Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
ABOUT BOOKS AND READING
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What are U reading these days? (Part One) (begun 11/22/08)
![Cindy (cyndil62)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1272901582p1/365038.jpg)
I have been spending too much time on the computer this weekend! I'm anxious to finish this book so I can move on to the next one!
and....What are you reading? :)
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
I know what you mean about being anxious to finish a book so you can move onto the next one. I can't wait to finish _Gilead_. I have so many other book which I will probably find more compelling. I hope so! :)
![Debra (debrapurdykong)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1660854199p1/1135162.jpg)
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
http://www.goodreads.com/group/booksh...
![Andy | 23 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1233690713p1/95645.jpg)
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50...
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
![Andy | 23 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1233690713p1/95645.jpg)
There certainly are some clever phrases and metaphors throughout the book, but I doubt the book will make it into my top ten.
And to compare it to a David Lynch movie (like the description at the link) is completely preposterous, the two artists have very little in common in my opinion.
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
And just now I've added "adventure".
The more I can categorize books, but more I feel I have a handle on all that's going on in the book world.
I guess I should be using the word "genres". :)
I like your critique of Goodread's book description. Makes us all think about these things and sharpens our ability to make comparisons. Brainwork! It's a skill which reading teachers try to develop in their students. Lifts the thinking up a few notches. Brain exercise.
P.S. I love the word "preposterous". Maybe that would make a good tag sometime. :)
![Andy | 23 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1233690713p1/95645.jpg)
I haven't bought a new book from a bookstore in a while. I'm a little disappointed with the flimsiness of the copy I have. Library books tend to be much sturdier. This book reminds me of the flimsy mysteries I read as a child. Light paper. Light cover. Oh well. Doesn't seem appropriate for the weightiness of the topic. But I'll get over it.
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
Hope you enjoy it. It has its highs and lows, IMO. There are some good reflections on life. Not much of a plot, but it's getting better toward the end. I have a few more pages to go before I finish. We'll talk more about it at the CR discussion. It should be interesting.
![Jim (jimmaclachlan)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1340192527p1/695116.jpg)
The other book I'm reading is factual, Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different. (I generally try to read one of each at the same time.) Gordon S. Wood has done a great job of looking at some of the Founding Fathers & making them people, not just icons.
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
Last night I saw a fantasy movie, _Twilight_. I was curious about it because I've noticed that so many kids (and adults)are reading it. My, but that lead male character was handsome!
I haven't read much fantasy. I've read some magical realism. I think _Love in the Time of Cholera_, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, may have been in that category, or near it. What are some others in that category? I may or may not have read them. I enjoyed the Cholera book. Here's a cover-link to it: ====>
![Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1166052341s/9712.jpg)
Yes, it's nice to alternate between genres concurrently. I was a history major and should be reading more historical non-fiction. I did enjoy McCullough's _John Adams_.
I've just put the Gordon S. Wood book you mentioned on my to-read list (_Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different_). Sounds interesting.
![Jim (jimmaclachlan)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1340192527p1/695116.jpg)
I'll be interested in what you think of Wood's book. I'm not well schooled in history, just what I picked up over the years. I don't think he has an ax to grind, but I'm not sure I fully agree on all his characterizations & motivations for the Founding Fathers. Still, it does bring them down to life size & gives a pretty good view of how confused their lives were.
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
One of the external reviews at IMBd.com pointed out that the author of Twilight changed the traditional characteristics of vampires. She gave them some Superman-like abilities which they never had before, like flying and super-strength. That took some nerve to do that, I think. It's akin to changing a definition with no authority. But I suppose there are no Vampire Police to admonish her. :)
[Note: Please see Message #22 from Jackie, below in this topic. It corrects what I've said above about the powers of vampires.]
I'll let you know when I've read Wood's book. It might be a while because I have a pile waiting to be read here. It would take some research to find out if his ideas about the Founding Fathers are valid.
When I read David McCullough's _John Adams_, I realized how much of his life, Adams sacrificed for the causes he espoused. He was separated from his wife for long periods. Also, she had some influence on him because she had strong ideas about the country just as he did. She's an early example of how women could get involved with world-affairs through their husbands. Their letters to each other were very revealing as to their thoughts on politics and the forming of the new country.
Have you read _John Adams_?
![Becky (beckymurr)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1422107782p1/1758987.jpg)
I love vampires & have read quite a few vampire stories over the years. I liked Twilight & they were a fun read-what I like about them the most-that young girls are reading!!!
I think of them as Anne Rice-lite!!
![Jim (jimmaclachlan)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1340192527p1/695116.jpg)
Joy, I haven't read McCollough's "John Adams" but I think I have the audio book some place. As I recall it was very long & got stuck in a box for 'later'. It is on my to-do list, just down a few notches.
