Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

When I finish it, I'll definitely review it here on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ, and I'll try to post the link to the review here. My guess is that I'll finish sometime next week, barring anything unforeseen.

Great! I'll be looking forward to it.

Recovering from the long read of Homeland, I have just started a new Doctor Who book---Human Nature by Paul Cornell. So far it looks to be pretty good.

Mary JL wrote: "Recovering from the long read of Homeland, I have just started a new Doctor Who book---Human Nature by Paul Cornell. So far it looks to be pretty good."

Human Nature by Paul Cornell
GR says: "This is the novel that inspired the recent Tenth Doctor TV episode of the same name."

Mary JL, Doctor Who books? That's so awesome! Well, now I can read Doctor who in between seasons.
I just looked it up here, there are a lot of Dr. Who and Torchwood books! 64 pages! Looks like my To Read list just jumped up a significant amount.

I'm reading Sharpe's Prey by Bernard Cornwell. I saw some of the episodes that were made of these years ago. My wife & I both enjoyed them. We got them as video tapes from the library. I've never read a book, though. Sharpe is quite different in the books. Life is much more brutal & he matches it pretty well. This book is set in 1802 in Copenhagen. Very good so far.

Jim wrote: "I'm reading Sharpe's Prey by Bernard Cornwell. I saw some of the episodes that were made of these years ago. My wife & I both enjoyed them. We got them as video tape..."

Wiki says:
================================================
"Richard Sharpe is the central character in Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series of historical fiction stories. These formed the basis for an ITV television series... .

"Cornwell's series (composed of several novels and short stories) charts Sharpe's progress in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. ... The stories dramatise his struggle for acceptance and respect from his fellow officers and from the men he commands. ... Promoted on the battlefield, he leaves his own class behind to take a commission in an army where rank is usually bought. Unlike many of the officers he serves with, Sharpe knows how to fight.

"Sharpe is described as "brilliant but wayward" in Sharpe's Sword, and is acknowledged by the author to be a loose cannon."
FROM:
====================================================

In a GR review, Dave calls Sharpe "james bond of the 1800's"
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

James Bond? Not bad. He's certainly tough & ruthless, the same as Bond in the books.

Our Australian daughter and son-in-law have the first two videos of the Sharpe movies/miniseries (I don't know whether there are any more than two), and Barb and I watched them when we were over there in 2007. We both enjoyed them, but I've never read any of the books. I think they'd have possibilities... but since I noted earlier today that between them, I have around 189 books on my to-read and owned-not-read lists, with heroic self-control, I won't add any of this series until I move some of those to the "read" shelf! (Sigh!) :-)

Werner, I've created a "keep-in-mind" shelf and have made it one of my "exclusive" shelves. In that way, I don't lose sight of it, even though I haven't committed myself to read it.

Joy, something like that probably isn't a bad idea. I actually have another exclusive shelf (besides the two I mentioned) titled "recommended-by-friends," which for me serves sort of the same purpose. Of course, there are yet more books listed there.... :-)

That's a good idea too, Werner.
What's one more book? LOL

I'm afraid that my GR shelves aren't that squared away. It's all I can do to keep what I've read on there & reviewed. My TBR pile is physical - well, it used to be. Now it includes books on my ereader too. But I keep lists of books I'd like to get on BookMooch, Amazon & PaperBackSwap.

I didn't have the Sharpe book in any of those places, but stumbled across it & got it last year. I've been meaning to get around to it & after reading so many fantasies & thrillers, it just seemed like a good change of pace. It has been.

Werner, I think the library had a dozen or so of those Sharpe tapes. My wife & I thought they might be 1 hour each, but really can't recall. It looks like there were 14 of this series (93-97) plus two new movies; 2006 & 2008. See here for more:

This lists all the books, then the original movies plus the last two.

I'd highly recommend the movies, Joy. I think you'd really like them. As I recall, they present Sharpe & his world in a cleaner light, but were still pretty thrilling & very interesting.

Jim, thanks for that link; it's really informative! I know I'll be referring back to it --or might just print it out.

Yes, Joy, I too sometimes say, "What's one more book?" My trouble is that it gets to be one more after that, and then another one, and one or two more.... So they do have a way of adding up! :-) (That's why those shelves look like the Library of Congress' accession list.)

Jim wrote: "I'm afraid that my GR shelves aren't that squared away. It's all I can do to keep what I've read on there & reviewed. ... ... I'd highly recommend the movies, Joy. I think you'd really like them. As I recall, they present Sharpe & his world in a cleaner light, but were still pretty thrilling & very interesting."

