The Clam Before the Storm, or Trying to Read in 2012

Last year was one my least favorites in my life so far. Didn't get much read, either. This year I'm hoping for better in every aspect of my life. (Including in my 'books read' total.)

Still working on Tolkien and the Study of His Sources: Critical Essays. I am enjoying it, I just have not had much time to sit with it.

I'll be following you and probably adding to my TBR list as I go.

I hope this year is much better for you!

"This year I'm hoping for better in every aspect of my life."
I'm hoping that for you too, clamairy!

Look forward to reading about what you read. :)

Thank you, nice ladies! :o)

The odds are in your favor. After a year that's one of the worst, the next one is very likely to be better.

Unless, of course, we're talking about the economy, which I'm glad we're not.

At any rate, best wishes.

You are a star to me! Happy New Year, dear lady, and many, many happy books to be read. I look forward to reading what you've been able to read!

I'll be following along (I've got ya starred), wishing you a happy New year.

I've always like the phrase 'The turn of the year' - I guess that would be about now. Hope 2012 turns out the very best for you.

Holding my thumbs.

I'll follow ya too :)

"The Clam Before the Storm". Funny! I love play on words.

Here's to a more settled 2012! Less storm, and more Clam.

*looking for the LIKE button*

Here's a book for you, clam:

The Quahog Stops Here

:D

LOL! Thanks, fuzzi. Very cute. :o)

*bump, bump*

So, What are you reading these days, clam?

:o(
I have been having trouble reading. Just can't seem to do it for more than one page at a time.
:o(

oh, I'm sorry. I've gone through times like that, too. I guess the best is to not worry, and let the reading muse return when she's ready.

Thanks, maggie. I just hope she gets here soon. My ER books are piling up!

Clam, I've gone through the same thing over the past few months. I want to read, but can't focus on anything. Sometimes I can listen to a book when I can't settle down long enough to read.

I like the "reading muse" that Maggs mentioned. I, too, hope she returns to you soon.

It really is not that uncommon to encounter one of those periods. In my experience (and naturally everyone's experience is different), the best thing to do is just to roll with whatever can keep you engaged even if its just for a single page. (Honestly, I read mediocre romances that won't challenge my brain when I'm in that place.)

The muse will show up again, but quite possibly in an unfamiliar form!

Crossing thumbs for you, clam!

I tried to do too much last year in terms of reading... So this year, what did I do? Added more cool ways to read stuff. :p I'm a little more organized now than I was then, though... so hopefully I'll manage my reading better. Amazing how you can go through all your life happy enough to just grab something off the shelf, but then put out a goal for yourself and it's like picking things at random is so "ancient" and unmotivating or something.

This being the year of the dragon, I'm pumped to get some dragon reading done. Trying to do one dragon book a month, but that might not be doable since I'm also trying to do one of a lot of /other/ things in a month. :) More loyal to the dragons, though, I have to say. :)

Hopefully your year will be a great one for you, that your thrill for it all will return with whatever new events come your way and the skies will open up again... with showers of lollipops instead of the bad stuff... like broccoli. ;)

(22) mirrani, you might want to try The Dragon and the George as a fun 'dragon' read. I have fond memories of that book.

I've not reread it in probably 15 years, but that doesn't mean it's not good, just that it's stuck in the TBRR stack... ;)

And Tea with the Black Dragon is a great read. :)

Thanks, fuzzi. Right now I'm putting in the books from the series that I haven't finished yet. I adore the way the DragonKeeper books are written, I have one to finish on that... I have the next Inheritance book to read... and your two I will put on my list as well...

I'm just trying to perk up the year with stuff I love, contrast the bad with the good... literally get lost in a book.

I'm sorry for you, clamairy. I've never had a time when I couldn't read--only times when I couldn't manage to read what I was supposed to be reading (such as a textbook or a book I had to write a paper on). It never occurred to me that I could lose my reading brain even for a short while.

Is it any better yet?

I get infections about once a year that end me up the hospital. For about a month about all I can read is magazines. I just don't have the concentration to read a book. I can sympathize.

I understand about not having the energy or concentration to read books. Before I had my hip replacement surgery, I stocked up on books as I knew I'd be in bed for several weeks (not allowed to sit, only allowed to lie flat or walk).

I found out after the surgery that I just didn't have the energy or focus to read much at all, and all those books sat on my shelves: some still are not read.

fuzzi, I had the same experience while recovering from hip replacement. I'd read a couple of pages, then read a magazine, then watch stupid TV, then a magazine, some computer time, etc. etc. Never did get books read while recouping.

Clam, I sympathise. I often go through periods of no reading at all, due to general circumstances like, you know - life.
Holding my thumbs for you.

Thanks, people. Yes, it's life... and, apparently, my inability to deal with it. LOL We've had a lot of not-so-great things happen in the last 9 months or so, and I think I've just got to allow myself to sit with a book and let it all go. For some odd reason I do allow myself PC time. And it's not like I'm actually getting anything accomplished with the time I used to spend reading, either. I just don't know.

But again, thank you all for your kind words and good wishes.
:õ)

Yup, you're not alone clam. I think last year was one of my worst for reading, just couldn't concentrate, even though I wanted to. So far I'm finding this year much better - sure hope it is for you too.

Oh, my, what a memory blank I had! You folks have reminded me.

There sure was a time, following significant surgery, when I couldn't read. I was so totaled that it was six weeks before I even had the strength to lie there and watch mindless TV, and six more before I could lift a book and pay attention to it. That's when I learned how much energy it takes just to be a passive recipient of anything--even ordinary sounds.

That whole period is very dark and empty in my mind.

I'm not sure what a brolly is (umbrella, maybe?), but this is the image google gave me when I used the search terms "clam" and "storm". For some reason, the silly browser thought I wanted to search for "calm storm". Who's ever heard of such a thing? :p

Hey, Clam, you might enjoy reading Keith Richard's Life. It is not a demanding book, and made me smile more than once.

I hope you can find the time and mind-set soon to concentrate on reading. I always feel at a loss if I can't read, as if something were missing. It's hard not to have that comfort.

Clam, I can tell you that delving into shorter fiction may help because then at least you feel like you have actually *finished* something which in turn boosts the general self-esteem.

Clam, I once went 6 years without reading. I was horribly depressed. I would try to read, and realize after several pages that I had no clue what I had read. I don't know how I got past it, I just know that I kept trying and trying, and one day I actually finished a book and remembered what I had read. Once in a while I go through a bad patch, and can't read, but usually, it doesn't last very long. Good luck.

((((((((((millhold))))))))))

Sorry, millhold. I hope you never go through that again!

And I *drum roll* actually finished a book. My first one of the year! I'm way behind my usual rate, but still, I'm pleased. It was The Tiger's Wife and I had to force myself to sit and finish it for my ladies book group, but I managed. And I really enjoyed it! Next up is Uncle Tom's Cabin for my other book group. :o)

Yay! Nice to see your accomplishment. May the year progress to your complete satisfaction!

