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2062 reviews
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Chris Gager

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Chris is Currently Reading

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War and Remembrance (The Henry Family, #2)

by Herman Wouk

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Reading for the 2nd time

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Chris Gager said: " I think I watched some of the TV miniseries B.I.T.D. As I recall Robert Mitchum played the lead. That's about all I remember. Anyway, Mr.Wouk falls comfortably into the category of 1950's American male authors of "BIG" books. Sagas... epics... think ...more "

Nov 19, 2025 12:32PM · see review

Chris Gager is currently reading

Welcome to the Universe: An Astrophysical Tour

by Neil deGrasse Tyson (Goodreads Author)

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Chris Gager said: " Just picked this one off of the local library's sale shelves. A heavy book in more ways than one. ...more "

Dec 12, 2023 12:33PM · see review

Chris Gager is currently reading

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

by Henry Fielding

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Chris Gager said: " Not the correct edition but close enough. My rescued edition is by A. L. Burt of New York with no date(s) given. Looks to be either late-19th or early 20th century. Pretty good condition. Well... this is a long one and won't be finished any time soon Not the correct edition but close enough. My rescued edition is by A. L. Burt of New York with no date(s) given. Looks to be either late-19th or early 20th century. Pretty good condition. Well... this is a long one and won't be finished any time soon, mainly because I'll be reading other books as well. I saw the film when it first came out and liked it a lot, though I might not like it so much now. It was definitely "different" in style from other classics. Apparently I'll be recognizing a diverting from the path of the book. Tough to do justice to a 900-page(plus) book in a couple of hours. Albert Finney says he hated the experience and was bored most of the time. Fielding has already been giving us the tonal "attitude" for which this book is famous. Smart-alecky... irreverent..

I'm done with Narnia so it's back to England. Mr. Fielding breaks from the whimsical/chatty history of the doin's at the Squire's house with some noisy-bloody dust-ups at the schoolteacher's house. SEX! VIOLENCE! That must have been a shock to those 18th c. readers!

Progress here is slow, but progress nonetheless. The most memorable character so far is a religious bore named Thwackum, who loves to beat children. Peter Bull(well-cast) played him in the movie. The author is making a point... get it?

I'll be trudging through this one for quite a while. Speed is not possible. Already I've run into incomprehensible 1750 paragraphs, but not so many as to discourage me. Mostly it's OK, if slow-going. Like Anthony Trollope, writing 100 years later on, HF desires to give us the whole story. Good for him - worked for Tolstoy! It's interesting to compare Trollope to Fielding(100 years apart) and see how the narrative language turns slowly through time. Things go smoother and comprehension comes easier. As for Henry James... fugedaboudit!

- More rural amusement = the grrrl riot outside the church. Tom to the rescue of his dubious maiden/sex pal Molly. Was this scene in the movie? I can't remember.

- "Nolo episcopari" = "I don't want to be a Bishop."

- The unwed mother "thing" reminds of "The Scarlet Letter" - both in the 17th century.

- I'm up to page 166 now and wondering if this edition of the book might have some muddled-up chapter sequence and/or a repetition of chapters. Seems like I ran into that last night. Or... it could be my fault for not sticking with the book for more than 20 or so pages at a time. Maybe I got lost?

- Like Trollope HF comments on the financial challenges of poorly paid clergy. ...more "

Jul 17, 2023 01:41PM · see review

Chris’s Quotes

“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.”
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

5740 likes

“Whatever it is you're seeking won't come in the form you're expecting.”
― Haruki Marukami

tags: expectation

6490 likes

“Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp’d towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.”
― William Shakespeare, The Tempest

tags: death, life, meaning

738 likes