Books: Whatcha readin lately?

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Rapparee
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 07:14 PM

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ACB
XTRW3
5BURTX
HV4FTRA

I just had an eye exam.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Elmore
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 08:21 PM

Currently, Dr. Thorne by Anthony Trollope,recently, The Last Temptation by Val Mcdermid, Lonesome Traveler, a biography of Lee Hays.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 08:41 PM

When I was at U of Maine, Steve King was my bridge partner. I was present when he announced that "Carrie" was accepted for publication. Read "The Shining" and one or two other of his books. Haven't read anything of his in decades--out of envy.

Lately read Thomas Behr's "Blood Brothers" about the first American Barbary war. [Full disclosure: He has asked me to be a reader and fact checker on his next book.]
"Catherine the Great" by Massie. I saw a name among the various counselours and lovers which is the same as one of my ancestrals. It seems he got around a bit.
A. Bertram Chandler's Grimes series, number 3, Star Courier," has been rereleased in omnibus form. Always a good read.
Dewey Lambdin's Alan Lewrie series and Alexander Kent's Bolitho series are always fun.

More to come.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: kendall
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 08:52 PM

Pillars of the earth by Ken Follett

and The Heretic by Bernard Cornwell.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Joe_F
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 09:12 PM

The books queued up at my bedside at the moment:
_Yiddishkeit: Jewish Vernacular & the New Land_, ed. by Harvey Pekar & Paul Buhle (contains the delightful news that the Yiddish for Hail Mary is Oy vey Maria)
_Practical Politics 1972: How to Make Politics and Politicians Work for You_, by Frederik Pohl (charmingly out-of-date advice from a sf writer I am fond of)
The Best of Mack Reynolds (recommended by Pohl, not impressive)
_How the Beatles Destroyed Rock 'n' Roll: An Alternative History of American Popular Music_ by Elijah Wald (know your enemy; not started yet)
_Steve Jobs_ by Walter Isaacson
_C. M. Kornbluth_ by Mark Rich
The magazines queued up under my dining table:
Engineering & Science (the Caltech house organ)
The Chri Sci Monster (I am 3 issues behind)
The New York Review of Books

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: GUEST,Manuel
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 09:42 PM

Because my leisure time is so limited, I am currently proceeding at a snail's space through a collection of documents relating to the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortes entitled Documentos Cortesianos II, 1526-1545, and edited by Jose Luis Martinez.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Janie
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 10:46 PM

Mostly the "Brent and Becky's Spring and Summer Bulbs" and "Johnny's Selected Seeds" catalogs. Escapist literature since I have little time to garden these days.

For fictional escapism, I am about halfway thru the last of Jean Auel's Earthchildren series - "The Land of Painted Caves." I'm enjoying it, but not as much as the earlier (1st 3) books of the series.

Next up is a coin toss between Ron Chernow's biography of George Washington and "A Species of Eternity" by Joseph Kastner, about the early American (of European extract) naturalists for whom so many North American species of flora and fauna are named.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Monique
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 03:27 AM

Zafón's "El juego del ángel" (The Angel's Game) and "El prisionero del cielo" (The Heaven's Prisoner), Kat's "Wind Words of Wyoming", Kathy Reichs' "Les os du diable" (Devil Bones), Pérez-Reverte's "El pintor de batallas" (The Painter of Battles), Sílvia Soler's "Petons de diumenge"...

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 05:46 AM

I am just finishing off Cornwell's Alfred rthe Great series and have the fisrt two of his American 'Starbuck' series waiting in the wings.

I enjoyed Joyce Dustyupskys (Validimirs Missus) last novel 'Mr Bates, Mrs Bates and their son', BTW. What is wrong with that?

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Silas
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 05:53 AM

Well, talking of Mr Bates, 'The Darling Buds of May' is well worth a read.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Silas
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 05:59 AM

OK here's a question, anyone read Kilvert's Diary? What did you think of it?

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 07:21 AM

Yes, Silas, many times. I got the feeling he was a very sensual man, and liked young girls! He was also lonely and not fulfilled in his clerical life. He did however respond passionatley to his surroundings and revelled in nature, wildlife and the countryside. I find his writings poignant and touching.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Silas
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 07:22 AM

"I was pleased to see mention of The Worm Forgives The Plough by Collis."

Well, I have just ordered this from Amazon ( 1p used).

