Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough. We leave for vacation tomorrow so I needed brain candy to deal with my pre-travel stress, but it's a pretty good rread so far.
QOTW: hmm, drawing a blank. Can I pick the old Muppet Show?
reading: about 80% finished with The Nightingale next up on the kindle is 11/22/63
qotw: i'm not a big tv watcher, i guess classic to me would be like... friends? every now and then i'll look on youtube for like, legends of the hidden temple or supermarket sweep. so random.
I'm reading HP6 and listening to Dragon singer by Anne McCaffrey.
Oh, this is a good idea for an audiobook!
I'm listening to Mr. Mercedes, which I like, but I feel like I need to keep rewrinding because I missed something or other. I've read all th Pern books, but it's been a while!
Death on the Nile, Agatha Christie. This is only second AC mystery. I like it way better than And Then There Were None (didn't we read that last year for our board book club?) but she definitely has a formula, doesn't she?
Death on the Nile, Agatha Christie. This is only second AC mystery. I like it way better than And Then There Were None (didn't we read that last year for our board book club?) but she definitely has a formula, doesn't she?
Well, they are traditional murder mysteries. But she wrote some ridiculous number of books so it would be hard to say from two that she has a formula. I have not read Death on the Nile, but ATTWN isn't really typical of her usual style.
I'm reading HP6 and listening to Dragon singer by Anne McCaffrey.
Oh, this is a good idea for an audiobook!
I'm listening to Mr. Mercedes, which I like, but I feel like I need to keep rewrinding because I missed something or other. I've read all th Pern books, but it's been a while!
I'm also still reading A Dance with Dragons.
I actually prefer the Crystal Singer trilogy along with the Tower and Hive series but I love me some dragons.
Death on the Nile, Agatha Christie. This is only second AC mystery. I like it way better than And Then There Were None (didn't we read that last year for our board book club?) but she definitely has a formula, doesn't she?
Well, they are traditional murder mysteries. But she wrote some ridiculous number of books so it would be hard to say from two that she has a formula. I have not read Death on the Nile, but ATTWN isn't really typical of her usual style.
Lol. I guess it's probably more of a traditional mystery formula then. Lots of shady characters, all with possible motives. I don't usually read mysteries, though.
Post by rootbeerfloat on Jun 12, 2015 12:58:23 GMT -5
The Perfect Son by Barbara Claypole White. It's one of this month's Kindle First books, and it's not bad... better than most of the other's I've chosen.
I'm not sure what qualifies as classic. But I still love Friends, ER, Roseanne.
Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell. I like the mystery side of things and the characters in her books, but this one is borderline for me on the graphic details. I can usually handle a lot, I watched a lot of CSI, Bones, etc. hopefully it smooths out into whodunit.
Law and Order, all varieties except Criminal Intent.
Wait, huh? Has he ever learned to use a dictionary?
(Rhetorical)
He apparently used to be a religious nut (his words) and his parents were apparently famous evangelicals, and now he struggles with if he believes in God or not. In this book he's taking a Schrödinger's Cat approach to God where he ramblings on about various aspects of his life (including praying basically constantly any time he's awake). It's plainly clear from this writing that he does believe in God, and he's not even close to being an atheist. It's not even a good debate or anything, it's just him waxing poetic about chance meetings with opera stars, friends who have died of cancer, and his grandkids.
Post by dorothyinAus on Jun 12, 2015 19:36:01 GMT -5
I'm still reading The Grave Gourmet, which I'm enjoying, but I'm having trouble settling down to read in uninterrupted blocks and this is one of those books I need to read through for a while.
QOTW: I love Hogan's Heroes and I'll almost always finish an episode of M*A*S*H or the Andy Griffith Show if I happen upon them.
(Question brought to you by the station here that broadcasts Mork & Mindy on weekday afternoons. And I was reminded how truly bad the show was. I don't have cable or a subscription service, so it's free-to-air or dvds for me.)
Post by sparrowsong on Jun 12, 2015 20:23:34 GMT -5
I'm listening to Call the Midwife/The Midwife (it seems to go by both titles). I like it. It's the memoirs of a woman who was a young nurse/midwife in the slums of London in the 1950s. It's interesting for the history, the history of medicine and women's issues specifically... It's also pretty well done, lots of interesting characters that bring the events to life. I recommend it.
QOTD: Classic TV - I frequently have insomnia, and it's been so much better since I discovered that they play I Love Lucy from 3-6am every night on the Hallmark Channel.
I just finished Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen and really liked it. I'm listening to The Ten Year Nap and not really liking it. I kept expecting it to get better but it's not happening.
QOTW: I Love Lucy. Decades later and she still cracks me up. On a book related note, her memoir Love, Lucy is an excellent read.
QOTW -- I watch a lot of TV from my childhood and teen years, so Friends, Roseanne, and The Golden Girls
Ooh, MIL gave me Pioneer Girl for my birthday and I haven't started it yet. Curious what you'll think of it.
