If it was me I'd have given up by now. Life is too short to waste on reading books that don't speak to you, however many other people have raved about them.
I would have, except that it's my real life book club book so I need to persevere. I've only ever given up on one of those, despite some of the rubbish we've read .
@Telford Leslie Alcock was a very good archaeologist!
I've just been lent a novel set in Roman Britain - Run to the Western Shore by Tim Pears. According to the Times, it's "a beautiful love story with an incredible sense of place". I don't know the author, so I'm hoping I'll enjoy it.
Last night I finished Nathaniel Philbrick's In The Hurricane's Eye which I received for Christmas. I received three new books for Christmas, and I have been reading all three off and on. Finished this one first. Really like Philbrick.
I've given myself the meager goal of reading one complete book each month. I tend to read a handful of books at once, but I have a terrible habit of not fully finishing very many at all.
I had my real life book group last night and we discussed the last two books we've read Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (quite enjoyable, especially the parts written from the point of view of the octopus)
I'm glad you mentioned this book, @Nenya. I've started reading it and find it to be a really interesting book! Like you, the point of view of the octopus is one of my favorite parts.
Finished this earlier this month. https://www.amazon.ca/Stolen-Focus-Attention-Think-Deeply/dp/0593138511 A pickleball book I am reading, which focuses on the mental side of the game, argues you should never bring your cellphone to the court. It is backed up by solid research. I am currently reading Peak Mind by Amishi Jha. seem to be on a bit of a concentration/attention kick. A bit of a bus drivers holidays since I teach a course to first year students on how to be successful students. Based on the clear research findings, cellphones are turned off and stowed away for the duration of the course.
Finished this earlier this month. https://www.amazon.ca/Stolen-Focus-Attention-Think-Deeply/dp/0593138511 A pickleball book I am reading, which focuses on the mental side of the game, argues you should never bring your cellphone to the court. It is backed up by solid research. I am currently reading Peak Mind by Amishi Jha. seem to be on a bit of a concentration/attention kick. A bit of a bus drivers holidays since I teach a course to first year students on how to be successful students. Based on the clear research findings, cellphones are turned off and stowed away for the duration of the course.
My knowledge of pickleball is almost exclusively based on songs by the Holderness Family.
You should give it a try, if your foot permits. North America's fastest growing sport. I switched after almost 50 years of tennis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickleball
ETA: the transcription on the song gest some of the words wrong.
You should give it a try, if your foot permits. North America's fastest growing sport. I switched after almost 50 years of tennis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickleball
ETA: the transcription on the song gest some of the words wrong.
Once my foot heals, I think that might be good. ❤️
If it was me I'd have given up by now. Life is too short to waste on reading books that don't speak to you, however many other people have raved about them.
Same here. It’s why after multiple unsuccessful tries, I’ve accepted that no matter how great and important The World considers Huckleberry Finn, I find it unreadable and the effort unnecessary. Life is indeed too short.
I finished it in 3 days during summer school holidays; a set text for high school. Not criticising you, we are all different, but I loved it; a world away from 1990s suburban Sydney.
But I agree with the give up principle: plenty of celebrated books I barely got a chapter into. Sometimes I return to them, thinking maybe it was not the right time for me; others are never looked at again.
If it was me I'd have given up by now. Life is too short to waste on reading books that don't speak to you, however many other people have raved about them.
I would have, except that it's my real life book club book so I need to persevere. I've only ever given up on one of those, despite some of the rubbish we've read .
...and that right there is the reason why I have never joined a book club... 😆
I have moved from Philbrick to Philbrick, and have just started his Travels with George, also about George Washington, but in a much different way. Yes, Mrs. The_Riv and Progeny1 enjoyed the fact that they were both giving me Philbrick books about GW.
Just finished The World We Make by NK Jemisin. It's a sequel. Not the easiest read between the hopeful read on the triumph of urbane woke liberalism and the way it feels a tad dated, but it was fun and well done. She does characters and cultural flavor really well.
As a Chicagoan, I'm a little sad she didn't get to give our city as much attention as I think she wanted to in the book, but I do understand.
