tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post3661181903404204088..comments2024-03-29T10:25:17.813-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: The Book That Almost Got AwayJungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-5080428710031187412014-03-16T09:44:26.827-04:002014-03-16T09:44:26.827-04:00What Kathy said about reading the previous Connie ...What Kathy said about reading the previous Connie Willis time travel books. They are all connected, and I found it fascinating to pick up the connections from The Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog.<br /><br />FIRST read Fire Watch, Willis's original time travel story, also part of the whole picture, written in 1982. It's available online here<br />http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/firewatch.htm<br />Susan Dhttp://www.susannastone.blogspot.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-22816875657476327872014-03-16T02:07:02.867-04:002014-03-16T02:07:02.867-04:00I just want to thank everyone for the wonderful co...I just want to thank everyone for the wonderful comments. This is indeed a post to print and keep. So moving to find other readers love the same books, and so awe-inspiring to see so many I haven't read.Debhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11519514786198185277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-4294490654833425082014-03-16T01:31:09.682-04:002014-03-16T01:31:09.682-04:00Debs, after I got on the van tonight the driver sa...Debs, after I got on the van tonight the driver said, "All these people are here for a book festival?"Maureen Harringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499876353651763590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-85611844022806717272014-03-16T01:28:31.174-04:002014-03-16T01:28:31.174-04:00The Golden Compass...The Golden Compass...Maureen Harringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499876353651763590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-78168520565714865402014-03-15T23:20:00.400-04:002014-03-15T23:20:00.400-04:00I have to go back in time to "Meet the Austin...I have to go back in time to "Meet the Austins" by Madeleine L'Engle of "Wrinkle in Time" fame. A child who felt not always loved in a family that was not very close, this Austin family drew me into their arms and held me tight. It made me realize what could be someday and I did indeed do things the mother in that book did with my children - such as read to them at length every night until they were past 13 years old and go out to look at the stars with them every night. That whole series of books moved me deeply.<br /><br />"Time and Again" by Jack Finney just opened up my imagination and made me fall in love with the idea of time travel - I was in awe! I am so glad to read of Connie Willis and her time-traveling books - will be getting started on those soon!<br /><br />"The Brutal Telling" by Louise Penny - my first of hers I read - did something to my insides I can thankfully never fix, and I have since devoured every one of her books despite the assault on my emotions - they have gotten me through some very hard times as the perfect escape.<br /><br />Likewise, "Dreaming of the Bones," my first by Deborah Crombie, opened up the wonderful world of Gemma and Duncan and ruined me on so many other books/authors I used to read as hers are so well done many other books just don't measure up anymore!<br /><br />Thank you, good writers, for your gifts of countless endless lives and places that enrich our lives and deepen our way of thinking. So many more I could mention.Jan J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04827451889594711222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-17250400023298852352014-03-15T22:44:37.654-04:002014-03-15T22:44:37.654-04:00After reading so many comments, I think I need to ...After reading so many comments, I think I need to go read Winter's Tale right away! <br /><br />I read many books I like or admire, but not too many that wrap themselves into my brain the way my chidlhood reading did. However, I think Byatt's Childrens Book is one that did, even more than the often mentioned Possession. Wolf Hall.Most of Kate Atkinson's books - they are so weird, they are so wonderful.I often like Alice Hoffman (not always) but the one that went right to my heart was Practical Magic. And almost everything Penelope Lively has written. I don't want to write books as good as hers; I want to write her books. And for a surprise - John Updike's Rabbit books.Trisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08058396345946250313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-45386922003800789612014-03-15T16:13:17.506-04:002014-03-15T16:13:17.506-04:00Some of my favorites are "Shadow of the Wind&...Some of my favorites are "Shadow of the Wind", "Mists of Avalon", and "Ahab's Wife" - and perhaps Susanna Kearsley's "The Winter Sea". But as for THE major life changing read, I have to go with the first 2 parts to Deb Harkness's All Souls Trilogy, "A Discovery of Witches" and "Shadow of Night" (and I owe stumbling upon ADOW to you Debs!).<br /><br />NGWNancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06495937280335984726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-46397553079135332102014-03-15T15:43:59.587-04:002014-03-15T15:43:59.587-04:00Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Rebecca by Da...Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh<br />Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. <br />Shōgun by James Clavell.