All Things Books And Reading Thread - 2018

[catspaw66]

Margret do you also have Smith of Wooten Major?

 

[aliceneko]

I'd also recommend A Wartime Nurse as well as The Book of Aaron, The Music Box Series and the Earth is Singing for other wartime reading. There are so many good wartime books that it depends on what area of the war you're interested in the most (I'm mostly interested in the Holocaust so most of my wartime books focus on 1933 - 45). From a similar time period I've just finished The Light Between Oceans (starts in the 1920s, finishes in the 1950s).

I've just picked up The King's Curse by Philippa Gregory.

 

[artiemom]

Oh my goodness.. all the books pertaining to WWII that I have read.. so many to remember.. I did like "The Lilac Girls"... "The Book Thief", so many more.. I will have to open up my kindle to see more titles..

I kind of love reading about that time.. kind of 'calls' me...

 

[foxxycat]

I've been on a kick of reading WWII books lately, so I looked up Blackout. Unfortunately, it's not a Kindle Unlimited. One of the best things I did was subscribe to Kindle Unlimited back when they were having a sale. Unfortunately, I'm addicted now and will probably have to renew it when the subscription runs out. I've gotten to read some really good books I wouldn't have otherwise. And if I download a book that doesn't hold my interest, I don't feel I have to keep reading, I just go get a different one.

Here are some that I've read recently:

Trilogy: Unrelenting, Unyielding, Unwavering - Marion Kummerow, trilogy, Love and Resistance in WW2. Based on a true story.
This World War II spy story is based on the true events of one couple's struggle for happiness while battling a war against their own leaders

Beneath a Scarlet Sky – Mark Sullivan
Based on the true story of a forgotten hero, the USA Today and #1 Amazon Charts bestseller Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the triumphant, epic tale of one young man’s incredible courage and resilience during one of history’s darkest hours.

In Farleigh Field: A Novel of Word War II – Rhys Bowen
Inspired by the events and people of World War II, writer Rhys Bowen crafts a sweeping and riveting saga of class, family, love, and betrayal

Voyage of the Damned: A Shocking True Story of Hope, Betrayal, and Nazi Terror – Gordon Thomas & Max Morgan-Witts
This book is a meticulous reconstruction of a tragic episode in the history of the Nazi persecution of the Jews.

The Redcliffe Sisters two-book Series: Wish Me Luck as You Wave Me Goodbye, Take Me to Your Heart Again – Marius Gabriel
In a period of irreversible change, the Redcliffe sisters face monumental love and loss that will stretch the bounds of sisterhood to their limits…

Just started this one: White Rose Black Forest – Eoin Dempsey
In the shadows of World War II, trust becomes the greatest risk of all for two strangers.

I am going to mark those books as wish list on goodreads and amazon-thank you for this!!!

I have created a list on Amazon= Honeybee the Ham Feline Adventures- I have also added those other books I was looking at= right now I am going to be tied up with Dragonfly in Amber probably another 2 weeks...but those novels about WW2 I really like the nurse ones- I love how strong those women were back then and the knowledge they had!!! I have nothing but utmost respect for anyone who survived that time period!!! And most of those stories are more aimed at working class folks which I tend to gravitate to because I am fruggle as heck and learn so much from them...

 

[rubysmama]

I've been on a kick of reading WWII books lately

Have you read these ones:
The Baker's Secret by Stephen P. Kiernan
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I managed to find 2 of them but so far nothing else.

If all else fails, try Thriftbooks. They will start at $3.79 each, $10 gets free shipping. They currently have all of them in stock, except for "A Trail of Fire" and "Hellfire," which are the two most recent. I have to warn you though, if you order several books, each book may ship from a different location, as this is a consortium of several used books stores.

Wow how do you guys/gals read so many books in a year (75, 150, etc.)?

I'm not a speed reader, but I am a very fast reader, and I'm retired. I can read a book like "Dragonfly in Amber" (945 pages) in three days, easily. AND I'm retired and live alone, so I don't have to go to work or cater to someone else's needs. That leaves LOTS of free time to read!

