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Post by janerowena on Feb 8, 2009 19:00:18 GMT 1
No, I'll leave it a bit, I need something a bit lighter at the moment to take my mind off various stresses. I've just read my way through a load of Elizabeth Pewsey, and you don't come much lighter than her, but it still hasn't done the trick.
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Post by Flumps on Feb 8, 2009 19:33:51 GMT 1
Yeah, Alexander McCall Smith is very "curl up with a bottle and don't concentrate too hard" reading isn't he?
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Post by Flumps on Feb 8, 2009 19:37:46 GMT 1
I've just read "The Spook's Apprentice" and the others in the series. Confiscated it* from a lad in my year 7 class and ended up flicking through it and getting into it. Borrowed it when he'd finished then had to buy the others! Totally lightweight - intended for 12 year olds, but I enjoyed it for all that.
*I try to not to discourage reading, but he was reading it under the desk while he was meant to be doing some work. (Having read it myself now I can see why.) He was very affable about it all - finds it funny that's he's "corrupted" me! ;D
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Post by Sunny on Feb 8, 2009 23:10:59 GMT 1
I am supposed to be reading America Unchained (2008) by Dave Gorman for my book club but can't get hold of it. Has anyone read it? Is the 2008 the issue date? Do you think the 2009 one is the same? Just a different picture on the front?
I know.........I'm thick!
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Post by Aspidistra on Feb 8, 2009 23:16:26 GMT 1
Is the Time Traveller's Wife a romance of some sort? I picked it up and for some reason didn't start to get into it. Any chance of a bit more info on it...without giving away plot details, Flumps ;D
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Post by Flumps on Feb 8, 2009 23:27:12 GMT 1
It's about a guy who suffers from some rare genetic disease that makes him time travel in and out of his own lifetime (not as incredible as it sounds - the author actually manages to make it sound quite plausible). He meets his future wife (though he doesn't know it then) when she's a small child, and she gets to know him as she grows up - though he is a different age every time she sees him. It's mainly about how they come to fall in love, how they cope with the unpredictability of his condition, and their search for a cure (which is hard, as no doctor believes him when he explains the problem). The story's told in chronological order from her point of view, so although his life story is quite random (he can be 45 in one chapter and 18 in the next) it's not as hard to follow as one might think. I found it quite hard to get my head round for the first few chapters (it's a book that improves with the second reading IMO) but after that I was hooked. Hope that doesn't give too much away Flumps.x
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Post by Juliet on Feb 8, 2009 23:47:10 GMT 1
Time Traveller's Wife sounds interesting, Flumps - I'll have to look out for that.
I had a look at the Bad Birdwatcher book when we were on holiday, Aspi - they had a copy in the cottage we stayed in. Thought it looked rather repetitive - the sort where you read one chapter and then want to wait a month or two before reading the next chapter, if you see what I mean.
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Post by janerowena on Feb 10, 2009 13:08:30 GMT 1
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Post by Teddy on Feb 10, 2009 16:54:40 GMT 1
Time Traveller's Wife - one of my fave books. Wish I hadn't read it already, so that I could have the pleasure of reading it for the first time again.
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Post by janerowena on Feb 10, 2009 17:13:57 GMT 1
I'm very affected by moods as to what book I choose to read. I can often have half a dozen on the go as I flit from one to another, left lying all over the house and even in the car for when I am waiting for Robert. DBH thought I cooked from cookery books until he realised it was a novel propped up on the book rack.
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Post by Flumps on Feb 10, 2009 19:14:20 GMT 1
There's a new No. 1 Ladies book coming out soon : "Tea Time for Traditionally-Built Ladies" I love his titles almost as much as the books themselves!
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Post by Aspidistra on Feb 10, 2009 19:25:19 GMT 1
What a gift that man has, to be able to churn them out like that! That's good to know - I always buy them for my mother.
Flumps, I think I will have to give the TT's wife another go. I'm like Jro, the book has to suit my mood although once I get going I then like to stick to one thing.
