| Author |
Message |
Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Wednesday, February 22, 2017 - 6:13 pm 
Sugar, I didn't like the last Fannie Flagg book. It was rather boring to me but I hope it's better for you.
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Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Sunday, February 26, 2017 - 3:28 pm
I did enjoy The Whole Town's Talking by Fannie Flagg. I was set to be disappointed as I have read some less than flattering responses to the book. I thought it had it's singular charms.
Escape Clause by John Sandford is next. It is part of the Virgil Flowers series.
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Tresbien
Member
08-26-2002
| Monday, February 27, 2017 - 8:22 pm
Wanted to say a quick thanks especially to Sea for the information about the Blessings Series by Beverly Jenkins. I've read the first three now, and I'm also very invested in the people and place. It is not the greatest writing ever, but she sure tells a wonderfully heartwarming story. I'll definitely read the next four editions and hope for more.
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande is available at my library finally, but I'm not sure I'm ready for it yet. One of my friends read a few pages and couldn't continue. Any thoughts on that one?
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, February 27, 2017 - 9:12 pm
Tresbien.. glad you liked the people and place.. that is what keeps me coming back to Henry Adams..
Indeed the writing isn't elegant.. but it doesn't end up mattering to me because I am so caught up in the people and emotions.
And good news.. I was poking around last night and pre-ordered the next book, due out later this year!!!
I usually start at the beginning and quickly read all the books before a new one.. just to sink into that place that I really do wish existed.
Being Mortal is of course totally different. I did read it and liked it.. have also seen the movie.. but I also deal daily with people who all too often ARE dying. So I may be more into learning about/reading about such things
Now, as to me dealing with the future.. I'm not there yet and I should be more there.
I guess you can give it a try since it is free from the library.
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Monday, February 27, 2017 - 9:16 pm
Finished "Liar's Bench" by Kim Michelle Richardson. The blurb on the book cover compared it to "To Kill A Mockingbird". I don't see it. It was pretty good though.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, February 27, 2017 - 9:18 pm
I finished When I'm Gone which was okay.. farfetched in terms of so many characters having things happen to them..
Now reading A Modest Genius: The Story of Darwin's Life and How His Ideas Changed Everything.
I had no idea that after his extensive travels, he came home and stayed within a very small area for the rest of his life.. he was not well and it was opined later that it might have been something he was exposed to while traveling.
He married and they had 10 children, though they lost three at young ages.
But he never stopped researching and corresponding with others who were researching.
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Wednesday, March 01, 2017 - 1:34 pm
Finished "Lucky Us" by Amy Bloom. It was interesting. It's about two half sisters, set during the time of World War II.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, March 01, 2017 - 7:08 pm
Done with Darwin and on to a memoir written by the Israeli father of an autistic son.. he is very expressive in his writing, and, I think, in his life as well.
When Uriel Sang: Parenting an Exceptional Child by Danny Or Fuchs.
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Kappy
Member
06-28-2002
| Saturday, March 04, 2017 - 10:50 am
Finished Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King. It's the first book I've read by him. I've always assumed that his books have some form of supernatural element or creepiness to them but this was just a pure thriller. The first half was slow with the second half being quite intense. It's part of a trilogy so I think the first half was to set up all the characters who will come into play in all three. And yes, I'm already on the waiting list for book 2.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Saturday, March 04, 2017 - 11:17 am
Finished The Sellout and am now listening to Summit - an interesting combination of modern time climb of Everest and WWII Jews trying to escape to Switzerland over the Alps.
I have 2 "dead tree" books, but I'm in musical rehearsals this week, so nothing is getting read other than school papers. Thanks heavens for AUDIBLE!!!
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Sunday, March 05, 2017 - 2:18 pm
Had it not been for Scout mentioning the existence of Julian Fellowes's new book, Belgravia, I never would've known to ask for it at the library. (Thank you, Scout!)
I can't believe it took me nearly two weeks to finish it. So embarrassing! (I think the culprit is too much television-viewing, nothing to do with the quality of the book.) I enjoyed it quite a bit. It's not at Jane Austen level, of course, but then Fellowes would never claim to be in her league. I could certainly envision him writing a sequel, since he left quite a bit a room open for continuing with the characters.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Sunday, March 05, 2017 - 11:10 pm
Finished the book about Uriel.. Very nice, really.. even with all the angst trying to get resources for him.
His father wrote the book and then there were chapters at the end by his mother, grandparents, siblings..
The last couple of days I've been reading a blog by the mother of a boy with CHARGE Syndrome, Kodiak. The family lives in Minnesota. Blog is www.kodiakmylittlegrizzly.com.
Apparently the husband drank and was abusive and after Kodi was born.. timing is vague, the mom took all three kids and left him.
This syndrome leads to being DEAFBLIND as they term it.. he had some sight for a few years but what a huge effort life is for them.. and they certainly took it on, with help from grandparents and others.
