| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Vintage Redhead |
Posted - Mar 21 2007 : 11:08:14 AM
Like many of you, I am a voracious reader. So I thought I'd share the love and pass along a list of some of my recent *great* reads. I hope others will add to it, too!
Here are some of my reads of the past few months, in no particular order, with a brief description.
Lisey's Story by Stephen King (fiction) - Set in Maine, it is a major departure from the standard *terror* of Stephen King. It is first and foremost, a love story told from the perspective of a recent widow. She is coming to terms with his death of her husband of 25 years, a writer, as she cleans out his office. It wouldn't be Stephen King if there weren't a little bit of suspense...but it is *lightyears* more tame than his earlier work.
Ordinary Heroes by Scott Turow (historical fiction) - Set in both the present-day and WWII, it is the story of a son re-examining the life of his father. Upon learning information about his father during WWII, the son begins to question everything he every knew about his father and their relationship...and all of his relationships. (I didn't think I would enjoy this book...it is, after all, set in WWII and I'm not a fan of war. But my DH recommended it and convinced me that it had a far deeper meaning than war. Without giving anything away, I can tell you that this book represents almost the antithesis of war. I *LOVED* it!!)
Saving Fish From Drowning by Amy Tan (fiction / historical fiction) - Set in China, Myanmar, and San Francisco and told from the perspective of a ghost. (I am a *huge* fan of Amy Tan, so I cannot write an objective review.) I was thoroughly riveted by this story of a group of tourists who, following the death of their tour coordinator, decide to proceed with their tour into China and Myanmar (formerly Burma). Without appearing to understand the dangers of traveling to a country with open military oppression, the group decides to deviate from their itinerary and disappears.
Poison by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer (fiction) - Story set in Great Britain about the family of a successful womanizing author who passes away. After his first two wives commit suicide, he marries a third wife, expecting her to serve as mother to his two children. As the book unfolds, we learn that every member of the family (and most of the peripheral friends, as well) are wounded and flawed. But which of them are the most poisonous?
The Autobiography of Foudini M. Cat by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer (fiction) - This is one of the *COOLEST* books ever written! It may be difficult to find, but trust me...if you find it, you will be so glad you went to the trouble. It is written from the perspective of the cat, specifically Foudini M. Cat. From his earliest memories of being in a basement with mom, to being captured, to being given a permanent home with a resident dog, to a yowling girl cat. I read this book at least once a year, sometimes twice.
Straight Man by Richard Russo - (fiction) - Story set in a fictionalized Pennsylvania college town of that bears a striking resemblance to Altoona, PA! Having lived in Altoona, PA with my DH who worked for a small-town college "Commonwealth Campus" of Penn State U., this story was *hysterically* funny to me! Russo completely captured all of the daily grind of being a professor in the small-but-wants-to-be-big world of campus politics.
The Risk Pool by Richard Russo - (fiction) - Set in the fictional town of Mohawk, NY, a young boy is witness to his parents completely dysfunctional marriage...though they will neither live together nor divorce. He lives alternately with each parent - one providing stability when he needs it, one providing freedom when he needs it. A book with tremendously rich characters and a brilliant recollection of small-town life during a by-gone era when towns were governed by the largest manufacturer in town.
In fact, I would recommend *EVERY BOOK* written by Richard Russo if you like rich characters, wit, charm, and nostalgia... (As with Amy Tan, I am a huge Russo fan, so I'm not certain that I can write an unbiased review.)
I hope that I've inspired some of you to look up some new authors!
~ Kaylyn
(Living in Suburbia with a FARMGIRL Heart!)
My Current Cause: http://nickspavilion.blogspot.com/ |
| 6 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - Apr 29 2007 : 11:07:02 PM
any and all books written by kentucky author: Janice Holt Giles. they give me such an appreciation for country farm life in earlier times! xo
True Friends, Frannie
CABIN CREEK FARM
KENTUCKY
|
| CFlohe |
Posted - Mar 25 2007 : 4:33:01 PM
I recently finished 19 minutes. It was a good book but a tough read for me in many ways. My son is 13 and has some special needs. I had been homeschooling him since 2nd grade and just this year put him in middle school with some help from the special ed teacher during the day too. My greatest fear was for him to be teased once he went into school, just so used to protecting him and to read this book about this boy being teased so bad was hard to read. All in all though it was a really good book and I do especially think every teacher should read it and maybe they wouldn't look the other way so much when kids do get teased and bullied.
