tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.comments2023-09-29T04:37:34.125-07:00Linda Without Borders: Literary Supplementlindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01550290075640463707noreply@blogger.comBlogger128125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-16650555796604962992022-01-14T10:11:02.886-07:002022-01-14T10:11:02.886-07:00I don't recommend reading the 2005 LA Times re...I don't recommend reading the 2005 LA Times review until after you read the book because it is plot point city, but this is the final paragraph of that review: <br />“March” is a beautifully wrought story about how war dashes ideals, unhinges moral certainties and drives a wedge of bitter experience and unspeakable memories between husband and wife. March must find a way to reconcile his comfort with others’ suffering and live with his guilt and shame. Marmee tries to bolster her hospitalized, “inconstant, ruined dreamer” by reminding him: “The point is the effort” -- acting on one’s beliefs and focusing on “the sparks of hope that still flickered, here and there, for the greater cause.” Geraldine Brooks’ novel is a moving and inspirational tour de force.<br /><br />AGREED, LA TIMES. Totally agree. lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01550290075640463707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-82911424818902422842018-08-15T04:43:40.143-07:002018-08-15T04:43:40.143-07:00Easily Boost Your ClickBank Commissions And Traffi...<b>Easily Boost Your ClickBank Commissions And Traffic</b><br /><br /><a href="http://www.bannerizer.com" rel="nofollow"><b>Bannerizer</b></a> made it easy for you to promote ClickBank products with banners, simply visit <b>Bannerizer</b>, and grab the banner codes for your chosen ClickBank products or use the <b>Universal ClickBank Banner Rotator</b> to promote all of the available ClickBank products.Bloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07287821785570247118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-80942279001527566362015-01-05T12:39:45.659-07:002015-01-05T12:39:45.659-07:00I've only read Haroun out of those, and I high...I've only read Haroun out of those, and I highly recommend it. Joy. Of his other stuff, I've only read Midnight's Children, East West (short stories), and The Jaguar Smile, which was the first book of his I read. It is a non-fiction travel essay about Nicaragua. I loved all of them.Kim Diazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01599535118481090345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-8573642597527127342014-07-03T12:00:48.004-07:002014-07-03T12:00:48.004-07:00[Also posted on Facebook.]
Bradbury is an addictio...[Also posted on Facebook.]<br />Bradbury is an addiction. He's never as sharp as Mathison, but I remember him longer. The first of his books I read was The Golden Apples of the Sun, and I was hooked. There are several stories written over his early years, beginning I think with "The Emissary," about a family of, well, undead I suppose comes closest to it, including Cecy and Uncle Einar, that each deliver a quiet wallop. <br /><br />Bradbury himself didn't call most of what he wrote science fiction. He preferred fantasy, in the sense that Fantasy and Science Fiction (F&SF) Magazine used the word, not as heroic fiction or magical realms like Middle Earth but as those odd what-if's you mentioned for Kafka and Atwood. Some of the early stories are little more than mood or emotion pieces or even prose poems. <br /><br />Favorite stories? Several from Dark Carnival, the best of which RB harvested into The October Country. Titles that come to mind are The October Game (oddly enough not in The October Country), Zero Hour, the aforementioned The Emissary, April Witch, The Dwarf, Skeleton. For me his best novel is Something Wicked This Way Comes. I think the latter half of his oeuvre is not as strong as the early stuff, but he never lost his ability to dream up new ideas. The more I read of his stories the more I wanted to read.Gene B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526757085571558682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-45348616547494531912014-05-28T18:55:54.214-07:002014-05-28T18:55:54.214-07:00Thank you Linda.
