50 Shades of Grey Cells

[Rosie Sanchez]

I read three chapters

Well done. Three more than I have this week. Other than reading news online and doing the Forum I have little time for reading this week. So I am cheating and listening to an audio autobiography of Peter Ustinov (it is called "Dear Me"), I find him fascinating and so wonderfully witty.

[Luba]

So I am cheating and listening to an audio autobiography of Peter Ustinov (it is called "Dear Me"), I find him fascinating and so wonderfully witty.

Anyone that writes a funny, witty book is someone I'd like to read about for sure. I read autobiographies of George Burns, Jack Benny, and Michael Caine, all absolutely hilarious, IMO.

[Rosie Sanchez]

So I am cheating and listening to an audio autobiography of Peter Ustinov (it is called "Dear Me"), I find him fascinating and so wonderfully witty.

Anyone that writes a funny, witty book is someone I'd like to read about for sure. I read autobiographies of George Burns, Jack Benny, and Michael Caine, all absolutely hilarious, IMO.

I have read Michael Caine's and that was wonderful. One which did surprise me, also an audio version, was Ellen De Generes. It was witty, intelligent and not at all what I expected.

[Rosie Sanchez]

Well my number of books to read has decreased by only 4 as I did not have as much time as I thought to just chill and dive into some wonderful story telling.

I am currently mid-way through a thriller called Wildcat Moon by Babs Horton, nothing heavyweight but is sufficiently interesting to keep me reading it.

So I shall try and head outdoors with the e-reader during the upcoming sunny days and see if I can catch up with those wonderful books I have ready and waiting for my eyes.

[Luba]

My neighbour and I were chatting about books and both are finding it somewhat difficult to read during this lovely weather. I thought it was just me taking to daydreaming and enjoying the deep blue of the sky, the deep green of Nature, the surrounding sounds disappearing into the serenity of more daydreaming in gratitude.

On another note, finally going to see the end of "War and Peace" this century. Actually hoping MAYBE this month sometime, just maybe...

[Rosie Sanchez]

Whoo hoo Luba. Keep going, you will get to the end. My daughter has just finished it and she agreed it was hard going but worth it.

With the lovely weather appearing it is difficult to concentrate but if you can find a quiet spot, with a cool drink, then sit and read for an hour and that will also boost your innerbeing

[Vautrin]

Wow! I never managed that. It was just too long, too many names to me.

Don't quit now Luba.

[Rosie Sanchez]

What books interest you Vautrin? I think we all have that one book we want to read but somehow must doesn't quite draw us in.

[Luba]

Thank you for your support, Rosie and Vautrin. I WILL get through it and it will be this summer, hopefully.

I don't know if I mentioned it before but, for once, I did quite a smart thing once I knew that "War and Peace" has SO many characters. I looked up the main characters and made a print-out. So with my hit-and-miss way of reading this book, I was able to quickly read this print-out and this is one way I was endeared to the characters. I highly recommend this way of starting out with this book. It is too difficult to read in one feel swoop, I believe, and other lighter reading in between.

On another note, many years ago a book was recommended to me during my difficult times and I'm ever so grateful. It was called "The Power Of Positive Thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale and through the years I have read and reread chapters, even just paragraphs that I could find now so easily in this book at any given moment that I need an uplift. This morning I read a few pages of "How To Create Your Own Happiness" and this never more truer statement have I ever read:

It is a pity, too, for there are so many problems created by life itself that dilute our happiness that it is indeed most foolish to distill further unhappiness within your own mind. How foolish to manufacture personal unhappiness to add to all the other difficulties over which you have little or no control!

[Rosie Sanchez]

It is a pity, too, for there are so many problems created by life itself that dilute our happiness that it is indeed most foolish to distill further unhappiness within your own mind. How foolish to manufacture personal unhappiness to add to all the other difficulties over which you have little or no control!

This sums up precisely what I told the children when they were going through their tumultuous teenage years. We do tend to drag ourselves down unnecessarily. If you can teach yourself to 'let things go' life becomes peaceful and happiness follows.

[Vautrin]

What books interest you Vautrin? I think we all have that one book we want to read but somehow must doesn't quite draw us in.

Anything by Balzac. Hence my name (Vautrin is a character in his oeuvre). In particular Lost Illusions.

[Rosie Sanchez]

I have heard of Balzac but never read any of his novels. I have now added him to my list of 'must read '

[Vautrin]

The nice thing about Balzac's works is that the characters are recurring. It is also a style that is not very taxing. I found it quite easy to read, much easier than say Anna Karenina (in English), let alone War and Peace (I could not). And though the stories are 150+ years old, it is still very easy to relate to most of them.

Some of the stories are really short (literally something like 12 pages), so you don't really have to spend hours at a go to read something. I simply would begin by picking up a few short stories of his, and see if you like the style. If you do, then pretty much anything can be recommended.

Sadly, translations from French to other languages seem to be fairly limited. I do know that his entire body of work has been translated to English.

Dostoyevski is another author I can really recommend.

[Rosie Sanchez]

I have now downloaded a few of Balzac and having read the first few pages of Lost Illusions I look forward to enjoy this and the others further .

Dostoyevski I have not read but have seen movie adaptations of Crime & Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov (with Yul Brynner)

I do love classical books and am a proud owner of a few in my bookcase - no First editions thought

[Vautrin]

Haven't seen the movies, but it is hard to do better than the books. I don't think you can really compress the Brothers Karamazov into two or three hours on a screen.

[Rosie Sanchez]

Haven't seen the movies, but it is hard to do better than the books. I don't think you can really compress the Brothers Karamazov into two or three hours on a screen.

I agree, books rely on your own imaginative interprutation of the book and when well written it all comes alive. I love, Tess of the D'Urbevilles by Thomas Hardy (movie version was pretty good I must admit) but the book is more evocative.

I just love books.

[Rosie Sanchez]

Time for "The Bookies" to reconvene and give an update on their library

Strangely I managed to read quite a few books during the Summer break but if you asked me what they were or what the majority were about I'm afraid I could not tell you. I only seem to remember that I read a Nora Roberts book which kept me enthralled with plot twists and turns right until the last page.

So how's everyone doing with their reading assignments LOL.

Teacher will take your reports now and grades will be given on best phraseology.

[Vautrin]

Have not done too much reading in the past few months. Almost through with Goethe's Faust, and it is really a good read, but you really have to pay attention since there are boatloads of references to his own time as well as antiquity.

[Rosie Sanchez]

I think we have to be in a frame of mind to read .......... that's why I've not been reading much LOL.

I love a quiet day, doesn't have to be hot, but if I can sit outside makes it easier.

[Vautrin]

For me it seems to be really inspirational - if I enjoy what I am reading I can read 16 hours a day. If I am not, I'll struggle to last even an hour without dozing off. Some books really grab your attention, and others are good, but don't achieve that.

[Rosie Sanchez]

I have dusted off the e-reader for this weekend as we're off to the camp site to put thing away for the Winter but I hear it's going to be warm so I'm definitely going to set aside a bit of time for reading. I've a few biographies I want to get to grips with - will let you know which I choose

[Vautrin]

e-readers and not audiobooks?

[Rosie Sanchez]

I like books, books, more books, my e-reader and the occasional audio-book.

I'd much rather interpret things in my own mind/speech than listening to someone, however, one of the best Audio books I listened to was Peter Ustinov (Dear Me).