What are you reading?

something_of_the_night

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Feb 7, 2006
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A few years ago, someone posted the question: What are DR1ers reading?

From the responses, The Kid picked up some reading ideas, and here's hoping he can do the same again.

What are you reading, DR1ers?

-The Kid
 

Chichiguita

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Dec 30, 2004
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reading

Ummmm?being the poster child for ADD, I tend to read several books at a time depending on what mood I am in at a given moment.

So for fiction, I am reading ?Daughter of Fortune? by Isabel Allende and ?Sick Puppy? by Carl Hiaasen?two very different works.
I am also reading ?Teacher Man? by Frank Mc Court. It is a continuation of his memoirs (Angela?s Ashes and ?Tis).
I am also on my second go around with a brilliant book called ?The Artist?s Way? by Julia Cameron.
Think that does it.
I look forward to hearing from others.
 

Mujermaravilla

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Jun 15, 2006
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I just read barak obama's dreams from my father... it was GREAT !!! couldn't put it down. I specially enjoyed the part when he goes to kenya.

You may also want to read the joy of being awake. I read it a long time ago but I think it is the greatest book. the writer is colombian I am sure it was writen in spanish first but I don't remember the name in spanish.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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hard to get decent books here and my spanish is not good enough for local reads.
graham greene - my favourite writer, the power and the glory - i can really feel it now.
i have just read for about 100 time the wizard of oz - firts time in english thou.
i love terry pratchet - got him online and just re-read the truth.
i have lots of ebooks, recently i downloaded the case of charles dexter ward by lovecraft - maybe the fourth time i have read that.
for fun janet enanovich, she's so hilarious.
when i have my good spanish day i pick up el principe by maquiavelo (in spanish his name sounds a bit strange) - this one i have read before as well.
come to think of it i find it hard to find new books i want to read, i mostly stick to what i've read already....
 

Chichiguita

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Dec 30, 2004
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I'm obnoxious--but...

I want to hear WHY everyone is enjoying what they are reading. As responses come in, I am googling my little butt off...but it would still be interesting for me to hear what motivates the likes and dislikes. This is a great thread...I am getting to taste a lot of new things. Thanks.
 

Victor Laszlo

Bronze
Aug 24, 2004
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Memorias de mis putas tristes

I read Gabriel Garc?a M?rquez' "Memories of my Melancholy Whores" on the plane yesterday. Short (only 115 pages), but magical as usual.
 

Mujermaravilla

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Jun 15, 2006
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I like books that are about personal struggle. I like books where the protagonists aren?t all good or all bad. I think that because I am a Dominican that grew up in the US I am always in a state of self discovery. I am not truly Dominican anymore but I am not 100% American. I am interested in the human experience I want to see myself and my world in other people. I'll tell you my all time favorite books and you will understand what I am talking about:

Like water for chocolate - self sacrifice, maintaining identity when oppressed.

Uncle Tom's Cabin - believe it or not I read it in high school!!! I was curious about the fact that they call some people of color Uncle Tom when they are perceived to not be ethic enough. I found it weird since the book was written by an abolitionist. I found that it was a beautiful book and that the term Uncle Tom is misused because he did not do what the white man wanted he did what he thought God would want him to do.

When I was Puerto Rican - Her journey from Puerto Rican to American but not fully either one is hits close to home.

The Joy of being awake - he is so sarcastic it is so much fun.

Dreams from my father - incredible BUT I found SO MUCH in that book that I can relate to incredible. I would have never guessed. I think the story is fascinating!!!!!

Joy luck club - It was an incredible book and I read it when I started college, and my grandmother died and it made me think about my relationship with mom and how we judge our parents without ever taking the time to understand them.

And my all time favorite!!!!

Amor en tiempo de c?lera: Gabriel Garc?a Marques describes every thing in so much detail. I can practically smell, taste, see, and feel every line in the book. You go through a journey with the characters and really fall in love with them.

Oh and there is this book, it is a collection of short stories from the Spanish speaking Caribbean. I think it is called remaking of a lost harmony or something like that. I've bought it about 3 times and every time I have to give it away!! The only bad thing is that the compilation has been translated English :0( I would love to read those same stories in Spanish!!! my favorite story is this one called Lulu Metamorphosis. It is written by a Dominican writer and it is about a transvestite. I LOVE it !!! It should be a movie or play or something. Amazon.com: Remaking A Lost Harmony: Stories from the Hispanic Caribbean (Secret Weavers Series): Books: Margarite Fernandez Olmos,Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert

I've read many other books but these are my all time favorites...
 

Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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Last books I read were both non-fiction:

The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan - about the dustbowl in the Great Depression.
River Town - Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler - an exceptionally well-written memoir/travelogue by a Peace Corps volunteer in China.

I've been too busy to get to the library for a couple of weeks so I've been reduced to re-reads - current (another non-fiction) is Extra Virgin by Annie Hawes - very funny book about being a British expat in northern Italy.

I do read quite a lot of fiction too, this is a freak occurrence!
 

