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It's the end-of-March reading thread!

Lily Fairbairn
Half-elven


Mar 29 2016, 3:10pm

Post #1 of 21 (540 views)
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It's the end-of-March reading thread! Can't Post

Yes, I have returned. Many thanks to Aunt Dora for filling in so capably.


While I was gone I finished listening to Gods Behaving Badly, about the Greek gods living in a decaying house in modern-day London and what happens when Apollo falls in love with a mortal woman. It's well-written and has some exceedingly clever dialog and bits of business, with a nice blend of traditional mythology and contemporary issues. The ending was just a bit pat, but what the heck.


I then started listening to the classic Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, read by the inimitable Stephen Fry. A great book, a great narrator--what's not to like?


Then I started listening to a book in yet another series by the prolific Alexander McCall Smith---and have finally found one I don't like. The book is The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs, second in a series about a pompous German professor of philology. He's mistaken for a professor of veterinary science with a similar name, and instead of correcting the misapprehension as soon as it comes up, keeps digging himself in deeper and deeper pretending to be the other man. Who has recently died!


I strongly dislike this sort of plot to begin with (it seems to be a staple of British comedy, sadly), but what made me give up on the book was a scene where the professor, pretending to be a veterinarian, presides over the mutilation of a dog! Shocked


I checked reviews on Goodreads to see if anyone else was as appalled as I was, and yes, a few readers were. But many more said the book was hysterically funny. Well, okay. It's not enough to put me off McCall Smith's other series---I like Precious Ramotswe, Isabel Dalhousie, and the inhabitants of 44 Scotland Street---but I have to wonder what possessed him to include such a shocking scene.


On paper I started Death of Yesterday, a Hamish McBeth mystery, by M.C. Beaton. After well over 20 books in the series, Beaton was phoning it in so badly, with repetitions and passages that were no more than notes put into complete sentences, that I gave up on it, too. I'm now listening to Death of a Maid, several volumes earlier in the series, and it's not as annoying. (Being on audio helps, I think). But for me, Hamish McBeth has lost his charm and I won't be returning to the series.


On my e-reader I'm reading the first in Anne Cleeves series set in Shetland, Raven Black. Detective Jimmy Perez (yes, he's a native of the area) is investigating the murder of a teenage girl. I'm very much enjoying this one. It doesn't have the tendency Cleeves shows in her Vera series to bring the narrative to a dead stop in order to exhaustively explore the life story of each character. This book is a good mystery, paced well, written well, with interesting characters and a great setting in winter-time Shetland.


I'll probably look for more in the series after this one.


Whew!


So what have you been reading?

Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow....


Elberbeth
Tol Eressea


Mar 29 2016, 3:38pm

Post #2 of 21 (473 views)
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I didn't realize that Ann Cleeves was responsible for both Vera and Shetland [In reply to] Can't Post

and I usually enjoy the Vera television series other than occasionally wishing she was a little less acerbic, and really liked the Shetland series as well, although here we only got about four episodes. I will scrounge around for some of the books.


Right now I don't seem to be able to settle on something to read, I have about five books half read lying around. But a friend gave me The Hobbit in CD (narrated unabridged by Rob Inglis, so I get every description, song and poem) so I am playing that in my car right now. It seems odd that the voices are done so differently than a) I imagined, and b) from the movie! But it's fun anyway.

"There are some things that it is better to begin than to refuse, even though the end may be dark."


Annael
Immortal


Mar 29 2016, 3:47pm

Post #3 of 21 (472 views)
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I have embarked on a Dresden Files re-read [In reply to] Can't Post

Just finished Book Six. It's fun to see just how & when Harry picks up his posse and his additional powers. Well, not always fun: I do wish he didn't get beaten/shot/burned/broken quite so badly in every book. Good think wizards heal better than vanilla mortals.

Was at my dad's last week & picked up "The Lost Explorer" about George Mallory and the finding of his body on Everest a few years ago. I had no idea he ran with the Bloomsbury crowd for a bit (Lytton Strachey for one was obsessed with the young Mallory, who looked a lot like a young Jude Law.)

When I was in the Lakes District in the early 70s I met the widow of Dr. Somervelle, who climbed with Mallory on the expedition before the one on which he was lost; she also went along and went trekking in Tibet while they climbed. Somehow that's always made me feel connected to Mallory in a way.

I am a dreamer of words, of written words. I think I am reading; a word stops me. I leave the page. The syllables of the words begin to move around … The words take on other meanings as if they had the right to be young.

-- Gaston Bachelard

* * * * * * * * * *

NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967


Lily Fairbairn
Half-elven


Mar 29 2016, 5:34pm

Post #4 of 21 (460 views)
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It comes in pi... er, videos? [In reply to] Can't Post

SmileI didn't realize there was a TV series of the Shetland books. I'll have to see if I can find episodes on-line. Thanks!

Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow....


Ataahua
Forum Admin / Moderator


Mar 29 2016, 6:28pm

Post #5 of 21 (454 views)
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I've just started a re-read of Turn Coat. :) [In reply to] Can't Post

I've come to the conclusion that White Knight is the strongest of the series. Not necessarily the most enjoyable or the 'best', but the best written and structured story. There was a lot going on in the plot and rather than revealing the details as he went along, Butcher built on them which led to a bigger story and much bigger implications for Harry.

Can't wait for the next book this year. :)

Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."

"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.


Ataahua's stories


Elarie
Grey Havens

Mar 30 2016, 2:22am

Post #6 of 21 (436 views)
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Churchill's 'A History of the English Speaking Peoples" [In reply to] Can't Post

I'm on volume II, in the middle of the English Civil War, and really loving these books. I've had them sitting on the shelf for awhile, after picking them up somewhere - thrift shop or clearance shelf - and finally decided to give them a try and I'm hooked on Churchill's writing. He combines an astonishing amount of knowledge with great storytelling talent, so the books are a pleasure to read. My favorite little snippet is the tale of the nobleman who got in trouble for burning down a church in a battle but excused himself to the King by saying that he thought the Archbishop was inside when he did it. That one made me laugh out loud - If only all history books did such a good job of bringing the people to life! Smile

__________________

Gold is the strife of kinsmen,
and fire of the flood-tide,
and the path of the serpent.



Old Toby
Grey Havens


Mar 30 2016, 4:59am

Post #7 of 21 (433 views)
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The Prisoner of Zenda by Alexander Hope [In reply to] Can't Post

Wow! Another terrific old classic that I never read before! Such a great action/adventure/romantic tale! I confess I never saw the movie either. I think it would be a wonderful film if done today - and hopefully without a lot of CGI and special effects! A lot of the novels written in this era can be, on reading in today's world, very dated and more than occasionally tediously descriptive, but both this story and the one that came with it in this two-in-one book (Tarzan of the Apes by Burroughs) were worth the read. Now to immerse myself in some of John Keats' poetry....
Heart

"Age is always advancing and I'm fairly sure it's up to no good." Harry Dresden (Jim Butcher)


Riven Delve
Tol Eressea


Mar 30 2016, 3:00pm

Post #8 of 21 (426 views)
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Rereading "The Talisman Ring" [In reply to] Can't Post

by Georgette Heyer. (Yes, again! I'd rather be nibbled to death by ducks than miss reading this several times a year! Wink) I love love love the humor in this book:




Quote

Eustacie, seeing the two Bundys busy with the laden ponies, said ... "Can I help to lead them, please?"
"No. Keep quiet."
"But what can I do?"
"Nothing."
Ned Bundy said something under his breath.
"I dare say, but I'm not going to have a cousin of mine hit over the head," said Ludovic. "Ready, Abel?"


I hate it when sm free-traders won't let you play too... Laugh


“Tollers,” Lewis said to Tolkien, “there is too little of what we really like in stories. I am afraid we shall have to try and write some ourselves.”



Silverlode
Forum Admin / Moderator


Mar 30 2016, 7:29pm

Post #9 of 21 (413 views)
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Oh, that's one of my favorites. [In reply to] Can't Post

I've always thought it would be one of the best candidates for a screen adaptation. It's got a great combination of comedy and action-adventure. Can't you just see Richard Armitage as Tristram, irritably refusing to ride ventre a terre to Eustacie's imaginary deathbed/execution?

Silverlode

Roads go ever ever on
Under cloud and under star
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen
And horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows green
And trees and hills they long have known.




Riven Delve
Tol Eressea


Mar 30 2016, 7:45pm

Post #10 of 21 (410 views)
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Oh yes indeed I can. [In reply to] Can't Post


In Reply To
I've always thought it would be one of the best candidates for a screen adaptation. It's got a great combination of comedy and action-adventure. Can't you just see Richard Armitage as Tristram, irritably refusing to ride ventre a terre to Eustacie's imaginary deathbed/execution?


I'd pay good money to see that movie (over and over and over). Wink


“Tollers,” Lewis said to Tolkien, “there is too little of what we really like in stories. I am afraid we shall have to try and write some ourselves.”



Meneldor
Valinor


Mar 30 2016, 10:28pm

Post #11 of 21 (398 views)
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Prisoner of Zenda movies [In reply to] Can't Post

It was filmed at least twice. Somewhere I have a two sided DVD with two different films, both quite good, one B&W, one in glorious Technicolor. Haven't watched them in a while, but as I recall neither one was totally true to the book, but neither one totally butchered it either. That story is what a good swashbuckler ought to be, IMO.


