What Are You Reading Now?

[Jeff Lebowski]

I just finished this one - I liked it. rather short and not as in depth as I would have liked. I gave it 4 stars on Good Reads. I haven't typed up my thoughts yet.

How old is DM? Can't believe he is still cranking out books.

[happyone]

according to wikipedia - he's 82. It is amazing

[LiveCoug]

Finally finished Seabiscuit and am now onto Seveneves.

I'm into part 3 of Seveneves and so far, not as good as the first 2 parts.

[SteelBlue]

"The Secret Chord" by Geraldine Brooks. Historical Fiction about the life of King David. SU, I think you'd really like this.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/bo...ooks.html?_r=0

[TripletDaddy]

"The Secret Chord" by Geraldine Brooks. Historical Fiction about the life of King David. SU, I think you'd really like this.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/bo...ooks.html?_r=0

SU still hasnt finished reading the Work and The Glory historical fiction series.

[SteelBlue]

SU still hasnt finished reading the Work and The Glory historical fiction series.

I saw one of those on a recent Goodwill book sweep. SU, if you want it I'll pick it up for you, $2.

[old_gregg]

so i've read maybe a half dozen chefs memoirs in the last month or so. weird, but they're interesting and easy reads. life on the line by grant achatz is good. most of the bourdain stuff other than kitchen confidential (and even kind of that) is self congratulatory crap. white heat by marco pierre white is ok. the guy is obviously a sociopath but was the og of what he did. crazy how many of these guys write three or four memoirs.

[MartyFunkhouser]

Fables. I'm on the 12th book in the collection.

Braces for the comic book jokes.

[happyone]

guess it is time for my semi regular update of what some non fiction that I’ve been reading 

Snow and Steel
http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Steel-Bat...der_0199335141

This is perhaps the best book I’ve read on the Battle of the Bulge, definitely the best WW II book I’ve read this year.

My thoughts if anyone is interested

https://www.goodreads.com/review/sho...w_action=false

Khyber, British India's North West Frontier: The Story Of An Imperial Migraine

http://www.amazon.com/Khyber-British...=khyber+miller

An older book, copywrited in 1977
It covers Britain’s experience on the Northwest Frontier (Afghanistan/Pakistan)from the early 1800s through post WW II when they pulled out of the sub-continent
The author has a slightly irreverent/breezy style that makes this a fun read in spite of horrific incidents including the British retreat from Kabul in which there was only one survivor of more than 16,000 people

I didn’t write up my thoughts for goodreads


One Square Mile of Hell

http://www.amazon.com/One-Square-Mil...+john+wukovits

A marines eye look at the Invasion of Tarawa

Probably the second best WW II book I’ve read this year

My thoughts

https://www.goodreads.com/review/sho...w_action=false

Capital Dames

http://www.amazon.com/Capital-Dames-...+cokie+roberts

I saw Cokie Roberts talking about it on Good Reads and it sounded interesting – I thought her presentation on BookTv was better than the book. I was disappointed

My Thoughts

https://www.goodreads.com/review/sho...w_action=false

The History of Venice

http://www.amazon.com/History-Venice...venice+norwich

I can’t believe it took me this long to read this one. Norwich is an excellent historian and writes very readable history

My thoughts

https://www.goodreads.com/review/sho...w_action=false

The Wright Brothers

http://www.amazon.com/Wright-Brother...vid+mccullough

Excellent, but too short!

my thoughts

https://www.goodreads.com/review/sho...w_action=false


A Hobbit, A Wardrobe, and a Great War

http://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-Wardrob...nd+a+great+war

A look at C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, their friendship and how the Great War affected them, their writing and the society in which they lived

my thoughts

https://www.goodreads.com/review/sho...w_action=false

On a personal note – I found out I have something in common with Prof Tolkien – We were both signal officers in infantry bns. Of course what he probably wouldn’t have recognized anything I worked with expect the Telephones and commo wire 

Colorful Characters in Mormon History
http://www.amazon.com/Colorful-Chara...Mormon+History

A series of biographical sketches of people from the 1830s to 1930s – about half Mormon, half non Mormon/apostate

Includes sketches of Mark Twain, Gov Lilburn Boggs, Sam Brannan, J. Golden Kimball(of course), the man who killed Baby Face Nelson (Matthew Cowley's brother) about everyone who had anything to do with the Martin/Willie Handcart companies among others

Not great and there are quite a few typo, but an interesting read, It thought Her sketch of Gov Boggs is surprisingly even handed.

[Armenag]

Station Eleven - Like others, I really enjoyed it. Definitely stands out in the post-apocalyptic genre.

Look Who's Back - Very funny and very strange book about the return of Adolf Hitler, who inexplicably wakes to find himself lying on the ground in modern Berlin. People assume he's some kind of method comedian and he winds up with his own talk/comedy show where he spouts the same hateful rhetoric he did in the 30s and 40s and people treat him like a comic genius. The book was a huge hit in Germany, where it was also made into a movie, also a hit (though "Suk Me Shakespeer 2" -- the first Suk Me Shakespeer apparently having also been quite popular -- remains the biggest comedy of the German year: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015...vie-box-office). The book is very funny but also discomfiting. I would recommend it.

[SteelBlue]

National Book Award winners:

http://nytimes.com/2015/11/19/us/ta-...p=cur&referer=

Adam Johnson wins for fiction. Many here read his 2012 Pulitzer winner The Orphan Master's Son. I haven't read Fortune Smiles yet; looking forward to it. Coates wins Non-Fiction for Between the World and Me, written as a letter to his son.

[Jeff Lebowski]

The Boys in the Boat.

http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Boat-Amer...ys+in+the+boat

I put off reading it because I assumed it would be about a bunch of spoiled rich kids from Harvard or Yale or something. Wow, was I ever wrong. One of the best books I have read in a while. Highly recommended.

[PaloAltoCougar]

The Boys in the Boat.

http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Boat-Amer...ys+in+the+boat

I put off reading it because I assumed it would be about a bunch of spoiled rich kids from Harvard or Yale or something. Wow, was I ever wrong. One of the best books I have read in a while. Highly recommended.

Totally agree. I enjoyed it so much that I rented Leni Riefenstahl's documentary of the Olympics so I could see some of the stuff that was written about (Weirdly interesting, but I wouldn't recommend it to others). Truly an amazing story. It included some poignant examples of really awful parenting, and how at least one kid was able to overcome it magnificently--gives me hope for my kids.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Totally agree. I enjoyed it so much that I rented Leni Riefenstahl's documentary of the Olympics so I could see some of the stuff that was written about (Weirdly interesting, but I wouldn't recommend it to others). Truly an amazing story. It included some poignant examples of really awful parenting, and how at least one kid was able to overcome it magnificently--gives me hope for my kids.

Yeah, that blew me away. I can't wrap my brain around abandoning a kid.

Sadly, the same thing happened to my FIL as a child around the same time.

[SeattleUte]

Yes, the plain style is a big part of the reason it reads like a shorter novel than it is. There are moments where he can't hold it back though, and I particularly enjoyed this paragraph about Bay Area fog:

[ATTACH]6316[/ATTACH]

Please let me know your thoughts when you finish the book, I've been eager to talk with someone about it.



You're a hell of a lot smarter than I am, I'm just easily entertained. I did call the cops on my way to the library yesterday as two transients were beating on a third transient. But, it was a couple blocks away so it doesn't count as a library related crime and stays off of my Facebook page.

I'm now on the downhill part of this novel. It is very long but readable. I lot of flat out expository backstory. The recurring theme is wretched mothers and what they do to their children. It becomes a pattern.