Is this your first time reading John Irving?Okay, foks. I tried. I really, truly tried to love a Prayer for Owen Meany but a couple hundred pages in I just was bored
What Are You Reading?
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Okay, foks. I tried. I really, truly tried to love a Prayer for Owen Meany but a couple hundred pages in I just was bored
John Irving is the writer who taught me patience and that if I really wanted to get the whole picture I had to slow down and pay attention. I found all of his books rich in detail and amazing in their construction - there's no way I would have been able to just zoom through, the way I do with a Dean Koontz or a Dan Brown book. His books demand a slow pace, and yes, there may be moments when it seems there's a lull in the narrative, but by the end I was glad to have read the book. A Prayer for Owen Meany is on my list; I've read The World According to Garp, In One Person and A Widow for One Year (my favorite so far). What I'm trying to say is, give it a break and come back to it later, or try another one of his books. I'm a strong believer in the fact that a book has to be read at the right time. It can be the most amazing book but if you're not in the right mood for it it's just useless. I picked up books, abandoned them then came back to them and was able to see the story in a different light.
Double posting, sorry. My computer's acting up.
Yes, I asked my husband if he remembered learning anything about Glass in school and he said no. He is a born and raises Wyoming person. I went to school in western Nebraska, but still, lots of places mentioned were right there!I loved The Revenant! My husband and I had fun identifying the places listed and comparing which ones each of us had been toI didn't recognize the name of the main Indian tribe, but my mom did (born Thermopolis and raised in Riverton/Morton--lol). I came away wondering the same thing about that one as I did about Shane: why aren't these required reading for students in Wyoming (different age groups, of course)?
It was kind of an unexpected bonus, to realize I knew these places.
I knew it was based on a true story but nothing beyond that before reading it.
No, I really enjoyed Cider House Rules.
And I thought I read another by him, but can't remember which one.
I just got A Prayer For Owen Meany. I have read The World According To Garp earlier (which i liked) but not more. O.M will be my second Irving. I'm hoping it will live up to the praise it has got from Skimom and others. It now lie waiting in my TBR pile (more a 60 feet building than a pile really but you get my drift. ......)
I may come back to it again at another time. I agree that a reader's opinion of a book can change at different times of life.
Finishing up a re read of Lisey's Story before I start The Passage. So glad I decided to read Bag of Bones and Lisey's back to back. This is one of my favorite books of all time. Two things right off I really love about books like this.. When King talks about writers. You always wonder how much is true of himself and its like getting a little peek behind the scenes. Also when King talks about someone's childhood, especially if its based long ago and in a rural place. Flashbacks, etc. The part in IT about the fire comes to mind as well. I love those parts, like stories within stories and he nails it. Often times I hate when those parts end and the actual story continues lol. I love how King talks about Scott as a child hoping for the Bookmobile to come to town that Summer.. Something King always loved as a child. Cool little bits here and there! Bool! The End
I am halfway through The Golem of Paris by the Kellermans, father and son. This is the second book, the first entitled The Golem of Prague. The central figure is police person Jacob Levy and the stories are of his experiences with the unexplainable. AWESOME.
Prodigal Summer- Barbara Kingsolver. (Almost finished, I'm bad about playing musical books. I'll switch to another book and then jump back. )
I relish his books. Think of his books like developing film in a dark room. The layers and pieces overlap and gradually start to frame in your mind. It can take patience with his Dickensian plotting. He doesn't want you to miss a single detail, which is important in his novels. He often addresses one event through several angles and even different characters' perception (respectively). The only thing that can make me roll my eyes is his obsession with graphic sexual subjects (which many times come out of left field and are only tangentially connected to the story or protagonist) but he is a fascinating character writer in every way. I've cried more than once at his books and laughed unexpectedly at other things until tears burned my eyes.
My favorites are: A Widow For One Year, Last Night In Twisted River, The Cider House Rules, and Setting Free The Bears.
'Hotel' and 'Owen' are great, too.
Please forgive me, but at 0200 it dawned on me that I misnamed the Kellerman's first book; the title actually is The Golem of Hollywood. Prague is very much visited throughout both books so I hope you'll forgive me the slip.
What do you think about it? I loved her pre-Poisonwood Bible books, but no so much with PB and everything since (aside from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle--I've read that one numerous times and keep it as a reference). The post 1998 books are so different from her earlier books that to me they read like a completely different writer did them.
Dickens is a wonderful comparison, and apt, since Irving has written about his love for Dickens' stories. The scene of his that brought me to tears of laughter the first time and still makes me giggle when I think about it is in Hotel New Hampshire. The Nativity play scenes in Owen Meany always get me, too
I read the Bean Trees and liked it alot. This one is a love letter to Appalachia and Kentucky. I think it is great. Very similar to Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I can tell she is an activist but it doesn't feel like a lecture, although her characters briefly go on rants about ecology and animal life cycles.
I won't say much more until you've read it because I don't want to ruin it for you. So far, it's been a wonderful read.
Im on chapter 14 of horns by joe hill,i gotta admit im having a hard time getting through this one his other two books ive read heart shape box and nos4a2 i couldnt put down but im struggling with this one.to many drawn out flashbacks or page fillers,i hope it gets better.i know when i read bag of bones it was like that to but by the end of the book it ended up being a good story,i hope this is the case here. Your thoughts?
Arcadevere
Gentle Lady From Brady Hartsfield Defense Squad
halfway on Assassin's Creed : Unity novelization by Oliver Bowden, damn i'm right that i take my side on Templars LMAO
Just started Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse, and so far I'm really diggin it--probably more than I should.
The Nameless
M-O-O-N - That spells Nameless
I've just started mark webber's autobiography - aussie grit: my formula one journey.
I really liked Prodigal Summer but absolutely loved The Poisonwood Bible. She does have a tendency to rant on ecological issues but that never bothers me. In fact I think more people should rant about that more often.
I love how you described Irving's books. He does have an eye for detail. I remember reading about some photographs in A Widow for One Year. They were placed on the walls of a house, a hallway if I remember correctly and he was going on and on about them. That was a bit too much but then the book was so wonderful overall I don't hold it against him.
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