If it was me I'd have given up by now. Life is too short to waste on reading books that don't speak to you, however many other people have raved about them.
Same here. It’s why after multiple unsuccessful tries, I’ve accepted that no matter how great and important The World considers Huckleberry Finn, I find it unreadable and the effort unnecessary. Life is indeed too short.
I finished it in 3 days during summer school holidays; a set text for high school. Not criticising you, we are all different, but I loved it; a world away from 1990s suburban Sydney
No criticism taken. Tastes are personal, and that’s how it should be.
A large part of the difficulty for me was how Twain wrote various dialects. I found it pretty impenetrable and way too much work. And I’m from the American South.
But I totally get that my not liking it and finally giving up on it is irrelevant to its literary importance and others’ enjoyment of it.
A large part of the difficulty for me was how Twain wrote various dialects. I found it pretty impenetrable and way too much work. And I’m from the American South.
Not meaning to bang on about it, tastes being personal as you write, but I found them fascinating. I cannot recall exactly my level of difficulty, I'm somewhat removed from the South! 😉, but my love of language, linguistics, etc definitely had me intrigued. As I wrote, a world away from the outskirts of Sydney in the 90s. I do recall thinking how expressive the dialects and such were, and I think it helped me somewhat, not entirely, squash my personality-driven desire for "perfect" (whatever that is!) English.
If it was me I'd have given up by now. Life is too short to waste on reading books that don't speak to you, however many other people have raved about them.
Same here. It’s why after multiple unsuccessful tries, I’ve accepted that no matter how great and important The World considers Huckleberry Finn, I find it unreadable and the effort unnecessary. Life is indeed too short.
I'm trying it at the moment for the first time. It is difficult to get into and harrowing at times.
I'm interested that you say that @Sparrow. I remember reading it as a much younger person and not liking it much, I think I was actually potentially too young and without life experience to fully understand all that it raised and I don't know whether I'd recommend it to anyone, but I might add it to the re-read list to see how I go processing things as an older person.
I'm almost finished The man who pays the rent and have to say it's been not just a wonderful read, I can hear Judi Dench in my head as I read, but that it's been a different reading experience for me.
I'm quite a fast reader normally, but this has required me to read it chapter by chapter and really slow down and enjoy it. I have laughed out loud in various spots, which I didn't expect to do. It's been a real lesson in how actors and directors approach Shakespeare's plays.
May I just say I understand others' negative reactions to it. Not an easy read, in our time perhaps particularly. I used the term "loved" rather than "enjoyed" deliberately.
@Telford Leslie Alcock was a very good archaeologist!
I've just been lent a novel set in Roman Britain - Run to the Western Shore by Tim Pears. According to the Times, it's "a beautiful love story with an incredible sense of place". I don't know the author, so I'm hoping I'll enjoy it.
The background appears to be the Roman invasion of South Wales in the AD70s and their battle with the Silures, I am not a big fan of love stories per se but I would have a look if I came across it.
If it was me I'd have given up by now. Life is too short to waste on reading books that don't speak to you, however many other people have raved about them.
I would have, except that it's my real life book club book so I need to persevere. I've only ever given up on one of those, despite some of the rubbish we've read .
...and that right there is the reason why I have never joined a book club... 😆
Our real life book club consists of just four friends (we were six but life and commitments took over a couple of us, and even one of the remaining four is a bit unreliable in terms of reading the book and/or cancelling attendance at the last minute) and we always eat together so it's a social thing as well as the book discussion. I personally think it works best when someone recommends a book they've enjoyed and, like the Ship book group, "leads" on it. However, we don't generally do it that way and sometimes we rely on the library for recommendations (very mixed - once we got what turned out to be the middle book of a trilogy...) or lists of things like "Ten Top Reads." Then it depends on whether the library can get enough copies for us.
On one occasion I rather threw my toys out of the pram as a book was proposed that I had read and didn't want to spend another nanosecond of my life even thinking about. I said if everyone else wanted to read it they should go ahead and I would either skip the meeting altogether or just come along to eat food and drink wine. The others didn't end up reading it, which actually wasn't my intention. It was A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles and some of them might have enjoyed it. I know some people love it, some hate it.
