Author Topic: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2  (Read 775129 times)

MaryPage

  • Posts: 3725
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5120 on: December 06, 2013, 12:38:04 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





I really, really loved the latest Julia Spencer-Fleming.  Wish I had it to start all over again!  Passed it on to my namesake granddaughter, who loves it also.

Steph

  • Posts: 7952
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5121 on: December 06, 2013, 03:01:38 PM »
I like Fannie and Julia Spencer fleming.. Can take or leave the others. I have all these new to me authors I am trying to catch up on.Since it is 85 here today, am delving into Dana Stabenows articles, she wrote for the Alaska magazine. Fun.
Stephanie and assorted corgi

maryz

  • Posts: 2356
    • Z's World
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5122 on: December 06, 2013, 04:20:00 PM »
You're on the warm side of this front.  We've dropped 10* since this morning.  At least we're not getting the ice our daughter in Western KY is getting.
"When someone you love dies, you never quite get over it.  You just learn how to go on without them. But always keep them safely tucked in your heart."

Steph

  • Posts: 7952
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5123 on: December 07, 2013, 08:47:38 AM »
Yes, everyone but Florida is having a horrible cold front, but in turn we are going up.. 86 yesterday, which is far too warm to feel Christmasy..
Stephanie and assorted corgi

maryz

  • Posts: 2356
    • Z's World
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5124 on: December 07, 2013, 09:40:58 AM »
We're in the SE corner of TN.  It was 42 when I went to bed last night, 38 now. 
"When someone you love dies, you never quite get over it.  You just learn how to go on without them. But always keep them safely tucked in your heart."

Tomereader1

  • Posts: 1868
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5125 on: December 07, 2013, 09:58:16 AM »
Big D and environs:  Ice Storm, no snow, traffic on the freeways, shut down.  Miles and miles of 18 wheelers stopped overnight because they can't get up the hills; airport cancelling 1,000 flights, lines of folks in the airport trying to maintain; power outages in various areas; trees iced over and branches breaking; carports collapsing from weight of the ice.  It's just hideous, I'll take a snowstorm (minor one, please) rather than this.  Stay warm folks!
The reading of a fine book is an uninterrupted dialogue in which the book speaks and our soul replies.


André Maurois

BarbStAubrey

  • BooksDL
  • Posts: 11348
  • Keep beauty alive...
    • Piled on Tables and Floors and Bureau Drawers
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5126 on: December 07, 2013, 11:14:45 AM »
Ouch we are hearing here how Dallas got a whack - no ice for us thank goodness but oh so cold. We are at 28 and it is almost 10:30 in the morning.
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

marjifay

  • Posts: 2658
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5127 on: December 07, 2013, 11:57:39 AM »
Another reason not to live in Texas! LOL

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

Tomereader1

  • Posts: 1868
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5128 on: December 07, 2013, 11:57:44 AM »
Hubby is out trying to get the doors de-iced enough to run the vehicles and defrost the windows!

From now on, even though our winters are mild and usually ice-free, I'm going to keep two cans of De-Icer inthe house so we can thaw the cars.  We are having to just use cold water poured on the door frames.  So far, got two of them open and running.  I had some yard tools propped against the back fence...they are frozen to the fence.  Got a laugh outta this one!
The reading of a fine book is an uninterrupted dialogue in which the book speaks and our soul replies.


André Maurois

salan

  • Posts: 1093
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5129 on: December 07, 2013, 12:05:14 PM »
Ice yesterday (I am in TX hill country), 22 this am, only supposed to warm up to 30 and another cold one tonight.  Don't like it!!!
Sally

JeanneP

  • Posts: 1231
  • Sept 2013
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5130 on: December 07, 2013, 01:19:07 PM »
Tome reader
Don't get to much if that de-icer on the car paint.

