Books! How do you read and what do you read?

I only read history books, primarily World War II books. Not that I have not read other books, but I find these WWII books more interesting to read than others I have tried. I cannot explain why, but that is what I enjoy. I only read between 4-6 books per year. I read one at a time and I go through them fairly fast, within a week or so.

I know I might run out of books on this topic, but so far, I still have many yet to read and I keep finding more...
 
Medusa said:
My husband loves that series.
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IMO the Reacher books are far better than the series treatments. It's always tricky to create a book's atmosphere into video. I watched a few with Alan Ritchson as Reacher, and IMO he just doesn't fit. He seems almost like a DC superhero, and the writing just doesn't capture Reaher's ethos from the novels.

I read probably 10 of the novels, but after they seemed to have roughly the same premise, I drifted away from them.
 
ChiroDoc said:
IMO the Reacher books are far better than the series treatments. It's always tricky to create a book's atmosphere into video. I watched a few with Alan Ritchson as Reacher, and IMO he just doesn't fit. He seems almost like a DC superhero, and the writing just doesn't capture Reaher's ethos from the novels.

I read probably 10 of the novels, but after they seemed to have roughly the same premise, I drifted away from them.
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Yeah, that's very common; the book version of made into TV or movie is almost always better. I can't think of a movie/tv version of anything --- World War Z! The movie is definitely better. ;)
 
Favorite nonfiction book I read lately: Life After Power: Seven Presidents and Their Search for Purpose Beyond the White House, by Jared Cohen. This is a history book, and I have no idea why I selected it. It is the most interesting nonfiction book I've ever read, and I don't usually like history books (wars, dry, dull) or books about politicians.

Also read lately and liked a lot:
How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog), by Lee Alan Dugatkin.
Witsec: Inside the Federal Witness Protection Program, by Pete Earley
Sociopath: A Memoir, by Patric Gagne
 
CooCooforCoCoPuffs said:
I consider a book good if it can hold my attention long enough to read it more than once. Read Chesapeake also, am from Eastern Shore of Maryland myself, and my grandfather and great grandfathers were oystermen in Maryland.

I like hard copy books, simple and can take them anywhere I want without worrying about some battery running out.
May read two at a time.
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I'm from Annapolis and the Eastern Shore. Love it and miss it.
 
ChiroDoc said:
IMO the Reacher books are far better than the series treatments. It's always tricky to create a book's atmosphere into video. I watched a few with Alan Ritchson as Reacher, and IMO he just doesn't fit. He seems almost like a DC superhero, and the writing just doesn't capture Reaher's ethos from the novels.

I read probably 10 of the novels, but after they seemed to have roughly the same premise, I drifted away from them.
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You make some good points. As far as the novels having the same premise, I agree. I also agree with Medusa; this seems to be common among these sorts of serial books. It's for that reason that I stopped reading Patricia Cornwell's books. However, keep in mind that Lee Child purposely wrote Reacher to be a winner; he wanted him to always win, sort of a superhero characteristic.
In terms of a bad fit, watch either of the 2 Reacher movies with Tom Cruise playing Reacher. It's an epic casting failure. In the books, Reacher is 6'5" and 250 lbs. I think Tom Cruise is 5'7" and maybe 150 lbs.
 
Rich said:
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In terms of a bad fit, watch either of the 2 Reacher movies with Tom Cruise playing Reacher. It's an epic casting failure. In the books, Reacher is 6'5" and 250 lbs. I think Tom Cruise is 5'7" and maybe 150 lbs.
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I couldn't agree more! Cruise was just about the furthest actor they could have gotten to play Reacher. Cruise/Wagner films had some of the rights to the Child's novel One Shot (3005), so Cruise probably wanted the role for himself. It probably didn't bother anyone who hasn't read a Reacher novel.

And insult to injury for me is that I was reared in Pittsburgh, where the film took place..:confused:
 
I'm reading The Beekeeper of Aleppo for a local book discussion I'll be attending. So far, I really like it.

And this just arrived in the mail! 🥳 Books on the Normandie are so hard to find, mostly because she had such a short life (although that doesn't stop the unceasing production of books on the Titanic and Britannic, for example [not that I'm complaining]), and the ones that do exist are mostly picture books (which are fine).

I can't wait to dig in!

Normandie book jpeg.jpg
 
I wonder if Strout’s newest TellMe Everything has been discussed or read by anyone here? When I heard about it I put a hold on it and just today I got to pick it up. If it’s as good as her other books I’ll be a happy camper.
 
I tend to read more in the summer.
I am in a Book Club now and they pick books I usually don't care for.
My Book Club seems to love WWII books or political-themed stories. I talk them out of choosing a political story because I feel like we are getting hit from every angle and I need a break.
I read books on Kindle.
 
I used to read through authors, one at a time .. for instance, everything by Michael Connelly - then, on to the next author. Did that for a long while. Now, I'm choosing books at random, Partly due to eyesight, needing Large Print. I can't say I've been disappointed yet, and am enjoying the wide variety of genres.
 
MarkD said:
I wonder if Strout’s newest TellMe Everything has been discussed or read by anyone here? When I heard about it I put a hold on it and just today I got to pick it up. If it’s as good as her other books I’ll be a happy camper.
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I think I read this and liked it. I just read so much that they tend to all flow into each other after awhile.

I'm just finishing Erasure which is the book that the movie American Fiction was based on.
 
My retirement community book club is finishing up Elizabeth Strout, “Tell Me Everything” in February. "The Pulitzer Prize winner returns to familiar characters in Crosby, Maine, including cranky Olive (now in assisted living) and writer Lucy Barton, who forge a new bond. Meanwhile, the town is abuzz after a longtime resident disappears."

For March it will be Laura Dave, “The Night We Lost Him.” "An airy mystery that starts with the death of a rich hotelier named Liam Noone, who falls off a cliff to his death. His son Sam thinks it’s possible that he was pushed, so he enlists his estranged half sister, to help clear things up. But the more they dig into their father’s life and business dealings, the more they discover he’s a man they only thought they knew."
 
I read a lot more novels when I was young, and I've read a lot of non-fiction in more recent years.

Over the last year, I've become interested in graphic novels (narrative text & illustrations), for which there's a section at our public library. I delved into these books because I wanted to know why they've become popular with young people.

I've found most of them not to be very high quality, too immature & shallow. But some are quite good. Most recently I borrowed one in which Ai Weiwei, the dissident Chinese artist now living in Switzerland, presents his autobiography. He worked with a graphic artist who contributed multiple illustrations on each page. It's fascinating.
 
I was an avid reader of fiction (trashy novels) in my youth. Then when I went to college in my early 30s everything I read was non-fiction, except for a trashy novel here and there when the urge hit me. I read a good novel last summer but can't remember the name of it:D since I borrowed and returned it to the library, I still like reading a physical book but don't buy, just borrow.

Now at this point in my life, this movie clip from Steel Magnolias sums up my desire for reading :)

 
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Keesha said:
Reading is a pleasant past time. There are so many great books to read.
What are some of your favourite books you have read and what do you use to read them?
perhaps an ireader or a kindle? Or maybe you prefer listening to them.

These are great for reading with since you can:
-load as many books as you want to
-adjust the letter size
-read at night without needing to turn on a light so you don’t disturb others.

At at the moment I am reading ‘The Secret Life of Bees’ by Sue Monk Kidd
which is extraordinarily written.

What are you reading right now and what great books can you suggest to the rest of us?
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That book is on my queue.
 

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