shakennotstirred
Beach Fanatic
Mermaid said:
I read both of these & thought they were excellent. Also liked the Mermaid Chair but didn't think it was as good as Secret Life of Bees.
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Great Reading
- Thread starter hutch
- Start date
I read both of these & thought they were excellent. Also liked the Mermaid Chair but didn't think it was as good as Secret Life of Bees.
Cil
Beach Fanatic
Kurtkurt said:I really like the movie by Spielberg. Starring Batman Begins' Christian Bale in a great performance as the young boy Jim.
If you like that you might also like the grittier novel by James Clavell, "King Rat" - about the brutality of prison camp life in Japanese-occupied, World War II Malaya. The King, an American corporal, seeks to dominate both captives and captors by his courage, profound insight into human frailties, and pragmatic American business techniques in a class-ridden society where Japanese and British actions are bound by bankrupt codes of "honor."
I read 'King Rat' years ago and maybe should reread it. (I reread stuff all the time.) I loved the movie of 'Empire of the Sun' and own it--the commentary on the other side of the DVD, all about the history of Shanghai and the making of the film, is fascinating. Back then, Christian Bale already had that special something as an actor.
iwishiwasthere
I very much enjoyed Wicked, read it years ago and have tickets to the musical.
shakennotstirred
Agree about not liking The Mermaid Chair as much as The Secret Life of Bees.
That was a hard act to follow though.
Anyone like the author Alice Hoffman? She does a lot of magical realism type stuff. I go up and down with her work but very much enjoyed her latest:
Blackbird House, about a house on Cape Cod and its many different inhabitants over the generations.
shakennotstirred
Beach Fanatic
Cil said:
I have not read Blackbird House but will check it out. I read "The Ice Queen" by the same author & it was decent - very unusual - about a woman who was struck by lightning & how the experience improves her life. I think this is her latest book - released this Spring.
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult was awesome but sad. A story of a 13 year old girl who was conceived to use as a genetic match for her terminally ill sister. She sues her parents so that they stop using her for spare parts.
Cil
Beach Fanatic
shakennotstirred said:
Shaken
You're right--The Ice Queen, which I knew of but had forgotten all about, must indeed be Hoffman's latest, and this confuses me a bit because Blackbird House is still in hardcover, but BH is a smallish book, a sort of collection of intertwined short stories, maybe it came out shortly before or after.
Have heard of 'My Sister's Keeper' and it sounds good, if depressing.
Have also been reading John Irving's latest, Until I Find You, but it is rough going for me, awfully long. I keep putting it down and reaching for something else.
I love thick rambling books but this one is a bit of a slog, the characters just don't grab me and the editing could have been more finely honed. I do love Irving's use of italics though.
Jdarg
SoWal Expert
New Carl Hiaasen out Sept 13- another "kid" book (but "Hoot" was awesome for grownups too!). Anyway- this one is called "Flush", and is about a nasty casino boat owner who is dumping his toilet tanks into the ocean every night. (kinda like someone in Gulf Trace with the septic tanks?) In typical Hiaasen fashion, the bad guy will get a really bad (but funny) end. Set in the middle Keys.
Of course his wicked (and smartass!) columns can be read online from the Miami Herald's website.
Of course his wicked (and smartass!) columns can be read online from the Miami Herald's website.