BarbStAubrey

  • BooksDL
  • Posts: 11348
  • Keep beauty alive...
    • Piled on Tables and Floors and Bureau Drawers
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5131 on: December 07, 2013, 03:03:38 PM »
Here it is mid afternoon and it never made it to 30 - The TV weather show Camp Mabry, not far from me at only 29. No ice but no one is out - the streets are empty - I can see across the school yard to Far West which is a busy entry street to the area from MoPac and there has not been a vehicle on the street for over 10 minutes.
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

CallieOK

  • Posts: 1122
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5132 on: December 07, 2013, 08:13:03 PM »
The Oklahoma ice storm was Thursday and Friday.  Still too cold to melt it all off and there are still road warnings out - but most of the main highways are in pretty good shape.

There was a 4.8 earthquake in the OKC area about noon today.  Epicenter was about 8 miles southeast of me.  Friends a mile or so to the southwest and the northwest of me reported severe shaking with things falling off shelves.  I didn't feel even a wobble and nothing on my walls tilted even a little bit.  Very strange!

mabel1015j

  • Posts: 3656
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5133 on: December 07, 2013, 08:51:49 PM »
I heard Billings, Montana had a wind chill of -37 this a.m. My son and DIL used to live in Montana, i told them to be grateful they are now in NJ.

marjifay

  • Posts: 2658
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5134 on: December 07, 2013, 11:52:48 PM »
Wow.  And here I was complaining how cold it was today here in Southern California as only 57 degrees.

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

Steph

  • Posts: 7952
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5135 on: December 08, 2013, 09:33:23 AM »
And Florida in mid 80's. no sense to the weather at all.
Stephanie and assorted corgi

FlaJean

  • Posts: 849
  • FlaJean 2011
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5136 on: December 09, 2013, 11:35:59 AM »
It is unseasonably warm here in Florida and we have the AC on, but it will be cooling soon according to the weather lady.

Steph

  • Posts: 7952
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5137 on: December 10, 2013, 08:49:36 AM »
I turn off the ac at night and early morning and then turn it back on around noon.. Maybe tomorrow will be some cooler.. Sigh.. Hard to feel Christmas without a little cooler weather.
Stephanie and assorted corgi

BarbStAubrey

  • BooksDL
  • Posts: 11348
  • Keep beauty alive...
    • Piled on Tables and Floors and Bureau Drawers
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5138 on: December 10, 2013, 10:59:42 AM »
The Sun the Sun the glorious Sun - boy was I getting cranky in all the dreary cold - the sun - should get into the 50s today - still cold for us but better than the 20s and 30s. No longer in a panic about getting ready - what a difference.

Bought myself a retractable mouse - it is smaller in my hand as well - I understand they do not last long but for now what a treat.
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

Tomereader1

  • Posts: 1868
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5139 on: December 10, 2013, 02:16:19 PM »
A/C, huh?  Our heat has been running practically day and night, temps in the 20's overnight and barely 30's during the day.  Today the sun is out, yes Barb, I celebrate that also!  Most all of the ice is off the streets, some houses' roofs are now clear, the trees are in awful, terrible shape, with limbs and whole large sections broken off.  Plants and hedges still crystalline with ice. The sound of chainsaws echoing down the street from me.  Trash bins lining the sidewalks, since no pick up was available last week.  They are promising "soon".  So many trees to pick up will probably delay that.   Snow, I can handle, pure ice is a hazard to both nature (trees/shrubs/plants/animals) and mankind (traffic/stalled/wrecks/falls and frostbite). Hope and pray we are through for a good while.
The reading of a fine book is an uninterrupted dialogue in which the book speaks and our soul replies.


André Maurois

PatH

  • BooksDL
  • Posts: 10952
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5140 on: December 10, 2013, 06:55:49 PM »
Barb, what does retractable mean in a mouse?

