What are you reading? Book recommendations please! ποΈ
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I'm in a crash so not making any progress with the rat book, but I'll let you know @Rosie_Scope and @SmellyBin once I've finished reading it.
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Sending you a hug @MissMarple I only wish there was more I could do for you - and for me and all those other poor souls struggling with ME (PAIS).
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I hope things pick up again for you soon @MissMarple π
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I finished Famous Last Words (Gillian McAllister) this morning
Would recommend as a sleeping aid or for a wobbly table!
I'll be starting This Immortal Heart tonight
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My friends just lent me Fearne Cotton's "Happy" to read.
She doesn't read much as finds she gets distracted, but says this was such a great read. It's Fearne's understanding of how to be happy. She opens up about her experience with depression and little tips to help keep it at bay so she can keep focused on the good. I'm excited to read it.
Has anybody else read this yet?
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I just finished Maya Angelou's 1969 autobiography "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." It follows her life until she was 17 (born in 1928). So it includes living through WWII and The Great Depression. She was born and raised in the Southern States as a Black person, adding a remarkable perspective. In case you don't know, she later became a leading civil rights activist, writer, speaker and poet.
Now I'm reading one of her collections of poetry in the 2005 book "Amazing Peace and Other Poems ".
These are both audiobooks narrated by the author, which is so very awesome.
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That sounds like a really interesting read.
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Honestly yes! We all have different subjects that light is up. π Is civil rights a topic that interests you too?
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Most definitely, but I've not read any yet however have taken a note of the earlier books mentioned and they're on my list. I tend to order 4 or 5 second hand books at a time so I get a nice variety. π
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Being a bit foggy yesterday, it took me several attempts to understand you didn't quite like the book @justj74 π Yeah, it happens - somehow often those bestsellers are not to my liking, but that doesn't mean I won't give it a try when I come across them.
For that reason I started reading two classics recently without finishing either: Manon Lescaut and The Young Werther by Goethe, both set in the 18th century. The writing wasn't the problem, it was my annoyance with the characters.
Oooh, yours sounds great @StarryEyed I think it is really important to keep reading those books, but only when you have the bandwidth, right? But when it is the right moment it can feel nourishing.
Currently I am reading a very nourishing non-fiction book Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Really makes me think and re-think so many systems: between people, between us and how we see nature⦠that we are all interdependent.
Yup, right up my alley, but it does make me a bit sad sometimes with the current state of the world, both about being a fellow human being (or experience the lack of exactly that) and how things are falling apart regarding our surroundings.0 -
@Holly_Scope I'm just starting reading these types of books and loving it! As you know I've done a lot of work in this area by using my story in legal proceedings involving childhood abuse and the psychiatric system. Maybe the books will inspire me to give it one last go, one last hoorah in one way or another. At the very least, I'm enjoying the education. Here is a list by AI of Maya Angelou's biographies.
@SmellyBin yes, it's very difficult to see supports for the vulnerable crumbling before our very eyes - supports that have taken many decades to build. That's why I'm looking at the details of how they were built, to see how we can rethink our supports. Yes, it's very sad and disheartening to see the supports crumbling and it's difficult to have hope in desperate situations. So it's a real challenge to build hope when we're feeling hopeless. I think like you do too, in the interconnectedness of us all, and that's what I'm looking for - a new interconnectedness. Even if parts of us give up, we can simultaneously have hopeful parts. π
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Very wise words @StarryEyed I am in awe, thanks for sharing π
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And I'm in awe of you too, @SmellyBin π₯°, especially for your spectacular art. Recently I used the first of the cards I bought from you for a friend's birthday and he and my other friends were blown away. Thank you for putting your beauty in the world. We all can add our tiny grain of sand.
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This is very interesting! Thanks for sharing - I'm adding to the list π
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You're welcome, @Holly_Scope π Of course, there are also really interesting movies and documentaries on streaming apps and YouTube.
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I quite like reading the book before the film so there's no spoilers, as the films often don't quite cover the intricacies of the book. Do you have a preference?
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I always only read serious, educational stuff. Once in a while I try reading something light but don't enjoy it. Movies are for both entertainment and education. I adore movies. Rarely do I do both book and movie, so I can't fairly give a preference. However, a good example is Nelson Mandela's biography "Long Walk to Freedom". After recently reading the book, which set my heart on fire, I tried to watch the movie but it was so bad I couldn't finish it. Movies and books are such different mediums, so it's really apples and oranges.
So when I referred you to documentaries and movies, I mean I've been watching the ones that are not in books.
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I recommend My Husband and Other Rats by Shelley Klein that I've just finished. It deals with serious subjects like cancer, yet it's a hilarious read.
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I think I remember you mentioning that book before @MissMarple. It sounds like a book that encompasses "if you don't laugh, you'll cry"π Have you read any of her other books?
I think I am going to have to DNF Selfish Girls and move on to another book because I just can't get into it and it's putting me in a reading slump! Does anybody have any good tips for coming out of one?π
I'm going on a day trip to Hay-on-Wye tomorrow which is known as the "first booktown in the world" and is world renowned for books and bookshops. I've never been before but it's been on my list of places to go for about 4 years so I am excited!! Has anybody been before and recommend any specific bookshops?0 -
@MissMarple I'm so glad you resurfaced and being up to reading. Not sure if I would feel up to such a heavy theme, but perhaps with the humor it would make it worthwhile, at least that is the way you describe it.
@Mary_Scope How was your outing to the city of bookstores? Did you treat yourself to something special? I hope you don't need long to recover from it.
I've been reading Memoir of a Geisha, 3rd time I think. Not sure if I am enjoying it as much as before, somehow I am very aware of it being written by a man. I keep wondering if it would or could've been different by a female author. Not sure what to pick up after this, but I've still got Tuesdays are for Oversharing by⦠oh dear⦠was it Beth Something? She wrote The Library as well.
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