Our GR shelves can never be a complete listing of all we've ever read, but I've tried to list a good sampling.

As for the Sharpe films, Netflix has several of them. I'll try one.

Sharpe 1: Sharpe's Rifles (Masterpiece Theatre: Sharpe 1) 1993


Others:

I finally finished I Know This Much Is True (by Wally Lamb), which was 897 pages long. I don't know how or why I stuck with this book, given my original dissatisfaction with it. Somehow the storyline kept me reading, plus the colloquial style of writing. In the end I realized how insightful Wally Lamb must be, to write such a story. He seems to have very good insight into human nature. I notice that he consulted outside sources for information about the issues involved in the story. Perhaps that's where he got a lot of his insights.

My review is at:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
It describes my original dissatisfaction with the book. I'm glad I kept reading to the end. It was a satisfying ending.

The story encompasses domestic-abuse, dysfunctional-families, and mental-illness.

Joy wrote: It describes my original dissatisfaction with the book. I'm glad I kept reading to the end. It was a satisfying ending.
This is the exact reason I find it impossible stop reading a book completely. I always say, 'You can't say you hate a book until you read that last page.' Often, I will change my opinion further along. Sometimes, not.

Jackie wrote: "This is the exact reason I find it impossible stop reading a book completely. I always say, 'You can't say you hate a book until you read that last page.' Often, I will change my opinion further along. Sometimes, not."

That's true, Jackie. Sometimes I just can't get into a book. So I don't read it. For example, I couldn't get into Everything Is Illuminated. I wrote a review, but didn't rate it.

I did see the movie. So at least I know something (if not all) about the plot of the story.

I just started the third book in the Guardians of the Tall Stones : The Sacred Stones Trilogy series. As is typical with trilogies, the first was amazingly fantastic, the second good but not great. So I don't hold out high hopes for this third one being anything more than adequate and wrapping up the story of the main characters.

Jackie wrote: "I just started the third book in the Guardians of the Tall Stones : The Sacred Stones Trilogy series. As is typical with trilogies, the first was amazingly fantastic, the second goo..."

Jackie, I see that the author, Moyra Caldecott, has quite an impressive academic background.

The Amazon editorial reviews are also impressive:
====================================================
The Guardian: "...a brilliantly imagined sequence of novels set in Bronze Age Britain."

The Glasgow Herald: "...the author is so immersed in her subject that no trace of fantasising or contrivance is apparent. Like Joan Grant, she lives her work. Because it is so well done it is believable... The civilisation pictured here is based on many sources: historical, mythological and frankly speculative."

American Library Booklist: "Equally compelling as psychological or historical fiction."


====================================================

the author is so immersed in her subject that no trace of fantasising or contrivance is apparent
It's true. It becomes more than just a story. I connect to this era deeply and I've been fortunate enough to have found authors who make the experience real for me. I love when that happens. Manda Scott had the same effect on me with her Boudica series. It's something you can never get from a movie. That's one more reason to choose books over movies.

Jackie, now you've made me curious about the writings of Moyra Caldecott and Manda Scott. I will keep them in mind.

BTW, I haven't been getting consistent e-mail notices from GR about recent posts at this group. (I get some, but not all that I should be getting.) If the lack of consistent e-mail notices keeps up, I'll post a message at the GR Feedback group. Meanwhile, I'll just keep checking this group for unread messages.

Below this message towards the right, you can click onto the words to follow this discussions. right now, mine is faded out and says 'You are following this discussion' and an option to edit if I change my mind about following it. Is your's clicked on to follow?

Yesterday, I finished reading Women in the Old Testament, which I liked. As promised, I'm posting the link to my review, for those who may be interested: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... .

Now, I've finally started the long-awaited (by me, that is --I guess most other Twilight fans read it long ago!) concluding volume of the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn. (I'm also anxious to read still another vampire/werewolf novel, Sue Dent's Forever Richard, the sequel to her Never Ceese; but though the BC library has owned a copy for months, it's still not cataloged and processed. Being a college library, our technical services staff just don't give contemporary fiction a very high priority; so I'll view it as training in patience!)

Jackie wrote: "Below this message towards the right, you can click onto the words to follow this discussions. right now, mine is faded out and says 'You are following this discussion' and an option to edit if I ..."

Yes, Jackie, like yours, it says "You are following this discussion". And my account info says that my addy has been verified. I should be getting GR e-mail notices, just as I have always rec'd before this. It's easy enough to keep checking this newsgroup, but I'll have to follow-up soon to correct the situation. I keep hoping it will correct itself, since I do get some of the GR email notices about new posts (but not all, even after I've followed all notices up).

