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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 20 of 20. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by NikkiT2 on August 4, 2003, at 11:16:40
I've just finished "The Tiger in the well" by Phillip Pullman.. when I finished it I found it was the third book in a trilogy, but I didn't realise whilst reading it and thoroughly enjoyed it. OK, so it is found in the kids book section, but I couldn't find anything kid like in it..
I'm now reading "Sputnik Sweetheart" by Haruki Murakami.. my husband got reccomended this author on the William Gibson (Sci Fi author) msg board he uses so went out and bought 3 books by this person!! So I decided to save some money and read them and so far am really enjoying this book. Its quite light reading, no where near as heavy as I was expecting, and written nicely. Easy to follow and keep your mind on.
So.. whats everyone else reading??
Nikki x
Posted by mashogr8 on August 4, 2003, at 15:55:43
In reply to So whats everyone reading???, posted by NikkiT2 on August 4, 2003, at 11:16:40
I'm still trying to finish up the last chapters of the "heart is a lonely Hunter"
I refuse to read anything else 'til that's done but it's been really hard to concentrate never mind, read or make sense of what I've read. I've been in bookstores way too frequently and bought more than enough books to read during two retirements. The first chapter of "Middlesex" was very intriging.However, another book you might want to look at is one I bought months (maybe two years ago) called "The Magdalen" (It's in the car but I think that's the title). There is a movie coming out based on the book. So I'm trying to finish THIALH so I can read Magdalen before the movie is released in theaters near us. As the back cover sort of states: It's a story of single young women sent away to live with the nuns in a convent in Ireland to work in the laundry and stay 'good'. I assume there is a fair amount of abuse (otherwise, what would the interest in making a movie out of the book be). I hope I get to it before the next school year begins.
Keep telling us what you are reading, I admire your love of books (plus I too enjoy the children's section.) Have you read "Good Night Mr. Tom" by Magoiran. It was out of print for a while but seems to have made a comeback. I always cried through that book, yet I don't really remember the story now. I hate depression and memory!MA
Posted by agencypanic on August 6, 2003, at 20:26:06
In reply to Re: So whats everyone reading???, posted by mashogr8 on August 4, 2003, at 15:55:43
I'm reading Paul Theroux's "Kowloon Tong: A Novel of Hong Kong"
Posted by stjames on August 6, 2003, at 20:29:54
In reply to Re: So whats everyone reading???, posted by agencypanic on August 6, 2003, at 20:26:06
A book on Maria Callas.
"Takedown"
"TCP/IP Illistrated, the protocols"
Posted by loser on August 10, 2003, at 1:14:30
In reply to So whats everyone reading???, posted by NikkiT2 on August 4, 2003, at 11:16:40
'Middlemarch" by George Eliot for me - slow going but a wonderful escape.
loser
Posted by Dr. Bob on August 10, 2003, at 10:21:47
In reply to Re: So whats everyone reading???, posted by loser on August 10, 2003, at 1:14:30
> 'Middlemarch" by George Eliot for me
I'd just like to plug the double double quotes feature at this site:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faq.html#amazon
The first time anyone refers to a book without using this option, I post this to try to make sure he or she at least knows about it. It's just an option, though, and doesn't *have* to be used. If people *choose* not to use it, I'd be interested why not, but I'd like that redirected to Psycho-Babble Administration:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20020918/msgs/7717.html
Thanks!
Bob
Posted by Tabitha on August 20, 2003, at 0:00:25
In reply to So whats everyone reading???, posted by NikkiT2 on August 4, 2003, at 11:16:40
I just finished "A Round-Heeled Woman: My Late-Life Adventures in Sex and Romance". It's a memoir about the experiences of a 67 yr old English teacher who puts a provocative personal ad in the NY Review of Books. It sounded so unique I actually bought it in hardback. Very entertaining-- I gobbled it up in a day.