The series of books, I have been flaunting, and raving about, for several years now:
The All Souls Trilogy: First book: A Discovery of Witches; Second Book: Shadow of Night
Third Book: The Book of Life

HAH! Wrote that down, and will be looking for copies!

I've just (re) started Tarqin Hall's series Vish Puri, Most Private Detective" series. I'd read several pages of the first book, then set it aside for the "Paws and Claws" series. But I'm back to it, and thoroughly enjoying it!

 

[misty8723]

Have you read these ones:
The Baker's Secret by Stephen P. Kiernan
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

No, not yet, but I will look them up. Kindle is charging right now.

 

[misty8723]

I am going to mark those books as wish list on goodreads and amazon-thank you for this!!!

I have created a list on Amazon= Honeybee the Ham Feline Adventures- I have also added those other books I was looking at= right now I am going to be tied up with Dragonfly in Amber probably another 2 weeks...but those novels about WW2 I really like the nurse ones- I love how strong those women were back then and the knowledge they had!!! I have nothing but utmost respect for anyone who survived that time period!!! And most of those stories are more aimed at working class folks which I tend to gravitate to because I am fruggle as heck and learn so much from them...

There was one I read not long ago about nurses, but I can't remember the title. I get on WWII kicks every so often, no idea why.

 

[MonaLyssa33]

Good, is it? I love Connie Willis, but after reading the 3-star reviews on Amazon yesterday I decided to pass on this one.
One of the nice things about living in Colorado is that Connie Willis l

I'm not much of a sci-fi reader, so that's probably why I really liked Crosstalk. If I read sci-fi it has to take place in a world similar to real life, so time travel or, in the case of Crosstalk, telepathy are more likely to draw me in than ones that take place in space.

 

[Margret]

Margret do you also have Smith of Wooten Major?

Yes; I paid full price for Tales From the Perilous Realm, which includes "Roverandom" (haven't read it yet), "Farmer Giles of Ham" (hilarious), "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil" (poetry, only some of which is about Tom Bombadil), "Smith of Wootton Major" (best description of faërie I've ever read), and "Leaf by Niggle" (bittersweet story about art, artists, and mortality). The appendix includes Tolkien's essay "On Fairy-Stories."

I very seldom pay full price for an e-book; when I do it usually means that it's an old favorite, that I used to own it in paper, and that I've lost my paper copy and want something that's harder to lose.

Margret

 

[foxxycat]

Have you read these ones:
The Baker's Secret by Stephen P. Kiernan
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

I have read everything by Hannah except nightingale-that must be a newer release-

Today is the start of Goodwills 50% off tag sale for the week-so after work going to 2 locations before heading home to see if I find any more books.
I am now on page 332 of Dragonfly In Amber- they are still in 1946ish time period. Interesting with the kings and other political stuff going on in the background.

 

[rubysmama]

Currently, I am reading a book I picked up several years ago; found it in my bookcase. . It is just a story..

"An Irish Country Doctor" by Patrick Taylor

Just looked that one up on my library site, and it appears "An Irish Country Doctor" is book 1, of a series.

I'm still reading Frankenstein. I've seen the original movie with Boris Karloff, so I was expecting the story to be the same. I was quite surprised that the monster spoke. My favourite scene in the movie is different in the book too.

Finished Frankenstein last night. Is the movie a lot different than the book?

if you download Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome from Project Gutenberg

I think you probably recommended Three Men in a Boat before, as I have it on my e-reader. I started it, but other books became available, so never finished it. Maybe I should get back to it before I start something new.

From a similar time period I've just finished The Light Between Oceans (starts in the 1920s, finishes in the 1950s).

I read that a month or so ago. At one point I was sniffling and sobbing so badly, I disturbed Ruby, who was napping on my lap.

