Done!

[wordswordswords]

I just finished Complete Stories: 1864-1874 by Henry James. This was two boxes of cassette tapes, or over 900 pages. It has taken me a while.

If anyone here is a Henry James reader, these are his earliest published stories and in many ways not typical of his better-known fiction.

More comments on this are on my blog, the least known of all blogs, but I enjoy it anyway. It's only for people who read books, I guess. One comment just called it "boring," and I'm not much of a hand at clever effects (which cost $$$, as it turns out, in the blogging world).

Free blogs like mine have a way of turning into something you didn't want, too. I had larger fonts all set up there, but the Powers That Be changed them to much smaller ones. Now I can't even read my own blog.

[RobertGraves]

I enjoyed 'Portrait of a Lady', one of the few 19th century novels I've ever enjoyed ('cept for the the Russian authors).

[wordswordswords]

Robert, I like Portrait of a Lady too.

Someone who likes Russian novels would also like Vanity Fair, it seems to me--or maybe I'm assuming that you are partial to long novels in general.

[pinkozcat]

I don't know what masochistic streak prompted me to buy and read Dan Brown's 'Angels and Demons' but I have only one comment:

Don't !!!!!!!!!

[RobertGraves]

Still wearing that hairshirt and cilice for the reading equivalent of corporal mortification heh
www.odan.org/corporal_mortification.htm

[RobertGraves]

I just started Martin Amis' 'Night Train' - which is not my usual genres at all - but I do like Amis. Well, actually I like his non-fiction and enjoyed one of his novels. I don'y know that his is shaping up to be much chop at all.

[RobertGraves]

Has anyone read 'The Secret History' by Donna Tart? I've had it for ages and never started.
books.lukasz.h4c.pl/k762

[pinkozcat]

Opus Dei was The Da Vinci Code; Angels and Demons was about miracles. And our hero survived a fall of three miles after jumping out of a helicopter.

The demonising of women is a classic case of transference; it is men who need to control their lustful thoughts. Grrrrr !

[Aravis]

I've just finished reading Shopgirl by Steve Martin. Pretty good actually. I was expecting it to be more humorous. It was almost more of a social satire. He dealt mostly in stereotypes. It's the story of Mirabelle, low on the totem pole of shopgirls working at Neiman Marcus. She's an artist who lacks confidence in herself and suffers from depression. When a wealthy older man becomes interested in her, both of their lives change.

It's short and sweet. Not what I expected but enjoyable nonetheless.

[pinkozcat]

I recently read a very funny book by James Hamilton-Paterson called 'Cooking with Fernet Branca'.

It is a nice light read and I giggled all the way through it.

I can't bear to release it into the wild at this stage so it has gone into my permanent collection.

I'd recommend it - but take the recipes with a grain of salt.

[Nulla]

Is it too little too late?.... Robert, I read The Secret History by Donna Tart several years ago and enjoyed it.... it's a psychological thriller of sorts.... cerebral cum creepy, I guess... the plot is a bit disjointed at times and leaves some loose ends, but not enough to spend the time to nit-pick... a good book to take with you on a long trip....

[RobertGraves]

I've read a couple of hundred pages but must admit I am finding it boring and unlikely.

[wordswordswords]

I've just finished Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald, a writer who began her writing career at the age of 60. (It might have helped that her father was the editor of Punch--I don't know.)

This is the second novel of hers that I have read, and it was just as absorbing as the other one, which was about a bookstore.

Human Voices is about some people working at the BBC during World War 2. It gives some interesting glimpses into the world of radio broadcasting--as well as into London during the war.

[Tenarke]

I believe I’ve mentioned on previous sites anyway, that I am very fond of Le Carre’s work. I’ve just now finished his latest, “Absolute Friends”.

I rate this among, or even above his best.

This is really an epic, viewing the Cold War from its beginnings through to the present and perhaps a year or two into a very grim future. This view of our recent history is a spy’s view, from the inside out. It is not kind to the US, but no less kind than we perhaps deserve.

The protagonist, Ted Mundy, is a few years younger than I but our memories span the same events. My perspective was from the outside, looking in; wondering just what the hell was going on in there. Mundy’s perspective was from in there; unfortunately confirming some of my worst speculations.

Yes; I am recommending it.

[pinkozcat]

I'm having a literary break back to mystery stories and have half finished Patricia Cornwall's latest book, 'Blowfly'.

She seems to have gone from writing about forensic pathology to writing about psychopathic serial killers and after getting almost to the half-way mark I decided that enough was enough and I really don't want to know in detail what psychopaths do to their victims before and after they kill them.

Needless to say, I do not intend to finish the book and will not be reading any more of her books in the foreseeable future.

I'm returning to Jodi Picoult and all her works with sighs of relief.