What are you reading the week of December 26, 2015?
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1fredbacon
Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis (born December 31, 1945) is an American science fiction/fantasy writer. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards for particular works—more major awards than any other writer—most recently the year's "Best Novel" Hugo and Nebula Awards for Blackout/All Clear (2010). She was inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Science Fiction Writers of America named her its 28th SFWA Grand Master in 2011.
Several of her works feature time travel by history students at a faculty of the future University of Oxford—sometimes called the Time Travel series. They are the short story "Fire Watch" (1982, also in several anthologies and the 1985 collection of the same name), the novels Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog (1992 and 1998), as well as the two-part novel Blackout/All Clear (2010). All four won the annual Hugo Award and all but To Say Nothing of the Dog won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards.
Willis is a 1967 graduate of Colorado State College, now the University of Northern Colorado, where she completed degrees in English and Elementary Education. She lives in Greeley, Colorado, with her husband Courtney Willis, a former professor of physics at the University of Northern Colorado. They have one daughter, Cordelia.
Willis's first published story was "The Secret of Santa Titicaca" in Worlds of Fantasy, Winter 1970 (December). At least seven stories followed (1978–81) before her debut novel, Water Witch by Willis and Cynthia Felice, published by Ace Books in 1982. After receiving a National Endowment for the Arts grant that year, she left her teaching job and became a full-time writer.
Scholar Gary K. Wolfe has written, "Willis, the erstwhile stand-up superstar of SF conventions – having her as your MC is like getting Billy Crystal back as host of the Oscars – and the author of some of the field's funniest stories, is a woman of considerably greater complexity and gravity than her personal popularity reflects, and for all her facility at screwball comedy knock-offs and snappy parody, she wants us to know that she's a writer of some gravity as well."
Willis tends to the comedy of manners style of writing. Her protagonists are typically beset by single-minded people pursuing illogical agendas, such as attempting to organize a bell-ringing session in the middle of a deadly epidemic (Doomsday Book), or frustrating efforts to analyze near-death experiences by putting words in the mouths of interviewees (Passage).
Other themes and stylistic devices include:
Willis is acclaimed as a science-fiction writer, with much of her writing exploring the social sciences. She often weaves technology into her stories in order to prompt readers to question what impact it has on the world. For instance, Lincoln's Dreams plumbs not just the psychology of dreams, but also their role as indicators of disease. The story portrays a young man's unrequited love for a young woman who might or might not be experiencing reincarnation or precognition, and whose outlook verges on suicidal. Similarly Bellwether is almost exclusively concerned with human psychology.
Among other themes, Uncharted Territory contemplates the extent to which technology shapes expectations of gender; "technology" here ranges from a land rover and binoculars to Bult's online "tchopping" and the pop-up holograms—even socioexozoology. Remake embraces old movies and the computer graphics revolution, as well as intellectual property, digital copyright issues, and the question of public domain.
Other Willis stories explore the so-called "hard" sciences, following in the classic science fiction tradition. "The Sidon in the Mirror" harks back to the interplanetary and interstellar romanticism of the 1930s and 1940s. "Samaritan" is another take on the theme of Heinlein's "Jerry Was a Man", while "Blued Moon" is similarly reminiscent of Heinlein's "The Year of the Jackpot".
Several of her works feature time travel by history students at a faculty of the future University of Oxford—sometimes called the Time Travel series. They are the short story "Fire Watch" (1982, also in several anthologies and the 1985 collection of the same name), the novels Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog (1992 and 1998), as well as the two-part novel Blackout/All Clear (2010). All four won the annual Hugo Award and all but To Say Nothing of the Dog won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards.
Willis is a 1967 graduate of Colorado State College, now the University of Northern Colorado, where she completed degrees in English and Elementary Education. She lives in Greeley, Colorado, with her husband Courtney Willis, a former professor of physics at the University of Northern Colorado. They have one daughter, Cordelia.
Willis's first published story was "The Secret of Santa Titicaca" in Worlds of Fantasy, Winter 1970 (December). At least seven stories followed (1978–81) before her debut novel, Water Witch by Willis and Cynthia Felice, published by Ace Books in 1982. After receiving a National Endowment for the Arts grant that year, she left her teaching job and became a full-time writer.
Scholar Gary K. Wolfe has written, "Willis, the erstwhile stand-up superstar of SF conventions – having her as your MC is like getting Billy Crystal back as host of the Oscars – and the author of some of the field's funniest stories, is a woman of considerably greater complexity and gravity than her personal popularity reflects, and for all her facility at screwball comedy knock-offs and snappy parody, she wants us to know that she's a writer of some gravity as well."
