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Non Smiley Smile Stuff => The Sandbox => Topic started by: hypehat on April 30, 2011, 06:43:28 AM



Title: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: hypehat on April 30, 2011, 06:43:28 AM
From what I've gathered, some of the members of this board are keen readers, soI thought it would be nice to have a literature thread of some sorts. So what are you reading? What's your favourite book? and so on.

at the moment, I have been wading through Lorca's 'Poet In New York'. Wonderful, if the images take a fair bit of unpacking. Which is why it's taking me so long.

Also picked up some Oscar Wilde plays the other day, as I'm about to be in The Importance Of Being Earnest and thought I'd give some more of his drama a whirl. Earnest is, of course, wonderful. Bad plot twists and everything  ;D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: pancakerecords on April 30, 2011, 07:03:01 AM
Harvard University Press just released an illustrated, uncensored edition of "The Picture of Dorian Gray".  I haven't read it yet, but I am looking forward to it.

I am currently reading Bob Mould's memoir "See A Little Light"


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: A Million Units In Jan! on April 30, 2011, 07:33:29 AM
Has anybody read 'The Godfather'? Even though it was done before the movie, I have to say, the movie is much better. One of the few instances where the movie is actually better than the book.
Right now, I'm reading 'Wicked'. I saw the musical a couple years back, and loved it. The book is much different, but it's still pretty good. If anyone here gets a chance to see it, you should. It's incredible!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rab2591 on April 30, 2011, 08:20:29 AM
The Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson. Red Mars and Green Mars are incredible books. I'm on Blue Mars now and am having a tough time getting through it.....Too much politics in this one I'm afraid. But hopefully it will get better.

I just finished 'Childhood's End' by Arthur C Clarke and it is one of the finest science fiction books I have ever read.

After this I'll probably pick up some Hemingway's 'To Have And Have Not' - anyone here know if that's a good read?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: All Golden 74 on April 30, 2011, 09:04:29 AM
I'm re-reading (3rd time) 'The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch' by Philip K. Dick.  It's my favorite PDK novel (so far).  I can't believe I still haven't read 'The Divine Invasion'!  Geez, I'm a dork!  :'(


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Mike's Beard on April 30, 2011, 09:43:18 AM
Has anybody read 'The Godfather'? Even though it was done before the movie, I have to say, the movie is much better. One of the few instances where the movie is actually better than the book.
Right now, I'm reading 'Wicked'. I saw the musical a couple years back, and loved it. The book is much different, but it's still pretty good. If anyone here gets a chance to see it, you should. It's incredible!

The novel spends far too much time with a pointless sub plot about Johnny Fontania. It's telling that as famous as the Godfather movies are, most people would be hard put to name another Mario Puzo book.

BTW I'm reading the memoirs of B movie stunt man and bit part actor Gary Kent. Quite an interesting read esp his involvement with some of the biker and hippie movies of the 1960's.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: A Million Units In Jan! on April 30, 2011, 09:51:11 AM


The novel spends far too much time with a pointless sub plot about Johnny Fontania. It's telling that as famous as the Godfather movies are, most people would be hard put to name another Mario Puzo book.


And a pointless sub plot about Sonny's girlfriend Lucy. Basically these were just tossed in there so there was an excuse to talk about sex.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Jonas on April 30, 2011, 09:54:31 AM
Smiley Smile Message Board


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Andrew G. Doe on April 30, 2011, 11:08:27 AM
Smiley Smile Message Board

 ;D

Just finished an exhaustive biography of Bruce Chatwin. Rather wish I'd not read it now as, although fascinating and minutely researched, the man was basically a complete asshole who treated other people like crap and wasn't above plagiarising other's work. Still like his style, but it's a bit tarnished now.

Also reading an equally exhaustive biography of John Donne. Cracking stuff.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: bgas on April 30, 2011, 11:28:51 AM
I'm happy for now reading multiple issues of Esquire magazine


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Jonas on April 30, 2011, 11:37:42 AM
Like a proper gentleman.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: A Million Units In Jan! on April 30, 2011, 12:41:56 PM
Smiley Smile Message Board

You poor child  :'(


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SloopJohnB on April 30, 2011, 01:11:01 PM
I've just finished "Juliet, Naked" by Nick Hornby - a bestseller, and understandably so. It's quite funny, and the way internet message boards dedicated to a single artist are described is particularly accurate  :lol

I'm currently reading Charles Webb's "The Graduate". It's about time, as the movie based on the book is my favorite movie ever. So far the novel is good too, but I fear I'm too much in love with the movie to fully appreciate the book... I find myself comparing the two a bit too often. It was the same with "Memoirs of a Geisha", but in that case the book was far better than the movie.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Andrew G. Doe on April 30, 2011, 02:25:14 PM
I've just finished "Juliet, Naked" by Nick Hornby - a bestseller, and understandably so. It's quite funny, and the way internet message boards dedicated to a single artist are described is particularly accurate  :lol

Oh, hell, yes - parts of that book are painfully close to home. Hornby is an excellent writer.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: hypehat on April 30, 2011, 06:00:53 PM
I need a good biography in my life. The question is, of whom. What was the Donne one you read, AGD?  Also, if there are any good ones of romantic authors, I should extremely like to know them. Although maybe not Coleridge, I've tried Biografia Literatura a couple of times and it's been too heavily psychological, in an unconvincing way.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Andrew G. Doe on May 01, 2011, 01:07:51 AM
It's called Donne: The Reformed Soul by John Stubbs.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: hypehat on May 01, 2011, 06:10:33 AM
Thanks, I'll pick it up and put it on the pile of 'stuff i'll be able to read when my degree's over'  ;D

I guess this is the place for this, so I'll mention I also saw All's Well That Ends Well at the Globe last night (which was amazing, and I heartily recommend it), and am going to see Macbeth in a disused prison tonight! Am so excited.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: grillo on May 01, 2011, 07:23:57 AM
Currently reading:
A Life Wild and Perilous about fur trappers in the 19th century
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Wild-Perilous-Mountain-Pacific/dp/080505989X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304259656&sr=1-1

Merchants Money and Power about the early history of Portland Or
http://www.amazon.com/Merchants-Money-Power-Establishment-1843-1913/dp/0960340831/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1304259715&sr=1-1,
Precious Dust about the world around goldrushes
http://www.amazon.com/Precious-Dust-Saga-Western-Rushes/dp/0803282478/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304259746&sr=1-2,

Preston Falls
http://www.amazon.com/Preston-Falls-Novel-David-Gates/dp/0679756434/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1304259789&sr=1-1, reading it for the millionth time, and the only funnier book I've read was the same author's Jernigan http://www.amazon.com/Jernigan-David-Gates/dp/0679737138/ref=pd_sim_b_2.



Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rogerlancelot on May 01, 2011, 12:17:16 PM
The Biography of the Bible on Sacred Texts website:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/biob/index.htm

Fascinating read on a 6000 year old subject.  :)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on May 01, 2011, 03:50:30 PM
Why Nations Go to War, John Stoessinger.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: OBLiO on May 01, 2011, 04:13:33 PM
The Biography of the Bible on Sacred Texts website:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/biob/index.htm

Fascinating read on a 6000 year old subject.  :)

wow. yeah that Sacred Texts site has everything. Been going there on and off for about 5 years or so.

Favorite Book: Harpo Speaks! by Harpo Marx and Rowland Barber.
Atlas Shrugged has been staring at me for about a month, but I've been distracted.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Dunderhead on May 01, 2011, 06:42:02 PM
Goethe - Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: punkinhead on May 03, 2011, 08:53:43 AM
The Lost Beach Boy

V-the Novel, based on the first two mini-series.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Vega-Table Man on May 03, 2011, 09:06:56 AM
Oh, hell, yes - parts of that book are painfully close to home. Hornby is an excellent writer.

Absolutely. And Juliet, Naked in particular is a fine book. When it came out, I attended a reading/signing he did in NYC and got a chance to chat with him briefly ... He's a very gracious guy.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: hypehat on May 03, 2011, 09:29:33 AM
Today, I am focussing heavily on Ezra Pound for my essays so not reading as such. But got delightfully sidetracked by The Cantos. Wonderful stuff.

Also read Beckett's Endgame again and had to take myself out for lunch afterwards to cheer myself up  :lol


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: All Golden 74 on May 03, 2011, 11:58:29 AM
I am focussing heavily on Ezra Pound for my essays
Good luck fella!  I did a paper on Ezry's 'Pisan Cantos' for a comparative religion class in '05.  Just about fried my brain!  ;D  Wonderful stuff, but dense(thick).


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: hypehat on May 03, 2011, 01:51:49 PM
Isn't it just! Working rather heavily on 'In A Station Of The Metro', if you know that? Won't take you long to read.  ;D

Good thing about him (and other modernists) is that there's a wealth of their letters, articles, writings, etc to pick up the slack. And he's good at criticism too, so it's nice to sift through... well, relatively speaking....


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: hypehat on May 15, 2011, 05:05:25 PM
Time for a bump?

Been devouring Blake at the moment. Particularly The Marriage Of Heaven and Hell. And a ffew things I've got in an Romantic anthology. What have  you lot got on?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: bgas on May 15, 2011, 10:50:15 PM
Still just working my way thru Esquire.  I only really read it in the library.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on May 16, 2011, 02:31:38 PM
Just began my months-old, but yet-untouched (until last night) Pevear and Volokhonsky translation of War and Peace. I have loved all their Dostoevsky and Gogol translations, as well as their Anna Karenina, so I am excited for this version to be my first stab at this novel.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Dunderhead on May 17, 2011, 12:28:56 AM
Goethe on SMiLE?

"Dilettantes, when they have done their best, are wont to excuse themselves by saying the work is not yet finished. Of course, it can never be finished, because it was never begun properly. The master presents his work as finished after only a few strokes; polished or not, it is nevertheless complete. The cleverest dilettante gropes in uncertainty, and as the work grows, the original insecurity becomes ever more perceptible. At the very end, the initial failure is revealed, when it cannot be corrected, and so of course the work cannot be finished."


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Jay on May 17, 2011, 07:24:06 PM
I just ordered a translated copy of The Iliad by Homer. I decided it's time to broaden my influences, so to speak.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: vintagemusic on May 17, 2011, 09:01:32 PM
Just finished a novel by Martin Cruz Smith "Three Stations" It's the latest in the
Arkady Renko series, about a Russian detective. You may remember William Hurt
and Lee Marvin in the movie Gorky Park.

I am beginning Ray Davies (of The Kinks) autobiography called X RAY or something
like that. I Am about to read for the tenth time. The Stranger by Albert Camus.

I have been anticipating the final postumous novel from Michael Crichton. I also have
the lost story of Brian Wilsons masterpiece SMiLE by Domenic Priore on my nightstand


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: punkinhead on May 20, 2011, 09:14:11 AM
I've been reading a lot of all the print outs I've had filed away forever...I've been printing BB research/articles/lyrics/etc. out since I was in high school, around 2002, kept printing out for something to read in class in college, and still do at my work...

and I know you're thinking it's a waste, but I was aloud over 500 pages a year at HS to print out and the same goes for College and work...so it's my paper to do what I want.


As I squeezed a whole SMile file full of SMiLE FAQ's, articles, the Smile Primer, interviews, posts by Durrie Parks, etc....I've finally divided it into 2 separate files, Smile 66-67 and BWPS
Somehow everything else, from Surfin' Safari to present day printouts, has been in 1 manilla file folder...but I finally purchased more hanging file folders and a tuperware to fill hanging file folders in....I've got my Smile files done and then the first file done which consist of discography of albums, singles, unreleased albums and a couple of reviews for all the albums that were two separate articles, from Lost and Found/Surfin' Safari to Hawthorne CA...it's a really large file but it's one of my most informal and favored files to look through.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: punkinhead on May 20, 2011, 09:17:41 AM
I've been reading a lot of all the print outs I've had filed away forever...I've been printing BB research/articles/lyrics/etc. out since I was in high school, around 2002, kept printing out for something to read in class in college, and still do at my work...

and I know you're thinking it's a waste, but I was aloud over 500 pages a year at HS to print out and the same goes for College and work...so it's my paper to do what I want.


As I squeezed a whole SMile file full of SMiLE FAQ's, articles, the Smile Primer, interviews, posts by Durrie Parks, etc....I've finally divided it into 2 separate files, Smile 66-67 and BWPS
Somehow everything else, from Surfin' Safari to present day printouts, has been in 1 manilla file folder...but I finally purchased more hanging file folders and a tuperware to fill hanging file folders in....I've got my Smile files done and then the first file done which consist of discography of albums, singles, unreleased albums and a couple of reviews for all the albums that were two separate articles, from Lost and Found/Surfin' Safari to Hawthorne CA...it's a really large file but it's one of my most informal and favored files to look through.
I've also been reading the Ultimate Dallas reference book with information about EVERY episode and the reunions/tv-movies...it's really a great read if you're a DAllas fan


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rab2591 on May 20, 2011, 09:42:55 AM
Somewhat off-topic, but I think there were a few people here that were writing some novels/books as of late. Any updates?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: punkinhead on May 20, 2011, 03:10:59 PM
Somewhat off-topic, but I think there were a few people here that were writing some novels/books as of late. Any updates?
I had an idea about writing a fictional piece that's similar to the story of Almost Famous but instead of the 12 year old kid, it would be me traveling with the BB to Holland, just using the knowledge I have with research through many sources...but I never developed it.


I also wanted to write a book or something with just information that puts a lot of sources together about the Beach Boys catalog, released/unreleased. Basically, I wanna go for something like "A Hard Day's Write," anyone know what I'm talking about? I'd really like to start on it this summer...Some different things stopping me being one of the major things is copyrights towards unreleased items....can someone publicize lyrics or anything I want to write about bootlegs?  Basically, write the info about it (dates & such) then give the story behind it.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Seaside Woman on May 20, 2011, 03:29:30 PM
Just finished The Lost Symbll by Dan Brown. I bought it when it was released and shelved it because of poor reviews but it was stellar.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rab2591 on May 20, 2011, 03:34:28 PM
Just finished The Lost Symbll by Dan Brown. I bought it when it was released and shelved it because of poor reviews but it was stellar.

Did the same with Michael Crichton's Next - got sh*t reviews, but it turned out to be a great yarn.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rab2591 on May 20, 2011, 03:35:18 PM
Somewhat off-topic, but I think there were a few people here that were writing some novels/books as of late. Any updates?
I had an idea about writing a fictional piece that's similar to the story of Almost Famous but instead of the 12 year old kid, it would be me traveling with the BB to Holland, just using the knowledge I have with research through many sources...but I never developed it.

Sounds like a good story! You should start it and see how far you can get!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: hypehat on May 20, 2011, 04:28:35 PM
I'm just not a very good writer, which is my project ended up being abandoned. It's alright, seeing as I don't lack other artistic pursuits to keep myself busy with, and every twenty year old fancies themselves as a writer...


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Jay on May 20, 2011, 08:27:03 PM
I occasionally flirt around with writing. I wrote a children's book in school about a bear who thought he was human. It was made into a "proper" hardback book. I've also written two "mini novels". One was about a murderer who joined a circus as a clown to hide his identity. It was called "The Phantom of The Circus". The other one was about two inventors. The husband was a well known and love owner of a bank. The husband had a secret though. In his private life he was an evil and cruel man who was jealous of his wife because her scientific inventions were quite successful, while his work was largely ignored. The husband decides on the perfect invention, a robot. His plans go horribly wrong though, and the robot kills his creator and builds a replica of itself. One replica quickly turns into hundreds of thousands. The President of the United States of America is assassinated, and the "leader" robot takes over. All forms of Government are overthrown by the robots, and soon human civilization as it is known is in jeopardy of being turned into a society of nothing but robots.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on May 23, 2011, 07:12:35 PM
Checked out Bill Simmons' "The Book of Basketball." It's mildly entertaining--just like one of his (basketball-related) columns, but a lot longer. In other words, loaded with pop culture references, jokes, references to his friends, and of course, basketball. Hardly great literature, but an enjoyable reprieve from more serious reading.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Paulos on June 05, 2011, 01:27:58 AM
Just finished reading The Day Of The Triffids by John Wyndham, an outstanding book in my opinion and clearly a massive influence on the zombie film genre. I really should read more classic sci-fi if it's anywhere near as good as this, any recommendations?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: hypehat on June 05, 2011, 04:04:51 AM
Oh God, I'd ask my Dad if I could - he's hugely into this stuff. Off the top of my head, you need as much Asimov as is humanly possible. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick, too. On an older note, The War Of The Worlds by H.G Wells is great. Although I made the mistake of picking up an old Penguin edition and it's so fragile I can't mistreat it as is my wont with books...

Now my degree is over for the year, I can get to reading the stuff I've been putting off for lack of time. In the past week I've got through In Cold Blood (freaked me out no end, for some reason. Such attention to detail), a book about folk ballads curated by Greil Marcus, Slaughterhouse 5, and am plowing diligently through To Kill a Mockingbird, which is wonderful.

Sadly, my lack of stuff to do has lead to me dusting off the novel I claimed I had abandoned upthread. Am going through it with a fine, fine toothcomb.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Andrew G. Doe on June 05, 2011, 01:16:36 PM
Reading - a biography of Wilfred Owen

Writing - OK, researching and drafting (for the last five/six years) a biography of William Beldham (Google him).


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Peter Reum on June 05, 2011, 03:23:53 PM
Currently reading The Hardware of The Soul by Daniel Amen, M.D.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: pancakerecords on June 05, 2011, 05:42:32 PM
Just finished "Physics of the Future"  by Michio Kaku, halfway through Manning Marable's Malcolm X bio.  Think I'm going for some fiction next...


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rab2591 on June 05, 2011, 08:10:09 PM
Just finished "Physics of the Future"  by Michio Kaku, halfway through Manning Marable's Malcolm X bio.  Think I'm going for some fiction next...

How was 'Physics of the Future'? I was thinking about reading it...


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: pancakerecords on June 05, 2011, 08:40:15 PM
Just finished "Physics of the Future"  by Michio Kaku, halfway through Manning Marable's Malcolm X bio.  Think I'm going for some fiction next...

How was 'Physics of the Future'? I was thinking about reading it...

Brilliant and mind-bowing I couldn't recommend it more strongly.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on June 06, 2011, 10:14:55 PM
Tonight, just finished Sara Jeannette Duncan's book, Set in Authority.

I will also be finishing up a bunch of Derek Walcott poems, including "The Schooner Flight" and a bunch from Another Life. I am also currently working through a bunch of early Canadian explorer texts compiled and edited in a large volume by Germaine Warkentin, appropriately titled Canadian Exploration Literature.

Tomorrow I begin (hopefully) Annie Swan's Elizabeth Glen, MB.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: hypehat on June 09, 2011, 04:23:24 AM
How's that Canadian Explorer Book? It sounds like a fantastic set.....


My Americophile phase continues, although I have Franny & Zooey by JD Salinger and A Confederacy of Dunces vying for my attention. Which shall I settle on....


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on June 09, 2011, 05:39:46 PM
Finally back to the long set-aside War and Peace (which I had never read before, but just picked up and began reading this spring after having begun reading other Tolstoy last summer), as well as Niall Ferguson's Ascent of Money. Kind of alternating depending on my mood.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: punkinhead on June 14, 2011, 10:57:37 AM
High Fidelity-Nick Hornby
Have a Nice Day!-Mick Foley


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: punkinhead on June 14, 2011, 11:00:08 AM
Question,

I'd like your honest opinion, would starting a book like A Hard Day's Write for the BB be worth it?
I think I could do it, but wouldn't be able to site enough sources throughout the years I've been researching and reading and listening and discussing. I'd also have trouble editing songs down to at least one page or so.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: The Heartical Don on June 14, 2011, 12:05:09 PM
(http://somewhereboy.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/palefire.jpg)

(http://amybradneygeorge.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/saturday.jpg)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on June 14, 2011, 03:37:29 PM
(http://somewhereboy.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/palefire.jpg)
Maybe the only of his novels I haven't read or even bought to put on the shelf. Do let me know what you think.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: punkinhead on June 14, 2011, 06:28:41 PM
Question,

I'd like your honest opinion, would starting a book like A Hard Day's Write for the BB be worth it?
I think I could do it, but wouldn't be able to site enough sources throughout the years I've been researching and reading and listening and discussing. I'd also have trouble editing songs down to at least one page or so.
and the thing about writing about this music is I don't really wanna write about the hits at all...the lesser known and more creative stuff on albums is what I wanna explore.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rab2591 on June 27, 2011, 07:27:19 PM
Contact - Carl Sagan

Also, I implore anyone here who is remotely interested in science fiction to read 'Childhood's End' by Arthur C Clarke.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: bgas on June 27, 2011, 08:40:46 PM
Contact - Carl Sagan

Also, I implore anyone here who is remotely interested in science fiction to read 'Childhood's End' by Arthur C Clarke.

What's it about?  Pretty sure I read it about 30-35 years back, when I was reading a lot of sci-fi. Probably have it in one of those storage boxes with the other 400 sci-fi's


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Alex on July 15, 2011, 06:10:30 AM
Recently whipped right through The Lost Beach Boy. Seems like anytime I read a BBs themed book I`m through it in a day or two...I can never put that stuff down. Now something like War and Peace would probably take me several months to get through.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rab2591 on July 20, 2011, 03:24:22 PM
Contact - Carl Sagan

Also, I implore anyone here who is remotely interested in science fiction to read 'Childhood's End' by Arthur C Clarke.

What's it about?  Pretty sure I read it about 30-35 years back, when I was reading a lot of sci-fi. Probably have it in one of those storage boxes with the other 400 sci-fi's

If you were steep into sci-fi you probably read it....[SPOILER ALERT] it is about an intelligent alien race that comes to earth to help us with our next evolutionary step - these aliens read our philosophy and change our perception of religion. They come to earth with a way to look into the past. It is Clarke's finest in my opinion - but then again I haven't read all of Clarke.
_____

Just finished 'On The Road' by Kerouac and 'The Great Gatsby' by Fitzgerald. Now on to 'Walden', and soon some more Kerouac, then re-reading 'No One Here Gets Out Alive'. 'On The Road' is one of the best books I have ever read. period.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on July 20, 2011, 06:16:18 PM

Just finished 'On The Road' by Kerouac and 'The Great Gatsby' by Fitzgerald. Now on to 'Walden', and soon some more Kerouac, then re-reading 'No One Here Gets Out Alive'. 'On The Road' is one of the best books I have ever read. period.
In some lit class, or just decided to hit some classics? Anyway, two great ones there. (For the record, I hate On the Road.)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rab2591 on July 20, 2011, 06:42:12 PM

Just finished 'On The Road' by Kerouac and 'The Great Gatsby' by Fitzgerald. Now on to 'Walden', and soon some more Kerouac, then re-reading 'No One Here Gets Out Alive'. 'On The Road' is one of the best books I have ever read. period.
In some lit class, or just decided to hit some classics? Anyway, two great ones there. (For the record, I hate On the Road.)

Decided to hit some classics. I skimmed over Thoreau in college, but didn't really take it seriously....I'm finding that I'm taking my studies more seriously after college lol. Gatsby was recommended to me by a friend after I told her how much I love Hemingway. Can't believe I never read it before, but now I can say I have. Great read.

As for 'On The Road' - I read the unedited scroll version - not the 1957 published edition, just fyi. Why the hate for 'On The Road'?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on July 26, 2011, 06:31:48 AM
Talking of On The Road (which I've never read), has anyone ever read Steinbeck's Travels with Charley, as mentioned you-know-where? A very laid-back read.

What am I reading? Well...

(http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS6vdbmoR52_UOWchqkLWt6UoRsJY2ZWV3TPFtCLyQItEmW8rQkGw)

I'm addicted!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rab2591 on July 26, 2011, 07:23:34 AM
A few days ago I put down Walden and actually tried to read Travels With Charley.

I just couldn't get into it. Page after page I kept reading, telling myself it would be worthwhile, and the further I went in the book the more I disliked it...I stopped reading 1/3rd of the way in. It's probably a fantastic read once one gets all the way through it (some books are like that), but I was dissatisfied with the lack of dialogue and moreover the ease of his travels (up to the point where I stopped). And I really didn't read enough to be a fair judge of whether the book is good or not.

I've tried several Steinbeck novels and havent really cared for them. I'll probably go back to Travels at some point though.
_____

i'm now reading the Maltese Falcon...really good thus far. Then on to Desolation Angels, No One Here Get's Out Alive, then back to Walden.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: hypehat on July 26, 2011, 08:49:16 AM
Have you tried  East Of Eden? That's Steinbecks best, imo.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rab2591 on July 26, 2011, 09:14:26 AM
Have you tried  East Of Eden? That's Steinbecks best, imo.

No, but I will! Many friends of mine have also said that that is a great book.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rab2591 on May 12, 2012, 01:40:57 PM
Bump.

What's everyone been reading here lately?

I've been reading some Hemingway (The Garden of Eden, To Have and Have Not). Finished Dickens' Great Expectations a few weeks ago - was quite surprised at how good it is. I started The Brother's Karamazov the other day, but I've yet to really get into it.

Also, my dislike for Steinbeck subsided a bit: I read Of Mice and Men a few months ago and found it to be one of the better books I've read.

What about everyone else here?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on May 12, 2012, 01:44:24 PM
I started The Brother's Karamazov the other day, but I've yet to really get into it.

Don't give up. It's one of my two or three favorites of all time.

Honestly I was just thinking that it's pathetic how little I've been reading of anything lately, sometimes just checking out some short stories or flipping through assorted (usually political or historical) nonfiction. I began reading Knut Hamsun's The Women at the Pump a while back, but couldn't get into it and haven't finished it. It has been by the bedside for weeks. Even months.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: hypehat on May 12, 2012, 04:10:22 PM
Finally got round to reading Zen & The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance, but just as I was getting into it I left it at my flat when I went to see my family. Bugger.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rab2591 on May 12, 2012, 04:28:59 PM
I started The Brother's Karamazov the other day, but I've yet to really get into it.

Don't give up. It's one of my two or three favorites of all time.

Honestly I was just thinking that it's pathetic how little I've been reading of anything lately, sometimes just checking out some short stories or flipping through assorted (usually political or historical) nonfiction. I began reading Knut Hamsun's The Women at the Pump a while back, but couldn't get into it and haven't finished it. It has been by the bedside for weeks. Even months.

I'll definitely try to finish it. I've been told by several people it's one of the best books.

I too go through dry spells of reading. In fact, for most of winter I read only one book (Of Mice and Men).

@Hypehat, could you please tell me if that book is worth reading when you've finished it (Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance)?. It keeps coming up in my Amazon recommendations but I've never bothered to purchase it.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on May 12, 2012, 04:31:11 PM
Brothers K is one of my favourites too. I agree with not giving up!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: GreatUrduPoet on May 14, 2012, 09:36:03 AM
Johnnie Allen's incredible "Born To Be A Loser"...a biography of late troubled singer/songwriter Jimmy Donley.
I'd always wondered how an artist so beloved for his 'warm and soulful' R&B and pop classics could have had
a reputation that makes cultural figures like Jerry Lee Lewis and Mike Tyson seem mellow and non-violent in
comparison. Now I think I can understand the baggage.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: punkinhead on May 15, 2012, 05:49:59 AM
A few days ago I put down Walden and actually tried to read Travels With Charley.

I just couldn't get into it. Page after page I kept reading, telling myself it would be worthwhile, and the further I went in the book the more I disliked it...I stopped reading 1/3rd of the way in. It's probably a fantastic read once one gets all the way through it (some books are like that), but I was dissatisfied with the lack of dialogue and moreover the ease of his travels (up to the point where I stopped). And I really didn't read enough to be a fair judge of whether the book is good or not.

I've tried several Steinbeck novels and havent really cared for them. I'll probably go back to Travels at some point though.
_____

i'm now reading the Maltese Falcon...really good thus far. Then on to Desolation Angels, No One Here Get's Out Alive, then back to Walden.
Heh, I read travels with Charley while on vacation about 8 years ago, I most certainly bought it because of the  lyric from California Saga.  ;D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: punkinhead on May 15, 2012, 05:56:49 AM
My girlfriend and I almost started to read Go Ask Alice a couple of weeks ago, I read it about 6 years ago, I really liked it then. She got freaked out the last time she read it and didn't enjoy it as much. I started to read it but it started depressing me because of my current situation with some certain substances. But as it turns out, a good thing came out of it. I discussed with her about how I don't wanna read it because of my current situation & how it'd depress me, and she understood which started a discussion on myself getting the help I needed....so a week later, I went to my first NA meeting (voluntarily) and I really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it. I'm going to try to make it to a meeting once a week. Been clean 9 days now, I'm very proud to say that.

And that's how a book that I only read 5 pages of the 2nd time helped me turn my life around. Heck, I might just give it away so maybe it'll help someone else.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rab2591 on May 16, 2012, 11:30:59 AM
My girlfriend and I almost started to read Go Ask Alice a couple of weeks ago, I read it about 6 years ago, I really liked it then. She got freaked out the last time she read it and didn't enjoy it as much. I started to read it but it started depressing me because of my current situation with some certain substances. But as it turns out, a good thing came out of it. I discussed with her about how I don't wanna read it because of my current situation & how it'd depress me, and she understood which started a discussion on myself getting the help I needed....so a week later, I went to my first NA meeting (voluntarily) and I really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it. I'm going to try to make it to a meeting once a week. Been clean 9 days now, I'm very proud to say that.

And that's how a book that I only read 5 pages of the 2nd time helped me turn my life around. Heck, I might just give it away so maybe it'll help someone else.

Congrats!

I read Go Ask Alice my freshmen year of High School - I loved it (I was fascinated by the free-spirited culture the narrator led the reader through)....though looking back I completely ignored the whole point of the book.

Anyways, keep it up - substance abuse is no picnic, and the stronger you stay in the coming days the better off you will be. And 9 days is quite an accomplishment for any drug one is trying to quit, so again, congratulations!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: hypehat on May 16, 2012, 05:07:38 PM
Yeah, congrats Punkinhead! Hope you stay strong.

Rab - Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is... strange. It's concerned quite heavily with philosophy at times, and lots of hemming and hawing about the Nature of Things which makes for dense reading. The tone doesn't really endear me either, although I'm going to finish it as he's actually rather good at teasing out little narrative foreshadowing bits, although a 'plot' is by no means the actual point of the book. It might be your bag, but it's not really earning the slow and methodical route it's taking with me so far.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SMiLE Brian on May 16, 2012, 05:18:17 PM
Punkinhead, keep up the good work of getting clean.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SG7 on May 16, 2012, 06:15:50 PM
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Such an epic and powerful book. Tolstoy paints a picture in words and every nook isn't forgotten.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on May 16, 2012, 07:06:15 PM
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Such an epic and powerful book. Tolstoy paints a picture in words and every nook isn't forgotten.
Isn't it brilliant? I mean, obviously it is. But it is one of the few classics that, as and after you read it, you think it is underrated.

What translation are you reading? I ask because I read the Pevear and Volokhonsky one and loved it. I haven't read others of that novel by them, but there are several Dostoevsky and Gogol novels and stories I've read both from their translations and others, and for some reason, those two just strike gold with me every time. Or vice versa. Whatever.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: 1-1-wonderful on May 17, 2012, 04:50:23 AM
recently:

Underworld by Don DeLillo

The Corrections by  Jonathan Franzen



Underworld blew me away.  One of the best books i've read in a long time and The Corrections too was hard to put down.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: hypehat on May 24, 2012, 07:27:39 AM
Rangerover A1, I LOVE Milligan. Have you listened to The Goon Show?

Friend just leant me The Count Of Monte Cristo. Can't wait to have some free time and demolish that sucker.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rab2591 on May 24, 2012, 07:30:17 AM
Put down Brother's K until I can fully get into it.

Now reading 'The Songs of Distant Earth' by Arthur C Clarke.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SG7 on May 24, 2012, 09:35:25 AM
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Such an epic and powerful book. Tolstoy paints a picture in words and every nook isn't forgotten.
Isn't it brilliant? I mean, obviously it is. But it is one of the few classics that, as and after you read it, you think it is underrated.

What translation are you reading? I ask because I read the Pevear and Volokhonsky one and loved it. I haven't read others of that novel by them, but there are several Dostoevsky and Gogol novels and stories I've read both from their translations and others, and for some reason, those two just strike gold with me every time. Or vice versa. Whatever.

Yep I am reading the Pevear and Volokhonsky one too. This is my first time reading any of their translations. I am really impressed. Almost done the book and I've been reading it since September. I'm sort of sad about this :(


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Landlocked on May 28, 2012, 02:01:36 PM
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Such an epic and powerful book. Tolstoy paints a picture in words and every nook isn't forgotten.
Isn't it brilliant? I mean, obviously it is. But it is one of the few classics that, as and after you read it, you think it is underrated.

What translation are you reading? I ask because I read the Pevear and Volokhonsky one and loved it. I haven't read others of that novel by them, but there are several Dostoevsky and Gogol novels and stories I've read both from their translations and others, and for some reason, those two just strike gold with me every time. Or vice versa. Whatever.

Yep I am reading the Pevear and Volokhonsky one too. This is my first time reading any of their translations. I am really impressed. Almost done the book and I've been reading it since September. I'm sort of sad about this :(

Good choice. I read the PV translation of Anna Karenina and really enjoyed it. I also read their translation of Crime and Punishment, which was incredible. I have high hopes for their Brothers Karamazov which is on the shelf, waiting to be read.

Right now, I'm reading Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror. A bit of a slog so far, but interesting enough to keep me from abandoning it for something better.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SG7 on May 28, 2012, 05:30:00 PM
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Such an epic and powerful book. Tolstoy paints a picture in words and every nook isn't forgotten.
Isn't it brilliant? I mean, obviously it is. But it is one of the few classics that, as and after you read it, you think it is underrated.

What translation are you reading? I ask because I read the Pevear and Volokhonsky one and loved it. I haven't read others of that novel by them, but there are several Dostoevsky and Gogol novels and stories I've read both from their translations and others, and for some reason, those two just strike gold with me every time. Or vice versa. Whatever.

Yep I am reading the Pevear and Volokhonsky one too. This is my first time reading any of their translations. I am really impressed. Almost done the book and I've been reading it since September. I'm sort of sad about this :(

Good choice. I read the PV translation of Anna Karenina and really enjoyed it. I also read their translation of Crime and Punishment, which was incredible. I have high hopes for their Brothers Karamazov which is on the shelf, waiting to be read.

Right now, I'm reading Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror. A bit of a slog so far, but interesting enough to keep me from abandoning it for something better.

Thanks for the suggestion. I may just have to find a copy of either one of those! I have seriously fallen in love with Russian literature.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on May 28, 2012, 07:22:50 PM
I have high hopes for their Brothers Karamazov which is on the shelf, waiting to be read.

It is amazing.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Landlocked on May 28, 2012, 11:37:44 PM
I have high hopes for their Brothers Karamazov which is on the shelf, waiting to be read.

It is amazing.

That's what I hear! I may have to get their version of The Idiot, because I really didn't care for that novel. It's possible no translation could endear it to me, but it's just as possible it was simply a case of a poor translation. Ever read PV's version of that one?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Jay on May 28, 2012, 11:39:17 PM
A book.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: hypehat on May 28, 2012, 11:53:57 PM
Rangerover A1, I LOVE Milligan. Have you listened to The Goon Show?

No, but I saw The Rutles sketches and I heard from various people that The Goon Show and this are similar in a way. They're wrong.

Only in that The Goon Show is better  ;) Try this, it's not one of the best but it's fairly standard, solid Goonery. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb14Cstuc34

Also, if Eric Idle and Neil Innes did not worship the ground Milligan, Sellers, Seacombe et al walked on, I'm Mike Love's bald spot.



Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on May 29, 2012, 03:45:43 PM
I have high hopes for their Brothers Karamazov which is on the shelf, waiting to be read.

It is amazing.

That's what I hear! I may have to get their version of The Idiot, because I really didn't care for that novel. It's possible no translation could endear it to me, but it's just as possible it was simply a case of a poor translation. Ever read PV's version of that one?
I've got to come clean: after having read some of their other Dostoevsky translations, I picked that one up ... and never finished it. Got about 2/3 through and just quit. Never returned to it. So for whatever reason, be it translation of novel itself, I can't get into that.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on May 29, 2012, 05:31:20 PM
I have high hopes for their Brothers Karamazov which is on the shelf, waiting to be read.

It is amazing.

That's what I hear! I may have to get their version of The Idiot, because I really didn't care for that novel. It's possible no translation could endear it to me, but it's just as possible it was simply a case of a poor translation. Ever read PV's version of that one?
I've got to come clean: after having read some of their other Dostoevsky translations, I picked that one up ... and never finished it. Got about 2/3 through and just quit. Never returned to it. So for whatever reason, be it translation of novel itself, I can't get into that.

The Idiot is my least favourite Dostoesvsky.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: punkinhead on June 01, 2012, 07:15:46 PM
Perks of Being a Wallflower
A Hard Days Write
Pink Floyd FAQ


Always reading:
LLVS
BB (K. Badman)
Dallas episode guide (best book on the tv show ever)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Landlocked on June 02, 2012, 08:40:46 PM
I have high hopes for their Brothers Karamazov which is on the shelf, waiting to be read.

It is amazing.

That's what I hear! I may have to get their version of The Idiot, because I really didn't care for that novel. It's possible no translation could endear it to me, but it's just as possible it was simply a case of a poor translation. Ever read PV's version of that one?
I've got to come clean: after having read some of their other Dostoevsky translations, I picked that one up ... and never finished it. Got about 2/3 through and just quit. Never returned to it. So for whatever reason, be it translation of novel itself, I can't get into that.

The Idiot is my least favourite Dostoesvsky.

Ha! This is great news! Because if you look at any critical lists, or the lists of self-absorbed "I'm really well read, in an off-beat, hip kind of way" people on sites like Goodreads, they all list "The Idiot" as a masterpiece. I gave it two stars, considering it by far the worst piece of writing by Big D that I've read. And I've read The Gambler!  :lol :lol

It's been 6 months since I read it, but man, I still remember the gratingly annoying and vacuous characters like it was yesterday. I can understand filling your novel entirely with hideously conceited, useless characters--kind of--if you at least treat them ironically. But I didn't sense any of it. I don't read thrillers, or James Patterson novels, but would it have killed Dostoevsky to move the story along a little better? The pacing was horrendous. Just parlor scene after parlor scene of bloated, sheltered Russian aristocrats' histrionics. Bleh. I was so let down since the concept of Mishkin was so great, and because Kurosawa was inspired so much by it that he even made a film version of it. But I hated the execution. It almost makes me angry to think about it. I can remember how difficult it was to pick that book up each time I wanted to read it. Felt like it weighed a ton.

The Idiot reminds me of Sgt. Pepper's: some universally revered work that leaves me cold, plucked out of a large corpus of truly great work for reasons completely unknown to me.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SG7 on June 06, 2012, 10:33:44 AM
Now I have gotten done Tolstoy I would like to add I was so sad to end Anna but the end of it was so confusing! My one professor is right: it is like two different books at times. Now it's onto reading Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak.
 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: hypehat on June 06, 2012, 10:36:31 AM
Just finishing up Groucho Marx's autobiography. Just what I needed.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Landlocked on June 06, 2012, 07:13:46 PM
Now I have gotten done Tolstoy I would like to add I was so sad to end Anna but the end of it was so confusing! My one professor is right: it is like two different books at times. Now it's onto reading Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak.
 

He's right in more ways than one. I seem to remember reading that Tolstoy didn't originally envision "AK" as having the whole Levin/Kitty subplot, but added that after beginning work on it. I think he could have gotten a whole other book out of Levin, as he was such a well fleshed out character--mainly because he was essentially Tolstoy himself, I guess  :P :P


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SG7 on June 06, 2012, 08:44:52 PM
Now I have gotten done Tolstoy I would like to add I was so sad to end Anna but the end of it was so confusing! My one professor is right: it is like two different books at times. Now it's onto reading Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak.
 

He's right in more ways than one. I seem to remember reading that Tolstoy didn't originally envision "AK" as having the whole Levin/Kitty subplot, but added that after beginning work on it. I think he could have gotten a whole other book out of Levin, as he was such a well fleshed out character--mainly because he was essentially Tolstoy himself, I guess  :P :P

I just find it funny how Levin doesn't seem very affected by Anna's end. In fact, no one really is except Vronsky!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Daniel S. on June 13, 2012, 12:29:24 AM

I'm reading "Something To Do With Death" a biography of Sergio Leone by Christopher Frayling.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on June 13, 2012, 10:30:12 AM
Teaching a Detective Fiction course in the Fall so I'm starting to get prepped for that. Currently reading Poe's Murders in the Rue Morgue. Next on the agenda will be a Doyle short story and an Agatha Christie novel. Actually, maybe you can take a look at my reading list I will be proposing and if any of you are detective fiction fans (I was just given the course and have no real background on the subject and have only done the most superficial research so far for the course), let me know if there is something that might be worthwhile putting on (I'm also thinking of a film, but I'm not sure which era to choose).

Poe, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841)
Doyle, “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” (1892)
Agatha Christie, The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)
Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep (1939)
Woody Allen, “The Whore of Mensa” (1974)
P.D. James, An Unsuitable Woman for The Job (1972)
Paul Auster, City of Glass (1985)
Walter Mosley, Devil in a Blue Dress (1990)
Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policeman's Union (2007)

I'm also writing a book on Mennonite autobiography too, but I might not share those texts here as I'm not sure what the interest level would be!



Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: hypehat on June 13, 2012, 11:48:15 AM
Not much to add, but you could sling in some Dashiell Hammett (The Maltese Falcon, which would also be a cracking choice for your film) and you could afford a couple of Sherlock Holmes ones, as they're really short. And the rest of Paul Auster's New York Trilogy, from where City of Glass hails, is also really good.

How about, as a left field one, The Crying of Lot 49? Has elements of the detective story and would be a good example of the tropes transplanted into a completely oddball setting.

I missed out on doing my universities crime fiction course, which i am still sore about....


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: musicismylife101 on June 13, 2012, 01:13:02 PM
At the moment: Reaching Through Time by Lurlene McDaniel


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rab2591 on June 13, 2012, 02:10:59 PM
Not much to add, but you could sling in some Dashiell Hammett (The Maltese Falcon, which would also be a cracking choice for your film) and you could afford a couple of Sherlock Holmes ones, as they're really short. And the rest of Paul Auster's New York Trilogy, from where City of Glass hails, is also really good.

How about, as a left field one, The Crying of Lot 49? Has elements of the detective story and would be a good example of the tropes transplanted into a completely oddball setting.

I missed out on doing my universities crime fiction course, which i am still sore about....

YES! I was going to mention The Maltese Falcon as well - one of the best detective stories I've read (in all fairness it's really the only detective story I've read).

@RockandRoll - have you read 'Rising Sun' by Michael Crichton - fairly good detective book as well.

Also, PBS have done an incredible job on their Sherlock Holmes TV series. I watched The Hound of the Baskerville's episode and it blew me away - really well done (good choice if you're looking for a film). I tried to find the link to the show on iTunes (I found it last night), but I can't find it today.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on June 15, 2012, 01:47:02 PM
Thanks for the suggestions, guys. Definitely highly considering The Maltese Falcon for a film choice - my only concern, at this point, is whether or not I will have enough to say about BOTH the Chandler novel and the Huston film but I am sure the differences in the mediums may be helpful.

I would love to do Crying of Lot 49 but it may be a difficult one for the students and I'm already hitting them with a few difficult texts. I will still consider it though.

Haven't read the Crichton book but I will add it to my "to-read" list. Thanks for the suggestion. I think the Sherlock Holmes series is on Netflix. I will check it out too!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: MyGlove on July 06, 2012, 10:06:07 PM
I've tried starting the "Sci Fi Masterpiece" Dune for about three weeks now. Cannot even understand the first page. Looking grim. Besides that i'm reading As I Lay Dying by Faulkner, and just finished up Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: hypehat on July 08, 2012, 02:23:45 AM
I love Slaughterhouse 5. What did you think of it?

Reading a biography of Robert Mitchum, by Lee Server, and my friend leant me a book called 'On A Winters Night, A Traveller' by Italo Calvino which is breaking me a little, but it's so good. Anyone else here read it?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on July 08, 2012, 11:28:41 AM
I love Slaughterhouse 5. What did you think of it?

Reading a biography of Robert Mitchum, by Lee Server, and my friend leant me a book called 'On A Winters Night, A Traveller' by Italo Calvino which is breaking me a little, but it's so good. Anyone else here read it?

Yep. I've read On A Winters Night - fantastic book. Perhaps an interesting side note: it's one of the few books that is written (sometimes) in the 2nd person rather than 1st or 3rd.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: MyGlove on July 10, 2012, 03:30:54 PM
I love Slaughterhouse 5. What did you think of it?


Loved it! I heard it was a book about war, so I picked it up. It was a very pleasant surprise.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: punkinhead on July 18, 2012, 09:26:35 AM
day 71 for me


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: musicismylife101 on July 28, 2012, 01:32:48 PM
Checked out Catch a Wave and Heroes and Villains from the library. Can't wait to read them!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SG7 on July 29, 2012, 08:34:09 PM
Zone One by Colson Whitehead. Such an amazing zombie novel. Halfway though and so well written.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Dunderhead on August 04, 2012, 06:58:22 PM
This is a fun thread,

The Fate of Reason: German Philosophy from Kant to Fichte - Frederick C. Beiser
Doctor Faustus - Thomas Mann


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rab2591 on August 04, 2012, 07:06:40 PM
The Beautiful and Damned - F. Scott Fitzgerald.

In the middle of 'Robinson Crusoe' as well.

Just finished 'One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest' - quite a fascinating read!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Dunderhead on August 04, 2012, 07:19:51 PM
The Beautiful and Damned - F. Scott Fitzgerald.

In the middle of 'Robinson Crusoe' as well.

Just finished 'One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest' - quite a fascinating read!

I've been reading English novels all year, just got through with Tom Jones last month. I've sort of been working my way backwards from Walter Scott and Defoe is the last major novelist of the century I've been meaning to read. I can't really decide between Robinson Crusoe or Moll Flanders though, are you enjoying Crusoe?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rab2591 on August 04, 2012, 07:31:12 PM
The Beautiful and Damned - F. Scott Fitzgerald.

In the middle of 'Robinson Crusoe' as well.

Just finished 'One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest' - quite a fascinating read!

I've been reading English novels all year, just got through with Tom Jones last month. I've sort of been working my way backwards from Walter Scott and Defoe is the last major novelist of the century I've been meaning to read. I can't really decide between Robinson Crusoe or Moll Flanders though, are you enjoying Crusoe?

