Welcome to bookchat where you can talk about anything...books, plays, essays, and books on tape. You don’t have to be reading a book to come in, sit down, and chat with us.
These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves. From each of them goes out its own voice... and just as the touch of a button on our set will fill the room with music, so by taking down one of these volumes and opening it, one can call into range the voice of a man far distant in time and space, and hear him speaking to us, mind to mind, heart to heart.
~Gilbert Highet
Music that speaks to me:
Beethoven Op 57 Appassionata Mov 1 Valentina Lisitsa
http://www.youtube.com/...
Stephen Hough plays Rachmaninov's Paganini Rhapsody (2)
http://www.youtube.com/...
There have been some books that started out slowly or that bored me at first, but I gave them more time and they grew on me. I am glad for that especially if I bought them or if I had heard good things about them and didn’t want to disappoint those who recommended the book to me.
One book I felt that way about is The Historian by Kostova. I almost put it down several times and then wham...it grabbed me and I was glad I had stayed with it. The ending still makes me shiver. Where is the historian, now, I ask you?
Another book that disappointed me at first is Laurie King’s The Language of Bees in her Sherlock Holme’s book series. I complained to friends quite bitterly, but I bought the sequel, God of the Hive, and it is wonderful so I am glad I stayed with these two.
The first three books of Robin Hobb’s series about the live ships were powerful, and yet, I was disturbed and unwilling to go on.
Farseer Trilogy
Royal Assassin
Assassin's Apprentice
Assassin's Quest
I started the next trilogy in the series, anyway, and fell in love with those though a friend of mine was the other way around.
Liveship Traders series
Ship of Magic
Madship
Ship of Destiny
The rest of the series to date have been OK, but the last two are still growing on me, I think.
Tawny Man series
Fool’s Errand
Golden Fool
Fool’s Fate
The Rainswilds Chronicles
Dragon Keeper
Dragon Haven
I usually talk about books that I love so this is a bit different, I know. Years and years ago people complained about Eco’s Name of the Rose starting out slowly and yet for me, it didn’t. I had more patience back then, I guess, and it was rewarded.
A movie that initially left me depressed despite friends loving it and the fact it was set in Michigan was Somewhere in Time. The second time through it, I liked it.
For those who love skaters, here is the music from Somewhere in Time and a montage of Gordeeva and Grinkov skating and the story on wiki of the real life couple and their tragedy. I know I am off topic, but I couldn’t resist adding this.
Somewhere in Time: Sergei Grinkov Montage
http://www.youtube.com/...
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
The quad twist is here, too, I think:
Gordeeva & Grinkov 1994 Artistry on Ice Encore Crazy for You
http://www.youtube.com/...
Sometimes a book is so rich that I am just not ready to deal with it. I had to lay The Devil’s Brood by Penman down for a while. It is a sequel to Time and Change about Henry II and Eleanor. That story had taken so much out of me that when I opened the sequel and read a few pages, I knew I had to wait to read it. I will be picking it up again, soon. I want to see if William Marshal gets more page time in this one. He was an amazing person. He appeared briefly in the first one by helping to rescue Eleanor.
In Jordan’s Wheel of Time series there were a couple of books that nearly made me quit since they seemed to try to repeat the first books for half of the new book. But, when I went ahead with the next book, it was good again so I stopped grumbling and read on.
I finished the whole set that Jordan wrote and I was quite happy to stop with his last one and call it good.
Wheel of Time series
Great Hunt
Eye of the World
Fires of Heaven
Shadow Rising
Dragon Reborn
Lord of Chaos
Crown of Swords
Path of Daggers
Winter’s Heart
Crossroads of Twilight
Knife of Dreams
I stopped after reading Gabaldon’s sixth book in her Outlander series, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, and I am really glad I did from what I hear of the newest one. I was done and I was satisfied with things as they were at that point. I don’t think I am going to live long enough to find out why Jamie was loitering under Claire’s window in Outlander so I am just giving up.
Outlander (1991)
Dragonfly in Amber (1992)
Voyager (1994)
Drums of Autumn (1997)
The Fiery Cross (2001)
A Breath of Snow and Ashes (2005)
I loved the beautiful language and I liked the characters in Lian Hern’s books, but after reading the first three and a prequel, I just couldn’t bear to read the last book of the set.
