Readers and Reading discussion

please chat here for the next 28 days

Someone listed these two books as non-fiction in the voting for favorites:

Elizabeth and Her German Garden and A Solitary Summer by Elizabeth Von Arnim

I am going to make an executive decision and call them "fiction". I see the first book being called an autobiographical novel but no description of the second one's genre.

JoAnn - we already talked about this and agreed they were memoirs - you told me that you had moved them to the non-fiction list already - last week in an email, remember??????

Silly you - must be having a busy week!

Bunny, what I was talking about last week in that e-mail to you was that I had moved The Painted Veil from your non-fiction to fiction list. In fact, you had posted once that you should have put it on your list! You had, but in the non-fiction category.

I guess I just glossed over the words Von Armin in your e-mail....yes, I was and am busy!!!

The first Von Armin book is definitely not a memoir...it is called an an "autobiographical novel" in a couple of places where I looked.

However you want to do it, JoAnn, is fine by me :) I appreciate your doing it very, very much.

I thought I'd put a favorite book series in here and let people know of the cool website that goes to it. My son and I are reading The Nightmare Academy books by Dean Lorey. We've read book 1 and we're in the middle of book 2 and awaiting book 3 which comes out this year. I have read botht these books twice so far. They are that awesome. So much fun going on in these books and even though they are found in the young readers section of the book store, usually next to the Harry Potter type stuff, these books are great even for adults. They really help bring out the excited kid in you. Lorey's website for his books is just fabulous. From the pictures of the Nightmare Academy to the pics of the creatures from the book, there is just so much to look at visually.
I hope this pulls some readers in to check it out. Maybe even get some emails of to Lorey saying we want more since he says book 3 might be the last in the series :o)

Steven wrote: "I thought I'd put a favorite book series in here and let people know of the cool website that goes to it. My son and I are reading The Nightmare Academy books by Dean Lorey. We've read book 1 and w..."

Steven - the Lorey books sound very creative but I'm wondering how scary they may or may not be for my 7 yr old grandson. He has listened to some of the Harry Potter books and enjoyed them, but the "nightmare" aspect may be too much. I guess I need to check them out at Barnes and Noble.

JoAnn, I see that you are at 199 books on GR. Here's hoping your 200th is real special. :)

Alias Reader wrote: "JoAnn, I see that you are at 199 books on GR. Here's hoping your 200th is real special. :)"

My 200th will probably be GAME CHANGE and it is pretty good reading. Disgusting --- and I am sure it would be disillusioning to anyone who trusts ANY politician.....but it is good.

Marcy wrote: "Steven wrote: "I thought I'd put a favorite book series in here and let people know of the cool website that goes to it. My son and I are reading The Nightmare Academy books by Dean Lorey. We've re..."

I think if your grandson didn't have nightmares and get scared from Harry Potter he will be fine with the Nightmare Academy books. They are more fantasy and action and they are written for all audiences. My son is usually easily scared and they didn't scare him. Another great title your grandson would probably love is the Ranger's Apprentice books. There's a really fun website for those as well.

Question for everbody. Do you all know what books you are going to read or what order you are going to read books in. I have noticed that some of you say you are reading "xxxxx" next. Me, it really depends on what mood I am in. I have tried to alternate sizes (paperback, etc) but the only thing I dont do is read back to back books by a same author.

Richiesheff wrote: "Question for everbody. Do you all know what books you are going to read or what order you are going to read books in. I have noticed that some of you say you are reading "xxxxx" next. .."

A lot of times what i read next depends on what I have from the library, if it is something that is due sometime soon, etc. Other times, it is a "what am I in the mood for?"

So I guess my answer to your question would be "not always".

Richiesheff wrote: "Question for everbody. Do you all know what books you are going to read or what order you are going to read books in. I have noticed that some of you say you are reading "xxxxx" next. Me, it rea..."

Like JoAnn, i'm mixed on what i'll read next. It used to be that book groups "dictated" what was up next. However, that has slowed down. The library often decides what's next but usually i don't know, even when i've finished a book, i'm not sure what's next.

deborah, currently reading The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter that Saved Greece -- and Western Civilization by Barry Strauss

Steven wrote: "I thought I'd put a favorite book series in here and let people know of the cool website that goes to it. My son and I are reading The Nightmare Academy books by Dean Lorey. We've read book 1 and w..."

Steven, is this the website you meant? Looks good. http://www.deanlorey.com/

deborah

Interesting article by Dani Shapiro "A Writing Career Becomes Harder to Scale":

http://www.latimes.com/features/books...

Richiesheff wrote: "Question for everbody. Do you all know what books you are going to read or what order you are going to read books in. I have noticed that some of you say you are reading "xxxxx" next. Me, it rea..."