<br />Jane Eyre<br />Exodus by Leon Uris<br />Diary of Anne Frank<br />Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen<br /><br />....and a few years ago when putting down my old lab was just around the corner a friend appeared on my doorstep with home baked muffins and this memorable book - <br />The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth SteinJill Crosslandhttp://www.jbcrossland.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-48427964622688714922014-03-15T14:49:22.228-04:002014-03-15T14:49:22.228-04:00I feel that I should apologize for posting more ma...I feel that I should apologize for posting more material, but when I was getting my masters in library science, I focused largely on young adult literature, and there are some books from this category (loosely defined as it may be) that were wonderful surprises and forever lasting influences. I will simply list below five of these gems. Again, these books are ones that caught me by surprise in their impact. There are many children's and young adult favorites of mine that I quite expected to be so.<br /><br />1. Whirligig by Paul Fleischman -- from which I learned the positive connections our actions can have to strangers that we will never meet <br />2. The Rifle by Gary Paulsen -- in which our actions can have not so favorable consequences<br />3. All Alone in the Universe by Lynne Rae Perkins -- in which the first lessons of how friendships can change and dealing with being the odd girl out<br />4. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin -- in which death becomes rebirth and the difference between a job and a vocation is learned<br />5. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green -- in which living with being terminal includes love, laughter, and hope<br />Kathy Reelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17004247271452356577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-41481370107155883532014-03-15T14:43:32.892-04:002014-03-15T14:43:32.892-04:00OH! I love this!
I see a lot of books and auth...OH! I love this! <br /><br />I see a lot of books and authors here I love, and many I've got to find right away.<br /><br />THE book I push on everyone I know - Ann Fairbairn's "Five Smooth Stones."<br /><br />I have not read anything by Connie Willis, but that is going to change immediately.<br /><br />Debs, I'm with your daughter. When I discovered Carlos Ruiz Zafon's the cemetery of lost books trilogy - only a year ago - I felt as though a whole new world had opened for me.<br /><br />and, my TBR list is growing by leaps and bounds today! Kaye Wilkinson Barley - Meanderings and Museshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07486129009717476920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-5457900438285853622014-03-15T14:07:00.500-04:002014-03-15T14:07:00.500-04:00A Tale of Two Cities and One Flew Over the Cuckoo&...A Tale of Two Cities and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest--never ever watched the movie of the latter because the book was so powerful. And then came the poets, T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost, James Wright, William Stafford, Pablo Neruda, Villon, Beaudelaire, and many others. Shakespeare's The Tempest--and I have to say that I adored the recent movie version with Helen Mirren in the role of Prospero (in this version Prospera)! Nonfiction, The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner and The Orphaned Adult by Alexander Levy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-91111221620397699452014-03-15T13:31:09.850-04:002014-03-15T13:31:09.850-04:00Debs, I know I've talked to you about Connie W...Debs, I know I've talked to you about Connie Willis before, but seeing how much you loved Blackout and All Clear here made my heart leap with joy. All Clear came out in February of 2010, and I gobbled it up as soon as it did. The problem was that the rest of the book (as you said it was all really one gigantic book/story), All Clear, didn't come out until September of that year. It was a long six months. Now, I don't mean to keep pressing you about it, but if you loved these books, you simply must read the first of the Oxford time travelers, Doomsday Book. It takes one of the travelers back to the beginning of the plague in England in 1348, and Willis spent five years writing it. This book is such an enormous favorite of mine that I can easily say it's in my top five (which is a hard category for me to determine). Then, the next Oxford time traveler book is To Say Nothing of the Dog, and this one is a bit different in tone, as it is a delightful romp through Victorian England with one of the travelers looking for something called the bishop's bird stump. Several short stories are also available with these wonderful time traveling historians.<br /><br />So, I think it's safe to assume that one of my unexpected treasures is Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (followed of course by the rest of those tales). Others include an author I hope you have heard of, and if you haven't, please seriously consider him. Alan Brennert's novel Moloka'i deals with the practice of sending those diagnosed with Hansen's disease, leprosy, in Hawaii to the island of Moloka'i and the Kalaupapa leper colony, in operation from 1866 to 1969. The main character is a seven-year-old girl who is sent there in the late 1800s. This book and Brennert's book Honolulu taught me much as well as providing beautiful stories, and they greatly enriched my recent trips to Honolulu. Next time, I am visiting Moloka'i. <br /><br />Another surprising book of impact was Joseph Kanon's The Good German. It made me think of perspectives that I hadn't much considered about WWII before. Unfortunately, they made a movie of it, which I refused to see after hearing how they had bastardized it.