Library Lady 📚 ’s Comments (group member since Aug 29, 2011)

Library Lady 📚 ’s comments from the Exceptional Books group.

Hi readers,
I'm giving away 24 books on my blog, today. 21 ebooks, 3 paperbacks, 7 different titles.

Please check out the blog for more info.

http://lenahillbrand.blogspot.com/

Thanks!
Lena

The Green Mile was one of my favorite King books, probably in my top 20 books overall. I'd recommend The Stand if you are going to get another King book.

I see a lot of Middle school and Jr High kids reading The Hunger Games trilogy. Also, it seems to appeal to boys and girls almost equally, being high-action and having a tough female protagonist. I just saw the movie and will be reading the books soon.

Trina wrote: "I liked The Book Thief for the most part. Inventive, and good characters who were easy to relate to. But somehow as a whole, it didn't engage me. Liked it a lot, but didn't love it. Isn't Frazier the guy who did Cold Mountain? That book started off so well, and yet by the end, it felt a little too predictable for me..."

I'm always hesitant to take suggestions from ppl I don't know, but I'm going to have to read some of the books on your list now. You're the only person I've ever heard of who didn't care for The Book Thief (besides me). And I share your opinion of Cold Mountain as well, although it is well-loved by my entire family. I liked it, but I didn't love it for some reason.

The English Patient is definitely up there on my list of great contemporary fiction.

Others that come to mind (probably because I've read them recently):

The Road
A Thousand Splendid Suns
The Paris Wife

I'll probably get slammed for that last one, but I thought the writing was just beautiful, and a good story too.

Almeta wrote: "I wouldn't consider The Green Mile or The Shawshank Redemption or The Body (Stand By Me) actual horror. AND I think if people were to read them instead of jus..."

That's funny that you pick those three. Those are 3 of my favorite King books ever, along with The Stand, which is one of my favorite books of all time. I guess 'horror' novels don't scare me, so I don't really like them as much. I like his novels that are more plausible. The things that could really happen scare me a lot more than ghouls and monsters! "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" is an amazing novella. In fact, all the novellas in Different Seasons are wonderful.

Noelle wrote: "The Usual Suspects and LA Confidential. Also Primal Fear is very good as well, with a very young Edward Norton, and Shawshank Redemption it one of the greatest."

All great movies. I also saw Gattaca, but I don't remember much about it...that was a long time ago!

Kyle wrote: "The Untouchables was outstanding!"

Agreed. I'd also recommend The Deer Hunter and The Professional. Both great movies.

I like to be jarred out of a story by great writing. The author needs to find some balance, though, so you're not taken out too many times. But I for one love to come across a line that's so wonderful I have to sit there a minute and roll it around in my head and really enjoy it.

I like David's list, and this is covered in some of his points, but something that makes writing good for me is sentence structure and variety. I sometimes find books where every sentence starts the same way, or ends with the same type of clause. Maybe it's just me, but it distracts me so much I can't remember what I'm reading about!

Also, I think that if a plot is engaging enough, most people don't notice the writing. But I don't think that means the writing is good. Just my opinion, though!

Kyle wrote: "A Beautiful Mind is an outstanding movie. The true story of John Nash, a genius battling mental illness. Very inspiring.

One of the best films I've seen. Russell Crowe is fantastic in the lead role."

I agree. That is an amazing movie.

I don't find this book exceptional, but it was an easy read and had everything that most best-sellers have, in my opinion, including a surprise ending. I thought it was much like many of the best-sellers I've read.

I saw The Reader first and then read the book. It's a lot the same--but I love Kate Winslet, too, so that might have biased me. It is definitely not a feel-good movie, I can tell you that much.

Desert Blue is kind of a strange movie and I think it's fairly obscure. I'd rent it before you buy it, though. It's a certain type of movie that appeals to its own target audience, I guess. Have you seen Empire Records? It has that kind of feel. I guess I'd describe it as 'random.'

Heather wrote: "Luys wrote: "Prestige. it's a 2006 movie with excellent actors (Hugh Jackson and Christian Bale are male leads), totally amazing and suspenseful. It's so good it just popped up as soon as I read yo..."

I didn't care for this one too much. I think I liked The Illusionist better, but maybe that's because I saw it first and I love Ed Norton.


Exceptional movies:
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Reader
American History X
Stand By Me
Desert Blue

I don't think many people hated this book. A lot of people seemed to like it a lot, but not find it exceptional.

In my experience, it's actually the anti-Twilight crowd who will eat you alive and get very ugly. I tried to moderate once, and learned my lesson the hard way.

I've read one of Jean Plaidy's and liked it. Not quite as dramatic and scandalous as Phillipa Grigory.

http://lenahillbrand.blogspot.com

I do book reviews every Wednesday, plus other stuff once or twice a week.

Tayyab/Killer of Mockingbirds/Eggman Walrus Taxman wrote: "Charlotte Doyle? Well, all info is here....The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. It's a very good book, I read it just recently."

I just got this one from the library. I love Crispin: Cross of Lead but I haven't read the other two Crispin books.

The Road is amazing. I'm a big fan of McCarthy's, but this is hands down my favorite. Chilling and disturbing, but amazing.

I think of a memoir as dealing with one topic/aspect of someone's life as opposed to the whole life.

Travelogues are usually considered memoirs, aren't they?

Or stories of abuse/drugs/etc, where the author only includes parts of life relating to that subject. Or that's my impression of a memoir.

My favorite serious memoir: Angela's Ashes

My favorite funny memoir: Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea

I saw that you chose BM. I also went and voted, but The Road is the one that takes my breath away. And lots of great literary works are grim and hopeless! Maybe I read too many Russian novelists in my formative years...