What book are you reading?

[ylisa7]

Jazz- You're welcome and I'm crossing my fingers for you. Out of all those books, something has to be good



There truly are so many god recommendations here




Last night I started The Elephant Whisperer. What a fantastic story about a man who took on two herds of wild rogue elephants and rehabilitated them. I am about a third of the way through it and it will end up being a favorite of mine.


This is the same story when the man, Lawrence Anthony, died the two herds traveled 12 hours to his own to "supposedly" mourn his death. He had a special connection with these giant mammals.
Wild Elephants gather inexplicably, mourn death of “Elephant Whisperer” | Delight Makers

[pigeonhole]

Malibu, part of a trilogy on the West Coast celebrities by Pat Booth.
But as I try to read it in a Spanish translation, it's quite arduous.

[jtur88]

Michael Ondaatje's "Running in the Family". 1982, still testing literary styles before his works that revealed him as one of the great writers of his generation. It reads somewhat like a "What I did on Summer Vacation", but you can see kernels of promise in there. A short quick scamper through life among the elites in Ceylon>Sri Lanka, which makes it interesting for that illumination alone.

[Holly-Kay]

Originally Posted by Mayvenne

Glad you enjoyed it. I did too and it kept going between tears and laughter.

My recent really good reads ( I remember you loved BIG LITTLE LIES which I just finished and really liked)..... all were suggested on this forum.
The Good House (Ann Leary)
The Good Luck of Right Now (Matthew Quick)
A Land More Kind than home (Wiley Cash)
and from a long time ago that I LOVED-
ONE THOUSAND WHITE WOMEN

Thanks Mayvenne! I did like BLL. I am reading The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry ATM. Not sure that I am going to like it but I'm sticking it out. Thanks so much for the above suggestions, I am going to read all of them.

[ylisa7]

For fans of Diana Gabaldon I came across another author to try. Into The Wilderness by Sara Donati.

http://www.amazon.com/Into-Wildernes...the+wilderness

[fromupthere]

Originally Posted by younglisa7

For fans of Diana Gabaldon I came across another author to try. Into The Wilderness by Sara Donati.

Into the Wilderness - Kindle edition by Sara Donati. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

I have this series - haven't read it yet though. My sister loves it.

ETA: If I remember correctly, she was inspired by Outlander when she wrote her series.

[NT Fellowship]

From "the Mrs.": Village School by Miss Read. I enjoy much of her writing. I am not British (though my husband's family is very British), but love the small village feel of the story. As a home school teacher for 20 years, I see many of my teaching methods repeated successfully through Miss Read, and am delighted with its results not only in my own 3 students, but in the way she wrote of it in her pupils.
http://www.amazon.com/Village-School...iss+read+books

[Gaylenwoof]

Ok, I have to admit I've started reading 50 Shades of Grey. Since I do quite a bit of writing about philosophy of sex and sexuality, I decided I ought to see what the fuss is about with this one. I had low expectations and, frankly, it's worse than I thought. I'm not at all offended by sex or kink, but the writing is annoyingly bad. An utter lack of any sort of artistry. I'm only about a third of the way through, and I've started skimming just to get a rough sense of the storyline.

Aside from the bad writing, I'm also annoyed by the lack of any real insight into the BDSM lifestyle and mindset. It reads more like a collection of mundane stereotypes without any effort to reflect on the aspects of human nature that lead people into these types of relationship. (Keep in mind that I'm only about a third of the way through, so I could be jumping the gun on this assessment. Theoretically it could take a turn for the better.)

What's really sad is the loss of potential. If a well-written and well-researched book had hit the bestseller list like this one, it could have opened up whole new understandings of human psychology and sexuality for a lot of people, in addition to being flat-out interesting and entertaining. Instead it is more like a running gag, with no real substance and a frightful lack of humor, so far as I can see.

On the plus side, it seems to have spawned a whole genre of jokes and related parodies. I haven't read any of the parodies, but I suspect they are probably better than 50 Shades itself.

I am left with a question: Suppose this had been a well-written, well-researched book sprinkled with insights, humor, and a bit of cleverness and it came to market in precisely the same way as 50 Shades did. I wonder if it would have sold as well? I would hope so, but I can't help wondering if somehow the lack of redeeming qualities might have somehow played a role in creating the phenomenon. I wish I had access to parallel realities so that I could run an experiment.

And, speaking of masochism, I will probably end up watching 50 Shades on DVD with it comes out on Netflix. Sad but true.

[Ketabcha]

One of my favorite authors is Kazuo Ishiguro. He wrote Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go.

I just started his When We Were Orphans. So far so good.

His books usually have a dreamlike feel to them. The plot goes into the past and is presented in the present as remembrances that are so clear it's almost like the reader is there. I like that.

[Gandalara]

Originally Posted by younglisa7

For fans of Diana Gabaldon I came across another author to try. Into The Wilderness by Sara Donati.

http://www.amazon.com/Into-Wildernes...the+wilderness

Thanks Lisa!
Have put it on my wish list.
(From the sample on Amazon, I see Gabaldon gave her a blurb)