Bred Any Good Rooks Lately?

GNTLGNT

...my latest Chiz read....

Grant87

That's one of the few of Rich's I still need to read. It sounds really good.

GNTLGNT

Grant87 said:

That's one of the few of Rich's I still need to read. It sounds really good.

....for me it proved to be a very easy rapid read with an interesting little twist...I'm working on compiling a collection of his works now.....just received this one, and DAMN-I had to pay a pretty penny for it....

Grant87

GNTLGNT said:

Grant87 said:

That's one of the few of Rich's I still need to read. It sounds really good.

....for me it proved to be a very easy rapid read with an interesting little twist...I'm working on compiling a collection of his works now.....just received this one, and DAMN-I had to pay a pretty penny for it....

I bought that from CD when it first came out for around $50, I think. I can only imagine what it's going for now. It's a great collection, though. I liked The Long Way Home a lot, but I liked A Long December even more.

Neesy

Notaro said:

My copy arrived this evening...

Beautiful cover art!

Neesy

Lou_Sytsma said:

Tana French has quickly become one of my favorite writers. Her mystery books are intense character studies that are so bleak yet within them lies a small kernel of fragile hope struggling to go on at the end of the story. Her latest book - The Searcher - is about a recently divorced Chicago cop moving to an isolated village in Ireland to start over. The setting in her stories are as important as the characters and man she can really paint a picture in your mind.

I've enjoyed all her books with The Witch Elm deserving special mention.

I have read a few of her books - she's pretty good - I was asking Notaro about some of the slang in her books - you're right - she can paint a picture, quite vividly;

The one I enjoyed a lot is called The Trespasser

Neesy

Kurben said:

I've read The Kraken Wakes aka Out Of The Deeps by John Wyndham. A really good SF writer. Probably did his best work in the 50,s and early 60,s. For that time he was a rarity because he almost always had a strong female lead, not just a wife, sister or lover but whose ideas actually are important for the plot. The narrator is always male though so we aren't always aware of the wise decisions of her until later. This book is no exception.

What did you think of The Chrysalids?

Kurben

Neesy said:

Kurben said:

I've read The Kraken Wakes aka Out Of The Deeps by John Wyndham. A really good SF writer. Probably did his best work in the 50,s and early 60,s. For that time he was a rarity because he almost always had a strong female lead, not just a wife, sister or lover but whose ideas actually are important for the plot. The narrator is always male though so we aren't always aware of the wise decisions of her until later. This book is no exception.

What did you think of The Chrysalids?

I think its one of the big SF masterpieces!! Better than the Kraken, better than The Triffids and better than The Midvich Cuckoos. Wyndham was one of these authors that knew that when the story comes to an end you write The End beneath instead of going on writing til you reach the 500 pages mark at least. A common sickness today. 

GNTLGNT

Grant87 said:

GNTLGNT said:

Grant87 said:

That's one of the few of Rich's I still need to read. It sounds really good.

....for me it proved to be a very easy rapid read with an interesting little twist...I'm working on compiling a collection of his works now.....just received this one, and DAMN-I had to pay a pretty penny for it....

I bought that from CD when it first came out for around $50, I think. I can only imagine what it's going for now. It's a great collection, though. I liked The Long Way Home a lot, but I liked A Long December even more.

....I got it for a little more than double that and counted myself lucky....trying to convince myself I REALLY need a copy of The Vault now......

Hedda Gabler

GNTLGNT said:

Grant87 said:

That's one of the few of Rich's I still need to read. It sounds really good.

....for me it proved to be a very easy rapid read with an interesting little twist...I'm working on compiling a collection of his works now.....just received this one, and DAMN-I had to pay a pretty penny for it....

I own this.  Can I ask what you paid?  PM me if you'd rather not say outloud.  Uh, nevermind. I see you already answered this.

GNTLGNT

Hedda Gabler said:

GNTLGNT said:

Grant87 said:

That's one of the few of Rich's I still need to read. It sounds really good.

....for me it proved to be a very easy rapid read with an interesting little twist...I'm working on compiling a collection of his works now.....just received this one, and DAMN-I had to pay a pretty penny for it....

I own this.  Can I ask what you paid?  PM me if you'd rather not say outloud.  Uh, nevermind. I see you already answered this.

...just a little over a hundred bucks....signed first edition and number 11 of I believe 200 copies.....

Hedda Gabler

GNTLGNT said:

Hedda Gabler said:

GNTLGNT said:

Grant87 said:

That's one of the few of Rich's I still need to read. It sounds really good.

....for me it proved to be a very easy rapid read with an interesting little twist...I'm working on compiling a collection of his works now.....just received this one, and DAMN-I had to pay a pretty penny for it....

I own this.  Can I ask what you paid?  PM me if you'd rather not say outloud.  Uh, nevermind. I see you already answered this.

...just a little over a hundred bucks....signed first edition and number 11 of I believe 200 copies.....

Not really too bad. 

