The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold December 28, 2007
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Most likely I did not follow Helen’s train of thought. Well, certainly I did not. The book made me so depressed that I almost abandoned it just to stay on the optimistic side of things. Maybe the final message is “it’s worth it”, but I certainly am worried for Alice Sebold’s life–if there is any resemblance between author’s writing and their life, we must be worried about Alice’s will to live. I read Lovely Bones a couple of years ago, I skipped Lucky, but I knew the history behind the old amphitheater in Thornden Park in Syracuse, where, BTW I always parked my car while spending a few years at Syracuse University.
I was thinking about Michael Cunningham. I was thinking about all suicidal writers. If you feel compelled into going into such direction, read the book.
The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho December 12, 2007
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I find it hard to summarize my thoughts after finishing reading the book just a while ago. In my previous post I mentioned that the author found a very natural unobtrusive way of touching important subjects, such as how divorces are treated by the catholic church. There are of course more:
- balance between male and female in the world; balance between the old (safe, but uneventful) and the new (exciting, but dangerous)
- state-forced fruitlessness of humanitarian help for countries in need
- finding, or re-discovering, a human being in ourselves
I think I will stop here–the last item is the most important one for me. And certainly, The Witch of Portobello will be among the books I will return to one of these days…
The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho (reading in progress) December 5, 2007
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I really like the book!!! The formula of a series of interviews helps touch many important subjects, and make us, readers, think about them.
- divorce and church
- trance and its effects on productivity
- how much of ourselves we lose just to become more efficient (hand-written vs. machine duplicated word)
I’m sure there will be much more. I’m at 1/3 of the book.
Abandoning Books December 4, 2007
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Am I too lazy to invest more time into potentially good books that don’t absorb me too much at the beginning?
I just decided I would not finish two books I think belong to “crime” genre: Les Standiford’s Done Deal and Brian Freeman’s Immoral. I think they belong, because I cannot be sure… I stopped reading after a brief period, the book just did not catch my attention. I was close to abandoning The Witch of Portobello, but luckily I persisted, and so far I’m glad I did.
Do you often abandon books at the beginning of the story? Did people tell you that you had missed a great story that would develop just a tiny bit later?
The Ivy Chronicles by Karen Quinn November 22, 2007
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I have to say that I was close to putting the book away, but in the end finished it. I don’t particularly like so much silliness and “high society” parody. The book was for me just too childish. That’s it. Pretty short.
Eventide by Kent Haruf (abandoned) November 11, 2007
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I’ve dropped the book after some 1/5th of the story. I kept asking myself: so what? what is that described for? what’s the purpose? Don’t see too much point describing ordinary lives of ordinary people…
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen November 9, 2007
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Not a masterpiece, but a very enjoyable read. Surely good material for a movie.
A man and his home…
I personally don’t like going to circus at all, but I can understand the passion it may bring out in others. Funny how this topic (circus) is seldom covered in contemporary fiction. I recall only one book in which it was as important as in Water for Elephants, that is Irving’s A Son of the Circus… You?
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (reading in progress) November 8, 2007
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hah, just on the way to work on the train I thought…
a being who understands Polish is acting dull and stupid until given alcohol
now, that’s a novel use of what CW says 
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (reading in progress) November 7, 2007
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Now, that’s my favorite kind of books. A story of a lifetime, with a lot of human-human interactions and powerful feelings. Having unexpectedly lost my father this year I surely can understand some of Jacob (Jakub) thoughts. A good buy, I enjoy every cent I spent on the book.
Amazon.com–thanks for the custom recommendation. The recommendation engine, after some training indeed is right on target.
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (Books 5 though 7) November 7, 2007
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Reading all HP books in a single go has one huge advantage. You’re immersed in this magical world so deeply that it’s difficult at times to go back to reality. Finishing the final book was indeed a bit sad experience: “what… the whole adventure already over?”
Well, I knew some things about the final volume that must have happened, and some true nature of the characters. No spoilers here, so can’t give you details.
Overall: a big project, a little too slow/boring at times, but definitely impressing with its depth of details. Way to go, despite what some critics say.