Very much! My only qualm being that Defoe uses this book to monotonously preach about Christianity*. I'm only halfway through the book, but, besides the religious aspect, it's a great and quick read! I'll definitely be picking up Moll Flanders in the future.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Dunderhead on August 04, 2012, 07:41:53 PM
The Beautiful and Damned - F. Scott Fitzgerald.

In the middle of 'Robinson Crusoe' as well.

Just finished 'One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest' - quite a fascinating read!

I've been reading English novels all year, just got through with Tom Jones last month. I've sort of been working my way backwards from Walter Scott and Defoe is the last major novelist of the century I've been meaning to read. I can't really decide between Robinson Crusoe or Moll Flanders though, are you enjoying Crusoe?

Very much! My only qualm being that Defoe uses this book to monotonously preach about Christianity*. I'm only halfway through the book, but, besides the religious aspect, it's a great and quick read! I'll definitely be picking up Moll Flanders in the future.

Very cool, I guess I'll be starting with that one then. If your into those older novels, I'd really recommend Goethe. I do really enjoy things like Pamela and Tristram Shandy, but I think Goethe's Meister is the real birth of the modern novel, it cuts through a lot of the more tedious aspects of the earlier, more experimental English novels.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: grillo on August 04, 2012, 08:22:29 PM
Teaching a Detective Fiction course in the Fall so I'm starting to get prepped for that. Currently reading Poe's Murders in the Rue Morgue. Next on the agenda will be a Doyle short story and an Agatha Christie novel. Actually, maybe you can take a look at my reading list I will be proposing and if any of you are detective fiction fans (I was just given the course and have no real background on the subject and have only done the most superficial research so far for the course), let me know if there is something that might be worthwhile putting on (I'm also thinking of a film, but I'm not sure which era to choose).

Poe, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841)
Doyle, “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” (1892)
Agatha Christie, The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)
Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep (1939)
Woody Allen, “The Whore of Mensa” (1974)
P.D. James, An Unsuitable Woman for The Job (1972)
Paul Auster, City of Glass (1985)
Walter Mosley, Devil in a Blue Dress (1990)
Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policeman's Union (2007)

I'm also writing a book on Mennonite autobiography too, but I might not share those texts here as I'm not sure what the interest level would be!


Almost any Ross MacDonald book (The Underground Man or Sleeping Beauty are two of my faves)
The Postman always rings Twice by Cain.
Tough Guys Don't Dance by Norman Mailer


Title: Books and more
Post by: MaryUSA on November 21, 2014, 11:07:28 AM
Hi all,

Today I read Chestnut Street by Maeve Binchy.  It was good and set Ireland.  What books are all of you reading?  Do any of you read Christmas books?  I do.  I am going to be careful not to be seen reading one in public. 

I am going to go to Lampy's tonight at 7:15 p.m. for dinner.  I will get the cheaper bottle of white wine tonight.  It is better to do that and be able to buy Christmas gifts for family than to buy a more expensive bottle of wine that will be finished the next night. 

Happy weekend to all!!! 


Title: Re: Books and more
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on November 21, 2014, 11:27:20 AM
I'm currently re-viewing Louis Althusser's On Ideology for research purposes.

As far as fiction goes, I'm reading Miriam Toews's fantastic A Complicated Kindness.

Christmas books? I'm sure I'll be reading some to my daughter in the upcoming weeks. I also like some Dickens.


Title: Re: Books and more
Post by: the captain on January 11, 2015, 06:48:34 AM
I just read that novelist Robert Stone, best known for "Dog Soldiers," has died. I've got "A Hall of Mirrors" over there on the shelf staring me down. I might give it another read.


Title: Re: Books and more
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on January 11, 2015, 08:31:50 AM
Currently reading a lot on semiotics and just began Roland Barthes' book Mythologies.


Title: Re: Books and more
Post by: the captain on January 11, 2015, 08:41:09 AM
Currently reading a lot on semiotics and just began Roland Barthes' book Mythologies.

Interesting. As an atheist who has in recent years spent a possibly surprising amount of time reading biblical criticism and history of Christianity (that being the religion from whence I came, family-wise), I've seen and heard the name Barthes come up a lot. Please weigh in once you've got an opinion on Mythologies, will you?


Title: Re: Books and more
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on January 13, 2015, 11:39:40 AM
Interesting. As an atheist who has in recent years spent a possibly surprising amount of time reading biblical criticism and history of Christianity (that being the religion from whence I came, family-wise), I've seen and heard the name Barthes come up a lot. Please weigh in once you've got an opinion on Mythologies, will you?

Thanks for the interest!

Actually, this book is more about the myths of contemporary popular culture rather than religion, though the topic may come up at some point. Thus far, I've read five essays and they have been about: wrestling, headshots of actors, how Romans are represented in films, how writers are depicted as superhumans, how royalty is depicted as superhuman.

They are great essays though, nicely filled with snark and without a great deal of pretension.


Title: Re: Books and more
Post by: the captain on January 13, 2015, 02:55:36 PM
Interesting. As an atheist who has in recent years spent a possibly surprising amount of time reading biblical criticism and history of Christianity (that being the religion from whence I came, family-wise), I've seen and heard the name Barthes come up a lot. Please weigh in once you've got an opinion on Mythologies, will you?

Thanks for the interest!

Actually, this book is more about the myths of contemporary popular culture rather than religion, though the topic may come up at some point. Thus far, I've read five essays and they have been about: wrestling, headshots of actors, how Romans are represented in films, how writers are depicted as superhumans, how royalty is depicted as superhuman.

They are great essays though, nicely filled with snark and without a great deal of pretension.

Myths are myths, to some extent! I began (but shelved out of laziness) an essay about myth in pop music. I really want to get back to it, but, well, I suck.


Title: Re: Books and more
Post by: Mr. Verlander on January 13, 2015, 04:32:06 PM
Myth in pop music? How exactly do you mean? Stories about bands that aren't true? Or the mythology of music in general, that 'thing' that makes a kid want to plug a guitar into an amp?


Title: Re: Books and more
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on January 13, 2015, 05:18:36 PM
Myths are myths, to some extent!

Absolutely!


Quote
I began (but shelved out of laziness) an essay about myth in pop music. I really want to get back to it, but, well, I suck.

I'd like to hear more about that. I'm doing all this reading because of a course I'm teaching this term. I'm thinking of playing some pop songs in class, including Mrs. O'Leary's Cow and Heroes and Villains, as well as other songs by General Music Discussion bands.


Title: Re: Books and more
Post by: SMiLE Brian on January 13, 2015, 05:21:04 PM
Can I take your class? ;D


Title: Re: Books and more
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on January 13, 2015, 05:32:13 PM
Can I take your class? ;D

 ;D

Unfortunately, it may be too late to sign up.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on January 13, 2015, 10:18:50 PM
I have this very huge bookcase in my basement, but never read anything from there. So, I went downstairs to check it & found this:

(http://cv01.twirpx.net/1348/1348621.jpg)A. Vertinsky* "Behind the scenes". Stories, interviews, letters, memories & biggest joy - NOTES! Now've got sth. to play.

*Vintage Russian singer and composer. This is original vinyl sticker of a song he sang that you, my friends, know as "Those Were the Days".

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ru/3/33/Vertinsky2.jpg)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Michael Edward Osbourne on January 14, 2015, 02:02:04 PM
ANIMAL: by George "The Animal" Steele (with Jim Evans)

Foreword by Cowboy Bill Watts


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on January 20, 2015, 11:42:23 PM
As usual, "Goosebumps", scary stories, as much creepy & mysterious as it can only be possible,  thank you very much. I found & never returned to the library (& frankly, not willing to do so coz I liked it, don't care if other people want to read it too) collection of Alfred Hitchcock's favorite 'horror' novels by assorted writers. Blue one (they are multi-colored, but this one contains better stories).
Generally, the horror genre might be my go-to favorite & sole read. Some of the details are really funny, altho nobody will agree with me on there. But it's great entertainment value, so to speak. Ditto horror flicks. There, I said it. Go figure. So there! :3d


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Wild-Honey on January 21, 2015, 05:53:32 AM
Some good ideas and suggestions here :)  I used to read far more than I do, I would plough through books, now not so much, had some lifey things get in the way.  Need to sort that.  I've been reading a lot of health books that are very interesting, such as Grain Brain (about how certain grains cause disease, particularly neurologically). The last fiction was Life After Life - Loved it! Also the Rosie Project (also great, warm and fuzzy).  I like older novels and my favourite author is Agatha Christie, I have all her books and a few of her pseudonym ones.  When I feel a bit down I pull out one of hers, it's like a comfy pair of slippers.  I love Arthur C Clarke too, though I haven't read all of his.  A classic I really love is Vanity Fair and Far From the Madding Crowd.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on January 21, 2015, 06:07:11 AM
Cool, I'm a fan of fiction too! I prefer her Miss Marple character, she's so smart. Have you seen the Marple series? What a great cast, love Joan Hickson; she used to play in comedies when she was relatively younger (1940s-50s). With that being said, my ever so favorite detective writer is Rex Stout. There is lots of humor in his books. Can you believe it, the man compiled all the recipes for dishes described in his novels! Very nice cookbook edition. or addition, anything fits.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Wild-Honey on January 22, 2015, 03:37:17 AM
Hi RR!! :)  Nice to see a Miss Marple fan..  Hercule is my favourite though :)   I haven't watched many of the series though as I have a very fixed idea in my mind of settings, characters etc that it undoes the book somewhat for me. Does that make sense??  I haven't read any of Rex Stout, though I have heard of Nero Wolfe.. might have to have a look.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rn57 on January 23, 2015, 12:38:47 AM
Cool, I'm a fan of fiction too! I prefer her Miss Marple character, she's so smart. Have you seen the Marple series? What a great cast, love Joan Hickson; she used to play in comedies when she was relatively younger (1940s-50s). With that being said, my ever so favorite detective writer is Rex Stout. There is lots of humor in his books. Can you believe it, the man compiled all the recipes for dishes described in his novels! Very nice cookbook edition. or addition, anything fits.

I have more books by Rex Stout than by any other writer - all of the Nero Wolfe books (except The Nero Wolfe Cookbook) and all his non-Wolfe books (except for a couple of the novels he published in the years just before the Wolfe series began). I also have John McAteer's biography of him, based on hundreds of hours of taped interviews with Wolfe. One of these days I hope that his appearance on The Dick Cavett Show (in 1973) shows up on Youtube.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on January 23, 2015, 06:42:45 AM
2Wild-Honey: you speak the truth; when I had read my favorite goosebumps - that is, "Scarecrow walks at midnight", "The mystery of abominable snowman" - & later typed in the same on imdb, discovered there are actually episodes made of these stories! I thought wow, cool, let's check it out. ...only to be disenchanted, here & now. I was like, "What is this fabrication?? Are you kidding me, crew guys?" Everything was incredibly boring, the cast was miscast, more like it. Wherein my imagined stories while I followed the adventures in the book - it was perfect! But there are exceptions, f.ex. "Coraline". The book was OK, but the cartoon, the dark vibe, animation - nothing was over-the-top & it was quaint, in a good way One of the best cartoons I ever seen, def. I mean the eyes-buttons!!! :3d

2rn57: that's great! I didn't read his 'serious' non-Wolfe stuff. Do you mind recommend me one of these? I would love to read his biography, he seems quite an interesting figure in literature. Maybe not classic 'uni' author, but still. And wow, he made an appearance on the DC show, in 1 9 7 3? That's sth.; I always found interesting seeing people from another century, albeit born at the end, in another time frame/modern society. I once saw a vid on Youtube of Lillian Gish - an actress who started in silent fillms - being interviewed as late as 80s, forget the year. Unforgettable.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rn57 on January 29, 2015, 02:30:13 PM
2Wild-Honey: you speak the truth; when I had read my favorite goosebumps - that is, "Scarecrow walks at midnight", "The mystery of abominable snowman" - & later typed in the same on imdb, discovered there are actually episodes made of these stories! I thought wow, cool, let's check it out. ...only to be disenchanted, here & now. I was like, "What is this fabrication?? Are you kidding me, crew guys?" Everything was incredibly boring, the cast was miscast, more like it. Wherein my imagined stories while I followed the adventures in the book - it was perfect! But there are exceptions, f.ex. "Coraline". The book was OK, but the cartoon, the dark vibe, animation - nothing was over-the-top & it was quaint, in a good way One of the best cartoons I ever seen, def. I mean the eyes-buttons!!! :3d

2rn57: that's great! I didn't read his 'serious' non-Wolfe stuff. Do you mind recommend me one of these? I would love to read his biography, he seems quite an interesting figure in literature. Maybe not classic 'uni' author, but still. And wow, he made an appearance on the DC show, in 1 9 7 3? That's sth.; I always found interesting seeing people from another century, albeit born at the end, in another time frame/modern society. I once saw a vid on Youtube of Lillian Gish - an actress who started in silent fillms - being interviewed as late as 80s, forget the year. Unforgettable.

Rex Stout's writing career can be divided in three parts. From 1912 until 1917 he published short stories and novelettes in magazines; these were in the style of the popular fiction of that time. He never allowed these writings to be republished in his lifetime after Nero Wolfe made him famous, but since his death they've been collected in several books which are pretty easy to find.  Or a lot of it can be read online, at this site:

http://fiction.eserver.org/short/stout/

In 1927, after he'd made money as a businessman over ten years, Stout moved to Paris to write serious fiction. He wrote four novels in this style up to 1934, all but one of them long out of print and very difficult to find.  The one that is pretty easily available is How Like A God, which was first published in 1929 - that is to say, secondhand copies of it can be found. Stout thought it was his best book that was not in the Nero Wolfe series so he allowed it to be reprinted a few times.

The Wolfe books started with Fer-De-Lance in 1934; the same year Stout published a thriller about the kidnapping of an American President, naturally called The President Vanishes, and he wrote several more thrillers and mysteries which did not feature Wolfe, up to 1941; after that his fiction was entirely about ol' Nero.



Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on March 18, 2015, 10:07:47 PM
Today, I finally finished one of the many books I've been reading.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/58/FlowMyTearsThePolicemanSaid(1stEd).jpg/200px-FlowMyTearsThePolicemanSaid(1stEd).jpg)

Now to tackle the Picture of Dorian Gray.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on March 23, 2015, 02:06:09 PM
(http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1175704908l/547533.jpg)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on March 24, 2015, 04:18:36 AM
Now to tackle the Picture of Dorian Gray.

That's one of my favourite novels. What are your thoughts so far?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on March 24, 2015, 08:33:07 AM
Now to tackle the Picture of Dorian Gray.

That's one of my favourite novels. What are your thoughts so far?

That Oscar Wilde has an unbelievable wit. There are brilliant lines on every page of that book.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on March 25, 2015, 07:46:52 AM
Now to tackle the Picture of Dorian Gray.

That's one of my favourite novels. What are your thoughts so far?

That Oscar Wilde has an unbelievable wit. There are brilliant lines on every page of that book.

Absolutely. You can almost see him smirking to himself when he's writing it.

Currently, I'm re-reading Crime and Punishment which I read in high school and was the first novel that got me hooked on reading independently from school after the disaster that was Moby Dick (should probably return that one some day too). The first time around C&P took me 8 months to read, and what with my current obligations, it will probably take the same amount of time again. But now 90 pages in, I can say that it is still for me one of the most well-written stories I have encountered.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on March 25, 2015, 02:42:34 PM
Currently, I'm re-reading Crime and Punishment which I read in high school and was the first novel that got me hooked on reading independently from school after the disaster that was Moby Dick (should probably return that one some day too). The first time around C&P took me 8 months to read, and what with my current obligations, it will probably take the same amount of time again. But now 90 pages in, I can say that it is still for me one of the most well-written stories I have encountered.

Crime and Punishment was a book I read in high school as well. I got about about three quarters of the way through the whole thing in a few weeks and I've been stuck there for two or three years now. Still, I can confidently say it's one of my favorite books I've read. Never finished Moby Dick either...


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: MaryUSA on March 25, 2015, 03:04:50 PM
Hi all,

Today I read The Blackberry Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke.  It was a very good book.  Her books are known as light or cozy mysteries. 

Happy Reading!!!   :) 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Mikie on March 25, 2015, 03:21:38 PM
Hi all,

Last night I finally finished reading "The Mystery Of Cabin Island" by Franklin W. Dixon.   I can't wait to read the next Hardy Boys mystery story!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on March 25, 2015, 04:50:22 PM
Hi all,

Last night I finally finished reading "The Mystery Of Cabin Island" by Franklin W. Dixon.   I can't wait to read the next Hardy Boys mystery story!

They are good for all ages.

Crime and Punishment was a book I read in high school as well. I got about about three quarters of the way through the whole thing in a few weeks and I've been stuck there for two or three years now. Still, I can confidently say it's one of my favorite books I've read. Never finished Moby Dick either...

From what I can recall and from what I've read since, Crime and Punishment is definitely worth finishing. I hope I'm able to do it myself. Good luck!

I did finish Moby Dick but it was a slog and at the time I didn't feel it was worth it. Later, we read his short story Bartleby the Scrivener in school and I found that one equally difficult. However, I was quite young when I read it and now that I'm into all things Americana, I might appreciate Melville more. Thinking about the novel as being part of a continuum that includes people like William Carlos Williams, Chaplin, Faulkner, Robert Johnson, Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, and the Coen Brothers makes me want to re-evaluate. But who knows - maybe I'll still think it's a bore. I still recall reading those chapters of biology information with contempt and I was equally unimpressed by him consistently referring to the whale as a fish. But, hey, context is everything!


Title: Re: Books and more
Post by: hypehat on March 25, 2015, 06:10:16 PM
Myths are myths, to some extent!

Absolutely!


Quote
I began (but shelved out of laziness) an essay about myth in pop music. I really want to get back to it, but, well, I suck.

I'd like to hear more about that. I'm doing all this reading because of a course I'm teaching this term. I'm thinking of playing some pop songs in class, including Mrs. O'Leary's Cow and Heroes and Villains, as well as other songs by General Music Discussion bands.

To jump on this old point....

There are a lot of 'myths' in pop music - Elvis Presley springs to mind, and a few other rock and roll figures, but a nice way to look at the pop myth would be to look at rap music and the construction of the myth in how, for instance, the Wu-Tang Clan use the ancient or mystical to define themselves. Or Jay-Z's early albums in the context of the gangster movie, the notion of the hustler as a heroic figure.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on April 01, 2015, 12:33:40 AM
Rex Stout's writing career can be divided in three parts. From 1912 until 1917 he published short stories and novelettes in magazines; these were in the style of the popular fiction of that time. He never allowed these writings to be republished in his lifetime after Nero Wolfe made him famous, but since his death they've been collected in several books which are pretty easy to find.  Or a lot of it can be read online, at this site:

http://fiction.eserver.org/short/stout/

In 1927, after he'd made money as a businessman over ten years, Stout moved to Paris to write serious fiction. He wrote four novels in this style up to 1934, all but one of them long out of print and very difficult to find.  The one that is pretty easily available is How Like A God, which was first published in 1929 - that is to say, secondhand copies of it can be found. Stout thought it was his best book that was not in the Nero Wolfe series so he allowed it to be reprinted a few times.

The Wolfe books started with Fer-De-Lance in 1934; the same year Stout published a thriller about the kidnapping of an American President, naturally called The President Vanishes, and he wrote several more thrillers and mysteries which did not feature Wolfe, up to 1941; after that his fiction was entirely about ol' Nero.
Nice to meet a Stout connoiseur. Thanks for the link! now to locate the rest...

Re Dostoevsky, having read his stuff in orig., I would not say it was of any interest to me. Further on, I don't get any author that did well abroad - Nabokov, Bulgakov (silly story about dog sapiens; Master 'n' Margarita), Tolstoy, Turgenev. I usually stick to rare.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Michael Edward Osbourne on April 01, 2015, 01:55:52 PM
I just finished reading Face The Music: A Life Exposed by Paul Stanley of Kiss. Well, I've read all four member's books and this was the one I liked the least. Although very interesting in the beginning about his childhood and the early days of Wicked Lester and Kiss, his book was the nastiest when it came to trashing the other band members (yes, even worse than Gene Simmons' trash talk). And it got so incredibly boring towards the end that I was forcing myself to finish it (the stories about the lawyers and his marriage were just zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....). I know there aren't too many Kiss fans here, and honestly I don't like anything they've done since the early 80s, and I agree that their musicianship is only so-so, but it's been interesting reading each member's books. Ace Frehley's was the best, Peter Criss' was the second best and Gene's after Peter's. Paul's last).


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Bean Bag on April 01, 2015, 09:00:40 PM
I spent a little time today reading the "The What Are You Reading? Thread" on the Smiley Smile forum.  Before that, the last thing I read was the front of a Cheerios box.

Fck it.  I only looked at the pictures.  "Strawberries in my Cheerios," I thought.  "Good idea!"

And wouldn't you know it -- the picture was right!

As for what I read about Cheerios being "good for my heart" -- I thought, "how will I ever know?"  People can say anything.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on April 02, 2015, 03:18:12 AM
I spent a little time today reading the "The What Are You Reading? Thread" on the Smiley Smile forum.  Before that, the last thing I read was the front of a Cheerios box.

Fck it.  I only looked at the pictures.  "Strawberries in my Cheerios," I thought.  "Good idea!"

And wouldn't you know it -- the picture was right!

As for what I read about Cheerios being "good for my heart" -- I thought, "how will I ever know?"  People can say anything.
:lol   Nothing like a Bean Bag post to brighten one's morning.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on April 02, 2015, 05:15:57 AM
Nothing to read for now, but my old favorite used to be a comic series about "Duck Tales". I liked the stories that didn't make the final cut. Alongside, I was reading a Theory of Chaos. I literally ate it; there was this description about a water drop in the sink falling not inconsistently, but having its own pattern & 'schedule'. That was mind-boggling for my 13-year-old self.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Slow In Brain on April 03, 2015, 03:17:09 AM
Last two books that I have read were by David Yallop


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: MaryUSA on April 03, 2015, 11:07:22 AM
Hi all,

Today I am reading Love In Blolom by Sheila Roberts. 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: halblaineisgood on April 07, 2015, 06:45:20 PM
Got the Robert Christgau memoir from the library.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Moon Dawg on April 09, 2015, 04:49:44 PM
THE INVISIBLE BRIDGE  Rick Perlstein


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Moon Dawg on April 09, 2015, 04:50:17 PM
Got the Robert Christgau memoir from the library.


 Any good?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: halblaineisgood on April 13, 2015, 08:54:17 PM
Meh. 'Bout half way throughgonna just browse the rest for explicit sexual anecdotes and call it a day .


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Smilin Ed H on April 15, 2015, 07:59:33 AM
This:

http://fridaynightboys300.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/raymond-chandler-life.html


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on April 15, 2015, 03:23:35 PM
Some Bukowski stories. I don't much like Bukowski. Also a book about archaeological evidence as it relates to Judeo-Christian scriptures' accounts of history. Could some version of the exodus have happened (spoiler alert: no), and if so, when. That kind of stuff.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 02, 2015, 02:49:15 AM
(http://www.bookriver.ru/img/covers/99985.jpg) tr.: City Dwellers of the Sun. I grabbed it as a giveaway action held by the local library. A girl brought up by snowmen meets a gang of odd kids who must break the central clock in Moscow metro to prevent people of dying. There is plenty of sur, fantasy, adventure and violence. Its main target is children, but it has tough language, almost like "Master & Margarita". Some dialogs are straight philosophical. But it did won award for the Best Book'09   nomination "school literature".


Title: Books
Post by: MaryUSA on May 06, 2015, 02:25:15 PM
Hi all,

I am going to read a memior called Drunk Mom tomorrow.  Do any of you read romcne novels?  I am going to read a lot of romance over the summer.   


Title: Re: Books
Post by: Douchepool on May 06, 2015, 02:30:03 PM
Romance novels? You mean stuff like Fifty Shades of Grey?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: MaryUSA on May 08, 2015, 02:44:50 PM
Hi all,

I include Fifty Shades of Grey in the list of romance books.  I haven't read it and don't intend to.  The rest of you may read it.  Tomorrow I will read a romance book by Maya Banks.  On Sunday I won't read any book due to 5.10 being Mother's Day.   


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on May 08, 2015, 03:55:08 PM
Hi all,

I include Fifty Shades of Grey in the list of romance books.  I haven't read it and don't intend to.  The rest of you may read it. 

No way. I'd rather listen to Kate Bush's 50 Words for Snow. :=)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Douchepool on May 08, 2015, 04:29:48 PM
I guess sarcasm really don't come across online...even when it's about Fifty Shades of Grey. :lol


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on May 26, 2015, 02:04:45 PM
I'm reading (and thoroughly enjoying) Ass's heroic transcription of Hamstring Hero et al.'s "wild one-word story".   


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on May 26, 2015, 03:07:21 PM
"The Fourth Revolution: The Global Race to Reinvent the State," by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge (both of The Economist).


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 27, 2015, 12:29:09 AM
I'm reading (and thoroughly enjoying) Ass's heroic transcription of Hamstring Hero et al.'s "wild one-word story".   
I thought it was sheer poppycock myself. And btw, their names are Judd & Swedish Frog, if you don't recognize them. I have to tell you this so you know.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on May 27, 2015, 02:04:41 AM
I'm reading (and thoroughly enjoying) Ass's heroic transcription of Hamstring Hero et al.'s "wild one-word story".   
I thought it was sheer poppycock myself. And btw, their names are Judd & Swedish Frog, if you don't recognize them. I have to tell you this so you know.

Wasn't it Dudd? I do recognize them, but thanks anyway. Yes, it was poppycock----of the most superior kind.  ;D

I think it's good----and often hilarious. In fact I'm linking it to "my" MB, where we have our own (BB-related) multi-authored epic, salvaged from the Capitol Board when it all went pear-shaped over there.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Please delete my account on May 28, 2015, 12:23:24 AM
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: KDS on May 28, 2015, 05:43:59 AM
"Why We Suck" by Dr. Denis Leary. 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 30, 2015, 11:02:05 PM
Wasn't it Dudd?
He's Judd. I went straight to his earlier posts & look what I found (note the Last Edit - by whom?): http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,26.msg348494.html#msg348494


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on June 13, 2015, 10:09:11 AM
"The Fourth Revolution: The Global Race to Reinvent the State," by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge (both of The Economist).

I recommend this to anyone interested in politics--not the day-to-day bullshit, but political philosophy.--regardless of your particular persuasion. It's a bit more classically liberal than I tend to be (not surprising, being by people associated with The Economist), but it's well thought out and informative, as well as persuasive at times. What I'd call its thesis statement may be this:

"[R]eformers need to embark on a grander project. The key to reviving the democratic spirit lies in reviving the spirit of limited government. The great problem of the West is not just that it has overloaded the state with obligations it cannot meet; it has overburdened democracy with expectations that cannot be fulfilled. This book has repeatedly demonstrated the truth of Plato's two great criticisms of democracy: that voters would put short-term satisfaction above long-term prudence and that politicians would try to bribe their way to power--as they have done by promising entitlements that future generations will have to pay for. A narrower state, especially one that constrained itself by various self-denying ordinances, would be a more sustainable one."

Don't let that fool you into thinking this is a libertarian tome, either. That's not the case. But it is full of interesting history, direct criticisms and praise for governments and parties around the world throughout modern history, and common sense ideas.

Best of all, it is presented coolly and rationally. That is important to me, as I tend to believe someone's intelligence seems to be inversely proportional to how many exclamation points or all-caps words s/he uses. The louder, the dumber.

Up next: "Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe," by Anne Applebaum. Then back into biblical criticism with mythicist Robert M. Price.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Smilin Ed H on June 14, 2015, 05:13:25 AM
This:  http://fridaynightboys300.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/the-art-of-noir-by-eddie-muller-review.html

Full of superb artwork.



Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on June 27, 2015, 07:05:24 AM
I had yesterday off and wandered into a used bookstore. Hopefully I keep up the discipline to work through what I picked up.

Currently reading: aforementioned "Iron Curtain" and "Inerrant the Wind;" then the new "James, the Brother of Jesus," (a secular book of biblical criticism--not a religious study) by Robert Eisenman; and the novel "Then We Came to the End" by Joshua Ferris.

Then I also picked up some Gunter Grass, Hans Fallada, Ivan Goncharov's mid-19th century novel "Oblomov," whom and which I'd never heard of but liked the looks of, and "Policy Paradox: the Art of Political Decision Making," by Deborah Stone.

That should keep me busy this summer.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 27, 2015, 04:45:22 AM
"What are you reading?" The Graveyard School series, author: Tom B. Stone. Current favorite - "Abominable Snow Monster". Back in school, I used to read horror fiction, going to library to pick what's available at once so nobody else gets to read them (rest assured, lotta teens liked scary tales). Wouldn't give them back for very long. That's me. Anyway, was nice to now find the whole series online. Maybe someday I'll download it. Just in case.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Loaf on July 27, 2015, 09:01:12 AM
I had yesterday off and wandered into a used bookstore. Hopefully I keep up the discipline to work through what I picked up.

 the novel "Then We Came to the End" by Joshua Ferris.


It's a great book. Very funny and quite touching in places.

I recently finished Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong'o (possible Nobel laureate), a satire (or accurate depiction?) or Kenyan/African politics, which was superb, and i'm currently reading Mo Yan's Red Sorghum, set in 1930s China, a small village at war with the Japanese. I'll watch the film once i've finished the book.

And i've got Alan Moore's Watchmen lined up next on the bedside table.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 29, 2015, 03:27:04 AM
I'm reading new edition of comics "Calvin & Hobbes". It supersedes "Garfield" in my eyes.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Ovi on July 29, 2015, 10:41:58 AM
Kafka's The Castle. Not really sure if I get this...


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on July 29, 2015, 10:45:53 AM
Kafka's The Castle. Not really sure if I get this...

I'm not really sure if that's a joke or not! If so, it's a good one.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Ovi on July 29, 2015, 02:52:51 PM
Kafka's The Castle. Not really sure if I get this...

I'm not really sure if that's a joke or not! If so, it's a good one.

It isn't, but I didn't mean to sound arrogant either if that's how you read it. I'll write more thoughts when I finish the book, I'd like to read your thoughts on it meanwhile though.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on July 29, 2015, 03:11:25 PM
Kafka's The Castle. Not really sure if I get this...

This is my reaction to Faulkner's the Sound and the Fury, which I am submerged in.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on July 29, 2015, 03:30:06 PM
Kafka's The Castle. Not really sure if I get this...

I'm not really sure if that's a joke or not! If so, it's a good one.

It isn't, but I didn't mean to sound arrogant either if that's how you read it. I'll write more thoughts when I finish the book, I'd like to read your thoughts on it meanwhile though.

I haven't actually read The Castle -- I've read The Trial, Metamorphosis, and a few other short stories.

Your comment didn't sound arrogant at all -- it's a completely understandable reaction to reading Kafka. I thought it might be a joke because Kafka always puts his characters into situations that they don't and will never fully understand. There's always something inexplicable. Kafka deprives his readers of this knowledge too. When someone uses the phrase "Kafkaeseque" that tends to be what they mean.

I have the book on my shelf and can't wait to get to it. Let me know your thoughts when you are done.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on July 29, 2015, 03:30:45 PM
Kafka's The Castle. Not really sure if I get this...

This is my reaction to Faulkner's the Sound and the Fury, which I am submerged in.

This, in my opinion, is one of the greatest novels ever written. Top 5, at least, for me. Would like to hear your thoughts on it.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Loaf on August 10, 2015, 03:06:41 PM
Finished Red Sorghum, by Mo Yan. Very violent in places, but enjoyable and not overly long (330 pages).

I also just finished, for the first time, Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. I haven't read much in the way of graphic novels, but this was superb. An in-depth take on the (alternative) reality of costumed superheroes, and I was impressed by how much narrative detail was packed into the pictures. The Incredibles owes a big debt to it.

I'm currently reading China Mieville's Kraken. A supernatural tale set in London about a cult kidnapping a giant squid from the Natural History Museum. Anyone else read any Mieville?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on August 22, 2015, 12:46:42 PM
(http://www.chitai-gorod.ru/upload/iblock/3ad/3ad0fcccb41c2a29de04aed6cff9040e.jpg)Transl: Irreplaceable way to fight off boredom anytime any place! International CLUB OF ERUDITES ... . 366 quizes for every day ... . Pt. 1 Bought it yrs ago, then it cost 55 roubles.
Besides, I got to finally read "Shogun" by James Clavell. Well what to say? I liked it. . .just as I did the mini-series with Richard Chamberlain (rmbr this long-forgotten actor?). It used to be my favorite show as a child, me & my grandma would watch it together (I equally liked "Perry Mason" but never read the book(s). some day).


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Loaf on August 25, 2015, 02:09:49 PM
I saw the Shogun TV series and enjoyed it ("Fare thee well to the Barbary Merchants…"), and I have the book on my shelf but haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

I finished China Mieville's Kraken. A hugely imaginative, and very well written, science fiction novel, expanding on the Cthulhu myth and Tennyson's 'Kraken' sonnet.

I'm now reading Art Spiegelman's graphic novel Maus.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on August 26, 2015, 02:43:14 AM
(https://ia801405.us.archive.org/zipview.php?zip=/32/items/olcovers660/olcovers660-L.zip&file=6605116-L.jpg)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Alan Smith on August 26, 2015, 02:55:45 AM

I also just finished, for the first time, Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. I haven't read much in the way of graphic novels, but this was superb. An in-depth take on the (alternative) reality of costumed superheroes, and I was impressed by how much narrative detail was packed into the pictures. The Incredibles owes a big debt to it.


If you enjoyed that, check out the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volumes (including "The Black Dossier").  It's set in the broader world of fiction - ie, Moore and artist Kevin O'Neil borrow/steal as many fictional characters as possible (from various genres and mediums), in some cases as main characters, in other cases to pad out the background - and the greatest superhero ever appears in the Century series (no spoilers here).


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Fire Wind on August 26, 2015, 07:47:03 AM
Recently finished Judge Dredd: America.  Now I'm starting on the Case Files, beginning with no. 4.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Loaf on August 27, 2015, 08:49:01 AM

I also just finished, for the first time, Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. I haven't read much in the way of graphic novels, but this was superb. An in-depth take on the (alternative) reality of costumed superheroes, and I was impressed by how much narrative detail was packed into the pictures. The Incredibles owes a big debt to it.


If you enjoyed that, check out the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volumes (including "The Black Dossier").  It's set in the broader world of fiction - ie, Moore and artist Kevin O'Neil borrow/steal as many fictional characters as possible (from various genres and mediums), in some cases as main characters, in other cases to pad out the background - and the greatest superhero ever appears in the Century series (no spoilers here).


Thanks for the tip, Alan. I had my eye on From Hell too, and I'd be curious to know what AGD thinks of it, if he's read it, being a Ripper scholar. I can imagine, as Alan Moore takes a couple of liberties with his speculation (though apparently it is meticulously researched), that it wouldn't be to Andrew's taste, but, as Al sez, "strange things happen"! :)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Loaf on September 03, 2015, 02:20:18 AM
Maus is a powerful and moving book, and highly skilled artistically. Recommended for anyone looking to see how far the "comics" medium can be stretched, to see what comics can do that novels and movies can't.

I'm diving right into MetaMaus, and it's fascinating to hear Spiegelman discuss the artistic process and see rough drafts.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Ovi on September 03, 2015, 04:18:32 AM
William S. Burroughs's Junky.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Loaf on September 03, 2015, 05:14:56 AM
William S. Burroughs's Junky.

I enjoyed that one. Burroughs was such a good writer of conventional narratives that it's a shame he spent so much time and effort on stuff i consider unreadable like The Ticket That Exploded, when the avant garde became 'avant garde a clue', to borrow from George Harrison. Naked Lunch was good as well, but i think it's at the tipping point of what i can stand from him.

Have you read many Beat writers?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Ovi on September 08, 2015, 06:59:39 AM
William S. Burroughs's Junky.

I enjoyed that one. Burroughs was such a good writer of conventional narratives that it's a shame he spent so much time and effort on stuff i consider unreadable like The Ticket That Exploded, when the avant garde became 'avant garde a clue', to borrow from George Harrison. Naked Lunch was good as well, but i think it's at the tipping point of what i can stand from him.

Have you read many Beat writers?

Nope, nor have I read anything else by Burroughs. But I do enjoy this a whole lot at the moment.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Loaf on September 08, 2015, 09:49:37 AM
William S. Burroughs's Junky.

I enjoyed that one. Burroughs was such a good writer of conventional narratives that it's a shame he spent so much time and effort on stuff i consider unreadable like The Ticket That Exploded, when the avant garde became 'avant garde a clue', to borrow from George Harrison. Naked Lunch was good as well, but i think it's at the tipping point of what i can stand from him.

Have you read many Beat writers?

Nope, nor have I read anything else by Burroughs. But I do enjoy this a whole lot at the moment.

I wholly recommend On the Road by Jack Kerouac, as the pinnacle of the Beat movement and writing style. It has an overbearing reputation, but it's a tremendous work. More than the stereotypes usually associated with the book (though it is also hugely fun), it is tender and melancholy at its heart, in a similar way to Junky. A lot of great Beat literature balances this extrovert/introvert aspect. Also maybe check out The Subterraneans and Tristessa by Kerouac. Burroughs actually features as a character in all 3, but most heavily in Tristessa.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Ovi on September 08, 2015, 10:04:50 AM
William S. Burroughs's Junky.

I enjoyed that one. Burroughs was such a good writer of conventional narratives that it's a shame he spent so much time and effort on stuff i consider unreadable like The Ticket That Exploded, when the avant garde became 'avant garde a clue', to borrow from George Harrison. Naked Lunch was good as well, but i think it's at the tipping point of what i can stand from him.

Have you read many Beat writers?

Nope, nor have I read anything else by Burroughs. But I do enjoy this a whole lot at the moment.

I wholly recommend On the Road by Jack Kerouac, as the pinnacle of the Beat movement and writing style. It has an overbearing reputation, but it's a tremendous work. More than the stereotypes usually associated with the book (though it is also hugely fun), it is tender and melancholy at its heart, in a similar way to Junky. A lot of great Beat literature balances this extrovert/introvert aspect. Also maybe check out The Subterraneans and Tristessa by Kerouac. Burroughs actually features as a character in all 3, but most heavily in Tristessa.

Thanks for the description. What other good Beat writers are there?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Andrew G. Doe on September 09, 2015, 03:38:24 AM

I also just finished, for the first time, Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. I haven't read much in the way of graphic novels, but this was superb. An in-depth take on the (alternative) reality of costumed superheroes, and I was impressed by how much narrative detail was packed into the pictures. The Incredibles owes a big debt to it.


If you enjoyed that, check out the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volumes (including "The Black Dossier").  It's set in the broader world of fiction - ie, Moore and artist Kevin O'Neil borrow/steal as many fictional characters as possible (from various genres and mediums), in some cases as main characters, in other cases to pad out the background - and the greatest superhero ever appears in the Century series (no spoilers here).


Thanks for the tip, Alan. I had my eye on From Hell too, and I'd be curious to know what AGD thinks of it, if he's read it, being a Ripper scholar. I can imagine, as Alan Moore takes a couple of liberties with his speculation (though apparently it is meticulously researched), that it wouldn't be to Andrew's taste, but, as Al sez, "strange things happen"! :)

Can't help you, Sundance. I read very, very little fiction, and no Ripper fiction at all. The truth is fascinating enough...


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Loaf on September 09, 2015, 05:22:48 AM
William S. Burroughs's Junky.

I enjoyed that one. Burroughs was such a good writer of conventional narratives that it's a shame he spent so much time and effort on stuff i consider unreadable like The Ticket That Exploded, when the avant garde became 'avant garde a clue', to borrow from George Harrison. Naked Lunch was good as well, but i think it's at the tipping point of what i can stand from him.

Have you read many Beat writers?

Nope, nor have I read anything else by Burroughs. But I do enjoy this a whole lot at the moment.

I wholly recommend On the Road by Jack Kerouac, as the pinnacle of the Beat movement and writing style. It has an overbearing reputation, but it's a tremendous work. More than the stereotypes usually associated with the book (though it is also hugely fun), it is tender and melancholy at its heart, in a similar way to Junky. A lot of great Beat literature balances this extrovert/introvert aspect. Also maybe check out The Subterraneans and Tristessa by Kerouac. Burroughs actually features as a character in all 3, but most heavily in Tristessa.

Thanks for the description. What other good Beat writers are there?

I like Kerouac the best. John Clellon Holmes wrote the first published Beat novel, Go, which is good. Neal Cassady's partial autobiography, The First Third. For Ginsberg's poetry, only Howl is essential. You can also find online audio recordings of him reading it. Unlike most writers, he is a superb reader of his own work. Actually, check out Kerouac's audio stuff too. he recorded a couple of LPs with 2 jazz saxophonists (Al Cohn and Zoot Sims). Memoirs by Joyce Johnson and Carolyn Cassady are great reading too. Ann Charters compiled a good compendium Beat Down to Your Soul, which collects stuff from a whole bunch of other poeple like LeRoy Jones (aka Amiri Baraka).

For Kerouac, i'd also recommend Dharma Bums, the second half of Desolation Angels, Big Sur.

The Beat writers kind of morphed into 60s writers like Leonard Cohen and Michael McClure, but mileage may vary with the later writers.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: undercover-m on September 14, 2015, 09:15:04 AM
I'm reading new edition of comics "Calvin & Hobbes". It supersedes "Garfield" in my eyes.
Oh, that was my childhood. I could read Calvin & Hobbes all day.  ^-^

Reading The Brothers Karamazov... only a little bit into the 700 pages I have to read  :-[
I've read Crime and Punishment before so I guess I kinda know what I'm getting into.
I just love love love how Dostoevsky describes his characters. It really makes you love (or hate) them.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on September 24, 2015, 09:47:48 PM
Yes, I like reading children's stuff. Here in Russia, there is a bottle of water that says "made specifically for kids". Stupid, isn't it? Like what's the diff.? Same for books labelled "for kids". I also like watching cartoons, my favorite cartoon series - "Heathcliff", "Growing up Creepie" Check em out, all fans of cartoons (reading this board for some time, thorough observation shows there are many).


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Michael Edward Osbourne on October 04, 2015, 04:13:20 PM
Alice Cooper, Golf Monster


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 09, 2015, 12:23:17 AM
Glad to see you again, Mr. Garneau. I read the Golf thread where you said Alice was an avid golf gamer. I think it matches his image.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on October 09, 2015, 03:08:41 AM
I'm browsing backwards* through Philip Lambert's book Inside the Music of Brian Wilson to see if he says anything about unusual metrical behaviour in BB songs. Nothing so far----harmony seems to be his bag. 

* I'm left-handed. Backwards is easier.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: KDS on October 11, 2015, 09:48:11 PM
Pet Sematary by Stephen King. 

I've actually never read the book. 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Andrew G. Doe on October 13, 2015, 01:27:51 AM
The new Bill Bryson opus - The Road to Little Dribbling, sort of a Notes from a Small Island redux. So far, as wonderful as expected.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on October 14, 2015, 07:31:18 PM
A Human Being Died That Night by Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela. It's an incredibly profound book about evil and forgiveness that I'm rereading. But since it's stressful, I'm also intermittently reading
The Town by Faulkner and Becoming the Beach Boys by Murphy.
Nice thread!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Peter Reum on October 15, 2015, 12:19:53 AM
A bio of J. Robert Oppenheimer and Oppenheimer 's own book The Open Mind.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on October 29, 2015, 12:29:52 PM
Kafka's The Castle. Not really sure if I get this...

This is my reaction to Faulkner's the Sound and the Fury, which I am submerged in.

This, in my opinion, is one of the greatest novels ever written. Top 5, at least, for me. Would like to hear your thoughts on it.

Okay, finally got around to finishing it. I sure read a great deal less when I'm around a computer.
Anyway, I'm still not really sure what to think. I feel like I'm missing so many important details.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on October 29, 2015, 02:12:13 PM
Kafka's The Castle. Not really sure if I get this...

This is my reaction to Faulkner's the Sound and the Fury, which I am submerged in.

This, in my opinion, is one of the greatest novels ever written. Top 5, at least, for me. Would like to hear your thoughts on it.

Okay, finally got around to finishing it. I sure read a great deal less when I'm around a computer.
Anyway, I'm still not really sure what to think. I feel like I'm missing so many important details.

Totally understandable. It's been about five years since I read it but I'd be happy to talk about it!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on October 29, 2015, 03:32:00 PM
I sure read a great deal less when I'm around a computer.

I have that experience, too. On vacation if I'm more or less off the grid, or even just in the mood and inertia keeps me offline, I can plow through books and books. But often I waste my time, well, like right now, fucking around online, doing nothing. Read two pages, get distracted, make a few plays on Words With Friends, check this or that... I've been reading one book--which I am loving--since summer. Granted, it's a thousand pages or so, and dense, academic stuff. And granted, I've read other books and stories in the interim. But even so. Three, four, five months?

For what it's worth on Kafka, I've forgotten almost all I've ever read, including The Castle. I was going to grab it and realized I sold all my Kafka (except The Trial in one of my many attempts to clear out shelves of books I'd likely never read again. The term Kafkaesque seems to have more power with me, just as an idea, than the works of the guy himself.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Alan Smith on October 30, 2015, 12:03:55 AM

I also just finished, for the first time, Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. I haven't read much in the way of graphic novels, but this was superb. An in-depth take on the (alternative) reality of costumed superheroes, and I was impressed by how much narrative detail was packed into the pictures. The Incredibles owes a big debt to it.


If you enjoyed that, check out the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volumes (including "The Black Dossier").  It's set in the broader world of fiction - ie, Moore and artist Kevin O'Neil borrow/steal as many fictional characters as possible (from various genres and mediums), in some cases as main characters, in other cases to pad out the background - and the greatest superhero ever appears in the Century series (no spoilers here).


Thanks for the tip, Alan. I had my eye on From Hell too, and I'd be curious to know what AGD thinks of it, if he's read it, being a Ripper scholar. I can imagine, as Alan Moore takes a couple of liberties with his speculation (though apparently it is meticulously researched), that it wouldn't be to Andrew's taste, but, as Al sez, "strange things happen"! :)

Can't help you, Sundance. I read very, very little fiction, and no Ripper fiction at all. The truth is fascinating enough...
I see Bruce Robinson (writer/director of Withnail & I, amongst other things) has plonked out a true crime ripper book that is bold enough to put forth a name.  Anyone checked it out?

On topic, I've just finished off Adrian Mole: The Capaccino Years which I put down to read The Beatles:Tune which I put down after chapter 2 to start a Dylan bio which I put down after the foreword to read Becoming the BB's.

