Whatcha readin'?

[luddite lady]

[quote="moonstone"]Just been reading a very funny post Christmas present e-mail from LT.

Other than that I'm just about to start an Open University English degree course and all my books have arrived.

Gulp!

I'm starting with The Faber book of Beasts for no other reason than I like the title.[/quote]

Way to go, moonstone! The course sounds like a blast. Keep us posted on your progress, reading recommendations and insights.

[moonstone]

[quote="luddite lady"]Way to go, moonstone! The course sounds like a blast. Keep us posted on your progress, reading recommendations and insights.[/quote]

Thanks LL, I will do.

It's daunting and exciting in equal measures as the last time I studied was over 10 years ago and that was a Diploma in building site management, before that it was all equine related stuff for as far back as I can remember. I've been wanting to bump start my brain again for some time now and I do love my books so I'm really looking forward to it.

Now I need to do something about my punctuation and spelling.

[Divemistress of the Dark]

I read the first chapter of 'Gone Girl,' a work of fiction by Gillian Flynn, lately but am conflicted on whether to d/l the rest of it. The characters were sort of too clever by half, you know? Like when high school kids are fans of tons of erudite material in books and then commit any number of rookie mistakes a chapter later... Hm.

[ladyhawke]

taking break from harry potter reading for all of the holidays but i think its a good time to start it . my kids want to see the hobbit so we will do that as a family i hope every one gets to see it to with your kids

[luddite lady]

I've just picked up the book 1982 by Jian Ghomeshi. It's his memoir of being a New Wave/punk rock leaning teenager in 1980's suburban Toronto. Essentially, we share the same story except for the failed experimentation with eye liner (and that part's coming from Jian's story.) When I first opened the book, I got quite the kick. The inside lining of the cover is an enlarged copy of a ticket stub (presumably Jian's) for Toronto's 1982 Police Picnic. That concert was the first time I saw The Police, and until Tourzilla, the only time. It's kind of funny to know that Jian Gomeshi was at that concert too and like me it was a formative enough experience in his life to have saved the ticket stub all these years. (I also like the fact that my friend and I had way better tickets than he did.)
The author has a few fairly recent connections to the Police. He hosts a national arts & culture radio program on CBC and he interviewed Stewart some years ago when he was at the NxNE festival just after the release of Everyone Stares. He also interviewed Andy post-reunion when he was in Toronto exhibiting his photos at Luminato.
I've only begun the book, but so far it's a fun, funny and easy read that I definitely recommend, especially to old farts like me who don't mind revisiting their days of youthful awkwardness.
ETA: It turns out that the above-mentioned interview with Andy was also video taped. I came across it while looking for the old audio. I don't think this has been put up here before.
Andy looks pretty tired, but if I recall correctly, Ghomeshi mentioned on his show that this interview was taped at some crazy early time like 6 a.m.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ijs-AvTBHE

[Mrs. Gradenko]

I finally finished reading The Help... I was sure it was going to turn out sad in the end, so I kept procrastinating on finishing it. Great ending... I should probably watch the movie now.

[moonstone]

[quote="Mrs. Gradenko"]I finally finished reading The Help... I was sure it was going to turn out sad in the end, so I kept procrastinating on finishing it. Great ending... I should probably watch the movie now.


Mrs G, The Help has become one of my favourite books in recent times. Actually they do a pretty good job with the film too though as with most films it's a bit shorter and misses out some of the book. Reading the book first was definately the right move. I sent my copy to my sister who lives in Cornwall months ago and she still hasn't been able to bring herself to read the end. The tension really builds which is lost a bit in the film. Such a great book though.

[moonstone]

[quote="luddite lady"]ETA: It turns out that the above-mentioned interview with Andy was also video taped. I came across it while looking for the old audio. I don't think this has been put up here before.
Andy looks pretty tired, but if I recall correctly, Ghomeshi mentioned on his show that this interview was taped at some crazy early time like 6 a.m.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ijs-AvTBHE[/quote]

To my shame, Andy looks a lot better than I do at 6am in the morning!
This is a lovely interview LL and thanks so much for posting it. As someone commented, such a long introduction but Andy's had such an interesting life and such a long career so a long introduction seems fitting.

Myself, I'm elbow deep in Doctor Faustus for my O.U.course. I'm loving the old language and it's taking me back to my school days of Chaucer-The Canterbury tales when you had to read and translate everything to fully understand it. I'm so out of practise but the more I read the easier it becomes. It's a wonderful distraction from everyday modern life. Tea and toast in bed this morning and me reading until 10.30am. The dogs were up the duvet and having a lovely and rare lay-in. I wish every day was Sunday so I could have breakfast in bed and read.

[policefan]

I finally finished reading The Help... I was sure it was going to turn out sad in the end, so I kept procrastinating on finishing it. Great ending... I should probably watch the movie now.

I am almost done reading the book!
Good to know that there is a great ending. Also looking forward to watching the movie.

[Divemistress of the Dark]

"Death at Sea World," b/c I'm hacked off about intelligent animals like orca being kept in tiny tanks. Sigh.

[luna_virgo]

Just finished reading Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach, and now taking a break from books to read the pile of National Geographics I haven't gotten to yet.

[Divemistress of the Dark]

I love Mary Roach. She's got another one called 'Spook' I've been meaning to read (am a true-crime junkie, oddly - since I'm also way freaked out by serial killers, having grown up near a few incidents in the 70s...)

[sockii]

I've been on a bit of a music autobiography kick the past few months.

I trudged through Pete Townshend's autobio which...eh. I wanted to know more about the music, not how many homes and boats he bought and sold through the years. And the navel-gazing was pretty insufferable at times (seriously it took me about 2 months to get through this book.)

In contrast I thought John Taylor's autobio was delightful. Yes he glossed over a lot of stuff but I still found it a great read, and honest enough about the difficulties of his addiction battles.

Right now I'm on Adam Ant's "Stand and Deliver". He's a wonderfully witty and honest writer. It's making me love and respect him more and more as I read what he's been through.

[Mrs. Gradenko]

I decided to start re-reading Water For Elephants, by Sara Gruen. I loved the book the first time through; I always re-read books I loved. Does anyone else? I still have not seen the movie though, same for The Help.

[ltwoman]

I always re-read books I loved. Does anyone else?

Oh yeah. I have dog-eared copies of A Prayer For Owen Meany and Snow Falling On Cedars. Every winter I drag them out again.