Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading?

[Dngrsone]

Finally finished Vidocq, and started Jacaranda by Cherie Priest... looking to do Persepolis 2 (graphic novel) as well.

[WT Sharpe]

Just finished What I'd Say to the Martians: And Other Veiled Threats by Jack Handey. It was quite enjoyable. Jack Handey has a very off-center approach to comedy.

Some tidbits:

I had never eaten dog before, and I didn’t intend to start now. “Just give me some more of the copilot,” I said, extending my plate.

If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is “God is crying.” And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is “Probably because of something you did.”

And one of his favorite "Deep Thoughts":

If you ever fall off the Sears Tower, just go real limp, because maybe you’ll look like a dummy and people will try to catch you because, hey, free dummy.

[Luffy]

Mightier Than the Sword (The Clifton Chronicles #5)
by Jeffrey Archer - 3/5

It took me some time to realize about books what I had realized about movies some years before. I have to talk about that in my review. Firstly, I cannot enjoy the literary and the genre bending books that are heralded as true books and true art. Secondly, I'm finding it tougher to get good books that are serial, formulaic, addicting, cloying, unambitious, and illusory. I would have happily spent the rest of my life and spend 7 hours a day reading such books. Take the way Mightier than the Sword ended. it not only ended on a cliffhanger, but also revealed a double agent in the last line of the book. That takes talent to pull off, but to succeed with its readership, it has to give the illusion that the plot of the book is not a perfunctory retelling of its very predecessors.

It takes real skill to write a book such as this. Many literary artists cannot hatch a thriller or a mystery to save their lives. What I have believed, between Be Careful What You Wish For and Mightier than The Sword, was that there could be higher returns on investing in reading books, if you're a discerning, if not picky and fastidious, reader. Armed with this belief, I abandoned my comfort zone, my 'lieu de predilection', namely the cozy mystery genre, and went in search of books in other genres. What I had not noticed, was the reason for my cozy mysteries to being more and more disappointing to me, was the fact that simultaneously, all of them were nearing the 15th or 20th installments. And so an entire batch of authors was giving me work that was creatively bankrupt and sportively on the ropes.

Mightier than the Sword is the 5th book in a 7 book series. It did something that many readers will not like. It started with a bang and then nothing happened for a few chapters. This was something I could appreciate. The writing, to make use of a word that I used to employ a lot - but not so much these days - is crisp. But it's a bit all stale and as futile as a struggle to get rid of a straitjacket you're in. Fighting faint ennui is like fighting sleepiness while reading the knights' tournament results in Le Morte D'Arthur.

I guess you can debate that nothing is wrong with Mightier Than The Sword, given that I've rated it 3 stars. That I did. I always rate a book on the enjoyment - diminishing returns nonetheless - it procures me, and I like to be honest. But there are two things that frustrate me. a) It's as difficult for someone like me to write this book as easy as it was for Jeffrey Archer to. b) It could have been so much better, fresher, to do something slightly different, to tweak the usual twists in the book, without breaking in a sweat. That's what's deplorable. The writers always do the least possible bit of creative work. And...it's the only type of book that I can enjoy. Which is why as a reader I've decided that the crust I'm clutching is not buttered on any side, and I'm going to use my time more diversely, sometimes more creatively, than I do right now. I believe it will make of me a better person. And a better reader.

[WT Sharpe]

Just finished Lost Horizon by James Hilton. This 1933 fairy tale for adults holds up well and there's much food for thought in this short and enjoyable 163-page tale. Hilton draws a picture of his fictional Shangri-La that makes it seem at times an irresistible paradise.

Here are a few of my favorite lines from the book:

“The jewel has facets,” said the Chinese, “and it is possible that many religions are moderately true.”

“Mozart has an austere elegance which we find very satisfying. He builds a house which is neither too big nor too little, and he furnishes it in perfect taste.”

“The first quarter-century of your life was doubtless lived under the cloud of being too young for things, while the last quarter-century would normally be shadowed by the still darker cloud of being too old for them; and between those two clouds, what small and narrow sunlight illumines a human lifetime!”

“Laziness in doing stupid things can be a great virtue.”

“We may expect no mercy, but we may faintly hope for neglect.”

Conway remarked with a smile: “I suppose you’re certain, then, that no human affection can outlast a five-year absence?”

“It can, undoubtedly,” replied the Chinese, “but only as a fragrance whose melancholy we may enjoy.”