Of slight coincidence, my wife is teaching Kafka at the moment and wants me to read up so we can discuss it or something.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: bonnie bella on October 30, 2015, 12:34:09 PM
Just finished the John Cleese autobiography, which was excellent.  Now reading the Richard Gordon 'Doctor in the House' series.  Very funny, although I wonder now where James Herriot got his inspiration.

ADG, hearing Bill Bryson has a new book out is great, I'll be getting my hands on that asap.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: MaryUSA on October 30, 2015, 01:18:59 PM
Hi all,

Today I read Rouge Lawyer by John Grisham.
Tomorrow I will read Seeds of Yesterday by V. C. Andrews.



Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on November 03, 2015, 09:49:21 PM
It is now my goal to finish Crime and Punishment.


**The rest of this message is going to be about story stuff for The Sound and the Fury, so if you're going to read that book, you probably shouldn't read this message.**

Totally understandable. It's been about five years since I read it but I'd be happy to talk about it!

Okay, so here's some questions:

1. What's the significance of the graveyard at the end? Why is one side okay but not the other? Is Caddy buried there?

2. Did Benji have his name changed from something else? I feel like I remember reading something about him having a different name, but they also had an uncle named Benji and something happened, so they changed Benji's name to... well, Benjamin. The exact details are fuzzy, but I'm sure I remember reading Caddy telling him his new name is Benjamin.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on November 03, 2015, 10:46:15 PM
It is now my goal to finish Crime and Punishment.


**The rest of this message is going to be about story stuff for The Sound and the Fury, so if you're going to read that book, you probably shouldn't read this message.**

Totally understandable. It's been about five years since I read it but I'd be happy to talk about it!

Okay, so here's some questions:

1. What's the significance of the graveyard at the end? Why is one side okay but not the other? Is Caddy buried there?

2. Did Benji have his name changed from something else? I feel like I remember reading something about him having a different name, but they also had an uncle named Benji and something happened, so they changed Benji's name to... well, Benjamin. The exact details are fuzzy, but I'm sure I remember reading Caddy telling him his new name is Benjamin.
Hi Bubbly. I hope you don't mind if I jump in. I'm a big Faulkner fan. The Sound and the Fury is very confusing the first few reads.
1. I think the graveyard overall just represents loss and the decline of the Compsons and what they represented. What's actually happening at the end is not to do with the wrong side of the graveyard but the wrong side of the memorial in the square. They are driving around it in the wrong direction and it's freaking Benjamin out. Also, Caddy's not dead; just banished.
2. Benjamin's name was originally Maury, after their uncle. But once the parents learned that Benjamin was handicapped they changed his name because they considered it insulting to Maury to have a handicapped child named after him.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on November 10, 2015, 04:02:43 PM
This weekend, I started reading "Stoner," by John Williams. I had come across an article discussing it as a somewhat neglected classic that is having a resurgence. I'm enjoying it so far. Always nice to have a pleasant surprise come out of nowhere.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Michael Edward Osbourne on November 17, 2015, 05:52:16 PM
"Ripper" which is about some terrible murders that happened in my hometown of Woonsocket Rhode Island. Includes the serial killer's (very) shocking confessions. The street I live on is even mentioned in the book. Scary sh*t.....


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on November 17, 2015, 07:22:59 PM
"Ripper" which is about some terrible murders that happened in my hometown of Woonsocket Rhode Island. Includes the serial killer's (very) shocking confessions. The street I live on is even mentioned in the book. Scary sh*t.....
Hi Woonsocket! I'm homesick for New England!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on November 20, 2015, 12:16:29 AM
Book shop is my favorite type of shop. was today to grab sth. then I see "Keri Smith How to Be an Explorer of the World"- it was written in funny typeface so I read the annotation & liked it! Too bad it's too expensive. someday I'll get it. I already hid it behind the various other books in the shelf. usually works. We'll see.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Ovi on November 20, 2015, 02:56:22 AM
William S. Burroughs's Junky.

Queer now.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on November 20, 2015, 07:16:27 AM
Book shop is my favorite type of shop. was today to grab sth. then I see "Keri Smith How to Be an Explorer of the World"- it was written in funny typeface so I read the annotation & liked it! Too bad it's too expensive. someday I'll get it. I already hid it behind the various other books in the shelf. usually works. We'll see.
I wish we still had book shops.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: KDS on November 20, 2015, 07:24:25 AM
I'm behind on books. 

I just started reading The Blind Side, by Michael Lewis. 

I still have yet to see the movie.  But I picked up the book at a school carnival this summer.  Since I'm a Ravens fan, and have met Michael Oher a couple times, I figured it makes sense for me to finally read this book.

Then, I'll watch the movie.

Then, I can read Michael Oher's book, a signed copy of which has been sitting on my shelf for about 4-5 years. 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on November 20, 2015, 07:46:23 AM
I'm behind on books.  ...  has been sitting on my shelf for about 4-5 years. 

Glad I'm not the only one with that problem. The booty from my past couple of trips to the bookstore are still sitting in stacks on a table, on a shelf. I mean to read them all immediately ... I just don't.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: KDS on November 20, 2015, 07:54:40 AM
I'm behind on books.  ...  has been sitting on my shelf for about 4-5 years.  

Glad I'm not the only one with that problem. The booty from my past couple of trips to the bookstore are still sitting in stacks on a table, on a shelf. I mean to read them all immediately ... I just don't.

Everytime I get close to being caught up, I wind up getting more books.  


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on November 20, 2015, 08:11:51 AM
I'm behind on books.  ...  has been sitting on my shelf for about 4-5 years. 

Glad I'm not the only one with that problem. The booty from my past couple of trips to the bookstore are still sitting in stacks on a table, on a shelf. I mean to read them all immediately ... I just don't.
You have bookstores too? What magical planet do you all live on? Where I live it's only Barnes and Noble with the same limited best seller-pop books and read-them-already classics. I used to spend hours daily browsing bookstores, but they're all gone! The only place I've been lately with decent bookshops is New Orleans.
Even Cambridge is lacking.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: KDS on November 20, 2015, 08:16:33 AM
I'm behind on books.  ...  has been sitting on my shelf for about 4-5 years. 

Glad I'm not the only one with that problem. The booty from my past couple of trips to the bookstore are still sitting in stacks on a table, on a shelf. I mean to read them all immediately ... I just don't.
You have bookstores too? What magical planet do you all live on? Where I live it's only Barnes and Noble with the same limited best seller-pop books and read-them-already classics. I used to spend hours daily browsing bookstores, but they're all gone! The only place I've been lately with decent bookshops is New Orleans.
Even Cambridge is lacking.

Here in the Baltimore area, we have a nice used bookshop called Ukazoo.  We also have a big bookstore called Greetings and Readings which sells books as well as gifts, apparel, and greeting cards. 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on November 20, 2015, 08:24:29 AM
I'm behind on books.  ...  has been sitting on my shelf for about 4-5 years. 

Glad I'm not the only one with that problem. The booty from my past couple of trips to the bookstore are still sitting in stacks on a table, on a shelf. I mean to read them all immediately ... I just don't.
You have bookstores too? What magical planet do you all live on? Where I live it's only Barnes and Noble with the same limited best seller-pop books and read-them-already classics. I used to spend hours daily browsing bookstores, but they're all gone! The only place I've been lately with decent bookshops is New Orleans.
Even Cambridge is lacking.

Here in the Baltimore area, we have a nice used bookshop called Ukazoo.  We also have a big bookstore called Greetings and Readings which sells books as well as gifts, apparel, and greeting cards. 
Soooo jealous. Browsing online is just not the same.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: KDS on November 20, 2015, 08:28:56 AM
I'm behind on books.  ...  has been sitting on my shelf for about 4-5 years. 

Glad I'm not the only one with that problem. The booty from my past couple of trips to the bookstore are still sitting in stacks on a table, on a shelf. I mean to read them all immediately ... I just don't.
You have bookstores too? What magical planet do you all live on? Where I live it's only Barnes and Noble with the same limited best seller-pop books and read-them-already classics. I used to spend hours daily browsing bookstores, but they're all gone! The only place I've been lately with decent bookshops is New Orleans.
Even Cambridge is lacking.

Here in the Baltimore area, we have a nice used bookshop called Ukazoo.  We also have a big bookstore called Greetings and Readings which sells books as well as gifts, apparel, and greeting cards. 
Soooo jealous. Browsing online is just not the same.

Very true.  I feel the same way about CDs.  We still have some for real record stores here. 

Although I will admit, when I do browse for books at a bookshop or record store, it's usually to get ideas for my Amazon Wish List. 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on November 21, 2015, 03:28:38 PM
This weekend, I started reading "Stoner," by John Williams. I had come across an article discussing it as a somewhat neglected classic that is having a resurgence. I'm enjoying it so far. Always nice to have a pleasant surprise come out of nowhere.

Just finished this. Loved it. Highly recommended as a beautiful, easily digestible novel.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on December 07, 2015, 10:36:29 PM
Notified of the free e-book download by NoiseTrade - "Surviving Christmas" by Anne Marie Miller. We'll see. Not bad, a bit too religious but the girl is cool in my book. :3d


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on December 17, 2015, 09:24:49 PM
I get lots of notifications from NoiseTrade. I can't catch up with downloading free e-Books (though there is an option to submit $1 or 2. No thanks. :police: ). Help!  :P


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Smilin Ed H on January 07, 2016, 11:34:25 PM
After binging on Chandler over the last few months (and especially enjoying The Long Goodbye, which seems to have some Brian Wilson resoance), I'm re-reading some Ross Macdonald, starting with The Underground Man: http://fridaynightboys300.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/ross-mcdonald-underground-man.html


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on January 08, 2016, 07:34:36 AM
Calling for recommendations. I'm in a drought at the moment. I started reading Upton Sinclair's "The Millenium" and Gunter Grass's "The Tin Drum," and haven't advanced beyond the first couple dozen pages of either. At least at the moment, neither is keeping my attention or interest.

So, anyone have any tips for a good novel or two? My favorite writers are Knut Hamsun, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Richard Ford, Albert Camus. I've enjoyed Jhumpa Lahiri, Philip Roth, FS Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Vlad Nabokov, Leo Tolstoy, Raymond Carver, Saul Bellow, Stephen Dixon, JP Sartre, John Cheever, Arthur Phillips, JM Coetzee.

Anybody got any ideas?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Smilin Ed H on January 08, 2016, 09:24:43 AM
Try Glen David Gold's Sunnyside.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on January 10, 2016, 09:53:11 AM
Thanks for the tip. I sold a dozen or so books and, while there, looked around for your suggestion, but it wasn't in stock. I'll keep an eye out, though.

I picked up I.B. Singer's "In My Father's Court," (while I had the second volume, I never had this one), Oleg Pavlov's "The Matiushin Case," and Sarah Hall's "The Beautiful Indifference."


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on January 24, 2016, 09:30:11 PM
James Hadley Chase - Strictly for Cash. Didn't finish the reading but it's interesting & adventurous.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on January 25, 2016, 06:50:47 AM
(https://ia801405.us.archive.org/zipview.php?zip=/32/items/olcovers660/olcovers660-L.zip&file=6605116-L.jpg)

Still reading this (I'm a slow reader). I hope to finish it soon.  :hat 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on February 01, 2016, 10:52:19 PM
Clotilde Landais "Stephen King As A Postmodern Author" (2012). I'm at page 60 & I like it. Interesting theories wrt "fictitious writer and doppelganger" during discussion of "The Dark Half" & "Secret Window, Secret Garden". I didn't read the books but watched the films. This is must-read for Stephen King fans.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: halblaineisgood on February 21, 2016, 10:00:35 PM
Eternal Troubadour: The Improbable Life Of Tiny Tim
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41EErJA09nL._SX349_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)



Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Smilin Ed H on February 22, 2016, 09:48:58 AM
http://fridaynightboys300.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/michael-chabon-telegraph-avenue.html

This, after owning it for four years. Sometimes life gets in the way.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on February 24, 2016, 11:06:47 PM
Alfred Hitchcock "Collection of short stories" (in Russian)
Agatha Christie "Miss Marple" (my favorite detective :3d)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Smilin Ed H on February 24, 2016, 11:09:32 PM
Apparently, he wasn't so tiny...  >:D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on February 25, 2016, 05:57:25 AM
Robert Lawrence Stine "Scarecrow walks at midnight". My favorite re-read in his "Goosebumps" series.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Smilin Ed H on February 25, 2016, 07:49:00 AM
Who cares about height?
::)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on February 25, 2016, 08:55:15 AM
Duck Tales comics. :3d


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on February 25, 2016, 09:58:09 AM
Calling for recommendations. I'm in a drought at the moment. I started reading Upton Sinclair's "The Millenium" and Gunter Grass's "The Tin Drum," and haven't advanced beyond the first couple dozen pages of either. At least at the moment, neither is keeping my attention or interest.

So, anyone have any tips for a good novel or two? My favorite writers are Knut Hamsun, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Richard Ford, Albert Camus. I've enjoyed Jhumpa Lahiri, Philip Roth, FS Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Vlad Nabokov, Leo Tolstoy, Raymond Carver, Saul Bellow, Stephen Dixon, JP Sartre, John Cheever, Arthur Phillips, JM Coetzee.

Anybody got any ideas?
Based on your Russian lit. enjoyment, I'd recommend Nikolai Gogol.
Based on the international aspect of your list, I'd recommend Kawabata for a start with Japanese literature or Naguib Mahfouz for Egyptian.
If you want further South African reading, you could try Nadine Gordimer or, if you like reading plays, Athol Fugard.
If you like literary criticism, Axels Castle by Edmund Wilson contains a great discussion of the movement that produced Fitzgerald and Hemingway and will lead you to several other interesting writers.
Based on your list I think you may enjoy Emile Zola or Guy de Maupassant.
My favorite Roth novels are the Zuckerman books. My favorite Nabokov is Pnin.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: 1-1-wonderful on February 25, 2016, 10:09:00 AM
The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov if not already mentioned.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Smilin Ed H on February 25, 2016, 10:10:33 AM
I asked about interesting info on musician's biography.  trivia about music. your "tiny" comment didn't seem to be about music. I'm not sure what the rolling eyes is for.

 :afro


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on February 26, 2016, 05:41:58 AM
And just what does his hairstyle have to do with it?!?!? Oh my god, my head is exploding.  ;D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on February 26, 2016, 05:50:01 AM
Emily and 1-1-wonderful, thanks for the suggestions. I've read several of them (Bulgakov, Gogol, and Wilson) but not several of the others. I've been reading Sarah Hall's short stories in The Beautiful Indifference but will look into some of those others.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: 1-1-wonderful on February 26, 2016, 06:38:44 AM
I recently read Time's Arrow and Zone of interest by Martin Amis

Both powerful takes on the Holocaust wildly divergent from one another or anything else


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on March 01, 2016, 06:46:50 PM
I bought these today. I plan to read them.
(http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328753053l/23296.jpg)(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/415xlCkOvxL._SX323_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41WWKQmYmZL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on March 01, 2016, 07:15:27 PM
The Joyce and Kafka books are two of my favourites.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on March 01, 2016, 08:09:51 PM
I sense the metamorphosis will be right up Bubbly Waves' alley. Bubbly Waves, have you read any Ionesco?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on March 01, 2016, 08:15:11 PM
Bubbly Waves, have you read any Ionesco?

No, I don't think I've ever heard of him/her.
Why do you ask?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on March 01, 2016, 08:17:22 PM
Bubbly Waves, have you read any Ionesco?

No, I don't think I've ever heard of him/her.
Why do you ask?
He was a major proponent of the 'theater of the absurd' movement, of which your writings remind me.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on March 01, 2016, 08:53:18 PM
Bubbly Waves, have you read any Ionesco?

No, I don't think I've ever heard of him/her.
Why do you ask?
He was a major proponent of the 'theater of the absurd' movement, of which your writings remind me.

Interesting. I'll have to check him out.  :)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Empire Of Love on March 02, 2016, 04:43:49 AM
Domain of Being/Ontology, by Celestine Bittle.

(http://www.amazon.com/Reality-Mind-Epistemology-Clestine-Bittle/dp/B000P1BECW#immersive-view_1456921374070)

I'm not sure my image link is going to work but if it does, it is just going to be a solid blue, hardback cover, not even for the book I'm reading but another in the same series which looks exactly the same except for the title on the spine.

What it is about:

In essence, virtually all of philosophy can be broken into two groups, realism and idealism.  Bittle is a moderate realist, as am I.  I am reading this book (and most of the series) because though I've read more than my fair share of philosophy throughout the years I have never systematically worked through my position, so I am attempting to do that now.  

Why it is important:

As at any given time in history we are being governed (whether externally or internally or both) by one of these two systems, in one way or another, and usually more ways than one, through academia, government, literature, news, etc, it seems good to familiarize oneself with both systems.  Yet I have found most people are unaware of either system, though examples can be multiplied of where these ideas overlap and directly influence our day to day lives.  Why then should one be governed unknowingly by these things rather than knowingly?  Perhaps one will find one prefers one system to the other and will take steps to align oneself accordingly.

EoL


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on March 02, 2016, 05:05:10 AM
I'm not sure my image link is going to work but if it does, it is just going to be a solid blue, hardback cover, not even for the book I'm reading but another in the same series which looks exactly the same except for the title on the spine.

This one?

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-2GIBI8ZL._SL500_SX373_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Empire Of Love on March 02, 2016, 05:24:08 AM
I'm not sure my image link is going to work but if it does, it is just going to be a solid blue, hardback cover, not even for the book I'm reading but another in the same series which looks exactly the same except for the title on the spine.

This one?

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-2GIBI8ZL._SL500_SX373_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

That is the one, or at least an instance of it.   :)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: bluesno1fann on March 04, 2016, 06:22:22 PM
Cloudstreet by Tim Winton. Though it lacks a coherent structure, it's definitely a very interesting story that spans several decades in the lives of two families living in the same house.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on March 05, 2016, 03:56:56 PM
Kafka's The Castle. Not really sure if I get this...

This is my reaction to Faulkner's the Sound and the Fury, which I am submerged in.

This, in my opinion, is one of the greatest novels ever written. Top 5, at least, for me. Would like to hear your thoughts on it.

Okay, finally got around to finishing it. I sure read a great deal less when I'm around a computer.
Anyway, I'm still not really sure what to think. I feel like I'm missing so many important details.

Wow, was anyone else aware of the entirely wretched-looking James Franco film adaptation of The Sound and the Fury? What the f*** is that guy doing


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on March 05, 2016, 04:01:53 PM
Kafka's The Castle. Not really sure if I get this...

This is my reaction to Faulkner's the Sound and the Fury, which I am submerged in.

This, in my opinion, is one of the greatest novels ever written. Top 5, at least, for me. Would like to hear your thoughts on it.

Okay, finally got around to finishing it. I sure read a great deal less when I'm around a computer.
Anyway, I'm still not really sure what to think. I feel like I'm missing so many important details.

Wow, was anyone else aware of the entirely wretched-looking James Franco film adaptation of The Sound and the Fury? What the f*** is that guy doing
Was not aware. The idea makes me a little queasy.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on March 05, 2016, 04:09:09 PM
Kafka's The Castle. Not really sure if I get this...

This is my reaction to Faulkner's the Sound and the Fury, which I am submerged in.

This, in my opinion, is one of the greatest novels ever written. Top 5, at least, for me. Would like to hear your thoughts on it.

Okay, finally got around to finishing it. I sure read a great deal less when I'm around a computer.
Anyway, I'm still not really sure what to think. I feel like I'm missing so many important details.

Wow, was anyone else aware of the entirely wretched-looking James Franco film adaptation of The Sound and the Fury? What the f*** is that guy doing
Was not aware. The idea makes me a little queasy.

Just wait 'til you see the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs6rYmlP2oM.
It all goes seriously downhill in a record-breaking 6 seconds.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on March 05, 2016, 05:00:34 PM
Excuse my language but sh*t. What's that face he's making?
I'm going to go throw up now.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on March 11, 2016, 08:47:49 PM
I've been reading a lot of Joyce lately. Stephen Dedalus' interactions with Eileen are so pained yet beautiful, and they're easily my favorite parts of this book (so far). The way he talks about her slender, pale fingers, or the episode at the rail station. I love it. Or the way he casts himself as Monte Cristo, gloomily replying, "Madame, I never eat Muscatel grapes," as he stands in her rose garden. Or the way it all topples over, and he finds himself stalking the streets of Dublin looking to find prostitutes. It's all gorgeous, romantic writing.

But now I find myself near the end. I've read about 40 pages of Stephen being an amateur philosopher and my head is spinning.

Also, reading the priest describe hell is probably the closest I've ever been to repenting for my sins.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: halblaineisgood on March 12, 2016, 09:36:47 PM
I wish I was reading the Norm Macdonald memoir. Supposed to be coming out sometime later this year.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on March 13, 2016, 06:26:10 AM
I've been reading a lot of Joyce lately. Stephen Dedalus' interactions with Eileen are so pained yet beautiful, and they're easily my favorite parts of this book (so far). The way he talks about her slender, pale fingers, or the episode at the rail station. I love it. Or the way he casts himself as Monte Cristo, gloomily replying, "Madame, I never eat Muscatel grapes," as he stands in her rose garden. Or the way it all topples over, and he finds himself stalking the streets of Dublin looking to find prostitutes. It's all gorgeous, romantic writing.

But now I find myself near the end. I've read about 40 pages of Stephen being an amateur philosopher and my head is spinning.

Also, reading the priest describe hell is probably the closest I've ever been to repenting for my sins.

I love this book. The angry political conversation around the table near the beginning of the book resonated quite a bit when I read it.

I agree with your point about it being gorgeous, romantic writing. The other day I picked up Ulysses and read about ten pages of it, not to really get into the story but to instead just briefly inhabit Joyce's world. I feel like the same is true with a writer like Faulkner who I believe you read before. You can just read a little bit and instantly know who the writer is.

Currently, I'm reading a great collection of Chekhov's short stories.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on March 13, 2016, 06:27:45 AM
I wish I was reading the Norm Macdonald memoir. Supposed to be coming out sometime later this year.

I hope it comes out! Norm is content to spend the bulk of his time doing stand-up but I'm sorry that he is unable to do movies or tv shows the way he'd like to do them. He's a brilliant comedian as far as I'm concerned.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on March 13, 2016, 03:14:04 PM
"I had never spoken to her, except for a few casual words, and yet her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood."

I love James Joyce.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on March 14, 2016, 02:59:19 PM
I've just been reading Bubs's hilarious "contribution" to Rocky's book. I'm still laughing. 

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,23026.msg565599.html#msg565599


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on March 14, 2016, 03:11:45 PM
I haven't read any Joyce in almost 20 years. I'd read Dubliners. Loved it. Read Portrait. Loved it. Read a few hundred pages of Ulysses. [Time passes.] And then the same few hundred pages of Ulysses. [Almost 20 years pass.] As smart as I felt I must look riding the bus to and from work, arrogant young-20-something I was, I felt that dumb. I just felt wholly unqualified to read it. But as for the other two I mentioned? You've actually inspired me to pull them off the shelf and read them again.

What? Finnegan's Wake? Um...waitissomeoneatthedoorgottagobye.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on March 15, 2016, 12:58:06 PM
Finnegan's Wake? Um...waitissomeoneatthedoorgottagobye.

Isn't that a word from Finnegan's Wake?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on March 15, 2016, 01:12:00 PM
I've just been reading Bubs's hilarious "contribution" to Rocky's book. I'm still laughing. 

:)


What? Finnegan's Wake? Um...waitissomeoneatthedoorgottagobye.

I actually started reading A Portrait... (and Dubliners) as a sort of primer for Ulysses. Which itself is a primer for Finnegans Wake. A Portrait, thankfully, turned out to be a great book in its own right, and I'm looking forward to reading Ulysses at some point. Finnegans Wake, on the other hand, I am not looking forward to. I sat down with it at a local bookstore a while back for about 30 minutes, understood none of it, and then promptly put the book back on the shelf and left the store.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on March 15, 2016, 01:45:53 PM
I've just been reading Bubs's hilarious "contribution" to Rocky's book. I'm still laughing. 

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,23026.msg565599.html#msg565599
It's brilliant.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on March 21, 2016, 04:27:36 AM
2 of my favorites that I read going to school - Monteiro Lobato's "Yellow Woodpecker Farm" & Gillian Rubinstein's "Space Demons". The last one is a trilogy, I'd like to know what happened to the kids in the 2nd & 3rd eps.

These are the versions of the covers I have: (https://j.livelib.ru/boocover/1000484557/l/9f16/Montejru_Lobatu__Orden_zheltogo_dyatla.jpg) (http://fantlab.ru/images/editions/big/31100)

As you see, they're both published under the same series "Little creatures". I have all the books by these series. Btw, "Space Demons" was translated by a well-known children author Irina Tokmakova. She has one of her books in the series as well.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on March 21, 2016, 04:53:38 AM
What have I been reading? OSD's hilarious YouTube comments about Mike's solo stuff... 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on March 21, 2016, 05:00:32 AM
I thought you don't like OSD? You posted pictures of yawning guy in response to his posts (& ofc Smile Brian's, rightly so).


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on March 21, 2016, 05:11:33 AM
I thought you don't like OSD? You posted pictures of yawning guy in response to his posts (& ofc Smile Brian's, rightly so).

The comments are hilarious because they are so predictable ("Tripe. Who's gonna listen to this sh*t?"). You can't accuse him of not being consistent. :smokin   


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on March 21, 2016, 05:14:32 AM
I thought you don't like OSD? You posted pictures of yawning guy in response to his posts (& ofc Smile Brian's, rightly so).

The comments are hilarious because they are so predictable ("Tripe. Who's gonna listen to this sh*t?"). You can't accuse him of not being consistent. :smokin   
I see. Though I'm willing to give the old guy benefit of the doubt. But not SB.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on March 21, 2016, 10:16:13 AM
After all the Joyce talk I re-read some Dubliners stories yesterday. They remain great. Shocking.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Smilin Ed H on March 21, 2016, 11:14:02 AM
Gary Clayton Anderson - The Conquest of Texas: Ethnic Cleansing in the Promised Land


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on March 21, 2016, 11:16:52 AM
Gary Clayton Anderson - The Conquest of Texas: Ethnic Cleansing in the Promised Land
Let me know how it is please.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Smilin Ed H on March 21, 2016, 11:27:18 AM
I'm really enjoying it. What has become accepted history (and poular entertainment and folklore) but seen from another angle


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on March 21, 2016, 11:29:48 AM
Any books about California that you can advise?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on March 21, 2016, 12:46:48 PM
Today I stopped into a bookstore to get "Boys Among Men," a book about the '90s and '00s phenomenon of high school stars going directly into the NBA. While superstars such as Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James were among those who did quite well for themselves going this route, there were also plenty of people who weren't able to stick, or even make, the league. The practice has since been banned by the NBA and its players union (in, I think, 2006 or so). The author is Jonathan Abrams. I look forward to reading it, being both from the state that took on the modern pioneer of the phenomenon (Kevin Garnett) and being a gigantic NBA (and even more so, NBA Draft) nerd.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: KDS on March 21, 2016, 01:00:13 PM
I'm actually currently reading Mark Dillion's 50 Sides of The Beach Boys.  It's pretty good so far, I'm about 3/4 finished.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on March 21, 2016, 01:27:00 PM
Any books about California that you can advise?

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51d4e%2B7JiSL._SX323_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

Not just about California but it figures prominently. And, of course, there's that Beach Boys connection.

I found it a heart-warming read.

Anyone else read it?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Peter Reum on March 22, 2016, 10:56:06 AM
The Great River by Paul Horgan Pulitzer Prize winner in history about the Rio Grande


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on March 26, 2016, 12:01:04 PM
I picked up the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation of Nikolai Leskov's "The Enchanted Wanderer and Other Stories." Having been a big fan of their Dostoevsky, Gogol, and Tolstoy translations, I am pretty excited about it. I also got Geza Vermes's "The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English."


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: MaryUSA on March 26, 2016, 12:04:01 PM
Hi all,

Liberty Weekend by Nevada Barr


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Empire Of Love on March 26, 2016, 01:37:30 PM
I picked up the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation of Nikolai Leskov's "The Enchanted Wanderer and Other Stories." Having been a big fan of their Dostoevsky, Gogol, and Tolstoy translations, I am pretty excited about it. I also got Geza Vermes's "The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English."

Interesting choice.  Do you know anything about the translation method used?  Also, does complete mean complete?  For example, more than one Isaiah scroll was found, including one complete scroll.  Is each one translated or is each variant noted in a single translation?  Or is it not completely complete?

EoL


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on March 26, 2016, 02:06:46 PM
I picked up the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation of Nikolai Leskov's "The Enchanted Wanderer and Other Stories." Having been a big fan of their Dostoevsky, Gogol, and Tolstoy translations, I am pretty excited about it. I also got Geza Vermes's "The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English."

Interesting choice.  Do you know anything about the translation method used?  Also, does complete mean complete?  For example, more than one Isaiah scroll was found, including one complete scroll.  Is each one translated or is each variant noted in a single translation?  Or is it not completely complete?

EoL

Re the "interesting choice," I've been reading (and finally almost finished) Robert Eisenman's "James, the Brother of Jesus," which as you may know tries to make the case that Paul is the "Wicked Priest" and James, or someone associated with him, is the "Teacher of Righteousness." While I find parts of that book fascinating, I find other parts unlikely. Regardless, when I saw a used copy of this, I figured it would be a great idea to have direct access to some of those scroll-books mentioned so often both in Eisenman and other books on the topic I've got. So now I've got my own copies of The Community Rule, The Damascus Document, etc.

I don't know the translation method at all, though presumably it's addressed somewhere within the book. But Vermes is certainly a well respected scholar in the field, and this version is praised by Lawrence Schiffman, so I'm pretty comfortable that it's not trash, anyway.

Regarding the completeness, no, it's not literally 100% complete. It doesn't include Biblical books or the smallest fragments. Vermes says in the introduction "While this translation does not claim to cover every fragment retrieved from the caves, it is complete in one sense: it offers in a readable form all the texts sufficiently well preserved to be understandable in English." He goes on to direct readers who want a literally complete translation of all texts to the more purely scholarly sources.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Smilin Ed H on March 30, 2016, 02:18:02 AM
Re-reading Catch 22 and would like to read this:

http://fridaynightboys300.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/the-genesis-of-joseph-hellers-catch-22.html


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on April 03, 2016, 01:47:23 PM
After pausing halfway through Dubliners, I've been reading some Kafka (which I understand almost none of) and finished "The Metamorphosis" today.
The one thing that strikes me most about this story is Gregor's cool detachment from his bug plight. He seems oddly accepting of it.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Empire Of Love on April 03, 2016, 05:13:31 PM
Captain,

Thank you for the explanation.  I had not looked at the data in a long, long time and was not considering just how many scrolls were found.  Kind of becomes a silly question to ask if it is complete.

Do you know of any work that collates the Biblical texts (amongst the scrolls) in terms of text-types (TR versus Alexandrian, or whatever method of categorization is current)?  I would be interested in such information and I suppose an analysis of this kind is out there...

EoL


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on April 03, 2016, 06:05:28 PM
I'm sorry, I don't understand this:

in terms of text-types (TR versus Alexandrian, or whatever method of categorization is current)

My education on these things is almost entirely independent (minus the conservative Lutheran upbringing, which frankly doesn't include scholarly work at all), so even if I did, I am pretty sure I can't answer the question. I just want to know more about what you mean.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Empire Of Love on April 06, 2016, 11:48:08 AM
So I made a boo boo.  The TR (which resembles the Majority/Byzantine Text) and Alexandrian text types are terms that apply to New Testament manuscripts and we are discussing Old Testament manuscripts.  Sorry about that.

My knowledge of the OT is far less than the NT (mostly because I have forgotten so much).  In the OT the debate is centered on the Masoretic Text versus everything else, more or less, including a Greek translation called the Septuagint (abbreviated as LXX).  The former is the text historically used by the Jews and is in Hebrew.  The latter is in Greek.  When English translations of the Old Testament differ, and the difference is not due to the method of translation employed, the difference is often due to the choice to prefer the LXX over the Hebrew/Masoretic Text.  The Catholic Bible may also contain lingering readings from the Latin Vulgate, though I am not certain about this.

With that said, I should have asked whether there is a resource that analyzes the scrolls in relation to their agreement with the Masoretic versus other texts.  However, I believe the Dead Sea Scrolls are known to support the Masoretic Text, which is even conceded on Wikipedia.  This should really come as no surprise as we are discussing a collection of Jewish books, the Jews have traditionally held to the Masoretic Text as genuine, and it is in the original language which is also the language of the Jews.

I've over simplified for the sake of brevity, and because I've forgotten more than I remember on the topic.

EoL


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on April 07, 2016, 10:31:20 AM
Thanks, I now see what you meant. I am familiar w/ Masoretic v Septuagint. And the books here as I understand them (prior to reading, mind you--just off of what I know) isn't really quite either: Masoretic were really not formalized until substantially later, and Septuagint was of course in Greek. The scrolls are mostly in Hebrew, with some Aramaiac, Greek, and I think tiny bits of others (eg Syriac).

As I understand it, as is true between MT and LXX, the scrolls' canonical texts are generally quite close to either/both. But there are differences: based on pure memory (I'm at work), there are some differences in Daniel, some reordered psalms, etc. and presumably plenty of the "minor" (depending on who you are and why you care) differences throughout.

Then of course there are the extracanonical books, which I'm interested in. Community Rule, War Scroll, the various commentaries, etc.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Empire Of Love on April 07, 2016, 04:12:29 PM
Thanks, I now see what you meant. I am familiar w/ Masoretic v Septuagint. And the books here as I understand them (prior to reading, mind you--just off of what I know) isn't really quite either: Masoretic were really not formalized until substantially later, and Septuagint was of course in Greek. The scrolls are mostly in Hebrew, with some Aramaiac, Greek, and I think tiny bits of others (eg Syriac).

As I understand it, as is true between MT and LXX, the scrolls' canonical texts are generally quite close to either/both. But there are differences: based on pure memory (I'm at work), there are some differences in Daniel, some reordered psalms, etc. and presumably plenty of the "minor" (depending on who you are and why you care) differences throughout.

Then of course there are the extracanonical books, which I'm interested in. Community Rule, War Scroll, the various commentaries, etc.

A quick survey of the information available amongst the first few Google hits indicate that where the MT and LXX disagree the DSS contain an MT reading 95% of the time and an LXX reading only 5% of the time.  I did not verify the accuracy of this claim.  However, all but one site affirmed that the DSS agree overwhelming with the MT.  I am not 100% sure what you mean when you say that the MT was formalized late, but I believe you are referring to the argument that the earliest copies of the MT are from AD 1000 (compared to the much earlier date of the LXX,  3rd century AD).  However, the scrolls have turned that idea upside down as I believe they date to the first century AD, or earlier.  So now we have a text essentially Masoretic in character that:

1. Predates the earliest LXX manuscript
2. Is in the original language and therefore does not contain the risk of translation errors
3. Has been held by the Jewish people to be the preserved text

An argument explaining the late date of the MT is the way that the Jewish scribes cared for each manuscript.  From what I have read not only was there great care taken in the copying process to ensure accuracy, but accuracy was so treasured that the physical scroll was destroyed once it began to fall apart.  If this is true, you would not expect to find a lot of early copies because they were regularly destroyed after a reliable copy had been made.  The reliability of their copying process is demonstrated by the complete Isaiah scroll found amongst the DSS.  The agreement between it and the earliest scroll prior to the DSS discovery is said to be astonishing - and they are dated 1000 years apart!

I find the OT scrolls interesting, less so the others.  I did read that nearly every scrap has been translated and published.  That must have taken quite some time given the number of fragments exceeds 15,000.

EoL


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on April 07, 2016, 04:46:34 PM
I guess what I meant--and keep in mind this education of mine is strictly individual, so there are holes I'm filling in all the time--is that as I understand it, the Masoretic texts were assembled and copied by that specific group (the Masoretes? Masorites? Something like that.) during a specific time that is later than DSS. I'm not saying the individual texts weren't around sooner, or that they weren't using those earlier texts. I'm saying that their particular group is the one that formally collected, chose from among, and maintained their canon. And yes, while their text may have many matches within DSS, let's keep in mind DSS also had other books that aren't considered canonical by modern Jews or Christians. Point not about discrediting the maintenance of the texts over time, but rather just pointing to the diversity of opinions.

My particular interest is mostly in the first century or two CE. I find it fascinating how modern Judaism and Christianity arose from what had come before, often using the same texts as previous Jews had used, but not always, and often with different theological conclusions, slants, and obviously rituals. So anyway, that's my little back story. And please excuse anything I am getting jumbled, or holes in my background: as I said, still working on it.

For those not interested in Biblical history: sorry! But I can switch quickly back to another one: I read the first story from my book of Leskov's short stories, "The Lady Macbeth of Mtensk," and loved it. Looking forward to the rest of the stories.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on April 07, 2016, 04:55:42 PM
I'm a bit interested in biblical history and took a history of early Christianity class at the Divinity School associated with my college, but you guys make me feel like an ignorant baby!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on April 07, 2016, 05:20:56 PM

2. Is in the original language and therefore does not contain the risk of translation errors
3. Has been held by the Jewish people to be the preserved text

An argument explaining the late date of the MT is the way that the Jewish scribes cared for each manuscript.  From what I have read not only was there great care taken in the copying process to ensure accuracy, but accuracy was so treasured that the physical scroll was destroyed once it began to fall apart.  If this is true, you would not expect to find a lot of early copies because they were regularly destroyed after a reliable copy had been made.  The reliability of their copying process is demonstrated by the complete Isaiah scroll found amongst the DSS.  The agreement between it and the earliest scroll prior to the DSS discovery is said to be astonishing - and they are dated 1000 years apart!


I meant to comment on this before. I think there's truth there, but also some flaws. Or if not flaws, maybe biases? I'll just say what I have to say and we can figure out the right term (I don't mean it as disparaging criticism, anyway) later. Or not.

"The original language" in your 2 above obviously is usually true. But remember there were multiple languages, including among Jews, around that turn of the era. Age. Millenium. Whatever. There were Greek-speaking Jewish communities, Aramaic, Syriac, and such, as well as Hebrew.

That leads to your 3, "held by the Jewish people..." To me, that's a bit like saying what is in the Catholic Bible has been "held by the Christian people..." It's true, of course ... but not the whole picture. What we have evidence of is that the Judaism that continued after the destruction of the temple--rabbinic Judaism, I believe, would be the best term? Forgive an ex-Lutheran's mistakes, here--had roots that went back at least to the DSS period (physical documents generally considered to be 200 BCE to somewhere pre-68 CE, I believe). But there are, as noted earlier, other docs that weren't maintained by the Masoretic traditions. There are also other Judaisms (Samaritan Judaism) that are different. There are of course also the various sects we don't know a ton about, but that are mentioned in Josephus, "church fathers," and others: Pharisees, Sadduccees, Essenes, Zealots, Sicarii, which have various descriptions here and there that sometimes overlap, sometimes conflict, etc., but mainly are mysteries. But long ramble short, what we have is evidence that this group (of many) indeed selected and carefully maintained the books it wanted to preserve with great accuracy and reverence. But that's not to say there weren't other traditions that aren't reflected.

I don't mean that in some "Da Vinci Code" conspiracy theory nonsense. I just mean it quite simply, that we know there were diverse philosophies and traditions within what we now call Judaism, but even as diverse as modern Judaism is, its evolutionary history isn't branching off from a single trunk that was set in or by the first century. It was always diverse, always changing, and then underwent dramatic trauma, especially in the late 60s through the end of the century. What came out had commonalities, but also a lot of differences, one of which of course eventually becomes what is recognizable as Christianity.

That was probably borderline incoherent. One last quick stab at coherence, then I'll just hope for the best: I don't think there was a single set of texts that were preserved by a single religion; rather, there were many texts and many sects, some of which were accurately compiled by what we came to know as the mainstream of a religion. The texts they chose to maintain were maintained, but there were more "texts" and more "theys."


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Empire Of Love on April 07, 2016, 05:51:24 PM
I guess what I meant--and keep in mind this education of mine is strictly individual, so there are holes I'm filling in all the time--is that as I understand it, the Masoretic texts were assembled and copied by that specific group (the Masoretes? Masorites? Something like that.) during a specific time that is later than DSS. I'm not saying the individual texts weren't around sooner, or that they weren't using those earlier texts. I'm saying that their particular group is the one that formally collected, chose from among, and maintained their canon. And yes, while their text may have many matches within DSS, let's keep in mind DSS also had other books that aren't considered canonical by modern Jews or Christians. Point not about discrediting the maintenance of the texts over time, but rather just pointing to the diversity of opinions.

My particular interest is mostly in the first century or two CE. I find it fascinating how modern Judaism and Christianity arose from what had come before, often using the same texts as previous Jews had used, but not always, and often with different theological conclusions, slants, and obviously rituals. So anyway, that's my little back story. And please excuse anything I am getting jumbled, or holes in my background: as I said, still working on it.

For those not interested in Biblical history: sorry! But I can switch quickly back to another one: I read the first story from my book of Leskov's short stories, "The Lady Macbeth of Mtensk," and loved it. Looking forward to the rest of the stories.

In reference to the Maserites (or however they are called), I follow you.  The area of interest for me is this: what is closest to the original document, the original Isaiah, for example.  Was the original text best preserved in the MT or the LXX?  For years scholars argued that the LXX was the best candidate.  The DSS has laid that argument to rest, largely.  Prior to the discovery of the DSS the only missing component in the pro-MT argument was the existence of an early manuscript with MT-like readings.  The DSS provided that.  In relation to those documents that wound up being called the TNKH, or as Christians refer to it, the Old Testament, the MT wins as best candidate for most likely to most accurately reflect the original documents.  The MT has always had on its side the original language in which these manuscripts were (mostly) written, least internal disagreement, as well as tradition.  With the DSS they now have antiquity as well.  To argue that a Greek translation of suspect origin with little to no tradition and greater internal disagreement (amongst the various available manuscripts) is a tough argument to make.  I understand you aren't making that argument, I point it out to show that the previously held view of the scholars is on the rocks.

EoL


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Empire Of Love on April 07, 2016, 06:18:37 PM

2. Is in the original language and therefore does not contain the risk of translation errors
3. Has been held by the Jewish people to be the preserved text

An argument explaining the late date of the MT is the way that the Jewish scribes cared for each manuscript.  From what I have read not only was there great care taken in the copying process to ensure accuracy, but accuracy was so treasured that the physical scroll was destroyed once it began to fall apart.  If this is true, you would not expect to find a lot of early copies because they were regularly destroyed after a reliable copy had been made.  The reliability of their copying process is demonstrated by the complete Isaiah scroll found amongst the DSS.  The agreement between it and the earliest scroll prior to the DSS discovery is said to be astonishing - and they are dated 1000 years apart!


I meant to comment on this before. I think there's truth there, but also some flaws. Or if not flaws, maybe biases? I'll just say what I have to say and we can figure out the right term (I don't mean it as disparaging criticism, anyway) later. Or not.

"The original language" in your 2 above obviously is usually true. But remember there were multiple languages, including among Jews, around that turn of the era. Age. Millenium. Whatever. There were Greek-speaking Jewish communities, Aramaic, Syriac, and such, as well as Hebrew.

That leads to your 3, "held by the Jewish people..." To me, that's a bit like saying what is in the Catholic Bible has been "held by the Christian people..." It's true, of course ... but not the whole picture. What we have evidence of is that the Judaism that continued after the destruction of the temple--rabbinic Judaism, I believe, would be the best term? Forgive an ex-Lutheran's mistakes, here--had roots that went back at least to the DSS period (physical documents generally considered to be 200 BCE to somewhere pre-68 CE, I believe). But there are, as noted earlier, other docs that weren't maintained by the Masoretic traditions. There are also other Judaisms (Samaritan Judaism) that are different. There are of course also the various sects we don't know a ton about, but that are mentioned in Josephus, "church fathers," and others: Pharisees, Sadduccees, Essenes, Zealots, Sicarii, which have various descriptions here and there that sometimes overlap, sometimes conflict, etc., but mainly are mysteries. But long ramble short, what we have is evidence that this group (of many) indeed selected and carefully maintained the books it wanted to preserve with great accuracy and reverence. But that's not to say there weren't other traditions that aren't reflected.

I don't mean that in some "Da Vinci Code" conspiracy theory nonsense. I just mean it quite simply, that we know there were diverse philosophies and traditions within what we now call Judaism, but even as diverse as modern Judaism is, its evolutionary history isn't branching off from a single trunk that was set in or by the first century. It was always diverse, always changing, and then underwent dramatic trauma, especially in the late 60s through the end of the century. What came out had commonalities, but also a lot of differences, one of which of course eventually becomes what is recognizable as Christianity.

That was probably borderline incoherent. One last quick stab at coherence, then I'll just hope for the best: I don't think there was a single set of texts that were preserved by a single religion; rather, there were many texts and many sects, some of which were accurately compiled by what we came to know as the mainstream of a religion. The texts they chose to maintain were maintained, but there were more "texts" and more "theys."

I think the following will clarify where we appear to disagree.  My comments are to be taken only in reference to books now commonly known as the Old Testament (or TNKH).  These books were written, for the most part, by Hebrew people who spoke and wrote Hebrew.  I am not attempting to make an argument about any other books and where the fit in and how or when the OT/TNKH became the OT/TNKH.  Of the books I am considering I don't believe any were originally written, or even alleged to have been originally written, in Greek.  FWIW, and in regards to the TNKH I think it is worth quite a bit, it is my understanding that even the Talmud/Kaballah, which teach that what the text most plainly says is what is least means, quote a TNKH which is very much in agreement with the MT.  I have not verified this because I cannot read Hebrew (though I could ask my brother as he does).  And my recollection could also be wrong, but to the best of my recollection this is not a disputed claim, even if not true in every single instance where the Talmud cites the TNKH.  Why is this important?  Because the Talmud/Kaballah is antagonistic toward the "plain reading" of the text.  If anyone were going to change the text or use another text in order to support a reading contrary to the plain reading, it would be those who authored the Talmud (or those who wrote down the oral tradition).  But instead they used a text that agrees with the MT and found ways to have the words mean the opposite of what common sense would dictate.  I cannot give examples at present because it has simply been too long since I have considered these things.  This may also mean my entire recollection is faulty.  If so, I apologize to those who have been following along, you really should double-check for yourself.

