| Author |
Message |
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Thursday, January 12, 2017 - 7:52 pm 
LOL, I have observed over and over.. grandkids just change things.. all sorts of things.
Chris Bohjalian is multi faceted.. I have liked the books I've read for sure
That sounds like a find, Ric!
I'm still learning while reading Hidden Figures.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Thursday, January 12, 2017 - 9:18 pm
With FOUR snow days this week, I finished Crown of Lights by Phil Rickman. I love his Merrily Watkins series - delightfully complex characters and stories.
I'm reading Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty, and TBH, it's annoying me. The first 12 chapters keep referring to "the barbeque" and it was clearly a life-changing moment for all characters. However, the attempt at suspense building is just becoming annoying now - not sure I'll finish it.
For our library club, I'm listening to Dear Mr. Knightly and enjoying it much more than I anticipated. The narrator is 23 years old and a book nut. The story is told through her letters to someone who has provided her a scholarship for grad. school, an anonymous donor who has asked only one thing - that she write as she goes through her program.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Friday, January 13, 2017 - 7:50 am
Four snow days?!?!? That'll make my DD's envious. They like school but they enjoy a good snow day. 
I love the recommendations here. I'll try reading some of Phil Rickman's.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Friday, January 13, 2017 - 3:06 pm
While I am here in Florida, my reading time will just be cut back a bit. I started The Most Dangerous Place on Earth last night when I went to bed and got quite a bit read. Of course, I am going to bed at 8:30! I am here because my son-in-law's father had to have surgery and will be starting some treatment soon and they are the ones who babysit Luke everyday. Once I get back home, I am sure I will be right on track.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Friday, January 13, 2017 - 5:15 pm
Oh, no! I'm so sorry! I thought you were on an extended vacation to bond with grandbaby Luke! What a great mother-in-law you are (and grandmother, of course)!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Friday, January 13, 2017 - 5:16 pm
I never had a snow day!! We just walked through on or in it.
Obviously not an issue in SoCal or at Berkeley (though two early purchases were rain boots and an umbrella..)
But K - part of 8 we were in Detroit, which is north of (a small part of) Canada!
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Friday, January 13, 2017 - 7:31 pm
Sea - I'm on the west side of Michigan. We're 10 minutes from Lake Michigan, so lake effect snow followed by ice kicked our butts this week. Today was our only day of school this week - on Friday the 13th and a full moon. LORD - the seniors were like toddlers!
Unfortunately, we have only one snow day left to burn or we'll be adding days in June. And as Sea will tell you, Feb. and March are usually worse than January!
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Saturday, January 14, 2017 - 10:12 pm
The author of "The Exorcist" had died.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Sunday, January 15, 2017 - 11:15 am
I never read the book though the movie was amazing. I also think the TV series is very good as well (though I hear the viewership is low).
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Sunday, January 15, 2017 - 5:12 pm
My library copy of A LIFE IN PARTS by Bryan Cranston finally became available and I read it almost immediately. The ONLY negative was the too, too short length - it's one of those you wish was a thousand pages long. It has one of the scariest stalker stories (circa the time he was on the soap, "Loving"). He writes in a very easy going style, sort of like having a nice long chat on the phone with someone about his life and having every detail be extremely interesting, with some of the details being extremely, extremely fascinating. I hope he writes a follow-up in the coming years! ⌨
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, January 16, 2017 - 6:09 pm
Hidden Figures I consider a must read in terms of learning more about segregation and discrimination, those who overcame it, yet still were not equally treated, and this is linked to treatment of women in the workplace as well.
Also the early days of the space program...
And some interesting tidbits.. just one is about the early years of Star Trek, notable for inclusion across races.
The actress who played Uhuru (?).. actually wanted to quit the show and get back to the stage. The producer asked her to think more about it.. then she learned that Martin Luther King's family faithfully watched that show, in part due to her character and told her not t quit. She wasn't totally happy, but she stayed.
Anyway, I highly recommend this non fiction and well researched book.
Now on to a memoir, The Other Wes Moore, One Name, Two Different Fates by Wes Moore.
