Author Topic: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2 (Read 776217 times)

mrssherlock · « **Reply #920 on:** August 31, 2010, 10:53:06 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

Move over, Mabel, make room for me on that wall.

FlaJean · « **Reply #921 on:** August 31, 2010, 11:07:04 PM »

Pedlin, I remember Corrie Ten Boom. I read her book "The Hiding Place" and also the movie when it first came out. I remember long lines waiting to get into the movie. FlaJean

FlaJean · « **Reply #922 on:** August 31, 2010, 11:44:11 PM »

MaryPage, after you mentioned the Cazelets, I got all four books from my library. When I first started reading the first one, I wasn't sure I would like it, but it sort of drew me in. By the time I got to the second book, I was really hooked. I finished the last one at 3 am this morning. (I'm not doing that again.) I really did like the ending. I'm glad the books stopped before Duchy (Kitty) died. I admired Archie and Duchy most of all the many characters.
Jean

Steph · « **Reply #923 on:** September 01, 2010, 09:26:23 AM »

Yes, Kay first taught ADHD for many years at a primary level, then went into administration for the programs.. Then got both the national Teacher thing and her doctorate. She retired early and went to work at college teaching mostly graduate level teachers, although for the past year, she has also had five students who are student teaching each semester and she shepherds them along. Learning to teach ADHD is a challenge.
She and I had such a good time. She knows the newest language and methods for ADHD and Asburgers, etc. Fun to listen to how far we are advancing in many ways. The constant challenge is pursuading the parents to follow along..

mabel1015j · « **Reply #924 on:** September 01, 2010, 04:40:19 PM »

Tell her to get herself in here, Steph, she sounds like someone we would like to hear from................jean

Steph · « **Reply #925 on:** September 02, 2010, 05:58:01 AM »

Believe me, I did. Between teaching and supervising, she also is the President of the local chorale society and as she put it.. In four years when I retired, I will join immediately, but just now I spend way too much time on the web with the lesson plans, etc.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #926 on:** September 02, 2010, 11:44:50 AM »

I understand completely............teaching takes up much more time than non-teachers can imagine...........we'll look forward to her joining us.....4 yrs is not that long ahead.

Just finished Catherine Coulter's Blindside, liked it, will get more of her's, not very complex, but a good story............jean

Frybabe · « **Reply #927 on:** September 02, 2010, 01:27:52 PM »

Quote

She knows the newest language and methods for ADHD and Asburgers, etc.

Steph, my nephew was diagnosed with ADHD very early. After he had completed most of his high schooling they changed their minds and decided he had Asburgers Syndrome. Jason quit school before he got his HS degree but shortly after studied for his GED on his own and earned it. He took several college level classes, and worked part-time for a while at Cornell doing cataloging work. I forget whether it was the library or the ornithology department. He really liked that work and had hoped that the funding would allow him to continue.

joangrimes · « **Reply #928 on:** September 02, 2010, 05:33:39 PM »

I have a grandson who was diagnosed with Ausburgers When he was very young...He graduated from high school and now is attending college at Clemson ,South Carolina....He has a steady girl friend. He took classes during the summer at The citadel in South Carolina... He made an A and 2 Bs in those summer classes...He does well in the structure at the Citadel...Joan Grimes

Frybabe · « **Reply #929 on:** September 02, 2010, 07:19:40 PM »

That's great Joan. Wish I could say that my nephew is doing that well.

Steph · « **Reply #930 on:** September 03, 2010, 06:19:47 AM »

For people struggling with Asburgers or wanting to know more. I can recommend JOdy Picoult.. House Rules.. Fiction, but very well done.
High functioning Asburgers is getting a lot more attention. Temple Grandin has helped enormously.

roshanarose · « **Reply #931 on:** September 03, 2010, 10:23:26 PM »

Hoping you will not think I am being insensitive, but the actual spelling is "Aspergers".

