Reading any good books? II

[Earniel]

The title says it all, really. Original thread-starter was anduin. The first thread can be found here (http://entmoot.tolkientrail.com/showthread.php?t=1636).

[Aikanáro]

I just read Native Tongue in one sitting. It's dystopian SF, by Suzette Haden Elgin, who is both a linguist and a feminist, and combines both in her writing.

It was brilliant. :) Easily one of the best books I've read in a long time.

[Bombadillo]

Dystopian sci fi is the greatest. I usually go for the TVs shows a bit more than the books, though, sadly. The new Prisoner with Sir Ian McKellan as Numbah 2 -- great.

I wanna reread Brave New World soon. I always thought it deserved more attention than 1984.


Two good true stories:
Alive - about how a Uruguayan rugby team survived a plane crash in the Andes, way above treeline, on the bodies of their friends, for over a month
Between a Rock and a Hard Place - Aaron Ralston, expert mountaineer and certified badass, crushes his hand with a giant boulder at the bottom of a canyon in the middle of a god-forsaken desert all by himself, and nearly starves to death before chopping off his own hand with a dull pocket knife and scaling his way to safety.

Nothing makes me so proud to be a human being like these kinds of stories do. We can be some strong SOBs.

[Valandil]

Just started reading Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

[Valandil]

Oh - and I made it! I read through The Bible in 2009! :)

[GrayMouser]

Oh - and I made it! I read through The Bible in 2009! :)

Including all the begats?

[Valandil]

Including all the begats?

Yes - I didn't skip a word. Some of those repetitious parts made it difficult, so it was a very self-disciplining process. Not so much the 'begats' but the parts where different groups of people and their numbers are recounted, etc.

But - those are just parts. Most of it is just incredible. And it's nice to read it within a year, and my goal is to start doing it in successive years. I know some people, for instance, who have read it every year like 25 or 30 years running. I first did it within a year in 2006, and got derailed in both 2007 and 2008. I have not started yet in 2010, so I'm still trying to figure out if that's the goal I want to pursue or if I want to do more directed study of parts. But it's early, so I can still catch up easily. Especially if I'm riding the el. :)

[Midge]

I've recently been reading through the Left Behind series. That's kind of like... almost 15 years old, but I was LITTLE when they first came out.

I've also read a book recently called "Meet Mr. Smith" which was very good. It put a new spin on purity and holiness. Very enjoyable and it actually helped me to change undesirable behaviors. Yay!

[GrayMouser]

Yes - I didn't skip a word. Some of those repetitious parts made it difficult, so it was a very self-disciplining process. Not so much the 'begats' but the parts where different groups of people and their numbers are recounted, etc.

But - those are just parts. Most of it is just incredible. And it's nice to read it within a year, and my goal is to start doing it in successive years. I know some people, for instance, who have read it every year like 25 or 30 years running. I first did it within a year in 2006, and got derailed in both 2007 and 2008. I have not started yet in 2010, so I'm still trying to figure out if that's the goal I want to pursue or if I want to do more directed study of parts. But it's early, so I can still catch up easily. Especially if I'm riding the el. :)

Which version did you read?

[Valandil]

I read from the New International Version (NIV). I once heard that it was considered to be the best 'thought to thought' translation while the NASB (New American Standard Bible) was the best 'word for word' translation. But really my reason for using it is different. It is used in a teen Bible study/competition program I've been involved in for over 30 years. So I'm familiar with the wording and most copies I own are that translation.

It's interesting sometimes to read from a different version, to get a different slant on it though. Helps 'round out' the picture.

[Earniel]

Just read 'Dodo, A brief History' by Errol Fuller. Really fun book. Very interesting, easy to read and stacked with beautiful illustrations.

And now I'm left, itching to write a story with dodos but... erm, that might just be me.

[Aikanáro]

And now I'm left, itching to write a story with dodos but... erm, that might just be me.

So that's what our characters are going to find in LLL? :evil:

[Earniel]

Well, I did say it'd be a RPG off the beaten tracks... Tempting, though. A dodo guardian...

But eh, I think most players will prefer that I'll keep dodos for my private writing efforts. :p

[nasuada]

I'm starting to read The Witch Of Blackbird pond, A lot of people have told me it's a great book.:D

[Earniel]

I've split off the discussion about The Book of Job in a separate thread here. (http://entmoot.tolkientrail.com/showthread.php?t=15203)

[Jonathan]

I decided to read Carroll Lewis's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland properly, before Tim Burton's adaptation hits theatres. It was quite enjoyable, in all its strangeness.

So for those of you who plan on seeing the film, take this opportunity to read the novel first :)

[GrayMouser]

I decided to read Carroll Lewis's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland properly, before Tim Burton's adaptation hits theatres. It was quite enjoyable, in all its strangeness.