Both men grew up African American in Baltimore, and went in very different directions... the author stumbled across the other Wes who was sent to prison for life and eventually made contact.. good, so far.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Monday, January 16, 2017 - 8:39 pm
Sea, Sea, Sea! THANK YOU SO MUCH for recommending Saving Alex: When I Was Fifteen, I Told My Mormon Parents I was Gay and That's When My Nightmare Began by Alex Cooper.
I finished it a little while ago. I began reading it early this morning and simply could not rest until I got to the end. What an amazing girl Ms. Cooper was and what an amazing woman she's become. As far as I'm concerned she qualifies as a true American (and world) hero. To call her brave is a very serious understatement.
I urge all of you to read this book...IMMEDIATELY!!!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, January 17, 2017 - 12:30 am
What an ordeal, huh? She was so lucky that she had the support of one teacher and the guy she net at school.. who hooked her up with the attorney who matched her in courage and tenacity.
I feel it is so important to know things that are done in the name of religion.
Glad I was able to share about it.
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Scout
Member
01-19-2005
| Tuesday, January 17, 2017 - 12:27 pm
I ended up three for four with my Christmas-present books.
Loved Lilac Girls
Really enjoyed Belgravia by Julian Fellowes. It's well-written and he ties the story together well. Has the Downton Abbey feel, but in an earlier era where the estates still had more money, but new money people were beginning to creep into their circles.
Was really disappointed in The German Girl by Armando Correa.
It's based on a the true story of a group of WW2 Jewish exiles from Germany who had made arrangements to come to Cuba - pretty much the only country that would accept them. But once they arrived- only a few were actually able to stay and the rest were sent back.
It tells the story of a twelve-year-old girl aboard the ship who, along with her mother, were allowed to stay.
When I was describing the plot to a friend - it sounds like it would be such a great story, but it felt like it never really went anywhere and that none of the characters had any depth to them at all. Felt almost more like reading an outline of a story in a way. Plus, it was very depressing.
The last book I just finished is called, The Wonder, but Emma Donoghue. I didn't realize that she also wrote Room.
This story is so unusual. After the Crimean War, a nurse is called to Ireland to witness what the locals think is a miracle - a girl who hasn't eaten in four months. Her job is basically to just watch her and verify that she wasn't eating. I could not put the book down - it definitely went in ways I wasn't expecting, but it is an excellent read.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Wednesday, January 18, 2017 - 7:16 am
Scout, I really loved The Wonder.
I finished another book! The Most Dangerous Place on Earth by Lindsey Lee Johnson. It was about a group of kids going to school in Mill Valley through the space of 8th grade (when something tragic happens) to the end of high school. Loved it.
I am reading Bruce Springsteen's book and This is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel. Claude feels he is a girl from a very young age. The family deals with it relatively well but when they move to Seattle, they don't tell anyone that Claude, now Poppy, was born male. Things are starting to unravel a bit. It's a very good read.
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Friday, January 20, 2017 - 6:47 pm
Finished "Someday, Someday, Maybe" by Lauren Graham. It was good. I have never watched The Gilmore Girls or Parenthood, but I have seen her on Ellen's show. Knowing it was written by her, I could hear it in her voice, sort of.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Sunday, January 22, 2017 - 6:58 pm
I finished The Two Wes Moores.. what a contrast.
One was finally sent by his family, at great sacrifice, to a military school, that finally got through to him and he had good guidance from there and was in the military and then college and on to become a Rhondes Scholar. The other is spending life in prison.
The second one had become a drug dealer, fathers 4 or more kids at a young age.. his brother was a drug dealer before him and did try hard to convince him not to follow that route but was also in prison for the same murder and died very young there. The imprisoned Wes Moore has turned things around in prison but is stuck there.
There is a large resource section of groups that try to mentor youth at risk, which both of them were.
Anyway it was work reading.
====
Starting a memoir about anorexia.. hard to read.
(but it was free).