One of the reasons I like the Ship's book club is that there are enough people for the discussion to go ahead when some of us don't want to join that particular month. My hat is off to those who faithfully read every book.
Progeny2 called last night to let me know he'd successfully petitioned into a 3rd-year Philosophy of Religion class. I told him that if he was successful in that petition I'd read his course texts alongside him & we could discuss. So, I now have that/those to look forward to.
Took The Book Thief out with me today and, in the absence of anything else to read, skim-read it in the coffee shop while waiting for my lunch date. It's an hour of my life I won't get back but at least it's done.
Hi all! Well, right now I'm reading a lot of Kurt Vonnegut. I've tried and failed to read him in the past, but for some reason, a few days ago I picked up "Timequake" and zipped through it in a couple of days. Then "Slaughterhouse Five," and now I've got a whole pile of battered paperbacks waiting their turn. What an amazing writer, very different than what I expected!
Sometimes books you can't seem to get interested in reading are just waiting for the right time to sneak up on you.
Well, I finished Run to the Western Shore and all I can say is - Rosemary Sutcliff did it better.
Next it's I Know My Own Heart, the edited diaries of Ann Lister, which was made into the TV series Gentleman Jack. She was an 18thC Yorkshire coal mine owner and her diaries include her various love affairs with other women.
In the last three days I finished the newest Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum novel, and the lates Robert Crais Elvis Cole novel, and have now moved on to an Elizabeth Moon science fiction novel, Trading in Danger.
Just finished The Midnight Library - Matt Haig. Nora is given the chance to experience different lives to replace her currently unsatisfactory life.
I bought this from the very small English language section of a bookshop in Japan.
I realised I’d somehow missed reading CJ Sansom’s “Lamentation” and am now luxuriating in the Tudor world of Matthew Shardlake. Like meeting up with an old friend.
Sorry there won’t be any more Shardlake novels. RIP C J.
Just finished The Midnight Library - Matt Haig. Nora is given the chance to experience different lives to replace her currently unsatisfactory life.
I bought this from the very small English language section of a bookshop in Japan.
Just a quick thanks - I just read a sample of this book, and it looks like exactly what I need to sink myself into right now! Appreciate the recommendation!
My younger brother D and I both loved his Brisingamen books. Also I found a book of photos of the area of Mow Cop (I think it's called) which added to our enjoyment. When Boneland was published I sent him a copy of that too. I must see if it's in the local library because I only had time to flick through it before I sent it to him.
Just checked and it is available. Also I put a hold on Powsels and Thrums a new book of his which the library has on order. I'm now 6th in the queue but I'm sure they will buy multiple copies..
I will also see if the local children's bookshop has a copy yet as I was wondering what to buy D for his birthday.
I love it when I can find something he will be interested in as it can be challenging.
When Garner appeared at the Oxford Literary Festival rather further back than I care to remember, the Knotweed and I went to the trouble of buying new copies to read and get signed.
After putting it off for weeks I've just finished Brainstorm by Richard Scolyer. He was joint Australian of the year in 2024 and has worked in melanoma research for many years.
He developed a DPIG brain tumour in 2023 and has experienced an extension of his life by the use of immunotherapy rather than just the usual surgery and radiation. His colleague Georgina Long suggested this approach based on their success using immunotherapy for melanoma patients. To date it has been successful and trials will be starting to extend their research and hopefully develop a new and more successful therapy for this type of cancer.
The book was fascinating, following him from early childhood through to his current health situation and it was interesting following him not just through his career, but also to learn about his interests and family life.
I had been putting this one off as I thought it might be too heavy, but it was actually a warm and easy read.
I have a Lisa Genova novel to look forward to next!
Has anyone read Stalin's Gamble, The Search for Allies against Hitler, 1930-36 by Michael Jabara Carley?
(Published in 2023 by the University of Toronto Press. It's the first volume in a planned trilogy on Soviet-Western relations in the 1930s- according to a note on the cover.)