Regarding #3, the same can be said.  In relation to the books of the TNKH, the Jewish people have, with near unanimity, held to the MT as opposed to the LXX.  Have some also chosen to accept other documents, the Talmud for example, as authoritative?  Of course.  But as noted above, even the Talmud agrees that in relation to the TNKH the MT is the superior text.

So if my comments are taken to refer only to the TNKH, then I believe the apparent flaws/bias disappears.

With that said, I do not agree that the waters are as muddy as you have implied as to when and how the books of the OT came to be accepted as "canon", but that is for another discussion.

EoL


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on April 17, 2016, 09:31:34 AM
I ordered both A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton and Trouble Boys: The Story of The Replacements. The latter arrived before the former, so I've been reading that and really enjoying it. The story is so well-told and interesting; it's one of those books I have trouble putting down once I start reading. A Man Called Destruction just arrived last night, and I skipped to and read a bit about his friendship with Teenage Fanclub. I'm curious as to how these books will intersect.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on April 17, 2016, 09:37:20 AM
I'm curious as to how these books will intersect.

Presumably somewhere shortly before Pleased to Meet Me, at least!

And now all of a sudden I remembered how much I loved Westerberg's NYT memorial to Chilton. I searched for it and read it again, laughing at the story of their last meeting. And at Westerberg's last few lines here. Heh.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/21/opinion/21westerberg.html?scp=1&sq=westerberg&st=cse


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on April 17, 2016, 10:56:03 AM
I have Pleased to Meet Me signed by all the Replacements. Paul Westerberg wrote, "Don't be so polite." One of my most treasured material possessions.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on April 17, 2016, 11:10:07 AM
That's great. He's among our state treasures.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Mr. Verlander on April 17, 2016, 02:40:41 PM
I ordered both A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton and Trouble Boys: The Story of The Replacements. The latter arrived before the former, so I've been reading that and really enjoying it. The story is so well-told and interesting; it's one of those books I have trouble putting down once I start reading. A Man Called Destruction just arrived last night, and I skipped to and read a bit about his friendship with Teenage Fanclub. I'm curious as to how these books will intersect.

I want to read "A Man Called Destruction". I've read the Big Star biography already. It's kinda disappointing because their career as a band was so short, there isn't a lot to write about. I'd like to know more about Bell and Chilton's relationship though. I know they weren't the best of friends, but Alex did support Bell getting his record out, even though they had fallen out a bit.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SMiLE Brian on April 17, 2016, 04:25:15 PM
I have Pleased to Meet Me signed by all the Replacements. Paul Westerberg wrote, "Don't be so polite." One of my most treasured material possessions.

That is quite the item!!!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: KDS on April 18, 2016, 05:11:55 AM
I just starting reading John Fogerty's autobiography.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: The LEGENDARY OSD on April 18, 2016, 12:33:10 PM
Reading, with uncontrolled spasms of delight, the latest news on the " Welcome to the Smiley Smile Board" site.  :happydance


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on April 18, 2016, 12:39:10 PM
I know you two didn't get along and he was as rude to you as you to him, but that's still a shitty thing to say.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: The LEGENDARY OSD on April 18, 2016, 12:45:32 PM
Why?  ???


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on April 18, 2016, 01:10:52 PM
I am finding myself relating to both Chilton and Westerberg to a surprising degree.
I can easily see why there were friends.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on April 18, 2016, 01:28:10 PM
Reading, with uncontrolled spasms of delight, the latest news on the " Welcome to the Smiley Smile Board" site.  :happydance

When are you gonna go back to being banned?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Alan Smith on April 18, 2016, 03:16:09 PM
Reading, with uncontrolled spasms of delight, the latest news on the " Welcome to the Smiley Smile Board" site.  :happydance

When are you gonna go back to being banned?
The Million dollar question.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on April 18, 2016, 03:41:15 PM
At long last--nine months or so (?) of on-and-off reading--I have finished Robert Eisenman's "James the Brother of Jesus." Absolutely fascinating book, and absolutely HORRIBLY written. It's something of a scholarly book, but that's not the problem. The problem is Eisenman's writing. He is the king of unnecessarily complicated (and confusing) phrases that make reading tedious. Whether double negatives, unnecessary repetition of certain phrases and ideas, the "overuse" of "quotation marks" as one might see "on this very board" making it confusing considering the number of actual quotes throughout the book ... on and on. Just terribly written.

That said, for those into this kind of thing (i.e., EoL and probably nobody else!), it's fascinating. (And EoL, I'm quite certain you'd dismiss it.) Basically, Eisenman is saying that James or someone like him / of his community is the leader of the Qumran community, which practiced the Jerusalem brand of pre-Christianity/Judaism described in the Bible. He claims James to be Jesus' natural, full brother, and says in short that he and the other named brothers Jude and Simon are then multiplied into numerous characters to flesh out the list of the 12 and others. He also has Paul as "the Liar" found in various Dead Sea Scrolls, painting him as a very anti-Jamesian force (which isn't hard to imagine considering canonical text) who is aligned with (and possibly related to) corrupt Herodian/Roman establishment. Obviously there's a lot more going on, but those are some of the keys.

My recently purchased DSS book was purchased so I would have a reference I could read on my own. (Haven't yet.)

But that's 1,000 content-rich, poorly written pages DONE. Finally. Now it can sit on my bookshelf and make me look smart  ;D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: You Kane, You Commanded, You Conquered on April 18, 2016, 08:45:42 PM
Picked up Gravity's Rainbow recently after having put it off for a while. At this rate I should finish it by the next millennium.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SMiLE Brian on April 19, 2016, 04:02:20 AM
Reading, with uncontrolled spasms of delight, the latest news on the " Welcome to the Smiley Smile Board" site.  :happydance

When are you gonna go back to being banned?
  ???


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on April 19, 2016, 04:49:18 AM
Picked up Gravity's Rainbow recently after having put it off for a while. At this rate I should finish it by the next millennium.

I first read the extraordinary Gravity's Rainbow in late '77, which is when I bought David Bowie's album Heroes. Those two are inextricably linked in my mind.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on April 23, 2016, 03:56:09 AM
Had plans to revisit Neil Gaiman's "Coraline". I like it as I do animated film, tho at 1st I was slightly disappointed that the characters didn't look as I imagined them. Then again, the visuals are bound to be diff. People read the same book and picture the events, people in thousand ways. One of those could align with the screen adaptation. Mine usually don't.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on May 11, 2016, 07:52:57 AM
I'm starting Victor Hugo's Les Miserables and Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy. They are both giant books so we'll see how that goes.

I'm also doing research for an article on top of it.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on May 11, 2016, 08:06:24 AM
Had plans to revisit Neil Gaiman's "Coraline". I like it as I do animated film, tho at 1st I was slightly disappointed that the characters didn't look as I imagined them. Then again, the visuals are bound to be diff. People read the same book and picture the events, people in thousand ways. One of those could align with the screen adaptation. Mine usually don't.
I really liked The Sandman series. Not really a graphic novel reader, but it fell into my hands.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on May 11, 2016, 08:08:28 AM
I'm starting Victor Hugo's Les Miserables and Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy. They are both giant books so we'll see how that goes.

I'm also doing research for an article on top of it.
I really like a lot of French lit. but not so much Victor Hugo. What's your specialty, literature-wise?
I read all of however-many-thousand-or-so pages of Clarissa and much of it went by surprisingly quickly. Very soapy. But some parts dragged.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on May 11, 2016, 08:30:16 AM
My specialty is Canadian literature - but in my personal reading time I tend to be much broader in scope. Thanks for asking!

I have just started LM but I do enjoy it so far. I can see its influence on Tolstoy. I do like a lot of French lit too but I can see how Hugo doesn't quite fit comfortably with a lot of the great examples of French literature.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: MaryUSA on May 11, 2016, 08:31:33 AM
Hi all,

Today I am reading Sweet Harmony by Luanne McClane.  It is a very good romance book.  A nice and short read is all I have time for today.  I would suggest this book for those who like country music.  


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on May 11, 2016, 08:40:08 AM
My specialty is Canadian literature - but in my personal reading time I tend to be much broader in scope. Thanks for asking!

I have just started LM but I do enjoy it so far. I can see its influence on Tolstoy. I do like a lot of French lit too but I can see how Hugo doesn't quite fit comfortably with a lot of the great examples of French literature.
Ooh. I'm embarrassingly ignorant. Other than Atwood and Munro, what would you recommend as THE Canadian fiction?

I confess to only having read The Hunchback...


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: 1-1-wonderful on May 11, 2016, 08:54:15 AM
I, Claudius

by Robert Graves


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on May 11, 2016, 08:58:26 AM
Here's a book I'm looking forward to, coming out in English soon already out in English(!): http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/apr/18/solution-everything-working-less-work-pressure

Drives me nuts that we work so many hours when productivity is so much higher. Shouldn't we be buying time for ourselves with all that income, rather than a third house for the CEO?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/free-money-might-be-the-best-way-to-end-poverty/2013/12/29/679c8344-5ec8-11e3-95c2-13623eb2b0e1_story.html


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Empire Of Love on May 11, 2016, 09:14:33 AM
I'm starting Victor Hugo's Les Miserables and Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy. They are both giant books so we'll see how that goes.

I'm also doing research for an article on top of it.

One of the last books I read before taking quite a long reading sabbatical was Les Miserable.  While I loved the book and am glad I read the unabridged version, there were certainly portions that seemed to drag on.  It was rewarding to get through it.

Regarding Russell's History of Western Philosophy, I'm not a fan of Russell (nor Wittgenstein, Whitehead, etc), as I believe they did more harm than good to philosophy.  With that said, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts when you complete the book.  I am wondering whether he tackles the actual history (so and so thought thus and such) or is it more of an "argument" against what has gone before (so and so thought thus and such which was proven wrong by his successor).  Let me know your thoughts when you are done, or even as you go.

Edit: I read a few reviews of Russell's book, including by people who gave it five stars, and it appears the latter is the case.  One of the common complaints about the book is that Russell exhibits intolerance for views at odds with his own (I know he has a very particular view of logic and metaphysics, so I can imagine who he berates and from what angle).  I would still like to hear your thoughts, in particular on what he says about Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Hume and Kant.

EoL


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on May 11, 2016, 09:36:49 AM
Am reading the new Paul McCartney bio. Interesting so far.
Wanted some light reading so have started The Inimitable Mr. Jeeves by Wodehouse.

At times when really stressed out, have been reading the Illustrated Beatrix Potter. Next story - "The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle".  ;D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: MaryUSA on May 11, 2016, 09:54:53 AM
Hi all,

I read the book about Paul McCartney recently.  It is excellent!!!  A must read for fans of his and anyone who likes The Beatles. 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on May 11, 2016, 10:04:36 AM
My specialty is Canadian literature - but in my personal reading time I tend to be much broader in scope. Thanks for asking!

I have just started LM but I do enjoy it so far. I can see its influence on Tolstoy. I do like a lot of French lit too but I can see how Hugo doesn't quite fit comfortably with a lot of the great examples of French literature.
Ooh. I'm embarrassingly ignorant. Other than Atwood and Munro, what would you recommend as THE Canadian fiction?

Not embarrassing! There are many national literatures that I wish I had more time to know more about but unfortunately time is limited for all of us.

It is difficult to pick one text. Atwood and Munro's reputations are, in my view, justified, especially the latter. I do love Timothy Findley's Not Wanted On The Voyage and, when push comes to shove, would probably name it as my favourite book written by a Canadian author. The content, though, has very little to do with Canada unless I am missing some sort of symbolic point. Ranking close to Findley's novel would be Sheila Watson's The Double Hook, Morley Callaghan's Such Is My Beloved, and Thomas King's Green Grass Running Water. I would be proud to put those on any course syllabus. The Double Hook, especially, works as a fantastic mythopoetic construction of place in the same vein as Faulkner's construction of the American south.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on May 11, 2016, 10:12:45 AM
I'm starting Victor Hugo's Les Miserables and Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy. They are both giant books so we'll see how that goes.

I'm also doing research for an article on top of it.

One of the last books I read before taking quite a long reading sabbatical was Les Miserable.  While I loved the book and am glad I read the unabridged version, there were certainly portions that seemed to drag on.  It was rewarding to get through it.

Regarding Russell's History of Western Philosophy, I'm not a fan of Russell (nor Wittgenstein, Whitehead, etc), as I believe they did more harm than good to philosophy.  With that said, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts when you complete the book.  I am wondering whether he tackles the actual history (so and so thought thus and such) or is it more of an "argument" against what has gone before (so and so thought thus and such which was proven wrong by his successor).  Let me know your thoughts when you are done, or even as you go.

Edit: I read a few reviews of Russell's book, including by people who gave it five stars, and it appears the latter is the case.  One of the common complaints about the book is that Russell exhibits intolerance for views at odds with his own (I know he has a very particular view of logic and metaphysics, so I can imagine who he berates and from what angle).  I would still like to hear your thoughts, in particular on what he says about Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Hume and Kant.

EoL

Haha - well, in the introduction, he has already labelled the ideas of Descartes and Kant as "insanity" (don't have the book in front of me so I can't say with certainly if he says exactly that about Kant but he definitely uses that word to describe Descartes' philosophy). I'm not particularly bothered by this kind of intolerance - not because I agree with it, but because I am reading the book from a distance, not necessarily looking to take on Russell's particular views but to, instead, gain some insight from his sweeping historical analysis. I also like writers who are opinionated even if I don't share the opinions. I can see the worry though that some might have about readers taking on these views. I will let you know my thoughts on the text as I read more of it.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 13, 2016, 10:05:50 AM
Had plans to revisit Neil Gaiman's "Coraline". I like it as I do animated film, tho at 1st I was slightly disappointed that the characters didn't look as I imagined them. Then again, the visuals are bound to be diff. People read the same book and picture the events, people in thousand ways. One of those could align with the screen adaptation. Mine usually don't.
I really liked The Sandman series. Not really a graphic novel reader, but it fell into my hands.
What is "graphic novel"? If the series are in horror/surreal genre, I'm interested.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on May 13, 2016, 10:42:14 AM
Had plans to revisit Neil Gaiman's "Coraline". I like it as I do animated film, tho at 1st I was slightly disappointed that the characters didn't look as I imagined them. Then again, the visuals are bound to be diff. People read the same book and picture the events, people in thousand ways. One of those could align with the screen adaptation. Mine usually don't.
I really liked The Sandman series. Not really a graphic novel reader, but it fell into my hands.
What is "graphic novel"? If the series are in horror/surreal genre, I'm interested.
A graphic novel is basically a long-form comic. A complete full story done with drawings.
The Sandman series was an earlier Gaiman series that's dark, mildly philosophical, mildly funny. I found it really interesting and entertaining.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 13, 2016, 10:50:11 AM
Hey, I like comics. That Gaiman seems diverse. My favorite comics used to be Calvin & Hobbes, Duck Tales (imo much interesting than cartoon) and Garfield. Are you an avid comic fan, what's your favorites besides the Sandman?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on May 13, 2016, 11:02:12 AM
Hey, I like comics. That Gaiman seems diverse. My favorite comics used to be Calvin & Hobbes, Duck Tales (imo much interesting than cartoon) and Garfield. Are you an avid comic fan, what's your favorites besides the Sandman?
I won't say I'm an avid comic fan because I haven't sought them out. But a number of good comics have come my way. My brother is an avid comic fan. He collects comics, knows trivia, etc. A bit like an Andrew Doe of comics.
In terms of comic strip-type comics, I've really enjoyed Calvin and Hobbes, Bloom County, Doonesbury and Peanuts.
Kids' graphic novels that I've enjoyed are Asterix, Tin Tin and Zita the Space Girl.
The adult ones that I've read are just two series that my brother particularly recommended to me: Sandman and Bone by Jeff Smith. There's a character called Emily the Strange that, back in the '90s my brother used to give me joke gifts of - cards and mugs and things - because the name and (he thought) the strangeness matched me. And the cats. I think that some Emily the Strange books were written later - she was originally just a logo that kind of caught on - but I never read them.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on May 13, 2016, 11:18:31 AM
I'm going to add my favorite - I forgot her because I put her in a different place in my brain because I love it so much; and you might enjoy it too, it's really dark and probably disturbing to a lot of people:
Cruddy by Lynda Barry. My god it's good. One of my favorite books.
She also did an earlier one, The Good Times are Killing Me, which was good, but a bit more serial comic strip like and less novelistic and less deeply involving.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 13, 2016, 11:21:00 AM
Cool! I'd like to have comics with my name. Your brother has good hobby - much better than collecting knives and bubble gum stickers.
Of the mentioned, I heard of Asterix - saw the french films - and Tin Tin. Used to watch that cartoon show, alternating with Heathcliff (about cat) and Rocky & Bullwinkle.
I like cats and would like smb. out there to create a really good friendly comics. NOT antropomorphic, just with human speech ability. I'm fed up with shows showing animals dressed like people, some even go further - animal head complete with human bod.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on May 13, 2016, 11:23:30 AM
I know of a Japanese comic/manga series called Uzumaki which I quite like. It's horror, so it could be what you're looking for, RR.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 13, 2016, 11:25:23 AM
I'm going to add my favorite - I forgot her because I put her in a different place in my brain because I love it so much; and you might enjoy it too, it's really dark and probably disturbing to a lot of people:
Cruddy by Lynda Barry. My god it's good. One of my favorite books.
She also did an earlier one, The Good Times are Killing Me, which was good, but a bit more serial comic strip like and less novelistic and less deeply involving.
Disturbing as in "gore"? As a horror fan, I'm OK with it.
Either way, thanks for suggestion, I'll check it out out of curiousity.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 13, 2016, 11:29:46 AM
I know of a Japanese comic/manga series called Uzumaki which I quite like. It's horror, so it could be what you're looking for, RR.
Well, you see, I'm not fan of J culture/anything (um, broadly speaking, anything Asian) but I will try to fight off my shallow views/prejudice and see if it's good.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on May 13, 2016, 11:35:28 AM
I'm going to add my favorite - I forgot her because I put her in a different place in my brain because I love it so much; and you might enjoy it too, it's really dark and probably disturbing to a lot of people:
Cruddy by Lynda Barry. My god it's good. One of my favorite books.
She also did an earlier one, The Good Times are Killing Me, which was good, but a bit more serial comic strip like and less novelistic and less deeply involving.
Disturbing as in "gore"? As a horror fan, I'm OK with it.
Either way, thanks for suggestion, I'll check it out out of curiousity.
Hmm. I guess being a horror fan might be for several different reasons. It's not gory, per se, but there's some grim knife action. It's more emotionally disturbing. Very blunt and raw.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 13, 2016, 11:58:56 AM
No, I like different kinds of horror, I just associate "disturbing" with "gore". I said "as a horror fan" because people I asked why they don't watch horrors, they'd usually say they're scared of slasher scenes, with cutting head, half the body, taking out eyeballs, car smashing passer-by etc. Hence my post.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on May 13, 2016, 12:02:21 PM
No, I like different kinds of horror, I just associate "disturbing" with "gore". I said "as a horror fan" because people I asked why they don't watch horrors, they'd usually say they're scared of slasher scenes, with cutting head, half the body, taking out eyeballs, car smashing passer-by etc. Hence my post.
Here's a quick and accurate review. I haven't read it in years. I used to give copies of it to everyone.  I'm going to have to reread it now. I'm so excited.
https://www.nytimes.com/books/99/09/05/bib/990905.rv103629.html


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 13, 2016, 12:13:22 PM
Thanks very much, I imagined following what I read and it's cool. I really like the cover, she reminds me of Sofia Coppola. pretty in a freakish way.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 13, 2016, 12:17:39 PM
& btw, like the fact that I indirectly made smb. to rmbr their favorite book. Who woulda thunk!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on May 13, 2016, 12:25:03 PM
& btw, like the fact that I indirectly made smb. to rmbr their favorite book. Who woulda thunk!
:-)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: alf wiedersehen on May 13, 2016, 01:25:28 PM
I know of a Japanese comic/manga series called Uzumaki which I quite like. It's horror, so it could be what you're looking for, RR.
Well, you see, I'm not fan of J culture/anything (um, broadly speaking, anything Asian) but I will try to fight off my shallow views/prejudice and see if it's good.

To be honest, I'm not a big fan of manga either, but I like this one a whole lot. It has some really cool art in it, like this:
(http://ih0.redbubble.net/image.111070921.0952/flat,800x800,070,f.u2.jpg)

I actually have that on a t-shirt.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on May 13, 2016, 08:45:02 PM
My specialty is Canadian literature - but in my personal reading time I tend to be much broader in scope. Thanks for asking!

I have just started LM but I do enjoy it so far. I can see its influence on Tolstoy. I do like a lot of French lit too but I can see how Hugo doesn't quite fit comfortably with a lot of the great examples of French literature.
Ooh. I'm embarrassingly ignorant. Other than Atwood and Munro, what would you recommend as THE Canadian fiction?

Not embarrassing! There are many national literatures that I wish I had more time to know more about but unfortunately time is limited for all of us.

It is difficult to pick one text. Atwood and Munro's reputations are, in my view, justified, especially the latter. I do love Timothy Findley's Not Wanted On The Voyage and, when push comes to shove, would probably name it as my favourite book written by a Canadian author. The content, though, has very little to do with Canada unless I am missing some sort of symbolic point. Ranking close to Findley's novel would be Sheila Watson's The Double Hook, Morley Callaghan's Such Is My Beloved, and Thomas King's Green Grass Running Water. I would be proud to put those on any course syllabus. The Double Hook, especially, works as a fantastic mythopoetic construction of place in the same vein as Faulkner's construction of the American south.
I'm going to try the Findley and the Watson to start. I have read a few books each by Atwood and Monro, but seeing as Canada's right there I feel awkward knowing so little. I spent three years in Buffalo and drove to Toronto a few times. Like, for an overnight just-something-to-do-on-the-weekend thing. I mean, it's right there!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on July 31, 2016, 02:46:39 PM
I've been reading the wondrous posts of Hank Briarstem.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: undercover-m on August 02, 2016, 10:37:21 PM
I have immersed myself in the world of Raymond Carver. Read What People Talk About When They Talk About Love as well as Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?. Each is a collection of short stories. Wonderful stuff.
Both have been a pleasure to read. Carver often incorporates the emotional turmoil of adultery and imagery of the Pacific Northwest where he was born.

I might take up some non-fiction reading next, however, but if that doesn't work out, I can fall back on Carver's Elephant :D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on August 04, 2016, 07:19:20 AM
I might take up some non-fiction reading next, however, but if that doesn't work out, I can fall back on Carver's Elephant :D

As long as you don't fall under Carver's Elephant. (Sorry about that.)

I see some most interesting reads listed "across the road", even a Pynchon.

I have had reader's block for years (did I really understand that sentence? Will I remember this later?) but at one time I did a lot of reading: V , The Crying of Lot 49 and Gravity's Rainbow (twice), the early novels of J.P. Donleavy (all multiple times), Slaughterhouse 5, The Sotweed Factor, everything by Kafka except America, Luke Reinhardt's The Dice Man...

Now I just browse through books about music. And most relaxing it is too...       


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: undercover-m on August 04, 2016, 01:02:32 PM
I might take up some non-fiction reading next, however, but if that doesn't work out, I can fall back on Carver's Elephant :D

As long as you don't fall under Carver's Elephant. (Sorry about that.)
Eh, you got a chuckle out of me :P.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Loaf on August 04, 2016, 02:26:53 PM
I've been reading a lot of graphic novels recently:

Adrian Tomine  - Killing and Dying
Chester Brown - Biography of Louis Riel
Gilberto Hernandez - Love and Rockets (vol.1)
Jeff Smith - entire Bone series
Paolo Parisi - Coltrane
Alan Moore - From Hell

All of these are brilliant.

I would HIGHLY recommend Adrian Tomine's Killing & Dying for anyone who wants to read literate graphic novels. His storytelling is on a par with Raymond Carver.
https://www.drawnandquarterly.com/killing-and-dying

and Jeff Smith's Bone series is up there with all literature.

For anyone who wants to get into graphic novels, Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics is a great place to start!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on August 07, 2016, 12:42:48 AM
Herbert Wells "The Time Machine". Lilian Jackson Braun "The Cat Who Tailed a Thief". Masters of detective (Hadley Chase etc).


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Cool Cool Water on August 07, 2016, 04:14:53 AM
I'm currently reading "Terry Jones' Medieval Lives" which is the BBC book following the series.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on August 20, 2016, 05:32:10 PM
Read - So Close to Home: A True Story of an American Family's Fight for Survival During World War II, by Tougias and O'Leary.
This book concerns a family (parents, two children) onboard a banana freighter headed back to the US from South America in May 1942. Just off the coast of Louisiana south of New Orleans the ship was torpedoed by a UBoat.
Found the book very compelling reading, showing the family's plight after the attack. The book also gives info about the UBoat commanders, and the bizarre "war etiquette" they used.

Am presently reading two books, Hemingways A Moveable Feast about his time in Paris in the 1920s - fascinating, although no one comes off well so far - maybe there was a nice cat or dog mentioned lol.
The other book is Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance. Vance, a "hillbilly", is describing the culture found in parts of America, lower income White people who can't seem to get ahead, and why. I'm a third of the way through the book. Haven't made up my mind how I feel about it yet.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: undercover-m on August 21, 2016, 11:43:12 AM
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on September 06, 2016, 08:15:18 AM
Reading Perry Mason books - "The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink" & "The Case of the Nervous Accomplice". I've got them in library as giveaway. Every day the library personnel leaves the books in the hall's windowsill for anybody to take home. People pick the books they like; by the end of day, it's empty. Then tomorrow, the other bunch is brought out. Isn't it fantastic? :3d Btw, it isn't just old irrelevant books like "Windows '98", about communists. There's new stuff too, ca. 2012 etc.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on September 06, 2016, 08:42:51 AM
when I was working at the local dental school, outside of the library was a bookshelf with books of all types. People could take one, donate one, etc.
Our local libraries have these as well. The books are either free, or for next to nothing in cost.
They're good places to get mysteries, 'who done it' books etc. also cookbooks.

P.S. For 3 years we had in my department a resident whose last name was Jardine. He was from the central US. Never got the nerve to ask him if he was related in any way to Al...


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on September 06, 2016, 03:38:44 PM
Here, we've got bigger choice than you. It isn't just "place to get mysteries". There is classic literature too - Shakespeare, Chaucer, Wordsworth, Whitman, Hemingway etc. It's a good chance for people to build their house library. I like the idea.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on September 06, 2016, 05:14:58 PM
That's great that the library offers those books.
Unfortunately I don't think most Americans are into "heavy" reading. We're losing the patience to read things where we actually have to think, to take our time with difficult concepts. A lot of us want to know from someone else (a politician, or the media) what opinions to have. Sad.

Off my "soapbox" now.

Am presently reading John Fogerty's Fortunate Son. Good book, but a downer. Wish I had decided to read it at a different time, as he's starting to relate problems with band members. I'll be reading more about stuff like that when another book comes out next week, written by someone who's discussed a great deal on this board.   :)
The other book I'm reading has the provocative title The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu by Joshua Hammer, on their quest to save precious manuscripts from many hundreds of years ago, which are in danger of being destroyed by Al Qaeda. Fascinating so far.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SurfRapGrungeFiend on September 12, 2016, 04:42:48 PM
The oracle glass by judith merkle


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: rab2591 on September 12, 2016, 05:45:22 PM
The Final Days - Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SurfRapGrungeFiend on September 15, 2016, 12:36:16 PM
1997 jeep cherokee xj factory service manual figuring out the best way to change heater core.. Without completely removing dash


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on September 23, 2016, 05:48:08 AM
"Murder on the Orient Express" - rare case when the book beats various adaptations. I watched some, didn't like. When reading the book, I pictured the characters differently (duh). It was perfect cast. I could be good casting director. :3d Bottom line: this is classic for reason.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on September 28, 2016, 11:48:32 PM
I've read more than my share of modern German history, but this book review is fascinating:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/books/hitler-ascent-volker-ullrich.html


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on September 29, 2016, 07:08:01 AM
Thank you, Emily, for this.
I will add this to my reading list. Have read numerous books about Hitler, and Germany, during that turbulent time period. Maybe one day I will fully understand exactly how his rise to power was able to happen, and especially why the German people were so willing to go along with his (stuff).
As someone with 3/4 German ancestry, I am repulsed by him, but have an obsession to watch or read anything about him that becomes available.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on September 29, 2016, 10:18:25 AM
Thank you, Emily, for this.
I will add this to my reading list. Have read numerous books about Hitler, and Germany, during that turbulent time period. Maybe one day I will fully understand exactly how his rise to power was able to happen, and especially why the German people were so willing to go along with his (stuff).
As someone with 3/4 German ancestry, I am repulsed by him, but have an obsession to watch or read anything about him that becomes available.

This post is lifted from my other forum. The book from which it comes, which I don't think has been translated into English yet (I may be wrong), contains lengthy passages about Hitler, told (according to my wife who is reading the Dutch version) disarmingly but with utter detachment. I cannot believe that there won't be an English-language edition soon...

We drove through a tunnel and all of a sudden a fjord lay beneath us, wide and blue, with farmhouses here and there along one shore and along the other a steep treeless mountain slope, bluish in the hazy sunlight. ... And Vanja's voice from the back seat. [Vanja is the author's elder daughter, then five or six years old.]
"When are we there, daddy?"
"It's not much further. Chin up."
"But it's so boring, daddy!"
"Look at that! A waterfall on the other side!"
"I can see it."
"Shall I put some music on?"
"Yes."
So I put on Dennis Wilson, which is what Vanja calls car music every time I play it at home. In the mirror I saw her leaning back, looking blankly out of the window.

Translated by jk from the Dutch version of part 6 of Min camp (My Struggle) by the Norwegian author Karl Knausgård.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Ove_Knausgard


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 08, 2016, 02:38:08 AM
New kettle instruction - jolly interesting.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on October 10, 2016, 11:16:48 AM
I see the first 5 volumes of the Knausgard available. Is that series worth looking into? Trying to expand my horizons by reading more International writers.

RR1 - what is "new kettle instruction"?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on October 10, 2016, 01:06:32 PM
This post is lifted from my other forum. The book from which it comes, which I don't think has been translated into English yet (I may be wrong), contains lengthy passages about Hitler, told (according to my wife who is reading the Dutch version) disarmingly but with utter detachment. I cannot believe that there won't be an English-language edition soon...

Here you go:

https://archipelagobooks.org/book/my-struggle-book-six/

"Coming soon."


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 10, 2016, 08:26:28 PM
RR1 - what is "new kettle instruction"?
I bought new kettle with cool fancy features. There is instruction (or what it's called).


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: ♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇 on October 10, 2016, 08:43:46 PM
Soon I'll be reading "I am Brian Wilson" :)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 10, 2016, 08:52:35 PM
Soon I'll be reading "I am Brian Wilson" :)
Cool! :bw Keep us updated, here or main thread.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: ♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇 on October 10, 2016, 09:13:31 PM
will do :)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Rocky Raccoon on October 11, 2016, 11:14:29 AM
Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen   8)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on October 11, 2016, 03:05:27 PM
I see the first 5 volumes of the Knausgard available. Is that series worth looking into? Trying to expand my horizons by reading more International writers.

My wife and daughter-in-law are major fans (they read it in Dutch and even got a volume signed by the man himself). I'm told it's a sensational read----Nobel Prize material...


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on October 11, 2016, 06:00:02 PM
My BW book arrived today. Been reading that, of course.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: ♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇 on October 11, 2016, 06:18:21 PM
I will as soon as I get off work


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on October 11, 2016, 08:53:56 PM
I see the first 5 volumes of the Knausgard available. Is that series worth looking into? Trying to expand my horizons by reading more International writers.

My wife and daughter-in-law are major fans (they read it in Dutch and even got a volume signed by the man himself). I'm told it's a sensational read----Nobel Prize material...


Great. Will download Volume 1 and take it from there.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on October 13, 2016, 01:22:00 PM
Almost finished reading Brian's book. Great read so far. Only criticism - wish it had an index, as it's not written chronologically.

A couple of days ago I was in a local library for a couple of  hours and read half of Agatha Christie's "At Bertram's Hotel." It was a good read - Christie described the hotel as an old fashioned place where Americans could go to experience an old timey British ambience. And in describing it, I would love to be able to stay at a place like that LOL, especially as the places I stay nowadays are all cookie cutter, sterile, too utilitarian.
Curiously, a certain word came up several times, a word that caused more than a little flak for one of our presidential candidates.
Will go back to finish the book when I have the time. The only odd thing about it is that it's supposed to be a Miss Marple book, but she has hardly been in it so far.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on October 25, 2016, 02:18:58 AM
A great holiday read, if a little difficult to stop laughing about:

(https://03fcd67fd51850d3ba6b-6cb392df11a341bce8c76b1898d0c030.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/large/9780/6710/9780671037673.jpg)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: thorgil on October 25, 2016, 02:42:45 AM
I just re-read Ivanhoe. What a story, what a roster of characters, what a style. So much better than watching Game of Thrones, let alone trying to read the books: even the (great, imho) Peter Dinklage admitted that he tried reading them, but couldn't.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on October 26, 2016, 04:07:25 AM
(https://www.weiserantiquarian.com/pictures/53370.jpg?v=1443225716)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on October 26, 2016, 05:22:21 AM
"Hitler Homer Bible Christ," by Richard Carrier.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SurfRapGrungeFiend on October 28, 2016, 07:46:38 PM
Destiny of the republic: A tale of madness, medicine and the murder of the president.
Great book about James Garfield


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on October 28, 2016, 08:53:57 PM
Destiny of the republic: A tale of madness, medicine and the murder of the president.
Great book about James Garfield

Glad to see that it's a great book. It's in my queue to read in the near future.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on November 16, 2016, 08:41:19 AM
R. L. Stine goosebump No.24 "Phantom of the auditorium".


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on November 16, 2016, 08:54:56 AM
"It Can't Happen Here," by (minnesota's own) Sinclair Lewis. Obvious reasons.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on November 26, 2016, 07:51:22 AM
Yesterday I picked up four books:
 - Vegetarian Cooking of India, Mridula Baljekar
 - Wolf in White Van, John Darnielle
 - Readings on Fascism and National Socialism, ed. U. of Colorado Dept. of Philosophy
 - Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, V.I. Lenin

The latter two, I was just thinking I hadn't ever actually read anything by contemporaneous proponents of those systems. They were there, they were cheap, why not?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on November 28, 2016, 06:01:33 PM
"Crooked House" by Agatha Christie. I just found it in the basement, last pages missed so I went to library site to finish it. It's very unusual & advanced for the time in that the murderer is Josephine, the 12-year-old girl. It's very smart because nobody would suspect child. She was bragging about knowing the identity of killer but funnily the adults around her decided that if she knows too much, she'll be the next victim. Agatha rules! :3d No wonder it's her favorite detective she'd written. & I was amazed that it wasn't adapted till now to film. But maybe they couldn't find the right girl to play villain.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on November 28, 2016, 06:35:34 PM
Oh no, you told the identity of the killer!
Should have indicated "spoiler alert"
 :lol


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on November 28, 2016, 08:16:38 PM
Too bad there isn't feature like in Imdb boards where you can black the bits with story giveaways. If need be, smb. can see what's written there.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on November 28, 2016, 08:46:59 PM
That's okay. I have so many other Agatha Christie stories to read, and my old brain isn't what it used to be, so I'll probably forget by the time I get to this story.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on December 30, 2016, 09:29:10 AM
I'm reading "The Conscience of a Conservative," by Sen. Barry Goldwater.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on December 30, 2016, 03:34:23 PM
I'm reading "The Conscience of a Conservative," by Sen. Barry Goldwater.

And I finished it. A short read, certainly worth the time for anybody interested in what might be the most important inspiration to modern Republicans and/or conservatives (along with, if some politicians are to be taken at their word, Ayn Rand's fiction). I'll say this, at least Goldwater presents mostly what seem to be informed arguments, as well as uncomfortable honesty. For example, he rejects the arguments of Brown v. Board of Education, though he admits he favored the objective of the decision.

What's interesting is where he splits with modern conservatives--or rather, where modern conservatives split with him--about issues like supporting labor unions (which he did, in a limited sense) and rejecting corporations' financing of campaigns.

There are other points where I just can't agree with him based on his presuppositions or definitions. For example, his criticism that liberals "look only at the material side of man's nature," while conservatives believe man is "also a spiritual creature with spiritual needs and spiritual desires. What is more, these needs and desires reflect the superior side of man's nature, and thus take precedence over his economic wants. Conservatism therefore looks upon the enhancement of man's spiritual nature as the primary concern of political philosophy." To be blunt, while I can't deny (or even weigh in on whether) that is a conservative's belief, it's incomprehensible to me. Wholly indefensible in a nation whose constitution--which the conservative staunchly defends--rejects state religion. (Perhaps his definitions of vague terms like "spiritual" could clear that up for me.)

Or in his segment on education, where he writes that "the proper function of the school is to transmit the cultural heritage of one generation to the next generation." It's somewhat ironic, considering in the same chapter he talks about how "we should look upon our schools--not as a place to train the 'whole character' of the child--a responsibility that properly belongs to his family and church--but to train his mind." It isn't clear to me how one would teach cultural heritage without going beyond the nuts-and-bolts education of math, science, etc., and into the "whole character."

The final, and longest, chapter is about "The Soviet Menace," and honestly it made me both sad and laugh. But it's not fair to judge in hindsight, when I can see that obviously there was no menace at all. But it's a myopic joke that is sadly similar to much of what we hear these days about ISIS and Iran.

All that said, there is plenty in the treatise I found perfectly rational, and with which I agreed. There was also plenty that, while I didn't immediately agree, I will think more about going forward.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Emily on January 01, 2017, 01:48:29 PM
I'm interested in hearing what you agreed with.

It would be hard to underestimate the impact of The Conscious of a Conservative. Reagan became the most prominent acolyte. Trump uses much of the rhetoric of Goldwater without the attempt at a consistent philosophy:
http://mobile.nytimes.com/1964/03/23/goldwater-using-patriotic-theme.html

I think the essential problem with Goldwater Conservative economic theory and philosophy is that it assumes non-existent conditions. It draws on a history that was singular to a place and time that only briefly existed - the American frontier: a pre-industrial and pre-corporate society in which each individual can, Pa Ingalls-like, forge their way independent of ties to institutions (of course if you read the books, Pa and all his compatriots got a hell of a lot of assistance from each other and from the government.)  It pretends we each get our claim and can make what we will of it, when of course many people receive no claim and industrial, corporate economies leave little room for self-determination. Also, the anti-welfare, charities-should-do-it attitude disregards the anonymity of modern society. In a pre-industrial society, community barn-raising or other forms of community assistance are encouraged and reinforced by the lack of anonymity. One is compelled to assist because one knows the sufferer and because the community expects one to assist. In an anonymous modern society, these factors don't compel assistance.







Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on January 02, 2017, 11:35:01 AM
I'm interested in hearing what you agreed with.

To be honest, I'll have to go back and peruse to find specific examples, but I can generally answer by saying I have a certain respect for and identification with classical liberalism. Not wholly, by any means, but somewhat. While I realize a few of us here are lumped together to be of a single mind, the reality is my personal political beliefs are quite a jumble that blends aspects of (at least) classical liberalism and social democracy, maybe even with a shake of conservatism here and there.

There are also some arguments about what the federal government has jurisdiction over under the constitution, and I have to admit that (barring constitutional amendments, which as someone who gives the constitution no particular scriptural standing, I am fine with, though it's a burdensome process) I have to hear out. Now to be clear on that last point, I'm no lawyer and haven't spent all that much time investigating the justification for federal intervention in these supposedly states' issues. I just say that if there are legitimate questions about them, that's fair, even if I don't like the outcomes. The end doesn't justify the means.

So in the end, I am always in a state of unease about where to draw the line between equality of opportunity and equality of outcome, especially considering it seems to me that outcomes are the most obvious and maybe only way to measure opportunities on a broad scale (while admitting that through individual cases it's obvious why there would be inequalities of outcome regardless of opportunity). I hope you'll grant me leeway as someone whose political ideology doesn't exist yet; it's morphing pretty consistently as I read, learn, converse, and think about it.

I think further discussion on this ought to be in the politics thread lest anyone post about Trump in the Beach Boys forum.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on January 04, 2017, 05:16:34 PM
Guess I would consider myself to be an "Eisenhower Conservative" - (sort of) conservative with economic problems, liberal with human problems. So I don't fit in with Goldwater, and most definitely not with modern day "conservatives".
I did have respect for Goldwater, however. And found it interesting that he was a neighbor of Alice Cooper.
Looked through the text quickly but plan to go back and read it more thoroughly, to see how things have or haven't changed over the past 50 plus years.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on January 04, 2017, 05:55:57 PM
Someone forwarded a post on FB, stating that 42 percent of US university graduates haven't read a book since graduation.
If true, how sad. And dangerous for the future of our country.
Can't imagine life without books!

Back in the late 60s I wasn't doing well in school. It was an attitude problem on my part, plus what could only be termed ADD - my mind was wandering all over the place. The only subject I was really able to excel in was History. During that time I read the Robert Massie classic, "Nicholas and Alexandra" which made me a fanatic about all things Russian. My seventh grade history teacher (I was 12-13 years old) encouraged me to write several term papers on Russian history, government etc. Then later on, music, literature.
I felt sorry for the Tsar's youngest children, Anastasia and Alexei. And with Alexei I also studied hereditary illnesses such as hemophilia.
Finally, like many others I've been fascinated by the figure of Rasputin, who perhaps saved Alexei's life, and had a big influence on the actions of the royal family.
BTW I'm no "romantic". The situation in Russia was terrible and something had to be done. But Communism, particularly under Stalin, certainly wasn't better.
Am saying all this because I found out that last December 30 was the 100th anniversary of Rasputin's murder. So I am now reading a biography that just came out - "Rasputin: Faith, Power and the Twilight of the  Romanovs." It's a fascinating read so far. Interesting fact : A number of people, including Rasputin's ancestors, moved to Siberia voluntarily. That far away there was a lot more freedom from the repressive policies of the Tsar.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on January 09, 2017, 12:10:18 PM
I'm back with Mike's book. I didn't stop because of the contents----it's a terrific read so far. It's just my reader's block. That's why I mainly do word and number puzzles. But now I'm back. I've just been reading about the cunning linguist. Fascinating.   


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on January 09, 2017, 01:33:04 PM
Someone forwarded a post on FB, stating that 42 percent of US university graduates haven't read a book since graduation.
If true, how sad. And dangerous for the future of our country.
Can't imagine life without books!

If true, that is sad. And I know what you mean, it's hard to imagine life without books (or music). I'm always astounded by people who don't read and/or listen/play. How much tv or Facebook or instagram does a person need? (Obviously anyone working so much as to not have time to spare is more easily forgiven.) not my idea of a rewarding life, anyway.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Ovi on January 09, 2017, 02:54:04 PM
Someone forwarded a post on FB, stating that 42 percent of US university graduates haven't read a book since graduation.
If true, how sad. And dangerous for the future of our country.
Can't imagine life without books!

If true, that is sad. And I know what you mean, it's hard to imagine life without books (or music). I'm always astounded by people who don't read and/or listen/play. How much tv or Facebook or instagram does a person need? (Obviously anyone working so much as to not have time to spare is more easily forgiven.) not my idea of a rewarding life, anyway.

Well I dunno. I'm not a big reader either, but I'm big into music and cinema and other art forms. I don't see them as being necessarily inferior. I've tried authors over the years but none have grabbed me in the same way a musician's work or a director's work does. And I think Facebook can be a great source of information - I use it to to read news and articles from multiples sources more than anything else.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on January 09, 2017, 04:54:23 PM
As I said, not MY idea.

Sorry I'm being short btw: on the move on a phone, not trying to be curt. I was thinking in my original post of saying something about elitism, changing artistic pastimes etc. So I hope you don't take offense.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SurfRapGrungeFiend on February 12, 2017, 03:53:52 PM
Mafia hits: 100 murders that changed the mob





Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on March 11, 2017, 05:03:45 AM
"Yellow Submarine" cartoon script. :3d


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on April 19, 2017, 04:53:27 AM
"Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on April 27, 2017, 08:37:06 PM
Just finished reading Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann.
Concerns a particularly unsavory time in US history.

The Osage, a Native American tribe, were moved about and were finally told that they could live on some worthless land. Well, it turned out to not be worthless; oil was found there and the Osage became millionaires. However, the white folks thought it unseemly that Indians, of all people, could have fancy cars and homes. Thus the Osage were forced to have white people be assigned to them as "guardians", who controlled the money and took more than a little of it for themselves.

Then in the early 1920s the Osage started to be murdered. And those investigating the murders were themselves murdered. Why? And by whom?
And could there be a fair trial if white people were involved?
A chilling quote, on p 215, by one of the Osage: "The question for them to decide is whether a white man killing an Osage is murder- or merely cruelty to animals."  :-\

A great book, detailing one of the early FBI cases, with a bittersweet ending.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on April 27, 2017, 09:13:40 PM
Is Flower Moon Indian tribe's nickname? What does this strange phrase mean?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on April 27, 2017, 09:28:25 PM

In April tiny flowers form.
In May, the moon appears to be larger. taller flowers appear, keeping the smaller flowers from getting enough sunlight, and they die.
So the Osage call May the time of the flower killing moon.

The murders of the Osage started in May, 1921


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on April 29, 2017, 01:42:17 PM
I recently finished the lauded memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," by JD Vance, about which I have mixed feelings, and the novel "The Devil and Webster," by Jean Hanff Korelitz, which I loved. I've got a few things in various states of completion: "Christian Beginnings," by Geza Vermes; "Dark Money," by Jane Mayer; the short story compilation "Memories of the Future" by Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky; and "On the Edge of Reason," by Mirslav Krleza.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 29, 2017, 07:22:57 PM
Robert Stine "Creature Teacher" - 2/5. Tom B. Stone "Boo Year's Eve" - 3/5.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: undercover-m on May 30, 2017, 11:42:22 PM
I started Galápagos a couple of weeks ago, although I keep forgetting to bring it to work to read during my much-savored 30-minute break.

(http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1355012643l/9593.jpg)

These covers are fun. Unfortunately, I have a used copy that's pretty tattered already, and I made it worse the other day when I stuffed my work binder on top of it. I'm a fool—both for smashing my book and for not reading it more.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on June 12, 2017, 11:58:16 AM
I might be the only one on SS who didn't know this, but found out that Agatha Christie was an avid surfer. Saw a picture of her with a surfboard.
She surfed in South Africa and Hawaii.
So decided to check out her autobiography. It's great reading so far.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on June 22, 2017, 12:43:04 AM
(http://info.eastview.com/images/MN-WAR-04RF/00000IT09640T-031K/big.JPG)

Bought this book about the Lithuanian painter--composer M.K. Čiurlionis at the shop in the Thomas Mann Museum in Nida, Lithuania, originally the German author's summer residence...