Willis tends to the comedy of manners style of writing. Her protagonists are typically beset by single-minded people pursuing illogical agendas, such as attempting to organize a bell-ringing session in the middle of a deadly epidemic (Doomsday Book), or frustrating efforts to analyze near-death experiences by putting words in the mouths of interviewees (Passage).
Other themes and stylistic devices include:
- a scientist as protagonist (the main theme of Bellwether, but also present in Uncharted Territory, Passage, and—to a lesser degree—the Fire Watch universe stories).
- satires of political correctness (the over-appreciation of indigenous cultures in Uncharted Territory, anti-smoking stances in Bellwether, prohibition of "addictive substances" in Remake and censorship of an English class in the short story "Ado").
- the inclusion of meticulously researched, detailed trivia related tangentially or symbolically to the narrative (fads in Bellwether, mating customs in Uncharted Territory, old movies in Remake, the Titanic disaster in Passage, famous pairs of ill-fated lovers in To Say Nothing of the Dog).
- "Romantic 'screwball' comedy in the manner of 1940s Hollywood movies, updated"
Willis is acclaimed as a science-fiction writer, with much of her writing exploring the social sciences. She often weaves technology into her stories in order to prompt readers to question what impact it has on the world. For instance, Lincoln's Dreams plumbs not just the psychology of dreams, but also their role as indicators of disease. The story portrays a young man's unrequited love for a young woman who might or might not be experiencing reincarnation or precognition, and whose outlook verges on suicidal. Similarly Bellwether is almost exclusively concerned with human psychology.
Among other themes, Uncharted Territory contemplates the extent to which technology shapes expectations of gender; "technology" here ranges from a land rover and binoculars to Bult's online "tchopping" and the pop-up holograms—even socioexozoology. Remake embraces old movies and the computer graphics revolution, as well as intellectual property, digital copyright issues, and the question of public domain.
Other Willis stories explore the so-called "hard" sciences, following in the classic science fiction tradition. "The Sidon in the Mirror" harks back to the interplanetary and interstellar romanticism of the 1930s and 1940s. "Samaritan" is another take on the theme of Heinlein's "Jerry Was a Man", while "Blued Moon" is similarly reminiscent of Heinlein's "The Year of the Jackpot".
- Water Witch (1982) – with Cynthia Felice
- Lincoln's Dreams (1987)
- Light Raid (1989) – with Cynthia Felice
- Doomsday Book (1992)
- Remake (1994)
- Uncharted Territory (1994)
- Bellwether (1996)
- Promised Land (1997) – with Cynthia Felice
- To Say Nothing of the Dog (1998)
- Passage (2001)
- Inside Job (2005)
- D.A. (2007)
- All Seated on the Ground (2007)
- Blackout (2010)
- All Clear (2010)
- All About Emily (2011)
2seitherin
I like Connie Willis. I've read several of her books and liked them all.
Finished Shadowline and started The Swordbearer, both by Glen Cook.
Still working on Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher.
Finished Shadowline and started The Swordbearer, both by Glen Cook.
Still working on Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher.
3rocketjk
I'm about a third of the way through Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence. Very interesting and good writing, although Lawrence could have used an editor. I know there's a shortened version available to read, Revolt in the Desert, but I decided to go the whole route. I'm afraid this is going to take me through the calendar year, though, several books short of my 50-book goal. Oh, well. C'est la vie.
4Tara1Reads
I finished Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris on Christmas Eve and have been reading The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen.
5cappybear
3> I've been meaning to read Seven Pillars of Wisdom for decades, but never got round to it. I feel a New Year's resolution coming on.
Currently reading Graham Greene's A Burnt-Out Case.
Currently reading Graham Greene's A Burnt-Out Case.
6cdyankeefan
I'm reading The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and Wind/Pinball by Haruki Murakami;The Hypnotists Love Story by Liane Moriarty; The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin and Rage by Richard Bachman aka Stephen King
7nrmay
Finished Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher.
Switching to sci fic with The Here and Now by Ann Brashares.
Switching to sci fic with The Here and Now by Ann Brashares.
8CarolynSchroeder
I am reading Stone Upon Stone and so far, it is wonderful.
9framboise
Reading the new YA novel Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella, author of the Shopaholic series. Entertaining so far.
