Readers and Reading discussion

Chat here about.....whatever

My dear 32 year old son, father of two of my sweet grandchildren, died this month and my world has turned upside down. He died of a heart arrithmyia (spelled wrong but I don't care) Some of us have been on-line together a long time and I wanted you to know. I mourn for myself and my husband and I weep for my other adult children who were his best friends.

(((Sue))) I have no words to express my deep sorrow and sympathy.

(((Sue))) I am sorry. Thoughts and prayers to your whole family.

Sue, I cannot even imagine the depth of your sorrow and am so saddened by this terrible news.

Keeping all of you in my thoughts.

Love, JOANN

Sue, your tragic news breaks my heart. You and your family have my most profound and sincere sympathy.

Connie

Sue-
Words cannot express my feelings of sorrow for you and your family.
Thankfully, you all have each other and you all are a strong, loving family so you all will make it over this terrible hurdle.
My thoughts and prayers with you.
Thanks for letting us know.
Susan

Sue/Gazebo316 wrote: "My dear 32 year old son, father of two of my sweet grandchildren, died this month and my world has turned upside down. He died of a heart arrithmyia (spelled wrong but I don't care) Some of us ha..."

Oh, Sue, I am so sorry! What an unspeakable tragedy for your family. I am glad that you all have each other to rely on for support. My deepest condolences.

Carolyn

Sue, I have just read about the loss of your dear son and am deeply saddened by this tragedy. Many of us have been friends for such a long time that we seem to know each other's families. I am thinking of all the posts and pictures you've shared with us through the years... happy days of children, showers, weddings, grandchildren and many family activities...portraits of a close and loving family.

I am thinking of you and sending thoughts and prayers to you and the family.....I hope it is of some solace to know so many of us share your grief.

Lois

Sue--
I am very sorry about the death of your son.
My 29 year old son died unexpectedly of cardiomyopathy in August 2007. Although time helps take away the sharpness of the pain, the hurt and grief are still there.
Thinking of you and your family as you adjust to your loss.
Shirley

Shirley wrote: "Sue--
I am very sorry about the death of your son.
My 29 year old son died unexpectedly of cardiomyopathy in August 2007. Although time helps take away the sharpness of the pain, the hurt and gr..."

There'a a certain awful club, isn't there, Shirley? Thanks for your sympathy which I share with you and thnks for all the notes. I don't want it to continue to be our discussion here but I appreciate it all.

While sorting through some recipes (looking for the cake to bake for Mothers Day in honor of my 91-year-old Mother), I ran across the recipe and discussion in which a wedding cake was baked for a daughter-in-law who didn't want it and the person asked for advice from Sue (are you the same Sue?) who gave very compassionate advice of trying not to let the incident dampen the relationship.

I don't remember the conversation but I did bake the wedding cake for my son's wedding eight years ago.

I think it was Sunnye who baked the cake for her son and daughter-in-law, but the daughter-in-law was so disappointed that they were having a civil rather than religious ceremony that she did not want the cake so it was served a week later to friends. As I read what I'd printed off, I wondered what happened to the couple.

Shirley wrote: "I think it was Sunnye who baked the cake for her son and daughter-in-law, but the daughter-in-law was so disappointed that they were having a civil rather than religious ceremony that she did not want the cake so it was served a week later to friends. As I read what I'd printed off, I wondered what happened to the couple. "

Oy vey!

Shirley wrote: "While sorting through some recipes (looking for the cake to bake for Mothers Day in honor of my 91-year-old Mother), I ran across the recipe and discussion in which a wedding cake was baked for a d..."

This all sounds familiar to me! I contend that MIL have the shortest tongues for biting them all the time.

Karen wrote: "I contend that MIL have the shortest tongues for biting them all the time. .."

Not my daughter's MIL, who has no filter between her thoughts and her mouth!

What I Read in May 30 Years Ago (1981)

1630. Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department, by Dean Acheson (read 3 May 1981) (Pulitzer History prize in 1970) This is the author's account of his years with the State Department, which extended from Feb 2, 1941, when he became Assistant Secretary of State, till Jan 20, 1953, with a hiatus from June 1947 to Jan 1949. It is superbly written, extremely persuasive, and one such as I, who all during those years was an avid defender of the course which Acheson upholds, cannot be but totally convinced that Dean Acheson was a most able man and a great Secretary and that Harry Truman was a great President. I found the account of the early years at State--when Acheson was dealing with relatively minor matters, fully as interesting as those momentous times when he dealt with NATO, Korea, MacArthur, and Joe McCarthy. This was a fascinating book, and really brought to mind and organized for me much that I really knew rather haphazardly during the time.