Posted by noa on September 1, 2003, at 10:34:53
In reply to Re: So whats everyone reading???, posted by Tabitha on August 20, 2003, at 0:00:25
Summer reading--while visiting my sister abroad, I dipped into her bookshelves a bit. I read "How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents", by Julia Alvarez, which I wouldn't give the highest marks, but I enjoyed. It was good for easy, summer reading. I found the ending rather odd and abrupt. Also, there is too much explanation, in text, of language and culture--it disrupts the flow and seems to dumb the book down. To me, it seemed that the explanations were unnecessary as the context provided enough clues for understanding the occasional spanish phrase or cultural phenomenon. To give her the benefit of the doubt, I like to think it was not how Ms. Alvarez originially wrote it, but was at the insistence of a misguided editor.
I also got halfway through "The Bee Keeper's Pupil" which I was enjoying a lot, but I forgot to take it with me when I left.
In the airport, I picked up a book that has some similarities to the bee keeper book---"Girl with a Pearl Earring"--both historical fiction about characters who are assisting a real historical character of genius. Both deal with the theme of blindness and visual observation of the world around us. I am enjoying "Girl with Pearl Earring". It is pleasant, easy reading. It doesn't bowl me over as amazing literature, but I really like the artistic theme and the attention to describing visual/artistic detail in a way that is really enjoyable. It is a good, enjoyable story. It would make a great movie!
I also picked up Paul Auster's (I am a fan of his work) "Book of Illusions" but haven't started it yet.
Posted by almondjoy on September 13, 2003, at 0:57:55
In reply to Re: double double quotes » loser, posted by Dr. Bob on August 10, 2003, at 10:21:47
I'm reading Plato's Symposium (for class) but its actually pretty interesting, about a dinner party philosophizing discussion about love..how defined, how shown, felt, forms etc. and just for me, reading Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley, interesting how much the same and how different things are in America, his views and religious idealogy is fascinating.
I wrote down 2 I might want to check out One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel GArcia Marquez and The Satanic VErses by salman rushie. Anyone read these, have opinion about the books or authors. I don't know anything about them.
Posted by Dr. Bob on September 13, 2003, at 11:20:28
In reply to Anyone read Salman Rushie or Gabriel Marquez, posted by almondjoy on September 13, 2003, at 0:57:55
> I'm reading Plato's Symposium...
I'd just like to plug the double double quotes feature at this site:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faq.html#amazon
The first time anyone refers to a book without using this option, I post this to try to make sure he or she at least knows about it. It's just an option, though, and doesn't *have* to be used. If people *choose* not to use it, I'd be interested why not, but I'd like that redirected to Psycho-Babble Administration:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20020918/msgs/7717.html
Thanks!
Bob
Posted by noa on September 13, 2003, at 13:06:25
In reply to Anyone read Salman Rushie or Gabriel Marquez, posted by almondjoy on September 13, 2003, at 0:57:55
I read "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and loved it. I have some friends that also loved it and some who just don't like 'magical realism' so they couldn't stand it. I read it a long time ago, I think at least a dozen years, but there are still images that come to mind from the book sometimes when people say certain things--usually they are the kind of typical ordinary things people tend to say in every day conversation that Marquez kind of takes the core human universality of and explodes it into something rather mythic and surreal. I have a ready example to give but if you're going to read it, I'll hold off so it won't spoil it for you.
I've read "Shame: A Novel"
by Salman Rushdie, which I liked and which predates "The Satanic Verses", as well as some of his short stories (sorry, don't remember any titles).
Posted by NikkiT2 on September 15, 2003, at 12:25:37
In reply to Anyone read Salman Rushie or Gabriel Marquez, posted by almondjoy on September 13, 2003, at 0:57:55
I've read both those books.. I loved "100 years of solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.. I have read lots of his books.. "love in the time of cholera" is also a great book by him.. really moved me kind of book.