BarbStAubrey

  • BooksDL
  • Posts: 11348
  • Keep beauty alive...
    • Piled on Tables and Floors and Bureau Drawers
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5141 on: December 10, 2013, 09:57:40 PM »
the cord or line or whatever it is called retracts to just the length you need for the mouse to freely slide on the pad with no extra wire or cord or line in the way - I saw that you can now get retractable speakers - would love to see this for all the extras that we plug in - all those wires draped all over the back of my desk drive me up a wall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIPk4DAkG0Q
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

maryz

  • Posts: 2356
    • Z's World
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5142 on: December 10, 2013, 10:12:52 PM »
Hey, Barb - a wireless mouse is even better.   ::)
"When someone you love dies, you never quite get over it.  You just learn how to go on without them. But always keep them safely tucked in your heart."

BarbStAubrey

  • BooksDL
  • Posts: 11348
  • Keep beauty alive...
    • Piled on Tables and Floors and Bureau Drawers
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5143 on: December 10, 2013, 11:24:54 PM »
Yes, I had one but I kept loosing it - I would without thinking take it with me and so like my phone I kept loosing it - at least the phone I could call myself and find it and so for me things attached do work better. It is the same with my car keys - home it is in the garage and I forced myself to leave them in the cup holder but out it is another story - if they got into my purse the whole purse ends up being dumped and then sometimes they are not there after checking all my pockets I'll find them hanging off my lock box key which is bigger than most cell phones and in a leather case - it is these little tasks that you do without thinking that get me every time.
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

Steph

  • Posts: 7952
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5144 on: December 11, 2013, 09:00:48 AM »
I have had wireless mice for years, but never thought of picking it up and taking it with me.. The mental picture of your purse was funny..
Stephanie and assorted corgi

pedln

  • BooksDL
  • Posts: 6694
  • SE Missouri
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5145 on: December 11, 2013, 10:19:05 AM »
Barb, you remind me of one of our teachers from some years back.  She was always losing her keys .   .    . and other things.  One time she advertised in the newspaper -- two diamond rings, LOST, somewhere in town.  She found them about six months later -- in her golf bag.

Weatherwise it looks like we're the three bears minus one -- too hot, too cold, nothing's just right. I haven't driven in a week, and out only twice, when someone picked me up. My lovely next-door neighbor shovelled my walks and driveway -- we had 7 to 10 inches. It's the ice that's scary -- and my driveway from h . . .  shared, long, narrow between two houses.

Jean, thanks for the post about American Wife -- I've put it on my TBR list, bearing in mind that the author "wimped."  Sounds like it might be a fun read.

I love my wireless mouse, even though it eats batteries.  My retractable, for the laptop, somehow got stuck and no longer retracts or stretches.

Have been reading Gone Girl forever and am getting sick of it.  Too many alternating chapters, he says, she says, and two many flashbacks. Seems like it would be difficult to make a movie out of it.  I'm finding much of the language, and descriptions to be extremely distasteful.

MaryPage

  • Posts: 3725
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5146 on: December 11, 2013, 09:59:24 PM »
I hated Gone Girl, but I love, love, love my wireless mouse and it does not eat batteries.  I'll bet I don't have to replace them once a year!

ginny

  • Administrator
  • Posts: 91472
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5147 on: December 12, 2013, 07:05:17 AM »
hahaha I don't think Gone Girl is Christmas or Holiday Fare. :)

I was so disappointed in one of my Christmas mysteries in the big anthology of Christmas Mysteries from B&N which I have really been enjoying, it turned ugly and that's not what I'm in the mood for. I'm sure the ending was meant to be poetic justice but the theme: 80+ year old woman living alone, it seems very realistic,  hears carolers and the rest is very unpleasant. Don't  need that this time of year. What is it about this time of year that you really would like to see and read about  some kindness? Or happy endings.  This one had neither.




ursamajor

  • Posts: 305
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5148 on: December 12, 2013, 08:24:51 AM »
I finally finished the new Elizabeth George, One Evil Act.  It went on forever and really wasn't very good, but I wanted to see how she resolved the mess her character was in.  I don't recommend.

