Booktalk Chatboard – Teachers.Net

Join Teachers.Net

Chatboards

Recent Groups

Booktalk

MEMBERS

1 Members

+ Join Group

Pinned Posts

ALLAll Teachers

Teachers.Net LIVE CHAT Support group - Tues eve!

Featured Jobs

Full-timeMontessori Teacher

Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada

TemporaryTeachers, rural schools

Peace River North School District

Full-timeHead Teacher: 2nd/3rd Grades – Mills College Children’s School

Mills College

Teaching Jobs on Teachers.Net

Featured Job special only $39!

https://teachers.net/jobs

Become a Teachers.Net sponsor!

Booktalk Chatboard

Wives of Los Alamos

by Elaine/ret/IN

Dec 27, 2014

I have kept a list of the books I've read since 2000, though I accidentally lost some of it in a "save" debacle.

Just recently I started reviewing them on Good***reads and then sharing with my Fac*********book friends. It's been fun.

Hope to see more activity here . . .

Elaine

Here's the review I post...See More

Comment

(3)

report post

view previous comments

Kathleen On 12/27/14, Elaine/ret/IN wrote: > I have kept a list of the books I've read since 2000, > though I accidentally lost some of it in a "save" > debacle. > > Just recently I started reviewing them on Good***reads > and then sharing with my Fac*********book friends. It's > been fun. > > Hope to see more activity h...See MoreOn 12/27/14, Elaine/ret/IN wrote: > I have kept a list of the books I've read since 2000, > though I accidentally lost some of it in a "save" > debacle. > > Just recently I started reviewing them on Good***reads > and then sharing with my Fac*********book friends. It's > been fun. > > Hope to see more activity here . . . > > Elaine > > Here's the review I posted on the "other" site? > > A fiction book with no characters--impossible. But, by > combining the voices of the wives into one narrator, > "Wives of Los Alamos" does just that. The technique > works, and it feels fresh. Sometimes the wives speak with > one voice: "We felt the deflation that comes when one > gets what one has wanted." Sometimes the variety of > voices speak: "Some of us thought we saved half a million > lives. Some of us thought we, or our husbands, were > murderers, that we had helped light a fuse that would > destroy the world." Living for three years in an > isolated, insulated, secretive society is fraught with > emotion, and the story crackles with it. I loved its > tension and ambivalence. Rounding out the story are > occasional narrative drifts to Europe or Asia with > updates on the progress of the war. It was a quick read > and a compelling one, even without a central character to > love.

Well, I read the book and enjoyed it. I have to admit to skipping some of the central portion because the book was borrowed and the deadline came faster than I planned for...holidays, blizzards, etc. had my attention. I have 3 books going now and all 3 have due dates. grrr

The story about the wives of Los Alamos was fascinating; I had no idea there was a secret town where families of the scientists existed and endured isolation and personal and economic hardship.

The writing by author Tarashea Nesbit was excellent and satisfying creative. I intended to copy some of the descriptive phrases here for others to savor, but then the due date rolled around. So I have no evidence to back up my high rating for the author's writing ability.

The collective (first person plural) voice was an interesting and effective technique for telling this story. I felt as though I was viewing the characters from the perch of the ghost of Los Alamos-past. There was an ethereal feeling to the book, sort of a building suspense - though we knew what was going to happen, the reader couldn't know how it would impact the characters.

One scene that will stay with me: the women and families sitting on hay bales watching a slide show comprised of photos of the remains of people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

There was a chorus of character voices that we didn't get to know in depth, as individuals, but it worked. After all, a chorus is comprised of many voices (alto, sporamo, tenor, etc.) but when presented in unision there is the effect of one voice; we're not supposed to hear individual voice.

Interesting. Thank you, Elaine, for bringing my attention to this short but satisfying read.

K.

Jan 31, 2015

report post

Elaine/ret/IN Glad you enjoyed it, Kathleen.

Feb 7, 2015

report post

Men We Reaped

by Elaine/ret/IN

Jan 4, 2015

Here's another book review:

I usually love memoirs with their warm fuzzy endings, authors' bootstraps, etc. I did not love "Men We Reaped." Jesmyn Ward tells the stories of the deaths of five young Black men within four years in Mississippi and Louisiana; each was a friend or family member. It is difficult to follow the book's (a...See More

Comment

report post

free download

by jme

Jan 1, 2015

Amazon.com has a free kindle download for a teachers' guide to A Prayer for Owen Meany.

Comment

(1)

report post

Kathleen On 1/01/15, jme wrote: > Amazon.com has a free kindle download for a teachers' > guide to A Prayer for Owen Meany.

Thanks, jme!

Jan 2, 2015

report post

Killing Patton

by Debbie

Dec 30, 2014

I just finished this today and boy is it good! I almost put it down because the first chapter was battle plans and logistics go WWII, but I'm glad I kept at it.

I must add that I also read and enjoyed Killing Lincoln and Killing Kennedy. I have Killing Jesus, but for some reason, I haven't been able to get into it.