Hmm. The Tiger's Wife was on my wishlist, then I took it off, now I've had another look and it's back on. Sometimes the magical realism sounds appealing, sometimes it turns me off. Can you give us a tiny mini-review of what you liked about it, Clamairy?

Hmmm. Well, it started off as a completely realistic novel and then began to sl-o-o-o-o-w-ly dips its toes into the deep sea of Balkans folklore. Until it was pretty well immersed. It reminded me a bit of The Life of Pi so if you didn't enjoy that you might want to steer clear.

Are you reading the original Uncle Tom's Cabin? I can't for the life of me seeing you enjoy that. Much better to watch the play of it from The King and I. ;) Hope you will feel free to skim profusely, otherwise I'm afraid you will put yourself off of reading even longer. Don't mean to be a downer, I just thought that book was sheer torture.

#43 ~~ Amen, MrsLee! I tried to read it again, about 10 years ago, thinking it (or I) might have improved with age. I was wrong. Very Very Wrong.

I made it through one paragraph and was gasping in horror. I think you might be right. What was apparently 'enlightened thinking' in those days seems so racist to me from my vantage point. I'll try a little more, but we shall see. Oh, and I ADORE the version from The King and I!!! :oD

yes, Clam, steer clear of that book unless you are willing to keep its historical context firmly in mind. It was a political broadside, intended to inflame emotions and to make a strong political point. The author was not a "little old lady" type. And she certainly was not a gifted novelist.

42 - I haven't read The Life of Pi. It's never appealed to me. But, for some reason, The Tiger's Wife keeps catching my eye. I've been leary of magical realism until someone pointed out that Sarah Addison Allen's Garden Spells et al contain magical realism, and I really enjoyed those books. Although maybe I shouldn't compare them because I get the feeling Allen's books are much lighter reads compared to The Tiger's Wife.

I found what might well have been an original-edition copy of Uncle Tom's Cabin in my great-grandparents' house when I was a young teen and read it through. In those long-pre-PC days and even pre-civil rights movement, I recognized the racism but assigned it a context of time and place in which it didn't trouble me, much as when I read Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. I was absorbed in the story, which held my interest despite its excesses. Yet I also knew enough about the book's place in our history to appreciate how it could have aroused strong emotions in service of a cause.

In a way it's a pity that we can't read so innocently any more. Our relative awareness and sophistication changes the reading experience so much that it's as if we were actually reading a different book.

Hmmm. I loved Huckleberry Finn! I haven't given up, I just need to reset my gauges before I pick it up again.

#47 - Well, I would suggest that you not buy it. Snag it from your library or borrow it from a friend, if you're curious.

#48 - What repelled me were the excesses and the poor writing. I was able to read it only because of its place in history, but that doesn't mean I enjoyed it. :)

I didn't make it. It wasn't just the racism, it was the rampant snobbery. In the opening scene the rich gentleman was, of course, fair of face with refined features, while the working class schmuck was coarse featured and, *gasp* wearing a flashy cheap yellow waist-coat or cravat, or something. I shuddered and closed the book. LOL Why are the poor always coarse-featured? With bad taste in clothes?

Anyway I did manage to finish another ER book called Generation Zombie. Overall it was good but I would only recommend it for hardcore zombie lovers. Now I'm working on another ER book, King Peggy, which I am enjoying thoroughly.

I'm obscenely behind my normal reading rate for the year. So it goes.

Oh I think you will love King Peggy by the end. It started a bit slow for me, but I couldn't put it down after mid-way point.

Well, I got this odd compulsion for some Zombie Lit, probably triggered by that last ER book. I ordered Zone One through ILL thinking it would be a few weeks and it showed up the next day, so I started that today. Not bad!!! King Peggy will have to wait a bit.

Careful clammy, they are coming for your BRAIN!!!

Just checking in to see how the clammy is doing (I like that nick name!). :)

Thanks, MrsLee and fuzzi. :oD

I actually read for a decent chunk of time yesterday evening. Maybe I am finding my way into the light again. :o)

So, I finished off another book yesterday. In fact I hid with it until I was done. Maybe I need to get a few more 'page turners' on my stack. Loved Zone One and now I wish I remembered who suggested it to me. I think it was littlegeek, and it must have been on FaceBook because I can't find any mention of it here on LT. So, thanks @littlegeek... I think. :oD

And now, back to King Peggy.

Glad to hear that you have managed to read -- maybe the secret really is that you hid!

Well, it wasn't just that I hid, it was that I wanted to hide, which I really haven't felt compelled to do for quite some time. :o)

Get halfway through King Peggy and you will go hide again. Tell me if your jaw doesn't drop at the shenanigans the villagers get up to.

#60 - You were right. I didn't hide with it, but I was and still am dumbfounded over what happened. I think King Peggy would make a hilarious movie. I finished it yesterday morning and started The Hunger Games last night. I have a feeling I'll be hiding with this one for sure.

Oo, The Hunger Games. Yes, Clam, I suspect you'll be holed up with that one for a while.

My youngest thoroughly enjoyed The Hunger Games; one of those situations where he asked me what I knew about it to check what his friends were saying about it. The buzz must have convinced him. I brought it home to him in hardcover a few days later, only to be told he'd bought it already to read on his Kindle.

#62 - Yup! I wanted to lock myself away from the world until I reached the end. I thoroughly enjoyed The Hunger Games and I am hoping the movie is decent. I've got a pile of other books here I need to (or should) read next. My two book club reads are The Piano Teacher and In Search of the Rose Notes. Plus I have three Early Reviewer books waiting, one of which I'm about halfway through. And then these is Oryx and Crake, which is the one that is calling to me. LOL

Also, I finished listening to 36 discs worth of Voyager and have 39 more for Drums of Autumn waiting to be loaded.

Ikeep hearing good things about the Hunger games but wasn't convinced when I flicked through it at a bookstore. Maybe I should try the library...

#66 - Yes, it's quite gripping. Just don't forget it's YA, and you'll be fine.

I stayed up into the wee hours a few nights with the Hunger Games books, not something I normally do anymore because I get a tad grumpy from lack of sleep. Then I gave the books to my niece for her birthday. I understand her homework suffered for a few days while she read them. Oops.

I'm looking so forward to reading The Hunger Games. I really wasn't that excited about them until I started reading everyone's comments. Reading other people's booklists has greatly increased my TBR pile. :/ hehe

LOL Be careful, OracleOfCrows! My TBR piles have exploded since I joined LibraryThing. :oD

#70 Boy, isn't that the truth...

Yes, the exact same thing is happening to me. I've been resisting recently, though. It is really hard.

Tell me about it. I just celebrated my one year anniversary here and my TBR pile is bigger than it's ever been.

I finished In Search of the Rose Notes, which was okay, not great. I will admit I got sucked in and neglected everything else I should have been doing to finish it. LOL I guess that's a sign it has got some decent holding power.

Now I don't know what to start/finish next. I should probably pick up Tolkien and the Study of His Sources again. I'm way overdue on reviewing that. Plus I have two other ER books here: Behind the Beautiful Forevers and The Street Sweeper. And the aforementioned library book club book, The Piano Teacher. I think I have only read about 4 of the last 12 library book club selections. When I show up for meetings now they are very surprised to see me. :o( Oh, and Oryx and Crake is here waiting, too.

I actually have stopped requesting ER books for a bit. I may start again at some point, but right now I feel like I'd better stick to reading the mountains of books that I already have for a while.

Clam, I did the same thing (neglecting ER books, and stopped asking) but I think I may make some "cop-out" comment for the three books I've got waiting for me to read them. I just can not get myself to do it, and I've been putting it off for months. I think I'll just say something like "I thought this book would appeal to me, but truth be told, I am just not here any more". One is a self-help book and (hahahaha) I feel very very beyond self-help now. A friend of mine used to say, "I may not be perfect, but I am excellent!" and I think this captures my current state of mind quite nicely.

Fwiw, I found Oryx and Crake quite well done. And the Hunger Games for a while, until the YA and some of the choices made me come a little back down to earth.

#75 - I am glad I am not alone in that, maggie. :o)

#76 - I set Oryx & Crake aside for a bit. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it, though. I will get back to it sooner rather than later.

I finished that book club read, The Piano Teacher. I'm glad I read it, but I wasn't as thrilled with the ending as I wanted to be. I started Catching Fire as a palate cleanser. :oD

I like Margaret Atwood, but I did not enjoy Oryx and Crake. I was very disappointed.

Oh, sorry to hear that, GD.

I liked it, Clam. MUCH better than the companion novel The Year of the Flood. It does dump you right into the action and you have to work out a lot of it on your own, but it's imaginative and kinda plausible. Crichton it is not though.

hi! *just stopping by* oh, and I'm glad to see your reading slump seems to have passed on....

I too loved Oryx and Crake. Hope you do too when you get back to it.

Thanks, maggie!

I need to renew it, but yes, I plan to get back to it as soon as I finish Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Thanks for the encouragement, Bookmarque and Sakerfalcon. :o)

Finished Catching Fire last night. Holy sheep dip! I can't get anything done. LOL Will be starting Mockingjay this morning.

(-:

Resisting.... resisting... the noisy throngs of best seller readers mad about Hunger Games.....

Resistance is futile.

The writing style is rather meh. The story is anything but.

Loved the Hunger Games trilogy!! Especially when I read them a second time. It made me notice things. :)

Done!
I highly recommend them. But if you are at all faint-of-heart, stay away.

I saw the movie this weekend. Of the nine people I went with, only one had not read the book. Pretty amazing ratio, I think. I thought they did a good job with the movie, too. They cut some scenes, of course, but what was kept was pretty true to what I remember reading almost two years ago now. Just not as graphic or as horrifying as the book somehow. Still, I was happy with the results, and I don't have as many reservations about my 11 yo watching the movie as I have about him reading the book.

90: Glad to hear that about the movie. I read the book last weekend in preparation for the movie, and was unable to see it yet. I was worried that it would stray to far to appeal to a wider majority.

Yes, I was glad to hear it, too. Both of my kids saw it. One had read the book twice, the other not at all and they both loved it. In fact, I was planning to go see it alone and my son said he'd actually like to see it again.

Oh and I started The Night Circus last night and I am really enjoying it so far.

I'm intrigued by The Night Circus... I'd like to hear your opinions when you've finished.

(also, I'm glad you appear to be getting over your Readers-block)

Yah! what Tane's written captures my thoughts, too.

#93 - So far I love it! (I'm almost halfway through.)

And thank you, both. Some days are better than others. :o)

I finished The Night Circus. Absolutely loved it. The writing style is lovely, the characters sympathetic and the story both marvelous and refreshing. It is magical realism at its best.

Excellent. I shall definitely add it to the list of must reads.

I think I'm giving up on Oryx & Crake for the time being. It's just a little too slow paced to keep my attention for now. I'll try again at some other point. Not sure if I'll try to finish off the Tolkien source criticism, or start one of the other ER books that keep taunting me.

Started An Indiscretion in the Life of an Heiress by Thomas Hardy. It's a collection of pieces. Love his writing style... but oh boy. He didn't approve of happy endings much at all.

(Tried to add a touchstone for the author but kept pointing to some Russian dude instead.)

Where's that 'suck fairy' thread...

LOL, Yes. Thanks!

Uh oh. Did the Suck Fairy strike again?

*goes to take a look*

I started The Woman in White last night, and so far it seriously kicks booty. I don't want to put it down. Who knew? Or should I say, "Who knew, besides @littlegeek?" She recommended this to me a while back!

oh boy are you in for a treat!
I wish I could reread it with my memory of it blanked. Count Fosco is priceless. Price. Less.

I'm afraid I did watch part of a Masterpiece Theater production of it about 30 years ago. Luckily my brain has leaked out most of it. LOL

I LOVE The woman in white! But avoid at all costs the 1997 TV version, which starred Tara Fitzgerald. They totally changed the story because it was felt that C20th audiences "wouldn't understand" the issues involved in the original. Bah!

Another lover of Woman in White. Such a good book, but then I'm a Wilkie Collins fanatic.

I gave The Woman in White a solid 8.

My review at the time: Liked all the characters except Laura who was a total non-entity even though the story is really about what happened to her. Can't figure out why the hero would fall in love with her. Otherwise, an excellent story. When I went to figure out how many pages were in it (I read it via DailyLit), I was very surprised to find out it was over 500 pages. It felt like such a fast read!

Who is Laura? Who falls in love with whom? LOL Should I try to forget that I just read that? *snork*

nah, don't worry.
Everyone falls in love with Laura, but like Morph, I can't see why. A more limpid, un-self-aware person you never met. I think I said something pretty scathing in my review, which you probably don't want to read yet. LOL

Oh, is she the younger half-sister? Haven't 'met' her yet.

I love The Woman in White too, and The Moonstone, Wilkie's two best I think. I read Armadale too, but it didn't grab me like the first two did.

I have The Woman in White in my ereader, but have yet to get to it.

I loved The Moonstone more than The Woman in White but nobody does thrilling sensation novels like Wilkie Collins. He's just a good read, in my opinion. I've never been quite sure why Dickens is preferred in the Canon over Collins.

#115 Nor I!

Sorry! I thought you were further along in the book. It really isn't a spoiler. It happens a couple chapters in and takes up much of the book.

Not a problem. He just met her when I was reading last night. He fell head over heels despite her not having opened her mouth yet. Of course, he was falling in love with her half sister when her saw her perfect 'form,' until he saw her face! ;o)

Finished The Woman in White! Overall it was quite good. Loved the first 3/4 a lot more than the last 1/4, though. The last bit dragged somewhat.