I never really have much order to what I read next. It's usually a mood thing for me. Now most times if I am reading a book that is part of a series I try to read them in order but even then sometimes I have to go off in another direction. It's all about mood.

madrano wrote: "Steven wrote: "I thought I'd put a favorite book series in here and let people know of the cool website that goes to it. My son and I are reading The Nightmare Academy books by Dean Lorey. We've re..."

yes Deborah, that is the website for the Nightmare Academy books. I popped it up to make sure :o) I really love all the artwork done to that site. I just want to hang out in that massive tree house so bad.

LOL! It is a neat site & i can see the appeal.

deb

madrano wrote: "LOL! It is a neat site & i can see the appeal.

deb"

Yeppers, it would be so cool if some company put a big theme park up that involved some of these type books. I see they already put a Harry Potter thing in down in Disney World now. These books definitely bring out the kid in you and make you wish you could jump into a scene or two.

Author, 17, Says It’s ‘Mixing,’ Not Plagiarism

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/wor...

Talk about convoluted justification .... and she is being enabled too!

Hi all,

Steven, thank you for talking about the Harry Potter books. Yes, reading them does make one feel young again. I like to red an easy to read book bewtween an Oprah pick and a real deep book.

Today I read Skeletons At The Feast by Chris B. It was very good. This book takes places in the final year of WWII. A wealthy woman falls in love with a POW. Manfred helps them out. They fomr a love triangle. Warning: There are some anti-Jewish comments. Those who are over sensitive please don't read this book. I am NOT anti-Jewish. The epilouge takes place in 1948. For any of you who have read The Summer Of My German Solider and have read this book you will see similarities and you will see diferences. I felt this book, aside from some slurs, was more compassionate.

How was A Solitary Summer by Elizabeth Arnim? I am always looking for new authors.

Happy Reading!!!

Mary:
I read Skeletons At The Feast and can't remember any anti-semetic things in the book that reflect the author's feelings. Maybe he was writing about the common German people's feeling from 1933- 1945?
Please advise.R. Honey

I think any book written during that period of/after WW ii would have anti-semetic comments, but that does not mean they are the feelings of the author!!!!!

It IS fiction, after all.

Here is part of a review from Publisher's Weekly:
Bohjalian's carefully-researched detail and well-chosen descriptions capture the anguish of a tragic era and the dehumanizing desolation wrought by war, exploring the dark side of human nature.

R, that is what many reviews said, that he was writing about "regular" Germans of that time. This is no different than an author writing about "regular" Southerners during the time of slavery.

1244119 I think any book written during that period of/after WW ii would have anti-semetic comments, but that does not mean they are the feelings of the author!!!!!

It IS fiction, after all.

Here is part of a review from Publisher's Weekly:
Bohjalian's carefully-researched detail and well-chosen descriptions capture the anguish of a tragic era and the dehumanizing desolation wrought by war, exploring the dark side of human nature.

R, that is what many reviews said, that he was writing about "regular" Germans of that time. This is no different than an author writing about "regular" Southerners during the time of slavery.

Yes,that is what I was getting at. Those were the common feelings of the time not a reflection of the author's own feelings!

Off topic, but my daughter was at the Daytona 500 and in the winners circle pictures. She was the Chevrolet rep. If you look for the Jamie McMurray interview on Fox & Friends this AM she is on that. She is standing behind his left shoulder. Love her.

Richiesheff wrote: "Off topic, but my daughter was at the Daytona 500 and in the winners circle pictures. She was the Chevrolet rep. If you look for the Jamie McMurray interview on Fox & Friends this AM she is on th..."

No such thing as off topic here! How exciting for your daughter. Does she have dark hair and was she holding up her finger indicating #1?

Here is the link to the interview:

http://www.foxnews.com/search-results...

She has dark blonde, and in the one picture she was standing over his left shoulder. I couldnt make your link work so am not sure.

I saw a dark blonde but over his right shoulder. I am sending you a screen shot

You got it, that's my baby. My only baby.

I got the interview but wasn't sure which one is your daughter. Can someone post the picture?

How exciting!

Lois

I took a screen shot of this photo and will send it to you, Lois

I just got an e-mail from a friend in Marin County, CA, just north of the Golden Gate bridge. He and his wife were out for dinner last week, and were waiting for a booth....this is what he wrote:

We sat in the waiting area near the front door and watched a rather
boisterous group of 8 guys (well as boisterous as 60 to 70 year olds get) in the bar area with multiple drink orders. Just as we were being seated, they all moved into the restaurant area to a long table for eight.

All carried a book under their arm with them and a drink in their hand, which prompted a question from another person waiting for a table. “Oh, we’re a weekly book club. We meet and discuss our books", which comment was met with hearty laughter from the others. "Actually we stopped reading years ago. Now we just meet and drink and eat - oh, and trade books so it looks like we really are reading.”

