| Author |
Message |
Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - 7:42 am 
Wow that would be great. You have to either live or work in a city here to be able to borrow books from that city library. For example, we are only able to borrow books from the Toronto library system because my wife works for a company that has a Toronto office.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - 10:21 am
That's an enviable system indeed that allows for borrowing from libraries throughout the state. And I thought the 73 branches here in L.A. were amazing.
I'm pretty sure you're going to like the book once you get it. I also wanted to mention that the actor who plays the 17-year-old in the film version is also the male lead in a little film called "Miss Stevens" (and available on Netflix). It's about a high-school English teacher, played by "American Horror Story"'s Lily Rabe, who chaperones three of her students to a weekend acting competition. It's very well done - if you've not already seen it, I highly recommend it. 
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - 10:50 am
Just finished Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough. Just the other day, Stephen King tweeted about it and loved it. He was not wrong! One of the best I have read in a while and the ending!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - 12:39 pm
Finished the hiking book.. good one.
Now heavier. Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America, by Annie Jacobsen.
And it was a contest with Great Britain, the Soviets, France, to get these horrible people and their horrible products.. biological warfare, better technology for aircraft, the results of the human experiments on the effects of being frozen and when could one possibility be brought back, or the effects of decompression on the body.
The Germans had been working on selling some of this to Japan at the time as well.
Very sobering to read of different groups going after the same doctor or researcher.. one group wanting to try the person for war crimes of the highest magnitude, while another agency wanted to bring the person here, and his expertise.
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Rieann
Member
08-26-2006
| Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - 5:52 pm
Uncle Ricky... I started Call Me By Your Name yesterday and I am really enjoying it. Thank you!
Mamie... I just went and bought Behind Her Eyes. I wanted a good thriller next. Thank you too.
 that my migraines stay at bay, so I can read. So aggravating. 
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - 6:00 pm
I think you will really enjoy it. I hope those migraines stay far, far away.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - 7:08 pm
Uncle_Ricky - I can't find the movie anywhere - how did you see it?
Michigan's library system is impressive. We have Mel.org (Michigan Electronic Library) which has databases of every possible thing under the sun, and one of them is MelCat - a catalog of every item available in the state! I order it using a log in with my local library's name/card number and they'll send it to my library - usually within a week.
We also have Overdrive: UpNorth collection, which is a symposium of about 40 libraries who share digital resources (audio books, Kindle versions, etc.). It doesn't have nearly the selection of Mel.org, but it is still tremendously handy!
Did I mention I'm on our local library's board? LOL
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - 7:56 pm
Rieann - I'm sorry about the migraines - you poor thing; I wish it were me instead of you having to endure such things. But I'm glad you're enjoying the Aciman book. Yay! 🎉🎉
Teach - You have to have Netflix's streaming subscription service to see "Miss Stevens" - I hope you can see it one day because I assume all high school teachers enjoy seeing films about high school teachers. 😜 And this one is really good!
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Wednesday, February 15, 2017 - 7:04 pm
***SMH*** I was looking on Netflix for Call Me by Your Name not the other! Now that you've got me sorted out, it is now on my watchlist - hopefully for this weekend. Thanks!
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Thursday, February 16, 2017 - 7:10 pm
Oh, no! No wonder you got confused. The earliest that "Call Me By Your Name" will hit theatres is September or October. I hope you like "Miss Stevens" - I'll be very surprised if you don't.
And thanks for explaining the Michigan library system - very neat! I hope being on the library board comes with some perks, e.g., priority borrowing, so that you don't have to wait as long as regular folks do for your titles to become available!
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Thursday, February 16, 2017 - 8:39 pm
No priority borrowing, but three of the four full-time employees (including the director) are my former students, so they ALWAYS renew my books when I'm late getting them back in. No fines! LOL
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Friday, February 17, 2017 - 7:50 am
Ah the perks of being a good teacher. I can't say enough good things about teachers. I remember my teachers all the way back to Kindergarten and Grade 1. Trust me that was a while ago. How many people make that kind of difference in people's lives!
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Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Friday, February 17, 2017 - 12:43 pm
I finished Edward Unspooled last night and enjoyed it. I hope the series continues.
Starting Daisy in Chains by Sharon Bolton.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Saturday, February 18, 2017 - 6:32 pm
 Jimmer -- we certainly try, some days with more success than others.
I'm listening to The Sellout and the further I go, the better it gets. I'm enjoying some of the allusions (one to Paul Lawrence Dunbar's "We Wear the Mask" was particularly cool since it's a poem I taught for years to Eng. 10 students), and there have been a few laugh out loud lines as well. Just started a John Grisham one as well on Kindle. I *think* it's The Whistler.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Sunday, February 19, 2017 - 6:26 pm
I'm thrilled you're enjoying The Sellout as much as you are! Once you get past that initial surprise of the writing style and structure, it really swings into gear. I'm glad it's making you laugh, too - that's what surprised me most, the amount of mirth the reader experiences.
