As the Page Turns (the Book Thread)

[Wyliefan]

Melanie Benjamin has been a must-read for me since The Aviator's Wife. But she's trying to get away from her tried-and-true formula of fictionalized lives of famous people, and I'm sorry to say it's not going great. I was just plain annoyed by California Golden. Her writing is still strong and she can still make her setting feel real and vibrant, but if there was a character in that book who ever made a good decision, I missed it. I wanted to shake every last one of them. At least her famous characters in previous books made their bad decisions glamorously.

When you find your groove, sometimes you gotta stick with it, at least until you learn to do something else really well. And her assertion in the afterword that all the famous historical stories have already been told rings about as true as Danny G.'s assertion that the world is running out of music. There are plenty left, lady -- please go find them!

 

[Wyliefan]

Anne Berest's The Postcard, the story of how she traced the stories of her ancestors murdered at Auschwitz, is one of the most brutal things I've read in my entire life. It was worth reading to the end, but it was so hard that for a while I thought I wouldn't be able to. She pulls no punches about any of it -- or about the past, present, and future of anti-Semitism in general -- and kudos to her for that.

 

[genevieve]

I just saw that Apple+ TV has developed a show based on Lessons in Chemistry starring Brie Larson.

There are a LOT of very recent books that are already tv shows. I really enjoyed The Other Black Girl in 2021 and it's already a series on Hulu. I tried watching the pilot but I missed the slow build to establish the main characters. The episode jumped right into something that does not happen for a while in the book and I lost interest.

 

[ilovepaydays]

Just finished Jill Duggar’s memoir “Counting the Cost” that came out this month. All I have to say is “WOW, Jim Bob and Michelle were more controlling and ridiculous than I thought!”

If you are interested in learning more about those from unhealthy and/or cultish religions or are just curious about what someone’s life is like growing up in reality tv, I greatly recommend this book.

 

[rfisher]

John Sandford's newest Davenport/Flowers book Jugement Prey dropped today. I marvel at how Sandford manages to keep the long running Prey series fresh although I think he's only going to do a couple more and shift his focus to Lettie Davenport. If you're a fan of the series, you'll pick up on this as you read the book. I like the Lettie books (there's two so far), but they aren't the same as either Davenport or Flowers. Virgil Flowers is one of my absolute favorite fictional characters. But, Sandford has tried forays into other side characters (the Kidd series) and if they do not sell well, he goes back to what does. But, he's in his late 70s at this point and there's that. I would hate for him to farm out the series to a kid aka Janet Evanovich and Lee Child. I'd rather see Lucas go out in a blaze of glory. I don't wait for the library for a Sandford book. Years ago I was a member of a Prey online discussion group when every single nuance in the books was discussed. I was thinking about what the group would have to say about this latest in the series.

 

[puglover]

The latest Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) book is out. It is another Corcoran Strike book and is called "The Running Grave". The theme of this Robin/Corcoran adventure is infiltrating a religious cult on behalf of clients/parents whose vulnerable children have stopped all contact with the outside world and live in a sort of commune. It is a very long book - in fact the audio book takes over 34 hours to listen to. I found it "okay" - so long and just not my favourite topic but I do really enjoy her writing so that makes it at least palatable to me.

 

[Bunny Hop]

The latest Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) book is out. It is another Corcoran Strike book and is called "The Running Grave". The theme of this Robin/Corcoran adventure is infiltrating a religious cult on behalf of clients/parents whose vulnerable children have stopped all contact with the outside world and live in a sort of commune. It is a very long book - in fact the audio book takes over 34 hours to listen to. I found it "okay" - so long and just not my favourite topic but I do really enjoy her writing so that makes it at least palatable to me.

Every sequel in this series seems to get longer, and whilst I also enjoy her mystery writing I do query whether they actually need to be that long. I will likely wait until after the equivalent TV adaptaion comes out before reading the book.

