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Anyone up for a book thread?


My daughter recently borrowed these books from the library. Please keep in mind they were selected by a teenage girl.

Breaking the Silence
Diane Chamberlain
Mira

This could have been a great novel. It's a great story about the experimentation on mentally ill patients in the 1950's by the US government supposedly for national defense purposes. It covers lobotomies, electroshock therapy, brainwashing, mind control, etc. It's a basically good story that tells of a family that survived such an institution and how it destroyed their lives, and their subsequent recovery. On the down side it could have been written by a fifth grader. The author is well seasoned writing novels, and frankly I expected a better writing style. I give it two smilies


Blue Shoe
Anne Lamott
Riverhead

I like the way Anne writes. She is interesting and entertaining. She amuses the reader even in the sickest situations. This novel covers the story of a middle aged divorcee named Mattie. Mattie struggles with her weight, her ex-husband, her children, her elderly mother, and her friends. She uncovers family secrets and a half brother she never knew she had. If you are thinking that's not much substance, you would be correct. Ironic how a good writer can turn the most boring story into an interesting read and vice versa. Four smilies for entertainment value.


Is there anyone out there that has anything to say about any book?

If you are a history buff, like me...I can't say enough about any of Alison Weir's books...( she's a British historian)...I first read her latest...The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn..and liked it so much I immediately researched her others...she doesn't leave out the juicy stuff, but, does a very good job of explaining how things really were at that time period..and why she thinks what she does about what really happened...

I have read so far: Henry VIII - the Kong and His Court; Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley; The War of the Roses...I'm in the middle of: British Royalty: A complete Geneology, and going to read about Kathryn Swyneford next..( British history just seems far more interesting than ours..shame on me...lol...)..and there are more...

zangie wrote:I have read so far: Henry VIII - the Kong and His Court; [Edit] going to read about Kathryn Swyneford next

Where was i sleeping when this thread started!

Sorry, i know it's a typo and i usually refrain from commenting on those, but Henry VIII as a giant ape had me in stitches.

zangie wrote:..( British history just seems far more interesting than ours..shame on me...lol...)

i could have sworn that until 1776 British history WAS yours...

Besides Alison Weir, try Katherine by Anya Seton. Loads of used copies on Amazon if you can't get it new.

Best historical novel from England's past that i have read is Thomas by Shelley Mydans - i believe she is an American author, but it is a marvellous book. The life and times of Thomas Becket - the times of the dying out of the last Anglo-Saxon speech and customs and the start of the full Norman English. Beautifully written and brings the times to atmospheric life. Again, loads of second-hand copies on Amazon .uk as well as .com. It's a book i re-read every couple of years and enjoy as much as i did when i first read it 45 years ago.

How the lower classes ( ) lived in England - books by Ernest Rutherford are worth seeking out. i read a lot of James Michener years ago and Rutherford takes the same "trick" of attaching the story over the centuries to an object or two that is constantly in use or being rediscovered. If you have ever enjoyed Michener, you'd like Rutherford.

i'm not sure if a thread on "creative" writing qualifies as the place to post the best book in my library at the moment. It's factual...

It's a book i refer to again and again, i can sit and read the main text without the footnotes and enjoy it or take hours following just the footnotes. Even the 110 pages of the Conclusion (the book is 898 pages long) is worth a read on its own. i can dip in for a few pages or read a chunk at a time on a lazy Sunday in the garden. It's my reference on things American Historical and yet it has taught me more about my own country's history than all the lessons in school. It's the story of the common people and their different ways according to their origins, it is about the customs they took from the UK to America, it is about the farmers and the faiths, the language and the loving, the food and the frontier.

The book is Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America by David Hackett Fischer.

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HAHA,,,yeah, I missed that typo till it was too late..kinda fits him in a way..he was a large presence in many ways...

Thanks for the suggestions Belinda..I think Weir referenced "Kathryn" in her book about her if I remember correctly..I will certainly check out those you have mentioned...

When I spoke of US history..I meant post 1776..I know quite a bit of it..but, it's never captivated me like Great Britain, European etc...the older history is, the more it fascinates me...I love Ancient Egypt too...

Personally...My biological father and 5 of my four grandparents & great grandparents were born in Italy, one was second generation Scot, and one was Irish, but a ways back..and one a mix of the scot/irish...with a bit of american indian they say..lol..cherokee

However, my dad (who was technically my adoptive father, though my dad in reality), was English/Russian..and his surname,which I use, is very famous in Great Britain ( wish (we) I was actually related..lol...I have a genealogy that traces his family back to arrival in the 1600's)...maybe that's part of my fascination with Great Britain...plus, I just feel a connection to them...

I did read a three book tome about the whole history and trying to remember the author's name...I'm not at home, so I can't look..William something I think...lol...

Thank you Belinda for reminding me of Anya Seton, I had a craze on her books when I was at school and particularly enjoyed Katherine, Derwentwater and Avalon...time I re-read them!

I've just finished The Other Hand by Chris Cleave....which I would recommend, but feel slightly miffed with the end, but then I always feel slightly bereft when I finish a book.

My favourite book, of the past year is [b]The Book Thief[b] by Markus Zusak, as representative of life in Germany during World War 11, Hitler's Youth and the Nazi Regime, and is the account of a young girl's experience and survival, told from an unusual perspective. It is quite charming.

I used to be a voracious reader, then when just about everything in my life was turned upside down (around 4 years ago) I couldn't settle to read anything! Favourite authors became unfathomable strangers and books were no longer the welcome distraction that they had once been.

However, earlier this year I discovered Steig Larsson! His Millennium Trilogy books are fantastic and I really do recommend them. I couldn't put them down! It's a shame that he died so young, he was a very entertaining writer. Although there are rumours of a fourth, unfinished book... the subject of legal wranglings? I wait in hope....