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Post by Quettalee on Aug 22, 2007 18:49:37 GMT -5
Topic: Ray Bradbury Today we mark 87 years since the birth of Ray Bradbury. That prolific and beloved writer has been at work for more than six decades, producing works ranging from fantasy to literary essays to horror to mystery. Bradbury is commonly considered a science fiction writer, someone who creates works dealing principally with the impact of actual or imagined science on society or individuals. Ray Bradbury objects to that, asserting "I don't try to describe the future. I try to prevent it." That observer of life also had this to say about humanity: "We are an impossibility in an impossible universe." Not surprisingly for the man who wrote Fahrenheit 451, a dystopian novel about a society in which books were banned and burned, Bradbury appreciates power of libraries too, asking "Without libraries, what have we? We have no past and no future." And how does one get people to stop reading? Bradbury turns his eye toward the tube, bemoaning "The television, that insidious beast, that Medusa which freezes a billion people to stone every night, staring fixedly, that Siren which called and sang and promised so much and gave, after all, so little."
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Post by Joxcee on Aug 28, 2007 20:04:04 GMT -5
Hey Q. Another good read is: Lisa, Bright and Dark by John Neufeld. I just got through reading it, and I think it would make for a very good parent/teen discussion. I will be reading I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg next. I've seen parts of the movie, and I know it's a true story about the author's mental illness as a young adult. (teen, I think, not sure)
I got the books because of the short story I wrote and thought it might help give me some insight. I didn't get Go Ask Alice by Anonymous. I thought it dealt more with drug use than mental illness. Maybe I'll get it another time. It too might make for a good read.
I also got The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen and will be reading it third. After reading those, I'm gonna need to find something more light to lift my mood.
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Post by Quettalee on Aug 28, 2007 22:02:36 GMT -5
Thanks again, Jox! I'll certainly check them out. She's reading Jane Austin right now.
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Post by Joxcee on Aug 28, 2007 22:15:26 GMT -5
You're very welcome.
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Post by gams on Aug 29, 2007 7:36:17 GMT -5
A bookish quote for today:
"A room without books is as a body without a soul." ~ Cicero
We've got a new bookstore in town! A bookstore with gobs of new books! (the Hidden Room Bookstore, with its musty, dusty smells, will always be a favorite, but all except for a handful of new books with local interest, are used). Barnes and Nobel just opened at the local college campus. I can see myself spending a lot of time there this winter when I'm off work, sipping coffee, and fingering pages.
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Post by Quettalee on Aug 29, 2007 15:40:45 GMT -5
I love Barnes and Noble once in a while! The closest one is over in Lou. at not-a-very-convenient place, so I never go. You will probably enjoy checking it out, but I bet it won't hold a candle to your Hidden Room. I don't really have a favorite bookstore close. I guess because we have so many flea markets and second-hand stores close that usually offer an abundance of great finds...and you know me, I love a bargain. Everything at B & N is so..."new"...and shiney...and expensive! Translation: No personality. There's just something about a book that's all dog-eared and broke in. You know it's been loved.
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Post by Joxcee on Aug 29, 2007 17:13:30 GMT -5
I will be reading I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg next. I've seen parts of the movie, and I know it's a true story about the author's mental illness as a young adult. (teen, I think, not sure)
Okay. She is 16 in the book when she goes into the mental hospital. I discovered that the book is a work of fiction, but, of course, based on her experiences. I did a bit of Google searching:
I'm halfway through the book and it's a very good read. I'm really enjoying it. There is a saneness to a crazy persons world. Really strange. They make no sense to outsiders, but understand each other completely. The author is very good at letting us in on the inner secret meanings that we would never understand otherwise.
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Post by Joxcee on Aug 29, 2007 17:56:47 GMT -5
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Post by gams on Sept 22, 2007 23:25:40 GMT -5
The latest books I've read....and I finished the last weeks ago, and haven't had much time to start another...I thoroughly enjoyed.
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins was written just over three decades ago, and some of the governmental, social, psychological, and environmental issues covered in satirical humor still apply today. Aside from it being a great story about a woman born with a "deformity" - two grotesquely large thumbs, and what do you do with grotesquely large thumbs when you are outcast from society because of them? You learn to hitch-hike, and with grotesquely large thumbs, you learn to be the best damn hitch-hiker there is. Your hitch-hiking, in a round about way, may lead you to a cowgirl ranch, the last surviving flock of whooping cranes, and a guru Chink, who is actually a hermit from Japan, but unjust stereotyping is part of the satire.
And while the story is interesting, fascinating are the author's interjections, always preceded with a warning, "The Author thinks", as he goes on to give his opinion on what his characters should do, amoeba love, or poor sentence structure.