Thank you Linda.<br />jnaphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12014755797074457398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-36796689185379688282014-05-08T05:02:11.422-07:002014-05-08T05:02:11.422-07:00I completely understand your disbelief. That is on...I completely understand your disbelief. That is one of those sacred things about reading a series for me. While I know with some series, it matters more than others (and there are some series like Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire series where the reader gets to choose whether to read by chronological setting order or order of publication), I can't imagine reading any series out of order, especially if I intended to read the entire series. I guess this Ed is taking a Doctor Who approach to the series, a temporally disjointed jaunt through the life and times of Kinsey Millhone.Jerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15219857292384671256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-64099714060696095412012-10-15T18:16:41.441-07:002012-10-15T18:16:41.441-07:00Daniel, I can TOTALLY hear you in my head saying y...Daniel, I can TOTALLY hear you in my head saying your comment. Ahem, indeed. Sigh...why, Constance, why? I would read more. I really liked Crime & Punishment, which I read years ago in an old edition I picked up at a family member's. Don't know if it was the work of Constance. Nor do I know whose translation I read of Notes from Underground in a literature anthology in college which I absolutely LOVED. lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01550290075640463707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-41505035353332853062012-10-15T13:20:45.193-07:002012-10-15T13:20:45.193-07:00Constance Garnett's translations have come und...Constance Garnett's translations have come under some criticism in regard to their accuracy and readability. It might be good to (ahem) try another translation...at least in part, for comparison.Daniel Smithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-85403220161015882092012-07-13T19:16:18.818-07:002012-07-13T19:16:18.818-07:00Hmmm...how are they about communism? What are some...Hmmm...how are they about communism? What are some examples? <br /><br />Now that I've read the first one (and seen the film) I know it's anti-war. (I mean, I knew Suzanne Collins had said it's about war before, but then everyone was making me doubt myself!) Young people plucked from their homes and families to fight to the death for the benefit of some power hungry people in the nation, to keep themselves in power and keep the population believing in them as leaders, and believing that sacrifice is necessary, when it isn't. That would be war.lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01550290075640463707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-36008022898172107762012-07-11T13:09:57.064-07:002012-07-11T13:09:57.064-07:00If you're interested in older stuff, try Jacqu...If you're interested in older stuff, try Jacques Futrelle and his stories about Augustus VanDusen,"The Thinking Machine" ("The Problem of Cell 13" is a classic piece of deduction)<br />On the odd side, Ernest Bramah has a series of novels & stories about Max Carrados, a blind detective. At the time, they rivaled Sherlock Holmes in popularity.Danielnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-15641901040790266192012-07-10T23:56:18.840-07:002012-07-10T23:56:18.840-07:00Patricia Highsmith. Totally underrated and brillia...Patricia Highsmith. Totally underrated and brilliant.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13980398600453011106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-28225114026783438252012-07-10T17:06:19.761-07:002012-07-10T17:06:19.761-07:00Susan Wittig Albert-herb mysteries set in the Texa...Susan Wittig Albert-herb mysteries set in the Texas Hill Country<br /><br />Tasha Alexander-set in old England, an early woman's lib, not identified as such<br /><br />Nevada Barr-National Park Ranger mysteries<br /><br />Deborah Crombe-Texan writing about England<br /><br />Georgette Heyer-noted romance author who wrote some fine mysteries<br /><br />Miriam Grace Monfredo-set right before the Civil War in the Seneca Falls NY area, includes historical stuff about abolition and suffragettes<br /><br />Sara Paretsky-set in Chicago<br /><br />Stephanie Pintoff-set around NYC about the end of 1800 early 1900<br /><br />Kathy Reichs-author on which BONES TV show is based, not limited to Montreal or Charlotte NCjnaphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12014755797074457398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-69139878680283988122012-03-27T16:12:33.580-07:002012-03-27T16:12:33.580-07:00Very interesting. I have not heard of it being an...Very interesting. I have not heard of it being an anti-war book. Maybe anti socialistic/communistic. Anti liberal? Maybe. Anti war? How so? Interesting. Definitely read the books. I am mixed on them myself. I didn't dislike them, but the topic is rather disturbing and they have disturbing undertones.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03572324637113165353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-67630375082724566852012-02-19T22:24:01.739-07:002012-02-19T22:24:01.739-07:00Thanks for your comments, Gene! I have a minor obs...Thanks for your comments, Gene! I have a minor obsession with the Pulitzer Prizes but have read many more of the novel/fiction winners than the biographies. I rather like seeing how the story of a century of the U.S. is told by reading the Pulitzer-winning fiction. This biography seems to have a lot of praise, not just from the committee...who knows, maybe it will get better in the second half. Thanks for your thoughts on Ike!lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01550290075640463707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-43269122979342540982012-02-19T21:44:47.551-07:002012-02-19T21:44:47.551-07:00Hi Linda!
