Basically Books! discussion

Book Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973. My murderer was a man from our neighborhood. My mother liked his border flowers, and my father talked to him once about fertilizer. This is Susie Salmon. Watching from heaven, Susie sees her happy suburban family devastated by her death, isolated even from one another as they each try to cope with their terrible loss alone. Over the years, her friends and siblings grow up, fall in love, do all the things she never had the chance to do herself. But life is not quite finished with Susie yet."The Lovely Bones" is a luminous and astonishing novel about life and death, forgiveness and vengeance, memory and forgetting - but, above all, about finding light in the darkest of places. 'Spare, beautiful and brutal prose ..."The Lovely Bones" is compulsive enough to read in a single sitting, brilliantly intelligent, elegantly constructed and ultimately intriguing' - "The Times". 'Moving and compelling ...It will put an imperceptible but stealthily insistent hold on you. I sat down in the morning to read the first couple of pages; five hours later, I was still there, book in hand, transfixed' - Maggie O'Farrell, "Sunday Telegraph".

Let us know what you think.

I read this book right after my 3 year old niece died. I was told I shouldn't read it because it was dealing with death but I need something dark. This book is dark but at the same time it was nice to see Susie looking at her family. Keeping a watch over them as they struggle and grow.

Alicia wrote: "I read this book right after my 3 year old niece died. I was told I shouldn't read it because it was dealing with death but I need something dark. This book is dark but at the same time it was nice..."

I love this book and I have read it more than once but I need to be in the right frame of mind to revisit it. I can't imagine how it must have been to read it after experiencing such a terrible loss yourself.

It's tragic and very bitter sweet but there is still something consoling about the idea of being watched over and seeing the family slowly continue with their lives.

I've just finished it and I wasn't a massive fan. I didn't like the distance between me and the characters, I felt like I couldn't feel what they were feeling. I did like the writing style, it was really beautiful.

I really enjoyed this book. I am not a religious person but I've read a few books where "Heaven" is described and it's always fascinating to see other people's ideas about what the afterlife is like. Here a another couple good afterlife books: and

I watched the Lovely Bones movie and I wish I hadn't. It was B-A-D!

Jennifer wrote: "I watched the Lovely Bones movie and I wish I hadn't. It was B-A-D!"

I've heard that from other people too and so far steered clear, but my curiosity usually gets the better of me in the end.

I can't believe I'm saying this but I preferred the movie. It's not that it was the best film in the world but I felt more involved in the story during the film than I did with the book.

I usually prefer whichever I experienced first, which I guess isn't very discerning of me. :P

I don't like it when I feel detached from the story/characters either but I didn't experience that with the Lovely Bones that I can remember. Did you feel distanced from Susie, or just from the family characters?

I saw the film first lol.

I felt distanced from the family and really they were the characters that mattered. Seeing it through Susie's eyes meant that I was further away from feeling the emotions.

I didn't really like The Lovely Bones that much. It took me two attempts to finish it. I liked the way that heaven was portrayed, but there was just something missing from it and it didn't have me as engaged as I would have liked to have been.

Rea wrote: "I didn't really like The Lovely Bones that much. It took me two attempts to finish it. I liked the way that heaven was portrayed, but there was just something missing from it and it didn't have me ..."

It took me two attempts too! I also liked heaven but I found there was something missing. For me it was the distance but there was something else that stopped me from liking it but I can't put my finger on what it was.

I just wasn't interested in what happened to the characters. Suzy was already dead and I didn't care about the others.

I felt she portrayed the rape and murder of a young teen extremely well, though.

Rea wrote: "I just wasn't interested in what happened to the characters. Suzy was already dead and I didn't care about the others.

I felt she portrayed the rape and murder of a young teen extremely well, though."

I did too, I have absolutely nothing against her writing. She's a cracking writer, I just wasn't feeling the book. Maybe her other novel will be better.

I really like this book. I saw the movie also but the book was better.
I started reading her other book: The Almost Moon. I can't over the fact she kills her mother who has Alzheimer's. Maybe my mom suffering from that blocks me from finishing the book. Has anyone read it? Did you like it?

