bookworms unite!

A place for newcomer introductions, for our questions, polls and general discussion.
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helia
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Re: bookworms unite!

Postby helia » Mon Oct 03, 2011 8:33 am

I have always loved sci fi/fantasy. I started re-reading Isaac Asimov's foundation trilogy this past summer. It has now grown to 6 books. I likewise love books set in the 18th and 19th centuries, esp. if set in England. My favorite authors as an adolescent were Jane Austen, JRR Tolkien, and Isaac Asimov. I have always been a bit eclectic in my tastes. ;) I'm still a pretty big Jane Austen fan, though I am finding her a bit cliche-ish at this point in my life. I discovered Elizabeth Gaskell this past year and have enjoyed a couple of her books. Through my book club, I also discovered Chaim Potok, a Jewish intellectual who wrote in the late 60s/early 70s, whose books I really like. I think his most well known book is The Chosen and/or The Promise. And Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose is a favorite of mine too; it is a mystery set in a Medieval monastery. We read that for book club a couple years ago. I had wanted to read A Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde this summer, but didn't get to it. Maybe later this fall. It may lead me to Goethe's version of the Faustian tale. . .we'll see how much time I have for reading. LOL!

Currently, I am reading Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry. It was my book club book last month. Our book this month is Life is So Good, about a man who learns to read at the age of 98!

Thank you for all the recommendations. Thank you for reviving this thread, Harmony. I hope to come back here when I need a good book recommendation. My mom might enjoy Effie Leland Wilder, Harmony. Light and funny sounds good for her. The Gideon Trilogy sounds intriguing, Harriet, for some of my kids. Not all my kids are HP fans. I just might have to read it myself, too. :) I wish I knew what my kids were reading; dd15 just gave me a birthday list that includes 17 books recommended to her by an older friend who used to work in a library. Ds has been re-reading The Wheel of Time series (fantasy) by Robert Jordan. I tried it once, but couldn't take it. The plot was too meandering and convoluted for me. Not sure what dd13 has been reading.

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lucylee
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Re: bookworms unite!

Postby lucylee » Mon Oct 03, 2011 10:51 am

I'm not sure, aflyer. I'm thinking of And Ladies of the Club -- I believe that's the title -- but the author of that book is Helen Hooven Santmyer. (Just happen to have it on the shelf right here.) I read it when it first came out, years and years ago, and I LOVED it. But there may be a similar title by BTB, too. I'm going to read some more of hers when I finish this one, so I'll be searching the titles at the library.

Oh -- and crime novels -- I really loved the Patricia Cornwell (sp?) novel I read this summer. Gruesome in some parts, but I couldn't put it down, either.
Tomorrow is another day.

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Harmony
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Re: bookworms unite!

Postby Harmony » Mon Oct 03, 2011 1:36 pm

Wow, look what I started with my post!

Lucylee, if you like period books, definitely read Caleb's Crossing. It's 1640+, the first Indian to receive a degree from Harvard U. True figure, fictionalized story, but probably much truth of the times. Based in Boston and Nantucket Island, her notes at the end have a lot of history. She's the author who wrote People of the Book, which has been recommended, and is on my list next.

helia, I've read 3 of Wendell Berry's books, the last one I read was Hannah Coulter and found this one to be the most readable. Definitely recommend Effie Leland Wilder for any age, but particularly any lady approaching retirement age..definitely great wisdom wrapped up in humor!

I'm now into A Miracle for St. Cecilia's by Katherine Valentine. very much like Mitford except with a Catholic church, small town vibe in New England.

atlanticflyer
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Re: bookworms unite!

Postby atlanticflyer » Mon Oct 03, 2011 3:41 pm

ooops lucylee you are right, that is the author and that is the title.

I lopve tess Gerritsen and I think she is similiar to Patricia Cornwell

lots of great reccomendations!

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Re: bookworms unite!

Postby BookSaver » Mon Oct 03, 2011 6:05 pm

At the library's book sale this summer I picked up a book about the Statler Brothers for my mom. I then promptly forgot about it and it languished in the trunk of my car for awhile. I remembered it a few weeks ago when DMom went into hospital. Of course I had to flip through it before taking it to her, I cannot have a book in my possession without looking at it! Lot of fun anecdotes about the group's early years. I didn't recognize all of the names of the old country music stars, but she did.

Currently reading The Letters of Dorothy L. Sayers (Vol. 1) by Barbara Reynolds. This biography is a collection of her letters to family and friends covering the years from early school days through university and then publishing the Lord Peter Wimsey mystery series.

I'm guessing that I'll probably pull out the Lord Peter books to reread after I've finished this. I haven't looked at them for several years but I always planned to read them again.

Otherwise my reading time has been reduced lately because I'm trying to get caught up on TV shows I've recorded. Even zipping through commercials, they take a lot of time to watch. Some are from last season and the new season has started. There have been several that I fast-forwarded through almost the whole show and then deleted. That told me there's no point in recording this season for a couple of series since I don't enjoy watching those shows any more.

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Re: bookworms unite!

Postby atlanticflyer » Mon Oct 03, 2011 6:27 pm

I find there are only a few shows i need to catch, most of TV is getting predictable

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helia
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Re: bookworms unite!

Postby helia » Tue Oct 04, 2011 7:32 am

Bookworm, Lord Peter Wimsey of the Dorothy Sayers mysteries? I really like those books too!! Well, I've only read 3? of them, I think. Another great reading idea!

Harmony, I'm enjoying Hannah Coulter a lot! It is interesting that a man wrote a novel that follows the life of a woman.


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