i gave this book to my daughter to read, as well.
LOVED IT
Some Horses, by Thomas McGuane
I love the part where he is competing with his wife in a futurity.
InterestingâŠwhatâs a âfuturityâ?
A futurity is a horse race or other competition to which the horses must be nominated at birth or close to it. Sometimes the sire and dam have to meet certain breeding standards also, and I believe that there can be geographical requirementsâFlorida-breds, for exampleâin some cases. Generally, its purpose is to encourage breeders.
Speaking of horses, Jane Smileyâs book Horse Heaven is an excellent read.
recently been reading Stewart Oânan and John Dufresne, both writers who notice the details about life, in beautiful and moving ways. OâNanâs âLast Night at the Lobsterâ more a novella than a novel, is just plain great writingâitâs like taking a class in Observing 101.
Thanks, Consolation. Iâd never heard of that; interesting.
Oooh, I have to find those translations. I loved Russian literature despite the Garnett translations. Too bad my sister took the Anna Karenina Volkonsky and Prevear version to her dorm.
I just finished reading Candide. Although it might be a little vulgar for some, itâs still a great satire and has a funny way of playing with fiction.
How about all those âgeorgia nicolsonâ books? I love them all. However, some people think that they are for HS girls. They are definately for somebody who generally does not enjoy reading at all, like me.
I am always looking for a good read for my geeky, math-science S. He and I both recommend Anathem by Neal Stephenson. Great science fiction. I expect it will be on next yearâs Nebula nomination list (it missed this year due to a change in the rules, I think).
I recently finished The House on Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper. I donât remember if this was one that was recommended by someone here or if I read about it elsewhere. Cooper is a correspondent for the New York Times and she was born in Liberia. Itâs the story of her childhood there and her familyâs flight when the political situation became dangerous. I did not know a lot about Liberia and I found the book very interesting. There was something about her writing that I didnât enjoy, and I canât really put my finger on it, but I expected that the writing would be better/more engaging from a Times reporter. In any case, the interesting subject matter overrode that minor quibble.
Iâve now started The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, which came very highly recommended by several friends. Iâm only about 50 pages in but am enjoying it tremendously so far.
O-o-o, I read The Guernsey ⊠Loved it! Quick read, not taxing in any way, but just plain enjoyable through and through.
Just finished Anathem - it is good, as much as I liked Cryptonomicon, I think this is his best book since Snow Crash. Not much of a story, but wonderful essays on the great ideas of physics.
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell was mentioned quite a while back in this thread. I read it last year and found it oddly compelling. Beautifully written, extremely thought provoking (very theologically complex, does God really see the sparrow fall?), and unusual. Who knew Jesuits in space could be so⊠layered. D and I saw this book in a store recently, and I found myself speechless when I tried to talk to her about it. I felt like there was so much to say, but I couldnât figure out where to begin to give her a true glimpse of it. Speechless is not my normal state, believe me. Krista Tippett interviewed the author on Speaking of Faith recently and it got me thinking about it again (although it feels like one of those books I may never forget, so it merely brought it back to the front of my mind from wherever it has been residing).
Someone also asked if anyone had read the 2007 National Book Award winner The Legacy of Ashes: History of the CIA by Tim Weiner. I just finished it, and found it fascinating and somewhat scary. Timely given the current discussions of what we should be looking for in a new CIA leader. It certainly added some shades of gray to my thinking and revealed pros and cons to almost any choice for the job. Many revelations that were somewhat horrifying to me as well.
And more for fun, The Beekeeperâs Apprentice by Laurie R. King. Donât be put off by the fact that it is essentially Sherlock Holmes fan fiction, it is really well done. Both Ds and I adored the entire series (there are several subsequent novels, but this one is the first).
I recommend The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton (2007). It is about a single 36-year old NYC librarian who takes a short-term contract position in Kenya. The author uses an easy to read styleâsimilar to Mauve Binchyâfocusing on how the introduction of books into a nomadic culture is viewed by the different characters. There actually is a Camel Bookmobile that the author accompanied on some runs when conducting her research. This would be an amazing book club choice, in my opinion, because it touches so many cross cultural issues.
For those who enjoy memoirs, which happens to be my favorite genre, A Charmed Life, Growing Up in Macbethâs Castle by Liza Campbell (2007) is OK. The title is a little misleading because her life was anything but charmedâmuch more on the tragic side with this book being an attempt to put the past behind her. My son had to read Macbeth in high school this year, so I was tempted by the setting. I learned a few things I hadnât known before and generally found it an easy read.
Intparent, if you loved The Sparrow then you will love her other books. Children of God is a continuation of The Sparrow and I think I even enjoyed it more. Thread of Grace is about people in Northern Italy during WWII- very compelling book and probably one of my favorite books. I had actually planned on buying Dreamers of the Day this weekend, which is set around the Cairo Peace Conference in 1919. I find her books to be thought provoking while still being readable. The Sparrow was required reading for one of my dâs classes. And as an aside, I e-mail the author one time and she wrote me back!
I bought Dreamers of the Day and it is line for a read soon. Anyone read The Librarians of Alexandria: the tale of two sisters? It is an Italian translation by Alessandra Lavagnino. It is a multigenerational story set in Egypt and Italy. It takes you from the 1800s up until W.W. II. I loved it.
The books listed here sounds awesome. Iâm commuting now, so going to try & find a few on CD.
IntparentâI love Krista Tippettâs interviews. She has a book out too, which is a fairly complex and compelling telling of her own journey of faith.
To whomever recommended Out Stealing Horses, thank you! Iâm about half way through it and loving it a lot. Itâs beautifully written.
I just read âSchrodingerâs Ballâ and enjoyed it very much. By Adam Felber, of the NPR show âWait, WaitâŠdonât tell meââitâs witty and clever and lots of fun.
A Few Seconds of Panic by Stefan Fatsis. I borrowed this from the library for my S and ended up reading it myself. Talks about Fatsis and his attending the Denver Broncoâs training camp to become a placekicker. Really opened my eyes to the trials and tribulations of being in the NFL.