Mommusic…wow, “Ramona”! I think I read that when I was about that same age, or maybe a little younger. I’d completely forgotten about it.
I found the following interesting comment in the Wikipedia article on the book:
“The novel’s influence on the culture and image of Southern California was considerable. Its sentimental portrayal of Mexican colonial life gave the region a unique cultural identity…”
I’m wondering if the sentimentality in “Ramona” is on the order of that in “The Secret Garden” and “Black Beauty,” both of which absolutely amazed me with their emotionality when I re-read them as adults.
Speaking of Austen, Sense and Sensibility was always one of my least favorites. I could never figure out why Elinor put up with Marianne. The movie was a revelation to me, I finally got it. One of the few instances I can think of where I actually liked a movie better than the book. When I went back to the book, it worked for me. Very weird experience.
Besides Pride and Prejudice (which gets mangled regularly by movies excpet for the BBC version), my other favorite Austen is the somewhat lesser known Persuasion.
I started reading Death Comes To Pemberly last night, and I just downloaded Persuasion to my kindle. I’m glad I started reading this thread. I LOVE to read but have a very hard time selecting books that hold my attention, so I end up reading much less often than I’d like.
I am enjoying DCTP so far, but was amused that I find myself actually using the dictionary function on the kindle from time to time, something I have never had a good reason to do while reading REAL Austen or really any victorian era novel. lol.
My wife and I both recently read Katherine Boo’s nonfiction book about Mumbai slum dwellers, Behind The Beautiful Tomorrows. It is a stunning book, beautifully written, and it functions as a coherent story much more than a facts-and-figures book. We both felt we had learned a lot reading it, and we both felt completely engaged in the lives of the protagonists. It is very, very sad, though – not melodramatic, but a matter-of-fact record of lives where it is almost impossible to live with integrity. It’s also short – probably 3-4 hours of reading time for most people.
I am currently reading, and enjoying, David Mitchell’s The 10,000 Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, a historical novel about Dutch traders in Japan in the late 18th Century. This is the first book by Mitchell I have read. Mitchell has been one of my son’s favorite authors for a while, but this book is much more straightforward than I expected based on how his other books had been described to me.
A while ago, at my daughter’s suggestion, I read The Hunger Games, which I enjoyed immensely. So I read Catching Fire, and enjoyed it so un-immensely that I have never bothered to complete the trilogy. (Same with the Stieg Larson books, for that matter.)
Cloud Atlas is marvelous, as I’m sure your son has told you. 10,000 Autumns is in my to-read pile.
I just finished a wonderful memoir/history, The Hare with the Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal. It’s the story of the author’s wealthy Jewish family, beginning in 19th c. Paris, using a collection of netsuke as the pivot around which their history revolves. It’s beautifully told.
I’m not usually a memoir reader. However, I just this minute finished Wild, by Cheryl Strayed–a memoir of her trek on the Pacific Coast Trail. One of the most beautifully written books I’ve read in a long while, and more than that–one of the wisest.
If any of you have ever read the Dear Sugar Advice Column on Rumpus.net----Strayed, a novelist, was recently revealed to be Sugar. And though I only read her columns sporadically (sent there by young writing friends) I was continually impressed by her kindness, insight, and wisdom.
Booklady and JHS, I am trying to get the CC book club to read and discuss Cloud Atlas. A film based on the book is due to be released this fall.
I loved Cloud Atlas and I subsequently read The 10,000 Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. I liked it too. The history is very interesting and the story is…whoo!..intense!!
^ NJTheatreMOM, Cloud Atlas will be a top contender for our August CC Book Club selection!
Also, on a different note, I really liked both Bel Canto and State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. Yes, there were unusual developments at the end of each book, but I felt they were very carefully and purposefully created. I think Patchett likes making her readers just the slightest bit uncomfortable. I don’t think she is being careless; rather, it seems to me that she is challenging her readers to re-examine the story from a different, unexpected perspective.
whatever4: You asked re Mary13’s post 1565 “If anyone has read the books recommended by Ann Patchett, please give us your opinion of them. I don’t want to read books that are just plain depressing (i.e. Swamplandia).”
Well … I just finished The Family Fang and liked it. I found myself grinning as I read along, laughing on occasion - oftentimes sad (appalled :o) for “Child A, Child B” behind my grin. The twist at the end caught me off guard. Anyway, I liked the quirkiness of the humor and watching the now-adult Fang offspring find themselves. I saw the tone of the book listed somewhere as “darkly humorous, reflective” and think that pretty well describes it. The Family Fang ended up on many “10 Best Books of 2011” lists. Anyway look to the beaucoup reviews online to help you decide to pick this one up or not.
JHS, I thought that Catching Fire was the weakest book of the trilogy, but it sets things up for the final book. I thought there was a lot to like in the last book. I particularly liked that there really were no easy pat answers even though the good(ish) guys (mostly) win. (Hope that’s not a spoiler!)
Put me down in the Persuasion camp. It’s the Austen novel I re-read every year.
Have been trying to read Death Comes to Pemberley but am finding it hard to stay with it. I do love PD James but I’m just not enjoying this that much. For some reason, am finding myself drawn to my very old copy of To the Light House. As I’m getting older, I’m not so dogged about finishing every book I start.
Have been in several book clubs where Ann Patchett was a favorite. I never responded too well to her books. It’s so unpredictable. Maybe I wasn’t in the right zone to appreciate them. Will look into Family Fang based on the raves here
