I enjoyed it as well.Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski
I enjoyed it as well.
"Nobody listens to Turtle."-Turtle
Freedom at Midnight
It covers the independence of India including the partition of India and the birth of Pakistan. It's really fascinating. It's one of the books used for the basis of The Viceroy's House film.
Unfortunately, it's hard to find. This edition: https://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Midni.../dp/B00OEIHU52 can be had used for pretty cheap. There are older editions out there and editions published in both the UK and India, in English and in Hindi. I managed to get my hands on the Indian edition in English.
Same. Really enjoyed SHoe Dog.
*Banned*
My reading over the past couple months:
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. This was a re-read of a favorite.
But Beautiful by Geoff Dyer, a very interesting bit of historical fiction about Jazz recommended to me by OrangeUte.
Memento Mori by Muriel Spark, quirky and often funny novel about being old.
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson, this is one I've been meaning to read for a long time and it didn't disappoint.
Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Nietzsche, just because.
Benito Cereno by Melville. Man, what Tarantino could do with this story with a modern rewrite for its ending.
Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier. Very much enjoyed this one. Wish I could read it in French.
Currently Reading:
In a Glass Darkly by Sheridan Le Fanu. Published in 1870s, gothic ghost stories. It's actually structured a lot like a 19th century X-Files and it's a been a great read so far.
Finished a couple of books:
Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor. Focus on Queen Mary, but an interesting history of the royal family from Victoria down to the current queen. Also a fascinating account of the decline of royalty in europe.
Evil Has a Name. The story of the decades long investigation that finally led to the capture of the Golden State Killer last year. This is audio-book only production that is done kind of like an extended podcast (six hours). It is narrated mostly by investigators and victims. One of the best audiobooks I have ever listened to. Highly recommended.
"There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
"It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
"Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster
As part of my weekly lesson with a Ukrainian woman I tutor in English, we discuss current events in Russia and Ukraine. I've expressed interest in Putin's corruption and what seems to be a hybrid kleptocracy/oligarchy (she is not a fan). This week she handed me Red Notice and said simply, "Read this." I had forgotten your review and comments, but they're spot on. I'm only 100 pages in but I'll finish before next week's lesson where this will be topic no. 1. Fascinating book, and a quick read. Strongly recommended.
It's been a long time since I've read a post that had such a promising start. What a buzzkill.
"Outlined against a blue, gray
October sky the Four Horsemen rode again"
Grantland Rice, 1924
Just finished Red Notice and as the Dude noted, it really is fantastic, and the final couple of pages pack an emotional wallop. It's a case study in how Putin and the oligarchs work, and why the Magnitsky Act is such a big deal. The book caused me to go back and watch the Trump/Putin press conference in Helsinki and at least one of two conclusions is inescapable: Trump is either in the bag with Putin, or he's astonishingly dumb and uninformed as a U.S. President. Perhaps both are true.
That book is mind-blowing. And scary.
"There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
"It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
"Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster
I'm currently reading The Field of Blood
It about violence in the precivil war congress and how southern senators and congressmen stifled debate on slavery. According to the author there were at least 70 assaults by members of congress on other members of congress between 1830-1860 and one death (a duel gone bad).
So far it been interesting, if a bit dry. I saw the author a BookTV a few months back. She is a Yale history professor.
I may be small, but I'm slow.
A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."
Almost finished with Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene. At times it's a slog, but generally pretty good. I like it better than his other books, a bit less Machiavellian than 48 Laws of Power and Art of Seduction. It requires a bit more introspection, which can be unpleasant.
I just read a book by Alex Berenson called Tell Your Children - The truth about marijuana, mental illness, and violence.
The dude builds a very compelling case that marijuana use increases the risk of schizophrenia and other serious paranoid mental illnesses and also can precipitate extreme and random violent acts by some vulnerable individuals.
Usually I’m pretty set in my opinions but this one changed the way I think about marijuana legalization. Probably the UK has it right on this issue. It’s Ok to decriminalize it but strongly discourage use, particularly in young people.
He shares the story of this LDS guy who went psychotic and killed his wife after using marijuana: http://www.rmpbs.org/blogs/news/excl...-wifes-murder/
do people really like this jordan peterson book? it takes him 40 pages to make each boring “no shit” point.
Te Occidere Possunt Sed Te Edere Non Possunt Nefas Est.
Apparently, yes. And often exactly for the reason you deride.
I think the points are obvious for people on this board but not so obvious to a lot of men in their 20s and 30s who think that happiness will come from maximally avoiding commitment, responsibility, and hard work.
Are you suggesting that's not the path to happiness?
"I think it was King Benjamin who said 'you sorry ass shitbags who have no skills that the market values also have an obligation to have the attitude that if one day you do in fact win the PowerBall Lottery that you will then impart of your substance to those without.'"
- Goatnapper'96
I've typed up my thoughts on a couple of recent reads. For anyone interested
John Norwich's A History of France
https://www.goodreads.com/review/sho..._review_page=1
and Hampton Sides' On Desperate Ground
Sides take of the iconic battle of the Korean War - the Chosin Reservior
https://www.goodreads.com/review/sho..._review_page=1
I also finished a short, newish biography of my favorite author when I was a toddler (so I'm told) Beatrix Potter, the author of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" among many others
Over the Hills and Far Away
Last edited by happyone; 02-19-2019 at 08:31 PM.
