1sweetiegherkin
Hi all,
It's time to vote on our upcoming authors for the next three months.
Remember, you can vote for two authors.
The top authors will be our next reads.
Here are the nominees:
Wilkie Collins
Alexander McCall Smith
Stephen King
Laura Esquivel
Ian Rankin
Gail Tsukiyama
Jhumpa Lahiri
Please vote by July 15.
It's time to vote on our upcoming authors for the next three months.
Remember, you can vote for two authors.
The top authors will be our next reads.
Here are the nominees:
Wilkie Collins
Alexander McCall Smith
Stephen King
Laura Esquivel
Ian Rankin
Gail Tsukiyama
Jhumpa Lahiri
Please vote by July 15.
2sweetiegherkin
I'll vote for Wilkie Collins and Laura Esquivel.
3BookConcierge
Sorry .. the touchstones don't seem to be working ...
I'll cast my votes for:
Alexander McCall Smith
and
Gail Tsukiyama
I'll cast my votes for:
Alexander McCall Smith
and
Gail Tsukiyama
5sweetiegherkin
>3 BookConcierge: No worries. Touchstones are often finicky. The bold is helpful :)
6sweetiegherkin
Don't forget to vote all! By July 15! (That's next Saturday). If not enough people vote, I start picking for everyone ;)
7rainpebble
Do we yet have an author for August?
8rainpebble
C'MON PEEPS; LET'S VOTE.
Monday is the 31st and it would be nice to know who our August Author of the Month will be by then. So far we only have one author with multiple votes and only 3 of us have voted thus far.
Please?????
Pretty please?????
Pretty please with strawberries and cream?????
Monday is the 31st and it would be nice to know who our August Author of the Month will be by then. So far we only have one author with multiple votes and only 3 of us have voted thus far.
Please?????
Pretty please?????
Pretty please with strawberries and cream?????
9Yells
If it's not too late, I have been reading the Stephen Kings in order so can continue with that. I also have Collins and I think Tsukiyama on the shelf. Lahiri is wonderful but I think I have read out of her stuff (but can chime in!)
(Sorry, I know that is more than 2 authors. I am good with any of them so you can add my vote to whichever others want)
(Sorry, I know that is more than 2 authors. I am good with any of them so you can add my vote to whichever others want)
10sweetiegherkin
To read her is like listening to beautiful music.
What a lovely description!
What a lovely description!
11BookConcierge
So ...
according to our Wiki groups list of authors We should have threads for:
August 2017 - Gail Tsukiyama
Sept 2017 - Jhumpa Lahiri
Oct 2017 - Wilkie Collins
And yet ... there are NO threads for either of these months. I think (hope) I would have noticed if we had no entries in the group at all for three months!
Anyway ... came to my attention now, because I just finished a book by Lahiri and wanted to post my review. I'll post it here ... for now ...
But so sad that we seem to have lost those discussion threads entirely.
according to our Wiki groups list of authors We should have threads for:
August 2017 - Gail Tsukiyama
Sept 2017 - Jhumpa Lahiri
Oct 2017 - Wilkie Collins
And yet ... there are NO threads for either of these months. I think (hope) I would have noticed if we had no entries in the group at all for three months!
Anyway ... came to my attention now, because I just finished a book by Lahiri and wanted to post my review. I'll post it here ... for now ...
But so sad that we seem to have lost those discussion threads entirely.
12BookConcierge
This was our author of the month for September 2017 ... but there is no discussion thread that I can find.
The Namesake – Jhumpa Lahiri
Digital audiobook performed by Sarita Choudhury.
5*****
The novel follows the Ganguli family over three decades, beginning when Ashoke and Ashima’s marriage is first arranged in Calcutta. They settle in Cambridge, Massachusetts where Ashoke is studying engineering, have two children, buy a house and live their lives: Indians with American children.
This is the type of literary fiction I adore. Lahiri writes with such eloquence and grace, letting the reader learn about this family much as she would do when meeting new acquaintances who become friends over decades. Their story tackles issues of the immigrant experience, the clash of cultures, differences (and conflicts) between generations, and personal identity.
While their parents find a community of other Bengalis with which to associate and celebrate life’s milestones, their children – son Gogol and his younger sister Sonia – are clearly Americans. And yet, Gogol still struggles with identity. First there is his odd name, then there are the lunches his mother packs for him, and the holidays they celebrate (or do not). While his parents cling to the traditions of their upbringing, Gogol wants only to fit in – to have a Christmas tree, and eat peanut butter, hamburgers and French fries. On trips back to India to see family and friends, Gogol feels lost; he does not clearly understand or speak the language, is unfamiliar with the city, cannot fathom why his family stays with relative after relative rather than getting a hotel room or renting an apartment of their own for the duration. In some respects, he is an immigrant in both countries.
Towards the end of the novel Gogol reflects on his and his parents’ lives: He wonders how his parents had done it, leaving their respective families behind, seeing them so seldom, dwelling unconnected, in a perpetual state of expectation, of longing. … He had spent years maintaining distance from his origins; his parents, in bridging that distance as best they could.
And he comes to a sort of conclusion: These events have formed Gogol, shaped him, determined who he is. They were things for which it was impossible to prepare but which one spent a lifetime looking back at, trying to accept, interpret, comprehend. Things that should never have happened, that seemed out of place and wrong, these were what prevailed, what endured, in the end.
Sarita Choudhury does a marvelous job narrating the audiobook. She sets a good pace that still allows the reader to absorb the complexities of the writing. Still, I am glad that I also have a text copy. Lahiri’s writing is the kind that I want to pore over, to read and read again.
The Namesake – Jhumpa Lahiri
Digital audiobook performed by Sarita Choudhury.
