Welcome to the (New) Book Explorers Club

[karinlib]

I read Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged when I was in college and I enjoyed the book immensely, but I did not agree with her philosophy.  There was an anniversary celebration for Ayn Rand a few years ago, and there were special editions  all of her books.  I read Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged (for the 2nd time), and I enjoyed the stories, but  I feel the same way about her philosophy, I cannot abide with Self-Centeredness.

[karinlib]

I thank the Good Lord, everyday that my husband understands my need to read, it's insatiable. He teases me a little about being among my "friends" when I am in library or bookstore.

[Deckard]

Ande,

I read with interest the discussion about discovering new books after recommendations. It's been my experience that these recommendations are a mixed bag. And your comments about Gilead hit home to me too. Not that I've read it, but I've experienced similar frustrations trudging through page after page waiting for a book to get really good. But my perserverence paid off not that long ago with a book by Leif Unger called Peace Like a River. The first hundred pages were incredibly painful, and not necessarily because of the writing. But somehow, at some point, I turned the page and the writer and I connected. I "got it." The end is either magical or hokey, depending on your point of view; but the book remains one of my favorite and I've read a lot of books.

Now I'm looking for something new to really blow me away...Any suggestions?

Peace.

Deckard

[cindersylv]

I have just discovered this book club and  felt the need to reply to every comment!  Without explanatory comments I will say I struggled through A.S Byatt's Possession and the Biographer's Tale.  I am glad I didn't buy them as I will never read either one again.  Pillars of the Earth is one of my all-time favorites.  The sequel World Without End is equally awesome.  I read everything Follett writes and have never been disappointed, although his historical novels like Pillars, World, and Dangerous Fortune are Follett at his best.  I've just finished reading Orbit by John Nance.  Normally I avoid science fiction and fantasy but this was great - set in 2009 - so I guess it isn't as far-fetched as some SciFi.  It was recommended by a perfect stranger.  Go figure.  I'm currently reading A Death of No Importance, a novelized story of Oscar Wilde's encounter with Billy Wood, the boy who was the inspiration for The Picture of Dorian Gray.  My true book love is novels that shed light on real books, and real authors.  Last week I gave a book talk on Afternoons With Emily which reveals much about Emily Dickinson's life.  Great read!  I've recently tried Atonement, but put it down.  Ditto for Philip Roth's Exit Ghost, and God save us from anymore Jane Austen spinoffs.

Sylvia

[LooKngGlaS]

Hello  Everyone,

I have just signed up for this book disscussion group. I am new.

I love to read.  Just would love more time to do it.

I am reading The Pillars Of The Earth, by Ken Follett.

Also started Attonement. I know trying to read two books at one time.

The Pillars Of The Earth has won out as first choice at this time.

I have waiting to read Philip Pullman's , The Golden Compass, there are two other books to this.

Has anyone read any of Vera Chapman's Books?

LooKngGlaS

[dhaupt]

I just finished posting on another thread and found this one and like the responder right above me felt the need to pipe in. So Ande thanks for this and I'll be joining in frequently. The last book that I read that made a great impression on me was The Time Traveler's Wife. It was so well written and so emotional. I usually don't like tear jerkers and spend most of my time with happy endings because to be honest if I want reality I'll watch the news.

[ande]

Hi there, Debbie and everyone else who has just joined us. I know I speak for all Book Explorers when I say welcome! Hope you stop by often and give us your thoughts on all sorts of things. We're a pretty free-wheeling community, as you may have noticed.

Ande

Message Edited by ande on 03-12-2008 07:16 PM

[ande]

Deckard:

Not knowing your taste or interests I'll take a wild stab here and name a few books that blew me away when I read them and continue to stay in my head:

The Known World

Love in the Time of Cholera

The Handmaid's Tale

All intense, all beautiful, all totally original. Have you read any of these?

Ande

[TomJoad1]

Hi Ande

Just started reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It is brilliant so far. It does say it won awards for tenn and childrens books but I think it is a very adult book in language and subject matter. Have you read or anyone else here read it and what do u think about it.

Thanks david

[ande]

David:

I haven't read it, alas. Book Explorers, have you?

