Author Topic: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2 (Read 988839 times)

Steph · « **Reply #5840 on:** May 19, 2015, 07:30:05 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

I enjoyed it, but it was not my favorite place by any means. If you say this in front of Irish heritage, they take offense, which is silly. My favorite place for beauty, besides my beloved Blue Ridge... The Netherlands at tulip time in April. I will see the thousands of blooms in every color every day until I am no more. Overwhelming beauty in a teeny tiny country. I loved the whole place..

Steph · « **Reply #5841 on:** May 23, 2015, 02:14:48 PM »

stuck on the reply button.

marjifay · « **Reply #5842 on:** May 24, 2015, 02:10:40 PM »

I'm not going to read any more of Lisa Gardner's books. While they do have lots of suspense in them, they are mostly too long with too complicated plots. And the last one I read was really sick-o with the girl telling about her childhood with a crazy mom who crushed a lightbulb in a dish, then mixed it with a tablespoon of peanut butter and fed it to her daughter. Ugh! You'd have to be a bit sicko yourself to think that one up.

Marj

Steph · « **Reply #5843 on:** May 25, 2015, 08:28:51 AM »

Believe I Iwill not try her either. a bit too much. I have a new John Sandford.. last years Prey book.. 15 murdered girls. Whew.. upping the whole thing this time..

PatH · « **Reply #5844 on:** May 26, 2015, 07:40:18 PM »

I suppose I shouldn't say that 15 sounds like overkill.

Steph · « **Reply #5845 on:** May 27, 2015, 09:23:05 AM »

seems to indicate how long things can be happening if you plan carefully.. I stopped reading it for a while since I was a bit down and needed something to cheer me up. Will go back.

MaryPage · « **Reply #5846 on:** May 28, 2015, 05:29:58 PM »

Pat, no you shouldn't. You most definitely should not.

Steph · « **Reply #5847 on:** May 29, 2015, 08:28:13 AM »

I love Sandford.. but he is violent.

pedln · « **Reply #5848 on:** May 30, 2015, 11:16:24 AM »

Sally, I'm with you on Jojo Moyes, and started reading her for much the same reason you did. I read Me Before You and couldn't put it down. It's definitely NOT depressing and NOT a romance novel. I've just recently started her Ship of Brides, which I think is based on real situations, but am not sure. I need to do a little research on that. It starts in 1946, about young women from Australia and New Zealand who married British miliary men during WWII and are now being transported to Great Britain. Moyes tells a good story. Captivating.

Steph · « **Reply #5849 on:** May 31, 2015, 09:02:32 AM »

Oh my, that sounds interesting.. Will look for it..

CallieOK · « **Reply #5850 on:** May 31, 2015, 03:47:38 PM »

I thoroughly enjoyed "Ship of Brides". Will look for "Me Before You".

Steph · « **Reply #5851 on:** June 01, 2015, 08:26:29 AM »

I have it on my wish list at the swap site.. Been fooling with my stupid remote printer for hours yesterday. Everything I check says it is fine, but it is not printing in black at all.. Growl.

MaryPage · « **Reply #5852 on:** June 10, 2015, 09:33:11 AM »

Sympathy here.

I have a DELL 2130cn. Has been perfect for years now. On the pricey side at first, but does color beautifully, which is what I have wanted both for printing out the flags and maps for the Elementary School Geography books I write and for family photo reprints. And an ink cartridge lasts well beyond the 2,500 copies they promise. Well beyond. So I am happy.

Frybabe · « **Reply #5853 on:** June 11, 2015, 06:01:24 AM »

Just the black, Steph? Sounds like a print head/nozzle is clogged. Did you swap out to a new ink cartridge? I assume the cleaning process did not work. I had something similar happen a few years back. I didn't use my inkjet enough so, I think, the print head got too gummed up with dried up ink. Swapping to a new cartridge didn't help. I got a new machine, but had intended to take the old one apart to clean the main print head mechanism. Never did.

Steph · « **Reply #5854 on:** June 11, 2015, 09:10:08 AM »

It was the black ink.. Even though it showed it as full, when I changed it out, it works perfectly. Bah..

marjifay · « **Reply #5855 on:** June 12, 2015, 02:26:42 PM »

Just heard that Vincent Bugliosi had died, of cancer per his son. I decided I'd finally read his book Helter Skelter; the True Story of the Manson murders so put it on hold at my library (eek--502 pp). I remember when that happened, so awful and so scary. I was also curious to see what part Patricia Krenwinkel actually played in the murders, as I heard an interview someone did with her in which she said she was sorry for what she did and blamed getting involved with Manson on her not receiving any love from her own family.

