tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post6379264215505141393..comments2024-03-29T07:29:32.276-04:00Comments on Janet Reid, Literary Agent: Jonathan Strange and Mr. NorrellJanet Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00615380335938685231noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-17876049279930452812019-10-08T17:26:21.412-04:002019-10-08T17:26:21.412-04:00I'm still angry at myself for finishing a Dan ...I'm still angry at myself for finishing a Dan Brown novel.jallynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18291985222037463302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-11984762097284897092019-10-08T11:05:48.956-04:002019-10-08T11:05:48.956-04:00"One Hundred Years of Solitude." I quit ..."One Hundred Years of Solitude." I quit at a hundred pages in my mid-twenties and ten years later was chastised by a friend whose opinion I valued. I quit again at a hundred pages.<br /><br />Now I'm in my mid-forties and I cyber-hang with writers quite capable of sucking me in and spitting me out in under a hundred words.shanepatrickwriteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17942239077291100547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-89920961233352675722019-10-08T01:14:04.069-04:002019-10-08T01:14:04.069-04:00I actually wrote a blog post about this because I&...I actually wrote a blog post about this because I've had the same experience. At the time I wrote that, I mentioned The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and Wolf Hall. In retrospect, I think I was annoyed by the showy voice of each of those--it seemed like the author really wanted to impress me--but once I gave them a chance I fell in love with those novels.<br />Nancy Pearl, the celebrity librarian from Seattle, has a rule which says you subtract your age from 100 and that's how many pages of a book you need to read before passing on it. So if you're 90, you only have to read 10 pages (too many books to read and not a lot of time) but if you're 20, you have to read 80 pages. So according to this rule, Janet, you've already read enough of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.<br />However, that's one of the books on my top ten list of all time favorite books. And yes, the first 100 pages are really, really slow. Waverlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09457723282170501661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-45903115181098775382019-10-08T00:20:25.496-04:002019-10-08T00:20:25.496-04:00American Psycho. I tried multiple times to read it...American Psycho. I tried multiple times to read it but couldn't push through. Then I lost it and from time to time I would rip the house apart looking for it because I refused to buy it again. Then I bought it again. I got through it this time. It was a hard read but later I found the first copy hidden away in a dank dark corner of my closet where I imagine a copy of that book would hide.Will MacPhailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05586481255297618388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-28101643475442709522019-10-07T21:13:12.493-04:002019-10-07T21:13:12.493-04:00I commented awhile back that I couldn't get in...I commented awhile back that I couldn't get into the widely acclaimed All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. If I remember correctly, I found that not much was happening and it was repetitive and I had read well over one hundred pages. Several Reiders told me to hang in there, I wouldn't be disappointed if I kept reading. They were right, the second part of the story was beautifully written and I was glad I had persisted. <br /><br />Everyone's tastes are different, but it makes me wonder how some books make it to print when the first part of a story isn't as good as the last part. I can't see agents wading through hundreds of pages.LynnRodzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10796099106913990163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-58051451111189040252019-10-07T16:40:09.467-04:002019-10-07T16:40:09.467-04:00For me it was Arundhati Roy's "The God of...For me it was Arundhati Roy's "The God of Small Things". I couldn't get into it but I suspected it was because my head was too full of teaching and work etc. So I waited until the Christmas break and tried again, and loved it.<br />At the moment I have "Milkman" (Anna Burns) and "The Luminaries" (Eleanor Catton) on my pile. It's the language in both - it almost holds you at arms length from the story. I haven't given up on either ... yet.Sherrylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04405534589743973581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-4397837353756565362019-10-07T14:34:42.549-04:002019-10-07T14:34:42.549-04:00I can think of books I've read and wished I...I can think of books I've read and wished I'd never done so and I've never picked them up again. One such book was one my stepmother gave me as a gift saying it was a great story and I'd love it. I hated it and made sure I lost that book somewhere along the line. Come to think of it, all the books I've regretted