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I just finished The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. I loved it. I definitely related to Gogol hating his name for much of his life but, really, the whole story was beautifully told.
Next up? House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. I might not start it tonight or even tomorrow, but start it I will. I'm on a classics mission. Well, I'm on a mission to start on the classics.
I thought you had read The Namesake, and didn't like it? Or, maybe you didn't think you would like it? I really liked it too. I have The House of Mirth, but, haven't started it. I did look at it again the other day, trying to decide if it should be my next book. I love the name of it. Was the house full of mirth? If I ever get through with these magazines! Every time I think I see light at the end, I get some more in the mail. I'm going to have to start a book or two this week end whether I'm caught up with my magazines or not.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DandJ
Riding the Bus with My Sister: A True Life Journey by Rachel Simon
Change of plans. Since I'd only read the first page or two of Riding the Bus..., I'm going to put that away for another time. I got a 5 or 6 books today at Goodwill, and am dying to start on a compilation of stories, poems, and essays called On Doctoring. What was really cool was that there was a paper inside the book, which turned out to be someone's recent admission to medical school. The book was given to him as part of his admission packet. So neat!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jess5
I thought you had read The Namesake, and didn't like it? Or, maybe you didn't think you would like it? I really liked it too.
I'd just read her two books of short stories but had read very mixed reviews on The Namesake and so I didn't even bother getting it. But I love Jhumpa Lahiri's writing so much, I thought, "Why not?" So I got it. And read it. And loved it. Despite mixed reviews.
I thought you had read The Namesake, and didn't like it? Or, maybe you didn't think you would like it? I really liked it too. I have The House of Mirth, but, haven't started it. I did look at it again the other day, trying to decide if it should be my next book. I love the name of it. Was the house full of mirth? If I ever get through with these magazines! Every time I think I see light at the end, I get some more in the mail. I'm going to have to start a book or two this week end whether I'm caught up with my magazines or not.
Can I just say that if one is trying to get into the classics, The House of Mirth may not be the best place to start because it is anything but mirthful! The Age of Innocence might be a better Edith Wharton to start with. My list of no-fail classics include:
Anything by Jane Austen
Jane Eyre -Charlotte Bronte
Far From the Madding Crowd -Thomas Hardy
Adam Bede or Silas Marner - George Eliot
Washington Square - Henry James
Great Expectations - Dickens
Moby Dick - Hermann Melville
And many, many more... but let's just start with that.
I read Far Away Home by Susan Denning. Story of a young NYC Irish girl heading west in a covered wagon to find her childhood love. Lots and lots of travail, but a good depiction of life before the country was settled.
Just finished Face the Winter Naked by Bonnie Turner, a depression-era tale of a man who leaves his family for the open road in shame because he can't support his beloved wife and their children. Told from the viewpoint of both of them, it's a story of despair, and hope, and strength, and evil and innocence, and ultimately renewed faith and love.
I'm about a third of the way through A Plain and Fancy Christmas by Cynthia Keller. I received a free advance reader's copy from Goodreads (Yay! I'm a winner). Story of two 30ish women who lead dramatically different lives; one a high-powered ad agency exec and the other a plain Amish widow with a child, who discover that they were switched at birth and must reconcile what they are with what they might have been. Thus far, it's a page-turner.
Next up, I'm looking at the classic Middlemarch by George Eliot. Some have called it the greatest piece of literature ever written in the English language. Hmmmm.
Last edited by theatergypsy; 10-16-2011 at 01:11 PM..
Reason: Spacing
I liked Half Broke Horses. Not as much as The Glass Castle, but I still enjoyed it.
I finished Half Broke Horses and loved it, so now you've piqued my interest in reading The Glass Castle. It's going to have to go on the list though. Right now I've got too many books stacked before me and not enough time! 8)
Currently reading J.L. Carr's "A Month in the Country." Too soon to say. I do wish a previous reader had not underlined (words he didn't know?) as all the underlines are detracting from the reading. It isn't really giving JL his due.
I can't get into reading anything either. I'm nervous already, because it's always windy here, and the wind pressure gives me a headache and makes me nervous. Besides which I'm trying to get a lot of stuff ready for winter, and I just can't focus.
Soooo, I picked up a book from the drugstore by a writer I've never heard of, Mark Billingham, From the Dead, because it had a positive blurb by Lee Child, and it promises to be a good detective mystery story. It bloody well better be.
If that doesn't work to hold my attention, I picked up a trashy romance by Shannon McKenna called Blood and Fire. At least after a quick glance through the book, it looks to be trashy but beggars can't be choosers.
I think (hope) when the pre-winter work is done, I can concentrate again because I feel like the inability to concentrate on reading books, impacts everything else. I can't concentrate on cooking, cleaning, company, anything. It sucks.
Change of plans. Since I'd only read the first page or two of Riding the Bus..., I'm going to put that away for another time. I got a 5 or 6 books today at Goodwill, and am dying to start on a compilation of stories, poems, and essays called On Doctoring. What was really cool was that there was a paper inside the book, which turned out to be someone's recent admission to medical school. The book was given to him as part of his admission packet. So neat!
I'd just read her two books of short stories but had read very mixed reviews on The Namesake and so I didn't even bother getting it. But I love Jhumpa Lahiri's writing so much, I thought, "Why not?" So I got it. And read it. And loved it. Despite mixed reviews.
I'm glad you liked it. I thought I had read Winesburg, Ohio, but I looked it up, and I haven't. It's going on my "to be read" list. It looks good. Even though it's short stories, they are interrelated.
I finally finished Bloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln's Corpse by James Swanson. The title really is what the book covered. It took me FOREVER, surprisingly. I loved Swanson's last book, Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, but this one left something to be desired. The first 100 pages or so were very slow and hard to keep an interest in. Once I got that far I had to finish so I slogged my way through. Things got more interesting when Swanson described the train ride Lincoln's body took from Washington, D.C., to Springfield, IL, and the pageantry displayed at all the stops the train took, and I also enjoyed the parts on Jefferson Davis's capture and his life afterwards, but overall this book was not as captivating as Manhunt. That said, if you are interested in a non-fiction page-turner, Manhunt is fantastic.
As an aside - am I the only one who has a hard time quitting a book after I've started, even if I'm having a hard time getting into the book? I really wish I wasn't this way!
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