5*****
The novel follows the Ganguli family over three decades, beginning when Ashoke and Ashima’s marriage is first arranged in Calcutta. They settle in Cambridge, Massachusetts where Ashoke is studying engineering, have two children, buy a house and live their lives: Indians with American children.
This is the type of literary fiction I adore. Lahiri writes with such eloquence and grace, letting the reader learn about this family much as she would do when meeting new acquaintances who become friends over decades. Their story tackles issues of the immigrant experience, the clash of cultures, differences (and conflicts) between generations, and personal identity.
While their parents find a community of other Bengalis with which to associate and celebrate life’s milestones, their children – son Gogol and his younger sister Sonia – are clearly Americans. And yet, Gogol still struggles with identity. First there is his odd name, then there are the lunches his mother packs for him, and the holidays they celebrate (or do not). While his parents cling to the traditions of their upbringing, Gogol wants only to fit in – to have a Christmas tree, and eat peanut butter, hamburgers and French fries. On trips back to India to see family and friends, Gogol feels lost; he does not clearly understand or speak the language, is unfamiliar with the city, cannot fathom why his family stays with relative after relative rather than getting a hotel room or renting an apartment of their own for the duration. In some respects, he is an immigrant in both countries.
Towards the end of the novel Gogol reflects on his and his parents’ lives: He wonders how his parents had done it, leaving their respective families behind, seeing them so seldom, dwelling unconnected, in a perpetual state of expectation, of longing. … He had spent years maintaining distance from his origins; his parents, in bridging that distance as best they could.
And he comes to a sort of conclusion: These events have formed Gogol, shaped him, determined who he is. They were things for which it was impossible to prepare but which one spent a lifetime looking back at, trying to accept, interpret, comprehend. Things that should never have happened, that seemed out of place and wrong, these were what prevailed, what endured, in the end.
Sarita Choudhury does a marvelous job narrating the audiobook. She sets a good pace that still allows the reader to absorb the complexities of the writing. Still, I am glad that I also have a text copy. Lahiri’s writing is the kind that I want to pore over, to read and read again.
13sweetiegherkin
>11 BookConcierge: Weird. Let me look into it.
14sweetiegherkin
>11 BookConcierge: Okay, this is really bizarre. I see URLs for the topic threads for each of these authors, but the pages don't load. Let me run this up to LT employees and see what's going on. Thanks for pointing this out.
15BookConcierge
So ... any news on recovery of our missing data / threads?
I tried the links again yesterday but they still said there was nothing there.
I tried the links again yesterday but they still said there was nothing there.
16sweetiegherkin
The thread on fixing these is here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/300835#
It looks like LT can somewhat recover the missing threads but not 100%. I'm not sure how long that will take.
It looks like LT can somewhat recover the missing threads but not 100%. I'm not sure how long that will take.
17BookConcierge
SO we never got the Gail Tsukiyama thread back. Can a new one be created? Wanted to load a review of one of her books and it says "no such thread" Should have been Augusts 2017
18BookConcierge
Here is the review just in case ...
Women Of the Silk – Gail Tsukiyama
3***
This work of historical fiction takes us to early 20th century China and the unique position of the women who worked in the silk factories in lieu of marriage, in order to help their families survive hard times.
Pei is but a child, about 9 years old, when her father, a struggling farmer, takes her to Auntie Yee’s house in the “large” village that has several silk factories. Unaware that this is more than just a visit, an adventure with her father, Pei goes with the kind Auntie Yee to “see the house” only to realize too late that her father has left her there. While she is heartbroken at first, she does eventually accept the kindness and friendship of other girls in the house and begins to learn the work of the silk factory. More importantly, she forms a close bond with the girls and women she comes to view as her new family.
I loved the unexpected strength and determination of these young women as they made their own way in a culture that restricted opportunities for women. The independence they gained, though initially forced on them, became their most prized attribute. They forged strong bonds and were successful in going against the male owners of the plant to demand better working conditions and shorter work hours.
The novel ends just as the Japanese invasion in 1938 ends their way of life, and Pei, along with a younger “sister” heads out for the next phase of their life’s journey.
This is one of Tsukiyama’s earlier works. It was interesting and engaging, and I’m glad I read it, but it isn’t up to the excellence so evident in her later novels.
Women Of the Silk – Gail Tsukiyama
3***
This work of historical fiction takes us to early 20th century China and the unique position of the women who worked in the silk factories in lieu of marriage, in order to help their families survive hard times.
Pei is but a child, about 9 years old, when her father, a struggling farmer, takes her to Auntie Yee’s house in the “large” village that has several silk factories. Unaware that this is more than just a visit, an adventure with her father, Pei goes with the kind Auntie Yee to “see the house” only to realize too late that her father has left her there. While she is heartbroken at first, she does eventually accept the kindness and friendship of other girls in the house and begins to learn the work of the silk factory. More importantly, she forms a close bond with the girls and women she comes to view as her new family.
I loved the unexpected strength and determination of these young women as they made their own way in a culture that restricted opportunities for women. The independence they gained, though initially forced on them, became their most prized attribute. They forged strong bonds and were successful in going against the male owners of the plant to demand better working conditions and shorter work hours.
The novel ends just as the Japanese invasion in 1938 ends their way of life, and Pei, along with a younger “sister” heads out for the next phase of their life’s journey.
This is one of Tsukiyama’s earlier works. It was interesting and engaging, and I’m glad I read it, but it isn’t up to the excellence so evident in her later novels.
19sweetiegherkin
So weird. The threads appear to never have been recovered. I asked again in that open forum, but I am doubtful it will happen at this point. Perhaps we should re-visit these authors so we have another thread opportunity.