1631. Morning and Noon, by Dean Acheson (read 4 May 1981) This is a much less formidable book than Acheson's Present at the Creation. It is really just a memoir touching a few highlights in the life of the author before Feb 1941. I would have liked to see a fuller account. It tells nothing of prep school nor of law school. He clerked two years for Justice Brandeis and served about six months in 1933 in the Treasury Department, where he left when he disagreed with FDR's course re the gold clause.

1632. Tennyson: The Unquiet Heart, by Robert Bernard Martin (read 11 May 1981) (Duff Cooper prize for 1980) This book must rank as one of the great biographies I have read. It lacks little or nothing required for a great biography. Various of Tennyson's poems--Charge of the Light Brigade, The Brook, Locksley Hall, Tears, Idle Tears, Crossing the Bar--I have known by heart, and in my naive way some of his poetry I cannot fail to think surpassingly and unendingly beauteous. He was born Aug 6, 1809, at Somersby and died at 1:35 A.M. Oct 6, 1892. He never had any job other than writing, it would appear, and made a very good living at it. I could quote striking lines at great length, but a poem written after his son Lionel's death was new to me. It is entitled "To the Marquis of Dufferin and Ava and a line in the following verse thereof is sheerly great, I think:
"Beneath a hard Arabian moon
And alien stars. To question why
The sons before the father die,
Not mine! and I may meet him soon.
This book has been a sheer joy to read, though it paints the warts on Tennyson so clearly one cannot admire him much as a man. But it was all a biography should be.

1633. Rebels and Conservatives: Dorothy and William Wordsworth and Their Circle, by Amanda M. Ellis (read 17 May 1981) This is a dumb book constructed in a way so contrary to that which I expect in a biography I considered stopping reading the book when I realized what a slopped-up mishmash the book was. The book was about interesting things--but it did not treat the great events it talked of with sufficient drama.

1634. A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole (read 21 May 1981) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1981)
This was written by a guy who killed himself in 1969, and it was just published in 1980. For the first 50 or 100 pages it was the funniest thing I'd ever read. But it palled on me, no doubt helped by the explicit language of scatology. It tells of Ignatius J. Reilly, a fat slob in New Orleans who spent eight years in college and acts in the most unimaginable ways. I'd commit him, I'm sure,if he were brought before me. Some of the incidents were so ridiculous they cease to be funny, but it was fun at first.

1635. The Optimist's Daughter, by Eudora Welty (read 22 May 1981) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1973) This is a carefully-written account of the reactions of a daughter to her father's death and funeral in Mississippi. It starts with the father seeing a doctor about his eye, tells of his surgery, how his dumb new wife kills him by disturbing him, of the funeral, and of his daughter in the time before leaving her home to return to Chicago. Exquisitely worked, superbly done. But the reactions of the daughter are to such personal things--one always compares one's own reactions. And they are never alike. Quite a superb work, and worth reading.


1636. Claudius the God and his wife Messalina, by Robert Graves (read 26 May 1981) This is the sequel to I, Claudius, which I read in May of 1959. This tells of Claudius' reign as Emperor from 41 A.D. to 54 A.D. It is fiction but supposedly based on fact. It was a horrible world, where life was cheap and morals worse than even today. The world was ripe for Jesus' message.

1637. The Killer Angels A Novel, by Michael Shaara (read 29 May 1981) (Book of the Year) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1975) This novel about Gettysburg is a really great book. It does not seem like a novel--it seems like an account of the battle. One has to remind oneself that it must be a novel, since it tells of thoughts and actions never recorded. It jumps form side to side, highlighting Joshua Chamberlain on the Union side and Longstreet on the Confederate side. I was time after time tremendously moved by the terrible drama of the account. E.g., the account of the death of Armistead, Confederate general and friend to Winfield Hancock. This book is superbly written, sounds true, and surely was one of the great reading experiences of the year. [At year's 'end, it was selected by me as the best book read in 1981.]
The greatest novel based on the Civil War that I have ever read, bar none.

Schmerguls, I thought Killer Angels was a terrific book too, just the best.

JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "Schmerguls, I thought Killer Angels was a terrific book too, just the best."

I also thought The Killer Angels was great. I had to read it for a Civil War history course while in college and it was one of the few required texts I finished. We also had to read Co. Aytch: A Confederate Memoir of the Civil War for that class and it was also well worth reading.

Thanks, JoAnn, for your recommendation. I had never heard of the Watkins book but Wikipedia speaks highly of it and it is in our local library. So I will surely read it, even though I have so much on my TBR list.

Schmerguls, it was Sandi who recommended the Watkins book. I never heard of it either but it sounds interesting.