So for those of you who plan on seeing the film, take this opportunity to read the novel first :)

And it's got a dodo....

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Any book with a Dodo is good in my book. ;)

[Valandil]

After I finished Uncle Tom's Cabin, I read a good book called Gifted Hands, by Ben Carson. The past few days I read the first two Sherlock Holmes stories, which I had read many, MANY years ago: A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four.

Meanwhile, my son just tore through a book that I'm about to start: The Lightning Thief.

[Comic Book Guy]

P.G Wodehouse - World of Jeeves
James Joyce - Dubliners

[GrayMouser]

P.G Wodehouse - World of Jeeves
James Joyce - Dubliners

I love Dubliners- "Ivy Day in the Committee Room" is my favourite, one of the best stories on politics ever written, though "The Dead" is the best overall story in the bunch.

[cee2lee2]

Last Sunday I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It is epistolary in form and I enjoyed it so much. Left me smiling. :)

[nasuada]

I'm reading a book called the Shadow of the King.
It takes place in Anglo-Saxon England, and it is very good so far.

[katya]

I'm re-reading The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart. It was my favorite book in 6th or 7th grade, or whenever I read it. It's about the childhood of Merlin, and the later books are about Arthur.

[EllethValatari]

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
The Christian Imagination Leeland Ryken

And always on my desk: On Faerie Stories by J.R.R. Tolkien

[GrayMouser]

I'm re-reading The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart. It was my favorite book in 6th or 7th grade, or whenever I read it. It's about the childhood of Merlin, and the later books are about Arthur.

Yea, that and "The Hollow Hills" are great.

The last two go pretty well downhill though.

[katya]

That's too bad. I was thinking maybe this time I'll read the others (the first time I started The Hollow Hills but didn't finish it). Who knows, maybe I'll like them better than you did though.

Things sure have changed since I read The Crystal Cave the last time. I remember spending literally hours on my WebTV trying to figure out what the sign against the evil eye was all about. Now it's all right there on wikipedia. I kind of miss being young and caring so much about things like that, though. Not the internet, things in books.

[GrayMouser]

Well, your mileage may differ- #3, The Last Enchantment, is okay- just a big step down from the first two.

I remember watching the latest King Arthur movie and wondering why someone didn't make a movie of these two. Hollywood suits, I guess:

"Hey, that Gladiator was a big hit- what's some other old stuff we can do?"

First you start with a story....

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Finished Crime and Punishment. SUCH an intense psychological portrait. Also some elements of Kierkegaard dispersed throughout. I was holding my breath to the very end of the epilogue, to see how Rodya would turn out.

I'm not sure what to turn to next. . . Foucault's Pendulum, a book claiming to contain "Representative Modern Plays" sitting on my shelf, Gilead. . . so many options. Or perhaps I'll just end up concentrating more on working through the Sonnets.

[katya]

Did you like Rodya? A lot of people I've talked to didn't like him or couldn't forgive him.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

I wouldn't say I liked him, per se, but my heart went out to him deeply, and I was longing to forgive him, waiting for him to permit it. It's unfortunate that we only see him when he's more or less withdrawn into himself; it would be a wonder to see what the depth with which he lived would have done in the outside world.

I really liked Sonya, though.

[katya]

I never felt angry at him to where I would have to forgive him. There was nothing to forgive. But, as I've said before, I have strange tastes. It's been a really long time since I read that book (8th grade I'm pretty sure so like... 8 years ago) and I'd like to re-read it sometime soon.

I've been re-reading a lot lately. I feel like I have too many unfinished projects, and re-reading things I read a long time ago or never finished feels pretty good. So far, I've read Lady Chatterly's Lover (got about 3/4 of the way through the first time), The Great Gatsby (only ever saw the movie), The Crystal Cave (read in middle school, re-read and then read the rest in the series). I'm not usually one to re-read books because I feel like I should read new books. But, I think getting as much out of a book as you can is good, and getting deeper meanings out of them.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

No matter what one thinks, even if, as Rodya convinced himself, there is no wrong in killing the "louse," the old pawnbroker, it was certainly wrong to kill her kind and unassuming sister.

But I would say that forgiveness and anger have nothing to do with each; I was never angry with him, I could understand him too well for that.

I know what you mean; it's a matter of finding the balance between breadth and depth. Some books just have to be re-read, though, whether because you're sure you missed something the first time through (the reason I'm re-reading Dante's Comedy), or because it speaks to in such a way that you feel the need to unpack more (the reason I've re-read Brideshead Revisited several times, and the reason War and Peace, Brothers K, and now Crime and Punishment are on my re-read list).

