What are you reading?

[Inanna]

I think it’s clear that they are not my kind of author. I wouldn’t see a metaphor if it hit me with a brick. Unless there was a note attached to the brick explaining the metaphor, of course.

[RoseMorninStar]

I'm not sure I'd call it a metaphor.. more like underlying themes. I'm not the greatest at analyzing, the best I can describe it is that most books/stories are about a central conflict and how characters relate to that conflict in a straightforward way. Ishiguro's stories seem to deal with a subject through a rear-view mirror. An introspection of life as a whole and seeing/remembering events differently from the perspective of time, loss, love, regret. His writing is deceptively quiet and simple but brilliant. It very much fits with the Japanese sensibility of subtly.

From Britannica: Japanese-born British novelist known for his lyrical tales of regret fused with subtle optimism. In 2017 he won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his works that “uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world.”

Several of his books have been made into films. The Remains of the Day (Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson) which I've not seen but would like to watch sometime soon. Never Let Me Go (Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield), and The Saddest Music in the World (Isabella Rossellini, Mark McKinney, Maria de Medeiros) which seems like a really strange film and not likely my cup o' tea although I love Isabella Rossellini.

The Remains of the Day (which I read after recommendation from Impy) was a good read most could appreciate I would think, but if one is looking for exciting or uplifting they should look elsewhere. Maybe Impy will chime in with her take.

[narya]

I wouldn’t see a metaphor if it hit me with a brick.

I see what you did there

[RoseMorninStar]

I wouldn’t see a metaphor if it hit me with a brick.

I see what you did there

(I didn't catch that)

[RoseMorninStar]

Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah. I really enjoyed this author's first novel. I don't want to spoil the story, so I'll borrow from someone else's thoughts on the book: "Two wounded adults and an extremely intelligent child are drawn together in a fresh and fanciful story that will have you cheering for the geeks."

[Jude]

Here's a random thought - would anyone be interested in a group reading of A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels?

I read the original book as a kid and it made a big impression on me. Other people here have said the same. I never got around to reading the sequels, but I keep telling myself that I should, one of these days.

Anyone interested?

[Frelga]

I never read it, so, why not?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I've also never read, and I am potentially interested.

[Alatar]

Likewise

[RoseMorninStar]

I've read it, but not the sequels. I honestly don't remember it much (my memory is so bad). I used to read all of the books my daughter did so we could discuss them. I might be interested in joining in.

[narya]

Ooooo ... tesseracts! Yes, I'll read A Wrinkle in Time (again) with you. I just downloaded it on Libby.

I searched for Glendy Vanderah, but unfortunately, her book is not in any of my libraries yet.

This Friday, I'm hoping to add Los Angeles City, Los Angeles County, and San Diego County Libraries, on my way back from the beach. They are some of the biggest library systems in the nation, and open to all California residents. But you have to actually walk into a library to get a card. Because, you know, I need more books.

V, what book do you recommend reading next from Richard North Patterson?

I've got one hour left on The Warrior's Apprentice by Bujold. Way too many moving parts in that one, but I'm willing to try another one in the series. Like the previous ones, if I just let the story wash over me without paying too much attention, it is enjoyable light entertainment.

I just finished the latest novella from the Expanse, but I don't recommend it - they did the wrong thing with one of the characters close to my heart, IMHO. And it's a major spoiler for Book 9, so don't read it until you've read every other book in the series.

I started Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson, and really did not like it, so I sent it back. It was focused on near-future catastrophic climate change. There was not enough fiction in this science fiction - not relaxing escapism at all - this is the sort of thing I was sweating about when I was working on the climate change mitigations for my city - like a horror story with a bad ending.

How to Relax by Thich Nhat Hanh was a sweet little book.

I'm still reading the Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. The loan expired before I could finish it, but now it's back on my shelf. It's another byzantine court intrigue novel where everyone has a name at least 4 syllables long, and an ulterior motive or two. There's less violence than the Vorkosigan series, and no space ships, but they do have dirigibles, and a plucky fish-out-of-water protagonist.

[Impenitent]

I recently (sometime in the last 2 years) reread a Wrinkle in Time and wish I had not.

I had remembered it as a HUUUGE story (not a huge book - story) but as an adult it could not live up to that childhood memory. It's a good book, well-written, but lacks something for an adult reading. I read all the sequels when I was a little older and they're pretty good, though too infused with L'Engle's religious faith for my comfort.

[Inanna]

I read Wrinkle in time, and it’s sequels, for the first time 2-3(?) years ago. Maybe when you mentioned it, Imp?