FlakeNoir

It's been one of my longest reads I think, but time is weird now and life is different.
I finished reading The Outsider just now, it was one of his better, more recent stories.
I very much enjoyed Holly's character in this one, she is evolving into a strong woman and knowing where she came from is... inspiring. 
Good on you Stephen, thanks again. 

spideyman

Just finished "Where They Wait" by Scott Carson, AKA Michael Koryta.  He  writes his supernatural themed novels under that name. An excellent read with many twists. HIghly recommend to all. 

GNTLGNT

GNTLGNT

....I am searching for an early Chizmar read called "The Vault" that isn't stupid expensive...yeah, I know-probably ain't going to happen, but I reached out through Chiz's website for some info and lo & behold-HE replied!....we had a  brief exchange of e-mails and I found out he's cooking away on a sequel to Boogeyman......unexpected personal touch that was quite nice....

FlakeNoir

GNTLGNT said:

....I am searching for an early Chizmar read called "The Vault" that isn't stupid expensive...yeah, I know-probably ain't going to happen, but I reached out through Chiz's website for some info and lo & behold-HE replied!....we had a  brief exchange of e-mails and I found out he's cooking away on a sequel to Boogeyman......unexpected personal touch that was quite nice....

That's fantastic Scott, he's a lovely guy.  It's so nice when people take a minute like this, something you'll always remember with fondness. 😊

Hedda Gabler

I love these moments of just kindness. It’s not that hard to be kind. 

Notaro

About halfway through Dave Grohl's autobiography. Doing the audio book, he reads it himself, it's good, funny, engaging, sad, uplifting. DJ will definitely love it.

GNTLGNT

Hedda Gabler said:

I love these moments of just kindness. It’s not that hard to be kind. 

...you and Flake's are right on the money....great gesture, and "of the people" moment....had to chuckle, he replied to my inquiry e-mail and I sent back "Thanks Chiz! If it's really you." and I quickly get back "It's me!"....hopefully he can maintain interaction like this without sacrificing too much of himself....

Hedda Gabler

Notaro said:

About halfway through Dave Grohl's autobiography. Doing the audio book, he reads it himself, it's good, funny, engaging, sad, uplifting. DJ will definitely love it.

Okay, i have the  book— but he reads the audio himself ?  Good lord. Must have. 

Kurben

I've read Barabbas by Pär Lagerkvist, a swedish author that got the Nobelprize in 1951. He was good at making you think about his characters, especially the bad ones. In Bödeln (The Hangman) the main character is the one who kills Jesus. Now when i think about it i realize that many of his stories are rooted in stories from the Bible. It was, for him, a certainty that we, his readers would get the references and even if he himself did not believe in god he used these stories as a basis for his books on often rather deep subjects. But it was always interesting. He was right then, then everybody knew what he was talking about. But today i think people might just ask when they see the titles of his novels; Who was this Barabbas, who was this Ahasverus? The stories of the bible, except for the very central ones, are slowly going out of the mindset of the younger generations and thereby make it, i think, harder to appreciate an author like Lagerkvist who really was a really good author. I dont know how it is in the states or elsewhere but here, in sweden, knowledge of the what the bible stories says are slipping away. Beyond the basic born at christmas and crucified in easter a lot of the stories are fading away. That is a pity since they, and here it really doesn't matter if you believe in God or not, are so important to understand so many of our cultures literatures treasures. References, similes, parables that are used might not get across anymore. I myself dont believe in God but i love many of the stories in both the old (especially the Old Testament) and the New Testament. They are often good stories worth to read regardless of what faith you have. And their importance as a background, inspiration and so on for so many literary great works is huge. I think that if we lose the background our appreciation of the foreground are in great danger to slip down several degrees. This was just a bythought born when i read the book.

Kurben

In my long post i totally forgot to mention, perhaps i assumed you knew, which you might do, that Barabbas was the Robber that was released instead of Jesus Christ before his death. The book is about him, his life and his tries to understand the man that died in his place which of course he doesn't. It is not about Jesus or religion but a very imperfect man living in tumultous times. written in 1950.

GNTLGNT

....you make some very salient points Kurb.....knowledge of not only the Gospels, but much of early literature and the like is quickly dissolving like dust in a rainstorm.....it's an extinction level event that very few of us rue.....

Kurben

Just finished The World In Winter by John Christopher. A SF writer active about the same time as John Wyndham which in my mind is the better author. But Christopher is far from bad. This one, written in 1960, is about how the climate is getting worse and soon severe winters, ice caps and the rest has made britain and the rest of northern europe very tough too live in. Our rather naive narrator in the end settles in Africa finding that to be an immigrant is not easy. It is good enough but misses some points i think. Good read though even if i think the author is to easy on the british and too hard on the african people. Oh, well, he was after all british himself! His best book was probably When Grass Dies which is an effective short novel of the disasters that take place when grasses, seeds, start to rot (some disease) and soon the planet is starving. He was often rather gloomy.... Also his The Possessors which is a SF/Horror novel thats quite good.