| Author |
Message |
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, January 30, 2017 - 7:50 pm 
I finished Memory Cards and really did like it.
Now starting a book about the first woman to complete the Appalachian Trail in the 50s.
Interesting mix of her history and history in general..
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Tuesday, January 31, 2017 - 8:23 pm
Just finished "The Eighty-Dollar Champion" subtitled Snowman, the Horse that Inspired a Nation by Elizabeth Letts. Loved it! Great story! And a true story. I found out there is a movie of it. Now I've got to find it. I definitely want to see it.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Thursday, February 02, 2017 - 4:15 pm
Uncle_Ricky, had to tell you that I got the new Taylor Jenkins Reid book, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, today. It comes out June 6th and I won't read it until closer to publication day to write a review but I am doing my happy dance.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Thursday, February 02, 2017 - 8:27 pm
Hecka, that sounds really good!
The book I seem to have managed to not list by name or anything.. is called Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail. Not sure she totally saved it but she walked it three times, twice as thru hikes and then walked many more places, including close to the route of the Oregon Trail. She was still walking in her seventies. Pretty amazing woman.
I am almost done.. she was only the 6th or so person to walk the trail and the first woman to complete it and she had no special equipment or clothing. She stayed in and out of shelters with quite a variety of people. The most interesting was when she joined a leader who had 14 or so young men from Harlem and they were all so nice to her.. they were stuck in the shelter due to crazy bad weather. Anyway when she completed the trail she sent a postcard to this leader guy and said he or any of the nice young men were welcome in her home any time. She had NO idea that the young men were from two gangs in NY that were bitter rivals and the camping thing was an experiment.. but Grandma (she was also a great grandma) just took them at face value and somehow they all came together.
She was quite famous for years.. but I had never heard of her!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Friday, February 03, 2017 - 2:35 am
Well, she lived to be very old and still walked and hiked (and worked hard in her home and garden too).. travelled by bus to most of the lower 48 states and then died. The auther of the book is Ben Montgomery and I'm so happy I found this book!
Now starting a novel Paper in the Wind: Peeling back the lifespan of autism in the wake of tragedy by Olivia Mason-Charles.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Friday, February 03, 2017 - 11:33 am
Last night I finished Superficial, which is Andy Cohen's follow-up to The Andy Cohen Diaries. Structured exactly the same way that he presented the original, it's just more diary entries from mid-2014 to mid-2016. It's a bit repetitive, but the juicy entries are worth the effort of reading the non-juicy stuff.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Friday, February 03, 2017 - 11:51 am
And I forgot to say how jealous I am -- yet again -- that Mamie gets to enjoy the newest by Taylor Jenkins Reid ahead of the rest of us -- I look forward to your review!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Friday, February 03, 2017 - 3:56 pm
Well, she lived to be very old and still walked and hiked (and worked hard in her home and garden too).. travelled by bus to most of the lower 48 states and then died. The auther of the book is Ben Montgomery and I'm so happy I found this book!
Now starting a novel Paper in the Wind: Peeling back the lifespan of autism in the wake of tragedy by Olivia Mason-Charles.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Saturday, February 04, 2017 - 3:52 pm
Well that book was written by a woman who has an autistic child and wrote a story with a mix of realism and maybe to tight a story, but hopeful. Short. OK.. done.
Starting what looks to be a really interesting book, a memoir by Scots actor Alan Cumming.. his fother was a monstor to live with, beating both sons at the drop of the hat. They grew up on the remnants of a Scottish estate. Just starting but I've already learned that Rocker Patti Smith spits, and not just little spits.. LOL!
So.. Not My Father's Son: A Memoir
I think I'm going to enjoy this one. I don't know much about this actor, but suspect I will learn more.
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Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Saturday, February 04, 2017 - 4:23 pm
I finished Edward Adrift by Craig Lancasterand enjoyed it. I think I liked the 1st book a bit better. I have requested Edward Unspooledfrom the library so hope to read it in a few weeks.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Saturday, February 04, 2017 - 8:33 pm
Sugar, I think you weill enjoy the third book more than the second!
We will see.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, February 06, 2017 - 7:05 pm
Alec Cumming was or is a major character in The Good Wife, also in Cabaret and Hamlet on Broadway, has done some singing, played the part of a transgender woman in a British mini series, erc.
Quite an interesting life, and the book was about his family. crazy father, also the mystery of his maternal grandfather, whjch was researched on a reality show.. he is a good writer and I enjoyed the read.
Starting a short book of essays on hiking by English hiker Keith Foskett AKA Fozzie, Travelled Far: A Collection of Hiking Adventures.
Free book.. I have read several of his books, so I snagged this one.