Of course, then, sometimes there are works which you re-read simply because the towering emotions are so exquisite that you feel the need to experience it anew, like King Lear, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

[katya]

Maybe anger isn't the best way to describe it. Well, think about it this way. There's another character who is one of my favorite characters, from Demons, by the same author, did some horrible things to a young girl. That, I actually had to take the time to try to forgive. I wouldn't say it made me angry, but because of an experience I had myself as a young child (which was really not very bad but enough to make me understand it), the feeling of "how could you do that? that's so horrible." was much stronger. I felt this character was less justified (in his mind). But anyway, not anger, more like disgust.

With Rodya, I hardly even thought about him killing the sister at first because it seemed like such a sheer accident, a reflex, or like something he didn't really mean to do and didn't want to do, but did out of fear. If someone just came along and killed her for fun, that guy I would have a problem with.

I never really feel like I've gotten everything I can out of a book. But sometimes, after I'd finished reading one, I would read the summaries and the discussion questions on SparkNotes. That helps. I've been wanting to form a book group around here. I'm already in one but I want to make my own too. :)

[GrayMouser]

While I've re-read most of Dosty's works several times at least, the one I've never been able to go back to is "Crime and Punishment"- and that's been over thirty years now. Maybe because it was the first one of his I read and the impact was so strong.

I remember I could only keep going at the time because I'd been told it had a "happy ending"- yeah, in the epilogue!

Maybe time to try it again.

Oh, and Foucault's Pendulum is great, though it takes a while to get into the swing.

[katya]

My 9th grade English teacher tried to dissuade me from reading Russian literature when he saw me reading Anna Karenina. Said it's too depressing and it just gets worse right to the end. He encouraged his students to read Stephen King. NOT my favorite teacher. :)

[GrayMouser]

Has anyone read any Robertson Davies?- Great Canadian writer, particularly:

the Cornish trilogy: The Rebel Angels, What's Bred in the Bone, The Lyre of Orpheus.

the Deptford trilogy: Fifth Business, The Manticore, World of Wonders.

small-c conservative with a strong streak of anarchy, Shakespearean scholar, High Anglican with a love of liturgy and a special affection for saints, lover of bawdy, art historian, writer of a libretto based on "The Golden Ass", monarchist, ironist, stern moralist, exponent of myth and magic- and very funny as well.

Brought to mind by this quote of his:

"A truly great book should be read in youth, again in maturity and once more in old age, as a fine building should be seen by morning light, at noon and by moonlight."

[Gwaimir Windgem]

With Rodya, I hardly even thought about him killing the sister at first because it seemed like such a sheer accident, a reflex, or like something he didn't really mean to do and didn't want to do, but did out of fear. If someone just came along and killed her for fun, that guy I would have a problem with.


Certainly, it was something he did out of fear, but he still took the life of an innocent human being, and it was, when you get right down to it, willful; nothing forced his hand. I was very surprised that that didn't come up more; perhaps because he couldn't reconcile it as easily as he could killing the pawnbroker.


I never really feel like I've gotten everything I can out of a book. But sometimes, after I'd finished reading one, I would read the summaries and the discussion questions on SparkNotes. That helps. I've been wanting to form a book group around here. I'm already in one but I want to make my own too. :)

If there's a university library near you, it might be interesting to check out some scholarly criticism/interpretation. I find an academic mindset brings out a lot that one might easily miss.


Oh, and Foucault's Pendulum is great, though it takes a while to get into the swing.

That's what I'm leaning towards; I was given it for my birthday by a friend who says its one of his favourite books, so it should be worth checking out.

I've never heard of Robertson Davies, but he sounds like a fascinating individual. Sounds a bit like Roger Scruton. Anglo-Catholics are always so much more interesting than us poor Romans. ;)

[katya]

Certainly, it was something he did out of fear, but he still took the life of an innocent human being, and it was, when you get right down to it, willful; nothing forced his hand. I was very surprised that that didn't come up more; perhaps because he couldn't reconcile it as easily as he could killing the pawnbroker.

That makes my "heart go out to him", as you said. But other people I've talked to who have read the book could not forgive him for it at all and in fact hated him. I really need to re-read that book but I think I'm going with something non-fiction first since I've just finished The Crystal Cave. Sometimes if I like a fiction book it's hard to pick up a new one right away. Most of the time, actually.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

I've just started Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex. So far, it's a great mixture of comedy and evocative classical references.

[GrayMouser]

I've never heard of Robertson Davies, but he sounds like a fascinating individual. Sounds a bit like Roger Scruton. Anglo-Catholics are always so much more interesting than us poor Romans.

Beloved in Canada, and shorted for the Booker...maybe a bit more, um, lively than Scruton.

Though in all fairness, all I've read of Scruton is his "Short History of Western Philosophy" and his part of "German Philosophers: Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer and Nietszche" (he wrote the Intro and the section on Kant) which, while both being excellent, are not exactly the liveliest of subjects. :)

I watched the BBC series on Beauty you posted, and am going to reply in the next week when I've got a bit more time to re-view it (end of term, very busy), but it did bring a bit of Davies to mind.