NotLurking

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Jul 21, 2003
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Sto Dgo Este
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry - Loved it
Empress Orchid by Anchee Min - Enjoyed it
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - Enjoyed it
Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom - short and sweet, enjoyed it
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant - not done yet

NotLurking
 

Victor Laszlo

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Aug 24, 2004
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...current (another non-fiction) is Extra Virgin by Annie Hawes - very funny book about being a British expat in northern Italy.
Thanks for the tip. As a comparison, you might enjoy the non-fiction "Italian Neighbors" by Tim Parks, another British expat in northern Italy (Verona). More wry than hilarious, I'd say, and very well written. He is primarily a novelist, though, and I have enjoyed several of his novels.
 

Lambada

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Mar 4, 2004
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Just started La Volvieron Loca by Marino Zapete - all about Dominican governmental corruption, this administration and the previous one. On first chapter about Leonel & PLD 'un discurso que encanta y una pr?ctica que espanta'. Will keep you posted. ;)
 

Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry - Loved it
This is one of my favourite books ever. Read everything else he has written - you won't be disappointed. Especially Family Matters.

Empress Orchid by Anchee Min - Enjoyed it
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - Enjoyed it
Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom - short and sweet, enjoyed it
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant - not done yet

NotLurking
The only one I've read is the Kite Runner which I also enjoyed but it did have one "Hollywood Moment" which was too corny. I'll look up the other books on this list as we seem to have similar interests.

Victor Laszlo said:
Thanks for the tip. As a comparison, you might enjoy the non-fiction "Italian Neighbors" by Tim Parks, another British expat in northern Italy (Verona). More wry than hilarious, I'd say, and very well written. He is primarily a novelist, though, and I have enjoyed several of his novels.
I'll check it out.
 

Marianopolita

Former Spanish forum Mod 2010-2021
Dec 26, 2003
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corporanr-

If you liked "When I was Puerto Rican" you may want to read her other two memoirs. The titles are: Casi una mujer (Almost a Woman) and El amante turco (The Turkish Lover). Personally, I think Esmerald is a good writer and El amante turco is really a story of triumph. Based on your post about personal struggles as your main theme of interest, you will really experience that if you read her latest release. I would like to read it again some day.

I won't tell you what it's about but if you do want to read about it before you purchase it, I did do a review about the book in the thread in the Spanish forum titled Libros en espa?ol.

http://www.dr1.com/forums/405600-post36.html

I have an ongoing thread in the Spanish forum about books including my summer list for 2007 so I won't add to this one. Needless to say I am an avid reader.


-LDG.


I like books that are about personal struggle.

When I was Puerto Rican - Her journey from Puerto Rican to American but not fully either one is hits close to home.
 

jrzyguy

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May 5, 2004
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recently

THe Kite Runner - awesome!
Running with Sissors - great

Currently

One Hundred Years of Solitude. (always wanted to read it...found it for a buck the other day...so far enjoying it and it isnt nearly as confusing as people say)

Up next

Wicked
 

drtampa

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Oct 1, 2004
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New Ulm, TX
Just finished A National History - Moya a must read for anyone interested in the DR.
Currently reading
Trujillo - Diederich
Tales From Q School - Feinstein
Hunters Moon - Randy Wayne White
 

moviemouth

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Jul 12, 2005
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At present I'm reading:

"Little Children" by Tom Perrotta. I think the film is terrific (absolutely fell in love with Kate Winslet). So far it appears that the screenplay was a great adaption but, of course, the added detail of the book is deeply pleasing.

For my serious side, I'm reading " Collapse" by Jared Diamond because it takes a scientific approach to why certain societies/civilizations survive or collapse based on the choices people make. I've always been fascinated by the fact that great civilizations have become extinct because of apparently irrational adherence to what were, in retrospect at least, completely arbitrary rules of religion, culture, and economics. It doesn't hurt that there is chapter devoted to a comparison of Haiti and DR.

For Spanish practice I've been working my way through "En el tiempo de las mariposas" by Julia Alvarez(what else?).
 
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Indie

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Nov 15, 2002
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I am about to read The Turkish Lover by Esmeralda Santiago (I LOVE her style!), and after that I am going to read my very used copy of Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

-Indie
 
C

Chip00

Guest
My favorite book of all time other than the Bible(sorry Jose) was "The Old Man and the Sea". I wonder if the Spanish version could be so impactfull. In fact Hemmingway is my favorite author.
 

something_of_the_night

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Feb 7, 2006
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My favorite book of all time other than the Bible(sorry Jose) was "The Old Man and the Sea". I wonder if the Spanish version could be so impactfull. In fact Hemmingway is my favorite author.

(So this is where is thread ended up... I never knew threads could get un-deleted)

El Chip-Oh, no need to apologize: we all like a little fiction every now and then.

Hemingway's the Snows of Kilimanjaro is one of my all-time faves, too.

I like a lot of the stuff people are reading, and I'm making a list, with the Kite Runner on top of it.

corporanr and notlurking, thanks for your participation. You've given me ideas, as well as Chiri, Indie, and the rest.

So many books, and miles to go before I sleep.