Sent from my XT1080 using pro boards
I took Pamela Smith Hill's MOOC on Laura Ingalls Wilder and I'm not really sure whether I want to read Pioneer Girl or not. I have read other biographies of Wilder, so I knew a lot of what was left pout or fictionalized in the Little House books, but I'm still not sure I want to read Pioneer Girl. In some ways I think it should not have been published. Wilder did not seek publication, and for whatever reason, neither did Lane or Lane's heir. Perhaps it should have been left in a drawer.
But I'm still thinking of reading it, so I'll be interested to see what you think as well.
Post by rainbowchip on Jun 13, 2015 8:13:33 GMT -5
I finished The Heir by Kiera Cass last night. I did not like it nearly as much as the other Selection books.
I'm not feeling what I should start next. I have a bunch of books on hold at the library but I'm like #2 or more on the hold list so it will be a while but not long enough for me to read A Breath of Snow and Ashes.
I'm listening to Call the Midwife/The Midwife (it seems to go by both titles). I like it. It's the memoirs of a woman who was a young nurse/midwife in the slums of London in the 1950s. It's interesting for the history, the history of medicine and women's issues specifically... It's also pretty well done, lots of interesting characters that bring the events to life. I recommend it.
I'm reading this too! Have you seen the show?
I haven't but I can see why it became a show. Each little story is perfect for one episode.
A God in Ruins - it is the sequel to Life after Life by Kate Atkinson. It is so amazing. I can't believe that I'd like a book better than Life after Life but I do. Words can't express.
A God in Ruins - it is the sequel to Life after Life by Kate Atkinson. It is so amazing. I can't believe that I'd like a book better than Life after Life but I do. Words can't express.
Glad I saw this! I loved Life After Life and didn't know there was a sequel.
I just finished Death on the Nile and I don't think I'm an Agatha Christie fan. I can see how these were awesome in the 30's and 40's, but I'm side-eyeing the hell out of some of what's going on here. I did give it three stars because the writing was good and I was interested, but the ending was unsatisfying.
I just finished Death on the Nile and I don't think I'm an Agatha Christie fan. I can see how these were awesome in the 30's and 40's, but I'm side-eyeing the hell out of some of what's going on here. I did give it three stars because the writing was good and I was interested, but the ending was unsatisfying.
I understand this completely. I love Christie, but I was very disappointed with And Then There Were None. I had read and seen so many other things before I read it that used the same idea that the original seemed unoriginal. But Poirot is one of my all time favorite characters so I enjoy the books for him, if not the "originality."
Also, I find it kind of hard not to be a bit formulaic with murder mysteries -- there needs to be a murder, then detection, then a solution. It's hard not to have the plot fit that formula, so mysteries in general tend to be all much of a muchness. And sometimes it's hard not to read the books with current trends and ideas, even though they were written and set in another time.
I'm sorry you're not a fan of Poirot, because I do think he is one of the great characters, but I really can see how Christie is not everyone's cup of tea.
I just finished Death on the Nile and I don't think I'm an Agatha Christie fan. I can see how these were awesome in the 30's and 40's, but I'm side-eyeing the hell out of some of what's going on here. I did give it three stars because the writing was good and I was interested, but the ending was unsatisfying.
I understand this completely. I love Christie, but I was very disappointed with And Then There Were None. I had read and seen so many other things before I read it that used the same idea that the original seemed unoriginal. But Poirot is one of my all time favorite characters so I enjoy the books for him, if not the "originality."
Also, I find it kind of hard not to be a bit formulaic with murder mysteries -- there needs to be a murder, then detection, then a solution. It's hard not to have the plot fit that formula, so mysteries in general tend to be all much of a muchness. And sometimes it's hard not to read the books with current trends and ideas, even though they were written and set in another time.
I'm sorry you're not a fan of Poirot, because I do think he is one of the great characters, but I really can see how Christie is not everyone's cup of tea.
Well, I enjoyed it enough to give her one more shot. She's sold more books than everyone in the history of books, save for God and Shakespeare! Any recs? DH thinks I should read Murder on the Orient Express. WDYT?
But seriously - a vacationing detective detains an entire boatload of people on his own volition and under NO authority in order to search their persons and their cabins, and whoever objects is under suspicion?!? Bitch, please. Show me a fucking warrant first.
Post by dorothyinAus on Jun 16, 2015 5:42:49 GMT -5
I haven't read Death on the Nile yet, so I can't say how close Murder on the Orient Express is to the book. It's a similar captive group idea in Murder on the Orient Express though -- which makes sense, as both are murders on a mode of transport. Based solely on the David Suchet production of Death on the Nile, it is similar in plot, but it's a mystery, so as I said above, i will have a very similar plot just by that fact.
It's hard to say without giving away the ending, and I don't want to spoil it. I will say I read Murder on the Orient Express in just a little over a day. I was really drawn into the story and was traveling myself at the time, so I had plenty of time for reading. I certainly recommend it as a good example of both Poirot and Christie and it is one of my favorites of the Poirot's so far.
I would really suggest you try a Miss Marple mystery before you give up on Christie though, At Bertram's Hotel is a very good choice, as is 4:50 from Paddington.