In "What's Bred in the Bone" he deals with an artist who would have been hailed in previous ages for his skill, but is forced to become an art forger in our age when only "shock" and "imagination" count for anything.

When being appprenticed to one of the last of the Old School Masters, his first test is to draw a perfectly straight line - freehand, of course- down the middle of a page; the point being if you can't do that you're not even fit to be a beginner.

[GrayMouser]

Special shout out to inked- have you read this guy? I think you'd love it.

Start with the Cornish trilogy- while I think the Deptford trilogy is on the whole is a little better the opening may be a little rougher for non-Canadians- though any small town North American may appreciate it.

[GrayMouser]

My 9th grade English teacher tried to dissuade me from reading Russian literature when he saw me reading Anna Karenina. Said it's too depressing and it just gets worse right to the end. He encouraged his students to read Stephen King. NOT my favorite teacher. :)

Looks like some Russians agree...

The opening of a Moscow Metro station named after Fyodor Dostoevsky has been postponed after complaints that murals decorating the platform walls are too depressing. The images, drawn from the 19th-century novelist’s works, could prompt depressed commuters to kill themselves, critics say.

One scene, right, depicts a man preparing to hit a woman with an axe while another lays dying at his feet — inspired by Rodion Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment. Another shows a man holding a gun to his head — based on The Devils, in which Kirillov commits suicide as a declaration of freedom. A stern portrait of the author is also among the Florentine mosaics.

Mikhail Vinogradov, a Moscow psychologist, said that the station could become a magnet for people considering suicide. Bloggers on Russian internet sites condemned the designs as “grim” and “suicidal”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7127302.ece

[Gwaimir Windgem]

It's been pointed out that there are many, many beautiful moments in the works of Dostoyevsky, as well: Alyosha falling to the ground, the kiss in the Grand Inquisitor, the redemption of Rodya at the end of C and P, etc. The imagery which, apparently, was used for these decorations doesn't seem to really capture the scope of Dostoyevsky; it remains down in the dregs, while failing to turn its gaze upwards, as he does so well.

[katya]

I finally finished The Wicked Day. It was kind of disappointing. I really couldn't get into that one much because Merlin's not in it. But I still liked it and The Last Enchantment better than a lot of books I have read. I'm glad I'm finished with the series now so I can read something else, though.

[GrayMouser]

I finally finished The Wicked Day. It was kind of disappointing. I really couldn't get into that one much because Merlin's not in it. But I still liked it and The Last Enchantment better than a lot of books I have read. I'm glad I'm finished with the series now so I can read something else, though.

Yes, she's still a good writer, but they are a bit of a let-down considering how good the first two are.

[Rían]

Dostoyevsky is well worth reading, although his works are certainly not chirpy and light-hearted! But I think that the subjects for the wall murals were not a great choice ... :eek:

[Valandil]

Just finished up a re-read of LOTR, and while starting into the appendices, picked up some Dickens books. Have gone about 5-6 chapters into Little Dorrit. Also picked up Bleak House and Tale of Two Cities.

[Rían]

I wasn't wild about Little Dorrit, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE Bleak House and Tale of Two Cities. BH starts a bit slow, but just remember that Dickens was often paid by the word, and feel free to skip over some of his long, descriptive sections that must have happened because of unexpected bills :D

[EllethValatari]

Just finished up a re-read of LOTR, and while starting into the appendices, picked up some Dickens books. Have gone about 5-6 chapters into Little Dorrit. Also picked up Bleak House and Tale of Two Cities.

I also loved A Tale of Two Cities! It is pretty descriptive, but it's very well written and has a captivating plot. A very enjoyable way to study the French Revolution!

[Valandil]

I liked Little Dorrit. After it, I quickly read The Good Shepherd by CS Forester. He wrote the Horatio Hornblower series. This one is about a WW2 destroyer captain, fending off German U-boats while escorting a convoy.

I've just started Tale of Two Cities.

[Pitchike12]

Yes I did, I'm reading right now is "The Fellowship of the Ring"*...(I'm reading it again.:p)

[Valandil]

I finished Tale of Two Cities, then re-read Voyage of the Dawn Treader before going to see the movie.

I've just read The Devil in the White City. It's really two stories - one about the building of the Chicago World's Fair for 1893, the other about a psychopath who moved to Chicago around this time and went on an undetected killing-spree. The book has had rave reviews... but I really didn't like it that much. For one, I think it OUGHT to be two stories - unless the author intends both parts to be commentary on 'the American City' or 'the Modern City'. Also - the handling of the serial killer is inconsistent, but maybe that last is quibbling on my part.

