Greatest global online bookclub in town

I read his first two books but have not yet read the third.

ANGELA’S ASHES: I am always pleased to read about those who have such a terrible youth - poverty, abuse, etc - but who have bettered themselves. I wasn’t especially thrilled with the book, however - he seemed to me to be rather a braggart.

Tis: I did read this as I was interested to see how he progressed. It seemed to me that all he did was drink and have sex. I wasn’t at all as ‘taken’ with him as I had been in the first book.

The Teacher: I will read this one also - but I do not expect to see much of an improvement over his earlier escapades. I would like to be surprised and read that he had truly made something better of himself, however. I doubt it will be so.

This thick book, like its predecessors SARUM and LONDON (ROM for October 1997), are by Edward Rutherfurd. Some of us read SARUM and talked about it so much that most of us read it and commented on it over time.

Following the telling of the other two, RUSSKA starts in ‘way back when’ and follows the families to nearly the present time.

RUSSKA is a particular area of Russia before it was really Russia and is a great history lesson without being boring, full of dates, and things you’re supposed to memorize in order to pass that test.

I would recommend to those who aren’t squeamish about 800-1000 pages but a quite engrossing tale. If you liked SARUM and/or London, then you should like RUSSKA.

Feast or famine! First we post in here like we’ve been gone forever and then…..! Nothing.

Then we email like crazy and suddenly, the roof caves in on that one.

Where IS everybody. Has spring sprung and I missed it????????

I’m rereading RUSSKA.

I sprained my ankle January 25 and it’s still giving me fits; grocery shopping is a big pain, literally as well as figuratively, and walking anywhere much hurt like - um - heck. So I’m forced to read what I have or what booksfree.com sends.

BTW, Myrna, the book arrived today and thank you.

So - c’mon folks - let’s hear from you !

Please?

Hi, everyone! I’ve had company for a couple of weeks, so I haven’t’ read the posts until today. I have just finished reading “The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Greatest Plague in History.” It’s the story of the flu epidemic of 1918, and a very scary book indeed.

It’s a very dense book, and it takes quite a while to read it, but IMO it’s a must for anyone who is interested in medical things or the possibility of another flu epidemic here. The book reviews the state of medicine in 1918, and gives a history of how it got where it did. I found the description of medicine in the 19th Century appalling. Many medical schools did not have any labs at all, nor did the students do any autopsies. The students just listened to lectures and then went out as graduate doctors. The situation in Europe was much better, and finally doctors who studied there brought the new methods over here.

Then the book goes into the history of the flu epidemic, and there is a lot that is very troubling when one thinks of the possibility of a bird flu epidemic here (or anywhere.) The government was more of a hindrance than a help and conspired to keep the extent of the epidemic a secret from the people.

I have read two very important books in the last couple of years. One is “Clash of Civilizations” by Samuel Huntington, and this is the other one. I certainly hope the officials of the government have read it and taken the lessons to heart, but I can’t help but be pessimistic, considering the reaction to Katrina.

Susan

I have finished reading this well written book. It is simply a book about an immigrant
family, from Calcutta, and their difficulties in the US while trying their best to become Americans, but longing for their extended families back home. It includes the usual generation gap, family tradition, and is soulful. The son lives with a name that he abhors, then years later learns that it it the name of a famous Russian writer,that his father revered. The author Jhumpa Lahiri is a Pulitzer Prize winner. I enjoyed reading this book a great deal, and heartily recommend it.

I have just started reading The Swallows of Kabul. It is a chilling experience, thus far, what with the Taliban, and the tribulations of the people living under this terrorist rule.
“Yasmina Khadra is the nom de plume of the Algerian officer Mohammmed Moulessehoul, who is the author of four other books published in English…..He took the feminine pseudonym to avoid submitting his manuscript for approval by military censors while he was still in the army. He lives in France.”

It is beautifully written. It is a short book, but very effectively written.

I did venture out to the liberry this morning before the rain/ice decided that it was going to be ice and picked up four books on tape. It seems that I listen to them faster than I read and since I don’t watch TV have much time to listen. I started the Landvic book and really like it. I forget the name but I think it takes place in Fire Lake in MN.

It wasn’t slippery driving but ice was forming on the windshield so I was happy that I didn’t have far to go. I could see being stuck in the house without milk but not without something to listen to or read. The forcast is undecided about snow or ice.

I’ve just finished another of her Angels, aka Shirley, Goodness and Mercy, series and they are charming. Thank you, booksfree.com.

These 3 seem to get into a lot of trouble and Gabriel, who has to assign them to their various ‘clients’, often wonders whether the trouble they cause is worth the fixes they manage to get.

If you want a very light read, try one.

Fret not, Jenny; we’ve been burning up the email lines.