^-. . -^ Current Reads, 11/14

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Registered: 03-26-2003
^-. . -^ Current Reads, 11/14
26
Sun, 11-13-2005 - 11:35am

Author's name, plot profiles, genre are appreciated .........


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Registered: 02-08-2004
Fri, 11-18-2005 - 8:42pm
State of Fear by Michael Crichton
Crichton dramatizes his message by way of a frantic chase to prevent environmental terrorists from wreaking widespread destruction aimed at galvanizing the world against global warming. A team lead by MIT scientist/federal agent John Kenner crosses the globe to prevent the terrorists from calving a giant Antarctic iceberg; inducing terrible storms and flash floods in the US; and, using giant cavitators, causing a Pacific tidal wave. Behind the terrorists lurks the fantatical, fund-seeking chief of a mainstream environmental group; on Kenner’s team, most notably, is young attorney Peter Evans, aka everyman, whose typically liberal views on global warming chill as Kenner instructs him in the truth about the so-called crisis.
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Registered: 12-12-1997
Sat, 11-19-2005 - 8:01am

"The Ghost of Thomas Kempe" was a quick and fun read.


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Registered: 12-12-1997
Sat, 11-19-2005 - 8:07am
I finally finished "Rule of Four" (It did get pretty good at the end, lol), breezed through Elizabeth Berg's "Durable Goods" and just started E. Berg's "Joy School"; both books

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Avatar for dhayes4440
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Registered: 03-31-2003
Tue, 11-22-2005 - 8:03pm
Lucy: I just came across your post about Gloria Naylor & The Women of Brewster Place. I think I'll add it to my TBR. Just wanted to say that Ms. Naylor is one of the best American writers & I surely do wish she would receive more recognition. When "Brewster Place" first came out I believe it was Time magazine that had a spread about it & also it was being made into a TV movie by Oprah. If I remember correctly the film was not very well done. But the book is another story. Wonderfully written. She has 2 other books worth reading,too. One for sure is MaMa Day......don't hold me to that.......which is outstanding. And another that has some fantasy in it. I'm just so glad that someone mentioned her on this board. dee
Avatar for lucy4980
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 11-23-2005 - 12:32pm

Gloria Naylor is one of my favorite authors. I love her work. I was first introduced to her work through the movie the Women of Brewster Place, and although it wasn't particularly well done, it was still a very moving story. So I got the book and then went on to read her other books.

Mama Day is an excellent book. I loved that one too.

The other book you are thinking of is probably Bailey's Cafe - also really good. I love the characters - Naylor has a gift for creating interesting characters, and I think in Bailey's Cafe, her gift really shows. The characters in that book are are a hodgepodge of the forgotten and overlooked people in our society. She brings such complexity and humanity to people that don't even register in the conciousness of most Americans - really brings them to the forefront.

I have the Men of Brewster Place, which I read awhile back. It didn't grab me as much as the others though. I might have to give it another try - sometimes I find I have to be in the right frame of mind for some books.

In fact, I think I might have to go back and re-read the other books as well.

You know, another really good author that doesn't get much recognition is Julia Alvarez - I picked up one of her books - How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents - in a book store one day. There was a short critique and recommendation by Gloria Naylor printed on the back. I figured if she liked it, then it must be a good book, so I bought it. Another excellent book by Alvarez is In the Time of the Butterflies.

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Registered: 02-15-2005
Wed, 11-23-2005 - 1:00pm
Yesterday I read "Memoirs of a Geisha" -- pretty good but in a couple places it bogged down a bit.
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Avatar for dhayes4440
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Registered: 03-31-2003
Wed, 11-23-2005 - 3:26pm
I'll have to check on Julia Alvarez. You're correct about being in the right mood for certain books. I found Naylor when I was deep into the women's movement. That's when I realized how important & how special women are & how much of what we do goes unnoticed. dee
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Registered: 02-09-2000
Wed, 11-23-2005 - 11:29pm

Okay, so I thought I was going to read a Koontz next, but when I realized that my library doesn't have any Mallory books (Carol O'Connell) in its collection, I decided to go with one of them, instead, so I that can donate it (and the other one, once I've read it, too)


=)

~Jackie


"Be the change you wish to see in the world" ~ Mahatma Ghandi


Warming Families Volunteer,

Avatar for lucy4980
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Sat, 11-26-2005 - 9:03pm

I found Naylor about the same time I was taking a Women in America class in college. I was an engineering major, so I didn't have a chance to take too many of those types of courses - just the general ed stuff. For my US history requirement, I chose Women in America, which was terrific. The instructor took a really multi-cultural approach to the course. That was really great because I love history, but all the way through school I was frustrated that the history of so many people was overlooked in the curriculum.

A book I picked up awhile back called Freedom's Daughters by Lynne Olsen is a great read - chronicals the efforts of women in the Civil Rights Movement from 1830 to 1870. Very readable and very interesting. Tells the story of lots of women we hardly hear about.

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Registered: 02-08-2004
Sun, 11-27-2005 - 3:00pm
I just did a reread of The Curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon. I had read it a long time ago but had to reread for a book group discussion recently. That author is very talented and creative. A very good read! k