Comments on: Harpy Book Club, November Edition

By: Magistra

Magistra — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 01:09:45 +0000

I know this is well after the original post date, and I’m usually just a lurker, but I know you’re interested in the classics, so if you’re going to check out LeGuin, you may want to read Lavinia, her retelling of the last books of the Aeneid from the perspective of Lavinia. I enjoyed it thoroughly–it provides a striking and refreshing contrast to the original epic.

By: Diziet_Sma

Diziet_Sma — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:51:19 +0000

@emilyanne: I second The Children's Book by AS Byatt - amazing that she can write with such depth and breadth about Edwardian society and still have you care so much about so many of the individuals caught up in it. Also, I learned so much the Fabians, the close ties between England and Germany and the suffrage movement (some of the prison details!). I've just started Wolf Hall, and I know already it's going to be a doozy.

By: ahimsa

ahimsa — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:15:04 +0000

I’m in the middle of The Caveman Mystique by by Martha McCaughey. There’s a lot of food for thought in this book, not just a superficial discussion. Here’s a link with more information – http://www.powells.com/biblio/2-9780415934756-0

By: bellacoker

bellacoker — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:07:39 +0000

@soalg:

Yeah, it was okay. It’s all about the Masons and the history of Washington D.C. Brown has adapted a bothersome convention of ending every chapter with a cliff-hanger, which gave me a bit of incredulous cliff-hanger fatigue.

Of all of his books I liked Deception Point, one of his early ones, the best. It has a female protagonist.

By: PhDork

PhDork — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:58:09 +0000

I am so cranky that I have no time for pleasure reading. But I love having these discussions stored on the blog, so I can put things on the ol’ Xmas list. And Dutchie, thanks tons for your German suggestions (even though I’d have to read them in translation); it’s rare that I hear current recs for books not in English.

By: x. trapnel

x. trapnel — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:20:09 +0000

re: LeGuin- “The Dispossessed” is perhaps the most thoughtful political novel I’ve read. Absolutely outstanding treatment of anarchosocialism.

By: theorchidthief

theorchidthief — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:51:50 +0000

@mischiefmanager: “Incendiary” was incredible, wasn’t it? Truly unbelievable. I could not stop thinking about it.

By: Dutchie

Dutchie — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:47:28 +0000

For anyone interested in the 3 monotheisms, I can recommend “God’s Zeal” by Peter Sloterdijk, a German Philosopher. It’s not earth shakingly brilliant, and I think that especially when you’re interested in the topic his ideas aren’t very new, but it’s a good read anyway He has an interesting style, and uses a lot of humor between the lines!

By: sarah.of.a.lesser.god

sarah.of.a.lesser.god — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:19:52 +0000

Okay, I may have to check out Ursula LeGuin based on the multiple recommendations here! @bellacoker: The Lost Symbol? See, my mom loved DaVinci Code and tried to get me to read it because of my background in religious studies. So all I know of Dan Brown is the Hollywood adaptations, and I really only saw those because of Ian McKellen (in the first) and Ewan McGregor (in the second). But I could use an amusing, diverting book.

By: mischiefmanager

mischiefmanager — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:43:52 +0000

@Dutchie: Yes, that’s the one. His other book is also very, very powerful. It’s called “Incendiary”.

BTW, I agree with Armstrong fans. She writes with both honesty and respect about the 3 western religions-not an easy thing to accomplish.