Marj

Steph · « **Reply #5856 on:** June 13, 2015, 08:51:27 AM »

Oh I read Helter Skelter so many many years ago. Excellent and scary.. Charlie was into the girls and the girls were into him. Never could figure out why.. He looked like a lunatic..

MaryPage · « **Reply #5857 on:** June 13, 2015, 11:15:15 AM »

I read it, too; seems like a million years ago. And I had the same thoughts. People are the worst kind!

Steph · « **Reply #5858 on:** June 14, 2015, 09:40:00 AM »

Bugliosi wrote several books, but remained obsessed with Charlie.

marjifay · « **Reply #5859 on:** June 20, 2015, 02:45:04 PM »

I got sidetracked before starting Helter Skelter on another of Vincent Bugliosi's books -- DIVINITY OF DOUBT; THE QUESTION OF GOD. I'm always interested to read about people's beliefs and opinions on this subject. Bugliosi claims to be agnostic on the question of whether god exists, and says this is the only position an intelligent person should take as he skewers atheists and theists alike. (One Amazon reader says Bugliosi skewers anyone who doesn't agree with him.) I thought he was very intelligent person as in the third grade he asked the priest who ran his Catholic school rather intelligent questions about god, things I would never have thought of at that age, but, then, I was not bombarded with religious doctrines as he must have been at a Catholic school. Anyway, it's an interesting book if you like to read about the subject.

Marj

Steph · « **Reply #5860 on:** June 21, 2015, 10:33:17 AM »

I sortof agree andmay pick the book up

ginny · « **Reply #5861 on:** June 25, 2015, 01:43:47 PM »

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MaryPage · « **Reply #5862 on:** July 03, 2015, 11:14:14 AM »

Hello out there!

Steph · « **Reply #5863 on:** July 04, 2015, 08:39:32 AM »

Noone has been posting on the general fiction for a while. I just joined a local book club up here. Next meeting is Wednesday, so I have the book... Walter Kirn :Blood will tell" Says it is a true sstory and seems to be a story of the man who called himself a Rockefeller and was really a German,, scamer and it seems also a murderer. This author hooked up with him and the story is more about the author than the other man.. Not a good book. terrible writer.. more interested in telling you about all his stupidity and the beginning about transporting a very very injured dog from Montana to New York to This Clark Rockefeller. The dog rescue group are truly bad, since sending off this dog with the author who was stupid and not adog lover was criminal.. So I am struggling with the book.

jane · « **Reply #5864 on:** July 04, 2015, 09:14:01 AM »

I vaguely remember the scam and the name Clark Rockefeller. I don't remember the details, however.

Since you know about rescue dogs, I can understand why it's hard for you.

Steph · « **Reply #5865 on:** July 05, 2015, 10:49:03 AM »

Yes, the excuses later in the book about the rescue group still made no sense. Sending a totally crippled dog off to a total stranger many many miles away with no home visit or real word on him was awful.. Finished the book.. The ego of the author interferes with the book. He was so interestedin talking about himself.. Sigh. Oh well. I will go to the book club meeting and see what happens.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #5866 on:** July 05, 2015, 12:14:16 PM »

I'm trying to read "The Paris Architect" that someone mentioned. It's well written and a good story, but i'm in a bit of a stressful time in my personal life and the danger of the Nazis closing in is adding to that. I have to put it down every couple days and go away from it.

Jean

marjifay · « **Reply #5867 on:** July 05, 2015, 08:46:01 PM »

I'm reading a very interesting book -- A PLACE OF GREATER SAFETY by Hillary Mantel. I wanted to read about the French Revolution so I picked up this book. She is really a great writer and I love her wry sense of humor in the book. It's a novel, and starts out with the childhood lives of Robespierre and two of his revolutionary acquaintences. Since very little is known of their early lives she had made up most of their stories from what is known of them later, and done a very good job of it IMO. Now I want to get a good nonfiction book on the French Revolution. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Marj

Steph · « **Reply #5868 on:** July 06, 2015, 08:41:52 AM »

I started a very unusual book last night. written by Sarah Chuurchwell.. Careless People, subtitle Murder,Mayhem and the invention of the Great Gatsby.. It is sort of fiction, history, real, unreal,, a murder ( famous in New Jersey). whew.. You have to stop and figure out where you are from time to time. Has anyone else read it??

marjifay · « **Reply #5869 on:** July 06, 2015, 07:42:20 PM »

Steph, there are several books at Amazon titled Blood Will Tell, but none by Walter Kirn. Is that the right author of the book you were talking about?

Marj

Steph · « **Reply #5870 on:** July 07, 2015, 10:23:50 AM »

Right author, so check in Amazon, since I did and discovered he has written several others.. Tomororow will be the meeting of the brand new(tome) book club discussion of the book.. Did I mess up. should be Blood will out.