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Michael Edward Osbourne on July 03, 2017, 02:56:03 PM
Punk Rock Blitzkrieg by Marky Ramone


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on July 04, 2017, 02:09:34 AM
I'm back with Mike's book. I didn't stop because of the contents----it's a terrific read so far. It's just my reader's block. That's why I mainly do word and number puzzles. But now I'm back.

Well, I got so far and no further. Reader's block again. Six months later I'm trying a new tack. I opened it at the end and read the credits, the index (fascinating!) and the acknowledgements. So far, so good----although I noticed that the index omits Frank Zappa. Then I took the plunge and opened it again (at random) at a chapter called "The Unraveling". And now I'm really getting stuck in. Things are looking good.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on August 06, 2017, 04:57:27 AM
Edgar Allan Poe "The Masque Of The Red Death" & "Berenice" - both inspired by great CBS Radio Mystery Theater plays. "The Masque" - 3.5/5, "Berenice" - 3/5.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Jay on August 09, 2017, 10:43:05 AM
Edgar Allan Poe "The Masque Of The Red Death" & "Berenice" - both inspired by great CBS Radio Mystery Theater plays. "The Masque" - 3.5/5, "Berenice" - 3/5.
No, actually it was the other way around. The story inspired the CBS Radio Play.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on August 22, 2017, 05:16:19 PM
Again, listened to CBS Mystery Theater; this time they adapted Mark Twain which inspired me again to go read the real deal. "The Stolen White Elephant" - 3.5, "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg" - 4.5.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on September 02, 2017, 02:33:18 AM
I finished Mike's book today. And I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It took me a while to get started, though (gosh darn reader's block playing up again). After it had lain on the shelf for months, I read the index and acknowledgements and then started at the beginning. After grinding to a halt after 30 pages, I put it back for several more months. Then I took the plunge and started in the middle, at a chapter called "The Unraveling" and read on quite quickly to the end. Last came the bit in between----which I finished last night.

Kudos, Mike, it was a great read!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on September 05, 2017, 10:29:00 AM
At present I'm reading The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes. Or rather I read the first third of it in a two-hour burst. (See the link below for a potted description of the novel.) Curiously, in the interval of a BBC Prom concert that ended with Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, the author read a passage from that book that I had read only a few hours earlier----and the book had been lying on my bedside table for months. The passage in question begins on my page 49 ("On the Saturday night, and again on the Sunday night, he drank himself to sleep.") and ends at the chapter's conclusion on my page 58 ("They called his Fifth 'an optimistic tragedy'.") This is seriously recommended to anyone interested in the nightmare that was Stalin's Great Terror.

(https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449890438l/25912206.jpg)

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jan/17/the-noise-of-time-julian-barnes-review-dmitri-shostakovich


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on September 05, 2017, 03:23:36 PM
Thanks for the recommendation.
I have the Great Courses lectures on classical music, and was just listening to a lecture about Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, the Symphony that "saved his life."
His earlier opera didn't go over very well with the top brass. If I knew that Stalin was going to attend one of my compositions I would have made sure to wear a nappie (diaper)! After having to put aside his Fourth, the Fifth was his last shot to, er, not be shot?
The West didn't take too kindly to the Fifth. Shostakovich said that only Russians could truly understand where he was coming from.
Usually when I listen to a classical work I interpret it my way. Will listen to the Fifth and see if I can "get it."

As to what I've been reading, believe it or not, I have only now read Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl (revised edition).
Don't know how I didn't see her house during the two times in Amsterdam (1978 and 1989).


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on September 07, 2017, 03:39:43 PM
I'm about 40 pages into Yuri Olesha's short novel "Envy," and I've been laughing out loud pretty much the whole time. It's hilarious! I bought a cheap copy last weekend on a whim, it just jumped out at me.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 09, 2017, 04:15:39 PM
"The Shunned House" by H. P. Lovecraft - 5/5.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on October 10, 2017, 02:40:27 AM
"The Shunned House" by H. P. Lovecraft - 5/5.

Lovecraft! In the early '70s I read some short stories by him that scared the living sh*t out of me. I may return to him one day, as they were fantastically well-written.

Last night I decided to make Testimony my bedtime read (see link). I'd read it before but couldn't remember much about it, except that it was controversial. I assumed there'd be nothing to laugh about in a book mainly about the Stalin era (I don't want to wake my wife up, you see). Little did I realize. It only took a few pages. Humour evidently was a major weapon against going nuts during those years. I'll look for another book tonight...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testimony_(book) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testimony_(book))


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 10, 2017, 04:12:14 AM
Lovecraft! In the early '70s I read some short stories by him that scared the living manure out of me. I may return to him one day, as they were fantastically well-written.
Halloween soon. :D

Re: Stalin era, did you read "The Gulag Archipelago" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on October 10, 2017, 09:55:43 AM
Lovecraft! In the early '70s I read some short stories by him that scared the living manure out of me. I may return to him one day, as they were fantastically well-written.

Re: Stalin era, did you read "The Gulag Archipelago" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn?

The living manure----I like that!  :lol

I read One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich many years ago and enjoyed it, despite the horrific subject matter. I'm afraid the idea of reading a book as weighty as The Gulag Archipelago is too daunting at this stage of the game. Maybe in a another life.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on October 12, 2017, 04:10:54 PM
Just finished The Noise of Time. Fascinating book but unrelentingly depressing with no let up.
Reminded me of Cormac McCarthy’s book The Road. No hope...

Am presently reading A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, about a Russian who is sentenced after the Revolution to life long house arrest at a hotel.  Great book that immerses you in that time. Has some happy moments but a lot more sad ones.

Will have to find a book that’s funny. Seems like just about all of my books are downers!
Suggestions would be appreciated.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on October 13, 2017, 02:35:17 AM
Just finished The Noise of Time. Fascinating book but unrelentingly depressing with no let up.
Reminded me of Cormac McCarthy’s book The Road. No hope...

Am presently reading A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, about a Russian who is sentenced after the Revolution to life long house arrest at a hotel.  Great book that immerses you in that time. Has some happy moments but a lot more sad ones.

Will have to find a book that’s funny. Seems like just about all of my books are downers!
Suggestions would be appreciated.

Hi, Elizabeth. Maybe the captain can help you choose (although of course senses of humour differ):

I'm about 40 pages into Yuri Olesha's short novel "Envy," and I've been laughing out loud pretty much the whole time. It's hilarious! I bought a cheap copy last weekend on a whim, it just jumped out at me.

I see Olesha wrote Envy in 1927.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yury_Olesha


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 20, 2017, 07:06:58 PM
I believe manure is polite way to say the s-word (e.g. "People walked past some chap taking manure in the forest"). About funny books - read Spike Milligan (plus check his "The Goon Show").


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on October 21, 2017, 01:14:42 PM
I believe manure is polite way to say the s-word (e.g. "People walked past some chap taking manure in the forest"). About funny books - read Spike Milligan (plus check his "The Goon Show").

H'mm. "Taking manure" means the chap is collecting it rather than producing it. "Making manure" would be a better phrase. As in "People walked past some chap making manure in the forest".  :lol

Love that word "manure"! Good call, RR.

Yes, Spike Milligan is great. I've read a lot of his stuff. He did a lot of TV too (the bit you want is at 1:52):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTcRxIgPvx0

 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on October 25, 2017, 06:47:19 AM
What am I reading?

(https://www.universaledition.com/media/image/f2/b2/5f/ue12100_600x600.jpg)

Mainly for the libretto----and to check out the magnificent orchestration.

Don't worry, I can't hear the whole thing from reading it.  ;D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on November 18, 2017, 05:39:28 AM
H'mm. "Taking manure" means the chap is collecting it rather than producing it. "Making manure" would be a better phrase. As in "People walked past some chap making manure in the forest".  :lol

Love that word "manure"! Good call, RR.

Yes, Spike Milligan is great. I've read a lot of his stuff. He did a lot of TV too (the bit you want is at 1:52):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTcRxIgPvx0
I figured you can say "take manure" since there is phrase "take the dump". Yep, Spike is hilarious. Today's read - Tom Waits' answers to Vanity Fair Proust questionnaire: http://tomwaitslibrary.info/interviews/04-octnov-vanityfair.html

Some funny witty answers: "What is your favourite journey? - Actually, I don't own any of their records". "What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? - The floor just below that". "Which talent would you most like to have? - Being able to fix the truck". "What is your most marked characteristic? - My ability to discuss, in depth, a book I've never read". "What do you most value in your friends? - Jumper cables and a tow chain". "Which words or phrases do you most overuse? - Do as I say and no one will get hurt".


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on November 18, 2017, 08:05:31 AM
Some funny witty answers: "What is your favourite journey? - Actually, I don't own any of their records". "What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? - The floor just below that". "Which talent would you most like to have? - Being able to fix the truck". "What is your most marked characteristic? - My ability to discuss, in depth, a book I've never read". "What do you most value in your friends? - Jumper cables and a tow chain". "Which words or phrases do you most overuse? - Do as I say and no one will get hurt".

These are funny LOL.
I can relate to the “ability to discuss, in depth, a book I’ve never read”. In college for the upper level courses the tests would include essay questions. Sometimes I didn’t know the answer but learned that on occasion I could throw in some catch phrases or other such creative nonsense and get at least partial credit for the answer.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on November 18, 2017, 12:23:37 PM
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51DGRvuBBGL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on November 18, 2017, 03:55:12 PM
I love that book - read it when it first came out, and plan to take the time to read again. So much info!
Only thing I didn’t like - it goes through 1963, then stops. Doesn’t go one second into 1964. I wanted more LOL


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on November 19, 2017, 12:24:18 PM
Only thing I didn’t like - it goes through 1963, then stops. Doesn’t go one second into 1964. I wanted more LOL

That's where the "becoming" bit comes in, E. It has to stop somewhere. But what a read for those three years! ;=)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on November 19, 2017, 02:40:54 PM
It’s so well written. I’d love such detail for 1964 (and beyond).

I checked a newsletter for a local bookstore. They had a book club meeting last week, and the monthly book selection was - The Noise of Time! Argh! Oh well.

Am presently re-reading Dylan’s Chronicles Volume One.
After that will be the Battle of the Band. Reading Robbie Robertson’s Testimony and Levon Helm’s This Wheel’s on Fire.
Should be interesting.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on November 20, 2017, 01:54:16 AM
After that will be the Battle of the Band. Reading Robbie Robertson’s Testimony and Levon Helm’s This Wheel’s on Fire.
Should be interesting.

Levon's book is certainly interesting! I haven't read Robbie's.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: KDS on November 21, 2017, 10:49:42 AM
I just finished reading Dennis Dunaway's (Alice Cooper Group) book.  It was very entertaining, and sad at times (like how Alice Cooper sort of broke up the Alice Cooper Group without telling anybody). 

I have to give Dennis credit.  If he really wanted to, he could've thrown Alice under the bus for throwing away that great band in their prime, but he's got a pretty good outlook.  It probably doesn't hurt that Dennis occasionally performs and records with the surviving members of the original band. 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: bluesno1fann on November 22, 2017, 05:18:45 PM
This year for Literature classes, I’ve had to read Cat On A Hot Tin Roof by Arthur Miller, My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin, Agamemnon by Aeschylus, and Dark Roots by Cate Kennedy. Overall, I was most impressed by the Miles Franklin book - one gets the sense that the author was born in the wrong period and would have been more at home in the 21st Century rather than in the 1890s. Anyway, currently reading The Great Gatsby, which I had wanted to read for a while


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SMiLE Brian on November 22, 2017, 05:25:33 PM
Good education, sorry for being a d*ckhead to you....


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on December 08, 2017, 07:04:32 AM
Radio station during this time each year starts game but the jock said who rings 1st gets gift anyway. I did, went to take my gift - Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None". Luckily, I didn't read it before. The book's got this special fragrance which I like usually - sweet & cinnamon plus sth. else.

10 people invited to faraway Negro (?) Island (the book's in Russian) by pair they didn't meet before. In everybody's room there is children's twister about 10 little blacks. 10 guests - 10 blacks. 10 black statues. You get the whole picture - everybody gets killed as poor black kids in twister. Statues disappear.

Very sporting of Agatha to add flashblacks to each character to help see who's who. I like books with motley crew. Don't like stories with few people. F.ex., tale about 2. Tale inside the family of 5.

Favorite definitely Blore, inspector. His lines - the best, he's talkative, even too talkative, smb. said he's fool. Hm...is he? In fact, he voiced theories that made sense few times. I wished him to be survivor by the end but...Agatha decided to leave Lombard & Ms. Claythorne who I didn't like at all. They should be killed way before.
Next favorite to make Top 3 - Mr. Rogers, the butler & Emily Brent, the old lady-religious freak. Mr. Rogers seems really nice, well-bred gentleman who didn't make friends with anybody but was polite to every guest. Did his work well. Ms. Brent, again, polite classy lady, I read her lines in plummy ceremonial voice. She kept it cool at the face of murders.
Least interesting - Dr. Armstrong - too chicken, hysterical, jittery. Mrs. Rogers - by default, killed early, i.e. not much character development.

Cool ending, nice twist but at the same time it does fall into place. I didn't suspect anybody, except doctor acted mad at times. 5/5.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on December 22, 2017, 02:56:37 AM
(https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348383017i/3055423._UY630_SR1200,630_.jpg)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Webern


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on February 11, 2018, 08:46:02 PM
I'm reading Timekeepers by Simon Garfield. It's a book about the concept of time, which fascinates me.
One chapter is about calendars. Like Mike Love, my first job in the real world was in the "oil and gas business" LOL. I had to deal with some foreign businesses, and was the only job I had that required the use of a telex (are they around anymore?) Anyway, one of the companies was in Iran. This was in 1979, a turbulent year there to say the least. We had to date correspondence to them using their calendar. Can't remember the year, maybe around 2500? But sometime late in 1979 the calendar was changed; it was then 1358.
The book mentioned about how a calendar was changed back in the 18th century, knocking off 8 days. Can you imagine what a headache it would have been if there were payroll departments back then?

Another discussion is how have musical terms such as Andante or Allegro changed over time. And how the available space on a CD was determined - possibly to be long enough to have Beethoven 's Ninth fit on one disc.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on February 12, 2018, 02:23:57 AM
Another discussion is how have musical terms such as Andante or Allegro changed over time. And how the available space on a CD was determined - possibly to be long enough to have Beethoven's Ninth fit on one disc.

Really? That's amazing!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on February 13, 2018, 06:28:54 PM
I'm reading a few things at once, which is a bad idea generally but sometimes that's how it goes.

Hans Fallada's novel "Once a Jailbird" is one, and it's fantastic. Then again, I've thought that of the two things of his I've read before ("Little Man, What Now?" and "Every Man Dies Alone"), so it's no shock. This is the story of a 1930s German convict leaving prison after a five-year sentence, and the challenges associated with starting life.

I'm also reading Margaret Atwood's "A Handmaid's Tale," because I watched the Hulu series last year and thought it might be fun to compare it to the book. It's good, if written in an annoyingly casual style. (If I may...) Lots of thoughts ... ellipses, too ... random run-on ideas that aren't meant to be sentences because it's a book meant to be imagined in the protagonist's head, you know, I'm sure you know, that's how it works here. Book. Movie. Differences. But style is different when written. Than when watched. (Thank you. Here ends our imitation.)

As for nonfiction, I'm enjoying Richard Pervo's "Profit With Delight," a study on the literary genre of the biblical Acts of the Apostles.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: KDS on February 14, 2018, 11:26:31 AM
Im reading Bruce Dickinson's recently released autobiography.   


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on March 08, 2018, 05:15:23 PM
Just finished reading a wonderful book with the provocative title "Roots, Radicals and Rockers: How Skiffle Changed the World" by Billy Bragg.
I had first heard of Skiffle way back when I saw the Compleat Beatles documentary. It mentioned John forming a skiffle group, and also showed a clip of Lonnie Donegan singing Rock Island Line.
I really liked the few skiffle songs I heard over the years, but noticed that it seemed to be denigrated as just a phase until more "important" music came along.
 This book helps put that to rest, showing that almost all the British bands that had any success in the mid 60s and beyond had a skiffle connection.
Highly recommended for those interested in roots music.

To add, there are a couple of YT videos online:
A short one: How old timey ‘skiffle’ music liberated British rock

Library of Congress Lecture (which begins a few minutes into the video): Billy Bragg, Roots, Radicals and Rockers


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on March 09, 2018, 06:09:13 PM
Well smb. bumped super-duper important Recipes thread just when I posted in great Cats thread (good folk, post there, will ya?). Baaad timing. Anyhoo, Charles Dickens "A Tale Of Two Cities" - not the best book by him. 3/5.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on March 09, 2018, 06:18:04 PM
I despise various biographies about rockers but, I'd like to read Mick Jagger's writing/ recollections. Esp. interested in his filming "Ned Kelly", the best Ned imo. :3d


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on March 09, 2018, 06:26:34 PM
Finally began my copy of Dostoevsky's "The Adolescent" that I picked up a few weeks ago.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on March 24, 2018, 04:14:15 AM
Bel Kaufman "Up The Down Staircase". 1st discovered the film ["Up The Down Staircase"] which is Top 5 favorite. Many people at Goodreads didn't like it saying "it lacks the book's humor". Sure there is humor, even the music's humorous, light, positive. That said, book 5/5 as well as film despite the fact I dislike the epistolary narration.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on March 25, 2018, 08:49:51 AM
Finishing up Bart Ehrman's new "The Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World." It's OK, but definitely not as interesting as some of his earlier books. I think because like many of his popular-audience books, it's not really positing anything especially new or controversial but rather just promoting the general consensus of relevant scholars. With books like "Forged" and "Misquoting Jesus," those consensus positions seem controversial, or are at least unknown to typical readers. But here ... there's just nothing especially novel.

Hopefully I'll finish it today and get back to "The Adolescent," which has been sitting on the coffee table for a week or two mostly untouched.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: D Cunningham on March 25, 2018, 09:33:06 AM
PSmith Journalist, by Wodehouse.  A student could write a nice thesis pairing this with Damon Runyon.
I've managed to learn a new word here and there...as when I read Peter DeVries. And that is a good reason to read.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? P.S.
Post by: D Cunningham on March 25, 2018, 09:48:25 AM
Thanks to RangeRover for mentioning Up the Down Staircase.  Released about the same time as the All Summer Long
album?  I remember reading it a year or two later (gosh I'm old) and enjoying it much. What has stayed with me is
the book's freshness, openness, a willing to listen. Ah, the Sixties.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on March 25, 2018, 12:13:03 PM
Anyhoo, Charles Dickens "A Tale Of Two Cities" - not the best book by him. 3/5.

Well, although it wasn't the best of times reading it, it wasn't the worst, either. :-)

One of my favorite Dickens' books is the Pickwick Papers. One of the only "classic" novels that had me laughing out loud.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on April 06, 2018, 02:19:56 AM
(http://blog.paperblanks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/great_gatsby_picture2.jpg)

This is the cover of the version I already had in the house when I was alerted to this fantastic novel. And now I'm a good way in (bye bye, reader's block). ;D   


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on April 06, 2018, 06:41:25 AM
Daniel Ellsburg's "The Doomsday Machine," which is terrifying.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Gettin Hungry on April 06, 2018, 07:54:53 AM
I just finished Carrie Fisher's Postcards from the Edge. It was ... fine.

I just started Carson McCuller's The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on April 08, 2018, 11:19:49 AM
Daniel Ellsburg's "The Doomsday Machine," which is terrifying.

To help mitigate the depression caused by the above, I started Steven Pinker's "Enlightenment Now." I'm going back and forth a few chapters at a time. We're all going to die. Everything's fine. We're all going to die. Everything's fine. And so on.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on April 08, 2018, 02:00:45 PM
Daniel Ellsburg's "The Doomsday Machine," which is terrifying.

To help mitigate the depression caused by the above, I started Steven Pinker's "Enlightenment Now." I'm going back and forth a few chapters at a time. We're all going to die. Everything's fine. We're all going to die. Everything's fine. And so on.

I'm pasting this not because I want to argue the merits of Pinker (whom, admittedly, I don't particularly like) but more because I just think it's a funny take-down in a style that I would never personally use:

http://fucktheory.tumblr.com/post/57633497486/in-which-steven-pinker-is-a-total-ignoramus-who


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on April 09, 2018, 04:19:10 PM
I'll be honest, I don't like that style. At all.

First, it's basically pure ad hominem in spirit, even if not in the facts. (I can't pretend to have read even much of what Pinker has written, much less the everything from the philosophers and other assorted historical figures he cites, so I won't be able to weigh in on the substance much.) But the tone of the piece is "oh, listen to this fucking dick. What an asshole, he's so dumb that he thinks..." That's a turn-off for me no matter where it comes from, or toward whom it's directed. When it's from someone with whom I disagree, naturally it's an annoyance. But when it's from someone with whom I agree, then I'm embarrassed for "my team," whom I expect to rise above that nonsense and stick to facts.

Second, it has the scent of someone wildly punching up. "You don't know who I am, but you'll know me when I take down this famous asshole!" Someone like a Pinker couldn't really respond even if he wanted to, because it dignifies the tactic.

As for the Pinker book, I'm enjoying it so far. I've only read a few chapters, maybe 75 pages. But I think it's good. Then again, I think his generally liberal leanings align more closely to my mindset than I'd guess they do to yours.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on April 09, 2018, 06:07:08 PM
I'll be honest, I don't like that style. At all.

First, it's basically pure ad hominem in spirit, even if not in the facts. (I can't pretend to have read even much of what Pinker has written, much less the everything from the philosophers and other assorted historical figures he cites, so I won't be able to weigh in on the substance much.) But the tone of the piece is "oh, listen to this fucking dick. What an asshole, he's so dumb that he thinks..." That's a turn-off for me no matter where it comes from, or toward whom it's directed. When it's from someone with whom I disagree, naturally it's an annoyance. But when it's from someone with whom I agree, then I'm embarrassed for "my team," whom I expect to rise above that nonsense and stick to facts.

Second, it has the scent of someone wildly punching up. "You don't know who I am, but you'll know me when I take down this famous asshole!" Someone like a Pinker couldn't really respond even if he wanted to, because it dignifies the tactic.

As for the Pinker book, I'm enjoying it so far. I've only read a few chapters, maybe 75 pages. But I think it's good. Then again, I think his generally liberal leanings align more closely to my mindset than I'd guess they do to yours.

Like I said, it's not in a style that I would use but I don't see how you could characterize it as an ad hominem attack. The writer points out, quite strikingly, that Pinker doesn't have a solid grasp on the key figures of Western thought - not only does he not understand their methodology, he pretends as if they didn't have one. These conclusions would be somewhat excusable if Pinker was talking about some obscure figure who had little impact on the field in which Pinker himself studies ... but Descartes? That alone would be a remarkable problem had not Pinker gone on from there and suggest how he would go back and time and "guide" these philosophers, whose work he seems to not understand.

The writer then goes on to point out how Pinker erects straw men after straw men in order to defend the sciences from the humanities.

I don't think that this has much to do with politics. I think that Pinker belongs to a current fad in scholarship that emphasizes branding over actual research work and the results show in the work itself. Pinker wrote a book The Better Angels of Our Nature which posited a historical decline in violence. The book won a tremendous amount of praise from the mainstream print sources. However, almost everybody who has spent a lifetime doing scholarly work in the field he was writing in pointed out how the book is simply riddled with historical inaccuracies. But the truth is that I can't imagine Pinker much cares - I highly doubt that the book was meant to add anything meaningful to research. It was simply a kind of junk history meant to garner attention from a mainstream audience.  But again, Pinker's not alone - there's a whole handful of professional charlatans out there now who are offering their brand-centric "research" on a regular basis.

So, I suppose here's my conclusion: the person in the article I posted uses extreme language. Steven Pinker is, in my view, a professional huckster at best and, at worst, someone who uses his clout to offer fashionable apologetics for war crimes. I will take the former over the latter any time.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on April 10, 2018, 05:35:36 AM
I said it was ad hominem in spirit: whatever its points, they’re buried in name-calling.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on April 20, 2018, 04:03:33 AM
I'm in the throes of finishing The Great Gatsby. What have I been missing all these years? Thank you, that person, for pointing me at it. :=)

I think next up will be 1984, another book I'd be put in front of a firing squad for not reading in an enlightened society. ;D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on April 20, 2018, 04:25:30 AM
"A Calf For Christmas" by Astrid Lindgren. 5/5, nice tale.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on April 20, 2018, 04:37:18 AM
"A Calf For Christmas" by Astrid Lindgren. 5/5, nice tale.

One of the best authors of children's books around. My granddaughter is crazy about the films and TV series based on her Pippi Longstocking books.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on April 20, 2018, 05:06:55 AM
I'm in the throes of finishing The Great Gatsby. What have I been missing all these years? Thank you, that person, for pointing me at it. :=)

I think next up will be 1984, another book I'd be put in front of a firing squad for not reading in an enlightened society. ;D

I love Gatsby! Phenomenal book.

I like 1984 too. It's not my favourite Orwell read but, yes, I'd say it's a bucket list book.

For anyone interested, here is my book bucket list though looking at it now, I'd say it's way too short but I think I must have truncated it for the thread: http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,25110.msg610116.html#msg610116


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on April 20, 2018, 05:26:53 AM
Didn't read the 2 mentioned books but by description, looks like I wouldn't like the either.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on April 20, 2018, 05:31:52 AM
Judaism in Persia’s Shadow, by Jon Berquist.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Gettin Hungry on April 20, 2018, 08:27:22 AM
Just started The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith. Many of her books, including the Tom Ripley stories, have been made into popular movies that I've somehow managed not to see. So far, so good.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on April 20, 2018, 09:33:27 AM
Just started The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith. Many of her books, including the Tom Ripley stories, have been made into popular movies that I've somehow managed not to see. So far, so good.

I've never read the book but The Talented Mr. Ripley movie is fantastic.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Gettin Hungry on April 20, 2018, 11:56:01 AM
Just started The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith. Many of her books, including the Tom Ripley stories, have been made into popular movies that I've somehow managed not to see. So far, so good.

I've never read the book but The Talented Mr. Ripley movie is fantastic.

I've heard good things about the movies. There are actually four books in the Ripley series. I have a collection of the first three from my library. All three have been made into movies, and actually I lied. I have seen one of them.

Obviously, there's the 1999 Matt Damon version of the first book, but also a 1960 French adaptation, called Purple Noon. Ripley Under Ground, the second book, was made into movie in 2005. The third book, Ripley's Game, has been adapted twice, first in 1977 as The American Friend with Dennis Hopper as Ripley (this is the one I've seen), and then in 2002 under its original title with John Malkovich.

Highsmith also wrote Strangers on a Train, which became one of Alfred Hitchcock's famous films.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on April 20, 2018, 04:09:35 PM
Obviously, there's the 1999 Matt Damon version of the first book
Highsmith also wrote Strangers on a Train, which became one of Alfred Hitchcock's famous films.
I'd seen "Strangers" - not bad. Matt Damon's "Ripley" is good, with cool jazz & retro music playing throughout the film. Matt's very underrated, people usually associate him with "Born" stuff but I think he's got chops to do any role. I'd like to see John Malkovich' "Ripley", really extraordinary thespian.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Gettin Hungry on April 23, 2018, 06:20:15 AM
I plan to check out the movies after reading the books. The American Friend is a Wim Wenders film. It's a bit arty, but worth a watch.

I agree that Matt Damon is underrated. He never really wows me, but I usually like the movies he's in. I think the most recent thing I saw him in was The Martian. That was good. I've avoided most of the Jason Bourne movies.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on April 23, 2018, 03:24:34 PM
I am re-reading The Forsaken: An American Tragedy in Stalin's Russia. It's the true story of people whose parents brought them to Russia in the 20s and 30s and what happened to them in the waves of Stalin's Terrors. I am a history buff, and this was particularly interesting because it is about a time and place I know relatively little about, especially that many Americans moved to Russia at that time for various reasons: They may have been true believers in Communism, Jews whose families had fled the discrimination and pogroms of Tsarist Russia and longed to return, employees of Henry Ford who were paid handsomely to serve as engineers and consultants in the plant he sent over to assist in Stalin's industrialization plan. It is long and not written in a particularly engaging style, but is one of those books that has you looking back once finished and saying, "I grew from this."

RangeRoverA1 and a few other posters noted their affection for Agatha Christie books. Me too! I'd always liked  them as a child, but really got into the Tommy 'n Tuppence series (a young couple - different for a Christie book) when I was in England as a teenager. It was fun going to many of the places where they went to solve murders, etc.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on April 23, 2018, 03:40:36 PM
I am re-reading The Forsaken: An American Tragedy in Stalin's Russia. It's the true story of people whose parents brought them to Russia in the 20s and 30s and what happened to them in the waves of Stalin's Terrors. I am a history buff, and this was particularly interesting because it is about a time and place I know relatively little about, especially that many Americans moved to Russia at that time for various reasons: They may have been true believers in Communism, Jews whose families had fled the discrimination and pogroms of Tsarist Russia and longed to return, employees of Henry Ford who were paid handsomely to serve as engineers and consultants in the plant he sent over to assist in Stalin's industrialization plan. It is long and not written in a particularly engaging style, but is one of those books that has you looking back once finished and saying, "I grew from this."

That sounds really interesting!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on April 23, 2018, 03:43:18 PM
Daniel Ellsburg's "The Doomsday Machine," which is terrifying.

To help mitigate the depression caused by the above, I started Steven Pinker's "Enlightenment Now." I'm going back and forth a few chapters at a time. We're all going to die. Everything's fine. We're all going to die. Everything's fine. And so on.
Trying to finish up the Pinker book, due back to the library today. But I started and am really enjoying Judaism in Persia’s Shadow, too. Getting some of both in while enjoying the 70-degree weather on my patio. To think, last weekend we got nearly 20” snow!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on April 23, 2018, 04:17:54 PM
It really is. Not just the story, but an interesting deep dive into the psychology of Stalin, the society, the gulags, and the prisoners. People can argue about who was worse, Stalin or Hitler, but he was certainly no better in terms of terror and death (although Mao was responsible for more than either, another story... BTW, America's cowardly lack of effort to protect the Americans is embarrassing. Like you, I have to kind of alternate attention between really dark and more cheerful reading, and this is dark, told from the POV of the very few American survivors.     


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 01, 2018, 05:27:16 AM
2Buckethead: Didn't read "Tommy & Tuppence" series. Hope there's many interesting cases with cool witty investigation just like in "Ms. Marple", imo best sleuth created by Christie.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on May 01, 2018, 05:51:01 AM
RRA1 - There aren't as many books in the T and T series. IIRC, there are four plus a number of short stories. It all begins in the 1920s when the characters are in their 20s, and ends when they are in their 70s. There is a bit more emphasis on the "times" during which each mystery played out.
What I like also is that T and T are from very average English backgrounds, so they are very down-to earth. Tommy is a more literal thinker who sees things from a factual perspective, whereas Tuppence has a finely honed sense of female intuition. Like the Marple stories, these are good mysteries, but I found that they were more fun to read.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 10, 2018, 05:05:17 AM
2Buckethead: Which book do you like the best, big favorite? Which genre do you like - mystery, science fiction, history? Is fave book in the genre you like the best, i.e. the 2 meet?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on May 10, 2018, 03:24:44 PM
I really don't have a favorite book, but tended to favor mysteries growing up. I have now lost my taste for fiction, and only read biographies, history, sociology, and anthropology.  I tend to read in themes, so a few years ago I read a book on the role of Nazi psychiatrists and the Holocaust, women and the Holocaust,  a nasty French rescuer of many Jews (no one suspected!), and the art/writings of children kept in Theresienstadt concentration camp, etc. The last couple of years began with a book on the familial relationship between Wilhelm II, George V, and Nicholas II and its  influence on WWI, which led me to a book on Americans in the USSR under Stalin. I've just completed a dozen or so readings on Nicholas I through Nicholas II, and made many detours into the British Royal family, then back to the Romanovs and German royal families in order to make full sense of it all. European Royalty, it seems, was even more inbred than I ever imagined! And we make fun of southerners here in the US....
What about you? What do you like to read? 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 11, 2018, 06:03:38 AM
Interesting thing to do - to read in themes. Did you read Solzhenitsin's "Archipelago gulag" (not sure what's the English title)? To me, best books would be adventure, horror, mystery, detective, film history. Faves - Charles Dickens' "Old Curiosity Shop" (sweet, rife with adventures, hilarious at times, cool sinister villain with crooked legs), Robert Stine's "The Scarecrow Walks At Midnight", Gillian Rubinstein's "Space Demons" (uber-cool), Rex Stout's Perry Mason series, Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, "Ten Little Indians", Edgar Poe's "Black Cat", Bela Kaufman's "Up The Down Staircase", A. Chekhov's funny short stories, Alexander Grin's "Pink Sails" (again, what's the English title), I. Turgenev's "Asya" (aloof heroine who I pictured to be very beautiful girl, hate love tales but this is bizarrely good), "The Cat Who..." detectives by Lilian Jackson Braun. You read these?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on May 11, 2018, 10:31:16 AM
I did read what was called here The Gulag Archipelago a few years after it was published. It's neat that you like RL Stine - my three sons loved all of his books, and I enjoyed reading the books to them until they could read them themselves. the "choose your scare" ones were  especially fun. I've also read most of Agatha Christie's books after I graduated from reading all of the Nancy Drew Mysteries. (She was a rich girl who was finished high school, but did not have to work, so she drove around in her sports car solving mysteries as she waited for her boyfriend to finish college and marry her. LOL.) I never knew that Up the Down Staircase was based on a novel. It was one of my favorite movies! As a young teacher, I felt just like the main character, actually, still do.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 13, 2018, 07:58:20 AM
What's your fave R. Stine goosebump? I did read "Nancy Drew" - must say it's impressive as computer game, not when you read. Cool music too. Btw, the books mentioned previously - the faves list - I usually skipped "character's thinking", "street/ weather/ place/ descriptions" (except appearance which could be funny like Daniel Quilp's description in "Old Curiousity Shop") & the other narrations. It's boring - dialogs, many people talk is favorite bits in books. "Up The Down Staircase" is written by veteran teacher Bel Kaufman - it's mainly letters between teachers (Beatrice to Sylvia, Sylvia to Henrietta, vice versa etc.) & "Attention, pupils!" type speeches. Sandy Dennis looked like teacher, well played Ms. Barrett. Ditto Mr. McHabe, btw, he's funny & cool. But big time annoyed by that girl who developed crush to ugly brash Mr. Berringer. Ditto her friend Carol that did the speech as if Alice couldn't do it without help plus interfered & cared about Alice waaay too many times. Didn't like the nurse who gave tea - bizarre as hell. Didn't like Ms. Friedenberg "guildance counsellor" as well, due to fact she reluctantly gave to Ms. Barrett the pupils' Personality Profiles & said "but bring them back". Dumb. Why would Ms. Barrett keep pupils' cards? Clearly, she'd bring them back, she's disciplined. Anyhoo, glad you like it, I said in Movies thread it's favorite too (but not in past time like you said, "was", but is).


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on May 13, 2018, 08:59:07 AM
I am laughing at your reactions to Up the Down Staircase! You have a very funny perspective on people. Because of the places in which I've taught, I've met many bizarre school staff. I think that those who work with troubled people are often as much troubled themselves, but blend in better in the odd atmosphere. I loved Sandy Dennis in her role, the perfect balance of clueless and not at all clueless.

My favorite Goosebumps story was Ghost Beach, where a brother and sister stay with older relatives and meet other kids from their extended family. The problem is, as they discover, everyone is actually a long-dead ancestor.

As for what you like in a story, I really get into everything, including what characters are thinking, details of the setting, etc. This is probably because I mentally "go" to where the story takes place and feel part of everything while I am reading. I get really p----d when I'm interrupted for that reason - I don't have to just take my attention away, but come all of the way back to real life. It better be for a good reason!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 13, 2018, 08:04:00 PM
Again about the movie - Ms. Barrett says "homeroom". Shouldn't she say "classroom"? Doesn't make sense to dub school cabinet which teacher teaches in "home". F.ex. "homework" isn't "task pupils do at school". Could you explain? To be back to topic, people usually stand up to heroes, positive characters. But, is there fictional villain you really like?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on May 14, 2018, 06:16:29 AM
In the US middle schools and high schools kids move all day from class to class. But typically, they start the day with "homeroom," when attendance is taken, the pledge to the flag is done (not always), kids give teachers excuse notes for absences and permission slips for trips,  someone makes general announcements over the intercom for the whole school, votes are cast for things like prom king and queen. Then kids sit and talk and waste time, or there is occasionally some kind of social activity to build a sense of community and belonging (this is where the "home" part comes from). If there is an assembly, kids usually sit in spaces according to homeroom. They are normally assigned to one based on their last name in the alphabet and are together throughout their years in the school. (So, for example, my last name started with K, so I was with kids whose names also started with K until we graduated.)

As for villains in literature, I can't say that I actually liked any. I hate the bad guy, mostly because I've had too much experience with them in my own life.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on May 14, 2018, 09:09:42 AM
The pledge to the flag still happens in US schools?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on May 14, 2018, 12:50:31 PM
It still does in many schools.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on May 14, 2018, 03:23:29 PM
It still does in many schools.

I guess I shouldn't talk because here we make our kids sing the national anthem in the morning. But making a pledge to be loyal to the State seems to be a whole other level of ridiculousness.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on May 14, 2018, 07:04:37 PM
It's not as it used to be. I remember that it was quite mandatory, unless on e was a Jehovah's Witness. But in recent decades, it's typically purely voluntary, with students just required to be silent if they do not wish to participate. In the schools in which I've taught recently, there was not time set aside for the pledge. It may be different in different states or areas, however.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 18, 2018, 02:04:27 AM
2Buckethead: Thanks, really rad answers. At least sth. good about schools here - absence of "homeroom", day begins straight with 3-6 lessons & you're free. :D I see in schools abroad this thing that doesn't exist here, if we compare strictly public schools - you've got pupils dividing during classes, smb. usually says in films "We met in [subject] class, rmbr?" "We're going to the same class". School system here is about 20-30 children sitting in the same cabinet during *every* lesson. Except language but 95% kids study English & 2-3% choose French & German (usually it's these 3 languages). Everything else everybody sits together thru 11 grades. You study many foreign languages, right? Not just French, German, f.ex. Brian studied Spanish but maybe it's sth. to do with him living in California - many Spanish people live there. In state you live in, the choices would be different? Maybe Italian in addition?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on May 18, 2018, 06:05:19 AM
I started reading Walter Bauer's "Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity" after finishing Hans Fallada's great novel "The Drinker."

RRA1 - I know you didn't ask me, but since I'm here, foreign language requirements tend to be a low priority in the USA, especially in public schools. Usually at least for college--and maybe in some high schools, though certainly not mine when I went there--do require a year or two of one language, but that tends to be all many people ever take. Spanish is the most common, with French and German probably the next two. But once you meet adult Americans, they often barely recall whatever (typically minimal) language they took in school and mostly just speak English. Often badly.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on May 18, 2018, 06:54:50 AM
The Captain and RRA1 -

Yes, I would have to agree that our educational system really does tend to give foreign languages short shrift. I took both French and Spanish, but really can't say I am fluent in either. I live in Pennsylvania, where there were/are traditionally a lot of people of German-speaking origin. As a result,
the majority of my peers opted to take German class in secondary school. A  local station even devotes an evening each week to a call-in show where people speak Pennsylvania German, a dialect  of Low German and English. Things are changing a bit, though, as there are some public schools around the country that offer immersion programs, in which elementary school kids are taught another language, usually Spanish, and some or all classes are conducted in it.  A few local districts now offer Mandarin or Russian in high school.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on May 18, 2018, 06:59:16 AM
When I was in High School in the early 70s the only options there were Spanish and French. I took 3 years of French, then in college took 4 courses in French reading.
Some of the boys High Schools also offered German.

We have a couple of immersion schools here that use a foreign language (French or Spanish) to teach all subjects other than the English class. Starting with young children, that helps develop true fluency in another language. Learning another language helps develop a greater world view, appreciating other cultures. It's sad how xenophobic so many Americans are.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on May 18, 2018, 11:24:26 AM
NOLA BB Fan -

     Agree. And there are many cognitive benefits. One that particularly interests me, as a woman of a certain age, is that being bi-lingual tends to slow the development dementia as we age.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on May 18, 2018, 11:39:18 AM
I think it might be unfortunate in some ways that Americans (and those from most of Canada, the UK, etc.) have had the "advantage" of much of the world learning English as the lingua franca. It's harder to convince people to learn another language when they know that many or most people outside their country already speak and understand English.

But I have to admit I'm just as lazy as the next guy: I had four years of Spanish in high school and two of Latin in college, but in both cases I've really let them slip. I am considering teaching myself koine Greek, but that's not really of much use in daily life.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on May 18, 2018, 08:00:10 PM
The Captain - Perhaps not useful in everyday life, but beneficial in others. True Canadians and Americans have benefited from English being the lingua franca  at a cost, although don't Canadians have to learn both French and English in school?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on May 19, 2018, 06:50:51 AM
The Captain - Perhaps not useful in everyday life, but beneficial in others. True Canadians and Americans have benefited from English being the lingua franca  at a cost, although don't Canadians have to learn both French and English in school?

There are quite a few French immersion schools, yes. I took French from grade one all the way through the end of high school. However, it's not a requirement and there are some English-only schools here just as I'm sure there are French only schools in Quebec. New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province but I don't know how that works in terms of schooling. My partner is from New Brunswick though. I should probably ask her.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on May 20, 2018, 08:22:48 AM
Chocolate Shake Man-
Thanks for that info.; I was misinformed!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 21, 2018, 04:53:42 PM
Interesting dialogs - thanks, everybody. 2Buckethead: I'd like to ask you new read-related question but 1st, check the painting survey in the other thread. :D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 23, 2018, 06:06:30 AM
2Buckethead: here's the "read" question - Would you say it's true that with new digital book formats, people start going to library less? Or do you think it's zero to do with it? Is it even big difference? People visit libraries today despite digital era. Looks like real books is timeless thing. What say you?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on May 23, 2018, 07:24:03 AM
Good question. I have read that library usage had been declining in the US (in part due to the digital book format, but also due to somewhat less funding than there used to be for longer hours, special programs, the very latest best sellers), but that has leveled off. I know I went to the library more when there were special kiddie events, but think that there will always be this core of patrons who will use the library in spite of the aforementioned changes. I am one of them. I actually prefer to read hard copies of books. I get a rush of excitement when I walk around the stacks and head for a designated section, then wait for a book to pick me. But I am 58 years old. I wonder what younger people, who have had the digital experience for much of their lives, think. What is the situation in Russia? Have Russians always had libraries available to the public, and how many people use digital formats instead of hard copies of books?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 24, 2018, 12:38:28 AM
Digitalization as anything new appears here with big delay. When did you get the very 1st computers in the U.S. mass market - in the 80s? We got them in the late 90s-2000s. Ditto mobiles. 2 biggest Russian libraries - Russian State Library in Moscow & Russian National Library in St. Petersburg - just recently began digitalizing their book collection, still work in progress. The local libraries followed this path. People still go to libraries, any age but indeed, elder people tend to go frequently. Young people don't seem to visit library to read sth. entertaining (except little school kids), they borrow serious books, to help with school/ university assignments. Many copy the info straight in the Internet but still the many others sit in the libraries to work at these assignments. I see many students sitting & writing when I pass by big reading room with tables & pseudo-leather chairs. Don't you hate when you go to book store, read the annotation & few pages to see what it's about & the admin or smb. interrupts by saying "This is not library"? In Moscow, there's even tables & seats in book shops that people sit & read books right there. When they finish, they put them back to shelf. Isn't it cool? But in little town here, it's disallowed.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on May 24, 2018, 02:18:33 AM
Libraries have evolved with the times. Our libraries have plenty computers available for free to patrons who have a library card. Printers are available with a small charge per page. There are still many people who don't have home computers - maybe they can afford one but can't afford the cost for the internet connection in their homes. That's why I get ticked off when, during hurricane season, a radio or television station says "if you want more information about evacuation shelters, Please visit our web page." Argh! Granted, a lot have smartphones but many, especially older people, do not.

As for digital books, I used to buy them frequently. Nowadays I need to budget more, and my eyes prefer that I hold a real book. So I am once again frequenting the library. I like to browse the shelves. Or if I want to check out a particular book - for example, I'm interested in reading a new biography of Paul Simon, I can go online and request that it be sent to my branch.
There is interlibrary loan available as well. If you have a library card you can use several apps to request a book your town's library doesn't have, and it will be delivered.

As for reading books at bookstores the larger chainstores such as Barnes & Noble don't seem to mind people reading their books in the store.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on May 28, 2018, 11:04:33 PM
For more information on emergency evacuation shelters visit a website? Is "Brownie" now in charge of NOLA Emergency Preparedness?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on June 29, 2018, 08:21:00 AM
J.B. Priestley's short "Bright Day". 3/5. It should be shorter. That said, it's written well, Priestley is good writer.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: D Cunningham on June 29, 2018, 09:44:16 AM
Thomas McGuane, Gallatin Canyon.

Brief stories. American West, especially Montana.  Liked him for years.  He appears in the New Yorker now and then.
Not a top-shelf literary light such as is Cormac M. ...

but McGuane has great tone, economics of language, good sense...great read.

Also reading some Nietzsche.  Love reading the philosophy greats.  Even if they get most things wrong.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 02, 2018, 07:07:39 PM
Poor Nietzsche. His evil sister Elisabeth twisted his writings to support the Nazis and their ilk. Is McGuane's work historical fiction? I'm looking for some short stories that my uninspired students might use as a springboard into the American West of the 19th Century.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on July 04, 2018, 08:06:44 AM
I just picked up a used copy of Nietzsche's "Human, All Too Human." Haven't begun it yet, though, because:

I'm currently midway through Isaac Bashevis Singer's "The Manor," the first in a two-volume set along with "The Estate," which I picked up at the same time as the above. It's a big, sprawling family (or set of families) drama set in late 19th century Poland. As usual with Singer, I'm loving it. I know I mention his books pretty often, and unfortunately I'm almost done with his catalogue, so I won't be able to do it much more. But he really has been--along with Dostoevsky and Knut Hamsun--maybe my favorite author.