Their attire ranged from the “Reliable Plumbing and Heating” hooded sweatshirt to a guy with a very dark funeral director’s suit.

I love this idea!!!

JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "I just got an e-mail from a friend in Marin County, CA, just north of the Golden Gate bridge. He and his wife were out for dinner last week, and were waiting for a booth....this is what he wrote:

..."

Ok now that's a great little story thank you for sharing that with us. There's almost a story for a book in itself there. I think I might have to start something like that myself in this little town I live in. We have like 2 really small bookstores since most of the people here drink and gamble...not very many readers up here :o(

hey I think I might have my daughter check out this little story and see what she could turn it into :o)

I once heard of a group of women who had a book club and they got so sidetracked during their meetings that they decided to just discuss articles that had been in PEOPLE magazine! LOL

Good stories, every one. I've belonged to a couple of reading groups. One spent 10 or so minutes on the book, the rest of the time we talked about what we wish the book had been like. Weird but this happened every month. Critics all, no doubt.

deborah

If I had a normal schedule I'd start meeting for a book club kinda thing too. Sounds interesting.

Where is everyone? Yoo Hoo wake up!!!

LOL, JoAnn. I'm in NYC, Astoria, Queens, to be exact. I arrived by train Sunday evening & have been enjoying the place since then. DD is here until the 28th, so we are savoring long hours of talking. I'm learning the ropes of living here & feel i have a handle on most of it. I just need to relax--no "wrong" answers. ;-)

I've been reading The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter that Saved Greece -- and Western Civilization by Barry Strauss. It's an informative account of an ancient water war between Greek city-states & the Persian Empire. Good one.

deborah

Deborah, glad you arrived safely and that DD and you are enjoying some girl time!

Thanks. It was a long train trip, leading me to think what made others fun were my companions. Of course!

deborah

madrano wrote: "Thanks. It was a long train trip, leading me to think what made others fun were my companions. Of course!

deborah"

I love train travel and was just looking into a cross-Canada train trip, but I do not think I would deal well with that small cubicle unless I were alone. With DH, it would be impossible!

For years DH has said he'd like to take a trans-Canada train trip. The photos i've seen look stunning. I'd go in a nanosecond.

deb

madrano wrote: "For years DH has said he'd like to take a trans-Canada train trip. The photos i've seen look stunning. I'd go in a nanosecond.

deb"

me too, if I could have my own compartment! LOL

Despite the cost, i think having berths is the way to go. I talked to several people who were traveling the rail from Seattle or California without benefit of their own compartment. Most of us marveled at their ability to stay upbeat after sleeping in those conditions for 4 nights! My second (last) night was spent confined to one seat, as the train was full. Not a good night. Then again, neither was the one in which i spread out over two seats. LOL!

deborah

Speaking of trains about 5 years ago my best friend and her husband took The Wine Train in Napa Valley. They said it was a great trip.

I worked for BN (now BNSF) RR for 20 years, ending in 91 and 1 of the things I didnt do was take a train trip. I would still like to, although my big wish is to load our motorhome up and tavel the U.S. for a year, with no adgenda. Go South in the winter and North in the summer. I would love to see all the continental states. Never seen any of the East Coast nor the Pacific Northwest.

R. wrote: "Speaking of trains about 5 years ago my best friend and her husband took The Wine Train in Napa Valley. They said it was a great trip."

this is something I have wanted to do ever since my one and only (car) trip through Napa.

Richiesheff wrote: "I worked for BN (now BNSF) RR for 20 years, ending in 91 and 1 of the things I didnt do was take a train trip. I would still like to, although my big wish is to load our motorhome up and tavel the..."

I like the motorhome idea, too. One of the reasons i took the train to NYC is because i like to see the countryside but driving was out of the question. While trains are a neat way to go, they are slow. Knowing i could shorten the ride by driving was a bit frustrating. However, it gives one the opportunity to see parts of towns we usually avoid (to be honest), as well as arrivals in city centers.

For my 50th birthday we took Amtrak from Portland, Oregon, to Salinas, California. We got a berth, which was a great way to go, imo. During the day we could read sitting opposite one another, sharing notes & looking at the scenery. At night DH took the upper berth & i was on the lower one, looking at stars. It was a fun trip & the train started it on the right foot.

Short or specialty trips, such as the Napa Valley or Canada rail ride, seem a great way to share a destination & not feel rushed. I hope we get to go that way another time.

deborah

JoAnn, I'd be interested in your opinion of Game Change when you finish it. I don't particularly like political gossip books, so seldom read them, but I had a hard time putting this one down.