This child often doesn't sleep, has to be watched like a hawk, they have had to make sure he cannot escape from the house, access water (he once flooded the house during the night), they had to search for ways to keep him restrained in the car.
He lost his eyesight and often would injure himself badly out of frustration over pain, which he couldn't express, and often injured family members as well.
Anyway I saw a post she made on Rory Feek's blog, This Life I Life, which I follow.. Rory was half of the country duo Joey + Rory and his blog is amazing in light of his losses .. his much adored wife was diagnosed with breast cancer after giving birth to their daughter, Indiana. Indy has Down Syndrome and is extremely well-loved. She is now 3. They moved to live with Joey's parents in her last months and Indy was surrounded by love. Her mother spent time with her but wisely told Rory that he needed to take over right then so that Indy would miss her mom less.
Anyway, I read the entire blog, starting back in 2009 or 2011..
So that was my "book" over the weekend.
A Catherine Ryan Hyde book I hadn't read was on sale so I got that.. and hope to read it next, though for some reason the download is failing on the device I would normally use. Anyway, the book is Say Goodbye for Now.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Saturday, March 11, 2017 - 10:03 pm
I liked this book probably better than most Catherine Ryan Hyde books.. fiction but took place before, and after the Loving vs the state of Virginia ruling that finally outlawed miscegenation laws, which didn't allow for interracial marriage (or even relationships).
Then I read a non fiction by a woman who was raised by a schizophrenic mother and unstable father and subjected to abuse as well as many medical procedures because her mother perpetrated Munchausen's by Proxy and would insist on more and more invasive procedures and go from doctor to doctor and hospital to hospital.
She also sickened her daughter by various means such as feeding her matches.
In addition she and her husband became caretakers for disabled veteraans, and neglected them for their benefits.. AND became foster parents, to the detriments of those children.
It was hard to read. Sickened: The True Story of a Lost Childhood by Julie Gregory.
Now reading a novel Sisters One, Two, Three by Nancy Star.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Saturday, March 11, 2017 - 10:27 pm
Sea, she just sent me an autographed copy of Say Goodbye for Now.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Sunday, March 12, 2017 - 12:09 am
Nice!
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Sunday, March 12, 2017 - 3:29 pm
I finished "Cartwheel" by Jennifer Dubois. It was inspired by the Amanda Knox story, but definitely fiction. Pretty good.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Sunday, March 12, 2017 - 5:15 pm
This novel is full of pretty irritating people..
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Sunday, March 12, 2017 - 6:13 pm
Mamie, what a nice thrill that must have been!
This afternoon I finished Even This I Get to Experience by Norman Lear. This man has led a truly, truly amazing life. Even if you weren't a fan of his classic TV shows, the way he writes about them and all the struggles of getting them on the air, as well as the battles he faced with legends like Carroll O'Connor, is totally riveting.
Mr. Lear was also a fighter pilot in World War II - the kind of pilot who flew over 50 missions being repeatedly shot at over the skies of Germany by the Nazis. Coming home safely from all that death-defying, you'd think he'd be treasured by his parents for surviving the war. The relationship he had with his mother and father was far from easy. I think it's a miracle he achieved all that he did in spite of all the resistance he had to overcome from his own mom and dad - just incredible. And don't get me started on all of his terrific political activism (he founded People for the American Way, for goodness sakes!).
Oh, one more thing, he wrote the book at age 92 (he'll be 95 in July) -- reading its 448 pages was a joy from start to finish!
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Monday, March 13, 2017 - 7:05 am
That sounds like an interesting read, Uncle Ricky. Amazing person. Shows like All in the Family were so cutting edge back then.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Monday, March 13, 2017 - 7:18 pm
I hope you're able to read it one day Jimmer - I provided just a tiny glimpse of the stories he included. To quote the late, great Jimmy Durante, "Lear has got a million of 'em!"
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Kappy
Member
06-28-2002
| Monday, March 13, 2017 - 11:14 pm
Finished The Twenty Three by Linwood Barclay. It's the final book in the Promise Falls Trilogy and really enjoyed it. I don't remember who first mentioned this author (might have been Uncle Ricky?) but I'm glad they did. I've enjoyed every book I've read by him so far.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, March 14, 2017 - 10:54 am
The novel was at least readable.. You understood some things by the end.. Still some irritating characters.
Starting non-fiction From a Bush Wing: Notes of an Alaska Wildlife Trooper by Stephen Santiago Reynolds.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Tuesday, March 14, 2017 - 12:27 pm
Kappy, I'm very glad you liked the latest Barclay! I'm not sure I was the first to bring him up in these pages, but I'm pretty sure no one has gone on (and on) about how great his books are the way I have. 
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Tuesday, March 14, 2017 - 2:52 pm
I think you were the first. You made me read him!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, March 14, 2017 - 6:42 pm
I associate that author with your enthusiasm, Ric
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