reading were recommended by her. I've also learned to to listen to her recommendations for movies. I think the only stories I've picked up at her recommendation and like were James Herriot's books. Still wish I had copies of them, I'd give them to my daughter who is studying to be a Vet.Konnie Enoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16875767699839182307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-41947812802961330952019-10-07T09:16:36.739-04:002019-10-07T09:16:36.739-04:00There have been many books that I've started o...There have been many books that I've started one day, couldn't make it past X page, and so put down, only to come back days, months, or even years later to find that I loved them. It's made me think a lot about subjectivity and how even one day can make a difference. <br /><br />I've also been in <b>Her Grace</b>'s boat and found myself shaking my head over books I once loved. (Xanth was among those too!) Megan Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00752842865397799428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-25326532953881267812019-10-07T08:26:38.480-04:002019-10-07T08:26:38.480-04:00Timothy, no need to be embarrassed -- the internet...Timothy, no need to be embarrassed -- the internets tell me many people make that mistake.<br /><br />Cat's Cradle, on the other hand? Yeah, I didn't like that one, either. Maybe I'll give that another try along with the Salinger...Nate Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09690171790664252309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-1768083733654468662019-10-07T08:25:18.031-04:002019-10-07T08:25:18.031-04:00Shakespeare. The high school curriculum mandated w...Shakespeare. The high school curriculum mandated we read Macbeth. Our teacher decided it had to be the version without any translations. Which meant the entire class understood zilch. I understood slightly more than that because I had just returned from an exchange year in the US. So the teacher had me read the whole thing out loud to the class. Which didn't help anyone's enjoyment or comprehension. I figured there were limits to what you can do as a non-native speaker and Shakespeare was one of those limits. <br /><br />Left it at that for years. Until my local cinema showed a performance of the Royal Shakespeare Company live. With an actor I didn't mind ogling for a few hours. My reasoning was I could slip out if it got too incomprehensible. <br /><br />To my surprise, I got it. Not just the language, but the meaning. I laughed at jokes! Who knew Shakespeare was funny?? Not me! A first tentative toe dipped back into Shakespearean waters, I soon started attending plays in actual theatres and even read them for fun. A few years ago I shocked my students (and myself) by reciting the St Crispin's Day speech to them. Apparently that's a thing you can do as a non-native speaker!Pericula Ludushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12617683990081451479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-43191169035476208912019-10-07T08:24:13.368-04:002019-10-07T08:24:13.368-04:00When people rail on Diana Gabaldon about how much ...When people rail on Diana Gabaldon about how much they hate her books, she simply replies, "Not all books are for all people. I hope you enjoy the next book you read more."<br /><br />Tolkien. Blasphemy, I know. I couldn't stand his style. I tried again and once I got used to it, the story enthralled me.JulieWeathershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01361549099072091350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-52279804715597666312019-10-07T08:17:26.022-04:002019-10-07T08:17:26.022-04:00Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb
I tried four times ov...Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb<br /><br />I tried four times over the course of a decade and was never able to get beyond the prologue and first chapter. Then I needed I needed something to read aloud to my wife during a particularly grueling road trip and sue thought it sounded interesting. We forced our way through and now that book and series are one of my favorites.<br /><br />I'm sure we'll all be eager to jear how your second tour with Jonathan Strange goes. I made it over halfway and had to put it down. I'm usually not the type who doesn't finish a book. The author and everyone involved worked hard on the thing, there must be something to it but I couldn't get behind that one.Ryan Neelyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11933291302753992968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-78002111277731128032019-10-07T07:18:24.280-04:002019-10-07T07:18:24.280-04:00My shameful secret is the Amazing Maurice and his ...My shameful secret is the Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. I adore Terry Pratchett - I've read the whole discworld multiple times (although not a massive fan of the first two). And I am typing this with a big old gentleman rat wedged under one knee and another perched on my shoulder. A Pratchett story about highly intelligent rats should be my exact cup of tea.<br /><br />But tried multiple times and I just can't get into it.<br /><br />I read Strange and Norrell ages ago and enjoyed it, but I haven't been able to get into rereading it since. Partly perhaps because I have one of the original hardbacks and it is huuuuge. Not something that can be easily read in bed. Tbh for anyone interested in the plot, but not sure about the book I'd try the tv series first - it was very well done.<br /><br />Aphra Pellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13135216024164707901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-38389155306439856642019-10-07T03:58:33.516-04:002019-10-07T03:58:33.516-04:00For me, it was A Tale of Two Cities. Had to read i...For me, it was A Tale of Two Cities. Had to read it in high school and couldn't get past the opening pages. Even the teacher gave up on it and assigned Turn of the Screw instead.<br /><br />I read ToTC later as an adult. It's one of my favorite books now.<br /><br />I also tried Jonathan Strange when it came out and couldn't get through it. I never went back to it. I've been trying to get through Moby Dick my whole life and I can't make myself do it. Barbarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15769803733067838372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-76005060992105957072019-10-07T01:42:48.001-04:002019-10-07T01:42:48.001-04:00I'm an avid reader of a very prolific author, ...I'm an avid reader of a very prolific author, and while I love most of his work, there is the occasional book where I can't get past the first couple of chapters. I'll put the book down (page held with a book mark) and come back to it, sometimes months/years later, only to find that, meh, I still don't care for it. <br /><br />I've learned to just shelve a book or give it away if I can't connect with it - there are too many good books out there and not enough time! How will I ever get to them all?!?!Sandra J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15934049142771297524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-17656286516354431172019-10-07T01:26:00.835-04:002019-10-07T01:26:00.835-04:00I'm glad I read Go Set a Watchman if only beca...I'm glad I read Go Set a Watchman if only because, when you compare it to the masterpiece into which it developed, you have proof that writers can get better overtime. Great topic!Laura Stegmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00485244556776415608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-52140681877896912792019-10-07T00:57:24.467-04:002019-10-07T00:57:24.467-04:00* Correction to my earlier post. I didn't mean...* Correction to my earlier post. I didn't mean the flyleaf, I meant the copyright page. The flyleaf is the blank page. Clearly there was nothing written on that. :)Colin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03292997431935215499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-82011721214604965082019-10-07T00:27:29.983-04:002019-10-07T00:27:29.983-04:00I used to finish every single book I started, but ...I used to finish every single book I started, but lately realised that was a waste of good reading time. Now, if I don't want to finish a book - it's not gripping, I don't click with the main character, I can see how it all ends, etc. - I don't.NLiuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00184714542401822508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-89678081406447648102019-10-06T23:03:36.907-04:002019-10-06T23:03:36.907-04:00Timothy
Did you mean Slaughterhouse 5?Timothy <br /><br />Did you mean Slaughterhouse 5?Joseph S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12127072618635002530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-22923438775598465202019-10-06T21:47:25.716-04:002019-10-06T21:47:25.716-04:00Loved Piers Anthony's Xanth books as a teen. C...Loved Piers Anthony's Xanth books as a teen. Came back to them as an adult and was much appalled at how awful I found them. <br /><br />Because of that, I am now afraid to read all those books I loved when I was young, including the Anne McCaffrey's Pern books and The Scarlet Letter. I want to always love these books, even if it's only loving the memory of them.<br /><br /><br />P.S.: I'm doing Inktober this year (as an artist), and it's rather eye-opening in a perception kind of way.<br />Her Grace, Heidi, the Duchess of Knealehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17818060864422019573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-34489686867750034422019-10-06T21:40:56.596-04:002019-10-06T21:40:56.596-04:00My brother sent me a copy of JONATHAN STRANGE AND ...My brother sent me a copy of JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR NORRELL some years ago. I just took a look at the flyleaf. "First US Edition, 2004." Hmm! How much did you say these things are worth?? ;)<br /><br />I did read it, btw, and enjoyed it. I don't remember which I read first, but I also enjoyed THE NIGHT CIRCUS, and have often recommended the one to fans of the other.