“It is significant,” he said after a pause, “that the English regard slackness as a vice. We, on the other hand, should vastly prefer it to tension. Is there not too much tension in the world at present, and might it not be better if more people were slackers?”

...a liveliness so gentle and miniature that he had an impression of a theorem dissolving limpidly into a sonnet.

“People make mistakes in life through believing too much, but they have a damned dull time if they believe too little.”

[Dngrsone]

Well, taking on The Silmarillion by Tolkien... last time I tired, i didn't last a chapter. After reading that biography (and learning that I've only read 53 of NPRs top 100 scifi/fan books/series list), I'm willing to try it anew.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

Well, taking on The Silmarillion by Tolkien... last time I tired, i didn't last a chapter. After reading that biography (and learning that I've only read 53 of NPRs top 100 scifi/fan books/series list), I'm willing to try it anew.

The Silmarillion is a very different book. It's more a look at his background notes and short stories than a single coherent narrative. Think Old Testament, not The Gospel of Mark.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Umm.... The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox. From the recent Humble Bundle.

Well, that was most enjoyable. I have definitely read the first novel in the omnibus before at some time, but the two sequels were new to me. Great fun.

Next up: The Horseman by Kristina O'Donnelly. A romance, not my usual sort of thing at all, but it's my oldest unread book on my pile. I may well abandon if it doesn't catch my interest, as it was a freebie.

[Lusitanic]

"willful blindness: why we ignore the obvious at our peril"

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Opted finally for a Heyer -- Pistols for Two. I bought this a couple of years ago during one of the Heyer sale periods, and I originally read it back in the 70's, I think, but haven't read it since. I expect to enjoy the witty language and descriptions, the characters, and the sheer fun of a Georgette Heyer Regency Romance.

Arghh. A collection of short stories. Enjoyable, but not what I wanted right now. I've read a couple, but the rest can wait. Moving on to read Straight on Till Morning, The Life of Beryl Markham, by Mary S. Lovell. This is a biography written at the very end of Beryl's life, and with her support. I've only just started it, but suspect it will tend to be a bit puffy.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Moving on to read Straight on Till Morning, The Life of Beryl Markham, by Mary S. Lovell. This is a biography written at the very end of Beryl's life, and with her support. I've only just started it, but suspect it will tend to be a bit puffy.

This, IIRC, was the authorized biography and yes, it's a bit of a fluffy praise piece. But you do get a few stories that aren't covered by Errol Trzebinski's Markham bio, and it's a pretty decent read that's worth spending time (and some, but not too much, money) on, IMHO.

[PandathePanda]

Quite a few things:

1: The Captain's Bluestocking Mistress (ARC) by Erica Ridley
2: Daffy Duck: Tunes in Tights by JusSonic (Fanfic)
3: Total Drama All Stars by kierandell1409 (Fanfic)

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

This, IIRC, was the authorized biography and yes, it's a bit of a fluffy praise piece. But you do get a few stories that aren't covered by Errol Trzebinski's Markham bio, and it's a pretty decent read that's worth spending time (and some, but not too much, money) on, IMHO.

Agreed. Somewhere I have a copy of Trzebinski's bio, in paperback. But I can't find it right now, and may not get around to finding it before this month's Book Club discussion. But I did read it 15 years ago or so. This Lovell book I expected to be interesting, but fluffy. Glad to hear that's your impression of it.

[Dngrsone]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The Silmarillion is a very different book. It's more a look at his background notes and short stories than a single coherent narrative. Think Old Testament, not The Gospel of Mark.

Yeah, I was thinking something along the lines of the Old Testment mixed with The Illiad... I'm 3/4 of the way through it, though (much to the detirment of my homework...).

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: The Horseman by Kristina O'Donnelly. A romance, not my usual sort of thing at all, but it's my oldest unread book on my pile. I may well abandon if it doesn't catch my interest, as it was a freebie.

No, it's not for me. Psychic connections and reincarnation in the real world. Urghh. The background (mid-20th century Turkey) is interesting, but if I was really interested I'd prefer non-fiction.

Next up: Monitors by Darrell Bain. Another ancient one from Fictionwise. Bought back in August 2005.

[Dngrsone]

Finished Silmarillion. Now debating with myself if I should purchase a Kindle version of LoTR... I try not to spend more than $2 per book... I just read too much.

Then again, it is a trilogy (at $8.99, that's $3 per volume)... one I will read many times...