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So did you think The Hunger Games was like Battle Royale? The premise sounded similar, but is the story really the same? I haven't read BR yet but had finished The Hunger Games series.
I can definitely see where comparisons were made (even though Suzanne Collins said that her inspiration was Greek mythology, reality TV and the Iraq War rather than BR). I thought that THG was better. But at the same time, I read Battle Royale quickly and am glad I did. I think the main difference is that BR is more of a Lord of the Flies-esque look into the pysche in that situation, whereas THG uses the Hunger Games as a tool to tell the bigger story. At least, that's how I'm going to try to intellectualize it.
I think this book will stay with me forever. The device she uses to help Alice measure her decline -- the questions about where she lives and about her family -- was masterful and heartrending. And the "white butter" for cream cheese -- so clever, so chilling. And her descriptions of John and the children made them seem so real. I thought the youngest daughter -- the one who hadn't gone to college yet -- was the one who understood her mother the best. I also have recommended the book to friends, and particularly to one who is writing a first book and who attended an Oliver Sacks lecture with me.
Great to hear about this one. Goes to show that indy books can be truly great. I've read several really good ones. This one will have to go on my list.
I can definitely see where comparisons were made (even though Suzanne Collins said that her inspiration was Greek mythology, reality TV and the Iraq War rather than BR). I thought that THG was better. But at the same time, I read Battle Royale quickly and am glad I did. I think the main difference is that BR is more of a Lord of the Flies-esque look into the pysche in that situation, whereas THG uses the Hunger Games as a tool to tell the bigger story. At least, that's how I'm going to try to intellectualize it.
Thanks! I haven't read Lord of the Flies either...
I think this book will stay with me forever. The device she uses to help Alice measure her decline -- the questions about where she lives and about her family -- was masterful and heartrending. And the "white butter" for cream cheese -- so clever, so chilling. And her descriptions of John and the children made them seem so real. I thought the youngest daughter -- the one who hadn't gone to college yet -- was the one who understood her mother the best. I also have recommended the book to friends, and particularly to one who is writing a first book and who attended an Oliver Sacks lecture with me.
Picked up Still Alice from the library based on all of the recommendations here. I started it last evening and am almost finished. I agree - a very moving and compelling description of the decline of this healthy, intelligent, vibrant woman into the abyss of Alzheimer's disease. Scary really...I'm finding myself analyzing my own memory lapses and imagining how I would cope. I am recommending this one for my book group. Thanks for the suggestion.
This is the first year in many that I haven't found a good read for Halloween. I don't mean techno-thrillers, and I don't read gore, but the good, old fashioned story lines where there are ghosts that creak doors and go bump in the night. I only read these scary books in October, and was hoping someone could recommend their favorites scary story?
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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Originally Posted by janetvj
Picked up Still Alice from the library based on all of the recommendations here. I started it last evening and am almost finished. I agree - a very moving and compelling description of the decline of this healthy, intelligent, vibrant woman into the abyss of Alzheimer's disease. Scary really...I'm finding myself analyzing my own memory lapses and imagining how I would cope. I am recommending this one for my book group. Thanks for the suggestion.
I watched my grandmother suffer from Alzheimer's (actually, in truth, it was the family -- more than her -- who suffered) and, being young at the time, she was frustrating. This was many years ago.
I read Still Alice when it first came out, and I found myself sobbing, wishing that I'd been old enough, mature enough, adult enough to UNDERSTAND what my grandmother was going through, instead of being frustrated by her. "Regrets, I've had a few..."
This book is a terrific read, a great story -- and I think it almost serves as a "textbook" for the family of Alzheimer's victims so that we can better understand what's going on.
This is the first year in many that I haven't found a good read for Halloween. I don't mean techno-thrillers, and I don't read gore, but the good, old fashioned story lines where there are ghosts that creak doors and go bump in the night. I only read these scary books in October, and was hoping someone could recommend their favorites scary story?
This is the first year in many that I haven't found a good read for Halloween. I don't mean techno-thrillers, and I don't read gore, but the good, old fashioned story lines where there are ghosts that creak doors and go bump in the night. I only read these scary books in October, and was hoping someone could recommend their favorites scary story?
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A good Halloween Story?
