What Are You Reading Now?

[clackamascoug]

Napoleon Dynamite is in an audio book?

Hot Damn! I love the classics.

At the three hour mark.... not sure I'm going to make the duration. It makes me tired, and doesn't hold my attention.

[LiveCoug]

I don't think Ken Follett can write a bad novel

I throroughly enjoyed all three of the Kingsbridge novels

I've enjoyed them more than I thought I would. What are your thoughts (besides "I don't think Ken Follett can write a bad novel") on the Century trilogy? I might try that after Kingsbridge..

[BigPiney]

I've enjoyed them more than I thought I would. What are your thoughts (besides "I don't think Ken Follett can write a bad novel") on the Century trilogy? I might try that after Kingsbridge..

I like it. I liked the first one best, the second was almost as good, but for some reason I remember not liking the third as much as the others. Still enjoyable.

[happyone]

I've enjoyed them more than I thought I would. What are your thoughts (besides "I don't think Ken Follett can write a bad novel") on the Century trilogy? I might try that after Kingsbridge..

It's been awhile since I've read #I (about 3 yrs) and I didn't type up my thoughts on GR. IIRC, it's a full fledged epic in scope and as with all of his novels well written. The plot is convoluted as-all-get-out. The main characters come from all classes in society (rich land/mine owners and the men and women who both work in the big house and in the mines) and from what would be all the warring sides of WW I (British, American, German and Russian). It's mainly about the lead up to and the home front lives of the protaganists. There are main characters on all side of the war. He does let his political sympathies bleed into his characters a bit. The money classes are the bad guys and the little people can do no wrong.

#II looks at WW II and it's aftermath. I think this is one of his weaker efforts. As with #I it is epic is scope with a convoluted plot. He relies on coincidence a bit too much to put the characters where he wants them. IE he has one of the main characters who happens to be a US senator, on a launch in the middle of Pearl Harbor on the way to have breakfast with the Captain of the Arizona when the Japanese initiate their attack. Another example is couple of gay characters, who are navy comm people and wouldn't be anywhere near an AMTRAC or LCVP, are put ashore with the first wave of Marines at Bougainville and killed. These kind of things happen all through the novel and I found it a bit irritating - Follett is a good enough novelist to provide a more logical explaination for some of these plot points. Again Follett's political sympathies bleed through. I can't think of a single conservative character portrayed in a positive light. The socialists/liberal characters can do no wrong.

For novels set in War, there are remarkably few combat scenes.

Still an fun and remarkably quick read. I haven't gotten around to the third one yet

My thoughts on GR for book II

https://www.goodreads.com/review/sho..._review_page=1

[SteelBlue]

Still working my way through the NBA longlist.

There There, Tommy Orange. Interesting. A look at what it means to be Urban Native American, i.e. lost identity, rediscovering culture, and how that culture might look in the Urban setting. Told through multiple characters whose stories pull their respective worlds closer and closer until a culminating event at the Oakland Pow Wow.

Florida, Lauren Groff. Mentioned this one before. Short story collection several of which I'd already read. Had a tough time getting into it.

An American Marriage, Tayari Jones. This is the one on the list I'd heard of. Obama put it on his summer reading list, and Oprah made it a book club selection (as cheesy as that sounds she usually picks solid work). I liked it.

So of the 4 I've read, I'd predict An American Marriage and Gun Love will show up on the short list.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Still working my way through the NBA longlist.

There There, Tommy Orange. Interesting. A look at what it means to be Urban Native American, i.e. lost identity, rediscovering culture, and how that culture might look in the Urban setting. Told through multiple characters whose stories pull their respective worlds closer and closer until a culminating event at the Oakland Pow Wow.

Florida, Lauren Groff. Mentioned this one before. Short story collection several of which I'd already read. Had a tough time getting into it.

An American Marriage, Tayari Jones. This is the one on the list I'd heard of. Obama put it on his summer reading list, and Oprah made it a book club selection (as cheesy as that sounds she usually picks solid work). I liked it.

So of the 4 I've read, I'd predict An American Marriage and Gun Love will show up on the short list.

Come on. None of those books are about professional basketball.

