Spoilers What Book Are You Reading?

[CrickettGrrrl]

Agreed, re taking some time to get into Sabriel the first time I read it; however, on re-reading it, I found it raced along a lot better, because the world had become more familiar with the subsequent books.

Lirael is just perfect; it is a first rate, rollicking fantasy, and just grabs you by the scruff of the neck. Powerfully plotted and beautifully written, I like the fact, too, that it allows itself a leisurely pace to allow for generous character development, which pays off handsomely as the characters and their narrative and growth arc are the story and you have become completely invested in them and in their fate.

Garth Nix himself has remarked that both Lirarel and Abhorsen should be read as two parts of the same book.

So far it starts off much better than Sabriel. I remember with Sabriel it took me some time to get into the story. But not with this one, I'm already hooked!

I raced through Sabriel like my pants were on fire, a friend had recommended this series to us around the time my husband's cancer treatments were not going well so the journey through the gates of Death, well, ---just had to get through those bits quickly. Almost didn't finish Sabriel or begin Liriel but needed something in all the hours between 12 & 5AM and Liriel was wonderful, so much better than the first volume. I loved the Disreputable Dog.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I raced through Sabriel like my pants were on fire, a friend had recommended this series to us around the time my husband's cancer treatments were not going well so the journey through the gates of Death, well, ---just had to get through those bits quickly. Almost didn't finish Sabriel or begin Liriel but needed something in all the hours between 12 & 5AM and Liriel was wonderful, so much better than the first volume. I loved the Disreputable Dog.

Agree that the Disreputable Dog was brilliant.

Actually, I loved the quartet of Lirael, the Disreputable Dog, Mogget and Sameth - as a quartet, they were just so perfectly balanced. The scene where boat met bathtub - where the foursome first met - was hilarious, tense, brilliant, and superbly written; while the scenes set in the Abhorsen's House were deeply moving and very powerful.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

There is also a coda to the Abhorsen trilogy; it is a novella, or a 'long' short story called 'The Creature In The Case' which appears in an anthology called 'Across The Wall', and is set around six to eight months after the events in the trilogy.

And, in his end notes - or author's notes - to 'Clariel' (which was published in 2014) and which is set several centuries before the events depicted in the 'Abhorsen' trilogy, Garth Nix has written that he is currently writing another book set in the Old Kingdom, which will take up the tale from immediately after the events depicted in 'The Creature In The Case'.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

You know, reading about the Abhorsen trilogy almost makes me want to go back to read them again, especially Lirael and Abhorsen.

LadyX, if this is your first time reading them, I think you are in for a real treat. They are brilliant, an example of first rate fantasy writing, clever, original, (the juxtaposition - and uncomfortable intersection - of a World War 1 and/or 1920s style England with this weird proto-medieval Kingdom is fascinating), great characters, and genuine menace. And hilarious at times.

Today, I received in the post an invitingly fat, heavy, hardback (which I had read rave reviews of as recently as last week) which has just been published. Written by Christina Lamb, it is called 'Farewell Kabul - From Afghanistan To A More Dangerous World' and is a shocking and deeply depressing - but superbly researched read.

Over the past fortnight, I had raced through two books by the excellent Sarah Chayes. One, 'The Punishment of Virtue - Inside Afghanistan After The Taliban' is a fascinating account of her time in Kandahar (in southern Afghanistan), and of her growing close friendship with the man who served as police chief in the city, Akrem Khakrezwal, and is a pretty searing account.

The other, 'Thieves of State - Why Corruption Threatens Global Security' , and also published recently, is a superb and deeply disturbing read.

 

[AVBeatMan]

Has anyone read Stephen King's "Dark Tower" books? Any good?

 

[AngerDanger]

Are You My Mother – Alison Bechdel

Finished Mother's Day eve:

Has anyone read Stephen King's "Dark Tower" books? Any good?

