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Leslie E

Leslie E

has 30 followers and is following 25 people

I've been a reader lifelong and can't imagine a world without books. The joy of curling up with a book and going where the author takes me--there's nothing like it. Many of the books on my shelf I read years ago and I probably couldn't put together an intelligent discussion about them. I just remember the emotional wallop that each gave me,... more »
  • Silver Spring, MD
  • member since January 18, 2008

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Public Notes

  • jane v

    jane v says

    Hi Leslie. I have read a little Amos Oz and like him a lot...the reviews of the short stories sound interesting, I am a huge short story fan. I also like his political perspective.

    I love Joan Didion, I did a class on her centuries ago, just love her style and observations....I like "Play it as It Lays" and "Slouching" and "The White Album" and thought "The Year of Magical Thinking" was beautifully done.

    I just started the Q section of IQ84. It is such a dream scape, thanks for giving me that perspective. Love the lopsided green moon, think the LIttle People are terrifying...the dialogue can ring oddly stilted at times to me...its a strange and deeply imaginative book and I don't know where it is going, ha! I am going to check out the group discussion after this note.

    I think the Julian Barnes sounds good, "The Sense of an Ending", do you? I think I remember you reading it.

    You take care too Leslie, glad you are out there reading...Best, Jane

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • jane v

    jane v says

    hi leslie...got further in and loveit too...little people just surfaced...and i love tengo..best jane

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • jane v

    jane v says

    Hi there! I did start and also like it...some of the reviews make the novel seem really daunting so I'm glad there is a group to guide me! Made pumpkin bread with carmelized pumpkin seeds on top fall weekend wise. Let's talk soon, best, Jane

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • The Artist FKA Hoopidy Fly Pimp Mac Daddy Re-Kleiner O-19er Coming In For A Landing Boy He's A Hella Fresh Taco Bell Connoisseur

    The Artist FKA Hoopidy Fly Pimp Mac Daddy Re-Kleiner O-19er Coming In For A Landing Boy He's A Hella Fresh Taco Bell Connoisseur says

    Glad you are enjoying it. I finished part 1 earlier this week and loved almost every second of it. To make it last longer, and to be true to the fact that the books were not originally released together, I decided to read another book in between each book but I am eager to get back to it. Great story.

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • The Artist FKA Hoopidy Fly Pimp Mac Daddy Re-Kleiner O-19er Coming In For A Landing Boy He's A Hella Fresh Taco Bell Connoisseur

    The Artist FKA Hoopidy Fly Pimp Mac Daddy Re-Kleiner O-19er Coming In For A Landing Boy He's A Hella Fresh Taco Bell Connoisseur says

    Glad you are reading 1Q84. Curious to hear your thoughts.

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Jim H

    Jim H says

    No, I haven't read anything by Amos Oz, but he is on my list of authors to read. Interesting what he said about how our parents become part of us when they die. Apparently he means in a visceral sense as well as psychological... I assume that's what he means by "taking them into our bodies." Is that how you interpret it? Your feeling that your mom and dad are almost more a part of your life now than they were when they were alive is intriguing, and rings true for me. I have similar feelings about my parents, although I can't explain why. Perhaps words fail because feelings (in my opinion) are more complex than thoughts. But back to the idea of taking deceased loved ones into our bodies. That sounds like Holy Communion, and why not? Experiencing someone's death, especially a loved one's, is so visceral (and so final). Maybe it reprograms us at a subconscious level. By the way, Sontag says that remembering is an ethical act.

    I recently finished Sontag's Regarding the Pain of Others. In it, she writes about the intersection of "news," art, and understanding in the contemporary depiction (via photographs, television images, film) of war and catastrophe. I should probably read it again. She's very intellectual and there's a lot to digest, even though the book is only 126 pages long. Joan Didion is even more difficult. I've just about finished Political Fictions, a collection of essays on American politics in which no one is spared. Didion's writing style is denser than Sontag's. Both women are real brainiacs.

    Well, gotta run. We're leaving for Mississippi tomorrow to visit family, and I need to finish packing. I really enjoy hearing from you.

    Take care,

    Jim

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Joel B

    Joel B says

    Yeah. It's good - not his most mindblowing work, but definitely a page turner. I do wish he would work a little harder on his female characters. They either seem like testosterone-filled Lara Croft types or damsels in distress.

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • weradi

    weradi says

    The book I have is from the library, not a talking book, so I just don't seem to be able to get into it. One of those that is hard for me. I had to put it aside. Maybe I will try it on talking book.

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Jim H

    Jim H says

    Leslie,

    I was on Shelfari debating whether to send you a post or an e-mail when I got your post. So good to hear from you! The Edgerton book sounds good. I'll see if the library has it. I've been in a real reading funk lately, trying to read too many books at once and not making much headway with any. The weather down here is just lovely. Mostly warm days and cool nights, although it's getting chillier and soon will be cold. Ugh! October is my favorite month.

    I've read two crappy novels in a row now -- The Beardless Warriors and The Pied Piper's Poison.

    Hope you and H are doing well. Sherry is keeping busy, as usual, with her painting, and making steady improvement. We're watching the new season of MI-5 on PBS, a really good BBC show.

    Take care and keep in touch.

