Sharon U

Random books from my shelf

Public Notes

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  Happy says

  Hi Sharon! How have you been?
  I have not read The Illumination. I just looked it up and it looks interesting. And. Since it was a favorite of yours I'll have to take a look. Thanks for the tip.
  I did read The Gathering. I thought it was very well written. I had never read that author before. I didn't go on to read other novels by her (I think she has quite a few) but that's a time issue. I'll read more of her at some point. How about you? Are you going to try her other books? Did you continue to enjoy The Gathering the further you read?

  Posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )

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  Happy says

  It's not your imagination. The success of Water for Elephants created a little sub-genre, the circus novel and every publisher wants to get a piece of that. Random House has The Night Circus out now and that's their attempt to marry up Harry Potter and Water for Elephants. Maybe I shouldn't say that before reading it? I have a copy of it but I haven't opened it yet.
  I also see a lot of sensitive young men off to WW1 novels. Alan Hollinghurst's new novel The Stranger's Child is one of those. It seems like their were whole platoons of poets sent to fight during that war.
  I looked up Geek Love and it is still in print. Still no word on Katherine Dunn's next book. ---Let me know how you like Mrs Tom Thumb!

  Posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )

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  Happy says

  Yea! I'm so glad. Virago publishes a lot of interesting titles---too bad so few of them get distributed over here.

  Posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )

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  Sally S says

  What did you think of My Fearful Symmetry?

  Posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )

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  Sally S says

  I just finished Theme about the book Sound and The Fury which I loved, and am now reading Sense and Sensibility for a change of pace. I am enjoying that immensely as well. Tell me more about the bookstore that you owned (or was it manged)

  Posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )

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  Happy says

  My store was a small independent as well. I managed Ariel Booksellers in New Paltz--a small town about 90 miles north of NYC. Ariel closed about 4 or 5 years ago. I had left before that all started to happen and I was thrilled not to have to be a part of all that.
  I'm so glad you are enjoying London Train. I just finished The Hangman's Daughter. That was my first try of one of Amazon's imprints. I had seen a number of very positive blog reviews of it but it was a dud for me. I think next up for me is going to be The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins. It's a 1954 novel of manners reprinted by Virago.

  Posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )

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  Sally S says

  Hi Sharon. Like you books are in my blood.I noticed that you are reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I just recently bought it at a flea market. Is it good?

  Posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )

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  Happy says

  It looks like we have a bunch of books in common. How are you liking The London Train?
  I have a friend who lives in London and he sends me a lot of books. How lucky am I, right? But I also suscribe (free, online) to several U.K. newspapers just for the book reviews: The Guardian, The Independent, and The Times and listen to BBC radio (again free online) where there are many book review and discussion programs as well as dramatic readings of contemporary and classic novels. Of course they publish lots of the same kinds of things there as here but I do find a wider variety of say ethnic or world literature being published there and those are of great interest to me.
  I used to manage a bookstore too! Where was yours?

  Posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )