2018 50 Book Challenge



clockwise said:

That running book is one of the few Murakamis I never tried. Someone whose taste I don't trust told me it was great, so I never picked it up. The special magic of Murakami is definitely in his 80s and 90s stuff and it irritates me when I read his newer writing and find that it is just merely good.

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I read it because I run and thought it would be worthwhile. It was okay as far as running memoirs go, but since runners' memoirs are generally awful that's saying very very little. You can have my copy if you want it.



Thomas said:

I read it because I run and thought it would be worthwhile. It was okay as far as running memoirs go, but since runners' memoirs are generally awful that's saying very very little. You can have my copy if you want it.

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Thanks for the kind offer but I decline. Suggest you give it to another Texan runner.

Clockwise counting 11/50: Paul Gallico - Mrs 'Arris Goes To Paris (1958)

Gallico was a New York sports journalist and writer of fairy-tales for adults. This one is listed among the 1001 to read before you die and brings my personal score up to 147/1001.

Mrs Harris is a London cleaning woman who scrimps, saves and wins some money on a lucky bet in order to realize her dream of buying a dress from the House of Dior in Paris. This is a sentimental story with some fairy-tale morals and a bitter-sweet ending. Well written and quite entertaining in a 1950s Hollywood movie kind of way.



clockwise said:

Clockwise counting 11/50: Paul Gallico - Mrs 'Arris Goes To Paris (1958)
Gallico was a New York sports journalist and writer of fairy-tales for adults. This one is listed among the 1001 to read before you die and brings my personal score up to 147/1001.
Mrs Harris is a London cleaning woman who scrimps, saves and wins some money on a lucky bet in order to realize her dream of buying a dress from the House of Dior in Paris. This is a sentimental story with some fairy-tale morals and a bitter-sweet ending. Well written and quite entertaining in a 1950s Hollywood movie kind of way.

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On the list, n'est-ce pas?

Mais bien sûr, inspecteur Clouseau.



clockwise said:

Mais bien sûr, inspecteur Clouseau.

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Cato...I told you to kill me...But tonight is not the night...I am tired....

the peasants of languedoc

15. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy 1974 John Le Carre- story of the hunt for a Russian mole within the British Secret Service. Really boring the first 200 pages. I figured out who it was at least 100 pages from the end. It pales in comparison to The Spy Who Came In From the Cold.

Who gives a rat's ass about the British Secret Service- do they even still have one?

I wouldn't recommend it.

If anyone is looking for some new books on the cheap NYRB is having a 50% off sale.



Steve B. said:

15. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy 1974 John Le Carre- story of the hunt for a Russian mole within the British Secret Service. Really boring the first 200 pages. I figured out who it was at least 100 pages from the end. It pales in comparison to The Spy Who Came In From the Cold.
Who gives a rat's ass about the British Secret Service- do they even still have one?
I wouldn't recommend it.

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You are a great guy Steve but your reading of Tinker Tailor is simply incorrect. Your capsule review reminded me of Toby Esterhase, I quote:

"Tiny Toby spoke no known language perfectly, but he spoke them all. In Switzerland, Guillam had heard his French and it had a German accent; his German had a Slav accent and his English was full of stray flaws and stops and false vowel sounds.”



clockwise said:

You are a great guy Steve but your reading of Tinker Tailor is simply incorrect. Your capsule review reminded me of Toby Esterhase, I quote:
"Tiny Toby spoke no known language perfectly, but he spoke them all. In Switzerland, Guillam had heard his French and it had a German accent; his German had a Slav accent and his English was full of stray flaws and stops and false vowel sounds.”

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So enlighten me me my good man. So I will feel better wasting my time on this member of the 1001.


Or perhaps I should just see the movie...

7.3/10 on Imdb- guess everyone else thought the same as I did.

I guess I can't really enlighten you if you feel that the story is boring and British spies lack relevance. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is not a linear story, it has many subplots that can appear confusing and it requires slow reading. It is definitely more low-key and maybe not as instantly gratifying as the more straightforward The Spy Who Came In From the Cold but I feel it is ultimately more satisfying with real three dimensional characters involved in what resembles a classic tragedy of betrayal, treason and moral conflicts. 



clockwise said:

I guess I can't really enlighten you if you feel that the story is boring and British spies lack relevance. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is not a linear story, it has many subplots that can appear confusing and it requires slow reading. It is definitely more low-key and maybe not as instantly gratifying as the more straightforward The Spy Who Came In From the Cold but I feel it is ultimately more satisfying with real three dimensional characters involved in what resembles a classic tragedy of betrayal, treason and moral conflicts. 

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Actually, Clock, I get all that. The poke at MI-6 was meant as a joke. After all they had theirs before we had ours. You're right. I've read 3 or 4 whodunit books with a much faster pace, and I preferred them all to this. PLUS I had it figured out 100 pages before the end, and I'm not all that smart.

Maybe Ann would spank me.

Steve B. said:

Maybe Ann would spank me.

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16. The Hidden Messages in Water Masaru Emoto 2001

A new-agey book a friend recommended to me. As he's also my boss figured I'd get right to it. Speaks of our relation to water (70%), what happens when water is polluted vs "clean" water from a mountaintop (duh). Some beautiful pictures of crystals. The effects of what we think, positive or negative, on the growth and shape of the crystals.

I used to eat books like this like candy. Would take an awfully good one to do it for me now. This ain't it.