Nikki wrote: "I really like this book. I saw the movie also but the book was better.
I started reading her other book: The Almost Moon. I can't over the fact she kills her mother who has Alzheimer's. Maybe my m..."

I loved the book too, (The Lovely Bones). Im out of books to read, so I guess Ill start The Almost Moon since it sounds somewhat interesting. Thanks :)

I haven't read The Almost Moon but it is on my TBR list so I hope to read it ast some point during my life lol.

Robin wrote: "I just finished reading this book. I really liked it."

What did you like the most about it?

When I started the book I was like "whoa....this is different." because usually I don't choose to read the more "dark" books. Even the tone..the mood.. the way I felt reading it -- was different!!

I really enjoyed reading the book!! I mean it's not like its one of my favorites, but I'm glad I read it. :)

Also, I've never seen the whole movie. Just bits and pieces when it plays on TV. I have seen the parts leading up to where she got raped and I thought it was good!!!

i also liked the way heaven was what susie wanted it to be and it could be what anyone wanted it to be.

i didn't care for her falling to earth. for some reason, it kind of lost me at that part.

it was several years ago that i read it, and what i really liked was the tribute at the end....

quick question: should i stay away from "spoilers" when discussing the book? or is it assumed that everyone on this post has read it. my mother has a horrible habit of ruining movies (she gives away plot twists!!) and i would hate to ruin a book for someone. but i'm trying to be as vague as possible....

Alicia wrote: "I read this book right after my 3 year old niece died. I was told I shouldn't read it because it was dealing with death but I need something dark. This book is dark but at the same time it was nice..."

my heart goes out to you....my niece is 3 1/2....

Lara - for spoilers you can hide them. If you do that you can write all the spoilers you want! :)

(view spoiler)[write your spoiler here (hide spoiler)]but place a second > at the end of the second "spoiler".

If you want to add spoilers you put them in the spoiler bracket which is < spoiler > to open them and < / spoiler > to close. Obviously you need to do it without the spaces. Hope that helps.

The same author also wrote . It's about her rape and the trial of her rapist (I think.) I've never read it but my friend, who rarely reads, said it was very good. Has anyone here read it?

Rea wrote: "Lara - for spoilers you can hide them. If you do that you can write all the spoilers you want! :)

write your spoiler here but place a second > at the end of the second "spoiler"."

Lol Rea, we said that at the same time! XD

awesome! thank you!

Char wrote: "Rea wrote: "Lara - for spoilers you can hide them. If you do that you can write all the spoilers you want! :)

write your spoiler here but place a second > at the end of the second "spoil..."

Great minds think alike! ;)
Also, great minds appear to get on the PC at the same time.

Rea, I read "Lucky". It's pretty difficult to read and the rape scenes are quite explicit. I did like it though, it's an interesting novel.

Rea wrote: "Char wrote: "Rea wrote: "Lara - for spoilers you can hide them. If you do that you can write all the spoilers you want! :)

write your spoiler here but place a second > at the end of the ..."

Haha, indeed they do lol. Then I had to go shopping but I've stolen my mum's computer to renew the internet security and have ended up on Goodreads lol.

I have Lucky on my TBR. Isn't that a surprise lol?

Char wrote: "Rea wrote: "Char wrote: "Rea wrote: "Lara - for spoilers you can hide them. If you do that you can write all the spoilers you want! :)

write your spoiler here but place a second > at the..."

You sound like the boyfriend, Char, except he ends up on the gossip sites!

I would never have expected you to have the book on your TBR... we all know our TBR is very small and specific. This comes as a shock to me. Truly, it does!

Rea wrote: "Char wrote: "Rea wrote: "Char wrote: "Rea wrote: "Lara - for spoilers you can hide them. If you do that you can write all the spoilers you want! :)

write your spoiler here but place a se..."


Haha, I will point out that I did renew the internet thing lol. I don't do gossip sites, they annoy me.

I know it is, there's never more than about 5 books at a time on it and they're all by the same author. There's nothing insane about my list at all.

At least you renewed it! I'm still waiting for mine to be renewed on the laptop... he actually managed to renew it on the desktop. I don't do them either, but he seems to like them.

Definitely. Your list is one of the most organised that I've ever come across. No kidding.

