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Books I would re-read again? A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Frankenstein

 

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is one of the few books I've read more than once. I think I've read it 3 times and each time I cry like a baby when Aunt Sissy gives Francie the flowers. OMG!

 

O Pioneers, My Antonia, The Grapes of Wrath, The Good Earth, The Secret Garden, The Crucible, all of the Little House books, and The Red Tent are the others. I guess it's more than a few but most of them were books that I had read in high school and didn't appreciate them like I should have back then. I do want to read Wuthering Heights again since I recently saw the movie.

 

Frankenstein is still on my list of books to read. Maybe that one will be next.

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Books I would re-read again? A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Frankenstein

 

Was there ever a book that was less like the movie made from it than Frankenstein? Ok, probably, but you get my point.

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I love re-reading books that I enjoy. Like re-viewing movies I enjoy, I always get a little more insight into it. This may be due to what I bring to the book at the time of the first read/watch versus what I bring on the following readings/viewings. I've read Cannery Row and Tortilla Flat many times and they both still offer insights/elicit productive thought. I also love re-reading Peace Like a River mostly because I love the writing style/imagery/etc. but also because it's a neat story. Tim O'Brien and Flannery O'Connor are two other authors I can re-read often because I love their style, as well.

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I've liked his other stuff (he has a weird collection of short stories) but had to stop reading Beatrice and Virgil when there was anal assault on the donkey. (Oh, sorry to be a spoiler!)

 

Yeah.... sometimes insane brutality and shocking scenes aren't worth it. I find that it's interesting sometimes to let it play out and see what meaning comes out of the extra-sick places my mind typically avoids. I suppose I give books more license than movies. I watched Match Point the other night and covered my eyes during the violent scene. Guess I'm becoming a real mild man. But I digress...

 

One lasting effect of Beatrice and Virgil that I found, was a way to re-approach the despair of the holocaust without couching it in the same terms it has been looked at for the last couple decades (Maus did this in another way). Then again, approaching the despair of the holocaust might not be everyone's idea of a good time, and I'm not sure the book had quite the literary heft to move that rock completely.

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One lasting effect of Beatrice and Virgil that I found, was a way to re-approach the despair of the holocaust without couching it in the same terms it has been looked at for the last couple decades (Maus did this in another way). Then again, approaching the despair of the holocaust might not be everyone's idea of a good time, and I'm not sure the book had quite the literary heft to move that rock completely.

 

Agreed. I did love imagining the taxidermist's store and the darkness therein... As far as re-approaching holocaust atrocities, I suppose I'm not one for looking the horrors of humanity in the eye.

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I love re-reading books that I enjoy. Like re-viewing movies I enjoy, I always get a little more insight into it.

 

Same here, except I hardly ever reread entire books. Instead, I'll pick up a book I've read and open to a random page and just go to town. Kind of like catching part of a movie on TV.

 

Been working my way through Keef's autobio, but at one point (before page 100) I got restless and started flipping around reading the stuff I got it for (Exile, 72 tour, the 80s). Amazing recall the man has - it's like Peter Guralnick wrote it or something. Case in point: by page 40, he's still like 5 years old.

Next up:

 

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I started this a couple of weeks ago:

 

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However, I have really been struggling with fiction lately. Ever since I got pregnant, I've had difficulty staying focused on novels. I have been jonesing for good feminist theory and/or socio-political analysis. So, I am now reading this. For me, it's been a page turner.

 

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Her analysis is fantastic and her writing style is fluid and strong. She makes no secret about her own political/theoretical persuasion. However, it seems like her cultural analysis on gender, culture and the election is very fair and even handed. Palin doesn't come in for some time, but from the few mentions of her thus far, she seems able to separate her personal/political feelings for Palin from her cultural analysis on how Palin's presence operates in the larger political arena. I also really appreciate her nuanced and complex approach to examining Hillary's campaign and the difficulties many women had in supporting her - especially liberal feminists who were very disappointed with her later years as First Lady and her Senatorial voting record, where she was painted as a wishy-washy opportunist.

 

It's had great reviews and I am not disappointed. It's just what the doctor ordered.

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Haha! Thanks! I am due on March 3 (which is our Emily's 17th birthday!)

 

I don't think you missed anything - I am not on here much and apparently Graham hasn't really said anything. :stunned

:cheekkiss

 

Wonderful news!

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I don't remember who it was who first recommended this book on here, but on the off chance my local library had it, I checked and lo and behold! they did. I checked it out on Thursday and literally just finished it three seconds ago, and I just have to report how much I enjoyed it. It was absolutely gorgeously written and held my attention like few other books have. This will be a book I recommend with high praise. If any of you haven't read it, or are considering reading it, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. It's just perfect.

 

 

I took your recommendation, sgtpepper64, and I'm very glad I did. You are so right, this book is wonderful and deserves to be widely read! :cheers

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Just started this one. Gearing up for the Further show in February.

 

I didn't think that book was all that great.

 

Cherie Priest -

Four and Twenty Blackbirds

Boneshaker

Dreadnought

 

Anthony E. Zuiker -

Level 26: Dark Origins

Dark Prophecy: A Level 26 Thriller Featuring Steve Dark

 

Steve Berry -

The Emperor's Tomb

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