Just a couple of comments. 1) The most r...Hi Linda!<br />Just a couple of comments. 1) The most recent General/President we've had is Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower. I remember both of his terms in office and recall him as a smiling grandfather-type. History seems inclined to remember him more for his generalship than for his presidency, though he did rather presciently warn us about the "military-industrial complex." 2) The first Pulitzer-prize novel I read in HS was "A Bell for Adano." I remember not being very impressed by it. I suppose that might change now, but how much more wonderful are PP winners, as a class? They are, after all, just the selection of a committee. Maybe the prize raises our expectations of them unfairly.<br />Cheers,<br />GeneGene B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526757085571558682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-66037521833550103892011-12-21T20:36:19.921-07:002011-12-21T20:36:19.921-07:00re: book review request by award-winning author
D...re: book review request by award-winning author<br /><br />Dear Linda Without Borders: Literary Supplement:<br /><br />I'm an award-winning author with a new book of fiction out this fall. Ugly To Start With is a series of thirteen interrelated stories about childhood published by West Virginia University Press.<br /><br />Can I interest you in reviewing it? <br /><br />If you write me back at johnmcummings@aol.com, I can email you a PDF of my book. If you require a bound copy, please ask, and I will forward your reply to my publisher. Or you can write directly to Abby Freeland at: <br /><br />Abby.Freeland@mail.wvu.edu <br /><br />My publisher, I should add, can also offer your readers a free excerpt of my book through a link from your blog to my publisher's website:<br />http://wvupressonline.com/cummings_ugly_to_start_with_9781935978084<br /><br />Here’s what Jacob Appel, celebrated author of <br />Dyads and The Vermin Episode, says about my new collection: "In Ugly to Start With, set in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, Cummings tackles the challenges of boyhood adventure and family conflict in a taut, crystalline style that captures the triumphs and tribulations of small-town life. He has a gift for transcending the particular experiences to his characters to capture the universal truths of human affection and suffering--emotional truths that the members of his audience will recognize from their own experiences of childhood and adolescence.”<br /><br />My short stories have appeared in more than seventy-five literary journals, including North American Review, The Kenyon Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, and The Chattahoochee Review. Twice I have been nominated for The Pushcart Prize. My short story "The Scratchboard Project" received an honorable mention in The Best American Short Stories 2007.<br /><br />I am also the author of the nationally acclaimed coming-of-age novel The Night I Freed John Brown (Philomel Books, Penguin Group, 2009), winner of The Paterson Prize for Books for Young Readers (Grades 7-12) and one of ten books recommended by USA TODAY.<br /><br />For more information about me, please visit:<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Michael_Cummings<br /><br />Thank you very much, and I look forward to hearing back from you.<br /><br />Kindly,<br /><br />John Michael CummingsJohn Michael Cummingsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-57814538177538454572011-10-28T16:46:59.537-07:002011-10-28T16:46:59.537-07:00Dick Francis, Tony Hillerman, Margaret Coel, Susan...Dick Francis, Tony Hillerman, Margaret Coel, Susan Grafton, Alexander McCall Smith, BillBryson, Miriam Grace Monfredo, JA Jance, Chiam Potokjnaphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12014755797074457398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-11350386203140547292011-10-28T16:24:43.969-07:002011-10-28T16:24:43.969-07:00Those series authors put themselves at the top of ...Those series authors put themselves at the top of the list. My list changed after you pointed out the feature, because I realized that there was no way all of my Stephen King reading was accounted for.