I have not seen the movie - I didn't know there was a movie until I was talking with a friend about the book just last week.
The other book, Leaving Small's Hotel by Eric Kraft, took me nearly three months to read. Not because it was boring, or difficult, or because I lost it. It sat there waiting until I had a spare moment, could sit and read a few chapters and put it back down again until maybe it'd be picked up a week or two later. Had I known what was between the front and back cover when I got it, I'd have bought all the copies they had and given them to everyone I know who likes a good story with undertones of sly humor: I found it in a bargain bin at the grocery store for a dollar. I loved this book. Apparently it is the last chapter in the story of the main character - I'll have to look for the other books this winter when I have more time to read.
Next up: In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez.
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katmandu
Kenin
kenin
Don't Mess With Me, I Bite! =D
Posts: 2,803
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Post by katmandu on Sept 23, 2007 23:09:33 GMT -5
Sounds like the book is better then the movie Gams, even with the delectable Uma Thurman in the lead role I couldn't sit through more then half an hour of it, truly bad, had to give it a "big" thumbs down.
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Post by gams on Sept 24, 2007 7:28:13 GMT -5
Oh, thanks for the tip, Katina. I was going to rent it, but hearing it deserves a big thumbs down, won't bother.
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Post by Joxcee on Oct 5, 2007 13:16:43 GMT -5
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Post by Joxcee on Oct 21, 2007 21:37:20 GMT -5
Only 4 more days to chat with Nora Roberts about her book, High Noon. (Links in post above.)
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Post by Quettalee on Oct 21, 2007 21:46:41 GMT -5
Thanks, Jox. I had seen your post when you put it up and forgot to come back and reply. I haven't read the new one. I got tied up with and read three of her trilogies back-to-back. Then when I was in Myrtle Beach I found one of her early works ( Sweet Revenge) and got involved in that one. I just finished it one day last week. I don't have a bunch of time right now that I feel I can spend on "fun" reading, so what did I do but pick up another of her books ( Chesapeake Blue) at a yard sale yesterday! Oh well, it will go well with my last week at the ice creamery. Then who knows when I'll get to read another novel??
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Post by Joxcee on Oct 21, 2007 21:56:40 GMT -5
I found her Blue Smoke hardback in the bargain bin at BAMM.com and bought it. I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I have 10 other books in the TBR pile before I get to it. When I do read it, it will be the first book of hers that I've ever read. I'd heard of her, but I never picked up any of her books.
I recently had my yearly (2-year) eye checkup and decided to get some reading glasses. I hate doing a lot of reading with bifocals. I don't know why I never thought to do that before. I'll pick them up this week, so I'll hopefully get more reading done with less strain.
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Post by Quettalee on Oct 23, 2007 20:50:53 GMT -5
Well, I got my book out today to start and it ended up being the fourth installment of the Chesapeake saga. Back on the shelf it goes...
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Post by Joxcee on Oct 23, 2007 22:47:17 GMT -5
I hate when I surf BAMM.com and find a book that piques my interest and find it's part of a collection/series. Then if I'm really interested, I have to google to find info on how many books there are, and in which order they are to be read. Usually I just delete it from my cart. I'm sure there are quite a number of author's I'd love, but I'm so far behind that I just don't bother. One of the reasons I tend to not click on "Fantasy" links. I know most of them come in trilogies.
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Post by Joxcee on Nov 3, 2007 19:07:55 GMT -5
I came across this site tonight. Looks like it might be of interest to those with kids. I didn't check out the membership fee though, since I ain't in school.
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Post by gams on Nov 9, 2007 1:11:19 GMT -5
I started to read briefly In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, way back while I was on vacation over a month ago, and haven't picked it up again since this week. Tonight, I could not put it down until I finished. Fiction based on fact - and I'm glad it is over.
A completely compelling, powerful, and unforgettable book.
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Post by Quettalee on Nov 29, 2007 16:59:25 GMT -5
Three beauts from the clearance display at the bookstore yesterday...
Cooking With Garlic...a fun little 46-pager, printed on cardboard pages and shaped in the form of what else...a garlic bulb! ($1.99)
Zen...Its History & Teachings...this was Mare's pick, but it looks pretty interesting and I'll probably read it. ($5.99)
And my favoritest...The Little Big Book-Quick Meals ($7.99) 960 pages of easy recipes and ideas! I have been devouring all my old cookbooks even though I know every page like a diary. This one will keep me occupied for a couple of nights. I don't really follow many recipes to the letter, but I do love scoping out new ideas and then customizing them in Q-fashion.
OK, gotta go pick up #1 from d. e.
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