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Old 11-22-2014, 12:22 PM   #1941
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I loved that Lost in Shangri-La book. Very neat story and well written.

Gotta be honest, Wild was not as compelling. It seemed too much woo woo and about her personal life (the same way I felt about Eat Pray Love) than a real travel story.


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Old 11-24-2014, 05:41 PM   #1942
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I'm in the middle of book three of the 299 Days series, by Glen Tate. In essence the series is about a financial apocalypse caused by excessive government debt.
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Old 11-24-2014, 05:56 PM   #1943
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Just bought 41. (George Bush)

I hope to read it over the holidays. Anyone read it yet?
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Old 11-24-2014, 08:01 PM   #1944
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No, but I want to read it.


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Old 12-02-2014, 06:01 PM   #1945
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Testing the Current by William McPherson:

The book revolves around a boy, Tommy, a second-grader in 1939. The story takes place in a mid-western city near the Canadian border. Most of the major characters, a group of friends, are well-to-do (financially upper-middle class). They summer on “The Island”--which is a series of islands located in the middle of a nearby river. They live in well-appointed cottages and there is a country club atmosphere (golf course included).

The book is seen through Tommy’s eyes as he observes the world around him--which mainly consists of adults whom he gets along with and who enjoy him as well. He’s quite observant and what he sees often has huge impact on him. It is also clear that he will be deeply impacted by his childhood observations as he moves towards his teen-age years and then into adulthood. The story has very little action--just people living their lives--and nobody doing anything particularly outrageous.

I felt the book was very well-written and enjoyed it. The author never breaks stride--the book is seen through Tommy’s eyes and stays true to that. You get the idea the this is how a bright, thoughtful seven (and later eight) year old boy might process his world.

As for a recommendation: I think some people will enjoy the book, but I also would understand if others were bored to tears and put it down before finishing it.

This book review is dedicated to Bestwifeever, who has not previously had a book review dedicated to her. (hard to believe)
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Old 12-02-2014, 06:51 PM   #1946
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Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand.

Can't wait to see the movie!
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Old 12-03-2014, 05:45 PM   #1947
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redduck, thanks for that review, I have wanted to read some of his books after the sad essay he wrote that got such a lively discussion around here. I think HaHa was also going to read a few. Thanks for the reminder to check out my library for this one.


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Old 12-03-2014, 08:18 PM   #1948
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299 Days, books 1 thru 4, by Glen Tate.

US economic collapse.
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Old 12-03-2014, 10:10 PM   #1949
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Sarah, you are so in luck as "Testing the Current" (I couldn't figure out how to underline it here) is once again available--I just returned it to the library this afternoon (Wed.).
I suggest you get to the library tomorrow as it opens so as to beat HaHa in checking out the book.

I also suggest as you read the book you take notes on whom the characters are (at least for the first few chapters).
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Old 12-03-2014, 10:20 PM   #1950
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Sarah, you are so in luck as "Testing the Current" (I couldn't figure out how to underline it here) is once again available--I just returned it to the library this afternoon (Wed.).
I suggest you get to the library tomorrow as it opens so as to beat HaHa in checking out the book.

I also suggest as you read the book you take notes on whom the characters are (at least for the first few chapters).
Plus dedicate the review to me

I will try to check it out, now that it is back on the library shelf. Spoiler alert us if necessary, RD, but is there a reason the title makes me think it's a how-to book about rewiring one's home? Really that is a terrible title--think how poor Mr. McPherson's life might have changed for the better if the book had a different title.
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Old 12-03-2014, 11:32 PM   #1951
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Bestwifeever, it's interesting that you mention "Spoiler Alert" because as I was writing the "review" I was thinking that even if I wanted to, I could not come up with a "Spoiler". Actually, the closest I could come to one would be to say, "By the end of the book, Tommy advances from second grade to third grade."
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Old 12-06-2014, 06:44 AM   #1952
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I finished The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett. Excellent novel.

It was copyright 1929. The movie was released in 1941. They are so close, you'd think they coincided in time.

The casting of the movie was perfect, dead on, with one notable exception: Sam Spade. Bogart is physically nothing like the character described in the novel. But he had the attitude!
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Old 12-06-2014, 07:13 AM   #1953
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Doubt by Susan Hecht. A study of religious doubt through the ages. Very well done and very well reviewed. Got it for cheap on my kindle via some "special" offer or other.
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Old 12-06-2014, 12:39 PM   #1954
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"A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving. I liked it OK. It helped pass the time. I'm still searching for a replacement author for Philip Roth and John Updike. The search continues. Also reading a non-fiction book about the French Revolution which is pretty interesting.
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Old 12-06-2014, 02:38 PM   #1955
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I just finished Hilary Mantel's historical fiction novel "Wolf Hall" set in the time of Henry VIII and focusing on the rise of Cromwell. Next in the series is "Bring Up the Bodies" which I will have to pick up the next time I am at B & N (am using up some of the gift cards I received from generous co-workers when I retired). I read an ad in The New Yorker that these novels will be featured in a BBC TV series sometime in 2015 and this is what prompted me to seek out the book.
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Old 12-06-2014, 02:52 PM   #1956
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I just read "Full Dark No Stars " by Steven King . It is a collection of very weird but very good short stories ,
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Old 12-06-2014, 03:17 PM   #1957
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"A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving. I liked it OK. It helped pass the time. I'm still searching for a replacement author for Philip Roth and John Updike. The search continues. Also reading a non-fiction book about the French Revolution which is pretty interesting.
Do you know William Maxwell's work? DH really likes the authors you mention, and Maxwell is also one of his favorites, especially Time Will Darken It, and So Long, See You Tomorrow. Maxwell was the editor at the New Yorker who worked with Cheever, Updike, O'Hara and others. JD Salinger chose Maxwell as a first reader for the Catcher in the Rye manuscript.Overlooked classics: Time Will Darken It by William Maxwell | Books | The Guardian

DH also really likes William Kennedy, who wrote Ironweed and several other novels set in upstate New York, which you maybe have already read. They are a little dark for my taste. I am reading two murder mysteries instead.
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Old 12-07-2014, 09:01 AM   #1958
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Do you know William Maxwell's work? DH really likes the authors you mention, and Maxwell is also one of his favorites, especially Time Will Darken It, and So Long, See You Tomorrow. Maxwell was the editor at the New Yorker who worked with Cheever, Updike, O'Hara and others. JD Salinger chose Maxwell as a first reader for the Catcher in the Rye manuscript.Overlooked classics: Time Will Darken It by William Maxwell | Books | The Guardian

DH also really likes William Kennedy, who wrote Ironweed and several other novels set in upstate New York, which you maybe have already read. They are a little dark for my taste. I am reading two murder mysteries instead.
No, I am not familiar with Maxwell or Kennedy. Thanks for the suggestions. I will check them out!
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Old 12-09-2014, 12:15 AM   #1959
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Just finished three books. Hack Attack (on going phone hacking scandal in the UK), The Berlin Wall, and part of a book about Sociopaths among us. I usually have a few going at any one time.
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Old 12-09-2014, 12:30 AM   #1960
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Just finished reading "Earth Abides" by George Stewart. It was a book club reading. It is an excellent post-apocalyptic story set in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was written in 1949 and holds up amazingly well. It was the inspiration for Stephen King's "The Stand" which I read decades ago and loved.
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