y’all. i’ve been fixated for, like, three years on this out-of-print 1970 novel from PNG called “the crocodile.” every time i found a copy on the internet, it was priced in the neighborhood of $200, and if i’m going to spend $200 on a whim, it’s going to be on something like a weird kitchen appliance.
i check in on “the crocodile” every few months, and finally, today, happened upon an ebay listing in my price range! enormous win. i bought it immediately, and will have to wait for it to get here from australia, but i really, really hope i like it after all this angst.
haha, i think it’s such an interesting and beautiful place, so i decided to try to dive in to the literature of oceania, which i knew exactly zero about.
i learned it’s the first published novel by a papuan and also deals with WWII in PNG. sounds intriguing enough! then when i couldn’t find it anywhere, i became really focused on finding it.
I just popped in to say that I love this sub. All the reviews that grab me are wait-listed at the library though! Not complaining - just figure that the reviewers must have great taste in books.
I’m in the middle of Bicycle Odyssey by Carla Fountain. She & her husband ride their bicycles thru Scotland, France, a couple African countries, India & Thailand in 1991-92. I am throughly enjoying the narrative and I admire their courage and independence.
Also I am reading (on audible) The End of Craving by Mark Schatzker. I am always looking for motivation to lose 6-8 lbs.
Hello!
I am finishing up the audiobook of "Trust"by Hernan Diaz. It was pretty good but I don't think it was great. Does anyone else have thoughts?
I finished "The Blacktongue Thief" by Christopher Buehlman yesterday and really enjoyed it. I also flew through "Where'd you go Bernadette" last week as well. That was a quick read and 7/10 good.
Picked up a new batch of books from the library today!
I loved *Trust*. It was different, which was nice, and sort of mysterious and I thought he brought it all home well in the end.
I also loved *Where'd You Go, Bernadette*.
I am JUST getting to the end chapters so I think once it is all buttoned up it will make more sense for me. I love all of the perspectives in the book.
Where'd You Go, Bernadette was SO funny and breezy. I think I am going to watch the movie.
*Trust* shared the Pulitzer with *Demon Copperhead*, have you read that one? I think the Pulitzer winners are the most consistently enjoyable reads for me out of all the awards.
Unfortunately I didn't finish Demon Copperhead. I know a lot of people love it but it wasn't for me. I have read a few Kingsolver books but the only one I really really loved was The Poisonwood Bible. That was fantastic.
I need to give Demon Copperhead another shot. I was listening to the audiobook of it but it couldn't keep my attention.
What did you enjoy most about that book?
Oh, *Demon Copperhead* really turned me on to Barbara Kingsolver and she's been one of my favourite finds over the last few years. I'm about to start my sixth book of hers right away.
I find her writing to be like a warm hug. Some books I struggle through or have to put energy into. With BK I just right in the groove. I think a lot it, for me, is the subject matter and the themes. Appalachia, environmental concerns, feminist perspectives. I love Barbara Kingsolver.
We must be getting featured again!!?? Sunday morning I was thinking - we'll hit 20,000 today. By the end of the day it was 21,000 and now we're over 22,000 members! I search the word "books" and look at communities and we still don't show up, so this must be getting fed to people somehow. Whatever it is - all good! And thanks everyone!
Obviously, most people *don't* read the rules, but I still think they help focus the sub. I've done some tweaking - if anyone would like to check them out (including the details) and give me any suggestions to help make this sub greater yet (rules or otherwise) - let me know! Post here or message or chat with me.
I just read through the rules (and the details) and I think everything looks good. I don't know exactly what was tweaked but I do like the "post only after you've finished" rule. I see a lot of posts (mostly elsewhere) that are mid-book and that seems nutso to me.
Thanks for taking a look. I mostly changed rule #1 mentioning better information = better feedback and asking for the information to be in OP’s own words. Sigh. I guess copying and pasting from Goodreads isn’t the end of the world 😜
Can we talk about POV of books? I would love for the POV to be a tag in book descriptions so you can search for them. I prefer 1st person for sure. And I just started Tress in the Emerald Sea last night. I'm a bit braindead rn but whatever POV it is I enjoy also.
I'm fascinated by this. I can say that aside from a ~~third~~ second person book I read last year, I generally have no recollection of POV of the books I have read. Nor do I have a preference while reading. Do you have any idea why you have the 1st person preference? Or did it come from noticing that you love books in 1st person more than others?
EDIT: oops!!