I wouldn't say the BBW guide is repetitive, Juliet, just too much detail about his life which is just not interesting and it rather makes me cringe that he has the audacity to assume anyone else would find it worth reading. My plan is just to skip read through the rest of it, sticking to the birdwatching bits. ;D
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Post by beej on Feb 10, 2009 21:32:26 GMT 1
I enjoyed the Time Travellers Wife: I think I might have it as one of the titles for the book club I run for the over 60's. As most of them claim to hate Sci-fi & fantasy they are going to have a go at reading some after our next meeting & I am going to provide them with some ideas. To encourage them I will be using the widest interpretation as they probably think it is all space ships & aliens!
Any ideas would be gratefully received!
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Post by Juliet on Feb 11, 2009 15:15:21 GMT 1
Ursula Le Guin or Anne McCaffrey might be good bets, especially if there are a lot of women in your bookclub? There are so many to choose from though - how about Le Guin's Planet of Exile, or McCaffrey's Restoree? More about culture and character than about spaceships and aliens, though they might still be further down the fantasy genre than your bookclub will want to go!
If they like funny books, and you don't want anything too far from an earth setting, there's Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Neil Gaiman's Stardust, or (I hesitate to mention it again) Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair.
Or for something a bit different, China Mieville's Un Lun Dun (if they are mostly Londoners they might well like that one), or Philippa Pearce's Tom's Midnight Garden again - both about strange things which happen to ordinary children.
Will let you know if I think of any more - most of our books are still packed in the garage at the moment (following failure to move) though, and I'm having trouble remembering whether I've read anything else which might fit your bill. R might be able to think of more, but he's in London today, so can't ask him yet.
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Post by kath on Feb 11, 2009 15:57:45 GMT 1
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Post by Juliet on Feb 11, 2009 16:24:37 GMT 1
Some more thoughts ...
Again, if they're Londoners, Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere might appeal.
PD James's The Children Of Men.
Swift's Gulliver's Travels.
And anything by John Wyndham - my favourite is The Chrysalids.
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Post by Flumps on Feb 11, 2009 19:05:37 GMT 1
I was going to suggest the Chrysalids too Love John Wyndham. More about morality and consequences than science if I remember rightly. Chocky is another good one - it was made into a children's TV series so not too heavywieght or sciency. Midwich Cuckoos scared me rigid and I daren't even read Day of the Triffids so maybe avoid those for now! Brave New World is also a good sci-fi classic, or if you want humour try the magnificent Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (though you do need a very specific sense of humour for that one IMO).
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Post by Aspidistra on Feb 11, 2009 23:05:51 GMT 1
I would rather hurl myself under a bus than read sci-fi, but fantasy is interesting I think. How about Phillip Pullman's Northern Lights? I admit to not having yet read it but I heard it serialized on the radio and it was the most fantastic fantasy.
Another book which I think is brilliant in terms of imaginative story-telling/fantasy (or is it? that being part of it) is Life of Pi by Yann Martell? I think that is an excellent book for discussing - people seem to take a view on it. Did anyone read any of his subsequent novels? Just wondered if they were any good.
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Post by Flumps on Feb 11, 2009 23:17:25 GMT 1
Aspi? Aspi? <ohnowhogaveherthePhilipKDicknovelsmiley>
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Post by Juliet on Feb 11, 2009 23:43:36 GMT 1
;D
R suggests Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell though he says it's quite literary - a sort of fantasy George Elliot - so not suitable if you wanted something lightweight.
Also Little Big by John Crowley, but he says that might be difficult to get hold of, and it's very long.
And if they don't mind reading something depressing, there's a John Brunner novel called Stand On Zanzibar, which is a dystopia about over-population.
I suggested Dirk Gently rather than Hitch-Hiker, Flumps, because H-H is about spaceships and aliens - well, maybe not about them, but it features them quite extensively.
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Post by Flumps on Feb 12, 2009 19:01:23 GMT 1
A fair point Juliet. I just think Hitchhiker is funnier. But then I like sci-fi anyway so I'm never going to be bothered by spaceships etc. in a book.
I read Jonathan Strange about four years ago, and I still can't decide if I liked it. It was a great book, but soooooooo long. I'm not averse to long books but it got to feeling like a chore at times.
I actually think The Time Traveller's Wife would be a good start. The time travel bit is sort of sciency, but nothing else is. And there's enough other things going on to distract the reader if sciency bits are not their thing.
The End of Mr Y is another possibility, but not if they're sensitive souls. It's a bit creepy and there seems to be rather a lot of gratuitous sex in it. Good story though (if you ignore all the freaky bits with mice - ugh!)
