What Are You Reading Now?

[Jeff Lebowski]

There was a funny quote 46% of the way through.

LOL. Yes! I also copied that quote last night and was going to bust it out later today.

That Periwinkle character is a quote machine.

[Parrot Head]

In preparation for the New York trip, I picked up the 1999 edition of E.B. White's long-form essay Here is New York -- what a master of English prose. I need to go beyond Charlotte's Web after the trip. The essay is a great look at New York City and just throws you into the time. It's a quick read, especially if you're headed there for any reason. There's also a section about commuters not appreciating the City. The 1999 edition includes an strong introduction by Roger Angell, who was also his stepson.

I'm sticking with the theme and started Breakfast at Tiffany's on the bus ride home today. I'm using the Burns family to view more of the history of the city.

[Northwestcoug]

The Man in the High Castle. Meh.

I've enjoyed the Amazon series, so I wanted to try the book. It turns out that what I find intriguing in the series (i.e. alternate time lines/dimensions) is only glossed over in the book. I wonder if I had read it before the series I would have enjoyed it more, but oh well.

[falafel]

The Boys in the Boat. Someone in here recommended it, I think Lebowski. I'm listening to the audio book, and this particular version is advertised as being "for younger readers." Did I get the kids' version of the book somehow? Doesn't seem too dumbed down.

Anyway, the book is excellent so far, despite the heart-wrenching early chapters. There is a special place in hell for Thula (sp?) and Joe's dad.

[Jeff Lebowski]

The Boys in the Boat. Someone in here recommended it, I think Lebowski. I'm listening to the audio book, and this particular version is advertised as being "for younger readers." Did I get the kids' version of the book somehow? Doesn't seem too dumbed down.

Anyway, the book is excellent so far, despite the heart-wrenching early chapters. There is a special place in hell for Thula (sp?) and Joe's dad.

Yes, there are two versions: the regular version (14 hrs) and one for kids (5 hrs). You should do the regular one. The narrator is great.

Agreed on those two characters. Unbelievable what they did.

[falafel]

Yes, there are two versions: the regular version (14 hrs) and one for kids (5 hrs). You should do the regular one. The narrator is great.

Agreed on those two characters. Unbelievable what they did.

Crap. I'm already 2 hours in! There's still a long wait for the regular version. I guess I'll start on something else. I don't want to miss out on so much of the story.

[CardiacCoug]

Just finished Red Notice by Bill Browder. Hard to review this without reverting to hyperbole. Fantastic book. First half is a thrilling story of how he built up a $6B investment fund from scratch primarily by finding opportunities in post-Soviet Russia. Found some buys that results in 1000x gains. Also had some huge losses. Second half of the book is a shocking story of murder, corruption, cover-up, etc. Story ends up involving the US house, senate, state dept. and presidency, not to mention the highest levels of the Russian government. Reinforces once again how utterly evil Putin is. Russia is a crazy place.

I'm seeing more Bill Browder interviews and news all the time:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/billionai...205734125.html

[SteelBlue]

I am halfway through The Nix. I saw this on so many "Best of 2016" lists that I had to check it out and it lives up to the hype. What a great novel. Just really great writing. For example, there is a section near the beginning involving a long exchange in the office of a prof with a student caught plagiarizing that is brilliant. It had me rolling. In the context of a fascinating story, there is some nice skewering of a variety of things in popular culture, including combat driving, video gamers, safe spaces, and outrage culture. Caught this gem last night:

The whole time I was reading I kept wondering about the lucky publisher who read Nathan Hill's manuscript first. Can you imagine receiving that and realizing that nobody had yet scooped it up? Turns out Hill is a really accessible, communicative guy on Twitter so I asked him about it. He said "first publisher to read it finished it in a day and a half which I thought was stunning." Can't remember if we discussed this here but the rights were bought by JJ Abrams and Bad Robot will likely be doing an HBO series a la West World (Meryl Streep as older version of Mom).

So many great characters in that novel and they were used brilliantly to take up some of today's relevant issues. In addition to the ones you already mentioned (I actually thought of you and others here when I read the cheating accusation re: Laura), I thought he tackled the possible effects of nearly life long, easy access porn on millennial relationships quite creatively. Though graphic, I thought it was a not so absurd extrapolation.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Ron Chernow's Washington. I loved Hamilton, but the 800+ pages of Washington seemed a bit daunting. Fortunately, after the first 100 pages or so it no longer felt like an endless homework assignment and has now become an absolute pleasure. I've gained a much deeper appreciation for why Washington truly was the father of country (I'm sure that sounds awfully trite but the risks he took and the sacrifices he made, with so little self-aggrandizement, are incredible--where is our Washington today?).

What makes him so great is not the absence of flaws--he made lots of mistakes, was a major slaveholder, lost more battles than he won, and he certainly had his self-serving ambitions, but ultimately he always acted in the best interests of others, not himself, and understood that he, more than any of his contemporaries, was needed to hold the new nation together. I'm enjoying this now even more than Hamilton, and that's saying something.

[BigPiney]

The whole time I was reading I kept wondering about the lucky publisher who read Nathan Hill's manuscript first. Can you imagine receiving that and realizing that nobody had yet scooped it up? Turns out Hill is a really accessible, communicative guy on Twitter so I asked him about it. He said "first publisher to read it finished it in a day and a half which I thought was stunning." Can't remember if we discussed this here but the rights were bought by JJ Abrams and Bad Robot will likely be doing an HBO series a la West World (Meryl Streep as older version of Mom).

