I just finished reading Rumpole and the Primrose Path, a book of stories (fiction) about the London Old Bailey lawyer, Rumpole, written by an Old Bailey lawyer, John Mortimer. These, and many other volumes of his stories, were the basis for the BBC series, now out on DVD. No one else ever seems to like these Rumpole tv/DVD episodes as much as I do. I'm not sure 'why' I like them, but I do.
I liked this book okay, but think I enjoy the DVD portrayals better. They come to life more enjoyably than Mortimer's words on the printed page.
Right now, I'm reading a "further adventure of Sherlock Holmes" called The Italian Secretary, which involves historical underpinnings back to the murder of the Italian aide of Mary, Queen of Scots.
I normally wouldn't even 'pick up' a Holmes story 'not' written by A.C. Doyle, but this one isn't proving to be too bad. I'm only on page 104 though, so I'll have to see what develops. The author, Caleb Carr, is apparently an actual historian. I happened, by chance, to see him being interviewed on a history channel program just yesterday.
Maimezvous- just finished that book you were talking about, The Prestige. I liked it a lot, but didn't like the supernatural piece with that teleport machine. It didn't seem to fit, somehow.
John Grisham is good.. What's the other one about?
It's a collection of letters a woman has written to her estranged husband a few years after their then 15-year-old son has committed a high school massacre. She examines the most intimate aspects of her life, her marriage and writes in a horrifyingly honest way about how she hated motherhood etc.
In places, it's amusing (given the protagonists' rather caustic and sarcastic remarks and observations) and at other times I was reduced to tears. It also has a totally shocking, devastating twist at the end.
Maimezvous- just finished that book you were talking about, The Prestige. I liked it a lot, but didn't like the supernatural piece with that teleport machine. It didn't seem to fit, somehow.
That's one reason I kind of like the movie better. The ending to the movie fit better it seemed. Although, I liked both versions. I wonder what the author thinks of the movie.
It's a collection of letters a woman has written to her estranged husband a few years after their then 15-year-old son has committed a high school massacre. She examines the most intimate aspects of her life, her marriage and writes in a horrifyingly honest way about how she hated motherhood etc.
In places, it's amusing (given the protagonists' rather caustic and sarcastic remarks and observations) and at other times I was reduced to tears. It also has a totally shocking, devastating twist at the end.
Give it a try.
Wow, that sounds great. Will look for it next time I visit a bookstore.
I'm finishing Neil Stephenson's "Baroque Cycle" and what a journey it was. I'm taking a break from these epic novels and coming back to earth for a while...
Mickey Spillane's "Something's Down There". I have never read any of his work. But a friend recommended this one. I'll let you know as I read it whether it was worth it.
I've been advised for years to read this but I've always avoided because of the horror I imagine it portrays.
She puts the kid on the stove. It was awful.
The book basically consisted of graphic descriptions of all the crap he has had to endure. It had no character development, which was what I wanted out of it. I wanted to understand why the mom acts the way she does. Why the father just sits by and watches idly, doing nothing to help. But I got none of that out of this book. It was just gross violence.
The book basically consisted of graphic descriptions of all the crap he has had to endure. It had no character development, which was what I wanted out of it. I wanted to understand why the mom acts the way she does. Why the father just sits by and watches idly, doing nothing to help. But I got none of that out of this book. It was just gross violence.
Interesting. I've just started a (temporary *groan*) job at a foster care agency and had a chat today with my new collegue Roberta about child abuse and understand MOTIVE more than anything else. Although she's been doing this kind of work for more years than I've been alive, she's no closer to understanding it now than she was in 1980. However, doctors and psychologists think there are many different causes - from conditioning/learned behaviour through to the genetic. It's useful, i think, to remember that catch-all "explanations" are illogical and sometimes even dangerous.
Bleh, I just finished a book that could have been good had it not been targeted towards pre-teens/teens. It's called Uglies and it's my Scott Westerfield. It had a great set up for a good story but I think the writing was just too simple. The plot revolves around a future civilization not much unlike Orwell's 1984. The difference when someone turns sixteen they have an operation to make them "pretty". If you are younger than sixteen you are an "ugly" aka normal. This civilization is run by elite people that have been augmented through operations. The point of this operation is to make everyone equal. Really, I'm sure I would have liked this book much more if Orwell had written it. I was severely disappointed in the end when I discovered this is a multipart series. I just wanted it to be over. Now, to find out how it all ends I will have to keep reading.