Cheryl
cheryls-life-at-the-farm.blogspot.com |
| sewgirlie |
Posted - Mar 25 2007 : 10:29:15 AM
I became a Russo fan this summer myself after a girl I was teaching with at summer school dropped them all on my desk and said,"Oh, you will just love him!" So I started with STRAIGHT MAN and am reading The Risk Pool now. I read Empire Falls too.
I heard that 19 MINUTES by Picoult is a great book too. It is coming out now. A friend who owns a bookstore read an advance copy and said EVERY teacher and student should read it. Parents too! Guess that makes all of us. |
| Vintage Redhead |
Posted - Mar 21 2007 : 3:50:28 PM
quote:
Originally posted by primjillie
...Is the Stephen King a new one? I used to like some of his first books, but then they got too violent and gruesome for me...
Jill ~
Yeah - Lisey's Story is a fairly new book - I'd say within the past six months. I think he really did a good job of capturing the both the love story *and* the woman's point of view. I don't think that could be easy.
And I'm with you about his first books: I had read lots of them and they were good. I just always went into them knowing that there would be an element of the bizarre to them. But then some of his later work just got a bit *too weird* for me. Even though I knew that good always triumphed over evil, I just got to the point of not being able to read them. Gerald's Game was the one that about ended it for me for years - I got about 5 pages into it, threw the book into the corner of the room in a hissy fit, and left it there for about 2 weeks because I didn't even want to touch it! This story had more of an element of "fantasy fiction" than I've ever seen from him before. Some say he has mellowed since his accident. May be true; may also be that he has a sense of mortality that has pushed him to move in directions that he always wanted to go, but never had the courage to follow before his accident.
quote:
Originally posted by jo Thompson
...I too love Amy Tan...
Amy Tan...now there is a writer that I would *love* to be able to sit down and have dinner with! (But in all honesty I think that about darn near *every* author.) I would just love to know *how* she writes her books...what the process is like for her. To me, a new Amy Tan book is like an expensive confection; $40/pound Godiva Milk Chocolate Covered Raspberry Truffles. Part of me wants to read them as fast as possible, to devour them whole without even coming up for air. While another part of me wants to savor them and make them last as long as I can because I know that it is going to be a long while before I get another new one.
And Richard Russo? Well, it's just sad to think that I can read in a mere five or six days something that he agonizingly took three or four years to develop and write. But there again: it's a confection to me. Like crunchy butter toffee...do I bite into it, or do I allow it to melt away slowly?
If I were ever to be afflicted by loss of one of my senses, I would hope that it would be loss of taste or loss of hearing or loss of smell. I could even live with loss of touch. But if I were to lose my sense of sight, I would rather die. To know that I would never see my children again; to never see another sunrise or sunset; to never gaze upon a flower; to never see my husband's blue eyes; to never be able to read a book...I would rather die. Do you suppose that hell could be the realization of our worst fear? ~ K
~ Kaylyn
(Living in Suburbia with a FARMGIRL Heart!)
My Current Cause: http://nickspavilion.blogspot.com/ |
| jo Thompson |
Posted - Mar 21 2007 : 12:15:01 PM
Kaylyn, awesome set of recommendations....... thanks much. I too love Amy Tan, jo
"life is drab without a lab"
http://homepage.mac.com/thomja/Anchorage/PhotoAlbum15.html |
| primjillie |
Posted - Mar 21 2007 : 12:07:23 PM
Those sound interesting! I know I am guilty in sticking to the same group of authors and very rarely go outside my comfort zone. Is the Stephen King a new one? I used to like some of his first books, but then they got too violent and gruesome for me. I did watch part of one of the movies made from his book "The Storm of the Century", and now I am dying to read the book. Thanks for giving us some new ideas! |
|
|
