I have Bipolar Disorder; there are periods of time when I can barely read. So I re-read. What do you re-read in times of sickness, sorrow, or just plain lack of attention span? books

I am having a bit of a rough time with ye olde bipolar disorder, so I can't undertake anything too lofty. My last seventeen million books were in the Stephen King Dark Tower Series (I only made it to the end of book IV, I’m not sure SK was too interested in his readers’ desire to keep reading this—but that’s probably just my taste), and the Liane Moriarty Everything-is-related-to-getting-pregnant-and-divorce-and-everyone-being-blonde-and-not-so-subtly-cheating-on-their-mean-spouses Series.

That last title is a loose interpretation of her opus.

The very last book I read was Anna Quindlen’s One True Thing, which was less readable than Still Life with Breadcrumbs, but more beautiful.

But it was still so very heavy for me.

Imagine carrying a refrigerator up the stairs alone while suffering from day-five of the flu. That scratches the surface of what I’m dealing with when I try to read anything too heavy, or too rich, while in this phase of bipolar.

So what do I do?

I re-read. And something funny. Currently, I’ve got Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half up on my Kindle App (because I can’t get to the store at the moment), waiting for me to figuratively crack it open and delve into her world of simple dogs and her younger self.

And yeah, it actually really helps that she writes about her own struggles with depression in a way that makes me laugh, and cry, and ultimately feel so very un-alone. Because maybe that’s what helps the most.

What about you?

Submitted October 26, 2017 at 01:55PM by cat-pants http://ift.tt/2haEwjk books

I have Bipolar Disorder; there are periods of time when I can barely read. So I re-read. What do you re-read in times of sickness, sorrow, or just plain lack of attention span? books

I am having a bit of a rough time with ye olde bipolar disorder, so I can't undertake anything too lofty. My last seventeen million books were in the Stephen King Dark Tower Series (I only made it to the end of book IV, I’m not sure SK was too interested in his readers’ desire to keep reading this—but that’s probably just my taste), and the Liane Moriarty Everything-is-related-to-getting-pregnant-and-divorce-and-everyone-being-blonde-and-not-so-subtly-cheating-on-their-mean-spouses Series.

That last title is a loose interpretation of her opus.

The very last book I read was Anna Quindlen’s One True Thing, which was less readable than Still Life with Breadcrumbs, but more beautiful.

But it was still so very heavy for me.

Imagine carrying a refrigerator up the stairs alone while suffering from day-five of the flu. That scratches the surface of what I’m dealing with when I try to read anything too heavy, or too rich, while in this phase of bipolar.

So what do I do?

I re-read. And something funny. Currently, I’ve got Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half up on my Kindle App (because I can’t get to the store at the moment), waiting for me to figuratively crack it open and delve into her world of simple dogs and her younger self.

And yeah, it actually really helps that she writes about her own struggles with depression in a way that makes me laugh, and cry, and ultimately feel so very un-alone. Because maybe that’s what helps the most.

What about you?

Submitted October 26, 2017 at 01:55PM by cat-pants http://ift.tt/2haEwjk books

After reading IT, the scariest parts about the book aren't Pennywise, but rather, the humans. books

First off, IT was amazing and I would recommend anyone read it if you haven't already. Even if you see the movie, the book goes into a lot more detail and seeing as how the movie is just part one, there's still a lot more story to be absorbed.

Now, IT is a horror no doubt about it. Pennywise is obviously the main villian and though there are plenty of weird and scary scenes involving "It", what I found to be the scariest are the evil humans in the story. Specifically, Tom Rogan and Patrick Hockstetter.

The scene where Tom Rogan beats the shit out of Beverly's friend was absolutely terrifying. Something about a human doing this, not a celestial clown, jarred me and made me uncomfortable. It made you think this rage is completely real and something humans are capable of. I thought that was the scariest scene in the book, until I read the chapter on Patrick Hockstetter...

I found the chapter on Patrick to be absolutely spine-chilling. I thought he was the most evil thing in the story. And the fact that he was just a bully, not even the main bully, was creepy. His evilness wasn't shown to explain why he has no problem tormenting the characters later. No, his story ends like any other victim. But, this is a character who as evil as anyone could be. The scene with his younger brother was easily the hardest part to read in this story. And then there's the refrigerator...

Maybe this is just me, but did anyone else find the scariest parts of IT to be the evilness present in the human characters? I don't think I've seen a character quite as horrible as Patrick. Tom wasn't far behind.

Submitted September 09, 2017 at 07:34AM by _JJ_Gittes http://ift.tt/2wPEqpG books

Help - trying to find the name of a book I read. books

I thought I would see if anyone here could help me figure this out.

Here is what little I recall: -The basic premise was that Earth was ravaged by climate change.
-No plants were allowed to be killed, even weeds, which grew everywhere. -The protagonist was a boy. He lived with his father and had a trap door in the kitchen behind the refrigerator where they kept and bred rabbits for food illegally. -People are disappearing (I think) -He discovers that there is a secret initiative to build space ships and find another habitable planet for humanity. -There may or may not be a selection process on who gets to go on the ships.

That is all I recall. Please let me know if this rings any bells!

Submitted February 23, 2017 at 09:25PM by vainamoinens-scythe http://ift.tt/2lORCGJ books

The designer for Candlewood Suites is apparently a fan of Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. books

My wife and I travel quite a bit for work. A couple weeks ago, we stayed at our first Candlewood Suites (which I definitely recommend if you like to cook for yourself on the road - every room has a full kitchen including a stove and full sized refrigerator). Also, instead of using the usual door hangers for your "Do not disturb" message, they use magnets.

Here is the one that was in our room.

Submitted October 23, 2015 at 05:55AM by Merlaak http://ift.tt/1W7xwP3 books

'No Country for Old Men' - Question on writing style. books

I have been reading this book and it is my first read from Cormac McCarthy. One thing has been bothering me almost to the point of abandoning the book and that is the excessive use of the word "and."

If you've read this book then you'll probably know what I mean. Every third or fourth sentence has around five or six "and's." Here's a non-spoiler example from the page I'm on at the minute:

"He drank and set the half-empty can on the counter and shut the refrigerator door and walked through the diningroom and into the livingroom and sat in an easy chair in the corner and looked out at the street."

This sounds like a sentence an eight-year-old would write and more examples like it are rife all through the book. Did anyone else find this tough to read? It's shattering the immersion for me and I can't see any reason for it. It occurs regardless of which character's POV we are seeing so it's not meant to signify anything like that as far as I can tell.

Are McCarthy's other books written in this style? If they were I'd hesitate to pick up another one even though I've enjoyed 'No Country' outside of this problem. It seems trivial but it's honestly been really irritating when reading this book.

Submitted December 31, 2014 at 09:08PM by King_Kydos http://ift.tt/1wAKAP7 books