Simultaneously I'm working through the easy-to-read "A Brief History of Thought" by Luc Ferry on recommendation and the more challenging, but more interesting, A History of Christian Thought by Paul Tillich. (I might have mentioned the latter before, as I picked it up a couple months ago. But I've interrupted myself on it a couple times for other books in the interim.)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 04, 2018, 09:50:23 AM
Doesn't sound all that much like a brief history of thought! I might check out Singer's work, as I find stories about extended families particularly fascinating.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: D Cunningham on July 04, 2018, 10:08:48 AM
Buckethead…the McGuane stories are up-to-date paintings of characters out in Montana, etc.  American lives, rough in their
own particular ways.  Sorry about that.  I'm trying to think of historical West...hm...I'm weak there.  Of course there was Twain
heading out that way as a young man. Roughing it.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 04, 2018, 10:14:57 AM
D Cunningham - Oh, thank you for the clarification. I can find what I need, I'm sure. I like to use historical fiction along with true history with my reluctant learners. My problem is that I really prefer to read non-fiction, myself, so don't have much already swimming in my head.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on July 04, 2018, 11:05:19 AM
I might check out Singer's work, as I find stories about extended families particularly fascinating.

I can't recommend him highly enough. The Manor reminds me of great Tolstoy works in some ways, but where a Tolstoy or Dostoevsky often seems to be talking about grand affairs, somehow Singer usually comes across as about humble, everyday life ... which somehow feels even more grand and epic for it.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: D Cunningham on July 05, 2018, 10:21:57 AM
Buckethead:  Now I'm wondering if the Twain might be of help.  Perhaps you could select a few passages from Roughing It.
Twain's language, phrasing, humor, much more.  That could get the students going.  It got me going a long time ago.

Here is the beginning of Chapter 18:

"
At eight in the morning we reached the remnant and ruin of what
had been the important military station of 'Camp Floyd', some forty-five
or fifty miles from Salt Lake City. At 4 p.m. we had doubled our distance
and were ninety or a hundred miles from Salt Lake. And now we entered
upon one of that species of deserts whose concentrated hideousness
shames the diffused and diluted horrors of Sahara--an 'alkali desert'.
"



Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 05, 2018, 01:48:59 PM
Love it! "...concentrated hideousness..." Thank you - might be useful.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 05, 2018, 05:04:25 PM
I read "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County". Would like to read "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches", shorts' collection. Twain is good author.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 15, 2018, 04:59:43 AM
"Legend Of Turaida Rose", thin book about real Latvian girl Maija who lived in early 17th century. It's got ravishing pics displaying Turaida Castle in Riga, Latvia capital. Castle is older than girl, built in 13th century. Not sure why it's dubbed "legend", it's real events, read episode in Latvian history. 3/5


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on July 15, 2018, 05:29:18 AM
At present I'm reading Richard Miles' spell-binding book Carthage Mvst Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization. Hannibal and the Carthaginians have fascinated me ever since we covered this topic at primary school, in the days when they had radio programmes for schools with accompanying booklets.

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Carthage_prêtresse_sarcophage_Delattre.jpg/280px-Carthage_prêtresse_sarcophage_Delattre.jpg)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 15, 2018, 08:45:28 AM
JK - I have always found Hannibal and co. fascinating, as well. Imagine your average Roman soldier seeing elephants for the first time!

RRA1 - For some reason, a large number of Latvians settled near my little town in Pennsylvania. Otherwise, I would never have known much about the place. They came after WWII and maintained their language and culture to a great degree. They send their kids to Latvian camps in the summer and seem to know peers all over the country. In my twenties, I came across a diary of a girl/young woman who endured the revolution and occupation and was forced to move, alone, to the USSR to work in various industrial jobs. It is really depressing reading. Her happiness in life was reduced to the degree to which she could avoid hunger and cold. I Only Wanted to Live is the title. (Sorry I can't seem to italicize on this website - when I try, this is what happens.)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 16, 2018, 07:07:59 AM
Quote
Otherwise, I would never have known much about the place.
You & me. Except that Turaida castle, I dunno anything about Latvia & Baltic states generally. Ditto languages. Zero interest too.

Thanks to the caution re: depressing reading. Will pass it by. What's your town's library system like? F.ex. here if you're citizen, you're given reader's ticket & free access to books; if you're foreigner, you leave document or money till you bring the book back.
Btw, iir reading, Philadelphia &/ or Pennsylvania is famous for being the leading reader city/ state. Is it right?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Jay on July 16, 2018, 07:50:13 AM
Buckethead, where in LA do you live? I live in the city of Sharon, PA.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 16, 2018, 05:40:53 PM
Jay - I live in Upper Bucks County in the town of Perkasie. (Lenni Lenape for something like place where the bears crack walnuts by the creek). It's about 45 minutes north of Philadelphia city limits. Sharon is north of Pittsburgh, near border with Ohio?

RRA1 -  I never heard that Pennsylvania was known for leading in terms of reading/readers. We do have a city called Reading, however.  Our library system is quite nice. Borrowing cards are free, although I pay fines all the time for bringing books back late. In my state, they will order from other libraries, including those in public universities, any book not available in your local one.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 17, 2018, 05:48:02 AM
Here readers pay fines as well. But - it's good "but" - we've got forgiving day, if you bring book that day, you don't pay anything. Many people use forgiving day if they're late. I'm lifehacker & use that day conveniently as well. I use cool rules to the fullest. :3d


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on July 17, 2018, 07:28:43 AM
Sometimes our Library waives late fees if the person brings a can of food, which will go to our Food Pantry to feed the needy.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on July 17, 2018, 09:15:35 AM
That’s a cool idea re donations in lieu of fines.

We have fines without exception as far as I recall. I end up paying them often, but I plead innocence: it’s the fault of she with whom I reside, I swear! But the fines are more symbolic than anything, so it’s not such a problem.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 18, 2018, 07:29:28 PM
Love the idea of a food donation in lieu of fine. "Forgiving Day" is even better. I accumulate a lot of fines because I get books for my students, who rarely have access to libraries.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 18, 2018, 07:36:45 PM
Yep, we got forgiving day. It's the best idea, it weirds me out that Americans didn't think up sth. like that. :brow I figured America is very creative country.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 19, 2018, 03:14:45 PM
Come to think of it, I have read of library "amnesty," in which if patrons just give back the darn books, they are not required to pay fines. New York City Public Library did it for kids recently. Some municipalities, and the US government may offer amnesty for taxes. This typically means forgiveness of all or part of penalties, interest, or some of the original amount owed. 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 20, 2018, 05:48:32 AM
Besides forgiving day, librarians here arrange annually The Library Night at 27th May. The day when library works 24 hours, at midnight everybody gathers to play various book-related games, quizes, win prizes, visit book exhibitions in different cabinets & many others. Fun guaranteed. You got sth. similar in your state/ city, Buckethead?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on July 20, 2018, 07:23:26 AM
Yep, we got forgiving day. It's the best idea, it weirds me out that Americans didn't think up sth. like that. :brow I figured America is very creative country.

But American libraries are also often funded by their local governments, and usually not very well funded. They also have an issue with people simply taking and not returning books. So the mission isn't making things easy for the delinquent borrowers so much as maintaining the library's ability to stay open and serve. The fines are also both used to raise funds (though they can't raise much, being relatively small) and just to put a little pressure on the borrowers to keep them from being thieves. It is definitely a balancing act, though, because once fines become too large or books are too long overdue, people feel too ashamed to bring them back and instead just keep them.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on July 20, 2018, 07:27:00 AM
I started reading Margaret Barker's "The Older Testament," which suggests and tries to describe a polytheistic core of what became early Judaism after the Babylonian exile, with some aspects of this earlier core showing through not only in the Torah but apocalyptic writing of the Maccabbeean era through the birth of Christianity, including the Qumran/Essene writing and some gnostic works. It's really dense stuff and hard to wrap the mind around in spots, but very interesting. I'm nowhere near far enough through it to say whether I think it's plausible, but it's certainly interesting.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 20, 2018, 07:58:18 AM
The purpose behind forgiving day here is precisely making readers bring books back. In big cities, f.ex. Moscow, the libraries give few forgiving days. Elsewhere it's usually single day in whole year. In tiny village & town libraries, sometimes librarians start calling people to notify about books if the return date is soon/ today. Here libraries mainly funded by government as well but since they decided to create special day without fines, it speaks volumes that they've no problem with losing money they'd get that day if people paid fines daily. Maybe they think "it's just single day, why not".


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on July 20, 2018, 08:19:56 AM
It really is a difficult position for libraries. They need patrons or they would cease to exist. (No government is going to maintain a library for a tiny, tiny percentage of people.) So they can't be TOO nasty to people who are delinquent returning books, or people just won't go. But at the same time, if they have no punishment at all, people will abuse the system, and that doesn't work well in the grand scheme of things either. I sympathize. Really, people just need to be responsible in their behavior and consider the overall good.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 20, 2018, 03:05:42 PM
RRA1 - I'd LOVE to attend Library Night! Do you live in Moscow? That sounds so very cool. our libraries have a lot of kids' programs, lots of reading-related activities, crafts, teddy bear tea parties, etc. I've not heard of anything like you describe, though. Some schools have overnight sleep-overs on a Friday or Saturday in which there is a lot of reading, aloud and/or not, discussions, pizza, and the like.

The Captain - Now THAT'S entertainment! Seriously, whether or not Barker's tome is all accurate, I think that it would be very unlikely that the texts that we today consider essential to early Judaism and Christianity did not have antecedents that likely featured polytheistic frameworks, or, at least, in more monotheistic thinking, lesser gods. Many people seem unaware of the selectivity with which texts were used, altered, borrowed, synthesized and edited over the centuries into what we have today.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 20, 2018, 03:46:43 PM
2the captain: I got what you said re: it's balancing act/ difficult 1st time around. You said what it's like in American libraries, the reasons why. I, as smb. who likes to compare, brought the vs. thing, what's in Russian libraries.

2Buckethead: it seems libraries in your state pay attention exclusively to kids. I think it's plain wrong. Libraries should think about creating sth. to entertain readers of all ages. I don't live in Moscow, Library Night is held the same day at 27th May in all libraries nationally. Including in the city (town, really) I live.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on July 20, 2018, 04:32:05 PM
The Captain - Now THAT'S entertainment! Seriously, whether or not Barker's tome is all accurate, I think that it would be very unlikely that the texts that we today consider essential to early Judaism and Christianity did not have antecedents that likely featured polytheistic frameworks, or, at least, in more monotheistic thinking, lesser gods. Many people seem unaware of the selectivity with which texts were used, altered, borrowed, synthesized and edited over the centuries into what we have today.

Religious history--and specifically the history of Christianity (and consequently, necessarily the history of Judaism)--is probably my main interest in the past few years, especially as someone raised as a pretty conservative Lutheran Christian who has become an atheist over time. It's an academic interest to me that I can't quite seem to get enough of. Ideas like this underlying polytheism, or Jesus mythicism, or the Jamesian-Essene ideas...absolutely fascinating, whatever is actually true. The puzzles have so many layers.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SMiLE Brian on July 20, 2018, 06:44:39 PM
I read a book about my namesake, Brooks Robinson.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 20, 2018, 07:57:51 PM
SmileBrian - BR was quite a cultural icon in his day, a real role model.

The Captain - Were you raised Missouri Synod? This denomination of Lutheranism seems very conservative compared to the more mainstream ELCA the other group that merged  with them in the not-too-distant  past. I know a Lutheran couple who traveled to Kansas and stopped in a Missouri Synod church on a Sunday morning. An usher came to them after they were seated and asked them if they were MSL. When they said no, but Lutheran, he told them that they were welcome but would not be permitted to take communion.

RRA1 - I agree that it would be nice for there to be more programs for adults at libraries. I suppose the reasoning behind the focus on children is that they want to get them "hooked" on reading as early and as long as possible, whereas adults are as engaged with reading, for better or worse, as they ever will be. I am a reading specialist who struggles daily with many kids who read well below their grade level. They typically were not read to when young, were not taken to the library and encouraged to read, etc.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 20, 2018, 08:22:38 PM
That BR may be cultural icon in the U.S. but not internationally. F.ex. here that name isn't known at all. Definitely not household name.

Buckethead, do you publish any articles to local newspaper, write columns to give school kids advices? Maybe books?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 21, 2018, 04:52:07 AM
RRA1 - Brooks Robinson was a famous baseball player from the late 1950s through the mid-70s. Baseball was more important to Americans then than even football. Do I publish anything? No. I doubt that I have anything to say that anyone would want to read! Instead, I read just about anything I can. BTW, what is your hometown?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on July 21, 2018, 05:13:20 AM
The Captain - Were you raised Missouri Synod? This denomination of Lutheranism seems very conservative compared to the more mainstream ELCA the other group that merged  with them in the not-too-distant  past. I know a Lutheran couple who traveled to Kansas and stopped in a Missouri Synod church on a Sunday morning. An usher came to them after they were seated and asked them if they were MSL. When they said no, but Lutheran, he told them that they were welcome but would not be permitted to take communion.

I was. But the amazing part is that's only because that was the closest thing to ELS in my (small, rural) hometown, which is out of which one side of my family came (and was quite prominent, actually, in the ministry and synodic leadership). And ELS makes Missouri look like ELCA. The positive side is, the experience has given me a lot of insight into conservative culture, an insight a lot of my friends never got.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 21, 2018, 05:45:14 AM
2Buckethead: Yes, I read baseball is popular there but, I took the word "icon" to be used when talking about household name, world-famous celebrity, smb. really important to be known everywhere. Looks like it isn't correct? I arrived in the village, raised in "settlement of urban type", now live in the city with boring name. These 3 places reside in Siberia. I read that famous street food in the U.S., esp. New York/ Jersey/ Massachusets is falafel (sp?). Did you taste it? Describe it.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 21, 2018, 01:21:20 PM
RRA1 -
I see. I meant "icon" in the USA, should have been more specific. I guess it can be taken in terms of the world or within a nation/culture.  You are certainly making me more globally conscious!

I've never met a Siberian, although I talk to many other Russian college students who work in my favorite ocean-side resort in the state of New Jersey. How long do you have cold winter weather?

Falafel is actually a Middle Eastern food (I think originally Egyptian?) that is popular wherever there are larger settlements of Middle Easterners in the US. Essentially, it consists of fava beans or chick peas fried up as a patty and served on pita bread or they may be made into little balls and eaten alone as a snack or starter or put on salads, other vegetables, etc. Often, they are accompanied with sauces that may be spicy or not. Falafel is also popular with vegetarians because it is a tasty, inexpensive source of high quality protein. The flavor itself is pretty bland, but is enhanced from frying in oil and the sauces. I enjoy falafel as long as it is not spicy.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 21, 2018, 03:58:26 PM
Siberia itself covers pretty big territory. It isn't super-cold thru & thru. Weather in winter ranges between 20 C-60 C (sorry, not used to Fahrenheit degrees). Summer differs as well. In Siberia side I live, winter's about 30-40 C. Summer's usually cold, in June now & then it's snowing, hailing. In July it's kinda warm. August back to cold, preparation to fall. What's weather in where you live, to compare?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 21, 2018, 04:44:22 PM
Forgive my ignorance  -  my conversion charts show your winters at 30-40 C would be are 86 to 104 F?  That's  tropical temperatures. We have pretty distinct seasons where I live.  Winter averages  30-45 F (-1 to 5 C), although it can be as cold as 10-20 F, typically with 30 or so inches of snow . Summers  average  64 -87 F ( 18-31C), although it can get as hot as 99 F or so, and spring and autumn, of course, in between.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 21, 2018, 05:07:54 PM
Oopsie daisy, forgot to add minus to those digits.
I'd like winter like that, -1 to 5 C. Lucky you!
It means you can go without headgear?
To get this back to topic - when you didn't buy car, travelling by train, as well as underground, did you read sitting there? I think people musn't read in public transport.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 22, 2018, 10:22:49 AM
We can go without headgear often in the winter, depending on how long we are outdoors. Our worst winter days are probably like your more pleasant ones in Siberia.

I have actually rarely traveled by train (three or four times), bus (same), or underground (twice). Most Americans who do not live in cities have less access to these forms of transportation to get around on a regular basis, most use cars. Besides, reading on some trains/buses/subways is not always safe - people have to be aware of surroundings, depending on where they are. In cities, trains/buses/underground are used a lot more, although many use cars, exclusively. The USA has never had the well-developed, highly accessible modes of public transportation seen in Europe or Russia. My British cousin flew here with his son to visit a university two states away from mine. I picked him up at the Philadelphia airport and we visited. The next morning, he asked where the train station was, thinking that it would have a train that would take his son to the university. In reality, the local train would would go to the Philadelphia's main station, which would have a train taking him to a city far away, where he would get on a train to take him to a city in the other state, where he could get on a train stopping a few miles from his destination. I did read on my long plane trips to/from Europe. The first time I finished several Agatha Christie mysteries!   


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 23, 2018, 05:47:06 AM
Thanks, very useful info.
Will you tell the 1st book you read & liked?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 23, 2018, 05:42:48 PM
The first book I read by myself and liked was something like Going to the Beach. It was just about a little girls whose family takes her to the beach. It described all of the things she saw, heard, and felt, and in the end she was sad that she had to leave. I could so very much identify with her! The first book I read was Dick and Jane, part of a series of what we call readers. They were created to teach kids how to read in first grade. I hated the book, first of all, because I could already read and it said things like,"Oh Dick. See Jane run. Oh, oh, oh!" Second, in my little mind, dick was a bad word for penis. Finally, I never met anyone who said, "Oh, oh, oh!" A few years ago, I found a book in a store that made fun of Dick and Jane, had a vampire stalking them or something.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 24, 2018, 08:35:58 PM
Which classic literature is favorite to you? Many Americans, going by Internet surveys, like the works by James Joyce & Ernest Heminhway. Do you too? List writers & works.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on July 25, 2018, 12:47:30 PM
So funny about "Dick and Jane."

 The first serious book I read was Little Women. As a kid I also read Oliver Twist, Tom Sawyer, and Huckleberry Finn. There was also a series of books I read about the Bobbsey Twins.

The first nonfiction book I remember reading was Robert Massie's classic, Nicholas and Alexandra, which started my fascination with all things Russian. I probably should read that book again, as it's the 100th anniversary of their demise. However you feel about Nicholas, why kill his children? It was a crazy time back then.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 25, 2018, 04:18:21 PM
I didn't find the "Dick And Jane" bit funny. Maybe I missed sth.?

"Tom Sawyer" & "Huckleberry Finn" books are very popular with Soviet/ Russian kids. Films were made, TV mini-series etc. I read them at 10. Finn is better than Tom.

Many people, natives/ foreigners, got misguided view about Nikolai II. He wasn't bad, as per numerous historians, professors' research & statements. Killing children as revenge to the killing of Lenin's brother isn't right, goes without saying.

You seem to be with poetic nature - do you read any poetry, NOLA BBF? Robert Burns, Byron, smb. else?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on July 25, 2018, 06:22:48 PM
Those Dick and Jane books were pretty lame. I saw them in passing but thank goodness our school didn't use them.

Poetry? I'm trying to get back into it. When I was in college my favorite poems were William Blake's Poems of Innocence and Experience.
For the "Experience" the most famous poem is The Tyger (Tiger)

Tyger Tyger, burning bright, in the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye, could frame thy fearful symmetry?
Etc....

For the Songs of Innocence, my English Professor brought tears to my eyes when he read the poem The Chimney Sweeper:
When my mother died I was very young, and my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!
So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.
Etc....

These poems are classics and should be easy for you to see online.

I have a soft spot in my heart for The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost., with the classic ending:
Two roads diverged in a wood , and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

There was a funny poem about a monk who wasn't happy about his situation:
Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister, by Robert Browning. It might take you a bit to get through it as it has a few Latin words in it. The ending makes me laugh out loud:

 "St, there's Vespers! Plena Gratia
Ave Virgo! Gr-r-r you swine!

Another one by Browning, quite macabre - Porphyria's Lover.

I better stop now. Planning on getting into TS Eliot's later poetry (The Waste Land; Four Quartets)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 25, 2018, 08:25:59 PM
Stupid books, yes. But, it's difficult to skip lame things. Flowers lame, TV lame, ice cream lame, books lame, dates lame, weddings lame, gadgets lame etc.

Reading these poetry bits I realize again it's really not my cup of (expired) tea.

Can you do "Best 3 books" list? Or best 5 you read?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on July 26, 2018, 05:02:42 AM
I'll get back to you about my 3 favorite books. Do you want fiction books or could they be non fiction?

I got a bit carried away with the poetry. For a number of years I was "meh" about it but recently I've had renewed interest


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 26, 2018, 08:10:30 AM
It's 2 separate categories - make best 3 fiction & best 3 real.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 26, 2018, 04:13:46 PM
NOLA BB Fan and lRRA1:

I think that you really had to "be there" to find humor in the Dick and Jane discussion. As for favorite authors and books, I don't have any. I just like to read, period. I like Husk Finn and Tom Sawyer. There were some school districts in America that actually banned them as racist. The funny thing is, they were just the opposite and served as my introduction to the concept of racism and its ugliness. I think that some people saw the "n" word and missed Twain's true intention.   

Nicholas and Alexandra! Yes! I first read it in 1990, while on bed rest with pregnancy. I have read maybe a dozen books related to Russian history, but none recently until I  discovered a website called the Alexander Palace Time Machine. I has many resources, with a separate  discussion area, related to all things Romanov. I especially enjoy exploring their relationships with the extended family and the other royal families of Europe within the context of so much intermarriage over the years. (Romanov brides were usually German princesses., but there were other unions with the Danish and Brits, as well.)  One example involves Victoria Melita, who was Albert and Victoria's son Alfred's daughter; her mother was the Tsar's aunt, Marie.  VM married Alexandra's brother, Ernst, Duke of Hesse. They divorced, then she married her other first cousin (also Nicholas' first cousin), Grand Duke Kyrill. VM and Kyrill were exiled for that until the First World War. Goodness. It truly boggles the mind, who was whom and who liked/disliked whom for what reasons.

RRA!, is there a general opinion in Russia of Nicholas II ?  I was under the impression that he underwent a rehabilitation, of sorts, after the remains of the family were discovered.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 26, 2018, 06:26:11 PM
"Finn" & "Sawyer" books racist merely due to n-word? Is it joke? Come on, that's not serious.

There's no general opinion about Nikolai II (I hate Nicholas, the English name, prefer to use original Russian names for Russians). They either say he's brought terror, one of the worst Romanovs, or they say they don't much care, it's done deal, he's been & gone, he's dead. But various studies by historians in documentaries show that he wasn't as bad as people paint him. He did NOT want to rule the country. He wanted to lead nice quiet living style. He's basically family man. But due to father to son custom to innherit the throne, he's got zero choice to be who he liked to.

I bet many people still view him as bad figure in Russian history, various documentaries that state the opposite can't change people who believe what they choose.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 26, 2018, 06:46:03 PM
That is pretty much the impression I had about why people wanted the books banned. The word is emotionally loaded, and understandably so.

I have the same impression of NII, as well. Certainly, he was a loving husband and father. Witnesses also state that he was quite even-tempered and treated even regular people with respect  and kindness.. I've read that he wept when his father died, telling a Grand Duke that he was not ready to rule. Still, he did seem quite obstinate about his God-given obligation to maintain the throne as it had been,, essentially sharing no real power by creating a constitutional monarchy along the lines of those that survived WWI. He also seemed tone-deaf in terms of the living conditions of the majority of the populace, just felt unconditionally worshiped and adored by the masses.. One would be hard put to identify any famous figure (or regular person) who might qualify as all good or all bad.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on July 28, 2018, 01:45:57 PM
In this case, it's not what I'm reading but what I found to read, and where. This week we were in northern Wisconsin on along the southern shore of Lake Superior. While wandering around the area we stopped in an unassuming storefront in Washburn, WI, for a used bookstore--the sort of thing we enjoy checking out as a curiosity.

Chequamegon Books, for anyone passing through the area, is heaven. The main room has maybe 10 shelves along the two exterior walls (25 yards or so deep?), with maybe four or five aisles standing eight or nine shelves tall. There's a back room, and an upstairs in the back room that overlooks the lake. The proprietors clearly use some taste in acquiring books: an entire wall was dedicated to history (half of it to military history), far more than the largest Barnes & Noble I've ever seen. The fiction section was spotty in what it had, but what it had! Maybe 10 or 12 Willa Cather books, just as many Nelson Algren books, a depth even our local library system doesn't match. (Conversely, there were authors entirely absent. Such is life.) I almost giggled at the section dedicated to far leftist politics, a section bigger than a chain bookstore's section for all politics ... even politics + history (and maybe autobiography too). Then back to the music theory section, where I scanned Schoenberg's book on harmony. And to reiterate, the second-floor of the back room has lake views. Eden.

I picked up an early 80s pamphlet by Sen. Hatch about the ERA; a 19th century book linking pre-Exilic Judaism to zodiac cults; a study of the Reformation; some Schleiermacher; a comedic critique of G-Dub Bush; a 1960s analysis of the political change in America in the first half of the 19th century; and a book on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Some books seemed slightly overpriced, but others were almost laughably cheap.

Their bookmark claims 80,000 books. It felt like 80 million. Chequamegon Books, Washburn, Wisconsin.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SMiLE Brian on July 28, 2018, 04:43:03 PM
Used bookstores are heaven, I am a big history buff (American, military, etc....)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 30, 2018, 03:03:05 PM
2Buckethead: Can you explain to me why/ how n-word is "emotionally loaded"? I, to be frank, don't get it. Isn't there state Nigeria in Africa anyway? Similar to "n*****". Re: Nikolai II, in previous post I brought just few things that historians said in the documentary. They said many-many revelations in it, "family guy" is tiniest bit of info in the 5-hour documentary. It used to be in Youtube with English subs, you would see it with your eyes what they say about his reign etc. When I find it, will link it.

2tc: typically indifferent about views but big choice in bookstores is luxury here. Cool. Btw, didn't know Wiskonsin borders with state. I knew about SD being neighbor.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on July 30, 2018, 04:19:42 PM
Views are something I come to appreciate more as I get older. I'm not a photographer, a painter, or anything like that, but I do enjoy a few peaceful moments enjoying the beauty of the world. Water, in particular, brings me a certain internal peace, be it an ocean, a lake, a river, a creek.

Minnesota is bordered by North and South Dakota to the west. I've never been fond of that area, as it's basically flat prairies converted to huge farms since being settled in the 19th century. In the north we're bordered by Manitoba and Ontario, Canada, in mostly heavily wooded areas (known on the Minnesota side as the Boundary Waters area, a heavily protected natural site). In the east, Wisconsin, mostly woods and Lake Superior in the north and the Mississippi River and its accompanying valleys to the south. And in the south, Iowa, almost all farmland. (That's where I grew up, near the southern border.) It's a relatively diverse area in terms of the terrain.

As for bookstores, I'm afraid the big chain stores really forced many smaller or independent ones out of business ... and now are being driven out of business themselves by the lower prices at Amazon, etc. I prefer the independently owned stores that have some of the character of their owners or communities. Often that might end up as unfortunately showing the dull taste of the owner or community, but sometimes--like in Washburn at Chequamegon Books--you hit the jackpot. Many much larger towns than little old Washburn, Wisconsin, would be lucky to have that bookstore.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 30, 2018, 05:10:34 PM
the Captain - I have happy memories of childhood trips through Minnesoooota, all in the summer. I'm sure your winters put those in PA to shame. I like used books stores, as well. To me, they provide more of an adventure than a new bookseller.

RRA1 - The n-word is so emotionally laden because it was used to degrade and humiliate black people, both before and after slavery. I look forward to the NII link, if you find it.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 31, 2018, 01:41:22 AM
2Buckethead: You're smart, I don't doubt what you say, in fact I read sth. along the lines about n-word. But, I'm not just interested in the surface info but being very curious, I dig deep to get to the root as well. Going by the word, as I said before, it's very similar to African republic name Nigeria, I'm sure you know there IS such country. Next, "n.igger", iirc, is of Spanish origin. It translates "black". Compare to "negro" which means the same. As you see & hear around, Africans, African Americans etc. see no problem in referring to themselves as "blacks" - "I'm black" they say easily. I'd seen it many times. Which doesn't make sense hence question I directed to you, Buckethead - why is n-word emotionally lauded? I'd like to know the why & the how. How it developed into insult if it means black in the 1st place. Then posting in General Music Discussion "black singers", "black musicians" - many used & use this description - should be considered insult as well. I'm, you see, very strict about this all, i.e. if sth. is considered bad & sth. else basically meaning the same doesn't get "bad" label, it's not right in my eyes. I'm for equality & fairness. Logically, it doesn't make sense that "black" isn't equally insult, yet n-word is, despite the fact that, if we analyze the root, it isn't really bad word as it just means "black", word we use today & nobody says anything against it. I'd like you to answer question again, after attentively reading my reply.

2tc: That's why it's cold in MN - due to Canada. I see now. I gather it isn't popular tourist place since people usually choose going to warm places. In chatting with the other poster living there (hbig), he said that the main nationalities include Scandinavians &, among the others, Czechs. It's really curious info, I wouldn't think that many Czechs would settle in this specific state.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Jay on July 31, 2018, 02:08:25 AM
There really needs to be a popcorn eating emoticon in this message board.  ;D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on July 31, 2018, 06:07:54 AM
RRA1, Minnesota is cold in winter (usually -17 to -40 C) but can be very hot in summer (32-35 C). And actually tourism is a major industry here, especially in summer, because of our lakes and forests. Many communities, particularly in the north and northeast, exist solely because of tourism. There is also some tourism in winter, largely based on winter-sports enthusiasts, but nowhere near as much.
 
Minnesota’s ethnic makeup is largely Scandinavian to the point of it being a joke, but I think the largest single country of origin would be Germany. But certainly Germans, Swedes, Danes, and Norwegians dominate ethnically. There were also waves of Irish and Polish in the early days of the state’s history. Then once the logging and mining industries really got going in the later 1800s, the northern part of the state saw immigration from the nations that were sending many immigrants at that time: Serbs, Croats, Finns, Italians, Poles, as well as a Jewish wave from Russia and various Eastern European countries, and some Asians. So northern Minnesota has some different roots than the bulk of the state. Then in the 1900s, after Vietnam, we had a large wave of immigrants brought in largely by churches, giving us what I think is the biggest Hmong population in America, followed by more recent (mostly since the 90s) waves of Somalians and Ethiopians, giving us the biggest Somalian population outside that country.
 
You didn’t ask me, but I’ll offer an answer anyway: the n-word is especially offensive because of how it was intended, not by the word itself. Certainly, we can all see its etymological roots, which are as harmless as any other word. And the word is sometimes used among some black people without offense. But when used offensively, it is taken offensively: and then because of the system under which it rose to prominence (slavery and post-slavery Jim Crow), it holds a special place as an insult.
 
Your line of thinking makes sense: I remember vividly when I argued as a child—7th grade, maybe?—with a teacher about swearing more generally (not that word). I argued that the words themselves obviously weren’t inherently offensive, because some of those words could be used in different context in which they weren’t considered swearing. And yet the meanings also weren’t offensive, because we used different words to mean the same thing, and those also weren’t considered swearing. I argued that it was silly to take offense at words that had no power other than a group of people deciding they were off limits.
 
But that’s just language. The intent and shared understanding is what matters. That’s why even though I personally don’t think any word is offensive—I don’t even think words themselves CAN be offensive, only thoughts—I’m also the “loser,” the outlier. I’m not going to go around casually using the ones that people generally find offensive, because however much I might say this word is nothing special, that won’t stop punches from landing on my face.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 31, 2018, 03:56:09 PM
RRA1 and the Captain -

The Captain expressed my thoughts on the topic of the n-word, albeit more eloquently than I would have. It is interesting about words. There is one that sounds similar to it, but actually has Old Norse roots, and means to be miserly - niggardly, with the i sounded as a long e. I've heard it used a few times over the years, always with others, out of ignorance, shaming the speaker/writer. That makes as much sense as getting exercised over someone saying regina as the British do, or recoiling at the term penal institution. (Dang. Why does using the italics option not simply italicize?)

I believe that Bob Dylan's (Robert Zimmerman's) grandparents came to MN in the 1910s. The Jewish community of Hibbing had to bring in a rabbi to prepare young Bob and his Jewish peers for their Bar Mitzvah. I once taught with a semi-retired school teacher from the town. He said that Bob's brother was the music teacher in the town's public school, a very nice guy who instructed all five of his kids.  IIRC, David Zimmerman played an integral role in the Minneapolis recordings on Blood on the Tracks and found local musicians, as well. Wonder what it's like to be Dylan's brother? 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on July 31, 2018, 03:56:39 PM
Oh, the italics icon worked!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on August 02, 2018, 05:06:13 PM
2Buckethead: When you type the reply, there's 3 buttons - "Post", "Preview", "Spell Check". Click "Preview", it'll display to you that the italics worked. The box where you type the reply doesn't display the end result. "Preview" does.
2tc: Looks like it's sharp continental state. Re: bad words, Real beach boy used to say here "You choose to be offended". What does it mean? Does it mean literally what the phrase says? Do you agree with the phrase? It's really puzzling. Btw, it doesn't matter who the question is directed to. If smb. answers - they answer. As long as it's not smartsy reply, cutesy smiley which doesn't add anything to discussion, short one-liner a la SB which doesn't add anything to discussion, ambiguous replies "Wow", "What", "Who?", "Hm" & such, it should be fine by interested parties.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on August 03, 2018, 07:06:01 AM
Re: bad words, Real beach boy used to say here "You choose to be offended". What does it mean? Does it mean literally what the phrase says? Do you agree with the phrase? It's really puzzling.

I hate to speak for someone else, but I think TRBB meant it pretty much literally. There is a narrative in the general social/political world where he seems to fit that there is a culture in America of people who actively seek to be (or at least act) offended by everything, because then they can complain about the alleged offenders as being somehow oppressive. So if I were to be offended that you use some anti-male, or anti-white, or anti-American slur against me, as the victim, I am the person who gets the moral upper hand in a debate. The natural response is that people sympathize with the victim and against the violator. So, according to this line of thinking, people misuse or even invent victimhood to get the upper hand in debates: instead of equals debating a point, one is oppressor and one is oppressed, and the oppressed has the moral upper hand. That is the theory, and I am guessing that is what TRBB meant.

My response to this is probably more ambiguous than you're going to like, but I'll try it anyway. I think there is truth in that idea, but I don't think that idea is literally true. To truly be offended is often an emotional reaction, and I don't think we generally choose our emotions. People don't wake up and say "today I will be depressed!" but sometimes people wake up and are depressed. Ditto happy, angry, and yes, offended.

However, I do think that a person can understand emotions and manage them. I also agree to some extent that some people seem to enjoy manipulating other people, and one way to do that is by being a martyr or victim: it can be a cynical situation like I described above, or it could just be that a person enjoys the attention s/he gets from being in that position. I think even subconsciously people could choose to put themselves in that role repeatedly for that reason.

An example that isn't exactly the same, but is similar enough to show my point, is something I've noticed in my office over the years. We have had a few different executive assistants there who at first glance are terribly overworked: always drowning in tasks to be done, seemingly swimming in unfair work, the only person hanging on to order in an environment that could easily slide into chaos without her. But ... upon closer inspection over time, I would notice that many of this urgency and busyness was nonsense. Invented work. Entirely inessential. Made more complex than it had to be. It seems to me that these types of people simply like being seen as the only person holding things together, and more or less create an almost chaotic environment just to be seen in that way. They seem to like being in that role. I can't say whether they consciously choose it or subconsciously manifest it.

So to summarize, I don't literally or precisely agree with the phrase or idea, no. But I think there is something to it on some possibly subconscious or occasionally personality-quirk level.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on August 03, 2018, 02:57:29 PM
There are so many words and phrases that might offend that one could live in a constant state of the same: gyped on a deal, welched on a bet, got off scot free, want that with a side of fries, hun? They live among us. Then there are the "virtue signalers" who actively seek opportunities to correct people who might have said anything that might possible offend anyone, context and prior knowledge of the speaker be damned. Why? It makes them feel holier than thou, virtuous, if you will. I once dated a man who almost had me believing that I was homophobic because I surmised that a mutual acquaintance was gay. Period. No mocking, no derisive comments, no past indicators of such an attitude. He also gave me the silent treatment for an entire evening because I expressed, while watching yet another defendant on Judge Judy assert that she should not have to repay a loan to the plaintiff because he had money, that I was tired of seeing "those people" on the show. "Those people," I was informed, was only something racists say, so I must be racist. Never mind that the defendant was white! Personally, I build my self-esteem in other ways. I also choose not to be offended unless I have reason to believe that the person meant to be unkind or disrespectful.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on August 04, 2018, 06:11:00 AM
Quote
I hate to speak for someone else
Rbb doesn't post here (took personally Mike-bashing, maybe? Ha). I'd ask him directly otherwise.

Quote
My response to this is probably more ambiguous than you're going to like
It's fine. Phrase makes better sense now. Thanks.

Began to read "The Secret Of The Crooked Cat" ("Alfred Hitchcock & 3 Investigators" series). It tells tale about 3 Californian boys visiting travelling circus. Some boy won toy cat with pirate eye, smb. steals it, they find out sth.'s suspicious in the circus. Interesting what next.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on August 11, 2018, 06:44:58 AM
How are you enjoying the Hitchcock stories? I used to read a Hitchcock magazine, back in the 70s, with his short stories and others like them. I think I read "The Secret of the crooked Cat" somewhere else. As I recall, I enjoyed the realism of life in the circus back in the day - different from what the public saw.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on August 12, 2018, 06:07:24 AM
I jolly relate to Hitchcock's interest in frightful/ suspense/ detective/ mystery. Think I read he'd been fan since child times. The cat short is cool, thanks to ask. The book is divided into 2 shorts - "Crooked Cat" & "The Laughing Shadow". It's new investigation to the same 3 boys - main characters. I got the book for free - library each day leaves free books in windowsill in boxes. Some people take 10 at a time. I chose the said book. Do libraries in place you live do it, Buckethead? Isn't it cool to get freebies? :3d


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on August 12, 2018, 07:43:51 AM
Oh, yes, libraries in my area frequently offer free books, as well as those for less than $1.00 to raise money. On man's trash is another man's treasure!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on August 12, 2018, 08:23:12 AM
Do the librarians really think the readers will pick between free & cheap books the books they must pay for? Doesn't make sense. See, I'm cheapskate, if I see sth. given for free - free food degustation in supermarket, free books, super easy competitions held at which you can win free prizes, free perfume using in some shops etc. - I go there. I figured everybody's like that? Yes? No?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on August 12, 2018, 03:25:29 PM
Usually, the books are either all free OR all cheap, but not at the same time. Yes, I prefer free everything.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on August 17, 2018, 05:57:55 PM
Re-reading The Book Thief and Animal Farm. My job this fall will be to teach social studies units paralleling each novel, a cross-curricular adventure, as it were. I've done this before, but I taught both the novel and the social studies connections/background. I'm nervous about having to coordinate with another teacher. Teachers can be a bit territorial!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on August 17, 2018, 07:40:40 PM
Re-reading The Book Thief and Animal Farm. My job this fall will be to teach social studies units paralleling each novel, a cross-curricular adventure, as it were. I've done this before, but I taught both the novel and the social studies connections/background. I'm nervous about having to coordinate with another teacher. Teachers can be a bit territorial!

Sounds like an interesting idea. Haven't read The Book Thief but read Animal Farm nearly 20 years ago and remember enjoying it a lot. What is your plan for the social studies component?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on August 18, 2018, 10:02:42 AM
The Book Thief is about a girl living in Munich during WWII, taken in by foster parents after her parents are taken away. She learns to read and steals books to read because she finds that sustaining while her world crumbles. I'll be teaching the Holocaust along with it, with an emphasis on
resilience, survivors, and rescuers; my students are girls who have experienced neglect and/or trauma. As far as Animal Farm is concerned, I'm going to focus on the conditions leading up to the Russian Revolution, the Revolution itself, and the aftermath under Stalin. Orwell wrote the novel as an allegory to all of this.  I'm especially excited about this, as my reading obsession for the past couple of years has been Russian history and the Imperial Family.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Chocolate Shake Man on August 22, 2018, 06:52:01 AM
The Book Thief is about a girl living in Munich during WWII, taken in by foster parents after her parents are taken away. She learns to read and steals books to read because she finds that sustaining while her world crumbles. I'll be teaching the Holocaust along with it, with an emphasis on
resilience, survivors, and rescuers; my students are girls who have experienced neglect and/or trauma. As far as Animal Farm is concerned, I'm going to focus on the conditions leading up to the Russian Revolution, the Revolution itself, and the aftermath under Stalin. Orwell wrote the novel as an allegory to all of this.  I'm especially excited about this, as my reading obsession for the past couple of years has been Russian history and the Imperial Family.

Sounds very interesting. We had The Book Thief here on our shelf for a while and my partner read it but I never had the time to read it.

Have you ever read the original introduction that Orwell wrote to Animal Farm? To me, that's one of his best pieces of writing where he critiques not so much Stalinism but rather the subservience of the British intelligentsia and the constraints it puts on beliefs that can be expressed. Appropriately, it was never published at the time.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on August 22, 2018, 04:55:31 PM
No, I'll have to find it. It just might be in my next read, Churchill and Orwell: The Fight for Freedom. The book examine the liberal Orwell and conservative Churchill, apparently finding between them common ground in terms of their ardent concern for freedom of thought and gifts of expression. (I don't believe that they ever met.) What I find fascinating with Orwell is that he was clearly a Socialist, yet saw the realities of Communism. This was not typically the case of many Europeans and Americans of a similar bent through the Stalin era.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on August 25, 2018, 04:13:05 AM
Arthur Hailey's big book "Airport"'s annotation really intrigued me in "free library gifts to readers". I took it. Will read it with low expectations, just in case but think I'm going to like it. Would like to see the many-awarded film to compare with book.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on August 25, 2018, 04:50:28 AM
I read “Airport” when it first came out. Was 12-13 years old at the time.
Of course the book had a lot of things not in the movie. But both were very entertaining.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on August 30, 2018, 06:24:58 AM
Began to read "Airport", 30+ pages passed by. Character Tanya Livingston really annoys me, the other few characters appearing in these 1st pages seem nice. But Tanya...argh. That said, intriguing start, the "what next?" type book.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on August 30, 2018, 06:43:33 AM
Re-reading The Book Thief and Animal Farm.

Having just finished the Erdrich novel I referenced recently, I’m now reading Animal Farm. Somehow I never got around to it before, but I’d picked it up within the past year or so from a free library.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on August 30, 2018, 05:41:05 PM
Reading "Airport", 205th page. This book reads rapidly, good easy style, technical special terms aside. Add to it that sth. takes place everytime - disappearance, feuds, passengers angry at airport workers, smb. said sth., gossip, anxiety, impatience, people rush etc. It's cool & funny to read.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on September 15, 2018, 06:14:11 AM
Finished reading "Aiport". 4.5/5. In 10 scale 8.
Reading Turgenev's "Fathers & Children" or what's the English title since school. 1stly must say I really like the book's fragrance. There's 2 types of book fragrance I like - sweet vanilla/sugar/smidgen of salt mix & vintage typewriter office paper/ modern book fragrance mix (can't describe it better). "Fathers..." is 1st fragrance. About characters - dislike everybody. We'll see if it changes but 120+ pages didn't depict anybody in the least bit interesting. The book's premise could be to few what they say "food for thought". But just like at school, it doesn't impress.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on September 15, 2018, 06:28:07 AM
(http://blog.paperblanks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/great_gatsby_picture2.jpg)

For the second time this year. With thanks to theSuperMetroid at PSF for pointing me in the direction of this beautiful book. ::)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on September 22, 2018, 06:13:25 PM
F. Rabelais "Gargantua & Pantagruel" - reading few pages. Eccentric. We'll see if it's good.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on September 22, 2018, 08:41:07 PM
Tolstoy’s Hadji Murat.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on September 23, 2018, 03:53:32 AM
F. Rabelais "Gargantua & Pantagruel" - reading few pages. Eccentric. We'll see if it's good.

I read that many moons ago. It's hilarious at times but there's rather a lot of it. ;D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on September 26, 2018, 10:00:55 PM
Joseph Conrad "The Secret Agent". "Sabotage" (1936), favorite "British phase" Hitch film, is loose adaptation.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on September 27, 2018, 04:50:03 AM
Nothing right now--just doing sudoku puzzles. ;D

The last thing I read was this simply stunning in-depth analysis of the Hitchcock film Vertigo:

http://petsoundsforum.com/thread/2639/depth-analysis-vertigo-1958


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on September 27, 2018, 05:41:27 AM
I can't check the link due to slow Internet but if it's by Supermetroid, I did read it way back when. I'm interested in film reviews I'd seen. Many interesting points raised. Which shouldn't mean absolute agreement. Main view difference is I find the film boring. Kim Novak's beauty isn't my bag, either as blonde or worse, brunette. Frankly, I didn't see she showed distinction between the 2 ladies convincingly. Sth. crept in in the eyes maybe that stayed the same in 2 completely different personalities. But, like I said, interesting points & angles (f.ex. the names' analysis, Scottie's character weakness reasons, Madge's portrait etc.) in SM's review. What still puzzles me about "Vertigo", why when Madge painted herself a la Carlotta & showed Scottie, he didn't gladly accept or couldn't be fine with it? It's just painting. Such bizarre thing to get super-serious about it.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: D Cunningham on September 27, 2018, 06:13:04 AM
"Murphy" by Beckett.  I think he wrote 3 short novels. "Murphy" is some good fun. Kinda crazy, full of characters.
Nice bits of humor. A bit thin if you are looking for psychological and narrative oomph.  But there are touches...

The great aspect...the language.  His vocabulary is thrilling.  Worth reading just for that. (And the
vocabulary is part of the humor.)

I had started one of the other short novels ("Molloy") years ago and lost interest early on. Maybe I'll go back
to it.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on September 27, 2018, 12:18:13 PM
I can't check the link due to slow Internet but if it's by Supermetroid, I did read it way back when. I'm interested in film reviews I'd seen. Many interesting points raised. Which shouldn't mean absolute agreement. Main view difference is I find the film boring. Kim Novak's beauty isn't my bag, either as blonde or worse, brunette. Frankly, I didn't see she showed distinction between the 2 ladies convincingly. Sth. crept in in the eyes maybe that stayed the same in 2 completely different personalities. But, like I said, interesting points & angles (f.ex. the names' analysis, Scottie's character weakness reasons, Madge's portrait etc.) in SM's review. What still puzzles me about "Vertigo", why when Madge painted herself a la Carlotta & showed Scottie, he didn't gladly accept or couldn't be fine with it? It's just painting. Such bizarre thing to get super-serious about it.

