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Books: What have people been reading recently?
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 18 Nov 10 - 09:10 PM Josephine Tey's best was an analysis of Richard III's role in the murder of the two sons of Edward IV. Good historical writing, much more than a 'novel'. "The Daughter of Time." |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 18 Nov 10 - 09:02 PM Spent a dollar and got a book with three mysteries by Josephine Tey. An excellent writer. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: GUEST,Jon Date: 18 Nov 10 - 08:30 PM Last wo bought here were childhhod ones. Tom's Midnight Garden and Moonfleet We also got a book on salad leaves. Can't think of hand of the author. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Amergin Date: 18 Nov 10 - 06:44 PM I'm still reading the Allan Quatermain books....the one I'm reading now is called "Finished", and it's about the Zulu War. I found the dedication at the beginning a bit interesting....because it was written to a friend of H. Ryder Haggard's by the name of Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: LilyFestre Date: 18 Nov 10 - 05:05 PM Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow Michelle |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Wesley S Date: 18 Nov 10 - 04:58 PM "Life" by Keith Richards. An excellent read so far. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: ollaimh Date: 18 Nov 10 - 04:55 PM i'm reading chriss hedges "death of the liberal class" and i insist every one read it as i am getting tired of the mudcatters who dream on oblivious to the premenent war democracy that the usa and uk have become at the expenseof almost all other american and british productive and creative sectors. so there! get your copy now. his empire of illusion is good too before that i was reading about the unranium industry in sasketchewan. we took part in the cold war too |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: wysiwyg Date: 18 Nov 10 - 01:34 PM Isaiah. And next, via Librivox: A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw by Ukawsaw Gronniosaw (c.1705-1775) Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, also known as James Albert, (born ca. 1705 - 1775) was a freed slave and autobiographer. His autobiography is considered the first published by an African in Britain. Gronniosaw's autobiography was produced in Kidderminster in the late 1760s. Its full title is A Narrative of the Most remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, an African Prince, As related by himself. It was the first Slave narrative in the English language. Published in Bath in 1772, it gives a vivid account of Gronniosaw's life, from his capture in Africa through slavery to a life of poverty in Colchester and Kidderminster. It is devoid of the anti-slavery backlash ubiquitous in subsequent slave narratives. (Summary modified from Wikipedia) Note to those who dislike incongruities: This is read by a North American woman. === ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Edthefolkie Date: 18 Nov 10 - 06:52 AM I forgot a really great historical novel by Keith Roberts called "The Boat Of Fate". Young Roman Empire lad makes pass at neighbouring rich girl (etc), mother dies, escapes to Rome to seek fortune with help of Uncle Cubicularis, lots of adventures, comes to Britannia and has affair with rich matron. Sounds daft but amazingly good. First edition hardback worth lots, wish I had one. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Edthefolkie Date: 18 Nov 10 - 06:43 AM Finally reading "Wolf Hall" by Hilary Mantel. Wouldn't have thought it possible to make Thomas Cromwell a sympathetic character but she's done it. Also rereading some of the late Keith Roberts' short stories and novels. His most well known is "Pavane", an alternate history one. I've been reading "The Inner Wheel" which is at least its equal, about gestalt minds. His novels suffer a bit from usually originating as successive short stories in SF mags, but the level of imagination and the Wellsian/Kiplingesque but 1960s style makes up for this. He was apparently a VERY prickly, nay objectionable, chap who put just about everybody's back up, which is may be why some of his books are hard to find these days. Oh yeah, "Electric Eden" (see other thread!) Flagged a bit towards the end, Rob Young must have a mind like a supercomputer though. Every folk interview for the past 50 years is grist to his mill. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: katlaughing Date: 17 Nov 10 - 07:11 PM I thought some of you might be interested in something I learned, today. I belong to LibraryThing where it is easy and quick to keep a catalogue of one's own library and keep it private or public. Anyway, they have an Early Reviewers List which comes out from which members can choose from thousands of new-to-be-released books for a chance to win a free book in exchange for a 25 word review. It's a bit overwhelming to choose out of that many and I didn't see a search function, but they do list how many review copies will be available and how many members have requested a chance to "win" each book for review. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: katlaughing Date: 17 Nov 10 - 04:16 PM That sounds very interesting, Ebarnacle! Esp. as I just read, last year, about the Irish who were enslaved by the English and sent to Barbados in To Hell Or Barbados. Just finished Ian Frazier's On The Rez. Excellent, though I kept finding myself wondering if he's written an update, have to check, as it was published in 2000. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: EBarnacle Date: 17 Nov 10 - 03:05 PM Just finished reading Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean. It's a well documented history of how Spain created piracy as a reaction to the Inquisition and made the situation for the boucaniers to transform themselves into buccaneers. I was not aware that Sephardic Jews were among the early sponsors of privateering and piracy as a means of self-defense against the Spanish. Cromwell also figures in, as he encouraged Jewish settlement in Jamaica, as well as making an attempt to get Parliament to accept Jews in England. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Becca72 Date: 17 Nov 10 - 02:53 PM I'm about half way through "When will Jesus bring the pork chops" by George Carlin. This has to be his best book! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: GUEST,j-boy Date: 16 Oct 10 - 06:59 PM I've mentioned it before but "The Killer Angels" is one of the best books about war you could ever read. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Amergin Date: 16 Oct 10 - 06:54 PM the Allan Quatermain series....books I loved as a boy... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: EBarnacle Date: 16 Oct 10 - 06:34 PM I was doing a clean up and sort and rediscovered Dewey Lambdin's Alan Lewrie series. Enjoyed it and will reread it. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: GUEST,mg Date: 16 Oct 10 - 06:34 PM A couple of bodice rippers I picked up at the laundromat. mg |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: maire-aine Date: 15 Oct 10 - 07:57 PM 300 Just finished "Invisible Hands: The Making of the Conservative Movement from the New Deal to Reagan" by Kim Phillips-Fein Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: katlaughing Date: 15 Oct 10 - 07:56 PM I'll bet that is really good, Joe F. I loved some of Ian Frazier's books, so got Coyote vs Acme, a bunch of short I dunno what to call some of them, stories, I guess. Scanned a few, tried to read through some, the title one was cutesy, but the rest was so bad I put it down. Usually I finish a book, no matter. It's just the way I am, but once in a great while...ah, well, his others were great. I am currently reading The Big Bachi, One Man's West, and a couple of others. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Joe_F Date: 15 Oct 10 - 06:29 PM The Berlin Stories, by Christopher Isherwood. The crazy atmosphere of Germany in the years just before Hitler took power. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Wesley S Date: 15 Oct 10 - 02:21 PM Groucho drank coffee? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: olddude Date: 15 Oct 10 - 02:20 PM "Coffee with Groucho" absolute wonderful. You really think you are there sharing a cup of coffee with Groucho Marx" laughed till my sides hurt |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: LilyFestre Date: 14 Oct 10 - 04:00 PM I'm currently reading Young Bess, a book all about the young Queen Elizabeth I. Michelle |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Becca72 Date: 14 Oct 10 - 11:16 AM "Don't know much about History" by Kenneth C. Davis I'm not that far into it, but it's interesting to see some of the not-so-pretty things that were glossed over in History class... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: katlaughing Date: 14 Oct 10 - 11:04 AM Just finished F. A. Worley's Shackelton's Boat Journey. Incredible fortitude! Also, finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society..it was SO good..I cried at the end. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: katlaughing Date: 10 Oct 10 - 08:42 PM Just finished Purity of Blood by Arturo Perez-Reverte and, before that, the first of the Captain Alatriste series. Both excellent, very entertaining and filled with witty, wry history of Spain during the later times of the Inquisition. Thanks for recommending this author. I have really enjoyed everything of his I've read, so far. Also, just started the Guernsey Literary Club and Potato Peel Pie Society! Half way through and can't put it down. Thanks for that recommendation, too! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: GUEST,HiLo Date: 02 Oct 10 - 09:37 AM Have just finished The Mountain of Women, Memoirs of An Irish Troubador by Liam Clancy..a wonderful read, especially if you recall that Greenwich Village era of folk. Really enjoyed this book. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: JHW Date: 28 Sep 10 - 04:55 PM John Prebble - The High Girders. Yellowed paperback bought for 20p at Eden Valley Railway A saga of early railway history north of Edinburgh, the eventual commissioning of the first railway bridge across the Tay, its building and disastrous collapse. The sad dream of engineer Thomas Bouch, many of whose more realistic bridges are still with us. An engineer myself I couldn't put it down. Read in two days. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: katlaughing Date: 28 Sep 10 - 11:58 AM Anyone read the Charlie Moon mysteries by James Doss? I have really enjoyed all of them until now. Reading Snake Dreams he has completely changed the way he presents the characters whom I enjoy so much and narrates it, writer directly to reader, with a bunch of smary asides on each page. It's so unlike him; it really puzzles me why he did this, how it got past his agent, editor, and publisher. There are twelve in the series and this is the first one I have not liked. Not sure if I'll even finish it which is something I never do! Still working on Rob Roy, here and there.:-) And, reading Charles Kuralt's A Life on the Road. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Amos Date: 28 Sep 10 - 11:39 AM For a genuinely frightening experience read "The Shoick Factor", a seamy side expose of gummint finaglings at all levels. For a more uplifting and interesting look at things, I recommend "The Tipping Point". A |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: GUEST,HiLo Date: 28 Sep 10 - 11:10 AM I am now halfway through the Aubry /Maturin Books by Patrick O"Brien..they are grand fun and very well written. I am now reading a book that scares the hell out of me..Homeland by Paul William Roberts.It is a novel about a man who is involved in American policy abroad over a long period of time. But I think it is really an inquiry into the difference between political science and political philosophy. Great read/ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: GUEST,Shimrod Date: 28 Sep 10 - 05:15 AM "But things do appear to happen by chance, of course, because we simply don't know all the factors large and small that are involved in the flow of events, both personal and global." What I should have said, in response to the above quote, LH is that Taleb acknowledges the difference between 'deterministic chaos' and randomness. But he reckons that the difference is academic and that there is no effective difference in the real world i.e. a butterfly flapping it's wings in Dehli might, eventually, cause a hurricane in South Carolina - but you can't work backwards from the hurricane and identify the exact butterfly wot did it. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Amos Date: 27 Sep 10 - 01:30 PM For a really interesting perspective on the evolution of the LEft from early 1960's socialism to the present, read Christopher Hitchen's autobiography, "Hitch-22". Among many other things he comes up with a clearer defense for the Iraq war than anyone in the administration ever did. And while I hated and still hatet the war and consider it a gross failure of diplomacy and imagination, I am much less rancorous toward Wolfowitz and co., than I was before reading Hitchen's reports. A |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: GUEST,Shimrod Date: 27 Sep 10 - 01:08 PM "But things do appear to happen by chance, of course, because we simply don't know all the factors large and small that are involved in the flow of events, both personal and global." Which is exactly one of the points which Taleb makes. I can't really comment any further without tying myself in knots - you'll have to read his book, LH? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: katlaughing Date: 27 Sep 10 - 10:38 AM LH, I love Leo's books. Haven't read them in ages, may have to do that.:-) Just finished Ivan Doig's Ride With Me Hannah Montana. His writing continues to astound me...anything I would say would not be enough to do him justice. He is one of the greatest, imo. Just started |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Little Hawk Date: 27 Sep 10 - 10:06 AM Shimrod - I think Taleb's dead wrong and that absolutely nothing ever happens by chance. ;-) But things do appear to happen by chance, of course, because we simply don't know all the factors large and small that are involved in the flow of events, both personal and global. I probably wouldn't get too far into Taleb's book, I guess...he'd figure I'm out to lunch, and I'd figure the same about him. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: LilyFestre Date: 27 Sep 10 - 08:16 AM I'm reading "Sally Hemings" by Barbara Chase-Riiboud. Michelle |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: GUEST,Shimrod Date: 27 Sep 10 - 08:11 AM I'm on my second reading of Nasim Nicholas Taleb's, 'The Black Swan'. It has to be admitted that the author comes across as rather smug and self-satisfied - but, if you can get past that, he has some interesting things to say. He believes that history, economics and the world in general are much more governed by blind chance than we give them credit for. We believe that 'all swans are white' until a black one comes along and shatters all of our expectations and certainties. He says that human history is littered with 'black swan' events that came 'out of nowhere'. No-one, for example, predicted the First World War or 9/11. Nevertheless, countless people invented narratives to explain these events after the fact. He gives many examples in the book of humanity's relationship to Black Swans. The one which sticks in my mind is about a casino in Las Vegas. This establishment understood the nature of gambling intimately (of course they did!) and insured themselves against relatively rare big wins. They also understood the various ways in which people can attempt to cheat and had put very sophisticated security systems in place to prevent cheating. Then they were hit with a Black Swan. The IRS obliged them to submit a particular document every time a gambler won money over a certain amount. The clerk in charge of this aspect of the Casino's operation had (for an unknown reason) stored the documents in a drawer rather than post them. The casino was fined a massive amount by the IRS and was nearly bankrupted. Taleb says that we are like turkeys who believe that they live a pampered and well-fed existence and fail to anticipate Christmas (or Thanksgiving if you're an American). |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Little Hawk Date: 27 Sep 10 - 07:41 AM I've been reading several books on loving and forgiving other people (and yourself too). All written by Leo Buscaglia. All excellent. If you do check any of them out and find that you are far too cynical to enjoy what he says...or you think he's just tiptoeing through the tulips and is naive about human nature....well, you might really be in serious need of what he's talking about! ;-D But that's up to you. I find that most people have developed along a certain line and have become sort of committed to it...and they are usually not too willing to change. Change requires great effort, and it requires facing pain and then letting go of it. If a person would rather hold onto old grudges, for example, it's not easy for them to let go of that, is it? But the rewards for doing so are immense, because that load mainly comes off YOU, not the person you were holding the grudge against. Anger consumes the vessel that contains it. And can you forgive yourself? That might just be the hardest one of all. Most people are more than just a little disappointed in themselves in certain ways...after all, they had expectations of themselves, didn't they? That can be a lifelong struggle to deal with. Believe me, I know. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: theleveller Date: 27 Sep 10 - 03:45 AM I'm finding Peter Ackroyd's 'Albion - The Origins of the English Imagination' absolutely fascinating.So many intriguing resonances coming through that relate to the way I write. It's extremely readable, probably because Ackroyd is a great novelist (Hawksmoor)as well as a superb historian. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Amergin Date: 27 Sep 10 - 03:08 AM I've been reading the Allan Quatermain books courtesy of Project Gutenberg.....I enjoyed them immensely as a young boy... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Slag Date: 27 Sep 10 - 02:55 AM Just started, "Tragedy and Hope (A History of the World in Our Time)", 1966 by Carroll Quiggley. Generally, it is a history from 1895 to about 1964. My son bought it for me in order that I can talk to him about politics as he understands it ;). I'm on page 50 or so with only 1300 more to go. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Joe Offer Date: 27 Sep 10 - 02:16 AM My ex-wife lent me The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I wasn't at all sure of this, since I have a long list of books-to-read that I've chosen myself, but she gave me the book and it would have been very undiplomatic not to read it. And I loved this book. The entire book is presented in the form of letters sent to and from the author of a book about the effect of World War II on Guernsey, at British island off the coast of France that was occupied by Germany. The most important character in the book, Elizabeth, isn't present - but her effect on her community is powerful. I cried at the end. That's all I'll say. -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: wysiwyg Date: 26 Sep 10 - 06:34 PM About to start as a public-domain audiobook: Passing, by Nella Larsen, available (free) at Librivox: http://librivox.org/passing-by-nella-larsen/ Wikipedia entry: Clare and Irene were two childhood friends. They lost touch when Clare's father died and she moved in with two white aunts. By hiding that Clare was part-black, they allowed her to 'pass' as a white woman and marry a white racist. Irene lives in Harlem, commits herself to racial uplift, and marries a black doctor. The novel centers on the meeting of the two childhood friends later in life, and the unfolding of events as each woman is fascinated and seduced by the other's daring lifestyle. The novel traces a tragic path as Irene becomes paranoid that her husband is having an affair with Clare (the reader is never told whether her fears are justified or not, and numerous cues point in both directions). Clare's race is revealed to her husband John Bellew. The novel ends with Clare's sudden death by "falling" out of a window. The end of the novel is famous for its ambiguity, which leaves open the possibility that Irene has pushed Clare out the window, or the possibility that Clare has killed herself. Many see this novel as an example of the plot of the "tragic mulatto," a common figure in early African-American literature. Others suggest that the novel complicates that plot by introducing the dual figures of Irene and Clare, who in many ways mirror and complicate each other. The novel also suggests erotic undertones in the two women's relationship. Some read the novel as one of repression, while others argue that through its attention to the way passing unhinges ideas of race, class, and gender, the novel opens spaces for the creation of new, self-generated identities. Recently, Passing has received renewed attention because of its close examination of racial and sexual ambiguities and liminal spaces. It has achieved canonical status in many American universities. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Ron Davies Date: 22 Sep 10 - 09:40 PM Hey John on the Sunset Coast-- Have you finished Public Cowboy #1 by Holly George-Warren? I saw you were starting it. I just read it this summer too--- and found it probably the best book I've read in years. Of course it helps that it's about music--but it's about a lot more. She was granted unprecedented access by Gene's estate--but also granted total editorial control--did not have to clear anything with them. As a result it's a clear-eyed picture not just of him but of the early 20th century "western" music business, "western" movie business, and so much more. So much information--everything from how he got his name (from Orvon Grover Autry), to the tragic story of his mother (tragic practically from her birth) to the way record companies put out the same record by the same artist under totally different names, to the impact of Prohibition on the music business--to the cutthroat business it was--and still is, no doubt. She takes all sorts of PR stories and evaluates them. Even includes a really off-color parody he waxed (but obviously it was not released--until the Bear Family). Talk about straightforward--Gene's own evaluation of himself evidently was that though he was by no means a wonderful actor, singer or guitarist, his main skill was: figures (business). I'd heartily recommend it to anybody who has the slightest curiosity about any of the above topics--and a lot more. And it has a huge discography at the end--with lots of songs that are fun to sing. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Bat Goddess Date: 22 Sep 10 - 11:49 AM I love Christopher Hitchens' writing -- and, since I'm not finished reading him yet, I sincerely hopes he pulls out of this cancer thing. Linn |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Amos Date: 22 Sep 10 - 11:15 AM The autobiographical memoire of Christopher Hitchens --a really good read on the life and times of the left wing intellectual from 1967 on. "Hitch 22" can be downloaded here. A |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Rapparee Date: 22 Sep 10 - 10:30 AM I've just started "Hokahey! A Good Day To Die: Indian Casualties of the Little Big Horn." |
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Subject: RE: BS: Books-What have people been reading recently? From: Bat Goddess Date: 22 Sep 10 - 10:27 AM Just this morning finished "Shackleton's Boat Journey" by F.A. Worsley (captain of the Endurance) book It was recently given to me by a friend who worked on the Ice for a number of Arctic summers -- she was first at Palmer then at McMurdo. Linn |
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