Heaven’s Net Is Wide (prequel)
Across the Nightingale Floor
Grass for His Pillow
Brilliance of the Moon
Nor could I read the third book of the Inkspell series by Cornelia Funke.
Inkspell
Inkheart
If you want to know the last book in each of the series above, please check for them at B&N.
I wish I had not read the last book of Harry Potter and I am not going to go see the final two movies made from it.
On the other hand there are several series where the last book was outstanding and made the whole story wonderfully rounded out and satisfying.
I had a lot of trouble with the fourth book in Kate Elliott’s Jaran series, but I soldiered on and I was rewarded with a good ending.
Jaran
An Earthly Crown
His Conquering Sword
Law of Becoming
Many years ago I read the series by Elizabeth Moon about Paksenarrion.
Deed of Paksenarrion
Sheepfarmer’s Daughter
Divided Allegiance
Oath of Gold
Now, there is a new book in the series after all this time, Oath of Fealty, and I was eager to read it. It took me a long time to feel comfortable and I was disappointed at first. I kept on reading and I was rewarded. By the end of the book, I felt I was back in that world and ready to continue following the characters. I will have to wait for the next book and those to follow and be patient.
Another author whose romance books I do not like (I have tried two) has written an excellent fantasy series which I really enjoyed. (many thanks to friends who talked them up... daphne, rosamundi, and moonivy):
The Nine Kingdoms series by Lynn Kurland:
Star of the Morning
The Mage’s Daughter
Princess of the Sword
A Tapestry of Spells
I managed to finish The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch, but it did not grow on me. Towards the end the narrator became more sane and self aware, but it was too late for the time I had spent. I did like the descriptions of the sea and the stars. They were worth a lot.
What books improved for you as they went along? What books are you glad you read though they took a great deal of time and energy and you weren’t sure it would be worth it in the end?
A Book Review by cfk:
On Thundering Wings by Ermalou Roller.
This is the story of the trial of a United Methodist Church minister, Greg Dell, who presided at a civil union for two men of his congregation after the church forbade it, entwined with the personal story of Ms. Roller who was also a minister.
Pastor Greg Dell was ordained in 1969 in the United Methodist Church. In 1999 he was put on trial by the church with a church prosecutor, a defense counsel and a jury.
During his trial he testified to what he felt after the General Conference of 1996. He is quoted on page 107 of OTW:
"We were aware immediately that the provision (forbidding pastors to perform civil unions) was placed in Social Principals and at the very least, that created a situation of legal ambiguity that they are for guidance and persuasion of the church in the best of prophetic spirit."
He mentions the movement that resulted after that Conference called In All Things Charity that had over 1300 clergy indicate their support in opposition to the church stance. (pg. 108) On page 173, the quotation by Richard Baxter is explained.
"In necessary things, unity; in doubtful things, liberty; in all things, charity."
Mr. Dell explains why he went ahead and performed the ceremony. (pg. 109-110) I can’t quote the speech here, though it is moving and inspiring, but the last part is this...
During the cross-examination, Williams asked Dell:
"Do you think you abused the United Methodist Church, its privileges it conferred on you at your ordination by this act of disobedience?"
Dell: "No, I think I honored it."
Ms. Roller tells the story of the trial with clarity and kindness. She praises the good things about the church on page 128 and it is impressive what has been done for others through its outreach to those in need. I agree with that view. I still contribute to UMCOR’s emergency services. But she also paid a price.
Imagine what Ms. Roller went through in her own church the Sunday after the trial because she dared to express in a prayer her grief for the outcome of the trial and show concern about how it would affect the GLBT community. This was not the 50’s, but 1999. Having been through a church meeting against a pastor I had liked who also had done nothing at all wrong, I can imagine what she went through a little bit. A few people can make things really ugly.
Do I think that this book would be interesting to anyone who is not a member or former member of the UMC? Yes, I do. It is a story that is not about one church or one family alone. It is a strong witness for a loving justice that is overdue. On page 177, we learn about the Reconciling Ministries Network which as of March 2010 "had 287 reconciling congregations, 35 campus ministries, 84 reconciling communities, and more than 80,000 individuals belonging to the network." This is good news.