[Earniel]

Finally finished Tolkien's 'Letters from Father Christmas'. This time of year seemed liked the perfect moment for reading that one. :) Very sweet, it reminded me of some of the Sinterklaas letters I got when younger. Good childhood memories. Although Tolkien managed to keep on going for twenty years and for four kids. With drawings. Quite an achievement!

[the insane one]

After finishing my tolkien collection, including History of Middle Earth, I started reading books from an American author called Brendan Dubois. Some of his stuff is old but he is still writing new books. A very good bit of light reading

[Pitchike12]

I'm reading "The Hobbit" right now. After that I will read "The Voyage of the Dawn Threader by C.S. Lewis".

[Fool_of_a_Took]

I am a huge fan of John Irving, especially "A Prayer for Owen Meany" and his latest (I believe), "Last Night in Twisted River"

Fantastic author, two incredible books that I could read over and over again.

[katya]

I just finished Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother which was interesting and got me to write a "tiger daughter" list of things to do everyday (like brush my teeth, I know, high standards I have for myself).

Then I read The Winter of our Disconnect about a family that goes "screen-free" for 6 months which was kind of interesting, kind of interesting also because the family reminded me of my own family. Might try to cut down on my aimless internet surfing that I find so very spiritually draining.

Read a chapter and a half of a book called "War is a Force that Gives us Meaning", which is interesting but not a very enjoyable read in a way (the writing itself). Interesting ideas though.

Before that I finished "Nausea" by Jean-Paul Sartre, which I liked quite a bit. But I was totally having an existential crisis which I'm largely "over" now.

I've been reading at a pace of more than a book a week. I have an insatiable thirst for knowledge all of the sudden. (Last couple years have been about 25 books a year.) Been leaning heavily toward non-fiction.

[barrelrider110]

I am a huge fan of John Irving, especially "A Prayer for Owen Meany" and his latest (I believe), "Last Night in Twisted River"

Fantastic author, two incredible books that I could read over and over again.

Yes, agree with you Fool_of_a_Took, "Owen Meany" was by far Irving's best. I even thought Owen had a lot in common with Frodo; diminutive in size but fastidious in purpose to fulfill his destiny.

My recent favorite read was "The Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. It's a book about survival and spirituality, humorous and sad, that can be read and interpreted on many levels. It's great book to discuss. Also, like JRRT, Martel shows a deep appreciation for the natural world:

"I am not one given to projecting human traits and emotions onto animals, but many a time during that month in Brazil, looking up at sloths in repose, I felt I was in the presence of upside-down yogis deep in meditation or hermits deep in prayer, wise beings whose intense imaginative lives were beyond the reach of my scientific probing."

[GrayMouser]

Being turned into a movie by Ang Lee, currently being filmed here in Taiwan :confused:

[barrelrider110]

Being turned into a movie by Ang Lee, currently being filmed here in Taiwan :confused:


The story would make a good movie, but much of his spiritual journeys would be lost. I found that theme the most compelling.

[katya]

I'm just about halfway through Kafka on the Shore by Murakami. It's excellent. I read The Wind-up Bird Chronicle and loved that, but Kafka on the Shore is even better. :)

[EllethValatari]

Just finished "A Separate Peace." I was very intrigued by the book after it was mentioned in school and read it within two days. It had some of the most intense insight into the dark competition between human beings I've ever encountered. After I finished the book I watched the 2005 film with a friend and we both enjoyed it. Very true to the book! Toby Moore did an amazing job as Finny. :)

[Beren3000]

I've just started "The Time Traveler's Wife". Seems to be a very interesting read so far...
I can only hope its initial momentum doesn't fizzle out to just a gimmicky love story.

[mithrand1r]

I just finished The Count of Monte Cristo.

Interesting story, but it is long.

Takes place during the early 1800s. Primarily in France and to a lesser extent in Italy.

At times the story gets bogged down in details, but over all I thought it was a good story.

I would recommend this for others to read. I think I may see the film and see how it compares to the book. The story could be streamlined without losing much of the essence of the story, although it would lose much of the richness of detail and background material.

[Nerdanel]

i just finished reading Tiger, tiger by Margaux Fragoso. i hadn't heard of it before i bought it, but it sounded promising when i read the back - and it certainly delivered. it's her own memoir of her relationship with the man who sexually molested her. it's written in an incredibly intelligent way, and doesn't give way to the image of a paedophile being the predator, the pure evil that we want to make them look like, to fit into our black-and-white world. she does in no way defend paedophiles or cast them in a good light - after all, she has suffered the mental harm from growing up with one herself.

i tried to look at some reviews after i read the book, and i'm amazed by the things people react on. this is her story, the way she remembers it. she has amazing clarity of thought when she writes it and tells of her relationship. all people seem to react on is the fact that she describes some of the sexual acts. a new york times reviewer said that the first act described is 'perhaps the most indecent thing published in any major book of the last decade'. well, i don't think the situation was very decent.
to me, it seems like she wants to tell the story as truthfully as she can, showing how this kind of relationship can be in reality. to be able to do that, i'm happy she didn't take into account the prude reviewers at the new york times. it isn't a pleasant read, but it's a great read.

it has lead to a lot of good discussions already (me and s read it at the same time) and very interesting insights. this is what the synopsis says (and what caught my interest):

"I still think about Peter, the man I loved most in the world, all the time.