I enjoyed the series quite a bit but would recommend starting with the second book and then moving back to the first before continuing. I found the first book to be a poor representation of the rest of the series, but that's probably because I didn't think the protagonist was very compelling. The second book introduces more interesting characters as well as the surreal nature of the series. It's called A Drawing of Three if I recall and stands fairly well on its own.

 

[AVBeatMan]

Finished Mother's Day eve:

I enjoyed the series quite a bit but would recommend starting with the second book and then moving back to the first before continuing. I found the first book to be a poor representation of the rest of the series, but that's probably because I didn't think the protagonist was very compelling. The second book introduces more interesting characters as well as the surreal nature of the series. It's called A Drawing of Three if I recall and stands fairly well on its own.

Yeah, I've heard that the first book is a bit of a slog to get through, but start on book 2? You sure? I don't doubt you, just wondering if I'll miss something.

 

[AngerDanger]

Yeah, I've heard that the first book is a bit of a slog to get through, but start on book 2? You sure? I don't doubt you, just wondering if I'll miss something.

I read the second book first by mistake and didn't find that there was anything integral missing. Plus, when you do actually read the first book, it's nice to uncover things that didn't make sense in the second.

 

[LadyX]

Yes it's my first time reading the series, SS. Really enjoying Lirael. Great story.

 

[David58117]

The Count of Monte Cristo!

First time reading it, I have the Buss translation and am about two hundred pages in..

Amazing so far!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Yes it's my first time reading the series, SS. Really enjoying Lirael. Great story.

Well, I am delighted that you are enjoying it; actually, it is one of those books that jus gets better and better.

The Count of Monte Cristo!

First time reading it, I have the Buss translation and am about two hundred pages in..

Amazing so far!

Ah, a terrific book; the first 150 pages especially, are brilliant - what a rollicking and thrilling read. I remember reading it - transfixed - in my early teens.

 

[bradl]

My wife and I just went through this the other night with getting our kids to try some new foods. If you don't have them already, when you have kids, you'll understand, while the rest of us that do have them will just say, "I told you so!"

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/you-have-to-f-king-eat-adam-mansbach/1120409896?ean=9781617753787

BL.

P.S. That night, it took me 4 stories to finally get them to Go The **** To Sleep.

 

[kazmac]

The Tao of Star Wars - a gentle way to ease into this.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

My wife and I just went through this the other night with getting our kids to try some new foods. If you don't have them already, when you have kids, you'll understand, while the rest of us that do have them will just say, "I told you so!"

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/you-have-to-f-king-eat-adam-mansbach/1120409896?ean=9781617753787

YouTube: video

BL.

P.S. That night, it took me 4 stories to finally get them to Go The **** To Sleep.

Ah. Right.

Well, I don't have kids, (although I do have a Mother who is suffering from dementia) but I have read 'Go The **** To Sleep' (the wonderfully long illustrated version, and I have also listened to the splendidly satisfying sound of the sonorous timbre of the tones of Samuel L. Jackson reading this text aloud ), and it is an absolute delight. Hilarious.

 

[Macky-Mac]

I've just finished William Faulkner's Light In August and am now about 90 pages into Philip Roth's Sabbath's Theater

I'm not sure I'm going to be a Roth fan by the time I've finished it tho

 

[northernmunky]

Hitchens, legendary author....

 

[LadyX]

The Count of Monte Cristo!



First time reading it, I have the Buss translation and am about two hundred pages in..



Amazing so far!

My favorite book of all time!!! It's brilliant and is the most thrilling book I've ever read. It's over 1000 pages but I finished it in three days. I'm glad you're reading Buss' translation/the Penguin Classics edition. It's the best translation in my opinion; unabridged, very readable and the most faithful to the original. Oh I love this book so much!!

 

[Pilon]

Is that bike a diesel mate, by Paul Carter

Currently reading the third hilarious book by Paul Carter,

His first one being about his life on the oil rigs, called
Don't tell mum I work on the rigs, she thinks I'm a piano player in a whore house.