<br /><br />The Girls by Lori Lansens took me by complete surprise. It is a book about adult conjoined twins who are nearing the end of their life span in their thirties. The format is alternating chapters in which each twin gives their history of their lives from their perspectives. It is the book that solidified the belief that in the ordinary is the extraordinary, and in the extraordinary is the ordinary. No one is only one of these. <br /><br />Okay. I can see that I am approaching the point of no return on talking about these books, so I will conclude by simply listing ten books that I had no idea would become an essential part of me.<br />1. Doomsday by Connie Willis<br />2. Moloka'i by Alan Brennert<br />3. The Good German by Joseph Kanon<br />4. The Girls by Lori Lansens<br />5. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett<br />6. A Widow for One Year by John Irving<br />7. Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos<br />8. The Owl Killers by Karen Maitland<br />9. Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Nashland<br />10. Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi<br /><br />I really could have added more, but I'll stop. This list doesn't include those books like Fahrenheit 451 and The Hounds of the Baskervilles, which I knew of and was fairly certain I'd love. Kathy Reelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17004247271452356577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-49551326085199464012014-03-15T13:13:53.325-04:002014-03-15T13:13:53.325-04:00My very first mystery, one of the Jane Marple book...My very first mystery, one of the Jane Marple books by, of course, Agatha Christi. That has led me to a life of reading and mostly mysteries. Thank you for continuing to provide me with reading.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-23609753642761680772014-03-15T13:03:00.959-04:002014-03-15T13:03:00.959-04:00Me too, Beverly. I've read Testament of Youth...Me too, Beverly. I've read Testament of Youth over and over. (And I'd add that the miniseries is stunningly faithful, but we're not doing that topic this week, right?) Susan Dhttp://www.susannastone.blogspot.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-87817993726050080352014-03-15T12:59:53.849-04:002014-03-15T12:59:53.849-04:00Almost anything by Barbara Kingsolver, whose writi...Almost anything by Barbara Kingsolver, whose writing makes me think I should delete everything off my computer and not even try (make quilts instead). Especially her first book, The Bean Trees, and The Poisonwood Bible.<br /><br />Thanks everyone for these ideas. My library hold list is getting longer....Susan Dhttp://www.susannastone.blogspot.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-39782502388011202012014-03-15T12:55:14.609-04:002014-03-15T12:55:14.609-04:00That book, for me, would be Testament of Youth, by...That book, for me, would be Testament of Youth, by Vera Brittain. It was gut wrenching in it's honesty about the changing world of the 1910s and 20s. Her experiences were unbelievably tragic and soul-searing, yet she eventually came through it all as a whole, vibrant person. And on top of that, it's extremely well written. If you are at all interested in what WWI was like for the British, especially the women, it's a must read.<br /><br />Since then I've read Anne Perry's and Pat Barker's books about the same period, but Testament is by far the best.Beverly Fontainenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-51241485339335116622014-03-15T12:51:00.765-04:002014-03-15T12:51:00.765-04:00My favorite book to re read again and again is a b...My favorite book to re read again and again is a book called: The Shadow of the Wind by Carols Ruiz Zafon. His other novels are not so memorable. But this one just hits me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-28103972488899552862014-03-15T12:50:14.548-04:002014-03-15T12:50:14.548-04:00In thinking about this topic, I am surprised to fi...In thinking about this topic, I am surprised to find that the books which have left their mark are those that have brought me to tears and, occasionally, sobs. To Kill A Mockingbird, The Cider House Rules, A Prayer for Owen Meany...the list is long. Even John Kennedy Toole's comic masterpiece, A Confederacy of Dunces saddened me, knowing the circumstances of its publication. This intrigues me (and no one else!) because I usually avoid obviously sad movies and books, preferring mystery, comedy, and Jane Austen. Not sure what this says about me, but I like this topic and will continue to think on it today, so thanks for bringing it up!WENDYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11853203454861717860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-82075529426340381042014-03-15T12:08:31.847-04:002014-03-15T12:08:31.847-04:00Ah, so many books fit this category. "Time an...Ah, so many books fit this category. "Time and Again," by Jack Finney. "The House of Stairs," by Ruth Rendell writing as Barbara Vine. "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns. The haunting true-crime "Beyond Belief" by Emlyn Williams. "Gilead," by Marilynne Robinson. "The Drifters," by James Michener. And the book that fueled my entire reading life: "Our Mutual Friend," by Charles Dickens. But the list could go on and on...