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Tuesday, February 07, 2017 - 9:24 am
Sea I'm looking forward to Alan Cummings book it's on my must-read list.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Tuesday, February 07, 2017 - 10:58 am
I loved Alan's book. It was different than I expected and his story was really something.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Tuesday, February 07, 2017 - 11:27 am
I've seen the Cummings book on the shelf at the library but have yet to borrow it. The next time I see it, I'll give it a whirl (thanks to all of your endorsements!).
This morning I finished Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum. This is (yet another) title I would've totally ignored -- because it's geared toward the young adult audience -- had it not been for Mamie's praise for it, and later, for Teach's similar praise.
Oh my, where to start? The book is simply marvelous. The characters are all delightful and Ms. Buxbaum is very economical with the passages that deal with the heavier material, i.e., I'm glad she kept the focus on the love story mystery, as it was more fun and had a very satisfying payoff at the end. I noticed that her first two books were non-young-adult-themed - I will seek those out, too.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Tuesday, February 07, 2017 - 1:11 pm
I am so glad you enjoyed it.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, February 07, 2017 - 5:57 pm
You will enjoy it, Mame!
LOL.. I called him Alec didn't I ? That was his probably mentally ill father's name.
I feel like spewing about him, but not until others who might read it..have read it.
Mamie.. I went into it totally without expectations.. I only vaguely knew who he was. So it was a delightful surprise and the kindle format went on sale for $1.99 (it is currently @13.49) so I snagged it.
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Scout
Member
01-19-2005
| Wednesday, February 08, 2017 - 1:19 pm
I just finished Fannie Flagg's latest book, "The Whole Town's Talking". I am a huge fan of all of her books - except "Can't Wait to Get to Heaven" and now this one. Both are bizarre and unlike any of her other books. This one was a partial rehash of characters from Elmwood Springs from "Standing in the Rainbow" (one of my very favorite books). It felt like one long, sad obituary. I really hated this book.
Also just finished, "Victoria" by Daisy Goodwin - which the current PBS Series is based on. It's pretty good - but the mini-series is actually quite a bit better.
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Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Thursday, February 09, 2017 - 10:46 pm
I am reading Nutshell by Ian McEwan and find it a bit of a chore. Thought it sounded rather clever, however, find it a bit tedious and have started to skim rather than read. I just saw an article noting that it is a retelling of Hamlet from an unexpected point of view. While I see the comparison, I probably should have just read Hamlet or looked for a recording David Tenent or Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role as it would have been time better spent. I will probably finish skimming the book but have been a bit disappointed so far.
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Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Friday, February 10, 2017 - 10:15 am
Finished skimming Nutshell this morning. I did not really care for the book although I can appreciate it. Think myself a bit dim for not catching onto the Hamlet aspect, the characters were called Trudy and Claude for pity's sake.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Sunday, February 12, 2017 - 11:56 am
I was clueless about Andre Aciman's career, but a few weeks ago I read an article in Daily Variety that reported one of the most well-received films at last month's Sundance Film Festival was the adaptation of Mr. Aciman's 2007 novel, Call Me By Your Name. The article also mentioned that the novel was one of the most celebrated gay novels of recent years. (!)
This instantly piqued my interest and irritated me that I had missed it upon its original publication. But, no matter, the book will be admired for generations to come. Oh my goodness, I was completely overwhelmed by the intense poignancy and ultimate heartbreak of the bittersweet relationship between the two young men we get to know after one becomes a summer boarder in the family home of the other.
Among the many things that fascinated me about the book - the quality of the writing was superb - the most fascinating of all was the fact that Mr. Aciman is not gay himself, yet he wrote one of the finest novels I've ever read about a gay couple and their story of complicated layers, not the least of which is their 7-year age difference. The elder of the two is a 24-year-old American scholar spending the summer writing a book at the family home (on the Italian Rivieria) of a local family, also in academia, and whose 17-year son vacates his own bedroom each summer to make room for the season's new boarder. I was an emotional wreck (but in a good way) but the time I reached the final page.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Sunday, February 12, 2017 - 6:01 pm
I have one Audible credit left to spend before I cancel my subscription...and Uncle_Ricky, I think you've just found my book for me. ***hoping it's on Audible and unabridged***
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Sunday, February 12, 2017 - 8:46 pm
Finished Anna Quindlen's "Every Last One." It was really good. I think it was the first book I have ever read by her. I wasn't expecting the tragedy in the middle of it.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Sunday, February 12, 2017 - 9:42 pm
I hope it's available Teach! 😛
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Monday, February 13, 2017 - 8:10 pm
UGH - it's not! His Harvard Square novel is, but I'm going to get Call Me from our library (interlibrary loan - thank heavens for online catalogs that allow to be get books from almost anywhere in our state!)
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