What Are You Reading Now?

[happyone]

The Worst Hard Time - interesting look at the dust bowl era - what caused it, what conditions were like, etc.

great book - I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

I'm currently reading a look at Stalin and Lenin's attempts to bring the Ukraine into line at the same time feed the Russian cities and the resulting "famine" of the early 1930s

Red Famine

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33864676-red-famine

The first 100 pages or so look at the Ukraine's attempts to become independent following WW I and the Bolshevik takeover of the gov't.

There was a "famine" much like the early '30s in 1920-21 when Lenin attempted to feed the rest of Russia with Ukrainian Grain that didn't exist.
The workforce to grow the grain didn't exist either - the young men were either dead or in one of the revolutionary armies. The author quotes a statistic that the Ukrainian harvest in 1921
was less the 8% of the 1913 harvest.

It's a little dry, but fascinating never-the-less.

[bluegoose]

The Worst Hard Time - interesting look at the dust bowl era - what caused it, what conditions were like, etc.

One of the great experiences in Washington politics happens at the end of the book during the congress filibuster.


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[LiveCoug]

He ruins ALL THE BOOKS!

[SteelBlue]

My apologies if I've already posted these thoughts. Have taken a turn away from the newest stuff to read some classics this year:

Gravity's Rainbow- Answers the question "is there a book more difficult than Ulysses?". Yes. Also answers the question "does the object exist that Pynchon can't turn into a penis?" No. Pynchon is supremely talented but I was happy to finally finish this one and get out of his head. I can't survive there for long.

Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe series #1-#3. Love these. They are all the same but they're great.

Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest. Does anyone do witty dialog better than Wilde? It was fun to have coincidentally read Wilde before Chandler as I was able to feel Wilde's influence on Philip Marlowe's quick wit (I'm assuming this influence).

Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot.

Lord of the Rings. Loved it as much as I thought I would.

The Hobbit. Made the mistake of reading this after LotR and found the difference in tone shocking. Didn't realize it was essentially a children's book.

Walker Percy's The Moviegoer. Excellent but I think not being a southerner inhibits one's ability to fully take in its essence.

Virginia Woolfe's Mrs. Dalloway. It's like Ulysses except you understand every word.

[old_gregg]

gravity’s rainbow = circlejerk of the highest order.

[SteelBlue]

gravity’s rainbow = circlejerk of the highest order.

Another feeling I couldn’t shake was that the whole thing reminded me of all my aging hippie HS teachers, especially their humor. As in they thought they were edgier and funnier than I thought they were. The whole time I was reading I felt their presence, could picture them laughing their asses off and me realizing I was just born too late to appreciate whatever it is they’re finding so amazing. Give me Infinite Jest all day over GR.

[happyone]

I finished Red Famine - really good look at the 1930 Ukrainian "famine" and Stalin's forced collectivization of agriculture

my thoughts, if any one is interested

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2309642441

[falafel]

I have listened to a couple of them and I really didn't like the woman who read them. Prefer to read them.

Finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and really enjoyed it. I read and listened, but to be honest, I really liked the narrator. I thought she brought Flavia to life. I'm now on to the second Flavia book.

Thanks for the recommendation.

[LiveCoug]

The Dry by Jane Harper

Pretty good Australian whodunnit

[BigPiney]

Finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and really enjoyed it. I read and listened, but to be honest, I really liked the narrator. I thought she brought Flavia to life. I'm now on to the second Flavia book.

Thanks for the recommendation.

Glad you liked it. I just finished the latest book. Was #9 or 10 in the series. One of my least favorite of them all, but overall I love the stories.

[SteelBlue]

I've been reading a lot of plays the past couple of weeks:

Othello
Henry V

A Raisin in the Sun- Lorraine Hansberry
Top/Dog Underdog- Suzan-Lori Parks
Ruined -Lynn Notage
August:Osage County- Tracy Letts
Becky Shaw- Gina Gionfriddo
Glengarry Glen Ross- David Mamet
The Pillowman- Martin McDonagh (of 3 billboards fame)

All are highly recommended. I will warn that The Pillowman is disturbing in many ways but a really well done disturbing if that makes sense.

[Parrot Head]

I finally read Hillbilly Elegy and maybe it was hyped up too much for me, but it wasn't the amazing book I thought it would be. The national reviews touted how eye-opening it was, but I guess it was too close to home in so many aspects that it didn't open my eyes to much beyond how much hillbillies cuss in comparison to more genteel parts of the South (the women, at least).

[Jeff Lebowski]

My wife and I both read Oil and Marble recently. It is a historical novel about Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci and their time in Florence as rivals. Machiavelli, Raphael and a few others make an appearance. Crazy to think that these people were all contemporaries. We are headed back to Florence in May, so it was a fun read. Recommended.

[Northwestcoug]

My wife and I both read Oil and Marble recently. It is a historical novel about Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci and their time in Florence as rivals. Machiavelli, Raphael and a few others make an appearance. Crazy to think that these people were all contemporaries. We are headed back to Florence in May, so it was a fun read. Recommended.

I'm sure you have your arrangements planned, but if you can either stay here or just tour the winery/olive press, this is a beautiful area:

http://www.villasandrea.com/englishindex

We've been there twice.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I'm sure you have your arrangements planned, but if you can either stay here or just tour the winery/olive press, this is a beautiful area:

http://www.villasandrea.com/englishindex

We've been there twice.

That looks fun. Yeah, we already have hotel reservations. Not far from the Duomo.