Steph · « **Reply #932 on:** September 04, 2010, 06:06:43 AM »

Oops.. Sorry I picked up the spelling from something I was reading. Odd. possibly they had changed it or the article in the paper got the spelling wrong. Who knows, but I do apologize for the incorrect spelling. At least hopefully everyone knows what I meant.

joangrimes · « **Reply #933 on:** September 04, 2010, 09:43:09 AM »

Yes I knew the spelling was incorrect but I do hesitate to correct anyone's spelling anymore if it can be understood...I used to be sucha stickler ofr correct spelling...But i have really changed in so many ways since I am now a retired teacher and not a teacher any longer.... 8)Joan Grimes

Frybabe · « **Reply #934 on:** September 04, 2010, 11:09:37 AM »

That's what I get for being lazy about checking the spelling. I thought it didn't look right.

MaryPage · « **Reply #935 on:** September 04, 2010, 11:23:39 AM »

Jean, I am so happy to hear that you loved THE CAZELETS. I always have this feeling that when I truly love something, I want the whole wide world to know about it. Of course, the truth is, we are all different and that just does not work. I did feel one thing most important about these books, though, and that is that they portray the sense of World War II in England so very well. Not the war itself, of course, but its affect on families and daily living.

One of my daughters has a dear friend who has a son with Aspergers. He took 5 years to get through a private high school. He was great academically, but they felt he needed an extra year of maturing socially. Now he has just begun his Freshman year of college at a state college here. He also won a large, 4-year scholarship to a great private college, but his parents felt the state school, which is the mother's alma mater also, would be better as it is quite close to home. This lad is quite, quite brilliant (he used to tell me all about bugs by the hour when he was about seven, including their Latin names!), but it is the fitting in that makes difficulties.

The heroine in Steig Larsson's books, Lisbeth Salander, has Asperger's.

Aberlaine · « **Reply #936 on:** September 04, 2010, 01:29:55 PM »

I'm reading Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. A true story of a Muslin caught in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Very timely, on both topics. And very well written.

Nancy

joyous · « **Reply #937 on:** September 04, 2010, 03:32:56 PM »

I read Zeitoun in 2 days----a record for me-----couldn't put it down. Definitely the best book I read in 2010 but then I live in Louisiana, the locale of the book.
JOY

Steph · « **Reply #938 on:** September 05, 2010, 09:34:28 AM »

Still unsure about that book.. New Orleans fascinates me, but the Katrina debacle is hard for me to deal with.

roshanarose · « **Reply #939 on:** September 06, 2010, 12:18:45 AM »

I didn't mean to offend or even "correct" people in such a way. Just didn't want anyone to be embarrassed if they needed to use the word in a more official sense some day. Yes, I taught English for 20 years - in case you hadn't guessed. I taught English as a Second Language to adult refugees and migrants. One thing they always asked me to do was to correct their spelling or pronunciation. I didn't mean to apply it to English speakers, I just thought that it might help in this circumstance. btw you are more than welcome to "correct" me as well.

Steph · « **Reply #940 on:** September 06, 2010, 06:11:40 AM »

It doesnt bother me if people correct my spelling.. Ii was an excellent speller most of my life, but it tends to go with age. Now I will say that pronounciation is tricky. I know someone who loves to pounce on this and I notice that it makes people irritated. I know when I was young, I grew up in the country, read everything and anything and had no idea how to say some words.. I learned rapidly, but I know it was humiliating for me to have an adult correct me. Now I could care less. I have a cousin who taught
English to 7th and 8th graders for many years.. Now I always regarded her as a saint. That is a terrible age.. Whew..

salan · « **Reply #941 on:** September 06, 2010, 07:36:36 AM »

I always appreciate anyone correcting my spelling or pronunciation; but then I am an ex-teacher with 2 older sisters and a mother who were teachers. My younger sister, however, does not appreciate being corrected. I used to always try to correct her pronunciation, since she was in the business world and I thought she would not like to be embarrasssed in front of her clients. She finally told me how she felt and I apologized (although I have to bite my tongue around her). Poor spelling and bad grammar just "jump" out at me. I know that I have been guilty of both; but I do want to be corrected.
Sally

Aberlaine · « **Reply #942 on:** September 06, 2010, 08:39:47 AM »

I find that spelling words correctly has gotten worse over the years. I used to be an English teacher so misspelled words grate on me like fingers on a chalkboard. I think it's coming from the terrible education our children are getting and the new "language" of texting.