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Silas
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 07:23 AM

Now you see Elisa, I thought he was a pervert.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 07:47 AM

Interesting article about Kilvert's Diary here.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 08:02 AM

Thank you Pete, a very interesting piece. He died so young didn't he? I don't myself think of him as a 'pervert', just a man who was loving and impulsive with a great tenderness in his make-up. But we can't know for sure if he had more sinister leanings.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: LilyFestre
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 08:43 AM

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, the last book of the trilogy.

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: kendall
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 09:33 AM

Dave, have you read The Winter King,Enemy of God, or, the Last Kingdom?

I really like those Arthurian legends.

I'm also dipping into Sovereign of the seas by David Howarth.
It's about how England came to rule the seas.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Silas
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 09:45 AM

If you like the Arthurian stuff I can highly reccomend Stienbecks The Acts of King Arthur etc. Best (though unfinished) translation ever.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 10:21 AM

The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights .

Fascinating stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Bill D
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 11:39 AM

( I grow weary of the anti-pendants vs pendants, etc

*giggle*.. I even get tired of the pedants... *ducking behind the couch*

I am trying to re-read Asimov's "Foundation" series in chronological order instead of published order.

...but I keep getting interrupted by non-fiction like The BS Factor by Arthur Herzog- one of my favorite books of all time for deflating pompous thinking.

and "Alpha and Omega" by Charles Seife...an attempt to describe the history and methods of scientific "thinking" about the universe.

and "The Panda's Thumb" by Steven J. Gould, which does a better job than anything I've read about how evolution works and what the real issues are when discussing it.



oh...and far too many Mudcat threads...............

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 12:14 PM

As usual, I've got more than one going at a time.

Just this morning I just finished reading "Malled: My Unintentional Career In Retail" by Caitlin Kelly. In the car (while waiting for Tom) I'm rereading "Parliament of Whores" by P.J. O'Roarke so I can send it to a friend trapped in the wilds of Maine. I'm almost finished reading "A Folk Handbook" edited by John Morrish.

Recently a copy of "Whitetail: Fundamentals and Fine Points for the Hunter" by George Mattis surfaced in the guest room. Haven't a clue where it came from, but I'm reading it before giving it to a friend who makes bows (though doesn't hunt any more).

Prolly will start reading "Nickled and Dimed" sometime soon.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: open mike
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 12:29 PM

The Home Place by Wright Morris.
this book contains many photographs
and tells the story of a day in the
life of a small town in Nebraska.
The town of Lone Tree reminds me of
the home town near my family's
homestead in Nebraska.
http://www.amazon.com/Home-Place-Wright-Morris/dp/0803282524

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: kendall
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 12:42 PM

I stood before his grave at Glastonbury, and the strangest feeling came over me.It was like I'd known him.
Yes, I know he's probably not even there, and may not have ever existed, but, damn, he should have.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: David C. Carter
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 01:20 PM

Silas mentioned Steinbeck's The Acts Of King Arthur etc.

Loved that book,and have read it several times.
And probably will again.



David

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 01:54 PM

KINDRED, about an African American woman who is mystically transported back to the 1800's in the southern USA.

Part of this project:

Maya Angelou says, "At no cost to you and just by volunteering your time, you can become a giver of books. Join me as I join 30 authors and many of you in providing books for World Book Night April 23, 2012." http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/. Spread the word.
World Book Night | A million reasons to read a book

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Silas
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 02:26 PM

Kendall - you need to read some of Geoffry Ashe - he is a somerset historian and a world authority on the Arthurian legends - easy reading and quite eye opening.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 02:54 PM

I have just read the five entries in the Shardlake mystery series in order. These are set in the the England of Henry VIII, beginning with the last years of Thomas Cromwell. Shardlake is a lawyer who becomes involved with the highest levels of court, while involved simultaneously with the travails of the common folk...which usually become intertwined.

While I was thoroughly entertained by the novels, I hope there are no more. I think five books is sufficient for any character.

Sansom, C.J. (2003). Dissolution.
Sansom, C.J. (2004). Dark Fire. (my particular favorite)
Sansom, C.J. (2006). Sovereign.
Sansom, C.J. (2008). Revelation.
Sansom, C.J. (2010). Heartstone.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: meself
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 10:16 PM

Just finished one that may be of interest to some in this neighbourhood: Ridgeway, by .... Vronsky. It's an account of the only real battle in the Fenian raids into Canada. The Fenian forces, a couple of thousand of battle-hardened Civil War veterans, were opposed by half as many Canadian university students and shop clerks, most of whom had never before fired a shot,led by bungling amateur officers with no battlefield experience. The Canadians were appallingly ill-trained, ill-equipped, and ill-led, but there was some pretty vicious fighting, including some ugly bayonet work. Ironically, the incompetence of their leadership may well have saved the day for the Canadians: through a series of miscommunications and misunderstandings never satisfactorily explained, their "pursuit" of "fleeing" Fenians turned into a panicked retreat on their own part, which meant that they avoided running into a trap the Fenians had set for them, in which they would have been slaughtered, in all likelihood. The Fenian effort collapsed when the American government, to the surprise of the Fenians, blocked their supply and reinforcement lines from the States. This, and the failure of the Irish- and French-Canadians to rise up and join them, led them to abandon their campaign.