I may be small, but I'm slow.
A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."
I finished the last book in Ken Follett's Kingsbridge series, A Column of Fire. I enjoyed all of the books in the series, but this was by far the weakest. One of the things I like most about these novels is the history that he incorporates. Unfortunately, I feel lik he decided he had to include way too many historical events in this one to the point where it made for a very disjointed story with character arcs that don't really come together and don't intersect much.
I also feel like it was a significant departure from the other books, and probably should have been a stand-alone book and not part of the Kingsbridge series. There is very little actual connection with Kingsbridge and very little happens there or in the surrounding areas. Follett spends way more time in Paris and London than he does in Kingsbridge or Shiring, and the characters from those places are sort of peripheral (except for Ned).
Anyway, I'd rate the first two books 8.5/10, while I'd only give this one 6/10.
Ain't it like most people, I'm no different. We love to talk on things we don't know about.
"The only one of us who is so significant that Jeff owes us something simply because he decided to grace us with his presence is falafel." -- All-American
GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!
I agree with you on all your points about book 3.
I finished book one of his other trilogy (Century) and I liked the first book, but it didn't pull me in nearly as much as the first Kingsbridge book.
I thought the books in the Century trilogy went progressively downhill. I liked the first one, the second was meh. The first half of the third one was pretty good, but its second half was week. I still enjoyed them though
I may be small, but I'm slow.
A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."
Just finished "The Left Hand of Darkness" by LeGuin. It won both the Hugo and Nebula award back when it was published. It is supposedly her best known work. This is my eighth Le Guin book, and I think I've finally learned how to read her. Her writing style can be beautiful and moving at times. She infuses a very Taoist outlook in some of her stories. But for me it has been frustrating that she doesn't take some of her emphasis on characters and side stories to develop what are really interesting plots. For science fiction/fantasy, that seems really weird to me. It's the same with The Left Hand of Darkness. It took a couple of tries to finish it, but I'm glad I did. It's the ideas and emotions that LeGuin was most interested in exploring, and not the story. And the book really has some novel ideas.
If you're a sci-fi/fantasy fan, I would recommend it.
I've tried three or four times to read it - I've never been able to finish it.
I'm currently reading Antony Beevor's new book on Operation Market Garden - Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges
The battle is better known as "A Bridge Too Far", the title of Cornelius Ryan's book on the same subject.
I may be small, but I'm slow.
A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."
is it as good as his other stuff?
Te Occidere Possunt Sed Te Edere Non Possunt Nefas Est.
So far - yes!
I may be small, but I'm slow.
A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."
Yeah it took me a bit. Honestly, the only reason I stuck with it was because I was more than half way through it. But thinking about it, and the way it ended, made me glad I finished it.
Boy am I late to the party....just finished this one of Friday. This book was absolutely amazing. I pretty much loved everything about it.
Just finished In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown. This is the latest book by Nathaniel Filbrick. I am a big Filbrick fan and I enjoyed this one very much also. Crazy how many stars had to line up for Washington, et al to defeat Cornwallis so completely at Yorktown.
"There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
"It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
"Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster
I'm re-reading The Nix, after recommending it to my sophomore son who needed to choose a book to read for his English class. With some of the scenes and descriptions of child sexual abuse, ejaculation (thanks Laura Potsdam) and other somewhat mature topics, I'm sort of regretting the recommendation.
Still a great book though.
Ain't it like most people, I'm no different. We love to talk on things we don't know about.
"The only one of us who is so significant that Jeff owes us something simply because he decided to grace us with his presence is falafel." -- All-American
GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!
I really liked that one
I finished Beevor's book on Arnhem. In a word - excellent. He really doesn't think much of the British commanders, from Monty on down to the divisional GOCs. He openly states that the way the British handled the Polish Parachute Bde COG was despicable. As an aside he talks about the killing of prisoners on both sides. At one point he states that the 82nd ABN had a reputation of just not taking any. His coverage of the Dutch Civilian participation is outstanding. The helped in both caring for casualties and in recon for the British. I gave it 5 stars on GoodReads. I haven't typed up my thoughts yet, but I'll post them when I do.
Currently reading one of John Norwich's last histories Four Princes. Its a short history of the first half of the 16th century. In Norwich's opinion a golden age for Monarchy. The four monarchs are Henry VIII of England, Francis I of France, Charles V of Spain as well as the Holy Roman Emperor and last but no where least, Sulieman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire.
One of the main themes is how Francis used an alliance with Sulieman and Henry to try and contain Charles. Henry kept changing who he was allied with between Francis and Charles. Sulieman was on the march and captured Hungary and well and laid siege to Vienna (he wasn't successful)
Last edited by happyone; 03-06-2019 at 03:47 PM.
I may be small, but I'm slow.
A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."
I listened to that one in the car. Paused it when riding with my kid - never know when something's going to come up.
"I think it was King Benjamin who said 'you sorry ass shitbags who have no skills that the market values also have an obligation to have the attitude that if one day you do in fact win the PowerBall Lottery that you will then impart of your substance to those without.'"
- Goatnapper'96
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