Currently Reading

[member 737]

Maskarade by Terry Pratchett. No sign of Rincewind, again. Feel a bit disappointed.

A star more for those who know something about opera and musicals.

 

[Colin]

what's it about Colin?

Back of the book
"On his 83rd birthday, Eddie, a lonely war veteran, dies in a tragic accident trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. With his final breath, he feels two small hands in his - and then nothing. He awakens in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a lush Garden of Eden but a place where your earthly life is explained to you by five people who were in it. These people may have been loved ones or distant strangers. Yet each of them changed your path forever."

The blurb above is from the back of the book. But essentially the book is about afterlife, and a different perspective of it.

It is a really powerfull book, which really got me thinking. It never changed my view of afterlife that i have, more i got thinking about whose life i had effected, and vise versa.

Read this book, it is well written, not too fancy or romantically written, its a good story with a great meaning

 

[veggietarrain]

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I hope I'm not being too presumptuous by thinking that most of us know what this book is about.

Well, for those who might be a little unaware (a.k.a. hiding under a rock for the last decade or two), here's a little blurb from the back of the book.

Mary Lennox was almost ten years old when her parents died. She was a lonely, disagreeable girl. She felt she didn't really belong to anyone. She didn't have any friends because she didn't like people. So people didn't like her.

When Mary goes to live with her uncle in his huge, old house in the country, her life changes forever. She discovers a place of magic and mystery - of friends and happiness.

The Secret Garden is a book you'll remember all your life.

I've been in a classics mood lately. I've just finished Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen a few days ago. This really is a great book and should be read by all, it's just that type of book.

 

[veggietarrain]

I binned it after 150 pages. Amateurish! Poorly written! Terrible!

What did you like about it? What was there to like about it?

Damn, I just bought that book. I've heard that it was a pretty good read, but not from very creditable sources. I was hoping it'd be ok at least.

 

[Wabbit]

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I hope I'm not being too presumptuous by thinking that most of us know what this book is about..

Really like that book! It's beautifully written and dripping with wonder and emotion. Read the whole thing though once when I was sick in bed with the flu

 

[Stewart]

Damn, I just bought that book.

I've heard that it was a pretty good read, but not from very creditable sources. I was hoping it'd be ok at least.

It depends. If you've bought it thinking that it would be another thriller like the Da Vinci Code - which is the way it seems it is being marketed - then you'll be disappointed. If you know that it is a coming of age story rather than a thriller then you might enjoy it.

I just found that the authors were unable to create a sense of conflict so the characters would just meander from page to pageand when, at one point, an ultimatum is given to the character (i.e. the girl saying it's your work or me, what's it to be?) then he just seems to go okay, i'll do this - it doesn't tear him up inside. And I think that in this modern era of fiction there's no need for exposition - a trait that this book, unfortunately, uses to excess.

I'm sure the authors will attempt a new novel one day - they need to hone their skills; they can write but they can't create the magic that writing provides.

P.S. Don't trust sources you know - before buying a book, if you can, check the reviews on Amazon - they usually cover the gamut of opinions on the book and you'll be able to determine whether its worth parting with your money.

 

[cajunmama]

The blurb above is from the back of the book. But essentially the book is about afterlife, and a different perspective of it.

I never really thought The Five People... was about the afterlife, more like about life and how you affect other people, knowingly or unknowingly. But, either way, it is one of the best books I've ever read.

Just started "R" is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton. Been waiting forever for this one and had to use my library connections (like being at the right place at the right time) to only be the second on the long list to read it.

 

[Colin]

I never really thought The Five People... was about the afterlife, more like about life and how you affect other people, knowingly or unknowingly. But, either way, it is one of the best books I've ever read.

Just started "R" is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton. Been waiting forever for this one and had to use my library connections (like being at the right place at the right time) to only be the second on the long list to read it.

I suppose you're right. Like you said though, still a great book

 

[veggietarrain]

P.S. Don't trust sources you know - before buying a book, if you can, check the reviews on Amazon - they usually cover the gamut of opinions on the book and you'll be able to determine whether its worth parting with your money.

Thanks, I'll definitely take that into consideration next time I get a recommendation. It was more of an impulse buy anyway. I had heard good things, I saw it, and I picked it up while buying other books. I can never just stick to my list.

 

[Mort]

Working on The Drifters by Michener. So far, it's interesting. It appears that for the first six chapters, he's giving a little background on each of the characters. Then the real story will begin, I think. I wanted to read something by Michener, but didn't want to start of with anything that's a million pages long. This one sounded interesting. Has anyone read Space?

 

[Delta_doh!]

Reading Blindness by Jose Saramago..WOW!

Only bought this today, I really can't put it down..ever tried ironing school uniforms and reading at the same time...was not easy...

Blindness by Jose Saramago... So far brill!

 

[Martin]

Yes!!

Cheers

 

[Wolhay]

This thread is so long that I'm not sure that I'll be able to read it all to post what I'm currently reading.

 

[Martin]

Well, you're gonna have to, buster!

Cheers

 

[Wabbit]

If you don't, we throw you in the tiger pit!

 

[Wolhay]

It could take several hours to read the entire thread.

 

[Wabbit]

OK, that's it. I am going to open up the tiger pit.

*opens tiger pit*

Now I am going to slap the tigers around the face with a soggy fish ( on a very long stick ) to make them REALLY angry.

*slapping tigers in the face with a fish*

OK, so you better read it! Or YOU KNOW WHAT!

 

[cajunmama]

I've got Blindness in my pile TBR. It is about third or fourth down from the top, so I'll get to it in a few more days. I've heard so much about it, I can hardly wait.

 

[Wabbit]

That novel really interests me! I have heard SO much about that one. I'm sure will get around to reading it at some point

 

[veggietarrain]

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

From the back of the book:

A dark deception stands between the shy, plain governess and her handsome, moody employer. Even Jan's passionate love cannot erase her fear. What is the strange, crazed laughter she hears in the night? What forbidden secret is Mr. Rochester concealing from her - and the world?

I thought the back was extremely lame, but it's a classic, I have to read it.