Books you're currently reading??? - Page 52

wolf · 03-30-2007, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

"Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood" by Koren Zailckas.

This relatively young woman writes her memoir about her relationship with alchohol, starting with her first drink in high school and culminating in her alcohol-ridden college experience. She uses facts about women and drinking and her own experiences. She writes in a wonderfully honest voice. I think young women should read this book.

I get to see that shit in person often enough that I don't need to read someone's maudlin memoir. No matter how much uplifting bullshit she offers, especially toward the tear-evoking end of the book, she's going to be on the "slip up" detox rehab merry-go-round for the rest of her life.

DanaC · 03-30-2007, 01:11 PM

Quote:

I have to admit I'm mildly disappointed so far.
It just doesn't have a lot of substance to it.

How far in are you SG? As I recall it starts off quite slow, the substance takes a while to build.

Spexxvet · 03-30-2007, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanaC

How far in are you SG? As I recall it starts off quite slow, the substance takes a while to build.

I enjoyed LFB, when I read it *cough* 30 years ago.

Sundae · 03-30-2007, 02:00 PM

I'm about 2/3 of the way through.
I don't mind slow books - it's just not as deep as I expected it to be. Hard to explain. It's all about my expectations rather than the book itself I think.

I'm always looking for the next great book - the one that sticks in your mind and rewards you every time you read it, the one that changes your mind about something or someone, the one that you feel bereft when you've finished.

This isn't it, which doesn't mean I think it's a bad book.

wolf · 03-30-2007, 02:00 PM

I am once again attempting to claw my way through Foucoult's Pendulum. It's been sitting at the bedside, mocking my inability to retain interest in it.

Spexxvet · 03-30-2007, 02:00 PM

Reading Judas Unchained, the sequel to Pandora's Star, by Peter F. Hamilton. Has anyone else read any Hamilton? The Nuetronium Alchemist, Fallen Angel, his Mindstar books?

DanaC · 03-30-2007, 02:52 PM

SG have you read Carol Berg's Rai Kirrah trilogy? or Donaldson's Gap series?
Both of those I think are real transport you to somewhere else books.

I thoroughly enjoyed LFB but I think the series becomes more powerful in the later books.

Sundae · 03-30-2007, 02:58 PM

Nope and nope, but I will look out for them.
I have a list for when I go to the charity bookshop

DAMN - just realised I'd better get my book buying in soon - I'll miss it when I move!

(It's laid out like a proper bookshop, with everything in sections arranged in alphabetical order and even a separate children's room. Not like the usual charity shop with two or three shelves of random paperbacks next to the dead people's shoes)

Happy Monkey · 03-30-2007, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolf

I am once again attempting to claw my way through Foucoult's Pendulum. It's been sitting at the bedside, mocking my inability to retain interest in it.

Ha! I read that in junior high school!

Ummm... It's about Rosicrucians, right?

wolf · 03-30-2007, 08:19 PM

Oh, shit man ... you just spoiled it for me.

lumberjim · 03-30-2007, 08:22 PM

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

Happy Monkey · 03-30-2007, 08:22 PM

Did I? I don't even remember enough about the book to know whether you're joking.

wolf · 03-30-2007, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lumberjim

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

Superlong, but a wonderful send up of the comedy of manners style. A lot of people were annoyed by the footnotes, but I loved them, and thought that a lot of the time they were more intriguing than the main action.

lumberjim · 03-30-2007, 08:44 PM

the footnotes are entirely tolerable in audio book format. the narrator is excellent. and with the drive i have, the longer the better.

Sundae · 04-02-2007, 08:35 AM

Just finished A Sweet Obscurity by Patrick Gale - I adored it. I need to hunt out some more of his books now. He has a lovely turn of phrase and a clear eye for the way people delude themselves, without being a cynic.

I suppose you would call it romantic fiction, in that it's quite gentle and focuses on relationships, thoughts and feelings. But there is a darker side to the situations and characters (I haven't linked to the Amazon page because it gives far too much of the plot away imo).

He reminded me of Kate Atkinson, another author I love.

In my bag at the moment - Madame Sadayakko, The Geisha Who Seduced the West. I picked it up secondhand quite randomly and wish I hadn't. It is written by Lesley Downer, and I didn't really enjoy the last book of hers that I read. Ah well, I'll muddle through it.

03-30-2007, 02:00 PM	#769
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	I'm about 2/3 of the way through. I don't mind slow books - it's just not as deep as I expected it to be. Hard to explain. It's all about my expectations rather than the book itself I think. I'm always looking for the next great book - the one that sticks in your mind and rewards you every time you read it, the one that changes your mind about something or someone, the one that you feel bereft when you've finished. This isn't it, which doesn't mean I think it's a bad book. __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

03-30-2007, 02:00 PM	#770
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	I am once again attempting to claw my way through Foucoult's Pendulum. It's been sitting at the bedside, mocking my inability to retain interest in it. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

03-30-2007, 02:00 PM	#771
Spexxvet Makes some feel uncomfortable Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 10,346	Reading Judas Unchained, the sequel to Pandora's Star, by Peter F. Hamilton. Has anyone else read any Hamilton? The Nuetronium Alchemist, Fallen Angel, his Mindstar books? __________________ "I'm certainly free, nay compelled, to spread the gospel of Spex. " - xoxoxoBruce

03-30-2007, 02:58 PM	#773
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	Nope and nope, but I will look out for them. I have a list for when I go to the charity bookshop DAMN - just realised I'd better get my book buying in soon - I'll miss it when I move! (It's laid out like a proper bookshop, with everything in sections arranged in alphabetical order and even a separate children's room. Not like the usual charity shop with two or three shelves of random paperbacks next to the dead people's shoes) __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

03-30-2007, 08:19 PM	#775
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	Oh, shit man ... you just spoiled it for me. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

03-30-2007, 02:52 PM	#772
DanaC We have to go back, Kate! Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 25,964	SG have you read Carol Berg's Rai Kirrah trilogy? or Donaldson's Gap series? Both of those I think are real transport you to somewhere else books. I thoroughly enjoyed LFB but I think the series becomes more powerful in the later books.

03-30-2007, 08:22 PM	#776
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

03-30-2007, 08:22 PM	#777
Happy Monkey I think this line's mostly filler. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: DC Posts: 13,575	Did I? I don't even remember enough about the book to know whether you're joking. __________________ _________________ \|...............\| We live in the nick of times. \| Len 17, Wid 3 \| \|_______________\| [pics]

03-30-2007, 08:44 PM	#779
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	the footnotes are entirely tolerable in audio book format. the narrator is excellent. and with the drive i have, the longer the better. __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

04-02-2007, 08:35 AM	#780
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	Just finished A Sweet Obscurity by Patrick Gale - I adored it. I need to hunt out some more of his books now. He has a lovely turn of phrase and a clear eye for the way people delude themselves, without being a cynic. I suppose you would call it romantic fiction, in that it's quite gentle and focuses on relationships, thoughts and feelings. But there is a darker side to the situations and characters (I haven't linked to the Amazon page because it gives far too much of the plot away imo). He reminded me of Kate Atkinson, another author I love. In my bag at the moment - Madame Sadayakko, The Geisha Who Seduced the West. I picked it up secondhand quite randomly and wish I hadn't. It is written by Lesley Downer, and I didn't really enjoy the last book of hers that I read. Ah well, I'll muddle through it. __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

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