At two in the afternoon, when he would come and pick me up and take me for rides; at five, when I would read to him, head on his chest; in the despair at seven p.m., when he would hold me and rub my belly for an hour; in the despair again at nine p.m. when we would go for a night ride, down to the Royal Cliffs Diner in Englewood Cliffs where I would buy a cup of coffee with precisely seven sugars and a lot of cream.

We were friends, soul mates and lovers.

I was seven. He was fifty-one."

it's worth a read, if you think you can handle it.

[cee2lee2]

I read Packing for Mars by Mary Roach this weekend. It's subtitled "The Curious Science of Life in the Void" and filled with facts derived from interviews, her personal experience with simulations, and published studies and not a page was boring to me. Lots of information about the effects of space on human bodies and how to deal with human body functions while in space.

[Earniel]

Just read a very interesting book called 'The First Fossil Hunters' by Adrienne Mayor. Interesting (and to me totally new) concepts and well researched. I thought the first chapters about gryphons were the most interesting, and the book made a good case for tying the emergence of the myths about gryphons to protoceratops fossils.

The rest of the book was an eye-opener too, I never knew the Mediterranean area had that many bonebeds and megafauna. And to see those tied so cleverly to local myths and legends made some very good reading.

Awesome book. If you like mythology and paleontology, this is a good book to see the two fields intertwined.

[inked]

RED ORCHESTRA by Anne Nelson. It is an account of the resistance to Hitler by Germans linked by their political communism. I find it a fascinating account. I have been reading of resistance to Hitler since high school (graduated 1973) when I first read the Resistance of the White Rose. But this is the first account of the communist resistance I have read. The authoress does not pull punches and shows Stalin for the beast that he was. Nonetheless, the the brave resistance cost folks their lives and properties and families. A truly interesting and absorbing read.

[GrayMouser]

RED ORCHESTRA by Anne Nelson. It is an account of the resistance to Hitler by Germans linked by their political communism. I find it a fascinating account. I have been reading of resistance to Hitler since high school (graduated 1973) when I first read the Resistance of the White Rose.

Ah, you kids... Class of 72 (though I didn't actually, technically, graduate- or even show up most of the time... :o).

But this is the first account of the communist resistance I have read. The authoress does not pull punches and shows Stalin for the beast that he was. Nonetheless, the the brave resistance cost folks their lives and properties and families. A truly interesting and absorbing read.

Haven't read much of that either- the whole official Communist Party behavior in that time was simply so disgusting, desparately trying to follow every twist and turn of Stalin's policy, as shown in Orwell's "Homage to Catalonia".

Have you read Koestler's "Darkness at Noon"? There's a bit about the (pre-war) betrayals of the German Communists by Stalin in there.

Another interesting group were the Eidelweiss Pirates, basically working-class youth gangs who resisted the Nazis out of counter-cultural reasons, and enjoyed getting into street fights with the Hitler Youth.

[GrayMouser]

Also just finished "Wolf Hall" by Hilary Mantel, winner of the 2009 Booker Award, about the rise of Thomas Cromwell, and his relations with Henry VIII and Ann Boelyn.

Excellent, and a great change from the post-Modernist stuff that usually wins- just good story-telling.

One complaint is that Cromwell is a bit too perfect- a bit of a moderate modern man dropped in a very passionate age.

OTOH, she definitely takes sides- strongly pro-Protestant, and many unkind things to say about Thomas More.

[inked]

Thanks for the leads, GM.

Also read CHURCHILL'S WAR LAB by Taylor Downing, a remarkably fun read of all the hard science promulgated by the visionary leader.

[Tessar]

Just finished a book called Darkwing. Picked it up totally by chance in the library (was studying, looked at the shelf across from me, stood up, walked over, and pulled out a book at random) and it was SO GOOD!

It was by Kenneth Oppel, and it was set in an anthropomorphic prehistoric time. It was about these things called "Chiroptors," and they were supposed to be the predecessors of bats, and one of the characters had "evolved" into the first bat.

Really interesting because there's lots of surprise story twists, thrilling moments, and some exciting "political" stuff where some of the animals are fighting for power.