Hungry for Life: A Memoir Unlocking the Truth Inside an Anorexic Mind.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Monday, January 23, 2017 - 8:27 pm
Following Sea's suggestion, I read Floodpath by Jon Wilkman over the weekend and managed to get through it without too many scars or bruises. It was very dense reading but ultimately quite interesting. I think Mr. Wilkman did a great job honoring all the people who lost their lives in that 1928 flood (which took place in an area of L.A. that is now home to the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park). He's also working on a documentary about the flood, so that should give a great visual element. (The book was quite technical and that made it hard to visualize all the steps that led up to the flood, the flood itself and the aftermath.)
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, January 23, 2017 - 9:28 pm
Ric, "dense" is an excellent description.. I always feel free to speed read some portions of something so dense, but still manage to learn. I had previously had no idea about the people and happenings back then. I knew from driving between the bay area and OC many times about the canals and such but this put it in perspective. And then many of the place names got more meaning too.
Not a page turner in terms of plot, however.. and I agree it was good that they really covered the people who were lost or who lost people..
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Thursday, January 26, 2017 - 1:15 am
Hungry for Life.. well she came through it.. not a hapoy book but undoubtedly accurate.
Stsrting a memoir I think.. a series of essays really Memory Cards.
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Scout
Member
01-19-2005
| Thursday, January 26, 2017 - 10:53 am
"The Magdalen Girls" by VS Alexander was a pretty interesting story. Fiction, but based on the real life laundries in Ireland that were run by and for supposedly "wayward" girls back in the 1960's.
Also reading Magnolia - the Chip and Joanna Gaines biography.
It's written by Joanna - in one font, and then every so often another font of Chip's voice. I think Chip comes off better in person than in writing. In the book, he seems very high-handed and impulsive and kind of a jerk. They seem like a nice couple and a nice family, but it also seems as though they exaggerate a lot. When they came home from their honeymoon, they said they didn't have a penny and told a long story of ending up sleeping in an RV.
Next chapter she has enough savings to start a business. Not saying they haven't had their challenges, but I think they both come from somewhat wealthy and close families, so I don't think they were ever in as bad of a situation as they want us to believe they were.
Also started A Dog's Purpose - which is a cute story - especially coming from the dog's point-of-view.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Thursday, January 26, 2017 - 1:45 pm
Interesting about Chip and Joanna.. I find him impulsive or annoying on the show even. But they certainly have built a brand and have quite a following.
I gather when she fills a house with decorations and such, it all comes from her boutique, at ca price.
Those who watch The Bachelor or Bachelorette are likely to be familiar with Shaeffer and her blog.. very funny Bachelor recaps, but usually it is all about clothing, mostly from Nordstrom. and family. She and fellow bloggers went to Joanna's boutique and were all agog over the stuff and the show and the couple.
Whatever..
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Friday, January 27, 2017 - 5:41 pm
I am enjoying the essays a lot. Family farm growing tobacco. The author was their last kid and much younger than siblings.
Dad was a veteran of the Korean "conflict" and had PTSD.
This kid had a different experience with dad but also was different in not wanting to farm, wanting to write.
Some essays have repeat stories but they are well written.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Friday, January 27, 2017 - 7:04 pm
Finished listening to Dear Mr. Knightley today, and it was a cute little book. I'll also finish listening to Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade tomorrow on my grocery trip. Truly Madly Guilty is slightly better, so I'm finishing it.....slowly. Next up is In the Woods by Tana French. I think that was a recommendation from someone here, wasn't it?
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Sunday, January 29, 2017 - 2:03 pm
Yesterday I finished another obscure Patricia Highsmith novel, The Blunderer, and enjoyed the hero's maddening predicament of proving his innocence when no one believes that he didn't kill his wife. This was written in 1954 but that didn't stop Highsmith from making the evil characters SO evil that the reader feels dread about the escalating acts of villainy.
Late last year Amazon produced a feature film based on the book and retitled it "A Kind of Murder" starring Patrick Wilson and Jessica Biel. It's in theatres now and is available on Amazon Prime to rent for $6.99. I think I'll wait until they scale that down to $0.00. 😜
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