If you enjoy his writing, give Isabelle Allende a try.. especially "House of Spirits" and "Eva Luna"
Enjoy your reading!! *smiles*
Nikki x
Posted by nickm on October 25, 2003, at 16:45:49
In reply to Re: Anyone read Salman Rushie or Gabriel Marquez » almondjoy, posted by NikkiT2 on September 15, 2003, at 12:25:37
I'm an avid fan of Garcia Marquez's prose, especially when reading it in Spanish, his native language (Also mine). He's probably the best prose writer in the Spanish language today. Love in the Times of Cholera is a wonderful romance, yet a situation very unlikely to happen in unromantic (??? much discussion could be had on this) America.
Yes, he develops situations in which people all of a sudden become part of a mythical situation.
I've written a novel (Will be out next Fall), in which I used some of his approaches. I also picked up moral underpinnings from John Fowles' The Magus, and The French Lieutenant's Woman, as well as The Collector. The Magus is probably my favorite all time book. Came out in the Sixties, as did the other two.
Too bad Garcia Marquez's prose has been tainted by his stupid adoration and friendship of and with Fidel Castro, a mass murderer, and an insane old man with OCD, Paranoia, and Borderline Personality among others.
Too bad a great writer has to stoop so low in politics, as has Isabel Allende.
Oh well...
Nickm
Posted by NikkiT2 on October 25, 2003, at 17:05:21
In reply to Re: Anyone read Salman Rushie or Gabriel Marquez, posted by nickm on October 25, 2003, at 16:45:49
I've always wanted to learn Spanish well enough to read Marquez and Allende in their native language.. But I'm really bad at languages!! My brain just doesn't pick it up at all!
Dunno about your comment about Allende.. I think alot of what people think of as her political leanings are because of her Uncle.. which obviously wasn't her fault at all.
I guess that when you're living in the kind of political situations she was in, it can't help but be carried through into your fiction.. After all, your own life experiences are what molds you as a writer I suppose.
Would be really interested in reading your book if it gets translated to English.. *g* And I'd expect a signed copy of course ;)
Nikki
Posted by nickm on October 26, 2003, at 20:19:54
In reply to Re: Anyone read Salman Rushie or Gabriel Marquez » nickm, posted by NikkiT2 on October 25, 2003, at 17:05:21
Hi, Nikki,
Isabel Allende too is friends with Fidel, and her political leanings are way out there to the left...anyway...My book will be out next Fall, and it is written in English, from which it will be translated back to Spanish.
Spanish is my native language, but I cane to the States when I was 17, decades ago. I'm now sixty four, and writing right and left. I write better in English than in Spanish now.
Don't know if my book will be called The Music of the Straits, or Don Gabriel of the STraits yet. When I know more about the final title, will let you know. I'm a little hesitant to mention book titles here.
Thanks,
Nickm
Posted by NikkiT2 on October 27, 2003, at 8:13:05
In reply to Re: Anyone read Salman Rushie or Gabriel Marquez » NikkiT2, posted by nickm on October 26, 2003, at 20:19:54
I can't wait to read it!!
Have you read any Louis De Bernieres?? He's an English writer.. he wrote "Captain Corelli's Mandolin", which is his most famous one.. but he also wrote a series of 3 books.. "The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts ", "Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman" and "Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord" They're very much of the magical realism genre (which is by far my favourite genre), and while they're not a trilogy, characters from each book appear in the other books. I loved them!! Been a few years since I last read them, so I think its time for a re-read of them!
I hadn't realised Allende was friendly with Castro.. After reading Paula (gone through the first 50 links at amazon and can't find it, so will leave that one link free!!) I presumed she had left her country and politics far behind her. I'll have to do some rading up I guess!! I tend to escape so much into my books that the politics in my life are being left far behind. Real life just isn't as interesting as the life I can life inside books!
I really am excited for you about your book!!