Ande

[cindersylv]

I have read The Book Thief and enjoyed it very much.  I would not have objected to my children reading it, although they are now grown so I may be looking at it differently.  It appealed to me on two subject levels:  holocaust and books.  I didn't care for the title because I felt that book thievery was not the major issue of the book and the title gives book thievery prime importance.  I agree that it has missed a huge audience by marketing it exclusively to children.  I would consider it appropriate for children/teens who are beginning to read adult books.  Much like The Life of Pi which was written as a children's book and sits on adult fiction shelves in every bookstore I have seen.  So we have two examples of books that went different directions simply based on the marketing.  Both are wonderful transition books, and I suspect librarians have been using both of them in that way.  I think The Book Thief would be as popular with adults as Life of Pi if it were marketed as such.

Sylvia

[mwinasu]

I have read The Book Thief and thought it was pretty good.  It is an excellent example of an altered book.  Literally.  If you liked this take a look at The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco.

[cindersylv]

I've read both the Book Thief and The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana.  I must have missed something because I see nothing similarly appealing in the two books.  Could you elaborate on your analysis?  I loved Book Thief but struggled through Queen Loana.

[mwinasu]

Thank you for asking.   An Altered Book is a collage that takes a book and changes it by adding pictures, stories, and whatever strikes your fancy to create something beautiful and unique.  I believe that is the essence of The Book Thief.  And it works on more than one level.

I don' t know you, so I am not exactly sure if what I am going to say will make sense to you.  But try to trust me,because I am not compeletly crazy.  Your mind is like a book that stores your memories.  It has a narrator and it carries the plotline that you live your life by.  When  memory is lost and you start adding things back into your mind  you become in essence an Altered Book.  Look at the pictures in both books and try to see what I am talking about.  I know that the Book Thief is an easier read and that Umberto Eco is an aquired taste, but they still have things in common that make them a part of what my pals call the Book - Book genre. 

[cindersylv]

Your definition of an altered book is exactly as I understand it - a kind of scrapbooking using an old, physical book and turning it into a book unrecognizable as the original.  But when you have published this collage as an original, I no longer think of it as an altered book.  Based on your definition would you also consider Jonathan Safron Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and A. S. Byatt's Possesion to be altered books?  I am a serious fan of the Book-Book genre myself and always appreciate learning new ways to interpret what I've read.

[mwinasu]

I think you are so cool.  I have to think about an answer for a little bit.  I will get back as soon as I make sense.

[mwinasu]

When I used the definition it was only to show a corelation between the Book Thief and Queen Loana.  These are the only two books that purposely use this device in this way that I know of.  But I must confess that I read Possesion a long time ago and I have not read the other book.  On another note, I read your bio and I saw that you read Genji and you are a publisher so I have a question you may be able to help me with.  Back during WWII several Japanese writers gave up their careers and began to re translate Genji.  Tanazaki, who happens to be one of my favorites, was one of them.  Did he ever publish any of that work and has it been translated into English?  Thanks.

[cindersylv]

I don't know the answer to that.  I am not very familiar with Asian literature.  My translation of Genji was done by Royall Tyler.  Maybe someone else knows?  The one thing that struck me in this 1000 yr old book is the similarity in human responses then and now.  Sometimes it almost felt modern.  I've wondered if Mr. Tyler took liberties with the original or whether the similarities were indeed real.  I'm curious, yes, but don't care quite enough to go through the book again in another translation just to find out.  Are other Genji readers tuned in here?  Would love to hear some reactions to the book.

[mwinasu]

I know that there are more than one translationof  Genji, but that was not what I was asking exactly.  I think that these writers stopped writting in protest of the War.  They weren't translating into English but into a more modern form of Japanese. Some Japanese books have a symbolic meaning.  I have read that Genji has more than one meaning but the one that is important to this discussion is that the good times are gone.  So what I was really wondering was if this was equivilant to the Blue Flu that policemen get when they can't go on strike. Or did they actually translate?

  It has been a long time since I read Genji  but it seems to me that it was pretty much a freak show.  However that is what I loved about it.  My strongest recollection is of the sword fight over the Ancient courtesan.  What a hoot.  I have never seen anything like that anywhere else.

[mwinasu]

I am not trying to put you on the spot Slyvia.  If you don't know the answer, where would you go to find out?  I am trying to get you to go exploring with me.  Come on Sweetie, live a little.