[Earniel]

Currently reading Le Spinx des Glaces by Jules Verne. I'm halfway through it and it's interesting, if slow to build. It sort of feels like I'm reading one of the very first fan fiction stories, as the characters in this book are in search of characters lost in the Antartic in a book by Edgar Allen Poe. Must be weird, buying and reading a book you believe to be fiction until you get to the chapters where the main character suddenly meets your lost familymember and only then through that finding out how he disappeared in the first place. The effect is rather curious, but working so far.

[Lotesse]

Gwaimir, Middlesex was AWES0ME. I love Eugenidies & so far, this is my favourite of his novels. LOVE.

[Lotesse]

One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Twice in a row, literally back-to-back. I'd begun the book several years ago when my life & mind were too fractured & scattered to really pay attention, & so set it aside, indefinitly. But this time, I very literally could NOT put it down until I'd devoured it all, and the very next day, read it once again, cover to cover, without interruption, first page to last. An absolute literary masterpiece work of art.

My Life in France, Julia Child with Paul Prud'Homme.

Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain (third reading)

Garlic and Sapphires, Ruth Reichl

A Day in the Life of Ivan Desinovitch, Alexander Solszhenitsen. Read this book. And then quit bitching about how awful your life is. A page-turning, eye-opening masterpiece.

As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner. He's a weird mf, but boy howdy he got the spirit & truth of the deep south right, & his mastery of poetic realism is crazy-real.

O, Pioneer!, Willa Cather. A. Freakin. Mazing.

Run River, Joan Didion. Her first novel; another amazing pageturner whose characters & their stories will stay in your permanent consciousness long after you remember you'd read the book. Brilliant.

I did an awful lot of reading this summer...

[GrayMouser]

One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Twice in a row, literally back-to-back. I'd begun the book several years ago when my life & mind were too fractured & scattered to really pay attention, & so set it aside, indefinitly. But this time, I very literally could NOT put it down until I'd devoured it all, and the very next day, read it once again, cover to cover, without interruption, first page to last. An absolute literary masterpiece work of art.

Yes,it's hard to adjust to the style- it's been called one of those books "more bought than read"- but once you get into it, just wonderful.


A Day in the Life of Ivan Desinovitch, Alexander Solszhenitsen. Read this book. And then quit bitching about how awful your life is. A page-turning, eye-opening masterpiece.

Again, absolutely- that final sentence just kicked me in the gut; when you realize everythig he's gone through has been just one day, with so many more to come.

As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner. He's a weird mf, but boy howdy he got the spirit & truth of the deep south right, & his mastery of poetic realism is crazy-real.

Appreciate the genius of his longer works, but takes a lot of concentration.

I actually enjoy the Yoknapataphaw short story cycles more- easier to follow :o

[Lotesse]

Ciao, GrayMouser! Yes, that's absolutely true about the experience of reading 100 Years of Solitude. When I first picked up the book, I guess I read about a third of the way through & it wouldn't "stick," for whatever reason, it wasn't resonating with me and I couldn't get inside the fantasy at all. Now, several years later, it DID stick, and then sucked me so intensely intside the fantasy that I couldn't leave it & had to instantly re-read it. Marquez, what a writer!!what a GENIUS!!



I read a book about Julia & Paul Child and a few close friends of theirs during the early days of their work during the early War Years (WW2) with the CIA's predecessor the OSS, & then later through the McCarthy era & a long Cold War. Wonderful, engaging writing and an absolutely fascinating true story. Plus, many great photos. 2 thumbs up!

~A Covert Affair, by Jennet Conant

[Lotesse]

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers.

[Snowdog]

A couple world war 2 novels...

The Willing Flesh by Willi Heinrich
Wheels of Terror by Sven Hassal

[Valandil]

Start of this week I picked up The Virginian, by Owen Wister. About a fourth of the way in, and I'm enjoying it.

I believe this is considered the first "Western" novel.

[Tessar]

Recently finished "The Name of the Wind" and the second book in the trilogy.

Now I'm gnawing my fingernails to nubs waiting for the next book. I can't believe it's not coming out till NO ONE EVEN KNOWS WHEN. AAAAAAAARGH.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Name-Wind-Kingkiller-Chronicle/dp/0756404746

If you haven't read it, I can highly, highly recommend it. One of the best-written fantasy novels I think I've ever read, and his command of the English language is impressive... without throwing in 10 million words you've never seen before, he makes poetry out of the story. I think his writing style is incredible.

[Tessar]

WOWWWW. So I'm reading Dragon Flight from the Pern series and I have to keep reminding myself it was written in a different time with a different world in mind... the female protagonist and male protagonist are killing my modern sensibilities of what I expect for female leads.

So far there's been a lot of the female getting hysterical and the man shaking her physically till she calms down, the woman is constantly undermined and shown to be a fool by the much wiser and better man, and every time she does something brave or clever he smiles and "indulges" her... even when she discovers something totally unique and new to them, he ends up getting the credit for it by virtue of determining how to use her discovery strategically.