[old_gregg]

Here is one more for your consideration

http://www.amazon.com/Second-World-W...anthony+beevor

I haven't read it yet, but it is supposed to be very good. It is on my TBR list, but not a particularly high priority

I have read the authors books on the Great Patriotic War (Eastern Front) - He ranks right up there with Hastings as one the best writing today

i’m working my way through this and stalingrad. he does a nice job of dumbing it down for us dummies.

[happyone]

i’m working my way through this and stalingrad. he does a nice job of dumbing it down for us dummies.

Whatever else you are, you are no dummy

I'm currently reading Indian War Veterans

It a collection of first person accounts, mainly enlisted soldiers with some junior officers and even some dependents. of their experiences in the Post Civil War Army up to the end of the Indian Wars. It seems most were written in the '20s or '30s - 40 to 50 yrs after the fact. Ergo there is some errors in memory that the editor tries to correct. However he leaves the original accounts intact. I'm about half way through and the way the Veterans looked at their enemy is definitely not PC. However at the same time there was a lot of respect.

There is some interesting accounts of both the Battle of the Little Big Horn and Wounded Knee, both of which the 7th Cav played a major role. One thing I hadn't realized was that a couple of the company commanders at the LBH, still had the same companies/troops at WK almost 15 yrs later.

Another fascinating story (at least to me) is the story of the 5th Cav's transfer from Southwest Texas to the Dakotas/Montana in 1888. Instead of putting the Regiment on Trains for at least part of the 2000+ mile journey, the Regiment rode their horses all the way there. Some of the Troops journeyed more than 2200 miles in roughly 3 months 3 weeks. The reason that trains were not used is not explained. I'm guessing the War Department was just cheap This sure different from the way the Modern Army moves units. Today, unless it involves going to war, when a unit moves, nobody actually moves, the Army just reflags the respective units.

For example - when the 3rd ID came back from Germany in the 1990s, they just renamed the 24th ID at Ft. Stewart the 3rd ID and deactivated the 24th, no people actually moved from Germany to Ga.

Many of the stories come from various Indian War Veteran Organizations publications. Some of these were still active well into the 1960s

[happyone]

Whatever else you are, you are no dummy

I'm currently reading Indian War Veterans

It a collection of first person accounts, mainly enlisted soldiers with some junior officers and even some dependents. of their experiences in the Post Civil War Army up to the end of the Indian Wars. It seems most were written in the '20s or '30s - 40 to 50 yrs after the fact. Ergo there is some errors in memory that the editor tries to correct. However he leaves the original accounts intact. I'm about half way through and the way the Veterans looked at their enemy is definitely not PC. However at the same time there was a lot of respect...

I finished this one, a very uneven read. That said, I was fascinated with it. It is a collection of first person accounts, mainly from enlisted soldiers - but a few lts and cpts and even some dependents stories are included. They are all from published sources, mainly veteran magazines and were published in the 20's and 30's. There is absolutely no attempt at balance - there are no Native American accounts included. With those stipulations, a very informative read and the reader can get a good grasp of the attitudes of those men

For anyone interested, my thoughts

currently reading

Friends Divided

A look at John Adams and Thomas Jefferson's friendship, estrangement and renewed friendship

[CardiacCoug]

David Brooks new book The Road to Character is pretty good.

I’m a fan of the Adam I and Adam II construct and also the idea that people will be happier if they look outward at their place in the world and think “Where can I do the most good?” rather than looking inward for some type of abstract self-realization. It goes well with a lot of the stuff Jordan Peterson has said.

[Babs]

My book club chose this one for this month. I couldn’t make it through the first chapter.

FD09954D-A58D-489F-85ED-ACBF7FFA3212.jpg

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

My book club chose this one for this month. I couldn’t make it through the first chapter.

[ATTACH]9133[/ATTACH]

Was the font too small or too many big words?

[Babs]

Was the font too small or too many big words?

Too self congratulatory.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Educated by Tara Westover.

Rural Idaho mormon version of Hillbilly Elegy.

[smokymountainrain]

David Brooks new book The Road to Character is pretty good.

I’m a fan of the Adam I and Adam II construct and also the idea that people will be happier if they look outward at their place in the world and think “Where can I do the most good?” rather than looking inward for some type of abstract self-realization. It goes well with a lot of the stuff Jordan Peterson has said.

this looks good. thanks for the recommendation.