 

[sk8pics]

Patrick Stewart’s memoir Making it So is out. I had pre-ordered it on Kindle and it was automatically delivered yesterday. Not sure when I’ll have time to read it. Maybe this weekend.

 

[Wyliefan]

There are a LOT of very recent books that are already tv shows. I really enjoyed The Other Black Girl in 2021 and it's already a series on Hulu. I tried watching the pilot but I missed the slow build to establish the main characters. The episode jumped right into something that does not happen for a while in the book and I lost interest.

I read that book, but it looked to me like the series was leaning hard into the horror elements, and I was too chicken to try it. Not that the book wasn't creepy, but the series looks much creepier.

But I can see why they'd feel the need to pick up the pace for TV.

 

[puglover]

The latest Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) book is out. It is another Corcoran Strike book and is called "The Running Grave". The theme of this Robin/Corcoran adventure is infiltrating a religious cult on behalf of clients/parents whose vulnerable children have stopped all contact with the outside world and live in a sort of commune. It is a very long book - in fact the audio book takes over 34 hours to listen to. I found it "okay" - so long and just not my favourite topic but I do really enjoy her writing so that makes it at least palatable to me.

In all 34 pages of interesting character development and detail, I thought there were some important and glaring omissions. If anyone is interesting in cults, surely it is the leader who somehow is able to convince many people, some learned and wealthy, to abandon their lives and come and live in pain and squalor and abandon lifelong value systems. She barely touches on him, or at least makes no attempt to identify warning signs. She clearly explains how challenging it is for adherents to leave, especially after considerable time there as they have engaged in less than virtuous behaviour, but no real explanation as to how people go from seeing warning signs and questioning to total brainwash. Another pet peeve of mine - characters, especially women, who are intelligent, principled and brave recognize they are in love and somewhat obsessed with someone in their lives but years go by and they mess around with others and lack the courage or conviction to be honest and upfront with the one they truly love. I know it keeps the suspense going for a storyline but this one is stretching credibility. Shesh!!

 

[Bunny Hop]

Another pet peeve of mine - characters, especially women, who are intelligent, principled and brave recognize they are in love and somewhat obsessed with someone in their lives but years go by and they mess around with others and lack the courage or conviction to be honest and upfront with the one they truly love. I know it keeps the suspense going for a storyline but this one is stretching credibility. Shesh!!

Agree. At some point it just becomes annoying and needs to definitively go one way or the other. You can only spin out 'will they or won't they' for so long.

 

[rfisher]

I just got J A Jance's latest book Missing and Endangered. It is about missing Indigenous people, in particular women. Murdered Native women statistics are staggering. Part of the book is a focus on a new agency within the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Dept of Interior) devoted to this. https://www.bia.gov/service/mmu#:~:...ered Unit,American Indians and Alaska Natives. This is all thanks to our new Sec of the Dept of Interior Deb Haaland. This is something long overdue.

 

[made_in_canada]

I feel like I do this every year, and I always get good suggestions. I’m looking for books for my niece for Christmas. She’s 12, comfortable reading anything up to and including adult books but is somewhat sheltered so as far as content goes, I’d keep it pretty Pg-rated. She likes fantasy, especially if the protagonist is female. Thoughts? I personally like to challenge her a bit with characters a lot broader than her very white cis-het circle, but it doesn’t have to.

 

[Wyliefan]

Has she read Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri? I'm always recommending that one. It's a semi-autobiographical novel about a young immigrant from Iran, with "Arabian Nights"-like elements. It's technically middle-grade, but so beautifully written that lots of adults I know (myself included) were blown away by it. There's a lot of bathroom humor -- I mean literal bathroom humor, not dirty language or anything -- but other than that it's pretty clean.

 

[MLIS]

It might be a little too young for her, but I’m reading the Tilly and the Bookwanderers series by Anna James with my ten year old right now and it has been a huge hit. Tilly is a very likeable and strong female lead, and it’s a real love letter to the power of stories and reading, and libraries (I’m a librarian, so it’s right up my alley!).