Werner wrote: "Yesterday, I finished reading Women in the Old Testament, which I liked. As promised, I'm posting the link to my review, for those who may be interested: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... "

Werner, thanks for the link to your review of Women in the Old Testament - Twenty Psychological Portraits. From what I can tell, without reading Loft's book, your analysis is very fine-tuned to all the different Biblical points of view which might have had an influence on Loft's ideas. Well-done.

Joy, that is so strange. I hope it gets resolved soon.
Werner, thanks for the review. As you know I was eagerly awaiting your thoughts on Women in the Old Testament. Off to read it now.

Joy, thanks for the kind words! (Before my career veered into librarianship, my original role in academe was mostly teaching Bible and religion classes; so I guess that background gives a certain analytical bent to my reviews in that area. :-))

Werner wrote: "... (Before my career veered into librarianship, my original role in academe was mostly teaching Bible and religion classes; so I guess that background gives a certain analytical bent to my reviews in that area. :-)) "

Werner, I think you have an "analytical bent" in general. That's what makes your comments and reviews so interesting.

Thanks, Joy!

Finished Shadow on the Stones. Much darker and frightening in some ways.
On to The Visitant by Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear.
The authors of the critically acclaimed "First North Americans" series now turn to the American Southwest and the early Anasazi civilization. As a physical anthropologist investigates a burial in New Mexico, strange things begin to happen around her.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48...

I like books with archaeologists in them, they tend to have a good mystery and danger surrounding them. I expect good things from this book.

Werner wrote: "Yesterday, I finished reading Women in the Old Testament, which I liked. As promised, I'm posting the link to my review, for those who may be interested: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/......"
Interesting review Werner, thanks for the details on what sounds like a fascinating book.

I've put some of my present reading [Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, and James Salter's Last Night:] on the side for the moment, and am about to pick up
Petals from the Sky by Mingmei Yip.

Jackie wrote: "Finished Shadow on the Stones. Much darker and frightening in some ways.
On to The Visitant by Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear. The authors of the cri..."

Jackie, reading this type of fiction must really stimulate your interest in the historical backgrounds.

Yes, Joy, it sure does. I like to learn about ancient cultures, their beliefs, their society as a whole. Very interesting.

And after reading a bit this afternoon, I realize the Visitant has one of my preferred formats: two stories, one in the past and one in the present and somewhere along the line they will converge. A story in a story; I feel like I'm getting something extra.

Katherine M wrote: "... am about to pick up Petals from the Sky by Mingmei Yip."

An interesting title, KM. GR says: "Meng Ning realizes she must choose between the sensual and the spiritual life." I wonder which she will choose.

Jackie wrote: "... I realize the Visitant has one of my preferred formats: two stories, one in the past and one in the present and somewhere along the line they will converge. A story in a story; I feel like I'm getting something extra."

Jackie, I know what you mean. The one of that type which stays in my mind is Possession by A.S. Byatt. The GR description says: "The novel traces a pair of young academics ... as they uncover a clandestine love affair between two long-dead Victorian poets." It was a dense read which I read as part of a discussion group. Tough going at times, but I've never forgotten the story, probably because of the way it was told.

I am on Doctor Who kick right now. Reading The Placebo Effect by Gary Russell. Human Nature, just finished was much better, at least so far.

Mary JL wrote: "I am on Doctor Who kick right now. Reading The Placebo Effect by Gary Russell. Human Nature, just finished was much better, at least so far."

Hmmm, which media originally came first, the Dr. Who TV series or the Dr. Who books? So far, I've come up with the info below.

I checked out Gary Russell who wrote Placebo Effect (the Doctor Who Series).
GR says:
===================================================
"Gary Russell is one of the script editing team for Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, and the author of many novels and reference books in the Doctor Who range. A former editor of Doctor Who Magazine, he also was the producer of Doctor Who audio dramas for Big Finish Productions for eight years."
===================================================

Wiki says:
===================================================
"Gary Russell (born 18 September 1963) is a freelance writer and former child actor. As a writer, he is best known for his work in connection with the television series Doctor Who and its spin-offs in other media. As an actor he is best known for playing Dick in the 1978 television series, The Famous Five."
===================================================

About Paul Cornell who wrote Human Nature (The New Doctor Who Adventures), Wiki says:
===================================================
"Paul Cornell (born 18 July, 1967) is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as Doctor Who fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield.
===================================================

So... which came first, the TV series or the books?