They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters, these see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. -Psalm 107


Dame Ioreth
Tol Eressea


Mar 31 2016, 2:38am

Post #12 of 21 (391 views)
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There is a sequel too! [In reply to] Can't Post

My grandmother gave me these to read and I loved them. The sequel, Rupert of Henzau, is good also, in the same rollicking swashbuckler way. It was also made into a movie but I didn't care for the movie as much as the book.

_


Heed WBA when building blanket forts.
ITLs don't get enough FAS. :)

Where there's life there's hope, and need of vittles.
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings






Dame Ioreth
Tol Eressea


Mar 31 2016, 2:42am

Post #13 of 21 (398 views)
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I want to see Richard Armitage in [In reply to] Can't Post

Venetia. I really want to see Richard Armitage in Venetia. Just listening to his audiobook adaptation convinced me he has the voice for Damerel. BlushCool

_


Heed WBA when building blanket forts.
ITLs don't get enough FAS. :)

Where there's life there's hope, and need of vittles.
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings






Riven Delve
Tol Eressea


Mar 31 2016, 11:25am

Post #14 of 21 (383 views)
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He's too old for either role [In reply to] Can't Post

but you wouldn't see too many people complaining. Wink


“Tollers,” Lewis said to Tolkien, “there is too little of what we really like in stories. I am afraid we shall have to try and write some ourselves.”



Dame Ioreth
Tol Eressea


Mar 31 2016, 12:41pm

Post #15 of 21 (380 views)
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I think he's the perfect age for Damerel [In reply to] Can't Post

He is supposed to be 14 years senior to Venetia who is 25 which would make him 39, but hard living had made him look older. Richard is only 44 putting at the perfect age.

Shall we start a petition? I'll sign it! Cool

_


Heed WBA when building blanket forts.
ITLs don't get enough FAS. :)

Where there's life there's hope, and need of vittles.
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings






Riven Delve
Tol Eressea


Mar 31 2016, 1:28pm

Post #16 of 21 (373 views)
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I'll sign it as many times as necessary. ;) // [In reply to] Can't Post

 


“Tollers,” Lewis said to Tolkien, “there is too little of what we really like in stories. I am afraid we shall have to try and write some ourselves.”



Annael
Immortal


Apr 1 2016, 1:01am

Post #17 of 21 (356 views)
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I can totally see him as Sir Tristram [In reply to] Can't Post

We must remember that people of that time looked older than they do now, so . . .

Hmmm. Now I'm mentally casting the movie. Freddie Stroma or Alex Pettyfer as Ludovic? Hayley Atwell as Sarah? As for Eustacie, I see her as looking like Selena Gomez - can she do a French accent?

As for the Beau, how fun to have Tom Hiddleston . . .

I am a dreamer of words, of written words. I think I am reading; a word stops me. I leave the page. The syllables of the words begin to move around … The words take on other meanings as if they had the right to be young.

-- Gaston Bachelard

* * * * * * * * * *

NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967

(This post was edited by Annael on Apr 1 2016, 1:01am)


Riven Delve
Tol Eressea


Apr 1 2016, 10:48am

Post #18 of 21 (340 views)
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Tom Hiddleston [In reply to] Can't Post

is pretty much exactly what I've always pictured the Beau to look like! Wink


“Tollers,” Lewis said to Tolkien, “there is too little of what we really like in stories. I am afraid we shall have to try and write some ourselves.”



Annael
Immortal


Apr 1 2016, 6:29pm

Post #19 of 21 (328 views)
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he also does the weather apparently [In reply to] Can't Post

http://www.vulture.com/...mid=facebook_vulture

I am a dreamer of words, of written words. I think I am reading; a word stops me. I leave the page. The syllables of the words begin to move around … The words take on other meanings as if they had the right to be young.

-- Gaston Bachelard

* * * * * * * * * *

NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967


RosieLass
Valinor


Apr 1 2016, 11:03pm

Post #20 of 21 (309 views)
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I felt the same way about "Portuguese Irregular Verbs." [In reply to] Can't Post

Speaking of McCall Smith, I continue to catch up on the Precious Ramotswe series. I am currently in the middle of "The Handsome Man's Deluxe Cafe."

I'm waiting to see what kind of trouble Charlie the Detective will get himself into. Laugh

"Being negative only makes a difficult journey more difficult. You may be given a cactus, but you don't have to sit on it."
--Joyce Meyer

A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP
--Leonard Nimoy


Kim
Valinor


Apr 3 2016, 8:08pm

Post #21 of 21 (292 views)
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I finished TTT [In reply to] Can't Post

Luckily, reading about Shelob is a little easier than watching her on screen (although those images did pop into my head while reading). I'd forgotten it ended on such a cliffhanger (ooops, spoiler alert). Think I'm going to take a bit of a breather before diving into ROTK - I think things are going to get really heavy from here on out. Shocked

 
 

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