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I'm half done with I know This Much is True - very interesting. I think I'll finish reading the second half faster than the first since I really want to know what happens next :) I'm trying to time it so by the time I get back to the library I'll pick up the Hobbit....progress
AJane, I'm sure Critical remembers Running with Scissors better than I do, but just in case she doesn't see your post for a while I'll try and remember. It's a memoir about a boy's teenage years growing up in an extremely difficult environment - seems very 70's-ish era in my memory but I'm not positive about that. His mother has serious psychological problems and starts seeing a very questionable therapist. Eventually she leaves him with the therapist to live. The rest of the book is about his time spent in the therapist's household along with a variety of other kids. The adults on the scene basically abdicate any responsibility for the kids and they pretty much are left to their own devices. They are exposed to some very shocking circumstances, including the adults not considering it a problem when adult males pursue the adolescents in their care. Hope I'm not giving too much away here. As the movie reviews say, I would give this this one an "R" rating for disturbing situations.
The book was well-reviewed, at least in the LA Times. As Critical said, the narrator is very matter-of-fact through the whole story, is able to see the humor is some situations and doesn't have a self-pitying tone. He is to be admired for coming through what he did. However, as I said, it left me feeling nauseous (or is that nauseated? I never can remember) and I usually have a fairly strong stomach. I didn't regret reading it exactly, but it was one of few books for which I had no second thoughts about giving it away when I was done.
Thanks mo2d. :) That sounds pretty interesting. I reserved it at the library, along with The Closers and The Red Tent, based on the good reviews I've read here. Thanks guys!
I will be interested to hear what you think when you're done! I loved The Red Tent. Loved Kite Runner too, but went through about a box of Kleenex.
We must be reading all the same books, momof2dogs! I loved both The Red Tent and Kite Runner. I went through quite a bit of Kleenex with both of them!Quote:
Originally Posted by momof2dogs
I admire those of you who get your books at the library. I can be so finicky with books that I'll buy one that I'm really excited about and then decide I don't want to read it yet. I've owned books for years before I'm ready to read them. If I borrowed from the library, I'd either be returning books unread or paying lots of fines! :)
I bought Middlesex and The Time Traveler's Wife yesterday, due to the recommendations on here.
I absolutely adored The Red Tent. I was named for Dinah, and while I knew her story, I was fascinated to read the fictionalized account. I've bought half a dozen copies of this book but given them all away, along with copies of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.
momof2dogs, thanks for giving the synopsis of Running With Scissors. I knew I'd read it, but I read so much I forget what a book is about, only to end up buying it (or checking it out of the library) again. It was very interesting but I don't think I want to go there again. Disturbing.
I've been on a science fiction kick lately. I'm trying to read all the Orson Scott Card Ender's Game series, but I'm having trouble finding some of them. I need to be visiting the used bookstores but I've been pretty busy lately.
The only books in that series I've read are Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow. I've tried reading Children of the Mind, which I think is the last book in the series, and I just couldn't get into it. But then again, I *was* reading them out of order.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dinahann
I've finished reading Lolita. An interesting book. The blurb on the back of my copy was very misleading, as the things I expected to read never happened. :lol
Just for kicks, I got that very book (NofR) from the library today. :wowQuote:
Originally Posted by Lah
If you can get through books by Eco (or if you want to but can't quite make it) I heartily recommend An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears. A great historical mystery/thriller told from the points of view of various characters, with some great twists and turns. Some find it a difficult read, but to me it's much easier than Eco and even more rewarding!