This morning I finished 83 Minutes: The Doctor, the Damage, and the Shocking Death of Michael Jackson by Matt Richards and Mark Langthorne. Although I was never a fan of Jackson's music, I found his popularity fascinating. This book, though it's very poorly written, is at its most interesting when it chronicles just what happened when Conrad Murray killed Jackson by overdosing him with the Propofol. It's amazing Murray only got 4 years in prison (served two) for his crime. The obsessive loyalty of Jackson's fans was also quite eye-opening to read about. I knew it was intensely obsessive, but it was way more intense than I ever could've imagined.
If you're a hard-core Jackson fan, I think you'll find this book worth your time. If not, then definitely don't bother.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Monday, February 20, 2017 - 11:45 am
I finished a few that I really liked. First, The Nearness of You by Amanda Eyre Ward. She is someone who never disappoints. This one was about a couple that use a surrogate. She disappears after she finds out she's pregnant and then a whole lot transpires.
I also read The River at Night by Erica Ferenick. Four women go on a white water rafting trip. Kept me on the edge of my seat.
And lastly, Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf. Such a lovely, simple story about two older people who find comfort with each other at night. It's going to be a Netflix film with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. Should be good.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, February 20, 2017 - 7:02 pm
I finished Operation Paperclip, which really brings out anger that Nazi doctors and scientists were brought here and shielded, even had buildings named for them, despite protests..
Then I started a novel set in Norway (translated from Norwegian) which was super irritating.. the plot, the characters.. every one of them, pretty much.
Almost juts put it down but finished it and good riddance.
The Marvelous Misadventures of Ingrid Winter by J.S. Drangsholt.
Going to give another novel a try, When I'm Gone: A Novel by Emily Bleeker.
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Dogdoc
Member
09-29-2001
| Tuesday, February 21, 2017 - 8:50 am
I am half way through The Girl on The Train and am really enjoying it.
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Kappy
Member
06-28-2002
| Tuesday, February 21, 2017 - 10:10 am
So far this year, I've begun and put down at least 3 books but have managed to finish four. Alert by James Patterson (#8 in the Michael Bennett series) was a huge disappointment. NYPD 3, also by Patterson was only slightly better. I know I know ~ Why do I keep reading him, LOL?! I wanted mindless drivel to occupy my angry mind. It didn't work.
I also read Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay. It was about a kidnapping and a parent who refused to believe the worst. It was okay but I also think it's my mood that is ruining some of these books for me.
The best so far was Ink and Bone by Lisa Unger. A little psychic phenomena thrown in never hurts.
At the end of 2016, I finished Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler. It wasn't bad but I didn't really begin to enjoy it until the last third of the book.
Currently, I'm reading Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Tuesday, February 21, 2017 - 4:49 pm
Was Vinegar Girl the one that used present tense verbs? IIRC, that took some getting used to when I read it.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Tuesday, February 21, 2017 - 5:04 pm
Some authors like to do that (I guess they think it is edgy) but I have trouble getting used to it as well.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Wednesday, February 22, 2017 - 11:02 am
Good as Gone by Amy Gentry was one of those books that I had to stay up late to finish. A girl is kidnapped from her home at 13 years old and returns 8 years later. Her mom begins to doubt that it's really her daughter. So good!
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Kappy
Member
06-28-2002
| Wednesday, February 22, 2017 - 2:21 pm
Teach ~ I don't remember that about Vinegar Girl but I do remember thinking that I never liked The Taming of the Shrew so it's probably why I didn't care for this story that much.
Mamie, I love thrillers so I am adding that one to my list!
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Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Wednesday, February 22, 2017 - 4:22 pm
I finished Daisy in Chains. I had deduced the main "surprise" of the book quite early but enjoyed it nonetheless. Truthfully, I am rarely surprised by such things. I never understood why people seemed to find Gone Girl or Girl on the Train to be surprising as the plot seemed obvious to me, but to each their own.
I will be starting The Whole Town's Talking by Fannie Flagg. I hope it is better than The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion as I thought that was rather dull and perhaps Miss Fannie's weakest novel by far.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Wednesday, February 22, 2017 - 5:00 pm
Nope - I was wrong. I checked my shelves, and the book I was thinking of was Vinegar Hill. It was an Oprah book way back. I did enjoy it, and the present tense was at least consistent (not switching back and forth with past tense), but I do remember that it didn't stand out as much if I read for at least 30-45 minutes. It wasn't a book I'd grab for a 10-minute reading session.
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