Nikki xx
Posted by Nickm on October 29, 2003, at 11:28:53
In reply to Re:Louis De Bernieres » nickm, posted by NikkiT2 on October 27, 2003, at 8:13:05
> I can't wait to read it!!
>
> Have you read any Louis De Bernieres?? He's an English writer.. he wrote "Captain Corelli's Mandolin", which is his most famous one.. but he also wrote a series of 3 books.. "The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts ", "Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman" and "Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord" They're very much of the magical realism genre (which is by far my favourite genre), and while they're not a trilogy, characters from each book appear in the other books. I loved them!! Been a few years since I last read them, so I think its time for a re-read of them!
>
> I hadn't realised Allende was friendly with Castro.. After reading Paula (gone through the first 50 links at amazon and can't find it, so will leave that one link free!!) I presumed she had left her country and politics far behind her. I'll have to do some rading up I guess!! I tend to escape so much into my books that the politics in my life are being left far behind. Real life just isn't as interesting as the life I can life inside books!
>
> I really am excited for you about your book!!
>
> Nikki xx
Hi, Nikki. I haven't read your recommended list, but did see the movie about Captain Corelli. My wife's been so sick I haven't had time to read, and little time to write. Trying to work on a second novel about a man's loss of his girlfriend in 1960's Cuba, as he tries to get her to the United States with him. Just starting that one. It will have to have, of course, magic realism.Try to pick up the Magus by Fowles. You won't regret it.
Talk to you soon.
:-)
Nickm
Posted by almondjoy on October 31, 2003, at 20:13:32
In reply to Re: Anyone read Salman Rushie or Gabriel Marquez » NikkiT2, posted by nickm on October 26, 2003, at 20:19:54
I really dig Marquez's writing, but my first attempt at reading him didn't work out...it may have been bad timing or something but???
Any suggestions of another of his books that keeps the pace up, or a similar writer. I've never read anything like it and it was great until about halfway i just let it sit, and couldn't pick it up again
Posted by Nickm on November 1, 2003, at 17:04:17
In reply to Can't finish One Hundred Years of Solitude, posted by almondjoy on October 31, 2003, at 20:13:32
> I really dig Marquez's writing, but my first attempt at reading him didn't work out...it may have been bad timing or something but???
> Any suggestions of another of his books that keeps the pace up, or a similar writer. I've never read anything like it and it was great until about halfway i just let it sit, and couldn't pick it up again
Try Love in the Times of Cholera, a fascinating love story of a man who loves the same woman for sixty years. He waits for her, remains obsessed by the girl he met when they were both fifteen. It's something that doesn't happen much in "unromantic" and "realistic" America, but something that happens a lot in other cultures, in other times, in other places.Good luck with it. It's probably his best known work in America.
Try The Magus, by John Fowles.
:-)
Nickm
Posted by Destroyo on November 14, 2003, at 21:29:01
In reply to So whats everyone reading???, posted by NikkiT2 on August 4, 2003, at 11:16:40
Mr. Obnoxious Maximus Augustus here (a newbie neophyte of a tyro) really hasn't gone back and read all these old posts, I figure half of them will be outdated before I can really respond to them. Anyhooooo....I never really met any author I couldn't handle, as far as complexity, till this guy "Jorge Luis Borges". I checked out a book of short stories at the library, and it had one wonderful story (the first one) about latin American knife-fighters. That I understood. The rest? Hopeless. The stories, I just couldn't figure out what was going on. It was unclear. I read for entertainment, pure and simple. If my failure to comprehend Borges means I shall be stripped of my B.A. in marijuana smoking and beer drinking at The University of Florida (1982), then so be it. I suppose I shall be cast back into kindergarten. I'm going to look awfully funny in those teensy little desks. On the other hand, I can now rather easily, since I'll outweigh them by a factor of four, deal with those nasty li'l bullies who terrorized poor li'll four-eyed Destroyo (now equipped with 30-day wear contact lenses :-)
This is the end of the thread.
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