Bleh, I just finished a book that could have been good had it not been targeted towards pre-teens/teens. It's called Uglies and it's my Scott Westerfield. It had a great set up for a good story but I think the writing was just too simple. The plot revolves around a future civilization not much unlike Orwell's 1984. The difference when someone turns sixteen they have an operation to make them "pretty". If you are younger than sixteen you are an "ugly" aka normal. This civilization is run by elite people that have been augmented through operations. The point of this operation is to make everyone equal. Really, I'm sure I would have liked this book much more if Orwell had written it. I was severely disappointed in the end when I discovered this is a multipart series. I just wanted it to be over. Now, to find out how it all ends I will have to keep reading.
Yeah, I read that entire trilogy and was duly unimpressed with each book in turn.
The concept was okay, but it fell prey to the same curse which afflicts most of teen literature, in that it was just too simplistic and predictable.
Yeah, I read that entire trilogy and was duly unimpressed with each book in turn.
The concept was okay, but it fell prey to the same curse which afflicts most of teen literature, in that it was just too simplistic and predictable.
I think the concept is more than ok. Really it's just like 1984 but more extreme. It takes the control to a whole new level. The author could have expanded this so much more, and if he had just been more intelligent in his style then it would have been much better. I didn't really mind the plot too much. Although at times it was so cliched I didn't have to read it to know what it was saying. It's just the idea, he didn't elaborate or really even explain it too well. I guess there is a chance that he will in the other books, but I'm very wary about it.
I think the concept is more than ok. Really it's just like 1984 but more extreme. It takes the control to a whole new level.
Hm, that's an interesting thought, I hadn't considered that.
I dunno though. The scene in 1984 in Room 101 where they are "teaching" him that two plus two equals five, that scene frightened me. The Uglies trilogy didn't have anything that made me think really hard, or scared me like 1984 did.
Though perhaps the Uglies books might have had that if they had been written better..
Hm, that's an interesting thought, I hadn't considered that.
I dunno though. The scene in 1984 in Room 101 where they are "teaching" him that two plus two equals five, that scene frightened me. The Uglies trilogy didn't have anything that made me think really hard, or scared me like 1984 did.
Though perhaps the Uglies books might have had that if they had been written better..
They totally could have. Especially with the surgery. There was one description that had potential. Something about peeling off all your skin and then grinding away at the bones until the were fit for a pretty, and then there was the addition of the plastic. Really, think about that, having surgery done on your whole body, simultaneously, to change you so completely that you would barely recognize yourself. Gives me shivers.
Bleh, I just finished a book that could have been good had it not been targeted towards pre-teens/teens. It's called Uglies and it's my Scott Westerfield. It had a great set up for a good story but I think the writing was just too simple. <snip>
Now, to find out how it all ends I will have to keep reading.
Quote:
Originally Posted by turnwrite
Yeah, I read that entire trilogy and was duly unimpressed with each book in turn.
The concept was okay, but it fell prey to the same curse which afflicts most of teen literature, in that it was just too simplistic and predictable.
I'm not sure I understand this criticism unless you two are teens. These books are marketed as teen books and marketed to teens. How can you criticize them for being too teen-y?
I understand it is possible to write great teen literature, but this stuff makes no pretense of going for that. Besides, some teens need "simple" books to get them interested in reading... And it sells!
Anyway, I haven't read them yet, though I plan to. I also expect to be underwhelmed. Don't expect to complain, though, unless they burn my eyes.
Yes I am a teenager, but I certainly don't read at the teen level. Or at least the level these books were written for. When you read them you will see. I'm sure I would have really enjoyed them when I was 12 or 13, but I know there is so much better literature out there.
I'm not sure I understand this criticism unless you two are teens. These books are marketed as teen books and marketed to teens. How can you criticize them for being too teen-y?
Sorry for not clarifying, what I meant by my comment was that they would have been better if they hadn't been teen books at all. Read as teen books they were fine, but they had potential to be much deeper books, and this potential was not tapped, since they were teen novels. My opinion is that they should have been written as adult novels, and expanded.