We who spell correctly are a dying breed.

Babi · « **Reply #943 on:** September 06, 2010, 09:05:14 AM »

Me, too, STEPH. There are so many words I've read that one simply
doesn't hear in normal conversation. Many a time I've been assuming a
word was pronounced one way, only to learn I was mistaken.
I also run into problems trying to imagine how to pronounce some of the
strange names one sees in sci/fi and fantasy. It's anybody's guess. Once
in a long while the author will include an appendix with pronunciation
and I've always appreciated that.

SALLY, I find that misspelling, especially, 'jumps out' at me when
reading a book or with the closed captioning on TV. Absolutely no way
to correct those! So annoying.
Good point about the texting, ABERLAINE. "Communication" now is
largely shortcuts. It occurs to me, tho', that some of our conventional
spelling does use a lot of unnecessary letters. Does it really make sense to write 'ough' for 'oo' and 'uf' and "o"?

marjifay · « **Reply #944 on:** September 06, 2010, 10:22:31 AM »

Wanted to tell you about a couple of books I really recommend:

I just finished a beautifully told short novel, CONFESSIONS OF A PAGAN NUN by Kate Horsley. It's set in the Ireland of 500 C.E. at a time when Patrick 's Christianity was beginning to drive out the old Druid ways. A nun, formerly a pagan, now living in Saint Brigit's monastery, tells the story of her being reared in a pagan village and her longing for the ability to read and write. I loved her questions as she begins to see what is happening as her world changes. You really are taken back to that time in Ireland when the Druids lived there. Fascinating and thought-provoking book.

I'm currently reading TO A GOD UNKNOWN by John Steinbeck. His writing is so good, it actually hurts to read it sometimes.

Marj

pedln · « **Reply #945 on:** September 06, 2010, 10:27:33 AM »

I'm finding that I really need to reread anything that I send online, as I make more and more careless errors -- hear, when I mean here, their for there, dumb stuff. And then I can't believe I did it. And then there are those bugaboos that were so hard to learn, and now are so had to remember -- judgement/judgment, absence/abscence, privilege/priviledge.

Babi, has anyone said how to pronounce the non-fiction book that so many of us are reading -- Zeitoun? As for names in the news, I use captions when watching TV, so I hope someone will correct my pronounciation/pronunciation. Plus, in this country we tend to anglicize/anglicise/anglisize names and that makes it even harder -- i.e. SotomayOR or SotoMAYor?

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #946 on:** September 06, 2010, 12:02:47 PM »

And even in closed captions, there are numerous misspellings in movie captions, as well as on newscasts. Just warts the heck out of me. And has anyone noticed in newspaper advertisements that lately there are numerous misspellings? Education has been dumbed down in so many places that kids can't spell (and don't care to?) anymore. I hate the idea of texting. I don't have it on my phone, don't want it on my phone. It only encourages bad spelling. Now, pronounciation...wow... don't know how many times the pronounciation of something has totally stumped me. (I had a word in mind when I started this, but have already forgotten it, LOL) Oh, well, perhaps later.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #947 on:** September 06, 2010, 01:19:14 PM »

Steph - ...... taught English to 7th and 8th graders for many years.. Now I always regarded her as a saint. I have said that all my life, especially when i was teaching, in my young life, in the high school. I added "middle school/jr high school teachers should be paid much more than the rest of us." Young people at that stage can't decide if they are adults or children and go back and forth in behavior and are thoroughly annoying.

When i came to NJ i taught 9th graders for the first time - OHHHHH my! They were still knocking each others books on the floor, being nasty and smart-alecky to hide their own insecurities. I thanked goodness in the second half of the year when they had grown up a little - altho 10th grade boys were not much better............lol.

