Books: Whatcha readin lately?

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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: Pete Jennings
Date: 14 Jan 12 - 07:47 AM

Interesting article about Kilvert's Diary here.

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: 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: 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 - 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: Rapparee
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 07:14 PM

E
ACB
XTRW3
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HV4FTRA

I just had an eye exam.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Spleen Cringe
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 05:02 PM

Stephen King? When I'm in that frame of mind, you can't beat him!

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Silas
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 04:35 PM

Well spleen, you must live fairly close to me, as I also am not that far from little moreton hall. There are loads of elizabethan buildings in england, there are at least two in my village.

Now, hands up who likes Stephen King?

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Don Firth
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 04:27 PM

Oftentimes I have a couple of books going at the same time. I'm currently working on "I Wonder as I Wander," a biography of the idiosyncratic singer of folk songs, John Jacob Niles, by Ron Pen. I'm also reading "The Gardens of Democracy" by Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer, an analysis of the role of government in a dynamic society.

Waiting on my bookshelves is "Alan Lomax: The Man Who Recorded the World," by John Szwed.

A friend loaned me a DVD of Benjamin Bagby's recitation—like an ancient skald, in Olde English, along with an Anglo-Saxon lyre-harp—of "Beowulf." I found it absolutely enthralling, got myself a copy of the DVD, and am soon to pull my copy of "Beowulf" (transliterated into modern English) off my bookshelves and read it again.

Don Firth

P. S. By the way, Silas, if you haven't read Ray Bradbury's "Farenheit 451," you really should. Science fiction, yes. But it's a Classic. And it is, unfortunately, quite germane to such things as certain groups wanting to expunge certain books from the libraries, and the current rumblings about factions agitating to pass laws allowing them to curtail or censor the internet.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Spleen Cringe
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 03:13 PM

Kat - not that far from where I live we have this little beauty: Little Moreton Hall

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Spleen Cringe
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 03:08 PM

Not all all, Eliza. One of these days I'm going to track down and re-read Malcolm Saville's Lone Pine series, which I loved as a kid. And last year I re-read Alan Garner's The Owl Service and read Diana Wynne Jones' wonderful Fire and Hemlock for the first time, at the urging of Suibhne O'P (who also put me onto the Herefordshire detective stories of Phil Rickman, which I urge anyone who likes a bit of semi-pagan Church of England sleuthing to read immediately!).

Silas, glad you backtracked a bit. I don't think my mixture of trash fiction, popular history and the odd literary novel in my earlier post could be characterised as "showing off". All I know is that if I haven't got a book on the go and several more to choose from when the current one is finished, I start to get very twitchy....

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: katlaughing
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 03:07 PM

As a mod, I am was glad to read past the tiff up above and see that you all can play nice. I grow weary of the anti-pendants vs pendants, etc. in these types of threads.

Anyway, as just katlaughing, I am reading The Life of Elizabeth 1 by Alison Weir. All this time, I've always thought of the UK as having so many ancient buildings and artifacts intact from the different reigns, only to find there's very little left of the Tudors. It's surprising to me, I guess, because we are such a young country, comparatively. I know there are still loads left and have seen the sites which have photos and info on the various castles, etc. it just shocked me to know such grand places were left to ruin or pulled down, reused etc. as late as the 1600s. Guess I need to learn more about English history.

I just got two books recommended by Don Firth: Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot by John Callahan and Moving Violations by John Hockenberry.

And, if anyone wants a peek at my books read at MyLibraryThing.com holler.:-)

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 02:37 PM

I wouldn't "struggle with Janet and John" as I've a Master's Degree in English and French language and literature, but I'm reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I've read it loads of times before and I just love it. JK Rowling is absolutely brilliant. I have to admit to reading and re-reading The Famous Five books as well. Now you can all laugh at me!

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 01:30 PM

"The Hot Kid" - Elmore Leonard

"Fingerprints of the Gods" - Graham Hancock

"Bob Dylan - The Early Years" - Paul Williams

"Savitri" - Sri Aurobindo

I highly recommend all of them, for various different reasons.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: GUEST,Hilo
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 01:01 PM

I know what you mean about the Collis being a nostalgia trip..I grew up on a small farm and still remember, vaguely, horse drawn mowing machines and rakes..thanks again for the reminder leveller.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Rusty Dobro
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 01:00 PM

Just finished re-reading 'Catch-22', now into the complete Sherlock Holmes stories, and never without 'The Guitar-Case Chord Book'.

Like most 'catters, I'm now very, very old, so may never get another chance to understand 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: theleveller
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 12:18 PM

LOL!

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Becca72
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 12:12 PM

Currently reading "In The Night Room" by Peter Straub, though I'm not enjoying it much. I just finished "The Protege" by Stephen Fry which was decent.
I'm a big fan of what I call "brain candy" - light, entertaining reading.

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

Oh, nice one!

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Silas
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 12:04 PM

Errr... its actually 'How to WIN Friends etc.

(Great book though)

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: theleveller
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 12:00 PM

I'm feeling very embarrassed - bloody 'ell, can't even talk about books without falling out with someone. Better go home and read How to Make Friends and Influence People (for the 35th time).

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Silas
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 11:51 AM

Well we have to 'westernise' some foreign names as they are written in a different alphabet.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 11:49 AM

Yeah, Silas, I can see that point of view but I didn't see anybody here being like that before your "bollocks" post, which was therefore uncalled for IMO. As for "QED"...irony is not really to be taken seriously, you know.

And isn't it odd how we in the West presume that we can westernise foreign names just because it suits us?

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: theleveller
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 11:48 AM

Thanks for that, Silas.

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

It's been years since I first read it, too, HiLo but it's a real trip down memory lane - that was the way my uncle used to farm. I'd forgotten all about stacking sheaves into stooks, the old tractor driven threshing machine - and when was the last time you saw a haystack, let alone knew someone who could build one?

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: David C. Carter
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 11:46 AM

I'll spell Tcheckoff any way I want,thank you.

Actually I'm reading:Saul Bellow's "Herzog".

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Silas
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 11:41 AM

OK, I too aplogise for causing you some obvious offence, this was not my intention. Some lists that I post to have similar threads and you get people who would struggle with Janet & John claiming to be reading Ulysses or whatever and it is quite pathetic.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: theleveller
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 11:37 AM

"I certainly did not take you for the sort of twat that makes a judgement about another poster "

OK, I apologise for that - posted in the heat of the moment. But I'm disappointed to find that you're the sort of person who would belittle people becasue they like to talk about the kind of books they enjoy. I take my enthusiam for books from my grandfather who, from the time he left school at the age of 12 to work on the railway until he died at 94, devoured 2 or 3 books a week on just about any subject and loved to talk about them. A less pretentious man it would have been hard to find.

Subject: RE: BS: Whatcha readin lately?
From: Silas
Date: 13 Jan 12 - 11:36 AM

Best ask pete about the spelling of Chekhov - he is our self appointed spell checker (even if he dosen't know the alternative spellings of old Fyodor)