Yes I am a teenager, but I certainly don't read at the teen level. Or at least the level these books were written for. When you read them you will see. I'm sure I would have really enjoyed them when I was 12 or 13, but I know there is so much better literature out there.
Yeah. I see 12 and 13 year olds reading them and they seem delighted. Of course, some of the 13 year olds wouldn't touch these books with a 10 foot pole. I'm guessing the target age doesnt go much higher than that...
So, just curious now, what have you read lately that you liked?
(Just don't tell me its the Barroque Cycle--I'll get an inferiority complex...)
Comments
I'm re-reading The Street Lawyer, and I've just finished We Need To Talk About Kevin (a masterpiece, if you ask me)
John Grisham is good.. What's the other one about?
I liked this book okay, but think I enjoy the DVD portrayals better. They come to life more enjoyably than Mortimer's words on the printed page.
Right now, I'm reading a "further adventure of Sherlock Holmes" called The Italian Secretary, which involves historical underpinnings back to the murder of the Italian aide of Mary, Queen of Scots.
I normally wouldn't even 'pick up' a Holmes story 'not' written by A.C. Doyle, but this one isn't proving to be too bad. I'm only on page 104 though, so I'll have to see what develops. The author, Caleb Carr, is apparently an actual historian. I happened, by chance, to see him being interviewed on a history channel program just yesterday.
John Grisham is good.. What's the other one about?
It's a collection of letters a woman has written to her estranged husband a few years after their then 15-year-old son has committed a high school massacre. She examines the most intimate aspects of her life, her marriage and writes in a horrifyingly honest way about how she hated motherhood etc.
In places, it's amusing (given the protagonists' rather caustic and sarcastic remarks and observations) and at other times I was reduced to tears. It also has a totally shocking, devastating twist at the end.
Give it a try.
Maimezvous- just finished that book you were talking about, The Prestige. I liked it a lot, but didn't like the supernatural piece with that teleport machine. It didn't seem to fit, somehow.
That's one reason I kind of like the movie better. The ending to the movie fit better it seemed. Although, I liked both versions. I wonder what the author thinks of the movie.
It's a collection of letters a woman has written to her estranged husband a few years after their then 15-year-old son has committed a high school massacre. She examines the most intimate aspects of her life, her marriage and writes in a horrifyingly honest way about how she hated motherhood etc.
In places, it's amusing (given the protagonists' rather caustic and sarcastic remarks and observations) and at other times I was reduced to tears. It also has a totally shocking, devastating twist at the end.
Give it a try.
Wow, that sounds great. Will look for it next time I visit a bookstore.
Mickey Spillane's "Something's Down There". I have never read any of his work. But a friend recommended this one. I'll let you know as I read it whether it was worth it.
Ugh, I just finished "A Child Called It" by David Pelzer. It was a rather brutal description of the abuse he went through as a child. Anyone read it?
I've been advised for years to read this but I've always avoided because of the horror I imagine it portrays.
I've been advised for years to read this but I've always avoided because of the horror I imagine it portrays.
She puts the kid on the stove. It was awful.
The book basically consisted of graphic descriptions of all the crap he has had to endure. It had no character development, which was what I wanted out of it. I wanted to understand why the mom acts the way she does. Why the father just sits by and watches idly, doing nothing to help. But I got none of that out of this book. It was just gross violence.
She puts the kid on the stove. It was awful.
The book basically consisted of graphic descriptions of all the crap he has had to endure. It had no character development, which was what I wanted out of it. I wanted to understand why the mom acts the way she does. Why the father just sits by and watches idly, doing nothing to help. But I got none of that out of this book. It was just gross violence.
Interesting. I've just started a (temporary *groan*) job at a foster care agency and had a chat today with my new collegue Roberta about child abuse and understand MOTIVE more than anything else. Although she's been doing this kind of work for more years than I've been alive, she's no closer to understanding it now than she was in 1980. However, doctors and psychologists think there are many different causes - from conditioning/learned behaviour through to the genetic. It's useful, i think, to remember that catch-all "explanations" are illogical and sometimes even dangerous.
I'm now re-reading The Street Lawyer.
