most probably one going from East coast also. Ontario most probably.
Most of the US trains. Get you to Seattle and then a Bus takes you over the border. This bus in in the train ticket. Works sort of like the UK System. There you get a ticket which takes in Trains, buses and Ferries over to Continent all in one.

maryz · « **Reply #4342 on:** January 29, 2013, 02:00:46 PM »

The Canadian Ferry system is great, too. And you're likely to see some great scenery. We won't now, but one trip we always thought would be a good one would be to take the ferry from Vancouver or Seattle as a foot passenger, getting off at various stops to stay for a day or two, then getting back on the ferry to go to the next stop that interests you. If you don't have a vehicle, it's much cheaper, and you could probably get a cabin for overnights.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #4343 on:** January 29, 2013, 02:35:59 PM »

I always wished I had taken the boat that goes along the coast of Newfoundland, stopping at all the little bay ports, some of them inaccessible (or they were then) by road. The departures used to be announced on the local radio station and the stops sounded magical (probably a lot more magical than they actually were...)

Farley Mowat's wife Claire wrote a book about it:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Outport-People-Claire-Mowat/dp/155263647X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359488058&sr=1-1

I sent a copy to my mother-in-law when we still lived there. She said reading it made her realise why I was so miserable out there!

Rosemary

pedln · « **Reply #4344 on:** January 29, 2013, 02:39:23 PM »

MaryZ, I did something similar, only in Alaska, with a group from church several years ago. We had flown into Sitka to do summer maintenance at Sheldon Jackson College (for 2 weeks) and then took the ferries to Wrangell, Petersburg, and Ketchican. One of the trips was an overnight. I was in a small cabin with upper and lower bunk beds, but we saw that many of the passengers just spread out sleeping bags in the main lounge of the ferry. Meals were available. And there were also lecturers and entertainers talking about things Alaskan. We were definitely "on foot," although I think our lodging host from Wrangell? Petersburg? drove us to the beach to see the petrographs.

JeanneP · « **Reply #4345 on:** January 29, 2013, 07:38:54 PM »

I like that in the US if traveling by train that one can have 2 stop offs prior to the end of your trip.

Few years ago I used Lux Air going to Germany. Went from Chicago and it let us stop off in Iceland and then pick up the flight the next day. I wonder if they still do that. Airline travel not as good as it use to be.
I liked to take them from here to Europe like the one above. Stay in Luxembourg for a few days. go into Germany and pick up again to UK. All on same ticket.

Steph · « **Reply #4346 on:** January 30, 2013, 06:23:45 AM »

ah yes, now I understand. I have taken trains from Chicago to Seattle, but knew it stopped there for the north.. I have taken trains from Vancouver, but never found anything about a train to the north.. only east bound . I always wanted to do the Alaskan ferries. They go to some neat places.. As I remember the petrographs were in Wrangell..

mabel1015j · « **Reply #4347 on:** January 31, 2013, 10:28:48 AM »

I'm still enjoying Shaman by Noah Gordon, although he's giving me the reality of the hatred against Native Americans and now the Know-Nothing Party who hated everybody - especially immigrants, Catholics, Blacks, Irish, Italians........gee, this sounds familiar!?!

Jean

bellemere · « **Reply #4348 on:** January 31, 2013, 11:20:56 AM »

I think the most overworked description of a book is "astonishing". How much can we be astonished?
A group of us tourists to the tiny island of Isla Mujeres in Mexico are supporting students by payin their college tuitions. The first graduate two years ago is now and elementary school teacher. The second year, an accountant. This June five students will graduate in various fields. These kids come from tiny tarpaper houses or makeshift dwellings. some with no electircity or funning water. They are exptremely motiated and it has been a pleasure to see them progress. My current student Gabriela, is studyin to be a pre-school tacher and dreams of havin her won nursery school someday. My daughter and her husband are sponsoring Miguel, an enineering student.
Now, I am oing back to Isla Mujeres next month for vacation. I need a beac book. I want to read Hilary Mantel's new book "bring Up the Bodies, but somehow, it doesn't soujnd very "beach fook"
And my daughter is urgin g me to read "Far From the Tree" about parnes coping with disbloed children. that sounds a little profounf for the beach too. Wish I hadn't read "uncommon Reader" and Bridget Jones's Diary"already. Anybody know any book like that in tone and sength?

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #4349 on:** January 31, 2013, 12:33:41 PM »

bellemere I read a couple of books written by Mavis Cheek - light and yet with a concept to chew on

http://www.mavischeek.co.uk/

I read Patrick Parker's Progress and Pause Between Acts - I thought Pause... was more fun but both were enjoyable and I do want to read a couple more of her books.

Another that was interesting - not as fun but light compared to many The Tower, The Zoo, and the Tortoise lots of history is worked into the story about all those and every ghost that inhabited the Tower.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #4350 on:** January 31, 2013, 01:43:01 PM »

Bellemere - have you read "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day", "I Capture the Castle", "Summer's Lease" or "Miss Garnett's Angel"? I think all of those would be good for the beach - the first three are lighter than the last one.

Rosemary

JeanneP · « **Reply #4351 on:** January 31, 2013, 02:08:25 PM »

Mabel. Sound familiar to me. Wonder why?

?

JeanneP · « **Reply #4352 on:** January 31, 2013, 02:14:50 PM »

Mavis Cheek books sound good but I don't find any in LP. Looks to be more in Paperback.

Frybabe · « **Reply #4353 on:** January 31, 2013, 03:49:05 PM »

Summer's Lease sounds familiar. I thought it was a movie, but no, it was a Masterpiece Theater Mini Series back in 1989. I do not remember seeing it. I know I haven't read the book.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #4354 on:** January 31, 2013, 05:18:51 PM »

The book is by John Mortimer, who was a very good writer of easy to read - but satisfying - fiction.

Frybabe · « **Reply #4355 on:** January 31, 2013, 06:45:52 PM »

Yes, I know. I have both book and DVDs of his Rumpole of the Bailey.

JeanneP · « **Reply #4356 on:** January 31, 2013, 07:40:02 PM »

Summers's Lease. Good DVD. John Gielgud. Renting a house in Italy.
Think I may get it and watch again.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #4357 on:** February 01, 2013, 12:12:40 AM »

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a day was a popular movie a few years ago - here is a youtube excerpt

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBJfuVpH7h8

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #4358 on:** February 01, 2013, 03:59:03 AM »

Yes, Miss Pettigrew was made into a film, but I didn't think it was nearly as good as the book (whereas I thought they did a pretty good job filming I Capture the Castle.)

Mortimer also wrote a good novel about the decline of British society - Paradise Postponed. Sounds heavy, but in his hands it isn't, it's a great read.

Miss Garnett's Angel is set in Venice; I loved it, but it is more serious than the other books I mentioned.

Rosemary

Steph · « **Reply #4359 on:** February 01, 2013, 06:14:24 AM »

they did a movie on I Capture the Castle. I did love that book.. Had such an air about it. I will have to check Netflix.. Beach Books.. if you have not tried Maeve Binchy.. she would be good. A nice fat book about mostly very nice people..any of them, but Circle of Friends is particularly laid back.

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Author Topic: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2 (Read 774992 times)