And now I shall start reading The Woman in Black. :oD

Didn't you just love Fosco?? What a character. The villain you love to hate. Milady de Winter in The Three Musketeers is the same way. Deliciously ruthless and totally without conscience.

And yet not completely repellant, either. :o)

Finished The Woman in Black. Loved it. Short, concise, well written and thoroughly creepy. *shudder*

And now you must go read The Man in the Picture which is also short, concise, well-written and thoroughly creepy! Not quite as good as The Woman in Black but it works pretty well.

Thanks, Jill. I'll request it from inter-library loan, then. :o)

Today I picked up Bossypants and The Fiery Cross. I was going to get the latter on audio discs, but the unabridged book was a whopping 47 discs total. That's a lot of work to load!!! So, I'll try reading the paper copy and listen to some of the freebies I've downloaded and not gotten to yet. (Maybe books 2 and 3 of the Abhorsen Trilogy.)

Clammy, you are going to pass me with the Outlander books. I have The Fiery Cross and need to get it finished.

Glad to hear you liked The Hunger Games Trilogy. I loved the third book except for that one thing that happened (can't mention it here) that made me want to throw the book against the wall. Of course, I would have picked it right up and started reading again. :)

Oh! Yes! The Woman in Black was awesome!

I have already requested The Woman in Black on blu-ray from Netflix, though they won't even have it for three weeks.

#125 - Really? I'm catching up? Well, it takes me a while to get through them, but I have been walking a lot and that is when I do most of my listening. :o) I walked 105.9 miles in April!

If you can find the older version of The Woman in Black (I think the BBC made it?), it's really good too. Still deviates from the book, but deliciously creepy nonetheless. I have The Man in the Picture, just haven't had a chance to read it yet.

I haven't seen The Woman in Black, but the book was wonderful.

OK, I'm off to request The Woman in Black from the library! You guys have made me want to read it! I like creepy.

Don't read it alone at night. Not without a dog (or cat) handy, anyway.

Good advice, Clam! :)

Oh, I do most of my reading right before bed. Not a good idea with this one? Patrick Carman's Skeleton Creek is like that. It has video interactions and they are creepy!

I finished Bossypants and just adored it. Tina Fay is now one of my personal gods. Started The Fiery Cross and since this is the Gabaldon I've read instead of listened to I have to whine a bit about how freaking heavy the book is. Holy sheep dip. I can barely balance the thing. LOL

Taking a quick break from the Gabaldon to read Is Everyone Hanging out without Me? by Mindy Kaling writer, star and occasionally director of The Office. It's a little more serious than Bossypants, believe it or not. Still quite funny, though.

So, what does it mean if I've decided to take yet another break from the Gabaldon tome to read more non-fiction humor? This time it's Simon Pegg's Nerd Do Well. Maybe it's time to listen to the Gabaldon instead.

Ok, y'all have peaked my intrest, The woman in black is going on my to read list.

It was fun, Joybee. Going to watch the DVD as soon as it becomes available on Netflix, too.

I finished re-listening to A Short History of Nearly Everything and I am hoping my audio files of Abhorsen* actually play correctly on my iPod now. Had them loaded for a LOOONG time, but the Prologue just wouldn't play. I had downloaded it for free from my library's OverDrive set-up. I just updated my OverDrive software and it seems to be working.

* With yummy voice Tim Curry!

Tim Curry does have a lovely voice. I would hope that Abhorsen actually allows him to exercise it across a range?

I will let you know, Jill. :o)

Well, I'm an idiot. I'm supposed to be listening to Lirael. Luckily I didn't make too far into book three before something made me think I had the wrong book and I asked my daughter. Thing is I looked them up in here last week, and I still got the wrong order.
*sigh*

I'm listening to Bossypants! I'm about 3.5 hours into it, and I'm loving it! In addition to reading your thoughts, it was recommended by a RL friend.

I'm so happy to hear that, GD. My daughter read it after me and loved it, too.

I've started listening to Quantum Man: Richard Feynman's Life in Science and it is quite good. Not as funny as Feynman's own books, though. Another negative is that I don't process equations so well aurally, apparently. LOL I'll get back to Lirael afterwards.

I just finished Bossypants. Five stars!

Yay!

I finished listening to Quantum Man: Richard Feynman's Life in Science and as much as I enjoyed most of it I have to say this book is not for everyone, by any means. Parts of it could just have easily been in Dwarvish, because I could not wrap my head around them. The fact I was listening was only partly to blame for this.

Great! I've had that moment, no, wait, I think it was a nano second.

Same here, and it's not once a week either.

I really should look for this: Quantum Physics for Dummies

Are you lurking ont The Elegant Universe tutored read?

No, because I stay out of that group. Its much too busy for me. But I may just stalk that one thread.

I've got the book but haven't started yet.

*nods* I've had it for at least six years or so, and still haven't started it.

I have decided that not everyone need understand quantum mechanics, and that failure to understand it is no sign of a low IQ. Rather a lot of other things need be learned first, to be able to make the jump to quantum, and that is what distinguishes a MSc physicist from a layman ;-)

#154 - But it's so alluring! Some glimpses of it are crystal clear, and I think that's what bothers me. It's much like being able to do sections of a puzzle but not be able to fit those sections together cohesively.

But I do understand what you're saying, Busifer. Even Richard Feynman admitted it wasn't as clear to him as he would have liked.

Quantum mechanics makes quickie appearances in various books I've read lately. For instance, my recent read of Anathem pointed out that I know nothing.

Although I thought the science and math were probably pretty realistic in Anathem, I think a lot of quantum-mechanics-making-a-guest-appearance is drivel written by people who don't know any more about it than I do (which is next to nothing). But I wish I knew enough that when my drivel warning meter goes off, I could evaulate if this is really something interesting or if the author is making it up out of nothing.

I'm learning a lot just by reading DrNeutron's tutoring thread, even if I don't get to the book (and even if there isn't an alternate universe in sight--yet!)

146 - I've often fallen asleep thinking, 'Yes! I get it!' and woken up realizing, 'Nope. It's gone again. '

I am listening to Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself narrated by the author, Alan Alda. I am convinced the neighbors think I've gone round the deep end when they see me guffawing while stalking the streets. :oD

P.S. So, I've finally gotten the audio downloads from the library to work properly on my iPod. It used to skip sections for some reason, but they updated the Overdrive software it uses and now it works beautifully. The selection isn't as great as I would like, but it's still decent. And it's free!

I finally finished Nerd Do Well. It wasn't as light as I was expecting. That's not a bad thing, by any means. Simon Pegg is just a lot more introspective than I could possibly have anticipated. :o)

I need to start Little Bee for my library group which meets next Wednesday, and then I can reread Bradbury's Something Wicked yada yada.