I am going to keep the book handy because in the appendix is a wonderful sermon by the Bishop who officiated at the trial that explains pretty much how I feel only with more authority and ability. The story that Ms. Roller uses throughout the book which gave it the title as well is also one I want to remember.
The book is really well written and hard to lay down even when you know what is going to happen because despite all, there is hope. It is a story of love and change in many people after the trial and about people who are still trying to create change. Thank you, Ms. Roller. Well done!
(disclosure...This book was sent to me as a gift. I also was a UMC member for 26 years at three small churches until I resigned partly as a result of this trial. I honor those who took a different path. Ms. Roller’s son who is a DKos member wrote a comment about the book here:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
If you're interested in buying the book please visit her website -> www.ermalouroller.com)
Wiki has lists:
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
The Letter L
Lyn Miller-Lachmann Gringolandia (A DKos author)
Mercedes Lackey (born 1950)
Arrows of the Queen
By the Sword
Oath Breaking
Oath Bound
Winds of Change
Oliver La Farge (1901 – 1963) Laughing Boy
Jhumpa Lahiri (born 1967) The Namesake, Interpreter of Maladies
George Lakoff Don’t Think of an Elephant
Charles and Mary Lamb Tales from Shakespeare
Christina Lamb Sewing Circles of Heart
Wally Lamb (born 1950) She's Come Undone, I Know this Much Is True
Anne Lamott (born 1954)
Crooked Little Heart
Traveling Mercies
Bird by Bird
Blue Shoe
Louis L'Amour (1908 – 1988) Jubal Sackett, Flint, Hondo
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/...
Hondo
by Louis L'Amour
Selected as one of the best Western novels ever written (along with Flint, an earlier novel), this story of a pioneer woman, a gunman, and an Apache warrior caught in a drama of love and war is a great introduction to L'Amour's work.
Margaret Landon (1903 – 1993) Anna and the King of Siam
Andrew Lang (1844-1912) The Blue Fairy Book, The Red Fairy Book and others
Joe R. Lansdale (born 1951) The Bottoms
Ring Lardner (1885 – 1933) You Know Me Al
Karl Stig-Erland Larsson The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Latifa My Forbidden Face
Margaret Laurence 1926–1987 The Stone Angel, The Diviners
Hugh Laurie (born 1959) The Gun Seller
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Stephen Lawhead
Byzantium
The Pendragon Cycle:
Taliesin (1987)
Merlin (1988)
Arthur (1989)
Pendragon (1994)
Grail (1997)
D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930) Lady Chatterley's Lover
T. E. Lawrence (1888–1935) Seven Pillars of Wisdom
Robert Lawson (1892 – 1957) Rabbit Hill, Ben and Me
Stephen Leacock 1869–1944 Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town
David Leavitt (born 1961) The Lost Language of Cranes
John le Carre Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Little Drummer Girl
William Lederer (born 1912) The Ugly American (with Eugene Burdick)
Chang-Rae Lee (born 1965) Native Speaker
Gentry Lee Rama II, The Garden of Rama and Rama (with Clarke’s ideas and as a sequel to Rendezvous with Rama that Clarke wrote).