Is that bike, is about his attempt to ride a motorbike powered by old cooking oil around Australia.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

A surprisingly large parcel - incredibly closely wrapped - arrived today. I suspected what it was, (as I had corresponded with the sender only a few days earlier) but I still had to use a Swiss Army Knife to actually open the package.

Anyway, it turned out to be an overdue (it had taken over a fortnight to arrive), but very welcome batch of books by the late, great, Sir Terry Prachett.

Three fat hard-backs, each comprising a trilogy. The 'Witches' trilogy,(which contains 'Equal Rites', 'Wyrd Sisters', and 'Witches Abroad'), along with and the 'Gods' trilogy, (which comprises of 'Pyramids', 'Small Gods' and 'Hogfather'), and the 'Death' trilogy (which comprises 'Mort', 'Reaper Man' and 'Soul Music').

Terrific stuff.

 

[Melrose]

For the first time:

Brilliant writing, especially the first 3/4 of it. Once she meets the old ladies it's a bit saccharine and changes tone but overall a great book.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

For the first time:

Image

Brilliant writing, especially the first 3/4 of it. Once she meets the old ladies it's a bit saccharine and changes tone but overall a dupe book.

Interesting. If memory serves, the movie 'Paper Moon' was derived from that book, was it not?

I saw the movie ages ago, and remember rather enjoying it.

How do you find the book, and how faithful is the movie adaptation? More to the point, which do you prefer?

 

[Melrose]

Interesting. If memory serves, the movie 'Paper Moon' was derived from that book, was it not?

I saw the movie ages ago, and remember rather enjoying it.

How do you find the book, and how faithful is the movie adaptation? More to the point, which do you prefer

Correct. The book was republished as "Paper Moon" actually.

The movie is fairly faithful, as much as a movie can be - and not off track like so many are. Tatum was cast perfectly, I think, but Ryan wasn't quite the same as what the book made him up to be. The movie took in the first half of the book, roughly.

Of course, bits were cut but the best parts are there and as faithfully filmed as possible I suppose. The director's choice to shoot in B&W was well chosen.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Correct. The book was republished as "Paper Moon" actually.

The movie is fairly faithful, as much as a movie can be - and not off track like so many are. Tatum was cast perfectly, I think, but Ryan wasn't quite the same as what the book made him up to be. The movie took in the first half of the book, roughly.

Of course, bits were cut but the best parts are there and as faithfully filmed as possible I suppose. The director's choice to shoot in B&W was well chosen.

Yes, I remember reading that critical opinion that thought that Tatum has been perfectly cast, while there was somewhat less enthusiasm for Ryan. How did his interpretation differ front he character depicted in the book?

Interesting that the movie adaptation is confined to the first half of the book; does the second half offer a dramatic change in tone, or plot, or content?

 

[Melrose]

Yes, I remember reading that critical opinion that thought that Tatum has been perfectly cast, while there was somewhat less enthusiasm for Ryan. How did his interpretation differ front he character depicted in the book?

Interesting that the movie adaptation is confined to the first half of the book; does the second half offer a dramatic change in tone, or plot, or content?

The first half deals with general shenanigans, the latter portion they meet up with the Colonel/Major (who was, if you'll recall, written into the film as the old man that Moze was set to meet before he got beat up. In the book, the Colonel is a hugely successful grifter who runs much bigger scams and sort of takes Addie and Moze under his wing.

Lots of particulars were left out of the movie; for example, Addie merely mentioned in the movie about "dropping wallets", whereas in the book that scam was described in detail. They also had a large scam going selling cotton, and pictures of FDR and recently deceased relatives. It also explains how the pair would sometimes get carloads of groceries and goods instead of cash, which they'd take to the poor sections of town and leave for the ones who needed it.

I suppose the character Ryan O'neal played just didn't seem like he was sharp enough. Ryan just looked a bit soft or "pretty" to me... if you get my drift. Probably that's my own imagination talking, hence the beauty of a book.

 

[aaronvan]

"Just Behind You," a short story collection by Ramsey Campbell. Man, this guy writes some very creepy stories. He's better than Stephen King.