Schmerguls wrote:
634. A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole (read 21 May 1981) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1981)
This was written by a guy who killed himself in 1969, and it was just published in 1980. For the first 50 or 100 pages it was the funniest thing I'd ever read. But it palled on me, no doubt helped by the explicit language of scatology. It tells of Ignatius J. Reilly, a fat slob in New Orleans who spent eight years in college and acts in the most unimaginable ways. I'd commit him, I'm sure,if he were brought before me. Some of the incidents were so ridiculous they cease to be funny, but it was fun at first.
========================

I read and enjoyed the book.

The author, who committed suicide and died at age 31, was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ken...

Schmerguls wrote: "I had never heard of the Watkins book but Wikipedia speaks highly of it and it is in our local library. So I will surely read it, even though I have so muc..."

That entry on Wikipedia was very interesting. I did not know that a song, "Kennesaw Line", was based on the author's experiences and actually paraphrased his words for the lyrics.

I found a performance of the song by Claire Lynch on You Tube: Kennesaw Line/Claire Lynch

Belatedly, Sandi, thank YOU for the recommendation. I carelessly did not check correctly the sender of message 21. Sorry.

Sue/Gazebo316 wrote: "My dear 32 year old son, father of two of my sweet grandchildren, died this month and my world has turned upside down. He died of a heart arrithmyia (spelled wrong but I don't care) Some of us ha..."

So sorry to hear of the loss of your son, Sue.

I've read two books recently that have me raving (glad that I read them, NOT raving mad!).

The first is Mary Doria Russell's _Dreamers of the Day_. It begins, "I suppose I ought to warn you at the outset that my present circumstances are puzzling, even to me. Nevertheless, I am sure of this much: My little story has become your history. You won't really understand your times until you understand mine." It's a fine bit of fiction about the creation of the Middle East as we know it today, involving Lawrence of Arabia, Winston Churchill, and Agnes Shanklin, a schoolteacher from Ohio. You don't know Agnes? You will by the time you finish this...

The other book I found at a used book store. It's called _Room_ by Emma Donoghue. Told by the five-year-old Jack, it is the story of a mother and son in impossible--and yet too real--circumstances.

Lots of people have loved ROOM, Shannon. I am afraid I do not like books written from a child's perspective. The other bookk sounds interesting.

BTW, good to see you!

Shannon wrote: "I've read two books recently that have me raving (glad that I read them, NOT raving mad!).

The first is Mary Doria Russell's _Dreamers of the Day_. It begins, "I suppose I ought to warn you at the..."

I really liked Dreamers of the Day too. Her new book Doc: A Novel also looks pretty interesting.

Sandi, I found _Dreamers_ because I saw the review of _Doc_ in the Sunday paper a few weeks ago. When I checked with the local library, I realized I was a few books behind. I still say _The Sparrow_ is the best sci-fi I've ever enjoyed. It has made the rounds at my Jesuit parish where it is affectionately known as _Jesuits in Space_.

Shannon: I was reading a Tess Gerritson mystery and in the book they mentioned a book the victim was reading and a character said "Jesuits in space." I never finished that murder mystery but went immediately to the library and got The Sparrow which I loved and have passed the word on to many friends who also thought it was great. Including my mom who was in her 80s at he time!
Have you heard of the pope scope in Az. I think? A powerful telescope Owned by the Vatican!
I did not care for the sequel to that book but have liked all her other books very much. She does great research IMHO.

What I Read in May 2011

4823. In the Devil's Snare The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692, by Mary Beth Norton (read 3 May 2011) I became interested in the weird events in Salem, Mass., when on Mar 29, 2011, I read Arthur Miller's play The Crucible. This book is a 2002 book, very erudite and the result of rigorous research. However, it is often very dry. It quotes much from records, and uses the spelling therein, which makes for non-smooth reading. The account is exhaustive, and is utterly non-sensational. The author tries to explain--after many chapters setting out the records as to the persons accused, tried, and 21 hung, why it happened. Her theory is that the threat from the Indians led to acceptance of the accusations as a cover-up for the failure to keep the area safe from the Indians. Anyway, I became very weary reading of the goings-on--only at the end does the author seek to explain why the craze happened. The author's nine-times great- grandmothers were involved--reminding me that my nine-times great- grandmother was accused of being a witch in the 16th century in Germany--but not convicted. This book was usually a chore to read.