<br /><br />I've probably told this story before (how long have I been hanging around here??). When I was 13/14, our English Lit class at school was assigned TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. I read the first few pages and could not get into it. When it came to writing a book report, I cribbed the basic plot off a friend and, arrogant little twerp I was back then, boldly asserted that "To Kill a Mockingbird is a boring book." My teacher responded with the comment (in ink on my report): "Saying To Kill a Mockingbird is a 'boring' book is a Philistine remark."<br /><br />I re-read TKaM many years later and, to my shame, I had to admit that my English teacher was correct. I had been an ass. And, in fact, TKaM is, in my humble estimation, one of the best novels ever written. A masterclass in writing.<br /><br />There's my confession. You may laugh at me. I deserve it. :)Colin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03292997431935215499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-4727446401836059822019-10-06T21:32:14.484-04:002019-10-06T21:32:14.484-04:00I've tried three times to read Trinity by Leon...I've tried three times to read Trinity by Leon Uris. I just couldn't get past the first chapter. The wake? Is that how it began? It's an old, faint memory now. Decades have passed and I see no need to try again. One of a handful of books I felt no regret purging from my collection. Life is too short.<br /><br />Interesting how different times in our lives can change our perception. When my daughter was in high school she had to read Conrad's Heart of Darkness. She HATED it and was SO vehement in her opinion, I decided I'd better read it too. It was dark and violent and awful, full of ugly symbolism and metaphor, and I could see why she hated it. I thought it was an interesting, although difficult, read. One of those books that reveals as much about the author as the characters, perhaps.<br /><br />KDJameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10534864045227102030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-35329289781151073692019-10-06T21:22:05.823-04:002019-10-06T21:22:05.823-04:00It’s a shame so many people read Go Set a Watchman...It’s a shame so many people read Go Set a Watchman as a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird instead of an early draft,<b>Hank</b>. It shows the value of an insightful editor and an author who’s receptive to major revision. I wonder how many would-be classics have missed the mark because a MS didn’t reach the right editor, or an author was too stubborn to take wise advice. My most trusted beta reader recently suggested that my MG novel might end up as adult fiction with a MG protagonist. I’m not sure yet, but I’m listening.Fearless Reiderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14380936599156619260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-88444496964391927142019-10-06T20:41:29.088-04:002019-10-06T20:41:29.088-04:00Not exactly on topic, but I was in used bookstore ...Not exactly on topic, but I was in used bookstore twenty some years ago and found one of my favorites in hardbound with the dust jacket. First edition first printing. Well I wanted it just for the novelty but it was nine dollars and I still had a paperback copy. So I didn't get it. Darn!<br /><br />Last year we sold an art book to a rare book dealer in Las Vegas and mentioned it to her. She ask, "Have you got it?"<br />"No, I passed."<br />"I wish you hadn't because for a first printing of "To Kill a Mockingbird", with dust jacket, I could give $20,000.00 right now."<br /><br />If'n ya' really want somin', jest get it. <br /><br />Mister Furkleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07156977719916770984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-69142895451498600682019-10-06T20:30:05.468-04:002019-10-06T20:30:05.468-04:00confession time: I read The Left Hand of Darkness ...confession time: I read The Left Hand of Darkness when it came out in 1969. Ursula K. LeGuin was a woman and I was a rebellious teenager who was stopped from taking shop classes at school because I was a girl. Man, I was pissed. But here's the thing - you'd think I would have slurped up TLHoD and clamoured for more, but no. I read it because Ursula K. LeGuin was a woman and she was winning prizes for what she did. That didn't happen much back then, and when a woman did something you supported her. So I read TLHoD but I didn't understand it. Maybe I was too young, maybe too angry. Where I lived we had demonstrations against the war in Vietnam all the time, and plenty of women fighting to have any place in the world. When I read about the society in TLHoD I missed the theme. Totally missed it, as well as some other features: Yeah, yeah. war. Same old, same old. Women, men, both, neither ... arguments. Same old, same old. Until recently, I thought TLHoD was one of the most boring books ever written. Recently I read a memoir about what TLHoD meant to someone ... and I realized I was totally mistaken in pretty well every thing I've ever thought about that book. I haven't re-read it, not yet. But it's on my reading list.Adelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08790958029798438793noreply@blogger.com