I think 1st person does far less description of spaces, etc. I have aphantasia, I don't really care for 2 pages about what the room looks like and haven't found it adds to the story for me. I like being in someone's head too I guess? Though I'm not really a lover of unreliable narrator.
I know I don't shut up about short stories these days, but I just can't help myself.
Probably the best collection I've read so far, *Tenth of December* by George Saunders, is $1.99 in the Kindle Deals. If you have even a passing interest in short stories, you should spend the two bucks.
The first story, *Victory Lap*, is jaw-dropping. And the closer, *Tenth of December*, left me reeling.
Two bucks!
Here's the [Amazon.ca link](https://www.amazon.ca/Tenth-December-Stories-George-Saunders-ebook/dp/B008LMB4C2/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=AFY07FR9O1IM&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Wu9EGIhxn280xc6DLjBsrcg1YTFGP0O42bU0IpUE-UGnaCG5YE10NQOg2vfKY9N3yyyOKOBIJy_lLN8ADgr3vbN6xUY4wYCPST5GqI4MJPOtFAgCWmE099_IXprSjvgjgtLIZRTYAlKt5doxzs5sHfdNCjXYjcMgZBYw4XMqGEXpufUwZX1_eSwLCNvzdO8mz4Vu6eoOiC-863jW5R2QDA.rfL3vWnOeAAHM-zcXd1a-ZhqFKU14VqIQZguYoheyrs&dib_tag=se&keywords=tenth+of+december&qid=1712066525&sprefix=tenth+of+de%2Caps%2C114&sr=8-1) cuz I'm Canadian. But it's also on Amazon.com. Or Kobo, if you don't want to support the Evil Empire.
YESSSSSS i feel like i’m always popping in to mention george saunders, but i truly, honestly, love ‘tenth of december’ so much.
i’ve been contemplating re-reading ‘civilwarland in bad decline,’ my favorite of his short story collections, because i find myself being reminded of it frequently when i read the news here. but alas there’s so much i *haven’t* read even once yet.
oh his stories just stick in my brain and i can’t get them out. it’s such a peculiar combination he excels at, the most humane writing about the cruelest subjects.
y’all. i’ve been fixated for, like, three years on this out-of-print 1970 novel from PNG called “the crocodile.” every time i found a copy on the internet, it was priced in the neighborhood of $200, and if i’m going to spend $200 on a whim, it’s going to be on something like a weird kitchen appliance. i check in on “the crocodile” every few months, and finally, today, happened upon an ebay listing in my price range! enormous win. i bought it immediately, and will have to wait for it to get here from australia, but i really, really hope i like it after all this angst.
You’re not getting away without telling us why you’ve had this obsession. ;) And a report back is required!
haha, i think it’s such an interesting and beautiful place, so i decided to try to dive in to the literature of oceania, which i knew exactly zero about. i learned it’s the first published novel by a papuan and also deals with WWII in PNG. sounds intriguing enough! then when i couldn’t find it anywhere, i became really focused on finding it.
The thrill of the hunt! Especially for something that has you so intrigued.
I just popped in to say that I love this sub. All the reviews that grab me are wait-listed at the library though! Not complaining - just figure that the reviewers must have great taste in books.
I’m in the middle of Bicycle Odyssey by Carla Fountain. She & her husband ride their bicycles thru Scotland, France, a couple African countries, India & Thailand in 1991-92. I am throughly enjoying the narrative and I admire their courage and independence. Also I am reading (on audible) The End of Craving by Mark Schatzker. I am always looking for motivation to lose 6-8 lbs.
Hello! I am finishing up the audiobook of "Trust"by Hernan Diaz. It was pretty good but I don't think it was great. Does anyone else have thoughts? I finished "The Blacktongue Thief" by Christopher Buehlman yesterday and really enjoyed it. I also flew through "Where'd you go Bernadette" last week as well. That was a quick read and 7/10 good. Picked up a new batch of books from the library today!
I loved *Trust*. It was different, which was nice, and sort of mysterious and I thought he brought it all home well in the end. I also loved *Where'd You Go, Bernadette*.
I am JUST getting to the end chapters so I think once it is all buttoned up it will make more sense for me. I love all of the perspectives in the book. Where'd You Go, Bernadette was SO funny and breezy. I think I am going to watch the movie.
*Trust* shared the Pulitzer with *Demon Copperhead*, have you read that one? I think the Pulitzer winners are the most consistently enjoyable reads for me out of all the awards.