I am appalled at the incorrect spellings and grammar in books and nat'l mags............not only did the writer not know, but apparently the editor didn't know either.................jean

roshanarose · « **Reply #948 on:** September 06, 2010, 09:55:36 PM »

I just fell off my pedestal in Author, Author. I thought that ante meant after, instead of before. Made a right fool of myself. It seemed to be divine justice upon noting the spelling of "Aspergers". ;-)

Frybabe · « **Reply #949 on:** September 07, 2010, 07:59:56 AM »

Quote

I thought that ante meant after, instead of before.

Rosehanarose, you aren't alone. Until I took Latin, I thought the same thing.

Babi · « **Reply #950 on:** September 07, 2010, 08:41:13 AM »

Thanks for the book reviews, MARJ. Both book sound interesting. The
Steinbeck books sounds like one I've heard of before, but if I read it
it's too long ago. I don't remember.

Zeitoun has never come up in conversation; only here. I have no idea
as to the correct pronunciation. From what little I know of Spanish, I
would think Sotomayor would be accented on the last syllable. But how
would you pronounce a name like 'Bahzell'? 1st, 2nd? A version of Basil?

There's much less proofreading now, too, TOME, and JEAN. One of the economizing angles in printing and publishing these days. Correcting all the errors is time consuming and expensive, so they edit out the major
errors and skip the rest.

Steph · « **Reply #951 on:** September 07, 2010, 08:52:52 AM »

Hmm, I would have sworn I read all of Steinbeck, but that one does not sound familiar. Have to look it up.
I know that my granddaughter is a text person and it drives me nuts. Her spelling is truly awful.. But my grandson at 8 loves spelling and gets 100 on all of his tests.. He just loves to spell. For many years, I could look at something and know if it was correct. But I seem to be losing that as I age.. Darn.

Gumtree · « **Reply #952 on:** September 07, 2010, 11:45:34 AM »

That Steinbeck book is one of his earliest efforts. - it's short but I believe it took him ages to write.

At school spelling was one of my favourites - I loved learning new vocabulary. Seems I've always been able to spell and still can but you might have noticed that my spelling is not American English but English English with an Aussie twist. vive la difference

mrssherlock · « **Reply #953 on:** September 07, 2010, 11:54:18 AM »

Announcement today that 7th thru 12th graders will be able to use spell-checker when taking the state tests. I had not made the connection with texting but that's obviously the impetus. BTW, this spell-checker does not recognize the gerund form of "text" and insists that it's misspelled.

pedln · « **Reply #954 on:** September 07, 2010, 01:03:09 PM »

Quote

And even in closed captions, there are numerous misspellings in movie captions, as well as on newscasts. Just warts the heck out of me.

Don't blame the captions, they're in the process of being trained. Like a small child, they can only respond to what they know. A classic caption story is the one about Alan Greenspan. He was recovering from an enlarged prostate. However, the captions claimed he was recovering from an enlarged prostitute. His wife, Andrea Mitchell, said he should be so lucky.

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #955 on:** September 07, 2010, 01:12:12 PM »

That, Pedlin, is priceless!!!

FlaJean · « **Reply #956 on:** September 07, 2010, 04:05:10 PM »

Thanks, Pedlin. I needed a laugh.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #957 on:** September 07, 2010, 09:38:16 PM »

I always did like Andrea Mitchell!............jean

roshanarose · « **Reply #958 on:** September 08, 2010, 12:01:15 AM »

Let's continue doubling our consonants Gum! I am with you 100 percent on Oz / Brit spelling.

That is just gorgeous, Pedln.

Reminds me of an ad I saw in my local paper. Please join us for the opening of our new brassiere. Meant brasserie I think, I hope!

Steph · « **Reply #959 on:** September 08, 2010, 05:48:29 AM »

Ah Pedlin, I loved the story. Before I got my hearing aids, I used the closed captions a lot.. Whew.. On live broadcasts it was amazing the way they worked.. Not even close most of the time, but on tv shows, etc, they had the script and it really helped a lot.

News:

Author Topic: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2 (Read 776217 times)