So now we're all good until next year which means I can stay in the group and annoy talk to people. Wow, I renewed my mum's and it realised I'd done it on hers when I switched mine on. XD

I know it is. The sheer size is ridiculous but I know which order I'm going to read them in, so I'm organised in a different way.

okay....another quick question: TBR - to be read??

Lara wrote: "okay....another quick question: TBR - to be read??"

Yes it is. It's easier to put. =)

Lara wrote: "okay....another quick question: TBR - to be read??"

I'm still working out loads of the abbreviations too - I'm fairly new to this online stuff and it's a bit like learning another language.

I'm pretty good at them all but a few years of online gaming will do that to a person. The one that took me the longest to decipher was iirc (if I remember correctly).

I read this a couple of years ago. I remember really liking it alot. I also saw the movie and enjoyed that as well. I think i read it rather quickly and then borrowed it out to my sister and never got it back. Which stinks because i would love to reread it. I remember thinking I wanted a better resoulution on the ending.

I've read that a lot of people (read: Christians) complained about how Heaven was portrayed. They seemed to be insulted that it wasn't portrayed as their religion claims it to be. This bugs me.

That kind of thing bugs me too. How can anyone, religious or not, presume to dictate how another person should imagine something?

I quite liked the version of heaven in The Lovely Bones. If there is a heaven then it had some of the main characteristics I would like to find there.

It's like they expect everyone to accept their idea of heaven as being the correct vision of it. I don't agree with this. I don't believe in any form of heaven or after life and that's my choice. If Alice Seabold wishes to view heaven in this manner, then I applaud her for having the guts to publish it.

I liked the heaven in The Lovely Bones as well. It worked very well with the story in a way that a Christian heaven would not have fallen short of. It's similar to the sort of things I, too, would like to see in heaven.

Rea wrote: "It's like they expect everyone to accept their idea of heaven as being the correct vision of it. I don't agree with this. I don't believe in any form of heaven or after life and that's my choice. I..."

i think the wonderful quality of Alice Seabold's heaven is that christians would have their view of heaven in heaven since heaven came from the individual person. i can totally (sorry, i'm from california) see that if someone wanted to see angels, then they'd see angels....

I hadn't thought of that, Lara, but it's true. I think the biggest problem they had was that there was no form of "judgement". But if she'd stuck with a strictly Christian version of heaven then she would have limited herself to a certain market. I'm glad she wrote it as she did.

Rea wrote: "I hadn't thought of that, Lara, but it's true. I think the biggest problem they had was that there was no form of "judgement". But if she'd stuck with a strictly Christian version of heaven then sh..."

that's a good point....(view spoiler)[ especially considering nothing bad happens to a murderer. (hide spoiler)]

i think if she had wrote a typical heaven as we all "knew" it, the book would not have been so special....

Oh I read the lovely bones back in my freshman year of high school! :D it was so good, a tad bittersweet and sad but really good, I hope everyone that's reading it enjoys it! :)

I have read so many good and bad things about this book, im gonna wait till i get a kindle at xmas, and im gonna get it then, and read it :P

Same! :) when I first heard about the book people's opinions of the book were fifty fifty and so I decided to take a risk and read it anyways. You immediately fall in love with the main character...gosh I forgot her name...Susie I think :S
The movie was good, but not as good as the book in my opinion. But if you do decide to read it I hope you love it as much as I did.
Aww that'd be a super cool Xmas gift :)

I asked my mum, as soon as the last xmas was over lmao :P

Tara-Jayne (BasicallyBooks) wrote: "I asked my mum, as soon as the last xmas was over lmao :P"

Lol, my Kindle has been promised since March since I was told I could only have a Kindle OR a 3DS. I am however getting Russell Howard's new DVD for Christmas. My brother promised ON Christmas Day. XD

Noellie wrote: "Same! :) when I first heard about the book people's opinions of the book were fifty fifty and so I decided to take a risk and read it anyways. You immediately fall in love with the main character....."

I wasn't a fan personally. I didn't connect with Susie at all. I loved Sebold's writing style though. She has a wonderful way with words.

I read this book because of this book club. I am glad I read the book, but I neither liked or disliked it. To me it was just an average read. I have not seen the movie, but after reading the book I have no desire to.