The two authors...See More

Comment

(2)

report post

jme My mother has read Killing Jesus and Killing Kennedy and insists I would like them. So far this vacation, though, I haven't even gotten into my very light reading. I sure hope I live long enough after I retire, to visit the people and places I've been putting off, and to read the books I'm stacking up in the spare bedroom.

On 12/30/14, Deb...See More

Dec 30, 2014

report post

judy5ca I haven't read any of them. I haven't even heard of them. Maybe that's because, LOL, I only read fiction and professional books.

My uncle was a career army officer who served in WWII. One of his proudest experiences was meeting General Patton.

Judy

Dec 31, 2014

report post

E-Book Ideas

by Elaine/ret/IN

Dec 28, 2014

Does your library offer books for you e-reader or audio player?

If so, does it use Over##drive for the vendor? I'm all for free books, which is why I'm such a fan of libraries.

I love OD, but sometimes have trouble finding books I want. If anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears.

Thanks. Elaine

Comment

(2)

report post

Kathleen On 12/28/14, Elaine/ret/IN wrote: > Does your library offer books for you e-reader or > audio player? > > If so, does it use Over##drive for the vendor? I'm > all for free books, which is why I'm such a fan of > libraries. > > I love OD, but sometimes have trouble finding books I > want. If anyone has suggestions, I'm all...See More

Dec 28, 2014

report post

Elaine/ret/IN Kathleen,

I do the same if I can't find the book, but now I prefer e- books (reading in bed, not holding a heavy book, etc.) Spoiled, huh?

I did the sites you mentioned for a while but got tired of sifting through all the dross. I can find plenty of that on Overdrive. ;)

Elaine

Dec 28, 2014

report post

Did you read and enjoy, or not, The Goldfinch

by Kathleen

Dec 27, 2014

Here's a discussion starter:

Did you enjoy The Goldfinch? Did you find it too long?

IMHO it was good writing, captivating story, but there was an entire (long) section I would have preferred to have condensed into many fewer pages. To me, and I've talked to others who agree, the Las Vegas section was way too long.

Comment

(3)

report post

view previous comments

Kathleen On 12/27/14, judy5ca wrote: > I agree with you, Kathleen, that a couple of sections were too > long, and my interest waned when Theo's life became a rambling > mess. I read the first third with great interest and > enjoyment, then was disappointed. > > Truth be told, this is how I feel about all of Tartt's novels. > Off to a gr...See More

Dec 27, 2014

report post

Elaine/ret/IN I really liked this one. I can seldom stay seated long enough to complete books of this length, so I listened to most of it and then when my audio library version expired, I checked the book out of the library and finished it.

I can't remember it very well, but I know I loved the friendships: the boy from LV and the antique dealer. I felt ...See More

Dec 27, 2014

report post

E-books Importance

by Jennifer john

Dec 16, 2014

Hello friends,

How many of you think that e-book is better than hard copy books??

In the scenario of e-learning, books are ignored at many points. People find online education more creative and easily accessible. Many colleges are providing their subject material in the form of e-books and articles, like this college: h...See More

Comment

(2)

report post

LH I prefer hard copy books over e-books anyday!

My eyes hurt so bad after staring at the computer screen for all the reading I need to do for my college coursework. Not to mention, my eye doctor said that prolonged staring at the computer screen, even with a filter, is not good for your vision. I can also make notations in my hard copy book...See More

Dec 17, 2014

report post

jme I think that as education changes, the way we present reading material will, too. As more of our courses are computer-based, I think more of our reading material will be, too.

Dec 27, 2014

report post

Serafina's Promise

by Linda

Jan 16, 2014

Has anyone done a book talk on Serafina's Promise? This wil l be the first one I'm hosting at school with the local libr arian and we're looking for ideas to make it fun and keep th e kids engaged. Any additional book talk suggestions would be helpful.

Thank you!

Comment

(1)

report post

Linda Linda,

I had planned to do a Book Club on this book last year at my school, but didn't have enough student interest. In the mean time, I got a lot of ideas together! This is an awesome book if you haven't read it!

I created a Jeopardy game with different categories, like People, Places, Who said it?, etc. using a free Jeopardy bla...See More

Dec 17, 2014

report post

Anyone read "The Omnivore's Dilemma?"

by 2 cents

Oct 16, 2007

/blockquote>

I finished it recently and really enjoyed it. What did
you think of the book?

Comment

(1)

report post

tnreader /blockquote>

I got it for Christmas and it's on my list to read. I'm
reading two other books now, though, before I can get to it.

On 10/16/07, 2 cents wrote:
> I finished it recently and really enjoyed it. What did
> you think of the book?

Dec 31, 2007

report post

The Cat Who?

by Bo

Oct 16, 2007

/blockquote>

Calling all Lilian Jackson Braun lovers........Anyone
besides me nerdy enough to love these books? I swear I
married Jim Qwilleran! Love to chat with you. Bo

Comment

(4)

report post

view previous comments