The length of W&P is not why I have never made it through. I haven’t been able to get through any Tolstoy- he doesn’t grab me. Dostoevsky, on the other hand, does.
What Are You Reading?
- Thread starter TimmyBoston
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The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
I took a speed reading course. I read War and Peace in twenty minutes. It's about Russia.
Woody Allen
Woody Allen
The Brothers Karimozov!
Yep, though I liked Crime and Punishment a little more. Raskolnikov was pretty despicable.
I haven’t gotten to that one yet.
Joseph Wambaugh: The Choirboys. I wish that I had read this novel many years ago. The value of good laugh with a dark side is never to be underestimated.
Popski's Private Army
Sorry, Bob, I was misremembering who posted they were starting to read Crawdads. Niles, what did you think of Crawdads?
Crawdads is actually my wife and my coed book club selection. I am trying to formulate an acceptable reaction to it!
I got the Kindle editions, each for about a buck. The secret--at least for me--in reading such tomes is to start slowly and let the words sink in until you are acclimated and attuned to the language. Then your reading speed will automatically pick up, turning a tome into a page turner. (At least that's been my experience with Moby Dick. Tolstoy, I am told, is another matter indeed.)
I think Wambaugh's early books (and that includes The Choirboys) are just great. His later stuff, not so much.
Started "With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa" by Eugene Sledge
Finished The Hobbit. It was a decent adventure. Sometimes I felt it was childishly written.
Now I’ll either start Blink by Malcolm Gladwell or continue on with the Lord of The Rings. Undecided as of now.
Now I’ll either start Blink by Malcolm Gladwell or continue on with the Lord of The Rings. Undecided as of now.
I agree the Hobbit is worth reading but the tone can be a little underwhelming. I believe Tolkein himself is quoted as saying he regretted the way it turned out. But I think it can be enjoyed taken for what it is.
As anyone who has picked up both quickly sees, the tone and writing in LOTR is far different.
I think I’ll just ease right in to LOTR then. I like the story. I have also never seen the movies in their entirety, only bits and pieces as it’s been on TV.
Reading a complete collection of H.P. Lovecraft. He's been on my to-read list for years. The short story pulpy nature is giving me a hankering to read through Robert E. Howard's Conan stories again sometime soon.
As good as the films are, the books are superior. Book 1 of the Fellowship of the Ring on its own is about as good as any suspense novel ever written.
The Glass Castle is great.
I finally finished Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I get why it has proven so popular, and I am pleased to have a new but older age-wise novelist come on the scene, for whom there were apparently lower expectations, and do so well. To me it is essentially youth fiction and it works for that. I like youth fiction, in part, because I feel it can be corny and blatantly uplifting and still be decent literature. I thought the plot line got better toward the end. The characters, if not wholly believable, at least to me, were well-crafted and consistent. The sense of place, excellent. The romantic parts of the book, as opposed to the murder mystery part, seemed very chick lit to me. Interesting book to be such a hit though. Must be something about our times that made it so.
I finally finished Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I get why it has proven so popular, and I am pleased to have a new but older age-wise novelist come on the scene, for whom there were apparently lower expectations, and do so well. To me it is essentially youth fiction and it works for that. I like youth fiction, in part, because I feel it can be corny and blatantly uplifting and still be decent literature. I thought the plot line got better toward the end. The characters, if not wholly believable, at least to me, were well-crafted and consistent. The sense of place, excellent. The romantic parts of the book, as opposed to the murder mystery part, seemed very chick lit to me. Interesting book to be such a hit though. Must be something about our times that made it so.
It Can't Happen Here, by Sinclair Lewis.
Switched to Lord of the Flies. I’ve never read it. Figured I’d go for a short read before I tackle LOTR books.
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