I finished listening to Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself and started Dave Barry's Money Secrets and it is sooooo funny.

Finished off Little Bee in a rush for my book group. I wasn't terribly impressed with this one at all. Not sure why it got such buzz when it was first published over here. There were so many holes and implausibilities in the story. I'm kind of sorry I wasted my time.

Going to start Something Wicked This Way Comes today, if anyone/everyone will let me.

You have my permission. ;)

#161 - Thanks! Now, will you talk to my kids and my dogs for me, PLEASE?

#162 ~~ May I recommend duct tape: over mouths and to affix limbs to chairs. 8-)

No, the authorities come and get you for that. I found in my parenting days that allowing some small vice for an hour or two usually meant that I would be permitted peace and quiet. That vice might be a new Lego set, a two-hour movie on DVD or a even a trip to the local Wa-Wa for an unwarranted beverage and/or snack. (Please note that the brand name of Wa-Wa -- despite the confusion of some political candidates -- is singular.)

I do the unauthorized, and unreasonable, amount of TV cartoon watching whenever I need some uninterrupted peace.

oh, I know that does not work for dogs... for them, food, and then hope they nap.

I finished listening to the Dave Barry book the day before yesterday. I have been listening to music when I walked since then, but today I loaded Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void and Neither Here nor There and The Fiery Cross onto my iPod. I started the Mary Roach book this afternoon and I am loving it so far.

I still cannot believe my luck finding decent free downloads from my library. (The Gabaldon I had to load by hand, though.)

I finally finished Something Wicked This Way Comes. Man, I need some FLUFF! Maybe one of the The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books. I think I have two or three laying around that I haven't read yet.

I finished listening to Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach and I loved it. I will actually be on the lookout for a paper copy of this. What a fabulously quirky sense of humor she has. :o) I've started listening to Leonardo's Mountain of Clams and the Diet of Worms: Essays on Natural History and it's soooo dry compared to the Roach book. :o/

I'm working on In the Company of Cheerful Ladies for some much needed fluff!

AAAAAARGGGGHHH!!! A book bullet! I just put a hold on my library's audio version of Packing for Mars.

:o) I think you'll love it. (Though I was kind of embarrassed about laughing so loudly while walking alone.)

Hey, Clam, there's some sort of Library Thing reading over a week of time, and I've forgotten what it is called, and where the sign up deal is, or what group it is under

ha! talk about an Elder moment! I think I had an Elder hour. Hahahah

Do you have any clues you could give me?

maggie - majika started a thread about it called July Read-a-Thing here in the GD.

She has a link and everything.

LOL, I have been having a senior decade, and I'm not even officially a senior yet. :oS

Found it. There is also a group called Read a thing

I finished In the Company of Cheerful Ladies this afternoon. Loved it!

I get to start Redshirts tonight! :oD

I hope you like RedShirts!

So far it is hilarious. :o)

I must have that book!  @Groxx and I are currently working our way through TOS!

I'm so glad you're enjoying it!

Spaghettification!

Sorry. Just had to say it.

#179 - I think you'll get a kick out of it.
#180 - Me, too. Though I'm surprising myself by starting to care about some of these characters. LOL

What is TOS?

ST:TOS is Star Trek: The Original Series

ST:NG is Next Generation (though most folks I know say 'Next Gen.')
ST:DSN is Deep Space Nine

Yada yada.

...most folks I know say 'Next Gen'
Most people that I know doesn't even know what Star Trek is ;)

BTW I just recieved notice that the SF bookshop now has Redshirts in stock. My only problem with this is I'm 960 kilometres north of them, for one more week.

#184 - Well, you're special that way... Really, though? I thought it was as universal as Star Wars. :o/ Hang in there! One week will fly by.

Oh, okay. I didn't know you were talking about Star Trek.

183 - Most people I know say DS9, not DSN :)

#187 - I'll be honest and say I always refer to it as Deep Space Nine. I swiped shorthand for that from one of the Star Trek sites. Truth is no one I know ever talks about either that series or Voyager any more.

Well, in my family, we still make reference to the DS9 episode from season 9 where they were all playing baseball. But I'm living w/ 3 baseball fanatics. But it's true that I don't hear alot of discussion about any of the various versions of the ST franchise.

Speaking of 'Next Gen' here is Neil deGrasse Tyson with Brent Spiner (Data) and LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge) at Comic-Con!

That's so great, clam!

Isn't it? I can't decide who to squeal about more! :o)

They are always at Dragon*Con, too. Fun!!

:) I love that photo.

Excellent shot. I also have a lingering love of LeVar Burton from Reading Rainbow, which my kids loved.

I finished Redshirts. Loved it. Really loved it. I was expecting the yucks, I wasn't expecting the lumps in my throat at certain parts. Well done. Will certainly read more Scalzi. Thanks to all who recommended & raved it about. :o)

I might start Riding Rockets next.

And I finished listening to Leonardo's Mountain of Clams and the Diet of Worms and started Healthy Eating, Healthy World which so far seems to be pretty much a retread of The Omnivore's Dilemma and Fast Food Nation.

I'm so glad you liked RedShirts!

I'm hearing so much good feedback about Redshirts that my resolution to wait for the paperback is being sorely tested!

Just picked it up from the liberry... :)

I hope you enjoy it, DrN00t. Good to see you! I thought of you while I was listening to Packing for Mars. How've you been?

Just requested it at my library.

I'm doing well, just really busy at work. We've got a launch coming up on August 23 and Solar Probe is in high gear. So I've been doing a lot of lurking in GD and just barely participating in the 75ers. I'm hoping to get back to LT talk more in the near future, though.

It is so cool to my teenager-in-the-60s heart to think I KNOW somebody involved in rockets and space.

I've given up waiting for my library to get Redshirts on disc and just put the book on hold. But, the library does have Packing for Mars on disc, so I put that on hold to. I'm feeling the need for laughs.

I find what Stephen Jay Gould writes about interesting, but he is sooo dry, so I'm glad his books are mostly collections of essays that I can read a bit at a time.

Clam, I'm glad you liked Redshirts too! I thought it was excellent and was also a bit surprised at how emotional it turned out to be.

I finished Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut by Mike Mullane and I just loved it. It's honest, hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking. If you are a NASA lover or even just a little part space wonk this is a must-read. The guy can write, too! I got this one though inter-library loan after it was quoted often and given such high praise in Packing for Mars. In fact I think Mary Roach said that if you were only going to read only one astronaut memoir Riding Rockets should be that one.



I also finished listening to Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson and enjoyed that as well. Bryson does not pull any punches.

I'm halfway though listening to Bring Up the Bodies, the second part of the Wolf Hall trilogy. Two thumbs up so far. Not sure what I'm going to pull off Mount Tooby to start reading next.

(I'm going to try to remember to add covers from now on, because I know how much I appreciate seeing them in other people's threads.)

Oh, Riding Rockets gets on my wishlist!