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #5871 on:** July 07, 2015, 02:47:36 PM »

I just finished reading a book by Jennifer Niven. "All The Bright Places". It is a Young Adult book, and I find that there is a lot of good reading coming out of this genre nowadays.

This book will not be for everyone, due to subject matter; i.e. BiPolar Disorder, suicide in teens, bullying. That being said, I found it a beautiful, poetic, sad, yet uplifting story, well-written by an author who has lived these trials.

Steph · « **Reply #5872 on:** July 08, 2015, 08:36:59 AM »

I find so many Young Adult books are excellent nowadays . So I will check it out for sure. Tomorrow I can tell you about my new(to me) book club and the most peculiar book we were supposed to read ( I did, but not quite sure why)

mabel1015j · « **Reply #5873 on:** July 09, 2015, 01:45:04 AM »

I just found a new (to me ) author who i think will be giving me a lot of laughs. I got an ebook from Ovid titled The Blue Ribbon Jalapano Society Jubilee by Carolyn Brown. It was a Texas "Steel Magnolias." The story takes place over a few months in a small Texas town with a group of friends, and enemies! I realized the conversation among some of them reminded me of the banter between Shirley McClain and Olympia Dukakis in Steel Magnolias. The characters range in age from early twenties to mid-70s. It was not laugh out loud funny, but i was smiling a lot. Just what i needed at this moment. A simple, enjoyable, well-written story with humor, with interesting, evolving characters.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Blue-Ribbon-Jalapeño-Society-Jubilee/dp/1402281269/ref=pd_sim_14_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=12KT72G5DH2YP66X4FEK

Jean

mabel1015j · « **Reply #5874 on:** July 09, 2015, 01:48:18 AM »

http://www.amazon.com/Carolyn-Brown/e/B000APIBQK/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1436419950&sr=1-2-ent

Or

http://www.carolynlbrown.com/about10.html

I think some of her books may be "romance" books. I'll need to cull those out. 😊 Some more research needed..............

oh yes! She has a "cowboy romance series" Don't get confused, the pctures of CB are VERY different on the two sites LOLOL but the books are the same titles!!!

Jean

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #5875 on:** July 09, 2015, 02:44:31 AM »

Jean the other one she wrote with that similar snappy fun humor is The Red Hot Chili Cook Off.

Another you may find as much fun is Sarah Bird's Alamo House about UT sorority girls - not in ebook but a used copy for a penny - http://tinyurl.com/pscmagg

And still another fun writer is Ben Rehder who writes about off beat and f-u-n-n-y situations and characters that are a pseudo mystery stories - the Blanco Series is 9 books all in ebooks - here is an Amazon link to one of them -
http://tinyurl.com/pwtezxb

Steph · « **Reply #5876 on:** July 09, 2015, 08:38:57 AM »

So, a fun book club.. mixed group,half and half men and women, which really leads to a lively discussion.. Murder will Out was a hard book for me, It started out with a dog rescue that was horrifying to a rescuer like me, but then progressed into a very odd book,half biography of author and half about Clark Rockefeller, who was a fake and also a murderer. We had so many different ways of looking at the book.. What fun.. In two weeks, we were instructed to each bring a poem and then pass them around and discuss the differences and why we like particular poets. Sounds like a lively discussion.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #5877 on:** July 09, 2015, 11:40:12 AM »

How nice Steph, sounds like a nice positive addition to your summers in NC.

Our library book group is reading " The Run for the Elbertas" by James Still. It was originally published in the 1930's. I'm not sure how to describe it. It's not a novel in the cohesive, continuing story sense. It's really a group of short stories about the same characters set in the Applachians.

He writes in dialect and colloqualisms, but often confusing, unknowable ones to me. I can generally figure out what he means by the context, but it interrupts the story for me as I stop every couple of paragraphs to think about what the character is saying. Have any of you read it, or anything else by him? He has won the O. Henry Memorial Prize and was the poet laureate of Kentucky. The Chattanoga Times says he's "a great story teller."

The meeting is tonight. We're expecting severe storms, so i may not attend, altho I'm curious how others felt about the book. Altho books are recommended by the group members, the librarians decide what will be read.

Jean

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #5878 on:** July 09, 2015, 12:31:54 PM »

Oh for heaven's sake haven't heard of Jim Still in years - big deal in eastern Kentucky - seems to me he wrote about the people in a way that there were supper table debates if he was an author or a collector of mountain stories.

Steph · « **Reply #5879 on:** July 10, 2015, 08:37:15 AM »

I think I read some of Jim Stills work many years ago. I do so hate dialect stuff. The stuff and start of figuring out what is happening are more than I like.

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Author Topic: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2 (Read 988839 times)