Steph

  • Posts: 7952
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5149 on: December 12, 2013, 09:00:13 AM »
Oh Dear, I love Elizabeth George, but whichcharacter?
Stephanie and assorted corgi

MaryPage

  • Posts: 3725
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5150 on: December 12, 2013, 05:52:38 PM »
I have not read one single word of Elizabeth George's since she killed off Helen.  I thought she was off her rocker then!

ursamajor

  • Posts: 305
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5151 on: December 13, 2013, 08:55:17 AM »
The entire book is devoted to the misadventures of Barbara Havers.  I have liked Barbara in the past, and to some extent identified with her perpetual dishelvement, but this is way too big a dose.  The book just goes on and on and on.

MaryPage

  • Posts: 3725
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5152 on: December 13, 2013, 09:23:13 AM »

The list of the best crime novels of 2013 has come out, and here it is:

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

Harvest by Jim Crace

A Man Without Breath by Philip Kerr

The Hired Man by Aminatta Forna

Every Contact Leaves a Trace by Elanor Dymott

The Infatuations by Javier Marias

Visitation Street by Ivy Pochoda

The Uninvited by Liz Jensen

The Andalucian Friend by Alexander Soderberg

Gods and Beasts by Denise Mina

Denise Mina is the only author I know well here.  I have heard of Kerr.

I also want to read Empress Dowager Cixi by Jung Chang.  Non-fiction. I have read an awful lot about her before, but it is always fascinating and delicious.

Steph

  • Posts: 7952
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5153 on: December 13, 2013, 02:35:51 PM »
Oh me, I like Barbara, but a whole book.. Hmm.
Stephanie and assorted corgi

ursamajor

  • Posts: 305
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5154 on: December 13, 2013, 04:01:20 PM »
A great big long book!  I bought two copies because both daughter and daughter in law asked for it for Christmas birthdays.

Steph

  • Posts: 7952
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5155 on: December 14, 2013, 09:25:08 AM »
My bed book just now is the Much Ado about Jesse Kaplan.. not a mystery at alll, but sort of fun.
Stephanie and assorted corgi

pedln

  • BooksDL
  • Posts: 6694
  • SE Missouri
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5156 on: December 14, 2013, 12:43:01 PM »
MaryPage, I'm with you -- haven't read any Elizabeth George since she murdered Helen. Helen was one of my favorite characters.  Maybe some day, but not one that goes on and on and on. It seems like more books are doing that, and I foolishly bought one.  But Amazon had Donna Tart's The Goldfinch on sale for Kindle for one day at $1.79.  It's 755 pages. We'll see.  It's been on some Best of 2013 lists.

Right now I want something that doesn't require much from me.  And after Cutting for Stone (which I loved) and Gone Girl (which I did not), I do not want to see the F word or read anything about any bodily functions. Breathing and blinking are okay.

ursamajor

  • Posts: 305
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5157 on: December 14, 2013, 01:08:10 PM »
Pedlyn, I agree.  The trouble is it is so hard to find books without the f-word these days.

BarbStAubrey

  • BooksDL
  • Posts: 11348
  • Keep beauty alive...
    • Piled on Tables and Floors and Bureau Drawers
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5158 on: December 14, 2013, 01:13:26 PM »
oh you too pedln - for awhile I was off current fiction - enough is enough - as the saying used to be "get a life" and for the language, as I learned in school if your vocabulary is so limited than the easy to repeat words is just showing your 'intelligence' - in High School Father Hugh showed us a great chapter in some book that was filled with such descriptive insults we used to have fun tossing a few around that we remembered while laughing the entire time but they were doozies.
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

Steph

  • Posts: 7952
Re: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2
« Reply #5159 on: December 15, 2013, 09:35:58 AM »
Told ya .... Gone Girl is not for our age group.. I persevere with Elizabeth George, but not sure why. The last one I read had Linley having an affair with a poisonous woman.. Ugh.
Stephanie and assorted corgi