November : What are you reading by the fire ( or the fan !) ?
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November Reading
Comments (110)I have just finished reading Larry McMurtry's "Dead Man's Walk", the first in his Lonesome Dove four-book western saga (I understand Lonesome Dove was written first, then he wrote two prequels, of which "Dead Man's Walk" is the first, then a sequel). I fell in love with the two lead characters Gus and Call and found the tales of, to simplify the story, trying to settle the West gripping. It seemed they got into one bind after another and would always manage to get into trouble right as my subway or bus stop was coming up. My only problem with the book was the violence/gore. Sometimes it was man's inhumanity to man; sometimes nature's inhumanity to man. I do not really think it was violence for violence's sake - having read my share of history books I know these things happened. In any event, my co-worker assures me that there is less of this as the saga progresses. Despite this, I am not going to jump right into the next in the series and have decided to start my library copy of Connie Willis' novel "The Doomsday Book" - the only book of hers the library had on hand. In this one a student is dropped back into the middle ages to study the black plague. According to some online reviews I have read, as it was written in 1992 it loses some of it's futuristic qualities as apparently in the characters' 'present' time of the 2040's they did not have cell phones. However, I understand that her depiction of the middle ages is very well researched so I am looking forward to that. Will let you all know how it goes!...See MoreWhat are we reading in November?
Comments (119)I just finished Ordinary Grace; like many others here I really enjoyed it. An interesting story, nicely written, good character development. Thanks to the people who've recommended it! One thing I loved was how he handled minor characters. I've read a few books lately and by the time I get to the middle of the book and a character from the first part of the book is mentioned again and I have no idea who they are. So often the author gives no clue to remind the reader about them. He had a very subtle hand with that and I loved that it just took me a sentence or two to go, "Oh, that's who they are. I remember now."...See MoreNovember is here: What are you reading this month?
Comments (100)Woodnymph, although I realize what Mangan was trying to do with her psychological thriller, Tangerine, I feel she was only partially successful. Like you, I enjoyed the setting and descriptions of Tangier especially. The part in Bennington, Vermont was not as interesting to me, but I suppose it was necessary to set up the dynamics of the relationship between Alice and Lucy and to a lesser extent the relationships of the women with John, Alice's husband. However, I think the characterizations were not well defined beyond Alice is weak and Lucy is bad; John seems barely drawn, in my opinion. That's the reason it is hard for readers (I'm one) to distinguish the women characters in the every-other chapter narration, which btw has become trite (it appears so often in today's novels that I'm tempted to impose a self-ban of reading any story told in that style). I've noticed in the past five years -- maybe as much as a decade -- crops of newer writers are trying to resurrect some of the older genres. Nothing wrong with that, because many of the old stories are fascinatingly atmospheric. Unfortunately, many of these writers don't have the skill to recapture the old style -- or even update it well. One example -- and Mangan is guilty, I think: Writers use opacity as a substitute for subtlety because they simply haven't worked out how to be subtle. Mangan's pastiche of Highsmith (I definitely see this influence) and maybe Tartt bear comparison. I don't know Gillian Flynn for anything but her Gone Girl which I didn't like, so I can't say about Flynn's and Mangan's styles being similar. As for a reviewer saying Mangan is a "literary descendant of Daphne du Maurier" - Ha! I've heard and read that as a lure for hopeful readers for going on sixty years now, and my mother says that particular come-on has been used since the 1930s. Hype is lazy, sometimes, and Mangan's Tangerine is as overhyped as any new thriller is nowadays....See MoreFall into November, what are you reading?
Comments (75)Carolyn, your suggestion above that I should put all the books back on the shelves is probably the most practical, although the problem will have to be solved another day. Among the many books found was a 1936 Tide Tables from the San Francisco Port Pilot's Authority and an invitation from the Australian Imperial Forces to a dance held in Sept 1940 at the gymnasium in Bulford (part of the British Army barracks on Salisbury Plain) My Mother obviously enjoyed tripping the light fantastic to judge from the quick steps, fox trots, Paul Jones etc listed on the card plus the many signatures of the soldiers she spent the evening with. I believe all these men then went out to the Far East where most of them lost their lives. The Aussies were always considered 'good fun' and loved to cock a snook at authority. Within the dance programme is a yellow card from the 'Imperial Japanese Army' sent in July 1944 from Philippine Military Prison Camp No 1, by my Mother's brother. It is typed, although he has managed a shaky signature saying in 50 words or less that his health is 'excellent' and will his parents save all the back copies of 'Life' magazine. They received the card in January 1945. These things I will keep although I doubt they will be of much interest to future generations....See More- last year
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