So many great characters in that novel and they were used brilliantly to take up some of today's relevant issues. In addition to the ones you already mentioned (I actually thought of you and others here when I read the cheating accusation re: Laura), I thought he tackled the possible effects of nearly life long, easy access porn on millennial relationships quite creatively. Though graphic, I thought it was a not so absurd extrapolation.

I loved the cheating accusation scene. One of my favorite in the book.

Spoiler for stuff:

At the end of the book it goes into the whole think with writing the book and changing the names of people to publish his story and I starting thinking, "wait a minute, is he talking about this book?" He mentions giving the publisher an outrageous name and the guys name is Periwinkle, and so on. Really well done and kind of made me question it all.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I'm seeing more Bill Browder interviews and news all the time:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/billionai...205734125.html

Yep. The story just keep getting more crazy.

More evidence Putin is evil.

[SteelBlue]

I finished A Gentleman in Moscow last week. Absolutely loved it. Favorite book I have read in a while.

Started this last night. Strong book from page 1. Also finally got to the front of the line for The Trespasser.

[eldiente]

Just finished - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/...pensive-poison

Putin leads a Mafia Thugocracy. Gadiantons had nothing on him.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Ron Chernow's Washington. I loved Hamilton, but the 800+ pages of Washington seemed a bit daunting. Fortunately, after the first 100 pages or so it no longer felt like an endless homework assignment and has now become an absolute pleasure. I've gained a much deeper appreciation for why Washington truly was the father of country (I'm sure that sounds awfully trite but the risks he took and the sacrifices he made, with so little self-aggrandizement, are incredible--where is our Washington today?).

What makes him so great is not the absence of flaws--he made lots of mistakes, was a major slaveholder, lost more battles than he won, and he certainly had his self-serving ambitions, but ultimately he always acted in the best interests of others, not himself, and understood that he, more than any of his contemporaries, was needed to hold the new nation together. I'm enjoying this now even more than Hamilton, and that's saying something.

That has been in my queue for a while. With 18 other books.

[Jeff Lebowski]

The whole time I was reading I kept wondering about the lucky publisher who read Nathan Hill's manuscript first. Can you imagine receiving that and realizing that nobody had yet scooped it up? Turns out Hill is a really accessible, communicative guy on Twitter so I asked him about it. He said "first publisher to read it finished it in a day and a half which I thought was stunning." Can't remember if we discussed this here but the rights were bought by JJ Abrams and Bad Robot will likely be doing an HBO series a la West World (Meryl Streep as older version of Mom).

Interesting. I will check it out, but I am not sure how well it will play out on the screen. It is a good story, but the writing is what makes this book exceptional.

When I read a non-fiction book I tend to mark it up with highlights that I can find later. This is first time I recall marking so many passages in a novel. Here are a few of them:

“What’s true, what’s false? In case you haven’t noticed, the world has pretty much given up on the old enlightenment idea of piecing together the truth based on observed data. Reality is too complicated and scary for that. Instead it’s way easier to ignore all data that doesn’t fit your preconceptions and believe all data that does. I believe what I believe and you believe what you believe and we’ll agree to disagree. It’s liberal tolerance meets dark ages denialism. It’s very hip right now.” - Guy Periwinkle

“We are more politically fanatical than ever before. More religiously zealous. More rigid in our thinking. Less capable of empathy. The way we see the world is totalizing and unbreakable. We are completely avoiding the problems that diversity and worldwide communication imply. Thus, nobody cares about antique ideas like true or false.” - Guy Periwinkle

“It’s a terrible burden being idealistic. It discolors everything that comes later. It will haunt you constantly for all time as you become the inevitably cynical person the world requires you to be. Just give up on it now. The idealism, doing the right thing. Then you will have nothing to regret later.” - Guy Periwinkle

“…because Samuel had grown so comfortable being angry. Anger was such an easy emotion to feel. The refuge of someone who didn’t want to work too hard. Because his life in the summer of 2011 had been unfulfilling and going nowhere and he was so angry about it. Angry at this mother for leaving. Angry at Bethany for not loving him. Angry at his students for being uneducatable. He had settled into his anger because anger was so much easier than the work required to escape it. Blaming Bethany for not loving him was so much easier than the introspection needed to understand what he was doing that made him unlovable. Blaming his students for being uninspired was so much easier than doing the work required to inspire them. And on any given day it was so much easier to settle in front of his computer than to face his stagnant life, to actually face in a real way the hole inside him that his mother left when she abandoned him. And when you make the easy choice every day, then it becomes a pattern, and your patterns become your life.“ - Narrator

“Because if you see people as enemies or obstacles or traps, you will be at constant war with them and with yourself. Whereas if you choose to see people as puzzles, and if you see yourself as a puzzle, then you will be constantly delighted. Because eventually, if you dig deep enough into anybody, if you really look under the hood at someone’s life, you will find something familiar. This is more work of course, than believing they are enemies. Understanding is always harder than plain hatred. But it expands your life. You will feel less alone. — Narrator

“Sometimes we are so wrapped up in our own story, that we don’t see how we are supporting characters in someone else’s.” — Narrator

“She had never put all of herself in one place. It felt too risky. Because her great and constant fear all these years was that if anyone ever came to know all of her, the real her, the true deep essential Faye, they would not find enough stuff there to love.” — Narrator

“Sometimes a crisis is not really a crisis at all, just a new beginning. Because one thing she has learned through all this, is that if a new beginning is really new, it will feel like a crisis. Any real change should make you feel at first afraid. If you are not afraid of it, then it’s not real change. — Narrator