10rocketjk
#5> Well, David, I am halfway through Seven Pillars, now, and I am still finding it very interesting. The writing is good, and Lawrence's descriptions of the physical aspects of the desert and also of the physical hardships of his various journeys really put you there with him. Sometimes I feel like I could do with a bit less of those, but they do help also to give the reader a sense of the time those treks took, as well, slowing down the action as they do. I was aware going in to take some of Lawrence's claims with a grain of salt, although the current wikipedia entry on Lawrence seems to indicate that subsequent biographical research into Lawrence tends to make his narratives stand up to scrutiny more than had been expected. At any rate, it's not a book to rush through. My old hardcover checks in a 660 pages, and one must be ready for long contemplative passages on human nature, the nature of warfare and the physical aspects of the desert. Very much worth the read, though. And there is quite a bit in Lawrence's descriptions of Arab culture and history that resonates today.
11whymaggiemay
>6 cdyankeefan: I thought The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle was wonderful. I'm definitely a Haruki Murakami fan.
I'm finishing The Guilty, the newest and very exciting Will Robie story, slowly reading Voices From Chernobyl to find out what the 2015 Nobel Award Winning writer has been writing (as you might imagine, not a cheerful book), and Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century because Perry is such a prolific writer and I wanted the back story on her life (very sad, all the way around, but still interesting). I'll finish the Baldacci today, but hope to finish the other two by the 31st so that I begin 2016 with a clean book slate.
I'm finishing The Guilty, the newest and very exciting Will Robie story, slowly reading Voices From Chernobyl to find out what the 2015 Nobel Award Winning writer has been writing (as you might imagine, not a cheerful book), and Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century because Perry is such a prolific writer and I wanted the back story on her life (very sad, all the way around, but still interesting). I'll finish the Baldacci today, but hope to finish the other two by the 31st so that I begin 2016 with a clean book slate.
12PaperbackPirate
Yesterday I finished The Dogs of Christmas by W. Bruce Cameron, which was surprisingly good for what I expected to be a simple story.
Now I'm reading The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion for my book club.
Now I'm reading The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion for my book club.
13fredbacon
>3 rocketjk: You're a lot like me. You tend to read a lot of big, information dense books that take a long time to read. I'm not going to make 50 books this year either. What's worse is that I find myself avoiding books I want to read because I know that it will cause my read count to be lower. I have a roughly 1000 page biography of Dostoevsky sitting on my desk that I've been avoiding for a couple of years for that very reason. I know that it will take me 5-6 weeks to read.
The holidays and work have really eaten into my reading time the past couple of weeks. I'm finishing up Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End. It's a little disturbing to reread a favorite book from middle school. It's still a terrific book, but I didn't remember that he used the N word at one point. It was jolting. I know that he released a revised version of the book in 1990, so I hope that he took that passage out.
The context was his comment that people were no longer prejudiced against blacks so that people were no longer offended by "the convenient word 'n***er'" It was one of his least successful prognostications! That phrase "convenient word" really baffles me. I know the book was written in 1953, but still...
The fact that I had no recollection of that passage disturbs me about myself. I read the book in the deep south in the early 70's, so I guess that I shouldn't be surprised. It was the deeply twisted culture in which I was reared. *shudder*
The book also has one of his more interesting prognostications. He comments that society's attitudes toward sexual mores were deeply changed by two developments: a truly reliable oral contraceptive and an effective paternity test. The FDA didn't approved the first oral contraceptive until 1960, seven years after he wrote the book. (Although doctors were working on it at the time that he wrote.)
The holidays and work have really eaten into my reading time the past couple of weeks. I'm finishing up Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End. It's a little disturbing to reread a favorite book from middle school. It's still a terrific book, but I didn't remember that he used the N word at one point. It was jolting. I know that he released a revised version of the book in 1990, so I hope that he took that passage out.
The context was his comment that people were no longer prejudiced against blacks so that people were no longer offended by "the convenient word 'n***er'" It was one of his least successful prognostications! That phrase "convenient word" really baffles me. I know the book was written in 1953, but still...
The fact that I had no recollection of that passage disturbs me about myself. I read the book in the deep south in the early 70's, so I guess that I shouldn't be surprised. It was the deeply twisted culture in which I was reared. *shudder*
The book also has one of his more interesting prognostications. He comments that society's attitudes toward sexual mores were deeply changed by two developments: a truly reliable oral contraceptive and an effective paternity test. The FDA didn't approved the first oral contraceptive until 1960, seven years after he wrote the book. (Although doctors were working on it at the time that he wrote.)