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18275718725422568789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-43652578124408734932014-03-15T10:53:16.633-04:002014-03-15T10:53:16.633-04:00The most traumatic time of my life was 25 years ag...The most traumatic time of my life was 25 years ago this month. After an emergency C-secetion and a baby in neo-natal for 28 days, my parents were killed in a car wreck. I was reading Rosamund Pilcher's The Shellseekers at the time, andd I don't think I will ever be able to read that book again; however, that didn't keep me from reading more Pilcher. There are two books that I can't imagine not having read: Winter Solstice and Coming Home. These characters have become members of my family. The other book that has stayed with me is Water Like a Stone. It was the first Crombie book I read, and I have become fascinated with living on a canal boat. It has become my "Someday I'm going to do that" dream.Suzannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11713241927205478638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-72921466332849579452014-03-15T10:29:31.969-04:002014-03-15T10:29:31.969-04:00Great idea, Hallie, printing this at the end of th...Great idea, Hallie, printing this at the end of the day! And maybe ouch on the credit card, but it's books, right? Cate, I remember seeing Sleeping with Schubert and thinking I wanted to read it. Not going to let it slip this time.<br /><br />Karen, I have Between the Bridge and the River, and have never got round to reading it!<br /><br />Susan, I never read a Secret History because someone (on DorothyL, I think) accused me of having copied it when I wrote Dreaming of the Bones, which came out not long after. I was a bit incensed, but maybe it's time I got over it:-)<br /><br />The first book on my NEW list is The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Urrea, who I had the great pleasure of meeting last night at the Tucson Festival of Books.<br /><br />Talk about getting into to trouble wanting to buy books!!!<br /><br />More about Tucson tomorrow--it is an amazing festival!<br /><br />Debhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11519514786198185277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-91272774817630598762014-03-15T09:35:35.729-04:002014-03-15T09:35:35.729-04:00Great post! My credit card is shuddering at the t...Great post! My credit card is shuddering at the thought of what the "end of day" shopping list will look like. <br /><br />Here's one that almost got away - a nerdy/shy guy in a writers' group recommended it several years ago. (Shame on me for thinking I wouldn't like anything he liked because our writing styles and personalities were so divergent.)<br /><br />I LOVE this book: SLEEPING WITH SCHUBERT by Bonnie Marson. It plays off Franz Schubert's Unfinished Symphony and has the composer reemerging/cohabitating in a modern day female Brooklyn lawyer's body/soul. I was laughing one moment, crying the next. <br /><br />Because of that book, I now own a half dozen CDs of Schubert's music, and feel inspired when I remember to play them before sitting to write. (Note to self...)<br />Cate Noblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07445299716846033242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-48968855251421228462014-03-15T09:31:48.625-04:002014-03-15T09:31:48.625-04:00One of my all-time favorite books, simply wonderfu...One of my all-time favorite books, simply wonderful and got little or no attention, is THE POWERS OF CHARLOTTE by Jane Lazarre. If you can find a copy, you'll thank me profusely.<br /><br />Kent Haruf's PLAINSONG, which I had to read for a book club and adored, rereading many times.<br /><br />John Steinbeck's EAST OF EDEN, which is his masterpiece in my opinion. I come back to it again and again.<br /><br />For all you sf/fantasy fen, C.J. Cherryh, absolutely the greatest! Both genres. Her FOREIGNER series is an incredible examination of what it means to be human, which she examines in many of her many books, but the little-known book, BROTHERS OF EARTH, is probably her tour de force on that. As I was thinking back over her books, it was hard to pick just one favorite, though, and she writes so well. I've learned so much about writing from her.<br /><br />But probably, if I just had to choose one book for this category, it would be Linda Hogan's MEAN SPIRIT. It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize the year it came out, but got little attention still. And it's a literary thriller. Hogan's an acclaimed Chickasaw poet and fiction writer, and in this novel, she took a true story of a whole series of murders for gain that were perpetrated on the Osage Indians in the early part of the 20th century and covered up or overlooked by government agencies until one man stepped up to the plate to stop it and bring the killers to justice. I dare you to try to put the book down once you pick it up, and just thinking about one scene in it always makes me cry. Such a powerful book!Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-81136770741787494872014-03-15T09:28:09.171-04:002014-03-15T09:28:09.171-04:00Yes! The Time Traveler's Wife blew me away. An...Yes! The Time Traveler's Wife blew me away. And it made me realize I would never be able to write anything remotely close to it. A brilliant concept, as was The Lovely Bones. <br /><br />In 1981 I read Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad, and it truly changed how I think about the world. In order to remember how it changed me I try to reread it once a decade or so. It's very funny, but kind of horrifying, too. <br /><br />Two more: Craig Ferguson's Between the Bridge and the River, and Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus. I don't know how the last could ever be made into a movie. Also totally original. Karen in Ohionoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-84555238114809169732014-03-15T09:25:49.601-04:002014-03-15T09:25:49.601-04:00Must add: A SECRET HISTORY, by Donna Tartt, and pr...Must add: A SECRET HISTORY, by Donna Tartt, and pretty much everything by Alice Hoffman.... I'm about 100 pages into Tartt's newest, GOLDFINCH.Susan Elia MacNealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00349842866995778987noreply@blogger.com