#203 - It is so cool to my teenager-in-the-60s heart to think I KNOW somebody involved in rockets and space.
Same here (even though I'm a wee bit younger)!

#207 - Hope you enjoy it, Busifer.

I finished Pack of Two: The Intricate Bond Between People and Dogs by Caroline Knapp and enjoyed it, though I kind of feel it pertains more to people who live with a dog (or dogs) and no other humans.

Not sure what's up next! :o)

Edited to add: I just clicked on the author page to find out if she'd written any more books only to find out she passed away 10 years ago. :o( Too sad.

I finished listening to Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel today, too. This is the second book of the Wolf Hall Trilogy. Loved it.

How listenable was that book, your clam-ness? I mean as opposed to reading. I am soon to start Wolf Hall, and both books look dense. Sometimes I find such books harder on audio. Any issues there?

It was very listenable, stellar. I listened to Wolf Hall as well.

Oh good! It's going to be Wolf Hall commuting then! Thanks!

You're most welcome. Enjoy!

Clam, any interest in a group read of Doris Kearns Goodwin's The Gang of Rivals? If so, go here to sign on: http://www.librarything.com/topic/140664

I appreciate the invite, but I doubt it. We'll be right in the thick of college applications and such here.
But remind me again when it gets closer. :o)

I picked up Riding Rockets last week, but have not started it. I will soon!

Oh, I hope you like it as much as I did, GD. The space program is near and dear to my heart, but there was so much about the shuttle program that I never knew. After Riding Rockets I felt the need to brush up on some earlier NASA history too, so I ordered Michael Collins' Carrying the Fire through inter-library loan. It got a 4.3 rating here on LT so I hope it's a decent read, too. Probably won't be as funny as the Mullane book, though.

So, after listening to so much about Anne Boleyn I picked up my copy of The Other Boleyn Girl which I bought a thousand years ago, but never read. So far, so good.

Carrying the Fire was wonderful, Clam--I'm also a closet space geek and have shelves full of space books--and it's probably one of the best.

Hmm. Maybe we need a thread somewhere on space-related memoirs/histories...

Sounds like a great idea, Marissa. There's a few space groups here on LT but they all seem 'mostly dead.'

I finished reading The Other Boleyn Girl and sort of hate to admit it but I thoroughly enjoyed it. :o) I bought it years ago at a 'buy two get one free' table at B&N. It got pushed aside. And then after I finished listening to Bring Up the Bodies I realized I wasn't ready to leave Tudor England just yet. Actually I am still not ready, because I just ordered The Six Wives of Henry VIII through inter-library loan. But in the meantime Carrying the Fire just came in, so I will start that.

Not sure what to listen to next. Might go back to The Fiery Cross.

Those are fairly distant points in history -- Henry the VII and the U.S. space program! You'll get whiplash going back and forth that way!

LOL! I know, but those seem to be the areas I'm most interested in of late. And think about it, Tudor England is an awful lot like Westeros at times. (With Henry being mostly Robert but sometimes Joffrey Baratheon...)

if you want a mystery type story in that time period check out The Matthew Shardlake series by C.J. Sansom. They are excellent.

#224 - Yes, read the first one in that series last year, (thanks to readafew's recommendation) and enjoyed it very much. Just haven't gotten around to the rest yet. But thanks for the reminder, Bookmarque. Time to request the second one from the library!

Oh, boy! I really loved this. I can't rave about it enough.



I will be moving on to some Tudor era fiction with Dark Fire, thanks to Bookmarque's suggestion. And I'll try to finish up the Michael Collins memoir as well.

clamairy, when you're in the mood for more Henry VIII stuff, I highly recommend, The Autobiography of Henry VIII: with notes by his fool, Will Somers by Margaret George. I found it very interesting, and retained a lot of the details that I don't always retain.

#227 - It's fiction, millhold? But still realistic enough? It's got a pretty high rating, so I might have to check that out. Thanks! :o)

Yes, fiction, but extremely well researched, to the extent that on several of the tours I took while I was in England, the guides would ask questions, not expecting answers, and I was able to answer many of them correctly, based on that book.

I picked it up from my library on Friday. :oD I forgot to tell you. Can't start it until I finish Dark Fire.

I understand what you're saying, millhold. I learned enough from the Alison Wier book that I am constantly groaning at all the liberties that Showtime took with their series 'The Tudors.'

I finished off Dark Fire.



I enjoyed it, but I am really not much of a mystery fan, and I found myself wanting to reach into the book and deal out a few smacks upside the heads of several of the main characters. I do love Matthew Shardlake, though.

Huh. I just started that one today.

Nice to see you, drnewt! Have you been AWOL from the GD, or am I just blind?

Nah, I've just gotten in the habit of lurking a lot more than usual. Work's been really busy and I've been spending most of my time keeping the 75 Book Challenge group running. But I still follow all the GD threads and have made myself a promise to jump in more.

*waves at drn00t*

So happy to see you here! I do hope you enjoy the book. :o)

I'm not a mystery reader either, but the Shardlake books function well enough as historical fiction for me that I thoroughly enjoy them. I've fallen behind with the series though, need to read Revelation and Heartstone.

#227 - I loved The Autobiography of Henry VIII: with notes by his fool, Will Somers by Margaret George. I could not put it down.

Clam, I highly recommended this book!

I have already started it! But really need to finish and return Carrying the Fire because I got that through inter-library loan. The Henry VIII book I can keep renewing for eternity. ;o)

I have really been neglecting this thread. :o/

I read Last Night at the Lobster which is set in New Britain, CT. (Which is not too far away from here.) Not bad!



and Amsterdam, which was a Booker Prize winner, and was okay but certainly not great. Can't understand why it won.



And I finally finished listening to The Fiery Cross! Still enjoying these, though I am taking longer breaks between them now.



Last, but definitely not least, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Bill Bryson's Journeys in English, but I wished it had been much longer.



I still have the Henry VIII book from the library but I haven't cracked it for a couple of weeks. Might pick up another shorty in the meantime. I'm supposed to be reading Unbroken for my library book group, but I am not sure I want to right now. :o/

Unbroken is superb - well done in every respect, it read very quickly for me; but the subject matter, in parts, is visceral to the extreme. Our local book club did it also, and it generated a lot of discussion.

Janny, I will give it a try. I worry that my current state of mind might not be up to the task, however.

Clam, it is not all horrific stuff although some of it is pretty gruesome.

Well, I found the perfect solution. I am listening to it! :o) I just hope I can get though it all before next Wednesday night. (And it's read by Edward Herrmann, so that makes for pure listening pleasure.)

Also, I started Gone Girl for my other book group. So far there's a lot more humor in that than I was expecting.

Edited for typos. :o(

Oh, I have Gone Girl on request at the library. I started Night Circus but put it on hold when I borrowed Mark of Athena from a student. I want to get it back to her. Anxious to hear how you like Gone Girl.

I forgot to post that I finished listening to Unbroken just in time for my book discussion last week. I have some mixed feelings about the book but over-all I liked it. I think the author went over the top in a few places, or possible just dragged things out a bit longer than I would have liked. I have to say I am really glad I listened to it as I would have had a difficult time opening this book and reading it at bed time. :o(



I am now listening to Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie and loving it. And I'm still slogging through Gone Girl, which I have to finish by tomorrow because I can't renew it. (It's too new.)

Unbroken is one I've yet to get to on my Kindle. My parents both loved it, but my mom said it was hard to take in spots. I think that is why I am not in a hurry to read it.

Argh. I finished Gone Girl. I cannot recommend this book. I simply can't. I really enjoyed the first third of it, but after that it was just painful to read.



Not sure what I'll be picking up next but it has to be a palate cleanser.

You are not the first to dis-recommend this book.

I'm confused by all the buzz and the high ratings. But then I don't get the Shades of Gray thing, either.

So I started The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton as my Halloween read. Good stuff so far! :o)

Finished it. Loved it! Very subtly done. Not exactly scary, but definitely creepy. :o)

I think I am going to start Brooklyn next. It's our next library club read. Anyone else ever read it or even heard of it?

Not I, however, the reviews make it look as if it is a satisfying historical novel. I'll be interested in seeing what you and your group think.

Edith Wharton as writer of ghost stories was a wonderful discovery. I'd no idea that she would be so good at creepy.

Exactly! Apparently she wigged out over something she read at a friend's house as a child and was easily spooked for a decade at least. I wonder if she had vapors, too! :oD

Really? You didn't know the author of Ethan Frome could do creepy? I would expect it of her! I will be picking up the Ghost Stories if I run across them, for sure!

Hmmm, maybe I should clarify and use the expression 'paranormal creepy.' :o) (Even though I believe your comment was directed at jillmwo.)

Loved the Massie Catherine too. Not quite his Peter the Great: His Life and World, but terrific.

I think I'll keep an eye out for his Peter the Great, then. I'm also tempted to finally dive into War and Peace. Had it sitting on the shelf mocking me for three decades now. :oD

I think I've tried to get into War and Peace multiple times. Not happening for me. I think I've given up on the Russian Novels of Great Fame! hahahah

Good luck, I hope you are able to get into it.

Oh, it won't be for a while. (Maybe after the holidays.)

War and Peace is certainly among my favorite novels. I waited many years to read it, thinking it would be a chore, a long endurance contest. It was anything but. There are so few truly great novels. This is one of them. Scenes are vivid on my mind 20 years later now.

I did love Anna Karenina when I read it back in my 20s. I think I worry more about keeping track of characters than anything else. LOL

Clam, in my "old age" with the typical "old lady brain burps and blips" I have started being shameless about getting a piece of paper and a pen and writing down things I want to keep track of - I recommend it. Or use index cards for each character, and all the name variations.

Yes, it was the 'name variations' that killed me, even in my 20s. :oD I plan on doing just that, maggie. (And to use my note card as a bookmark.)

Great! I had pictured a small pile of cards next to you as you read, one card for each character, and you can add, in addition to name variations, the persons characteristics and your judgments...

Oh, I just hate Vladimir... I wish he'd drop dead

or

Oh, how dreamy is Igor?

Now, don't you think that might be fun? hahaha

Too many cards would be confusing for me! One very loooooong one would probably be best. ;o)

Well, I do hope you are able to accomplish your goal! Good luck!

One of these days I'll read Anna Karenina. I've had a copy for years. I think once I may have shifted it to the TBR shelf, but never cracked it. It's an on-and-off temptation.

Well, the weight alone is prohibitive.

I think, when my son read The Brothers Karamozov, he found a character list online (or he made his own, I'm not sure) which he kept in an open window. He's not even 20 yet, so it isn't just age that makes all the characters difficult to remember! :)

Agreed. I think I was 24 when I read Karenina and I had issues as well. It can only have gotten worse... :oD

Just to try and clarify here, are you guys saying you find the patronymics difficult?

It's been decades since I read it but I recall having issues because sometimes characters were referred to by first name and sometimes by surname, and several of the characters had the same first name, and many had similar looking surnames. I realize that if you threw a rock into a crowded room in those days you would very likely hit half a dozen guys named Alexei, but it makes for some serious confusion.

@MrsLee, @clamairy --> For the record, I never thought of Ethan Frome as creepy. Sad, somewhat pathetic, but not really creepy the way that her ghost stories are creepy. (Of course, now I'm wondering what I may have missed when I read it in great haste some years back. Do I have to go back and reread this one?)

BTW I loved Massie's Nicholas and Alexandra. But I confess that I have *never* made it through Anna Karenina and I have tried at least three times.

I finished Brooklyn and absolutely loved it. Can't say I'd recommend it for everyone, though. Would help if you were either Irish or a native New Yorker, or female.

I started Mrs. de Winter and so far it's just okay. I'll probably finish it and re-donate it to the library.

He's a very good writer. And I'm not in any of those groups :)

Perhaps you just have good taste, stellar. :o)

I was kind of surprised the book doesn't have higher ratings, so I decided to read a handful of the reviews. Turns out the one characteristic that made the protagonist so realistic also drove a lot of people nuts. Heh heh...

Finished listening to Massie's Catherine the Great. Enjoyed it thoroughly. Want to get my hands on her memoir.



I think I'm going to bail on Mrs. de Winter. It's just not my bag, baby. I think I'll find an actual du Maurier book I haven't read yet instead.

I have been fascinared by Catherine the Great, too.

Have you read The Scapegoat yet? I liked it a lot. I also liked her historical novel The Glassblowers, about her family during the French Revolution, but it isn't her usual suspense fiction. Mary Anne was also pretty good, another historical fiction about one of her ancestors in England.

I have Mary Anne somewhere. Just need to find it! :o/

I picked up Timeline instead. It was on the corner of the piano, calling to me...

I really enjoyed Timeline. Avoid the movie, though.

I loved Scapegoat. It's really excellent if you can allow for the premise, which is really just a vehicle for character studies. No two people could exchange lives like that no matter how identical they looked. Still, I loved it. It was out of print for a long time, but now I think someone's picked it up.

I also just read another du Maurier, The Flight of the Falcon which was not quite as good (predictable), but the characters were interesting and distinctive. Plus the setting was out of the ordinary, too.

Oh, I didn't even know there was a movie! :oD

I loaned out Flight of the Falcon many years ago without having read it myself and never saw it again. Will keep an eye our for The Scapegoat. Looks like it's her second highest rated book! (With 25 or more ratings, that is.)

I think I forgot to mention that I am listening to The Hobbit to get ready for the movie. :o)

I have a copy sitting around; I think I'll go find it and put it on the TBR pile next to my wonderful reading chair. Reading it in advance of the movie seems like a "capital idea"!