That's the one. If you like, I'll put your question to SM (off-forum). I'm sure she'll appreciate your interest--and the fact that you read her analysis. :)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on September 27, 2018, 02:58:21 PM
Ha, why "off-forum"? It isn't secret question. You can paste the question to the linked thread directly. That way you wouldn't have to pass her answer here - I could read it there. ;) Ta in advance.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on September 27, 2018, 03:33:27 PM
Ha, why "off-forum"? It isn't secret question. You can paste the question to the linked thread directly. That way you wouldn't have to pass her answer here - I could read it there. ;) Ta in advance.

RR, I'd say your answer lies in theSuperMetroid's description of Midge (not Madge) in the first post in her thread, in the paragraph that begins: "While Midge doesn't leave the film..." 

http://petsoundsforum.com/thread/2639/depth-analysis-vertigo-1958?page=1&scrollTo=67005


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on September 27, 2018, 03:42:31 PM
So I see! Still doesn't make sense. Then again, Scottie in general didn't make sense.
Thanks. I'd seen "Vertigo" last time last yr & just rmbr the name starts with "m" & ends with "dge".


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 01, 2018, 01:46:20 AM
Kole Omotoso "Memories Of Our Recent Boom". I didn't read any books by this Nigerian writer, picked this book in library when checking the freebies. The other books were usual suspects Theodor Dreiser, Lermontov, Romain Rolland. Wished to read sth. fresh, plus nice annotation. It's about boy Seven's childhood, school, adulthood, his fam struggles, survival, various social events during the main character's living. It's rather thin but reads long due to the many various Nigerian traditional food names, gods, hierarchy, clothes etc. There's commentary by translator to each Nigerian word in the text. Nobody in his village can speak English, including mother, sister, brother. They speak native yoruba language/ dialect. Seven would be exception as he managed to get high scores to be in city school. By now, it's interesting to read it. We'll see what next.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on October 01, 2018, 04:48:10 AM
That sounds like an interesting book, something I'd love to read!
Unfortunately it is looking like I won't be able to unless it's at a library somewhere. It's out of print and the prices I saw for used copies ranged from 285 to over 400 dollars! Can't afford that.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Gettin Hungry on October 01, 2018, 11:30:44 AM
I'm about halfway through Don DeLillo's Underworld. I tried to read it around the time it came out 20-some years ago, but had trouble with it. Now, it's going by pretty easily.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on October 02, 2018, 09:08:13 AM
I'm reading The Romanov Sisters. It's a very interesting book giving info about the four daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra. They are largely neglected, the focus on most books focused on the one son, Alexei. (In this book his name is spelled "Alexey." I think that's how Alexandra transliterated his name. )
When I was a kid, looking at photos of this royal family, I was drawn to Anastasia. The other sisters looked rather matronly, but she looked like a regular girl. So far she's being a little imp, playing practical jokes etc. Will see if she grows out of it. There were persistent rumors that she had somehow survived the slaughter in July 1918, but remains found fairly recently, accounting for all of the royal family, put that to rest.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 02, 2018, 10:01:58 AM
We'd been taught in English the classic transliteration to names ending with "-ей" is "-ey" (Sergey, Andrey, Alexey, Barmaley). But, in international passports these names get written differently - Russian version Сергей /English translit Sergey, Андрей/Andrei (btw, keyboards in Russia got each key assigned to type single Latin letter & single Cyrillic, respectively upper & lower halves of the key. Very easy to switch language).

My fave is Mariya. Disregarding faves, they're 5 pretty kids. Nobody survived, there's no question & shouldn't be. Idiotic rumors. Pity, they could continue the family tree, conceive children, see the future.
NB. Didn't like Kole Omotoso's book. Finished reading & this is general review. By the time Seven is businessman, rich, star-diseased, it went downhill. Predictable dialogs & finale. Due to describing traditions & such, it's 2/5.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on October 02, 2018, 12:25:40 PM
It's good to read about the other daughters. They are treated very favorably in the book.
The book mentioned how Mariya was lumped in with Anastasia as the "little girls" even though she probably had more in common with the two older girls. Also she was the middle child.
I find it interesting that none of them married.

Thanks for telling me about that Omotoso book. I had been interested since there is still very little literature available around here written by Black African writers. I confess that the only book of that kind I have read was Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, which a lot of people here read in College, or at least when I was in College back in the day.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 02, 2018, 03:27:18 PM
Which African is C. Achebe? It's varied place. Describe the book shortly.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on October 02, 2018, 04:42:23 PM
Achebe was Nigerian.
It's been a long time since I read it but it's about a man who is forced to leave his village in Nigeria. When he comes back Whites have moved in and are affecting the culture. The natives want to fight back as their native culture is being adversely affected.
I remember it being a good, but "sad" book.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on October 03, 2018, 05:16:04 PM
Hello to RRA1 and NOLABBF! Just had to jump in here...I'm going crazy at my new teaching job and have almost no time to post here, although I visit to read on occasion. My students are loving our unit on Russian history and I can't wait until we get to NII, Alexandra, and the children. A really interesting website on this and other related topics is www.alexanderpalace.org.  I found much information on the girls there, their personalities, surviving relatives who became involved in the Anastasia question, how the extended Romanov family got along (and did not), etc. (Did we know that Prince Philip gave his DNA to verify the remains that were found? This was particularly valuable because as a great-great grandson of Queen Victoria, he was Alexandra's grand-nephew; he was also the great-grandson of Christian IX of Denmark, while NII' mother was the king's daughter. Finally, Philip is a direct descendant of Czar NI. It gets too weird to get into the ways that he is related to NII and Alicky and kids via their numerous German relatives!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on October 03, 2018, 06:33:34 PM
Thanks for the info.
Interesting about Prince Philip being direct descendent of Nicholas I. I've known about his German connections but not this.
And it's interesting that Alexandra made certain that her children could speak English, more so than German
So complicatingly fascinating.
Is there a textbook you are using?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on October 04, 2018, 03:25:10 PM
Yes, the whole extended family is truly fascinating. Alexandra's mother was Alice, Victoria and Albert's third child. Her sister was Philip's grandmother. Alice married a somewhat minor German royal and raised her children emphasizing their British heritage, British nannies and all. When Alice died after contracting the diphtheria she was nursing her kids through, Victoria played a large role in raising the surviving children. Alexandra was duly influenced in this manner, I suppose. By the way, another of Alexandra's sisters married NII' s uncle. She was killed in the Revolution. Especially interesting is all of the Romanovs to be exiled for the crime of marrying the wrong person. For instance, two of Alice's children married two of her siblings' children. Alexandra's brother, Ernst married first cousin "Ducky," who then left Ernst and married her other first cousin, who was also NII's Russian first cousin (through her mother.) NII and Alexandra were livid and the new couple were banned from Russia. Like all of the others, they returned during WWI, forgiven. Regarding language, French was the patois of the Russian royals and nobles. I read of cousins of NII who, as teens, made it a mischievous point to converse with society ladies in Russian and were called to task for it!

No, I don't use textbooks unless forced. I think that many kids dislike history, in part, because textbooks tend to be rather dull. I like to use primary sources, create PowerPoints with visuals,  and write my own text targeting information I want to cover and the various reading levels of my kids (which can be quite low). Today we watched a Russian Baba Yaga cartoon from 1940s and discussed the centrality of the pech (multi-use wood stove) in Russian culture. Next week, we make porridge and explore the living conditions of serfs.  Some kids will just sleep, others will love it, the rest will complain loudly that "this ain't history" because they are so used to reading textbooks and answering questions before falling asleep to their i-pods. Gotta love 'em!     


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 06, 2018, 04:14:17 AM
Hello, Buckethead. Thanks to the link! I just now looked thru it, looks like jolly cool site. Would like to start with checking "Letters of Maria from Exile in English and Russian". She's my fave, that's why.
Tbh, "who is whose relative" aspect doesn't interest in the least bit. Mainly due to the fact it isn't precisely easy to memorize such many inter-connections.
Baba Yaga is the main villain in Russian cartoons (plus the guy version Koschei Bessmertny/K. Immortal). In animal cartoons, it's wolf & fox.

Didn't read, smb. else read it to me - to be exact, Elizabeth Klett - audiobook "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman discovered at random via google horror audiobook results. https://elizabethklettaudio.com/2013/02/08/free-audio-friday-the-yellow-wallpaper/amp/
In the link you'll see Klett shared free d/l with her narration (just half-hour) &, to people who'd like to read it than hear, link to the short tale. I chose d/l. Initially disliked it due to frightful background music absence. It's best with music. Besides, didn't like Klett's voice, she didn't change it to give frightful mood, it seemed. It took few times to get used to it & I did hear the changes then.
The book isn't frightful, smb. may describe it "eerie". 3/5.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on October 06, 2018, 10:13:18 AM
Hello! Thanks for the info on the male version of Baba Yaga. I'll definitely check that out.  We were all awe of the visual beauty of the cartoon from the 1940s.  Funny how folk and fairy tales have similar themes and archetypes across cultures.

I can't get enough of the relationships between the Romanovs and other royals. A favorite book was based on the interactions and correspondence between  "Nicky, Georgie, and Willy" (everyone found Wilhelm totally annoying) right up through WWI.

Regarding Maria, I have always found her to be breathtakingly beautiful. Posters on the Alexander Palace  site regularly argue about these things. Apparently, Russians of the day typically fawned over Tatianna, but Maria, IMO., would have been a classic beauty in any age or place.

The readings on the website also affirm the degree to which the kids were sheltered. Also interesting there are the recollections of surviving Romanovs on what It was like growing up and living within the bubble, with such limited choices and pressures to conform. Sandro Michailovich has an  interesting recollection of a conversation with relative Wilhelm II about harsh upbringings  and cloying expectations.
 
 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 06, 2018, 02:04:39 PM
Russian cartoon animation is quite sth. indeed. Many praise it, can see why. There's cartoon done by different animation technique (literal translation) "Hedgehog In The Fog". It took few yrs back prestigious international (iirc) prize. It's about hedgehog sitting daydreaming thinking about sth. whilst its noisy hasty friend bear is calling it. I frankly find it dull but mother finds it charming. Maybe you'll like it too.
Mother & aunt say that Disney cartoons & generally American cartoons didn't impress them. I didn't agree with it but at the same time the U.S. cartoons I'd seen use the same technique, slightly updated maybe with times. When in cartoons here you can see various means being used. F.ex. cartoons with plasticine characters & settings. But could be it isn't Russian creation/ the other cartoon industry beat it to it.
I wouldn't know.
There's sth. really ugly about Tatiana's face, maybe too far-set eyes. She's not even the next prettiest to Maria (to these eyes, it's the eldest sister Olga, esp. when she smiles, type "grand duchess olga nikolaevna smile" in google pics. It's important to add father's name "nikolaevna" to get accurate results as there's many Olgas in Russian history, f.ex. Olga Alexandrovna). "Tatiana" is ugly name too, short name will be even worse - Tanya. Mariya/ Maria is, as you may've guessed, English "Mary". The most popular name here miles away. Short names galore - Masha, Manya, Marusya, Marishka, Makha, Mashenka, Mashka. Btw, don't find tsarina beautiful as many say either. Neither when she's young nor married to NII. Which isn't, ofc, to say she's ugly. Ditto her sister Elisabeth (with the "s") which many consider to be much beautiful than Alexandra. Then again, I didn't see every single pic of Ella & Alix. Or they're just not to my taste. As to guys, they say NII, Felix, Dmitri-sth. to be lookers. Well not by me. I will agree about Zinaida Nikolaevna, Felix's mother to be great beauty. She must be the best-looking woman I'd seen in quite some time, albeit retrospectively or belatedly or what they say. Don't confuse with Yusupova Zinaida *Ivanovna*, totes different looking lady, the above mentioned Zina's granny I believe. Speaking of Yusupovs, it's rather aggravating to see people spell it with 2 s's - "Yussupov". Think even historians did it, gah. It's NOT correct.
What's the favorite fun fact(s) about Romanovs fam besides the inter-relations & survivors' recollections? Or general fun fact(s) about living during NII's reign? Curious about your answers.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on October 07, 2018, 04:46:40 PM
There was a friendly, sympathetic hedgehog in the Baba Yaga cartoon about the evil swan geese (kind of like the Wicked Witch's flying monkeys). He was very sweet and helpful, kind of whistled as he spoke.

Juicy tidbit #1: Not sure if I shared this before, can't find in on the board. Anyway, Felix Yusapov had a penchant for dressing up in his mother's clothes, jewelry, make-up, hair done up to excess. (This by his own admission.)  He tells of days as a student in England when he was crossed-dressed in an  unsavory part of town and King Edward, who was known to be a frequent visitor, attempted to pick him up. Felix and NII's niece only "kind of" stayed married after leaving Russia; I'm sure his "hobby" must have been off-putting for her.
 
Juicy tidbit 2: Ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya was NII's lover before he married, then was lover to Sergei Mikhailovich and his cousin, Andrei Vladimirovich. Had a child with one, paternity is unclear. She died in poverty in Paris.

Regarding Tatiana, some have suggested that she had "Slavic" features, which were especially prized in that time and place. Nastya always reminded me of numerous female gym teachers that I have had over the years (as a student).  I do think that NII was very handsome, took after his extremely cute mother.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 07, 2018, 05:58:45 PM
I'd seen the cartoon with Baba Yaga & geese-swans. It's about sister & her little brother, right? Parents went to the trip telling girl to look after brother, she didn't very well & birds took him to Baba Yaga. Then pech, apple tree & sth. else forgot helped to hide her with brother. Is it that?

Tatiana used to be pretty till she grew. & godawful "big, pressed down balloon"-like hairdos uglified the girls.
The bit about Nastya looking like gym teachers made me chuckle. Many say that she looks boyish. Who is the sympathetic character to you in reading about this timeline in Russian history? Anybody nice (except their respective kids) or everybody is bad in different ways to you?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on October 07, 2018, 07:03:54 PM
Read that the future Lord Mountbatten went gaga when he met Maria.
Towards the end of his life he kept a photo of Maria in his bedroom.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 10, 2018, 06:27:37 AM
Edgar Poe would be in Top 5 favorite writers list. "Hop Frog" - 5/5.  It, "Black Cat" & "Berenice" I regard as Edgar's best right now. Smb. compared him to H. P. Lovecraft. Can't see blatant similarity. Perhaps I could when I read at least 15 titles by H. I read 3 random short tales by him.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 11, 2018, 04:15:06 PM
F. Rabelais "Gargantua & Pantagruel" - reading few pages. Eccentric. We'll see if it's good.

I read that many moons ago. It's hilarious at times but there's rather a lot of it. ;D
Finished - 2/5.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: the captain on October 11, 2018, 04:27:40 PM
I'm slowly working my way through David Friedrich Strauss's "The Life of Jesus Critically Examined," an early-to-mid 19th century piece of Biblical criticism in the (ongoing) quest for the historical Jesus. From what I've read about it by others, it's one of the earlier, truly critical attempts at such a task. While I'm very interested in the topic, it's really slow going, absolutely agonizing to be honest. The language (translated from the original German) is still very dated, and the occasional references to the Greek originals do me no favors. (I'm thinking of trying to learn New Testament-era Greek, actually, as I keep coming across this issue.) I've already renewed it once and still have something like 650 pages (out of about 800) to go. But on the positive side, I don't anticipate people putting in requests for it, so I may get a couple more renewals.

But at least I can laugh every time they write "connexion" instead of "connection." I don't know why, but it tickles me.

For fun I've been reading Tolstoy's Hadji Murat, too, but I feel bad when I switch over to it considering all the work ahead of me on the Strauss.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 13, 2018, 07:52:12 AM
As per Buckethead, decided to finally check alexander palace site. I read letters & diaries by Romanov children to mother, father, relatives, various people's who knew children accounts, tales, casualties. Read the board attached to site.
The discussion that interested me the best is about who resembles who. Smb. brought good point about neither of 5 kids looking like parents, they look like previous generation ancestors. F.ex. Maria many agree looks like her grandmother Dowager Empress Marie Fedorovna & by physical strength like Alexander III. I.e. she looks like her father's side. Tatiana they find similarity with cousin Irina Yusupova, yet some think she looks like "Alix", mother. Many say she's got exotic face, looks draastically different than her 4 siblings.
I disagree about each p.o.v. about Tatiana but agree about Maria (still she's got her individual features that make her prettier than MF & AIII).
Looking at the pictures gracefully shared by many parties - there's even special Romanovs archive in Beinecke Library of rare books & manuscripts in Yale, in its site you can see big Romanov family picture collection - anyhoo, looking at the pics posted, studying them (I like studying old b&w pictures), here's my conclusion:
Olga - looks like neither, apparently she looks like father when they were babies, I didn't see NII's baby pics yet. If not "neither", then I'd say she looks like "Nicky" & "Alix" blend.
Tatiana - ditto. Totes different than parents. & those far-set eyes puzzle it further.
Maria - as mentioned, looks like father's side but not immediate parents.
Anastasia - well before she grew teenager, she looked like big sister Tatiana when she (T.) was the same age. Thin long face, thin classic nose, defined chin. Which doesn't make her different than Olga either who had delicate features as well. But when A. grew, she changed really big time, it's when people began comparing A. with Alexandra. They posted pics of young teenage Alix back to back with Nastya's pics. Sure, in the surface there is similarity. But, when you look better, it's not much. Again, looks like either neither parent or mixture.
Alexei - everybody universally agrees he looks like mother/mother's Hessian side. Hm, maybe but tbh, if there's smb. in Romanov kids looks like good mixture of their parents, it'd be Alexei. In pics with him & NII, just them together, you can tell it isn't some random boy posing with tsar - it's his son. Alexei's got father's face features too, it's esp. telling in his last pics.
Speaking of, read as well, in the site AND MB, detailed circumstances leading the royal fam to abdication, description how they died. Poor children. Didn't luck out. I chocked reading esp. about Alexei & Olga, that she made crossing sign when seeing gun directed at her. I shan't write details in case smb. eats supper now. What's really puzzling - smb. said in board that in girls' dresses the diamonds were hid, sewn by Alix or smb. in the fam, like they knew they were gonna die by gun & Alix/ smb. got this bullet-proof idea, that's why the 1st bullets apparently didn't kill the girls. Is it fact?
Looking at pics, reading diaries & letters, I'd say I liked Olga the best. Maria is such fun & prettiest (duh) but there's sth. in Olga that appeals to my eyes. Smb. aptly described "Olga is pictured with thoughtful pensive look". It really fits her, plus she's got the best smile of them all, very attractive, enigmatic paired with genuine & frank, topped off with kind & warm, mixed in as well with goofy. Lotta facets to that smile. Kinda like Gioconda (sp?).
Many interested in Grigoriy Rasputin's Alexei's healing & influence in the Royal fam. Say it's interesting figure in history. Doesn't make sense imo. As I gathered, it's just some chap advised to/ discovered by Alix when usual doctors couldn't help Alexei's hemophilia. Then he got killed which could be beginning to serious changes but if you forget that bit, the chap isn't big deal imo. Pretty harmless figure who happened to look "scary" maybe. That's about it.
Would like to read next to letters, diaries, tales the outside the royal house events during NII's leadership.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on October 15, 2018, 07:02:28 PM
Isn't it great, RRA!?! It's as much fun as Smileysmile.net, even better arguments!

Regarding the issue of sewing jewels into the garments, I believe the purpose was to take something of value with them if/when they were to escape or be exiled from Russia. Those who did get out typically could take relatively little with them, and all funds in foreign accounts, as well as land holdings and homes in Europe had to be "repatriated" during WWI, so nothing to rely on on the outside. Felix Yussapov (family even richer than Romanovs) and Princess Irina struggled, as they had never had to economize and blew through their funds. NII's sister Olga ended up dying in a small apartment above a beauty shop in Canada. Eyewitness accounts do indicate that bullets bounced off of the girls and they had to be bayoneted to death.

Agree that Maria looks like father's side. Actually, like Alexander III - in a much prettier way, but similar "substantial" build. If you are into Olga, there is an adorable pic of her as an infant with mom and dad visiting great-grandma Queen Victoria. Alexandra was quite close to her, as her own mother, Alice, died when A. was just a young girl. She was nursing her children through diptheria and contracted it. QV became a mother figure, despite the fact that she and Alice were often at odds regarding mothering. There is a memoir on the site written by a close friend of A. who mentions that her pictures did not do her justice because an essential aspect of her beauty was her coloring. Something like glowing light golden skin and auburn hair. I personally think that rich and important people tend to be viewed through rose-colored lenses, that many would not be seen as anything special were it not for that. Example: Princess Diana. Great clothes, make-up, hair done by pros at all times, but in context of real life? Nah.   


Rasputin was an interesting man. Adhered to philosophy that one must sin a lot and seriously to experience the transformative power of absolution. Many women accused him of sexual assault, others, especial high society ladies, seemed to have animalistic physical attraction to him. Yusspov and many Romanovs were seriously disturbed by the man's well-known and seemingly hypnotic influence on Alexandra, especially after NII took over command of the army, saw him as one more reason the country was about to erupt.  Yus and NII's nephew were part of the planning and implementation of the murder, and NII was pissed off to no end when relatives pressured him to go easy on them. 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 15, 2018, 08:48:47 PM
I see. Btw, may I correct you? It's Yusupov with single "s", mentioned here before. Posters in that board make mistakes in names. My advice - don't repeat them.

It explains why main language Alexandra used with children is English instead of German, albeit they could speak it little bit. The kids' letters to mother were in English. To NII - in Russian.

See, Rasputin's figure's surrounded by myths & legends. It's difficult to believe, things like he could manipulate people, used tricks to influence high society etc. Too much noise about plain old chap. What was he - 70? 50? Even 40's old. When you get thru this rubbish, he's just old chap assigned to heal Alexei when the city, qualified doctors couldn't. But, perhaps there's crucial historic details about Rasputin's role in NII's time I didn't read.

NB: In free time, can you get back to Reply #629? Asked you questions. Ta in advance. :D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on October 16, 2018, 07:39:34 PM
Thank you for the correction.

Yes, the girls spoke English and Russian (and French, probably, as it was the language  in which the upper crust communicated with each other.) That was a big reason why Grand Duchess Olga (NII's sister)  did not believe that Anna Anderson was Anastasia - the woman spoke only German.
Russians who resented  Alexandra's "Germaness" were not well informed.

Rasputin died around age 40. While it is probably true that much of what we hear/read about him is the stuff of folklore at this point, he must have had enough people in Romanov circles concerned about how the general populace perceived him, and at a time when the Romanov's position was already shaky, that they took the risk of killing him. And there are  charismatic  people who do have gifts of manipulation with vulnerable people. Are you familiar with cult leaders such as Jim Jones? Sometimes I try to put myself in A's shoes. She had a hemo brother die  as a toddler from a fall, then watches her own child almost die in agony. People experiencing great blood loss exhibit a great deal of anxiety, which, I suppose, doesn't help the situation in a physiological sense. So R comes and perhaps has a quasi-hypnotic effect that calms the boy and he improves? Perhaps. Better, anyway, than the reported treatment of ASPIRIN, of all things, that the doctors gave him. Guess we'll never really know.

Regarding your question: I've been giving that a a lot of thought. I'll get back to you on that. My initial thought is that I don't perceive the Romanovs  as all bad. Some seem to have been pretty sympathetic figures. What do you think? What is the general perception in modern Russia on this topic?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 17, 2018, 05:53:43 PM
I read that the main language upper crust communicated during NII's reign is Russian. French faded away by then, it was popular at previous rulers' times. Posters who read great deal about this time in Rus. history said sth. along the lines that NII even disallowed French or sth. to the effect.

This AA thing's continuing endlessly, people discuss her EVEN despite knowing she's not Anastasia, a-am-a-zing. Shouldn't they quit giving her attention then? Nope, they can't, apparently.
1stly, Anna doesn't look ANYthing like Anastasia. You couldn't find 2 more different faces. I'm puzzled that Olga Alexandrovna didn't look at THAT fact, strangely paying attention to the language usage which is good evidence, sure, but it's 2ndary to appearance.
Next & important - NOBODY could survive/ escape/ you name being trapped in the house surrounded by numerous guards & people who hate big time the royal fam. It's impossible. They all died, including Anastasia. Basta. End of.
People must face it by now, it's been 100 yrs. It's disrespectful to Nastya to go about discussing AA like she's real deal. Anna Anderson is nobody, just some lady who should've stayed that way instead of getting recognition, popularity, publicity etc.
What's puzzling too, is in many such cases with imposters people try many *other* things to prove their identity & just at the *last* minute they check DNA. It's like the last resort. AA's DNA showed she's not Romanov fam. They waited too long to check it. It should be done right away.

Yes, that question. But there's the other question in Reply #629, 1st paragraph. I described the cartoon I'd seen & wished that you confirm if it's the cartoon you'd seen with pupils, going by characters I listed etc.
Russians' perception of the last tsar's ruling is negative. Romanovs - mixed views. Many as you sympathize some individuals. As for me, I just recently began to study this era & read about notable people who lived that time to give you fair & balanced answer. In the meantime, look fwd to your answers. :)

Related to topic we discuss, here's my fave anecdote about Olga, read in thread "Olga's anecdotes", quote taken in the kids' Irish nanny Margaret Eagar's book "Six Years At The Russian Court":

>>>Once there was a cinematograph exhibition for the children and some friends. One picture showed two little girls playing in a garden, each with a table before her covered with toys. Suddenly the bigger girl snatched a toy from the little one who, however, held on to it and refused to give it up. Foiled in her attempts, the elder seized a spoon and pounded the little one with it, who quickly relinquished the toy and began to cry. Tatiana wept to see the poor little one so ill-treated, but Olga was very quiet. After the exhibition was over she said, "I can't think that we saw the whole of that picture." I said I hoped the end of it was that the naughty big sister was well punished, adding that I thought we had seen quite enough as I had no wish to see anything more of such a naughty girl. Olga then said, "I am sure that the lamb belonged at first to the big sister, and she was kind and lent it to her sister; then she wanted it back, and the little sister would not give it up, so she had to beat her."<<<

& here's fave by Tatiana, same book by their once-nanny:

>>>One day the children and I were walking in the garden of the Winter Palace. The Emperor has some really beautiful collie dogs, and these were taking exercise in the garden at the same time. One of them, a young untrained creature, jumped on Tatiana Nicolaivna's back, and threw her down. The child was frightened and cried most bitterly. I lifted her up and said:
"Poor Sheilka! she did not mean to hurt you; she only wanted to say 'Good-morning' to you."
The child looked at me and said, "Was that all? I don't think she is very polite; she could have said it to my face, not to my back."<<<

I like esp. Olga's. Hilarious.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on October 17, 2018, 07:22:55 PM
That little film Olga saw sounds like one of the earliest films made. It's only about a minute long.
It's on YT . It's called Child Quarel - Lumiere Brothers 1896 (yes, "quarrel" is misspelled).
Every time I see this film I wish I could pick the crying baby up. It's funny and sad at the same time.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 18, 2018, 03:16:30 PM
Yes, I suspected as much it's sth. by Lumiere bros. At any rate, Olga's comment is funny & equally smart. Kids, as well as many adults would see film as is. She viewed it differently; going by various recollections describing each grand duchess, she didn't say things to induce laughs &/ or dropped jaws.
Btw, short clips showing Imperial fam exist in various documentaries (mute ofc). F.ex. smb. at alexander palace MB described OTMA walking downstairs to get to boat/ ship. Would be cool to check it via yotube.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on October 18, 2018, 05:30:47 PM
NBBF - Wow. I've never seen a film that old. Kind of neat to know that OTMA watched this same one we see!

RRA1 - Yes, the cartoon you describe sounds just like the one we watched in class. Some kids whined that they were not babies, what the h____am I doing, etc., then after a couple of minutes they were silent, mesmerized. We did a lesson Russian naming customs and some students remembered the that the girl was addressed differently by others (Marushka, Marishenka, etc. We have nicknames, but not so many ways of addressing someone based on relationship.)

Love your gems about the girls. They sound so normal!

Re: AA - I believe that Olga did mention that the face was dissimilar to that of her niece, even making allowances for such a difficult life.

Thanks for the correction about French. Forget where I read it, but my impression was gotten from a memoir written by, I believe, an NII cousin who, along with his brother, delighted in pissing of older ladies by using Russian. Of course, they were teens at the time; things might well have been changing quickly.



 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMRvQEM6y8M


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 18, 2018, 06:09:19 PM
As I understand, it's OT who went to see films. Ms. Eagar would've said sth. about MA. In fact, she'd written this funny tale prior to telling Anastasia's birth. & if Nastya arrived by that time, she wouldn't likely see the film consciously. Might be bored. Then I say "little pair" shouldn't count.
You've yourself got many nicknames! :D Betty, Betsy, Liz, Lizzy, Eliza, Beth, Liza, Betta...
Well, even thru difficult living state people don't change to the point they start looking like smb. *else*.
What's in the video? Can't check it. Is it, by chance, Imperial fam clips I mentioned?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 31, 2018, 05:31:52 PM
"Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It's nice. I shan't rate it. I'd seen trailer to the 90s film adaptation - looks inferior. Smb. at alexander palace board funnily compared face-wise the young actress playing Mary to Anastasia. She's not my fave grand duchess but she's prettier than Kate Maberley. There isn't any likeness. Book-wise, "Secret Garden" isn't as good as "Little Lord Fauntleroy", it's Burnett's milestone.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on October 31, 2018, 08:56:03 PM
As the link to it came up today in my FB news feed, I read the short story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. It's been many years since I'd last read it. As chilling as ever.  :o


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on November 11, 2018, 08:16:05 AM
What's in the video? Can't check it. Is it, by chance, Imperial fam clips I mentioned?
Well. Since I didn't get the answer to the quoted question - yes/no would, at least, suffice - I checked the link when Internet/ youtube went fast. It's indeed Imperial fam clips. Pity it's bad/ grainy quality. Stupid voices saying stupid thing too (some dummy repeats "5...5...17" ::)). Doesn't match contents AT ALL. Btw, reading alexander palace board, it's not the entire thing, users described sth. else in addition to clips in the vid, f.ex. footage exists with the girls training with their respective regiments, dressed as hussar & such.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on November 11, 2018, 04:16:12 PM
RRA! - Sorry! I haven't been able to hop on SS lately. Agree that the vid is really fast, grainy, and I'd rather not have fake sounds inserted. I've not seen the girls training with their regiments, although somewhere are photographs of the older ones in uniform, IIRC. (I somehow doubt that they trained with them, probably just "reviewing" the regiments.)

NBBF - Agree about "The Lottery." The stark juxtaposition of the wholesomeness and normalcy to the final scene is like a kick in the gut. I think I was in 6th grade or so when I read it. There was a short movie based on the story. Oh! Here it is:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZyhVg31iaQ

Ed Begely, Jr. plays one of the little tow-headed boys (Harry? Henry?).


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on November 12, 2018, 07:24:12 AM
Apology accepted.
*Each* grand duchess been assigned regiment. Even Anastasia (btw, it really infuriates me when posters at alexander palace shorten the name to "Ana". It's 100% wrong, short name is Nastya, full stop!). You're right there's pics with big pair in their respective regiment uniforms AND don't forget Maria. Pics with Anastasia in uniform either don't exist or saved in the archives. Nope, they didn't just review, it's full rehearsal, the girls give commands, ride in horses (albeit sideways girl-like sitting) with their legion etc. It's definitely training, yep. I read plenty info at alexander palace site & board. There's many annoying posters but many good, respectful, willing to share what they know without being uptight & snobs. I esp. like the place in the site in which entire books' content is posted to be read by EVERYbody for FREE. Isn't it fantastic? Such generous kind admins/ host. IT's the way it must be done around the Internet. Wishful thinking, yep.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on November 12, 2018, 05:02:49 PM
RRA! - Interesting about the girls -  shall have to look further through AP website. Agree about the books. I enjoyed  "Sandro" Mikhailovich's  tome.
Even though it was written from his probably somewhat serve-serving perspective, it gives an interesting glimpse into the Romanov world.
One tidbit that I recall was when he met not-too-distant cousin Wilhelm of Prussia (can't recall if he was yet Kaiser W.), whose brother married S's sister. The two compared notes, commiserated, really, about the  harsh upbringing and expectations of males in their stations. S. also told a story of attending a dinner with many in the extended Romanov fam. An older teenage brother or cousin was asked what he planned  to do upon attaining adulthood. When he responded that he would like to be a writer or naturalist or something, there was some tension in the air. Then a decadent dessert was served, and  the young man was pointedly passed over. The message: Young Romanov males should know better than to express interest  in any career other than the military or navy. 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on November 12, 2018, 07:01:54 PM
Buckethead, by checking Anglo-English dictionary, I didn't find "serve-serving" you used. Could you tell its definition? Thanks in advance.
Re: regiments - read detailed thread "OTMA's regiments".
There's debates about saying last name Romanov & Romanoff. Tsar & czar. Many alexander palace users agreed it's right to spell Romanov & smb. said czar is archaic spelling - tsar is definitive today. Will you bring your views about these?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on November 17, 2018, 06:41:16 PM
Yikes. I meant to write "SELF-serving!" (So sorry. )  As for the spelling of Romanov or Romanoff, czar or tsar, I leave the debate to greater minds than my own.  I always use Romanov, as I have rarely seen the alternative.  As for Tsar/czar -  meh. What do you think? You're the real Russian among us! I do think that the Alexander Palace participants can be quite entertaining, perhaps taking themselves a bit too seriously. Still, the site has been an invaluable resource for me, and for that I am grateful. BTW, my students just watched the Coronation Scene from the  opera
Boris Gudenov. I was amazed at how engaged they were. Some wanted to watch the whole opera! 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on November 19, 2018, 08:19:18 PM
Quote
Yikes. I meant to write "SELF-serving!" (So sorry. )
Thanks, Buckethead. Your politeness shines. :) In cyrillic, "Romanov" is written "Романов". "в" in the end is equal to English "v". But, when we say guy last names which usually end with "в", we de-voice it, as any bright consonants. Perhaps this is why people change "v" to double "f" when dealing with Russian & the like last names. By the same rules, "tsar" is correct. But I'd seen czar used many times in the Internet. I think it's sth. to do with which spelling they're familiar. Smb. in alexander palace said it's easier to type. Speaking of, it's good site, we agree. Cool info in many threads. & can be fun. In fact, in "Having Fun" subboard there's really nice thread with pics about cats. The other favorite - Photoshopped Images. Users create images that look really real. But there's funny images they did like NII with Alix, her "prettier sister" Ella with husband Sergei (AIII's brother) being ABBA:
(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o304/Erika1989/abba23.jpg)Sides split about this case - users say Imperial fam should be respected & the others it's OK thing to do if it's in "Having Fun", not the main board. Moderators in alexander palace don't seem to be against it. What do YOU think, Buckethead?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on November 20, 2018, 05:15:58 PM
Thanks for the info about the spelling of Romanov and czar. I think that I once read that the use of czar in English-speaking countries might have something to do with spelling in other Slavic dialects.  As the theory goes, many more Poles, Czechs, etc. came to said areas., so non-Russian spellings predominated.

I shall have to check out the cats and photoshop fun on the AP website, perhaps this long Thanksgiving weekend. Honestly, unless the latter involves porn or spoofing on the massacre, I can't see how what you describe could be disrespectful. The ABBA thing sounds hilarious! I'd like to think that the Romanoff/vs  had a sense of humor. I get the impression that, while they took their roles seriously, they didn't take themselves so seriously.

By the way, I was telling my principal today about  my SS friend who sets me straight about all things Russian. She was dubious that such conversations would occur on a BB board. Not intellectual enough?  Anyway, thank you for you being you!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on November 21, 2018, 11:20:17 PM
Quote
By the way, I was telling my principal today about  my SS friend who sets me straight about all things Russian.
Thanks! If you visited Russia, I'd invite you to drink tea with me. I'd make sure it's fresh, not expired.

Quote
Anyway, thank you for you being you!
You're welcome. :)

Links for you, Buckethead, enjoy!
Photoshop thread: http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php?topic=9256.0

(Btw, you say ABBA thing sounds hilarious. You mean you don't see the 'shopped pic? I shared it. But check it here, in the thread, they do look hilarious as ABBA, esp. NII: http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php?topic=9256.msg352398#msg352398 )

Cat thread (it began as some guy naming his new cat Tatiana, then everybody else joined to tell about cats/pets): http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php?topic=17059.0

Reading Imperial fam's letters & diaries, they def. had sense of humor & could laugh at goofiest pranks/ jokes, even seemingly cool & distant Alix.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Buckethead on November 23, 2018, 04:04:29 PM
I'd love a cup with you (and Kitty)!
I did miss the pic you posted of Romanabba. Hilarious!
Agree about the probable Romanov sense of humor. OTMA needed one to have their pic snapped while they had their heads shaved!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on November 25, 2018, 05:56:57 AM
Check the links, it's fun/ cool threads. French language teacher Pierre Gilliard took many pics with OTMA, including pics you mention (plural pics - there's few different shared in various pic threads in addition to the famous). Btw, the hair began falling *after* they recovered, not like many used to think right when they catch measles. Besides, it isn't just OTMA with cut hair - Alexei too.
I read alexander palace daily - it's YOUR fault, Buckethead. :police: YOU bit with Romanovs bug. Ha. But seriously, it's cool pastime, to read about this time in history. I dislike the 18-19 century times, Medieval find dullville, ditto mid-late 20 century times. At least by now.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on November 28, 2018, 03:29:13 AM
Ivan Bunin's short tales collection "Dark Alleys" (literal translation, in English the title, as usual, may be sth. else). This writer, like Chekhov, got accessible style which is appealing. But, thing I like about Chekhov he didn't describe things in extended way; his characters talk plenty. The narration bits bring boredom to this reader. Still nice collection. Will be banal by naming especially "Antonovsky Apples", popular favorite by Bunin appreciators. But the best is Bunin's diary, years 1917-8, with double-side photograph pages depicting his fam house, young Bunin, elder, wife, people he met/ friends with etc. Neat. 2.5/5.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on November 28, 2018, 05:06:54 AM
Over here the book collection is called " Dark Avenues. "
Not familiar with Bunin. Will check him out as there are numerous books available including the diary you mentioned .
(Also need to check out Chekhov; only familiar with him for The Three Sisters.)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on December 06, 2018, 06:35:44 PM
I read alexander palace just now & in Olga's thread Olga mentioned to've read & liked Chekhov's short comedy play "The Bear". Says in the letter she's going to negotiate it with fam to set spectacle & she playing the leading lady. Didn't read it yet but here's page in English about it: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bear_(play)

It isn't inclusive as far as info but in Russian page there's tidbit saying Romanovs put the play in Tobolsk 3 May 1918, during *exile* (cool fam!). alexander palace' letter threads back it up. NII in his diary tells about it & that he, Olga & "again Maria" was the cast. Says it went well (curious with who - Bolshevik guards? Servants & butlers? Who's spectators?) but they were little nervous performing it. Anyway, it proves again, to Buckethead especially :D, that they did possess sense of humor just fine.

It's jolly fascinating to read which books they liked, plays they played, what they lived like. F.inst. Anastasia in her letters & diaries thread says she began reading with teacher I. Turgenev's "Hunter's Notebook", says "it's very interesting". Olga stated in some letter that they gathered together to read Chekhov's short tales & they enjoyed & laughed at them. Would even be better if the titles specified but generally she's right, it's funny.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on December 11, 2018, 06:13:25 AM
Moliere "Le Bourgeois gentilhomme"/ "Burgher at nobility". Reason to read: Anastasia with Maria did short spectacle in French. Put by teacher Mr. Pierre Gilliard. A is Nicole, Mrs. Jourdain's maid, Maria - Mr. Jourdain, the main guy.
(http://www.livadia.org/ana/1907-1912/88.jpg)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on December 11, 2018, 05:48:24 PM
Have started to read Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy - The Story of Little Women and Why it Still Matters. It's a critically acclaimed book about the first novel I remember reading .
And yes, along with this I will be re-reading Little Women as well.

Am also reading Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Our local paper is serializing it on Sundays this month.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on December 11, 2018, 05:56:50 PM
I see you write titles in cursive. Before, you didn't. Jus' tiny observation. Anyhoo, who'd written the 1st book mentioned? Can't you cite the author's name? Did you see "Little Women" adaptations? I reviewed 1933, 1949, 1978, 1994 films in Movies.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on December 11, 2018, 09:05:33 PM
The book about Little Women was written by Anne Boyd Rioux.
I sometimes use italics, or bold, for titles. Depends on my mood.
I've only seen the 1933 version and that was a long time ago. I just assume that the movies won't live up to the book.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on December 17, 2018, 07:04:49 PM
"Cat's Pajamas", sci-fi short tale collection by Ray Bradbury.
(https://irecommend.ru/sites/default/files/product-images/18264/bradbury_catspajamas.jpg)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on December 18, 2018, 06:39:30 AM
A highly recommended fanfic about The Walking Dead:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16751251?view_full_work=true


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: gruelingpace on December 18, 2018, 08:20:29 PM
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/511l-DngUML._SX319_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51wmO7w83EL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/iHkAAOSwqDha~Pb-/s-l640.png)



Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Ovi on December 19, 2018, 03:08:17 AM
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: gruelingpace on December 20, 2018, 02:36:44 AM
I  listened to this video of some fellow reading the crack up essays
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu63uDHHnW4


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on December 22, 2018, 06:09:08 PM
Mother likes Hemingway. Tie with Nabokov.

To topic - Stephen King's short tales.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on December 24, 2018, 05:23:58 AM
"Teeth-clicker & Mouse King" by E.T.A. Hofman. Nice tale. 3.5/5.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: beachcat on December 26, 2018, 08:21:23 PM
Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, by Robert D. Putnam


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: gruelingpace on January 03, 2019, 09:40:00 PM
(https://www.weiserantiquarian.com/pictures/medium/30562.jpg)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on January 04, 2019, 02:11:43 AM
This thought-provoking blog, still under construction but already a feast for the eye and mind:

An Aquarian Observer (https://aquarianobserver.blogspot.com)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on January 13, 2019, 02:32:07 AM
This thought-provoking blog, still under construction but already a feast for the eye and mind:

An Aquarian Observer (https://aquarianobserver.blogspot.com)

Now that said blog is down for an overhaul, I'm back to my fabulous "holiday read", in which Hannibal has just taken the stage--and how!
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51IgpTfEjjL._SX324_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SBonilla on January 13, 2019, 07:59:26 AM
THE HAWAIIAN STEEL GUITAR and its GREAT HAWAIIAN MUSICIANS, compiled by Lorene Ruymar  with foreword by Jerry Byrd.


For the past week I have been totally absorbed in it. I'm a student and fan of many things, including Western Swing, Hawaiian Music, Jazz, Mexican Music, early blues, country & western, guitars and guitar music. This book offers a history, and a genealogy of sorts, of the musical and technical innovations that come out of Hawaiian music and the steel guitar, along with wonderful stories about the musicians and other individuals who were the inventors, creators and purveyors of this wonderful music and its instruments.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on January 15, 2019, 01:49:25 AM
Frederick Chopin bio.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: gruelingpace on January 22, 2019, 05:18:31 PM
Frederick Chopin bio.
Which one?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: gruelingpace on January 22, 2019, 05:31:32 PM
The Proud Tower-barbara tuchman

I'm not reading it now. I'm finished +I suppose it's due back soon. Though, I never finished the essay on the Dreyfuss Affair. Good god, what a tedious bit of history , that.



Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on January 23, 2019, 02:10:24 PM
Russian series ZZL ("Life Of Distinguished People").


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: gruelingpace on January 23, 2019, 04:41:01 PM
Russian series ZZL ("Life Of Distinguished People").
The treachery of your Pan-slavism knows no bounds!   :spin


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on February 07, 2019, 09:02:18 PM
As February is Black History Month in the US, I decided to focus strictly on African American fiction and history.

I am presently reading Langston Hughes' debut novel, Not Without Laughter, which is a semi autobiographical story about a Black family growing up in Kansas in the early 20th century. Hughes was primarily a poet and that's how I'm familiar with him.

After that I will read Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man, which was influenced by TS Eliot's The Waste Land and Dostoevsky 's Notes from Underground.

For the history, it's Isabel Wilkerson's acclaimed The Warmth of Other Suns. It's about the Great Migration of southern African Americans starting around the period of World War I and lasting until around 1970. They were fleeing the "Jim Crow" laws in effect, and also hoping to find better paying jobs.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on February 08, 2019, 12:54:52 AM
As February is Black History Month in the US, I decided to focus strictly on African American fiction and history.

I am presently reading Langston Hughes' debut novel, Not Without Laughter, which is a semi autobiographical story about a Black family growing up in Kansas in the early 20th century. Hughes was primarily a poet and that's how I'm familiar with him.

After that I will read Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man, which was influenced by TS Eliot's The Waste Land and Dostoevsky 's Notes from Underground.

For the history, it's Isabel Wilkerson's acclaimed The Warmth of Other Suns. It's about the Great Migration of southern African Americans starting around the period of World War I and lasting until around 1970. They were fleeing the "Jim Crow" laws in effect, and also hoping to find better paying jobs.

I wish I had your stamina, E. I've stopped reading altogether at present. Just sudoku puzzles for me right now.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on February 08, 2019, 07:31:57 AM
Stamina? Moi?  ;D

No it's determination, gotta force myself to do it. I used to read a lot more when younger but now it's getting harder to concentrate.

I love Sudoku as well as crossword puzzles.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on February 18, 2019, 04:33:20 AM
Will join discussion - dislike sudoku (snoozzze); like scanwords. :3d Reasonable brains differ.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on February 18, 2019, 06:37:40 AM
Reasonable brains differ.

I have to agree with you there, RR.  ;D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on February 18, 2019, 09:54:04 AM
When you get to be an old lady as I'm getting to be , Sudoku and crossword puzzles keep the brain cells working.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on February 18, 2019, 10:20:37 AM
When you get to be an old lady as I'm getting to be , Sudoku and crossword puzzles keep the brain cells working.

Haha. Tell me about it! :lol

@RangeRover, now you've joined the discussion: Did anyone ever tell you your English is absolutely excellent? No? Then I'll do it now. ::)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on February 18, 2019, 03:14:36 PM
That must be joke. My English is 3/10.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on February 19, 2019, 01:35:40 AM
That must be joke. My English is 3/10.

Not joke.  :P To begin with, I understand everything you say. But not just that, you say it with flair and humour--rare commodities in a second language.

So don't underestimate your qualities, RR. ;=)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on February 19, 2019, 04:16:24 AM
So don't underestimate your qualities, RR. ;=)

This +10

It's great that you don't "play it safe" but rather "D--- the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" *

* famous quote by American Admiral David Farragut


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on February 20, 2019, 12:28:44 PM
Btw, checked thru Russian to foreigners study books & tried to read them with English speaker's eyes - best to leave the idea, you will not, people, tackle it. Written in super-difficult style with weird methods.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on March 02, 2019, 10:37:02 AM
Bought the book about grand duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia. New York Times bestseller, no less :3d (btw, good to see that Americans enjoyed reading about this subject). Written by Helen Rappaport who previously published book about their last days in Ipatiev house aka House Of Special Purpose in which they got killed eventually. But back to this book, she describes the girls really well, distinguishing each. I got to the interesting bit when the war starts in 1914 & quickly big houses, palaces, castles turn into hospitals, Alexandra sees to it, she takes her Big Pair Olga & Tatiana to join as nurses, they study the course in it & despite being royals living in luxury, they act like professionals, they see everything - bleeding head, operation at cutting leg, soldiers with different injuries, operation at getting out the glans (sp?) etc. - yet they get used to it right away. Tatiana especially excelled in it, the doctor even praised her, said she's born nurse. She's better at it than elder sister Olga & even mother, either would get tired very quickly working till late hours in hospital. Tatiana wouldn't, by many accounts. There's many details about this time frame. Little Pair Maria with Anastasia would visit their sisters, assist them with little things but with time, they get duties too, in their hospital in Fedorovsky village. Being young, they didn't get thru special training like OT but they arrange things in it, donate money, help with supplies & see the harsh reality which differs than previous happy years travelling in private yacht to relax with fam. The girls & Alix tell about hospital news to father NII in daily letters who took Alexei wih his teacher & governor Pierre Gilliard to Stavka, place to meet with military Russian & foreign allies.
Interesting to read. Seek it, people, read.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on March 04, 2019, 08:29:00 PM
Glad you like The Romanov Sisters book.

In several weeks I will go to a place in western North Carolina, around the mountains, for some R and R and casual talks and films concerning Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), and Hitchcock. So I'm reading short stories featuring Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, along with  stories featuring Holmes such as The Hound of the Baskervilles, which I had previously read in an English Literature class back in 1976-77.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on March 05, 2019, 03:47:37 AM
I'd like to find now the book about royal kitchen, it may be even titled as such. Been mentioned few times in alexander palace site. What the royals of the past ate, the kitchen menu in different seasons/ years & even selected recipes. I'd like to read it when I will've read the OTMA book.
Tell what this "R and R" means. If you go to mountains, there's fresh air. Then it should be "for some F and A". Who's the best sleuth - Marple, Poirot, Holmes? I'd say Sherlock.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on March 05, 2019, 04:45:20 AM
Tell what this "R and R" means. If you go to mountains, there's fresh air. Then it should be "for some F and A". Who's the best sleuth - Marple, Poirot, Holmes? I'd say Sherlock.

I'd say E's going to the mountains for some Rock and Roll. I may be wrong, of course. :P

Sherlock's my choice, particularly when he's played by Benedict. ::)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on March 05, 2019, 08:36:02 AM
R and R - rest and relaxation! But wouldn't mind a bit of rock and roll after a few days...

Yes, Benedict is The best.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on March 05, 2019, 08:53:46 AM
Good, I knew it's not "rock & roll". It wouldn't make sense. But why shorten it "r and r"? Just say it full "rest and relaxation", I didn't even know this phrase. Please, people, don't forget that there's non-native English speakers posting here. Make it convenient for everybody.
& I asked you question which sleuth is the best to you, NBBF - not which actor is the best Sherlock. I'm curious to know who do you like - Marple, Holmes, Poirot? Answer.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on March 05, 2019, 11:03:35 AM
Sorry. Should have written "R and R (rest and relaxation)" . That way you would have known what I was talking about, and you would have learned a common American expression.
One of these days I'll learn - did that to you earlier when I wrote TLC , which means tender loving care.

Let me get back to you in a couple of days to answer your question. I haven't read so much of Poirot so will take care of that.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on March 10, 2019, 06:37:21 PM
Of the three the best for me right now is Miss Marple.

Won't be able to go on trip after all. No one in my family will be able to make sure my Mother is properly cared for, nor be able to take care of the animals. The weekend night sitter is afraid of dogs and freaks out if our pup gets anywhere near her. And it 's too expensive to board the animals.So I'll go for a  shorter period of time (Monday-Thursday) to our place in the woods, and take the animals with me. I've had one day off since 1 October so am looking forward to a little rest. Will walk around the property (beautiful now, many things blooming), do jigsaw puzzles, read, and sleep. Hope to read some of the things that I would have on the trip.
Or at least that's the plan.. Who knows what will happen?!  :)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on March 18, 2019, 05:25:14 PM
Can you explain the Marple choice?
What you mean by "our place in the woods"? You got fam ranch there?

Take 2:
Can you explain the Marple choice?
What you mean by "our place in the woods"? You got fam ranch there?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on March 19, 2019, 03:25:41 PM
Sorry RR, for not answering . Didn't see your post listed in the queue of posts when I checked it this morning.
I find Miss Marple a little more laid back.I can curl up in a chair and relax. I definitely don't feel that way reading Sherlock. H Poirot is in between .

Place in the woods - land my parents bought almost 60 years ago for next to nothing price wise. It was then out in the middle of nowhere but there has been development. But our house and 12 acres (don't know offhand what that measure equals in Russia) is still a bit isolated. A lot of trees were lost in the last big hurricane (so many lost that we were essentially trapped at the house until people could hack away and create openings) but more trees have sprung up. We have been nursing a bunch of longleaf pine trees, a nearly endangered species in our area. I will be long gone by the time those trees reach maturity.
I'm trying to establish a meadow area outside the house . Also trying to restore an oriental garden my Father built up over 20 years ago and was also damaged in the hurricane.
Wish I could spend more time over there as there's so much work to do, and is also very peaceful.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on March 30, 2019, 05:40:27 AM
I'm periodically reading Hector Berlioz's captivating, often hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking memoirs in the stunning translation by David Cairns. Last night I read it with Mr B's own L'Enfance du Christ blaring and a large glass of whiskey to hand (life sometimes calls for it).


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: SBonilla on March 30, 2019, 07:32:29 AM
obits.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on March 30, 2019, 07:45:33 AM
Boots, good books.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on March 30, 2019, 08:28:13 AM
Jk, thanks for mentioning Berlioz's memoirs. He's a favorite of mine. Went online and put it on my "wishlist" to read later when I get through some of the other books in my huge pile.

SBonilla, unfortunately that's become a routine. In reading the daily newspaper I work all the various puzzles , and check the obituary page.

RRA1 I prefer short horror stories, particularly if they contain some "gallows humor" . Stephen King has written a bunch of them. Is Horacio Quiroga worth checking out?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on March 30, 2019, 09:59:47 PM
Nancy Sinatra. She's good book shopper.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on March 31, 2019, 05:38:33 AM
Jk, thanks for mentioning Berlioz's memoirs. He's a favorite of mine. Went online and put it on my "wishlist" to read later when I get through some of the other books in my huge pile.

You're welcome, E. I always open it with a feeling of dread (it's the same with every book these days) and love every line of it. And the chapters are short. ;)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on March 31, 2019, 08:24:31 AM
Yes, I love books with short chapters !
I use an e-reader sometimes and it indicates how long it would take to read a chapter. I groan when it indicates "1 hour 30 minutes left in chapter" as it's hard for me to have the time to read it in one sitting, unless I'm away from home at the coffeehouse. Thankfully some books have breaks within their chapters so I can find a good stopping point.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on March 31, 2019, 09:00:06 AM
Boots.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on March 31, 2019, 11:26:24 AM
I read about Quiroga. He had a very tragic life. I think his horror stories must have been ways of coping with this. Will give him a chance although I don't know that he is "my cup of tea." I checked and it's hard to find things by him in English.

 I will check out the other links you provided later on. Dealing with a sprained right ankle now - at least I hope it's just sprained, not broken!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on March 31, 2019, 02:32:17 PM
Nancy Sinatra's boots.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on March 31, 2019, 05:00:17 PM
I thought "Feather Pillow" was terse. There was no character development. Even though it was very short it would have been more interesting if it was written in the girl's perspective - what she was thinking when the horror was happening, why wasn't anyone helping her, etc.

I'll check out the other links when I can. Trying to deal with my foot injury - so much had to be done and I can't do most of those things right now. Grrr!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on March 31, 2019, 06:19:34 PM
Bookshop.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on March 31, 2019, 06:52:26 PM
I had just left a Church service. It was raining so I tried to take a shortcut to my car. Big mistake!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on April 02, 2019, 05:55:45 AM
Book.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Gettin Hungry on April 02, 2019, 10:00:25 AM
I just finished My Friend Dahmer, a graphic novel about Jeffrey Dahmer by Derf Backderf, who went to high school with the serial killer. It was a pretty interesting read, and it also has some local interest for me as the events of the book take place not far from where I live.

I'm also in the middle of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers, and Mystery Train, by Greil Marcus.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on April 02, 2019, 01:01:20 PM
I just finished My Friend Dahmer, a graphic novel about Jeffrey Dahmer by Derf Backderf, who went to high school with the serial killer. It was a pretty interesting read, and it also has some local interest for me as the events of the book take place not far from where I live.

I'm also in the middle of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers, and Mystery Train, by Greil Marcus.

Now that is a wonderful read! I'd be interested to know what you think of it when you're finished, GH. ;)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on April 02, 2019, 06:45:18 PM
Well, it didn't make sense but would like you check the links, especially youtube ep "Flypaper". It's must-see. It slightly differs than Elizabeth Taylor's short tale (linked below as well) but better. As usual, what's interesting big time to me is reviews. Lemme know what you think about it. Even better if it's not short review, detailed. Ta in advance.

It did have a bit of a surprise ending. I knew there would be a "twist" and assumed that the man would turn out to be good and the woman bad. And I liked that it left the reader "hanging " with various scenarios possible . Of course the mention of the flypaper and the half dead flies was disconcerting...


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on April 02, 2019, 07:22:32 PM
Few books.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on April 03, 2019, 09:06:20 PM
Watched episode. It was good but the story was better. There's still the surprise ending but in the film it was obvious that the guy was up to no good. In the story there was always the possibility that he was just very "eccentric."
 She was playing " Fur Elise" on the piano.Guess everyone who takes piano lessons has to learn that. I also had to learn it - played it better than she did but not as well as the other student lol.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Slow In Brain on April 06, 2019, 05:40:14 PM
Recently started reading Sound Therapy by Patricia Jourdy


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on April 18, 2019, 03:19:15 AM
I've just finished reading "How It Could Have Gone Down", a fantastic fanfic by a good friend of mine that takes the mess that The Walking Dead has become, reinstates a couple of important and well-loved characters that were killed off for no good reason and brings it all to a mind-blowing conclusion.

You can find it in the top link in my signature. Heartily recommended by someone who's familiar with the gist of TWD but hasn't seen a single episode!  ;D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on April 21, 2019, 12:39:34 AM
Answer to thread question - who cares.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on April 21, 2019, 09:33:54 AM
Answer to thread question - who cares.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on April 21, 2019, 03:06:46 PM
Decided to re-read the James Herriot vet books (such as "All Creatures Great and Small." )
Got a whole set of his books from a used book dealer.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on April 21, 2019, 06:08:04 PM
Answer to thread question - who cares.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on April 22, 2019, 12:57:00 AM
I care and enjoy reading posts about books!   ;D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on April 22, 2019, 01:22:45 AM
Answer to thread question - who cares.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 07, 2019, 05:57:31 PM
Would like to read Jane Austen book but she's got many. Which to choose.
Recent read: "The Mezzotint" by M. R. James. 2/5.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on May 09, 2019, 06:17:14 AM
Can't help much with Jane Austen. I'm slowly reading Sense and Sensibility but am not familiar with the other books. Pride and Prejudice has been highly praised. I saw a TV adaptation of this (the one with Colin Firth).


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Gettin Hungry on May 09, 2019, 10:22:41 AM
My wife is a huge Jane Austen fan, and she said if I was going to read just one, then it should be Persuasion. It was pretty good. It seems like Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice also rank highly.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on May 19, 2019, 03:25:13 AM
I'm rereading this very edition (date unknown) of The Great Gatsby:

(https://static.businessinsider.com/image/5182919f6bb3f7612100000b/image.jpg)

With thanks to my friend across the ocean for turning me onto it. :)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 19, 2019, 06:50:51 AM
I saw a TV adaptation of this (the one with Colin Firth).
Never seen it. What's it like? I see the cast includes Joanna David who played Girl in "Rebecca", TV mini-series with great Jeremy Brett. Literally she's single name I recognize in that cast.

Also, what's the difference which edition? Content's the same, yes? Case would be made if it's different translations we talked here.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on May 19, 2019, 07:06:07 AM
Also, what's the difference which edition? Content's the same, yes? Case would be made if it's different translations we talked here.

Assuming you're talking to me: content's the same, yes. I'm just saying that my copy of TGG has the same cover painting by Kees van Dongen as in the picture. :smokin


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on May 19, 2019, 07:41:47 AM
RR1 - I mentioned Colin Firth because this was his "breakout" role that made him famous. I'm not familiar with the other cast members. It was a multipart miniseries that was quite excellent.
Also, some English language books can have different editions with some different text. The edition can add text that was removed earlier . A good example is Little Women. Someone decided that some slang words used wouldn't be known to readers so they were changed. There were other changes as well .

jk - Maybe I'll give it another chance. I read The Great Gatsby in High School for a class and have read it twice since then, trying to be more enthused.Maybe the fourth time is the charm! :-)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 19, 2019, 08:12:06 AM
Ha yes, suspected that's why the namecheck. Didn't work, heh. Idk, say, 80% famous people. :D Anyhoo, what's really excellent about it, can't you tell?

Annoying. Leave the book AS IS. I'm extremely against this revisionism. Do they even indicate the changes made that I pick the real deal written by writer?

NB This cursive book title stylizing really is sickening. :-D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on May 19, 2019, 09:24:23 AM
jk - Maybe I'll give it another chance. I read The Great Gatsby in High School for a class and have read it twice since then, trying to be more enthused.Maybe the fourth time is the charm! :-)

I saw the Leo version of the film before I read the book, which had remained untouched on my bookshelf for decades (I'd found it on a plane). I eventually read it because my young friend raved about it last year (she ate, slept and breathed it at High School) and I love it now. It's concise--the man needs few words to say an awful lot, and every line's a winner--so nobody can say it's daunting.

Fourth time lucky? You never know!  ;)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on May 19, 2019, 10:18:10 AM
Ha yes, suspected that's why the namecheck. Didn't work, heh. Idk, say, 80% famous people. :D Anyhoo, what's really excellent about it, can't you tell?

Annoying. Leave the book AS IS. I'm extremely against this revisionism. Do they even indicate the changes made that I pick the real deal written by writer?

NB This cursive book title stylizing really is sickening. :-D

Sorry about the font. I guess it looks different on various systems, as to me it's not a cursive script.
That miniseries was acclaimed because of the acting and that it was faithful to the script . However I have to take their word for it as I haven't yet read that book.
I don't have the book any more (it's at the library) but with Little Women, the problem started I think when it was published in the UK. Some slang words were changed or eliminated . Also some chapters were cut. This affected the foreign translations, so I assume if you read a Russian translation of the book it was the version with the changes.
Maybe when you get to the U.S. you can check in the bookstores for the book - it should be easy to find and hopefully it's the original version.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 19, 2019, 05:00:55 PM
I said book titles in cursive ("The Great Gatsby" & "Little Women"). Don't use it, folks. :) If you graciously listen to this humble plea, I shall try not to use "text speak" (c) sth. & smb. that lotta people said in pm's & publicly over years that it really annoyed/s them big time. Deally deal? ;)

To rephrase previous question - how can I be sure that, when I'm in U.S. book shop, I picked book without changes? Does it point to it in books - "This is book without changes, the way the writer intended it to be written as"? Or shall I wade thru many editions, sit down & read each to find out? Why not make it easy to readers & simply leave books as they are? Sorry but it's highly ridiculous to change it due to people not being familiar with slangs. Now what kinda reason it is really? Gee wilkers. So, people don't know what's "bilge" when Jo March repeats it. &? It's easy to get by context what she says, i.e. same as "damn" / "rubbish"/ b-word/ s-word.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on May 19, 2019, 05:33:57 PM
Okay I won't do it ( "cursive") again . I didn't understand what you meant by it - cursive to me is the formal way of writing in which the letters of a word are joined together; a lot of students here in the US aren't learning it anymore and it's causing a bit of a controversy. I didn't consider something simply bolded and italicized as being "cursive." Anyway I won't do it any more. Mea culpa!

 About getting original version of Little Women - there might be wording at the front of the book indicating whether or not it's "abridged" ( shortened) or other wording on the back cover. Might have to ask person at bookstore.

Did that also with Harry Potter - The first book was The Philosopher's Stone but I guess the powers that be thought we Americans were too dumb so over here it was called "The Sorcerer's Stone"


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 19, 2019, 07:21:46 PM
Thanks. I'm used to it being cursive (translit. "kursiv"). Where you live you say "italics". It's fine. Misunderstandings take place.

Yet the film internationally - "Sorcerer's Stone". Strange. What do you think about "coffee table books"? Many say it's useless - pics with minimal to zilch written info, mentioning "too heavy to carry".


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on May 19, 2019, 08:56:40 PM
Coffee table books can be nice, I guess. But they can be expensive, and I don't have a coffee table.
One book I really liked growing up that my parents bought - it was a book of incredible photos of old, crumbling homes and plantations. The author/photographer, Clarence John Laughlin, had a gift for working with lighting, multiple exposures etc, to create photographs that were eerily beautiful. I could imagine ghosts in them .Appropriately, the book is called Ghosts Along the Mississippi :-)

The closest I have to a coffee table book nowadays is The Beach Boys in Concert lol.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on May 22, 2019, 01:20:24 PM
Coffee table books can be nice, I guess. But they can be expensive, and I don't have a coffee table.
One book I really liked growing up that my parents bought - it was a book of incredible photos of old, crumbling homes and plantations. The author/photographer, Clarence John Laughlin, had a gift for working with lighting, multiple exposures etc, to create photographs that were eerily beautiful. I could imagine ghosts in them .Appropriately, the book is called Ghosts Along the Mississippi :-)

The closest I have to a coffee table book nowadays is The Beach Boys in Concert lol.

That was my coffee table book for a while. It got me through some dark times. These days it's this:

(http://www.r-jam.nl/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/AAA-JiR-cover-def-web.jpg)

It's full of fascinating pictures of jazz clubs and club life in pre-war Rotterdam, before the 1940 bombardment reduced most of the city centre to rubble. 


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on May 28, 2019, 03:06:33 PM
"Old Curiosity Shop" by Charles Dickens.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on June 01, 2019, 02:53:40 PM
Book.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on June 01, 2019, 04:36:41 PM
My best friend, Andre, brought over some mirlitons (a type of squash popular here) from his backyard. I used some of them to make a vegetarian casserole for him. Then he told me he was going to a huge book sale and asked if I wanted anything. I said that I wanted to read some less heavy books. I asked him to look for books by Ellis Peters. I have her first Brother Cadfael book (mystery series set in a medieval monastery) "A Morbid Taste for Bones." He came home with 4 paperback books from the series - "One Corpse too Many," " The Holy Thief, " "The Summer of the Danes," and " The Rose Rent. " Looking forward to reading them this summer.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on June 02, 2019, 07:43:48 AM
My best friend, Andre, brought over some mirlitons (a type of squash popular here) from his backyard. I used some of them to make a vegetarian casserole for him. Then he told me he was going to a huge book sale and asked if I wanted anything. I said that I wanted to read some less heavy books. I asked him to look for books by Ellis Peters. I have her first Brother Cadfael book (mystery series set in a medieval monastery) "A Morbid Taste for Bones." He came home with 4 paperback books from the series - "One Corpse too Many," " The Holy Thief, " "The Summer of the Danes," and " The Rose Rent. " Looking forward to reading them this summer.

Congrats, E.  :)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on June 02, 2019, 10:40:31 AM
Cool. You got some friend who buys you books for free. I'd tell that chap to sprint to sale to buy Charles Dickens, Alexander Grin, Zakhar Tozzev, Kafka, John Grisham. Would cook sth. easy & fast - plain omelette/ sandwiches with expired jam/ fried fruits/ dried bread slices to crisp, i.e. really tough to teeth. It'd be good exchange - free books & good food.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on June 02, 2019, 11:02:29 AM
It was a book sale in which the money raised would go to our Symphony Orchestra. The books are a lot cheaper than if I would try to get them at a store. I asked for those Ellis Peters books because they are only available at our Library as ebooks or audiobooks.
I have a bunch of Dickens books already and they are also easy to find at the Library. Grisham as well. In my present state of mind I need to lay off the Kafka. Am not familiar with the other two you mentioned.

Grin looks to be interesting although he only has a few books/stories translated.
Wasn't able to find anything in English by Tozzev


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on June 02, 2019, 11:16:16 AM
It read like you made bargain - you cook Andre food, they buy you books for free, i.e. *they* pay & give as free gifts. Hence the good exchange reply. As you can see, I like easy cooking, expired jam gets used which still tastes kinda/ little bit good. Which means, if I treat the chap to such good food (see below reply), I may as well tell them to buy expensive books, not just sale.

Reply to the edit: A. Grin is famous with his marine books about sailors & stuff. They usually tend to be adventurous yet kinda poetic, yet with simple to comprehend narrative. Does it make sense? Best I could explain.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on June 13, 2019, 11:38:09 AM
Hello, people.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 08, 2019, 07:00:43 AM
David Bret "Brit Girls of the Sixties Volume Three: Cilla Black, Sandie Shaw & Lulu" via Books google. It's interesting read, seems to be accurate regarding chart statistics about songs & detailed events' timeline - what Lulu did this/ that day, ditto 2 girls. But few info bits look suspicious. Case in point - Dionne Warwick hated Cilla, allegedly she said that she copied her verbatim, took her signature song deliberately. Much to Dionne's dismay, Cilla's cover brought better success than Dionne's. Can't imagine Dionne loosing sleep about it, tbh. Bizarre. Narrator, the Bret chap, says fame got to Cilla's head, she started acting like diva, demanding the best - cars, restaurants, even dressing room. It's revelation if credible - frankly, she doesn't strike it - she seems bubbly backed with easy-going. But maybe there's few things to Cilla than meet the eye. Anyhoo, fave chapter = Sandie Shaw, since out of 3 girls she to these ears possesses the best singing voice. I liked reading about her.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 13, 2019, 03:53:36 AM
"Mommie Dearest" by Christina Crawford. 0/10. Puke-inducing disrespectful book rife with blatant rubbish. Playing victim to get public attention, to be famous via trashing mother = low. Shame to you, gurl. Boo! She waited schemingly when Joan Crawford ceases to exist to tell "the truth". She did it to be rich. If you hate mother, she destroyed childhood - change last name to de-associate with her. Did she do it? Did she? She didn't. It means they got along just fine, she fabricated entire thing, save Joan's clean house attitude since many colleagues knew it, 'Tina added to give credibility to the book. Even if - IF - anything in book took place, instead keeping it family business, she decided to tattle tale it internationally. Either way you look it - she is bad. Classless. Maybe jealousy at play. Crook. Loon. She still sickeningly continues telling about it like broken record. WE GOT YOU, NOW SHUT UP. Poor Joan, doesn't deserve it. I'm glad many don't believe 'Tina Dearest either, including the other 2 adopted daughters. If she did it to ruin "mommie's" legacy, she failed. Joan's still in many "Great Actresses" lists, films with her beloved by many, reading various such films' reviews. Seen few clips to adaptation - sheer manure. It's hilariously OTT rather than looking real. Faye Danaway plays Joan is whose stupid decision? They look ZERO alike. Joan is prettier, elegance thru & thru. The girl playing 'Tina is simply Z-grade acting, very inconvincing. Shan't waste time seeing this entire clownade.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Gettin Hungry on July 19, 2019, 12:58:45 PM
I just finished, Sing to It, a collection of short stories by Amy Hempel that came out earlier. If you're a fan of Raymond Carver, you would like her work. This was a fast read.

Next on my stack is The Pale King, by David Foster Wallace.

And I just got a stock of books that I ordered through AbeBooks.com, including:
-The Nearest Faraway Place, by Timothy White;
-The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead;
-Ficcones, by Jorge Luis Borges;
-And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie; and
-The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, by Michael Ondaatje.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on July 21, 2019, 06:03:19 PM
-The Nearest Faraway Place, by Timothy White
-And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie
These'll be interesting reads.

Henrik Ibsen's plays. 3.5/5.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on August 28, 2019, 07:33:06 AM
"The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" by Stephen King. It deceives by seemingly cool annotation. Main idea intrigues, visioned it to be adventurous & psychedelic. When read it - meh. 9-year girl deliberately gets into forest due to being ignored by teenage brother with divorcee mother, fed up by their non-stop bickering with feuds. Then she realizes she got little food/drink in backpack, attacked by mosquittoes, with mud puddles around, torrential rain starts amid her ruining the easily damaged poncho (btw, didn't know what people wear in rain is called poncho in U.S., here we say poncho when meaning western-like triangle loose sleeveless knitted garment) - she panics. Easily Top 10 dumbest book character. Age isn't excuse. The monologs really tried patience getting thru this amazingly dull read. & is it to believe that she could be, at such young age, huge baseball fan? She luckily took walkman with her & earbuds to hear humans, sports commentators describing baseball games & she actually magically (at 9 y.o.!) got every single baseball term, she got what commentators talked about with super ease. Granted, narrator flashes back to the times when their father lived with fam & times when she & brother spent weekends with him & he taught kids to be baseball fans, watched games together. Still, it's veeeery weird that little girl - girl - could be serious baseball fan, be meticulously aware about each team's name, each player's name yada yada. It's ridiculous, if you ask. Besides, how is it that daughter would be closer to father. I got why son, her brother, wished to live with father but shouldn't daughter love mother better? Stand by her 200%? It makes sense them being same gender, no? Again, weird. Adventures & troubles she experienced being lonely in forest isn't how I'd create & develop it if I been Stephen King. It's weak, not frightful in the least bit, isn't macabre as his short tales, it could be thousand times better. But, this psychology/ family relations issues stuff is especially in this book very-very cloying, missed chance, epic fail, annoying as hell. In short, zero sympathy to any character, everybody's just boring & stupid beyond, jeez. 0/5=0/10.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on September 02, 2019, 07:25:10 AM
"Scarecrow Walks At Midnight", Robert Stine. 10/10

I read it at 12, liked it immediately, re-read it many times since then in different years. Like today - still favorite in Goosebumps series. It isn't exactly the scariest, yet village atmosphere, barns, corn fields, high grass give book the edge. Sth. about it is unsettling. I def. knew I'll like it when reading title - big big big scarecrows fan in horror. It's fascinating figure - what's behind poor guy with 2nd-hand beaten garments? What he does for living? Doesn't he wish to revenge secretly? Will he guard fields when villagers hit the hay or will he step down & eat crows who ridiculed his fright powers? Billion dollar questions.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on September 04, 2019, 06:51:18 PM
"The Dead Lifeguard" (Fear Street series by Robert Stine). 3.5/5. Nice whodidit, liked "Lindsey" who isn't really Lindsey but Marissa. Glad she isn't dead AND the killer. Puzzled? :P


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on September 07, 2019, 10:56:07 AM
Random discovery: Wrath James White "Population Zero". Few pages began well, it then rapidly went repellent. Halfway right now, it's going to be difficult to get to its end.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on September 07, 2019, 02:36:34 PM
Random discovery: Wrath James White "Population Zero". Few pages began well, it then rapidly went repellent. Halfway right now, it's going to be difficult to get to its end.
Finished book - 0/5 = 0/10.

Next'll be Radii Pogodin "Where Are You, WhereAreYouWhereAreYou?". Really enjoyed this book way back when. It's listed in splendid colorful "Little People" series. Pogodin is very good writer with interesting, *at times* surreal language, little bit like less fantasy-laden Ray Bradbury, i.e. he isn't too out there. He's little bit philosophical, yet accessible. Book named is few interesting tales with many different characters.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on September 09, 2019, 04:07:01 PM
"Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories To Stay Awake By". When at "high school" age, I made really belated transition to literature for grown-ups. I still went to kids' library room. But, nice lady librarian, with kind gullible eyes behind glasses, asked why I still visit kids' library, I can get to different auditorium now, she said. Well, I obeyed & discovered such many books to my adventurous macabre taste. I immediately liked it - 1st books I discovered been these cool collections with Alfred Hitchcock in the cover - same image but different colors. I read green, red, dark-blue books. Sadly, it's 3 colors found in shelves. It's weird I reccognized Hitchcock's name, I didn't see any films by him back at school. I lived in lil town with just 3, at times 2 TV channels, including entirely sports channel dusk till dawn showing just sports commentators in various sports games plus commercials, i.e. dullfest. It leaves single channel that got normal mishmash schedule - news to films to TV games to talk shows yada yada. They aired "North By Northwest" many times but I didn't catch it even single time. It's when I went to college I developed DVD-buying spree, nearly daily would buy them, spending scholarship to it. Mainly horrors & suspense. Back then, DVD with even 16 films in it, even entire 50-episode TV series in single disc cost just 100 roubles. I read it's now 350 roubles, licensed - 500. Anyhoo, I found disc with Hitchcock films. I usually slyly bought DVDs with many films in it - by actors, directors, themes (f.ex. "New horrors No. ###"). Passed by DVDs with single film in it. Anyhoo, I read Alfred Hitchcock "Various Writers" collection books in the dark & really enjoyed such reality escape. The book I read right now - didn't finish yet but like the initial tales - is sth. new, I don't rmbr any the titles listed in The Contents. Good. Then it must be different Hitch collection, as green, red, dark-blue didn't get subtitled similarly "Stories To Stay Awake By".
Fave short tale -  by now - is "Splintered Monday" by Charlotte Armstrong.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Gettin Hungry on September 10, 2019, 11:40:26 AM
I read Gidget, by Frederick Kohner, which was a fast and fun summer read. I've been slowly making my way through The Pale King, by David Foster Wallace. I'm also still in the middle of Mystery Train, by Greil Marcus. Maybe with the weather cooling down, I'll be able to make faster progress.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on September 11, 2019, 12:26:24 PM
I'm also still in the middle of Mystery Train, by Greil Marcus. Maybe with the weather cooling down, I'll be able to make faster progress.

Probably the best book I've read about pop. The massive "Notes and discographies" section at the end will blow your mind--if the rest doesn't blow it first. ;D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Gettin Hungry on September 12, 2019, 10:33:22 AM
I'm also still in the middle of Mystery Train, by Greil Marcus. Maybe with the weather cooling down, I'll be able to make faster progress.

Probably the best book I've read about pop. The massive "Notes and discographies" section at the end will blow your mind--if the rest doesn't blow it first. ;D

Part of the reason it's taking me so long to read is the number of books and recordings I want to make note of to check out.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on September 18, 2019, 06:19:20 AM
(https://bookocean.net/img/16735/s_cover.jpg)I'd seen its screen adaptation in 2012-13. Didn't think back it lives to its cult status, save the song about willow which I really liked & like. Despite its designation, it didn't frighten. It should. Annotation says book's interesting, with chapters/ events cut by film's script. Read few pages by now. Cool thing about it I'll imagine smb. else than Deborah Kerr as governess - she's not convincing actress.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on September 24, 2019, 03:19:33 AM
Reading at present - few pages in - book I clicked randomly in web library "Rat Race" by Dick Francis. Anybody read this writer? What did you think?
Mentioned book starts pretty interesting.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on September 28, 2019, 09:35:35 PM
"Rat Race" by Dick Francis.
6/10.
Main hero: nice & meh simultaneously
Quirkiest development: richest horse racing star who should be spoiled by fame actually helps the main guy, poor pilot in poor small airline company where staff is just 3-4 people doing several jobs at a time, & this guy changed his workplace many times, never stayed too long than few weeks/ months in previous employments, failed many times, divorced with wife bitterly & she keeps sending him envelopes to remind time to pay alimony when he's got very meagre wage & it pays nearly entire alimony - rich guy genuinely befriended this poor guy, in such quick time to boot, as in right when they 1st met? He even let him sleep over in his big house, just like that! Even added "You can stay in my house anytime, just say it". Wow. Is such luck even plausible? Sure rich guys can be kind & generous (umm...maybe) but still, akin to fairy tale. Thee rich famous sports guy is even OK to be poor guy's future brother-in-law, he's *glad* that his young sister & poor guy get to like each other in romantic way, when they quarrel seriously, he actually takes poor guy's side! Can you believe it? Instead supporting his blood relation. Utterly bizarre. Rich guy even defended poor guy in cases when it's not his business to defend. Smb. talked arrogantly with poor guy & this rich guy stands up to him & sharply interrupts the arrogance-filled speech. His defending poor guy could cost him losing many other rich people's friendships, yet he insisted to be friendly to smb. who is way lower class. I couldn't believe when I continued reading it. It got weirder & weirder till they're best buds forever. What made him bond with poor guy aka the main book hero? Is it his simple attitude, considerate nature, kindness that he found very refreshing to see in human in his corrupt greedy horse-racing business world with cold-blooded colleagues? Is it poor guy's sense of humor that won him over, his sordid past yet strength to overcome that past, his readiness to help injured beaten threatened people who he had no business to deal with, yet interfered in fighting with baddies, which could bring him enemies & he'd be silenced by murder, that touched the rich guy? Try to get it & lose thinking thread.

Next anomaly is duke who possesses horses that participate in races, the other rich guy, sympathizes poor guy & they hit it off instantly. Lucky again, poor guy makes friends with 2 rich guys without any shenanigans, butt-kissing tricks, by just being natural self. Granted, getting friendly with duke is easier than rich sports guy signing autographs - he is surprisingly very kind, casual, well-mannered & especially gullible. Rich, titled duke, spends time in luxurious places, yet gullible & naive. Wonder how he retained his fortune without anybody trying to steal it (they will but near book's end).
In fairy tale events, duke tells poor guy to be his manager/ assistant/ main pilot which is poor guy's dream work, he likes to fly, duke gives him permanent stable employment & may even add him as heir, n additikn to his biological nephew, school boy who interestingly got the same name as poor guy. This is fantastically big luck, refuse to believe. Talk about getting acquainted with right people in right time in right place.
Setting: usually dislike sports-themed novels but this been easy to follow plus it takes place in the air, it's not 100% about dealings & intrigues to win biggest money in horse-racing.
Ending: happy, except ambiguity regarding main hero's fate. He fell bleeding in the back to the ground (thrown at distance knife). The end. Did he die or will ambulance quickly get there & stop bleeding, he'll live?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on September 29, 2019, 10:04:39 AM
I've heard the name Dick Francis but haven't read any of his works.
Was able to find a volume containing four of his short books including Rat Race.
Will give them a read when I find some time.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on October 20, 2019, 08:08:17 PM
Two books read recently:
Finally finished The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson. It took a long time not because it wasn't a good book (it was great) but because it was so sad to read. It was the story of the "Great Migration " of African Americans from the Southern to Northern or Western US, to escape Jim Crow laws that discriminated against them. In some cases they had to sneak out. The bad thing was that the areas they migrated to had their own prejudices. The book shows how several people were able to somehow overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles .

The other book I read rather quickly - The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral.History of 9/11 , compiled by Garrett Graff. I learned a lot of things about 9/11 that I didn't know, and I have read and viewed countless documentaries about it.
The obsession is a result of wondering how would I have fared if I had been in one of the Towers? I've come to the conclusion that I would have died. I would have possibly gotten down from the immediate danger but would have probably conked out about half way down.  I mean, what was the hurry? I would never have thought that the buildings would collapse.  :-\


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 20, 2019, 08:09:35 PM
James Bowen "Gift From Bob: How Street Cat Helped One Man Learn The Meaning Of Christmas". Cozy book to read with cup of tea. Charmingly written, with wit, humor, cat cheekiness & kindness. 10/10.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on October 25, 2019, 09:27:18 AM
James Bowen "Gift From Bob: How Street Cat Helped One Man Learn The Meaning Of Christmas". Cozy book to read with cup of tea. Charmingly written, with wit, humor, cat cheekiness & kindness. 10/10.
Re-read. Hey NBBF catch this book - Amazon? Library? Kindle (stupid title)? This that, blah blah.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on November 10, 2019, 02:23:14 AM
This wondrous book seems to have broken my reader's block. Just when you think you've discovered all you're ever going to discover, you get slammed out of the blue by a subject you would have scoffed at a matter of weeks earlier. It's a funny old world.   

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51mcjIanvxL._SX312_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on November 23, 2019, 11:58:02 AM
Stephen King "Willa", "Gwendy & Button Box" (w/ smb. else) - respectively 0/10, 0/10. Big blunder spending paper to create the each.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on November 30, 2019, 05:35:54 PM
Stephen King short tale collection. 0/10: free, frequent expletive use. Due to it, lengthy detailed describing things (zzzz, anybody?), it's difficult to see interesting aspects that can be in book.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Jay on November 30, 2019, 11:48:34 PM
I'm reading the autobiography of Etta James right now. Man, she had a rough life.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on December 04, 2019, 08:49:09 PM
Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child "Relic". Went thru myriad book titles with annotations to get to at least 5% interesting subject. "Relic" about museum's new figurine discovered by paleo-expedition group. It's sci-fi - being sci-fi enthusiast, choose it to read. Quit seeking, thanks to it.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on December 06, 2019, 09:19:50 AM
A friend had recommended a book as a "pick me up, " so I'm reading it . It's A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen. Bowen, a street performer in the UK, befriended Bob. And as usually the case, adopted stray cats are the best. Bowen has written later books about Bob.

I had received a FB post about books from the 1920's that are worth a read. One in particular caught my eye - Giants in the Earth, by O. E. Rölvaag. It's translated from Norwegian  (I de dage). I'm a sucker for books about pioneers ( in this case, Norwegians settling in the Dakota territory ). Also like books about people trying to restore old farmsteads. Any recommendations would be appreciated.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on January 03, 2020, 04:56:02 PM
I joined the Shakespeare2020 group on FB and am presently reading and discussing "Twelfth Night."
 Looked at all the books I haven't read and decided to re-read Lewisohn's long book on the Beatles . It's the first of a supposedly 3 volume set.Who knows when volume 2 will be out. I had been following a hundreds page thread on the Hoffman Board but it got hijacked by a couple of knuckleheads and the thread was locked. Volume 1 covers the band from its beginnings to the end of 1962. I'll probably be long gone by the time the final volume gets out.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on January 08, 2020, 07:05:20 AM
A friend had recommended a book as a "pick me up, " so I'm reading it . It's A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen. Bowen, a street performer in the UK, befriended Bob. And as usually the case, adopted stray cats are the best. Bowen has written later books about Bob.
Did mention it b4, ditto film adaptation in Film Thread. Looks like you didn't catch it. Well? New book by good writer - Jerome Klapka Jerome "Diary Of Pilgrimage". To start, travel book = jolly good, interesting. Next, few chapters reading but can tell it's good choice.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on January 09, 2020, 06:25:04 AM
Nice book, "...Pilgrimage". Would like to read his famous "3 Men In Boat Without Dog" or whichever's the title (I know it's "Three..." but I like adhering to my individual style writing digits as digits. Thus, "3..."). I hear it's humorous & adventurous = good blend.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Gettin Hungry on January 09, 2020, 09:43:58 AM
I just started Beartown, by Fredrik Backman. It's about a small town obsessed with ice hockey. So far, it's pretty enjoyable. Lots of character development.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on January 09, 2020, 10:27:28 AM
Nice book, "...Pilgrimage". Would like to read his famous "3 Men In Boat Without Dog" or whichever's the title (I know it's "Three..." but I like adhering to my individual style writing digits as digits. Thus, "3..."). I hear it's humorous & adventurous = good blend.

That's very funny. I know you prefer cats but the dog (called Montmorency) is crucial to this book (I have it here). It's Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog).

I don't know if you read stuff onscreen but if you do, it's here:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/308/308-h/308-h.htm

PS: How about removing that ugly post from the "Welcome Thread"? ;D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on January 09, 2020, 05:31:22 PM
There's a complete works of Jerome Klapka Jerome for my ereader for about 2 dollars and have downloaded it. 6000+ pages!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on January 10, 2020, 07:26:52 AM
The gutenberg link is the Internet mistake. Empty link.
Soviet 1979 film translates "Three Men In Boat (Discounting The Dog)".
6000 pages per 2$ - wow, cool deal.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on January 10, 2020, 07:44:57 AM
PS: How about removing that ugly post from the "Welcome Thread"? ;D

Thank you!


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on January 10, 2020, 08:36:02 AM
You coulda just edited it instead of bringing up again & again.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on January 10, 2020, 12:18:22 PM
You coulda just edited it instead of bringing up again & again.

Well we hardly ever talk so I'm making the most of it. :-D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on January 28, 2020, 05:46:23 AM
Which means - you ask INCESSANTLY to delete post (*did it*), yet...when I ask you to edit replies *still* mentioning it, you refuse? Next time, ask thousand times to delete/remove/erase blah blah any reply - I will NOT do it.
Back to business. Sure finished reading Klapka, great guy, funny book. 3.5/5.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Jay on January 28, 2020, 06:37:46 AM
How does once count as INCESSANTLY?


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on February 08, 2020, 04:28:15 AM
Which means - you ask INCESSANTLY to delete post (*did it*), yet...when I ask you to edit replies *still* mentioning it, you refuse? Next time, ask thousand times to delete/remove/erase blah blah any reply - I will NOT do it.
Back to business. Sure finished reading Klapka, great guy, funny book. 3.5/5.

Glad you enjoyed it, RR.  :)

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61GoR6xI4DL._SX326_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on February 08, 2020, 05:27:25 AM
Not surprised K&C series didn't get his name right. :eggcellent Never liked their translations either - read it back to back with their English twins - loose, inaccurate, blunders galore. You picked bad series to read Klapka in Russian (btw, didn't know you study Russian. The Peter trip gave idea p'haps). Shoulda picked series by different publisher - say, "Fabulous Books By Fabulous Writers". They got his name right - Jerome *Klapka* Jerome.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: NOLA BB Fan on February 08, 2020, 06:33:52 AM
The problem with reading books written in a foreign language - what translation to use.
I read reviews from those fluent in Russian. This translation of The Idiot is too literal and has no nuance. That translation takes too many liberties and isn't literal enough.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on February 08, 2020, 08:06:29 AM
Yes, Russian is that way - I read Russian-English back-to-backs like I said earlier & many things difficult to convey in English, especially archaic Russian terms but as well many present day things that difficult to find its English equivalents. But, I should reckon interpreter who studied Russian, *lived* in Russia 10-20 yrs & smb. who's in fact got Russian heritage can translate it with 85% accuracy.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Gettin Hungry on March 05, 2020, 10:36:50 AM
I've gotten through a few books since my last post.
-Beartown, by Fredrik Backman (good)
-Mystery Train, by Greil Marcus (half good)
-And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie (good)

Now, I'm reading Chronicles, Volume One, by Bob Dylan.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on March 05, 2020, 11:48:37 AM
-Mystery Train, by Greil Marcus (half good)

Oooff! What, I wonder, was half bad about this book? Okay, à chacun son goût and all that but yes, I'm curious, GH. I loved it from start to finish.

And. while I'm here, I wonder what happened to RangeRoverA1...


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Gettin Hungry on March 05, 2020, 01:22:10 PM
I read the fifth edition of Mystery Train. The Notes and Discographies section was longer than the main part of the book, and to me it became tedious to read. I skimmed the last 100 pages. From what I understand, Greil Marcus has expanded the Notes and Discographies with each edition. I think it starts to detract from the quality of the narrative.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on April 21, 2020, 02:22:58 PM
(https://artlogic-res.cloudinary.com/w_690,c_limit,f_auto,fl_lossy/artlogicstorage/rebeccahossack/images/view/f48bb397fdef1be973e00f66219da506j/rebeccahossack-phil-shaw-shelf-isolation-2020.jpg)


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: RangeRoverA1 on April 21, 2020, 06:41:02 PM
You really read Stephen King? Didn't think you read frightful tales. Btw, "It" is best to see than read.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on April 22, 2020, 04:57:02 AM
You really read Stephen King? Didn't think you read frightful tales. Btw, "It" is best to see than read.

I only read the topical message spelled out by the book titles, from top left to bottom right. Some creative soul arranged some of the books in their library.  ;)

I've never read SK. As for films, I've only seen Carrie, the 1976 version with Cissy Spacek.

Wow, you do have a good memory! It's true, I'm not a fan of frightful stuff generally speaking. I did enjoy the first two Terminator movies and Aliens (I watched them with my son) and those were pretty heavy.

I read a book of short stories by H.P. Lovecraft once. They were very well written but they scared the life out of me! Poe is different--I can read him without any trouble, don't know why.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Gettin Hungry on April 22, 2020, 05:34:50 AM
I finished Dylan's Chronicles (enjoyed) and followed that up with Woody Guthrie's Bound for Glory (loved). Now, I'm reading Ficciones, by Jorge Luis Borges, which has been on my to-read list for like 20 years. So far, so good.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: JK on July 30, 2020, 05:46:39 AM
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51IgpTfEjjL._SX324_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

It's taken me eighteen months but now I'm back to reading this superbly written book -- but not in chronological order (I have reader's block).

It's time this fine topic was bumped anyway -- three months is too long! ;D


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Gettin Hungry on July 31, 2020, 06:07:00 AM
Wow, it has been awhile since this thread has been active. Since my last update, I've read quite a few books. Here's the last three months:
-Star Wars: The Dark Lord Trilogy, by James Luceno and Matthew Stover
-Tarantula: Poems, by Bob Dylan
-The Beach Boys and the California Myth, by David Leaf
-The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead
-Gone to the Country: The New Lost City Ramblers and the Folk Revival, by Ray Allen
-Red Dragon, by Thomas Harris

Right now, I'm reading Visions of Gerard, by Jack Kerouac.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: Occasional grilled cheese on January 26, 2021, 12:59:40 PM
Currently about halfway through my second reading of Nancy Hertzberg's Frontier Inventory. What a chilling book. The second person narration really drives home the nightmarishness. On the back burner is Maxine Chernoff's short story collection Bop. That 80's series of Vintage Contemporaries with the Sega Master System box art looking covers was sure something.


Title: Re: The What Are You Reading? Thread
Post by: wild neon sins on August 05, 2021, 12:06:40 PM
Jay B. Laws - The Unfinished.