<br /><br />1. Stephen King<br />2. Kathryn Kenny (due to the Trixie Belden series)<br />3 (tie) Charlaine Harris and Anne Bishop<br />5 (tie) Orson Scott Card and Scott Westerfeld<br />7. JK RowlingMeganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15746943644410754586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-87377858117855121752011-10-28T14:14:56.039-07:002011-10-28T14:14:56.039-07:00Bearing in mind that at the top of this list shoul...Bearing in mind that at the top of this list should be Laura Ingalls Wilder and C.S. Lewis, both of which are among my most re-read, but whose books are listed as single-volume collections, here is my goodreads top 12:<br />Thomas Moore<br />Natalie Goldberg<br />Anne Lamott<br />Armistead Maupin<br />William Shakespeare<br />Larry McMurtry<br />Isabel Allende<br />Mary Norton<br />Madeleine L'Engle<br />Lillian Faderman<br />Pete Hamill<br />Edmund White<br /><br />Maya Angelou should be in there, too, but I don't think I've listed her books, for some reason.Kim Diazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01599535118481090345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-76419756468399571872011-10-28T05:17:44.753-07:002011-10-28T05:17:44.753-07:00My list is very unsurprising (if you know me, that...My list is very unsurprising (if you know me, that is...and maybe even if you don't).<br />1. Stephen King<br />2. Margaret Atwood<br />3. John Irving<br />4. Michael Cunningham<br />5. David Sedaris<br />6. Michael Chabon<br />7. John Guare<br />8. Philip Roth<br />9. Tom Perotta<br />10. Sarah Vowell<br /><br />Yep, Stephen King.Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08276961817374788145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-87928170680872440752011-10-27T20:42:27.634-07:002011-10-27T20:42:27.634-07:001 William Shakespeare (18)
2 L.E. Modesitt Jr. (1...1 William Shakespeare (18) <br />2 L.E. Modesitt Jr. (15)<br />3 David Eddings (12)<br />4 R.A. Salvatore (11) [I was young. Don't recommend]<br />4 Robin Hobb (11)<br />4 Terry Goodkind (11)<br />7 Robert Jordan (10)<br />8 Kate Elliott (8)<br />9 J.K. Rowling (7)<br />10 Tad Williams (6)<br /><br />OK, OK, I'm a genre guy, so sue me.Charleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18079351826366676348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-65825176372048803422011-10-27T20:17:22.583-07:002011-10-27T20:17:22.583-07:00Goodreads says my list is...
John Shelby Spong
Ku...Goodreads says my list is...<br /><br />John Shelby Spong<br />Kurt Vonnegut<br />David Sedaris<br />Nick Cave <br />Jared Diamond<br />Erich Fromm<br />Bill Bryson<br />Ha Jin<br />Victor Hugo<br />Stephen Kinzer<br /><br />I read a lot of Spong's books when I was quite young, so that's skewing the results a bit.Stephanienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-64692512184048411092011-10-27T19:43:21.009-07:002011-10-27T19:43:21.009-07:00Mr. Ian Fleming, by far. Don't know if anyone ...Mr. Ian Fleming, by far. Don't know if anyone will be touching that anytime soon. Second is Tom Clancy, another check mark in the political/thriller/spy genre for me. How neat.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05135945142600335011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-16586553874233671252010-11-18T07:57:04.333-07:002010-11-18T07:57:04.333-07:00Eek, I'm only at like, 11 on your list. I'...Eek, I'm only at like, 11 on your list. I'll have to get working.<br /><br />Erin and I got miffed at the low quality of those types of lists when it came to movies and started working on a definitive list of our own that never went very far.Meganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15746943644410754586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19747344.post-82971130775220228402010-11-17T23:43:27.569-07:002010-11-17T23:43:27.569-07:0018! My own list is forthcoming.....18! My own list is forthcoming.....Kim Diazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01599535118481090345noreply@blogger.com