It was disappointing because in the beginning of the story she was a very strong, clever lead and it feels like she's lost most of her fire.

Also the sexual themes are... disturbing. He apparently hurts her the first time they have sex pretty badly, and then he's just like, "well I'm great in bed and trying to be gentle now, so I'm sure she'll come around."

Yikes. I'm enjoying the book for its good parts, but with all the PC training we go through and with all the new, strong female leads I've gotten used to experiencing in my fantasy stories... this is really something else.

[Attalus]

Start of this week I picked up The Virginian, by Owen Wister. About a fourth of the way in, and I'm enjoying it.

I believe this is considered the first "Western" novel.Only if you disallow Fenimore Cooper's "Leatherstocking Tales." But, admittedly, they are a totally different ethos than The Virginian and Zane Grey.

WOWWWW. So I'm reading Dragon Flight from the Pern series and I have to keep reminding myself it was written in a different time with a different world in mind... the female protagonist and male protagonist are killing my modern sensibilities of what I expect for female leads.]Don't worry about little Lessa. She gets her own back and then some. One of the strongest female leads in a SciFi (Anne McCaffrey's work is *not* fantasy, worse luck) that I know of. By The White Dragon she has become downright scary. Don't forget that she had been beaten and scorned while she was "undercover" at Ruatha Hold, so she starts out less than assertive.

[Rían]

I'm re-reading CS Lewis' Till We Have Faces. An obscure little story, but really great. It had a profound influence on my thinking.

[Nerwen]

Oh, I love Till We have faces! One of my best online friends used top use it as a siggy quote. You know, the one about, "Are the gods then not just?" "Oh, no, child, what would become of us if they were?":heart:

Susie

[Valandil]

Only if you disallow Fenimore Cooper's "Leatherstocking Tales." But, admittedly, they are a totally different ethos than The Virginian and Zane Grey.
:
:
:

Yes - I consider "Western" to be from what is now about the western US, with "Leatherstocking Tales" (all of which I read some years back) to be more "Frontier". If that makes sense to others. Have only read one Zane Grey book, and that was way long ago!!! :)

[Nerwen]

Ooh, if you read just one Zane Gray, let it be Riders of the Purple Sage



Susie

[Attalus]

I prefer Max Brand, myself, the Sackett yarns in particular.

[Nerwen]

So, how come I don't see any of those in your library? I'd like to read one, see how they stack up

[Earniel]

Currently re-reading Bryony and Roses by Ursula Vernon.(It's a short e-book so it's easier to read at the moment, little time for anything else.)

I've always liked her art, but her writing is getting very good too. And the main character is a gardener of which there is rather a dearth of in stories, I find.

[Princess Fluttershy]

if you count fairy books yes i have i read about good fairy and bad fairy

[Valandil]

Reading John Adams by David McCullough. Very, very good. Enjoying it and would recommend it to anyone. It raises Adams very much in my esteem. Unfortunately, it lowers some of the other characters around him. Hard to believe the shenanigans that used to go on in American politics!!! ;)

[Grey_Wolf]

Am currently reading Peter Aykroyd's History of England III: Civil War, Barry Cunliffe's Britain Begins, the first book of three about the history of Scania, the southernmost province of Sweden and the real history of the Vikings.

[katya]

I have gotten myself into online book clubs. I would love to join or start an IRL one, but during the pandemic is probably not the best time to do that. I'm currently reading for September:

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton: I'm loving this! I've been thinking a lot lately about purity culture and how I always thought I had to be perfect and innocent and pure like May Welland, but so far I am loving Ellen Olenska!

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller: This is awesome too, it's kind of a retelling of the old story. It's modern, but it reads more like the classics like The Iliad, which also incidentally I am reading concurrently because I felt like I was missing out on context without having read it.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte: I actually just started this one today so no real opinion yet. This particular club doesn't have discussion until the end of the month so I've been taking my time with it.

Last month I read The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, very interesting.

[katya]

I'm reading fantasy this year. I have been working on writing fantasy so I'm reading a lot to kinda see what's out there (plus I like it, obvs).

Currently reading: Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce

Read earlier this year:
Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
Ruin of Kings - Jenn Lyons
Fifth Seasons - N.K. Jemison
Uprooted - Naomi Novik
Natural History of Dragons - Marie Brennan
Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness
Starless Sea - Erin Morgenstern
A Marvelous Light - Freya Marske
Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb

That's a lot when I have to type it out, hehe. There were a few I enjoyed a lot, but my favorite has got to be Assassin's Apprentice! It's the only one (and a lot of them are parts of series) that I feel driven to read the next books of, but I have been giving it a break before I dive into the next one.