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What are you reading these days?

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Cattleman
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Re: What are you reading these days?

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To Harry: You have asked me a very tricky question. I have not seen the movie; I did not even know one had been made. So I have not basis for comparison. I did not immediately 'fall in love' with the book; in fact, I almost quit reading it about half way through, then for some reason decided to go a little further. Then I got hooked. It was not until I started reading "After You" that I realized that Louisa, not Will, is the central character (even though all three books are written in first person - Louisa). Was Will's suicide noble, selfish, or just inevitable? There are so many things I don't know about the movie, so it may be a spoiler to mention them. In the movie, does Will contract pneumonia near the end? I know that if he had died from that, I would have felt cheated. Guess I will have to watch the movie.


To DWill: I was a practicing lawyer for almost forty years. Keeping track of multiple clients with multiple cases/issues trains you to compartmentalize your thoughts.

Thanks to both of you for your comments/thoughts.
Last edited by Cattleman on Fri Jan 01, 2021 4:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Love what you do, and do what you love. Don't listen to anyone else who tells you not to do it. -Ray Bradbury

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Harry Marks
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Re: What are you reading these days?

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Yes, I see the problem. I have not read the book (first in the series). I have trouble even remembering the details in the movie. I think it may have glossed over the pneumonia episode as more of a reason for her to reflect on his situation, but honestly I am not sure there was such a sickness.

I got that Louisa is the real subject, but I also felt that Will's distress and his desire to give Louisa a gift are clearly the matter of the story. The impact, for me (more spoiler alert), came from their realization that the other was giving them a gift by needing another person, so I really thought it was a great setup. And then to have Will surrender to his disappointment, to his attachment to his former life of excitement and accomplishment, seemed to me a great betrayal of the promise of the story by the author.

I can frame an alternative view, and almost accept it. That Will wanted Louisa to enjoy some of what had made his life meaningful, but his bereft state meant that the more successful he was at kindling her excitement and delight, the more it tormented him with his own loss. And that is a coherent view, with internal logic that I can accept. What I find hard to take about it is that both of them were beginning to make a human connection, and yet it did not mean enough to Will for him to put off the finality of his decision and explore the possibilities further. Perhaps the book fleshed out his character more, and made it more understandable that he would reject that opening of his own heart. And perhaps the later books deliver some kind of payoff for his betrayal (yes, that's how I see it) of Louisa and of himself. Perhaps she comes to a larger understanding based on having seen how his exciting life leaves him unable to live out his humanity, or some such.

I am still left with the feeling that the author dropped the ball.
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princesscookie19
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Re: What are you reading these days?

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Jo Spain AFter The Fire :btw: :yes:
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Currently Reading - Daisy War Chain.
shawn253
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Re: What are you reading these days?

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This Hidden Gem is. Must Read!! Enough Said! I great Modern Day Novel Depicting Real Life and Social Issues that continue to exist in present-day Tokyo!

https://t.co/87N6q18Oza?amp=1
ellisacoy
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Re: What are you reading these days?

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I am almost at the end of Circe (a Greek character in Homer's Odyssey). The book is a retelling of the classic from Circe's perspective. Madeline Miller provides an immersive and enchanting narration of the world of Circe filled with mystic characters.
I have also started with Fyodor Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground. Going through a few pages, Dostoevsky talks in detail about the 'curse of the conscious', touching on boredom and hopelessness like his fellow countryman Anton Chekhov.
nickiejcrome
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Re: What are you reading these days?

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I finally got around to reading Becoming by Michelle Obama.
Lucy october
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Re: What are you reading these days?

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I just finished reading A Meditation on Murder by Robert Thorogood , it is the first book in the Death in Paradise series. I loved the t.v. Show so I thought I’d give the books a try. The main character Richard Poole makes me smile.
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froglipz

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Re: What are you reading these days?

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Currently reading Fall; Or Dodge In Hell by Neal Stephenson and The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin, and The Institute by Stephen King. I would really love someone to talk to about Fall; Or Dodge in Hell if anyone has read it,or is interested in reading it.
~froglipz~

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Re: What are you reading these days?

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Hello! I am new here, hehe.

Currently, I am reading A MIRROR ABOVE THE ABYSS by Oleg Lurye. It is about the events of the death of the 35th president of the United States -- John Kennedy. A fictional book about how everything could be. Actually, I found it yesterday here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094NMRWPJ.

Really recommend it for reading. I also like literary techniques which were used by the Author. They helped me to understand how I will continue to write my own book I started meanwhile.
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Cattleman
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I just finished "Virginia Dynasty" by Lynne Cheney (Yes, Dick Cheney's wife). An interesting overview of four very influential men, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe; four of our first five presidents (and yes, John Adams is not overlooked). All four were from Virginia, and worked together (sometimes).
Currently looking for something different, though I am also "reading" (audiobook), "The Holy Roman Empire" by Captivating History (Yes, that is how the 'author' is listed). I have always been curious about this period in European history; all I really knew before was that Charlemagne was the first to bear the title, and that one of my high school history teachers described it as follows: "It wasn't holy, it wasn't Roman, and it certainly wasn't an empire."
Love what you do, and do what you love. Don't listen to anyone else who tells you not to do it. -Ray Bradbury

Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done, and why. Then do it. -Robert A. Heinlein
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