Bleh, I just finished a book that could have been good had it not been targeted towards pre-teens/teens. It's called Uglies and it's my Scott Westerfield. It had a great set up for a good story but I think the writing was just too simple. The plot revolves around a future civilization not much unlike Orwell's 1984. The difference when someone turns sixteen they have an operation to make them "pretty". If you are younger than sixteen you are an "ugly" aka normal. This civilization is run by elite people that have been augmented through operations. The point of this operation is to make everyone equal. Really, I'm sure I would have liked this book much more if Orwell had written it. I was severely disappointed in the end when I discovered this is a multipart series. I just wanted it to be over. Now, to find out how it all ends I will have to keep reading.
Yeah, I read that entire trilogy and was duly unimpressed with each book in turn.
The concept was okay, but it fell prey to the same curse which afflicts most of teen literature, in that it was just too simplistic and predictable.
Yeah, I read that entire trilogy and was duly unimpressed with each book in turn.
The concept was okay, but it fell prey to the same curse which afflicts most of teen literature, in that it was just too simplistic and predictable.
I think the concept is more than ok. Really it's just like 1984 but more extreme. It takes the control to a whole new level. The author could have expanded this so much more, and if he had just been more intelligent in his style then it would have been much better. I didn't really mind the plot too much. Although at times it was so cliched I didn't have to read it to know what it was saying. It's just the idea, he didn't elaborate or really even explain it too well. I guess there is a chance that he will in the other books, but I'm very wary about it.
I think the concept is more than ok. Really it's just like 1984 but more extreme. It takes the control to a whole new level.
Hm, that's an interesting thought, I hadn't considered that.
I dunno though. The scene in 1984 in Room 101 where they are "teaching" him that two plus two equals five, that scene frightened me. The Uglies trilogy didn't have anything that made me think really hard, or scared me like 1984 did.
Though perhaps the Uglies books might have had that if they had been written better..
Hm, that's an interesting thought, I hadn't considered that.
I dunno though. The scene in 1984 in Room 101 where they are "teaching" him that two plus two equals five, that scene frightened me. The Uglies trilogy didn't have anything that made me think really hard, or scared me like 1984 did.
Though perhaps the Uglies books might have had that if they had been written better..
They totally could have. Especially with the surgery. There was one description that had potential. Something about peeling off all your skin and then grinding away at the bones until the were fit for a pretty, and then there was the addition of the plastic. Really, think about that, having surgery done on your whole body, simultaneously, to change you so completely that you would barely recognize yourself. Gives me shivers.
Bleh, I just finished a book that could have been good had it not been targeted towards pre-teens/teens. It's called Uglies and it's my Scott Westerfield. It had a great set up for a good story but I think the writing was just too simple. <snip>
Now, to find out how it all ends I will have to keep reading.
Yeah, I read that entire trilogy and was duly unimpressed with each book in turn.
The concept was okay, but it fell prey to the same curse which afflicts most of teen literature, in that it was just too simplistic and predictable.
I'm not sure I understand this criticism unless you two are teens. These books are marketed as teen books and marketed to teens. How can you criticize them for being too teen-y?
I understand it is possible to write great teen literature, but this stuff makes no pretense of going for that. Besides, some teens need "simple" books to get them interested in reading... And it sells!
Anyway, I haven't read them yet, though I plan to. I also expect to be underwhelmed. Don't expect to complain, though, unless they burn my eyes.
I'm not sure I understand this criticism unless you two are teens. These books are marketed as teen books and marketed to teens. How can you criticize them for being too teen-y?
Sorry for not clarifying, what I meant by my comment was that they would have been better if they hadn't been teen books at all. Read as teen books they were fine, but they had potential to be much deeper books, and this potential was not tapped, since they were teen novels. My opinion is that they should have been written as adult novels, and expanded.
Yes I am a teenager, but I certainly don't read at the teen level. Or at least the level these books were written for. When you read them you will see. I'm sure I would have really enjoyed them when I was 12 or 13, but I know there is so much better literature out there.
Yeah. I see 12 and 13 year olds reading them and they seem delighted. Of course, some of the 13 year olds wouldn't touch these books with a 10 foot pole. I'm guessing the target age doesnt go much higher than that...
So, just curious now, what have you read lately that you liked?
(Just don't tell me its the Barroque Cycle--I'll get an inferiority complex...)