14grkmwk
Still reading, and thoroughly enjoying, The Way of Kings. Have started two different translations of the Tao Te Ching, as well as The Artist's Way.
Recently finished The Christmas Letters, The Greatest Gift, and Bread and Wine.
Recently finished The Christmas Letters, The Greatest Gift, and Bread and Wine.
15dianeham
Started Henderson the Rain King last name night. Not sure if I am going to stick with it. Today I've been reading samples of ebooks I downloaded to my kindle. Trying to decide which to buy.
16mollygrace
I enjoyed A Town Like Alice and now I'm reading The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith.
17dianeham
Just started All That I Am by Anna Funder.
18cdyankeefan
#11-hi why maggiemay- I am enjoying the Wind Up Bird Chronicle and I finished and enjoyed Wind/Pinball as well
19jnwelch
Thanks, Fred. I've enjoyed reading Connie Willis over the years, especially The Doomsday Book and Say Nothing of the Dog.
>11 whymaggiemay:, >18 cdyankeefan: I'm a big Murakami fan, too. Kafka on the Shore and The Windup Bird Chronicle are my two favorites, and I was pleased that Wind/Pinball finally came out in the U.S. this year.
I finished Slade House and The Couriers. Now I'm reading the final volume in the Odd Thomas series, Saint Odd, and Hattie Ever After, the sequel to Hattie Big Sky.
>11 whymaggiemay:, >18 cdyankeefan: I'm a big Murakami fan, too. Kafka on the Shore and The Windup Bird Chronicle are my two favorites, and I was pleased that Wind/Pinball finally came out in the U.S. this year.
I finished Slade House and The Couriers. Now I'm reading the final volume in the Odd Thomas series, Saint Odd, and Hattie Ever After, the sequel to Hattie Big Sky.
20cappybear
3> 5> 10> I'm going to read Seven Pillars of Wisdom in the New Year. I've been reading books about the Great War to mark the centenary, so now's as good a time as any.
Finished The Eagle of the Ninth, the latest read-aloud with my wife. Really enjoyed this gripping yarn, and Rosemary Sutcliff writes with a genuine feel for Roman Britain.
Finished The Eagle of the Ninth, the latest read-aloud with my wife. Really enjoyed this gripping yarn, and Rosemary Sutcliff writes with a genuine feel for Roman Britain.
21rocketjk
#13> "rocketjk: You're a lot like me. You tend to read a lot of big, information dense books that take a long time to read. I'm not going to make 50 books this year either. What's worse is that I find myself avoiding books I want to read because I know that it will cause my read count to be lower. I have a roughly 1000 page biography of Dostoevsky sitting on my desk that I've been avoiding for a couple of years for that very reason. I know that it will take me 5-6 weeks to read."
I know; it's a problem. But some books have got to get read. I started 2015 with a couple of long books that put my 50-book goal in jeopardy from the get-go. "We, the Drowned" I actually bought in Finland a couple of years ago and dragged all the way back to California, so that had to be read. I highly recommend it, by the way. I read Santana's autobiography to please a good friend who wanted to lend it to me. Lisa Randall's dense volume on physics, "Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions," was a not that long, but slow going, and set me back, as well. However, it is the 2nd of three books on the subject I've been wanting to get through in order to pick up some glimmering of understanding on the subject. Etc.
At one point, I wasn't even sure I was going to hit 30 this year, but once I hit 40 but knew that 50 was a pipe dream (again!), I figured it was time to give "Seven Pillars" my attention. I figure that the time to read some of these books is now, at age 60, when I still have the reading stamina for them. FWIW, my wife, along with several other folks here on LT I've noticed, counts pages as well as books, and that helps assuage her frustration at relatively low volume totals.
My suggestion on the Dostoevsky bio is to read it first thing in 2016. That will give you at least the illusion that you'll be able to make up ground over the rest of the year. :)
I know; it's a problem. But some books have got to get read. I started 2015 with a couple of long books that put my 50-book goal in jeopardy from the get-go. "We, the Drowned" I actually bought in Finland a couple of years ago and dragged all the way back to California, so that had to be read. I highly recommend it, by the way. I read Santana's autobiography to please a good friend who wanted to lend it to me. Lisa Randall's dense volume on physics, "Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions," was a not that long, but slow going, and set me back, as well. However, it is the 2nd of three books on the subject I've been wanting to get through in order to pick up some glimmering of understanding on the subject. Etc.
