Thursday, November 3, 2011

Reading, lately

I'm a little torn on this book. It's beautifully written, for sure. I devoured it. But there isn't really the normal build up you expect to see in a novel, especially one about a family. Instead, you get isolated moments within the family history, and you have to guess at the gaps, wondering why people's motivations and relationships have changed since you saw them last.

{the pleasure seekers}

At first this drove me a little crazy, but then I decided to look at it as a series of snapshots, and it made sense to me that way. We made peace. It probably helps that I'm a huge sucker for gorgeous writing.

I have been tearing through books lately. I need to remember to start writing down what I'm reading, because I'm losing track.

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18 comments:

  1. KarenNovember 3, 2011 at 5:50 AM

    I had the same problem with losing track of what I read - I even got 20 pages into a book I'd already read before I realized why it seemed oddly familiar. Now I use goodreads to keep track... actually, I'm going to go add the pleasure seekers to my to-read list now.

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  2. caraNovember 3, 2011 at 6:37 AM

    Ditto what Karen said about goodreads! I have hundreds of books on my list, unfortch -- but I hear about all these other awesome books, and just add them to my to-read list! yikes! But I love that I can add notes to remind me of what I loved about a book or hated (since I enjoy re-visiting stories here and there) - yea goodreads!

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  3. CaraNovember 3, 2011 at 6:50 AM

    I keep a running list of the books I've read and want to read in a Word doc on my computer. It's been a good way for me to keep track of my want to read/have read list.

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  4. UnknownNovember 3, 2011 at 7:00 AM

    Goodreads!

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  5. KelseyNovember 3, 2011 at 7:15 AM

    Yes! I love Goodreads! I love keeping track of all the books I've read and want to read and I also get to keep up with what my good friends and mom are reading, we love talking about books. :)

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  6. Miss BibliophileNovember 3, 2011 at 8:19 AM

    Sounds like an interesting book. I'm adding it to my To Read list on, of course, Goodreads! The only problem with that is that my To Read list gets so long, I feel like I never have time to go back and reread some of my favorites!

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  7. MaryNovember 3, 2011 at 8:33 AM

    I know what you mean...I've been reading a lot lately as well, and I forget to post about the ones I love and would recommend. This one has been on my list, but it hasn't seemed to rise to the top yet. Maybe soon...

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  8. EricaNovember 3, 2011 at 8:43 AM

    It sounds like an interesting read, I will have to check it out!

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  9. BrittanyNovember 3, 2011 at 8:51 AM

    You should try http://www.librarything.com it is a great online way to keep track of whatever you are reading. I love that site :)

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  10. ErinNovember 3, 2011 at 10:06 AM

    Yes, join www.goodreads.com! It's like Facebook for bookworms, and you can keep track of things you've read and want to read.

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  11. SaraNovember 3, 2011 at 11:35 AM

    I'll have to add this to my must-read list. It does seem to be easy to lose track of books occasionally though. I'll have to check out Goodreads too! :)

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  12. AnonymousNovember 3, 2011 at 12:07 PM

    Thanks a lot everyone! Now I just wasted an hour on goodreads.com! So fun, but so distracting!

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  13. RhonaNovember 3, 2011 at 2:44 PM

    I just finished this book a couple of weeks ago and I felt the same as you - you do wonder what's happened to the characters in between the bits you read. But in the end I quite enjoyed that - it was like the characters had this amazing life outside of the novel, something I sometimes wish for when I finish a good book! Plus the author's a poet, so maybe it's more episodic because of that...sorry, it's the English teacher coming out in me ;-)

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  14. RachelNovember 3, 2011 at 3:55 PM

    Okay, so apparently I really do need to figure out Goodreads, if so many of you love it. I'm just always loathe to add another online obsession into my life! But I'll check it out. I wonder if it can synch to my Kindle somehow? That would at least cut down on how much actual entry I have to do.

    @ Rhona - I had the same thought! The language was so lovely and the gaps in the story did remind me of poems - the space had as much going on as the written portions.

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  15. bridgetwhoplaysfrenchhornNovember 3, 2011 at 7:38 PM

    Goodreads is my favorite! And it's easy to use, promise!

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  16. UnknownNovember 4, 2011 at 12:23 AM

    I'm a sucker for the same, so I'll have to look into this one. Thanks!

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  17. UnknownNovember 4, 2011 at 12:32 AM

    oh, about goodreads, i spent a lot of time on it at first (adding books, browsing), but now it's just a matter of adding my current read and ratings when i'm done.

    i haven't synced my kindle yet, looking into it:
    http://www.goodreads.com/user/kindle_settings

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  18. AnonymousNovember 8, 2011 at 7:33 AM

    This looks good! You're writing style is really great btw.

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