Harper Lee (born 1926) To Kill a Mockingbird
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Liaden series
Balance of Trade
Partners in Necessity trilogy
Conflict of Honors
Agent of Change
Carpe Diem
Plan B
Local Custom
Scout’s Progress
I Dare
Mouse and Dragon
Peter Lefcourt (born 1941) The Dreyfus Affair
Ella Leffland (born 1931) Rumors of Peace
Ursula K. Le Guin (born 1929)
The Left Hand of Darkness
Always Coming Home
Earthsea Trilogy
Wizard of Earthsea
Tombs of Atuan
Farthest Shore
Dennis Lehane (born 1966) Mystic River
Fritz Leiber (1910 – 1992) A Specter is Haunting Texas, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories
Brad Leithauser (born 1953) Hence
Madeleine L'Engle (1918 – 2007)
A Wrinkle in Time
Wind in the Door
Swiftly Tilting Planet
Many Waters
The Other Side of the Sun
A Circle of Quiet: A Crosswick Journal
The Irrational Season: A Crosswicks Journal
Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage
The Summer of the Great-Grandmother: A Crosswicks Journal
Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art
Elmore Leonard (born 1925) Get Shorty
Giulio Leoni Mosaic Crimes
Mikhail Lermontov (1814–1841) Borodino, A Hero of Our Time
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Doris Lessing (born 1919) Canopus in Argos
Primo Levi If This Is a Man (US: Survival in Auschwitz)
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Meyer Levin (1905 – 1981) Compulsion
Gail Carson Levine Ella Enchanted, The Two Princesses of Bamarre
Stacey Levine (born 1960) My Horse and Other Stories
C. S. Lewis (1898–1963) The Chronicles of Narnia
Sinclair Lewis (1885 – 1951) Main Street
Alan Lightman (born 1948) Einstein's Dreams
Astrid Lindgren (1907–2002) Pippi Longstocking
Robert Lipsyte The Contender, The Brave, The Chief, One Fat Summer
Holly Lisle (born 1960) The Secret Texts series
Penelope Lively (born 1933) The Ghost of Thomas Kempe
Richard Llewellyn (1906–1983) How Green Was My Valley
Mario Vargas Llosa The Time of the Hero (a hat tip to davidseth) I realize he should be under V, but we often think of him with the L so I am leaving him here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
A number of Vargas Llosa's works have been adapted for the screen, including The Time of the Hero and Captain Pantoja and the Special Service (both by the distinguished Peruvian director Francisco Lombardi) and The Feast of the Goat (by Vargas Llosa's cousin, Luis Llosa). Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter was turned into the English-language film, Tune in Tomorrow. The Feast of the Goat has also been adapted as a theatrical play by Jorge Alí Triana, a Colombian playwright and director.
Morgan Llywelyn
1916: A Novel of the Irish Rebellion
1949
Bard
Red Branch
Lion of Ireland
John Locke (1632–1704) An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
Ross Lockridge, Jr. (1914 – 1948) Raintree County
Hugh Lofting (1886-1947) Doctor Dolittle series
Jack London (1876 – 1916) The Call of the Wild
Barry Longyear
Enemy Papers trilogy
Enemy Mine
Tomorrow Testament
Last Enemy
Barry Lopez Arctic Dreams
H. P. Lovecraft (1890 – 1937) At the Mountains of Madness
Lois Lowry (born 1937) Number the Stars, The Giver
Malcolm Lowry 1909–1957 Under the Volcano
Robert Ludlum (1927 – 2001) The Bourne Identity
Alison Lurie (born 1926) Foreign Affairs
I have read 39 of the authors above.
Diaries of the week:
Write On! Breaking in and breaking out.
by SensibleShoes
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Book reviews: Talk, talk, talk
by Susan Gardner
Sat Jun 19, 2010 at 08:00:04 PM EDT
Killer Politics: How Big Money and Bad Politics Are Destroying the Great American Middle Class
By Ed Schultz
Hardcover, 224 pages, $25.99
Hyperion
June 2010
Toxic Talk: How the Radical Right Has Poisoned America's Airwaves
By Bill Press
Thomas Dunne Books
Hardcover, 320 pages, $26.99
May 2010
http://www.dailykos.com/...
This series is on Monday nights...on going and great~
To Tell The Truth: Finding, Using, and Beating the Competition
by Word Alchemy
http://www.dailykos.com/...
kOscars ===> kOslympics: Medal Winners + reminder
by LaughingPlanet
http://www.dailykos.com/...
NOTE: plf515 has changed his book talk to Wednesday mornings early.
sarahnity’s list of DKos authors has grown so much that she has her own diary.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
sarahnity says:
It turns out that we have quite a few authors hanging out here who have published books in the real world. A while ago, I started keeping a list of books by Kossacks, former Kossacks and Kossacks-once-removed. I was posting it each week to the diary series What Are You Reading and Bookflurries, but the list has grown long enough, that I've decided to turn it into a diary and post it as a weekly series on Tuesday evenings.
Not all Kossack authors may wish to lose their anonymity, so I am only including the author's UID if he has outed herself here (gender confusion intended). If you'd like to be included on the list, or if you know of an author who is left off, please leave a comment or email me.
(sarahnity@gmail.com)