I gave up…
August 09, 08 by anorris
I surrendered to my children and returned Love Medicine to the library. I hadn’t made progress on reading it in 1 1/2 weeks so maybe one day I’ll get it back out from the library. Personally I would still like to participate in this group and do it like a “traditional” book club where the book is chosen and we have an allotted amount of time to read it. I feel like a month is long enough although I failed at it this past month. Anyhow, I”m moving on, having enjoyed the conversation so far. I will pick up the next read suggested by John and get going. Thanks all!
yeah, I kinda like the idea of a “traditional” book club too… I am beginning my OBGYN rotation on Monday (which requires less clinical hours) and should have a little more time than I did during my last class. I will go to the bookstore either today, or Tuesday to pick up the new book unless I see anything on this blog advising me to do otherwise…
Well i finished the book finally today. It wasn’t bad, some stories a bit more interesting than others. I didn’t think the stories were connected enough to have me itching for more hence it took me so long to read. Some very good descriptions though and a pretty easy read.
I officially quit the book. I will also say this; I don’t like women authors. They are just not as good as men. I am sorry, I don’t mean to offend anyone, but this is how I feel. None of my favorite authors are women and I was hoping this book would change my mind, but it only confirmed what I already believed. Anyone agree/disagree? This should at least start a nice thread.
I am so not offended but you can really truly say that. You have never read a book written by a woman and enjoyed it? I will have to think about it because I’m not sure off the top of my head but it seems like an exaggeration. Maybe you have thought about this long and hard though….at any rate the book couldn’t keep my interest much and my kids suck right now so I just couldn’t plow through. Will get the next book this week.
Haha, well what do you really think Mark? I don’t know if I agree so much however, I would say my favorite authors have been male. That could have to do with the fact that we are male and have male perspectives.
One of everyone’s favorite books is by a woman, “To Kill A Mockingbird.”
I also liked “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” by Zora Huerston.
I will say I have yet to come across a female author whom after i read one book I want to pick up the rest of them, but I attribute that to a few things. One, I don’t tend to pick up very modern novels, and women have had a much shorter time period of public acceptance writing. Also most tend to write about love and things of this nature which don’t generally interest me.
So I would say that I often appreciate female authors, as I thought Miss Erdrich did a nice job in her description, but I they tend not to write on subjects that appeal to me.
Then again I definitely have more experience with male authors, so hopefully someone in the crowd can open our eyes.
So I had to give up by proxy here as well — I have no book either to read!
I like men and women authors though — my shortlist of great female novels are:
Wharton, Edith. Ethan Frome, 1911
Highsmith, Patricia. The Talented Mr. Ripley, 1955
Chopin, Kate. The Awakening, 1900
Actually probably my favorite female author is Anne Rice…
Rice, Anne. Servant of the Bones, 1996
I’d contemplate putting Ayn Rand on here as she is a good author, just can’t agree with her philosophy in any way.
Good examples Lee, I have not read The Talented Mr. Ripley or any Anne Rice, but Atlas Shrugged is a good one as well.
Again other than Anne Rice, these authors are mostly known for a single novel. I can not think of any that are really renowned for multiple works.
Doesn’t Anne Rice write love novels?
eh… Shes the vampire chick — known for ‘Interview with a Vampire’ I liked ‘Servant’ a lot more though — it’s more horror/period stuff…
whats the next book you guys picked so I can add it to the sidebar?
Did Anne Rice write a book about a violin, too? By the way, I also share Mark’s dislike of female authors, which I actually expressed to him when I picked this book up… Well, except for my fav J.K. Rowling. Maybe someone should suggest a Harry Potter book (ha! just kidding, Mark would quit).
If you had to be stranded on a desert island with just one book, and you could only choose the gender of the author, the selection would be random after that, would you choose male or female? I guess that is closer to what I meant as there are many books that I have enjoyed written by girls, just that in general they are worse.
also, John’s book is out of print, you are best to buy it used online I believe
I saw John’s book at my library and will try to pick up soon. Just got back from a crazy week of traveling and getting Gudrun settled into new place.
I agree with John that the classics are mostly by male authors.
I loved Gone With The WInd by Margaret Mitchell, but again, how many other books has she written?
I don’t think about Male vs Female when someone recommends a good book. I have read some fine mysteries by female authors, but maybe not your style either-
A is for Alibi,etc Sue Grafton
here are some others I’ve read recently:
The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
Poisonwood Bible, Bean Trees, etc -Barbara Kingsolver
many by Amy Tan (about chinese american-family relationships)
Tme Travelers Wife -Audrey Niffenegger
Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood (reading now)
Mark:
many are about realtionships and that does include love…maybe you need to read MORE female authors so you can get in touch with your female side.LOL
shirley
Hi, everybody.
I’d love to join your book club. Lee, thanks for reminding me of The Talented Mr. Ripley. That’s been on my list for awhile. Several others on the lists looked good too, especially the one by the author of Guns, Germs, and Steel. I loved that book.
So, what’s on deck for the next book?
Tamara
Alli or Lee- maybe start a thread for the next book- I assumed we agreed on John’s selection, I just picked it up fro mteh library:
“First and Last Seasons. A Father, A Son and Sunday Afternoon Football” by Dan Mc Graw
looks like an easy read. 300 pages, hard cover.
Mark, if you had to be stranded on a deserted island with just one person, and you could only choose the gender, would you choose a male or a female? Just curious….