At one point, I wasn't even sure I was going to hit 30 this year, but once I hit 40 but knew that 50 was a pipe dream (again!), I figured it was time to give "Seven Pillars" my attention. I figure that the time to read some of these books is now, at age 60, when I still have the reading stamina for them. FWIW, my wife, along with several other folks here on LT I've noticed, counts pages as well as books, and that helps assuage her frustration at relatively low volume totals.
My suggestion on the Dostoevsky bio is to read it first thing in 2016. That will give you at least the illusion that you'll be able to make up ground over the rest of the year. :)
22ahef1963
I'm reading Life after Life by Kate Atkinson and very much enjoying it.
23Limelite
Am finding Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe a transporting read. Tratt has chosen an intensely interior style that allows the reader to feel she has actual access to O'Keefe's thoughts. I appreciate how Tratt is emphasizing O'Keeffe's developing artistic process, how determined she was to be uninfluenced by Stieglitz, who possessed a mature and acknowledged position in the NY art scene in early 20th C., from early on in their relationship. Her desire at this point in the novel is to develop an objective eye regarding her own art.
The book is deeply sensual, sexual, and passionate about art, their burgeoning relationship, and the artistic life. This is an intense read, that demands slow perusal in order to enjoy its effect as well as its story.
The book is deeply sensual, sexual, and passionate about art, their burgeoning relationship, and the artistic life. This is an intense read, that demands slow perusal in order to enjoy its effect as well as its story.
24princessgarnet
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
(40th anniversary softback ed.)
Kept seeing this in the library so I'm giving it a read.
(40th anniversary softback ed.)
Kept seeing this in the library so I'm giving it a read.
26VertOlive
Began The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick tonight and got a head start on my 2016 stack.
28enaid
I'm working on God is my Broker by Christopher Buckley which is a pretty good satirical novel. I am hoping to wrap it up tonight or tomorrow and that will be my final 2015 read. It's been hard because I can't seem to shake off these reading doldrums. It's so darn frustrating; I keep thinking each book is going to be the one to break this phase but ...no.
29Limelite
>28 enaid:
I hate that reading doldrums thing. But I can think of a short little gem of a book guaranteed to fill your sails and get you bounding over the waves again. I looked at your page and examined books we share. Your star ratings are similar to mine and we have a lot of books in common. So, I don't hesitate to recommend Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress: A Novel by Dai Sijie. Utterly original and charming.
I hate that reading doldrums thing. But I can think of a short little gem of a book guaranteed to fill your sails and get you bounding over the waves again. I looked at your page and examined books we share. Your star ratings are similar to mine and we have a lot of books in common. So, I don't hesitate to recommend Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress: A Novel by Dai Sijie. Utterly original and charming.
31bell7
I've almost finished A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman, am in the midst of The Millionaire and the Bard by Andrea Mays, and have just started Don't Give Up, Don't Give In by Louis Zamperini.
32eo206
Rising Strong by Brene Brown almost done, quick read and thought provoking.
33mollygrace
I enjoyed reading Alexander McCall Smith's The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon -- it's always fun to revisit Precious Ramotswe and Co.
Now, for a complete change of pace, I'm reading James Ellroy's Black Dahlia, which I've owned for years and would have sworn I'd read, but apparently not.
Now, for a complete change of pace, I'm reading James Ellroy's Black Dahlia, which I've owned for years and would have sworn I'd read, but apparently not.
34seitherin
Finished Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher and Sung In Blood by Glen Cook. Both kind of meh.
Started For Love of Mother Not by Alan Dean Foster and Kaleidoscope by Dorothy Gilman.
Started For Love of Mother Not by Alan Dean Foster and Kaleidoscope by Dorothy Gilman.
35enaid
While I wait for amazon to send my copy of Balzac and the Little Seamstress to me, I picked up perky little gothic/ mystery novel Secret Portrait. I don't want to speak too soon(knocking on wood) but I seem to be somewhat interested in it. So far.
Also, the great love of my life, Sir Tom Jones, has a book out: Over the Top and Back!! I started it late last night and I'm guiltily enjoying it. It's probably mostly ghosted but it reads like what I imagine Sir Tom would be like if we were just kicking back, chatting. Honestly, though, I can already tell he is way more extroverted than me so our love was doomed right from the start!
I finished God is my Broker last night. It was better than 'meh' but it was still a struggle to finish. I'm not sure how much of that is due to my own reading doldrums or the writing.