One of the many curious factoids that emerges is that one-third of the fifty or sixty Fenian prisoners taken by the Canadians were Protestants.

And the Fenian plan to capture Canada wasn't nearly as far-fetched as it seems at first blush. But it did depend on the goodwill of the US   government which it turned out - too late - they didn't really have (does that sound familiar?).

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: ranger1
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 10:32 PM

Fiction: Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Non-Fiction: Winter World by Bernd Heinrich, Life in the Cold: An Introduction to Winter Ecology by Peter Marchand

I've also got Champlain's Dream by David Hackett Fischer kicking around in here somewhere that I keep meaning to get to.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Neil D
Date: 15 Jan 12 - 12:45 AM

I also recently read C.J.Sansom's Shardlake series and enjoyed it immensely. Does anyone know of other historic/mystery novels in a similar vein?
I have also recently read several of Ian Rankin's John Rebus novels.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 15 Jan 12 - 12:55 AM

For book clubs I belong to, recently finished East of Eden (which I'd never read), am almost done with Sarah's Key, and will read A Moveable Feast next. Then I hope to squeeze in some books I choose!

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 15 Jan 12 - 01:26 AM

meself, I'll definitely put "Ridgeway" on my list to read. I just finished Pierre Berton's "The National Dream" and I'm now reading "The Last Spike," both about events before, during and after Canada's confederation up to 1885, particularly as they relate to the building of the 1st sea-to-sea Canadian railroad. According to Berton, fear of the Fenians was a major influence upon the creation of Canada and the subsequent building of the railroad to connect the east with Manitoba and British Columbia.

Also I have on the go "Possession" by A.S. Byatt. A very literary whodunit which I'm mostly enjoying. A bit thick sometimes but so far it's been worth it. I listened to some episodes of the BBC radio drama but holy smoke, they took out SO much to make it manageable for a serial drama. I recommend the book, at least so far anyhow!

Recently finished Ruth Rendell's "The Crocodile Bird;" "Mamba's Daughters" by DuBose Heyward--highly readable drama of US coastal lowland blacks in the early 20th century. And "Herding Dogs" by Vergil someone (a UK writer and herding trainer).

There's a bunch of Margaret Atwood I haven't read yet--I think The Handmaid's Tale was the last one of hers I finished--but I'm not at all sure when I'll get to it; I really have to be in the mood for some of her stuff. I do want to read The Blind Assassin, though.

I still want to track down copies of some unread Barbara Kingsolver. Love her stories.

Don Firth & Silas: I really enjoyed Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 both times I read it, first for grade 10 English class, then a decade or more later. (BTW, Silas, 451 degrees F. is the temperature at which paper burns.)

Fun thread and a lot of new book leads to track down, thanks everyone!

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: GUEST,kendall
Date: 15 Jan 12 - 02:30 PM

I never read East of Eden; how does it compare to the film with James Dean and Burl Ives?

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 08:44 AM

I absolutely adore "Possession" by A.S. Byatt -- she writes convincingly in at least four different voices in a couple different eras. It's been a few years since I read it, but I always seem to be longing to reread it when I can schedule the time.

Yesterday I started "Island", the collected short stories of Alistair MacLeod who wrote "No Great Mischief"...amazing writer.

I also forgot to mention that I'm a couple chapters into "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong"...of course, I have to read almost everything again aloud to Tom after I've read it...

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Becca72
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 09:10 AM

"Now, hands up who likes Stephen King?"

One of my all time favorites - I own almost everything he's written.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: jacqui.c
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 09:36 AM

Same here Becca - still got one of his latest to read.

I just finished 'the Pillars of the Earth' and 'World Without End' by Ken Follett, both of which were compulsive reading for me. Just started 'The Lion' by Nelson DeMille, another of my favourite authors. Being retired is great - more time for reading!