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
Becky, what do you think of Anne Rice's writing?
![Becky (beckymurr)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1422107782p1/1758987.jpg)
I have to honest, I have not picked up her newer books, which are religious. She is no longer an atheist...LOL......
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
Thanks, Becky.
![Jackie (thelastwolf) | 4050 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1225124705p1/1660443.jpg)
As a Vampire reader, I have to say that Twilight didn't give new powers to vampires. Lestat by Anne Rice could fly. Even the traditional Dracula by Bram Stoker had super strength.
As you know, I haven't read Twilight yet, but the thing I found unique and interesting (in the movie) was Stephenie Meyer's take on sunlight and the vampire. I've never read that in a book or saw that in a movie before.
Becky,
I was a fan of Anne Rice and read most of her books. I liked the earlier Vampire Chronicles, up to Queen of the Damned. After that, they were less interesting to me. I liked the Witching Hour although it was overly long, the next one in the series Lasher was awful. I still have Taltos but haven't gotten around to it. I have Feast of All Saints on my bookshelf, don't know when I'll get around to it since my feelings for her writing has waned considerably. But you're opinion of it will probably have me read it sooner rather than later.
I'm done with her new books. I bought Christ the Lord, only because the synopsis sounded interesting but when I started reading the novel, I realized that synopsis was completely misleading, meant to draw in her usual fans. That was the only time in my life I didn't finish a book. Even if I'm not enjoying a book, I will finish it; sometimes I'll put a book down for a while but always finish it. I can't say I hated a book unless I've read it all the way through, but with that novel I just couldn't stomach all the Christian stuff. I actually annoyed me, and where's the fun in reading that? You made a smart call in not bothering with her latest books!
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
I've taken the liberty of quoting you at the topic at the following link.
See Message #2 there:====>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...
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I appreciate the clarification.
You explained it very well. Thanks!
Joy
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
Sometimes I don't remember much about the plot or details in the books I've read, unless they made a big impression on me in some way.
![Jackie (thelastwolf) | 4050 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1225124705p1/1660443.jpg)
And my daily memory is atrocious. My family and my boss get very frustrated with me.
![Becky (beckymurr)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1422107782p1/1758987.jpg)
Jackie, you have not read the Twilight series yet? But you saw the movie? I wanted to make sure i was following along. I have the last one of the Twilght books to read but I have put it aside, knowing it will be the last one. I liked how Stephanie Meyers added the light into the story, first vampire story I have ever read where they can into the sunlight but they still can't be seen....LOL
BTW-I love your malamute-we had a malamute/lab, Boomer & he was the love of our lives....my husband called him a malamutt....what a great dog....
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
![Becky (beckymurr)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1422107782p1/1758987.jpg)
What I remember from other vampire stories is that they can't stand the sun or the bright light & I don't think it would be good to see what they look like in the daylight !!
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
![Becky (beckymurr)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1422107782p1/1758987.jpg)
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
![Becky (beckymurr)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1422107782p1/1758987.jpg)
In the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, Edward Cullen sparkles if he stands in the sunlight.
![Becky (beckymurr)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1422107782p1/1758987.jpg)
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
I think I've read something by Wally Lamb, but I can't find a title that's familiar. What kind of book is _The Hour I First Believed_? Guess I'll go to the following link and find out. Below is the cover-link:
![The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905s/3086160.jpg)
![Katie](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1208722942p1/1100161.jpg)
The book isn't finished, and we don't know if it ever will be. Apparently someone leaked it to the internet. She knows who did it though, and she's not upset. She did release the rough draft of Midnight Sun on her website http://www.stepheniemeyer.com.
I've yet to read it though. I'm afraid that if I do read it and she releases her final book, it will be different and my views will be swayed. But also, I don't want to read it, for fear that she never finishes it and then I'd be mad that my story isn't going to be done!
![Jackie (thelastwolf) | 4050 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1225124705p1/1660443.jpg)
Yes, I saw the movie but didn't read the books. I'm waiting to borrow them from someone. Originally, I hadn't planned on seeing the movie until after I read the series. I usually rent movies. But Joy wanted to see it, and I heard so many good things about it and I had the opportunity to meet Joy in person, so I went.
What's funny is, I insist my husband and son read a book first if a movie is coming out, because that's what I do. This is the first time I saw a movie without reading the book for as long as I can remember, and boy! am I getted razzed about it! LOL
And Malamutes, where do I start? They are incredibly smart...and notoriously stubborn. I love my Juneau; he's my constant companion.
Dogs are the best, no one loves you like a dog!
Katie,
I hope she writes it, it sounds very interesting being from Edward's point of view. I wonder if we can send her a message asking her to please continue?