    Jim

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • The Artist FKA Hoopidy Fly Pimp Mac Daddy Re-Kleiner O-19er Coming In For A Landing Boy He's A Hella Fresh Taco Bell Connoisseur

    The Artist FKA Hoopidy Fly Pimp Mac Daddy Re-Kleiner O-19er Coming In For A Landing Boy He's A Hella Fresh Taco Bell Connoisseur says

    We are back!

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • The Artist FKA Hoopidy Fly Pimp Mac Daddy Re-Kleiner O-19er Coming In For A Landing Boy He's A Hella Fresh Taco Bell Connoisseur

    The Artist FKA Hoopidy Fly Pimp Mac Daddy Re-Kleiner O-19er Coming In For A Landing Boy He's A Hella Fresh Taco Bell Connoisseur says

    Thanks, Leslie. I hope it will be back up soon. Excited for the new Murakami. How is everything by you? Kristin and Paige are well. We are hoping to close on our new house soon and open a new and exciting (and financially scary) chapter in our lives. Paige has been walking for the last couple of months and has a very good vocabulary for a toddler. She also has a great appetite and loves to try everything. I will have to share some pictures...

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • The Artist FKA Hoopidy Fly Pimp Mac Daddy Re-Kleiner O-19er Coming In For A Landing Boy He's A Hella Fresh Taco Bell Connoisseur

    The Artist FKA Hoopidy Fly Pimp Mac Daddy Re-Kleiner O-19er Coming In For A Landing Boy He's A Hella Fresh Taco Bell Connoisseur says

    I am hoping it is a glitch. I just noticed the same thing. I definitely did not delete it and I was getting ready to post something to "The Marriage Plot" discussion. I am in distress.

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • jane v

    jane v says

    Dear Leslie, I have been thinking about your last post all week, just didn't have time to respond. I love how you connected the inexplicable tragedy of 9/11 with the "Rapture" like event in "The Leftovers", and I agree that the ending did have a much needed glimmer of hope. I guess my quibble is that if you are going to jump reality's fence with a concept, you need to follow the concept through to the end, and I don't think Perrotta really did. They always say that the key to magical realism is to combine easily discernible details with the fantastical....i.e. a character notices the spider web in the window while the pterodactyl flies by in modern day New York. I think Perrotta chose a rapture like event as he is a sharp eyed critic of American society and foibles...an almost irresistable hook for him....but that the novel then turned into a people's response to the unthinkable..I guess I'm saying I think he could of just stuck to a 9/11 event and written as rich a novel. That being said, I think it is quite good, I love his character development. I see what you mean about the way he propelled the action, could be off-putting...but reminds me a bit of the character jumping in "The Marriage Plot." I like it.....Leonard section for me right now.


    I also liked what you said about our finite time on earth. My husband (ha) had a TIA yesterday...a stroke like event.(He had a major one in May) Nothing like spending the day in the hospital to put things in perspective, eh? He is fine now, just needs some better meds, etc....but you are so right...such a wise and thoughtful woman! So glad you are on the site.....Best, Jane

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • paper planes

    paper planes says

    Glad you're liking it! I almost passed on The Paris Wife but it kept popping up around me, so I finally caved. I generally think that the "writing about writers" tactic is overdone and, frankly, rather daft, so I was surprised that I liked it.

    I've read that Hemingway needed a new wife to inspire each of his four major works. It doesn't say much for his character (or creativity) if he required constant novelty to leave his mark. He was a bit of a leech, taking what he needed of women and then casting them aside. He probably would've been enthusiastic about the two-year marriage licenses Mexico City is mulling.

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • jane v

    jane v says

    Hi Leslie! I did think "A Thousand Acres" was the most readable Smiley.....had to put down "Horse Heaven" but I loved Thousand and "Greenlanders", a really early book of hers (I am of Scandinavian descent). "The Leftovers" was enjoyable to me also, and you are so right about post September 11. The ending fell apart for me a bit..didn't seem to match the fantastical "rapture" theme. I love his treatment of small town America though. I am reading "The Marriage Plot" right now, it is fun...combination of romantic tale with lots of literary discussion...just saw in the NYTBR that Eugenides graduated from Brown the same year his characters did...Thanks for the comment on the pic.....have to make sure I clip my neck out of pics these days, ha! Always great talking to you, happy autumn! Best, Jane

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • jane v

    jane v says

    Hi Leslie! I see you are reading "Ten Days in the Hills"....Smiley based it on "Decameron", which I had never heard of when I read it...funny how she always uses a classical base, isn't it, like "King Lear" for "A Thousand Acres"? Do you like it? Do you think you will be reading "The Marriage Plot"? Matt and Andra will be.......Hope all is well with you, Best, Jane

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • weradi

    weradi says

    email coming. I did not like "The Blind Assassin". For me, it went nowhere fast. Did like the description of the era, but what was worn to each event was a bit much. I figured the narrator out eventually.

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Joel B

    Joel B says

    Cool. Will do. I just started it, and it's kind of a monster, so it may be a while. :-)

    posted 5 months ago. ( send a note )
  • paper planes

    paper planes says

    Hi Leslie - I work in communications/public relations in the charitable sector, so about 75 per cent of my job entails writing. Writing always been a strong point for me, but it can be hard to write for fun after spending my days fussing over proposals and newsletter articles.

    posted 5 months ago. ( send a note )
  • jane v

    jane v says

    Hey! Thanks so much for that lovely quote. I was also amazed. He is such a poetic writer. I love it! Back to the book, ha! Best, Jane

    posted 5 months ago. ( send a note )

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