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Amos
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 10:35 AM

Just finished an endless intricate and informative The Greatest Show on Earth by Dawkins. Interesting, respectable, everything it should be, and I could only finish four or five pages a night. Now zipping through the latest Ladies Number One Detective Agency thriller In the Company of Cheerful Ladies to compensate.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: kendall
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 11:09 AM

Silas, I just watched a program on our History channel about the Arthurian legends, and Geoffry Ashe was one of the people they interviewed.
I've visited Tintagle,Glastonbury,and Cadbury hill. They make the legends more real.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Silas
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 11:18 AM

I have had the pleasure of meeting Geoffrey on a couple of occasions some years ago, he is a really nice guy.

Ther eis more than one CadburyHill/Castle. The one that is thought to be 'Camelot' is very near Yeovil in Somerset

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Amos
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 11:23 AM

Kendall:

The book, as might be expected, is considerably richer than the movie. As I recall the movie really only covers a central segment of the book. A great read. But its been fifteen years, I reckon.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 01:57 PM

Amos thanks for reminding me to put Ladies' No. 1 on my reading list!

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: kendall
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 02:14 PM

Silas, the one I visited is supposed to be the site of Camelot. There is a legend that says Arthur and his knights ride across the hill on dark nights, and Mr. Ashe said he stood on that spot and heard a flute being played. He did not investigate.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 17 Jan 12 - 05:01 PM

Kendall, I'm glad Amos responded about East of Eden because while I have recently finished the 602-page book, I have never seen the movie, just clips! I understand the movie is about the last half of the book. I was about 200 pages into the book before I found a character that I liked. That first 200 pages was slow going for me, but after that my pace picked up.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 17 Jan 12 - 06:20 PM

Gonna hit minus 32 C tonight. I have a nice Zane Gray on the nightstand that I will read under the covers with my trusty flashlight.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Silas
Date: 17 Jan 12 - 06:46 PM

Kendall, there was a dig there in (i think) the sixties conducted by Ralegh Radford, he was apparantly asked by a local old boy if he had come to dig up the old king!

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: kendall
Date: 17 Jan 12 - 07:30 PM

-32 C? thats approaching savagrus in my state. (-26.5 F)

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 17 Jan 12 - 08:14 PM

Kendall, you forgot the (-) in front of that 26.5 F. The two scales get close to each other only at the Arctic end.
U.S   Rest of World
-30 F      -34.4 C
0       -17.8
32          0
100         37.7
212 F       100 C

savagrus?? Yankee patois is most pekoolyar.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 17 Jan 12 - 10:40 PM

Having finished A Moveable Feast, I am finally starting a book I chose, not one chosen by my book clubs. It's Murder on Sisters' Row by Victoria Thompson, set in New York City In the late 1800s. Sarah Brandt is a midwife, widow of a doctor. She and Frank Malloy find themselves investigating the same cases for different reasons. This is the 13th and latest book in the Gaslight Mystery Series.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 18 Jan 12 - 03:42 AM

My index of "books on hand" that I made some years ago, and kept pretty well updated for a few years, does contain 2147 books; but probably fewer than 100 are anything resembling current (the last 100 years?) fiction or social/political stuff. I gave up on trying to keep the list up when Lin & I merged our collections (i.e. started piling them on top of each other 'cause they wouldn't fit on the 380 lineal feet of shelves we had at the old place). She may possibly have had more books than I did, but lots of hers are small paperback heaving-bosom trash (but don't tell her, since she has a different opinion).

I have been engaged in the overly ambitious project of scanning some of the "personally significant" ones to pdfs, so that we can have some room to waddle around in our new smaller house. A reliable count of what I've gotten done is difficult, because I've mixed in other kinds of papers before I started to get it all organized.

A problem with this project is that when I scan one, the necessary "proof check" to see if I got all the pages in the right order nearly always gets sidetracked by the necessity of "refreshing my memory" of the ones that are still really interesting. The folder where I decided to separate the "real books" lists (DIR *.* /s>list.txt) 10,000 lines and is 201 pages, but that includes subdirectories and other data scans, like individual pages where I didn't get the OCR done immediately.

Culling the list brings it down to 23 pages, 1582 paragraphs in the list, with each paragraph theoretically representing one book(?).

I probably was "compelled" to reread at least a fair part of about a third of the books scanned, just because it was fun.

I've eliminated about a dozen "book boxes" of the books (the ones that didn't fit on the shelves) and cleared one layer off of some 11 feet of shelves where they were double-deep; but haven't really started on the music or fiction with the exception of some old hymnals that were falling apart already, and were easy to split down to scannable bits.

Of course that's just my books. "She" won't let me touch her valuable ones. And I've only been scanning in my "spare time" for about a year. And all the re-reading makes me pretty inefficient.

John