I finished Timeline. Not bad! I got a little frustrated with how two dimensional some of the characters were, but I guess character development was never Crichton's strength anyway.



I already started The Madonnas of Leningrad for my library book group.

I was going to say character two-dimensionality was Crichton's calling card, but you said it for me ;-)

I liked Timeline (just about anything time-travel related), but I felt it was almost more like reading a script, as though he'd already sold the film rights and just fleshed the story out in book form.

And speaking of time-travel and Daphne du Maurier have you read The House on the Strand? After Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel it's my favourite du Maurier, and, what d'ya know? It's about time travel! lol.

Yes, in fact those three are the only ones I've read! I looked on my shelves and I found Don't Look Now. I'd start it, but I have to finish that book group read. Plus I have so many other piles and stacks staring at me...
0.o

And I agree. Crichton probably did write it as a screenplay, and then novelized it.

Am I wrong to judge a book as not "good" if it has been written after the screen play was written. Seems like its "cheap". I don't know.... I just don't like that reversal of traditional developments. I like it that Gone With The Wind was written before the movie was made, even if both were less than wonderful literature.

No, maggie. IMHO, you are the sole arbiter of what you judge good and bad, and can feel free to bask in the freedom that permits! :-)

*basking in oh so rare freedom of opinions*

#293 - I do so like the way you think.

Hear hear!!

293- Wonderful!

clamairy - Please don't read "Don't Look Now when you are alone or in the dark! Scariest story ever!

Wait a minute! Gone with The Wind was less than wonderful literature? I know the movie wasn't all that impressive in many respects, but I think of Scarlet as kind of timeless. (B*tchy but timeless.) I remember having my feelings get hurt when I was told back in high school that I was nothing like Scarlet and 'way more like Melanie.

But you're right, maggie1944, that most movie novelizations (written from the screenplay) are less than stellar. Or at least, *I* think you're right.

#298 - Well, I think it was pretty wonderful, even if it did glorify a way of life that I find unsavory. It won the Pulitzer, for dog's sake!

Well, when I was in the eighth grade I thought it was swell. Could not put it down. But then much later I realized the idealization of that way of life was nothing I wanted to feel nostalgic about. And really the characters were characatures to me.

I remember reading in college about the devotion women had to the book during World War II, at least in part, because they felt that if Scarlet could live through the War then so could they!

As for glorifying the Southern culture and economic structures, Mitchell doesn't even begin to compare with Frances Parkinson Keyes who really,really managed to whitewash the South in her novels. My husband, born and bred in New York City was flabbergasted and more than a little outraged when I read him some bits from her work. Keyes wrote some real twaddle (albeit highly readable twaddle).

Twaddle. What a great freaking word! :o)

>300 by @maggie1944, I realized the idealization of that way of life was nothing I wanted to feel nostalgic about. And really the characters were caricatures

Yup. Add to that the fact that so many people don't realize how disturbingly ...whitewashed, for want of a non-offensive term, it is and consider it a real view of the south and how dreadfully wronged those poor ol' plantation owners were... ugh.

#303 - Well, in this day and age I like to think there's only a certain very small segment of the population that believes that.

Unfortunately there's far more ignorance out there than we'd like to believe. :|

True, true. But I still say this particular delusion not as prevalent as it was 75 years ago.

That may be. Still too widespread for my tastes, though, and "classics" like this just don't help any. I think that a lot of people who should know better, get swayed the other direction by things like this, like- Oh it's a time-honored classic, tons of people say it's their favorite book, so it must be proper! You know? Especially when they read it young and haven't learned better yet. That's my take on it, anyway. *steps off soapbox*

It might have been wide spread 75 years ago. I don't know many people under 40 who've even bothered to read it. Not sure where in the US you've lived, but I'd be curious to know exactly what your opinion is based upon.

At any rate, I baled out on The Madonnas of Leningrad* and have started reading Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction and am laughing myself silly over it so far. :o)

* It was just too depressing to read at this point.

Oh it's not really based on people i know personally, but from looking over the reviews of it on GR and just observing chatter about it over the years. It's still a huge "classic" and has been put on the big screen, and as such it's still quite popular.

I loved Gone With The Wind and devoured it over and over again in high school. I haven't read it again since, but have been wanting to. I find it very interesting how attitudes change over the years (and naturally, quite rightly so)and how a best seller in one time can become so controversial in other times, and not just with books, but movies, songs, all media I guess.

Being a history buff I read and watch old stuff and marvel at how completely politically incorrect things are now that were so beloved in other times. I roll it all up into the common sense notion that that was then, this is now and we are always on the road of change.

These are just my own meandering thoughts, I mean no disrespect or offence to anyone. I'm always interested in the development of political correctness and how it affects us from one generation to another.

I like your attitude, Katherine.

Me, too!

I finished listening to The Hobbit the other day, just forgot to come in and post about it.



****spoiler alert****

Loved it, again. Was struck by the similarity between Thorin's last words and Theoden's. I am listening to the audio version of LotR right now, so when I get to that scene I will post the passages side by side.

I gave up on The Madonnas of Leningrad. It was too depressing a topic for me right now. I am currently reading (or trying to find time to read) Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction. It's slightly dated, but quite humorous.

Laughter is good!

Especially when it's cold and dark most of the day!

I haven't actually read Gone with the Wind, it's not part of the canon here and I haven't ever felt interested in it. That said I do share Katylit's (#310) feelings or attitude regarding older books and other media - it is very interesting to study attitude changes through that lens, and I think there's a lot to learn that way.
But, and I'm not trying to be a diplomat here, just kind of having two different takes on the same thing, I kind of share Polymathicmonkey's sentiments too, despite it being revisionistic when looking at it from my other viewpoint.

Gender and racial stereotypes aren't always ours to judge harmless or not. For me, being white caucasian middle class female in an industrialised nation, disdain comes cheap. No one will step on my rights without my voice getting heard, and no one will punish me for protesting. No one will deny me a seat on the bus or a job based on the colour of my skin. There's inequalities in abundance but no one will dismiss my right to challenge the wrongs, telling me a woman has no voice, being a silly.

If the people portrayed as stereotypes in media feel diminished by them, I think they have the right to tell away with them. Sweden is EXTREMELY monocultural and most people can't, like I couldn't, even start to imagine the political aspects of for example the pickaninny character. I think many of us are like that, safely convinced our personal experience is communal.

That said real racism is not in the imagery but in the behaviour - it's when we act as the images were real it turns bad.
And that is one fine line to walk.
Are we allowed to laugh at white caucasian male managers but not at the coloured one?
I find it impossible to put down my foot on either side of the fence. Literally.

And meanwhile I cringe while watching for example You Only Live Twice (Bond movie starring Sean "Schweaty Bollocksch" Connery, 1962), even as I like it.

I finished Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction by Tom Raabe, and I found it a wee bit dated but still quite amusing. :o)