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Post by Juliet on Feb 12, 2009 23:36:55 GMT 1
I like all the stuff about Coleridge & Bach in Dirk Gently - I think that's why that's my favourite Of the ones I've suggested, I think the PD James & China Mieville are probably the best bets for people who think they don't like SF. Dunno where Beejay's gone though - she asks for ideas & then she disappears
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Post by Flumps on Feb 13, 2009 17:25:35 GMT 1
I know - it's so rude isn't it?? ;D
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Post by beej on Feb 13, 2009 18:23:53 GMT 1
Watch it! I spent yesterday at my Mums which meant driving home in the snow & then having to lie exhausted on the chaise-longe with some smelling salts as it was far too much for my delicate constitution to deal with so I'm afraid I didn't have the time to respond to your most thoughtful & welcome suggestions. (Sorry but that is about as creepy as I am going to get)
I have copied out The Grauniad's list of Sci-Fi & Fantasy from the '1000 novels you should read' thing they did but it is a bit long so your suggestions are a very handy thing to have. I don't want to exclude the aliens & space-ships completely but just encourage them to see beyond that very narrow label. Oh, & they like light-weight & heavy-weight so a wide range is OK!
It is actually a while since I read any proper sci-fi. I loved all the Anne McCaffrey stuff & I read all the Dune books centuries ago. I might have to have another dip!
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Post by pa on Feb 14, 2009 17:19:52 GMT 1
Hi - when I started reading your post BJ, I thought of John Wyndham but then saw it had been mentioned. I, too, particularly like the Chrysalids, although I think I have read them all. Would Larry Niven's Moties be too much for your group ? ! I also love Arthur C Clarke - I think I have most of his books but sadly lost Childhoods End - which I seem to remember I really enjoyed - I must try to get that again. I am still reading Mr Y - haven't got to the sex or freaky mice thing yet ! I also have the Time Traveller's Wife - perhaps that will be next. Take care - PA
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Post by Nooj on Feb 24, 2009 16:29:51 GMT 1
Save me someone from reading through the whole thread please. has anyone read theBitch Goddess Notebook? I@m about to start
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Post by janerowena on Feb 25, 2009 15:21:25 GMT 1
This site is brilliant - you sell your books for £3 each and buy for £3.75, and some of the money goes to plant new trees. There is a huge range of books, and they have a large range of study books I can get for Robert, but they have EVERYTHING, plus a forum once you have registered. www.greenmetropolis.com/There were thousands of books on Science alone, so obviously it helps if you know exactly what you are looking for, but lots of their books are brand new, unwanted presents, so you can buy them as gifts at a fraction of the price. The site is very helpful when it comes to postage and so on, and so is the forum - I had no idea you could pay for postage online if you knew the weight and size of your parcel until I had a quick look at the forum. So, all those books you couldn't find - look for them here, or put yourself on the wish-list and they will email you when it comes in.
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Post by Aspidistra on Feb 25, 2009 16:39:16 GMT 1
Hmm. Not so sure its as fab as it seems. I just looked up a book I wanted - fab, £3.75 for what it describes as nearly new, but then they whack on £5.50 for postage, making it nearly a tenner...back to the charity shops for me...but thanks for the suggestion.
However I do recommend the Jro books scheme, where she justs sends you a book. ;DI am really enjoying Allotted Time. ;D I started on the pigs and whatsit Rosie Boycott one but I am finding her 'voice' in it a bit too strong for my taste, so it is now in the pile of 'go back to at some point' books. On the other hand, I am enjoying the self-effacing humour of Allotted Time.
Beejay, I heard there is a series of science fiction writers doing stories on radio 4 shortly - might give you some ideas?
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Post by janerowena on Feb 25, 2009 16:45:27 GMT 1
Was it a big book that you asked for? Only, I don't think it's supposed to work like that! I'll have to have another look, but there is a big section on postage etc. and you are only allowed to charge more if it is heavy, and can query things with the site if you don't think things are quite right.
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Post by Aspidistra on Feb 25, 2009 17:19:29 GMT 1
Hmm. Encylopedia Britannica. ::)You wouldn't think that would cost more than a quid to post, would you? ;D ;D ;D
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