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
When I went to check out the book, _The Hour I First Believed_, I read some of the Goodread's members' reviews. Most of the reviews I read were favorable. However, one of them wasn't. It said:
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"When an author asks you to go on a 700+ page journey, the trip should be enjoyable and/or the destination should be fulfilling. Unfortunately, I don't feel that "The Hour I First Believed" really offers either a good trip or a satisfying final destination. Rather, it is joyless, self-indulgent, and exposition-heavy. Lamb too often tells rather than shows in this book, and the telling is a little over-done. Also, the dialogue given to the teen characters and an early chapter written from the POV of the narrator at 8 years old are not only unbelievable, but almost cringe-worthy.
As evidenced in his first two novels, Lamb is a fantastic writer and a superb storyteller. His latest, however, just didn't do it for me."
Review by Jeff ( http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/16... )
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Becky, what to you think of Jeff's review? Did you think the book was "joyless"?
P.S. Below is a cover-link to the book:
[image error]
![Becky (beckymurr)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1422107782p1/1758987.jpg)
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
I don't usually enjoy complex sagas. It could be because my memory can no longer hold all the needed details in my head. Memory is an important factor, especially if we don't read a book all at once, but read it intermittently, a bit at a time.
Would you say that the book, _The Hour I First Believed_, was complex in any way?
![Jeff | 6 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1222352072p1/166787.jpg)
For clarification, what I meant about the book being joyless is not that there wasn't any light or levity in the book, but rather that it takes itself too seriously -- unmitigatingly so! I think it is VERY possible to tell a heavy, thought-provoking story without getting bogged down in the weight of the telling. "We Need To Talk About Kevin" by Lionel Shriver, for example, tells the story of a Columbine-esque school rampage, but manages to do so in a profoundly dynamic, exciting, and interesting way. "The Hour I First Believed" was, for me, just too heavy-handed and too clinical.
In response to your question about complexity. I think that "Hour" is a complex novel from both a narrative and a psychological point of view. I generally love big, sprawling books with messy (and often unlikeable) characters, but "Hour" just didn't feel honest to me for some reason.
![Jeff | 6 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1222352072p1/166787.jpg)
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
I'm not sure I can handle "sprawling" books. Even years ago, I gave up on Dr. Zhivago. Too many characters, for one thing. I guess I just haven't got the patience to pay attention and remember who is who.
When you say "grotesquely fun" characters, you remind me of the book, _The World According to Garp_, by John Irving. :) Another thing about John Irving, IMO, he goes off on too many tangents. However, I've enjoyed several of his books, especially _Cider House Rules_.
BTW, how did you acquire _The Believers_ before it comes out in Feb. 2009?
[Below is a link to _The Believers_:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38...
(I was unable to post the cover-link. That feature doesn't always work for me.)
![Joy H. (joyofglensfalls) | 16697 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1214230787p1/1259216.jpg)
The books are:
_Notes on a Scandal_
_What Was She Thinking?_
_The Believers_
(The "add book/author" feature still isn't working. I wrote to Goodreads about this bug.)
![Becky (beckymurr)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1422107782p1/1758987.jpg)
I liked the book but I felt his other 2 books were much better stories.....
![Jeff | 6 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1222352072p1/166787.jpg)
Joy, I am a huge John Irving fan! My favorite book of John's is "Prayer for Owen Meany." "Prayer" is one of the most consummately written books I've ever read and the ending is utterly unforgettable!
BTW, Zoë Heller only has two books. "Notes on a Scandal" is the subtitle of "What Was She Thinking." "Notes" was also the name of the brilliant movie based on Heller's book, which stars Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench.
As for "The Believers," Joy, I work in the book industry and tend to get a lot of advanced readers copies from my publishing colleagues.
![Jeff | 6 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1222352072p1/166787.jpg)
Books mentioned in this topic
What Was She Thinking? [Notes on a Scandal] (other topics)The Great Book of Amber (other topics)
Beloved (other topics)
The First Chronicles of Amber (other topics)
Demon Moon (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Wally Lamb (other topics)Jack Williamson (other topics)
William Goldman (other topics)
S.A. Rule (other topics)
Leslie Ann Moore (other topics)
More...
However, I have found some interesting thoughts well expressed. The old man is a minister and at one point he expounds about Commandment 10, "Thou shalt not covet." He says:
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"I believe the sin of covetise is that pang of resentment you may feel when even the people you love best have what you want but don't have... I avoided the experience of disobeying by keeping to myself a good deal... [He quotes the Bible:]:'Rejoice with those who rejoice'. I have found that difficult too often. I was much better at weeping with those who weep."
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It's passages like the above which keep me reading the book.
Don't judge the book by my comments above. Below is a link to a good description of the book: ===>
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68...
What are you reading these days?