 

[foxxycat]

Well I scored some good cheap books last night- they had Fiery Cross for $2...I hardly ever pay more than $1 a book but I figured what the hey. It's still $5 on ebay so having it right at home is worth it. I got some other books to sell in my booth as I sold all my Robyn Carr books! I think some people are going back to physical books as I seem to be selling just as many books now as 10 years ago..which is a good thing!

Tonight going to read some more...

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Well I scored some good cheap books last night- they had Fiery Cross for $2...

The scene that gave that book its name sent chills down my spine, in a good way!

So, I have finished "The Case of the Missing Servant," by Tarquin Hall. If you pick this book up, and 5-10 pages in you decide that you aren't sure about it, please give it another 30 pages or so! By then, the sights, sounds, scents, tastes and texture of modern day New Delhi will have crept into your mind. The pattern and lilt of conversations will no longer feel stilted at all, and you will be transported into an exotic, yet familiar, world! I've started "The Case of the Man who Died Laughing". After that, I'll be doing #s 3 & 5 of the Paws and Claws series. THEY came in today's mail!

 

[Norachan]

Finished Frankenstein last night. Is the movie a lot different than the book?

Yeah, it's very different. They have a big scene with Dr F harnessing lightening to bring his creation to life, the monster doesn't talk at all, just bumbles around scaring people and the ending is completely different too.

Both very good in their own way, but apart from the title you wouldn't know the movie is based on the book.

I started reading Gulliver's Travels last night. It's funny because I borrowed a load of books from a Japanese friend who studied English Lit at university. He's read all these books, but has a lot of trouble speaking English and I think I know why. All the books he had to read at uni were written 2 or 3 centuries ago. We don't talk like that no more!

 

[rubysmama]

Yeah, it's very different. They have a big scene with Dr F harnessing lightening to bring his creation to life, the monster doesn't talk at all, just bumbles around scaring people and the ending is completely different too.

Both very good in their own way, but apart from the title you wouldn't know the movie is based on the book.

I started reading Gulliver's Travels last night. It's funny because I borrowed a load of books from a Japanese friend who studied English Lit at university. He's read all these books, but has a lot of trouble speaking English and I think I know why. All the books he had to read at uni were written 2 or 3 centuries ago. We don't talk like that no more!

I just read a synopsis of the movie, and it is very different.

LOL at the way of talking from 2 or 3 centuries ago. I, actually, noticed that in Frankenstein, as there were lots of words and expressions they used, that you never hear these days. Or words they used, when we'd say something else. One in particular was "quitted" when we'd say "left". (i.e. when he quitted the room)

I decided to read Flat Broke with Two Goats: A Memoir of Appalachia by Jennifer McGaha, as it is a "Big Library Read" book from Apr 2 to 16, so I thought it'd be cool to read a book being read simultaneously around the world.
Big Library Read – "The first ever global eBook club"

 

[foxxycat]

I will try that book...that looks very interesting... That's a great idea- all of us reading the same book!!

 

[Margret]

Do other people here subscribe to the Portalist? Their email today was about Samuel R. Delany's Babel-17, which sounded extremely interesting. Here's the online version of it: Space Opera Meets "Arrival" in Samuel R. Delany's "Babel-17". I checked my Nook, and it seems I already have this book; it's part of The Novels of Samuel R. Delany Volume One: Babel-17, Nova, and Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand, which I apparently got on sale some time ago and immediately archived for reading later. Here's the description on BookBub: Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany - BookBub. This caught my attention because I've loved "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang (the story the movie Arrival was based on) for many years; I think I'll be reading Babel-17 next, after I finish LOTR. And since I read the description of Babel-17, with its comparison to "Story of Your Life," I've also been remembering Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson, which is one of the weirdest books I've ever read but also has a similar premise. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson - BookBub. I wonder how many books there are that use this premise? Native Tongue, by Suzette Haden Elgin has something similar. Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin - BookBub. Can anyone else think of similar books?

Margret

 

[foxxycat]

I never heard of it Margret I will have to check it out...

 

[rubysmama]

I never heard of it either, but I'm not really into fantasy/sci-fi. Plus, I have more than enough books to read from the library! I really don't need more sources of books.