I want to wish everyone here a Very Happy New Year! May 2016 bring us loads of excellent reading experiences!!
Also, the great love of my life, Sir Tom Jones, has a book out: Over the Top and Back!! I started it late last night and I'm guiltily enjoying it. It's probably mostly ghosted but it reads like what I imagine Sir Tom would be like if we were just kicking back, chatting. Honestly, though, I can already tell he is way more extroverted than me so our love was doomed right from the start!
I finished God is my Broker last night. It was better than 'meh' but it was still a struggle to finish. I'm not sure how much of that is due to my own reading doldrums or the writing.
I want to wish everyone here a Very Happy New Year! May 2016 bring us loads of excellent reading experiences!!
36vivienbrenda
mollygrace, if you liked Town Like Alice, I think you'll also like (I loved) Pied Piper also by Nevil Shute.
37CarolynSchroeder
I am reading Portrait of an Artist by Laurie Lisle, a biography of Georgia O'Keefe. So far, I love it.
38ahef1963
I'm indulging my taste for true crime by reading The Good Nurse. It's the true story of a male nurse in the U.S. who killed about 400 of his patients with drug overdoses. Fascinating and a bit gory.
39Limelite
>33 mollygrace: and >37 CarolynSchroeder:
Mollygrace, I love Mma Ramotswe and have an informal tradition of starting the New Year with one of her cases. Last year it was your book. This year it will be The Handsome Man's Deluxe Cafe. Did you know he's written about a dozen books for young readers about the girl, Precious Ramotswe? Clever of him to hook 'em young. The books would make great gifts for the juvenile fan of exotic settings and realistic stories about other cultures. One of them is titled, The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe's Very First Case -- a good place to start the series.
Carolyn, my LTER selection for November is Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe by Dawn Tripp. I'm about half way through it and think the present tense works superbly. Makes me feel like I am O'Keeffe, inside her mind and seeing everything through her eyes, including Stieglitz's own wandering eye when it comes to Paul Strand's new wife, Beck. Paul, who secretly has loved O'Keeffe, tries to recreate Georgia in her. Creepy! Fear not, O'Keeffe will have her "go" at Beck (by then ex-Strand) some years later.
Mollygrace, I love Mma Ramotswe and have an informal tradition of starting the New Year with one of her cases. Last year it was your book. This year it will be The Handsome Man's Deluxe Cafe. Did you know he's written about a dozen books for young readers about the girl, Precious Ramotswe? Clever of him to hook 'em young. The books would make great gifts for the juvenile fan of exotic settings and realistic stories about other cultures. One of them is titled, The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe's Very First Case -- a good place to start the series.
Carolyn, my LTER selection for November is Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe by Dawn Tripp. I'm about half way through it and think the present tense works superbly. Makes me feel like I am O'Keeffe, inside her mind and seeing everything through her eyes, including Stieglitz's own wandering eye when it comes to Paul Strand's new wife, Beck. Paul, who secretly has loved O'Keeffe, tries to recreate Georgia in her. Creepy! Fear not, O'Keeffe will have her "go" at Beck (by then ex-Strand) some years later.
40CarolynSchroeder
OH! Limelite! I had not heard of the that novel! Good, since it is a LT-ER you will be doing a review! Sounds like a good one though! I've always wanted to write a novel present tense, so am super anxious to see how that works. Thanks for letting me know about it.
41mollygrace
>36 vivienbrenda: Thank you for the recommendation. I have his On the Beach in my tbr pile, and will put Pied Piper on the wish list.
>39 Limelite: I didn't realize there were so many books in the young readers series. Thanks for letting me know. I happen to know a young reader with a birthday coming up soon who might just enjoy those.
I finished James Ellroy's Black Dahlia which I didn't like as well as other books I've read by him.
Next up: The Argonauts: A Memoir by Maggie Nelson
>39 Limelite: I didn't realize there were so many books in the young readers series. Thanks for letting me know. I happen to know a young reader with a birthday coming up soon who might just enjoy those.
I finished James Ellroy's Black Dahlia which I didn't like as well as other books I've read by him.
Next up: The Argonauts: A Memoir by Maggie Nelson
42cappybear
I finished A Burnt-Out Case on 31st December. I didn't see the conclusion of the novel coming at all and it was a good book with which to finish the year's reading.
Now on to The Lifted Veil, my first George Eliot. It seems rather slow-moving and Victorian after the Greene.
Now on to The Lifted Veil, my first George Eliot. It seems rather slow-moving and Victorian after the Greene.