I picked it up from the new books shelf in the library today when I was in a hurry, but having brought it home I don't think I have the background to read it with understanding, and the print size would make it necessary to use my needlework glasses which give me a headache if I use them for too long.
Usually I don't mind getting/being over 70, but sometimes something like this comes up and I have to admit defeat.
I have signed myself up to a book group at the library. In the past I've mainly been in groups discussing fiction that the various members have read, but after the experience I mentioned above I've decided that reading more non-fiction could be interesting.
I'm not totally clear on how it's structured, but my understanding is that the first month has each member reading a self chosen book from the 000s, then the second a book from the 100s and so on.
I am looking forward to discovering snippets from other members of the group too as we each report back every month, and I hope, recommendations for further reading.
Just finished The Soul of an Octopus and Secrets of an Octopus, both very very good. I now have a great craving to go make friends with an octopus and see if it will hold my hands (and refrain from pulling me in).
I realised I’d somehow missed reading CJ Sansom’s “Lamentation” and am now luxuriating in the Tudor world of Matthew Shardlake. Like meeting up with an old friend.
Sorry there won’t be any more Shardlake novels. RIP C J.
Marvellous book. Highly recommended, like the rest of the series.
Just finished The Soul of an Octopus and Secrets of an Octopus, both very very good. I now have a great craving to go make friends with an octopus and see if it will hold my hands (and refrain from pulling me in).
Took The Book Thief out with me today and, in the absence of anything else to read, skim-read it in the coffee shop while waiting for my lunch date. It's an hour of my life I won't get back but at least it's done.
We are discussing this with my book group here tomorrow evening and I'll be interested to hear what the others thought of it.
Have you read Remarkably Bright Creatures@Lamb Chopped ?
Comments
Leslie Alcock.
A mix of History, Archeology and Theory.
I would have, except that it's my real life book club book so I need to persevere. I've only ever given up on one of those, despite some of the rubbish we've read
I've just been lent a novel set in Roman Britain - Run to the Western Shore by Tim Pears. According to the Times, it's "a beautiful love story with an incredible sense of place". I don't know the author, so I'm hoping I'll enjoy it.
I've given myself the meager goal of reading one complete book each month. I tend to read a handful of books at once, but I have a terrible habit of not fully finishing very many at all.
I'm glad you mentioned this book, @Nenya. I've started reading it and find it to be a really interesting book! Like you, the point of view of the octopus is one of my favorite parts.
My knowledge of pickleball is almost exclusively based on songs by the Holderness Family.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95_HeEELzYU&pp=ygUcaG9sZGVybmVzcyBmYW1pbHkgcGlja2xlYmFsbA==
ETA: the transcription on the song gest some of the words wrong.
Once my foot heals, I think that might be good. ❤️
I know it well.
I finished it in 3 days during summer school holidays; a set text for high school. Not criticising you, we are all different, but I loved it; a world away from 1990s suburban Sydney.
But I agree with the give up principle: plenty of celebrated books I barely got a chapter into. Sometimes I return to them, thinking maybe it was not the right time for me; others are never looked at again.
...and that right there is the reason why I have never joined a book club... 😆
As a Chicagoan, I'm a little sad she didn't get to give our city as much attention as I think she wanted to in the book, but I do understand.
A large part of the difficulty for me was how Twain wrote various dialects. I found it pretty impenetrable and way too much work. And I’m from the American South.
But I totally get that my not liking it and finally giving up on it is irrelevant to its literary importance and others’ enjoyment of it.
I'm trying it at the moment for the first time. It is difficult to get into and harrowing at times.
I'm almost finished The man who pays the rent and have to say it's been not just a wonderful read, I can hear Judi Dench in my head as I read, but that it's been a different reading experience for me.
I'm quite a fast reader normally, but this has required me to read it chapter by chapter and really slow down and enjoy it. I have laughed out loud in various spots, which I didn't expect to do. It's been a real lesson in how actors and directors approach Shakespeare's plays.
The background appears to be the Roman invasion of South Wales in the AD70s and their battle with the Silures, I am not a big fan of love stories per se but I would have a look if I came across it.