4824. Berlin 1961 Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth, by Frederick Kempe (read 7 May 2011) This is an examination of Kennedy and Khrushchev in 1961. I have read much re them in 1962, but this book examines 1961--a year when Kennedy had rough times--Bay of Pigs, Vienna meeting, Berlin Wall--and per this author made many wrong choices, at least with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. In a brief recap at the end of the book the author shows that Kennedy did the right things in 1962. I believe there is a less damning side to some of what went on in 1961 but Kempe paints well a picture showing the bad choices Kennedy may have made in 1961. The book does an excellent job making this an exciting account of the momentous events of 1961--though the account will warm the hearts of Kennedy haters. But it is well worth reading and I found it super-interesting though dismaying to a good Democrat such as I am; but relieved to some extent since I knew 1962 and 1989 would follow.

4825. Shogun The Epic Novel of Japan, by James Clavell (read 17 May 2011) It has been a very long time since I spent as many as ten days reading a book. This novel was published in 1975. I have long heard of it. It is the first chronologically of Clavell's six-book Asian saga. It tells of an Englishman who in 1600 in a Dutch ship was cast ashore in Japan, where he has amazing adventures--gets tied up with a Japanese big wig, Toranaga, and falls in love with a Japanese woman (Catholic), has many exciting adventure, lots of people killed, including his lover, and ends up alive and in a position of power. It was easy reading, many time exciting, but awfully long (1152 pages).The novel is said to be based on historical facts, but since I know nothing about Japanese history in the 1600's that played no part in my reading. I don't know if reading this was worthwhile, but it was not bad reading. I doubt I'll read any thing else by Clavell, though.

4826. Come into the Water A Survivor's Story, by Merlyn Janet Magner (read 19 May 2011) This book, published this year by the South Dakota State Historical Society Press, is a book by a woman, who at age 19 was in the Rapid City flood of June 9, 1972. She was with her brother in their parents' home. He and the parents, who were in a house across the street, died in the flood, as did some 272 people. The book is an autobiography, but the main event is the flood, which she describes graphically. Her life thereafter is filled with what I consider mistakes: use of drugs, an abortion, a failed marriage. She has done an incredible amount of traveling, even after she lost her money on Oct 19, 1987. The book uses "alright" often, a spelling I recall one of my teachers log ago deplored.. She gets into mysticism--she was a Catholic till her mother got mad at a priest. The account of her life after the flood does not inspire.

4827. No Excuses Concessions of a Serial Campaigner, by Robert Shrum (read 24 May 2011)This is a 2007 book by a -political consultant who was prominent in the campaigns of various Democratic candidates, most prominently in the Gore campaign of 2000 and the Kerry campaign of 2004. He tells of the campaigns chronologically and tells more than he should--demonstrating how contrived candidates' positions can be. Since the book was published before 2008, a lot of comparison of the campaigns with 2008 are not there, but it was fascinating even though one knows of the disappointing conclusions in 2000 and 2004.

Schmerguls wrote: "What I Read in May 2011

4825. Shogun The Epic Novel of Japan, by James Clavell (read 17 May 2011)

I always meant to read Shogun but have never gotten around to it. I thought I might listen to the audio but it is 48.5 hrs long.

The only book I've read by James Clavell was King Rat which I thought was excellent. A very powerful story.

Schmerguls wrote: "He tells of the campaigns chronologically and tells more than he should--demonstrating how contrived candidates' positions can be...."

were you surprised? Since almost all candidates make promises they can never keep, this does not surprise me in the least.

I wonder how many people read multiple Clavell books?

I could only muster the energy to read Shogun, which I really enjoyed. My eyes were much younger then!

JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "I wonder how many people read multiple Clavell books?

I could only muster the energy to read Shogun, which I really enjoyed. My eyes were much younger then!"

Joanne,

I read all of the Clavell books except the last one.

Meredith

R. wrote: "Shannon: I was reading a Tess Gerritson mystery and in the book they mentioned a book the victim was reading and a character said "Jesuits in space." I never finished that murder mystery but went i..."

Isn't it fun to find references from one book in another?? (and Tess is a great author as well. I used to read her blog. I'll have to look for it again.)

I didn't like "Children of Men" as well as "The Sparrow," but I recently found "The Emmaus Readers" which has a section on those two Russell books. The Emmaus book is one people here would enjoy: 9 colleagues at Calvin College read and discuss books. The books they cover are varied, and each chapter includes a list of other books that are related.

It has been 40 years since The Day of the Jackal was published. I found this article The Day of the Jackal in The Guardian interesting. I did not read the book or see the movie until a few years ago but thought both were top notch.

Thanks, Sandi. It is an interesting article. I'm not sure if I've ever read the book (I know that I've read some of his books), but they did a good job with the film.