Tilly and the Bookwanderers (Pages & Co., #1)

A magical adventure to delight the imagination. A curl-…

www.goodreads.com

 

[made_in_canada]

Has she read Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri? I'm always recommending that one. It's a semi-autobiographical novel about a young immigrant from Iran, with "Arabian Nights"-like elements. It's technically middle-grade, but so beautifully written that lots of adults I know (myself included) were blown away by it. There's a lot of bathroom humor -- I mean literal bathroom humor, not dirty language or anything -- but other than that it's pretty clean.

Oh, I don’t think she’s read it. That sounds great!

It might be a little too young for her, but I’m reading the Tilly and the Bookwanderers series by Anna James with my ten year old right now and it has been a huge hit. Tilly is a very likeable and strong female lead, and it’s a real love letter to the power of stories and reading, and libraries (I’m a librarian, so it’s right up my alley!).

Tilly and the Bookwanderers (Pages & Co., #1)

A magical adventure to delight the imagination. A curl-…

www.goodreads.com

I have another kid on the Christmas list that might be perfect for

 

[her grace]

I feel like I do this every year, and I always get good suggestions. I’m looking for books for my niece for Christmas. She’s 12, comfortable reading anything up to and including adult books but is somewhat sheltered so as far as content goes, I’d keep it pretty Pg-rated. She likes fantasy, especially if the protagonist is female. Thoughts? I personally like to challenge her a bit with characters a lot broader than her very white cis-het circle, but it doesn’t have to.

Mini-grace and I have been reading Newbery-eligible books and one we both thought was good is The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh. It's a dual timeline story about middle schoolers, one living in the U.S. during COVID, one growing up in Ukraine (Soviet Union) during the Holodomor (forced famine). The subject matter is sad, but written for a middle grade (4th-8th grade) audience and handled tastefully.

Eb and Flow by Kelly J. Baptist is another good one. This is a book told in verse about two Black children who were suspended for fighting at their junior high. Both characters are sympathetic, complex, and deftly drawn. There may be some mild language in the book; I don't remember (nothing too bad because it's marketed for middle grade).

 

[skategal]

I feel like I do this every year, and I always get good suggestions. I’m looking for books for my niece for Christmas. She’s 12, comfortable reading anything up to and including adult books but is somewhat sheltered so as far as content goes, I’d keep it pretty Pg-rated. She likes fantasy, especially if the protagonist is female. Thoughts? I personally like to challenge her a bit with characters a lot broader than her very white cis-het circle, but it doesn’t have to.

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes is excellent.

DS is reading it in school (grade 8) and I am reading it too.

It is fantasy and also political in that the subject matter involved police shootings of African American young boys (such as Tamil Rice) but it very well done and age appropriate.

I also recently read “We were liars.”

It’s marketed to YA and is excellent although it is a bit dark.

It ends up being fantasy but you don’t know that up front.

That’s all I’m going to say about that one.

 

[peibeck]

I pre-ordered the Barbra Streisand memoir, "My name is Barbra," which gets released on November 7th. At 992 pages I should have a review for you next summer.

ETA: "All the Light We Cannot See," one of my favorite books I've read in the last 10-15 years gets a Netflix mini-series that comes out this week. While it's extremely rare (to me) that books get a good screen treatment, I'll hope this version is at least adequate.

 

[Wyliefan]

Hadn't heard about the miniseries. Thanks, @peibeck.

 

[sk9tingfan]

Hadn't heard about the miniseries. Thanks, @peibeck

CBS Sunday morning ran a piece on the blind actress who stars in it. Unfortunately early reviews are not promising.

Aria Mia Loberti on playing the blind heroine of "All the Light We Cannot See"

She had never acted before, but the Rhode Island native and Fulbright scholar stood out among hundreds in a casting call for Netflix's adaptation of Anthony Doerr's Pulitzer Prize-winning World War II novel, to play a heroine that - like Loberti - cannot see.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[skategal]

Anyone else read Britney’s autobiography “The Woman In Me”?