I can attempt it again…

I just read the finale of the Expanse series. Quite well done, I must say. I had forgotten lots from the last one, and for some reason, could NOT bring myself to reread that one. So it was a bit of confused reading till it resolved in my head.

[Maria]

I've got one hour left on The Warrior's Apprentice by Bujold. Way too many moving parts in that one, but I'm willing to try another one in the series. Like the previous ones, if I just let the story wash over me without paying too much attention, it is enjoyable light entertainment.

I'm always doing something else while listening to audiobooks. If I'm not driving or crocheting or doing chores of some sort-- then I'm playing scrabble against a computer while listening to the story. Maybe that's why I'm able to re-read that series so often.

My favorite Miles book is:

Hidden text.

Memory. But you can't just skip to it. There's a build up from previous books.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

V, what book do you recommend reading next from Richard North Patterson?

That is somewhat hard to answer, since I've read and enjoyed a dozen of his books, and many of them are in series, a couple of which I originally read out of order, which worked out okay for me but which I wouldn't necessarily recommend as ideal. Part of the answer would involve whether you are more interested in legal thrillers (RNP was a working attorney before becoming a full-time novelist), political thrillers, or in one case a spy book.

The first book of his that I read, and definitely one of my favorites, is the second book in the "Kerry Kilcannon" series of political books, and also the fourth book featuring Caroline Masters, Protect and Defend. It addresses the abortion issue in a very powerful way, and I enjoyed reading it very much without having read the previous books. However, some things would make more sense if you read No Safe Place, the first of the Kerry Kilcannon books first, and other things would make more sense if you read the previous books featuring Caroline Masters (see below). I like No Safe Place a lot, but not as much as either Protect or Defend, or the next book in the series, Balance of Power, which addresses the gun control issue.

I also read Degree of Guilt, the second of the Christopher Paget legal thrillers before reading the first book, his debut novel The Lasko Tangent. In that case I don't think it matters as much; they are very different books written 13 years apart, and while I like The Lasko Tangent, I definitely like Degree of Guilt better, as well as the two follow-ups to it, The Eyes of the Child and Conviction, all three of which also feature Caroline Masters in different ways. Degree of Guilt and The Eyes of the Child take place before the Kerry Kilcannon books, while Conviction takes place after them, and overlaps a little with the Kerry Kilcannon books. Like the latter two of those books it addresses a hot button political issue, in this case capital punishment.

I also like The Final Judgment a lot, which is the second book featuring Caroline Masters in terms of when it was written but the first in terms of chronology and the one that gives the most of her backstory.

Come to think of it, I also read Silent Witness the second of the Tony Lord books, before reading Private Screening, the first one. I like Silent Witness a lot more then Private Screening, which I would say was the one of RNP's books that I like the least, though I don't think it is a bad book. I should mention that it is somewhat of a prequel to the Kerry Kilcannon books.

Two stand-alone books that I like a lot are The Race, the title of which refers to both a political race and racial issues, and The Devil's Light, which is a pretty intense spy thriller.

Here's a list of all of his books grouped in series, showing when they were written: https://www.booksradar.com/patterson-ri ... erson.html

So there you go, much more information then you probably wanted!

[narya]

Thanks, V! That was not TMI - I appreciate all of the insights. I downloaded "Race", "The Devil's Light" and "No Safe Place", because they were available in audio, on your list, and either series firsts or stand alone. I'm really enjoying walking/biking while listening to audiobooks. I'm only getting texts versions of books now if I really want to read them, and I'm hooked on the author, but they aren't available to me in audio.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I hope you enjoy them!

[RoseMorninStar]

I wish I could listen to audiobooks (podcasts, etc..) my brain just does not do well with that. My mind always wanders and I miss too much. I'm a visual person and I think I need that to keep me on track.

[Frelga]

Rose, while that very well may be true, I used to think the same thing. I startes with audiobooks of books I already knew, so it didn't matter if I missed a bit, and it feels like I trained myself. Now I'm listening to more books than I'm reading (and the dishes are getting done)

[Maria]

I got hooked on audiobooks when I had Lyme disease. My eyes just couldn't take in large blocks of text anymore. Lots of times on this site, with long posts I'd have to copy the post into Word and then reformat the whole thing with big letters and a big gap between each line. Otherwise my eyes would kind of jitter between several lines and I couldn't follow the meaning worth anything.

That's when I got into the habit of limiting how much I'd type into a paragraph myself.

Just in case someone else had that problem.

And so I could proofread my own post.