Thanks for this article, Sandi. This is soooo true:<<never before had a popular novelist created a world that seemed indistinguishable from real life. His debut had a documentary sense of realism that all but convinced the public they were reading a work of non-fiction.>>

I well remember racing through the book and then sitting on the edge of my seat during the movie.....even though I knew deGaulle had not been assassinated.

What I Read in June Thirty Years Ago (1981)


1638. R. E. Lee A Biography Volume I, by Douglas Southall Freeman (read 6 June 1981) I have just read The Killer Angels and so decided I should read more on the Civil War. This is solid biography and I like its thoroughness. This first volume takes Lee up to March 1, 1862, when Lee was given command of the Army of Northern Virginia. His pre-war career was rather humdrum, except for the Mexican War and his time as Superintendent at West Point. Of course, I am out of sympathy with Lee, so the next volume will be hard to take--but I know Appomattox lies ahead. Lee's father was Light Horse Harry Lee, who served in the Revolution. The country was really young.

1639. R. E. Lee A Biography Volume II, by Douglas Southall Freeman (read 12 June 1981) I was really caught up by this volume. It is very interesting reading, even though not as well written as Bruce Catton's books, and there is some consolation that it spends very little time talking about Union mistakes--because it only tells what Lee knew and learned. This volume ends with the death of Stonewall Jackson in May 1863. Volume III should be better. because the great Confederate victories are over. Chancellorsville is described as the high tide of the Confederacy. It, and the victory at Fredericksburg in late 1862, were great Confederate victories.

1640. R. E. Lee A Biography Volume III, by Douglas Southall Freeman (read 20 June 1981) This third volume takes Lee to the last winter of the War. I am glad I do not have to read of any more Confederate victories.

1641. Centennial, by James A. Michener (read 30 June 1981) This tells the story of the land in northeastern Colorado and the south Platte. It starts in prehistoric times and tells of dinosaurs, beavers, Indians, trappers, etc., right up to the present. The early parts are good, but it gets worse as it goes on, and the last parts on the 20th century are simply poorly-written and boring. And it is all so fake--nothing but fiction. In the earlier parts, I thought of reading other similar Michener books but I don't know that I will. What is true--and what is fake? This has been a book of over 1000 pages, and that is too much fiction from an inferior writer. {But I did go on to read more Michener:
2992. The Source a novel by James A. Michener (read 2 Jul 1997)
3490. The Covenant, by James A. Michener (read 12 Oct 2001)
4185. Chesapeake, by James A. Michener (read 6 July 2006)]

Schmerguls wrote: "And it is all so fake--nothing but fiction..."

Well......it IS fiction! A novel. I guess I do not understand what you were expecting.....

Well......it IS fiction! A novel. I guess I do not understand what you were expecting.....

Well, there is some fascinating history recounted in parts of the book, and I guess history tops fiction most times and so I was inured to something being true...

I think Michener's recounting of historical aspects, which usually takes up the first third to half of his books, is pretty accurate. He loved to do research. But it is when his writing enters the last 50 years or so that his "facts" become somewhat fictionalized to accommodate the characters. I have never read a book of his without learning a great deal.

A friend of mine condensed Michener's books for Readers Digest and would meet with M. in his home on Maryland's Eastern Shore. My friend said that his research materials were astounding and Michener loved to share them.

Schmerguls, have you ever read anything by Wilbur Smith, a South African writer?

http://www.wilbursmithbooks.com/biogr...

have you ever read anything by Wilbur Smith, a South African writer?

No, JoAnn, I never heard of him. But I see our library has 39 titles by him. So, what should I read by him? What is his best, in your opinion?

Schmerguls wrote: "have you ever read anything by Wilbur Smith, a South African writer?

No, JoAnn, I never heard of him. But I see our library has 39 titles by him. So, what should I read by him? What is his best..."

I read Eagle in the Sky 35 years ago and have re-read it twice. But I am not sure you would like it...but then again, maybe you would. I never read any of his other books until two weeks ago.

My cousin suggested to me that I might like the Courtney series, so I have read the first two in the series and they were page-turners. Lots of bloodshed and info about the various wars in South Africa, which I knew nothing about.

His new book looks interesting ...and it is a standalone.

Our library does not have Eagle in the Sky. apparently the oldest one it has is The Diamond Hunters, published in 1971. It is apparently a stand alone and I might read it. Thanks for telling me about him.

I found this article, Amanda Hocking Storyseller, in the New York Times Magazine about Amanda Hocking interesting. I don't have an e-reader so I had never heard of her or her success at self-publishing until I read about her multi- million dollar deal with St. Martin's earlier in the year.

Sandi, what an interesting article. Thanks for posting it.