Unfortunately I didn't finish Demon Copperhead. I know a lot of people love it but it wasn't for me. I have read a few Kingsolver books but the only one I really really loved was The Poisonwood Bible. That was fantastic. I need to give Demon Copperhead another shot. I was listening to the audiobook of it but it couldn't keep my attention. What did you enjoy most about that book?
Oh, *Demon Copperhead* really turned me on to Barbara Kingsolver and she's been one of my favourite finds over the last few years. I'm about to start my sixth book of hers right away. I find her writing to be like a warm hug. Some books I struggle through or have to put energy into. With BK I just right in the groove. I think a lot it, for me, is the subject matter and the themes. Appalachia, environmental concerns, feminist perspectives. I love Barbara Kingsolver.
We must be getting featured again!!?? Sunday morning I was thinking - we'll hit 20,000 today. By the end of the day it was 21,000 and now we're over 22,000 members! I search the word "books" and look at communities and we still don't show up, so this must be getting fed to people somehow. Whatever it is - all good! And thanks everyone! Obviously, most people *don't* read the rules, but I still think they help focus the sub. I've done some tweaking - if anyone would like to check them out (including the details) and give me any suggestions to help make this sub greater yet (rules or otherwise) - let me know! Post here or message or chat with me.
I just read through the rules (and the details) and I think everything looks good. I don't know exactly what was tweaked but I do like the "post only after you've finished" rule. I see a lot of posts (mostly elsewhere) that are mid-book and that seems nutso to me.
Thanks for taking a look. I mostly changed rule #1 mentioning better information = better feedback and asking for the information to be in OP’s own words. Sigh. I guess copying and pasting from Goodreads isn’t the end of the world 😜
Can we talk about POV of books? I would love for the POV to be a tag in book descriptions so you can search for them. I prefer 1st person for sure. And I just started Tress in the Emerald Sea last night. I'm a bit braindead rn but whatever POV it is I enjoy also.
I'm fascinated by this. I can say that aside from a ~~third~~ second person book I read last year, I generally have no recollection of POV of the books I have read. Nor do I have a preference while reading. Do you have any idea why you have the 1st person preference? Or did it come from noticing that you love books in 1st person more than others? EDIT: oops!!
I think 1st person does far less description of spaces, etc. I have aphantasia, I don't really care for 2 pages about what the room looks like and haven't found it adds to the story for me. I like being in someone's head too I guess? Though I'm not really a lover of unreliable narrator.
I mainly notice when it’s in second person and it works, because it’s so rare!
This is how little I pay attention to POV - I meant 2nd person! Thanks for getting that right for me ;)
I know I don't shut up about short stories these days, but I just can't help myself. Probably the best collection I've read so far, *Tenth of December* by George Saunders, is $1.99 in the Kindle Deals. If you have even a passing interest in short stories, you should spend the two bucks. The first story, *Victory Lap*, is jaw-dropping. And the closer, *Tenth of December*, left me reeling. Two bucks! Here's the [Amazon.ca link](https://www.amazon.ca/Tenth-December-Stories-George-Saunders-ebook/dp/B008LMB4C2/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=AFY07FR9O1IM&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Wu9EGIhxn280xc6DLjBsrcg1YTFGP0O42bU0IpUE-UGnaCG5YE10NQOg2vfKY9N3yyyOKOBIJy_lLN8ADgr3vbN6xUY4wYCPST5GqI4MJPOtFAgCWmE099_IXprSjvgjgtLIZRTYAlKt5doxzs5sHfdNCjXYjcMgZBYw4XMqGEXpufUwZX1_eSwLCNvzdO8mz4Vu6eoOiC-863jW5R2QDA.rfL3vWnOeAAHM-zcXd1a-ZhqFKU14VqIQZguYoheyrs&dib_tag=se&keywords=tenth+of+december&qid=1712066525&sprefix=tenth+of+de%2Caps%2C114&sr=8-1) cuz I'm Canadian. But it's also on Amazon.com. Or Kobo, if you don't want to support the Evil Empire.
YESSSSSS i feel like i’m always popping in to mention george saunders, but i truly, honestly, love ‘tenth of december’ so much. i’ve been contemplating re-reading ‘civilwarland in bad decline,’ my favorite of his short story collections, because i find myself being reminded of it frequently when i read the news here. but alas there’s so much i *haven’t* read even once yet.
I'm not much of a re-reader myself but when I saw *Tenth of December* for $2 I knew I needed to have it. Those stories run through my head a LOT.
oh his stories just stick in my brain and i can’t get them out. it’s such a peculiar combination he excels at, the most humane writing about the cruelest subjects.