Our real life book club consists of just four friends (we were six but life and commitments took over a couple of us, and even one of the remaining four is a bit unreliable in terms of reading the book and/or cancelling attendance at the last minute) and we always eat together so it's a social thing as well as the book discussion. I personally think it works best when someone recommends a book they've enjoyed and, like the Ship book group, "leads" on it. However, we don't generally do it that way and sometimes we rely on the library for recommendations (very mixed - once we got what turned out to be the middle book of a trilogy...) or lists of things like "Ten Top Reads." Then it depends on whether the library can get enough copies for us.
On one occasion I rather threw my toys out of the pram as a book was proposed that I had read and didn't want to spend another nanosecond of my life even thinking about. I said if everyone else wanted to read it they should go ahead and I would either skip the meeting altogether or just come along to eat food and drink wine. The others didn't end up reading it, which actually wasn't my intention. It was A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles and some of them might have enjoyed it. I know some people love it, some hate it.
One of the reasons I like the Ship's book club is that there are enough people for the discussion to go ahead when some of us don't want to join that particular month. My hat is off to those who faithfully read every book.
Glad you're enjoying Remarkably Bright Creatures @jedijudy .
Sometimes books you can't seem to get interested in reading are just waiting for the right time to sneak up on you.
Next it's I Know My Own Heart, the edited diaries of Ann Lister, which was made into the TV series Gentleman Jack. She was an 18thC Yorkshire coal mine owner and her diaries include her various love affairs with other women.
I bought this from the very small English language section of a bookshop in Japan.
Sorry there won’t be any more Shardlake novels. RIP C J.
Just a quick thanks - I just read a sample of this book, and it looks like exactly what I need to sink myself into right now! Appreciate the recommendation!
AFF
Thank you Nenya dear. It's good to be among friends. So many of so many years standing.
AFF
Amen!
AFF
My younger brother D and I both loved his Brisingamen books. Also I found a book of photos of the area of Mow Cop (I think it's called) which added to our enjoyment. When Boneland was published I sent him a copy of that too. I must see if it's in the local library because I only had time to flick through it before I sent it to him.
Just checked and it is available. Also I put a hold on Powsels and Thrums a new book of his which the library has on order. I'm now 6th in the queue but I'm sure they will buy multiple copies..
I will also see if the local children's bookshop has a copy yet as I was wondering what to buy D for his birthday.
I love it when I can find something he will be interested in as it can be challenging.
I do hope you'll introduce yourself in this Welcome Aboard! thread in All Saints!
He developed a DPIG brain tumour in 2023 and has experienced an extension of his life by the use of immunotherapy rather than just the usual surgery and radiation. His colleague Georgina Long suggested this approach based on their success using immunotherapy for melanoma patients. To date it has been successful and trials will be starting to extend their research and hopefully develop a new and more successful therapy for this type of cancer.
The book was fascinating, following him from early childhood through to his current health situation and it was interesting following him not just through his career, but also to learn about his interests and family life.
I had been putting this one off as I thought it might be too heavy, but it was actually a warm and easy read.
I have a Lisa Genova novel to look forward to next!
(Published in 2023 by the University of Toronto Press. It's the first volume in a planned trilogy on Soviet-Western relations in the 1930s- according to a note on the cover.)
I picked it up from the new books shelf in the library today when I was in a hurry, but having brought it home I don't think I have the background to read it with understanding, and the print size would make it necessary to use my needlework glasses which give me a headache if I use them for too long.
Usually I don't mind getting/being over 70, but sometimes something like this comes up and I have to admit defeat.
Damn!
I'm not totally clear on how it's structured, but my understanding is that the first month has each member reading a self chosen book from the 000s, then the second a book from the 100s and so on.
I am looking forward to discovering snippets from other members of the group too as we each report back every month, and I hope, recommendations for further reading.
Marvellous book. Highly recommended, like the rest of the series.
They are smart little babies!! ❤️❤️❤️
Have you read Remarkably Bright Creatures @Lamb Chopped ?