Doctor Who television series started in 1963.
About the books, from wikipedia:
It says "From 1965 to 1991 the books published were primarily novelised adaptations of broadcast episodes."

Jackie wrote: "Doctor Who television series started in 1963.
About the books, from wikipedia:
It says 'From 1965 to 1991 the books published were primarily novelised adaptations of broadcast episodes.' "

Thanks, Jackie!

I have finished reading Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler, a story about a widower named Liam who is trying to adjust to retirement. It was a good read and I would recommend it.

The title is a reference to Noah in the Bible. Liam tells his grandson about Noah. As he talks, the reader sees parallels between Noah's circumstance and Liam's life. On p. 219, Liam says: "There was nowhere to go. He was just trying to stay afloat. ... So he didn't need a compass, or a rudder, or a sextant..."

On p. 220, Liam continues: "...Noah didn't need to figure out directions, because the whole world was underwater and so it made no difference."

Anne Tyler tells this simple story with grace and even a bit of wry humor. Eventually, we may all find ourselves experiencing the same feelings Liam did.

PS-Also see the following GR review by Dave at:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I liked what he said. (He posts spoiler alert, but I don't think his review is a spoiler.)

PPS-See my review at:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62...
(I keep finding new things to add.) (g)

I'm 100 pages or so into The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. It's an autobiography of a dog, told from the dog's POV. My mother recommended it to me after she read it with her book club. It starts out kind of cute, but is getting very good now. I think I'm going to wind up recommending it to all my friends.

Jim wrote: "I'm 100 pages or so into The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. It's an autobiography of a dog, told from the dog's POV. My mother recommended it to me after..."

Sounds like a unique point of view, Jim. I see that the GR description says, among other things:
----------------------------------------------------
"A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life...as only a dog could tell it."
----------------------------------------------------

Well, it's 324 pages & I'm finished. I gave it 5 stars, something that I rarely do. It's the most unlikely combination (a dog's POV, race cars, a family struggle) that I can imagine. It was pulled off masterfully. I've sent a recommendation to a lot of my friends to read it. My review of it doesn't contain any spoilers, but goes into a bit more detail.

That I gave it 5 stars & so did my mother (& her book club buddies) says something about the appeal of this book. That's a pretty broad range. It's a quick, easy, very engaging read.

Fair warning: Don't plan on doing anything else besides reading once you hit the halfway point & have some tissues handy at the end. It's a poignant ending - sad, yet hopeful & invigorating. Incredible.

Jim wrote: "Well, it's 324 pages & I'm finished. I gave it 5 stars, something that I rarely do. It's the most unlikely combination (a dog's POV, race cars, a family struggle) that I can imagine. It was pull..."

I'm sold on the Garth Stein book, Jim, despite the tear-inducing qualities. I've put a reserve on it at our library. Thanks.

It does sound interesting and I'll read it one of these days, thanks Jim.

I am now into a historical mystery---Smuggler's Moon by Bruce Alexander. Set in 18th century England, it concerns the adventures of a blind magistrate--Sir John Fielding--the narrator being his young manservant, Jeremy Proctor. So far, quite acceptable--good research on the historical details.

Also, Sir John Fielding was a real person and was blind. Bruce Alexander's novels stay true to what we know about him.

The real-life Sir John was the brother of novelist Henry Fielding (author of Tom Jones, etc.) I've read reviews of books in the late Alexander's historical mystery series about this character, but never read any of the novels themselves. They look very appealing, though, so I'll be interested in your review, Mary JL!

Mary JL wrote: "I am now into a historical mystery---Smuggler's Moon by Bruce Alexander. Set in 18th century England, it concerns the adventures of a blind magistrate--Sir John Fielding--the narrator being his yo..."

One of the GR reviewers of Smuggler's Moon wrote: "Gentle mystery featuring blind judge who solves the mystery." Another calls it "a fine, entertaining and educational series." Amazon says it's the "eighth addition to a popular series" (featuring the character Sir John Fielding, a blind judge).

By coincidence, I just started reading a historical mystery by David Liss entitled The Coffee Trader. The setting is the Netherlands. So far, so good.

Also, speaking of smugglers, I recently read Daphne du Maurier's Jamaica Inn which also deals with smugglers off the coast of England.

Jim wrote (in Message #492): "I'm 100 pages or so into The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. It's an autobiography of a dog, told from the dog's POV. My mother recommended it to me after..."

Just want to mention that this book, The Art of Racing in the Rain, is now on the reading list of a new discussion group at our Glens Falls public library. So that gives me a double reason to read it. :)