Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I finished Finding Dorothy --- and really loved it. I thought the writing was great, and especially appreciated the details of daily life. Somehow it really helped give a very good background and idea of day to day existence at those times.
It is historical fiction done well. It did go back and forth from 1880 to 1939 (the making of the movie -The Wizard of Oz) but it did so in a smooth way. So many books I 've read lately do this but they do it in a hodge podge way.
I think this would be a good book for a book club, though I read it for myself. I found it just fascinating. I give it 5 stars.
I saw CA4Now loved it too.
My father, who is 101, is due to receive this book from me in a day or so. Thank you to CA4Now and you for the recommendations. He just finished Beach Music by Pat Conroy.
^ I thought my dad would be interested in Beach Music because of all the history in it during the time when he was young, before he entered WWII and afterward.
I haven't read any of Pat Conroy's books.... I of course intend to.
I really like going back and reading the books from prior years. That was like The Shell Seekers. Published in the late 1980's it totally escaped my radar. I was so happy it was recommended.
I just finished "Arthur and George" by Juiian Barnes. It is probably characterized as historical fiction, since the "Arthur" is the creator of Sherlock Holmes. It was a 3-star read for me.
As boys, George, the son of a Midlands vicar, and Arthur, living in shabby genteel Edinburgh, find themselves in a vast and complex world at the heart of the British Empire. Years later—one struggling with his identity in a world hostile to his ancestry, the other creating the world’s most famous detective while in love with a woman who is not his wife—their fates become inextricably connected.
The Magician by M. Somerset Maugham, a novella written around 1908, about a thoroughly odious but preternaturally powerful man who manipulates those around him through sorcery.
Wide-Eyed in Babylon by Ray Milland, his autobiography. Alas, reading this is like when you think you would probably really like someone you’ve just met and then you have a conversation with them and realize they are shallow, vain, bigoted, and cranky. And dull. Although I enjoy his acting, this book definitely did not make me like him better, and disappointingly, it focused a great deal on his early years and supplied very few details on the movies he was best known for. I mean, not to even mention "Dial M for Murder," or "The Uninvited?" What, did he forget he did those?
The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel. For my book club, otherwise I would never have picked it up, as I absolutely hate reading about the atrocities of WWII (not that I don't believe it happened, I know it happened and I've read a lot about it in the past, and at this point in my life I don’t feel the need to dwell on any kind of atrocities in whatever leisure time I have left). Why every other book club selection is about Nazis, I do not know.
The World's Religions by Huston Smith, for a study group. It’s a dense read and not altogether to my liking, but I like the people in the group so.
I haven't read any of Pat Conroy's books.... I of course intend to.
I really like going back and reading the books from prior years. That was like The Shell Seekers. Published in the late 1980's it totally escaped my radar. I was so happy it was recommended.
Talked to my dad last night. He said that he really liked Beach Music (Pat Conroy), that it was a bit too long, but the writing is so good that ultimately he didn't mind. Amazon informed me that Finding Dorothy arrived at his residence this afternoon. Will be interested to see what he thinks of it.
As for me, I just received notice that The Proud Breed is available as an ILL to pick up at one of my local libraries. It came all the way from Missouri in less than a week. $3.00. Not available for a reasonable price on Amazon or anywhere else, so if anyone is interested in the book (especially native Californians and transplants) you should be able to get it through Inter Library Loan (ILL).
Just finished "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime" by Mark Haddon. It's a most unusual book -- both the first person writing and the protagonist, who is a 15-year-old autistic boy. It really is a wondrous, sometimes humorous little book that shines a light on the way the brain of a bright autistic child processes the world around him. It was a four-star read for me.
Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. This improbable story of Christopher's quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years.
The book apparently has been marketed so as to inspire a new generation of muck-rakers in the mold of Upton Sinclair and Ida Tarbell; the cover makes the necessary reference to "corporate greed, corruption and the fight for the future of meat", But in fairness, it should be noted that this is no one-side Vegan rant. Nevertheless, the author, still only thirty years of age, grew up in the New Jersey suburb of Short Hills, and graduated from the private Pingry School, and worked, but only for a few days, in the plucking and disemboweling rooms of a Pennsylvania poultry operation.
Still,, I must point out that my own background included eighteen years growing up on a family dairy farm -- currently existing on the fringe of sustainability due to market conditions.
I'm offering a rebuttal from a person far more familiar with the present-day meat industry:
Most of the common ground here is on different planets.
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 05-12-2023 at 11:41 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I thought my dad would be interested in Beach Music because of all the history in it during the time when he was young, before he entered WWII and afterward.