It was okay. Not great.

Glad I read it though.

 

[Stefanie]

I very rarely stop reading a book when it becomes boring (for some reason, I just keep finishing it hoping it will get better). However, I could not finish The Farewell Tour by Stephanie Clifford. Barely made it 100 pages in. Just felt like it dragged and then the constant back-and-forth from past to present just couldn't hold my attention and I felt like I had to keep going back to remind myself what happened.

 

[peibeck]

CBS Sunday morning ran a piece on the blind actress who stars in it. Unfortunately early reviews are not promising.

Aria Mia Loberti on playing the blind heroine of "All the Light We Cannot See"

She had never acted before, but the Rhode Island native and Fulbright scholar stood out among hundreds in a casting call for Netflix's adaptation of Anthony Doerr's Pulitzer Prize-winning World War II novel, to play a heroine that - like Loberti - cannot see.

www.cbsnews.com

I'm bracing myself to be disappointed, in part because I loved the book so much and that generally portends to being unimpressed with the cinematic adaptation.

 

[Sylvia]

I pre-ordered the Barbra Streisand memoir, "My name is Barbra," which gets released on November 7th. At 992 pages I should have a review for you next summer.

I'd like to hear any impressions you might have of the early chapters.

ETA - found this long excerpt about The Way We Were:

Barbra Streisand on ‘The Way We Were’ and Her Fight to Get It Right

In an exclusive from her memoir, the legend talks about Robert Redford (“great teeth”) and the scenes Sydney Pollack should never have cut.

www.vanityfair.com

 

[sk9tingfan]

I'm bracing myself to be disappointed, in part because I loved the book so much and that generally portends to being unimpressed with the cinematic adaptation.

I loved the book "Shining Through" a wonderful book written by Susan Isaacs, written in 2000. It tells a story about a German American Jew involved in World War II. When I heard that it was being made into a movie, I really looked forward to it. But, Melanie Griffith was cast as the lead and I couldn't bring myself to watch it because the female lead was so miscast. It wound up getting a Golden Raspberry. Such a waste of a wonderful book!

 

[peibeck]

I loved the book "Shining Through" a wonderful book written by Susan Isaacs, written in 2000. It tells a story about a German American Jew involved in World War II. When I heard that it was being made into a movie, I really looked forward to it. But, Melanie Griffith was cast as the lead and I couldn't bring myself to watch it because the female lead was so miscast. It wound up getting a Golden Raspberry. Such a waste of a wonderful book!

As someone who has seen that movie (but never read the book), it was, indeed, quite dreadful. But I've never been a Melanie Griffth fan (even of "Working Girl"), heaven knows why I even went to see the movie (I'm guessing dragged on a date, but too long ago now to remember).

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

Bought Barbra Streisand's memoir - it's over 900 pages and written in great detail about her personal and professional life. Just finished the chapter on "The Owl and the Pussycat" with George Segal. Next up - Pierre Trudeau.

 

[sk9tingfan]

Bought Barbra Streisand's memoir - it's over 900 pages and written in great detail about her personal and professional life. Just finished the chapter on "The Owl and the Pussycat" with George Segal. Next up - Pierre Trudeau.

Sounds like a keeper.

 

[peibeck]

Bought Barbra Streisand's memoir - it's over 900 pages and written in great detail about her personal and professional life. Just finished the chapter on "The Owl and the Pussycat" with George Segal. Next up - Pierre Trudeau.

I'm a very slow reader, so I made it through the introduction and first two chapters. It's a pretty easy read so far. In fact, it kind of reads like she recorded her stories and then someone typed them, as in the portions about her childhood she often skips about in time quite frequently.

And in these chapters about her childhood it also sounds like she's been through LOTS of therapy.

AT 960+ pages, it will take me a long while to get through. But I read online even the audio book clocks in at 48 hours!!!